Lives in a Shoe

9/11

I remember who did it -- and after ten years of studying and trying to understand, I know why.  If you really want to honor the brave and the innocent dead, educate yourself.  Read the Koran.  Then look up "Abrogation".  There is a lot more to know but that will give you a start.

All this self-indulgent wallowing around in "tribute" --  maybe it would be better to quietly put a plaque somewhere at the Pentagon, at the WTC site, and in Shanksville.  All this other hoopla is a bit too show-biz for my taste.  We are not that weak, that teary, that old-womanish. If this were a movie, somebody would slap us silly and order us to get a grip.   

We are Americans, strong and brave. That is what we should never forget.

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Having said all that, and in a nod to inconsistency:  Here's the Budweiser 9/11 tribute -- shown once.  I remember I saw it and tried to describe it to George and could not stop crying.  Still affects me like that.

 

"The Pearls Are Absolutely Non-Negotiable."

The Baroness.  Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1975-1990 -- The Iron Lady, my hero.  I admire her more than any other public figure of my lifetime.  I named my formidable cow after her meaning no disrespect but the utmost appreciation of her strength and intelligence.  She is famously quoted, "Tbe problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other people's money."  She is in ill health now with Alzheimer's and it's sad, sad.

Some time in the early 90s she came to Seattle to give a speech.  Mom (who also loved her) and George and I went to hear her.  It was a big crowd but so respectful that you could hear every word.  She spoke of limited government and strong defense -- as I recall it was pretty much what you would expect.  It was a thrill to be in the same space with her.

A film is being made.  Meryl Streep seems like a good choice.  Hope they don't goober it up.  Here's the trailer:

 

 

Dad, USMC

My brother Greg found this photo in a book he's reading, which he got from my Dad.  We don't believe Dad read the book, which was a gift to him, but we think the conductor in this photo could be Dad -- middle of photo, with pith helmet.  Looks like him.

 
From Greg's email:

I've been reading a book about the Solomons campaign.  I knew that Dad was on Guadalcanal, and I knew that that island had been declared secure before he got there (They were married in Jan of '43 and he left shortly after so I peg his arrival about March).  As I got older I always assumed that Dad was just repeating stories he heard from the veterans of the fighting on Guadalcanal (like the one about 'Washing Machine Charlie').

 

What I hadn't realized is that there was fierce fighting all the way up the island chain through '43 and '44.  Guadalcanal got the press because it was the first, but there were many bloody battles after that.  A lot of the names of these islands bring back memories of his stories.  Rendova, Vela Lavella, Bougainville and Espritu Santo are just a couple of names that I remember.  Now I wish I'd talked to him more about his experiences.

                                            ....

By the way, Dad rarely talked to me about the war either after I had grown.  The only thing he told me once was that he had to act as a machine gunner on a plane and strafe barges the Japanese were using to reinforce the islands.  The barges were full of troops and he got really emotional describing it, so I didn't press it.  As I said earlier I doubted that there was much combat after he arrived over there but now I know better.  Did he really do this?  Well, he was attached to the First Marine Air Wing (which flew planes duh!) and being a musician wasn't exactly a full time job so it's not unlikely that he could've been pressed into service like this. 

Pocahontas

George is in Texas visiting granddaughters who love the Disney princesses.  I loved princess stories as a girl and it's wonderful to know that little girls still dream like that. 

Someday, though, I hope they learn the real story of Pocahontas instead of the
politically correct claptrap from the cartoon movie.  The real heroine is far more interesting than any plastic princess could be.

Celebrate Human Achievement Tonight During Earth Hour

Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light.
Dorothy Thompson.

Tonight especially, I will recall with gratitude Dr. Ben Chue and the scientists and corporations that made possible the treatment with Herceptin that saved my life. I will think of Dr. Chue with gratitude for treating Sara and making it possible for my grandchildren to continue to have their mother.  I will think with gratitude of the physicians and technology that have made it possible for my cousin Pat to stay here with us.  I will again be consciously thankful that we live in a society where free enterprise continues to astound us. 

I will not sit huddled in the darkness.  I will watch this video again and turn on lights in celebration. Every single light, even those in the barn.  I will lift a glass to honor Thomas Edison and his scientific descendants, clink!   Technology rules.

Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims Solve the Free Rider Dilemma.  Years before Adam Smith, enlightened self interest accomplishes what piety and central planning could not.  The real Thanksgiving Lesson. From Benjamin Powell's excellent essay from last year.

In 1620 Plymouth Plantation was founded with a system of communal property rights. Food and supplies were held in common and then distributed based on equality and need as determined by Plantation officials. People received the same rations whether or not they contributed to producing the food, and residents were forbidden from producing their own food.  Governor William Bradford, in his 1647 history, Of Plymouth Plantation, wrote that this system was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. The problem was that young men, that were most able and fit for labour, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense. Because of the poor incentives, little food was produced.

Faced with potential starvation in the spring of 1623, the colony decided to implement a new economic system. Every family was assigned a private parcel of land. They could then keep all they grew for themselves, but now they alone were responsible for feeding themselves. While not a complete private property system, the move away from communal ownership had dramatic results.

This change, Bradford wrote, had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Giving people economic incentives changed their behavior. Once the new system of property rights was in place, the women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability.

Once the Pilgrims in the Plymouth Plantation abandoned their communal economic system and adopted one with greater individual property rights, they never again faced the starvation and food shortages of the first three years.

 

Veterans Day

And a loving thank you to my veterans -- family members and others who touched my life:  Walter R. Daniels and his brothers True and Al; George Freeman II; George Freeman III; Greg Daniels; Gene Voda; Em Voda; Lou Voda, Lee Voda, Lloyd Burkhardt; Jerry Higgins; Jim Voda; Bob Voda, Rocco Granato, Rocco Granato II, Frank Browder.

And always in memory:  Philip Ferro, who died in Vietnam.

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."  Winston Churchill.  I know, I know -- it's usually attributed to George Orwell, but it's been said in many similar ways and I'm going with Churchill at the moment.

Happy Birthday, Baroness

Lady Thatcher.  In the early 90s she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the United States of America can give to a foreigner.  Her health has been poor lately, and I wish her recovery and a long life.  She was the reason I first read "The Road to Serfdom" by Hayek and I'll always be grateful for the inspiration.

In 1984 or '85 Mrs. Thatcher, as she was then, spoke in Seattle.  George and I took my mom to hear her, and it was a privilege indeed.

    

 And who can ever forget the magnificent hat she wore to her friend President Reagan's funeral?

How Wonderful is This Picture?

Coincidence abounding -- I had a really good long chat on the phone with Judi and we were talking about movies.  She and her sister Penny had just seen "Julia" and liked it.  Judi mentioned particularly how the real Julia Child was so life-loving she would have liked to have known her.  I had it in mind to say that it would be great if somebody would make a film about Harry and Bess Truman based on the wonderful book about Bess that was written by their daughter.  Judi and I both read that book and loved it.  But the conversation richocheted around, as our conversations do -- and somehow it never came around to that.

After we'd hung up I thought, "Dang. I forgot to mention the Harry and Bess Truman thing."  I went right to email intending to write to Judi -- and there was an email from Deborah with some nice Harry Truman stuff -- and this seriously wonderful picture which I cannot look at without a cheek-rounding grin. Channeling Nancy Drew I deduced that this is a reproduction of an actual book cover.

Sure enough, there the book is on Amazon.  And of course I ordered it, and if it's as good as I think it will be, I'll send it along to Judi and then to Deborah if she might want to read it also.  Free shipping with Amazon -- can't beat that.  You really can't.

Harry Truman is a hero to me and -- I say this with all sincerity -- I named one of my dogs Harry Truman in heartfelt tribute.  I have been thinking of renaming Belle, my gorgeous Aussie shepherd, and calling her Bess, since it gets tiresome being asked again and again and again if she is named after the Disney princess. 

I've been tempted to say she's named after Belle Cora, particularly after reading an essay by one Dr. Weirde titled "For Whom the Belle Toils"  detailing the history behind the graveyard at San Francisco's Mission Dolores.   Buried there are "the Gold Rush era's most notorious madam, Belle Cora, and her gambler lover, Charles Cora, whom she finally married two hours before his neck was stretched by the Vigilance Committee."  This has absolutely nothing to do with Bess or Harry Truman.

I wanted to know something about the author (of the book I was talking about before) and came across a nice op-ed he wrote for the New York Times about President and Mrs. Truman's trip.  The whole thing is below the break.