2002.07.06
Link of the Moment
Insightful Slate Joe Klein article on how the Europeans see us (and to a lesser extent, how we see them). Interesting excerpt: "The American identity can be summarized in a single polling question: We are the only country in the world where a majority has consistently believed--with the exception of a few years in the late 1970s--that next year will be better." That's a pretty amazing sentiment to have maintained even through Vietnam and the Cold War. He also points out that we probably wouldn't be building quite the level of global resentment we are if Gore was in the whitehouse (frickin' electoral college...I remember some essay way back when saying "it was like the electoral college...it worked ok as long as you didn't think about it too much"-- how wrong that essay was!
Quote of the Moment
By the time you know what to do, you're too old to do it.They had a touching moment of silence before the game. Not always the most fan-friendly guy, he was a hero on the field and off of it, giving up some of the most promising years of his baseball career to fight in WW2 and Korea. He set out to achieve greatness, and reached it. Another good quote:
If I was being paid thirty-thousand dollars a year, the very least I could do was hit .400.RIP Ted Williams!