Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power

Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power is a great look at the rise of the West's "style" of military culture and why it has been, to this point at least, essentially undefeatable (ok, maybe not a word).

It starts in the preface with a look at the march of the 10,000 back to Greece following the battle at Cunaxa and ends in the epilogue with a rather gloomy portrait of the future with genuine battles of West v. West (battles/wars that have generally produced the most brutal and horrific results).

The key elements of the brutal way Western cultures wage war include:

Relatively free soldiers, at least compared to the non-West.
Decisive or Shock Battle intended to obliterate the opposition.
Citizen soldiers.
Landed soldiers.
Technology and Appreciation of Reason (scientific method).
The Economy that can produce the Decisive or Shock Battle (my favorite chapter is entitled The Market--or Capitalism Kills...about the Battle of Lepanto in 1571).
The Discipline of Western soldiering.
(and the seemingly opposite of the foregoing Discipline) Individualism of same.
Finally, the Dissent and Self-Critique of the so-called loss of Tet.

There are great reviews at the amazon site so I won't try to give a real review here (a problem with reading a book five years following its publication.

Rather, I'll just excerpt a few passages that piqued my interest and made me want to read more of the author's work.

The first:

The great hatred of capitalism the hearts of the oppressed, ancient and modern, I think, stems not merely from the ensuing vast inequality of wealth, and the often unfair and arbitrary nature of who profits and who suffers, but from the silent acknowledgment that under a free market economy the many victims of the greed of the few are still better off than those under the utopian socialism of the well-intended. It is a hard thing for the poor to acknowledge benefits from their rich moral inferiors who never so intended it. (pp. 271-2; Lepanto)

It will come as no surprise to my reader that such a passage would be one of my favorites. It comes from the Capitalism Kills chapter.

The second:

For good or evil, few Westerners believe that a sacred cow is more important than a human, that the emperor is superior to the individual person, that a religious pilgrimage is the fulfillment of a human's life, that in war a suicidal charge is often required for an individual's excellency, or that a combatant must risk his or her life to save the emperor's picture. (p. 387; Midway)

The third:

How odd that the institutions that can thwart the daily battle progress of Western arms can also ensure the ultimate triumph of its cause. If the Western commitment to self-critique in part caused the American defeat in Vietnam, then that institution was also paramount in the explosion of Western global influence in the decades after the war--even as the enormous and often bellicose Vietnamese army fought for a regime increasingly despised at home, shunned abroad, and bankrupt economically and morally. (p. 439; Tet)

The fourth:

Buying and selling is a human trait, but the abstract protection of private property, the institutionalization of interest and investment, and the understanding of market are not. Capitalism is more than the sale of goods, more than the existence of money, and more than the presence of the bazaar. Rather, it is a peculiar Western practice that acknowledges the self-interest of man and channels that greed to the production of vast amounts of goods and services through free markets and institutionalized guarantees of personal profit, free exchange, deposited capital, and private property. (p. 445; Epilogue)

And finally:

Nope, can't reproduce that one...the last paragraph of the book...that's VDH's. You should read it.

I wish this reader had been more able to resolve the conflict between Discipline of Western infantry (including the ability to fight and march in what had always seemed ridiculous rows of infantry shooting, kneeling and reloading that we see in the movies of the Revolutionary War...that just seem nuts to me though it makes much more sense to me in its origins of the phalanxes after reading Gates of Fire) and the Individualism of the pilots that led to victory at Midaway.

Though not excerpted, my favorite chapters (probably because I had so little knowledge of their subjects) were about the battles at Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) by Cortes and the Conquistadors and Rorke's Drift by the British over the Zulus.

I have tried to diligently reproduce VDH's paragraphs but my typing ability is less than stellar.
To the extent of any errors, I accept full responsibility. [Note: I've been up since 5:00 so I reserve the right to make extensive edits. Dang, big post, but at least none of the thoughts were original.]

“Impeccably Multicultural”

While Mark Steyn was a day late and a dollar short in his Abdul Rahman Sun-Times piece yesterday, his column did contain this gem:

In a more culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of "suttee" -- the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. General Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural:

''You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

Scooter = Webmaster

I fixed the right side...ta-da! (It was Michael's first Origins of SSJ post that did it... too many "......." separating parts un et deux of the first post.) Weakness of the site I suppose, that a post could affect the template.

Re: VW commercials

He's also the Russian space station guy in Armageddon. Saw two of them over the weekend and LJ is right, very Sprockets.

All Hail McAfee AntiSpyware/Antivirus

The scan took almost all day yesterday, honestly, about twelve hours. It detected and deleted over fifty trojans and more than 70 pups (potentially unwanted programs, mostly adware programs). The home machine is now running like new.

Re: VW commercials

Thought dude looked familiar: He's the bad man in Fargo.

Re: 9/11 - The Pentagon

I can't speak for Charlie, but the "passengers" are dead, just not as a result of a "crash" at the Pentagon.

9/11 - The Pentagon

Let's start the reeducation here. It's the basic refutation of the "a missle, not an airplane full of living human persons, hit the Pentagon." Query for LJ and Charlie: Where are the people on that flight? Why are their mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, children mourning their loss?

Re: 9/11 Conspiracists

And they say that actors aren't very smart. Dude is a genius.

Origins of "SSJ" (conclusion)

See here for beginning.

Michael: Instaguys?
Scooter: Please.
Michael: ...
Scooter: OK. Let's go back to first principles. We've got nothing new to say, right?
Michael: Check.
Scooter: We haven't had an original idea in twenty years.
Michael: Check.
Scooter: Anything we say is going to be derivative of something someone else has already said.
Michael: Check.
Scooter: Dig this: Secondhand Smoking Jackets.
Michael: Ah, "secondhand smoke," secondhand = derivative. Not bad, not bad at all.
Scooter: Grazie.
Michael: AND if we go back to my earlier "Jacks of Spades," we could make it "Secondhand Smoking Jackets of Spades." No, that's just stupid. "Secondhand Smoking Jacks of Spades?" Too long. How about "Secondhand Smoking Jacks?" Which doesn't really make much sense.
Scooter: I kind of like it.
Michael: Eh. I guess we can think about.


* * *

[Next day]

Scooter: OK. I've got a site on Blogger for "Secondhand Smoking Jacks."
Michael: What?? I thought we we're going to talk about this some more.
Scooter: I guess not.
Michael: Fine.

9/11 Conspiracists

LJ, meet Charlie.

What happened to our links?

They seem to have fallen all the way down to the bottom of the page...

Email Virus strikes Scooter Household

Went home at lunch to respond to some of my colleagues' recent posts and my Symantic software went nuts. It is purporting to scan some hundreds, nay thousands, of emails purportedly sent by yours truly. I then get notices, but not for all the scanned emails purportedly sent, about how those emails could not be sent.

I don't use an email program on my home computer, electing instead to use the Yahoo service because of its excellent filter....it regularly sends 400-500 spams to the bulk mail portion of the site so I can just delete without having to filter myself.

The Symantec program was running strong for about 90 minutes before I had to head back to the office. I left the program running when I left. I'll be interested to see what awaits upon my return.

Re: Origins of "SSJ"

I've never said "meh" in my life...but I certainly expressed the sentiment.

Back to politics

My recent posts have been purposely anti-political. I'm frankly getting worn out and burnt out with all the left vs right fighting and blaming and finger pointing. But then, I made the "mistake" of watching our fearless leader's press conference the other day. I swear he had either had too many cups of coffee, had gotten lucky that morning with Laura or had forgotten to take his medication for A.D.D. He seemed....almost giddy. It was very difficult to watch. Even harder to listen to.

Watching that got me energized to get back to reading political blogs. Found this on Klos today. A great read (for me) with my morning coffee.

VW commercials

I'm not a big commercial watcher (thank you TiVo and Scooter, what are you WAITING for?!?!) but I LOVE the new series of VW commercials. If you haven't seen them, here is one:

on the engineering tip

I think the appeal for me is the whole German TV / "Sprockets" ("touch my monkey - TOUCH MY MONKEY".... "I'm as happy as a little girl") feel to it.

Re: "very musically challenged"

No, I'm not suggesting that mash-ups are "new" music". I do think the genre is original, creative, cutting-edge, interesting. I've put several on my ipod. Perhaps they won't have the lasting power of the Beatles (I'm still not totally sold on the Beatles-as-the-greatest-band-ever thing), Ella, Hank Sr, etc. but for now, I'm a fan.

And, as I told you in an email, you better get with what's going on in music these days - before you know it, B will be wanting to buy or download this stuff and you, as a good and concerned parent, need to be in touch.

Remember the crap you listened to in Jr/Sr high? Well, on second thought, perhaps I'm thinking of me.....

Origins of "SSJ"

I'm getting a lot of email along these lines: "Love your site! You guys are great! Only place on the web where a couple of 'nuts and a 'bat can duke it out in a civilized fashion. But what's the deal with your name?"

Well. A considered question deserves a considered answer. Here it is:

One day last year, out of the the blue, I got this email from my good and close friend Scooter:

Scooter: Let's start a blog.

I was thrilled (in the old sense of "terrified" [look it up]) and terrified. What in the world would I be able to blog about? I had not had an original idea in twenty years.

Michael: What? I haven't had an original idea in twenty years.
Scooter: You're right, me neither. Forget it.
Michael: OK.
Scooter: OK.
Michael: OK then.
Scooter: But...
Michael: But what?
Scooter: What if we had a site devoted to esoteric economic theory with an occasional pop culture reference AND some hardcore conservative political commentary?
Michael: Gosh, when you put it that way, count me in!!

* * *

Michael: We're going to need a name. Punditguys?
Scooter: I don't think so. Overdone.
Michael: How about "Jacks of Spades," y'know like "Ace of Spades?"
Scooter: meh.
Michael: Ok fine.
Scooter: How about something with pajamas? [Ed. note: this was when jammies were hot.]
Michael: I dunno, seems like everyone's doing jammies.
Scooter:...
Michael:..
Scooter: I've got it. Not pajamas: smoking jackets. Like Astaire and Cary Grant.
Michael: Yeah I like that. But I dunno. It seems a little . . . gay?
Scooter: Yep.

[To be continued]

Re: "Very musically challenged"

I'm going to assume that's me. I don't know that "______-challenged" is the same as "I don't dare." I don't care about the varieties of brussel sprouts; does that mean I'm "brussel sprouts-challenged?" That said, "mash-ups," as the kids call them, are funny novelties. You're not suggesting they're new music, are you?

Which brings me to "new" music. Although I was the first white man (or any other man including the cutting-edge LJ) I know to play and promote a very different sound on an album titled "Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five," I can't stand what has ensued. If this is the future of new music, I'm happy with my Benny Goodman, Frank, Ella, and Hank Williams.

[I'll not recount the whole Joe Jackson story here.]

I never listen to pop or rock radio stations unless forced to in a car with someone else. I've heard only a couple of things in the last ten years that have made an impression on me: The Cranberries and The Barenaked Ladies. The first for the singer and the second for the clever (and very poppish (which I think is a good thing; think Beatles)) melodies and lyrics.

Music blogs and "mash-ups"

Recently, I went to get the oil changed in my vehicle and while waiting, was reading an article about music blogs (where mp3 files can be downloaded free, supposedly) and about "mash-ups".


The article recommended several music blogs and I checked them out and to say they are on the cutting edge of the music scene is an understatement. Since I know at least one of my fellow SSJ'ers is VERY mucically challenged (at least when it comes to current music trends), perhaps these links will help him get in tune to what is going on. What attracted me to these sites in particular were their names...quite clever I thought:

teaching the indie kids to dance again

the suburbs are killing us

more cowbell (a big favorite of mine, since it's named after one of the greatest SNL skits ever)


Now, about "mash-ups". For those who don't know what this is, the term "mash-up" or "bootleg" (or, more commonly, just "boot") describes the result of mixing together two or more records to create a whole new track. Though originally performed live using turntables and DJ mixers, recent advances in sequencing software have taken this art-form to a whole new level.
There are numerous sites that have links to some pretty interesting "boots". One of the best is:

go home productions

check out "ray of gob" (a madonna/sex pistols mash-up).


Here is another:

mash-ups

check out "the southern doors cult" (the doors/the cult)


I feel so "with-it" now.

Re: Spring Break in Corpus Christi

But, if I had been, can one really ever be too old? Ok, I give, had I been, I'd have been way too old. My thrills came at the USS Lexington and the Botanical Gardens.

Condi/Hillary Dream Race Called Off...

It'll never happen now, Tagliabue set to retire from NFL. Ms. Rice can now step away from the dream race and get her dream job.

Re: Where is everybody?

I can only speak for myself:

Had in-laws in town Wednesday thru Sunday.
Was attending the NCAA regional here in Dallas (how does Arkansas lose to Bucknell???).
Tried to stay dry over the weekend with the torrential rains/flooding.

Getting home from the basketball games last night was quite an adventure. We made it, but I hadn't seen street flooding like that since I left Houston.

Were you spring-breaking in Corpus? Aren't you a bit old for that?

I know my Econ posts are dead...

but I've finally finished VDH's Carnage and Culture. It's time for a book report.

Where is everybody?

I take my first vacation in two years and everything falls apart?

heading to Corpus Christi...

for the weekend, but will be back.

Re: The Dennis The Peasant Blogging System...

Ok, I've learned a couple of things from Michael's post directing us to Dennis the Peasant's comments on blogging:

First, my favorite topic (Economics) is apparently the kiss o' death unless one's name is Williams, Sowell or Stossel.

Second, we need to find a couple of demographics/subjects to "hate." This will be difficult for me. Had been considering expanding upon that Conservatives are Happy, Liberals are Angry theme that was widely discussed a few weeks ago. I think it largely true, with exceptions like David Horowitz. I don't do well expressing things in the harsh heat of hate.

I suppose I need to rethink this. Obviously, we'll never have the time to devote to that serious anlysis Dennis describes in part one. I forget what our original subhead was but it was essentially an admission that there'd never be an original thought posted here.

(Btw, Dennis, I post right now from an office overlooking the Barton Creek Greenbelt, in Austin, Texas...not and 8'x6' cubicle, but I get your point. My blogging and blog reading certainly slows down after 6:00 and on weekends.)

Capitalism and Euro-softness

British historian and author Paul Johnson's on Europe’s softness and difficulties of its economy (cheering me up after this morning’s Capitalism post, not that I'm happy about Europe but happy about our system):

The omens for continental Europe, however, are sinister. The entire plan for perpetual improvement upon which the EU depends is based on continuous economic expansion. There is no provision for stagnation. As we see in Japan, once stagnation sets in, it can last many years. Americans should count their blessings, above all the supreme blessing of having an economy that is run by businessmen not bureaucrats, or that —— under wise governance —— runs itself.

Glitches in the Capitalist System

I do hate it when the invisible hand doesn’t work quickly or possibly at all. By now we’ve all heard that Google has (1) fought the US Justice Dept. in connection with information about pornography and access by kiddos and (2) acceded to the Chinese government’s demand that certain types of information be screened from Chinese customers.

From Linda Chavez today (courtesy JWR) on the Google story at home and in China:

And when it comes to profits, there is no bigger potential market than China —— which explains why Google is willing to play censor in the Middle Kingdom. Google wants users, period. And if gaining access to an enormous potential market means engaging in a little censorship, the company is more than willing to do it. What makes Google's behavior so hard to swallow is its sanctimony when the subject of censorship in the United States comes up.

If the company had been honest in fighting the Justice Department subpoena, it would have admitted that it doesn't want to turn over data because it has no interest in keeping kids away from hard-core sites. Google will happily provide porn to American kids and deny civil liberties to Chinese adults, all in the name of profit.

I love the innovative Google, but the company’s activities have bugged me a bit of late. For whatever reason, the China aspect of this bugs me more than the porn aspect. It probably shouldn’t; I suppose I rely on parents to protect their kids, perhaps too much.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’d love to see in five years that Google somehow put one over on the PRC and secretly gave Chinese customers some kind of secret decoder ring allowing access to Tiananmen Square information but fear that is too much to hope for. How can the market help in this situation? I’m not sure. Will US customers rise up against the industry leader? This one won’t. Will investors divest? This one won’t; at least not yet.

Is this a situation similar to that faced by the energy and manufacturing industries for the last forty years regarding air and water pollution? What first appeared a bad choice for such industries’ bottom lines, i.e., increased costs associated with less pollution, turned out to be costs that their customers (and therefore investors) really were, if grudgingly, prepared to bear.

Not that Google’s choice here really is about increasing costs, it is about decreasing the size of its customer base. I have no idea how to counter that to its investors’ satisfaction. I just hope it doesn’t take the market forty years to correct.

Re: March Madness

Yes, you should have Conn winning.

And I don't understand how you haven't won before, because in the time that I have been "helping" you with your picks, I have won several pools.

That begs the question....am I giving you the same picks I make on my pool(s)?????

March Madness

I know nothing about college basketball except that UT is sometimes pretty good and something called "Gonzaga" is often very good. I've always enlisted LJ to help me fill out the brackets so I can participate in the office pool. I don't recall ever winning any money, but have had several " gutsy picks in round two" comments. Anyhow, I've got Conn and Duke in the final with Conn (is that right LJ?) winning.

Arrrgh

In City Journal!: "All this massively begs the question: Why . . ." Good article, though. Explains the fraud that is campaign finance reform and the dangers of the calls to renew the Fairness Doctrine.

So much to blog about, so little time

Gotta do a "quick-hit" type post, because I don't have time to go into lots of detail on all the subject I want to mention. Have many, many errands to run today, have a call-back interview as well (keeping fingers crossed). Well, here goes...

1) One of the things you learn quite quickly when you attend the University of Arkansas is that you NEVER say anything positive about any Texas school, especially ut austin. So that is one reason why I didn't mention the lady longhorns winning the indoor T&F national championship.
Another reason is that I have no interest at all for any women's sports. And to put the Razorbacks national championship in perspective, out of the last 22 indoor T&F national championships, the UA as won 19 of them. Simply awesome.

2) Read British Envoy on US in Iraq: Thirteen Words Say It All this today on Klos and loved it. My favorite part:

"The most striking thing about this list is ... how generic the areas of failures are for the Bush administration. This is modus operandi for this bunch. Switch out the proper names of the people and entities involved, and you've got yourself Katrina. Tweak it a bit for the bureaucratic stage and you've got Medicare D. And these are the people who want us to trust them to reform Social Security. Ha! Not on your life. Or rather, not on mine."

3) Regarding the word test, I understand why my fellow SSJ'ers would be surprised that I got any of the Bible ones, but I've seen tests like this before and they always have Bible-type questions. The ones that threw me were the South African ones. I think I know the one you are having trouble with - here is a clue, you have to know something about cricket.

4) Heard this morning that Issac Hayes is leaving "South Park". I would think that I'm not in the demographic that Trey and Matt are targeting, but I love SP. "Chef" will be missed. And if you have the chance, try to find video of SP doing their rendition of "The Aristocrats" - it's on the net if you look. If you are into the SP thing, it is well worth the effort.

5) And finally, C and I have been on a diet since the beginning of January. My goal was to lose 30 lbs. Well...as of this morning, I've lost 31!!!! Now the real hard part starts - keeping it off.

New Remote! (and Man on Fire)

The crisis has been averted. New remote only $15.00...now just have to figure out the new button configuration.

Denzel Washington's Man on Fire [original book by AJ Quinell; also authored The Perfect Kill] on tonight. I've only seen it about a million times, including the old Scott Glenn version. While I'm not crazy about the MTV/NYPD Blue cinematography, I LOVE the chemistry between Mr. Washington and Dakota Fanning.

Number ONE on Google...

for "pro DP World." OK, that's enough. I just started looking at our referrals (because I didn't realize until two days ago it could be done) so it's neat that we have some in the top few from search engines. I expect that most blogs have the same experience.

Aside: I'm using my recently acquired Blogger spell-checker and it wants to fix "blog." And "blogger."

Number one and two on Google...

for "second hand smoking documentaries." I suppose we'll always get a lot of "secondhand smoking [something]."

SSJ is number three...

for searches for "smoking pet peeve speeches."

Re: Word Test

Got 33 (OK, I cheated). Any hints for 31?

The Dennis The Peasant Blogging System...

is a must read. Parts One, Two, and Three.

Re: Track & Field

While Arkansas certainly deserves to be congratulated and I know that LJ is proud in spite of the ho-hummedness of it all, he did fail to mention that the Lady Longhorns took first as well. (And, the men did finish a respectable 4th.)

All results can be viewed here.

Congratulations Razorbacks.

Ho Hum....Arkansas wins ANOTHER track national championship

This is for you scooter. Tonight, Arkansas won the NCAA 2006 Indoor Track and Field National Championship. That's NC #42 in track and field and/or cross country since 1984.

Congrats to the Hogs!!!! WOOOOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOOOIE!!!!

Word Test

This is kind of interesting. So far I have 14. I gave a copy to T and expect she'll have most soon.

via LauraW. at Ace.

UPDATE: We (mostly T) got all but two so far, 31 and 33. LJ's comment indicates he (probably mostly C) got them all. Thanks for the sports and South Africa hints.

Scooter's heading to Athens...

Back soon.

Sunnis and Shiites

Brief history of the conflict between the two from Gene Edward Veith at Worldmag.com reads in part:

The division and the unforgiven grudges go all the way back to 632 a.d. when Muhammad died. Who would succeed him as the leader of what was becoming both a religious and a political empire? One group claimed that the prophet had chosen his cousin and son-in-law Ali. These "Shiites"——a shortened form of the words for "the party of Ali"——believed that future successors should be physical descendants from the prophet's family.

The other faction believed Muhammad had said that future rulers should be chosen by consensus of the other leaders. They chose the prophet's father-in-law, Abu Bakr, to be the "caliph." His followers became the "Sunnis," from a word for followers of the "tradition."


Then followed a civil war; read the article to find out who won.

Re: Clever and silly

Yes . I started to write that what you listed wasn't smart enough, but I was wrong.

Re: Sudoku

She's the master.

Does Mrs. Michael Sudoku?

I've only recently discovered it.

Re: Clever and Silly

Monty Python, of course.

Others:

Cheers
Buffalo Bill
Airplane
Caddyshack
That early HBO comedy series...the book publisher who watched too much TV as a kid

My new favorite movie

Why doesn't the MSM broadcast these type of movies? Believe me, I love "Shawshank Redemption", but how many times a week does it need to be TV? To help with loading time, it is divided into 3 parts:

Part 1 (23 minutes)

Part 2 (24 minutes)

Part 3 (33 minutes)

Pop some popcorn...pour yourself a beverage... put on your conspiracy hat...and enjoy.

Athens, Texas Rep calls for Contract w/ US Redux

From today's Townhall.com:

Led by Representatives Mike Pence (R-IN) and Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) [including Athens], the unabashed band of conservatives proposed a return to fiscal sanity by introducing an austere federal budget proposal modeled after the budget proposal contained in the 1995 Contract with America. The RSC calls their proposal the Contract with America: Renewed.

Re: Begging the question

As I'm sure you suspected, a pet peeve of mine, too, especially when used by those who should know better.

I confess; I'm a language snob.

Begging the question

This drives me nuts. I read and hear people who ought to know better misuse this phrase all the time. Here's an example I read today from Doug Wilson, the chairman of Townhall.com and co-author of a book he's promoting in this post:

". . . thus begging an important question: Is highway funding still the federal government's business?"

No, no, NO. To "beg the question" is to make an argument that assumes the proposition to be proved and is a type of circular argument. See here (3b) and more expansively here (scroll down to "Modern usage" to see a description of my complaint).

I first noticed the corruption of this phrase about five years ago and it has exploded in the last couple of years. Fie!

How to destroy the Earth

Johnny Damon t-shirt seen @ Bosox Camp

From Russ Smith at the NY Press, quoting the March 5 Globe:



"Looks like Jesus, acts like Judas, throws like Mary."

Capitalism and Hattie McDaniel

Time for my weekly paean to Ms. Noonan. In her column today she points out that it was Selznick's capitalism that really pushed the frontier:


"It would be nice to see them start to understand that rediscovering the work of, say, C.S. Lewis, and making a Narnia film, is not 'giving in' to the audience but serving it. It isn't bad to look for and present good material that is known to have a following. It's a smart thing to do. It's why David O. Selznick bought 'Gone With the Wind': People were reading it. It was his decision to make it into a movie from which he would profit that gave Hattie McDaniel her great role. Taboos are broken by markets, not poses."

Update: Occurs to me that Branch Rickey (sp?) did the same thing.

Disaster strikes Scooter household

My remote broke.

Coulter says Hard out Here for a Pimp a step forward

More Coulter on the Oscars:


"I believe this marks the first time in Oscars history that an award recipient shouted, 'Thank you, Jesus!' upon receiving his award. Admittedly, this was the only part of the speech that didn't have to be bleeped and it was for a song titled, 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp,' but it's still a step forward."

RE: Republican primary

Wow. You're in Delay's district? I thought he was Sugar Land...that's some powerful gerrymandering. Was it always so?

Re: LJ and Oscars and 40 OZ.

Funny you should ask. Before the telecast, I had never heard any of the 3 songs (even though I saw "Crash", I didn't remember the song). So after hearing them Sunday night, I thought that "Pimp" was the best of the 3 (not that that says a lot for the 3 songs). I wish they hadn't changed the words though - it was my understanding that they had the OK to say "ho" and "b*tches", but decided not to when they perfomred it. I could have done with out all the dancing and stuff though.

And speaking of NWA, they STILL kick a**! And don't forget Houston's own Ghetto Boys!! They were even more hardcore than NWA.

Do you know who Nina Gordan is? She was the lead singer of a group called "Veruca Salt". They had a couple of hits. She is solo now and has an AWESOME cover of the NWA song "Straight Outta Compton". Check it out here (warning, the lyrics are explicit and are not bleeped).

Finally - 40 oz is correct (though I've never had one).

LJ and Oscars and 40 OZ.

As the whitest guy (LJ, not me) I know to have liked NWA (enter at own risk), I was wondering what LJ thought of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp?"

Go Molly, Go!

I think Ms. Ivins needs a hug. If she really thinks these are the three issues:

1) Iraq is making terrorism worse; it's a breeding ground. We need to extricate ourselves as soon as possible. We are not helping the Iraqis by staying.
2) Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington.
3) Single-payer health insurance.

that will garner the most votes for "progressives" in 2008, by all means dems, jump on board.

Chuck Colson on "Crunchy Cons"

Here at Townhall.com.

Re: 9/11 conspiracies & not adding up

The ultimate why I guess would be so that ultimately we get into Iraq and make all those bucks for DDE's military industrial complex. But wow, what planning. Destroy World Trade Center to get to Al Qaida...to get to Afghanistan...to get to Iraq.

Re: NR in Houston

I don't exactly excel at such events without cover. I'll be in Austin.

Re: Steyn demographics

I think they did grow soft under our protection. Not having to field a military for 50 years has allowed them to develop their fat economic policies and give new meaning to the term "welfare state." As the cultures grew more and more self-obsessed, the less productive they became.

Being less productive (35 hour work weeks, WEEKS of vacation, early retirements, artificially high wages) has led, somewhat counterintuitively, to the decline of the populations.

Re: What doesn't add up?

1) Where is the wreckage from the Pentagon crash?
2) Why haven't we seen any footage of the Pentagon crash, even in the first few days when the MSM kept replaying the WTC footage over and over and over?
3) Where are the "black boxes"? Rescue workers say that 3 of the 4 were recovered - the FBI says none survived.
4) Why was the FBI inspecting the WTC complex with bomb sniffing dogs on 9/10?
5) Why were the tapes of the interviews with air traffic controllers destroyed?

To name just a few

What doesn't add up?

Re: 9/11 conspiracies

Reading for fun. There are all kinds of sites that talk about what happened and how it happened (in their view) - but none of them talk about WHY. Even if they talk about the military or some rogue section of the CIA or whatever, they never give any reasons why. That is what I'm looking for. Because I can (somewhat) buy into the theory that we haven't been told everything, that some things don't add up, that some things have been covered up, but I'd be much more inclined to believe the wacko theories if any of them answered the simple question of.......why?

Republican primary

I proudly voted against Delay, David Dewhurst, and Orlando Sanchez today. Thank you. Don't ask me whom I voted for. I voted against.

Re: Steyn demographics

They didn't go soft under our protection, did they? Doesn't the phenomenon Steyn is talking about start much later? Or am I missing your point?

Re: NR in Houston

I don't see how I can justify it. I expect you're on your own.

Update: Of course you'll stay here. Didn't mean to imply otherwise.

Re: Noonan

Here's her site. Nothing about speaking engagements.

Re: 9/11 conspiracies

I echo Scooter's inquiry: are you reading for fun or are you buying this stuff? I read you as the former. If not, lay out the "evidence" and let's have at it.

Re: Noonan

I've never heard her speak live but would love to some time. I'll see if I can find a website that calendars (is that a verb?) her engagements.

Re: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

So Barbara Olsen spotted in Europe...that's the real reason Ted stepped down as Solicitor General.

RE: Hey, some of us have lives, you know & Sheila

I have no life so I have no excuse.

As to the 9/11 conspiracies, do you mean that you're enjoying reading the contorted logic for the fun of it? Or, are you seriously pondering why they can't come up with the why? Wow, if the administration/Halliburton was responsible, they sure moved quickly following the inauguration...or, had they been planning it for years?

(Glad you aren't so far gone that you'd be blinded by Sheila's raw intellect.)

Re: Sheila Jackson Lee

There are ONLY 2 reasons why I would ever move back to Houston 1) to move into Tom DeLays' district so I could vote against him or 2) to move into SJLs' district so I could vote against her. I honestly can't say who I think is worse - one is a crook and the other is an idiot.

Sadly - they can never lose in their districts (well, maybe DeLay these days), so I guess it wouldn't matter, so I might as well stay in Dallas.

More Steyn Demographics

From his website:

There is a third option. Unlike the Europeans, many of whom will flee their continent as Eutopia evolves into Eurabia, the Japanese are not facing ethnic strife and civil war. They could simply start breeding again. But will they? What’’s easier for the governing class? Weaning a pampered population off the good life and re-teaching them the lost biological impulse or giving the Sony Corporation a license to become the Cloney Corporation?

This is just getting depressing. While enjoying the benefits of living under American military protection, these nations have turned into soft, me-first economies/societies. The next 25 years are going to be interesting indeed.

Sheila Jackson Lee

Michael's favorite Congresswoman on Fox this morning, actually sounding somewhat sensible on ports issue though her call for a six month to two year moratorium on foreign deals seemed excessive.

Hey, some of us have lives, you know.

I have been chastised for not blogging in what, a couple of days? Geesh, give me a break.

Anyway....I've been perusing the net the past few days, reading up on 9/11 conspiracy theories. There are so many sites and articles talking about all the inconsistencies with pictures, images, debris, etc. I even found some talking about the helicopter flying around the Trade Centers before the planes hit (guiding them in according to the theories) and after (detonating charges that ACTUALLY brough the Towers down). Stories about how Barbara Olsen (supposedly on the flight that hit the Pentagon) is reportedly alive in Europe. And I could go on and on and on.

But what I can't find is anyone explaining why - why either persons and/or agencies of our gov't were behind it.

Anyone?

Clever and silly

I just saw about the last half of "40-year Old Virgin" and thought it both. I guess Monty Python, dare I say it, is the holy grail of clever and silly. I've always been interested in the "funny." Greg Weingarten at the
Washington Post does it for a living.

Mothers of Plaza de Mayo

get screached at by Bono.

Hope I'm not just echoing Lowry...

But, I think this Indian/Pakistan thing is big. On the order of Nixon opening China Big.

Lowry's column is here. I have the advantage over Rich in that I'm listening to the Pakistan news conference now.

Re: Hagiography

At least get through the parts on the Patco Strike, Iceland and the"tear down this wall" saga, if you can. The last wasn't her, as you indicated, but her insight is great. I think hers might have been Challenger...but I'm not certain, it's late.

I'm looking at 3 acres 13 miles east of Austin tomorrow but still think I can swing the Houston fete. Should I go ahead and order the tix? Are we a couple?

Crash

That is the only one I've seen...and I liked it a lot. Probably the best I saw last year except for the under-appreciated "The Upside of Anger."

Re: Oscars (2)

LJ, many con writers agree with your take on Crash. (Having not seen a movie not rated G in the last four years, I'm in no position to comment.) The same writers are predicting hideously low ratings.

You haven't lost the tape, have you?

I read this story and remembered something I'd forgotten about. Just checking. I'm sure everything is cool. [LJ: Email me immediately re same.]

Re: Oscars

Way back when Scooter and LJ and I were hanging out together we had Oscar parties and ballots. I can't remember if we put money on it but I doubt it. Anyway, the winner was invariably a girl who had seen few if any of the nominated movies. I think she read a lot of the pop culture magazines and was a fiend for old and offbeat movies. I guess that combination informed her take on the nominations. Happy birthday Cindy.

Re: Noonan

I was unable to get very far into her hagiography of Reagan but intend to try again. But it was not because of her writing, which is sublime. She publishes a column every Thursday (usually) at OpinionJournal and it's the first thing I read in the morning (followed immediately by Coulter). (Talk about a contrast.)

Scooter: I heard an interview the other day with the speechwriter who penned "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." I know Peter Robinson is responsible for "axis of evil." Are there any memorable phrases or speeches Peggy is known for? I would love to see her speak and I know she does speaking engagements. I think I would have heard if you had, but have you ever? Let's find a close one and go. Slightly off topic, how much have you saved towards the NR Houston bash?

It's Oscar time!

I admit, I love watching the Academy Awards. Always have. And I'll be watching this Sunday night. Who looks good, who looks bad. Who makes a fool of themsevles making an acceptance speech. Who gets cut off, who doesn't. Who tries to make a political statement. How many "dub-ya" jokes there are. I'm a sucker for all of it.

I haven't seen "Brokeback Mountain", so I can't comment on whether it should win Best Picture or not. Nor have I seen "Good Night, and Good Luck". The other 3 nominated films ("Capote", "Crash" and "Munich") I have seen and I thought "Crash" was the best of the 3.

Will America, especially middle-America, tune in? I say yes, of course. No way we could say to Oscar...."I wish I knew how to quit you".

Hispanic Vote, today and tomorrow

From today's World Magazine online:

Mr. Carrillo [member of the Texas Railroad Commission] notes, though, that "inertia" can get in the way: "My parents and grandparents were Democrats, and that's how we as a people have always voted," even though the Democrats now stand for social principles most Hispanics oppose. How to break through? "The GOP needs to look for, hire, train, and retain more highly qualified Latino candidates."

One such candidate is Mr. [Alex] Castano [in March 7 GOP primary, ultimately pitted if successful against Jason Earle, son of Ronnie Earle], whose mother came to the United States as a poor Argentine who spoke broken English. Since he understands "what it's like to be considered a second-class citizen," what he sees as Democrats' treatment of Hispanics particularly frustrates him: "They take us for granted." He says the Democratic message is, "You poor, dumb Hispanics. Here's a handout, so give us your loyalty and your vote in exchange." He says that Hispanics don't see themselves as "victims" and don't respond well to being classified that way.

If Reagan could capture 47% of the Hispanic vote in '84, we've done very poorly since following up. Full disclosure: Although I don't live in Alex Castano's district, he is a friend and a member of my church.

Current Subhead

Whatever one thinks of her politics (I usually embrace but have had a few qualms of late), there is no more lyrical a columnist than Ms. Noonan. Ms. Liebau agreed, not with the lyrical part, but the substance.

Re: She Sells Sanctuary

OK. I see at Amazon that it's The Cult. I can't get the audio to play. Can you post it here or send it to me so that I know what you're talking about? This "Homage" you speak of: was I ever there?

Update: LJ sent it to me and I listened. Don't recall ever hearing it before. Maybe because it doesn't sound like the kind of thing I would have danced to. This is more my kind of thing.

More unintended consequences

Here's a couple of ideas I could have gotten behind as a CLL. (LJ, you might find these attractive.) First, set a decent minimum wage, one where people can actual live above the poverty line: a "living wage" if you will. Second, make it illegal for employers to arbitrarily fire employees. Sounds like a reasonable way to protect workers, right? Well, actually no. South Africa has enacted these two proposals and its unemployment rate has shot to 26% officially and is probably higher. The very people the "do-gooders"* in South Africa sought to help have in fact been put out of work. Sowell explains how and why.

*Mona Charon's book is full of examples of this phenomenon.

Google "Love Johnson"

Guess who's number four?

Simpsons and 1st Amendment

From the AP:


"The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms."

Wasn't my thought, but the Simpsons should have an episode on the 1st Amendment, then everybody would know what it says. My guess is right of redress is least known.

Because I have nothing today...

I've got my first tomatoes... Never had fruit this early before.

Online Novelist James Aach posts at SSJ

In response to my post about the assault on capitalism (poorly titled) and the need to go forward with nuclear plants, James Aach let me know about his online novel Rad Decision. It can be read here at no cost.

I haven't had time to read it but reviews can be read here.

Thanks, James. As I suspect is true of most bloggers, I wish I had the sticktuitiveness to get a novel completed.

British Historian Paul Johnson on the Assault on Capitalism

From my new hero on today's JWR:

"One of their [enviromentalists] biggest successes has been to halt the building of nuclear power plants in the U.S., Britain and other countries. This has seriously increased the destructive impact of the oil shortages brought on by China's and India's industrialization. At the same time environmentalists, claiming that global warming is the result of industrial activity, seek to force compulsory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, which will hugely reduce industry's efficiency and profitability. This frontal attack on the production and profitability of the capitalist system is, in its own way, as dangerous as Marxism was."

What the heck are we waiting for? Why aren't we building? This is just nuts.

Reminiscing

So I'm taking a walk yesterday afternoon around my neighborhood, listening to my iPod as I do. And during the walk, one of the greatest rock-n-roll songs of all time comes up..."She Sells Sanctuary". And as the first cords of the song come through my earphones, I begin to drift back...back....back...

a Saturday night
11:30pm
lower bar area
"Homage"

When I hear the beginning of the song, I head to the upstairs dance floor.

Ah, those were the days....