I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties, but if that's you in your 110s then you must be doing something very right.
"Time travel" to the future is definitely possible theoretically (time dilation), time travel into the past, probably not, so I guess the real question, how did you get that photo back to this time?
Also, the sexbots of the future, are they allowed to say no?
If not, and they are sufficiently self aware, then it's rape!!
In the future I'll belong to the R.A.P. Movement (Robots Ain't Property).
Right, so you are reasonably skeptical about dates on cameras, but you will reprint and amplify the smears of others without examining their agendas, without asking for the context of their observations, and without performing the slightest check of their facts.
But you are reasonably skeptical about dates on cameras.
While you are all distracting yourself over one photo of Kerry that seems to be contradicted by other photos of Kerry at Malkin's site, you may wish to consider this:
RealityCheck, Lookit, at absolute maximum, the best you and our "AlphaLiberal" alias can hope to prove is that the picture of Kerry eating alone in a mess was taken before he made a stupid joke. And if it makes you feel any better, I'll stipulate for sake of argument that you're right: the photo's months old, and Kerry was snubbed on a visit to Iraq before he made a hash of his dumbass joke. But even granting that much, all you've proved that Kerry has been considered a loser in those circles for even longer than the people spreading that photograph around were insinuating. With friends like you - and his own mouth - Kerry doesn't need enemies.
XWL said... "I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties"
Hmm. I didn't realize that that was so. Duly noted.
reality check, Professor Althouse isn't a journalist. That's sort of what it comes down to. Are her standard way way less than journalistic for some issues? You betcha. And I gotta say, anyone who comes to this site looking to be informed about current events --- well, that's not me, nor the other people I know who love this site.
There's a sort of caveat to that statement regarding matters in her professional area of expertise (and even then, she seems to define that as narrowly as academics generally do: on a lot of law cases she prefaces by saying, this isn't really my area, but...)
Given that the site isn't -- and doesn't bill itself as -- news journalism, nor even mostly political commentary, I guess I can't make much sense of the bitterness of the criticism leveled at it. It seems loony to me. Someone'll get elected, the good professor will have something to say about it, she's got her preferences but if they aren't the electorate's, life goes on. I gather if you think for whatever reason it's crucial to influence what materials she chooses to put on the site, that she responds well to courtesy. Go figger.
Me, if I can influence what appears on the site: more of the randomly weird, please.
Simon as usual you miss the point. The point is that one photograph whether taken by the AP or by Ben of Messopotamia, a former Bush SpeechWriter, means nothing.
I suspect the photograph is real and was taken last week, but not based on the photograph itself, but based on the other photographs that seem to corroborate it.
Sad thing is for you and Ann, those photographs show Kerry surrounded by lots of people.
There is also a report at Powerline that says that Kerry entered that mess hall within ten minutes of its closing so of course no one was tehre, and it goes on to say he was treated no differently than other celebs.
Comparing him to O'Reilly who has a show broadcast daily on Armed Forces Radio is apples and oranges.
The point is that neither Ann, nor you, nor any of the other lawyers here knows any of the context of this photo -- when it was taken, who it was taken by, what their agenda was, etc., etc., and yet you draw from this that Kerry is hated.
I think your conclusions about all of this say far more about yourself than it does about Kerry. And what it says is that you guys are either fools or tools.
Again, the real issue right now is the escalation of the fight during one of Iraq's worst months and against the advice of the Pentagon and the Troops and against the wishes of the American People.
But go ahead and kern away. Fool or Tool, yes, but you are really a lawyer?
"The point is that neither Ann, nor you, nor any of the other lawyers here knows any of the context of this photo ... and yet you draw from this that Kerry is hated."
I could have drawn that conclusion if I'd never seen the photo. And for Kerry -- aspirant 2008 also-ran -- that's the real point.
This is one of those interesting comments where the reader has to wonder if the author has their own, private definition of a word that every other speaker of the English language is unaware of. "Outrage"? What examples would you give where Ann was "outraged" on this blog about anything?
Alpha Lib, so does everybody demonstrate selective skepticism and outrage -- we have experience, we have ideas about what's true. I grew up with Kerry as my Senator and have campaigned for him -- and John Kerry is, on a personal level, a dick, or at least that's what I can see and what the buzz on Beacon Hill ever was. I'd have chosen not to eat with him. I have before.
"Selective skepticism"? Alpha Lib, John Kerry flat out insulted the troops. Maybe through stupidity or error, but he did. Then he flubbed the apology for days. But somehow until you saw the Phil Carter link you questioned even that! Physician, heal thyself!
Professor Althouse links to stuff which amuses and interests her. That photo did both. OK. If I set up some little blog, and it got 10 hits a month, and I did the same, you might come in nicely and say, look, I know you don't like Kerry, but that photo is maybe bogus because....and I like to think maybe I'd listen. I know Althouse does. And she doesn't play the "pundit" game a lot: I don't recall many claims of expertise on politics or insider knowledge.
But, no, you're playing a nasty pissing match here, because, well, a lot of people read the site. C'mon, honestly, how do you think you sound? Do you think it helps progressivism? Or if it doesn't do much of anything, why pick on Professor A.?
Me, I'm pissed at Professor A. because i had to learn from another source (NPR) that the Buddha boy has reappeared, and, that's the kind of thing I expect to hear here first. But fine, she's moves on and I haven't. That happens. Damn you, Althouse!
Sanjay, it's true I'm an Althouse critic. (But there's so much material!) Political bloggers have critics and that's part of the package.
You and I disagree on Kerry. I don't think he intended to make the troops the butt of his joke, even with the apology. Mainly because it makes no political sense whatsoever. Slip of the tongue? Yes. Intentionally slamming the troops? Uh ... why would he do that?
Simon, that's a good one on the outrage! I guess I've witnessed some from Ann, very recently, but largely agree.
Althouse is a lost cause for engaged discussion at any rate. Won't stand behind her words.
reader_iam, you are right. I don't care how many people dine with anyone in the US Congress.
BUT, I do care when the Right Wing Wurlizter of Spin, Smear and Deceit runs down Democrats as part the way they conduct their routine business.
And that's what this brouhaha is about. They want to tear down ANY Democrat who rises to prominence. And they're having a more and more difficult time at that.
Althouse seems to be assimilated more and more into the Wurlizter.
This is the stupidest non-issue ever and will remain so until the rightwing blogosphere digs up another, even stupider non-issue to ass slap each other about.
(I didn't steal that line from roy edroso, it's a _meme_).
Damn. It's the future and reality check is still selectively outraged and in need of a good enema. Well, that does happen with old age.
A word of advice to R.C. and A.L.: Metamucil. No; seriously, man. Fiber's the key. It'll clean that sticky Kerry nonsense outta you so fast your head'll spin.
There is something very wrong here. The picture of Althouse dated 2066 does not jibe with the smaller picture above her profile hyperlink. She appears to be wearing the same blouse but her hair is parted on the left! What is the meaning of this? Is it some type of subliminal message signifying a future shifting of ideology?
There is something very wrong here. The picture of Althouse dated 2066 does not jibe with the smaller picture above her profile hyperlink. She appears to be wearing the same blouse but her hair is parted on the left! What is the meaning of this? Is it some type of subliminal message signifying a future shifting of ideology?
No. It means that those Taiwanese, boarded up in their sweatshops, sure do make durable clothing. Thank God for outsourcing:-)
Obviously the liberals here commenting , and insinuating that the military does not hold a grudge on those who insult them....it ain't the 1st time Kerry insulted them (like about Vietnam for instance)....
I understand his recent flights in Iraq were code named "Weasel 2".... not only that, but Hillary's last visit was supposedly code named "Broomstick12".....
Bet the names were kinder, gentler for the Bush-Cheney-Rice-et al visits!
Reality Check, Alpha Lib, I'm curious. Have either one of you seen the SNL skits where Chevy Chase imitates Pres. Gerald Ford by falling all the time? Did you find it funny? What about Dan Akroyd as a naive Jimmy Carter? Or how 'bout the brilliant SNL Will Ferrel / Darrell Hammond Presidential debate sketches? I thought they were all pretty hilarious. Here's the deal. They all create, or play on, the most glaring faults of each of those individuals. Ford did not trip every time he got off a plane. Carter was not naive. Bush does come off as dumb sometimes, just as Gore does seem to be a know-it-all. But that is the nature of media when covering the famous; the video camera captures the most obvious and pronounced attributes of their personalities - it likes things that move or stand out. Like it or not, any public figure will sooner or later be on the receiving end of satire based on personal quirks. Kerry may be the most well meaning person on the planet, but he has this unique talent of coming off as a total snob and having a tin ear when it comes to politics.
I'm perfectly confident that in 2066, assuming we live to make the medical advances cut, we will all be able to look whatever age we desire. I expect most people will choose to appear about 25 years old. Also, I expect all "pictures" from 2066 to be in 3D and Smell-o-Vision. I call shenanigans on this "picture from the future." Fawning fans like derve, freder, iam, fazio & dklittl may buy your pronunciations of time travel with cult like zeal just like they rush to agree with all your opinions. Just know you have at least one skeptic in the audience.
So, I guess all this leads to my perfectly non pervy question: do you have a picture of yourself at 25?
Sanjay said; 'And I gotta say, anyone who comes to this site looking to be informed about current events --- well, that's not me, nor the other people I know who love this site.'
Heh, heh, amen to that, Sanjay.
I suspect there are many of us here [waves to Elizabeth, Drill Sgnt, SC - who makes very nice tables, IR - caretaker of many, DTL, and others] who are opposites in the extreme regarding POV, but none the less, we do lurk or post fairly regularily, and may not agree with our host much of the time, but we do keep showing up.
I have a very dear friend whose kitchen table is the centre of being for many. DF and I are polar opposites in every way, but I keep showing up and she keeps asking where I am when I'm not there.
Where is Drill Sgnt? He hasn't posted for a while.
Gads the picture indicates you've found a way to see me on the Internet, the way I normally am dressed when I'm on the Internet! How you do dat, lawprof?
Fascinating list, that. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why?
I get a kick out of Althouse, for various reasons. But Althouse--Ann-the-woman-behind-it--is not actually a blithering idiot, which means I'm not going on on a limb when I say that I'd bet real money that not for one second does she believe that I agree with her about everything--whether in whole, in part, in kind, or in degree, depending on the issue. More important, I think she's figured out that I disagree--profoundly, in some cases--in a whole number of areas.
Those who think you're ever so much smarter than Althouse: Why are you having a problem figuring that out?
It's interesting to note that the person who took the photo, and circulated it to the web and radio personalities, is a former Presidential speechwriter, Ben of Mesopotamia.
He's a "communications specialist" and captain in Iraq now.
So, we have a Republican partisan using his post to spread partisan attacks against Democratic Senators. (Is anyone in the armed forces free to criticize George Bush or any Republican Senators?)
That's a problem, because our armed forces should not be politicized.
It's been pointed out, the Bush backers are desperate to change the subject from the harsh reality on the ground!
The root question never asked anymore, straight out, that one is.
My short answer (note your phrasing of the question, Buddy): No [, they're not never honest].
The conflation to which you're referring, and the--honestly, in our larger political context--necessarily negative form in which you put the question speaks volumes.
I'd say whole bookshelf banks, if not library sections.
Let me be clearer, because I must: When I said "speaks volumes," that wasn't a whack at you, Buddy, but a compliment.
You captured an important point, one of the most important ones.
The conflation to which I referred was specifically not directed toward your comment, but rather was inspired by an extension of it.
Your comment went straight to the heart of it (and a lot). Thanks.
Speaking more generally:
Having to take the time to make sure that it's understood that I wasn't, for example, insulting Buddy is why I've decide that trying to **cough**cough**say anything **cough**cough** substantive**cough cough** that would be given due consideration is a fool's errand.
So, you know what, the alpha's and ploopus's of the world (emphasis on the plurals)? You've won in a teeny, tiny, teeny, weeny little insignificant way, in the blogoworld, itself--so far--largely insignificant in terms of the majority of actual, real, living, breathing people of all walks and ilks in life.. I don't mean just today, but rather generally.
Yank, yank, yank away.
The question is: What do you want to add, add, add? Give, give, give?
What do you have to say, say, say?
Phrase what you want done in a "it shall be" sense, not a "it won't be" sense.
And while you're at it--just to inject that personal "person" sense--tell us what you, personally, have done in the last week--month--year--to better the lives of an individual person--actual people--the kind you have to look in the face, especially the littlest ones--in the last year.
reader_iam, you may've read too much into the question--tho improve it you did. I was just wondering if AL had realized, that his/her repeated mentionings of the mesopotamian guy's partisan CV in order to discredit the guy on that basis, that AL him/herself should then (in view of his/her obvious partisanship) rightfully be discredited also, on that same basis.
Gerald Hibbs said... "So, I guess all this leads to my perfectly non pervy question: do[es] [Ann] have a picture of [her]self at 25?
See Althouse studying for her last law school exam, 5/28/06. So that's, I guess, 1981 - so as long as 30 is close enough to 25 for you, there you go. Personally, I think she looks better now, but that's just MHO.
I agree with Elliot. Sen. Kerry is now a proverb, a bit of meaning with which millions--billions--the world over can reasonably predict an aquaintance's basic qualities simply by whether or not the aquaintance likes, dislikes, or is ambivalent about the senator.
XWL: I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties, but if that's you in your 110s then you must be doing something very right.
Clearly, she has been spending lots of time with her robot.
I assume that Simon and I are the "commenters," so let me respond to this foul libel. I have never said that Ann is hot for someone in her fifties. I have said that Ann is hot. Without qualification. The commenter who qualifies Ann's hotness is Simon. I had no idea that Ann was in her fifties and I readily assumed mid- to late forties. And, despite my apparent ignorance, I still say that's a damned lucky robot.
Mortimer Brezny said... "The commenter who qualifies Ann's hotness is Simon."
Now look here! If you're going to talk about libellous remarks, tongue in cheek or otherwise, that remark simply cannot go unrebutted. I've never qualified that point, I have merely urged a degree of tact, respect and propriety in public remarks on the subject.
I've never qualified that point, I have merely urged a degree of tact, respect and propriety in public remarks on the subject.
There you go again! This isn't Highlander! There can be more than one Sycophant of Ann! No matter how much you feel the quickening, please refrain from trying to chop my head off. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Paul
Ann can do her own decapitation quite nicely, as Jonah Goldberg can attest. And if I recall, Ann chastised a commenter for assuming she wanted to be respected.
Now, on to your blasphemy. You say that Ann looks better now than she did when she was approx. 25-30.
By contrast I would say that while Ann is eternally and perfectly hot in her hotness, her hotness is un-quantifiable. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fluid
Hmm...perhaps this is tiresome....sigh. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion_machine
Perhaps we shouldn't mention Ann's hotness anymore. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineffable
I'm certainly guilty of projecting onto John Kerry's recent Iraq photo my interpretation of his curious career.
Yet the dining room pic, likely a meaningless shot of some guy eating lunch, will find a place on the JFKerry Post-Election Album of Pathos simply because it fits the right's memes about him too well. And you've heard them all here.
Were he even the tiniest bit a sympathetic character, capturing such a mundane moment would say nothing at all except, "Look! He's eating in our mess hall!"
But it's impossible to separate Kerry's past from anything he does. He couldn't even ride a bicycle without vicious comments on the entire event, from his bike to his clothes to his body language. After awhile, you have to wonder whether these comments do or do not say something meanngful about the man himself.
And my suspicion is that the right has a good bead on the guy. Does the left have a similar bead on Bush? I dunno. His behavior after the Dem victories surprised me. Lesson? If Hillart wants to win, she'd better do something about her similar negatives, it seems to me.
It seems pretty obvious that the troops don't want to have anything to do with Kerry, and it's pointless to debate whether or not the photo is real, but I have to wonder--is this really helpful at all to the dialogue? "Ha, ha, the troops hate the senator from Massachusetts?" Regardless of whether or not it's true, I hate this gleeful notion among conservative blogs that our soldiers love Republicans and hate Democrats; that can only further division, rather than bring people together in support of our troops.
...It kind of reminds me of the rejoicing when the NYC firefighters booed Hillary Clinton. Folks, if you dislike Hillary Clinton and/or John Kerry and have the opportunity to meet them, why don't you introduce yourself and give them a piece of your mind?
Kerry is over and doesn't know it. Even continuing to attack him gives him more importance than he deserves. Attention is precious, and powerful -- conserve it, bestow it judiciously!
It's just a throwaway line? That's your defense now?
You've been all over Kerry for his botched joke and now you're left with the same defense as Kerry?
(And then what did Simon/Pogo/? say yesterday? Some total crap like, if Kerry had just manned up and apologized, we conservatards would never have mentioned it again.)
Why don't you google for "it was just a joke" and see what you come up with. Maybe you can do a post about that.
p.s. My preferred term for the authoritarians among us is "neo-fascists," anyway. More appropos, as they are not direct heirs to the fascists of the 1940s.
I'm going to save up and buy you guys a sense of humor for next Christmas.
First off, no one has seriously argued that the troops like John Kerry. It would be a precarious argument to make, and really hard to back up.
So what we're left with is two photos. The one on Yahoo and other News sites is taken by the UK photographer for the Ministry of Defense. It's a PR photo. Yet, the troops in that photo aren't looking at Senator Kerry, a guy who once ran for president. That's your first hint.
Your second hint is that the Kerry camp just gave a reason for the photo of Kerry sitting alone. They said that he was "being interviewed". This may be the lamest excuse I've ever seen for a former presidential candidate being left alone in a mess hall.
And the Wurlitzer--izzat that li'l toy organ you might can hear if, if, you're dedicated enough to struggle mightily enough to tune out all three of the broadcast and all but one of the cable networks, all but one of the big-city national newspapers, all but two or three of the several dozens of major monthly and weekly news & cultural slicks, the vast preponderence of the education, entertainment, and publishing industries, the Arts, the federal government itself thru its vast social-engineering programs and cultural & otherwise NGO subsidiaries, and last but not least half or more of the blogosphere?
Buddy- You're wasting your time. The Military Times is sold to military people. It is not a military publication. It's USA Today, sorta.
From TFA: The results should not be read as representative of the military as a whole;
The links the koskids offer never pan out. The purpose of placing them here is a form of googlebombing. It will show up as a link from Althouse, and give page rank to the linked article. It's like comment spam.
I didn't know you could make the most uninteresting person I could name, John Kerry, less interesting, but somehow they've managed it.
Here is a statement from the Kerry office explaining the picture. I'd say Ann Althouse and the other wingers lobbing this pathetic atack on the Senator owe him an apology: “It’s a weird feeling seeing this photo of Sen. Kerry debated and decoded like some artifact out of the DaVinci Codes. It’s strange to me because I was there when the photo was taken. I traveled with Sen. Kerry throughout his Middle East trip. I’m his foreign policy staffer. Myself and Major McKnight were sitting right there when this photo was snapped.
Snubbed? Alone? Hardly. Sen. Kerry isn’t eating alone. In fact that photo is at an off the record breakfast meeting Senator Kerry conducted early Sunday morning with the very real Marc Santora of the New York Times Baghdad bureau and his younger colleague from the newspaper. The man shown in the green shirt across from Sen. Kerry is Marc Santora. Right after that interview was completed, Senator Kerry videotaped a message expressing his and the country’s support for the troops, to be shown on the armed services network in Iraq. Just the night before, Sen. Kerry was in that very same mess hall at a table where he ate dinner with about 10 U.S. soldiers.
Additionally, Senator Kerry spent nearly a day and half (out of two days in Iraq) outside of the Green Zone because he felt strongly that he wanted to hear from troops on the front lines. On Saturday morning, he greeted U.S. soldiers in Basra, and also met many British troops while he was there. On Saturday afternoon, he flew to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Warhorse, where he had a town hall meeting with over 100 soldiers. On Sunday morning, he was briefed by U.S. commanders at a training camp for Iraqi security forces. On Sunday evening, he traveled to another FOB where he had a long dinner in the camp mess hall with soldiers, including many from Massachusetts. These troops are nothing short of amazing, and my boss knows that with every fiber of his being. He’s a combat veteran. He’s been there.
Sen. Kerry knows that if you’re in public life, you’re going to have things you say and do taken out of context, sometimes photos even. It goes with the job. I just wanted to set the record straight about this photo not just because I was there and I know the truth, but because Sen. Kerry enjoyed his time and his conversations with the troops, and I hate to see anyone try to make some political hay out of all this or pretend this photo is something its not.” http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=5019
Lemme get this straight. You want Althouse to apoligize to Kerry on the basis of this Kerry Press release?
First, notice what's missing from the statement: that the troops wanted to, were excited to meet Kerry, or greeted Kerry.
Note the parsing of this statement: "...Alone? Hardly. Sen. Kerry isn’t eating alone. In fact that photo is at an off the record breakfast meeting Senator Kerry conducted early Sunday morning with the very real Marc Santora of the New York Times Baghdad bureau and his younger colleague from the newspaper."
So Kerry wasn't alone! He was with a reporter from the New York Times!
Gee. The next thing you know, Kerry's staff will start listing off the staff members that were with him on the trip just to prove he has friends.
Right after that interview was completed, Senator Kerry videotaped a message expressing his and the country’s support for the troops, to be shown on the armed services network in Iraq.
More lameness. How does this counter the argument that the troops didn't like Kerry?
"Just the night before, Sen. Kerry was in that very same mess hall at a table where he ate dinner with about 10 U.S. soldiers."
Missing from this statement? Soldiers who were excited to meet him. Soldiers who posed for photos with him.
Heck... I can travel to Baghdad and sit down at a table with 10 soldiers. I will get similiarly ignored. Of course, I didn't run for president. And in reality, I have a much better personality then Mr. Kerry, and I haven't said anything to piss off military people.
If you took a PR photo of me sitting down with a few soldiers, they might not be interested in me. But at least you might find one of them accidentally looking at me in the picture.
SC, tho I'm not one to style myself an "Alpha", I still think I can explain: the imperative is to have a story for every case. It's an MO. Take a position, design a story for it.
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84 comments:
Bah humbug. Do it again, but put yourself in the past. Anyone can be in the future...
Here I am there now!
Love it! This gets my vote for your new profile picture.
(And nice rebuttal to the naysayers in the comments in your other post. Well played, Althouse.)
Excuse me while I spend some time with my robot.
You can talk about sex with it.
Bring back a cure for Michael J. Fox while you're there.
I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties, but if that's you in your 110s then you must be doing something very right.
So how did you accomplish this time travel?
Wormhole?
A trip at near light speed?
TARDIS (and what's the Doctor really like?)?
Good old Rip Van Winkle-ism (and how was that 60 year nap?)?
"Time travel" to the future is definitely possible theoretically (time dilation), time travel into the past, probably not, so I guess the real question, how did you get that photo back to this time?
Also, the sexbots of the future, are they allowed to say no?
If not, and they are sufficiently self aware, then it's rape!!
In the future I'll belong to the R.A.P. Movement (Robots Ain't Property).
Well, of course, you don't need to bring back a Cure for Fox if you bump into him there, walking around cured: then obviously he doesn't need it.
Unless, wait, oh, no......
What happened on June 6th?
Is that your O face?
XWL beat me to the punch. LOL.
Right, so you are reasonably skeptical about dates on cameras, but you will reprint and amplify the smears of others without examining their agendas, without asking for the context of their observations, and without performing the slightest check of their facts.
But you are reasonably skeptical about dates on cameras.
Congrats, you make for a fine fine citizen.
And for those of you who would like to go backwards, this link takes you to John Kerry on his dead horse circa 1965.
http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product.asp?sku=208151&master%5Fmovie%5Fid=12844
Oh no, now I've gone and laughed out loud in my office.
On the plus side, for a 100+ year old, you look amazing!
While you are all distracting yourself over one photo of Kerry that seems to be contradicted by other photos of Kerry at Malkin's site, you may wish to consider this:
BAGHDAD Many of the American soldiers trying to quell sectarian killings in Baghdad don't appear to be looking for reinforcements. They say a surge in troop levels some people are calling for is a bad idea.
So Ann, which is it? Do you support the troops or not?
RealityCheck,
Lookit, at absolute maximum, the best you and our "AlphaLiberal" alias can hope to prove is that the picture of Kerry eating alone in a mess was taken before he made a stupid joke. And if it makes you feel any better, I'll stipulate for sake of argument that you're right: the photo's months old, and Kerry was snubbed on a visit to Iraq before he made a hash of his dumbass joke. But even granting that much, all you've proved that Kerry has been considered a loser in those circles for even longer than the people spreading that photograph around were insinuating. With friends like you - and his own mouth - Kerry doesn't need enemies.
XWL said...
"I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties"
Hmm. I didn't realize that that was so. Duly noted.
reality check, Professor Althouse isn't a journalist. That's sort of what it comes down to. Are her standard way way less than journalistic for some issues? You betcha. And I gotta say, anyone who comes to this site looking to be informed about current events --- well, that's not me, nor the other people I know who love this site.
There's a sort of caveat to that statement regarding matters in her professional area of expertise (and even then, she seems to define that as narrowly as academics generally do: on a lot of law cases she prefaces by saying, this isn't really my area, but...)
Given that the site isn't -- and doesn't bill itself as -- news journalism, nor even mostly political commentary, I guess I can't make much sense of the bitterness of the criticism leveled at it. It seems loony to me. Someone'll get elected, the good professor will have something to say about it, she's got her preferences but if they aren't the electorate's, life goes on. I gather if you think for whatever reason it's crucial to influence what materials she chooses to put on the site, that she responds well to courtesy. Go figger.
Me, if I can influence what appears on the site: more of the randomly weird, please.
Simon as usual you miss the point. The point is that one photograph whether taken by the AP or by Ben of Messopotamia, a former Bush SpeechWriter, means nothing.
I suspect the photograph is real and was taken last week, but not based on the photograph itself, but based on the other photographs that seem to corroborate it.
Sad thing is for you and Ann, those photographs show Kerry surrounded by lots of people.
There is also a report at Powerline that says that Kerry entered that mess hall within ten minutes of its closing so of course no one was tehre, and it goes on to say he was treated no differently than other celebs.
Comparing him to O'Reilly who has a show broadcast daily on Armed Forces Radio is apples and oranges.
The point is that neither Ann, nor you, nor any of the other lawyers here knows any of the context of this photo -- when it was taken, who it was taken by, what their agenda was, etc., etc., and yet you draw from this that Kerry is hated.
I think your conclusions about all of this say far more about yourself than it does about Kerry. And what it says is that you guys are either fools or tools.
Again, the real issue right now is the escalation of the fight during one of Iraq's worst months and against the advice of the Pentagon and the Troops and against the wishes of the American People.
But go ahead and kern away. Fool or Tool, yes, but you are really a lawyer?
"The point is that neither Ann, nor you, nor any of the other lawyers here knows any of the context of this photo ... and yet you draw from this that Kerry is hated."
I could have drawn that conclusion if I'd never seen the photo. And for Kerry -- aspirant 2008 also-ran -- that's the real point.
Sanjay, reality check was making the point that Ann Althouse demonstrates a very selective skepticism. But it matches nicely her selective outrage.
"But it matches nicely her selective outrage."
This is one of those interesting comments where the reader has to wonder if the author has their own, private definition of a word that every other speaker of the English language is unaware of. "Outrage"? What examples would you give where Ann was "outraged" on this blog about anything?
Alpha Lib, so does everybody demonstrate selective skepticism and outrage -- we have experience, we have ideas about what's true. I grew up with Kerry as my Senator and have campaigned for him -- and John Kerry is, on a personal level, a dick, or at least that's what I can see and what the buzz on Beacon Hill ever was. I'd have chosen not to eat with him. I have before.
"Selective skepticism"? Alpha Lib, John Kerry flat out insulted the troops. Maybe through stupidity or error, but he did. Then he flubbed the apology for days. But somehow until you saw the Phil Carter link you questioned even that! Physician, heal thyself!
Professor Althouse links to stuff which amuses and interests her. That photo did both. OK. If I set up some little blog, and it got 10 hits a month, and I did the same, you might come in nicely and say, look, I know you don't like Kerry, but that photo is maybe bogus because....and I like to think maybe I'd listen. I know Althouse does. And she doesn't play the "pundit" game a lot: I don't recall many claims of expertise on politics or insider knowledge.
But, no, you're playing a nasty pissing match here, because, well, a lot of people read the site. C'mon, honestly, how do you think you sound? Do you think it helps progressivism? Or if it doesn't do much of anything, why pick on Professor A.?
Me, I'm pissed at Professor A. because i had to learn from another source (NPR) that the Buddha boy has reappeared, and, that's the kind of thing I expect to hear here first. But fine, she's moves on and I haven't. That happens. Damn you, Althouse!
"Sad thing is for you and Ann, those photographs show Kerry surrounded by lots of people."
Oh, it's breaking my heart! I don't know how I can go on!
Thank you, I appreciate your acknowledging your loss in this debate.
Sanjay, it's true I'm an Althouse critic. (But there's so much material!) Political bloggers have critics and that's part of the package.
You and I disagree on Kerry. I don't think he intended to make the troops the butt of his joke, even with the apology. Mainly because it makes no political sense whatsoever. Slip of the tongue? Yes. Intentionally slamming the troops? Uh ... why would he do that?
Simon, that's a good one on the outrage! I guess I've witnessed some from Ann, very recently, but largely agree.
Althouse is a lost cause for engaged discussion at any rate. Won't stand behind her words.
This was a debate? Heck, I'm not even sure this reaches the level of a debate topic.
C'mon now: Does anybody really care how many people were or were not, are or are not eating with John Kerry at any given moment?
Search your heart of hearts, folks, and answer me true. No lyin', now.
Well gee Ann... we didn't need a timestamp to know you were in the future... look at your hair! ;)
reader_iam, you are right. I don't care how many people dine with anyone in the US Congress.
BUT, I do care when the Right Wing Wurlizter of Spin, Smear and Deceit runs down Democrats as part the way they conduct their routine business.
And that's what this brouhaha is about. They want to tear down ANY Democrat who rises to prominence. And they're having a more and more difficult time at that.
Althouse seems to be assimilated more and more into the Wurlizter.
My goodness, you're ever so slightly cross-eyed . . . just like a Siamese cat!
But does she have a bent tail to go with it? My best cross-eyed Siamese cat had a bent tail.
This is the stupidest non-issue ever and will remain so until the rightwing blogosphere digs up another, even stupider non-issue to ass slap each other about.
(I didn't steal that line from roy edroso, it's a _meme_).
Damn. It's the future and reality check is still selectively outraged and in need of a good enema. Well, that does happen with old age.
A word of advice to R.C. and A.L.: Metamucil.
No; seriously, man. Fiber's the key. It'll clean that sticky Kerry nonsense outta you so fast your head'll spin.
When did you cut your hair? I stopped visiting for awhile and didn't even recognize you...
There is something very wrong here. The picture of Althouse dated 2066 does not jibe with the smaller picture above her profile hyperlink. She appears to be wearing the same blouse but her hair is parted on the left! What is the meaning of this? Is it some type of subliminal message signifying a future shifting of ideology?
There is something very wrong here. The picture of Althouse dated 2066 does not jibe with the smaller picture above her profile hyperlink. She appears to be wearing the same blouse but her hair is parted on the left! What is the meaning of this? Is it some type of subliminal message signifying a future shifting of ideology?
No. It means that those Taiwanese, boarded up in their sweatshops, sure do make durable clothing. Thank God for outsourcing:-)
Sorry not to blog about the Buddha boy. I considered it but decided the article was too boring.
Sanjay, reality check was making the point that Ann Althouse demonstrates a very selective skepticism. But it matches nicely... her blouse.
From the photo, looks like Ann may have contracted
Kerry Derangement Syndrome.
Got to be careful hanging with the right wingers, might catch something.
Obviously the liberals here commenting , and insinuating that the military does not hold a grudge on those who insult them....it ain't the 1st time Kerry insulted them (like about Vietnam for instance)....
I understand his recent flights in Iraq were code named "Weasel 2".... not only that, but Hillary's last visit was supposedly code named "Broomstick12".....
Bet the names were kinder, gentler for the Bush-Cheney-Rice-et al visits!
I was going to say something, but my JBoss download got in the way.
That (not) said, you're pretty cute.
I, for one, welcome our Althouse overlords.
Do you think that's an apology? That's not an apology. Make it interesting, damn you. I was crushed. Crushed, d'y'hear me?
Maybe you could've linked the Buddha boy and the giant squid somehow. Or, hell, where's he been? Maybe the future? Maybe 2066? Maybe sorting his CDs?
If nothing else, if they got him on it would be the best "Bloggingheads" ever.
Ann, "your a lier" the guy said. Mercy sakes.
Reality Check, Alpha Lib, I'm curious. Have either one of you seen the SNL skits where Chevy Chase imitates Pres. Gerald Ford by falling all the time? Did you find it funny? What about Dan Akroyd as a naive Jimmy Carter? Or how 'bout the brilliant SNL Will Ferrel / Darrell Hammond Presidential debate sketches? I thought they were all pretty hilarious. Here's the deal. They all create, or play on, the most glaring faults of each of those individuals. Ford did not trip every time he got off a plane. Carter was not naive. Bush does come off as dumb sometimes, just as Gore does seem to be a know-it-all. But that is the nature of media when covering the famous; the video camera captures the most obvious and pronounced attributes of their personalities - it likes things that move or stand out. Like it or not, any public figure will sooner or later be on the receiving end of satire based on personal quirks. Kerry may be the most well meaning person on the planet, but he has this unique talent of coming off as a total snob and having a tin ear when it comes to politics.
I'm perfectly confident that in 2066, assuming we live to make the medical advances cut, we will all be able to look whatever age we desire. I expect most people will choose to appear about 25 years old. Also, I expect all "pictures" from 2066 to be in 3D and Smell-o-Vision. I call shenanigans on this "picture from the future." Fawning fans like derve, freder, iam, fazio & dklittl may buy your pronunciations of time travel with cult like zeal just like they rush to agree with all your opinions. Just know you have at least one skeptic in the audience.
So, I guess all this leads to my perfectly non pervy question: do you have a picture of yourself at 25?
Hey, Buddy Larsen's back!
Sanjay said;
'And I gotta say, anyone who comes to this site looking to be informed about current events --- well, that's not me, nor the other people I know who love this site.'
Heh, heh, amen to that, Sanjay.
I suspect there are many of us here [waves to Elizabeth, Drill Sgnt, SC - who makes very nice tables, IR - caretaker of many, DTL, and others] who are opposites in the extreme regarding POV, but none the less, we do lurk or post fairly regularily, and may not agree with our host much of the time, but we do keep showing up.
I have a very dear friend whose kitchen table is the centre of being for many. DF and I are polar opposites in every way, but I keep showing up and she keeps asking where I am when I'm not there.
Where is Drill Sgnt? He hasn't posted for a while.
Gads the picture indicates you've found a way to see me on the Internet, the way I normally am dressed when I'm on the Internet! How you do dat, lawprof?
Startled, but unbowed
derve, freder, iam, fazio & dklittl
Fascinating list, that. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why?
I get a kick out of Althouse, for various reasons. But Althouse--Ann-the-woman-behind-it--is not actually a blithering idiot, which means I'm not going on on a limb when I say that I'd bet real money that not for one second does she believe that I agree with her about everything--whether in whole, in part, in kind, or in degree, depending on the issue. More important, I think she's figured out that I disagree--profoundly, in some cases--in a whole number of areas.
Those who think you're ever so much smarter than Althouse: Why are you having a problem figuring that out?
It's interesting to note that the person who took the photo, and circulated it to the web and radio personalities, is a former Presidential speechwriter, Ben of Mesopotamia.
He's a "communications specialist" and captain in Iraq now.
So, we have a Republican partisan using his post to spread partisan attacks against Democratic Senators. (Is anyone in the armed forces free to criticize George Bush or any Republican Senators?)
That's a problem, because our armed forces should not be politicized.
It's been pointed out, the Bush backers are desperate to change the subject from the harsh reality on the ground!
what? the war in iraq is harsh? how come nobody told me?
So, partisans are never honest?
Oh no! You're dishonest. Post again and you'll still be dishonest.
So, partisans are never honest?
The root question never asked anymore, straight out, that one is.
My short answer (note your phrasing of the question, Buddy): No [, they're not never honest].
The conflation to which you're referring, and the--honestly, in our larger political context--necessarily negative form in which you put the question speaks volumes.
I'd say whole bookshelf banks, if not library sections.
But then, what the hell? What do I know?
Hi Chum (waving back), the kitchen table is a good image for this blog. Disagreements may abound, but very few actual fistfights break out.
Why does anyone even give a f**k about that picture of Kerry? It's a strange world!
Insane how the smallest throwaway line sets off a storm.
Let me be clearer, because I must: When I said "speaks volumes," that wasn't a whack at you, Buddy, but a compliment.
You captured an important point, one of the most important ones.
The conflation to which I referred was specifically not directed toward your comment, but rather was inspired by an extension of it.
Your comment went straight to the heart of it (and a lot). Thanks.
Speaking more generally:
Having to take the time to make sure that it's understood that I wasn't, for example, insulting Buddy is why I've decide that trying to **cough**cough**say anything **cough**cough** substantive**cough cough** that would be given due consideration is a fool's errand.
So, you know what, the alpha's and ploopus's of the world (emphasis on the plurals)? You've won in a teeny, tiny, teeny, weeny little insignificant way, in the blogoworld, itself--so far--largely insignificant in terms of the majority of actual, real, living, breathing people of all walks and ilks in life.. I don't mean just today, but rather generally.
Yank, yank, yank away.
The question is: What do you want to add, add, add? Give, give, give?
What do you have to say, say, say?
Phrase what you want done in a "it shall be" sense, not a "it won't be" sense.
And while you're at it--just to inject that personal "person" sense--tell us what you, personally, have done in the last week--month--year--to better the lives of an individual person--actual people--the kind you have to look in the face, especially the littlest ones--in the last year.
Or is THAT to f'in personal for you.
reader_iam, you may've read too much into the question--tho improve it you did. I was just wondering if AL had realized, that his/her repeated mentionings of the mesopotamian guy's partisan CV in order to discredit the guy on that basis, that AL him/herself should then (in view of his/her obvious partisanship) rightfully be discredited also, on that same basis.
Gotta be consistent, right?
Gerald Hibbs said...
"So, I guess all this leads to my perfectly non pervy question: do[es] [Ann] have a picture of [her]self at 25?
See Althouse studying for her last law school exam, 5/28/06. So that's, I guess, 1981 - so as long as 30 is close enough to 25 for you, there you go. Personally, I think she looks better now, but that's just MHO.
Ann, it should be obvious to a lawyer why this matters:
Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.
OMG! I had glasses just like that when I was 21 ! I didn't have the boobs though, which is good since I'm a guy!!!
I agree with the kitchen table analogy. Too bad many families oviously don't eat together anymore.
I agree with Elliot. Sen. Kerry is now a proverb, a bit of meaning with which millions--billions--the world over can reasonably predict an aquaintance's basic qualities simply by whether or not the aquaintance likes, dislikes, or is ambivalent about the senator.
Like, can you be comfortable with somebody who really likes him, walking behind you on a darkened sidewalk, with a knife?
XWL: I know you tire of the commenters who talk about how hot you are for someone in their fifties, but if that's you in your 110s then you must be doing something very right.
Clearly, she has been spending lots of time with her robot.
I assume that Simon and I are the "commenters," so let me respond to this foul libel. I have never said that Ann is hot for someone in her fifties. I have said that Ann is hot. Without qualification. The commenter who qualifies Ann's hotness is Simon. I had no idea that Ann was in her fifties and I readily assumed mid- to late forties. And, despite my apparent ignorance, I still say that's a damned lucky robot.
Mortimer Brezny said...
"The commenter who qualifies Ann's hotness is Simon."
Now look here! If you're going to talk about libellous remarks, tongue in cheek or otherwise, that remark simply cannot go unrebutted. I've never qualified that point, I have merely urged a degree of tact, respect and propriety in public remarks on the subject.
I've never qualified that point, I have merely urged a degree of tact, respect and propriety in public remarks on the subject.
There you go again! This isn't Highlander! There can be more than one Sycophant of Ann! No matter how much you feel the quickening, please refrain from trying to chop my head off. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Paul
Ann can do her own decapitation quite nicely, as Jonah Goldberg can attest. And if I recall, Ann chastised a commenter for assuming she wanted to be respected.
Now, on to your blasphemy. You say that Ann looks better now than she did when she was approx. 25-30.
By contrast I would say that while Ann is eternally and perfectly hot in her hotness, her hotness is un-quantifiable. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fluid
Hmm...perhaps this is tiresome....sigh. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion_machine
Perhaps we shouldn't mention Ann's hotness anymore. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineffable
I'm certainly guilty of projecting onto John Kerry's recent Iraq photo my interpretation of his curious career.
Yet the dining room pic, likely a meaningless shot of some guy eating lunch, will find a place on the JFKerry Post-Election Album of Pathos simply because it fits the right's memes about him too well. And you've heard them all here.
Were he even the tiniest bit a sympathetic character, capturing such a mundane moment would say nothing at all except, "Look! He's eating in our mess hall!"
But it's impossible to separate Kerry's past from anything he does. He couldn't even ride a bicycle without vicious comments on the entire event, from his bike to his clothes to his body language. After awhile, you have to wonder whether these comments do or do not say something meanngful about the man himself.
And my suspicion is that the right has a good bead on the guy. Does the left have a similar bead on Bush? I dunno. His behavior after the Dem victories surprised me. Lesson? If Hillart wants to win, she'd better do something about her similar negatives, it seems to me.
It seems pretty obvious that the troops don't want to have anything to do with Kerry, and it's pointless to debate whether or not the photo is real, but I have to wonder--is this really helpful at all to the dialogue? "Ha, ha, the troops hate the senator from Massachusetts?" Regardless of whether or not it's true, I hate this gleeful notion among conservative blogs that our soldiers love Republicans and hate Democrats; that can only further division, rather than bring people together in support of our troops.
...It kind of reminds me of the rejoicing when the NYC firefighters booed Hillary Clinton. Folks, if you dislike Hillary Clinton and/or John Kerry and have the opportunity to meet them, why don't you introduce yourself and give them a piece of your mind?
Re: "...why don't you introduce yourself and give them a piece of your mind?"
Because booing is more effective.
Kerry is over and doesn't know it. Even continuing to attack him gives him more importance than he deserves. Attention is precious, and powerful -- conserve it, bestow it judiciously!
It's just a throwaway line? That's your defense now?
You've been all over Kerry for his botched joke and now you're left with the same defense as Kerry?
(And then what did Simon/Pogo/? say yesterday? Some total crap like, if Kerry had just manned up and apologized, we conservatards would never have mentioned it again.)
Why don't you google for "it was just a joke" and see what you come up with. Maybe you can do a post about that.
You and your blog take the cake lady.
p.s. My preferred term for the authoritarians among us is "neo-fascists," anyway. More appropos, as they are not direct heirs to the fascists of the 1940s.
Alpha Liberal and Reality Check,
I'm going to save up and buy you guys a sense of humor for next Christmas.
First off, no one has seriously argued that the troops like John Kerry. It would be a precarious argument to make, and really hard to back up.
So what we're left with is two photos.
The one on Yahoo and other News sites is taken by the UK photographer for the Ministry of Defense. It's a PR photo. Yet, the troops in that photo aren't looking at Senator Kerry, a guy who once ran for president.
That's your first hint.
Your second hint is that the Kerry camp just gave a reason for the photo of Kerry sitting alone. They said that he was "being interviewed".
This may be the lamest excuse I've ever seen for a former presidential candidate being left alone in a mess hall.
-John
I'm digging the hair
For Ann and all others pushing the "troops hate Kerry/Democrats" line.
A new poll on how the troops like Bush's (mis)handling of the war:
MiltaryCIty.com: Poll: More troops unhappy with Bush’s course in Iraq
We'll see if all the Blogs of the Wurlitzer (this one included) report this!
Wonder, how 'bout those *real* polls, the ones they call "elections" -- how does the military break out, along *that* line?
Is it 3:1, or is it 4:1, I forget.
And the Wurlitzer--izzat that li'l toy organ you might can hear if, if, you're dedicated enough to struggle mightily enough to tune out all three of the broadcast and all but one of the cable networks, all but one of the big-city national newspapers, all but two or three of the several dozens of major monthly and weekly news & cultural slicks, the vast preponderence of the education, entertainment, and publishing industries, the Arts, the federal government itself thru its vast social-engineering programs and cultural & otherwise NGO subsidiaries, and last but not least half or more of the blogosphere?
That Wurlitzer?
Buddy- You're wasting your time. The Military Times is sold to military people. It is not a military publication. It's USA Today, sorta.
From TFA:
The results should not be read as representative of the military as a whole;
The links the koskids offer never pan out. The purpose of placing them here is a form of googlebombing. It will show up as a link from Althouse, and give page rank to the linked article. It's like comment spam.
I didn't know you could make the most uninteresting person I could name, John Kerry, less interesting, but somehow they've managed it.
Here is a statement from the Kerry office explaining the picture. I'd say Ann Althouse and the other wingers lobbing this pathetic atack on the Senator owe him an apology:
“It’s a weird feeling seeing this photo of Sen. Kerry debated and decoded like some artifact out of the DaVinci Codes. It’s strange to me because I was there when the photo was taken. I traveled with Sen. Kerry throughout his Middle East trip. I’m his foreign policy staffer. Myself and Major McKnight were sitting right there when this photo was snapped.
Snubbed? Alone? Hardly. Sen. Kerry isn’t eating alone. In fact that photo is at an off the record breakfast meeting Senator Kerry conducted early Sunday morning with the very real Marc Santora of the New York Times Baghdad bureau and his younger colleague from the newspaper. The man shown in the green shirt across from Sen. Kerry is Marc Santora. Right after that interview was completed, Senator Kerry videotaped a message expressing his and the country’s support for the troops, to be shown on the armed services network in Iraq. Just the night before, Sen. Kerry was in that very same mess hall at a table where he ate dinner with about 10 U.S. soldiers.
Additionally, Senator Kerry spent nearly a day and half (out of two days in Iraq) outside of the Green Zone because he felt strongly that he wanted to hear from troops on the front lines. On Saturday morning, he greeted U.S. soldiers in Basra, and also met many British troops while he was there. On Saturday afternoon, he flew to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Warhorse, where he had a town hall meeting with over 100 soldiers. On Sunday morning, he was briefed by U.S. commanders at a training camp for Iraqi security forces. On Sunday evening, he traveled to another FOB where he had a long dinner in the camp mess hall with soldiers, including many from Massachusetts. These troops are nothing short of amazing, and my boss knows that with every fiber of his being. He’s a combat veteran. He’s been there.
Sen. Kerry knows that if you’re in public life, you’re going to have things you say and do taken out of context, sometimes photos even. It goes with the job. I just wanted to set the record straight about this photo not just because I was there and I know the truth, but because Sen. Kerry enjoyed his time and his conversations with the troops, and I hate to see anyone try to make some political hay out of all this or pretend this photo is something its not.”
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=5019
But you told us all yesterday that the photograph was a fake. How do you have an explanation of what's going on in a fake photograph?
Alphaliberal;
Lemme get this straight. You want Althouse to apoligize to Kerry on the basis of this Kerry Press release?
First, notice what's missing from the statement: that the troops wanted to, were excited to meet Kerry, or greeted Kerry.
Note the parsing of this statement:
"...Alone? Hardly. Sen. Kerry isn’t eating alone. In fact that photo is at an off the record breakfast meeting Senator Kerry conducted early Sunday morning with the very real Marc Santora of the New York Times Baghdad bureau and his younger colleague from the newspaper."
So Kerry wasn't alone! He was with a reporter from the New York Times!
Gee.
The next thing you know, Kerry's staff will start listing off the staff members that were with him on the trip just to prove he has friends.
Right after that interview was completed, Senator Kerry videotaped a message expressing his and the country’s support for the troops, to be shown on the armed services network in Iraq.
More lameness.
How does this counter the argument that the troops didn't like Kerry?
"Just the night before, Sen. Kerry was in that very same mess hall at a table where he ate dinner with about 10 U.S. soldiers."
Missing from this statement?
Soldiers who were excited to meet him. Soldiers who posed for photos with him.
Heck... I can travel to Baghdad and sit down at a table with 10 soldiers.
I will get similiarly ignored.
Of course, I didn't run for president. And in reality, I have a much better personality then Mr. Kerry, and I haven't said anything to piss off military people.
If you took a PR photo of me sitting down with a few soldiers, they might not be interested in me. But at least you might find one of them accidentally looking at me in the picture.
-John
SC, tho I'm not one to style myself an "Alpha", I still think I can explain: the imperative is to have a story for every case. It's an MO. Take a position, design a story for it.
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