They just can’t help themselves.
A Reuters story today (written by John Whiteside and edited by Todd Eastham) comments on Sarah Palin’s speech earlier at a tribute to Ronald Reagan, in which she warned that the Democrats’ big government policies have set America on the “road to ruin.” Towards the end of the piece, we are treated to a summary of what they think we ought to believe about Palin. Continue reading “Reuters slams Palin again for “blood libel” and gets it exactly wrong”
In the latest issue of the magazine Commentary, there is an excellent article by Wilfred McClay titled “How to Understand Rush Limbaugh.”
Those who listen to Rush’s show may question the need for such an explanation, but, although in his piece McClay points out the many ways in which the political left misunderestimates Limbaugh and continually gets played by him as a result, the real value of his article, especially in a forum like Commentary, is as a primer for those conservatives who still fail to get the El Rushbo phenomenon. Despite Limbaugh’s gargantuan ratings, there are still millions of conservatively-inclined Americans who lack either the opportunity or inclination to listen to Rush Limbaugh or talk radio generally. There’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but many of them form decided opinions about Limbaugh nonetheless, based largely on how he is characterized in the larger, mainstream media. So, they absorb and regurgitate keywords such as blowhard, buffoon and bomb-thrower, and imagine that Limbaugh makes his living by riling people up into frenzies of incoherent outrage. This — the impermeable conventional wisdom on Rush Limbaugh — could hardly be further from the truth. Continue reading “Understanding Rush Limbaugh”
Thanks to reader Richard who e-mails that he’s been reading a book called A New Literary History of America
While he had started out as a lyricist, Berlin soon began composing music as well. He had taught himself to play on the Pelham Cafe piano, but he could only play in the key of F-sharp, which consists largely of black keys. Eventually he would purchase a transposing piano, which allowed him to play in a single key and then, with the flip of a lever, hear how a melody sounded in other keys.
Furia goes on to say that Berlin’s song Alexander’s Rag Time Band “redefined the nature of American popular songs.”
I searched around and found more Continue reading “Irving Berlin, Bob Dylan, and Black Keys”
The recent revolt in Tunisia has been followed by massive unrest in Egypt, and frustrations are beginning to bubble into actions in a number of other Middle-Eastern dictatorships. Is it 1989 again? Too soon to say that, but things are moving quickly, and, should Mubarak fall, it will surely encourage revolt in other nearby countries with underemployed and unhappy young populations. Continue reading “Egypt: Yes, it’s Bush’s fault”
It’s been interesting, but also stomach-churning, to see the news gradually emerge on how an abortion doctor in Philadelphia was able to get away with murder for over 16 years.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell has recently been formally charged with murder, based on the death of a Bhutanese woman in 2009 and the deaths of seven documented “infants without identities” in his Philadelphia abortion clinic. As put somewhat apologetically by District Attorney Seth Williams:
I am aware that abortion is a hot-button topic. But as district attorney, my job is to carry out the law. A doctor who knowingly and systematically mistreats female patients, to the point that one of them dies in his so-called care, commits murder under the law. A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.
How reassuring to have a district attorney on the job who understands that he’s obliged to actually prosecute cases of murder, hot-button issue or no. The people of Philadelphia can certainly sleep easy in this knowledge. Continue reading “Helpless in Philadelphia”
People who closely followed the early reports on 22 year-old Jared Loughner, after the shooting in Tucson, would have noted some references to his interest in September 11th conspiracy theories, and specifically the notorious short film called “Loose Change.” Last weekend, a story in the New York Times delved deeper into what people who knew Jared Loughner had to say about him, and included this paragraph:
He became intrigued by antigovernment conspiracy theories, including that the Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by the government and that the country’s central banking system was enslaving its citizens. His anger would well up at the sight of President George W. Bush, or in discussing what he considered to be the nefarious designs of government.
One is reminded of what — back in the old days — we used to describe as Bush Derangement Syndrome. That was the tendency of many on the left (represented online by the nice folks at the Democratic Underground and Daily Kos) to be so blinded by their hatred of President George W. Bush that they literally could not think straight, and jumped from one utterly illogical thought Continue reading “Loose Change, Loose Morals, Loose Minds”
We previously have been told that Jared Loughner’s father saw him on the morning of the shooting (Saturday, January 8th) when he had in his hands a black bag, possibly taken from the trunk of the family car.
We have also been told that Jared Loughner fled with that bag into the desert, and that his father, Randy Loughner, was concerned enough about this circumstance that he pursued his son. He failed to catch up with him. Continue reading “The Truth About Sarah Palin and Jared Loughner”
In the midst of all the fog, hypocrisy and nonsense, one enlightening fact has now emerged to answer the question, “What could have been done, that wasn’t done, to prevent Jared Loughner’s rampage?” There are no doubt a range of possible answers to that, but, according to a piece on NPR by Laura Sullivan, there is one very big and quite definite answer. Continue reading “Finally, a fact: Jared Loughner and the Tucson shooting”
Two days later, the New York Times inches towards the same assessment made here the day after the murders in Tucson for which Jared Loughner has been arrested. Not that the assessment I made wasn’t pretty obvious and also made by many others not disabled by political blinders. From Benedict Carey in Continue reading “Following up on Jared Loughner and the Tucson tragedy and travesty”
Either Jared Loughner has been putting on a world class act for quite some time, or else he has been steadily descending into a psychotic abyss, displaying tell-tale signs of schizophrenia, which ended with the mass murder he committed yesterday in Tuscon, Arizona, at the public event being run by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Continue reading “Jared Loughner: the real issue”
Figures from the local Department of Health indicate that the rate of abortion in New York City has exceeded 40% in recent years. In other words, nearly one in two of all known pregnancies in the five boroughs of New York City ends with an abortion. (Via CBS News.)
It’s beyond words, really, but you have to look for some. What does this say about the level of self-hatred in a society, masquerading as self-will and independence? Continue reading “Forty percent of pregnancies in New York City ending in abortion”
About ten years ago, in the summer of 2001, Bob Dylan said this in an interview with Robert Hilburn of the LA Times:
I am not a forecaster of the times. But if we’re not careful, we’ll wake up in a multinational, multi-ethnic police state — not that America can’t reverse itself. Whoever invented America were the greatest minds we’ve ever seen, and [people] who understand what the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are all about will come to the forefront sooner or later.
This morning on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Constitution is being read aloud, by way of a symbolic beginning of this 112th Congress. Amazingly enough, this is the first time this has occurred in the history of the United States.
Now, this act is obviously not the end of anything, and it doesn’t mark Continue reading “Just a Reading of the Constitution”
I was a born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
So sang Leonard Cohen in The Tower of Song, and effectively that’s what an apparently homeless man named Ted Williams wrote on a cardboard sign, before standing at a busy intersection in Ohio and asking for help. Within 24 hours, via a bacterial [I can’t stand clichés] YouTube video, the guy has all kinds of lucrative job offers, and at the time of writing is said to be accepting one from the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA franchise, along with a house to live in.
And I say: Please let the story end here. Fan-bloody-tastic! Continue reading “Ted Williams and his golden voice”
A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is said to show that virtually everyone feels anger towards God at various points in their lives, especially after the loss through death of a loved one, or a diagnosis with a serious illness. The interesting thing is that this includes self-professed unbelievers in God. In fact, according to this study, they get angrier Continue reading “Angry at God? Get in line (with atheists)”
There’s a really remarkable story in the New York Times today, titled Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate. It demands a complete reading, and will leave you moved and amazed — at least it did me. It follows the work being done at the Beatitudes nursing home in Arizona, where a very different approach from the norm is being followed in the care for Alzheimer’s patients, with dramatic and heartwarming results.
It amounts to an enormous testament to the dignity and value of human life, at all stages, and the tremendous power that comes from giving that dignity and deserved respect to people, especially when hardship seeks to rob them of it.
The Times doesn’t refer to the source of the name for this facility, i.e. Beatitudes. But I don’t mind making the reference at all.
From the Sermon on the Mount (ESV):
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
It is a point about human nature, and it ought to be understood (but sadly most often is not) by those who put forth forceful opinions about what Israel should give up to achieve peace with its Middle East neighbors. Continue reading “Attack on Yeonpyeong: the lesson for Mideast peace”
Many children in England have been found to be suffering from rickets due, apparently, to a lack of exposure to sunlight. Kids are spending more time indoors playing with electronic contraptions, and, when they do go out, their parents have made sure that all of their exposed skin is covered in sunscreen. Hence, a vitamin D deficiency (yes, this has long been a bugaboo of mine, for which I make no apologies.) From the UK Telegraph:
Middle class children in the south of England are suffering from the ’17th century disease’ rickets as parents cover them in sunscreen and limit time outside in the sunshine, a leading doctor has warned.
[…]Professor Clarke says he and colleague Dr Justin Davies, a consultant pediatric endocrinologist, have checked over 200 children for bone problems and more than 20 per cent of them have significant deficiencies.
“A lot of the children we’ve seen have got low vitamin D and require treatment,” he said.
“This is almost certainly a combination of the modern lifestyle, which involves a lack of exposure to sunlight, but also covering up in sunshine, and we’re seeing cases that are very reminiscent of 17th century England.”
Low levels of vitamin D have been increasingly linked by studies in recent years not only to rickets (which has long been known) but to a greatly enhanced risk of developing a range of lethal cancers. There have also been correlations found with Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and other ailments. So eat some nice oily fish, and get what sun exposure you can get — without burning, of-course.
(As always The Cinch Review is meant for entertainment purposes only. Consult your local veterinarian before adopting any new health regimen.)
The piece from the New York Times is titled “Problems Reported With New Voting Machines,” and describes various degrees of “chaos,” “bedlam,” “frustration,” “screaming” and, most of all, failure. Continue reading “New York City voters “disenfranchised” … by NYC Board of Elections”
In a previous post I mentioned the writer Christopher Hitchens, who is suffering from some serious cancer, and posted a clip of an interview with him which was bookended by Bob Dylan’s song “Gates of Eden.” Thanks to Sue who responded with a note titled “The Two Christophers”:
Just recently finished Christopher Ricks’ “Dylan’s Visions of Sin” – on your recommendation. A very interesting book and, thankfully, very easy to read. I fairly raced through it. Two things i particularly liked about Ricks was firstly his unwillingness to belittle Dylan’s faith – and at the same time speak quite rightly about the hypocrisy of those who did; and his digs at the “works” of Michael Gray and his ilk. Fascinating stuff.
On the subject of Christopher Hitchens…. I too like him a lot, but tend to agree with him on a lot of things. It was a shock to see him in that clip. I hadn’t heard of his illness and the last time I saw him was looking his usual self on The Daily Show. It so happens I’m reading “Hitch-22” at the moment – and also racing through it – and found a quote regarding Christopher Ricks that may interest you.
Hitchens speaks about how, at a meeting of his school Poetry Society, he was first urged to listen to this Bob “Dillon” person and soon became hooked:
“…I’ve since had all kinds of differences with Professor Christopher Ricks, but he is and always has been correct in maintaining that Dylan is one of the essential poets of our time, and it felt right to meet him in the company of Shelley and Milton and Lowell and not in one of the record shops that were then beginning to sprout alongside the town coffee bars.”
Perhaps that explains for you the choice of music for the clip…
It’s interesting that Hitchens makes that tribute to Christopher Ricks. Professor Ricks’ book, Dylan’s Visions of Sin
Be that as it may, in looking up that article I also came across a so-called “Proust Questionnaire” that Hitchens answered in the pages of Vanity Fair, just a few months ago (but before his cancer diagnosis — which inevitably imparts a degree of irony to some of the answers). To the question of who is his favorite musician, Hitchens answers: “J. S. Bach, Bob Dylan.” Solid choices, albeit that he’s cheating by choosing two, but I think that’s entirely appropriate in order to cover both classical and popular music.
However, his choices also raise a question, which has surely been raised before regarding these recent highly-vocal advocates for atheism (the most high-profile being Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins). The question is this: How many of them would really like to live in a world where everyone agreed with them that there was no God (or that if there was a God that he must be either evil or entirely unknowable)? It’s hard to figure what kind of music J.S. Bach and Bob Dylan would have made had they been without any belief in God (and not just in any god, but the particular God of the Bible). I have to honestly doubt that in such a scenario Johann’s and Bob’s music would have achieved that transcendent quality necessary to have earned them this selection by Christopher Hitchens as his favorite musicians on his Vanity Fair questionnaire.
Of-course many atheists or agnostics are smart enough to acknowledge this; i.e. that while they themselves may not find any reason for faith, they are grateful that many others can, not only for the value that faith has brought to things artistic, but for what it has meant for the ordering of human society, and in particular what the Judeo-Christian bedrock has meant to Western societies.
This is as opposed to those now ubiquitous voices who blame “religion” for “causing all the wars,” blindly ignoring what are by far the bloodiest death tolls of all history, which are those that came as a result of the anti-God ideologies of Communism and Nazism.
That’s it. The end. For real and forever. Now that you know, how does it make you feel, exactly? As published in the journal Science, and summarized below by the BBC:
Astronomers used the way that light from distant stars was distorted by a huge galactic cluster known as Abell 1689 to work out the amount of dark energy in the cosmos.
Dark energy is a mysterious force that speeds up the expansion of the universe.
Understanding the distribution of this force revealed that the likely fate of the universe was to keep on expanding.
[…]Eventually it will become a cold, dead wasteland with a temperature approaching what scientists term “absolute zero”.
Professor Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University, a leading cosmologist and co-author of this study, said that the findings finally proved “exactly what the fate of the universe will be”.
Hmmm. And how does Professor Natarajan feel about that, I wonder? She seems happy enough to be the messenger, and I suppose it is quite the feather in her cap.
You would think that this news about the ultimate fate of the universe and everything that it has ever contained — including all of our lives, legacies and dreams — would be getting more attention, and indeed perhaps it will once it filters out through the rest of what’s going on in the headlines today, like the baseball player Roger Clemens being indicted for perjury and the salmonella-induced recall of 340 million eggs in the United States. Continue reading “Universe to End as “Cold, Dead Wasteland””
Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic conducted an interview with Christopher Hitchens — the well known writer who is suffering from some very serious cancer — and some of it is posted at this link, and embedded here below. This part of their discussion, which also has some contributions from the writer Martin Amis, deals with the cancer itself as well has the notion of deathbed conversion and belief in God generally. It’s interesting, and it also happens to be book-ended by audio clips of Bob Dylan singing “Gates Of Eden.”
Though I disagree with him on many if not most things these days, I like Christopher Hitchens as a writer and personality quite a lot — and who doesn’t? (Alright, Dr. Kissinger: please don’t bother writing in.) Continue reading “Hitchens at the Gate”
