Posted on 07/07/2002 7:47:12 AM PDT by areafiftyone
New England Thunderstorms Last Wednesday, the second day of a three-day trip to Boston, I swallowed hard and took my impressionable boys on a tough-love tour of Harvards campus. Mrs. M wanted to scour the excellent array of nearby bookstores, and the kids had prioritized Newbury Comics on their own to-do list, so it wasnt as if there werent bennies during the excursion. When its time for college applications, my wife and I wont impose our own prejudices on their final decisions. There are too many factors to consider, such as grades, geography and ever-changing extracurricular requirements that admissions officers with too much time on their hands concoct each year. Could be theyll wind up at Dartmouth or Rice; perhaps Iowas East Cupcake University; or maybe theyll ditch further schooling altogether. But I did want Junior and MUGGER III to take a peek at the countrys most famous university, and just as I imagined, Harvard Yards trees and phone booths were plastered with fliers demanding the administration divest its financial interests in Israel and announcements of upcoming "solidarity with Palestine" events. A disgraceful sight, far worse than the jejune spectacle in 2001 of students occupying a building to protest the lack of a "living wage" for cafeteria workers, janitors and assorted clerks. Youd think that these elite young men and women might concentrate more on the poetry of Robert Browning or the rivalry between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, but theyre clever enough to realize that a Harvard diploma is a passport to the professional worlds of business, journalism, science and politics, even if they cant currently identify the secretary of defense. A June 30 Boston Globe article, however, marking Lawrence Summers first year as Harvards president, was encouraging. Patrick Healy wrote: "Some of [Summers] moves, such as his patriotic speeches and his pointed encounters with faculty, most notably Cornel West, have alienated some professors and staff members who say he does not respect the character and decorum of Harvard." Considering Summers tenure in the Clinton administration, this is cause for hope: Perhaps in nine years, the academic world will be further turned upside down and Ralph Reed might succeed Summers and reign as Cambridges First Citizen. Although the centerpiece of the short trip was two games at Fenway Park, the boys endured a tour of the lovely and idiosyncratic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a mansion, with a stunning courtyard, filled with Old Master paintings, Asian textiles and busts, original letters written by George Washington, James Monroe, Benjamin Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt, to name just a few. Mrs. M couldve spent an entire day at the palace, despite security guards who were the most severe Ive ever seen at a museum, including those in Germany. Not surprisingly, the kids were only mildly interested, fidgeting and sneaking a touch or two of an ancient Roman sarcophagus and trying, without success, to move their mom from room to room at breakneck speed. As usual, the traffic in Boston was horrendous, not only because of the interminable Big Dig construction, but because of the worst drivers in North America. One thing thats changed, however, since our last visit two years ago, is the increasing number of cabbies who have no sense of direction, take "shortcuts" to jack up fares and often dont know where the most obvious landmarks are located. We stayed at the Four Seasons, a splendid hotel that overlooks Bostons Public Garden, and even though its prominent address of 200 Boylston St. is the equivalent of say, the Carlyles in Manhattan, one bum circled round and round city blocks before he could locate the destination. He ignored my instructions, gabbed on a cellphone and finally turned off the meter when the steam coming out of my ears curled his greasy locks of hair. Dont mistake this for a Pat Buchanan rant: As Ive written on numerous occasions, the economic and cultural progress of the United States depends on a liberal immigration policy, but shifty and lazy workers are blights on any city. We watched the first Red Sox-Indians game on the tube Tuesday night, and though Bostons anemic offense led to another frustrating loss, it was reassuring to see Manny Ramirez back in the lineup. And what a pleasure to hear Jerry Remys Fox play-by-play instead of the hyperactive Michael Kay on George Steinbrenners YES channel in New York. The next night, as we watched from grandstand seats, Pedro Martinez was down 4-0 until the Sox exploded for six runs, including a rare Brian Daubach hit and a bases-clearing triple by the teams MVP so far, Johnny Damon. (That Damon was snubbed by Joe Torre for the All-Star exhibition next week is baffling.) Junior and I were hoarse by the end of the contest, a 7-4 victory, cheering Pedro, Damon, Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra, while booing Mr. Double Play, Jose Offerman, a washed-up player whom Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy accurately referred to as a "piece of junk." On Thursday night, the four of us waited out a 6 p.m. thunderstorm by the concession stands, convinced that the game would eventually be played. Im as much a devotee of Fenway as is the next Sox fan, but it really is time to replace the 1912 ballpark. Let alone that sections of the stadium could collapse without warning, the conditions when it rains are intolerable. Soaked already, we waded through floods on the main level, and finally bought a few pretzels and dogs and simply sat down on the concrete. But it was a joke to see a dozen men sweeping water from the outfield in a futile attempt to prepare for a delayed start: At any modern or renovated facility, theres something called a drainage system that alleviates such difficulties unless its been raining all day. As it was, the skies were clear at 8 p.m. when the game was called, leaving us with rain checks for a September makeup match, right after school starts for the boys. The new Sox owners, whove turned this team around (although Dan Duquette, in an effort to save his job, should be given due credit for offseason pick-ups like Damon, John Burkett and Rey Sanchez), now need to focus on several fronts. Immediately, Offerman, Tony Clark and probably Rich Garces need a "good night and good luck" dismissal. I doubt the Sox would get much in returnalthough Offerman might thrive at Coors Field with the Rockiesbut theyre just clogging up the roster right now. And the idea of adding another 10,000 seats to the current Fenway is fine (and understandable, given the parks minuscule capacity), but its imperative a new stadium be built within five years. At the beginning of the month, I predicted the Bosox would be two games behind the Yanks on June 30, and thats whats happened. It could be worse. With the Mets out of contention (the Sox didnt help by getting swept by the Braves this past weekend), perhaps theyll join the Blue Jays, Indians and Phillies in unloading high-salary players. Roberto Alomar, whos underperformed in the NL, would be a good pick-up for Boston, as would be Al Leiter. And I still believe plucking Shannon Stewart from the Blue Jays would ignite the teams offense. Left-Wing Jargon Lewis Lapham, editor of Harpers, is likely an educated fellow who can crack witty jokes with George Plimpton and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. at Elaines. But upon reading his monthly notebook in the magazine, a painful exercise of Hubert H. Humphrey (pre-LBJ castration) nostalgia, its clear hes also a dope. In an otherwise engaging essay on Thomas Paine in the July issue, Lapham comes up with this absurd statement: "Were Paine still within reach of the federal authorities, Attorney General John Ashcroft undoubtedly would prosecute him for blasphemy under a technologically enhanced version of the Alien and Sedition acts." This nonsense from left-wing writers will never end? Unlike in past wartime administrations, not a single dissident journalist, elected official or Hollywood celebrity has been jailed, and there are a lot more of them to go around than in the days of John Adams, Abraham Lincoln or Woodrow Wilson. Following Laphams paranoid train of thought, a partial list of men and women wearing stripes today, besides the author himself, would include: Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, Robert Scheer, Thomas Oliphant, Richard Cohen, Alex Cockburn, Dana Milbank, James Ridgeway, Ted Rall, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Hendrik Hertzberg, Chris Matthews, Katha Pollitt, the publishers of The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, Alec Baldwin, Michael Moore, Michael Wolff, Julia Roberts, Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Susan Sontag. As pernicious as all the above-mentioned are, the country ought to celebrate the Bush administrations adherence to the Constitution. So while a cocktail party comprised of these Ashcroft-bashers would indeed be a stinker, with "Free Jose Padilla" buttons passed out at the door instead of champagne flutes, Im glad they havent suffered the same fate as Eugene Debs. The following reaction to Bushs historic June 24 speech, which strongly supported Israels right to defend itself, but also outlined a process for a Palestinian stateas long as Yasir Arafat isnt involved in itdemonstrates the vitality of Americas vibrant free press. (Bushs remarks were welcome not only for backing the sole Mideast democracy, but also setting the stage for an invasion of Iraq: With Ariel Sharon given the green light to eliminate Arab terrorists, the President is now free to complete plans for Saddam Husseins ouster.) The New York Times (6/25): "We are no fans of Mr. Arafat either, and we accept Mr. Bushs conclusion that Israel and the Palestinians will have little hope of achieving real peace as long as hes in charge. But making Mr. Arafats fate the be-all and end-all of the Mideast peace process makes him look far too significant, and makes it all the harder for the Palestinians themselves to show him the door." George Will (6/26): "President Bushs Monday statement was the most clearsighted U.S. intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in the 35 years since the 1967 war, and perhaps in the 54 years since the founding of Israel. It enunciated a policy that makes eventual peace at least conceivable, and meanwhile frees the president to pursue the global anti-terrorism agenda articulated in five other speeches in the past year." Mary McGrory (6/29): "In his long-awaited speech on the Middle East, George W. Bush accomplished one thing: He validated the wisdom of his original impulse to have nothing to do with the Middle East. His speech demonstrated he has nothing to contribute." David Brooks (6/25): "George Bush has a novel approach to the Middle East; he tells the truth. Yesterdays statement wasnt filled with diplomatic jargon. It didnt try to reconcile six different policies through artful fudging. Instead the statement has the ring of honest conviction." Beinarts Mixed-Up Confusion Is New Republic editor Peter Beinart crumbling under the understandable pressure of answering to three owners instead of just to Martin Peretz? It would seem so. Just weeks after insulting evangelical Christians for their unwavering support of Israela lesson that liberal Jews might learn fromthe youngster has again infused his desire for Democratic control of both the House and Senate in a "TRB" column, this time on Ward Connerlys noble battle against affirmative action. Beinart attacks conservatives for supporting Connerlys California drive promoting "color blindness" in that state. Connerly says: "Until I am senile or no longer draw a breath, I will constantly urge the government to embrace race-blind policies." How anyone can argue with that sensible sentiment is beyond me. But Beinart, grasping for examples of right-wing hypocrisy, pretends to be perplexed about "schizophrenic conservative rhetoric." He writes in TNRs July 8 issue: "On the one hand, conservatives blithely endorse Connerlys initiative as the natural extension of their longstanding battle against racial preferences. On the other, since September 11, conservatives have unceremoniously junked the very principle on which all that anti-affirmative action crusading rests: color blindness. When it comes to Arabs and the war on terrorism, conservatives dont want to eliminate racial profiling at all. They want the ACLU and all the other politically correct guiltmongers to get out of the way and let the government start practicing it. In its writing on affirmative action and its writing on homeland security, the American right is engaged with a dialogue of the deafwith itself." Beinart ought to do himself a favor and start working for Al Gores 2004 presidential run before he embarrasses himself further in print. Affirmative action, which is a plague on the American ideal of equality, discriminates against whites (people not "of color") in everything from college admissions to employment opportunities. Theres absolutely no contradiction in conservatives calling for the profiling of young Arabs at airports, train stations and border crossings. The country is at war against Muslim fanatics and singling out those of Mideastern descent, instead of wasting time searching the elderly, disabled and children, whether theyre white, black or yellow, is imperative. It has nothing at all to do with an "African-American" (I live for the day when blacks are simply called black) receiving preferential treatment from Yale because of his or her skin color. Trash Talk The gossip/flack Liz Smith (who may or may not be on the payroll of numerous magazines) wouldnt be arrested for her detestable columns under Lewis Laphams goofy fantasy of U.S. justice, but shed be doing newspaper readers a service if she took a long sabbatical. Last Sunday, Smith took a break from blowing air kisses to Ann Richards and fell back on another favorite: Tina Brown. She wrote: "Went to a swell lunch for Tina Brown at the Fifth Avenue apartment of Reba White Williams. Its always nice to go somewhere where someone is giving something forno reason! Just fun and friendship... "The guest of honor looks like a new woman since she shook off the shackles of editing Talk, a magazine that the all-knowing, all-smirking publishing world never gave a chance... I never saw Tina before without a worry line between her eyebrows. Now she looks serene. And, no doubt, shell stay that way until asked to take over another publication, save a Hollywood studio or run for public office." A few facts: Brown hardly "shook off the shackles" of editing Talk; she instead blamed everyone but herselfSept. 11, the media recession, appalled readersfor the monthlys well-deserved demise. As for Browns future, currently shes damaged goods, and I cant think of a single publisher/owner whod hire the mercurial, throw-cash-down-the-toilet editor. But I do relish Smiths dingbat idea of Tinas "saving" a movie studio, and no doubt Harvey Weinstein agrees. As for a career in politics, thats more plausible: If Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer and James Jeffords can win the voters approval, its obvious the bar for public service is at an all-time low. FDR Revisionism I have no idea why Slates Mickey Kaus has it in for The American Prospect cofounder Robert KuttnerI doubt its for his New Deal political viewsbut it wouldnt bother me a whit if Kaus nonstop predictions that the earnest magazine has as much sand left in the hour glass as the equally objectionable Salon came true. Although if TAP did fold, readers would be deprived of Kuttners tortured attempts at humor. I particularly relished his column in the July 15 issue, headlined "Philanthropy and Movements." He begins: "Recently I was invited to be the token liberal at a major national conference of conservative foundations. The invitation was to debate Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard editor, TV pundit, and conservative grand strategist [Karl Rove might disagree with that dated notion], as the after-dinner entertainment. Presumably, conservative donors wished to view the face of the enemy, close up. The better I did, the deeper they would dig into their ample pockets. "The dinner was held at one of New Yorks most elegant hotels, the Pierre. The sponsors put me up at the nearby Hotel Roosevelt, a spartan midtown hostelry one cut above fleabag. I gamely accepted this lesser billeting not as demeaning confirmation of the rights two-class vision for society, but as recognition of my esteem for FDR." Obviously, Kuttner has no shortage of egothe very idea that this wimpy stuck-in-the-60s paleolib would even cause a ripple among conservatives is just sillybut that aside, the insufferable "populist" has apparently lodged at the worlds finest hotels if he considers the Roosevelt "one cut above fleabag." No, its not the Pierre, but the Roosevelt isnt a Holiday Inn either. And how Kuttner rationalizes his perceived snub as "recognition of my esteem for FDR" is puzzling: The four-term president, as aristocratic as any of his fellow White House occupants, wasnt exactly Andrew Jackson when it came to where he bedded down. Oh, Katrina! Shameful. Thats the only word to describe The Nations betrayal of its all-inclusive, Id-Like-to-Teach-the-World-to-Sing worldview. Two letters to the editor published in the weeklys July 15 issue were scandalously politically incorrect, a lapse ascribed either to Hamptons getaways for the editors or, more likely, the correspondents unchecked antipathy to President Bush. On June 10, The Nations cover ran a picture of Bush, in a hunters outfit, with the headline "Clueless?" Mike Wavada wrote: "Cartoon fans might appreciate a different caption on your June 10 cover: Be vewy quiet. Im hunting tewwowists." Not to be outdone, Ben Johnson contributed the following: "An alternate caption might be: George W. Fudd: Is that you, Osama, you wascawwy Awab?" So The Nation now stands for mocking the speech-impaired?
I live for the day when all people are judged by their character, not the color of their skin.
We watched the first Red Sox-Indians game on the tube Tuesday night, and though Bostons anemic offense led to another frustrating loss
Do people actually pay to read this clown's TV watching history?
Today is the day, starting with you -- and anyone else you can persuade to consciously oppose PC tyranny. And while you're at it, if you were born here, start re-claiming the title of native American for yourself, and start referring to American Indians as "aboriginal Americans."
We must win the PC language wars at every opportunity, and it begins with each of us -- an Army of One, fighting the battle every day.
It wasn't Smith, but his paper's columnist Michael Signorile, who wrote the column, which described Drudge as being gay. That was enough for Drudge to remove both the Mugger and New York Press links.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.