Back when George W. Bush was President the word “war” was thrown around a lot. George liked to talk about the “war on terror”. His critics were always deriding him for having a cavalierly cowboy attitude about getting us into wars. The internet buzzed with debates about what was and was not a “just war” or whether or not Iraq was a “war of choice”..etc..
Now that President Obama finally has a war of his own in Libya, we are being introduced to a new vocabulary by the bright lights of his administration. When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether or not we were in fact “at war,”one of the President’s speech writers took a deep breath and unloaded a paragraph of double-speak which ended with the wonderful new phrase…”kinetic military action”.
I’m sure that in time this will catch on and become part of the lexicon in the great halls of power in Washington in much the same way as “differently-abled” has replaced “disabled” and “draconian spending cuts” has replaced “slow the rate of growth for government spending”. Still, I worry that future generations will not fully understand some of our most time honored expressions such as:
“Kinetic military action is hell”
William T. Sherman
“If we do not end kinetic military action, it will end us”
H. G. Wells
“In kinetic military action, truth is the first casualty”
Aeschylus
“Only the dead have seen the end of kinetic military action”
Plato
“It is a good thing that kinetic military action is so terrible,or we should grow too fond of it”
Robert E. Lee
“KINETIC MILITARY ACTION!! , HHUHHUU, Good God Yaull, What is it good for..absolutely nuthin”
Edwin Starr
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
A REAL citizenship test
Newsweek is out with a story that 38% of Americans can’t pass a simple citizenship test. Intrigued, I hurried to their site to take the test myself which I naturally passed with ease. However, I am no “ordinary” citizen seeing as how I am clearly much smarter and better looking than the average American, not to mention the fact that I was born with many unfair advantages in life what with my loving two parent stable home life, and my whiteness. So I feel compelled to come to the defense of my less civic-minded neighbors by offering the suggestion that the citizenship test itself is unfair.
Seriously, does it really matter how many years we elect senators to serve? I fail to see the importance of knowing how many justices sit on the Supreme Court, and who cares if 88% of my fellow Americans can’t name a single author of the Federalist Papers? I mean the fact that 74% of us didn’t know that the Speaker of the House is next in line to the Presidency if both the President and the Vice-President pass away isn’t nearly as important as the fact that over half of us actually knew that Joe Biden IS the Vice-President. I say we need to redesign the test to bring it into the 21st century. Isn’t the whole point of these tests to insure that there is an overriding national identity to which we can all lay claim? Isn’t the purpose of citizenship to equip us to all rally around shared knowledge of what it means to be an American? Well then…I submit the following ten questions as a starting point for a new citizenship test which will test more accurately our shared awareness.
1. Name two characters from the hit reality TV show,Jersey Shore.
2. Which Kardashian sister is “the fat one”?
3. What mythical substance does Charlie Sheen have coursing through his veins?
4. Which NFL quarterback is least likely to get a Christmas card from PETA?
5. Barack Obama was born in…A. Hawaii
B. Kenya
C. Washington,DC
D. a manger because there was no room in the inn
6. What menacing world power can Sarah Palin see from her kitchen window?
7. Who of the following is most famous for their appearance in a sex video?
A. Kim Kardashian
B. Paris Hilton
C. Pamela Anderson
D. All of the above
8. What famous NFL quaterback did Jessica Simpson date?
9. Connect the famous person with their famous preferred treatment
Nancy Pelosi tanning bed
John Boehner botox
Donald Trump lipo-suction
Joan Rivers hair-spray
10. What brand of cigarettes does Charlie Sheen chain smoke?
It is my opinion that the average American would pass this test with flying colors and we could forever put to bed this notion that we Americans have no common culture, nothing that unites us. We might not know what the first ten amendments to the constitution are called but on the REAL pressing issues of our time we are fully up to speed.
Seriously, does it really matter how many years we elect senators to serve? I fail to see the importance of knowing how many justices sit on the Supreme Court, and who cares if 88% of my fellow Americans can’t name a single author of the Federalist Papers? I mean the fact that 74% of us didn’t know that the Speaker of the House is next in line to the Presidency if both the President and the Vice-President pass away isn’t nearly as important as the fact that over half of us actually knew that Joe Biden IS the Vice-President. I say we need to redesign the test to bring it into the 21st century. Isn’t the whole point of these tests to insure that there is an overriding national identity to which we can all lay claim? Isn’t the purpose of citizenship to equip us to all rally around shared knowledge of what it means to be an American? Well then…I submit the following ten questions as a starting point for a new citizenship test which will test more accurately our shared awareness.
1. Name two characters from the hit reality TV show,Jersey Shore.
2. Which Kardashian sister is “the fat one”?
3. What mythical substance does Charlie Sheen have coursing through his veins?
4. Which NFL quarterback is least likely to get a Christmas card from PETA?
5. Barack Obama was born in…A. Hawaii
B. Kenya
C. Washington,DC
D. a manger because there was no room in the inn
6. What menacing world power can Sarah Palin see from her kitchen window?
7. Who of the following is most famous for their appearance in a sex video?
A. Kim Kardashian
B. Paris Hilton
C. Pamela Anderson
D. All of the above
8. What famous NFL quaterback did Jessica Simpson date?
9. Connect the famous person with their famous preferred treatment
Nancy Pelosi tanning bed
John Boehner botox
Donald Trump lipo-suction
Joan Rivers hair-spray
10. What brand of cigarettes does Charlie Sheen chain smoke?
It is my opinion that the average American would pass this test with flying colors and we could forever put to bed this notion that we Americans have no common culture, nothing that unites us. We might not know what the first ten amendments to the constitution are called but on the REAL pressing issues of our time we are fully up to speed.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Dog Story From Japan
God gives us dogs so we can see how humanity is supposed to behave. Out of Japan this morning is a video of two dogs, one obviously injured and laying flat on the ground shivering in the cold as the snow falls. The other stands guard over his fallen friend shivering even more violently. When a camera crew approaches and tries to lure the dog away from what they assumed was the dead dog so they could feed the living one, the exhausted, hungry, and freezing dog will not budge. He will not abandon his friend, not even for food. Once the crew gets nearer they see that the other dog isn’t dead just injured. Only when they care for the fallen dog does the other dog go with them. Now we are told that both dogs were rescued and are getting care. I would like to believe this though it may be just an artificial happy ending added by journalists desperate for even a sliver of good news. I find it hard to believe that veterinarian care is up and running while 500,000 people are living with no electricity in freezing shelters.
This is nothing new. Dogs have always acted heroically in the worst of circumstances. They seem to have a sense of honor and bravery that sadly most human beings lack. I gave Molly an extra treat before I left the house this morning.
This is nothing new. Dogs have always acted heroically in the worst of circumstances. They seem to have a sense of honor and bravery that sadly most human beings lack. I gave Molly an extra treat before I left the house this morning.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Japan
I woke up this morning in the usual way. I walked downstairs, brewed some coffee, emptied the dishwasher and settled down on the couch to browse the web. I became irritated as the computer seemed to take forever to boot up. Its funny how 25 years ago I didn’t even have internet, 10 years ago I slugged along with dial-up and now I sit impatient that my wireless connection took 3 minutes to engage. Suddenly I’m confronted with the news that while I slept Japan was rocked by an earthquake, an 8.9 Richter scale monster. I watched in horror the video feeds of the epic destruction, cars bobbing up and down in raging rivers of debris like apples in a tub at a family reunion. Fires blazed at refineries, entire buildings and large boats carried along by the wild water, people stumbling around with their eyes turned upward at the swaying buildings around them. The devastation was so complete, so incomprehensible that my mind could not stand to watch any further. Immediately I checked the stock markets around the world. How would this disaster affect the financial world? It occurred to me that insurance company stocks would get hammered. What impact would it have on the company that owns my broker-dealer which happens to be an insurance company?
So far the official death toll is 16 or something but as the magnitude of the event unfolds that number will surely sky-rocket, probably into the thousands. I am unable to come to grips with the violence of the world. I watch from the comfort of my sofa as the groans of the planet consume people. Whether its an act of God like this earthquake and tsunami or it’s Khadafy’s thugs mowing down his own people in Libya, I am finding it more and more difficult to process the madness. My faith warns of this sort of thing through the prophecies of the Bible, but I take little comfort in that knowledge. Earthquakes have been with us since the dawn of time and every generation since the first century has been convinced that the coming of Christ was at hand. As wicked as the bad actors of our time may be most can’t hold a candle to Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Attila the Hun. Maybe we think its worse now because we can see the carnage on our cell phones literally within minutes, unedited. I find nothing reassuring about prophesy. Whether God is in control of events are not doesn’t change the fact that the world seems hell-bent on destruction and real flesh and blood human beings are dropping like flies…while I worry about my portfolio and the babies in Wisconsin rend their garments because the tax-payers have asked them to contribute 5.8% of their pay towards their retirement plans and 12.5% towards their health insurance. While entire ports in Japan are wiped off the map, Harry Reid laments that federal funding for the “Cowboy Poets Festival” might get slashed. Cry me a river.
I am reduced to offering up a prayer for the suffering people 7000 miles away. Somehow I must put it all out of my mind and do my job. I must do the best I can with what I’ve been given to do, which is here in a fine neighborhood in Short Pump,Virginia, far far away from Japan.
So far the official death toll is 16 or something but as the magnitude of the event unfolds that number will surely sky-rocket, probably into the thousands. I am unable to come to grips with the violence of the world. I watch from the comfort of my sofa as the groans of the planet consume people. Whether its an act of God like this earthquake and tsunami or it’s Khadafy’s thugs mowing down his own people in Libya, I am finding it more and more difficult to process the madness. My faith warns of this sort of thing through the prophecies of the Bible, but I take little comfort in that knowledge. Earthquakes have been with us since the dawn of time and every generation since the first century has been convinced that the coming of Christ was at hand. As wicked as the bad actors of our time may be most can’t hold a candle to Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Attila the Hun. Maybe we think its worse now because we can see the carnage on our cell phones literally within minutes, unedited. I find nothing reassuring about prophesy. Whether God is in control of events are not doesn’t change the fact that the world seems hell-bent on destruction and real flesh and blood human beings are dropping like flies…while I worry about my portfolio and the babies in Wisconsin rend their garments because the tax-payers have asked them to contribute 5.8% of their pay towards their retirement plans and 12.5% towards their health insurance. While entire ports in Japan are wiped off the map, Harry Reid laments that federal funding for the “Cowboy Poets Festival” might get slashed. Cry me a river.
I am reduced to offering up a prayer for the suffering people 7000 miles away. Somehow I must put it all out of my mind and do my job. I must do the best I can with what I’ve been given to do, which is here in a fine neighborhood in Short Pump,Virginia, far far away from Japan.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Strange Place in Life
My son comes home for spring break this week, the last one of his college career. I’m not quite sure how I should feel about this. Part of me is eternally grateful that the tortured years of relentless tuition bill paying are drawing to a close. Another part of me is feeling a loss of something. Maybe once the last college bill is paid I will no longer have children. I will instead have a grown son and a grown daughter and that feels like a loss.
I am at a strange place in life. I seem suddenly aware of the march of time and its effects on who I am. There is a physical dimension to it, I have more wrinkles, more gray hairs, and I notice almost daily some new rude diminishment of strength or agility. More troubling however are the changes I notice in the world around me, both real and perhaps imagined. I have watched the painful physical and mental decline of my father, a man of legendary strength, energy and good cheer who now shuffles along in silence lost in his thoughts. The thought occurs to me as I watch him that perhaps I am glimpsing my future.
A strange place in life. Ten years ago most of the joy and vigor were supplied by the excitement and fury of raising teenagers. Every week it was something else. Life was a boisterous stream of concerts, baseball games, projects, mission trips, homecoming games, proms and birthday parties. I had no time to ponder new wrinkles. Any spare time I had was devoured by youth group activities, summer camp and golf. Now I find that I have a bumper crop of spare time with nothing to fill it. All of the things I dreamed of spending more time doing when I was younger now simply don’t interest me. Golf is fine, a nice 4 hour walk, but I don’t care about it anymore. Although I still love baseball, it becomes harder and harder each year to find the passion I once had for the game. It doesn’t help that I noticed the other day while watching a spring training game on television that three consecutive commercials aired extolled the virtues of a retirement community in Coral Gables, adult undergarments, and a male sexual aid. What a fascinating demographic!
I’m starting to believe that everything comes with a shelf life, and mostly I’m grateful. My addiction to bubble gum was thankfully brief. My infatuation with side burns came and mercifully went. My devotion to Mad magazine eventually waned. My youthful attraction to socialist politics vaporized the first time my tax return was audited. But some of the things that I’ve lost interest in bother me. Church has become a painful hour, a festival of boredom. My work in the investment business has become so utterly unfulfilling it makes toll collecting look positively erotic by comparison. I’m good at it and my income would be envied by most but even that is nothing more than a trap. Although I hate the business I’m chained to it by the income it produces.
All is not lost. I still love my wife and adore my family. The awkward tediousness of this moment will pass since it too has a shelf life. I need to recreate myself, find some new interest. I must recapture a jest for life and its great possibilities. I’m 52...not 82.
I am at a strange place in life. I seem suddenly aware of the march of time and its effects on who I am. There is a physical dimension to it, I have more wrinkles, more gray hairs, and I notice almost daily some new rude diminishment of strength or agility. More troubling however are the changes I notice in the world around me, both real and perhaps imagined. I have watched the painful physical and mental decline of my father, a man of legendary strength, energy and good cheer who now shuffles along in silence lost in his thoughts. The thought occurs to me as I watch him that perhaps I am glimpsing my future.
A strange place in life. Ten years ago most of the joy and vigor were supplied by the excitement and fury of raising teenagers. Every week it was something else. Life was a boisterous stream of concerts, baseball games, projects, mission trips, homecoming games, proms and birthday parties. I had no time to ponder new wrinkles. Any spare time I had was devoured by youth group activities, summer camp and golf. Now I find that I have a bumper crop of spare time with nothing to fill it. All of the things I dreamed of spending more time doing when I was younger now simply don’t interest me. Golf is fine, a nice 4 hour walk, but I don’t care about it anymore. Although I still love baseball, it becomes harder and harder each year to find the passion I once had for the game. It doesn’t help that I noticed the other day while watching a spring training game on television that three consecutive commercials aired extolled the virtues of a retirement community in Coral Gables, adult undergarments, and a male sexual aid. What a fascinating demographic!
I’m starting to believe that everything comes with a shelf life, and mostly I’m grateful. My addiction to bubble gum was thankfully brief. My infatuation with side burns came and mercifully went. My devotion to Mad magazine eventually waned. My youthful attraction to socialist politics vaporized the first time my tax return was audited. But some of the things that I’ve lost interest in bother me. Church has become a painful hour, a festival of boredom. My work in the investment business has become so utterly unfulfilling it makes toll collecting look positively erotic by comparison. I’m good at it and my income would be envied by most but even that is nothing more than a trap. Although I hate the business I’m chained to it by the income it produces.
All is not lost. I still love my wife and adore my family. The awkward tediousness of this moment will pass since it too has a shelf life. I need to recreate myself, find some new interest. I must recapture a jest for life and its great possibilities. I’m 52...not 82.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A Lost Week
Rough week coming to a close. On Tuesday evening I developed a cough and by 9 am Wednesday I had the entire package, fever, chills, and body aches. So I head over to Patient First and was given a wonder-drug...TAMIFLU. Stuff worked like a charm on all the flu symptoms, but ever since I took the first dose I have been in a slow-motion fog. It's like, I'm better but I'm not myself..AT ALL. I missed the rest of the week and now the week is over and tomorrow I'm back at it with a light schedule Monday and Tuesday.
I'm just not a very good sick person. By Thursday I was about ready to jump off a cliff from boredom so I decided that Molly needed a bath and I was just the right person to give it to her. Twenty minutes later I could hardly get out of the shower and back into bed. What a moron! Giving a 95 pound dog a bath isn't something anyone should attempt without total control of all of their faculties. Lesson learned.
I'm just not a very good sick person. By Thursday I was about ready to jump off a cliff from boredom so I decided that Molly needed a bath and I was just the right person to give it to her. Twenty minutes later I could hardly get out of the shower and back into bed. What a moron! Giving a 95 pound dog a bath isn't something anyone should attempt without total control of all of their faculties. Lesson learned.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Book Reviewer!!
I read a lot and I have strong opinions so I’ve often wondered how great it would be to be a book reviewer. Then it dawned on me that I have this Blog! So what’s to stop me from doing a mini book review post? Well…nothing actually so here goes a brief review of each book I have read in 2011.
1. The Art of War......... Sun Tzu
I had always wanted to read this book since it has had such an impact on so many military types through the years. Its really nothing more than a collection of warfare wisdom, sort of like a book of proverbs for soldiers. Some of the entries are especially profound though when viewed through the prism of history. Generals who have chosen to ignore the advice in this book have paid the price.
2. Lion of Liberty........... Harlow Unger
This is a biography of Patrick Henry and although I thought I knew the subject well,having graduated from a high school bearing his name, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a lot of new information. First of all..he fathered 17 children??!! Secondly, it turns out that Henry would have utterly detested both the modern day Democrat and Republican parties. Not only was Patrick Henry perhaps the “first” patriot but maybe the first Libertarian! Fun read. Light history here though, not terribly detailed.
3.American Colossus......... H.W. Brands
Now THIS is heavy history complete with nearly 75 pages of footnotes. Brands covers the period from the end of the civil war through 1900 subtitling his work “the triumph of capitalism”. This was the era of the robber barons and I read it because it’s the one part of American history where my knowledge is the weakest. The story of the titans of industry like Rockefeller,Vanderbilt and Carnegie did not disappoint but was balanced nicely with the downside to industrialization ie..labor unrest, working conditions,corruption etc. Enjoyable and informative.
4.The Reagan I Knew.......... W.F. Buckley
Couldn’t resist this one…two of my favorite people of the 20th century and especially since February was the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth. This was also the last book Buckley wrote before his death just last year. It was mostly a collection of their over 30 years worth of correspondence. Very entertaining stuff,especially the humor back and forth concerning their famous disagreement over the Panama canal.
5.In Cold Blood........... Truman Capote
Sometimes one must strive mightily to separate the artist from the art, as I have to whenever reading anything by Gore Vidal. I had never read this famous book largely because of what a loathsome and pathetic creature I consider its author to be. But he’s long since gone to his just reward and so I picked up a paperback edition and was spellbound from the very first paragraph! Capote was indeed a world class asshole but the man could write!! Gripping, beautiful work.
6. Where Men Win Glory........... Jon Krakauer
Read this wanting to learn more about the story of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who gave up huge money to join the army rangers and fight for his country after 9/11. And learn I did…and none of it good. Turns out he was a profane ,confused and godless man and the knuckleheads who covered up the truth of his death were even worse. Krakauer had a huge axe to grind with Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld etc.. and it comes through loud and clear which made this book read more like a left-wing blog than an even-handed look at a complicated but inspiring story.
7.Confederates In The Attic........ Tony Horwitz
Hilarious and totally disturbing. Horwitz rides through the south trying to discover what the deal is with our obsession with all things civil war. He shines a much needed light on some of the insane darkness that surrounds much of it but he also betrays a fondness for our more charming side. Great book in that one minute you’re ashamed to be a southerner and the next minute you’re fighting back the tears at the grace and beauty that come with territory down here…good stuff.
8.Tough Without a Gun.......... Stefan Kanfer
A biography of Humphrey Bogart written by someone named “Stefan” has its own irony but this book was worth it. Like all heroes Bogart had plenty of warts. But I knew most of them coming in. What astonished me was the work ethic of the man, the sheer volume of his work. Bogart was one of a kind and we may never see anyone like him again. This book was a bit depressing for me though…again an essentially godless but talented man.
9. The Apostle............ Brad Thor
Brad Thor?? REALLY? Anyway..every once in awhile I pick up something by a Vince Flynn, Andrew Clavin, or Brad Thor just for an escapism fix. Since 24 went off the air occasionally I need to be reassured that there are indestructible types out there keeping us safe. This one wasn’t worth the time. Been there…done that
1. The Art of War......... Sun Tzu
I had always wanted to read this book since it has had such an impact on so many military types through the years. Its really nothing more than a collection of warfare wisdom, sort of like a book of proverbs for soldiers. Some of the entries are especially profound though when viewed through the prism of history. Generals who have chosen to ignore the advice in this book have paid the price.
2. Lion of Liberty........... Harlow Unger
This is a biography of Patrick Henry and although I thought I knew the subject well,having graduated from a high school bearing his name, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a lot of new information. First of all..he fathered 17 children??!! Secondly, it turns out that Henry would have utterly detested both the modern day Democrat and Republican parties. Not only was Patrick Henry perhaps the “first” patriot but maybe the first Libertarian! Fun read. Light history here though, not terribly detailed.
3.American Colossus......... H.W. Brands
Now THIS is heavy history complete with nearly 75 pages of footnotes. Brands covers the period from the end of the civil war through 1900 subtitling his work “the triumph of capitalism”. This was the era of the robber barons and I read it because it’s the one part of American history where my knowledge is the weakest. The story of the titans of industry like Rockefeller,Vanderbilt and Carnegie did not disappoint but was balanced nicely with the downside to industrialization ie..labor unrest, working conditions,corruption etc. Enjoyable and informative.
4.The Reagan I Knew.......... W.F. Buckley
Couldn’t resist this one…two of my favorite people of the 20th century and especially since February was the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth. This was also the last book Buckley wrote before his death just last year. It was mostly a collection of their over 30 years worth of correspondence. Very entertaining stuff,especially the humor back and forth concerning their famous disagreement over the Panama canal.
5.In Cold Blood........... Truman Capote
Sometimes one must strive mightily to separate the artist from the art, as I have to whenever reading anything by Gore Vidal. I had never read this famous book largely because of what a loathsome and pathetic creature I consider its author to be. But he’s long since gone to his just reward and so I picked up a paperback edition and was spellbound from the very first paragraph! Capote was indeed a world class asshole but the man could write!! Gripping, beautiful work.
6. Where Men Win Glory........... Jon Krakauer
Read this wanting to learn more about the story of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who gave up huge money to join the army rangers and fight for his country after 9/11. And learn I did…and none of it good. Turns out he was a profane ,confused and godless man and the knuckleheads who covered up the truth of his death were even worse. Krakauer had a huge axe to grind with Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld etc.. and it comes through loud and clear which made this book read more like a left-wing blog than an even-handed look at a complicated but inspiring story.
7.Confederates In The Attic........ Tony Horwitz
Hilarious and totally disturbing. Horwitz rides through the south trying to discover what the deal is with our obsession with all things civil war. He shines a much needed light on some of the insane darkness that surrounds much of it but he also betrays a fondness for our more charming side. Great book in that one minute you’re ashamed to be a southerner and the next minute you’re fighting back the tears at the grace and beauty that come with territory down here…good stuff.
8.Tough Without a Gun.......... Stefan Kanfer
A biography of Humphrey Bogart written by someone named “Stefan” has its own irony but this book was worth it. Like all heroes Bogart had plenty of warts. But I knew most of them coming in. What astonished me was the work ethic of the man, the sheer volume of his work. Bogart was one of a kind and we may never see anyone like him again. This book was a bit depressing for me though…again an essentially godless but talented man.
9. The Apostle............ Brad Thor
Brad Thor?? REALLY? Anyway..every once in awhile I pick up something by a Vince Flynn, Andrew Clavin, or Brad Thor just for an escapism fix. Since 24 went off the air occasionally I need to be reassured that there are indestructible types out there keeping us safe. This one wasn’t worth the time. Been there…done that
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