Initial reactions to Bush's speech

• Once again, Bush did not say much of any substance. This speech was supposed to outline the plan for "Victory in Iraq" (that's the White House's title, not mine), but instead it was once again mostly about "See what a good job we have done in Iraq," and "We will not cut and run."
  
• Bush said that people complaining that we have not learned lessons and applied them in Iraq are "flat wrong." As evidence, he noted that the military commanders on the ground have adapted and are adapting their tactics. The problem is NOT with the military commanders on the ground. The problem is with the civilian leaders--most notably Bush and Rumskull. As I have explained in detail (Official campaign planning doctrine and the post-war period, A note on the applicability of JP 5-00.1, and More on the principles in JP 5.00-1), Bush and Rumskull have always been primarily responsible for determining the long-range overall goals and strategies to achieve those goals. The military commanders on the ground are dealing with the day-to-day realities of combat and survival. Those factors are not the same as setting the overall goals and strategies for "Victory in Iraq."
• A quick review of the executive summary of "Victory in Iraq" (which was necessary since the speech did not really discuss the plan) shows that this is the type of planning that should have been done BEFORE THE WAR EVER STARTED. Instead, it comes FOUR FREAKIN' YEARS LATER.
  
• Bush also said that Iraq would not become another Afghanistan. News flash for you, George: in some ways Iraq is Afghanistan of the past. Many Al Qaeda leaders learned and honed their violent skills in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. It was a real-life combat training ground. Under the Taliban, Afghanistan was still a training ground, but there was no actual combat. Iraq is now the real-life combat training ground. Terrorists are learning and honing skills in a way that did not exist after the Soviets left Afghanistan and before we invaded Iraq. Now the terrorists do not have to go to the trouble and expense of supporting a regime like the Taliban because we are providing the training ground for free.
• Once again, Bush singled out one soldier killed in Iraq in a speech. And he still has not attended even one funeral or memorial service for anyone killed in Iraq.

There is so much more to discuss, but I likely will not get to it in detail today, as today will be taken up with getting my State Bar continuing legal education requirements met (insert lawyer jokes here).

A Kinky update

The Kinster's campaign is picking up momentum, financially speaking. There was a goal to raise $100,000 by Thanksgiving, and that goal was met and exceeded. As Kinky his own self said, "It's support like this that really lets me know we're going to win this thing." In a separate fund raising effort, Willie Nelson and Jesse Ventura hosted a golf tournament which raised $170,000.

The Dallas Morning News had a good article on Friedman after his appearance here in The Falls. Here's one of my favorite excerpts: "At the Kemp Center for the Arts last week, a couple hundred flannelled ranchers, angry educators, coiffed Republicans and bell-bottomed youngsters came on a weeknight to gather around the self-proclaimed Jewish cowboy[.]" And there was also at least one smart-ass "playground brat" (that would be me). The crowd--and there was a crowd--was indeed diverse. As John Hirschi, the man who organized Friedman's appearance here, told my sister a few days ago, there is a ground swell of support for Friedman right here in Wichita Falls. I have been part of something similar, namely Wes Clark's campaign in 2003-2004. I was part of the Draft Clark effort (a small part, but a part nonetheless), and I campaigned for Clark once he entered the race. What amazed me was the diversity of people I saw at campaign events and online. It seems that Friedman is now drawing that same kind of diversity, and I hope he successfully utilizes it.

In my first post about Friedman's campaign, I noted that he has to get about 50,000 eligible voters to sign a petition to even get on the ballot. Here is some info about that:

Under Texas' election rules, independents must:

• Acquire valid signatures from registered voters in a number equal to 1 percent of the total votes in the last governor's race. In Mr. Friedman's case, the target is 45,540.

• Get those signatures only from people who did not vote in either party's primary or in a runoff.

• Gather them in, at most, about 60 days after the primaries. If there's a runoff, the window is shortened to about 30 days.

(emphasis added). The italicized portion is going to be the tough part. As Dean Barkley, Kinky's campaign manager (who was also Jesse Ventura's campaign manager), told the Dallas Morning News, "We hate to tell people, 'don't vote.' It's not like us, but that's the rules the Republicans and Democrats have put up in Texas. And we have to play by those rules."

Some Junior hockey talk

While I am glad that the NHL is back, I am more into Junior A hockey these days. One of my Sports links is to the official site of my hometown Wichita Falls Wildcats of the NAHL. What a season it has been so far for the Wildcats and their division in the NAHL. The 'Cats have a record of 15-8-0 and 30 points. That is good enough for third place in the South Division, but these days that is mighty good. I can't speak for the rest of the league, but I can definitely say that the overall level of play in the South is way up from last year. The top three teams in the division have a combined winning percentance (as of today) of .699--far and away the best among the four divisions in the league (the others are .639, .625, and .599). Every year the NAHL has a showcase in which all 20 teams play in a four-day round-robin format. The South Division had the best record in the Showcase: 13 wins, 5 losses, and 2 losses in overtime. The action has been fast, with lots of good, clean hitting, and some spectacular goalie play (which I really like).

Speaking of goalies, the South division currently has the #2, 4, and 5 goalies in the entire league. A recent home game here featured the Wildcats' #1 goalie, Tom Billick, stopping 30 of 31 shots, and some of the saves were amazing. The Springfield goalie, Mike Garman, was even better, stopping 42 of 42 shots in one of the best performances I have seen in four years of Junior hockey here. Last night in Frisco, Texas, the #1 goalie for Texarkana, Riley Gill, outdueled the top goalie for the Texas Tornado (the two-time defending NAHL champions) Troy Redmann (currently the #2 goalie in the league) 1-0 in overtime. Man, I love great goalie play!

As for fan support, four of the top six in attendance are in the South Division.

Every team in the South Division is good. The fourth place team, Springfield, would be probably be second or third in any of the other divisions. Santa Fe is currently in fifth, but they have many of the top players from last year's very good team, and they will improve as the season progresses.

I'm telling you, the NAHL is not some little league imitation of hockey. This is real, quality hockey. Anyone who is in or near a city with a team in the NAHL should go out and support these teams. If you can't go to the games, you can catch them on the radio or the internet (go to the NAHL site for links to the teams and internet broadcasts).

I will probably have several future posts about the Wildcats, but for now I will say the most improved player from last year in my opinion is Tom Billick. He started out as the #1 goalie last year, but went to backup once Dan DiLeo (who is currently playing at Cornell, backing up last year's top NCAA goalie, who came from the Texas Tornado) was acquired halfway through the season. Some guys might have gone downhill after that, but Tom has been absolutely rock-solid this year. Way to go, Tom!

A sad day for listeners of KERA; the passing of Glenn Mitchell

I have been very busy lately between work and preparing a presentation at an academic conference, and there has been no time for blogging. I intended to start back today, but I had no idea I would be writing about such a tremendous loss.

Several of my posts have referenced "The Glenn Mitchell Show" on KERA radio in Dallas. I tuned in KERA at 9:00 this morning and the first thing I heard was an announcement that Glenn Mitchell had passed away in his sleep this weekend.

Glenn Mitchell was the best talk show host of any kind I have ever heard in my life. Period. No one else even comes close. Glenn's show covered the entire spectrum of topics, and he was always prepared and knowledgeable on every subject. He made an effort to read, see, or listen to whatever his guests had done. He presented all viewpoints on his show. To put it in the context of today's social and political climate, he had guests from the far left to the far right. And he treated every one of them in the same manner. He was courteous. He was civil. He allowed them--through his insightful questions--to express their views without hinderance. He was never confrontational, in spite of the fact that he refused to lob "softballs" at his guests. He never interjected his own personal views into any interview or show. To this day, I do not know his political, social, religious, etc. affiliations or positions. Indeed, I am not sure he had any.

Glenn could go from ultra-serious to whimsical effortlessly. The best segment of his show happened every Friday at noon. It was called "Everything You Wanted to Know," with the tag of "All questions answered, all knowledge revealed." Listeners would simply call in or email questions about anything from the hardcore scientific to the sublime to the completely ridiculous--and everything in between and beyond--and other listeners would call or email the answers. It was a rolling feast of information. The show would be broadcast at regular intervals from the Dallas Public Library, which is a major research library, with the help of the research librarians, or as Glenn called them, "the professional smart people."

I cannot possibly convey now (or perhaps ever) how special "The Glenn Michell Show" was. Those who ever heard the program understand. For those who never heard the show, I am sorry that you missed out on that experience.

And now Glenn no doubt has gone on to the place where indeed "All questions are answered and all knowledge revealed." If anyone out there goes to the same place, don't be surprised if it is Glenn who meets you and starts asking you a few questions. And don't be worried if that does happen, for even if Glenn is quizzing you, it will seem like heaven.

Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas

This is not a joke.

Richard "Kinky" Friedman, a sure enough Texas Jewish cowboy, is running to be the next Governor of the Great State of Texas.

When I first heard, about nine months ago, that Kinky Friedman was running for Governor, my first thought was NOT "This must be a joke." Instead, my first thought was "If he is serious, I could vote for him."

That also is not a joke.

That being said, Kinky was cracking plenty of jokes at a fund raising event on November 9 right here in Wichita Falls. I know because I was there, and, yes, I bought a t-shirt and bumper stickers and I made a contribution to his campaign.

From Kinky's official website here is his basic approach to this campaign:

Texas politics stinks. The parties sell themselves to big donors, lobbyists control the legislature's agenda, and the top fundraising groups in the state are being indicted for money laundering. Corruption and big money have such a chokehold that the two major parties blew $100 million in the last governor's race to elect a candidate to a job that pays $100,000 a year. And for all that money spent, less than 30% of us bothered to show up at the polls.

Why? Because it's hard to stand in line at the ballot box when neither candidate promises anything more than politics as usual. Texans are the most independent people in America, and if we're going to be inspired, the inspiration will come from someone unafraid to deal in new ideas and honest answers, an independent leader who lets the people call the plays instead of dancing to the tune of the money men.

That kind of leader is never going to look or sound like a politician. He won't steer by image polls, speak in hollow phrases approved by focus groups, or show up in hand-tailored suits.

You'll know him when you see him -- true Texas leaders are unmistakable. After all, the last independent governor of Texas was Sam Houston. The next will be Kinky Friedman.

That's right, boys and girls--Kinky is running as an independent. And that means there's a catch. As an independent, Kinky has to petition to be placed on the ballot. That means he has to get 50,000 signatures from registered voters. But that's not the catch. The catch is that anyone who votes in either the Republican or Democratic primary in March 2006 is ineligible to sign the petition. Now ain't that some bullshit?

I repeat--this is not a joke. If you live in the Great State of Texas, please go to Kinky's site to find out about his main issues. You can also watch "Go Kinky" on CMT. Apparently, the Rick Perry (current Governor) campaign has contacted CMT demanding equal time.

That also is not a joke.

And neither is Kinky's campaign.

Today I am an Eagles fan.

Terrell Owens has been suspended by the Eagles and will not play for them again this year.

He got exactly what he deserved because he is a punk-ass little bitch.

The fact that I have not even used such a strong term to describe anyone is the Bush administration should tell you what I think about the punk-ass little bitch.

Something to think about over the weekend

It is Homecoming week at SMU, meaning that I will be in Dallas for the next three days emceeing a variety show tonight and tomorrow night and finishing my announcing duties Saturday at the big game.

Before I leave, I offer a few thoughts that could lead to much discussion. There has previously been some discussion here about how the conservative movement ain't what it used to be, and I want to continue that discussion. It occurred to me this morning that in the past, "liberalism" drifted into being too idealistic while ignoring some practical realities (and some would claim that this is still true). In the past, it seemed to me that the conservative movement was trying to be more realistic. Now, it seems that "conservatives"--or more to the point, the neoconservatives who are in power--have chosen to embrace ideology and idealism at the cost of considering practical realities.