Mark Bossingham

Traitors, idiots and fellow travelers

THE CHAIRMAN of the Joint Chiefs is retiring soon. He expressed hope that Americans could find the resolve to finish the job in Iraq:
    WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2005 (AFPN) – In his last news conference as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers today once again urged Americans to maintain their resolve and determination against terrorism. Myers will retire Sept. 30.
    Myers said the terrorists are determined to shake the will of Americans. They commit acts of violence as a way to influence American public opinion.
    "They want to see us leave Iraq without completing the mission," Myers said. "The enemy knows very clearly they cannot defeat us militarily, so they rely on acts of terrorism to try to chip away at our resolve ... to win."
    The best weapons in the war on terror "are patience and resolve, or, in one word -- our will," Myers said. "We simply cannot afford to lose the will to finish the job at hand. We have the people, we have the plans, and we have the leadership to see this to the end and to see victory."
    Honestly, I have my doubts. We recently witnessed an anti-American circus organized by a Stalinist organization that wants U.S. troops out of "Palestine"  and Haiti. Sorry, for the dim bulbs among you, the U.S. has no troops in either location.
    Clearly, the media thinks we CAN afford to not finish the job and that "will" Myers referred to would be very hard to find in any newsroom.
    Cowards, and I mean that in the literal sense, and fools. Where to begin. The "Outer Limits" nature of what passes for political discourse presents so many juicy targets.
    Batting lead off can only be the apparently mildly retarded Mom Sheehan. How much attention does the press pay to her Jew-hating statements? Not a hell of a lot--but then again, most of you leftists are closet anti-Semites.
    Someday, somewhere, intelligent Americans will build a monument to the sacrifice Casey Sheehan made for us all to make up for the desecration of his memory by his mother. Now, instead, we witness Mom and her enablers in the press kick his memory around like a soccer ball. I bet Mom would blabber that she'd swap places with Casey if only she could. One can only wish.
    Up second are the hundreds of dead and raped in the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention center the press gleefully promised us. It didn't happen. Were the reporters liars?
    They would say no. Somebody made some irresponsible statement and it bounced around in the Katie-Geraldo-Anderson echo chamber until it assumed the guise of received wisdom.
    No, the reporters can fall back on the "source" defense. But, if they do so, they open themselves up to the logical accusation that they are foolish individuals with no commonsense. It's one or the other guys and gals. Either you are lying scumbags adhering to the Media Party's talking points or you are simply idiots.
    Sorry I can't give you the details (too lazy to look them up, mea culpa), but a Knight-Ridder reporter just won an award for excellence in reporting from Iraq. In commenting on her super work in bringing the story home to her U.S. readers, she lamented the fact that she was hindered in her reporting because the security situation precluded her from leaving her hotel in the Green Zone.
    Oh, come on, don't be such a dog in the manger. Laugh with me. That a reporter sitting around rewriting Armed Forces Press releases at her hotel room desk could win a journalism prize is too delish.
    Have you read Michael Yon's dispatches from the front? You should. Justifiably called the "Ernie Pyle" of the Iraq war, he has a self-titled blog. Check it out. And while he does report military setbacks when they occur, don't expect Yon to win any awards--he also reports situations when the Army gets it right, a serious no-no.
    But as usual, I digress. I was addressing the plea by the nation's top military officer that Americans show a little backbone. Fat chance. Bin Laden was right when he said Americans are paper tigers. Wait, I take that back, he gave you too much credit. In a 50-50 nation, half of you are those cute little origami cranes. You don't have enough sense to come out of the rain unless the government promises to pay for a new pair of shoes.
    Serve your country? Ha-ha. How could you, when it is all about Me, Me, Me? You are too busy with your botox treatments and working on those abs to get off your fat asses to read even the minimum needed to understand national security, the economy, and your "entitlement mentality."
    And, you, dude, don't tell me to leave the country if I don't like it. Unlike the lighter-than-air denizens of Hollywood that threaten to move to France every time the Democrats lose an election--and then never do--I did. I served my country and I left. I would not live among you. (Sorry, I do vote Republican by mail).
    My final question is this: When the shitstorm hits and you start crying for the military to protect you, why should they? And if they found it in their hearts to forgive your duplicity and endless insults, where would they find you? In front of Walter Reed medical center taunting wounded veterans.
    This site will go dark for a few weeks now. I enter the most unapologetic section of BlueLand tomorrow to visit family.

Once Again. . .

BASEBALL SEASON is winding down.
     It is a magical time where teams are clinging to the brink of playoff hope or are playing for "pride."
    Which brings up the question: What is Barry Bonds playing for?
    Statistical padding.
    Shame on the people that cheer Bonds for his home runs. Shame on the people who opt to overlook his admitted "inadvertent" steroid use. Shame on the people who listen to the rants of an ego-maniac that pathetically tries to divert attention from his plight by bringing up victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
    That just shows how far out of touch Bonds is with the real people. Then again, the real people are the ones that are booing him one minute and cheering him the next.
    This is not baseball history that people are witnessing. This is baseball fraud.
    It would be nice to think that at some point, people would wise up and look beyond the numbers and statistics. However, most folks are sheep and will follow their favorite player/politician/entertainer to the brink.
    When is enough, enough?
    At least the Baltimore Orioles, far from a paragon of virtue in baseball these days, had enough of Rafael Palmeiro, and told him not to report back for the rest of the season. Most likely, Palmeiro and his "vitamin B-12" days are done in Baltimore. Yet people will still call for his entry into the Hall of Fame because of his numbers. That would be a travesty. If Palmeiro is elected into the Hall, I would like to think that people would not go; that people who did show up would bring eggs and
spoiled produce.
    Star power is a dangerous and widely abused status. Stand up and let people know that enough, truly, is enough.
    Thus endeth the rant.

Massage chairs are cool

WE HAVE a massage chair. It's pretty monstrous, but totally kicks ass. But the latest model by the same company, Family, is really something and makes our chair look rather puny. Nobody makes massage chairs like the Japanese. When we have guests, it's hard to get them out of thing. I tried the new one in Matsuya Department Store. In addition to the usual yanking and kneading, you can talk to it. In Japanese of course and tell it, in effect, rub my shoulders.
The problem is that it is the size of a Volkswagen. Only someone with a dedicated massage chair/workout room could deal with this thing. It looks a bit lethal, and wouldn't fit into to many living room decorating schemes unless you are a major death metal fan. The first photo is one I took from the company's brochure, the second is by AP. Yes, that's Miss Venezuela in the chair. There is a beauty contest in town. Yes, the expression on her face leads one speculate she is getting a bit more pleasure out of the chair than it was designed for. Then again maybe not. Remember to click on the pics.

Best of the Beat

THIS WEEK our best piece in Weekend Beat, one of two feature sections in the English edition of the Asahi Shimbun, was Japan at Work, our monthly photo-essay on the real people who keep Japan running. You can read the text here. But without Louis Templado's spectacular photos of window cleaners clinging to the sides of skyscrapers, it's like eating a pizza without cheese. Sorry. We don't have any control over the web site.
    Almost as good, though, is Sayaka Yakushiji's long piece on the Make-A-Wish foundation of Japan. Be warned: This story has a high tear factor. Here's the first few graphs:
    Doing just a little for children who deserve so much more
    Kota Yahata was ready for his journey. Clad in his favorite T-shirt, jeans, socks and shoes, all emblazoned with his favorite character Thomas the Tank Engine, the boy from Hiroshima Prefecture was set to leave on a magic trip to Thomas Land, a part of Fujikyu Highland amusement park in Yamanashi Prefecture.
    The night before his three-day trip, he was so excited he didn't fall asleep until 2 a.m.
    When Kota and his parents arrived at Thomas Land on Sept. 6, he was the 800th child in the country to have his dream come true via the good works of Make-A-Wish of Japan, an affiliate of a U.S. charitable foundation that attempts to fulfill the dreams of seriously ill children.
    When Kota was 2, a Wilm's tumor was found on one of his kidneys. At first Kota's condition was considered serious, but not life threatening. The offending kidney was removed at Hiroshima University Hospital.
    In similar cases, the probability of a recurrence is relatively low. But in December 2004, the cancer had spread to his lungs-a situation that greatly lowered the boy's chance of survival.
    When she was told her son's condition had deteriorated, Michiko Yahata says everything seemed to black out. Later, she couldn't stop thinking about Kota's funeral. Irrational and uninvited, her thoughts turned to worrying about who would attend the ceremony for her child, a boy who had yet to attend his first kindergarten class.
    "I couldn't look at him after I got the news," she says. "Every time I saw his face I would start crying."

Gaza–business as usual

WELL, PULLING out of Gaza seems to be working out about as well as expected. Hamas blows up 15 Palestinians mishandling weapons; fires 39 missiles into Israeli villages to "avenge" their screw-up; Israel hits back and masses troops on border. Who would have ever thunk it?

Look what I got

THE PENTAGON just sent me this. Click on it to read. Best part? Signed by the evil Don Rumsfeld. OK, many of you aren't grateful. Me and my former buddies understand full well when you say you support the troops, you are lying through your pearly whites. You think I've forgotten all those nasty looks and shitty comments during Vietnam so soon? Trust me, I didn't do it for you.

Turning off AP

I'VE FINALLY had enough of the Associated de Presse and al-Reuters. I reconfigured my Firefox browser to open windows in tabs that don't include those editorial services. If I want to read editorials there are plenty of options available clearly identified as such. And as I do not watch U.S. news on TV (my sole choice would be CNN International--a propaganda vehicle for thugs and dictators laden with killer-boring features), I guess I'll get my breaking news by osmosis.
    The only issue I really give a rat's ass about is the Islam War and that is covered in depth by AFPN, a news service that doesn't provide much "color" but delivers the facts. The interpretation is up to me. For intelligent unbiased interpretation I can read the Belmont Club.
    What was the tipping point? Who knows maybe it was AP's declaration that 1,900 military deaths in Iraq (25% in accidents) marked a "somber milestone." What's the next "grave milestone" 1,925? I simply can't read anymore reports that cheer the deaths of Americans. Did you not notice the sigh of relief when the Katrina's death toll belatedly topped 1,000. I could hear it all the way here in Tokyo. It must have been deafening. OK, I get it. You don't like Bush. We all get it. What we don't understand is how you could take such visceral pleasure in the deaths of soldiers and the poor.
    As for the rest of the issues. I don't much care. I don't live there. If you want bad schools, fine. Throw money at the problem, while keeping incompetent teachers in place. I don't much like it that you are forcing inner-city kids into these crappy schools to protect these same teachers from the market economy and competition, but what the hell, it's your stupid choice to make. When Social Security goes broke, who cares? I'll be fine. God forbid you come up with even one idea to make things better. It's so much more fun to complain.
     But I empathize--you are a victim. You all are. Vote for John Edwards--intellectually vapid, he made his fortune delivering crumbs to you via "personally injury" lawsuits. He is the perfect 21st century Democratic presidential model. He arrives like a virgin, unemcumbered by any values whatsoever. What more could you ask for? He'll do anything you say, no matter how dangerous or idiotic. But mostly, like a mouse, he'll confine himself to nibbling at the edges of problems, his whiskers attune to which way the wind is blowing on any particular day.
    You can then relive the glory days of the Clinton years. AP and Elanor Clift will pen vast amounts of copy telling you how Edwards is the most brilliant man alive. Just being in his presence will be inspiring. Best yet, like Clinton, he won't actually do anything. Such bliss. Clinton's legacy is Monica. After four years of pretty boy, maybe we can expect some big-ticket legacy like a bit more leeway to sue your local HMO. That'll do it. Of course, we will still have to deal with the Democrat Party's ultimate goal: The Germanification of the United States. Hope you enjoy a 50 percent tax bite, zero growth and 12 percent unemployment.
    Now, If you uber-liberal city atheists want to elevate Environmentalism, to a religion, I say more power you. The Constitution protects your right to worship as you choose. What it doesn't protect you from is the existence of Christianity. Indeed, you may actually have to read the word God, (show me the money) as painful as that is. You may turn a corner and, gosh, be "forced" to gaze on a religious icon.
    Go to Starbucks, thy Seattleites, bitch about evil greedy corporations (including the one you are patronizing) while you sip your effete latte with nonfat milk, and long for the old old pristine days (that actually totally sucked for most people on this planet).
    Don't worry about me, you foul-mouthed, love-thy-neighbor (as long as they agree with you) progressives. Sorry, I burst into fits of laughter when you use that word to describe your reactionary, isolationist--singing Kumbaya, while holding hands with Mother Sheehan doesn't count as a viable foreign policy--beliefs. I'll be just fine. Part of me hopes a Democrat takes the White House in '08 just to shut you up. But a larger part of me enjoys your hissy fits. But, ultimately, it's just time to turn you off.    

Rumsfeld knocks AP to canvas

IN AN interview discussing the success of the Afghan election, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lands a straight left to the jaw of the Associated de Presse today.
    "(History) will not be (about) the daily violence or short-term setbacks, nor which person won the battle for a daily headline by predicting doom and gloom over and over," he said. "Instead, it will show that the battle in Afghanistan and Iraq is tough and ugly to be sure, but that America was on freedom's side. And it will remember the millions of people who have been freed and the hundreds of thousands who helped them achieve that freedom."
    Undeterred AP provides a good example of that doom and gloom reporting with its daily death watch.
    BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The war in Iraq passed a sobering milepost Tuesday when U.S. officials reported nine more Americans were killed - five of them members of the armed forces, raising to more than 1,900 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the country since the invasion.
    I thought the milestones were originally at increments of 1,000, but since there are so few deaths, especially recently, AP apparently now considers a new "milestone" as having been reached every time their body-bagger ticks over the 100 mark. The ghouls only mention much further down in the story that about 25 percent of the deaths have been in non-combat situations. And they don't mention at all that we are actually kicking ass in Iraq and the once feared foreign fighters are now untrained kids.
    This doesn't mean all is hunky-dory. Never for a minute discount the possibility of the Iraqis mucking up their situation even after the "insurgency" is crushed. Anyone expecting a pristine democracy to emerge from this ethnic hodge-podge of a nation is living in deamland.
    MEANWHILE, sorry to see the German electorate couldn't shake off its paralysis. With unemployment around 12 percent and growth near zero, gridlock is disastrous.

Correction and Nagin wants his voters back

MY MISTAKE, the French Quarter isn't supposed to open until this week. Meanwhile Ray Nagin, the dangerous mayor wants to let residents back in Sept. 26. Why would he take such a risk with people's lives? Obviously, he is afraid his dependent population will throw off their chains of poverty and make new lives for themselves in Texas and elsewhere.
    NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The mayor of New Orleans has set up an "extremely problematic" timeline for allowing residents to return to the evacuated city, which is still threatened by a weakened levee system, a lack of drinkable water and heavily polluted floodwaters, the head of the federal relief effort said Saturday.
    Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen said federal officials have worked with Mayor Ray Nagin and support his vision for repopulating the city, but he called Nagin's idea to return up to 180,000 people to New Orleans in the next week both "extremely ambitious" and "extremely problematic."
    "Our intention is to work with the mayor ... in a very frank, open and unvarnished manner," Allen told The Associated Press in an interview at Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Baton Rouge.
    Nagin has announced that the city's Algiers section, the Garden District and the French Quarter would reopen over the next week and a half, bringing back more than one-third of the city's half-million inhabitants. All the areas to be reopened were spared Katrina's flooding. Electricity and clean water have been restored to some sections.

Political and media corruption

THE MSM always a day short and a dollar late has discovered corruption in New Orleans. However, they still haven't managed to dredge up the corpses they were so eagerly anticipating stuffing into the "25,000" body bags. Considering this failure, CNN's "on-cue angry" Anderson Cooper should take his show on the road and be required to poke around in the receding muck. I demand he find some evidence (better ratings or kudos from other hysterical reporters doesn't count) to back up his duplicitous, self-righteous assertions.
    Instead, we hear that Mardi Gras may be held on schedule, Bourbon Street is open for business and the airport is operating. Where's the beef Anderson, or at least what was yours? I swear I saw pee running down his leg as he had his scripted hissy fit. Geraldo Rivera of FOX--hell, let's not even go there.
    Yes, I am ashamed. I am ashamed that the MSM has turned journalism into a joke. Every story I edit, every page I design, every edition we publish is now suspect because of these ideologues like Cooper, Dowd and Cohen. Essentially, the "big guys" and the wire services have screwed the pooch for all honest journalist's everywhere.
    Readers now view news products with a "I wonder if that's true" eye. How can you blame them when the head of our union (I am not a member) claims the U.S. military regularly guns down journalists in Iraq?
    Read the Associated de Presse's new feature "Newsview" yet? Trumpeted as legit news with a more punchy style, it is in fact a deception, a vehicle for editorial writers. Clearly, the AP decided to unleash the dogs of words. No more reporting. Why bother, no one believes us anyway. Let's really bitch, moan, and if expedient, lie.
    But after having carried the DNC's water (damn, there wasn't enough) in New Orleans, somebody has suddenly discovered that Democrat-run Big Easy might be a wee bit, uhh, corrupt as this story attests. I don't get it, how could throwing vast amounts of taxpayer's dollars at a problem ever be wrong? Here's a snippet of a story that must have slipped by while the top editors were out frantically searching for the dead they promised.
        BATON ROUGE, La. -- The sudden flow of billions of dollars in hurricane relief aid into New Orleans has raised fears that some of it is going to be lost to graft and sticky fingers in a state with a long and rich history of corruption.
    A group of current and former state officials is calling for more safeguards, more transparency in spending and the appointment of independent analysts to avoid corruption and keep the state out of trouble."If we don't do this properly, we're going to see the second looting of areas impacted by this horrible storm," said Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy.
    Kennedy said he does not want his name on the checks that spend the federal recovery dollars until he is satisfied that strict anti-fraud procedures are in place.
    The billions in federal relief pledged to help Louisiana recover from Hurricane Katrina will flow through the state's homeland security office, which already owes the Federal Emergency Management Agency $30 million for allegedly mishandling similar aid.
    FEMA officials said the state could not show that grant dollars given to parishes between 1997 and 2002 to buy out properties or elevate flood-prone houses were spent properly. The case led to the indictment last year of homeland security employees accused of trying to hide the suspected misuse of money.