Appearing on Tampa’s NewsChannel 8, former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele referred to his party’s convention plank on abortion as “way outside” the country’s mainstream thought on that matter. This comes in the wake of a Republican backlash against Rep. Todd Akin after controversial comments on abortion last week. [POLITICO]
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I’m excited for my son who is starting college this fall at one of the nation’s finest liberal arts institutions, Centre College. I am a passionate believer in the value of a liberal arts education. I think a strong liberal arts education is the best foundation for vocational and civic preparation. Developing and honing thinking and communication skills is the foundation for success in most every job and will help ensure informed civic involvement. And, the liberal arts just makes for a richer inner life. Besides, what other form of education can both best prepare you for the technical tasks ahead and simultaneously help you convincingly rationalize why you are glad you failed if things don’t work out? The liberal arts just make practical sense. And I am grateful that our technically sophisticated world waited until a few thousand contemplative years had passed before we began communicating in Tweets, texts, IMing, and Facebook messaging, Imagine if the Platonic dialogues had been a series of cell phone texts between Socrates and Plato. Or if Henry David Thoreau had Tweeted (and ReTweeted) his reflections at Walden in a series of 140 or fewer character insights instead of writing prose? Imagine the Federalist Papers being hammered out by Jay, Madison and Hamilton in Facebook posts, comments, messages—complete with “Likes” and links to inspirational quotes and funny pictures. And of course with text acronyms (ROFLMAO, LOL, OMG WTF and the like). It just wouldn’t be the same. It would still be an education, I suppose, but not convey much that inspires or enlightens. And it would produce a society of Dennis Leary’s– fast talking, sarcastic, misanthropic entertainers. We need Dennis Learys, no doubt about it. But not that many. I suppose there is certainly irony in the fact that I am putting these thoughts in a Facebook post. Our modern social media is brilliant at forcing us to think quickly and condense richer thoughts into communicable fragments that are adequate to the task. Twitter, Facebook and texting allows instantaneous communication to a mind-bogglingly vast audience. And that provides incredible societal benefits. Those benefits are primarily for data-driven communications. And that makes our world a safer, higher functioning and more efficient place. But the liberal arts and contemplative life makes our world a more interesting place— and allows us to create a more meaningful life. I embrace both. Why? The Golden Mean, as the Greeks called it. The often desirable middle between two extremes. And I learned that as part of a liberal arts education.
At least until the thing turns shameless and expedient. Bill Clinton got the first dose of the treatment, when he protested that Obama’s credentials as an anti-war stalwart were “the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.” That comment was then shape-shifted from a hard political jab at Obama’s rhetorical dodges on the Iraq War to an insinuation that the notion that Obama could win the presidency was wishful fantasy. No dispassionate observer who saw the video and heard Clinton in full cry would have arrived at the seamier interpretation, but with the nudging of Axelrod and Co., and with a little help from South Carolina’s congressman Jim Clyburn, the idea that Clinton meant much worse took hold.
Read the rest of… Current TV host, and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer interviewed our own contributing RP, Jeff Smith, about the scandal swirling around MO GOP Senate nominee Todd Akin for his outrageous comments concerning rape and pregnancy. Smith served in the Missouri legislature with Akin, and has some fascinating insights. Watch below:
Sometimes during the day I find myself realizing –after it is apparent to everyone else involved–that I have made a blunder of some sort. I may try to fix the mistake in mid-air, so to speak. But rarely can.
It’s about that time I hear a voice in my head say matter-of-factly, “Clean up on aisle three.”
Yeah, c’mon….admit it. Every guy, deep down, has an inner-Jack Nicholson wanting to get out. You know what I mean. Some prefer to call it the “wild man” or the “id” (those who fear it call it less flattering names) —but it’s there and is a vital creative life force in all men that is better to be embraced and let out for exercise than contained, condemned, suppressed and ignored. To hate it is to hate ourselves. To kill it is to kill an essential part of ourselves. So, go for it. Give in –at least once this weekend–to your inner Jack.
My 18 year old son leaves home this Tuesday for Centre College. I am as proud as can be…but also very sad. The first 13 years of parenting come naturally and the rules and roles are easily understood. It’s easy for us to feel good about the job we are doing. The next 5 years, however, are a “different kettle of fish,” as they say–a muddled and awkward affair. And we are running out of parenting energy as the relationship changes from parent -child to adult–adult. I can’t help feeling like I have been in a basketball game that was tied at half-time –where I held my own as a parent—but by the end of the third quarter became a blowout for the opposing team. And for the fourth quarter our job is just to finish the game without the other team running up the score. And yet, in some bizarre twist of logic, I am wanting this game to go into overtime even though I know my son is dribbling out the final seconds of the clock and I am not trying to steal or foul since it won’t matter. And when the clock runs out he won’t throw the ball triumphantly into the stands but rather, like a gentleman, let the ball dribble itself for a few seconds before rolling away as he walks off the court. And I will stay standing on the court looking up at the scoreboard and trying not to cry.
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Tonight I decided to look on my iPhone for some new apps. I opened up the icon and there were two options under Editor’s Choice: 1) New and 2) Previous. In the past I would have instantly hit “New” wanting to be an early adopter and keep up with the crowd. But tonight a little piece of me died when I hit “Previous” without even hesitating. I have officially moved from cutting edge to that secondary (or lower) group that prefers to pick over what’s left and look for a “good deal.” And worst of all, there was another category “Genius.” I rolled my eyes and turned off the phone to conserve energy. |
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