Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Some things I think, I think....

1) I was getting mail out of my box, and another resident of the townhouses, stopped me and said "Is that a Kate Gilbert scarf?" I was wearing my clapotis. It was draped over my shoulders, not spread out. I have no idea how she recognized it. It turns out she attended a knitting group in Paris that Kate belonged to. She, herself, is not a knitter, but a good friend of hers is. We briefly discussed the dazzling nature of Kate Gibert's pattern. But I was tickled that someone actually recognized it.

2) In my last post I quoted an Ann Coulter (heaven help me) piece. In a Sunday (11-9) paper (not local) her article appeared. This is how that passage looked:

This was such an enormous Democratic year that even John Murtha won his congressional seat in Pennsylvania after calling his constituents racists. Question: What exactly would one have to say to alienate Pennsylvanians? That Joe Paterno should retire?

See what's missing? Check the previous posting. I don't know if I am outraged or entertained by the [PC]omission.

3) That extremists who are interested in hurting this country could care less about the political setting. Just look at the acts of terrorism beginning in the 70s, and then who was president, or what party was in power. Yeah, it's a little bit of work....so what, suck it up. (You can start with the Iranian hostage crisis, and move on to the bombing of the Beruit barracks.)

4) A few months ago I ran into a fellow I used to work with. He was freshly back from a 5 month tour in Iraq. I hugged him and told him how happy I was to see him looking so well. We chatted for a few moments and I asked what his assessment of the situation was. (I always like to defer to people who are/were involved in any event.) He said that we, here, are clueless because our media is not being honest with us. The situation is improving daily, and he has hopes that we'll be able to bring most of our forces back soon. But...he cautioned we have to be careful, with "that nut" sitting just across the border. It was as honest a reflection as I've ever heard.

5) When this gentleman was shipping out we had a good-by party for him, and I spoke to his wife for a few moments. I asked her how she was "holding up" - trying to be empathic and all. She looked me dead in the eye and said, "Geeze I'm fine. Of course, I'm praying he'll be OK, and come home promptly, but I have no sympathy for these whiney wives. If you marry a man, and he's wearing a uniform at the wedding, you'd better expect that he'll be shipped out into danger one of these days." So there! I guess she told me.

6) From, Deborah Howell, the ombudsman (ombudswoman?) of the Washington Post, the entire article appeared on the Op/Ed page on 11/9. (Emphasis mine.)

An Obama Tilt in Campaign Coverage

The op-ed page ran far more laudatory opinion pieces on Obama, 32, than on Sen. John McCain, 13. There were far more negative pieces about McCain, 58, than there were about Obama, 32, and Obama got the editorial board's endorsement. The Post has several conservative columnists, but not all were gung-ho about McCain.

Stories and photos about Obama in the news pages outnumbered those devoted to McCain. Reporters, photographers and editors found the candidacy of Obama, the first African American major-party nominee, more newsworthy and historic. Journalists love the new; McCain, 25 years older than Obama, was already well known and had more scars from his longer career in politics.

The number of Obama stories since Nov. 11 was 946, compared with McCain's 786. Both had hard-fought primary campaigns, but Obama's battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton was longer, and the numbers reflect that.


The article also goes on to discuss their lack of attention to Rezko and other issues, and the soft scrutiny Obama was given.

Seriously, go take a look. Use bugmenot.com if you don't want to register.

Nice of you now, Washington Post, to do a chest beating mea culpa, after the damage [to the fourth estate] is done. Wasn't ANYONE paying attention for the past 18 months? No we don't forgive and no, those of us who have not been sipping kool aid, won't forget. You, along with others, do not deserve fourth amendment protection.

7) Ol' Deborah refers to this http://journalism.org/node/13307 research article from the Pew Research Center. If anyone pooh poohs the "slanted media" accusation again, please refer them to this. Especially if reporters crying as they give their reports isn't enough. There is a huge difference between an op/ed page and news, and this bias was/is evident in the news pages. We STILL don't know anything beyond the obvious about this soon to be president, because news journalists let their bias rule their stories. This is not about a better v worse candidate, a better v worse campaign, this is about information left unexplored because of an agenda.

8) I am beginning to sound like a raving right-wing loon. This bothers me. My voting record, with regard to party, like my knitting, is rather spotty. I've only ever voted for one party for president twice in a row (and it may have been a mistake). That being said, I have been appalled at what has been going on in the media, at rallies, on the internet, and in classrooms. The fact that we now have a president-elect who can count the number of DAYS he has spent as a Senator is pretty scary to me. And all because many, many people don't want to really assess issues, ask hard questions and demand answers. Instead they launch ad hominem attacks (e.g., Caribou Barbie, etc.), get news from the Daily Show, and make assumptions ("support the troops, bring them home) without ever asking the players. Maybe the ultimate decision would have been the same, however,I have no confidence that this one was made by an generally informed electorate. It was an electorate who just wanted to get rid of George Bush.

9) And finally, I am now addicted to Korean Tea in a jar. I am trying to cut down on some caffeine, though I don't drink a lot of it, caffeine is a "trigger" for hot flashes, and this is a nice substitute. My current favorite is Citron, but Pomegranate is pretty good too.

10) Thanks to all the veterans, and those currently serving, who have responded, regardless of their own politics, when their country called. In my world, that's my dearest husband (Vietnam), my father (WWII), my father-in-law (WWII), my maternal grandfather (WWI)- who refused to fight for the Russian army (in Poland) because they wanted him to bring his own horse, he immigrated to the US and fought in the United States Army. No horse required apparently. I am very lucky because they all returned whole and safe. Thanks to Rick for accepting the posting to Iraq, even though he didn't have to, to Ted of Drive By Thinking (come back safely), and thanks to all those who sacrificed their lives. You (and your families) are all heroes in my book.

Edited to add (1:30 pm EST):

This must be my week for standing in the cold for my "country".

I attended a Veteran's Day ceremony with my husband. These ceremonies are put together by the student veterans group here at Penn State. The length and type of ceremony varies from year to year, but this time, they outdid themselves. From the bagpiper who piped the colors into position, to their speakers, to the 21 gun salute (that the university had to warn the community at large was going to happen so no one got "excited". We did have a sniper on campus once with lethal results.) The speakers though, really got me.

John Magill Jr. served three years in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division during World War II. His unit received the Presidential Unit Citation for its jump into Germany behind enemy lines. Magill was awarded the Purple Heart with two clusters, three bronze battle stars, and a Bronze Star for his actions in Operation Varsity, and in 2002, Magill was inducted into the Legion of Honor-The Chapel of Four Chaplains. He is a Penn State alumnus.

Joining him is Lt. Col. Douglas A. Etter, the executive officer in Pennsylvania's Office of Veterans Affairs. Etter functions as the chief of staff for the deputy adjutant general-Veterans Affairs, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. He is responsible for the oversight of Pennsylvania's six veterans homes and all of the state's veterans programs. Etter is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom for which he was awarded the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star Medal.


Mr. Magill actually broke up several times while describing his final jump in Operation Varsity, and how we are losing the last of our WWII veterans. It brought tears to my eyes, and made me wonder, how people who just denigrate our military can just ignore heroes like him. Lt. Colonel Etter, spent 18 months in the Iraq theater, and described the ultimate sacrifice of too many of his troops.

OK, then the piper, a woman BTW, played Amazing Grace, my father's favorite hymn, and that was all she wrote for me. I just don't understand how anyone can fail to understand that these people have a higher set of ideals than the rest of us. This is a personal decision and a calling.

By now, I realized my feet might not be connected to my body anymore (thank goodness for hand knit socks and for Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate).

3 comments:

Mag said...

Information left unexplored because of an agenda.

I too am appalled. Not only at what I hear and witness but at the stray bits of flotsam and jetsam lodged in my own brain from the barrage of BS.
Keep homing in on the truth, others want to hear it.

kemtee said...

Ditto Mag.

Wonderful bit of writing. Keep it up.

You're no right-wing nut; you're a woman who is able to think for herself and unable to reconcile the projected reality forced upon you with what truly is.

It's a lonely club, but here we are. Pass the chips.

Cindy in (un) Happy Valley said...

I love chips!