Rambling Rhodes

Stuff That's Bothering Me, And Stuff I Believe

I haven't posted much when it comes to politics, or the war in Iraq, or the War on Terror in general because, frankly, I've been needing a break from it. But, also, it's been obvious to me for some time that the idealogical battle lines on all those topics have been pretty much drawn for months now.

I mean, even though there are, what, six months or so until the election, I think people in the know (i.e. bloggers) have basically made up their minds as to who they're going to vote for. As for the undecideds out there, well, they don't read blogs, so what's the point of preaching to the already entrenched choir? Or, for that matter, preaching to people who are going to church across the street no matter what you say anyway?

That being said, I'm going to preach anyway, if for no other reason but to get some stuff off my chest that's been bothering me lately. This is due, in no small part, to a recent post by Johnny Huh? over at Intellection Poison who, to put it mildly, is a rabid anti-Bush kinda guy. But, I still like him, because he feeds me story and article ideas and he has a cute puppy. That, and I think political leanings are no reason to write friends off when, otherwise, they're basically great people. I should note here that I don't have the exact post of Johnny's that prompted this up and accessible right now, because for some freakin' reason I can't read his site when I'm at work, so I'm going off memory. So, you'll have to find the post yourself.

Just to be clear. . . again. . . I'm not a gigantic Bush supporter, just as I'm not a gigantic Kerry detractor. Both men are flawed, as all men (and women) are. I'm pro-choice (Bush isn't), I could care less if gays marry (Bush would disagree), and I think there should have been way more accountability attoned in the White House for Enron et al. I also think Dick Cheney's secretive nature is alarmingly creepy behavior for a vice president and I think the administration as a whole is amazingly arrogant and guilty of hubris to the x degree. Then again, I think those last couple of points could apply to every White House administration throughout the history of United States.

What turns me off most, however, and I think it's something that probably turns off most Americans in general, is when I read terms like "ShrubCo" or "Chimp" when referring to Bush and his administration. It's petty name calling, really, and it comes across as ignorant and just a tad lazy. Okay, a LOT lazy. I have equally little time for those that say Kerry is a lumpy sack of mashed potatoes, or some other such hash on the man's admittedly lackluster appearance and speech delivery.

I also don't have time for half-researched blanket statements like "Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11." Forget for a moment that the War on Terror is bigger than just 9/11, that 9/11 was the gargantuan slap to the face that awakened people to the reality of international terrorism (and not just Al Queda). A little research, just a teeny tiny little research, exposes pre-war Iraq as a cesspool of terrorist activity; from harboring known terrorists, to funding and training alongside terrorists within terrorist camps in Iraq, to paying the families of suicide bombers in Israel. This is all pretty well documented stuff.

And, lost in the daily news shuffle, apparently, is the terrorism role that played out as a result of the U.N. Oil-For-Food scandal which, quite frankly, dwarfs any purported scandals heaped on the Bush administration, or any administration for that matter, even Nixon. If the reports are accurate, and there's little reason to think they aren't, then quite a bit of the money that was supposed to end up feeding hungry Iraqis, ended up in the pockets of terrorist organizations worldwide. How's that for irony?

My point is that the world situation is a lot more nuanced and complex than most may realize, and boiling things down to "Bush is a chimp" seems to speak to a massive ignorance and laziness on the part of the person spewing forth the statement. It's not that I feel I have to defend the Bush administration so much as I feel I have to point out the rest of the story, which more and more seems to not be told, for whatever reasons, be it political media bias or just selling whatever message or story seems to sell best.

I feel I should also note here that I gravitate toward conservative bloggers not because I agree with everything they say, but they tend to be more reasonable and open to discussion than many on the left. I guess I could just be visiting sites that are way far left and spit more bile than lesser leftists, but I have a sneaking suspicion that's not the case. I think the most virulent Bush hating memes have gravitated toward, and been embraced by, those leftists who are closer to the center. And, I'm here to say, hate language just doesn't sell well in an election.

I'm for a strong America, and if that means being the strongest, most influential nation on the planet, well, that's great. I don't happen to think Russia, Germany, France and basically the entire Middle East (except for maybe Jordan) have America's best interests at heart, and I'm sick and tired of dancing around the thumbtacks laid down by the U.N. meant to keep basically everything from ever getting done about anything, except for maybe passing a resolution or 20 to think about getting something done sometime. As it stands, the U.N. is pretty much the last place the world should look to get anything done, unless the world is looking for corruption and bribery as the ideal.

I'm all for the concept of a world governing body. Yay governing body! If nothing, Joshua has convinced me it's at least plausible. But, not until governments, and not just the U.S., are willing to surrender their sovereignty to a world governing body. Anybody want to take wagers on when that will happen?

I think both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist. But, each day, I think the Palestinians are forever losing their argument for statehood. With each suicide bombing, and each glorified murder of a mother and four children (and one unborn), their's becomes less of a cause and more of an evil. If you can somehow equate such a senseless killing with the precision hits against Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, then your moral borometer is at a setting I don't even want to know about. So, when Bush ends up supporting Sharon? Well, I can basically see why.

As for environmental issues, and the Bush admins' so-called vendetta against nature, well, I can't speak with any amount of educated authority on that. What I do know is that, every time I buy something at Menards, whether it be paint, or stain, or whatever, virtually every can features the warning "This product contains chemicals that have been deemed cancer causing agents IN CALIFORNIA." What is it with California and rooting out cancer causing agents? I think I saw a California-based study that said broccoli causes cancer. My point is, when it comes to the environment and health, you can basically pick the study of your choice to back up pretty much ANYTHING. As an aside, when I was in San Antonio, I caught a Showtime series called "Bullshit" hosted by Penn and Teller, which made a pretty compelling case against recycling, pointing out it actually requires more resources, more energy and causes more pollution. I'm not saying they were right or wrong, but man they made a compelling case against it.

Bush or Kerry? I honestly don't know yet. I know I didn't vote for Bush the first time around, but I'm glad Gore didn't win. I'm also glad Howard Dean shouted his way from the spotlight. I'm disappointed that Edwards is out, although I suspect he'll be the V-P nominee. Nader? More than likely he'll just do another hatchet job on the Democratic nominee's overall chances.

Right now, I'm swayed primarily by tone, and the tone I'm hearing is "Bush is a chimp" and "Bush lied, people died!" and "Bush = Hitler" and "Bush knew about 9/11!" And, you know what? That shit turns me off. Big time. You know how, when you encounter a crazy person on the street, and they're yelling about cockroaches with GPS mind control beams? And you know how you walk right past that crazy person, and you hope to God you never ever sniff enough household cleaners that you turn out like him? That's how I feel when I read stuff like "Bush = Hitler" or "Bush is a chimp."

It actually makes me want to support Bush because, man, I don't want people who are that angry and removed from reality to have their guy in the White House. Tone down the rhetoric, people, and I think you'll find more attentive listeners. If it's not too late, I mean.

I don't know, I guess. My view is from the cheap seats: a solitary blogger with about as much sway as a blade of grass in a slight breeze.

This Post Brought To You By The Mach 3 Razor

See? I'm a smoking hot specimen of male hunkiness with or without the stache and goatee. I think.

San Antonio

Okay, I realize that I was staying in probably the nicest, most kempt area of all San Antonio, but MAN, is that place nice! I honestly didn't think such a picturesque and entertaining three mile stretch of river could exist in the heart of a city. The downtown of cities are supposed to be concrete and glass spires, with sickly trees gasping for life from pathetic circles of dirt "permitted" along sidewalks.

But, I'll tell you, the San Antonio Riverwalk area was just about the furthest thing you could imagine from the sky-blocking uniformity of most downtowns. Trees. Huge, beautiful trees; gardens really, lined either side of the river, and you could lose yourself to the reality that you were, in fact, walking just 20 feet below a bustling city. But, don't take my word for it. . .

This was just outside of my hotel, the Westin Riverwalk ($185 a freakin' night!). I started out each morning walking this path to the convention center about five blocks away. You'll notice that the trail, which hugs the water's edge, has no railing or protective barrier to keep gaping strollers from toppling off into the water. I, personally, didn't see it happen to anyone, but given that the river is garrisoned on each side with more drinking establishments than you can imagine, I kinda think a lot of people tend to fall into the river at night. I could be wrong, but I bet I'm not.

This is a street view down onto the Riverwalk. It's a pretty "ehhhh" picture, and the only reason I snapped it was because my publisher/boss and I ate at the Republic of Texas (on the left) the night we arrived in San Antonio. Best fajitas I've ever had. EVER!

This is a more artsy attempt to capture the Riverwalk essence (an attempt that I think fails, mind you).

A little ways away, I captured what I thought was a pretty good juxtaposition of art and architecture but, as you can see, I basically snapped a picture of some crap. Ansel Adams, I ain't.

Not far from my hotel, by which I mean it was a hop, skip and a "yee hawwww!" away, was the Alamo. Sadly, I was unable to find Ozzy Osbourne to again take a famous leak on the famous structure, but oh well. I was stuck by how. . . small the Alamo actually is. I was standing there thinking "an army couldn't take over THAT within a few minutes?" Of course you all know that, in 1835, an army led by Santa Anna (a second cousin to Santa Clauss, who pursued a more philanthropic career) eventually overran the now-famous Alamo in a battle that led to the deaths of Davy "Don't Call Me Dave" Crockett, and Jim "I Want A Knife Named After Me" Bowie. The story is legendary, so look it up. However, I should note something overlooked by the history books. Santa Anna, although he took over the Alamo, failed to even fire a shot across the street at. . .

Why Santa Anna left the imposing structure alone, I guess we'll never know.

This little Roman-inspired theater was actually really close my hotel. I don't normally use the word "charming" to describe anything, but in this case I can say the little outdoor theater was charming. I'm told a small wedding ceremony took place there the second day I was in San Antonio, but I didn't see it, although I think it would be a great place to get married, er. . . you know, if I ever hit my head with a crowbar and decided to do that.

This woman, who was, judging by her conversation with me, a recent escapee from an insane asylum for incoherent babblers, was painting the same little theater I took a picture of, obviously. She had a eccentric hat and eccentric handbag to go with her eccentric/crazy personality, but otherwise she seemed nice, or at least she seemed to be nice as I ran down the stairs away from her. I decided I need to drink, so I returned to the hotel, where I found my fellow co-workers in full imbibing mode.

On the left is Kathy, an ad sales rep for our magazine. On the right is Kelly, who is kind of a gopher in that she does a lot of the busy work, like setting up convention hotel reservations and stuff. They both annoy me, but I like them, which makes them pretty much like everyone else I know in my life.

That big guy on the left is Darryl, another ad sales rep. His most successful sales strategy is to say "hey, buy an ad or I'll fall on you," which works amazingly well, from what I understand. Seriously, he's 6'4" and many, many lbs. Admit it, you're thinking of buying an ad from him, just thinking about it. In the center is my publisher/boss, Doug. Best boss I've had, even though his knees in this picture are creaking so bad it's making him flash a totally fake "take the damned picture already" smile. That's me, of course, on the right, flashing an uncharacteristic smile for a camera.

There were other pictures, of course, but I refuse to publish those, for fear of undermining myself when I run for the U.S. Senate, er, you know. . . any more than posting a picture of my ass already has.