On The Third Hand

America is a Wounded Animal

By: Me

As any hunter will tell you, a cornered, wounded animal is probably the most dangerous entity in the world. It will turn on its tormentors an inflict as much damage as possible before succumbing to or escaping from them, be it rabbit or rhino.

America is a well armed wounded animal and it is, I think, a toss up as to who she is going to lash out at first: Internally at her feckless (read traitorous) politicians or at her tormentors from without? It remains to be seen as to when we, as a society, cry:

ENOUGH!!!

At any rate, the world, be it internal or external, is walking a very, very dangerous path and should be very cautious when stirring up the hornet’s nest named:

AMERICA!

Willik’s 2 cents

You have to trust people.

I had a stroke. A minor stroke with transient effects. I’m feeling tons better now. I-Got-Lucky..

You may not. So if you think you’re having a stroke, get help. Learn the signs of stroke, and when something happens that makes you think of stroke, get help right then. Not later, right then.

And if you do have a stroke don’t think of it as a life-long sentence. You can recover. It may take a lot of effort, hard effort, but recovery is possible. But you have to try and try hard. Arm isn’t working? Make it. Leg won’t hold your weight? Make it. Whatever the stroke took away from you, you can learn to do again. Even if you’re 126 going on 127 you can relearn the skills the stroke took away. All you have to do is try.

Thems my thoughts. Yours?

The last time I had a medical emergency I got a CAT scan along with the usual. An infection in the jaw as it turned out. This time around it was a CAT scan, three ultasounds, and an MRI, which led to the discovery I’d had a stroke.

CAT scan didn’t find anything, so I had the MRI. The ultrasounds revealed that the veins of my legs, the carotids in my neck, and my heart are good. The MRI revealed the stroke.

A minor one as it turns out. I’m pretty much functional, and I expect to make a full recovery.

And me on Medicaid.

I can recall when MRIs were not used on such a casual basis. You had a minor stroke the diagnosis was made from personal observation. Today you can get confirmation.

Let me put it this way, the MRI was not done to learn if the stroke had occurred, it was done to confirm the stroke had occurred.

Let’s review: Right side going on strike, speech blurred, slurred and generally not cooperating. Which has pretty much cleared up now. (I made a fast recovery.) Back in Grandpa’s day this would be judged a stroke. Today we verify using a tool that needs more power than a Las Vegas marquee for a single scan. And you helped pay for it.

I’m just happy it wasn’t worse. I’m also happy my veins are clear, my heart is sound, and my total cholesterol has fallen (177-156).

But seriously, I got lucky, you may not. So keep yourself active and find excuses to get some kind of exercise.

The New York Times recently ran an article in the arts section on the people behind the blog, Iraq the Model. From the responses I’ve seen on the blogosphere, it was wrong in so many ways it would take a lengthy posting to adequately rebut. Since I haven’t read the article, I shan’t comment on it. I do have a few things to say on being wrong. [link to article added – kk]

We’re human, we make mistakes. But it seems to me that we have developed a deep reluctance to admit to being wrong. Even when the evidence very plainly says we are.

Take global warming. A good look at the available evidence says we are having a substantial impact on the environment. But some people take bits and pieces that apparently contradict this and say anything from, “it’s not happening” to, “it’s a natural process we have nothing to do with". From all I’ve heard, it is happening, and we are influencing events.

Or the sasquatch. An animal for which there is a lot of evidence. But according to some that evidence has to be fraudulent. Why? Usually it’s because such an animal could not exist, otherwise we’d have found it already.

Then you have the people who insist, in the face of evidence to the contrary, that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating, and that everything we do there is at best worthless, and at worst counterproductive.

(Speaking of which, you have those who confuse absence of evidence with evidence of absence when dealing with the question of WMDs in Iraq.)

We, in short, have a problem admitting we are wrong. A self destructive habit, in my considered opinion.

Folks, you are human. You are only human. You have made mistakes, you can make mistakes, you will make mistakes. When you make a mistake, own up to it, and correct it. It’ll make your life a whole lot easier.

Now, some clowns will get on your case about your error, because you admitted to being wrong. They will carp and bray about it. The hell with ‘em. They’re going to be childish about it, ignore the twerps. Let the world know that you acknowledge your error, and that you’ve now mended your ways, and let the vindictive and small babble into the void. The grownups will acknowledge your self-correction and go on with their lives.

Don’t let the vengeful keep you from doing what is right.

It takes strength to admit to error. Have you that strength?

(note to Kathy: Go ahead and add relevant links where you think appropriate.)

Reporter Avoids Jail in Source Disclosure Case

A Rhode Island television reporter was sentenced to six months of house arrest on Thursday for refusing to reveal the identity of a source.

A federal judge convicted investigative journalist Jim Taricani last month of criminal contempt for not saying who gave him a surveillance videotape in a FBI corruption investigation. After the conviction, a defense lawyer came forward and identified himself as Taricani’s source.

My only question is, when does the defense lawyer get convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal his or her source?

Citizen Smash’s When Counter-Proliferation Fails and Froggy’s response, Pondering the Nightmare

It’s an old conversation and I don’t think a nuclear attack is inevitable; however, I do think it is possible and certainly something we should think about.

For an earlier conversation, which also includes chemical and biological attacks, see this post by Wretchard at Belmont club, the thoughts on that post by Steven Den Beste, and Wretchard’s response to Den Beste.

My thoughts on the subject are closest to Den Beste’s post, including his comment on the danger of biological warfare (though I consider it the least likely WMD to be successfully used by terrorists). I consider the current administration’s policy to be our best chance of avoiding such attacks, thus our best chance of avoiding ever having to use nuclear weaponry again. In many ways, I fear our response to a serious attack more than the attack itself.

To the right: The various cultures in the world are neither ‘all good’ or ‘all evi’l. There are ’shades of grey’ in there.

To the left: There are some necessary delimiters in those ’shades of grey’ that you seem to be ignoring.

Just sayin’.

One from a Bush supporter at Ace of Spades.

One from a Kerry supporter, John Perry Barlow.

If you can’t stand clicking on a Bush supporter, at least read the second one. Please read his whole essay (this applies to Bush supporters who click over too). And try to follow his example. Even if he’s not quite completely calmed down yet, he’s well on his way.

We in the center need you for balance. We don’t need a large population of paranoid, hysterical, conspiracy theorists. We had enough of that from the far right during the Clinton years.

A Couple Of Grins From The Den……..

MB hasn’t been on a prowling and plodding route in many a moon, having pretty much stuck to the topic of Iran, but this morning she decided to take a stroll, as it were…..the results: two tidbits of totally different character.

First off, she found an article that perfectly describes who we are as Americans and why we are trying so hard to help the Iraqis find their way to a good life…because they deserve the help! As they say, RTWT.

2nd, MB would be very remiss if she did not remark on her old friend Andrew’s new book, The Gathering Dark, and a great offer to get in on the ground floor with a personalised edition which you can order here. Scoot and buy !!

A Bark From The Den……..

From our friend Bill in Texas, where they understand things very well. Although we’ve not tracked down the authorship, yet [although it is claimed, here], we feel this is too important to pass by…it needs to be passed along, for the message is too good to overlook.

A Military Story – Don’t Close Your Blinds

The other day, my nine year old son wanted to know why we were at war. My husband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband and I were in the Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored to serve and defend our Country again today. I knew that my husband would give him a good explanation.

My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go stand in our front living room window. He said “Son, stand there and tell me what you see?”

“I see trees and cars and our neighbor’s houses.” he replied.

“OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the United States of America and you are President Bush.”

Our son giggled and said “OK.”

“Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every house and yard on this block is a different country” my husband said.

“OK Dad, I’m pretending.”

“Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and pretend you see Saddam come out of his house with his wife, he has her by the hair and is hitting her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her on the ground, then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run out and are afraid to stop him, they are screaming and crying, they are watching this but do nothing because they are kids and they are afraid of their father. You see all of this son…. what do you do?”

I’m engaged in a conversation over here. As you read through the thread note the tone of some of the entries. Also note that ENWorld is a courteous place compared to others of its type, and the thread in question is more polite than others I’ve seen there.

As I’ve participated it struck me how conservative, how tradition bound the RPH (roleplaying hobby) is. How like many other communities. This may strike you as strange, but it really isn’t.

We don’t like change. Not big change. Small change, involuntary change we can abide. The last because it’s often a case of adapt or die. But change itself, no. Leave things be and take your newfangled ideas somewhere else. Then you have folks who can’t abide change no matter why it’s ocurring.

Any community, any population. Democrats, Republicans, conservative Christians, Radical Muslims, any.

The anti-war crowd for example. For them 9/11 changed the world, and they don’t like it. It’s not that they refuse to recognize the fact the world has changed. They don’t like it, and they want things back the way they were. So they march and they protest and they write letters to the editor demanding we turn our back on this new land we’re traveling and return to the halcyon days when the big controversy was the crusade of the Sainted Al Gore versus the benighted George Bush.

Same for the Iraqi insurgents. Change has come to their land. They don’t like it. So they’ve taken up arms to return Iraq to the blessed days of the Mahdi Saddam Hussein. It matters not that Iraq has benefitted from the change. They want things back the way they were, and damn be those who get hurt.

That’s the thing about change, no matter how benign someone always gets hurt. Not everybody can adapt. Not everybody wants to adapt. Sometimes somebody has to get hurt for change to occur. The last a fact of life some adamantly deny.

But sometimes change has to occur. In the thread cited above I hold to the position that the roleplaying hobby needs to change to create a larger base. In Iraq change was necessary to end the rule of a tyrant and free a captive people. Change is coming elsewhere; China, North Korea, Iran among numerous others. Change in those places will disrupt many lives, end some, and upset others. But it can’t be avoided.

In the long run what happens in the RPH really means nothing, unless there are results and unintended consequences I have no current inkling of. In the world as a whole the coming changes will mean much to us. Some we can predict. Some we can’t. But life will be different for our children and their progeny to come. We can either adjust, adapt to what’s coming, or we can turn our backs on change and in the doing become irrelevant to the new public discourse. I know the path I’m taking. You?

(Well, that’s my first substantial entry to this blog.)

Alan Kellogg, Mythusmage Opines