The Perfect Messenger?

With the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the Christmas season upon us, it seems like a good time for a message of peace and tolerance. Of course, when delivering such a message, it is important to deliver it clearly and with sensitivity to the audience to ensure proper comprehension and persuasiveness.

On a visit today to the Smithsonian's Stephen Udvar-Hazy Air and Space museum in Chantilly, Virginia we saw one of the great messengers from the past- the Enola Gay, which persuaded the phenomenally evil imperial Japan to re-consider the importance of respect for other cultures.

After an apparently painstaking restoration, the plane appears as ready to deliver another message of peace and tolerance today, perhaps this time to various addresses in Waziristan which are said to be difficult to reach by Lobster-gram. Hopefully the message will be dispatched soon to ensure timely arrival for the holidays and a Happy New Year.

Wall Street Journal's Annual Thanksgiving Columns

Every year I read these 2 columns which the WSJ always reprints:

The Desolate Wilderness

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

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And the Fair Land

Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.

This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

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George Clooney, Mega Neo-con

George Clooney and his friends want the US to resolve the civil wars in Sudan and Congo.




Lest they forget the reasons for not doing so, for which he and they were passionate and relentless advocates these last several years:

- No war for natural resource (oil = Sudan or minerals = Congo)
- The US should not be imperialist
- You cannot do nation building
- No American lives should be lost to help other countries
- American funds should not be spent on wars abroad when needed here for social programs
- It would be a distraction from Afghanistan, the main problem
- The military is stretched too thin
- They are sovereign countries, however screwed up, and we have no right to do anything to them/ intrude in their affairs
- We need to support the troops by bringing them home
- We don't understand their culture and should not assume we know what they want
- You can't want to send troops into dangerous situations unless you are a soldier or your child is one
- Vietnam
- Somalia
- Sanctions, no fly zones, and a massive bribery/ kick-back scheme are a fine solution

I probably missed a few, but oh well. Maybe now he's a neocon warmonger. Cindy Sheehan better get ready to roll.

Failure by Design

Today's Wall Street Journal (the last bastion of press credibility) reports that President-Elect Obama includes Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and former Congressman David Bonior among his closest advisors.

These twin embarrassments, fresh from tremendous success in destroying the State of Michigan, are now apparently to be involved in the new administration. Rather than allow them to export failed Michigan policies, Obama should quarantine them on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Media in the Tank For Economic Depression?

The latest edition of New York magazine welcomes the recession, finding "unexpected pleasures" in newfound poverty and the accompanying need to save money. It purports to provide helpful tips for saving money, but neglects the most obvious recommendation- cancel your subscription.

t = 0, Launch of the Unreasonable Man's Blog

With the precipitous decline and impending disappearance of the Fourth Estate, Americans must now begin the rebuilding process if the First Amendment's guarantee of a free press is to have any useful meaning for future generations. This is vital as we are currently embroiled in a war of ideas, and while the Fourth Estate might in the past have served as a forum for such ideas, it now serves only as a dumping ground for the nations otherwise least employable individuals.

At this juncture this once treasured constitutional guarantee provides little more than 2 years of the Atlantic Monthly for $20- slightly less than the cost of a package of toilet paper.


For an extra $1.99, the toilet paper arrives at your home devoid of feces. Presumably that accounts for the cost difference.