Working on critiques and catching up with things. Actually I'm writing out notes on the one novel I finished so I won't forget all the critiquing parts. Just a little while ago one of the tree in back snapped in half. It happens when you have a small woods out your back door. The top that fell had last year's leaves on it, so it's been dead for a bit.
The wild and wacky Jeff VanderMeer has finished his book on writing. From the TOC it looks like a winner.
Reclusive Camille is off somewhere in the wilds of Vermont writing. She must be in some primitive cabin on the non-skiable side of a mountain, cut off from all of life's modern conveniences and existing on hard-tack, salted pork, and water she draws from a nearby stream.
New insta-family dad Tobias Buckell gives us a link to Lynne Viehl's blog where she talks about the first royalty statement for her NYT (MM) Bestseller. Sobering is, I believe, the word you're looking for. I'm sure this is of great interest to Tobias who also is a NYT Bestselling author (Cole Protocol). While reading the numbers it is good to keep in mind that a first time (published, fiction) author typically sees an advance of $5000 or less with a print run less than 10,000 (10M in printer speak, hey, gotta keep my cred going). Um, why am I doing this again?
My own personal Goblin Hero Jim Hines outlines his Writer as Martial Artist idea. Huhn, I'm a Blue Belt ready to take the test for Red, go figure. Just as a hint, Jim's dojo of writing is not one of social promotion (::cough:: S.H. Kim's in Canton ::cough::), it's one of skill and accomplishment. I could go on about many "martial artists" I've met through life who've obtained "Black Belt" status (and Jim's description is correct, that's why there are Degrees - or Levels - of Black Belt) and just couldn't do much in a real fight (and this was in disciplines that are hard-contact fighting styles). Then there are those Purple Belts who've kicked ass. It all depends on the school.
I'm sure there's more out there, but I have to get back to actual critiquing instead of cat-waxing via internet. Take another deep breath, and fall beneath the waves for a third time.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Signs and Portents, Summer Arrives
This morning's commute, the last in my current position, had the tint of magic all about it.
As I got dressed, I could see lightning flashes out the bedroom window. It wasn't raining yet, but I could see the storm coming. A solid wall of grey hung in the west. Then I pulled out of my garage into golden morning sunlight.
When the sun shines like that, you expect to see sparkly fairy dust in the air. The sun hadn't fully risen, the ground was still in shadow, the second story and the tops of the trees just starting to bud were aflame in that glorious light.
I live to the south east of my employment, and there's a road (SR 86) that travels diagonally most of the way. So behind me was the golden disk of the sun, in front of me was the solid dark bruise of the storm. To the south, the clouds roiled ahead of the front, to the north they streaked across the sky blown by the storms winds, stretched into crystalline thinness.
And that's when the rainbow appeared. A thick band of weak color rose from the north. Lightning played along the storm front, behind the rainbow and across the whole sky, forking and flashing releasing the charge of the world. Some of the lightning did arc across the whole horizon. It was a magnificent storm front.
As the cloud wall grew darker and closer, the sun rose higher, setting more of the world alight in ruddy radiance. The rainbow strengthened until it was a full arc across the sky, spanning two-thirds of the horizon and arcing into the approaching clouds.
That continued halfway through my commute until the rain hit, quickly extinguishing the sun behind me and washing the rainbow from the sky with globs of water. The water smacked against the windshield and slickened the roadway. It cleansed the air of its winter coat and left sparkles of dew on the earth's spring washed face.
As quick as it came, the storm ended and the skies cleared behind it, so when I arrived at work, though the sun hadn't rerisen behind the clouds, the sky was a light blue, and felt fresh and light.
I don't know if this was a gift of prophecy, of signs and portents, or an allegory of the job I'm leaving behind, or a tableau of where I'm at now. I'm sure it was one of the three. Of course, it could also be that trickster returning. He tends to be showy that way. in any case I wish I had my camera and had time to stop and record it.
And I'm reminded that on the first of May, maidens would wash their faces with the morning dew to remain young and beautiful.
As I got dressed, I could see lightning flashes out the bedroom window. It wasn't raining yet, but I could see the storm coming. A solid wall of grey hung in the west. Then I pulled out of my garage into golden morning sunlight.
When the sun shines like that, you expect to see sparkly fairy dust in the air. The sun hadn't fully risen, the ground was still in shadow, the second story and the tops of the trees just starting to bud were aflame in that glorious light.
I live to the south east of my employment, and there's a road (SR 86) that travels diagonally most of the way. So behind me was the golden disk of the sun, in front of me was the solid dark bruise of the storm. To the south, the clouds roiled ahead of the front, to the north they streaked across the sky blown by the storms winds, stretched into crystalline thinness.
And that's when the rainbow appeared. A thick band of weak color rose from the north. Lightning played along the storm front, behind the rainbow and across the whole sky, forking and flashing releasing the charge of the world. Some of the lightning did arc across the whole horizon. It was a magnificent storm front.
As the cloud wall grew darker and closer, the sun rose higher, setting more of the world alight in ruddy radiance. The rainbow strengthened until it was a full arc across the sky, spanning two-thirds of the horizon and arcing into the approaching clouds.
That continued halfway through my commute until the rain hit, quickly extinguishing the sun behind me and washing the rainbow from the sky with globs of water. The water smacked against the windshield and slickened the roadway. It cleansed the air of its winter coat and left sparkles of dew on the earth's spring washed face.
As quick as it came, the storm ended and the skies cleared behind it, so when I arrived at work, though the sun hadn't rerisen behind the clouds, the sky was a light blue, and felt fresh and light.
I don't know if this was a gift of prophecy, of signs and portents, or an allegory of the job I'm leaving behind, or a tableau of where I'm at now. I'm sure it was one of the three. Of course, it could also be that trickster returning. He tends to be showy that way. in any case I wish I had my camera and had time to stop and record it.
And I'm reminded that on the first of May, maidens would wash their faces with the morning dew to remain young and beautiful.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Dis, dat, and da udder ding
The day thing is going through a bit of a change. The good news is that I have a job going forward. It pays the same, but is a non-union position. I'm working through what that all means. The position is mostly created, made from need. Right now they're outsourcing most of this work, and the person I'm going to be reporting to is swamped. Hours will be slightly different. I also don't get the extra week of vacation starting in May, I'll still be at two weeks until next year.
This vacation thing is a recurring theme in my employment. I have only had one job where I've had more than 10 days, and that was after working there for seven years (at my 8 year anniversary I was laid-off). Most of my working career I've only had 5 days or less. As a consequence, we haven't really taken vacations over the years. Most of them have just been long weekends. I also have trouble relaxing, although one of the things I loved about this job is that my head didn't feel like it was going to spin off when I got home.
Lots of other things stay the same. Because this group is so far behind, I go back to 5-day weeks. At least for now.
Now we're re-examining purchases and other things we had put on hold. Penguicon is just too close for me to change my mind on, and finances really are shored up enough. Plus I'm going to need that weekend for critique. Plus, it's my SOs b-day.
And speaking of b-days, mine is this weekend. So for my b-day I get a new job and get to keep cash flow. Also, I'm turning 43. Last year (okay, I know I wrote out goals, but I'm not looking back, yet) I made my major goal of having a story accepted for publication (thanks William, for both the opportunity and accepting my story) and a poem accepted for publication next year. I didn't get the novel written, but I'm working on a new one that I really like. So maybe this will be my practice novel, and that'll let me write the others better and with more confidence.
This vacation thing is a recurring theme in my employment. I have only had one job where I've had more than 10 days, and that was after working there for seven years (at my 8 year anniversary I was laid-off). Most of my working career I've only had 5 days or less. As a consequence, we haven't really taken vacations over the years. Most of them have just been long weekends. I also have trouble relaxing, although one of the things I loved about this job is that my head didn't feel like it was going to spin off when I got home.
Lots of other things stay the same. Because this group is so far behind, I go back to 5-day weeks. At least for now.
Now we're re-examining purchases and other things we had put on hold. Penguicon is just too close for me to change my mind on, and finances really are shored up enough. Plus I'm going to need that weekend for critique. Plus, it's my SOs b-day.
And speaking of b-days, mine is this weekend. So for my b-day I get a new job and get to keep cash flow. Also, I'm turning 43. Last year (okay, I know I wrote out goals, but I'm not looking back, yet) I made my major goal of having a story accepted for publication (thanks William, for both the opportunity and accepting my story) and a poem accepted for publication next year. I didn't get the novel written, but I'm working on a new one that I really like. So maybe this will be my practice novel, and that'll let me write the others better and with more confidence.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
You didn't have a bet on if black-holes were real or not, did you?
I'm sure as you all know, Professor Stephen Hawking, the Lucasian (Newton) Chair of Physics at Cambridge and author of A Brief History of Time, is not doing very well these days.
Professor Hawking is one of those unique people in the world. Not only is he the longest surviving person with Lou Gehrig's Disease, he is also able to make complex physics understandable by us mere humans. And showing his sense of humor that most people thought wasn't possible from someone in his stature he did a few stints on Star Trek the Next Generation (most notably playing poker with Data and Sir Isaac Newton). He also recently was able to experience 0g in a flight on the Vomit Comet. He is soon to retire the Chair (tradition states at 67, the Chair will retire). For someone with advanced neuron motor disease (ALS), that's quite an accomplishment.
Before I had geek-love for Neil deGrasse Tyson (who also has a great sense of humor and populism), Stephen Hawking fit that bill.
Well wishes, professor.
Professor Hawking is one of those unique people in the world. Not only is he the longest surviving person with Lou Gehrig's Disease, he is also able to make complex physics understandable by us mere humans. And showing his sense of humor that most people thought wasn't possible from someone in his stature he did a few stints on Star Trek the Next Generation (most notably playing poker with Data and Sir Isaac Newton). He also recently was able to experience 0g in a flight on the Vomit Comet. He is soon to retire the Chair (tradition states at 67, the Chair will retire). For someone with advanced neuron motor disease (ALS), that's quite an accomplishment.
Before I had geek-love for Neil deGrasse Tyson (who also has a great sense of humor and populism), Stephen Hawking fit that bill.
Well wishes, professor.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Submissions and updatery
Today I decided to clean up my Submissions bar and take some things that were most likely dead and send then out again.
Here we sit hopeful for flash fiction Prince Wanted as it's off to Electric Spec, the poems "Rag-a-Bag" to Strange Horizons and "What the Sea Sends" to OG's Speculative Fiction. Good luck little story and poems.
Daddy's Little Girl has been at Doorways Magazine since Sept. 14, 2008 (7 months). They've been closed to submissions for quite a while now, and I'm hoping no news is good news. And A History of Lightning has been at Strange Horizons since March 18, 2009 (1 month, although it feels longer). Their guidelines say to wait 70 days before querying. That'll be up on May 27th.
This cat waxing exercise brought to you by Steve, who doesn't want to get ready for the new week. But now I need to go offline for a bit to allow people to use the phone and to continue the critiquing.
Here we sit hopeful for flash fiction Prince Wanted as it's off to Electric Spec, the poems "Rag-a-Bag" to Strange Horizons and "What the Sea Sends" to OG's Speculative Fiction. Good luck little story and poems.
Daddy's Little Girl has been at Doorways Magazine since Sept. 14, 2008 (7 months). They've been closed to submissions for quite a while now, and I'm hoping no news is good news. And A History of Lightning has been at Strange Horizons since March 18, 2009 (1 month, although it feels longer). Their guidelines say to wait 70 days before querying. That'll be up on May 27th.
This cat waxing exercise brought to you by Steve, who doesn't want to get ready for the new week. But now I need to go offline for a bit to allow people to use the phone and to continue the critiquing.
Novel Words
Word count stands at 16400. There's been a slow down of word outputage, and I've changed what happens when, but things are getting interesting. I haven't pulled the rug out from under our character exactly, but I've ruffled his world.
Now back to the critiquing and writing. Latest words?
I tried to distract myself. "So, how many were you responsible for?"
Santana looked around. "My team did a great job pulling your ass out of the fire," he said.
"Yes they did," I said as he mouthed, "Three."
"Thanks, Santana, that's one I owe you."
"Don't be silly," he said looking out the side window, "you owe me two."
Now back to the critiquing and writing. Latest words?
I tried to distract myself. "So, how many were you responsible for?"
Santana looked around. "My team did a great job pulling your ass out of the fire," he said.
"Yes they did," I said as he mouthed, "Three."
"Thanks, Santana, that's one I owe you."
"Don't be silly," he said looking out the side window, "you owe me two."
Biting the Hand
So I was watching some of the reruns of the Tea Parties.
Anybody else giggle when Glen Beck talks about "the media"? Hey Glen, who signs your check? No, that would be "Media Mogul Rupert Murdock." Yeah, that makes you "The Media," Glen. And you work for a 24/7 News Cable channel. That makes you, "The mainstream media."
And the Alamo stands for something? Yes, it does. It stands for the Republic of Texas. A separate nation.
How is this person still taken seriously?
And for not being a "conservative" movement, the crowds seemed exceptionally homogeneous. So now that were including the costs of war in our actual budget, instead of endless supplementals, the right is getting all wiggy about the costs. Add on the fact that Obama is trying to fix government after eight years of intentional breaking of government and costly outsourcing (when the outsourced work is the only work a company has, it is never less expensive). Oh, and they're going to let the majority of the Bush Tax Cuts, which took a surplus to a deficit in less than 3 months (yeah, revenues were up my ass) expire. Except for those for people making under $250,000. Yeah, it's a crime it is.
Yeah, I couldn't watch it for too long. I've already grown tired of the new conservative spin of "This isn't an issue of party ideology, it's about common sense," when those spouting it are so far to the right they aren't within shouting distance of common sense.
Anybody else giggle when Glen Beck talks about "the media"? Hey Glen, who signs your check? No, that would be "Media Mogul Rupert Murdock." Yeah, that makes you "The Media," Glen. And you work for a 24/7 News Cable channel. That makes you, "The mainstream media."
And the Alamo stands for something? Yes, it does. It stands for the Republic of Texas. A separate nation.
How is this person still taken seriously?
And for not being a "conservative" movement, the crowds seemed exceptionally homogeneous. So now that were including the costs of war in our actual budget, instead of endless supplementals, the right is getting all wiggy about the costs. Add on the fact that Obama is trying to fix government after eight years of intentional breaking of government and costly outsourcing (when the outsourced work is the only work a company has, it is never less expensive). Oh, and they're going to let the majority of the Bush Tax Cuts, which took a surplus to a deficit in less than 3 months (yeah, revenues were up my ass) expire. Except for those for people making under $250,000. Yeah, it's a crime it is.
Yeah, I couldn't watch it for too long. I've already grown tired of the new conservative spin of "This isn't an issue of party ideology, it's about common sense," when those spouting it are so far to the right they aren't within shouting distance of common sense.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Trying the Patience of the Muse
Okay, so I said I really didn't want to take time out to get a short story out and what happens. The Muse laughs in my face.
"We came in at the ass end of a brainless operation on our mission to secure a spit of coarse sand. A great amphibious assault to take a fishing village, one that hadn't recovered from the fall of the ancient world, the failure of state, and the tsunami that had washed the present away to expose the ragged, cavity speckled, wooden-teeth of the past. Raas Xaafun, the middle-finger Somalia gave the Indian Ocean. Gateway to the Gulf of Aden."
Piracy, despondency, fishing, coelacanths, Deep Ones, Esoteric Order of Dagon, ancient history, guys with guns, and really neat place names. What more could you want. Oh yes; gibbous, squamous , ichor, elder, non-euclidean geometry, and madness. Oh yes, there will be madness.
So about 500 words came streaming out. Now I hope I can get back to work? Or will I continue dream-walking to Unknown Kadeth?
"We came in at the ass end of a brainless operation on our mission to secure a spit of coarse sand. A great amphibious assault to take a fishing village, one that hadn't recovered from the fall of the ancient world, the failure of state, and the tsunami that had washed the present away to expose the ragged, cavity speckled, wooden-teeth of the past. Raas Xaafun, the middle-finger Somalia gave the Indian Ocean. Gateway to the Gulf of Aden."
Piracy, despondency, fishing, coelacanths, Deep Ones, Esoteric Order of Dagon, ancient history, guys with guns, and really neat place names. What more could you want. Oh yes; gibbous, squamous , ichor, elder, non-euclidean geometry, and madness. Oh yes, there will be madness.
So about 500 words came streaming out. Now I hope I can get back to work? Or will I continue dream-walking to Unknown Kadeth?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday Extras
Because Camille asks. Another jpg of the card.
Also, Flash Fiction Online sends word they're passing on Prince Wanted. So this weekend I'll be doing the submission rounds again. There's a bunch of older submissions still hanging out there. I'll also need to dig up dates and maybe send a query letter or two.
Oddly on a Friday
The past two days I've had lines come to me just as I'm pulling out of the garage to go to work. And by the time I get to write them down (as, you know, I'm rushing to get to work and can't stop - "No officer, I swear that light was pinkish") and I've forgotten them by the time I get to work. Margle. Not a good way to treat the Muse.
At the day thing I'm catching up with the Cthulu podcast. So much of my short story ideas have been along the lines of, "Hey, wait, what if I wrote a retake on one of his stories and change it all around like "Shadow over Nepal" or "Shadow over Modadishu" (or more likely Shadow over Raas Xaafuun", Mogadishu being too cosmopolitan to effectively pull the story off). Hey, "Shadow over Innsmouth" is one of his most famous and most filmed stories. No, I'm not making this a story bone, but hey, this idea is so nebulous it's not like I could cry foul if you wrote one. And yes, I have notes on what my story would be like and I'll bet your story isn't like mine. You know, unless you're reading my thoughts right now. And if you are, you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that. You know what I'm talking about.
I'm also catching up with Starship Sofa Aural Delights. So far I'm also liking this podcast. Sometimes the accents on the opening get a bit thick for me to make out on the low volume level I have to play this at work.
Finally, the village meetings are done for the month, so I'm free again (unless something bad happens, and there are some loose ends that need attending). So my reading and writing should pick back up. This is good as I'm way behind in critiquing and even farther behind in writing.
With the day thing, people keep assuring me this lateral move will happen, and "they have a deal that'll work," but, you know, nobody has asked my input yet. I'd really like to know the outline of the deal, know what I'm getting into. On the plus side, I'll probably now have a lunch hour. Which means I'll be able to write on my lunch hour like a proper author with a day job. I'll belong.
Yeah, had that thought driving in this morning. It was my morning sarcastic chuckle.
And I miss all my blogging buddies. I haven't had to time to keep up with you all, and my dial-up connection at home just isn't fast enough to update all the RSS feeds all the time. Hoopy frood Jim Wright over at Stonekettle Station has had a few good articles on piracy. Jim knows what he's talking about. While I don't always agree on the details, on the big plan I think he's right most of the time. And he's an author and a woodworker. Although he does that other thing using a lathe instead of, you know, real woodwork like cabinetry. And New Dad (in the "insta-family" kind of way), Tobias Buckell (congrats Emily, you deserve a rest, let Tobias wait on you hand and foot for awhile), links to Kristine Kathryn Rusch's series on freelancing. That's something I'll have to read over the weekend.
Also, picked up printed business cards this week. They are Sa-Wheat! if I do say so myself.
At the day thing I'm catching up with the Cthulu podcast. So much of my short story ideas have been along the lines of, "Hey, wait, what if I wrote a retake on one of his stories and change it all around like "Shadow over Nepal" or "Shadow over Modadishu" (or more likely Shadow over Raas Xaafuun", Mogadishu being too cosmopolitan to effectively pull the story off). Hey, "Shadow over Innsmouth" is one of his most famous and most filmed stories. No, I'm not making this a story bone, but hey, this idea is so nebulous it's not like I could cry foul if you wrote one. And yes, I have notes on what my story would be like and I'll bet your story isn't like mine. You know, unless you're reading my thoughts right now. And if you are, you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that. You know what I'm talking about.
I'm also catching up with Starship Sofa Aural Delights. So far I'm also liking this podcast. Sometimes the accents on the opening get a bit thick for me to make out on the low volume level I have to play this at work.
Finally, the village meetings are done for the month, so I'm free again (unless something bad happens, and there are some loose ends that need attending). So my reading and writing should pick back up. This is good as I'm way behind in critiquing and even farther behind in writing.
With the day thing, people keep assuring me this lateral move will happen, and "they have a deal that'll work," but, you know, nobody has asked my input yet. I'd really like to know the outline of the deal, know what I'm getting into. On the plus side, I'll probably now have a lunch hour. Which means I'll be able to write on my lunch hour like a proper author with a day job. I'll belong.
Yeah, had that thought driving in this morning. It was my morning sarcastic chuckle.
And I miss all my blogging buddies. I haven't had to time to keep up with you all, and my dial-up connection at home just isn't fast enough to update all the RSS feeds all the time. Hoopy frood Jim Wright over at Stonekettle Station has had a few good articles on piracy. Jim knows what he's talking about. While I don't always agree on the details, on the big plan I think he's right most of the time. And he's an author and a woodworker. Although he does that other thing using a lathe instead of, you know, real woodwork like cabinetry. And New Dad (in the "insta-family" kind of way), Tobias Buckell (congrats Emily, you deserve a rest, let Tobias wait on you hand and foot for awhile), links to Kristine Kathryn Rusch's series on freelancing. That's something I'll have to read over the weekend.
Also, picked up printed business cards this week. They are Sa-Wheat! if I do say so myself.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Listen. Do you smell something?
Things have been way too quiet around here. I apologize, it's been a busy time and lately all my down time has been devoted to unwinding.
Hint to the wary, if you're appliance shopping, beware Sears. Not that they don't sell good appliances (they do), but this afternoon after getting my new glasses readjusted (tomorrow I'll see if I'm still having a problem) I went in to just browse some front-loading washers. If I do end up having a job through this summer I'd really like to upgrade. And they aren't cheap (although they are coming down in price). No, what I want to warn you about is being swarmed by eager sales people. I appreciate they're wanting to help me, but when I say, "I'm just price browsing" that means I'd really rather be left alone to look at the models, their prices, and their energy ratings (BTW, I really hate it when the manufacturers use different metrics on their ratings card, can't we have that fixed with our new regulatory regime?).
Back to the incommunicativeness. This will probably be sporadic for the next month as I read, critique, and write my way to May 16th. Add to that the regular writers group going on this weekend (and we have a bunch o' stories this month) and I really want to make it there. I've been scarce there as well lately. I don't want to be "that guy" in the group.
Ideas have been popping out, and some short stories have been calling like the sirens to Odysseus. Lash me to the main mast of life oh Muse. And sign me out. Or something like that. Hopefully I'll be able to get some story bones out here.
So I may not be as regular a poster between now and the middle of May. Of course now that I've said I'll be a little scarce around here, I'll end up posting 2 and 3 articles between now and the end of May. That's just how it works sometimes.
Hint to the wary, if you're appliance shopping, beware Sears. Not that they don't sell good appliances (they do), but this afternoon after getting my new glasses readjusted (tomorrow I'll see if I'm still having a problem) I went in to just browse some front-loading washers. If I do end up having a job through this summer I'd really like to upgrade. And they aren't cheap (although they are coming down in price). No, what I want to warn you about is being swarmed by eager sales people. I appreciate they're wanting to help me, but when I say, "I'm just price browsing" that means I'd really rather be left alone to look at the models, their prices, and their energy ratings (BTW, I really hate it when the manufacturers use different metrics on their ratings card, can't we have that fixed with our new regulatory regime?).
Back to the incommunicativeness. This will probably be sporadic for the next month as I read, critique, and write my way to May 16th. Add to that the regular writers group going on this weekend (and we have a bunch o' stories this month) and I really want to make it there. I've been scarce there as well lately. I don't want to be "that guy" in the group.
Ideas have been popping out, and some short stories have been calling like the sirens to Odysseus. Lash me to the main mast of life oh Muse. And sign me out. Or something like that. Hopefully I'll be able to get some story bones out here.
So I may not be as regular a poster between now and the middle of May. Of course now that I've said I'll be a little scarce around here, I'll end up posting 2 and 3 articles between now and the end of May. That's just how it works sometimes.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Blathering Blatherations Out Their Porthole
I've been watching Fox News again. Yeah. I know. They've been going crazy over this whole piracy thing.
First, let me say, three head-shots, single shots, from one pitching platform with targets on a separate pitching platform, in rough chop, nearly simultaneously, those SEALs know their stuff. Okay, and because not many people are commenting on it, think of just how long they must have been in position waiting for their opportunity. How many hours do you think they stayed on station waiting for their opportunity? And in case you missed it, right after the shot the rubber boat was on it's way to the life-raft as a back-up.
And the thing the Fox Newsies can't stand is that Obama gave the order in a proper form. And Brid knows a pinko-liberal, tree-hugging, election stealing President just can't be good with military matters. So now he's being pilloried for 1) not going far enough or 2) dangerously escalating the conflict or 3) putting the captain at risk 4) not getting a UN mandate. Their little minds have gone all 'splody.
And now their all, well, we're going to try the remaining pirate and that means were handling this like a police action which we can't do because in over 3000 years of dealing with pirates, we've never dealt with it this way.
One, they're so very wrong. Two, while piracy is old, back 3000 years ago there wasn't much difference between a merchant and a pirate. Modern piracy is not more than a 1000 years old. Also, pirates were often taken and tried in the courts that held jurisdiction (often maritime courts or colonial-governors courts) and subject to the law (which was by necessity enforced by the military commanders on the scene).
Finally, these bastards want to open up a Third War by reinvading Somalia, or at least performing military actions on the ground there. So my question to all these blowhards is this, just how much can we raise your taxes to pay for this third war front you're all so gung-ho for? These blowhards are small, mean, ex-bullies who just don't understand that the world changed since sixth-grade and they're no longer in charge.
President Obama did it correctly. Yes, there is a chance of escalation, but the other direction wasn't exactly diminishing activity. We don't need a UN Mandate to protect our nationals and property (US Flagged ship, US Crew). Declaring open war would 1) extend our forces beyond their stretched point, 2) it's a damn big ocean out there, and 3) most of the boats the pirates use have hostages on them (usually their former captains). Yes, Obama is becoming very popular among the military for promising to get us the heck out of Iraq, and focus on Afghanistan, keeping Gates in position, and listening to the Joint Chiefs. Also, for a President not in office for four months and without prior military service, he made the decision to use lethal force on foreign nationals in international waters and then delegated the final decision to the commander on the scene (while standing behind he decision, and I believe if it had gone pear-shaped, Obama would have taken the blame on himself). That's actual courage. Unlike the chicken-hawk kind we've scene from the former administration and the blowhards on Fox.
First, let me say, three head-shots, single shots, from one pitching platform with targets on a separate pitching platform, in rough chop, nearly simultaneously, those SEALs know their stuff. Okay, and because not many people are commenting on it, think of just how long they must have been in position waiting for their opportunity. How many hours do you think they stayed on station waiting for their opportunity? And in case you missed it, right after the shot the rubber boat was on it's way to the life-raft as a back-up.
And the thing the Fox Newsies can't stand is that Obama gave the order in a proper form. And Brid knows a pinko-liberal, tree-hugging, election stealing President just can't be good with military matters. So now he's being pilloried for 1) not going far enough or 2) dangerously escalating the conflict or 3) putting the captain at risk 4) not getting a UN mandate. Their little minds have gone all 'splody.
And now their all, well, we're going to try the remaining pirate and that means were handling this like a police action which we can't do because in over 3000 years of dealing with pirates, we've never dealt with it this way.
One, they're so very wrong. Two, while piracy is old, back 3000 years ago there wasn't much difference between a merchant and a pirate. Modern piracy is not more than a 1000 years old. Also, pirates were often taken and tried in the courts that held jurisdiction (often maritime courts or colonial-governors courts) and subject to the law (which was by necessity enforced by the military commanders on the scene).
Finally, these bastards want to open up a Third War by reinvading Somalia, or at least performing military actions on the ground there. So my question to all these blowhards is this, just how much can we raise your taxes to pay for this third war front you're all so gung-ho for? These blowhards are small, mean, ex-bullies who just don't understand that the world changed since sixth-grade and they're no longer in charge.
President Obama did it correctly. Yes, there is a chance of escalation, but the other direction wasn't exactly diminishing activity. We don't need a UN Mandate to protect our nationals and property (US Flagged ship, US Crew). Declaring open war would 1) extend our forces beyond their stretched point, 2) it's a damn big ocean out there, and 3) most of the boats the pirates use have hostages on them (usually their former captains). Yes, Obama is becoming very popular among the military for promising to get us the heck out of Iraq, and focus on Afghanistan, keeping Gates in position, and listening to the Joint Chiefs. Also, for a President not in office for four months and without prior military service, he made the decision to use lethal force on foreign nationals in international waters and then delegated the final decision to the commander on the scene (while standing behind he decision, and I believe if it had gone pear-shaped, Obama would have taken the blame on himself). That's actual courage. Unlike the chicken-hawk kind we've scene from the former administration and the blowhards on Fox.
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