Posted on 04/11/2005 4:37:19 PM PDT by quidnunc
I yield to no one in my disdain for Britain's petty and graceless political class, but I have to confess a certain reluctance to go once more unto the breach with my dear friends opposite.
You'll recall that yesterday, in the midst of the leader page's general rejoicing over Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of no, hang on, the Prince and Duchess of well, anyway, in the middle of a bunting-draped leader, The Telegraph's editorial eminences deplored the decision of the three party leaders to show up in lounge suits, rather than the morning dress favoured by the other chaps Melvyn Bragg, Jools Holland, David Frost, Rowan Atkinson, etc.
As a general rule, I'm all for dressing up as much as possible. But, honestly, I doubt whether the most extensive guide to court protocol and precedence says that, for 20 minutes in a register office and a "finger buffet", you've got to climb into knickerbockers and buckled shoes. Does Charles Kennedy own morning dress? And, if not and you were in his Hush Puppies, would you have gone along to Moss Bros and rented it?
It's one thing if you're going to be making chitchat over the finger buffet with the King of Tonga and the Governor-General of Grenada. But when it's Ken Branagh and Meera Syal and Richard E Grant, showing up in morning dress could easily make you the equivalent of the schlub Best Sound Editing nominee from New Zealand who's the last guy at the Oscars in a conventional tux when all the A-listers are going for that Nehru-jacket-with-diamond-clasp -Quincy-Jones-picking-up-a-lifetime-achievement-award-from-Sidney-Poitier look.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I want to be wrong. Blair has a moral center and a sense of mission about him, but he is out of step with his own Labor Party, and the Conservatives there seem determined to reject any role for Britain on the world stage.
Even Blair seems awfully anxious to get back to the business of subsuming Britain into Greater Europe.
3 American headlines on page 1?
I would be curious to see a poll in Britain and in mainland Europe as to whether Christians or muslims are the greater threat.
I want to know where Joan Kennedy was found in the gutter! Enquiring minds need to know...
And I didn't know about the O. J. confession.
Given that a British conservative here on FR had said from their viewpoint, the American conservatives look only a minute degree to the left of Genghis Khan, and various leftist and conservative papers in Britain both report British as a whole has high suspicion of America's "serious Christianity", I would imagine they would view real Christianity as a greater threat than Islam.
This would be even more so in Europe - France is the ultimate ACLU country.
I believe Muslims would easily win that race. Of course were you to include the USA as a choice for who is the greater threat I'm sure that we would win hands down.
I Fear that You "Have It Right!!"
Without our Traditional Past, we Cast ourselves "Adrift"; we Forget our Origins, & can, therefore, not Chart a course for our Future!
Doc
Bump!
so far no Ayatollah has sent agents to attempt the assaination of an English Monarch. Actions have consequences, and the English have sense of history.
By and large it seems that the Brits are unrelentingly politically-correcte to berks.
Et Dona Ferentes
This is the Polly Toynbee column that Pollard was so effusive about:
I liked it too. I might not agree with every position she has, but I understand contempt for the cult of celebrity.
What a stinkin' riot of a paragraph.
Blackadder at the royal wedding! LOL Picturing it makes me laugh!
From what I've been reading I'd rather have Rowan Atkinson at my wedding than Rowan Williams. Mr. Bean has more character and moral courage than the craven Archbishop of Canterbury.
The bigger problem is that as modern liberals reject traditional culture, they are replacing it with nothing, leaving a huge void. Rap music and offensive art doesn't pass as culture. Pop culture is no culture at all. What is happening to society is exactly what was directed in those old communist goals that were read into the congressional record in the sixties, and our public schools have been the tool to achieve this particular goal.
The BEST teachers, who studied the "Subject Matter," (English, History, Mathematics, Geography) were SUMMARILY REJECTED from "Teaching" because they didn't have the "Requisite 'Education Credits.'"
Our Problem Is--That the "Teacher's College Graduates" are WOEFULLY IGNORANT of the "Subject Matter;" AND The Students KNOW THIS!!
Our Students NEED an ENGLISH PROFESSOR to teach them--NOT a Generic "Educator," who doesn't know Shaw from Shakespeare!!
"Education Theory" Be Damned--Students ALWAYS "Learn Better" from an Individual who Loves his Subject Matter, than fom an "Education Technocrat"(Taught HOW to "Teach,"-But NOT WHAT to Teach!)
"Teachers' Colleges" have been a FLAMING DISASTER!!
"English" should be taught by "English Majors;" "History" should be taught by "History Majors; "Math" should be taught by "Math Majors!"
"Teacher's Colleges" should offer Supplemental Courses in "Education Theory" for Educators who feel they are having a problem "Getting Through to" refractory Students.
ALL the "Theory" in the World will NOT allow you to teach a Subject that you DON'T KNOW!!
HOW, on Earth, did we Forget this simple Fact??
Doc
While agree that teaching classes can be a waste of time, I don't think that teacher's colleges are all a waste of time. Most of the state schools in PA were teacher's colleges and before that, they were normal schools. PA had one of the most extensive state college systems in the country, when I was in school there.
I think that the real culprit in the public school system is the teachers' union. The quality of public school education is inversely proportionate to the growth of the NEA. I have a proposal for year around schools, with two tiers of teachers, a professional level and a union level. The professional level would not require teaching credentials, but would have other requirements and would work a professional year around schedule. Of course the professionals would get paid more than the union level.
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