Picking Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee was a clever and gutsy thing for John McCain to do. I think he has just wrong-footed the Democrats on several levels. First, this choice looks bold and change-making in exactly the way Obama’s choice of Biden did not. Instead of a tired old pol with a history… Continue reading McCain makes a bold move
Month: August 2008
Why I hate identity politics
I was born with a congenital defect. That’s a value-free statement that nobody can conceivably insult me by repeating. It is a fact that I have cerebral palsy, probably caused by neonatal oxygen deprivation. It is a fact that my central nervous system (specifically the motor-control areas of my right temporal lobe) does not function… Continue reading Why I hate identity politics
A welcome outbreak of sanity
Instapundit links to this interesting news story: Texas school district lets teachers, staff pack pistols. While this is a step in the right direction, I think it does not go far enough. I think all teachers, day-care staff, and other adults in loco parentis for groups of children should be required to carry firearms on… Continue reading A welcome outbreak of sanity
Deducing From What Isn’t Reported
There are a couple of things we can deduce from what the national press is not reporting about the killing of Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney: The killer has no particular ties to the Republican Party or any other right-wing political organization. How do we know this? Because that is without question what the… Continue reading Deducing From What Isn’t Reported
The Great Skank Question
Monica Lewinsky. Rielle Hunter. I’d haul out the tired old Marx quote about history repeating itself as farce, but l’affaire Lewinsky was pretty farcical to begin with. As I looked at images of Hunter and Lewinsky, though, I was struck by a question: If power is, as is so often claimed, the ultimate aphrodisiac, why… Continue reading The Great Skank Question
George Lakoff Framed Himself
I’ve been a fan of George Lakoff’s writings on cognitive linguistics since reading Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things around 1990. Later, I observed his foray into political advocacy with increasing concern for him as the trajectory from expected savior to derided scapegoat became increasingly obvious. Now, the Chronicle of Higher Education gives us a retrospective,… Continue reading George Lakoff Framed Himself
On Enjoying a Fight – a Genetic Speculation
Sword Camp 2008 reminded me how much I enjoy fighting. I’m not speaking abstractly, here; by “fighting” I mean physical hand-to-hand combat. Now, on one level, this revelation shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows what I do for fun. I’ve trained to black belt level in tae kwon do, studied… Continue reading On Enjoying a Fight – a Genetic Speculation
Sword Camp 2008: Graduation Day, Day Seven
The final day of Sword Camp. We spent our morning learning advanced field medical techniques, up to and including learning how to suture a wound by stitching together a slash through the skin of a banana with actual surgical sutures. We also learned how to use a trach tube for clearing an airway in cases… Continue reading Sword Camp 2008: Graduation Day, Day Seven
Sword Camp 2008: Live Steel Day, Day Six
Live Steel Day arrived, and we spent the first half of the morning attacking a couch. This is a much less trivial exercise than it sounds. Couches are tough, full of padding and wood and springs and more difficult to cut than flesh. We had a tablefull of weapons — machetes, a parang, a couple… Continue reading Sword Camp 2008: Live Steel Day, Day Six