Is he leaving or returning?
Well, at that moment I was playing President of the Imaginary States of America. That's one of the old Air Force One 707's, and it's mounted in spectacular fashion at the Reagan Library. When you take the tour they take a souvenir photo at the entrance. I did the standard arms-round-the-family one, then asked for another. The only photoshopping was to take out the hangar behind the plane and replace it with a night scene of Tuzla. I think that considering the amount of sniper fire I was taking, I look remarkably calm and collected. It's good to be the POTIS.
Back to the question: is he leaving? Returning? What?
Both! Mostly returning. Kind of. The fact is, my absence has left me bitter, and clinging to my religion and my guns.
I've been busy with two major breakthoughs in my non-Eject! life: one I can tell you a little about, and the other I can tell you nothing about, other than to say it will be news when it breaks and I look forward to the day I can write about being a part of it.
Sound mysterious? Great.
I can tell you a little about what I've been writing in the last six months. But those of you who come here often know there's no reason to get right ot the point when we can tell a little backstory first to shapen the focus.
It has long been apparent to me that even on those days when all the various and sundry -lanches line up perfectly, I might see 120,000 hits in a two day period... hits for which I am eternally grateful and which have provided me with so many opportunities. However, the fact is that most of those people are folks who already get it. And over time, I have watched the river of poison flowing out of Hollywood... a toxic Mississippi of self-hatred and just plain lies about this amazing country -- this reactor of creativity and freedom.
And I've had enough of it. And I'm not the only one.
So I spent the last several months not just working on a movie script, but actually finishing it. And finishing it in a way I have never been able to finish these essays, which I post hot off my fingertips with only a few quick glances for cuts and corrections before I hit the button.
But this script I have polished. I'm polishing it still. The first draft, which was appalling, should have come in at about 120 pages. It was 363. Then, right after the Boyd essay, I went at it in earnest. I made a few minor piddling changes... like, say, adding conflict and writing the characters in such a way as to make what they said and did interesting. Little tweaks like that.
So what I have is a story where businessmen and engineers are the heroes, the protestors are the bad guys, people accept risk willingly and some of them die for it, where they do amazing things and go to astonishing places on their own dime, where nuclear power is good and essential and the motivation is not money or power but freedom and a love of humanity, and where America and all she stands for is a beacon in a darkening world.
It's a crazy bizarro world of science fiction!
But it's actually not too bad, and for the first time in 30 years of trying I actually have a chance to get it made. And now we get to the point, because just about any film that gets distribution will be seen by thousands and thousands more people that have ever, or will ever, come to this little corner of cyberspace. And they will be exactly the kind of people we need to reach most: young, and hungry for something to believe in.
I'll have more on that later.
Once I do the final polish on this baby, I hope to come back with a vengeance. I have five essays stacked and ready to get to "paper:"
THE REPUBLIC OF EMOTION -- How schools and modern teaching methods prepare us to be a society of self-centered crybabies without a clue as to how to think critically and act like adults.
LIFEBOAT -- immigration and why the Melting Pot whips the Mosaic hands down and twice on Sunday.
THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT -- The long-promised Global Warming essay, less about the science and more about the aneurism of politics and control that gives a very big lever to some very bad people.
THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKINS -- A look at race, now that the Great Uniter has healed my soul.
THE PLAGUE -- Civilizations rise and fall, and the pattern is always the same. Why? I think I may have an idea. And there may be a way around it.
All of these I hope to do quickly, since they're already written in my head. As soon as I get the free time I hope to pound them out, and add them to Boyd, and the It's a Conspiracy, Rafts and You Are Not Alone posts and put out a second book of essays, which will hijack the title SEEING THE UNSEEN. The book will be about critical thinking, reason, and the ability to sift fact from fiction like a grownup.
Starting with the next essay, I'll be outsourcing my comments to India, where opinions are pennies on the dollar. You can't afford not to do it! Seriously, though, I'll be moving the comments into the capable hands of my friends at the E3 GAZETTE, where many of the fine people I worked with on Ejectia! have gathered for online fun and enlightenment.
Finally, for those of you who are willing to face the disappointment that comes from realizing My Voice does not in fact thunder across the light-years, carried on the echos of dying stars, but is in fact rather thin and reedy... I present to you a link to an hour radio show I did recently here in L.A. with Tim Conway, Jr.: a fine fellow and a great American, like his dad. I was on as "a guy who thinks America is a great country and who has the facts to prove it."
The tragic thing is, this passes for newsworthy in Los Angeles. Well, one step at a time. The linky is here:
I'm not dead. I didn't quit. And I'm not alone out here.
Look for us at dawn of the fifth day!
Welcome to the Eject! Eject! Eject! commenter community. Please read and understand the following:
1. This is not a public square. This is a dinner party on personal property. Good conversation is not only tolerated but celebrated here. But the host understands the difference between dissent and disrespect, even if you do not. Louts will be ignored until the bouncers can show them the door.
2. This is a voluntary online community. Your posting of any material, whether in comments or otherwise, grants to William A. Whittle, Aurora Aerospace, Inc. and their affiliates, a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, sublicense, reproduce or incorporate into other material all or any portion of the material posted, for commercial or other use.
3. If a comment does find its way into a main page essay, print, or other media, every effort will be made to credit the individual making the comment. So chose your screen name accordingly, SLNTFRT33@yahoo.com!
Now let's see some distributed intelligence and basic human decency! Don't make me come down there every five minutes!
Comments
Love the concept of your screenplay. Fabulous idea. Your site draws a powerful brain trust from which you can solicit valuable input
You might want to change "POTIS" to "POTUS" on your home page.
Great having you back!
Posted by: Sean | June 3, 2008 5:26 PM
Rock this town, rock it inside-out.
Posted by: LabRat | June 3, 2008 5:40 PM
I am, in fact, the POTIS: President Of The Imaginay States. POTUS is a tougher nut to crack.
Posted by: Bill Whittle | June 3, 2008 5:52 PM
Tune 'em tight and hit' em hard buddy. Happy dance in progess.
Posted by: Otto Gass | June 3, 2008 5:56 PM
Glad to see you back, Bill. How about saying hello on E3G sometimes? Yeah, I know, sometimes you've gotta do useful stuff too... :)
Posted by: Doug Loss | June 3, 2008 5:56 PM
I can certainly contribute a few typos to get things going.
Posted by: Otto Gass | June 3, 2008 5:58 PM
Typoes 'r' us, Otto. :)
Posted by: Doug Loss | June 3, 2008 6:01 PM
Welcome back Bill. I look forward to the essays and the film. Great job on the interview I thought it was pretty cool even if you don't think your voice is impressive enough :)
Posted by: Dawnsblood | June 3, 2008 6:05 PM
So, you wrote an updated version of Atlas Shrugged?
Posted by: Scott | June 3, 2008 6:19 PM
Welcome back, Bill, and great to hear from you, again! The script sounds outstanding, and the future will be bright, at least around here! You're missed whenever you sequester yourself, but we get by...
My best!
Posted by: Paul A. | June 3, 2008 6:40 PM
The script sounds wonderful and I wish it every bit of success!! I know I will enjoy every dime I spend at the theatre to see it up on the screen.
I also think we should see more steampunk stuff - this is soemthing that is starting to blossom out there - it has a DIY can-do-ism that I love and it harkens back to a time when science was way cool and approached with wonder and etiquetted was still important.
Posted by: Sharon Ferguson | June 3, 2008 6:58 PM
erm...I should say by 'stuff' I mean movie scripts.
Posted by: Sharon Ferguson | June 3, 2008 7:00 PM
Oh, crap! I haven't dusted in weeks.
Posted by: daddyquatro | June 3, 2008 7:01 PM
he's alive...he's ALLLLIIIIIIVEEEEEE
Posted by: Josh | June 3, 2008 7:16 PM
I like the gist of the script idea. Although once it's in the hands of a production company, I have terrible visions of what's happened to every Heinlein story brought to the screen after Destination Moon.
Posted by: Mauser | June 3, 2008 7:16 PM
The gears of my grain grist have gotten a tad rusty. I'll be back, going to get some WD40. And some champagne. Dom and lube, let's celebrate!
Posted by: alexa kim | June 3, 2008 7:21 PM
LOL. Should have seen that one coming.
Posted by: sean | June 3, 2008 8:05 PM
I almost fell over when I saw that the site was updated. Glad to hear from you, sir. I can't wait for your newest round of essays. You were exceptional on the radio - very good interview. I'm sure I'll be checking back everyday (instead of every other day) now that essays are in the works.
Posted by: nonsubhomine | June 3, 2008 8:19 PM
It's good to hear from you again Bill. Good luck with the screen play!
Posted by: Mike B. | June 3, 2008 8:20 PM
Thin and reedy? I think not.
Posted by: Russ | June 3, 2008 8:27 PM
Bill --
Wonderful to hear from ya again, and very exciting to hear that you're taking the fight to the turf of the Idiots of Hollyweird.
Posted by: Lance Salyers | June 3, 2008 8:44 PM
What the heck?!?! You been in "lock down" with Pat Dollard or something? The timing is more than a little too perfect.
Posted by: TBinSTL | June 3, 2008 10:09 PM
Yaay! He's still with us!
Sure have missed the essays, but the movie sounds like it will make up for some of the time without your words.
Posted by: cary | June 3, 2008 10:30 PM
Thanks for the update, Bill.
I am happy to know that you have things in the pipeline. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Matthew Goggins | June 4, 2008 12:59 AM
Yessssssssssss!
"Welcome back, jefe!"
"Your future's so bright, you gotta wear shades."
I was getting so sick of seeing 40-second Boyd that I thought you had died! Kept scanning the obits for your name... but it looks like the wait is going to be well worth it.
Eagerly waiting for your next posting/musings, daaaaahling...
Get back to work!
Posted by: Igor | June 4, 2008 5:57 AM
Welcome back Bill, looking forward to your movie and the promised essays. We missed you, faithfully checking the site at regular intervals.
As an aside, where do you have the essay you wrote about your moment of clarity after 9-11. Maybe I'm too stupid to find it, but there are some people I'd like to share it with. You are such a powerful writer!
Thanks!
Kim
Posted by: Kim Burtt | June 4, 2008 6:15 AM
Don't forget about overseas distro of the film for us expats. The locals here are used to their steady diet of Hollyweird action flix, Bollywood extravaganzas, and HK martial arts films, so this one would probably take them by surprise. And I'd just smile, knowing they'd just been exposed to the REAL America, not the one they see on the MSM. Oh, and welcome back!
Posted by: waltj | June 4, 2008 6:49 AM
Welcome back, Bill! We missed you! Unlike most of your contemporaries in Hollyweird (who're legends in their own minds) you're a legend in ours - can't wait to see what you're cooking!
Posted by: leftbrainfemale | June 4, 2008 7:28 AM
Add my "welcome back!" to the chorus. Great interview -- doesn't matter if your voice isn't thunderous-sounding to you. The facts as you articulated thundered out over the airwaves.
Posted by: Chuma's Mom | June 4, 2008 7:56 AM
A post on my B-day! Sweet.
Mr. Big Time now with a movie and a book and another on the burner and a plane....
HEY! (light bulb over me head goes on) You got a plane!
Can I borrow that sometime,... you think maybe?...huh?
O wait, I forgot, I have my own set of wings now.
Posted by: Dougman | June 4, 2008 8:13 AM
Oh, man. Welcome back, Bill. After so many Days O' Boyd, I'd taken to re-re-re-reading your essays, enjoying every moment of being floored by them. Trying to get my dad to read them, too (was my birthday gift to him, April 23). Alas, he "doesn't read" much to my embarrassment. But I won't give up!
Cannot wait for the Movie That Must Be Made. Please keep us all informed on the progress, if you can. In fact... any chance we can read a partial scene? Maybe one that you're particularly proud of?
Again, welcome back!
Posted by: JT-MI | June 4, 2008 8:18 AM
Welcome back, Bill! I was wondering if "40-second Boyd" was your swan song. It was good - but not that good. I can't wait to read your new essays and see the film.
Oh, and beware - don't let the editors of your screenplay "adjust" it the way Scott McClellan allowed his editors to "fix" his manuscript. But then again, you're not the weasel McClellan is.
Posted by: SShiell | June 4, 2008 8:46 AM
Well "Atlas Shrugged" is rumored to be in production already, but I'm not sure I trust Hollywood to take it seriously. Bill I trust to write about those themes with honest conviction. I find an updated version of a fantastic moral tale to be a great idea, not an uncreative one.
Posted by: Rearden | June 4, 2008 9:23 AM
It's great to have you back, Bill. Fortunately, some of us have lots of patience as we drive out into the desert to see if the lights are on or not.
Somehow I missed the memo on the E3 Gazette, so I'll need to check that out as well. Now onto the important work of promoting Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Posted by: Brian | June 4, 2008 9:33 AM
Great to see you back - I was getting tired of seeing old man Boyd every day that I checked the site. HAHA. My brain hurts from trying to think on my own lately.
Posted by: Charlie | June 4, 2008 9:48 AM
FYI folks, some of us at E3G are beginning (restarting, really) the conversation about aspects of Ejectia, with the emphasis on self-organization. At least that's where my emphasis is. After all, the whole idea of the remnant is that they don't wait around to be told what to do, but just go and do what needs doing. We've depended on Bill for direction too much, I think. Let's "git 'er done!"
Posted by: Doug Loss | June 4, 2008 11:45 AM
Have been going to your blog at least on a weekly basis since 1/8 and was thrilled to have you back when I tried again today.
Posted by: Irene Stupple | June 4, 2008 12:00 PM
So glad to see your smiling face again (so to speak)! Best of luck on the screenplay, I can't wait to see the results.
Posted by: Susan | June 4, 2008 12:26 PM
Welcome back! I couldn't believe my eyes when I got to my home page, and it said there was a new Eject! Eject! Eject! post!
I'm especially interested in seeing THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!
Posted by: Scott C. | June 4, 2008 12:48 PM
Welcome back. I am rereading Silent America and looking forward to the next edition.
Posted by: Atweber | June 4, 2008 1:03 PM
Never doubted you for a minute. We're all still here.
Posted by: lenf | June 4, 2008 6:45 PM
I've been hitting this stinking bookmark for six months and now all I get is a tease!
God Bless you Bill Whittle!
Posted by: Mope | June 4, 2008 7:49 PM
Glad to see you're back mate! Look forward to the new editions. Cheers, Bob
Posted by: aussiebob | June 4, 2008 10:30 PM
Welcome back! We've been patiently waiting for you.
As far as the movie ... I haven't been inside a theatre since about 1984 ... but I'll break that boycot for your movie!
Posted by: pete in Midland | June 5, 2008 4:58 AM
If you ever want to write a book on the same topics as the screenplay, Baen Books (the SF publishing house) welcomes books embodying those values.
I'm glad that that you are taking the good word to Hollywood. Someone needs to introduce them to reality and what the average American believes.
If your movie gets made I'll watch it multiple times and buy the DVD.
Posted by: Emily Nelson | June 5, 2008 6:57 AM
Hi Bill,
The script sounds like "Oath of Fealty," I sure hope so.
Posted by: SteveInHell | June 5, 2008 7:19 AM
Thank GOD. Its good to have you back sir. its been too long. I eagerly await to hear your latest essays. I sometimes fear that I am living in some dream where right is wrong and left is best. Despite the fact that they are continually wrong about everything. I live in a world where a 46 year old man with no political experience is supposed to be the next president.. does NO ONE remember the last time the demoncrats put a man who was a political outsider in office with no real experience? Jimmy Carter anyone.. so they think less is more? Mccain in 08.
Posted by: christopher keith | June 5, 2008 8:04 AM
Bill: Great to hear you again. Like others, I've been checking this site since January. Also since January and the Boyd piece, I've been using "OO-DA" as my yoga breathing mantra. Works great! As a former Navy fighter pilot, I always remember that runway behind you doesn't do you any good. Keep looking forward and stay ahead!!
Posted by: Burkee | June 5, 2008 8:46 AM
Hey! You're alive!!! I can't wait to read your essays and see the movie!
Posted by: Ray Rider | June 5, 2008 9:29 AM
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 06/05/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Posted by: David M | June 5, 2008 9:31 AM
I'm not surprised that I wasn't the only person to think of "Oath of Fealty" when reading this post.
Glad to see you pop your head out, Bill. Hopefully, unlike the groundhog, this won't cause us to have six more weeks/months/years of no essays.
Good luck on the screenplay. Be sure to keep up us up to date on when (not if) this gets to the silver screen.
Posted by: Physics Geek | June 5, 2008 10:57 AM
Yes, add me to the "welcome backs" above! God bless you, Bill! And may His Spirit protect you as you make ready to unleash your "literary armegeddon" on the extremely deserving "left hemisphere". We all await, anxiously...
Lock and load!
Read all tubes!
Fire at will!
HOO-AH!
Yeah. I know. We tend to get carried away...
Posted by: RogerB | June 5, 2008 2:13 PM
Every once in a while you get a bright spot in your day.
Seeing a new post here just made mine.
Posted by: Chad | June 5, 2008 2:22 PM
Jefferson's Ghost lives, Madison thrives and Washington Breaths! Go Svin!
Posted by: My Son' Father | June 5, 2008 7:49 PM
Hey! I haven't even gotten a chance to say Hi! to Bill Yet. Hi Bill! Love to see the creative juices flowing. I've been working on Atlas Shrugged 2.0 for years now but calculating Martian orbits is a bitch. Hope you got it all together just right.
Thanks for coming back.
Svin
Posted by: svinrod | June 5, 2008 8:02 PM
I do like a little tang in the morning. Here's a grin for Svin. Nice catch. :)
Posted by: Otto Gass | June 6, 2008 6:45 AM
Gah. My browser kept loading a cached page and I didn't see the new post until I saw over at E3G that it was up. Welcome back!
Posted by: WayneB | June 6, 2008 6:47 AM
You were never alone. Lots of us check in for updates.
Work to be done in the future.
Doug
Posted by: Doug Ross | June 6, 2008 10:05 AM
Welcome back, I have enjoyed your posts for quite a while and love reading the comments even though I don't post much - not really on the level of most of your posters so I just sit back and learn :)
Oh, and can I recommend having Clint Eastwood as your VP? Just a thought
Posted by: Instinct | June 6, 2008 10:21 AM
Thanks Otto, and Greetings!
The only thing I ever caught was a cold. Could you be a little more cryptic please?
Svin
Posted by: SVINROD | June 6, 2008 10:25 AM
Otto,
Wait a minute...Tang?...Oh holy crap!
Synchronicity!
That is a BIG GRIN !
Thanks-Svin
Posted by: SVINROD | June 6, 2008 10:41 AM
Good news-- he's back!
Bad news-- he just admitted he basically "tosses off" those fantastic essays of his...
Good work raising the bar for the rest of us. :)
Posted by: Erin_Coda | June 6, 2008 5:18 PM
POTIS, schmotis!
Get thee and thy subversion back into reclusion!
Posted by: Kitteh | June 6, 2008 5:53 PM
Welcome back.
I've forgotten what free ice cream tastes like, but you sure make it sound good.
Posted by: Carbo | June 6, 2008 6:10 PM
Aloha!
Glad to see you're back!! Looking forward to some great reading.
Mahalo!
Posted by: KONAMIKE | June 6, 2008 11:16 PM
Man, are you a sight for these sore eyes! And so presidential at that! You'd have my vote for CIC in a heartbeat.
So glad to hear that the movie project is still in play. Consider my spirits officially buoyed! The trouble with Hollywood has been on my mind a lot lately. Give 'em hell, Bill. Can't wait to see it. ad astra!
Posted by: an unrepentant kulak | June 7, 2008 7:13 PM
Woo hoo! You're back!
Drag out the dust mops and
clean up all the dust bunnies!
/green tea w/pomegranite
Posted by: Maggie | June 7, 2008 10:09 PM
Welcome back Bill! I was picturing some secret police visited you in the middle of an edit session to plant firecrackers (or worst) and you've been entertaining them undercover ever since. Of course they'd have to get a pass to get on the lot and since 9/11 the only bombs crossing Sony's gates are the ONES LEAVING!!
Posted by: Raff Sanchez | June 8, 2008 1:29 AM
Bill, even your silence is deafening.
Posted by: Sully | June 8, 2008 6:59 AM
I have to say, your summary of that script of yours reminds me at least superficially of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I've often wondered where you'd fall relative to the objectivist crowd.
Whatever inspiring rhetoric you have on boil, I'm certain it will be ingenious and a welcome respite. Godspeed, good sir.
Posted by: AvalonXQ | June 8, 2008 12:33 PM
Huzzah! I'm looking forward to your new scribblings,but I'm a patient guy.
Posted by: Quentin | June 8, 2008 2:23 PM
Yay! You're back!
I always wanted to send you information on the US Coast Guard's Team Coordination Training (though you could probably get that from either the Coast Guard or the Coast Guard Auxiliary's websites. Your opinion would be good, because you think a lot about what it means past the launch. So to speak.
Posted by: Mikey NTH | June 8, 2008 5:58 PM
AvalonXQ,
The great Ojectivist debate was a whopper here in Ejectia. Even though I are one, I finally had to drive a stake through it's heart. Maybe someone can find the Greek tragedy and re-post it.
Maybe not.
All the best-Svin
Posted by: svinrod | June 8, 2008 7:58 PM
Ah, yes, good times...
Posted by Svinrod on June 26, 2007 6:39 PM:
STFU
A very short Ejectian play in one unnatural act.
The Players
A door(like the ones in Star Trek)
The proprietor(Chase)
The Protagonist
(Heironymous the Anonymous)
The Ejectia Chorus(Various nobles and Riff Raff of Ejectia)
The scene: Door opens and HtA enters
Action!
Door: Pssshhhhht
HtA: Good evening gents!
(Looks out window)
Say-thats an um...interesting sculpture...is it Michaelangelo?
Chase: Uh, no its a...a...Dougman!
Whats your pleasure stranger?
HtA: Um, A beer I think.
Chase: What type of beer?
Hta: Well, I've heard that Objectivist beers are quite superior.
Ejectia Chorus: Shut the F*** Up!!!!
Door:Pfssshhht!
Posted by: Otto Gass | June 8, 2008 8:37 PM
I am glad to hear that the reports of your death have been exaggerated. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.
Posted by: Berge | June 9, 2008 5:19 AM
Thanks Otto!
Hard to believe I had a sense of humor once. I'll have to go back to Ejetia! sometime and see where I left it.
Ad Astra~Svin
Posted by: Svinrod | June 9, 2008 7:24 AM
Welcome back! I am heartened to see that there are posts coming soon.
I clicked on a whim and I could hardly believe my eyes!
Your country needs you. Really.
Posted by: DiscerningTexan | June 9, 2008 1:52 PM
Bill, as George Scott (channeling George Patton) said, "Now I have precisely
the right instrument at precisely the right moment of history and exactly the right place."
You can be Patton for all of us. Give us the instrument in your "Republic of Emotion" and "...End of the World as we know it..." essays.
The time is coming when we must all rise to the cause or perish in the whirlwind. I choose to unsheath my sword and address the enemy with you as our thoughtful guide.
Posted by: TheBullfrog | June 9, 2008 9:15 PM
Can someone jar my memory?--dawn of the fifth day?
Posted by: A.T. Weber | June 10, 2008 12:20 PM
To A.T. Weber.
It is from The Two Towers. Gandalf: "Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east."
Posted by: Dana Commandatore | June 10, 2008 3:29 PM
I very much look forward to you hitting "PUBLISH" on "The Republic of Emotion" essay. I recently wrote one on education as I see it currently, The George Orwell Daycare Center, and I want to see where we agree, disagree, and veer off tangentially. You, sir, are a far better writer than I.
Posted by: Kevin Baker | June 11, 2008 1:21 PM
Bill!
You're back just in time for me to move to Japan. At least I'll have your blog to keep me company amongst all the anti-America Okinawans...
Posted by: stract | June 12, 2008 9:05 AM
RE: The Script...
I still wanna be the "Curmudgeonly Weapons-Locker NCO", who bitches at everyone about the condition of the gear they bring back.
Otto/Svin,
What was that word?
Objecti-BLLEEEAAARRRGHHHH!
....damn, I liked those shoes.
- MuscleDaddy
Posted by: MuscleDaddy | June 12, 2008 10:47 AM
Hi Bill. I am anxious to read all your new essays. Welcome back.
Posted by: Freedom Fan | June 13, 2008 12:15 AM
MuscleDaddy,
Shoes??? You got Shoes?
Lucky bastid!
Svin
Posted by: Svinrod | June 13, 2008 6:31 AM
Svin,
Well, not any more, dammit!
And thanks alot! You guys just HAD to go and say Objecti-BLLEEEAAARRRGHHHH!
....damn, I liked those socks.
- MuscleDaddy
Posted by: MuscleDaddy | June 13, 2008 9:30 AM
Damn you Objectivists!
This ground is Holy.
Well since I'm the resident foot washer,.. ((reaching for the wash bowl & bar towel))..
Bring your stinky feet over here MD.
Posted by: Dougman | June 13, 2008 9:34 AM
To Dana Commandatore, many thanks for the explanation. I knew it was familiar and should have remembered since I have read the trilogy 7 times beginning in 1965.
Posted by: A.T. Weber | June 13, 2008 2:31 PM
Welcome back, Bill. Now my feelings of intellectual inferiority can again be reinforced. But damn, it's good to hear from you.
Posted by: Angrytom | June 13, 2008 9:08 PM
Bill,
Glad you are back! I have encouraged several compatriots to keep the faith and not give up on more posts! I will notify them of your return. We get it!
Posted by: Carey P. Page, M.D. | June 14, 2008 2:58 PM
Looking forward to your upcoming work, especially the global warming related essay.
Posted by: ben | June 15, 2008 3:41 PM
I've linked back to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/06/re-proof-of-life.html
Posted by: Consul-At-Arms | June 15, 2008 10:03 PM
Just in case you need it,
http://www.afrinstitute.org/AFR_Institute.html
Posted by: newc | June 16, 2008 5:21 AM
Great! When the movie appears, I'll buy tickets for both myself and my family and buy the DVD too!
Posted by: the monster from polaris | June 17, 2008 6:17 AM
Hurry with the new book! Christmas is coming, and at the rate movies get done, I'll be buying copies long before I can buy tickets for the movie.
Please keep writing - your "I just post them hot off my fingertips"'s are better than I could do with months of sweat and groaning.
Posted by: UnrepentantRedneck | June 17, 2008 4:21 PM
Thanks for John Boyd articles...
Posted by: Frank | June 20, 2008 3:46 PM
My man, so good to have you back. PLEASE get your info "out there" so others can be converted. Especially get it to McCain while there is still a chance.
Kick the tires and light the fires!
Posted by: Phantom4 | June 20, 2008 7:00 PM
I wish there were more Bill Whittles in Hollywierd. I definitely look forward to the book.
Posted by: AlanABQ | June 22, 2008 10:37 AM
....spam alert at FORTY SECOND BOYD AND THE BIG PICTURE (Part 2)
Welcome back Bill!
Posted by: Frank in Adelaide | June 22, 2008 11:16 PM
That is a hilarious picture. Look at the conservative commentator playing dress-up! IT'S LIKE I AM THE PREZNIT!
Posted by: Dave | June 23, 2008 1:25 PM
I just wanted to say thank you for the Boyd essay. Such enjoyable and informative writing !
"the confidence – actually, the untrammeled ego – to know they will win".
Posted by: Al_Batross | June 24, 2008 1:15 PM
Gave up. Wandered off. Building a yogurt plant. so much for culture. Yee haww.
You better not be jokin'.
Posted by: Bill Mecorney | June 26, 2008 8:10 PM
For all who don't know, there have been and still are efforts by folks who have been strongly influenced by Bill's views to create portions of what was envisioned for Ejectia. You can see these and take part in them at:
E3Gazette
The Chase Lounge
Atomic Nerds
A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
Posted by: Doug Loss | June 28, 2008 10:32 AM
Bill, I've been doing a little writing on the side. Is there any chance you could hook me up with a Literary Agent? I was also thinking about using Lightning Press.
Posted by: Paul C | June 28, 2008 3:39 PM
I think Bill and this fellow would get along well....
http://www.autoextremist.com/current/
Posted by: rocketguy | July 2, 2008 5:52 AM
Bill, good to hear from you and hope to read your new essays.
If you have not heard of them, I suggest you contact The Moving Picture Institute regarding your script. They are a non-profit organization whose purpose is help filmmakers committed to a free society, and it sounds like your script is right up their alley.
Posted by: David Beatty | July 2, 2008 12:02 PM
I couldn't see you but I could feel your presence. I could feel the vibrations on the hairs on my arms and neck.
The power addicted, slave mongering, death eaters can feel it too, but it does not sooth or calm them. Their blood pumps with vile rage at your and our impudence as we laugh at their impotence to live a life of value and grace.
Long Live Ejectia
Posted by: Leftfoot Leeds | July 2, 2008 1:02 PM
For weeks I have been checking the site, breathless, waiting for something new from Mr. Whittle.
Just reading how you are GOING to write something has made my week.
The new essays sound perfect.
Don't hit me but...have you ever considered politics?
Posted by: mare | July 3, 2008 12:24 PM
When I heard you were going to be posting soon, I crapped my pants [AGAIN!]. On the Fifth Day indeed..."Praise Bill Whittle, with great praise, praise Bill Whittle, with great praise", all hail BILLbo, King of Gondor, come now to smite the evil Democratic orcs and Hussein Bin Laden, their evil Sauronic Emperor! "He would be happier to see you as slaves", yes indeedy, a pity we have no-one on the right to smite these craven slave-lords and their ovinic hosts. Sheep-Dogs unite, lose your anonymity and go forth to bring the battle to the enemy! Strike while the iron's hot, as they are wont to say, strike and do not let mercy stay your blows! More essays soon, Mr. Whittle, and let's be lively now, sir, motion pictures doth stir eagerness in our communal veins of sheep-dog plasma, but the pen is still mightier than the Left-Wing insects who draw blood through socialistic probosci! Step sharp, good sirs, and let us drink the wise words of Whittle the Wonder-Wit, Warden of Western Nobility, and let the puissance of his righteous and perfect thoughts fill the empty gorges that tunnel through our modern minds and dip the ladle of beautiful prose into the well-spring of eternal wisdom, sempiternal though we wander in shadowy lands, and fear not now that our Lord Brain and his High Mind has deigned to grace us with the Truth, so be it Sirs!! Cheers and Salutations, Fellow Travellers through benighted America!
Posted by: Michael O'Neill | July 3, 2008 5:27 PM
I am unelectable, Bill is not. Bill Whittle for president sounds very good.
Rik
Posted by: Rik | July 4, 2008 4:36 PM
I have a question that perhaps someone will expound on so I might understand taxes. Hilary says she will take the oil companies profits and ... I forget the rest. Who exactly pays taxes? Last I checked, 50 percent of americans pay either negative or zero taxes. The government does nothing to earn profit, so they pay no taxes. Corporations must make a profit, so they pay no taxes. That really only leaves a minority to pay all those taxes? What am I missing here? I would love to have someone explain how the 16th ammendment got so messed up. Oh wait, did we let this happen? Thanks in advance if someone is willing to take the time to explain this complex tax structure to me. Does anyone support the "Fair Tax"?
Rik
Posted by: Rik | July 5, 2008 7:03 AM
Well, Rik...
(a) I am a HUGE supporter of the FairTax (which was Huckabee's sole redeeming quality, as for as I'm concerned), and
(b) while I definitely understand the motivations of politicians and corporate power brokers in perverting the tax system, I DON'T understand how "we let this happen." Perhaps a blind faith in our national leadership (*snerk*), perhaps a willing blindness on our part (a category into which I'd have place myself), but I suspect it's mostly just a matter of our "indirect democracy" keeping our hands just a little too far off the reins. Then again, just how messed up could it have gotten if the legions of the under-educated, ill-informed, and the downright clueless HAD more direct control of the leadership process?
*shudder*
We need the FairTax to simplify the tax system, make it whole, and allow our "indirect democracy" to still stay between the lines even without the reins being within reach.
In other words, I don't have a clue either.
GHS
Posted by: GreatHairySilverback | July 5, 2008 8:43 AM
Regarding taxes, please help educate this curious Canuck: has the sixteenth amendment ever been seriously challenged? Prior to this amendment, was income tax levying restricted to the states? And when did the tax levels rise above marginal levels and enter the realm of double digits? Will there ever be a politician who, attempting the bring the tax rate to a low [possibly single-digit] flate rate, will ever be taken seriously and not politically crushed?
Yours,
Paul Bradley
Posted by: Paul Bradley | July 5, 2008 11:53 AM
I appreciate the attempt, ghs, I see you are just as frustrated as I am. As I understand the fair tax, they will have to abolish the 16th ammendment first, and of course abolish the irs. The states and business will handle the specific chores of keeping records, and leave the feds out of it. I too support it, and like Neal Boortz, but must admit I have not read his books. Paul, the 16th ammendment has been challenged, to no avail, the irs proved to be too powerful, and we, the people, as ghs said, let it happen. Perhaps we are awake, and as Bill says, us common folk can actually gain some power. One request, I will be having nightmares about ghs's suggestion that the clueless might gain more control... That was just cruel. Never give them that power!!!
Rik
Posted by: Rik | July 5, 2008 12:42 PM
Woo HOOO...He's back! Glad to hear from you Bill. Your energy is projecting from the homepage like a new sun. We, your minions await further intructions...
Posted by: Will C. | July 10, 2008 1:51 PM
"Last I checked, 50 percent of americans pay either negative or zero taxes."
You mean they don't write the check to the government or have anything on their pay stub that says they pay, which means they don't think they pay. But they do. I contend that it isn't possible for government to really force a certain party to a transaction to incur some cost; the nature of buying and selling is that in reality all parties to the transaction will bear it.
When I stand at the checkstand at Wal*Mart, it is impossible to say whether I, Lurleen the cashier, Earl the greeter, Ramon back in Automotive who just put the new tires on my car, Sam Walton's kids and the other stockholders, or the corresponding parties at the tire manufacturer are paying the taxes that arise out of that transaction. It's easy for someone like Obama to say that he's only taxing Sam's kids, but they adjust to the increased taxes by trying to raise the prices they charge, or reducing what they pay Earl, Lurleen, and Ramon. The result will be a combination; each of us will bear part of the cost, based on our relative bargaining power. An income tax that's supposed to hit those rich folks will end up doing exactly the same as an allegedly "regressive" sales tax; the nominal prices that are paid for things will adjust to whatever the nominal payer may be.
That's why, if we must tax transactions, it's far more honest, and less subject to manipulations, to use something like the FairTax, which doesn't pretend that "someone else" pays it. It's an "inclusive" tax that is quoted as part of the price the consumer pays, precisely because it replaces the hidden taxes embedded in those prices.
Posted by: The Monster | July 17, 2008 10:18 AM
Bill,
As you contemplate the Melting Pot vs. the Mosaic, you may want to look at something in between: the Stew.
If I have the story right, E pluribus unum came from a poem about the makings of a stew. And that seems to me a much better description than the Gorgeous Mosaic, and even a better description than the Melting Pot. In a stew, the ingredients don't disappear--but they don't remain what they were. They each take on a flavor that comes from the whole, but they don't disappear into the whole.
Posted by: njcommuter | July 23, 2008 11:28 AM
Thank you "someone's God" that there are people like you out there who can, hopefully, become a voice that can be heard in the wilderness of insanities currently known as the body politic of America and the Western World.
Although I found you early in my blog reading career, I spent too much time on the local rather than the real. That, is over. You are second on my Must Read daily bookmark behind Patterico who brought me up to date on you. Good luck and if a senior can ever be of service, get in touch!
Posted by: Sue | July 25, 2008 12:16 PM
Just bought your book. It's something that needs to be read and re-read.
I particularly appreciated your dedication to your Dad in the front.
I too wish I had a telephone like that for a number of people who have gone before.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Mike Flicinski | July 25, 2008 3:56 PM
> they will have to abolish the 16th ammendment first, and of course abolish the irs.
=======================================
You are MISTAKEN about the FAIR TAX
=======================================
To the best of my knowledge, the Fair Tax **only** -- repeat **only** -- repeals the specific tax code/regulations which define the IRS and the manner in which Income Tax is exacted.
It DOES NOT -- repeat: DOES NOT -- repeal the Amendment which allows the Income Tax by any means.
Hence, if passed AS-IS, it allows for the government to decide, "due to some emergency" to re-instate the income tax **while still extracting the "fair tax" as well**.
Don't stand for that, don't support it, unless and until it is directly and absolutely tied to the repeal of the Income Tax amendment entirely, which will disallow any re-instatement of it without express permission from you, the taxpayers.
Otherwise, I guarantee you that the government, in some time of economic distress (can you say, Social Security Crisis? I knew you could), WILL re-instate the Income Tax without your acceptance and WILL start screwing us all from two different directions at once.
DO NOT accept "well, pass it first, then we'll worry about that later". If you do that, the repeal will never, ever occur.
Posted by: OBloodyHell | August 11, 2008 9:39 PM
Welcome Back Bill, its nice to hear from you again.
Posted by: Sachin | August 13, 2008 12:31 AM
I am like a pig in poop these days...or, a Kid in a Candy store...or, a hooker at a Viagra convention!
Am I the only one who has not succumb to Obama's mind altering, messiah like, gaze? While everyone else salivates at the very sight of him, I just want to laugh!
Are all of you folks still sleeping? WAKE UP AMERICA! THESE NEXT FEW WEEKS WILL BE UNLIKE ANY CATACLYSMIC EVENT THE PLANET, SOLAR SYSTEM, or GALEXY has ever seen!
Another day into August, and yet another indication that the November 2008 Prophecy, which I have preached about a 2009 Clinton presidency since 2003, continues unravel the web we have weaved!
I even called Rush Limbaugh this week, not that I am an avid listener, (or even a supporter for that matter) just to tell him about my prophesy. He wouldn't give me the time of day, let alone, a single raised eyebrow!
Jim Quinn of www.warroom.com, just doesn't see it either. I was hoping that at least the local guy would give my prophecy a consideration -- no dice!
And, it seems that nobody on the planet is hearing my scream!
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) went on record today announcing that Half of the House would be voting for Clinton in Denver. I am sure the Clinton PR machine is working overtime right now, after having been utterly silent since Hillary withdrew (or rather, Suspended) her White House run.
Why has Clinton been silent these past few months? Because she was busy hoisting the chess pieces of her "soon to be presidential legacy" onto the playing board!
I myself am even amazed at how crystal clear the daily events have come together to form the road that will lead to the first woman president in US history. I am amazed that this prophecy came to me so clearly! I have to pinch myself a few times a day just to make sure!
It is absolutely stunning to sit back and watch this happen, all the time rubbing my hands together in anticipation for the blade to fall in 2 weeks!
I can't even sleep at night!
And, it has become amazingly clear just how BAD of a candidate Obama really is. I mean, he is on the extreme left. Not a centrist, and no where even near being any way, shape, or form, a logical candidate. Why would the DNC put such a bad representation on the ballot? It is plainly obvious that this guy, aside from being charming, is a complete bumbling idiot.
I mean, this guy is a total cluster F*%K in every sense of the word.
From his Marxist beliefs, his checkered past with associations with questionable characters, to being a Muslim, who America is fighting the fight of a lifetime, Obama is absolutely unelectable.
Who the hell in their right minds would vote a Muslim into office when we are sacrificing our children to fight them in the sands of the middle east? Nobody -- and that's the point.
Hell, they could throw Micky Mouse up against him in November and he would still lose!
He was NEVER meant to be the president. And, he was never meant to even make it to the ballot in November.
Obama's sole purpose, since I first called it in 2003, is to run interference for Hillary.
Are they working together? ABSOLUTELY!
Does he know he is the Ringer? ABSOLUTELY!
What does he have to lose? NOTHING.
What does he have to win? A hell of a lot of CHINESE MONEY that the Clintons have collected over the years to buy the Obama Ringer.
I am very anxious, however, to see how it plays out in Denver. Will it be the super delegates? Will it be 1968? Will it be the Birth Certificate? Will Obama be assassinated?
Don't touch that dial, folks! We are 10 days away from finding out the answer to this, and many more questions!
Read more of my rants at http://wwamerica.blogspot.com
Posted by: Xavier Holden | August 16, 2008 5:45 PM
"This is not a public square. This is a dinner party on personal property."
Effectively saying you will censor at will any comment. Therefore it is not debate, it is propaganda. Anything written here is therefore meaningless.
You will probably delete this comment, but you will have to read it first.
Posted by: James Yar | August 19, 2008 1:13 PM
You are correct, James (I bet you don't hear THAT very often) -- that statement of Bill's DOES say that "he" can censor any comment at will. That's the whole point. It's HIS PROPERTY... just like putting up a swing in YOUR YARD doesn't mean that you have to allow EVERYBODY to play on it. You get to pick who swings and who doesn't dip a toe in YOUR grass.
Where you're WRONG (which you doubtless hear a LOT) is in your calling it "propaganda." This is Bill's OPINION SITE, which he pays for himself for his own benefit, for the express purpose of saying whatever the hell he feels like saying about whatever he feels like saying it about. He is under no obligation to include a comment section AT ALL. The fact that he does -- for OUR benefit -- is entirely at his own discretion, and in accordance with whatever conditions he feels like applying... just exactly like YOU could do at YOUR OWN site, if you actually had anything constructive to say. And if that's just too one-sided or self-centered for you, then don't torture yourself by coming back.
As for who deletes who here: that's ME. I'm the house bouncer here. And I never delete anyone with topical issues to contend (no matter how contentious), or facts they'd like entered into evidence (no matter how baseless), or just another perspective on any given point (no matter how senseless). I just delete the whiners and dillweeds who've got nothing better to do than complain about how everything's so unfair FOR THEM, or just feel like sticking their heads in the door to shout something stupid and "meaningless" (look how well that word fits THERE too) or unrelated to anything being discussed.
So take your meaningless and POINTLESS little snit elsewhere, and I'll delete it -- AND this one of mine -- when I feel like it (which ought to be sometime tomorrow... I think everyone should have a chance to witness the depth of your arguments).
In the meantime, have another waste of a day, and shout at the world about your horribly restricted little life somewhere that somebody might actually give a damn.
GHS
Posted by: GreatHairySilverback | August 19, 2008 5:00 PM
Well said, Sir! Well said, indeed!
(And, thank you for your efforts).
Paul A.
Posted by: Paul A. | August 20, 2008 10:55 AM