Still good

I've read Wizard of Id for more than 40 years.
Still good, and relevant.
LOL!

Misrepresentation

I sometimes get comments from people who say they would prefer the steadfastness of GW Bush and his commitment to his own principles now matter what to the lying of Bill Clinton.
They refer in a general way to Clinton's public and court-room lying.
Generally they don't specifically say it, but they mean the affair with Monica.
It is not said whether they think (or know) that Clinton has lied about other things.
I think that lying, in general, is a pretty bad thing.
One should not do it.
But lying is also a subtle thing.
And betraying trust is a part of it.
One can betray trust without telling a deliberate lie.
Not telling the whole truth is one way.
Shading things to make a situation look to be something it isn't.
And the responsibility of the leader of the free world to not betray our trust in these ways is pretty great.
I follow the website Fact Check.
It reports on misrepresentations of facts by politicians of all kinds, and the government in general.
The latest article tells about the misrepresentations in Bushes' latest news conference about children's health insurance. Click here.
And about the situation in Iraq. Here.
Given the scope of the effects of these misrepresentations, I still choose those of Clinton any day.

Latest late-nighters

"How many saw the president's speech last night? He pre-empted regular programming, which is nice, because viewers tuning in to see 'Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader' for once got to feel they actually were. Yeah, he offered really no new strategy that I saw, but, of course, a new slogan: 'Return on Success.' Sounds like a Dr. Phil book." --Bill Maher

"Did you know last night's presidential speech was the first one broadcast in Hi-Def? And again, I don't think President Bush quite understands what that means. If fact, when they told him it was Hi-Def, he said, 'Oh great. Does that mean we don't need that lady with the sign language up in the corner anymore?" --Jay Leno

"In political news, Vice President Dick Cheney is very upset about the way General Petraeus has been treated by the Democrats. Vice President Cheney said it is horrible that people mock and insult a soldier. I'll be sure to pass that on to John Kerry when I see him." --Jay Leno

Yesterday in Australia, a TV comedian dressed himself up over there as Osama Bin Laden and got within feet of Bush's hotel. They got him, and the Bush spokesman said it was obviously not the real Bin Laden because they caught him." --Bill Maher

"Last night in this state of California, the first Republican debate was held at the Reagan Presidential Library. The candidates tried to distance themselves from President Bush. Apparently, the first step in distancing yourself from President Bush is appearing at a library"--Conan O'Brien

"This is the week that Congress sent the president a bill to bring the troops home, which, of course, as he promised he would do, vetoed it. The president said setting a deadline for withdrawal was setting a date for failure. And we all know, this is a president who likes his failures unplanned and spur-of-the-moment." --Bill Maher

Keys to success

Posters

If you follow Christian blogs you know that selfmade posters have been very popular lately.
You can make your own here.
TeamPyro has made quite a few criticizing the Emerging Church.
Click here and scroll down.
And of course a number of Emergent people have made their own.
You can see some of them here.
Kind of cute stuff.
I like this one:

Actually, I've been trying to work on an equal basis with women (in and outside of the church) for some years now.
It's not easy for me to do sometimes, because of biases from my background.
But it has made my life much richer.
Thank you, ladies.

Followup Mr. Bumbler

Here is an excerpt from the interview with Bill Clinton on Larry King.
The subject is the capture of terrorists (like last week in Germany) and whether Clinton is optimistic or pessimistic about the future.
Again - whether you agree with him or not, there is an ability to think clearly, articulate, and presented a balanced and nuanced view, the kind of thing we sorely miss nowdays.
Notice here that he credits Bush with the fact that there has not been an attack on US soil since 9/11.
Take a few minutes to watch....

Mr. Bumbler

Yesterday I saw a bit of the interview with Bill Clinton on Larry King Live.
Clinton is so articulate and in command of the facts and issues (regardless of whether you agree with him or not).
And our Mr. Bumbler is still going around the world.

One a week

Senate Guru 2008 has published a list of scandals involving Republicans in 2008.
There has been one a week - actually more: one every 5.7 days.
See the list here.
A number of commenters want to know where the list of corruption in the Deomcratic party is. Wouldn't it be more fair to publish that list also?
Good question, but not really relevant.
My mother always said that it doesn't matter what the other boy does - you keep your own nose clean.
And another person comments - right on the money: Actually, since W has been in power, I have had a hard time reconciling the depth of the corruption with the lack of outrage, or even coverage.
Bingo.

Kickin' ass

CNN reports the following (and I have read it in other sources, too):

WASHINGTON (CNN) — When President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq last weekend, he made clear he was pleased with what he saw.
"The security situation is changing," Bush told reporters during the visit. "There's more work to be done. But reconciliation is taking place."
But according to the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, the president gave a more-to-the-point assessment to Australia Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile.
"We're kicking ass," Bush said to Vaile Tuesday, according the Herald, after the deputy prime minister inquired about his trip to Iraq.

I know whose I'd like to kick........

English

Last week the videoclip of Miss Teenage South Carolina answering a question with complete nonsense spread like wildfire over blogworld. Click here to see it yourself if you haven't already.
Recently I've come across a blog dedicated to pointing out the wrong use of the apostrophe. Here is the blog. You'll find examples like:

Ladie's room.
Gordon win's again.
Abuse for writer's.

I'm (notice the apostrophe) proud to announce that I corrected one of these in the main evangelical missions magazine, EMQ. They had their Reader's Respond section until I, in a gentle mail, reminded them that it should be Readers Respond. Really - I did it very nicely, and it was immediately changed.......

This one has nothing to do with the apostrophe, but it is hilarious. It comes from a report about the Philadelphia Phillies losing to the Florida Marlins (it was a crucial game).

Anyway, the last at-bat is described this way:

Rollins then flew out to center on the next pitch to short-circuit the rally and deflate any momentum Philadelphia had still been carrying from its four-game sweep of New York earlier in the week.

Can't you just see Rollins flapping his arms and levitating while the stadium crowd goes crazy, wondering if he really will make it to center field, and, if he does, ready to believe in miracles and immediately join this church?

For those of you who don't know what is wrong with this sentence, it should be flied.

Ah - English is difficult. Just ask our Commander in Chief.

You knew I'd somehow get to him, didn't you?