Kathrina Malik’s Neighborhood

The Professor and the Beauty Queen

DoctorD
7 hours ago
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Isn't that basically what American politics boils down to now? These two individuals are the most prominent representatives of their respective political parties, Democrats and Republicans--both organizations which have had a significant history and have made important contributions to our nation. Who is it we the people think can better manage our nation, provide leadership on the economy, for the military, for Congress, and on the world stage? And why?

They of approximately the same age: Obama was born in 1961, and Palin in 1964. They might have been in high school together. Both grew up in relative "backwaters," outside of the main stream. Both do look good on TV, practically a necessity since John F. Kennedy (although George W. Bush certainly lacked command of the medium).

I can understand why some people condemn Obama as being some sort of "elitist." He is smarter than they are (and smarter than me, too). But really, he is the embodiment of the American dream: humble beginnings, worked hard, got educated, became at least a minor league success, and then had his considerable talents recognized. He proves what we always say: that in some sense anyone can grow up to be the president of this great nation.

What about Palen? Well, she had her talents recognized too, although initially by a very much smaller group. She entered the presidential contest really as an unknown. But is she "elitist" too? Very few women enter beauty contests; few would have any hope of winning; and they aren't generally expected to have much to say about political issues (except that they support world peace or love furry animals). We watch them of course, they decorate nearly every magazine cover--and I watched part of the Victoria's Secret fashion show last night--and have been wondering which telecast attracted the larger audience, Obama's address concerning the Afghanistan situation or the lengthy parade of stylish, minimalistic underwear. I imagine the latter, actually.

Anyhow, being a beauty contestant is to be part of an elite, not available to most of us; just as is earning a Harvard Education a rare distinction.

The Secrets women were attractive, for sure--but I didn't spot any that I would like to have serve as Secretary of Defense or Treasury, Secretary of State, or even Postmaster General. Actually, it turned out that Ms. Palin (who made it clear that she doesn't know what the U.S. Vice President actually does, and that she doesn't bother to read about domestic or foreign affairs) wasn't interested in performing the job to which she was elected, and simply quit.

I don't really mean to be demeaning. My butt could use some firming up, too! Am I underestimating their abilities? Are there neurosurgeons or Supreme Court clerks among the models? Those questions weren't given much attention during the show.

I did notice that they hated to "lose." Some cried. It apparently means the world to them, to get to walk down that runway! And I bet Ms. Palin simply hated to lose--which is why now she is trying to blame everyone else in sight in "her" book.

Don't you believe that, if Obama had lost, he would have said it was his own fault? "I am the candidate, I call the shots. The buck stops here."

For Sarah, I think, it is all about the spotlight.

For Obama, it is all about the responsibility.

Whom do you want as your president? Which party makes the better choices concerning leadership?

1973 was "the last good year."

DoctorD
11 hours ago
2 comments

2009-12-03-warren34

In my mind, there are a handful of facts that everyone ought to know. Taking them in chronological order, the first is that agriculture and civilization were "invented" about 10,000 years ago. The second is that the American post-war baby boom last from 1946-1964, with the midpoint then being 1955. (You remember those good old days, don't you? That was the only year that the Brooklyn Dodgers won a world series. That also was when Ray Kroc opened a MacDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois--we drove by it just the other day. That was when "rock around the clock" was a smash hit, opening the door for a lot of other rock music). Back then, we were young, innocent, and hopeful. At least I was.

The third great and important fact is that, from the point of view of the participation of regular folks in the American economy, 1973 was the last good year. Here's why:

Throughout the post WWII period, an American working man could (on average) expect to get ahead financially as he got more job experience, aging and rising in seniority. However, the sad fact is that those wage gains ended (according to the best statistics available) in 1973. After that, family incomes did continue to rise--but only because so many households had two wage-earners. Wives had left the home for the office or factory. The graph on the left above tells that story.

This description is one of the most important facts of modern times, but it doesn't address a different but not unrelated trend--that most of the income growth of the last couple decades has been concentrated among the wealthiest Americans, and not the average Joe's and Jane's. The American Dream (short of winning the lottery) is, for most, really dead. Even with two incomes, which tend to be taken as a necessity. Getting an education, working hard, being responsible--those are no longer a route to "prosperity," or even to reasonable financial security.

If you want to read the article from which I clipped these graphs, see American Without a Middle Class, by Elizabeth Warren, who is the chair of the Congressional Panel that is trying to oversee the banking bailouts and a Professor of Law at Harvard. Her commentary is worth reading. Actually, it is worth sending to your friends. It might be worth memorizing.

"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer"--that's an old saying, but it wasn't especially applicable to the 1950s and 1960s, when not only was the American middle class advancing, but there also was a concerted effort to aid the most economically disadvantaged--especially the elderly, Appalachian whites, Deep Southern blacks, and inner city neighborhoods. That all changed around the time of the election of Ronald Reagan in late 1980: the goal of public policy came to be helping the very richest become richer still, and to let the middle class get suffer. That was when "homelessness" began to be a major national issue. Not hunger; that happened much sooner. Homelessness, not only of the mentally ill, but homelessness among families.

Some people are critical of governmental efforts--actually, I am certainly critical of the 40+-year failure to eliminate billboards, which was promised in 1965--but in this case the aim of public policy was in fact fully realized. The rich got richer. And, most interestingly, the Republican/Wall Street elite was able to figure out ways to get those who were most economically injured by their policies to vote in support of them on election day. And that is true still. Nice trick!

Of what was it said that there is one "born every minute?" Oh, I remember: a sucker. That's right: a sucker. If you are working class, or lower or middle middle class, and you are voting Republican, and opposing health care reform, or going to the "tea parties" to disrupt democratic discourse; if you are getting your perspective on the world from Fox News, if you think Sarah Palin might make a fine president--then you (sadly) are numbered among those very very numerous suckers.

And, partly because of you, you aren't likely to see a "good year" again for a very long time. Deservedly so. The country did itself tremendous disservice by supporting the Geo W. Bush administration through two whole terms. That, on top of what went on before, did damage that perhaps we can never recover from.

Barack Obama is black; he is your; his experience is definitely limited, and he is very moderate--not at all a radical, but predisposed to listening, to compromise, to bi-partisanship. Some may see these characteristics as weaknesses, as hesitancy, as over-cautiousness. But he is smart, and he is wise, and he really is our last best hope. And the people who got us into this multi-faceted mess lacked all reasonable caution and care.

Abe Lincoln said it: "My dream is of a place and time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth."

Anyhow, it is time for all of us to step up to the plate. It isn't just the time for patriotic spirit, for good followership of good leadership. It may well be the only time we have left.

Sorry to be so non-PC. Just telling it like it is. Was, and is.

And--next time you walk by someone on the street who is really, really obscenely wall-off, be sure to ask him to thank you. The money he or she is spending is money that, at one time in the past, would have deservedly been yours, your savings and your wages.

It's Official.

Bookmole
Yesterday
6 comments

Trouble has have moved into our house, and I need to know how to get it to move out!

Things you do not want a telephoning child to say - We have a problem. How do we turn off the water?

Things you do not want to find when you arrive home - Water pouring from the light fittings, the ceilings in general, flooding on the floor, discovering some of this water is hot.

Things it is quite nice to find when you get home - your three male children have managed to deal with a crisis without making it worse. And the dinner wasn't ruined either.

The boys were cooking dinner and went into the garden for a cigarette (as they are not allowed to smoke in the house). They took Heidi out, smoked their ciggies and chatted. 10 minutes, 15 max. When they got in, it was raining. Inside.

The massive leak was caused by a joint going in the piping from our hot water tank (middle floor bathroom) to our shower (top floor bathroom). Unfortunately for us, that water gets from A to B using a substantial pump. So it pumped and it pumped and it pumped.

The lads got the water turned off, having to move all Husband's quite heavy diving cylinders out of the way, they got towels and receptacles under leaks, they turned the dinner down so it didn't burn and they turned the lights off.

So, right now these are the things we do not have:

No lights downstairs - somehow, the light fittings did not appreciate water ~~dripping~~ ~~flooding~~ rushing over them.
No hot water to our lovely en-suite shower - but we do have cold, so the toilet flushes and we can clean our teeth (and sleep commando!)
No Internet - our hub was in the under-stairs cupboard, directly under the leak.

We need to decorate quite intensively - the stairwells, the under-stairs cupboard, downstairs toilet, computer room, hall, and dining room all suffered varying degrees of dampness, resulting in varying degrees of paper falling off and damage to the plaster.

Ah well, on Friday we find out how much of this our insurance will cover. Fingers crossed for us, please.

Computers for Christmas

DoctorD
Yesterday
2 comments

I've ended up buying two 13" MacBook Pro's, one first for my wife, and then one for my son.

But none for me! What is wrong with this picture?

Macbook Pro 13"

They are great computers, though. Top drawer. Both recipients are thrilled. (You can see I sometimes distribute presents early).

Two of my wife's children have 15" versions of the same basic computer. Larger screens are helpful for video work.

Sobering is the word. Also careful but determined.

DoctorD
Yesterday
2 comments

Here is the video and text of the President's address tonight. It is such a change to have a president speak who tries to lay out facts, to tell the truth, to assess risks and costs. To have a President who is capable of being an adult.

Exactly why did we attack Iraq anyhow? When that wasn't where our enemies were? I am trying to remember. I don't think there ever was a very good explanation offered.

One thing that struck me is how young the West Point cadets appear:

West Point cadets listening to Obama

(The photo is from USA Today, which I really have come to consider quite a good newspaper. We read it when we travel. Often it is distributed free at motels).

Pink Glove dance

DoctorD
2 days ago
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The daughter of a friend had some involvement in this effort!

Subaru playing in the snow

DoctorD
2 days ago
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This is an ad that has been running on tv lately. I am very interested in seeing how accurate, how representative, it is. We can get pretty significant snow around here, and our street is completely open to the winds from the west.

Also, I got the impression at the dealer that Subaru is a relatively small auto company, and doesn't advertise much. But it seems to me I have seen quite a few television ads lately. Or am I just noticing them more?

Books Read in 2009: Stephen King - Under the Dome

Bookmole
3 days ago
4 comments

Under the Dome

Stephen King

From the Cover:

It's a bright Autumn morning in the small town of Chester's Mill. Claudette Sanders is having a flying lesson and Dale Barbara is hitching a ride out of town. Neither make it to their destination...

Inexplicably, an invisible barrier had descended over the town. a woodchuck is chopped right in half; a gardener's hand is severed at the wrist; the plane explodes and Dale Barbara, Iraq war vet turned short-order cook, is forced to turn back into the town he so desperately needed to leave

As the residents speculate about what has cut them off from the rest of the world, the Army searches for an inside man. "Barbie" is put in charge. But Big Jim Rennie, the mad who holds the town in his powerful grip, has other plans. And the Dome could just be the answer to his political prayers.

As food, electricity and water run short and children start to have premonitions of a terrifying Halloween, Barbie is forced to take on Big Jim, and his renegade supporters. Now time is running out for those under the Dome. Can they find out what has created in before it's too late?

Stephen King's mesmerizing new masterpiece - his biggest, most riveting novel since The Stand - features spectacularly sinister characters and a terrifying phenomenon. Under the Dome is a high-octane thriller, an apocalyptic vision and a fascinating allegory on a tyrannical state of political darkness.

Loved it. It is mesmerizing, it is big and, after an initial hiccup a little way in, it is riveting. The speed of moral decay is frightening and the division between Law and Order scary beyond measure. Buy it. Borrow it from the library or a friend (I'm in Harrow, if you wanna borrow my copy) - whatever. Just read it. It is good.

Is winter here?

DoctorD
3 days ago
2 comments

We had ice on the little pond behind our house this morning. For the second time this year. Guess it got pretty cold overnight.

Wonder if the iPod in my car could freeze up? (It is a "classic," with a hard drive. I also have a Touch, but it is kept indoors).

They put tall little flags into the ground at many key points, to try to keep the snowplows from crossing lawns and knocking over mailboxes.

End of November, start of December--it does seem like about the time for a first snow. We will see.

Update on My Sucky Life

Bookmole
3 days ago
9 comments

Welcome to the House of Dying Appliances.

Dishwasher -

Dead and gone. Sadly, not actually gone - still waiting for the delivery of new Dishwasher and collection of old Dishwasher. This should have happened Saturday, but we have heard nothing. I hate Currys!

It died last week, so I have had a whole week of washing up for six people. Bugger that - now I remember exactly why I got a Dishwasher in the first place.

Fridge-Freezer -

As you know, this is not that old. So when the fan started making a terrible, grating whirring sound, we were worried. Fortunately this is still under Manufacturer's Warranty, so we just had to make a calll. Simple - well, no. Because my life does not suck enough. I phoned the Repair Line, told the nice lady all about my troubles, she said "OK I will put you through direct to the manufacturer's Repair Centre". But she screwed that up, and put me through to the Parts Department. No, I want an Engineer. So I call the Repair Line again, only to be told the computers had crashed, and to phone back later.

So I did. And the lady at LG said "What is the serial number of your fridge?"
Well, I do not know that.
"It will be on the left hand side" she said.
So I looked, and looked, and looked. And failed to find it.
"Well, I am very sorry", she said, "I must have that before I can book an Engineer Visit."

I was gutted. Than I liooked again and thought "Fuck - mayber I should get Left and Right tattooed on my hand"

That was on Thursday. All is good now - the man cam this morning and fixed the fan. Verdict - don't put so much in your freezer that air cannot circulate. Whoops! OK, I will be more careful in future.

Washing Machine -

This died Saturday morning, just as I put a load in. And we do all the washing for the six of us on Saturday / Sunday / Monday due to working the rest of the time. So I phoned my Washing Machine Repair Man, who said he should be able to do it Monday but he is having an operation on Tuesday. So I am waiting to hear from him. Fingers Crossed!

We had a shitload of washing - siz bags, and one laundry basket. I spent three hours at the laundrette (and may I say thank goodness for laundrettes!). It was so freaking BUSY in there, and hot. And expensive!

Vacuum Cleaner -

We bought this, and it was crap. You need training to use it properly and if I get the kids to vac, they break the band that turns the beater, so it stops being any good for pet hair. I finally said I must have a new one, when it, too, died. What is it with this house this past few weeks? Luckily, someone we know runs a business selling and maintaining professional vacuums (for hotels, conference centres, anywhere they use lots of cleaners and need them to be ready to use at all times). So he is selling us one, cheap, and we get it later today.

I hope the Appliance Killing Field leaves the area soon.