That there is no Other. No matter where we start from - or where we end up - we're all human beings on the same spaceship (to evoke a conceit of Timothy Leary). The same dreams, hopes, fears, emotions, you name it - it's all the same, from mind to mind (some would say heart; others, soul). And, most importantly, no man or woman really is an island; there are connections everywhere, and you'd be surprised how quickly you can trace the path from person to person, woman to man.
A pity that the man in this case is Micah Wright: frankly, it was demeaning to have this insight in relation to the lying SOB*. On the bright side, I now know that newspaper machines (in [some] AZ [college campuses], at least) typically have combination locks. I have no idea what I could actually (and ethically) do with that information, but at least I know - and knowing is half the battle.
Hey, I wonder if that tagline was how Wright got the idea in the first place...
Moe
UPDATE: Reader jon demonstrates that I apparently didn't know quite as much as I thought that I did. Like that was a shock, or anything.
Actually, the newspaper machines are only on the campus. If you buy a subscription (at a reduced cost compared to daily coin usage for papers), you get the combination. It runs on the honor system.
Insert punchline here.
Posted by: jon | May 03, 2004 at 11:38 PM
Micah Wright got to learn the hard way that with the world being so connected, fact checking can be done VERY quickly. Nice to see that the karmic wheel has such a tight turning radius.
Posted by: Cameron | May 04, 2004 at 01:28 AM
"Nice to see that the karmic wheel has such a tight turning radius."
Off-topic, but I just saw a discussion on Charlie Rose of likely repercussions of the horrors at Abu Ghraib and I need to write a couple of sentences. Rose looked like he was about to lose his composure by the end of the program - it was horribly disheartening. The producer of the CBS report said many of the detainees were there for Driving While Iraqi. CBS held up the report because of the Fallujah standoff and the hostage situation - so what happens during the next crisis? A professor was on talking about the stigma of nudity in Arab cultures and about Al Qaeda propaganda re American sexuality; he said if there were women being held in the prison, we would face a terrible catastrophe. Sy Hersh, looking like he'd just bitten into something foul to spite himself, piped up to say there was a whole wing of women and children at Abu Ghraib. It turns out that the recent attack on the prison occured because of rumors that the women were being tortured and raped, and the attackers felt it would be better for the women to die. Some ex-CIA guy opined that this would be the major event of the war - that we wouldn't be able to achieve our goals because of this. And Hersh ended by saying this was the tip of iceberg, that the story was going to get a lot worse. It was awful to listen to.
Posted by: rilkefan | May 04, 2004 at 03:52 AM
"Micah Wright got to learn the hard way that with the world being so connected, fact checking can be done VERY quickly. Nice to see that the karmic wheel has such a tight turning radius."
Given that it took years after his book was published, this seems, well, dumb. It's obviously incorrect. "Very quickly," even when shouted as "VERY quickly" is not measured in years. I should enjoy taking royalty checks, slow and delayed as they are, after they are caught so "VERY quickly."
"VERY quickly" takes days, and prevents publication.
I realize I should wait some months to post this so as to qualify for "VERY quickly."
Posted by: Gary Farber | May 04, 2004 at 08:49 AM
Whoops, replying to a post not posted here. Apologies.
Posted by: Gary Farber | May 04, 2004 at 08:51 AM
You are replying to something not posted here and yet you are quoting me to respond to it? How fascinating.
As for Micah, his credibility was challenged the day that the article in the Washington Post was published, so I would define that as "Very Quickly." One of the people who challenged him was a Ranger who actually graduated in the class he claimed to be a part of. There were several FOIA requests filed on this man after he refused to back up any of his claims.
Posted by: Cameron | May 04, 2004 at 01:32 PM
Sounds like the biggest delay was getting the FOIA request. Over on Wright's forums, one of his (former?) friends talks about her attempts to get back her request, which she sent just to try to shut up the people coming onto the forum to challenge him about it. She sent in 2 or 3 of them, but there was always some administrative screwup. It's just too bad for Wright that the guy from the Post got his request back first. Hell, it's too bad for Wright that he got himself in this situation to begin with.
As for whether it's "very quick," I think the fallout since his annoucement would qualify. If might have taken a while for the truth to come out, but there's nothing slow about the consequences.
Posted by: Jim Treacher | May 04, 2004 at 04:04 PM
Hell, it's too bad for Wright that he got himself in this situation to begin with.
He could have avoided getting into that situation entirely by not building up a reputation and a following based on credentials that he had never earned in the first place. I have a feeling that he'll be dealing with the fallout for many years.
Posted by: Cameron | May 04, 2004 at 04:12 PM
My thoughts exactly.
Posted by: Jim Treacher | May 04, 2004 at 04:48 PM
(Note "got himself into this situation." No matter how he tries, he has nobody to blame but himself.)
Posted by: Jim Treacher | May 04, 2004 at 04:50 PM