Happy Birthday to the People's Republic of China (and to its Taylor group citizens!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A Gathering Place for all Taylor Group Members, New and Old. Keep in touch, Carry on discussion & debate, and most importantly, play hard.
11 comments:
Here, here! Of course, last night FoxNews spent their time talking about how it should be a day of mourning. I know, I know I should listen to Jim and stay away from that channel. David Brooks summed it up quite beautifully in the Times today...
"Just months after the election and the humiliation, everyone is again convinced that Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity and the rest possess real power. And the saddest thing is that even Republican politicians come to believe it. They mistake media for reality. They pre-emptively surrender to armies that don’t exist.
They pay more attention to Rush’s imaginary millions than to the real voters down the street. The Republican Party is unpopular because it’s more interested in pleasing Rush’s ghosts than actual people. The party is leaderless right now because nobody has the guts to step outside the rigid parameters enforced by the radio jocks and create a new party identity. The party is losing because it has adopted a radio entertainer’s niche-building strategy, while abandoning the politician’s coalition-building strategy.
The rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the decline of the G.O.P. But it’s not because the talk jocks have real power. It’s because they have illusory power, because Republicans hear the media mythology and fall for it every time."
My feelings about the PRC are quite complex, Rich, as you might imagine. I find the PRC government and the Party to be morally repugnant and ultimately responsible for the deaths of millions and some of my family's personal tragedies, to boot.
That being said, I am full of admiration for the nation and its people, who have come a very long way in the last 30 years. In that sense, I wish them a very Happy Birthday indeed. The neo-fascist (in the real sense!) pageantry, of course, is a holdover from old days.
The dark times are here for the GOP and conservatives; of that, there can be no doubt. Ultimately, there will be unifying forces in 2011 or so (e.g. an actual tactical/strategic overreach by Obama (AfPak? HCR? unknown unknown?) and also hopefully a unifying person (Romney? Cantor?).
Meanwhile, I plan to enjoy life in Sicily, waiting for a phone call from my Dad. (if you can forgive the stretched metaphor.)
@ Jim,
Godfather reference? Just watch out for Fabrizio. I have a bad feeling about that guy.
@Vince: Eh, he just likes to monkey around with the car. What's the harm?
Jim whatever you do don't learn to drive a stick!
Anyone have any idea what the point of the President going to Denmark was? From my perspective, it didn't seem like Chicago was ever really in the running, but what do I know? Presidential power should not be wasted on relatively provincial matters, I'd think.
Jim,
Every other country that was represented had their president at the presentations. He originally wasn't even going to go, but was under intense pressure. So, I do not fault him for trying to secure the bid for his country.
btw, Jim do you still read Tuesday Morning QB with Gregg Easterbrook? I almost find his stuff unreadable anymore as the last half of the column bashes Obama for ridiculous reasons. I just wish he would stick to mild political stuff like he used to mixed with nonsensical ramblings about how teams shouldn't blitz.
Jim,
Every other country that was represented had their president at the presentations. He originally wasn't even going to go, but was under intense pressure. So, I do not fault him for trying to secure the bid for his country.
btw, Jim do you still read Tuesday Morning QB with Gregg Easterbrook? I almost find his stuff unreadable anymore as the last half of the column bashes Obama for ridiculous reasons. I just wish he would stick to mild political stuff like he used to mixed with nonsensical ramblings about how teams shouldn't blitz.
Yeah, TMQ has gotten old. It's pretty remarkable how he can write the same damn column 17 weeks a year, for 5 years (or so) straight. Believe it or not, it lived on Slate.com before it made it to ESPN. I want to say that it's at least 10 years old, but I dunno.
As for President Obama, he should have resisted the pressure. I don't care about the expense to the taxpayers, I care about the damage done to the perception of the President's powers of persuasion. (how's that for alliteration?)
How about something on the news about Iran's concessions? Its not enough but its something new.
I'm skeptical (I'm very skeptical that Iran can be talked out of giving up nukes), but looks somewhat promising.
Again, it's a shame that the one event overshadowed the other.
Post a Comment