A Tomb Fit For A King

What does one look like? Here's the design chosen for the tomb of the recently-recovered body of Richard III:



Here's the tomb of another, not quite a king but a truly great figure in English royalty: Edward "The Black Prince" of Wales.

A Man Could Get Killed Doing That

Secretary of State John Kerry “should be on a plane right now for Baghdad,” former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said Tuesday.

“The focus has been on the conflict, that is indeed serious, but, you know, diplomacy is what is crucial right now,” Crocker said on “CBS This Morning.” “We need to work with the Iraqis at the highest level,” which, he said, entails having Kerry urge Iraq’s leaders to pursue a national unity government.

Further down the report, Hot Air draws the wrong conclusion from a report that 44 detainees were killed in a gunfight near Baqubah. They say that ISIS killed them; the report says that they died in a jail being defended by Shi'ite militia. More likely the Shi'ite militia killed the detainees to prevent them being rescued and released by the ISIS. They were, after all, enemies of the government, and the militia couldn't be sure they could hold the jail. If the militia thought they would pick up arms for ISIS if released, it very likely summarily executed them.

This is no place for John Kerry. We should send someone serious, if we have anyone left.

Fireflies

June is the best month for fireflies. Once, long ago, I walked down by the Rappahannock river in a field of trees cut down by beavers, whitened spears in the early dark, with hundreds of fireflies flashing against the trees.

Tonight there were fewer, but still many, past dusk but not quite full dark. The thunderheads of early evening had moved off west, still flickering with lightning from cloud to cloud. We caught one, put it in a jar with holes in the lid for a while, then let it go. The horses came down to see what we were about. The air smelled of rain.

We call them "lightning bugs" here in Georgia, more often than "fireflies." They're among my favorite things.

Battle of the Presidents

An interesting contrast!

Uh-oh

Russia just carried out its threat to cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine.  Europe had better get fracking.

Abortion vs. contraception

Melinda Gates announced that the $40 billion Gates Foundation will no longer fund abortions.  While she declines to discuss her own views on abortion, she explained that her first allegiance is to providing parents--especially women--support for contraception, prenatal care, and newborn care.  She finds that her preferred policies enjoy a broad and deep consensus, while abortion is a lightning rod for controversy.  Conflating abortion with family planning complicates her primary task, so she's opting out.

Organizations like Planned Parenthood, in contrast, seem to go out of their way to conflate abortion with family planning, for at least two purposes:  to permit them to accuse any opponents of interfering with both, and to stymie efforts to sort out what portion of their funding pays for abortions.

More On Defections

The captured were mostly these Iraqi Air Force we've been talking about:

Most of those captured were air force cadets, the employee said. Those who were Sunnis were given civilian clothes and sent home; the Shiites were marched and trucked off to the grounds of Saddam Hussein’s old palace in Tikrit, where they reportedly were executed.

Lots of caveats about how reliable the images are, and the reports themselves. That's good -- the journalists may have learned a thing since the American part of the war, where they tended to take insurgent claims of massacres at face value. Often if we sent an infantry unit out there to see if there really were heads piled up like the newspapers said, there was nothing of the sort. But the report, in the international press, multiplied the effect of their propaganda.

For Tom, Who Asked

'Why did the Iraqi Army melt away?,' Tom asked recently. We went through a few reasons at the time. Here's an interview that confirms some of them, for a Shi'a soldier from a distant (and safe) city, with officers and fellow soldiers he didn't trust to do their duty.

On Day Four of clashes in Mosul between encroaching jihadists and Iraqi security forces, two officers visited an outpost of the Iraqi 2nd Division’s logistics battalion with bad news: they said that all senior commanders had fled.

Stunned and confused, the men called headquarters and received the same information, that all officers colonel and above had abandoned their posts....

Had the Iraqi military brass in Mosul been chosen because of competency rather than cronyism, Nasseri suggested, perhaps the Islamic State’s march toward Baghdad could’ve been halted, or at least stalled.

“I know what I need to know about fighting in a city,” Nasseri said. “I fought side by side with Americans. Their military has leaders that tell the soldiers what the plan is, and fight. We don’t. There were many more terrorists in Fallujah and the fight was over in a month. (Mosul) wouldn’t have been a big problem if we had leaders.”

Compare and contrast with the story about the American contractors, who were able to pick up the rifles dropped by the fleeing soldiers and hold off the ISIS until they could be extracted.

Ritual

A few months ago I began helping in the church service as a lay reader.  The Episcopalians being a bit on the high-church side, this calls for learning a lot of ritual.  There's candle-lighting in a particular pattern and order to start with, then a procession (with hymn), with various people carrying various things in a particular order.  Next there are readings by a couple of different laymen interspersed with the priest's parts in the Book of Common Prayer, now and then joined by the choir and the congregation, as we sing together the Gloria, the Sanctus, and the Lord's Prayer.  Then the sermon, more speaking parts by laymen, a complicated hand-off of offering plates and the elements of the Eucharist among the ushers, the acolytes, the lay readers, and the priest.  Then the serving of the wine and bread, which in itself is an intricate minuet involving three people (plus the communicants at the rail) and lots of spoken parts.  Finally, announcements, special blessings for birthdays and anniversaries, extinguishing the candles in reverse order, and the recession (with hymn).

Today was complete discombobulation.  Our rector had been called suddenly out of town and replaced by a sweet old visiting priest who does things rather differently--lots of things are optional--in addition to being just a bit forgetful today.  He forgot the Gospel lesson altogether, together with perhaps half of the order of communion, and started the announcements early in the service when the ushers were standing near the front door, ready to bring up the elements and trade them for the offering plates.  (An old hand suggested tactfully from his pew, "Maybe now would be a good time for the Offertory."  The priest gratefully agreed.)  Our young acolyte suffered a bout of stomach upset in the middle of the service and left the altar, returning quickly, but still distracted enough by her physical distress that she never quite got back into her groove.

I'm still new enough to have trouble remembering my lines and my paces at various points.  Reading the lessons is easy, but there are stock phrases at the beginning and end that aren't on the hand-out, as well as times when I need to stand here and do this, or stand there and do that, which is particularly challenging when the visiting priest is used to something different--will he pour the wine or does he want us to?--and doesn't offer quite the cues I'm used to.  In the end we all more or less flubbed everything, but the important thing is that communion got served and we all tried not do anything too distracting or irreverent, so I don't think anyone's worship was hampered.  I try to concentrate on not fidgeting or drifting, and on thinking about what needs to happen next, in case somebody gets shot out of the saddle and another of us needs to pick up the slack seamlessly.

Our altar guild director has been urging me to read more slowly.  Today my first lesson was quite long, the whole opening section of Genesis, all seven days of creation.  I felt I'd be at the lectern reading all morning, but I concentrated on slowing down.  After the service, a parishioner congratulated me on reading quickly.  "It was such a long passage," she said, "we'd still be in there if you hadn't picked up the pace."  "Cap'n," I wanted to say, "I canna rrread any more slowly than that!"

When I was participating as a member of the congregation, I scarcely noticed all the choreographed movement in the sanctuary.  It's almost like putting on a short musical.  I look forward to getting so comfortable with all the parts that the whole team can respond flexibly and serenely to the unexpected, whether that's a lay reader who forgets to show up or a blessing inserted into the "Prayers of the People" that includes a reference to a perfectly unpronounceable church and pastor in Myanmar (as happened this morning).  Luckily, no one in the congregation knows how to pronounce Burmese, either.  Just sound confident and move on.

Some years ago, when life seemed quite unbearable, I concluded that what I needed in my life was more music, more ritual, and more animals.  It's been just what the doctor ordered.

Father's Day Activities

Today I've refreshed someone on how to build a fire to soften beans for Father's Day chili. After that, fly-sprayed the horses and put Vaseline in the ears to keep flies out of them. The beasts are much happier now.

Then we got out the grindstone and repaired a knife that had gotten blunted due to being used by an inexperienced hand. While we were at it, resharpened axe, hatchet, machete.

Perhaps a game of chess later. Beer on ice for the appropriate hour.

Pretty good day, so far.

Father's Day: Don't Forget About "Poor White Trash"

Fatherhood is always important, but perhaps it is of most moment for the poorest and most vulnerable families. Our culture tends to look down on them, sometimes with cause, but we need them. We need them even as they are.

David Allan Coe wrote a song about a poor Texas family, and especially about "the old man." It shows a lot that is bad about the poorer kind of family, but some things that are good about a family that manages to hang together in spite of a life made of very rough times. And somehow, though he speaks of his father as a violent drunk, 'mean as a rattlesnake,' you can hear the respect come through.



By contemporary standards, the language is extremely offensive. Probably it was offensive when he wrote it.

And when he wrote it, families like this were common. Now we see fewer of them, and more single mothers on welfare. We often talk as though a child is better off without a father like the one portrayed here. But the sons learned to work on automobiles, and to work hard -- cutting firewood, chopping tobacco, working all summer because they were planning ahead for the winter. Those are lessons you don't learn in a house supported by a welfare check.

Well, it's a harsh picture all the same. If you don't like that one, try this one. Daddy is a god-fearing man in this one.



Better? But the first song was about David Allan Coe, who pushed out of that kind of poverty to success and glory. The second father raised a son who intended only that "someday, when I'm grown, I'll be the same."

US Army Birthday & Flag Day

The "Betsy Ross" Flag

Flag of the US Army

Happy Birthday.

Say, What is the Purpose of Education?

A strong article, with several parts too good to excerpt. What is that education supposed to accomplish? What is it for?

Finding Lois' Emails

Dr. Althouse agrees with the National Journal that a special prosecutor is wholly warranted by the IRS' claim that it has lost two years of Lois Lerner's official email traffic. She has a good point: after decades of noting that 'it's the cover-up that kills you, not the crime,' it's worth asking how bad the crime has to be to justify such a blatant, obvious cover-up.

Or maybe you'd want us to believe that there was no crime. Fine. A special prosecutor can look into that too. I expect we'll all of us feel better about accepting that conclusion at the end of an independent and thoroughgoing investigation.

"Your father is passing"

Firedog Lake ran this clip from "To Kill a Mockingbird" and invited readers to pick a favorite fictional father.  Atticus Finch is a popular favorite in the general population, and deservedly so, but what struck me about the reaction on this particular site was the tepid response.  A few commenters picked ineffectual dads from comedies, but most seemed uncomfortable with the very idea of fathers and changed the subject as quickly as they could.

I couldn't find the exact clip from Firedog Lake, which included Atticus shooting the mad dog, but here is a good one:



I've always had a soft spot for the dad in "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel."

Bidding Wars

So, there's nothing surprising in this, except that the mechanism is laid out in easy-to-grasp terms.

Throughout the day, partners would make requests for connection, what Gottman calls “bids.” For example, say that the husband is a bird enthusiast and notices a goldfinch fly across the yard. He might say to his wife, “Look at that beautiful bird outside!” He’s not just commenting on the bird here: he’s requesting a response from his wife—a sign of interest or support—hoping they’ll connect, however momentarily, over the bird.

The wife now has a choice. She can respond by either “turning toward” or “turning away” from her husband, as Gottman puts it. Though the bird-bid might seem minor and silly, it can actually reveal a lot about the health of the relationship. The husband thought the bird was important enough to bring it up in conversation and the question is whether his wife recognizes and respects that.

People who turned toward their partners in the study responded by engaging the bidder, showing interest and support in the bid. Those who didn’t—those who turned away—would not respond or respond minimally and continue doing whatever they were doing, like watching TV or reading the paper. Sometimes they would respond with overt hostility, saying something like, “Stop interrupting me, I’m reading.”

These bidding interactions had profound effects on marital well-being. Couples who had divorced after a six-year follow up had “turn-toward bids” 33 percent of the time. Only three in ten of their bids for emotional connection were met with intimacy. The couples who were still together after six years had “turn-toward bids” 87 percent of the time.

Anabasis

American contractors in Iraq held off an ISIS siege until they could be evacuated by the Iraqi Air Force.

The attacking ISIS forces approached the base in trucks Wednesday and called through loudspeakers for all private security forces and Iraqi special military to leave immediately or die.

The U.S. private contractors in touch with WND reported that after hearing the broadcast, the private security forces and the Iraqi military defending the base dropped their weapons and ran.

The American contractors collected the weapons left behind and were able to hold off further immediate advances.

The report suggests that there may still be a hundred Americans to be evacuated, but the report is 21 hours old at this writing. The contractors were there to help the Iraqi Air Force prepare to receive the F-16s we promised to the Iraqi government, which suggests they are mostly USAF veterans.

A Momentous Week For Deaths

The American Legion's "Burn Pit" has a feature called 'Famous Deaths for the Week.' Last week's deaths include Alexander the Great, Hardicanute, Robert E. Howard, Andrew Jackson, and others.

Friday Night AMV

Yeah. Just burn it to the ground.

Nuts in Congress

David Brat is so eccentric, he thinks the State has a monopoly on violence.  Wait, never mind, almost everyone thinks that, going back to Max Weber.  Well, he's so crazy he thinks there's an essential tension between libertarianism and conservatism, which can be resolved only if we think humbly and honestly about which issues we're willing to license the State to enforce by violence:

Let me add one more definition to the picture to heighten this tension. In economics and political science, it is common to define the government as the entity that holds a monopoly on violence. This definition goes back to Max Weber, but it is used by recent Nobel laureates in economics as well. It does not mean that the State alone uses violence, but it does mean that when push comes to shove, the State will win in a battle of wills. If you refuse to pay your taxes, you will lose. You will go to jail, and if you fight, you will lose. The government holds a monopoly on violence. Any law that we vote for is ultimately backed by the full force of our government and military. Do we trust institutions of the government to ensure justice? Is that what history teaches us about the State? Or do we live in particularly lucky and fortunate times where the State can be trusted to do minimal justice? The State's budget is currently about $3 trillion a year. Do you trust that power to the political Right? Do you trust it to the Left? If you answered "no" to either question, you may have a major problem in the future. See Plato on the regime that follows democracy. 

So now, I hope you are feeling even a bit more ill-at-ease. The logic above is inescapable for a Christian. If we Christians vote for what we consider to be good policies, we are ultimately voting to ensure that our will is carried out by the most powerful force on earth, aside from God. The U.S. government has a monopoly on violence, and that force underlies the law of the land. 

Do we have the right to coerce our fellow citizens to act in ways that follow our Christian ethical beliefs?

Darn Tea Party crackpot partisan ignoramus.