Blogs

Saddam Hussein Captured Alive

Oh, WOW. Via Invisible Adjunct. Of course Glenn Reynolds has blogged about it umpteen times today, and he thinks we have three options at this point:

(1) Shoot him out of hand. Appealing for a variety of reasons, but not really our style, and obviously we decided against it. (2) Try him for war crimes ourselves. Potentially messy, and perhaps looking a bit imperialistic to some. (3) Turn him over to the Iraqis and let them try him.

Hmmm. I'd read all the blog roundups today if I could, but I'm too busy with a seminar paper. I'm far more interested in what Iraqis have to say than anything. I did go to the English AlJazeera site and was shocked that I was able to view it...anyway, reactions there:

Jalal Talabani, Iraqi Governing Council member and head of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan:

"With the arrest of Saddam the financial resources
feeding terrorists have been destroyed and his arrest will put an end
to terrorist acts in Iraq." 
 
Amar al-Hakim, member of the Central Council of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq:

"The Iraqi nation is happy and the sound of gunfire
indicates the Iraqi's people's joy and happiness. His arrest will put
an end to military and terrorist attacks and the Iraqi nation will
achieve stability. We want Saddam to get what he deserves. I believe he
will be sentenced to hundreds of death sentences at a fair trial
because he's responsible for all the massacres and crimes in
Iraq." 
 
Walid Mubarak, Beirut-based political analyst:

"I think the reaction is going to be positive, but
there are still questions about the occupation of Iraq... I don't think
this will resolve that. But we will have to wait and see how people
will react in Iraq. What I know about their (US) behaviour is that
there have been mistakes. I hope they have learned from their mistakes." 

Yeah, I hope they (we, really, since I'm implicated here--all Americans are) learn, too.

UPDATE: See Charles W. Johnson's brilliant response.

Excellent Article on Boys Don't Cry

So...I have decided to make more of an effort to keep up with scholarship that is published online. You might have noticed that I've added a block of links to online journals on rhetoric and feminism. I was looking at one of those articles tonight in Genders titled "Curing Boys Don't Cry" by Carol Siegel. Siegel critiques the film for its casting (Teena and Nissen are supposed to be around the same age, but the actors playing them are too far apart in age, making the dynamic less true-to-life), and she critiques representations of masculinity in the film and the choice of a song by The Cure as the film's title--it's somewhat of a misappropriation on Kimberly Peirce's part, Siegel implies, since The Cure is making a different argument about masculinity. Definitely an article Darren would be into.

A Compliment to Remember

Lately, I have been thinking about compliments I have received throughout my life that have stuck with me and given me confidence over the years. Here are a few:

  • This guy I dated off and on from ages 19 through 25 (we're still friends) said that over the years that he has known me, I've become more and more intense, deep, compelling, intelligent, powerful, what have you. He said that he thought it would continue, and that when I'm an old woman, I'll be magnetic and utterly irresistible. I said, "Will I be like Dr. Walter?"



    (Dr. Elizabeth Walter was the head of the art department at the University of North Alabama--she retired right after I left, but I was lucky enough to have taken two classes with her: History of Photography and Art Theory and Criticism. She was fabulous, confident, a lefty feminist, with this booming voice. Everyone loved her.)



    He said, "Oh, yeah, even better." :-)
  • One of my grandmothers, who passed away when I was 19, gave me a book of poetry. The first poem was "The Builders" by Longfellow. She said that the poem reminded her of me. It's kind of an unspecific compliment, but I appreciate the thought.
  • My friend Scott said once that my personality has a lot more depth now than when I was in college. I don't know what that says about how I was then--maybe I was a little Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole Smith-like, but anyway, it was nice.
  • One of the professors I had at UNA, Lisa Minor, with whom I had taken several classes, told me soon after I graduated with my B.A. that when I was in her sophomore lit survey course, I was already ready for graduate school. :-)

Compliments are very important, at least to me. I need to be better about giving them to other people.

Reasons You Should Vote Dean

Five Things I Would Rather Be Doing

I'm going to follow Jason's command and post five things I would rather be doing that what I'm doing now, working on my presentation in my genre theory class:

  1. Getting a hot-rock massage at a spa.
  2. Walking along a beach. I don't care what beach, as long as there aren't very many people around, no garbage, and no dunebuggies.
  3. Birdwatching someplace with a comfortable ~60 degree temperature.
  4. Exercising--yoga, pilates, weights, stretching. That would feel great.
  5. Sleeping, watching movies/sitcoms, vegging out.

Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure



Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure:

Includes such gems as:

"Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like Liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now."


and

"Liberals can't just come out and say they want to take more of our money, kill babies, and discriminate on the basis of race."

[Via Sivacracy.net]

A Glimpse of My Eclectic Musical Taste

My Current Winamp Play List:

Breeders - Cannonball
Destiny's Child - Jumpin, Jumpin
Prong - Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
Cole Porter - Dinah Washington - I Get A Kick Out Of You
Cowboy Junkies - Sun Comes Up It's Tuesday Morning
Information Society-Pure Energy
Kool And The Gang - Get Down On It
Erasure - Chains of Love (remix)
Robert Palmer - I Didn't Mean To Turn You On
Harry Connick Jr.-- A Wink and a Smile
Dead Prez - Mind Sex
Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Hurricane - I'm Onto You
Truth Hurts featuring Rakim-Addictive
Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
Shabba Ranks - Mr Loverman (original)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek A Boo
Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby

Stuff I've Been Reading Lately...

Farai Chideya has put into words something I've thought for a long time:

The key to reinvigorating younger voters, and the untapped 100 million non-voters, is to find an aspirational, inspirational language for political change. The Republicans have been very adept at creating a clear narrative of power and self-determination that appeals not only to the people they serve (the rich), but to anyone seeking to better themselves. Thus the trend of the "NASCAR Dad," a demographic whose economic interests should go clearly Democratic but whose voting patterns are stubbornly Republican. Right now, at least, the Republicans are better storytellers.

She goes on to argue that Democrats need to take back the "language of opportunity"; we need "[a] spot-on narrative will demonstrate that social justice – including no more no-bid contracts for fat cats, more educational opportunity, halting the growth of the prison-industrial complex and better jobs creation – benefits those seeking economic gain." I hear that.


UPDATE: Lisa Michelle Nelson's article "Why We Need Success Stories" supports Chideya's argument and is, I think, a fine companion piece.



I've also been following the Tenure and Toddlers discussions with interest. It only marginally applies to me, as I'm not going to have children, but several have said that those without children should be expected to pick up extra work left over when parents need time off. I have a few qualms with that, and as others have already said, I think the extra work is a problem that the institution needs to deal with in other ways, like on-site child care. These discussions need to take place, of course, because this is an important issue that's on our minds, but they are probably not the most productive use of our time. Actively pushing for changes in the workplace--with individual institutions' administrations--is the best solution, in my humble opinion. (Others have debated whether having children is this big an issue outside of academia. The tenure clock is, of course, unique to academia, but I think it's an issue for everyone, particularly white-collar professions: people who have the luxury of engaging in these conversations in the first place. It seems the news is bleak for parents, whether academic or not. Terrible.)



We're obsessed with beautiful people. Yeah, I know, duh, but I still like this article; it, along with many other AlterNet articles, is a good example of a brief lite argument/cultural critique.



Speaking of reading for undergraduates, I think that "Five Faces of Oppression," a chapter in Iris Marion Young's Justice and the Politics of Difference, should be required reading for all undergraduates--no, everyone of voting age. Young explains brilliantly the ways that oppression works: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. She clearly defines each term and tells exactly how they work. Maybe I'll assign it to my students next time I teach Rhetoric 1101.

Syndicate content