Scripting News

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 17:03:18 GMT

Survey: Are you glad or sad we're going to war?

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 22:45:10 GMT

News.Com: "Apple Computer on Wednesday named former Vice President Al Gore to its board of directors."

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 22:11:37 GMT

Travel pics of cheesecake, the Taconic State Parkway, the Berkshires, Great Barrington and Butternut Basin.

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:45:56 GMT

Scott Rosenberg follows up on the Eve of Destruction.

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:56:55 GMT

Matt Haughey has an innovative use of technology.

I've arrived at Harvard. I'm going to keep my to-do list out in the open at least at first.

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 19:07:07 GMT

Rich Santalesa: "While no one wants a war, there are things worth fighting for, which apparently the French and some others can't fathom. Freedom is one. Safety is another."

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 16:31:07 GMT

Morbus Iff reports that SourceForge is providing RSS 2.0 feeds for its projects.

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 12:06:14 GMT

NY Times: "Ted Turner is still not ready for his exit from AOL Time Warner, at least not while there is still an audience eager for his personal views and antics."

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 14:10:13 GMT

Ad Age: "Recent internal research by Procter & Gamble indicates that consumers who fast-forward through ads with digital personal video recorders such as TiVo still recall those ads at roughly the same rates as people who see them at normal speed in real time."

More travel pics

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 22:11:06 GMT

Pictures of a warm spring day in NYC.

St Patrick's Day dinner at a diner in Queens.

Driving up the Taconic State Parkway and through the Berkshires into Great Barrington on the way to Boston.

When I was a kid we used to ski at Butternut Basin.

Think!

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 11:32:19 GMT

As you might imagine I got some strong responses to yesterday's DaveNet by Scott Rosenberg. There's nothing wrong with a strong response, but I am disgusted by thoughtlessness of many of the comments.

"thinkUsaAlignRight"I made a point of listening to the shock-jock shows on AM radio as I drove across the country. So the "arguments" are familiar to me. What I'd say to them if they'd listen -- read some histories of war, not the histories of starts of war, when everyone is full of honor, courage and conviction. Learn about the trench warfare of World War I. Or how long it took for the US to extricate itself from Vietnam. I recently read a history of the Civil War in the US. What a fucking mess that was. Sure a lot of piss and vinegar at the start. But the people in the southern US are still bitter about that war, 140 years later. A lot of people died, nasty deaths; and a lot of what people cared about was destroyed. All of us are too young to remember, that's why we have to study this stuff, and think about it.

Scott did change my mind, but I was almost there. You don't ever go into war thinking it's going to be easy. If it is, count your blessings, but assume it won't. Bush is not leading us well. We should have heard some thoughts about how hard war can be. It's like the disclaimers we get on cigarettes. Warning, these things can kill you.

I hear so much concern for the people inside Iraq. Come on. You right wing guys don't really care about them, do you? If so, why only Iraq? Why not take on civil strife, starvation and disease where ever it happens. I don't believe you really care about the people of Iraq. Sorry.

On the other hand, I don't agree with everything Scott said. He repeats an oft-repeated mantra of the left, that Bush wasn't elected, and this just weakens his argument. Bush was elected. No candidate is responsible for flaws in the system. Had the random outcome in Florida favored Gore, there's no doubt in my mind that he would have taken office without any hesitation.

Net-net, if the people who read Scripting News and DaveNet aren't thinking, there isn't much hope for the world. And by the way I have no sympathy for people on the other side of this disagreement who say nasty shit about the US. This is my country, watch what you say about it. Thanks.

War commentary

Wed, 19 Mar 2003 12:05:47 GMT

Paolo Valdemarin: "After September 11 the US were leading the largest coalition of countries ever seen. Now, whatever the US administration is saying, they are going to a war alone." Actually the British are fighting with the US.

Lance Knobel: "I'd like to have seen an alternative to war, but that would have meant an international commitment to intrusive inspections, backed by the threat of force. In the light of French and Russian vacillation, it's very unclear whether that could have worked."

Megnut: "I'm uncomfortable with the idea of America unilaterally removing someone from power. And I am very disturbed by the approach the American government has taken to achieve its goals."

Karlin Lillington: "The Bush administration has been utterly hopeless and inept in creating a coalition abroad, in showing leadership overseas, in working towards consensus."