New York Daily News - Politics - Kerry out of bounds on Cheney daugther: Bush: "Cheney daughter off limits: Bush


President Bush gingerly waded into the controversy over John Kerry's remarks about Vice President Cheney's lesbian daughter yesterday."

These guys are reacting as if Kerry had said something diaparaging about Cheney's daughter. He lauded Cheney and, in responding to the question, "do you think homosexuality is a choice", suggested one should ask Cheney's daughter. He ventured trhat I didn't think she would characterize her sexuality as a choice.

If it's OK to be homosexual, how come Cheney and his family are being so defensive? Are they suggesting it's OK for their daughter to be homosexual as long as it's never mentioned in public? Are they so ashamed in reality that they want to hide it?

Boston.com / News / Politics / AdWatch: Bush turns Kerry's words around:

"In an interview with The New York Times magazine on Sunday, Kerry said the country has 'to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives but they're a nuisance.' Kerry also suggested that terrorism, like prostitution, illegal gambling and organized crime, will never be eradicated but can be reduced so 'it's not threatening the fabric of your life.'

Seizing on those comments, the Bush campaign took some of Kerry's words for an ad that tries to suggest the Democrat is unfit to lead the nation during the war on terrorism. The ad also argues that the country would be less safe with Kerry at the helm.

The commercial keys on comments Kerry has made in the past during interviews. However, it doesn't include the context in which the comments were made."

Here's Bush, a guy who is universally recognized as being severely challenged when it ocme to assembling a coherant sentence in English interpreting what someone elase is saying. Irony?

MSNBC - Bush rips Kerry on 'global test' remark: "President Bush said Saturday Democrat John Kerry's debate remark that U.S. preemptive military action should be subject to a 'global test' would give other nations a veto over American national security decisions. Meanwhile, Kerry, speaking in Florida, accused Bush of 'serious misjudgements' on the economy as well as the war in Iraq."

Obviously Bush doesn't understand what a "global test" is all abut. Were I to try to explain to the block head what it means, I would point out that one must consider the global ramifications of any action and, if in the light of the effect one's actions have throughout the world - does it benefit the US more than it harms the US; does it strengthen us on a global scale rather than weaken us on that scale - then an action would pass a "global test". On the other hand, as with this ill advised invasion of Iraq (on par with Roosevelt invading Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor) - the action has cost us significantly more than it's benefited us.

I thought Bush was supposed to be an MBA. Surely if he was paying attention in class (rather than being the subject of a social promotion thanks to daddy) he'd understand cost/benefits analysis.

Lessons from the CBS News failure: "But, adds Bob Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values at The Poynter Institute, 'No matter what CBS News does, CBS, and to a great degree Dan Rather, will wear a Scarlet Letter.'"

Weapons of Mass Distruction?
Iraq Ties to al-Qaeda?
The Iraquis will welome us with roses?
Exporting jobs is good for this country?
Didn't use family influence to dodge the draft?
Tax cuts arren't targeted for the wealthiest 1% or the population?
No child left behind? (left underfunded)
We support our troops (while cutting their benefits)?


It seems Dan Rather is not the only one who should be wearing a Scarlet Letter ... There may be others who should be wearing several of them!

Where is Osama?

We've looked all over Iraq for him and he's not there. We vowed never to rest until he was brought to justice. It's been three years now. We swore that we'd bring him in dead or alive. Where's Osama?

At a recent press conference, when that question was asked, the response was, "I don't focus on him that much."

Mission accomplished? Where's Osama?

Who cares about a couple of missed meetings?

Nobody cares about the missed National Guard meetings. I wonder if the people asking that question aren't the same people who took Bill Clinton to task over the Monica thing. They were the ones who were quick to point out that it wasn't about having an affair with a consenting adult in the past. It was about the lying about it NOW. I don't care that Bush missed a couple of meetings. What I care about is that he has lied about it since the 1990s. He's hidden facts, avoided the truth, obfuscated, prevaricated, and misdirected the American people. THAT's what concerns me ... Not a couple of missed meetings!

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time - but you can't fool all of the people ALL of the time, George! Or maybe you can.

What do you learn about art when you live with it for a lifetime? Where do talents come from?e know them when we see them ... at least we think we do.

I'd always thought I would end my days in a small town making picture frames or some such thing. Perhaps it's premature to think I've finally come to rest after rolling around the country for all these years but it seems I've rolled into a corner; an urban corner, to be sure. I AM making picture frames. At least this time they are for me.

I've done some costing and it seems I have to sell the framed photographs for something on the order of $200 a piece, somewhat lower if I'm over estimating the gallery take at 50%. Rumor has it the co-op gallery will be looking for about 40%. Still, tht doesn't have much of an effect on the retail line.

I framed the protrait of Ali yesterday; the one I took when we were at the old Mission while she was here last December. It looks better than I expected it would.

Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "Veteran Backs Off Attack on Kerry's War Record"

Invariabley, the accusations are front page news and the retractions are buried.

More of the mundane: I met our new neighbor across the street while I was taking out the trash and recycles. His name is Tom and he works for America On Line (AOL). He's a shooter - but unlike my camera, he favors pistols and rifles and does his own re-loads. He's teaching himself welding so he can make a re-load bench that doesn't twist from the torque that results when he processes his reloads. They're pleased to have us here. It seems the former owner's teenagers had friends who drove and Tom was tired of trying to back his pickup "through 40 odd vehicles to get out of the garage".

He told me he'd seen us a number of times and started to wave. I told him I'm getting older and don't see as well as I used to.

An embarrassment of wealth: I got an e-mail invitation from a local photographer to shoot with him. I have no idea what his motivation is - though I did do a critique of one of his shots on MuseCube within the previous 24 hours. Maybe that had something to do with it. In any case, I think it's a great idea and I responded so. We'll see where that goes.

Ally called yesterday. She is getting her car back. She found the title ... in the box of important papers, of all places. She'd never thought to look there! My daughter! In any case, I guess things are ging a little better for her. I want to send her some money to buy an airline ticket out here. The last time she visited was in December, so I think it's about time .. maybe a little past time. I miss her very much and I think of her often.

Maybe it was time for use to touch base, I'd just mailed a letter to her last Friday. It hadn't arrived yet. I told her about the prints I'm making and my plans to get gallery representation.

Two more short (29" high) book cases to assemble nad the office is furnished abut as far as I can go with it. There simply isn't room for anything else. The book cases are in the garage and ready to go. I just couldn't summon the energy yesterday after we picked them up.

Sunrise. Electric pink puffs of clouds over the Rincons. I can see the mountains from my office window. It's not the view that I wanted, but It;s great to have this much! You have to pay extra for the view ... a lot extra.

I really wonder if we haven't passed our zenith as the light of the free world. We have a ton of petty political bickering, we're preparing for the last war and we're unbelievably vulnerable. For the last century we have lived with two friendly neighbors to the north and south and vast oceans to the east and west. Defending the USA has been, for that last ceentury, somehting that we do "over there". Now the attacks are here as of 9/11. Our ports, out railroads, our container based shipping system are virtually unprotected. Our entire emphasis is on the air transport system because we've been hit there. The situation has an almost slap stick comedy quality about it.

I've been engaged in a couple of flame wars on MuseCube (http:\\www.musecube.com) with what I can only characterize as a sociopath. Sometimes people get me going and this fellow certainly has the ability to make me want to write. Fortunately quite a few others share my opinion and have been very supportive.

I don't want to sound like I'm on a lone crusade. He's at war with everyone and I just took a piece of the action, got my shots in an dtook a few before the thread got deleted by the management.

My office is pretty much together. I still need to put in some shelving above the desk. That could come together over the weekend.

I'd thought for several days that I'd lost the self-portrait of dad from the late 1930s. I searched everywhere including the old place (being the last place I can recall seeing the painting). I was in a panic and heart broken as I prepared to accept that the painting had been lost to the ages. What a relief to find it packed with several other things.

We've listed the old house. It should go on the market for much more than we expected. It will be windfall and pay down the loan on this place to a very manageable level.

We have been very lucky with the buying and selling of homes since we started in NJ. A quick calculation suggests that we've lived pretty much for free, having made far more on the sales than we had on the table with the purchases. It seems our luck is holding and for the third house in 7-8 years the real estate agent is telling us our timing is impeccable. We have consistantly made more on the houses than it has cost us to pay the mortgages. It's not showing up in the cash flow but it sure helps the net worth.

It seems there's always one loose cannon rolling around the decks of MuseCube. The current incarnation prompted me to post the suggestion that folks ought to do a Googel search on the word "sociopath". Thought he calls himself InAFlash I think I'm going to start calling him FlashInThePan. That should stimulate some conversation.

Jackie and Ray came for dinner. I think they enjoyed themselves - in spite of the fact that Ray and I have so little common ground. He even complimented me on my office. I thought that was a very positive thing!

I have a sense of mild foreboding, it seems. I think more often about death and dyeing than I like to admit -- certainly more than I've admitted to anyone standing. I found the picture of mom and me, taken the month before she passed away --- actually, probably closer to two weeks before she died. She looks so small and frail.

I think often of my father, too. Frequently I ponder the thought that all of those things that were so important to him while he was alive instantly became useless baggage once he passed away. I imagine that will be the fate of all the things I consider important, as well.

This year has not bee a kind year in the market. I'm looking at losses of around $36K with they year more than half over. Fortunately there's enough ballast that there are no direct ill effects. There is also the fact that last year was exceptionally good, showing significantly more profit than this year is showing losses, leaving me ahead of the plan for the last two years. Sometimes you have to take the long view to make things look good.

It's sunrise in Arizona. I can see the sun just starting to break over the horizon in the east. I've been up since about 2:30AM, unable to sleep ... Not an event so much as "situation normal".

I remember when I used to hand write my diary in spiral bound notebooks. When I sat down to the task, it seems I would write for pages. I've not recaptured that fascination with detail. Perhaps it's just that I'm out of practice. Perhaps it's because there is a sense with blogs that someone might actually read what is written. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact it's easier to find things to write about when things are going badly that when there are moving along smoothly. I don't know what the answer is ... Perhaps even a combination of those factors plus something else I've not considered. No matter.

We will be listing the other house (9902) shortly. We have an appointment with Mary to go over the paperwork -- primarily the disclosure form -- and sign off on her representation in the sale. I'm ready to be done with the place and to pay down the loans on this place as well. Thought the rates are favorable and the fact that we're only paying interest for the time being makes the bill manageable, I think we'll both be far happier when the amounts are negligible. I hope the sale goes quickly. We are anticipating getting more for the house than we'd ever imagined. I guess that's the effect of all those Californians moving here to the Tucson area and pumping up the property values.

Where do they work? Do they work? Or did the simply bring wealth with them? Tucson is very much a blie collar town as far as I can see. There are veery few opportunities. Yet there are communities with $500,000 homes springing up all over the map. A million four is not a strange number. We see listings for homes at that level all the time.

The book cases are together and in place. I'm done assembling until candy gets her cabinets for the sewing room. I've got most of the books in the book cases and even organized by an almost system of free association. Candy says they look good. (I honestly thought she's think they're just clutter but, I was wrong!)

I have a ton of CD's put away. I'm surprised at how many of them are Candy's. I think she's been buying them when I'm not looking!

Jackie and Ray (Wackie and Jay) are coming tomorrow for dinner (about 3-ish). The house looks great and I think Candy wants to show off a little. For as big as the place is, it's still cozy. I have a bunch of the paintings and prints hung. I honestly hope they're blown away.

I get interesting and unexpected notes in e-mail. This most recent one is from a photographer in the St. Louis area:

Hi Joe

We haven't met, I hope someday we might. You have critiqued Photos for a very good friend of mine, Sharon Spear, a couple of which were taken by me, like a dummy I had not the sense to thank you. So thank you for your time & kind comments.

When I first saw the photo of you on the Wicker settee my first thought were of a very good friend of mine, the 2nd was of Hemmingway.

I have one question, at what point does one become a GWC? I may have reached that status.

Take care
Frank

Sometimes I actually think I do some things right. Praise is always a good tonic. It seems, in my case, the effects don't last very long.

Of course, I have to answer Frank:

Hi Frank –

What a nice note to be confronted by first thing in the morning!

No thanks are necessary. It’s so rare that anyone actively solicits my opinion that the flattery of the request has been enough to get me through the day. (Have you ever noticed that on most occasions when someone asks for your opinion, what they really want is your unconditional support?)

Speaking of flattering, I’m quite pleased that I remind you of a friend (though any comparison to Hemingway might be a little over the top).

As for GWC* status, if you think you’re there, you’re there. The real qualifier is a certain world-weariness brought on the lengthy diatribes and pompous posturing of so called “pros” who spend a lifetime photographing naked women “for the sake of art” while denying the sheer pleasure of hanging out with naked women has anything to do with it. They probably buy Ploughboy for the articles, too! If you’re prepared to admit there’s something elementally kewl (“cool” to old farts like me) about having women slip out of their panties simply because you’re waving a camera around – welcome to the club! Of course, that some decent pictures come out of it is hardly beside the point.

Regards,
Joe

I've been assembling bookcases for the last couple of days. I tire easily so I'm moving along at a rate of one bookcase per day - one more to go. I've started hauling books up to my office, too. It's so wonderful to have access to them. It's been over a year since we packed them in Pennsylvania and now they're finding homes on some very nice looking shelves.

I like this house. I think I like this house better than any house I've ever lived in. Maybe I will develop that sense of it being home. I certainly hope so. It's been a lifetime since I felt like I was "home".

* GWC; Guy with a Camera. A term that most often refers to quasi-photographers with "point-and-shoot" cameras who hire models in the hope of "copping a feel".