"One More Road" and "Yesterday was Judgment Day" - The Flatlanders
- So magical Mitch Daniels will not seek the Republican nomination for the presidency. All of the middle-of-the-roaders who were looking to the charisma-challenged governor of Indiana to ride to their rescue will be sorely disappointed. Daniels, in the time honored tradition, attributed his decision to his family's wishes. I wonder to what degree his decision was informed by 1) his own sense that Obama will actually be very difficult to beat; 2) concern that his arrest for drug possession in 1971 and his split in 1994 with his wife (who subsequently was married, divorced and remarried Daniels) would have been used to pound him in the early Republican primaries; and 3) perhaps an understanding that another four years removal from his role as Bush's OMB chief, when the nation went from surplus to what Republicans are now characterizing as ruinous debt, may be beneficial. Oh yeah, plus not having to run against that Obama guy.
- I had dinner Friday night with a friend who is a recently retired career IMF employee. She was not the least bit surprised about the allegations against Dominique Strauss Kahn. She also mentioned the immense wealth of Anne Sinclair, Kahn's wife, indicating that they had purchased a home on Georgetown's Dumbarton Street -- a stunningly high dollar location -- with the proceeds from the sale of one of the paintings in Sinclair's impressive art collection. I guess this is why DSK could raise $1 million in cash, plus another $5 million bond, plus security guards in order to obtain bail. This take, by the way, on it being easier for low wage, low status women to go against rich and powerful men in terms of criminal conduct like rape, or in the arena of sexual harassment, strikes me as preposterous in the extreme. Penelope Trunk, who asserts this claim, seems to have shockingly little understanding of what it is like to be a low wage worker, particularly in a bad economy -- she also completely ignores how the vulnerability associated with such an economic position is exacerbated by things like being a cultural outsider, like the victim in this case -- an immigrant, an African, a Muslim, and a sole bread winner.for a family. These are not typically the characteristics of people who feel emboldened to challenge the rich and powerful. This article gives a much more informed view of the hazards faced by hotel housekeeping staff in their work.
- Good short piece in the Post today regarding truths and myths concerning American education.
- And for those who enjoy sports, two great pieces in the Times today about athletes present and past -- one on FC Barcelona's extraordinary Lionel Messi, the little 23-year old Argentine soccer wizard. Messi was an incredibly good but profoundly undersized 13-year old, when FC Barcelona ageed to pay for expensive human growth hormone treatment that helped him attain an alleged 5'7" in stature -- I am guessing it is more like 5'5" -- but at any height this guy is one of the wonders of the athletic world. A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing FC Barcelona at their fabulous home field, Camp Nou, but was deeply disappointed that Messi sat out with an injury. I hope I get a chance to see him there some day. And a nice piece about former Minnesota Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, who passed away the other day after a bout with cancer. I had the pleasure of seeing Killebrew play live at Fenway Park in 1969 when I was nine years old. In batting practice that day, he hit some prodigious shots over the left field wall -- I can't remember what he did during the game, but that year he led the league with 49 home runs, 140 runs batted in, 145 walks, and an on-base percentage of .427. He led the American League in home runs on six occasions and hit 40 or more homers eight times in a twelve year span --very, very impressive stuff from the pre-steroid era -- indeed an era in which pitchers dominated hitters for the most part. He was by all accounts a lovely and gracious man, who made a point of making a public announcement that he was beginning hospice care at the end of his illness, evidently something in which he was a big believer..
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