A logical inference?

Two news items caught my eye this morning:

The new poll finds 61 percent of voters nationally think Arizona was right to take action instead of waiting for the federal government to do something on immigration. That’s more than twice as many as the 27 percent who think securing the border is a federal responsibility and Arizona should have waited for Washington to act. 

And:

Only 39% of voters said they would vote to re-elect Pres. Obama if the election were held today, while 50% say they would vote for someone else. A quarter of voters would definitely vote to re-elect Obama, while 37% would definitely vote for someone else. 

Not saying there is correlation between the items, but folks are beginning to notice…

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via: PowerLine

Sold down the proverbial river

Meanwhile in the Middle East, Obama continues to undermine Israel.  Supporting a resolution in the UN for “a nuclear-free” Middle East while doing nothing to impede the efforts of Iran in acquiring nuclear weapons.  Nothing good can come of this of course.  I suspect Israel will do what she must for self-preservation and it will likely get ugly.

I think the growing anti-Semitic sentiment among the Left generally and in Washington in particular is also pretty scary.  I mean there is fairly recent history that should raise some red flags when folks start talking about  “good Jews and bad Jews”.  And no, I’m not referring to Nazi Germany.

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hat tip: Lileks

Bizzaro world

Well, it seems I woke up today in an alternative universe.  Specifically, Bizzaro World.

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You see, on Bizzaro world everything is basically the opposite of what it would be on a normal, rational planet.

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I guess you get the idea.  Now, how did I figure out I’d somehow been transported through some kind of time-space continuum to wake up on this bizarre planet?  Here’s some evidence:

In California, a group of high school students were sent home under threat of discipline for the crime of wearing t-shirts depicting, wait for it, the American flag!  I know it is shameful behavior for these kids to wear such a hateful symbol in a public school.  But it gets worse!  They had the audacity to wear the flag on Cinco de Mayo!  Of course, the Chicano students were wearing their Mexican flags but the in your face intrusion of Old Glory was so culturally insensitive.  Hard to believe this outrage happened in the good ol’ USA.

Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the specter of racial segregation in a public school raised it’s ugly head.  It seems a group of white children went on a field trip and the black kids were not allowed to participate.  Or something like that.  I’m colorblind, so maybe I got it backwards.  But still.

Of course, we are all happy that the would-be Times Square bomber was captured.  In an odd twist, it turns out he was an Islamic fanatic from Pakistan.  Because as we all must surely know by now, it is Tea Party adherents who pose the real threat of terrorism.

Speaking of terrorism, there has been some concern that maybe the boys from TSA let their guard down.  But no worries, our airport security is the capable hands of true professionals like these.  They have a BIG job to do, so let’s not be DICKS about it, ok?

Hmm, I do so miss planet Earth.

A trek to Dosonsa Temple

Had some nice weekend weather.  Took advantage with a 3 hour bicycle ride along the Hangang Saturday and on Sunday afternoon made the journey across Seoul and then hiked up to see Dosonsa Buddhist temple.  Let’s go to the photos:

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I don’t often ride the buses here in Seoul, but I did on Sunday.  And here’s a photo of the bus stop in Itaewon to prove it.

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An Itaewon street scene

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“where is that damn bus anyway?”

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oh, here it comes…

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There ain’t nothing wrong with riding the bus by the way.  They are clean and relatively comfortable.  And sometimes not crowded…

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But as it turns out this bus wasn’t going to where I wanted to be, so it was off the bus and onto the subway…

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Ok, I think this train is right…

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Maps are quick to note “you are here” but rarely shed much light on where you are going…

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Not many travelers joining me on the platform…

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Fellow riders…

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Transferred to another bus and an hour later was on the streets of Uidong…

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Old style house…

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Bukhansan Park attracts lots of hikers traversing the numerous trails…

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…but I followed the road that followed the stream flowing down from the mountain on which the temple sits…

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…where I observed some of the last blossoms of my last spring in Korea…

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After a walk/climb that tired me out more than I care to admit, I reached the temple gate…

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I’m not a Buddhist so I can’t tell you much about these idols…

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But it was a fine day to be out and about enjoying them..

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Nice overlook of Seoul from the temple grounds…

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Buddha’s birthday is May 21 and his follower’s have purchased traditional lanterns to hang on the temple grounds.  I’m thinking you write a wish for blessings to hang with the lantern or something like that.

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Some of the detail on a temple building…

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The man of the hour.  You can see the discoloration on Buddha’s belly.  See folks stick their thumb in the navel and rotate the hand counter clockwise and receive Buddha’s blessing.  It was probably a good thing that I kept my shirt on to avoid any possible confusion…

And so ends another fine Sunday adventure in Korea…

Double standards

In the news today a couple of more examples of the double standards of the media I’ve been talking a lot about.

I mentioned in a recent post that it was odd that critics found fault with the Tea Party because it allegedly consists primarily of angry white men while the President got a pass for saying “It will be up to each of you to make sure that young people, African Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again.” I was taken to task by a commenter for playing the race card myself.  But what I was trying to point out is that the left sees a racial motive for any dissent to Obama’s policies, while liberals are given a free hand to play racial politics without criticism.  I find this hypocrisy disgusting.

Now comes this opinion piece in the Washington Examiner noting the same thing:

Two front-page lead headlines appeared in Washington newspapers this week bearing on race and politics. One passed without notice, the other inspired a minor outpouring of the usual overheated commentary that is typically aimed at journalistic critics of political correctness. The unnoticed headline appeared in Express, the commuter tabloid published by the Washington Post. It said civil rights leaders wonder if Arizona’s new law aimed at stopping the flood of illegal immigration into the state is “borderline racist?” The other headline appeared in the Washington Examiner atop a story reporting President Obama’s partisan appeal to the groups that “powered” his 2008 presidential victory, namely “young people, African-Americans, Latinos and women” for their support in the 2010 elections. The Examiner head said “Obama disses white guys.”

The reaction to “Borderline racist?” was silence. The reaction to “Obama disses white guys” was typified by the hyperventilating Keith Olbermann of MSNBC, who called the Examiner “reactionary,” then nodded in agreement as his guest, “political analyst” Richard Wolffe described our headline as “a sad and pathetic attempt to distort, with this toxic mix of malice and ignorance.” Strangely, Olbermann didn’t bother to tell his audience that Wolffe, a former Newsweek reporter, is now Obama’s pet propagandist and is granted exclusive access as he writes adulatory campaign tracts like his recently published “Renegade: The making of a president.”

Which headline was more accurate? Express insinuated racist motives for Arizona officials because they approved a law that directs local police to do something that is already legal, which is to stop somebody on reasonable suspicion that they may have broken a law. Whether the law is racist is a matter of hotly contested debate, yet the Express headline can be read as declaring it definitely so. By contrast, the Examiner headline simply stated a truth made clear by the 2008 election returns. Exit polls show that about 47 percent, or 32 million of Obama’s 69 million votes for president were cast by men, 18 million of whom were white males. Thus, about one fourth of Obama’s total vote came from white males. Yet in seeking to re-energize for the 2010 campaign the voters who “powered” his 2008 victory, Obama ignored this constituency. Does Obama consider white men a drag on his coalition, or has he given up on them because of their declining support for his policies in opinion polls? Either way, “disses” is exactly the right term to describe it. The double standard is clear: Those on the left who routinely describe voters primarily by their racial and ethnic identities have no problem when their favored candidates do so. But they get bent out of shape whenever someone else reports the rest of the story.

The other example is the media’s portrayal of Tea Party participants as potentially dangerous anti-government terrorists encouraging violence against political opponents.  Of course, not one example of actual violence has been offered up in this demonization campaign.  Now, when might we expect the headlines and hand wringing over stuff like this:

Three people were attacked and at least two others were arrested. The people assaulted were part of the Minutemen demonstration, a group in favor of Arizona’s new immigration law.

They said a large group of immigrants’ rights supporters followed them to the BART station on Market Street and started punching and kicking them, and calling them names.

“They said we were racists, and we were against them, and against their town, and against San Francisco,” said Parker Wilson with the Bay Area National Anarchists. “What they were saying, they said we need to get out and called us racists, and that we need to go home. And then they just attacked my friends and me.”

I rail against the double standard because it is dangerous to ignore what is happening here.  It is a blatant attempt to stifle legitimate dissent  and debate.

On the beach

Continuing the photo essay of my recent adventure on Oahu…

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Oddly enough, most of the vegetation in Hawaii is not in fact native to the islands…

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but it’s all good as far as I’m concerned…

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“way better than Cheju-do!”

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Blue on blue and some happy canines…

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“don’t bother taking a picture because those telephone wires are ruining the vista.  What?  Oh well, never mind.”

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Ready for lunch?  Actually, the restaurant takes it name “The Crouching Lion” because the rocks behind the restaurant are alleged to look like, well, a crouching lion.  I honestly couldn’t see it though.  I’m that way with constellations too.

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Still, the restaurant was quite charming…

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The view from our table was, er, appetizing…

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“bago payo!”

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“ah, now that’s more like it!”

Next up, the Waimea Valley…see you there!

Calling all white people

I’m asking all you white males in the USA to stand together this November and vote as one to defeat any member of Congress who supports the President’s policies.

What?  You think that is racist?  It can’t be, because the President himself said:

This year, the stakes are higher than ever,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by Democratic officials. “It will be up to each of you to make sure that young people, African Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again.

Racist is as racist does.

Byodo-In Temple and the nut farm

Continuing our Majestic Grand Circle Island Tour, we visited a Buddhist Temple established around the turn of the century by a Japanese monk.

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Quite beautiful don’t you think?  And that’s a million-dollar backdrop…

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A little closer and different angle.  What you can’t see from the photo (or in real life for that matter) is the nails used for construction.  That’s because no nails were used.  Don’t ask me how, maybe it was a freakin’ miracle.

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The Temple’s primary resident…

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There was of course the traditional bell…

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…well I’m not a particularly religious man, but nothing ventured nothing gained…

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…I mean happiness and long life are worth the effort…

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Of course, some would argue I’ve already had a long life, but why take chances?

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Next stop was the nut farm, but I escaped.  Not before buying some chocolate covered macadamias for the folks at the office and a bag of nuts for my pal Jenn of I Got 2 Shoes fame.

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If I understood correctly, these are the founders of the nut farm.  The current owner greeted us warmly, gave out free samples of Kona coffee and various varieties of his nutty concoctions.  Real friendly guy and seemed genuinely happy to have us visit.  But then again, we all were spending money.   But I’m sure he would have been nice regardless.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight.  I’m off to the first round of the playoffs which will feature the Rubbies versus Cake Mix at Dillinger’s Bar.  I’m there as a fan rather than a player this time…

Alastair the Scot ties the knot

I had the honor of attending the wedding ceremony of a great couple, Alastair Tarbett and Juri Jeon.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

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As Joe Walsh REO Speedwagon (thanks Nomad) said, “you can tune a piano but you can’t tuna fish”.  We did however enjoy tasty morsels from this one after the ceremony.

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Some of the guests hanging around outside on the deck.  The wedding took place on a floating wedding hall docked alongside the Han River.

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Alastair’s parents flew in from Glasgow, Scotland for the big event.  Another big event, the Iceland volcano, almost prevented them from getting here, but they persevered through various trials and tribulations and made it to the “church” on time.

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This trio regaled us with fine music…

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Jee Yuen poses with the parents of the groom…

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One of the more handsome guests in attendance…

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Alastair awaits his cue…

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The bride is escorted up the aisle by her soon to be father-in-law.

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Ain’t she sweet?

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I’m not sure what is going through Alistair’s head as he makes his way up the aisle…

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The traditional bow before the vows…

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They both said “I do”.  Well, technically Juri said “nea” which we all understood to be “yes”.

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A kiss for the bride…

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…a bow to the parents…

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…and a demonstration of strength as required by Korean custom…

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The cutting of the cake which symbolizes the joining of the two families…

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I’ll be attending Margaret and Matt’s wedding in June…

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The Orrico family minus Dan who had TDY in Hawaii…

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Jim Dewey looking dapper as usual…

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Even all the ducks were in a row… (ahem).

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The newly married Alistair demonstrating his ability to multitask.

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Juri and Jee Yuen.

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The bride shows off her sexy shoes…

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Alan’s kilt was a real chick magnet.  I’m thinking I should celebrate my Scottish heritage and get one too….

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So the wedding party moved from the Han river to Dolce Vita…

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…and of course a dart tournament broke out…

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…and a good time was had by all…

Congratulations to Alastair and Juri!

Majestic Grand Circle Island Tour

Hey, that’s what they called it in the brochure.  It was your standard circumnavigation of Oahu kinda deal.  It was an all day affair and a 120 mile round trip.  Actually, quite nice.  It was good to be out of the city and see some of the Hawaiian back country for sure.  Here’s the first part of the trip in pictures:

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That would be the Pacific ocean near Diamond Head…

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This would be one of the more popular attractions on Oahu, Hanauma Bay.  Here’s a nice little video of the area.

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I hear it’s a great place to snorkel…

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…and has a nice sandy beach.

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Seeing as how we were driving along the coast of an island, I took a fair number of ocean shots.  The ocean didn’t seem to mind at all.

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Now this beach may look familiar to you.  It was where the famous beach scene in the film “From Here to Eternity” was shot.  Remember?

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Now you do…

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Yes, the ocean has many moods.

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You see more beaches like this one with lava flows than you do with sand…

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If you look closely you can see the lighthouse at the Makapu’u Lookout, which I believe is the southern-most point on the island…
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Then we drove up into the mountains to the Nu’uanu Pali lookout  for outstanding vistas like this one.  There was a battle here in 1795 which ended with the defeated warriors being thrown from the cliff face.  Read about it here.

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This is on the windward side of the island.  And the breeze was stiff to be sure…

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It was an Oahu, Hawaii mountain high.  Although it wasn’t raining fire in the sky…

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Those would be the tunnels we drove through to get to the mountain top.

And now I’ve got to get ready for a wedding.  We’ll continue our island tour soon, ok?