Jack Savage's blog
Posted at 12:00pm on Jul. 8, 2008 POW's can snap at any moment, according to Bill Clinton
By Jack Savage
From Fox News online, I learned of some comments made by Bill Clinton in Aspen, (of course) Colorado.
He was discussing Nelson Mandela, and the need to overcome anger toward captors as a part of the process of healing. Then he took a backhanded swipe at John McCain:
"Clinton, who has vowed to campaign for Barack Obama, then suggested that POWs could lose their cool at any moment.
'“It’s just like if you know anybody who’s ever been a POW for any length of time, you will see you go along for months or maybe even years, and then something will happen and it will trigger all those bad dreams and they will come back, and it may not last 30 seconds,” he said."
Posted in Archived — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:06am on Jul. 4, 2008 An Independence Day funny joke
By Jack Savage
Told by my girls' swim coach this morning (what a great guy he is, by the way).
Cornwallis was leading his army through the woods of Virginia when he heard a call from over the hill:
"One rebel soldier can beat TEN British soldiers!"
Angered, Cornwallis sent ten soldiers over the hill. The sound of fighting, then silence. None came back.
"One rebel soldier can beat ONE HUNDRED British soldiers!"
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Posted at 7:05pm on May 22, 2008 Something happened to Barack on the way to the White House...
By Jack Savage
I like accents. All kinds. Patterns and inflections, north and south, from the almost Brooklyn accent of a native of New Orleans to the "mwall" for "mall" on the shore of New Jersey. It is also interesting to me to hear how political candidates shift their accent, inflection and tone depending on the audience. We all know about Hillary and her poor version of a black Southern accent at the church, but I wanted to bring up something about Barack Obama.
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Posted at 1:54pm on Apr. 16, 2008 "The Boss" endorses Obama (UPDATED)
By Jack Savage
Wanted to drop by and share some info about my one-time hero, Bruce Springsteen. It seems that he has decided to endorse Barack Obama.
From Fox News online, taken from Springsteen's website:
"He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president," (Springsteen) said. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where '...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.' "
Posted in Liberals — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:53pm on Mar. 6, 2008 Recruiting station bomber contacted Congress prior to terrorist act
By Jack Savage
According to Fox News, the individual(s) who committed the domestic terrorism of bombing a military recruiting station in NYC sent letters to at least eight congressional offices. The letters contained a picture of an individual in front of the office, arms spread, with the words "Happy New Year, We Did It". Also enclosed was a standard-issue, multi-page political manifesto.
Under the heading of "How Did I Know This Already" goes the description of the individual in the photo:
Posted in War — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 7:09pm on Feb. 8, 2008 The Permanence of the Republican Minority, or : Slouching Left
By Jack Savage
Now that McCain is a done deal, let's take a step back and look at things from a purely political perspective.
Are conservatives really the base of the Republican Party?
Let me ask you this - think about the two most glorious successes of the Republican Party over the last three decades, and about our most sour defeat. I would argue that these two successes would include the ascendency of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and the GOP takeover of the House and Senate in 1994. Those two events have one thing in common - conservative principles, confidently and articulately offered to the American people. When that is done, Republicans win hands-down.
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Posted at 1:15pm on Feb. 5, 2008 Arlen Specter, John McCain, and "broken windows"
By Jack Savage
In 1982, sociologists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling introduced their “Broken Windows” thesis. Wilson and Kelling observed that if a broken window in a building was not repaired, then soon all the windows would be broken. They extended the metaphor to crime in neighborhoods. For example, if public drunkenness, abandoned cars and graffiti were tolerated, more serious crimes would soon follow. Here’s how it goes:
Posted in Republicans — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:45am on Jan. 30, 2008 I didn't have strong feelings before. I do now. I will not vote for John McCain.
By Jack Savage
I won't vote for John McCain in the general, even if he is the nominee of the party. Here's why.
I used to stare in wide-eyed wonderment as African Americans marched in lockstep with a party that held them in contempt. It was clear to me, from the first moment I had any inkling about racial politics, that they were doing themselves a grave wrong by sprinting into the street for the candy that was thrown by Democrats every election cycle. Thousands of them boarded buses in New Orleans - not to escape Katrina, but to help elect Mary Landrieu when she appeared to be in electoral trouble. To make things worse, the command to turn out was given by one Bill Clinton. That situation is ripe for analogies to pre-emancipation days, but I'll steer clear of that for now.
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Posted at 11:28pm on Jan. 19, 2008 I liked Fred. But now, a decision to make
By Jack Savage
I have stayed out of the fray this nominating season for two reasons. First, I have been busy. Second, I wanted to look at the race like a general election voter would - tuning in late, impressions from soundbites and appearances, a snippet or two from the debates, focusing on a couple of issues that are important to me.
I liked Fred. He said the right things, in the right way. I think of all the candidates, he was the one that had the most solid conservative foundation. Having said that, I was not comfortable with his late entry into the race. If anyone has ever done any hiring, you would expect, at the least, the person who is applying for the job to actually want it. Fred never gave me that impression, however, and when I looked at him, I saw an old warrior - perhaps too tired for the fight. Again, the impressions that a casual observer makes, not someone who has suffered for his candidate. All the best to those who were all-in for Fred.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:30pm on Jan. 14, 2008 Say it ain't so - Sidney Blumenthal arrested for DWI
By Jack Savage
From Fox News online:
I know I should comment more on this, but let me leave it at "I hope he gets the help he needs and deserves."
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Posted at 11:36am on Jan. 11, 2008 If McCain gave this speech, then MAYBE....
By Jack Savage
I still haven’t made up my mind on who to support for the Republican nomination, but deep in my heart I really, really would like to support John McCain. I simply can’t get over a lot of the stunts he has pulled, but if he were to give the following speech I might – MIGHT – find it in my heart to reconsider him.
“Good evening. I wanted to speak directly to the base of the Republican Party – the ones who are fighting the good fight, holding fast to conservative principles, and keeping the lights on while we are out on the campaign trail. I’ve done a lot to annoy, irritate and downright make you mad since the last time I ran for President, and I owe you an explanation.
Posted in Endorsements — Comments (15) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:30pm on Dec. 12, 2007 A greeting for the times
By Jack Savage
I got this e-mail greeting forwarded from my brother today - it struck me as funny:
To all my Democrat friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non- addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:38pm on Aug. 26, 2007 Lies, Damned Lies, and Economic Modeling
By Jack Savage
Part One
A couple of days ago, there was a jovial and lighthearted discussion about what the Bush tax cuts have done to total government revenue, and whether those tax cuts paid for themselves. As I have gone back and read my posts, they seem to be unclear on exactly where I stand. Because I have not had a lot of time, to avoid a geek-a-thon, and for the sake of at least some brevity, I am being pretty broad here.
Posted in Economy — Comments (98) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:36pm on Aug. 23, 2007 From A Fox News Report - Don't DARE Question Their Patriotism Though!
By Jack Savage
From a FoxNews.com report:
"WASHINGTON — Congressional Democratic leaders are aggressively strategizing a new offensive against the Bush administration's management of the Iraq war as more and more anti-war lawmakers publicly acknowledge successes ahead of a key White House progress report.
Aware of the trouble Iraqi progress could mean for Democrats at home — House Whip James Clyburn recently said if the surge were successful, it would be "a real problem for us" — a revised set of talking points is being worked up by Democrats that declares the escalation of troops in Iraq has not been successful despite White House claims otherwise." (emphasis added)
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Posted at 11:34pm on Jun. 29, 2007 A Minority. A Majority. A Minority Once Again. Why?
By Jack Savage
Promoted from Diaries ... - Martin A. Knight
We need to take a look at why Republicans were in the majority in the first place, and why they spent so many years in the minority.
We were in the minority because the party was full of Rockefeller Republicans - moderate to liberal - who were content to take the crumbs handed to them by the Democrat majority and media. For instance, when they spoke out on Nixon, they were lauded as patriots. They retired, gathered their pension, and went on the rubber chicken circuit.
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