John McCain Tells It Like It Is...

Crisis?

Regarding the current imbroglio in D.C., check out:
http://www.slate.com/id/2300429/
Apparently, things are not what they seem (are they ever?). The current war, sparked by the fringe "Teabaggers" in the House, isn't such a big deal. The government, under the Fourteenth Amendment, has the right - or obligation - to pay its bills, and it currently collects about $172 billion per month, more than enough to pay the $39 billion interest payments, so there's no immediate danger of default. More interesting, what will be the subsequent confrontation between Obama and the Repubs when he invokes this necessity be like? Will they attack and risk being painted obstructionist and pro-economic chaos? And what if Social Security checks stop going out? Shades of Newt Gringrinch and the repubs disastrous shut-down of the government in 1995-96.

Whatever the case, it remains to be seen what the long-term (read election 2012) effects will be. If harm is done the economy will the moderate majority remember how an extremist fringe in the repubs gained such control over a major party? Or will it just blow over?

Back!

After months of inactivity, I've decided to start this blog up again. Much of my public communication energy has gone into Facebook, but I've found that increasingly inadequate as a forum for more in-depth discussion and contemplation of events and issues. So here it is...

Mt. Merapi and the Sublime

It's amazing how something so beautiful can also be so deadly. Indonesia's Mt. Merapi erupts, killing scores and devastating villages surrounding it. And yet, it is beautiful. Last year, I attended an art show at Claremont Graduate School where one of the graduating artists spoke of the "sublime": nature's immense and transcendent beauty and danger, where the observer can, simultaneously, be dwarfed and taken out of himself. Here's a picture which exemplifies that concept...

Popcorn

Sick of politics and/or anything else lately? Here's something to cheer you up (if only a little). Ain't science wonderful?

Back to the Future

Reruns. With the so-called teaparty (actually, the same ol' social conservatives/right-wingers) on the ascendant in the Republican party, it's back to the same agendas. Fortunately, they only control the House and thus can't get their views made into law. Another good thing: they just can't sit back and complain and "just say no" anymore. Now they have to take some actual responsibility for governing. Their true colors should be on display for all to see.

MacBeth

I heartily recommend this version of MacBeth which appeared recently on PBS' "Great Performances"! Patrick Stewart was excellent in the title roll - better than I've ever seen him. In fact, all the performances were excellent, especially the three witches and Kate Fleetwood as Lady MacBeth. The production, which originated in Stratford and moved to Broadway, is in modern dress, and takes place in an authoritarian, eastern Europe-type state and is mostly shot in a cramped, claustrophobic concrete hell - what looks like an abandoned factory or prison. At times, it takes on the ambiance of a horror story what with its witches and cruelty and blood and overall feeling of enclosing gloom and fear. Very inventive! (It's coming out on DVD on January 11, 2011.)