Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

September 6, 2004

Lago in the Morning

Filed under: Media — Bunker @ 3:58 pm

In Corpus Christi, there is one name everyone knows: Jim Lago. Jim is a native son, and has contacts throughout South Texas. He is involved in just about everything in the city. He is our local morning radio talk show host.

I used to listen to his show every morning on the way to work. Unfortunately, I now get to work just as his show comes on at 0530. But his web site is my home page on the computer at work. So, Jim, all those 0530 hits you get each morning are from my Firefox browser opening as I start the day.

I hesitate to write this just yet because nothing is confirmed. I got an email from Jim asking me to be on his show some time in the near future. I replied in the affirmative. He left me a phone message today, but I was out in the yard doing manly chores involving power implements. Unfortunately, 1440 KEYS doesn’t stream audio, so unless you live on the Coastal Bend, you won’t be able to hear me make a fool of myself.

I did a few searches and found three other blogs in Corpus Christi. According to registration on globeofblogs.com, there are 532 blogs in Texas, but no way to tell which are in Corpus. I managed to locate two in town through technorati. Both are students here at the Island University. Found one other through Google, a young lady who does web work for the local paper. No luck locating any others through searches. That isn’t a big surprise, as mine didn’t show up in searches, either. Any ideas out there?

So, perhaps I’ll get the chance to open up this sleepy little town of 275,000 to the world of blogs. Could be a revolution in local politics!

Islam in the West

Filed under: Society-Culture — Bunker @ 2:53 pm

Alex has just posted Part II of his new 3-parter.

Most immigrants came here understanding that they were to be included in the melting pot we know as America. They understood they were free to practice their religion, maintain their customs and keep their traditions. They wanted to be a part of that melting pot and contribute to it. It was understood that the fruits of their labor and their standing in the community would determine their credibility in the community at large. In other words, they understood that they had to contribute to the well being and ethos of America.

How did they do it? Well, there are community hospitals built by Catholic and Lutheran charities. There are hospitals built by Presbyterian and Jewish charities. There are community food kitchens sponsored by virtually every ethnic group in this country, from Croats and Bulgarians to Swedes and the Hare Krishna. These groups contribute. It didn’t take long for these groups and others to get involved.

Muslims are different. There are virtually no ongoing charities that service the community at large. There are some exceptions, of course. However, they are all event based and all geared toward media recognition, such as disaster relief drives and so on. There are very few if any, ongoing projects.

I like this passage as it makes some things very clear. Americans share community. We are free to help, and feel an obligation. I haven’t noticed this from the Muslim community. Has anyone?

Follow this up with the reading of Facts v. Revelations in the Quran in American Thinker. James Arlandson views arguments within the Quran through syllogism, and finds them wanting in logic.

Help is on the way

Filed under: Politics — Bunker @ 9:51 am

Now that the conventions are over and Bush received the big bounce all the experts said was impossible in a country divided, Kerry gets some advice from Bill Clinton. He really should have been listening to Clinton rather than Kennedy all along, but old habits are hard to break.

Not all is lost, though. The 527s have yet to really flex their money. The only change is that if they want to mention a candidate by name or implicitly, they must register with the FEC as a PAC. No big deal. It only means they will have to disclose donor lists.

I don’t expect to see heavy advertising soon. I think these organizations will wait until the last two weeks of October for a media blitz (isn’t that a Nazi term?) and leave the remainder for Kerry’s coffers to fund.

Anything aired the last two weeks before the election will be filled with invective and outright lies. Count on it. That short time span prevents answering allegations in any way that attenuates the message. That means our friends at MSM will pursue the allegation ad nauseum while ignoring anything that is contrary to the claim. The blogosphere, made up of many folks who are actually interested in truth and willing to dig to find it, will carry the load once again.

In the meantime, watch as Kerry talks about how the government is responsible for providing everyone in the country with free health care and high-paying jobs.

I wonder what the break-even point is for everyone to be on the government payroll? Would any of them be high-paying jobs?

Euro-laughs

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 7:28 am

Arthur Chrenkoff has compiled quite a collection of news items from Euroworld. Get a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy. My favorite (from a long list of them):

In economic news, there are signs that Great Britain is catching the Continental disease, as businesswoman Beryl King is “banned from asking for ‘hard-working’ staff in a job ad because it discriminates against the lazy.” Then again, it’s a good sign that in the UK even the lazy ones are still looking for work.

September 4, 2004

Zell

Filed under: Society-Culture — Bunker @ 7:19 pm

Once again I simply point you in the direction of someone who can explain things better than I. Cerberus explains Zell Miller from the perspective of someone who has been there, and done that. I’ll let him speak for himself.

Late

Filed under: Politics — Bunker @ 6:23 pm

For three days now I’ve been wanting to link to New England Republican so that anyone who comes here can find the text to all the speeches at the RNC Convention.

But, of course, nobody’s been coming to this site for three days now, so it made little difference.

In particular, let me point your attention to the first speech listed, given by Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

Playing Lessons from the Pros

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 5:32 pm

I just watched John Daly. Every time I see him I am more impressed. He is real, an unpretentious gentleman. He offered several warm-up tips I’ll try, but the thing I will remember most is his common sense approach to things.

He spoke of his first attempts at playing golf, and how inspired he was by the series of articles written by Jack Nicklaus which eventually became Lesson Tee. I have that book myself, and always return to it for its simplicity. What JD remembers is that the book was, to a kid, a comic book. Each lesson was lavishly illustrated by Jim McQueen. JD’s point is that if you want to get a kid involved in golf, the easiest way is through illustration. Each lesson also takes up no more than two pages, and maybe two dozen sentences of text. I think he really hit on something which should be obvious.

I remember learning the rules of golf as a kid. I learned from a book written to explain the rules and associated decisions, and it was also amply illustrated. I sometimes embarrassed my dad when I went out with him because I felt no shame in pointing out rules violations to his playing partners. Most of them weren’t appreciative of a seven-year-old who knew rules they didn’t, or rules they ignored. I

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