On the birth of a beautiful daughter. I was lucky enough to meet Holly at I MBC, and she was as nice a lady as you would expect her to be. Good luck to her, and the little one.
Helping Out
Answering Some Emails:
Kit Jarrell has started a fund to help the families of the "Pendelton 8" Marines. Regardless of the question of guilt or innocence, which is properly decided by the judicial system, the strain on their families is real. If you'd like to help them, her post tells you how.
Blogger Michael Puttre has written a sci-fi book, and emailed to offer a review copy to Eric Blair (Mr. Blair, check your email). I can't speak for Eric as to whether or not he has time to review it, so I'll let him do that himself. In the meantime, if you're curious about the book, follow the link.
Sanity Squad Clinton
...In Which Grim Defends Bill Clinton:
As to that, it is opinions of just that sort that Fact magazine published, and which generated the rule -- as Greg rightly points out.
Still, grant the point. One would expect psychologists to practice a certain humility even in their professional diagnoses, given that they are so regularly wrong. You would think they would be careful about what they say even after lengthy experience, given the following:
They do have tests, though: personality tests, for example. Do they work? Well, not precisely.
I have occasionally made the assertion in these pages that psychology is not a science at all, but rather a discipline more like fortune-telling. As to the first part of that assertion -- that psychology is not a science -- I'm hardly alone in making it.
As to the second part, I have begun to think I have been unfair to tarot card readers by using them as the analogy. Here's a little piece from "Gagdad Bob," the special guest on the Sanity Squad podcast. He's talking about how raising your spirituality to higher planes of consciousness is exactly like psychology:
Humility? There is none. I doubt their 'science' has anything to offer the world, except the pain that comes from basing decisions on untruths and false beliefs. Yet they may be on good grounds in diagnosing Bill Clinton as a narcissist, according to that most traditional formula: 'It Takes One to Know One.'
If any real doctor diagnosed your problem and then refused to tell you what was wrong, you'd be perfectly right to haul them into court over it -- they are, after all, putting your health at risk while taking your money. Not so psychologists, who are like unto God Himself! No, they should determine what it is proper for you to know about your "illness," and, like Obi Wan Kenobi, to tell you the truth only "from a certain point of view." For which you should be grateful! Yes, be grateful for the Master's teachings.
I swear I don't get it. Why does anybody listen to these people? Why haven't we laughed psychology totally off the stage of American life?
Consider this 'Sanity Squad' podcast on Clinton's recent remarks. I wouldn't have normally noticed it, but PJM has been advertising it on my sidebar.
The issue with the podcast is identified in the comments to it by commenter "Greg":
"In 1964, a few months before the presidential election, Fact magazine, now defunct, surveyed the membership of the American Psychiatric Association about the personality traits of Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee. The psychiatrists savaged Goldwater, calling him "warped," and a "paranoid schizophrenic" who harbored unconscious hatred of his Jewish father and endured rigid toilet training.Greg is, of course, plainly correct about what they're doing here. His reward is to be referred to as an "idiot," a "self important pipsqueak," and a "gnat." Commenter "Sigmund, Carl and Alfred" asserts that there is an obvious difference between a professional diagnosis and an opinion asserted on the radio, and so the APA rule presumably should not apply.
Such forays into applied psychoanalysis have not been immune to criticism. After the Fact survey, the psychiatric association issued the so-called Goldwater Rule, advising members that it is "unethical for psychiatrists to offer a professional opinion unless he/she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.""
The Perils of Putting National Leaders on the Couch
I'm sure that they were just offering their "observations and opinions" too. That's why the APA promulgated that rule, right?
As to that, it is opinions of just that sort that Fact magazine published, and which generated the rule -- as Greg rightly points out.
Still, grant the point. One would expect psychologists to practice a certain humility even in their professional diagnoses, given that they are so regularly wrong. You would think they would be careful about what they say even after lengthy experience, given the following:
Although schizophrenia has been shown to affect all ethnic groups at the same rate, the scientist found that blacks in the United States were more than four times as likely to be diagnosed with the disorder as whites. Hispanics were more than three times as likely to be diagnosed as whites....Er, great. That makes it easy for us to tell the difference between your opinion and a professional diagnosis.
The data confirm the fears of experts who have warned for years that minorities are more likely to be misdiagnosed as having serious psychiatric problems. "Bias is a very real issue," said Francis Lu, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco. "We don't talk about it -- it's upsetting. We see ourselves as unbiased and rational and scientific." ...
Unlike AIDS or cancer, mental illnesses cannot be diagnosed with a brain scan or a blood test. The impressions of doctors -- drawn from verbal and nonverbal cues -- determine whether a patient is healthy or sick.
"Because we have no lab test, the only way we can test if someone is psychotic is, we use ourselves as the measure," said Michael Smith, a psychiatrist at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies the effects of culture and ethnicity on psychiatry. "If it sounds unusual to us, we call it psychotic."
They do have tests, though: personality tests, for example. Do they work? Well, not precisely.
I have occasionally made the assertion in these pages that psychology is not a science at all, but rather a discipline more like fortune-telling. As to the first part of that assertion -- that psychology is not a science -- I'm hardly alone in making it.
As to the second part, I have begun to think I have been unfair to tarot card readers by using them as the analogy. Here's a little piece from "Gagdad Bob," the special guest on the Sanity Squad podcast. He's talking about how raising your spirituality to higher planes of consciousness is exactly like psychology:
Indeed, God should only be spoken of in a manner that “protects” and guards against the distortions and simplifications of the spiritually unqualified, while at the same time posing a challenge to the sincerity and intensity of the true seeker’s aspiration. This is not mystagogy. It is actually no different than in psychotherapy. A seasoned therapist will often know the exact nature of the patient’s problem within a session or two. However, it would serve no purpose whatsoever to prematurely blurt this out to the patient, for truth that is given is truth that cannot be discovered, and that makes all the difference.Your tarot card reader may look down on her client, the way a hustler looks down on an easy mark. At least she doesn't perceive herself to be looking down on her clients the way that God looks down upon an unChosen people.
Not for nothing did Jesus speak in paradoxables. When asked about this by his inner brotherhood of Cosmic Raccoons, he responded, “For you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.... Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
Therefore, Jesus is identifying and highlighting a perennial problem with spiritual knowledge: many who hear hear it do not hear it, and many more who understand it do not comprehend it. It is an organic process, in which the seed must be planted in fertile soil, so as to actually transform the person. Again, it is absolutely no different than psychotherapy. Very early in my training I learned various ways to deflect the inevitable question, “Can’t you just tell me what’s wrong? Just give it to me straight, and I’ll work out the rest myself.”
A particular patient comes to mind who had great difficulty getting beyond the idea that there was some unremembered event from his past, and that if he could only remember what it was, he would be magically transformed. Also, being a narcissistic character, he was convinced that he (being a special person) could bypass the usual drawn out process, and that I would simply disclose the secret to him and send him on his way. But his greed for the truth was a symptom of his very problem. I constantly gave him truth in the form of "nourishing" interpretations, but he greedily swallowed them so quickly (without even chewing!), that he had no time to metabolize them, much less feel gratitude for them.
Humility? There is none. I doubt their 'science' has anything to offer the world, except the pain that comes from basing decisions on untruths and false beliefs. Yet they may be on good grounds in diagnosing Bill Clinton as a narcissist, according to that most traditional formula: 'It Takes One to Know One.'
If any real doctor diagnosed your problem and then refused to tell you what was wrong, you'd be perfectly right to haul them into court over it -- they are, after all, putting your health at risk while taking your money. Not so psychologists, who are like unto God Himself! No, they should determine what it is proper for you to know about your "illness," and, like Obi Wan Kenobi, to tell you the truth only "from a certain point of view." For which you should be grateful! Yes, be grateful for the Master's teachings.
I swear I don't get it. Why does anybody listen to these people? Why haven't we laughed psychology totally off the stage of American life?
Lieb interview
Jomentum Interview:
PJM has an interview with Joe Lieberman they'd like you to watch.
You've probably noticed that PJM's board is fascinated with the question of moderate voters who aren't affiliated with the major parties (they're holding a contest for naming such voters. You can vote for your favorite name here). These voters, who have in the past normally been called "swing voters," are always being pursued by the two major parties.
We've been talking for years, idly enough, about a Jacksonian party -- one that would capture the principles of the old Southern Democrats on defense and individual liberty, and combine them with the "individualist conservative" part of the Republican party. It would probably also appeal to libertarians, though it would naturally favor several things they don't (e.g., a strong military; tight border control).
I think such a party is highly viable. But how to create a party that breaks into the national election model? It hasn't been done since the mid-19th century.
Dire Need
"We Are In Dire Need Of You"
(tapping mic)
"I'd like to take a moment to call for the super-rich to bankroll us here at al Qaeda in Iraq. We are in dire need of tons of free money, for the noble effort of killing women and children driving off the infidels from the Holy Land of the Shi'ites we've been murdering.
"Our killing fields offer you an excellent place to place your investments, assuming the New York Times continues to take steps to prevent the West from tracking your investments and arresting you. If you desire to end the evils of capitalism that are why you're rich in the first place oppress our bold warriors, please come. And bring money. Lots of money."
Union honor vikings
The Union Of Several Recent Posts:
...has been achieved in this post and its comments at Southern Appeal. It's got everything: honor cultures and al Qaeda, Vikings, sagas, bloodshed, the lot. Enjoy it.
More Viking Links
More Viking Links:
Daniel directs us to learn about the Viking way of exercise. He also has a post on the anniversary of the battle of Stamford Bridge.
Eiriksmal
The Eiriksmal:
I notice that both The Geek and Doc Russia mentioned "feasting with Odin" in their tributes to Col. Cooper.
If you wonder what such a feast might look like, consider the Eiriksmal. The einherjar are the honored dead of Valhalla, heroes who died on the field. Valkyries I assume you know.
The poem contains also the Viking answer to the question, "Why must good men sometimes die young?" Odin, who has the power to grant victory or to withhold it, is directly asked why he allowed Eirik to die.
I think the Hollander translation, excellent in many respects, is confusing here. What Odin answers is a reference to Fenrir the wolf, who will someday bring war against the gods that will lead to the end of the world. Unlike, say, the Iranian president, Odin is concerned with staving off that war as long as possible -- and so, he needs good warriors for Valhalla. Thus, human war is only to season the men. When they are ready to serve in the defense of the worlds from the forces of chaos, Odin calls them to Valhalla.
This is the meaning of his remark that 'the grey wolf watches the abode of the gods' -- or, as Hollander puts it, "No one knoweth / looks the grey wolf (grimly) / toward the gods' dwelling."
Enjoy it.
Al Qaeda Dispute
Al Qaeda on Violence:
Well no, even now we can't. It's still necessary to walk circles around it, and defray blame so that no one gets offended.
An American military officer who wished to dissent from his chain of command could have said the whole thing in fifty words.
We often focus on the relative advantages the enemy has in terms of its ideology. Well, there are disadvantages as well.
A newly released letter captured by the US military shows the friction between al Qaeda's leadership and its assets in Iraq.
It's interesting in another way, too: it shows the higly ritualized form of address required by the jihadi. This is the language of a code of honor, different from our own, and so pricklish that paragraphs of bowing and scraping are necessary before one can come to the point:
Greetings and God bless you. We pray to God that you are safe and sound, enjoying the strength you have been granted through the grace of God, the Almighty, and All-Powerful. We pray to God for your victory over the enemies, and that He will grant you patience, keep you steadfast, and extend to you His support. We pray that He brings tranquility to you and all of your brothers, and that He covers you with mercy, and that He is a support and help to you, for indeed grace is from God and God alone.'And now we can get to the root of the matter, which is that you boys down in Iraq are #$%#$ the pooch...'
Dear brother, I will be brief and rely on God Almighty. Then I will trust in your patience, your high manners, the sincerity of your love for me, and that you think well of me. I trust that you remedy shortcomings and guard against flaws and errors, and that you will overlook things if there arises something inappropriate from your brother. I shall get right to the point and skip the generalities and get into the details. The purpose of the path belongs to God, and from Him I derive aid and guidance. Any success that I may attain shall come only through God. I have put my trust in Him and on Him I rely.
My dear brother, who is content, God willing, Abu-Mus’ab the worthy, may God grant him success. God knows how highly we think of you and how much we are confident in you and in your faith and loyalty, we consider you as such and God is your Judge. You are better than us. You forged ahead and you were true and you didn’t hesitate, falter, or lay down arms. Instead, you persevered in God the Jihad and the struggle. God gave you good attributes and bestowed honorable characteristics upon you, such as sincerity of direction, fervor for the religion, empathy for the afflictions of his people and support for them, high aspirations to do what you see as right and true, even if the whole world opposes you, a strength of will and determination that many people lack, even among the people of righteousness and knowledge, and courage and truthfulness.
We think of you this way, among other good qualities and innate characteristics, along with good faith. We perceive you as such, for my thinking of you has not altered and has not changed. I have known people and their tribulations, since there is hardly any grief that goes unnoticed by a hired mourner-woman, except by God’s will. I am not any smarter than you here, for you know yourself and your flaws and faults more than anyone else, oh servant. However, I am reminding you of God’s blessing upon you and what He has granted you, which we ourselves know.
I am setting this out as an introduction to what I am going to say to you in the way of opinion, advice, and instruction, for my discourse will be primarily about the negatives and cautioning against things that are perilous and ruinous. I won’t be touching on the positives and good things, since they are the true nature, praise and credit be to God, and they are the overwhelming majority, by the grace of God. So, don’t trouble yourself about that, because the topic is one of correction and instruction, not a topic of appreciation, praise, and interpretation. If God wanted, and He were to present us to you, then you would find us to be your loved ones and your brothers, the most just of people towards you, the most sincere of them, the most sympathetic towards you, the most protective of your right, and the most forgiving of them, God willing.
After all, you are truly the mujahidin against the enemies of God, standing on the edifices of truth and allegiance with God, making the religion manifest while being endorsers of it. You are the ones who have spited America, the greatest unbelieving crusader power in history; and you are the ones who have spited it, and you have broken its prestige and thrown it to the ground. May God will for you a good reward with which you would continue the path at a critical time for the vast good work of awakening the generation and resurrecting the Muslim nation. May God bring you to it through His grace and blessing. Just some of this would be enough for renown in this world for someone who would want that, and for loftiness in the hereafter for someone who has earned it. We ask God that He guide us and you and that He grant us understanding in religion. He is Magnanimous, Generous, Kind, Benevolent, and Merciful.
So, my brother and my dear one, may God bless you and may He strengthen you and protect you. Listen to these words from me. Put them before your eyes and commit them to memory. Know that if something within them disagrees with you somewhat, they are actually good, by God; and perhaps you would not hear them from anyone except someone who loves you, and perhaps you have needed someone to say them to you, and you won’t find someone in your present position, except if God wills.
Well no, even now we can't. It's still necessary to walk circles around it, and defray blame so that no one gets offended.
An American military officer who wished to dissent from his chain of command could have said the whole thing in fifty words.
We often focus on the relative advantages the enemy has in terms of its ideology. Well, there are disadvantages as well.
Death of Col Cooper
The Last Ride:
Via the Geek, I see that Colonel Jeff Cooper has died. He was the author of Cooper's Commentaries, as well as a work on the subject of the American spirit, called To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth.
His political opinions, and his ideas about the best gunfighting technology, were frequently and hotly debated. That said, if anyone has better captured the American spirit than he did in the title of that book, I've yet to see it.
GHMC
Grim's Hall Movie Club:
OK, no response on Rio Bravo. I'm not sure if that means I posted it too late for people to get to it, or if you folks are tired of Westerns. Me, I've gotten to like Westerns, but we have done several of them running.
So, a poll: If we aim for next Monday instead, would you rather watch Rio Bravo after all, or another movie -- say, Ladyhawke? That's a fine movie, one that examines how sinners can come together to work for good and against evil. It's another favorite of mine, and it's certainly not a Western, being based on an Medieval tale.
Culture or Genetics
Culture or Genetics?
In the debate over which is more important, here are two new pieces (both via Arts & Letters Daily, which I suggest you do read daily). Each one is demonstrative and well-informed, but they suggest opposite conclusions -- both of which cannot be true.
"Myths of British Ancestry" claims to demonstrate that the whole of British history has altered the genetic makeup of the folk in England not more than 25% -- that 75% of the genetic makeup remains an unknown pre-historic people, most similar to the Basques.
Yet the history of England is engraved with clear periods in art, language, literature, architecture -- in a word, culture. "Anglo-Saxons" may not have changed the genetic makeup more than five percent, yet they totally dominated the way of life of the people. So too the Vikings, in their time, and especially the Normans.
This is suggestive that culture is predominant, with genetics playing a role so deep in the background as to be almost imperceptible.
Taking the alternative, John Derbyshire argues in "Race and Conservatism" some fairly compelling ideas. I'm not sure how to argue against his main thrust, except by pointing out that it is not compatible with the geneticist's evidence from the above.
Yet consider the argument he puts forward, and tell me where the flaw is. Would he say that the change between Basque and Viking is not enough to trigger the differences he notes? If so, both could be true -- genes are defining, but the difference between various northern European genetic lines is so small that it can host any of several cultures without disability.
We are only really beginning to get a notion of what the evidence holds, so it is too early to make certain decisions. It is not too early, though, to begin thinking about what the possibilities are -- if only so, as we advance in our knowledge, we will know how to winnow down the no-longer likely options.
Mobs
Now, That's Refreshing:
I sometimes wonder why this doesn't always happen:
About a dozen residents of a Dallas neighborhood beat a man after reports that he had been showing pornographic pictures to children on a playground, police said.Actually, he was caught in the act.
When one of the mothers saw him and asked Burke what he was doing, he tried to run and the woman started screaming, said Elizabeth Williams, the mother of another child. According to a police report, Burke said about 15 men "jumped him and hit him repeatedly on the face with their fists."Seems kind of natural to me. Of course, the police showed up eventually.
Burke was arrested on suspicion of harmful display to a minor.One assumes he will also be civilly liable for any injury to local citizens, as he endangered their fists by showing porn to children in a civilized neighborhood.
Noel Explains All
Noel Explains All:
The week's events are put into perspective by our old friend Noel.
Scroll down, while you're there, to read his post on 9/11 conspiracists.
GHMc: Rio Bravo
Grim's Hall Movie Club:
I keep forgetting to do this. :) Since I mentioned it a few posts ago, how about Rio Bravo for this weekend? John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, and some of the best character writing in any movie ("Hey Stumpy, got a light?").
If you can manage to see it this weekend, we'll talk about it on Monday.
Still...
Still, At Least We Can Have Clean Elections...
Now that we can ensure votes are cast by citizens.
Well, maybe. But that's just a state court. For now.
Muslimtaxi
And Speaking of That...
Southern Appeal commenter advises, "fiddle, son, fiddle."
I just want to know what the anti-DUI crowd will say. "Take a Taxi." Er, well, what if the taxi won't take you? But, as Verity points out, we've got that separation of church and state wall built high in the right places: Muslim taxi drivers may not have to drive drunks, but Catholic pharmacists better not try to send anyone elsewhere to buy birth control pills.
Music
Since We're Talking About Music:
Rock 'N Roll was once said to be the Devil's Music. And so it is.
No, not Bush.
I mean The Devil Himself.
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