George Will has been criticizing Barack Obama because Obama is narcissistic--he has been using the words "I" too much in his speeches. So then blogger Mark Liberman compared Obama's speeches with those of George W. Bush . . . [via Daily Dish]
Not all right-wingers have completely lost it. Not yet. Now before you assume that I'm a knee-jerk liberal, keep in mind that I once voted for a Republican, Ronald Reagan, and I am still attracted to many traditional positions of conservatives. And I fully admit that there are still many thoughtful conservatives out there. That said, check out the current crop of the salient qualities of prominent Republican spokespersons. As David Brin sums it up so very well, this hasn't been Barry Goldwater's party for many years. Not in the least. What are the most bizarre changes we've seen? Here are a few from Brin's long list: * prudence to recklessness * accountability to secrecy * fiscal discretion to spendthrift profligacy * consistency to hypocrisy * civility to nastiness * international restraint to recklessness * efficiency to no-tomorrow wastrelness * personal rectitude to flagrant licentiousness I would differ with Brin on one issue. I wouldn't attribute these dysfunctions to "stupidity." Rather, I interpret them as the results of a combination of fearfulness, groupishness, over-reliance on disgust as a form of morality, and deep compulsion to constantly display badges of group membership.
The twelve countries with the highest quality of life do not include the United States. We come in at number 13, which means that we''re not doing badly as a whole. But we're not doing as well as we should be doing, assuming (as many conservatives insist without reference to any metric) that there is no greater country than the United States. We were beaten in the rankings by many "socialist" countries, such as Norway, Canada, Sweden and France. The U.N.'s measurement system is the Human Development Index, a complex objective formula, not a subjective determination. Some of the many dozens of factors that go into the HDI include the following:
Although the United States now spends $2.4 trillion a year on medical care — vastly more per capita than comparable countries — the nation ranks near the bottom on premature deaths caused by illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy, stroke, influenza, ulcers and pneumonia
I remember how, back in the 1960's, I was forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in grade school. Those were the days when we had nuclear bomb drills: we lined up and marched to the school basement, where we would presumably be safe from the fallout of atomic bombs. Some of my neighbors even had bomb shelters dug out in their yards.
[caption id="attachment_9484" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Crafteepics at Dreamstime (with permission)"]
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Based on my own experience, children don't like saying the pledge. It is mind-numbing to children; as proof, consider that you never see children saying the Pledge on their own. They only say the Pledge when they are forced to do so by insecure adults. All honest and rational people know that the children say the pledge only because they are forced to do so. All honest people also know that one can be a patriot without ever saying the Pledge of Allegiance. As proof, none of the following people ever said the Pledge of Allegiance: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine . . .
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What am I supposed to think when a woman steps forward to publicize her decision to give up an adopted child that she had raised for 18 months? This story leaves me bewildered. I don’t think the story tells me enough to allow me to know what to think. I keep wondering, "What if it had been her biological child? What would I think then? Would I have an opinion in that case, or would I be in this same puzzled/confused state that I'm now experiencing? How could I possibly render judgment without knowing a lot more about all of those involved? Even though I am sorely tempted to be angry with this adoptive mother at a gut level. But, as indicated in the video, this woman has parented her own biological children too. But that can cut two ways. And why aren't we told anything at all about the adoptive father and his history and attitudes regarding this baby? And what about the claim that the baby is doing "well" with his new family? That cuts both ways too, in my opinion. What's really going on here? Were there financial issues? Racial issues? Medical issues? Such a frustrating story to me. What is the take-away message from this story? It makes me feel like a voyeur and it makes me want to accuse MSNBC of irresponsibly packaging this story. Note: For those who don't know me, I am an adoptive parent of two girls from China who I very much consider to be my daughter forever, no matter what happens--and that's how my wife and I looked at adoption from Day One. I wonder how much my personal history colors my views on this abandonment story.