The Impossible Takes Longer
Once again RWA1 has come through for me (unintentionally, of course), this time with a link to a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the "GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco: How did the Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama?"The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. This is no easy
The Impossible Takes Longer
Once again RWA1 has come through for me (unintentionally, of course), this time with a link to a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the "GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco: How did the Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama?"The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. This is no easy
Reagan: The Other Third Rail
Thanks to my Tabloid Friend on Facebook, I know that Ron Paul was foolish enough to criticize Ronald Reagan some years ago. First below is the 1987 quotation from Paul, then Politico writer Ginger Gibson's commentary.“I think we can further thank Ronald Reagan for doing a good job [on furthering the Libertarian Party]. He certainly did a good job in 1980 pointing out the fallacies of the
Reagan: The Other Third Rail
Thanks to my Tabloid Friend on Facebook, I know that Ron Paul was foolish enough to criticize Ronald Reagan some years ago. First below is the 1987 quotation from Paul, then Politico writer Ginger Gibson's commentary.“I think we can further thank Ronald Reagan for doing a good job [on furthering the Libertarian Party]. He certainly did a good job in 1980 pointing out the fallacies of the
Grace in Division
I'm not really a good judge of these matters, but I think the South Korean government handled the question of condolences for the death of Kim Jong-Il rather well, as the Hankyoreh reports it: Regarding the death of North Korean National Defence Committee Chairman Kim Jong-il, the South Korean government stated on Monday, “We offer our consolation to the citizens of North Korea. We hope that
Grace in Division
I'm not really a good judge of these matters, but I think the South Korean government handled the question of condolences for the death of Kim Jong-Il rather well, as the Hankyoreh reports it: Regarding the death of North Korean National Defence Committee Chairman Kim Jong-il, the South Korean government stated on Monday, “We offer our consolation to the citizens of North Korea. We hope that
Wisconsin first grade teacher sets great example for dealing with gender variance among children
Thanks to Shannon Minter for alerting me to this heartwarming account of a Jackson County, Wisconsin teacher's experience with a gender variant first grader. Melissa Bollow Tempel, in "It's Okay to be Neither," sets an amazing example of how to deal with gender issues in the classroom, including a girl, Allie, who was often taken as a boy. Equally heartworming, the girl's parents were accepting
Wake Me When It's Over
After a bit of a lull, RWA1 has been linking again. Much of it of course was about the deaths of Christopher Hitchens and Vaclav Havel (nothing about the death of Kim Jong-Il, though -- yet), but the fun part was this article at The New Republic, "Why Obama's New Populism May Sink His Campaign," by William Galston, a hack from the Brookings Institution. "Vain hope that this will be heeded,"
Wake Me When It's Over
After a bit of a lull, RWA1 has been linking again. Much of it of course was about the deaths of Christopher Hitchens and Vaclav Havel (nothing about the death of Kim Jong-Il, though -- yet), but the fun part was this article at The New Republic, "Why Obama's New Populism May Sink His Campaign," by William Galston, a hack from the Brookings Institution. "Vain hope that this will be heeded,"
Boy Culture in the Nineteenth and a Half Century!
I've been reading H. Bruce Franklin's Future Perfect: American Science Fiction in the Nineteenth Century (revised edition, Oxford University Press, 1978), which turns out to be more of an anthology than a critical study. It's worth reading because of the commentary he supplies; he's written a good many books on various subjects, including Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction (Oxford,
Boy Culture in the Nineteenth and a Half Century!
I've been reading H. Bruce Franklin's Future Perfect: American Science Fiction in the Nineteenth Century (revised edition, Oxford University Press, 1978), which turns out to be more of an anthology than a critical study. It's worth reading because of the commentary he supplies; he's written a good many books on various subjects, including Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction (Oxford,
There Goes the Sun King
Kim Jong Il is dead, as I'm sure everybody in a position to read this blog knows by now. (Judging from what I've been reading online all day, it might be helpful to some readers if I explain that East Asian names usually put the surname first. So Kim was the dictator's surname or family name, Jong Il his given name; Jong Il Kim in Western order.) I certainly don't mourn him, but it's hard to
There Goes the Sun King
Kim Jong Il is dead, as I'm sure everybody in a position to read this blog knows by now. (Judging from what I've been reading online all day, it might be helpful to some readers if I explain that East Asian names usually put the surname first. So Kim was the dictator's surname or family name, Jong Il his given name; Jong Il Kim in Western order.) I certainly don't mourn him, but it's hard to
What If Bach Was One of Us, Just a Slob Like One of Us
An old friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today to an article on the worst pop song lyrics of all time. The article attempted to provide the top (or bottom) ten, but many deserving examples didn't make the cut. No Stevie Wonder? No Prince? No Neil Young? No Paul McCartney? No Ira Gershwin? All the examples were relatively recent, and thanks to the "Golden Age" program on our local
What If Bach Was One of Us, Just a Slob Like One of Us
An old friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today to an article on the worst pop song lyrics of all time. The article attempted to provide the top (or bottom) ten, but many deserving examples didn't make the cut. No Stevie Wonder? No Prince? No Neil Young? No Paul McCartney? No Ira Gershwin? All the examples were relatively recent, and thanks to the "Golden Age" program on our local
My Evening Constitutional
One of my readers wrote to suggest that I was "slightly wrong" when I wrote about Bob Garon, the sixty-something gay Vietnam veteran who got all up in Mitt Romney's face a couple of weeks ago:The U.S. Constitution doesn't say anything about marriage, so it's not correct to say that denying him marriage denies him his Constitutional rights.My correspondent pointed out that while the Constitution
My Evening Constitutional
One of my readers wrote to suggest that I was "slightly wrong" when I wrote about Bob Garon, the sixty-something gay Vietnam veteran who got all up in Mitt Romney's face a couple of weeks ago:The U.S. Constitution doesn't say anything about marriage, so it's not correct to say that denying him marriage denies him his Constitutional rights.My correspondent pointed out that while the Constitution
The Grinches of the Far East
Those wicked Chinese! According to this vigilant piece at The Week, if you can't afford as many Christmas gifts as you'd like this year, it's all their fault. And why? Because greedy Chinese workers are getting paid more than they used to.Economists note that labor costs in China have been on the rise for years, but they are now reaching a point where exporters can't simply absorb them and
The Grinches of the Far East
Those wicked Chinese! According to this vigilant piece at The Week, if you can't afford as many Christmas gifts as you'd like this year, it's all their fault. And why? Because greedy Chinese workers are getting paid more than they used to.Economists note that labor costs in China have been on the rise for years, but they are now reaching a point where exporters can't simply absorb them and
Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup
Does Jesus haz a sad? This is being passed around on Facebook today:Jesus: Santa.Santa: Yes?Jesus: I'm sad.Santa: Why are you sad? It's Christmas right? It's your birthday!Jesus: Yeah. That's the pointSanta: Why? Jesus: Because whenever its Christmas the kids only wait for you and not me! They only celebrate Christmas because of you! Why Santa, why not Jesus? -Dec. 25 is for Jesus not for
Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup
Does Jesus haz a sad? This is being passed around on Facebook today:Jesus: Santa.Santa: Yes?Jesus: I'm sad.Santa: Why are you sad? It's Christmas right? It's your birthday!Jesus: Yeah. That's the pointSanta: Why? Jesus: Because whenever its Christmas the kids only wait for you and not me! They only celebrate Christmas because of you! Why Santa, why not Jesus? -Dec. 25 is for Jesus not for
"What Is Truth?" Said Jesting Pilate
Another fun tidbit: FAIR has a blog post by Peter Hart about Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes fussing over new polling data which showed that a majority even of Republicans believe that there is "too much power in the hands of a few rich people and large corporations." Fifty-three percent of Republicans believe this, compared to 91 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Independents, or 77 percent
"What Is Truth?" Said Jesting Pilate
Another fun tidbit: FAIR has a blog post by Peter Hart about Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes fussing over new polling data which showed that a majority even of Republicans believe that there is "too much power in the hands of a few rich people and large corporations." Fifty-three percent of Republicans believe this, compared to 91 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Independents, or 77 percent
There Are People Who Do Not Love Their Fellow Man
I don't know much about Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. I probably wouldn't even if I watched TV, since reality programs about religious nuts are not my cup of tea. What little I do know comes primarily from voyeuristic liberals who throw tantrums about them but at the same time can't or won't avert their eyes.This sort of thing always reminds me of something that happened in the 1960s, when I was
There Are People Who Do Not Love Their Fellow Man
I don't know much about Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. I probably wouldn't even if I watched TV, since reality programs about religious nuts are not my cup of tea. What little I do know comes primarily from voyeuristic liberals who throw tantrums about them but at the same time can't or won't avert their eyes.This sort of thing always reminds me of something that happened in the 1960s, when I was
Extremists to the Right of Me! Extremists to the Left of Me!
Speaking of Tabloid Friend, he linked to this image today:With this text below it:Register residents to vote, get out the vote and insure that there is a high electorate turnout in 2012 because President Barack Hussein Obama needs to be re-elected, 70 democratic U.S. senators and 300 U.S. representatives need to be elected to perform the "People's" work. The 112th U.S. congress will go down as
Extremists to the Right of Me! Extremists to the Left of Me!
Speaking of Tabloid Friend, he linked to this image today:With this text below it:Register residents to vote, get out the vote and insure that there is a high electorate turnout in 2012 because President Barack Hussein Obama needs to be re-elected, 70 democratic U.S. senators and 300 U.S. representatives need to be elected to perform the "People's" work. The 112th U.S. congress will go down as
New Jersey judge awards full custody of twins born through surrogacy to gay father
The New Jersey case of A.G.R. v. D.R.H. & S.H. is a story of much that can go wrong. At the center of the case are two twin girls, born in October 2006. There has been litigation about their parentage and care since they were five months old. The girls were born to AGR, who was a gestational surrogate for her brother, DRH, and his partner, SH, who is the children's biological father. AGR
Who Cleans Up After the One Percent?
I meant to put up that corner banner before, but had trouble getting it to work. I tried again today, and it worked, so there it is. It would be easy to think that Occupy has passed its moment, with the police clearing out the occupations (though not everywhere, not yet), and the media are sure to tell us it's all over. That might account for the drop in donations to OWS recently. But it's
Who Cleans Up After the One Percent?
I meant to put up that corner banner before, but had trouble getting it to work. I tried again today, and it worked, so there it is. It would be easy to think that Occupy has passed its moment, with the police clearing out the occupations (though not everywhere, not yet), and the media are sure to tell us it's all over. That might account for the drop in donations to OWS recently. But it's
They're Taking Over, Dammit!
I'm not really interested in keeping up to date, but I figure I've dawdled enough on this one.Given Takei's history of tongue-in-cheek video clips, I'm not sure how seriously to take this one. As a joke it's a good one. It works as a jape at the old sf trope that humanity would drop our petty international quarrels and band together if we faced an extraterrestrial threat, but given the current
They're Taking Over, Dammit!
I'm not really interested in keeping up to date, but I figure I've dawdled enough on this one.Given Takei's history of tongue-in-cheek video clips, I'm not sure how seriously to take this one. As a joke it's a good one. It works as a jape at the old sf trope that humanity would drop our petty international quarrels and band together if we faced an extraterrestrial threat, but given the current
The Gaze Militant
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo playerHere's an interesting exchange (via). It's fun and easy to laugh at Romney's discomfiture here, but one thing jumped out at me: if this Vietnam veteran is going to make same-sex marriage the deciding issue when he votes, he won't be able to vote for Barack Obama either. Obama has always made his opposition to same-sex marriage clear and
The Gaze Militant
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo playerHere's an interesting exchange (via). It's fun and easy to laugh at Romney's discomfiture here, but one thing jumped out at me: if this Vietnam veteran is going to make same-sex marriage the deciding issue when he votes, he won't be able to vote for Barack Obama either. Obama has always made his opposition to same-sex marriage clear and
Decent Exposure
A friend linked to this blog post as her Facebook status, and as I read it I realized that it seemed to be entirely beside the point. The blogger, a Christian psychologist, reported this exchange with a student:"I need to spend more time working on my relationship with God."I responded, "Why would you want to do that?"Startled she says, "What do you mean?""Well, why would you want to spend any
Decent Exposure
A friend linked to this blog post as her Facebook status, and as I read it I realized that it seemed to be entirely beside the point. The blogger, a Christian psychologist, reported this exchange with a student:"I need to spend more time working on my relationship with God."I responded, "Why would you want to do that?"Startled she says, "What do you mean?""Well, why would you want to spend any
Bring the Sentinel Home (Bring Him Home!)
A good many Americans rejoiced when Barack Obama became President, on the grounds that they no longer had a president who embarrassed them before the world. That didn't last long, not because Obama isn't embarrassing, but because his devotees will defend anything he says or does.This one is relatively mild compared to his new Facebook ad promising to outbid any Republican candidate on aid to
Bring the Sentinel Home (Bring Him Home!)
A good many Americans rejoiced when Barack Obama became President, on the grounds that they no longer had a president who embarrassed them before the world. That didn't last long, not because Obama isn't embarrassing, but because his devotees will defend anything he says or does.This one is relatively mild compared to his new Facebook ad promising to outbid any Republican candidate on aid to
Bike Paths of South Korea
One of the things I love about Korea, and one of the reasons I want to live there, is the institution of the public bicycle: you can check out a bicycle from a neighborhood site as you would a book from the library. I admit that I'd be nervous about riding a bicycle in Seoul traffic, but the bikes are also available outside the most congested areas. There also a good many bike paths. Several
Bike Paths of South Korea
One of the things I love about Korea, and one of the reasons I want to live there, is the institution of the public bicycle: you can check out a bicycle from a neighborhood site as you would a book from the library. I admit that I'd be nervous about riding a bicycle in Seoul traffic, but the bikes are also available outside the most congested areas. There also a good many bike paths. Several
California appeals court upholds parentage determination for Colonel in US Air Force Reserves
On Friday, in S.Y. v. S.B., the California Third Appellate District upheld a trial court order that found S.Y. to be a parent of two children adopted by her partner, S.B. This case is signifcant because S.B. argued that her partner had not "received the children into her home" as required by statute because she maintained a separate residence for almost the entire 13+ years of their relationship
What the Fuss Was All About
After reading several reviews of The Eagle that compared it unfavorably to Neil Marshall's Centurion (2010), I decided to see what I thought. Centurion was in at the public library, so I checked it out and put it in the player.The two movies are very similar: not only are they set in the same period and place (the early second century CE, Scotland), they're different approaches to the same basic
What the Fuss Was All About
After reading several reviews of The Eagle that compared it unfavorably to Neil Marshall's Centurion (2010), I decided to see what I thought. Centurion was in at the public library, so I checked it out and put it in the player.The two movies are very similar: not only are they set in the same period and place (the early second century CE, Scotland), they're different approaches to the same basic
Wisconsin courts foil bio mom's attempt to overturn her partner's adoption of the children
Here is another "lesbian bio mom behaving badly" case, and another court --this time the Wisconsin Court of Appeals -- that does not let her get away with it. (This case was decided in July, but I'm behind on some of my posts and I haven't seen it written about elsewhere).The case name is Shelly J. v. Leslie W. Lesbian couple, Shelley and Leslie, began their relationship in 1996 and decided to
Copyeditor's Eye for the L33t Guy
A little while ago a Facebook friend posted this image as her status.It led to a smug little thread that began with "ZING! Nice comeback by whoever posted the response to that dolt. [chuckles]" "'Dolt'?" I asked in a comment. "Yup," said my friend. "Nope," I said. She conceded that the questioner was at least "aspiring."I myself am a recovering grammar neurotic, and stuff like this annoys me
Copyeditor's Eye for the L33t Guy
A little while ago a Facebook friend posted this image as her status.It led to a smug little thread that began with "ZING! Nice comeback by whoever posted the response to that dolt. [chuckles]" "'Dolt'?" I asked in a comment. "Yup," said my friend. "Nope," I said. She conceded that the questioner was at least "aspiring."I myself am a recovering grammar neurotic, and stuff like this annoys me
Planned Statehood
I just finished reading Building a More Resilient Haitian State, a Rand Corporation report that was published in the wake of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. It is somewhat better than I expected it to be, since it acknowledges the destructive roles that both France and the US have played in Haitian history -- up until the election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the Presidency in 1990,
Planned Statehood
I just finished reading Building a More Resilient Haitian State, a Rand Corporation report that was published in the wake of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. It is somewhat better than I expected it to be, since it acknowledges the destructive roles that both France and the US have played in Haitian history -- up until the election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the Presidency in 1990,
Premature Exaltation
I don't feel much like writing tonight, or doing anything much tonight for that matter, probably because I have too much I need to do.But anyway, President Obama apparently delivered a campaign speech the other day that has his fans all aflutter. Steve Kornacki was so worked up that he posted two pieces on Salon, Monday's "What a president with a strong hand sounds like," and today's "The
Premature Exaltation
I don't feel much like writing tonight, or doing anything much tonight for that matter, probably because I have too much I need to do.But anyway, President Obama apparently delivered a campaign speech the other day that has his fans all aflutter. Steve Kornacki was so worked up that he posted two pieces on Salon, Monday's "What a president with a strong hand sounds like," and today's "The
The Pot Calling the Kettle FOX
My Tabloid Facebook Friend posted a link to an article called "Fourteen Propaganda Techniques Fox 'News' Uses to Brainwash Americans," which put me in mind of the Rules of Communist Revolution that used to circulate in mimeograph back in the good old days before the Internet, when you could believe everything you read. The Communists had only ten rules, Fox has fourteen! That shows the
The Pot Calling the Kettle FOX
My Tabloid Facebook Friend posted a link to an article called "Fourteen Propaganda Techniques Fox 'News' Uses to Brainwash Americans," which put me in mind of the Rules of Communist Revolution that used to circulate in mimeograph back in the good old days before the Internet, when you could believe everything you read. The Communists had only ten rules, Fox has fourteen! That shows the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) hears another second-parent adoption case
Last week the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard the case of X. & Others v. Austria, its second case on the availability of second-parent adoption. A webcast of the oral argument in the case -- translated into English -- is available on the ECHR website here. I wrote about the hearing in Gas & Dubois v. France last April; that case has yet to be decided. In Gas & Dubois, the child was
Lost in Translation
I'm still plowing through Gay and Lesbian Subculture in Urban China, which in fact is the second academic book in a row that I've taken on. (The previous one was Sun Jung's Korean Masculinities and Transcultural Consumption [Hong Kong University Press, 2010], to which I may return sometime.) That may account for some of the impatience I feel with it. It occurred to me today that academic
Lost in Translation
I'm still plowing through Gay and Lesbian Subculture in Urban China, which in fact is the second academic book in a row that I've taken on. (The previous one was Sun Jung's Korean Masculinities and Transcultural Consumption [Hong Kong University Press, 2010], to which I may return sometime.) That may account for some of the impatience I feel with it. It occurred to me today that academic
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
I'm in the middle of a reading push, as I think you could call it, trying to get through a pile of books that I've had out from the library for too long. (Not overdue; I've just been renewing them a lot.) It's been successful in that I'm making good progress, but I've found it difficult to make time to write. You'd think that retirement would have eliminated such time conflicts in my life, but
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
I'm in the middle of a reading push, as I think you could call it, trying to get through a pile of books that I've had out from the library for too long. (Not overdue; I've just been renewing them a lot.) It's been successful in that I'm making good progress, but I've found it difficult to make time to write. You'd think that retirement would have eliminated such time conflicts in my life, but
The Ten Best "Ten Best" Lists...
I didn't realize I was serious until I read to the end of the first screenful of this article:Are there too many of these lists? Not enough? Do most run-downs succeed in delving deeper than the year’s biggest blockbuster releases? Which rankings are the most interesting, idiosyncratic or trustworthy — in short, the best?But the writer was serious. Reality trumps satire once again.P.S. And
The Ten Best "Ten Best" Lists...
I didn't realize I was serious until I read to the end of the first screenful of this article:Are there too many of these lists? Not enough? Do most run-downs succeed in delving deeper than the year’s biggest blockbuster releases? Which rankings are the most interesting, idiosyncratic or trustworthy — in short, the best?But the writer was serious. Reality trumps satire once again.P.S. And
Deja Vu All Over Again
Plus ça change ...Most towns in Britain are without an adequate independent bookshop. The distribution of books and magazines, outside a few fortunate centres, is in the hands of powerful chains of shops. These chains apply to books and magazines simple tests of quantity. Below a certain likely selling figure, they are not interested, and will not even offer the item for sale. (They are said
Deja Vu All Over Again
Plus ça change ...Most towns in Britain are without an adequate independent bookshop. The distribution of books and magazines, outside a few fortunate centres, is in the hands of powerful chains of shops. These chains apply to books and magazines simple tests of quantity. Below a certain likely selling figure, they are not interested, and will not even offer the item for sale. (They are said
The Birth of the Uncool
I happened to be sitting near a radio tonight that was tuned to NPR's Marketplace, and caught an interview with Thomas Hayden, a blogger whose essay "Ixnay on the iPod: In Praise of Crap Technology" has been getting some attention. Appearing on the radio will probably help! The interviewer seemed a little baffled by Hayden's attitude: I mean, who wouldn't want all of the blessing that St.
The Birth of the Uncool
I happened to be sitting near a radio tonight that was tuned to NPR's Marketplace, and caught an interview with Thomas Hayden, a blogger whose essay "Ixnay on the iPod: In Praise of Crap Technology" has been getting some attention. Appearing on the radio will probably help! The interviewer seemed a little baffled by Hayden's attitude: I mean, who wouldn't want all of the blessing that St.
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