I realize I’m a partisan, and getting worse, I’m afraid. I’ve long wanted to be a nice, above-the-fray neutralist. But life has not allowed that.
Anyway, I’m going to make a point about the Democratic party. Nancy Pelosi said the following about Republicans: “They don’t just want to make cuts. They want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the Department of Education. They want to destroy your rights.”
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I want to ask you: How do you do business with someone like that? How do you do business with a party like that? “They want to destroy”? (I’ll grant that we think the Department of Education a total boondoggle.) “They want to destroy your rights”?
I’m reminded of why I revolted against the Democratic party long ago: They all talked like this. They all regarded their opponents as monstrous or subhuman. And I knew it was bunk.
One more thing: Nancy Pelosi is not some street-corner lunatic. She’s not yet another columnist, or “commenter,” at the Huffington Post. She is the leader of the Democratic party in the House! If that’s not representative — what is?
For several years, I’ve written about the incredible courage it takes to be an Iraqi official: to risk kidnapping or murder; to see your loved ones at risk of the same. I’ll meet these Iraqis at international conferences, or in Iraq itself, and think, “Would I have the same guts?” And the answer is not reassuring.
I had similar thoughts when reading the news out of Afghanistan:
A suicide bomber hiding explosives in his turban assassinated the mayor of Kandahar on Wednesday . . .
Mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi, 65, was the third powerbroker from southern Afghanistan to be killed in just over two weeks . . .
(Full story here.) Someone has to step forward to build a country. It’s amazing that there are people willing to do it. Are they all power-mad? Some, surely. But all, no. Some are just decent and brave.
I put this in the category of “We Can’t Say We Weren’t Warned”: “Iran’s stepped-up arming of Shiite militiamen in southern Iraq who are targeting American troops may be designed to trigger a ‘Beirut-like moment’ of mass U.S. casualties, the Obama administration’s nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress on Tuesday.” (Full story here.)
Buckle your chin straps, as we used to say in football. But that, of course, is too light a comment for what we’re facing here . . .
You’ve read about McDonald’s, I’m sure. If you haven’t, let me give a snippet of the news, and then make a comment (possibly snippy):
An apple a day may keep the doctor away. But when you put it in a Happy Meal, it might help keep regulators at bay too. McDonald’s on Tuesday said that it would add apple slices and reduce the portion of French fries in its children’s meal boxes beginning this fall, effectively taking away consumers’ current choice between either having apples with caramel dip or fries as a Happy Meal side.
The move by McDonald’s, which has become a leader in moving from just burgers and fries to more nutritious fare like oatmeal and salads, comes as fast food chains face intense scrutiny from health officials and others who blame the industry for childhood obesity and other health-related problems.
(Full story here.) It’s a development like this that gets my libertarian juices flowing — that makes me want to put on my feathers and warpaint and go party (by which I mean, tea-party). What the hell business is it of government bureaucrats (I know we’re not supposed to use that word) what McDonald’s chooses to sell, and what its customers choose to buy, or not buy? I mean, is this America?
I’m in that kind of mood, chillen . . .
I found this news article rather fascinating. It begins, “Tyler Thompson is an unlikely star in the world of Chinese opera.” How unlikely? He is a “black teenager from Oakland.”
Reading the article, I was reminded of a formidable young woman I met recently. Her name is Ying Ma, and she is from Oakland. She is originally from Guangzhou. She has written a memoir, Chinese Girl in the Ghetto, which waits at my bedside to be read. The great Mona Charen has written a column about her and her book: here.
Again, I haven’t read the book, but I’ve met the author, and Mona has read the book, and I know it’s damn good.
With apparent ease Pelosi crossed the threshold from partisan hack to outright whack job which puts her squarely in the mainstream of her party. It is a truism, of course that if you can't argue policy, argue motives. In this way the Democratic party has been showing it's bankruptcy as a serious governing entity for generations.
I heard the NASCAR prayer on tv the other night. After hearing comments, I went to youtube and looked up "Ricky Bobby prayer". You will say to yourself - plagiarism??
McDonalds treated us as adults. My son always got the apples with a 50/50 split on a soda or a milk (heck, the chocolate milk probably has more "empty calories"). Now, he is going to get fries whether I like it or not! Nice job Michelle. I guess that makes you the head nag (I started to write the word for "one who nags" but didn't want to get banned!).
I liked the prayer. I believe that he is acknowledging that all things come from The Creator. He has given us the talents and knowledge required to make the cars. If a little plagiarism is involved, make him the VP (and the crowd loved it). I also appreciated the fact that he was thankful for his "Hot Wife". I know I am thankful for mine!
Bulldog: I thought the prayer was very cute. My point was that I don't believe the preacher came up with it entirely on his own and in todays litigious society I'm surprised he didn't give a "shout-out" to the originator. That's all. Most of us should be thankful for marrying above ourselves in the looks department!
When you talked about Pelosi, you missed what has to be in contention for the most inane political quote of the year. (Sounds like she must have been using TOTUS!)
"What we're trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We're trying to save life on this planet as we know it today
I used to be a bit of a nerd when it came to flag etiquette (I'm more relaxed now). At a nearby park, there was a flagstaff with a gaff. Proper flag etiquette states that the place of honor is at the end of the gaff, rather than at the top of the staff. I saw the American flag at the top of the staff and went to find a maintenance man to tell him that the American flag should be at the head of the gaff, not the top of the staff. To my surprise, he told me he knew that. But when they flew the flag at the head of the gaff, they got so many complaints that they just flew it at the top of the staff now.
In the McDonalds category. I predict that, in contrast to the huge publicity campaign around them introducing half-and-half apples and fries (unless requested otherwise by the customer) in January, in March, they will VERY quietly revert to full fries (unless requested otherwise by the customer) in response to 99% of the customers requesting full fries, or complaining.
I am not sure that that particular etiquette would apply in a park, anyhow. That has more to do with the display of flags on US Navy and Coast Guard vessels. But has come to be used on land with water-associated institutions, such as civilian marinas and yacht clubs, I think erroneously.)
It is not spelled out in USC Title 4 Chap 1, sec 7. And even Chapter 8, Section 12 of the US Navy regulations specifies that the flag (nationel ensign) is flown from a gaff under specific circumstances.
My guess is that reason for displaying on the gaff rather than the mast of vessels has more to do with tradition in that the mast was a functional item and the gaff provided a way to display the Flag in a more honored place--high, but not on a functioning part of the ship. The other ensigns displayed depended on what was going on when, etc.
And I am certain that this would not extend to a flag pole that is designed to look like gaff-rigged masts. There is not the issue of the multitudinous ensigns that get flown.
I do understand (and am not sure that I agree with) why yacht clubs fly the flag on the gaff of signal masts.
But regarding a gaff-rigged mast in a park: Does the park fly the Park Commissioner ensign when the park commissioner is visiting the park? Do they use the mast as a signal mast for races in the park? Is the park engaged in battles where the rest of the park fleet needs to be aware of what the other ensigns being flown signify?
So I think that to fly the US flag in a way that is most in-line with BOTH USC Title 4 Chap 1, sec 7. (And even Chapter 8, Section 12 of the US Navy Regulations, which are NOT applicable--unless this is a park at a NAVY BASE), the flag should be flown from the top of the mast.
Speaking of "err," what really got me one time was watching BBC in a hotel room in Guildford one night (I'm American) with the closed captioning turned on, and seeing "er" on the screen every time someone said "Um." I know we don't always agree with our English cousins on how to pronounce certain letters, or even whether to pronounce them at all, but come on!
You know, TChrisB, I think what the Brits actually tend to say, rather than "um," is something more like "erm," but with the "r" merely elongating the vowel rather than being pronounced, just as they do when the "r" sound is in the final position in the word.
You're probably right, though now that I reflect on it some more, I think what I was hearing was even closer to "uh" than "um." Basically, the sound most English-speaking people make when they're looking for the next word in the sentence.
Regardless, I haven't read Agathie Christie's or Dorothy L. Sayer's novels the same ever since. :)
That Cuban comment from Harvard is one or the more nauseating things I've heard recently (ok, other than anything that comes out of Nancy Pelosi's mouth; did we ever have a more divisive Speaker?). But it is so typical of the "Hah-vad" mindset, and really any of the Ivies. They immediately think they know everything there is to know about a situation, and then they make a comment to demonstrate this, which instead merely demonstrates their lack of knowledge about the real world. I firmly believe this is the predominant attitude employed by those of our governing classes. Sad what passes for intellectualism these days.
I have always been proud of the labels on the insides of my better mens clothes with a shop name from San Francisco.
Say what you will about the political and cultural downsides of the City, it still is a sophisticated town and I remain proud to be associated with it - even if I do live in San Jose.
Being from Los Angeles, there are a few things I hate. The Giants. The 49ers (also the Rams, now, for that matter). And San Franciscans (or South Bayers) who refer to San Francisco as "The City".
Is there any worse example of insufferable preening?
Some of our Berkeley and Stanford professors think that the LA reluctance to embrace San Francisco's cultural superiority is the natural result of a well-earned and justified inferiority complex, probably with racial overtones. We are, after all, the natural vanguard of the proletariate!
Besides, our climate is so much more invigorating than LA's that we can wear tailored wool suits all year long. LA is soooo polyester!
(How's that for "insufferable preening?" And don't call it "Frisco" either!)
Ah, Mr. Somsel! I don't think I have laughed this hard in a long time. I am laughing so loud that the people with whom I work are looking at me strangely...
(FWIW, I live just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, in that one county...)
For several years, I’ve written about the incredible courage it takes to be an Iraqi official: to risk kidnapping or murder; to see your loved ones at risk of the same. I’ll meet these Iraqis at international conferences, or in Iraq itself, and think, “Would I have the same guts?” And the answer is not reassuring.
