Federal Judiciary

Laureate talk, &c. -- By: Jay Nordlinger

I know you?ve heard a lot -- plenty -- about President Obama?s Nobel lecture, but let me just add a word. Conservative opinion on the speech is all over the map, which is interesting. To some conservatives, the speech came as a delightful surprise: The American president acknowledged American interests, and said those interests have to be defended; he also said that war is necessary from time to time, horrible as it is. Other conservatives said, ?Isn?t that setting the bar awfully low? And wasn?t there much in Obama?s speech to object to?? I sympathize with the former camp, but find myself in the latter camp. (Does that sound a little Clintonian?)

Obama disparaged the Iraq War, of course. In this address, as in others, Afghanistan was the good and necessary war, and Iraq the bad and disgraceful one. Obama noted that Afghanistan involves a big coalition, including the Norwegians (his hosts). Well, the Iraq coalition was comparably big, and included the Norwegians.

Most offensive, I think, was Obama?s suggestion that, before his presidency, we had lowered ourselves to the standards of our enemies. He uttered the words ?prison at Guantanamo Bay? as if that were something self-evidently base, indefensible, and immoral. Actually, that is an excellent facility, and we could hardly do better for the purposes. Are we? What?s more, Obama might want to consult his attorney general, Eric Holder: who, after visiting Guantanamo at the beginning of this administration, had high praise for the facility.

Let me draw notice, or further notice, to a few Obama sentences. Sounding like Oswald Spengler or something, the president said, ?War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease.? How do we know that? How do we know that, at the dawn of history, the morality of war was not questioned?

Said Obama, ?The world rallied around America after the 9/11 attacks, and continues to support our efforts in Afghanistan . . .? Yeah, that?s the line. In truth, the ?world? rallied around America when it was down and bleeding; when it was up on its feet and fighting back -- that was something rather different. And this occurred well before the Iraq War was launched.

Obama said, ?These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded.? You see the typical Obama balancing act, right? Bring in the Christians, even if you have to reach back to the Middle Ages.

Finally, the line de résistance of his speech: ?I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war.? Can I tell you what I especially love about that line? The word ?definitive.? Of course, Obama might have some other, not-quite-definitive solution to that pesky problem of war!

Before leaving Obama and Oslo, I?d like to say something about his schedule -- because some Norwegians are upset that Obama did not stay to go through the full Nobel program (meals, concert, etc.). Everyone understands that the president has a lot to do. But, you know? If you win the Nobel prize, you might as well do the Full Monty -- go through the entire program. It?s just two days. And how many times are you going to win a Nobel? Moreover, America can function just fine when its politicians are away, even the top one. Agree?

News has come that Rep. Brian Baird, Democrat of Washington, is retiring. He is not going to try for reelection next year. And that is interpreted as more good news for the GOP, which is resurgent. I want to say a little something about Baird, who is a stand-up guy. I encountered him at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was opposed to the Iraq War, when we went in. But he recognized that, once in, you had to win. And, when the surge was implemented, he saw that this was helping, greatly. He said so, to one and all. He further said that, if we set a deadline for withdrawal, that would only advantage the extremists, who would simply wait us out. His pronouncements ticked off his fellow Democrats. And, one night in his district, he stood before a very, very hostile crowd at a town-hall meeting -- stood for hours, defending his positions on Iraq, listening to others. If I remember rightly, he told me that a young woman came up to him afterward, to thank him. Turned out her father was fighting in Iraq.

Brian Baird? ?I appreciate his service,? as the line goes.

The Cuban regime has been doing some arresting, one of its specialties. They have rearrested two of the bravest dissidents and democrats: Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as ?Antúnez,? and his wife, Iris Aguilera. The two have spent their lives in and out of prison. They won?t give up, for some reason -- they are totally dedicated to the cause of their country?s freedom. Weird, don?t you think? And a stroke of good fortune for their countrymen.

They are black, by the way -- Antúnez and Iris. I mention this only because one of the great myths of the Cuban regime is that it has been a boon to black people. This is a useful line, to gull Free World liberals. Much of the leadership of Cuba?s democracy movement is black -- witness the prisoner Oscar Biscet, to whom President Bush gave the Medal of Freedom. (Dr. Biscet was not available to accept in person, strangely enough.)

The Cuban regime has also arrested an American: a man ?working on contract for the U.S. Agency for International Development who was distributing cellphones and laptop computers to Cuban activists.? I have quoted the Washington Post, here. The article continues, ?The contractor, who has not been identified, works for Bethesda-based Development Alternatives. The company said in a statement that it was awarded a government contract last year to help USAID ?support the rule of law and human rights, political competition and consensus building? in Cuba.?

A bit more from the article:

A senior Republican congressional aide said the American contractor was being held in a secure facility in Havana. ?It is bizarre they?re just holding him and not letting us see him at all,? said the aide . . .

 

Cellphones and laptops are legal in Cuba, though they are new and coveted commodities in a country where the average worker?s wage is $15 a month. The Cuban government granted ordinary citizens the right to buy cellphones just last year; they are used mostly for texting, because a 15-minute phone conversation would eat up a day?s wages.

We might want to keep an eye on this case -- on the American prisoner, specifically, and on the general effort to aid ordinary Cubans. It is heartening to know that such an effort, even if it is a modest one, is taking place. (I have written before on all the Czechs do to help the Cubans -- the Czech-Cuban relationship is an interesting, and even a touching, one. It is sparked, to no small degree, by Václav Havel, who is not one to whistle past persecution.)

One more thing, before I leave this topic: The Post report notes that the charges against this American contractor ?have not been made public. Under Cuban law, however, a Cuban citizen or a foreign visitor can be arrested for nearly anything under the claim of ?dangerousness.??

Oh, yes: dangerousness, to the Communist party and dictatorship. May those lovely Castroites experience yet more danger, from those who wish to live without boots on their necks.

On to something pleasanter? I agree. I hope you?ve seen, dear readers, that little Gibraltar is in the news. For what? Some tussle between England and Spain? No, the new Miss World is from Gibraltar: She is Kaiane Aldorino, and she beat out all the contestants from the bigger countries -- which is to say, all of them, right, pretty much? Or does San Marino have an entrant?

Maybe we should entertain a language question. A reader wants to know about golf -- and ?golfing.? He says, ?I was raised in a pretty serious golf family. From early on, I found the word ?golfing? to be odd, even irksome. Is it really a word at all? You never hear Tiger or Jack or Freddy say that they are ?golfing.? They ?play golf.? But you hear weekend warriors say ?golfing? all the time.?

Yes, this is a question I have considered -- that I considered some time ago. And I agree with the letter-writer. In my observation, serious golfers talk about ?playing golf.? They?ll say, ?I?m going to play golf this afternoon.? More casual types are apt to say, ?I?m going golfing this afternoon? (on the order of, ?I?m going bowling?). But is ?golfing? a word, and can you say that you?re ?golfing?? Why, sure.

One more language question? (Can?t get enough?) Another reader writes, ?Which phrase is correct: to graduate high school or to graduate from high school?? Well, the latter is more correct, more standard, of course. But the former is wonderfully American, I find. Doesn?t grate me at all; makes me feel rather at home. And you know what is really, really correct, right? To be graduated from high school. Say that, however, and people will look at you funny.

Let me say something about familiar, or overly familiar, masterpieces. Over the weekend, I took a little girl to see The Nutcracker, performed by the New York City Ballet. That work has endured for a reason; it is popular -- immensely so -- for a reason. The Nutcracker is an ever-fresh masterpiece, in my opinion. If you are tired of it -- well . . .

I?ll quote Dr. Johnson: ?When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.? And if he is tired of The Nutcracker -- well, he might take a Christmas off, or ten Christmases. Then return to the work, with eager, receptive, blank-slatish ears. (Eyes too.) I often say, ?If a work is hackneyed, it?s not its fault it?s hackneyed, is it?? And I will quote Lorin Maazel (the conductor), who told me in an interview last summer, ?If you become jaded because of overexposure [to a piece of music], the problem is yours, not the composer?s.?

Which leads me to the following letter:

Jay,

 

Some years ago, we lived in Huntsville, Ala., which had a music series. The conductor was from Finland, and he had a thing for ?transgressive? music. But, in Huntsville, he had to schedule music that people would pay to hear. [Same as all over, really.] So, for the final concert one season, he scheduled Pachelbel?s Canon. I love this piece, in part for its timelessness. The conductor also scheduled a piece of his own, an atonal screeching mess. We got that first, of course. And when the conductor introduced the Pachelbel, he described the piece a little, and then told us how stupid we were for liking it.

 

I almost dragged my wife out of there. I was ready to stand up and shout [something rude]. I didn?t, because then I would have missed the Canon . . .

Oh, the Pachelbel Canon will be played, listened to, and loved long, long after that Finn and his music are food for fishes, or whatever the expression is. Sometimes -- just sometimes -- the public is right. They are right about that canon, and about Tchaikovsky?s ballet, too.

Was in the opera house the other night, covering The Tales of Hoffmann (a new production -- Bartlett Sher, best known for Broadway). The part of the mechanical doll Olympia was taken by Kathleen Kim, a young Korean-American soprano. She is a very, very petite lady. When the Hoffmann (Joseph Calleja) knelt by the standing Olympia, they were almost the same height. And, in my notes, I jotted down a nickname for her: ?Lil? Kim.?

So please don?t say you never heard rap mixed with opera, in some fashion.

Several columns ago, I spoke of the statue of Lenin in Seattle. And a local wrote to say, ?I know you won?t take the presence of that statue as evidence that we are broadminded and accepting, here in Seattle. Wear an NRA hat in the same neighborhood, and the people will show you the limits of their tolerance.?

No doubt, no doubt.

Fun with a bumper sticker? A reader wrote to tell me of a sticker he saw on the car of ?a young gal in Beverly, Mass.? He said that the sticker marked her out as a spoiled brat. Could be, but I found the sticker charming -- see what you think:

Saw It

Wanted It

Had a Fit

Got It

A ?safe-zone violation? -- an intrusion of partisan politics where it doesn?t belong? I hear of many instances, and haven?t related one in a while, so how about this?

Jay,

 

My cousin gleefully reported on her Facebook page that her child?s beginning band teacher gave the students a new mnemonic for learning the notes on the lines of the treble clef. The old: Every Good Boy Does Fine. The new? Even George Bush Deserves Friends.

Yes, and even beginning band teachers who transmit partisan political prejudices to the children under their care deserve tenure -- don?t they?

I hope this will make you smile a bit, as it did me:

Hi,

 

I have enjoyed your recent interest in the phrase ?punkin? chunkin?.? I have no idea about things that throw pumpkins, but my last name is Junkin, and my mom has called me her ?little punkin chunkin? for my whole life. I?m starting to wonder why. I?m pretty sure it will come up at Christmas this year. I hope she has a good explanation as to why she likened me to chucking pumpkins, and not my sisters.

Punkin Chunkin Junkin -- a pretty nice handle.

Finally, a woman in Gilbert, Ariz., writes,

Did you see William Shatner and Sarah Palin on The Tonight Show? [No, but I like them both.] Wow! It was almost shocking to see two people having fun. It makes me realize how many serious, stern, or shrill people habitually appear on television. It was great to see two people tweak each other with real humor and a good-natured spirit. I said to myself, ?That?s a moment in Jay Nordlinger?s America.?

Aw shucks, geewillikers, etc. In whatever America you happen to be -- or whatever other country you happen to be -- I wish you a great one.

Full post as published by Bench Memos - National Review Online on December 15, 2009 (boomark / email).