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Thoughts on culture, politics, music and stuff by Eric Olsen, Marty Thau and Mike Crooker, who are among other things, producers.
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Saturday, July 27, 2002
Beyond Belief? Now this in certainly conterintuitive: David Warren, whom we discovered a couple days ago, says the problem with Islam isn't too much belief, but not enough belief:
....The yearning, in so much of the Muslim world, for the various Islamic Golden Ages, the invocations -- of, for instance, Al-Andalus and the glorious city of Cordova, where Europe went in the Middle Ages to learn Greek and some manners, to see paved roads and street-lighting, plumbing and irrigation, ladies in splendid finery, international banks -- is an important part of this sense of loss. For at the heart of every great civilization, and "within" its material accomplishments, is a great spiritual self-confidence; something the Muslims remember they once had. And I think they themselves fear that they have lost the faith to rebuild in such a manner; the faith that can move mountains. But their civic culture has been descendant for so long vis-a-vis the West that perhaps they no longer have the collective will needed to make "things." And since "things" are what they so abjectly lack for, perhaps this is why Islamic culture in general has come to denegrate "things," and to label cultures that have lots of things as misguided and lacking the spiritual side of life. No One Was Killed
The grenade exploded at the X-Large club on the outskirts of the city of Linz, 111 miles west of Vienna near the German and Czech borders. Police and explosives experts from Austria's interior ministry said it was too early to say who detonated the grenade and why. "What we know is that someone deliberately detonated the grenade and that it wasn't accidentally or carelessly set off," a police spokesman said. Hardware to Play the Software Emmanuelle Richard comments on a BBC story that fears the rise of digital cameras:
The obsolescence of entertainment/information "hardware" is a genuine concern: it seems to me it is critical to maintain a supply of outdated players of every format for rent or sale so that no "software" becomes unreadable. Also, there might be a business in that over time: "I need a phonograph that plays 78s, a quadrophonic 8-track player, and a PC with one of those big-ass drives for floppies that are actually floppy, please." I would think you could tie it into video rental places like Blockbuster or Hollywood. Don't steal my idea. Ghost Writers A couple of days ago I discussed a WaPo story that complains about novelists who aren't writing their own books. The article implied that this is a newish phenomenon. Bruce Baugh and Georgy Kishtoo both inform me that it isn't remotely new. Bruce:
After establishing his reputation as a dramatist he turned his attention to novels. The Three Guardsmen and The Count of Monte Cristo, printed in 1844, demonstrated his story-telling genius, gave him an immense popularity, and filled his purse with gold. His fecundity was unequaled, as may be seen from the fact that about this time he bound himself to furnish two newspapers annually with manuscript enough to make seventy good-sized volumes, not counting dramas, essays, and miscellaneous articles. It seemed absolutely impossible for any one brain to conceive or any one pair of hands to execute the work he contracted to do; but evidence elicited during a lawsuit proved that, while he made the most liberal use of assistants and labor-saving machinery, he really had sufficient share in his innumerable literary enterprises to justify him in calling them his own. Georgy has complementary information:
The New Ecosystem Is Up The Bear updates the bloggy ecosystem, we are rounding back into form after the dreaded vacation lag. I am perplexed to find that we are, by far, the most promiscuous link slut OF ALL TIME. How can this be since we all know that I am a THINKER, not a LINKER? It would appear I am both. On the other end of the link, we have marched back up to number 15 (alas, if I could only reverse my placement between here and the slut chart) in the midst of the Mortal Humans with a score of 142. Dawn has worked her way back up to number 36 with a score of 90 (it's bunched real tight in there). Our combined score of 232 would put us at number 4 overall! I realize I have mentioned this theoretical score before, but it will take on real meaning on August 5, which happens to be my birthday, but that isn't the relevance. Stay tuned. Poisoned Well? Dr. Frank makes note of the grand irony to be found in our new friend Aly Sujo's real motivation for writing the article(s) on Steve Earle's Johnny Taliban song: the dude wanted to slip Earle a demo. I am beginning to get the sense that certain Bay-area rock star/bloggers may like to take a crack at the Johnny Walker saga themselves:
Writing About Writing About Music Barbara Flaska was one of the first to check in re the FREE CD'S FOR BLOGGERS project, and visiting her excellent site, I can see why: there's writing about music-writing all over it.
This blog is about writing about music in the hope that such a place can be helpful to people who want to write about music. Hopefully, this blog can become a tool of sorts for burgeoning writers. "Editorial" comments are purposefully minimal because this editor wants you to read the linked article and think about it. Then you go off and write your own article. Someday, if there are enough good articles on here, perhaps with a brief explication as to why this piece works or is a good writing sample, then people will understand how that writing works, will strive towards that and so raise the bar on their own writing about music. That way, the whole world benefits (especially if you can find a place to publish). I was just trying to dream up a place that had good samples of writing about music (what this says, why that works, isn't this a swell descriptive passage, writing about music might have a purpose even beyond selling a record, etc.) where aspiring and ready for primetime writers can stop in for inspirational fill-ups. I've set this up because reading good writing about music (or anything else) is always very inspiring to me. Therefore, I'll probably benefit the most even if I can't rise to the occasion creatively myself. Comments, Si Ann says "yes" to comments. And Ann, I was supposed to be a lawyer, was pre-law and everything, just got kind of waylaid and never got back. Maybe I'll be a law student when I'm like 60. Murdering the Charts Martin Devon has some very interesting thoughts on SoundScan and corruption in the music biz:
Damn, that's a tough biz. All the old-time indie label dudes were tough, had to be, and you think it's been a tough biz here, you should check out Jamaica where every studio was like a gang. Block O Blogs Thanks for all the response to the FREE MUSIC idea. I have received quite a few emails already - thank you very much. But as I mentioned, we need AT LEAST 100 bloggers signed up for the program to be successful, and the only way that is going to happen is if ALL OF YOU OUT THERE LINK THE STORY to get the word out. The idea behind this is that we, bloggers, are really the ultimate consumers: we consume news, ideas, culture and popular culture with a ferocity much greater than the average schmo. It makes sense if you think about it: we were motivated enough to create a blog in the first place, then to put the time and effort into conveying our thoughts, opinions, and experiences on a regular basis for the world to see. We have a lot of energy, interest - and some would even dare to say - intelligence. There are supposedly 500,000 of us out there, and I am guessing access to 10 free CDs a week would appeal to at least 10% of those: that would be 50,000 participants. That would be a very powerful block of publicity. Knock off two zeros for the sake of reality and 500 would be a tremendous and powerful block as well. It all comes down to numbers, and the only way to get the numbers to get the word out. If it can work for music, it can work for movies, books, mags, videos, comics, and any other product of popular culture, but we have to start somewhere. Let's see if we can make this work. UPDATE Hello friends o Glenn! To get the full story on this, please also see this post, and the new one I just put up, which develops the idea further. Thanks! "I Don't Feel Well" While we are on the subject, Dawn paints me in a rather unflattering light with this post:
First reason: she exaggerates. I had some queasiness and some unpleasant looseness too, but I didn't think it was worth thinking about, let alone talking about. Perhaps you have noticed, Dawn exaggerates virtually EVERYTHING: it's part of her charm, but when it applies to not feeling well, it gets old. Because what it really means is... Second reason:
I find if I don't acknowledge minor discomforts, aches and pains, then they get bored and go away. As a result of her acknowedging these minor dings - some would say "dwelling upon them" - I think they seem worse than they have to, linger longer, and don't generate the kind of sympathy she seems to be seeking anyway, which pisses her off and irritates me. As a result of the above, Dawn gets sick a lot more frequently than I do - I'd say at a 4-or-5 to 1 ratio and I don't react as well as I might. The real problem is the "maybe" area, where she says she doesn't feel well, is irritable and/or sleeps for 10 hours and other annoying behaviors but I don't know if she is really "sick." Once it is clear that she is "sick," as in viral or bacterial infection, then it is my job to be as helpful and sympathetic as possible. Otherwise, there are better ways to get attention and sympathy, like asking for it. Blogathon Today is the Blogathon for charity. I am not directly participating, but I am going to spell Dawn later so she can go to the bathroom and blow her nose and stuff, so I guess I'm doing my part. Participants have to post at least once every half hour for 24 hours. Dawn has raised a very impressive $477 from 11 different sponsors for the Global Fund For Women. There is still time to sponsor her heroic efforts by going here. Her goal was $500 so she's almost there. Do something to really make your Saturday. After you've pledged some booty for charity, head over to Dawn's site and give her some encouragement: her comments section is looking kind of empty. Friday, July 26, 2002
"Six Days Upon the Road" Coldly Furious Mike is a freaking truck driver. I'm a day late and dollar short on this one, but Mike wrote a dissertation on the rules of the road from the trucker's perspective. It's very well done, you should go read it, but Mike ends with this:
I was driving some damn car, don't remember which one but was probably my little Datsun F10 cool-guy hatchback, south on 271 through the eastern suburbs of Cleveland on a winter's day. There was a light, wet snow falling that shortly began to stick. Traffic was moderate and I was behind a semi. I was driving and singing at the top of my lungs to the radio, and just digging how cool I was in the big scheme of things, but I suddenly had a shiver of recognition that I was too close to the big, fat truck just ahead of me. I eased off the gas a bit and drifted back, giving myself a few car-lengths of clearance. No sooner had I taken satisfaction in my new zone of safety but the semi wiggled a bit: a barely perceptible shimmy that just didn't look right. Trucks aren't supposed to move that way, kind of rippling-like. I took my foot off the gas entirely and backed off farther. The truck rippled again - this time violently - and began writhing like an epileptic brontosaurus (not a T. Rex). I tapped the brake lightly to avoid skidding, trying to put more space between myself and this lurching behemoth. Not a moment later the cab swung hard left, the trailer hard right, and the whole rig jacknifed like a Smokey and the Bandit climax: just reared up and ripped apart. I veered hard into the lane on my right and JUST avoided the twisting, spinning, bowel-evacuating mess going on JUST ahead, then JUST to the left, then behind me shrinking fast in the rear-view mirror. In the flow of traffic, in the snow, in my frame of mind, stopping wasn't an option. By the time I got home about a half-hour later my heart rate was near normal and the news was on: fatal truck/car crash on the 271 a half-hour ago. Damn. So close, so quick. I have avoided trucks like the plague ever since and avoided other disasters as a result. You just can't trust trucks even if you can trust most truck drivers. And I do make that distinction. Another episode: about ten years ago I was driving back from the D.C. area on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Outside of Pittsburgh the Dodge minivan just crapped out in a most emphatic manner and I barely made it coasting to a turnout. It was a spring Saturday afternoon. I had to DJ that night at the AlterHouse in Cleveland. It was a severe engine problem, I tried half-heartedly to start the piece of shit several times, feeling the tension, anger and heat rising up to my head. Finally, fearing a cranial explosion, I flung open the door and stomped out to the pronounced whoosh of passing cars and trucks. I stood there about five minutes figuring I was going to have to walk to a call box, when a huge, sleek new truck pulled up alongside me in the tournout. There was about 9" between the truck and the minivan. The dude had dreads and a cowboy hat. He was listening to Bob Marley. He had an honest-to-God peace sign on the passenger window. He was a black hippie. He drove me all the way to Akron where my father met me after we had called ahead: laughing, singing, telling stories the whole way. That was the fastest two hours+ I ever spent on the road. He refused any payment; the guy was a prince. When we were almost there, a youngish, very attractive cafe au lait female head popped up between us from behind: "What are you two laughing about?" I jumped so I almost hit my head on the windshield. "Eric, this is my daughter." Damn, brother, she's fine. Oh well, I had to work. Every time I think of that pair, I smile to this day. Talk about helping out your fellow man. I'm sure Mike would do the same. That's why I trust truckers - for the most part - but not trucks. 10-4. William Salutes William Marc Weisblott advises me of William Safire's "Language" column from Sunday's forthcoming NY Times Mag called "Blog." We are creeping into the big time my friends:
Then followed bloggers, for those who perform the act of blogging and -- to encompass the burgeoning world of Web logs -- blogistan as well as the coinage of William Quick on the blog he calls The Daily Pundit, the blogosphere. Sure to come: the blogiverse. Internal Divisions Speaking of the Gaza attack, Americans aren't the only ones with mixed feelings. According to Chemi Shalev in the Forward, the Israeli public
The Israeli army and the Shin Bet general security service opened an investigation in the attack Tuesday. Shehadeh had topped Israel's most-wanted list since the outbreak of the intifada. The Gaza head of the Iz-a-Din el-Kassam, Hamas' military wing, he had recently branched out into the West Bank as well. He was the mastermind and financier behind many past terrorist attacks — including the horrific Passover-eve massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya — and currently was engaged in active planning of further atrocities. There was a near-consensus in Israel that the man deserved to die. But even among the attack's supporters — which seemed to include the vast majority of the Israeli public — tough questions were being asked. Most piercing were complaints about faulty intelligence, which erroneously predicted no civilian casualties, and the use of a one-ton bomb — the heaviest in Israel's arsenal — in a densely populated Gaza City neighborhood. "Only a miracle could have prevented civilian casualties," said one security official, "and we are currently short of miracles." Within the Foreign Ministry, too, officials were privately critical of the government for endangering Israel's recent diplomatic gains, mainly in Washington but also in Europe.
Because of her family name and its emotional legacy, Rabin's resignation embarrassed Peres, who had not been notified in advance about the Shehadeh killing but nonetheless decided to continue his grin-and-bear-it partnership with Sharon. The resignation was yet another slap in the face of Rabin's political mentor and Defense Ministry boss, Labor leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. Labor has been wracked by a spate of embarrassing defections by senior party figures, all attributed to the party's decline in the polls. Former party secretary-general and cabinet minister Ra'anan Cohen found a cushy job as head of a large industrial bank; Trade and Industry Minister Dalia Itzik, Labor's senior female politician, is seriously considering an appointment as ambassador to London, and former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami is scheduled to quit the Knesset next week, in protest over Labor's continued participation in Sharon's coalition. Among political pundits, the most common cliché about Labor politicians these days is that they are like "rats leaving a sinking ship." The Eye I like the OmbudsGod very much: he who keeps an eye on the typically PC do-gooders who serve as the liaisons between news organizations and the public. I have been ambivalent about the Israeli attack that killed 14 civilians in addition to Salah Shehada. The OmbudsGod will have none of it:
This pretentious moral posturing needs to stop. If you don’t agree with a war, then say so. But don’t engage in this pantywaist nitpicking every time a few civilians get killed when a military target is struck. If the Palestinians are going to use their civilian population as a shield, and they do, then civilian casualties are avoidable. Hell, Palestinian terrorists transport bombs into Israel in ambulances. Moussaoui: Buffoon or Mastermind? Slate's Dahlia Lithwick stands (or sits since she is typing) with mouth agape at the patience Judge Leonie Brinkema exhibits in helping guide the bizarre Zacarias Moussaoui away from his ill-conceived guilty plea. Lithwick says Brinkema is now essentially acting as Moussaoui's - the James Traficant of terrorists - lawyer:
....The judge, recognizing that they may finally be in agreement, explains that the "essence of the conspiracy" requires that Moussaoui willfully conspired with al-Qaida members to kill and maim people, resulting in thousands of deaths on Sept. 11. It has nothing to do with guest houses. Moussaoui tries to say she doesn't understand the law, that he can plead guilty to the conspiracy because he provided a guest house, even if he knew nothing about Sept. 11. Brinkema: "It doesn't work that way. If you are saying you ran guest houses and knew members of al-Qaida, then you're not agreeing to this particular conspiracy. … If you came to the U.S. to learn to fly crop dusters … you're not a member of this conspiracy." When Mousaoui keeps arguing, she moves on to the second count in the indictment. Moussaoui suddenly asks for a recess. And Brinkema, who never grants his spontaneous goofy requests, gives it to him. When he comes back 15 minutes later, Moussaoui has changed his plea. He quotes Hamlet ("to be or not to be") and insists that the judge "wants to tie me to certain facts that will guarantee my death," although she has made a heroic effort today to untie him from precisely those facts. Claiming that Islam prohibits him from doing that which would lead to his own death, he changes his plea to "not guilty." Evidently a polite "Thank you for saving my life, Your Honor" is not in the list of courtroom miracles today. The judge observes with the understatement of the ages that this is "not an unwise decision" and warns the government that they may not tell a jury that he attempted to plead guilty.
In other words they were patsies, cannon fodder, Jihadi worker bees etc. These types of people, by definition, must be expendable. Moussaoui, an addle-brained loser, fits the bill perfectly. It makes total sense to me that he wasn't in on the big picture of 9/11. Would you trust this buffoon to keep a secret? So technically, maybe he really wasn't part of the specific 9/11 conspiracy. But he was surely part of a conspiracy of of some kind -- whether he was told, like some of the other hijackers, that they would be simply hijacking and kidnapping or whether he was simply told to "be ready" for a mission. The vague details of a plot are now coming into focus: the buffoonery; the mangled language and logic; the social ineptitude; the insistence on defending himself although he is neither a lawyer, an American, nor (apparently) possessed of half a brain. Is it all a very clever defense strategy by real al Qaeda mastermind Sheikh Z. Moussaoui? The brains behind the operation, smooth operator, and international man of mystery? Is Osama bin Laden the real stooge? If so, we must expose Moussaoui now before it's too late. Unlike England, our double jeopardy laws are still intact. "I Can't Believe I'm Talking To..." Dawn guests on Tony Pierce's site with an incredibly lifelike recreation of conversations from the gala L.A. Bloggers Bash 2:
WarrenZevon: What was your name again? Dawn: Dawn. Do you have a blog? I bet it would be so cool if you did. WarrenZevon: A what? Hey could you, um, give me a little more personal space please. Dawn: Sure, sorry about that. Wow, I..can’t..believe..I..am..talking..to..Warren Zevon!! WarrenZevon: What was your name again? Dawn: Uh, Dawn? UPDATE Speaking of Dawn, she doesn't fell well today. When I came home last night she had her head under some pillows: "Ah, Dawn dear, what are you doing?" "Ah unh unh eel o elll, rying ah ah oook" "Practicing your Inuit?" (removing pillows) "Trying not to puke" And so it went. Today she wrote a subjective evocation of the existential dilemma. Where is Sartre or at least Jeff Goldstein when you need them? More Free Music Back from recording the radio show. Let me be clear: the key to making FREE CDs TO BLOGGERS work is to have enough bloggers interested to make it worth the record companies' while to send us promotional CDs. In other words: I NEED YOUR HELP IN SPREADING THE WORD. I would guess if we don't get at least 100 bloggers interested in receiving and reviewing new releases, then the record companies won't go for it. IT'S UP TO YOU. FREE MUSIC There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such thing as free music if you hold up your end of the bargain. Over our vacation, Dawn and I were kicking around an idea, and the Steve Earle blog explosion, extensive discussion of electronic music, and the general high level of interest and perceptivity regarding music in the blogosphere has convinced me that the time has come for bloggers to formally enter the music journalism arena. All of these bloggers have written passionately and insightfully on the Steve Earle affair - I'm sure there are many more: InstaPundit, Jim Henley, Marc Weisblott, Daily Pundit, Matt Welch, Ken Layne, Damian Penny, Dr. Frank, Porphyrogenitus, Dawson, Andrea Harris, Charles Oliver, Sulizano, the Sarge, Brian Linse, The Fat Guy, Balloon Juice, A. Beam (he's back!!), James Russell, Alex Whitlock, Norwegian Blogger. Glenn Reynolds, John Scalzi, Jason Rubenstein, Mike and I, all record electronic music; Samizdata, Andrew Sullivan and many others talk about it regularly. Doc Searls, Dave Winer, Jeff Goldstein, Tony Pierce, Ed Driscoll, Matt Moore, Joanne Jacobs, Jim Treacher, Anne Wilson, Ross the Bloviator, and on and on and on write about music or the industry frequently. So here's what we are going to do: we are going to give you free CDs if you are a blogger, love music, and agree to write about it on a regular basis. I will need from you in the form of an email: your name, your blog, your email address, your approximate monthly traffic, your favorite genres or artists. That's it for now. We will be your conduit to the record labels, who will be thrilled to have another publicity outlet in these grim days (for them). You can write CD reviews, essays, think pieces, overviews, eventually interviews, but you must somehow incorporate the music you will receive into your blog on a regular basis. How you do so is up to you. Please send your email, under the heading "Blog Music," to me at ericolsen@compuserve.com The more interest we have, the better the service we will receive from the labels. You may be asked to pay for shipping costs, we will have to see how that goes, but you will never pay for the CDs. Please help spread the word. Thanks. UPDATE And let us not forget that JenRaj writes about music on a regular basis, my friends. Thursday, July 25, 2002
Blog Salon? Marc Weisblott asked me to summarize my position on the new Salon blog domain. I think this is it:
: So let's get this straight: I can start a blog and run it for free from Blogger. Or I can pay the ever-struggling Salon to host my weblog for $40 a year and hope they stay in business for that long. Hmmm. Samizmusic Brian Micklethwait (at what point in their storied history did the British decide that "thwait" was a cool suffix to add to names?) has a very interesting perspective on blogging and music creation, Britpop, and other wonders on Samizdata:
....It's all very entertaining. It just isn't very fascinating musically. Will a new generation of Britbloggers change all that, by putting the music back into music? First the print media. Now music. Comments: Pro and Con Ann Salisbury wonders if she should have a comments section seeing as she has a hard time keeping up with the email as it is, comments sometimes get out of hand, and can even cause technical problems. Relevant concerns all. Here is my experience: I have found having comments requires LESS correspondence time because people write much shorter comments than they do emails and I can respond accordingly. Both Dawn and I had a vile, tedious troll who did clog up the system for a time, but he was finally banished back under the bridge from which he came and calm has returned. Comments sections can also take on a life of their own, which only happens sometimes with me, more often with Dawn, and every moment of every day on Charles Johnson's site. The dude has entire villages of people living on his site: a quick scan today reveals anywhere from 3 to 270, yes I said 2-7-0!!, comments per post. Damn, what is that boy putting in those footballs? Regarding the technical, no one is less adept than I, and I have never had any problems with YACCS other than the occasional slow load or a very rare outage. No problem there. I would recommend comments as a way to interact with your readers, expand your thoughts on a given post without having to start all over again, keep readers around longer (my "average visit length" has gone up since we added comments), and give them a public forum that doesn't require busting out the email program and salutations and whatnot. Go for it, baby. First-Person Steve Earle has become the self-luminous gaseous sphere around which all human thought now revolves. Jim Henley finds THE most appropriate songwriter with whom to compare Earle regarding first-person character imaginings:
"I find it interesting to lay a guy out there-defects and all-and let him make the best case for himself that he can make," laughs Newman. "Maybe I'm incapable of making a direct statement using myself as a romantic figure and writing a 'Mandy' or an 'Every Breath You Take.' I don't see myself that way. It's somehow an exalted thing to be talking about your love to the American people. I'm more interested in people who aren't heroes." Explanations I hadn't heard of David Warren before, but he sure seems to know a lot about what's going on in the Middle East:
So why did the Israelis risk the publicity pummelling from such a mission? They chose their method because the alternative, going in on the ground, would have resulted in far more casualties, and on both sides. For Sheheda was found to be, late Monday night, at home in a small apartment building near the centre of Gaza City. To get to it on the ground would have meant a Mogadishu-style helicopter drop into the heart of the city, or going in the long way with tanks; in either case, carnage on several times the scale of Jenin. The method chosen was the most economical of human life.
Within hours, the Qassim rockets were being fired wildly towards Israeli positions, in Gaza and the Negev. And the IDF were ready to track them all to source.
What makes Israel hesitate, is the risk to Israeli civilians if some part of the mission were to go terribly wrong; in particular the danger presented by the sheer number of Iranian ground-to-ground missiles that Hezbollah and the Syrians have accumulated. On the other hand, since they are still being accumulated, why wait for the enemy to strike first? Dennis Ross agrees that something is afoot with Hezbollah:
Hafez Assad was no slouch when it came to threatening Israel. But he controlled the flow of Iranian arms to Hezbollah, and he never provided Syrian weapons directly. He certainly did not mind Hezbollah keeping the pressure on Israel, but he was not about to let Hezbollah drag him into a war with Israel either. But Bashar Assad seems to lack his father's sense of limits. As if providing weapons to Hezbollah was not enough, he is also procuring spare parts for Iraq from Eastern Europe. That's something new; his father sought Saddam Hussein's demise, not his strengthening. What could the younger Mr. Assad be thinking? The logic is difficult to grasp unless one looks at the increasingly close connection he has been developing with Hezbollah and Iran. Iranian officials routinely stop in Damascus both before and after visiting Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah. Iran is pushing Hezbollah to cooperate more with Hamas in the war against Israel. Recently, the Israelis have arrested Hezbollah operatives in the West Bank. REVENGE
....Rabbi Elimelech Shapira, 43, was killed and another Israeli seriously wounded in a roadside ambush in the West Bank, the military said. Palestinians opened fire on their car near the Jewish settlement of Alei Zahav, south of the Palestinian town of Qalqiliya. Shapira was the director of a rabbinical seminary at the settlement of Paduel. Palestinians bomb themselves:
Brand Names Caveat emptor. Glenn Reynolds is having problems with Dell. Musicians show up solo when you think you are going to see a band (see second update). Novelists don't write their own books:
Like Pepsi or the Gap, "Tom Clancy" has become a brand. He still writes his Jack Ryan books. His next, "Red Rabbit," will be out next month. He treats other books, however, like fast-food franchises. Other popular and prolix writers have followed Clancy's suit and taken on co-writers to become even more prolix. In his "Dreamland" series, Dale Brown collaborates with Jim DeFelice. Clive Cussler has developed the "NUMA Files" series, which he writes with Paul Kemprecos. James Patterson has hired a couple of co-writers to work with him: Andrew Gross helped Patterson with "2nd Chance," and Peter De Jonge worked on "Beach House."
Clancy, according to his publisher, Penguin Putnam, "has established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense." So if Clancy can provide these elements -- and his hall-of-fame name -- and somebody else can do the heavy lifting of linking subjects to verbs to objects, who cares? ....One best-selling writer who wishes to remain anonymous isn't so generous. "It's like buying celebrity clothing at Kmart," the writer says. "Still, if people want to buy co-authored stories, they presumably know what they're getting into." Not always. Though Lawrence Sanders died in 1998, his publishing company, Putnam, continues to issue books under his name. For a while, Putnam neglected to make it clear to readers that someone else was writing the thrillers. These days Vincent Lardo gets a small byline at the bottom of the cover. Lardo's "McNally's Alibi" came out this month. The name Lawrence Sanders is still plastered in big type across the cover. ....Now it's Robert Ludlum's turn to enjoy a literary life beyond all mortality. The popular mystery writer died in March 2001. In his last years he collaborated on several books. One of his co-writers, Gayle Lynds, explains the process. "What Bob did," she says, "is come up with the general idea, a fascinating main character and a story arc. My job was to fill in the gaps." In other words, to write the damn thing. The Dark Side of Blogging? Everything has a dark side, even blogging. For many of us blogging is the least stressful thing we do, for others it's a struggle. I love blogging but it has taken some real concentration to get my brain back where it needs to be to do it at the level I demand of myself. Or some such shit. It took a full week to feel comfortable again aftertwo weeks off. Check out Tom Shugart:
Paid a visit to the shrink who reminded me that I was forced to take care of my mother while still a boy--a very Big Expectation. "Have some compassion for yourself," I was counseled. "Do things that make you proud," she said. "I've read your blog and I see a lot of pride coming through." She didn't need to say it. The prescription was perfectly implicit: "Keep on bloggin' " OK, OK. I'll give it a whirl. And it may be a struggle. "If it's a struggle, why do it?" I ask myself. Blogging's supposed to be for fun isn't it? Yes, but it's also for pride. Every blogger that I enjoy is projecting his or her pride in one way or another. I respect them for it. It's an important part of what makes them attractive to me. Why should it be any different in my case? Shelley Powers found her blog cannibalizing her creativity so she up and quit:
The very nature of weblogging is that we post regularly, we don't pull the postings, and we do only minor edits. If we pull postings we leave broken links from other weblogs, or comments that are left orphaned. If we edit, we're breaking trust with those who've commented on the original writing. Weblogging is writing that's been externalized. And once the words are out and the writing is finished, no matter how terrific the post is, it's slowly pushed down a page and hidden among other postings and blogrolls and blogstickers and other graphics until it eventually falls off the bottom of the page, never to surface again unless some strange person puts a bizarre request into Google that leads to one of our archives. Truly great writing must be allowed to persist through time and if there's one characteristic common to all weblogs, it's impermanence. There's no reason why the weblogger can't write for other publications - many do. I do. However, I'm finding that, for me personally, my weblog has become a creative relief valve, something that's not as positive as it may sound. Writing is as much a discipline and an overcoming of inertia as it is a product of creativity and skill - you need a build-up of creative energies to start a work and see it through to the end. Since I started weblogging, I've found it difficult to focus on my books and my articles, and it shows. In the last year I may have written more than at any other time in my life, but I have the least to show for my effort. No articles, and only one book finished. What a twistie - to continue writing I must stop writing. No endeavor is perfect and we must all find our own way, but it's important to know you aren't the only one with problems. Blog on. Get Your Drawers On, Indeed Out of towners are tentatively checking in about the August 24 blogger party at our house in suburban Cleveland. We say belay the indecision and TAKE A STAND like force of nature Sulizano!! Be bold - don't forget, we have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Indians (they suck you say? yes, but now you can get tickets), Six Flags Worlds of Adventure literally down the street, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a whole bunch of other crap. Get on it. Dave Does Bob Speaking of Dave, he takes on Crazy Bob Kuttner on the economy:
...You can no longer seriously say that “markets always work better than governments”? Actually, I think only the most extreme libertarians say that. I think the rest of us on the right generally believe that markets usually work better than government. But that aside, if you think that the conservative faith in the market is facing a rout, Bob, you need to expand your reading list. Try the folks at National Review Online, or Tech Central Station. Heck, even try the much less conservative folk over at the Washington Post. ....You’ve indulged that mental state so typical of many on the left, the salvation complex. The market troubles have led you to conclude that our society is going to hell in hand basket, and it is time for the liberals like you to rush in with all sorts of new government programs to save us. Thanks for the thought, Bob, but we’ll be better off without your help. Traficant the Entertainer Via David Hogberg, Indepundit offers a tribute of sorts to ousted Congressman James Traficant:
I would be remiss, however, if I allowed this moment to pass without paying a final tribute to the wit and wisdom of Mr. Traficant, in his own words. On Energy: "Mr. Speaker, home heating fuel costs have doubled. The companies blame OPEC and the bitter winter. Now if that isn't enough to insulate your BVDs, these same companies are now saying, and I quote, they are losing money. Beam me up! I say it is time to impose a $100 million fine on this bunch of bric-a-bracin', ratchet-fratchet nincompoops..." "Mr. Speaker, gasoline is $2.20 a gallon. That's right, $2.20. Now, if that is not enough to bust your bunions, Congress gives billions of dollars to OPEC countries, and they rip us off. To boot, the domestic oil companies are gouging us so bad, we are all passing gas. Beam me up!" On Foreign Policy: "If the White House succeeds in getting China admitted to the World Trade Organization, I say the White House needs a lobotomy performed by a proctologist." "These experts are not only smoking dope, they are drinking vodka chasers if they expect me to vote for one more dime for a Russian loan." On Taxes: "From the womb to the tomb, Madam Speaker, the Internal Rectal Service is one big enema. Think about it: They tax our income, they tax our savings, they tax our sex, they tax our property-sales profits, they even tax our income when we die. Is it any wonder America is taxed off? We happen to be suffering from a disease called Taxes Mortis Americanus. Beam me up!" "There are more loopholes in the U.S. Tax Code than those old hockey nets at the Boston Garden. Beam me up. The truth is, America keeps shipping jobs and money overseas, and America is getting in return two truckloads of mangoes and two baseball players to be named later. Think about that shot." "Beam me up. No wonder the American people are taxed off. I think Congress should take the IRS, handcuff them to a chain-link fence, and flog them with their own damn Tax Code. That is what the Congress should do. Yield back the balance of the taxes." On Federal Regulations: "Mr. Speaker, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words. The Declaration of Independence is 1,322 words. Government regulations on the sale of cabbage is 27,000 words. Mr. Speaker, now if that is not enough to stuff your cabbage roll, regulations cost taxpayers $400 billion a year, $4,000 per every family each and every year, year in and year out. Unbelievable. It is so bad, if a dog urinates in a parking lot, the EPA declares it a wetland." On Immigration: "I say, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to put American military troops on our border. They are falling out of chairs without arm rests overseas and we have got millions of illegal immigrants, many of them running over our borders with back packs full of cocaine and heroin. Beam me up. Whoever created this immigration policy is in fact smoking dope." On NASA: "Beam me up, Mr. Speaker. Now NASA is on an unmanned space mission to the moon. I think NASA should redirect and have an unmanned space mission to Washington, DC, and try to find out if there is any intelligent life left in the Nation's Capital." On Religious Freedom: "Mr. Speaker, the school prayer issue is out of control, literally. Students in Pennsylvania were prohibited from handing out Christmas cards. Reports say students in Minnesota were disciplined for having said merry Christmas. Now if that is not enough to find coal in your athletic supporter, check this out: A school board in Georgia removed the word 'Christmas' from their school calendar because the ACLU threatened to sue. Beam me up. If this is religious freedom, I am a fashion model for GQ." On a Tagent: "Maybe J. Edgar Hoover will crown the next Miss France, Mr. Speaker. Hey, what is next? Will they have certification standards performed by licensed gynecologists for these pageants? Beam me up! This is not brain surgery. Even the University of Dayton School of Political Science can determine human genitalia." "Madam Speaker, it started with the training bra and then it came to the push-up bra, the support bra, the Wonderbra, the super bra. There is even a smart bra. Now, if that is not enough to prop up your curiosity, there is now a new bra. It is called the holster bra, the gun bra. That is right, a brassiere to conceal a hidden handgun. Unbelievable. What is next? A maxi-girdle to conceal a Stinger missile? Beam me up! I advise all men in America against taking women to drive-in movies who may end up getting shot in a passionate embrace." "Mr. Speaker, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new state-of-the-art antidepressant for dogs. The FDA says, 'American canines are suffering from anxiety.' Think about it: no barking beagles, no more whining Weimaraners, no more defecating Dobermans. Meanwhile, the FDA continues to deny approval for certain cancer-treating drugs to help Mom and Dad. Beam me up! It is evident that the FDA has gone to the dogs. What is next, Viagra for felines?" "Mr. Speaker, as a former athlete, I thought I saw it all. Great celebrations after grand slams and Hail Marys. But this time it has gone too far. News reports say after a game-winning goal at a soccer match in Spain, a player celebrated his teammate who scored by biting him on the genitals. Beam me up. Now I have heard of high fives, back slaps, butt slaps, but this takes the family jewels. The team says the player is doing fine, but I suspect he will speak from here on in like a soprano. This is going a little too far. I yield back what has now become known as 'The Big Bite.'" On Defending Himself: "Probably with my two hands. I may throw some karate shots in there. Actually, my body is a lethal, lethal weapon." "I'm going to burp, pass gas." Mojave Cross Is the cross strictly a Christian symbol, or can it function as a generic tribute? That is the fundamental question behind this story, and the answer has swung back and forth:
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union argued the cross violated the Constitution because it was a religious symbol on public land, and U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Timlin of Riverside ruled in their favor. The cross atop an outcropping 11 miles south of Interstate 15 between Barstow and Las Vegas dates to 1934. A prospector, John "Riley" Bembry, raised a cross to honor World War I veterans and asked a friend, almost as a dying wish, to make sure it remained there. After the ACLU filed its March 2001 lawsuit against the National Park Service, Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, got a bill through the House making the cross a national landmark. CBS Morning News featured the cross and its supporters. "Unless the government is willing to open up the land to everyone, in a come one, come all manner, then the government has no business allowing one symbol," said Peter Eliasberg, staff attorney of the ACLU's Southern California chapter. ....Timlin's 21-page ruling was filed about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. Timlin cited a 1996 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in the Separation of Church and State Committee vs. the city of Eugene, Ore. "The presence of the cross on federal land conveys a message of endorsement of religion," Timlin wrote. An appeal would be heard in the 9th Circuit court.
"We're devastated," said Wanda, 58, who has baked cinnamon rolls for those Easter-morning services. "But I still don't think it will go. Maybe I'm hard-headed or something. I really can't believe it will come down." Although the Sandozes say they have religious convictions, the couple said Bembry wasn't much of a religious man. "He didn't put it there with any religious significance whatsoever," Wanda Sandoz said. "To him, it was there strictly to honor veterans." The ACLU argued the cross is clearly recognized as an important symbol of Christianity. Warren's Web Dawn and I were very excited to meet Warren Zevon at the L.A. Blogger Bash, but he struck us as rather odd. Well, so is Steve Earle it would appear, but they're both great songwriters and that's what counts. A. Beam, Tim Blair, and Amish Tech Support all find striking connections between Zevon song titles and the blogosphere. Zevon at a blogger party? Hidden parallels in song titles? Coincidence? I think not my friend. Beam: "Accidently Like a Blogger" Blair:
"Bad Luck Streak in Fisking School" "Looking For The Next Abeam" "I'll Sleep When I'm Read" "Solent of London" "Bloggers, Guns, and PayPal" and of course, those two figures of gunslinging, gang-leading legend: "Ken And Laura Crane" Amish:
Back there on Glenn's Site Again (Back In The High Life Again) Beneath the Vast Incompetence of Colin (Indifference of Heaven) Blogger Waiting to Publish (Trouble Waiting To Happen) Blogrolling (Networking) Brendan The Clueless Trolling Blogger (Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner) Charles Was A Warblogger (Jesus Was A Crossmaker) Even a Troll can get hits (Even A Dog Can Shake Hands) For My Next Post I'll Bait the blogophere (For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer) etc. Why Mourn? Howard Owens has a very interesting angle on the Israeli attack on Salah Shehada and others, which points out (yet another) element of hypocrisy in Palestinian logic:
Wouldn't it follow, then, that if you die in an Israeli attack on your apartment building, no matter what you're age, you are a martyr? And if you are a martyr, shouldn't your friends and families celebrate your death, rather than mourn it? When suicide bombers blow themselves up, even when they fail to kill any Israelis, the families celebrate, so aren't we to conclude that martyrdom is something to be greeted with joy and thanksgiving? So, when Israeli forces dropped a bomb on the house of Hamas military leader Salah Shehada, why all the wailing and gnashing of teeth? The Palestinians are doing it, and vowing revenge, and their liberal supporters in this country are doing it. "Bad Israel, bad." But all the Israelis did, as far as I can tell, is dispatch a few martyrs to paradise, and take out a loathed enemy in the process. I know that sounds like a harsh position to take, but what is more harsh -- sending your daughter to blow herself up in an Tel Aviv market, or acknowledging the Islamists freedom of religion? It would appear the difference lies in "control": the Palestinians choose to take their own lives via suicide bombing with the goal of killing Israelis, when Palestinians are killed in attacks by Israelis they exercise no control over the situation, and of course, don't get the satisfaction of killing any civilians themselves. So "martyrdom" is really more about power than about spiritual gratification. Earle and Islam Reader Alonzo Font found this interview with Earle from last December. Good thing he's a songwriter and not a journalist. He has some problems with facts:
But then again, Earle doesn't claim to be an expert either:
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Ask, And Ye Shall... As a peculiar sidenote of the Steve Earle affair, I found it fascinating that the same writer, Aly Sujo, wrote both articles that were the source of ALL info on the story until Ken Layne dug into Earle's website and found some additional quotes from Earle on the matter. I posted this yesterday:
I find it remarkable that every single printed reference to the Earle affair I have found thus far stems from the same writer, Aly Sujo, who also seems to be a studio violin player down in Nashville. I remarked in the original Earle piece that the information in the shrieking NY Post piece and the much more tempered Reuters/ABC story is essentially the same (though there is much more of it in the latter), but there is a very notable difference in tone between the two. I am amazed that every bit of factual information on this story has come from the same source. Marc Weisblott brings up a very intriguing question: since much more detailed information is included in the Reuters story, this one would appear to be the "base" story - the one that was written first. Did Sujo adapt his own Reuters story for the Murdoch-owned, right-leaning NY Post, or did he turn in the same story to the Post and did they edit the mother-loving nipples out of it? Now I have a reply. The answer is the latter:
The post's weekend rewrites apparently had a little too much time on their hands. Reuters hardly changed a word. Regards, aly sujo Back to the matter at hand: you have to go back to the Post and the Reuters stories to fully appreciate what vicious havoc the Post editors wreaked on this man's work. The only thing close to this that has happened to me was a cover story on music videos I wrote for Option in the early-'90s: they butchered that sucker and I never spoke to them again. It was horrifying. I feel for you Aly. Thanks again. Marty was right, by the way (see comments of original post). UPDATE We're all just trying to get by. Check out the return email from Sujo:
Yah, i'm a violinist ... heard about the earle song when i was doing a demo in nashville couple weeks ago, tracked down the walker song, wrote up the story for my former employers at Reuters (vaguely hoping it would get steve's attention and he'd listen to the fucking demo... or hand it over to his label). But noooo! Instead, I've been taken off their mailing lists and will probably have to physically defend myself if i ever bump into earle ... best, aly UPDATE Media Minder, who is "a copy editor at one of America's largest daily newspapers," checks in on this story:
and that's a shame. (I still think he's a great artist.) By the way, I saw your stuff on Warren Zevon coming to your blog party. I saw him one time in North Carolina and was supremely disappointed. I didn't realize that it was a "Warren Zevon unplugged" kind of thing with just him playing solo piano. Boy, he was a real jerk, doing this whole "Artiste" thing. He ignored the crowd in between songs (despite the fact that there were hundreds of some hard-core fans in attendance) and got pissed off when people applauded before he'd finished his "interpretation" of one of his songs. (Hell, we all thought he was finished.) Take care, MM YET MORE Porphyrogenitus (no, it doesn't mean "purple member") adds his thoughts:
I think this kind of thing goes on far more often than we think. No, not just the specific thing of people writing about musicians in order to try to get their foot in a door and get a label's attention, but people getting published in news media as reporters but acting out of some personal motivation that is not stated within the "story" and thus is hidden from readers. 44/33 BLOGGER FIESTA IN CLEVELAND I turn 44 and Dawn turns 33 in August. We had a sensational time at the gala L.A. Blogger party a couple of weeks ago (thanks Brian! et al). Ergo, we are going to have a combined birthday/blogger party at our house in the Cleveland area on AUGUST 24. All bloggers, and cool blog readers, are welcome. Doug Dever of Clue Society, who got both jiggy and freaky at the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, will co-host, or tri-host, or whatever. He'll be there. Several special out of town guests are already confirmed. Come to Cleveland and meet your fellow blogoids, drink heartily, eat well, be festive. Probably no Warren Zevon, but maybe we can get ERIC CARMEN to show up. Email Dawn, Doug or me for more information and to RSVP. Space is limited, DON'T DELAY. Fresh Ears Every fiber of my being resists listening to Eminem, and I think until now he has been grossly overrated by "hip" white critics who want to keep at least one toe in black music, even though Eminem is white. I will grant him the catchy angle, and when he is catchy, he is very catchy. But still, I pretty much hate everything about the little prick. But Dawn has written a review of his new album - which she borrowed from me but I haven't even listened to yet - that makes me want to listen to him with "fresh ears" as we say in the biz, and that is a very impressive thing for a writer to do. No Ambiguity Here Jim Treacher has a new comic. What if Batman and Superman were gay? This is the result: it is vile and vulgar and appalling, but it is also really funny. Dawn followed the directions, printed it out and folded it correctly and everything. She's good like that. Jim's caveat emptor:
Death of a Hater I heard on the radio that this rectal lint is dead:
Pierce's novel, published in 1978, depicts a violent overthrow of the government by a small band of white supremacists who finance themselves through counterfeiting and bank robbery. One chapter, titled the "Day of the Rope," describes white corpses hung from every street corner with placards reading, "I defiled my race." FBI investigators have said McVeigh was a fan of Pierce's book and used it as a blueprint for bombing the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. The book includes a truck-bombing of FBI headquarters. The Oklahoma City bombing wasn't the first violence that federal prosecutors linked to "The Turner Diaries." In 1985, 10 members of a supremacist group called The Order were convicted of racketeering and other charges in Seattle. Among the crimes they were accused of were armored-car robberies and the 1984 machine-gun slaying of Jewish radio talk show host Alan Berg. One witness testified that a defendant told him, "You should read it, partner, it's all there. Everything that's going to happen is in 'The Turner Diaries.'" ....Recently, Pierce began using the Internet to promote his recording label, Resistance Records — "The soundtrack for white revolution." Can Pierce be held accountable for the actions of those who were influenced by his works of "art"? Not legally, no, the cause and effect chain is too difficult to prove; but if your intention (intention can count) is to incite violent behavior and you incite violent behavior, you are at least partially morally culpable for these actions. In Pierce's case, since his primary activity was political, and he made the exact same arguments in "real life" as he did in his "art," the connect is rather obvious. I appreciate the passion expressed by Whacking Day (via Damian Penny) in his obit:
Some success you had Willy-boy. You and a couple of mouth-breathing neanderthals plotted white revolution from your rural compound, only to be met with a perpetual lack of interest. How do you pathetic aryan turds feel now, knowing that you great benefactor achieved fuck-all in his entire miserable life?
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, estimated the group makes more than $1 million a year, mainly through sales of white power music and supremacist or neo-Nazi literature. "This is the major hate group in the United States. It's the most organized, the best run and the wealthiest," said Mark Potok, editor of the center's intelligence report on hate groups. ....The Anti-Defamation League estimated last year that Resistance Records received about 50 orders a day, with each order averaging $70. The league won't say how it comes by its information, but Pierce had said the figures were "not too far off." That would make gross revenues about $1.27 million a year. In the case of Pierce and his ilk, the hate expressed in the "art" is the same as the hate expressed in real life, and the express purpose of the art is to convey this hate and to pursuade to hate. Even this is still constitutionally protected free speech, however, so we must do what we can to expose the work for what it is and shine the glare of reason and civility upon it. So I am not only pleased that this dangerous, hate-filled puss-licker is dead because he will no longer plague the earth with his vile presence, but I am also happy to have the opportunity to expose the putrescence of his life and work to the light of day. UPDATE Well-clued Doug Dever points to this nauseating tribute on the National Alliance website:
More on Israeli Attack Damian Penny, who expressed my own ambivalence so well yesterday, has more:
AARON BROWN: ...We're joined from Philadelphia by Mideast scholar Daniel Pipes. It's good to see you again. What do you make of the events today? This is a difficult-this is going to be difficult, I would think, for the Israelis to deal with. DANIEL PIPES, MIDDLE EAST FORUM: It certainly is. The Israelis have clearly made a mistake, and need to be more careful. It's a tragedy. We must all urge the Israelis to approach these problems more carefully. That said, it is also important to realize that the Palestinians have the moral opprobrium here in having the leaders of their military in civilian areas. There is no distinction, and they are making it I think on purpose a target for the Israelis so that when the Israelis do strike, it's likely that they will have civilian casualties. So, the Israelis have got to be more careful, but the Palestinians are not playing fair. You don't put your military men in houses with children. BROWN: Well, the guy-I want to understand this because this strikes me a bit of a stretch. You got a guy apparently at home with his wife and children. Now, other than walking around the streets with a target on his back, what is it he's supposed to be doing? PIPES: Military installations in the Palestinian areas are consistently found in civilian areas. So, what one finds all the time is the Israelis are trying very hard to avoid taking-inflicting casualties and sometimes even taking themselves. You remember, a few months ago, some 13 Israelis were killed because they fell into a booby trap. So, it happens both ways. I mean, I'm in no way apologizing for what the Israelis have done today. I'm just saying there's a context, and it's one which is tragic. But it's one in which this man, Salah Shehadeh, has a very important role. He is one of the founders of the military wing of Hamas. He was in Israeli jail for 14 years, from 1984 to 1998. He's a close associate of the leader of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin. He's been, as was indicated earlier, on the top of the Israelis' most wanted list for some months now. The Israelis did blow up his house actually in December of last year. He is their target and he is, as I said before, and I think it's fair to say, he's making sure that he's surrounded by his wife, his children and other civilians.
Instead, I mourn their deaths because they have been placed in the line of fire by a number of militant terrorists who have absolutely no compunction whatsoever about using Palestinian civilians as targets and killing machines. I find it continually horrifying that Palestinians are brainwashed into using their own bodies as instruments of terro by volunteering to serve as suicide bombers. I find it horrifying as well that Palestinian terrorists who have given themselves to the cause of an armed struggle against the Israelis, would so callously and so ruthlessly use Palestinian civilians as human shields. It should be noted that terrorists like the Hamas leader who was killed yesterday, decided to live among civilians, and base his operations from a geographical area that was populated by civilians. It is impossible not to come to the conclusion that this tactic is designed to maximize the possibility that any Israeli strike against Palestinian terrorists causes the deaths of innocent civilians--deaths that the terrorists and their apologists and sympathizers will be able to exploit for propaganda purposes. After all, human life isn't nearly as important as good PR for Yasser Arafat, and his various and sundry bootlickers. In any event, the deaths of innocents are to be grieved--no matter what side they take in this struggle. And I grieve unequivocally for the deaths of the innocent Palestinian civilians. Summer Traffic Man o man, you can't tell me blog traffic isn't way down due to summer and/or the hiatus of various prominent bloggers. My Steve Earle stuff is No. 17 on Blogdex. Think about this: in the past 24 hours, I have been linked by (in no particular order) InstaPundit, Daily Pundit, Matt Welch, Ken Layne, Damian Penny, Dawn Olsen, Dr. Frank, Porphyrogenitus, Dawson, Andrea Harris, Sulizano, the Sarge, The Fat Guy, Balloon Juice, A. Beam (he's back!!), James Russell, Alex Whitlock, and I'm sure others I have left out (I apologize, let me know who you are) on this story. Based upon past experience, this kind of link bonanza would have generated 2,500+ hits in May or June, maybe more. Yesterday's unique visitors count? 600. Unbelievable. Yes, we were gone for two weeks and my traffic went way down, but I have been back for over a week. I am very curious to hear reports of your traffic either confirming or denying my theory. What has your traffic been like compared to May and June? Any traffic theories? Dead and Frozen Rand Simberg and Bruce Baugh both think I'm as wrong as can be regarding cryonics. Bruce:
This is wrong. Really wrong, in fact. The odds are quite good that most of you reading this know at least one person who's been clinically dead. Depending on your jurisdiction, clinical death is defined as something like the absence of cardiac function and the failure of the pupils to respond to a light shined in them. You can be in this state for several minutes right now and survive - probably somewhat the worse for wear, and you may never regain full strength, but you can come through it with your mind and memories and the rest of the stuff that's most distinctively you intact. It's even possible to survive more severe states that are in some sense death, like the outright cessation of activity in the brain, along with massive multiple failures of major organs and the like. People die with some regularity during major operations and are revived, and the state of emergency medical technology advances every year, so that people killed by serious accidents (or injuries, gunshots, poisoning, and the like) can be revived. "Death" means several different things, depending on context. Most of us use it in the practical, straightforward sense of "the point where you're so badly broken you don't come back". The legal and clinical definitions lie a bit this side of that, and mark reasonably clearcut boundaries beyond which recovery may be possibly but ain't very easy. The thing is, all such answers - both the technicalities and the fundamental point of no return - point at moving targets. There are untold numbers of people who've been in states that would have been irrevocable a few years, or decades, or generations or earlier, and there will continue to be more and more of them as our tools and our knowledge both improve. Rand:
But a more fundamental reason, I believe, is that if you accept the cryonicists' argument, it is tantamount to accepting the notion that almost everyone who is prematurely declared dead, and is then either buried to rot or burned beyond recognition, is being unwittingly murdered. And if that's the case, it is the greatest holocaust in history, being performed out of ignorance rather than malice. If I were a member of the medical profession, I'd find the ethical implications of standard practice to be, at the least, extremely troubling. It's much easier to pretend that the old ways are the best, because it doesn't arouse any such potential moral dilemmas. Rand says that most of the people being frozen for cryonic purposes are within that range and aren't truly "dead" yet. Even this is possible I suppose. But attendant to this point is a dirty little secret, or I don't know if it's a real secret, but I haven't seen anything on it yet: freezing the body does not stop the process of deterioration, it only slows it down. The periods of time we are talking about before science is going to solve the problems required to revive a "dead," deep-frozen body, let alone a freaking DISEMBODIED HEAD, are very long indeed - somewhere between dozens and thousands of years - and during all of that time the body is slowly deteriorating, becoming DEAD not just "dead." And once it's REALLY DEAD, it is dead, trite phrase or not. In a comment to an earlier post on the subject Rand said this:
Regarding the medical community, I don't think they are opposed to cryonics because they are afraid of being declared murderers for declaring only-sort-of-dead-bodies dead. I think they are against it because it is a waste of time and money and space and hope. Science has always moved forward and the point at which people were thought to be dead, or as good as dead, has moved forward over time along with it. I am reminded of a Monty Python scene where the cart comes around for plague victims: "Bring out your dead." "I'm not dead yet." "But you may as well be." People with fatal diseases have been "as good as dead" for most of history. In fact it wasn't that long ago that simply being really old was thought of as good as dead, and the codgers were sent off to die in a cave after they reached a certain age. We do not hold doctors responsible retroactively for actions based upon the knowledge of the day. This would be absurd. Doctors, along with everyone else, can only act upon what they know. We don't blame medieval physicians for drilling holes in people's heads to let out the bad spirits, it's what they did at the time. The "holocaust" Rand speaks of is simply an extension of the rule of "as good as dead" carried to our time: if the heart is stopped, the lungs stopped, no brain activity, and rigor mortis has set in, then there is surely no reason not to declare that person "dead" and dispose of them in a proper receptacle. The morality of the "state of the art" is not retroactive: we hold those in the past only up to the standard of the time. The standard of today is "no visible signs of life, stiffening and turning green = dead." This is not a "holocaust" but simple common sense. And common sense is what is so missing from the whole cryonics perspective. No need to get into the theology, philosophy or morality: it just isn't practical and probably never will be. UPDATE Rand addresses some of my concerns with an interesting update:
Next:
Any future technology that is capable of repairing that amount of damage would find restoring the cells to full health a trivial additional task, and in fact, it would be difficult to reanimate a person without restoring her to full youth and vigor, almost automatically. Reanimation, if it works at all, can reasonably be expected to work well, and if the technology hasn't advanced to that point, then it won't be done, per the guidelines of the cryonics contract. This is interesting:
As to notion of "suspend all or murder all": we already accept what the cryo's would consider "not really dead" to be legally dead. Once they're declared dead, unless they get up and start tap dancing, they are de facto dead. No murder there, just reality. We already say there are conditions under which a person needn't be forced to stay alive, and surely being a glassy corpsicle is one of those conditions people will never be forced to tolerate. The absence of "extraordinary measures" will never be "murder": not much of an issue there. Let's face it, abortion is legally tolerated out of practicality. Virtually no one, when not spouting political slogans, will say abortion is a "moral" thing to do, but sometimes it is the only practical thing to do, and so we tolerate it. If abortion isn't murder, and a pretty small percentage of us say that it is, then how can NOT freezing someone who has no vital signs and no reasonable hope of being revived ever be viewed as anything worse than "letting them go." This brings up another issue: I don't want anyone to be frozen before their time, before every reasonable measure has been taken to revive them, to keep them alive. I see a slippery slope where "better earlier than later when it is clear they cannot be revived" turns into something more sinister and expedient, all in the sincere effort to optimize the chances of future cryo-revival. Maybe we'll get to the point where if someone is really old, they may just want to be frozen in their sleep rather than waiting for "sort-of-death" because they are tired of living anyway and it would improve the odds of a successful revival in the future when the old can be made young and the dead can be made alive. Or maybe someone will make that decision for them: sounds like full-circle back to sending the old farts off to the "Caves of No Return." I do not want to take away people's right to be frozen and stored after they are dead, no matter how pointless such a procedure may be, but NOT freezing someone will NEVER be murder, and I don't think those corpsicles are ever waking up. Tuesday, July 23, 2002
44/33 BLOGGER FIESTA IN CLEVELAND I turn 44 and Dawn turns 33 in August. We had a sensational time at the gala L.A. Blogger party a couple of weeks ago (thanks Brian!). Ergo, we are going to have a combined birthday/blogger party at our house in the Cleveland area on AUGUST 24. All bloggers, and cool blog readers, are welcome. Doug Dever of Clue Society will co-host. Several special out of town guests are already confirmed. Come to Cleveland and meet your fellow blogoids, drink heartily, eat well, be festive. Probably no Warren Zevon, but maybe we can get MICHAEL STANLEY to show up. He's got nothing better to do. Email Dawn, Doug or me for more information and to RSVP. Space is limited, DON'T DELAY. This is a guaranteed blast - DON'T BE LEFT OUT. "I Can Bend This Spoon Using Only My Brain" Dude gets a spiffy-ass new site design then drops off the face of the earth for a month. Now Spoons is back with thoughts on blogging not:
On the other hand, though, it's amazing how out-of-touch I've felt during the past month. The only news I get has been a quick run through Fox and CNN and the Trib when I first get into the office ....What was my point again? Oh yeah -- taking a few weeks of from blogging, albeit unintentionally, gave me an interesting perspective on this whole hobby. Yeah, it takes a lot of time, and to an extent, detracts from some other worthy pursuits. At the same time, though, it keeps me far better informed, and keeps my reasoning sharp. I know that when I have to write about and justify my opinions, they're going to be more fully thought out and better reasoned. I also get a range of feedback from people who agree and disagree with me, and occasionally, someone will actually change my mind. That hardly ever happens in The Real World -- I guess the blogosphere just attracts a hipper and smarter breed of cat. On our trip to Hawaii I also enjoyed having time to myself: I felt a palpable absence of the gnawing feeling that I should be blogging something that never quite seems to go away when I'm in normal blog-mode. I realized how all or nothing this thing is - you're either in it or you're not. For me it's all about momentum and flow ("When I'm rushing on a run, I feel just like Jesus' son") and once you kill the momentum the flow stops and everything coagulates into the La Brea Tar Pits, and I'm a woolly mammoth trying to escape and I can't move and I can't get out and everything stops dead. I can't really formulate coherent thoughts into coherent sentences to make a coherent argument, and that's why it took me a full week to get back in the groove even though I was only off for two weeks. Damn, I'm a freak. Spoons sounds a lot more balanced about it. Gotta work on that shit. Another Proud Dad Tom Shugart, a great guy with an excellent blog I have neglected of late, is another very proud dad:
I've been loving every minute of it. Honest to God, I've had more side-splitting fun and pure enjoyment spending a couple of hours shooting the shit with these kids than I've had at 95% of the dinner or cocktail parties I've attended over the last five or more years. I don't know whether that reflects more on me or on my social life. It's been said that twenties and sixties have a lot in common because they're more focused on having fun and being in the moment. The thirties and forties ahead of and behind them tend to be consumed with money, power, and other concerns related to securing the future. Even though it's an extremely broad generalization, maybe there's some truth to it. Cynics, however, would suggest that it's merely a manifestation of my arrested development. I plead nolo contendre. The Road Speaks C.G. Hill is on the road and blogging - you can feel the miles accumulate under him:
So I'm crashing, so to speak, at my daughter's place, and the five of us (by which is meant my daughter and her child, my son and his wife, and yours truly) mounted an expedition to one of those cute semi-Mexican chain restaurants where it is assumed that because something is hotter, it must necessarily taste better. I don't buy into this notion as a rule, but this place did a decent job. Dawn In the Blogathon Okay, I was pimping for Maddie a couple of posts back, which was rather bad form because my own beautiful, sexy, and talented wife Dawn needs backers for her Blogathon effort, which is THIS SATURDAY. 24 hours of blogging hell for charity deserves your support. Head on over there now and join the cause. Thank you. Nine Children New bud Damian Penny says what I was going to say so I'll let him say it because he said it first, and I'm fair AND lazy:
I don't believe the Israelis went in there with the intent of killing civilians - which differentiates them from the likes of Hamas or the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, who almost exclusively target civilians - but surely to God, one thinks, there were more precautions which could have been taken. Even supporters of Israel, like myself, will have to concede that the people of Gaza - especially the families of these poor kids - have the right to be angry about this.
What else can I say? I'm completely torn, as are, I suspect, many other Israel supporters. And that is the difference between them and us. Have you ever seen the Palestinians condemn suicide attacks without saying they're really all Israel's fault, or saying that they should stop because they hurt the "Palestinian cause"? Most Israelis, whether they support these air strikes or not, do not celebrate the deaths of Palestinian civilians. God help them if this ever changes. The Bush administration called the action "heavy handed."
"The president has deep understanding for what Israel has been going through," he said. "The president is the first to defend Israel's right to defend itself." Fleischer dismissed any parallels between the Israeli airstrike in Gaza and the toll that U.S. bombings in Afghanistan ( news - web sites) had taken on civilians in the war against al-Qaida terrorists. "Our policy is to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "And there are occasions where, as a result of an error or an errant bomb, civilian lives are lost, and we always regret that." "That was not the case in this attack," Fleischer said. ...."This was a deliberate attack on the site, knowing that innocents would be lost in the consequences of the attack," Fleischer said. UPDATE A.C. Douglas sends us back to June for his view of the events discussed here:
Tony Knows Best Smoking hot. ALL of my meager income must go directly to my wife and children. But YOU should go to this woman's site and give her money because she is a very good writer and has server bills to pay. "Can't Explain It, But He's In There" God, the topic, is eternal. Lynn of Poet and Peasant, and the Sarge share some similar views on their beliefs. Lynn:
So what makes me believe? Well, for one thing… Mozart. No, not because I think that such incredible talent could only be a “gift from God” or any other such childish nonsense, but because of what it makes me feel. When I listen to Mozart I feel that I have a soul. It’s similar to the feeling I get from a walk in the woods or from reading intriguing and challenging ideas or seeing the American flag flying in the breeze. It’s like a light coming on inside. The idea that life could emerge from a primordial chemical broth and over billions of years evolve into a species from which could be born the likes of Mozart, Da Vinci, Einstein, and me, is far more wonderous than an ancient myth of God magically creating the world in six days. And I am not supporting the idea of “Intelligent Design” either. God is something our souls can feel. The Sarge takes a swing as well:
Yet, I hold an irrational belief in God. I know God exists. I can't logically explain it or find any rational explanation for my belief, yet there it is. I can't defend my belief or argue for God's existence, but the irrational feeling of "knowing" remains. Any halfway intelligent person can logically tear apart my belief, and I can only respond with an "Okay." It still doesn't change the fact that I know God exists. Thanks, guys. Worth Tastin' Those Maine-iacs can be quite vocal about praising their shellfish, as Dr. Weevil learned the hard way. When we were last in Maine, a squadron of Navy fighters spelled out "LOBSTER" in the sky over our heads (okay, I made that up). But they did have a festival with a marching band celebrating "Mollusk Week." Comment on Comments I get a lot of excellent emails and I appreciate them very much, but I would also love to see these thoughts made public by seeing them in the comments section. I must emit some kind of anti-comment juju, or maybe it's a cloaking device that helps keep our comments section relatively pristine. Go ahead, dirty it up. Thanks. No One to Call Martin Devon notes that sometimes the only person you can talk to about something is your ex-spouse. I know what he means except in my case it's been 12 years, we are both remarried with new children, and the only thing we have left are our two kids. They are so big now (18, 15) that there isn't all that much to discuss regarding them either, but there are times when it would be nice to talk over something only she and I experienced as parents together. But we don't have that kind of relationship, and so I have kind of a hole in the oral record of my two oldest children's early lives. It's sad but the resentment and lack of contact has eaten away at whatever residual feeling there might have been between us by now - I'm talking friendship - and that is no longer possible, nor has it been for a long, long time. If we could be friends, we probably never would have broken up; or I should say, she never would have left my ass. UPDATE Check out Jim Schwab below. Dawn, Chris, Lily and I could have had this same night under similar circumstances. When Chris came over here to go to school last year, I really missed him on the weekends when he went to his mother's. I have always missed Kristen when she has been gone, but since I haven't seen her more than a few days at a time very often for the last 12 years, it unfortunately, seems normal if sad.
Erin and I took a much needed and earned night out, just the two of us tonight. My sister, Karen was nice enough to watch Abby for us. It was VERY nice to be able to spend time together. We went to a nice resturaunt in Cranston called Spain. The food was excellent and the company made it a fabulous dinner. Then we caught The Bourne Identity. I'll get around to reviewing it another time. When the movie was over, we went out for ice cream. That was a nice cap on a VERY nice evening. Parallels Glenn sure touched a chord with this post. I too use Acid Pro to create electronic music, and I too have been slacking on the music of late - in my case since I started blogging back in February. The parallels between music-creation software and blogging are unmistakable: both enable "ordinary people" to enter into areas of creativity and, equally important, distribution, that were only previously available to select professionals: those who were allowed to pass through the portals of either the press or the record labels by the guardians at the gates. By enabling a large number of people to engage in these activities, both technologies are democratizing their respective fields and battering the barriers between "creator" and "consumer" in both directions. You know how blogs work, but Acid (and similar looping software), combined with Cool Edit (or other editing software) allow one to "sample" - to digitally copy - any snippet of any piece of recorded audio for use however one sees fit, then manipulate these snippets in any number of ways, including changing the pitch, the speed, the "color," etc. And the real breakthrough is that the software syncronizes all of these samples automatically for you. Acid Pro affords unlimited tracks (I've used as many as 50) so that these samples can be mixed and matched in virtually any combination. A digital music-maker is only limited by access to recorded audio - and with the advent of MP3's and other various audio file applications available on the Internet, you have almost unlimited access to raw material - and by your imagination. I still find the sound quality of compressed formats like MP3 to be substandard, so I use my own recorded media only. I have a huge advantage over most home recorders in that I have almost 20,000 records and CD's, so that my personal limitation is really just that of imagination. Another important factor with software-based recording is computer noise. Glenn mentioned the point here:
I don't think designers of computers -- or other noisy products -- give this much thought, but they should. Noise is a qualitative matter as much as a quantitative one.
My ears tell me that the box is only slightly quieter, but the noise spectrum has changed. The proportion of high-frequency noise has dropped; more of what I'm hearing is white noise due to turbulant airflow, less is bearing noise. This is a good change even if total emission hasn't dropped much. My fingers tell me that the amount of case resonance has dropped quite dramatically, especially on the side panels. Was it worth doing? I am not sure. There would probably be more benefit on a system emitting more bearing noise from 10K or 15Krpm drives. On this one, I think the power supply is emitting most of the noise, and acoustic lining can't do much against that. In fact, my clearest take-away from this is that the big gains in noise reduction on conventional PCs are likely to come from obsessing about power-supply engineering -- including details like whether the fan blows through a slotted grille or a cutout with a wire-basket finger guard (the latter will generate less turbulence noise). With noise under control, you can concentrate on putting your ideas into musical form. My process is something like this: I use Cool Edit to record samples from records, CDs, "real sounds" (fans, air filters, musical instruments, toys, whatever). The snippet can be as long or short as you wish, but since this sample will then be typically "looped" - i.e. repeated over and over again - the shorter the sample, the easier it will be to work with. I have built a library of hundreds of samples (DJ Spooky reportedly has a library of 30,000 samples), but I tend to use them up as I go, and I have a personal policy of avoiding the reuse of samples. When I have sampled for a while, I go back and listen to the samples until something catches my ear, and then I start putting samples together by creating "tracks" in Acid Pro. I build a song by adding one track on top of another until I have something that takes on a life of its own, and at best, the individual samples meld together into something new and "organic." When I am finished with this process, I can then take the whole song and pop it back into Cool Edit and manipulate the song as an entire entity: slow it down, speed it up, change the key; add reverb, echo; fade in, fade out; etc. Another source of sample material is canned packages available from any number of sources including the software companies themselves, but I avoid these as a matter of aesthetics and of policy: as anyone can buy samples, but only I can make my own. And only you can make your own. Back to the parallels between blogging and computer music making: they should be rather obvious now in the process as well as the result. Samples parallel news stories, which the blogger then comments or elaborates upon, or simply passes on whole. You always have the option of creating all-new material, but the structure of the softwares make it easier to borrow from others and then manipulate and combine this "borrowed" material in both blogging and music-making. I imagine it is these parallels that make the activities somewhat interchangeable in my, and I'm guessing Glenn's, mind; and since we have both been blogging like madmen, have allowed blogging to substitute for music-making. They are similar but not identical activities providing similar but not identical rewards. I need to find a way to combine the activities in my daily routine so as to neglect neither. Sounds like Glenn would like to do the same thing. If you can blog, you can make electronic music and vice versa. I am not trying to create competition for myself in either field, but I don't mind removing the mystique from either activity either. Have fun - express yourself. Blogs and Steve: the Aftermath The very fine Sulizano is outraged by the whole affair - she emails:
of the irate email threads I've been firing away at (and dodging bullets from) for the past day. I agree with you completely. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Glenn Reynolds is wrong -- would somebody please watch the door while I say this? Steve Earle, a poort excuse for a human being? When was the last time Glen tipped a beer with the guy, or had coffee with him, or pancakes? I've been to many events where Earle was also a guest, and he's just your basic longhaired, tattooed, polite, personable biker type who just happens to be a helluva poet. JEEZ! I get so ticked off when people think they "know" someone just because they've heard their records or read about them on the news. Damian Penny sends a very nice email (thanks, dude) and follows-up on his site. He runs a letter from a reader that expresses the view of character context, then adds:
"The Ballad of John Walker or Tali-Banned in Boston!" Let me tell you the story Of young Johnny Walker Of a misguided and foolish young man He left his home in Frisco, Said goodbye to his Mamma Went to join up with the Taliban Johnny went to Yemen Where he studied his Koran And then he made some further plans He e-mailed Daddy, “Send me twelve hundred dollars ‘Cause I’m goin’ to Afghanistan.” Chorus: But will he ever return? Will he ever return? Now his lesson is still unlearn'd He may be shot for treason On the streets of Kabul He's the man who may never return. Now Johnny joined al-Queda And learned to blow up buildings And his own homeland to curse Then came September Eleventh And then came the airstrikes And things went from bad to worse When his troop surrendered John was filthy and ragged And defeat had him feelin’ blue Then he saw a reporter From the AP or Newsweek And said “Hey, I’m an American too!” Chorus Johnny’s Mommy and Daddy Met up with some reporters And they talked like a couple’a flakes: “Sure, our son’s a ter’rist But you can’t be judgmental; Hell, everybody makes mistakes!” “He’s a good boy, really” Johnny’s Daddy added, “If you knew him well, you’d see. So I’ve found some lawyers Who’ll defend him pro bono, Gonna beat the rap and set him free!” Chorus Now the tale of Johnny Is an object lesson In what the wages of sin can be But you might also conclude The only good Johnny Walker Is the whiskey from Tennessee! Final chorus: But should he ever return? No, he shouldn’t return ‘Till his lesson he has learned He should be swingin’ from a lamppost On the streets of Kabul He's the man who should never return. (Apologies to the Kingston Trio and 1948 Boston mayoral candidate Walter O’Brien.) Meanwhile Dawson, who was truly down about the whole affair (see comments section also), seems quite relieved to hear another perspective, which he is still digesting. D. - hang on to those discs, buddy!
Tres Uno Producers, Eric Olsen, of course! ( thanks man!) And Bro. Ken Layne and most of the wise comments in my original post, including Linse, Layne and 'Hawkgirl' Emily...read em. I'll be back. With thoughts on art, God, love, freedom, night, treason, talent, sin, addiction, Johnny Cash, friendship and the things that really matter in this old world... Speaking of good buddies, Brian Linse jumps in under the title "Guy With A Guitar Threatens Free World":
Jim Henley has some interesting things to say as well:
So the tide appears to have turned a bit. Porphyrogenitus has returned to the scene twice, though, and he still senses danger:
To pretend that, in effect, doesn't tell us anything about the attitudes of Earle and his kindred spirits and comrades is to delude oneself. It's possible to put the "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world" thing too far, but do ideas matter, or don't they? Should we just be concientious objectors in the home-front propaganda war?
But, on the one hand these guys - the members of this tradition - often (when they're not feeling honest), when confronted and criticized, retreat to the "hey, it's just a song, man, don't read to much into it" but on the other hand, in other contexts, speak of "their message" and the importance of music as a way of reaching people, spreading the "progressive" viewpoint, energizing the movement, etc. Again, can't have it both ways: and this folk tradition was never one where a song was just a song. A song was always politics first - a way of reaching an audience that otherwise would not give these views the time of day. Folk has always had, if not intellectual seriousness, then pretensions to intellectual seriousnes. Norwegian Blogger Vegard Valgard has a Euro-view of the proceedings:
Now Country music does not speak to some deep place in my soul, it speaks to my gag reflex, so perhaps I am intensely biased in this regard. However generally country music seems to go on the formula of your car breaking down, your dog dies, you lose your job, your house [burns] down, and you catch some loathsome disease. In other words it's what people listen to if you are too white for the blues (though that's changing), or too normal for Goth music (or Cry-Baby Rock as I call it). Fascinating thread on the subject running through the gamut of views already discussed here to be found at the Velvet Rope (thanks to Marc again). Glenn responded to mine as well:
It's not like anyone's censoring his song. It won't get any less airplay than it would have anyway, which is to say next to none. It'll probably get more. As for the criticism, well, he seems to welcome it. So what's the beef?
And with that, I’m officially bored by this subject, though it seems to have dragged me back into the fray. I’m still way too busy to post regularly, but Cucumber Season seems to be winding to a close. UPDATE Porphyrogenitus and Dr. Frank sum up their rather opposing views quite well and the sound of masticated cukes fills the air. Frank gets inside his own head as a songwriter/performer:
Lets say some fatuous blowhard (Pat Buchannan, say) writes something that Steve Earle's defenders find objectionable. Do they pass it off in the way they want others to pass off what Earle wrote in a song? Probably more people will hear a song (even this one - especially with the controversy) than will read Buchannan's screed. Do they think about how everyone who knows Pat (even the African Americans and Jews) think of him as a nice, polite, personable guy when they're talking with him? Do they forget the context of his politics (which are, at best, borderline anti-semetic and racist), the way they think others ought to with Earle? Many, many of the people who are saying that guys like Earle have a "prominent place" in their view of things also seem to be saying "hey, it's wrong to make a fuss of this!" That seems a tad. . .well, either the guy has a prominent role and thus isn't immune to criticism or it's beneith notice. It's not both. There is a certain sense that, with "progressive artists" only those who agree with "the message" or "the statement" should be allowed to take it seriously. MORE UPDATE Okay, I lied, there's more. Scott the Fat Guy reminds us that not everyone hangs onto every precious lyric:
I don't want to have to tell you this again. Andrea Harris is put off by the aesthetic unpleasantry of the subject, John Walker Lindh:
Then again, probably not. It's not that we are running out of killers, far from it -- it's just that we seem to have run out of killers with personalities. You know -- they have to have at least one redeeming quality: they love their ma, they weep at the sight of a butterfly, they feel real bad after killing their wives, it was the drink that done it. Contemporary killers are just disgusting, and not even in an entertaining way. They're like killer robots. They don't have any bad habits at all except for killing people, dismembering them, and burying them in the back yard. Otherwise, they are nice, quiet neighbors. The cliché when a killer like that is arrested is, "But he/she looks so normal!" Like Jeffrey Dahmer. The boy next door. That's documentary and teevee movie fodder, but you can't put it to music. The only people who like music about killer robots are robots themselves. Incidentally, it's interesting to note that Andrea was once a goth and her affinity for Johnny Cash makes sense since he is the most gothic of our living country singers. Calling Aly Sujo I find it remarkable that every single printed reference to the Earle affair I have found thus far stems from the same writer, Aly Sujo, who also seems to be a studio violin player down in Nashville. I remarked in the original Earle piece that the information in the shrieking NY Post piece and the much more tempered Reuters/ABC story is essentially the same (though there is much more of it in the latter), but there is a very notable difference in tone between the two. I am amazed that every bit of factual information on this story has come from the same source. Marc Weisblott brings up a very intriguing question: since much more detailed information is included in the Reuters story, this one would appear to be the "base" story - the one that was written first. Did Sujo adapt his own Reuters story for the Murdoch-owned, right-leaning NY Post, or did he turn in the same story to the Post and did they edit the mother-loving nipples out of it? Ken and Steve: Misunderstood Even By Themselves A barge or two full of fallout from the Steve Earle affair. It's good to back into the swing of things after two weeks off, and a week of struggling with my inner blogger (and outer Blogger for that matter). After the time off and much introspection, I had determined that posting all day and night like a medieval scribe on speed wasn't giving me the time or space to create carefully crafted, honed position pieces and well-tuned essays of a nature commensurate with my view of myself. Cutting back on the power-blogging has been fine from the time standpoint, but I haven't been happy with the quantity or the quality of the result, nor with the response, so I was wrestling with all of this crap when old Steve stirred up this mess and I felt my calling revived. I am touched, saddened and in a sick way gratified to see a writer as great as Ken Layne, who has been blogging in one form or another since Manhattan was owned by the Dutch, struggle with many of the same questions. I am afraid this kind of introspection and self-analysis - which can lead to paralysis - is not a function of time, practice or talent, but is a function of temperament, and something I, we, are doomed to struggle with ad infinitum. Ken does a terriffic column for FoxNews.com, but now, as a result of too much vision (I hate that seeing through the haze to the big picture thing - I do it all the time), Ken sees the ultimate futility of writing AN OFFICIAL COLUMN on most anything, when the information and one's perspective tend to be so fluid in this era of instant commentary, fact-pursuit, and gang-development of themes and consensus. By the time you have written your well-crafted commentary, it could well be obsolete:
What's the point of a Tuesday column about such a thing? Hell, forget the time it takes to get something in print -- I'm just talking about the overnight delay to get something posted on an online magazine's site. Ken senses the latter as well, because he went ahead and printed the "column" he had been working on all day, but with which he had become disgusted, and sure enough what he had to say is important well worth reading:
This week's trouble is vintage Earle. He wrote and recorded a new folk song from the imagined point of view of American Taliban John Walker Lindh. Even though the criminal-narrator formula has long been used by the likes of Merle Haggard, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Springsteen, Nick Cave, Eminem and another thousand songwriters, Earle told a Canadian crowd his latest contribution to the genre "just may get me fuckin' deported." (On his own Web site, Earle contradicts this claim by saying, "I'm not trying to get myself deported or something" and calls the new CD " the most pro-American record I've ever made.") It's vintage Earle, both the song and the melodrama. Since getting out of jail and kicking his chemical habits, Earle has painstakingly rebuilt his career with a string of excellent, thoughtful albums. He's become an ace producer and godfather to the alt-country scene. But he still can't get along with people, as proven by his late 1990s' immersion in bluegrass: he worked hard with the Del McCoury Band for "The Mountain," then turned mean when the Christian bluegrass boys got sick of his foul mouth.
"I'm happy with the way the song came out, but I'm nervous, not for myself, but I have taken some serious liberties with Walker, speaking as him, in his voice. I'm trying to make clear that wherever he got to, he didn't arrive there in a vacuum. I don't condone what he did. Still, he's a 20 year-old kid. My son Justin is almost exactly Walker's age. Would I be upset if he suddenly turned up fighting for the Islamic Jihad? Sure, absolutely. Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too. But there are circumstances. Walker was from a very bohemian household, from Marin County. His father had just come out of the closet. It's hard to say how that played out in Walker's mind. He went to Yemen because that's where they teach the purest kind of Arabic. He didn't just sit on the couch and watch the box, get depressed and complain. He was a smart kid, he graduated from high school early, the culture here didn't impress him, so he went out looking for something to believe in." Fear not, Ken. Do your thing, throw it out there, and the result will always be worthwhile even if the subject seems played out. Too much vision can be a terrible thing. Usurper Whoa, looks like Dawn got hold of the site in the night. I wouldn't have guessed Linus, but it could have been worse.  Which Peanuts Character Are You Quiz Okay, so Eric is in the other room and doesn't know I am posting this. He is SO Linus. He even has a blankie and everything. Isn't it funny that I am Sally? But so is Matt Welch. He he!!! Monday, July 22, 2002
Steve Earle Writes Songs: Who Cares What He "Really Thinks" Anyway? It's no secret how I feel about Steve Earle, one of the first Cool Tunes features was a rave review of his illustrious career, and he just seems to be getting better with age. I like his latest collection of B-sides and outtakes, called Sidetracks, so much that when I was asked to name two albums to run out and buy RIGHT NOW at the L.A. blogger party, I named that and the new Chuck Prophet. So I am concerned about all of the stink arising from his new song, "John Walker's Blues." A Reuters report says that it was
Over a layered backdrop of electric guitars recorded backward, the song serves as a kind of nightmarish funhouse-mirror version of Fess Parker's classic "Ballad of Davy Crockett" of the 1950s:
We filled the air with our prayers and we prayed for our martyrdom. Allah has some other plans, a secret not revealed. Now they're dragging me back with my head in the sack to the land of the infidel. If I should die, I'll rise up to the sky like Jesus." The song is featured on Earle's forthcoming album "Jerusalem," which touches on a number of political and social issues including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It offers a rare sympathetic view of Lindh, the Californian dubbed the "American Taliban" after he was captured fighting alongside troops of Afghanistan's fundamentalist Muslim rulers in November.
The controversial ballad called "John Walker's Blues" is backed by the chanting of Arabic prayers and praises Allah. Earle's lyrics describe the United States as "the land of the infidel." Those fighting Osama bin Laden's declared jihad against the United States and Jews are said to have hearts "pure and strong." The song says when Lindh dies, he will "rise up to the sky like Jesus."
Music-industry heavyweights are already expressing outrage over the controversial song, and many predict it will be banned from the majority of radio playlists when it is released in late September. "This puts [Earle] in the same category as Jane Fonda and John Walker and all those people who hate America," said Nashville talk-show host Steve Gill. Phil Valentine, another Nashville DJ, said Earle had lost his way in trying to rebuild his faltering career as an alternative country performer. "He's off the charts on this one," Valentine said. "It's politically insane." But then we have normally clear-eyed bloggers chipping in as well. Porphyrogenitus broke the news indignantly in bloggyville before 7am this morning:
It'll be interesting, in the months ahead, to see how the "mainstream" Left deals with figures like this. They are always shocked, shocked to be perceived as not opposing (much less supporting) the haters among them. So lets see if they not only "distance themselves" (a political reaction meant to preserve themselves within the system), but really combat them, intellectually, as Christopher Hitchens did against the Chomskys of the Left.
Remember what I said about Earle as a folkie: he may rock out, and he may derive from the country tradition, but he writes story-songs like a folkie, like a Woody Guthrie, who was also a populist and a radical. That is the songwriting tradition in which Earle is working, and as Matt notes, Springsteen did in Nebraska. Matt next brings up Neil Young, who we know was a big fan of Ronald Reagan, as well as an eclectic singer/songwriter with more than a little similarilty to Earle. Is Neil Young telling a story or advocating homicide in "Down By the River"? Is he telling a story or is he advocating the human sacrifice of the Aztecs in "Cortez the Killer"? Examples of this kind of writing are endless. What is different now is the political climate, and while I am zero-tolerance on terrorism and balls-out for the war against it, I am also aware THAT THIS IS an especially touchy time, and that those who decry this climate - usually for self-serving and/or politically-motivated reasons of their own - are not wrong about its existence. I doubt fair-minded, songwriting, record producing, civil rights defending Glenn Reynolds would have come down so hard on Steve had this song come out on September 10, 2001. Matt also reminds us that if we are looking for paragons of virtue, we would do better than to look in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or the Country Music Hall of Fame, or the Folk Music Hall of Fame (if there is one) for that matter:
And I've seen all the kids in the soda pop bands, But none of them look like me. So I started looking round, and I heard the word of God. And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word of Allah, Peace be upon him."
Artists often feel conflicting impulses about a work of art they create: they may both agree and disagree with the point of view taken in a given song, poem, etc. All I've heard Earle say about the matter, is that the song may "get him deported" and a vague quote from Aly that "Earle has said that the new material serves as his response to the more reactionary elements of post-Sept. 11 politics." Well okay then. So it is. I'll let you know how I like the song when I hear it. Nothing else much matters until then. UPDATE Dr. Frank, a distinguished singer/songwriter in his own right, has some very interesting things to say:
On the other hand, the relationship between singer-songwriter and character can be pretty complicated, the line between them hard to pin down. If you're making a serious attempt to tell a story from a character's point of view, you have to attempt to understand where he's coming from, to be able "try on" his outlook. That requires a degree of sympathy, by definition. Add to all of this the fact that many songwriters are themselves a little unstable to begin with, and you can get into some murky, and occasionally scary, territory. And it's true that some songs really are a direct expression of the singer's true sentiments (that is, sometimes the "I" in the song really is the singer-- though the process of casting your sentiments into a form that rhymes and has a good beat turns them into something other than the straightforward "diary entry" that some people seem to imagine they ought to be. ) So it's not entirely straightforward. Nevertheless, I still don't get why there is such a tendency to treat a song's lyrics as though they constitute official "position papers" on this or that issue. Charles Oliver is also on the case:
Having said that, I await hearing the song with a great deal of unease. Earle was once a very talented songwriter, but lately he's descended into the inevitable path of all self-styled folk musicians and become unbearably preachy. He's always been a lousy excuse for a human being. Damian Penny is real hard on old Steve:
....Fox News reports that Earle debuted the song at a folk festival in Ontario and declared, "This song just may get me f---ing deported." Actually, Steve, if you lived almost anywhere else you'd be deported. Or stuffed in a sack and thrown off a cliff, depending on the country. As is my good pal Dawson:
The Sarge's take on the matter is short but hilarious:
....were deported last year for crappy political songs no one ever heard of. Earle will also be in the running later this year in the "Best Use of a Gimmick That Never Works in Order to Jump Start a Dead Career" category. We wish him luck. Dead and Frozen=Dead Mark at Minute Particulars is a tremendous theological/philosophical thinker. He takes on the "philosophical anthropology" of cryogenics:
....What’s important in the cryogenic discussion is the fact that a living thing is a composite of matter and form where the form is a “soul,” a principle of life. When the composite is sundered at death there is what Aristotle called a “substantial change” that occurs. Just as wood burns to ash, so a living thing when it dies, when the composite of matter and form that made it not only a certain kind of thing but “this particular thing” no longer exists, there is an immediate change and the form ceases to exist (with one exception that we’ll soon see). The death of a living thing is a complete and irreversible change because the destruction of the composite is the destruction of its principle of act, its form or “soul.” ....Cryonics assumes that after death the “form” of the body, its organizing principle, remains. But this is not the case. And that’s because the “form” of a human being is a principle of life, the soul, and when a human being is no longer alive, when the soul no longer “informs” the human being, the being is no longer human. What made the being human is also what made the human living. You can’t be a human being and not be alive; you can’t be dead and be a human being. ....No matter how long you wait for the wonders of technology, there simply is no way for corporeal beings (that’s us) to influence incorporeal entities like separated souls. Science can’t create a human soul and science can’t cause a soul to again inform the human being it once did. It’s not that we don’t know how. It’s that we are barred metaphysically from doing so. ....Never mind that the technology is primitive. That’s just a matter of time for cryonic proponents. But cryonics runs into several related fundamental problems of philosophical anthropology – 1) death is a substantial change and thus irreversible 2) the human being is not present in an organ or in a corpse 3) infusing life into a corpse again would require the ability to control an incorporeal subsistent principle (the human soul) which is not possible for corporeal beings in the land of the living. So, sad as it may seem to some, Walt Disney won’t be watching Teddy Ballgame put the wood on the ol’ apple anytime in the future. At some point in the future we may have cured every disease and chronic condition that inflicts mankind, leading to a vastly expanded life expectancy. That will be great, but we still won't know how to bring dead flesh back to life. While I am all for the advance of science and technology and believe in its wonders, the ability to reanimate dead flesh will be forever outside of our grasp, as Mark said, for metaphysical reasons. Well Okay Then Time to dismantle the IDF and beat those Israeli shields into plowshares. They're dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv and breaking out the Mogen David in Jerusalem because the master of Hamas has spoken:
"And stop your aggression, demolishing homes. Release prisoners and stop assassinations. Once the occupation and all those measures against our people stop, we are ready to totally study stopping martyrdom operations, in a positive way." Would the sheikh like anything else? As John Gielgud said to Dudley Moore in Arthur: "Perhaps you would like me wash your dick for you." That this evil freak would mouth such mindless, meaningless, cynical, eqivocating blather is one thing - after all, these are people who think encouraging their children and grandchildren to blow themselves up is a grand strategy ("By the time we're all dead, they'll be all dead too, and we'll be sucking grapes and getting backrubs in paradise. Ha Haa!"). But for - who else? - Reuters to publish this as if it were a statement of note to anyone but the vile sheikh's biographer is mindboggling. Impressive indeed is the straight face the reporter (unnamed, thank goodness for him/her) maintains throughout the story:
Hamas opposes Israel's right to exist and has been carrying out suicide bombings since 1993 interim peace accords which it rejected. The sheikh, who can't be stupid even if he is morally blind, spiritually cramped, invidious and evil, makes a statement of demands for halting "martyrdom operations" that he knows Israel won't/can't/wouldn't consider meeting, with the full knowledge that elements of the Western press - especially Reuters - will present the statement as if it were a serious proposal for peace - STOP THE PRESSES, HAMAS HAS MADE A PROPOSAL FOR SWEET, BELOVED PEACE AND THE LAMB WILL LAY DOWN WITH THE LION - with a straight face, which will in turn force Israel to address this cynical claptrap, and once again put them on the defensive. The terrorists, with the breathless aid of the "neutral" Western press, will have again set the agenda, set the terms of the debate, and the Western press that allows this kind of manipulation - as exemplified by their refusal to call a terrorist a terrorist - will have once again contributed cheerily to the cause of hell on earth. UPDATE Of course, Charles already had this story. He also has a follow-up:
God-talk Continued Andy at World Wide Rant continues the God debates by addressing issues brought up here. The most germane quote from my post is this:
Did I miss the sign? Not if God really wanted me to see it or understand - for if he exists, he knows precisely what will convince me. And nothing has. And perhaps nothing will, but - as stated above - there are any number of flashy productions he could stage that would certainly get me to reconsider. As to the concern that appealing to faith above logic leaves open the viability of multiple gods and religions: I agree. Logic is not the way to sort through the competing claims of various religions for your allegiance. My only advice in that regard is to go with what "feels right," and it is unlikely that this will be "Binky the Magic Space Clown or Thor." There is some reason beyond mere happenstance, I would assert, that only a relative handful of religions have captured the imagination and hearts of a substantial number of people. Thor hasn't been in vogue for some time, and I'm not aware that Binky ever was. Again, from a purely LOGICAL standpoint I agree that there is no reason to accept any one "meta-logical" or faith-based assertion over another, but it is not irrational to take into account statistical evidence either - not that people should signup for whatever happens to be the most popular religion at the time. People historically have felt most comfortable with the religion in which they were brought up, but people have converted with their whole hearts and for no apparent external reason since time immemorial as well. That is why we must respect all religions unless given reason to do otherwise, and even then - as in the case of Islam right now - the problem may well lie more with interpretation than with the original doctrine itself. Also, again, I agree there is no "answer" to this debate, that it is highly unlikely anyone will change his/her mind as a result of any of our sparkling prose or sterling logic, but it may be help the participants to further develop and hone their own views by defending them, and it may do the same for readers. So party on, Wayne. Another Evil "I" And let us not forget the other "I" in the axis of evil, Iran. The NY Times reports today that:
A 100-page transcript of a secret deposition, provided to The New York Times by Argentine officials frustrated that the case remains unsolved, supports long-held suspicions of Iranian involvement and adds to the questions surrounding the conduct of an inquiry that has been rife with irregularities from the start. ....Mr. Mesbahi, the Iranian defector who provided the testimony, met with Argentine investigators in Germany in 1998 and again in Mexico in 2000, speaking at various times in Persian, English, German and French with a Spanish-language translator present. Argentine officials say that they are not sure of his current whereabouts, except that he remains under Germany's protection, and that they do not know if the name he gave is his real name. Argentine and German officials describe him as a senior operative who has provided valuable information about Iranian terrorist operations in Europe and Asia through the mid-1990's. He defected to Germany in 1996, reportedly because he was upset at his agency's involvement in the killing of dissident intellectuals in Iran and abroad. Mr. Mesbahi said the planning for the attack in Buenos Aires began in 1992, led by Mohsen Rabbani, cultural attaché at the Iranian Embassy at the time, and supervised by Hamid Naghashan, a senior official of the Iranian intelligence agency.Mr. Mesbahi said that after the attack, negotiations took place in Tehran with an emissary, a bearded man of about 50, sent by Mr. Menem. The result was that "$10 million was deposited into a numbered account that Menem had indicated," Mr. Mesbahi said, paid from a $200 million Swiss account controlled by Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was Iran's president at the time, and by a son of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In return, Mr. Mesbahi said, Mr. Menem agreed to "make declarations that there was no evidence against Iran that it was responsible."
"By gathering together groups of Jews with records of murder, theft, wickedness and hooliganism from throughout the world," Ayatollah Khamenei said, "the Zionist regime has created an entity under the name of the Israeli nation that only understands the logic of terror and crimes."
She also said police logbooks had been altered and electronic address books and planners of various suspects erased as part of an official cover-up. "Not only has there been no support for getting to the bottom of this case, you can also say that some government organs have actively sabotaged the investigation," Ms. Garré said. "State intelligence and the federal police are clearly involved," she added, "but there is also evidence pointing to the involvement of agencies ranging from Immigration to the Foreign Ministry."
After a minute of silent prayer, a shofar is blown, speeches honoring the dead are offered and protesters waving placards and photographs of the victims chant, "We demand justice!" Not If But When and How, and Why Not Explain? The most obvious target of the nation's offense is Iraq. Since nothing obvious has happenend and the warnings from the administration have seemed a bit rote of late, much speculation has ensued regarding whether or not we really are committed to "doing whatever it takes" to make a "regime change" in Iraq. Stephen Hayes counsels us to fear not, although the title of his piece in the Daily/Weekly Standard has a bit of the ring of deja vu to it: "The Coming War with Saddam: Sooner than you think." I've been thinking it was coming any day for some time, so it won't be "sooner than I think," but I want to be reassured that it is coming:
These reports continued to appear last week even as the second-ranking Pentagon official was dispatched to Turkey--a critical ally in any military offensive against Saddam Hussein--and spoke openly of ousting the Iraqi dictator. They have come despite numerous reports of a military build-up in key Gulf states. They have come amid credible reports that Saddam Hussein's intelligence forces have stepped up their coordination with al Qaeda terrorists, and as Saddam boasts publicly of funding Palestinian suicide bombers. They have come even as military press officers are discussing with some reporters arrangements for coverage of the coming war. Nor did they cease after President Bush plainly outlined his administration's policy of preemption in a speech delivered at West Point.
But they're fighting a battle whose outcome was decided months ago. "It was over by the State of the Union," says one senior administration official.
But the second point is a bit flimsier. By seeking authorization, the argument goes, the administration would telegraph its intentions to Saddam and eliminate the element of surprise. But such thinking ignores the fact that Saddam has long anticipated an attack. President Bush has spoken of regime change ad nauseam, and the Washington Post has carried several front-page stories on the president's authorization of covert attempts to kill Saddam. Missing from that calculus, of course, is a third reason for forgoing a vote: that Congress might actually reject the use of force. Virtually no one--in the administration or in Congress--suggests such an outcome is conceivable. Indeed, several key Democrats, including Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, House minority leader Dick Gephardt, Senate Foreign Relations chairman Joe Biden, and Senator Joe Lieberman, have already voiced support for military intervention in Iraq. Those who favor seeking congressional authorization make their case in political terms. They say it's crucial that the Congress--and by extension the American public--be invested in the decision to remove Saddam. Steve Chapman agrees:
The president and his aides have been dropping hints about their intention to take out Hussein since last September, and few people in Washington have expressed any objections. Last month, House Democratic Leader Richard Gep-hardt went out of his way to endorse an attack on Iraq. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) has said pretty much the same thing. In the current climate, nobody wants to sound insufficiently warlike. ....This is, after all, a matter of some importance to the well-being of the American people. They might like to hear the pros and cons before the war begins--rather than discover them afterward. This is not a case where we find ourselves under military attack and the president has to act quickly, without wasting precious time yakking. The Iraq invasion has been under consideration since the first days of the Bush presidency. And administration officials say it may not happen until next year ....Congress is not really interested in publicizing facts that might help Hussein repel an invasion. But some members might like to know what exactly makes his removal so critical all of a sudden. They could ask how many Americans may die for this purpose, and whether the gains justify the sacrifice. Lawmakers might also try to find out what we expect to replace Hussein with, how easy that chore will be, and how long American troops will have to stay in Iraq. It's not likely that after hearing the answers, lawmakers will rise up in opposition. In fact, most members would probably trample each other to show their support for military action. The consensus that would most likely emerge in both Congress and the citizenry would be stronger for being based on knowledge rather than ignorance. "Hot Town Summer In the City" David Lehman's evocative site looks at the imagined city from the perspective of artists, poets and writers John Ashberry, Giorgio de Chirico, Italo Calvino, Anne Carson, Ben Katchor, John Ash. In the summer, many of us seek to escape the intensified heat of the city, these artists seek to escape INTO the city of the imagination. Keep Up the Offense Sebastian Mallaby and Glenn Reynolds agree: the best defense is a good offense. In today's WaPo, Mallaby says:
defense are cheap relative to the devastation they could avert: Think airline cockpits. Second, we should prefer homeland security investments that bring other benefits as well: An improved public health system is good in itself as well as helping against bioterrorism. Third, the best form of defense is offense. Kurt Campbell and Philip Zelikow, who led the Aspen Strategy Group study of homeland security to be released today, emphasize that a principal achievement in the war on terrorism so far has been to deprive al Qaeda of its Afghan base and to harass its operatives in other countries. The good news is that playing offense against terrorism should work better than against drugs. Drug-gang foot soldiers are infinitely replaceable. The supply of suicidal warriors with pilot licenses is more restricted. Similarly, killing a drug kingpin won't cause his followers to melt away, because they are motivated by money. By contrast, terrorist gangs are animated by charismatic chiefs; killing them can cause the downfall of their movements. Finally, if you knock out one drug ring, you strengthen other ones by increasing their profits; by contrast, knocking out al Qaeda would bring a real increase in security.
The home front in the war on terrorism has been a pathetic morass of dumb PR moves, incompetence, and vaguely Orwellian proposals. This is another example, combining elements of all three. (And, of course, there's this one, too.) We'd better win this war on the ground in Iraq -- and Saudi Arabia -- because it's not going to be won at home. Nobody ever won by playing defense [except perhaps the Chicago Bears]. And our homeland defense team looks to be junior-varsity, at best.
Page 64 of the report ["National Strategy for Homeland Security," published last week] admits the truth: "It is not practical or possible to eliminate all risks. There will always be some level of risk that cannot be mitigated without the use of unacceptably large expenditures."
My first inclination is that TIPS is disturbing as much because it indicates that the bureaucracy is still out of touch with reality and pursuing make-work pseudo solutions as because of any threat to civil liberties. The solution to the terrorism issue is to cut off the snake's head -- which I think is in Saudi Arabia, not America. Everything else is just windowdressing and bureaucratic empire-building. ....the danger of bureaucracy-as-usual is greater here than in past wars. That's because the absence of an obvious battle front means that (1) bureaucrats are less constrained; but (2) public support is harder to maintain. That means that the folks at the top will have to keep the bureaucracy on a short leash, or political support for the war will evaporate, and Bush will be a one-termer. The last war in which bureaucratic imperatives took precedence over winning the war was Vietnam. That doesn't seem to be happening in the military struggle, but it seems to be well on the way to taking place on the home front. Sunday, July 21, 2002
For the Love of Lil Dawn has a nice story and picture of Lily and me up on her site. Lily wasn't feeling very well yesterday and wanted Mommy all day long. We are still in screwed up time from the trip, haven't really adjusted yet, and so we were all up real late. Dawn got on the computer and started fierce chatting and blogging, so eventually Lily decided I was better than nothing. Eventually she became very sweet and even tried to go to sleep with me, which almost never happens - she almost always goes to sleep with Mommy. What was really odd was looking at the clock and realizing we were watching Teletubbies videos at 1:30am. Tres decadent! Today Dawn had to help her mother move, so I was in charge of the Lil. We prepared assiduously to take a nap: read several books, broke out the SPECIAL nap juice, adjusted the pillows, put my arm under her head, removed my arm from under her head, played the close your eyes and look at the pretty colors and shapes game. Finally, it became obvious a nap was not in the cards, so we went to the park. It wasn't very crowded for a Sunday afternoon: I'm guessing because the temperature was in the low-90s and the humidity was in the 80s. But Lily was frisky so went went down the slides, we played with the drinking fountain (she had to wash the rocks on the ground beneath it), we swung on the big family swing by the lake, then we went into the lake - in our shoes. Obviously with her shoes wet, they had to be discarded, so then I had to carry her everywhere; and she is still little, but she isn't THAT LITTLE, and in the heat and humidity I got really really worn out. Must be getting old. We had a lot of fun though, and Lily said "Daddy I love you," unsolicited, twice, so that was very nice even though I thought I was going to melt - from the heat I mean. Poking Around Under the Golden Bush I totally admit to sour grapes, but this aspect of money-making in the U.S. (and anywhere else, I'm sure) bugs the hell out of me:
Now I know I am better-connected than 90-something% of the world, and that the average human is happy to shovel sludge 12 hours a day at the waste treatment plant for his $20 a month, which he then lavishes upon his family of 11 back at the shanty; but dammit, I'm an upper-middle class American and I want my easy access to millions. I want the chance to fail again and again (well, I've had that) in HIGH STYLE until I finally get it right, secure in the knowledge that I can never truly FAIL because my safety net is freaking FLUSH with an endless supply of cash. So Christopher Caldwell doesn't think Harken will bring down Bush, but the constant iteration of his silver spoon saga, driving the resentment deeper and deeper into the crevices of the 90-something% of Americans who haven't had the same opportunities as he has, may:
Even after Uzielli’s turbocharging, Arbusto was going under. Before it did, it "merged" with a company called Spectrum 7, which took on Bush as head executive. As that company, too, nose-dived, Harken Energy proved unaccountably eager to "merge" with it. It offered a half-million dollars in stock and $120,000 a year to get the Vice President’s son on the board. It also "loaned" Bush hundreds of thousands of dollars below prime rate. Weeks after his father was elected president, Bush got involved in the purchase of the Texas Rangers. He would eventually sell his Harken shares to cover the loan that allowed him to help buy the team. He put up under 2 percent of the purchase price ($606,000 out of $46 million), but the deal called for him to be given almost 12 percent of the stock, once the other partners cleared their initial investments. Generous of them! In 1998 Bush sold his stake in the team–pumped up by a $135-million publicly-financed-but-privately-owned stadium, bestowed as a gift from the taxpayers of Arlington, TX–for $15 million. With the downturn in the economy and the stockmarket racing its own ass down the toilet - spurred ever downward by revelations of egregious corporate cupidity and misuse of privileged information allowing insiders to avoid the bath in which those less fortunate have been forced to wallow - people seem a lot more sensitive to issues of fairness and privilege right about now:
Perhaps We Will Be the Last Rats Left On the Ship Eristic, the fine site of the enticingly named Quana Jones, has a new design and a new address. Change and/or add the site to yours accordingly. Apparently fried from the move she doesn't have anything up yet today, but yesterday she unloaded a marathon diatribe against the State Department that, should he read it and he should, would drive Colin Powell to drink. A niblit:
All I can think is "it's about time, what took so freakin' long?" ....Please note that it is not being terminated because State allowed into the country three terrorists who took the lives of almost 3000 American citizens. It is being terminated in “response to criticism”. Obviously, the State department has no ability whatsoever to critically evaluate its own performance. ....Like some other blogs I’ve read, I think heads a little higher up the ladder should have rolled on this one. And I think they should have rolled last September, not nine months afterward. ....So now the people who are employees of the American people are ridiculing their duly elected representatives. While they possess the right to free speech as citizens, I would certainly expect them to behave as professionals. Apparently, even this small expectation is too much for the people in our foreign service. Tall, Stiff and Rhythmic Do not tell me that life doesn't imitate art, or at least entertainment; and sometimes the least likely people are good sports, or maybe just masochists. Will Ferrell had been doing a sympathetic if utterly unflattering parody of Janet Reno on SNL for several years, but the highlight of that running series was when Reno herself showed up in January of 2001 to boogie with Will on "Janet Reno's Dance Party." Now Reno, leading in the polls for the Florida Democratic gubernatorial nomination but trailing Republican governor Jeb Bush substantially, has had a real Janet Reno Dance Party (link via Kyle Still):
A big crowd -- organizers put the numbers at more than 2,000 -- packed into the trendy Level club in glitzy Miami Beach, paying $25 a head to dance alongside the 63-year-old Democrat. Until now, Reno's best-known trademark during her campaign to unseat President Bush's younger brother Jeb Bush as governor has been her unglamorous habit of traveling around to meet voters in her red pickup truck.
The 24-year-old was arrested in January after fraudulently trying to obtain a prescription drug to treat anxiety. ....Jeb Bush, who is running for re-election this autumn, issued a statement saying how sad the family was, but he added that this was something that happens to many people trying to recover from addiction. "We know there are thousands of families across Florida who share in this unfortunate experience with their own children," he said. The Florida governor is being challenged by the former attorney general, Janet Reno, in this autumn's elections but it is unlikely this news will dent his campaign. If anything, it may generate popular sympathy for a man sometimes seen as aloof from the real world. |
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