Monday, July 16, 2007

Anniversaries

Well, I almost made my noon posting deadline. But Hey! deadlines are oh-so-arbitrary these days.

Reader Bec dropped a link in the comments to The NYT's Defeatism that should be on EIP’s front page. So, herewith is the link to “Here is the news (as we want to report it),” from The Telegraph. The subject is a recurring meme here at EIP…BBC bias. The article is written by former BBC producer Antony Jay, and is an abridged extract from 'Confessions of a Reformed BBC Producer,' which is due to be published in Britain today. Here’s Mr. Jay’s conclusion:

Media liberal pressure has prompted a stream of laws, regulations and directives to champion the criminal against the police, the child against the school, the patient against the hospital, the employee against the company, the soldier against the army, the borrower against the bank, the convict against the prison - there is a new case in the papers almost every day, and each victory is a small erosion of the efficiency and effectiveness of the institution.

I can now see that my old BBC media liberalism was not a basis for government. It was an ideology of opposition, valuable for restraining the excesses of institutions and campaigning against the abuses of authority but it was not a way of actually running anything. It serves a vital function when government is dictatorial and oppressive, but when government is ineffective and over-permissive it is hopelessly inappropriate.

I can't deny that my perceptions have come through the experience of leaving the BBC. Suppose I had stayed. Would I have remained a devotee of the metropolitan media liberal ideology that I once absorbed so readily? I have an awful fear that the answer is yes.

I’ve given you the destination right up front but it’s the journey, Gentle Reader, that is illuminating and entertaining. Which is a left-handed way of saying the usual: “read the whole thing.”

Kris (in New England!) is celebrating her 24th wedding anniversary today. Why don’t you take a minute and drop by her place to wish her a Happy? She has a beautiful wedding picture posted, too. Just another lil incentive, ya know…

A New Mexico claim to fame… Today is the anniversary of the first nuclear explosion in history, which happened on this day in 1945. Trinity occurred 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on what is now White Sands Missile Range. White Sands hosts an “open house” at the Trinity site twice a year; the next one is scheduled for October 6 of this year. I think I’m gonna go.

Today is also the anniversary of the installation of the first parking meter.

The world's first installed parking meter was in Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935. Mr. Magee had been appointed to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce traffic committee, and was assigned the task of solving the parking problems in downtown Oklahoma City. Apparently, folks who worked in the area were parking on downtown streets, staying all day, and leaving few spaces for shoppers and others who visited the central business district.

I don’t know which anniversary (of the last two...certainly not Kris'!) is the greater tragedy.

Today’s Pic: An SN3 baby pic from the archives. Taken by TSMP, the caption could be “Look Mom, I got one out for ya!”

Perinton, NY. June, 1998.

8 comments:

  1. I love the baby picture - they are always so innocent. GBN1 emptied half a box of Kleenex before I realized it.

    "and each victory is a small erosion of the efficiency and effectiveness of the institution."

    It seems that the generation who fought so hard against "the establishment" may still be fighting and maybe they have trained their children to do so also. But there are those who grow up and see the usefulness of some institutions. Very interesting link.

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  2. SN2 got into the box of tiny paper cups. SN1 was more the engineer type. He emptied several bulldozer scoops of gravel from the yard onto the kitchen floor.

    I agree with your assessment of the "training the children" part, Lou. It's one reason why I feel so anguished about my former belief system. I've felt compelled to go back and detangle everything I taught them. Subtly, of course.

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  3. Your SN3 looks like one of those perfect poster babies, Buck. But a real boy, you sure can tell!

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  4. Drew did that just the other day, but with the wipes. All over the place. BUT, I asked him to put them away, and totally surprised me that he did on his own! Smart little toot, for 19 months old!

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  5. Buck - thank you for the mention here on EIP! Very nice of you. And a big thank you to the readers from here who popped over and left kind thoughts. MUCH appreciated!

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  6. Thanks all y'all for the kind comments on SN3 and the photo; too bad TSMP doesn't read this blather, she'd appreciate the compliments.

    Lou: you are absolutely, positively correct in your observation, IMHO. It's the whole "question authority" thing taken waaay too damned far. So far, in fact, that "question" has devolved completely into "disrespect," "discredit," and "undermine," if not "destroy." I believe that was one of the main points in Mr. Jay's essay, although he doesn't come right out and say it using these words.

    A little questioning and investigation is perfectly OK. But, as the saying goes: "Question Authority! And when Authority answers, say "You sure?" If the answer to "You sure?" (and the supporting evidence, as well) is "Yes," well then: You're done, aren't you?

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  7. Just to be clear: when I said "too bad TSMP doesn't read this blather" I meant EIP, not your comments.

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  8. I'd been trying to think of something similar that Cody had done, but couldn't. I did have a baby cousin who would not only bring his mom a new diaper when he needed one, but he'd take the old one off, too. My cousin--the baby's grandma--said, "when they're old enough to change their own diaper, they're old enough to potty train!"

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.