We are getting several inches of snow today and invariably that means black ice on the roads starting tonight.  Granted, much of it will go away in a day or two, but icey roads are never a good thing.

My recipe for Lucy Cats (part of our annual St. Lucy Day celebrations) is found here under the recipes and other interesting things heading.

Many years ago I watched “Un Chein Andalou” as a student in an art history course.  The professor mentioned “L’age d’or” but only now have I had a chance to watch this second film collaboration of Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.  It’s technically and artistically much more advanced than their first work (bear in mind, this second film was produced in 1930 so we aren’t talking Star Wars special effects here).  I think it’s a much better film anyway.

One understands how this film would offend the sensibilities of just about every segment of European society at the time.  It’s influence on later films and filmmakers across a large segment of the European and later American Industry is fascinating.  Salvador Dali himself would contribute his talent towards other films but his success and fame remained centered upon his paintings, although Dali would have liked to have done much more with film.

For the entire film in segments on YouTube

“Republicans ain’t called ‘the stupid party’ for nothing”, said an old GOP politician of my acquaintance.   OK, this is actually an old buddy of mine who has been a small town elected official for nearly twenty years.  I’m just obscuring the facts a little to keep from accidentally outing this guy who has served his community very well, but would face a lot of heat from a small curia of inquisitors were a so called “purity test” to become a fact of life for Republican candidates.

Fox news has an interesting article about the proposed rule that would deny party funding to candidates failing to agree 80% of the time or better with “conservative principles” as outlined by a handful of Republican National Committee Members.   Anybody but the most obtuse ideologue should be able to see this sort of thing shouldn’t fly in a party that at least espouses individual liberties, and local control.  In fact, this tripe doesn’t have the support of a good many conservatives.

In the first place, candidates who don’t need party funding will not have to care a rat’s ass about this ukaze issued by the self proclaimed Office of the Holy Inquisition.  In fact, this is the kind of thing that could invite political graft and corruption.  Campaign monies have to come from somewhere so those monies will be had somehow.  If not from the above board, on the books and subject to FEC scrutiny political party machines then from other sources, from someone and someplace, those monies will emanate for sure.

Secondly, candidates who only vote according to 75% of the magisterium of the Federal Party’s Holy Hierarchs needn’t worry about funding at all  if they simply switch parties.  And they will.

Of course, politicians are, believe it not, inclined to say anything to get elected so don’t be surprised if the purity test is signed onto by everyone when they need to get the money, and blown off when the campaign cash and the high polling numbers are in hand.  Just an obvious thought about what happens when loyalty oaths and pledges get forcibly administered to guys and gals not known for having much more integrity than your average TV journalist.

For a party that wants to be a bottom-up grassroots party of citizens not only does the from on high purity test smack of self-destructive hypocrisy it also denies an important axiom in politics, at least in the Unites States:  “all politics is local.”  Your typical small town mayor needs to worry about police cruisers, 911 services, manhole covers, potholes and zoning violations.  That local county board of yours needs to fund the local hospital, put in left hand turning lanes, put some teeth into anti-gang laws while keeping perverts out of the municipal parks and parking garages.

A purity test composed by self selected right wingers on the RNC’s National Committee roster?  What the hell good will this do for state and local office holders?  Should local candidates for office first go to 310 First Street SE in Washington, profess their faith by reciting the purity test three times and accept baptism, by triple immersion in crumpled up computer generated fund raising letters before running for election?

Perhaps party commissars can be sent out to the hinterlands to administer party purity test oaths, and inspect voting records and test for correct political thinking.  While serving as legates from the Holy RNC they could excommunicate heretics and chant “anathema” thrice over upon discovering any works by moderates in the libraries or on the computers of candidates who therefore would not get funding.

Politicians in California serve a different community than elected officials in Alabama.  New York City is not New York State.  The ideas and the issues certainly do overlap at times, but differences are often pronounced and elected officials will reflect those differences.  The purity test does not respect any moderate and sensible notion of state’s rights.  It offends the unspoken doctrine of local control over local issues.  It does presume to tell people what to do and even what to think.

I can see it now,  books and speeches by Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge,  Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan (not to mention Thomas Jefferson) will be at the very top of the new Index of Prohibited Books.  Mark dirtbag Sanford’s memoirs will be OK so long as he continues to mouth “family values” while spending tax payer’s dollars to visit the honey.  The speeches of John, adulterer for family values, Ensign should make the cut too.

The places to fight it out on these so called “core values issues” are the primary voting booth, the party canvass, the voter registration drive, even the Candidate Hoffman style third party repudiation campaigns.  Using the threat of withholding money is no substitute for getting out into the precinct, getting soaking wet in the rain putting up campaign signs and freezing outside the polls on election day.

Not confident, or unwilling, or incapable of doing these things;  a handful of conservatives have decided to take a page from another party’s play book and try some Soviet style autocracy.  Gus Hall must be laughing in hell.

For Democrats visiting this blog, if this rule is enacted please send a thank you letter to the GOP’s right wing.  And congratulations in advance on your slam dunk election wins.  This one’s for you.

Technology as a part of chaos.

Watson, Burton trans. Four Huts, Asian writings on the simple life. Two thumbs up

Pine, Red ed. The Clouds Should Know Me by Now. Two thumbs up

Han-Shan (Burtson Waston, trans.) Cold Mountain. Two thumbs up

E.T.A. Hoffmann, The Golden Pot. Two thumbs up

Joris-Karl Huysman, La Bas.  One thumb up

Ku, Pan (Burton Watson, trans.), Courtier and Commoner.  Two thumbs up

Taine, Hippolyte (J. Durand, trans.), Ideal in Art. One thumb up

Xenophon, Memorabilia.  Two thumbs up

Xenophon, Oeconomicus. Two thumbs up

For more reading list information, select “books” under the category option.

The rest of November and the month of December promise to be interesting reading months.  I’m just starting into a collection of works by William James and another selection of works by Xenophon.  The readings in Asian culture and literature continue too.

I usually don’t post back to back music postings but this trio is lovely and I wanted to share my find.  YouTube is a treasure trove.