The Commentariat -- Dec. 21, 2014
Internal links removed.
The winter solstice begins tonight at 6:03 pm ET.
Missed this the other day. Tim Egan on "Obama Unbound": "... the president who has nothing to lose has discovered that his best friend is the future."
CW: I wonder why Obama didn't make the final cut. He & Stephen Colbert rehearse "We'll Meet Again" (audio only):
Max Fisher of Vox has a helpful post on the history of U.S.-Cuba relations, going back to the days when Southern politicians wanted to annex the island as a slave state. Thanks to James S. for the link.
** Steve Watt of the ACLU, in Slate: "As bad as the stories in the Senate torture report are, there is a whole class of victims who aren’t even mentioned...: the 'extraordinary rendition' of prisoners to foreign custody for 'interrogation' by those countries’ intelligence services — with the full knowledge that the men would be tortured.... There is still no official accounting of what happened to these men and others like them, forcibly disappeared and handed over to foreign governments for torture. We don’t even know whether the practice was authorized — and if so, by whom — and who was subject to it." ...
... In Salon, Paul Rosenberg makes the case for trying Bush, Cheney, et al., for war crimes. "Through reflexivity, Bush and Cheney’s unhinged panic drove the entire [political] process off the rails. Yet, even today they and their defenders continue to pretend that they were the tough guys, the realists, the ones who protected us. They need to stand trial in part simply so that this lie can be publicly put to rest." Rosenberg argues that not just Bush & Cheney, but "America's entire elite infrastructure" is responsible for the public's ignorance of facts re: the Bush-Cheney wars & torture. ...
... CW: While Rosenberg gets his facts right, he seems naive about the effects a Nuremberg-type series of trials would have on "public education." It is unreasonable to think that the winner of the "War on Christmas" (see God News below) & his minions would learn during the course of a trial that torture doesn't work & Cheney is a lying, evil bastard. A trial would not "educate" the followers of Bill O'Reilly & Bill Kristol; rather, it would further harden them in their false beliefs. Not only do these people discount facts, Americans in general don't want to face their own complicity in electing -- & re-electing -- the Bush administration. Patriotism is pernicious.
Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "... in an era of hyperpartisan gerrymandering..., Ohio took a step in the opposite direction last week. With the support of both parties, the Ohio House gave final approval Wednesday to a plan to draw voting districts for the General Assembly using a bipartisan process, intended to make elections more competitive."
Josh Lederman of the AP: "The United States is asking China for help as it weighs potential responses to a cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that the U.S. has blamed on North Korea. A senior Obama administration official says the U.S. and China have shared information about the attack and that the U.S. has asked for China's cooperation. The official also says China agrees with the U.S. that destructive cyberattacks violate the norms of appropriate behavior in cyberspace." ...
... AP: "The GOP is calling on supporters to buy a ticket to the movie 'The Interview' if theater owners reverse their decision not to show the film amid threats of retaliation for its comedic take on assassinating North Korea's leader. The Republican Party chairman, Reince Priebus, says in a letter to theater chain executives that he's concerned that a foreign regime would be allowed to dictate the movies Americans can and cannot watch." CW: As I said several days ago, wingers will see the movie because Freeeedom. Now it's a party platform!
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. David Bernstein in Boston Magazine: "What the hell happened to Boston.com?... In Saturday’s Globe, [Boston Globe editor Brian] McGrory said that despite the multiple errors committed by Boston.com staffers, 'the standards and values of the Globe apply across all our sites.' That seems increasingly difficult to defend."
God News
CW: No doubt many Reality Chex readers will be celebrating Yule today. I will be thanking Mithras for pushing back the darkness.
Phil Zuckerman in Salon: "... for the many millions of Americans who have joined the ranks of the nonreligious, the causes are most likely to be political and sociological in nature." The rise of the religious right as a political force has alienated "a lot of left-leaning or politically moderate Americans from Christianity.... A second factor ... is the ... Catholic Church’s pedophile priest scandal.... A very important third possible factor ... is ... the dramatic increase of women in the paid labor force.... As women grew less religious, their husbands and children followed suit." Excerpted from Living the Secular Life. ...
... CW: Weirdly, Zuckerman doesn't mention formal education as a secularizing factor. Surely the percentage of Americans who believe in the literal truths of religious myths has plummeted in the past 50 years. In fact, major religions -- including the Roman Catholic Church -- no longer insist, for instance, on the historiocity of the Christmas story. It's pretty darned hard to get through a standard liberal arts education & come out buying the Adam & Eve & Noah & Moses stories.
Take 'er Easy There, Pilgrim. Bruce Feiler of the New York Times: "Pilgrimage ... is more popular than ever. At the First International Congress on Tourism and Pilgrimages in September, the United Nations released a study finding that of every three tourists worldwide, one is a pilgrim, a total of 330 million people a year. These figures include 30 million to Tirupati in India, 20 million to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, 15 million to Karbala in Iraq, and four million to Lourdes."
"Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?" Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches: Christian Americans are more supportive of torture than non-religious Americans.
Jesus Is the Reason for -- Hanukkah. Sarah Larimer of the Washington Post: "Bud Williams, city councilor in Springfield, Mass., stood in the court square earlier this week and participated in a holiday tradition. 'Jesus is the reason for the season,' Williams said at a Tuesday ceremony, according to MassLive.com. His remarks wouldn’t really be notable, except that Williams was speaking at a menorah lighting ceremony, to mark the beginning of Hanukkah." In defense of his remark, Williams noted later to a reporter, "Jesus was Jewish." Via Steve Benen.
Patrick O'Donnell of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Gov. John Kasich's $10 million plan to bring mentors into Ohio's schools for students now has a surprise religious requirement – one that goes beyond what is spelled out in the legislation authorizing it. Any school district that wants a piece of that state money must partner with both a church and a business – or a faith-based organization and a non-profit set up by a business to do community service." CW: As Steve Benen remarks, "... sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen."
Onward, Christmas Soldiers. Bill O'Reilly agrees he "single-handedly" won the "War on Christmas." Thanks, Bill-O.
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Reader Comments (12)
What will the Castro brothers do now. They can't have all of those cousins, sons, nephews, brothers and sisters flocking to Cuba bringing toilet paper, Tide, instant coffee and paper diapers and most importantly, happy lives and talk of voting.
East Germany built a wall to keep their citizens in and hope out. Americans in their wisdom performed the work of the wall for Castro.
Does the Cuban administration really believe that they can withstand the example of the happy, prosperous Cuban Americans teaching their population about the good life?
They will find a way to slow the tide of Americans or they will change.
@Carlyle-
Methinks you are sentimentalizing America. Some of those Cubans might go back to their island and talk about our growing wealth inequality, police violence against Blacks, the continuing racism in this country, voter suppression, our insane religiosity and rampant materialism. Don't think this exactly describes "the good life." In fact, I imagine we have much to learn from Cuba--just as they do from us. IMHO, the American way is not the only way.
Io Saturnalia!
Imagine my surprise when I saw my Xmas card picture on R.C. For years I have been emailing my cards––choosing scenes along with my own greetings. This year chose the one Marie has displayed with these words:
Within the wood's silence the pine's aroma
pierces my senses;
I am in the company of an ancient family
Whose longevity mocks our human frailties
But gives us shelter and warmth
From cold winters and ill winds;
Gives us shade and protection
From the summer's sun.
What majesty to celebrate on this
Dark night of the Winter Solstice.
Re: discussion above on Cuba. Their health care appears to be cheaper, better in some respects than ours. I second what Kate says about learning from each other––and as I write that I think what an optimist I still am.
Re: CIGAR, C-I-G-A-R, CIGAR.
Some facts from Wikipedia concerning education in Cuba.
Literacy rates, 96 percent, men and women.
25 students per classroom.
150,000 teachers, 5 years of education at least, over half with masters.
School hours, 6:30 to 6:30 child care provided.
23 medical schools
Education at all levels free.
10 percent of central budget spent on education, compared to 4 percent for the UK and 2 percent for the U.S.
Second only to Argentina in level of education in Central and South America.
They will figure it out.
When the president thanked Cuba for sending hundreds of doctors to Africa to help with the current crisis I got wondering, " Dear Raul, Tal vez you could send hundreds of doctors to Los Estados and throw in some teachers too, we sure could use'em."
Capitalism has no place in health or education.
Of course, got to add the bit about "Strong ideological content" with regards to a Cuban education but the door is open for change and in a few years the content will be revised and the education will remain.
JJG,
I'm with you all the way but got stuck on the 2% central funding figure and it's terrible comparison to Cuba's. But as I understand it, our schools are funded through local property taxes so the 2% figure may be misleading. Do you know how your source got the 2% figure?
Re human anagram Reince Priebus's dictate to GOPers to go see a Seth Rogin film: it really brought a smile to my face thinking of "The Base" at that movie. Just imagine a constant chorus of, "What'd he say?"
@Victoria. Reince's dictate is probably a mistake. Highly doubtful the base can tell the difference between the movie and a Fox news broadcast. Especially if the movie's producer added an epilogue: "You decide!"
So Loofah Boy has won the war on Christmas? How nice for him. Here's your medal asshole. Nice that he could suit up for at least one war, since he decided to sit out the war he wholeheartedly supported when he had the chance to serve in a real war. Instead, he ran off to London. How brave. How right-wing chicken hawky of him.
So you mean victory in the "war" that never existed? How wonderful to score a nonsensical "victory" in an imaginary war. What next? Exclusive video of Loofah Boy interviewing Tinkerbell and the Easter Bunny riding the Loch Ness Monster up into the foothills of the Himalayas to Shangri-La, on Christmas Eve, where they will all do a quick stand-up/photo-op with Santa and Rudolph before they depart for the Mid-east where they'll deposit tons of bituminous presents for those dirty mooslim kids?
Hey, Bill, how 'bout this:
The REAL reason for the season...
Then again, does anyone think that O'Reilly knows the difference between a solstice and an equinox? Prob'ly thinks they're Japanese cars. I mean, he doesn't even know how the fucking tides work!
And btw, Marie, I have to disagree about the efficacy of a trial for the Bush-Cheney war criminals. Not holding such trials because people like Bill O'Reilly won't come around is a terrible reason. Who cares if they get it or not? We shouldn't make decisions based on the relative moral torpor of this person or that person. It's almost like saying that torture is fine as long as you get something. Both assumptions are built on moral quicksand. Just because some people believe that the acquisition of information makes torture okay, doesn't make it so. In the same way, if certain people refuse to learn anything from a war crimes trial, doesn't mean war crimes weren't committed and should, therefore, not be prosecuted.
I'm pretty sure you don't agree with these assumptions either, but it bears stating.
I still believe, whether it would ever be possible or not, that putting Bush and Cheney and Wolfowitz and Yoo and Addington and the rest of the dirty, stinking, murdering, torturing lot of them on trial would be one of the great turning points in this country and, perhaps, the world.
Will it happen?
Never.
That doesn't mean it shouldn't.
The reason for the season is the return of the sun. Would that an increase in light augured an increase in enlightenment.
And while we're at the odeon, I'd like to remind all that there is a very good, very underrated 1990 Sidney Pollack film, "Havana" (Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Raul Julia, Alan Arkin) that pretty well portrays the what the driving forces of the Cuban revolution were.
@Carlyle: Just for a wider perspective. Cuba expects 1,000,000 US tourists in the first year after lifting the travel ban, rising to 3,000,000 within a few years. Cuba received 2,800,000 tourists in 2012. Slightly more than 1 million from Canada, the rest from Europe and South America. The people I know who return annually to Cuba have developed friendships there and they return with luggage packed with whatever their friends feel is most needed so the opening of Cuba to the US is not going to be unprecedented. I think most Cubans are quite aware of what they have missed. I would expect 2015 to be a bumper year for Canadian/Cuban tourism. The cry here is "See Cuba before it is ruined by US dollars." It will be interesting to see if Cubans want their country to emulate Mexico or restrain development.
@ Kate Madison, PD Pepe, cowichan:
Apparently the Cuban socialists have done a better job selling their virtues to Americans than to Cubans.
The Census Bureau, American Community Survey for 2011 shows about two million persons of Cuban origin. Fifty eight percent of these persons arrived from Cuba after 1990.That is more than a million Cubans, a big bite for a country of about eleven million persons.
Many left Cuba on small boats, at great risk. Many braved the Mexican US border and some came from Caribbean islands.
Those leaving Cuba demonstrated a strong desire to live somewhere less blessed.