Screw You, Spain!
All those centuries of culture that contributed to our own clearly aren't worth learning about since Spain refuses to continue to march in lockstep with our Iraq policy:
Two community colleges have ended their study-abroad program in Spain, citing the country's troop withdrawal from Iraq.Trustees of the South Orange County Community College District, comprising Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College, voted 5-2 last week to cancel the 14-year-old summer program.
"Spain has abandoned our fighting men and women, withdrawing their support," said trustee Tom Fuentes, a former head of the Republican Party in Orange County. "I see no reason to send students of our colleges to Spain at this moment in history."
Spain pulled its 1,300 troops after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in March last year.
Yeah, that's it. Let's keep kids here in America, so they'll have no sense of other cultures, and how the world is filled with human beings, not the equivalent of fiercely competitive soccer teams. Personally, my whole perspective is so much broader, thanks to my experiences in France, England, Italy, Holland, Israel, and Germany. I don't agree with everything any of these countries do; far from it. But to shut the door to experience at exactly the time when the world is getting smaller and smaller thanks to ease of travel and Internet connections...well, does anybody know the Spanish words for "very fucking dumb"?
We can start with "absolutamente fucking estúpido".
Fascism is creeping into the clockwork of this country and we need to squash it.
We all need to work harder to get the electorate motivated, true Rebublicans and Democrats, progressives, and independents. The Neo-cons have co-opted the Republican party and the Dumb-o-crats are hampered by squadrons of bullshit, feel-good weenies.
Somebody needs to lead the fight for fiscal responsibility without losing sight of the welfare of citizens.
Deirdre B. at March 7, 2005 3:35 AM
"We all need to work harder to get the electorate motivated"
Homophobia seemed to do the trick in November '04.
Lena at March 7, 2005 5:54 AM
"Spain has abandoned our fighting men and women, withdrawing their support," said trustee Tom Fuentes, a former head of the Republican Party in Orange County. "I see no reason to send students of our colleges to Spain at this moment in history."
He sees no reason to continue to send our students to Spain? Has he found a good reason to discontinue sending them? Not liking our foreign policy isn't much of a reason. If we stopped sending students to countries that disagreed with us on occassion, no one would leave the country.
Patrick, fan of the Advice Goddess at March 7, 2005 6:08 AM
Well, I'm terrified of the homophobes.
Amy Alkon at March 7, 2005 6:08 AM
It seems few people do, or have, including the guy who is president. Wasn't the story that he'd never been to Europe until he'd gotten elected?
Amy Alkon at March 7, 2005 6:10 AM
I'm terrified of the homophobes too, Amy. I'm just a little weary of being advised to motivate the electorate (read: "the masses") when I can hardly motivate myself these days, politically. The only thing that's getting me to the polls tomorrow in L.A. is guilt. But I bet I'm not alone in that.
"To the Students of the Workers' and Peasants' Faculty"
by Bertolt Brecht
1
So there you sit. And how much blood was shed
That you might sit there. Do such stories bore you?
Well, don’t forget that others sat before you
Who later sat on people. Keep your head!
2
Your science will be valueless, you’ll find
And learning will be sterile, if inviting
Unless you pledge your intellect to fighting
Against all enemies of all mankind.
3
Never forget that men like you got hurt
That you might sit here, not the other lot.
And now don’t shut your eyes, and don’t desert
But learn to learn, and try to learn for what.
Lena-doodle-doo at March 7, 2005 7:23 AM
Hi Lena -
Thank you for Bertolt.
One wonders whether the poem is studied at institutions in the South Orange County Community College District. Certainly the Trustees don't seem to have read it.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 7:39 AM
> ...my whole perspective is so
> much broader, thanks to my experiences
> in France, England, Italy, Holland,
> Israel, and Germany...
Says you! Many might regard your perspective as diminished, and cite your destinations as proof. (Sure, you could whip out your slide projector and prove that you were hanging out in slums washing the feet of the poor, but no one wants to hear our vacation stories that badly.) Listen, I done my transoceanic travelin' too. But people who claim expertise from the stamps on their passport are [A] wrong, and [B] obnoxious in the extreme. Plenty of folks have been all over the globe without improving themselves. And there are plenty of homebodies in small towns who are better equipped to lead our thinking.
In a piece last month, the NYT noted that if you travel long enough and far enough, you will eventually find yourself hanging out with Lauren Hutton. We've known this for years, and seen her name dropped in books by everyone from PJ O'Rourke to Christopher Hitchens. I was still sorta surprised when, out in the Pacific, it happened to me. (This is the only name drop of my life: Note the context.) She's an indisputably nice woman whose fast warmth and good cheer gladden the hearts of all she meets. But the um, gentleness of her world view belies the presumption that getting around brings expertise. Yes, she's a better woman than if she'd stayed at home (or at the bar in the Intercontinental), as most supermodels have done. But that doesn't mean we should trust her to run the shop. To her credit, she modestly claims that through travel "You try to develop a little wisdom."
How much general credit and authority SHOULD we give to someone who's traveled? Probably about as much as we do: Zero.
(Vichy, we are told, has GREAT restaurants.)
Cridland at March 7, 2005 8:07 AM
Thanks for bringing up Lauren Hutton, muff-diver extraordinaire. I knew a beautiful chick back in high school who was treated to her mad skills downtown on more than one occasion.
One Saturday morning in the 70s, I was watching "Kids are People Too," and some stuffy little boy in a pinstriped suit was interviewing Hutton about life as a super model. She told him that the only reason she modelled was so that she could afford to do cool things like camping in Africa with her buddies. There's nothing sexier than a beautiful woman who insists that life is an adventure. Long may she roam!
Lena at March 7, 2005 8:30 AM
Hi –
>>Listen, I done my transoceanic travelin' too.
Proof indeed that the old adage "Travel broadens the mind." doesn't apply in all cases, as you are wont to point out.
>>And there are plenty of homebodies
>>in small towns who are better equipped
>>to lead our thinking.
What bothers me enormously is the "our". Speak for yourself: that means using the singular, not the plural.
>>hanging out with Lauren Hutton
Extrapolating the general about travel from Lauren Hutton is akin to extrapolating the general about locution from George W. Bush.
>>How much general credit and authority SHOULD
>>we give to someone who's traveled?
>>Probably about as much as we do: Zero.
There you go again with that plural "we".
>>(Vichy, we are told, has GREAT restaurants.)
Ah, yes: a quite nice Michelin one-star establishment is Jacques Decoret. His "petit vin" from Saint-Pourçain can't be beaten.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 8:42 AM
I have written before Spain is my favorite country in the world to visit- beautiful scenery, warm people, great wines, great food, incredible architecture...
America seems to be bent on removing our noses to spite our face.
eric at March 7, 2005 8:57 AM
I love Spain too. Barcelona is a luscious funhouse!
Lena at March 7, 2005 9:05 AM
> ...can't be beaten.
> ...beautiful scenery...
> ...luscious funhouse!
The politics may nonetheless be for shit.
Cridland at March 7, 2005 9:31 AM
Hi Lena -
We try go to Spain every other year in the springtime (after the fiesta de San Isidro, patron saint of Madrid, on May 15th: third week of May is ideal) for a week's getaway. There are a lot of holidays in May, in France. Motoring over the Pyrénées via St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, through Pampelona, thence to Madrid. One highlight is asparagus and strawberries in Aranjuez: marvellous. The Aranjuez covered market in the springtime has the best chorizo and manchego you will taste in your life. Back to Paris via Sos del Rey Catolico in the
Province of Saragosse. If you stop at the parador, make sure you've reserved not only a room with a view (logical - not all have one) as well as an indoor (!) parking place for your car. Much more civilized: the number of parking places is very limited.
Spain is the sleeping giant of Europe.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 9:39 AM
Barcelona is the best- the Familia Sagrada is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and it is only half finished! Someday I hope to retire and spend about a year driving through Spain in a nice convertible.
eric at March 7, 2005 9:54 AM
Hi Eric -
Alternatively, before reaching retirement, you could find a job in Europe, on the Continent, and travel on weekends and during vacation and holiday periods. In France, for example, every salaried employee is entitled to five weeks' paid vacation.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 10:08 AM
It's like taking candy from a baby. Do you suppose it's time for the United States to stop providing European security?
--
French unemployment rises to 10 per cent
By Martin Arnold in Paris
Published: February 25 2005 12:28 | Last updated: February 25 2005 14:47
French unemployment reached its highest level for five years in January, breaking through the symbolically important barrier of 10 per cent and dealing a further blow to the credibility of the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, prime minister.
The surprise rise in unemployment came at an awkward time for Hervé Gaymard, finance minister, who resigned on Friday over his government-funded €14,000 (£9,700) a month luxury apartment.
Cridland at March 7, 2005 11:01 AM
L'Amerloque-
I am a totally internet based data dude, so I can pretty much run my shop anywhere there is a phone connection. Right now I am on the central Oregon coast watching the sea lions sunning themselves out my window...
That is my plan someday when satellite internet service is more available- traveling the world while working. Being a one man shop means only working vacations.... for now.
You were born in America, weren't you? What do you do over there?
eric at March 7, 2005 11:03 AM
Hi -
>>Do you suppose it's time for
>>the United States to stop providing
>>European security?
Of course. Many Europeans would like nothing better. The question nowadays, of course, is security against whom . (smile)
>>French unemployment rises to 10 per cent
Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper. It's far higher than that. The national statistics are massaged for political purposes (just as in many Western countries). Unemployed people over 55, for example, aren't even counted in the stats. Figure on a real 14 or 15 percent. The French people - ever the realists - know that - and also know that there is little connection in the real world between "five weeks' vacation" and "unemployment".
Note that the NYT people (such as this Matthew Arnold fellow) know very little about Europe and Europeans. Since the NYT hates France and the French, one wouldn't expect it to miss the opportunity of reporting such a "statistic". (smile)
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 11:18 AM
Hi Eric –
>>Right now I am on the central Oregon coast
>>watching the sea lions sunning themselves
>>out my window...
Sounds good. I have a Japanese fishing float found in Oregon here – I am looking at it as I type. I think it comes from the coast somewhere over Astoria way. I know several people who have moved to Europe from the West Coast and work online. One is thinking of going back home before she reaches the "point of no return" – you know, when you feel more at home in Europe than in the USA. (smile)
>>You were born in America, weren't you?
>>What do you do over there?
Oh yes, I'm American from California. I consult with and for a large organization which shall, as they say, remain nameless. I usually work from home.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 7, 2005 11:31 AM
Those glass floats were a collectors jewel, so when tourism was dead in Oregon, someone came up with the idea of hiding those little glass balls (about the size of a softball and bigger) along the beach, where people could find them, and tourism skyrocketed. It was applying an Easter egg hunt for adults to the economy- great idea! Now there are shops all over that sell them, from the real ones (about $15) to the artistic hand blown (that reminds me- hi Lena!) ones for $100+.
No whales or dolphins yet... communing with my family of crows, gulls, and stellar jays. They are all getting leftover pizza today and loving it. It is so cool to have them soaring in circles above you as you throw them pieces in the air, kinda like throwing a frisbee to championship catching dogs. When I come back in, they line up on the railing yelling for me to come back out with more pizza.
I think we should all meet in 2006 at the Fiesta de San Isidro.
eric, ex Californian, heading north, north, north... at March 7, 2005 4:00 PM
Eric. You're living a Levis commercial.
Amy Alkon at March 7, 2005 4:05 PM
Well good mornin world,
Ima talking to you-hoo hoo hoo who ho
Ima a wearing my Levis,
Le-hee-hee-aheee Levis....
Life is good when you abandon all hope and expectations...
eric in 501 blues at March 7, 2005 4:43 PM
good gracious golly.......what artful dodging you do indulge in. Get real! i thought i drivelled! At the moment the only thing the USA has to teach the world is how to dribble on nonsensically in big long sentences without actually saying ANYTHING usually ending up putting the audience into an open-eyed sleep.
I apologise for my ignorance and for missing the many points that i'm sure you were making. How serious was that decision in Florida? sad sad sad is the lack of motivation present among the american people that finds that kind of carry on acceptable
vinno at June 18, 2005 1:48 PM
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