About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
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The Crows Nest
OpenCongress Web Widget
Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.
Maybe They're Flotation Devices?
The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.
The Thinking Blogger
Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!
Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money
NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...
Support The Al-Dura Petition
Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....
There Goes The Undefeated Season
Notre Dame managed to get its first loss out of the way as soon as possible -- and as badly as possible. Georgia Tech came to South Bend and stomped the Irish, 33-3, in the worst home opener loss in school history. The offense fumbled twice and allowed seven sacks on Evan Sharpley, who must have longed to have Brady Quinn back on the field instead. If Charlie Weis doesn't turn this debacle around fast, he may want to start asking Ty Willingham for some career counseling ....
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Comments (19)
Posted by Carol Herman | September 18, 2007 10:54 AM
Ooh, does this raise a good question?
First off, IF the press loves you; and you get kissed by Cindy Sheehan; how much is this worth in the real world?
The New Yuk Times is dying. In case you didn't know it's hit its all time low; and the BOND HOLDERS have grabbed ahold of Pinch's testicles.
Again, no facial expressions.
Your eyes might pop. But no one who is anyone ... who can "act" has to worry about give the story away, by some wide-eyed expression. Doesn't happen.
Chavez is "doing stuff" that the press hopes rubs salt in our wounds. That makes us feel bad. That's telling us "he can have his way with our women." So, let him take Cindy; and up-end her; and stare into the Madonna of the Ditch's private parts. I couldn't care less.
IF Chavez really wasn't in so much trouble ...
And, again, that's the real news; he wouldn't be tampering with this scheme that he needs to be photographed holding up his middle finger at us.
What a Caesar Come Lately.
Most of his people hate his guts. They see very little of the weath of their nation. But they do see the guns he can buy. Boat loads. Doesn't build the tourist trade, either.
Goons don't care about "tourist trade," which means over in Lebanon, both Nasrallah and Assad have what to worry about, when they're not around mirrors. Or flash photographers.
Venezuela is an "oil player." In a world similar to the arabs. ONE, you can't build a popular army, because the guns would be turned against ya.
TWO, you can't count on your troops to stay and do battle. (Well? To keep troops facing the front, it wasn't uncommon for Ulysses S. Grant to shoot those who took off to the rear.)
Of course, the movies never portray reality.
Gosh. I was so young when movies upset me, so; and, my dad said: "Just picture the camera! This is all done for the CAMERA. In a much larger room, that if you saw reality, you wouldn't get scared at all."
No. It does not make sense to swat at every common dictator. Enough of them have enemies on the inside. So, when they drop? Like the Bear went. It could happen in a moment's notice. This louse can be replaced by another stinker.
But that's the price you pay being in this world; and needing oil to run our stuff.
There really is no perfect way.
It's like coming to terms with pirates. Need I remind you that, starting with independence in 1776, we were just little fishes to the greedy arabs; who plied the waters, where we traded.
More than a million white men, sailing on our ships, were captured. Tortured. And, sold into slavery.
First? Oy. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison ... 4 of them; decided it was "cheaper" to pay the tribute. While the public clamored for action.
What stood in the way? Congress. States rights. The fear that a navy would promote a Federal government, and weaken states'rights. What a fight! Just to get to 6 frigates.
Not overnight. Obviously. But on December 2, 1823, in his second term in office, President James Monroe, went into the Well of Congress, and announced the MONROE DOCTRINE. Which put America's mightest military step forward. Oh, and we stopped paying tribute to the arabs, until 1928; when politicians handed those bandits wandering the desert, the plums that went to the House of Saud.
Sure, we manufactured our own problems.
We didn't want to become "colonizers."
Today, we're stuck.
Maybe, we'll figure out some other solutions. We could go broke, first. But if we go under, the paper the Saud's hold would become worthless.
Making friends is more difficult than getting reluctant cooperation. And, I'll settle for "reluctant cooperation," ahead.
How many empty years can the Wahabbi sect travel on; if it looks like islam doesn't provide the riches of others, to steal? Just asking.
Posted by PCachu | September 18, 2007 11:29 AM
And may I just say, for the headline: Ew.
Posted by Immolate | September 18, 2007 11:59 AM
Your metaphor wandered off the reservation.
Posted by Crunchy Frog | September 18, 2007 12:57 PM
Can't we just invade Venezuela for the oil?
That's why we're in Iraq, right?
Posted by Carol Herman | September 18, 2007 1:33 PM
D'oh, Crunchy Frog. All we have to do is keep our ships at sea, alert.
Irak's stand alone. I don't anticipate any sequels.
Let alone what happened when, after the Alamo, we found our army in Mexico City. And, realized Americans don't "colonize" others. We drew the line at the Rio Grande. But the world shrunk.
Besides, what if Chavez is just playing to the gallery? And, hamming it up?
At home? Starvation. Loss of profits.
And, a drop in tourism.
Seems ya gotta be a Capitalist to figure out what works. And, what doesn't.
Posted by james23 | September 18, 2007 2:05 PM
Hide the Salami? think you intended that one for one of your Bill Clinton posts, right?
Posted by Gregory | September 18, 2007 3:00 PM
This just in: President Chavez has just outlawed choking. Violators will be strangled.
Posted by NoDonkey | September 18, 2007 4:23 PM
"He is one of the few on the Left who sees Chavez for the threat to personal liberty that he is."
Since when does anyone on the left give a tinker's damn about personal liberty?
If so, why are they on the left?
To be a leftist, is by definition to believe that the state reigns supreme. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs and you can't bring about universal "justice" without abolishing individual rights in favor of collective (non)rights and by enslaving or killing people who don't agree with you.
That's why leftist governments murdered over 100 million people in the 20th century. Sounds like the little Venezuelan chicken choker down south is aching to make his contribution to the 21st century score.
All leftists are morally and intellectually bankrupt. I'm fine with them as long as they keep me out of their little Utopian schemes, but I will call them out the moment they try and include me.
Posted by gregdn | September 18, 2007 4:35 PM
I fail to see why this is any of our concern. They voted him in and can take him out.
Posted by burt | September 18, 2007 5:07 PM
Chavez is working hard but he will never be higher than a B league murderer when you have guys like Mao and Stalin in the game.
"They voted him in and can take him out." That doesn't follow and may well not be true.
Posted by pst314 | September 18, 2007 5:14 PM
"I...wonder how long it will take before...Chavez apologists start to choke on it."
Well, a historian once noted that leftists didn't decide there was something wrong with Stalin until he started killing lots of commies. (Millions of dead peasants and workers was just fine.) Likewise for perceptions of Mao, etc.
As Tony Judt pointed out in his book Postwar, the left likes thuggery:
"...writers, professors, artists, teachers and journalists frequently
admired Stalin not in spite of his faults, but because of them. It was
when he was murdering people on an industrial scale, when the show
trials were displaying Soviet Communism at its most theatrically
macabre, that men and women beyond Stalin’s grasp were most
seduced by the man and his cult. It was the absurdly large gap
separating rhetoric from reality that made it so irresistible to men
and women of goodwill in search of a Cause."
--Bruce Bawer in "In the Shadow of the Gulag: Tony Judt’s Europe", in the Winter 2007 issue of the Hudson Review, quoting a passage in Postwar by Tony Judt
Posted by gregdn | September 18, 2007 5:16 PM
Burt:
Regardless, we don't need to be involved.
Posted by Del Dolemonte | September 18, 2007 8:01 PM
It should be interesting to watch Chavez over the next few years to see if he tries to pull a Falkland Islands on the nearby Netherlands Antilles, which are a very short distance off his shores.
2 of the 3 islands (Aruba and Curacao) have the same things Cuba had before Castro "liberated" them. Namely hotels, casinos, energy, etc.
Posted by Del Dolemonte | September 18, 2007 8:03 PM
Oops, my bad. The 3rd NA island also has casinos.
Posted by patrick neid | September 18, 2007 9:03 PM
Everyday the lamp post, the one I predict chavez will be hanging from, gets a little closer.
Posted by pst314 | September 18, 2007 9:20 PM
Are there enough lampposts for all the Western "progressives" who praised Chavez while demonizing his opponents?
Posted by Les Nessman | September 18, 2007 11:06 PM
This story makes me thank God America has the 2nd Amendment.
Posted by geekWithA.45 | September 19, 2007 9:30 AM
It's funny how the reference to salami slices was placed at the feet of a British comedy, rather than at a far more appropriate source: Matyas Rokosi.
Comrade Rokosi was Stalin's Hungarian protege, who originated "salami tactics", once boasting that he would cut off his enemies one by one, "like slices of salami".
Hugo Chavez is using pretty much the same script to subvert Venezuela that the Soviet backed Hungarian communists used to subvert Hungary following WWII, one institution at a time.
Posted by Chris Chittleborough | September 20, 2007 1:16 AM
That show was not just "a British television series"! It's one of the greatest television series ever made. It explains how governments really work better than anything else I've ever seen or read.
Oh, and it's hilariously funny too.
(You can buy "Yes , Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" as DVDs and books; I highly recommend getting both.)