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There's a scene from "Saving Private Ryan" just after the Americans establish a foothold on Normandy Beach against the Germans. A group of American soldiers fights to the rear entrance of a German pillbox, and one of them sticks a flamethrower through the door and douses the Nazi soldiers inside in flames. The viewer then sees the pillbox ignite from the point of view of the soldiers on the beach. One of these soldiers looks back to some unseen comrades and shouts: "Don't shoot! Let 'em burn!" We then witness German infantrymen tumbling out of the pillbox, shadowy silhouettes enveloped in fire, and it's left to the imagination how horrible their suffering is before they expire.
Something about the current financial crisis, in a perverse and unfair way that I should not have to elaborate on, reminds me of that scene. Even if many of us Americans do not feel complicit or guilty, we know this means there is something deeply wrong and perverse with our country. We watch thousands of men and women and trillions of bad dollars burn, but what will we get if we pull the trigger on them? And what comes next if we only watch?
It's smart to avoid performing laborious deeds while someone else who, although perfectly capable of it themselves, tells you what an honor and pleasure it is to be laboring so hard.
Tom Sawyer bamboozling his foolish friends into whitewashing that picket fence for him is a great example. Not only did Tom avoid doing any work, he got 12 marbles and an assortment of other goodies, or what passed for goodies in the mid-19th century, from those same woolly-headed friends of his because they were so grateful to be swiping a paintbrush across wooden clapboards over and over.
Such situations usually present themselves whenever someone says to you: "It's so wonderful and cool for you to do X." Well, what is X? Why is it wonderful and cool? Is it hard? And above all, why aren't you doing it?
Most people like to think they would never be tricked into such ridiculous expenditures of precious time and effort. But in fact it happens fairly often in everyday life.
Consider: I naturally think you should feel privileged to be reading this and giving my writing your attention. I could just as easily keep these thoughts privately in a diary but have chosen to inflict them on the public. And you have just spent indubitably valuable time reading this for no tangible gain!
Tom Sawyer bamboozling his foolish friends into whitewashing that picket fence for him is a great example. Not only did Tom avoid doing any work, he got 12 marbles and an assortment of other goodies, or what passed for goodies in the mid-19th century, from those same woolly-headed friends of his because they were so grateful to be swiping a paintbrush across wooden clapboards over and over.
Such situations usually present themselves whenever someone says to you: "It's so wonderful and cool for you to do X." Well, what is X? Why is it wonderful and cool? Is it hard? And above all, why aren't you doing it?
Most people like to think they would never be tricked into such ridiculous expenditures of precious time and effort. But in fact it happens fairly often in everyday life.
Consider: I naturally think you should feel privileged to be reading this and giving my writing your attention. I could just as easily keep these thoughts privately in a diary but have chosen to inflict them on the public. And you have just spent indubitably valuable time reading this for no tangible gain!
When people who have never run for political office give condescending or impatient advice about when a candidate should quit or be graceful in defeat, it carries the same weight as a baseball fan watching the game on TV shouting at the pitcher: "You should've thrown that fastball inside!"
Maybe so. But you try it!
Those who are intelligent, ambitious and personally successful - in short, many of the people who take a keen interest in politics - should know that it sucks to lose. Picture someone frantically sharpening a wooden spoon and then stabbing at the air in comic stacatto sequences as their rivals loom over them triumphantly. That's what many people in many situations are reduced to mentally as they try to avoid defeat!
Maybe so. But you try it!
Those who are intelligent, ambitious and personally successful - in short, many of the people who take a keen interest in politics - should know that it sucks to lose. Picture someone frantically sharpening a wooden spoon and then stabbing at the air in comic stacatto sequences as their rivals loom over them triumphantly. That's what many people in many situations are reduced to mentally as they try to avoid defeat!
For centuries, Jews have been viewed as the ultimate exploitative capitalists. Then, thanks to Karl Marx, they were viewed as the quintessential communists. Finally, thanks to Israel, they have transformed into almighty imperialists.
Has the world finally run out of new Jewish stereotypes?
Of course, some people, somehow, view them as a paradoxical Melting Pot of all three. These people ought to be confused and ashamed but they are not.
Has the world finally run out of new Jewish stereotypes?
Of course, some people, somehow, view them as a paradoxical Melting Pot of all three. These people ought to be confused and ashamed but they are not.
Is Barack Obama's candidacy historic? Yes! But people are already looking in the rear view mirror when the windshield still needs attention.
Here's the point: the same people who are calling his nomination "historic" will neglect posterity if he loses in November. The same folks who are talking about Obama fulfilling the legacy of Civil Rights will probably be shouting "Loser!" if he comes up short against John McCain. If he falls in November, some other day, a black man will run for president and win. Then what exactly will Obama's legacy be? Nobody knows.
Obama may be an unusual kind of politician, but posterity ultimately cares about winning and losing.
Here's the point: the same people who are calling his nomination "historic" will neglect posterity if he loses in November. The same folks who are talking about Obama fulfilling the legacy of Civil Rights will probably be shouting "Loser!" if he comes up short against John McCain. If he falls in November, some other day, a black man will run for president and win. Then what exactly will Obama's legacy be? Nobody knows.
Obama may be an unusual kind of politician, but posterity ultimately cares about winning and losing.
From Rev. John Hagee, another pastor who has been rejected and denounced by a national politician, on what will happen if you devote your life to Jesus Christ:
"Your dog will not run and hide from you anymore when you come home."
This is by far the most unusual thing I've heard Hagee say. Set aside your outrage or amusement over his comments, which were somewhat predictable, about Nazis and Catholics. Usually when Southern pastors refer to everyday life, they talk about wealth and possessions, and how God wants you to deal with them. But the concrete reference to the household pet, and how even a lovable pooch will respond favorably to your acceptance of the Christian faith, was fascinating, even if it made Hagee seem a little like Dr. Doolittle.
"Your dog will not run and hide from you anymore when you come home."
This is by far the most unusual thing I've heard Hagee say. Set aside your outrage or amusement over his comments, which were somewhat predictable, about Nazis and Catholics. Usually when Southern pastors refer to everyday life, they talk about wealth and possessions, and how God wants you to deal with them. But the concrete reference to the household pet, and how even a lovable pooch will respond favorably to your acceptance of the Christian faith, was fascinating, even if it made Hagee seem a little like Dr. Doolittle.
"But perhaps only a malignant end can follow the systematic belief that all communities are one community; that all truth is one truth; that all experience is compatible with all other; that total knowledge is possible; that all that is potential can exist as actual. This is not man's fate; this is not his path; to force him on it makes him resemble not that divine image of the all-knowing and all-powerful but the helpless, iron-bound prisoner of a dying world." - American Prometheus
Pack up my suitcase, give me my hat
No use to ask me babe, because I'll never be back
No use to ask me babe, because I'll never be back
Personal technology today is about projecting a superior and somewhat mysterious image to strangers, at least as much or even more so than actual convenience.
A Blackberry for most people is completely unnecessary. But if you hold one ponderously next to your ear, it prompts some to think: "What complex and shadowy task requires an electronic device with so many buttons?"
It is odd to see slovenly, snaggle-toothed people sitting at Applebee's with Bluetooth devices in their ears. If these folks use it in the car, okay. But is eating a cheesesteak with two hands so crucial that you need a hands-free device to talk on the phone? And if there is some looming crisis that may require you to be near the phone with your hands completely unoccupied, why are you sitting in a chain diner?
A Blackberry for most people is completely unnecessary. But if you hold one ponderously next to your ear, it prompts some to think: "What complex and shadowy task requires an electronic device with so many buttons?"
It is odd to see slovenly, snaggle-toothed people sitting at Applebee's with Bluetooth devices in their ears. If these folks use it in the car, okay. But is eating a cheesesteak with two hands so crucial that you need a hands-free device to talk on the phone? And if there is some looming crisis that may require you to be near the phone with your hands completely unoccupied, why are you sitting in a chain diner?
Without resorting to epithets or conspiracy theory, can anyone say anything about Hillary Clinton that prompts a storm of protest? Haven't people run out of ways to say "I'm tired of the bitch!" over 20 column inches of school marm prose?
The spasms of outrage over Clinton have taken up as much media space as the run-up to the Iraq War.
The spasms of outrage over Clinton have taken up as much media space as the run-up to the Iraq War.
Won‘t that be one mighty day, when we hear world leader say
We don‘t have to cry no more, we‘re giving it up, we‘re gonna let it go
Ain‘t gonna study, study war no more, ain‘t gonna think, think of war no more
We don‘t have to cry no more, we‘re giving it up, we‘re gonna let it go
Ain‘t gonna study, study war no more, ain‘t gonna think, think of war no more
This line from a long-ago post from the Powerline political blog has always stuck in my head:
"Actually, though, the problem with today's Islamic "martyrs" is not that its adherents are "willing to give their lives," it is that they want to kill non-Muslims."
The clear implication is that if Islamic martyrs wish to kill other Muslims, which seems to occur often enough, the Powerline writers do not have a problem with it. It is easy enough to work up outrage about this kind of remark, but it may be the kind of outrage that is not preceded by surprise. And anyway, to flip an old theatrical phrase on its head: outrage is easy, tragedy is hard.
Conservative talk radio proved most powerful during the mid-1990s when it could swing hammers at Bill and Hillary Clinton all day. It was best in opposition. Conservatives still dominate talk radio, although their prominence and rhetorical force have diminished when one of their own has camped out in the White House.
Liberal blogs, meanwhile, have grown in power and influence while Bush has spent time signing his name in the Oval Office. They have proven to be pretty effective and very visible in opposition.
It's not necessarily fair to equate talk radio and blogs, though it is interesting to speculate if these are the two arenas where conservatives and liberals feel most comfortable expressing their views to the general public. But it is fair to wonder if liberal blogs will continue to have the same influence and animating passion if Barack Obama wins the general election.
Liberal blogs, meanwhile, have grown in power and influence while Bush has spent time signing his name in the Oval Office. They have proven to be pretty effective and very visible in opposition.
It's not necessarily fair to equate talk radio and blogs, though it is interesting to speculate if these are the two arenas where conservatives and liberals feel most comfortable expressing their views to the general public. But it is fair to wonder if liberal blogs will continue to have the same influence and animating passion if Barack Obama wins the general election.
It's not surprising that Japanese baseball fans are somewhat wary of players with mixed ethnic backgrounds, even considering a pitcher as talented as Yu Darvish. And as Jim Caple writes, where else could an Iranian man meet a Japanese women except in America?
A good friend in Japan once explained to me that her parents were checking into the family tree of her boyfriend to make sure there were no buraku listed. In every area of Japan there are certain surnames that designate families of "low origin" that make people wrinkle and even hold their noses, although naturally the Japanese are much too polite to do this in public.
I believe this has some connection with the eta, the people of pre-modern Japan consigned to do the butchery and other "unclean" tasks associated with animals that technically violated the tenets of Buddhism. What my friend's parents were doing was not uncommon. But to my female friend's sensibilities it was a tad unwelcome.
A good friend in Japan once explained to me that her parents were checking into the family tree of her boyfriend to make sure there were no buraku listed. In every area of Japan there are certain surnames that designate families of "low origin" that make people wrinkle and even hold their noses, although naturally the Japanese are much too polite to do this in public.
I believe this has some connection with the eta, the people of pre-modern Japan consigned to do the butchery and other "unclean" tasks associated with animals that technically violated the tenets of Buddhism. What my friend's parents were doing was not uncommon. But to my female friend's sensibilities it was a tad unwelcome.
But I've got a lot of lovin' and I want you to know
That I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed
But I got everything all the good girls need
That I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed
But I got everything all the good girls need
If Barack Obama wants to be "tough" in the international arena while still posing for handshakes with dictators, perhaps he can practice the "You Kids are Grounded for a Week!" kind of diplomacy:
"Hey Mahmoud - If you don't cut the crap right now, we'll shut down the Strait of Hormuz! We'll eat $200 for a barrel of oil! I don't care about millions of whiny drivers shooting at gas station attendants out of pure rage! How's that for negotiating? Am I kidding? Who knows? Ha! Now get the hell out of here, you son of a gun!"
Where is it so written that we have to give away the store once the U.S. decides to bargain with grasping babblers who win international Most Foam at the Mouth contests? If America comes down off the mountain, why does Uncle Sam need to lug all the good stuff on his back too?
Was that simplistic and crude just now? Sure. But where's the rule that says you can't talk trash and intimidate folks when you practice diplomacy? As a bonus, there would be comical news leaks about sensitive conversations.
"Hey Mahmoud - If you don't cut the crap right now, we'll shut down the Strait of Hormuz! We'll eat $200 for a barrel of oil! I don't care about millions of whiny drivers shooting at gas station attendants out of pure rage! How's that for negotiating? Am I kidding? Who knows? Ha! Now get the hell out of here, you son of a gun!"
Where is it so written that we have to give away the store once the U.S. decides to bargain with grasping babblers who win international Most Foam at the Mouth contests? If America comes down off the mountain, why does Uncle Sam need to lug all the good stuff on his back too?
Was that simplistic and crude just now? Sure. But where's the rule that says you can't talk trash and intimidate folks when you practice diplomacy? As a bonus, there would be comical news leaks about sensitive conversations.
It's easy to remember when the Toyota Prius was a very boutique item. But today that is literally no longer the case especially when you consider the no-longer-ridiculous price. The vehicle has sold the most units in the U.S., with Japan a somewhat distant second.
When I lived in Japan I remember seeing a cubical car named "Dunk." Other models from that car company no doubt included "Finger Roll" and "Layup" and "Pistons-Pacers Brawl." Well, maybe not the last one.
There was also a natty vehicle called "Life 2." This was actually a good name for a car in a Buddhist country. Many cars in Japan, of course, do not have second lives, since the tax on a car increases as it gets older.
When I lived in Japan I remember seeing a cubical car named "Dunk." Other models from that car company no doubt included "Finger Roll" and "Layup" and "Pistons-Pacers Brawl." Well, maybe not the last one.
There was also a natty vehicle called "Life 2." This was actually a good name for a car in a Buddhist country. Many cars in Japan, of course, do not have second lives, since the tax on a car increases as it gets older.
I once wrote a piece for my Mississippi paper detailing how despite the prevalent anti-illegal immigrant feelings, many local businesses in my neck of the woods depended on Hispanic illegals to keep up with the boom in construction. For this, I was rewarded with two Jackson radio jockeys repeating the article's premise in a disdainful, xenophobic voice. Given my odd last name, perhaps they thought I was expressing personal solidarity through a biased article. Free publicity!
The same day, I fielded a call from someone who said he was a local contractor. He called my article "bullcrap" and said he was cancelling his subscription, adding the threat that other contractor friends of his would follow suit. For a local newspaper, this kind of bluster cannot be automatically dismissed. I assume he did in fact cancel it, but I never heard anything about mass cancellations from contractors. An empty threat!
Free publicity! An empty threat! Such are the joys of a work-a-day newspaper man just doing his job.
The same day, I fielded a call from someone who said he was a local contractor. He called my article "bullcrap" and said he was cancelling his subscription, adding the threat that other contractor friends of his would follow suit. For a local newspaper, this kind of bluster cannot be automatically dismissed. I assume he did in fact cancel it, but I never heard anything about mass cancellations from contractors. An empty threat!
Free publicity! An empty threat! Such are the joys of a work-a-day newspaper man just doing his job.
I want some of you women, I want some of you women, please show me reach and peak
so I won't be dodging every, every long tall man I meet
so I won't be dodging every, every long tall man I meet
Quoting from Raj, an excellent study of the British state in India by Lawrence James:
The allocation for non-English schools in Bengal during the early 1850s was 15,000 pounds, while the annual military expenditure was over 5 million pounds.
Every day may have a new dawn, but it's pretty much the same old sun rising in the sky.
Drawing even a rough parallel between the Raj and the U.S. presence in Iraq is tough. As the old saw says, comparisons can be odious. It would be interesting to calculate the Uncle Sam's investment in Iraq's military and Iraq's schools.
The allocation for non-English schools in Bengal during the early 1850s was 15,000 pounds, while the annual military expenditure was over 5 million pounds.
Every day may have a new dawn, but it's pretty much the same old sun rising in the sky.
Drawing even a rough parallel between the Raj and the U.S. presence in Iraq is tough. As the old saw says, comparisons can be odious. It would be interesting to calculate the Uncle Sam's investment in Iraq's military and Iraq's schools.
