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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Published Letters: 210 Editor's Choice: 29
I produce a Shockwave Radio Theater here in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and have a large collection of odd songs. You've missed the most popular and (possibly) best song about airplanes: Snoopy vs. the Red Baron. In that album, the Royal Guardsmen also have a cut called "Airplane Song" which is pop but kinda fun. Also, there are two other songs in the Snoopy sequence.
Other famous airplane songs include "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter Paul and Mary (and the later take-off "Libyan On A Jet Plane" by Pinkard & Bowden"). Less famous is "The Stars Are Ours" by The Duras Sisters, all about the history of flight and "Airline Amy" by Weird Al Yankovic.
And a nod to "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll" by Bill Riley and his Little Green Men among many rocket and spaceship songs.
Far from a War on Christmas, I see a not-so-slow inundation of religion into more and more of society. The latest outrage: Dec. 24 is being held as sacred. Last year, a football game was scheduled for the afternoon (not evening), and the far-right went nuts. Christmas Eve is as much a religious holiday as Mardi Gras. That is, not at all. It's a family holiday, a secular bonding, in front of Midnight Mass (does Bill O'Reilly go to Midnight Mass? Just asking) and the next day's commercial gluttony. If someone thinks a football game is more important than their family, that shows the priorities of people who practice the religion. Nothing more.
Many businesses let employees off early that day, but it's not a requirement, either legal or moral. (Hmm... do outsourced workers get to go home early?)
Modern American Christmas celebration owes more to Charles Dickens than Jesus. The religous right should stop lying about others and stop lying to themselves. Perhaps they need to be told the penalties for bearing false witness.
As I was getting my morning cup of coffee, the clerk said, "Happy Holidays!" in a cheerful and bright manner than made me smile. Immediately, the grinch next to me ruined the mood. "Why is there such a war on Christmas? Why can't people use the correct name for the day?" And with a humph, he turned to leave , waving us off, "Have a nice day."
But... but... but... it was Wednesday! A day that is named after the Anglo-Saxon god Woden, the equivalent of the Scandinavian Odin. Jesus was a nice guy who would take pleasure in anyone spreading happiness, but Odin was a vengeful god. The War on Wednesday is a serious attack on European culture and we should protest loudly.
Good Wednesday, ladies and gentlemen.
The leadership of NOW is better than the leadership of the NRA, who often threatens violence against alected officials. But both of them have the tendency to, if you'll pardon the expression, jump the gun. The college player in question was charged with a serious crime, not convicted. If (and this is a big if) Nicholson is convicted and Paterno continues to defend him, then yes Paterno should resign. But merely defending one of his players, however poorly phrased, is admirable. Would Tosti-Vasey feel better if he had said, "AJ's a good kid. I don't think he did it."? I'm glad the issue is raised, since I'm sure this is the tip of an iceberg, but whether a crime has been committed has yet to be determined. (And if it turns out that Nicholson is not guilty, will Tosti-Vasey come down as hard on the woman for filing a false charge of assault?)
There was no increase in spending by the Soviet Union in response to Reagan's pork barrel Star Wars fancy. Indeed, the major increase in Soviet spending, pre-SDI, was in response to Jimmy Carter's military build-up and nuclear submarine tactics. As it turned out, the fall of the Soviet Union was precipitated by a labor union (Solidarity) and a military quagmire (Afghanistan), both of which owe more to Carter than Reagan. Reagan had a chance to eliminate nuclear weapons from both superpowers entirely when he met Gorbachev in Reykjavik, but at the last minute ran scared, keeping the Soviet military in power for several more years than it needed to be. At home, Red-Ink Ronnie flip-flopped on his campaign pledge to balance the budget, which didn't hurt the Soviet Union and only got the US in trouble, exacerbated by the massive deficits of Bush and Bush. Reagan could read a script just dandy, but he was a lousy president.
It's just another TV show says King. Unfortunately, it's been just another tv show for years, and that's bad. It's hard watching football on tv without a commercial killer very close at hand. At every break, for every replay, for every stadium, for every mention of anything, we are forced to sit through a commercial. We aren't "football fans", we are "the revenue stream". Today's commercial tv is about a third commercials. One of the great advantages of sports was continuous action. Now, it's no fun to watch the game because the game is so very rarely on. Expanding the number of days that football is on television won't do much harm in the short run, but will lead to the homogenization of teams, rivalries and eventually sports as a whole. More people will watch, but fewer people will care.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
