April 15, 2008

Yes, It Was Elitist

Well, I have to say Barack Obama may well have damaged himself beyond repair. He may still win the Democrat nomination but come November he's going to be a hard sell. The comments themselves are bad enough. Uttering them at what he thought was a "closed" affair in San Francisco (the most liberal town in the U.S. of A.) added insult to injury. But his ultimate reaction betrays the fact that he meant what he said.

And why not? He merely expressed what many liberals today accept as purely obvious. A couple of years ago, author Thomas Frank wrote a book called "What's the matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives won the heart of America". The basic premise of this work is that the vast majority of working class Americans (between the coasts) should be a natural constituency for the Democrat party but, because Republicans have used "wedge" issues like guns, God and gays to their advantage, these poor dumb folks have been "distracted" from what's most important - economic issues. The absolute snobbery of this premise is mind-boggling and completely fails to grasp the values of the people they would expect to vote for them.

This book was devoured by eager liberals who can't seem to figure out why middle America just won't accept that they know what's best for them.

It's a staple on the bookshelves of every dogmatic Lefty and revered as a work of genius in the field of political analysis.

That's why they don't understand what the big deal is. And, further, it's why their hatred for Hillary is now seething with the white hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. Sen. Clinton has jumped all over this and held herself up as a model of populism. Though she's not fooling anyone, the backlash against Obama next Tuesday could prove a major problem for his campaign.

It's actually inaccurate to say that Liberals don't love their country. They do love it, however, they love it conditionally. They don't love it as it is. They love it as they want it to be. And they have the plan to make it that way, if only these unwashed, home-schooled, snake-handling, gun-toting rubes would just realize that it's all for their own good.

When Robert Kennedy was assassinated, his bloated embarrassment of a brother, Teddy, eulogized him in this way - referring to Bobby by paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw, he said "Some men see things as they are and say 'Why?' I dream things that never were and say, 'Why not?'" This is a perfectly valid, if not inspiring, sentiment. The problem is that modern Liberalism has twisted it to read like this: "Some men see things they way they are and say 'WTF?', I see the way things should be and send my monthly donation to MoveOn.org to help make sure it gets fixed, popular sentiment be damned. Because those knuckle-dragging dopes aren't smart enough to see things as I do."

Prof. Thomas Sowell has a dead-on quote in a column he wrote today which points out that Obama is "part of a long tradition on the left of being for the working class in the abstract, or as people potentially useful for the purposes of the left, but having disdain or contempt for them as human beings."

Can you say "Reagan Democrats"? Can Obama say "goodbye"?

Posted by: Gary at 08:40 PM | Comments (31) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 13, 2008

Gratuitous Musickal Observation

Heard some new-to-me Pachelbel this morning, a Kyrie and Gloria.

I must say that it was pretty C-3 stuff- I could readily believe it was written by the same fellah who penned that unfortunate Canon which has lodged itself in the popular culchah and over which people swoon so mysteriously.

At the same time, I must also say that Baroque musick must be very, very bad before I won't derive at least some pleasure from listening to it, and this certainly wasn't as bad as all that. I would much prefer to listen to mediocre Baroque than all but the best of just about any other period.

Posted by: Robert at 03:18 PM | Comments (27) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 12, 2008

Random Saturday Morning This N' That

***The Nats dropped their eighth straight last evening. I'm not sure which was worse for the eldest Llama-ette (who watched the game with me) - seeing her team lose yet another infuriatingly close one or having to listen to the Old Man gas on about never, never, never giving up.

***Signs of Spring I: Put the top down on the ol' Jeep yesterday for the first time this season. When I picked up the middle Llama-ette from soccer practice, she was delighted, especially as I had her favorite Mary Chapin Carpenter CD ready to go as well.

***Signs of Spring II: Somehow or other, I am already monstrously behind in my gardening tasks. The good news this year is that we actually found a neighborhood kid who is willing to mow the yard for me, a rayther unusual phenomenon in my pampered little NoVA enclave. I'm hoping that with the extra time, I may be able to keep up a little better this year.

***I've noticed that I seem to hold some special attraction for cats and crazy people. I wonder if there's a connection?

***I haven't really posted much about politics lately, but I will say this here and now: the election this fall will be McCain's to lose. And I certainly hope he doesn't do that.

***I had a dream within a dream last night. Isn't that a funny sensation? The interior dream (as it were) was that I was attending Mass in a rural, Bavarian-looking church (heavy timbers and white-washed walls). A wild assortment of rustics sat in the back with musical instruments. The whole thing had a comical air about it until they started playing. The musick they produced was so heavenly that it changed the entire tone of the proceedings, making them solemn, special and, well, holy. It was a wonderful sensation. The exterior dream (if you will) was that I woke up to discover myself sitting in front of another church with the Missus. I told her about my interior dream and then we got ready to go into the second church together. Make what you will of that.

***Since Easter I have been indulging in P.G. Wodehouse again. Two of my non-Jeeves-story favorites are Hot Water and Money In The Bank, both written in the late 30's/early 40's when the old boy was at the height of his powers. (Indeed, I believe Plum wrote Money while interned by the Nazis.) If you haven't read 'em, I would heartily recommend getting your hands on a copy.

Posted by: Robert at 07:50 AM | Comments (34) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 11, 2008

Gratuitous "We Knew This Would Be A Bad Idea" ODAC Sniggering

This one will cause my wife and sister, as well as Mrs. LMC - Sweet Briar alums all- to roll on the floor laughing their backsides off:

What can you get for $35K per year from the school formerly known as Randolph-Macon Women's College? How about a field-trip to the Chicken Ranch!

"Hey, Mom! Dad! I got an "A" in American Brothel Studies this semester. Can I have a car now?"

I've got to assume that this idea never would have flown before they started letting boys in.

Yips! to Dr. Randy Rusty.

Posted by: Robert at 02:16 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Random Commuter Observation - Signs of Spring Division

First iced latte of the season this morning. Yes, indeedy, I do like teh iced latte.

Posted by: Robert at 08:16 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 10, 2008

Bless Me, Father, For I Have Been Like Totally Uptight

Heh. In an article bashing the recent trendy "revision" of the Seven Deadlies floated by the Vatican's Bishop Girotti, Peej comes up with his own list:

I pretend to no expertise, let alone authority, in religious matters. However, I can't resist the temptation of having a go, myself, at The Seven Deadly, Part II. (I once would have felt it was prideful to do so, but that was before building my self-esteem.)

1. Celebrity. This is far and away the besetting sin of the 21st century. Note that the root of the word is "celebrate." What evil, pentagram-enclosed, goat-heinie-kissing ceremony are we celebrating with Kevin Federline?

2. Communication. In former days just Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and only one time at that. Now everybody's a know-it-all 24/7 thanks to Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, email, cell phones, text messages, and so on. A cherubim with a flaming sword is expelling us from the office cubicle of Eden, or would be if he could tear us away from the Internet. (And you, young man in the reading audience, take those ear buds out when your elders are addressing you!)

3.  Youth. Talk about worshiping false gods; why would anyone pray--or pay!--for youthfulness? The young are spotty, sweaty, chowder-headed, and woefully lacking in wisdom, experience, or control over anything, especially themselves. Yet we bear witness to the eternally babyish baby boom. Men in their sixties are on Harleys and snowboards and basketball courts, from which they will proceed to damnation by way of the emergency room. The women go to and fro in the earth, mutton dressed as lamb, with liposuction well-applied to tummy, butt, and brain. And they all come to Mass, when at all, in shorts, T-shirts, and shower flip-flops.

4.  Authenticity. Please do your best to be someone better than who you truly are. Deep down inside we're ravening beasts. This is the meaning of original sin. Everyone's authentic self is horrid. God's message to man has always been, "You can't really be good, but you can fake it. Really."

5. Caring. This takes so much time and effort that it necessarily results in the opposite of doing something. And notice that when someone says, "I care about the war in Iraq," he almost always means, "I want to lose it." Also there's a bullying logic among those who care. I care more about diddledydum than you do. Therefore I'm a better person than you are. Because I'm a better person than you are, I have the right to order you around. And vote for Hillary on November 4th.

6. Opinion. It's the reverse of fact. Listen to NPR or AM Talk Radio if you don't believe me, or, better yet, read the opinion page of the New York Times. (I'm talking about you, Paul Krugman.) Some people have facts, these can be proven. Some people have theories, these can be disproven. But people with opinions are mindless and have their minds made up about it. The 11th Commandment is, "Thou shalt not blog."

7. To Spend More Time With the Family. Alas, I couldn't get this into a single descriptive term, but it might as well be all one word. And when people say it we know that they've been doing something at least as bad as the former governor of New Jersey, his wife, their chauffeur, and Eliot Spitzer in a hot tub together. "We need to move on," is a similar phrase but with the implication of, "And I won't quit doing it until I'm actually behind bars."

This reminds me somewhat of the way O'Rourke used to write back in his heyday - not only funny, but dead on. Be sure to read the rest of the article where Peej mercilessly skewers Girotti's p.c. logic.

Yips! to Arts & Letters Daily.

Posted by: Robert at 12:59 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Another Snip In The Emasculation Of American Culchah

I heard about this on the drive home last evening:

Laser Show To Replace Fourth Of July Fireworks In Vienna
VIENNA, Va. -- A laser light show will replace the traditional Fourth of July fireworks in Vienna this year.

The Vienna Town Council voted 5 to 2 Monday to approve a contract with Image Engineering of Baltimore to produce a laser light show.

Town officials said they opted to make the switch after several people were injured by a malfunctioning firework at last year's event.

The laser show will cost more than twice a much as the $10,000 fireworks show.

How lame. How unbelievably lame.

I suppose that the Vienna officials were worried about liability. And given the trigger-happy litigiousness of our society, I suppose one really ought to blame society as a whole instead of these particular people. (I'd have said there's an assumption of risk for anybody attending an event involving explosives, but that's just me, Mr. Vegas.)

But still.....there's something so Fred Rodgers-ish about the concept of a 4th of July laser show that it just makes me cringe.

Not that I've ever been to Vienna for the 4th. When we're at home, we go over to our own community show at the local high school. Whoever has been in charge of it the past couple years is particularly fond of those thunderclap kinds, the ones that concuss right through your eardrums and the soles of your shoes. (We used to call them "Gus-getters" when I was a kid, owing to a dog we had who was quite terrified of fireworks.)

To me, the Fourth is all about hot, humid air shaking with the bang and the flash of the fireworks going off and the smell of gunpowder drifting across the field.

Lasers? Feh.

Posted by: Robert at 09:16 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gratuitous Netflix Moovie Observation

Last evening I popped in The Far Country, one of the line of great Ja-Ja-Ja-Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann westerns, and was impressed again by the absolutely gahrgious mountainy setting of the film.

The story, a cross-border affair, is supposed to take place in far southeastern Alaska and the Yukon Territory, yet I couldn't help noticing in the credits that it was filmed on location in some park in Alberta.

For some reason, this surprised me. I'd always thought of Alberta as the northern extension of the Great Plains. Isn't it where Canada grows all that wheat?

Posted by: Robert at 08:48 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Random Commuter Observation

I simply do not understand the nose-stud (or in the case of the gal who cuts the Llama llocks, the cheek-stud).

Dress it up anyway you like, it still looks like a booger that got away.

Posted by: Robert at 08:35 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 09, 2008

Posted by: Robert at 10:11 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gratuitous Nats Posting

After starting out with an impressive 3-0, our beloved Nats have now lost the last 6 straight. Well, now. What are you going to do?

I castigated Our Maximum Leader the other day about misplaced pessimism using a few choice phrases from an author who, although I've personally always found loathesome, sometimes managed to hit the nail on the head. I quote here the reference at length:

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

It's a bit difficult for a Tory like me to quote all this, but never mind. Where that dog Paine yaps of Britain, substitute here the Marlins.

Bottom line? GO NATS!

Posted by: Robert at 10:08 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Putting the "Ire" In IRS

Being good little citizens, the Missus and I filed our tax returns back in early February. A couple days ago we got a notice from Uncle requesting and requiring us to fill out the Alternative Minimum Tax form and send it in. No refund for us if we don't!

Well, after all the nuisance and bother, I did fill out the AMT form, and it turns out that we paid more than our calculated AMT.

I knew this was going to be the case anyway, but it strikes me that if the IRS makes us go through this extra song and dance, it's only right that if the calculated AMT is lower than what we actually paid, we ought to only get charged the AMT and should get back the extra we put in.

I mean this is perfectly reasonable, right? Plus, it would act as an incentive for the IRS not to be such a nuisance.

Posted by: Robert at 11:38 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gratuitous Civil War Geek Posting

(That is Col. Walter Taylor, Lee's Aide, standing behind him. On the Union side, the line behind Grant is anchored on the left by "Little Phil" Sheridan and on the right by George Armstrong Custer.)

On this day in 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant and the Armies of the Potomac and the James at the McLean Farm in Appomattox, Virginia, after a cat-and-mouse pursuit from the fortifications around Richmond in which Lee had hoped to pick up some badly-needed supplies and escape either to the south or over the Blue Ridge to the Valley of Virginia. Grant's cavalry was able to hold Lee at Appomattox long enough for the Union infantry to come up, thus finally deciding Lee that to continue fighting was hopeless.

Here is Grant's note to Lee proposing the terms of surrender:

From U.S. Grant To R.E. Lee
Appomattox Court-House, Virginia April 9, 1865.

General: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the government of the United States until properly exchanged; and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.

- U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General. General R. E. Lee.

And here is Lee's response:

From R.E. Lee To U.S. Grant:
Head-Quarters, Army of Northern Virginia April 9, 1865.

General: I received your letter of this date containing the terms of the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.

R. E. Lee, General. Lieutenant-General U.S. Grant

Grant's terms were later amended to allow the ordinary soldiers to keep their horses and baggage as well. Many historians have commented on the generousity of Grant - essentially turning loose all of Lee's men even though other Confederate armies remained active in the field - as well as on Lee's refusal to abuse such generosity or to allow anyone under his command to do so.

Posted by: Robert at 10:41 AM | Comments (17) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 08, 2008

"Throwing Yourself At The Ground And Missing" Dept.

Dang! I was deliberately going for the big goose-egg on this one:

I scored a Cool
15% on theQuiz by SheGoddess: Fast weight loss

The 70s were bad. m'kay? Bad, Bad, Bad. I can only suppose that, given how I lived ages 5 through 15 during them, there was just no helping being at least a leetle bit infected. I feel so......dirty.

Yips! to "Groovy" Vic, who ought to be ashamed of herself.

Yips! from Gary:
Egads. And I wasn't even a teenager in that era.

Guess this makes me a "throwback".

Posted by: Robert at 09:32 PM | Comments (29) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Birth Week Song

The lads over at Leper Pop have a fun game going.

Click the link above and then go to Cash Box 100 to find the top 100 tunes from the week of your birth. Select one that best represents you and then come back here and let us know in the comments.

My song? Poetry in Motion by Johnny Tillotson. Yeah - that is so totally the Chai-rista. I'm like a swan, I tell ya! If only you could see me, you'd agree.

Listen to my song, which is all about me, here.

Posted by: Chai-Rista at 10:21 AM | Comments (24) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gratuitous Travel Observation

As I was getting off the plane at Reagan-National last evening, I mentioned to my colleague that I was planning to go home, open a bottle of cheap Italian red and watch the Nats game.

A slightly boozy guy in front of me turned around and said, "Hey, what about the NCAA championship game?"

I replied that no, I really never have had any interest in basketball.

The man stared at me as if I had just spit on the flag, tossed a couple kittens into a blender and kicked my mother down the cellar stairs.

Now I suppose that some would say that pro basketball is one thing but that college hoops is a different matter. Not me - I find it all thoroughly boring.

Evidently, this opinion borders on the treasonous to some people.

Posted by: Robert at 09:11 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 06, 2008

Chuck Heston (1924-200

Another great one passes on. It's wall-to-wall coverage at Libertas.

Some things you may not have known about him.

Top Ten Charlton Heston films. And I'll give number eleven: The Omega Man. Cheesy film, classic performance.

Reaction round-up from the 'net.

Lefties always try to marginalize Heston as an aging gun nut (the Alzheimer's jokes are especially irritating). But, honestly, what do you expect from people who think that George Clooney is "movie star"?

Morons.

R.I.P.

Posted by: Gary at 08:48 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Where's Robbo? "Light Fuse, Stand Back" Division

I've got to head out of town on bidness yet again this afternoon and won't be back until tomorrow night.

In the meantime, to keep things interesting I offer you this. A couple days ago, our pal Kathy the Cake-Eater served up the following random question: Bluto or Carl Spackler?

This got me musing again on an opinion that I have held dear for some years: While Bill Murray is hi-larious, the rest of Caddyshack (including Chevy Chase's bit) is really pretty lame.

Discuss.

"So I don't got that going for me...."

Posted by: Robert at 12:16 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 04, 2008

Uh, Oh. This Could Explain A Lot

Italian Wine Under Investigation for Adulteration

Italian authorities are investigating incidents of adulterated wine, prompting the government on Friday to play down fears of another health scare like the one that hit mozzarella cheese last week.
A news magazine revealed that police were investigating the cheap end of the market for adding harmful chemicals into wine.

In a separate investigation at the luxury end, 600,000 bottles of vintage Brunello di Montalcino have been seized by investigators who suspect winemakers used grapes other than Sangiovese, the only ingredient allowed in the Tuscan wine, a favourite of U.S. connoisseurs, L'Espresso magazine reported.

Police in the far north and south of Italy found evidence that cheap wine was being cut with sugar and sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, L'Espresso said.

It quoted investigators as saying 70 million litres of the adulterated wine may have been put on the market, with price tags of between 70 cents and 1 euro ($1-3) a bottle. In some cases only one fifth of the ingredients in the tainted 'wine' would have been grapes, L'Espresso said.

The everyday plonk at Orgle Manor is, in fact, usually a cheap Italian red of some sort, and while it's often under the Bolla or Citra monikers (although since I got my last raise, not the Citra so much), I also like to range up and down the Italian aisle at Total Bev and sample a variety of other labels from Tuscany, Piedmont and, when I'm feeling especially adventerous, Apulia. One of my favorites is a Taurino Salice Salentino, which I would heartily recommend to go with any really hearty Italian cooking.

Posted by: Robert at 12:57 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Chai-rista's Weekend

It tells you what kind of week it's been when I can't get around to describing last weekend until Friday. Yes - the blood-dimmed tide is loosed in academe this time of year and it's a hell of a thing keeping the corpses off the beach. But I digress.

Last weekend I went out with my brothers to see Unknown Hinson play in Greensboro, North Carolina. Unknown is from North Carolina - if you grew up there you'd recognize his exaggerated Piedmont accent at once. His weird country / vampire stage-gimmick was described by a friend of mine as "Eddie Munster plays the axe." He calls himself "the king of country-western troubadours," and sings the most hilarious, bizarre and bent country lyrics ever.

The Unknown Hinson character is played by studio musician and voice actor Danny Baker - according to Wikipedia - and he does it with absolute genius. If you like underground / cult / country music you've got to check out his MySpace page where you can hear him interviewed by clicking "Love on Command."

His web site describes him as "wowing audiences with his outrageous and campy, white-trash persona and freewheeling, sleazy tone."

But - awesome as this is - this is far from the best thing about him. Hinson absolutely blisters a guitar. He serenaded with his own country/western tunes and then segued brilliantly into scorching versions of Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. My brothers and I had a blast at the Unknown Hinson show.

Click here to take a look at the four smokin' video clips Brother Snackpack made while we were there. (Scroll down a bit to see the other three.)

Good times!

Posted by: Chai-Rista at 10:19 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

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