Lileks’ Newhouse column (the nationally syndicated one) is out, and he gives us a view of the First 100 Days if Democrats win:
Some on the left believe this election has been stolen in advance. Races are tightening, as they always do - ergo the fix is in. What to do?
Braving the inevitable midnight knock on the door, Lyn Davis Lear, the wife of activist/TV genius Norman Lear, proposed on the Huffington Post blog that angry citizens "take it to the streets" if the sweet anticipated victory is snatched away by the Cheneyburton overlords. Lear quoted Gore Vidal's dark view: If the election went against them, "the Bush-Cheney henchmen could simply call on martial law." No doubt. One last election, a few cleansing rounds from the Brownshirt burp guns, and it's the Reich Stuff for us and our descendants.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) gave an interview in which she set forth the broad new agenda, just in case martial law is not declared:
"The gavel of the speaker of the House is in the hands of special interests, and now it will be in the hands of
Without bursting into laughter?
It’s typical James: funny and on-point. Brief, too.
In the “Well, It’s About Time!” department…there’s this lil screed in the Boston Herald: “Grammar: It’s good for you.” The lede grafs:
The Washington Post says it’s spotted a trend: High schools in the D.C. area are teaching grammar more than they used to. If true, this trend - admittedly slow - is worth a few cheers.
For several decades grammar was de-emphasized. The National Council of Teachers of English in 1985 actually discouraged drills in grammar on the alleged grounds that they were “a deterrent to the improvement of students’ speaking and writing.”
Far from it. Good grammar brings to writing of any kind the clarity and precision that are the foundations for all other effects and techniques such as argument, narration and description. In the long run, command of grammar can enhance ambiguity and muddle, the opposites of clarity and precision, if that’s what the writer intends. (Artists and craftsmen have to master the rules before they can know when and how to break them. Picasso was a highly skilled draftsman, something not always apparent in his greatest work.)
Amen. “Clarity and precision,” God knows we need a
But.
Could they write? Not only no, but Hell, No! I suppose I should be grateful, because my peers’ inability to string three sentences together into one coherent thought was the basis for my semi-success in the business world. In the beginning I made damned good money translating incoherent geek-speak into plain English, and that skill was the jumping-off point for bigger and better things later in my career. Still, and even, it’s good to see the flash of recognition in our educators that grammar matters. More power to ‘em!
I learned a couple of things this weekend, courtesy of C-SPAN2’s “Book-TV” series of interviews and speeches. First and foremost, I learned Scott Ritter is still a “useful idiot,” perhaps even more so than he’s previously demonstrated. Mr. Ritter has a new book out, and the subject matter is all about the coming war with
The program was presented by The Nation Institute. Cosponsored by The New York Society for Ethical Culture, Democrats.com, and the Public Concern Foundation, and was taped before a live audience on
‘Nuff said, eh? I don’t know exactly why you’d want to listen to such drivel, but Hey! It’s good to know what the moonbats are up to, no?
Speaking of moonbats, I also learned George McGovern is still in that category. I won’t call Senator McGovern an idiot because I believe the Senator is a patriot and he’s sincere in his beliefs, wrong-headed as they may be. He also has a new book out, and his subject matter is a plan for withdrawal from
Out of
from October 29, 2006
George McGovern and William Polk argue that the war in
As I said, wrong-headed. But sincere. Senator McGovern and his co-author, Mr. Polk, were a lot easier to listen to than that idiot Ritter. Just sayin’.
And finally…C-SPAN wasn’t all bad this weekend. I was privileged to watch Ilario Pantano deliver one of the best speeches/talks on the war I’ve ever seen, period. Here’s the program capsule, as found on the Book-TV web site:
Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy
from October 29, 2006
Ilario Pantano argues that the U.S., as a society, has moved away from embracing offensive warfare. He says that in
I looked high and low for a link to a podcast or video of Mr. Pantano’s presentation but was unsuccessful. Aside from the summary above, Mr. Pantano is a forceful advocate for crying havoc and unleashing the dogs of war. If I become aware of a scheduled re-broadcast of this lecture/talk, I’ll post it. Because it really should be seen, heard, and taken to heart.
Today’s Pic: More Plane Pr0n, this time an F-84F from the AF Armament Museum’s static display collection. Eglin AFB, FL - November, 1999.
Who is going to teach the teachers? Nothing worse than getting something home from school full of grammar and spelling errors.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I'm having blogger issues this afternoon so it will be interesting to see if this comment even posts.
As an aside, I'm having blogger issues this afternoon so it will be interesting to see if this comment even posts.
ReplyDeleteWell, you made it. I hear you, on both counts...semi-literate teachers and Blogger. I had "issues" getting comments to post on Blogger today, too. But I thought it was my connection, which has apparently gone into end-of-month snooze mode, which is to say: SLOW.
Toby did amazingly well in college and is a CPA, but he will tell you that nothing in high school or college prepared him for the amount of writing and communicating he would do in business. He became proficient at writing, but it was no thanks to any public schools. Although most high schools require four years of English, many student cannot write a complete sentence or read and comprehend. So what are they teaching in schools? Socialism?
ReplyDeleteLou said: So what are they teaching in schools? Socialism?
ReplyDeleteIn a word: Yes! (at the college level, of course.) And more's the pity.
Read your post and Ilario Pantano - too late I'm afraid to alert you to the rebroadcast yesterday on C-Span. I was so very impressed with Ltr. Pantano that I did the search and discovered your post stating you were "privileged" to hear Pantano....exactly as I felt. Geez, what a motivator. I think I pu the finger on what's been bothering me about this war so much - the idiocy of examples like Pantano gave in describing the need to take the shot at the funeral. I have changed my entire attitude or expression of the problem, maybe a solution but could you ever in a MILLION YEARS see our country agreeing to do what's needed as defined by Pantano. The only way that could be remotely possible if is Pantano and other like minded soldiers and brass (as there certainly must be more armed services members than not sharing his opinion) get major play time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Donna. I've seen reruns of Pantano's speech on C-SPAN a couple of times since I originally posted this...and continue to be impressed. I agree with you: this country is no longer capable of fighting wars, we prefer a more "kinder and gentler" approach these days. And that attitude/strategy costs us way too much, and may even lead to us losing, as Mr. Pantano has so eloquently said.
ReplyDelete