All Options Are On The Table

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Friday December 30, 2005 · 4:50 PM PST

2005/12/30 · 16:50

One of Bush's most famous and all-time scary phrases seems to be "All options are on the table.". Indeed, it has actually become so frightening each time he uses it a new time that I wonder why the news media bleep out foul language but leave that uncensorerd. Under "normal circumstances", it could be argued that such a phrase is void of any meaningful content in the same sense that saying "All water is wet" is (in case you might have forgotten). That's because an option is, more or less by definition, "something that's on the table.". Of course, what matters here is what is implicitely implied - and that is: "Whatever your worst thoughts on the subject might be... well, it is within my power to allow that to happen."

It has a negative connotaion in the same sense that
Q: Would you be my wife?
A: All options are on the table.

Wouldn't have anyone jumping for joy (single exception: it happened to be Scarlett Johansson's answer to my fan letter.).
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An Atheist's Prayer

Crowdog

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Monday November 28, 2005 · 12:48 AM PST

2005/11/28 · 00:48

Perhaps unnecessary, but out of respect to those who believe in God, I have written "you" in lowercase. Notice that the title is "An Atheist's Prayer" and not "The Atheist's Prayer" - that's not without reason. I presume there are as many different shades of atheism as there are of variants inside of any of the major religions. Read More

Take the Chicken Hawk Poll

Crowdog

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Friday November 18, 2005 · 3:22 PM PST

2005/11/18 · 15:22

Last year, I was visiting my local supermarket on an average day. As I was walking down the aisle, I saw a little old woman (try to imagine Clara Peller from the old "Where's the Beef?" commercial) reaching up over her head trying grab hold of a case of 12-16 bottled beers to put in her grocery cart.

To Be Continued...
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Disgusting CNN

Crowdog

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Monday October 17, 2005 · 5:25 AM PDT

2005/10/17 · 05:25

I very much enjoyed the diary from October 8th: CNN sucks: irresponsible journalism deconstrusted. Here is something I might add to that from today's news.

Why not take a look at the exact same "breaking" story (where the term "breaking" is primarily in the sense its everyday meaning "to break something") on CNN and BCC?

Title:
CNN: Iraq forces kill 70 insurgents

BBC: US strikes kill '70 Iraq rebels'

These titles alone say much about the modus operandi of each news organization. The quotation around '70 Iraq rebels' does the reader a favor by letting him or her know that the story is to involve a claim that someone or group of people have made.

Furthermore, each title begins
* Iraq forces kill ...
(does that mean the Iraqi army, the US Army, rival insurgent gangs, or perhaps one of the two or three other countries left in the famed Coalition of the Willing?

* BBC: US strikes kill ...
A-ha...!

UPDATE: CNN has apparently changed its headline (same link)... thanks! Story continues...
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Vote Where Your Heart Is

Crowdog

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Sunday September 04, 2005 · 2:26 AM PDT

2005/09/04 · 02:26

I think many people think along the lines:

The Democratic party is not distancing itself (i.e. its policies) enough from the Repulican party.
Perhaps it is time to vote for another party that will.

When they mention the second point, they inevitably get pounded by some for "lessening the number of votes the Democrats get and thus for indirectly putting a Republican administration back in office". Read More

Please turn off the ads for just a little while.

Crowdog

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Friday September 02, 2005 · 3:25 PM PDT

2005/09/02 · 15:25

I would like to put in the request for someone to please turn off the ads... at least for the next 24 or so hours. Many people are trying to use this sight at once to get information during a severe national emergency and the ads are increasing the time needed to download information; they do not aid reading; finally, they appear totally out of place at the moment. Unless the proceeds of the ads are going out directly to the victims.

By the way, my dad is a police officer and must have just arrived in New Orleans to help a few hours ago from North Louisiana. I talked to him on his cell phone while he was in the car on his way with other officers. I couldn't help but start crying when I heard that he'd gotten the sudden call to go. He said that he wasn't sure where he'd be this time tomorrow but for me not to worry because, his fellow officer and friend as he put it "promised to get my back". Read More

World Domination Tour

Crowdog

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Sunday August 28, 2005 · 2:29 AM PDT

2005/08/28 · 02:29

The poster US World Domination Tour must be one of the hottest selling posters in Germany simply because I've walked past it in a shop display about 200 times over the last 2 years on my way downtown. I once had one friend over from the States who refused to look at as soon as they read the title.

I found it very interesting that that same friend also came to visit a year later- this time bringing a 2nd friend along; and that, as we were walking downtown (and I'd walked way ahead of them because I was going to order something to eat at a restaurant or for some other reason) I could see out of the corner of my eye that she took her friend back up to the poster where they both stood and read it for at least a minute. It must have made a big impression on her the first time.

I never mentioned to either that I observed them. The diary might be seen as part II of my diary And the Rocket's Red Glare

And the Rockets Red Glare

Crowdog

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Saturday August 27, 2005 · 3:57 PM PDT

2005/08/27 · 15:57

I am an American and have lived in Europe for the last decade (please excuse any grammar mistakes I made for this reason). I would like to say that our views on war began to fundamentally diverge from those of Europe (specifically, continental Western Europe) after WWII, in my opinion. It is fairly easy to sum up: Read More

Let Bush write his own speeches.

Crowdog

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Monday August 08, 2005 · 2:26 PM PDT

2005/08/08 · 14:26

I know a lot of these have been done before. Nevertheless, I wanted to try one for myself.

On the eve of war with Iraq, they should have let George W. Bush write his own speech to the nation.... Read More

A Lesson of the Columbia Disaster

Crowdog

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Tuesday July 26, 2005 · 7:43 AM PDT

2005/07/26 · 07:43

In a few moments, the countdown to the launch of the Discovery will begin. The Columbia disaster could be seen as symbol of how getting yourself into "something" (for ex. Iraq or space or a relationship) is more often than not less complex than getting yourself back out of something (for ex. Iraq or space or a relationship).

Here's a my initial suggestion on how to take a step in the direction of getting troops out of Iraq at some point in time- if that is indeed the will of the current government:

One way (of many) to begin cooling the situation down would be for leaders Bush and Blair to openly acknowledge that the loss of innumerable civilian lives (caused by any side) was not what they had in mind when they referred to the "price of freedom". In other words, they are surprised that the cookies have crumbled in the way that they have. A second suggestion: eliminate all those suicide bombers who are looking to fill the next day's headlines with an offer: you bring us X grams of explosives and we will offer you Y lines of self-expression in our daily newspaper, etc.

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