March 30, 2010
The Stupidest Argument about Health Care Reform Ever
The Neocons Weigh In
By Werther*
After a year of listening to health care hyperbole on both sides of the partisan abyss one would have thought the reservoir of far-fetched arguments must have been exhausted. But the neoconservatives, the cabal that brought us "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, are more than up to the task. Max Boot, neocon sachem and contributor to the various publications of the far-flung Rupert Murdoch empire, is sure to win the championship for idiotic commentary on health care legislation by virtue of his latest effort in the Wall Street Journal. [1]
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March 29, 2010
Bipartisan Obloquy
Folks on the left love to ridicule the idiots on the right. The "tea-partiers" who worry the U.S. is headed towards Socialism but at the same time want more jobs programs. The Bible-thumpers who deny Darwin and who believe that 5,000 years ago man walked with dinosaurs (there's probably a significant overlap here with the 20% of American adults who think that the sun orbits the earth). The true believers in Ayn Rand... Yet anybody who's associated with the left for any length of time knows that there's also something of a mirror-image group of loony leftists. My favorite example would be the near lock-step belief on the left that virtually unrestricted immigration is a "good thing," when it should be obvious on the face of it that having an unlimited supply of low-wage, illegal immigrants makes it impossible to establish a living minimum wage for American citizens and also makes it much more difficult to organize for better wages all the way up the labor ladder. This is, however, a rational argument, and as such can easily be discredited for being an invidious supposition.
March 28, 2010
Buggery in the Vatican
It's a pity that homosexuals and pederasts are in charge of the Catholic Church. No official records exist, but informed speculation puts the number of priests who are homosexual at well over fifty percent; moreover, educated guesses suggest that more than a few have inclinations to pederasty (the U.S. Catholic Church alone, for example, having now paid over $1.3 billion to avoid civil trials). It's no accident. Over the centuries, probably ever since the Roman Church adopted its notions of priestly celibacy, homosexuals have flocked to become priests, to enjoy in private the company of other homosexuals and, if so inclined, to take advantage of public trust and the fact that in so many ways the Church operates outside the law, to indulge in sexual assaults on children. Most priests are also misogynists. Almost all of them are alcoholics. What kind of religious organization is it, anyway?
March 26, 2010
On the Trail of "X-Woman"
Several reports, such as this one from BBC, firmly place within establishment science the recent discovery of a previously unknown hominin living in Siberia about 50,000 years ago, exactly in the same way that establishment science acquired Homo floresiensis, or "the hobbit," whose bones were discovered in 2003, in Indonesia. But the pinkie with the odd DNA that's just turned up could well have an even more important story to tell: Hominin cryptids may still be living among us. Why the mainstream doesn't even acknowledge the possibility, I don't know, but it seems logical to credit a multitude of folk reports with some basis in fact. It wouldn't surprise me at all if someday soon somebody makes public some definitive proof of a live Sasquatch.
March 22, 2010
I Don't Believe In It
About twenty years ago Jimmy Carter shook hands with me over a tea cup, more or less by accident, as I happened to be visiting a misguided friend of mine at the Manhattan Institute when Carter unexpectedly popped in. Carter is just a little guy, but he stands ramrod straight and his eyes are very bright, very blue. He dresses sharply and at that time he still had his grin. The health care "reform" process reminds me of President Carter because his former polling guru, Pat Caddell, has, I think, foretold the story that will ensue.
March 21, 2010
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
One week of jury duty. Monday to get selected. Tuesday morning the trial starts. It's a criminal case. Late Thursday afternoon it goes to the jury. Late Friday afternoon the jury reaches a verdict. Guilty, on each of the three counts. I was foreman. Overall a fascinating experience. The DC court system can work reasonably well; our judge was outstanding.
March 17, 2010
In Texas It's Hard to Tell the Lions From the Jackels
By Richard Greener
I appreciate the response by "Werther" and find myself in agreement with nearly all its substantive points, none of which — as far as I could tell — seem to be in opposition to anything I said. I was impressed by the use of a mysterious pen name and wish I had one myself. As a novelist it would seem fitting. Some of my friends agree and have already made suggestions. One in particular also questioned Werther's judgment when he referred to me as "civilized." Here I proudly and vigorously took Werther's side.
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March 15, 2010
The Lions Of Texas?
More Like Jackals: A Dissenting View
By Werther*
We believe author Richard Greener has done a disservice to the Texas school book issue by assuming the lofty patrician pose of wearily stating that of course all history is politicized, and saying, in effect, "a plague on all your houses." Naturally one can find numerous epigrams from historians and eminent figures of the past making the point that history is highly subjective. We all know that Henry Ford said history is bunk. But the point of an epigram is to be witty and memorable, not to be a comprehensive and nuanced description of reality. A humorist like Mencken would concede that.
Jury Duty
Well, eventually it had to happen. Today I got selected for jury duty, for a criminal trial. Thank goodness, the guy I had had scheduled for an interview Wednesday afternoon was willing to reschedule for Tuesday night (tomorrow), which means we'll have a show next week. This Friday — probably that's when the jury will start its deliberations — I'll be even more zombified than I usually am on Fridays (I get up in the wee hours to finish production of the show), but I think that we'll be able to keep to our normal podcasting timetable. Knock on wood!
March 14, 2010
The Lions Of Texas Find Their Historian
By Richard Greener
The lions of Texas are on the loose. As the ancient African proverb predicts, they have found their historian. The powers that be in the old Republic of Texas, now in name at least a state in the Union called The United States of America, have decided to rewrite the History schoolbooks. They have voted to remove Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University of Virginia and third President of the United States, from the list of those taught as being influential in forming American ideals and values. Jefferson is being replaced by a contemporary woman from Illinois named Phyllis Schlafly. I'm not kidding. They really did that. Ms. Schlafly is best known for her love of Jesus and her hatred of gays, liberals and progressives of all kinds including feminists. Many people are taking this historical detour very seriously, just as they take History very seriously. They shouldn't.
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March 10, 2010
Jihad Jane
Excuse me, PBS Newshour, but "Jihad Jane" is not a news story. Instead of pretending that our national security organs have scored a major coup, that INTERPOL and every other foreign security service are taking this seriously, why don't you spend more than fifteen seconds on Israel's move to construct new apartments on Palestinian land? Did you notice, by the way, that Israel made the announcement during Vice President Biden's visit? That's real news. Why spend five minutes on "Jihad Jane?" She's just one more American suffering from bipolar disorder. Out of every ten thousand people like her perhaps one will become sufficiently agitated to climb a water tower and start shooting. But she and most of the rest probably would do fine if they take their medications. Who's kidding whom that she's news?
March 8, 2010
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns have started appearing at the local Whole Foods. The bakers there almost certainly have no idea what a hot cross bun is, where it came from, or why they make them around this time of year. In particular, they clearly don't understand that hot cross buns are not supposed to have the texture of a bagel. No. The buns are supposed to be soft, though chewy, made from raised dough. With spices, some sultanas, some candied citrus. Preferably, for me, a sweetened cross on top. It's a Christian tradition but goes back much farther, possibly to the dawn of time. One wonders whether cooking was the true origin of humanity...
March 7, 2010
Bravo, Iceland!
When the BBC abandons any pretense at objectivity, you know there's a story. Listening to the BBC the last few days (the bias comes through more clearly on the air than on their website), you'd think that all Icelanders fantasize about becoming bank robbers. Now they've voted, by a 93% majority, on a referendum that rejects onerous terms for paying back the UK and the Netherlands for failed Icelandic banks. The establishment spin is that the vote doesn't matter, that the Icelandic government says it will pay back the money anyway. We'll see. It's not a simple question. The advantages that may accrue to Iceland from continuing to refuse to pay may well be substantial. And I would include on that list not joining the EU.
March 5, 2010
Jive Aces with Keely Smith
March 3, 2010
Tolstoy's Station
At the age of 82, the Christian anarcho-pacifist vegetarian, Count Leo Tolstoy, wishing to live the life of an itinerant ascetic, ran away from home but didn't make it very far — only about eighty miles — before dying in a nondescript rural railway station, of a cold that turned into bronchitis. Such was the sad death of a passably great writer.
Considering the profound influence that Tolstoy's ideas about non-violence had had on Mohandas, aka "Mahatma", Gandhi (they corresponded for about a year before Tolstoy's death), and subsequently on many others — including Nobel Peace Prize laureates Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. — we should properly consider Tolstoy, in addition to being a writer, a seminal political philosopher, most overtly so in later phases of his life. He was also clearly crazy.
March 1, 2010
Down and Out on the European Animal Farm
By Diana Johnstone
PARIS — For Europe's poorest countries, European Union membership has long held out the promise of tranquil prosperity. The current Greek financial crisis ought to dispel some of their illusions.
There are two strikingly significant levels to the current crisis. While primarily economic, the European Union also claims to be a community, based on solidarity — the sisterhood of nations and brotherhood of peoples. However, the economic deficit is nothing compared to the human deficit it exposes.
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