Saturday, February 28, 2004

Oversight? Nope, Overlooked and Well Greased

Read this story. I would like to say, “Can you imagine?,” but knowing individuals’ proclivities to milk the system for maximum gain, I cannot.  Pay particular attention within the story to the I’m getting mine so what’s the big deal attitude.

Via Mike Soja, a new contributor to No Treason.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 08:00 AM
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Mano y Mano

I don’t follow wrestling but after reading “Wrestle Mania," published in Sports Ilustrated, I almost think I should.  This is not a feel good sport where “everybody plays.” The story focuses on Iowans who seem to excel in this grappling, individual undertaking.  I loved this comment from the article.

"Why does wrestling have such a grip on Iowans? “Because we’re good at it!” says Andy Grove, a sportswriter and former high school wrestler. “Most eighth-place winners in this tournament would probably win in, say, Michigan, but they’d prefer to get eighth here."

Now that’s a positive attitude.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 07:49 AM
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Diversity and The Welfare State

The Guardian publishes a long essay by David Goodhart titled "Discomfort of Strangers." It’s a two parter, and long, but makes for interesting early morning reading.

Part I.  Part II. A couple of quotes to draw you in.

"The diversity, individualism and mobility that characterise developed economies - especially in the era of globalisation - mean that more of our lives is spent among strangers. Ever since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago, humans have been used to dealing with people from beyond their own extended kin groups. The difference now in a developed country such as Britain is that we not only live among stranger citizens but we must share with them. We share public services and parts of our income in the welfare state, we share public spaces in towns and cities where we are squashed together on buses, trains and tubes, and we share in a democratic conversation - filtered by the media - about the collective choices we wish to make. All such acts of sharing are more smoothly and generously negotiated if we can take for granted a limited set of common values and assumptions. But as Britain becomes more diverse that common culture is being eroded."

and

"Negotiating the tension between solidarity and diversity is at the heart of politics. But both left and right have, for different reasons, downplayed the issue. The left is reluctant to acknowledge a conflict between values it cherishes; it is ready to stress the erosion of community from “bad” forms of diversity, such as market individualism, but not from “good” forms of diversity, such as sexual freedom and immigration. And the right, in Britain at least, has sidestepped the conflict, partly because it is less interested in solidarity than the left, but also because it is still trying to prove that it is comfortable with diversity."

Via J. Bowen at No Watermelons Allowed who linked to this via Dustbury.com.

Update: And on a related note, “The Sinking Lifeboat Uncontrolled Immigration & the U.S. Health Care System." Hattip to Greg Ransom at PrestoPundit for the link.

Reminder, it isn’t the immigration, it’s the handouts.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 05:17 AM
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Robert Johnson, Singing the Blues?

Karen DeCoster points to a NYT piece on the Blues which delves into the possibly overblown homage paid to Robert Johnson.  Karen’s post is titled “Revisionism and the Blues."

In regards to Johnson, personally, I think he must’ve made a bad deal with the devil since he was only around a short while.

Update: Accompaniment “Lines End Blues" WJBIII, 1992.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 04:47 AM
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What if You Had to Pay for it Yourself?

Jonathon Wilde excerpts and points to a Radley Balko piece at FOX News and a post by Andy Duncan at Samizdata. The first sentence from Jonathon’s accompanying comments.

"Any free society requires an individual to bear the consequences of his behavior; otherwise, it’s not a free society. This simple fact escapes the logic of most government intervention."

All links guaranteed non-fattening and non-carcinogenic.  You may need your blood pressure medicine, though.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 04:35 AM
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Starting the Day

Billy Beck posts “Notes on "Witness".“

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 04:27 AM
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