Bookworm Room

Bret Stephens, writing about his father’s dying.  (Not his death, but his dying.)

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My poor mother got hospital delirium last night.  The nurses called me at 5 a.m. in the hopes that hearing my voice would help orient her.  It didn’t.  “You’re not my daughter.  I don’t know who you are, but my daughter wouldn’t have put me in this awful place.”  Mom quizzed me about her mother’s [...]

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My Mom, thank goodness, is not dying or, more accurately given her advanced age, she’s not dying imminently.  The problem is that she thinks she’s dying.  She has a benign, but very unpleasant, heart condition.  Every time it acts up, and it acts up with increasing frequency as she ages, she panics.  The problems begin [...]

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I am not by nature a ministering angel.  If I had to describe myself, it would be as competent and reasonably kind, but also self-centered and lazy.  I’m therefore surprised every morning when I wake up and remember all over again that mine is the life of a caregiver:  a sick, aged parent; a tween; [...]

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America’s old Secretary of State is Hillary Clinton.  Although she still holds the job, Keith Koffler points out that there’s also a new sheriff in town: In the past couple of months, Biden traveled to Greece, Turkey, and Iraq, held an important call with President Saakashvili of Georgia, met with a Kurdish leader, spoke by video [...]

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For reasons unclear to me, myriad conservative sites are hosting an advertisement for Alan Grayson, a Progressive’s Progressive. You might remember Grayson from his last go-round in Congress.  This is not a guy who’s shy about sharing his convictions.  During the health care debate, he gave a quick and easy summary of the Republican position:  [...]

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There’s just something awesome…a je ne sais quoi..about Israeli humor in the face of adversity. For all you Dylan fans…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nbA0h0WfA4U     A Ka-nife?

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We’re back in the car today, so my blogging will be on hold for several hundred miles. When I get back to my computer, I’ll tell you about two fascinating people I met yesterday. Until then, I hope you have fun with this open thread.

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Maybe what we see today is a final struggle for America between those that want to be free and those that don’t.

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The OWS people have made much of their pathetic status compared to the “wealthy 1%.” As I’ve mentioned before, this is a completely spurious argument, because it makes the 99% sound like a single homogenous lump all similarly situated to medieval serfs. Nothing could be further from the truth. In America, that 99% is a [...]

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If I can, I’ll post a bit today. If I can’t, this will have to do: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As I say with truth every year, my blog and the friends I’ve made through blogging are two things that are always at the top of my “I’m thankful for…” list.

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In the car today. You guys have fun without me.

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[I wrote this yesterday but, for reasons, unclear to me, it never posted.  So here it is today.] I’ve been cooking Thanksgiving dinner today.  Yes, I know it’s Monday.  You want to hear something even more foolish?  We’ll be visiting my wonderful in-laws for Thanksgiving, and they will be cooking, so no one will actually [...]

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DQ here.  I was laying out this theory to Bookworm at lunch today and she asked me to post about it.  Sports team owners understand that they cannot help themselves.  They will spend too much on players if they are not stopped by some outside force.   Thus, they negotiate with the players to put restrictions [...]

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I used to love Star Trek : The Next Generation.  I still get a kick out of the time-space continuum episodes, but the neocon in me cringes at the relentless Leftism that some of the plots display.  Still, there were the moments.  This was one of my favorites: That line (“if you prick me, do [...]

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I’ve got a matched set of stories for you that caught my eye because of the changes in the English language.  Both involve those who describe themselves as trans- or differently gendered.  This post has nothing to do with their biological issues, their life style decisions or their political impact.  It just has to do [...]

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I read a lot of things that intrigued me this morning, so I’ll just including them here, with frequent updates. To begin with, Jonah Goldberg certainly nailed one of the reasons I find Newt appealing right now. If you read on in the Goldberg article, you’ll also see him identify the concerns Newt’s tactic raises: [...]

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One of the things we frequently bemoan here is the fact that American foreign policy tends to be naive.  Perhaps because our culture is a fluid melting pot in which citizens, until quite recently, willingly changed themselves to assimilate into the broader culture, we’re very poor at understanding that other cultures not only have different [...]

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I always love it when I read a post that has me not only nodding in agreement with every paragraph, but delving into my own history and values to expand upon the points the post makes.  Mike McDaniel, who blogs at State McDaniel Manor, has written one of those posts.  (Full disclosure:  Mike very kindly [...]

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I’m about to show my age here, but what can you do.  Up until this morning, I had no idea who Justin Timberlake was.  I mean, sure I’d heard his name, but I just vaguely thought “Singer?  Actor?  Whatever.”  I’ve pretty much checked out of pop culture lately, finding it too antithetical to my politics, [...]

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Last weekend was a freezing cold Saturday morning swimming meet open thread. Today it’s a chilly Saturday tennis match open thread. Have at it!

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A few days ago, I jumped the gun.  Today, however, really is the Marine Corps’ birthday.  Happy Birthday, Marines!!

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I haven’t had my first breakdown yet, and I’m not planning to, but this song has been running through my head: (Or view here.) I am ready, however, for a really good temper tantrum, along Garbo-esque lines: (Or view here.) No big deal for those of you inclined to worry, just family members who view [...]

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Winter swim league — been here since 7 am in 40 degree weather, but at least I’m dry. The swimmers are bundled almost into immobility, but when you’re wet you’re cold. Hope you’re warm and comfortable. If you have something you’d like to say or share, feel free.

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Humans produce waste.  Not just bodily waste, but all kinds of garbage.  Most of what we know about Stone Age cultures comes from examining their garbage piles.  If Fairfax, California, has its way, though, archaeologists are not going to have an easy time of it if they’re scavenging Fairfax garbage in the distant future: Fairfax [...]

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