I’ve managed to avoid Ann Coulter up to now – we don’t travel in the same social circles – but my impression was that she was an all-right gal, the right-wing version of one of the savvy left-wing female columnists who delight us with their clever turn of phrase. Molly Ivins, Maureen Dowd and even Arianna Huffington come to mind.
Wrong.
I’m a politics junkie, have followed presidential elections since I was a kid, staying up late to total Electoral College votes with pencil and paper. I remember Stevenson’s Presidential campaigns – both of them – and his speech to the UN at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, considered by some one of the finest pieces of diplomatic oratory of the last century.
And now? My, my, my how have our standards of public discourse have sunk, to tight tank and cesspool levels.
No Child Left Behind
“What’s interesting in this piece of legislation is that because of measuring, you’re able to determine whether or not a child can read or write and add and subtract early. And what the measurement system allows you to do is, one, analyze curriculum
Enlightened Older Folks
It gripes me when some people complain that the US government’s space program is a waste of money, as if the funds themselves were being launched off-planet.
The current issue of The Erickson Tribune, a newsletter for Boomers and people of retirement age, includes the results of a reader poll conducted by researcher Jered Rasmussen.
I was pleasantly surprised by the majority opinion.
Retreat in India
Because I have a company website, I receive solicitations from time to time from overseas outsourcing companies, mostly from India and Russia.
One particularly assertive individual has emailed me several times, asking if I have an assignment which I’d consider throwing in his direction.
Out of curiosity, I started corresponding with him, starting with a few generic questions about the type of projects he’s worked on, and ending with a serious request for proposal.
The results were interesting.
The Cost of Citizenship: Time
The mainstream media, which had given Bush (“I’m a war president”) a pass for three long years seems – finally – to be crawling out of its communal spider hole.
Thanks to Vietnam vet John Kerry, who has been through one or two political fights in his long career, the media now can focus on a candidate from the loyal opposition who is not afraid of the Rove/Bush smear machine.
Perhaps smelling blood, or maybe just hedging their bets in case of a Democratic victory this fall, the press has been giving its attention to the deficit; intelligence failures; and corruption in the military/industrial complex.
Friday Five
TGIF and a happy President’s Day weekend:
1. Are you superstitious?
Ayup, I own this one.
2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
Human sacrifice would be right up there.
3. Believer or not, what’s your favorite superstition?
Making a wish when a digital clock shows all the same numerals, like 11:11. Must be a modern superstition, huh?
4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
Sure do. I make a wish when I enter a new church, which happens oh, probably not often enough for someone who’s superstitious.
5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
Nope. From the small amount of training I have in Probability & Statistics, it doesn’t seem possible that 1/12 of the world would have the same events, concerns, shots at romance or the lottery on any given day.
Another Reason for Off-shoring
Actually, this one makes a whole lot of sense.
Sounds about right
One million dollars bail.
Unlike the great state of Massachusetts, where this week, legislators are in a twit over the granting of marriage licenses to any couple who doesn’t look like Trista and Ryan, they don’t cotton much to child abuse in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
And more power to ’em.
On the Eve of “Meet the Press”
Franklin (Lyn) Nofziger, who heads Nofziger Communications, a consulting and government relations firm, is a long-time Reagan insider and served as press secretary and later assistant to the president for political affairs during the Reagan administration.
His words have particular meaning this election year.
Weathering
This witty poem was awarded third place in the Cape Cod Times Primetime 2003 Poetry & Prose Contest.
The author, Kate Connolly lives in Centerville, MA.