What'd I Say?

Monday, September 24, 2007

Pilchard's Macmuppet Video Mash

Friday, September 21, 2007

Friday Cat 9/21/07

A shadow in a bag., originally uploaded by repsac3.

A shadow in a bag.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

In Reply: "You act where you stand the most chance of doing the most good."

Burkean Reflections: The Big Picture on Iraq Antiwar Protests (From the comments, which have no permalinks in the ECHO system.)
---

Jim again makes sense, but I take it further.

ANSWER is insignificant. Almost no one who attends their rallies & marches buys into the communist agenda, or has a single anti-American thought. No one who was there is cheering US defeat, or looking for America to lose, as you claim.

Those are just silly talking points.

The real issue is this specific occupation in Iraq, and what to do about it. And like it or not, much of America is questioning pretty much all aspects of it, from how we got in to what to do now...

While I'm kinda on the fence--I neither support continued occupation or immediate withdrawal, and see no good answers--I'd like to see the conversation move toward finding a way out with as little damage to us, Iraq, or the region as possible, and therefore support demonstrations that keep the issue from being a foregone conclusion in favor of seemingly endless occupation & continued death all around.

Commies & anti-Americanism are boogiemen made of straw. (I'm not saying there is no such thing, but both put together are to the peace movement what Fred Phelps is to religious thought.) There are far too many people from all walks of life opposing this occupation (either in polls, or in representation at these marches) for you to credibly attribute it to be "anti-American Reds."

I understand that some of the groups have socialist or commie ties. If that were grounds for automatic dismissal, you folks would have to give up the eight-hour work day (along with many other labor laws), and The Pledge of Allegiance. Even followers of bad political theories can have good ideas, occasionally. Fixing what Mr. Bush broke (more slowly & carefully than we broke it, I hope) is one of them.
September 17, 2007, 1:22:11 PM EDT

***

It is also not true that American public opinion is clamoring for an immediate withdrawal.

I agree... That must be why I never made any such claim.

but I recently posted on the WSJ poll that found the public opposed to a quick cut-and-run.

And while I wasn't polled by WSJ, I oppose a quick cut & run, too. But that doesn't make me a stay the course guy, either. I want the US to find its way back out, as carefully as possible, to minnimize the damage this occupation created. (And no, I'm not saying we're responsible for all the troubles in the Middle East, or that Saddam wasn't a bad guy who created a whole lotta damage of his own, or that now that AQ is in Iraq (which I do blame on our not securing the borders), we don't need to respond to that.)

ANSWER folks are relentlessly anti-U.S.

Some of 'em are. And, like the black bloc asses who follow peace protests areound (& are also anti-American in my opinion, based on their violent tactics), I denounce them. My point is, they are an insignificant part of the movement, idealistically. The myriad of folks attending are not parroting actual anti-American slogans (by which I don't mean opposing the President or his policies, which is a very American trait and is done all the time by whatever party isn't in office), arming themselves (you tend to find that kinda anti-government militia stuff on the right fringes) or trying to overthrow anyone, violently or otherwise. At worst, they try to get you to read stuff or pay attention to rambling speeches. Not all that scary, and occasionally, even fun to debate against, as a rhetorical excersize...

The NYT piece in fact calls them an umbrella group for the movement.

That'd be because that's exactly what they are. ANSWER really isn't it's own group, but a coalition of all kinds of left o' center groups, from commies to environmentalists to human rights groups. So whatever your bugaboo, there's probably an affiliated group that you're able to point to & say "They're bad because___" The fact is, they came together to oppose the war, and that's all most folks give a hoot about. Freeing Mumia & saving the rainforest, & celebrating the life of Che may or may not be on some folk's individual agendas, but that's not why we attend ANSWER rallies, even if there are some speeches & signs that suggest otherwise. The minute an ANSWER rally becomes about communism (or much of any interest of any other coalition member group), the streets will be almost empty.

How many of the peaceniks have denounced ANSWER?

I only know of a few, mostly based on a foolish anti-Jewish stance they took in 2002 or so. (They barred Rabbi Lerner from speaking as a rally, after he denounced their support for a single Palistinian state, rather than a two state solution. I considered not attending the next ANSWER function in NY, but even Rabbi Lerner himself suggested continuing to support the anti-war movement, even if ANSWER was involved.)

Few peaceniks have denounced ANSWER, because few take their ideas seriously in the first place, or see them as any kinda threat to our American way of life. Yes, the ANSWER coalition has commies (& palastinians, & pro-muslim groups, & socialists, and vegetarians, & religious groups) in it. They (the individual organizations) are no more of a threat to the US way of life than any other fringe group is. And together as ANSWER, they spend very little time (though still far too much, according to many of us) selling anything but opposition to the occupation.
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September 17, 2007, 4:10:14 PM EDT

***

Well it was Anarchists that spearheaded the campaign for the 8-hour workday...

It was both anarchists and socialists, here in the US. (The first MayDay parades here were in support of the 8 hour work day.) In England, it was socialists.

...and they were no threat to America. They only bombed it a bit and assassinated a president. It was just an international terror campaign. No biggie… I can see the parallels…

You're making my point, FN... Even otherwise bad folks can have good ideas... Or would you prefer to scrap all the labor laws?

Anyways it wasn’t Anarchists or Socialists that are responsible for the 8-hour day, it was President Roosevelt in his New Deal, which was passed decades after Anarchist Unions campaigned for the 8-hour day in the 1870s and 80s. They had nothing to do with it. It was a great American president who saw the benefits of moderate Socialist policies and how it could compliment Capitalist ideals.

Funny how you dismiss the socialists right out of the picture, because they don't fit your meme, and deny that the early calls for an 8 hour day had anything to do with Roosevelt's later decision.

-------------------------------
Eight-hour day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The United Mine Workers won an eight-hour work day in 1898.

The Building Trades Council (BTC) of San Francisco, under the leadership of P.H. McCarthy, won the eight-hour day in 1900 when the BTC unilaterally declared that its members would work only eight hours a day for $3 a day.

By 1905 the Eight-hour day is widely installed in the printing trades.

On January 5, 1914, the Ford Motor Company took the radical step of doubling pay to $5 a day, and cut shifts from nine hours to an eight hour day, moves that were not popular with rival companies, although seeing the increase in Ford's productivity, most soon followed suit.

The Adamson Act was a United States law passed in 1916 that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for railroad workers. This was the first federal law that regulated the hours of workers in private companies. The United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Act in 1917.

The eight-hour day was realized for many working people in the U.S. in 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S. Code Chapter 8) under the New Deal made it a legal day's work throughout the nation.

------------------------

And if RepSac claims that ANSWER are anything like Christian Socialists then he is mistaken. They are atheist revolutionaries, of which Bellamy was neither.

Straw man. repsac makes no such claim. repsac repeats what he said originally; even bad actors can have good ideas, and that one can do or support the same thing a commie or a socialist does or supports--like opposing the occupation of a foreign country, appreciating US labor laws, or pledging to the US flag--without being or becoming a commie or a socialist.

There are times when guilt by association makes sense. This isn't one of those times, unless doing so supports the position you came in with, and prefer to leave with.
---
September 17, 2007, 5:41:25 PM EDT

***

I have read many articles and blogs, and I can see the pictures for myself (see Malkin, for example). I think these people would destroy the nation and enslave the people in a reign of terror if they got their way.

I feel the same about Malkin, sometimes... 8>)

But don't forget, Malkin, et al. has an agenda, as well. The pictures & experiences they relate are there to sell a particular version of events, to back up a particular ideology.

Go to youtube & search out "ant-war Protest" or "Gathering of Eagles" videos for yourself, and look at all the people involved in the marches. (I recommend hitting a variety of videographers, because they too, have an agenda.)

There are some crazies, there are some truthers, & there are some anarchists... And then there are ordinary folks of all ages, genders, & races, dressed like you or I would be on a late summer day, participating in the marches & making their voices heard.

That's just my opinion, but nothing you've said rebuts my basic points on ANSWER.

Your basic point about ANSWER seems to be that the coalition contains commies. It does.

You allege that ANSWER & the like cheer US defeat, hate everything for which the US stands, & would storm the barricades against a US government under seige, in hopes of imposing a reign of totolitarian terror, but you fail to offer much of anything to support the allegations.

If you see no reason or need to support them, I see no reason or need to refute them, other than to say I've not seen anything that supports your allegations (aside other folks of your bent making the same allegations, also without proof.) I even took a quick look for anything about ANSWER's support for overthrowing the British State, but found nothing.

You're free to maintain your opinion. Until I see a reason or two to change it, I will maintain mine, as well.
---
September 17, 2007, 6:11:33 PM EDT

***

The strawman to which I refer was FN's...

Not quite sure what Rich is saying, except that he thinks ANSWER is dangerous, as well.

Lending credibility to the truthers?
That's like the blind leading the blind. Few take either group seriously. I don't even think ANSWER takes truthers seriously (or vise versa). In fact, I'd venture to say it's only the right (some of it, anyway) who cares about either/both of them.

And as for protesting in/near where the wars are, some (though not many) are. Remeber the human shields?

The fact is, we protest here against what this government is doing because this is the government that is supposed to represent us, and this is the government doing what we'd prefer they didn't. It's all well & good--though dangerous--to yell at Tehran (in Tehran, even), but why should Tehran care what a portion--even a big portion--of American citizens think, especially when our own government doesn't seem to?

I didn't see rightwing Americans standing in Tienamen square... But I would never take that to mean the right does not oppose communism. (The same cannot be said for granting Communist China the trading status we have, without insisting on more attention to human rights abuses, however.)

The US government is of the American people, by the American people, for the American people. There is no other government where that is the case, and that is the reason we address our grievences where we do, rather than somewhere else. (For the most part, that's true, regardless. Even when some other government is misbehaving, many Americans petition OUR government to put pressure on that other one to stop what they're doing, because it is our government that stands the most chance of listening to what we say.)

When I see the protests that are mounted in other countries against US actions, I sometimes wonder how effective they are... ...and at the same time wish ordinary Americans were as involved in world as the citizens of other countries seem to be.

The idea that protesting for peace is illegitamate unless anti-war Americans take it to the other countries involved is a charge I never understood. (I think it's some kinda chickendove argument...)

I do think religious/spiritual pacifists ought to oppose war & violence wherever it occurs, but I still see the value of starting where one can do the most good. For Americans, that is by petitioning their own government to stop it's own violence, first.
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September 17, 2007, 8:57:19 PM EDT

***

Yes ... what would you think if, say, the KKK (robes, hoods, and all) was standing along Pennsylvania Avenue last Saturday, mixed in among us ... and we didn't move away

Your being with the KKK would not further legitimize either your group or theirs, which is the accusation you purport to be backing up with this argument.

We know how Big Lies get started ... and since distrust of the government is a national pastime that cuts across party lines, it is too easy for such a Big Lie to take root, and tear up the pipeline of sound judgment.

I have more faith in the intelligence of the American people than that.

Bad example ... for they did not protest the actions of the regimes being shielded. The shields ended up being used as dupes by the regimes, instead. The only criticism, was directed at America.

I disagree that it would make much of any sense for Americans to protest the actions of other governments in those countries, particularly when our own government is also acting badly.

Only one government is beholden to and claims to represent the American people.
We act where we can have the greatest (or any) effect, even if the cause is greater elsewhere.

I suspect you know this as well, or you (or yours) would be organizing protests against the enemies abroad, rather than your political enemies here. We talk to the US government & people because they are the ones with whom we have influence.

If you are going to be truly antiwar, but still support justice, life, and liberty, you had better be protesting, with at least equal volume and stridency as you use against our government's misdeeds ... the worse things those other governments do.

First off, many are only opposed to this war, and said nothing when we invaded Afghanistan, believing that was justified.

Second, this illusion of a "fair & balanced" world that FoxNews created is a myth. Some ideas & actions are more worthy than others. One does not need to protest all war equally to credibly be anti-war. You act where you stand the most chance of doing the most good.

If one is a true pacifist (I am not, but I know some are), you don't lose credibility until you advocate in favor of any country's warlike ways, or stop your opposition once your country is no longer engaged in war.

Or better yet, encouraging your government to confront them.

Some do... only they urge them to do so non-violently.

The leaders of these other nations are grown-ups too ... where is ANYONE holding them to account for the proper implementation of governance?

If that is how you feel, and you believe that signs and slogans will do any good, I urge you to marshal your fellow righties & begin protesting against them, rather than against those here who disagree with you.
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September 19, 2007, 4:25:57 PM EDT

***

You made an error. You claimed that without socialists or commies we would have to give up the 8-hour day.

I'm not going back & forth on this again, FN... I put up my links showing the history as I understand it. If you read it differently than I, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Basically, you engage in straw man arguments and then accuse everyone else of throwing around the straw man. The Christian Socialist Bellamy has nothing to do with militant Socialists like ANSWER and has little in common with it.

I wasn't aware we were grading socialism on a curve, and saying some socialism is better than others. I put forth the argument that the pledge was written by a socialist, not that it was written by an ANSWER style socialist. I did so to say that not every word and deed that comes from one's perceived enemy is automatically unacceptable by virtue of where it comes from. Should some "muzzie" find the cure for cancer, I hope we don't refuse to use it because of it's origin.

It is unfortunate that one word can describe both, but that is the reality of the English language.

I believe you dismiss the argument a bit too easily, but so be it.

You once tried to convince me to use an alternative word for jihadists or something like that a long time ago (via Flopping Aces), but I forgot what that word was. Its not in common usage.

One Muslim’s Jihad, is Another Muslim’s Hirabah

As far as the rest, yes, words do hold different connotations for different people, which does make absolute agreement on the meaning of any word impossible. But I don't agree that my use of "rightwing" or "socialist" is so fraught with connotation as make reasonable communication impossible. While you seem to think my use of socialist is overbroad, I think you're defining it down just enough that you don't have to confront my actual point. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere between the two, or maybe we're both flat out wrong... I imagine this won't be the last time the words get in the way...
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September 19, 2007, 4:51:45 PM EDT

***

I find these conversations to be very boring.

The fact that you keep coming back to them says far more than your words...

You really go off on tangents.

You'll have to give an example... ...if you're not too bored.

You missed my point about Socialism so much that I dont even know what you are talking about.

I didn't miss it so much as dismiss it as not being relevant to the point *I* was making when *I* brought the subject of socialism up. (And you talk about going off on tangents... 8)

Anyways, we have many Muslims allies. The Kuwaitis, Kurds, Albanians, Afghanis, Iraqis, etc... I dont think they are my enemies.

I don't either, and that's my point... (To be fair, I was kinda playing a guilt by association thing there... I first learned the term "muzzie" from your friend nanc's blog... Her posts & those of many of her commenters are lousy with the term... But, you are not your sister's keeper and, while I never noticed you making a similar defense of Muslims there, I shouldn't hold you responsible for their sins. I'm sorry for doing so.)

That said, my point is still valid, I think... I hope that on the wildly unlikely chance that the cure for cancer is developed by a member of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Baathists, or JAM, we don't refuse to use it based on where it came from.

Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Baathists, JAM, etc... those are enemies.

Good enemies to have.

You dont even know who you are talking to.

But I learn more every time you speak.
---
September 20, 2007, 6:52:56 AM EDT

Saturday, September 15, 2007

In Reply: "Priests, and generals have the potential to commit bad acts, and some do."

Burkean Reflections: Antiwar Protesters Will Mount Civil Disobedience (From the comments,which have no permalinks)

Emoting is for civilian courts.

...and blog readers & writers.
--
September 14, 2007, 6:23:38 PM EDT

***

I don't know enough about courts marshall to know either way... My gut tells me that cases where it's the military against___, there could be bias in favor of the military. When the accused is part of the military too, there could be some degree of the thin green line, again doing whatever most protects the institution... Like I said, I'm not claiming to know, but I don't buy that anyone loses their degree of human failibility by virtue of choosing a noble profession. Politicians, priests, and generals have the potential to commit bad acts and do inappropriate things just like the rest of us, and I've no doubt that some do.

That said, I agree that those empaneled for a court martial are probably less swayed by appeals to emotion than civilian judges or juries.
---
September 15, 2007, 5:49:55 PM EDT

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Pavarotti RIP

Another good man goes down.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Friday Cat 8/31/07

Peanut, originally uploaded by repsac3.

This is Peanut, who I met while out for a walk two days ago & adopted on the spot. (That makes us a seven cat household... Yeesh!!)

She was born April 7th,2007, making her almost 5 months old.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

iPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/26/07

I'm Cute -
Animaniacs -
Animaniacs Soundtrack

Painted from Memory -
Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach -
Painted From Memory

Stripper's Holiday -
Sonny Lester & His Orchestra -
Take It Off! Striptease Classics

Back in Black -
Mashuptown.com -
Mashup of the Week Podcast

Coming in From the Cold -
Bob Marley & the Wailers -
Legend [Deluxe Edition] - Disc 2

Stairway To Heaven -
Leonard Teale -
Stairways to Heaven, Stairways to Hell

Heaven Help Us All -
Madeleine Peyroux and William Galison -
Got You On My Mind

Sweetwater, Texas -
Fastball -
All The Pain Money Can Buy

Honky Cat -
Elton John -
Sliding Doors

Where Did Our Love Go? -
Keahiwai -
Satisfied

Friday, August 24, 2007

Friday Cat 8/24/07

Tuffy-Books.jpg, originally uploaded by repsac3.

Tuffy's no longer with us... but while he was alive, he was one voracious reader.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

iPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/19/07

1) Better -
Antigone Rising -
From the Ground Up

Antigone gets a little extra oomph because my wife's known two of 'em (the sisters) since they were all in diapers or so... I've been regailed with tales of houses almost burned down and similar female preteen hi-jinx... Aside that, they're very, very talented...

2) I Walked Away -
Sunfall Festival -
NPR: Open Mic Music Podcast

3) Congress...Your Fired -
Jason Brock -
The PEACEPOD Podcast

4) Whole Of The Moon -
Mandy Moore -
Coverage

5) "To Elsie" or "The pure products of America / go crazy" -
William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) -
In Their Own Voices: A Century of Recorded Poetry (Disc 1)

6) Play That Funky Music -
Wild Cherry -
The Disco Box [Disc 2]

7) Like Castanets - Bishop Allen -
KEXP Song of the Day Podcast

8) I Will Move On Up A Little Higher -
Mahalia Jackson -
Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century - Folk, Gospel & Blues: Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Disc 1)

9) Americano -
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers -
Paste Magazine Issue #9

10) Llama -
Phish -
Picture of Nectar

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Phil Rizzuto, RIP

I wasn't much of a baseball fan, but that doesn't mean The Scooter meant nothing to me... As a cultural icon, he was quite a guy...

And then there were The Money Store ads...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

John Gibson: Heartless scumbag (with audio)

Fox News' John Gibson calls Jon Stewart a phony after mocking his post-9/11 return to air comments and show of emotion. What kind of a heartless bastard does one have to be to make fun of another person's grief? I never had much respect for this guy in the first place... ...but now I have even less. Follow the link for the audio...

read more | digg story

Here's a link to a video of the original show opening, September 20, 2001. Have tissues handy (unless you're more the heartless Gibson type...)

I suggest watching the video, particularly if you've never seen it. (I hadn't, until tonight.) The transcript doesn't do it justice:

September 20, 2001

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Good evening and welcome to the Daily Show. We are back. This is our first show since the tragedy in New York City and there is really no other way to start the show then to ask you at home the question that we asked the audience here tonight and that we’ve asked everybody we know here in New York since September 11, and that is, "Are you okay?" And we pray that you are and that your family is.

I'm sorry to do this to you. It's another entertainment show beginning with an overwrought speech of a shaken host--and television is nothing if not redundant. So I apologize for that. Its something that, unfortunately, we do for ourselves so that we can drain whatever abscess is in our hearts and move on to the business of making you laugh, which we haven’t been able to do very effectively lately. Everyone has checked in already. I know we are late. I’m sure we are getting in just under the wire before the cast of Survivor offers their insight into what to do in these situations. They said to get back to work. There were no jobs open for a man in the fetal position under his desk crying. . . which I gladly would have taken. So I come back here and tonight’s show is not obviously a regular show. We looked through the vault and found some clips that we think will make you smile, which is really what’s necessary, I think, right about now.

A lot of folks have asked me, "What are you going to do when you get back? What are you going to say? I mean, jeez, what a terrible thing to have to do." And you know, I don’t see it as a burden at all. I see it as a privilege. I see it as a privilege and everyone here does. The show in general we feel like is a privilege. Even the idea that we can sit in the back of the country and make wise cracks. . . which is really what we do. We sit in the back and throw spitballs--but never forgetting that it is a luxury in this country that allows us to do that. That is, a country that allows for open satire, and I know that sounds basic and it sounds like it goes without saying. But that’s really what this whole situation is about. It’s the difference between closed and open. The difference between free and. . . burdened. And we don’t take that for granted here, by any stretch of the imagination. And our show has changed. I don’t doubt that. And what it has become I don’t know. "Subliminible" is not a punchline anymore. Someday it will become that again, Lord willing it will become that again, because it means that we have ridden out the storm.

The main reason that I wanted to speak tonight is not to tell you what the show is going to be, not to tell you about all the incredibly brave people that are here in New York and in Washington and around the country, but we’ve had an unenduring pain, an unendurable pain and I just. . . I just wanted to tell you why I grieve--but why I don’t despair. (choking back tears) I’m sorry. . . (chuckles slightly) luckily we can edit this. . . (beats lightly on his desk, collects himself).

One of my first memories was of Martin Luther King being shot. I was five and if you wonder if this feeling will pass. . . (choked up). . . When I was five and he was shot, this is what I remember about it. I was in school in Trenton and they turned the lights off and we got to sit under our desks. . . and that was really cool. And they gave us cottage cheese, which was a cold lunch because there were riots, but we didn’t know that. We just thought, "My God! We get to sit under our desks and eat cottage cheese!" And that’s what I remember about it. And that was a tremendous test of this country's fabric and this country has had many tests before that and after that.

The reason I don’t despair is that. . . this attack happened. It's not a dream. But the aftermath of it, the recovery, is a dream realized. And that is Martin Luther King's dream.

Whatever barriers we put up are gone. Even if it's just momentary. We are judging people by not the color of their skin, but the content of their character. (pause) You know, all this talk about "These guys are criminal masterminds. They got together and their extraordinary guile and their wit and their skill. . ." It's all a lie. Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters and these policemen and people from all over the country, literally with buckets, rebuilding. . . that’s extraordinary. And that's why we have already won. . . they can't. . . it's light. It's democracy. They can't shut that down.

They live in chaos. And chaos, it can't sustain itself--it never could. It's too easy and it's too unsatisfying. The view. . . from my apartment. . . (choking up) was the World Trade Center. . .

Now it's gone. They attacked it. This symbol of. . . of American ingenuity and strength. . . and labor and imagination and commerce and it's gone. But you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty. . . the view from the south of Manhattan is the Statue of Liberty. . .

You can’t beat that. . .

Sunday, August 12, 2007

IPod Semi-Random 10 - 8/12/07

Last 10 songs/stories/podcasts played on my iPod:

1) Fresh - Kool & The Gang - The Disco Box [Disc 4]

2) Ocean - Joan Armatrading - Lovers Speak

3) Lesson #027 - Let's Speak Italian! Podcast

4) iTunes New Music Tuesday July 31, 2007 - iTunes New Music Tuesday Podcast

5) Lazy Eyes - Chow Nasty - KEXP 90.3 FM Song of the Day Podcast

6) Jesus is Just Alright - Doobie Brothers

7) Drum Boogie - Gene Krupa - The Drum Battle At JATP

8) Blue Moon - Chris Isaak

9) Spiritual High (State of Independence) Part II - Moodfood - Moodfood

10) The Philosophy Of Loss- Indigo Girls - Liberation: War Is Over

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

In Reply: Anti-Capitalist Pizza

In reply to: Burkean Reflections: Johnny's Pizza Faces Papa John's, and the following, in particular:

My first thought upon reading this story was that if Johnny's Pizza is as good as it sounds, Johnny's family's got nothing to worry about: Their restaurant will put away the competition. In fact, the circulation of the anti-Papa John's petition is not only anti-capitalist, but probably unnecessary.
---

I hope the petition is unnecessary... But I've seen a whole lotta independent (put type of business here) run out by franchises & big boxes with inferior products &/or service, but the financial backing lose money by selling below cost & whatnot until they're the only game in town...

While it may be anti-captialist*, I'm all for citizens/consumers petitioning & otherwise speaking up.

*I'm not sure it is anti-capitalist. I see it more as negative advertising, making PJ look bad for "forcing" themselves into this community against the community's wishes, and trying to run "the little guy" out of business. Now, should these citizens try to pass some kinda law against PJ's, I'd be more inclined to agree.

Posted August 8, 2007, 6:35:15 PM EDT (No permalink. Go to post, and hit "comment" link to see original commentary.)

Monday, August 06, 2007

A (poetic) Public Service Announcement:

I'm working on my addiction to the other box. (This box here is a two way street, at least. While it'd be best to shut 'em both off, lifewise, at least this one lets you give, as well as get.)

A poem by a guy I know, vaguely...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

television

in our livingrooms kitchens bedrooms
in Feng Shiu a television screen is a mirror
and a mirror facing the marital bed is bad luck
pluck moving pictures and sound
from the electromagnetic spectrum
wherever there is electricity
piped-in cables condensing crisp, multi-channeled feasts
broadcast signals are weaker
since cable television has become ubiquitous
all the materials, chemicals and gases that go into its making
a condensed history of the electronic age
from giant vacuum tubes to little transistors
from small grainy black and white pictures to big screen color
Did we dream in black and white before photography?
our multicultural liturgy Marcia Marcia Marcia!
knowing where I was the moment the last Seinfeld episode aired
ordering our lives supper must be eaten
and home work must be done before prime time
I can pick you up from the train as soon as X Files is over
Infotainment mostly, commercials
paying for privilege of watching It’s free, you say?
did you pay for that appliance? your monthly cable bill?
is time with your kids worth nothing?
your spouse? your parents? yourself?
wherever you live, there is tons of good live local music
often it’s free or just the cost of a drink
turn the television off
you will be surprised how you no longer have time for it
turn the television off
unplug it cover it up stow it away
turn it off

-isw
television - On the Wilder Side
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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Blog Pimpin' - My debate with Freedom Now

This is a debate between me & and another gentleman that was going on on a consevative political blog. We were also discussing politics in our posts, but this off-topic thing about blog promo was getting bigger & bigger in our posts. After writing the post below over there--and almost posting it--I decided to post it here instead, and just leave a quick explanatory post & a link over to here, on that site. Below that, I also excerpted the previous portions of the debate out of our previous comments. Hopefully, FN will come visit & continue discussing this, since we both seem interested...

Any reference to where we are ("here," "this site" ...) refers to the site where we were having this discussion.

If you're interested, previous debate on subject was here.
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FN: "You can promote your blog anyway that you want. I never said that it was bad that you try to get people to go to your blog… that would be stupid. Everyone should try to promote their own blog. How go about it and who you target doesn’t really matter to me."

I know this "blog promotion" thing is a silly argument. I know I should just let you have the last word & be done with it. I know it... ...but I'm a glutton for punishment.

Here's the thing: You brought it up.

All I did was post a link back to my blog, where I had written a whole post on this subject. I thought it was better to post the link than cutting & pasting the whole thing from there over to here. In point of fact, if I had written a big long diatribe about this subject in your comment section, I would've posted a link to YOUR blog.

Folks do it all the time. I didn't think it remarkable in any way. To my mind, it's the polite thing to do.

That would've been the end of it, but you chose to remark on it, saying that I was trying very hard to promote my blog. (I wasn't--not that I don't want traffic--but I wasn't, regardless of what you believe. I was no more promoting my blog by doing what I did than promoting yours when I link to it, as I did last evening on my blog.)

You say that it was just an observation, nothing more. My reply--noting that you don't make the same observation when fellow conservatives post links, and yet, you've made this same observation about me on two occasions, months apart--is no more or less an innocent observation than yours. (For the record, I think both of our "observations" have not-so-subtle-hidden-meanings in them, and call suspect your assertion that yours is a purely innocent thing you just so happened to notice & mention in passing.)

I don't really know your purpose in making the comment or continuing to defend your doing so. I agree that you probably don't believe blog promo is bad... I do think there's something not "fair & balanced" about your making this comment about my back links and not other people's, though... I also think that in saying someone is posting a link to promote their blog, you're cheapening their post, a little. Finally, I think it's a little impolite, regardless of whether the observation is true or not. (It's like making an observation about the frequency with which one uses the restroom. It's one thing to reply if someone asks; it's another to blurt it out in a crowed room, "just because".)

As for "how I go about it & who I target not really mattering to you":

1) it still assumes I am in fact, promoting my blog, rather than giving those interested more info on my position via something else I wrote on the subject, and

2) it doesn't jibe with what you said in an earlier post, where it seems to me you're saying it was "who I was targeting" that was the whole reason for the comment in the first place.

"It is a normal every day experience for likeminded bloggers to try to drive traffic of likeminded individuals to their blog. You are unusual in that you are trying to drive traffic from people that are hostile to your views to your blog."

Now, I'm thinkin' this is getting far off topic, here... I would've e-mailed this reply to you, but I don't have that info. I would've posted it on my blog & just left a link, here, but that'd just be more proof of my blog whoring. I'd of posted it to yours, but... well... I'm guessing you know why I might be reluctant to bother.
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ABOVE is what I almost posted on the other site, but didn't. (There was probably going to be something more in closing, but once I realized/wrote about how off-topic it was, I couldn't continue.)

BELOW is all of the relevant posting up to this point--in order, first to last:
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More from me on the subject here
repsac3 | Homepage | 07.28.07 - 6:50 pm #
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RepSac,

You try very hard to promote your blog dont you?

There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just pointing that out. Controversy can be big. This is just an observation, nothing more.

Freedom Now | Homepage | 07.29.07 - 4:53 pm #
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"You try very hard to promote your blog dont you?"

Not really... I Just don't see the point of cutting & pasting (or worse, rewriting) my thoughts when I can just provide a link to them. You & I have both seen more rightward thinking people do the same on other blogs where we both post... ...and yet you only refer to it as "blog promotion" when I do it... I wonder why...

FN: "http:// freedomnowonline.blogspot...ates.html#links"

Blog whore 8>)

repsac3 | Homepage | 07.29.07 - 5:59 pm #
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I merely observed that you try to drive traffic to your blog. You have done the same on Mike’s America. There’s no harm in that. It was solely an observation. That’s all.

Freedom Now | Homepage | 07.30.07 - 12:57 am #
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And I am simply making the observation that I have never seen you make that same observation when someone on the right links back to their own blog in posts, though you've had plenty of opportunities to do so.

repsac3 | Homepage | 07.30.07 - 10:57 am #
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Repsac you think that you are on to something by saying, “I am simply making the observation that I have never seen you make that same observation when someone on the right links back to their own blog in posts, though you’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so.”

It is a normal every day experience for likeminded bloggers to try to drive traffic of likeminded individuals to their blog. You are unusual in that you are trying to drive traffic from people that are hostile to your views to your blog. That is worthy of note. And that is all it is, an observation. Yet you act like I have wronged you somehow.

Freedom Now | Homepage | 07.31.07 - 10:20 am #
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As far as the "driving traffic" linking thing, I'm fine... You made an observation about what I was doing, and I made an observation about your observation. Unless you want to continue discussing it for any reason, I'm willing to leave it as is and let you, me, & all reading us think as we will about it.

repsac3 | Homepage | 07.31.07 - 12:25 pm #
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You can promote your blog anyway that you want. I never said that it was bad that you try to get people to go to your blog… that would be stupid. Everyone should try to promote their own blog. How go about it and who you target doesn’t really matter to me.

Freedom Now | Homepage | 08.01.07 - 6:03 am #
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"You can promote your blog anyway that you want. I never said that it was bad that you try to get people to go to your blog… that would be stupid. Everyone should try to promote their own blog. How go about it and who you target doesn’t really matter to me."

This "blog promotion" bit is getting wicked off topic--and I almost took it further, before realizing I'd only be making it worse.

So, at the risk of being called a blog pimp, I took it over to my blog (My other, non-political blog--'cause it'd be off-topic on mine, too): What'd I Say?: Blog Pimpin' - My debate with Freedom Now. Much as I kinda want to, I won't continue to discuss that subject here. Those interested are welcome to come on over & read the response I had all written in this very comment box--& was yea close to "publishing."

Hopefully, FN will show up too, or this'll all be in vain.

...&, like it or don't, I'll likely be back to tackle the rest of FN's post, soon.
repsac3 | Homepage | 08.01.07 - 10:30 am #