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H&I Fires* 26 SEP 2008

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

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Theatre of the Absurd... you gotta laugh at the smallness of it all: 

CBS New anchor Katie Couric ordered staff to drop all references to "Governor" or "Gov." from her interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. When a staff member pointed out that in other venues, Couric and CBS News had referred to Governor Palin's opponent, Joe Biden, using his title of "Senator" or the abbreviation, Couric, according to a CBS News editorial aide, sought approval from CBS News management to drop the "Governor" reference during her broadcast interview with Palin that began on Wednesday night.
She succeeded, and she's not the only one at CBS doing it.  More here. - FbL

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From the Duh Department of scientific research: Facebook Profiles Out Narcissists. - FbL

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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change.Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.

7 Comments

Of course she wants the reference to 'Governor' removed.  The only way Obama can claim to have greater executive experiance than Palin is to only make comparisons to her time as mayor.  They have to firm up in people's mind that she is not the governor of a state, but rather just a small town mayor.

She makes Obama look bad if they portray her accurately.  You know you suck when the other teams second string makes you look bad.
 
Heh.  Most of the stuff on my Facebook page is from other people.  I guess that's good...
 
It's all about creating SUBLIMINAL cues. Just like the NYT crosswords that have repeatedly contained "OBAMA" as clues, but have not used "McCAIN".

Others will probably poo-poo this statement. You're free to. But these people are professionals in the media business, and they make their money influencing our purchasing and viewing decisions, and they make their money by shaping our opinions.

One of the most fascinating things I've ever seen was a television show where a British guy "predicted" what a couple of people would come up with as an ad campaign for a bogus product or marketing idea. He made a rough drawing of the visuals and images these guys would come up with in their marketing brochure or poster, or whatever it was. And it was very accurate.

At the end, he told these guys and the television audience how he did it. What he had done was place visual items all along the route that these guys took in their cab to their meeting with him, where he first told them what he wanted them to do.

They had subconsciously retained these visuals in the minds, and used them in their brochure or poster.

This is what the media is doing to us right now. It's what they've always done. The sad reality is that far too few us are aware of just how much we're impacted by this.
 
I agree with John..mine too
 
Time out for a note of thanks. Thanks to all those of you who visit here and prayed for my granddaughter Julie.

I followed her dad Pete to the hospital through the snow on Jan 5 2008. She had passed out and fallen down the stairs in her house. She was diagnosed and confirmed with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. This disease is a progressive illness. The doctor shocked us with that diagnosis and told us she may have 2 days, 2 months, 2 years to live. We were devastated.

Today my fingers are cramped from keeping them crossed. Julie’s schoolmates and her church along with people we don’t even know, collected money and sent her and the family to Lourdes, France. Like many of you they all prayed for her. After the trip to Lourdes, Julie's health has improved dramatically. I credit all of you and all your prayers. Mary's Son is being very gentle with our Julie.

They took away her wheel chair, and her oxygen. The told her to stop taking all but one of her meds (they were the kind of pills that destroy body parts but keep you alive for now) They let her take that last med until she ran out and discontinued it.

All she takes now is vitamins.

Tonight was her brother Petie's 11th birthday. On the way to her house we stopped to talk to Peter and Julie out in the circle.

They were on their skateboards playing. The party was great. Big Pete (Sergeant Pete USMCR) has my old pull up bar in his back yard. It was great to watch Julie and her cousin Emily doing a pull up or two, and playing soccer in the dark in the yard.

Now we pray prayers of thanksgiving. Of course none of us lives forever, but for now we have out Julie back. For whatever number of good days we have with her .... we will always be grateful.

For now things are frankly ..... very normal.

Thanks to those of you who offered prayers and support.
 
Jim, we are thrilled with your update.
 
*extending TDY for GA Det 2 -- just because*