From National Review:
Say what you will about nation-building (and there’s a lot to say). But, after hearing this latest testimony, I got angry all over again, remembering a conversation I had with a prominent German in about 2006. He talked about American servicemen in World War II and after. They had helped the people around them, and formed bonds with them. This, however, was not happening in Iraq — or so said the German. We were betraying our best traditions.
BS. (That is not a bachelor of science degree.)
Oh, one more thing: An officer said, “You know how the press referred to the people who were trying to kill us as ‘insurgents’? We always just called them al-Qaeda.”
My heart went out to the guy at ESPN.com who wrote the headline “Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin’s 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets.” Lin is Chinese or Taiwanese American. The headline-writer was fired. (Story here.)
He felt absolutely sick at heart about the incident. It had not occurred to him that . . . you know, “chink.” I would never have written that headline in a million years. But not everyone is as “sensitive” — i.e., paranoid? — as I am.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, a Republican congressman referred to Senator and Mrs. Obama as “uppity.” Great gasps, all over. The congressman pleaded, “I had no idea that ‘uppity’ was a word traditionally applied to blacks, in a derogatory way.” (I’m paraphrasing.) He had just thought the Obamas were — you know, uppity. As people of all races can be.
It was hard to believe that this grown man — a congressman, to boot — didn’t know about the history of “uppity” in America. But after I wrote about the matter in Impromptus, many readers e-mailed me to say, “I had no idea either — and I don’t consider myself sheltered.”
I grew up in a hyper-sensitive environment. But not everybody did. (Good for them.) And, sometimes, people should be given the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, they should be cut some slack. But we’re not very good at that in America, are we? Especially when race or ethnicity is involved.
What did Michelle Obama say about America? “Just downright mean.”
In the Senegalese presidential contest, there is a birth-certificate issue. The incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade: Is he 85 or 90? May we see the birth certificate, please? And even if we saw it, could we trust the information written on it?
Fascinating story — go here.
On Monday, I read about a school in Chicago, and said, “Hallelujah.” See if you agree:
If the “broken-windows theory” can apply to cities, can’t it apply to schools, too? Be vigilant about the little things — shoelaces — and you have helped yourself enormously with the big things.
This article tells us, “Albania’s National Museum has opened a new pavilion focused on the abuses of the former communist regime, marking the 21st anniversary of the toppling of former communist dictator Enver Hoxha’s monument.”Once, I sat with a bunch of former dissidents in Tirana. One of them had been in prison for 19 years, as I recall. These were 19 years of the hell in which totalitarian regimes specialize. You’ve never met a more serene man than this fellow.Last year, I wrote about the latest crackdown in Belarus — the latest being the worst one. How is it going in “Europe’s last dictatorship,” as the country is known?Speaking of hunger striking: Two years ago, I wrote a piece called “Death by Hunger Strike,” occasioned by the ordeal of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. He was a Cuban prisoner of conscience who refused to eat for 83 days, then died. The system that drove him to this act is monstrous.Doing some reading about Britain, I came across a line from this news article — thought you’d enjoy it, as I did: “. . . the Queen [Elizabeth II], on being told that the rabidly anti-monarchist MP the late Willie Hamilton was ‘really a very kind man’, responded glacially: ‘He hides it well.’”Did you see this? “Sorvino to debut film funded by Pa. taxpayers.” Hmmm — I’ve got a film or two up my sleeve, too. Maybe a novel as well. Think I should suggest to my congressman an earmark?So, Puerto Rico has put up statues of LBJ and BHO (our incumbent). Go here, for the story. These babies are “the newest additions to the ‘Avenue of Heroes’ . . .” Well, everyone’s entitled to his heroes, I suppose.I’m trying to decide whether there was something tongue-in-cheek, macabre, or innocent in this news article. The headline was “Kite Surfer Hospitalized After Colliding With Building in Florida.” The last two lines were,I got lots more, but maybe end with a name? A reader says,
Americanism in Iraq, &c.
About AuthorArchiveLatestE-MailRSSSend
A scene in Kirkuk, Iraq, October 9, 2006 (Samuel Bendet/U.S. Air Force)
Comments
12
A couple of American officers who had served in Iraq were talking about their time there. And, in particular, their departure. An Iraqi said to one of them, “I can’t believe you came here and didn’t take our oil.” Another Iraqi said, “I can’t believe you’re leaving voluntarily. No invading army ever does that.”
One of the American officers said he had felt like the mayor of a town — responding to the needs of the people, keeping the town together. I saw this with my own eyes on a visit to Iraq: American officers essentially acting as mayors.Advertisement
BS. (That is not a bachelor of science degree.)
Oh, one more thing: An officer said, “You know how the press referred to the people who were trying to kill us as ‘insurgents’? We always just called them al-Qaeda.”
My heart went out to the guy at ESPN.com who wrote the headline “Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin’s 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets.” Lin is Chinese or Taiwanese American. The headline-writer was fired. (Story here.)He felt absolutely sick at heart about the incident. It had not occurred to him that . . . you know, “chink.” I would never have written that headline in a million years. But not everyone is as “sensitive” — i.e., paranoid? — as I am.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, a Republican congressman referred to Senator and Mrs. Obama as “uppity.” Great gasps, all over. The congressman pleaded, “I had no idea that ‘uppity’ was a word traditionally applied to blacks, in a derogatory way.” (I’m paraphrasing.) He had just thought the Obamas were — you know, uppity. As people of all races can be.
It was hard to believe that this grown man — a congressman, to boot — didn’t know about the history of “uppity” in America. But after I wrote about the matter in Impromptus, many readers e-mailed me to say, “I had no idea either — and I don’t consider myself sheltered.”
I grew up in a hyper-sensitive environment. But not everybody did. (Good for them.) And, sometimes, people should be given the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, they should be cut some slack. But we’re not very good at that in America, are we? Especially when race or ethnicity is involved.
What did Michelle Obama say about America? “Just downright mean.”
In the Senegalese presidential contest, there is a birth-certificate issue. The incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade: Is he 85 or 90? May we see the birth certificate, please? And even if we saw it, could we trust the information written on it?Fascinating story — go here.
On Monday, I read about a school in Chicago, and said, “Hallelujah.” See if you agree:A sense of order and decorum prevails at Noble Street College Prep as students move quickly through a hallway adorned with banners from dozens of colleges. Everyone wears a school polo shirt neatly tucked into khaki trousers. There’s plenty of chatter but no jostling, no cellphones and no dawdling.A miracle. The story continues,
The reason, administrators say, is that students have learned there is a price to pay — literally — for breaking even the smallest rules.Naturally, there’s an army of people trying to tear this school down. I hope they don’t succeed. Oh, do I hope they don’t succeed. It seems that, in human affairs, whenever something good happens, there are people who can’t stand this good, and seek to punch it in the nose.
Noble Network of Charter Schools charges students at its 10 Chicago high schools $5 for detentions stemming from infractions that include chewing gum and having untied shoelaces.
If the “broken-windows theory” can apply to cities, can’t it apply to schools, too? Be vigilant about the little things — shoelaces — and you have helped yourself enormously with the big things.
Does the commemoration of these abuses help prevent a return of them? Maybe. I hope so.
Advertisement
Amazing, what people can endure, and transcend.
Last year, I wrote about the latest crackdown in Belarus — the latest being the worst one. How is it going in “Europe’s last dictatorship,” as the country is known?An opposition activist who is holding a hunger strike in prison went on trial Tuesday . . .
During an opening session, Sergei Kovalenko took off his shirt in court to demonstrate his worsening condition and demand a medical examination.
“The authorities have failed to break my will and my desire to be free,” said Kovalenko, who is so thin that all his ribs showed clearly.
Full article here. What a man, Kovalenko.
Speaking of hunger striking: Two years ago, I wrote a piece called “Death by Hunger Strike,” occasioned by the ordeal of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. He was a Cuban prisoner of conscience who refused to eat for 83 days, then died. The system that drove him to this act is monstrous.I wish to quote from that piece (for a reason, I promise):
People go on hunger strikes in the service of good causes and bad causes. Great men do it and wicked men do it. They do it in prison and out. They do it in democracies and under tyrannies. Some strikers are mad, others are perfectly sane. Some are mere showboaters, some are in earnest, even saintly.
Okay, have you seen this report?
A Palestinian prisoner agreed to end his 66-day hunger strike to protest his imprisonment without charge after reaching a deal with Israel that will free him in April . . .
The prisoner, Khader Adnan, is a member of Islamic Jihad, which murders, often by suicide bombing. In my above-cited piece, I mentioned an array of hunger strikers — including Bobby Sands, the IRA terrorist; Vojislav Seselj, a Serbian warlord; Randall Robinson, the activist who wanted Clinton to invade Haiti; Terry Nichols, a conspirator in the Oklahoma City bombing; and global-warming fanatics.
Interesting, terrible subject, hunger striking.
Doing some reading about Britain, I came across a line from this news article — thought you’d enjoy it, as I did: “. . . the Queen [Elizabeth II], on being told that the rabidly anti-monarchist MP the late Willie Hamilton was ‘really a very kind man’, responded glacially: ‘He hides it well.’”Did you see this? “Sorvino to debut film funded by Pa. taxpayers.” Hmmm — I’ve got a film or two up my sleeve, too. Maybe a novel as well. Think I should suggest to my congressman an earmark?So, Puerto Rico has put up statues of LBJ and BHO (our incumbent). Go here, for the story. These babies are “the newest additions to the ‘Avenue of Heroes’ . . .” Well, everyone’s entitled to his heroes, I suppose.I’m trying to decide whether there was something tongue-in-cheek, macabre, or innocent in this news article. The headline was “Kite Surfer Hospitalized After Colliding With Building in Florida.” The last two lines were,A West Palm Beach police spokeswoman said the surfer was taken to nearby St. Mary’s Medical Center after complaining of pain.
There was no damage to the building, the spokeswoman added.
Um . . .
I got lots more, but maybe end with a name? A reader says,Hi Jay — I happened across a name I thought you would enjoy. Saw a bit of a PBR (Professional Bull Rider) event where one of the favored competitors was Ryan Dirteater. All too appropriate a name, considering that a face-plant is the most common way to end a ride.
May you stay on the bull! (But not the BS.) See you.