Are we not men?

Well, maybe only in terms of strict phylogenetic taxonomy do I qualify... darn these 46DDs. Still, these things may interfere with my typing, and make it impossible to sleep facing downward, but the don't get in the way of my standing up for what is right, standing up for freedom wherever it is threatened, and standing in support of those who take the real risks in defense of freedom.

And so, it is with great pleasure that I answer the call from Michelle Malkin, Ed Morrissey, and others of the not-so-meek-and-mild persuasion in the blogosphere. You may notice, at the top of the sidebar, I have posted a copy of one of the more famous "Mohammed" cartoons which were originally printed in Jyllands-Posten, more than a year ago, and which, it was claimed, sparked much violence around the world.

Well, by cracky, it's time to remind people that freedom still isn't free. There are still death threats made regularly against these cartoonists, and that the "people" who would kill a man for speaking his opinion -- having already taken the life of Pim Fortuyn, Theo Van Gogh, and many others -- are still out there, and still a threat.

We must demonstrate our solidarity -- sammenhold -- with those who have been so bold as to risk all for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and all the subsequent freedoms guaranteed by protecting those first two. The least I can do is this.

Pass the word, and pass the picture onward.

Happy Birthday, MacGyver! and thanks for something special

Well, really, tomorrow is Richard Dean Anderson's birthday. I have no idea what date the fictional character, MacGyver, has as his natal day, and I don't really care so much. In fact, I hadn't committed Anderson's personal data to memory, either. I'm not some freaky obsessed fan. I was just setting up the next Fortune Teller post and came across his name. I've enjoyed a couple of his tv series over the years, and all, but what this is really all about is friendships not forgotten.

More than twenty years ago, my folks and I moved to Virginia, settling eventually near Williamsburg as Mom and I found work in the historic area, in costume. Two doors down from my parents' townhouse was a crazy lady. It was destiny. Two households Chock Full O' Nuts, as it were, chatting across a lawn about unusual nonsense.

The crazy lady and I had much more in common than simple insanity and became fast friends. She was always welcome at my house and that of my parents, and her family welcomed me at passover. I served as her proxy in the classroom for a year or two as she was undergoing treatments for a painful disability (substitute teacher on a very regular basis). We were fans of the same sorts of music, enjoyed the same types of art and literature, and were especially fond of the then-new series, MacGyver (although she felt more attracted to its star than I did -- at that point, I just liked the stories and the inventive nature of the show and its main character). Eventually, we made it a point to get together to watch the show, and best of all, to make fun of it when one particular director spent too much camera time on Richard Dean Anderson's posterior in those 1980s tight jeans... we were not grownups. We were disappointed when Anderson started moving into the baggy pants phase.

I haven't seen or heard from my friend since the early 1990s. Nevertheless, she had a rather deep impact on me. I discovered I enjoy working with children with all levels of ability, I enjoy laughing aloud at television series even when they're not intentionally funny (especially when they're not intentionally funny!), and for twenty years I've had the policy that I go nowhere without my Swiss Army knife, Mackie Messer.... There is more, but this blog doesn't hold syrup.

But, aside from all the other serious and silly things we did together, there is one which refuses to die a natural death. This month I've been pet-sitting, again, for one of my best friends from childhood, and a picture keeps burbling up from the deep, from a little book we once put together, 50 Ways to Use Your Duct Tape. The image, from a duct-tape bound "Little-Golden-Book" sized work, was rather like this:

I still have the book and the duct tape. I'd trade it all, any day, for word from an old friend, though.

Duct tape went a lot of places, in the 1980s. Friendship went a lot more.

What's so funny about peace through strength?

Rand Simberg has a follow-up post to his earlier analysis of why we shouldn't be surprised doctors wage jihad against us -- and, precisely, what is behind this jihad in the first place. The follow-up gives background on why they attack us, here in the good old U. S. of A., and it isn't strictly because we're big and mean and have evil intentions...

There are (at least) two categories of error in foreign policy. One is to commit egregious acts against a people such that they rise up against you.

The other is to show weakness, such that they think that if they can hurt you badly enough, you'll give up, and give in to their demands, no matter how outrageous and unreasonable they may be.

While we've done more than we should have of both over the last...well...half century, if not longer, the latter is the major reason that we are currently under siege (at least metaphorically, if not literally).

Yes, bin Laden whined about the "occupation of Arabia" during and after the first Gulf War. And the Arabs continually whine about the oppression of the "Palestinians" by the "Zionists" (see, I can use scare quotes just as well as Reuters, except...well, mine are actually accurate).

But the real reason for the war we're in can be found in the part of bin Laden's speech about the "weak horse" and the "strong horse."

His argument is, Bin Laden has assumed that, because we backed down, we were weak and would remain so. There is more to it than that, of course. But the perception of our weakness -- valid or not, is a large part of our problem since even before Vietnam. It certainly does go back more thana half-century. To wit, Bill Mauldin's 1961 cartoon and comment from What's Got Your Back Up?


More to the point is the comment Mauldin includes beneath the image:

Totalitarian leaders do their worrying in private and always show a resolute face to the world. It is hard for them to understand societies which struggle openly with decisions, and it must be very easy for dictators to make the dangerous mistake of confusing soul-searching with flabbiness.

By and large, since the 1970s, we have been a flabby nation -- especially during terms when military-loathing Democrats have had greater power in Washington. Nevertheless, historically and currently, this nation does not tolerate that sort of self-destructive behavior too often or for too long. Elections come, truth about real threats is recognized, and would-be Jimmy Carters fail swiftly.

I hope I'm not mistaken about my fellow countrymen (not to mention other free peoples). I would hate to see Robert Heinlein proven wrong on his 100th birthday.

Cartoon find: Bill Mauldin on Castro, 1959

Mauldin doesn't seem to be impressed with Fidel.

I wonder why Hollywood is?

From the book What's Got Your Back Up? by Bill Mauldin.