The headline from this midmorning version of the NY Times:

U.S. AND CUBA, LONG ESTRANGED, WILL ESTABLISH FULL RELATIONS

Here’s a sentence or two from Matryoshka, my fiction about Cuba and virtual reality:

Cecilia muttered under her breath as she continued to search the web, “isn’t it about time to lift the embargo to Cuba, U.S. government? After all, it’s been fifty four years, and it certainly did not succeed in getting rid of Fidel.”

I think it, and it happens. If only I could apply that to the stock market or the track: I’d be a very wealthy woman.

But I also recall saying in one of these blog posts that I’d hoped Obama would use his last couple of years’ worth of ‘what the hell’ to remove the embargo. If that happens, it will be over Marco Rubio’s dead body. See – there’s lots of advantages to this effort!

It seems most appropriate that the right phrases should come from John McCain, Senator from Arizona, and former torturee at the hands of the North Vietnamese some 50 years ago. This is what he said yesterday, in response to the CIA Torture Report:

“I understand the reasons that governed the decision to resort to these interrogation methods, and I know that those who approved them and those who used them were dedicated to securing justice for the victims of terrorist attacks and to protecting Americans from further harm. … But I dispute wholeheartedly that it was right for them to use these methods, which this report makes clear were neither in the best interests of justice nor our security nor the ideals we have sacrificed so much blood and treasure to defend. We are always Americans, and different, stronger, and better than those who would destroy us.”

While I appreciate him giving those individuals the benefit of the doubt, I’m not sure all of them deserve the credit he bestows on them. Not everyone was dedicated to securing justice for the victims of terrorist attacks. Not all of them were interested in protecting Americans from further harm. Some of them were sadistic, venal cowards who took advantage of a troubled time to take advantage of powerless individuals, many of whom were only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And a few perpetrators were handsomely rewarded financially – to the tune of $81 million. And an additional $1 million to pay for legal indemnification for their war crimes. War crimes. Say it again: war crimes.

All of the discussion that took place yesterday after the report’s release made me marvel at the capacity of many to rationalize egregiously inappropriate behavior. Did it work? Did it not? What difference does that make? Torture is torture is torture. Torture by any other euphemistic name is torture. When a society practices and condones torture, it is doomed to suffer the same fate someday, when somebody bigger and badder gets hold of them. History proves that repeatedly. Ask John McCain about that.

I want to believe we are a nation of people who do not condone that kind of behavior. As a nation, we should insist that the CIA as an institution be abolished. Yes, I said it: the CIA. Abolished. Eliminated. Done away with. That organization could just as easily go by the name KGB, Gestapo. Stasi, Pinochet regime, or any other organization that harbors individuals that take pleasure in watching others’ humiliation and degradation. We can live without it. And if we can’t, do you want to live in a world where you fear the car arriving in the night to take you somewhere you know from which you will likely not return?

But, you protest, that could never happen. We’re Americans – we’re different, stronger, and better than those who would destroy us. Tell that it the individuals who were repeatedly waterboarded. Tell that to the Iraqis in the Abu Ghraib prison with electrodes on their testicles and a hood over their head, a smirking Lyndie England giving the ‘thumbs up’ to their torture.

None of the facts in the report should be a surprise to anyone. Yet the overwhelming response yesterday was one of denial, justification and nit-picking to find some flaw in the report. That’s a sure indication that America has been brought low by a mass psychosis of rationalization. Living through this, one can begin to understand how the German people could embrace the actions taken by the Nazis prior to WW II. Obviously the scale is different, but maybe it isn’t, if you peg the comparison to, say Germany in 1937. Will we continue on this path? Or will a continued media focus on the actions of our institutions sufficiently disgust Americans that they say, “enough”? I’m not sure.

If Osama Bin Laden weren’t fish food, he’d likely be amazed and pleased with the effects of his and waterboarding-resistant 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s terrorist attack. Those two – with the help of the 19 hijackers, 80% of whom were Saudis, changed America from a beacon of opportunity and freedom to a virtual police state. The protests at Berkeley, New York City and Ferguson, Missouri, attest to that fact. It’s not too late to turn back. It all starts with one. Examine your conscience, and add your voice to the fray. Make change for the sake of real freedom: not the jingoistic phrases that led innocent boys to their deaths for some still-undefined reasons in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A lot still has to change, but I say it again: it all starts with one. If you truly believe in the principles for which American stands: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL, then join me in saying this: the CIA as an organization and an institution has to go.

It appears everybody’s figured out that one of my two pieces of advice were correct in my post-election post. You remember – the one about a new ‘CCC’ – to teach young people skills needed to work on improving the country’s infrastructure? Two eminent economists – Nouriel Rubini and Jeffrey Sachs – have picked up the infrastructure banner. Both are waving it wildly.

Jeffrey says spending money on infrastructure will signal to the private sector that it’s safe to go back in the water – i.e., safe to begin to invest in one’s business again. What he forgot to add is the need for stability and predictability from Congress, the courts and the executive branch. No surprises means more stable economy = business will begin to invest in themselves again.

Rubini’s latest missive says the central bankers of the world have done all they can to stimulate their respective economies. We need to forget the mistakes of the past (Germany and the EU) and move forward, spending money to invest in infrastructure that’s frankly worn out since we haven’t built anything new since the post-war decade or two.

Obviously I agree with both gentlemen, having espoused this philosophy fairly continuously since – well, since I’ve been blogging. But here’s the thing – isn’t there always a thing? The thing is, all our neighbors are beginning to play the beggar-thy-neighbor policies in earnest. Remember what that is? Each country is working hard to keep the value of their currency at lower & lower levels, relative to the almighty American $. This will, in turn, strengthen the dollar. And what happens when the dollar gets stronger, other than our exports get more expensive and therefore we sell less? More money comes to the U.S. from world-wide investors. This feeds money that goes into – what? Real estate and securities. So those prices go up. This is good for the American economy, right? Well, yes, correct – as long as we keep the lid on, and don’t let things get out of control. Like we did with Alan Greenspan at the helm of the Fed from 2001 to 2006, when the bubble economy nearly did us in – done in by people losing their jobs and not being able to maintain their debt load.

But all that said, all that money coming into the US doesn’t really add any jobs. Where do jobs come from these days? New jobs are being created in most of the sectors: retail, health care and the service sector, with a smaller quantity from manufacturing and construction. How can we boost employment in construction and manufacturing? OF COURSE! The government invests in infrastructure improvement.

But do we have the people needed to build roads, fix bridges, upgrade water plants? Probably not. Part of my original thinking was that we must – first and foremost – teach young people the skills they need to contribute to infrastructure improvement. Skills like carpentry, electrical, GIS and CAD skills. Bring back the Vo-Tec school in a big way…connect that education to a guaranteed job, and we’re off to the races. Not the Job Corps that taught outmoded skills because of lack of decent program funding – a new, modern program along the lines of what is happening in the for-profit sector. How about public/private partnerships between Middle & High Schools/Unions and Community College vocational programs? Now that’s a really good idea.

Kids grow up really fast these days – we can’t wait until they’re in the twenties to work with them. We actually should start in middle school, with internships and the like to encourage kids to go in this direction. What’s the alternative? That most hated group since the North Koreans – illegal immigrants. Hordes of ’em. Flooding across our very porous borders. They’ll do the welding, steel erection and laborer work. And they’ll do it for cheap, sending half their pay home to Mexico, Guatamala and other parts foreign. And won’t that just drive the Republicans nutso crazy? You betcha. So the bipartisan thing to do is fund some of these programs NOW, and avoid the labor shortages that surely will accompany the letting of these contracts. It’s really very simple, now isn’t it?

This morning’s Op-Ed from Frank Luntz, my favor Republication (yes, gentle readers, Republican) pollster articulates what I believe is the current situation. Here’s a couple of paragraphs from his piece:

“In many races that went from blue to red, Republican success was hardly because of what the G.O.P. has achieved on Capitol Hill. In fact, if Americans could speak with one collective voice — all 310 million of them — this is what they said Tuesday night: “Washington doesn’t listen, Washington doesn’t lead and Washington doesn’t deliver.” Purple states tossed out their Democratic senators for being too close to Washington and too far from the people who put them there.

The current narrative, that this election was a rejection of President Obama, misses the mark. So does the idea that it was a mandate for an extreme conservative agenda. According to a survey my firm fielded on election night for the political-advocacy organization Each American Dream, it was more important that a candidate “shake up and change the way Washington operates.”

Frank is a very shrewd man, and – contrary to the norm for those with the Y chromosome – he has the capacity to listen. Here’s another cogent paragraph:

“They voted out those who promised to do more in favor of those who said they would do less, but do it better. That’s why the Democratic candidates for governor who condemned their opponents for spending too little on education, transportation and programs for the poor and unemployed still lost. The results were less about the size of government than about making government efficient, effective and accountable. Our election night survey showed that 42 percent chose their Senate candidate because they hated the opponent more. One pre-election poll had over 70 percent willing to throw everyone out and start fresh.”

The majority of Americans would discard everybody and start over – but start over with what? Ah, there’s the rub. What can 70% of us agree needs to change? Frank has some thoughts on that; unfortunately, most of them have been said before but appear to be unattainable. But here’s one I particularly liked:

“…stop blustering and fighting. Americans despair of the pointless posturing, empty promises and bad policies that result. Show that you are more concerned with people than politics. Don’t be afraid to work with your opponents if it means achieving real results. Democrats and Republicans disagree on a lot, but there are also opportunities of real national importance…”

What are opportunities of real national importance? It’s easier to say what they are not. Depriving women of reproductive rights are not opportunities of national importance. Repealing Obamacare or passing new legislation depriving gays of their recently-earned rights are not either. What do I believe are opportunities of national importance? That’s really easy. Here’s my top two, with a sufficient detail to get things started.

DEMOLISH THE CURRENT VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION ORGANIZATION AND BUILD A COMPLETELY NEW ONE.

I take a cue here from that man whose name I no longer speak, Bean Ball Billy. Back in the day, he realized his Oakland Team was never going to make the playoffs because of all the reasons you know about from watching Moneyball. The VA needs to start over again, with a new perspective, new players (remember the new guy that came from the private sector and was supposed to fix everything? Yeah, well, you don’t even remember his name, right?) We need a sabermetric system for analyzing the veteran’s equivalent of the game of baseball – ensuring EVERY veteran has what he or she needs to survive and thrive. Fund research in TBIs and PTSD with money well spent because you’ve used analysis to figure out the greatest likelihood of ‘getting on base’ with that research. Find every veteran and put them into an effective database. Let each one have a personal representative – hell, I’ll volunteer to help with that. And here’s the big one: MAKE SURE THEY ARE NEVER SENT INTO HARM’S WAY FOR POLITICS, NOT NATIONAL SECURITY. Shame on you, G.W. Bush for succumbing to the Cheney (devil) song of the sirens.

DEVELOP A NEW CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS AND PUT YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 18 TO 22 TO WORK.

Unemployment has gone down in this country because people adjusted to unemployment and dropped off the roles. We have stagnation in that age group, and they aren’t leaving home because they are now used to being useless. Yes, I know, we’re not in as bad a shape as Europe, but that’s not the point – if we do it, maybe they’ll see it succeed and do it too. The CCC built a lot of the facilities at our national parks. Let’s do that again, but on a state level. Teach them drafting and GIS basic skills so they can help develop plans to improve infrastructure: roads, bridges, piers and waterworks. Those that show promise – give them the money to pay for college – don’t LOAN it to them, give them the money to pursue higher education. And for grief’s sake, please don’t ever use the phrase ‘shovel ready’ again. That makes me want to hit you, and you don’t want me to do that, do you?

Remember the mice narrators from Babe, introducing the segment with “A Tragic Day”? That surely fits with yesterday’s election results.

But I take heart – in a weird sort of way – from the fact that the Republicans will not get any more done in the next two years than they have in the past six. The party of “No” is about to become the party of “We tried, but couldn’t because THEY stood in the way”. But 2016 will be another story. They will win the White House, and have unfettered access to legislating and getting their stuff through. And what will their ‘stuff’ look like?

Anti: immigrant/hispanic/female/black/Muslim/poor/rational/anything ‘he’ (Barry O) likes

Pro: prevarication/business/Koch brothers/more prevarication (that means lying)/anything ‘he’ doesn’t like

I think about leaving the country more and more. But where to go? Canada and northern Europe are too cold; central America is too unstable and dangerous. I think – just to confirm everyone’s belief that I’m a pinko commie, I’ll move to Cuba before the embargo is lifted and enjoy the good life that my social security dollars will bring. I wonder if that’s possible? Think I’ll check it out.
————————-
Carol Anne: They’re here.

Tangina: …Carol Anne must help them cross over, and she will only hear her mother’s voice. Now hold on to yourselves… There’s one more thing. A terrible presence is in there with her. So much rage, so much betrayal, I’ve never sensed anything like it. I don’t know what hovers over this house, but it was strong enough to punch a hole into this world and take your daughter away from you. It keeps Carol Anne very close to it and away from the spectral light. It LIES to her, it tells her things only a child could understand. It has been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply IS another child. To us, it is the BEAST. Now, let’s go get your daughter.

As previously promised, this is a post, musing on the premise put forth by A.O. Scott in the New York Times a month or so ago. Here’s a link to the piece:

The Death of Adulthood in American Culture

A.O. is the film critic for the Times, so he kind of sees everything through the lens of media. But in this article, he goes beyond media to explore some ideas that I would argue now have a profound impact on the rest of the world. But I’ll get to that. Each of the following five paragraphs starts with a quote from Scott’s essay.

The supremacy of men can no longer be taken as a reflection of natural order or settled custom.

Here’s the notion he discusses in the first quarter of his essay. Using characters from television as examples, he posits that patriarchy is, for all intents and purposes, a mind set no longer operable. Tony Soprano and Walter White – two white males struggling to hold on, and failing to do so. Tony is suffering from anxiety, and Walter has terminal cancer, and has not properly provided for his family, including a not-yet-born child. In the case of Tony, he seeks help from a tough, female therapist, who either treats him like a child fears him. Tony’s last name is the title for a female opera singer, likely not a coincidence. We watch his behavior, alternately fascinated and repulsed. Walter White – stereotypical middle-class ‘white’ guy – immediately goes from a position of no authority to one of great authority through becoming a murdering monster meth cooker, a rather drastic way to maintain the illusion of authority. But I think the interesting thing – and throwback to traditional literature – is how the two of them end – badly. So the message here is: guys, you can try to be in charge, but in the end, you’ll go too far and end up dead.

Adulthood as we have known it has become conceptually untenable

Untenable as a concept. What? So if Tony and Walter are trying to be the grown-up in the room, what’s everyone else doing? Trying to avoid growing up and being responsible. According to Scott, and a professor from Montana named Leslie Fiedler, referenced extensively by Scott, American literature is full of characters avoiding responsibility.

From the start, American culture was notably resistant to the claims of parental authority and the imperatives of adulthood

Here Fiedler and Scott go back to reflect on popular characters from American literature, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Ishmael and Queequeg from Moby Dick. Tom and Huck are, in fact, children who avoid any form of responsibility, fleeing civilization and conformity. Ishmael, an alter ego of Melville, goes to sea to break away from the shackles of mundane life, dominated by women and order. I could name some others – how about Holden Caulfield? He’s struggling with the requirements of adulthood and ends up becoming a hero to real teens struggling with the same issues. Or more recently, Theo Decker in The Goldfinch. He reacts to orphanhood in his early teens with drug use, theft and sociopathic tendencies he does not understand. Theo prevails in the end, but only through the acts of another male, another one cast in the same genre as Tony and Walter. I suppose the only way for men to be noticed these days is to become criminals.

Maybe nobody grows up anymore, but everyone gets older

What happens to men caught up in perpetual responsibility avoidance? Scott uses Louis CK as his prime example, with some additional commentary on the films of Judd Apatow and the Adam Sandler-type bromance comedies. These are men really too old to engage in these kinds of behaviors, yet they continue to act this way because they’re stuck, still needing to avoid the responsibility of adulthood but too long in the tooth for their earlier antics to be believable. But are there archetypes from anywhere other than comedy? How about real life characters who serially cheat on their wives? We’ll talk about another famous cheater a little further down in this blog post.

I do feel the loss of something here, but bemoaning the general immaturity of contemporary culture would be as obtuse as declaring it the coolest thing ever

So Scott sort of gives up on his own argument, saying it’s a shame this is the new reality, but whaddaya gonna do? His use of the word ‘obtuse’ is interesting. The dictionary definition is tactless, boorish or insensitive. I don’t really think that’s the word he should have used. Maybe ‘pointless’. You arrive at the same conclusion (whaddya gonna do?) but this has nothing to do with sensitivity. It’s really all about ‘be careful what you ask for, ’cause you’re liable to get it.’ And I really think that old saying sums it up nicely.

The struggle between the sexes over the ages has been about control, and that’s the long and the short of it. To differing degrees, men have had it and women have wanted it. From a man’s perspective, they had it, felt challenged by women to give up some of it, did so, found it freeing to do so, and now they don’t want to stop giving it up. Let somebody else be in charge for a while. We’re gonna take a break.

But what’s left when the smart ones decide to take a break? This is what’s left: the tea party pinheads. The vast majority of the Tea Party members are men, and they are desperately trying to bring back patriarchy, with their positions and policies on equal pay and abortion. Maybe that’s why Washington is perceived as so out-of-touch with the rest of the country. But they’re not out of touch – they’re out of synch, and subconsciously they know it. That’s why they alternate between being angry and fearful. It must be how the dodo bird felt, just before becoming extinct. But what’s the impact of this? Ah ha…that’s the thing, gentle readers.

The rest of the world is watching our peregrinations, and frankly they’re confused and distressed. When our patriarchy defeated the Soviet Union’s patriarchy, we were supposed to step up to the plate and take over, to benefit the rest of the world ’cause we were the good guys. That was the script. But did we do that? Uh, nope. We spent the early 90’s worrying about the state of the economy, then when it was booming, worrying about whether or not Bill Clinton had sex with an intern in the White House. The Newt era was just a hint of what was to come with the tea partyites.

Bill’s affairs were his attempt to get away from the controlling world of presidential responsibilities and his wife, i.e. a retreat from adulthood and patriarchy. The Newts wanted to administer patriarchal (or maybe matriarchal?) punishment by shaming Bill through impeachment. The cynics – especially Newt, the cynic-in-chief – knew it would end with naught. In fact, the failure to impeach Clinton built up such frustration amongst the faithful, it led to the next Republican revolution. Newt was dumped, and the party evolved to the two-headed hydra you see today: men trying to look reasonable on the one side and men trying to look disagreeable and unreasonable on the other. But men, nonetheless. The unreasonable side was unable to effect the change they wanted, because the Senate was in the hands of the Dems. Next Tuesday, that will more than likely change. With both houses of Congress under their control, which head will prevail?

So what’s the impact of all this on the rest of the world? If we’re not willing to be in charge – and clearly we’re not – who is? Nobody is willing or able to take over the reins of world dominance. So back to that ‘be careful what you wish for..’ thing. We wished to defeat the demon known as the Soviet Union, and succeeded in doing so. The two Bushes tried world dominance through war. The first succeeded but didn’t finish the job. The second failed to succeed, and only succeeded in alienating most of the rest of the world. Remember – we were the good guys. Under Buscheney, we revealed to the world that we really were the same as the bad guys. And through drones, torture and constant eavesdropping, America continues to reinforce the message that we can’t be trusted or relied upon when things get tough. We will protect ours, and as for the rest of youse guys – fahgettaboutit. Tony and Walter would approve. But the results are unfortunate for many in the rest of the world. You can ask the million-plus Syrian refugees about that. They are hopelessly caught between failed attempts at patriarchy from Assad and ISIS, with no grown-up to intervene and save them. And I fear this misery will spread to other places caught in the same trap. Putin’s Russia immediately comes to mind.

Interesting footnote – here’s a diagram of the comments on Scott’s essay. Half the comments reject his thesis outright, clinging to the current or old ways. The other half agree with his thesis, and half of those who agree say they have no desire to act like adults. Guess that says it all, huh? Where are you on this, gentle reader?

Kansas City tied it up last night, performing nearly perfectly and showing us the Giants did not and will not intimidate them. But there was one interesting element that made the game worthy of national news.

Relief pitcher Hunter Strickland behaved in a less-than-gentlemanly fashion over a double and a home run on his mound-time. He behaved like all these other athletes that are currently in trouble with the NFL. Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson: they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Google “athletes in trouble with the NFL”, and you get a whole page of pictures, the majority of whom are African-American. What’s the story here? I think it is likely a combination of performance-enhancing drugs (roid rage) and – in the case of the NFL – head trauma impacts. Look at the picture of these two Baltimore Ravens. Can you look like that just through exercise? I think not.

It would appear that American professional sports are having a huge impact on players, their families and the viewing audience psyche. Weekly headlines about domestic abuse, child abuse, suicide – the similarities to returning soldiers’ behavior can’t be missed. Are we condemning a whole generation of young men to violence, on their families and themselves – through the violence of making a living? It would certainly appear so.

A Focus on Violence by Returning G.I.’s

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ and DAN FROSCH
Published: January 1, 2009
FORT CARSON, Colo. — For the past several years, as this Army installation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains became a busy way station for soldiers cycling in and out of Iraq, the number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes has raised alarm.

What to do? Figure out the correlations and causations and find means of treatment and modification of the games. It’s too late for those already affected, both on the playing fields and in the theater of war. But it’s not too late to change the outcomes for those who haven’t yet succumbed. The first step is acknowledging the depth and breadth of the problem, and doing more about it than the lame statements of NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell.

Hunter Strickland’s behavior may peak the interest of the Baseball Commissioner’s office, as this was the second incident of him losing control just this month. But it likely won’t change the outcome of this series. I predict the SF Giants will take the next two games, both of which they will play at home. So with the last game hanging in the balance, the two teams will return to Kansas City and shoot it out. I’m hoping KC pulls it off, just as they did in the 7th game the last time they were in the Series in 1985. But that assumes Strickland doesn’t put a gun in his pocket, and shoot anybody that gets a hit off one of his pitches. Now that would make for a dramatic end to the series, in true reality show style. Not funny.

So it’s Malaysian Airliners Flight MH 370 lost somewhere; not the one that Putin himself shot down, but the other one that disappeared from the radar after turning south, they say into the south Indian Ocean. But hey, Kim Jong-Un is lost too. Are they lost together? Did the young-un arrange to steal that plane to add to North Korea’s ‘civilian’ fleet so he could travel the world in style? He went to Africa to pick up the plane, after they removed all the passengers who died of a mysterious disease called hypoxia. That’s where the plane is – in Africa. Kim went there, looking for his plane and to visit Obama – you know, the African guy pretending to be an American? Instead, the Young-un found Ebola. So dontcha see how all those pieces fit together?

The NY Times has finally caught on to what’s happening in France – The next “New Wave”. Back in the post-war period in France, filmmakers like Godard, Renoir and the guy who had the cameo in Close Encounters Truffaut were making new and ‘edgy’ films that starred Jean Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Yves Montand’s wife Simone Signoret, Deneuve the lovely and other, less well known but equally effective character actors. America in the 70’s built on their work; Warren Beatty with Bonnie & Clyde, Scorcese with Taxi Driver and Polanski with Chinatown were much influenced by the French techniques. Well, gentle readers, the Times has picked up on this new Wunderkind, Emmanuel Macron – the guy I wrote about several posts ago. He’s the new economics minister that a desperate Hollande tapped to help him out of the mess he’s created by vacillating between his home grown socialism and trying to please the EU. Didn’t work – can’t get there from here.

So it turns out this young fella Macron started out as a philosopher studying Machiavelli – good training for the complicated reality of French politics. He’s stood up to the EU, daring them to punish France for doing what everybody knows all the member countries should be doing. The fellow married his French teacher from high school – now that’s an interesting factoid, eh? OK, maybe not, but the Times felt compelled to put in in their introductory piece about the guy. So is the Grey Lady becoming a gossip mag? Gotta sell those papers, huh?

OK, enough Times bashing. Here’s the point – Macron will lead the charge, but eventually Germany is going to find itself in a pickle. They’ll watch their ‘partner’ states unite, threatening to leave the union unless Germany lets the European Central Bank do what it needs to do to allow Europe to compete on the global stage. It’s about time – 6 years of deflation with no end in sight. Fifty percent unemployment amongst young people in places like Spain, Greece and Italy? That will have a very long term effect on not just the economics but also the politics of those countries – Greece being the prime example. Europe will likely vacillate between extremes – violent nationalism laced with anti-Semitism on the one side and radicalized socialism on the other. Not good for stability; not good for long term economic growth through exports and their old standby tourism. But here’s the point I’m making – a new wave of economic thinking, modeled on what Shinzo Abe has done for Japan, will be led by France if Hollande can stand the heat from his gang of socialist cronies. If Macron does not succeed in leading the charge, Europe will be one step closer to violent confrontation, first within their respective countries and then against the recalcitrants in Germany. Not good for anyone – so let’s all root for Emmanuel and his New Wave.

We visited with Aunt Jopie week before last – had a terrific time. I got her to watch The History Boys – the movie version from ’06. She and I both need the closed caption on, particularly for viewing people who speak quickly and with British accents. There was plenty of that in THB. But my favorite line from the movie – in fact, I think it likely all my favorite lines from that film – are spoken by the only female teacher seen in the plot, Mrs. Lintott, or “Totty” to the boys. Frances De Le Tour plays her in the film, and apparently also played her on the stage. But here’s the best one:

Mrs. Lintott: Can you, for a moment, imagine how depressing it is to teach five centuries of masculine ineptitude? And

History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.

Great lines – great truths.

BTW: this is just the beginning of a series of thoughts that will culminate in a big blog post inspired by the A.O. Scott musings on the Death of Adulthood in American Culture – or some words to that effect. I think I gave you the real title before – but if not, you’re going to read so much about this, we’ll get it to eventually.

Gotta go – making a lemon sugar syrup for two lemon buttermilk pound cakes. The family is gathering for a pulled pork dinner. Kyle is bringing Chris and the telescope, so we can only hope for good weather tonight. Supposta be – fingers crossed.