How To Be A Republican

• You have to believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own.
• You have to be against all government programs, but expect Social Security checks on time.
• You have to believe...everything Rush Limbaugh says.
• You have to believe society is color-blind and growing up black in America doesn't diminish your opportunities, but you still won't vote for Alan Keyes.
• You have to be against government interference in business, until your oil company, corporation or Savings and Loan is about to go broke and you beg for a government bail out.
• You have to believe a poor, minority student with a disciplinary history and failing grades will be admitted into an elite private school with a $1,000 voucher.

- Ann Richards

[Alternate to the first item: "born on third base, but thought he hit a triple."]

The late Ann Richards had a real Texas accent. Her comments may seem a bit dated, but not all that much.

Jim Hightower

I really miss Molly Ivins, but at least we still have Jim Hightower. I just came across his web site by accident and felt I must share it. Here it is.

On Winning Battles

"No battle was ever won by spectators, was it?"

George Smiley in The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre

Names As Identifiers

Yesterday I posted the text of T.S. Eliot's somewhat whimsical poem, "The Naming of Cats." The poem was published in a collection of Eliot's poetry, "Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats" eventually converted to the musical play, "Cats."

It touches on the issue of identity and names. Shakespeare tackled a similar theme in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet proclaims: "What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

I have pondered questions of name and identity most of my life. Like Presidents Gerald R. Ford and William Jefferson Clinton, I do not use the name I was born with. So am I the same person I was when I was born and used a different name?

The IRS and Social Security seem not entirely sure. Some years ago my sister, whose given name is "Elizabeth," became the subject of an IRS and Social Security inquiry because her pay checks were written to "Betty." Indeed, many if not most grown women don't use the family name they were born with. After divorce, they face the dilemma of whether to keep their married name or their maiden name.

Some choose to use their maiden name as their middle name. That confuses bureaucrats and computer programs no end.

After 9/11 when no-fly lists began to control air travel, Senator Ted Kennedy had his travel impeded many times. Turns out there was a person using the name Ted Kennedy who may have been at least a suspicious person. Senator Kennedy tried to get himself removed from the no-fly lists repeatedly. He finally gave up and flew as "Edward M. Kennedy." The problem went away.

My mother had no birth certificate, and an unusual name. She would certainly have problems today. My wife has had problems renewing id's because she used her maiden name as her middle name.

This is not a trivial problem.

The Importance Of Names [The Naming Of Cats]

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey—
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter—
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover—
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

T.S. Eliot

Bend It Like Beckham

Anyone who has seen the really hilarious and entertaining movie, "Bend It Like Beckham," knows that Sikhs aren't Muslims and that they are a very peaceful people embodying many traditional virtues. Tragically, there's always that ten percent who didn't get the word.

Since 9/11, the handful of Sikhs in this country have been objects of persecution by ignorant, hate-filled racists. It is certainly too early to confirm the motives of the Wisconsin shooter, but it's reasonable to surmise that is what happened today.

Those of us a bit far along in years have a favorable image of Sikhs, based on the cartoon character Punjab, who was "Daddy Warbucks" right hand man and protector of Little Orphan Annie.

The word "guru," by the way, comes from Sikhism. The religion was founded in South Asia some five hundred years ago by Guru Nanak Dev. There have been ten subsequent Gurus.

Sikhism is monotheistic and is the world's fifth largest religion. Its adherents are enjoined to engage in social reform through the pursuit of justice for all human beings.

On Greatness

"There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet."

- Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, USN

On Patriotism

This fourth of July, Robert Reich has published a thoughtful piece here on patriotism.

There's nothing I can add to it, so I won't try.

Roads And Conveyances

I've been thinking about the ferry toll issue. Why is it so hard for some people to think of a ferry as an integral element of a transportation system, properly funded out of the system budget?

One reason, I believe, is that people have been accustomed to thinking of the road as one thing and a conveyance as another.

But not always. What would have happened to major cities if elevators were viewed as a conveyance rather than a component of the building? And concluded we have to charge for using the conveyance? We would still be walking up stairs and skyscrapers would never have happened.

On Problems With Opponents

Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in danger from their folly, not from their wisdom; their weakness is what fills us with apprehension, not their strength...

John Stuart Mill

On Luck

A few weeks ago I posted a link to a commencement address that would never be given. That fictional address by Robert Reich would, if given, have provided a dash of reality for new graduates.

Today I have a link to commencement remarks that were given. These remarks, directed at future Masters Of The Universe, called attention to the great role played in life by luck.

Moral Hazard And War

Economists talk about "moral hazard." This means a situation where there is a tendency to take undue risks because the costs are not borne by the party taking the risk. We should extend the concept to war.

In 1941 and 1942 the attacking forces faced at least as much risk as those being attacked. This was true at Pearl Harbor, at Bataan and Corregidor, in the Coral Sea, and at Midway. And countless other battles.

It is usually not true of the political leaders who order a country to war. They do not bear the risks of the military forces.

The equation of risk becomes distorted forever when attacks are conducted from halfway around the world by those who sit in front of computers and direct robotic drones to destroy targets and people. It is the inhabitants of target areas who bear the risk.

Is this a kind of moral risk we are willing to take?

As a professional military officer, I always wanted to minimize the risk to my own sailors. At what point does this kind of planning cross a moral divide?

Apart from moral considerations, we may need to think about the message we convey. Is the message that our cause is not worth risking an American life? If so, we should say so. But we need to ask ourselves the question - if a cause is not worth dying for, is it worth killing for?

Is America Exceptional? "Not So Much"- E.L. Doctorow

Here are today's thoughts by the author E.L. Doctorow on the issue of American Exceptionalism. Or how to achieve unexceptionalism. He seems to think we have already accomplished that.

On Service

I don't remember when it started, but I was startled the first time someone, on finding that I was retired military, said: "thank you for your service."

I understood that the person who said it was sincere, and meant it respectfully, but it made me uncomfortable all the same. Ever since, I have tried to understand the source of my discomfort.

I just finished reading Drift by Rachel Maddow, and I think I now understand why such statements make me uncomfortable. It implies that military service or, perhaps more broadly any kind of public service is an extraordinary thing. According to Ms. Maddow, in today's America, only one percent of adults have served in the military.

It was not that way in the America in which I grew up. Service was taken for granted. Every young man was subject to military service, and public service in general was viewed in a positive light. A half century ago, President Kennedy told an entering class at the Naval Academy, "I can imagine a no more rewarding career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'"

But America's youth in those days were inspired to serve their fellow citizens in other ways as well. Young people flocked to the newly-created Peace Corps and recent college graduates actively sought positions in government service.

Like their predecessors who struggled to bring America  out of the Great Depression and who served victoriously in World War II (Tom Brokaw called them the Greatest Generation), this new generation chose to serve in a cause greater than themselves.

Would that those of us who remember those times can inspire our latest generation of Americans to such service.

Rights And Obligations

Our public discourse might be greatly improved if each of us were to give greater effort and support to the rights of others than to our own. And if we were to give greater emphasis to our own duties and obligations than to those of others; that would also be a good thing.

Just a thought.

How To Hold Water

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. \

John W. Gardner

All Politics Is Local - Pamlico County Version

Last night's meeting (Feb. 20) of the Pamlico County Commissioners failed to adopt a measure to join adjoining counties in hiring a lobbyist to work the state legislature for repeal of the Ferry toll. The vote was a tie - three commissioners for (Mele, Heath and Delamar) and three opposed (Spain, Brinson and Ollison). Commissioner Holton was absent for only the third time in the past ten years.

The commission also failed to adopt a motion to allow the County Attorney to expend up to $5,000 to research legal issues connected with a possible law suit, including the issue of whether the county has standing to file such a suit. That motion failed by the same vote.

How could that happen? One reason may be that residents of the three districts represented by Mr. Spain, Mr. Brinson and Mr. Ollison don't believe that they are affected by the tolls. I believe no one from those three districts spoke out against the tolls at last week's public hearings.

Representation in this country has always been based on geography. That is, representatives were supposed to represent the interests of the constituents in their own districts, not necessarily the population at large. This has been true from as early as 1750, when the phrase "no taxation without representation" was first used. The Parliament contended that they provided "virtual representation" to all subjects of the crown, wherever they lived. Americans rejected that view. We still do.

So don't expect members of any elected body to represent the general welfare of the entire municipality, county, state or nation instead of the welfare of the district from which they were elected. It isn't in our genes.

Political Scholar Richard Neustadt made the point decades ago (during the Kennedy administration) that the challenge of alliance diplomacy was to convince enough people and the right people on the other side that what we want to accomplish is what is also in their interest. It seems to me this principle applies to all politics and diplomacy if anything is ever to be accomplished.

Let Us Now Praise Eccentrics

My recent comments on eccentrics has drawn a response. Just to avoid misunderstanding, I am not opposed to eccentrics. The late Mr. Faulkner himself (who I used to encounter strolling the streets of Oxford, MS.) might be described as eccentric. At least unconventional. In some circles, my own status as a non eccentric is at least in dispute. By the way, I am impressed at the picture of Mr. Faulkner's sailboat on Sardis Lake, gliding along above the former wildlife habitat of the Tallahatchie bottom, where William Faulkner once hunted bears.

Respect Your Betters

I was not quite four years old when I was introduced to the culture of the South. I had been raised in Oklahoma by Texans. I spent a number of my growing up years in Florida and Mississippi, but I really was a westerner, not a southerner.

My Mississippi grandmother tried valiantly to correct my deficiencies by teaching me to show proper respect for my elders, and also to show respect for my "betters."

Betters, of course, were those distinguished by higher social position or wealth. I remember my grandmother paying her respects to the owner of the biggest local plantation by curtseying to him.

My grandmother's lessons never took. I had already learned at an early age that I was an American. I had equals, but no betters.

Has The President Been Reading Goethe?

See below.