Beating the French Like Bad School Children

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They do not want the joie to go out of de vivre, but the French are not averse to being whipped into shape by drill sergeant Sarko. They want the fireplug to plug France into modern capitalism. The French sphinx should bound past the Celtic tiger.

“He wants to make people work and make more money,” said one French professional woman I know. “The French are like children who love to be beaten. Sarkozy is saying, ‘Go do your homework or I’ll beat you.’ The French need to be told that.”

... The mood here was best summed up with a take on an old Bette Davis line. Jean d’Ormesson, a commentator in Le Figaro, advised: “Fasten your seatbelts. This will be quite a ride.”

-- Maureen Dowd for The New York Times

Like children who love to be beaten? Hmm, maybe that's what makes them more delightfully kinky.

I become more convinced that France is going to be a lot more interesting to follow over the next couple of years. Unless this Sarkozy guy gets ousted in only six months. The guillotine, the guillotine!

xXx

Beating the French Like Bad School Children

♠
They do not want the joie to go out of de vivre, but the French are not averse to being whipped into shape by drill sergeant Sarko. They want the fireplug to plug France into modern capitalism. The French sphinx should bound past the Celtic tiger.

“He wants to make people work and make more money,” said one French professional woman I know. “The French are like children who love to be beaten. Sarkozy is saying, ‘Go do your homework or I’ll beat you.’ The French need to be told that.”

... The mood here was best summed up with a take on an old Bette Davis line. Jean d’Ormesson, a commentator in Le Figaro, advised: “Fasten your seatbelts. This will be quite a ride.”

-- Maureen Dowd for The New York Times

Like children who love to be beaten? Hmm, maybe that's what makes them more delightfully kinky.

I become more convinced that France is going to be a lot more interesting to follow over the next couple of years. Unless this Sarkozy guy gets ousted in only six months. The guillotine, the guillotine!

xXx

M&Mmmmms

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I probably shouldn't have read that article on metabolism and diets. Monk is now more inclined to give in to his urge to snack, and is finishing off a little bag of peanut M&Ms as I type. Bad primate! Bad primate!

xXx

M&Mmmmms

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I probably shouldn't have read that article on metabolism and diets. Monk is now more inclined to give in to his urge to snack, and is finishing off a little bag of peanut M&Ms as I type. Bad primate! Bad primate!

xXx

Doubts About Barack

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There has been some falling off from that sense of inevitability in Mr. Obama's bid for the American presidency. There have been some speaking gaffes, as he lets that lefty idealism get the better part of his pragmatic side, such as speaking of how the Imus controversy represents another kind of violence that threatens America, somehow tying it to the Virginia Tech massacre, and the questions about whether he is prepared for the office continue to loom in the background. And here is a hard assessment from The Boston Globe:

Let me repeat: I wouldn't mind living in a country where Barack Obama is president. Brains; candor; charisma; ambition hitched to a work ethic; I admire those qualities. But frankly, the people who've ponied up $4,600 for Obama in this election cycle might as well have piled the money on the kitchen table and set fire to it. Or donated it to the Audubon Society, which has a lot better chance of being in business a year from now than Obama's presidential campaign.

If you listen closely, the silent dog whistle is already blowing for the Obama candidacy, and the tune it is playing is taps.

Still, a vice presidency could be just the thing. He is still an exciting political personality and he evidently has the talent, and some time in the vice presidency might give him the experience to pick up his game. I think Hillary would be a nurturing mentor.


(Source: Alex Beam for The Boston Globe)

xXx

Doubts About Barack

♠
There has been some falling off from that sense of inevitability in Mr. Obama's bid for the American presidency. There have been some speaking gaffes, as he lets that lefty idealism get the better part of his pragmatic side, such as speaking of how the Imus controversy represents another kind of violence that threatens America, somehow tying it to the Virginia Tech massacre, and the questions about whether he is prepared for the office continue to loom in the background. And here is a hard assessment from The Boston Globe:

Let me repeat: I wouldn't mind living in a country where Barack Obama is president. Brains; candor; charisma; ambition hitched to a work ethic; I admire those qualities. But frankly, the people who've ponied up $4,600 for Obama in this election cycle might as well have piled the money on the kitchen table and set fire to it. Or donated it to the Audubon Society, which has a lot better chance of being in business a year from now than Obama's presidential campaign.

If you listen closely, the silent dog whistle is already blowing for the Obama candidacy, and the tune it is playing is taps.

Still, a vice presidency could be just the thing. He is still an exciting political personality and he evidently has the talent, and some time in the vice presidency might give him the experience to pick up his game. I think Hillary would be a nurturing mentor.


(Source: Alex Beam for The Boston Globe)

xXx

When the Anti-Choice Choose

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Abortion is a highly personal decision that many women are sure they'll never have to think about until they're suddenly faced with an unexpected pregnancy. But this can happen to anyone, including women who are strongly anti-choice. So what does an anti-choice woman do when she experiences an unwanted pregnancy herself? Often, she will grin and bear it, so to speak, but frequently, she opts for the solution she would deny to other women -- abortion.

-- Joyce Arthur, "When the Anti-Choice Choose"

Here are a couple of anectdotes Ms. Arthur has compiled:

"I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion, about three years ago. During her whole stay at the clinic, we felt that she was not quite right, but there were no real warning bells. She insisted that the abortion was her idea and assured us that all was OK. She went through the procedure very smoothly and was discharged with no problems. A quite routine operation. Next morning she was with her mother and several school mates in front of the clinic with the usual anti posters and chants. It appears that she got the abortion she needed and still displayed the appropriate anti views expected of her by her parents, teachers, and peers." (Physician, Australia)

"I've had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, 'You're not going to tell them, are you!?' When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn't want this to interfere with it." (Physician, Texas)

Such hypocrisy and cruel absurdity is more likely to occur when you cannot separate church from state. Trying to maintain higher ideals of morality is fine and can be a noble thing, but it is not wise trying to legislate higher morality on others. Just see if you can maintain it yourself. That should be challenging enough.

xXx

When the Anti-Choice Choose

♠
Abortion is a highly personal decision that many women are sure they'll never have to think about until they're suddenly faced with an unexpected pregnancy. But this can happen to anyone, including women who are strongly anti-choice. So what does an anti-choice woman do when she experiences an unwanted pregnancy herself? Often, she will grin and bear it, so to speak, but frequently, she opts for the solution she would deny to other women -- abortion.

-- Joyce Arthur, "When the Anti-Choice Choose"

Here are a couple of anectdotes Ms. Arthur has compiled:

"I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion, about three years ago. During her whole stay at the clinic, we felt that she was not quite right, but there were no real warning bells. She insisted that the abortion was her idea and assured us that all was OK. She went through the procedure very smoothly and was discharged with no problems. A quite routine operation. Next morning she was with her mother and several school mates in front of the clinic with the usual anti posters and chants. It appears that she got the abortion she needed and still displayed the appropriate anti views expected of her by her parents, teachers, and peers." (Physician, Australia)

"I've had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, 'You're not going to tell them, are you!?' When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn't want this to interfere with it." (Physician, Texas)

Such hypocrisy and cruel absurdity is more likely to occur when you cannot separate church from state. Trying to maintain higher ideals of morality is fine and can be a noble thing, but it is not wise trying to legislate higher morality on others. Just see if you can maintain it yourself. That should be challenging enough.

xXx