The Gantry Launchpad

One of the best...

Every once in a while I like to point folks to a really good blog. In this case, you should run, not walk over to Sgt. Hook's place, and read his latest post.

His writing qualifies him as the modern-day Ernie Pyle. Check him out.

Yet Another Nail...

For some folks, the need to believe that BushLied^(tm) supercedes any call to a rational debate. This has caused Donald Sensing at One Hand Clapping to ask We expect Michael Moore to lie about Bush, but is prevarication a virus infecting all Bush's opposition?

Donald carefully and methodically lays out the facts for everyone to see that not only did President Bush not lie, he has in fact consistently pursued the same strategic goals outlined in his speech to the UN on 9/12/02.

This is the best approach in refuting the notBush supporters: we have to patiently and consistently continue to cite the facts of the matter, and avoid ad hominem personal attacks. Don Sensing leads the way.

Read it here.

The numbers are in

Looks like the Kerry/Edwards/Oompah-Loompah ticket is running into a rocky start after the convention.

Apparently the projected deficit will be $100 billion less than earlier anticipated.

Thanks to the Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid for the link.

A Measure of Civility

Dean Esmay recently published a pledge which he asked other citizens to take: no matter who wins in November, try to treat the President with the respect the office deserves, especially during the challenges we currently face.

The interesting thing is that he's not the first one I've seen put it that way recently. If you check out the conservative site Free Republic Network you will find similar sentiment.

I can't find a permalink, so here's a quote from their Mission Statement:

Guiding Principles

The Free Republic Network believes:

* that this nation's framing documents -- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights -- establish the guiding principles for a just and free people
* that government is a double-edged sword -- potentially the greatest champion of the rights of citizens, but also the greatest threat to their freedom. To safeguard against tyranny, we believe Americans should strictly limit the scope of our government to those powers, duties and responsibilities assigned in our Constitution.
* that taxation should not exceed the minimum amount needed to accomplish the legitimate duties and responsibilities of government set forth in the Constitution.
* that American citizens must educate themselves and engage in civic and political action, to secure Constitutional rights and liberties for themselves, their families, and future generations.
* that individuals are responsible for their own livelihood and the support of their own families, and that each of us is personally accountable for his or her words, actions and decisions. We believe it is the responsibility of our government to promote the general welfare, not provide it, and to ensure equal access to the American Dream, not to enforce equal outcomes.
* that each of us has a personal obligation to help others overcome misfortune and become productive, and that this work is best accomplished through private rather than public efforts.

Code of Conduct

Network members are asked to abide by our basic Code of Conduct, which includes the following guidelines:

* Do not commit, promote or encourage unlawful actions or acts of violence.
* Maintain the highest ethical standards in dealing with other organizations.
* Maintain courtesy and a professional demeanor.

Especially note the last part. Also, if you read the most recent article there, by John Armor, you will find this remark:

No matter who is President of the United States, the office is entitled to a certain level of respect regardless of the opinion you have about the individual currently occupying the White House. Others have made this point, so I support their position.

For instance, I have spent more than eight years condemning Bill Clinton as a person. It’s more than eight years because even though he’s out of office, he will not go
away. But always my objections were based on facts of what he did or did not do. I did not resort to schoolyard name-calling. Never did I approach the depths of “rhetoric” that Whoopi Goldberg applied to President Bush.

Could this signal -God forbid- the return of manners to politics? Stay tuned!

After the Convention

I just wanted to take a moment to point out that quite a few commentators have projected a bump in the polls in Kerry's favor after the convention.

Apparently it's traditional; both parties' candidates each get a bump after their respective conventions which last a few weeks, then evaporate.

Why am I saying this? Because I anticipate a great deal of joy among the Kerryites when the post-convention poll results come out. "Oh, look, Kerry is killing Bush in the polls! We're a shoo-in!"

Um, no. Bush will see the same sort of bump/evaporate after the GOP convention. It's nothing to get excited about. Even Republican National Comittee Chairman Gillespe has predicted an 8-12 point increase for Kerry after the election.

Consider it the poll equivalent of Indian Summer...

Karl Rove and the President

Chris Muir is a talented and funny cartoonist. He also frequently shows a deft touch with his commentary, and he even tries to show the "squishy liberal" point of view once in a while. :)

This strip, however, is a true gem!

What makes a good, heroic movie?

Damn. The Esmays are getting me all fired up tonight! Now Dean has a post that inspired this essay, although (again) it's been in the back of my mind for a couple of years, now. See the original post for the comments I responded to below.

---

Bryan: agreed! In fact, Michael Smith has said that Batman: Dead End is the best Batman movie he's ever seen.

Ara: I'm with you, brudder: Newmar all that way... Yum.

Well, maybe Newmar and Berry, although even the lovely and talented Julie N. had better lines than this to work with! Sheesh.

Dean: I read the reviews Sunday night. Everyone panned it; I think the best "grade" was a D.

The sad thing is that Halle Berry would have made a marvelous Selina Kyle, as per the original.

Of course, this all goes to show that (in order) good story, casting, direction, and production beat FX and sleaze every time. DC should do what Marvel has done, and give the properties to the people who love and understand the stories and characters behind the DC superheroes.

But then it doesn't help that most of DC's superheroes are dull-as-dishwater creations like Aquaman, Wonder Woman, blah, blah, blah...

Let's face it: Stan Lee pumped a huge jolt into modern comic-book creation with his (then) radical approach to superheroes: not anti-heroes but disfunctional heroes. Oh, it's all very commonplace today, but back then the idea of four heroes who do nothing but fight, bitch, cavil, and argue with each other (Fantastic Four) was pretty radical, not to mention the "loser teenager" Spiderman, who was neurotically obsessed with crime-fighting to compensate for his self-percieved guilt over Uncle Ben's death.

Then there's the Incredible Hulk: the Monster as Hero.

That was the big difference between DC and Marvel, and the big boost for the latter. DC heroes were such damn squeaky-clean Boy Scouts that they were boring as anything. The cool thing about Marvel heroes was that they were vulnerable, but (generally) didn't fall for the generic "Super Hero Achilles Heel" trap that DC did.

Superman was, well, super, except for Kryptonite. So inevitably the hack writers spent the next 30 years finding new kinds of kryptonite to keep the plot interesting. I could go on, but basically the problem is that DC heroes were pretty much untouchable, hence unchallengable.

Actually this problem pops up in many stories/legends. The original Star Trek encountered this with the Transporter. This doohicky was originally concieved as a convenient dramatic device to get the characters into the story every week without wasting time peforming re-entries. It also saved a lot on special effects, since all the original effect was flipping a camera upside down (so the final visual was of upward movement) and pointing it at a high-intensity floodlight. Aluminum dust was then sprinkled down while filming the resulting glitter.

Problem is that the Transporter was too powerful, like most old-style DC heroes. All Kirk had to do was holler "Scotty, save my ass!" into his communicator, and (well) "Beam me up, Scotty," and there goes that story... Sigh.

So the writers fell back on the hackneyed "Kryptonite vulnerability," gimmick, instead of writing good stories. In this case it was the dylithium crystals, or a gravimetric storm, or the Enterprise was under attack, or... Blech!

Here's the thing: Marvel heroes weren't like that. Oh yes, they had vulnerabilities, but (usually) not some nitwit "super hero Achilles Heel." Note that even acclaimed writer/director M. Night Shyamalan fell into the same trap in Unbreakable, with Bruce Willis' character: David Dunn's only vulnerabilty was that he could drown. Otherwise you couldn't kill him.

The Marvel heroes were vulnerable precisely because they were human. The Fantastic Four really were a bickering family, Peter Parker was always trying to deal with his sense of being a failure (to his aunt and uncle, his friends, school, and so on. Hell, the poor schmuck didn't even get credit for his good works, thanks to J. Jonah Jameson!), Daredevil was blind, the X-Men were "mutie" rejects and outcasts, Iron Man was an alchoholic, Doctor Strange was a crippled ex-surgeon; the list can go on for quite a while.

All of these people had "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men," but the critical point was that they were mortal, and falliable.

Of course, it's possible to make a good Superman, or Batman movie, but in terms of drama and human interest the Marvel characters have a tremendous advantage. In fact, I am going to say the common wisdom that "Tim Burton 'did' the best Batman" is incorrect. Burton, in fact, started a trend that would eventually result in a feature-length version of the 1960's TV farce. I cite as evidence Batman and Robin. You can trace the influence directly back to Burtons' deliberately surrealistic Gotham City. It isn't real, in the sense of the X-Men's or Spiderman's New York, and I'm not talking about the literal "real" existance of New York v. Gotham. After all, it's an open secret that Gotham is really New York, but fictionalized.

Point being that you can see yourself walking down a street in the "Marvel" New York and maybe, if you're lucky, seeing Spidey swing by or Cyclops in action.

Alas, about the only time you can expect to see yourself in Gotham is if you've been cutting the narcotics with rat poison again...

But in either universe you won't come up with a good movie without the classic elements I cited above; story, production, direction, acting; the same elements of any good movie.

Well, she broke the law, didn't she?

One of The Queen's posts generated some comments which have finally forced me to speak my mind about Martha Stewart's conviction.

You can find the post & threads here. I decided to put up my reply as a post here, as well as in that thread.

----

I am completely floored by terrible reasoning I've seen in this thread!

Big Dan: "she very clearly did the crime..." "Her crime in particular may have cost more to prosecute than her crime in particular was worth. However, if you DON'T prosecute insider trading, ..." (Dan seems to think that Stewart is in jail for insider trading) "She did the crime. She deserves punishment..."

Vickie: "Point remains she was convicted of a federal crime..." "...I have absolutely no pity whatsoever for her. I still maintain she got off about as scott-free as you can get." (emphasis added)

Ach: "One of the interesting problems is her 'crime.' I understand why it (insider trading? whatever) is considered a crime." (Ach apparently thinks that Stewart is in jail for the insider trading charge)

Catch 22: "She chose lying."

theinfamousj: "She did commit a crime. The thing that makes insider trading illegal..." (theinfamouj also seems to think that Stewart is in jail for insider trading)

Has no one sat down and worked through the events here?

-Martha Stewart was arrested and charged with insider trading.

-The prosecution could not build a case around what they had. Recall that the jury did not find her guilty of insider trading.

-Somewhere during her interviews, she lied to a Federal agent. BTW, can anyone tell me -specifically- what she lied about? I do know that she was not under oath at the time.

-The Feds could not build a real case against her, so to save face (not to mention indulge in a bit of petty vengence) they decided to prosecute her on what is in truth a bullshit charge. Since most folks who end up on important-case juries don't have the collective IQ of a clam, much less a backbone, they passively digested the instructions spoon-fed to them, and found her guilty.

Here's the point, boys and girls; there's this lovely little law that lying to a Federal agent (or any Federal representative, if memory serves) is a felony, even if that person is not under oath.

Here's an example: a man is questioned by the FBI for something they're investigating at his workplace. One of the routine questions is where he was on a particular evening, or weekend. Recall that our joe is not under oath. Let's also say that joe was cheating on the missus (or mister, whatever) and fibbed about where he was: something irrelevant the investigation.

Now normally this isn't too much of a problem, but suppose the Feds think our joe can be useful. They want him, basically, to spy for them. Our joe, being the practical sort, says "uhh, no thanks!," but this doesn't make the G-men happy.

They say "joe, we know you've lied to our agents. If we choose to prosecute, you will be charged with a felony, and we will convict you."

What's our joe supposed to do?

Now call me silly and old-fashioned, but there's a name for this: blackmail. Just because Federal agents are playing the game doesn't make it right. That law is nothing more than a bullshit way to wiggle past constitutional rights such as due process, or double jeapordy. It's a kind of catch-all to which Feds can resort when they don't have a real case against someone.

Want a real-life example? I have a near-parallel to hand: Bill Clinton testified -under oath- that he didn't have sex with Monical Lewinsky. Despite what your personal position (Donk, Derm, for or against) in point of fact Clinton did in fact lie under oath. Perjury is a felony, last I heard.

This made Bill Clinton subject to impeachment and prosecution. Quite a few conservative/Republicans feel that lying under oath -for whatever reason- is not acceptable behavior for the President of the United States. I'm not talking about just the Clinton-haters here; Lord only knows the number of odd looks I got here in Southwestern Ohio when I tried to point out the ethical problems of how Starr caught him in that lie. These folks have very simple (but not simple-minded) rules. In this case, "the sumbitch lied, throw him in jail!"

But here's the problem: what the devil does Clinton humping anyone have to do with the Whitewater investigation!? Somebody answer that for me, please? What does the location of the "Willy" penis in 1996 have to do with land deals in Arkansas before Clinton got elected? Did he hide confidential memos inside of Monica? What?

As I said, I'm a kinda old-fashioned guy. In this case it means I think that a prosecution should stay on some sort of track that is remotely related to the original charge.

In other words, no fishing expeditions. The Lewinsky affair (heh!) had nothing to do with Whitewater, except that Kevin Starr was a tremendous woody to nail the President. Add your own disgusting speculations here. :)

Clinton was, in fact, more guilty than Stewart. He committed a recognizable crime (perjury). Stewart's only crime (the only one they could convict her of at any rate) was only so because the Feds said so. If the Congress passed a law that flipping the bird to a Federal representative, or spitting on them was felony assault, would the readers here bend over and say "Thank you sir! May I have another!?"

A law only has true force when it can be considered just; that it carries some valid moral or ethical reasoning behind it. This contemptible catch-all is anything but just. I dread to meet my forefathers when my time comes, that I will be forced to explain just how American citizens have become so slavish in bowing down to their civil "servants."

Hell, there's still parts of this county where lying to the "Revenuers" is not only an obligation, but a sacred duty!

We are descended from men who revolted against the British Empire because that government had become opressive and unjust. Today all we hear is "well, she did break the law!"

I suppose that at least some of the commenters in Her Majesty's thread feel that Stewart has not been truly persecuted; after all, she's filthy rich, and so on. What these people obviously have not considered is that the same unjust practices are used against citizens in this country every day, and damn near all of them don't have Martha Stewarts attorneys to protect them.

Ladies and gentlemen, I put it to you that an an unjust or unethical law is no respector of wealth or privelege; that in fact such a law does even more damage to the common people, who have fewer resources to legally protect themselves.

A long time ago, Englishmen would band together to defend the local knight or baron when unjustly accused or prosecuted; not in fear of retribution, or to curry favor, but in the recognition that what threatened one citizens' rights threatened everyone's rights, high or low!

So yes, Martha Stewart did, in fact, break the law. What we have to ask ourselves is whether that law is just, or not?

Remember this: we were born free! Truly, the only people who can put chains on Americans are ourselves.

Who's crushing dissent now?

From Lawrence Jarvik Online:

Agustin Blazquez produced and directed the documentaries Covering Cuba (which premiered at the American Film Institute cinema in the Kennedy Center), Cuba: The Pearl of the Antilles, Covering Cuba 2: The Next Generation and, Covering Cuba 3: Elian.

The interesting thing is that the AFI has refused to show Covering Cuba 3: Elian, since they view the film as "too controversial."

Mind you, this is after the American Film Institute bumped an Orson Welles retrospective so they could show Fahrenheit 9/11, which is (apparently) not controversial at all.

It's those damn neo-cons and the right-wing Bush attack machine, crushing dissent again.

Curse you, George Bush!

Tour de France update

Yesterday I congratulated Lance Armstrong for winning his sixth Tour de France.

The froggies, alas, have been showing their true nature in reacting to Armstrong's triumph, including spitting at him and flipping him the bird.

And here I thought the surrender monkeys were the suave, sophisticated ones; silly me!

UPDATE: Apparently the rude spitting buggers in question were German, and not French. My apologies to the froggies. :)

Sudan Intervention

Milblogger Blackfive discusses interventing in the Sudan, and closes with an intelligently provocative suggestion.

The usual "willing" include Great Britain and perhaps Australia.

And -as usual- France, Germany, and Russia have all said "nyet!" In fact (from other sources) those three countries have indicated that they won't even send money, much less troops, to help.

The suggestion?

I believe that we must seriously consider who is a "responsible" world member and how to support them.

An excellent suggestion indeed! Who wants to start?

Tout pour America!

American Lance Armstrong has become the first cyclist in history to win the Tour de France six times. Only four others have won the competition five times during its 101-year history.

This is especially impressive considering that just eight years ago Armstrong was given a less than 50% chance to live after contracting testicular cancer that spread into his lungs and brain.

So my hat's off to Lance, and I would never even think of gloating about his dominance over the frogs the French.

Ok. Maybe a little bit. :)

Black Holes Explained!

I have to say that Frank J. has become the American answer to Terry Prachett.

You doubt me? Read his primer about black holes!

'Nuff said...

Marine Bumper stickers

Save water, shower with a Marine.

Heaven won't take us and Hell's afraid we'll take over.

USMC: When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight.

When in doubt, empty the magazine.

To err is human, to forgive is divine, however neither is Marine Corps policy.

Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.

There are two types of people: Marines, and those that wish they were.

Martyrs or Marines, who do you think will get the virgins?

All men are created equal, then some become Marines.

It's not an attitude problem, we are that good.

U.S. Marines: Travel agents to Allah.

First Iraq, then France.

We're Marines, we took Iwo Jima, Baghdad ain't shit." (Gen. Kelly)

It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden, it's our job to arrange the meeting.

Sergeants think their only flaw is their excessive modesty.

Except for ending slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, war has never solved anything."

--Cheerfully stolen from StrategyPage.com

SpaceShip One Photos

Just found some more SpaceShip One photos; they're a very nice series from launch to landing.

The commentary included mentions that not only is astronaut Mike Melvill the second oldest man into space (after John Glenn), he is also the oldest to command a spaceflight.

My particular favorite is the sign Melvill holds up in the final photo.

You go, guys!

Thanks to Blackfive for the link.

Democratic Party Vote Fraud

Liberals are now publicly advocating voting fraud via Air America.

The wonderful folks who gave us "Bush==Hitler" are now suggesting that Democrats migrate to Ohio -just for November-, since our lovely state has a simple 30-day residency requirement, and Ohio may be the critical swing state in the election.

Let's import voters from other states to influence an election...

Hey Al, Randi: y'all forgot the old Daley trick of having dead people vote!

Yep, the Democrats are all class: "Vote early, vote often." Heh.

Thanks to the Conspiracy to keep you Poor and Stupid for the story.

Geeks vs. Freaks

Dean Esmay recently came out of the closet over at Dean's World.

What? Oh, no, he's not gay; he's just a geek. You see, Dean used to play D&D, but he never mentioned that little detail to his wife. Heh.

After the rest of us chimed in (me, I was a Paladin!), the lovely Rosemary Esmay chimed in and wanted to know:

I was out partying in bars, getting tattooed and having fun.

What's wrong with you people?

Well, Rose, we were geeky, while you were freaky!

Glad to be of help, Your Majesty... :)

Zinging the Dickens

out of Dickens...

I was about to add the lovely and talented Ambra Nykol to my blogroll anyway, when I dropped by her place to double-check the URL for my blogroll.

That's when I found her trenchant comments on The Giants of Literature.

My favorite shot: "There was a moment when I enjoyed Great Expectations. The end." Ouch! Heh.

Check her work out; it's worth it.

Lest we forget

America has recently rediscovered the "fun of frog-bashing" (AKA "dissing the French"). It's fun, it's easy, and even kids can play.

But let's not forget that Chiraq is not France. There's a fair number of French men and women who still love and respect America. I cite in evidence Anilore Banon, and Jean-Paul Delorme.

Ms. Banon is a sculptor who had decided to create a piece for the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings: "Their sacrifice and courage allowed us all to stand up. It was the force of their will that three generations later we still have with us."

She wasn't sure she would be able to get the funds to build her sculpture until Jean-Paul Delorme contacted her. Delorme had read about her problems in the International Herald Tribune, and volunteered to pay the bills.

What is truly amazing is that the factory building the monument went on strike (no, that's not the amazing part; this is France, after all {g}), but the 25 workers assigned to the project said "For the sculpture, we are not on strike."

Vive la France. Perhaps in the not too distant future, both sides will remember what Gen. "Black" Jack Pershing said, four score and seven years ago...

Assume standard orbit, Data!

How many times have we heard that over the years? The TV guys make it sound so easy.

But the reality is much more diffficult, especially when you are watching from more than halfway across the solar system.

Spacecraft Cassini Enters Saturn's Orbit(AP)
Cassini Spacecraft Enters Saturn's Orbit Between Two of Its Rings
...
A carefully choreographed maneuver allowed Cassini to be captured by Saturn's gravity as it arced within 12,500 miles of the giant planet's cloud tops.

The craft then rotated again to place its shielding antenna in front as it descended back through the gap.

Since the craft was over 900 million miles away, all JPL could do was watch, and hope that Cassini-Huygens worked as advertised. It did so, by flying between two of Saturn's rings.

Good on ya, guys!

You can find more information about Cassini-Huygens here, as well as the latest images.

Dump it!

It's official: The U.S. government's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is warning Web surfers to stop using Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser.

"US-CERT is a non-profit partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the public and private sectors. It was established in September 2003 to improve computer security preparedness and response to cyber attacks in the United States."

...

"US-CERT researchers say the IE browser does not adequately validate the security context of a frame that has been redirected by a Web server. It opens the door for an attacker to exploit the flaw by executing script in different security domains."

So what are you waiting for? Get a real browser, like Mozilla, Firefox, or Opera...