Nun Sense

A news story that made me smile this morning -

A 106-year-old American nun living in a convent in Rome could well be one of the oldest voters to cast a ballot in the 2008 US Presidential election.

Sister Cecilia Gaudette, who last voted for President Eisenhower in 1952, has registered to vote and says she will vote for Democrat Barack Obama.

Although hard of hearing, she keeps herself informed by reading newspapers and watching TV at the convent.

"I'm encouraged by Senator Obama," she says.

"I've never met him, but he seems to be a good man with a good private life. That's the first thing. Then he must be able to govern," she adds.

Sitting in her modest office in the convent where she has lived for the past 50 years, the diminutive nun appears uninterested in the row inside the American Catholic church over Senator Obama's support for pro-choice policies on abortion.

Asked about her hopes for the US under an Obama presidency, she says: "Peace abroad. I don't worry about the Iraq war because I can't do anything about it. Lord knows how it will end."

There was a television news story about her, also. She looks like she's one feisty 106-year-old:



Here's some more information about her, now that she's become a worldwide media "star" -

[Sister Carmen Aymar] said Gaudette, a retired teacher of music and art, has been living in Rome for the past 50 years and before that taught in France and the United States.

"She didn't know she could vote by mail or internet and after someone told her she could, she decided to do it," Aymar said.

Gaudette said the last time she voted in an American presidential election was in 1952 and she cast her ballot for President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican.

Gaudette is hard of hearing and her questions are relayed by another nun. She wears thick glasses and still uses a large, upright black enamel typewriter.

"But she is a very determined woman and still very lucid," said Aymar, who like Gaudette, is a member of the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary.

In The Heat Of The Night

In the grand scheme of things, this is almost a nothing story. Still, I think it's an example of Senator McCain being a little out of touch:

In an effort to energize supporters at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., John McCain on Sunday may have also whipped up a little controversy with a remark that he'd "whip" Barack Obama's "you know what" at the next debate.

The presidential candidates are meeting Wednesday in their final televised debate before the Nov. 4 election.

But McCain's pledge -- coming after two days of racial grievances aired by McCain's camp over a comparison made by Rep. John Lewis of McCain to the late Gov. George Wallace -- has sent shivers down the spines of some Republicans who find the racially charged verb may be used against the candidate.

Addressing several dozen volunteers at his campaign headquarters outside Washington, McCain promised some of his signature "straight talk" about the state of the race, and went on to acknowledge his drop in the polls.

Senator McCain better be careful if he thinks he's the one who is going to be doing some whippin'. In that spirit, I offer up the following as a preview of the upcoming debate, courtesy of a scene from "In The Heat Of The Night":

Sunday Night Springsteen

A "Teach Your Children Well" edition -



Because it amused me and the Cautious Wife.

Sunday Afternoon Cat Blogging

Haven't posted the Cautious Cats in a while.

Here's an action shot -

Sunday Night Afternoon Springsteen

... "On the Streets of Philadelphia" edition.

This is a little early, because it's a long watch. Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Springsteen headlined a "Get Out the Vote" rally in Philadelphia, to encourage a last push for voter registration before the deadline.

As described by Backstreets.com -

After the introduction by a wisecracking Governor Ed Rendell, Springsteen and his acoustic took the stage for a seven-song, 45-minute set that opened with "The Promised Land." "Great to be here in my home away from home, Philly," Bruce told the crowd -- a huge turnout on this Ben Franklin Parkway esplanade -- adding later, "I tried this four years ago... this time, we'll win it!"

Songs included the relevant-as-ever "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the invitation of "Thunder Road," the determined rallying cries of "No Surrender" and "The Rising," and for fun, "a song I played many, many times at the old Main Point," "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street."
...

Toward the end of the set, the crowd broke into a spontaneous "Yes we can" chant, Bruce adding some percussion on his guitar before offering up one more, a regular from the '85 stadium tour, Woody Guthrie's stirring "This Land is Your Land." And one final message to the throng of voters in Philly: "It's up to you now."

The video (from a local television station's site) is about forty minutes long. So, I suggest that you make your self comfortable, perhaps procure a tasty beverage for yourself, and enjoy the show.

Click here to start (there's an ad, then the show).

I especially like the way he used one of his oldest songs, "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street", with special emphasis on this line -

The Daily News asks her for the dope
She says "Man, the dope's that there's STILL HOPE!"

Oh, and there was a speech, which is on the video. This is the text, courtesy of BruceSpringsteen.net -

"I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of the United States.

"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.

"So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."

Norman Rockwell Is Not Smiling

There are a lot of reviews of last night’s Palin vs. Biden debate; this isn’t one of them. This is a review of a review, or at least of part of one. In reading the reviews this morning, one particular passage just annoyed me, and it was by (of course) David Brooks in the New York Times, in his description of Governor Palin’s performance:

Thursday night she spoke like a normal person. It took her about 15 seconds to define her persona — the straight-talking mom from regular America — and it was immediately clear that the night would be filled with tales of soccer moms, hockey moms, Joe Sixpacks, main-streeters, “you betchas” and “darn rights.” Somewhere in heaven Norman Rockwell is smiling.

And I immediately thought to myself, “Norman Rockwell is not smiling”. And its not just because even the average Norman Rockwell illustration is a little more substantive than the folksy veneer presented by Governor Palin and praised by Brooks. No, it’s because of a painting like Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With” -



Why is that, you ask? It goes back to Governor Palin’s troubling response to Katie Couric when asked if there were any Supreme Court decisions (other than Roe v. Wade that she disagreed with:

Couric: What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?

Palin: Well, let's see. There's, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but …

Couric: Can you think of any?

Palin: Well, I could think of … any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with.

When I hear a conservative talk about issues that are “best held on a state level” or “best dealt with on a local level”, I can’t help but think of the long struggle to bring civil rights to every person in United States. From school desegregation to voting rights to treating people as human beings in places of public accommodation, these efforts were always fought by people arguing that the federal government was interfering with a “local issue”.

As in the painting, which depicts Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by Federal marshals in New Orleans in 1960. A Federal Court had ordered that the New Orleans schools could no longer remain segregated. There was local opposition, to put it mildly:

Charles Burks, one of the U.S. marshals who escorted Bridges and her mother into the school building, remembers the little girl who became a hero.

"She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn't whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier. And we're all very proud of her."

The first year, all the parents of Frantz Elementary pulled their children out of school to protest the integration. As a result, Ruby Bridges spent her first year in a class of one. The teacher, a woman from Boston, was one of the few white instructors who was willing to teach a black child. She and Bridges showed up for school every single day that year, and they held class as if there were no angry mob outside, no conflict over a little girl attending first grade.

Norman Rockwell illustrated the violent reaction of those who opposed this Federal interference with a “local issue”, not only by showing a wall splattered with a thrown tomato, or the “N word” scrawled on that wall, but by the need for the four, tall, resolute and ready Federal marshals surrounding the young Ruby.

In depicting a stoic little girl, being escorted through a phalanx of hate, Norman Rockwell vividly illustrated that the real American values were those of Ruby Bridges and her champions, and not the people who thought that the Federal government was interfering with their “local issues”. So, on balance, I do not think that Governor Palin’s use of a few “betchas” or “darn rights” would make Norman Rockwell smile.

Meet Me In a Land of Hope and Dreams

As we noted here in April, Bruce Springsteen got aboard the Barack Obama train, and now that summer's gone, the time is right for the Presidential race.

For the "poor man wanna be rich" crowd, Mr. Springsteen will be doing a free solo acoustic performance in connection with a final push for voter registration, in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 4. (h/t Atrios)

For the "rich man wanna be king" crowd, Mr. Springsteen will join Billy Joel (in a "Barack, Billy and Bruce" event) on Thursday, October 16, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. It's a pricey fundraiser, kids. Hat tip to Backstreets.com, which I respect and rely on, but I hope that when they called this "Vote for Change: This Year's Model", they had their tongue in their cheek. This is more of a "high rollers lay down your bets" kind of event.

For the "and a king ain't satisfied 'till he rules everything" crowd, see the current Administration.

Sunday Night Springsteen

Okay, technically it's Monday morning. But, this morning we learned that on February 1, 2009, it really will be "Sunday Night Springsteen" at the Super Bowl in Tampa!

I understand that some football will be played before and after the Springsteen concert ...

And now, because we've fallen down on the job in posting Springsteen videos, the Legendary Lego-ized E Street Band!



(h/t Backstreets.com News)

Seven

Hard to believe that it's been seven years.

The following is basically a repeat of something posted here years ago, but it's still appropriate.

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

On September 11, I think of the morning of September 12. In my New Jersey community, about a dozen miles from, and within view of, lower Manhattan, we had spent the 11th not only viewing those terrible images, but worried about the fate of friends and neighbors who worked in the towers. Some eventually made it home, and some did not.

But on the 12th, as I woke to the radio, I heard a report that a New York City Fire Department chaplain was among the dead. Somehow, I knew immediately that it was Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan priest who had served in my parish in the town where I grew up. Although that was when I was just a kid, Father Mychal kept in contact with many, many families from the places he had served. He had baptized one of my brother's children, just a few years before. On the morning of September 11, my parents' home had two small photos of him on the side of the refrigerator, which they had received from him just a few months earlier. In each photo, he was wearing one of his "uniforms" – in this one, his Franciscan habit -


- and in the other his Fire Department dress uniform. It was the uniform in this picture, with the "Twin Towers" patch of the unit he served with, the unit charged with protecting the people and buildings of Lower Manhattan.


In both photos, he had the same wide grin and bright, excited look in his eyes.

On the 12th, there was another photo of Father Mychal, in the New York Times. In my edition, he wasn't even identified yet, he was just a man, a body slumped over being carried away from the destruction. But you could see his face, the mouth turned down and the eyes closed. He had rushed to the scene from his residence, the Franciscan friary on Thirty-First Street. He was killed as he stood ministering to the dead, the injured and the frightened, as the South Tower collapsed. Symbolically, the medical examiner designated Father Mychal as the first registered victim of the attacks, with death certificate number 1.

Less than 24 hours before his death, Father Mychal participated in the rededication of a fire house in the Bronx. As recounted in the book, Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic Ameican Hero by Michael Ford, as he addressed his fellow members of the FDNY, "Those who were present felt, in retrospect, that his words were valedictory":

We come to this house this morning to celebrate renewal, rejuvenation, new life. We come to thank God for the blessings of all the years that the good work has been done here and especially the last few days. … Keep supporting each other. Be kind to each other. Love each other. Work together … and from this house, God's blessings go forth to this community. It's fantastic but very painful. We love the job, and God calls you to it and indeed he gives you a love for it so that a difficult job will be well done. Isn't he a wonderful guy? Isn't he good to you, to each one of you, and to me? Turn to him each day, put your faith and your trust and your hope and your life into his hands. And he'll take care of you.

And that's what I think of on September 11.

Flag Etiquette

We were sitting there last evening, watching the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. On the screen appears President Bush, sitting there looking bored during the parade of nations. He's slumped in his chair, looking around, slapping his knee with a small American flag.

It's a sight that makes you just stop, your mouth open, wondering how in the world this guy is the President of the United States.

Fortunately, this struck other people as odd, and at least one of them put it on YouTube. Thanks for that.



Now imagine that there was a picture of Barack Obama doing that, and how that would make the right-wing commentators practically spin their heads around.

The Audacity of Crap

The Republican Party has been kind enough to provide a website which collects the bits of mud and other slime they will be flinging this year, and called it the "Barack Obama Audacity Watch".

(As an aside, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of use of "audacity" by the right-wing this fall, because that’s now a "bad word", like "hope" is now a "bad word", due to association with Senator Obama. It’s a tactic that most of you probably learned in junior high school, but some folks have never managed to grow out of.)

Personally, I think this website is an excellent source for laughs. In a recent installment, they got their panties in a bunch over Senator Obama’s campaign plane –

When John McCormick reported Obama replaced his Boeing 737 campaign plane with a Boeing 757, he noted the new aircraft had "a giant flag painted on its tail."

In yet another display of his patriotism, Obama replaced the American flag with the Obama Logo. Lynn Sweet reports that Obama’s 757 has been repainted "with the Obama sunrise logo on the tail."

Oh the audacity of Obama’s ego.

Wow. Senator Obama has a campaign logo on his campaign plane. John McCain wouldn’t do that, he’d have a great big American flag up there, right?

Er, maybe not –

The Arizona senator, who has wrapped up his party's White House nomination, dubbed his new in-air home the "Straight Talk Express" after his campaign bus of the same name, so-called for the senator's tendency to speak his mind.

The bus, where the candidate dishes with reporters over policy and politics, is a key part of the 71-year-old's political brand.

So is his name, of course, but McCain expressed surprise when reporters riding with him mentioned it being emblazoned across the Boeing 737-400.

"Really? Is it?" McCain said after the flight. "I thought it just says Straight Talk Express."

Assured that his name also adorned the plane, McCain described how it felt: "Whoops! I feel wonderful," he said. "Maybe it's a little added free publicity, I don't know, at various airports."

Presidential nominees usually get a plane with their names and campaign slogans before the general election.

You can see the "JohnMcCain.com" emblazoned on the tail of the plane in this picture.



Oh, the audacity!

Sunday Night Springsteen

Yes, I know it’s Monday morning, but I have an excellent excuse. Last night we had a real "Sunday Night Springsteen", at the opening of a three-show stand at Giants Stadium in the Great State of New Jersey. The show was, for lack of a better word, "epic".

The opening song was a perfect choice for the E Street Band’s return to the Garden State. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, where the first singing of the night is provided by the 50,000 members of the audience, singing the instrumental introduction to the song as Mr. Springsteen stalks the stage and urges everyone on.

Video of last night’s opening courtesy of NJ.com -

Bruce Springsteen takes the stage at Giants Stadium

And two other great performances from last night, “Radio Nowhere” and “Lonesome Day” –

Bruce performs Radio Nowhere

Bruce performs Lonesome Day

And yes, we are going back again tonight!!!!

Almost Crashed But The Lord Had Mercy

I wish. We had a small laptop malfunction on Sunday evening, as we were perusing the web for a suitable installment of "Sunday Night Springsteen". Actually, it involved spilling some liquid over the keyboard of said laptop, with said liquid finding its way into who-knows-where in that machine.

Recovery effort are under way (in other words, I need to get my in-house tech support, a/k/a the Cautious Son, to take a look at it).

Fungus Blogging

Our fun guy is back.



He's about a foot in diameter right now. I think he was around last year, but on a different side of the tree.

All I Got Was A Note That Said ...

Apologies in advance, but I laughed when I read this story today -

Montclair bank hit by robber who flees
Man handed teller a badly spelled note

A bank robber whose face was concealed by a lengthy head covering walked into the Bank of America in downtown Montclair yesterday morning, passed a teller an error-riddled note demanding money and escaped with an undisclosed sum of cash.

The robber, described as at least 6-foot-2 and wearing large white-rimmed sunglasses and a full-length blue garment, entered the bank at 9:47 a.m. at Bloomfield and Glenridge avenues and passed a note saying he had a bomb and a gun.

"I hava a Baun in the Bag and agum. I need 30,000 now hor I shouth you Plase houry now," the note read.

- because it immediately made me think of this -

There's A Joke Here Somewhere?

So there's this New Yorker Magazine cover this week, with caricatures of the Obamas.

We're supposed to understand that it's a satirical take on how right-wingers have characterized the Senator and his wife. If the illustration had included a character who was supposed to represent said right-wingers (say, if the illustration showed the Obamas posing for a cartoonist, who was drawing that caricature instead of how they actually looked), then it might have been a little clearer.

Why does the New Yorker cover ultimately fail as satire? Because today, it's hard to distinguish between satire and actual right-wing talking points. There's an audience which won't recognize the illustration as satire - the same audience that is targeted by Fox "News" stories like this -

Sunday Night Springsteen

We had a lazy week, okay? No posts since Sunday, and we just got back from a family event in New England.

I found something that I had forgotten, from 20 years ago. A performance from a Rock "'n" Roll Hall of Fame induction. This huge group of stars on a stage doing the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There". For the last part, George Harrison and Mick Jagger nudge Mr. Springsteen to the microphone, to finish the song. I like the interaction, and the way the "newbie" (Mr. S) kiddingly defers to Mick Jagger on "And before too long I ...".



It's a "passing of the torch"? Just musing, that's all ...

Sunday Night Springsteen

Ironically enough, the passing of Senator Helms has determined tonight's selection.

Mr. Springsteen and Tracy Chapman singing "My Hometown". Because, among other things, the attitude of folks like Mr. Helms encouraged working-class people to look down on their neighbors, as a distraction from the larger issues, such as the decline of American working-class communities.

Stuff The Right Wing Doesn't Get

All through this Independence Day weekend, I am sure that you have been hearing or reading that famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence about truths being self-evident, and all men being created equal, and being endowed by their creator with rights, etc.

Right-wing commentators seemed to flock to those phrases, without any regard to the rest of the Declaration.

Leaving aside the fact that the document in question was written in order to throw off a form of government (kind of a liberal concept, don't you think?), would it kill anybody to just look at the next phrase, as they piously summon up the spirit of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"? -

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That "government" part never seems to make it into the right-wing commentaries. They seem to think that "rights" will take care of themselves.

Well, this is a little cold hard truth. "Rights" are secured by the people, through their government. If the people are heard by their government, they can secure their rights. Any government which merely pays lip-service to those rights, can expect to be confronted by a people who believe that the government should be changed.

That's what the Declaration is all about.

Following Up On The Prior Post ...

I try not to use harsh or "shock" words in posts, unless it's absolutely necessary. The post from Friday seemed to be one in which it was appropriate. I didn't provide "back up" at the time, but someone pointed out a David Broder column from 2001 that serves the purpose. In August of 2001, Senator Helms had announced that he would not be running for reelection the following year. Mr. Broder penned a very bluntly-worded column, which I think is okay to reprint, since it was addressed to Senator Helms while he was still very much alive.

Those who believe that the "liberal press" always has its knives sharpened for Republicans and conservatives must have been flummoxed by the coverage of Sen. Jesse Helms's announcement last week that he will not run for reelection next year in North Carolina. The reporting on his retirement was circumspect to the point of pussyfooting.

On the day his decision became known, the New York Times described him as "a conservative stalwart for nearly 30 years," the Boston Globe as "an unyielding icon of conservatives and an archenemy of liberals." The Washington Post identified Helms as "one of the most powerful conservatives on Capitol Hill for three decades."

Those were accurate descriptions. But they skirted the point. There are plenty of powerful conservatives in government. A few, such as Don Rumsfeld and Henry Hyde, have been around as long as Helms and have their own significant roles in 20th century political history. What really sets Jesse Helms apart is that he is the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country -- a title that one hopes will now be permanently retired. A few editorials and columns came close to saying that. But the squeamishness of much of the press in characterizing Helms for what he is suggests an unwillingness to confront the reality of race in our national life.

My own paper, The Washington Post, carried three stories about Helms's departure. In their 54 paragraphs, exactly two -- the 10th paragraph of one story and the last paragraph of another -- alluded to the subject of race.

Let me be clear. Helms has fought many battles in his career, and whether you agreed with him or not on small issues such as the funding of the arts or large ones such as Cuba, China, the Panama Canal and the United Nations, you had to respect his right as an elected and reelected senator to fight for his beliefs.

Even if you thought, as I did, that he was petty and vindictive in using his power as a committee chairman to block the appointment of former Massachusetts governor William Weld as ambassador to Mexico and, just this year, to force concessions from President Bush on textile imports before the top Treasury officials could be confirmed, you had to admit that other senators also have used their leverage to advance personal political agendas.

What is unique about Helms -- and from my viewpoint, unforgivable -- is his willingness to pick at the scab of the great wound of American history, the legacy of slavery and segregation, and to inflame racial resentment against African Americans.

Blame It On The Truth

Jesse Helms died today.

Nobody should die before their time, and those who loved him should be comforted. On a personal level, losing a loved one is tragic.

That having been said,

He was a racist prick. He gained power by being a racist prick, and there's no use overlooking that fact.

Sorry, but that's just the truth.

Independence Day Springsteen

First, go read the Declaration of Independence. Seriously. The part in the beginning about having "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind" is still kind of relevant, no?

Personally, I still like my post from last year with multiple versions of Little Steven's "I Am A Patriot", and shamelessly recommend it to you. For this year, a song we've seen in a different version here before. The last time, we noted about the performance - "This video is a performance that, well, was from a time when we assumed that our own government could not be accused of imprisoning or holding people without any basic rights, a time when we thought that those who did that were the 'others', in those other, repressive and distrusted countries."

We may be entitled to be a little more hopeful this year, that some changes are going to come. So, to celebrate Independence Day, a performance of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" from 20 years ago, this 4th of July -

Sunday Night Springsteen

The title of the previous post used a line from a relatively obscure Springsteen song - Goin' Cali -

He went down to the desert city where the rattlesnakes play
And left his dead skin by the roadside in the noon of day
Sun got so hot it almost felt like friend
It could burn out every trace of where you been

So, for Sunday night, a little rattlesnake speedway action, in the Promised Land (from 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey) -

Down To The Desert City Where The Rattlesnakes Play

From Atrios, we learn about an incredibly vapid, stupid and clueless commentary in today’s Washington Post -

Why Not A Debate In Dubai?

By David Ignatius
Sunday, June 29, 2008; B07

Here's a crazy idea that's being discussed by the rulers of the Persian Gulf city-state of Dubai: What if they were to invite Barack Obama and John McCain to come to the desert oasis for a presidential debate?

Yes, I know: This is America's presidential campaign, not a traveling roadshow to be shared with foreigners. And if the candidates can't even agree on a schedule of town meetings out in the American heartland, why should they travel to a sheikdom that's 7,000 miles from Washington -- and a short boat ride from Iran?

But the idea of a Dubai debate is appealing, not least because it would link the epochal 2008 campaign with a world that cares passionately about where America is heading. The United States is unpopular abroad these days in part because of a perception that we're arrogant -- that we don't care what the world thinks. An overseas debate would help change that perception.

I think that embracing the idea of a debate in Dubai will give the world a quite different impression, but more on that in a moment.

According to Mr. Ignatius' column, "The idea for this debate emerged in conversations and e-mails over the past week with officials in Dubai. … Dubai's leaders 'realize the importance of such an idea and are ready to receive the candidates and organize the event,' one senior official told me." Since so far this idea only seems to be covered in his column, and not in other news sources, one can only assume that this is something that Mr. Ignatius himself thought was a good idea. After noting that the campaigns appear to be cool to the idea (appropriately, in my view), Mr. Ignatius practically gushes over the perceived charms of this oil-rich oligarchy –

So the chances that a Dubai debate will actually happen are pretty slim, which is too bad. For it would be a good venue to engage the Middle East. As much as any place in the Arab world, Dubai is a symbol of modernization and change. It's a bit over the top, to be sure, with an artificial ski resort, man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree and rococo hotels with make-believe canals and Arab castles.

What's likable about Dubai is that, as a boomtown, it's a city that's "too busy to hate," as was said a generation ago of Atlanta. I wish that the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, would send an ambassador to Israel. But the UAE has been a strong supporter of the peace process and a key Arab ally in fighting terrorism. The 2006 congressional attack on Dubai Ports World, and its bid to manage some American ports, was sheer poppycock.

Elections are always about change and renewal, but that's especially true this year. The success of a charismatic African American named Barack Hussein Obama has inspired young people around the world, just as it has young Americans. John McCain, the torture victim who demands that we stop torture, also wants to make a new start. The message of Campaign 2008 is that America is turning a page.

A quick glance of some of the realities of Dubai would show what a stupid idea this really is. Dubai and the UAE aren't even close to being any sort of democracy (what part of the word "Emirates" doesn't he understand?). The vast majority of the residents aren't citizens, and are mostly imported workers from other Arab countries, Iran and South Asia. Human Rights Watch describes the conditions of those foreign workers in Mr. Ignatius' "city that's too busy to hate" as being little better than slavery or involuntary servitude –

Dubai, with its glittering new skyline of high-rise buildings and its profusion of luxury resorts and real estate, is the most globally emblematic evidence of the economic rise of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the UAE undergoes one of the largest construction booms in the world, at least half a million migrant construction workers are employed there. Behind the glitter and luxury, the experiences of these migrant workers present a much less attractive picture—of wage exploitation, indebtedness to unscrupulous recruiters, and working conditions that are hazardous to the point of being deadly. UAE federal labor law offers a number of protections, but for migrant construction workers these are largely unenforced.
…

All of the construction workers interviewed for this report said that their employers confiscated their passports upon their arrival in the UAE, also commonly known to be a “custom” of employers in the UAE to protect against their migrant workers’ absconding. Although UAE courts have ruled that employer confiscation of passports is illegal, employers continue the practice totally unfettered by any concern that the government will enforce the law.
…

In most other places, a worker faced with hazardous working conditions and unpaid wages, in a free market economy that has an extreme shortage of labor, would move to a different job. But this is not an option for the migrant construction workers of the UAE, who like all other migrant workers in the country are contracted to work only for a specific employer. A worker seeking to move to a different employer is eligible to do so only after working for two years for the present employer and obtaining his or her consent to the move.

So, it's Mr. Ignatius' brilliant idea that the next American President will change the perception of the United States in the Muslim world by taking part in a "Democracy Show" in a place where millions of those Muslims are practically enslaved and exploited in dangerous working conditions. In a Muslim world where Al Qaeda points to the United States as an enabler for Persian Gulf royal families, as a means to stir up hatred and violence against Americans, that's a really, really stupid idea.

George Carlin

We learned today that he died. To be perfectly honest, George Carlin meant a lot more to me as a personality, as a commentator, and as someone who challenged the powerful, than Tim Russert ever did.

Sorry, that's just how I feel.

Kevin Smith has a great essay on him, in Newsweek.

I know that everyone is talking about his "7 Dirty Words". When I was a kid (we're talking '76, '77, here), we had the "Class Clown" album, which that routine is on. My mom wasn't a big fan of that one, but my seriously Catholic mom would laugh her head off listening to another routine on that album, "I used to be Irish Catholic" -



And just before the "7 Words", was Mr. Carlin's piece on Muhammad Ali, which also made an impression on a high school kid back then (Ali had lost his title because of his conscientious objector status, although he later won it back) -

(Ali) had an unusual job: beating people up.

It's a strange calling, you know? But it's one you're entitled to.

Government didn't see it that way. Government wanted him to change jobs. Government wanted him to kill people.

He said, "No, that's where I draw the line. I'll beat 'em up but I don't want to kill 'em."

And the government said, "Well, if you won't kill 'em, we won't let you beat 'em up! Ha ha ha ha!"