David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W Bush, and the man who coined the term ‘Axis of Evil’, writes:
Somebody who knew President Bush well once remarked to me. “You’ll notice he never asks questions.”
“Why not?” I said.
“Because he doesn’t know what it’s okay for him not to know.”
Frum worries that Sarah Palin is going down that same road, but really, the arrogance born from ignorance is one shared by most politicians and, dare I say it, many commentators. Bush was a disaster for primarily this reason, and the McCain-Palin ticket reeks of it.
Barack Obama, on the other hand, seems to have a more inquiring mind and a capacity for nuance—the books written by him attest to this, as do many of his interviews (such as the one I mentioned here), even if he often has to feign certainty on the campaign trail for obviously political reasons.
I could be reading him wrong, of course. I hope we get a chance to find out.
(Link via Marginal Revolution.)
Posted by Amit Varma on 18 September, 2008 in
Politics |
Small thoughts
... according to Raj Thackeray’s calculus of justice.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, other Rajs are getting arrested. Quite surreal.
Posted by Amit Varma on 18 September, 2008 in
Freedom |
India |
News |
WTF
Do check out Salil Tripathi’s superb piece in Mint, Admiring A Flawed Gandhi.
Salil reads the right blogs, that’s for sure.
Posted by Amit Varma on 18 September, 2008 in
Freedom
My broadband has been down for the last two days, which explains why there hasn’t been much blogging in that time. My dial-up is as slow on Venkatesh Prasad on sedatives, and it takes me five minutes to open an email on Gmail, and 20 minutes to make a post like this. So the mails pile up, my readers leave me for Amitabh Bachchan, and I’m out of touch with what’s happening in the world.
But I’ll hang in here, and so must you.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Bangalore, Venky Prasad contemplates a comeback. I’ll keep on running after bowling the ball, he thinks, and reach the batsman before the ball does. If that don’t psyche them out...
Posted by Amit Varma on 17 September, 2008 in
Personal
Here’s the WTF headline of the day:
Confessions of new age virgins
I’ve read many bizarre trend stories in the Indian media, but this is particularly befuddling. New age virgins?
Posted by Amit Varma on 16 September, 2008 in
Journalism |
Media |
WTF
No, it wasn’t a woman that did it, but politics.
I think it was just lust for power, not true love. No?
Posted by Amit Varma on 16 September, 2008 in
India |
News |
Politics |
WTF
The WTF quote of the day comes from Shivraj Patil:
Well, I have full blessings of my leader.
And the country be damned.
Posted by Amit Varma on 16 September, 2008 in
India |
News |
Politics |
WTF
Does this advertisement offend you?
I like the ad, and the campaign that it is part of. (Check out the Jyllands-Posten ads with Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.) But I suspect that if the Gandhi ad was seen in India, there would certainly be so-called Gandhians getting upset by such a portrayal and demanding an apology from Jyllands-Posten—thereby missing the point entirely.
(Link via email from Ambuj Saxena.)
Posted by Amit Varma on 15 September, 2008 in
Freedom |
Media
Dear Mumbai Malls
I enjoy visiting you, and I support your new initiatives to tighten security in the wake of recent terrorist attacks. I don’t mind being frisked or having my bag checked: the few extra seconds we all wait individually are worth the collective safety we gain.
But why do you think that terrorists enter only from front entrances?
If someone drives into the parking lot and takes the lift up to the mall, there is no check on him at all. He could walk in holding a bazooka, with bombs strapped to his body and grenades in all his pockets. All the security guards are busy at the front entrance.
I know even a pretense of security can act as a deterrent. But terrorists aren’t stupid, and there’s no pretense in the destruction they try to cause. So, as Amitabh Bachchan would say on KBC, ‘please take good care of yourself’.
Regards
Amit Varma
*
Hat tip for this observation: Ulrik. More open letters here.
Posted by Amit Varma on 15 September, 2008 in
India |
Letters
IANS reports from Durban:
Three men were shot dead and two left injured after an argument between a group of Indian and white visitors to a bar here, allegedly over the size of genitals.
[...]
A worker at the bar, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said a customer of Indian origin had remarked to a white customer while they were both at the urinal in the bar that his penis was bigger than that of the white customer.
“After both men returned to their friends, the two groups began swearing at each other before the group of five Indian men left the scene and all returned with firearms. They opened fire and three guys died on the spot.”
Now, this is one of those rare fights that is explicitly about penis size. But my contention is that all fights between men, in some way or the other, are about who has a bigger dick. No?
(Link via email from Gautam, who found it at Boing Boing.)
PS: Actually, this could be the hidden dynamic even when women are involved. This is how the debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden should really unfold:
Palin: Peanut!
Biden: Big enough for you!
Palin: Peanut!
Biden: You don’t even have one! Boo!
Palin: Smaller than even Obama’s, isn’t it? Confess now, didn’t you peek when you were standing besides him at the campaign urinal? Eh? Tell, tell, the nation is watching. Say ‘boo’ again!
Biden: Boo hoo. Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo.
Palin: Peanut!
Posted by Amit Varma on 13 September, 2008 in
Dialogue |
News |
Politics |
Small thoughts |
WTF
