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Saturday, December 31, 2005
Standing Up For Moderate Islam
Yesterday, Abdurrahman Wahid, the former president of Indonesia, had a commentary in the Wall Street Journal called Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam. It's refreshing to see a man of his stature discuss the need for moderate Muslims and non-Muslims to jointly develop a strategy to blunt the advance of Wahhabi-inspired Islamist extremism. It is time for people of goodwill from every faith and nation to recognize that a terrible danger threatens humanity. We cannot afford to continue "business as usual" in the face of this existential threat. Rather, we must set aside our international and partisan bickering, and join to confront the danger that lies before us. He lays out the challenges that those opposing the Islamists face as well as their advantages: An effective counterstrategy must be based upon a realistic assessment of our own strengths and weaknesses in the face of religious extremism and terror. Disunity, of course, has proved fatal to countless human societies faced with a similar existential threat. A lack of seriousness in confronting the imminent danger is likewise often fatal. Those who seek to promote a peaceful and tolerant understanding of Islam must overcome the paralyzing effects of inertia, and harness a number of actual or potential strengths, which can play a key role in neutralizing fundamentalist ideology. These strengths not only are assets in the struggle with religious extremism, but in their mirror form they point to the weakness at the heart of fundamentalist ideology. They are: 1) Human dignity, which demands freedom of conscience and rejects the forced imposition of religious views; 2) the ability to mobilize immense resources to bring to bear on this problem, once it is identified and a global commitment is made to solve it; 3) the ability to leverage resources by supporting individuals and organizations that truly embrace a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 4) nearly 1,400 years of Islamic traditions and spirituality, which are inimical to fundamentalist ideology; 5) appeals to local and national -- as well as Islamic -- culture/traditions/pride; 6) the power of the feminine spirit, and the fact that half of humanity consists of women, who have an inherent stake in the outcome of this struggle; 7) traditional and Sufi leadership and masses, who are not yet radicalized (strong numeric advantage: 85% to 90% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims); 8) the ability to harness networks of Islamic schools to propagate a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 9) the natural tendency of like-minded people to work together when alerted to a common danger; 10) the ability to form a global network of like-minded individuals, organizations and opinion leaders to promote moderate and progressive ideas throughout the Muslim world; 11) the existence of a counterideology, in the form of traditional, Sufi and modern Islamic teachings, and the ability to translate such works into key languages; 12) the benefits of modernity, for all its flaws, and the widespread appeal of popular culture; 13) the ability to cross national and cultural borders in the name of religion; 14) Internet communications, to disseminate progressive views -- linking and inspiring like-minded individuals and organizations throughout the world; 15) the nation-state; and 16) the universal human desire for freedom, justice and a better life for oneself and loved ones. Though potentially decisive, most of these advantages remain latent or diffuse, and require mobilization to be effective in confronting fundamentalist ideology. In addition, no effort to defeat religious extremism can succeed without ultimately cutting off the flow of petrodollars used to finance that extremism, from Leeds to Jakarta.
Top Shelf Reading
The December 19th issue of National Review was a special 50th anniversary issue and included reviews of ten books that "advanced the cause of conservatism and of freedom in general." Here's the list: The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom Suicide of the West by James Burnham Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton and Rose Friedman Crisis of the House Divided : An Interpretation of the Issues in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates by Harry V. Jaffa Modern Times Revised Edition: World from the Twenties to the Nineties by Paul Johnson Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980 by Charles Murray Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays by Michael Oakeshott The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles by Thomas Sowell The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe Richard Pipes pens the review of Suicide of the West and includes this gem: Liberal philosophy, which originated in the Enlightenment era, produces "ideological thinking," the distinguishing quality of which is to regard those who oppose it as either stupid or malicious. For a liberal, if doctrine and reality clash, reality "must give way." Hence no true dialogue with a liberal is possible: His thinking cannot be refuted either by logic or by evidence.
Friday, December 30, 2005
A Little Help From My Friends
Dave e-mails looking for a little help: Driving to work today, I came up on a car with a Wellstone bumper sticker and some patriotic/support our troops ones. "Odd combination" thought I. As I got closer, I saw that the Wellstone sticker was actually a Reagan one made to look like those that the liberals still have on their Volvo's. "REAGAN !" White lettering, green background, with an exclamation point. Where do I get one? One of you must know. If not, perhaps a call for information on a blog would reveal the secret source. Someone? Anyone? Bueller?
Gophers Strong-Arm Tactics Bust Union
Gopher Puck Live: The Gophers rolled over Union College tonight in the opener of the Dodge Holiday Classic, 8-0. The Gophers played well from start to finish, in all aspects of the game. Mike Howe had a hat trick, and both Ryan Potulny and Derek Peltier had 3 points each (1 G, 2A each). But it's not like this game wasn't a forgone conclusion from the drop of the puck as Union didn't present much of a challenge in any way. (I couldn't resist the opportunity to use the post title.)
This Bird You'll Never Change
A couple of NHL players are now saying the new rule changes have wussified the sport and I have to agree. Dan Hinote of the Avs (and a MN boy) had these strong words for the new, improved NHL: "There's no testosterone in the game right now," said Hinote, a veteran right winger for Colorado. "They've taken a lot of the physical aspects out of the game. It's predominantly special teams now. "There's no more battling in the corners. I won't say there's none, but there's a lot less. There's no scrums in front of the net." I have many fond memories of watching those great battles in front of the net where guys like Dino Ciccarelli, who went a mere 5'8" and 170 would stand directly in front of Blackhawk's netminder Murray Bannerman while defenseman Doug Crossman worked over Ciccarelli like a ragdoll with crosschecks to the small of his back, slashes, punches--anything to move him out of there. And all the while Dino gave as good as he took. It was incredibly entertaining. But since the NHL powers started listening to the wussies who attend focus groups and decry the "Violence" that "My child" has to watch, the game has gone downhill. Hinote continued: "There's far less hitting. You play a more tentative style because you don't want to put your team down," Hinote said. "On the other side, I think it is more entertaining for people to watch. From my point of view, the type of game I have to play, they've taken a lot of that part away. "Now, is the league better because of these new rules? Perhaps. Maybe the fans like it more. And if that's what we're geared toward, then they're doing their job right. But there's a lot of hockey fans, fans who have been watching a long time, that are going to miss that part of the game." Former Wild Andrew Burnette agreed with this assessment and took it even one step further with a true diss: "I think they've taken away a little bit of the battles," Brunette said. "It's part of hockey. If not, it's kind of roller hockey. Roller hockey, that's not good."
Thursday, December 29, 2005
He entertains people at bank-machines and other of life's many lineups
Linda from Denver e-mails with more on queues in China: I had a sabbatical year in China (1987-88) and noticed that the lack of the custom of queuing was only in the PRC (where people pushed and shoved even when there was no earthly reason to (two young men fighting to board first on a bus that had no passengers at all), while in Hong Kong they queued automatically even when it obviously wouldn't be necessary. The PRC hasn't done well at engineering crowd control. If you want to buy a ticket on the Beijing subway, you have to push and shove or you'll never get to the window, because that's what everybody else is doing. And once you get to the window, you have to push and shove again to get out, because there's no established one-way traffic pattern. I panicked once, in such a crowd, and when a guy shoved his arm in my face, I bit him. I was then able to buy my ticket and exit without interference. Once I took my film to the main post office in Shanghai to send it back to the US for processing. There was the usual melee and I was grumbling under my breath because people kept pushing ahead of me (we've been socialized not to do that, and it is difficult to change). A man looked around, saw me and started marshaling the crown into lines. "You are embarrassing all Chinese with this bad behavior!" or words to that effect. (No Chinese ever stops to think that foreigners might speak the language.) Well, it was a miracle. Everybody in that unruly mob knew exactly who had arrived just before him, and just after, and with no disagreement they sorted themselves into a snake. The man who had organized them was several people ahead of me, and when he'd finished and was leaving, he stopped near me and explained that he had been a graduate student at Ohio State. The other interesting thing was that the people in the line maintained it. Someone would come in the door, see nobody pushing toward the counter and walk right up -- until people started loudly complaining about him, at which point he would slink to the end of the line and become one of the loudest complainers about the next unaware line-cutter. There must be a dissertation in there somewhere.
Under The Radar
It seems hard to believe that you could describe a columnist who writes for the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal as underappreciated and underrated, but when it comes to Holman Jenkins I think the tags are appropriate. Despite that fact that on a weekly basis he turns out what I consider to be some of the sharpest commentary in the land for what is clearly the nation's finest newspaper, I rarely hear his name mentioned or see bloggers linking to his writing (possibly due to the Journal's on-line subscription requirement). Which just ain't right when you consider the gold that he's spinning. Here's a sample from his latest "Business World" offering in which he applies a few lessons in economics and a few more lashes to one of favorite whipping boys: Sen. Byron Dorgan, who keeps himself deliberately uninformed about the workings of the private sector lest it cast him into doubt about his easy demagoguery, recently castigated the oil industry for "buying back stock, hoarding cash and drilling on Wall Street." Now, that's what you call an attention getting opening. He is one of several who've backed legislation to confiscate the industry's "windfall profits" if companies don't reinvest the money in new energy projects. In fact, the capital markets are in charge of deciding where money is best invested, and oil companies are only in charge of doing what corporate governance reformers insist all companies should be doing -- being careful with their shareholders' money. That's why the six biggest oil companies, Mr. Dorgan's fury notwithstanding, are expected this year to allocate more than 60% of their profits to dividends and stock buybacks while reinvesting only about one-third in the oil business. Mr. Dorgan perhaps hasn't noticed but Big Oil has become a pygmy. It accounts for less than 16% of the world's current production and less than 10% of the reserves that will supply our needs in the future. The industry doesn't reinvest more in energy development because, bluntly, most of the opportunities are off limits to it. The real powers today are the Saudi state oil company, the Iranian state oil company, the Venezuelan state oil company, etc. Not only are governments in control of most of the world's oil and gas reserves, but increasingly they decline even to make use of the technical and management skills of Big Oil anymore. His withering wit is non-discriminatory as well: Consider the perfected idiocy of Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, who bought her Senate seat with a now-diminished dotcom fortune and has reason to worry about whether voters will find her worth re-electing. This undoubtedly explains her sudden and shrill emergence as the most unhinged of oil-industry bashers. "Perfected idiocy." Beautiful. Folks like Ms. Cantwell and Mr. Dorgan should look up from their polling data once in a while and take stock of the world, as statesmen are supposed to do. Their juvenile and myopic electioneering strategies are a big wet favor to the likes of Messrs. Putin and Ahmadinejad. Now is the time our leaders should be seeking to strengthen a profit-motivated global oil industry to balance the power of oil-controlling governments that don't have America's interests at heart. Holman Jenkins appears Wednesdays in the Journal. Catch him if you can.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Good Lovin' Gone Bad
Just what is it about us bloggers that has the mainstream media practically wetting their underpants in recent days? When even syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, a self-described fan of blogging since at least 2003, has turned on us, you know something has gone terribly wrong. From her July 13, 2003 column entitled Blogs breaking logjam of journalism, Parker writes: As a regular visitor to a dozen or so news and opinion blogs, I'm riveted by the implications for my profession. Bloggers are making life interesting for reluctant mainstreamers like myself and for the public, whose access to information until now has been relatively controlled by traditional media.How does Parker feel today, you might ask? From her December 28, 2005 column Lord of the blogs Parker writes: What is wonderful and miraculous about the Internet needs little elaboration. We all marvel at the ease with which we can access information - whether reading government documents previously available only to a few, or tracking down old friends and new enemies.Wow...from being lauded as high-spirited challengers of the status quo to being cursed as insidious enemies of humanity on a level somewhere just below Osama bin Laden in only about 2-1/2 years. When someone falls out of favor with Kathleen Parker, they really fall. Continuing to compare her two columns, it becomes clearly evident that Ms Parker has long since passed the googly-eyed puppy-love stage in her relationship with the blogosphere and is now deeply entrenched in the "Get your crap out of my house!" breaking-up stage. Back when she still had those magical feelings for us, she proudly proclaimed: While mainstream journalists are tucked inside their newsroom cubicles deciphering management's latest "tidy desk" memo, bloggers are building bonfires and handing out virtual leaflets along America's Information Highway...Today, after finding our dirty clothes strewn all over the bedroom floor every day for over two years Parker spits: Some bloggers do their own reporting, but most rely on mainstream reporters to do the heavy lifting. Some bloggers also offer superb commentary, but most babble, buzz and blurt like caffeinated adolescents competing for the Ritalin generation's inevitable senior superlative: Most Obsessive-Compulsive.Even those little quirks of ours that she used to find endearing: The best bloggers, who are generous in linking to one another -alien behavior to journalists accustomed to careerist, shark-tank newsrooms -are like smart, hip gunslingers come to make trouble for the local good ol' boys.She now finds them crass and annoying: They play tag team with hyperlinks ("I'll say you're important if you'll say I'm important) and shriek "Gotcha!" when they catch some weary wage earner in a mistake or oversight. Plenty smart but lacking in wisdom, they possess the power of a forum, but neither the maturity nor humility that years of experience impose.So, just what did we do to deserve such a heartless and insulting "Dear John" letter? Alas, I think our relationship was doomed from the start. At the close of her 2003 love letter, Parker tipped her hand: ...the blogosphere still ain't a newspaper. You can't hold the blogosphere in your hands. You can't feel a blog, smell it, fold it, hand it across the breakfast table or throw it down in a rage. You can't cut out stories and strawberry them to the fridge, line the birdcage, swat flies, house-train the puppy or wrap fish in it.She never really loved us. Sure, she thought we were cute and cuddly for a while...but her heart has always belonged to another, and she let us know that today: Say what you will about the so-called mainstream media, but no industry agonizes more about how to improve its product, police its own members and better serve its communities. Newspapers are filled with carpal-tunneled wretches, overworked and underpaid, who suffer near-pathological allegiance to getting it right.And, her final parting shot at us: We can't silence them, but for civilization's sake - and the integrity of information by which we all live or die - we can and should ignore them.Ignore us now, if you must, Kathleen, but I will continue to take your words from two years ago to heart. Everytime I need to line the birdcage, swat a fly, house-train the puppy or wrap a fish, I'm going to reach for the nearest newspaper...and think of you.
From the unfortunately named Casper (WY) Star-Tribune (and heard on the Hugh Hewitt show), a report on the credibility of the mainstream media:
What started out as a bogus news release written as an April Fool's joke by Afton outfitter Maury Jones has turned up as fact in the media -- unfortunately, for the second time. On its front page Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times wrote about continuing resistance to wolves in the greater Yellowstone area. Staff writer Julie Cart quoted from Jones' tongue-in-cheek release titled "Wyoming Governor tells feds to go to Hell." Los Angeles Times deputy metro editor David Lauter called the error unfortunate. "We hate when this kind of thing happens, and we correct it as quickly as we can," he said. Don't you hate it when you publish complete falsehoods on the front page of a major American newspaper? That can be so annoying! I think now is a good time to recall the dire warnings about blogs delivered by the Pioneer Press yesterday: Along with partisanship, credibility is another problem for blogs. There's nothing in the First Amendment about the need for an editor. Bloggers can write anything they want; they can spout fact or fiction. [U of MN Professor] Larry Jacobs advises readers to beware: "There's no gatekeeping here." And there's nothing in the First Amendment about the need for an editor who doesn't have his head up his rear end either. The point being, mistakes happen. Pretending that the MSM has a better record in this regard than the blogs (at least those that take their work seriously) reveals nothing more than ignorance. Speaking of which, here is the LA Times correction: FOR THE RECORD: An article in Tuesday's Section A about tensions over the federal effort to reintroduce wolves into parts of the West wrongly attributed to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal a statement that Wyoming considered the Endangered Species Act no longer in force and "now considers the wolf as a federal dog." The statement, which was circulated on the Internet, was purportedly from Freudenthal but was in fact a hoax. I knew it, that darn Internet is to blame after all! Bloggers, I beseech you, stop circulating hoaxes, before the LA Times is forced to publish them again. Labels: Media-National (02-06)
Bury That Baby!
(Our scene begins deep within the bowels of the Los Angeles Times. A reporter is pitching his editor on a story idea.) Reporter: I've got a hot one for you. Editor (sighs): Let's hear it. Reporter: Okay, it's the story of an African-American man... Editor: Good start. Reporter: ...who runs an alternative housing program for the homeless... Editor (leaning forward with sudden interest): Go on. Reporter: ...that's being forced to close after his landlord raised the rent... Editor (nodding enthusiastically): Yes, yes. Reporter: ...because the landlord doesn't like the man's political beliefs. Editor (leaping out of chair excitedly): Gold! That's gold baby! We've got a minority victim, a repressive property owner, poor homeless people being thrown out into the streets, and another example crushing of dissent in George Bush's America!!! (The editor grabs a pad and paper and pen and begins scribbling furiously.) Editor: We're gonna need team coverage of this. Get a photographer down there right away. I want pictures. Lots of pictures. I can see the page now: shots of where the homeless people live next to pictures of the offices of the rich property owner. Yes, yes. And get someone from the entertainment section too. This story will get the celebrity cause crowd out. Mike Farrell? Jamie Foxx? My God, do you think...do you think that Streisand might get involved? She's so wonderful. (He pauses and reflects dreamily) Editor: Back to business. What angle should we push? Racism or politics? Hell, we can do both! This is going to be front page material baby, maybe even an on-going series. I smell a Pu-litz-zer. Reporter: Um...there is one thing. Editor: What, what? Out with it. Reporter: The man is a Republican. (Screeching sound of a turntable suddenly stopping) A commentary by homeless activist Ted Hayes called Prejudice appeared in today's WSJ: But it is not only insults. I am the founder and director of a unique, progressive homeless facility in downtown Los Angeles, known as the Dome Village. Yet the 35 men, women and children and their pets who call the Dome Village home are being "evicted" from privately owned property after 12-and-a-half years -- apparently on account of my political beliefs and activities. You see, though I am a leading homeless activist, I am also a conservative Republican and a strong supporter of President Bush. Here's how the situation played out. Recently, I was invited to address a local Republican Women's Club; my landlord read an article in the local paper reporting on the event. Soon after, I received a notice raising the Dome Village rent from $2,500 a month to $18,330. Shocked, I inquired as to the seriousness of the change and the property owner blurted out that the cause of our "eviction" was "because you are Republican." He said that as a Democrat, he was tired of helping me and the Dome Village. In other words, let the homeless be damned. And people think the Democrats are the party of compassion and tolerance. Private property should be protected, of course, and I have no intention of causing any trouble for this property owner as we part ways. Whatever he does with his valuable land -- it is only a few blocks from the Staples Center -- is no concern of mine, and I will not go to court. Great story, isn't it? And one that did not escape the attention of the Los Angeles Times, which saw fit to publish an account of it in the State News section of the paper. On Christmas Day.
The local mainstream media is taking another quizzical glance at the "blogging" phenomenon with this article in yesterday's Pioneer Press, about the possisble influence of the medium in the upcoming election cycle.
Cutting room floor disclaimer, despite being interviewed several months ago for nearly an hour by the Pioneer Press reporter, Brady Averill (who at the time, was still a college student and some sort of intern at the Pioneer Press), and despite being uniformly brilliant on all queries, Chad and I didn't even get a one line, out-of-context blurb in the article. Which, I suppose, we should be happy for, based on the experience by Craig Westover. Craig Westover, who blogs at craig westover.blogspot.com and contributes to the Pioneer Press opinion pages, says he and his fellow bloggers are outworking the traditional media outlets on this big story, devoting more time and attention. "They're going to eat the newspapers' lunch," Westover said. Westover is one of the of the most thoughtful and insightful writers in town and to reduce his interview to seven words tells you all you need to know about the worth of this piece of journalism. What exactly was ol' Captain Fishsticks talking about with that quote? Was the lunch quote specifically about fish sticks? We'll never know from reading the article. But we do know he's wrong about whatever he did say. Not only is he taken out of context, he's used as the straw man for the "expert" refutations to come. Not so fast, others said. Experts say readers typically look at blogs more in line with their own political ideologies, and that reduces their impact. What that has to do with outworking the traditional media (eating their lunch), I don't know. But I must admit it is fun to gratuitously imply that Westover is wrong. His trivia partners at Keegan's next Thursday night might want to remember that rebuke next time he spouts off: Not so fast, Westover! And maybe it is hasty to say the Fraters Libertas crew didn't get a mention. Because one of the "experts" cited in the article did have this analysis to contribute: There are some right-wing blogs that even if you tried to have a conversation with them, it's essentially a bunch of frat guys having a party and doing a beer dance,'' said Michael McIntee, producer for the Inside Minnesota Politics blog and podcast. "And that's not useful; it's pretty much making noise." Woo hoo, we may have gotten a mention. We'll commence the beer dancing as soon as someone let's us know exactly what that is. I've never heard of Inside Minnesota Politics, so I'll have to take the reporter's word for it that this McIntee character is an expert ... in something. But it sure isn't the local blogging scene. (And we can rule out drinking beer and dancing as well). Just who are these noisy "right wing" blogs that won't converse with him? And what "left-wing" blogs are proving to be so noise free and useful to the debate. Neither description meets with my years' long observations of the local blogging scene. In fact, the opposite is a better representation of reality. And you'd think an "expert" in the field would be able to name some names and cite examples. But he doesn't, he sticks with the anonymous slanders. Maybe the reporter left out his expanded remarks or she let him skate without insisting on details. Either way, I echo Hugh Hewitt's words regarding an LA Times writer's recent anonymous, name-calling attack on him: But if he's going to slander me or some other radio show host again, perhaps he can borrow the spine to do so by name. This article also exhumes the experts to levy one more common criticism denigrating the significance of blogs: Along with partisanship, credibility is another problem for blogs. There's nothing in the First Amendment about the need for an editor. Bloggers can write anything they want; they can spout fact or fiction. [U of MN Professor Larry Jacobs] advises readers to beware: "There's no gatekeeping here." In theory, I agree, having a stern, all-knowing sentry for truth vetting all of our commentary would be of value. And it would save time for all of us who give good faith efforts to do it on our own (which Fraters Libertas, and all Northern Alliance blogs do, with a high degree of reliability). It's true, we don't have that and mistakes are sometimes made. But its delusional to think the MSM doesn't make similar mistakes all the time. Sure, they have people who, in title, are supposed to be gatekeepers. Yet, despite their presence, MSM commonly presents, as fact, such things as forged National Guard memos, Minneapolis police wasting time arresting skinny dippers, no classroom books at Maxfield elementary school, etc. etc., etc. It's interesting to note that the impression of blogs as less reliable than the MSM is endorsed by another local blogger: Patrick Timmons, founder of the Minnesota Republican Watch blog, got into blogging for the sake of accuracy. He said he read a statement on a conservative blog that he believed was incorrect. The college student said he won't post anything without researching first. Another local lefty blog (who I've never heard of) to the rescue! There are two criticism about blogs levied in this article: 1) We're useless, partisan noisemakers (and available for rent for your New Year's eve party) and 2) we're unreliable because we have no pre-publication editorial review. For both, conservative blogs are employed as the offending examples. And for both, liberal blogs as held up as the sane alternative or remedy. Ah, where's that non-partisanship and that gatekeeper of truth and fairness when we need him. I suppose it's hard to work in any depth or understanding or balance into an 831 word article, which is all Brady Averill is allowed to provide. But it's this kind of easy, cheap lunch the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press have served up for years. This town deserves better from its newspapers. Whether blogs can consistently provide a superior alternative is an open question. But their potential and increasingly frequent success in providing better analysis and writing and reporting and critical review (i.e., eating their lunch) is a fact. More on this article from Mitch Berg. UPDATE: Our time investment in getting interviewed wasn't completely in vain. We do get a capsule summary of the site. Bonus quote by me, on the gravitas of Fraters Libertas: The blog has no specific focus. "I don't care if you're going to put your grocery list up, you're going to put something up," Ward said. Yes, that'll drive the readers our way! In my own defense, that answer was in regard to a question about our early days, and our concerns about finding something to write about every single day. Ah well, at least they spelled my name right. Labels: Media-Local (05-07)
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
There's an article in the Wall Street Journal today (available for free!) on how the Chinese government is trying to get its people to mind their manners in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing:
Beijing's Communist Party leadership has called for a full-blown campaign to improve etiquette and politeness ahead of the expected deluge of foreign visitors. Foul-mouthed taxi drivers have been called on to clean up their acts, and rowdy soccer fans to show more sportsmanship toward the opposing team. "In 2008, what kind of Beijing shall we present to the globe? A Beijing both ancient and modern, a Beijing friendly and smiling," declares the Humanistic Olympics Studies Center, a city-government sponsored institute. The next step to tackle, the powers-that-be have decided, is the art of standing in line. Patiently waiting one's turn isn't a big feature of life in Beijing. Take an intersection on Chang'an Avenue, a main thoroughfare, on a recent Monday morning. Three lanes of cars and buses cram into a two-lane street, honking furiously. A swarm of bicyclists swerves onto the sidewalk to avoid getting trapped in the jam. Pedestrians dodge out of the way as the squeal of brakes announces a stopping bus and crowds rush to squeeze their way on. Above them, a propaganda billboard reads: "Together enjoying a happy and harmonious life." Trying to bring a bit more harmony to rush-hour chaos are people like Gao Shuang, a retired family-planning worker who now bears the title of deputy director of the Office of the Coordinating Group for Orderly Bus-Riding. Now that's a title that only a socialist could love. Or Hugh Hewitt. Two monitors armed with bullhorns and red flags announce the arrival of buses, then wave waiting passengers into orderly groups. Most of the morning crowd cooperates. But the habit of queuing up isn't deeply ingrained. As one bespectacled monitor rushes over to a busy bus, he turns his back on a carefully arranged line of passengers. Without his supervision, it degenerates into a scrum as the passengers try to force their way onto another bus so packed that only the steps are free. Yet many of the country's traditional codes of politeness, once similar to those in other Asian nations such as Japan, were shattered by the Communist revolution and its campaigns to stamp out "feudal" thinking. China's pell-mell transformation to a market economy has brought out even-ruder behavior, as people elbow others aside in pursuit of every advantage, whether in competing for school admission, jobs or business deals. While traffic engineering may be getting much of the money, social engineering is also a big part of the equation. A local government body, dubbed the Capital Civilization Office, is overseeing educational projects and contests to discourage spitting, littering, foul language, aggressive driving and catcalls directed at the opposing team during sporting events. Migrant workers, taxi drivers and teenagers -- thought to be particularly uncivilized -- are getting special attention. My experiences in China lead me to wish the best of luck to anyone tasked with trying to get Chinese migrant workers, taxi drivers, and teenagers to straighten up and fly right when it comes to public etiquette. Talk about a Sisyphean chore. Unless they plan on going all Singapore on their asses, signs urging people to refrain from spitting, littering, swearing, and driving like Toonces on crack are not going to make a difference. Don't even get me started on lines (or more accurately the lack of them) in China. I don't know what the root cause is, but most Chinese people seem either unable or unwilling to properly queue up. Boarding a flight at the airport can be a nightmare, especially if there is a gate change or multiple flights boarding in close proximity. I'm usually flying business class when I travel to China, but I'm still forced to fight my way through a throng a people oblivious to commonly accepted boarding procedures. In fairness to the Chinese, I've found similar breaches of etiquette common around the world. People like to talk about "ugly American" travelers, but when it comes to public manners and civility, Americans tend to come off better than much of the world. My wife and I were shocked by the rampant line cutting and disregard for the queue when we boarded a plane to fly from Reykjavik to London a few years ago. Actions that would have probably started a fight in the US were apparently considered perfectly acceptable in Iceland. This seemingly simple ability to line up and respect the queue is something we tend to take for granted in the US. In Germany, my wife and I found the ability to properly queue up wasn't such a problem, but the regard for personal space in public was. Whether on the street, waiting in line for a museum, or shopping in a store, our experience was that many Germans didn't seem to care that they were getting too close for comfort. If they did happen to bump into you or step on your foot, not so much as an "Entschuldigung" (excuse me) was offered. And the idea of holding a door open for someone (anyone? Bueller?) appeared completely foreign to your average Kraut. We've spent a lot of time over the last century making the world safe for democracy. Maybe it's time we start making it safe for manners too. Labels: Polite Society
Blast From The Past?
This time of year can always be a little disorienting, especially for those of advancing years who are already prone to confusion such as our good friend Hugh Hewitt: Still time to enter the Los Angeles Marathon 2006, which will be run of March 19, 2005. If my knees hold up, it will be my first post-50 marathon. I have challenged the whiners at FratersLibertas to join me in the jog, but Peeps, aka "Chad the Elder" responded unless there is a "roller skates-assisted division," he isn't coming. All talk. Never any show. Firstly, running is for uncoordinated geeks who can't play real sports. Which I guess describes Hugh to a tee. Secondly, the 2006 LA Marathon must be taking place in a rip in the time/space continuum, since according to Hugh's account it will occur on March 19th, 2005. Einstein must be rolling over in his grave. I think Hugh needs to drink a warm glass of milk, take his meds, and sit down in his easy chair wrapped up in his favorite afghan for a while. He needs some rest. Especially if really hopes to complete the marathon in fifty hours. UPDATE: I notice that Hugh (or one of his minions) has now updated his post without any mention of the previous error. Seems like the kind of whitewash that one would expect from the MSM.
Talk About Warheads, His Girl's Got 'Em
From the City Pages, a report on a recording project from a local alleged comedy troupe, featuring this peek into the romantic history of Minnesota's most famous alleged humorist: ... the troupe's new CD, Oh My! (self-released), recorded at Jason Keillor's Angel Tits studio in Wisconsin. (According to the press release, "Angel Tits" was how Jason's father, Garrison Keillor, addressed Jason's mother in his early love letters.) That old honey dripper. With wooing like that, it's not surprising they got married ... and divorced. Then Garrisonn got married and divorced again (to Celestial Casaba Melons). But we do wish Garrison the best with wife #3 (Ethereal Bazongas).
Monday, December 26, 2005
Truth Well Told?
Ed. Note: The Elder has been on me to write more. He says my expertise in both the NSA AND wire tapping make me an invaluable contributor to this important issue, and of course he's absolutely right. But with stalwarts like the Anti-Strib on the case, I'll move on to some of the other pressing matters of the day. A few years ago I picked up a copy of Emily Post's classic book Etiquette at a garage sale for a buck. Published in 1957, it's 634 pages of do's and don'ts for the well-heeled and those who aspired to be. Open the book to almost any page and there's detailed advice on how to handle any social situation. I particularly liked this bit about business women: The president of a great manufacturing concern supported his objection to women employees by the following criticism: "A man comes into the office at nine sharp, hangs his hat on a peg, and sits down at his desk ten seconds after coming in the front door. A woman comes in just as conscientiously at a minute to nine, goes into the dressing-room and it is anywhere from ten to twenty minutes before she has finished brushing her dress, and fixing her hair, and powdering her nose--and heaven alone knows what!" If a large concern were to take account of every moment the women spend fussing with their hair and dabbing at their faces, the total hours wasted would be a surprise to the treasurer. Then, too, women waste more time in conversation than men. A remark now and then seems to unimportant to note, but a minute now and then reduces efficiency... Another important shortcoming of many business women is an inability to be impersonal--for instance being unable to take a criticism of their work without feeling that is a personal affront. Man, how times have changed. What anachronistic garbage--working women fussing with themselves, talking too much and not taking criticism well!
End Of Story
4:34 this am...phone rings. It's Northwest. We cancelled your flight scheduled to leave at 8 this morning, how about one for 6:30 tonight instead? Uhh...okay. But why? Crew limitations. Right. Crew limitations. Another way of saying our company stinks.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
The voting has closed and the people have spoken. And by an overwhelming margin you have decided that Hugh is the Bumble.
 (Thanks Derek) Oh well. He'll always be Ralphie to me. Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
Supporting The Troops With More Than Words
Yesterday's Pioneer Press, detailed what Minnesotans are doing to remember our troops: There doesn't seem to be a shortage of Christmas spirit in Minnesota when it comes to remembering our troops. A number of individuals and groups have stepped up to help servicemen and their families in what can be a trying time, both emotionally and economically. There are several national groups, including Fisher House (www.fisherhouse.org), Gifts From the Homefront (www.aafes.com/docs/homefront.htm) and Soldiers' Angels (www.soldiersangels.org), that connect volunteers with servicemen who don't get regular mail or care packages from family or friends. We particularly like Soldiers' Angels because often other soldiers forward names to the nonprofit group, whose motto is "May no soldier go unloved." That struck a chord with Terry Keegan, owner of Keegan's Irish Pub in Minneapolis, himself a former Marine who spent a year in Vietnam. He and his wife, Virginia, have been corresponding with and sending care packages to Army Lt. Weston Cramer, an Iowa native stationed in Baghdad. "I know how much mail call means," Keegan said. The Keegans send Lt. Cramer food, sun block, foot powder and other essentials that soldiers say they need to survive the harsh Middle East climate. They sent him three boxes at Christmas, paying for the items out of their own pocket, as well as a Soldiers' Angels tip jar they keep behind the bar. "You'd be surprised at how many people drop tens and twenties in there," Keegan said. "Their generosity is just incredible." One night, the bar band donated its fee to Soldiers' Angels. Bill Koster of Edina, a Keegan's regular, also adopted a solider, Pfc. Mike White of Ohio, who's stationed in Iraq with an armor unit. Koster said he has sent White four or five care packages and dozens of letters. He also sent--at White's request-- crayons, coloring books and school supplies, which White distributed to Iraqi schoolchildren. Bar owners and bar flys, all doing their part.
Friday, December 23, 2005
You Are One Pathetic Loser!--No Offense
Like an idiot I put off the vast majority of my Christmas shopping until about two hours ago and then attempted to cram it all in to one lunch hour. Yeah, real smart that. I thought of the Simpsons episode where Homer waits until the last minute to do his taxes and has to drive it to the post office downtown. There's a long line of people waiting to drop off their taxes, including Krusty the Clown. A reporter approaches the line and asks "Sir, why did you wait so long to do your taxes?" and Krusty erupts "Because I'm a freakin' idiot, okay?" The scene at the mall was what you would expect at this late hour. Hardly any women around, just a bunch of frantic dudes like me who were scrambling for any damn thing to fill out their lists. Buying for the Elder is easy. I just think of something I want, then buy the cheapest version of that thing that I can find. The Old Man is a little more difficult, but a quick trip to Sears usually takes care of matters there. My Ma, now that is a challenge. After giving her a calendar for six years straight, I knew I had to come through so let's just hope she knows what aromatherapy is. If the stores were smart, they would suspend all sales during these last few shopping days. Men are so desperate for something, anything at this point that we are willing to pay top dollar just to get it over with. 58 bucks for this scarfey thing? What the hell? $134 for a sweater with a wolf on it? Sounds good. $452 for this Danish Maple jewelry box? Ring it up! We're bad shoppers. We admit it. We don't care. I'm just surprised someone isn't taking advantage of us.
Can't You Smell That Smell?
Another volley directed at the Strib's Jim boyd from the muzzle of our friend Gary Larson at Intellectual Conservative: Reprinted in E&P, Boyd's acceptance speech delivers aw-shucks faux humility. His opening line is real enough: "I have a very difficult time believing I deserve this award." Legions of Twin Citians agree; it's truly astonishing. Some say, jaws dropping, it's incredible. Boyd's speech quickly descends into deceit: "His" editorial pages were "with Bush [about Iraq] so long as he worked with the [UN] Security Council." False. Boyd's paper from the git-go waged -- and wages today -- a savage name-calling war upon this president, their cheap-shot attacks hinting often of criminality. Boyd himself in a signed column from Germany equated Bush's going-to-war policies with Herr Hitler's. It's the vile stuff of Moveon.org in your daily newspaper. Did I say stench?
Wild Hosed
I have nothing to say about wire-tapping or the Mullahs (not that that has ever stopped dozens of self-important bloggers from going on and on about such topics, but...) so I thought I'd post on the Wild's hosing last night at the hands of the NHL. From the Strib's account: With the knob of his stick and his right pad sandwiched against the post, the Wild goaltender was absolutely mystified at just how it was possible Colorado Avalanche fourth-liner Brett McLean squeezed a shot through him late in the first period. That's because upon further review, it didn't. The puck actually slid under the side of the net. Unfortunately for the Wild, the "further review" that's supposed to happen inside the Pepsi Center's video replay booth never occurred. It was a bizarre play that doesn't happen very often. An Avalanche player on the other side of the net had crashed into it and lifted it off it's mooring for about a half a second. During this time, McLean took a shot that normally would have bounced off the side of the net but instead went in. Mike Murphy, the NHL's vice president of hockey operations, admitted there was a collective blunder committed by everybody from the on-ice officials to video goal judge Gary Pedigo to the league's war room in Toronto, where every NHL game is supposed to be scrutinized to ensure these type of mistakes don't occur. Wes Walz was not happy with this incompetence: "You have 20 guys in Toronto watching every game. What are they doing up there?" snapped an incensed Wes Walz. "Why do we have them? If I'm paying their salaries, I don't even want them there. It's a joke. It's embarrassing. Why do we have video replay?" So at least they are admitting they screwed the pooch on this one, but it can't be much comfort to a struggling Wild team when every goal is a milestone. Perhaps we can get that decrepit old crank Pat Reusse on the case to explain how it was actually anti-French bias on the part of the officials that caused them to stick it to Wild coach Jacque Lamaire.
Okay, you're going to have to bear with me on this one. It's probably the biggest stretch in our glorious SAB history. And I believe that it's the first time that we've ever had an audio/visual SAB. Here goes?
The hooded sheep at the 2003 Minnesota State Fair whom we gratuitously compared to West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd and... ...the real Senator Robert Byrd as heard bleating in the background during John Kerry's braying in the Senate this week? (Turn up the volume and listen for Byrd to start to bah at around the 45 second mark. The entie clip is about one minute.) Labels: Separated At Birth
I Wanna Be A Cowboy
Question: Will the pleothra of jokes about "Brokeback Mountain" ever got old? Answer: Possibly, but not until sometime in 2007. Over at the Nihilist in Golf Pants (your "Brokeback Mountain" humor headquaters) the latest offering is Top 11 New Titles For Gay Westerns. Among my favorites: 03. A Fistful of Back Hair
Thursday, December 22, 2005
A Perfect Storm Of Amazing Geniuses? Not On My Watch!
Katie e-mails to second my call for a moratorium on use of the phrase "slippery slope": THAT IS SO TRUE! You read my mind. That needs to be retired along with the phrase "perfect storm", the words "genius" and "amazing" and grizzled superiors yelling "Not on my watch!" in movies or Law and Order episodes! well done. Nathan meanwhile, thinks I'm overreacting: I'm sure I'm not the only person to mention this, but what the hell... Banning one innocuous albeit overworked phrase puts you on a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to banning ALL innocuous albeit overworked phrases. Which would pretty much eliminate all of the MSM and most of the blogosphere. Innocuous? More like irritating, inane, and intellectually impotent.
Oh, you're gonna get yours, you're gonna get yours!
Steven Malanga, author of the The New New Left: How American Politics Works Today had a column in yesterday's WSJ on the NYC transit strike that asked, "What Would Reagan Do?": A radicalized union that twice before has tried and partially succeeded in shutting down America's largest city is once again holding New York hostage. Using such aggressive tactics, or the threat of them, over the last 40 years, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has won for its members a wage and benefits package that far outshines what most blue-collar workers in the private sector can earn, including retirement at age 55 with half salary and cost-of-living adjustments. If New York state and city officials are ever to stop the TWU's recurring blackmail, which has burdened taxpayers and riders with enormous costs, they should use this illegal strike to impose the Reagan solution. Faced with a militant public-sector union that violated the law with a walk-out, President Reagan dismissed thousands of air traffic controllers in 1981 and rebuilt the nation's air traffic system with a new work force. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) could do the same by terminating striking workers and hiring new ones, because its relatively unskilled unionized jobs are highly sought-after, with over 30 applicants for each position. If you wonder why people are lining up to work for the MTA, consider this: Today TWU bus drivers earn, on average, $63,000 annually, while subway motormen make $54,000 and subway cleaners $40,000. Workers get full health benefits, make no contributions to insurance premiums and can retire after 25 years of service or at age 55. The MTA has an unfunded pension liability of $1 billion. Given the strike, one might think the MTA is asking for significant givebacks of these perks. Hardly. It asked to push the retirement age back to 62 for new workers but dropped that demand and is now merely asking that they contribute 6% of their pre-tax salaries toward their pension for their first 10 years on the job, as well as pay 1% of salary for health insurance. By contrast, the TWU demanded that the MTA lower retirement age to 50 for its current workers and grant 8% wage increases over the next three years. Things certainly have changed since the days of Ralph Cramden. What a racket.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Over the course of last year, when the Star Tribune metro columnists and editorial board were engaged in full frothing rage against all things conservative or Republican, we noted with incredulity/amusement that they seemed to be going out of their way to alienate a substantial portion of their potential customer base. Through biased, incompetent, inaccurate reporting and hyperbolic, ranting editorials the Star Tribune's message of hate and exclusiveness was relayed loud and clear to the 48% of Minnesotans who didn't believe voting for Bush in '04 meant endorsing a "narrow, perverted vision" (or that YOUR SCHOOLS ARE BURNING! or whatever).
We've naturally curtailed commenting on the belches coming out of the Star Tribune. Anyone who is paying attention to the local press, and who is intellectually honest, already knows it's happening and us pointing it out serves no better purpose than us pointing out that we breathe air and drink water. (Sorry to kill your next two blogging ideas, Atomizer). We do still read the Star Tribune on occasion, particularly the sport page. And this week I was amused to see the effort to alienate the customers extends now into even this refuge from the free fire zone of the editorial pages. Check out this from columnist-for-life Patrick Reusse, commentary on why underperforming Vikings QB Brad Johnson wasn't booed enough on Sunday: That serves to reaffirm that many Vikings fans are phonies at best, and overly fond of the idea of having a white quarterback at worst. If you were among the thousands sitting there in silence as the offense stumbled through the second half Sunday, and want to claim you wouldn't have been screaming for Daunte's neck in the same circumstance, you are lying and you know it. The Vikings fans are phonies, racists, and liars, according to the Star Tribune's lead sports columnist. Professional football is, of course, the most popular sport in the country. The Vikings are by far the most popular team in town. Despite the lack of affection returned, people love the Vikings and love to watch the games on Sunday. And they love to read about the Vikings in the paper, as anyone familiar with the spike in single copy sales on Mondays following Vikings games, will attest. Yet Reusse sees fit to utilize his precious column space, not writing about the actual game he's supposed to be covering or the team itself, but savaging the fans (his readers!), based on no more evidence than his own prejudices and his expert analysis of booing behavior. Reusse's disdain toward the customers isn't a new phenomenon. A recent example came just a couple of weeks ago where he was working out his internal demons with this comment, again about the significance of booing behavior. This time not complaining that the fans didn't boo enough, but that they booed too much in the direction of an underperforming punter: Followers of the Vikings are a collection of ungrateful louts. Definition of lout: an awkward and stupid person. Unfortunately, the target of this booing happened to be white or Reusse might have had another opportunity to call someone else a racist. Reusse is also a fixture on KSTP-AM and last week I heard him bitching about how he "hates" winter sports, particularly basketball and hockey. He said he used to love to go to Gopher's men's basketball games at Williams arena, but now goes only when he "has to" in order to write a column. What a despicable admission from someone employed for the sole purpose of enhancing the knowledge/entertainment of those who love those very sports. Reusse's bored and contemptuous mindset toward his job is that of a sheltered union employee working for a monopoly. You can disrespect and ridicule the customers, then laugh and cash that fat paycheck every two weeks. The customers will be back, what other choice do they have? And what is his employer going to do, fire him? (Cue the union shop steward's laughter). Bill Simmons is one of the most talented sports writers in the business today. He provides critical, yet always insightful and entertaining commentary about sports. Probably because he still loves sports as much as the fans he's writing for. He is currently employed by EPSN.com, primarily because he couldn't get hired by any traditional newspapers. In an interview earlier this year he discussed the reasons: The bottom line is that newspaper unions have killed this business--writers stay too long and never leave, and young writers who would kill to have their jobs never have a chance. Quick, how many Boston columnists have been hired in the past 10 years at one of the two papers? Here's your answer--Howard Bryant and Jackie MacMullan. So when someone like (Dan) Shaughnessy is bitching behind the scenes that I (or any other internet columnist)"never go in the clubhouse," well, you know what? I would have loved to have gotten a column that way. But all the dead weight was blocking my way. Clearly, I was good enough to do this for a living, but there was no way I was every getting a chance doing it conventionally. That's what pisses me off. I never even had a real chance. I mean, this is the only industry where companies PAY PEOPLE TO LEAVE. Look at what just happened at the Herald [now at the Globe, too] - they had to spend four years worth of salaries to dump all their dead weight. This is a good system? If I suck for the next two years, you know what happens? ESPN doesn't renew my contract and I'm unemployed. With newspapers, you could basically hand in scribble for 20 years and they have to keep paying you. It's bad business. That's why so many newspapers will be going under soon, if they aren't already. Make sense to me. But will it ever make sense to the other awkward and stupid racists cheering for the Vikings? Maybe only after they realize there are other places they can go for their sports journalism needs without getting taken for granted and abused. Labels: Football, Media-Local (05-07)
When It Comes To Getting Incinerated, I'm Strictly Non-Partisan
In regard to the on-going wiretap debate, I've heard a few opponents of Bush's NSA policy try to put conservatives in a box by asking what they think is a clever hypothetical question: Well, what would you have said if Bill Clinton had been doing the same thing to _____ (fill in the blank with anti-abortion, gun rights, etc.) groups during his administration? The comparison is both invalid and unnecessary, since it's possible to construct a much better and more relevant hypothetical: What would you have said if Bill Clinton had issued orders for warrant-less wiretaps of communications between Al Qaeda operatives overseas and domestic phone lines during his administration? My answer is that I would have said, "You go Bill." I wish to hell that Bill Clinton had been more serious about fighting Al Qaeda during his administration and would gladly have supported his efforts to prevent attacks if there had been any such meaningful efforts to speak of. And if, per chance, Hillary moves into the White House in 2009, my response to the same question with her as CIC would be the same. You go Hil. Frankly, I hope I never have to say those words. But if I do, they will be uttered in the conviction that the duty and ability of the President of the United States to protect and defend the country should transcend politics.
Tapped Out
Bert writes in response to my request for more technical background on how wiretapping works in the present day world of telecommunication: I've approached telecom from both the microwave perspective and an IT perspective, and your source is both correct and incorrect. Given the prevalence of wireless communication, there is in many cases no "wire" to tap. That doesn't mean, however, that the NSA is listening in as I write to you, or you talk to your mother about whether Christmas should feature lutefisk or turducken. (joke, no insult intended there) What they're likely doing is looking at the ADDRESS information on the packets and analyzing only those which feature the desired addresses. To monitor my cousin Earl's lutefisk plans and your mom's turducken recipe would require far more computing/personnel than is possessed by the NSA or, for that matter, anyone. Never mind they'd all quit after monitoring Earl's lutefisk plans. Based on cell phone conversations that I can't help but overhearing, I'd say that would apply to 99.99999999993% of all wireless communication taking place in the land.
Sometimes A Slope Is Just A Slope
Whether you believe that Bush's wiretapping order was legal and necessary to fight terrorism or that it was illegal and the latest jack-booted step on our way to Amerika, I think there's something that we can all agree on: the use of the term "slippery slope" has gotten completely out of hand. The overuse of the phrase has pretty much stripped it of any real meaning that it once had. The problem is that just about anything can be described as a "slippery slope" if you stretch the definition enough. Parties of all political persuasions are guilty of pulling out this tired cliché on just about any issue that comes up. Enough is enough. I hereby declare a moratorium on the use of the phrase in
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Tap Into America
Peter from Florida e-mails to remind us that this isn't your father's wiretapping we're talking about these days: The "wiretap" of years past is used locally for specific telephone lines, but what is happening with al Qaeda is that the US and the UK are basically vacuuming up all communication (voice and data packages) that travel over the various international communication "lines" (fiber optic cables and transmissions to/from satellites) and the super computers of the NSA and GCHQ (the UK equivalent) sift through billions and billions of packages of data to find those coming from/going to certain people (al Qaeda in particular) of interest. Also, it is IMPOSSIBLE for the NSA to NOT look at communication packages coming from Americans (or going to them) because they are mixed in with those of foreigners. When you talk on the telephone with someone in Rome your voice is sent in many data packages to the person in Rome over lines that are carrying data packages of thousands or millions of other people and computers at the very same time. You do not have a dedicated line to "tap". If anyone with a technical background in this field has further information to share, we'd love to hear from you.
Solid Footing On The Slope
Excellent editorial (yes, I'm using the proper terminology this time Linda) from today's WSJ on the "secret" wiretapping controversy and what may really be motivating some of the more vocal critics: Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold wants to be President, and that's fair enough. By all means go for it in 2008. The same applies to Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who's always on the Sunday shows fretting about the latest criticism of the Bush Administration's prosecution of the war on terror. But until you run nationwide and win, Senators, please stop stripping the Presidency of its Constitutional authority to defend America. That is the real issue raised by the Beltway furor over last week's leak of National Security Agency wiretaps on international phone calls involving al Qaeda suspects. The usual assortment of Senators and media potentates is howling that the wiretaps are "illegal," done "in total secret," and threaten to bring us a long, dark night of fascism. "I believe it does violate the law," averred Mr. Feingold on CNN Sunday. The truth is closer to the opposite. What we really have here is a perfect illustration of why America's Founders gave the executive branch the largest measure of Constitutional authority on national security. They recognized that a committee of 535 talking heads couldn't be trusted with such grave responsibility. There is no evidence that these wiretaps violate the law. But there is lots of evidence that the Senators are "illegally" usurping Presidential power -- and endangering the country in the process. If Bobby Brown was President (shudder), he might justify the NSA wiretapping in song, "I don't need commission, make my own decisions. That's my prerogative." On Sunday Mr. Graham opined that "I don't know of any legal basis to go around" FISA -- which suggests that next time he should do his homework before he implies on national TV that a President is acting like a dictator. (Mr. Graham made his admission of ignorance on CBS's "Face the Nation," where he was representing the Republican point of view. Democrat Joe Biden was certain that laws had been broken, while the two journalists asking questions clearly had no idea what they were talking about. So much for enlightening television.) The mere Constitution aside, the evidence is also abundant that the Administration was scrupulous in limiting the FISA exceptions. They applied only to calls involving al Qaeda suspects or those with terrorist ties. Far from being "secret," key Members of Congress were informed about them at least 12 times, President Bush said yesterday. The two district court judges who have presided over the FISA court since 9/11 also knew about them. The editorial also suggests an action that might limit some of the political posturing and grandstanding that we're seeing from Congress: As for power without responsibility, nobody beats Congress. Mr. Bush has publicly acknowledged and defended his decisions. But the Members of Congress who were informed about this all along are now either silent or claim they didn't get the full story. This is why these columns have long opposed requiring the disclosure of classified operations to the Congressional Intelligence Committees. Congress wants to be aware of everything the executive branch does, but without being accountable for anything at all. If Democrats want to continue this game of intelligence and wiretap "gotcha," the White House should release the names of every Congressman who received such a briefing. Why would I not be surprised to see the names of Misters Feingold and Graham on that list?
Monday, December 19, 2005
Is That A MOB In Your Bar Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Once again, it appears that a good time was had by all at Saturday's MOB get together at Keegan's Irish Pub. My evening was abruptly cut short by a medical situation on the home front (all is now well) and I apologize for not being able to get a chance to chat with anywhere near as many people as I wanted to. A few people have complained that they were intimated by the immense size and girth of the MOB membership in attendance at Keegan's and suggested that they had difficulty taking it all in. For those who believe that size is not important, I suggest attending one of the Thursday night trivia competitions at Keegan's where the blogging crowd is more modest and less intrusive. For a nice pictorial round up of the evening, check out Hammerswing75. Other recollections are posted at writing history, Yucky Salad with Bones, and Peace Like A River. Finally, this report from Learned Foot indicates that he may not be the kind of guy you want to share a pup tent with.
How Dubya Got His Groove Back
For supporters of the administration, one of the most frustrating aspects of George W. Bush's presidency is the inconsistency of the public performances by the Commander In Chief. When he's off his game, as he seemed to be for most of the summer and fall, it can be ugly. But when he's got it goin' on, it's a beautiful thing to behold. And, with the recent quartet of speeches on Iraq (capped off by last night's address from the Oval Office) followed by a news conference this morning (which I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to), one thing is crystal clear: Dubya has got his mojo back and he's got it workin'. His performance this morning had just the right mix of confidence, passion, and humor that leaves admirers of the president pounding the steering wheel in agreement, screaming for more, and wondering where this George W. Bush, so full of fight and brimming with vim and vigor, has been hiding for the last six months. At least that's what I was doing as I listened to the news conference in my car. It's good to have you back Mr. President. Please consider sticking around a little longer this time.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Touching 'Em All
I may not be a detached, objective observer with the non-partisan credibility of a Jim Boyd or a Mary Mapes, but as I listened to President Bush's address on Iraq on the radio as I drove to hockey tonight (that's right, I played HOCKEY tonight, proving that Governor Pawlenty's "ban" has about as much force as a typical U.N. resolution) I was extremely impressed. He covered the bases for why the war was justified, tackled most of the legitimate critiques of the war head on, and left no doubt of his resolve to achieve a victory that we're already well on our way towards. He knocked it out of the park as he continues to knock the legs out of Democratic arguments against the war.
Joe a.k.a. Mr_Cranky has taken on the unpleasant but necessary task of fact checking Nick Coleman's arse and it looks like Nick's well-tuned ear for baloney is a little tone-deaf of late.
Labels: Media-Local (05-07)
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Tonight's The Night We'll Make History
UPDATE: Last call for good cheer and alcohol. The next quasi-official gathering of the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers (MOB) will take place on Saturday, December 17th at Keegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant in Nordeast Minneapolis. The fun starts at 5pm. As usual, there will be plenty of MOB bloggers on hands, selected movers and shakers from the local political, media, and Eritrean dining scenes, as well as assorted hangers-on, groupies, and stalkers. If you are a member of the MOB, you are strongly encouraged (in a "Moose, Rocko, help the judge find his wallet" kind of way) to attend. If you are a blog reader and would like to meet the face behind the blog (believe me, it ain't always pretty), come on down to Keegan's and raise a pint or two with us. We promise not to bite. If you insist on saying anything about skating bans however, I may have to administer a savage gumming. Anyway, if you plan to show up, drop us an e-mail at: party @ northernallianceradio dot com See ya at Keegan's tonight.
Friday, December 16, 2005
The Warmest Year On Record (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least since records began being kept in the 1860s)
It was exactly one year ago today that I challenged you all to help make 2005 a year to remember. From the Fraters Libertas archives (12/16/04): Let's all start by driving alone...everywhere. This carpooling and public transit nonsense ain't going to jack up those temperatures. We need cars on the road, and fast...the bigger the better, too. All of that air out there isn't going to pollute itself!Well, the results are in and they are official. Calendar year 2005 has been declared "The Warmest Year On Record (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least since records began being kept in the 1860s)". I can't even begin to voice my gratitude to all of you out there who made this title a reality. Your wanton SUV travel, your reckless fuel usage and your callous disregard for our precious Mother Earth made it all possible. A hearty "Woo-Hoo" goes out to all of you. More importantly, the designation of 2005 as "The Warmest Year On Record (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least since records began being kept in the 1860s)" finally exposes the year 1998 for the fraud it always was. I never trusted that little bastard. As we celebrate, we must not let this victory cloud our vision of the future. 2005 may be "The Warmest Year On Record (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least since records began being kept in the 1860s)", but 2006 could be even better. Let's keep reaching for the stars, people.
Free Elder!
Now that the plug has finally been pulled on the Tookie Williams Redemption Show & Circus, the we-care-more-than-you celebrities (Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Mike Farrell, etc.), the angst-ridden activists, and the easily manipulated media will be looking for their next cause celebre. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Yesterday, in a raw display of the naked abuse of power, privilege, and government intrusion in the personal life of a citizen far worse than the feverish imaginations of opponents of The Patriot Act could ever envision, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, cajoled by radical right-wing shock jock and notorious GOP operative Hugh Hewitt, imposed an illegal, unconstitutional, and unconscionable prohibition that tramples civil liberties under a hob-nailed boot and threatens to dismantle the foundations of freedom that this great nation was founded upon: HH: That's the guy. Governor, he is subject to my jurisdiction, as you've appointed me the Commissioner of Hockey. And I have twice, now, attempted to ban him from all ice, both man-made and natural, because of the danger he presents to others. Will you agree to issue such a proclamation, that he is, in fact, off of the ice permanently? TP: I think a ban, a lifetime ban without the possibility of reinstatement is the only appropriate course here, Hugh. It's really in the interest of public safety, and I think, really, protecting him from himself. So again, I think another loving suggestion by Hugh Hewitt. For a Republican politician facing a tough reelection campaign and a possible challenge from within his own party, it seems like a dangerous move for the Governor to so rashly unleash the hounds of governmental tyranny on a citizen of unquestioned virtue who has long stood by his side in the political trenches. It's bad enough that he had the audacity to betray the trust of the good people of Minnesota by outsourcing the job of Hockey Commissioner to a klutzy Californian who thinks that icing is the yummy stuff that he licks off the dozen Hostess Cupcakes that he inhales each day. This latest outrage simply will not sit well with the voters and hockey fans of Minnesota. For I will skate. Governor "Bull" Pawlenty can dispatch his truncheon-wielding hired goons, his attack dogs, and his water hoses to indoor arenas and outdoor ice rinks throughout the state, but I will remain defiant and unbowed. I will not take a seat at the back of the skating bus Governor. I will stand up to you and your Gestapo state tactics and I will emerge victorious. Skate free or die. (More from Sisyphus with the Top 11 Upcoming Hugh Hewitt Libels and Hammerswing75.)
Is This Thing On?
As a comedian, Tim Pawlenty makes a great governor. Evidence provided by this attempt to tickle funny bones by mocking the name of this august blog on yesterday's Hugh Hewitt show: Timmy Don't quit your day job T-Paw.
Not that Paul Martin. This Paul Martin. This could be just what Canada needs. A leader to teach them the right way to play hockey. The American Way.
Thanks to all who voted in our poll asking "Who will emerge as Prime Minister after next month's federal election in Canada?" The correct answer of course is "Who cares?" but since we knew that would be the easy winner, we elected to exclude that as a choice. Look for our next poll soon. Rumor has it that it will feature a Christmas theme. Labels: Canada
Really Making A Difference
Great When people ask why I recently left The Wall Street Journal to join the Marines, I usually have a short answer. It felt like the time had come to stop reporting events and get more directly involved. But that's not the whole answer, and how I got to this point wasn't a straight line. But why the Marines? A year ago, I was at my sister's house using her husband's laptop when I came across a video of an American in Iraq being beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The details are beyond description here; let's just say it was obscene. At first I admit I felt a touch of the terror they wanted me to feel, but then I felt the anger they didn't. We often talk about how our policies are radicalizing young men in the Middle East to become our enemies, but rarely do we talk about how their actions are radicalizing us. In a brief moment of revulsion, sitting there in that living room, I became their blowback. The entire piece is well deserving of a read.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Better Free Than Safe
It appears (if early reports are to believed) that the Iraqi people have once again turned out in large numbers to demonstrate their desire for political freedom despite the dangers and inconvenience involved in voting. Meanwhile, the drumbeat from many of the usual suspects on the Left continues that either: a. It's impossible to say if the Iraqis are better off than there were three years ago or b. They most certainly are NOT better off than they were under the rule of Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party To back up the notion that the Iraqis were better off living in a Baathist tyranny, statistics are usually cited on the number of Iraqis killed in the war, the economic conditions in Iraq, how many hours a day the power is on in Baghdad, the number of children in school, the literacy rate, etc. They're often same sort of "standard of living" stats that these folks love to reference when talking about how Sweden is superior to the United States or how Cuba is a really swell place to live despite the bad rap that Fidel's regime has gotten. The problem with using such measuring sticks is that without freedom they're meaningless. What good does is it to be literate if you don't have the freedom to choose what to read? What's the value of health and longevity if you don't have the freedom to decide what you want to do with your life? What's the value of having a job if that job is a life-long occupation chosen for you by the government? Freedom is messy, complicated, unruly, loud, and sometimes chaotic, violent, and dangerous. Tyranny is often organized, simple, orderly, quiet, and safe (at least for those who keep their head in the yoke). There isn't a lot of complaining, protesting, or political bickering. The leaders don't have to concern themselves with approval ratings. The prisons, torture chambers, and mass graves are kept out of sight. The courts run smoothly and efficiently (The People's Revolutionary Court finds you guilty. Next!). The government statistics on unemployment, child care, women's rights, infant mortality, literacy, poverty, housing, and universal health care make the Noam Chomsky crowd drool with envy. But without freedom, none of it means a damn. I would choose dangerous freedom over safe tyranny any day. And most of the Iraqi people appear to feel the same way.
It's Always Fun Until The Third-Chair Cellist Chokes On His Own Vomit
The Minnesota Orchestra Presents "The Music of Led Zeppelin: A Rock Symphony": Bridging the gulf between rock n' roll and classical music, the Minnesota Orchestra joins singer Randy Jackson and an amplified rock band to capture the music of 70's rock legends, Led Zeppelin. Delivering a note-for-note interpretation, vocalist Randy Jackson (lead singer of the rock band Zebra) acts as a window between the audience and reworked material. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to hear the music of Led Zeppelin performed one night only, in concert with the spectacular sound of the Minnesota Orchestra!
You know, if you like that one, I got more...what are you looking for? Romance? Comedy? Adventure?...Erotica?
Last night, an episode of That '70s Show aired called Fun It: Bored with hanging around in the basement all the time, the gang looks for some fun elsewhere; Randy takes them to a local burger place where they have a lot of problems with the manager. Seeking revenge for being treated badly, Randy steals the mascot for the restaurant, Fatso the Clown. This puts him in the gang's good books, until things go horribly wrong. Stealing a ceramic clown mascot from a fast food joint and having things go horribly wrong? That hits close to home. A little TOO close to home. Anybody know a good intellectual property attorney?
This Is An Issue We As A Town Are Strong Enough To Ignore
R.T. Rybak is an idiot. The StarTribune reports on the Minneapolis mayor's response to Hennepin County's rollback of the smoking ban: "I think the county's action was harmful," said Rybak, who said he would be open to meeting with the bar owners. "You shouldn't abruptly change course for small businesses. The worst thing you can do to small business is to have government step in, and then step in another way, and step in another way, and ask businesses to do a pirouette every year or so."First of all, that last Rybak quote is about 22 words too long. If he'd have stopped talking right there I'd be in total agreement with him (a rarity, indeed). Alas, the chucklehead had to continue flapping his lips with the whole government two-step nonsense. Tell me, R.T., if one of those steps by the government happens to place a gigantic boot on the throats of small business owners, then isn't abruptly changing course exactly what should be done? To all the bar owners in Minneapolis, all I can say is "Good luck." You're sure going to need it with this guy at City Hall playing mayor.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
It Ain't Masonry, But It's Still A Challenge
When it comes to home repairs, I've never been much of a "do-it-yourself" kind of guy. I can usually find a way to take the simplest of tasks and turn it in to a full blown disaster. A case in point was my rather feeble attempt at hanging a large mirror on the wall just a few short weeks ago. After carefully measuring the mirror, marking the wall and then re-measuring the mirror, it came time for me to actually begin screwing a few hollow wall anchors into my heretofore pristine drywall. Several twists of the screwdriver later, I had a 1/4 inch diameter hole in the wall and what I feared was the beginning of an enormous pile of barely used anchors inside the wall cavity. I managed to fix that problem with a light duty picture hanger and an empty picture frame. Not quite the dramatic effect at the top of the stairs that the mirror would have had but it sure beats looking at that hole in the wall eight times a day for the next ten years. Given that colossal failure, you can imagine the trepidation with which I approached my next challenge...the dreaded leaky toilet. The water stains on the bathroom tile had been growing for a few weeks and I had done a very good job of ignoring them until my inner handyman (he doesn't get out much) could absolutely stand no more. I confidently told the wife that the wax ring must be shot and put her on notice that I would be heading to the hardware store the very next day for everything I needed to complete the job. When the very next day came, I proceeded to do what any good homeowner would do. I called a guy. The guy showed up shortly thereafter, the guy fixed the toilet, I wrote the guy a check and then the guy left. I was happy. The guy was happy. My wife was happy. And, best of all, I didn't have an 30 inch diameter hole in the floor where my toilet used to be. Yes, I've discovered the secret to home repair, folks. The checkbook. Call me foolish. Call me wasteful. Call me Ishmael, if you'd like. At least I wasn't down on all fours sticking my hand in my toilet's waste pipe. I've used that toilet. I know what has been through that pipe. I'm never...ever...going to go near that pipe. I have a job so I can pay people who know what they're doing (and apparently don't mind the pipes) to replace my wax rings and fix my flange bolts and caulk the hell out of my toilet base. They do it because people like me can't. Now, if I could only find an emergency picture hanging service...
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
A Blight On The Trade
Over at Editor and Publisher, folks are weighing in on the recent major award won by the Star Tribune's Jim Boyd and their reaction is far from positive, as is evidenced by this letter submitted by our friend Gary Larson: Of the dark art of smear Boyd is past master. He hurls ad homimen smears with the best of the left, in a class with Dowd and Ivins on their better days. The truth-telling fellas at PowerLineblog "harass" him, he says, without explanation, but it's more than that. PowerLine in excruciating detail deconstructs Boyd's flights of partisan fancy. In short, they make him look foolish. My oh my, how that must irritate this part-time demagogue in the almighty press. Boyd's antipathy for all things remotely conservative results in spewing vile stuff, not reasoned argument. His "exhaustive research [and] a willingness to tell truth to power," as the loony tunes award citation claims, is a crock. It fails the giggle test among legions who do not share in Boyd's leftist fantasyland. Shame on the American Academy of Diplomacy for getting it so wrong, so ironically wrong, about Boyd, painting him as a mythic heroic figure in journalism, when he is clearly a blight on that trade, a poster boy for partisan flackery. Like Dan Rather, he is a purveyor of falsehoods when it suits his partisan purposes.
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
Hennepin County approves scaled back smoking ban: The Hennepin County commissioners on Tuesday approved an amendment to scale back parts of the smoking they enacted earlier this year. On a 4-3 vote, the commissioners exempted traditional bars from the ban until July 2007. The county's current ordinance prohibits smoking in all indoor areas of "food establishments," including restaurants and bars. Good news for bar owners in Hennepin County. Unless you're a bar owner in Minneapolis, Bloomington, or Golden Valley (all cities within Hennepin County) who will likely feel even more pain now: If Hennepin County decides to exempt bars from the ban, local ordinances in Minneapolis, Bloomington and Golden Valley will remain intact. In Bloomington, smoking is banned inside public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The ordinance also prohibits smoking within 25 feet of entrances, exits, open windows and ventilation intakes of public places and workplaces. Restaurants may designate up to one-half of outdoor seating capacity as permitted smoking areas. In Golden Valley, smoking is banned in both indoor and outdoor dining areas of liquor and food establishments, within 25 feet of entrances, exits, open windows, and ventilation intakes of public places and workplaces, within 25 feet of any outdoor dining area, and in public parks and recreation facilities. In Minneapolis, smoking is banned in liquor and food establishments, bowling alleys and pool and billiard halls. In Golden Valley, sister city to Pyongyang, merely saying the word "smoke" is prohibited within city limits. The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco has spent $100,000 on print advertisements in favor of the Hennepin County smoking ban. And still lost. This is a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
"Freedom ever, EVERMORE!"
Later today, the Hennepin County Board will consider amending the county's smoke-free ordinance: The amended ordinance would go into effect Dec. 31 and make Hennepin's smoking restrictions more similar to ordinances in Ramsey and Olmstead counties. Bars and private clubs with liquor sales that are more than 50 percent of their total net sales may apply for an exemption to the ordinance. The amendment will sunset all exemptions on July 31, 2007. Hennepin staff estimate that approximately 75 bars and private clubs could potentially qualify for the proposed amendment. Ramsey County has issued about 180 exemptions to its smoke-free ordinance. If the ordinance is amended, at least some local bar owners may be spared the horror of The Moffit, as submitted by John from Stillwater: I've been following the trolling of the American Lung Association's Bob Moffit on various websites. It seems he never makes any logical arguments to support the necessity of a smoking ban. When it comes to the right of people to choose the activities they want to pursue on private property, Bob just says "Nevermore." The Moffitt Once upon a midnight dreary, a bar owner sat weak and weary, Burdened by many a troublesome sign of things in store, While she nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at her tavern door. `'Tis some customer,' she muttered, `tapping at my tavern door - Only one, and nothing more.' Ah, distinctly she remembers busy times of past Decembers, Long before when dying embers wrought their ash inside her door; Bravely she did fight her sorrow, she had work to do tomorrow Helping bars to gone to borrow -- take the risk they had before -- For the rare and radiant freedom that this land had meant before -- Nameless, she feared, evermore. And the sudden, sad and certain closing of each smoke-free tavern Chilled her - filled her with fantastic anger never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of her heart, she stood repeating `'Tis some customer entreating entrance at my tavern door - Some late customer entreating entrance at my tavern door; - This it is, and nothing more,' Presently her soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, `Sir,' said she, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so few customers come rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my tavern door, That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here she opened wide the door; - Cigarette butts, nothing more. Back into the tavern turning, all her soul within her burning, Soon again she heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. `Surely,' said she, `surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore - Let my anger still a moment and this mystery explore; - 'Tis annoying nothing more!' Open here she flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped the saintly Moffitt like a sacramental whore. Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched infront her tavern door - Perched upon a case of Lennie's slid in front her tavern door - Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Then this rather odd bird beguiling her sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, 'Though thy title be impressive, she said, 'your manner's quite oppressive -- Ghastly, grim, self-righteous, self-absorbent, bureaucratic boar -- Your presence is confusing, not amusing. Leave by going through the door!' Quoth the Moffit, 'Nevermore.' And the Moffitt, sitting lonely on the Lennie's, spoke only, That one word, as if his brain in that one word he did outpour. Nothing further then he uttered - not a statistic did he stutter - Till she scarcely more than muttered 'Other fiends have flown before - Tomorrow you will leave me, as petty tyrants flew before.' Quoth the Moffitt, 'Nevermore.' Startled at the stillness broken by open arrogance so spoken, 'Doubtless,' said she, 'what he utters is his only stock and store, Bought by some soulless master uncaring of disaster Heaped fast and followed faster 'till all taverns close the door -- 'Till all choice is gone forever, forever closed the door, To open never, nevermore.' Then, she thought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by those that for others would decide what smells should fill the air. 'Whore' she cried so that's your mission, make me choose abject submission Abandon my dreams for those you deem are worthy more -- Abandon my dreams for the "perfection" only you adore?' Quoth the Moffitt, 'Nevermore.' 'Be that word our sign of parting, man and fiend!' she shrieked upstarting - 'Get thee back into the darkness and depart from freedom's shore! Leave no black post as a token of the lies thy lips hath spoken! My resolution is unbroken! - quit the beer infront my door! Take thy nose from out my business, and take thy ass out through the door!' Quoth the Moffitt, 'Nevermore.' And the Moffitt, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting Not just on the Lennie's but in front of every free man's door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, Of new plans and ways of scheming to take the freedom we adore -- Let us not grant him our whimper, but let him hear our roar -- "Freedom ever, EVERMORE!"
On Sunday, I noted an article in the WSJ by Eric Felton on the proper Martini mix. Today, a letter on the same article appeared in the Journal:
Eric Felten's essay on the dry martini is itself near-perfect ("Don't Forget the Vermouth," Leisure & Arts, Pursuits, Dec. 10). His allusion to constitutional jurisprudence is faulty, however, since neither in law nor martinis can we know the subjective "original intent" of the Founding Fathers. As to martinis, the intent may have been to ease man's passage through this vale of tears or, less admirably, to employ the tactic of "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker." What counts in mixology is the "original understanding" of the martini's essence by those who first consumed it. The essence remains unaltered but allows proportions to evolve as circumstances change. Mr. Felten's "near-perfect martini" is the same in principle as the "original-understanding martini" and therefore its legitimate descendant. Such latter-day travesties as the chocolate martini and the raspberry martini, on the other hand, are the work of activist bartenders. Mr. Felten lapses into heresy only once. He prefers the olive to the lemon peel because the former is a "snack." Dropping a snack into a classic drink is like garnishing filet mignon with ketchup. The correct response when offered an olive is, "When I want a salad, I'll ask for it." -Robert H. Bork The Hudson Institute Washington When it comes to the vegetables or fruit in classic cocktails, I whole-heartedly concur with the sentiments of the esteemed Mr. Bork. I used to work with a gentleman who would always order his gin and tonics "N.F.L." No f***ing lime. Labels: Cocktails
Monday, December 12, 2005
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses
Almost on the Range has a great mug shot of Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson after his arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated (DWI) on Friday. Apparently his honor had a little problem keeping his car on the road near Spooner, Wisconsin. From the Duluth News Tribune: Bergson was southbound on U.S. Highway 53 on his way to a Great Lakes environmental conference in Chicago when his vehicle struck a bridge abutment, left the road and hit a guard rail in the median. The incident was reported at 6:25 p.m. just north of Washburn County Highway H, Karen Snearly, police communications operator for the Wisconsin State Patrol, said Saturday. UPDATE---More from Almost on the Range: Our mayor blew about a .16 on the roadside breathalyzer, pleaded with passersby not to call the cops, and tried to refuse medical attention. This man is an embarrassment to each and every citizen of Duluth. A .16 at 6:30pm? He must have been hitting it hard, right? Not according to Herb's story: The mayor declined to say how much he had drunk and refused to say where. He told DeStefano he'd had only two drinks -- a beer and a drink with vodka, according to the trooper's report. A drink with vodka? One of JB's holiday bracers perhaps?
Truth Well Told
I just heard a song called "A Reason For It All" by Allision Krause and Union Station during lunch and was blown away by it's beauty. It was written by the band's multi-instrumentalist (no, I will not make a Mitch Berg joke here!) Ron Block. I've seen hard times and I've been told There isn't any wonder that I fall Why do we suffer, crossing off the years There must be a reason for it all I've trusted in You, Jesus, to save me from my sin Heaven is the place I call my home But I keep on getting caught up in this world I'm living in And Your voice it sometimes fades before I know Hurtin' brings my heart to You, crying with my need Depending on Your love to carry me The love that shed His blood for all the world to see This must be the reason for it all Hurtin' brings my heart to You, a fortress in the storm When what I wrap my heart around is gone I give my heart so easily to the ruler of this world When the one who loves me most will give me all In all the things that cause me pain You give me eyes to see I do believe but help my unbelief I've seen hard times and I've been told There is a reason for it all
Queen of De Nile
This morning, I had the opportunity to catch Mary Mapes and John Hinderaker square off on the Hot Talk with Scott Hennen show on Fargo's WDAY. It was riveting and revealing radio as Mapes and Hinderaker exchanged blows over the largely discredited Bush National Guard story and the forged documents that got Mapes canned from CBS. John has provided a brief synopsis of the show here: Wow, that was quite an experience. Ms. Mapes is a real piece of work. If you wanted to sue on behalf of all the people she slandered in the course of a half-hour, you'd have to start a class action. She sticks doggedly to her belief that it is "quite possible that Bill Burkett is finally telling the truth." Setting new standards in journalism: let's run with it, it's quite possibly true! In this case, of course, the story didn't even meet that standard. He's right in that Mapes is indeed a real piece of something. For someone who had recently been humiliated and disgraced in front of a national audience, she came across as incredibly arrogant and condescending. Here's a recap of her main talking points: 1. Unlike John and other conservative bloggers who are "radical right wing extremists" and "Republican operatives", she doesn't have a partisan bone in her body. She's merely a humble and noble reporter in a quest for the Holy Grail of the "truth." 2. No one has ever been able to prove that the documents are not real. 3. Anyone involved in the story who is a Democrat or who hates Bush is telling the truth. Anyone involved in the story who has an remote connection to the Republican Party or has the slightest amount of respect and admiration for Bush is lying. 4. Because John has not read her book "Truth and Duty," he has no right to comment on the story. (John pointed out the he wasn't appearing on the show to discuss her book, but rather the report that CBS aired last year. It didn't stop her from going back to this well again and again.) 5. Because Power Line was wrong about the Terry Schiavo memos, they were also wrong about the National Guard documents. An easy way to discern when one side is losing an argument is when they attempt to change the subject. It couldn't have been more than FIVE MINUTES into the show before Mapes was grasping for the Schiavo memo straw. Rather than trying to defend her case for the validity of the TANG docs and story, she was trying to switch the focus to the Schiavo memos which had nothing to do with why she and John were appearing on the radio together. Of course the manner in which Power Line dealt with the Schiavo memo story and the way that Mapes has dealt with the TANG story are almost polar opposites. Once it became apparent that the Schiavo memo was not a Democratic dirty trick, the Power Lines boys accepted the facts as they were and moved on. Mapes meanwhile, continues to stubbornly cling to evidence and a storyline long ago rejected by reasonable, clear-thinking people. Perhaps Mapes would be better served if her next book were a novel. She seems to have a quite a rich fantasy life.
Et Tu, T-Paw?
It's bad enough to have a hockey no-nothing like Hugh Hewitt making use of an injury suffered while playing puck to mock you, but when one of your hockey playing brethren climbs on board the bashing bandwagon, it's downright despicable. Listen as Governor Pawlenty plants the dagger in my back in front of a national audience on last Friday's Hugh Hewitt Show: Betrayed Since the Governor is a hockey player, I'm sure he is familiar with the concept of payback. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But someday, the opportunity will present itself. I've got your number T-Paw.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
Back in the day when I was a subscriber to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, I would occasionally take a "cruise" through the Sunday paper here at Fraters Libertas, making note of the outrageous editorials, sloppy writing, and examples of the not so subtle bias that could be found in nearly every section of the Strib. Now that I am no longer taking the Strib, my Sundays are much more relaxing and my newspaper reading experience is much more enjoyable. To give you an idea why, let's take an excursion through the Weekend Edition of the Wall Street Journal. We start with an article that looks at the single malt scotch industry and some of the unique problems it faces with supply and demand. It could have been called, Drink all you want, we'll make more but it might take ten or twelve years: The appeal of single malts is based on a singular proposition. Each spirit comes from a particular distillery and has been aged, generally for 10 years or more, a period that is usually specified on the bottle. But at a time when clothing retailers can adjust to changing fashions by ordering new designs from Asian manufacturers in a matter of weeks, scotch makers have been handcuffed by their glacial production processes and the very traditions that sells their product. Scotch makers, meanwhile, have historically been limited to just a few varieties, mostly based on the age of the whiskey -- and rushing out new products when your manufacturing process takes a decade or more presents some challenges. For one thing, it is impossible for distilleries to decide how much of what should be put into casks in any given year, because they can't predict what people will want to drink 10 years down the line. And while the producers of blended scotches can alter their products by introducing whiskeys from any number of distilleries, single malts have generally been locked in from the start. The scotch theme continues with the story of a son who travels to Scotland to share Scotch With My Father: Some fathers and sons go fishing together. My dad's love of Scotch whisky has rubbed off on me, and on the rare occasions when we're together -- he lives in Kolkata, India, and I'm in Washington -- we sip single malts together. What better way to pay homage to our mutual interest, we figured, than to drive around Scotland for a few days, visiting distilleries and sipping scotch. Now that's what I call bonding. Most single malts are diluted with distilled water after being tapped from the cask to reduce their alcohol content to 40% or 43% from, say, 60%. Taking a sip of cask-strength whiskey can literally take your breath away. Our guide at Glenfarclas explained how her husband had once tried transferring whiskey from the cask by taking a suck. "Never again," she said. "He went to bed on Friday and woke up on Sunday, insisting it was Saturday." Sounds like a typical weekend for Atomizer. Speaking of A-dog, our next story is on a matter near and dear to his heart (and liver): the Martini. The author of this piece advises that the key to a mixing a mouthwatering Martini is to not be afraid to get wet: A Martini made with dry gin and dry vermouth proved to be a far more sophisticated cocktail than its sweet predecessor. "The ultimate class bifurcation based on drink," Paul Fussell wrote in his sly and malicious little book, "Class," is "the difference between dry and sweet." But somewhere along the way, "dry" came to mean a Martini's relative absence of vermouth. Even so, the social cachet attached to "dryness" persisted, and decades of striving have produced today's dry Martini standard: in effect, a straight shot of gin or vodka. Which is odd, because there's nothing particular swanky about a glass of plain gin -- in Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," everyone gulps his synthetic gin straight. If that's not enough of an apostasy for worshippers of the Church of Atomizer, what follows is positively heretical: A couple of the less expensive brands gave me what I paid for. Beefeater and Gordon's were just a little too raw for the naked exposure of a Martini. But more expensive didn't always mean better. I much preferred the broad-shouldered, everyday Bombay gin to its pricier sibling, the watery Sapphire. Please Atomizer, don't hurt him. The scribbler goes on to make a good point that the "proper" ratio all depends on the gin you're quaffing: There's no such thing as the perfect Martini, so, as the bartender in a New Yorker cartoon once said, a near-perfect Martini will have to do. For me, it starts with Hendrick's, a gin that one could describe as bursting with flavor if the tastes weren't so beautifully rounded and seamlessly integrated. Hendrick's is self-assured enough to stand up to Vya, a delicious dry vermouth made by the Central Valley's Quady winery. Because Vya is itself no slouch in the robust-flavor department, I found that it was best to mix Hendrick's to Vya in a fairly modern ratio of 8 to 1. My second-favorite gin was Plymouth, a venerable English brand recently revived by some savvy entrepreneurs. Plymouth has an elegant balance of the traditional gin flavorings, and a light, airy quality that matches up perfectly with Noilly Prat's delicate vermouth. Unlike the Hendrick's and Vya, Plymouth and Noilly Prat were around in the Martini's formative years. Put them together in a 1930s ratio -- four parts gin to one part vermouth -- and you have the classic in its classic proportions. Add a couple of dashes of orange bitters, and you have what I call the "Original Intent Martini." Both fine selections, particularly the Hendricks: Hendrick's is an iconoclastically produced small batch gin distilled in Ayrshire, Scotland. Our unusual distillation process combined with our oddly delicious set of infusions yields a one-of-a-kind gin that is passionately loved by a tiny yet growing handful of individuals all over the world. No other gin tastes like it because no other gin is made like it. Next up is a book review on the dreaded "S" word: For at least half a century, academics, aesthetes and all-purpose agonizers have looked at our ever-sprawling cities with disdain and even horror. The spectacle of rings and rings of humankind nested in single-family homes has inspired in them all sorts of revulsion and, relatedly, a whole discipline of blame: Suburban sprawl has been faulted for exacerbating racial tension, contributing to energy shortages, worsening pollution and heating up the globe -- even expanding waistlines. Largely missing from this debate has been a sound and reasoned history of this pattern of living. With Robert Bruegmann's "Sprawl : A Compact History" we now have one. What a pleasure it is: well-written, accessible and eager to challenge the current cant about sprawl. No, Mr. Bruegmann says, don't go blaming the Federal Highway Administration for sprawl or the executives at General Motors and Exxon or racist developers fleeing urban environments. Don't even blame Karl Rove. You really don't need to blame anyone. Mr. Bruegmann notes that contemporary sprawl -- best defined by places like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Houston -- is nothing new. It represents "merely the latest chapter in a long and curious history." What propels that curious history is something often overlooked by the makers of grand theories -- the particular choices of individual human beings. Mr. Bruegmann places the urge to sprawl squarely where it belongs: on people's logical desire to escape the high costs, crime, pollution, congestion and lack of privacy that accompanies life in dense cities. Individual choice and logical desires? How positively un-American. We close with a sad but inspiring story from the world of sport: You've probably never heard of Tim Breslin. He played forward for the Chicago Wolves, a minor-league hockey team. A year ago, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. In eleven weeks, at the age of 37, he was dead. A community grew up around him -- guys who played with him as kids, guys who played with him later, guys who knew guys who played with him, along with wives and girlfriends and coaches and Zamboni drivers, an ever-widening circle of people who love a peculiar game. Some knew Mr. Breslin; some didn't. When he died, this extended hockey family rushed to the aid of his immediate family. It was more inspiring than anything you'll ever see on "SportsCenter." He'd been complaining of stomach pains for days when his wife took him to the hospital on Thanksgiving last year. Doctors found cancer of the appendix. He underwent surgery and was scheduled for chemotherapy. A few days before his first treatment, Mr. Breslin showed up at Johnny's IceHouse, where the Blackhawk alums were playing their weekly pickup game. They thought he'd watch and then head to the rink bar, the Stanley Club, for a soda. But Mr. Breslin played. Then he ordered a Bud Light. That's a hockey player. Along with Cliff Koroll, a former Blackhawk player and president of the alumni club, Mr. Nardella started planning a benefit game between ex-Wolves and Hawks that would benefit Mr. Breslin's children. It wasn't the best time to plug hockey. Many fans were soured by the cancellation of the NHL season. The Wolves and Hawks were more accustomed to competing for fans than cooperating. But there was something about Mr. Breslin -- and the sport he loved -- that made it easy. Hockey players are an unusual breed. They slam each other into walls, then line up and shake hands. They play until they are fat and old and their equipment smells so bad that they have to stow it in the garage. Whether they are in Moscow or Minneapolis, Stockholm or Saskatoon, they know that if they can find a rink, they can find a friend. That's one of the many reasons why it's the greatest game in the world. By the way, all the stories that I've mentioned here were not only from one edition of the Weekend Wall Street Journal, they were from ONE SECTION (called "Pursuits") of said newspaper. These days when people ask me if I miss not getting the Star Tribune I can't help but laugh. Yeah, many a Sunday when I curled up with my Weekend WSJ I'm wishing I had that Sunday Strib instead.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Something Clumsy This Way Comes
Tim e-mails about concerns for his safety based on rumors of an approaching storm: I was reading Hugh's blog this morning, and when I got to the end of yesterday's post titled "The Alito Attack Machine", there I saw the three scariest words any Coloradan can read: Off to Colorado. Do you have any inside dope as to how long we here in Colorado need to stay out of the mountains? I was hoping to do some skiing this weekend, but the last thing I need is to have some wine-tastin', Dockers-wearin', Kathy-comic-strip-readin', man-bra-needin', hockey-know-nothin', snowmobile-challenged, Hugh Hewitt to careen his snowmobile into my chair lift, collapse a tower and cause it all to come crashing down. No thanks, I'll just stay in my basement playing hockey on the PS2 all weekend, I guess. Maybe I can get our governor to stop him at the border. Who says border enforcement isn't a front-burner issue? Unfortunately Tim, it's too late to seal the borders at this point. For you see... ***We interrupt this post for an important public service message for Coloradans*** Attention citizens of the Rocky Mountain State. The following is a public service announcement from the Department of Emergency Preparedness: Ralphie has landed. This is not a drill. Repeat this is not a drill. Once again, Ralphie has landed. Please do not panic. Calmly make your way to the nearest shelter and remain there until the all clear sounds. Do not leave your shelter under any circumstances and whatever you do stay away from the snowmobile trails. And woods. And highways. And shopping malls. If you spot Hugh Hewitt, do not approach him. He is accident prone and extremely uncoordinated. Do not feed him orange snack foods and do not ask him any questions about technology, hockey, wine, or music. The consequences could be disastrous. Notify authorities immediately. The National Guard has been mobilized and they will be available to assist in the evacuation and rebuilding efforts. Authorities estimate that the danger should be gone within the next twenty-four hours. Until then, keep your heads down and pray that Halo Hugh does not pass through your neighborhood. Courage.
Come For The Show, Stay For The Shooting
Now playing at Block E, the "entertainment" district in downtown Minneapolis, "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight." There was a shootout at the Block E underground parking garage, involving five suspects, two cars, and up to ten shots fired. Oh yeah, some crack was reportedly found in one of the cars too. Fortunately, the shooters weren't crack marksmen and no one was hurt. As Rambix and the Red Star has noted, there has been little media coverage of this latest example of the breakdown of law and order in the City of Lakes excepting this video at KSTP.com. Nothing from the Strib. Nothing from the Pioneer Press. Which means that they don't want you to know how much the security situation has deteriorated or they don't consider multiple gunshots being exchanged at a major entertainment destination in the heart of Minneapolis to be a newsworthy occurrence. Neither choice is particularly comforting.
Shoe. Other Foot.
From Hugh Hewitt's interview with hit-reporter Stephen Henderson regarding his piece on Samuel Alito: SH: Well, but what I said on television, first of all, you're taking quotes grossly out of context there. HH: There's no context. It's a factual assertion, Steven. Delicious. Via Perfesser Brainbinge.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
As Thick As A Whale Omelette
I usually don't explain the titles to my posts. If you all can't make the effort to be as culturally aware as I am, I ain't going to make the effort to awareitize you. However, due to the sheer volume of emails regarding the title to yesterday's post on Christmas tree erecting (stop that giggling, you kids...I'm looking in your direction, JB!) I feel an explanation is in order. The title came from an episode of The Simpsons. It's a cartoon that has been running on Fox for almost 16 years now. I'm sure some of you have heard of it. In this particular episode, Homer (he's the dad) is building a barbecue pit in his backyard. To help illustrate the hilarity that I was trying to recreate, let's join The Simpsons Archive's description of a scene from that episode, already in progress: (W)ith the concrete foundation for the barbecue pit done, Homer brushes off his hands. He then takes over the construction job from Lisa (Homer's daughter), who's the one who had been working. Homer picks up the box to admire what the finished product should look like. Then the bottom of the box opens and the contents drop into the wet cement. Homer quickly removes the stuff and puts it on top of a wheelbarrow full of bricks. The wheelbarrow tips over, spilling everything in the cement. Homer curses Lisa, then sets out to build the whole thing before the cement dries. He finds the instructions, but the English side is covered with cement, so he looks at the French side and can't figure that out either. And so, Homer frantically cements together whatever he happens to grab.Next comes one of the funniest lines ever uttered by a balding, overweight, yellow cartoon character in the history of balding, overweight, yellow cartoon characters. Just before he attacks the pile of stupidity that was supposed to be his barbecue pit with an umbrella, Homer screams: Why?! Why must life be so hard? Why must I fail at every attempt at masonry?Every time I hear it, I bust out laughing...and that's what I thought all you people would do when I placed it atop my latest literary masterpiece. It seems I've misjudged you folks since all it has seemed to accomplish is to clog my email box with puzzled queries about my perceived misunderstanding of the word "masonry". Perhaps I should have replaced the word "masonry" with "tree erecting"...but I felt that would have detracted from the line's potency. Perhaps I should have used Homer's line "Why doesn't mine look like that?!" as my title...but I felt there was too much ambiguity in that quote when it was removed from context. No, I think the problem is that you people need to spend a little less time reading blogs and a little more time watching television. Nevertheless, I'm terribly compunctuous to have caused you all such pericumbobulation. It shall never happen again...not even interfrastically.
Life Imitates Lileks
On Saturday, James Lileks watched the movie "Twelve Angry Men." Today, I watched the same movie in a training class at work (yes, it's not a bad way to spend a day "working"). The similarities did not end there. For while watching the film, I noticed that one of the characters bore a striking resemblance to Mr. Lileks. Glasses wearing, perpetually balding, slender of stature actor John Fiedler portraying Juror #2 in "Twelve Angry Men" and... ...glasses wearing, perpetually balding, slender of stature writer James Lileks portraying himself in a tryout for a TV show? Thankfully, the resemblance does not extend to their vocal stylings. Lileks has the pipes. Fiedler was the voice of Piglet.
I Love the 80's
And you thought you had maxed out on ways to waste your time on the Internet. Children of the Reagan Revolution, make some more room in your day, for I direct you to online Atari games. On most of these classic titles, the game play itself is not an exact replication of the trusty old 2600. But it's close enough for the price (nada). And the graphics and sound effects are a scary yet comforting walk down memory lane. I played these games back then, I've played them again today. Curiously, the best action is provided here. Who knew Pong aged like fine wine?
Henry from Edina e-mails to offer up a North of the border rib-tickler:
Heard a joke recently from which I thought you might get a chuckle. In Canada, a Newfie, British Columbian and Quebecois found a bottle on the beach, which one of them touched. Out popped a genie, who promised each one a wish. The Newfie asked for restoration of the schools of fish in the North Atlantic, so he could resume a fishing career. The Quebecois asked for a stone wall ... 30 feet high ... 3 feet thick to be built around the province and be impervious to any assault. The British Columbian asked the genie, "Is that wall around Quebec really indestructible? The genie replied that it was and the BCer then asked, "does that mean it's waterproof?" When told it was, the BCer said, well, then, FILL IT UP." Labels: Canada
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
With very little fanfare, and scant attention paid by the national media, last night was Christmas tree raising night at Balsawood.
The festivities actually began on Sunday last when yours truly, the lovely Atomizerette and The Boy made our annual trek to the local garden store to pay them an ungodly amount of cash so they could strap a dead coniferous tree to the top of our car and have us haul it off their property with seasonally adjusted smiles on each and every one of our frozen faces. Not a bad racket, I must say. Unfortunately, the pleasant part of the festivities ended shortly thereafter. Once our new dead tree was rather unceremoniously deposited upon the living room floor, it became time to introduce the tree stand into the mix. After my strong, and repeated, recommendation, the lovely Atomizerette purchased an all metal stand during last year's post-Christmas inventory sale-abration at WalCoMart. The plastic one we had used in previous years was...well, rather used. It is now, thankfully, no longer with us (though some of the curse words I used during last year's tree raising still hang heavy in the air). My hopes were high as I removed the unused stand from its box, which had this rather sturdy image imprinted upon it. I'm sure the stand is as sturdy as it appears...in some bizarre backwards universe where mere humans have the ability to somehow muster up the inordinate amount of patience required to actually put this confounded thing together, then coax it onto the base of the tree without having the whole thing fall apart again and then tighten the eyebolts (which are way too large for their pre-drilled holes, mind you) deep into the trunk all while keeping the tree standing upright and straight, maintaining complete sanity and preserving an unspilled cocktail. My cocktail remained unspilled (naturally) but my sanity is as apt to be seen in these parts again as Miss Waldron's red colobus monkeys are. I seriously got to a point in this process where I felt compelled to hastily pull the stand off the trunk of the tree, march loudly to the front door and fling the offending hunk of metal into the middle of my snow covered lawn (though I was actually aiming for the street). I really hope none of my neighbors happened to be looking out their window at this moment because I'm certain I looked like a severely crack-addled discus thrower. It felt damn good, though. After the ensuing emergency trip to Home Depot, during which the lovely Atomizerette and The Boy discussed my immediate need for anger management classes, we are now the proud owners of a "never-fail" Cinco tree stand (yes, it's plastic) that required all of about five minutes to work its magic on our now beautifully decorated Christmas tree. With peace and harmony restored to Balsawood I can now say to you all, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...except to the filthy cretins at Jack-Post Corporation. You can come collect the pile of useless metal off my lawn any time now. Labels: Domestic Tranquility
Give 'Em What They Want
As if having to endure a major disaster wasn't enough, the people of the Gulf Coast now have to put up with politicians deciding what's good for them. No post-Katrina tax breaks for liquor stores: House Republicans decided Tuesday to stop casinos, massage parlors and liquor stores from cashing in on tax breaks for businesses in Gulf Coast communities ravaged by hurricanes. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., lead the movement to carve those businesses out of any special tax incentives intended to lure jobs and commerce back to the region. "Federal tax dollars need to be focused on those who truly need the government's help, like the poor, vulnerable and elderly," Wolf said in a statement on the House floor. Let's go through the list of those "who truly need the government's help" in the words of Rep. Wolf. and what that need may entail. 1. The Poor--Okay so they may not "need" booze, but it certainly helps make life a little easier to take. They could definitely make use of a liquor store, probably now more than ever. 2. The Vulnerable--Not sure exactly what this means, but I gotta think being "vulnerable" means it's probably hard to secure a little lovin' that we all need from time to time. Lovin' that is available (for a price) at most massage parlors. 3. The Elderly--Anyone who's ever been to a casino knows that after the home and the hospital, casinos are the most commonly frequented destination for seniors. If feeding the one-armed bandit keeps grandpa occupied and engaged, more power to him and his plastic cup full of nickels. The special tax incentives would not apply to a list of recreational businesses: country clubs, casinos, hot tub facilities, liquor stores, massage parlors, private and commercial golf courses, racetracks and tanning parlors. In other words, everything that makes life worth living. So what industry is the guvamint goin' to reward? Small timber operators, however, get help reforesting their lands. Which, in a matter of fifteen to twenty years will result in more trees for the region. I'm sure that promise of reforestation will do much more to relieve the suffering and loss that Hurricane Katrina survivors have experienced than a drink, "massage", or gamble ever could.
Interesting report from the New York Times on how the Kyoto Protocol on climate change is in growing disrepute around the world and how more and more countries are coming around to the US position. Excerpts:
... there is a growing recognition of the economic costs incurred by signing on to the Kyoto Protocol. As Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, a proponent of emissions targets, said in a statement on Nov. 1: "The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge." Some veterans of climate diplomacy and science now say that perhaps the entire architecture of the climate treaty process might be flawed. There are few brave politicians left, still willing to sacrifice their economy in order to enforce a flawed treaty. On Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak took a break from his busy singing and stage diving schedule to appear on the Al Franken Show. According to KARE he had this to say about his priorities in running the city: Ryback spent the bulk of his time at the microphone touting his city's national leadership on environmental issues. Minneapolis was one of the first cities to join others in pledging to enforce the provisions of the Kyoto Accord on greenhouse gases, despite the federal government's decision not to sign the accord. I have no idea what it means for a municipality to pledge to enforce an international treaty on restricting greenhouse gas emissions. (I suspect RT Rybak doesn't either). But, as the rest of the world is now coming to agree, it can't be good for business. From the NYT article: Carbon dioxide is generated by activities as varied as surfing the Web, driving a car, burning wood or flying to Montreal. Its production is woven into the fabric of an industrial society, and, for now, economic growth is inconceivable without it. But, RT Rybak believes he lives in a different world from the rest of us. A world where the laws economic growth and physics don't apply (which might explain the stage diving). His thoughts on Minneapolis enforcing the Kyoto Accords and their relationship to economic growth: Ryback, who drives a hybrid car himself, argued that building a green and sustainable city actually is a plus for growth and development, "And if you can say, I love the city I live in, name it, but it's becoming more and more congested, the air is getting worse and worse, why don't I move to a place like Minneapolis? It's a growth strategy. It's a good thing." Minneapolis--come for the impression of cleaner air, but leave your car, computer, furnace, and job at home. Now that's a growth strategy. Laugh if you will, but it's policies such as this that gave RT Rybak a reelection mandate of 62% of Minneapolis voters. Yes, people get the growth strategies and enforcement of international climate protocols they deserve. Thanks to a certain electoral temper tantrum/turn over in power in St. Paul last month, we may be seeing more of the same on this side of the river: [Al Franken's] first guest was Saint Paul's new mayor-elect Chris Coleman, who has pledged to work closely with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback, who is a personal friend. And when Ryback had his time at the microphone he returned the favor, suggesting the two mayors will cooperate on schools, transportation and even work toward building a light rail transit line between the two cities. Citizens of St. Paul, welcome to the RT Rybak's world. Labels: Politics-Local (04-05)
Make the Yuletide Gay
Ross from Burnsville has been watching public television and writes in with these observations: On Monday, December 5, my wife turned to TPT (Twin Cities Public Television) and started watching a special regarding the singer Andy Williams and his Christmas shows. I had never heard of him or his shows before as I was young at the time they were originally on the air. It was very enjoyable listening to Williams and his brothers. The show seemed very pro-family and pro-Christmas which was nice but out of character for public television and TPT. Of course, this was one of their pledge drives so I had to sit through the boring speakers as they tried to make me feel guilty that I wasn't donating to them. Then, something caught my eye. It was the people answering the phones in the background. Most of them were men and they were wearing the same T-shirt. The T-shirts were black with blue lettering. The top part of the letting was very easy to read. It said "Twin Cities". It was harder to read what was underneath. I expected to see something like "Public Television" but it didn't look like that's what it said. As I stared at the screen trying to make it out, it looked like the first word underneath "Twin Cities" was "Gay". TPT was making this difficult by keeping the shirts of these men slightly out of focus (probably to keep the speaker in front of the camera in focus) or by making sure that computer monitors or other obstacles were blocking the rest of their shirts. I was determined to figure out what was going on so I did a search on the Internet and came across a group called Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. Their website has a merchandise section that includes clothing. And there it was. It was the same shirt as these men were wearing on TPT. On the T-shirt, the line underneath "Twin Cities" was "Gay Men's Chorus". Interestingly, on the Website for the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, there is a section for corporate sponsors. TPT was listed as one of the "Media Partners" whatever that means (my wife noted the use of the word "partner" which the gay groups love to use). Here are some questions: Did TPT disclose to its audience during the Andy Williams special that their phones were being answered by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus? It seems inappropriate that such a group would be answering the phones during this kind of programming. What exactly is the relationship between TPT and the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus? Is TPT funding this group? If so, how much is TPT giving them? Would these men really be volunteers if TPT is funding them? Let me add a couple more questions that cry out for answers. Since the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus was on the premises, was RT Rybak in the building? And, if so, did he dive off any desks or camera equipment in solidarity with the cause? If so, is he scheduled for any reconstructive surgery in the coming weeks? For those with answers to any or all of these questions, Fraters Libertas volunteer operators are standing by.
United We Stand
Reader feedback on Fraters Libertas posts from yesterday. Regarding the Ana Voog feminist manifesto gift guide, Vox Day offers advice to those who may be on the receiving end of such a present. Excerpt: There are so many things wrong here that it would take too long to list them, suffice it to say that if you receive a book like this for Christmas and you're still dating her by New Year's Eve, you might as well make like the Welsh fan and snip your testicles off with a pair of pliers. As always with a Vox Day post, be sure to check the comments section, where the unbridled debate continues. On the other hand, the debate usually ends when Jim Styczinski writes a comment to us, such is the definitive nature of his arguments. So it is with this word about the legacy of Walter Mondale, and my comment that Jimmy Carter may be the only man who could ever threaten his record of losing a statewide election in all 50 states. Nice post on Mondale. His record of losing a statewide election in every state is safer than you think. In addition to Georgia, Jimmy Carter would have to lose elections in Maryland, Rhode Island, Hawaii, West Virginia, and Minnesota to tie Mondale's record. I would say the record is unbreakable, but that is what they said about Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak before Cal Ripken. Ah yes, I forgot the 1980 Democratic ticket debacle had a few more hold outs than Carter's home state of Georgia. Still, reviewing that electoral college map, it's amazing to think there was a time when people in New York and California, Texas and Utah, and almost all points in between, got together, linked arms, and marched forward together to stamp out any possibility of four more years of Carter and Mondale. That kind of bipartisanship makes me weepy just thinking about it. Democrats, I implore you for the sake of national unity, renominate Carter and Mondale in 2008.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Playing Politics With Puck
Does not go over well with our neighbors in the Great White North: Not that anyone thought December politicking was a good idea to begin with, but to add insult to injury, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe chose to announce that in his opinion, La Belle Province should ice its own team at international hockey competitions. This is, of course, impossible as current International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules allow for just one team per country for tournaments such as the World Championships and the Olympics. Quebec would have to separate from Canada to earn independent team status. Is there any group in the world more whiny than the Quebecois? I guess that's what happens when you combine French with Canadian. As usual, the rest of the country is not particularly amused: Technicalities aside, Duceppe's announcement was the political equivalent of a four-year-old screaming at the top of his lungs for attention--and like exhausted parents we all stood up and ran to see what he wanted this time. In other words, we took the bait, our ensuing national fury evidence that the separatist was far off-side with his declaration. Politicize anything, but leave our hockey alone, was the resounding cry from across the country. Besides, with an election looming, Canadians have more important things to focus on: So let's all agree that we need to set some rules for election decorum. Let's leave hockey in the political neutral zone and focus on important issues such as the economy, health care, education, and the frightening fact that Stephen Harper's hair never, EVER, moves. You might be able to keep hockey out of politics, but you'll never be able to keep out hair. When it comes to Canadian politics, I always go with the guy with the better mullet.
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
The POTUS is comin' to town on Friday and MoveOn.org is urging its local denizens to be prepared via e-mail: Dear Twin Cities MoveOn member, Politicians on both sides of the aisle have begun to voice increasing support for an exit plan from Iraq with a timeline that begins now. We need to keep the momentum building. On Friday, President Bush will be in Minneapolis at a fundraiser for Congressman Mark Kennedy, a candidate for the U.S. Senate. With the media spotlight on the President's visit, members of MoveOn's Operation Democracy network have organized a rapid-response public petition drive to demand that Kennedy oppose Bush's failed Iraq policy. Can you come out Thursday at noon, help gather petition signatures and show your support for an exit plan from Iraq? We've invited the media, so we need a strong showing! Out Of Iraq Petition Gathering/Rapid Response to Bush's Visit Nicollet Mall & 11th Street Minneapolis, MN 12 noon, Thursday, December 8
"I'll do you with my brother's shotgun, bitch"
Saint Paul hipped me to this blog "Complicated Fun" which features an entertaining account of rapper Lil' Flip's recent show at the Quest nightclub in downtown Minneapolis where two people were shot. The writer of this account, Peter Sholtes makes the important correction that: Contrary to Sunday's WCCO report, which was picked up by MTV, the double-shooting did not take place while Lil' Flip was performing, and it didn't take place inside the club. (The Quest has metal detectors.) Not a terribly important detail there Peter, but so noted. He does go on to say that there were various melees breaking out all over in the club while Lil was performing: But a number of indoor scuffles preceded the shooting. Flip stopped his Pac-Man-sampling hit "Game Over" mid-song to quell the fight that gashed the wobbly man's head. He tried to follow with "Turn It Up," but it was no use. "F@*% it," he said, cutting the music short at the second chorus. Flip's DJ turned to the crowd, disgusted. "That s*&%@ is 1980s," he said. "N$#^^*, we in the 2000s. Nobody's fighting in the clubs no more. Come on, Minneapolis!" That must be the first time I've ever heard someone say that violence should be stopped because it's no longer fashionable. I think this message needs to be spread a little wider to the rap community: "What is that a beat-down? Hah, that is SOO 1996!" So all in all just another example of the wonderful culture that us lame, non-urban living types miss out on. I'm not sure if any of the various promoters of the joy of urban life actually attended this important cultural event, but I'm sure they were there in spirit. Who would want to miss out on a scene like this: A pool of blood gathers on the floor. A woman cradles a man's head, weeping. Another woman threatens another man in front of the coat-check line. "I'll do you with my brother's shotgun, bitch," she yells. "Shotgun, bitch!" she taunts, over and over. "Shotgun, bitch!" Complicated fun indeed.
As we all know, "The Holidays" or what I call Christmastime can be quite stressful. There's in-laws, travel, work parties you really don't want to attend, purchasing expensive presents for ungrateful brats, weather--basically any number of things can go wrong and cause your stress to rise to unacceptable levels. (Kind of like what Captain Ed must have gone through when the Drudge Report was down the other morning.)
Which is why I am willing to share with you all a new drink recipe I came up with this weekend. I call it JB's Holiday Bracer and it's sure to get you through even the toughest social challenges this season. Ingredients: ice, gin, vodka (no plastic bottles of either) bourbon or rye (I find the Wild Turkey 100 proof Rye to be delicious), Angostura bitters and 7-Up (no diet). Take your shaker and add copious amounts of ice. Important step here, so no chinzing on the ice. Next add equal measures (about 2-3 1.5 ounce shots) each of the gin, vodka and bourbon or rye. Personally, I add more a little more bourbon than gin or vodka since it carries more taste, but that's up to you. Add a couple of dashes of the bitters and top the creation with a small splash of 7-Up--a splash, this is a strong drink and you don't want to be watering down the taste of the booze. Shake the concoction vigorously. The flavors should infuse each other and become one singular elixir. Pour the contents into a chilled rocks glass, garnish with a cherry and enjoy. Early field tests have shown the only problem so far is that the drink tastes so good you tend to suck them down quite quickly and immediately want another. I have to advise against this. You may consume it quickly, but let the booze settle a little in your system before going for round two. You WILL feel it the next day after two of these beauties, but most importantly whatever stress you are dealing with will seem light years away. Put on a little Brian Setzer and you will be all set. Labels: Cocktails
The Pioneer Press revives Walter Mondale from his latest electoral trouncing to help him reassert his significance to American history:
Mondale, 77, a former Minnesota attorney general and U.S. senator, was vice president under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 through 1980. He was the first vice president to have an office in the White House, have access to all presidential information and play a meaningful role in running the country. Yes, he did play a meaningful role in running the country . . . into the ground! As I understand it, not only was Mondale the first VP to have an office in the White House, he was also the first to be assigned his very own stapler and post-it note dispenser. Come on. I've lived in Minnesota all my life, have had teachers and the local media reverently genuflect at the name of Mondale the whole time, but never have I heard that he was a seminal figure in anything. Except perhaps in setting new standards for crushing electoral college defeat. But there it is, in the Pioneer Press. Walter Mondale was the first Vice President in history to play a meaningful role in running the country. I'll take their word for it and assume that the major accomplishments of the Carter years were meaningfully influenced by our man Fritz. The fall of Iran to religious extremists, American hostages shamefully paraded on an international stage, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets, domestic economic tribulations, downward spiraling national morale etc. etc. etc. All guided by the invisible, shaky hand of Walter Mondale. I buy that. But someone needs to get this information out to the wider world. For example, the Wikipedia entry for Mondale says nothing about his transformative role of the office of Vice President. They don't even see fit to cite the fact he was the first Vice President to have an office in the White House. They do mention this fact: He was the first vice president to reside at the official vice presidential residence, Number One Observatory Circle. Will the precedents never cease?! What's next, he was the first Vice President to get a locker in the White House steam room? He was the first Vice President to leave the lid up in the Oval Office restroom? The Wikipedia entry does reminds us of this irrefutable record held by Mondale: Mondale set a political record of sorts as a result of this loss [2002 Senate vs. Norm Coleman], becoming the only major party candidate in U.S. history to lose statewide elections in all 50 states. Failing a bid by Jimmy Carter to run for any statewide office in Georgia (Governor, Soil and Water Commissioner, Peanut Czar - I'm sure the rejection would be similarly overwhelming), that's a record that may stand for a thousand years. And it's that record that we should logically keep in mind when judging the significance of Walter Mondale's pronouncements on public policy matters. Meaning, that when he does deign to open his trap, perhaps some room should be cleared in the newspaper on the comics page or near the horoscope predictions. In the Pioneer Press, content of this kind gets the front page of the metro section treatment. For all I know, a new redesign will soon put the comics and horoscope on this page too. Because where else would you expect to read Walter Mondale level credibility pontification such as: Cheney's record on the facts leading up to this war is pretty appalling. He's the one who talked about imminent nuclear weapons delivery systems, chemical laboratories, the al-Qaida connection, and the Niger yellowcake and aluminum tubes. We now know he was making most of those points long after the agencies of our own government were saying, "This stuff is not true." But he kept doing it. I think that's outrageous. This response and other whoppers appear in an "interview" conducted by Bill Salisbury. In it Mondale is allowed to spout off any theories he likes, and no clarifications are asked for, no factual assertions are required. What he charges is all printed obediently without qualification. Coincidentally, Jay Nordlinger from National Review noticed this exact same phenomenon occurring with another political observer of Mondale level credibility, his old running (limping) mate Jimmy Carter. Since he left office in 1981, Carter has opined, written, and pontificated, over and over again. But he's pretty much never questioned. He's never challenged. Of course, once in a while he submits to an interview, but it's not really an interview - it's more like a fawn-fest. Carter never faces what my colleague Rick Brookhiser calls "comeback." Mondale and Carter, politicians whose domestic and foreign policies are the most repudiated in modern American history, now attaining the level of wise old sages, on domestic and foreign policy. Now that's an historical transformation. Labels: Politics-Local (04-05)
Blue Christmas
Local blogger Ana Voog, reminds us why we're thankful our stockings aren't hung over her hearth this holiday season: any recommendations of what book i should buy a man who doesn't know very much about feminism and the oppression of women, etc... but i want to help him become more familiar with these facts in a nonthreatening way - kind of a "here are the ways in which women are oppressed throughout the world" and "here are some things you can do about it, as a man" Suddenly, socks and Soap-on-a-Rope don't seem so bad after all.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Time Of The Season For Dishin'
In the winter a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of... ...hotdish. You don't have to be elderly or Protestant to appreciate the classics being served up in the Old Lutheran kitchen including such standbys as hamburger hotdish, noodle hotdish, and Tater Tot hotdish. Pre-heat the oven to 350, break open a can of cream of mushroom soup, prepare your seasonings (salt AND pepper), and bake up some of the most mild-mannered yet tasty treats in the land. If you're feeling exceptionally adventurous, you might even try to whip up a batch of Lime Jello Salad.
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied
Nearly two years ago, at the behest of a certain talk radio host who bears an uncanny resemblance to the main character in what is undoubtedly the greatest Christmas movie ever, we asked people to enter a pool predicting the date when former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would finally meet with the fate that he so richly deserves. Now, as the trial of Saddam becomes more circus-like by the day, we want to update the status of the Saddam Death Pool. First off, let's list the contestants whose dates have come and gone since our last update. Welcome to Loserville. Population: you. Mary Barre-Van Buren Gary Wilcox JD Bryant Captain Ed Steve Gigl Luke Duke Mark Cohen Joe Markham Roy Young Erik Hjelle Shawn Sarazin Barbara Paden King Banaian Robert Perry DC of Brainstorming now Sandy of the M.A.W.B. Squad Doug Vaselaar Miller's Time Carl Radsick III Steve Johnson Nancy Butler Jmrvisto Dave Reckling Martyn Speck Todd Hansen Amy MvGuire Jim Bordenkircher Thanks for playing. Better luck in our next "Pick the execution date of the recently captured tyrannical dictator" pool. Now for the survivors. Believe it or not there are only three contestants remaining. Joe Carter has Saddam scheduled to depart this veil of tears on April 24th, 2006 at 9:53PM. Mitch Berg has the Iraqis ringing in the New Year in 2007 by ringing Saddam's neck in a noose. And finally, there's Bill Koster, officially designated legal representative for Fraters Libertas (he does all his work pro-beero), regular Thursday night trivia quiz corrector at Keegan's Irish Pub, and husband to one of the most trivial thinking women in the world. Knowing the legal process as he does, Bill came up with a predication that I initially scoffed at, but have come to respect more and more as this trial drags on and on. His pick for the day when Saddam meets the executioner? Never. Let's hope that in the end true justice does prevail and Saddam pays the piper. As Michael Ledeen is wont to say, faster please.
Look Out Below
The audited numbers are in and, compared to six months ago, there are fewer people reading the local newspapers: The Star Tribune and Pioneer Press each reported declining circulation figures during the six-month period ending in September, highlighting a industry-wide downturn, according to data released Monday. Weekday circulation at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis slipped 0.2 percent to 374,528 in the most recent period, the Audit Bureau of Circulation reported. Sunday circulation numbers saw a bigger drop, falling 6 percent to 636,977. Weekday circulation at the Pioneer Press in St. Paul fell 2.8 percent to 184,497. The paper's Sunday circulation dropped 3.2 percent to 245,139. Slight decreases perhaps. But significant, considering that both coconuts of the two-headed monster comprising the print monopoly in town are shrinking simultaneously. What could possibly be causing this? My guess, either illiteracy is increasingly being embraced as a lifestyle choice or people are relying on something else for their information needs. Either way, I credit Chad the Elder's disgruntled seed sowing from last June for yielding this bitter harvest.
Have You No Sense Of Decency, Sir, At Long Last?
What kind of "man" would take advantage of the suffering of a fellow human and use evidence of an unfortunate incident to mock and belittle the appearance of the victim? Shame, Mister Hewitt, shame.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Cold Comfort
Craig Westover borrowed my authentic Wellstone! t-shirt for his Halloween costume this year. I'm not sure if he was going as some angel-headed hippie or as the Nihilist in Golf Pants. But it doesn't matter, when Westover asks for a piece of your clothing, you give it up without question. I haven't seen that garment since late October, upon making inquiries, I was told that my Wellstone! shirt may not becoming home again. At least not to my home: Your shirt and I have made it a couple of times to Keegan's, but alas, we waited and waited and you did not show. I wondered, "What would Wellstone do?" and then it hit me. I immediately went out into the street and gave the shirt to the first homeless person I saw. It wasn't easy. He kept insisting he wasn't homeless but simply visting from out of town and he hadn't yet checked into his hotel. But, being a member of the MSM, I know stuff. I knew he was as homeless as Mary and Joseph were so long ago. Nick told me so. Well, he finally took the shirt. It has a good home, and while you may be out one shirt, you have the warm satisfaction of knowing that it went to meet the needs of another fellow pilgrim on this journey we simply call "life." My resources redistributed to others, whether they really needed it or not. Yes, Wellstone! would have wanted it that way.
Government Making Decisions So You Don't Have To
In what has to be one of the most egregious recent examples of government meddling in areas far a field from its legitimate roles and responsibilities, a couple of local statists want to impose a ban on gift-card expirations: Two DFL legislators announced Thursday that they would renew their efforts to prohibit gift cards from expiring or charging penalties for delayed use. Legislation seeking a ban on time limits and fees was approved in the DFL-controlled Senate last year but never got a hearing in the Republican-controlled House. "When holiday shoppers buy a $25 gift card, they expect the card to be worth $25, not $20," said Rep. Ron Latz of St. Louis Park, who was joined by Sen. Wes Skoglund of Minneapolis. Atta boy Ron. You're making us folks here in St Louis Park so proud to call you our representative. I had no idea that the smoldering gift-card expiration date debate had reached a crisis stage where such dramatic action was required. Opponents of the legislation in the retail industry say that gift cards are wildly popular and that consumers apparently don't consider the limits to be a big problem. A big problem? How about any problem at all? Are people really having difficulty redeeming these gift cards? I know I always struggle to find a way to drag myself to a store to get FREE STUFF within a FRICKIN' YEAR (if not longer) of receiving a gift card! "These cards may be the single most popular item sold during the holiday season. ... It suggests that consumers are not as dissatisfied as these legislators," said Bruce W. (Buzz) Anderson, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association. It suggests that these legislators don't give a damn what consumers think or how the market works. Legislators "are approaching this from a real negative standpoint, as if retailers are trying to cheat people," Anderson said. "If people don't have a positive experience, they're not going to go back to the store." Here's a crazy scenario for your consideration: Company offers service. Consumers don't like said service and patronize competitor. Company changes service to get consumer back. Nah...it'll never work. We need government. Also in response to complaints, many companies in the past year have dropped the expiration dates or extended them. Among these are Half Price Books, a Dallas-based retailer that eliminated its expiration date. Skoglund and Latz chose a Half-Price store in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood to announce their push for a ban in the 2006 Legislature. Michael Miller, the company's assistant district manager for Minnesota and Iowa, said officials decided that the time limit for gift cards was in conflict with the company's basic principle of "easy to sell to and easy to buy from." He said the accounting costs of keeping track of long-dormant gift cards were "negligible" when weighed against the value of customer satisfaction and good public relations. When the announcement was made at the Half-Price store, on-lookers no doubt felt something hanging in the air, so permeating that they could almost see it. Here we had two nanny state do-gooders appearing to announce their intention to seek to employ the full force and power of government to FORCE companies to do something that the owners of the business they were at had already voluntarily CHOSEN to do in response to market forces. The layer of irony in the Half-Price Books atmosphere was thick and heavy that day my friends.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Radio Chatter
While I was punching the presets on my car radio the other day, I discovered that the venerable KLBB (1440 AM) had switched formats from the American Standard catalog of Frank, Dean, Bing, and their modern derivatives to something resembling the Mexican Standard catalog. Yes, spanish langage, peppy, jumpy music, no doubt featuring Jose, Julio, Juan and their heirs. Since I don't know Spanish, I'm not able to devine what demographic niche they're trying to appeal to. But I'd suggest an attempt to retain some of the old KLBB listeners by adapting their slogan "The Music of Your Life" to something like "The Music of your VIDA LOCA! (Bang! Bang! Bang!)" The new KLBB is the second Spanish language outlet in this market (along with Radio Rey), which seems excessive for a metro area where the overwhelming majority of residents' knowledge of Hispanic culture is provided by the fine folks at Taco Bell. But, looking in to the Google archives, it seems the turnover of KLBB shouldn't have been a surprise at all. The station underwent an ownership change in May 2005 when MPR (your tax funded ministry of information) unloaded it to Davidson Media Group, whose mission is: Davidson Media Group is a multicultural multilingual radio broadcaster that partners with local entrepreneurs (generally first generation immigrants) to build profitable and sustainable radio stations. A business model which surely melted the hearts of all MPR executives. Let's hope they took a break in their swooining long enough to negotiate a fair market price for us common citizens footing the bill for their continuing broadcasting adventures. More from the Davidson mission statement: According to all recent census data, America is increasingly diverse and increasingly multicultural. DMG recognizes and celebrates the nation's increasing depth and diversity. DMG is proud to be radio broadcaster of this 21st century multicultural and multilingual America. Multilingual America? I didn't get the memo on that one. Was it in Spanish? Even the vision of "multicultural" America has a dark edge to it, in that it's not exactly an historical prescription for national cohesiveness or, you know, avoiding civil wars. As the great Victor Davis Hanson reminds us here and here: A multiracial society works. But a multicultural one - whose separatist identity transcends the enriching and diverse elements of food, fashion, entertainment, music, etc. whether in Rwanda or the Balkans - does not, especially when new arrivals do not learn English ... This state [California], like the country at large, was a raw experiment, a multiracial society united by a common language, culture, and law. But that subjugation of race to culture is forever a fragile creation, not a natural entity. Each day it can erode. A single fool can undo the work of decades and so allow small people to feel one with those of like tongue and skin color, not united by shared ideals and values. Thus, each time a university president, a politician on the make, or a would-be muckraking journalist chooses the easy path of separatism, he, like the white chauvinists of the past, does his own little part in turning us into Rwanda or Kosovo. In summary, for the easily offended and short attention span afflicted: Multi racial, yes. Multi-cultural, no. Of course, Davidson Media Group has a right to engage in their business and if this now 21 station network thinks that it can be profitable in Minnesota with Spanish language broadcasting, I wish them all the success the market will allow. And, on the bright side, at least MPR allowed a private company to undertake this experiment in multiculturalism instead of doing it themselvs and forcing the public to pay for it.
I've Got The World On A String
Just got back from the dentist and life could not be better. After spending the last week watching every word I uttered for fear of intense pain and subsisting on a diet consisting almost exclusively of gruel (Krusty Brand Imitation Gruel at that), I had most of my fractured tooth (#10 for those wise in the ways of dentistry) removed today. And I feel fine. Better than fine. In fact, I feel good, damn good. I can chew at last. Thank God almighty, I can chew at last! And talk. I was literally singing with joy as I drove back to work from the dentist's office. A dentist who did a hell of a job with the excavation of the offending chopper I might add. Seriously, if you live in the Twin Cities west metro area and you're looking for a dentist, drop me a line. He is the man. Visions of "The Marathon Man" had danced in my head before today's appointment. Pliers, screaming, bloody towels, the whole works. But the doc managed to pull it off (and pull most of it out) with a minimum level of discomfort for me. The psychological suffering was far worse than anything I experienced physically. I can now earnestly look forward to a weekend featuring the Gopher-Badger hockey series, the NARN show on Saturday with special guest Michael J. Nelson, and a hockey game of my own on Sunday night. That's right, time to get back on the horse. Protected this time by a full face-shield of course. Sitting on a rainbow baby.
They See THESE Jobs Are Goin' Boys...
...and they (and likely the American auto industry itself) ain't coming back. From the WSJ.com, Ford Looks to Close Plants, Shed Jobs in Overhaul: Weeks after rival General Motors Corp. announced plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs next year, some details are starting to emerge about job cuts and plant closings at the U.S.'s other big auto maker, Ford Motor Co. Though Ford's plan, dubbed the "Way Forward," is still being formulated and is subject to change, the nation's second-largest auto maker is likely to shutter assembly plants in St. Louis, Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn., according to two people familiar with its product plans. Also slated for closure are an engine-parts plant in Windsor, Ontario, and a truck-assembly plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, said these people. Together, the plants employ about 7,500 workers, roughly 6% of the company's total North American work force. A Ford spokesman declined to comment on the plan, which is expected to be unveiled in January. I know that the Guv was talking about a plan for the state to "partner" (read, pass your tax dollars on to a corporation) up with Ford to redesign the St. Paul plant to produce hybrids. Remember the line about throwing good money after bad, Tim? Any state aid at this point would only postpone the inevitable. Let these jobs go.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
I think I may be getting way too cynical for my own good. Not possible, you say? Wait for it...
Last night I watched CBS's special holiday presentation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as I have every single Christmas season since my eyes first developed the ability to focus. The hour long "Animagic TV Classic" ranks just above the original "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" in my list of absolutely-must-see holiday videos (Jim Carrey's always ridiculous over-the-top performance completely ruined the live action remake...and even managed to taint the original). I clearly remember several pre-Christmas evenings from my childhood when I hastily scarfed down my dinner, sometimes even skipping dessert, so I could rush downstairs to the family room and not miss even one single second of Rankin and Bass' timeless masterpiece. This year, however, is the first I can recall that I viewed Rudolph through my ever darkening lens of bitterness and contempt. I'll admit that I watched the first half through what remains of my child-like eyes. The wonderful stop-motion animation always makes me long for the days when all I had to worry about was six hours of grade school drudgery and what Mrs. Dalsin was serving for lunch. This self-imposed illusion lasted only until our protagonists (Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius and Hermey the Elf Dentist) came upon The Island of Misfit Toys. It is here that we are introduced to the flying lion, King Moon Racer. As the Rudolph story goes, this benevolent King "rescues" toys from children who no longer want them and then imprisons them on his desolate snow encrusted island to await their eventual demise. Upon the arrival of Rudolph and crew, these horribly inconvenienced toys beg for their freedom in a wonderfully enchanting musical number with lots of misfit on misfit action including copious amounts of squirting jelly. All that aside...when Rudolph and friends eventually plead for asylum to King Moon Racer as horribly maladjusted misfits themselves, the King not only tells them to shove right off but he demands that they send Santa Claus himself to his despotic little ice sanctuary to relieve him of all the twisted toys he has collected over the years and deliver them to children who may possibly someday want them. My question at this point is, if King Moon Racer can fly around the world and pick up deformed toys from undeserving kids without the need for a magic sleigh and mutant reindeer...why in the hell can't he deliver them to some more deserving ones on the way back instead of relying on an already overburdened Santa Claus to do the dirty work? All this Moon Racer character has done is create an island of dependent and demoralized subjects who fearfully worship every beat of his so called benevolent heart. Their only hope for freedom is that the more prosperous people of neighboring Christmas Town will swoop in to rescue them...from a problem the King himself created! Island of Misfit Toys my rear end. Sounds a lot like Cuba to me. How's that for cynicism? Labels: Christmas, Television
Fat Cat Lobbyist In Bed With Politicians & Indian Gaming Interests?
No, we're not talking about Jack Abramoff. We're talking about the late Pat O'Connor, who, as Thomas Lifson points out at The American Thinker, was using tribal money to grease political wheels long before Abramoff's misdeeds came to light: But Abramaoff is not the first lobbyist to work to defeat opening a gambling establishment on behalf of other Indian gambling interests. My friend Gary Larson covered the storyof the late Pat O'Connor, which was remarkably similar to Abramoff's supposed crimes. The Gary Larson that Lifson mentions is of course a long-time FOF (Friend of Fraters) as well, and he has done extensive work covering the Indian gaming scene. Currently he's on assignment in the back woods of New Hampshire doing God knows what (maybe on the letters to the editor desk?). Lifson goes on to point out that, despite the apparent similarities, there are some key differences between Abramoff and O'Connor: 1. Sums of money. Abramoff did it, i.e., "represent" tribes, for millions. O'Connor did it for hundreds of thousands, and then got nicked for only $85 grand in sanctions (for obstruction of justice). 2. Results. O'Connor (the founding O in O'Connor & Hannan, St. Paul and Washington, D.C.) got results. The Bureau of Indian Affairs on Babbitt's watch killed a rival Indian casino planned for the now-closed Hudson dog track. Payoff to O'Connor's clients, the Shakopee Sioux and St. Croix Ojibwe bands? Hundreds of millions over years, maybe billions, in unshared profits. O'Connor got peanuts compared to Abramoff. Let's see now, what other difference? Oh yeah, O'Connor & his friends lobbing for the rich tribes were "Ds" while and presumably Abramoff and Scanlon are "Rs." Some would argue that's all the difference in the world.
You're In The MSM Now
Upon hearing the news that we had been drafted in the second round by the New York Times in Halo Hugh's MSM fantasy draft, the reaction among the staff here at Fraters Libertas was mixed. JB Doubtless: "Just give me the damn blog!" Saint Paul: "Dibs on the locker next to Maureen Dowd when we report for camp. Have we gotten that bye-week "team building" cruise on the Hudson scheduled yet?" Atomizer: "Drafted? Is it too late to go to Canada? I have relatives in Winnipeg. If we leave right now..." The Elder: "Damn. I was really hoping to be drafted by the Molokai Island Times. Let's hold out for more beer."
I discovered a dee-lightful new cocktail a couple of nights ago--the smokey (or smoked) martini.
It can be made with either gin or vodka, dry vermouth (or not) and Scotch. I brewed one up last night with equal parts (about 4 shots of each) Smirnoff and Isle of Jura Scotch and it was delicious. It doesn't SOUND particularly good, but trust me my fellow drunks, it delivers. Labels: Cocktails
Oh, I Meant The OTHER Shrill, Shriveled, Shrew
Classic gaffe moment this morning on Fox And Friends. Brian Kilmeade was interviewing Nancy "I hope the terrorists win" Pelosi and after she got through with her BS talking points about the war and the segment was wrapping up, Brian said "Oh, and good luck with the book. How's it selling?" Nancy replied "You're thinking of Barbara Boxer." And Kilmeade just said "Ted Danson is in the green room." Classic.
A Footnote to Whores' Story
One of the business decision crimes of the 21st century is the refusal of Vox Day's publisher to release his book, Media Whores, to the masses. Vox has been good enough to publish some excerpts on his blog, including the entirity of Chapter 2, where he defines a particular species of Media Whore, the Courtesan. It's laugh out loud funny stuff and a direct hit to the facades put on by the pundits he targets. Among other topics, he addresses the issue of plagiarism among the journalistic class. While I was reading that section, I must admit I was momentarrily dazed, then confused at seeing some of my unattributed prose appearing there. That's right, some unedited, uncited Fraters Libertas gold (from this post in August 2004) smack dab in the midst of a Vox Day book bound for greatness. Thankfully, before calling my lawyers to gin up a plagiarism suit and a garnishment on all future royaltees (I actually don't have any lawyers, but I can try the Power Line guys, they're always looking for an easy buck), I read the rest of his chapter, and the footnotes, and the sly joke on plagiarism was revealed. My citation was there: (6)I didn't actually write any of that. I just cut and pasted the entire thing, beginning with ?The first similarity...? from my man Saint Paul of the Fraters Libertas blog. But I manifestly did not do anything questionable because I am the proud owner of a license to steal, that is to say, a Press Card from Universal Press Syndicate. I am journalist, hear me roar! Now I have even more reason to want to see this book publlished. Who wouldn't want to be a footnote in a Vox Day book with the word "Whore" in the title?
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