Internal Monologue

The Onion nails it again: WASHINGTON—Members of the brilliant, highly trained, and dedicated team of elite professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect our nation and keep its citizens out of harm's way announced Tuesday that they do not exist. What gives me comfort is that there aren't any super villains either: All those terrorists plotting against us have to recruit from the same sea of mediocrity and self-interest that is the bulk of humanity. We're all just fallible humans muddling through. Fallible humans with a penchant for mythologization.

Folks, this is a much bigger event than the earthquake in Haiti or the Asian tsunami, but it isn't getting the attention of those disasters. Lend a hand if you can. I did this $10 donation by text to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. I'm not sure if that's the best way to give $10, and $10 is hardly an adequate response to such a huge catastrophe, but we should do something .

No, I'm not talking about Afghanistan or Somalia. I'm talking about Mexico , which seems to be losing its ability to keep the Drug Wars underground. I'm a lot more afraid of violent drug cartels operating just to our south than I am of insurgents and terrorists, most of whose objectives concern places half way around the world. We can (and in most cases should) withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, et. al. I don't particularly want to withdraw from our southern border, because I happen to live not all that far from it. With a more sensible drug policy, we could reduce a lot of this violence. Let's get one, please. I'm rather impatient with our politics, these days.

I haven't posted here for a while, but I do have to perk up and say that the current spate of Republican anti-Muslim rhetoric is really awful and frankly downright un-American (if by "American" we can mean a place that does not discriminate against people because of their religion.) Latest example from Tim Pawlenty (via Sullivan ): "I'm strongly opposed to the idea of putting a mosque anywhere near Ground Zero-I think it's inappropriate," he said. "I believe that 3,000 of our fellow innocent citizens were killed in that area, and some ways from a patriotic standpoint, it's hallowed ground, it's sacred ground, and we should respect that. We shouldn't have images or activities that degrade or disrespect that in any way." This just makes me sick. The presence of a mosque degrades or disrespects those who were killed in the World Trade Center? Really? Does it degrade the Muslims who were killed there? Does it degrade the community

via Ezra Klein .

I just finished listening to the last of David Blight's lectures on the build-up to, fighting of, and aftermath of the American Civil War. I think it would be fair to say that this series of lectures transformed my understanding of American history, race relations, and politics. So much of what seemed baffling to me about my country now seems explicable, indeed even inevitable , given what happened in this country from 1861 to 1865, and then from 1866 through the rest of the 19th century. I did not realize how absolutely devastating the war was, particularly to the South. And then, after all that, for the nation to come together again within a few short years is both miraculous and hideous. Such a cataclysmic schism and subsequent rapid reconciliation could not possibly happen without a thousand myths, delusions, distortions, projections, and obsessions taking hold. And certainly not without a massive backlash and a lot of people being thrown under the bus (or to the back of it).

According to this chart , only 23% of people on OK Cupid who identify as bisexual actually send messages to both genders. OK Cupid identifies more interesting lies here , about height, income, and age of photos.