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

November 9, 2004

Fallujah

Filed under: International,Military — Bunker @ 6:46 am

Wretchard is keeping up with events in Fallujah, and is the place to go for accurate information and reasoned analysis. He knows what he’s talking about.

The photo he linked to doesn’t give as close a view of the city as I would like, so I’ve included a linke to a photograph with higher resolution.

The railroad tracks and station are on the north edge of town. and the two bridges are pretty clear to the west. The northwest corner of the town has been the central focus of jihadist activity from the start, and is the oldest part of town with narrow streets and alleys.

November 8, 2004

Trust the people

Filed under: Society-Culture — Bunker @ 5:34 pm

Gene at Harry’s Place has a quote by Adlai Stevenson after his loss to Eisenhower. Gene adds his own quote:

And if leftists are in fact unwilling to trust the people, are they entitled to call themselves leftists?

Homophobia

Filed under: Society-Culture — Bunker @ 5:24 pm

John Adams asks whether he is, in fact, homophobic. He really assesses the topic much as I would, and concludes that maybe he is.

While I have pondered this question, and would like to believe that I am not, I have come to the realization that the answer, to some extent, is probably yes. I don’t hate homosexuals, and one of my best friends in the world is gay. I do not believe people should discriminate against homosexuals, although I see no need to elevate them to a consitutionally protected class.

I don’t quite agree. A phobia is an unreasonable fear. I personally don’t fear homosexuals. Like Adams, I’ve had several friends who were. And enjoyed their company as much as I did the company of others. But the term has been hijacked to describe anyone who does not completely concur with the lifestyle. In that light, I am homophobic as well.

So what? I believe in individuality. If they desire to live their lives in that fashion, who am I to complain that it doesn’t fit my own lifestyle?

Several years ago the big issue was gays in the military and “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” To me, that was really stupid. It had always been “don’t ask, don’t tell” during my time in the military. And there were several men, and women, I suspected of being homosexual. But it was irrelevant. What the military doesn’t need, on the other hand, is open sexuality, whether it be homosexual or heterosexual. Madonna would not be an asset, either.

As a final thought, Adams speaks of a charity request from the cast at the end of a Broadway show he’d seen:

Apparently, the group raises money to buy daily necessities for AIDS patients, such as food, medicine, and rent money. (Wouldn’t it be nice if the Susan Sarandons and Barbra Streisands of the entertainment industry would lend their star power to such worthy endeavors?)

Once again, how can you argue with that?

Appeal

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 12:47 pm

Arafat’s friends over at HAMASONLINE have some other issues to deal with while their Godfather is relaxing in Paris:

Appeal: We have lost allmost every mail from back to 8 months because of a computer crash, if you mailed us something important, then please mail us again.

I know how they feel. I hate it when I lose important emails.

Educated idiots

Filed under: Education,Society-Culture — Bunker @ 12:33 pm

Yes, I’ve known a few. I’ve also known quite a few people with tremendous mental power who didn’t even finish high school. Smarts, intelligence, and formal education aren’t necessarily linked. One of my earliest posts was one which compared Howard Dean to Pat Buchanan, and also explored the “smart vs. intelligent” conflict. I think it may be time to revisit it.

It is only natural for a college student to feel intellectually superior to someone who hasn’t been to college. The experience is such that new ideas and information fill that student’s mind. And there is reason to celebrate that newly acquired knowledge. The disconnect comes when that same college student believes that the things he has learned are things others have never before considered. And many are ideas others have considered, then rejected as wrong after learning from experience. To him, it is new knowledge and unimpeachable.

Unfortunately, many of these college students never leave academia, and continue their formal education to become professorial without ever having left the academic environment. They never get the chance to take that intellect and turn it into smarts.

Smart is not the same as intelligent. Education confers neither. Education can instill some level of smart, but it is still just a mental exercise. Smart comes from experience seasoned with education, formal or informal, and native intelligence. You don’t really get smart without all three. And there are many self-educated folks, with much in the way of life experience to put that education in perspective. A pure intellectual can never be smart because there is no practical experience to test the knowledge acquired. And without that test, there is only simple faith that what they’ve learned is valid. All they have to lean on is surveys and study of those with experience.

The whole “Bush is dumb and so are the people who voted for him” mentality is exhibited by people from the media and academia in particular. Which makes me consider, “Those who live in glass houses…”

Beautiful Mornings

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 8:21 am

Saturday morning was one of those glorious days we get in autumn here in South Texas. At daybreak, the temperature was in the 50s, and as the morning wore on reached the upper 70s. The light breeze left something of a chill in the air, but I wore shorts and my GoreTex pullover as a concession–for about eight holes. The sky was big.

The best part of the day was playing the four holes on the back nine which meander along the bay. It was hard to focus on golf while looking across the bay to the Corpus Christi skyline, Harbor Bridge, and USS Lexington. The water was smooth. Anglers vied with shorebirds for a catch. Dolphins cruised just offshore. Blue, bright, and crisp is the best description I can come up with.

As much as I enjoy golf, some days it becomes secondary.

Specter

Filed under: Government,Society-Culture — Bunker @ 7:49 am

We now have the first issue I will take with Republicans regarding the Bush Mandate: Senator Arlen Specter.

I’ll tell you right now that I have already written to my Senators and asked them to not support his ascension to the chair of the Senate Judicial Committee. But my opposition to him is not based in the same reasoning as those who promote this petition.

I have written several times, most recently here, that I don’t want any kind of “litmus test” applied to nominees for judicial appointments. (Does anyone younger than me even know what limus paper is?) We need Sumpreme Court Justices without agendas. In either direction. The Court is there to be sure our laws do not conflict with the Constitution. For that, they need to be better versed in the Constitution than in law. And no, the Constitution is not the Supreme Law of the Land. It is not law at all, but a mandate for operation of the Federal Government.

Senator Specter has already violated that mandate. For that reason, I don’t want to see him in charge of the deliberations of the committee which conducts interviews of potential justices.

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