May 2009 Archives
Kelsey's Graduation
May 30, 2009 11:18 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Kelsey with her proud parents, Jim and Kelly.
Last night (Friday) we attended the graduation ceremony at Whitko High School in South Whitley, Ind. Kelsey Mize, Pam's niece (daughter of her brother) was graduating. And she was valedictorian! She had to give a speech! So of COURSE we went.
Her speech was delivered with confidence (or fake confidence) and full of wit. She did great. Toward the end, she rattled off a barrage of cliches, like, "If at first you don't succeed, try again," probably 15 of them all strung together. Ratatatat. That was my favorite part.
The graduates were all dressed in red or blue gowns, depending on whether they were Republicans or Democrats. Curiously, all of the girls were Republicans, and all of the guys were Democrats. Maybe I was missing some hidden symbolism in those colors.
I'd like to say South Whitley is heartland America. It felt like my stereotypes. But the high school gym was lilly white. I saw no blacks among the graduates, though I'm told there was one. One. I mentioned that to Pam's oldest nephew, Spencer. "It'll hit them when they leave. If they leave," he said.
Can you be heartland America when you're entirely Caucasian? I don't know. It certainly doesn't seem representative of today's America. A bigger question in Indiana is: can a school like that actually win basketball games?
Make no mistake: this was a quality group of graduates. They gave a lot of statistics about academic accomplishments and college plans and such. Real high academic achievements. Lots of tassels and medallions and such. A good share no doubt headed to college. Four entering the military.
As for Kelsey: full ride to Indiana University. She's a great girl from a great family.
Joe Klein is a Fan of Robert Gates
May 28, 2009 8:36 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Excellent article about Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush Administration. The piece, by Joe Klein, is called "Robert Gates: The Bureaucrat Unbound." Here's one excerpt:
A military intelligence officer who was an Iraq specialist told me he had been pleading for more resources throughout the Rumsfeld years: "Iraq was Rumsfeld's fourth highest priority, after China, North Korea and Iran," he said. "But Gates called me in and asked, 'What do you need?' And he gave us everything we requested."
Sotomayor and the Character Assassination Follies
May 28, 2009 7:50 AM | permalink | comments: 0
We've launched another game of "Assassinate the Supreme Court Nominee's Character."
Nobody plays this game better than the Democrats. Just think back to Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. They went after Samuel Alito pretty hard and unjustly, too, though nothing stuck.
But what Republicans are doing right now is way over the top, in my book. It disgusts me, in fact. They're not attacking Sonia Sotomayor's decisions, but her basic character.
- She's a racist.
- She's a bigot.
- She's an angry woman.
- She's treats other people badly.
Sotomayor is no racist. Republicans are taking one quote out of its context. If you read the whole text of what she said, it's exactly what you would want someone in her position to say. But the right-wing pundits lack intellectual integrity. They aren't interested in helping viewers get a true picture of this woman. They just want to destroy her reputation. And for no good reason. Because in the end, she WILL be confirmed. Yet both parties always feel duty-bound to destroy a nominees character and distort his/her record.
I wish we could just stop it.
None of the justices are bad people. They rose through the ranks because of their brilliance and competence (with or without help from political connections). They've distinguished themselves. All of them have issued rulings that angered people on the right and on the left.
Sonia Sotomayor is not a conservative, certainly. But I'm not afraid of her, either (like Rush et al want me to be). I'm not afraid of any of The Nine. When you're one of nine, any radical leanings get averaged out. I want diversity on the court. I would be afraid of having nine conservative justices, or nine liberals, or nine moderates. That wouldn't be good for America. We're a diverse country. The Court needs to reflect that diversity--not only in politics, but in gender and race.
The Democrats won the election. One of the spoils is the privilege of nominating Supreme Court nominees. The lunatic left fringe of the Democratic Party wants a flaming liberal on the court. Instead, we're getting a moderate liberal. I think Republicans should be content with that (and privately, they probably are).
And yet, we still go through this character assassination charade. Most Supreme Court nominees emerge relatively unscathed. Ginsburg, Breyer, Kennedy, Alito--they all endured fierce attacks from the opposition party, but who, now, can even remember what the charges were? I can't.
It would be nice if the Republicans could just say, "We're okay with Sotomayor. She's not who we would have picked, but it's not our choice, because you won the election. Thanks for not choosing a radical liberal. We can live with this pick."
But that'll never happen. Instead, Sotomayor will endure months of unfair criticism from Republicans, who will make her sound like the absolute Worst Person in the World. But in the end, she'll WILL become a Supreme Court justice, and she will serve my country well for many years. She won't represent my views all of the time, but she will represent the views of many other Americans in this richly diverse country.
But for now--she's evil and must be destroyed. And when Republicans regain power and nominate someone, Democrats will do the same thing.
Hoop Dreams
May 26, 2009 9:58 PM | permalink | comments: 0
We could have a very interesting, highly-watched NBA finals, Lakes vs. Cavs, Kobe vs. Lebron, dueling superstars.
Or, we could very well have the Denver Nuggets vs. the Orlando Magic. Just the thought makes me want to go to bed.
Which matchup you think TV execs are praying for?
Sunday Afternoon Nap, with Molly
May 25, 2009 11:04 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Books: Invisible Prey, Body Copy
May 24, 2009 9:40 PM | permalink | comments: 0
John Sandford is among today's best mystery/detective writers. His Lucas Davenport mysteries, set in Minneapolis, are always good reads. I started with his first book, "Eyes of Prey," many many years ago. I've missed a few in the "Prey" series (all of his titles use the word "prey"), but I think Pam has read them all.
"Invisible Prey" is one of those mysteries where the reader knows who the killer is long before the protagonist does. We follow along, watching Davenport go down some blind alleys, yet inch closer and closer. And yet, there are still plenty of surprises.
There are a number of big-time, prolific mystery writers today. I read just four of them: James Patterson's Alex Cross mysteries; Robert Parker's Spencer, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall books; and John Sandford's Davenport books; and Lee Child's Jack Reacher thrillers. That's enough to keep anyone busy. Of those, Davenport is probably the least interesting to me, which may explain why I've missed some of the Prey books. I would never, ever, skip an Alex Cross mystery.
"Body Copy" is the first novel by Michael Craven. It's hero is Donald Tremaine, a former world champion surfer turned Private Investigator. He's an interesting character. I enjoyed the book, with its mystery that really didn't unfold until near the end. For most of the book, I just watched Tremaine follow lead after lead, none of which really seemed to be going anywhere.
I suspect this is only the first in a series. Craven writes with some quirkiness, with some similarities to Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiassen. I'm not a big fan of either of them, but if another Tremaine book came out, I'd probably have to read it.
Remembering Chuck
May 24, 2009 3:32 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Pam and I visited the grave of Chuck, Pam's Dad, who died in December 2007. He's buried in the veteran's section of the cemetery, having been drafted and served during the Vietnam era (though never in Vietnam itself). Pam laid a red, white, and blue wreath at his gravestone. Four roses already lay there. We assumed they came from Dave, Chuck's brother, and his wife Elaine--one rose for each of the surviving siblings.
Garage Sale Days
May 23, 2009 9:22 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Mom and Dad's house. You can see them with Pam, especially if you click on the photo to enlarge it.
Pam and I spent the last two days helping Mom and Dad with their Memorial Day Weekend garage sale. We did three garage sales last summer, and will be following the same schedule this year--May, August, and October.
The four of us were selling not only for ourselves, but for my sister-in-law Joyce and her daughter, Paula. So it was a job tallying everything separately. But with a crack CPA running the cash register (well, okay, the legal pad with rulered columns), it was no trouble. At least, not for anyone but Pam.
Of the $1083 we made collectively, I made $187 and Pam made $139. So that was pretty good. But Mom took in the most money, thanks to her cookies, which she sells for 25 cents each in bags of 2 or 6. She made 58 dozen cookies, and all of them sold.
Mom's cookies--peanut butter, sugar, and monster--are famous. People come early just to get cookies, which she bakes fresh and brings out to the garage as soon as they're ready. We ran out by noon today, and all afternoon disappointed people stopped by to ask, "Got any more cookies?" People would buy cookies, move on to the next garage sale, and then, having dipped into their cookie bag, would return for more cookies. Happened over and over.
Oh, and let's not forget the homemade noodles. Those went real quickly. We convinced Mom to raise her price, which was at $2.50 a bag last year. We suggested increasing a dollar, but she went with $3.00. People didn't flinch. Didn't even notice the price. They just saw noodles, started salivating, and grabbed a bag or two.
Probably a dozen other homes in the neighborhood also held garage sales. I toured the neighborhood once, checking out the other sales (and bought nothing, I'll have you know). This is a neat neigborhood, located in a somewhat secluded area on Fort Wayne's south side, near Waynedale. The neighbors are neighborly; they know each other, enjoy each other. Quaint.
Here are some of random observations:
- For some reason, the "professional" yardsalers who arrive while you're still setting up--they annoy me. Hey, wait until we're ready, you vultures.
- A large percentage of the people who come to Mom and Dad's garage sales are Hispanic. Seemed like a much greater percentage this time.
- I favor a national moratorium on manufacturing mugs. Garage sales are littered with mugs people are trying to unload. We have enough. No more, at least for ten years or so, til we deplete the excess inventory.
- Quite a few Amish people came thorugh. Nice people. I was noticing footwear. Pretty much any footwear seemed okay, as long as it was black. And no open toes. Some women had slip-ons with open heels. Men all wore full shoes--no sandals or anything of the kind.
- I'm not a fan of dealing. None of us were. "Will you take 75 cents for this?" someone would ask, trying to knock 25 cents off an item that originally cost $25. No, we wouldn't. The price that's marked--that's the price. Sure, we did some minor bargaining, but not much. Spoilsports.
- Several people remarked about how clean and organized our garage sale is. Mom is a garage sale commando. She doesn't go to garage sales, but she loves holding them, and like the perfectionist she is, everything is in its place and properly marked.
Keith Olberman in a Minute
May 21, 2009 9:13 AM | permalink | comments: 0
I am not a fan of partisan "news" shows. And I use "news" in a very loose way, because too much of what we see on the TV news channels is not journalism, but punditry. That seems to be the future of journalism, unfortunately, as print media subsides in popularity.
Actually, there's still a lot of good TV stuff in the general news realm. "60 Minutes" and "Dateline" and "Anderson Cooper 360" and most of the Sunday morning programs deal more in news and information than in punditry. But then there are shows like Keith Olberman, which are unabashedly partisan and, therefore, totally lacking in credibility with me. They will show only one side of things, and only what shines positively on their political end of the spectrum.
This Youtube video pretty much sums up Olberman. Now we need one for Sean Hannity.
Book: The Forever War
May 19, 2009 10:38 AM | permalink | comments: 0
"The Forever War" is a great piece of war reporting. Dexter Filkins, a New York Times reporter, entered Afghanistan with US troops, and in 2003 entered Iraq with the US invasion. He spent seven years covering those wars, and helps us see what he saw.
This isn't an anti-war book, nor a pro-war book. Nothing partisan about it. It's just reporting of a very personal nature--progressive journalism, it's called, where the reporter is part of the story. We see what Filkins sees. He doesn't pass judgement, doesn't analyze. Just observes,experiences, and reports.
The book almost reads like a novel, a series of scenes. He's talking to a Northern Alliance commander. He's with US Marines amidst a desperate firefight in Faluja. He's in the Green Zone. He's in the home of an Iraqi official. He's accompanying Ahmed Chalabi to Teheran. Story after story. Beautiful, descriptive, yet strangely sparse writing.
The first 70 pages take place in Afghanistan. This, to me, was the best part of the book. He describes the constantly shifting alliances, a long tradition in the Afghan history of war. One day an Afghan would be commanding Taliban troops in some town. The next, he and his men would be part of the Northern Alliance, storming that same town to oust the Taliban.
"Battles were often decided this way not by actual fighting, but by flipping gangs of soldiers....The fighting began when the bargaining stopped, and the bargaining went right up until the end. The losers were the ones who were too stubborn, too stupid, or too fanatical to make a deal. Suddenly they would find themselves outnumbered, and then they would die."
Continue reading Book: The Forever War.
Rummy in Retrospect
May 18, 2009 9:39 AM | permalink | comments: 1
Excellent article online from GQ about Don Rumsfeld and the problems he caused within the Bush Administration. Most interesting was his resistance to helping out with Hurricane Katrina. He didn't want to deploy anything but National Guard troops, and kept a whole fleet of nearby helicopters idle, while the pilots wondered, "Why aren't we being sent in to rescue people?" Finally, George Bush basically read him the riot act--good for him--and got things moving. The article tells about another time, involving Abu Graihb, when Bush called Rummy on the carpet.
I'm reading similar things in "Fiasco," Thomas Ricks's book about the Iraq war. Rumsfeld wanted to disprove the Powell Doctrine--go in with overwhelming force. So while the generals said we would need several hundred thousand troops, Rumsfeld started the "negotiations" by saying we would need just 10,000 troops to conquer Iraq. Rumsfeld's stubbornness and arrogance cost a lot of lives, and led to the chaos which soon engulfed us in Iraq.
Alpha Chi Finds Me Worthy, Sort Of
May 17, 2009 5:22 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Every kid wants acceptance. To be invited to the Popular Kids Table. And that, as we all know, is the table where the smart kids eat.
Oh wait. I might be thinking of the Jocks Table. Or the Cheerleaders Table. Or the Good Looking Kids Table. Whatever the case, I'm sure smart kids have their own table. A table in a dark corner of the cafeteria known for geeky glasses and slide rules and wedgies.
At Huntington University, the smart kids had their own club, with its attendant secret handshake, code words, and yearbook photo. It was called Alpha Chi, which in Latin means "Someday you will work for me, you insufferably dim-witted peon." I never knew the entrance requirements, only that I fell short, most likely by multiple lightyears. Cursed with middling intelligence, I was condemned to wander life amidst the lower castes, shopping at Wal-Mart and flying coach.
I have, over the years, in my tireless fight against injustice and inequality, publicly bemoaned my exclusion from Alpha Chi, with its arbitrary GPA litmus test. Deep down, I admit, my motives actually surround an enduring quest for acceptance. I desire the recognition, thus far withheld, of my peers. Not my peers in the sense of intelligence, because I can find them in any trailer court. But my fellow HU alums, with whom I endured four years in the academic crucible--eating HUB food, attending classes in steam-heated Ad Building rooms, meeting the bare-minimum chapel requirements, and living with the constant fear of an impromptu thrust. I yearn to sit and sup at the Smart Kids Table and bask in the reflected glow of their otherworldly cerebral brilliance.
And now, 30 years since my classmates and I trod the platform erected on the front campus that sunny day in 1979, ultimately grasping the congratulatory hand of Dr. Dewitt Baker, my unquenched thirst finds respite. And along with it, I discovered that benevolent grace lurks within the HU History Department. Who knew?
A couple weeks ago, I received a soft package from Huntington University. Inside was a green T-shirt. Some might call it pukey green, but never mind about that. This, for me, was a magical shirt. A shirt that transported me to that mythical Popular Kids Table, which I never stopped believing in. And the T-shirt said:
Alpha Chi National Convention
Literacy 500
April 2-4, 2009, Indianapolis
On the back was the Alpha Chi logo, along with two tacky sponsor ads. Literacy 500, I learned--for I crave all Alpha Chi-related knowledge--is a drive to collect 2000 children's books. If these are destined for the children of Alpha Chi members, then they are no doubt textbooks.
Holding back the tears, I tried on the shirt, instantly feeling as if I could go out and square a root or name every member of the Romanian legislature, or Politburo, or whatever they call it nowadays.
The shirt came from Dr. Paul Michelson, the Imperial Wizard of the Huntington University chapter of Alpha Chi. His Holiness Dr. Michelson, among the original recipients of the Alpha Chi Distinguished Service Award and a 12-year member (elected member honoris causa, because they adore Latin) of the Alpha Chi National Council, took pity on this member of the yearning masses. In his incalculable wisdom, he knew that this T-shirt, a meager symbol without substance, would satisfy my thirst without compromising Alpha Chi's integrity. Like throwing an old bone to a dog and saying, "Shew!" Or maybe "Shoo!" If I were truly deserving, I would know the correct spelling.
That is okay. While the shirt may not, after all, give me a seat at the Popular Kids Table, it at least gives me the privilege of hovering nearby and observing, with envy, what the Upper Echelons eat. Unfortunately, Dr. Michelson neglected to include directions to the Popluar Kids Table. I think they moved it.
Anchor Worship Team at Cherished Again
May 16, 2009 11:04 PM | permalink | comments: 0
The Anchor worship team playing at Cherished Again.Jenny's son, Jonathan, kept creeping close and closer until he was pretty much part of the band. We got a kick out of that.
Tonight, the Anchor worship team played for 40 minutes at Cherished Again, a Christian coffeehouse of sorts in Fort Wayne. I say "of sorts," because it's actually a used furniture store. They just do Christian music in a coffeehouse atmosphere every couple months.
The Anchor team has played there several times. This was only my second time with the team. It's a fun place to play.
Jenny Vergon, the newest member of our team, sang with us for the first time outside of Anchor. It was nice having her.
I took my short Alesis keyboard, but left it in the car. Another gal, with an 88-key Roland, said I could play hers, which was already set. That was one fine keyboard. The one I play at church is an 88-key Roland RD600, an older model. I love the Roland touch.
At the Gun & Knife Show
May 16, 2009 4:16 PM | permalink | comments: 0
I went to the Fort Wayne Gun & Knife Show this morning with my nephew, Benjamin. I've never seen it so crowded. Lots more guns for sale, especially handguns, than I've seen before.
The hysteria continues, about Democrats supposedly plotting to clamp down on, or tax, gun sales.
I remain amazed at the ability to openly by assault rifles. They were everywhere. Plus a few of those huge 50 calibre sniper rifles. I kept my eyes alert for the Mexican Mafia, but didn't see any.
I don't own any guns, but do have a great bayonet collection. Bought one today, a World War I era bayonet for the Ross rifle (model 1905/1910).
Book: Unfashionable
May 16, 2009 9:11 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Here's a name I'll bet you haven't heard: Tullian Tchividjian. And I'm sure you can't pronounce it. He's a pastor, and he's got a pedigree: his grandfather is Billy Graham.
"Unfashionable" is best summed up with this line: "Christians make a difference in the world by being different from this world; they don't make a difference by being the same."
Tchividjian cuts through our emphasis on relevance, trendiness, using the latest technology--in short, being fashionable in the world's eyes. "Just when our culture is yearning for something different, many churches are developing creative ways to be the same....Churches are losing their distinct identity as a people set apart to reach the world."
Continue reading Book: Unfashionable.
Remembering War Reporting from Vietnam
May 15, 2009 2:03 PM | permalink | comments: 0
"The best combat reporting book since Dispatches," is how reporter/novelist Pete Hamil described it, or something close to that. He made the comment on Morning Joe a couple months ago, just as New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins joined the set to talk about his new book, "The Forever War," about his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm reading it right now. It's excellent.
Hamil's remark made me think again about Dispatches, Michael Herr's 1978 classic. It was among five Vietnam books I read real close together in the early 1980s. I've still got them all, with underlined passages that struck me at the time. All of these books were in print years before the movie "Platoon" thrust Vietnam fully into the American conversation.
Nam, by Mark Baker (1981), an oral history in the tradition of Studs Terkel.
Everything We Had, by Al Santoli (1981), an even better oral history by 31 American soldiers who fought in Vietnam. Santoli was a highly decorated soldier in Vietnam (including 3 Purple Hearts).
Something I underlined: "We did a fine job there. If it had happened in World War 2, they still would be telling stories about it. But it happened in Vietnam, so nobody knows about it. They don't even tell recruits about it today. Marines don't talk about Vietnam. We lost. They never talk about losing."
A Rumor of War, a war memoir by Philip Caputo (1977), Caputo first arrived in Vietnam in 1965 as a marine, and saw plenty of combat. Later, he returned as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He's a masterful writer.
Something I underlined: "Our mission was not to win terrain or seize positions, but simply to kill: to kill Communists and to kill as many of them as possible. Stack 'em like cordwood. Victory was a high body-count, defeat a low kill-ratio, war a matter of arithmetic."
Home Before Morning, by Lynda Van Devanter, who spent a year in Vietnam as an Army nurse (1983).
But I'd say Dispatches was, indeed, the best. And it's acclaimed as one of the best pieces of war reporting ever. Herr wrote for Esquire, not for a staid newspaper, and his writing reflects that with passages that are often surreal and off-beat. I may need to re-read it.
Something I underlined: "Patrols went out, patrols collided, companies splintered the action and spread it across the hills in a sequence of small, isolated firefights that afterwards were described as strategy."
How does "The Forever War" match up? It ranks right up there, and I wouldn't doubt Filkins wins a Pulitzer. It's that good.
But all things considered, I'll still take Ernie Pyle's writing from World War 2.
Who to Believe?
May 15, 2009 9:26 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Nancy Pelosi? Or the CIA, who surely would never mislead anyone.
Who is telling the truth?
Maybe, uh...neither? We're not talking Good Guys and Bad Guys here, but full-blown Gray Folks. But it's sure fun watching Nancy twist in the wind. Makes life worth living.
Poems I Remember, but Shouldn't
May 14, 2009 3:48 PM | permalink | comments: 0
In books and movies, fictional people often have a tremendous grasp of obscure poems. Someone will say one line, and another character will say, "That was Keats."
This, of course, never happens in real life. But I do remember sitting at a meal with my grandparents, out on the farm, many years ago. I don't know what brought it up, but the end result is that grandpa, a life-long farmer with no higher education, was quoting poetry he learned decades ago in school. Good, pretty, worthwhile poetry.
I, with my advanced degrees, am far less sophisticated. Here is one of the only poems I can recite, a poem I learned as a teenager:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Some poems rhyme,
This one doesn't.
Now admit it: that's funny. It's not Emerson or Frost, but at least I remember it. And now you are the beneficiary.
Oh, then there are the gross Little Willy jokes. Growing up, we had a children's book in our home with some Little Willy jokes. I don't know what kind of demented children's book editor thought they belonged, but hey, there they were for this impressionable elementary-age kid. And I can still remember several of them.
Willy with a taste for Gore,
Nailed his sister to the door.
Mother said with humor quaint,
"Now Willy, don't scratch the paint."
Willy threw his sister Nell,
Down into the drinking well.
She's still there because it kilt her.
Now we have to buy a filter.
Willie saw some dynamite,
Couldn't understand it quite;
Curiosity never pays:
It rained Willie seven days.
And that, folks, is why reading RandomPokes and being exposed to my cranial leakages holds such socially redeeming value.
Book: The Monkey and the Fish
May 14, 2009 2:03 PM | permalink | comments: 0
I wrote a review of David Gibbons's book "The Monkey and the Fish" on the BishopBlog, to which I'm a contributor. It's a book I highly recommend. Not your typical church growth book. He hits some areas that progressive evangelicals will appreciate, and that more traditional evangelicals need to become better attuned to.
Here, I want to comment on a totally minor, almost incidental part of the book.
Gibbons (left) mentions an interesting study. People were shown three pictures: a chicken, a cow, and a bale of hay. Which two pictures were more alike?
American audiences chose the chicken and cow. But Asian audiences chose the cow and hay. Why? Because they looked for relationship. Cows eat hay. They go together.
Americans value size and categories, so the chicken and cow ended up together. They have no relationship. They just fit the same category--a farm animal.
Now let me ask: Which of the following are more alike:
- A church of 2000 people.
- A church of 3000 people.
- A church of 150 people.
Most of us would say the two larger churches are more alike. But in reality, the church of 3000 and the church of 150 may be more alike--in philosophy of ministry, in setting, in constituency. Even in organizational structure, perhaps.
Our tendency, then, is to assume that the church of 150 will eventually become--or should become--a church of 3000. Because we value size--attendance. No matter how many disclaimers we throw at it, in the end we value attendance. It's simply invalid, in a typical American's eyes, to think that a church of 150 can stay a church of 150, and still be healthy. Sure, that's still large for churches in most of the rest of the world, and it was large for most of American history. But America defines how to do church, and we've decided that in 2009, 150 just doesn't cut it.
The sad truth is, your big and wealthy church in the suburbs and my small, low-income church in the city may have more in common with each other than with the early church of Acts.
The Noose Tightens
May 11, 2009 2:40 PM | permalink | comments: 0
The conservative stranglehold on the Republican Party tightens. Now Colin Powell, once a star in the party whose name regularly came up as a Presidential candidate, is persona non grata.
Rush Limbaugh said, "What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat instead of claiming to be a Republican interested in reforming the Republican Party."
If you don't hold the approved views, the Republicans don't want you. I predict that John McCain and Olympia Snowe will soon be ushered to the door. And no doubt others. I guess I might as well get in line. If Powell doesn't meet the litmus test, then I certainly don't.
Book: Running Blind
May 9, 2009 12:26 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Finally, a Lee Child book that disappointed me. It was still a fun read, and I learned much more about the character of Jack Reacher. But "Running Blind" lacked the action of the other three Reacher novels I read.
Plus, the ending was very unsatisfying. It was like a Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald book, where you're strung along--and enjoying the ride--but not sure where things are headed. Then, in the last few pages, the hero gives a big explanation of what happened and how he pieced together various clues.
That happened in "Running Blind." We got to the end, and in a lengthy dialogue at the crime scene, Reacher explained how he already had things figured out, using obscure clues dropped here and there in the book.
This type of stuff, to me, doesn't treat the reader fairly. Everything should unfold so that the reader puts things together simultaneously with the lead character. It shouldn't all be hidden from the reader, and then divulged neatly at the end. That's how I feel about it.
But nothing will stop me from reading the other Jack Reacher books. He's a tremendous character, and Lee Child keeps you engaged. I devoured "Running Blind" in a few days, all 460 pages. I just didn't like the ending (or the relative lack of mayhem).
Making Things Realistic for Sean Hannity
May 9, 2009 11:53 AM | permalink | comments: 0
A few weeks ago, I heard Sean Hannity offer to be waterboarded "for the troops," as a way to show that waterboarding isn't torture. Blubbermouth Keith Olberman has hounded him about that, offering to pay out $1000 for every second that Hannity endured waterboarding.
Both of these polar-opposite idiots miss the point.
Waterboarding is not done by itself, and it's not done on healthy people. For Sean Hannity to get the full impact of what Cheney convinced Bush to permit, this would need to happen:
Continue reading Making Things Realistic for Sean Hannity.
The Handicapped White House Communications Office
May 7, 2009 8:43 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Michael Scherer posted about "The White House's Low Tech Secret."
As the world embraces social networking, those sites are off-limits to White House officials, at least from their work computers. No Twitter, no Facebook, no MySpace, etc. All blocked. So Robert Gibbs is unable to participate in, and exert influence in, these conversations.
I'm sure they're working on bringing the 1978 Presidental Records Act into the 21st Century.
Uh, Maybe I Should Switch Back....
May 7, 2009 7:56 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Senator Specter: Welcome to the bottom of the barrel, the lowest rung of the ladder, the ground floor, the rookie room, irrelevance, powerlessness, Death Valley. Happy now?
Good News for Farmers
May 6, 2009 2:22 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Maria Bartiromo interviewed financial wiz Jim Rogers for the March 9 issue of BusinessWeek. It was a lively interview.
- Rogers says of Tim Geithner and Larry Summers: "These are people who think the only solution is to save their friends on Wall Street rather than to save 300 million Americans."
- He's against bailouts, contending that companies--whether banks or car companies--should be allowed to go bankrupt.
But he ended with these comments about agriculture, which I found quite interesting.
"I really think agriculture is going to be the best place to be. Agriculture's been a horrible business for 30 years. For decades, the money shufflers, the paper shufflers, have been the captains of the universe. That is now changing. The people who produce real things [will be on top].
"You're going to see stockbrokers driving taxis. The smart ones will learn to drive tractors, because they'll be working for the farmers. It's going to be the 29-year-old farmers who have the Lamborghinis. So you should find yourself a nice farmer and hook up with him or her, because that's where the money's going to be in the next couple of decades."
Stand by Me, Around the World
May 5, 2009 3:34 PM | permalink | comments: 0
This is really cool. Notice how it almost sounds like a single performer, and yet, they incorporated people from separate recording sessions all around the world. Very seamless.
Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.
Boys Do This, Girls do That
May 4, 2009 2:58 PM | permalink | comments: 0
Wow, times have changed. This snapshot is from a 1970s children's book. That surprises me, frankly. I would think more like a 1940s book. But anyway....
Click on the photo and take a look. It'll enlarge, and with some minor squinting, you can read the print.
Just to be Safe
May 4, 2009 7:35 AM | permalink | comments: 0
I had the sniffles this morning. Maybe I should go to the hospital. Might be Swine Flu. Or maybe H1N1, whatever that is. I had bacon for breakfast Saturday. Maybe that's where I got it.
The Alley Cleanup
May 2, 2009 11:16 PM | permalink | comments: 0
My very dirty shirt, proof that I was working (or else rolling around in mud).
About half of our group. Six persons weren't here, and one (me) was taking the photo. Standing in front of the heaping full dumpster. L-r: Pam,Jeff Jacobs, Lisa Sutton, Terry Sutton, RJ, Tim Hallman.
This morning, about a dozen people from Anchor Church did something for the neighborhood: cleaned up the alley that runs behind the church (and a long ways in either direction). We took the part of the alley on our block, which is probably a quarter-mile long.
In three hours, we filled a whole dumpster with junk. Much of it was tree branches, victims of the ice storm earlier this year. But there was all kinds of other stuff, too.
After filling the dumpster, we drove a couple miles to a lady's house and thoroughly raked her yard, filling a trailer with more wood and debris.
It was a great way to serve our neighborhood. And there were some neat God-moments as we interacted with our neighbors.
Tonight, Pam and I ache. We'll sleep well.
Books: Two by Gregory MacDonald
May 2, 2009 8:28 AM | permalink | comments: 0
I read these Gregory MacDonald books back-to-back. MacDonald also wrote the Fletch books (I've read just one), but I'd heard that the Flynn books were even better.
Well, that may not be saying much. I didn't care much for either of these books, "Flynn's In" or "The Buck Passes Flynn." A lot of leaps at cleverness fell short. The writing and the plots just weren't engaging to me.
Flynn is a Boston cop who's also part of a secret organization that sends him on missions to combat world-class bad guys. Whatever.
There are two more Flynn books. I think I'll pass.
Be Prepared to Groan
May 1, 2009 11:33 AM | permalink | comments: 0
Suggested names for the Swine Flu outbreak:
- Hamdemic
- The Aporkalypse
- Hammageddon
- Epigdemic
- Hamerican Flu
- A Virus of Epig Proporktions
And some good advice:
- Take porkautions
- Sty at home
The World is Upside Down
May 1, 2009 11:23 AM | permalink | comments: 0
A Pew poll shows that:
- 62% of white evangelicals believe torture can sometimes or often be justified. That is the highest of any religious group in the survey. The number is 40% for people unaffiliated with a religious group. 47% of white evangelicals said torture can rarely or never be justified, so that's something to celebrate.
- People who attend church at least once a week are far more likely to justify torture (54%) than people who who seldom or never attend (42%). What's with that?
Which group do you think Jesus would vote with?
Are the teachings of Jesus just not sinking in?
Imagine how out of sync I must be with the white evangelical denomination I work for.
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