I believe I did, but it bears repeating: It's
hot, in San Diego. Ninety degrees today. Which makes it very hard to do anything
- outside, I mean. No distance runs, nor interval workouts neither. Nothing to
do with a bike - can't carry enough water to make it all worthwhile. You could
swim, I suppose - but I swam competitively growing up and in high school, and
tell the truth gentle reader? Just betwixt the two of us? If I never swam
another lap in anger it would be far too soon, selah.
So, hot.
So
hot. And in a heat wave like the one we're having here, you can apparently put
the idea of making a hole in the garage for a wee, bitty, BMW 330i straight out
of your head as well. We are reliably informed. In this kind of
heat.
That's how
hot.
So.
Hmm.
Oh,
read an interesting editorial in the local today: Turns out a member of the
Muslim community has been seeing all the bloodshed in the world and thinks it's
time to speak out against.... (wait for it:) Racism.
Right. It's not enough, as Norm Geras has done, to recognize that there
are those among us who think that maybe the killers had a point. That maybe
anonymous commuters
ought
to die for the purported sins of their political class. That maybe it's all our
fault, because of Iraq (and Afghanistan, too?). Who conveniently forget that
this has all been going on for quite a while before ever a dangling chad was
counted in Florida. No - not only is it our fault, but we're probably going to
be bigots about it, too.
Oh, it's all
the usual pap. Mr. Bisharat is concerned that, what with all the blowing up of
London commuters, and the attempted blowing up of London commuters, some folks
over here might come to the wrong
conclusions with respect to Islam and its
adherents. Jerry Falwell is called out, Timothy McVeigh too. Don't forget the
IRA.
Tell you what, Bish: I'll put
it on my list of stuff to worry about. But I have to admit, until
grievance-crazed Methodists start blowing themselves up in SoCal mosques, and
the mainstream churches tut-tut that, well it was awful really, but we had to
think of the root causes of Methodist terror, it won't go very far towards the
top of my list. And my list is very long, with only the top five or so getting
any actual CPU cycles.
No, Mr.
Bisharat. You don't get to do this. You don't get to watch your co-religionists
kill anonymous commuters and use the opportunity to lecture us about
occupations, or to try on the mantle of victimhood. You just don't, not in my
house. Very
sorry.
Sigh.
Oh,
and Anita Hill weighed in today on the John Roberts
nomination. A step backward for "diversity," apparently. She somehow manages to
state that Roberts is both the product of a narrow selection process, geared
towards the elite, and that he's somehow simultaneously taking the place of some
other, equally qualified candidate who is less elite but is more...
diverse.
Whatever that
means.
Look: I'm on board with the
idea of righting past injustices, and of a level playing field. All I'm saying
is that diversity can't just mean something as immutable and out of the
candidate's control as skin color. Or is it really true that, for example, the
scion of a wealthy family of color, with all the advantages of class and
privilege, is still somehow a better candidate for (fill in the blank
selection) than some poor white kid out of Appalachia who rises above his
milieu? Because of "diversity?" And does every selection of a woman, person of
color or LBGT justice then require that person's seat to be bequeathed to the
appropriate interest group in
perpetuity?
No. That can't be
right.
Diversity should be the result
of the process which gives opportunity to each according to their ability,
desire and demonstrated capability, not an
à
priori (and therefore unappreciated - even,
resented) gift given by a condescending elite, like table scraps from the Lord
Mayor's plate. We should strive to create a society in which women, Latinos,
whomever are as competitive as anyone else for these nominations - not pretend
that by nominating a less qualified representative of a tribal interest group
that we have somehow rectified a past injustice. Not by pretending that, having
given up one of nine seats on the land's highest court, that we have somehow
opened up new doorways to those who were only waiting for this sign before
shaking off the legacy of racial oppression. This is the Supreme Court of the
United States of America we are talking about for crying out loud. Pick the best
qualified person.
Note: I am not
convinced that Roberts is the best candidate. I worry when we choose someone,
however wonderful their resume, simply because he's a likely candidate to scrape
by without a filibuster. Simply because he's managed over the course of his
adult life to never put anything remotely controversial in writing that might
later engender a partisan brawl among people who are only to eager to test their
arms. But that's the lay of the land these days. Best choice? Who knows. Good
choice? I guess.
I guess we'll
see.
Couple of kids came down to
Sandy Eggo from the old sod, up in central California, where we lived four years
ago. Friends of Son Number One, they've been here before, but always when I was
deployed. First time I've seen them in four years. They were 15 when we left,
and 19 now, and somehow it all comes as a huge surprise to see that they've
grown up too. You tend to put the memories of other people's children in amber,
and store them away in a place where nothing is allowed to change. And then they
show up four years later, with beards and man-laughs and attitude and you find
yourself... surprised.
Well, this
was a fine kettle of screed. Won't get any better by stewing in it.
Gomen
nasai, I guess.
Blame it on the
heat.
And have a great
weekend!
Posted @
08:21 PM
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Posted in
""
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Sendit
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Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." - John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Ceasar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friederich Nietzsche
