Life Boat, originally uploaded by twoblueday. I was too lazy to prepare a fresh picture, so I sent this on up from Flickr. This picture represents another form of recycling. It is at Sandwich Marina. I think this is an old lifeboat. Too bad the human race doesn’t have one–I think we’ll all go down with the ship, unless we make successful efforts to keep it from going down.
Onward Christian Soldiers. An allegedly Christian church in Texas canceled a memorial service for a veteran of the first Gulf War, upon finding out he was gay. Whatever else it is, this is terrible PR. I do not style myself a Christian, so I am not going to get into whatever doctrinal hair-splitting placed the deceased outside the allegedly limitless love of God and Jesus. As a fellow veteran (and a fellow human being), I hope the man’s life was happy, and that his loved ones have wonderful memories to cherish.
Friendly Skies. A guy sued Jet Blue for some contretemps over an Arabic slogan on his T-shirt, which apparently translated as “Die Infidel Pigs,” (I made that up). This would hardly be worthy of note, since people sue over pretty much anything, lost pants, flower order confirmations, etc., except that the specter of racism was raised. As I’ve pronounced in the past, I don’t recognize that any human being is of a different race than myself. As for freedom of speech, the courts have long held that freedom of speech has limits. The classical example is that you may not, with impunity, shout “Fire” in a crowded theater. Also, “fighting words” have limited protection. The airline allegedly told the guy that his shirt made other passengers nervous or uncomfortable or something.
Quagmire. Vice President Cheney apparently predicted prior to 9/11 that a military adventure into “Iraq” would be a quagmire for the US. At last: he was right about something. Even a blind pig occasionally finds an acorn.
Good Riddance. Karl Rove is leaving the administration.
