What A Waste It Is ...

... to lose one's mind, as Dan Quayle would say.

Victoria Jackson demonstrates the deleterious effects of a steady diet of Fox News -



(Via South Florida Daily Blog, who watches this stuff so you don't have to!)

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Remember a long, long time ago, when Barack Obama and John McCain ran against each other in the Presidential election? At the time, there was a silly Obama ad about how Senator McCain "Can't send an email." It was silly, because it really had nothing to do with whether Senator McCain could be President. However, the McCain partisans weren't content to just call it silly, they had to ratchet it up. They started carrying on that Senator Obama was mocking Senator McCain's wartime injuries, including injuries to his fingers which made him unable to type.

Yes, those were good times. Since then, Senator McCain has apparently not only caught up on the latest technology, but also taken a side-trip to Lourdes, because now he's on "Twitter" and can "tweet" like a champion!

Hey there! SenJohnMcCain is using Twitter.
Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Join today to start receiving SenJohnMcCain's updates.

It might be interesting to keep track of Senator McCain's "tweets". For example, earlier today he did a twitter interview (would that be a "twinterview"?) with George Stephanopoulos. He started out -

@GStephanopoulos Happy St. Patrick's day - slow, sometimes pc somtimes bb

(The apparently new ability to tap out "GStephanopoulos" on a Blackberry is the reason for the "Lourdes" comment, above). Since it's on Twitter, all the Q's and A's are short. One in particular caught my eye, concerning former Vice President Cheney's comments from this past weekend. George asked -

@SenJohMcCain Cheney said on CNN that Obama putting US at risk of new terror attack Agree?

Senator McCain responded -

@GStephanopoulos too early to draw that conclusion.

I just thought that was an interesting little tidbit to find there.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Or, "St. Patrick's Day blessing on you all!"

And now, a traditional Irish song -



(Okay, so maybe it wasn't so traditional ...)

American Pi

It's March 14, which means it's Pi Day!

This year's Congressional Resolution declaring "Pi Day" passed by a vote of 391-10 (more later on that 10):

H. RES. 224
Supporting the designation of Pi Day, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2009

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr. BAIRD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology

RESOLUTION
Supporting the designation of Pi Day, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Greek letter (Pi) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter;

Whereas the ratio Pi is an irrational number, which will continue infinitely without repeating, and has been calculated to over one trillion digits;

Whereas Pi is a recurring constant that has been studied throughout history and is central in mathematics as well as science and engineering;

Whereas mathematics and science are a critical part of our children's education, and children who perform better in math and science have higher graduation and college attendance rates;

Whereas aptitude in mathematics, science, and engineering is essential for a knowledge-based society;

Whereas, according to the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) survey done by the National Center for Education Statistics, American children in the 4th and 8th grade were outperformed by students in other countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, England, South Korea, Latvia, and Japan;

Whereas since 1995 the United States has shown only minimal improvement in math and science test scores;

Whereas by the 8th grade, American males outperform females on the science portion of the TIMSS survey, especially in Biology, Physics, and Earth Science, and the lowest American scores in math and science are found in minority and impoverished school districts;

Whereas America needs to reinforce mathematics and science education for all students in order to better prepare our children for the future and in order to compete in a 21st Century economy;

Whereas the National Science Foundation has been driving innovation in math and science education at all levels from elementary through graduate education since its creation 59 years ago;

Whereas mathematics and science can be a fun and interesting part of a child's education, and learning about Pi can be an engaging way to teach children about geometry and attract them to study science and mathematics; and

Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 2009, is an appropriate day for 'National Pi Day': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) supports the designation of a 'Pi Day' and its celebration around the world;

(2) recognizes the continuing importance of National Science Foundation's math and science education programs; and

(3) encourages schools and educators to observe the day with appropriate activities that teach students about Pi and engage them about the study of mathematics.

Now, about the "10 against". According to the roll call, they were Republicans Jeff Flake, from Arizona; Dean Heller, Montana; Timothy Johnson, Illinois; Jeff Miller, Florida; Randy Neugebauer, Texas; former Presidendial candidate Ron Paul, Texas; Ted Poe, also Texas; Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania; Mike Pence, Indiana, and Jason Chaffetz, Utah. The only explanation I found (via the New Scientist news blog) was from Representative Chaffetz, who "twitters" at "Jasoninthehouse". He sort of mocked the fact that time was being spent on it, but at the vote stated (or, I guess "tweeted"), "I cannot support Pi Day as just one day. It should go on forever. I voted 'Nay.' It passed 391-10". No word or tweets on any of the others.

By the way, Representative Chaffetz did take a moment a short while ago to "tweet" a "Happy Pi Day!" to everyone. Back atcha!

American Idiot

Comment follows, after you read this item -

Rep. Bill Posey, R-Florida, introduced legislation this week requiring candidates to produce a birth certificate to be eligible to run in future presidential elections, triggering a sharp reaction from Democrats who accused him of "questioning President Obama's citizenship."

Posey submitted a bill with no fanfare Thursday that instructs the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to be amended to add the birth certificate requirement. The Constitution requires that a president or a vice president be "a natural born citizen."
...

Posey spokesman George Cecala emphasized several times to CNN that the congressman was "not trying to fan the flames" of the Obama citizenship dust-up nor was he "trying to jab someone in the eye." Instead, Posey was "just trying to clarify the law," Cecala said.

Cecala added that Posey, who was elected in 2008, decided to introduce the bill because of concerns raised by constituents and other people from across the country. So far, the bill has no cosponsors and Posey did not inform the Republican leadership he was introducing it, according to Cecala.

And now, a comment -

Going Immobile

The latest right-wing rallying cry is "Going Galt". As one of our favorite right-wingers has explained it (via the NY Times Opinionator entry, "'Going Galt': Everyone's Doing It!" -

While they take to the streets politically, untold numbers of America’s wealth producers are going on strike financially. Dr. Helen Smith, a Knoxville forensic pathologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. It’s a reference to the famed Ayn Rand novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” in which protagonist John Galt leads the entrepreneur class to cease productive activities in order to starve the government of revenue.

Of course, the original character of John Galt didn't want to simply "starve the governent" for no good reason. In fact, as he set out in a long, tedious three-hour speech which is apparently the "hightlight" of the novel, govenment was simply taking from the "haves" and giving to underserving "have nots." (A "mini-version", that gives you a sense of the somewhat repetitive argument, is at this page.)

In other words, "If I can't keep it all, then I'm not going to try to earn any of it." Luckily, Stephen Colbert took on this phenomenon last night, summarizing the "Going Galt" movement as: "When millions are losing jobs, losing homes, and losing hope, there is nothing more important that putting yourself first."

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Rand Illusion

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Rap Battle
NASA Name Contest

Actually, there's something else that's bothering Mr. Galt (and Ms. Rand), which pervades the speech, as in this for example -

“The justification of sacrifice, that your morality propounds, is more corrupt than the corruption it purports to justify. The motive of your sacrifice, it tells you, should be love-the love you ought to feel for every man. A morality that professes the belief that the values of the spirit are more precious than matter, a morality that teaches you to scorn a whore who gives her body indiscriminately to all men - this same morality demands that you surrender your soul to promiscuous love for all comers."

That's correct, all these right-wingers are now taking their lead from a belief system which rejects the one with teachings like this -

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

The Coming Conservative "Holy War"

Okay, so maybe the title is a little too harsh or strong. However, there does seem to be a pronounced anti-Islam "undercurrent", if you will, in conservative political circles. It's more than just opposing terrorists, and seems more along the lines of promoting fear of anything which, or anybody who, is Muslim. I could be wrong, but there are just so many signs of this out there.

For example, Rick Santorum (the former Senator) seems to have made this issue the one he will use to keep in the public eye. His speech at the recent CPAC conference was noted by many for his out-of-context use of Attorney General Holder's remarks on race (see, for example, "At CPAC Fox News' Santorum says AG Holder 'confirm[ed]' to bin Laden that 'effeminate and pampered Americans will cower away' "). But, prior to getting to that point in his speech, he launches on a tirade giving dire warnings about "creeping Sharia" and "Islamicization".



The text (from the website of his "thinktank") -

I've heard several metaphors up here that we have two wings of the party, the economic conservatives and the social conservatives. I would just say that the three-legged stool makes more sense to me. Because there are people in America who are 9/11 conservatives - who are people that see the threats that are out there and before us and a threat that is not going to go away anytime soon. Who vote for us because we are the adults. We do look squarely in the eyes of the enemy and see it for what it is and are willing to step forward and commit, as George Bush did, troops to fight this great threat to American civilization. I would say to economic conservatives that creeping Sharia - I know David Horowitz had Geert Wilders here last night to talk - and that creeping Sharia throughout Europe and here in this country and in Canada, the "Islamicization" of Europe that is already underway, and it will visit this shore none too soon is a concern for us and something we need to identify and we need to talk about and we need to fight with every ounce of our being.

There are all sorts of other threats but let me just focus on one more and that is Iran. Iran last week announced they now have enough material to make a nuclear weapon. These are people who believe, this is a leader, a president, who every speech he gives leaves an empty chair. Who's the empty chair for? The Twelfth Imam. Well, who's the Twelfth Imam? Well, he's the man who is going to come back at the end of times to lead them in victory over the world. And he leaves a chair for him. Why? Because he's coming soon. And these people want a nuclear weapon. And we don't even talk about it as a party. We don't even talk about it as a country.

The whole "empty chair for the Twelfth Imam" thing appears to have come from some Dick Cheney interview a few years ago, near as I can tell.

Mr. Santorum refers to a talk given at CPAC by Geert Wilders. Who is that? He has found a way to gain fame (or notoriety) by peddling a short, anti-Islam film called "Fitna". Basically, he takes less than a half dozen verses of the Koran, juxtaposes them with pictures depicting terrorism and hatred, and reaches the conclusion that the Koran should be banned and Muslims kept out of Europe. Some of his own words, from an interview last year -

SPIEGEL: You invoke the right to freedom of opinion but you demand a prohibition of the Koran. Does that not contravene the principle of religious tolerance?

Wilders: For me, Islam is a vision of a society that defines all forms of interpersonal behavior -- from inheritance to criminal law. This ideology endangers our values. I hate it, I don't hate Muslims.

SPIEGEL: Is the comparison between the Koran and Hitler's "Mein Kampf" not totally inappropriate? In making it, you're providing the imams with a perfect image of the enemy.

Wilders: I want to provoke a discussion. Certain Koranic verses have moved their followers to commit the most abhorrent acts. Where is the imam who stands up in the Netherlands and says, for us, homosexuals are entitled to equal rights and everyone has the right to abandon their faith.

SPIEGEL: Your tirades are a challenge to all moderate Muslims and those pushing for Islamic reform.

Wilders: Moderate Islam? That's a contradiction. It's going to be a long time before we see a new Koran, an equivalent to the New Testament. Attacks don't happen in the name of Buddhism or Christianity; nor do homosexuals get beaten up, as happens daily in Amsterdam.

SPIEGEL: But immigrant youth crime has nothing to do with religion.

Wilders: It's true, they don't carry the Koran under their arms. But it's at home. And their fathers go to the mosque. They don't tell their children that beating women or believers of other religions is not allowed. That's why we have to push harder for a kind of Leitkultur, a guiding culture. Not a monoculture but a culture that draws on our Christian, Jewish, humanistic traditions and that poses a challenge to the Islamic problem. This is patriotism, not nationalism, this is pride in our own culture.

His technique is familiar to anyone who has heard or read a Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris take some Bible verses out of context, and then declaim that Christianity is flawed. Yet, folks like Mr. Santorum happily endorse this guy, and either fail to recognize this or (just as likely) support his narrow-minded attacks.

By the way, the CPAC conference was not the only place where Mr. Geert's and his views were entertained recently:

US lawmaker hosts anti-Islamic Dutch lawmaker
By Associated Press | Monday, February 23, 2009

Republican Sen. Jon Kyl is hosting a film screening at the Capitol building on Thursday for a far-right Dutch lawmaker who claims that Islam inspires terrorism.

Kyl is sponsoring the event for Geert Wilders, who was denied entry to London earlier this month because British authorities said he posed a threat to public order.

Wilders’ 15-minute film juxtaposes verses from the Quran with images of violence by Muslims. Wilders has called the Quran a "fascist book" and said it should be banned.

I think this is a strategy of hate, being stirred up by some political conservatives, as they look for issues to grab onto. Santorum himself said that, in addition to economic conservatives, and social issue conservatives, they need the support of people they can scare into hating, to join them.

A Million-Dollar Break

You've probably heard about the latest "Mega Millions" lottery winners, a group of co-workers in New Jersey. Ten people splitting $216 million. Nice.

But, not as nice as this part of the story, which is in the article linked to above.

The six men and four women who won said they've worked in Chubb's IT division from seven to 30 years and had been buying tickets together for years.

One regular buyer, Oscar Oviedo, had asked Space to count him in and promised $5 for his share. Space rushed over to him early Wednesday morning and demanded the money.

"I thought: 'How rude!'" Oviedo said with a laugh, recalling how he handed over $5, unsure why Space was being so insistent. "Then he said, 'OK, thanks — you're a millionaire.'"

You often see these lottery stories end up as bad news. That was a little good news about good people.

Because I'm Easily Amused ...

First off, I probably should have entitled a post "Because I'm Easily Distracted", since with all the crazy stuff going on in the world, I haven't bothered to toss off a random thought about any of it lately.

So what has stirred me from this lethargy? Well, I have been keeping up with the news, the same as any of you here on "the internets". The Talking Points Memo site had a story today that made my jaw drop, and then laugh out loud.

First, the jaw drop. Senator David Vitter, who was caught up in that whole "DC Madam" thing (which ended, if you recall, with the poor woman killing herself), has decided that he has to be "Mr. Family Values" to get ready for his reelection campaign next year. His vehicle is to attack spending on family planning programs. Seriously. The guy was paying for vo-dee-oh-doh-doh by the hour, and he wants to make it harder for other people to have safe vo-dee-oh-doh-doh? Please ...

But then the part that made me laugh out loud, as explained by TPM:

It has to be noted, of course, that Vitter is facing potential primary challenges from a leading Christian-right activist, a former Congressman, and a porn star. (That's three different people, by the way, not one person matching all three descriptions.)

Glad they cleared that up!

Part Man, Part Monkey?

Every once in a while around here, we ruminate about evolution vs. intelligent design (or "ID"). As I've said here before, about ID proponents: "Instead of considering that the God they believe in could have created a universe where natural processes come together to result in intelligent life (an amazing thing if you think about it), they insist that there's some 'trick' that had to have taken place. They insist that somewhere we can see the 'seams', where creation came together, where something not 'natural' can be seen and therefore 'prove' the existence of God. And, they argue that opposition to them is somehow opposition to people of faith." In that same old post back in 2005, I had quoted the Director of the Vatican Observatory, who wrote:

There appears to exist a nagging fear in the Church that a universe, which science has established as evolving for 13.7 x 1 billion years since the Big Bang and in which life, beginning in its most primitive forms at about 12 x 1 billion years from the Big Bang, evolved through a process of random genetic mutations and natural selection, escapes God’s dominion. That fear is groundless. Science is completely neutral with respect to philosophical or theological implications that may be drawn from its conclusions. Those conclusions are always subject to improvement. That is why science is such an interesting adventure and scientists curiously interesting creatures. But for someone to deny the best of today’s science on religious grounds is to live in that groundless fear just mentioned.
...

This stress on our scientific knowledge is not to place a limitation upon God. Far from it. It reveals a God who made a universe that has within it a certain dynamism and thus participates in the very creativity of God. Such a view of creation can be found in early Christian writings, especially in those of St Augustine in his comments on Genesis. If they respect the results of modern science and, indeed, the best of modern biblical research, religious believers must move away from the notion of a dictator God or a designer God, a Newtonian God who made the universe as a watch that ticks along regularly.

So, it wasn't much of a surprise to read this in today's news:

The Vatican said this week that Darwin's theory of evolution fits in with Christianity despite its conflicts with the biblical Genesis.

The declaration appeared to settle speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might officially endorse the rival theory of intelligent design, which has gained a staunch following among some fundamentalist Christians, The Times of London said Wednesday.

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said Tuesday that evolution's role in the world after the creation could be traced back to St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

"In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God," said Ravasi.

The Vatican will hold a conference next month to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's book "Origin of the Species." The Times said intelligent design would not be on the agenda.

Actually, the Vatican's conference on Darwin will include a discussion of ID, but not in a way which will please ID's proponents:

Organizers of the March 3-7 conference did not explain at a news conference Tuesday why they had decided to include discussion of the view that life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone, and that a higher power has had a hand in changes among species over time.

"The committee agreed to consider ID as a phenomenon of an ideological and cultural nature, thus worthy of a historic examination, but certainly not to be discussed on scientific, philosophical or theological grounds," said Saverio Forestiero, a conference organizer and professor of zoology at the University of Rome.

One can only hope that this has an impact over on this side of the pond, in particular on right-wing politicians who either push for the teaching of ID, or for "teaching the controversy" as a way to slip ID into American public school classrooms. As Chris Mooney, author the book "The Republican War on Science" noted back in 2005:

ID proponents have also teamed up with conservative Republican legislators to further advance their agenda. ID’s most significant supporter has been Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. In 2001, Santorum teamed up with ID supporters to slip “teach the controversy” language into the No Child Left Behind Act. Singling out evolution in particular, Santorum’s amendment to the Senate version of the bill stated that “good science education should prepare students to distinguish the data or testable theories of science from philosophical or religious claims that are made in the name of science.” This may sound innocuous enough, but when you learn that the language comes in part from ID movement progenitor Phillip Johnson, who believes that “Darwinism is based on an a priori commitment to materialism, not on a philosophically neutral assessment of the evidence,” you see where Santorum is headed.

Or, maybe they won't stop. But, at least, there's a little more ammunition now to use against them.

"Almost Crashed But The Lord Had Mercy ..."

Of course, the Super Bowl performance in the post below includes -

"The Crash"



I realized that it's a perfect metaphor for why we're fans. It's the biggest audience of his career, and he's packed the limited time given with all of the things people are expecting - preaching to the crowd and to the television audience, jumping on the piano, posing with the Big Man, joking with Steve Van Zandt, changing the words to songs to adapt to where they're playing - it's perfect.

And then the knee slide, which is another one of those things he's always done. Except, this time, maybe he didn't have enough practice on this stage. So, he seems to have misjudged the distance this time. So, he crashes into the camera man ,,,

But, again, that's why we're fans. When this happens, in front of the previously mentioned "biggest audience of his career", he grins apologetically into the camera (and to everyone in said "biggest audience ..."), gets his microphone handed back to him, then turns and dives back into the song.

Now, a random philosophical thought. In today's economy, lots of us are "crashing" these days, for various reasons (yours truly included). I get some encouragement from thinking that no matter how hard we crash, or how many people see us crash, we can grin and jump back into it. And that's our take-away for today.

Sunday Night Springsteen

Super Bowl (duh ...)

Step back from the guacamole, and put the chicken fingers DOWN ...

Part 1


Part 2


As the man said, "I'm goin' to Disney Land!!!"

[Note - Had to replace the video links, because the first ones were taken down due to an NFL copyright claim. The ones up now aren't as good quality, though.]

Sunday Morning Springsteen

It's Springsteen season, again - the guy is everywhere. He was all over the inauguration celebrations two weeks ago. He was all over the sports pages the other day, with a press conference in connection with the Super Bowl. As New Jersey sportswriter Steve Politi put it in my local paper the other day -

Our team finally arrived at this Super Bowl XLIII, and not a moment too soon. The storylines here are stale and the matchup is dull, with no compelling reason to watch.

Our team can save the day. This is a veteran unit from New Jersey, and judging by its press conference Thursday, the players are ready. Now if we just could do something about how long they'll be on the field ...

One thought: Can the NFL hold the football game at halftime of a two-part Bruce Springsteen concert?

Please?

It looks like a fun time was had by all. You can watch below -

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


And this morning, he's smiling out from the front page of the Sunday New York Times Arts and Leisure section. [If it asks you to log in to read, you can use the name "Cautiousman" and the password "cautious"] It's an interesting interview, not least for the fact that he discusses the reaction to the special, "Wal-Mart only" song compilation that went on sale recently -

He made another promotional deal he now bluntly calls a mistake. On Jan. 13 a $10 collection of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Greatest Hits” — 11 songs from a 1995 hits anthology, as well as “Radio Nowhere” from “Magic” — went on sale exclusively at Wal-Mart. Since Wal-Mart has been accused of anti-union practices by Human Rights Watch, among others, and has paid large fines for violating labor laws, the announcement prompted online criticisms like the one from asroma on the fan site backstreets.com: “Bruce is doing biz with Wal-Mart? Kind of goes against everything he stands for.”

In an interview with Billboard, Mr. Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, defended the release, saying Mr. Springsteen’s albums were already in Wal-Mart, which accounts for 15 percent of his sales. He also said: “We’re not doing any advertising for Wal-Mart. We haven’t endorsed Wal-Mart or anybody else. We’re letting Sony do its job.”

But Mr. Springsteen said the decision was made too hastily. “We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it.” Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, “given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.” He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

But I'm concerned about another item from that interview, which is near the start.

At 9 o’clock on a recent morning Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were already half an hour into a rehearsal at the rock club Terminal 5 in Manhattan. As N.F.L. executives and a television production team watched, they were tightening their miniset of four songs — dropping verses, streamlining segues — to fit their 12-minute slot as the halftime entertainment Sunday at Super Bowl XLIII, expected to reach tens of millions of viewers.

"Dropping verses"? "Streamlining seques"? Is this halftime going to be (*gasp*) a medley? Sort of like when the songs rush by you in a commercial for a Time-Life greatest hits compilation? I'm with Mr. Politi on this one -

Can the NFL hold the football game at halftime of a two-part Bruce Springsteen concert?

Sunday Night Springsteen

Obvious - "Working on a Dream" -



I don't know about the whistling ...

Our copy is arriving on Tuesday, with luck. I've listened to the album on the NPR First Listen. Lots of different musical styles on the album - but I still can't figure out "Outlaw Pete".

And, what the heck, the first time we all heard "Working on a Dream", at the Obama rally in Ohio. Kind of nice to know that this time, it all worked out okay.

It's Hard To Be A Saint ...

Oh my sweet child how did you sleep last night
She said, "I dreamed I saw Saint Francis"
He came in the body of a lion and had tears in his eyes
"It don't have to be this way"

- Little Steven, Saint Francis

Now this is disappointing news:

Mother Teresa recited the simple prayer of St. Francis every day. Margaret Thatcher cited it upon becoming prime minister of Britain, and Alcoholics Anonymous included it in its “12 steps” book.

But something else is notable about the prayer that begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith.”

St. Francis of Assisi, who was born in the 12th century, probably had nothing to do with it.

An article published this week in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, said the prayer in its current form dates only from 1912, when it appeared in a French Catholic periodical.

It doesn't make it any less a Catholic staple (its use has even been an occasion for conservative opinionators to demonstrate their confusion, about the fact that "liberal" and "religious" are not mutually-exclusive labels, as we've discussed here before). Still, "tradition" seems less "traditional" when it's not as old as first thought.

Now, Where Did I Leave My Tiniest Violin?

Because these whiners inspire a tiny song -

On the plane, no longer Air Force One but now Special Air Mission 28000, they talked about the speech. George W. Bush, the former president, was heading home to Texas with his inner circle, having just left the Capitol, where his successor first thanked him for his service and then proceeded to discredit it.

The Bush team had worked assiduously to make the transition smooth for the incoming President Obama and stayed out of the way as he used the postelection period to take leadership of the economy even before being sworn in. And now, as far as some of them were concerned, the new president had used his inaugural lectern to give the back of the hand to a predecessor who had been nothing but gracious to him.

“There were a few sharp elbows that really rankled and I felt were not as magnanimous as the occasion called for,” Karen Hughes, a longtime Bush confidante, said in an interview. “He really missed an opportunity to be as big as the occasion was and, frankly, as gracious as President Bush was as he left office.”

Dan Bartlett, another top adviser, used similar language. “It was a missed opportunity to bring some of the president’s loyal supporters into the fold,” he said. Marc A. Thiessen, the chief White House speechwriter until this week, added: “It was an ungracious inaugural. It was pretty clear he was taking shots.”

And what were the "shots" that bothered these poor people?

Mr. Obama never directly mentioned Mr. Bush’s name after the ritual thank you at the beginning of his speech, but the context of some of his remarks was lost on no one. He criticized “our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” He promised to “restore science to its rightful place.” He rejected “as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” He assured the rest of the world “that we are ready to lead once more.”

These people (and I include the reporter and a lot of commentators) just don't get it.

We're not going to torture our way to security.

We're not going to bomb our way to security.

We're not going to "regime change" our way to security.

We'll be more secure when more people in this world gain or re-gain their respect for, their support for, and their desire to emulate, these United States of America. The new President clearly knows this, and his Inauguration was the best time to let the rest of the world know this.

"We Are Traveling In The FootstepsOf Those Who've Gone Before ..."

This picture was passed along to me. It says a great deal about yesterday's event.


I have no idea who created this. If anyone visiting knows, I'll be happy to give credit where credit is due.

[Edited to add} Via Attaturk, found him!

More On That Whole "Change" Thing ...

From the portion of the Inauguration Address quoted in an earlier post -

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

Today's news has a photo, which (I hope) serves as a metaphor for this change -

Better Days

Now that we're almost 24 hours (at this writing) into the new Obama Administration, it will be interesting to see if there's any change in tone from the elite pundits. For example, I caught a glimpse of something a little more substative amongst the snark in Maureen Dowd's column today -

I grew up here, and it was the first time I’ve ever seen the city wholly, happily integrated, with a mood redolent of New York in the weeks after 9/11. The Obamas have made an unprecedented pledge to get involved in the real city that lies beyond the political Oz, and have already started doing so in many ways, including starting the night out at the D.C. Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.

Downtown was a euphoric pedestrian mall of commerce and communal kindness. The patience that America is extending to Mr. Obama, according to a Times poll, was reflected across the capital, as the cram of people sparked warmth rather than antsiness.

Maybe we could get more of that, and less of musings on how Bill Clinton is scheming to assert more influence through Hillary. Just a thought ...

So, How Are The Reviews?

I don't know what others may think about President Obama's Inaugural Address, but these passages seem the most important, to me:

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

There are a lot of concepts, practical concepts, moral concepts in those passages, which we'll get a chance to see put into action now. And I'm hopeful that they really will be put into action, because they come from the same viewpoint that we first heard Senator Obama articulate back at the 2004 Democratic Convention:

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

So, on with the show!

Sunday Night Springsteen

With MLK Day tomorrow, and the inauguration of Barack Obama as President the next day, we're going with "When The Saints Go Marching In".

Why? Check the lyrics. If you wait until the end of the song, this is what you hear -

But I'm waiting for that morning,
When the new world is revealed.

While this may not be what the writer may have intended, we're going to see what this new world will reveal, and that's a hopeful thing.

Not to mention the first lines of the song -

We are trav'ling in the footsteps
Of those who've gone before
We certainly are traveling in the footsteps of those who have been to the mountain top.



[Edited to add]

Bruce with Pete Seeger today, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial singing "This Land Is Your Land". Can it get any cooler?



[Edit on 1/21/09] The original YouTube link for Bruce & Pete & Co. was from the HBO broadcast, but HBO has somehow asserted copyright over images of a free, public concert. Thanks to Todd at Catholic Sensibility, who had a link to a non-HBO (anyone want to suggest what the "B" should stand for?) tape.

A Haiku Before Listening To President Bush's Farewell Address Tonight

On Nine-Eleven
America stood as one
Bush threw that away

A Change Is Gonna Come

I was amused when I read this account from conservative commentator Larry Kudlow, regarding a dinner the other night at George Will's house, where he and other conservative commentators broke bread with soon-to-be-President Obama:

Interesting thing. This is just generally speaking, he is so well-informed, and he loves to deal with both sides of an issue, and I'm not going to divulge what was said there and I'm not going to go into any of the specifics, but he enjoys the back and forth, and he is not, you know, tough, mean, insulting, snarling, none of that stuff, and we weren't either.

This was a good conservative group and we just had a great back and forth, and he wants to keep the dialogue going with conservatives. I would say I am honored to be at that dinner. I was honored to meet him. He is a very impressive man, and I wish him all the luck in the world because we've got some issues to deal with.

I found it amusing because I recall soon-to-be-ex-President Bush being described in less flattering terms, by someone who could hardly be described as a liberal. As we observed here a few years ago, Tucker Carlson experienced the crude side of Mr. Bush, when they discussed the Karla Faye Tucker case -

In the week before [Karla Faye Tucker's] execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask.

Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them," he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with [Tucker], though. He asked her real difficult questions, like 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "

"What was her answer?" I wonder.

"Please," Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "don't kill me."

What a guy. Better days surely are coming.

Sunday Night Springsteen

Our man won a Golden Globe tonight for his song for "The Wrestler".

A date with Oscar again this year, perhaps?

Is There Anybody Alive Out There?

I know, we haven't lived up to our New Year's resolution. We'll try to be more alive here, and if you're out there, leave a comment or send an email.