Open thread
Bookworm on Mar 24 2009 at 8:26 am | Filed under: Uncategorized
I hit the ground running this morning and expect to be in perpetual motion until this evening. I have thoughts percolating, but not the time to write them.
I do have a recommendation, though. For my book group, I’m reading Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer, written in 1951, on the heels of WWII. It’s about mass movements. It became a resurgent best seller in the wake of 9/11, as people struggled to understand Al Qaeda. Reading it in the wake of Obama’s election, though, it’s amazing how prescient Hoffer seems in spelling out the dynamics that propelled Obama into the White House.
I’m also going to try to get a hold of a copy of Mark Levin’s new book, which Drudge announces is a #1 hit on Amazon. Yay!
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I didn’t get a chance to read this article until now
I’ve read some of it when it came but I didn’t finish nor did I write any comments on it. But I will now.
and before I could stop him he scribbled “No, no, F*** the SSNP” in the bottom-right corner with a black felt-tipped pen.
I blinked several times. Was he really insulting the Syrian Social Nationalist Party while they might be watching? Neither Christopher nor Jonathan seemed to sense what was coming, but my own danger signals went haywire.
Totten was an IT semi-geek when he started up his Independent Journalism second career. This was back in 2003 or so. Now, after various years going amongst thugs, terrorists, and war zones, he has acquired a sufficient level of experience that you can call him a veteran, as opposed to CH, the activist.
“Hey!” he yelled as he pointed with one hand and speed-dialed for backup on his phone with the other.
Totten immediately recognized the significance of that action. He distilled chaos into order by finding the underlying meaning, importance, and priority (danger) in the chaotic slew. Compare this with Totten’s early remarks and observations concerning military actions. It was full of caveats, incomplete descriptions, inaccurate assumptions, and downright un-military sentiments. He still has some of that, for he is a civilian at heart and not a warrior or soldier, but it is very hard to see by now. Cause you don’t see it very often any more.
His job was to hold us in place until the muscle crew showed up in force.
An accurate tactical assessment followed up by immediate action. Michael Totten certainly has learned much while voyaging across the Middle East.
“Let go of him!” I said, and shoved him without result.
Of course, he has not been trained in Target Focus Training nor does he have the interest as those like me have. You can’t shove somebody when 1. they are bigger than you and 2. they are using somebody else (who is quite big and heavy btw) as an anchor and second center of gravity. The fact that Totten even tried it was 1. because he is ignorant in how to break a man apart using bare hands and 2. because he is not particularly violent or aggressive at heart. If I wanted somebody to release a hold on another, I would 1. use an incapacitating and stunning attack, like a groin shot, combined with 2. the snapping of their finger bones.
But the angry young man ran round to the other side of the car and got in the front seat.
If you shatter his knee cap, he can’t run after you. Trust me, it works.
I shoved him with both hands, but I didn’t have the leverage to eject him with the back of the front seat between us. The driver could have tried to push the man out, but he didn’t. I sensed he was afraid.
True, to a certain extent. Totten did not have the leverage. There was also no point. If the tactical objective is to get away and you are being pursued, you must set a rearguard to delay or destroy the pursuers.
He could have unholstered his weapon and stopped the attack on the spot
So could Michael Totten have unholstered his weapon, called the human brain, except Totten didn’t have any ammo in his gun there. This is not to belittle Totten, it is just a rather sad and ironic fact of life I keep seeing that people, even those who insist on traveling dangerous routes, refuse to learn the arts of killing. I don’t even care what arts they pick, either. Just pick one and use it when you need it. If you can’t be armed in foreign airports and what not, learn to kill with bare hands or hidden weapons. Whatever, just pick one and get it done.
“He could have unholstered his weapon”. That’s why you got things like TFT, so that you can be your own weapon instead of having to rely on midgets or the police to clean up your mob stomped body afterwards.
“Back to the hotel,” Christopher said.
“No!” I said. “We can’t let them know where we’re staying.”
Again, good tactical instincts. Hitchen’s natural instinct, in a fight, is to go to safety. Totten knows that the prey who runs wounded to the lair will be surrounded, ambushed, and eviscerated. He has seen it done before, I am sure. By the US military, if nobody else.
Christopher wouldn’t strike his assailant, so I sized the man up from a distance of six or so feet. I could punch him hard in the face, and he couldn’t stop me. I could break his knee with a solid kick to his leg, and he couldn’t stop me.
Ah, now we see the savage beast underneath the civilized veneer. Totten didn’t survive all these years by learning nothing, I see. I approve. But, of course, his soul is not of an aggressor or warrior, but of a journalist, and journalists run away from trouble, not towards it.
Escalating seemed like the worst possible thing I could do. The time to attack the young man was right at the start, and that moment had passed.
He is correct, the time to attack was at the start. But once that moment is passed and superior forces are being brought to you, and the opposition still has not “escalated matters”, although they will, then you must break contact with that superior force.
But they were well-built and their body language signaled imminent violence.
Psshaw.
The fear drained out of me as I was reasonably sure they weren’t going to kill us
They could kill you, if they had the knowledge. They certainly had the intent or will. But they didn’t have the knowledge that some of us do. But neither did you, so it was kind of even there. Continued later
Not nearly as exciting as Y’s link, but probably just as dangerous to us all.
An explanation of the economic issues in light of the legal issues.
http://www.americasright.com/2009/03/aig-diversion.html
A link to an article where the author takes down David Brooks brilliantly:
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/03/david_brooks_and_his_gop_fanta.html
And it leads to my pointed worry: Obama and the Democrats have already given Republicans in Congress plenty of ammunition. There should be a solid group of Republicans fighting back and making noise. Instead our Republican leaders in Washington D.C. appear strangely quiet, unfocused, pandering to the masses.
We have many “conservative” columnists still in the grip of moderate-Republicanitis. We have Michael Steele making moderate-Republicanitis noise after noise after noise. He’s not fighting along any true conservative lines that I can see.
If we regained Republican control, in any way, in 2010… I ask you… WHAT WOULD CHANGE from 2004 or 2006? Nothing. Things would go back to the way they were, and that is precisely what got us into this mess. That is precisely what sent conservatism into disarray.
We are being completely failed by our current Republican leadership, by that core of so-called Republican conservatives in the House and Senate that we think we trust. THEY ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH. They have had four months to begin to coalesce into an effective fighting force and to this point they have failed.
We love to blame the Dems for everything. We trust our conservative Congressmen. Don’t do it! They have had plenty of time so far to show us their backbones, their spines, their resolve. To this point they’ve shown nothing. If we put them back into power, we’ll get NOTHING worthwhile from them. Do you really want to go back to October, 2006, when it was becoming clear that our Republican leadership had failed us. Do we really want to leave that same crew in charge? Have they shown you anything that indicates they’ve learned any lessons? Why would we put the same crew that has failed us back into control?
Vote them all out. We have no choice. Let’s put them on notice: There’s a year and a half until the 2010 elections, and only a year until the primaries. We need new conservatives in the primaries. I say again: Let’s put this current crew on notice NOW. Let’s make it clear that unless they begin to sound like organized, ready, effective, new conservatives, we are seeking new leadership. For they failed us from 1998-2006… they appear to have learned nothing since 2006… and we’re not giving the drunk the keys to the car AGAIN.
The House REpublicans did vote unanimously against the Porkulus Spendulus bill. That’s admirable unanimity. However, it was an easy call, and it was only a vote. Their ability to express conservatism via their voices, their reasoning, their convictions, remain notably very quiet.
They were a part of the problem from 1998-2006. They are not strong enough to be relied on. Please… let’s seek new leadership. It’s unfortunate, but that time has come.
I don’t remember what we said in the car. I was barely scathed in the punch up, and Jonathan seemed to be fine.
I notice Totten mentioned nothing about anything he had actually done in the fight. Either he cannot remember clearly (adrenaline does that to you) or he is humble enough not to try to make himself look like a tough guy. Either way, both are consistent characteristics with Totten’s profile.
But if you are learning how to fight, it is not exactly useful. Rather useless, actually. The only way to improve is to learn from your mistakes or the mistakes of others, and that cannot be done if you gloss over the details because it is too inconvenient, gory, or boastful. Course, it’d be hard for anybody to boast about surviving a mob attack.
What Totten learns from the situation is 1. Avoidance and 2. Call in Backup in order to intimidate off the opposition. Both are social solutions. I am not into social solutions to thugs and asocial killers. You may say that I am into other solutions. More permanent solutions. Once a person violates a certain line in the sand, I prefer to escalate beyond the beyond. Skip all those little steps in between like yelling, insults, grabbing, pushing, shoving, kicking, punching, etc. It’s all or nothing. Because I hate being in the middle having to guess.
He seemed to be in pretty good spirits, all things considered.
Of course. He is a tough old Brit and maintains the old style British stoicism. Along with Hitchen’s faults, those virtues remain his best.
“I appreciate that,” Christopher said. “But I would have done it anyway. One must take a stand. One simply must.”
Hitchins the True Believer and the activist, as he always was. A very weird combination, for most activists are normally emotional and uncontrollable, while Hitchins has a very reserved and controlled demeanor, a gravitas even.
It is just that those like Christopher Hitchens and Michael Totten will always need meaner, crueler, and quite efficient killers to help them fight against those who are not interested in such miniscule things as liberty or justice.
This is the forever curse and gift of human nature. That we need each other, and that we also need each other.
Or, if I did, I don’t remember them
Adrenaline surge. One of the benefits of TFT is that it doesn’t need adrenaline, in fact it would be better if you discarded that portion. Adrenaline provides benefits, but it also has various detriments which people should be made aware of.
I hadn’t seen that, and I have to wonder what other details I missed.
One of the detriments of an adrenaline surge, if you aren’t trained for such situations, is a tunnel vision and constriction of both your mental and visual faculties. You only see what is directly in front of you, you only pay attention to what is the most critical danger to you right now. There have been many eye witness reports that victims of a gunshot do not even remember hearing the gun go off. THeir adrenaline was so high that their brain shut off all non-critical functions, such as hearing.
TFT is all about situational awareness and precision. You target one body organ, joint, or other human anatomy not because you are focused on it by adrenaline, but because you have made a conscious choice to do so after selecting from a wide variety of targets in your peripheral and direct vision clusters.
And there was a very mad, sadistic, deranged look in the eyes of his auxiliaries. I wish I’d had a screwdriver.”
Or better yet, wish you had the passengers of Flight 93. Or Danny, Bookworm, Charles, and the various Marines and other service branch veterans around. I’d be in the back, of course, taking notes and cowering behind Book’s skirt, indeedy. Assuming she would wear one, of course, which is unlikely.
I’d like to go back, do it properly, deface the thing with red paint so there’s no swastika visible.
Ah, Hitchins, the activist with an aggressive heart ; ) What wonders the world will see, for we children of humanIty.
Totten, the tough survivalist-journalist who seeks avoidance and evasion. Hitchins, the idealistic pacifist cum activist cum true believer cum Street Rabblerouser. Won’t fight a man that grabs him, but will actively and intently deface Nazi symbols, with all the consequences therein lies.
Such a contrast, such a medley of unique and individual perspectives. What great fun.
They should have been worried about us. Let them worry. Let them wonder if we’re carrying a tool or if we have a crew.
I could not agree more with Hitch here. Let them worry about us for a change. There is nothing preventing the savage beast from appearing, with the exception of the social, moral, and ethical limitations and obligations preventing those like Totten from exploding. Another good thing about TFT is that it trains you also in getting rid of such societal indoctrination and shackles. It is so useful to know that what you think you can’t do, is mostly the result of the indoctrination of your upbringing and your friends/family. It is not a product of reality nor is it a representation of your real capabilities.
I commented in the order that I read them. So take that into consideration.
Link
I recommend that Link for a little history lesson. Neo’s link is at the bottom of the comments section.
A blast to the past. Very strange and very sad.
MikeD, if it is any consolation, there is an adage in warfare that says, “never, never interfere while your enemy is destroying himself”.
I think that this is why Republicans told Cheney to “shush!” rather than give opportunities to distract the public from what the State Supremacists…er, Dems are doing.
Just picked up a couple of copies of Mark Levin’s book in Costco. Mixed feelings about that since Costco’s founder is allegedly a BIG Dim contributor; but their prices are awfully good. If you are a Costco shopper you can probably get it if you move fairly quickly.
Levin is doing his second book signing at a mall about 35 miles away next Saturday. Would love to go, but this is a giant mall with horrendous traffic at the best of times. I expect the store will be swamped during the signing. Mark lives within about 10 miles of the mall, in a town that is generally inhabited by upscale Washington lawyers, politicians, lobbyists, etc. The same old-line and popular local radio station that carries Limbaugh and Hannity also carries Mark’s broadcast.
Danny #8:
>> “never, never interfere while your enemy is destroying himself”. I think that this is why Republicans told Cheney to “shush!” rather than give opportunities to distract the public from what the State Supremacists…er, Dems are doing.
Danny, I’m more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, for a while.
I hope you’re correct, that this is a coherent strategy. I can wait for a time to see your premise prove itself!
I read ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand, only once, back in approx ’88. I have decided to read it again, wondering how my new-found conservatism since Sept 11 2001 would affect what I read.
Near page 100 I have run across something that I want to quote. Does this, um, remind anyone of anything?
From ‘The Fountainhead’, Chapter 9, approximately 8th page. The scene: At a rally, Peter Keating, a second-hander (a looter) is listening to a loudspeaker in the crowded lobby of a hall that is too full to gain entrance. Inside the hall, a thunderous round of applause as a new speaker is introduced has just subsided.
Those in the lobby stood still. Then came the voice.
“My friends,” it said, simply and solemnly. “My brothers,” it added softly, involuntarily, both full of emotion and smiling apologetically at the emotion. “I am more touched by this reception than I should allow myself to be. I hope I shall be forgiven for a trace of the vain child which is in all of us. But I realize – and in that spirit I accept it – that this tribute was paid not to my person, but to a principle which chance has granted me to represent in all humility tonight.”
It was not a voice, it was a miracle. It unrolled as a velvet banner. It spoke English words, but the resonant clarity of each syllable made it sound like a new language spoken for the first time. It was the voice of a giant.
Keating stood, his mouth open. He did not hear what the voice was saying. He heard the beauty of the sounds without meaning. He felt no need to know the meaning; he could accept anything, he would be led blindly anywhere.
I read “The True Believer” in 1954. I recently came across it in a used book store. This is my eighth or ninth copy. I keep giving them away to my friends. A seminal work that should be in every thinking person’s library.
Hoffer was a longshoreman who worked the docks of San Francisco. The union was headed by Harry Bridges, a communist. He saw how things worked in that preview of Saul Alinsky’s world.
>>I hope you’re correct, that this is a coherent strategy.>>
I don’t know. I definitely understand your frustration – I feel it myself. Somebody should be out there yelling and screaming about the Nation being plunged into a shredder.
On the other hand, which newspaper would print it? What MSM channel would air it in full instead of just clips that were deceptive about what was actually said? If a tree falls and no one hears it, did it fall? Of course it did, but if no one hears/sees it, what does it matter? Can the Republicans _do_ anything about it? with the rules changed so that as a minority party, what can they do?
I have a dreadful feeling that there’s absolutely nothing they can do until 2010, and then only if they can get a majority. I’m not sure that will happen – I fear we’ve had our last honest election (if it was). I fear they have won, and the only way to change that will be with force – and that’s a terrible option. We have been lulled into complacency by the peace, tranquility and a culture of plenty…we may have to be willing to give up all those things. It is _not_ a happy thought – but there may not be any other way.
I don’t know.
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=page&page-id=162
That guy is hilarious. I think he was the guy who did the light saber debate fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHvNddalwUY&feature=channel
This guy can talk circles around most Leftists.