Monday, August 10, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Lamar Alexander will vote for Sotomayor!
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Republican Senate Conference, announced today that he will vote for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. He says he will back Sotomayor even though he believes her judicial and political philosophy is different from his.
"Courts were never intended to be political bodies composed of judges 'on your side' who would reliably tilt your way in controversial cases," he said in a speech this morning on the Senate floor. "Courts are supposed to do just the opposite: decide difficult cases with impartiality."
Wow! My hat off to him!
"Courts were never intended to be political bodies composed of judges 'on your side' who would reliably tilt your way in controversial cases," he said in a speech this morning on the Senate floor. "Courts are supposed to do just the opposite: decide difficult cases with impartiality."
Wow! My hat off to him!
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Hindus: An Alternative History - Wendy Doniger
There's a new book out this year by the western doyenne of South Asian Studies, Wendy Doniger. It's called "The Hindus: An Alternative History". This thread may turn out to be my syncopated musings as I read it.
You want non-fiction to be written by an outsider, who can be neutral and dispassionate and can see the forest despite the trees.
But you want non-fiction to also be written by an insider, who has the intimacy and the lifelong and visceral understanding, and can see the individual trees as they should be seen despite the forest.
Unfortunately, you can't have both.
Doniger, IMO, clearly suffers from the limitations of an outsider, despite her scholarship/erudition. So many examples! Starting with a map of the subcontinent “from 2500 BC to 600 CE” in which Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, etc., compete with Gandhara, Mithila, Videha, Magadha, etc.!
Another example, from linguistics: She starts, “Many modern Indian languages often drop the final short a of the Sanskrit, so Rama becomes Ram, Hastinapura becomes Hastinapur.” So far, so good. Then she says: “Dharma often becomes Dharam.” When Dharma becomes Dharam, it is NOT an instance of the phenomenon she's talking about earlier, of dropping the final short "a". What it is, requires a fairly basic understanding of linguistics which she, as a Sanskrit scholar, must possess.
Some writers writing about arcane subjects for the general audience try to liven up the discourse with irreverent, humorous examples and anecdotes from common life. Steven Pinker does it marvelously in all his books about linguistic psychology. Doniger also tries to do it but more often than not it comes out horrible. For example:
“This book attempts to set the narrative of religion within the narrative of history, as a linga (emblem of the god Shiva, often representing his erect phallus) is set in a yoni (the symbol of Shiva's consort, or the female sexual organ) …”
What on earth is the point of this simile, other than to egregiously drag in a sensational topic grotesquely (where it doesn't help make any point at all)? Is this the propensity of Doniger's to harp on sex that some of her critics have mentioned?
Or this: In describing the Sanskritization phenomenon (i. e., the seeping of Vedic social values, Vedic rituals and Sanskrit learning into local popular culture), Doniger says, “Indian society is a permanent floating game of snakes and ladders (or, perhaps, snakes and ropes, recalling that Vedantic philosophers mistake snakes for ropes and that you can climb on ropes in the Indian rope trick).”
Shivalinga and rope tricks? Remember, this isn't a provincial western ignoramus's musings about India, limited to elephants and rope tricks and suttee and a couple other things; it is Wendy Doniger, the renowned Hinduism scholar writing about India! And all this in the Preview chapter!
When I get farther into the book, I hope to be able to list some positive examples of her incisiveness and her ability to weave a whole bunch of small narratives into a whole. But so far it's not looking great.
You want non-fiction to be written by an outsider, who can be neutral and dispassionate and can see the forest despite the trees.
But you want non-fiction to also be written by an insider, who has the intimacy and the lifelong and visceral understanding, and can see the individual trees as they should be seen despite the forest.
Unfortunately, you can't have both.
Doniger, IMO, clearly suffers from the limitations of an outsider, despite her scholarship/erudition. So many examples! Starting with a map of the subcontinent “from 2500 BC to 600 CE” in which Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, etc., compete with Gandhara, Mithila, Videha, Magadha, etc.!
Another example, from linguistics: She starts, “Many modern Indian languages often drop the final short a of the Sanskrit, so Rama becomes Ram, Hastinapura becomes Hastinapur.” So far, so good. Then she says: “Dharma often becomes Dharam.” When Dharma becomes Dharam, it is NOT an instance of the phenomenon she's talking about earlier, of dropping the final short "a". What it is, requires a fairly basic understanding of linguistics which she, as a Sanskrit scholar, must possess.
Some writers writing about arcane subjects for the general audience try to liven up the discourse with irreverent, humorous examples and anecdotes from common life. Steven Pinker does it marvelously in all his books about linguistic psychology. Doniger also tries to do it but more often than not it comes out horrible. For example:
“This book attempts to set the narrative of religion within the narrative of history, as a linga (emblem of the god Shiva, often representing his erect phallus) is set in a yoni (the symbol of Shiva's consort, or the female sexual organ) …”
What on earth is the point of this simile, other than to egregiously drag in a sensational topic grotesquely (where it doesn't help make any point at all)? Is this the propensity of Doniger's to harp on sex that some of her critics have mentioned?
Or this: In describing the Sanskritization phenomenon (i. e., the seeping of Vedic social values, Vedic rituals and Sanskrit learning into local popular culture), Doniger says, “Indian society is a permanent floating game of snakes and ladders (or, perhaps, snakes and ropes, recalling that Vedantic philosophers mistake snakes for ropes and that you can climb on ropes in the Indian rope trick).”
Shivalinga and rope tricks? Remember, this isn't a provincial western ignoramus's musings about India, limited to elephants and rope tricks and suttee and a couple other things; it is Wendy Doniger, the renowned Hinduism scholar writing about India! And all this in the Preview chapter!
When I get farther into the book, I hope to be able to list some positive examples of her incisiveness and her ability to weave a whole bunch of small narratives into a whole. But so far it's not looking great.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Mercy Mercy Me
Is there a more melancholy yet beautiful ode to the environment than this Marvin Gaye song?
Woo ah, mercy mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east
Woo mercy, mercy me, mercy father
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury
Ah oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Radiation under ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na na...
My sweet Lord... No
My Lord... My sweet Lord
And here's a really interesting new take on it by the chamelion-like musician Susan Werner, from her new album "Classics".
Woo ah, mercy mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east
Woo mercy, mercy me, mercy father
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury
Ah oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Radiation under ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na na...
My sweet Lord... No
My Lord... My sweet Lord
And here's a really interesting new take on it by the chamelion-like musician Susan Werner, from her new album "Classics".
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Stupider Than Limbaugh
Can anyone with human DNA be stupider than Thrush Limbaugh, you ask.
Turns out, the answer is Yes!
The story is fully reproduced here, because it's wildly and darkly funny in the same manner as every one of Limbo's utterances:
(CNN) -- A man accused of making threatening statements about killing President Obama has been arrested in Nevada, the Secret Service said Saturday.
Daniel James Murray was arrested Friday night in the parking lot of the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, said Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley.
Murray recently withdrew $85,000 from a bank in St. George, Utah, in two separate visits and told a teller, "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Utah.
According to the complaint, Murray opened an account at Zions First National Bank on May 19 with an $85,000 check.
"With all this mess going on under President Obama with banks and the economy, I'm sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths," he said, according to the complaint.
On May 27, he returned to the bank and tried to withdraw $12,000, but lacked proper identification.
"Not to be disrespectful, but if I don't get this money, someone is going to die," Murray said, according to the complaint.
A bank manager was summoned and Murray was allowed to withdraw the money without proper identification.
Murray would not accept a check and demanded bills no larger than $50, the complaint says.
"We are 94 million miles from the sun, and are in-between the sun and moon, and the eagle that flies between them and it's a giant step for mankind. ... I have traveled thousands of miles to be here and know things that are going to happen. ... the banking system will fail and people will die. ... there will be chaos in the world," Murray said, according to the complaint.
He then made his threat against the president, the complaint says.
The next day, Murray returned to the bank, withdrew the rest of his money and closed the account, a bank teller told authorities.
Turns out, the answer is Yes!
The story is fully reproduced here, because it's wildly and darkly funny in the same manner as every one of Limbo's utterances:
(CNN) -- A man accused of making threatening statements about killing President Obama has been arrested in Nevada, the Secret Service said Saturday.
Daniel James Murray was arrested Friday night in the parking lot of the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, said Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley.
Murray recently withdrew $85,000 from a bank in St. George, Utah, in two separate visits and told a teller, "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Utah.
According to the complaint, Murray opened an account at Zions First National Bank on May 19 with an $85,000 check.
"With all this mess going on under President Obama with banks and the economy, I'm sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths," he said, according to the complaint.
On May 27, he returned to the bank and tried to withdraw $12,000, but lacked proper identification.
"Not to be disrespectful, but if I don't get this money, someone is going to die," Murray said, according to the complaint.
A bank manager was summoned and Murray was allowed to withdraw the money without proper identification.
Murray would not accept a check and demanded bills no larger than $50, the complaint says.
"We are 94 million miles from the sun, and are in-between the sun and moon, and the eagle that flies between them and it's a giant step for mankind. ... I have traveled thousands of miles to be here and know things that are going to happen. ... the banking system will fail and people will die. ... there will be chaos in the world," Murray said, according to the complaint.
He then made his threat against the president, the complaint says.
The next day, Murray returned to the bank, withdrew the rest of his money and closed the account, a bank teller told authorities.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Same Sex Marriage
It looks as though the will of the people triumphed today -- however wrong it may be. That's what democracies are about -- Power to the People.
Gays in civil unions retain all the rights enjoyed by married couples; they just can't call it marriage.
Until the people say they can.
A couple more years, and I'll bet we can reverse Prop 8.
Gays ran an effete campaign to defeat Prop 8. They're getting to live with its rewards now. Hope they learn from their mistakes the next time around.
Gays in civil unions retain all the rights enjoyed by married couples; they just can't call it marriage.
Until the people say they can.
A couple more years, and I'll bet we can reverse Prop 8.
Gays ran an effete campaign to defeat Prop 8. They're getting to live with its rewards now. Hope they learn from their mistakes the next time around.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Master Orator in British Parliament
Bravo! Bravissimo!
Runs circles around Obama, IMO! And he's only talking from brief notes; no monitors.
Now, if we had a GOP opponent who was capable of anything like this, we'd have a viable two party system. Instead we have Rush-to-judgment Limbo and the Obsequious Wimps making up what passes for conservative opposition.
Runs circles around Obama, IMO! And he's only talking from brief notes; no monitors.
Now, if we had a GOP opponent who was capable of anything like this, we'd have a viable two party system. Instead we have Rush-to-judgment Limbo and the Obsequious Wimps making up what passes for conservative opposition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
