James R. Rummel

Phil is the co-worker who asked this question about aliens and double entry accounting. He just told me that he’s planning on calling in sick tonight.

I asked what was up. Family coming into town and he wants to catch up? Birthday and he wants to celebrate? Does he have a problem with his eyesight ’cause he just can’t see himself coming in to work?

No, he really expects to be as sick as a dog tomorrow. Kerry’s going to give his acceptance speech and Phil’s going to down a shot every time he mentions Vietnam.

I told Phil that he shouldn’t do that. Alcohol poisoning kills people every so often, and I’d hate to lose him.

Not to worry, he said. He had already thought of that. Instead of hard spirits he was going to be downing shot glasses full of beer.

Smart guy, Phil.

I was just reading this post on Strategypage.com. (Scroll down to the post dated July 28, 2004.) Fantastic news from Afghanistan!

The country is improving, with new construction all over the place and new schools for the children. The crushing oppression of women found under the Taliban has been greatly reduced, with many of them trading in their burkas for a simple headscarf. The 3.5 million Afghanis who fled the country have returned, trade with Pakistan has increased to 50 times it’s previous volume, and only 11 percent of the citizens still support the remnants of the Taliban.

Not only that, but 2/3rds of the population support both the new government and the US!

It’s only been 2 years since our invasion, and this is amazing progress. It couldn’t be going better by any reasonable criteria. Heck, it’s already exceeded just about any reasonable expectation I had.

So let’s ask a rhetorical question. Why aren’t we hearing more of this in the press? (Heh. Like we don’t already know.)

Go out and find someone who was politically active in the 1960’s. Ask them if the political landscape has ever been as polarized as it is now.

They’ll probably say that it was much worse in the 1960’s, but it’s worse now than it’s been since. After all, we have all those big protests and people are emotional and passionate, but we don’t have riots and violence.

Not yet, anyway. (I doubt that we will, either.)

So we have this Michael Moore guy making documentaries that are full of what professional journalists and movie critics call “misleading statements” and “intriguing polemics”. Being a simple self-defense instructor and college student I call them “lies”.

This sort of thing plays well with people who want their opinions to be justified, but it’s not something that will last in the long run. Those that continue to use Moore’s work as a reference will come off sounding like idiots.

In fact, that’s pretty much the opinion I have when someone refers to any of his books or films in a debate. It’s like that old adage about debates on the Internet lasting until someone calls their opponent a Nazi. Might as well pack it in, it’s not worth wasting your time talking to this ninny.

So Moore is riding a wave of emotion. He’s rallying fellow travellers to the flag, getting people all fired up. But I wonder how long he’ll last once events evolve and he’s no longer needed.

If Kerry wins I figure the Dems will distance themselves pretty quick from good ol’ Michael. If Bush is re-elected then Moore might have a chance to stay in the limelight for awhile longer as the Dems get even more shrill.

But I could be wrong about this. As H.L. Mencken once said, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”

Moore’s living proof that you can make a tidy sum of cash as well as avoiding bankruptcy court.

I’m terribly interested in history. Just ask anyone who knows me.

I take trips to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from time to time. It’s best if a friend will come along, since then I can give a tour.

They watch the 30 minutes of Ken Burns Civil War that concerns Gettysberg and the fight on Little Round Top. The first place we stop is on that hill.

I explain what happened there, 358 men holding out against more than 800. They piled rocks up for cover and fought like crazy. The defenders were down to about 200 men when they ran out of ammo. So they fixed bayonets and charged….and by some miracle managed to win.

At the end of the talk I pick a pebble up and hand it to whoever came along. “This might be part of that wall.” I say. Usually there’s a bunch of misty eyes all around, including my own.

After that we always walk all over the battlefield. If the weather’s nice we hop a few fences and see parts of the park that no one except the forest rangers have visited for a century.

The reason I’m writing this is due to this post, where Michael Hiteshew asks for history text suggestions. It seems that he wants to encourage his 24 year old daughter to develop an interest in history.

Many people have left comments, and after reading them I now want to go out and get several of the books that have been suggested. But just about everyone has missed the target.

See, you don’t read a book about history and enjoy it until after you are already interested in history!

This is very important, but it’s tough for people who are already passionate about our past to understand that there are those who don’t share our interest.

The only person who understands the basics is Fuz. He suggested that Michael start with an old documentary entitled The Day the Universe Changed by James Burke. It’s very engaging, easy to watch, and it shows how decisions and events echo through the centuries.

Hey, isn’t that why we’re interested in history? Because we want to see how we got here?

Michael, forget the 1,000 page books. If she’s not interested before you give her a huge tome like that she’ll take one look at it and use it for a doorstop. Listen to Fuz and lay the groundwork before you saddle her with college level reading material.

And if you’re every planning a trip to Gettysburg, I’ll meet you there.

Just read a news report about a new poll from the U. of Maryland. Seems that most Americans are against torturing prisoners.

Yeah, I know. Big freakin’ shock, huh?

But there’s more for your government research grant dollars! They also asked if prisoners should have a hearing to answer charges brought against them, if they should be allowed to contact a family member, and if the people answering the poll were against a variety of physical and sexual tortures. The vast majority of the people who responded agreed with all of the above statements.

So these idiots polled a group of Americans and found…..a group of Americans. With American attitudes.

I’ve gotta get a PhD and start sucking up some of that sweet, sweet grant money. After reading about this poll I’m convinced that the Feds will pass it out to any moron with enough advanced degrees.