tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75762612012-01-12T06:57:46.495-08:00All the muse that spits in print.Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1102568086585007752004-12-08T20:32:00.000-08:002004-12-08T21:19:10.990-08:00

Well, I finally put my mind to it and created my own website, complete with blog. I'd been meaning to do it for some time; I've never been totally satisfied with this weblog, and I wanted my own domain name (it's now www.deltafoxtrot.net). So my website is Delta Foxtrot and my weblog is Delta FoxBlog. Catchy, huh? Oh, when I say I haven't been happy here, it's not that this isn't a great deal,

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1090110070210460452004-07-17T17:15:00.000-07:002004-07-17T17:21:10.210-07:00

Now this could be really bad.  I'm so upset about this I can't really write about it at the moment; I'll be revisiting it in the future, however.   Sailing Toward a Storm in China [requires Times registration -- I think NY Times reg works]

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1090108293568822962004-07-17T16:42:00.000-07:002004-07-19T14:33:49.350-07:00

[I sent this to Daniel Okrent, Public Editor of the NYTimes, but of course it will never be printed there. It's too long for the public editorial forum, too, so I'll just print it here and if anyone ever wanders by maybe they'll read it. Oh, you might also want to check out Howard Nemerov's excellent rebuttal to Diane Feinstein's dumb knee-jerk anti-rights stance (she being one of the sponsors

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1090106925535143712004-07-17T16:24:00.000-07:002004-07-17T16:28:45.536-07:00

I'm always amazed when I see the avidity of Martha Stewart's supporters.  To me there are few things as unimportant as a centerpiece; most of my meals are eaten in front of the computer.  Then again,  I have no dining table and, since I'm basically rather slobbish and disorganized, all the flat surfaces in my house that could be used as tables tend to be covered in a thick layer of books, papers,

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1090106482358742182004-07-17T16:04:00.000-07:002004-08-31T10:46:41.466-07:00

Republicans are doing their damnedest to make the so-called “Family Marriage  Amendment,” and any other legislature they may (surely) trot out in the wake of the amendment's abject and utter failure, solely about protection of a traditional institution.  As George W. Bush stated from the bully pulpit in his weekly radio stump speech, Republicans simply want to “protect the most  fundamental

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089941282102489972004-07-15T17:56:00.000-07:002004-07-15T18:28:02.103-07:00

Go take the Slate's Red or Blue -- Which are You? quiz.  It's entertaining and educational.  (Thanks to AndrewSullivan.com)

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089756641323991312004-07-13T14:56:00.000-07:002004-07-13T16:05:45.256-07:00

Meet Niall Ferguson, celebrated intellectual Scottish historian, promoter of US world emperialism, and the perfect example of a really smart guy so wrongheaded that he gets a lot of people killed needlessly. Washington Monthly's Benjamin Wallace-Wells admirably deconstructs this -- I'm having a real difficulty choosing marginally neutral words here -- scholar and his ideas of global US

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089746884434354252004-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:002004-07-13T12:28:04.433-07:00

Another portrait of me by Daniel's ex-wife, Pat. (Used by permission)©2004, Pat F.

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089733056582392082004-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:002004-07-13T08:37:36.583-07:00

My son Junior practicing his acting. He's pretty much given up on a career in Hollywood, though; now he's studying astrophysics.©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089733009688357652004-07-13T08:34:00.000-07:002004-08-31T11:00:14.896-07:00

Just so you don't miss my appeal for honest work...

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089732829225209762004-07-13T08:33:00.000-07:002004-07-13T08:29:34.616-07:00

Here I am again... I know you love looking at me!©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089731611968397532004-07-13T08:03:00.000-07:002004-07-13T08:22:15.903-07:00

The most interesting and informative awards on the net are now out: Mother Jones magazine's Diddly Awards (as in, "Boy, that US congress, they don't do Diddly!"). Why are they so great? Here's the first paragraph of the article: With billions in Iraq construction contracts pending last year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) borrowed World War II-era language for an amendment that would

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089683710740360812004-07-12T18:17:00.000-07:002004-11-08T12:07:49.370-08:00

Just when did the incorporation of religious activism into political action become somehow “conservative”? I thought that the dilution of the rights of individuals was supposed to be some liberal mainstay, designed to lead all us dupes and ”useful idiots” down the road to communism (whether big-C or small-c), socialism, or at the very least the joint celebration of HonakKwanzaMas. As a

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089652214096388612004-07-12T10:03:00.000-07:002004-07-12T19:22:13.810-07:00

The Chicago Trib's Maureen Ryan on the boom in paid advertising for webloggers. Gee, I guess I'm too "long-winded and loquacious" to expect much. Oh, wait, she was talking about the ad landing pages -- maybe there's still hope (but I'm not holding my breath, never mind the length of my wind).

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089645550490903822004-07-12T08:15:00.000-07:002004-07-13T07:54:43.086-07:00

Here's your chance to be among the first to know... at least if recent statistics are any assurance. Do you think that the candidates' campaigns will take advantage of this analysis?

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089645480943208412004-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:002004-07-13T08:25:42.996-07:00

Here's a hilarious Flash® animation. In the greatest tradition of American political humor, it skewers both candidates equally -- don't expect anything "on issues." It's PG at worst, but watch the sound at work. At least, the first time. If this doesn't have the whole office dancing around your desk in glee, I don't know humor when I see it. (My other favorite on the JibJab site is the

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089592787590952912004-07-11T17:39:00.000-07:002004-07-11T17:40:58.833-07:00

A painting of me and my son, Junior Foxtrot -- I call this picture "pug sandwich" -- by Austin artist and my slave Daniel's ex-wife, Pat F. You can see her pictures of me and my friends at Taurus Kennels in Austin. (used by permission)©2004, Pat F.

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089572465362377782004-07-11T09:17:00.000-07:002004-07-11T18:34:14.836-07:00

[probably the first of many - Delta] In a previous post, called "Quotes," I wrongly called James Madison the second president of the US. He was, of course, the fourth, and his term of service in that capacity was 1809-1817. I also failed to add a link to the full text of his "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments." Those errors have been corrected. For those of you not in

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089504368839634472004-07-10T17:02:00.000-07:002004-07-10T17:52:28.263-07:00

Pursuant to the last post: Bev Harris and Jim March of Black Box Voting have filed a “Qui Tam,” or whistleblower, suit against Diebold Election Systems. Diebold is (apparently) the second-largest electronic voting machine manufacturer in the US; according to the Black Box press release, the lawsuit “seeks to recover funds for the state of California... As part of the Qui Tam action, a bounty

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089502201703915432004-07-10T16:08:00.000-07:002004-07-10T16:34:04.540-07:00

[I received the following press release in email today (while I was out hauling trash to the curb for big trash day -- which I finished, thanks for caring). For those of you as concerned about the potential problems with electronic, so-called "black box," voting machines as I am, this might be of interest, especially if you'll be in Austin this Tuesday. By the way, I've been looking for

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089489891482161972004-07-10T13:04:00.000-07:002004-07-11T17:42:30.823-07:00

Delta's slave, Daniel, with kayak in Micco, Florida©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089489363642157612004-07-10T12:56:00.000-07:002004-07-10T12:56:03.643-07:00

Fort Lauderdale street scene©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089488877722641912004-07-10T12:26:00.000-07:002004-07-10T12:49:08.653-07:00

Some great editorial and commentary pieces out there in the press this Saturday. I heartily suggest reading, for instance, NYTimes Review of Books editor Alan Wolfe's “The New Pamphleteers,” which compares the current crop of polemic disguised as political analysis, in form and spirit if not in style and content, with the Revolutionary-period pamphleteers -- whose names we all know but I'll

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089431699512599002004-07-09T20:32:00.000-07:002004-07-09T22:24:12.286-07:00

I live in a neighborhood in far South Austin, near the city limits. It's very much "old Austin," with lots of mixed housing (no apartment complexes), a million trees, and even some areas of undeveloped forest. The neighborhood is a total mix of people, although most by far are families and older, live-and-let-live folks -- friendly, jovial, and for the most part not at all concerned about what

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089413714808443822004-07-09T15:35:00.000-07:002004-07-09T15:55:14.806-07:00

Well, it's not new information, but it's always interesting speculation. Once again, the Pentagon has said that Bush's Texas Air Guard records were destroyed; this time in response to a freedom of information act request by the Associated Press. I recall hearing James Moore, author of Bush's War For Reelection: Iraq, the White House, and the People and co-author of Bush's Brain, speak a while

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089410906948948322004-07-09T14:57:00.000-07:002004-11-08T18:52:11.666-08:00

[OK, this is a blatant appeal for a job in Austin, Texas. It's good writing, though. Even if you don't live in Austin, and even if you don't have a job for me, please read it anyway. - Delta] My name is Delta, and I am unemployed. There, I've said it. There's no shame, right? Just because I'm a 55-year-old man living in my parents' south-Austin apartment, taking money from them to live on

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089409819168263272004-07-09T14:42:00.000-07:002004-07-09T14:50:54.786-07:00

[Originally written 12 June 2004 - Delta] John Ashcroft must be beside himself with glee this morning. His war on terror here in the United States, also known as “Big John's Assault on Smut,” has finally yielded some positive results. That's right, Mr. A's federal legal juggernaut rolled crashing through the hinterland, leaving no stone unturned, and, after years of crafty and resolute

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089409128215499142004-07-09T14:37:00.000-07:002004-07-09T16:06:54.083-07:00

Good article on the aggregate power of weblogs. Robert Frost said, "Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't - And the other half of people who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." Looks like that's changing, and changing fast. I am amazed by the sheer number of weblogs there are online.

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089408559104887602004-07-09T13:55:00.000-07:002004-08-31T11:43:13.143-07:00

I'm so glad that Fatherland Security Oberfuhrer Ridge has warned us of the credible and serious intent of Osama to attack us before the election (Duh?). Interesting timing: 1) The day before the "scathing" Senate Intelligence Committee report on the intelligence community's "flawed" information. Speaking of which, it's just as interesting that these findings come out the day after George

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089404560145620312004-07-09T13:20:00.000-07:002004-07-09T13:22:40.146-07:00

One of the best "what Kerry should do" articles I've seen yet. Please read this!

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089404342177404392004-07-09T12:57:00.000-07:002004-07-09T13:19:02.176-07:00

[I know, Reagan's been "done" to death (bad choice of words, granted). On the other hand, with all the partisan respinning of the Reagan "legacy," I think it's instructive to take at least a small step back and take another look. In a few years, or a decade, or half a century, let's do it again. - Delta] A reminder that Reagan was neither the monster of the left's portrayal, nor the saint of

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089402910123036042004-07-09T12:55:00.000-07:002004-07-09T12:55:10.123-07:00

Delta as a young man©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089401933530959852004-07-09T12:34:00.000-07:002004-07-11T17:34:07.803-07:00

[Just some things that are on my mind this afternoon... and please note that all the speakers and writers of the quotes are very well-known statesmen and office-holders -- my cousin Scott, my greatest correspondent, always claims that he doesn't know who all the people are that I quote at him (thereby, I guess, absolving him of the need to decide whether or not he agrees with the sentiment, that

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089401155905541612004-07-09T12:14:00.000-07:002004-07-09T12:30:01.276-07:00

I am amazed and embarrassed by the animosity between political factions in the United States. There's nothing “united” about it. Born-again Republicans heap abuse and scorn on the evil of Communists, socialists, traitors, and criminals (translation: the ACLU, the Democratic Party, anyone who feels that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake or poorly executed, and everybody who doesn't share the

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089400186054410882004-07-09T12:07:00.000-07:002004-07-09T12:09:46.053-07:00

"If Osama believed in Christmas, this [the Iraq war] is what he'd want under his Christmas tree." -- Unnamed “senior intelligence official” in the GW Bush administration, to Peter Bergen in Mother Jones 6/2004 issue

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089394480096016682004-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:002004-07-09T10:44:13.696-07:00

Esther... I mean Madonna.©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089392325726424062004-07-09T09:45:00.000-07:002004-07-09T12:06:02.373-07:00

[Written 17 June, 2004. Included here for the sake of humor, and the (at this time admittedly remote) possibility that someone in Austin, Texas might be looking to rescue a dog and not know where to turn. - DF] Well, it had to happen I guess. Word is that Madonna's “Re-Creation” tour is not drawing so well -- and who's really surprised at that, she's a middle aged woman for Pete's sake -- so I

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089390071682294982004-07-09T09:21:00.000-07:002004-07-09T11:54:01.040-07:00

Joshua Spivak, a media consultant and attorney, makes a strong case that the nominating conventions have outlived their usefulness, and indeed have outlived even their public interest  (maybe the emphasis of this sentence should have been reversed, on second thought). Which makes NBC's decision to devote only three hours prime time coverage to each convention eminently logical. Which

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089388189465267312004-07-09T08:49:00.000-07:002004-07-09T10:43:38.913-07:00

Delta - Self-portrait©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1090103760042910152004-07-09T05:29:00.000-07:002004-07-17T15:47:11.296-07:00

[Written 16 June, 2004 - Delta]   I know you didn't ask, but since I've got so much time on my hands these days -- being unemployed and all -- I've been watching a lot of television.  I can actually feel the intelligence seeping out my ears as I watch.  I read somewhere that when you stick a brainwave monitor on a normal, intelligent person, then sit them down in front of a TV program -- any

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089354434554456842004-07-08T23:24:00.000-07:002004-07-09T11:26:26.973-07:00

By Delta Foxtrot (all rights reserved) Do you know when to use single quotation marks? For that matter, did you know there was such a thing as single quotation marks? I know this is not earthshaking information; if you are the average American, right about now you're thinking something like, “Huh?” But as a writer, I feel that I'm expected to know that kind of stuff. It's kind of a point of

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089351077458989202004-07-08T22:00:00.000-07:002004-07-09T12:03:50.116-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my Web log. I really don't like the term "blog." It's extremely functional, but it's really not pretty. I know, I know, it's very postmodern and cool, but at heart I am the product of a generation that values the beauty of language. So please indulge me if I use the term "Web log" instead, and if I write in a way that (I hope) highlights the innate loveliness of prose.

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576261.post-1089345156118345862004-07-08T20:52:00.000-07:002004-07-09T08:11:34.170-07:00

Delta Foxtrot at home (ready for bed)©2004, Delta Foxtrot

Delta Foxtrotnoreply@blogger.com0