I'm guessing that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney watched and took inspiration from the first episode of the PBS Clinton documentary which aired just last night.
With a "I-dare-you-to-contradict-me" look on his face, he disciplined his focus on the gathering of reporters in front of him today and said, "I did not have sex with that woman...."
Oops, sorry. He did it so well, I'm getting confused.
I'll get it right this time. What he did say was: "In terms of Keystone, as you all know, the history here is pretty clear. And the fact is because Republicans decided to play political with Keystone, their action essentially forced the administration to deny the permit process because they insisted on a time frame in which it was impossible to completely approve the pipeline."
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Waiting to Exhale
This review of a Netflix-released Norwegian black comedy television series called Lilyhammer intrigued me. The reviewer, Lars Walker, sets it up well enough:
I'll hazard a guess. Yes, they really were trying to say what they seem to be saying and, what's even more telling, the Norwegian viewers really liked what they heard.
And what they heard was this: We Norwegians, we proud heirs of the Western tradition, are oh so sick and tired of political correctness. We may not be quite ready to stand up and fight against it just yet, but we do enjoy mocking its pretensions from time to time.
Hear me well: Exactly the same underlying sentiment is alive and well in the United States--even more so I'd say--and the politician (slouching toward Bethlehem to be born?) who can tap into it and give voice to it will, if he or she wants it, be our President one day.
Imagine a television comedy about an American who moves to an exotic foreign country. He utterly refuses to assimilate, flouts the local laws, beats up people who offend him (including, in a scene that shocked even me, a Muslim who simply refused to shake a woman's hand), acts in pretty much every way as the stereotypical Ugly American, and yet comes out as a sort of a hero? And imagine that this series was produced, not by some jingoistic American company, but by people from that very foreign land?And what if most of their countrymen loved it? That's the peculiar phenomenon we contemplate in Netflix's maiden exclusive series, Lilyhammer, which set viewing records on Norwegian state television, and whose full first season of eight episodes is now available to subscribers.So, why do they love it? Walker wonders, but never quite answers. He even ends the piece with the lingering question: "Were they really trying to say what they seem to be saying?"
I'll hazard a guess. Yes, they really were trying to say what they seem to be saying and, what's even more telling, the Norwegian viewers really liked what they heard.
And what they heard was this: We Norwegians, we proud heirs of the Western tradition, are oh so sick and tired of political correctness. We may not be quite ready to stand up and fight against it just yet, but we do enjoy mocking its pretensions from time to time.
Hear me well: Exactly the same underlying sentiment is alive and well in the United States--even more so I'd say--and the politician (slouching toward Bethlehem to be born?) who can tap into it and give voice to it will, if he or she wants it, be our President one day.
Crime Wave
Check out this Washington Times headline and story: "Violent Crime Surges in DC in 2012"
Imagine the statistics had they included what happened inside the Capitol building last year.
Sorry, that was just too easy, wasn't it? But it was sitting there all big and fat and juicy, so.... Forgive me. Won't happen again.
Imagine the statistics had they included what happened inside the Capitol building last year.
Sorry, that was just too easy, wasn't it? But it was sitting there all big and fat and juicy, so.... Forgive me. Won't happen again.
Monday, February 20, 2012
What Bismark Said
To extend and successfully communicate even the slightest measure of dignity to anything associated with the Clinton Administration is quite an accomplishment. PBS managed to do just that this evening (all evidence to the contrary) and the network should be congratulated for it. I have no reason to believe Episode Two will be any less successful.
But please recall that Bill Clinton in 1992 was a transparent fraud when first he ran and later was elected our president. Only an extreme partisan or a fool could vote for him then. Four years later, only a fool could do so. Nevertheless, he was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 1996.
May God forever bless, and protect, the United States of America.
But please recall that Bill Clinton in 1992 was a transparent fraud when first he ran and later was elected our president. Only an extreme partisan or a fool could vote for him then. Four years later, only a fool could do so. Nevertheless, he was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 1996.
May God forever bless, and protect, the United States of America.
ESPN on the Couch
I'm guessing that by now most of you have at heard of New York Knick phenom Jeremy Lin. I haven't watched an NBA basketball game in I don't know how long and even I tuned in to see the young Asian-American (first in the league of Chinese descent) point guard score 28 points, 14 assists, and lead the Knicks to a 7-point victory over the league's defending champion Dallas Mavericks. I must admit, it was very exciting.
I'm also guessing that at least a few of you have heard of the controversy stirred this weekend when an ESPN headline writer lead a column about the Knicks loss on Friday night to the New Orleans Hornets, their first loss since Lin became a starter, with "Chink in the Armor."
The reporter who wrote the headline was fired and the one who read it on the air was suspended. Lin, for his part, has just shrugged the whole thing off.
But even before the "headline" episode exploded over the weekend, I was intrigued by the sport media's treatment of Jeremy Lin, more particularly in its treatment of him vice that of Tim Tebow in the just completed NFL season. If you didn't already know it, Tebow and Lin have in common a very devout Christian faith, a faith they're not shy about talking about publicly.
One more thing you need to know if you don't already, but elite sports media is no less liberal than elite news media. If you listen to Rush Limbaugh at all, he makes the point quite often. But even if you don't, just watch a few minutes of any game or contest on any of the major sports networks. I have always found them more than a bit embarrassing and usually cringe when their reporters and announcers strive to demonstrate how, one, serious they are, and, two, how seriously "progressive" they are, about racism, about sexism, about almost any left-wing "ism" that comes to mind.
So, I wondered, why were they treating outspoken Christian Lin, when his star rose, with so much respect, while when outspoken Christian Tebow's rose, they missed few if any opportunities to dismiss his success altogether, as well as to predict his ultimate failure?
They're Lefties, or their institution is Leftist anyway, so successful, outspoken Christians must be silenced, or diminished at least. But then, they're Lefties, so all races, other than Caucasian of course, must be respected, elevated even.
As a result, I feel a measure of sympathy for the ESPN reporter. He was conflicted; he wasn't sure which was the appropriate dogma to to follow. But, in a pinch, he chose to denigrate the Christian. Usually the safer course.
I'm also guessing that at least a few of you have heard of the controversy stirred this weekend when an ESPN headline writer lead a column about the Knicks loss on Friday night to the New Orleans Hornets, their first loss since Lin became a starter, with "Chink in the Armor."
The reporter who wrote the headline was fired and the one who read it on the air was suspended. Lin, for his part, has just shrugged the whole thing off.
But even before the "headline" episode exploded over the weekend, I was intrigued by the sport media's treatment of Jeremy Lin, more particularly in its treatment of him vice that of Tim Tebow in the just completed NFL season. If you didn't already know it, Tebow and Lin have in common a very devout Christian faith, a faith they're not shy about talking about publicly.
One more thing you need to know if you don't already, but elite sports media is no less liberal than elite news media. If you listen to Rush Limbaugh at all, he makes the point quite often. But even if you don't, just watch a few minutes of any game or contest on any of the major sports networks. I have always found them more than a bit embarrassing and usually cringe when their reporters and announcers strive to demonstrate how, one, serious they are, and, two, how seriously "progressive" they are, about racism, about sexism, about almost any left-wing "ism" that comes to mind.
So, I wondered, why were they treating outspoken Christian Lin, when his star rose, with so much respect, while when outspoken Christian Tebow's rose, they missed few if any opportunities to dismiss his success altogether, as well as to predict his ultimate failure?
They're Lefties, or their institution is Leftist anyway, so successful, outspoken Christians must be silenced, or diminished at least. But then, they're Lefties, so all races, other than Caucasian of course, must be respected, elevated even.
As a result, I feel a measure of sympathy for the ESPN reporter. He was conflicted; he wasn't sure which was the appropriate dogma to to follow. But, in a pinch, he chose to denigrate the Christian. Usually the safer course.
Exegete-in-Chief
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum certainly caused a kerfuffle by questioning the other day President Obama's interpretation of the Christian faith. Santorum called it "some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology."
The elite media is, of course, shocked and outraged.
Give me a break.
Didn't the president just a mere two weeks ago lecture (sermonize?) us all, at the National Prayer Breakfast no less, about how his proposed tax policy was more consistent with genuine Christianity than that of his detractors?: "For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus' teaching that 'for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.'"
The elite media is, of course, shocked and outraged.
Give me a break.
Didn't the president just a mere two weeks ago lecture (sermonize?) us all, at the National Prayer Breakfast no less, about how his proposed tax policy was more consistent with genuine Christianity than that of his detractors?: "For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus' teaching that 'for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.'"
BCP at 350
Hmm. I just learned from The American Spectator's Jonathan Aitken that this year, only a year after the King James Bible celebrated its 400th anniversary, the Book of Common Prayer is celebrating its 350th. Actually, it's a little older than that, but the 1662 edition was the edition for a very long time. Anyway, do give Aitken's piece a look.
I don't know about you, but I've always preferred my religion (if I may, for just a moment, distinguish it from my faith) grand. I wanted that what I, along with others, actually do in church, and especially on Sundays, be something altogether different (otherworldly?) from what I do outside the building and on other days. I longed for robes and rhythmic ritual. I wanted the moment to be solemnized and sacralized.
I noticed this attraction in myself even as a kid. While I was reared in informal protestant evangelicalism, I was always drawn, through film and television mostly, to Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopalian trappings and pageantry. Those people, I thought, may not have their theology quite right, but man do they know how to do church.
I knew full well the dangers of compartmentalizing my religion and my faith, one at the expense of the other. But, as I saw it then, and still do now, serious ceremony is just as likely to reinforce one's faith as it is to dilute it.
At any rate, I remain securely within informal protestant evangelicalism--can't get over the theological hurdles--but am nevertheless heartened when our pastor includes in our church bulletin/order of worship from time to time the "General Confession" from the Book of Common Prayer. (Although, alas, it's usually the more contemporary version.) From the 1928 version, consider (pray?), these words and then tell me they're not sublime.
I don't know about you, but I've always preferred my religion (if I may, for just a moment, distinguish it from my faith) grand. I wanted that what I, along with others, actually do in church, and especially on Sundays, be something altogether different (otherworldly?) from what I do outside the building and on other days. I longed for robes and rhythmic ritual. I wanted the moment to be solemnized and sacralized.
I noticed this attraction in myself even as a kid. While I was reared in informal protestant evangelicalism, I was always drawn, through film and television mostly, to Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopalian trappings and pageantry. Those people, I thought, may not have their theology quite right, but man do they know how to do church.
I knew full well the dangers of compartmentalizing my religion and my faith, one at the expense of the other. But, as I saw it then, and still do now, serious ceremony is just as likely to reinforce one's faith as it is to dilute it.
At any rate, I remain securely within informal protestant evangelicalism--can't get over the theological hurdles--but am nevertheless heartened when our pastor includes in our church bulletin/order of worship from time to time the "General Confession" from the Book of Common Prayer. (Although, alas, it's usually the more contemporary version.) From the 1928 version, consider (pray?), these words and then tell me they're not sublime.
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
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