Thursday, March 28, 2024
Miles from the Mainstream
D. R. ZUKERMAN, proprietor
Observations - February 2020

February 19, 2020 --

LPR Corrects Itself …

LPR, in its January 19 posting,  noted that The New York Times does not follow the "Qassem Soleimani" spelling of other media outlets. Alas, LPR put the New York Times version, at one point, as "Qasim Suleimani." That is incorrect as to the late Iran general's first name. The New York Times insists in the "Qassim Suleimani" usage and  he is no longer with us to provide his preferred English transliteration of his name. Not that it matters, as in the weeks since his departure LPR has not seen his name written much, or heard from, if at all, in media sources.

The Oscars …

LPR congratulates the winners, while at the same time wondering if the Academy did not signal its opposition to "nationalism" by naming "Parasite" best picture in two categories, foreign language -- sorry, international, and best picture. In view of Parasite's double whammy, should the Academy create a category for international films and a best overall film category? This means,of course, that "international" movies will always be  eligible of double nominations, while American movies will be limited to one nomination. Or should there be just one World Movie Cup competition per year with the venue traveling from country to country, Hollywood this year, England the next, France the next, India, Canada,and so forth? In seeking a fairness to all mindset, it could just be that the Academy is now being unfair to Hollywood.

Those incorrigible Democrats?

When do Democrats, in the event that  Joe Biden  drops out of the 2020 presidential race, blame his poor showing in Iowa (where the results of the February 3 caucuses remain to be finalized) and New Hampshire ,where he finished behind Sen. Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, say "Here's the deal, Joe was victim of Russian interference aimed at helping President Trump defeat his political rivals"?

The G.O.P.  Stands Tall …

LPR has been waiting since November 8, 1994 for congressional Republicans to stand up to Democratic assault. That November day was when, after forty years in the minority, Republicans won a House majority.  Soon after that election, a Tennessean, John Greeter, was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "I guess the Republicans are the party of the people now."  Yet the G.O.P., first under Speaker Newt Gingrich, and then after a series of leaders, seemed intimidated by the zealously hostile Democrats, losing numbers in their majority, until they lost their Hose majority completely.  LPR hopes that the Republican leadership has finally learned that they will not hold majorities in Congress if the cave to the ruthless Democrats.   After all, doesn't continued caving teach voters that House members unwilling to stand up for themselves, and not likely to stand up for the people.   This, perhaps, is a major instruction of Trumpian governance.

February 5, 2020 --

LPR wishes …

... Rush Limbaugh a full and speedy recovery.

 

If You Could Use A Few Chuckles
Dep't …

Click to this Wikipedia plot summary of the 1986 movie "Ruthless People." You will probably have started to chuckle by the fourth paragraph.

CLICK HERE

LPR thinks this movie is even funnier than "Airplane!"

CLICK HERE


Kobe Bryant …

The tragic death of basketball great Kobe Bryant, his eldest daughter and seven others has crossed all human boundaries.  May his wife and family be comforted in their loss and may his death be a symbol for the dissolution of all gratuitous differences among the peoples of the world.  

 

The Coronavirus …

A report in The New York Times, January 31, says that 9,800 people have been stricken with coronavirus, most of the afflicted in occurring China. This is not a pandemic, not even an epidemic. The estimated population of China is presently put at 1,420,000,000 people. The January  2020 estimate of the population on the planet is 7,800,000,000 people.  The number of deaths, while lamentable, is 213, all the deaths occurring in China where the population is put at 1,420,000,000. There is no reason for global panic.

 

The Duke and Dutchess of Sussex Story …

Who will star as Harry and Meghan in the streaming movie version of the abandonment of their responsibilities  (as well as perquisites) as members of Britain's royal family?    LPR has no doubt that Helen Mirren will play Queen Elizabeth II, Harry's grandmother,  and Christopher Plummer will be get role of Prince Philip, Harry's grandfather.   LPR wonders why Harry and Meghan have held onto a royal-sounding title, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.  If they wanted to make the transition from royalty to commoners, shouldn't they have abjured all titles?  Or does remaining a duke and duchess have commercial value?

 

A Real-Life "Mission: Impossible" …

The escape of auto exec Carlos Ghosn from Japan, after more than a year of confinement, awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct, is clearly a real-life episode of "Mission;Impossible."  How, the time he was held in solitary confinement, plus the months of house arrest, did Mr. Ghosn put together a team that spirited him out of Japan?  Seems to LPR the stuff of a forthcoming book, followed by a movie or television production.  Who will have the lead role?   Daniel Craig?  Brad Pitt?  Tom Cruise?

 

The Problem With Nation-wide Presidential Polls …

Unless, LPR is wrong, national polls judge the mood of voters on a nation-wide popular  basis, not on a state-by-state basis. But we elect presidents on a state-by-state basis, by means of the Electoral College, where each state votes according to the total number of its  senators and representatives.   If a presidential election were determined on  nation-wide popular  basis, Hillary Clinton would have become our 45th president, not Donald J. Trump.   (Whether the Republican House of Representatives, from 2017-2019, would have impeached Ms. Clinton for encouraging an investigation (in the form of the Steele dossier) to harm the candidacy of a political rival by British and Russian interference is a matter  for alternative-history writers to pursue.)

 

Was Adam Schiff Auditioning to be a Stand Up Comic ...

...when, in his closing statement to the Senate he suggested that President Trump, after acquittal, could well return Alaska to Russia and delegate presidential authority to son-in-law Jared Kushner?

 

On Remembering Ronald Reagan ...

The Senate vote on President Trump's impeachment comes the day before the 109th anniversary of the February 6, 1911 birth date  of Ronald Reagan   (Note: LPR did not write down "the 109th-year anniversary," that usage, of course, being redundant.