Well, Ms. Crow has written a nice, long essay about her thoughts on war and America and stuff. She is Very Concerned. It's the usual fiddle-faddle about how we should be nicer to everyone lest something awful happen, such as irate Arabs flying planes into office buildings, things like that. I'll address a few random things that caught my eye and then move on 'cos I'm kind of bored.
I love my country and all it has to offer. I believe in the pathos it was founded on...the right to express what one feels without loss of freedom, the right to worship, the right to vote, the right to bear arms in a respectful manner, etc.
Um... "pathos"? Did she mean principles? I know they both begin with "p," but... And what exactly is "the right to bear arms in a respectful manner"? Is that all the gun grabbers have a problem with, the perception that gun owners are rude? I don't get it. Next:
We did not go in to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, or Angola when these countries were suffering catastrophic genocide and human rights infractions beyond our understanding. Where was our humanitarian nature then?
Ask your pal Clinton. He was prez at that time. And we did go to Somalia, on a purely humanitarian mission. It turns out that there isn't a word for "humanitarian" in the Somali dictionary. But oh well.
I would also encourage all of you to look up the PAX Americana. This is the doctrine which has been adopted, in part, by our Security Council and is public record as the National Security Strategy, a document in which each administration outlines its approach to defending the country. It clearly states our stance on our position in the world. It was drawn up by Paul Wolfowitz, under George Bush, Sr., who is now serving under George Bush, Jr.
I don't really think that tinfoil hat goes with the rest of her costume.
Well, that's all I have the patience for, folks. It's very nice of Ms. Crow to share all her "thoughts" with us. This is called "free speech." I am sharing my thoughts about her thoughts. Ain't America grand?
(Via A Gaggle of Gals (and one Guy).)
Update: the entry is gone. Patty managed to snag it from a fan site, though. [2nd update: here it is.] Heh heh -- you can't hide on the internet. Somewhere out there is a dumb anti-gun thing I wrote a few years back, when I was still braindead. (Actually, I wish I could find it -- I might have it on one of my two million floppy disks, but I don't know which one. I wanted to perform a self-fisking. As I recall, I hit all the clichés.)
Posted by Andrea Harris at March 18, 2003 11:45 PMWow. "look up the PAX Americana" she says? Maybe that's not punctuated correctly. How about: "Look up! The PAX Americana!"
Her set at the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Concert this summer (yes, she still has a NASCAR gig) should be quite a scene.
Posted by: Dave Himrich at March 19, 2003 at 12:13 AMOur country was not founded on pathos, and Sheryl's popularity was (obviously) not founded on bathos.
But she is pathetic, so maybe...?
Posted by: Kevin McGehee at March 19, 2003 at 01:24 AMWow, she deleted it! But a "fan" saved it and reprinted it in her forum, so I snagged it, in case anyone wants to read the rest. I don't recommend it,at least not without good booze.
Posted by: Patty at March 19, 2003 at 02:26 AMthe only problem with the new american century folks is that most people have very short memories.
in three years, this war on iraq won't be an issue anywhere except in iraq.
-shawn
Posted by: Shawn Pickrell at March 19, 2003 at 08:22 AMWell I looked up the National Security Strategy here and "Pax Americana" is no where in it. ;-)
Here are the talking points of the NSS:
1. Overview of America's International Strategy
2. Champion Aspirations for Human Dignity
3. Strengthen Alliances to Defeat Global
Terrorism and Work to Prevent Attacks
Against Us and Our Friends
4. Work with others to Defuse Regional Conflicts
5. Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us,
Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons
of Mass Destruction
6. Ignite a New Era of Global Economic Growth
through Free Markets and Free Trade
7. Expand the Circle of Development by Opening
Societies and Building the Infrastructure
of Democracy
8. Develop Agendas for Cooperative Action
with the Other Main Centers of Global Power
9. Transform America's National Security
Institutions to Meet the Challenges and
Opportunities of the Twenty-First Century
If the above is Ms Crow's definition of "Pax Americana" it is certainly the most benign "Pax" the world has ever seen. I think she needs to read about "Pax Romana" or "Pax Britannia" a bit before she starts throwing terms around in ignorant ways.
Posted by: Sparkey at March 19, 2003 at 08:50 AMAw.. wow, she's selling her BMW SUV. She's realling 'giving up for the cause' eh? Do you suppose she's going to stop flying around the country in jets and airplanes? Or stop taking limos? Or perhaps quit using plastics?
What a dumbass. People who think they can reduce the amount of crude oil we import can using ten less gallons of gas each week are not even work talking to.
Posted by: amy at March 19, 2003 at 10:05 AM"can using ten less gallons"
dur... that should have been 'by using...'
Posted by: amy at March 19, 2003 at 10:07 AMre "pathos". I'd guess she was reaching for "ethos" but couldn't quite get the neuron to connect.
Posted by: Moira at March 19, 2003 at 11:48 AMDrat, I never even thoguht of saving the whole thing.
Thanks for the link! I need to go update my post now.
Posted by: Ith at March 19, 2003 at 11:58 AMhey, i believe i can change the world by using 10 gallons less of gas each week! well, if everyone else did too. :) but that's no reason to not do it myself, first.
what annoys me so much about Sheryl Crow et all (celebrity status = open mouth, turn off brain, talk for hours) is that even if they know nada about the situation they profess it is their "duty" (or somesuch) to "be heard."
no, it's not! idjits. first off, most of you are merely citizens, like all the rest of us. one vote. your celebrity opinion matters exactly as much as eveybody else's opinion. secondly, since you often don't bother to get informed and argue logically, your opinion often means less. what are you saying? you have a duty to appear stupid??
this was a nice example of celebrity idocy. thanks for finding it and linking it.
Posted by: chris at March 19, 2003 at 01:01 PMHeh. Here's something even better - the Google cache version.
Posted by: Rachel at March 19, 2003 at 01:03 PMI also said some terrible things about Sheryl a couple hours earlier. Well, actually, I just reprinted her words and added a little interspersed commentary.
And thanks for the heads up about Sheryl not being brave enough to stand behind what she wrote. Help! Sheryl is suppressing her own dissent!
Posted by: Charles Austin at March 19, 2003 at 04:36 PMI hate to admit it, but Sheryl demonstrates one point Garofalo got right: celebrities speaking out like this only trivialize the positions they take, which doesn't do the cause any favors. Yet I notice that actual thinking lefties and war opponents either haven't asked the celebs to cork it, or the request is almost universally ignored.
And of course there's going to be a spout-a-thon at the Oscars, by the end of which anything to the left of Donald Rumsfeld will probably have less than 10% popular support.
Posted by: Kevin McGehee at March 19, 2003 at 05:05 PMI think the word in Somali for "humanitarian" is "reload."
Posted by: Michael Lonie at March 20, 2003 at 08:27 PM