Have at it. I salute those of you who brave the talking heads after this…
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by John Cole| 93 Comments
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Have at it. I salute those of you who brave the talking heads after this…
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Evolved Deep Southerner
I am first. That is all.
Zifnab
Does Obama’s failure to secure the Olympics spell the end of the Presidency? Will health care reform be a disaster or a super disaster, now that Republicans have been brutally locked out of the process by a hyper-partisan Congress? We ask John McCain. All this, and the Sunday Funnies, after this commercial break.
Zifnab
@Evolved Deep Southerner: /Punches Evolved Deep Southerner in the balls
beltane
Went to see the Michael Moore movie with the husband and kid last night. I’ll be too busy looking for my pitchfork to watch the Sunday morning idiots.
dmsilev
@Zifnab: When I think of health care (or climate change, or the stimulus, or …) being passed by Democrats alone, with possibly one or two Republicans, I think of David Broder quietly weeping for the death of bipartisanship.
And I laugh.
-dms
Robertdsc-iphone
I wish the President would unleash his inner Tunch & use a legal Left Paw Of Doom on Jim DeMint for DeMint’s Honduras jaunt. DeMint ran afoul of the Logan Act which bars unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments.
It won’t happen but I’m tired of the GOPpers stepping on the President’s toes.
Fulcanelli
Will the villagers be fawning over La Belle Palin’s meaty tome chronicling her amazing life story, or discussing how fucking predictable and incredibly stupid it was to have it ghost written by a right wing hack author known for nothing but hatchet jobs who has previously collaborated with white supremacist and all around douche nozzle Robert Stacy McCain?
We shall see…
geg6
They are doing a story on functional illiteracy and illiteracy on CBS Sunday Morning. They are showing the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, a wonderful group to whom I used to come and speak when I worked for the Educational Opportunity Center of Western PA about getting a GED or going on to college after the program there. It’s shocking how many adults who have high school diplomas are functionally illiterate. IMHO, this is what creates Teabaggers.
ETA: And animal rescue! Yay!
Fulcanelli
@Robertdsc-iphone: Wait until after the Health Insurance Reform bill noise quiets down going into 2010. There will be blood, and milkshakes being stolen all around methinks. More popcorn and more cowbell will surely be needed…
Betsy
File under “stories that make me grateful I’m a vegetarain.”
Ground beef smeared with feces! Yum! If Michael Moore didn’t put this in his movie, he should have – it’s certainly a result of our aversion to regulating anything.
AhabTRuler
I give you this moment of zen to counteract the waves of idiocy that flow forth from the TeeVee.
SiubhanDuinne
I may subject myself to a bit of MTP just for Rachel. However, it’s quite
possiblelikely she alone won’t be able to counter the awfulness that is David Gregory, or other talking heads. We shall see.asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: Thank you, AhabT. I needed a bit of Henri je ne sais quois to make me smile this morning. I lurve that cat.
P.S. I do not ever watch the Sunday morning bobbleheads, so I deeply appreciate the shorter idiot speak that y’all do for me.
geg6
And now that I’ve seen the profile on him, I have decided I like Paul Shaffer. He always seemed like such a smarmy show biz type to me. But he seems like a really, really nice guy. And anyone who loved Gilda Radner like he did has to be a pretty good guy.
geg6
Holy crap! Franklin, PA on CBS Sunday Morning! We like to make fun of Franklin/Oil City in these parts, but it’s very pretty there.
Montysano
I’ll flip over to Meet the Press if: a) CBS Sunday Morning is boring (which can happen) and b) if Rachel Maddow is on. I really like Maddow, although I fear that the Villager stooped will rub off on her.
Shorter Bobo Brooks this morning: “When can we leave Afghanistan? When pigs shit diamonds, and not a moment sooner”.
geg6
@Montysano:
Rachel is supposed to be on the panel today. And based on her hissy fit over the use of the word “holocaust” by my new boyfriend, Rep. Grayson, I’d say the Village has already rubbed off.
SiubhanDuinne
@AhabTRuler: Have you thought of changing his name to Zenri?
Fulcanelli
@geg6: I saw her hyperventilating over that and wanted to reach through the screen and smack her. C’mon Rachel, smarten up.
A) He’s Jewish and
B) He’s already apologized to the ADL over it.
Move on already. Sigh.
Demo Woman
Where’s McCain?
Max
I always seem to wake up and turn on the tv each Sunday during Howie Kurtz’ hour on CNN. He’s not a very bright person and boy does he love his false equivalencies. Today, he says that GRayson and Wilson did the same thing. Christ, why aren’t there any smart people on any of these shows?
Sadly, Alex Witt on MSNBC is on opposite Howie and she’s no Rhodes scholar and always has the racist Pat Buchanan on.
I need to figure out how to sleep in on Sundays, or move to a different time zone.
geg6
I’m loving Katrina Vanden Heuvel on Snuffleupagus this morning. She took a shot at George Will to his face and is bringing up the unconstitutional bullshit that McChrystal is pulling.
WyldPiratd
I’m sitting here watching David Gregory’s abortion of a show and two things strike me:
1. I want to smack Gregory’s fucking smirk off of his face for numerous reasons, chief among them being that every time he does it, he reminds me of Eddie Haskel brown-nosing Ward and June.
2. I am sick to death of bullshit false-equivalency arguments from “journalists”. One side is lying through its teeth…another is not.
SiubhanDuinne
@geg6 10:49 am
Oh good! I always like KVH and if she smacks Georgie-Willie around, that’s just gravy.
Snuffleupagus’ show doesn’t air until 11:00 here so I will watch it. Thanks for the heads-up.
geg6
Fucking Mike Murphy is the world’s biggest hack. Gawd, I hate him. And Bobo? His pearl of wisdom this morning? “Governing is hard.” No shit, Sherlock. And if I hear one more Republican who are all against the stimulus bitching about jobs, I swear I’m going postal. Thank heaven for Rachel Maddow, speaking sense on the reality of economics and fiscal policy.
These Oh, Noes! The Deficit! assholes need punched in the neck.
GregB
David the Dick Gregory has introduced a new term into the national lexicon.
Now we have “broad unemployment” at 17%.
Who would have known that a new term would arise that increases the unemployment rate once a Democratic president lands in White House.
Shocked, I say.
-G
geg6
David Gregory must die. He is saying my new boyfriend is no different than piece of shit domestic terrorists. But thankfully, Rachel is pushing back. As Bobo keeps insisting that Rushbo, Beck, and Levin are not powerful within the GOP and America is center-right.
And for once, EJ Dionne is pointing out the inadequacy of our msm.
Max
Watching Dr. Rice on MTP. She is very, very smart. Which, of course, makes Gregory look even dumber.
I noticed that Alan Greenspan was on This Week. President John McCain must have been busy.
Brick Oven Bill
Katrina vanden Heuval is Artificial Law. Father was a Kennedy Ambassador. Princeton. Upper West Side of Manhattan. Owns a magazine. Artificial Law seeks to protect those of wealth and birth. This is done out of a combination of fear and envy.
This is why she is attempting to paint General McChrystal in a bad light. General McChrystal has a duty to speak out when he is tasked to perform a mission, and is ignored by the Commander in Chief. He has a fiduciary duty to the Constitution and the People.
General McChrystal is seemingly Natural Law, and thus a threat to Katrina. The majority of lower-ranking Flag Officers are, and then Artificial Law often takes over at the 3 and 4 Star levels due to democratic politics.
The duty of a President is to choose the mission. In the case of Afghanistan, the best thing to do would be to get out, leaving a small air base in some remote region. If the President chooses to engage, then the Afghan Constitution must be modified. In its current form it reads:
Article 1 [Islamic Republic]
Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic, independent, unitary and indivisible state.
Article 2 [Religions]
(1) The religion of the state of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the sacred religion of Islam .
(2) Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.
Article 3 [Law and Religion]
In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.
The Afghan Constitution is President Bush’s fault, due to his ignorance. He would not have known that 2(1) is the same as 2(2). He would have felt good about 2(2) without asking about the provisions. President Bush, also, is a product of Artificial Law.
Bullsmith
B.O.B. slipped up and said something completely sane yesterday. Glad to see he’s back off his meds.
Corner Stone
@Zifnab: /Punches John Cornyn in his teeny, tiny balls.
Steeplejack
@geg6:
FWIW, I always thought he was doing an ironic impression of a smarmy show business type. Especially sometimes when he’s egging Letterman on, you can see that he’s deliberately going over the top.
Also, years ago he detailed two or three stages of the arc of pop-culture fame, which I have expanded to the full six:
1. Who is Paul Shaffer?
2. Get me Paul Shaffer!
3. Get me someone like Paul Shaffer.
4. Get me anyone but Paul Shaffer.
5. Whatever happened to Paul Shaffer?
6. Who was Paul Shaffer?
geg6
@Bullsmith:
For some reason, my pie filter isn’t working on my sister’s computer. But I’m pretending that it is because I can’t take this crap about artificial/natural law that makes no goddam sense whatsoever.
And MTP ends with a paen to Pumpkinhead and that lying piece of shit Safire. Who, if there is a hell, is burning merrily with his buddy, I Am Not A Crook Dick.
Corner Stone
@geg6:
I was also not well pleased with her handling of Grayson on her show.
WyldPiratd
B.O.B, it’s amazing that you can submit posts with your head lodged so far up your ass, but I suppose I shouldn’t begrudge you seeking the center of your being, you sorry shithead.
Corner Stone
@geg6:
I usually like all the points she ends up making but I feel she is horrible on TV. She takes four-eh-vahh to set up her point and it seems like she would be just awful on your team as a debater.
It’s painful for me to watch her, even though I’m agreeing with her.
gocart mozart
@Brick Oven Bill:
The Nation magazine was founded to help preserve the interests of capitalist elites and keep the poor and oppressed in their place. Do I have that about right B.O.B.? Four star generals are just powerless working stiffs, also. You are a funny guy B.O.B.
Corner Stone
@GregB:
FUCKING-A-Exactly-GD-Right!
I would’ve paid big cash to have Rachel turn to Dancin’ D and ask him casually, “So Dave, NOW you’re acknowledging that a “broader” measure of unemployment exists? It wasn’t around til Obama took the oath? You FUCK!”
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Corner Stone: Exactly. She’s smart, she’s right, but to the Villagers she’s the Michael Moore equivalent (who is also smart and right) and thus can be ignored. Which is why they have her on – to be the Liberal in the gaggle of Idiots and/or Wingnuts. Unless they go with that other fine representative of Liberal Values, Harold Ford.
Brick Oven Bill
There has always been the High, the Middle, and the Low. The Low are not a threat to the High, the Middle is. The Nation magazine, and the policy positions it advocates, seeks to protect the High from the Middle by using the Low to weaken the Middle.
The Low would not be allowed anywhere near Katrina’s apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Another word for this is modern liberalism, which has nothing to do with classic Liberalism.
Four Star Generals actually do have quite of bit of power. This is why President Obama, consciously or subconsciously, avoids contact with General McChrystal for self-esteem reasons based in his childhood. The psychodynamic term for this is ‘denial’.
gnomedad
@geg6:
Sorry, I’m not up to speed here. Some help, please?
Corner Stone
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta:
You mean that pimp from TN? That cat’s smoooth.
Comrade Jake
B.O.B.’s like one of those clowns you played with as a child. You know, the ones with sand weight in the bottom. You knock them to the floor, and the just pop right back up, the grin on their face the same.
He’s fun to play with, but at some point the galactic stupidity of his comments grows tired.
smiley
Local paper published another interesting letter to the editor today. Almost the whole thing was a made-up quote:
Part of it is accurate (sort of):
Except Cicero didn’t use the word “bankrupt”. That word only dates back to the mid 1500s.
Another example of why chain emails are evil.
geg6
@gnomedad:
Undercutting his CiC. Trying to box him in. Pandering to the neocons so he gets his way and Obama is too afraid of the military to do what he thinks is right. Trying to tie Obama to the idiocy of Bush’s way of letting the generals make the decisions.
smiley
McChrystal is a Lieutenant General (three star). He was promoted from Major General when he assumed command of Afghanistan. So, he actually hasn’t had his third star all that long.
Corner Stone
@smiley: That supposed quote from Cicero sounds like a New Year’s Eve Resolution.
“I should lose weight, grow more hair, save more of my income and grow delicious vegetables. I must again learn to workout thrice weekly.” – Maxus Chubbus Baldus, 55 BC
kay
I’m amused that it’s now okay for John McCain to state that Obama and military advisors are politically motivated on Afghanistan approach.
Obama has really opened up debate in this country, I must say. It must be very freeing for conservatives, having a liberal President.
A few short years ago a statement like that from a Democratic Senator would have inspired a censure motion on the floor of Congress, and days of faux media outrage. Now, it inspires an actual discussion of the issue.
All in all, an improvement. A broader debate is better, on war. We’ll see if the new-found respect conservatives have for principled opposition survives the next election cycle.
smiley
@geg6: Why? Because of all the poor unemployed people there?
SiubhanDuinne
You know, as annoying as Stepinitawfulness is (and his little roundtable,too!) I always appreciate that every week they quietly and respectfully give the name, rank and home town of every soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. To the best of my knowledge, no other news program does this. Props to ABC’s “This Week” for the tribute.
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
I don’t know that the arc of fame thing really applies. Paul Shaffer has been on with Dave for 20 plus years. He’s a working musician who also seems to be respected by his peers, and also from some newcomers, to judge by some of the interactions between him and musical guests on Letterman’s show.
Brick Oven Bill
Re: The Chain of Command
In the military, you are to obey orders. If you are given an order that you believe to be unlawful, or incorrect, you may appeal this order one level up in the Chain of Command. If you are over-ruled at this level, bye bye career.
President Obama appears to be scared to make a decision, as this would involve accountability. This is logical as he has never held an executive position in his entire life. His strategy seems to be to modify the image and paint Afghanistan as a ‘NATO Mission’ instead of the necessary mission he campaigned on. This is apparently all he knows how to do.
General McChrystal is correct to appeal his lack of orders one level up in the Chain of Command, to the American People. President Obama is foolish for alienating the military at this point in history.
Kirk Spencer
@smiley: See this discussion from Snopes.
Nutshell summary, the Cicero that says it is in a historical fiction novel based on the Senator’s life: A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell.
Martin
I think he needs to, honestly. The GOP are going to go all-in on that tactic if Obama lets them get away with it. 6 months from now they’re going to be negotiating with Israel over which Iranian cities to nuke.
John Cole
I am so sick and tired of the Steelers not playing at one.
I have to work all day to keep my mind occupied.
kay
It was also funny to watch Matalin pretend there was vigorous and open debate in the Bush years. She had to catch herself, and quickly endorse the whole “debate” idea, once her husband chimed in she pivoted fast, but her natural inclination was to smile smugly at how properly secretive the Bushies were.
It was a secret debate, conducted exclusively in the Vice President’s office, and if any actual Americans or their representatives had the temerity to raise, well, any questions at all, the Vice President got very, very angry, and sent the minions out to demonize the opposition, but I guess it was a “debate”, of sorts.
JGabriel
@Steeplejack:
There’s a step missing between 4 and 5. It not as pithy as the others, but if included, it would read:
4.5. Not that guy, he reminds me of Paul Shaffer, and if I wanted someone like Paul Shaffer, I’d just get Paul Shaffer. I mean, he’s pretty cheap these days, isn’t he?
.
JGabriel
smiley:
BOB doesn’t believe in inconvenient things like facts. And if you call him on it, he’ll just ignore you.
Which is kind of handy, actually.
.
smiley
@Kirk Spencer: Thanks.
GregB
I gather that there must be a boiler room full of sweaty young Republican interns who pour out the phony, propaganda style e-mails by the hundreds so that they find their way into Aunt Millies e-mail box for continued distribution to her feeble minded friends throughout the nation.
Cheap and effective.
-G
Just Some Fuckhead
@John Cole: We need a Ravens/Patriots open thread for the only One O’Clock game that matters.
Max
@John Cole: My Bills have yet to play a morning game, but I’m on the west coast and I appreciate the late games. It gives me time to do laundry and clean house, and it’s more respectable to drink when the game starts at 1pm, versus 10am.
I’ve moved from West Coast to East Coast and back again, and football and time zones is always the biggest difference that I notice.
On the West Coast, games start too early, on the East Coast, they end too late.
I’ve never lived in the middle.
valdivia
I read the other day Spencer Ackerman’s take on the whole McChrystal thing and according to him the idea that he is trying to undermine Obama is all a Republican meme to create a wedge between the administration and the military. I keep seeing this articles in the NYT and WaPo and if you read the Ackerman piece where he gives the *full* quotes of what McChrystal is saying you can see how they are picking things just to give the impression that there is actually insurrection fo some kind there, where there is none.
Just saying that when we go on and on about how the military is using Obama, and how do we really know they are?, we just repeat the republicans line that Obama is some sissy or something.
and I am sure I am going to get a lot of flack for saying this but I find it very very annoying that SNL has decided that Obama, 8 months in, has to have kept all his campaign promises. Did he promise he would do it ALL in one year? I just don’t get how people are judging on the basis of 8 months when we still have 3 more years. Pisses me off. Could they wait until maybe 2011 to judge if he really did what he set out to do?
Little Dreamer
BOB, please start using the toilet, I’m sick of the way you keep crapping all over the place in here.
Brachiator
@Montysano:
I got up a little earlier, and watched MTP because of some of the Rachel love spread around in this thread.
I was underwhelmed. Her “I love the left/right brawling because its typical political fun and games” was total horse crap, and the kind of faux sophisticated cynicism certain to get you at least a day pass to the Village.
She had nothing substantive to say about economy-related questions. And when she would largely nod and smile while some of the conservative panelists tried to downplay the corrosive effect of right wing media, I wanted to gag.
Her mini-rant about the ghost writer of the Palin … “book” … was kinda stoopid.
The only thing worse than Maddow was Gregory and the rest of the pundit boobs.
Crap. Now I’ve been sucked into watching Chris Matthews and a totally waste-of-time debate about what Obama shoul do in Afghanistan.
Can I haz some football to watch?
Max
oops, forgot to mention…
For those fans of good music…. Farm Aid Concert is today. Sirius XM will have the show on Sirius Channel 64 and XM 13 and DirectTV is broadcasting it on channel 101. Starts at 2pm California time.
It’s also streaming on farmaid.org.
The line up is:
Willie Nelson (my fav)
John Mellencamp
Neil Young
Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds
Wilco
Jason Mraz
Jamey Johnson
Gretchen Wilson
Phosphorescent
Billy Joe Shaver
Will Dailey
Ernie Isley & the Jam Band
Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses
The Blackwood Quartet
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
donovong
@Brick Oven Bill: You are so full of shit your eyes are brown. All three of them.
The chain of command for McChrystal goes as follows : McChrystal < Petreaus < McConnell < Sec Def < President. At no point does he “report” to the citizenry, nor should he. THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS A CIVILIAN BY THE NAME OF OBAMA. Get the fuck over yourself, and get your “facts” straight.
Just Some Fuckhead
I want Rachel Maddow to be as bitter, cynical and angry as I am and to physically assault anyone I have decided is an enemy. Why can’t Rachel Maddow be my personal Chow/Shepherd mix?
Notorious P.A.T.
Michigan State 26
Michigan 20
A heart-breaking loss for Rich Rodriguez in overtime as MSU beats the blue twice in a row for the first time in 42 years. Or “Dick-Rod” as some at the bar were calling him.
GregB
Breaking news.
Fox reports America is at 50% unemployment.
Shocking news at 11:00.
-G
LoveMonkey
@Brick Oven Bill:
Even for you, Bob, this is one amazing bullshit pile.
Apparently you have invented the combination Food/Word Processor. Just throw in some words, and whir … out comes a post.
Sorry, but despite the use of my Binford More Power Text Descrambler, I cannot make any sense of your giant Word Turd.
Notorious P.A.T.
Hahaha )
gnomedad
@valdivia:
Thanks for the alternative perspective. Linky, please?
Corner Stone
@Max: Please…for the love of all things Holy/Unholy/Nonholy…no…more…music at BJ today.
I just can’t take it any more!
Max
@Corner Stone: Record for later in the week when tv sucks.
Sunday’s are for football.
P.S. Love your link. That story is so funny.
valdivia
@gnomedad:
Here you go
This
and
This
I find that in these matters–security and military–Ackerman is very very informed. A lot of people write about this without context or sources, he has both.
Fulcanelli
Does BoB really want to get into the Freud/Childhood lotion thing? Not unless he wants the hose again… What a maroon.
That is all, carry on…
Brachiator
@Kirk Spencer:
Thanks for the info and link on this.
Ella in NM
gocart mozart
To correct the record, it was I that made the wrong assumption that McCrystal was a 4-star general not B.O.B., although he did not correct me on this point. This of course, does not change the fact that B.O.B. is an ignorant poopyhead.
bago
Post Love Parade report. I’m in a loft in the financial district with three shedding cats. One of them loved being brushed so much it would complain whenever I stopped. Kind of wish I had a furminator. Then some part of me might not be covered in fur.
gocart mozart
@gocart mozart:
I almost forgot . . . my sincere apologies to anyone who takes offense. I was simply posting fast. Also.
gocart mozart
I should have said “He is a big stupid poopyhead”, you know, to bring the discussion down to his intellectual level. That is what a “Natural Law” human would do. An “Artificial Law” human would probably just put more MSG on his corn syrup while fantasizing about Pamela Anderson’s breasts.
henqiguai
@SiubhanDuinne (#50):
I believe The Newshour with Jim Lehrer has been doing this from the very beginning. Others, like ABC, eventually picked up the habit.
Little Dreamer
OT:
Michael Moore poses some interesting questions that have been perplexing me for years (since BOB is on this thread, I think he should check this out. I’m dying to hear how he can argue that capitalism is so biblical and moral).
Nellcote
@GregB:
.
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/training/department.cfm?department=30
Elie
kay @ 48 –
I am digging what you say about opening the debate.
My only concern is that our organs of actually hearing and processing debate are somewhat shrivelled after many years of non use…but I will risk it!
Yeah, I want someone – ANYONE, to ask General Mcchrystal what he means by the US LOOSING or WINNING in Afghanistan. I want to know what he thinks thouse benchmarks look like. His processy request to add more troops without having what winning looks like and what that therefore would take, is nothing short of ridiculous.
Our Generals are supposed to represent the core of getting a tactical objective accomplished that requires the military service. It is not enough for him to just say, we need more troops. He has to tell us why and for how long to accomplish what exactly…and also, describe where we are now in relationship to that…
We had one President bullied by his Generals. I am praying no matter what, that Obama will shove this guy back — hard.
PS – One of the bad atmospherics I believe from Obama’s stupid trip for the Olympic bid is that it looked like he could be dissed in public. He had to swallow that and ultimately its not that big a deal, but he should be finding an example to reinforce that he cannot be rolled or dissed…not saying what that should be, but why not start with this 3 star General…
Elie
Ohhhhh valdivia @ 76 —
I wish I had read your links before posting mine.
Also teaches me a lesson about listening to Teevee —
I should have known that McChrystal would not just diss the Commander and Chief just like that — even though Katrina van should have also read up on his comments before HER comments as well.
Sheesh, its so hard to keep the facts straight anymore but thanks to your efforst and the efforts of others here, we can try to keep after it
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
Did the font change halfway through the thread or am I hallucinating from too much cokie?
Corner Stone
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta: If you’ve been sniffing cokie then you have bigger problems than a midstream font change.
But, yes. It did.
For me it’s in the middle of donovong @ 67.
Beej
BoB,
McChrystal should take his concerns to his immediate superior, who is, if I’m not mistaken, Petraeus, head of CentCom. Then he would appeal it one level up to Casey, Army Joint Chief of Staff, after that, according to you, he is done. Ergo, going over the head of the Commander in Chief is unconstitutional. Fire the s.o.b.
wrb
@valdivia:
exactly
Elie
Beej and BoB —
If you read valdivia’s post with links @ 76, your approach might not be necessary…
Take a look