French-bashing has usually been popular in the U.S. But since the run up to Iraq it seems like it's hit a fever pitch, particularly among those who strongly support the President. America (and the West) is in the fight of it's life against Islamofacist terrorism and the perception to many in this country is that the French government is doing its best to impede our efforts in this struggle.

How accurate this perception is can be debated ad infinitum. more...

Posted by: Gary at 02:00 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 736 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Mon Dieu, Gary! I don't hate the french.... I love the french...as much as they love President Bush. Seriously, I believe that puts me on a level playing ground when I travel. I've been fortunate enought to have had fantastic opportunities to travel since I was in highschool - a trend that continues to this day. What I've found bubbling under the surface, especialy among Europeans my age, is a jealous fascination with the American culture. To the lurking libs - this phenonmenon did not arise after 9/11. I encountered this repeatedly through the 90's. I applaud you, Gary, for advocating a non-bashing policy towards the french. When dealing with Euros in public I find it is best to maintain a cool cordiality, until they slip up, then I let them know that their comments are reprehensible. Most wisely shut their mouths... Look, I know there are French citizens that truly admire President Bush and think highly of the US. I found such individuals when I was last in Spain and I'm sure they exist in france. If they would only organize and vote out of office their current governments... Anyway, I'm off to plan my next trip...BA is looking good

Posted by: Skye at September 21, 2006 03:55 PM (N1z5v)

2 Yeah, you know it's nice if we all just got along. But, seriously, ask yourself this: exactly what has France been good for since it lost its king. That's awful. There are few countries that I can think of who were less useful to the world after they got rid of their monarchies. Russia, China and France are three of them. It's very difficult for me to think of a country that has, in the last 200 years, achieved so little, yet is so full of itself. Britain has, for example, been infinitely more useful to the world, and the Brits have nowhere near the chauvanism of the Gauls. Yes, we do share more in common with the French than we differ. Matter of fact, we share more with chimpanzees than with donkeys, but that doesn't mean I don't hate chimpanzees. Wait, what am I saying? In truth, one could make the argument that we have more in common with Saudis than we differ. This argument used to be made with the Russians. (Do we share much in common? We have a different language. A different system of government, essentially, very different views on the value of an aristocratic class, different economic views, different appreciation for philosophy (they like a philosopher if he's French, we like one if he's useful), different views on religion, the proper role of the state. What do we share in common with them? A Christian heritage? Fat lot of good. We shared that with Germany, too (and more Protestantism in Germany than in France, actually). But Germany was still our enemy. I don't give a fig what the French think about us, or what they think about themselves alone at night with their pants around their ankles. What I do care about is that the French stop making things worse EVERY. WHERE. THEY. GO. Name a Democracy France helped create. Now name all the people around the world who live in tyrranical countries supported or established because of French perfidy. Example: the only reason Ho Chi Minh could even make a case for Communism (and really, he pushed Nationalism with the people) was because the French were such bastards in Viet Nam for a century. We ended up losing our boys for that mess. So, no. I won't respect the French until they stop asserting their worth and start proving it. And they do damn little of that.

Posted by: Grayson Hill at September 21, 2006 04:41 PM (3Vh45)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Well, I learned an important lesson with DVR today. A scheduled recording will NOT go beyond the scheduled time and if you want to allow for a show running over you have to adjust the recording time longer.

The Giants were down by 10 with 4:07 remaining in regulation when my three hours were up. Ordinarily it wouldn't have made much of a difference except that the Giants went on to WIN the game in overtime:

Manning tossed a 22-yard TD pass to Amani Toomer with 3:28 left in regulation to cut the deficit to 24-21.

After New York got the ball at its 20 with 56 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Manning quickly drove the Giants to the Eagles 32. A personal foul penalty on defensive end Trent Cole moved the Giants 15 yards closer and set up Feely's tying kick.

Crap. Lesson learned.

At least the Giants beat Philly. I hate Philly. And they just saved their season. On to Seattle!

Posted by: Gary at 09:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 186 words, total size 1 kb.

Yeah, I know for the last month that question has been begging to be answered. I purposely said nothing specific about what I'd be doing on my break if for no other reason to make you wonder.

Well, it's really simple. As I've said, I've been doing this for over a year and a half straight. Those of you who keep a blog (and post frequently) understand that this is a long time in "blog years". So many sites die a slow death within the first six months while others ebb and flow with activity. I have more than a handful of blogs on my blogroll that stop posting for months without a word and then start up again out of nowhere, as if nothing happened.

I also understand that you're less likely to come back unless you can count on fresh material. I didn't want to get stagnant but I really...really...needed a break. So, considering I had planned a week-long vacation anyway and August is normally a slow news month I figured that if I was going to take a break then I'd make it count.

Click "Read More" to read entire post. more...

Posted by: Gary at 02:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 536 words, total size 3 kb.

Yeah, that's right. Gary's back.

No, I wasn't monkey-fishing, stalking Diane Lane or any of those other choices. I was engaged in a much more fulfilling activity. I was spending time with the four most important people in my life - my wife and three sons.

I'll go into a little more detail later, but man it looks like I missed some interesting shit while I was away.

I want to give a special "shout out" to the four guest bloggers who kept the fires burning without burning down the house (although my liquor cabinet is considerably bare since I left).

Thank you Pam M. and GroovyVic, my fellow MuNuvians from Blogmeister U.S.A. and FiddleDeeDee, respectively.

Thank you, Wordsmith from Sparks From the Anvil. You've opened my eyes to the treasure trove of often-odd video that is "YouTube". Now I just need to check and see how much bandwidth that stuff eats up. ;-)

Thank You, Skye. Her current site Midnight Blue is undergoing an overhaul over at Blogsnot. And she's currently crafting a new site that will be launching in the near future. In the meantime, I'm happy to announce that Skye will continue to guest blog here at Ex-Donkey blog while she puts the finishing touches on her new home.

Also, the comment spam problem seems to be under control so the comment function has been re-enabled.

Thank you all for your patience. Now a rested, rejuvenated Ex-Donkey returns to the helm.

Locked and loaded.

Posted by: Gary at 07:00 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 251 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Welcome back, Gary! As always, I look forward to your postings here on Ex Donkey and am happy to have the opportunity to guest blog on Ex Donkey. Let the good times roll!! As for the state of your liquor cabinet...Hmmm...I might have put forth the idea of sampling your collection, the next thing I know, Sparky went ahead and acted on the suggestion. What can I say, he is an impressionable lad

Posted by: Skye at September 05, 2006 08:43 PM (MfeOa)

2 What can I say, he is an impressionable lad You mean I don't really remind you of Lee Adama?

Posted by: wordsmith at September 05, 2006 11:18 PM (nrGCx)

3 Hey there, Gary! You were missed, but your guest bloggers more than did you justice in your absence. Thank you, Groovy Vic, Skye, Wordsmith & Pam M., for filling in. I couldn't put up any comments during your tenure, but your posts were always enjoyable. (Especially the BSG's. I think a sickness has developed here...) Thanks to all four of you, but WELCOME BACK TO THE ORIGINAL! Georgia Girl (gary's favorite sister-in-law)

Posted by: Georgia Girl at September 06, 2006 08:20 AM (ZMwFa)

Hide Comments | Add Comment