Who said the following of which President this week?
""the best Republican president we've had in a while."
Give up?
Alan Greenspan said it of Bill Clinton.
Yep, Greenspan loves Bill Clinton. He especially loves Clinton's conservative economic policies. Wide open borders for trade, and fiscal responsibility were Clinton hallmarks and he pulled them off better than any Republican President since Eisenhower.
Personally, I think those policies were perfect for the time Clinton was in office. Maybe not so much today. That either makes me practical or a hypocrite depending on your perspective.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
September 12 - self-righteous ignorant assholes
Post September 11 America is a pretty lousy place to be. Yeah, we waved our flags for a few days, cried together a bit, watched the same stuff on TV, and partied at the Concert for NYC some. But all those feelings of community were very short-lived. Our true nature of ignorance, blaming each other and generally lousy human nature bubbled to the surface with great force.
Shortly after September 11, 2001 an internet asshole (who knew a bit about me personally) decided I was somewhat to blame for the attacks because I voted for Ted Kennedy. In his ignorant mind, he figured that since the planes departed from Logan Airport and Kennedy is a Massachusetts liberal, and all liberals (especially Ted) are 'soft on security and crime' then Kennedy and his supporters (like me) must be partly responsible for the deaths of the thousands in New York. I am not kidding. This asshole really did believe his argument. That moment was a revelation for me. I realized that as shocking as it was to find out how much some non-Americans hate us, we also hate each other. Mix a little self-righteousness together with the hate, and acts of cruelty are the likely result.
Last year ABC Television aired a mini-series on the 5th anniversary of the attacks. The gist of the 2 day commemorative event was to make the argument that the attacks were the fault of the Clinton Administration, and that the Bush Administration behaved with great heroism. I made a sarcastic joke about this movie on a chatboard, saying that we should always remember and never lose sight of the fact that 9-11 was Clinton's fault. Another internet asshole (also armed with some personal knowledge of me) took offense and wished me dead. He followed up his death wish with further expressions of his anger, taking swipes at me on several personal levels. Again, proving how self-righteous anger often makes Americans inflict cruelty on each other. This particular ignorant asshole was so angry and nasty toward me that I couldn't really understand why he was angry. His expressions sounded like a very young child having a tantrum. I can only guess that he thought I was making an offensive joke about him, and that it was somehow personal. If he was one of the dumbasses who really did hold Clinton primarily repsonsible (I can't know for sure), then I guess he had a good reason to be very angry at me. I was making fun of that ignorant line of reasoning, and expressing my disgust with my fellow Americans. He may have thought I was being cruel to him, but I'll probably never know that for sure.
The first major terrorist act in America (post cold war) happened in Oklahoma City. Americans killed Americans for the shear joy of expressing their hatred of each other. Joy to the world. Not.
Some lyrics from one of my favorite post-September 11 songs:
"I wil lay me down
in a bunker underground
I won't let this happen to my children
meet the real world coming out of your shell
With white elephants
sitting ducks
I will rise up
Little babies' eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes"
Shortly after September 11, 2001 an internet asshole (who knew a bit about me personally) decided I was somewhat to blame for the attacks because I voted for Ted Kennedy. In his ignorant mind, he figured that since the planes departed from Logan Airport and Kennedy is a Massachusetts liberal, and all liberals (especially Ted) are 'soft on security and crime' then Kennedy and his supporters (like me) must be partly responsible for the deaths of the thousands in New York. I am not kidding. This asshole really did believe his argument. That moment was a revelation for me. I realized that as shocking as it was to find out how much some non-Americans hate us, we also hate each other. Mix a little self-righteousness together with the hate, and acts of cruelty are the likely result.
Last year ABC Television aired a mini-series on the 5th anniversary of the attacks. The gist of the 2 day commemorative event was to make the argument that the attacks were the fault of the Clinton Administration, and that the Bush Administration behaved with great heroism. I made a sarcastic joke about this movie on a chatboard, saying that we should always remember and never lose sight of the fact that 9-11 was Clinton's fault. Another internet asshole (also armed with some personal knowledge of me) took offense and wished me dead. He followed up his death wish with further expressions of his anger, taking swipes at me on several personal levels. Again, proving how self-righteous anger often makes Americans inflict cruelty on each other. This particular ignorant asshole was so angry and nasty toward me that I couldn't really understand why he was angry. His expressions sounded like a very young child having a tantrum. I can only guess that he thought I was making an offensive joke about him, and that it was somehow personal. If he was one of the dumbasses who really did hold Clinton primarily repsonsible (I can't know for sure), then I guess he had a good reason to be very angry at me. I was making fun of that ignorant line of reasoning, and expressing my disgust with my fellow Americans. He may have thought I was being cruel to him, but I'll probably never know that for sure.
The first major terrorist act in America (post cold war) happened in Oklahoma City. Americans killed Americans for the shear joy of expressing their hatred of each other. Joy to the world. Not.
Some lyrics from one of my favorite post-September 11 songs:
"I wil lay me down
in a bunker underground
I won't let this happen to my children
meet the real world coming out of your shell
With white elephants
sitting ducks
I will rise up
Little babies' eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes"
Monday, September 10, 2007
Patriot Day - September 11
How to mark tomorrow????
The events are still fresh, the tradition of marking it are not yet set. What will become the traditions of this day? I don't want to fly my flag, that doesn't feel right. I'm sure someone will find that offensive. I'm not even comfortable with the notion that several thousand civillians dying without any warning could be 'patriots'. To me, a patriot is someone who exhibits some form of nationalism. I don't see how it relates to that day.
Patriot's Day is a Massachusetts and Maine holiday. It happens in April to mark the first battles of our war for independence against the British Empire. Today it is primarily marked by the running of The Boston Marathon, a Red Sox game and some guys marching around dressed up in costumes to elicit images of the partisan revolutionary radicals who fought for American independence.
Veterans Day is offically for honoring current members of the military. It was put into place by Woodrow Wilson on Armistice Day (the end of WWI). Today it is just another optional day off of work for most Americans.
Memorial Day's current offical purpose is honoring our war dead. It was originally put into place to honor those who died defending the Union during the US Civil War, and expanded to honor all military deaths after WWI. Currently, pop culture knows it as the first day of the summer season and the running of the Indianapolis 500. Many Americans also mark the day by honoring loved ones who have died irregardless of whether they served in the military.
What will become of September 11 in US culture? I've no idea, but the way these rememberances have morphed in the past might give some idea of how much the collective memory can change. Personally, I kind of wish it would just go away. It feels a bit to me like our national Good Friday. The day we got our ass whupped. Not very patriotic, I suppose.
The events are still fresh, the tradition of marking it are not yet set. What will become the traditions of this day? I don't want to fly my flag, that doesn't feel right. I'm sure someone will find that offensive. I'm not even comfortable with the notion that several thousand civillians dying without any warning could be 'patriots'. To me, a patriot is someone who exhibits some form of nationalism. I don't see how it relates to that day.
Patriot's Day is a Massachusetts and Maine holiday. It happens in April to mark the first battles of our war for independence against the British Empire. Today it is primarily marked by the running of The Boston Marathon, a Red Sox game and some guys marching around dressed up in costumes to elicit images of the partisan revolutionary radicals who fought for American independence.
Veterans Day is offically for honoring current members of the military. It was put into place by Woodrow Wilson on Armistice Day (the end of WWI). Today it is just another optional day off of work for most Americans.
Memorial Day's current offical purpose is honoring our war dead. It was originally put into place to honor those who died defending the Union during the US Civil War, and expanded to honor all military deaths after WWI. Currently, pop culture knows it as the first day of the summer season and the running of the Indianapolis 500. Many Americans also mark the day by honoring loved ones who have died irregardless of whether they served in the military.
What will become of September 11 in US culture? I've no idea, but the way these rememberances have morphed in the past might give some idea of how much the collective memory can change. Personally, I kind of wish it would just go away. It feels a bit to me like our national Good Friday. The day we got our ass whupped. Not very patriotic, I suppose.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Fred Thompson
This guy seems to have the stuff that many unthinking voters love: Deep voice, acting ability, tall, macho image, proven ability to lie and shovel manure, drives a pickup truck for the cameras... Therefore I think he has a real good chance to be the next President. He's Reaganesque, which is the gold standard for Republicans an many 'independent' voters. Of course, it isn't clear at all what policies he would want to pursue but no matter. He has what Americans have proven they want in a President - an image.
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