Well...Neither do I, but if I did I wish I was as funny with my responses as Strong Bad of homestarrunner.com. If you click on the site and examine the sbemails you will become lost in cyberspace for a minimum of 12 hours as you laugh and laugh and laugh. I thought that WWE had the funniest Lucha Libre wrestlers, but their heels have nothing on Strong Bad.
Imagine if all the quick responses you imagine you can make were funny. That's Strong Bad.
Mad props to The Mad Tinkerer for pointing this spot out for me. But I totally blame him for the lost hours which I could have spent playing City of Heroes. There will be a reckoning...a SAVAGE reckoning!
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Veteran's Day
During my time in the Military, I spent time in Louisiana, Texas, Germany and in Desert Storm. Today, I think about the guys that I spent that time with. We were closer than brothers. I mean that. There is a level of trust you put into the hands of your fellow trooper that you wouldn't trust anyone but your self to handle otherwise. It is not all about warfare, although that is part of it. I only keep in touch with a couple of those guys today and it doesn't matter where we are in our own lives when we talk and spend time together it is perfect. I believe this is tied to our common past. Today I remember all the guys even the ones I didn't particularly like at that time. So I want to share a few stories as I remember all those guys who I spent time with.
Just a few short stories: (Military folk are good at this)
I spent $20 for a book and another trooper asked to borrow it. He took it to the field and ruined the book but he left the cover at home so that was in good shape. There is something funny about that logic.
My Sergeant Major at my first unit (4/12 Cavalry Regiment). Sgt. Major Clark was good friends with members of the Senate and other Washington folks. He was out of a movie:
One time I was handling the unit colors for a general's retirement and a couple of pilots from our helicopter Troop were in attendance, they were wearing their pistols (part of the uniform for these things). Sgt. Major Clark said to them, "Sir, if you shoot a grown man with a .38 you will only make him mad." Another more vulgar story involved another vet's day parade, the Sgt. Major had our troop out on the Squadron field and was explaining something that was important to him -- I can't quite recall what now -- but to emphasize his point he added .... "And, I'm as serious as two dogs fucking." I thought that was pretty serious. This was his character. He was the oldest man to graduate from Ranger School at age 41 and at the time was the second highest ranking Sgt. Major in the Army.
During Desert Storm, (2nd Squadron/ 1st Cavalry Regiment, Second Armor Division) we were conducting maintenance on our vehicles during a morning prior to the air war starting. Our Lt.'s driver was on the hood of his Bradley. (A mechanical note: The Bradley has a built in system where the gun of the Bradley will elevate when the driver hatch is open, this is to prevent the death of the driver. This only operates when the power is on). The Lt. then crawled into the turret and turned on the power without looking to see if anyone was on the deck of the vehicle. The gun instantly elevated and caught the driver under the chin which threw him off the vehicle and into the sand. He was K.O.'d by the gun. (Lucky that's all that happened.)
While in Louisiana, I worked for Staff Sergeant Beamer, he had gone to Delta Force School but didn't finish due to a busted ankle. During a field exercise he decided to cross a stream. It was too deep and we didn't make it. But the five guys on the M113 spent the next four hours cutting trees for traction to get the vehicle out while singing Bon Jovi -- it was one of the best times of my life. We never got it out -- a recovery vehicle named "Your Fat Sister" came and pulled us out.
In Desert Storm, I was in charge of securing a small radio trailer. It looked like two semi trailers connected together. The doors were locked and we fired into the trailers and the rounds went through, I went for my demo kit when one of the other soldiers fired a grenade at the door. We were only 10 feet away. Luckily the grenade doesn't arm for 5 meters or I would not be writing this today. I just laugh when I think of that today. The same guy was part of some very funny moments -- When he was new to the unit, he was trying to clean his room while drinking heavily --Not a good combination. I heard some banging from my room so I went down the hall to see what was happening. The same guy was riding a floor buffer and banging into the walls. Too funny.
There is so much more. I just wanted to share some of my memories of the Military as I think about those guys today. I hope they are all well. God bless them and all who followed us as well as those who came before. We all tried to do our best for our country. I can't speak for all on this but for me, I enlisted because I loved my country and as much as I gained from being a part of the Military, I am proud to have given what I did.
Former Sergeant Robert Barker of the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armor Division
Just a few short stories: (Military folk are good at this)
I spent $20 for a book and another trooper asked to borrow it. He took it to the field and ruined the book but he left the cover at home so that was in good shape. There is something funny about that logic.
My Sergeant Major at my first unit (4/12 Cavalry Regiment). Sgt. Major Clark was good friends with members of the Senate and other Washington folks. He was out of a movie:
One time I was handling the unit colors for a general's retirement and a couple of pilots from our helicopter Troop were in attendance, they were wearing their pistols (part of the uniform for these things). Sgt. Major Clark said to them, "Sir, if you shoot a grown man with a .38 you will only make him mad." Another more vulgar story involved another vet's day parade, the Sgt. Major had our troop out on the Squadron field and was explaining something that was important to him -- I can't quite recall what now -- but to emphasize his point he added .... "And, I'm as serious as two dogs fucking." I thought that was pretty serious. This was his character. He was the oldest man to graduate from Ranger School at age 41 and at the time was the second highest ranking Sgt. Major in the Army.
During Desert Storm, (2nd Squadron/ 1st Cavalry Regiment, Second Armor Division) we were conducting maintenance on our vehicles during a morning prior to the air war starting. Our Lt.'s driver was on the hood of his Bradley. (A mechanical note: The Bradley has a built in system where the gun of the Bradley will elevate when the driver hatch is open, this is to prevent the death of the driver. This only operates when the power is on). The Lt. then crawled into the turret and turned on the power without looking to see if anyone was on the deck of the vehicle. The gun instantly elevated and caught the driver under the chin which threw him off the vehicle and into the sand. He was K.O.'d by the gun. (Lucky that's all that happened.)
While in Louisiana, I worked for Staff Sergeant Beamer, he had gone to Delta Force School but didn't finish due to a busted ankle. During a field exercise he decided to cross a stream. It was too deep and we didn't make it. But the five guys on the M113 spent the next four hours cutting trees for traction to get the vehicle out while singing Bon Jovi -- it was one of the best times of my life. We never got it out -- a recovery vehicle named "Your Fat Sister" came and pulled us out.
In Desert Storm, I was in charge of securing a small radio trailer. It looked like two semi trailers connected together. The doors were locked and we fired into the trailers and the rounds went through, I went for my demo kit when one of the other soldiers fired a grenade at the door. We were only 10 feet away. Luckily the grenade doesn't arm for 5 meters or I would not be writing this today. I just laugh when I think of that today. The same guy was part of some very funny moments -- When he was new to the unit, he was trying to clean his room while drinking heavily --Not a good combination. I heard some banging from my room so I went down the hall to see what was happening. The same guy was riding a floor buffer and banging into the walls. Too funny.
There is so much more. I just wanted to share some of my memories of the Military as I think about those guys today. I hope they are all well. God bless them and all who followed us as well as those who came before. We all tried to do our best for our country. I can't speak for all on this but for me, I enlisted because I loved my country and as much as I gained from being a part of the Military, I am proud to have given what I did.
Former Sergeant Robert Barker of the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armor Division
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Funny Quote I Encountered
In my spare time I play role-playing games, and thus I spend some time reading websites devoted to the games I like. One such game is Savage Worlds. While reading through the message boards, I encountered a new blog by a Savage Worlds regular. He was taking some time to gloat over the results of the election and received some flak for it. So he decided to respond. I thought his response was funny...
The author's name is Mathew Mather and I have no idea how old he is, but I thought this was hilarious. Anyway, you can visit his blog here.
Postscript: Someone mentioned I'm a bit critical of Democrats. Go and read it again. I'm not critical of Democrats per se. I'm critical of ANYONE who voted for Kerry because "Bush ruched to war" or "this is a terrible economy". I work in a Sandwich SHOP. I work in a place where people pay extra for me to make them a sandwich instead of going home and making it themselves. Sure, I make it quick. Sure, the bread is freash and so are the ingredients. But people have enough money to, on a daily basis, pay me to do something they could easily do themselves. And others go to Quiznos and pay even more to have it toasted! This is a frickin wonderful economy. If it wasn't, people would say "Hey I could make a sandwich at home. Let's eat pizza or something else I can't easily make myself since I don't have a lot of cash."
The author's name is Mathew Mather and I have no idea how old he is, but I thought this was hilarious. Anyway, you can visit his blog here.
Oh Glorius Weekend
This weekend brings blessed news. Not only can I see The Incredibles a second time, but the sequel to one of the greatest horror films of all times comes out as well. That's right, it's time for Seed of Chucky.
Who can resist the sequel to a movie which included the following dialogue?
If only I could go see the film with John Waters or Joe Bob Briggs.
Who can resist the sequel to a movie which included the following dialogue?
"Oh, Chucky. Have you got a rubber?"
"Tiff?"
"Yes Chucky?"
"I'm all rubber!"
"I thought you were plastic."
If only I could go see the film with John Waters or Joe Bob Briggs.
Rocking the Vote?
I am very much in favor of increasing voting turnout, especially youth voter turnout. In fact, my job focuses on this very goal. But Sean raises some very good questions. I will start with the last one first.
The assertion here seems to me fundamentally sound. A person who actively chooses is essentially saying that they are willing to abide by the decisions of the more informed (there are some problems in practice with this a priori, but if everyone who voted was informed there wouldn't be). But I do have one large caveat to the prior statement. While there is no shame in admitting your lack of knowledge and thus not voting, there is some amount of shame in not making an effort to learn about your regime (getting to know what your are talking about).
Those who don't vote because they think that some expert knowledge is necessary and that they aren't sophisticated enough to understand politics are wrong. I would like to put aside the arguments of political scientists like Ben Barber about the rationality of the public as an unnecessary position to take to defend the "less informed vote." Some voters need to stop self-selecting out of the process. Many do know enough and their fear at the vast knowledge of others is largely unfounded. As Walter Lippmann wrote in The Phantom Public, "I have not happened to meet anybody, from a President of the United States to a professor of political science, who came anywhere near to embodying the accepted ideal of the sovereign and omnicompetent citizen." Other people usually know less than we give them credit for.
That being said, there is still some level of minimal knowledge that a citizen should strive for before going to vote. The best place to start is with an understanding of one's own desires, their self-motivated interests, combined with their idea of a just society. Once this thought process is completed the voter should research which candidate best addresses these concerns. This does take some effort and there is no shame in the person who thinks that historically everything has been okay left in the hands of the other members of the electorate. In fact, in some ways that is an educated opinion.
As to the initial question of the role of celebrity in "getting out the vote" and influencing elections. I am hosting a Townhall meeting on the very subject, and Matt Welch of Reason magazine (among others) will be participating. That is, if he can overcome the fact that Fritz has no appreciation for his sense of humor.
I would like to leave it at that and make you wait until after the event for my answer, but I won't. I do reserve the right to change my answer based on reflection after the panel discussion.
I think celebrities trying to get out the vote is a great concept...poorly executed. I think that genuine non-profit attempts to increase the electorate and educate them about the voting process are noble efforts of citizenship. Alas, this is not what is usually done. A genuine attempt (in a non-partisan fashion) to increase turnout would work in one of three ways, as I see it.
1) Work on the local level only, due to financial limitations.
2) Work on a broad national scale, due to unlimited resources
3) Target those States with the lowest turnout historically
The most recent efforts, the large ones (RTV and Vote or Die!), did none of the above. Though I imagine they might claim the second. What they did was have an assumption that young voters where largely liberal, an assumption that was proved to be overstated in the recent election, and would vote for a specific candidate. Thus these efforts targeted their mobilization in the "swing states" instead of in states with historic low turnout. This makes it baffling to mobilize in a state like Minnesota and not in Vermont. Vermont? Don't they have high voter turnout? Yes, but not among the young. In 2002, an off year election, Vermont had 57% turnout. This is a very high rate and has Vermont ranked 9th highest. But only 13% of voters 18-24 turned out in that election in Vermont. Was P-Diddy trying to increase Vermont's youth vote? No way. Heck Minnesota had 52% youth turnout in 2002. Why would anyone mobilize there instead of North Carolina at 14%? The answer is simple. The efforts weren't non-partisan.
Here is a list of "Tour Dates" for the RTV bus in late October to November:
The "New Voter's Project" targeted the following States: CO, IA, OR, WI, NM, NV. Each of these States had the following difference in voter turnout between 18-24 year olds and those 25+:
CO 34% (25+ voted at a rate 34% higher than 18-24)
IA 33%
OR 35%
WI 32%
NM 37%
NV 29%
Compare this to AZ, DE, ME, NC, TX, VT, and WA.
AZ 40%
DE 41%
ME 41%
NC 40%
TN 42%
VT 51%
WA 43%
And Minnesota? 23%. This is one of the targetted States by RTV. It only has a 23% differential, and it has the highest average turnout in the nation! My limited States would have been the ones with the greatest difference between youth and older voter turnout. But that would have been non-partisan and included non-"swing" States like Vermont.
Oh, and voting was significantly higher than in 2000. Not as a "proportion," but as a real percentage of youth population. About 50% voted in 2004 (young people) versus about 36% in 2000. Just more of everybody voted this time. Don't get me started on the fact that the media can't differentiate between Voting Age and Voting Eligible population. If a rich person makes more money a poor person has to get a raise as well for their "ratio" to remain the same, more of a raise if there is no "increase" in the gap between rich and poor.
I guess the lack of difference in proportion is what you can expect when Bruce Springsteen is "Rocking" the "youth vote."
And what do you all make of "Team America: World Police"-co-creator Matt Stone's remark in the press, "If you don't know what you're talking about, there's no shame in not voting"? Seems almost Jeffersonian (though not Jacksonian).
The assertion here seems to me fundamentally sound. A person who actively chooses is essentially saying that they are willing to abide by the decisions of the more informed (there are some problems in practice with this a priori, but if everyone who voted was informed there wouldn't be). But I do have one large caveat to the prior statement. While there is no shame in admitting your lack of knowledge and thus not voting, there is some amount of shame in not making an effort to learn about your regime (getting to know what your are talking about).
Those who don't vote because they think that some expert knowledge is necessary and that they aren't sophisticated enough to understand politics are wrong. I would like to put aside the arguments of political scientists like Ben Barber about the rationality of the public as an unnecessary position to take to defend the "less informed vote." Some voters need to stop self-selecting out of the process. Many do know enough and their fear at the vast knowledge of others is largely unfounded. As Walter Lippmann wrote in The Phantom Public, "I have not happened to meet anybody, from a President of the United States to a professor of political science, who came anywhere near to embodying the accepted ideal of the sovereign and omnicompetent citizen." Other people usually know less than we give them credit for.
That being said, there is still some level of minimal knowledge that a citizen should strive for before going to vote. The best place to start is with an understanding of one's own desires, their self-motivated interests, combined with their idea of a just society. Once this thought process is completed the voter should research which candidate best addresses these concerns. This does take some effort and there is no shame in the person who thinks that historically everything has been okay left in the hands of the other members of the electorate. In fact, in some ways that is an educated opinion.
As to the initial question of the role of celebrity in "getting out the vote" and influencing elections. I am hosting a Townhall meeting on the very subject, and Matt Welch of Reason magazine (among others) will be participating. That is, if he can overcome the fact that Fritz has no appreciation for his sense of humor.
I would like to leave it at that and make you wait until after the event for my answer, but I won't. I do reserve the right to change my answer based on reflection after the panel discussion.
I think celebrities trying to get out the vote is a great concept...poorly executed. I think that genuine non-profit attempts to increase the electorate and educate them about the voting process are noble efforts of citizenship. Alas, this is not what is usually done. A genuine attempt (in a non-partisan fashion) to increase turnout would work in one of three ways, as I see it.
The most recent efforts, the large ones (RTV and Vote or Die!), did none of the above. Though I imagine they might claim the second. What they did was have an assumption that young voters where largely liberal, an assumption that was proved to be overstated in the recent election, and would vote for a specific candidate. Thus these efforts targeted their mobilization in the "swing states" instead of in states with historic low turnout. This makes it baffling to mobilize in a state like Minnesota and not in Vermont. Vermont? Don't they have high voter turnout? Yes, but not among the young. In 2002, an off year election, Vermont had 57% turnout. This is a very high rate and has Vermont ranked 9th highest. But only 13% of voters 18-24 turned out in that election in Vermont. Was P-Diddy trying to increase Vermont's youth vote? No way. Heck Minnesota had 52% youth turnout in 2002. Why would anyone mobilize there instead of North Carolina at 14%? The answer is simple. The efforts weren't non-partisan.
Here is a list of "Tour Dates" for the RTV bus in late October to November:
10/26 Orlando, FL University of Central Florida-Front of the Student Union (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/26 Milwaukee, WI Canvassing w/ Project Stay High School Students Open to Public**
10/26 Orlando,Fl. Bennigan's Courtyard 11650 University Blvd (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/27 Jacksonville, FL. Edwards Waters College , 105 E. Monroe Corner (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/28 Tallahassee Florida A&M University-Ctr. Courtyard (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/29 Gainesville, FL. Dowtown Plaza, 12 SE 1st St. (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/29 Milwaukee, WI Poll Rides with Citizen Action Fund 11:00am-4:30pm Select a type
10/29 Milwaukee, WI Silver Spring Public Neighborhood Housing Project 5:00pm-6:00pm Open to Public**
10/30 Ft. Lauderdale, FL African America Research Library,2650 Sistrunk Blvd. (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/31 Green Bay, WI Terror on the Fox Haunted House - 6pm-closing
(off hwy 172, next to stadium) Open to Public**
10/31 Milwaukee, WI Trick or Vote Univ. of WI- Milwaukee dorms 11:00am-3:00pm Select a type
10/31 Orlando, FL Trick or Vote Community Canvas, Greater Orlando (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
10/31 Milwaukee, WI Poll Rides with WICAF 3:00pm- 8:00am Open to Public**
11/01 Tampa, FL. Tampa St. Pete. Community Canvas (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
11/02 Tampa, FL. Tampa Sun Dome-Universy of Southern Florida (RTV Scion) Open to Public**
11/02 Milwaukee, WI GOTV Rally at Univ. Wisconsin 12:00pm-1:30pm Open to Public**
11/02 Racine, WI GOTV Rally Racine Memorial Hall 7:00am-9:00am Open to Public**
11/02 Milwaukee, WI Poll Rides with WICAF 3:00pm- 8:00am Open to Public**
The "New Voter's Project" targeted the following States: CO, IA, OR, WI, NM, NV. Each of these States had the following difference in voter turnout between 18-24 year olds and those 25+:
CO 34% (25+ voted at a rate 34% higher than 18-24)
IA 33%
OR 35%
WI 32%
NM 37%
NV 29%
Compare this to AZ, DE, ME, NC, TX, VT, and WA.
AZ 40%
DE 41%
ME 41%
NC 40%
TN 42%
VT 51%
WA 43%
And Minnesota? 23%. This is one of the targetted States by RTV. It only has a 23% differential, and it has the highest average turnout in the nation! My limited States would have been the ones with the greatest difference between youth and older voter turnout. But that would have been non-partisan and included non-"swing" States like Vermont.
Oh, and voting was significantly higher than in 2000. Not as a "proportion," but as a real percentage of youth population. About 50% voted in 2004 (young people) versus about 36% in 2000. Just more of everybody voted this time. Don't get me started on the fact that the media can't differentiate between Voting Age and Voting Eligible population. If a rich person makes more money a poor person has to get a raise as well for their "ratio" to remain the same, more of a raise if there is no "increase" in the gap between rich and poor.
I guess the lack of difference in proportion is what you can expect when Bruce Springsteen is "Rocking" the "youth vote."
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Civic-Minded Entertainers: An Election Post-Mortem
To Number One (and other interested parties):
I would be interested in your take on "Rock the Vote," "Choose or Lose," "Vote or Die" and other understated efforts at demogogic--I mean, democratic--mobilization by MTV, P. Diddy, and other popular favorites. Were these good for the country (either for the process or the ends of self-government in America)? Did they enlighten and promote responsible citizenship? Or did they succumb to the inherent unseriousness, crudity, and incoherence of the celebrities and entertainment that got out in front of them? Are they a model for future civic engagement? Were they effective? Youth turnout was apparently no higher this year than in the 2000 election -- maybe because the kids discovered actual polling places weren't going to bumpin' Jay-Z.
And what do you all make of "Team America: World Police"-co-creator Matt Stone's remark in the press, "If you don't know what you're talking about, there's no shame in not voting"? Seems almost Jeffersonian (though not Jacksonian).
I would be interested in your take on "Rock the Vote," "Choose or Lose," "Vote or Die" and other understated efforts at demogogic--I mean, democratic--mobilization by MTV, P. Diddy, and other popular favorites. Were these good for the country (either for the process or the ends of self-government in America)? Did they enlighten and promote responsible citizenship? Or did they succumb to the inherent unseriousness, crudity, and incoherence of the celebrities and entertainment that got out in front of them? Are they a model for future civic engagement? Were they effective? Youth turnout was apparently no higher this year than in the 2000 election -- maybe because the kids discovered actual polling places weren't going to bumpin' Jay-Z.
And what do you all make of "Team America: World Police"-co-creator Matt Stone's remark in the press, "If you don't know what you're talking about, there's no shame in not voting"? Seems almost Jeffersonian (though not Jacksonian).
Monday, November 08, 2004
Further Evidence of the Pending Apocalypse
First...The Red Sox win the series, then a waterspout is sited off malibu...
Now...There is talk of a third Dungeons and Dragons Movie.
Now...There is talk of a third Dungeons and Dragons Movie.
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