Archive for February, 2010

No More Good Time Charlies

The myth of Charlie Wilson is recounted in George Crile’s book Charlie Wilson’s War and popularized in “a major motion picture” starring (improbably and unconvincingly) Tom Hanks. Crile’s subtitle sums up the myth: “The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times.”

Fifty Years After Greensboro, Whatever Happened to the American Left?

Fifty years ago this month, history took a great leap forward. On Feb. 1, 1960, four black students from Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina sat down at a segregated lunch counter in Woolworths department store in Greensboro, N.C. The chairs were for whites. Blacks had to stand and eat. A day later, the four young black men returned, with 25 more students.

Secession in the Air

No, it is not 1860 again.

But with all the talk of the 10th Amendment, nullification and interposition, states rights and secession—following Gov. Rick Perry’s misstatement that Texas, on entering the Union in 1845, reserved in its constitution a right to secede—one might think so.

BookLog Query

Daria’s questions (on Greek Diary II) have given me a twinge of guilt over neglecting my teaching duties.  I am ready to resume the BookLog and willing to entertain suggestions.  I am also open to suggestions on controversies in the news.

An Enquiring Curmudgeon Wants to Know

Are you enjoying your New American Century?

Whatever happened to that Peace Dividend?

How many foreigners have you encountered lately in your daily activities? Do you think it is too many?

Can The Real Estate Predators Fight Off the Oil Company Predators? Or is Florida doomed?

Which organization is the greatest threat to the Second Amendment, the anti-gun Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence or Idaho’s pro-gun Sportsmen for Wildlife?

This might seem like a stupid question until you learn that the Idaho organization recently held three “predator derbies” in which competitors vied to see who could slaughter the most wolves over a two-day period.

Mad, Mad, Mad

Heavy weekend snowfall closed down the capital of the United States. Not that many outside the Washington Beltway were sorry about it. Possibly—by their reasoning—the blizzard was God’s gift to decent government, a holiday from the ceaseless commotion, braggadocio and show-offing that have become the capital’s principle pastimes.

The Bankrupt PIGS of Europe

They are called the PIGS—Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain. What they have in common is that all are facing deficits and debts that could bring on national defaults and break up the European Union.

What brought the PIGS to the edge of the abyss?

Greek Diary III

We had a big but quite mediocre lunch near the Agora, at Attalos, and by the time we got to the entrance, we found out they had changed the schedule for visiting the Agora. Returning the next day, we took our time getting lost on the site, which is impossible not to do, even with the straightforward guidebook put out by the American School.

I Love What You Do For Me, Toyota!

It’s always nice to have one’s beliefs confirmed. I was traveling this week, and wasn’t able to follow current events closely, but as the bad news around Toyota continued to mount, I figured that someone at NRO would be flacking for the Japanese and suggesting that it was all part of a government plot to help GM.