Tim Blair

Hoboken?!? Ack! You'll never see him again, he's sleepin' with the fishes.

CSPAN has live footage of the protesters outside MSG. Goodstuff. I think someone should start a "Stop the Penis Party!" chant.

"We're Not Gonna Protest!"

Get out there and throw some meat, Tim!

"Blog Team-Leader Welch"?

You mean "blogger six", don't you?

Okay, I saw the massive palestinian flag, lots of pro-abortion signs, but I'll give ten bucks to anyone who can find a free mumia banner.

"Reason are sticklers when it comes to that old time-and-space continuum, so here we are."

LOL. Lapham's gaffe is incredible.

I saw a "Free Huey" banner while watching the C-Span coverage. I have no idea who that might be, but then keeping track of jailed freakazoids who have become darlings of the Left is low on my list of priorities.

Perhaps a reference to one of the characters in the far-left comic strip "The Boondocks."

Perhaps someone had a Huey Newton banner left over from 30 years ago.

"Free Huey"? What about Dewey and Lewie?

Tim, the PATH train can get Matt back from Hoboken to the Herald Square station (now that the police have cut short Bill and Ted's Excellent Bombing Adventure it's safe to go to that subway stop again), and from there it's just a one-block stagger west to Madison Square Garden.

More fun protestors:

> A second protestor shoved a middle-aged
> woman in a black cocktail dress, shouting
> "Bitch, go home! We don't want you here!"

And we wonder why the rest of the country hates us New Yorkers :-(

What the hell? The people were going to musicals. How did these idiots assume the musical-goers just had to be Republicans? Did all the Democrats and Independents get memos to stay home? Freaks.

Tim:
Inside sources in the GOP tell me Bush will secure the nomination on the first vote.

Guam and Puerto Rico are a little iffy. But not to worry.

Go with it.

As Drudge would say, breaking hard.

SMG

"...to be stuck outside Hoboken,
with those Newark blues again..."

Nope, needs work...

It’s amazing that you said that Tim, or not amazing at all—you’ve run smack dab into a NY metropolitan area phenemonon of some standing. I can’t tell you how many people have gone to Hoboken, New Jersey, & never been heard from since.

Like I said... with the fishes, uh huh.

I covered a hard left revolutionary confab last weekend for some bunch of never was lickspittles....free mumia stuff was all over the place.

I told my editor that if i had to cover these guys again, I'd want combat pay.

I have to cover some more stuff tommorow, so I'll let you know if I see some.....must say, as this is the hard-core left we are talking about, I've been dissapointed in the absence of puppets. In fact, Street theater has been sadly lacking.

since the left has been co-opted by the DNC--at least the usable bits--they've lost their freak showish appeal.

None of the puppets? My aunt, bless her naive soul, must be busy.

Heh, from Democratic Underground, upon hearing a poll saying that 15% of Democrats plan to vote for Bush:

"That they are ignorant apolitical semi retarded Morans!" (sic)

It's funny when people who can't spell "moron" like to throw it around.

I knew some Morans. They weren't apolitical at all. They were Irish.

When I lived in Virginia, my congressman was a real moran. Jim Moran.

Yes, James "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this" Moran.

That Moran.

Indeed, a moronic Moran.

A singularly moronic Moran.

SMG

Morans? Aren't those the people who dress up in white shirts and black slacks and come knocking on your door with a Bible in hand to convert you? Or... wait... is that...?

Hey Tim - where is your convention coverage? The other boys seem to be doing all the heavy lifting. (b.t.w. are you busy strategically placing jars of vegemite to help the conversion of the heathens?)

[All spammers must be fed to rats. -- The Management]

What a strange spam strike. Do we all sound fat? Apparently, nobody here needs anything enlarged, thank goodness.

Just FYI, "moran" may be being used in an intentionally ironic manner. On fark.com, it's become one of the "inside jokes", so to speak, ever since someone linked a photo of an anti-anti-war protestor holding up "Go USA" and "Get a brain, morans" signs. So on fark "moran" is now used more or less to describe any member of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Or is that Vast Right-Wing Zionist Neo-Con Conspiracy? I always forget. I'll have to check my membership card.

turkey trots to waterXXXwhere is Matt WelchXXX the world wondersXXX

Ok folks, I believe that T. Blair is not really all that 'embedded' in present time America. Now I know he looks like he does , and he does the talk and walks the walk, and all that. No real critique here , really. After all he's an Aussie,- you know, - someone we can count on when the cheese gets binding. Like pretty much the rest of you can count on (about the rest of us.)

Actually it's about who we are, the future of humanity, and how we should proceed. Not easy stuff. Let me tell you right now though, that if any convincing threat to the Anzacs developed, we Americans would cause that threat to disappear. I know my fellow Americans, and that would be the result. None of us would give it a second thought. In the real sense of modern times, YOU ARE US. G]
]

Who said you don't meet any celebrities at Republican bashes?

Admin note: because of stupid spammers, I have closed comments on all posts except this one.

Stupid Spammers?

This site seems to be taking flak from other blogs because Tim Blair has chosen to spend time away from the promised land to cover events in the evil empire. How odd the 'middle of the orad' Troppo Armadillo seems to have evolved into a left wing hate site with Ken Parish displaying spleen never before revealed on Troppo!!!!

Webmeister Andrea seems to be a particularly hated nazi ..... i'm relatively new to these fields what gives??

However i suspect if Tim wants to maintain the prominence of his site the US sojourn has been long enough! He wouldnt have let Margo get away with it !

Gerry,

I am Australian and I have to tell you that most of my friends have a similar feeling. The way I see the world, when I think about "us", i include Australia, America, Britain, Japan, maybe a couple of euro countries and maybe canada. But the first four, we may as well just become one big country - the "united britain spin-offs" you might say. And for those who say the japs are the odd ones out - ask a jap one day which country in the world they feel closest to. Hint: it's not china.

It's good to know that if it comes to it, we'll stand together. Ignore the loony left - they're noisy but not representative. Australia might be small but when it comes down to it, we're family.

One day, when passports are more secure, i'd love to see open borders between USA, UK and AU for all citizens.

Webmeister Andrea seems to be a particularly hated nazi

no! she is hot in her jackboots!

mee-oww!

Sho. JAPS!#%&! For shame. Alittle respect would be nice.

> After all he's an Aussie,- you know, - someone we can count on when the cheese gets binding.

Huh? What are you doing with said cheese such that "binding" is possible?

Thersites piqued my curiosity, so I scouted out a link to Troppo Armawhatever (since thersites had not provided one) and spent several bored minutes skimming through Parrish's dull blog. Let's just say he's not on my list of regular, or even occasional reads, and won't be. Diff'rent strokes and all that. It interests me, however, that he describes me as a "repulsive stormtrooper." Nice. I don't recall slapping him around at any point, so I wonder which troll name Mr. Parrish used to post under here before I banned him?

Oh well, I'll probably never know, and my supply of caring about the matter just ran out. Gotta go crush some dissent and slap some servants...

I would certainly take umbrage at the "repulsive" characterization! What is the world coming to anyway? The Jackboot Marching and Chowder Society deserves some respect. I second the comments made by the erudite Mr. Bingley.

Stand a little straighter, walk a little prouder,
be an innovator, clap a little louder,
grow forever greater, we can show you how ta.
Where. Will. You. Be. Then?

You belong, you belong, you belong, you belong
to the Jackboot Marching ’n’ Chowder Society.
March along, march along, march along to the song
of the Jackboot Marching ’n’ Chowder Society.
If you growl, if you grown, with a down sour outlook,
if you howl, if you moan, you can lose your sour grout
by keeping trim and in step with the vim and the pep
of the Jackboot Marching ’n’ Chowder Society!

Oh well, I'll probably never know, and my supply of caring about the matter just ran out. Gotta go crush some dissent and slap some servants...

Oh my! You're starting to sound like Tuhrayzah. Is a "shove it" moment in the offing?

:^D

Nonsense, everyone knows that Tuhrayzah is a delicate, sensitive flower who is also a Strong, Vibrant, Cultured Woman™. The reporter (the fascist deathcreature male -- boo! hiss!) didn't understand the nuance in Tuhrayzah's witty repartee.

I, on the other hand, will have no truck with "nuance," and will waste no time with wishy-washy euphemisms like "shove it" when the time comes.

Did the protesters get him?

I know the US would come to aid Australia without a second thought and with full hearts. Coming to aid New Zealand, like Canada, would be done with teeth clenched.

I could have sworn I read somewhere...where, I wonder?...that Tim Blair would be contributing to Reason's blog. Where is the guy?

Hey Tim. What's with the writer's block? You didn't go to Hoboken too did you? If you feel like reporting some of what's going on over there (at the convention, not NJ), we'd sure like to read it. Get your bloggin' shoes on, boy.

Fishies schmishies, Tim hasn’t just gone to Hoboken, he’s moved there. That’s what I was talking about. He may even be very happy there. It could happen to anybody. And never to be heard from again. You could be next.

My ploy was successful. Wash your car, and it rains. Ask where Blair is, and he leaps into action, gladiator-style!

Look, you bleeding drunk-ass Aussie - stop drinking everybody under those NYC tables and get back to blogging!!!!

Respectfully,
Brian

Good grief! They should have lost the Bush Twins in Hoboken. They couldn't get either Rudy or McCain on TV in prime, but there were the simpering twits in the first night of prime. GEEEZ! DOUBLE GEEEZ! I hope somebody has the common sense to pull that great line out of his speech(McCain's) and stick it into an ad, but it appears even the puppet people have more sense than the guys running this gig!

HEY! I live in Hoboken and I'm still breathing!

I wasn't ripping Hoboken Declan, just following the thread. Since I wanted to keep the Dynamic Duo the heck away from the podium, the logical place was Hoboken. No offense meant. Hey! I spent a year in New Jersey one day!

Tim:

I've checked out the Reason convention blog. Not only does the whole not equal the sum of it's parts, it doesn't even equal the sum of the part named Tim Blair. Ditch those squeefs and work your magic!

Yeah, I hate to pile on, but Reason's convention blog isn't very clever or insightful.

I had a look at the photo of Che in the last post, and he reminded me of Saddam when he was captured.

Sortelli, the Reason blog is about as clever and insightful as a drunken parrot.

About the best thing I can say about it is that the posts from the other [cough cough!] reporters provides a good perspective of how non-Bush supporters view the RNC. But the degree of cynicism and outright acidic comments is astounding for [cough cough!] unbiased [cough cough!] reporters.

There are a couple of reasonable posters on the comments (excluding the regulars from here). So there's some civil discussion.

Some.

Yojimbo, I do not believe there is any more offense in the word "jap" than in the word "aussie". I call all japs "japs" to their faces and never thought twice about it. I think you might be confusing it with "nips" which has a negative connotation to some from WWII but even so, it's an obvious contraction of "nipponese" ..

Let's not be over-sensitive!

"I call all japs "japs" to their faces and never thought twice about it."

You know, I really believe that you do. And I also believe that every Japanese person who has had the fortune to encounter you has gone away thinking warm thoughts about you. But not of the "friendly warmth" variety.

Let's not be an asshole!

Sortelli, the Reason blog is about as clever and insightful as a drunken parrot.

Let's just say that if I wanted to listen to a person who's desperately trying to convince me that there's no room in the Republican Party for anyone who isn't a hard-line religious right wing psycho, I'd read Michael Moore.

"Oh! Hey! There's Pat Buchanan and some obscure California extremist that was last trounced by Grey "Less Lovable than Gore" Davis! Let's interview them! Hyuck huyck! Pat! How do you feel about these sleezy moderates who-don't-hate-gay-people-enough-to-be-Republican getting to do speeches instead of you, the true moral center of the Republican party? And do you feel that the police could be a little more dissent crushing with all those random arrests of little old lady protesters? Hey, look, it's Cheney with a little girl pressed against his crotch, ha ha ha! He is old like a dinosaur!"

Oh, wait, I forgot to compare the convention to Footloose. The parody was not complete.

Yeah, I agree, Sortelli. Some of the bloggers there are cynical and acidic to the point of being repulsive. Others are merely cynical. Few of the posts are informative in what I would call "unbiased reporting".

But, as I just told one of the bloggers there, it must be a success for them that I don't delete the link. They provide a lot of information that I find useful, although I doubt they planned on such for the likes of me.

I used to read a lot of military intelligence material when I was assigned as a tactical intelligence officer. Nation studies, cultural studies, technical and doctrinal reviews, "know your enemy" stuff. All of it about the Soviets, them being The Main Threat way back when.

The most interesting reads were translations of intelligence summaries of what the Soviets told their soldiers about us. None of it flattering, most of it exaggerations of our faults, little (if any) emphasis on our positive points. Culturally, anyhow. The military aspect seemed to be straightforward if a trifle colored by political schtick. Sound familiar?

That was an interesting read, but I had to grit my teeth and practice detachment from the subject because I did not like it. But I needed to understand the Sovient perspective of the West. Not accept -- understand.

And that's what I'm doing at the Reason blog. Gritting my teeth to get some information. But the experience has been interesting and educational. Like the time I was cleaning the barn for my dad, slipped, and sat down in a freshly laid cow pie, still steaming from the cow's body heat. Educational, but only in a "watch your step" fashion.

And I doubt that I will ever become a regular reader of Reason.

Sorry, Andrea, I had a network glitch, and POST twice without thinking. Please delete one copy of my rant.

Okay, it's done!

BTW: the stuff about the Soviets sounds like a really cool subject for discussion, unlike discussions on what a poopyhead Governator Ah-nuld is for not making grovelling apologies every five minutes for daring to be born to a Nazi dad.

Tim got some nice photos of the opposition. I guess Hoboken is but a memory for him now.

Heh, you're talking like Libertarians are the "other side", Jeff. They're not that important.

I don't know how I should react to people who opposed Saddam's removal because of pure callous right-wing selfishness as opposed to typical left-wing ignorance, myself.

I guess I'm too liberal to be a libertarian.

Or judging from some comments over at the Reason blog, maybe my problem is that I don't do enough drugs.

"... has gone away thinking warm thoughts about you. But not of the "friendly warmth" variety."

Of course not- some of them are my best friends, my girlfriend, and acquaintences. Since I took the time to learn their language, I think I'd know if I'd offended anyone.

You're completely mistaken if you think the word "jap" offends anyone other than holier-than-thou, politically correct westerners.

"Let's not be an asshole!"

A bit fucking rude don't you think?

Hey, Sho, don't be so politically correct.

Tim, please return quickly. As you can see, we urgently require your pacifying presence and soothing voice.

"Libertarian", Sortelli? Please! Not by party association, I assure you. My political philosophy tends to be too liberal to be moderate and too conservative to be liberal. If that makes any sense to you. ;-)

To me, any organized group is only as good as their ability to work together. Libertarians (IMHO, a couple notches above anarchists) can't do that in a practical sense. They're too much individually oriented. That's why they can never get a decent standing in most elections.

But I hear you on the drugs. Some of those characters over there sound like their medications are running out. Makes me glad Andrea still has her jackbooks all ready for crushing of dissent.

As for reacting to people who opposed Saddam's removal because of pure callous right-wing selfishness as opposed to typical left-wing ignorance.....both types are fools. Only their motivations differ. I treat them as such.

Tim, when you get a chance, could you post on the Reason blog about what you thought about that Zelmiller guy and the other one who came after him -- Chainy or something? That asked, I want to emphasize that I thoroughly enjoyed your coverage of the Axis of Eve, especially the second photo.

I meant when you were comparing your experience reading the Reason blog to having to read Soviet chatter back in the day when they were the "other side". Reason's a libertarian hangout, and I don't think libertarians are significant enough of a political movement to count as "the other side".

I mean, what kind of party can promise the fiscal small-government maturity of the right and the social freedoms of the left and STILL fail to draw anyone?

But I can sympathize with having to grind your teeth while you try to get their point of view, I had the same reaction. ESPECIALLY to the libertarians who hoot and holler about how, you know, SaddamOnlyKilledHisOwnPeopleItWasNoneOfOurBusinessGWBLIEDHALLIBURTONOIL!

Thanks, Andrea! My router glitches on me now and then.

As for the Soviet stuff -- it is more interesting than wondering why Arnold doesn't apologize for his father. That was a cheap shot, pure and simple.

The sad thing is that I am using my old military intelligence skills (which I developed to support unit maneuver in the field against a defined enemy years ago) to try and understand just where the leftoids are coming from. It's a losing game, as I usually end up shaking my head and speaking those magic words, "WTF?!?!?!"

Guess I should have stuck to counting tanks.

Tanks, being physical things, obey the rules of logic.

Oh, THAT, Sortelli! Yeah, I can see why I would look like a Libertarian. Happily, no. I don't see Libertarians as a significant force in anything.

A "Libertarian Party" is almost an oxymoron (like military intelligence, now that I think of it); they can't draw people because what they offer is not likely to happen without The Fairy Godmother.

Tanks for the memories, Sortelli! ;-)

It doesn't seem like the Reason gang can get any love from anywhere for their coverage, though. The comments seem to swing from "WTF, that's tasteless" to "STFU, idiot" to the occasional somewhat indirectly sympathetic ABB rant.

Well, it's a losing proposition, sitting on the fence. Just ask Senator Kerry.

The Real JeffS, Sortelli — Well, maybe this will make you feel better: my new counterprotest signs...

Soviets=really cool stuff. OK. Dis-information was the first major reason their Afghanistan campaign fizzled from the start. The original Soviet divisions were told that they would be fighting the American imperialists, but to their surprise, all they saw were these cute little "ethnic types" running around. No Americans to be found. Their combat capability went from less than awesome to zero from the getgo. I'm sure The Real Jeffs knows more about this than I do but anything to keep Andrea happy.

Sortelli — Call me old and cynical, but I never really trusted intel above the level of TTMA...

Sortelli — "Tanks, being physical things, obey the rules of logic."

Gotta agree. I tried to fly an M113 once. Not very successfully. But I'll tell you this — they may not fly, but they land like a sonofabitch...

Richard -- nice signs! LOL!

Regarding the M113, man, do they ever land like a sonofabitch! OUCH!

Actually, YoJimbo, I was not aware of that disinformation tidbit. But it's not surprising. Thanks!

Tim

Please stop enjoying yourself at the Republican convention and come back to Australia. Media coverage of our campaign is apalling - Sky News Australia has been pumping the "childrenoverboard" issue for days. Now Scrafton is discredited and suddenly the issue has dropped off the face of the earth. We need your blog urgently - please come back soon!

Real Jeffs. Well yes, it's amazing what you can learn during origami classes at the Sorbonne.

Gotta agree. I tried to fly an M113 once. Not very successfully. But I'll tell you this — they may not fly, but they land like a sonofabitch...

Gravity is a harsh mistress. Heh heh!

john - Tell us more about the Australian business, I've been curious about it ever since Drapo Marx seems to have stopped his dorko spam fest about John Howard.

Tell us more about the Australian business, I've been curious about it ever since Drapo Marx seems to have stopped his dorko spam fest about John Howard.

Sortelli, CurrencyLad, GnuHunter and Al Bundy have Australian angle covered.

As I expected,the media's lame attempt to resurrect "children overboard" has died a quick death.

I suspect this site is entering a death throw when its founder cant be bothered anymore? Emphasised even more when the link provided to his current activities (apparently because the current activities appear to be basically non existant apart from a daily cheap photo with caption of a person in a neew york street)and damn who said i wasnt lazy and perpetually drunk enough to be a useless journo !!!

Thersites: that's "death throes."

Sho: you know, it is barely possible that your friends and girlfriend and so on appreciate you for other qualities and therefore put up with your -- let's call them "quirks." But no, I am afraid the concept that "jap" is an insult was not merely made up by "holier-than-thou, politically correct westerners." It was always an insult, and was deliberately used as such during World War Two when Japan was the enemy. Maybe you should crack a history book or two. And you know, if you can't take being knocked down a peg or two every now and then here, there are so many other blogs.

When I was a kid, back in the 1960s, WWII was much fresher & bigger in cultural memory in NYC than it is now, & the words “Jap” & “Nip” were quite commonly spoken by kids because of the many WWII movies & TV shows, especially McHale’s Navy in its endless reruns. The words meant the Japanese enemy who tended to be seen in terms of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the militarist Tojo, kamikazes, the rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March, worship of the Emperor & unquestioning obedience to the Empire, etc. Few if any of us ever saw the lurid war-time posters which made Japanese look like murderous monkeys. It is hard to convey the then-still-lively impression of the feeling which helped animate that massive American commitment to war, the sending of millions of young men overseas to face violent death, something on a scale far beyond anything which many Americans today can imagine really happening.

In the 1970s in NYC, I noticed that the most frequent meaning of “Jap” changed & became “Jewish American Princess.”

ForNow. I was born shortly after the end of WW11 in Los Angeles. As a young YoJimbo, I started school in the early part of those evil, hated 1950's. I sat right next to young Japanese kids, and Hispanics, for that matter. As young kids, we never had the experiences our parents' went through. But thats another aspect of that "Greatest Generation". I never heard hate around the dinner table,although I can remember going the the grave of an uncle I never knew. I'm sure that the anger was there, but it was never allowed to seep through. I was never told not to play with "them", there are plenty of "your kind" to play with. But what did she know since she was born and raised in Kansas-Dumbistan. The difference between my parents and that nitwit cartoonist is from here to there and you can't get from here to there, and I'm glad. Both my parents are gone now and I miss them(yesterday was her birthday). But, I also thank them. Lord knows I'm not without fault, but it wasn't their doing. Bye the bye, I can remember my mother telling about my other uncle coming back and telling them that they had better take a good look at him in uniform because that would be the last time they'd see him in it. I don't remember any:"Hi, I'm Paul and we rocked IWO, and here are the home movies of our re-enactment." The difference between a real hero and an empty suit-priceless. Sorry for the long post Andrea.

Thanks for the unnecessary history lesson - yes, I am aware that japan was the enemy in WWII. But what's your point? Yes, at that time "the word" was an offensive term. That was 60 years ago. Comparable, then-offensive nicknames for other peoples of enemy countries included "kraut" and "frog" - are you saying those words are also disallowed? If so, you'd better tell Tim - a quick google search finds 39 instances of "frog" on this site, and 7 of "kraut".

Or could it be that you're more sensitive to "offensive" words when they're directed to asians than when they refer to white europeans? Seems to me that's a more insidious form of racism than the type I've been alleged to exhibit.

It's obvious from the context of my usage that I meant the word as a contraction of the unwieldy word "japanese" and my regular usage of the word is in the context of fond slang. If I offended anyone, sorry - I obviously live in a different world from you. I hardly need point it out, but the hyper-sensitivity exhibited by english speaking whites towards any form of nickname or unflattering description of other races is most emphatically not reciprocated by your would-be protectees.

Oh, and Andrea, I just don't like being called an "asshole" when I feel I don't deserve it - why, do you? You see, that is a genuine offensive word. Maybe you should use it a little more sparingly to avoid coming across as a, well, asshole.

only 39 for 'frog'?

damn.

frog
frog
frog
frog
frog

How many "French Surrender Monkeys"? I have to know! I don't know in what context "kraut" was used. You used it,that's 8. I used it,that's 9. Neither of us referred to any individual as a "kraut" That's 10. I don't remember anyone on this site using that term referring to any individual,e.g."Those 'Krauts' won't help us in Iraq" That's 11. Sounds more like "Miranda Country" to me. A simple question. Do you refer to people using the "N" word in normal conversation even though it is a commonplace term in the African-American community? Even though some of your friends, or close relatives, might be African-American"? Thought not.

yojim, please get it right? the proper phrase is "cheese eating surrender monkey".

sheesh.

I stand corrected Mr. Bingley! No "frog" reference in conjunction with surrender monkey then. Well, that is good. That's 46.

Yay! 100th post, this is!

Sho, for someone who thinks I am the one who is too "sensitive" you sure are quick to take offense. I merely cautioned you not to be an asshole -- I did not say you were. I would not know that about you. I am supposed to take your word for it that from your lips commonly known insults are but lighthearted jests, compliments even. Tell me, what exalted species are you that you are allowed to engage in behavior that in a mere mortal would be considered crass, if not -- dare I say -- assholish? Are you a cherub, or a seraph? Forgive me my curiosity, I just like to know what sort of Higher Being I am dealing with.

Back to reality. I can see what your problem is, and it is an all too common one these days: you lack some of the social graces that used to be instilled in earlier generations of children. If you didn't lack these social graces, you'd know that "jap," "kraut," and "frog" are all ethnic insults. This does not mean that their usage can't be ironic or the sort of lighthearted "fake insult" ribbing that groups of close friends use with each other, but such usage does not change the fact that they are basically terms of insult. If you didn't know this, and have been calling random strangers "jap" and "kraut" and wondering why you got glared at, now you know.

And by the way, I don't take issue with you using the word "jap" any way you please -- call your girlfriend, your girlfriend's mother, their cat, the pizza delivery man, or your personal genitalia "jap" all you like. What I take issue with is your insistence that it is no longer an insulting term. You know, I don't care how many times black kids call each other "yo, niggah!", if I said it I'd get smacked in the mouth, because -- guess what -- it is still considered insulting coming from non-black people. You have not indicated in any way that you are Japanese and therefore allowed to "own" the word "jap" so you don't get that pass. (For the record, I don't care for this practice of "owning" ethnic insults as a way of empowerment, since it doesn't seem to lessen the sting of being so insulted by a member of another ethnic group of your own, which I believe the "owning" thing was supposed to combat.)

Where are you dood ? There's an election thang happening in OZ ( the country with the high medal count ) .Have you taken out U.S. citizenship ?

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Andrea :
Point well taken. I think the touchstone is "will it cause offence"? The various nihon-jin I know here in Oz aren't offended by the sobriquet 'Jap'. And no offence is meant.

And Japan is changing - I had some words with a good mate of mine, whose wife is Japanese. Their kids, despite only being half-japanese, were not merely accepted by her perents and family, but also by their neighbours. This is a HUGE change. The only people more racist than the Jap... anese are the Han. Though not here in Oz.

But you know what I said about offense? The word doesn't offend the speaker, nor the hearer, but it offends you. We should therefore refrain, as you're neither unreasonable nor easily offended.

Alan, it's not that the word offends me -- that is quite beside the point, my offense at anything has nothing to do with it. My "offense," as it were, is someone attempting to snow me about the connotation of a word. Just because someone doesn't get offended by a word usually used as an insult does not mean that word is not usually -- as in, in it's main definition -- an insulting term.

And another thing: it looks to me that in Australia and environs "jap" is no longer considered an insult. Well, in Scotland heterosexual male friends call each other "cunt" all the time but I wouldn't try it as a term of endearment in some other English-speaking parts of the world.

OT The President is speaking and I don't think it is that good. It seems scripted and flat. No emotion, no energy. It sounds like a bunch of scripted disconnected oneliners. Pick it up!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!

Yo! while Tim drinks the Hudson dry...or at least comes up with thousands of AU$ worth of fascinating business entertainment deductions for his next tax return, I think it would be cool to deconstruct Ken Layne's degeneration into structural moonbattery.

No hey really. Welch isn't having a good series, as we say in baseball, but Layne? Michael Moore said this, well our Intrepid Tim, he'd take a walk on this meme for a piece.

Did I say walk? He'd dine out on it through the '06 congressional elections.

sad when it happens to a friend I guess.

Any one see kerry's rebuttle speech?

Ouch, Fox showed a couple minutes. CNN held out the longest, even Chris Mathews's pulled the coverage: the speech was so bad.

CSPAN2 played it to the end.

Kerry’s campaign strategy was based on the idea that the American people had already decided to get rid of Bush & that all Kerry had to do was seal the deal, just step in & take what was his.

A very Kerry way of looking at things.

And he thought that the mainstream media would handle the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for him. He could just step by them & go on to take what was his. Instead now we all know of his snooty mispronunciation of “Ghengis Khan.”

A very Kerry way of looking at things.

Jenjis Con or Kheinz or whatever has no substantive reponse to the criticisms by Zell Miller or Dick Cheney or anybody else. He hadn’t think that he would need any.

How do I feel when peasants get in my way
(Are you sad because you’re not with Kim Jong)
No, I get by with a little help from the press.

This tired anti-defense Jenjis Con is back to talking about his three (3) months of combat service in Vietnam 33 years ago & calling Bush & Cheney draft-dodgers. He thinks that Dan Rather & Dan’s good friend Ben Barnes will help him in this. Dan got himself into trouble with Barnes once before. Now Dan is setting himself up to finish his journalistic career in an act of self-destruction.

Poetic justice given how he started his "Journalistic" career. The traditional media did do its job. Fortunately, the blogs, talk radio and finally the cable shows did theirs.

Well, for those that are interested in reading how a bunch of leftoids swizzling cheap beer responded to Bush's speech, go here. Warning: Category IV Leftoid Alert. Have BS Dectector set for maximum protection.

Possibly the most intelligent comment there was:

Bush: We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account -- a nest egg

Drunken Leftoids: We're gonna build a nest egg on your head!

Fuck the Reason blog. I just got done erasing an angry tirade about how I'd like to see their pot-smoking "fiscally conservative" asses stranded on a fucking island surrounded by sharks. Sharks with semtex vests. At least then they could have their precious small government and all their angry, lonely, little debaucheries. Oh, BOO HOO. Some of their tax dollars went towards Saddam's ouster and Israel sort of benefited from it. DAMN THE NEOCONS AND THEIR JEWISH PLOTS!

A bunch of greedy little pricks, and it's odd that they seem to find so much in common with the ABB crowd. No, wait. It isn't odd at all.

Geez. The walking zombie militia got a long weekend pass. Please set your magic decoder ring to maximum warp to ensure that your "time and space " journey brings you back into the real world. Parallel universe travel is fun only if reality is still assured at the end of the journey.

And if any exploding shark hurt someone, they'd probably rally long enough to totally fuck up that one shark, but if some fool suggested they put their resources into taking out the shark bomb factory they'd be all "DUDE STOP DISTRACTING US FROM THE EXPLODING SHARK" and cast aspersions that he's on Israel's side.

*ahem* Sorry, I think the "real libertarian discussion" about how we're spending too much money trying to liberate brown people on behalf of the Jooooos pushed me over the edge.

That's OK Sortelli. Your entitled. Just keep singing the following and you'll be alright in the morning. "One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small, and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all. Just ask the Purple Penis Puppet People when their ten feet tall........." Feel better? I thought so. Deep breath. Deep breath.

You had me for a moment but now I'm fucking scared of the purple penis puppet people. It's a good thing I don't sleep at night.

That's much better Sortelli. Your're OK now just as long as you can't say Purple Penis Puppet People quickly three times. If you can, then seek medical attention at the earliest opportunity. Good night from Arizona.

I've tuned out the Reason reporters. I'm just observing the behavior of leftoid idiots in their natural environment. I may write a PhD thesis on this, "Leftoids under the influence of alcohol: How can you tell when they are sober?"

jeffs, it's got to be something stronger than alcohol; gosh, i've been awfully drunk an awful number of times, and i've never come close to blathering on like that. perhaps there are some delphic vapors eminating from manholes in midtown?

Well, Mr. Bingley, that depends if we are talking about going for an occasional buzz, or if these characters have sworn off all liquids except really cheap booze. I understand severe alcoholism reduces the mental state of people to that of a mushroom.

OT, it appears that the school being held hostage by terrorists in Russia has been assaulted by commandos. There have been casualties among the hostages.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,131345,00.html

May God have mercy on the hostages. The terrorists can burn in Hell.

Bush's speech was OK, not great, about a B-.

But Kerry's rebuttal? What the? Was he drunk?

He'd better hope so.

The Russian military types lack both nuance and common sense. The rebels lack any sense of humanity whatsoever(shooting children in a gym). That's a really bad pair to draw to!

HOLY CRAP! YOU'RE THAT TIM BLAIR?!?! I AM SO STUPID FOR NOT PUTTING THE TWO AND THE TWO TOGETHER!!11!!!!one

Here I am reading your stuff in Reason all this time and never realizing it was the same guy who writes this blog.

i think you're right, real jeffs (can i call you "ll real master j" to update your image?). thinking back on some friends who made a steady diet of boone's farm and schaefer...{shudder}

{shudder} indeed!

What really scares me is the possibility that some of these characters don't need strong drink to behave that way......

i'm trying to give them a graceful out, my friend...

What about seppuku? ;-)