Wednesday, July 06, 2005

An NYT op-ed by Phillip Carter on our overstretched military: "Although the Army recruited its quota for June, it will probably miss its target for the year...the supply of troops is still dwindling, to such an extent that the Army has now told field commanders to retain soldiers they had been intending to discharge for alcohol and drug abuse." "Since Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush has made many speeches in support of the global war on terrorism...Unfortunately, he has never made a recruiting speech...Young Americans (and their parents) need to be told that they have a duty to shoulder the burden of military service when our nation is at war, and that doing so is essential for the preservation of freedom and democracy at home and abroad." 2:21:50 PM   permalink   comment []

Jack Ballinger, a decorated combat vet from a family of vets, writes on flag-burning. 12:56:04 PM   permalink   comment []

NC Senate moves state closer to full-strength beer. These guys did good work. 7:56:13 AM   permalink   comment []

Hardy Floyd: "If we pass a law that forbids anyone ever burning the flag, our country becomes something entirely different than it now is. "We become a sister-nation to all those nations that require that people think and act and believe a certain way. (OR ELSE!!!)" 7:40:02 AM   permalink   comment []

Sarah Vowell in the NYT on her new-found respect for Pat Robertson: "Seeing Robertson in that commercial with Bono - and Bono's hair - is a little like listening to Paul Anka's new recording of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.'" 7:36:18 AM   permalink   comment []

Allen Johnson, editorial page editor of the N&R, on his decision to run the final paragraph of Ed Crothers' letter from the flag: "My bad." "The ending violates the News & Record's standards. We should have asked the writer to change it. "We routinely ask readers to soften or rewrite passages in letters to the editor and Counterpoints when they cross the line of civility. I should have asked Mr. Crothers to do so in this case." The comments at my site, and at the paper's (not to mention those at Eschaton) have run heavily against the ban on flag burning. There have been some from veterans who say that Crothers insults them by insinuating they don't understand what it is they were protecting -- that is, the rights of Americans instead of the symbol of the country. I liked this comment at the N&R site from Marc Lawrence: "If some beltway politicians were to force us to choose between enshrining our flag or protecting our Bill of Rights, we would be wise to choose protecting our Bill of Rights. Without our Bill of Rights, we'd be just another country with a flag." 7:17:16 AM   permalink   comment []