Hiplog Archives

Unashamed
(my brother, Scott)

Crazy Aunt Purl
(my friend Laurie)

There's Pie In the Lunchroom
(my friend Chuck)

Too Fat For Ponies
(my friend Sam)

Post Secret
(a place to share secrets)

Recent posts:

2006
May 30-June 8, 2006
May 22-26, 2006
May 9-16, 2006
May 2-5, 2006
April 17-28, 2006
April 10-14, 2006
March 27-April 7, 2006
March 6-10, 2006
Feb. 27 - March 3, 2006
Feb. 20-24, 2006
Feb. 13-17, 2006
Feb. 6-9, 2006
Jan 30-Feb 2, 2006
Jan 23-27, 2006
Jan 16-20, 2006
Jan 3-11, 2006

2005
Dec 27-30, 2005
Dec 19-22, 2005
Dec 8-16, 2005
Dec 1-7, 2005

June 20, 2006

I rushed to Shelbyville this morning before work to see my grandmother. I'd gotten word that she was refusing to eat, had been put on oxygen and was running a fever. She's not long for this world. While I sat there and watched her sleep, I told her I loved her, that she was a wonderful woman and that it was all going to be okay.

A nurse came in and asked when she "got like this." She had just left "Miss Lela" on Sunday. I said I wasn't sure. I left the room while she and a tech changed the bed linens and cleaned up. They did their best to make her comfortable. She continued to sleep, clutching a stuffed bunny that seems to mean a lot to her these days.

I sat in the lobby of the nursing home and read through the visitor log. There were pages and pages of visits by family and well-wishers. My grandmother is well-loved and cared for. We should all be so lucky.

I read a disturbing anecdote from Ron Suskind's new book The One-Percent Doctrine. The title referrs to Cheney's decree that America must now act even if the chances of a terrorist plot are only one percent. Suspicion is the new threshold for intervention. It is this doctrine that has gotten us steeped, elbow deep, in the Iraqi quagmire.

This comes from the Washington Post review of the book. It concerns Abu Zubaydah, an al Queda operative captured in 2002.

I'm not sure what disturbs me the most about this, that the Bush Administration tortured a man they knew to be mentally ill, that they lied to us about his significance as an intelligence asset or that Bush's major concern was not losing face over the issue.

I am very sorry those two soldiers were captured in Iraq. They were Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore.

It pains me to think about how they were treated, because America has lost the moral high ground in this war. As soon as the photos of Abu Graihb came out, we started slipping. The story about our network of secret prisons around the world didn't help and the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo just seals the deal.

We torture people. That sickens me. There is no justification for it because it doesn't ever yield any information that is of any real use. A man who believes he's going to be electrocuted will say anything. A man strapped to a board and forced underwater will say anything. Just. Make. It. Stop.

I don't know what sort of condition the bodies of those two soldiers is in. The Iraqi defense ministry says they were "killed in a barbaric way." I hope they weren't tortured. But if they were, then we have the policies of this administration to blame. And while you can scream at me for being a "blame-America-firster" that's not true. I love this country. I just believe Bush has turned it into something we can no longer be proud of.

Okay, that's funny.

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June 19, 2006

It was Father's Day weekend and, as is tradition at our house, everyone looked to me for guidance and council. Actually, I spent the weekend being a lazy sod -- my right as an American father. I accomplished little more than grilling out this weekend. It's a shame it only happens once per year.

Post Secret posted a bunch of dad-related cards this week.

On Saturday, I took Max with me to the comic book store for the HeroClix pre-release tournament. The new set doesn't come out for a couple of weeks, but the store managed to snag a pre-release from WizKids. It was a lot of fun. There were more than 30 of us playing. I met some new people, trades some clix and managed not to make it to the top eight. Heh.

I love the game, I'm just not very good at it -- a fact that has never stopped me from enjoying much of anything.

Bush got back from his jaunt to the Iraqi Green Zone and had this to say about pulling out of Iraq:

And the willingness of some to say that if we’re in power we’ll withdraw on a set timetable concerns people in Iraq, because they understand our coalition forces provide a sense of stability, so they can address old wrongs and develop their strategy and plan to move forward. They need our help and they recognize that. And so they are concerned about that.

Here's the thing. The president's trip was hush hush, right? The Iraqi prime minister had only five minutes notice that Bush was coming. So there wasn't time to prepare much of a presentation for him. Nevertheless, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, asked Bush for a timeline for pulling the troops out. Think about that for a second. He doesn't know Bush is coming and only gets to speak with him briefly. A timeline for pulling out the troops must have been at the top of his agenda for it to come up.

Iraq’s vice president has asked President Bush for a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, the Iraqi president’s office said. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, made the request during his meeting with Bush on Tuesday, when the U.S. president made a surprise visit to Iraq.

“I supported him in this,” President Jalal Talabani said in a statement released Wednesday. Al-Hashimi’s representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

So the Iraqis have asked for a timeline, but Bush flew back and told us the Iraqis don't want a timeline. Doesn't this bother anyone besides me?

You know, I can forgive a lot. I can look past Tony Snow saying that 2,500 dead soldiers was "just a number." I can forgive Bush for making fun of a blind guy at his press conference. But the stupidity of lying to us and figuring that we wouldn't find out is unforgivable. Bush seems to think we're all as isolated as he is. He figures since he doesn't read the papers, the rest of us must not.

November cannot get here fast enough.

Steven Colbert interviewed Congressman Lynn Westmoreland for his "Better Know A District" series. Westmoreland has the distinction of never having introduced legislation in the House. He has, however, cosponsored legislation to post the Ten Commandments in the House and Senate more than ten times. The exchange is priceless. Crooks & Liars has the video.

Colbert: You have not introduced a single piece of legislation since you entered Congress.

Westmoreland: That's correct.

Colbert: This has been called a do nothing Congress. Is it safe to say you're the do nothingest?

Westmoreland: I, I, ..Well there's one other do nothiner. I don't know who that is, but they're a Democrat

[...]

Westmoreland: The Ten Commandments is not a bad thing for people to understand and to respect.

Colbert: I'm with you.

Westmoreland: Where better place could you have something like that than in a judicial building or in a courthouse?

Colbert: That is a good question. Can you think of any better building to put the Ten Commandments, than in a public building?

Westmoreland: No. I think if we were totally without them we may lose a sense of our direction.

[...]

Colbert: What are the Ten Commandments?

Westmoreland: You mean all of them? You want me to name them all

Colbert: Yes please.

Westmoreland: Um... Don't murder. Don't lie. Don't steal Um... I can't name them all.

I read with interest the blog of a young lesbian woman who traveled with her friends to D.C. for the Pride Parade. She was having a good time when she caught the eye of a businessman in a sharp suit.

afterward, we got a snazzy hotel room at the mayflower downtown. on the way over there, this really hot business man in a pinstriped suit walked past me, said hello, and doubled back. he asked me my name and introduced himself (jack burkman, government relations strategies), asked where i went to school, etc, gave me his card, and asked me to call him. i later texted him and never could get rid of him again.

She and her girlfriends spent the evening text messaging and talking to Mr. Burkman until about 5 a.m. When he offered to pay for their hotel room and give them $1,000 if she and one of her girlfriends would have sex with him.

For those not up on your government relations strategists, Jack Burkman, is a regular on Fox News -- a hard-right conservative who is a huge Ann Coulter fan, supporter of the Swiftboat jerks and was senate council on D'Amato's Whitewater committee. A real charmer. Here's the thing. If you want to go about propositioning young women on the streets of D.C. have at. But wouldn't it be smarter, if you're a hardcore Republican conservative, to avoid hitting on women in town for the Pride Parade?

After tying with Italy, the US is still in the World Cup. As is nearly always the case in soccer, the scoreboard doesn't reflect the game. The US fought tooth and nail to hold off the Italians. They should take pride in the tie because they played one of the best squads in the world. The only tarnish on the game is that the US didn't actually score the goal. An Italian player accidently kicked it into his own goal.

That guy ruined Italy's sure advance to the Round of 16 and left open the door for the US to advance.

Ghana beat the Czech Republic 2-0, which was very surprising. Now the Czechs are playing hurt against the Italians. If Italy beats the Czechs and we beat Ghana, the US will have pulled off a miracle and survived the toughest group in World Cup 2006.

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June 15, 2006

Today is my brother Scott's birthday. I hope he has a happy one. Two days ago was my brother Dan's birthday, I'm sorry I didn't mention it then, but I hope he had a happy one too. I'm very lucky in that I get along well with both my brothers. I couldn't ask for two better ones. They are devoted parents, husbands and men of God. Ours may not be a family rich in gold, but we have enough love for ten lifetimes.

The Tennessean today has a front page story about the newly approved vaccine that blocks the virus that causes cervical cancer. In other words, we have a cure for cervical cancer. HPV kills 270,000 women worldwide each year and we have a vaccine now that will protect their lives.

But some church leaders are baulking. They are discouraging their parishoners to get vaccinated because they're afraid it "sends mixed messages" to young girls that pre-marital sex is okay. I'm sorry, but that's just crazy talk. The reason to vaccinate a nine-year-old is to ensure she's protected before she has sex. In fact, you should vaccinate young boys too because they can carry and spread HPV without any ill effects to themselves.

Here is what two religious leaders had to say:

"I'm trying to teach our young people that the best way to prevent STDs is to abstain," said Bishop George W. Price Jr., pastor of Bethesda Original Church of God and president of the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship. "I don't want to send mixed signals. I want to be clear in my message about not having sex before marriage."

Elder Dana Edmond, vice president for the South Central Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists, agrees.

"We are certainly in no way encouraging that vaccination. What we are encouraging is abstinence and sexual purity," he said. "If they have a relationship with the Lord, they will recognize that they don't need that vaccine."

It isn't the job of a minister to encourage or discourage medical care. The fact is that by age 50, 80 percent of women have been exposed to HPV. Most of them have immune systems that can ward it off, but for others, it's deadly.

What little girl is going to be encouraged to have sex because her doctor gives her a shot that may save her life? Religious conservatives have been against the HPV vaccine since it first came up for approval. See, HPV cannot be stopped by condoms, so if you're going to scare some kids into not having sex, HPV is exhibit A. Take that away and you might have to actually resort to education, rather than fear.

Think about that logic for a second. We can't provide you with a cure because that will only encourage you to misbehave. The director of Planned Parenthood put it like this: "It's like saying, withhold seatbelts so people don't drive recklessly. It just doesn't work like that."

That's right. This really isn't a moral issue. It's a public health issue. Religious leaders need to leave health care to doctors and science to the scientists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- the man praised so wonderfully by President Bush after his jaunt to Iraq, has announced a plan to offer amnesty to those insurgents who attacked US troops but "did not spill Iraqi blood."

This afternoon, Republican senators, many of whom detested the idea of amnesty for illegal immigrants in this country, defended the idea of amnesty for insurgents and terrorists responsible for the deaths of American soldiers (hat tip to AmericaBlog):

MCCONNELL SUGGESTED A RESOLUTION COMMENDING IRAQIS FOR GIVING TERRORISTS AMNESTY. “…might it not just be as useful an exercise to be trying to pass a resolution commending the Iraqi government for the position that they’ve taken today with regard to this discussion of Amnesty?” – Sen. Mitch McConnell

ALEXANDER COMPARED IRAQI AMNESTY FOR TERRORISTS TO NELSON MANDELA’S PEACE EFFORTS. “Is it not true that Nelson Mandela's courage and his ability to create a process of reconciliation and forgiveness was a major factor in what has been a political miracle in Africa…Did not Nelson Mandela, win a - the co-winner of - a noble Nobel Peace Prize just for this sort of gesture?” – Sen. Lamar Alexander

CORNYN: IRAQI AMNESTY DEBATE IS “A DISTRACTION.” “It makes no sense for the United States Senate to shake its finger at the new government of Iraq and to criticize them… it really is a distraction from the debate that I think the American people would want us to have.” - Sen. John Cornyn

CHAMBLISS: AMNESTY IS OK FOR EX-INSURGENTS AS LONG AS THEY ARE ON OUR SIDE NOW. “Is it not true today that we have Iraqis who are fighting the war against the insurgents, who at one time fought against American troops and other coalition troops as they were marching to Baghdad, who have now come over to our side and are doing one heck of a job of fighting along, side by side, with Americans and coalition forces, attacking and killing insurgents on a daily basis?” - Sen. Saxby Chambliss

TED STEVENS - “IF THAT’S AMNESTY, I’M FOR IT:” “I really believe we ought to try to find some way to encourage that country to demonstrate to those people who have been opposed to what we're trying to do, that it's worthwhile for them and their children to come forward and support this democracy. And if that's amnesty, I'm for it. I'd be for it. And if those people who are, come forward… if they bore arms against our people, what's the difference between those people that bore arms against the Union in the War between the States? What’s the difference between the Germans and Japanese and all the people we’ve forgiven?” – Sen. Ted Stevens

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June 13, 2006

Dollie's yard sale last weekend was successful. We got rid of a lot of stuff and what didn't sell was donated to the Salvation Army. My comic books went quickly. They almost always do. I buy them throughout the year and sell them all at her yard sales because (and I make this point at the store whenever the guy wants to sell me a mylar bag to put the comics in) I'm a reader, not a collector.

This older guy bought them all up. He said he'd heard about the "Infinite Crisis" story arc and wondered what it was all about.

"Well, they're all in there," I said. "Including the prequels, the crossovers and the four miniseries that came out of it."

Sold.

That's the thing about comic books. If you loved them as a kid, then you really don't outgrow it. And while I did read them when I was growing up, I wasn't really "into" them because there was no ready source.

When I was in grade school in Birmingham, Ala., there was a kid that lived up the street. My buddy Phillip introduced me to him. He collected comics. So he had a ton of them and didn't mind sitting around all afternoon reading them with his neighbors. I was a comic book mooch.

I didn't really get into reading them seriously until right after Max was born. Again, it was a neighbor who collected them and didn't mind sharing. He moved away, so now I've got to buy my own. And I don't mind, really. The store owner is a good guy and I like to do what I can to help out. So, I order my books in advance and don't share them with other store patrons. We talk about them. We write about them. We sell them at yard sales. But we don't share them because that's taking money out of the store's till and let's face it, selling comic books and gaming supplies is not a way to get rich.

It's not just comic books, either. I like many forms of sequential art. I read a dozen or so comic strips daily. In fact, I've just introduced Max to "Calvin and Hobbes." He was looking for something to read and, on a whim, I pulled out one of the books and let him try it. Pretty soon, he was laughing and wanting to read me every strip. Fun at first, annoying by lunch time.

Dollie and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on Sunday. That would be the silk anniversary for those keeping up at home. We celebrated by shopping for patio furniture and going out to eat at one of the new restaurants that pop up in Murfreesboro like dandelions.

We've been married for a dozen years and been together for about 17. That impresses people, for some reason. For me, I can't imagine my life without her.

Well, I can, but I'm not very happy in it.

It seems Fitzmas has been cancelled. Karl Rove's lawyers say that the prosecutor has told him that there will be no charges filed against Rove in connection to the Plame investigation. That's shocking, but if I believe everything I've read about Fitzgerald being a thorough investigator, then I have to believe that either Rove didn't cross the line, Fitzgerald couldn't get enough to indict or Rove has cut a deal to implicate someone higher up the food chain. Regardless, Rove is off the hook and the GOP will be insufferable for a day or two.

One bright note is that this opens Rove up to a civil case brought by the Wilsons. That may be even more painful than five appearances before the grand jury. Also something to consider, whether he violated the law in question or not, he did reveal classified information to the press. That is grounds to have your security clearance revoked in accordance with the Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement. Sen. Lautenberg is pushing for that very thing.

The Republicans should go ahead and do their happy dance today, but I don't believe the news is all good. For one thing, it brings the Plame story back to the front page. For another, the White House has not been answering questions about Rove because of the ongoing investigation. Now that Rove has been cleared, I expect those questions to come firing back. Let's see how Snow answers them.

I've begun a new exercize program. Last night was my first workout. I had a late meeting and didn't get home until nearly 7 p.m. and remembered I had a workout scheduled. So, I wolfed down dinner, got the kids to bed and set up the Xbox.

I found this "game" on Overstock.com. It's called "Yourself Fitness" and it's a virtual personal trainer. McDonald's has been giving away DVDs based on the program, but the full version is too complicated for a DVD player to handle.

The first thing that happened after I entered my vital statistics: gender, age, weight, height; was she put me through a physical evaluation. This consisted of measuring my resting and active heart rates, physical endurance and flexibility tests. I told her what exercize equipment I have to work with, what kind of music I like and she designed a program for me.

I should mention that Dollie went through this before I did and at the end, it reccommended for her three half-hour workouts a week, focusing on upper body strength.

When it came time for my recommendations, she scheduled me for six days a week with a concentration on losing weight. So, I'm giving it a try. The program contains more than 500 different exercizes as well as some yoga routines and meal plans. There are 1500 recipies and she will create a week's worth of meals based on how many calories you want to consume -- complete with prep instructions and nutritional information.

So it's not like a workout tape, which is the same every time. She mixes it up and tries to be encouraging. Here's the thing: the Xbox knows what day it is, so so does she. (The box says her name is "Maya", but I've nicknamed her "Helga"). She knows if you skip a session and will remind you about it. During your workout, she asks how you're doing and adjusts the difficulty accordingly. She remembers the last session and gradually increases the difficulty and varies the exercizes.

My first workout was a 30-minute cardio. I was doing fine until the last five minutes when she switched from jumping around to 15 reps of leg thrusts. Ow. Ow. OW! At the end I was panting, sweating and feeling it all over. She said "Great job. You burned 163 calories. See you on Tuesday for your next session."

"163 calories? That's one can of Coke," I said to Dollie and fell on the sofa.

Tonight, I'm supposed to do a 30-minute upper body workout. The program rewards you for working out by unlocking new workout spaces and music. Part of the fun for me is yelling at Helga and calling her names. Dollie doesn't quite understand that part of it.

The US lost it's first World Cup match to the Czech Republic 3-0 yesterday. That's disappointing. Our group (Group E) consists of USA, Itally, the Czechs and Ghana. The Italians beat Ghana 2-0 yesterday, putting us tied with Ghana at the bottom of our group.

I still hold out hope that the US will move forward, but we'll probably have to beat both Italy and Ghana to do it. I'm enjoying the Australian team, though. The Socceroos as they are called haven't made it to World Cup since 1938 (I think). They have a lot of fans and have become the media darlings of the series.

They beat Japan in their first bout and look good to beat Croatia, but Brazil is also in their group so the road is a hard one.

In Oklahoma, the governor just signed a law making it a felony to sell "inappropriately violent videogames" to minors. The bill actually reclassifies videogames so as to include them in the same category as "hardcore pornography."

Here is the criteria for banned videogames:

"[inappropriate games] lack serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic or political value” and which features glamorized or gratuitous violence; uses that violence to shock or stimulate; features violence that is not contextually relevant to the material; has violence so pervasive that it serves as the thread holding the plot of the material together; trivializes the serious nature of realistic violence; does not demonstrate the consequences or effects of realistic violence; uses brutal weapons designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and damage; endorses or glorifies torture or excessive weaponry, or depicts lead characters who resort to violence freely.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) has plead guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

Raw Story doesn't think Ann "Queen of the Harpies" Coulter is just making stuff up. They believe she's stealing it and has been as far back as 1997. Advertising Age has some advice for her:

Would it kill you, "Godless" author Ann Coulter, to do us all a favor and kill yourself? (Oh, well, yeah, I guess it would kill you.)

After her recent rabidly hateful, foaming-at-the-mouth, sub-human "Today" show appearance -- in which she reiterated her assertion that 9/11 widows are "enjoying their husband's deaths" -- even her former supporters began to fantasize about how much nicer the world would be if it were Coulterless.

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