Politics | Politics
Oct.14.2012
If Mo Yan had chosen to live in a swanky hideout in the nowhere space offered as asylum, there would be much jubilation over his being awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature. Instead, he lives in China, was educated in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) school. He is the bad guy, not...
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Oct.12.2012
It's the age of action, a commercial proclaims as a man drives his old pick up truck along, towing a horse trailer. The commercial talks about how he knows what to do, how he doesn't get upset, as the truck gets stuck. He leads his horses out of the trailer, hooks them up to the truck...
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Oct.11.2012
Note: Normally I post only on politically neutral things, principally writing and reading. But this month's magazine reads seem to compel me to purgative rants. After tomorrow's post, I'll be better.
Harper’s Magazine, October 2012
When both Presidential candidates agree that there’s...
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Oct.08.2012
“The Commies are guilty of plenty,” a hotel guest complained, “but maybe their worst sin has been imposing their wretched taste on half the planet.” The Hotel Palast in East Berlin sprawled like a copper-skinned reptile sunning on the soiled edge of...
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Oct.08.2012
A few days ago a skeptical acquaintance said to me, “Well, here we are almost at the end of 2012 — the year that was supposed to be so dire!” I think she meant that, despite the prophecies she’d read about on the internet, everything was just fine. I thought, Are you kidding me?
On just...
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Oct.04.2012
An asteroid is heading our way.
No, calm down, you didn't miss the news. It's out there, somewhere in time and space, and it's not anything imminent.
So an asteroid is heading our way. Okay, we know the drill. We've seen the movies. Humanity will come together and leap into action. Well...
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Oct.02.2012
Why do people turn on their neighbors? Why do friends become enemies? Why do whole populations who have lived peacefully together try to destroy each other? Why does life turn into a terrible game of Them and Us?
Modern history is littered with examples of one...
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Oct.01.2012
It's irritating, innit?
So many decisions in American society are being pushed forward by expediency. Values and principles are being shunted aside.
The usual reasons for dismissing values and principles?
1. Security. We must be safe. We must be secure. We were attacked, you know. If we...
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Sep.29.2012
The Citizen in my head managed to wrestle the pen out of The Writer's hand this morning and did a phantom writing session. Funny how the writing in my head is done with pen and paper, in a small room, on a sunny day, overlooking the ocean. If I were to guess, which is an odd expression, I'd guess...
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Sep.27.2012
Hey Mister President, Mister Nominee. Hello, all you pundits, pollsters and experts. You want to know about the state of America? I have a one stop appraisal opportunity for you.
Just go to the land of low, low prices, WalMart.
I'm not a WalMart fan. For a place known for low prices, surveys...
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