September 30, 2004
One issue no one has raised: who gets the better soundbites. The Bush team is going to win on that, because Kerry said plenty tonight that can be thrown back in his face in terms of substance. (Bush was awkward, but the Kerry people are going to look silly if they just show Bush struggling to think of a phrase.)
But Kerry lived to fight another day.
Posted by: Attila at
09:46 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 76 words, total size 1 kb.
Bush and Kerry were both wearing bitchin' suits. And Lehrer did a nice job.
Kerry is more polished, as you might expect. Sometimes it's painful to watch Bush struggle to find a word. But it's more painful to watch Kerry selling his service in Vietnam, particularly in light of the scrutiny he's received for all the things that happened during that time—both in Southeast Asia and here in the States. (And how much rouge was he wearing, anyway?—or is all that color from the infamous fake tan? He managed to negate his height advantage with that.) Bringing that up several times within the same debate is tantamount to hooking.
One of the most dramatic moments was when Lehrer gave Bush the chance to comment on Kerry's character, and he didn't take the bait. Bush is making it clear that he doesn't want to make personal attacks, and he doesn't want this campaign to be about events that took place 30-35 years ago.
There seemed to be a role reversal of sorts going on: Kerry is acting dispassionate, and even tries to smile as the President hammers him. Bush, who often appears to be above the fray, was clearly annoyed as Kerry made his own points. I suspect this was a decision that Bush and his advisors made, and that the intention was to show how engaged his was. To underscore that he's a regular guy.
And, as I've said before, he is now the master of that smirk. He owns it; it doesn't own him like it used to. And he didn't hesitate to play up his real strength, which is the fact that he's doing the job of President now. At every turn he was willing to remind Kerry and everyone else that he's actually doing the work, making the tough choices, and so forth. That it's easy to Monday-morning quarterback the leader of the free world.
The debate was probably a draw, but I don't think it'll change many minds. Most of the people who watch these kinds of things are political junkies to begin with. And there is still the sizzle vs. steak question: what matters at the end of the day is how people will respond to the underlying message. Bush's messages: 1) the President needs to be steady, and not vascillate; 2) we need to stay the course, in Iraq and elsewhere. Kerry's message: George W. Bush has been fucking things up.
What I love though is that we had this debate in the first place. It's essential to Democracy that the President be required to defend his record in this way. And we're alone in doing it in this way, placing our leader on the spot to this degree.
Each guy held his own.
Posted by: Attila at
09:18 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 477 words, total size 3 kb.
Posted by: Attila at
02:29 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 38 words, total size 1 kb.
Posted by: Attila at
02:20 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 22 words, total size 1 kb.
A month later a related site was hacked, and this went unfixed for multiple days. Meantime, In the Bullpen was on the case, and he posted the event—with a screen capture of the graphic, a penguin holding a full-auto rifle and the legend, "if you host them, your [sic] next."
Now, the MSM (with MSNBC in the lead) are using screen captures from both postings without giving either gentleman credit for breaking the stories or saving the images for posterity. The attitude appears to be "I found it on the internet fair and square, and I neither need to authenticate it nor give the blogger credit." It's sloppy and amoral, but other than that it's a great approach.
And then there is the current online controversey about whether Americans should be hosting these types of sites in the first place. There have been
A girl can hope.
And when we do capture him, I hope it's the Marines who have custody of him first. Because I think they would treat him in a very respectful way at any point wherein there were cameras nearby. That's all I really ask.
Posted by: Attila at
01:25 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 306 words, total size 2 kb.
As most of you know, a few days ago See-BS "covered" the urban legend that a draft is likely over the next few years. They based this on interviews with a woman who's an activist in an antidraft group (but claims to be a Republican), and on e-mails that are circulating like virus warnings and proclaiming we're in danger of instituting a draft.
And Bill just bagged interviews with the reporter involved (Richard Schlesinger), its producer (Linda Karas), and a See-BS spokeswoman, Sandra Genelius. It's an absolutely amazing coup, and I wish Bill would put me in touch with his medicine man or patron saint. The CBS staffers are all in one entry, and even given that it isn't too long—but has plenty of juicy links to follow up on. If you read nothing else this week, get going.
INDC: "A lot of people have a problem with this issue though, because it's specifically something that's been used by the Kerry campaign as a recent talking point. Did this influence ..."Schlesinger: "No, it was an issue because it was out there. There are issues that we choose to do stories on ... I specifically said in the story, 'both candidates have said they would not support a reinstatement of the draft.'"
INDC: "Probably the main concern with the story is that the e-mails that are shown in the piece are false; they've been debunked on various internet sites long ago ..."
Schlesinger: "The fact is, they were going around. I know several people that got them, and itÂ’s gotten people all riled up. Whether or not thereÂ’s any reality to there being a draft, is almost besides the point. Do I think thereÂ’s going to be a draft? No. But it's an issue that people are talking about."
That's a hell of a rationale for running urban legends as fact. Maybe See-BS should tackle this one next, interviewing someone who "knew" the aggrieved bride/groom. That kind of thing.
Jeff has a nice roundup on the issue, and a damn funny document recently "unearthed" from the CBS files. So I'm almost sorry I called him a whore. Almost.
Posted by: Attila at
12:30 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 381 words, total size 3 kb.
September 29, 2004
At Jeff, via RatherBiased, which is down again just now.
Posted by: Attila at
02:12 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 29 words, total size 1 kb.
Oh, do let's. Let us rock that vote, shall we? Otherwise it'll be Chimpy and his Halliburton advisors, who will come up with more ways to give blood for oil; see if they don't.
Posted by: Attila at
04:10 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 61 words, total size 1 kb.
That's not quite how it works in my household, oddly enough.
Anyway, my point is that the sex spammers must be crushed, because no one should be subjected to words and images in their in boxes that suggest they, their bodies, their urges—and all women—are ugly. Not unless they seek it out, in which case they should have a good time.
We need to remember prohibition, and the contempt for law that came about when laws were passed and enforced that ran against people's philosophies and expectations.
For the most part, this is a terrible use of precious resources. I see that it's a genuine crusade for Ashcroft, but I hope Bush keeps him on a leash. And I pray that it's only window dressing, like the ill-fated constitutional amendment that was supposed to protect marriage from change—but really protected the President against the charge that he wasn't fighting the culture wars he has little or no interest in.
Posted by: Attila at
03:34 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 356 words, total size 2 kb.
It's a juicy invention.
Check it out now, and then go back to it the next time you drop acid.
Posted by: Attila at
02:43 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 66 words, total size 1 kb.
September 28, 2004
Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.
And goodness only knows what I'd do for a link from Glenn Reynolds. (Those first five jokes that cross your mind?—don't walk that way, brother.)
(Note to self: Stop biting the various hands that feed you, or you'll go hungry for sure.)
Posted by: Attila at
11:19 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 80 words, total size 1 kb.
September 27, 2004
'Course, last time on the other map of the other continent I became a small sea, the "Sea of Attila." I did like that.
We'll find out if I get any grace here after linking dutifully away.
Otherwise I erase Commissar from all family photos. Never existed! Da! Work of Trotskyites to convince us there ever was a "Politburo Diktat" blog. All figment of imaginations. Ripe for re-education, all readers of Attila Blog.
Posted by: Attila at
04:26 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 107 words, total size 1 kb.
September 26, 2004
My husband and I are in the two most left-wing LA industries: entertainment and media. (How did this happen? Well, my husband elected to join a sector wherein if you work hard and enjoy a little luck, you can make good money. Not being the brightest bulb in the marquee, I elected to go for an industry wherein if you work had and enjoy a little luck you might—just might—barely be able to eke out a living.)
My husband is "out," though he doesn't talk politics too much with his colleagues and there are awkward moments for those not "in the know." For instance, he hired a youngish writer to contribute to a television series. The bright young man wanted to please him, so he forwarded an e-mail about Kerry having picked John Edwards as his running mate, and the implications of this for the Kerry campaign. Of course, the mail underscored the importance of defeating Bush this November.
The point is not just that a writer committed a faux pas; the point is that it never crossed his mind his boss wasn't anti-Bush.
Reflecting the hard-scrabble nature of the media business, I haven't been "out," except within the community of gun owners and among "outdoor sport" publications, where I've had a handful of articles published over the years. ("Outdoor sport" means hunting and guns.)
Until a week ago Tuesday. My media industry group meets every month, and we usually go around the room and introduce ourselves. This time, instead of just announcing that I was a freelance copy editor, I mentioned the URL for this web site (though I initially garbled it, and had to correct myself—a sure sign of nervousness). Someone—let's call him Rick—asked me about the actual content.
"It's really libertarian; you'll hate it," I assured him. I did not, however, use the word war, as I didn't want to actually start one within our cozy little publishing group.
But things may be changing in media just as they seem to be changing in entertainment: later in the meeting Rick was discussing the kinds of magazines that appeal to the broader country, and made what he obviously meant to be a classic "the asses are masses" point: "people are voting for Bush," he said.
No one laughed, or followed up on his remark. So he said it again, a little louder, and I'm sure everyone heard him, but there was another subthread going on in the discussion, and people continued to be engaged in that rather than in Rick's "joke." At the time I thought it was curious, and assumed people just didn't want to get into politics in a professional setting. Later on, though, I realized just how strange it was, since usually any media/entertainment gathering has leftism in the air like oxygen is in the air, and there is usually no compunction about bringing this up, as we are "all among friends." That night, though, as I was dropping off to sleep I remembered that our group has more people who are shy of their 40th birthdays than middle-agers like me, and I realized I hadn't been the only one in that room who intended to vote for Chimpy McHalliburton.
The times, they are a-changin'. Maybe. I'm not even asking for parity: only that within both industries we attain critical mass to the point that our points of view are respected, and we aren't blackballed as intellectual lightweights. And that we stop losing jobs over our politics.
Posted by: Attila at
03:52 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 635 words, total size 4 kb.
Tickets must be purchased in advance, over the web. They will not be selling tickets on-site. Move on this now!
To be featured:
• Appearances by Larry Elder, Lionel Chetwynd, and Michael Medved;
• Three cinematic takedowns of Michael Moore, including Michael Moore Hates America, Larry Elder's Michael and Me, which discusses the ways Moore has lied about the Second Amendment issue, and one film that focuses on the distortions in Fahrenheit 9/11;
• A panel discussion on how to get started as a conservative filmmaker;
• A film that discusses Ann Coulter, which I'm very interested in seeing, given the degree to which I've vascillated as to whether she really is "our Michael Moore" (I think not, though her sweeping statements and glib putdowns still bother me);
• A thriller about a planned terrorist attack in L.A. Harbor, put together by the film festival's founders;
• a documentary on Mel Gibson and The Passion.
Posted by: Attila at
02:48 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 231 words, total size 2 kb.
But if you want to be sure, go to the Outside the Beltway blog, where James has a separate topic on his sidebar called "Blog Chix Pix." The most recent version of that (should be the first one that comes up) has two links to pictures of me.
Also, e-mail me at littlemissattila@yahoo.com, and we'll get more specific.September 25, 2004
Don't miss it.
Posted by: Attila at
11:36 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.
The Attila-Hub and I are in for the L.A. version of the election-night party. Definitely into that.
2) Also—and this isn't limited to the Bear Flag League—The Llama Butchers were joking about putting together a big blogfest/psuedo convention in 2005 sometime, in Las Vegas, and it suddenly turned serious. The idea would be to try to bring together bloggers from every region of the country, in the only town in the west where you can always get a cheap hotel room if it's off-season (that is, during the summer, in the heat). And where you can always get a room, period, no matter how late in the game you make your plans. Not to mention cheap airfare from anywhere in the country.
If we decide to have actual panels, or read papers, that shouldn't be too hard. And if we set up small booths and sell each other our CafePress offerings, that wouldn't have to take up more than half a day.
If we don't want to do that, we can just go play the slots or go swimming. Or maybe take bloggy daytrips to the Hoover Dam.
Spread the word and see if there's any interest. This would be an attempt to merge all the little regional groups we've formed, and have one national (or, preferably, international) meeting.
Let me know.
Posted by: Attila at
04:09 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 258 words, total size 2 kb.
September 24, 2004
Well, it's getting easier to go. My first one two weeks ago nearly killed me: having to read my work aloud to strangers was awful. And by the time everyone shared his/her perspective, I was convinced that my story had no merit whatsoever. Eight pages of "oh, my god; this sucks." By the time I got to the end, I wasn't even using different voices in the dialogue—just droning on in a near-monotone and hoping it would be over soon.
I picked a genre that had as few literary pretensions as possible, and that I happen to find incredibly pleasurable to read. Little did I realize at the time that mysteries are very, very hard to write well. All kinds of clues have to be laid in early, but the significant ones can't be noticeable—or must be explained away early on. Everything must be hidden in plain sight. And unless one is doing a police procedural—and I think my background forbids that—there is the pesky matter of explaining why ordinary citizens go rushing around solving crimes on their own in books, when everyone knows perfectly well that they don't do any such thing in real life. You have to get the reader hooked into the puzzle, because otherwise they won't suspend that disbelief. Why should they?
And of course at its best a mystery also stands alone as a novel; consider some of Dorothy L. Sayers' best Lord Peter mysteries.
Of course, I've given up on being the next Dorothy L. Sayers, and would settle for being readable. And on keeping my readers in the dark as to who actually did the crime until I want them to know.
And after one more session I'm going to run out of finished, polished, existing sequential chapters and will have to actually start writing to keep up with this. Eek.
Wish me luck.
Posted by: Attila at
11:21 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 319 words, total size 2 kb.
September 23, 2004
B6 d+ t+ k++ s+ u-- f+ i o x- e+ l- c
Of course, that was three minutes ago and I couldn't possibly tell you what all those things stand for, or whether they matter at all (I imagine not).
Doubtless you're curious about your own standing. And who wouldn't be? Enjoy.
Posted by: Attila at
05:05 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 94 words, total size 1 kb.
That's an important point: I don't think we know for sure at this point whether David Dreier is gay. But then, I don't think a lot of conservatives care about his personal life. That is, after all, the nature of conservatism: what's private is private. The State has no business in your bedroom. The original modern conservative, Barry Goldwater, had a gay son and made it clear that he wasn't interested in legislating morality—or in armed forces weakened by arbitrary rules about whether gays could or could not join.
And I don't think it's hypocrisy for a gay man not to think gay marriage is necessary, for his own happiness or for the good of society. (I happen myself to be in favor of gay marriage, but it's a fine line and I would be happy if there were simply a vehicle for conferring full partnership benefits upon gay couples—including Federal benefits.) It's worth noting that Dreier didn't support the decidedly un-conservative Amendment prohibiting gay marriage. (I tend to think that Amendment was only proposed as political cover: I truly doubt anyone ever expected that turkey to ever succeed.)
But this business of "outing" people has got to be the dirtiest thing I've ever seen in my life. Making the intimate details of people's lives (real or imaginary) a subject of public discourse is disgusting. I am not the least surprised to see Larry Flynt's money behind this, as it was behind the campaign to smear the House Managers during Bill Clinton's Senate trial. (Because God forbid a poor woman like Paula Jones actually have a fair day in court; Clinton's perjury was excusable so the wealthy can retain justice for themselves.)
This "political outing" business is an unbelievable, depraved thing to do. And I hope the people involved feel dirty for the rest of their lives. And I hope Dreier wins re-election by a huge margin, so we can show the left who the real homophobes are.
Hugo is conflicted, but largely negative about outing, thank goodness. Xrlq shows up in his comments section for a lively debate.
BoiFromTroy is unimpressed by the putative "outing": "my advice is, simmer down and get back to me when you have more than innuendo."
Dirty tricks: that's what they've got. It's actually kind of sad.
Posted by: Attila at
12:25 PM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 478 words, total size 3 kb.
September 22, 2004
It was a slow September night in Manhattan. The kind of sweaty summer night where the mean streets of Gotham run wild with the shadowy scum of the Republican National Convention. The kind of night where mysteries are born. The kind of night I live for.My name is Rather. And IÂ’m a dick.
If you don't go read it, you'll hate yourself. And you'll die wondering what you might have missed.
Via Goldstein, who really enjoys questioning hapless news anchors. Up to his elbows in that process, I'm afraid.
Posted by: Attila at
11:30 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 100 words, total size 1 kb.
217 queries taking 0.1798 seconds, 532 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
