Section: Diaries

One thing we've learned from the reaction to Zell Miller: If Senator Byrd ever switches parties, suddenly everyone is going to remember that he was a Klansman.

Leftist journalists have a time machine by which they can travel to the future, it's called a Lapham-drive and one sits on the ground floor of the Harper's magazine offices while the other is in the sub-basement of the NY Times.  On occasion I have visited the offices and see a long line of journalists waiting their turn to get a head start on an article or beat a tough deadline.  Conservative commentators haven't had access to such technology, but thanks to the Special Activities Centre at Langley the conservatives will now have access to a Lapham-drive time machine. It hasn't been named yet, but sits forlornly underneath the Vice-President's residence at the Naval Observatory where its noisy construction caused the VP's neighbors no little consternation.

I've been given the distinct honor of being the first conservative blogger to travel in time to the future and I have chosen the occasion of the first Bush/Kerry debate.  I'll admit that I get sea-sick, airsick and car-sick and hope there is no motion involved. In some ways I feel a bit like a red shirt in a Star Trek episode. However, strange and wonderful conservative and media technologies are at work here and I can't miss such an opportunity. Wish me luck.

Posted by SDAI-Tech1 1:30 AM

I have returned!  Traveling through time was completely painless! The debate was (will be?) unbelievable - beyond description.  I've got a recording of the event which is being transcribed even as I type these words.

Posted by SDAI-Tech1 1:45 AM
_________________________ ______________

TRANSCRIPT:  BUSH / KERRY  DEBATE
MODERATOR: JIM LEHRER

LEHRER: "Welcome to the first of three presidential debates. I'm your moderator for this event and Tom Brokaw isn't. (Applause)

The Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization you only hear about every four years and which has no other purpose, so far as anyone has been able to ascertain, has sponsored this debate.  The candidates will not directly answer each other's questions and are not really required to really answer mine definitively either.  The rules have been set up and agreed upon in advance that each candidate will have five minute blocks to score as many points with voters as possible.

The audience is composed of socialites and neophytes favorable to both candidates and those so inclined may spend time ascertaining who's who and what pecking order they have within the respective political parties of the candidates. Let us begin.

Senator Kerry, you won the coin toss backstage and you will get to hear the first question this one is from a reporter in San Diego.

'If you are elected President, how soon will you repeal the Patriot Act and bring our boys home from Iraq? Many want to vote for you but want your assurance that you will not continue US imperialist doctrines.'

You have five minutes."  

John Kerry: "That's a very good question and one I have hoped to be able to address.  We need not go it alone.  There are lots of people out there who share my views, folks who live in all corners of the world and who live under many types of governments.  The US is not an island.  I'm a new type of soldier and I'm reporting for duty. I will not lead us recklessly into wars on the basis of false intelligence and will always consult the global community so that we need not do anything unilaterally...we should do things U.N.-ilaterally" (applause)

Lehrer: "So to repeat the question how soon will the Patriot Act be repealed and how soon would you bring the armed forces, presently in Iraq, home?"

John Kerry: "I support a stronger homeland.  A land where everyone can work if they have to.  I am tough on terror.  Tough! We need a Stronger America.  But we need not go it alone.  As you may know, I have been endorsed by the leaders of many foreign nations, including Chirac of France, Schroeder of Germany and George Soros, the leader, by proxy, of a large number of third world nations. I also am endorsed by Syria, Iran and North Korea which will help me bring peace to the Middle East and negotiate with North Korea.  Bringing home the troops is a goal I support and if we don't go it alone the troops will be able to come home much faster. So to reiterate: don't go it alone anymore;  Tough, stronger and supported by Soros and the international community of nations.  I'm a big supporter of Soros idea to form a third world G8 to end the wests strangle-hold on capital. The US doesn't need to be the big boy on the block. Soros and I have chatted and let me tell you, that man has a lot of good ideas, the repealing of the Patriot Act has been discussed. Soros would surely place prominently in my administration."

Lehrer: "Time, Senator."

John Kerry: "Thank you."

Lehrer: "Mr. President here is your first question. It is from a reporter in New York.

'Why did you lie to the American people about Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, encourage torture at Abu Ghraib and invade and terrorize an innocent people in the largest imperialist land grab of the twenty-first century, defying the will of the global village, creating hatred of America unlike anything ever seen in our two hundred twenty nine year history and do all this while conceding defeat on the so-called 'war on terror' to Matt Lauer?'

You have five minutes."

President Bush: "Well...I didn't lie, our intelligence indicated that Iraq was still concealing stockpiles which had gone unaccounted for.  No one in my administration endorsed what took place in the Abu Ghraib and the facts bear that out. I don't really care what other people in other nations think about the US or my job performance because I work for the American people and not for the peoples of these other nations.  I never conceded defeat on the war on terror, I simply tried to explain it was not a conventional war with a winner and a loser.  Terror never dies, but rather it dies out.  We can make it less acceptable and take away the rewards that other nations-

Lehrer: "Time Mr. President."

President Bush: "--grant when they capitulate to  demands of terrorists."

Lehrer: "Senator Kerry, your next question comes from a reporter in Miami Florida.

'What were your feelings when George Bush was appointed to the position of President by the Supreme Court and how will your campaign team prevent the intimidation of voters by incredibly complex computer machines which frighten Floridian seniors and discriminate against voters who haven't the ability to operate computers?'

John Kerry: "I was deeply disappointed as were many people that tragic day.  Having been sent into Cambodia in 1968 to intimidate locals with complex weaponry for the US government I think I can sympathize with those Floridian seniors who will be oppressed by complex computer machinery.  When I have toured Florida, in Dade County I saw the same haunting and incomprehensible looks in the eyes of residents as I saw when I was in Cambodia on Christmas eve committing war crimes for Uncle Sam--so I can fully sympathize with these voters. If I become President I would sign a bill to outlaw these new-fangled contraptions and make fair paper balloting a compulsory standard throughout all the states."

Lehrer: "President Bush, the next question is from a reporter in Seattle.

'In your four years you have presided over an endless destruction and raping of our environment, supervised and instituted national policies that ensure global warming, ridiculed scientific predictions and poisoned mother nature herself as if she were gagging and begging for mercy while you strangle her.  My question is this--how bad does doing these evil, evil things make you feel and have you no shame whatsoever?'    

President Bush: "Jim, is this a real question or are you just having fun with me?"

Lehrer: "The question is very real Mr. President. You still have 4 minutes and 40 seconds to respond."

President Bush: "I deny all those charges and I don't feel bad at all about my record in regards to the environment.  We instituted reform which helped promote cleaner industries while others could purchase pollution-

Lehrer: "Time, Mr. President."

President Bush: "You've got to be kidding me."

Lehrer: "No, by my watch 5 minutes has elapsed.  Mr. Kerry the next question comes from a reporter in Los Angeles.

'If you could pick a favorite season and color what would they be?  I'm certain they would be better than those of President Bush, but I would like to hear in your own words what your favorites are.'

John Kerry: "I was born in the 'west wing' when I was just a baby.  During the fall season of my very first year, I watched, from my crib, as the green disappeared from the leaves which turned orange, red and the few which turned purple, and it was then that I knew that I was destined to be President.  As a result, I have always loved the fall season and am partial to both green and purple. First green was my all-time favorite color and then purple."

Lehrer: "This is the final question and is for President Bush from a reporter in Boston.

'When exactly did you plan the 9-11 attacks to facilitate the looting of Iraqi oil and is it true you destroyed records which demonstrate you are descended from the Hitler bloodline?"

President Bush: "This is ridiculous.  We did not plan the 9-11 attacks and I have no relation to Adolf Hitler and there never were such records."

Lehrer: "Thank you both for participating. My name is Jim Lehrer and I wish everyone a good night." (applause)

_________________

NOTE: This is a Laphamized article. Time-space continuum distortions may provide each reader with a slightly different reality.

"Don't they f------ get it?! Throw a f------ baseball already!"

Well, that and apparently Filipinos are p-----s.

http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14743

http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/2/120951.shtml

"A Navy spokesman is calling Kerry's Silver Star citation with Combat V "incorrect" as it appears on his campaign Web site, explaining in an interview with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Thomas Lipscomb that the Navy has never issued a Combat V at any time for the Silver Star."

Has anybody seen any more on this?

More people watched California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Bush twins and mom Laura address GOP conventioneers on Fox News Channel than on any of the broadcast networks Tuesday night.

This is the first time in its eight-year history that FNC has beaten ABC, CBS and NBC in covering a news event.

During the 10 to 11 p.m. hour, when the Terminator and the Bush clan spoke, FNC averaged 5.2 million viewers. NBC News averaged 5.14 million, CBS News 4.4 million and ABC News 4.3 million.

(For the full prime-time Tuesday, MSNBC also edged out CNN with 1.3 million and 1.2 million viewers, respectively. But FNC did more than those two combined, averaging 4.1 million people.)

A few weeks ago, Matthews protested the alleged "misuse" in a Bush political ad of a clip from a January 2004 Kerry interview on his show, during which Sen. Kerry started his answer to Matthews' question "Are you one of the anti-war candidates?" by saying "I am.  Yes."  Matthews had the temerity to question the fairness of the ad's cropping Sen. Kerry's response, even, as the "Hardball" website records, going so far as to complain to Matthew Dowd, Bush-Cheney `04 Sr. Strategist, "You cut him off after he said, yes.  And you did not let him continue on to say, `in the sense that I don`t believe the president took us to war as he should have.'"  Leave aside that the cropping of Sen. Kerry's response didn't materially distort the substance of Sen. Kerry's longer answer.  Matthews actually said this, as if the regular cropping of his guests' responses, and relentless jamming of his own words into their mouths, wasn't his M.O.  

I used to watch this show.  But calling the show "Hardball" has in its producers' minds obviously given license to abandon even a modicum of decency, respectfulness, and even-handedness.  When I check in every now and again, it is apparent that the questioning more regularly seems carping and belittling than tough and penetrating.  I doubt that Matthews will perceive any offense as having been given by his tactics.  No matter.  

The best thing for the Bush campaign would be for the mainstream media to start questioning Zell's sanity and throwing words like "meltdown" around. You think you've seen a "Solid South" in past presidential elections? Hell, you ain't seen nuthin' if the liberal media and Kerry dems start up with a belittling, condescending spin campaign against Zell's speech and visible anger at liberal pundits afterwards.  Go ahead. Do it. I dare you. You'll regret it.  Southerners close ranks, and we take care of our own. And Zell is most definitely one of us.

My favorite quotes thus far (some may not be exact):

"I am here because my family is more important than my party."

"Nothing makes this marine madder than [dems] calling our troops occupiers!"

"It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom of speech."

"In their warped way of thinking, [dems] believe that America is the problem."

"And no pair [of senators], has been more wrong, more often, than the two senators from Massachusetts, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy."

"This is the man who wants to be the commander of our armed forces [poses question after listing all the military weapons/programs Kerry opposed]? Armed with what? Spitballs?"

(Via Constant Reader James Casey, who needs to start blogging again)

Moe

*I'll spare us all the Hate Never Accomplishes Anything Worthwhile rant; still... arggh.  Just arggh.

Purpose of Our Earthly Existence

    Those of us who believe in the Bible will recognize the purpose of our being on this Earth.  We are here to learn the difference between Good and Evil and to progress. Sometimes we learn the hard way, which is by not always choosing "Good."  When we fail, we not only learn from our mistakes, we actually progress as a person. Gen 3:5  "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."  
    We learn by Experimentation. In order for us to make choices, we need to have what has been called - "The Law of Universal Opposites." This Law says that for most things that you can think of, there are anti-things. Right-Left, Right-Wrong, Good-Evil, Win-Lose, Up-Down, Hot-Cold, Totalitarianism-Anarchy, Force-Freedom, etc.  In order to know Hot we must have available Cold. In order to know Left we must have available Right.
Because God wants us to Learn and Progress, he realizes that we must have the freedom to fail, so he gives us Free Agency. If he were to force us to do good, we might learn from the act, but we would not progress.
    There are some who think that "Causality" prevents us from being responsible for our choices, but that is ridiculous. We learn from Cause and Effect, but it does not make the choice for us. For example, we see that if we touch the hot stove, we will get burnt. No one forces us to touch the hot stove; we make the choice ourselves.
    We also learn by Interacting with others. There are only two fundamental philosophies that attempt to fully explain our existence in this world. One is the "Dialectic Materialism" of Communism and the other is the "Creator of the Universe by a Supreme Being."  While Darwinism incorrectly tries to explain the creation of species, it does not try to explain the rest of the world.
    In the Marxist and the Socialist world, they are mainly concerned with who has the material things, and at the cost of freedom and humane treatment. The end justifies the means. They will attempt to be "Robin Hood" and say that "taking" (stealing) from the rich to give to the poor is a noble thing. They forget, that stealing is never right. Redistribution of the Wealth is not a just function of a government. Taking from one who has earned it to give to one who hasn't can never be considered fair. Let the one who has it, give willingly to the one who doesn't and he will receive the blessing. Have the government do it, and no one is blessed.
    By using Force we are robbing people of the blessing of progression. Radical Islam believes that their God wants them to "Force" everyone to their version of religion. God will never force anyone to Heaven or to join a particular religion. He teaches that we must choose to follow him..."choose you this day whom ye will serve" Jos 24:15.
While most of us want to be free to make our own decisions without the interference from others or the government, as long as we don't tread on the freedom of others, there are those who feel that only they know what is best and must make many important decisions for us. They forget that Jesus said the second greatest commandment was to love thy neighbor as thyself. This is similar to the Golden Rule and the Elites should recognize that "Government knows best" is counter to this theme.
    Man's inhumanity to man is prevalent throughout the Bible and so is Governments (Kings and Pharaohs) inhumanity to man. The Founding Fathers of this great nation recognized this fact and set up our form of Government to keep us as free from interference as possible. George Washington said... "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
    Radical Islam would have us all under an Imam, or Theocracy, with many less freedoms than we all now have. The Democrats would have us become Socialists with their "National Health Care" and other entitlement programs. While both should be feared, we must remember that the Radical Islamic terrorists want to kill everyone that is not Muslim, while the Democrats just want to take away our individualism, which in effect takes away our freedom. Being equal is not the same as having rights. We cannot have equality and still have individualism. They are diametrically opposed.

Re-elect George Bush and help combat Radical Islam and the Democrats/Socialists.

1) A Mentat is a practitioner of the mentat discipline in Frank Herbert's Dune novels.
A mentat's capabilities are greatly increased by sapho juice. Sapho is extracted from the root of the Ecaz tree. It doubles or even triples the Mentat's immense processing power.

2)Unlike computers, however, mentats are not simply human calculators writ large. Instead, the exceptional cognitive abilities of memory and perception are the foundation for supra-logical hypothesizing. Mentats are able to sift large volumes of data and devise concise analyses in a process that goes far beyond logical deduction: Mentats cultivate "the naive mind", the mind without preconception or prejudice, that can extract the essential patterns or logic of data and deliver, with varying degrees of certainty, useful conclusions. They are not limited to formulating syllogisms; they are the supreme counselors of the Dune universe, filling roles as menial as archivists and clerks, or as grand as advisor to the Emperor.

3) See also, Michael Barone

I'm here in Madison Square Garden and I just heard the head of the South Carolina delegation announce their votes and add that South Carolina is the "most patriotic state" in the country. But of course South Carolina was also the seedbed and the leader of the only organized treason in the country's history. But I guess I'm just picky.

Well, Josh, it's nice to see that you've settled, once and for all, the long-standing debate on the constitutionality of secession with your brilliant analysis of the issue. Well done, sir!

For those who are actually interested in studying the issue, I strongly recommend Alexander Stephens's "A Constitutional View." A must read for all constitutional scholars/geeks.

Candor compells me to disclose that I am a hard-core social conservative with a tinge of centrist economic leanings. That being said, the massive spending plan proposed by the Bush administration frightens me. I am concerned that billions of additional monies spent on public education (a failing system at best) combined with the billions needed to keep Social Security and Medicare afloat, will bankrupt the country. Whether one argues that the perameters for recieving benefits must change, or that the whole system must be reformed, ala privatization, one thing is clear: without substantial change the trust fund will run dry and the I-O-U's in there now will bounce.

But John Kerry is equally, if not even more so, a spend-a-holic. His campaign promises of increased funding for almost every social program across the board can only be paid for through tax hikes. Now, whether you argue that those increases will only be felt by the rich, or you argue that all the Bush tax cuts need to be repealed, you can't deny that taxes must be raised to pay for the nearly trilliuon dollars in spending Kerry proposes.

If you allow that both candidates advocate dangerous spending levels, where are their differences? Kerry says he'd stay the course in Iraq...basically parroting Bush policies in Iraq. Though Kerry does advocate greater UN involvement, do we really want a president who won't make a move unless the Germans and the French give him the green light?

The biggest difference easily discernable between the two candidates is Bush's ability to take responsibility for his decisions and to stand by those decisions. Bush has clearly laid out his plans for the country. He's clearly made the case for why we invaded Iraq and ousted Saddam Hussein. Whether you agree or disagree with the war in general, no one is questioning the overwhelming positive of a non-Saddam Iraq. The biggest criticism of Bush in Iraq is that he has no exit strategy. Yet the seeds of an exit strategy are clearly sown in the June 30th handover of power to the interim Iraqi government. We'll see just how much power that government wields, but it IS a start.

Kerry, on the other hand, vacillates between the extremes of total support for the war on terror, and scathing criticism of the way the Bush administration is waging that war. Now, I realize that Kerry must proceed with some bravado and must convince America that he would be a better President than Bush. But is he doing so? Kerry is parroting Bush on Iraq (UN involvement being the sole, lukewarm, exception). Kerry is parroting Bush on social issues (merely upping the ante through increased spending). Who can forget his braying response of, "I voted for the 87-billion dollars...before I voted against it."

Where does John Kerry really stand? It's hard to tell...even down to the event that made John Kerry nationally...the tossing of his medals. He's said he threw his medals, he's said he only threw his ribbons, he's said it was someone else's medals he threw back onto the White House lawn. Whatever he threw...how does he square his claims of shame of the atrocities he and his fellow soldiers and sailors comitted in Vietnam with the obvious pride in his service (and his medals) as depicted in his campaign commercials? Is he proud, or is he ashamed...we just don't know.

And that is what could tip the balance in ths surprisingly close election. Because neither President Bush nor candidate Kerry has inspired the nation, we are still about as evenly split today as we were in November, 2000. Though some may argue that Al Gore should have won that election...he didn't, George W. Bush did. And Bush has squandered the opportunity to rally this country behind the war on terror. He could have done so much more to get Americans behind the war in Iraq. He can still do it.

But will the incessant attacks from the Left derail him and his grand strategy for victory in Iraq, and by example, the World? It's hard to say, but the clock is ticking. Bush has until about October to show substantial progress in the Democratization and stabilization of Iraq. Bush and Company promised us throngs of smiling Iraqis, stringing floral wreaths around soldiers' necks...not terrorists hacking through american civillians' necks.

It remains to be seen if John Kerry can capitalize on the setbacks in Iraq in time for his candidacy to win. Poll numbers show Kerry is stronger than ever, but his support seems to be a mile wide and an inch deep. The overwhelming number of voters who say they will vote for Kerry say they will do so because he is not Bush. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Most of America already knows Kerry is not Bush, so that base is not likely to expand.

Kerry must have more to his candidacy that simply that he is the "un-Bush." I doubt that he does.