Ties on Pigs
Friday, September 24, 2004
Patriotic Surgeons Volunteer for War
by Andy
Two Tucson Surgeons, Dr. James Balserak and Dr. Eric Kendle, have volunteered to leave their comfortable lives and families here in Arizona to serve the U.S. armed men and women in Iraq. Balserak is the chief surgeon at Tucson Medical Center and was the skilled doctor who removed my gallbladder last year. These deeply patriotic and heroic Americans insist the soldiers get the best surgeons possible and intend on putting their lives in harms way to make sure the soldiers have the best chance of survival.
Balserak and Kendle are obviously strong supporters of the war on terror and believe in it. The Arizona Daily Star’s story about their involvement in the war mentions it as a bit of trivia somewhere in the article.
All I can say is God bless James Balserak, Eric Kendle and their families. Their sacrifices are for a great moral cause and they exemplify what is wonderful about this country.
Two Tucson Surgeons, Dr. James Balserak and Dr. Eric Kendle, have volunteered to leave their comfortable lives and families here in Arizona to serve the U.S. armed men and women in Iraq. Balserak is the chief surgeon at Tucson Medical Center and was the skilled doctor who removed my gallbladder last year. These deeply patriotic and heroic Americans insist the soldiers get the best surgeons possible and intend on putting their lives in harms way to make sure the soldiers have the best chance of survival.
Balserak and Kendle are obviously strong supporters of the war on terror and believe in it. The Arizona Daily Star’s story about their involvement in the war mentions it as a bit of trivia somewhere in the article.
All I can say is God bless James Balserak, Eric Kendle and their families. Their sacrifices are for a great moral cause and they exemplify what is wonderful about this country.
Question of God Show
by Andy
I watched the PBS special from the past two weeks on the Question of God. It focused on the influences and lives of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. Obviously, Lewis was the supporter of theism and Freud the opponent. Half of the show was a documentary of these two men, and the other half of the show featured conversation between a discussion panel of various experts with a variety of personal beliefs and faiths.
Overall, their coverage was very good of these two men, but I was a bit disappointed in the discussion panel they selected. The two advocates of atheism were very rehearsed with their arguments against faith and the remaining participants (who varied between agnostic, mystic and Christian), seemed ignorant of most of the theistic arguments and Christian apologetics. One of the atheists was Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine. I got the impression that Shermer could have explained the theistic arguments better than the theists (which of course he did not attempt to do).
I watched the PBS special from the past two weeks on the Question of God. It focused on the influences and lives of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. Obviously, Lewis was the supporter of theism and Freud the opponent. Half of the show was a documentary of these two men, and the other half of the show featured conversation between a discussion panel of various experts with a variety of personal beliefs and faiths.
Overall, their coverage was very good of these two men, but I was a bit disappointed in the discussion panel they selected. The two advocates of atheism were very rehearsed with their arguments against faith and the remaining participants (who varied between agnostic, mystic and Christian), seemed ignorant of most of the theistic arguments and Christian apologetics. One of the atheists was Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine. I got the impression that Shermer could have explained the theistic arguments better than the theists (which of course he did not attempt to do).
Monday, September 20, 2004
Kerry Campaign about to Implode?
by Andy
There is a swarm of news now about the potential involvement of Kerry's campaign in the CBS hoax. This should not be a surprise considering the ends that CBS went to protect their source. It seemed like Rather would have been willing to insist the sky is green before revealing his "unimpeachable source".
If it turns out the Kerry campaign is culpable, it will not be surprising if many of the career democrats distance themselves from Kerry to make sure they don't get hit by some of the shrapnel. Daschle may be one of them.
There is a swarm of news now about the potential involvement of Kerry's campaign in the CBS hoax. This should not be a surprise considering the ends that CBS went to protect their source. It seemed like Rather would have been willing to insist the sky is green before revealing his "unimpeachable source".
If it turns out the Kerry campaign is culpable, it will not be surprising if many of the career democrats distance themselves from Kerry to make sure they don't get hit by some of the shrapnel. Daschle may be one of them.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Staudt Interviews
by Andy
ABC has published an interview with Col. Walter Staudt, who is mentioned in the forged documents. This from World Net Daily on the interview:
Things are looking toastier for CBS and Burkett. It is turning into he-said/she-said issue. This following the release of more documentation praising Bush's service.
ABC has published an interview with Col. Walter Staudt, who is mentioned in the forged documents. This from World Net Daily on the interview:
"No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard," he said. "It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody."
Staudt told ABC he came forward because he saw erroneous reports on television.
Bush did not use political influence to get into the Air National Guard, he asserted.
"I don't know how they would know that, because I was the one who did it and I was the one who was there, and I didn't talk to any of them."
Things are looking toastier for CBS and Burkett. It is turning into he-said/she-said issue. This following the release of more documentation praising Bush's service.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Snicker makes the news
by Andy
This in from the Washington Post:
Don't tell me the snickering is her evidence it must be true. Is this really news worthy? And is Ms. Knox trustworthy for making such comments, particualry in the context that she fiercely dislikes Bush? Should we take her opinion over that of Killian's wife and son who claim he had a very high opinion of Bush?
Certainly this is not more news worthy than a major news outlet attempting to influence a Presidential election with fraud.
The only way I can make sense of this fool-headed masquerade is to assume that for those who are engrossed with Bush-hatred, what CBS is doing somehow is the correct course of action. To the rest of us, it is lunacy.
This in from the Washington Post:
"I know that I didn't type them," Knox said of the Killian memos. "However, the information in there is correct," she said, adding that Killian and the other officers would "snicker about what [Bush] was getting away with."
Don't tell me the snickering is her evidence it must be true. Is this really news worthy? And is Ms. Knox trustworthy for making such comments, particualry in the context that she fiercely dislikes Bush? Should we take her opinion over that of Killian's wife and son who claim he had a very high opinion of Bush?
Certainly this is not more news worthy than a major news outlet attempting to influence a Presidential election with fraud.
The only way I can make sense of this fool-headed masquerade is to assume that for those who are engrossed with Bush-hatred, what CBS is doing somehow is the correct course of action. To the rest of us, it is lunacy.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Who needs an expert?
by Andy
This is an image produced by Little Green Footballs. It switches between the document provided by CBS and one recently typed with Microsoft Word. For all those media broadcasters that are not convinced this is a hoax ...
(Click to enlarge)
This is an image produced by Little Green Footballs. It switches between the document provided by CBS and one recently typed with Microsoft Word. For all those media broadcasters that are not convinced this is a hoax ...
Monday, September 13, 2004
Washington Post on CBS Controversy
by Andy
I am glad to see the Washington Post seems to be taking this issue seriously. The article concluded with the following:
I am glad to see the Washington Post seems to be taking this issue seriously. The article concluded with the following:
Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, called on the network to apologize, saying: "The CBS story is a hoax and a fraud, and a cheap and sloppy one at that. It boggles the mind that Dan Rather and CBS continue to defend it."
Let the Free Press Reign
by Andy
Last week was a monumental landmark in the American media when CBS defended its position on the recent Bush National Guard documents. I find it significant for two reasons:
1) The documents are obviously forged and the CBS defense of them is absurd. Hugh Hewitt has an excellent break down of the facts.
2) The documents are used for a character assassination of the President of the United States shortly before the election.
This is unbelievable. Not that any of us should be surprised that the press is generally biased and not always honest, but this incident is extreme. I wonder if Dan Rather's laptop has a file called "fake_bush_letters.doc" stored somewhere on the hard drive.
Americans are not stupid. Any healthy minded American that has the interest of looking into this issue will see it for what it is.
The rest of the media outlets must come down hard on this issue. This is not directly an issue of the Presidential election, but rather an issue of the circumstances of our free press. Our way of life depends on an effective free press. The news outlets require checks and balances (as Dan Rather stated) to ensure they maintain any sense of credibility. ABC, NBC, FOX and CNN must become the checkers and balancers. CBS has betrayed the ideals of a free press. It is essential this abomination is aggressively exposed--if not for the sake of consumer confidence in our news media, then it should be done for the appreciation and devotion to the ideals of our free press.
Last week was a monumental landmark in the American media when CBS defended its position on the recent Bush National Guard documents. I find it significant for two reasons:
1) The documents are obviously forged and the CBS defense of them is absurd. Hugh Hewitt has an excellent break down of the facts.
2) The documents are used for a character assassination of the President of the United States shortly before the election.
This is unbelievable. Not that any of us should be surprised that the press is generally biased and not always honest, but this incident is extreme. I wonder if Dan Rather's laptop has a file called "fake_bush_letters.doc" stored somewhere on the hard drive.
Americans are not stupid. Any healthy minded American that has the interest of looking into this issue will see it for what it is.
The rest of the media outlets must come down hard on this issue. This is not directly an issue of the Presidential election, but rather an issue of the circumstances of our free press. Our way of life depends on an effective free press. The news outlets require checks and balances (as Dan Rather stated) to ensure they maintain any sense of credibility. ABC, NBC, FOX and CNN must become the checkers and balancers. CBS has betrayed the ideals of a free press. It is essential this abomination is aggressively exposed--if not for the sake of consumer confidence in our news media, then it should be done for the appreciation and devotion to the ideals of our free press.
