It’s no big secret that George Bush, by his very nature, drives those who hate him insane. Just look at Former Vice President Algore. However, I think a non-partisan holiday (lest you be a self-hating American who is ashamed of the country’s economic and military power) such as Memorial Day — and the current state of our superior military brought on by the sacrifices and achievements that we remember on Memorial Day — deserves better chatter than that of Oliver Willis (who by the way is not a self-hating American who is ashamed of the country’s economic and military power). Says O-dub:
In World War II, the thing that amazes me most is that we didn’t know going in that we would win. Think about that. It’s very different from nowadays, where regardless of the merits of the battle — it’s a given that we have the firepower to win. We didn’t know that when we invaded the beaches of Normandy, or when we entered the Pacific theater. It wasn’t a perfectly fought war, but it was a right war for the right reasons.
Today, we are threatened by an ideology with much in common with the Nazis, and the policy we’ve prosecuted to date would have lost us WWII. The response to fanatical terrorism isn’t to invade and occupy unaffiliated nations and make them into terror havens, but it is to seek out those who want to destroy us and eliminate them wherever they are, cut off their money, and secure the homeland.
— Oliver Willis: The Lesson of WWII
What would amaze me most is if we entered into a right war for the right reasons while not keeping in mind that the merits of battle include the application of overpowering power and force. What would amaze me most is if we entered into a right war for the right reasons while, in order to learn the lesson of WWII, we cut down our military capacities and reduce “the firepower to win” perhaps in the name of amazing Oliver Willis. Because, between shooting a guy approaching you with a knife in a dark alley, and engaging him in a knife fight in order to relive the glory of winning an uncertain battle, the knife fight would amaze Oliver Willis. Amazing desire for amazement, this man has, on Memorial Day.
(Hat tip: Sean, who also notes that Matt Yglesias continues to bray like an ass, as I noted previously.)
May 30 2004, 14:04 | Filed under: Politics | 2 Comments |
So I spend six hours reformatting my computer. I visit Boi From Troy for a refreshing catch-up with his latest adventures in style and taste and all things gay and this is what I come across lower down his front page (quoted in full):
Seen in New York the latest redux: The Eighties.
Think polo shirts with collars up (as seen at right). Could Members Only Jackets be next?
All across New York trendy boys wearing Polos and Brooks Brothers were flipping their collars up…and if theirs weren’t, I would kindly let them in on the trend.
My question is…will it last long enough to make it to the Left Coast?
— Boi From Troy: Trendspotting: The 80′s are back!
Unpredictable people make for exciting experiences, but if 80s retro is upon us I’ll be the first to go on record that its expedited adoption, first by the “hip and cool” and then by the “trendwhore” preppy boys and girls would lead to its near-instant demise. Such a trend deserves nothing less. Now, where was that old New Order casette lying around the house?
May 30 2004, 5:31 | Filed under: General | 4 Comments |
Apropos of this article in the New York Times:
As some make gossip out of everything, so others make much ado about everything. They are always talking big, [and] take each other seriously, making a quarrel and mystery of it. You should take very few grievances to heart, for to do so is to give yourself groundless worry. It is a topsy-turvy way of behaving to take to heart cares which you ought to throw over your shoulder. Many things that seemed important [at that time] turn out to be of no account once ignored; and others, which seem trifling, appear formidable when you pay attention to them. Things can be easily settled at the outset, but not so later on. In many cases the remedy itself is the cause of the disease; to let things be is not the least satisfactory of life’s rules.
— Baltasar Gracian, as quoted in Law 36 of The 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene
May 28 2004, 19:46 | Filed under: General | Comments Off |
To Matt Yglesias: You bray like an ass! Since when did Matt become a bastion of bad faith (not to mention disingenuousness)?
Since when did I become such a fountain of naivete?
May 28 2004, 17:57 | Filed under: General | Comments Off |
First he takes on a Jezebel of the blogosphere, and then proceeds to give licensing advice for SixApart.
Considering the things I’ve had to deal with lately visiting his blog sure has lightened up my day.
May 27 2004, 20:04 | Filed under: General | 1 Comment |
Really, huh?
Riiiiiiiiiight.
May 27 2004, 2:39 | Filed under: General | 20 Comments |
Stacy Tabb has compared Expression Engine and WordPress and has decided in favor of the former. I don’t engage in arguments apropos of findings like hers; the extent of my participation in evangelizing WordPress is detailing its features and passing along feedback to those who need to know. However, her closing paragraph is misleading to an extent (although I do not insinuate any malice or disingenuousness on Stacy’s part). She says:
So, there you have it. Once again, I firmly stand by my lifelong motto: “You get what you pay for.” Expression Engine is $149, $99 if you upgrade from pMachine Pro or other blog software. WordPress is free.
— Stacy Tabb: Blog Wars – Expression Engine
WordPress is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Free is as free goes, but it isn’t junk just because it’s free. Mark Pilgrim explains how the GPL works in favor of greater improvement:
Many people misunderstand Free Software and the GNU General Public License. Many people equate the GPL to the boogeyman, because it’s viral, and that sounds like a bad thing. Here’s what viral licensing means: GPL software has the restrictions that it has, and that’s it. The GPL is quite restrictive on developers, not at all on end users. (More on that in a minute.) Regardless, GPL software has the restrictions that it has, but it can never become more restrictive. An upgrade can’t take away freedoms that I enjoyed with an older version.
A side effect of this is that, if I write a GPL program and then lose interest, and someone else picks it up and continues development, they are forced to release their version under the GPL. A new developer can’t take away freedoms that I enjoyed with the old version either.
[...] WordPress is Free Software. Its rules will never change. In the event that the WordPress community disbands and development stops, a new community can form around the orphaned code. It’s happened once already. In the extremely unlikely event that every single contributor (including every contributor to the original b2) agrees to relicense the code under a more restrictive license, I can still fork the current GPL-licensed code and start a new community around it. There is always a path forward. There are no dead ends.
Movable Type is a dead end. In the long run, the utility of all non-Free software approaches zero. All non-Free software is a dead end.
— Mark Pilgrim: Freedom 0
He posts a follow-up, which further bolsters my conclusions that the tech community can be just as territorial and political in their own interests as we warbloggers are. I use a lot of non-free software too. And I use a lot of free software as well. Open Office Dot Org for example, is undergoing development at a seemingly greater pace than most proprietary office suites. It is this kind of development branching that Movable Type and Expression Engine do not have. It is this kind of community-based development that WordPress uses to its great advantage. And this is what I get for free.
May 27 2004, 2:22 | Filed under: General | 13 Comments |
How soon will it be before we hear someone say the following? “I’m suing the local public works authority for building a road in that area. If they didn’t then my son would not have driven down it drunk at 95mph. If that street wasn’t there he would not have driven into that tree when he fell asleep at the wheel. This is a travesty. I also want to sue the alcohol company for making his drinks. If he had no alcohol to have he wouldn’t have been drunk in the first place.”
Grieving moms make attorneys good money.
May 26 2004, 2:25 | Filed under: General,Politics | 1 Comment |
I’ve removed some of the skins in the styleswitcher. If you are seeing an unstyled page, please go to the front page, scroll down and select a new one from the choices below. Thanks, and my apologies.
UPDATE: Strike that. I’ve been getting too many reports of an unstyled page. The two styles are back up for your enjoyment.
May 25 2004, 22:00 | Filed under: Blog news | Comments Off |
I missed Bush’s speech tonight. It offended me to learn that the speech was far less important than Fear Factor or The Swan, at least in the eyes of their respective networks’ decision-makers. It seems to escape certain people, along with these network execs, that the office of the President Of The United States itself deserves a modicum of respect, despite one’s dislike of whoever is sitting in it.
I have read the full text, however. While instant messaging with a friend, he asked me what the President was saying this time. I think that Bush’s speeches, despite sounding familiar in terms of content, amount to his own way of cheerleading the cause. And I think that is good too. But, as I told my friend, I think it’s also his way of explaining to those who indulge in games of equivalence that he is not Hitler. (Read more…)
May 24 2004, 23:32 | Filed under: Politics | 3 Comments |
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