02.01.08
What those who are afflicted with it call it
Reasonable Gentleman Syndrome is one of those maladies most readily identified by a behavior. In the case of RGS, it’s what we here at BN call “Lunching with the enemy.” If you’re afflicted with RGS, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, you call it “reaching across the aisle to get things done.”
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 11:48 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080201/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_watching_world
Germans are gaga over Barack Obama. He’s got Japan pretty jazzed, too, along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Russia’s leaders, not so much: They prefer a Republican — as long as it’s not Kremlin critic John McCain.
And Mexico’s president? He doesn’t have much use for any of them.
America’s extraordinary presidential campaign has captivated politicians and ordinary people around the globe. With so much at stake in the race for the White House, the world is watching with an intensity that hasn’t been seen since the Clinton era began in 1992.
After eight years of President Bush, the latest mantra in U.S. politics — “transformational change” — is resonating across the rest of a planet desperate for a fresh start.
“They feel there’s a real chance to work with the U.S.,” said Julianne Smith, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “America’s image in the world is really on the line.”
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 1, 2008 at 2:55 pm
This Smith person’s phraseology – “Chance to work with the U.S.,” “Image on the line” suggests she’s sipping from the same chalice as Messrs. McCain and Schwarzenneger, albeit on an international level.
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 3:38 pm
You actually like being an asshole, dontcha? Of course that involves calling those who are not names.
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I would think you’d applaud the distaste Russia has for McCain and want to work to get him in there so we can start carping about Russia again. The more enemies, the merrier, for those pushing WW III. In fact, here, on this blogspace, we’re already in it. Yipeee! While we’re at it, let’s cut taxes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcW_Ygs6hm0&feature=related
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 1, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Well, what I employ are terms that give an unacquainted observer an accurate indication of key characteristics of the person I’m describing. “Freedom-Hater,” for instance, lets someone unfamiliar with, say, what Hillary Clinton is all about, or Harry Reid, or Sean Penn or Kim Jong Il, know that their actions in the public policy realm are based on an utter disdain for basic human liberty.
“Reasonable gentleman” lets an unacquainted observer know that the person being described operates from a dangerous naivete about Freedom-Haters, an assumption that they are just nice, normal people with a little different take on human societal organization, and that one can work with them on public-policy objectives and achieve a result in which one’s own principles are discernible.
Now, “asshole,” it’s my experience, usually shows up in a discourse at the point where one party has run out of ideas and substantive intellectual contribution and has become so flustered as to undergo a lapse in maturity level.
I do heartily agree with you when you say, “Let’s cut taxes.” We can always do some more of that.
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Here’s my creative exposition of the term asshole:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=552NcxKHufY
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 1, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Well, I watched it, but I have to say it didn’t do much for me. Maybe it’s my distaste for hard pop-rock in 3/4 time, or vulgar lyrics. I’d not heard of this Nefertitti outfit before. Are they famous?
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 6:01 pm
It’s Denis Leary dude. Song is from the early 90s. From Wiki:
Denis Leary (born Denis Colin Leary on August 18, 1957) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American actor, comedian, writer and director. He is known for his often angry comedic style, and his frequent chain smoking. Leary displays an overt affinity for libertarianism. Leary is currently the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me.
Denis Leary was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Irish Catholic immigrants John Leary (an auto mechanic) and Nora (a maid); Leary holds both Irish and American citizenship. He graduated from Saint Peter-Marian High School in Worcester. Through marriage, Leary is a distant cousin of talk show host Conan O’Brien,[1] and has jokingly said on Late Night with Conan O’Brien that “All Irish people are related.” His name is often misspelled as “Dennis”, instead of “Denis.”
In 1993, his sardonic song about the American lower-middle-class male, “Asshole”, achieved much notoriety. It was voted #1 in a major Australian youth radio poll (the Triple J Hottest 100) as well as reaching #2 in the singles chart in that country. The video also became a staple of MTV’s late-night programming. Due to its explicit and controversial content, however, it received limited airplay on mainstream American radio stations. At the 2004 Comics Come Home in Boston, Massachusetts, Denis performed a new version of the song directed at the New York Yankees, and as the song concluded, Bronson Arroyo walked on stage with the World Series trophy. The song was also used as part of the Holsten Pils series of ads in the UK which Leary was participating in, with adapted lyrics criticizing a drunk driver.
Although he says he is most at home on stage doing stand-up, Leary has appeared as an actor in over 40 movies
Mr. Dings said,
February 1, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Take your pick here:
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/despair/
Here’s mine: “This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”–Don McLean
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 1, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Okay, Here’s mine. It’s from Don Williams, Jr.:
“Despair is most often the offspring of ill-preparedness”
And thanks for the cultural edification. I’d never heard of Denis Leary before. And to think he’s nearly my age and has been on the scene for decades.
Mr. Dings said,
February 2, 2008 at 12:34 am
Who’s Don Williams Jr? Is he the ever eloquent President Pro Tem of the State Senate for the great liberal state of Connecticut? Is his daddy Don Williams Sr.?
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 2, 2008 at 3:23 am
Now, that I don’t know. I got the quote from the website to which you linked. Yeah, I became curious; is he the son of the guy from the Pozo Seco Singers? (Remember when they did “I Can Make It With You, Baby” on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour?) Of course the Don W we’re thinking of here went on to pen such great tunes as “Livin’ On Tulsa Time.”
Bentnotesmanhisself said,
February 2, 2008 at 3:26 am
The quote itself should be pondered at length by all living human beings.