Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Insight Insomnia offers
from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202445_Comments.html
Having watched the bizarre spectacle offered up last night from St. Paul, Minn., I am of the firm opinion that part of me has been scarred. After taking in the events and processing the uneven banter of the ‘usual’ talking heads - a slow dull ache from somewhere within the unknowable recesses of my gray-matter started ... and it persists still. Channel surfing between a C-Span feed, the PBS pitter-patter, the ‘abc-assessments’ on ABC, and NBC’s odd and eerie offering of a US Presidential Address delivered in one-sided echoless techno vacuum, I was overcome by the realization that this GOP convention is a convention in name only.
What it really is ... what it clearly is ... is a ritualized quadrennial gathering of a group who have lost their collective identity. An empty charade populated with fragile smiles, tentative applause and defensive posturing which belie the fact that someone, something, has gutted the core out of this once formidable political force. Literally and metaphorically, if group body language is any indication, it appears that the GOP has been torn apart at its unifying seam. Since its last ritualized gathering in 2004 it finds itself plunging headlong into a profound identity crisis. On the tube last night what we saw was disparate clusters of likeminded ideological warriors, fiscal conservatives, cultural hard-liners, a few centrists and a great many lost sheep. Unfathomable four years ago, the GOP now seems in need of a little psych counselling.
Whether Gov. Palin is capable of setting the stage tonight for Thursday’s much needed healing and couch session under the tutelage of Sen. McCain remains to be seen. But, if she tries to treat the party’s chronic dissociation borne of eight years of Bush inspired PTSD with a petty dose of pablum revolving around the mainstays of Family, God, Guns, and the promise of Glory she will surely fail.
A quick read of her Alaskan “State of the State” addresses, in addition to number of published interviews, leads one to believe that she works from a predictable and finite template. Demonstrably at ease and capable of addressing state issues in her speeches as Alaskan governor, it will be interesting if she can master the same at the national level. More importantly, it will be crucial for her to convey a firm political understanding of the long term challenges facing not only the country – but those of her party in the short campaign ahead. The problem Gov. Palin faces is that in her speeches she uses her family is the introductory device and jumping off point to the God & Country and Iraq war references. In the wake of recent developments it will be interesting to see if she opts to stick with the tried and true. Or, she may adopt a whole new approach to her oratory. Perhaps, tonight we will see her deviate from her template and begin by outlining the strength of her religious convictions and their place in her American dream as a way of constructing and conveying her ‘vision’ to the voters? Either way, it will be interesting to watch!
Oh, by the way... no matter what she does, if McCain can’t close the deal on Thursday, they are done for... in the meantime: Go Obama!
What it really is ... what it clearly is ... is a ritualized quadrennial gathering of a group who have lost their collective identity. An empty charade populated with fragile smiles, tentative applause and defensive posturing which belie the fact that someone, something, has gutted the core out of this once formidable political force. Literally and metaphorically, if group body language is any indication, it appears that the GOP has been torn apart at its unifying seam. Since its last ritualized gathering in 2004 it finds itself plunging headlong into a profound identity crisis. On the tube last night what we saw was disparate clusters of likeminded ideological warriors, fiscal conservatives, cultural hard-liners, a few centrists and a great many lost sheep. Unfathomable four years ago, the GOP now seems in need of a little psych counselling.
Whether Gov. Palin is capable of setting the stage tonight for Thursday’s much needed healing and couch session under the tutelage of Sen. McCain remains to be seen. But, if she tries to treat the party’s chronic dissociation borne of eight years of Bush inspired PTSD with a petty dose of pablum revolving around the mainstays of Family, God, Guns, and the promise of Glory she will surely fail.
A quick read of her Alaskan “State of the State” addresses, in addition to number of published interviews, leads one to believe that she works from a predictable and finite template. Demonstrably at ease and capable of addressing state issues in her speeches as Alaskan governor, it will be interesting if she can master the same at the national level. More importantly, it will be crucial for her to convey a firm political understanding of the long term challenges facing not only the country – but those of her party in the short campaign ahead. The problem Gov. Palin faces is that in her speeches she uses her family is the introductory device and jumping off point to the God & Country and Iraq war references. In the wake of recent developments it will be interesting to see if she opts to stick with the tried and true. Or, she may adopt a whole new approach to her oratory. Perhaps, tonight we will see her deviate from her template and begin by outlining the strength of her religious convictions and their place in her American dream as a way of constructing and conveying her ‘vision’ to the voters? Either way, it will be interesting to watch!
Oh, by the way... no matter what she does, if McCain can’t close the deal on Thursday, they are done for... in the meantime: Go Obama!
9/3/2008 12:04:03 PM
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
GOP Absurdity
from:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_manager_this_election_i.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_manager_this_election_i.html
I can't stop giggling at this absurdity!
Mind you, it's not a good giggle.
It is a unsettling nervous giggle (a reflex really) borne of incredulity.
How does the world's beacon of democracy arrive at a point where THIS INCREDULOUS TRIPE becomes the focus during a PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?
Am I dreaming?
Have all the day-time Soap writers taken jobs as GOP strategists?
What the hell is next?
The way things are going,... it would surprise not a bit if any minute now a machete wielding Martin Sheen entered stage left to put an end to this Kurtzonian Circus.
"...the horror, the horror,..."
Posted by: BeerBellyBuddah | September 2, 2008 4:22 PM
Monday's scribbling NYT post
from: http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/cavett-dodges-the-chair/index.html?ref=opinion
Monday, September 1, 2008
Full Dislcosure
Still trying to figure out how a BLOG works - a strange world for sure!
In the interests of full disclosure and as an exercise to see if I can 'cut & paste' into a Post - I am placing all my recent ramblings from the WaPo (Washinton Post) site.
Apologize in advance for those (all?) that are inane. For originals see: http://www.washingtonpost.com
"Let's assume that John McCain is not crazy..."
Well, that's the crux of the problem isn't it?
Looking at the man's eyes and his forced smile yesterday as he was introducing Mrs. Palin... I have to admit that was exactly the question that came to mind.
Problem is: the answer matters. Is he, or isn't he?
Dear WaPo,
If the postings here are indicative of the "current state of the debate" in your America - I feel very sorry for your polity.
Clearly, today's examples should serve as a clarion call for a complete over-haul of the US education system (no matter who wins in November). How else does one explain the plethora of myopic, reactionary, irrationally-biased petty opinions now being exhibited by the cranially-challenged on both sides of the party divide. These extraneous drippings of sophomoric sputum are littering your landscape; detracting from the real issues, devoid of substance, and regrettable.
At the end of this campaign, many of the more verbose, insecure, and vile 'posters' will have to look in a mirror and ask themselves: "What price dignity?" And, for many, that will be the moment they'll realize that - theirs was soiled & sold too cheaply.
In the interests of full disclosure and as an exercise to see if I can 'cut & paste' into a Post - I am placing all my recent ramblings from the WaPo (Washinton Post) site.
Apologize in advance for those (all?) that are inane. For originals see: http://www.washingtonpost.com
Comment on: Opening Day Is Abbreviated; Bush, Cheney Won't Appear at 9/1/2008 2:15 AM EDT GOP operative, Rich Galen, is quoted as saying: "From the purely political standpoint, this gives Republicans an opportunity to demonstrate to people that they have common sense," he said. "If in fact people are going to suffer horrors, we are not going to be up here in funny hats, dancing and making it like nothing is going on." Surely, would it not be better if the GOP just stopped trying to figure out how (in the face of Gustav)to min/max the coverage of their convention and simply got on with the business at hand? Of course, Gustav cannot be ignored. But it should NOT BE ALLOWED to become a political plot device. Grown-ups must deal with trials and tribulations without allowing themselves to become derailed. GET ON WITH THE CONVENTION! Does Mr. McCain not realize? -- The whole point of the convention is to prove he has the gravitas to govern - in good times or bad. So do it. Nobody will vote for a possible-POTUS who allows an external (albeit tragic) event to so easily derail his sense of purpose and commitment to the democratic process. McCain, you must 'Stand and Deliver' as planned. Anything less will prove you are unfit to govern. | |
| Comment on: Collateral Killing at 8/31/2008 12:07 AM EDT There is only one solution to minimize the loss of civilian life from errant air strikes. BOOTS ON THE GROUND! BOOTS ON THE GROUND! BOOTS ON THE GROUND! | |
| huh? Somebody actually tracks these sort of editorial indiscretions? Talk about 'leisure time'. | |
| A 'tit'? Your wasting time complaining about a 'tit'? Surely to goodness Mrs. Reeder you must have more important things to fret about than a simple 'tit'!!! How about the US 'defic-tit'? | |
| Patience Mr. Broder. With two months of campaigning ahead of us, I am sure the man you once saw will emerge again. He just has to free himself from the clutches of the 'status-quo' DNC handlers who believe they know the message of the man better than the man himself? As another once said: "patience is a virtue for which daily columnists have use." Patience, Mr. Broder. | |
| Comment on: The Mush in California's Middle at 8/30/2008 11:36 PM EDT Dearest Georgie Boy, What's-a-matter? Your tie getting too tight? Was the circulation to your elite noggin' temporarily cut off in the wake of the Palin Paradox? Unable to muster a learned GOP clarion call for unrestrained support? Using California to denigrate the merits of 'post-partisanship' on a national scale is a weak construct. Never have I witnessed anyone so intent on proving that mutual respect and accommodation has no place in governance. Petty-bugger, you wouldn't know true 'post-partisanship' if its erect robust legislative phallus slapped you in the center of your flaccid forehead. Moreover, everybody knows California politics has never recovered from the Reagan debacle! Take a break Georgie, like Stella, you gotta get your grove back. | |
| "Postpartisanship" is this how it is spelled now? My Bad... I've been using hyphens. Its spelling aside; at least your assessment of its potential pitfalls is more nuanced than poor Mr. Will's. But you are still both wrong- the term does not denote an end to differences - it merely nudges legislators, (the bakers) to seek a common recipe. No one seriously expects they will always be trying to bake the same cake! But, at least they'll be working together in the kitchen. | |
| Now, this what an 'editorial page' should be! The forthright way the issue is handled is what readers (regardless of political stripe) once expected from the Post. Trust you will continue to exhibit the same kind of Gonadal Gravitas in the coming weeks and not forget to hold Obama's Campaign to the same standard. The polity can only but benefit should such 'straight-talk expressions' become the norm in this paper again. | |
| Mrs. Marcus, As an ardent and perennial critic of your column, I must admit I was taken aback by your reasoned and even handed treatment of the Palin Paradox. Well done. Shall endeavour to read future offerings with more care just in the (unlikely) event that I have been too critical of you in the past. Who knows, maybe this is the first example of a 'new way' of doing [& interpreting] politics? | |
"Let's assume that John McCain is not crazy..."
Well, that's the crux of the problem isn't it?
Looking at the man's eyes and his forced smile yesterday as he was introducing Mrs. Palin... I have to admit that was exactly the question that came to mind.
Problem is: the answer matters. Is he, or isn't he?
| "...opportunities were lost." Odd that a facile partisan such as Gerson would lament the this fact? What's next, a rueful column on the missed opportunities of Obama's populist appeal? Mr. Gerson, as usual your partisan proffering lacks class; but at least it can be used it to wipe my ... | |
| Well, McCain has made his choice. This coming week the GOP will get a chance to prove it was a wise. (How they will pull it off...God only knows?) Yet, would it be too much to ask that a truce be called - - that the petty-partisan bickering and unfounded character assassinations of poor Mrs. Palin abate before, at the very least, we have SOME facts. Admittedly, watching Gov. Palin today did give one an uneasy feeling. Kinda like seeing a doe caught in the headlights on some faraway Alaskan highway. And, granted, it is entirely possible that Mysterio McCain has lost his mind. Nevertheless. Surely, all we have to do is wait for her Veep speech to make a reasoned assessment. Let's take five in our vitriol til then. After all, lest we forget, November 4th is about electing a US PRESIDENT- not a Veep! Thus, the choice should be clear... Obama. Insofar as possible, the poor innocent Bambi should be left alone. After all, its not her fault she got sucked into this, as clearly McCain had to raid the northern forests to find someone oblivious to the fact of what they were being asked to do!!! | |
| Salient, relevant and 'bang-on'! The myth of Republican economics has gone unchallenged for too long. | |
| Krauthauthor, Once again, thanks for the turgid drivel. Obama "is a stranger"? Your entire premise lacks foundation. No man in the history of American politics has received more ink or been subject to such an unrelenting gauntlet of personal prying than Obama. If, after two years of this kind of examination some people still don't 'know' the man -- well, one can only assume, they must be illiterate. Again, thanks so much, I can always rely on your baseless venom to facilitate my morning bowel movement. | |
| Holy-meandering missive Batman! Today’s offering begins with a Jesus analogy intended to smear Obama with a ‘false messiah’ tag. Then it moves lithely to a Socratic comparison hoping to taint Obama with a sophist tag; all the while equating liberal oration (and only liberal oration) with a diet of ‘empty’ intellectual calories. Switching gears, Mr. Will, then invokes the bogeyman of a yet to be established threat (Iran) and the real one posed by Russia and proceeds to dismiss the role of “diplomacy” as a poor substitute for more inflammatory actions. Of course, this leaves Wee Wild Will with an opportunity to what? To resurrect the call for a ‘Star Wars’ solution to what is primarily an earthly problem. Moving on, Will then criticizes Obama’s intellectual capacity by saying he lacks the ability to understand that money alone will not solve America’s educational problems and, further, that Obama is incapable of rationalizing a workable free trade policy in light of the current US economic crisis. Then, Will indulges in his favourite pastime by launching a sordid and reprehensible defence of Exxon’s prized and protected place within the existing tax code. Presumably, he is unaware that the very fact a single corporation “pays almost as much” in taxes “as the bottom 50 percent” of American workers is exactly what is wrong with the US economy. How can a democratic country of 300 million abide by a system that allows such a concentration of wealth to accrue to a single company while the average American worker has seen their wage fall these past eight years? Following up Georgie Boy then pooh-pooh’s the very notion of alternative energy. Of course, he would, - wouldn’t he? As any successful foray into this area would only cut into the profits of the likes of Exxon. The failings of NATO are then identified in a vacuum. Surprisingly(?) Will refrains from placing any blame for the current state of affairs where it actually belongs: at the feet of the bumbling biped who has occupied the Oval Office these past eight years. Instead, he warns, it is up to Obama to deal with this particular issue. Apparently, there is a very real risk world affairs will not be addressed in tonight’s speech!! Really Mr. Will? Do you really think it has escaped Mr. Obama that he must demonstrate a firm grasp of the challenges facing America in the realm of foreign affairs. Do you really think he is unaware that a failure to do so, of course, “will speak volumes”??? Was there ever a chance the topic would be overlooked? Again... Holy-meandering missive Batman. Mr. Will, is not possible for you to crawl under a rock in an Exxon drilling field for the next 10 weeks so we may be spared your inane articulations concerning superfluous constructs and “matters barely remembered a week later”. Please? | |
| Pitiable, just pitiable. In his closing sentence, Mr. Gerson avers: "Obama should not underestimate his moment -- or squander it."!!! Oh yeah! Oh, wonderful! Just e'fn glorious! As my son says: 'Freaking amazing'!!! Mr. Gearson, kindly, please, pretty please, pretty-pretty please(?), enlighten us as to what bleeding, self evident, Black Hole you subscribe? Your powers of observation are clearly enhanced. The rest of we 'mere mortals' don't compare. You are absolutely right! Undoubtedly Mr. Obama fails to see the import of his acceptance address. Indeed, one can only but assume he has 'underestimated [t]his moment'. Blessed-it-be-to-Buddha! You have saved the day! Thanks for reminding Mr. Obama he should not 'squander' his opportunity? Surely, without your prescient powers of observation there was a real risk he would do exactly that as the imperative of the moment has obviously never occurred to him! Mr. Gerson, have you been struck by idiot-lightening? Observations such as yours, surely, never strike more than once. Well you limp-political noodle? Will you allow your two boys to read this? If, for no other reason than to demonstrate that "some men" dispute Daddy's legitimacy. | |
| Comment on: Clinton to Take Stage in Praise of Obama's Candidacy at 8/26/2008 4:09 PM EDT Politics and Family Matters: What Hillary Must Do. Tonight's address by Mrs. Clinton to the DNC faithful gathered in Denver has been much talked about. Perhaps too much? The task at hand is really not that complex. The mission should be clear. A seasoned mature politician must speak to her political family. Albeit a family still suffering from some real (but mostly petty)divisions. Formerly a contender for the keys to the Democratic Kingdom, Mrs. Clinton must now acknowledge that they now belong to Obama. Further, she must unequivocally aver that they belong to him by virtue of a wholly legitimate democratic primary process. Perhaps not one that all her supporters agreed with; but a legitimate process nonetheless. Then she must do the that go one step further. She must assume the mantle of, not the Democratic Party's grand old lady, but rather its knowing 'den mother' - she must extol her erstwhile supporters to drop their opposition to the idea of an Obama presidency. A family, she must say, gets past these things. A family built on common values, she must say, must pull together in the face of those who would seek to divide it. A family she must say, that fights and then stays together can achieve miracles. And then, and only then should she go after McCain. Not McCain the man, but the 'idea' of the man, the disease of his party, and the horror of its legacy. Tonight, this is all she need do; and she is ideally suited to do so. It's really nothing more than a simple case of 'Stand & Deliver'. | |
| of course the issue should be Bush! How could it be otherwise? | |
| The article anchors itself to the premise that great significance should be tied to Mr. Obama’s acceptance speech because it's slated to coincide 45 years (to the day) since the immortal echoes of “I Had a Dream”. True, the potential for historical twinning is unmistakable. The parallel's are unavoidable. Be aware, it is also the anniversary of: -1349: 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused to be the cause of the plague; -1565: St. Augustine, Florida founded. -1862: Second Battle of Bull Run; -1916: Germany declares war on Romania; -1916: Italy declares war on Germany; -1917: Ten suffragists arrested at White House; -1924: Georgia stages Uprising against the USSR; -1961: Motown releases "Please Mr. Postman"; -1963: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech; -1964: The Philadelphia race riot begins; -1968: Riots in DNC Chicago convention; -1979: The CDC announce high incidence of a disease in gay men soon to be recognized as a new immune disorder,AIDS; -1982: The first Gay Games are held in San Francisco; -1990:Iraq claims Kuwait as its newest province; -1991:Ukraine declares independence from USSR; -1991:Mikhail Gorbachev resigns; -1996:Charles and Diana are divorced; -2008: a man, a Black man (should that really matter?) must give the speech of his American life. As you can see, assigning too much importance to the date is 'mixed bag'- ripe for partisan bias and misinterpretation. Placing too much focus and too many expectations on Mr. Obama to meet the level and stature of Mr. King's 'Dream' speech may be over-reaching? But if it cannot rise to that level - No matter.... as long as it is the TRUTH. After the last eight years, all anybody really wants to hear pass the lips of a 'to be' Commander in Chief is TRUTH. Godspeed Mr. Obama. | |
Comment on: Mr. Obama's Show at 8/25/2008 12:43 PM EDT
Dear WaPo,
If the postings here are indicative of the "current state of the debate" in your America - I feel very sorry for your polity.
Clearly, today's examples should serve as a clarion call for a complete over-haul of the US education system (no matter who wins in November). How else does one explain the plethora of myopic, reactionary, irrationally-biased petty opinions now being exhibited by the cranially-challenged on both sides of the party divide. These extraneous drippings of sophomoric sputum are littering your landscape; detracting from the real issues, devoid of substance, and regrettable.
At the end of this campaign, many of the more verbose, insecure, and vile 'posters' will have to look in a mirror and ask themselves: "What price dignity?" And, for many, that will be the moment they'll realize that - theirs was soiled & sold too cheaply.
| At 8:45:16 a racist (whom I refuse to dignify by citing his tag) asked the following: "95% of BLACKS voted for Barack Hussein Obama. ... would I be a racist if I proposed the following slogan, - 95% of WHITES,- BE RIGHT, VOTE WHITE!!!" The answer, quite simply, is YES, YES, YES. The disservice such a vile post does to the credibility of socially conscious GOP supporters astounds. Yet, curiously, none of them have taken the time to disavow the legitimacy of this kind of discourse. Shame. Has hyper-partisanship in this campaign reached such a point that reasoned people are afraid to confront the 'disease within' their own parties? Whether one is left or right, rich or poor, or black or white; surely the time has come for people (regardless of political stripe) to speak out against this venom? | |
| Somebody here posted at "1:16:44 PM" that he was a Canada "fan" but wished we would take our "immigration rules a little more seriously" and "weren't so PC hog-tied vis a vis their growing Islamist problem." Well, while glad he is a 'fan' of Canada, I wish he were also a 'student'. Please, as a 45 year-old 'born-n-bred' Canadian, can somebody tell me what "Islamist Problem" he is thinking about? As my Islamist immigrant next-door is currently soundly with his wife and three little ones safely tucked away for the night - I cannot presently ask him to enlighten me on the scope and depth of this problem. I am at a loss. Perhaps, if I arise early enough this morning, I can catch him before he rushes off to work for his early shift. Then I will say: "Dr. Z., can you tell me anything about the 'Islamist Problem'?" He will laugh. I will laugh. And then we will laugh together. Soon he will be off to spend 12 hours in my local ER Hospital treating any and all; Christians, Buddhists, Taoists and Atheists in need of help. What Islamist Problem? What we have here in Canada is a chance to fix the 'Human' problem - i.e. irrational stereotyping. | |
| As a Canadian I fully understand the desire of my southern neighbour to secure his house. And, to be clear, I do not begrudge him his legitimate efforts to exercise this fundamental right. But I did have to laugh at the blanket assertion by the Champlain patrol agent that US border protection "strategy is the same throughout the nation." Strategy is one thing: realization of policy is another. Have you ever seen parts of the shared ONE-THOUSAND-FIVE-HUNDRED-THIRTY-EIGHT MILE LONG BORDER separating Alaska from my fair land? Surely he was only talking about the lower 48- not really the entire "nation"? | |
| Good piece. If there is to be a "new way of doing politics" under Mr. Obama - then I fervently hope he spends some time in his convention speech denouncing 'hyper-partisanship' not by attacking the GOP, but rather by throwing down a fair yet firm gauntlet at the feet of Pelosi & co. that dares them to abandon their instinctive, reflexive and combative stances in favour of getting the doable done regardless of who they have to 'do it' with. | |
| Dear Mr. Will, Knew I shouldn't have read this until after I had had a good night's sleep. Your sad, sordid brand of political blind bias against 'the other' seemingly knows no bounds. Admittedly Mr. Obama needs to flesh out the details for a new US energy policy. Indeed, he will likely bring tax-fairness to the American worker and in doing so raise taxes on those who pull your strings. But, really, I mean really... does that mean the everything Mr. Obama says is a "fairy-tale promise" reeking of disinformation full of "messianism, deranged self-importance and delusional economics"? Surely these have traditionally been the the exclusive property of the Republican right-wing. Are you really trying to tell us that Mr. Obama is usurping the GOP campaign's modus-operandi? Strange, very strange. Thanks for providing the fodder for yet another nightmare wherein I awake and live on a continent run by F.G.Will and his ilk! Oh, the horror... | |
| Comment on: Where Paternalism Makes the Grade at 8/21/2008 9:49 AM EDT Months ago, in "Education Lessons We Left Behind" on 04/24/08, George F. Will reflected on the core obstacle facing the education system in the US. Citing 1966's Coleman report on education which "concluded that the qualities of the families from which children come ... matter much more than money ...[and that] The crucial common denominator of problems of race and class -- fractured families -- would have to be faced." He hit upon a useful observation deserving of serious debate. Unfortunately, he did not pursue it. In the ensuing 32 years since Coleman (16 under Republicans, 16 under Democratic Administrations) little has changed. Curiously, on this good August morn', Mr. Will feels justified in laying all the blame for the ongoing systemic problems facing US education at the feet of dastardly "liberals"! Clearly, he believes Republicans are innocent of any moral culpability for the continuance of the lamentable status-quo. Shame. While "liberals" are certainly guilty of some shortcomings in their approach to education- Republican policy makers are equally at fault. Yet, clinging to the halcyon days of "Ozzie & Harriet"- Will is incapable of offering a balanced opinion on the issue. Again, shame. Mayhap, if he were to take a long hard ideological look in the mirror he would see that the US right has failed the nation's children. A Republican re-tooling is needed; and, it must start by placing a greater emphasis on the future of the polity and it's struggling pupil population first. It needs to commit to social-investment in early child development programs- and it needs to avoid the fanciful pre-occupation it has with privatization of the public school system until, at the very least, a proper social foundation is built upon which all children can thrive- regardless of race, class, or 'liberal' influences. Of course, in a blindly partisan column bereft of balance... it would be folly to hope that the ever erudite Mr. Will will reconsider his position. Pity. | |
| Excellent article. 232 years ago the promise of the new American political and social experiment was, at its core, one of freedom. A secular state, removed from the dictates of any and all religious canons is a sacred thing. Thanks for reminding us. | |
| |
Comment on: A Race McCain Could Win at 8/17/2008 3:50 AM EDT It's now official: George Will should stop smoking all the "weed from the unkempt garden of his political thinking" in an effort to spare the rest of us from his "mere attitudinizing redeemed by insincerity"!Holy crap- only a pot smoker would deign to foist this garbage on innocent readers.
Comment on: The Many Gifts of Tim Russert at 6/14/2008 11:36 AM EDT If it’s Sunday Morning...Kids are up, dog comes in. Coffee's on, let day begin. Eggs a frying, dog a-barkin', bacon for one and all ... we are fed, paper gets read... it's the same - winter, spring, summer fall. Now Dad's political predilection is a sweet addiction and he feeds it every week. Time to be with MTP - he wants to hear Tim's take. With an election season defying reason; Clarity’s a must. Be it candidate, partisan, pundit or obsfucating bore: all must have their poop together as they join Tim on the interview floor. On point & fair - the best anywhere- Prepared & schooled – Tim didn’t wanna see America get fooled... again. Whether right or left, from east or west, Russert was without peer - he was why, each Sunday, we gathered near. Tomorrow, coffee will be on, day will begin, hard to believe ... without him. God bless. I'll miss you Tim. ********************* Fin ************************** Whew, that 'cut & Paste' only took me two hours! Frig, I gotta' learn how this stuff works! | |
2008
3:15 pm
Mr. Cavett,
Yesterday morn’, with windows open, soft breeze blowing, birds a-twittering and with fresh coffee in hand, I read your piece.
The personal memories it evoked surprised me. Long repressed,or, buried via the natural course of time I know not why- many surfaced with a vividness that disturbed. I slept on the story last night… but now, for reasons I cannot codify, I feel compelled to write.
I too had a similar experience. The son of a school principal in a small northern mining town, my early years were fraught with schoolyard conflicts.
It was the tail-end of an era when one, even a nine year old, was expected to ‘be a man’. Hard lessons for child - backing down was frowned upon. Take your lumps and get up was the message. Whining and complaining about one’s lot in life was deemed poor form. Use your words my parents used to say: “We can’t be everywhere all the time.”
I soon found, taking beatings from kids four years my senior disenchanted with my father’s stern and frequent dispensation of pedagogical discipline was a fact of life. Whenever the chance arose, such bullies would routinely corner me and proceed to pound the snot out of my little frame.
“Tough it out son”, my Dad used to say, “I can’t punish them at school for things that happen off the property.” A caring, but preoccupied man, my father failed to realize the scope of the problem. But when, in Grade 4, I suddenly developed an intense desire to learn Boxing, Judo, Aikido he was very supportive. By Grade 6, I had not only ‘toughened-up’ but was proficient. That was the year we moved.
Two year’s later I went back for a one week visit to my home town on Easter Break. I stayed with my best friend and his family. One evening, after dusk, we were walking through our old haunts when we were suddenly confronted by three of my erstwhile tormentors - now high-school seniors. Never one’s to pass up an opportunity to beat me and delighted at having the opportunity to do so again they made their intentions clear. Fueled by liquor and testosterone, after a brief chase, they cornered us.
Danny, the biggest, most verbose, and callous of the three was delighted at prospect of being able to renew our one sided relationship.
Knowing we could not best all three, I made a decision to take Danny on directly. Unsure if I would prevail, I knew it was our best chance. In short order, it turned out my training was paying dividends. Despite taking a few ’shots to the head’ I kept my wits about me. In time I gained the upper hand. In the end, Danny, now with two broken fingers and a busted nose, lay prostrate - the victim of a hold similar to the one you alluded to. His amigos backed off. My friend and I, relatively unscathed, were full of 13 year old bravado. Two days later I flew home.
Unfortunately, the incident had the effect of instilling in me a confidence that never again (never again) would I have to back down from any man. And I didn’t. Although I never looked for fights, I didn’t avoid them either. Using ‘my words’ went by the wayside. For the next fifteen years I never backed down. Even being stabbed didn’t dissuade me.
By 20, I was employed in a ‘Nightlife’ industry that invited conflict. One night, my misplaced belief in the ‘give-no-quarter’ credo of conflict resolution was taxed when I took things too far. Confronted by a ‘Danny-type’ bully intent on asserting his will, I acted, rather than reacted. The problem was, I knew before I acted that he was all bluster and little else. In my heart I knew he presented no ‘real or present danger’ to either myself, my co-workers or our clients. Nevertheless, my fists and feet did their norm and, using ‘the’ choke-hold, I almost killed the man. Words might have diffused the situation, but I chose to ignore a verbal solution. At the end, he was rushed to emergency, forever damaged, and I was shaken.
Two days later, despite my manager patting me on the back for a ‘good job’ - I remained chilled by the thought I had become the very type I had trained so hard to defend against. I quit my job.
Now, nearing 50, it has been almost a quarter century since I have raised my hands against another man. Yet, today, my four children are on the precipice of adulthood. Occasionally the boys glance at my scars and ask about my youth. The only answer I have ever been able to offer is let no man bully you — but balance your response to the threat at hand.
Although I have taken the time to instruct my children in self-defense; I decided long ago not to teach my boys ‘that’ particular choke-hold. Oddly, I did teach it to the two older girls?
Hopefully, I have been successful in teaching my boys all the skills needed (including the verbal ones) so that it will be a mute point that they don’t know the ‘choke’. May time prove my case. May my sons stay safe, stay not proud but reasoned; and may they need never know the trick that, in a virtual micro-second, can deprive another of his life.
There, it is all said and done, hopefully I can sleep tonight confident that I have taught my boys enough that it is better to be the kind of man who can reason rather than ‘toughen-up’ no matter what the price.
— Posted by BeerBellyBuddah