Comments on: Joe’s “word as a Biden”

By: Yeah, I think Democrats | gregormendelblog.com

Yeah, I think Democrats | gregormendelblog.com — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 16:00:25 +0000

[…] be veeeeeery worried. Biden could win the nomination. And if he does it will be a catastrophe for the Democrats. Though to be fair, name […]

By: huxley

huxley — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 05:24:46 +0000

Artfldgr and Julie near Chicago:

The Pennywhistlers, a folk group of American women in the mid-sixties, specialized in a cappella Baltic singing. Beautiful and heart-wrenching. Personally sacred music.

–The Pennywhistlers, “Shto Mi e Milo”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjvSvGAsU7g

By: Julie near Chicago

Julie near Chicago — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 22:05:56 +0000

Artfl,

Thanks very much for the info on the Baltic Way and the Baltic Singing Revolution. I’ve never heard of either of them. And thanks also for the links.

“BATUN”? Whazzat?

From the Great Foot, on the history of Latvia from 1949-1991 or thereabouts:

The Baltic Appeal to the United Nations (now “Baltic Association to the United Nations”) was formed in 1966.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_continuity_of_the_Baltic_states

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_diplomatic_service_in_exile

Artfl, somehow I got the impression that the first iteration of BATUN was formed in 1949. Is that correct, or am I “full of pea soup,” as my Dad used to say?

By: huxley

huxley — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 20:41:37 +0000

BTW, that’s the Jerusalem Bible translation, which is my favorite. Maybe because I’m ex-Catholic. Maybe because J.R.R. Tolkien was a contributor. (He was a serious scholar and philologist, as well as the guy who invented hobbits, you know.)

For me the Jerusalem conveys the majesty of the King James without the “thou shalt shew” archaisms.

By: huxley

huxley — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 20:11:59 +0000

In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.

–John 21:18.

J.J.: I know these words are supposed to foreshadow Peter’s death, but damn if they aren’t also the most poignant comment on old age.

By: J.J.

J.J. — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 18:59:48 +0000

As an old codger, it disturbs me to see someone younger show such obvious signs of mental decline. Joe, with all his faults, is a likable sort. Has been a fixture of American politics for a looong time. Not that I have ever agreed with him on much. What is happening right before our eyes with Biden is a reminder that we all falter at some point in our lives and it would be merciful if we recognized what’s happening. Father Time will have his way with all of us.
“Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.” (The Desiderata/Max Erhmann) Good advice for all.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 18:02:38 +0000

When the WAPO starts telling the truth about a democrat instead of ignoring his phony stories and covering for him, you know he is going to be thrown under the bus. If you remember when republican Senator Georg Allen made his macaca comment, the media published a hundred stories on it. It was in the news for weeks.

By: Stubbs

Stubbs — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 17:41:37 +0000

SSSSSHHHHHHH. Quiet! Don’t do harm to him until after the nomination is settled. Otherwise you have to fight Pocahontas in the main event, and she and her bag of socialism are more to fear than Joe. (I’m assuming the old communist doesn’t have a chance in the nomination fight.)

By: huxley

huxley — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 16:38:52 +0000

Biden’s boast harkens back to an older time when people were actively proud of their families and said things like “my word as a [insert surname].”

I don’t hear people talk that way anymore — except maybe the Scots who go full kilt and bagpipes on occasion — and I miss it. (I’m a McLennan. Yay!)

Powerline had a good post, “Identity politics as a substitute for family ties,” in this area. The decline of the family may be the truest explanation for where America is now.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/08/identity-politics-as-a-substitute-for-family-ties.php

By: Snow on Pine

Snow on Pine — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 16:32:43 +0000

Saw a clip of Biden at one of his events a day or so ago, and he went on babbling for a long time, stuttering, and uttering complete nonsense–stringing together words and ideas that just had no coherence to them; it was “word salad.”