Month: May 2010

“Please let the editors and writers of The Post know that if a man or women is openly gay to their family, friends and coworkers (as I am), reporting on their sexual orientation is as benign as reporting on their hair color,” – Chris Tharrington, on the Washington Post's ombudsman page.

It's good to see this being discussed outside of the Supreme Court. These can be tricky issues in a shifting society, but I support Tharrington's position. The Post, of course, remains of the view that someone's orientation – if they are gay – should be mainly concealed by the press. Even when that person was murdered, was out to his peers and reported by the police as gay. It seems you cannot "libel" someone who is dead, but you can "out" him. The WaPo implicitly believes that outing someone as gay is somehow worse than libel. And, yes, this is 2010.

He’s a problem, isn’t he? A reader writes:

I think it’s going to be really fascinating to see how Southern Conservatives respond to David Cameron.  Southern Conservatives worship C.S. Lewis and Winston Churchill (I can say this because growing up in the South you have no idea how many conservative boomer age men I have heard quoting Lewis and Churchill to me).  So how are they going to respond now when you have this conservative British Prime Minister who talks about fighting a war on poverty, who talks about his faith in God as going “in and out,” who is comfortable with gay people, who is comfortable with evolution?

The American Right has to know that Cameron’s way is the future of conservatism.  This cocoon they have constructed for themselves against the modern world cannot survive much longer.  When we have Republican politicians in the South quoting David Cameron instead of Churchill, that is when we are going to have achieved real progress in this country.

It will get worse before it gets better:

Paleocon Simon Heffer thinks the coalition is doomed – because of lefty Liberals and righty conservatives. We'll see. Given the astonishing pace of events these past few weeks, I remain unwilling to make any predictions at all. But we will see how the decent maturity of Cameron as prime minister and the steely idealism of Clegg as his deputy settle in with middle England. I suspect just fine. For a while.

TNC watches the above video of Andy Rooney admitting he knows very little about contemporary music and reflects:

What I do know is that, like Rooney, I couldn't name a Lady Gaga song if I heard one right now. But I also know that my son knows more of my music, then I know of his. He can recognize Nas, but I can't recognize, say, Drake. In other words, you'd do a lot better banking on my ignorance, than his.

Age, like all power constructs, (race, gender, class) encourages its own ignorance. To not know is a luxury of power. You don't have to know Their Eyes Were Watching God. But I damn sure better know The Scarlet Letter. (It's bad enough I'm slipping on Twain.) Age turns ignorance into a luxury, and worse, if you don't recognize it as a luxury you start to think everyone is as clueless as you. And of course you're clueless that any of this is even going on.

A reader writes:

A bunch. I live in the extremely multi-ethnic Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. The high-rise across the street from me has a large fundamentalist Muslim community living in it, and there are several dozen fully-veiled women who live in the building. I run into them at the bus stop, the grocery store, McDonald’s – pretty much all over my ‘hood.

And although I’m an uber-liberal urbanite who embraces my multi-culti neighborhood, I have to confess: there is nothing creepier than having a burqa-wearing woman coming at you in the cereal aisle. I’ve lived here for years and see them all the time, but I can’t help but find them spooky. They’re wraith-like and eerie. I know I’m not supposed to admit that, but it’s true.

I understand that it is (theoretically) their choice to wear the veil, but the same is not true of their daughters. I have seen few sadder things in my life than the day I ran into one of my neighbors at the store, and saw that her adorably goofy and energetic little daughter had suddenly been converted into a somber, ghostly, black-clad shadow of herself. That was the first time I felt like a burqa ban might not be such a bad idea….

Jonathan Bernstein's read:

The real thing Kagan — and Obama — need to persuade Kennedy to do is to consider retiring with a Democrat in the White House. For that, it really might pay to avoid a "a full-throated counterweight to the court’s conservative leader, Justice Antonin Scalia."  Kennedy will turn 74 this summer.  I've always said that it's a mug's game to make predictions about politicians and retirements, and that must be even more true about Justices on the Supreme Court.  I would say, however, that if he considers retiring over the next several years, and if he cares about what happens to the Court after he's gone…well, if those things are true, then it's pretty easy to imagine the incentives involved and how Obama's nominees change those incentives.  We can assume that Kennedy would prefer to be replaced by someone similar to himself, and then guess at where he perceives the next Democratic and the next Republican appointments would be.  Presumably, given his voting pattern, he'd prefer to be replaced by a Republican appointee — but relatively moderate picks by Democrats might close that gap somewhat (as might extremist rhetoric from Republican candidates).

This assumes that Kagan is a moderate. But we have no idea whatever what she believes, because she has managed to live a life with no apparent public beliefs. I suspect she's actually very liberal. Why else the long radio silence on everything – along with exquisite careerist strategizing?

The highest good is like water.

Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.

It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.

In meditation, go deep in the heart.

In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.

In speech, be true.

In ruling, be just.

In daily life, be competent.

In action, watch the timing.

No fight: No blame.

(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty.)

A second detention center has now been confirmed. It's where they torture and abuse prisoners. And its location within a wider camp has an uncanny resemblance to the alleged torture camp sequestered at Gitmo. Why is this unsurprising? More background here.

 

That's how a senior Liberal has described the new deal with the Tories. This is not just a new era for Britain and the Liberal Democrats. It's a new era for conservatism – and reveals just how alien British conservatism now is from its increasingly extremist American cousin. Bonus fact rebutting a previous rumor: George Osborne will be the new chancellor. Still no details on policy – but there does seem to be a deal on fixed four year parliamentary terms, and the Tories appear to have abandoned their proposals to favor married couples in taxation and a cut in the inheritance tax. Huge day in British politics and history.

Cameron's speech:

In terms of the future, our country where no party has an overall majority and we have some deep and pressing problems – a huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform. For those reasons, I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. I believe that is the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I think we need so badly.

Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders who want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest. I believe that is the best way to get the strong government that we need, decisive Government that we need today. I came into politics because I love this country, I think its best days still lie ahead and I believe deeply in public service, and I think the service our country needs right now is to face up to our really big challenges, to confront our problems, to take difficult decisions, to lead people through those difficult decisions so that together we can reach better times ahead.

One of the tasks that we clearly have is to rebuild trust in our political system. Yes, that's about cleaning up expenses, yes, that's about reforming parliament, and yes, it's about making sure people are in control and that the politicians are always their servants and never their masters. But I believe it's also something else – it's about being honest about what government can achieve.

Real change is not what government can do on its own, real change is when everyone pulls together, comes together, works together, when we all exercise our responsibilities to ourselves, our families, to our communities and to others. And I want to help try and build a more responsible society here in Britain, one where we don't just ask what are my entitlements but what are my responsibilities, one where we don't ask what am I just owed but more what can I give, and a guide for that society that those that can should and those who can't we will always help. I want to make sure that my Government always looks after the elderly, the frail, the poorest in our country.

We must take everyone through us on some of the difficult decisions that we have ahead. Above all it will be a Government that is built on some clear values, values of freedom, values of fairness and values of responsibility. I want us to build an economy that rewards work, I want us to build a society with stronger families and stronger communities and I want a political system that people can trust and look up to once again. This is going to be hard and difficult work. The coalition will throw up all sorts of challenges, but I believe together we can provide that strong and stable government that our country needs, based on those values, rebuilding family, rebuilding community, above all, rebuilding responsibility in our country. Those are the things I care about, those are the things that this Government will now start work on doing. Thank you very much.