Global
Christmas morning found me walking with Jasper the Wonderdog up
a street called Slalom, approximately 6,500 feet above sea level in the
Sierra, on the outskirts of the town of Truckee, which lies athwart
Interstate 80, not far from Lake Tahoe, Calif. Jasper and I walked past some
30 houses, each of them selling for around a million dollars. All but three
were vacant, their owners either preferring their third homes in Hawaii or
discussing the beauties of Chapter 11 in some bankruptcy court. If the
Donner party had staggered out of their graves and into those stately homes
on Slalom, they probably would have found as little provender as they did on
the snowbound shores of Mountain Lake in the winter of 1846-1847.
Later that day we all had Christmas lunch overlooking that same Mountain Lake, renamed Donner Lake in honor of the mostly doomed party of midwesterners who tried to survive one of the worst winters in the history of the Sierra on its eastern shore.
Later that day we all had Christmas lunch overlooking that same Mountain Lake, renamed Donner Lake in honor of the mostly doomed party of midwesterners who tried to survive one of the worst winters in the history of the Sierra on its eastern shore.
The last pages of a calendar remind us that life is fleeting. All we
have at any moment is the present, filtered with memory.
Meanwhile, music -- capable of powerfully evoking what's past but not quite gone -- can be a catalyst for transcending what has been. "Music is a higher revelation than philosophy," Ludwig van Beethoven asserted. Later in the 19th century, some writers praised music as the ultimate creative medium. "All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music," Walter Pater contended. Joseph Conrad referred to music as "the art of arts."
Musicians open doors to realms of perception that might otherwise remain ineffable. And music can be a dynamic force for resistance when dominant institutions discount the experiences of people suffering from imbalances of power.
Meanwhile, music -- capable of powerfully evoking what's past but not quite gone -- can be a catalyst for transcending what has been. "Music is a higher revelation than philosophy," Ludwig van Beethoven asserted. Later in the 19th century, some writers praised music as the ultimate creative medium. "All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music," Walter Pater contended. Joseph Conrad referred to music as "the art of arts."
Musicians open doors to realms of perception that might otherwise remain ineffable. And music can be a dynamic force for resistance when dominant institutions discount the experiences of people suffering from imbalances of power.
AUSTIN, Texas --- Until a few days ago, it seemed there were
only two ways we could possibly lose the war in Afghanistan at this late
date. The first was if great numbers of Afghans starve to death this winter,
thus canceling out the good we have done by getting rid of the Taliban and
inciting a new wave of terrorists. The second would be an Islamist uprising
in Pakistan, the overthrow of President Pervez Musharraf and war between
India and Pakistan, thus rather more than canceling out any good we have
done.
True, Al Qaeda seems to have leaked away at the end, like water dribbling out of cupped hands. First they were all holed up in Tora Bora and we were pounding the stuffing out of them and then ... they weren't there. Since we suspected the Pakistanis would let them through, it can't have come as much surprise. We have learned a great deal about how deeply implicated the ISI, the Pakistani CIA, was in the Taliban government.
True, Al Qaeda seems to have leaked away at the end, like water dribbling out of cupped hands. First they were all holed up in Tora Bora and we were pounding the stuffing out of them and then ... they weren't there. Since we suspected the Pakistanis would let them through, it can't have come as much surprise. We have learned a great deal about how deeply implicated the ISI, the Pakistani CIA, was in the Taliban government.
AAUSTIN, Texas -- Fellow procrastinators of the world, unite! Now
is the time to begin thinking about Christmas shopping. We still have a few
days left, so there's no rush for those who have been known to do it all on
Christmas morning at the Jiffy Mart (everyone appreciates a nice can of
WD-40).
For those who consider it wussy to begin shopping before the 24th, here's the annual Christmas book list -- the best one-stop shopping in town, items to suit all ages and personalities.
We prefer, of course, to shop at independent bookstores, but if a chain store is all that's available, it will do. Though there are no guarantees on the quality of the Christmas help: I once heard a woman ask for "The Odyssey" by Homer, to which the high-school honey hired for the holidays replied, "Uh, Homer Who?"
A fun book for almost anyone on you list is "Seabiscuit, An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $24.95). Unless you're a horse person, you probably think you don't want to read the biography of a racehorse, but you do want to read this one. It's a love of a book about a love of a horse.
For those who consider it wussy to begin shopping before the 24th, here's the annual Christmas book list -- the best one-stop shopping in town, items to suit all ages and personalities.
We prefer, of course, to shop at independent bookstores, but if a chain store is all that's available, it will do. Though there are no guarantees on the quality of the Christmas help: I once heard a woman ask for "The Odyssey" by Homer, to which the high-school honey hired for the holidays replied, "Uh, Homer Who?"
A fun book for almost anyone on you list is "Seabiscuit, An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $24.95). Unless you're a horse person, you probably think you don't want to read the biography of a racehorse, but you do want to read this one. It's a love of a book about a love of a horse.
The autumn started with a huge national jolt of shock, fear, grief
and anger. Winter has begun with many worries here at home and grim
satisfaction about warfare abroad. A line from "King Lear," early in Act
4, is hauntingly appropriate:
"'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind."
Shakespeare's observation fits the current era, and not only with reference to the murderous qualities of Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network. Few media outlets -- and certainly none of the major national brands -- are willing to scrutinize the unhinged aspects of the adulated leadership in the White House.
Deep introspection for any society is difficult. Precious little danger of that, in the here and now. After more than 100 days of big-type rhetorical questions, the media answers are largely self-satisfied. "Why do they hate us?" Because we're great, though sometimes clumsy on the world stage. "How can the violence in the Middle East be stopped?" By continuing to back Israel, no matter what.
"'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind."
Shakespeare's observation fits the current era, and not only with reference to the murderous qualities of Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network. Few media outlets -- and certainly none of the major national brands -- are willing to scrutinize the unhinged aspects of the adulated leadership in the White House.
Deep introspection for any society is difficult. Precious little danger of that, in the here and now. After more than 100 days of big-type rhetorical questions, the media answers are largely self-satisfied. "Why do they hate us?" Because we're great, though sometimes clumsy on the world stage. "How can the violence in the Middle East be stopped?" By continuing to back Israel, no matter what.
The fall of Enron sounds the death knell for one of the great
rackets of the last decade: Green Seals of Approval, whereby some outfit
like the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Environmental Defense Fund
would issue testimonials to the enviro-conscience and selfless devotion to
the public weal of corporations like Enron. These green seals of approval
were part and parcel of the neoliberal pitch, that fuddy-duddy regulation
should yield to modern, "market-oriented" inducements to environmental
problems, to which indeed NRDC and EDF were always the prime salesfolk of
neoliberal remedies for environmental problems.
In fact, NRDC was socked deep into the Enron lobby machine. Here 's what happened:
In fact, NRDC was socked deep into the Enron lobby machine. Here 's what happened:
AUSTIN -- Since we have declared war on a noun, we are now by
definition in the definition business. The shortest version of our
definitional problem, as we see in attacks from India to Israel, is that one
man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper's, writes in a scathing essay, "We might as well be sending the 101st Airborne Division to conquer lust, annihilate greed, capture the sin of pride." Since President Bush has given us his own somewhat exuberant definition -- "We go forth to defend freedom, and all that is good and just in the world" -- we can only hope there will be no further mission creep.
Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper's, writes in a scathing essay, "We might as well be sending the 101st Airborne Division to conquer lust, annihilate greed, capture the sin of pride." Since President Bush has given us his own somewhat exuberant definition -- "We go forth to defend freedom, and all that is good and just in the world" -- we can only hope there will be no further mission creep.
AUSTIN -- When George W. Bush was governor of Texas, many
political observers had a theory that whenever he started holding photo ops
with adorable little children, it was time to grab your wallet because it
meant some unconscionable giveaway to the corporations was in the wind.
I did not fully subscribe to the theory, but having noticed a number of adorable-child ops in the past few weeks, I decided to check for what might be flying under the radar, with the following results:
-- The Bush administration has reversed Clinton-era regulations for mining on public lands, including a measure that gave federal officials power to block mining operations that could cause "substantial and irreparable harm." The Environmental Protection Agency says about 40 percent of Western watersheds have been polluted by mining. From California to Alaska, bankrupt and abandoned gold mines leak acid and heavy metals into streams. There are 500,000 abandoned mines around the country with cleanup costs estimated in the tens of billions.
I did not fully subscribe to the theory, but having noticed a number of adorable-child ops in the past few weeks, I decided to check for what might be flying under the radar, with the following results:
-- The Bush administration has reversed Clinton-era regulations for mining on public lands, including a measure that gave federal officials power to block mining operations that could cause "substantial and irreparable harm." The Environmental Protection Agency says about 40 percent of Western watersheds have been polluted by mining. From California to Alaska, bankrupt and abandoned gold mines leak acid and heavy metals into streams. There are 500,000 abandoned mines around the country with cleanup costs estimated in the tens of billions.
The P.U.-litzer Prizes were established a decade ago to give
recognition to the
stinkiest media performances of the year.
As each winter arrives, I confer with Jeff Cohen of the media watch group FAIR to sift through the large volume of entries. This year, the competition was especially fierce. We regret that only a few journalists can win a P.U.-litzer.
And now, the tenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2001:
"LOVE A MAN IN A UNIFORM" AWARD -- Cokie Roberts of ABC News "This Week"
On David Letterman's show in October, Roberts gushed: "I am, I will just confess to you, a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff, and they say it's true and I'm ready to believe it. We had General Shelton on the show the last day he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I couldn't lift that jacket with all the ribbons and medals. And so when they say stuff, I tend to believe it."
PROTECTING VIEWERS FROM THE NEWS PRIZE -- CNN Chair Walter Isaacson
As each winter arrives, I confer with Jeff Cohen of the media watch group FAIR to sift through the large volume of entries. This year, the competition was especially fierce. We regret that only a few journalists can win a P.U.-litzer.
And now, the tenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2001:
"LOVE A MAN IN A UNIFORM" AWARD -- Cokie Roberts of ABC News "This Week"
On David Letterman's show in October, Roberts gushed: "I am, I will just confess to you, a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff, and they say it's true and I'm ready to believe it. We had General Shelton on the show the last day he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I couldn't lift that jacket with all the ribbons and medals. And so when they say stuff, I tend to believe it."
PROTECTING VIEWERS FROM THE NEWS PRIZE -- CNN Chair Walter Isaacson
Has the collapse of Enron finally pushed Social Security
"reform" off the political agenda for the foreseeable future? Half the stock
on Enron employees' 401K retirement plans was Enron paper, contributed as a
company match, for which, of course, Enron took tax deductions. Then, when
Enron went into its final plunge, Enron's executives froze the stock on the
401K plans, thus denying workers any chance to salvage their retirement
funds, even as the stock went through the floor. Senior executives skipped
clear of the rubble, and then sent in cops and grief counselors to subdue
their furious employees.
September 11 interrupted many political conspiracies in America, few more fraught than the long campaign to "reform" Social Security. And, as with many other nefarious projects, September 11 placed the Bush team on far more favorable ground than the mire in which he found himself at the end of the summer, unable to balance the books without a raid on Social Security's famous lockbox, meaning the pledge not to use any surplus on the Social Security account for other purposes.
September 11 interrupted many political conspiracies in America, few more fraught than the long campaign to "reform" Social Security. And, as with many other nefarious projects, September 11 placed the Bush team on far more favorable ground than the mire in which he found himself at the end of the summer, unable to balance the books without a raid on Social Security's famous lockbox, meaning the pledge not to use any surplus on the Social Security account for other purposes.