by fausta — published on June 14th, 2007
Tony Woodlief, author of Raising Wild Boys Into Men: A Modern Dad’s Survival Guide will be my podcast guest tomorrow at noon.
His pamphlet, the latest in The New Pamphleteers series, asks,
How does a hapless 21st century dad raise four young sons to manhood without taming their natural wildness? Modern society seems more interested in turning wild boys into mild boys, rather than harnessing their natural aggressiveness in traditional male virtues like protecting the innocent and seeking justice. Author Anthony Woodlief describes his near-obsessive quest to find books, toys, movies, and other resources that teach boys to develop their character without losing what he calls “The Cowboy Gene.” In the course of that struggle, he finds out the true meaning of fatherhood.
I just finished reading and this is a must-buy for your dad. Tony writes about what it’s like having three young boys and what it means to be a man, certainly one of the greater questions of our day.
His easygoing style and approach makes this a most delightful pamphlet to read, and to give. At only $4, you should buy one for everyone you know.
We’ll be talking about it tomorrow at noon, and if you would like you can call in (646) 652-2639.
Join us!
Cross-posted at Fausta’s blog
by JASmius — published on June 14th, 2007
Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice, right? And Mitt Romney is pro-life, correct? So why is (to continue the Titanic metaphor) the capsizing USS Straight Talk firing desperate flip-flop missiles at Romney if Giuliani is the “front-runner”?
by JASmius — published on June 14th, 2007
Ed, Rick, if I may interject….?
What the al-Maliki government does or does not do is largely irrelevant. It’s what OUR government is doing that matters. And this arbitrary, artificial September deadline is the catalyst for pretty much everything bad that is happening in Iraq right now. al Qaeda and the other Islamist irregulars Iran is directing are simply timing their “pushback” to maximize the likelihood of Congress cutting off war funding and forcing a withdrawal.
The question is not whether the “Surge” can work, but rather can it work fast enough, and sufficiently spectacularly to burn through the anti-war media bias. The problem is, you can’t fight a war on a public relations timetable. As a matter of fact, you can’t fight a war on any public relations template - not in this day and age - if you intend to win.
May as well call the “Surge” the “Last Gasp”. Or, to join in the Titanic metaphor, “going down for the third time”. Even if it does succeed in the allotted time on the ground, it’ll never be reported that way.
by JASmius — published on June 14th, 2007
Hey, did you hear? The war is over! The war is over! Yaaaay!
Who says the war is over? Well, two lib judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. But hey, they’re the new commanders-in-chief; just ask ‘em….
Also, I went to the track, and Jen got the YouTube on that notorious warmonger, Fat Albert.
by rickm — published on June 14th, 2007
If all else failed, you could have used her as a liferaft - bouyancy don’t you know?
by rickm — published on June 14th, 2007
That’s not to say you’re being unrealistic in what that gloomy assessment by our own military says. But I do think you’re overplaying news that fails to balance out the disaster I believe is staring us in the face.
The surge has become irrelevant. Whether it works or not is entirely inconsequential to whether Iraq will develop into a peaceful, multi-sectarian nation which the last time I looked was still our mission. Only the Shias can make that happen. And while the report glosses over (or at least what the Post reported) the absolute political paralysis - or the deliberate refusal to get the government off square one in solving the many political problems necessary to bring the Sunnis and Kurds into the government - the importance of al-Maliki’s inability to get anything done reveals him to be little more than an empty suit. They are using a military that we trained to round up Sunnis and kick them out of their homes. They are not dealing with the militias or even trying to. And no word in the WaPo story about what is going on in the south where the Brits have pulled back into their barracks awaiting orders to leave. The real civil war will probably take place there between Iranian backed militias and cadres loyal to the SIIC as both sides vie to carve out a Shia state virtually independent of Baghdad.
These things are happening. They are being reported by our own military not some left wing loon or Democratic defeatist. And we’re worried whether the surge is “working?”
More thoughts here.
