Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sandpoint, Idaho
So McCain's Snow Queen wants creationism taught in schools. This is no big deal, so does Richard Dawkins. When, some time ago, I pointed out to him that you can only understand Darwinism if, first, you understand previous explanations for the 'design' of nature, he agreed. How could he disagree? It is obvious. The Alaskan Fox also wants to kill polar bears by drilling for oil. This is a big deal since, on the whole, polar bears seem nicer than humans. But the elephant party will drill as will the donkey. This is, presumably, part of the Obama plan to make the US independent of Middle Eastern oil in ten years. It's a really, really dumb idea. But, on the other hand, nobody seems to have noticed the one really big, good thing about Sarah Palin. She was born in Sandpoint, Idaho. Only 7000 people live there but it has now produced the Republican Veep candidate and the great Marilynne Robinson. The primary function of all politicians (they do not know this and they must not be told) is to make the world safe for and compatible with artistic genius. And, of course, polar bears. You can learn a lot thinking about Sandpoint. I must find an excuse to go there.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Sarah Palin and her ilk want creationism taught, not as a previous explanation, but as an equally viable alternative explanation to that provided by evolution by natural selection. As Obama says, "I think it's a mistake to try to cloud the teachings of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry."
ReplyDeleteGordon McCabe wouldn't recognise irony if it were presented to him - in a bowl, with a sprig of holly on top ....
ReplyDelete...in the purple intensity with which he gives voice to banalities, Gordon has no rival!
ReplyDeleteWhy are y'all poundin' on Gordon? He's allowed to have his opinion, too.
ReplyDeleteI would like to go to Sandpoint, Idaho, too and see the lake that looks like Fingerbone's. M.R. says it's there, was a real inspiration.
Gadzooks! I've been accused of irony-blindness and banality! And by such wonderfully creative and intelligent people as well.
ReplyDeleteSandpoint? Doesn't Captain B write for their local newspaper?
ReplyDeleteFox news seems to believe that offshore drilling will produce cheap oil prices for the next 50 years. How is it that stupid people have so much power?
ReplyDeleteYou already have your excuse, Bryan. Hook: tiny town produces literary giant and giant-killing governor. (Palin destroyed the GOP-establishment candidate in the 2006 election and there is a delightful picture of her relaxing on a sofa next to the skin of a large bear she shot.)
ReplyDeleteAll the pundits are saying Palin is a dark-horse pick. Maybe if they had shut up for a while and did some actual reporting they might not have been so surprised. I wasn't. There's been buzz about Palin for months. More and more the punditocracy is seeming like Yeats's "Scholars" - "All think what other other people think,/All know the man their neighbor knows." So if they're not talking about, it must not be happening! By the way, the original dark-horse candidate, James K. Polk, won. He is one of my all-time favorite presidents. He said would serve only one term and accomplish four things and that is exactly what he did.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that you can learn a lot thinking about Sandpoint.
ReplyDeleteCreationism would be interesting, but the school district cannot afford it. Everyone knows that here. A college operated program with an arts department head in the area and a retired engineer with some free time would work. I would show up for that.
ReplyDeleteloquaia@yahoo.com