I started computing (for work) at 5:30am yesterday, and carried on almost continuously until near midnight, then started again at 5:30am and have been going since then. All that time with a mouse. My wrist currently aches as though I was a 15 year old trapped in an adult book store
DSL has arrived. I am complete.
Our CEO has asked us to observe a minute’s silence on Friday to mark the passing of Ronald Reagan. I’m unsure how appropriate this is. In the UK we have one or two minutes of silence on Armistice Day, and I imagine on the death of a monarch or major royalty (I can’t remember for Princess Diana or the Queen Mum, but it seems likely). But I’m not sure we would for a political leader. People can be for or against the royal family, but the worst you can generally think of them is that they are sponging off working people without showing gratitude. Political figures, clearly, can be much more divisive, and Reagan would definitely fall under that category.
I’d like to think that the honor is appropriate for all Presidents, because they were great men who did their best for their country (even if what they did was vehemently opposed by one side or the other). So how do the recent presidents stack up, in my expert opinion?
| President | Great Man | Did Best |
| Reagan | A- (not an intellectual giant, and somewhat disengaged, but other qualities made up for that) | A- (Iran-Contra and other things may have been well intentioned, but weren’t thought through for the long-term) |
| Bush 41 | B+ (not a charismatic leader, but a decent man) | A- (Continued some of the Reagan underhand dealings, but did a good job with Kuwait) |
| Clinton | B- (an average of an A++ when he was on form, and a D- at best too many times) | A- (a little too much involvement in the unpleasant side of partisanship at times) |
| Bush 43 | C (I can’t even start with a justification, either you’ll know and agree, or you won’t and will be outraged) | D- (does what is best for his God, his friends and his country, in that order) |
So Reagan qualifies without issue, Bush 41 is fine if uninspiring, but starting with Clinton we really head down the slope. With both recent presidents the ugly side of partisanship takes over, so that for every person who thinks they are a great leader there’s one who thinks they are the embodiment of evil. The only thing left that would justify a respectful silence is that these people are, for all their faults, the President, and honor is due the office if not the holder. For that reason I’ll be silent on Friday, and on any such days in the future. If only I could always honor the man as well.
I only recently started to use titles for my posts, and have decided that it’s fun to use song titles (or corruptions thereof) for some of them. As part of the American trend of bringing assisted-thinking to the populace, I’ll add in a small link whenever I do this in the future. I thought I’d start by using a totally unrelated title for this post, just because it’s the only song I know to use William Shatner in a romantic context. Interestingly all the lyrics sites I checked have the same spelling mistake for this song.
Kind of. I have two gmail invitations (3 originally, but one is promised to Zach). You, my beloved readers, may have the remainder – comment or mail me, and if I’ve heard of you then an invite is yours.
Update: All gone, but more available at Andy’s site