Author Archives: ghw

obligatory reflection on blogging

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Not that you’ve complained, dear reader, but I find myself overwhelmed by the nature of the developments in our “liberation” of Iraq (and reactions to said developments) to write anything sustained and thoughtful. I have a PhD. I should be, like, smart and stuff. Yet I find myself wanting to write these snarky little entries. Hit and run. Kibbles and bits. What good do they do?

Some thoughts are brewing, though.

  • Anyone remember weapons of mass destruction?
  • At what point do people who oppose the war stop agreeing with the sentiment behind the expression “Support our troops”?
  • Does anyone ever get fired in the Bush administration?
  • Which of these is worse: stupidity, incompentence, dishonesty?

setting the bar low

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This story has been getting a lot of play in the blogosphere. As I write this entry, the story is ranked at number 11 on What’s Making Blog News and earlier in the week it was ranked highly by Blogdex. In short, when President Bush learned that teenager Ashley Faulkner had lost her mother on 9/11, he asked her how she was doing and gave her a hug. The response? Her father said “[T]his was the real deal. I was really impressed. It was genuine and from the heart.”

What does it say about our president that American citizens are impressed when he does what any feeling human being should do in such a situation?

what’s making blognews

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From Wired: “What’s Making Blognews lists the main stories making the rounds on political blogs. Unlike other meta sites like Blogdex or Daypop, What’s Making Blognews concentrates only on political issues.”

these really are bad times, aren’t they?

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Sen. James Inhofe thinks it’s no big deal when the U.S. tortures people: “Many of them probably have American blood on their hands. And here we’re so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.” There’s just one inconvenient hitch: Up to 90% of Iraqi detainees arrested by mistake, Red Cross says.

It’s official. America has jumped the shark.

my 12″ world collides with the real one

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It’s kind of strange, in a good way, when my 12″ world collides with the “real” one.

  • Recognizing someone from the coffee shop.
  • Realizing I was at the grand opening of the new location for Hammerpress at the same time as my favorite KC comic artist.
  • Running into Heidi at said grand opening. We were standing next to each other for a good thirty seconds before I realized who I was standing next to. I would not have even known about Hammerpress were it not for Heidi’s post and comment on the place.
  • Singling out Brady Vest, Hammerpress proprietor, from the others in the impressive crowd because I’d seen his picture online in the Pitch article. We talked very briefly about the possibility of his involvement with one or more of my classes next year. Mr. Vest is very cool. I am a dork.