MIKE HICK...UH, HUCKABEE STEPS IN A MUDDY PATCH, AND THEN SINKS IN
In an election year in which his party is struggling to attract new voters to its cause, it would surely be a negative development of a rather substantive nature if ostensibly-avuncular former Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee of Arkansas were to momentarily and very publicly conform to some of the worst stereotypes of Southerners. Well, that's exactly what happened when, after hearing a loud noise backstage as he was addressing a meeting of the National Rifle Association, he delivered the following words, which he passed off as an attempt at a "joke":
"That was Barack Obama.... He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he--he dove for the floor."
Now, in the interests of giving everyone their due, and since I saw the tape of the incident, that "he--he" bit was indicative of what seemed like an apparent realization on the part of Mr. Huckabee that he had misspoken, to say the least. He seemed a bit surprised that the words had came out of his mouth, and he sensed that a quick wrap-up of the "joke" was needed.
The point, however, is that what the normally articulate Mr. Huckabee said should never have had a chance to come out of his mouth; such a construction of words in such a public context should not occur at all. However, given the apparent ease with which they slipped out of his mouth, and given the venue (this will surely reflect poorly on the NRA), Mr. Huckabee might as well have been aiming his metaphorical gun at his own foot, and by extension that of his party.
The national Republican Party, who once claimed to be the party of innovation and economic development, have in the last decade turned their backs on many potential new and lifesaving developments in the fields of science and technology. They have also put innovation on the backburner (and turned the backburner off while doing so) by turning their backs on the development of a necessary industry: mass alternative transportation methods and fuels that will ease the strain on petroleum supplies and diversify America's national transportation infrastructure for decades to come.
And they continue to display a mindset that is conducive to, if not overtly approving of, such mis-statements as Mr. Huckabee's truly horrendous "joke." (I can just see the European media outlets running the tape of his statement over and over....)
Some of us, such as myself, have lived and worked abroad rather extensively, and while doing so have attempted to display a thoughtful mindset that reflects well on our country. I would gesture to guess that many of my fellow Americans have tried to do the same thing here in the United States. I would think that such sturdy-thinking folks--be they Democrats, Independents, or moderate Republicans--would tend to think twice prior to voting for a party that is as increasingly regressive and shockingly callow as our present national Republican Party, at least until that party decides to leave the 1950s and join the modern era.
"W" vs. "Q"
Two sons of U.S. Presidents have themselves become the U.S. President: John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams; and George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush. (President Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison.)
I will say nothing about the positive and negative qualities of President George W. Bush; I'm tired of--and embarrassed about--talking about him, and therefore I'll leave that particular bit of analysis to my readership. Furthermore, I know that we are living in a very different era now in relation to the 1820s (when John Quincy Adams served as the President). That being said, I will provide a brief outline of President J. Q. Adams as a thinker, for your consideration:
--He is generally considered by scholars to be America's most learned President (even more so than his father and Thomas Jefferson).
--He knew seven languages. (Alexis de Tocqueville was impressed by his fluent French, and he loved to read books in Latin and Greek.)
--Regarding the future of the United States, he famously said, "Among the first, perhaps the very first, instrument for the improvement of the condition of men is knowledge." He duly pushed Congress into funding many higher education facilities and research facilities, and he constantly spoke of the necessity for increased technological advancement.
--He often wrote lengthy papers regarding how the United States should conduct itself insofar as international relations were concerned, and his knowledge of world history and politics was uniformly exceptional.
--He once wrote, "May our country be always successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right." By "right" he meant knowledgeable, forward-thinking, sophisticated, and pragmatic.
Some people say that we've advanced since the era of John Quincy Adams, and in many ways they are right. In some ways, however, we have regressed...badly.
ANOTHER BATTING TITLE FOR MAUER? I THINK SO.
Prediction: Joe Mauer, the catcher for the (my) Minnesota Twins who won the American League batting title in 2006, will win the A.L. batting title again this year. He's presently amongst the league leaders regarding batting average in the A.L., and that's happened even though his power numbers have yet to make much of an appearance this year. If he stays healthy (and I'm betting that he does, unlike last year), he should be able to pull off the title again. Some people frown when the 6'5", 235-pound Mauer is mentioned, due largely to the fact that he is presently more of a Tony Gwynn-type spray-hitter than a David Ortiz-type power-hitter. But let's remember that in just a few years' time he's become a very successful everyday catcher; he's also young, and power numbers will come in time.
Prediction: Regarding the National League, Miguel Tejada has Lance Berkman hitting behind him in the Houston Astros' lineup, and (of course) this means that Lance Berkman has Miguel Tejada hitting in front of him. Given that in-built mutual support, surely both of them are at or near the top of the list to win the N.L. batting title this year. So will it be Tejada or Berkman who wins the title, or someone else? Atlanta's Chipper Jones has been hitting the cover off the ball so far this year, but he's in his later playing years, and the season will probably wear on him come August and September. Furcal (Los Angeles) and Pujols (Saint Louis) must also be on the list....
My prediction is that Berkman will edge-out the other four fine hitters on this list and win N.L. batting title. If that occurs, he should give half of his bonus money to Miguel Tejada.
3 comments:
This statement is inherently incorrect:
"The Republican Party turned their backs on many potential new and lifesaving developments in the fields of science and technology. They have also put innovation on the backburner (and turned the backburner off while doing so) by turning their backs on the development of a necessary industry: mass alternative transportation methods and fuels that will ease the strain on petroleum supplies and diversify America's national transportation infrastructure for decades to come."
The idea that the reason we aren't driving cars fueled by something other than oil is due to the Republican Party is pure conjecture. The reason we don't have cars that run on something else is because it remains the most efficient and cost effective source of fuel available. The only nation that has a legitmate source of fuel is Brazil, and that is largely due to their ability to produce ethanol from sugar.
The reason they even developed that capacity is due to market forces making oil an unsustainable option. Until the price of gasoline reaches an economically unefficient level, it will continue to be the primary source of our, and the rest of the worlds, fuel.
Blaming the Republicans for the current situation has no factual basis. Since 1992, a Democrat was in the White House for more than half that time. Why didn't they solve the problem then?
-Craig
The fact of the matter is that in this new era (which a lot of us Americans struggle seeing clearly, for several reasons) an ounce of prevention is often worth a pound of cure. I realize that oil has been cheap, but unless we get AHEAD of the curve our addiction to oil will come back to bite us on the rear end. You can throw any number you wish to into the mix, but what is on the horizon is a world where 2.5 billion Chinese and Indians demand oil-powered cars. It is pure drivel to suggest that we stick with what we're doing, or that we stick with present levels of new fuel development. We are closing our eyes and pretending the rest of the world isn't changing rapidly; it's taciturn and will harm us in the pocketbook far more than it is now.
And the present chief executive of this country has made a huge mistake in his religious-pandering/parsing of the stem cell scenario, etc. Singapore and Europe are the recipients of a lot of the medical students and research monies--and researchers themselves--that we would receive were we to actually and actively compete in the area of this technology. As it is now, we are trying to have it both ways, which has put us into stasis.
I think Fareed Zakaria is right regarding where the world is headed in his book The Post-American World (and, before any complaints arrive, let me say that it's not about the decline of America but the rise of the rest, and our place in such a world), and Tom Friedman is similarly clear-eyed in his The World Is Flat.
The fact of the matter is that we are always at our best as a nation when we are ahead of the curve, and nowhere do we need to be more so than in the areas of fuel and science and technology.
We've always met challenges head-on and innovated prior to other countries doing so; it's one of the main reasons why America has led. The challenge now is in the areas of fuel and science and tech, and suddenly we want to stand pat. The Euro news outlets are often wrong but in this they are right: America is unsure what to do for the first time, well, ever, but we're the only ones who fail to see it.
P.S. You're right about the Democrats in the 1990s. Back then, both they and the Republicans (who took over congress in 1994) walked around with blinders on. Now at least the Democrats, for all of their faults, are waking up. I'm still waiting for the Sam Brownback-types to emerge from Mayberry and glance at a globe.
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