"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler
After seceding from the North and fighting the longest civil war in modern history, South Sudan has finally gained its independence, and has been officially recognized by the United States:
President Barack Obama says the achievement is a tribute to the generations of southern Sudanese who “struggled for this day.”
So having recognized the legitimacy of secession . . .
Oh, well. Just keep this in mind, y’all.
by Smitty (h/t Sissy Willis)
I give this one a ‘Heh’.
Wow, it hardly seems a whole year has gone by since last summer’s big wedding! And since that grand occasion, Kennedy has graduated summa cum laude, and Martin has been accepted to law school in Baltimore.
And before you ask: No, no grandchildren yet, although now that Kennedy has been hired to teach in Frederick, Md., the young couple are thinking about buying a house. When I say “young couple,” I mean young couple: Kennedy just turned 22, and Martin’s 24.
Pundette has a post today about “Why Johnny Won’t Grow Up”:
How many parents today actually want their sons to become full-fledged adults at age 21 or 22, working full-time, getting married and starting families? Not many, I’ll wager. But it was different forty years ago:
Last year Vanessa Wight, of Columbia University, used data from the U.S. Current Population Survey to show how young people are increasingly delaying marriage.
In 1970, the median age for a first marriage was 20.8 for women and 23.2 for men. It is now 25.9 for women and 28.1 for men.
She said: ‘Some research suggests that the notion of adulthood is changing and that marriage and parenthood, once the hallmarks of adult status, are no longer as important to defining a successful transition to adulthood.’
It was the cultural norm back then, but now a young couple who marries at the median ages of 1970 raises eyebrows among the older generation. . . .
The key to the whole “Why Johnny Won’t Grow Up” puzzle may be this: the permanent commitment of traditional marriage isn’t only irrelevant to most young adults; it’s not embraced by their parents, either. . . .
Read the whole thing. What is in greatest danger of being lost, I would argue, is the sense of romantic idealism among young people. If teenagers can’t dream that their romance is “Always and Forever,” is it really romantic at all? And if they are constantly urged to delay marriage, told that they are “too young to get serious,” what happens if they start to believe that? Two years ago, I wrote about this issue in “Forbidding to Marry” at the Hot Air Green Room, which I recall to your attention.
But this isn’t a social science lecture, it’s a congratulations to my daughter and her handsome husband. Happy anniversary!
Now, about those grandchildren . . .
UPDATE: Just to show you how long I’ve been writing about this, see my 2001 Washington Times column, “Titanic loss of family values.”
Wow! You’ve got to admit, those U.S. Postal Inspectors are really on their toes. Someone tried to send me a package — which “contained a confirmable CARD to the tune of US1,500,000.00 USD” — but the package got held up due to the “USA Government Anti-Terrorist Campaign.” I never would have known about this if the USPIS hadn’t sent me an e-mail telling me that I need to give them an affidivat number, and “the cost of the Affidavit is US$158.”
The really scary part? This urgent e-mail (with the subject line “Parcel Withheld for Security Reason”) somehow ended up in my spam folder, along with all those bogus Nigerian phishing scam e-mails. However, because I just happened to be checking my spam folder, I saw this urgent notice:
UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE
PO BOX 555, NEW YORK NY 10116-0555
This is to notify you that we have intercepted your parcel from UPS COURIER SERVICE for some security reasons stated below:
Our scanning system has detected that your parcel contained a confirmable CARD to the tune of US1,500,000.00 USD.
Also for the Delivery of the Parcel to continue, you are in obligation to obtain from Spain, a Duly Sworn Affidavit from Spanish High Court which will back up the Origin of Fund. This is in line with the Anti-Terrorist Campaign which the USA Government has embarked on recently to protect our Territory from future attacks.
You should therefore contact the sender of the CARD or the UPS Courier Agent in Madrid Spain to get the Sworn Affidavit for you while we wait to receive from you the Affidavit File Number to enable us forward your CARD to your address.
Below the contact information. Note that the cost of the Affidavit is US$158 and do not hesitate to remit the amount to him.
Name: Mr Lewis Aries
Email address: [email protected]
Tel: 011 34634 126 539
We shall then forward the CARD to you and you will be sure of a genuine CARD that is coming to you. We are doing this for your interest considering the rate which fraudulent and stolen checks/CARD are been sent to our innocent citizen that most times put them in problem. Always send your correspondence to our secure email: postal_inspector@XXX.XXX
Your urgent action on this notice will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Andrew Marshall
Chief Postal Inspector
My “urgent action” is to share this with all my blog readers, particularly anyone clever enough to contact “Mr Lewis Aries” and see if you can convince him that you’re from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Because that would be freaking awesome, don’t you think?
That’s her in the center, in 1938. “Dancer” is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of Betty Ford, but “rock singer” is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of me. Yet I was once a rock singer and guitarist, and Betty Ford was once a dancer and model:
Betty Ford, the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a co-founder of an eponymous addiction center in California, has died at the age of 93, according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
Ford died Friday evening with family at her bedside, according to a family member. . . .
Born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in Chicago, she grew up in Grand Rapids. At the age of 21, she moved to New York City to work as a dancer and model before heading back to the Midwest two years later.
One year after divorcing William Warren after five years of marriage, she wed Gerald Ford — a former star football player at the University of Michigan and a decorated U.S. Navy veteran — in 1948. That year, the woman now known as Betty Ford campaigned with her new husband on his successful campaign to become a U.S. congressman.
R.I.P.
Unlike Courtney Stodden, however, there are no creepy 51-year-old Hollywood types trying to get jiggy with 16-year-old Mycah Emerson.
She’s not a singer or actress, and I doubt she could get parental permission for marriage. However, Russ Emerson says he’s planning to take Mycah to the DMV to get her driver’s license.
Honestly, it never would have occurred to me to buy a $199.99 piece of jewelry via an Amazon link from my favorite blogger, but at least one “magnificent bastard” did, and thereby accomplished two purposes:
Although I won’t be the one spooning with you tonight — NTTAWWT, but there are limits to my gratitude — I’m about 90% sure that the recipient of this gift must have been your wife. Why?
Because that’s a brilliant way to hide the fact you’re giving money to a blogger. Your wife will see the bill, of course, and if you bought a $199.99 piece of jewelry for anyone but her, you’d be dead meat.
And I don’t think you can hire a divorce lawyer via Amazon.
Are you a conservative married to a liberal? Is that why you’re so sneaky about supporting TheOtherMcCain.com? Or is your wife a fiscal conservative who raised hell the last time you hit the tip jar?
It’s probably best not to ask too many questions. Your wife might read this and get suspicious. Or my wife might read it and get suspicious.
Either way, thanks for shopping our Amazon Associates links, which is my third-favorite way to earn money by blogging.
My second-favorite way is when readers hit the tip jar for $10 or $20 — or best of all, one billion dollars (which really impresses world-famous supermodels and glamorous movie stars). The tip-jar proceeds are usually available within 3 business days, whereas it takes a couple of months before I get a check from Amazon.
What is my most favorite way to earn money blogging? Continue reading To the Reader Who Bought the 1/8 Carat Gold and Diamond Heart Pendant →
by Smitty (h/t Lucianne)
It’s time for another episode in my serial apology to the rest of the country for my Congresstool, Jim Moran. Fresh, in the manner of something dropped in a field by a bull, from his 10′ Fairy Sculpture triumph, we have a new museum on offer from “Gentleman” Jim (emphasis mine):
“With 160 museums and monuments along the National Mall, there is no one institution telling the complete narrative of the many, vibrant ethnicities that make up the fabric of the American experience,” Moran said in a press release. “There should always be room for museums in our nation’s capital devoted to all manner of art, cultural and scientific accomplishments.”
The release goes on to explain that Moran’s district, which is near Washington, is “something of a melting pot itself.”According to the language of the resolution, H. Con. Res. 63, the museum is necessary because Americans are not well enough informed about their history.
Well, Mr. Moran, you’re correct. Insofar as as that ignorance has permitted you to stay in office far longer than an informed electorate would tolerate, that is. However, the frequency of emails from a certain retired Colonel Patrick Murray offers, one hopes, better possibilities for next year.