Category: Uncategorized
Memorial Day 2014
What a spectacular Memorial Day. Crystal clear sky, pleasantly warm and getting ready for a bike ride to Arlington Cemetery with daughter Bridget.
As to the holiday, itself, I’ve always had mixed feelings. Fortunately, E.J. Dionne set me straight today in his column. He pointed out that Memorial Day is dedicated exclusively to the war dead. Veterans Day honors former soldiers both living and dead. I have no mixed feelings about honoring the dead. Continue Reading
A Turtle Taking a Walk
Living next to Rock Creek Park in Washington, I’m used to seeing various wildlife in my neighborhood. Deer are frequent visitors and we’ll see the occasional fox scoot across the street. And the birds! Oh, the birds. They start about 4 am and the house sounds like an aviary.
But here’s a new one. Rita noticed something on the sidewalk across the street from our house. It was a box turtle making his way down the street.
That was a first.
Obamacare Rises from the Politically Deadly
I’ve been thinking, and occasionally saying, that Obamacare will be a net benefit for Democrats in the midterm election. There is a growing chorus of speculation among the chattering class about this and they are saying it better than I could.
I particularly like Greg Sargent’s view in the context of the Arkansas race pitting Senator Mark Pryor against Rep. Tom Cotton.
And by the way, Cotton isn’t the only high profile GOP Senate candidate pulling a homina homina homina on his state’s Medicaid expansion. So is Scott Brown. And Thom Tillis’ gyrations on Obamacare repeal are similarly absurd. So clearly, this isn’t the uniform slam dunk issue Republicans claim it is. The scrutiny is entirely on how Democrats are handling Obamacare. But some attention should be paid to how Republicans handle the pitfalls of repeal going forward. Time to take another look at the conventional wisdom here.
Things could get very interesting in the Fall.
The Real Battle in the GOP
E.J. Dionne has an insightful piece in the Washington Post today reframing the battle within the Republican Party. Rather than describe the struggle as the tea party against the establishment, he points out that there are two establishments. When you look at where the money comes from to fund the tea party, it is difficult to portray them as a grassroots insurgency. Moreover, since the so-called “establishment” wing of the GOP has pretty much adopted the policy preferences of the tea party, as well as their loathing for negotiation with Democrats, it shows what the fight is really about. Power.
So, is this really the grass roots speaking to Washington? Or is it more accurately seen as a cadre of conservative groups, largely working out of Washington, rising up with a ton of cash to persuade voters to listen to them?
I would say the latter.
Winston Chases Deer
We are dog-sitting Winston, a tiny little dog who definitely competes above his weight class. Check out how he deals with some unwanted visitors in our yard.
The Company Song
I had a very nice business dinner in Beijing this week. It was a traditional Chinese banquet, with course after course of food and a lot of wine flowed. The highlight was when two of the woman attending sang the company song. They were described as PR staff, but I was told that their primary responsibility was to sing this song. As you can see, they are very accomplished.
Mass in Beijing
I attended Mass in Beijing at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in East Beijing. I’m not sure whether this church is approved by the Vatican, but the Mass was essentially the same as I would have seen at home.
The church was very historic, dating from the 1600’s. it was burned down and rebuilt a few times. It did have a modern touch. Big flat screen TVs hanging on the columns that projected the words of prayers and music. Good idea.
On big difference was the “enforcer,” a young man who stood next to the priest questioning people as they received Communion. Occasionally, the priest would get involved. Some were denied Communion and at least one woman had her Communion taken away after the priest gave it to her.
Another difference was the music. Most of it was familiar. But the processional and recessional hymns were, shall we say, unusual. The processional hymn was sung to the tune of Morning Has Broken, written by Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, noted follower of Ayatollah Khomenei. I don’t think his music is approved by the Vatican. But the recessional hymn tried to rock the house. The cantor announced that the “recessional hymn will be I Will Follow Him from the movie Sister Act.” I KNOW that is not approved for the liturgy.
Check it out:
A Month in China
I’m at Dulles Airport about to board a plane for a month in China for business. Will visit Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and, possibly, Mianyang. I’ve never spent more than four days in a row in China, so this will be quite the adventure. I hear July in Beijing is delightful….NOT.
Still, I am looking forward to visiting Shanghai for the first time. I’m particularly psyched about taking the high speed train there.
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