My visit to the dentist should be quick, but I think it’s time to let readers talk amongst themselves. The topic of politics always engenders discussion—and strong feelings—so I might suggest that one. (I’d suggest recent books you’ve read, but I usually do that in conjunction with describing a book I’ve just read.) But there’s lots to discuss here. A few questions:
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
Are the Democrats too woke?
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
Is Beyocé overrated?
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
I know about Dylan’s birthday because I am 13 days older than him though much less wise.
Bringing It All Back Home was released in 1965, and was Bob Dylan’s fifth LP. It was his first album to feature – at least on side one – an electrified band; horrors!
The cover photograph by Daniel Kramer contains all manner of interesting details. Dylan (on the right) is holding his cat Rolling Stone. The woman in the red jumpsuit, holding a cigarette and staring at the camera was Sally Grossman, wife of Dylan’s then-manager Albert Grossman, both formidable figures in the Sixties music music scene and for decades after.
It was the Grossman’s who introduced Dylan to Woodstock. Dylan bought a house there that was later christened Big Pink.
In an interview in 1996 Sally Grossman said in regards the photo session “I was around and Bob just asked me to do it.” Of the red jumpsuit, she added, “I don’t think I’ve worn it again.”
Sally Grossman died at age 81 on March 10th.
And he and the Band recorded some immortal music at that house. Thanks for the interesting tidbits; I didn’t know about Sally Grossman, I always thought the person in the photo was his girlfriend.
Dylan owned a home close by in Woodstock, but to the best of my knowledge, he never owned “Big Pink.” It was a place rented by three member of The Band, with a makeshift recording studio on the bottom floor, where they recorded the “basement tapes” with Dylan and wrote and rehearsed their own eponymous “Music from Big Pink” album.
[ cries on the inside ]
There’s this too :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/63rd_Annual_Grammy_Awards
Not official best song but my pick :
All I Need – Jacob Collier, Mahalia, Ty Dolla $ign
[ sniff sniff ]
Bipartisanship takes 2 to tango. It has never been a problem for the Democratic Party. As long as the Republican Party maintains a policy of refusing to work with the Democratic Party there will be no significant bipartisanship despite the DP’s best efforts. I only hope they don’t throw away any advantages they might have in a vain effort, like the Obama administration did during its first couple of years.
My 2 cents:
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
No, because the Republicans refuse to participate.
Their ownly negotiating tactic was “NO”
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
Any hope? Yes, there was a good plan years ago but Republicans would not consider it. I don’t think it will happen in the next few years unless the filibuster is removed.
Are the Democrats too woke?
Some are but not a maority.
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
His method of communicating. He doesn’t throw darts at the other side and he speaks calmly and is inclusive of all
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
Allowing the border to open up for unacompanied children.
What are we going to do with them?
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
Yes, for many. The top cutoff income should have been lower.
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
Let the process play out.
Is Beyocé overrated?
Who? LOL I find the question uninteresting.
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
Yes, he is older than I am and I just turned 70.
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
Conservative.
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
There are too many good one. Why must there be a best.
Re: “not a maority”…if that wasn’t deliberate, it SHOULD have been. ^_^
🙂
Ditto for: “Their ownly negotiating tactic was “NO””. 🙂
That was deliberate.
Nice
So I’m guessing you don’t have much use for the old adage that if a person isn’t a liberal at age 20 he has no heart and if he isn’t a conservative by age 40 he has no brains? 😉 I’d raise that to age 60 but retain the concept for the sake of discussion. When is conserving an appropriate approach to: the environment, relationships, politics, finance and probably other stuff as well? Conservative can mean trying to preserve the baby when the bath water is changed.
It is all rather confusing when going by the labels . . . Conserving the environment is a liberal thing, and conservatives have failed to conserve politics by refusing to engage in it since Clinton, and going by the actual numbers liberals are the financial conservatives . . .
I can hear a Monty Python sketch in this somewhere.
Not to mention peach conserves…
Worse than “impactful”? I’ll go with “wellness”. Best novel of all time? I’ll go with the one novel I have read multiple times, even though the ending sucks: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Still hilarious after all these years–AND politically incorrect, because you can’t pray away a lie.
I’d nominate “authentic,” as in, “My authentic self” and/or “Being authentic.” I can’t put my finger on it but such phrases elicit an immediate involuntary eyeroll from me.
An authentic eye roll?
I think bipartisanship is dead. The gulf in worldview and the resentment are too great to overcome.
Democratic party is too woke. They have abandoned all reason.
$1400 checks are going to the wrong people. They will just juice up asset prices and won’t make much of a difference who need most help. IMHO.
Local, and purely anecdotal, in the drive-through line of the Food Bank distribution today, I was taking phone numbers of people who needed a ride to get the COVID vaccine, and talked to a couple who feared their car would be repossessed unless their stimulus check arrived in time for them to make a payment.
They deserve the help, perhaps more than what they are getting. On the other hand, I know a few millionaires who will be getting the full $1400 per person.
How does that work? To my understanding, a million is quite a bit more than $75,000,
Millionaires of good conscience will probably (well…hopefully) give their windfall to various charities. Personally I like kiva.org, a global micro-financing outfit. Officially the donations are loans and much is paid back which one rolls over to new loans.
You can pick the donees – gender, geography, area of small business, etc.
I made a bit of money as a VC years ago and believe in helping people to attain a lifestyle with well directed capital.
I also like the Good Dog Foundation who train dogs to visit people in hospital and also sit and listen to kids read.
D.A.
NYC
a good dog – https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/06/10/photos-of-readers-93/
As for the ‘best novel of all time:’ the judge will need the following qualifications–1) to have read all of the novels of all time; 2) to know what ‘best’ means. The first criterion is daunting, clearly impossible to meet, since there have been an awful (awesome) number of novels written since the literary genre of ‘novel’ was invented (in the West) more than two millennia ago. Perhaps no-one really means ‘best of all time,’ so we’ll move on. And the second criterion is mired in philosophical mud. Another’s ‘short list’ of the ‘best’ novels will surely differ from mine; nor will mine of today be the same as mine yesterday, for I will have read more novels since the first list, will (probably) not have re-read many of the old-timers in my pantheon (two examples: I recall being completely infatuated with Hermann Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’ but now can’t even spell the title; and I was similarly bowled over by Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure,’ but I have not returned to either). Moreover, some few of the novels I’ve read over the past three years strike me as ‘better’ than those on the old short list. What to make of this: I have changed. But if a reader changes–if all readers necessarily change, being mortal–while the texts remain fixed, how shall we judge of quality?
I think bipartisanship is dead. The gulf in worldview and the resentment are too great to overcome. I wonder how this ends.
Democratic party is too woke. They have abandoned all reason.
$1400 checks are going to the wrong people. They will just juice up asset prices and won’t make much of a difference who need most help. IMHO.
I won’t chime in on the novel of all time. I will say that I recently read a really, really, great novel by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi: Kintu. She deserves the awards she’s received for it. If you have an interest in history and culture in Uganda, check it out.
I don’t know about best, but anything by Charles Dickens makes me happy. I couldn’t tell you anything that Bouncy has sung. I wouldn’t know her, masked or unmasked, were she to show up at my front door. Worst word (when used to describe anything except the Grand Canyon or the Milky Way): awesome.
Agree with entirety.
“Impactful” is a perfectly adequate word to describe precisely the experience of a fecal impact, and it should be praised as such every instance it can be!
Example :
Reading PuffHo is an impactful experience.
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
— Probably not, although building bridges to the Lynn Cheney (i.e. reasonably sane) GOP faction may well be possible. And given the slender margins the Dems enjoy in Congress, those bridges could be make-or-break for Biden.
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
— Hard to say. The Dems need a coherent story, they need to sell it to the country, and they need to persuade enough of the GOP to at least not oppose them on it. So far, I’m not sure they *have* such a story yet.
Are the Democrats too woke?
— There is definitely a tendency in that direction. But it’s hard to say just how deep it runs. And a counterwoke movement is building in what has long been a core Democrat constituency. So all that is still up in the air, I think.
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
— The vaccine rollout and Merrick Garland.
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
— It’s more what he hasn’t done than anything bad that he has done. He’s allowing a bit too much momentum to build amongst the hyperwoke faction, I’d say, but again, it’s not clear just how far that will get. The all-important white suburbs are a bit more progressive than a generation ago, but not
fundamentally woke and won’t be, I don’t think.
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
— Probably not. For a lot of people, it’s not needed, and for many more, I think, it’s not enough to give them a way out of the deadend that many people in towns and small cities in the Midwest and
South have ended up in as the 21st century casual temporary-labor-based economy and the outsourcing of most manufacturing has devastated their economies.
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
— There’s a chance, but I think it’s getting smaller by the minute.
Is Beyocé overrated?
— Have never listened to her, so can’t say.
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
— I had an idea that he was getting on, but wow, that does cause one to stop in one’s tracks and
start thinking dark thoughts that I’d just as soon *not*.
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
— It’s pretty bad, but I think the phrase ‘going forward’ as it’s used by politicians and academic administrators is still worse.
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
— C’mon, you *know* there’s no good answer for that! My favorite novel is one that I doubt anyone else has heard of, let alone read: _South Wind_, by the early twentieth century English writer Normal Douglas. Second most favorite is _War and Peace_ (which probably a fair number of people regard as the greatest novel). Even harder for movies. You could make a case for _Casablanca_, or the Russian version of _War and Peace_ (Sergei Bondarchuk), or _Fanny and Alexander_… there are just too many great ones out there!
Normal or Norman?
Ha, good catch. *Norman* Douglas was anything but normal—but his prose was warm, whimsical, droll, cheerful and very satisfying in a way few modern writers manage to equal.
“Are the Democrats too woke?
— There is definitely a tendency in that direction. But it’s hard to say just how deep it runs. And a counterwoke movement is building in what has long been a core Democrat constituency. So all that is still up in the air, I think.”
African Americans?
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
Normalcy.
The word is normality, and I don’t care what American-English dictionaries say.
Dead right!!! And as far as I am concerned, by saying that you ARE special! 👍🤓
You can blame Warren Harding for that one. The Teapot Dome scandal was a return to what passes for GOP “normalcy.”
I’ve been saying for a while that Voldemort was (hoppin’ Hank, it feels SO GOOD to use the past tense!) the most corrupt POTUS since W. G. Harding. I get blank looks from most people.
Because the former guy was way worse than Harding!
Some very quick answers here, I don’t know. To Kill a Mockingbird is right up there for me. The movie as well.
Bipartisanship not much of any. The republicans are still in fear of Trump for some reason. Also the republican party, what is left of it is now officially the racist party. There is no getting along with racist and nazis. Ron Johnson pretty much made it clear with his comments – you can look them up. The important thing is, there was no comments from other republicans on what he said. No condemnation. In this party you can be as racist as you want and you don’t have to be from the south. It’s okay. If you think not just look at what they are doing with voter rights.
Biden is just getting started. Give them more time. The cabinet is not even completed yet. Remember there was this Covid thing first. The money that will be going to people, especially with kids, and to schools and the states is very important and will make a difference. There is improvement coming in health care as well and for small business. Money going to people other than the rich, what a difference. Immigration has been a problem for years but they will figure it out. Trump had done so bad and also reduced the numbers so much there was bound to be problems. The racist will certainly try to make it a big deal. What else would they do. Just complain and say no and work on that voter suppression, that is what they will do.
If people with a brain just look at what the republicans are doing within their own states, they would be nuts to vote for them. In both Kansas and Wisconsin they refused the fed money years ago on Medicaid and thousands suffer for that. Of course the better off folks do not care or give a damn.
Cuomo is toast. He can wait and just dig a deeper hole if it makes him feel good but he is done. Biden’s response is politics just like he tends to do on many issues. He needs someone to slap him up side of the head once in a while and tell him what year it is. You cannot love all Catholic priests and also love the sexual harassment. For some of us that bag is too full.
As a Briton, I would say giving the $1400 stimulus to everyone – I assume over 18 – is insane. You give it to millionaires? Not means tested? Why not raise the threshold at which one pays tax – the poorest benefit then.
Off to get vax at the Crick Centre!
I think there’s meant to be an upper limit of income to qualify you for the $1.4k
The trouble with just raising the lower limit of paying tax is that, if you have no income, you already don’t pay any tax, but you are probably one of the people to benefit most from the $1.4k.
Maybe no income tax, but the poor still pay VAT and tax on liquor and tobacco.
The 1400 would indeed benefit the poor most.
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
I think there is on several issues, but it depends, he can make some gambits, but if not taken up, he should not try to insist like Obama did, and go ‘nuclear’. Let us not forget the the US Senate is not a democratic body, for some states their vote counts 70 times the vote in other states.
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
Of course, I think his president, when he was VP, made some good efforts there. A lot can be achieved there.
Are the Democrats too woke?
No, not as a whole. The problem is they should not take their woke fringe as ‘gospel’. It is a difficult balancing act, not to give in to the more ridiculous woke rhetoric and programs, but just be left enough not to alienate the far left.
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
His very successful vaccination program.
And his re-adherence to the Paris agreements
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
This title IX thing. We had whole threads here about the subject, but I think De Vos’ break was warranted, one of the very few positives of the Trump administration. I gather it is under scrutiny now. I’m not holding my breath.
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
Yes, and it will stimulate the economy more than tax cuts to the 0.01% and corporations (the latter used that mainly to buy back their own stocks, not bad in itself, but not stimulating the economy either)
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
No. Not so much his sexual innuendos (he has not been accused of actual acts), but his trying to minimize, nay deny, the impact of the policy -even if he is not 100% responsible, he got bad guidelines- to get COVID patients placed in old age homes is devastating. I mean, not the wrong policy, but the efforts to cover it up. Deadly.
Is Beyocé overrated?
As an musician: yes, greatly overrated.
As an actor: no, eg. she was great in “the Pink Panther.’
As a sexual idol: no. If I were younger I would have wet dreams, she is excessively beautiful, sexy and has this great world-forgetting smile.
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
No I didn’t, but I knew he was in his seventies
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
Yes, although ‘impactful’ is pretty awful (I can fully agree there) , there are many worse words. Just go to your own posts about ‘terms & expressions one hates’.
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
The best novel is a difficult one, I do not read many novels, I mostly read non fiction, but many of those I did would qualify. There was this novel by an Australian aboriginee where some passages are etched in my mind. But I can’t remember her name or the tilte (MyHouse?) Is “the House of Mr Biswas” a novel? Are the Raymond Chandler detectives novels? I just can’t answer that. Are the judge Dee stories novels? The greatest one is very short “Four fingers”, brilliant, as is “Necklace and Calabash”, but I would not consider them the greatest novels, since they are not really novels. I simply cannot answer the question.
For films it is about the same, “The Fiddler on the Roof”? “Dances with Wolves”? “Amacord”?”, “Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot”?”, ” La Grande Bouffe”? , “Waterloo”? “Stotsi”? “An Honorable Man?” and so many, many others.
Let us cut the knot, stick out the neck, and go for “Who framed Roger Rabbit?”
The $1400 stimulus doesn’t work like that. There’s a $70,000 per person ceiling. Someone earning a million would get nothing.
Individuals earning less than $75,000 heads of households relearning less than $112,000 and married couples making less than $150,000 are qualified for the full amount. I guess what bothers me is that there is quite a difference between me, making just under $26,000 and someone making $75,000, yet we both get that same $1,400. I know a sliding scale would make for a more difficult rollout but I’d hardly call someone making 75k or a couple making 150k “struggling”, whereas I struggle every month to make ends meet. I can honestly say that YES, this money and the previous stimulus has certainly helped me. What would help more is to have decent paying jobs year-round that I didn’t have to drive a round-trip 2 1/2 hour commute. Ah well. I gotta take what I can get.
If the guy making $74,000 who gets a check spends it somewhere, it will have served its purpose. The economy took a big hit over the last year. Hiring people to do stuff with the money is good for all of us.
You have the misfortune to live in such a land 😬 hardly great for poorer people in the UK either, but in the US it is loaded against the have nots…
It just seems to me there are better ways of doing it.
I agree with GBJames: Spend it. Will it not make a larger proportional difference for you vs. a person make $74K/yr? ($1400 would be about 2/3 of your monthly income.)
Me and my family are not eligible. As is right. We’ve come through COVID relatively unscathed.
An excellent novel I’ve read recently is Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann, which involves the true-life adventures and meetings-up of Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Gauss.
Very wittily told.
I read it in the original German. One thing is very unusual: there is no direct dialogue, all is indirect. Did that survive the translation?
I think we discussed this before, Phillip, when I was part-way through it, and I remember looking at the time and not noticing anything particularly unusual about the direct vs. indirect. I passed the book on to a friend on Sunday so can’t look again. It was very well-written. My German is a bit rusty but I did attempt Berlin Alexanderplatz last year, auf deutsch, with two English translations nearby. One was sort of 20s American gangster and the other British Cockney. I found the Berliner dialect not that far off from the Wienerisch I had learned as a child. Now I can’t remember which of the English translations bugged me🙀 Ach Du Lieber.
I did notice the indirect dialogue, which I think is pretty prominent. I read about 15% of it within the last 2 weeks; but it didn’t “take” for me. I did not realize it was actually a novel.
I will have to give it another try (with that in mind).
My personal favorite German novel translated into English is Perfume by Patrick Süskind. Brilliant novel (though gruesome subject matter). They managed to make it into a good movie as well (which I didn’t think was possible).
À chacun son goût. Measuring grabbed me from the first paragraph. Perfume, book and tv series, were just “meh”, imo.
Oh yes I forgot that novel – must read it!
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
Nope. In fact, I don’t know how Joe Biden could have promised it since it requires the cooperation of the Republicans.
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
Can’t speak for the USA but not in the UK despite Brexit. Governments like immigrants because they are more likely to pay taxes and less likely to still be here when they become a net burden to the state.
Are the Democrats too woke?
No. The problem isn’t that Democrats generally are too woke but that the woke section shouts loudly.
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
That he behaves like a man who understands the responsibility of running a large country.
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
Pass.
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
Not generally. Some Americans will definitely welcome the payment though.
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
I think he’s finished.
Is Beyocé overrated?
I’m not familiar enough with her music to say. It’s not to my taste.
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
Unbelievable. I thought he was 180.
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
I want to say “impactfulness” but I don’t think you’re allowed to make them up. I hate “burglarise” more. Burglarising something means making it into a burglar. Breaking and entering into a house to steal stuff is burgling.
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
Under what criteria? Best? Most impactful? Whichever, the sample of novels I have e read and films I have watched is too small to qualify me to answer the question. One thing I am sure about is that it is not Lord of the Rings (in either category).
Best movie or novel of all time? Christ, I have a hard enough time struggling to pick the best Kubrick movie or Saul Bellow novel or Dylan LP of all time.
If they went by how many times it has been on cable TV, one channel or another, it might be The Hunt For Red October. I have seen it so many times I can do the dialogue for most of the characters.
Sub.
(Only kidding…)
It is very good. My wife saw it for the first time recently and I watched too. It remains good, though some of the acting is pretty hammy (e.g. Sam Neill, who I usually really like).
Nope. The most televised movie ever is The Shawshank Redemption. Or is there soon to be a channel devoted to showing it continuously 24 – 7?
Another movie I like very much.
Yes, among the best movies I forgot “Dr Strangelove” If not the best, at least one of the most impactful ( 🙂 ) ones, giving thought to MAD and Doomsday Machines.
Catch-22, the book, not the movie or mini-series.
The movie was pretty good but I agree on the Dr. Strangelove. Catch-22 was appreciated most by us X military back in those days.
I was ready to love the movie, but found it didn’t capture the black humor of the book.
Yeah, the movie Catch-22 wasn’t nearly as good as the novel, but I was surprised the novel could be adapted to the screen at all. And I thought Mike Nichols did a fantastic job casting the movie, from Alan Arkin as Capt. Yossarian to Orson Welles as Gen. Dreedle, and everyone in between.
I read the novel before I saw the film, and I’ve read it several times since, but since seeing the film, I see the characters from the movie in my mind’s eye when I reread Heller’s book.
Yeah, you’d think it would be an impossible movie to make. Did you see the fairly recent George Clooney mini-series? I’ve got the book out to reread.
I haven’t seen the Clooney mini-series, at least not yet, but I’ve heard about it.
How’d you like it?
Not brilliant, but probably worth watching. Clooney’s Gen. Scheisskopf wasn’t very good.
As a non-American, the notion of “bipartisan” is a bit baffling to me. I’d rather have “non-partisan”. Sometimes “both” (and why only two?) sides are wrong.
The choice of best novel is too constrained by the language knowledge of the person doing the choosing. I happen to be very partial to “Don Quixote”, although today it would be cancelled by the wokes. But I understand it is not obvious without a very deep knowledge of Spanish language (and culture).
As for Beyoncé, someone observed that one proof that the world is unfair is that she is a super-rich superfamous celebrity, while very few people (comparatively) know of Dimash Kudaibergen. I agree.
All the other issues are too foreign to me.
Thanks for your comments on Don Quixote. I have tried (but failed) to enjoy it (in English); and I have enjoyed many, old, classic novels translated into English.
Could you recommend your favorite English translation/translator? (I have enjoyed Spanish-English translations by Robert Graves’ daughter Lucia Graves.)
I’m one of the many who did not know Dimash Kudaibergen. Thank you mentioning him. He is incredible, jaw-dropping, nearly unbelievable.
Thank you for bringing to my attention Dimash Kudaibergen. What an incredible voice.
People think of their political affiliations the same way they think about their religion, which is to say blind adherence. The only cure for either is education. You have moderates, and you have fundamentalists. The fundamentalists (too woke, or too Trumpy) ruin the party for the people in the middle. The people in the middle need to grab the reigns and recognize and explain the problems, then set about finding reasonable solutions.
Cuomo needs to go. He’s just a distraction now, and that doesn’t help anything. The GOP had their chance to purge themselves of Trump and they failed.
Biden’s best quality thus far is calm. It’s also nice to see a bill (the relief bill) that was put together based on real need instead of cheap parlor tricks. He talked to all the experts and leaders and put together a plan to help. But he should have done something with the Saudi’s.
I’m gonna be completely honest, I didn’t realize Dylan was still alive. But such classics……
Star Wars, the original trilogy.
Best movie of all time: “Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”. On the last three of the 15 or so times I’ve watched it, I brought along my developmentally disabled son Aaron. The first of these three viewings he didn’t like. The second time, he said it wasn’t bad. The third time, he judged that it was “cool” (or perhaps better said “kul“). I would say that film’s appeal to such a wide variety
of viewers puts it in a special category. On the other hand, the first “Madagascar” animated film appealed equally to both Aaron and me on multiple viewings, so I guess it belongs right up there with Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece.
The chances of bipartisanship in government are nil. The lesson the GOP (or at least the Trumpists, and those that are scared shitless of them, which together account for nearly the entire Party) took from the Trump years is that the Big Lie works. If you repeat a falsehood often enough, and loudly enough, the most excitable elements of the base will eat it up.
For a Party whose policies and personalities are as generally unpopular as the GOP’s — a Party that has lost the popular vote in eight of the last nine presidential elections, whose 50 members in the US Senate represent 45 million fewer constituents than do the 50 US senators who are Democrats (or who caucus with them), and that picked up 13 seats in the House in the last election despite getting nearly 5 million fewer votes — the only way to cling to power is to turn out its base by exciting it to fever pitch, while suppressing as many votes as possible from the opposition (since the last election, Republican state legislators have introduced 253 bills in 43 states seeking to restrict voting rights), and to push its current advantages with the antidemocratic features of the US government to their max.
Members of a minority political party are entitled to all the rights, privileges, and protections afforded by the first 10 and the 14th amendments to the US constitution. What a minority political party oughtn’t be able to do in a functioning, rational democracy is to force its policies into law over the will of the majority.
My family of four got the full $5600 even though we have not had any hardship. We took two minor financial hits this year. I did not get a raise and my daughter lost her part time job that she was using to help pay for college.
These are penny ante compared to losses (financial and health) that some people and businesses took. We are healthy and financially sound. There is no good reason for us to receive this money not too mention the previous thousands.
Spend it where it will do some good. It is intended to benefit the economy in general.
To help the economy, it should have gone to people and businesses in need. Instead it was plucked from the magic money tree to bribe people into supporting the Dems. My family’s share of the national debt went up by over $25,000.
I am going to spend it to help my family – my daughter’s education and helping my son get his first apartment. I will continue to help my friends’ businesses with my labor e.g. making picnic table for a restaurant, planting Christmas trees for a small farmer.
As long as you spend it while you complain. Spending it is what counts.
GB, you are one of the few commenters here who grasp that idea. There is a direct benefit to individuals (whether they’re in dire straits or not), but there is also a benefit to the economy in general. This is needed to trigger a recovery.
I don’t read enough novels to have an opinion on the best novel, but I’ve seen a lot of movies. Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca are the two best movies I’ve seen.
GCM
Even Nick Hodges gives ‘Laurence of Arabia” good points. Great film.
Those blue eyes😻
Yes, Greg, I did forget about “Aurence”!
With film picks like those, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 🙂
Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
I doubt it, if bipartisanship requires keeping the filibuster.
Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
See above.
Are the Democrats too woke?
Some are, but as a whole, no.
What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
Tie: Just telling the truth for a change, and passing the covid relief bill.
What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
Ruling out eliminating the filibuster (for now, at least).
Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
I think it is the least important part of the bill.
Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
Doubt it, although the Governor of Virginia surviving a black-face scandal is a counter example.
Is Beyocé overrated?
Who?
Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
Not surprised. His breakthrough came when I was in high school.
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
I impactfully agree.
What is the best novel of all time? (Same for movies.)
In my lived experience, Madam Bovary and Easy Rider were the most impactful of novels and movies, respectively.
I Like your answer on the $1400. On the filibuster I suspect what the Democrats in the Senate have in mind is changing the rules. Maybe going back to the hard old days when the person filibustering had to actually be there, stand up and talk the entire time. In other words, make it so hard that most will not do it. I believe they can do this and more on a simple majority vote and take the buster out of fil. Just a bad joke.
Another interesting rule change would would be as follows; Instead of requiring 60 votes to pass, require 40 votes not to pass, and the voting would occur whenever a quorum is met.
The absolute worst is “ought.” The moment it’s uttered in any context, the BS alarm starts ringing.
And I think “tremendous” now sits in second, considering President Dumbbell routinely hijacked important-sounding words such as that, so he could be emptily associated with the label. Like saying “I’m really, really rich” and then never quantifying it.
Don’t forget “awesome”. 😉
Best novels of all time. Sorry, could not pick just one.
Candide – Voltaire
Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters – Jean Shepard
The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Graham
The Once and Future King – T. H. White
Foundation Trilogy – Isaac Asimov
NOTE: Best scientific science fiction short story – Nightfall by Asimov
Loved The Once and Future King, and Candide.
Two more sci-fi treasures are the Phoenix Legacy by M. K. Wren and Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland. The first is a trilogy with a philosophical and political foundation. The second is a political tale with a female protagonist.
Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
For my money, the word “problematic” has rapidly degenerated into the worst word in the English language.
So many things are “problematic” that the word has lost almost all discernible meaning meaning. What’s problematic? Everything. Political commentators and cultural critics use the word as a lazy stand-in for meaningful analysis or criticism. How was the movie? Good, but problematic. How’s that legislation shaping up? It’s looking terribly problematic.
I have heard from several sources that many younger people are using their stimulus checks to speculate in the so-called “meme” stocks, like Gamestop. If true, some better targeting of stimulus checks was needed. Running deficits to finance stock speculation sounds like a bad idea to me.
How would “better targeting” work? Find out what people are going to do with the money before they qualify for it? Or perhaps demand it back if they don’t use it wisely (according to some.)
The stimulus money will stimulate the economy by getting money circulating. Economics 101: Spent money multiplies with each transaction, benefitting all the hands that touch it as it passes along. So – landlords, grocers, liquor stores, contractors, truckers get paid. Community coffers get fed, payrolls get met. Those getting stimulus checks will likely NOT store their money in offshore accounts, buy yachts, purchase power or whatever the 1% do with the extra billions that they have NOT invested in creating jobs and helping society.
That is an excellent question. It is difficult to control how people use cash assistance, which is why so much assistance is in kind, like food stamps, medicaid, etc. I don’t think that sort of targeting is practical in a short term relief bill. But I would have preferred greater targeting of cash payments toward people who 1) have been adversely affected by the pandemic and 2) are in need. More assistance to families with income less than 50k and those who lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic. Just sprinkling the money over 80% of the population was not wise economically, I think. Of course, I understand the political appeal.
So you feel the income level is too high, I can understand that. But do you really think the motivation was political? I don’t agree, any more than ramping up the vaccine rollout was political. And I still don’t know how you would prevent people from investing, or why you would want to.
By any standard, the bill is very large, but my main concern as expressed is targeting. I already said it is not practical to control how people spend their assistance so it is best to target on need. People who are free to “invest” their stimulus checks are not likely to be in need. (Nor do I think speculating in meme stocks is investing.)
Yeah, I’m afraid it’s going to be tough to weed out people who make $50k (your number) but choose to buy stocks with their check. And if you’re going to make up your own definitions, it’s hard to discuss it.
+++1
My $0.02:
– Is there any possibility for bipartisanship, as Joe promised so often during his campaign?
I don’t think so. The GOP show no indication of moving away from: Power at any cost and pandering to the base of Voldemort.
– Is there any hope for meaningful immigration reform?
Not the way things are going now. The two parties could hardly be more polarized on this.
– Are the Democrats too woke?
Yes. Many of the prominent ones are. Too many are kowtowing (can I say that?!) to the woke agenda, e.g. Kendi and his ilk. Not every decision needs to be examined through the “social justice” prism. (Can anyone define “social justice”? Anyone, anyone? Bueller?)
– What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
Telling the truth. Simple. Acting like an adult. Acting like someone who can read. Surrounding himself with competent help. Not forcing himself onto our consciousness every (bleeping) second.
– What do you think is Biden’s most negative accomplishment so far?
Painting every decision and appointment with “diversity” and “social justice” and “equity”. I suppose he has to wave these flags. We’ll see how things really turn out with policy. Close runner-up: the apparent “throw open the gates” immigration policy.
– Do you think a $1400 stimulus check given to each qualifying person will really do substantial things for Americans?
Yes. I think many at the bottom are really desperate at the moment. We need to help as many we can bridge the gap to more-like- normalcy.
– Is there any chance Andrew Cuomo will stay on as New York’s governor?
Yes. Slim; but non-zero.
– Is Beyocé overrated?
Yes. But at least she can sing. Billie Eilish? You’ve got to be kidding.
– Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
No. Wow. Time flies.
– Is there a worse word than “impactful”?
Probably. How about this phrase: Complicated, nuanced diversity?
– What is the best novel of all time?
I don’t generally go for “bests”. My usual reply is, “best for what?” But, hey, I’ll bite. I suppose this really counts as my personal favorite: The Count of Monte Cristo
– What is the best movie of all time?
Same general comment as above. Out of Africa
Please explain if you can – Thrown open gates of immigration. I just read today in the post that Biden has not even increased the number over the reduced numbers of Trump. And these reduced numbers of Trump were pathetic. Now, it is likely he will increase the number but “thowing open the gates?” Give me a break.
On another note: report just out today from intelligence – interference in the 2020 election was from Russia. Not from China as Trump and his lackies put out over and over again. All a big lie.
Yes, Biden seems to have done an about-face this week, which I am really glad of. His statement yesterday was spot-on. The reason for the current rush to the border was his previous (at least head-fake to) “let ’em all in”.
– bipartisanship:
There are two chances, fat and slim. Joe did not promise bipartisanship, he promised to try. To him that means contribute to the content of a bill and agree to vote for it. To the GOP it means try to make the bill what the GOP wants, and then not vote for it anyway.
– Are the Democrats too woke?
The Democrats are woke because they need the votes. The real question is are the woke too woke, to which the consensus, on this site anyway, is yes. So far woke is about 90% hat and 10% cattle, so it may be survivable.
– What do you like best about what Biden’s done so far?
Not having a press conference. It is better to have the various department heads do those, Jen Psaki is great, and it is also driving some of the gotcha journalists crazy.
– stimulus check:
It will inject money into the economy, which is helpful when it is depressed.
– Did you know that Bob Dylan will be 80 on May 24?
The real news is that baby boomers are old people now, and we keep getting older every year.
A movie I enjoy watching repeatedly is Quiz Show, based on the TV scandals of the late 50’s. I love the last lines (paraphrased a little).
(* spoiler alert –sort of — if you don’t know the basic story *)
Senator: “So you admit to fixing Twenty-One every week for two years, deceiving the entire American public, and you still don’t think you did anything wrong?”
Producer: “No I don’t. The audience loved it, the contestants made more money than they’ve ever seen, the sponsor was happy … who got hurt? You know, give the people what they want, just like you do, Senator.”
Movies:
The Pianist
Lawrence of Arabia
Apocalypse Now
Master and Commander
It seems only yesterday—that is, 2013—that a bipartisan group of eight senators drafted reasonable, meaningful immigration reform legislation, and the Senate passed it by a healthy majority. The House,
held hostage by the “Tea Party” predecessors of Trump & Co., refused to take it up. Today, six of the
original gang of eight senators are still in office, and the Democrats hold the House and, by a hair, the Senate. So, considering numbers alone, there actually is a chance for immigration reform.
Other posters reminded me of possible choices for best film. Although I voted for “The Seventh Seal”, I have to add a vote for “Dr. Strangelove”, different though it is. Each of the several times I’ve
seen it, I am always astonished by the brilliance of the writing, the direction, and the ensemble work
of the cast, each member of which is clearly having the time of his life. In the category of direction
and ensemble acting, I submit a vote for Nikita Mikhalkov’s devastating “Burnt by the Sun”.
Damn near half the ensemble cast is Peter Sellers 🙂 (hard though it may be to believe that Group Capt. Mandrake, Pres. Merkin Muffley, and Strangelove are all played by the same actor).
Would’ve been even more, had Sellers not sprained his ankle, thereby forcing Slim Pickens into service as Maj. “King” Kong.
Much of the credit for the writing, I suspect, is due the wicked wit of Terry Southern.
‘is impactful’ versus ‘has an impact’—same number of syllables, same number of letters—it’s like ‘multiple’ versus ‘many’—language changed by shallow belief that one will sound profound.
Huzzahs, of course, for Peter Sellers, whose parts in this and many other films deserves a Best Ever
category of their own. [Particularly in “The Party”, Sellers’ funniest film.] In “Strangelove”, George C.
Scott also was brilliant, and so was Peter Bull as his foil the Russian ambassador. Sterling Hayden (in the only screen work he reportedly ever enjoyed) and Keenan Wynn were obviously having a ball with their parts. James Earl Jones played his role absolutely straight-faced, very effectively. And it all works together so extraordinarily well, we suppose due to Stanley Kubrick’s direction.
Seems about time for my “decadely” viewing of The Party, as well as Shot in the Dark, etc. Chimpanzee-muunkey…
Agreed on all. But you’re gonna hafta answer to the Coca-Cola company for omitting Keenan Wynn. 🙂
And don’t try any pre-versions, either.
I don’t know if it’s the best novel of all time, but the best that I have read, and that I think everyone should read, is Dune by Frank Herbert. It’s a great illustrative social commentary/allegory, touching on religion, politics, ecology/conservation, and the Middle East/oil situation (okay, that part is slightly dated). Still, it’s very good!
“The highest function of ecology is understanding consequences.”
I’m not USian, so decline to comment on US politics other than to express gladness at Biden admin’s return to climate-change sanity, and dismay at the spread of Critical race Theory (unfalsifiable and arguably racist). For me “best” novels and films are those most affecting personally. “The Brothers Karamazov” absolutely floored me when I read it at 19. I have since read, and loved,”Ulysses” three times. Too many films to name, but among those I watch again and again, always with renewed pleasure, are “Some Like it Hot,” “Grand Illusion,” and “Diva.”
that beyonce question tho 😂
America is currently the place where radical change and the impacts of those changes are happening that is going to dictate what happens next. I stand on the outside and look in and see more trouble coming than good.
As with everything that has to do with humanity it is more a matter of power and greed for the elites in society and the rest of society are nothing more than pawns to be moved around the board.
Think about Russia in 1917 as they tried to obtain the utopia that was sold to them. They experienced buyers remorse as a result and that is the result of buying into an ideology without unbiased inspection.
The same is happening today and more so in America than any other country.
It is astounding that as 2021 unfolds that the lies and hypocrisy of the elite class that control and dictate the way of things are being revealed and how it is ignored in large part.