Obsidian Wings

John Kerry - actually not a theocrat.

Now normally I let my cobloggers have all to themselves the topics that they've stalked and brought down - I can do my own hunting, after all, and there's a biggggg blogosystem out there - but this one I'm interested in, not least because it's fascinating to see just how different Kerry's recent Scripture quoting looks from the other side. Edward's opinion can be found here... so now let's talk a little bit about the Epistle of St James.

Keeping up with the Kerry's

It's got to be tough to find new ways to criticize your opponent in a Presidential race that has 7 months plus to go yet, especially when virtually everyone on your staff is busy defending you against charges by a former aide, but Team Bush really needs to get more focussed.

Today, Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Democratic candidate John Kerry's use of a Bible verse yesterday in his critique of our "present national leadership" was "beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack." (For a great commentary on this visit Pandagon.)

But Kerry used that same line three weeks ago in Mississippi, with no response or outrage from the Bush White House then:

Quoting James 2:14, Kerry, a Catholic, said, "We'll be tested to see how much we really remember the words of the Scripture, What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?"

So was it OK by Team Bush for Kerry to use the line in Mississippi but not Missouri? Is morality really that regional? Or is it just that Mississippi isn't the battleground state Missouri is? Or were they simply too busy preparing their talking points on Clarke three weeks ago to care then? With all those millions to spend, you'd think they could be a bit more on top of things.

Looking at Art in All the Wrong Places

/snob alert/

A fellow gallerist who was born in Russia tells the joke about two New Russians who go to an art gallery and haggle with the dealer over a newly available van Gogh (estimates for any of which run in the tens of millions). Eventually they secure it (after an exchange that must be more funny in Russian) and walking out the door one remarks, "Well, that takes care of his card, now what do we get him for a birthday present?"

Again, it must be funnier in Russian, because my friends all laughed harder at the untranslated version than I did the translated one, but it highlights the widely held perception that the nouveau riche in Russia are splurging on art that they may not exactly appreciate as much as their previous owners did. This New York Times article elaborates:

At Vladimir Nekrassov's Arbat Prestige cosmetics emporium on Peace Prospect here, monumental paintings of Lenin, Stalin and the Battle of Stalingrad jostle with perfume, lipstick, anti-cellulite gels, tampons and Antonio Banderas Diavolo cologne. Nearly 400 canvases — of Nikita S. Khrushchev, Yuri Gagarin, churches, moody nudes, Soviet industry and collective farms — bedeck the emporium, a former fish store. The Tretyakov Gallery borrows paintings from Mr. Nekrassov for its exhibitions.

I know it's more tempting to rant about the appropriateness of collecting images of Lenin or Stalin but forget that for a moment (just this once, please). This raises some interesting class issues. As much as I want to object to hanging valuable art in a cosmetics store or this absurdity:

He opened two more galleries last year and holds theme exhibitions for target audiences, like paintings for the nursery, or "How Steel Is Tempered" for owners of metallurgical plants.

...this isn't the first time a new generation of suddenly rich people gobbled up art treasures and raised eyebrows. In the early 1900s a British dealer named Joseph Duveen caused a firestorm as he brought hundreds of masterpieces from Europe to the American industrialists. He is credited as having had a major influence in (if not total control over) the collections of Henry Clay Frick, William Randolph Hearst, Henry E. Huntington, Samuel H. Kress, Andrew Mellon, John D. Rockefeller, and Joseph E. Widener.

I've always celebrated Duveen's accomplishment (although his methods of securing the works were a bit scandalous). I love going to see the Frick collection and the National Gallery of Art (which Duveen convinced Mellon to open in DC) is astonishing. I do, however, think the Europeans at the time must have considered the placement of their treasures in the homes of the former colonialists as distastful as I do the sale of a Reubens to a Russian nightclub owner. So long as he leaves it to a good museum...

/snob alert end/

This Margolis thing.

Look, on the one hand I'm appalled by it on general principles, on the other hand I can't believe that any of my Lefty readers here would have a reaction substantially different than Philosoraptor's and on the gripping hand I am not entirely certain why Philosoraptor feels the need to apologize quite so comprehensively: he wasn't part of the crowd who threw punches at a bunch of protestors, after all. Mark Kleiman has some further comments, including a couple ones about the Instapundit's coverage.

For myself, I'm going to join Philosoraptor in calling for a zero-tolerance policy for this sort of thing, on either side. This sort of garbage is largely absent from American politics these days, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Birthdays.

I was just told that I should mention that today is my 34th birthday. It feels a bit hubristic, not to say self-congratulatory, so instead I'll make this the Funny Birthday Story Thread; if you've got one which isn't umpteen pages long, let's hear it.

Why does this fool still have a job?

The fool in question is Terry McAuliffe, who has apparently acquired a doormat with George Bush on it, the better to have people walk over it. I'm guessing that it didn't take the Commissar long to remember a parallel to remember somebody else who wanted his visitors to ritually defile the image of an American President...

Unfair? Sure. Terry McAuliffe isn't a genocidal evil dictator, and wouldn't be even if he had the opportunity. However, he also apparently has the political instincts of a dead limpet. A doormat that would be funny on the doorstep of a rank-and-file Democrat means something else entirely when it's parked outside the Democratic Party's Chairman's office: it may not be "I voted for it before I voted against it", but it's still off-key, more than a little petty and reinforces the existing popular stereotype that the Democrats have a tine ear when it comes to natsec issues. Why is McAullife giving us free hits?

And why are all y'all letting him? Is he that good a fundraiser?

Early night.

I've got a long day ahead tomorrow, after all, here in lovely, exciting Trenton, NJ (a much less interesting vacation spot than the Outer Banks, let me tell you). I probably should stop hogging my buddy's computer anyway, so let this be a weekend Open Thread about... I don't know. Intelligent Design? I'm a theistic evolutionist; does that count?

Jonah's Sort of Counting His Blessings.

Interesting Goldberg File about that Palestinian teenager who almost became a successful suicide bomber:

Sing it, Brother.

Better late than never: Phil Dennison's discussion of Dizzy City's Metro system is spot-on. I've had to deal with it for over two years now, and let me tell you: I miss the NYC subway system. Better hours of service, more cars, not notably more likely to break down, more likely to find a train that stopped near where I wanted to go, certainly cheaper; I never had a personal safety problem while using the NYC subway, so that common point is moot in my book. True, the DC Metro is much less likely to vaguely reek of urine, which balances the scales for some people. That's their call, but I can live with a background smell of pee in exchange for a proper subway system.

Just saying, that's all.

Moe

Hoax Warning

Normally, I don't even bother to read this sort of chain-email, even from friends, but some times it's better to be safe than sorry.

A good friend from London passed this along:

If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey and asks you to show him your arse, do not show him your arse.

This is a scam; he only wants to see your arse.

She followed with this postscript.

I wish I'd got this yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap.