Yep, I’m a trekkie. Not the kind with ears or a uniform, but the devoted fan who watches the different series and used to win an occasional trivia contest (admittedly long ago.) But something struck me today as I was eating my Jimmy John’s sub and watching Star Trek: Enterprise (see, I am a fan.)
We all know that Vulcans are characterized by highly-developed rational thought and suppressed emotions. Also, their culture is very traditional – one might even say conservative: prejudiced to the past, cautious to action, and fiercely protective of traditional ways. And we’re all good with that, right? Noble characteristics paired with heightened reason, logic and devotion to rationality. But does life really work that way? Not on this planet.
What happens to societies that are based upon rationality? [Author's note: I'm talking on a macro level, not judging individual behaviors.] During and after The Enlightenment, much was written about such societies descending into chaos, unbridled passion, and wickedness. Unchecked rationality would lead to the sin of Pride; man’s vanity would abandon Providential law and destroy order. This notion really picked up steam as the Jacobins revolted and started beheading people.
So, what should Vulcan society really look like? It strikes me that they would be kind of like teens: early adopters, experimenters and artists. Vulcans would be ready to reinvent themselves as conditions change, in accordance with their logic. Their architecture would be cutting-edge and they’d probably have an awesome fashion sense, as well. And while they might not be huge fun at a party, you’d always be at their house because it would be the coolest of all your friends. Just sayin’…
I have a lot of family in small towns who don’t understand my love of big cities: the trash, the noise, the people everywhere. But where else can you do so much in so little time? My trip to NYC last week is a great example: awesome food, theater and friends in a non-stop, 40-hour package.
First stop, The Spotted Pig. I discovered this place about a year ago on the television. April Bloomfield, the chef/owner, was featured on Iron Chef America and the secret ingredient was olive (yecch.) She beat Bobby Flay and was so creative I vowed to check out her place. The Spotted Pig is a gastropub in the West Village that fills up fast after work. We arrived about six o’clock on Friday and waited about 30 minutes for a table. The place buzzes; I even met a young man from London at the bar who told me he had flown to NYC for a meal with his old girlfriend at this favorite place.
We were seated upstairs, where there’s a dining area and second bar. As you can see, the colors and decor are vibrant. The food is a mixture of British public house fare and culinary imagination; you won’t feel bored reading the menu (which changes frequently.) All of us are cocktail drinkers, so I can’t comment on the beers, but I can recommend that you start with the shoestring fries. They’re fried in duck fat. Even a vegetarian will love them. Another must-have side dish is the roasted Brussels Sprouts, dripping in butter and with the right amount of charring. Brian and Laura had the Skate wing special which they both loved, while I had the beef tongue. I haven’t eaten tongue since my youth, but this was cosmic. As you can see from my lame photograph, the plate was beautiful and full of flavors. All I can tell you is don’t be afraid; my meal was so good I’m still talking about it: roasted beets, fingerling potatoes in duck fat, cream and dill over a silky meat. Wow. [Author's note: I did improve my eating habits during the rest of the trip.]
Next stop, Fuerza Bruta, a great theatrical performance that was thoroughly enjoyable if not explainable. Mixing elements of dance, rave, and performance art, we stood in the theater for about an hour and were repeatedly fascinated by the combinations of sound, light, texture and dance. While the still photographs don’t do it justice, they are better than my words. Rock on…
I have no idea what this means, but I found it on a Facebook post about buying American products.
“We gotta reboot, patriotic fragrance, Knowing that in reality, this is God”s own Land! The nicest Steak of a pelican. Also to certainly bear in mind that, in our midst and over all, there are elements of discord.” — Oluwafemi Adedayo Fischer
I’ve been reading “The Conservative Mind” recently, a seminal history of conservative thought by the late Russell Kirk. It profiles and catalogues a number of great thinkers, including the Irishman Edmund Burke, John Adams, and John Randolph. Not only is it good to revisit their writings, but it highlights just how far our political thought has drifted in the past two centuries – or fifty years, for that matter.
Conservatism, as Burke writes, is characterized by a number of principles, including a belief in transcendent [God's] law, a prejudice towards tradition, and a responsibility to provide future generations with a positive legacy (sort of like the Boy Scout pledge to leave places nicer than when you found them.) It is a fairly simple process: tradition and prejudice allow us to preserve the past and maintain a connection to our ancestors, while stewardship communicates our precious cultural intelligence to posterity, thus insuring continuity.
So what does that mean for environmentalism? Listening to today’s conservatives, you would think that doctrine prescribes plundering resources for the benefit of corporate benefactors, campaign coffers, and consumers. Interestingly, Burke speaks to the subject directly in Reflections:
One of the first and most leading principles on which the commonwealth and its laws are consecrated, is lest the temporary possessors and life-renters in it, unmindful of what they have received from their ancestors, or of what is due to their posterity, should act as if they were the entire masters; that they should not think it among their rights to cut off the entail, or commit waste on the inheritance, by destroying at their pleasure the whole original fabric of their society; hazarding to leave to those who come after them a ruin instead of a habitation – and teaching these successors as little to respect their contrivances, as they had themselves respected the institutions of their forefathers.
While environmentalism has recently become associated with tree-hugging progressives, we should be reminded that trashing our inheritance – God’s bounty – goes against the very conservative principles of prejudice and tradition. This is firm, common ground on which all Americans can work together.
And, speaking of working together on the environment, Congress is considering adjustments to the Clean Water Act which, among other things, would strictly limit the dumping of toxic wastes into small streams (thank you conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.) These streams feed our rivers and lakes, which are the source of drinking water for a sizable portion of the population. Contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them to support the Clean Water Restoration Act, or S.787. If they have an “R” behind their name, feel free to remind them of Edmund Burke!
I was channel-surfing during lunch today when I came across Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, interviewing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Ryan is the House’s ranking Republican on the Committee On The Budget. I’m not going to get into his policies here, because this post is about what a sloppy journalist Andrea Mitchell has become.
The discussion was on the budget, and healthcare. Ryan asserted that Republicans had been shut out of the healthcare debate, and their ideas are not incorporated:
tort reform will lead to cost controls;
insurance companies should be able to compete across state lines;
small employers should be able to join exchanges, or larger pools to achieve negotiating power;
preventing the takeover of the healthcare industry by government bureaucracy.
During this entire talking-point tirade, Ms. Mitchell didn’t once point out that all of these ideas are in the two bills waiting to be reconciled, incorporated by bipartisan committees due to the willingness of Democrats to negotiate. And while she did point out that the public option had been killed, so therefore his last point was unfair, she let him continue to spout that regulation would create a de facto government takeover by forcing private industry to behave. Wow.
I know that news isn’t what it used to be, and “reporters” are under tremendous pressure to let their guests spew crap without challenge, but that prompts me to ask: “If all the host has to do is provide a platform for talking points, then why do they have to be experienced and highly paid?”
Here’s a really cool video to watch today: a simulation of what it would be like to travel through a black hole (assuming you aren’t torn to individual atoms by the gravitational shearing.) Thanks to Jonathan Turley for noticing.
I swear, I’m both intrigued and repelled by the way our society latches on to contentious issues. It’s just a train wreck.
A Supreme Court challenge to Chicago’s gun control law was announced recently. Most likely titled McDonald v. Chicago, it will attempt to leverage last year’s decision regarding Washington, D.C. Not being a fan of handguns myself, I am not your typical gun control advocate. That said, the thought of abundant, unregulated handguns in our country makes me queasy.
It seems like the Left could learn something from the Right’s tactical plan on abortion rights. The two issues are somewhat similar: both are constitutionally protected, both have vociferous opponents, and it can be effectively argued that banning both would benefit members of society. However, I am a protector of liberty, despite what the Right might say about me, and if having the State make choices about reproduction makes me nervous, then granting them the same power over firearms does, too. The question then becomes, what power does the State have to protect its citizenry?
Below are my suggestions for regulating handguns. With abortion, the Right has been forced to accept that they can be done legally. That hasn’t stopped them from making the procedure so difficult to obtain. These tactics should be directly applied to handgun regulation, and the Left should make the public case that there is no difference between the two.
Require all handguns sold or imported into the United States to be “fingerprinted” by law enforcement. Ballistic patterns should be recorded in a database and the expense born by gun owners.
Increase the qualifications necessary to sell or broker firearms, and definitely close the gun show loophole.
Since the right to bear arms is federally protected, Congress should pass a strict qualification protocol for handgun owners. Successful completion would be requisite for mandatory licensing. The NRA always goes on and on about how safe handguns are in the hands of trained owners; we need to leverage that claim.
Violations of handgun statutes should be met with criminal and civil penalties. It should be easy for a victim of a handgun crime to attach property.
Require license renewals on a frequent basis.
I agree with your right to own a handgun, but an ordered society requires responsibility, which comes in the form of competence and deliberation. If you want to own a Walther PPK – which exists for no other reason than to kill a human being – then I think you should attend six weeks of firearms training and pass a stringent test, just like a police candidate would do. I think you should publish the ballistic fingerprint of your weapon as well as pay a significant licensing fee. Otis McDonald made it clear that his shotgun was inadequate for killing neighborhood thugs, thus anchoring his complaint against Chicago. The rest of us also deserve protection against him and others, who are comfortable wielding such power.
Need a fabulous drink idea that can be assembled in no time at all? I tried this vodka at the store yesterday, and was so pleased I bought a fifth.
Ku:l vodka is imported from Poland, and I’m told that it’s distilled five times. I don’t know if that statement is accurate, but the results are good: smooth, non-astringent, perfectly good over ice. And all for under $11!
So, for the perfect cocktail, follow these simple instructions: twist cap, pour into glass, add ice. For the flamboyant drinker, feel free to add a lemon twist or tomolive.
Litmus tests are all the rage these days, especially as the GOP attempts to purify its ideologues. So I thought I would create my own test for you to see where on the political spectrum you fall. Feel free to report your score at the bottom.
Would you buy a tube of toothpaste if you thought it contained diethylene glycol, a poisonous substance?
Would you invest your money in a company that was allowed to hide liabilities in financial instruments that are not reflected on its balance sheet?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider supporting the GOP. In each of these situations, Republicans have worked hard to block reforms that would protect citizens from the abuses reported. Remember, the Wild West may have been lawless and “free”, but people didn’t live very long.
We all know that Vulcans are characterized by highly-developed rational thought and suppressed emotions. Also, their culture is very traditional – one might even say conservative: prejudiced to the past, cautious to action, and fiercely protective of traditional ways. And we’re all good with that, right? Noble characteristics paired with heightened reason, logic and devotion to rationality. But does life really work that way? Not on this planet.
