Thoughts on Hillary and other female heads of state

The New Neo Posted on by

The Clinton-Obama Democratic matchup is study in contrasts, so far.

We know Hillary only too well; one of her problems is that of too much exposure. Obama is the proverbial blank slate. They’re both trailblazers, demographically speaking, but of different types: she, a woman and ex-First Lady; he, an African-American with a multicultural past. Hillary possesses many interesting and useful traits, but charisma seems not to be one of them. Obama has almost nothing but charisma.

Commonalities are that they are both smart, and they both lean to the Left, as does the party itself these days. Who leans more heavily to the Left is anybody’s guess.

If I were forced to choose between the two–and “forced” it would have to be, because I have no interest in voting for either–I think I’d go (albeit very reluctantly) for Hillary’s toughness over the sketchy touchy-feely (but so far, empty) “inspiration” of Obama. This, of course, could change, if he fills in the blankness with something of substance.

I’ve never hated Hillary, and still don’t. And yes, I know, that’s not a very strong endorsement, nor is it meant to be. But I well understand the hatred for her. She emanates the same vibes that made people hate Leona Helmsley (remember her?), Martha Stewart, and any other woman who is perceived as both coldly ruthless and powerful.

We’ve had so few female heads of state that comparisons are hard to find. Actually, I amend that thought: there have been many female heads of state, but most of them aren’t widely known, and most ascended to power through a sort of inheritance–the death of a husband or father.

Even the very-well-known Indira Gandhi and Golda Meir were somewhat in this mold: Gandhi filled a power vacuum her father Nehru’s sudden death left open, and Meir ascended to the office of Prime Minister when chosen by her party after the sudden death of former PM Levi Eshkol. Both were political beings prior to those events, particularly Meir, but there’s little question that the openings left by the deaths of prominent men facilitated their rise in an atmosphere in which women leaders were by far the exception rather than the rule.

Interestingly enough, Hillary fits very well into that mold. Her career has been closely linked to that of her more conventionally electable husband. And now, although Bill is still very much alive, he’s “dead” in the political sense. Since he can no longer run for President, Hillary has taken on the mantle.

Margaret Thatcher is the one woman leader who seems to have climbed to the pinnacle without the help of a father or husband who was a political predecessor, or the sudden death of a political colleague creating an opportunity that otherwise would not have existed. Of course, she was elected not through a direct process of people voting for her, but voting instead for her party, (as is always the case in Parliamentary systems). But still, she was elected under her own steam.

Thatcher was certainly in the mold of a woman perceived as exceptionally strong and rather cold, and was hated by many in her time. But (at least to the best of my knowledge; and I don’t pretend to be an expert on Thatcher) she was not perceived as corrupt or amorally opportunistic, as is Hillary. Instead, Thatcher was hated for her policies, and for her no-nonsense firmness in implementing them. Thatcher was devoted to conservative ideas, and was unusually and rather firmly consistent about them for her entire life. Her iron qualities seemed to be less in service of self-aggrandizement than in service of her political cause. But iron she was.

Hillary’s iron has been shown more in the cause of getting first her husband and then herself elected, at least so far. And she’s tainted by the brush of her own possible corruption as well as Bill Clinton’s moral failings, and her own compromises in service of his career and the preservation of their marriage.

As far as the latter goes, I have some sympathy for the position in which Bill’s philandering placed her. Despite his lengthy history of infidelity–of which she no doubt knew–the Lewinsky affair during his Presidency must have violated some important pact between them. I’m not sure of the nature of that agreement (no, they haven’t taken me into their confidence), but it certainly must have included refraining from misbehaving in such a way as to get caught and jeopardize both of their political careers. And if she’d left him at the time, her calculation was probably that it would have jeopardized them still further. Call me naive, but I also believe she was wounded in the personal sense, as well.

The idea of Bill in the White House again, if only as a spouse, must fill many with dread–just as it fills many with glee. He’s a polarizing figure of great intensity. Perhaps that’s why many Democrats prefer the blank slate of Obama. He may seem to be a lightweight, but at least he carries no real baggage.

Venezuela update: is anyone surprised by this? Except Jimmy?

The New Neo Posted on by

Chavez may have rigged the referendum of 2004, according to a statistical study by two Venezuelan scientists.

An isolated study or two wouldn’t mean much. But there’s a lot more evidence that this particular election was rigged.

And is there anyone who doubts Chavez capable of such a thing? In fact, is there anyone who thinks he would think twice about doing such a thing?

And is there anyone who believes that certification of the election results by Jimmy Carter has any meaning whatsoever, except as another example of why he’s the worst ex-President in history (and yes indeed, I voted for him–twice).

From the not-particularly disputed Wiki entry on the Venezuelan referendum 0f 2004:

European Union observers did not oversee the elections, saying too many restrictions were put on their participation by the Ché¡vez administration. The Carter Center “concluded the results were accurate.” However, a Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB) exit poll showed the opposite result, predicting that Ché¡vez would lose by 20%, whereas the election results showed him to have won by 20%. Schoen commented, “I think it was a massive fraud”. US News and World Report offered an analysis of the polls, indicating “very good reason to believe that the (Penn Schoen) exit poll had the result right, and that Ché¡vez’s election officials ”” and Carter and the American media ”” got it wrong”.

According to the Center for Security Policy (disclosure: many of those nefarious neoconservatives are affiliated with the group):

“The [Chavez] government did everything””including granting citizenship to half a million illegal aliens in a crude vote-buying scheme and “migrating” existing voters away from their local election office””to fix the results in its favor. The outcome was then affirmed and legitimated by ex-President Jimmy Carter’s near-unconditional support.” “Jimmy Carter ignored pleas from the opposition and publicly endorsed the results, despite the fact that the government reneged on its agreement to carry out an audit of the results. Carter’s actions not only gave the Venezuelan regime the legitimacy it craved, but also destroyed the public’s confidence in the voting process and in the effectiveness of international observers.”

Voting fraud allegations have become commonplace–almost required–lately. But in this case they seem only too correct. The evidence is strong, plus Chavez’s later acts leave little doubt in my mind that voter fraud is exactly what he would have done to hold onto his power and allow him to carry out his plans for becoming dictator of Venezuela. And Jimmy Carter was his willing enabler, either a pious dupe or a fraud himself.

Most ex-Presidents adhere to the Hippocratic oath when they are out of power: first, do no harm. Would that Carter would stick to it, as well.

These fickle and reversing politicos and press, then and now

The New Neo Posted on by

I’m reading a fascinating book by Robert Kagan entitled Dangerous Nation: America’s place in the world from its earliest days to the dawn of the twentieth century. A mouthful, I know–and that’s only Part I, which goes up to the beginning of the Spanish-American war.

I haven’t finished it. But I wanted to point out the following passage about the build-up to that war:

Republican newspapers that had been excoriating [Democratic President] Cleveland for his inaction on Cuba right up until the last days of the Democrat’s term now reversed themselves [after the election of McKinley, a Republican] and backed McKinley’s inaction. The small group of Republican barons who directed affairs in the House and Senate were dead set against intervention in Cuba and war with Spain. When Cleveland had been in office, they had let party members loose to criticize the Democrats for betraying the cause of Cuban freedom. But once in power they preferred Cleveland’s course.

So, in terms of hypocrisy and self-serving political wheeling dealing, twas ever thus! When I’m tempted to think that there was a golden age when politics was more civil and profiles in courage were more common, all I have to do is read history to get a corrective lesson.

And don’t think we’re just talking about Republicans, here. A few sentences later we read this:

The Democrats, meanwhile, released from the burden of defending Cleveland’s inaction, now assailed McKinley for pursuing the same course.

So, what else is new?

I hope to write more about this book soon. It makes some fascinating points that indicate certain parallels between the Spanish-American War and the Iraq War–although they may not be the ones you think.

Podcast: the Squad takes on the Presidency

The New Neo Posted on by

In honor of Presidents Day (or President’s Day, or perhaps Presidents’ Day), the Sanity Squad yaks it up about good Presidents and bad, and the office itself. We also discuss the recent terrorist train bombing in India. Please join me, Siggy, Shrink, and Dr. Sanity. And take a look at this, Siggy’s intro to the podcast, in which he outs some information about my secret past.

More reasons to visit the blogs of my esteeemd colleagues: Dr. Sanity proves she is a lyrical parodist extraordinaire in her “Rime of the Ancient Socialists,” while Shrink has a multi-parter on abortion (just go to his blog and scroll down; I may post something on the topic soon, as well). And Siggy has a personal story of his own to share, in addition to some general reflections on this most weighty and profoundly controversial subject.

Our Iraq allies and spin: past and present, British and otherwise

The New Neo Posted on by

As Blair announces and Britain prepares a phased pull out from Iraq, I noticed this list of our allies who are still there.

It’s a somewhat varied and lengthy group, considering that basically this has been a US effort. And of course the numbers from most of the countries are small.

But I’m surprised that so many are still there at all, although I’m not surprised that that fact has been kept fairly quiet–perhaps, even, at the behest of those countries, who no doubt have a valid fear of retaliation by terrorist groups.

Critics will say the forces involved are mainly symbolic rather than meaningful. But any support has meaning and carries risk, and some of the countries involved are very small themselves. Note the strong participation of “new” Europe–the eastern, previously Russian satellite, part:

”¢ South Korea ”“ 2,300 troops in northern city of Irbil; plans to bring home 1,100 troops this spring and parliament has called for a complete withdrawal by the end of the year

”¢ Australia ”“ 1,400 troops; Prime Minister John Howard Wednesday called Britain’s move “good sense” but reject calls to follow suit

”¢ Poland ”“ 900 non-combat troops, mission extended to end of this year

”¢ Romania ”“ 865 troops, with most serving in the south under British command 460-member contingent from southern Iraq by August and transfer security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.

”¢ Denmark ”“ The country’s 460-member contingent will be pulled by August, with security responsibilities transferred to Iraqi forces. During the conflict, six Danish soldiers have been killed in Iraq

”¢ El Salvador ”“ 380 troops doing peacekeeping work in Hillah; no plans for withdrawal

”¢ Georgia ”“ 850 troops serving under U.S. command in Baqouba; no withdrawal plans

”¢ Azerbaijan ”“ 150 troops, mostly sentries on patrol near Hadid

”¢ Bulgaria ”“ 150 troops, including a large number of non-troops guarding a refugee camp north of Baghdad ”¢ Latvia ”“ about 136 troops serving under Polish command

”¢ Albania ”“ 126 troops, mostly doing non-combat duty near airport Mosul ”¢ Czech Republic ”“ 100 troops

”¢ Mongolia ”“ 100 troops, no withdrawal plans

”¢ Lithuania ”“ 50 troops as part of Danish battalion near Basra; a spokeswoman for the Baltic nation said Wednesday the country is “seriously considering” not replacing the troops with the mission ends this summer, marking the first time the staunch U.S. ally has indicated it would reduce its Iraq commitment

”¢ Armenia ”“ 46 troops, mission extended to the end of 2007

”¢ Bosnia and Herzegovina ”“ 37 troops

”¢ Estonia ”“ 34 troops serving under U.S. command near Baghdad

”¢ Macedonia ”“ 33 troops in Taji, north of Baghdad

”¢ Kazakhstan ”“ 29 troops, mostly military engineers

”¢ Moldova ”“ 11 bomb-defusing experts returned home in December; parliament has yet to decide on a new mission

”¢ Fiji ”“ The South Pacific nation contributed 150 troops, but the contingent was deployed as part of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq

Of course, the US is the main act in Iraq. But Britain has been an ally right along–although the majority of the people there were always against British participation (as best I can recall); and, if not, they certainly are now.

So the British withdrawal is no mystery; it’s been an unpopular war there, and Blair is mindful of his party’s future. But the removal of these forces has been telegraphed for ages; no mystery there, as well. If you Google some phrase like “Blair forces leave Iraq” you’ll find articles going back to 2006 and even 2005 discussing Blair’s plans in that direction (this, for example).

The usual suspects claim the usual intrigue around the move, as described in this CNN article. Blair’s statement that the withdrawal represents success in Basra (the area in which the British were always concentrated), and Bush’s seconding of that motion, are questioned, especially since the surge is on. And everyone is using the move’s announcement to score predictable political points.

In one way the timing does seem odd; why leave now, when more troops are supposed to be needed? On the other hand it’s not so odd at all: the area is relatively calm at the moment, and Blair’s hand has been virtually forced, in the political sense–he’s been stalling on this move for years, and it’s hard to imagine how he can stall much longer and still preserve any vitality for his party in the next elections.

Australian Prime Minister Howard is singing a different song. He’s adamant about the fact the the Aussies are staying for now. Note, by the way, the subtly snarky tone of the linked article from the Sydney Morning Herald, a type of reporting that almost seamlessly merges editorializing with straight news in a way that’s become so familiar as to be the rule rather than the exception (thanks, Walter Cronkite!).

In the article, Howard’s announcement that Britain’s pullout represents success in Basra is immediately characterized as “play[ing] down the importance” of Blair’s announcement, and putting “a positive spin” on Blair’s move. And this sort of editorializing occurs in the first two sentences of the story, rather than later on in the article, or even (gasp!!) being saved for an opinion piece.

The Sydney Herald piece does indeed contain some straight reporting and useful information, including quotes from Howard and other Australian officials on their opinions of what’s involved. But this comes much later, in the second half of the piece (when most people have probably stopped reading, a fact of which the editors are no doubt fully aware). And it also comes after these opinions have been effectively discredited by the earlier parts of the article; whatever Howard and company may say, the Sydney’s editors know it’s mere spin–and they’re not the least bit shy or retiring about telling us so, right up front.

This, by the way, has nothing to do with whether those editors are correct or not. Whether they are or aren’t, I want my news straight, and any interpretation and opinion on another page–or at least in another article clearly labeled opinion, thank you very much. But you can’t always get what you want, can you?

Howard is quoted in the article as saying, “A reduction has been in the wind (a while), and the reason I understand Mr Blair will give is that conditions have stabilised in Basra.” That is certainly undisputed, as I pointed out.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson adds that there’s no discrepancy between the British pullout and the surge plans by the US:

“People ought to remember that 60 per cent of the violence comes from Baghdad and al-Anbar province, where al-Qaeda is particularly active,” he told ABC Radio. “The rest of Iraq is quite different”.

Undoubtedly true. But, with the surge so clearly telegraphed, and many of the terrorists and insurgents fleeing, aren’t more troops needed in Basra, not less? So isn’t the timing of the pullout a problem?

To know whether it’s likely to be, it would help to know where those fleeing insurgents might have been going. Well, we know that al Sadr is likely to be whooping it up right now with his fun buddies in Iran.

But where are the others? To try to answer the question, I did a bit of research, and all I’ve come up with so far is this and a few other articles like it, which indicate that the fleeing insurgents seem to have gone to an area north of Baghdad and not all that far away from it. Certainly not to Basra.

Ah, here’s a bit of news on the subject, embedded as a few words in an AP article found in the Guardian:

Analysts say there is little point in boosting forces in largely Shiite southern Iraq, where most non-U.S. coalition troops are concentrated.

Okay; I assume that the nameless “analysts” aren’t of the Freudian type; they’re experts on the situation in Iraq, supposedly. I’d love to hear a bit more about that, and about who they might be, but we don’t. What we do hear is AP writer David Stringer immediately following it up with this speculation of his own (at least, apparently his own; there’s no attribution for the statement):

Yet as more countries draw down or pull out, it could create a security vacuum if radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stirs up trouble.

Interestingly enough, in the very first article I linked in this post (here, from NPR), which features that same AP article, there was another paragraph directly following the above quote about a security vacuum (this extra paragraph was omitted in the Guardian version):

A British withdrawal is not likely to have much effect on the stepped-up U.S. operation in Baghdad or the war against the Sunni-led insurgency focusing on Anbar province west of the Iraqi capital.

So, which is it? Will the British pullout matter, or not? Is it naivete to actually take what Blair says at face value: that the mission is pretty much accomplished in Basra, and that this doesn’t represent a huge and terrible break with Washington and with Bush? Well, it’s hard to know; but experts seem to believe the British withdrawal and the surge are not contradictory at all.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all speculation by journalists would remain where it belongs, in a column or op-ed piece? Or, of course, they’re welcome to start their own blogs and spout off like me–but then they’d be letting their biases out into the clear light of day, which could only be a good thing. Ah well, you can say I’m a dreamer.

[NOTE: Apologies for all the song lyric links in this post; my only excuse is I’ve still got golden oldies on the brain.]

Caution on troll-feeding

The New Neo Posted on by

It’s tedious work to prepare the new blog, and I don’t have a lot of spare time to devote to it. I believe it will be ready in a few days, however.

In the meantime, I would like to reiterate that all commenters here refrain from feeding the trolls. I deleted an entire string of comments yesterday that was just back and forth squabbling. The comments section here is something I really value, and I don’t want it to degenerate into childish namecalling on either side.

Peace/love: a golden oldie

The New Neo Posted on by

I went out dancing the other night.

No, not ballet. My ballet days are over, I’m afraid.

And no, most assuredly not the tango. My tango days are over, I’m very happy to say.

This was dancing to the music of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Golden oldies, silver oldies, brass oldies, tin oldies. The music of that last decade, the 80s, is a bit unfamiliar to me. But the rest of the songs rang a bunch of pleasant although somewhat rusty bells.

A portion of those bells involved raucous fraternity dances with spilled beer and even cigarettes (yes, yes, I smoked! But never inhaled; I just enjoyed making the most well-formed and longlasting smoke rings on earth.) Other bells rang for even earlier memories—of dancing in somebody’s knotty-pine-paneled basement to an old record player with a stack of 45s that dropped, one by one, onto a turntable.

This dance the other night was held in a so-called ballroom, a large hall with one of those revolving globes with mirror fragments that cast moving points of light onto the wooden floor. It was a lot of fun; I think I’ll do it again some time (the next day I was only slightly, rather than terribly, sore). I discovered that one of the benefits of getting more–ahem, mature—is that I don’t have to worry quite so much about making a fool of myself on the dance floor. I just assume I’m doing so—at least a little bit—and, at this point, who really cares?

You might think, by the way, that being a former ballet dancer would make a person confident as a social dancer. Not so; the two genres are exceedingly different.

This was a Valentine’s dance. You could tell that because most of us women—and even some of the men—managed to wear something red. And there was chocolate all around.

And then, as the evening was coming to an end, the youngish DJ came over to me and handed me a gift. Or maybe it was a prize (although for what, I don’t know; maybe just for the courage to have gotten out there).

It was a tiny object sealed in a little plastic bag, sort of like something one might find in a crackerjack box. When I opened it, I found this pendant on a chain (those are sparkly blue rhinestones, by the way):


Maybe the DJ was trying to tell neo-neocon the chickenhawk warmonger something or other. Or maybe not; maybe his hawk eye just recognized an ex-semi-hippie-chick when he saw one.

But looking at that peace symbol brought back some other memories. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if peace–real peace, meaningful peace, peace because the need to make war had gone away—were possible? That’s the only kind of peace I can imagine, not a false peace that happens because we’re tired of defending ourselves, or because we’re lulled into a false sense of security by the lying words of an enemy.

I remember back when “All we are saying is give peace a chance” actually seemed like all one needed to say on the subject. Would that it had been so then; would that it were so now.

Teflon Don at Acute Politics: a blogger worth noticing

The New Neo Posted on by

I came across the writing of milblogger Teflon Don via Pajamas Media, and I’ve added him to my blogroll. I strongly urge you to take a look at his blog Acute Politics.

There are many excellent milbloggers, but there’s something about Teflon Don’s work that stands out.

Maybe it’s his use of a quote from Robert Frost at the top of his page; you know how partial I am to Frost. But no; it’s actually the fine quality of his writing.

It’s not merely that he’s informative and intelligent–although he’s certainly both of those. He doesn’t just give us a vivid picture of what it’s like to be serving in Iraq at this particular time in history– although he does that, as well. Teflon Don writes with style and elegance–and eloquence–and combines it all with a great depth of feeling and sensitivity, and a profound emotional honesty. For such a young man (or a person for any age, for that matter), he’s got a lot of wisdom–as well as humility, which is part of wisdom.

I wish this courageous man well, from the bottom of my heart.

Tell your friends in the service about this

The New Neo Posted on by

Here’s a website that might interest you if you’re serving in the military, or know anyone who is. It’s for military personnel to register an official appeal to Congress called a redress.

Here’s the text he/she can sign on to, which will be delivered to members of Congress:

As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.

“I supported the troops before I cut the legs out from under them”

The New Neo Posted on by

On “Face the Nation” yesterday, Tony Snow made what seems to me to be an eminently reasonable request:

What I would say to members of Congress is: Calm down and take a look at what’s going on, and ask yourself a simple question: If you support the troops, would you deny them the reinforcements they think are necessary to complete the mission?

What does this business of “supporting the troops” actually mean, anyway? Most of the time, I’m afraid, it’s empty rhetoric. And exceedingly condescending empty rhetoric, at that.

“Support” is a nice,touchy-feely word, vague enough to mean almost anything. Here are some definitions, however, for those more inclined towards precision:

# the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities; “his support kept the family together”; “they gave him emotional support during difficult times”
# give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to; “She supported him during the illness”; “Her children always backed her up”
# aiding the cause or policy or interests of; “the president no longer had the support of his own party”; “they developed a scheme of mutual support”
# support materially or financially; “he does not support his natural children”; “The scholarship supported me when I was in college”
# something providing immaterial assistance to a person or cause or interest; “the policy found little public support”; “his faith was all the support he needed”; “the team enjoyed the support of their fans”
# back: be behind; approve of; “He plumped for the Labor Party”; “I backed Kennedy in 1960”
# a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission; “they called for artillery support”
# hold: be the physical support of; carry the weight of; “The beam holds up the roof”; “He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam”; “What’s holding that mirror?”
# documentation: documentary validation; “his documentation of the results was excellent”; “the strongest support for this view is the work of Jones”
# confirm: establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; “his story confirmed my doubts”; “The evidence supports the defendant”
# subscribe: adopt as a belief; “I subscribe to your view on abortion”
# the financial means whereby one lives; “each child was expected to pay for their keep”; “he applied to the state for support”; “he could no longer earn his own livelihood”
# supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation; “the statue stood on a marble support”
# corroborate: support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm; “The stories and claims were born out by the evidence”
# defend: argue or speak in defense of; “She supported the motion to strike”
# the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening; “he leaned against the wall for support”
# accompaniment: a subordinate musical part; provides background for more important parts
# play a subordinate role to (another performer); “Olivier supported Gielgud beautifully in the second act”
# patronize: be a regular customer or client of; “We patronize this store”; “Our sponsor kept our art studio going for as long as he could”
# any device that bears the weight of another thing; “there was no place to attach supports for a shelf”
# digest: put up with something or somebody unpleasant; “I cannot bear his constant criticism”; “The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks”; “he learned to tolerate the heat”; “She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage”
# financial resources provided to make some project possible; “the foundation provided support for the experiment”

Hard to see the current “slow-bleed” activities of Congress as “support” under any of these definitions: they provide neither money, psychological encouragement, aid to the cause, backup, approval, corroboration, weight-bearing, nor defense of the troops (although I suppose it could be argued that–for the 20,000 troops that would be included in any “surge”–they “defend” those particular troops by preventing them from going to Iraq and risking their lives–even if it is the wish of many of them to do so).

The phrase “we support the troops” uttered by antiwar activists and Congressional leaders is meant to deflect the sort of charges that became commonplace during the Vietnam War, when the conflict over that war was personalized into disrespect towards those who had served in the military. Most of those who declare support for the troops while hating the war are careful not to insult the troops directly, and certainly not to their faces.

But it’s often the subtext of their message. And others are not so careful: witness the enormous (and well-earned) flap created by Washington Post “blogger” William M. Arkin’s column characterizing our troops as a “mercenary” force who should be grateful to the American people for supporting them. (Please read the comments after his post, as well; many are far more interesting–and intelligent–than Arkin’s original piece.)

How can the troops be said to be supported by the “slow bleed” envisioned by the Democratic leadership? One doesn’t necessarily have to be a complete Jacksonian in order to see that wars should be waged competently or not at all. The Democrats and their seven Republican supporters refuse to go out on a political limb and cut off funding for the war. The fact that they are allowing troops to remain in harms’ way there, and yet refusing to give them the support (actual support, not symbolic and empty words) that commanders think would help the mission, protect the troops, and ultimately help the Iraqis as well, is profoundly hypocritical and short-sighted.

The idea of the troops as naive (Arkin’s word), exploited, poor, misguided, and stupid saps is a meme that won’t die, despite demographic evidence to the contrary. But if one continues to promulgate (and possibly even to believe) these things, then the term “support” becomes translated into something other than “support what they are doing and what their commanders feel is needed.” It becomes “support them by telling the poor misguided little ones what the truth is in order to protect them from their own ignorant perceptions.” And what’s that truth? “It’s what we understand it to be.”

The condescension is thick. Here’s Arkin again, in a follow-up post:

In the middle of all of this are the troops, the pawns in political battles at home as much as they are on the real battlefield. We unquestioningly “support” these troops for the very reasons that they are pawns. We give them what we can to be successful, and we have a contract with them, because they are our sons and daughters and a part of us, not to place them in an impossible spot.

And yet, strangely enough, one can easily say (and I hereby say it) that those Democrats (and the seven Republicans) who voted for the recent resolution are guilty of using the troops as political pawns and of doing their best to “place them in an impossible spot.”

Their condescension is especially misplaced in regards to an all-volunteer military. With a draft, there’s a better argument to be made for the reluctance or naivete of troops. Volunteers are presumed to know what they’re getting into: they have a choice, and they’ve chosen the military. That’s why Arkin and others have fallen into the “mercenary” charge; it’s the best one they can muster to counter the fact of an all-volunteer military, besmirching the motives of those who serve and reducing them to a desire for money.

Of course, being a volunteer in the military doesn’t mean a person who serves has chosen this particular war. Although it’s also a well-known fact that the majority of the military tend to vote Republican, there’s also no question that some who serve would–and will– vote for Democrats, and would prefer not to go to Iraq. But that’s by no means a universal point of view, and reenlistment statistics–as well as interviews with military personnel such as the one that sparked the original Arkin article–certainly tell a different tale.

I’ll close with the incomparable Steyn on the entire subject:

So “the Murtha plan” is to deny the president the possibility of victory while making sure Democrats don’t have to share the blame for the defeat. But of course he’s a great American! He’s a patriot! He supports the troops! He doesn’t support them in the mission, but he’d like them to continue failing at it for a couple more years. As John Kerry wondered during Vietnam, how do you ask a soldier to be the last man to die for a mistake? By nominally “fully funding” a war you don’t believe in but “limiting his ability to use the money.” Or as the endearingly honest anti-war group MoveCongress.org put it, in an e-mail preview of an exclusive interview with the wise old Murtha:

“Chairman Murtha will describe his strategy for not only limiting the deployment of troops to Iraq but undermining other aspects of the president’s foreign and national security policy.”

And I’ll offer a rather simple definition of the word “undermine”: it’s the opposite of “support.”

Making music: on playing the cello

The New Neo Posted on by

I used to play the cello.

Well, perhaps “play” is too strong a word. I was chosen for the instrument (no, that’s not a typo; I was chosen for it, rather than the reverse) in fifth grade, at the public elementary school I attended in New York back when all such schools had numbers instead of names.

They tested us to see who had some musical aptitude, and for what instrument. Some of these tests were pretty simple. For example, one was as simple as “Are you a boy or are you a girl?” Stringed instruments went only to girls (Jascha Heifetz, eat your heart out), and cellos went only to tall girls.

I was a tall girl back then, although I’m not anymore (no, I haven’t shrunk; it’s the pictures that got small.) I reached my full height around fourth grade, and so in fifth I was still much taller than average, considered a good candidate for a big instrument like the cello.

And I could differentiate between on key and off, an absolute prerequisite for any stringed instrument. After all, on a cello, you create the notes; they’re not ready-made.

A few drawbacks to the cello: carrying it back and forth to school twice a week was an arduous task, especially when I had to carry hefty books as well (this was in that punishing interval before backpacks became standard but when bookbags after first grade were only for nerds.)

And, of course, as with all musical instruments, you had to practice.

I understood practicing in principle. I even liked the gorgeous rich mellow sound a cello makes, and wanted to emulate it. But the gap between that sound and the one I managed to create was too immense to be bridged, even in my imagination. In other words, I wasn’t motivated enough to put in the hours required.

Although I never really managed to make a truly pleasant sound, I did learn just enough to saw away at that cello in the junior high school orchestra, and even put in a couple of years with the high school group, where our repertoire leaned heavily towards Sousa marches that had no cello part (we were supposed to play from the trombone sheet music). I didn’t make much progress in all that time, and I quit in mid-high school, with no regrets. Listening to the cello was fine, but playing it held no special interest for me, and I haven’t really thought about it since.

Until the other evening, that is. I was at a meeting of my book group (great book, by the way: Cry the Beloved Country). A gleaming cello was leaning against the wall in the hostess’s dining room, and she told us she was just starting to take lessons, a lifelong dream. She gave a demonstration of what she’d learned so far—basic scales.

Afterwards, the cello was passed around so we all could have a go at it. And as it came close to me I felt a strange sensation, a certain feeling in my arms and hands of being about to start something familiar—and yet almost from a previous life, it seemed so long ago.

My friend who’d taken a couple of lessons had to prompt me even to remember the fingering for a simple scale. I took the cello from her, positioned my left hand on its neck and my right on the bow, placed the bow on the strings, pressed down, and began.

It didn’t sound like Yo Yo Ma, but it didn’t sound half bad. It sounded as though I’d actually played a cello before, once upon a time. My body memory had kicked in, and all these little habits sprang forth as though they’d only been hibernating all that time: how hard to press, how to move my right wrist back and forth in a wave motion, how to lean slightly on the inside edge of the bow with the downstroke and the outside with the upstroke, and even how to create a bit of tentative vibrato with the left hand.

Probably the sound was better than my old cello for the simple reason that this was a better cello: richer, fuller, more resonant. I’d forgotten what it was like to create music with my own hands, and to feel it vibrate in every cell of my body and every corner of the room. Writing is wonderfully creative, but there’s nothing physical about it except the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The creation of music is very physical. The most personal and direct form of that physicality, of course, is singing; there, one’s body is the instrument (dance, the art I know best, is even more so in that respect). In playing a stringed instrument the body is the medium that evokes and releases the music, but ultimately the creation of the sound depends on the interaction between the two.

I’d forgotten, but it was wonderful to remember.

FIDDLER JONES
—-Edgar Lee Masters

The earth keeps some vibration going
There in your heart, and that is you.
And if the people find you can fiddle,
Why, fiddle you must, for all your life.
What do you see, a harvest of clover?
Or a meadow to walk through to the river?
The wind’s in the corn; you rub your hands
For beeves hereafter ready for market;
Or else you hear the rustle of skirts
Like the girls when dancing at Little Grove.
To Cooney Potter a pillar of dust
Or whirling leaves meant ruinous drouth;
They looked to me like Red-Head Sammy
Stepping it off to ‘Toor-a-Loor.’
How could I till my forty acres
Not to speak of getting more,
With a medley of horns, bassoons and piccolos
Stirred in my brain by crows and robins
And the creak of a wind-mill–only these?
And I never started to plow in my life
That some one did not stop in the road
And take me away to a dance or picnic.
I ended up with forty acres;
I ended up with a broken fiddle–
And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories,
And not a single regret.