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America's Tory President

Andrew Sullivan:

I have long been baffled as to why people said my preference over Obama was some kind of shift to the ideological left. Nope. Against a radical right, reckless, populist insurgency, Obama is the conservative option, dealing with emergent problems with pragmatic calm and modest innovation. He seeks as a good Oakeshottian would to reform the country's policies in order to regain the country's past virtues. What could possibly be more conservative than that? Or less conservative than the radical fusion of neoconservatism, theoconservatism and opportunism that is the alternative?

For thinking conservatives of a classic variety, Obama is the best president since Clinton and the first Bush. We need him for the next four years if we are to avoid the catastrophes that always follow revolutionary ideology. Like another Iraq; or another Katrina; or another Lehman.

via andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com

(Image: Edmund Burke, PC, (1729-1797), by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), National Portrait Gallery, London, an Anglo-Irishman in the conservative Whig faction in the British House of Commons during the American Revolution and widely considered a representative of classical liberalism and the philosophical founder of modern Conservatism.)

BBC Four's 2-part Omnibus program about Gore Vidal

If you have access to a UK-licensed version of iPlayer for TV programming, you can watch online BBC Four's 2-part Omnibus program about Gore Vidal.

(Contrary to popular believe, one can access UK-licensed iPlayer TV programming from outside of the UK--iPlayer radio is almost always widely available--however it requires a paid subscription to a VPN service, usually for around only $10 a month.)

via www.gorevidalpages.com

Microsoft asleep for the Assumption

My Outlook calendar says that August 21, 2012, is the "Assumption Day - Eastern." Well, Microsoft's wrong. The Roman Catholic Church's Feast of the Assumption and the Eastern Church's The Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God (Theotokos, "God-bearer," officially since the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431), are both celebrated on August 15.

The day of the death of the Mother of God is called the Dormition (or falling asleep) in the Orthodox church, for her body did not know corruption after death, but together with her soul was taken up into heaven; hence, another name for the feast is “the Assumption”. We have no historical data to indicate how long the Mother of God remained on earth after the ascension of Christ into heaven, nor when, where, or how she died, for the Gospels say nothing of this. The foundation for the feast of the Dormition is to be found in a sacred tradition of the Church dating from apostolic times, apocryphal writings, the constant faith of the People of God, and the unanimous opinion of the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church of the first thousand years of Christianity.

via www.newsfinder.org

(The Anglican tradition does not have a doctrine of the Assumption and is more circumspect about Marian theology in general. Most Anglican prayer books have August 15 as a feast day in honor of Saint Mary the Virgin.)

11th August 1940 - Battle of Britain

As I'm not sure if the below on the Royal Air Force's Facebook page is visible to non-Facebook members, I'm quoting it in its entirety. (Great photo. Click to enlarge.)

On this day in 1940, the sacrifice of RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain was never more evident.

In heavy fighting over the Channel ports of Dover, Weymouth and Portland, Fighter Command lost 32 aircraft and 25 airmen, the highest number of deaths on any one day during the entire Battle of Britain.

The day started clear and bright, perfect conditions for bombing, but the first attacks of the morning were actually by 30 Messerschmitt 109s and 110s trying to shoot down barrage balloons over Dover. Attacks against Channel convoys followed, and before the morning was finished a second attack against the Dover balloon barrage had commenced. Squadron numbers 34, 42, 64 and 74 were variously dispatched to intercept these enemy formations, and indeed No.74 Squadron was involved in four different combats between 8am and 12noon. Their combat reports tell of Pilot Officer Freeborne leading a diving attack into the midst of 40 Messerschmitt 110s, and of Pilot Officer Stevenson baling out of his flaming aircraft and into the sea, from where he was collected by a motor boat.

Pilot Officer Stevenson was very lucky to have been rescued. Most airmen that landed in the sea would die of shock within five minutes. Those that didn’t would be taken by exposure instead, probably 20 minutes after impact. The RAF’s search and rescue service during the Battle of Britain was very poor, especially when compared with the German system. Luftwaffe pilots were equipped with inflatable rubber dinghies and a chemical that stained the sea bright green in order to make them more visible; RAF pilots only had a life vest. What’s more, the Luftwaffe had thirty Heinkel 59 seaplanes to rescue downed airmen; the RAF had only a handful of Lysanders that dropped dinghies.

At the same time as the attacks against Dover, radar detected 150 enemy aircraft approaching Weymouth and Portland. Seven Fighter Command squadrons, numbers 145, 152, 213, 238, 287, 601 and 609 were scrambled to intercept them, and discovered a main force of Junkers 88 and Heinkel 111 bombers escorted by Messerschmitt 109s and 110s. Unfortunately the Luftwaffe formation held the height advantage, and the RAF’s fighter squadrons were not able to stop them from bombing docks, oil tanks, barracks and gasworks.

Later in the afternoon aircraft from No.604 Squadron destroyed an enemy seaplane off the French coast and overnight small-scale attacks were directed at Merseyside.

Fighter Command airmen killed on 11 August 1940:

Sgt R. D. Baker – 56 Squadron
Fg Off D. R. Branch – 145 Squadron
Sgt S. L. Butterfield – 213 Squadron
Plt Off S. N. Cawse – 238 Squadron
Plt Off J. H. Copeman – 111 Squadron
Plt Off J. A. Davey – 1 Squadron
Fg Off R. S. Demetriardi – 601 Squadron
Plt Off W. G. Dickie – 601 Squadron
Fg Off J. Gillan – 601 Squadron
Sgt G. Gledhill – 238 Squadron
Plt Off J. S. Jones – 152 Squadron
Plt Off J. W. McKenzie – 111 Squadron
Plt Off K. Manger – 17 Squadron
Sgt W. J. Neville – 610 Squadron
Plt Off A. Ostowicz – 145 Squadron
Sgt W. C. Richards – 235 Squadron
Sgt R. B. Sim – 111 Squadron
Plt Off D. N. Smith – 74 Squadron
Plt Off J. L. Smithers – 601 Squadron
Fg Off M. J. Steborowski – 238 Squadron
F/S J. H. Tanner – 610 Squadron
Flt Lt R. Voase-Jeff – 87 Squadron
Fg Off S. C. Walch – 238 Squadron
Flt Lt R. D. Wight – 213 Squadron
Plt Off R. R. Wilson – 111 Squadron

via www.facebook.com

Helen C. Whitney: The Mormon Moment -- Postponed

Helen C. Whitney and Gregory A. Prince, Ph.D. invite Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to seize the opportunity to inform Americans about Mormonism from his perspective by answering nine questions they propose:

1. How have your early experiences within the Mormon Church -- particularly your two-year proselytizing mission to France and your service as Bishop and Stake President -- shaped your character and your worldview?

2. How does Mormonism's boundless optimism, which transcends even death in a manner unlike any other religion, shape your vision of America's present and future?

3. All religions have fabulous foundational stories. The Mormons are no exception. The difference is that their theology is younger and famously literal. It tells us that God has a body, that there is a plurality of Gods who eat and drink and mate as we do, that the golden plates were real, and that when we die there is a concrete and specific heaven where families are reunited. How has the singular physicality of your faith shaped your view of the world, not only as a private citizen but as a national leader?

4. When Mormons are asked about Joseph Smith's powerful final vision about man becoming God, "God-like" is almost always substituted for becoming God. But Mormonism's oft-quoted tenet is unambiguous: "As God is, man may become." Can you explain this core belief in a way that addresses the charge of blasphemy made by other religions?

5. Why do your new positions on immigration, social welfare, gay rights and abortion differ from official positions of the Mormon Church? Can you place these differences in a context that reassures Americans that Mormonism is not a philosophical monolith -- that indeed there is ample room within the label of "devout Mormon" for people as diverse as you and Senator Harry Reid?

6. What your church labels "sacred" is frequently termed by others "secret" or even "sinister," leading many to conclude that Mormons may not always be telling us what they truly believe. How can you assuage these suspicions by articulating your beliefs?

7. Given that your church's highest leadership councils consist entirely of white males, that it denies its lay priesthood to women and that it played the decisive role in the passage of California's Proposition 8, how can you assure the American public that the composition of your administration and the policies that you would pursue would be reflective of, and responsive to, the diversity that is the foundation of this nation's strength?

8. When asked about the part of his Baptist faith that meant most to him personally and as the nation's leader, President Clinton spoke movingly -- and in his words --a bout "the God of second chances." Human fallibility and the possibility of divine redemption -- these were Clinton's themes. What element of Mormon history or theology has had special resonance for you and has shaped your view of human nature, and of God?

9. Of all the misconceptions surrounding your religion, which one has offended you the most? Or, to interject a lighter note, what misinformation or stereotype has caused you to roll your eyes and even laugh when you are with your Mormon friends?

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Jennifer Egan, "Black Box" : The New Yorker

An enticing snippet from Jennifer Egan's excellent short fiction work, "Black Box," in the June 4 & 11, 2012 issue of The New Yorker, The Science Fiction Issue.

(Another great short fiction work in the same issue, available to paid subscribers, is Junot Diaz's "Monstro.")

Some citizen agents have chosen not to 
return.

They have left their bodies behind, and 
now they shimmer sublimely in the 
heavens.

....

When you succeed, a certain sharpness
will go out of his eyes.

2

Some powerful men actually call their
beauties “Beauty.”

Counter to reputation, there is a deep
camaraderie among beauties.

If your Designated Mate is widely feared,
the beauties at the house party where
you’ve gone undercover to meet him will
be especially kind.

Kindness feels good, even when it’s based
on a false notion of your identity and purpose.

3

Posing as a beauty means not reading
what you would like to read on a rocky
shore in the South of France.
..... 

Read Egan's short work in 47 short numbered segments...chapters? at www.newyorker.com. (The image is from The New Yorker's website, and the file was named "AtomHydrogen-BohrsModel[1]_opt(1).")

The Legacy Of Gore Vidal

HuffingtonPost asked me to write something about Gore Vidal for the HuffPost Books section.

Vidal tributes and obits will briefly abound. Yes, he was a sharp, cynical, free-thinking satirist in the style of Mark Twain and H. L. Menken. Yes, he was raised in the twilight of the Washington D.C. political class when there actually was such a thing, when Washington was still a shockingly sleepy Southern city vacated by the electeds every summer. (Vidal once remarked that air-conditioning helped found the American empire by letting bureaucrats stay in town year-round making mischief.) Yes, he had a lot of cameos in a lot of films, wined and dined a lot of famous friends at his Ravello home, La Rondinaia, had famous foes, and managed to outlive pretty much all of them.

And he made it all look easy. But it wasn't.

More at www.huffingtonpost.com

Broadway to dim marquee lights for Gore Vidal, Friday, August 3rd, 2012, 8 p.m.

Broadway theaters will dim their marquee lights on Friday night in memory of Gore Vidal and the cast of his play "The Best Man" will dedicate the next week of performances to the author and playwright. The Broadway League said Wednesday the lights will be dimmed for one minute at exactly 8 p.m. EDT Friday. Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin called Vidal's work both "timely and timeless."

via www.gorevidalpages.com

Gore Vidal (1925-2012)

In Memoriam

Left: Warrant Officer Junior Grade Gore Vidal circa 1944, the Gore Vidal Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University; right: Gore Vidal in 2006 © Stathis Orphanos

October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012

Writer and provocateur of America's mid-century political and literary circles, Gore Vidal was raised in a prominent Washington D.C. Democratic family but describes himself as a conservative. He was the son of airline pioneer Eugene Vidal, grandson of Oklahoma Sen. T. P. Gore, stepbrother of Jackie Kennedy, and friend of writers and actors including Tennessee Williams, Anaïs Nin, Christopher Isherwood, Tim Robbins, and Paul Newman. A man of contradictions, he has been described as controversial, playful, acerbic, arrogant, and warm; as a gadfly, a conspiracy junkie, a paleo-isolationist, an America-hater, and a patriot; but also "the master essayist of our age" by the Washington Post and America's "greatest living man of letters" by The Boston Globe. He explored history, religion, sex, politics, and power in 25 novels--including his "Narratives of Empire" series about American history--several plays, movie scripts, and more than 200 essays.

PHOTO GALLERY, The New York Times: Gore Vidal 1925-2012

The New York Times: Prolific, Elegant, Acerbic Writer

San Francisco Chronicle: Gore Vidal, Celebrated Author, Playwright, Dies

BBC News: US Author Gore Vidal Dies Aged 86

The Guardian: Gore Vidal, US writer and contrarian, dies aged 86

CNN: Chronicler of American life and politics, dies (and CNN "This Just In" blog: A dozen thoughts from Gore Vidal)

The Atlantic: Gore Vidal - A Salute to Self-Absorbed yet Selfless Genius

Word & Film: Remembering Gore Vidal - Cultural Polymath, Political Gadfly, and Social Butterfly

AntiWar.com: Gore Vidal - the Last Jeffersonian

HuffingtonPost: The Legacy of Gore Vidal

 

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