Enter Tom, Stage Left

The New York Times has, of late, done some strange things, i.e., hired Bill Kristol.  It does, however, maintain the likes of Frank Rich and Tom Friedman, much to its credit.  (Mo Dowd is wonderful to read, but when she gets her Irish up, she borders in irrelevant.)

Today's Friedman column, "Green the Bailout," contains this line, "The American Dream is an aspiration, not an entitlement."

That line is one which should be emblazoned on every baby crib mobile all over the world.

And it should become part of morning prayers/meditation, along with "Capitalism good; greed bad."

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Here's the Pig, Where's the Lipstick?

Technorati Tags: Lipstick,Pigs,Finances

Ahh, Dear Gentle Reader(s), language is so much fun.  With all the brouhaha going on about the financial negotiations in Washington, it's amusing to take a brief digression into what what some observers, and it turns out some observers have a vested interest, are saying, with some attention given to the diction they are using.

Take, for instance, this little ditty found in a web site identified as IBD Editorials, an organ of Investor's Business Daily:

Hubris and hypocrisy aside, it's important to recognize the legislation for what it is — a rescue, not a bailout, of the financial system.

What's the difference between a rescue and a bailout?  Each implies a tough situation from which one is extracted by another. 

Perhaps the difference lies in connotations associated with the words.  Is it that rescue has a more "elite" connotation than bailout?  A more honorable effort?  Would one rather be rescued or bailed out?

Who was it making hurling derision at elites lately? 

Rescue v Bailout.

Are we using Avon products or Maybelline for this particular pig?

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Opus' opus

Technorati Tags: Berkeley Breathed,Opus

Of course, Dear Gentle Reader(s), no one knows what the future holds, but one can certainly hope the current "arc" over in Opus is not going to end with the demise of this wonderful comic strip.

A toast to "Bloom County," "Opus," and Berkeley Breathed!

Thank you.

 

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Anthropological Arrogance

Technorati Tags: Anthropology,Proposition 8

Far more years ago than I care to say, Dear Gentle Reader(s), an anthropological professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, discussed a certain arrogance which he observed as one society commented on the perceived weaknesses of other societies.  The professor's point was that if a society thrives, it works.  When societies don't thrive, they disappear. 

Here in California a Proposition 8 has been placed on the November 4 ballot.  It "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry."

In today's Los Angeles Times, readers are treated to an essay which argues that the proposition ought to be passed in order to protect children.

Here are some quotes from David Blankenhorn's piece for your musings:

1.  [Marriage] is primarily a license to have children.

2.  Family structure clearly matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage. (Statement from a 2002 study)

Now, DGR(s), #1 above is an unusual declaration.  Given the throw-away kids littering the streets of our major cities, one would hope there would be a "license" needed in order to procreate human beings.  Alas, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Very few people would even attempt to argue against #2 above.  Of course that would be optimum.  The question is how realistic is the optimum? 

Blankenhorn admits (reluctantly? but necessarily as a self-proclaimed "liberal Democrat"--we do have a tendency to bare our souls to all of our faults) "Legalized same-sex marriage almost certainly benefits those same-sex couples who choose to marry, as well as the children being raised in those homes."  So, the children in same-sex marriage families will "benefit?"  What's the problem, then?

The problem is with the language, with the word "marriage," which Blankenhorn feels will be re-defined, and the re-definition will undermine "the birthright" of each child to know his/her biological "maker."

That doesn't seem like a logical problem, given our society.  Perhaps the arrogance of the late 20th century's moralists needs to come under scrutiny.  Blankenhorn's is not necessarily better than what's being offered by the opponents of Proposition 8. 

And besides, Blankenhorn doesn't even live in California.  (OK, that's a little petty.) (Another Democratic conscience driven admission)

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Baa Baa

Technorati Tags: Religious Metaphor,Sheep,Flock,Republicans,Fundamentalists

This subject matter, Dear Gentle Reader(s), is nothing new, but perhaps it ought to be revived on a rather regular basis.

The old metaphor of a shepherd and a flock of sheep used in religious settings is a true puzzlement.  After all, for what purpose does the shepherd protect the sheep from the ravenous wolf? 

What happens to a sheep which is not eaten by a wolf? 

Anyone see many sheep dying of old age, surrounded by teary ovine eyes?

Sheep are shorn.

Sheep are butchered.

Cute, frisky, little lambs are butchered--ever had a lamb chop?

Thanks a lot, shepherd, buddy.

And the dog you walked in with.

Yet, we have: "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want."

Hmmm.

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A Question(s) for Contemplation

Technorati Tags: Religion,Fundamentalists

A.  Just how efficacious, Dear Gentle Reader(s), are our religious institutions, not to mention the basic family unit, at teaching morality?

In all the brouhaha about, say, abstinence-only-before marriage v sex-education in the educational system, isn't there an underlying rationale that the teaching of morality and responsibility done at home or at religious educational facilities isn't working?  If church and home were doing such a good job, why do we need laws restricting behavior?

B.  What, really and truly, is the difference between a fundamentalist Christian, an orthodox Jew, and a fundamentalist Moslem?  They all, literally, pray to the very same Deity.  Yet they gleefully strive to kill off those who do not pray in the same manner as they.  Do we really trust the rationale of anyone whose mantra is "God's will?"

Do we want a fundamentalist to be given the power of the button?  "It's God's will that I push this button and destroy a middle eastern city so that the End of Days might commence."

Just askin'.

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...and Agnew's son!

Dear Gentle Reader(s), not to put too fine a point on it, there're some knockout people in the Palin camp.

Waaaaaay back when RMN was running for his 1968 term, there was a claque of gay guys in Houston who were taken with Spiro Agnew's son...and who remembers his name?

At a brunch the guys had a hand painted sign at the front door which read:

NIXON'S THE ONE!!!--AND AGNEW'S SON

Well, McCain's not the one, but oh, that Palin son (and incipient son-in-law)!!!!!

Excellent genes, Sarah and Todd.  Excellent genes!

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Does "No, but..." equal "No, Butt."?

Technorati Tags: Conversation civility

What, Dear Gentle Reader(s), does a tendency to preface responses with "No, but" do to a conversation?

Doesn't it raise one's hackles (whatever they are)?  After making a clear, succinct, and virtually unassailable point, what is a person to do if a respondent's first word is "No"?

Shut down?  Curl up like an armadillo, and present a shield to the world?  Hide one's head in the sand?  Turn, like a porcupine, and unleash dozens of stinging quills upon the miscreant?

Rather than engaging in cowardice or mayhem, perhaps it is possible to convince the perpetrators of this negativity that too many noes is bad for conversation, and bad for the no, too.  Spread anything too thin and it loses its value.

Let us begin a campaign, then, DGR(s), to retire the ubiquitous No and to proselytize for the use of "Yes, and, too..." or "May I offer a slightly different view?"

That way your conversing partner is at once applauded for perspicacity and invited to participate in a new intellectual adventure.

Yes.

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Brachy Chronicles 8.13.08

Should PSA tests be such a major factor in diagnosing prostate cancer?  The answer to that is a continuing discussion.

How about the effectiveness of radiation seed implants (Brachytherapy)?  Here're a couple of test results.  November, 2007, a PSA result of 4.7; August, 2008, a PSA result of 1.23--six months after brachytherapy.

We'll see.

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A Celebratory Wank

Tsk.

You're so easy.

:-)

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Brachy Chronicles 8.10.08--Whither Courage of Conviction?

Technorati Tags: Old Spice,Brachytherapy

Well, Dear Gentle Reader(s), you might wish to skip this chapterette of the Brachy Chronicles; certainly TMI might well apply.

The 6-month mark post procedure is tomorrow, August 11.  There will be a PSA taken, and results will indicate a lessening of the PSA number (4.7 prior to seed implant), which will be good-ish or an increase in the PSA number which will not be good-ish; or even a static PSA number which will be whatever-ish.

There are other indications, however, which are additional to the physical effects of the seeds, which give one pause.  Primarily, the reference is to the 70th birthday in April.  A couple of relatively benign, but unsightly, developments in the male body become more apparent as said body accumulates time.

To wit: the scrotum tends to lose elasticity, especially the ability to contract.  It is unsightly and, juxtaposed with the slight swelling of various parts of the body associated with radiation, uncomfortable.  It is also without remedy. (Well, one supposes there is some sort of plastic surgery procedure, but Puhleez!)

What to do?

After much deliberation and experimentation with various supporting accessories, the decision was made to chuck all pretense and embrace geezerhood.  Bravo seersucker suits!  White shoes!  Snowy white long sleeved shirts--with muted bow ties!  And, most important of all--TA-DA!!--Old Spice after shave!!!

What could be more perfect?

Set off to accomplish the mission, DGR(s), and you will discover the fatal flaw in the perfect solution--the $9.99 cost of a bottle of Old Spice.  Alas, geezerhood is more expensive than one supposed.

What to do?  After long deliberation, it is decided, rather reluctantly, to embrace miserhood.  One needs no further preparation than one's current existence.  Further, it is easy to change one's conviction, especially when the financial cost is beneficial.

So much for conviction. 

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Whither logos? Quo verbum?

Just about the time, Dear Gentle Reader(s), one thinks monotheism is about the most illogical of religions, our brethren come through and discombobulate our thinking.

The New York Times reports today on unrest in Kashmir.  It seems the Hindus and Muslims are at loggerheads about Hindu access to a shrine:

The crisis centers on a Hindu shrine that, according to local legend, was discovered by a Muslim shepherd more than a century ago. The cave shrine, known as Amarnath and situated at an altitude of more than 12,000 feet, contains a stalagmite of ice that Hindus consider a representation of Shiva, one of their most important gods.

According to the report, 15 have already died,  and thousands of troops have been deployed to keep the peace.

"...a stalagmite of ice..."

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July 29, 2008 Quickies

How do you suppose Monica Goodling and her cohorts at the Justice Department sleep at night, knowing that she and her ilk violated their oath to support the Constitution of the United States?

Whenever one sees a driver coming to a complete stop at an intersection with a stop sign, it's a sure indication of two possibilities:  1) that person is an above-average driver; 2) that person is within 18 months of the last time a moving violation citation was issued.  Just sayin'.

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Deja Marshall Vu, All Over Again

Technorati Tags: Marshall McLuhan,Information Acquisition,Reading,Writing

This, Dear Gentle Reader(s), from The New York Times' web site:

Young people “aren’t as troubled as some of us older folks are by reading that doesn’t go in a line,” said Rand J. Spiro, a professor of educational psychology at Michigan State University who is studying reading practices on the Internet. “That’s a good thing because the world doesn’t go in a line, and the world isn’t organized into separate compartments or chapters.”

If that doesn't sound familiar, may one refer you to Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media.  In it, during the 1960's, McLuhan discussed the "linear" and the "mosaic" as metaphors for acquiring information.  Pre-electronic age Westerners (one hedges, just in case one doesn't remember accurately) learned to process information in a linear fashion...that is, a log line of information, analogous to the moving headline around the New York Times building in Times Square.  Electronic-age Westerners (same hedge) learned to process information in bits and pieces, analogous to a mosaic.

And that's what Professor Spiro is saying.

Good ol' Marshall.  We knew he was a prophet. 

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Did you pay attention?

Dear Gentle Reader(s), when you ere enrolled in your English classes in K-12, it is hoped you learned a lesson or two about reading...especially that it is important to think  as well as to call words. 

For instance, here's a quote from the White House web site:  "...a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals..."

Now, look carefully.  What do you remember about the word horizon, DGR(s)?  What is unique about the horizon?  It never can be attained.  By definition, it always remains unreachable.

Think.

Peace.

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Whither Reading Skills?

Alas, Dear Gentle Reader(s), somewhere along the way a child (or two) didn't get the message that reading involves understanding as well as calling words.

Take, please!, the example to be found today on Page A10 of the Riverside, California's The Press-Enterprise (print edition). We have this headline: U.S. wary of Israeli strike on Iran, and this sub-headline: HIGH-RISK: The Joint Chiefs chairman an air assault on nuclear facilities could destabilize the region.

Now, DGR(s), if you're thinking, as I was, that this chairman must've lost his chair if he thinks the region is stable--after all, "could destabilize" implies stability in the first place--you'd be correct, up to a point.

Here's the point. In the story the chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, actually is quoted thusly: "This is a very unstable part of the world and I don't need it to be more unstable."

Whoa! The chairman did not say "could destabilize." He said it is "very unstable."

The headline writer at The Press-Enterprise erred; the editor in charge of overseeing the headline writer erred.

Back to school, folks.

This time pay attention to your poor beleaguered English teacher.

[And I know, DGR(s), how dangerous it is for an ex-English teacher to point out weaknesses in language skills of others. Alas, I know all too well.]

Have a good 4th!

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Context Matters

Of course, Dear Gentle Reader(s), context matters.  There really isn't any discussion about that.  Why, then, does context so often disappear from discussion?

The current brouhaha regarding General Wesley Clark's comments about Senator McCain's Vietnam war experiences is an excellent case in point.

Here is a quote from Salon.com, it's from Joan Walsh's July 1, 2008, column

Slamming Wesley Clark

I was sorry to see the Obama campaign "reject" Gen. Wesley Clark's remarks about John McCain on Face the Nation yesterday. I think the context of Clark's remarks mattered (although that's gotten lost in the right wing blogosphere's attacks on Clark). Clark was baited into his statement by host Bob Schieffer, who took issue with some earlier, milder remarks Clark had made about McCain's military service not being direct preparation for the presidency.

Here's what was said:

Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean --

Clark: Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.

Schieffer: Really?

Walsh goes on to wonder why Schieffer said "Really?"  We should do that, too, DGR(s).  While McCain's subsequent POW status and the treatment he endured during that time might give us some indication of his character at that moment in time, it does nothing to tell us of his decision-making processes; it tells us nothing of how much the young serviceman of the 1960's has changed into the Republican nominee of 2008.

Context. 

We should judge the presumptive presidential nominees in the context of 2008.  We should be careful about making a decision today based on what little we know of the context of various yesterdays.

We are going to have to be especially alert to what is being said in this presidential election year.

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Ouch! That Hurts!!

Technorati Tags: BBC America,Television

Dear Faithful Reader(s), not only has the dollar dropped against the British pound and the Euro, but the esteem awarded to the American public has suffered a most grievous wound at the hands of BBC America.

Where once we could watch MI-5, Life on Mars, the various Robson Greene dramas, and other quality programs featured on such anthologies as Mystery Monday, now what we get is the Brit TV equivalent of Jerry Springer and Fox Noise panels.

How's this for a line up?  "Britain's Worst Teeth," "467 pound Teenager," "My Big Breasts and Me," "Teen Transsexual," and "How Clean Is Your House?"

Have we sunk so low in the esteem of the world that we're reduced to accepting anything they throw at us?

Alas.  One can only surmise it's true.

Spread the word:  MI-5 will be on at an off hour in early July.  FLOOD BBC America with letters.  One might even buy a Ped Egg. 

Um.

No.  Not even for MI-5.

I'd rather watch PAX.

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Alas, the saddest day of this year...

Today, at 4:59 p.m. PDT, Dear Faithful Reader(s), the summer solstice occurs.  The available amount of sunlight begins its yearly retreat.  Each day a touch gloomier than the day before. 

Tristesse.

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Brachy Chronicles 10--Light in the loafers6.12.08

Technorati Tags: Brachytherapy,Prostate Cancer

Well, Dear Gentle Reader(s), here's a bit of TMI for you regarding the after effects of radiation seed implants. 

1) The abdominal muscles go unexercised for a few weeks, and that results in a slight beer gut.  Of course, it could be a brownie gut or an ice cream gut.  Who knows.

2) One person described the sensation experienced when sitting as "sitting on a golf ball."  It's somewhat true.  It's also somewhat true that the "ball" decreases in size.  I'm experiencing a good-sized marble right now.

3)  A side effect, which one hopes will fade, is the inordinate amount of methane gas produced during the digestive process.  It gives a totally new meaning to "light in the loafers."  That is, an additional, meaning.  Alas.

4)  After some 4 months, the sensation of heat has abided.  One is still "cookin'", but the flame is quite lower.

5)  One is able, still, to impart too much information.

Agape

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