July 01, 2009
"Soul Mates"
Looking for some summer reading?
Coming soon to a bookstore near you. Or a television station. Or radio interview. Basically, wherever Mark Sanford decides to spill his guts again.
I agree with Doctor Zero. It's time for Sanford to leave the stage.
Cross-posted at The Greenroom
Posted by slublog at 10:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
June 29, 2009
Marriage Impossible?
Wow. Meghan McCain is just, like, so cool and stuff.
France—home of my absolute favorite foreign first lady, Carla Bruni—perfected the laissez-faire attitude toward the sex lives of its public leaders. Not here. We hold our politicians to impossible standards. We elect them, put our hopes and dreams for a brighter future on that one person, and then expect sainthood.Millions of married men manage to stay faithful to their wives. There's nothing "impossible" about fidelity, and I have little patience with the 'peer pressure' argument McCain attempts here. I tend to agree that we should forgive politicians their personal failings. However, we should not emulate countries that have moved from forgiveness to near-acceptance. There's nothing admirable about accepting faithlessness.
Posted by slublog at 08:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
June 25, 2009
"The Way We Get By"
Since the first Gulf War in 1991, a group of veterans and townspeople from the area have greeted every troop flight that arrives or departs from Bangor International Airport. They're so loyal to their mission that the airport set aside a permanent room for them.
I've been at the airport a couple of times when troop flights have arrived, and it's a moving experience. Soldiers file in and the minute they enter the terminal, the troop greeters start applauding, shaking hands and hugging the troops. In the troop greeter room, soldiers are given access to snacks and free cell phones they can use to call loved ones. Although I've never been a formal part of the troop greeting, I have taken the opportunity to shake a hand or clap for those who serve our country.
"The Way We Get By" follows the lives of three troop greeters. It's in limited release now, but at the movie website you can request a screening of the film in your area. The reviews, both from professional reviewers and those I know who have seen the movie, are extremely positive. If you can't get to a screening, the movie will be shown on Veteran's Day on public broadcasting.
Plug for the troop greeters: If you'd like to donate to their cause, here's the link. Your donations pay for the snacks and amenities given to the soldiers. All of the greeters are volunteers.
Posted by slublog at 11:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
June 24, 2009
Oh What a Circus
First off, I promise the post title will be the only "Evita" reference.
When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford first disappeared, the story was weird but not scandalous. Boy, did that ever change.
When I first heard the news, my first thought was 'what kind of jerk visits his mistress on Father's Day weekend?' My second thought was that, obviously, any aspirations he had for higher office are over. Which leaves the GOP facing the nightmare scenario in 2012 (scroll down). Although I have to admit, a few months of Obama have softened me on the idea of President Huck. A little.
Memo to future GOP leaders: if you're going to make the argument that gay marriage threatens the 'sanctity of marriage,' it's best not to violate the sanctity of marriage. Just a thought.
Posted by slublog at 08:06 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
June 23, 2009
Cap and Trade: Who Pays?
To be fair, though, both Obama and McCain promoted this nonsense on the campaign trail. Yet another reason to be glad I purchased a pellet stove for next winter.
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June 21, 2009
A Woman's Death, A Father's Anguish
In the book "A Darkness More than Night" by Michael Connelly, one of his characters describes what it's like to be a father. Connelly's detective Terry McCaleb talks about checking on his daughter while she's sleeping and says he "could feel her tiny heart beating. It seemed quick and desperate, like a whispered prayer." When asked what it was like being a dad, McCaleb says it's like "having a gun to your head all the time...I know if anything ever happens to her, anything, then my life is over."
Those quotes came to mind when I watched this video (Strong content warning) of a young woman, tentatively identified as Neda Agha Soltan dying in her father's arms in the streets of Tehran after being shot by the basij. Thanks to the rapidity with which video and images can be spread, Neda is quickly becoming a symbol of the rebellion. Before she was a symbol, though, she was a father's little girl.
As horrifying as the images of Neda's death are, what haunts me about the video is not just the fact that we're watching a young woman die, but the cries of her father. He's heard screaming in the video, and his words have been translated:
"Neda, don't be afraid. Neda, don't be afraid. Neda, stay with me. Neda stay with me!"Like Jim Treacher says, she was just standing on the street with her dad. To the subhuman monster who shot her, that was enough to justify a death sentence.
I have two daughters. The oldest is three and the younger is one. Since my wife worked today, I spent most of this Father's Day watching them. We did the usual daddy-daughter activities: watched a Veggie Tales video, played with blocks, read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for the millionth time or so. I made spaghetti for dinner and laughed at how they managed to get more sauce on their bibs and their faces than in their mouths. As I went about the business of being a dad, the video I had watched the day before haunted me. I couldn't help but think that Neda and her father once played and laughed together, and that while I was enjoying the company of my beautiful daughters, a man half a world away was burying his.
Neda died because a group of power-hungry men rigged an election and overreacted to the protests that followed. Their desperate attempts to cling to legitimacy died with Neda, and I hope the protesters prevail, and their regime falls. Normally, I'm not the type of person who wishes for the death of others, but I would not be troubled at all by video of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad hanged. They deserve no better.
Cross-posted at The Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 08:29 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
June 20, 2009
Iran
The best coverage I've seen today is at Hot Air.
The White House reaction has been tepid at best. Personally, I'm not sure why an image-conscious president like Obama decided this was a good idea.
Posted by slublog at 09:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
