Blasts from the Past
... because the idiocy of manliness is an evergreen topic.
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... because Canada and the US will celebrate their Thanksgiving holidays and, regrettably and preventably, not 1-cook-in-10 will serve a decent turkey.
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... because everyday is Mother's Day.
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... because the American Dream seems but a distant memory, given the country's dominant ethos of small-mindedness.
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... to remind us that not every mix of Tibetans and Western spiritual seekers has to be nauseating.
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... to celebrate the new edition of Infinite Vision published in India.
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... reprised because military strategy seems more cruel and less effective than ever -- and certainly there is a better way.
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... because cars are ruining Pondicherry, where I live. How badly are they fucking up your Indian town?
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... reprinted because more-and-more people seem want to understand the gift economy. (Yeah!)
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memestream 
let’s see what he do
MBJ:
Does he have a plan for all those immature men under the age of 50?
-s
In the last 100 hours he has encouraged world peace, been sworn in, closed prisons and given massive hope that one man can and will pull the so called civilised world out from its eroding decline. I only hope he can continue as I do not think America could survive the dissapointment. Fingers crossed.
MBJ:
This may well be my favorite of all the clever headlines in your blog.
But I didn’t realize how spot on it was till earlier this week, when the Republicans came out in lock-step force against the stimulus bill and the media was beginning to declare the bill, bipartisanship, and the entire Obama presidency DOA.
I was just starting to work myself into a froth about the hypocrisy and wrongheadedness of it all when Mr. Obama held his press conference and town hall meetings.
And suddenly I realized that that was what we had put him there for. It was his job to navigate the politics and do what needed to be done and he was smart enough, and grown-up enough, to fight his own battles.
What a relief!
-s
Thanks, Smita. The headline also got a little boost during the inaugural address, when Mr. Obama told his nation:
Cheers,
MBJ
Mark – help!
Lost in the collective angst about the economy were the following two articles, buried deep in pages of the newspaper, that tell of the Obama administration deciding to continue two Bush policies:
Obama administration tries to kill e-mail case
Obama Upholds Detainee Policy in Afghanistan
When the Bush administration was doing these things, I had no doubt they were outrageous and unacceptable. But if that is the case, how is the Obama team endorsing them?
As a matter of principle, I like to be consistent in my outrage, so am seeking feedback as to how shocked and disappointed I ought to be….
-s
Smita:
I’m not sure shock is an appropriate response to these and other transgressions of the progressive agenda by the new administration. President Obama’s idealism is frequently tempered with a degree of pragmatism that is sometimes dispiriting — until you wonder if he and Mr. Emmanuel might just, once again, have correctly adjudged the political climate. Politics is, after all, the art of the possible.
Surprise is particularly wasted on the less-than-meets-the-eye continuance of the Baghram detention policy, which will almost certainly come up for additional review once the new strategy for fighting the war in Afghanistan is determined. I suspect that an entirely new — and explicit, if not transparent — policy for handling these detentions will be developed which balances the constitutional requirements of Boumediene v. Bush (and Mr. Obama’s clear intention to distance himself from the former administration on torture and rendition) with the fact that the Bagram Air Base facility is a functional military prison in the heart of an active theater of war. Let’s hope so, anyway.
Disappointment and outrage are entirely valid feelings, however. You were right about these things being unacceptable in the Bush administration, and equally right that they do not become any more palatable now that Mr. Obama is in charge.
Indeed, the ability to be objectively critical of one’s partisans is a privilege uniquely held by liberals. Conservatives struggle under the psyche-destroying burden of having to vigorously agree with everything their leaders say and do, no matter how absurd, immoral, or just-plain-wrong. So, revel in your disappointment with Mr. Obama’s failings! It is this capacity which sets you apart from things like Republicans, invertebrates, and green leafy vegetables.
But also don’t forget to revel in the fact that, at long last, American policy is being overseen by a man with the intelligence and good-sense to get things right far more frequently than he is getting them wrong, and the leadership and eloquence to make the country and the world understand why the government is doing what it is doing.
MBJ
MBJ:
I’m reveling, I’m reveling!
Each time I hear reporters speak of the “White House” or the “President” I start to scowl (an 8-year old habit), then then I hear Obama and I can’t help but smile in wonder at the thought that we are now being governed by an intelligent team of people committed to fixing things instead of pushing the same old broken cart along while their friends and allies made off with whatever loot they could.
But even if the Bagram decision is a stop gap till they figure out how best to deal with the unholy mess in Afghanistan, as far as I can see they ain’t getting anywhere good by continuing the megalomaniac and paranoid Bush policies of occluding transparency and accountability in government.
-s