Chamblee54

What follows is an edited version of a feature about Don Choi, and war. If you want to read the full version, follow the link. If at any time this makes you think too much, scroll down to the pictures. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
I never thought I would start crying while listening to an interview with Lt.Dan Choi , the Iraq war veteran who recently received notice of his honorable discharge from the US military for publicly acknowledging he’s gay. But here I am, crying. I’m watching Democracy Now, and during a break in the conversation the show is broadcasting images of Dan Choi at various actions in favor of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
“Universal Soldier,” Buffy Sainte-Marie’s classic antiwar song, plays in the background. While Sainte-Marie sings, “And he knows he shouldn’t kill/ And he knows he always will kill/ You’ll for me my friend and me for you,” Dan Choi is pictured in full uniform saluting a crowd at the National Equality March, removing tape from his lips to declare: We love our country, even when our country refuses to acknowledge our love. But we continue to defend it, and we continue to protect it, because love is worth it. Love is worth it!..
I’m crying because here is one of the most widely broadcast antiwar news programs in the country, camouflaging Dan Choi’s pro-war rhetoric beneath the lyrics of St. Marie’s Vietnam-era anthem. Dan Choi’s Equality March speech is elaborate in its rhetoric and pageantry, yet in the end it asks us to believe that the vicious wars of US imperialism are for “love.” Democracy Now welcomes this rhetoric into antiwar struggles, simultaneously hiding the pro-war stance and aggrandizing it. This is completely contradictory. You can’t fight against war by arguing that gay soldiers should be able to gun down Iraqis openly…
Dan Choi tells a very compelling coming-out story: I came back from Iraq. And many times when I was sitting in the barricade areas within the compound or in my Humvee, I thought to myself, when am I going to get along with my life, get along with the truth, reconcile who I really am from what I’ve been pretending to be? And many times I would spend alone in Iraq, many nights I would be very contemplative. I came back from Iraq, and I decided that it’s not worth it. I could have died at any moment in the area that I was… Why should I be afraid of the truth of who I am?
Do you see what he’s saying? While in Iraq participating in the slaughter of innocent civilians in a war for oil, he had the chance to contemplate his closeted sexuality, and when he came back to the US he decided that remaining silent about his gay desires wasn’t worth it. How many Iraqis died in order for him to express the “truth of who I am.” What about the truth of the war? His biggest worry seems to be this: “I’ve wanted to go back to Iraq and to Afghanistan, but then I thought, if I die in Afghanistan or Iraq, then would my boyfriend be notified?” Did you hear that? He’s not worried about dying in an atrocious war, or killing  innocent civilians, but about whether his boyfriend will be notified…
So, let’s get back to talking about the right to openly serve in the US military. The closest Democracy Now gets to talking about the war in this particular segment comes when Goodman asks, right at the very end of the interview: “Dan Choi, if the law was changed and you were able to return to Iraq or Afghanistan, how would you feel about the war then?”
Choi responds “Well, my feelings on the war and my responsibility to speak out against unjust wars and illegal wars and immoral wars, that certainly wouldn’t change. But, as a soldier, there are certain responsibilities, particularly in war. You put all of the politics of why you’re there aside, and you focus on accomplishing the mission in the most moral and the most, I think, effective way, so that you can get yourself, as well as your soldiers—and your soldiers first—alive back home.”
The interview with former Lt. Choi is eye opening. He had just received his notice of discharge, three weeks after it was sent to his father. Yes, the notice of honorable discharge was sent to the father of Mr. Choi. This father is a fanatic Southern Baptist, who is not speaking to his son at the moment.
Jesus worship religion teaches that to go to an impoverished country and kill people is fine. To love another man is forbidden. This teaching causes parents to turn against their children. Mr. Choi was so hurt by this rejection from his family and church that he almost committed suicide. This is the culture of America today.

In the video above, Rachel Maddow fights back against some critics, in an entertaining fashion. She discusses, among other things, the ad hominem and ad populum arguments…where you attack the messenger, and say that you are right because more people agree with you. The phrase “logical fallacy” is used.
There is a lot of this in our culture. One possible reason is having a free society, where you are not told what to think, at least not directly. The means of control are more subtle. Here the authorities and wanna be bosses have to convince you of a message. Many of the arguments that are used are not worth the time it takes to listen.
Another factor is the popularity of Jesus worship. This religion is based on beliefs, and to be a part of the family you have to agree with what you are taught. Critical thinking is not honored, and to be a team member you have to go along with some arguments that are simply not true.
In researching this feature, an e book came out of nowhere. HUMBUG is an easy to follow description of a few of these logical traps. From ad hominem to weasel words, with illustrations and cartoons. There are ads scattered throughout the ebook version, which no doubt give you a chance to practice your critical thinking skills. (The authors also have a blog .)
The front page has a collection of slang words (non profane) that describe the concept of nonsense words. Humbug, bunk, nonsense, twaddle and drivel are a few favorites. The 8 letter word for bovine excrement is missing, as is Rachel Maddow’s favorite, bullhockey. If they could fit skates on those hooves, bulls might be good at hockey. It is imagined that most languages have a similar list.

PG did not have a ticket when he showed up at the Buckhead hotel. There was going to be a rally for Karen Handel, with Rockstar Sarah Palin as the headline speaker. The first lady PG spoke to said to talk to the lady over there with a green sweater. She said to go talk to the will call desk, who referred PG back to the lady with the green sweater. Experience says that when tickets are free, more than a few people will not show up. After waiting discreetly for a half hour, PG asked the partner of the green sweater lady if anything had opened up, and was given a ticket.
The ballroom was filling up at 11:30, with a well dressed crowd. It was what you would expect of a Buckhead Republican event. PG wound up on the left side of the stage, next to a velvet rope. On the other side of the rope was a VIP section, with several recognizable figures politicking away. State house representative Jill Chambers even recognized PG ( a constituent) after the rally.
Classic rock was playing on the loudspeakers, with orange haired ladies, of a certain age, dancing.  The theme to “Nine to Five” played, without any Jane Fonda jokes. The theme song for the Handel campaign is “We’re not going to take it” by Twisted Sister. Mrs. Palin made a comment about this during her speech. Yes, Sarah Palin listens to Twisted Sister.
The rally began at ten after noon, which is almost punctual. Tom Price was the emcee, and asked people to not hold signs up too much. The ballroom was rented by the hour, and the event moved quickly. First an invocation ( “While we respect all faiths, this is dedicated to our lord and savior Jesus Christ”), the pledge of allegiance, and a peppy speech about Ms. Handel.
After a few minutes, Karen Handel (formerly Karen C. Walker) and Sarah Palin took the stage. Mrs. Handel spoke for a few minutes about….something. Whatever her skills as a manager and worker, she is not a dynamic speaker. To her credit, she kept the speech short, and did not mention social issues. On the blame side, she did not have a plan for securing a dependable source of water for Atlanta.
However charisma challenged Mrs. Handel is, Sarah Palin makes up for it. The woman is a star, wearing a pale green suit with padded shoulders. Her Georgia writers coached her well…she referred to the crowd as y’all, and said she lived outside the perimeter.
Even though the Georgia Governor has little to do with Supreme Court rulings, some right to life groups have taken to denouncing Mrs. Handel. One of them made a reference to Trig Palin, which the Mama Grizzly denounced. The crowd was assured that Mrs. Handel does not like abortion.
After the speeches, Mrs. Palin stayed to sign autographs, accompanied by first dude Todd. The speakers played “we’re not going to take it” over and over. Finally, PG decided he had enough fun, walked back to the mall and found his car.

Today is August 9. In numeric style, it is 080910.
It is day 221 of 2010, with a gross of days left.
Sixty five years ago, Nagasaki got nuked.
Fifty five years ago, Peter Schmuck was born in California.
Forty six years ago, Whitney Houston was born.
Forty one years ago, the Manson Family visited 10050 Cielo Drive.
Thirty six years ago, Richard Nixon resigned.
Thirty three years ago, Elvis Presley had one week to go.
Fifteen years ago, Jerry Garcia died.
This is an updated repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

This is a repost from a year ago. Things have gotten worse in Stanland. More US troops, more drone strikes, corrupt governments that few trust, two timing allies, and on and on. On the home front, the county painted over the graffiti on the old rail tunnel behind the Waffle House. The pictures below are all that is left.
The United States has killed Baitullah Mehsud. He was the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He is blamed for a lot of things, including the murder of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Mr. Mehsud held together the factions of the TTP.
Mr. Mehsud was at the home of his father in law. He had an iv in his arm, for what is reported as a kidney ailment. He was also known to be diabetic. His wife and others were killed in the raid.
The missile that murdered Mr. Mehsud was from an unmanned US aircraft. The Pakistan government is playing both ends against the middle here. On the one hand they denounce the US raids on their soil, but seem certain to be cooperating with America in these actions. The Pakistan government has issues with the Taliban. This is ironic, since the Taliban was the creation of Pakistani intelligence. This was when the Soviet Union was fighting in Afghanistan.
The raid has gotten little press in the United States. A conservative website was more concerned about a report that BHO (wisely) does not want to use the phrase “war on terrorism”.
PG has a few questions. How many raids have been launched in the search for Baitullah Mehsud?How many people have died in these raids? How many of those to die were women and children?
Are these raids legal, both either American law and International law? The United States has not declared war on Pakistan. For that matter, unless PG missed something, the USA has not declared war on anybody in the Iraq-Iran-‘Stan country region. This question does not cover the morality of killing women and children from unmanned aircraft, but rather asks if it is legal.
Is killing women and children with unmanned aircraft terrorism?
What are our goals in the ‘Stan country war? We have long ago punished Afghanistan for 911. We are stuck in Iraq. We are playing with nuclear fire in Pakistan. What do we hope to achieve from all this killing? How long will it take, and how much will it cost?

Watching BHO speak to a convention of disabled veterans, the thought hit…BHO is the first post military President in modern history. He was born in 1961, and would have hit draft age in 1980, when America was not at war. The draft ended in 1973. BHO never had to make the decision that has scarred so many older men. ( Even though the military now has lots of women, compulsory military service has historically been for men.)
The two presidents before BHO certainly had military issues. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush came of age during Vietnam. Mr. Clinton played games to stay out of the draft, while Mr. Bush was in a reserve unit. ( There is some controversy about his service.) Mr. Bush defeated Vietnam Vets in both of his elections to the White House.
A look at the Presidents going back to World War 2 shows all of them serving, some more than others. The only World War 1 combat veteran to become President was Harry S Truman. Mr. Truman led a senate committee investigating wartime waste in World War 2, which may have been a profound service to the war effort. We could use a Truman Committee today.
Several of the post WW2 POTUS were in the Navy. Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and G.H.W. Bush all served in the Navy. (Carter went to the Naval Academy. He resigned from the Navy in 1953, after serving six years.) Kennedy and Bush saw life threatening duty, and were lucky to survive.
BHO is presiding over two wars ( that we officially know of). He has opposed the war in Iraq, while supporting the fighting in Afghanistan. The use of drones to kill has been increased, and the conflict continues to spread into Pakistan.

At 8:15 am, August 6, 1945, Hiroshima got nuked. It was the start of a new era. Since Japan is 13 hours ahead of Georgia, and standard time was used, the literal anniversary is 8:15 pm, August 5.
The device dropped on Hiroshima, the Little Boy, had an estimated force of 13 kilotons of Trinitrotoluene, or TNT. A kiloton of TNT is roughly a cube whose sides are ten meters. This device is fairly tiny compared to many of the warheads developed since. Many of the modern appliances are measured in megatons, or millions of tons of TNT. The Soviet Union had a bomb with a capacity of 50 megatons, or 4,000 times the size of the Little Boy.
The largest weapon tested by The United States is the Castle Bravo. This device destroyed Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The two piece swimsuit was named for this island. The Castle Bravo device had a yield of 15 megatons of TNT. This is roughly 1,000 times the power of the Little Boy.
The decision to drop the bomb has long been controversial. There are a lot of factors and gray areas, and the issue does not lend itself to sound bite solutions. The conventional wisdom is that Japan surrendered because of the nuclear attack. This meant the war was shortened by at least a year, there was no invasion of Japan, and many lives were saved. PG is scared by the moral calculus involved in a decision like this….do 100,000 civilian deaths prevent the deaths of 500,000 soldiers? PG suspects that even G-d herself would lose sleep over that one.
There is also evidence that the bomb was not needed. Japan was whipped in August 1945. The air raids were conducted in daylight with little resistance. A debate was going on in the Japanese government on whether to continue the fight.
An event happened the day between Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, which influenced the Japanese decision to surrender. The Soviet Union had agreed to help the United States with the war against Japan. On August 8, The Soviet Union invaded Japanese occupied Manchuria. There are indications that Japan knew the fight was hopeless at this point, and would rather surrender to The United States than The Soviet Union. This is one of the gray areas that never seems to be mentioned, in debates over the use of the atom bomb.
The United States wanted the war to end quickly for obvious reasons, and a few subtle ones. America did not want to share the spoils of Japanese war with The Soviet Union. There were already tensions between the two allies, and the cold war was not far off. Many felt The United States used the Little Boy as a warning to The Soviet Union.
When you get your moral software out, you might want to figure in the effect of opening the nuclear Pandora’s box. Would the nuclear bomb have been developed by other countries if America had not led the way? The science is not that complicated…after all, America hit paydirt with the Manhattan Project fairly quickly. Nonetheless, there is karma involved in using a terrible new device on a civilian population. The United States started the wind of the arms race, and has yet to feel the whirlwind.
This is a repost from a year ago today. The pictures are from The Library of Congress. Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese Americans, in a World War Two internment camp. The ladies in the bridge game are Aiko Hamaguchi, Chiye Yamanaki, Catherine Yamaguchi, and Kazoko Nagahama.

A few days ago, chamblee54 posted a story about a construction camera in Midtown. He sent an email to the friend (and redo blue survivor) who told him about this camera.
Last year, you sent me a link to a construction monitor camera on Peachtree Street. Today, I was looking through my archives, to see if there was anything I wanted to repost. I like to look on the same day, on a previous year. I have over 900 posts in my archive, and a copy paste repeat is easy work, like a rerun on TV.
Anyway, the construction camera is still in operation. The job it was tracking appears to be completed, at least the exterior. I wonder how long this camera will still be up. There is a frame in the bottom of the screen. This was not there last year. My guess is that this was under construction last year, and has been finished. This is a clue as to the location of the camera. Is there a hi rise where the stein club used to be?
I hope things are good for you. This is a hot, boring summer so far.
I thought the Stein Club was over at Peach and 85. This is definately 999 Peach (Heery Bldg). Because they added that rooftop deck thing there now. Thats odd the camera is still there. I know they are thru and looking for tenants. I wonder if Brasfield forgot about it??
Things are “fair” with me. Could be better.
I think you are confusing the stein club with the beer mug. The stein club was on peachtree around 8th. It was behind a radio shack, that was later the original cheetah. Somewhere in there was a storefront, that held an APD precinct. There was a huge painting of a pig, with the words “pride integrity guts”. Good times
You are correct…The Beer Mug was what I was thinking.
I think i am going to recycle our email exchange from the other day as a blog post. The references to the repro industry are boring, and will be deleted. This is a great excuse to post some pictures. I found a video about the stein club which is a hoot. .
If you have any objection to this, please let me know.
Feel free. Unfortunately, I dont think I had ever gone to The Stein Club but have been telling people for years that I had (thinking of the Beer Mug). Take note of the new patio atop 999 next time you are down this way and you’ll see what I’m talking about

In a recent survey, 78.7% percent of the respondents agree with the statement “Statistics can be trusted to give an accurate description of the facts”.
Statistics are a part of modern life. Numbers tell us who is expected to win, who is expected to lose, and how many men wear a tie. Statistics are often misleading, or an outright lie. And yet, people believe statistics. ( The middle three letters of believe are lie).
Talk about statistics is little better. Mark Twain gets the credit/blame for popularizing the phrase, “lies, damn lies, and statistics”. According to Wikipedia , Mr. Clemens may have been mistaken. “Twain popularized the saying in “Chapters from My Autobiography”, published in the North American Review in 1906. “Figures often beguile me,” he wrote, “particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'”…”The term was popularised in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the 19th Century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881): “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli’s works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death.”
Mr. Twain was in the twilight of his career, and angry at aggressive militarism. Why would he would give credit/blame for a phrase to a conservative Prime Minister of England, dead twenty five years? Why would Cream title a popular LP “Disraeli Gears”?
When PG took English101, the teacher was an inspiring lady named Ann Peets. Between stories of Faulkner and comma splices, she contributed this gem. ” The best way to win an argument is to use statistics. The best way to use statistics is to make them up. ”
In 1954, a bestselling book came out, “How to Lie with Statistics”. The premise was that the pros knew the tricks, and the public has a right to self defense. There are numerous examples of the ways that you can lie with numbers just like you lie with words. Calculator lips don’t move.
One word to watch out for is average . The three most popular types are mean, median, and mode. Mean is the one most people think of as average…you add all the figures up, and divide by the number of entries. In median, you line up the entries in numeric value, and choose the entry in the middle. In mode, the number that the most entries identify with is the average. Any one of these three can be called average, and yet none might describe the typical entry.
HT to Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub for attributing the LDL&S quote to Mr. Disraeli. MFB was talking about global warming denial, a cesspool of lies and statistics. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. . Pictures of Mark Twain were recently posted.

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The first of four divas for today is Joni Mitchell. Born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, she is famously Canadian. The wife of Chuck Mitchell is very much alive today, despite years of chain smoking. All four of today’s divas grace the earth with their presence.
One night in 1976, PG took a study break. (He scored 100 on the test the next day) Joni Mitchell was playing at the UGA coliseum a few blocks away, and the door was not watched after the show started. PG found a place to stand, on the first level of the stands. The LA express was her band that night, and created a tight, jazzy sound. The one line PG remembers is “chicken scratching my way to immortality” from “Hejira”.
The next diva is Etta James. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938. PG has no clue how the stage name came about. She was portrayed by Beyonce’ in a recent movie, and Miss James was not pleased.
The next voice on the cd is Francoise Hardy. Francoise Madeleine Hardy was born 17 January 1944 in Paris. There are probably some good stories, but the lady has the grace to keep them out of wikipedia.
This is a four diva thursday, and the last part is Carole King. She was born Carole Klein in Brooklyn February 9, 1942. Three of the four divas today were War Babies, with one born under Nazi occupation. They went on to be popular in the sixties, when the saying was make love, not war. According to Pat Paulson, in France our soldiers did both.
Carole King has had an interesting life, sometimes in the chinese curse sense. There is a book, Girls Like Us, about Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. All three knew James Taylor. When Mr. Taylor made a tour, after hitting the bigtime, his piano player was Carole King. She sang a couple of songs, and was what people talked about the next day.
Soon “Tapestry” was released, and sold an obscene amount of copies. Miss King was never able to duplicate that success. She still performs sometimes, and still has the power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQGNpRnFNgM

There is a nifty webcam up now. It shows the progress of a high rise going up now at 12th and Peachtree in midtown. The location of the camera itself is not certain, with the speculation centering on 999 Peachtree, two blocks south on Tenth Street.
A glance at the image reveals a curve in the road, between the two glass boxes under construction. Atlanta does not have wide, straight boulevards extending to the horizon. It is said that Atlanta did not build roads, but paved the cow paths.
People of a certain age will remember this area as the strip. The tenth street district was a neighborhood shopping area, up until the mid sixties. At some point, the old businesses started to move out and the hippies moved in. For a while, it was a festive party. Soon enough reality returned, and the area went into a crime filled decline.
The 999 complex is the neighborhood story in a nutshell. Before 1985, it was a block of small businesses. There was a hardware store, with the peace symbol set in tiles in the sidewalk. On Juniper Street stood the Langdon Court Apartments. They were named for PG’s great uncle Langdon Quin. Ru Paul used to stay there. He would sit out on a balcony, and wave to the traffic going by.
Across the street was a chinese restaurant, the House of Eng. A staircase on the side led to the Suzy Wong Lounge. Behind the building was an apartment building. It was one of the residences of Margaret Mitchell, while she wrote “Gone With The Wind”. She called it “the dump”, which was fairly accurate.
PG went to the House of Eng for lunch one day in 1985. He noticed that he was the only customer in the house, at 12:30 pm on a weekday. After finishing his lunch, PG knew why.
At some point, it was decided to build a high rise there. Heery was one of the equity partners, along with a law firm and an ad agency. The building was designed by Heery (duh).The ad agency folded before the building opened, followed within a couple of years by the law firm. Heery was sold to a British company. PG does not know who owns the building now.
Thank you Atlanta Time Machine for many of the photographs in this feature.
UPDATE: This is a repost . The camera is still operating, even though the exterior of the building looks finished. There is now a frame in the bottom part of the screen. This might be a clue to the location of the camera. This location seems to be the same today as it was a year ago.

The perpetrator of a facility called Peekinthewall has left a couple of comments at this waste of pixels chamblee54. As it happens, PITW has a feature about the english language, which had a link to this feature about homophones. Homophones are not how Ellen DeGeneres listens to her ipod. They are words that sound alike, but have different meanings.
The problem with the linked list is a fondness for cusswords. In the interest of promoting good grammar, with fewer dirty words, here is a list of homophones. There is a note about financial double meanings, for any capitalist dropping by. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Affect/Effect Affect is a verb, effect is a noun. The effects of your medication affect your ability to drive safely.
Bare/Bear Bare means exposed. A bear is an animal, or a Chicago football player. The verb means to “bear with” or endure. By using improper grammar, you are laying bare your ignorance. I cannot bear this sloppy grammar any longer.
Capital/Capitol This one is a doozie. The two words have lots of meanings, and you just have to know which one is which. The A capitals include capital punishment, capital letters, and financial capital. The state capitol is spelled with an O. Remember, the state capitol has a rOtunda, which is round. It also has rotund people hanging out there.
Complement/Compliment Brandy Ryan complements me because she is everything I’m not. I compliment Brandy Ryan on her transcendent beauty incessantly. Remember, when you say “I think you look nice”, you are putting I into compliment.
Discreet/Discrete People fall into two discrete groups. There are those with no shame, and those who are discreet about their activities.
Dual/Duel Dual refers to two of something, like a dual use. A duel involves two people, two pistols, and one of the people typically dies. Alexander Hamilton had a dual career, before he died in a duel.
It’s/Its Usually, when a word has an apostrophe and s, it means possession. This is an exception. It’s is short for it is. Its is the possessive form. This makes no sense, but is how languages work.
Loose/Lose The extra o makes a word that is loose as a goose. With only one o, you are going to lose the game. Tighten up…if you play loose you are going to lose. Ellen is going to lose her loose change.
Principal/Principle This is another head scratcher. The boss at your school is the principal, who is your pal. Ditto the man in the corner office, who is a principal of the firm, and may or may not be your pal. If you invest money in this firm, then the money you draw interest on is the principal, again with an a. This is a guiding principle (with an e) of investment… you should never touch the principal, but use the interest.
Then/Than By making mistakes, you show that most fourth graders have better grammar than you. If you can’t write properly, then don’t write at all.
Their/There/They’re The grand daddy of trouble, a profusion of confusion. You should know this, but then why you are reading? Their is possessive, there is a location, they’re is a contraction of they are. They’re going to take their ice cream and go there with it.
To/Too/Two/Tutu I’m going to smite thee. I am laughing at you, too. It takes two to tango. Don’t mess with my tutu.
Verses/Versus Songs have verses, which is a noun. Versus is a preposition, and it implies a conflict between two opposing parties. Verses are sung in harmony, while versus implies competition.
Your/You’re This is another possession and contraction quagmire. Your is a possessive word.You’re is a contraction of you and are. It’s your language, and you’re going to speak it properly. If you don’t, you’re going to sound like an idiot, if you don’t learn how to speak your own language.