Just a few thoughts about concepts of beauty. Being as your Wandering Gentile lives in a household filled with females ranging in age from seven to none of your damn business, sometimes questions exist about what men find attractive.
An unscientific survey of the Wandering Gentile's friends revealed that no man fantasizes about a nervous six-foot-tall witch with an eating disorder and a cocaine/heroin habit. Please understand that this survey was conducted among heterosexual men between 30 and dead, the majority of whom have well-paying jobs and/or long committed relationships.
So the fashion designers are apparently not appealing to women in the real world, or are longing for a universe of women who could be compared to an even higher-toned version of Cher. There's a happy thought!
What were the men most in favor of?
Curves! Because any idiot can go straight. The vast majority specified their own wives physiques, and even if they did not, your Wandering Gentile ain't telling. When it came to the most desirable female celebrity, an anonymous ballot came up thusly.
Salma Hayek...51% If 40 looks like this, 40 really is the new 20. Unfortunately, 40 also looks like the Wandering Gentile who was born in the same week in 1966. Draw your own conclusion.
Penelope Cruz...14% Salma's "Bandidas" co-star has lept several points on our survey.
Jessica Alba...14% Would have ranked higher, but several respondents went into fibrillation upon seeing her picture.
America Ferrera...7% Ugly Betty really is the new beautiful.
Rosario Dawson...6% We expected better, but she's still quite young.
Madeline Stowe...3% Outstanding showing for a woman who turns 49 this year!
Eva Mendes...2% Only a couple of the guys recognized her name,but most ballots had the page with her picture stuck to the ad for the new Asahi Divine Wind SUV.
Eva Longoria...2% Most guys are a little afraid of her character on Desperate Housewives.
Roselyn Sanchez...1% Another one from the nobody recognized her name file, but all of the respondents had seen Boat Trip repeatedly, and none of them mentioned Cuba Gooding, Junior's acting.
Doris Roberts...1%...this seems to have been Woody's ballot, but he ain't all there in the first place.
Several fads regarding appearance were also mentioned as needing to go away.
Fake Boobies...42% Robin Williams referred to them as "Nazi" boobies; they don't dance, they don't smile, they just stand there all day at attention. Heil happy, but real, A-cups!
The Landing Strip...28% It's like basic training for pedophilia, according to one respondent.
Small Hair...14% Many respondents were nostalgic for the eighties styles. Several were willing to begin wearing parachute pants if women would have big hair again. One offered to regrow his mullet, but due to advanced male pattern baldness would have been required to regrow it on his naughty bits.
Muffin Tops...8% There seemed to be a universal disdain for women who weigh 150 pounds plus wearing pants designed for a woman who weighs 110. One respondent suggested that if his wife puts on her Muffin Top pants again, he's going to show up at her family reunion in a Speedo and nothing else. Respondent weighs 348 pounds.
Camel Toes...6% The issue derived from not being able to readily examine the Camel Toe to ascertain it's true nature on women outside of an intimate relationship. Several respondents were concerned that the Camel Toe may be a pharmaceutically un-endowed man, particularly in parts of California, New York, and Miami.
Eyebrow Reconfiguration...2% These twisted individuals own copies of Frida for all of the wrong reasons. One respondent stated "What the hell was wrong with Anne Hathaway's eyebrows in The Princess Diaries?" Respondent is resting comfortably at a mental health facility in Colorado Springs, operated by Rev. Ted Hagerty's megachurch.
So what are we to understand from this survey?
1. Tall women do not engender as much desire as women who are, in the best Orwellian Politically Correct Doublespeak, not tall.
2. Women who are considered to be too thin are circumspect for drug habits and poor social interaction.
3. Real is better, and sexier.
Gee, one might think that men might judge more about what's inside a woman before putting anything of theirs in there as well...
15 February 2007
13 February 2007
FIRST 2008 ELECTION PREDICTIONS!!!
A short postcard based on what I see behind the cheesy plastic Wandering Gentile Keyboard.
Barring any major scandals, the Democrats will keep both houses of Congress. America has a bad case of Republican Fatigue, and it's getting worse.
The Republican presidential contenders are McCain and Giuliani. McCain has been too much of a hawk on the Iraq war from too far away in Arizona. He has great credibility on matters of war, but he's also going to be 72 by the time the election comes around. Giuliani, on the other hand, is a few years younger and has the credibility of having been the Mayor of 9/11.
Look for McCain to repeat his experiences from 2000, i.e., strong early then fading. Romney is the guy who will pull the conservative base, and he's a mortal lock for Veep.
The Democrats have some issues. Hillary can screw the whole thing up if she stays too long. Just because America has Republican Fatigue, doesn't mean we aren't just as tired of her. The Senator from New York has all of her husband's baggage, and none of his charm. She is about as likable as a scorpion in your underwear, and her voice is more painful.
There are some other Democrats out there, but there are only two worth mentioning. Barack Obama and Bill Richardson matter.
Dennis Kucinich seems to be sincere, and probably a decent guy. He also used to be the Mayor of Cleveland, a city which the rest of the country would be unlikely to miss if it fell into Lake Erie. In fact, his stewardship of Cleveland may have hastened the day when Lake Erie reclaims Cleveland, completely, thank goodness. Kucinich doesn't matter.
Tom Vilsack is or was the Governor of Iowa. You don't see a lot of people clamoring for a vacation in Des Moines, the Whitest city in North America. I get it. Vilsack wants us to remember that Iowa is still there and has many good things, none of which come to mind. What Iowa has is corn, rolling hills, Radar O' Reilly, and the place where Buddy Holly died.
Vilsack doesn't matter, and frankly, when one's state is best known for who died there, there is an image problem that must be dealt with. He's gone after the caucuses.
John Edwards is thinking about trying again. It's not the smartest thing he could do. He's the Democrats' Dan Quayle. Again, John Edwards appears to be a nice guy but he has the gravitas of The Cookie Monster. All Edwards is going to do is make people think of John Kerry, a man who looks like he's getting a digital prostate exam while he's doing windsurfing.
Go home, John Edwards, and watch the Bobcats. Set up some speaking engagements. Your 15 minutes are up, and 1982 called asking for their haircut back.
Al Gore? Yeah. Get an endorsement from Frank Zappa and then we'll talk.
Now we get to the ones who matter. Barack Obama is the perfect candidate. We'll shy away from Bidenesque adjectives, and go toward some stuff that Matters.
Obama is as charismatic as Reagan and Bill Clinton. That counts toward landslide and mandate. It is not an issue of his backstory or his politics. Senator Obama connects on a gut level that makes people feel as if they have known him forever. He's exciting to watch, and thoroughly in tune with a broad segment of the voting population.
Stated briefly, Senator Obama is a mainstream candidate who happens to qualify as black.
That separates him from a legion of African-American candidates who focused their campaigns solely on appeal to voters in the ghettoes of major cities. Barack Obama knows where the mainstream is, and does not maginalize himself by focusing on the South Side of Chicago and East St. Louis while turning his back on Rantoul, Evanston, and Carbondale.
Barring a cataclysmic event of some description, Senator Obama is the likely Democratic nominee. Hillary Clinton has a lot of fight in her, but something inside of anyone who has watched her knows that one way or another, she will put herself out of contention.
Even odds on Senator Clinton having an early season meltdown a la Howard Dean. Howard Dean had the illusion that all of America is like Vermont; Senator Clinton is under the illusion that New York is close to the mainstream of America. Both illusions are false. The bravado that serves Senator Clinton in New York is just going to enfuriate everything between the coasts.
Bill Richardson matters, and (amusingly) on a Dave Chappelle level. Governor Richardson is Hispanic. Dave Chappelle once said that if he were to be the first Black President, he would appoint a Hispanic Vice-President. On a higher level, the Dems need candidates from Flyover country, and New Mexico is about as flyover as it gets without being Iowa. Richardson brings executive experience from a purple state to questions about Obama's lack of past executive position on the ticket.
Now! The two tickets as seen from 21 months out!
Republican Presidential Nominee: Rudy Giuliani (NY).
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee: Mitt Romney (MA).
Democratic Presidential Nominee: Barack Obama (IL).
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee: Bill Richardson (NM).
And a quick thought: Giuliani could squeak one out over Hillary. Obama is a landslide, the question is when it's going to happen.
Barring any major scandals, the Democrats will keep both houses of Congress. America has a bad case of Republican Fatigue, and it's getting worse.
The Republican presidential contenders are McCain and Giuliani. McCain has been too much of a hawk on the Iraq war from too far away in Arizona. He has great credibility on matters of war, but he's also going to be 72 by the time the election comes around. Giuliani, on the other hand, is a few years younger and has the credibility of having been the Mayor of 9/11.
Look for McCain to repeat his experiences from 2000, i.e., strong early then fading. Romney is the guy who will pull the conservative base, and he's a mortal lock for Veep.
The Democrats have some issues. Hillary can screw the whole thing up if she stays too long. Just because America has Republican Fatigue, doesn't mean we aren't just as tired of her. The Senator from New York has all of her husband's baggage, and none of his charm. She is about as likable as a scorpion in your underwear, and her voice is more painful.
There are some other Democrats out there, but there are only two worth mentioning. Barack Obama and Bill Richardson matter.
Dennis Kucinich seems to be sincere, and probably a decent guy. He also used to be the Mayor of Cleveland, a city which the rest of the country would be unlikely to miss if it fell into Lake Erie. In fact, his stewardship of Cleveland may have hastened the day when Lake Erie reclaims Cleveland, completely, thank goodness. Kucinich doesn't matter.
Tom Vilsack is or was the Governor of Iowa. You don't see a lot of people clamoring for a vacation in Des Moines, the Whitest city in North America. I get it. Vilsack wants us to remember that Iowa is still there and has many good things, none of which come to mind. What Iowa has is corn, rolling hills, Radar O' Reilly, and the place where Buddy Holly died.
Vilsack doesn't matter, and frankly, when one's state is best known for who died there, there is an image problem that must be dealt with. He's gone after the caucuses.
John Edwards is thinking about trying again. It's not the smartest thing he could do. He's the Democrats' Dan Quayle. Again, John Edwards appears to be a nice guy but he has the gravitas of The Cookie Monster. All Edwards is going to do is make people think of John Kerry, a man who looks like he's getting a digital prostate exam while he's doing windsurfing.
Go home, John Edwards, and watch the Bobcats. Set up some speaking engagements. Your 15 minutes are up, and 1982 called asking for their haircut back.
Al Gore? Yeah. Get an endorsement from Frank Zappa and then we'll talk.
Now we get to the ones who matter. Barack Obama is the perfect candidate. We'll shy away from Bidenesque adjectives, and go toward some stuff that Matters.
Obama is as charismatic as Reagan and Bill Clinton. That counts toward landslide and mandate. It is not an issue of his backstory or his politics. Senator Obama connects on a gut level that makes people feel as if they have known him forever. He's exciting to watch, and thoroughly in tune with a broad segment of the voting population.
Stated briefly, Senator Obama is a mainstream candidate who happens to qualify as black.
That separates him from a legion of African-American candidates who focused their campaigns solely on appeal to voters in the ghettoes of major cities. Barack Obama knows where the mainstream is, and does not maginalize himself by focusing on the South Side of Chicago and East St. Louis while turning his back on Rantoul, Evanston, and Carbondale.
Barring a cataclysmic event of some description, Senator Obama is the likely Democratic nominee. Hillary Clinton has a lot of fight in her, but something inside of anyone who has watched her knows that one way or another, she will put herself out of contention.
Even odds on Senator Clinton having an early season meltdown a la Howard Dean. Howard Dean had the illusion that all of America is like Vermont; Senator Clinton is under the illusion that New York is close to the mainstream of America. Both illusions are false. The bravado that serves Senator Clinton in New York is just going to enfuriate everything between the coasts.
Bill Richardson matters, and (amusingly) on a Dave Chappelle level. Governor Richardson is Hispanic. Dave Chappelle once said that if he were to be the first Black President, he would appoint a Hispanic Vice-President. On a higher level, the Dems need candidates from Flyover country, and New Mexico is about as flyover as it gets without being Iowa. Richardson brings executive experience from a purple state to questions about Obama's lack of past executive position on the ticket.
Now! The two tickets as seen from 21 months out!
Republican Presidential Nominee: Rudy Giuliani (NY).
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee: Mitt Romney (MA).
Democratic Presidential Nominee: Barack Obama (IL).
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee: Bill Richardson (NM).
And a quick thought: Giuliani could squeak one out over Hillary. Obama is a landslide, the question is when it's going to happen.
12 February 2007
How to Destroy the United States Without a Shot
Stop for a moment and imagine Chicago as the source for everything produced in the supermarket. All of the food goes through Chicago. Then imagine that every home is built at some point in Atlanta. Then consider that everything that gets cleaned in the country at one point or another has to go through one of those two cities.
Then imagine the Chicago and Atlanta metropolitan areas gone; disowned by the United States.
Instantly, five percent of the US economy is pulled out of the equation at the consumer level. The effect at the production level is over fifty per cent for housing, food and service industries. Transportation grinds to a halt, as there is nothing to haul.
Prices for food and housing triple overnight; the loss of consumers does not add enough slack in the system to account for the lack of production.
Americans stop buying homes. Fuel costs rise because the scarce goods that need to be transported still have to go the same distances to Miami and Seattle. A lack of finished products causes riots. Poor access to fresh fruits and vegetables allows disease to run rampant in remote corners of the lower 48 states.
Food riots break out in Boston, St. Louis and Denver. Thousands perish while stalking deliveries at warehouses in Detroit and Minneapolis. Truckers abandon their careers as a hellish Road Warrior mentality strikes the Interstates, and armed gangs attack trucks containing corn flakes and oranges.
Two million truckers are out of work. Wal Mart abandons rural areas, and greeters in Birmingham are strapped with semi-automatic pistols. Five million people who worked in retail are now seeking public assistance as their jobs went away with Chicago and Atlanta.
Now we're up to 21 million. Banking and investments are slipping, putting another two million out of the private sector. Automotive production grinds to a near standstill, idling another two million in the myriad facets of that industry.
Declining tax revenues decimate the federal budget, and the armed services are forced to serve as trainers for despotic regimes worldwide who are willing to part with finished goods. Some countries remember us as a friend, but most are happy to see us fall.
Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals abandon our shores for Europe, Australia and the far east. Another ten million are gone or underemployed. Our highway system, once the envy of the world, becomes a series of potholes connected with patches.
Construction becomes a memory of better times, and eight million more are idled in New York and San Francisco, and everywhere else. Government jobs which once seemed stable and secure dry up in this atmosphere.
As a last ditch effort to save the country, California is sold to the People's Republic of China as a trade for outstanding debt going into default. Texas is returned to Mexico, and most of the Midwest is returned to France.
The south splinters off as a New Confederacy, before an eventual alliance with Canada and the Commonwealth. Florida and Puerto Rico are merged with the New Bolivarian Union under Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.
Imagine Chicago and Atlanta removed from the equation.
Then change the 14 million to illegal aliens who make up a disproportionate part of the production of food and construction industries in the United States.
Who is willing to kill the country in order to save it?
Then imagine the Chicago and Atlanta metropolitan areas gone; disowned by the United States.
Instantly, five percent of the US economy is pulled out of the equation at the consumer level. The effect at the production level is over fifty per cent for housing, food and service industries. Transportation grinds to a halt, as there is nothing to haul.
Prices for food and housing triple overnight; the loss of consumers does not add enough slack in the system to account for the lack of production.
Americans stop buying homes. Fuel costs rise because the scarce goods that need to be transported still have to go the same distances to Miami and Seattle. A lack of finished products causes riots. Poor access to fresh fruits and vegetables allows disease to run rampant in remote corners of the lower 48 states.
Food riots break out in Boston, St. Louis and Denver. Thousands perish while stalking deliveries at warehouses in Detroit and Minneapolis. Truckers abandon their careers as a hellish Road Warrior mentality strikes the Interstates, and armed gangs attack trucks containing corn flakes and oranges.
Two million truckers are out of work. Wal Mart abandons rural areas, and greeters in Birmingham are strapped with semi-automatic pistols. Five million people who worked in retail are now seeking public assistance as their jobs went away with Chicago and Atlanta.
Now we're up to 21 million. Banking and investments are slipping, putting another two million out of the private sector. Automotive production grinds to a near standstill, idling another two million in the myriad facets of that industry.
Declining tax revenues decimate the federal budget, and the armed services are forced to serve as trainers for despotic regimes worldwide who are willing to part with finished goods. Some countries remember us as a friend, but most are happy to see us fall.
Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals abandon our shores for Europe, Australia and the far east. Another ten million are gone or underemployed. Our highway system, once the envy of the world, becomes a series of potholes connected with patches.
Construction becomes a memory of better times, and eight million more are idled in New York and San Francisco, and everywhere else. Government jobs which once seemed stable and secure dry up in this atmosphere.
As a last ditch effort to save the country, California is sold to the People's Republic of China as a trade for outstanding debt going into default. Texas is returned to Mexico, and most of the Midwest is returned to France.
The south splinters off as a New Confederacy, before an eventual alliance with Canada and the Commonwealth. Florida and Puerto Rico are merged with the New Bolivarian Union under Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.
Imagine Chicago and Atlanta removed from the equation.
Then change the 14 million to illegal aliens who make up a disproportionate part of the production of food and construction industries in the United States.
Who is willing to kill the country in order to save it?
20 January 2007
Mourning For Ethics
Jimmy Carter was once synonymous with an uncompromising commitment to principles of democracy, human rights and peace. Whether or not one agreed with his tactics or approach, there was never a question about Carter's sincerity or his unwavering faith in humanity and the standards he held himself to.
The preceding ideas do not identify a man who expresses the role of Israel in conflict with the Palestinians as "Apartheid." How quickly did former President Carter forget the celebrations by fanatics in the streets of Gaza and Ramallah, while our genuine and sincere ally was dispatching their terror response team before the towers turned to dust in the streets of lower Manhattan.
A man, a leader and a peacemaker, has shown his back to the ideals he once swore to uphold as President. Carter appears to have surrendered the integrity which was once his trademark and greatest quality. Even Carter's detractors were unable to dismiss his credibility as a force for decency and honor in the world.
About ten years ago, some large flaws began to appear in Carter's integrity, from his sanction of the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, to his budding relationships with Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe. At the time there was room for accepting Carter as a dignitary with the objective of furthering America's image at home and abroad, owing to his connection with Habitat for Humanity and pivotal role (with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias) in the Central American Peace Process.
It is telling that during a joint interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, even his former Vice-President Walter Mondale expressed reservation concerning Carter's recent book. Vice-President Mondale showed great grace and tact, deferring specific commentary until he had the opportunity to articulate his concerns to Mr. Carter in private. Mondale revealed the quality of man that he is, and the continuing level of reason that he brought to the discourse.
To equate the issues of Palestinian statehood with Apartheid diminishes the value of the long struggle of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress to bring justice and human rights to a long-oppressed majority in South Africa. There is no relationship between a fundamentally peaceful movement (in South Africa) and a militant Intifada.
There has been, from the outset, recognition and an atmosphere of protection for the rights of white South Africans. While there have been instances of retribution in South Africa, the transition to Majority Government cannot be characterized as a systematic process designed to abase a population which had abused its authority for so long.
In contrast, the Palestinians have relied solely upon violence as their bargaining chip. No concession has been made for the Israeli right to exist peaceably. Should Israel take steps to defend herself from military operations undertaken with the tacit economic support of nations such as Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Israel is accused of tyranny.
Hamas and Fatah are not friends of democracy, peace, nor human rights. As so many in America have stated eloquently, the only people who would survive nonviolence are the Palestinians. Were Israel to unilaterally demilitarize on Monday, Israel would cease to exist by Friday.
The question as it exists for Palestinian statehood is that such a condition depends upon Palestinian willingness to bring statehood. Intifada is not only apart from a path to statehood, it is an obstacle the size of the Pacific Ocean. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Junior, and Nelson Mandela succeeded through nonviolence and acceptance that coexistence is fundamental.
A people cannot be seen as human if they deny the humanity of their neighbors. Stateless people are not awarded an existence as a nation in the modern world by virtue of espousing an ideology of hatred and retaliation. Sometimes people, such as the Kurds and the Tibetians, are deserving of self-determination and fulfill their obligations as peaceable nations in a much broader context of oppression than the Palestinians face. Yet these worthy and dignified peoples are denied repeatedly.
Carter, as a native of Georgia, should have a better understanding of the devastation that occurs when a nation divides upon itself violently, and a people refuses to accede to even the most basic recognition of human existence for some part of the population. Atlanta burned in 1864 as southerners reacted violently to the will of the broader nation, and exactly 100 years later the same horror revisited the Deep South during the nonviolent Civil Rights movement.
The success of Civil Rights in the 1960s, or India in the 1940s, or South Africa in the 1980s owes everything to nonviolent perseverance. Israel's only option is to contain a violent threat to her existence that disavows the recognition of that right. Until Palestinians embrace Israel's right to exist and decide for themselves that self-determination cannot come about without peaceful action on their part, nothing can change.
The time has come to acknowledge the tremendous restraint that Israel has shown to Palestinians who have chosen to wreak havoc upon civilians of both populations. To contain a bellicose group is a rational and responsible action of a threatened nation. Until Palestinians desist from wanton action and come to peaceful existence with the Jewish state, Israel has no choice but to contain the Palestinians.
It is regrettable that Jimmy Carter, a man who established himself as a peacemaker, has chosen a path that puts him at odds with the very ideals that he once brought to the table. The violent action of Palestinians has brought about the current situation, and only Palestinians can bring the change that ends containment and confinement.
The Palestinians can outlaw Hamas and Fatah more quickly than Israel can. Individual Palestinians can choose a path of nonviolence. Israel has elected to demonstrate the restraint so often denied to Jewish populations, and coexist with her neighbors as long as those neighbors do not take steps to attack.
Reason is on the side of the Jewish state. Israel has never committed an unprovoked atack upon a sovereign neighbor, and has taken steps to find peaceful relationships with the hostile states surrounding her. The Palestinians have failed to govern themselves ethically or peacefully, with infighting as rampant as terrorism against Israel.
Tragically, the Palestinians need the old Jimmy Carter; his integrity; his commitment to peace and human rights; his decency...and he is nowhere to be found.
The preceding ideas do not identify a man who expresses the role of Israel in conflict with the Palestinians as "Apartheid." How quickly did former President Carter forget the celebrations by fanatics in the streets of Gaza and Ramallah, while our genuine and sincere ally was dispatching their terror response team before the towers turned to dust in the streets of lower Manhattan.
A man, a leader and a peacemaker, has shown his back to the ideals he once swore to uphold as President. Carter appears to have surrendered the integrity which was once his trademark and greatest quality. Even Carter's detractors were unable to dismiss his credibility as a force for decency and honor in the world.
About ten years ago, some large flaws began to appear in Carter's integrity, from his sanction of the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, to his budding relationships with Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe. At the time there was room for accepting Carter as a dignitary with the objective of furthering America's image at home and abroad, owing to his connection with Habitat for Humanity and pivotal role (with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias) in the Central American Peace Process.
It is telling that during a joint interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, even his former Vice-President Walter Mondale expressed reservation concerning Carter's recent book. Vice-President Mondale showed great grace and tact, deferring specific commentary until he had the opportunity to articulate his concerns to Mr. Carter in private. Mondale revealed the quality of man that he is, and the continuing level of reason that he brought to the discourse.
To equate the issues of Palestinian statehood with Apartheid diminishes the value of the long struggle of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress to bring justice and human rights to a long-oppressed majority in South Africa. There is no relationship between a fundamentally peaceful movement (in South Africa) and a militant Intifada.
There has been, from the outset, recognition and an atmosphere of protection for the rights of white South Africans. While there have been instances of retribution in South Africa, the transition to Majority Government cannot be characterized as a systematic process designed to abase a population which had abused its authority for so long.
In contrast, the Palestinians have relied solely upon violence as their bargaining chip. No concession has been made for the Israeli right to exist peaceably. Should Israel take steps to defend herself from military operations undertaken with the tacit economic support of nations such as Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Israel is accused of tyranny.
Hamas and Fatah are not friends of democracy, peace, nor human rights. As so many in America have stated eloquently, the only people who would survive nonviolence are the Palestinians. Were Israel to unilaterally demilitarize on Monday, Israel would cease to exist by Friday.
The question as it exists for Palestinian statehood is that such a condition depends upon Palestinian willingness to bring statehood. Intifada is not only apart from a path to statehood, it is an obstacle the size of the Pacific Ocean. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Junior, and Nelson Mandela succeeded through nonviolence and acceptance that coexistence is fundamental.
A people cannot be seen as human if they deny the humanity of their neighbors. Stateless people are not awarded an existence as a nation in the modern world by virtue of espousing an ideology of hatred and retaliation. Sometimes people, such as the Kurds and the Tibetians, are deserving of self-determination and fulfill their obligations as peaceable nations in a much broader context of oppression than the Palestinians face. Yet these worthy and dignified peoples are denied repeatedly.
Carter, as a native of Georgia, should have a better understanding of the devastation that occurs when a nation divides upon itself violently, and a people refuses to accede to even the most basic recognition of human existence for some part of the population. Atlanta burned in 1864 as southerners reacted violently to the will of the broader nation, and exactly 100 years later the same horror revisited the Deep South during the nonviolent Civil Rights movement.
The success of Civil Rights in the 1960s, or India in the 1940s, or South Africa in the 1980s owes everything to nonviolent perseverance. Israel's only option is to contain a violent threat to her existence that disavows the recognition of that right. Until Palestinians embrace Israel's right to exist and decide for themselves that self-determination cannot come about without peaceful action on their part, nothing can change.
The time has come to acknowledge the tremendous restraint that Israel has shown to Palestinians who have chosen to wreak havoc upon civilians of both populations. To contain a bellicose group is a rational and responsible action of a threatened nation. Until Palestinians desist from wanton action and come to peaceful existence with the Jewish state, Israel has no choice but to contain the Palestinians.
It is regrettable that Jimmy Carter, a man who established himself as a peacemaker, has chosen a path that puts him at odds with the very ideals that he once brought to the table. The violent action of Palestinians has brought about the current situation, and only Palestinians can bring the change that ends containment and confinement.
The Palestinians can outlaw Hamas and Fatah more quickly than Israel can. Individual Palestinians can choose a path of nonviolence. Israel has elected to demonstrate the restraint so often denied to Jewish populations, and coexist with her neighbors as long as those neighbors do not take steps to attack.
Reason is on the side of the Jewish state. Israel has never committed an unprovoked atack upon a sovereign neighbor, and has taken steps to find peaceful relationships with the hostile states surrounding her. The Palestinians have failed to govern themselves ethically or peacefully, with infighting as rampant as terrorism against Israel.
Tragically, the Palestinians need the old Jimmy Carter; his integrity; his commitment to peace and human rights; his decency...and he is nowhere to be found.
09 December 2006
A Little Like Falling in Love
A few words about returning to one's hometown.
Atlanta has been the base of operation for your egomaniacal Wandering Gentile since 1978, and even during periods domiciled elsewhere, I returned. It is a love affair with a city that stretches back several generations.
Atlanta was then, is now, and ever shall be world without end, HOME.
It is the Braves and the Varsity; Georgia Tech and Immaculate Heart on Briarcliff; The stink of traffic on the connector and the allure of hot Quesadillas on Buford Highway. Some lament change, but it is the nature of this great city. Sherman invented urban renewal here in 1864, and that was the last time that there weren't orange barrels lining the expressways.
After several hours traveling the streets of the ATL, one who has been absent will notice people on the streets downtown and about twenty new skyscrapers going up. It's not my father's Atlanta, nor is it even the one from my adolescence. It is a new city every day.
Atlanta's lineage is in the great cities of the Northeast with the lack of boundaries from out west.
Richard Jeni once said that Chicago was founded by New Yorkers who liked the crowding and crime, but New York just wasn't cold enough in the winter. The same can be said for Atlanta, except New York summers just weren't hot or humid enough.
The skyline from the northwestern approach is a ringer for Manhattan. Drive over the hill on Georgia 280, and the casual observer could be forgiven for any and all comparisons to the view from New Jersey 3 or I280 west of the Meadowlands, coming down the hill from The Oranges and Clifton. We recognize New York's right to pride in their beautiful architecture. Our central city, built on a ridge, echoes the length of Manhattan Island if not the breadth.
At street level, Atlanta has become the vibrant city with nightlife and cultural opportunities that so many in Atlanta never believed possible. Downtown is no longer the sterile concrete canyon of 1990 or 1995. Nor is it the sterile concrete canyon of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or Houston.
Atlanta's detractors are frequently concerned about encounters with any of the following; Gay people; Black people; Foreign people; or Jewish people. Perhaps they would be better served by avoiding Ignorant people, but how could they get up in the morning? One can avoid trite treacle like "our strength is our diversity."
Nobody in Atlanta really looks like the next person. The principal color motivating this city is green, as in money. Like Texas independents and California dreamers, Atlanta is a place for people to seek their fortunes and fulfill their destinies. If one does not like Atlanta, he or she will be encouraged to reverse their path of ingress.
Sometimes Atlanta is a cruel mistress or an abusive mother. But she is most often a sister to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Los Angeles, Tony Bennett's San Francisco or Billy Joel's New York. Atlanta is a beloved place where everyone is from somewhere else, but their homes and roots are here on the Georgia Piedmont now.
And what a wonderful Here we have.
Atlanta has been the base of operation for your egomaniacal Wandering Gentile since 1978, and even during periods domiciled elsewhere, I returned. It is a love affair with a city that stretches back several generations.
Atlanta was then, is now, and ever shall be world without end, HOME.
It is the Braves and the Varsity; Georgia Tech and Immaculate Heart on Briarcliff; The stink of traffic on the connector and the allure of hot Quesadillas on Buford Highway. Some lament change, but it is the nature of this great city. Sherman invented urban renewal here in 1864, and that was the last time that there weren't orange barrels lining the expressways.
After several hours traveling the streets of the ATL, one who has been absent will notice people on the streets downtown and about twenty new skyscrapers going up. It's not my father's Atlanta, nor is it even the one from my adolescence. It is a new city every day.
Atlanta's lineage is in the great cities of the Northeast with the lack of boundaries from out west.
Richard Jeni once said that Chicago was founded by New Yorkers who liked the crowding and crime, but New York just wasn't cold enough in the winter. The same can be said for Atlanta, except New York summers just weren't hot or humid enough.
The skyline from the northwestern approach is a ringer for Manhattan. Drive over the hill on Georgia 280, and the casual observer could be forgiven for any and all comparisons to the view from New Jersey 3 or I280 west of the Meadowlands, coming down the hill from The Oranges and Clifton. We recognize New York's right to pride in their beautiful architecture. Our central city, built on a ridge, echoes the length of Manhattan Island if not the breadth.
At street level, Atlanta has become the vibrant city with nightlife and cultural opportunities that so many in Atlanta never believed possible. Downtown is no longer the sterile concrete canyon of 1990 or 1995. Nor is it the sterile concrete canyon of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or Houston.
Atlanta's detractors are frequently concerned about encounters with any of the following; Gay people; Black people; Foreign people; or Jewish people. Perhaps they would be better served by avoiding Ignorant people, but how could they get up in the morning? One can avoid trite treacle like "our strength is our diversity."
Nobody in Atlanta really looks like the next person. The principal color motivating this city is green, as in money. Like Texas independents and California dreamers, Atlanta is a place for people to seek their fortunes and fulfill their destinies. If one does not like Atlanta, he or she will be encouraged to reverse their path of ingress.
Sometimes Atlanta is a cruel mistress or an abusive mother. But she is most often a sister to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Los Angeles, Tony Bennett's San Francisco or Billy Joel's New York. Atlanta is a beloved place where everyone is from somewhere else, but their homes and roots are here on the Georgia Piedmont now.
And what a wonderful Here we have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
