Nobody 671

Sunday, November 5, 2006
Nobody # 671

Nobody Asked Me But:

Rowdy Yates turned out all right and so did Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood has become one of Hollywood’s Masters. Not only has he directed 5 great films, but four of them are among the best of all time in separate genres: “Unforgiven,” (1992) in the western, “Mystic River,” (2003) in the crime-drama, “Million Dollar Baby” (2005) in sports and now, “Flags Of Our Fathers,” (2006) it its portrayal of war. The fifth, “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” (1976) which opened his door to greatness, is another top-ten western.

I saw “Flags” (below) last Sunday. Although the plot centers on the three survivors of the second flag-raising on Iwo Jima, the real story is the war itself - detached and intimate, heroic and common, but always and unforgettably terrible. The three men, given the unwanted label of hero, ask “How can I be a hero when there are so many dead left behind and both my act and my survival were accidents?” Indeed, for the fighting men (and now women) in the hell that is war, life and death are rolls of the dice. I’m no fool. I know that, as in WWII, there are times when Americans must fight and die.

But part of the human tragedy is that too often we place our fate in the hands of brutes and idiots.<<<

Poor Ryan. I promised my newly teen-aged grandson that if he gave me 10% of his Halloween collection, I would give him driving lessons the next time I see him. But he wrote back that:

Hey grandpa,

Sorry, but I got no candy! There was a rip in my bag that I didn’t know about, and every piece fell out. I was really sad. And mom says I’m much too young to drive. But yeah, my costume (the black knight from Monty Pyton's Holy Grail) got a lot of praise. It was really cool.

love, Ryan<<<

Bruin Basketball The Bruins opened up their pre-season last Thursday with a 30-point win over a decent Cal Poly, Pomona, and I was slightly disappointed. If I am not careful, I may make this season tough on myself. I have set my expectations so high that I must be guard about being unduly disappointed every time we fail to look like the nation’s best. I suppose that is understandable in that we are one of the nation’s best.<<<

Here is the answer to last week’s question of the week: Which of the following categories of speech is never protected by the First Amendment? a. Indecent speech on the Internet b. Four-letter words c. Obscenity d. Nudity The answer is c. Obscenity is not a protected right, but it is narrowly defined so that free speech is not at the mercy of a censor’s whim. Follow-up question: Have we liberalized or “libertarianized” to the point that it is too narrowly defined?<<<

Headline: Starbucks wants to save you a trip across the street. Reaction: As much as I would love a closer Starbucks, I draw the line at their attempt to buy out Alice and Katz next door. However, if they want to take-over and make-over the house to our east, I wouldn’t mind.<<<

On Tuesday’s election: The place is Tennessee. The race is to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bill Frist. The candidates are Harold Ford Jr. a Democrat who happens to be black and Bob Corker, the white former mayor of Chattanooga. Why do I emphasize their race? Does it matter? Apparently it does to the Republican National Committee who, in a desperate attempt to appeal to the racism they hope still lies hidden somewhere in hearts of white Tennesseans, recently ran an add featuring a scantily clad white woman winking and saying "Harold, call me."

The message is as old as slavery itself. Free those blacks, give them power and before you know it they will be bedding our women. That’s not just dirty politics, that’s evil. And seemingly evil has found its level in Tennessee. As of the very latest polls, Corker has opened up a substantial lead, and among the third who admitted they were influenced by the above ad, they broke for Corker over Ford by a 2-1 margin.

Can you read this without feeling despair? I can’t!<<<

But my fingers are crossed that Wednesday morning will bring glad tidings that the Democratic Party has regained control of Congress. (Although a majority in the Senate is seeming less and less likely.) If this is the case, how should they proceed?

First, they should replace the Bush concept of the supremacy of the executive with the Constitutional principle of the separation and balance of power. As to the program they should pursue, I have laid out some general ideas in this E-letter in response to a column written by former Newt Gingrich lieutenant and House Whip, Dick Armey:

Dear Mr. Armey,

I am a liberal Democrat but found your piece in today's Washington Post both perceptive and interesting. I hope the new Democratic majorities are smart enough to (1) govern from center-left rather than far left and (2) govern as a party with ideas rather than simply reactions. Impeach the President? No, although there is certainly more cause than for the farce that was the impeachment of Bill Clinton. But it would be divisive to a country already too divided and would continue the dangerous trend of making impeachment less than the serious thing intended by the Constitution.

We do part company, however, on the role of government. While I oppose large for large sake, I also oppose small so that a small minority of the private sector can get richer. Too many Republicans have forgotten the tag line on that famous saying by the greatest of all Republicans, (no, not Newt) A. Lincoln, who, after saying that government "should do for people what they cannot do for themselves," added, "or do as well."

So here's to a Democratic "Contract With America" that is wise in foreign policy and caring in domestic, that defends our country without pandering to interest groups nor doing harm to the Bill Of Rights, that balances the budget while at the same time providing truly equal opportunity for all.<<<

On Iraq: Peter Bergen, a senior fellow of the New America Foundation, and the author of “The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda’s Leader”makes an interesting point. Osama wants a legitimate Jihadist Islamic state as a starting place for his radical Islamic empire, and we must prevent a part of Iraq from becoming one.

For this reason he is adamantly opposed to a complete withdrawal, which would be seen as a sign of weakness. Instead we should make the American presence less visible by withdrawing American troops to bases in central and western Iraq and rely on contingents of Special Forces to hunt militants.

Reaction: I still say that to soften our presence the bases should be outside Iraq but, other than that, Bergan’s thesis makes a lot of sense.<<<

From Slate: “Rush Limbaugh Fakes Stupidity. You may think he's dumb as a chair, but it's all an act.” Sorry but I don’t buy it. No one is that good an actor!<<<

True or false:

Florida Republican Congressman Clay Shaw has been running radio ads to boast of his record working closely with a President, but the one he's talking about is Bill Clinton. (True)

Spider silk is 5 times stronger than steel? (True)<<<

At the Stones performance at Bill Clinton's 60th birthday show in New York City this past week Sir Mick Jagger told the crowd when he stepped onstage, "I'd like to welcome President Clinton. And I see she's brought her husband."

Reaction: That which is said in jest often becomes reality – and in this case not one to be feared.<<<
And while on the subject of the Clintons, a remark by Bill is my pick for quote of the week. While speaking in Tucson, he said:

"We are not about cut and run, but we do believe in stop and think."<<<

Did I tell you about our lost clothes? Because our suitcases were not large enough to bring home both what we brought and bought, we mailed a box of dirty clothes home from Cirencester. (right) You can send such items home without worrying about customs – but not without worry about their eventual arrival. We sent them by the slowest route, which still cost close to $100, and were told that it would take “about” one week. After 20 days we started to worry a little, after 25, a lot, and after 30 we gave them up for lost. But on the 40th day the postman brought them – the box a little beat up but our clothes intact.<<<

And just in case you might think otherwise, it was a simple coincidence that most of the new (and sharp) size xx tee-shirts in England that actually fit me were from a store called Fat Face.<<<

When I think back over our trip or see UK pictures gliding across as my screen saver, I am filled with memories that warm me from head to little toe. Such it is with all our trips. But the joy of being gone doesn’t take away from the joy of the return. Thus I borrowed the following lines from the great Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, and revised them a bit.

In “Maud Muller” he wrote the famous:

Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, “It might have been.”

My poor but appropriate revision:

Of all glad words of tongue or pen
The gladdest are these, “Home again.”<<<