Author: NewMexiKen

My Goal Is to Go Around the World in 90 Days on the Cheap

Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler, has left on an around-the-world trip.

Some guidelines first. Circling the globe presents an seemingly infinite number of travel options, and narrowing them down requires one to be patient, open-minded and occasionally arbitrary. I am beginning in the Mediterranean because it’s summer and I want to go to the beach. Odessa is also on my list, precisely because I had heard little about it except that it’s a hot party zone. And while I went to Shanghai last year, that city struck me as so fast-moving that I couldn’t wait to see how it’s changed in the intervening months.

But the real challenge is not in choosing the route but in accomplishing the journey as the Frugal Traveler. Though my travels might take me to some of the wealthiest corners of the globe like Monaco, my budget is limited: for lodging, free if possible, with a $100 cap per night; and for meals, $40. Like Phileas Fogg, who embarked on the voyage to show it could be done (and to win a £20,000 bet), I too had something to prove: that it doesn’t take a sack full of cash to live the high life.

NewMexiKen, too, would like to be Phileas Fogg. Anyone want to go? Anyone want to pay for sponsor it?

The US in Peril?

At The New York Review of Books, Jeff Madrick offers a lengthy review of Kevin Phillips’ American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century.

In Kevin Phillips’s view, the Bush energy policy is a prime example of America’s failure to confront its most difficult challenges. Phillips, once a member of the Nixon administration, has written a timely book that argues that America is very different from the independent and omnipotent nation portrayed by President Bush and his administration. Dependency on oil is one of three major tendencies that will seriously undermine America’s future, he writes, the other two being the influence of radical religion and the growing reliance on debt to support the economy. For Phillips, these constitute “the three major perils to the United States of the twenty-first century,” and he offers little hope that the US will avoid the consequences. Since he wrote his widely read The Emerging Republican Majority in 1969, Phillips has published several books lamenting how poorly the Republicans have handled their responsibilities. American Theocracy is his most pessimistic work to date.

In some ways Madrick thinks Phillips is a narrow optimist.

Phillips’s three major threats to the nation are well chosen, and he presents much information about them; but he could usefully have considered other perils to the US as well. The rising cost of health care, for example, is as grave a concern as the three issues on which he concentrates. Unless that system is radically reformed the US will face a future in which growing numbers of people will not receive adequate treatment. The cost of education is on a similar trajectory, as the chances of getting even a minimal education in the poorer neighborhoods become smaller. Similarly urgent are the failures of the economy. Despite rapid increases in productivity, which is historically the source of a rising standard of living, family incomes are not growing. In fact, after the five recent years of economic expansion, median family income is roughly what it was in 1999, even though wages at last rose early this year.

Madrick himself, however, proves more optimistic than Phillips about America’s ability to change and recover.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to read American Theocracy, but these issues interest you, Madrick’s review is very worthwhile.

An Act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States

The Emergency Quota Act was approved on this date in 1921. The Act limited the number of European immigrants into the U.S. for the first time. It set the annual limit at 3% of the number of foreign-born persons in the U.S. from that country in the 1910 Census. About 357,000 immigrants could be admitted annually, the majority from northern Europe.

The Quota Act did not apply to “aliens from the so-called Asiatic barred zone, … [or] aliens who have resided continuously for at least one year immediately preceding the time of their admission to the United States in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Mexico, countries of Central or South America, or adjacent islands….”

In other words, no East Asians would be admitted whatsoever (having been barred by previous laws), but there were no restrictions on immigrants from the Western Hemisphere.

Immigration limitations have always been about cultural wars, not economic ones.

Oops

Friend Tanya writes:

Prior to Mother’s Day I was racking my brain trying to come up with a suitable present for my mother. As many of you know, she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last year so candy and other goodies were out. My dad often gives her flowers and I had just bought her a dozen roses on a recent visit home. I decided to purchase some books on line for her at Amazon where I am frequent shopper as it would be convenient for me and mom would enjoy new reading material.

After searching what was available I settled on two that sounded like mom, “Women’s Letters: America from Revolutionary War to the Present” and “Posterity Letters of Great Americans to Their Children.” As most of you know my mother is a proud graduate of the College of William and Mary and studied women’s history so I thought these would be right up her alley. I patted myself on the back for being such a great gift picker and went back to work.

The presents arrived on Thursday and since mom had had a medical procedure that day and needed a pick me up, I told her to open the box while I was talking with her on the phone. I heard her say, “Tanya sent me books” and then I heard hysterical laughter in the background from my father.

What mom received was not “Women’s Letters: America from Revolutionary War to the Present” and “Posterity Letters of Great Americans to Their Children.” What she received was “Swingers – when it goes beyond curiosity” and “Essence Magazine’s My Lover, His Wife” which, per the back cover is the story of a love triangle between a married couple and an unmarried woman where the women decide that the man is not all that necessary (I am stating this as delicately as possible for my elderly readers here.)

In short, what my mother received from me for Mothers Day was…soft core literary porn.

If anyone who sent a more creative gift to their moms, I will buy you a frosty adult beverage once I recover from my mortification enough to show my face in public.

Tanya adds, “[N]ot only had they sent my MOTHER pornography, but I had ordered gift wrap and it arrived unwrapped. I don’t mind being off-color occasionally but I try not to be tacky.”

While Tanya’s mom may have been surprised, even shocked, think about the poor frustrated individual who received her order by mistake — searching through “Posterity Letters of Great Americans to Their Children” for the sexy parts.

Old-timers

The Isley Brothers’ new album, “Baby Makin’ Music,” debuted this week at number 5. The Isleys first appeared on the music charts 44 years ago. Paul Simon’s new album, “Surprise,” debuts as 14th. Simon first charted more than 34 years ago. And Neil Young’s “Living With War” hits the album chart at 15th. Young first appeared on the charts 39 years, two months ago with Buffalo Springfield.

The Isleys, Simon and Young are already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lead Isley singer Ronald Isley will be 65 Sunday. He’s a little old for “Baby Makin’ Music” don’t you think? How about grandpa lullaby music? 🙂

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Stadium Arcadium” is the number one album.

Rihanna’s “SOS” is the number one single for the third consecutive week.

Why is it?

Why is it that male television sportscasters covering baseball or football games wear jackets and ties?

Why is it that restaurants seem to have so many more personnel than they used to — two or more hostesses, a doorman/woman, runners that bring the food — but much of the time the service is poor?

Why is it that so many restaurants are so noisy? What consultant said, “And it’s a good idea to have an open ceiling to echo and emphasize all the sound”? It’s not a good idea. It’s an awful idea.

And for that matter, why is it that so many restaurants think it’s a great idea to have the kitchen and dining area all in one big open space? I don’t want to see the kitchen — and I especially don’t want to hear it. I don’t think I’m alone in this.

And. why is it that, in Albuquerque, the El Pinto restaurant is so inconsistent? A few weeks back, with out-of-town guests, it was nearly perfect — good food, excellent and attentive service. This week the food was mediocre and the service worse than indifferent. People, it’s time to quit glorifying in the spotlight (President Bush has eaten there five times) and re-focus.

Why is it that, seemingly, every Albuquerque police cruiser I have ever seen has been speeding? Has it occured to APD that this might undermine respect for them in the community and efforts at law enforcement in general?

And why is it that undocumented immigrants are called “illegal aliens”? We don’t call people with traffic convictions “illegal drivers.” We don’t call tax cheats “illegal citizens.” We don’t call baseball players with obvious steroid use “illegal ballplayers.”

It’s not that I didn’t try

… but nothing seemed to strike my fancy today.

I did see this from La Muerta:

The Mayflower estimator was just here, and as he was compiling his itemized shipping inventory, he turned to me and said, “You know, I think you have more weight in shoes than you do in furniture.”

What economists think about immigration

Overall, immigration has been a net gain for existing American citizens, though a modest one in proportion to the size of our 13 trillion-dollar economy.

Immigrants do not take American jobs. The American economy can create as many jobs as there are workers willing to work so long as labor markets remain free, flexible and open to all workers on an equal basis.

Immigration in recent decades of low-skilled workers may have lowered the wages of domestic low-skilled workers, but the effect is likely to be small, with estimates of wage reductions for high-school dropouts ranging from eight percent to as little as zero percent.

While a small percentage of native-born Americans may be harmed by immigration, vastly more Americans benefit from the contributions that immigrants make to our economy, including lower consumer prices.

From a letter to President Bush signed by many economists, both right and left and posted at Marginal Revolution.

A Job Americans Won’t Do, Even at $34 an Hour

Cyndi Smallwood is looking for a few strong men for her landscaping company. Guys with no fear of a hot sun, who can shovel dirt all day long. She’ll pay as much as $34 an hour.

She can’t find them.

Maybe potential employees don’t know about her tiny Riverside firm. Maybe the problem is Southern California’s solid economy and low unemployment rate. Or maybe manual labor is something that many Americans couldn’t dream of doing.

“I’m baffled why more people do not apply,” Smallwood says.

President Bush is not. In his speech to the nation Monday night, he referred to “jobs Americans are not doing,” echoing a point he has been making for years. To fill these spurned jobs and keep the economy humming, Bush says, the U.S. needs a guest worker program.

Otherwise, the logic goes, fruit will rot in the fields, offices will overflow with trash and lawns and parks will revert to desert.

Los Angeles Times

Which at least would explain the saying ‘Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.’

The split between the human and chimpanzee lineages, a pivotal event in human evolution, may have occurred millions of years later than fossil bones suggest, and the break may not have been as clean as humans might like.

A new comparison of the human and chimp genomes suggests that after the two lineages separated, they may have begun interbreeding.

The New York Times

And if It’s a Boy, Will It Be Lleh?

In 1999, there were only eight newborn American girls named Nevaeh. Last year, it was the 70th-most-popular name for baby girls, ahead of Sara, Vanessa and Amanda.

The spectacular rise of Nevaeh (commonly pronounced nah-VAY-uh) has little precedent, name experts say. They watched it break into the top 1,000 of girls’ names in 2001 at No. 266, the third-highest debut ever. Four years later it cracked the top 100 with 4,457 newborn Nevaehs, having made the fastest climb among all names in more than a century, the entire period for which the Social Security Administration has such records.

Nevaeh is not in the Bible or any religious text. It is not from a foreign language. It is not the name of a celebrity, real or fictional.

Nevaeh is Heaven spelled backward.

The New York Times

Longer to Watch Than Read

The New York Times A.O. Scott isn’t thrilled with the thriller in his review of The Da Vinci Code. His conclusion:

But of course, movies of that ilk rarely deal with issues like the divinity of Christ or the search for the Holy Grail. In the cinema, such matters are best left to Monty Python. In any case, Mr. Howard and Mr. Goldsman handle the supposedly provocative material in Mr. Brown’s book with kid gloves, settling on an utterly safe set of conclusions about faith and its history, presented with the usual dull sententiousness. So I certainly can’t support any calls for boycotting or protesting this busy, trivial, inoffensive film. Which is not to say I’m recommending you go see it.

Blogging the Bible

At Slate, David Plotz decides to read the Bible and share the experience. (Here’s the background — What happens when an ignoramus reads the Good Book?)

A believer, Plotz has gotten the story from creation through Lot in the first two installments — Genesis, Chapters 1-7 and Chapters 8-19. One sample to whet your interest.

Creation Story, Take 2. This is confusing. Here is an entirely different Creation, in which God uses an entirely different method and carries it out in a different order. And second Creation has a very different view about men and women than first Creation. In Chapter 1, after God has made everything else, He makes man and woman together, “in His image.” Not in Chapter 2. Before he makes plants and animals, He forms man from dust and blows in his nose to vivify him. Nothing about “in His image” here. And no woman, either. Only later, after the plants and animals have been made, does God create woman, from Adam’s rib. In second Creation, the woman is made to be man’s “helper.” In Chapter 1 they are made equal. Why is Chapter 2 the Creation that conservatives have settled on, with woman as helpmeet? Why not first Creation?

NCAA restricts William and Mary mascot

The NCAA, in a letter to college president Gene Nichol, said it agreed that the nickname “Tribe” wasn’t offensive, but combined with the logo showing two feathers “transforms that use from one associated with ‘togetherness,’ ‘shared idealism,’ and ‘commitment’ to stereotypical reference to Native Americans.”

SI.com

I guess NewMexiKen will have to get rid of my William & Mary logo mousepad. (Both NewMexiKen daughters are graduates of William & Mary.)

Best line of the day, so far

“In his toughest stand yet against illegal immigration, President George W. Bush today announced that he would move CNN anchorman Lou Dobbs to the United States’ border with Mexico.”

The Borowitz Report.com

In case you don’t get this, ‘Burque Babble can help you out:

The tendency is for folks to think the present day is historically superior to the past. Well, for people thinking this way I want you to record/tape/tivo/whatever ANY “Lou Dobbs Tonight” show on CNN, and then watch the program 20 years from now. My guess is that upon viewing the show years from now you will say: “I was actually alive when such a racist program was nationally broacast in my own country? How was that possible?”

Give me some more of that damn discipline, please

Jill, official eldest daughter of NewMexiKen, reports another example of how parenting never quite works out in practice like it does in theory. In her words:

MackMack was going through a swearing phase and it got pretty bad. So I decided to go Old School with the discipline. We told him that from now on, he got one warning a day, and on his second swear word he would have his mouth washed out. He asked what that entailed, and I explained that we would put soap in his mouth.

This is a child who cannot have even no-tears baby shampoo go near his head before he is equipped with a bath visor and a washcloth handy for any accidental drips on his face. The idea of having to EAT soap was horrifying to him.

The threat actually worked. Yes! Discipline that worked on Mack!

Until Sunday, when he said “ass” for the second time that day. I said, “Now, you have to have your mouth washed out.” His father brought Mack into the bathroom and squirted some hand soap on his tongue.

My “warm vanilla sugar” hand soap from Bath & Body Works.

Mack asked for seconds.