November 20, 2009
by Phyllis Schlafly
Another kooky Barack Obama appointee became publicly known this month and quickly was thrown or voluntarily threw herself under the bus. Anita Dunn, the White House communications director (who led Obama's war on Fox News), said that Mao Tse-tung was one of her two favorite "political philosophers" whom "I turn to most" for answers to important questions. History identifies Mao as a ruthless savage, not as a philosopher. He probably holds the record for ordering the mass murder of more people (50 to 100 million) than anyone else in history. Dunn tried to claim that her statement was a joke, but anyone can look at her actual statement on YouTube and see that she spoke in deadly earnest. Dunn was part of Obama's inner circle and a senior media adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign. Dunn's husband,
Bob Bauer, an expert on campaign financing, fundraising, and voter mobilization, is Obama's personal lawyer. He has just been appointed White House Counsel where he will be in charge of vetting Obama's appointees. Obama's Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones, had to exit in disgrace after he admitted that "I was a Communist."
We can thank Glenn Beck for exposing him. Obama's Regulatory Czar, Cass Sunstein, wrote a book in 2008 in which he declared that the government "owns the rights to body parts of people who are dead or in certain hopeless conditions, and it can remove their organs without asking anyone's permission." So, after the death consultants authorized in Nancy Pelosi's health care bill convince you to reject life-saving procedures, the organ-transplant team can remove your body's organs immediately. Czar Sunstein also argues that animals are entitled to have lawyers to sue humans in court. Bow, wow; more business for trial lawyers. His wife, Samantha Power, is now on Obama's National Security Council. She is famous for writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about genocide, which she defined so narrowly that it excluded Stalin and Mao.
Obama's nominee for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chai R. Feldblum, signed a 2006 manifesto endorsing polygamous households. This lengthy document, called "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage," argues that traditional marriage should not be "privileged above all others." Obama's education appointments, who came out of the Chicago political machine right along with Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, will have nearly $100 billion in new money to indoctrinate America's youth.
Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is notorious for trying to start a gay high school in Chicago. Obama's Safe Schools Czar, Kevin Jennings, founded the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a homosexual activist group that now has thousands of chapters at high schools across the nation. GLSEN chapters and materials have promoted sex between young teens and adults and sponsored "field trips" to gay pride parades. Jennings was the keynote speaker at a notorious GLSEN conference at Tufts University in 2000 at which HIV/AIDS coordinators discussed in detail, before an audience including area high school students, how to perform various homosexual acts.
Obama's Science Czar wrote in a college textbook that compulsory "green abortions" are an acceptable way to control population growth. We assume that what makes an abortion green is when the motive for the killing is population control to serve environmentalist dogma. Affirmative action is in vogue in Obama's administration: his Diversity Czar has spoken publicly of getting white media executives to "step down" in favor of minorities.
Obama's first appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court is a woman who said repeatedly that a "Latina woman" would make better judicial decisions than "a white male." (Sonia Sotomayor)
Obama's top lawyer at the State Department, Harold Hongju Koh, calls himself a transnationalist. That means wanting U.S. courts to "domesticate" foreign and international law, i.e., integrate it into U.S. domestic law binding on U.S. citizens. Koh is eager to put us under a global legal system that would diminish our "distinctive rights culture" such as due process, trial by jury, and our First Amendment "protections for speech and religion" that give "far greater emphasis and judicial protection in America than in Europe or Asia." Under global governance, the United States will be forbidden to allow more freedom and constitutional rights than other countries.
When Obama's appointee for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, David Hamilton, was a District Court judge, he prohibited the Indiana State Legislature from giving an invocation that mentioned Jesus, while mention of Allah was allowed. Hamilton worked for ACORN and the ACLU, and even the liberal American Bar Association rated him "not qualified."
And we thought the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was an embarrassment to Barack Obama when he was running for President! We never dreamed Obama would actually appoint such a collection of weirdos.
06 December 2009
Article: "If I told you a year from now..."
Gut-wrenching, sordid, and scandalous - read and weep. The first one that I noticed didn't make it to the list was the White House communications director saying she admired Mao Tse-Tung, murderer of millions and father of communism in China. I added brackets naming the "personalities" involved.
by Glenn Beck
If I told you a year ago, which I did, you won't recognize the country, you will not recognize America a year from now, I said that a year ago;
if I told you instead that there would be a 9/11 Truther, a guy who said the United States government blew up those buildings, a self‑avowed communist, a guy who, a guy who is speaking in prison anticop, who defended a guy who point blank shot a cop in the head, if I said he would be a high level advisor to the president of the United States, would you believe it?
[Van Jones]
If I said the president would come out in a speech and say I have absolutely no information but the cops acted stupidly because they caught a friend of the president appearing to break into his own home, the cops didn't act stupidly, they just did their job and the president would never apologize, instead he would invite them all for a beer summit and use it as a learning experience about diversity, would you believe it?
[BHO, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley]
If I would have told you instead of saying you won't recognize this country a year from now, if I instead told you I'm going to be on the cover of Time magazine, would you have believed it?
That I'm going to be one of the ten most fascinating people in 2009, you've got to ask yourself what the hell happened to this country. If I would have told you instead that the most frequent visitor of the White House, over the Secretary of State and everybody else, is a labor union president who has repeatedly said workers of the world unite; and we know we've got a lot of illegal members, illegal aliens in our membership, and who chief guy said, yeah, but we also represent American workers, end quote, that he would be the most frequent visitor at the White House, would you have believed it?
[Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern]
That the president of the EU would say that 2009 was the year of establishing a global government through the EU and that the climate change treaty would be the next step in one world government, that there would be a call for the end of the dollar as the world's reserve currency by several massive countries and that the leader of Russia would hold up a coin in front of the cameras and say here's a prototype of the new global currency, that in government‑structured bailouts, bondholders would lose their legal status and their investments in favor of labor union payoffs and the courts would say, "Hmmm, yeah, okay."
[Herman Von Rompuy]
That you could lose your home and property through eminent domain and eminent domain would expand in staggering ways. That California would decide to levy a 10% tax on its people and insist it's not a tax; it's just a forced loan. That they would issue IOUs instead of tax refunds.
That New York would say by the end of the year they would be broke. That New York would issue retroactive taxes, that a tax fund for the poorest of Americans would not really be a tax refund. Instead those poorest of Americans would find out many months later that they had to pay income tax on that tax refund.
If I told you that the symbol of capitalism, the Empire State building, would be lit in colors of communist China, would you have believed me?
That the hockey stick chart would be discredited as would its founder along with another leader of the global climate change movement who manipulated data, that they deleted e‑mails and information to avoid Freedom of Information Act, that these same scientists would do everything they could to discredit the peer review process to make sure it remained pure for their ideological purposes, and yet the media wouldn't report on it and we'd still be headed to Copenhagen with a president the who was going to present a 17% reduction in carbon.
For our country, that our science czar, John Holdren, our science czar would be someone who called for forced abortions and sterilization through the drinking water, who said that the redistribution of wealth would be necessary and it would happen through the environmental movement.
That the diversity czar at the FCC, if I just told you a year ago there would be a diversity czar at the FCC, would you have believed me? That the diversity czar at the FCC would say Americans have to decide soon which Americans would have to step down from their positions in order to give others a chance, that this same man said the revolution in Venezuela was incredible and that we should model our FCC and our programs after Venezuela and the revolution.
[Mark Lloyd]
That the U.S. would have a two‑day summit to discuss the role of government in journalism and be discussing a government takeover of journalism and that no journalist would actually report on that.
That they would hold a job summit and not invite the Chamber of Commerce, that two uninvited people could get into the White House state dinner, chat with the president, be near the prime minister of the largest democracy on the planet and that the response from the White House would be, yeah, we need to do a better job with security.
That a U.S. congressman would tell the American people that it's unreasonable to expect people in congress to read bills, and he would say that because our congress would pass two bills over 1,000 pages, that no one in congress had read. One of them was over 2,000 pages.
[Rep. John Conyers]
That a job creating stimulus bill would be written, not read by congress but not even written by Congress. It would be co‑written by the Apollo Alliance, a special interest group whose New York chief was a co‑founder of the Weather Underground and no one would care! That people in Congress would openly be praising Castro, Chavez, that the president would receive an ‑‑ if I said to you a year ago, "You know what's going to happen next year: The president is going to receive an anti‑American book and a photo op from Hugo Chavez and then he would have a one‑hour private meeting with Vladimir Putin where Vladimir Putin, quoting, would teach the president the history of the Cold War.
That our president would give an iPod of his speeches to the queen of England. That he would send the bust of Winston Churchill, which was a gift from the people of England; when the prime minister came over that our president would say to him, hey, by the way attention thanks, but you can take this back to him now and the prime minister would say to him, no, no, no, that was a gift from the people of England to you and you can keep it in one of your museums; we gave it to you on September 11th. No, no, that's okay, and box it up and ship it back!
If I told you that there would be hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered in a true grassroots event in a National Mall in D.C. and the media would not only dismiss them but the government, the president and the media would deem them a danger to the United States, that healthcare would be at 36% approval rating, which is lower than Hillary Care but that those in congress and the White House would still be jamming it down your throats.
That the chief of the treasury who oversees the IRS cheated on his taxes as would almost everyone else in the cabinet.
[Timothy Geithner]
If I told you a year ago when gold was about $800 an ounce that it would be at $1200 an ounce, would you have believed it? That Dubai which a year ago was bailing out our banks would be on the edge of bankruptcy.
If I told you we're going to lose 4 million jobs and the media would report that the White House has created or saved a million jobs even though in their evidence you have to find their evidence on a $20 million redesigned website where it would show that a good portion of these jobs were in about 400 districts that don't even exist.
If I told you that, would you have believed it? Looking at that list, do you recognize the country that you live in? Is this the same country that you lived in a year ago today? I don't think so. I don't recognize it.
If I would have told you that there would be a Muslim terrorist and that he would shoot and killed soldiers at Fort Hood, would you have believed it?
If I told you then that, yes, the president will make a statement but he will spend two minutes prior to giving a shoutout and talking about the conference he had with the American Indian, would you have believed it?
If I then told you after that two minutes he would then say then, oh, and also there's been a shooting of our military but let's not jump to conclusions. And then his Homeland Security director would be over in the Middle East and she would say, don't worry, we're working on things to stop the violence against Muslims in America, would you have believed it?
I can be wrong on an awful lot of things and I have been wrong on an awful lot of things. But when will people in this country, when will the media at least say, gosh, it looks like the direction of our country and the one this guy keeps laying out, gee, some of those things seem to be happening. When will anyone in the media even notice how far we have come?
by Glenn Beck
If I told you a year ago, which I did, you won't recognize the country, you will not recognize America a year from now, I said that a year ago;
if I told you instead that there would be a 9/11 Truther, a guy who said the United States government blew up those buildings, a self‑avowed communist, a guy who, a guy who is speaking in prison anticop, who defended a guy who point blank shot a cop in the head, if I said he would be a high level advisor to the president of the United States, would you believe it?
[Van Jones]
If I said the president would come out in a speech and say I have absolutely no information but the cops acted stupidly because they caught a friend of the president appearing to break into his own home, the cops didn't act stupidly, they just did their job and the president would never apologize, instead he would invite them all for a beer summit and use it as a learning experience about diversity, would you believe it?
[BHO, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley]
If I would have told you instead of saying you won't recognize this country a year from now, if I instead told you I'm going to be on the cover of Time magazine, would you have believed it?
That I'm going to be one of the ten most fascinating people in 2009, you've got to ask yourself what the hell happened to this country. If I would have told you instead that the most frequent visitor of the White House, over the Secretary of State and everybody else, is a labor union president who has repeatedly said workers of the world unite; and we know we've got a lot of illegal members, illegal aliens in our membership, and who chief guy said, yeah, but we also represent American workers, end quote, that he would be the most frequent visitor at the White House, would you have believed it?
[Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern]
That the president of the EU would say that 2009 was the year of establishing a global government through the EU and that the climate change treaty would be the next step in one world government, that there would be a call for the end of the dollar as the world's reserve currency by several massive countries and that the leader of Russia would hold up a coin in front of the cameras and say here's a prototype of the new global currency, that in government‑structured bailouts, bondholders would lose their legal status and their investments in favor of labor union payoffs and the courts would say, "Hmmm, yeah, okay."
[Herman Von Rompuy]
That you could lose your home and property through eminent domain and eminent domain would expand in staggering ways. That California would decide to levy a 10% tax on its people and insist it's not a tax; it's just a forced loan. That they would issue IOUs instead of tax refunds.
That New York would say by the end of the year they would be broke. That New York would issue retroactive taxes, that a tax fund for the poorest of Americans would not really be a tax refund. Instead those poorest of Americans would find out many months later that they had to pay income tax on that tax refund.
If I told you that the symbol of capitalism, the Empire State building, would be lit in colors of communist China, would you have believed me?
That the hockey stick chart would be discredited as would its founder along with another leader of the global climate change movement who manipulated data, that they deleted e‑mails and information to avoid Freedom of Information Act, that these same scientists would do everything they could to discredit the peer review process to make sure it remained pure for their ideological purposes, and yet the media wouldn't report on it and we'd still be headed to Copenhagen with a president the who was going to present a 17% reduction in carbon.
For our country, that our science czar, John Holdren, our science czar would be someone who called for forced abortions and sterilization through the drinking water, who said that the redistribution of wealth would be necessary and it would happen through the environmental movement.
That the diversity czar at the FCC, if I just told you a year ago there would be a diversity czar at the FCC, would you have believed me? That the diversity czar at the FCC would say Americans have to decide soon which Americans would have to step down from their positions in order to give others a chance, that this same man said the revolution in Venezuela was incredible and that we should model our FCC and our programs after Venezuela and the revolution.
[Mark Lloyd]
That the U.S. would have a two‑day summit to discuss the role of government in journalism and be discussing a government takeover of journalism and that no journalist would actually report on that.
That they would hold a job summit and not invite the Chamber of Commerce, that two uninvited people could get into the White House state dinner, chat with the president, be near the prime minister of the largest democracy on the planet and that the response from the White House would be, yeah, we need to do a better job with security.
That a U.S. congressman would tell the American people that it's unreasonable to expect people in congress to read bills, and he would say that because our congress would pass two bills over 1,000 pages, that no one in congress had read. One of them was over 2,000 pages.
[Rep. John Conyers]
That a job creating stimulus bill would be written, not read by congress but not even written by Congress. It would be co‑written by the Apollo Alliance, a special interest group whose New York chief was a co‑founder of the Weather Underground and no one would care! That people in Congress would openly be praising Castro, Chavez, that the president would receive an ‑‑ if I said to you a year ago, "You know what's going to happen next year: The president is going to receive an anti‑American book and a photo op from Hugo Chavez and then he would have a one‑hour private meeting with Vladimir Putin where Vladimir Putin, quoting, would teach the president the history of the Cold War.
That our president would give an iPod of his speeches to the queen of England. That he would send the bust of Winston Churchill, which was a gift from the people of England; when the prime minister came over that our president would say to him, hey, by the way attention thanks, but you can take this back to him now and the prime minister would say to him, no, no, no, that was a gift from the people of England to you and you can keep it in one of your museums; we gave it to you on September 11th. No, no, that's okay, and box it up and ship it back!
If I told you that there would be hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered in a true grassroots event in a National Mall in D.C. and the media would not only dismiss them but the government, the president and the media would deem them a danger to the United States, that healthcare would be at 36% approval rating, which is lower than Hillary Care but that those in congress and the White House would still be jamming it down your throats.
That the chief of the treasury who oversees the IRS cheated on his taxes as would almost everyone else in the cabinet.
[Timothy Geithner]
If I told you a year ago when gold was about $800 an ounce that it would be at $1200 an ounce, would you have believed it? That Dubai which a year ago was bailing out our banks would be on the edge of bankruptcy.
If I told you we're going to lose 4 million jobs and the media would report that the White House has created or saved a million jobs even though in their evidence you have to find their evidence on a $20 million redesigned website where it would show that a good portion of these jobs were in about 400 districts that don't even exist.
If I told you that, would you have believed it? Looking at that list, do you recognize the country that you live in? Is this the same country that you lived in a year ago today? I don't think so. I don't recognize it.
If I would have told you that there would be a Muslim terrorist and that he would shoot and killed soldiers at Fort Hood, would you have believed it?
If I told you then that, yes, the president will make a statement but he will spend two minutes prior to giving a shoutout and talking about the conference he had with the American Indian, would you have believed it?
If I then told you after that two minutes he would then say then, oh, and also there's been a shooting of our military but let's not jump to conclusions. And then his Homeland Security director would be over in the Middle East and she would say, don't worry, we're working on things to stop the violence against Muslims in America, would you have believed it?
I can be wrong on an awful lot of things and I have been wrong on an awful lot of things. But when will people in this country, when will the media at least say, gosh, it looks like the direction of our country and the one this guy keeps laying out, gee, some of those things seem to be happening. When will anyone in the media even notice how far we have come?
29 November 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Steven Seagal stars in new t.v. series "Lawman"
This is not a drill!
http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/
Catch the show Wed., Dec. 2 at
10 p.m. on A&E.This news rekindled an old passion in me in trying to obtain his brand-name energy drink, which I am poring over the internet for high and low.
I can see it now: "OMG, I'm being arrested by Steven Seagal!"
Awwwwww YEAH!!!
Related articles:
1. http://makalakapisei.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-winning-advice-from-steven-seagal.html
2. http://makalakapisei.blogspot.com/2008/12/mini-review-of-film-kill-switch.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Seagal's_Lightning_Bolt (Wow, there's even a Wikipedia entry on this now?!)
Potpourri - "The path ahead is without stations or timetables"
I. A new 80s video for your advancement in post-graduate 80s studies:
"The Thin Red Line" in film and literature has represented defensive maneuver and resistance from a "thinly spread military unit." "The first use of the expression referred to the resistance by the red-coated 93rd (Highland) Regiment of the United Kingdom in the Crimean War." (Wikipedia) The Glass Tiger namesake vid hearkens back to other 80s ballads, I'm thinking Cutting Crew in particular.
II. Film: OHorten - 7/10 (Very good)
Thoroughly enjoyed this off-beat Norwegian film from 2008, especially for its aesthetic. I used to be the first to step around symbolism like a superstitious kid jumping over cracks; too much seems pretentious. Even though symbolism is the main expository-creative device in this film, it's not overthought, not overused, and is a pleasant experience and an artistic statement. Collectively, OHorten stands out like it's trying to be a portrait in an art show. We open quietly: Hurtling through a frozen hinterland, in and out of tunnels, the eponymous hero of the film makes his penultimate trip. Streaking through familiar territory and a life afforded the comforts of routine, we are quickly aware that OHorten's transition is going to become extraordinary. To me, the train is the most elegant metaphor for change, and therefore is an original and intriguing pairing of subject to plot. The soul of OHorten is a vagabond finding home.
"The Thin Red Line" in film and literature has represented defensive maneuver and resistance from a "thinly spread military unit." "The first use of the expression referred to the resistance by the red-coated 93rd (Highland) Regiment of the United Kingdom in the Crimean War." (Wikipedia) The Glass Tiger namesake vid hearkens back to other 80s ballads, I'm thinking Cutting Crew in particular.
II. Film: OHorten - 7/10 (Very good)
Thoroughly enjoyed this off-beat Norwegian film from 2008, especially for its aesthetic. I used to be the first to step around symbolism like a superstitious kid jumping over cracks; too much seems pretentious. Even though symbolism is the main expository-creative device in this film, it's not overthought, not overused, and is a pleasant experience and an artistic statement. Collectively, OHorten stands out like it's trying to be a portrait in an art show. We open quietly: Hurtling through a frozen hinterland, in and out of tunnels, the eponymous hero of the film makes his penultimate trip. Streaking through familiar territory and a life afforded the comforts of routine, we are quickly aware that OHorten's transition is going to become extraordinary. To me, the train is the most elegant metaphor for change, and therefore is an original and intriguing pairing of subject to plot. The soul of OHorten is a vagabond finding home.
24 November 2009
"Taking the Long Way Home" by The Fixx
Played abroad many nights on my ship, after stumbling back from tucked away haunts.
http://www.sightnsound.org/sounds/Fixx/The%20Fixx%20-%20Long%20Way%20Home%20(Live).mp3
It's not where you are
It's what you think
Satellite beams
Trusting your instincts
Miles down the road
Trees grow in place
Our rooms now down know
Not face to face
Not face to face
A prison of Rhodes
They mess with your head
Enjoy your time
Look for the magic instead
The books in your life
Have now run their course
Find that the peace comes without force
Without force
I feel like taking the long way home tonight
Maybe I'll turn left - I better get right
Keeping my eyes on that distant harbor light
The seas may be wrong
But the stars shine bright
Are you dead as you live?
Please come alive
Show me the pearl buried deep inside
Step off the cart
Come for the ride
It's more fun to seek than it is to hide
...Than it is to hide
I feel like taking the long way home tonight
Maybe I'll turn left
We better get right
Keeping my eyes on that distant harbor light
Ohhhh
The seas may be wrong
But the stars shine bright
There's the warming sight of the harbor lights
Straight through the hard door wrong or right
There're be no more doubt
There'll be no more lies
Keeping my eye
On the harbor lights
Taking the long way
Home
I feel like taking
The long way home tonight
There'll be no more doubt
There'll be no more lies - tonight
Stop where you are
It's what you think
Satellite beams
Trusting your instincts
I feel like taking the long way home - tonight
Taking the long
Taking the long way home...
Transcribed by Cagey
16 November 2009
Fort Hood and spectre of political correctness uncomfortable territory for most
- I've always wondered in the modern environment, why do we choose to "celebrate diversity" at the expense of unity?
Radioactive discussion ahead! Non-racist guy about to talk about the subject of race.
As a web author who falls on the more casual side of research and analysis (and is non-funded and lacks oversight), it's easy to synopsize, and I don't pretend to have the resources to give highly objective treatments to all material. It's not supposed to be perfect, it's editorializing and often times exploration - I happen to prefer to promote points of view or subjects consistent with my world-view and do not have to claim a journalist's objective orientation. With that up-front, one of the most challenging and potentially hazardous topics is that of... "diversity!" provided you're out of line with common rhetoric. I observe that conservatives are starting to speak out that "enough is enough" post- Fort Hood. That there was a terrorist in our midst, but "Protection of our soldiers came second, and diversity came first." (- Taken from an Economist article summarized 0n-air.) Where does fault truly lie? Were patterns suggesting the profile of an Islamist terrorist ignored?
My first experience with military lore and culture was in pop culture. "Tour of Duty," the 80s serial on CBS, was a brilliant examination of racial flare-ups in the service, and the need to put them aside to not only accomplish the mission, but for the characters to come to terms with their own humanity. For Pete's sake: You're in a combat zone, you're all on the same team, and you have a lot more in common than you think, so why fight one another?
So where are we today? I don't know that we common folks have much difficulty with getting along, at least at my level. On a different plane, I have observed that "diversity" is the territory of intellectual stalemates; it's become more of a platitude than a forum. Listen to Gen. Casey's speeches. Think about people in the press that've been sent to "Remedial diversity training" or your own required presentations, the ones I wish I could walk out of. Et cetera. NOBODY dares speak at these events except for a few goobers, and diversity is inclusive to a point. With the inability to confront issues in imperfect systems, if we cannot be honest in observation on all levels, how can meetings of the minds occur and how can we reach true understanding? Even in the military, approaches to diversity are flawed. Academics become furious, but human nature and our modern socialization still sticks out like a sore thumb.
Uncomfortable Example 1: I've seen a flyer on a military base promoting "Military association x is pleased to present Cultural Diversity Fair 2008! With booths, food and heritage from: - African Americans - Asian Americans - Pacific Islanders - Native Americans - Middle Eastern Americans." I know some people that walked by that sign every day on their way into work that felt pretty left out.
Uncomfortable Example 2: Flip through the channels and wonder about the disparities in programming geared toward your demographic! Cable t.v. is really skewed in favor of one race, and that's been odd to me since I can remember.
Uncomfortable Example 3: The White House nominated a "diversity advisor." What is this guy supposed to do? (At taxpayer cost!) Tell organizations they need to be more "diverse?" We can analyze Supreme Court decisions in university race quotas versus grades earned, or firefighters denied advancement in Connecticut, or firefighters forced to march in a gay pride ceremony in San Diego. Whatever we analyze, the same conclusion results: The institutionalization of diversity is not perfect!
Uncomfortable Example 4: The internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII. I argued strongly against this before and would write the same today. What was the world-view and experience then? How does it compare/contrast to the contemporary environment?
- I've always wondered in the modern environment, why do we choose to "celebrate diversity" at the expense of unity? What more of a uniquely American touchstone and rallying cry than unity? There are many, many red herrings and imbalances with regard to diversity, including a stance en contra of illegal immigration signifying some kind of overt racism. This kind of realistic problem for national security will not be easily overcome except through a shattering of the wall of political correctness that creates fear. Keep our progress, but lose the rose-colored glasses. "While not all Muslims are terrorists, almost all terrorists are Muslim." I understand the positions our leaders are in when they must call for calm. Is all this fair, or not?
We are limited in that all we have to rely on is subjective experience and our recent past to judge the dogma of diversity. Clearly, people viewed one another with much more suspicion and demonized each other more frequently than today. 60 years ago - is not that long ago - the Civil Rights Movement. Human rights - here - are young, although we are global forerunners. Today, we are progressively much closer to where we need to be in terms of living diversity and need to begin approaching this movement in a different way instead of proselytizing. It will be eye-opening to follow the reporting and revelations in the coming months on this subject.
Recent Reporting
- The Christian Science Monitor, P. Jonsson:
Excerpt:
“In the military everybody has to be treated the same, it’s what holds everybody together,” says Elaine Donnelly, the president of the Center for Military Readiness, a non-partisan group that focuses primarily on military personnel. “You have horizontal cohesion among the troops and you have vertical cohesion between the commander in chief and the troops that he leads. The vertical cohesion is now at risk, and the President should restore it, and realize this was not a breach, as he says, but a consequence of skewed priorities.”
To be sure, the Army has always been a leader in social equality, including efforts to integrate in the Jim Crow era, per the orders of President Harry Truman.
But traditionally the strength of the US military has been that it treats everybody the same.
Today’s diversity-conscious Army is moving in a different direction, critics say, molding itself to the sensitivities of the few, including recent waivers to allow a Sikh soldier to wear a beard.
Moreover, NPR reported that Army professionals taken aback by Hasan’s bizarre behavior explained that, in reporting him to superiors, they were “worried that they might be ‘discriminating’ against Hasan because of his seemingly extremist Islamic beliefs.”
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/11/14/fort-hood-review-may-challenge-political-correctness-up-the-ranks/
- The Baltimore Sun, Ron Smith:
Excerpt:
As we know from Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey's appearance on "Sunday Morning," a greater tragedy than the carnage inflicted on unarmed soldiers by an officer of their own army would be anything that called into question "diversity" as a priority of the American military. Diversity trumps everything, according to the Guardians of Correct Thought, within and without the military. ABC News reports that intelligence agencies were aware of Dr. Hasan's attempts to contact al-Qaeda but did nothing. It's reminiscent of the intelligence failures prior to the Sept. 11 attacks; bureaucrats bumbling about, unable to see what was in front of their noses until after the bloody fact. In this case, the CIA is denying the report that it refused to brief congressional intelligence committees on what knowledge the agency might have had on Major Hasan's efforts to communicate with terrorists. Who knows what the truth is, and whether we'll ever learn it? As we know from our president, we mustn't leap to conclusions about what prompted the shootings at Fort Hood.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.smith13nov13,0,2728617.column
- The Economist (Online comments)
We Americans continue to misunderstand what the international Muslim conflict is all about and why we seem to be the target of it. Conservative Muslims, especially conservative Imams, see western liberal ideas infiltrating their society with concepts such as education for women, women's rights, the rule of secular law, and separation of church and state (see Turkey for an example, but Egypt and Indonesia and, to some extent, Pakistan). The conservative Muslims want a society modeled on the Koran that locks in the practices of the 7th century. The US made a major mistake to align itself with these conservative Islamic forces to counter Soviet influence in Afghanistan. No one thought about what the future could bring when these 7th century minds were given 20th century weapons.
The tragedy at Fort Hood is just one more Muslim who has been a follower of the dark conservative Imams who blame the west for attempting to liberalize a society they want to see as unchanging. After all, they see the Koran as the full and true word of God.
The only way the west can counter these degenerates is to support fully those liberal Muslim leaders to help this major religion connect to the modern world. There are liberal Muslims in Turkey who are trying to re-interpret the words of Mohammad in light of modern society to erase some of the more backward ideas that have crept into the most conservative Muslim sects. Christianity did this, but only over 400 years from the 16th century to the 20th.
Sure Nidal Hassan was deranged & does not accurately reflect the mindset or proclivity of the majority of Muslims in America - or the West, for that matter.
However, anyone with an open & discerning mind, cannot deny or avoid noticing the fact that far more Muslims in western nations - first or second generation - profess or show significantly more empathy for, defend or justify heinous acts &/or condone Islamic terrorists who go on religious rampages (jihads) across the globe.
The deafening silence emanating from the so-called 'Moderate Muslim' quarter, after any such acts of mayhem by their Islamic counterparts, should have us all worried & questioning their 'silent' motive.
Political correctness, is often times a much abused & misused ideology, by ALL vested interest groups, who use it to their brazenly unfair advantage, every chance they get.
And that is so WRONG..
http://www.economist.com/node/14845113/comments
Radioactive discussion ahead! Non-racist guy about to talk about the subject of race.
As a web author who falls on the more casual side of research and analysis (and is non-funded and lacks oversight), it's easy to synopsize, and I don't pretend to have the resources to give highly objective treatments to all material. It's not supposed to be perfect, it's editorializing and often times exploration - I happen to prefer to promote points of view or subjects consistent with my world-view and do not have to claim a journalist's objective orientation. With that up-front, one of the most challenging and potentially hazardous topics is that of... "diversity!" provided you're out of line with common rhetoric. I observe that conservatives are starting to speak out that "enough is enough" post- Fort Hood. That there was a terrorist in our midst, but "Protection of our soldiers came second, and diversity came first." (- Taken from an Economist article summarized 0n-air.) Where does fault truly lie? Were patterns suggesting the profile of an Islamist terrorist ignored?
My first experience with military lore and culture was in pop culture. "Tour of Duty," the 80s serial on CBS, was a brilliant examination of racial flare-ups in the service, and the need to put them aside to not only accomplish the mission, but for the characters to come to terms with their own humanity. For Pete's sake: You're in a combat zone, you're all on the same team, and you have a lot more in common than you think, so why fight one another?
So where are we today? I don't know that we common folks have much difficulty with getting along, at least at my level. On a different plane, I have observed that "diversity" is the territory of intellectual stalemates; it's become more of a platitude than a forum. Listen to Gen. Casey's speeches. Think about people in the press that've been sent to "Remedial diversity training" or your own required presentations, the ones I wish I could walk out of. Et cetera. NOBODY dares speak at these events except for a few goobers, and diversity is inclusive to a point. With the inability to confront issues in imperfect systems, if we cannot be honest in observation on all levels, how can meetings of the minds occur and how can we reach true understanding? Even in the military, approaches to diversity are flawed. Academics become furious, but human nature and our modern socialization still sticks out like a sore thumb.
Uncomfortable Example 1: I've seen a flyer on a military base promoting "Military association x is pleased to present Cultural Diversity Fair 2008! With booths, food and heritage from: - African Americans - Asian Americans - Pacific Islanders - Native Americans - Middle Eastern Americans." I know some people that walked by that sign every day on their way into work that felt pretty left out.
Uncomfortable Example 2: Flip through the channels and wonder about the disparities in programming geared toward your demographic! Cable t.v. is really skewed in favor of one race, and that's been odd to me since I can remember.
Uncomfortable Example 3: The White House nominated a "diversity advisor." What is this guy supposed to do? (At taxpayer cost!) Tell organizations they need to be more "diverse?" We can analyze Supreme Court decisions in university race quotas versus grades earned, or firefighters denied advancement in Connecticut, or firefighters forced to march in a gay pride ceremony in San Diego. Whatever we analyze, the same conclusion results: The institutionalization of diversity is not perfect!
Uncomfortable Example 4: The internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII. I argued strongly against this before and would write the same today. What was the world-view and experience then? How does it compare/contrast to the contemporary environment?
- I've always wondered in the modern environment, why do we choose to "celebrate diversity" at the expense of unity? What more of a uniquely American touchstone and rallying cry than unity? There are many, many red herrings and imbalances with regard to diversity, including a stance en contra of illegal immigration signifying some kind of overt racism. This kind of realistic problem for national security will not be easily overcome except through a shattering of the wall of political correctness that creates fear. Keep our progress, but lose the rose-colored glasses. "While not all Muslims are terrorists, almost all terrorists are Muslim." I understand the positions our leaders are in when they must call for calm. Is all this fair, or not?
We are limited in that all we have to rely on is subjective experience and our recent past to judge the dogma of diversity. Clearly, people viewed one another with much more suspicion and demonized each other more frequently than today. 60 years ago - is not that long ago - the Civil Rights Movement. Human rights - here - are young, although we are global forerunners. Today, we are progressively much closer to where we need to be in terms of living diversity and need to begin approaching this movement in a different way instead of proselytizing. It will be eye-opening to follow the reporting and revelations in the coming months on this subject.
Recent Reporting
- The Christian Science Monitor, P. Jonsson:
Excerpt:
“In the military everybody has to be treated the same, it’s what holds everybody together,” says Elaine Donnelly, the president of the Center for Military Readiness, a non-partisan group that focuses primarily on military personnel. “You have horizontal cohesion among the troops and you have vertical cohesion between the commander in chief and the troops that he leads. The vertical cohesion is now at risk, and the President should restore it, and realize this was not a breach, as he says, but a consequence of skewed priorities.”
To be sure, the Army has always been a leader in social equality, including efforts to integrate in the Jim Crow era, per the orders of President Harry Truman.
But traditionally the strength of the US military has been that it treats everybody the same.
Today’s diversity-conscious Army is moving in a different direction, critics say, molding itself to the sensitivities of the few, including recent waivers to allow a Sikh soldier to wear a beard.
Moreover, NPR reported that Army professionals taken aback by Hasan’s bizarre behavior explained that, in reporting him to superiors, they were “worried that they might be ‘discriminating’ against Hasan because of his seemingly extremist Islamic beliefs.”
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/11/14/fort-hood-review-may-challenge-political-correctness-up-the-ranks/
- The Baltimore Sun, Ron Smith:
Excerpt:
As we know from Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey's appearance on "Sunday Morning," a greater tragedy than the carnage inflicted on unarmed soldiers by an officer of their own army would be anything that called into question "diversity" as a priority of the American military. Diversity trumps everything, according to the Guardians of Correct Thought, within and without the military. ABC News reports that intelligence agencies were aware of Dr. Hasan's attempts to contact al-Qaeda but did nothing. It's reminiscent of the intelligence failures prior to the Sept. 11 attacks; bureaucrats bumbling about, unable to see what was in front of their noses until after the bloody fact. In this case, the CIA is denying the report that it refused to brief congressional intelligence committees on what knowledge the agency might have had on Major Hasan's efforts to communicate with terrorists. Who knows what the truth is, and whether we'll ever learn it? As we know from our president, we mustn't leap to conclusions about what prompted the shootings at Fort Hood.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.smith13nov13,0,2728617.column
- The Economist (Online comments)
We Americans continue to misunderstand what the international Muslim conflict is all about and why we seem to be the target of it. Conservative Muslims, especially conservative Imams, see western liberal ideas infiltrating their society with concepts such as education for women, women's rights, the rule of secular law, and separation of church and state (see Turkey for an example, but Egypt and Indonesia and, to some extent, Pakistan). The conservative Muslims want a society modeled on the Koran that locks in the practices of the 7th century. The US made a major mistake to align itself with these conservative Islamic forces to counter Soviet influence in Afghanistan. No one thought about what the future could bring when these 7th century minds were given 20th century weapons.
The tragedy at Fort Hood is just one more Muslim who has been a follower of the dark conservative Imams who blame the west for attempting to liberalize a society they want to see as unchanging. After all, they see the Koran as the full and true word of God.
The only way the west can counter these degenerates is to support fully those liberal Muslim leaders to help this major religion connect to the modern world. There are liberal Muslims in Turkey who are trying to re-interpret the words of Mohammad in light of modern society to erase some of the more backward ideas that have crept into the most conservative Muslim sects. Christianity did this, but only over 400 years from the 16th century to the 20th.
Sure Nidal Hassan was deranged & does not accurately reflect the mindset or proclivity of the majority of Muslims in America - or the West, for that matter.
However, anyone with an open & discerning mind, cannot deny or avoid noticing the fact that far more Muslims in western nations - first or second generation - profess or show significantly more empathy for, defend or justify heinous acts &/or condone Islamic terrorists who go on religious rampages (jihads) across the globe.
The deafening silence emanating from the so-called 'Moderate Muslim' quarter, after any such acts of mayhem by their Islamic counterparts, should have us all worried & questioning their 'silent' motive.
Political correctness, is often times a much abused & misused ideology, by ALL vested interest groups, who use it to their brazenly unfair advantage, every chance they get.
And that is so WRONG..
http://www.economist.com/node/14845113/comments
15 November 2009
Iconic action figure hero meets real-life fan
One can only imagine what it would be like to meet a larger-than-life hero while in a toy store!
"Sgt. Slaughter’s mustache isn’t quite as robust in real life as it looks on television, but his chin is like an anvil made of American steel and patriotism."-Crave Online http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/humor/article/5-things-i-never-knew-about-sgt-slaughter-73815/2
13 November 2009
Sarkozy unveils a novel concept
Sarkozy Says Burqas Have No Place in France
Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press
Paris (AP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy says there is no place for full face and body veils such as the burqa, or for the debasement of women, in France. Sarkozy says all beliefs will be respected in France but says "becoming French means adhering to a form of civilization, to values, to morals." Sarkozy said Thursday during a speech on national identity that "France is a country where there is no place for the burqa." France has a large Muslim community but only a small minority of French Muslim women wear burqas, common in Afghanistan, or other face-covering veils. Sarkozy said in June that burqas would not be welcome in France. Since then a parliamentary panel has been looking into the possibility of banning them in public.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press
Paris (AP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy says there is no place for full face and body veils such as the burqa, or for the debasement of women, in France. Sarkozy says all beliefs will be respected in France but says "becoming French means adhering to a form of civilization, to values, to morals." Sarkozy said Thursday during a speech on national identity that "France is a country where there is no place for the burqa." France has a large Muslim community but only a small minority of French Muslim women wear burqas, common in Afghanistan, or other face-covering veils. Sarkozy said in June that burqas would not be welcome in France. Since then a parliamentary panel has been looking into the possibility of banning them in public.
08 November 2009
Cagey's "Country Boy" Vegetable Chowder
Comrades, we're taking a break from current events, pop culture and the humanities tonight to talk about what's on the bachelor stove. Specifically, today we're talking about what should be coming out of your kitchen. Are you warming up things? Do you like your cooking to be subtle yet powerful?Have you heard the story of stone soup? It's a rock, and water.
The twist essentially - is the verisimilitude of ingredients. Everyone ends up amazed how fantastic stone soup can be once you plop in some schtuff. I believe the lesson was on individual contributions, but today it'd probably be diversity. Nevertheless, bachelor cooking is swell and I have chosen to share one of my best recipes. You will need:
- Can, cream of celery soup
- Milk (1 canful required)
Cook the soup normally. Separately, bring a half-filled pot of water to a boil. Add:
- 10+ baby carrots
- 4+ new poatoes
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1/4+ green pepper
This alone suffices heartily. Back to dragging logs up mountainsides.
Optional:
- 4 slices fresh prosciutto (strongly recommended)
- 1/2 handful mushrooms
- Old Bay seasoning, a few shakes
- 1 unit of garlic
- Rachel Ray
Voila! Voici vous avez un dejeuner magnifique! Eat it right from the stove with a big ladle.
07 November 2009
Article: "The Hero's Journey" by Deb Peterson
Knowledge of this literary framework made many ideas in and out of reading much more satisfying. (E.g. modern rituals, anagnorisis, etc.)
http://adulted.about.com/od/howtos/a/theherosjourneyintro.htm?nl=1
Excerpt:
"As non-traditional students, or students of any kind really, we can use their remarkable theories to understand..."
"It's important to remember that the hero's journey is a guideline only. Like grammar, once you know and understand the rules, you can break them."
"It's important to realize that "the journey" can be outward to an actual place (think Indiana Jones), or inward to the mind, the heart, the spirit."
http://adulted.about.com/od/howtos/a/theherosjourneyintro.htm?nl=1
Excerpt:
"As non-traditional students, or students of any kind really, we can use their remarkable theories to understand..."
"It's important to remember that the hero's journey is a guideline only. Like grammar, once you know and understand the rules, you can break them."
"It's important to realize that "the journey" can be outward to an actual place (think Indiana Jones), or inward to the mind, the heart, the spirit."
03 November 2009
How to revel in something that never happened
...How? Why must it be that the domestic successes of the USG which have precluded the execution of terrorist acts receive page 8 attention, while only the tragedies are granted page 1?
There have been many MANY sterling successes in counterterrorism in 2009. The president's visit to the national counter-terrorism executive (NCTC) on October 6 received about five minutes of attention, and most of you hadn't heard about it.
If I were in the major publishing business, every time a plot were foiled it'd be like:
There have been many MANY sterling successes in counterterrorism in 2009. The president's visit to the national counter-terrorism executive (NCTC) on October 6 received about five minutes of attention, and most of you hadn't heard about it.
If I were in the major publishing business, every time a plot were foiled it'd be like:
Dignity begets dignity
http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/Archive/Club/700Club110309_WS
Great points within - a breath of fresh air. I watched "Inside Edition" host Deborah Norville speak about her new book The Power of Respect on the news. (Imbedded in the video above, starting at about 25:30.) I used to think, "Just another tabloid infotainer, " however, maybe I was dreadfully mistaken.
Norville calls herself a "research geek" and shares simple insights from The Bible which amazingly are lost on most of us: treat others as you'd like to be treated.
She discusses outcomes of respect-based education (not entirely familiar with that topic, but sounds good), and cites the media (which the interview rightly points out "USED to have a sense of responsibility"), narcissism ("Me me me") and even sources in current events (the "Balloon Boy" family). She goes down the stream further to discuss the characteristics of the mass media and reinforce her main point. This last part sealed the deal for me, her lesson in reality t.v. and the resultant comparison to the man behind the curtain in Oz. - "Be skeptical." If there wasn't some genuine benevolent interest for the public here, I doubt she'd dare lift the veil on something so close to home.
Great points within - a breath of fresh air. I watched "Inside Edition" host Deborah Norville speak about her new book The Power of Respect on the news. (Imbedded in the video above, starting at about 25:30.) I used to think, "Just another tabloid infotainer, " however, maybe I was dreadfully mistaken.
Norville calls herself a "research geek" and shares simple insights from The Bible which amazingly are lost on most of us: treat others as you'd like to be treated.
She discusses outcomes of respect-based education (not entirely familiar with that topic, but sounds good), and cites the media (which the interview rightly points out "USED to have a sense of responsibility"), narcissism ("Me me me") and even sources in current events (the "Balloon Boy" family). She goes down the stream further to discuss the characteristics of the mass media and reinforce her main point. This last part sealed the deal for me, her lesson in reality t.v. and the resultant comparison to the man behind the curtain in Oz. - "Be skeptical." If there wasn't some genuine benevolent interest for the public here, I doubt she'd dare lift the veil on something so close to home.
28 October 2009
26 October 2009
Potpourri
Genteel readers,
I. My PC is in the hospice thus no recent posts. How have you been? Here's what's on my mind:
- What are we going to do about Afghanistan?
- How much will be the final bid on the motorized La-Z-Boy seized from the intoxicated driver?
II. I owe my mentors phone calls. The revered author Maj. Gene Duncan and I have a friend in common, which was revealed quite unexpectedly. It's important to respond when serendipity comes your way.
- I am grateful for my friend Scott, a voice of wisdom in my life transition. "Required for this afternoon/evening: Cagey is a highly skilled, successful, and largely mysterious professional who has worked in very spooky arenas for the past decade. Now you need to let the lion out of the cage some and let him prowl around like he owns his future fully. Seriously, as dumb as it sounds you will find yourself being much more optimistic and much happier if you start actually acting this out regularly."
He recommended: 1) Rocky Patel Cigar (Vintage 1990 or 1992) (2) Stylish sunglasses (3) Leather jacket (time to have a "smoking jacket"). It is time to re-brand. Once all parts are assembled, I'm to start road touring and introducing the car and jacket to the aromatic cigar, and me to a better attitude than of late.
Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.
III. Golf:
- My golf game needs help on every part of the swing beyond 90 degrees off the ground.
IV. Quotes of the week. It can take an external view to see our foibles. Jeremy Clarkson:
"So far we’ve looked at the problem in America of power without responsibility. Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter a wall of low-paid, low-intellect workers whose sole job is to prevent their bosses from being sued. As a result, you never hear anyone say: 'Oh I’m sure it’ll be all right.'"
"Then you’ve got New Orleans, which, nearly a year after Katrina, is still utterly smashed and ruined. Now I’m sorry but insects can build shelter on their own. Birds can build nests without a state handout. So why are the people of Louisiana sitting around waiting for someone else to do the repairs? I tried to help out. I tried to give a car I’d been using to a Christian mission. But I was threatened with legal action because the car in question was a 91 and not the 98 that had allegedly been promised. A very angry woman accused me of “misrepresentation”."
"Among the things I don’t like is the way everyone over 15 stone now moves about in a wheelchair. As a result, it takes half an hour to get through even the widest door."
Michael Savage: is a master storyteller.
Michael Savage can't get a new pair of sunglasses after his fell overboard from his boat; he was worried he'd lose his hat, or some other item, and "splash." Fast-forward. LensCrafters won't sell him a pair without an eye review - his last "expired." I understand the frustration. Let's remember what Mr. Clarkson said: " Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter..."
Savage: "You're not stupid, you're a grown man, you just get the prescription filled. In Mexico - they don't need a genius to stick a needle up their behind to tell them what they need. 'Si, senor,' and that's it."
V. I realize I often like things that I never thought I would.
- Mushrooms: I am allergic to mold and I used to think 'shrooms were unholy parasites, like Metroids. Now I realize how fantastic they are on pizza and in pot roasts. Rich and nutty, they impart the flavor of the earth into your food. If you want to feel closer to the earth and savoir faire in the kitchen, I can't imagine a happier complement to these foods.
- Ballcaps: I was a head covering snob for a long time. Ballcaps: They look dumb with uniforms, and they're not very sophisticated. Why can't people wear fedoras or other kinds of hats more commonly? Like flannels and cell phones, I resisted them for so long, but find them convenient for messy hair, and hiding my eyes, which makes me feel - impenetrable I guess
VI. Heaven on Earth
That would be Yamazaki 18 year old whiskey. Rated an impeccable 97 points by
the Beverage Testing Institute, and awarded their platinum award in 2006, Yamazaki 18 is sublime. "Superlative." Tasting notes: "Amazingly complex and deep. Color: Copper Gold. Aroma: Estery, Honey, Strawberry. Body: Full bodied. Taste: Spicy, cherry-like tones, marmalade, butter cream, honey. Finish: Long, fruity, pleasantly dry.
VI. Film recommendation: Paris, Je T'aime
Effective mise en scene. Easily found in the foreign films section at Blockbuster (gasp), I found this collection of vignettes from different directors and bouroughs compelling and beautiful. Not going to write a full-blown review tonight, but it was nice to return to the city of love. Liked the Oscar Wilde story best. Love stories when the setting is so thematically important, more than just a backdrop but something strived for, a cinematic or literary extension of soul that imparts sense of place, that has the capability to transport the viewer/reader elsewhere. The actors stirring in the city come alive on the canvas. Memphis - "Mystery Train." Barcelona -"Barcelona" (obviously) - some of my favorite examples. Interestingly enough, did see one review comparing the film to Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (who incidentally, produced "Mystery Train").
Sample review: http://www.bloggernews.net/111507
(I'm looking for a deep critical analysis, if anyone has seen, please post to comments)
I. My PC is in the hospice thus no recent posts. How have you been? Here's what's on my mind:
- What are we going to do about Afghanistan?
- How much will be the final bid on the motorized La-Z-Boy seized from the intoxicated driver?
II. I owe my mentors phone calls. The revered author Maj. Gene Duncan and I have a friend in common, which was revealed quite unexpectedly. It's important to respond when serendipity comes your way.
- I am grateful for my friend Scott, a voice of wisdom in my life transition. "Required for this afternoon/evening: Cagey is a highly skilled, successful, and largely mysterious professional who has worked in very spooky arenas for the past decade. Now you need to let the lion out of the cage some and let him prowl around like he owns his future fully. Seriously, as dumb as it sounds you will find yourself being much more optimistic and much happier if you start actually acting this out regularly."
He recommended: 1) Rocky Patel Cigar (Vintage 1990 or 1992) (2) Stylish sunglasses (3) Leather jacket (time to have a "smoking jacket"). It is time to re-brand. Once all parts are assembled, I'm to start road touring and introducing the car and jacket to the aromatic cigar, and me to a better attitude than of late.
Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.
III. Golf:
- My golf game needs help on every part of the swing beyond 90 degrees off the ground.
IV. Quotes of the week. It can take an external view to see our foibles. Jeremy Clarkson:
"So far we’ve looked at the problem in America of power without responsibility. Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter a wall of low-paid, low-intellect workers whose sole job is to prevent their bosses from being sued. As a result, you never hear anyone say: 'Oh I’m sure it’ll be all right.'"
"Then you’ve got New Orleans, which, nearly a year after Katrina, is still utterly smashed and ruined. Now I’m sorry but insects can build shelter on their own. Birds can build nests without a state handout. So why are the people of Louisiana sitting around waiting for someone else to do the repairs? I tried to help out. I tried to give a car I’d been using to a Christian mission. But I was threatened with legal action because the car in question was a 91 and not the 98 that had allegedly been promised. A very angry woman accused me of “misrepresentation”."
"Among the things I don’t like is the way everyone over 15 stone now moves about in a wheelchair. As a result, it takes half an hour to get through even the widest door."
Michael Savage: is a master storyteller.
Michael Savage can't get a new pair of sunglasses after his fell overboard from his boat; he was worried he'd lose his hat, or some other item, and "splash." Fast-forward. LensCrafters won't sell him a pair without an eye review - his last "expired." I understand the frustration. Let's remember what Mr. Clarkson said: " Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter..."
Savage: "You're not stupid, you're a grown man, you just get the prescription filled. In Mexico - they don't need a genius to stick a needle up their behind to tell them what they need. 'Si, senor,' and that's it."
V. I realize I often like things that I never thought I would.
- Mushrooms: I am allergic to mold and I used to think 'shrooms were unholy parasites, like Metroids. Now I realize how fantastic they are on pizza and in pot roasts. Rich and nutty, they impart the flavor of the earth into your food. If you want to feel closer to the earth and savoir faire in the kitchen, I can't imagine a happier complement to these foods.
- Ballcaps: I was a head covering snob for a long time. Ballcaps: They look dumb with uniforms, and they're not very sophisticated. Why can't people wear fedoras or other kinds of hats more commonly? Like flannels and cell phones, I resisted them for so long, but find them convenient for messy hair, and hiding my eyes, which makes me feel - impenetrable I guess
VI. Heaven on Earth
That would be Yamazaki 18 year old whiskey. Rated an impeccable 97 points by
the Beverage Testing Institute, and awarded their platinum award in 2006, Yamazaki 18 is sublime. "Superlative." Tasting notes: "Amazingly complex and deep. Color: Copper Gold. Aroma: Estery, Honey, Strawberry. Body: Full bodied. Taste: Spicy, cherry-like tones, marmalade, butter cream, honey. Finish: Long, fruity, pleasantly dry.VI. Film recommendation: Paris, Je T'aime
Effective mise en scene. Easily found in the foreign films section at Blockbuster (gasp), I found this collection of vignettes from different directors and bouroughs compelling and beautiful. Not going to write a full-blown review tonight, but it was nice to return to the city of love. Liked the Oscar Wilde story best. Love stories when the setting is so thematically important, more than just a backdrop but something strived for, a cinematic or literary extension of soul that imparts sense of place, that has the capability to transport the viewer/reader elsewhere. The actors stirring in the city come alive on the canvas. Memphis - "Mystery Train." Barcelona -"Barcelona" (obviously) - some of my favorite examples. Interestingly enough, did see one review comparing the film to Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (who incidentally, produced "Mystery Train").Sample review: http://www.bloggernews.net/111507
(I'm looking for a deep critical analysis, if anyone has seen, please post to comments)
11 October 2009
Kanye West meme still fresh in recent memory
Have I covered this already?
You've already suffered enough from a "me first, me victim" upbringing and thought you received enough notoriety saying that "George Bush hates black people," but that wasn't enough. So all 225 lbs. of you leaps on stage at a nationally televised awards show, and rips the microphone away from a waifish teenaged lady receiving her first award. You do the unthinkable, swaggering around and then saying, "I'mma let you finish," but your friend Beyonce, "had the best video of all time." Lo and behold, the president himself later called you "a jackass." What do you do next?
1. You become an internet meme. http://www.zmemusic.com/other/kanyes-imma-let-you-finish-meme-425975/
2. You don't show up for the BET music awards, where of course despite your lunacy, you were still nominated for nine awards. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/11/kanye-west-bet-awards/
You've already suffered enough from a "me first, me victim" upbringing and thought you received enough notoriety saying that "George Bush hates black people," but that wasn't enough. So all 225 lbs. of you leaps on stage at a nationally televised awards show, and rips the microphone away from a waifish teenaged lady receiving her first award. You do the unthinkable, swaggering around and then saying, "I'mma let you finish," but your friend Beyonce, "had the best video of all time." Lo and behold, the president himself later called you "a jackass." What do you do next?
1. You become an internet meme. http://www.zmemusic.com/other/kanyes-imma-let-you-finish-meme-425975/
2. You don't show up for the BET music awards, where of course despite your lunacy, you were still nominated for nine awards. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/11/kanye-west-bet-awards/
3. Where are you, anyway?
08 October 2009
Presenting the most annoying trends of the 1990s
I woke up this morning remembering how much I disliked several 1990s trends in which:
- People on t.v. (Jay Leno - top offender) were CLEANING OUT THEIR EARS with their pinky fingers! Some sort of nervous tic? I promise you I'm not making this up - I became very keenly attuned to this awful trend and alarms in my head came alive upon seeing it, screaming in outrage and fury.
It would require countless hours of research, but I promise you I remember seeing Leno do it, and I think Letterman and others followed suit. Disgusting! "Thingamajigs scratch where Thingamajigs itch." (Source: The Thingumajig Book of Manners by Irene Keller) [LINK]
- Runner-up: People sitting in their chairs backwards. Eschew good graces! Cast them away! You're too cool, you're making a STATEMENT with your command pose!
- 
Honorable mention: People doing that thing where they'd flex their suspenders, especially on NBC, and 
Urkel from Family Matters. You people are all terrible, terrible human beings!
Honorable mention: People doing that thing where they'd flex their suspenders, especially on NBC, and 
Urkel from Family Matters. You people are all terrible, terrible human beings!
07 October 2009
Follow up: Supreme Court on Mojave memorial cross
My interest in religious symbols comes from research on Judge Roy Moore's display of the Decalogue in his courts, which in the western canon, is one of the great foundations of our law and ethics. It is absurd the extent to which we have restricted the display of symbols of good in our Christian-founded nation and through the clamor of "white noise," have self-acclimatized to viewing with suspicion Christianity ("evangelicals") and community service (government taking stance on "Faith-based initiatives"). There was no "separation of church and state" intended in the Constitution which would prohibit religious symbols nor expression, nor acknowledging our roots in Christianity and its values, yet this lie propagates resoundingly in these frightening modern times.
By JESS BRAVIN
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to permit a five-foot-tall cross to remain standing in California's Mojave National Preserve, while avoiding a broader ruling that could affect religious symbols on government property.
In Supreme Court arguments Wednesday, the justices looked closely at the terms of the 2004 act transferring the property. The court's decision could turn on whether the justices conclude the act requires the VFW specifically to maintain the cross.
[Solicitor General] Ms. Kagan said Congress's "sensible action" ended the government's entanglement with the Christian symbol, while preserving "a memorial that for 75 years had commemorated America's fallen soldiers and had acquired deep meaning for the veterans in the community."
Justice Antonin Scalia disputed the premise behind the lawsuit, telling Mr. Eliasberg that it was unfair to view the cross merely as a Christian symbol.
"The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead," he said. "What would you have them erect? Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?"
"I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead," Justice Scalia said. "I think that's an outrageous conclusion."
However, the court seemed inclined to stay away from ruling whether it was acceptable for the government to put crosses on property it owns outright, a question that was never directly at issue in this case.
A decision is expected by July.
By JESS BRAVIN
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to permit a five-foot-tall cross to remain standing in California's Mojave National Preserve, while avoiding a broader ruling that could affect religious symbols on government property.
In Supreme Court arguments Wednesday, the justices looked closely at the terms of the 2004 act transferring the property. The court's decision could turn on whether the justices conclude the act requires the VFW specifically to maintain the cross.
[Solicitor General] Ms. Kagan said Congress's "sensible action" ended the government's entanglement with the Christian symbol, while preserving "a memorial that for 75 years had commemorated America's fallen soldiers and had acquired deep meaning for the veterans in the community."
Justice Antonin Scalia disputed the premise behind the lawsuit, telling Mr. Eliasberg that it was unfair to view the cross merely as a Christian symbol.
"The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead," he said. "What would you have them erect? Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?"
"I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead," Justice Scalia said. "I think that's an outrageous conclusion."
However, the court seemed inclined to stay away from ruling whether it was acceptable for the government to put crosses on property it owns outright, a question that was never directly at issue in this case.
A decision is expected by July.
06 October 2009
Supreme Court to hear Mojave cross case tomorrow
Pray.
Press release:
Press release:
Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, comments, “The ACLU hates crosses as much as vampires hate crosses or the daylight. Despite their claims to the contrary, this case is part of the ACLU’s national agenda to incrementally remove every cross on public land. Their guiding principle is ‘out of sight out of mind.’ The Court’s ruling in this case will impact crosses in thousands of memorials nationwide.”
05 October 2009
Article: "A fine whine" by Michael Idov
As you may suspect, it is no easy task to own a business.
Excerpt:
"The failure of a small cafe is not a question of competence. It is a sad given. The logistics of a food establishment that seats between 20 and 25 people (which roughly corresponds to the definition of 'cozy') are such that the place will stay afloat—barely—as long as its owners spend all of their time on the job. There is a golden rule, long cherished by restaurateurs, for determining whether a business is viable. Rent should take up no more than 25 percent of your revenue, another 25 percent should go toward payroll, and 35 percent should go toward the product. The remaining 15 percent is what you take home. There's an even more elegant version of that rule: Make your rent in four days to be profitable, a week to break even. If you haven't hit the latter mark in a month, close."
"A place that seats 25 will have to employ at least two people for every shift: someone to work the front and someone for the kitchen (assuming you find a guy who will both uncomplainingly wash dishes and reliably whip up pretty crepes; if you've found that guy, you're already in better shape than most NYC restaurateurs. You're also, most likely, already in trouble with immigration services). Budgeting $15 for the payroll for every hour your charming cafe is open (let's say 10 hours a day) relieves you of $4,500 a month. That gives you another $4,500 a month for rent and $6,300 to stock up on product. It also means that to come up with the total needed $18K of revenue per month, you will need to sell that product at an average of a 300 percent markup."
Excerpt:
"The failure of a small cafe is not a question of competence. It is a sad given. The logistics of a food establishment that seats between 20 and 25 people (which roughly corresponds to the definition of 'cozy') are such that the place will stay afloat—barely—as long as its owners spend all of their time on the job. There is a golden rule, long cherished by restaurateurs, for determining whether a business is viable. Rent should take up no more than 25 percent of your revenue, another 25 percent should go toward payroll, and 35 percent should go toward the product. The remaining 15 percent is what you take home. There's an even more elegant version of that rule: Make your rent in four days to be profitable, a week to break even. If you haven't hit the latter mark in a month, close."
"A place that seats 25 will have to employ at least two people for every shift: someone to work the front and someone for the kitchen (assuming you find a guy who will both uncomplainingly wash dishes and reliably whip up pretty crepes; if you've found that guy, you're already in better shape than most NYC restaurateurs. You're also, most likely, already in trouble with immigration services). Budgeting $15 for the payroll for every hour your charming cafe is open (let's say 10 hours a day) relieves you of $4,500 a month. That gives you another $4,500 a month for rent and $6,300 to stock up on product. It also means that to come up with the total needed $18K of revenue per month, you will need to sell that product at an average of a 300 percent markup."
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