If any of my dozen-or-so readers are also in or near Taipei, allow me to put in a plug for Jake's Country Kitchen in Tien Mou. They're a breakfast-all-day place (always a big plus with me) whose breakfasts actually resemble something you could get at a roadside diner in America. (Everybody and their brother sells waffles in Taiwan, but good ones are a rarity.) Their other specialty is Mexican food, and I discovered last night that they also do that very well. They are a bit expensive, but in light of the logistics involved in getting all the necessary ingredients here, I can accept that. We were even treated to our first blast of top-40 style Christmas music, piped in on the Internet from a station in Hawaii.
I hate to admit it, but I have been getting a bit tired of the fairly limited food choices we have in Longtan lately. (I'm not alone: a colleague of mine went to London for a weekend recently - and came back raving about how wonderful the food was. In London. Isn't that sad?) A taste of home last night was most welcome!
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Friday, November 26, 2004
Now what will I do with my free time?
Ten minutes ago, I mailed off my ninth and final grad school application. (I started eleven applications and considered three or four other schools seriously as well. But Michigan's draconian applications process turned me off, Harvard didn't have much going for it beyond the name in my field of interest, and I preferred to keep the number under ten anyhow.) So after two months of devoting nearly all my free time between classes to filling out online forms and trying to keep track of various paper items to send all over America and Europe, it's all over except for a few odds and ends (such as sending off GRE scores) which will take about five minutes each.
It's a relief, but also a bit frustrating to think there's nothing more I can do now except wait and hope for the best. And maybe enjoy a free afternoon now and then!
As for where I applied to, all will be shared once I find out where I get in. I don't want to jinx anything by commenting publicly before then!
It's a relief, but also a bit frustrating to think there's nothing more I can do now except wait and hope for the best. And maybe enjoy a free afternoon now and then!
As for where I applied to, all will be shared once I find out where I get in. I don't want to jinx anything by commenting publicly before then!
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Lost in Translation Part X
Even halfway around the world, there's nothing like that first Starbucks Peppermint Latte of the season! I so indulged yesterday, along with a number of colleagues both Western and local.
Since we were all speaking English, including the woman behind the counter, one of my Taiwanese fellow teachers made a casual request in English. "Please give me some sugar," she said to the clerk.
Trina was kind enough to explain to her what that phrase usually means if you say it to anyone other than a coffee salesperson.
Since we were all speaking English, including the woman behind the counter, one of my Taiwanese fellow teachers made a casual request in English. "Please give me some sugar," she said to the clerk.
Trina was kind enough to explain to her what that phrase usually means if you say it to anyone other than a coffee salesperson.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Another theory blown to bits
Five years ago, my then-girlfriend and I had a mix tape which spent most of the summer in my car, as did the both of us. One of the songs on the tape was Joni Mitchell's "Carey." Insightful as we were, we both thought the song was about bondage because of the refrain: "Carey get out your cane/I'll put on some silk." How very racy for 1971, y'know?
I lost the tape along with Sarah, but I finally got around to buying Blue in Singapore this past summer. (How that masterpiece avoided finding its way into my collection for so long is a good question, but never mind...) Last weekend, I happened to read the lyric sheets for the first time. And she's really saying "I'll put on some silver." Grrr.
For what it's worth, here is an interesting page about the story behind the song. Apparently the Mermaid Cafe was real, but a picture is lacking.
I lost the tape along with Sarah, but I finally got around to buying Blue in Singapore this past summer. (How that masterpiece avoided finding its way into my collection for so long is a good question, but never mind...) Last weekend, I happened to read the lyric sheets for the first time. And she's really saying "I'll put on some silver." Grrr.
For what it's worth, here is an interesting page about the story behind the song. Apparently the Mermaid Cafe was real, but a picture is lacking.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
You can STILL mess with that mouse in Orlando
Need a great way to waste a Saturday afternoon on the Internet? Have a look at this site for All Things Disney. Yeah, yeah, I know they're an evil greedy multimedia empire and ol' Walt wasn't a totally savory character. But you know all those movies you saw on TV once when you were a kid and think no one else remembers? They're all here!
I just went surfing because one of my kindy girls has a shirt with Marie from The Aristocats on it, which got me thinking about how much I loved that movie and how little I can remember about it now. (Oh yeah, and a couple of weeks ago, Trina and I rented You've Got Mail (don't bother if you haven't already), which features a snippet of "Never Smile At a Crocodile" which hasn't stopped replaying in my head since then - how could I have forgotten so completely about that song?! Oh yeah, and every now and then Trina mentions that we should try to find a video of Song of the South as long as we live in a country where it isn't banned. See what I mean? This stuff is everywhere in our lives!) Next thing I know, it's been two hours and vaguely familiar titles (remember The Cat From Outer Space?) are still jumping out at me!
It's a good thing for my credit card balance that I don't have a region 1 DVD player handy.
I just went surfing because one of my kindy girls has a shirt with Marie from The Aristocats on it, which got me thinking about how much I loved that movie and how little I can remember about it now. (Oh yeah, and a couple of weeks ago, Trina and I rented You've Got Mail (don't bother if you haven't already), which features a snippet of "Never Smile At a Crocodile" which hasn't stopped replaying in my head since then - how could I have forgotten so completely about that song?! Oh yeah, and every now and then Trina mentions that we should try to find a video of Song of the South as long as we live in a country where it isn't banned. See what I mean? This stuff is everywhere in our lives!) Next thing I know, it's been two hours and vaguely familiar titles (remember The Cat From Outer Space?) are still jumping out at me!
It's a good thing for my credit card balance that I don't have a region 1 DVD player handy.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Singing for our supper
A funny thing often happens when I get in a taxi over here. The drivers don't usually know much English, but they always seem to have a pre-set button on their radios set to an English-language station. (I'm not sure if there's more than one of those or not, since I stick to CDs in my own apartment.) And when a white guy gets in the cab, they always put that station on. I appreciate the gesture, but that station tends to play very old, square-the-minute-they-were-released easy listening songs that so many people love to hate. They are, however, pretty easy to sing, which leads to a certain impromptu karaoke effect. I've actually gotten pretty good at Engelbert Humperdinck's "A Man Without Love," which is really very cathartic to sing. (Think of all the big climaxes in the refrain - "Every day I wake up, then I start to break up," etc.)
I'd had that thought several times before last Saturday night, when Trina and I hailed a cab home from Chung Li. It was about a twenty minute ride. And the driver had a karaoke machine on his passenger seat.
He handed us back the microphones without really explaining what they were for - he probably didn't have enough English to do so, although he was able to speak a little. It was left to us to figure it out, which of course was pretty easy to do when he hit the play button on the video monitor on the dashboard. There was the classic serene clip of an anonymous but attractive woman wandering around the grounds of some vacation spot to the tune of Jacko's "You Are Not Alone," with the lyrics rolling by below.
Well, we did need to keep him happy if we wanted to get home.
The ride lasted about five songs, each one worse than the last and all of them making me wish he'd just switch to that cheesy easy listening station - heck, I'd gladly have sung along with those songs at that point. But, like so many such things, it was kind of fun. And the driver seemed to get a kick out of it too. Hey, why not humor the guy, right?
I did have it in the back of my mind that he might take an NT or two off the fare if we sang for him. He didn't, but at least we got a funny memory out of the whole thing. And with the driver's apparent taste in music, he probably didn't know that we couldn't sing anyhow.
I'd had that thought several times before last Saturday night, when Trina and I hailed a cab home from Chung Li. It was about a twenty minute ride. And the driver had a karaoke machine on his passenger seat.
He handed us back the microphones without really explaining what they were for - he probably didn't have enough English to do so, although he was able to speak a little. It was left to us to figure it out, which of course was pretty easy to do when he hit the play button on the video monitor on the dashboard. There was the classic serene clip of an anonymous but attractive woman wandering around the grounds of some vacation spot to the tune of Jacko's "You Are Not Alone," with the lyrics rolling by below.
Well, we did need to keep him happy if we wanted to get home.
The ride lasted about five songs, each one worse than the last and all of them making me wish he'd just switch to that cheesy easy listening station - heck, I'd gladly have sung along with those songs at that point. But, like so many such things, it was kind of fun. And the driver seemed to get a kick out of it too. Hey, why not humor the guy, right?
I did have it in the back of my mind that he might take an NT or two off the fare if we sang for him. He didn't, but at least we got a funny memory out of the whole thing. And with the driver's apparent taste in music, he probably didn't know that we couldn't sing anyhow.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
...and in English we call it an "artery clogger"
I never really put too much stock in the idea that field trips were supposed to be educational. Sure, they were usually (though not always) to places where you could learn something. My fifth grade trip to Old Sturbridge Village is still a fine memory, for example. But mostly, we kids always just looked at it as an excuse to get out of school for a day.
Besides, last week's new vocab words were mostly different types of junk food (French fries, chocolate, soda, etc.). So I wasn't too upset about our kindy field trip to McDonalds this morning.
Nutrition sensibilities aside, it was kind of fun. Seeing behind the counter and in the kitchen took me back to my Arby's days (and once again made me grateful for that summer of '92 slinging curly fries, which was more than enough to convince me not to drop out of college after all). Even the smell was pretty similar, for better or worse. The French fry thawer was new to me, and fun to watch for a minute or two. And the kids did pick up a few of the items whose names I'd taught them in English.
And of course, the kids loved it. The eating area of this McD's is two floors (as is the case with almost all of them in Taiwan for some reason), so after each batch of kids had had the tour, we shepherded them upstairs to play on the mini indoor playground while the others had their turn in the kitchen.
When it was all over, they brought up a big tray of fries for the kids to eat. I happened to be washing my hands in the bathroom when that happened, and I came out to find all the girls munching happily while the boys sat at another table looking like they were at a funeral. My co-teacher explained that "the boys don't eat. Because they fight." In what is becoming a second nature reaction, I immediately looked around for Chris, my one boy who can always be counted on to behave himself. Before I could ask, my co-teacher figured out who I was looking for and laughed. "Chris is here. He was good." Sure enough, there he was, amidst the girls and looking pretty happy about it.
Guess who Chris reminds me of? I hope he doesn't stay shy around girls as long as I did.
I wonder if the folks at CNN know that there are McDonalds in Iowa too?
Besides, last week's new vocab words were mostly different types of junk food (French fries, chocolate, soda, etc.). So I wasn't too upset about our kindy field trip to McDonalds this morning.
Nutrition sensibilities aside, it was kind of fun. Seeing behind the counter and in the kitchen took me back to my Arby's days (and once again made me grateful for that summer of '92 slinging curly fries, which was more than enough to convince me not to drop out of college after all). Even the smell was pretty similar, for better or worse. The French fry thawer was new to me, and fun to watch for a minute or two. And the kids did pick up a few of the items whose names I'd taught them in English.
And of course, the kids loved it. The eating area of this McD's is two floors (as is the case with almost all of them in Taiwan for some reason), so after each batch of kids had had the tour, we shepherded them upstairs to play on the mini indoor playground while the others had their turn in the kitchen.
When it was all over, they brought up a big tray of fries for the kids to eat. I happened to be washing my hands in the bathroom when that happened, and I came out to find all the girls munching happily while the boys sat at another table looking like they were at a funeral. My co-teacher explained that "the boys don't eat. Because they fight." In what is becoming a second nature reaction, I immediately looked around for Chris, my one boy who can always be counted on to behave himself. Before I could ask, my co-teacher figured out who I was looking for and laughed. "Chris is here. He was good." Sure enough, there he was, amidst the girls and looking pretty happy about it.
Guess who Chris reminds me of? I hope he doesn't stay shy around girls as long as I did.
I wonder if the folks at CNN know that there are McDonalds in Iowa too?
We have running water in Iowa, too
I really do find it sad that things have gotten to the point where what John Kerry ordered for breakfast two years ago makes the news, and that a reporter would be dumb enough to find Deep Meaning in it all. But it is a good thing that somebody is finally holding people like Candy Crowley accountable for stuff like this.
And about the Blue State-Red State thing, yes, there is something to it. Here is a thoughtful entry from another former Iowan about the realities and nuances of the whole thing. However, the differences are nowhere near as dramatic as Candy Crowley or most others like her seem to think, and, frankly, their attitude is really pretty condescending. You don't need to have been reared in Old World blueblood surroundings to know what green tea is. The very idea suggests that they think all Red Staters are the stereotypical guy kicking back on his dilapidated couch watching the Super Bowl with a cheeseburger in one hand and a gun in the other, and he's probably planning on using that gun on the first Democrat he sees. To be fair, there are indeed some people like that, and the Republicans do a great job of appealing to them, but this whole "The East Coast hates you 'cause you're real Americans" thing is insulting to both sides of the divide. Of course, I tend to believe anyone who falls for that tripe deserves to be condescended to.
By the way, the five states (+DC) I have lived in run the gamut from solid Red (Virginia, although I lived in the most liberal part of the state) to solid Blue (Connecticut and DC). And if you look hard enough, you can find rednecks in any of them. I also have it on good authority that you can get green tea without much trouble in Montana.
And about the Blue State-Red State thing, yes, there is something to it. Here is a thoughtful entry from another former Iowan about the realities and nuances of the whole thing. However, the differences are nowhere near as dramatic as Candy Crowley or most others like her seem to think, and, frankly, their attitude is really pretty condescending. You don't need to have been reared in Old World blueblood surroundings to know what green tea is. The very idea suggests that they think all Red Staters are the stereotypical guy kicking back on his dilapidated couch watching the Super Bowl with a cheeseburger in one hand and a gun in the other, and he's probably planning on using that gun on the first Democrat he sees. To be fair, there are indeed some people like that, and the Republicans do a great job of appealing to them, but this whole "The East Coast hates you 'cause you're real Americans" thing is insulting to both sides of the divide. Of course, I tend to believe anyone who falls for that tripe deserves to be condescended to.
By the way, the five states (+DC) I have lived in run the gamut from solid Red (Virginia, although I lived in the most liberal part of the state) to solid Blue (Connecticut and DC). And if you look hard enough, you can find rednecks in any of them. I also have it on good authority that you can get green tea without much trouble in Montana.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Dear Santa...
Well, I only really wanted two things this year. I got one of them back in August and just missed getting the other on Election Day, but if my blog has brought such sunshine into your life that you feel you just have to give something back, my Amazon wish list is now up to date. No pressure, of course. Hey, why have a wish list if no one even knows it's there?
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Where everybody knows your name
We had sort of a mini staff retreat on Saturday, where the native English teachers treated our kindy HRTs (homeroom teachers) to dinner at Friday's. (Yes, they have Friday's in Taiwan. And it was their choice to eat there!) There are some concerns about some of us not getting to know our co-workers as well as we could, and we really did make an effort to rectify that on Saturday night. We made a big show of having alternate seating so that it wouldn't turn into Westerners at one end, Taiwanese at the other - but in the end, it did come pretty close to that. This was officially because a couple of the HRTs wanted to share a dinner, but probably because of...well, things I shouldn't go into publicly. Suffice to say my own hands are clean.
It did, in any case, lead to a few amusing moments, one of which I've been curious about ever since. One of the HRTs found a way to grab our attention: she started revealing their Chinese names, including her own. (They, like the students, have English names that usualy carry no meaning beyond being phonetically similar to their Chinese ones.) And she ran into a bit of resistance from them in doing so, as if they were embarrassed to have us know their real names.
Once the secrets were out, everyone had a good laugh about it and no one was really embarrassed or anything. But I am still wondering, why any resistance at all in the first place? Why, for that matter, should they not be expected to use their real names outside of the classroom where it's not a matter of all English all the time?
Odd.
It did, in any case, lead to a few amusing moments, one of which I've been curious about ever since. One of the HRTs found a way to grab our attention: she started revealing their Chinese names, including her own. (They, like the students, have English names that usualy carry no meaning beyond being phonetically similar to their Chinese ones.) And she ran into a bit of resistance from them in doing so, as if they were embarrassed to have us know their real names.
Once the secrets were out, everyone had a good laugh about it and no one was really embarrassed or anything. But I am still wondering, why any resistance at all in the first place? Why, for that matter, should they not be expected to use their real names outside of the classroom where it's not a matter of all English all the time?
Odd.
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Great article link, and a few other thoughts
I really do intend to go back to being mostly non-political, but this article is wonderfully encouraging. I'm not entirely sure I buy it, but it does make a lot of sense.
And while we're on the subject, I do have a few other thoughts to share. For starters, I read just now that Bush's percentage declined among rural voters this year, from 60% to 56%. That's a great sign - and it's also a sign of something I've believed for quite a while. It really is about time Democrats start at least trying to pick up more rural votes. True enough, nothing is going to make us competitive in places like Kansas or Wyoming immediately (or even anytime soon), but now that we do have a solid base of support on the coasts and around the Great Lakes, it's about time we start laying the groundwork for taking the fight to their base.
One reason why those states are so solidly Republican is that the Dems haven't made any efforts at all to attract voters there in decades. It's about time that changed, since laissez-faire Republican policies are ultimately just as bad for farmers and ranchers as they are for factory workers in the Midwest or white-collar workers on the coasts. Yes, rural voters are more socially conservative, but appeals to homophobia and antifeminism only work among most voters when everything else is going well. All is not well in a lot of the countryside, and if we start speaking to their concerns, I believe a lot of voters will respond. Even if we can start hitting the low 40s consistently in the Corn Belt and the Rockies, it'll open up a lot more of the map to the Dems.
There is, however, one region I do think we should give up on for now: the South outside of Florida (and possibly even including Florida, to tell you the truth). Sure, the Old Confederacy is changing just like the rest of America, and those states will be competitive for us again eventually. But for now, the cold hard truth is that an awfully high percentage of voters down there really like George Bush's meanspirited wingnuttery. In fact, they're the ones who put guys like him in charge of the Republican Party in the first place. I say let's leave the mouth-breathers in charge there and concentrate on winning elections in greener pastures. Sooner or later the right-wing dominance in the South is bound to collapse under its own weight, and in the meantime it'll scare voters elsewhere away from the GOP.
On to '06, already!
And while we're on the subject, I do have a few other thoughts to share. For starters, I read just now that Bush's percentage declined among rural voters this year, from 60% to 56%. That's a great sign - and it's also a sign of something I've believed for quite a while. It really is about time Democrats start at least trying to pick up more rural votes. True enough, nothing is going to make us competitive in places like Kansas or Wyoming immediately (or even anytime soon), but now that we do have a solid base of support on the coasts and around the Great Lakes, it's about time we start laying the groundwork for taking the fight to their base.
One reason why those states are so solidly Republican is that the Dems haven't made any efforts at all to attract voters there in decades. It's about time that changed, since laissez-faire Republican policies are ultimately just as bad for farmers and ranchers as they are for factory workers in the Midwest or white-collar workers on the coasts. Yes, rural voters are more socially conservative, but appeals to homophobia and antifeminism only work among most voters when everything else is going well. All is not well in a lot of the countryside, and if we start speaking to their concerns, I believe a lot of voters will respond. Even if we can start hitting the low 40s consistently in the Corn Belt and the Rockies, it'll open up a lot more of the map to the Dems.
There is, however, one region I do think we should give up on for now: the South outside of Florida (and possibly even including Florida, to tell you the truth). Sure, the Old Confederacy is changing just like the rest of America, and those states will be competitive for us again eventually. But for now, the cold hard truth is that an awfully high percentage of voters down there really like George Bush's meanspirited wingnuttery. In fact, they're the ones who put guys like him in charge of the Republican Party in the first place. I say let's leave the mouth-breathers in charge there and concentrate on winning elections in greener pastures. Sooner or later the right-wing dominance in the South is bound to collapse under its own weight, and in the meantime it'll scare voters elsewhere away from the GOP.
On to '06, already!
Friday, November 5, 2004
Far beyond the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
It's funny what kids can imagine about life as an adult. I have a vague recollection from when I was about 10-12 of The Perfect Life when I got out on my own. I used to imagine living off somewhere in the northern New England woods, so far back in the pine trees that they had to pump sunshine in, with a rather nondescript Best Friend who wasn't based on any of my real friends that I can recall. We would have a nice small house with just a living room, kitchen and two bedrooms, done out like a real mountain cabin with rugged looking furniture and Indian-style rugs and blankets, the only modern touches being the TV and library of videotapes. We'd sleep on bunk beds in one of the two bedrooms, and have a huge electric train layout in the other. Maybe there wouldn't be much to do in the woods, but we wouldn't care because it would be so cozy and we'd have each other's company and the trains and movies to amuse us.
Lately, after the elections and some increasingly unpleasant office politics and the demoralizing-by-nature process of PhD program applications (they get hundreds of applications for a dozen or so slots and this is all they're going to know about me?!), that whole idea is starting to sound pretty good again. Of course, I already am living with my best friend at this point and the bunk beds are no longer an especially desirable option, and I would now want the trains to coexist with my records and books. And maybe I would also follow John Prine's advice and blow up the TV. But the basic idea of getting lost in the country with my better half and a few creature comforts is now sounding even more appealing than when I was a kid.
Granted, I don't actually remember how I planned to pay for that beautiful home, or for that matter where I even hoped to find work that far from nowhere. But I'm beginning to think it's worth trying to find a way around those obstacles. My little experiment with staying out of the rat race is already agreeing with me pretty well - why stop when I get back to America, y'know?
It's funny what doesn't change sometimes, even when you grow up. If we ever really grow up. Right now I can remember that Wendy decided she was ready to leave the nursery after all, but I can't, for the life of me, recall why!
Lately, after the elections and some increasingly unpleasant office politics and the demoralizing-by-nature process of PhD program applications (they get hundreds of applications for a dozen or so slots and this is all they're going to know about me?!), that whole idea is starting to sound pretty good again. Of course, I already am living with my best friend at this point and the bunk beds are no longer an especially desirable option, and I would now want the trains to coexist with my records and books. And maybe I would also follow John Prine's advice and blow up the TV. But the basic idea of getting lost in the country with my better half and a few creature comforts is now sounding even more appealing than when I was a kid.
Granted, I don't actually remember how I planned to pay for that beautiful home, or for that matter where I even hoped to find work that far from nowhere. But I'm beginning to think it's worth trying to find a way around those obstacles. My little experiment with staying out of the rat race is already agreeing with me pretty well - why stop when I get back to America, y'know?
It's funny what doesn't change sometimes, even when you grow up. If we ever really grow up. Right now I can remember that Wendy decided she was ready to leave the nursery after all, but I can't, for the life of me, recall why!
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Don't mourn, organize
After an obviously depressing day, I must admit that I'm glad to be halfway around the world at the moment! I'm still working through my own predictable little emotional cycle, complete with the feeling that progressives should all just throw in the towel and move to Canada (or even Taiwan - health care here is great and super-cheap). But really, the fact that those guys will be in charge of our security policy, health care policy, civil liberties and judicial nominations for at least four more years (with extremely little resistance in Congress for at least the next two) just means giving in is the last thing we should do.
As promised, here's my post-mortem:
What went wrong? I've heard a couple of opinions on this one, the leading one being that youth didn't vote. Apparently turnout was up - way up - on everyone except the 18-35 vote. Odd considering this election may well determine whether or not those very voters will face a draft in the near future. I find that really sad. The other plausible theory I've heard is that the progressive infrastructure just isn't well developed enough to defeat the right wing noise machine just yet. As a favorite blogger of mine noted, the Republicans have 40 years of parts and labor invested in their movement while ours began in earnest last year.
Neither explanation is very comforting, of course, but they do make sense. And they also point out what we need to do next time: don't give up, don't shut up, keep on organizing!
Eternal optimist that I am, I continue to believe that sooner or later, the media will stop refusing to state the obvious about the Republican party being owned and run by a bunch of bigoted thugs. No, I do not have such a low opinion of all Republicans. But George Bush, Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum, Tom Coburn (see below), et al have gotten where they are through a combination of dirty tricks and pandering to people's bigotries. That's objective fact, and it's gone unchallenged for a long time because the Left in America has lost its voice for so long. I think that's finally changed in the past year or two, and if we keep it up, it will make a difference.
I have friends who used to chide me for "hating all Republicans" because I said things like that last paragraph. More often than not, they used it as an excuse to avoid responding to examples I gave of how nasty those guys really were and are, usually demonstrating in the process that they (my friends, that is) simply didn't know much about just how ugly things were behind the curtain. No one throws that accusation at me anymore, with the occasional exception of a more moderate conservative who is up to his or her eyeballs in denial about who's at the wheel of the GOP.
Biggest Disappointment: Besides the obvious one, I'd have to go with the election of Tom Coburn to the Senate from Oklahoma. Coburn is the epitome of everything I despise about the modern Republican party. He's puritanical and hypocritical at once (he supports the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions - of whom he was one before he entered politics). He's vulgar. Among his many soundbites of this past campaign was one that involved calling political opponents "crapheads". He's a bigot, with a string of anti-gay and racist remarks a mile long to his name (most recently, it was something about lesbianism being so epidemic that some schools wouldn't let more than one girl go to the bathroom at a time). The Democrats had a great candidate against him, but Oklahoma is Oklahoma. As always, though, there is some hope that having him across the aisle will help Democrats in more moderate locales.
Bright Spot: Not that I have many to choose from, but seeing my home state of New Hampshire elect its second Democratic governor in a decade was a nice surprise. Prior to 1996, there had only been one such animal in my lifetime and for several years prior to that.
Blessing in Disguise: Anything that puts us another seat away from a Senate majority also puts civil liberties, abortion rights, gay rights and much more at bigger risk, so I'm sorry to see the Dems lose any Senate seat. That said, I'm not too sorry to see Tom Daschle lose. In a decade as Senate Democratic leader, he brought wishy-washiness and capitulation to a new level. Those of you who saw "Fahrenheit 911" might recall the footage of him saying "We will support the president [on Iraq]" on the Senate floor. That support earned no respect at all in the 2002 elections, of course, and it was just the tip of the iceberg for Daschle. I've always recognized that he had to be that way to an extent because he came from a very Republican state - but then, that's all the more reason why he should never have been made Democratic leader in the first place.
Now let's hope the Dems learn from their mistake and elect a real Democrat to replace him. I'm hearing a lot of buzz about Dick Durbin, who I think is an excellent choice. Barbara Boxer or Ron Wyden would sit pretty well with me too, or even Hillary Clinton - if nothing else, the satisfaction of seeing her drive Republicans to fits of apoplexy just by continuing to exist would be gratifying. But for Pete's sake, guys, it's time to start acting like a real opposition.
What to do now: Don't despair. Take a few days to stay as far away from politics as you need to - I certainly plan to do so - but don't give up. If you haven't already done so, read The Emerging Democratic Majority, which makes a good case for the future belonging to us if we're sharp enough to take it. (Anyone who tells you the last two elections proved the book wrong hasn't really read it, since the introduction makes the astute point that "The Democrats aren't there yet." Indeed, our biggest problem is that the growth of our new constituencies isn't keeping up with the atrophying of our old ones. But it won't stay that way forever.) I also recommend Mark Crispin Miller's Cruel And Unusual, which I just finished. It demonstrates pretty convincingly that Bush and Cheney really are as bad as those wild eyed liberals always say they are, and why. It also supplies examples by the truckload of right-wing hypocrisy and how conservatives tend to project their own worst qualities onto their opponents. Miller's style is hyperbolic and he occasionally even sounds paranoid, but frankly, that's not really uncalled for in this situation.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The recovery from 20+ years of silence on the part of progressives won't be either. But we'll get there.
After an obviously depressing day, I must admit that I'm glad to be halfway around the world at the moment! I'm still working through my own predictable little emotional cycle, complete with the feeling that progressives should all just throw in the towel and move to Canada (or even Taiwan - health care here is great and super-cheap). But really, the fact that those guys will be in charge of our security policy, health care policy, civil liberties and judicial nominations for at least four more years (with extremely little resistance in Congress for at least the next two) just means giving in is the last thing we should do.
As promised, here's my post-mortem:
What went wrong? I've heard a couple of opinions on this one, the leading one being that youth didn't vote. Apparently turnout was up - way up - on everyone except the 18-35 vote. Odd considering this election may well determine whether or not those very voters will face a draft in the near future. I find that really sad. The other plausible theory I've heard is that the progressive infrastructure just isn't well developed enough to defeat the right wing noise machine just yet. As a favorite blogger of mine noted, the Republicans have 40 years of parts and labor invested in their movement while ours began in earnest last year.
Neither explanation is very comforting, of course, but they do make sense. And they also point out what we need to do next time: don't give up, don't shut up, keep on organizing!
Eternal optimist that I am, I continue to believe that sooner or later, the media will stop refusing to state the obvious about the Republican party being owned and run by a bunch of bigoted thugs. No, I do not have such a low opinion of all Republicans. But George Bush, Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum, Tom Coburn (see below), et al have gotten where they are through a combination of dirty tricks and pandering to people's bigotries. That's objective fact, and it's gone unchallenged for a long time because the Left in America has lost its voice for so long. I think that's finally changed in the past year or two, and if we keep it up, it will make a difference.
I have friends who used to chide me for "hating all Republicans" because I said things like that last paragraph. More often than not, they used it as an excuse to avoid responding to examples I gave of how nasty those guys really were and are, usually demonstrating in the process that they (my friends, that is) simply didn't know much about just how ugly things were behind the curtain. No one throws that accusation at me anymore, with the occasional exception of a more moderate conservative who is up to his or her eyeballs in denial about who's at the wheel of the GOP.
Biggest Disappointment: Besides the obvious one, I'd have to go with the election of Tom Coburn to the Senate from Oklahoma. Coburn is the epitome of everything I despise about the modern Republican party. He's puritanical and hypocritical at once (he supports the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions - of whom he was one before he entered politics). He's vulgar. Among his many soundbites of this past campaign was one that involved calling political opponents "crapheads". He's a bigot, with a string of anti-gay and racist remarks a mile long to his name (most recently, it was something about lesbianism being so epidemic that some schools wouldn't let more than one girl go to the bathroom at a time). The Democrats had a great candidate against him, but Oklahoma is Oklahoma. As always, though, there is some hope that having him across the aisle will help Democrats in more moderate locales.
Bright Spot: Not that I have many to choose from, but seeing my home state of New Hampshire elect its second Democratic governor in a decade was a nice surprise. Prior to 1996, there had only been one such animal in my lifetime and for several years prior to that.
Blessing in Disguise: Anything that puts us another seat away from a Senate majority also puts civil liberties, abortion rights, gay rights and much more at bigger risk, so I'm sorry to see the Dems lose any Senate seat. That said, I'm not too sorry to see Tom Daschle lose. In a decade as Senate Democratic leader, he brought wishy-washiness and capitulation to a new level. Those of you who saw "Fahrenheit 911" might recall the footage of him saying "We will support the president [on Iraq]" on the Senate floor. That support earned no respect at all in the 2002 elections, of course, and it was just the tip of the iceberg for Daschle. I've always recognized that he had to be that way to an extent because he came from a very Republican state - but then, that's all the more reason why he should never have been made Democratic leader in the first place.
Now let's hope the Dems learn from their mistake and elect a real Democrat to replace him. I'm hearing a lot of buzz about Dick Durbin, who I think is an excellent choice. Barbara Boxer or Ron Wyden would sit pretty well with me too, or even Hillary Clinton - if nothing else, the satisfaction of seeing her drive Republicans to fits of apoplexy just by continuing to exist would be gratifying. But for Pete's sake, guys, it's time to start acting like a real opposition.
What to do now: Don't despair. Take a few days to stay as far away from politics as you need to - I certainly plan to do so - but don't give up. If you haven't already done so, read The Emerging Democratic Majority, which makes a good case for the future belonging to us if we're sharp enough to take it. (Anyone who tells you the last two elections proved the book wrong hasn't really read it, since the introduction makes the astute point that "The Democrats aren't there yet." Indeed, our biggest problem is that the growth of our new constituencies isn't keeping up with the atrophying of our old ones. But it won't stay that way forever.) I also recommend Mark Crispin Miller's Cruel And Unusual, which I just finished. It demonstrates pretty convincingly that Bush and Cheney really are as bad as those wild eyed liberals always say they are, and why. It also supplies examples by the truckload of right-wing hypocrisy and how conservatives tend to project their own worst qualities onto their opponents. Miller's style is hyperbolic and he occasionally even sounds paranoid, but frankly, that's not really uncalled for in this situation.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The recovery from 20+ years of silence on the part of progressives won't be either. But we'll get there.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Rooty Tooty Fresh and Soy Sauce
Never do I miss America quite so much as on a Sunday morning after a party where I had a couple too many. There just isn't any Taiwanese equivalent to breakfast at IHOP or Waffle House or Denny's or whichever is your greasy spoon of choice. I have become pretty astute at making my own omelets, though.
(I meant to post this yesterday, but it was one of those busy days. In other words, I have not taken to drinking heavily on Monday nights!)
(I meant to post this yesterday, but it was one of those busy days. In other words, I have not taken to drinking heavily on Monday nights!)
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Gimme back my f*#%&g country, #$^&*!!
So, two more days to showtime. From afar, I can only offer what I've picked up from surfing the blogs and such:
1. Don't panic about Hawai'i. Those polls apparently are based only on results from Oahu, which is by far the most Republican of the islands (and even "most Republican" apparently means around 43% at best here). It's a bit like saying Kerry is in striking distance in Utah if he's almost even in Salt Lake City alone (which he probably isn't, if you're wondering). As for why the media hasn't bothered to report on the Hawai'i polls not really reflecting the whole state, well, what else would you expect from those guys at this point?
2. That last round of polls in general doesn't smell right to me. Kerry behind in Michigan and New Mexico but ahead in Colorado? Ahead in Ohio but only tied in Pennsylvania? I'm reminded of those last minute warnings in 2000 that Gore was slipping in California and would lose Minnesota by 10 points. The only difference this time is that there is bad news and good news for Kerry. I'm betting both will turn out to be baloney on Tuesday, although I would love to be wrong about Colorado.
3. The first two states to report are almost always Kentucky and Indiana. Their polls close a bit earlier than everyone else's for some reason - quite possibly so they can get their fifteen minutes of fame every four years. Kerry hasn't got a prayer in either one, so don't be alarmed when the networks call them for Bush. If Kerry comes within ten points in Indiana, then the rest of the evening should be lots of fun. If not, I know some schools over here that are hiring!
Both states have at least one competitive House race, involving a Democratic challenger and a Republican incumbent, so if the Dems win either one it's a great sign for the good guys. You can fully expect Judy Woodruff or Cokie Roberts to say it all means nothing for the big picture. They're wrong. There is also a bizarre situation with the Kentucky Senate race, in which the Democrat is probably a slight underdog. If he wins - especially if it's a big win - it could be a great night for you (and morning for me).
Oh, and if Kerry does somehow win Indiana or Kentucky, break out the champaigne. The suspense is over. (Not that I expect this. Far from it. I'm just sayin'.)
4. The first real signs of what is to come will probably be Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Of the three, Michigan was supposed to be Kerry's easiest win and Ohio his toughest, but the last polls say the opposite. I don't really buy those (see #2 above), but if he does lose MI it could be a long night. I must admit that I keep thinking of the Georgia Senate race in 2002, and how nobody I knew believed that those last few polls were right - but they were.
Think positive anyhow. And remember, no Republican has ever won without Ohio!
5. It's a beautiful, sunny afternoon in Longtan as I write this. If Kerry really is sinking, there are greener pastures out there for the next four years. But let's think positive.
6. A few of you might recognize the title of this post as a play on an inside joke with an old friend who is a rather vocal Bush supporter. Just a bit of irony to show the literary crowd I can cook.
Any Democrats living in any of the states I mentioned, just remember that you have two more days to make a difference (or even three if you count Election Day itself)!
See you Wednesday with Dave's Post Mortem Analysis.
1. Don't panic about Hawai'i. Those polls apparently are based only on results from Oahu, which is by far the most Republican of the islands (and even "most Republican" apparently means around 43% at best here). It's a bit like saying Kerry is in striking distance in Utah if he's almost even in Salt Lake City alone (which he probably isn't, if you're wondering). As for why the media hasn't bothered to report on the Hawai'i polls not really reflecting the whole state, well, what else would you expect from those guys at this point?
2. That last round of polls in general doesn't smell right to me. Kerry behind in Michigan and New Mexico but ahead in Colorado? Ahead in Ohio but only tied in Pennsylvania? I'm reminded of those last minute warnings in 2000 that Gore was slipping in California and would lose Minnesota by 10 points. The only difference this time is that there is bad news and good news for Kerry. I'm betting both will turn out to be baloney on Tuesday, although I would love to be wrong about Colorado.
3. The first two states to report are almost always Kentucky and Indiana. Their polls close a bit earlier than everyone else's for some reason - quite possibly so they can get their fifteen minutes of fame every four years. Kerry hasn't got a prayer in either one, so don't be alarmed when the networks call them for Bush. If Kerry comes within ten points in Indiana, then the rest of the evening should be lots of fun. If not, I know some schools over here that are hiring!
Both states have at least one competitive House race, involving a Democratic challenger and a Republican incumbent, so if the Dems win either one it's a great sign for the good guys. You can fully expect Judy Woodruff or Cokie Roberts to say it all means nothing for the big picture. They're wrong. There is also a bizarre situation with the Kentucky Senate race, in which the Democrat is probably a slight underdog. If he wins - especially if it's a big win - it could be a great night for you (and morning for me).
Oh, and if Kerry does somehow win Indiana or Kentucky, break out the champaigne. The suspense is over. (Not that I expect this. Far from it. I'm just sayin'.)
4. The first real signs of what is to come will probably be Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Of the three, Michigan was supposed to be Kerry's easiest win and Ohio his toughest, but the last polls say the opposite. I don't really buy those (see #2 above), but if he does lose MI it could be a long night. I must admit that I keep thinking of the Georgia Senate race in 2002, and how nobody I knew believed that those last few polls were right - but they were.
Think positive anyhow. And remember, no Republican has ever won without Ohio!
5. It's a beautiful, sunny afternoon in Longtan as I write this. If Kerry really is sinking, there are greener pastures out there for the next four years. But let's think positive.
6. A few of you might recognize the title of this post as a play on an inside joke with an old friend who is a rather vocal Bush supporter. Just a bit of irony to show the literary crowd I can cook.
Any Democrats living in any of the states I mentioned, just remember that you have two more days to make a difference (or even three if you count Election Day itself)!
See you Wednesday with Dave's Post Mortem Analysis.
Hallowe'en in Longtan
Face painting is more fun than I thought it would be. The kids loved it too.
I joined in the fun myself this morning, having my face made up in a charming shade of green with black scar marks and such. Can't wait to see the pictures! Trina, however, had it all over me on the costume front. She came as a tea bag, and was brave enough to walk to work in costume, earning us even more attention than we already usually get. I chipped in by wishing everyone who stared a happy Hallowe'en, even knowing that quite a few of them wouldn't understand me.
Gotta love cultural exchanges!
I joined in the fun myself this morning, having my face made up in a charming shade of green with black scar marks and such. Can't wait to see the pictures! Trina, however, had it all over me on the costume front. She came as a tea bag, and was brave enough to walk to work in costume, earning us even more attention than we already usually get. I chipped in by wishing everyone who stared a happy Hallowe'en, even knowing that quite a few of them wouldn't understand me.
Gotta love cultural exchanges!
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