The Anger of Compassion

O'Rourke scores a...well, a draw

I wonder if P.J. O'Rourke is funny any more, or if it's just the war which has, perhaps, gotten to him. From his OpinionJournal column today, we have, this, which I think has a touch of the old (funny) O'Rourke:

One thing to whine about will be the fate of Israel. Without American safeguards that nation is certain to be militarily attacked. To judge by previous Israeli wars, in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982, the result will be serious headaches for Israelis as the Knesset furiously debates the status of Jewish settlements outside Damascus and on the west bank of the Euphrates.

Can't argue with that. I've lived in three Middle East nations and I'd say that he's right on the money as to the likely outcome of any near-future war betwixt the proud Arab warriors and Israel.

But then we come to this:

America will enjoy cleaner air and less traffic congestion as oil goes to $200 a barrel due to chaos in the Middle East. A U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East will cause chaos, of course. Then again, a U.S. intervention in the Middle East has caused chaos already. And, during those periods of history when the U.S. was neither intervening in nor withdrawing from the Middle East, there was . . . chaos.

So, nothing will change if the US pulls out of the Middle East entirely, yet oil will go to $200 a barrel? This does prove what P.J. claimed in Eat the Rich: he doesn't understand shit about economics.

But it's worse than that: is this even funny?

Marking Time for the Revolution

Once again, the inimitable Vin Suprynowicz:

This weekend officially begins our summer reading season.

Of timely note is the fact that Loompanics Unlimited has withdrawn from print Claire Wolfe's classic "101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution" and the even more famous (more-or-less) sequel, "Don't Shoot the Bastards (Yet)." They've been replaced with a merged, expanded, "The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook: 179 Things to Do Until the Revolution," which they promise to have available by July 4. (Pre-order at www.loompanics.com, or dial 360-385-2230)

It was Claire who famously declared, some years back, "America is at that awkward stage: It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."

From sections on "Monkey-wrenching" and "Self-reliance" to the all important "Things You Can Quit Wasting Your Time On" (like firing off another fruitless letter to your "congresscritter") all the old favorites remain, in easy-to-read snippets.

Someone who really has no right to your Social Security number keeps demanding your 9-digit slave badge? It was Claire who first taught us to rattle off 577-60-1114. (The guy it was originally issued to, J. Edgar Hoover, isn't using it any more.) Though you may not want to stop there. Nine-digit numbers once belonging to Wladziu Liberace? Elvis? The ruler of Freedonia? "Dead singing communist" Paul Robeson? Or my favorite, Vito Genovese (145-24-5159)? Claire's got 'em.

Gotta love it. Vito Genovese's Social Security number? Maybe if some nosey Parker asks me for mine somewhere just before that Sopranos season finale...

Newly-discovered sensual pleasures

Even better than discovering that American Airlines now regularly carries Diet Dr. Pepper, I list:

1. Having my own rose garden

2. Alfred Brendel's performance of the Beethoven piano sonatas

3. Scrambling eggs with a bit of blue cheese, then putting salsa on top. This one is worthy of Jennifer Iannolo, I'd aver...

4. Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 and Diet Dr. Pepper. What should I call this one: Jack's Diet Doctor?

Not always such a wonderful world

It begins gently enough: "(June 5, 2000) kenny g is not a musician i really had much of an opinion about at all until recently. there was not much about the way he played that interested me one way or the other either live or on records."

Okay, okay: June 5, 2000--so I don't follow the entire jazz universe closely enough. But this musical fisking got my attention tonight and held it, word by word, to the end, and had me cheering Pat Matheny:

not long ago, kenny g put out a recording where he overdubbed himself on top of a 30+ year old louis armstrong record, the track “what a wonderful world”. with this single move, kenny g became one of the few people on earth i can say that i really can't use at all - as a man, for his incredible arrogance to even consider such a thing, and as a musician, for presuming to share the stage with the single most important figure in our music.

this type of musical necrophilia - the technique of overdubbing on the preexisting tracks of already dead performers - was weird when natalie cole did it with her dad on “unforgettable” a few years ago, but it was her dad. when tony bennett did it with billie holiday it was bizarre, but we are talking about two of the greatest singers of the 20th century who were on roughly the same level of artistic accomplishment. when larry coryell presumed to overdub himself on top of a wes montgomery track, i lost a lot of the respect that i ever had for him - and i have to seriously question the fact that i did have respect for someone who could turn out to have have such unbelievably bad taste and be that disrespectful to one of my personal heroes.

but when kenny g decided that it was appropriate for him to defile the music of the man who is probably the greatest jazz musician that has ever lived by spewing his lame-ass, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped out, fucked up playing all over one of the great louis’s tracks (even one of his lesser ones), he did something that i would not have imagined possible. he, in one move, through his unbelievably pretentious and calloused musical decision to embark on this most cynical of musical paths, shit all over the graves of all the musicians past and present who have risked their lives by going out there on the road for years and years developing their own music inspired by the standards of grace that louis armstrong brought to every single note he played over an amazing lifetime as a musician. by disrespecting louis, his legacy and by default, everyone who has ever tried to do something positive with improvised music and what it can be, kenny g has created a new low point in modern culture - something that we all should be totally embarrassed about - and afraid of. we ignore this, “let it slide”, at our own peril.

"[L]ame-ass, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped out, fucked up playing?" Jesus, Pat, don't hold back: tell us what you really think!

Meanwhile, aside from any questions of the quality of the tunes in question, how might this relate to the surviving Beatles recording and releasing the two John Lennon tunes, "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love?"

Let's Hear It For Virtue

From the Netscape Network's Men's Channel, we have a bit of a teat treat:

If you think we're living in racy times now, think again. Janet Jackson's Super Bowl escapade wouldn't have raised an eyebrow in the 17th century. Based on an in-depth study of fashion, portraits, prints, and thousands of woodcuts from ballad sheets of that era, researchers from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England report that women of the 1600s--from queens to prostitutes--commonly exposed one or both breasts in public and in the popular media of the day, reports Discovery News.

Here's the real kicker: They did it to show off their virtue.

What that virtue entailed makes for interesting reading (and it's a short article, so go ahead and give it a shot), and I like the way the summary ends: "This unusual fashion trend had a comeback in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was scandalous for a woman to show her shoulders or legs, but quite acceptable to bare her bosom."

Hear, hear. I'd hate to see displays of fine leg go away, but I do have to wonder: perhaps we could make common cause with the conservatives, the ones who claim that the country is going to hell and what we need is moral regeneration, etc, etc? Well, why not--and why not begin with displays of virtue? What about it, conservatives?

The only irksome thing about this story was the "begs the question" crap at the end. Go read, and hope that, er, virtue makes a comeback.

UPDATE: Democrats can be interested in virtue as well. Alexandra Kerry, daughter of Democrat nominee-presumptive John Kerry, appears to be aiming for a display of her virtue. She merits applause, I think.

Interview with Mimi Gladstein

The interview I conducted with Mimi Reisel Gladstein is now posted at The Atlasphere.

There are iconic American authors--Hemingway, Steinbeck, Bellow, and Faulkner come to mind. Dr. Gladstein is an expert on all four, as well as on Ayn Rand, whom she believes belongs in that top category. Go read.

I'm in a New York State of Mind...

Still away from Texas on business, I took the quiz What American City Are You?, and I must say I'm pleased with the result:

Take the quiz: "Which American City Are You?"

New York
You're competative, you like to take it straight to the fight. You gotta have it all or die trying.

Well, we're talking about where I originated, after all, and where my earliest memories come from. Not to mention the Chrysler Building and more...

Oh yes.

(Hat tip: Eric Scheie at Classical Values)

Call Johnny Cochrane

Heard on the news this morning that Scott Peterson wants a change of venue: he wants his trial to be held in Los Angeles.

Duh. Well of course he does: he wants the O.J. jury!

Knowing What One Is Talking About

This was delicious: sitting in my hotel room, half-listening to the two co-founders of MoveOn.org blathering on Lou Dobbs' CNN show, and I heard Joan Blades come out with this whopper: "Fifty percent of Americans still believe that al-Quaida and 9/11 are linked."

I know, I know: anyone can fumble when speaking. I've been on television a number of times, and one does, yes, get nervous. I'm telling you, I understand. I do.

But it was nice to catch this one.

Minarets of Mirth

Would you believe, Muslim stand-up comics?

Other oxymorons come to mind: jumbo shrimp. Military intelligence. Free-market Democrat.

Not so fast. This story, from the Washington Post (I read it at the Fort Wayne online edition), is worth a read. Consider: did you even know that there is a network of Muslim comedians in America? I didn't, and it didn't sound to me like something even possible.

But that was simply silly of me: with generations of American comedians mining their Jewish and Catholic and Southern Baptist backgrounds for material, it should have been obvious to me that it was only a matter of time before American Muslims would stand up and try providing laughs.

I don't respect Islam as a system of thought, nor the Koran (which I have twice read) as a source of wisdom--but I don't respect Judaism or Christianity or the Bible, either. But being secular is no guarantee of being funny, either: Lenny Bruce was a free speech/civil liberties icon, but he wasn't funny. So I find some of the bits in this story funny, and some not. But that's not due to Islam: it's true of all humor that I've ever heard or read. Some is funny, some falls flat.

Nor am I assuming the multicultural position here, not at all. But--why not Muslim comics? Laughter is fun, and humor has always been a potent weapon against evil of all kinds. Of course, that means that as always, there are those who consider it a threat:

Usman, 28, who is strictly observant, does not use foul language in his routine, which was recently cited as "praiseworthy" by a Muslim religious scholar discussing whether "stand-up comedy is permissible in the Shariah," or Islamic law. He ruled that stand-up is allowed if it is "to make people laugh" and "accompanied by noble intentions."

Although the prophet Muhammad is said to have liked smiling and jokes, Usman said, "there are a lot of very conservative Muslims" who don't approve of having fun.

You knew that was coming, didn't you? The remark that "stand-up comedy is permissible (emphasis mine)" is simply odious, which is why, to most Americans, Islam smacks of "everything that is not required is forbidden!" It's hard to forget that little boys and girls in Afghanistan weren't even allowed to fly kites until the Islamist Taliban regime was overthrown.

But subversion of such evil stupidity is only part of why I applaud the idea of Muslim comics. The larger reason is given by the length of the Humor category to your right, dear reader: bring on more comedy. Make me laugh. Humor is good.

(Hat tip: WorldNetDaily)

Pelvic Powerlifting and Precision Vaulting

Blame Dean Esmay for this one, 'cause I got it from his place:

"Trojan Games," indeed.

Miasmas and Mexicans

Very, very enlightening article by Gary Galles at the Mises Institute: "The Mexican Truch Miasma:"

Of particular note in this protracted controversy is how those trying to ward off trucking competition and their political allies used the same deliberately misleading basis for two different, but equally bogus claims, dramatically delaying the benefits that a free market would provide consumers.

That misleading basis was pointing to unsafe and dirty trucks currently crossing the border at undermanned border crossings as proof that it would be too risky to let Mexican trucks beyond the border regions of the U.S. However, those trucks have been unusually unsafe and dirty primarily because of current U.S. policy. Without current border restrictions, the Mexican trucks that would enter the U.S. would be far safer and far cleaner.

Current border trucking restrictions for shipments entering the U.S. require a costly three-truck delivery dance. Since the cargoes are required to be transferred to an American truck within a few miles of the border, shipments involve a long-haul Mexican truck, then a transfer on their side of the border to a drayage truck, which hauls the shipment across the border, and then another transfer to an American long-haul truck.

Since the drayage trucks involved spend much of their time idling in line to cross the border, and then immediately offload to other trucks, they are the oldest, most run-down and polluting trucks in use, which dramatically increase border pollution. And they make up a large proportion of border crossings by Mexican trucks, providing horror-story images which American protectionists have used and reused to maintain their insulation from Mexican truck competition.

According to an article in the Texas International Law Journal, "drayage haulers haul freight between import lots on both sides of the border. Most drayage haulers are years or even decades old. Many lack basic vehicle features like lights, reflectors, good tires, or brakes, or even safety windows. Their trips only cover the length of an international bridge, so they are not prepared for DOT inspection."

Just like other producers, Mexican trucking companies don't use their best equipment in a way that makes it least valuable. So they don't have their newest trucks wasting time idling at a border checkpoint. They use them where they are most valuable, on long trips where the better fuel economy (and lower pollution) of newer trucks was most beneficial. The use their least valuable, worst mileage, worst polluting, worse shape, least safe vehicles to cross the border, where they fail inspections at much higher rates than long haul trucks would without the border restrictions. Therefore, they are not a sample of the trucks that would operate in the United States if restrictions were lifted.

Government policy has led to the dregs of the Mexican trucking fleet crossing the border, and thus to higher inspection failure rates for Mexican trucks (37% of Mexican trucks inspected failed, versus 24% for American trucks in 2000). That was then played as the safety "trump card" to keep those trucks out of the country. That would not be the case, however, in the absence of America's shipping restrictions and undermanned inspection stations.

The emphases in the above quote are mine.

I live on the Mexican border (El Paso, Texas). Many, many drivers of private vehicles don't have driver's licenses, don't maintain auto insurance, and don't have their vehicles inspected in accordance with Texas state law. I approve, frankly, since those laws are ridiculously invalid--but it is the law that such niceties be observed. And yet they are on Texas streets and highways every day, thousands of them. Here we have an instance in which the owners of (Mexican) commercial drayage vehicles are trying to observe the (U.S.) law and survive in business at the same time, and they're being penalized for their efforts.

Ridiculous.

Eminent scholars debate eminent domain

Austrian economist Walter Block will debate law school prof Richard Epstein over the validity of the eminent domain doctrine, at the University of Chicago's law school. The debate takes place this Monday, May 10.

Do be there. Block will win, on merit, but, as they say, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Rachel Lucas Returns

Rachel Lucas has returned to blogging.

No, we know you didn't create the term "asshat." That's all right: you used it with verve, and that's why we loved you. Okay, and "Piquance. Impudence. Ordnance." Can't fault us for loving that, can you?

Welcome back, Rachel.

With Friends Like These...

Well, I watched part of the final episode of Friends Thursday evening. I'm glad I watched only part of it.

(Sigh)

Why do people do things like this to themselves? I've seen episodes of this show before, and never really thought much of it. I never understood the excitement. At all. And this was...this was...

It was crap, is what it was.

Contrast this with my Friday night: I'm on a business trip, so Friday evening (hell, all of Friday night) was spent in a hotel room. But I had Friday Night Blues via streaming audio on the laptop, and I was reading Les Miserables and, of course, drinking beer. I even became a member of KTEP while listening, and barely noticed the pain. Of course, I got two requests for my trouble, so that was very nice.

A far, far superior way to pass one's time. Pleasure is good, a point made, recently, here and here.