Quotable Quote

“I’ve never wished a man dead, but I’ve read some obituaries with great pleasure.” — Mark Twain (found at Mostly Cajun blog)

Public Opinion

Public opinion, like water, seeks its own level. -- Anon.

(Matk Twain obviously lived in mre rational times.)

Wagner's Opera

Wagner's opera is really a lot better than it sounds. -- Mark Twain?

Quotable Quote

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that ta taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain

Poetic Jusice

No one should gloat over the six-person ISIS terrorist attack in Tehran, Iran yesterday ... where at least twelve people were killed and 46 injured ... for extensive details see; NY Times Article. Terrorism is just that ... the killing of generally innocent people to incite fear and up the cost of protecting the peace. However, Shiite Iran now has felt the consequence of what it has been fulminating around the world for many years in its manic attempt to punish Western civilization and Sunni Muslims for sins both real and imagined.

As Mark Twain once said, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Iran's past barbarism is now being treated with some rhyming poetic justice. (OK, a small gloat.)

Quote of the Day

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." -- Mark Twain

A Good Walk Spoiled

A Japanese Golf Course

I better be careful here for my son is a golf aficionado and I myself have played a few rounds in my salad days. But Mark Twain was on to something when he called this links game "a good walk spoiled." I guess I didn't mind President Eisenhower playing so much golf as he seemed to get his other work done. But for some strange reason President Obama's obsession with golf gets under my skin. And President Clinton's constant use of Mulligans while on the golf course bothered my sense of fair play ... as did the man himself.

Now the Chinese leadership seems to feel the same way about golf as they do about prostitution, gambling, bribery, drugs and gluttony. Dozens of golf courses have been shut down for excessive use of natural resources ... and government officials in one province have had restrictions placed on their playing times. Golf is increasingly viewed as a "capitalist pastime" (shh ... don't tell Obama) ... see: CNBC Story.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, seems to be behind much of this crackdown ... as he is against the other mentioned excesses in China ... even having some government officials executed for corruption. I don't know but I  have a sense that golf handicaps can be much better trusted in Beijing.

Opera

A friend is soon to attend her first 4 ½ hour performance of “Die Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner. To me, it is funny how there seems such a bright line between opera buffs and opera baiters. My wife loves opera … me, not so much. Anyhow this friend’s initiation to this marathon opera brings to mind a few quips about this German composer:

The answer: 9-W

The question: Does your last name begin with a “V” Herr Wagner?

“Richard Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” – attributed to the humorist Edgar Wilson

“I have seen and greatly enjoyed the first act of everything Wagner created, but the effect on me has always been so powerful that one act was quite sufficient; after two acts I have gone away physically exhausted.” -- Mark Twain

"It isn't over until the fat lady sings." -- attributed to Yogi Berra

Diapers

Today my witty wife, Jeanette, sent me the following quote:

“Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason.” Mark Twain

I agree ...  actually, politicians of both stripes are often pristine up until the time they first take office. Then for some strange reason Republicans avoid being besotted for a little bit longer than Democrats (in Massachusetts, they are so pervasively corrupt I like to call them Democraps). Good reason to vote for Republicans or Independents ... but only for their first couple of terms in office.

What’s in a Name?

(I know I am going to be vilified for this post ... my wife has already expressed her strong disapproval. But I have decided to go with the excuse that the devil made me do it.)

Still smell as sweet?

Two scenarios:

1)     A female jogger is passing some bushes on her early morning constitutional. Out from behind this copse steps a burly male miscreant with a sharp knife, who quickly grabs this woman by the hair and, putting the knife to her throat, tells her not to scream or he will kill her. He then proceeds to pull her behind the bushes and slices off her jogging shorts and sports bra, severely cutting her in the process. Then, forcing her arms behind her back, for the next half hour, he fornicates with her … leaving her bloody and terrified. This attacker is later identified by the victim in a police line-up.

2)     A female college student asks a history-class male colleague out for coffee. They have a great mind-melding conversation which lasts well into the evening. Coffee leads to cocktails and some Buffalo wings. Then the male suggests that he has some great Pinot Noir back in his dorm room which is enthusiastically agreed on. After two bottles of same, this male retrieves some porn on his computer which they both find quite compelling. After some heavy petting and kissing, they both groggily undress and climb into bed … and, without getting her explicit permission; the male has his way with his classmate … after which they both fall asleep. But in the morning the female member of this tryst, not remembering all the details of the night before, has a bad case of remorse. Two weeks later she files charges against this classmate.

The legal charges in both instances are the same … rape … and the legal punishment and social ostracizing for each male, if found guilty in a court of law, can also be essentially the same. Unfortunately when society uses words to embrace broader circumstances … they are then corrupted and their true meaning can disappear.

To my mind this new notion of “rape” is a false and prejudicial equivalence … driven by the militant feminists. Are we all nuts? Can we as a society not differentiate between these two circumstances? To paraphrase Mark Twain when he commented about how to describe things … choosing the right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

Afterward: Life imitates art ... see: Roanoke News.