You know, I really shouldn't play with other people's trolls. For one, it encourages them, and for another I don't have the time to devote to doing it properly. I'm sure more than one of the creatures has had its ego expanded by the assumption that I didn't have another response to its imagined brilliance, when in reality my time was consumed by things more important than tormenting random idiots on the internet.

Which is a rather long way of attempting to apologize to Jen, whose comments I may have helped turn into a nest of unreason by daring to mock one of these creatures, and of introducing the rather simple point that I was attempting to make therein, namely that if one wishes not to die from a botched abortion, there is a very simple way to avoid it: don't have an abortion.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled silence.

Drudge:

ANTI-KERRY VETS HANG TOUGH
Fri Aug 06 2004 13:37:12 ET

The following statement from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth concerns an article appearing in morning edition of the BOSTON GLOBE, written by GLOBE reporter and author of the official Kerry-Edwards campaign book, Mike Kranish.

"Captain George Elliott describes an article appearing in today’s edition of the BOSTON GLOBE by Mike Kranish as extremely inaccurate and highly misstating his actual views. He reaffirms his statement in the current advertisement paid for by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Captain Elliott reaffirms his affidavit in support of that advertisement, and he reaffirms his request that the ad be played.

“Additional documentation will follow.

"The article by Mr. Kranish is particularly surprising given page 102 of Mr. Kranish’s own book quoting John Kerry as acknowledging that he killed a single, wounded, fleeing Viet Cong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around.

"Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has more than 250 supporters who are revealing first hand, eyewitness accounts of numerous incidents concerning John Kerry’s military service record. The organization will continue to discuss much of what John Kerry has reported as fact concerning his four-month tour of duty in Vietnam."

END

This is a Heh. Indeed. Rotten Egg Alert:

The day after Kerry threatens to sue anyone who dares air this ad, one of the gentlemen in it is now singing a different tune.

Something stinks. And it isn't me.

Why is it that people with handicap parking placards (or stickers, or plates, depending on your area), which should indicate the presence of nothing more significant than a physical disability that limits one's ability to walk (not that such is insignificant, but that it is entirely unrelated to the difficulty that will eventually be pointed out in this sentence, should I manage to quit digressing) drive like they're mentally handicapped, instead?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I hadn't seen this one in a while, and there have been a couple of additions since it last graced my inbox, so I thought it was worth sharing with the world again:

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl
took my $2 and I was digging for my changed when I pulled 8 cents from my
pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3
pennies, while looking at the screen on her register.
I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters,
but she hailed the manager for help.

While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

Why do I tell you this? Please read more about the "history of teaching
math":

Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5
of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.. His cost of production is
4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1970
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set of "M" of money. The
cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100
dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C," the cost of
production, contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as
a subset of set "M." Answer this question: What is the cardinality of the
set "P" of profits?

Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80
and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math In 1990
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you
think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after
answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the
logger cut down the trees. (There are no wrong answers)

Teaching Math In 2000
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is
$120. How does Arthur Anderson determine that his profit margin is $60?

Teaching Math In 2005
El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production...

Jay Solo has an interesting--and wickedly funny--post up today about the problem of finding WMD in a country the size of California. Point being that when Rummy and company keep pointing out that Iraq is the size of California, what they're trying to say is that it's really damned big.

Go check out the post. And welcome Han Duo's Silence to the blogroll.

You may not be aware that MIAs from former wars are still being located and reclassified as Killed in Action. This morning, the Department of Defense announced identification of two more servicemen missing from Vietnam.

You may also not be aware that there are approximately 88,000 servicemembers missing in action from prior conflicts, and that 1,871 of them are from the Vietnam War.

Food for thought.

Read the story.

Greyhawk recently posted a list of ten "forgotten" military posts he'd made. Needless to say, it's all good stuff and worth your time, but this post in particular caught my eye. I was unaware that Burkett had received this award, and I am very, very glad to hear it. The man deserves that and more for the work he's done over the last 18 years.

This is a topic I am passionate about. You see, several years ago my father (a Vietnam-era draftee) told me about a book called Stolen Valor, and I promptly bought it for him for his birthday, not realizing that it was going to be a revolutionary read for me in many ways.

My father's a lot like me--or, perhaps, I am like my father--in that when he discovers something fascinating, he feels compelled to share it. That's why, after several phone calls where he told me at length about Burkett's research, I was hopelessly intrigued enough to read the book, and it forever changed my image of not just the Vietnam era, but of the military itself.

Vietnam--and Vietnam era--veterans have had the honor due them stripped away in much of the public mind by the mechanisms Burkett exposes. This is a travesty that continues to be perpetrated even today by media outlets and politicians who object to America's use of force under most circumstances. It is of perhaps greater importance than ever that we view the era through a lens free of distortion, since it is being used by those who oppose the war we are now invoved in as a justification for inaction.

I'll happily argue with you until we are both blue in the face over whether Vietnam accomplished anything (I happen to believe that it did, but that is a post for another evening). Allowing the image of the Vietnam veteran as a drug-using baby-killing homeless mentally ill waste product of an unjust war to continue, however, is a terrible injustice, and an insult to all of those who served honorably.

We owe it to ourselves and to the nation to arm ourselves with facts, and facts are what Burkett brings to the table. So go read Greyhawk's post, then go read Stolen Valor. Both will fascinate and surprise you and are well worth the time you'll spend pondering them.