Recording Surface

Hamas clarifies, via Angry Arab:

Hamas was yesterday giving assurances to capitalists around the world. It issued a statement in which it stressed its support for “private enterprise.” Hamas also said: “Palestine is part of the world economic system and part of the tools of world market.” I wish Karl Marx was alive; only to explain that last phrase for me.

Two recent blog posts on the agony of realizing your kids have to move in the world themselves and that you have to let them, from Kim Dot Dammit Live and Woman of Color.

The liberal and left responses to the latest outburst of Bush admin scandals (spying, reconstruction, hurricane-response/rebuilding) have been variously predictable, insightful, and confusing. They have also been wonderful kabuki theatre, performances replete with inflated gestures and florid emotions, a cavalcade of farce and slapstick, a rich pageant of melodrama. Sort of like the lede to this post.

Outraged-liberal reaction, unsurprisingly, has been indignant, but also notably theatrical. Liberals mostly lined up behind Al Gore’s MLK Day speech, which received a bevy of literal amens and songs of devotion. (more…)

We attended the MLK Day celebration in our little burg on Monday. The town we live in is one of the poorest in Texas; not coincidentally, it’s also darker than most of Texas. As in all good Southern towns, local politics has always been dominated by whites, black and Hispanic civic life has been limited to filling service-sector jobs and starting positions on the high school football team, and the physical racial lines are drawn by the major road that passes through it. (more…)

Antipopper makes this parent feel better about what his sometimes-too-permissive child-rearing.

I’m always impressed when children calmly decide when stuff might be “too much” for them.

Over the holidays, I made a little horror film with some young kids. We were just getting ready for the bit where the monster rises from the depths when Thomas, the youngest (who’s three), stopped everyone and announced that “this is too scary for me.” He then affably left the room so the rest of us could continue.

[…]

Children who are patronised don’t stand a chance.

At a party a few months ago, our hosts put on Shaun of the Dead. I was a little skittish about having the kids watch it because I wasn’t sure of how violent/scary it was, but I really wanted to see it, so we stayed. About fifteen minutes in, after the first head was pulled off, my almost-three-year-old, who was sitting on my lap, turned to me and said calmly but with a hint of panic, “Papa, I don’t want to watch this.” We of course left immediately, and everyone at the party was impressed with her lack of fear expressing what she wanted, as were my partner and I. We also felt pride in ourselves for not preemptively deciding what she could handle and for having allowed her the space to feel comfortable expressing her desires.

Patronizing parents don’t stand a chance either.