Monday, September 26, 2005
The Poetry Of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Part IV::::::The Digital Revolution
The Digital Revolution
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!
A trained ape
Can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!
---o0o---
(press briefing following his European trip June 9, 2001)
Matt "Sleazeball" Drudge Strikes Again
Click image to enlarge.
This morning on the Drudge Report, the headline was "Cindy Sheehan arrested at White House in cunning stunt." The headline is a play on the joke that goes something like "A cunning stunt, or a stunning c***." As he almost always does when he crosses the line, he changed the headline shortly after to "FUN: CINDY ARRESTED AT WHITE HOUSE.
---o0o---
Poem: Dogpaddling
Sunday, September 25, 2005
The Poetry Of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Part 3::::::That's Life
On NATO
You may think it's something
I ought to know,
But I happen not to.
That's life.
---o0o---
(July 9, 2003)
On Reporters
If you do something,
Somebody's not going
To agree with it.
That's life.
---o0o---
(Feb. 19, 2003)
On The Budget [1]
If you do anything,
Someone's not going
To like it and
That's life.
---o0o---
[1] May 7, 2002. Yes, he did say nearly the identical
thing a year later, about reporters.
On Leaks
Look bumpy? Sure.
But you pick up
And go on.
That's life.
---o0o---
(May 17, 2002)
On Democracy
People elected
Those people to office.
That's what they think, and
That's life.
---o0o---
(Feb. 20, 2003)
On People
They're going to have
Some impact on
What happens in that country
And that's not wrong.
That's life.
---o0o---
(Nov. 16, 2001)
On Criticism
It makes it complicated.
Sometimes, it makes
It difficult.
That's life.
---o0o---
(Sept. 11, 2003)
---o0o---
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Speculations On Blogging
Two bloggers wrote me this week, asking permission to reprint my story "Fishing With The Old Man" in an anthology of "the blogosphere." I dislike that word almost as much as "cyberspace."
Interestingly, they didn't find the story on All This Is That[tm], but on three other blogs that mine blogs for articles they like. . .these blogs all gave credit and even reproduced the All This Is That[tm] copyright notice. This has also happened with some of my jobs stories, the one about egging cars, a political rant, and some of the poems and art as well. That's fine. It's not like they're cutting into my profits (the income from this blog totals between twenty cents and a dollar a month from ad clickthroughs).
Blogging, at times, becomes a world of funhouse mirrors, reflecting off each other; an incestuous, inwardly referential blog to blog world. Blogs anthologizing blogs. Blogs writing for, to, and about other blogs. Blogs mining other blogs (as I sometimes do...including yesterday, when I referred to another blog that published an article about Al Gore's presidential prospects).
It's a little like poets--if you buy a small press poetry magazine, there's a strong chance that most of the other purchasers or subscribers are all poets too. It is fascinating how many people utilize the NEXT BLOG button, and just surf through whatever random blog pops up next. I can tell about those in my traffic reports because those people all come from other blogspot blogs. Because the story appears without the usual formatting, they probably took it from the newsreader site feed for this blog (jackbrummet.blogspot.com/atom.xml). Click here to read the fishing story.
---o0o---
Interestingly, they didn't find the story on All This Is That[tm], but on three other blogs that mine blogs for articles they like. . .these blogs all gave credit and even reproduced the All This Is That[tm] copyright notice. This has also happened with some of my jobs stories, the one about egging cars, a political rant, and some of the poems and art as well. That's fine. It's not like they're cutting into my profits (the income from this blog totals between twenty cents and a dollar a month from ad clickthroughs).
Blogging, at times, becomes a world of funhouse mirrors, reflecting off each other; an incestuous, inwardly referential blog to blog world. Blogs anthologizing blogs. Blogs writing for, to, and about other blogs. Blogs mining other blogs (as I sometimes do...including yesterday, when I referred to another blog that published an article about Al Gore's presidential prospects).
It's a little like poets--if you buy a small press poetry magazine, there's a strong chance that most of the other purchasers or subscribers are all poets too. It is fascinating how many people utilize the NEXT BLOG button, and just surf through whatever random blog pops up next. I can tell about those in my traffic reports because those people all come from other blogspot blogs. Because the story appears without the usual formatting, they probably took it from the newsreader site feed for this blog (jackbrummet.blogspot.com/atom.xml). Click here to read the fishing story.
---o0o---
Poem: Clarity By Donald Rumsfeld
I like these poems so much that I have no problem resurrecting them two years later. I wasn't blogging when they originally appeared. I will be posting at least two more of my favorites.
Reprinting these poems also gives me the chance to put up pictures of Rummy, who is always good for some wacky photos.
As much as I disagree with his policies, I have a soft spot for Rummy. He was a real hard-ass in his early years, but on his second trip through the White House--and please don't rip into me, liberals--I find him an avuncular presence, at least when you compare him to the likes of Condi Rice, Tom Ridge, Luis Gonzales, John Ashcroft, et al.
Clarity [1]
I think what you'll find--
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.
And it will be known--
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it--
But it will be known.
---o0o---
[1] Feb. 28, 2003 briefing
Reprinting these poems also gives me the chance to put up pictures of Rummy, who is always good for some wacky photos.
As much as I disagree with his policies, I have a soft spot for Rummy. He was a real hard-ass in his early years, but on his second trip through the White House--and please don't rip into me, liberals--I find him an avuncular presence, at least when you compare him to the likes of Condi Rice, Tom Ridge, Luis Gonzales, John Ashcroft, et al.
Clarity [1]
I think what you'll find--
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.
And it will be known--
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it--
But it will be known.
---o0o---
[1] Feb. 28, 2003 briefing
Friday, September 23, 2005
Poem: Those Glass Boxes By Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
You may have heard about the poetry of our Secretary of Defense. A while back, someone published these versified excerpts of Rumsfeld's speech. Someone set them to music and is selling CDs of the resulting songs. Some of these are true classics. I present here, Those Glass Boxes.
Those Glass Boxes
You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—
And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—
Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—
But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
---o0o---
poem verbatim from a Department of Defense news briefing, 12-6-2001
Those Glass Boxes
You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—
And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—
Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—
But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
---o0o---
poem verbatim from a Department of Defense news briefing, 12-6-2001
Al Gore In 2008?
The Ostroy Report--another blogspot blog--has a thoughtful article today about Al Gore's potential run for the White House in 2008. In fact, the Vice-President has done the big turnabout. I have heard a couple of his speeches on cable over the last year, and they were fantastic. He has shed the policy-geek aura in favor of high impassioned oratory. Click on the title of this post to link to this blog posting.
A lot of us feel like we owe one to Al after the 2000 travesty. He has long been opposed to the war in Iraq (unlike the other potential demo candidates like Hillary, who voted to go to war). Al Gore has recently helped airlift hospitalized patients from New Orleans (including paying for the charters). . .he did so very quietly, and refused to be interviewed. He probably has more curb appeal right now to the American public than the competition.
A glance at the list of potential candidates, and you realize he starts to look very good indeed.
Senator Evan Bayh
Ex-Gen. Wesley Clark
Senator Hillary Clinton
Ex-Senator Tom Daschle
Senator John Edwards
Senator Russ Feingold
Governor Bill Richardson
Governor Mark Warner
Senator John Kerry
Senator Joseph Biden
As for the G.O.P., there is a long list of potential candidates, including
Senator Dr. Bill Frist
Ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Senator John McCain
Governor George Pataki
Governor Tim Pawlenty
Governor Mike Huckabee
Governor Jeb Bush (like we're going to be fooled a third time)
Ex-Governor Mark Racicot
Governor Mitt Romney
Governor Mitt Romney
The spookiest one is Senator McCain. If he can keep himself under control, he will have a lot of cross-party appeal, despite the fact that he is essentially a hard-core conservative. In these increasingly tight Presidential races, cross-party appeal could well be the overwhelming deciding factor. McCain's maverick/renegade reputation can only help. It's tough to tell with Republicans, 'though. I thought Bob Dole was a shoe-in, and I was sure that George W. Bush was a joke.
Between the President's plummeting ratings, runaway federal spending and debt, the war in Iraq, the Hurricane Katrina fiasco, and whatever comes up next, this could be a pretty crazy election. It just may be Al Gore's time.
---o0o---
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Alien Lore No. 25::::::The Physiology Of The Greys
According to the Wikipedia (the internet's free and sometimes reliable encyclopedia), "the Greys (also known as Zetas or Reticulians after the ζ Reticuli star system) are the type of intelligent extraterrestrial life that appears most commonly in modern conspiracy theories, particularly UFO conspiracy theories and other UFO-related paranormal phenomena, especially the Abduction Phenomenon."
Greys also appear in science fiction, television shows like The X Files, and Dark Skies, and in the completely bizarre (even in this admittedly strange realm of lore) documents of the Raelian movement."
Greys have replaced "little green men from Mars" as the stereotypical extraterrestrial of popular culture. You wouldn't believe the body of literature that has sprung up around grey lore.
Some of what we think we know about grey physiology comes from Colonel Phillip Corso. His accounts sound verimilitudinous.
The "body of the Roswell alien"
Colonel Corso allegedly had access to the Roswell grey autopsies and discusses ways in which the makeup of the greys makes them suitable for space (and "time") travel. He even concluded that Greys in flight become an integral part of the ufo. Seated in their craft, (and isn't it funny that alien entities need seats, and have keisters not unlike ours?)! In their seats, Corso said, the grey becomes one with the circuitry of the UFO, which uses the alien brain to pilot the ship telepathically...which goes a long way toward explaining why (as always, allegedly), there are no control mechanisms in crashed UFOs, which has been said to have baffled scientists. Right. It all happens in the hive mind baby!
The skin is. . . grey! Some claim it is beige, tan or pinkish-grey. Greys have no blood as we know it, but there is a fluid which is greyish in color.
As far as distinguishing characteristics go, the greys appear to be extruded from a mold; they share identical racial and biological characteristics.
The grey head is large by human standards, and appears even larger due to the brain swell and the utter dearth of any peachfuzz or hair.
The nose is quite indistinct...a couple of small nostrils and little else.
The grey's mouth is a small slit without lips; it appears to be almost vestigial.
Greys have no teeth (in the mouth anyhow!). Lord knows about the uncharted nether regions...
The body and head are completely hairless.
The grey's torso is small, short, and thin. There are no pudgy greys. They are reported to wear clothing similar to what you see on Star Trek, shiny, almost metallic, and close fitting.
The greys arms are long and thin, and reach to the knees. For all their advanced features, they are knuckledraggers!
The hands of the greys contain 3 to 4 fingers, long webbed, and with either a sort of fingernail or claw.
Most reports say their legs are short and thin. Greys usually seem to wear a close fitting boot or shoe.
Ears do not appear to exist on greys. Nor are there any apertures for hearing. It's quite possible there is no need for hearing because their ability to telepath is so advanced.
The grey brain is larger than ours and may well have three lobes, instead of two. Many folks seem to believe the third lobe is dedicated to telepathic communication. Greys can not only read minds, but can also communicate with all greys in the area in via the "hive pulse," or, group telepathic communication.
The eyes are the most striking (and appalling) feature of the grey's makeup. Many different descriptions of the eyes have been reported. The black look of the eye may be a possible lens covering. . .kind of like built-in goggles and sunglasses. The eyes are generally slanted, large and black. I have heard them described as unfeeling insect eyes.
The innards. The grey digestive systems are reported to be failing, or atrophied. Nutrition is absorbed through the skin, or, maybe injected. It is often said the greys soak various chemical solutions, which may cause the reported strange checmical smell of greys.
Now, we come to the naughty bits as they might say in England. The male and female genitalia are the hardest to describe because the greys appear to never expose these parts to abductees and others. This is a little strange, isn't it? Since so many people report being probed and molested by the greys that one might think that is a primary focus of the greys.
For purposes of crossbreeding however--just as we have found out with "assisted pregnancies" and artificial insemination--genital contact is probably not necessary to create life. All you need is a way to get the pollinating materials from one place to another. And that can even include a test tube! We humans have in general found that our genitalia work pretty well for reproduction (and for fun). However, we only need to look at bees and pollen to know there are other efficacious methods. Fish eggs are fertilized externally. For all we know, alien genitalia could well be on their foreheads, tucked away in their armpits, or behind their knees.
The author of The Krill Papers states "There are over 1,000 humans in the United States alone who are the offspring of intergalactic or extragalactic beings and terrestrial humans. (The son of an acquaintance of [deleted in original] is one.)" Other documents, naturally, place the numbers in the millions.
---o0o---
Greys also appear in science fiction, television shows like The X Files, and Dark Skies, and in the completely bizarre (even in this admittedly strange realm of lore) documents of the Raelian movement."
Greys have replaced "little green men from Mars" as the stereotypical extraterrestrial of popular culture. You wouldn't believe the body of literature that has sprung up around grey lore.
Some of what we think we know about grey physiology comes from Colonel Phillip Corso. His accounts sound verimilitudinous.
The "body of the Roswell alien"
Colonel Corso allegedly had access to the Roswell grey autopsies and discusses ways in which the makeup of the greys makes them suitable for space (and "time") travel. He even concluded that Greys in flight become an integral part of the ufo. Seated in their craft, (and isn't it funny that alien entities need seats, and have keisters not unlike ours?)! In their seats, Corso said, the grey becomes one with the circuitry of the UFO, which uses the alien brain to pilot the ship telepathically...which goes a long way toward explaining why (as always, allegedly), there are no control mechanisms in crashed UFOs, which has been said to have baffled scientists. Right. It all happens in the hive mind baby!
The skin is. . . grey! Some claim it is beige, tan or pinkish-grey. Greys have no blood as we know it, but there is a fluid which is greyish in color.
As far as distinguishing characteristics go, the greys appear to be extruded from a mold; they share identical racial and biological characteristics.
The grey head is large by human standards, and appears even larger due to the brain swell and the utter dearth of any peachfuzz or hair.
The nose is quite indistinct...a couple of small nostrils and little else.
The grey's mouth is a small slit without lips; it appears to be almost vestigial.
Greys have no teeth (in the mouth anyhow!). Lord knows about the uncharted nether regions...
The body and head are completely hairless.
The grey's torso is small, short, and thin. There are no pudgy greys. They are reported to wear clothing similar to what you see on Star Trek, shiny, almost metallic, and close fitting.
The greys arms are long and thin, and reach to the knees. For all their advanced features, they are knuckledraggers!
The hands of the greys contain 3 to 4 fingers, long webbed, and with either a sort of fingernail or claw.
Most reports say their legs are short and thin. Greys usually seem to wear a close fitting boot or shoe.
Ears do not appear to exist on greys. Nor are there any apertures for hearing. It's quite possible there is no need for hearing because their ability to telepath is so advanced.
The grey brain is larger than ours and may well have three lobes, instead of two. Many folks seem to believe the third lobe is dedicated to telepathic communication. Greys can not only read minds, but can also communicate with all greys in the area in via the "hive pulse," or, group telepathic communication.
The eyes are the most striking (and appalling) feature of the grey's makeup. Many different descriptions of the eyes have been reported. The black look of the eye may be a possible lens covering. . .kind of like built-in goggles and sunglasses. The eyes are generally slanted, large and black. I have heard them described as unfeeling insect eyes.
The innards. The grey digestive systems are reported to be failing, or atrophied. Nutrition is absorbed through the skin, or, maybe injected. It is often said the greys soak various chemical solutions, which may cause the reported strange checmical smell of greys.
Now, we come to the naughty bits as they might say in England. The male and female genitalia are the hardest to describe because the greys appear to never expose these parts to abductees and others. This is a little strange, isn't it? Since so many people report being probed and molested by the greys that one might think that is a primary focus of the greys.
For purposes of crossbreeding however--just as we have found out with "assisted pregnancies" and artificial insemination--genital contact is probably not necessary to create life. All you need is a way to get the pollinating materials from one place to another. And that can even include a test tube! We humans have in general found that our genitalia work pretty well for reproduction (and for fun). However, we only need to look at bees and pollen to know there are other efficacious methods. Fish eggs are fertilized externally. For all we know, alien genitalia could well be on their foreheads, tucked away in their armpits, or behind their knees.
The author of The Krill Papers states "There are over 1,000 humans in the United States alone who are the offspring of intergalactic or extragalactic beings and terrestrial humans. (The son of an acquaintance of [deleted in original] is one.)" Other documents, naturally, place the numbers in the millions.
---o0o---
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Vicar Rolls Out A Bible You Can Read Cover To Cover In 100 Minutes
This is just depressing. The 100 minute Bible? Whatever your stand on religion, and specifically Christianity, The Bible does not deserve to be read in 100 minutes. I re-read the first four books of the old testament last month, and it took several nights.
Yeah, you can probably present the ideas in The Bible in that time -- but what will you miss in this "executive summary" of The Bible? In the book of Genesis alone, will you get to read about David and Goliath, Bathsheba, the Garden of Eden, Sodom and Gomorrah, The Burning Bush, The Tower of Babel, Noah's Ark, Jacob wrestling God, the story of Jacob's cousins, Jacob's Ladder, the call of Abraham, The Covenant, Pharoah's Dream, and the move to Egypt? And that's just in the very first book! What becomes of The Psalms? Can this new book render the subtle nuances that exist between the four gospels? 100 minutes will cut literally hundreds of stories, and reduce the rhythm and sweep and majesty of a great book to that of an instructional manual.
This Reader's Digestification of The Bible is a travesty from a purely literary standpoint, and surely from a religious standpoint as well. I realize the Vicar had noble motives to spread The Word. But a lot of really bad ideas begin with great intentions.
What is the rush in reading The Bible? Has it come to this? Click on the title of this post to read the article about this "invention" by a Vicar of the Church of England.
---o0o---
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Alien Mythology No. 24::::::Phantoms In The Skies
---click image to enlarge---
This brief excerpt is from a longer article by Scott Corrales in FATE magazine, 2005.
"Although most accounts found in published works on the UFO phenomenon concentrate on classic encounters between commercial and military airliners and unidentified flying objects, these encounters are by no means a thing of the past. The 1990s were particularly rich with such encounters, many of which border on the incredible. Perhaps it is only fitting to begin our story with one of the most startling (and credibility-straining) of them.
"According to the March 13, 1992, issue of Mexico’s reputable El Universal newspaper, a sudden encounter with a UFO on March 6 of that year caused an airliner to become invisible.
"The staff-written article provides no flight number, but the Aeromexico airliner allegedly departed from Mexico City at 11:30 p.m. en route to Monterrey. The pilot dimmed the cabin lights and passengers began falling asleep for the short flight, until they suddenly found themselves staring into the night sky and the bright stars in the heavens above, as if the entire fuselage had been lifted away. “We were flying in space, seeing the skies and stars without the barrier of cabin walls, which were still there and detectable to the touch, but completely invisible,” said a witness to this sudden phenomenon. “We could even see the pilots in the cabin, at the controls of an aircraft that none of us could see, only touch.”
"More surprising is that panic did not spread throughout the aircraft. The startled passengers tried to make sense of the phenomenon until they suddenly became aware of a glowing object shaped like two inverted bowls stuck together flying alongside the aircraft.
"The newspaper account states that the broadcast media reported the disappearance of the Aeromexico airliner from radar screens in both Monterrey and Mexico City for ten minutes, along with the corresponding gap in communications. "
---o0o---
President Clinton Takes The Gloves Off
Even as he is closely involved with Ex-President Bush, raising money for Hurricane Katrina relief, the former president took off the gloves this weekend, ripping into The President for financing our war(s) with loans from China /deficit financing; for reacting slowly to Hurricane Katrina, and helping the wrong people; for ridiculous tax cuts "for people like me."
I don't think a former President has ever come out like this against a sitting President. It's prety interesting. . .it has to make things a little frosty when the Ex-Presidents club gets together for fund-raisers!
Ex-President Truman did rip into JFK during the 1960 election, but never criticized him after he assumed office (not publicly anyway).
I think we're starting to see some previews of Bill on the campaign trail for Senator Clinton in 2008.
---o0o---
I don't think a former President has ever come out like this against a sitting President. It's prety interesting. . .it has to make things a little frosty when the Ex-Presidents club gets together for fund-raisers!
Ex-President Truman did rip into JFK during the 1960 election, but never criticized him after he assumed office (not publicly anyway).
I think we're starting to see some previews of Bill on the campaign trail for Senator Clinton in 2008.
---o0o---
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