"Well, then, allow me to retort."

A man can only take being called an idiot so many times. So, with this in mind, I’ve decided to take "Middie Back's" uninformed rants and call him out on the carpet. I shall take three of his most recent posts ("'Right' Of Way," "Rice Bowls 'Em Over," and "So, You Want To Be A Liberal Democrat") and check them for accuracy in regards to me and my opinions -- since, after all, I was clearly one of his targets. "'Right' Of Way" " . . . idiotic, God-hating, bleeding-heart liberal . . ." Well, I don’t know my exact IQ, but I’m quite sure I test above the idiot level, so that's just dead wrong. I can’t hate "God" because I don’t believe in any, so that's also dead wrong. "Bleeding-heart liberal" is a tougher one to dispute simply because yes, I do care for my fellow human beings and would like to see all people treated equally. If this makes me a bleeding-heart -- so be it. It’s a cross I gladly bear. " . . . my side was overwhelmingly victorious on November 2." Overwhelm according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary: 1: UPSET, OVERTHROW 2 a : to cover over completely : SUBMERGE b : to overcome by superior force or numbers c : to overpower in thought or feeling if a 51% to 48% victory is an overwhelming majority, then perhaps Shawn should go into the business of selling bridges. " . . . ignorant comment." I wonder what my comment was ignorant of. (To those of who who have not had a chance to read the qoute, it was something to the effect that Rice would be just another "Yes"-person in the administration.) Yes, I can clearly see that Dr. Rice is an African-American woman and yes, I know that she would be the first such person to hold the position of Secretary of State. Bully for Dr. Rice. I couldn’t care less if she were an African-American woman, a white man, or a closet queen from Greenwich Village. My point was that she will be just one more person in this administration that will goosestep along with the President instead of someone who may disagree with him from time to time. Not unlike, say, the departing Secretary of State, Colin Powell. "Rice Bowls ‘Em Over" "I was really hoping France and Germany would give us their blessing." Last time I checked, no one was looking to France, Germany, or any other country to confirm American cabinet nominations. Some Americans, however, need to recognize that America is not the only country in the world and cannot go off half-cocked "spreading democracy," or whatever you people call it. We live in a global community, where the relationships between this country and others actually do matter. "So, You Want To Be A Liberal Democrat" (my personal favorite) "God is The Devil, and should be stricken from our society." I never recall writing anything resembling the above. My points are these: there is no god and there is no devil, so I cannot equate one with the other, and I don’t believe that religion -- which I believe is your real concern here -- should be involved in public life at all. Religion on its own is fine, and people are certainly entitled to believe whatever they may choose, but to attempt to imprint those beliefs on everyone else is inexcusable. "The Ten Commandments are offensive and should be removed from any public building . . ." I have never called the Ten Commandments offensive, and would never do such a thing. For the most part, they are common sense rules that do make sense. However, they are a religious document that -- if you believe in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States -- has no business on display in public buildings. "George W. Bush is a religious fanatic, but it is okay for Dems to refer to ‘God’ whenever they please." President Bush is a born-again Christian who makes decision based on "faith." I don’t know if that makes him a fanatic or not, but it certainly makes him a religious man. (And I don’t recall saying there’s anything wrong with that.) I never said it was okay for anyone to refer to "God." In fact, because of my beliefs, I downright loathe it. I think very little of Senator Lieberman specifically because of the amount of religion and faith he injected into the 2000 presidential campaigns. "George W. Bush is an Ivy League idiot, and needs Dick Cheney to run the country for him." I personally don’t think the President is an idiot, but I do think he comes off as less than brilliant. This is simply because he’s not an effective public speaker. (Neither was his father, as I recall.) I’m sure he’s a smart enough man, but that is not how he presents himself. I don’t believe I ever said Dick Cheney is running the country, but I think he clearly has been pushing an agenda with the President. (You’re really telling me that it’s just coincidence that his ex-company was awarded a no-bid contract for all of the work in Iraq?) "George W. Bush is the mastermind of the vast right-wing conspiracy, which includes the actions of Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, the FCC, Fox News, and all cabinet members, who are too stupid to think for themselves." I never, ever, said anything of the kind. I would never accuse the President of being a mastermind of anything, let alone a global geopolitical-media conspiracy. "Every person who voted for George W. Bush is a moron, a 'Jesus Freak,' or both." This is probably the comment that burns me up the most. I know of several people who voted for the President -- yourself included, Shawn -- none of whom I consider morons and/or Jesus Freaks. In fact, I consider some of them very smart people whom I love and respect a great deal. (Yes, I’m talking about you, Mom and Dad, and you, too, Shawn.) "The War in Iraq" I have supported the idea of the war all along, albeit for different reasons than were laid out by the President. I don’t think it’s about oil, nor weapons of mass destruction. I don’t know enough about the situation with the Marine and the Iraqi that was killed to comment, so I will thank you for not doing it for me. I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong you are in your assessment of why you think I would think that the President caused Margaret Hassan’s death (which is clearly what you are implying). Believe it or not, people are responsible for their own actions, including this "person." "Civil Rights and the ACLU" I wonder if you know that the Pledge of Allegiance was originally written without the words "under God" in it? It wasn’t until President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- a Republican, by the way -- came along that the Pledge was rewritten to include those words. What was wrong with the Pledge in the first place, I wonder? Are people who don’t believe in "God" not allowed to love this country? What about those who don’t believe in just one "God?" Or how about those who don’t believe in the same "God" as you? Racism, in any way, shape or form, is quite clearly a societal evil that needs to be vanquished. Anyone who says anything different is an intolerant, ignorant fool. Please let me know what I wrote that was racist. Can’t find anything? Shut up, then. Personally, I would rather see us not celebrate Christmas, but that’s just because I don’t believe any of the story. I don’t begrudge you your right to celebrate whatever you like and in whatever manner you like, so long as you don’t do it on public property and with public funds. Government has no business endorsing any religious belief, let alone endorsing one religion over another. Last time I checked, Muslims and Jews didn’t celebrate Christmas either. Perhaps you know something about Islam and Judaism that I don’t. "Killing a fetus is both tolerated and encouraged, unless it suits the particular needs of the liberal Democrat." Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe Roe v. Wade was decided incorrectly, and that abortion is a horrible, horrible practice. Also, it would be news to me to learn that I have ever impregnated anyone and forced that person to get an abortion. Anything else you know about my personal life that I don’t? "The health care system in this country is atrocious." (written tongue firmly in cheek) Yes, this is absolutely true. There are millions of children who have no health care whatsoever. Premiums are rising at exponential rates. Hospitals are closing across the country, along with paramedic units. If you think this is okay and that nothing needs to be done about this, than perhaps there’s no hope for you, me, and the rest of the country. One also notices that on Shawn's blog he has, like a petulant child who is taking his ball and going home, removed the ability for comments after each post -- along with removing the last two comments I made. Shawn, Al Pacino said it best: "What a big man you are. Give me a piece of gum, I'll show you how to chew it."

What the f?

In case you missed the news, ABC -- in honor of Veterans’ Day -- has scheduled to air the Academy Award-winning film Saving Private Ryan unedited and in its entirety. Due to incredibly realistic (read: graphic) violent images and language, ABC has been running warnings on every ad for the film and will be doing so at the few commercial breaks during the film’s airing. This is all well and good, except for the folks in Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Milwaukee, Louisville and Austin -- among others. Their ABC affiliates have decided to pre-empt the scheduled network programming to air the TV movie Return to Mayberry. Why, you may ask? Thank the FCC. "It would clearly have been our preference to run the movie. We think it's a patriotic, artistic tribute to our fighting forces," Ray Cole, president of Citadel Communications, told AP Radio. The company owns WOI-TV in Des Moines, KCAU-TV in Sioux City and KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Neb . . . In a statement on WSB-TV's Web site, the Atlanta station's vice president and general manager, Greg Stone, cited a March ruling in which the FCC said an expletive uttered by rock star Bono during NBC's live airing of the 2003 Golden Globe Awards was both indecent and profane. The agency made it clear then that virtually any use of the F-word — which is used repeatedly in Saving Private Ryan— was inappropriate for over-the-air radio and television. The Bono case "reversed years of prior policy that the context of language matters," Stone said. He added that broadcasters could not get any clarification from the FCC on whether the movie violates the standard. ABC, which broadcast the film uncut in 2001 and 2002, issued a statement saying it is proud to broadcast it again. The network's contract with director Spielberg stipulates that the film cannot be edited. "As in the past, this broadcast will contain appropriate and clear advisories and parental guidelines," the statement said. My friend Vinnie -- who alerted me to the story -- and I were e-mailing about this. I can offer nothing better than what he said: “We have Bush and the FCC to thank for keeping filfth like Saving Private Ryan off of our television. Lord knows we don't want people to see what our soldiers went through in WWII. I'm feeling good about the future.” I am too, Vin. I am, too.