Target Centermass

Category: Blogosphere

  • Turning to the Blogroll

    I’m not in the mood to blog tonight, as should be obvious from my feeble previous post. I don’t know why — it just ain’t there.

    I have been in the mood to read and surf, however, so I’ll just poach some goodies off my blogroll.

    Let’s open with Kevin Aylward at Wizbang! as he slaps around Congressman Conyers on the Downing Street memo.

    Rep. John Conyers, as predicted here 10 days ago, will hold one of his patented “fake hearings” on the Downing Street Memo Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. EST. Pay no attention to the fact that the witnesses list is lead by the same lead witness (John Bonifz) who presented at his Ohio vote-rigging “hearing,” or that Conyers will trot out Valerie Plame’s husband, Joseph Wilson, who can regale the “hearing” with tales of yellowcake and book sales. Luckily for Wilson no members of the Senate Intelligence Committee will be present to bitch-slap him again. Given the lack of reporting about his cratered credibility, Wilson probably sounded like a great witness to Conyers.

    Now let’s turn to the favorite (and deservedly so) target of the day: Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and his pathetic loss of perspective on Gitmo.

    Let’s open with Paul at Powerline:

    Scott gave me credit for “anticipat[ing] the rabid foaming at the mouth” of Durbin and his partner in defamation Senator Leahy. In fact, however, I never expected that any U.S. Senator would express such absurd sentiments. I didn’t realize that leftist fever swamp extends so profoundly into the Senate.

    Just for the record (as if that matters to the left) Rowan Scarborough in the Washington Times reminds us of the following:

    Adolf Hitler – About 9 million dead
    Soviet gulags – About 2.7 million dead
    Pol Pot – About 1.7 million dead
    Gitmo – zero dead
    Gitmo – five instances of Koran abuse by prison guards
    Gitmo-15 instances of Koran abuse by prisoners.

    Then we’ll move on to Steve Verdon at Outside the Beltway, whose headline “What a Dick” really says it all:

    Apparently Dick Durbin doesn’t think much about the Holocaust, the genocide of the Khmer Rouge and Josef Stalin and its victims. Calling the detention center at Guantanamo Bay a death camp is just stupid.

    Chad at In the Bullpen chimes in with “Another Day, Another Nazi Comparison“:

    Over 13 million people died in the above mentioned camps throughout the years. The majority of those held in those camps were innocent whereas the vast majority of detainees in Guantanamo were found on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Can Senator Durbin not tell the difference?

    In an update, Chad turns his aim to liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas ‘Kos’ Zunigas and his site The Daily Kos (lack of link intentional). Dr. Rusty Shackleford of the Jawa Report comes out guns a-blazin’ at Kos (emphasis in original, and you should consider yourself warned that he really means it).

    You, Kos, are a certifiable idiot whose blind partisanship is disgusting and unethical.

    Warning: Graphic images follow.

    Speaking of Gitmo, Ace explains at length the justifiability and reasoning behind the detentions there. I particularly liked this nugget (emphasis again in the original):

    Okay. Let’s take you at your word.

    Given the fact that by your own admission that not only is the Global War on Terrorism not over, but we are actually losing this war, why the f*** are you constantly agitating to release enemy combatants so that they may rejoin their allies and kill more of our soldiers and citizens?

    Leaving Gitmo, over at Eric’s Grumbles Before the Grave (great banners, by the way), our caped crusader Eric has apparently found an arch-nemesis and has been waging a one–man war. For a moment, he almost seems to lose his edge, but not quite:

    I realize that I have gotten a bit personal with some on the left lately and have attacked them directly. If that offends anyone, I’m sorry you’re offended. But I’m not sorry for what I’ve said.

    In fact, Eric decides to adapt to the enemy’s tactics (EDIT: I doubt Eric will actually change course; he seems quite happy having actual facts on his side):

    Yep, just like the Left, I’m just going to make crap up out of thin air, allege that I have evidence to prove it, promise to tell you at some undetermined date in the future what my evidence is and insist that it’s worth “checking out”.

    Fight the good fight, Eric.

    Above all these important issues, you can never beat Scott at The Fat Guy for some good ol’ Texas-style common sense.

    Man, I do love my Blogroll so.

  • An Airman’s Farewell

    Michael James Reed, known in the blogosphere as Bunker Mulligan, has been laid to rest.

    Bunker’s family has been extremely kind to us, blessing us with photos even as they deal with their own great personal loss. Yesterday, they showed us the honors that the United States Air Force paid to one of their own.

    Even more important, the family also has graciously shared a great many pictures that portray how Bunker lived.

    It is obvious from the devotion of his family, from the service of Bunker, and the many remembrances of others who knew him either in person or only from the internet that we have lost a good man. Indeed, the very willingness by his family to share a look at cherished personal moments, even in the midst of their own time of sorrow, with complete strangers on the internet stands as an incredible testament to the character of Mike Reed and his legacy. Thank you, sir, and thank you to your loved ones.

  • As a Further Farewell to Bunker

    Michael James Reed
    1953-2005

    As I blogged earlier, Mike Reed, known to the blogosphere as Bunker Mulligan, has breathed his last.

    For the most touching tributes, I leave it to his children. They look at him as he lived as a father and a husband. Go read — I can only hope my family remembers me with such love and respect.

    Bunker was a member of the Homespun Bloggers, and Major Dad eulogizes him there:

    Homespun Bloggers and the blogosphere lost a great blogger, a leader, and a friend on Friday. Bunker Mulligan passed away on Friday morning of a very sudden and unexpected heart attack.

    Mike Reed, will certainly be missed here…but I know that he’ll continue to do well where he is now. He’ll crank out posts several times a day, in between his time on the real “championship” golf courses “up there.”

    Hit them long and straight my friend! Save me a seat at the 19th hole! While I hope I can put off our first face to face meeting for another 50 years, since we didn’t get that done here on earth, I’ll be looking forward to seeing you then.

    Bunker was also the founder of Texas Bloggers. Fellow Texas blogger Eric Siegmund remembers Bunker in much the same spirit that I do:

    The blogging community and Texas bloggers in particular have lost a friend as we learned that Mike Reed died of an apparent heart attack last Friday.

    I didn’t know Mike except through his blogging, and that’s my loss. He seemed to be the “real deal,” unfailingly polite, kind, generous, wise and witty. His primary blog, Bunker Mulligan, was also his nom de blog, but he was also the founder of Texas Bloggers, a “community blog” for those of us residing in this great state.

    Finally, Bunker was a MilBlogger. The Mudville Gazette‘s Greyhawk, father of the MilBloggers, pays tribute:

    Bunker was a voice of reason in the all too often noisy blogosphere, and it’s obvious he touched quite a few lives – all over the world – via his blog and in person. I always appreciated his commentary, the thoughts he chose to share with us all were both kind and wise.

    I’d like to note that Bunker went down as a MilBlogger, as his last post recalled his proud service.

    As my last tribute to the man, I will add the fine charity Homes for Our Troops to my links section. I will also think of Bunker as I make a contribution, per his family’s wishes.

  • Say It Ain’t So

    Michael Jones at The Armageddon Project reports that Mike Reed, a.k.a. Bunker Mulligan, one of my blogroll members and the founder of Texas Bloggers, died today.

    Bunker Mulligan – R.I.P.

    I just received a call from Curtis Rock informing me that Mike Reed, the author of Bunker Mulligan and founder of Corpus Christi Bay News and Texas Bloggers, died at work today. The details are rather sketchy at the moment, but I’m waiting to hear back about funeral arrangements and such.

    I don’t know what to say. Even though Mike and I spoke many times over the phone and email and even collaborated on a local news blog (Corpus Christi Bay News), I never had the opportunity to meet him in person. I can say that he was an honorable, stand-up guy that I would have been honored to play a round of golf with. My prayers go with his family in their time of grief.

    To Mike: may God welcome you into His loving arms.

    If true, I find it ironic but heartening that the current quote at the top of Bunker’s blog is the following:

    Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.

    —Mark Twain.

    UPDATE: Alas! It is confirmed. My best wishes to his family and friends.

  • More Tributes from the Blogroll

    The grilling has commenced, war movies play on the television, and the fine folk on my blogroll keep honoring the day.

  • Memorial Day around the Blogroll

    I took a look around my favorite blogs overnight. Now, as I watch the NCAA lacrosse finals (Duke vs. Johns Hopkins) and prepare to grill, here are the tributes and honors I found.

  • I Had a Dream

    I had the idea. The market was definitely there and needed to be filled.

    One of the military’s new wartime challenges is dealing with global media that can instantly spread around the world information that may be false or damaging to U.S. interests, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday.

    I just missed the boat. Looking at the result, I’m cool with that.

    Inspired by the recent atrocious performance of the mainstream media, I had a thought over the weekend for a new website. I had hoped to gather a group of military veteran bloggers to contribute to a new site, with the planned intention of serving as a counter to negative coverage in the media. I came close to sending out an email to members of my blogroll like Eric, Guy and another Eric.

    I even looked into a possible URL, thinking Covering Fire would be a supportive site name that said, “Hey, guys, we’ve got your back.” It turns out some rock dude has coveringfire.com. I didn’t check to see if he was worth a damn, tied as I am to dial-up at home.

    Anyways, it seems my dream has been pre-empted by bigger names in the blogosphere. Blackfive brings the news that a new site has been launched with the same purpose, though not with the plan of contribution exclusively by military veterans.

    The goal of Media Slander is to hold journalists and bloggers to high ethical standards regarding coverage of the War on Terror and other military-related issues. We plan to achieve this by highlighting bias, rumor and falsehoods that have been creeping into military coverage under the guise of objective news.

    Looking at the bright, shiny new Media Slander, I feel no bitterness that my dream was achieved by others. The goal is, by far, the important matter in this case.

  • Caught in a Meme Crossfire

    I’ve been hit by another meme. Actually, I’ve been double-tapped by it, as both Phil at Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum) and JohnL at TexasBestGrok have tagged me with the same book meme.

    Total Number of Books I’ve Owned
    I have no idea how many I’ve owned through my life, but it would easily top a grand. I currently own 250-300, scattered throughout my apartment, my car, the office and my girlfriend’s house.

    Last Book I Bought
    Ghost Wars, after Chad at In the Bullpen emailed me with an enthusiastic recommendation.

    Last Book I Read
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, though it was actually a re-read. The last book I read for the first time was Band of Brothers.

    Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me
    The Lord of the Rings — I first read it in fourth grade. I first re-read it in fifth grade. I have no idea how many times I have turned back to it. This was the only sure thing on my list and, were one to travel back through the history of this meme, I would wager that Tolkien’s masterpiece would appear on more lists than any other book. Well, maybe a lot of people went with the Bible.

    1984 — I read it in 1983 at the height of the Cold War. It provided a chilling reason to believe in the need to fight against the Evil Empire.

    UNIX in a Nutshell — An incredible reference for my working world, one that I still turn to frequently after years in the biz.

    Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land — Okay, yeah, that’s two. Still, I cannot decide which of the two is my favorite sci-fi. Both are amazing in very different ways.

    The Pillars of the Earth — Never has a book that sounded so disinteresting gripped me in the manner as this one did. A historical epic about the building of a cathedral in 12th century England? No thanks. Man, was I ever wrong! As much as this would seem like a book that would have a relatively small target audience, I would heartily recommend it to anyone. Actually, I have recommended it to quite a variety of people, and all that have read it have been extremely engrossed by the story, the scope and the characters, so real that you root for them or despise them to a surprising degree.

    I’m now allowed to stick five others with this meme, but I think I’ll pass on this one. I think almost everybody on my blogroll that does memes has already had a shot at this one.

  • Five Things I Don’t Get

    Yikes! Hammertime of Team Hammer’s Musings has tagged me with a meme. In a way I’m honored. In another way, I’m annoyed, as I remember how difficult it was coming up with interview questions for him on a previous meme. He made the most of my poor questions, so I owe him. Memes can truly be as frustrating as fun; nevertheless, I’ll go with the flow and see how this one works.

    List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over.

    1) Charmed — This is my girlfriend’s favorite television show … by a freakin’ mile. Many a time its scheduling has had to be taken into account during our social planning. I’ll admit she’s quite willing to record but I know she’d rather watch the broadcast. I’ve caught maybe ten minutes — nice eye candy but quite the silly, trite yawner. As the old saying goes, there’s no accounting for tastes. That, and she willingly puts up with me. Yup, she’s a keeper. Besides, sooner or later Charmed will go bye-bye.

    2) Reality TV — Survivor and its ilk have nothing to do with reality or entertainment. A fad that can’t fade fast enough.

    3) The designated hitter — This is probably the result of moving to an American League area after growing up in cities on the senior circuit landscape. Call me a purist, but I prefer the idea of all nine playing the same game at the plate and in the field. I prefer the strategy required with juggling the line-up for a pitching change. I despise the fact that the DH has now spread like a plague to practically every level of the game, be it minor league, college or high school.

    4) Atkins/ South Beach — First, the diet: nothing tragic, but how about eating reasonably and exercising? Second, the dieters: do y’all have to treat it like a new-found religion? The time-tested zealots can be particularly condescending and annoying.

    5) Starbucks — Bad coffee. Bad prices, pompous employees, pathetically elitist menu and, oh yeah, bad coffee. One should be able to order coffee by saying a size, preferably in English, and uttering the word coffee instead of some eight-syllable mumbo-jumbo. One should then receive a cup of joe that does not taste burned. One should then hand the employee of the establishment a buck or two. One should definately then receive change. That is all that Starbucks is not.

    I now get to tag five people to do this meme themselves. Participation should be viewed as purely voluntary. How about…

    Eric
    Phil
    JohnL
    Raven
    and any other volunteer.

  • Updating the Blogroll

    Let’s start with two new additions:

    And while I’m at it, and it’s quite obvious I’ve been slacking, here’s five current members of my blogroll that have moved: