Tuesday Quick Notes
As was no doubt obvious, I've been very busy this past week. I apologize for the light posting. And by "light" of course I mean "non-existent." However, Tuesday has come upon us, which means it's time for Quick Notes, my favorite regular feature of all time. Please do let me know if you like this format over my traditional way-too-long essay. I could very easily be persuaded to adopt the Quick Notes format as the norm. Here we go:
-- On the "Bush Authorizes Spying on Americans" front, all I can add to the voluminous commentary already pouring forth is that the civil libertarian left has been claiming that the Bush Administration has been running roughshod over essential civil liberties for more than four year now and this is all they have? This is their best shot? That the President put an immediate watch on the international communications of persons our fighters in the field have found implicated with Al-Qaeda?
-- Of course, the sad thing is that stories like this, like the "torture" stories and the many, many untrue stories that have circulated about the USA Patriot Act become self-reinforcing. They become stuff that "everyone" knows and enter into the MSM's lexicon of the accepted obvious.
-- Have you heard that Evo Morales, who has promised to become "America's nightmare," has been elected President of Bolivia? With regard to the left-wing resurgence in Latin America, no finer words have been written than those of Ralph Peters today in the New York Post. Now that the Cold War is over, if the people of Latin America decide to drive themselves off a cliff with immature socialist fantasies, more power to them. We should gracefully step aside and stand ready to assist when they wake up. But the absolute worst thing we could do is do what we've already done with Castro and Chavez. We should not over-react or act like the world is ending. We should simply smile and wish them the best of luck. And then slowly back out of the room.
-- Of course, the USG being what it is--lumbering, stupid and stuck on policies at least 20 years too old for the times--I'm sure we won't play it as smart as all that.
-- The Vietnam/Nixon fixation of the Baby Boomers is yet another reason to hate that self-righteous and smug generation with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns, if you needed any more. Iraq is Vietnam and now the spy Bush is the new Nixon. Do these bores have any idea how ridiculous and absurd they are?
-- Sometimes the MSM stoops to form so true, so heart-breakingly true, that it seems almost to be a self-conscious parody. For example, the Sydney Morning Herald's political writer Andrew West, who runs a pseudo-blog (you can't post comments without subjecting your posts to his censor) hilariously called "The Contrarian," ran a piece about the Sydney riots that argued that Islam may be, just might be, a teeny, tiny part of the problem. West wrote:
Leaving aside for the moment that if you really believe, as West apparently does, that one's society must have "at its core a canon of values" one could, every other week perhaps, actually write in support of that stance; nevertheless, full marks to West for standing up for something for a change. However, shortly after this post appeared, it disappeared. West then posted a short statement that he had removed the "Is Islam the Problem?" piece because too many of his readers didn't "get" what he was trying to say. Some contrarian!
Tim Blair caught him out on this and eventually an embarrassed West, by this time roundly denounced in the Blogosphere as a craven coward, re-posted the piece, along side another piece that West never had any problem with that labeled the white Australians involved as "trailer trash."
West then followed this up with a piece on the sad and untimely death of the excellent actor John Spencer, currently best known for his portrayal of White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the West Wing. West's response to Spencer's death is nothing short of amazingly embarrassing. Check this out:
McGarry is a television character. Like Herman Munster, he isn't real.
Good God, this stuff is amazing. What an intense crap-weasel this West is: scared of reality, wishing his little college freshman "why can't politicians be great men of principle" fantasy was true. Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.
-- Speaking of which, West has just written about the Morales victory. Says West: "The people of Bolivia can hold their heads high today, with a majority having defied pressure from the United States right-wing and elected a leftist fighter for social justice as their new president."
Let the record clearly show that at the close of the year 2005, there were still in existence influential people who think that the only thing in the way of "social justice" is an evil cabal of "right-wingers" in the United States.
-- West goes on to note that the cabal is not only "right-wingers" but the "neo-cons." Ah! It's the Jews. Of course.
-- Speaking of which, Netanyahu finally gets back to the driver's seat of Likud, but only after Sharon's bold move ensured that Likud will no longer be a major player. Given the craven opportunism Netanyahu has displayed over the past two years, serves him right.
-- On to lighter fare: I finally caught the last episode of Rome over the week-end. The series took a turn for the worse over the last parts of the season, but the final episode made it all worthwhile. And Ciran Hinds, what an actor that man is. He will always be Caesar to me now.
-- The polls in Canada reveal the depressing reality: there is no hope for a Conservative government there, now or ever. Conservatism has become a permanent minority in Canada, and may never recover. Let this be a warning to us all.
-- I've just decided that Lileks is a national treasure.
-- Kids are very, very observant. Just before a local channel broadcasts the Simpsons re-runs, there is a short segment hosted by a local DJ by the name of Daria. Daria is very cute, very alterna-girl attractive. I'm watching TV with my boys last Thursday during Daria's segment. Nothing happens. The next day, we're getting ready to watch the Simpsons again. Daria comes on.
Says my four-year old (in a sing-song making-fun-of-you voice): "There is Daddy's girlfriend....there is Daddy's girlfriend...." They both fall to the floor with laughter.
Dude. Busted.
-- On the "Bush Authorizes Spying on Americans" front, all I can add to the voluminous commentary already pouring forth is that the civil libertarian left has been claiming that the Bush Administration has been running roughshod over essential civil liberties for more than four year now and this is all they have? This is their best shot? That the President put an immediate watch on the international communications of persons our fighters in the field have found implicated with Al-Qaeda?
-- Of course, the sad thing is that stories like this, like the "torture" stories and the many, many untrue stories that have circulated about the USA Patriot Act become self-reinforcing. They become stuff that "everyone" knows and enter into the MSM's lexicon of the accepted obvious.
-- Have you heard that Evo Morales, who has promised to become "America's nightmare," has been elected President of Bolivia? With regard to the left-wing resurgence in Latin America, no finer words have been written than those of Ralph Peters today in the New York Post. Now that the Cold War is over, if the people of Latin America decide to drive themselves off a cliff with immature socialist fantasies, more power to them. We should gracefully step aside and stand ready to assist when they wake up. But the absolute worst thing we could do is do what we've already done with Castro and Chavez. We should not over-react or act like the world is ending. We should simply smile and wish them the best of luck. And then slowly back out of the room.
-- Of course, the USG being what it is--lumbering, stupid and stuck on policies at least 20 years too old for the times--I'm sure we won't play it as smart as all that.
-- The Vietnam/Nixon fixation of the Baby Boomers is yet another reason to hate that self-righteous and smug generation with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns, if you needed any more. Iraq is Vietnam and now the spy Bush is the new Nixon. Do these bores have any idea how ridiculous and absurd they are?
-- Sometimes the MSM stoops to form so true, so heart-breakingly true, that it seems almost to be a self-conscious parody. For example, the Sydney Morning Herald's political writer Andrew West, who runs a pseudo-blog (you can't post comments without subjecting your posts to his censor) hilariously called "The Contrarian," ran a piece about the Sydney riots that argued that Islam may be, just might be, a teeny, tiny part of the problem. West wrote:
When groups of young Muslim men stalk the beaches of Sydney making sexually threatening comments against women in bathing costumes, as they indisputably do; and when they believe they act with the license of a sheik who claims that such women are responsible for their own sexual violation, is their religion, at least in part, to blame?
I do not embrace multiculturalism, as such, because I do not believe all cultures are compatible with non-discriminatory liberalism. I prefer a multi-ethnic, non-racial society, which has at its core a canon of values that include racial and gender equality.
I admit to feeling a little uneasy at the sight of a Muslim woman shrouded not simply in a headscarf but a face-concealing, head-to-toe chador, and wonder just how much choice she has had in deciding her lifestyle. I am not hugely sympathetic to a Muslim seeking asylum because he claims to have been discriminated against because of his support for sharia law.
Leaving aside for the moment that if you really believe, as West apparently does, that one's society must have "at its core a canon of values" one could, every other week perhaps, actually write in support of that stance; nevertheless, full marks to West for standing up for something for a change. However, shortly after this post appeared, it disappeared. West then posted a short statement that he had removed the "Is Islam the Problem?" piece because too many of his readers didn't "get" what he was trying to say. Some contrarian!
Tim Blair caught him out on this and eventually an embarrassed West, by this time roundly denounced in the Blogosphere as a craven coward, re-posted the piece, along side another piece that West never had any problem with that labeled the white Australians involved as "trailer trash."
West then followed this up with a piece on the sad and untimely death of the excellent actor John Spencer, currently best known for his portrayal of White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the West Wing. West's response to Spencer's death is nothing short of amazingly embarrassing. Check this out:
I always thought it was impossible to surpass The West Wing's lead character, President Josiah Bartlet, so convincing was Martin Sheen in the role. Call me a hopeless dreamer, but Sheen just radiated this authentic presidential aura, so much so that in recent years there has been a concerted effort to get Sheen to run for office as a Democrat. (The guy has more real-world political experience than Ronald Reagan when he ran for California governor.)
But Spencer could easily rival Sheen. What's more, his McGarry character represented what so many of us yearn for in a progressive politician. He was hard-nosed enough to be effective and yet never lost sight of the progressive vision -- economic justice, workers' rights (in the show he was a former Secretary of Labour), civil rights.
McGarry is a television character. Like Herman Munster, he isn't real.
Good God, this stuff is amazing. What an intense crap-weasel this West is: scared of reality, wishing his little college freshman "why can't politicians be great men of principle" fantasy was true. Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.
-- Speaking of which, West has just written about the Morales victory. Says West: "The people of Bolivia can hold their heads high today, with a majority having defied pressure from the United States right-wing and elected a leftist fighter for social justice as their new president."
Let the record clearly show that at the close of the year 2005, there were still in existence influential people who think that the only thing in the way of "social justice" is an evil cabal of "right-wingers" in the United States.
-- West goes on to note that the cabal is not only "right-wingers" but the "neo-cons." Ah! It's the Jews. Of course.
-- Speaking of which, Netanyahu finally gets back to the driver's seat of Likud, but only after Sharon's bold move ensured that Likud will no longer be a major player. Given the craven opportunism Netanyahu has displayed over the past two years, serves him right.
-- On to lighter fare: I finally caught the last episode of Rome over the week-end. The series took a turn for the worse over the last parts of the season, but the final episode made it all worthwhile. And Ciran Hinds, what an actor that man is. He will always be Caesar to me now.
-- The polls in Canada reveal the depressing reality: there is no hope for a Conservative government there, now or ever. Conservatism has become a permanent minority in Canada, and may never recover. Let this be a warning to us all.
-- I've just decided that Lileks is a national treasure.
-- Kids are very, very observant. Just before a local channel broadcasts the Simpsons re-runs, there is a short segment hosted by a local DJ by the name of Daria. Daria is very cute, very alterna-girl attractive. I'm watching TV with my boys last Thursday during Daria's segment. Nothing happens. The next day, we're getting ready to watch the Simpsons again. Daria comes on.
Says my four-year old (in a sing-song making-fun-of-you voice): "There is Daddy's girlfriend....there is Daddy's girlfriend...." They both fall to the floor with laughter.
Dude. Busted.
