Daily Comment: Shouting Toward South Carolina
Is what’s keeping at least some of the candidates in the race—or “the hunt,” as Huntsman called it—not the illusion of victory but the sheer joy of knocking things down? Grown men don’t have as many opportunities as they might to act like toddlers. This isn’t a train going to South Carolina or to anywhere in particular. It’s a set of careening bumper cars. The question, and not just for the Republican Party, is when it becomes a demolition derby. Also, one of the few points to emerge clearly in the debates this past weekend was that the candidates really don’t like each other. (Santorum, who ended up with nine per cent of the vote, would have done well to hide that a little better.) Grudges are great motivators.
- In today’s Daily Comment, Amy Davidson on why so many improbable candidates remain in the race: http://nyr.kr/xsip3y
Interesting…don’t necessarily agree with everything it says, but does make some good points
Saw this in the New Yorker and laughed.
Interestingly (at least I think so), this cartoon is juxtaposed with an amazing story of Jamaica’s war lord Christopher Coke and the massacre at Tivoli Gardens after the U.S. wanted to extradite him.
In the U.S., Coke stood charged in federal court of trafficking in narcotics and firearms; in Jamaica, he was known as the country’s most powerful “don,” a community leader who also runs a criminal enterprise. He lived in Tivoli, where everyone called him “president,” and, since 2001, Jamaican police had not been able to enter the neighborhood without his permission. Coke was so powerful that Prime Minister Bruce Golding spent months resisting the extradition order. But in early May, 2010, under heavy international political pressure, Golding authorized Coke’s arrest. In response, Coke converted Tivoli and nearby Denham Town into a personal fortress. Barricades of rubble and barbed wire sprang up across major intersections. Armed sentries took up posts around Tivoli’s perimeter. It looked as though Coke were preparing for war with the Jamaican state.
Seltzer…seltzer, indeed.
Love not only the outfits, but the set. It is so interesting: seems to me like it’s set to look like a feast for Marie Antoinette
(Source: jadoreprettythings)
EnLIGHTEN Bulb: “Commercialmas”
I bet anyone who reads this (including me) has consulted some sort of top ten gift list for this holiday season from sort of blog or magazine (Not gonna lie, Lucky has a great holiday list for this year, and it breaks it up into types of people and what they’d, truly impressed). Sadly, though, I still feel that cringe of Holiday Commercialism that just gets me ALL THE TIME. Like how AT&T, Walmart and so many other companies decided to just skip over Thanksgiving and roll out the holiday commercials on November 20th. What IS this madness?! I think what’s so sad about this whole thing is that religiously-focused people, like myself, could get sucked into it this year, just a little. Funny story: getting the other side of the story helped me so much more than simply avoiding it. Before, I used to hate Christmas, and I mean HATE it because everyone focused on gifts. It made me physically ill and I used to reply “nothing” when people asked me what I wanted to get. I hoped that doing this would send a clear message. This year, though, I decided to do something I had not done before: go shopping on Black Friday at midnight. I wanted to do it just out of pure fun, not so I can be the first one in line for a discounted, giant, flat-screen TV. After my sister, aunt, and I had a fun night of shopping, I realized that there was one specific reason why my two conflicting opinions seemed to come together and agree: I wanted to care about commercial products because my other friends and family would like receiving them, and I want to make them happy. However, I did not turn commercialist overnight because of this: the religious aspect will always trump the presents. However, I realize that while I should try to teach people what to focus on when it comes to Christmas, I shouldn’t feel bad wanting to get someone a gift they’d want if it means making them a little happier. Hey, we may not be able to buy happiness for the rest of our lives, but if a small gift brings a smile, why wouldn’t you do it? Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays to be politically correct ;) )
Steve was among the greatest of American innovators — brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. … And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.
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