When education is left to politicians

The Government of Japan decided that it will teach children "Patriotism." According to CNN, the new:

Education measure, the first change to Japan's main education law since 1947, calls on schools to "to cultivate an attitude that respects tradition and culture, that loves the nation and home country."

The new education law will allow children to acquire a good understanding of their heritage and become intelligent and dignified Japanese," ruling party lawmaker Hiroo Nakashima said during the upper house debate.

Critics, however, attacked the move as harkening back to Japan's war-era education system, in which children were instructed to support the country's imperialist military and sacrifice themselves for the emperor and nation.


Opponents on Friday voiced fears that the changes could lead to schools grading students on their patriotic fervor -- possibly as a prelude to making Japan an aggressive nation once again.


"The government is putting the future of Japanese children at risk and turning Japan into a country that wages war abroad," said Ikuko Ishii, a Communist Party lawmaker.


The call for more patriotism in the schools coincides with a push by some local governments to crack down on teachers and students who refuse to stand for the national flag or sing an anthem to the emperor at school ceremonies.

Let's teach patriotism at the expense of freedom of speech and freedom of association, since neither of those qualify as patriotism. In fact, maybe they should bring back the loyalty oath. Another good idea.

Feeling It In Our Wrists And Ankles: The Love Actually Countdown Continues, (Sadly) Sans Cowbell; More on the Rhetoric of Soundtracks

Harrogate is delighted to bring you Lynden David Hall's rendition of one of The Beatles most wonderful songs, "All You Need is Love," as we get just a bit closer to The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded. Despite the absence of cowbell, Hall with this cover joins a long and proud line of artists who have masterfully covered a Beatles classic.

One of Harrogate's fondest cinematic memories, in fact, comes from Michael, starring John Travolta: The Scene where Travolta, Andie McDowell, and William Hurt are driving down the road singing "All You Need is Love." A truly great moment in what was, Harrogate must say, a pretty bad film overall.

Other great Beatles covers? Harrogate thinks Ben Harper's rapturous "Strawberry Fields" may be the best of the bunch. He also saw the Grateful Dead in Chapel Hill close out their set with "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," and that was pretty awesome.

Phish covers the entire White Album , and if ye haven't heard it, ye need to.

Fiona Apple's version of "Across the Universe" is one of the most sublime things you'll ever hear period. Ditto Elliot Smith's haunting "Because". Interestingly, both of these two songs, as well as the supreme Harper cover, come from Soundtracks to very good movies. Harper~I Am Sam; Apple~Pleasantville; and Smith~American Beauty.

Perhaps there is something to getting a good Beatles cover in there if you want a rockin' soundtrack!

Anyway, Readers, Harrogate leaves ye wondering, what is your favorite Beatles song? (Harrogate's is "Hey Jude")

And what is your favorite Beatles cover?

Until next time, enjoy the Hall ditty, and the accompanying Montage of scenes from Love Actually:
love actually - music video


And remember, The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded is less than a week and a half away!

A Countdown Projection

I have it on good authority that Harrogate's next countdown video to the Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded will have more cowbell.

Once again, you heard it here first.

All I want for Christmas Is....

The Left Behind video game where I can learn the true meaning of Christmas and Christianity. The goal of the game is to save the world from the anti-Christ by killing, er I mean converting-- I hate it when I make that mistake--, non-believers. According to the games description, you get to, "Wage a war of apocalyptic proportions in Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a real time strategy game based upon the best selling book series created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Conduct physical and spiritual warefare, recover ancient scriptures and command your forces through intense battles."

For more info go here and here.

This game reminds me of religious groups that stand against violence in media, except on The Passion.

My favorite quotes from the second article:

"The Rev. Tim Simpson, a Jacksonville, Fla., Presbyterian minister and president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, added: 'So, under the Christmas tree this year for little Johnny is this allegedly Christian video game teaching Johnny to hate and kill?'"

"Players can choose to join the Antichrist's team, but of course they can never win on Carpathia's side. The enemy team includes fictional rock stars and folks with Muslim-sounding names, while the righteous include gospel singers, missionaries, healers and medics. Every character comes with a life story."

"When asked about the Arab and Muslim-sounding names, Frichner said the game does not endorse prejudice. But "Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ" -- and thus can't be on Christ's side in the game."

Maybe we can get a group together, play the game, and sing Christmas Carols: "Joy to the World, the end is Nigh. Let evangelicals and fundamentalists sing!!"

Maybe I will go and play DOOM now.

Books for Congress--

Based on some comments at the end of my last post, what five books would you want your representative to read?

A Surprise on the top ten conservative book list

I am perplexed. One of these things is not like the other. The Top Ten LIst of Conservative books from 2006 (from Human Events, which one of my conservative professors described as being to the right of Ghengis Khan)> Here is the list (my comments follow):

10. Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Dr. Meg Meeker - The list starts out well-- Dads, be there for you daughters. Though I guess the target audience knows this and won't read it.

9. 365 Manners Kids Should Know by Sheryl Eberly: Train you kids early; supplies are running out.

8. The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer (The authoritative text on Islam by someone who doesn't believe in Islam. I wonder if there were a book, say The Truth about Jesus, as written by a Jew or Buddhist or Atheist or (fill in believer whatever faith here) would sell well. Also, while it is hard to believe, but from the description, it seems the author claims everyone who is Islamic is violent.)

7. Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies by Gregg Jackson: 241 facts or arguments or values or something to reply to liberals who lie to you. Why would you want to discuss anything with someone who lies do you? Shouldn't you possess enough sense to avoid a covnersation or argument with someone who lies? And, of course, all liberals must lie by definition-- except libertarians, who are kinda like liberals except they place a higher value on the economy, which is good, as long as you neglect the libertarian view n religion, aboriton, privacy rights, and all other social problems.

Here is the description of the book from Human Events. It must be great for parties: "It happens to all of us: we’re debating some liberal friend or colleague when he makes an unsupported claim we’re just positive is false – but we don’t have the hard facts to prove it. Or we’re confronted with slick arguments for, say, legalizing “gay marriage,” but aren’t quite ready with the strongest counter-arguments. Now there’s help. In "Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies," Boston talk-radio host Gregg Jackson provides tightly argued, fully documented responses to no fewer than 241 of the most common claims made by the Left on all the most important political, social, and cultural issues of our day.

There is nothing like a book that possess the entire truth in 241 common arguments. Plato would definately favor this book- all you need to do is memorize facts and you can win arguments.

6. America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It by Mark Steyn (It is the US versus THEM book because the rest of the world is either drinking wine, eating cheese, or just too apathetic. Sure to make you the life of the party.)

5. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) by Robert Spencer (Notice the dualism: you are either PC. a propagandist, and support the "mortal enemy" or you are a patriotic and Christian. No black and white in there.)

4. The Heritage Guide to the Constitution by Edwin Meese, ed.(A Conservative clause by clause reading of the Constitution. Who needs the Founding Fathers? The Heritage Foundation and Edwin Meese, former Attonery General for Reagan, will tell you what they thought so you don't have to look it up. FYI- did you know the second amendment is brought to you by the NRA?)

3. The Trivium by Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh..... huh? This isn't a polemic

2. Godless: The Church of Liberalism by Ann Coulter (If you purchase number three you'll be able to identify the fallacies in Godless).

1. The Life and Religion of Mohammed by J.L. Menezes (written by someone that converts individuals to Christianity. I think this will be an apt description of Islam, don't you?)

The book that is out of place is of course, The Trivium, which is a good book that is sitting on my desk. You could use it for a high school, maybe freshman rhetoric book. Here is the description:

"The Trivium" is a rigorous and utterly delightful presentation of the three areas that form the basis for all learning: logic, grammar, and rhetoric. Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh, a professor of English at St. Mary's College for thirty years, helps you see the unity and harmony of these three areas as she gives you solid and easily-grasped explanations of even their most abstruse elements: not just general grammar, but also propositions, syllogisms, enthymemes, fallacies, poetics, figurative language, and metrical discourse! Attractively laid out to maximize clarity, this book is also packed with lively examples, exercises, and illustrations drawn from the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Plato, and others. The examples are so rich that they're a literary education in themselves.

The Trivium is interesting choice since, first, it was not published in 2006 and, two, while the other books on the list imply that dialogue with your "enemy"-- and all of the books imply an enemy-- is either bad or impossible, this book needs a neutral to positive relationship between speaker and audience.

In fairness the site, there is a top ten list that is a good idea: Top Ten Books Every Republican Congressman Should Read. There is a good deal of intellectual honesty in these books (well, except numbers 9, 8, and most of the honorable mentions).

Any thoughts? What is missing?

Rocky VI Countdown and Prediction

Given the popularity of Harrogate's countdown to the greatest pop song ever recorded, I have decided to offer a countdown of my own. Today I am announcing a Countdown to the most anticipated film of the year (and, for some, the decade):

Rocky Balboa
Yes, I understand that the sixth installment of the Rocky series will be viewed by many as a joke, as Rocky never seems to go away. Many thought that three Rocky's were too many. I mean, who can forget that scene in Airplane II: The Sequal, depicted left, where Sonny Bono purchases a bomb from an airport gift shop, a poster promoting Rocky XXXVIII over his right shoulder. While I find this scene hilarious, I do not find another Rocky movie a joking matter. I'm glad Stallone has written another sequal, and I'm willing to make a bold prediction about this movie here today, one that will likely earn me another Peabody nomination: Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky VI) will be the best Rocky movie since the original.

Scheduled for release on December 22th, the new sequal arrives exactly thirty years after the original film debuted in 1976. But will the Rocky sixology come full circle in this final installment? I think it will. That is to say, just like the original Rocky, I anticipate that our hero Rocky, "Philadelphia's favorite son," will lose his final bout in a 2-1 split decision. That's right, devoted readers, you get two predictions for the price of one with this blog post.

Now on to the countdown. Here, from the original Rocky is one of the greatest training montages ever put on film:

MLA and Tenure

Inside Higher Ed published an article on the prospects of MLA and a change ot the tenure process. Being "outside" of English, it amazes me how the discipline of English is vastly different than Speech Comm, especially in regards to the number of graduate students and the potential to get jobs after graduate school.

I am curious as to how others on this site think about the potential for change. How do you see your discipline, especially in light of finding a job when you are through with school?

A Rare Anecdotal Revelation from That Renowned Abstract Thinker, Harrogate

Harrogate is in the midst of trying to finish a piece of writing and it's hard.

He is therefore having to lay down certain laws for himself. One of which is that there will be no future entires from Harrogate on The Rhetorical Situation until he has completed this task.

The one exception to this will of course be the Love Actually countdown to The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded, which is very near completion and which he will continue on Monday December 11th. The countdown is excepted because it is Seasonally Based and therefore must be brought to completion despite attenuating circumstances.

For Harrogate's sanity, he hopes to be back on here in full capacity sooner rather than later, because this will mean he has finished his current task.

Until then, faithful readers, Adieu.

Philosophy

For some reason, I am in a poetic mood. Here is one of my favorites. I enjoy it because it is haunting and tragic.

"Philosophy" by Dorothy Parker

"If I should labor through daylight and dark,
Consecrate, valorous, serious, true,
Then on the world I may blazon my mark;
And what if I don't, and what if I do?"

I apologize....

I apologize to my brethren... I did not remember. The end of the semester push to finish grading papers left my head unaware....


For my repentance, I shall quote a peom of William Blake, titled, "On F----- & S-----"

"I found them blind I thaught them how to see
And Now they know neither themselves nor me
Tis Excellent to turn a thorn to a pin
A fool to a bolt a knave to a glass of gin."

End of the Semester...

As I sit here and try to finish out the end of yet another semester, I am left wondering: If I were not in academia, where would I be and what would I do?

As of right now, I have two answers:

(1) Book store owner. There is a little book store on the port side of Galveston that seems to be, for me at least, that book store that has almost all of the books that I care for.

(2) Photographer/ Photojournalist:

What would you want your non-academic career to be?

The End of YouTube as we know it (I Feel FIne)

For me at least, for now...

I reached the conclusion that using youtube as a proxy for a real arguemnt or discussion seems disingenuous.

However, I leave you with the Facts of Life. Think of it as the Pete's Couch of an earlier generation or, "I don't know that group. Are they punk rock?" which seems grammatically incorrect. Maybe too much of the...



I love the ignorance and the righteous indignation.

The Roof, the Roof, the Roof is Almighty!

Boy, I tell you: Roof Almighty hit that one out of the park. In fact, I will go on record saying that his first blog post may be the very best ever written and posted here on the Rhetorical Situation.

I kept waiting for it come, and I knew it would be good. But I was not fully prepared--nor, in retrospect, could I have been prepared--for the Almighty's post to blow me away as it did. All I can say is

"Bravo, Almighty. B-r-a-v-o!"

Gay Rethugs, Metaphysical Masochism, and the Supreme Beauty of Tax Cuts

Extra extra read all about it. Mary Cheney is pregnant. Depicted above with Heather Poe, her partner of 15 years, at the Rethuglican National Convention in 2004. Hmmmm. Must be strange to work for a Party that consistently exploits anti-gay bigotry while at the same time planning to welcome a new grandchild into the world, eh Dick? Maybe ye should buy the child a teddy bear that says "Adam and Eve Not Mary and Heather"?

Remember, Dick, you are what you pander to and shill for, no matter how much you love your own family.
And then Mary and Heather: Harrogate's bemused condolences follow ye everywhere. It must suck to be crazy enough to show up at Conventions where near-everyone in the room wishes to criminalize your life. But then, smooth family time is more important than silly principles like self-preservation and civil rights.

And then, Tax Cuts are more important than anything.

YCT Nativity Scene, or, how to create the biggest Straw Argument

Another example of how the Young Conservatives of Texas live up to their name, especially the "Young" part. At the University of Texas, the group created a "Nativity Scene" with Gary and Joseph, no Baby (because of the ACLU's stance on abortion), Nancy Pelosi as an angel, a suicide bomber, and the "three wise men" (Stalin, Marx, and another communist). You can watch a video here from CNN.

While it is remotely humorous, it reminds me of other YCT "arguments:" Holding a cookie sale to show the disparity in racce-based admissions and marrying a person to a bike to protest same-sex marriages. The tactics in these two examples and in the Nativity are the same: (1) Lets create the biggest straw argument possible that does not reflect the opposition's position (the ACLU Demands that all humans read Marx and the ACLU mnust have supported Stalin-- it is in their creed); (2) Let's not have a reasoned debate about these topics (that is the problem with displays, you cannot argue with them); (3) Let's exclude all ideas that may counter our position (e.g. they don't have cookies for legacy admissions or for athletes); (4) Let's demean all people as possible even though they seem to be "religious" (nothing shows compassion more than an analogy between a bike and human).

It must be fun to be a YCT member: You can be compassionate and support a President that allows for toture. That is the Conservative Way. Oh wait, is that a straw argument? Well then, here are other suggestions:

The Young Conservatives of Texas: Because reality and empiricism do not need to be a part of our arguments.

The Young Conservatives of Texas: For over twenty years, we make facists look like sissies.

The Young Conservatives of Texas: We Demand Equal Time for Our Views.... (But we do not want to hear your views).

The Best part about this is if you play by their rules, you can say anything you like. Other suggestions?

Belated Monday Night Raw Review from 12/4/06: On the Rhetoric of Security Guards

Monday's Raw was all about pure storyline, building rivalries. There really were no actual matches that remotely settled, or--on the immediate surface anyway--even accomplished, anything. That being said, Harrogate gives this past Raw an 'A' precisely because storyline is exactly what has been so sparse on that show. In other words,'twas not the current happenings that mattered, but rather what those same happenings did to shape future happenings.

The two builds featured were the rivalry beteen DX and Edge/Orton, and then of course the mounting tension between John Cena and Umaga. In neither case did the fans get instant gratification: the Tag Team rivalry was diluted by the 8 Man Challenge in which they participated, giving the hatred between the teams yet another week to percolate before we get the real deal. This is a good thing. Medicine Hat, Canada wasn't built in a day, after all. Neither can believable, engrossing narrative be thrown together slap-dash. Patience, as Guns N Roses once famously opined, is what we all need a little more of.

Next Monday there is supposedly going to be a match between Edge and Triple H: look for this to get interrupted rather early, so that everything remains in the air and the hatred between these people mounts.

The patience principle is even better reflected, however, by the excellent way WWE's writers have been handling the Umaga/Cena feud. Once again, they had a confrontation where nothing was on the line and nothing settled; matter of fact, now they've got a stipulation whereby Cena and Umaga cannot touch one another for the rest of the year. All of this was set up with a Rhetorical Move that Harrogate has come to refer to as the Security Guard Buffer. Watch this video to see how the Security Guards lend a sense of narrative seriousness to the feud. Watching the two wrestlers try to get to one another through the multitudes of Security makes us believe Their Coming Match For the Heavyweight Championship Is Terribly Important, So Important In Fact That We Can't Have Them Tangling At The Present Time.

Harrogate loves the Security Guard angle. Probably the most effective use of this schtick ever was by WCW in 1998 during The Great And Unimpeachable Bill Goldberg's epiphanic Championship Run. After winning the title, Goldberg (depicted below) would heroically Walk That Aisle, surrounded by Security Guards. The message being: I'm Too Important To Be Captured. You'll Get Your Chance In The Ring (Where I'm Going To Beat The Everloving Hell Out Of You), But Not Before.

Ah, Goldberg!!!!!!! To paraphrase Richard III, what can Harrogate say about ye that he has not already inferred tenfold????? Harrogate's memories of ye occupy the tippity top of his late 90's Cinematic Nostalgia. Many is the time that he reflects upon your defeat of the Terrible Hollywood Hulk Hogan: Not on Pay-Per-View but, true to your populist credo, on TNT before a breathless nation. Thanks, Goldberg. Thanks for the memories.

Feeling It In Our Palms and Soles: Love Actually Countdown Goes Homestretch; Also, Harrogate Vociferously Complains About 'Lying' Soundtracks

The Love Actually Countdown To The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded continues here, with Bay City Rollers' sublime homage, "Bye Bye Baby".

But oh, the Love Actually soundtrack does not "actually" contain "Bye Bye Baby," even though every fan of the movie can immediately tell you the exact moment this song appears in the movie. The funeral scene is simultaneously one of the Saddest and most Joyful that this blogger can recall from his movie watching experience: more, it is really a Rhetorical Centerpiece of the movie, really setting up the wonderful relationship between the Stepfather and the love-sick Boy.

Why in God's name would the soundtrack people leave such a thing off of their final product? It pisses Harrogate off, it really does.

Harrogate has always thought it crass for Soundtracks to be incomplete. Despite its indisputable greatness, for example, the Forrest Gump soundtrack omits several songs, including "Freebird." This is annoying because the classic heartpounding "Freebird" guitar solo totally makes that scene where Jenny is standing in heels on the ledge of a high rise, all drugged up, thinking about jumping. So why leave the song out? Did they, while drinking tea in an English Bistro, stick their pinkies out from the cup and say "oh, there are just so many great songs, nobody will miss it"? or, "We could afford the rights to every song except this one"? What exactly contributes to an important song getting left off of a soundtrack?

About three months ago Harrogate and Mrs. Harrogate enjoyed a VHI "Movies That Rock" presentation of The Wedding Singer (and that movie really does rock, by the by). As soon as the movie was over, Harrogate excitedly delved into his and Mrs. Harrogate's expansive music collection, as he was just absolutely positive that he would find The Wedding Singer among their gems. And lo, there it was! There was only one thing left to do: Find "Love Stinks" featuring the incomparable Adam Sandler, and then crank that shit on the upside.

But wait! "Love Stinks" is not on the Wedding Singer soundtrack. Following which stunning apprehension, the only option for poor Harrogate was to have a stiff glass of Scotch on the rocks and listen to some of the other great songs on that CD. Sigh. You can't win em all.

These are a few of Harrogate's Soundtrack Disappointment stories. There are others. What are some of yours?

Bay City Rollers Bye Bye Baby

Sports and Aesthetics

My wife mocks me for this on an almost weekly basis, but here goes. From “The Internets”:

At times, I judge a sports team by their uniforms. I cannot be a fan of a team that wears horrifically ugly uniforms. I cannot concentrate on the team or game when the uniforms make my eyes bleed.

Here are some of the worst offenders. From the NFL:

The New Orleans Saints- you may be “America’s Team” but your choice of black on black means you should lose every game in which you wear that choice. The same applies to Baltimore and Jacksonville.

Miami, Seattle, Baltimore, and countless others: white on white? Is that a deliberate choice? Miami, even the orange jersey is a better choice than white on white. But that is not saying much. The same applies to the University of Texas: White on White with White helmets. I think the color sends a message, but I cannot figure out what it is.

The Denver Broncos: you blue with just an orange gives me nightmares. Go back to the Orange Crush. Orange Jerseys; white pants; blue helmets.

N.Y. Giants- the red is radioactive, or at least on my TV.

San Francisco- When you wear the gold pants and play, like you did yesterday, it looks as if you all urinate in them. Nothing seems more professional than a team that pisses their pants. Individually and collectively. No wonder why you don't win.

Cincy- I hate almost all of your uniforms. Your oragne Halloweend duds and your black on black. You're cursed because of your unform choices. At least in the late 1980s and early 1990s you were respectable.

From the NHL:
The Nashville Predators- mustard as a third jersey? And people wonder why hockey should not be played in the South, and by South I mean 150 miles south of the Canadian boarder.

San Jose: Teal is never a good choice but your third Black on Black, well, see above.

Carolina and Pheonix- Red, and red alone, does not work. But, see the 150 rule. Even the purple Kings were better or the yellow and purple for that matter.

Baseball and the NBA-
I don't watch you. I am sure you all have bad uniforms, but I wouldn't know.

For a top ten list of the all-time worst, see Fox Sports.. I disagree with the Canucks choice; however, I cannot disagree with the rest.

Other suggestions?

Stop the Press

Why does a man who dresses like a Bat get all of my press?

From the depths and shadows of nowhere Texas, I would like to announce the entrance of "The Roof Almighty" to The Rhetorical Situation.

Another voice to generate utter nonsense is always welcome here.