Open Forum
"Raise a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will return to it.” (Maybe)
“The man who is not a socialist at 20 has no heart,
but if he is still a socialist at 40 he has no head.”Give it time. Everybody needs to find their own head and discover reality in their own way. Don’t give up, Allan. Don’t fight it. Ask questions rather than push answers on him. He’ll find reason within himself.
Also, the Memos are having some provenance problems. The reporter copied or had the originals copied by typing them on a typewriter.
He then returned the originals to his source.
He did this, he says, to keep the source’s identity secret as the originals might have been traced to the source.
If he reads Tom Clancy he knows what a “canary trap"* is so it’s possible that he paraphrased some or all of it.
The memo has some other problems. It purports to show that nobody believed that Iraq had WMD but it seems that they spent a lot of time discussing how to protect forces from chemical and biological weapons during the invasion. Incongruity anyone?
*A “canary trap” is a variation in each copy of a document that identifies that particular document. It might be a word, phrase or punctuation that is varied to identify a particular copy. The change does not change the meaning of the document.
Kerr, according to that quote, I must be heartless… I’ve been rather critical of socialism since junior high, when I first started even learning about what it really was, and have only gotten more critical since.
As for the canary trap… Well, I’m not entirely willing to give the reporter credit for that much intelligence. I’m still leaning towards regarding those “memos” as forgeries, with just enough truth in them to mask the lies and make them seem plausible.
Plus, we’ve seen something similar over here, haven’t we? Forged National Guard records, anyone?
It has crossed my mind more than once that they’re “fake but accurate” but I have no way of judging. I know I’d like to see them discredited but I’ll remain skeptical of either resolution until I know more.
Yeah, I’ve been a bit heartless myself from my teens. It could be rebellion against my father’s socialistic tendencies or just my perception of reality.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody always pays. I’ll help the needy, but I expect them to work to get out of that condition and then contribute to helping others do the same. Makes sense to me. Some call it “heartless”.
ABQ is the place for that.
When he finally has to work for a living for a few years ... he’ll come around.
Be thankful he’s not in Santa Fe amigo.
Posted by Steel Turman
06/22/2005 at 10:24 AM
Captain,
Sounds like a major HALLMARK for you on Father’s Day. He’ll come around. He’s in a cocoon right now, and once he’s out, he’ll change.
I may be way off base here, but this memo and all the current second-guessing of invading Irag gives me a real bad case of SO WHAT? We’ve done the right thing. Who gives a rat’s ass what reasons we used to carry out this good thing. Will the means justify the ends? Absolutely. If you want to use a very clinical eye on the situation, we have to have a ‘base’ or a country attuned to us that we can use if necessary. Considering the number of countries near the Levant, and too far away from us, that have nuclear weapons, to not have secured ourselves some prime real estate in the area as a base of operations would be a very terrible mistake. While Bush and his war room cronies might have underestimated some things, I believe the future will laud this move into the Middle East as a blessing.
Posted by Phoenix
06/22/2005 at 12:03 PM
No reason to feel shame, Skipper.
Posted by bg
06/22/2005 at 02:21 PM
Let us not forget there was no evidence that the WMDs that did exist (documented by all and sundry) had been destroyed, if anyone believes the Iraqis lied to soddem and quietly disposed of them they are obviously too deluded to be trusted to vote-or breathe, they are still there, somewhere, probably outside Iraqi soil. One thing the trendy left has achieved is to cover up the whoring of the UN by France, it is now worse than useless, pull the plug on the thing.
Chris EdwardsPosted by cornish chris
06/22/2005 at 03:10 PM
Skipper,
Do not despair, as StinKer and Churchill say, etc. He will come around. UNM is my alma mater and just like any institution of higher learning these days, populated by MoonBats.
Now, I have to ask Steel, ever been to ABQ or Santa Fe? Santa Fe is the hometown and not entirely populated by MoonBats. In fact, most of the MoonBats are transplants from the Left Coast, the Midwest, the Right Coast and Dallas. The recent influx of Lefties is mostly from outside. The long time residents are pretty conservative.
ABQ is now home and populated by a mix of people. It is very cross-cultural. (I hate the MoonBattery of Multi-Culturalism!)Want to know who really dislikes illegal immigrants from Mexico? C’mon, guess. Legal immigrants from Mexico! They feel painted with a brush they do not deserve and I have to agree. In ‘Burque, out-of-staters need to be nice driving, you never know who is packing heat. More people carry there than the US norm.
The Hobo
Now, for the tempest-in-a-teapot of that stupid memo.
Can anyone show the veracity of it’s provenance? No one can! The leaker even says that he ‘copied’ it. From where? LSD dreams? Paranoid fantasies? Where are the original documents? Or at least verifed copies? Some sort of legal and admissible document!
I do not think they exist or ever did. What Foma!
The Hobo
Skipper,
If you’re fronting any of the funds for this “education”, demand a refund.I wasn’t going to comment on this........but now that I think of it, my youngest son is a pain in the ass........He arrived here in St. Louis from Norfolk, VA, last Friday to spend some time with his father...........I invited him for dinner last Saturday eve & as he said he would come I planned a nice dinner - his brother & my grand-daughter would also be here..........His plans changed, said he would come Sunday.....again change of plans........I invited him to come Tuesday for dinner (mind you I work full time & informed him of my time off).......he said o.k........at last minute (he showed up just as I was about to leave for lunch with Allan & Barb) & said he had plans for Tuesday eve & could spend Tuesday afternoon with me - I informed him I was just about to leave for a planned luncheon..........I invited him to come Thursday eve (tomorrow) after I get home from work & we can spend some time as I won’t be working Friday..........we shall see what happens - he is due to fly back to Norfolk on Friday........He is so very like his father - thinks the world revolves around his schedule!!!!!!!!
Posted by Dottie
06/22/2005 at 09:44 PM
Hobo,
I have spent off and on maybe 2 years ABQ and a year almost in SF. I love the area. But the only conservatives I met there spoke English as a second language.
Posted by Steel Turman
06/22/2005 at 09:49 PM
Skipper, as a dad, all I can say is, I feel for you.
If one of my kids becomes one of those, I will disown the little shit....
OK, maybe not, but still, I would be HIGHLY aggitated, and then blame their mother.
In a nutshell
I’m Sorry....
Update from my #14 post.........I had informed my son I would be home from work a little after 7:30.........I left the hospital at 7:20, arrived home at 7:35.........found a note in my mailbox from my son that “I was here at 7:30 & you are not”..........It seems to me that he could have waited a bit as he knows (from the many years I have been working as a nurse that one does not always get out on time) that I would be arriving home any minute.........Wouldn’t you think he might just have waited a bit before leaving?? I tried to call to his father’s house as soon as I got home but there was no answer......He will be flying back to Virginia on Friday & I think we have spent a total of maybe half an hour during the week he has been here..........He is so much like his father - thinks the world revolves around HIS schedule..........I am totally pissed off at him!!!!!!
Posted by Dottie
06/23/2005 at 09:16 PM
Dottie, don’t let it eat at you. I have the same problems with my oldest son. I call him my UGLY-BEE (Ungrateful Little Bastard). Lately, I have started dropping hints that he was adopted.
Just let ‘em go. Your son will wander off into his own little world no matter what you do or say, if my son is any example. Sooner or later he will come back to his senses .. or not, in which case it is permissable to write him entirely out of the will.
I like the new format for comments. Don’t worry about your son. A bit of rebellion is normal.
