Mezzanine Mark

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Family Update: London

I have heard from one side of the family and luckily everyone is ok. My cousin Jonathan is a policeman in England and he is deployed into the heart of it all as I write this.

A wonderful little boy whom I had the pleasure of meeting last week in London, has nursery school in Edgeware, right next to the Edware Road station which was bombed. Just got word that, in a fluke, he wasn't at nursery today.

Crossing my fingers for the other side of the family.

posted by Mark at 7/07/2005

7 Comments:

  • So far so good - I'm relieved to hear it. Your family is in my thoughts, Mark.

    In response to the previous post, I'd like to entertain the notion that Bush could be an idiot AND we should kill the bastards. I think it's perfectly legitimate to separate these points of view into two distinct items.

    I'm all in favor of killing the bastards. No one has the right to terrorize. No one. Under no circumstances. But that doesn't necessarily prevent Bush from being a Puritanical, speech impaired, oil whore of an idiot.

    By Blogger Duncan Gilman, at 1:20 PM  

  • Thank you so much for your kind words regarding my family. I am pleased to report that as of now, everyone is accounted for. Very lucky indeed.

    Now the second part of the comment, that's the type of response I like to hear. I don't agree with you re: Bush, but I can't dispute your passion there. At least you care about what's going on here.

    Rather than addressing the personal attack on Bush, the man, instead I ask you, in the spirit of debate, what you would do differently from what he s doing at the moment. Would you pull out of Iraq? Stop the search for Bin Laden? Decide to let Iraqi citizens who have known nothing but despotism for decdes all of sudden be forced to fend for themselves?

    If you think Bush is an idiot. presumably you thinkhe is doing something wrong in his foreign policy. So be it...that's your right. But what I want to know Dunc is what would you do differently RIGHT NOW?

    I don't mean what decisions would you have made yesterday in hindsight...I mean facing the situation we are in at this very moment in Iraq...what would you that Pres. Bush isn't doing?

    Curious to hear your thoughts Dunc, and the thoughts of my other readers.

    By Blogger Mark, at 2:32 PM  

  • By "idiot" I'm referring to Bush as a person rather than his policy.

    To me his foreign policy isn't the problem. It's his domestic policy that's misguided. You and me, Mark, we had carpet growing up. We had birthday parties at Chucky Cheese. We had college educations. We are in the minority. My concern is that Bush is more concerned with despotism in Iraq than in America. It's not Bush's fault that we have generations and generations of despotism, but I expect the leader of my country to do something about it, rather than try to fix other countries' problems. And it's not the fact that I'm not a republican. I would have the same opinion of a similarly minded democrat.

    When are you coming to LA again?

    By Blogger Duncan Gilman, at 5:57 PM  

  • So your problem with Bush isn't the foreign policy its domestic. Ok...fair enough. Most people focus on the foreign policy, such as my friend Dylan did in his comments on my previous post below.

    As for education, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act with the following foreword....

    "The quality of our public schools directly affects us all as parents, as students, and as citizens. Yet too many children in America are segregated by low expectations, illiteracy, and self-doubt. In a constantly changing world that is demanding increasingly complex skills from its workforce, children are literally being left behind.

    It doesnt have to be this way.

    Bipartisan solutions are within our reach. If our country fails in its responsibility to educate every child, were likely to fail in many other areas. But if we succeed in educating our youth, many other successes will follow throughout our country and in the lives of our citizens.

    This blueprint represents part of my agenda for education reform. Though it does not encompass every aspect of the education reforms I plan to propose, this blueprint will serve as a framework from which we can all work together Democrat, Republican, and Independent to strengthen our elementary and secondary schools. Taken together, these reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America"

    I'm not saying its the perfect bill, and some may disagree with certain nuances of it, but the goals of the bill and the motives behind the bill seem to to be positve.

    By Blogger Mark, at 5:15 PM  

  • Oh yeah.. and I would love to come to LA again. I'll never forget harmonizing to Everly Brothers with you on the trip from LA to San Fran.

    By Blogger Mark, at 5:16 PM  

  • Glad to hear that your loved ones seem to be alright. We got news of the London attack the morning it happened. We were driving into Amalfi, enjoying the gorgeous Italian coastline, when the driver got a phone call, then turned back and announced "the Underground of London is exploded".

    Needless to say, it made the beauty of the Amalfi coast seem somewhat pointless.

    As far as Bush - as you know my opinions on him are far more complicated than "he looks like a monkey". I think he is genuinely well-meaning, I think many of his motives are good, but I think there is also a major disconnect between locution and execution.

    THAT, more than anything else, is my point of contention with Bush. Teddy Roosevelt said to speak softly and carry a big stick, and to me, it seems that Bush's motto has become something more of "speak bigly and carry a soft stick".

    Okay, back to my vacation. This comment just cost me about $3.50 I think. Stupid satellite internet.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:39 AM  

  • Hey Mark. Weird question. But did your cousin Jonathan go to Belmont, Mill Hill Junior School?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:34 PM  

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