Game On

~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~

The game is on. The Leftist Lie and Hate, Chicago/Alinsky style political campaign swung into the official campaign for Obama’s re-election last Saturday. For those not into the who’s who of American politics, Alinsky (RIP) is the source of political organization for the Left. The holy text for Leftists, and most especially Obama, is his book Rules for Radicals (dedicated to Satan). I was a big fan of Alinsky in my Marxist days. At the core of the rules, is to separate, target, and personally attack the opponent, along with anyone associated with him\her.

The Democrat Party, since the election of Barack Obama, for example, has been incessantly attacking the Koch brothers. They are, quite simply, wealthy Conservative contributors to the Republican Party and associated Conservative candidates and causes. The attacks are scurrilous, vile, and carry not one bit of truth. Their major crime of course, is they are rich. Which is itself rich, since a couple nights ago Obama had a $40,000 a plate fund raising dinner, attended by his Leftist Hollywood groupthink multimillionaire friends and sycophants. So far that dinner has raised $15 million. They hate the rich while hiring legions of accountants and lawyers to shelter their investments and income. Obama hates the rich while taking their money along with Wall Street fat cat’s cash, and Leftist billionaires like Gates and Soros.

An example of the lengths to which the Democrat campaign machine will go utilizing the Alinsky model of personal attack, is the story released about three days ago of Romney in high school, 1965, being a bully. In a breathless exposé, the Leftist Washington Post said Romney bullied some kid, cutting his hair, and something about making anti-homosexual comments. The main source of the story it later turns out, wasn’t even at the alleged event. The man is dead, recently passed, so can’t be interviewed, and his surviving family has no recollection of the event. They’ve asked the re-elect Obama press to stop, there’s no truth to the story, and they don’t want this used as a political weapon. Three days later the story is still front and center.

Meanwhile, Our Dear Leader gets a pass. Here’s what he was doing in high school from his book Dreams of My Father:

"I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years.  Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.  Not smack, though.  ..."  … "Junkie.  Pothead.  That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man."

Obama wrote:

"Except the highs hadn't been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was.  Not by then, anyway.  I got high for just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory.  I had discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you'd met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl.  ...  You might just be bored, or alone.  Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection." 

Also from the book, Obama relates an incident pushing and shouting at a girl. What a bully! And to a girl! Couldn't even pick on someone his own size! All this gets a pass, that he relates himself, yet an unsubstantiated story from nearly 50 years ago about teenager Romney is still top of the fold after three days in the Jurassic Press.

The Obama administration has zero successes. His “morning in America” commercial talks up his successes such as green energy investment, but $billions have been lost and $millions sent overseas. His commercial says otherwise, but the names of the companies that took taxpayer money and went overseas are public record, as are the names of green companies that have failed. The commercial talks about millions of jobs created and there is zero evidence of this. He touts last month’s drop in unemployment to 8.1%. That’s accounted for by an increase of 522,000 people dropping out of the labor force so far this year. Unemployment benefits were increased to 99 weeks, and the number of jobless citizens keeps increasing. Even illegal’s from Mexico are leaving the job market is so bad. When a person runs out of benefits, they’re not longer counted among the unemployed. There are 88,419,000 unemployed people now. This is the lowest job participation rate since 1981 after Leftist President Carter, doing the same thing Obama is now, tanked the economy.

This whole thing is all about distractions, because this president and his political party have caused the cost of gas and other energy to increase, unemployment to increase, debt to increase, wages to stagnate, investments to stay in a holding pattern. So far the distractions have included gay marriage, Osama bin Laden, student loan interest rates, the Buffett Rule, Trayvon Martin, contraception, right to healthcare, and Romney’s high school pranks. 

I was glad to see Romney respond to a pro-Obama alleged reporter’s questions about all the social issues listed above with, “Aren’t there issues of significance that you’d like to talk about?” Good for him! He must stay on economic and employment issues.

One last thing. About Obama’s “brave” and “historic” coming out in favor of gay marriage. He said in 1996 he was in favor of gay marriage. When he began running for office, especially president, he affirmed the Defense of Marriage Act and the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Now he has “evolved”. When a Republican changes his/her position it’s a flip flop and hypocrisy. When His Divine Majesty does it, he “evolves”. There’s cynical political opportunism here too. His announcement was made just before the big Clooney fundraiser, obviously to suck more money out of the groupthink anti-heterosexual marriage/family Leftists (taking advantage here of a Leftist labeling tactic). It’ll be interesting too how this slap in the face to Christians pans out, and how his Islamofacist fellow travelers in Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood respond. (To show how much Obama is in bed with them, he’s appointed a member of the Muslim Brotherhood to Homeland Security; kinda like FDR appointing a Nazi to the Dept of War.)

This is just the start of the battle between the totalitarian objectives of Obama, Democrat Party and other Leftists, and Conservatives and a few leaders in the Republican Party wanting to reassert the US being a free constitutional republic. Romney hasn’t been nominated yet, but PAC’s and SuperPacs are doing okay with the counter attacks to the distractions, personal attacks and lies of the Left.

This may go down as the meanest nastiest presidential election in US history. 

   

A Journey of Malavasie

A map of the island fortress of Monemvasia in the 17th century

Malvasia, have you ever heard this before? If so, not many words are needed, if not take the time to check Wikipedia, where the history of this family of wines is told. But if you are in Venice these days—for the America’s Cup World Series or any other reason—take the time to pay a visit to “A Journey of Malavasie, the Wine of Kings, From Karst to Sicily” (Il Viaggio delle Malvasie, Vino dei Re, dal Carso alla Sicilia). Stories, exhibitions, 100 wines from 30 producers, and traditional Venetian food await you next Monday. I’ll do my best to join the… party!

May 14, 2012, from 11:00AM to 7:00PM, Venice, Giardini (the city’s park which usually hosts the Venice Biennale Art Festival).

The event is organized by the Associazione dei Ristoranti della Buona Accoglienza.
Via Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog.

Beppe Grillo? Lost in Translation...

Beppe Grillo

Beppe Grillo emerged as the big winner from yesterday’s local elections in Italy. The list of articles below should help you get an idea about what is going on. If anyone is interested in my opinion, I’d say that’s okay, I’m not worried about that. On the contrary, I think this might turn out to be a good thing. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about here. There’s something a bit more curious—and less binding…

I’ve always thought that Italian politics is often “lost in translation,” I mean, it’s difficult enough, for us Italian speaking people, to understand it, I can imagine how abstruse it may be to non-Italian speaking readers and commentators, who don’t have access, so to speak, to “first-hand referrals.” There’s an old Italian saying that goes “Traduttore, traditore” (the translator is a traitor), but this is perhaps not the biggest problem, except in the case of today’s Il Sole 24 ORE article titled “A Clear Message to the Political Forces” (see below), in which the translator/traitor felt like adding sua sponte an “explanation” to the term “Grillini,” which the author of the original Italian version, Stefano Folli, had used in his article. The translator added (into brackets) that Grillini means “the followers of gay rights activist Franco Grillini.” Unfortunately though, Grillini is the nickname to the members of Movimento5 Stelle, leaded by Beppe Grillo, who has nothing to do with journalist and cofounder of the gay rights movement Arcigay Franco Grillini ... Poor Stefano Folli (a very good man), and poor Sole 24 ORE!


[Italian Politics Updates - 4]

1. PDL and League Routed as Grillo Movement Advances in Administrative Elections | Corriere della Sera
2. A Vacuum in the Moderate Voting Bloc | Il Sole 24 ORE
3. A Clear Message to the Political Forces | Il Sole 24 ORE
4. Italy's political outsiders have their day in the absence of Berlusconi | The Guardian
5. Left-wing, grassroots candidates lead local Italian vote | Ansa
   
6. Italy local election sees gains for left and grassroots | BBC
7. Napolitano calls on parties to reflect after local elections | Ansa
   

For Many or for All?

Cod. Bruchsal 1, Bl. 28r - Manuscript in the Badische
Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany

“For many” or “for all”? Well, the right answer is the first, says Benedict XVI, who wants the whole Catholic Church to respect the words of Jesus at the last supper. Obviously, we are talking about the words of the consecration of the chalice in the Mass—words which were taken verbatim from the Gospels and had been in use for centuries, though in recent years have been replaced almost everywhere with a different translation. As a matter of fact, while the traditional Latin text says, “Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei […] qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur,” the new postconciliar formulas have read into “pro multis” an imaginary “pro omnibus.” And instead of “for many,” they have translated “for all.”

In some parts of the world, such as in the United States, in Spain and in the Latin American countries, even though with disagreement and disobedience, they are returning to the use of “for many,” but in many other countries, such as, for instance, Italy and Austria, this is not the case. And that’s why the Pope has written a letter to the German bishops. Read here, at Sandro Magister’s website, the complete English translation of the letter along with a few guidelines in order to understand the context thoroughly.

The Love Affair between Italy and Shakespeare

Speaking of Italy, “Anyone who claims Shakespeare’s poetry is lost in translation might have to think again.” At least, this is what the Guardian says in this article by Sonia Massai, Reader in Shakespeare & Early Modern Studies at King’s College, London—but frankly I think there’s no doubt about that. At the same time, there should be few doubts about the (reciprocal) love affair between Italy and Shakespeare:

Crucial to establishing Shakespeare's reputation in Italy has been the long relationship between Italy and England – and between Italy and London in particular. Eminent Italians reached London as political and religious émigrés during Shakespeare's lifetime, and although Italy was not yet in love with Shakespeare, Shakespeare may have fallen in love with Italy – quite literally, if, as the writer and critic Jonathan Bate has argued, the "dark lady" addressed in some of the sonnets was modelled on the wife of linguist John Florio, who taught Elizabeth's court how to speak Italian.

Definitely a must read for anyone who loves Shakespeare as well as those who love Italy, or both things at the same time, whether you are Italian or English, or from anywhere else.

And the love affair between Italy and Shakespeare continues. Worth mentioning are two current offerings of Shakespeare "made in Italy". The Taviani brothers' Caesar Must Die, about to open in the UK, was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival this year, while Rome's Villa Borghese hosts plays performed in Italian at an imposing replica of Shakespeare's Globe.
What better tribute to Sam Wanamaker's modern reconstruction, and the young Italian company performing Julius Caesar as part of the Globe to Globe season, than a few lines from Agostino Lombardo's splendid translation for Giorgio Strehler's famous 80s production of The Tempest?

The Global War on Christians

I know, time is precious, but please take an hour and a half to watch the video (see below) of a talk given by John L. Allen, Jr., at the recent Los Angeles Religious Education Congress 2012 on the global war on Christians. A senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and a vaticanologist of CNN and NPR, John L. Allen, Jr. carefully explains—on the basis of facts and evidence, not opinions—that what is at stake today for Christians worldwide is nothing less than their own survival. Yes, Christians are the most persecuted group in the contemporary world. (Via The Metaphysical Peregrine)

How Hard It Can Be to Make the Change from Democrat to Republican

“ I know from personal experience how hard it can be to make the change from Democrat to Republican. I also know that there comes a time when you look in your heart and realize that it may be hard to change, but it’s just something that you’ve got to do. Party loyalty can be mighty fierce, though.
We all know that story about way back when—probably one of the first Republicans was running here in the South for office, out soliciting votes, and he was rejected by one gentleman who said to him, ‘I’m a Democrat, always been a Democrat, my pappy was a Democrat, and my grandpappy was a Democrat.’ And the candidates made the mistake of saying, ‘Well, if your pappy was a jackass and your grandpappy was a jackass, what would that make you?’ And he says, ‘A Republican.’ ”


~ Ronald Reagan, Remarks at a Fund-raising Luncheon for Senator Jeremiah Denton in Birmingham, Alabama, June 6, 1985. Read the full text here.

President Reagan will be remembered as one of America’s most popular and beloved presidents. But history will also remember him for his outstanding sense of humor, which formed a critical part of his bond with the American people.

He used humor to address a wide array of issues, ranging from his relationship with Congress and the press to dealing with Democrats, bureaucrats and Communists. He also used a lot of self-effacing humor, a strategy that increased his popularity and helped him defuse specific issues such as his age and the accusation of not being a very hard worker—to which he used to respond with this characteristic jibe: “Hard work never killed anyone, but why take the chance?”

I must confess that his sense of humor is one of the reasons why I’ve always been a big fan of him. As Mark Twain once put it, “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

RIP Levon Helm

Levon Helm died today at 71.

The Way They Do It in Washington?

“[S]ometimes there are two ways of doing things: the right way, and the way they do it in Washington.”

~ Ronald Reagan (Cenikor Foundation - Houston, Texas, April 29, 1983)



When “the Great Communicator” uttered that famous sentence, he probably made a mistake—he should have said, the way they do it in Rome. The first link of the list provides an illuminating example of this.

[Italian Politics Updates - 3]

1. The Complicated Toils of the Most Despised Tax (The new “municipal” property tax gives revenue to the central government and is hard to calculate) | Il Sole-24 Ore
2. Markets accept Italian fiscal slippage | Reuters
   
3. Monti’s 2012 Italy Budget in Line With EU Forecast, Bailly Says | Bloomberg
4. Three million Italians have given up job hunt | ANSA
5. Italy shifts priority from austerity to growth | Reuters
6. Labor union calls for major protest May 10 | ANSA

David Axelrod: A Revealing Moment of Truth

John Podhoretz in the New York Post:

On Sunday, the most important person in the Obama campaign aside from President Obama himself inadvertently gave the 2012 game away in one of the more revealing political moments of our lifetimes. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, deserves enormous credit for having fashioned one of the most brilliant national campaigns in American history in 2008. But that was then, and this is now — and now Axelrod has gone on “Fox News Sunday” and offered the best and most succinct case for a Romney presidency yet. “The choice in this election,” said Axelrod, “is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead and their kids a chance to get ahead and an economy that continues down the road we are on.” Of course, the overseer of the “road we are on,” the man whose policy it has been to intervene directly and repeatedly in the economic affairs of the American people, is Obama. [Read the rest]

David Axelrod  (AP)

It is written, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Now one might say, He who lives by David Axelrod…

Italian Politics Updates - 2

Cold winds blew through Italy this week, and clouds obscured the unseasonably blue skies under which the country had long been basking.... 

Hey, this is not me—I’m not a poet (I wish I were)—this is the Economist. See below if you don't believe me.

1. Italian politics: Jittery Italy | The Economist
2. EU employment chief hails Italy labor reforms | ANSA.it 
3. Spain and Italy Show Europe’s Problems Aren’t Over | NYTimes.com 
4. Analysis: Italy's Monti loses his shine | Reuters 
5. Economic crisis spikes suicide rate in Italy | PRESSTV

Mantua: A Cultural City Guide

Do you remember Virgil, the ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period who wrote the Bucolics, the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid? Well, if so perhaps you remember where he was born and the verse inscription—supposedly composed by the poet himself—at his tomb in Posillipo, near Naples: “Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere; tenet nunc Parthenope. Cecini pascua, rura, duces” (“Mantua gave birth to me, the Calabrians took me, now Naples holds me; I sang of pastures, country and leaders”). Okay, why do I say that? Simply because in today’s Telegraph Helen Pickles offers an essential cultural guide to Mantua, the “overlooked Renaissance gem,” a mini-Florence, rich with art, intrigue and infidelities that is wrapped in water, where the Mincio broadens into three lakes… Unmissable—both the guide and the city, ça va sans dire.

Only Growth and Employment Can Stop the Markets’ Crisis

Gian Maria Gros-Pietro

Perhaps it is true that, as many analysts think, what’s behind the new major crash of European markets –the umpteenth black Friday—is the slowdown of the Chinese economy, but that’s neither the only nor the main trouble we have. The problem that needs a solution in Europe and especially in Italy is different and broader. It concerns the role emerging economies are increasingly playing in the international division of labor and wealth. To remain competitive, Europe and especially Italy need critical reforms. This is, in a nutshell, what Italian economist Gian Maria Gros-Pietro (here is some information about him) thinks about this week’s market crash. A thought provoking point of view, easy to understand even by people who are not experts (including yours truly).

Conservative Republicans for Romney

Credit: R.J. Matson  (via The Cagle Post)

According to CNN polling, Mitt Romney will be the only presidential candidate since 1996 to exit the primaries with a net negative approval rating. Not that I’m happy about that, mind you… And yet the former governor has a good reason to congratulate himself all the same!

Italian Politics Updates - 1

This is the first of a series of semi-weekly updates on Italian politics—no much to be said, just read and get an idea, freedom of opinion is a right, not a privilege … ;-)

1. Main parties agree to funding transparency measures - ANSA
2. India: Italian released by Maoist rebels - Adnkronos CultureAndMedia
3. Threatened mayor retracts resignation - ANSA
4. Plan to slash MP numbers approved (ansa.it)
5. Monti to Tackle Italy Corruption as Scandals Topple Politicians - Bloomberg
6. Euro Zone: Italy 3-Year Yields Seen Jumping at Auction - Business News - CNBC
7. European stocks stage tentative recovery (ft.com)
   

Rick Santorum Drops Out

(Credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Rick Santorum drops out, but claiming a victory of sorts. “Against all odds,” he said after leaving the race, “we won 11 states, millions of voters, millions of votes.” Paraphrasing what Charles Krauthammer wrote after Ron Paul’s impressive performance in New Hampshire three months ago, I’d say that there are two stories coming out of this Republican campaign: the big story is Mitt Romney, the bigger one is Rick Santorum. Perhaps the former senator was less a candidate than a “cause,” but his stronger-than-expected campaign has established him as a new leading voice for the conservative wing of the Republican party. “We are not done fighting, we are going to continue to fight for those Americans who stood up and gave us the air under our wings,” he said. We’ll hear about him for a long time.

Italian Politics: Latest News

Elsa Fornero, Mario Monti, Emma Marcegaglia

They say sarcasm is the lowest form of humor, and that’s definitely right. As for me, I don’t like it, but when the topic is politics, here in Italy, it’s often almost impossible to escape it. Take this news—related to the president of the leading organization representing the manufacturing and service industries in Italy—for example:

(AGI) Confindustria’s president Emma Marcegaglia, whose mandate expires in May, has said she is extremely happy to be returning to company business and that politics are not contemplated in her future. “Politics?” she said, “Absolutely not! I am delighted to be returning to run the company,” she explained while attending a meeting in Rovigo.

Well, she can’t imagine how delighted we are to hear that—though I wouldn’t bet on her workers’ happiness (but that’s another story). And yet that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is much, much more to be said, too much for a poor guy like me. That’s why I thought that the best thing to do is to provide a series of links to help you make an idea about what the state of the art is in this rather complicated field. Well, enjoy, and come back safely…

1. EURO GOVT-Bund yields hit 6-mth lows; Spain, Italy pressure
   
2. IKEA replaces some Asian suppliers with Italians
   
3. European stock markets rocked by panic selling as debt crisis reignites
   
4. Stock and bond markets rocked by fears of Italian and Spanish debt spirals
   
5. Italy Fights Spain for Investors as ECB Boost Fades
6. Son of founder of Italy’s Northern League resigns over party finance scandal
7. Italy needs red tape bonfire before labour reform starts
8. Ben Chu: It's not Spain nor Italy spooking the markets, but punishing austerity
9. Italian politician accuses government of plot
10. Politician's fall rocks Italy
11. Marcegaglia was 'irresponsible' says Fornero 
12. Italy's Northern League: Bossi booted 
13. Bossi Quits as Head of Italy’s Northern League 
14. Italy Northern League leader Bossi resigns amid scandal 
15. Bossi Quits as Head of Italy’s Northern League
    
16. Employers attack Italy’s labour reforms
    
17. Italy labor market reform: more costs for companies, but flexibility and opportunity for young
    
18. Italy Budget Shows Austerity's Risks
    
19. Europe has overcome crisis, says Monti
    

Work in Progress

This blog is in transition (from windrosehotel.blogspot.com to windrosehotel.com). Since it takes time for this new address to be available all over the Internet, in the meanwhile Google/Blogspot will redirect readers from the old address to the new one. I’m also experiencing some other problems (e.g. the blog lists have become empty). I hope everything will be fixed soon. Thanks for your patience.

Let There Be Light!

Benedict XVI - Easter Vigil
on Holy Saturday on April 7, 2012
(Getty Images)

“ At Easter, on the morning of the first day of the week, God said once again: “Let there be light.” The night on the Mount of Olives, the solar eclipse of Jesus’ passion and death, the night of the grave had all passed. Now it is the first day once again – creation is beginning anew. “Let there be light,” says God, “and there was light:” Jesus rises from the grave. Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies. The darkness of the previous days is driven away the moment Jesus rises from the grave and himself becomes God’s pure light. But this applies not only to him, not only to the darkness of those days. With the resurrection of Jesus, light itself is created anew. He draws all of us after him into the new light of the resurrection and he conquers all darkness. He is God’s new day, new for all of us. ”


~ Benedict XVI, “With the resurrection of Jesus, God said once again: Let there be light!” The homily for the Easter Vigil on the night of April 7, 2012, in Saint Peter’s Basilica (read the full text here).

Happy Easter Everyone! May the risen Christ bring joy to your hearts and light to your eyes!

Fra Angelico, Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb (fresco)
Convento di San Marco, Florence

François Hollande and the Power of the Media

François Hollande

It was Oscar Wilde—not a short-sighted anti-freedom-of-speech reactionary—who said, back in 1890, “In the old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press.” “That is an improvement certainly,” he continued, “[b]ut still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralising. Somebody—was it Burke?—called Journalism the fourth estate. That was true at the time, no doubt. But at the present moment it really is the only estate. […] We are dominated by Journalism. In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs for ever and ever.“

Well, he was definitely right, but what was true more than a century ago is even truer today with the additional support of cable and satellite television, internet access, etc. Whether you like it or not, the media have never been more influential than they are today, that’s for sure. To the point that they seem persuaded that most people have the same disposition as sheep… Take the case of France, where, as Mirino says in this post over at Viewfinder, they are confident of their divine power to influence public opinion in order to promote the election of a socialist candidate and government next month. “One notes that since Nicholas Sarkozy was elected in 2007,” he says, “certain media have constantly worked against him, discrediting him and denigrating his considerable efforts and accomplishments during one of the most difficult economic crisis in history.”

But François Hollande—the Socialist candidate for president of France who has virtually been “fabricated by the media and programmed to win the next elections”—besides being probably “a calculator and an opportunist” (if we look at the way he handled the DSK affair), is a politician who has never had any ministerial experience, and a man whose ideas are “totally unrealistic, isolationist and irresponsible.”

All this and much more in the above linked post, for which, I must confess, I bear some responsibility… A heartfelt thank you to my good friend Mirino for such an informative and insightful look into what is going on in French politics.