Debris
«chaque notaire porte en soi les débris d’un poète.»
A Zissn Danksgebn
The Fly Fishing Rabbi and The Forward offer some Jewish perspective on Thanksgiving. I was thinking about this myself, after hearing an NPR story this morning about a Greek-American family whose Thanksgiving dinner consisted mostly of traditional Greek foods. I don’t recall any distinctively Jewish foods at my family’s Thanksgiving table when I was growing up; Thanksgiving was (at least implicitly) about being good assimilated Americans, symbolized by eating good assimilated American fare.
Though I’ve come to have more mixed feelings about Thanksgiving–not least because of its association with European conquest and the ensuing genocide of native peoples (an especially touchy subject for me as a Jew who does not embrace Zionism)–I still do enjoy the holiday, though mostly for the food. I’m looking forward to the cooking and the eating and the collapsing on the sofa. And with the leftovers, I’ll make some turkey-matzo ball soup.
Speaking figuratively, of course
Amusingly-named Utah State Senator Chris Buttars (pity his forebears left off the final “e”), who sponsored an anti-Gay marriage amendment to the state constitution, now says he might sponsor legislation to prohibit housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Explaining his position, Buttars said, “I don’t mind gays. But I don’t want ‘em stuffing it down my throat all the time.”
(Thanks to GFA51 for the tip.)
Sowing rogue quotes
It appears that among the great many things Sarah Palin does not know is the difference between former UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden and former Cheyenne Indian tribal leader John Wooden Legs. Her (poorly ghostwritten and apparently unedited) book, Going Rogue, erroneously attributes this quote to the college hoops legend:
Our land is everything to us…. I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember than our grandfathers paid for it — with their lives.
In fact, the quote is from the tribal leader–which gives the words a rather different significance than Palin (or her hired hands) intended. If her teabagger supporters ever cotton on to the fact that her book approvingly quotes a critic of European-American land-grabbing imperialism, things could get really interesting.
Fly me to the moon
National Geographic reports on speculation that a population of fish may live in a giant sub-surface sea on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. As coastal North Carolina fly fishing guide Capt. Gordon suggests, this could prove to be an exciting new destination for exotic angling adventure.
German & U.S. unions join forces for T-Mobile representation
This is a great example of trans-national labor solidarity
:
U.S. and German labor leaders announced a transatlantic alliance on Wednesday aimed at persuading Germany’s giant Deutsche Telekom AG to allow collective bargaining at its subsidiary, T-Mobile USA.
Under the agreement, which U.S. labor officials called unprecedented, German trade union Ver.di will represent T-Mobile USA workers and the Communications Workers of America in talks with Deutsche Telekom managers in Bonn.
[***]
Under the agreement, Ver.di will use its seats on Deutsche Telekom’s supervisory board to press German managers to accept union representation at T-Mobile USA and then coordinate any bargaining that follows.
As a long-time T-mobile customer, I applaud this move. As an even longer-time supporter of the labor movement, I hope we see more efforts like this.
Bow wow wow
The brouhaha over President Obama’s bowing to the Japanese Emperor reminded me of my own encounter with foreign royalty. When I received my graduate degree from London University, the ceremony, at the Royal Albert Hall, involved a stream of graduates passing before Princess Anne (Chancellor of the University) to bow or curtsy. As a staunch anti-monarchist, I didn’t care for the ritual. But, seeing no actual harm and not wishing to make a scene, I went along with it–a small, painless, and pointless gesture.
Of course, I was just a private citizen, not the elected leader of a republic. I don’t think a U.S. President should bow before a foreign head of state. Nor do I think a U.S. President should kiss a foreign dictator on the mouth, as George W. Bush did to Saudi King Abdullah. But neither gesture poses any real threat to democracy or our nation’s standing in the world. Obama’s bow was silly. The attempt to manufacture a political controversy is even sillier.
Fresh Entertainment
A recent issue of Field & Stream offers this charming Reader Tip:
For a really convenient waxworm dispenser when I’m ice fishing, I keep them in a Tic Tac container. The case probably holds about 30 waxworms. Plus, it’s easy to open and shake out one worm at a time without having to take off my gloves.
No word on whether the Ferraro candy company, makers of Tic Tacs, will be introducing a refreshing icy waxworm flavor anytime soon.
