It's Not a Partisan Thing

Colbert King is a liberal columnist in the Washington Post. A few days ago he wrote an interesting piece about John Kerry's service in Vietnam. He starts with

Those who dismiss critics of John Kerry's Vietnam service as just a bunch of right-wing Republicans out to advance George W. Bush's cause don't know what they are talking about -- or they are engaged in wishful thinking.

Surprising words for a Liberal.

He admits to having initially dismissed the Swift Vets as Republican shills. Then he started getting e-mails from Vietnam vets who were unabashedly Democrats. One was "former assistant secretary of the Air Force Rodney Coleman. A Democrat, Coleman has local roots, having worked for the D.C. Council..." Can't get more Democrat than having worked for the DC government.

Mr King quotes Coleman's e-mail:

"When Kerry made those critical statements of the war," Coleman wrote, "my parents, God bless them, went ballistic about their son going in harm's way. My military colleagues in the fellows program who had been there and were shot up were incensed that a so-called military man would engage in such insubordinate actions. At the time Kerry made those unfortunate remarks, America had POWs and MIAs, among them my friend, Colonel Fred Cherry, the longest-held black POW of the Vietnam War. How could a true American fighting man throw away his medals, while thousands he fought alongside of were in the midst of another example of man's inhumanity to man?"

This is the heart of the Swift Boat Vets and their opposition to Kerry. He's flawed. Not just humanly fallible. He's Macbeth flawed, rotten to the core, without the redeeming conscience at the center of a Shakespearean tragedy. That, at least, might leave room to pity him. But not for John Kerry.

Let's just hope he loses and disappears into the political wilderness where he belongs.

A Shameless Plug for a Great Product: Me!

OK. This is a political Blog. You let me onto your desktops to partake of pithy, thank you O'Reilly, commentary and clever repartee. At least that's what I let myself think. So, I'm gonna beg your forbearance while I ask you all for a favor.

I've been consulting for the last year and it's been a lot of fun.

Still, I've missed the camaraderie that comes with being part of a corporate team. So, I've decided to return to full-time employment with a good company.

My background is eclectic. It includes operations analysis, engineering, project management, marketing & sales, international business development and freelance writing. I've worked in both commercial and government markets.

There are two directions I'm considering.

The first is Management Consulting working with clients on business processes, strategic planning and resource allocation/risk assessments. That resume is here.

The second is Business Development for a defense contractor in either the domestic or international markets. That resume is here.

I'm good with clients. I understand management and technology issues. And I am one hell of a communicator.

I'd appreciate any referrals, suggestions or comments.

Thanks.

Michael Moore's Underwear

The Detroit Free Press reports that Michael Moore's been offering "underwear, noodles and snacks to college students in exchange for their promise to vote".

Well......

Do you think he offered his own underwear? Maybe as some kind of groupy souvenir? Something to hang on the dorm room wall.

Just send me $10, cash, and I'll have a professional psychic excise that from your memory.

You know, when I was in college, underwear was kind of a low priority. Noodles and snacks would have been pretty high up there. Midshipmen like to eat....and sleep. But underwear?! I think I had one for each day of the week and used the same seven pairs for the entire four year program. By the end, they'd been reduced to waistbands and trace molecules.

Is underwear really something that would motivate college students to vote one way or the other. Anyway, what kind of creepy guy offers a pair of briefs to young kids? How old is Moore anyway? Somewhere in his forties? Close enough. I just don't feel like looking it up. I might happen upon a photo of him and upset my innards.

Anyway, can you imagine sitting in the quad, hangin' with your friends and having Michael Moore walk up to you, wearing a raincoat, and offering you undergarments?

I shudder to imagine.

Love Paris, Hate the French

When I was six, in 1966, my Dad was a US Air Force officer stationed in Germany. My parents, both die-hard romantics always told me about Paris, their favorite city. So, that year we took a trip to that lovely town, me, my sister and our parents. It happened to coincide with Degaulle's decision to throw US forces out of France, accompanied by heated attacks on America. Upon our arrival we hailed a cab, loaded up the trunk with all our bags and started on our way. That is until the little Gaulic shit driving the taxi realized we were Americans. He started shouting, ordered us out of the vehicle and ended up in a shouting match with my father, during which our fecund Frenchman pulled our bags out of the back and threw them into the street and drove off.

We found another ride and had our vacation, but we never forgot the bad treatment.

Now I've had plenty of nice experiences in Paris since and still think it's one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's too bad the French get to live there. They're rude, they stink and, to be honest, I don't like their food that much. A nice onion tart in Alsace is my favorite treat, and that's only sort of French.

So, in honor of that noble breed of collaborators and anti-semites, here's a little joke where one of our own is the hero.

God bless the United States Marines.

The joke:

The Euro-Train was quite crowded, so the U. S. Marine walked its entire length looking for a seat, only to find that the last seat left was taken by a well-dressed middle-aged French woman's poodle.

The war-weary Marine asked, "Ma'am, may I have that seat?" The French woman just sniffed and said to no one in particular, "Americans are so rude. My little Fifi is using that seat." The Marine walked the entire train again, but the only seat left was under that dog. "Please, ma'am. May I sit down? I'm very tired.."

She snorted, "Not only are you Americans rude, you are also arrogant!"

This time the Marine didn't say a word, he just picked up the little dog, tossed it out the train window, and sat down. The woman shrieked, "Someone must defend my honor! Put this American in his place!"

An English gentleman sitting nearby spoke up. " Sir, you Americans often seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You hold the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side of the road. And now, sir, you've thrown the wrong bitch out the window!"

I admire the Brits as well.