The Pendragon's Hall

The Pendragon is a fairly tenderhearted person but the events overnight have sent me into a blast of joy unrivalled by anything in the past year (except in the announcement of the imminent birth of my first child). The tyrant of Iraq who terrorized the Middle East and the world for years is gone, brought to justice for his crimes against his people. Despite ample evidence to his atrocities, the people he had wronged sat down in a court of law and convicted him by due process rather than shoot him on the spot. And for once the American judicial system didn't butt in, proving there is still some respect for sovereignty among the lawyer profession. Will this magically end the violence? Of course not. But it is proof that justice sometimes comes to wrongdoers and for this we rejoice. (Oh, and before I forget, less than 3,000 casualties in two years of fighting is insanely LIGHT for any war and people need to stop dribbling about it.) Even in the Scriptures, God's people sing for joy when the unjust fall and we are well justified in so doing.

The Pendragon wishes to announce my condolences over the death of Gerald Ford last night. Whatever his shortcomings as president, he was a wise and good man, not to mention infinitely better than the man who succeeded him. Mr. Ford also reserved the benefit of his wisdom for those who asked him, not assuming everyone wanted to hear his take on things. He set a great example for other ex-presidents to follow. He lived a long and full life and while we mourn his passing, we also know that such a life is to be looked on as achievement. He has truly gone to a better place to sit beside the grand old men of the country he loved so well.

The news headline breathlessly poses the question, "Is there a racial double standard in football? Are black quarterbacks expected to do things no one would dream of asking a white quarterback to do?" The answer, clear and simple: No. If there is any difference in how quarterbacks are ranked, blacks actually have a lower standard, due to how few black QB's there have been. Donovan McNabb manages to throw a few more touchdown passes than interceptions and he is hailed as one of the greats. Because black quarterbacks have traditionally been scramblers, sportswriters take note of any big passing games from them, but nobody expects them to do more than a Peyton Manning or a Joe Montana. In fact, given Peyton's complete inability to move outside the pocket, one could argue (correctly, I think) that black quarterbacks like Atlanta's Michael Vick are better all-around. Certainly, however, black quarterbacks are not expected to reach levels white quarterbacks would not be held to--if anything, their bar is lower. How else could McNabb remain so well-praised throughout his rather spotty career?

I had not intended to post over the holidays but a recent viewing of MSNBC has provoked the Pendragon's wrath. Revealing why the network's viewing ratings are in the basement, it seemed reminiscent of a tabloid broadcast. The broadcaster spent the entire time thumbing her long nose at the President, even to the extent of constantly forcing people to answer the question, "Was Bush wrong to urge Americans to shop more when there's a war going on?" I may not approve of everything that Bush has done, but right now, the detractors are really grasping. Then it was time to discuss a possible romantic entanglement between Condoleezza Rice and her Canadian counterpart. When news is an industry, this is the kind of tripe you get. No wonder the mainstream media has lost credibility.

The Pendragon has been absent for two weeks trying hurriedly to finish up all my work for my first semester of graduate school. Today, I leave for a 10-day trip to my parents and the in-laws to celebrate Christmas and probably won't be blogging much there either. This time of year is one of the busiest but it is also one of my favorites. If I have any readers left, I would like to wish them all a Merry Christmas. The rest of the year is for fighting and politics (and it's been a depressing year for a Republican Yankees/Giants fan) but this month is all about peace on earth and good will to men. Even Snoopy and the Red Baron call a truce.

See you all in the New Year!

There is an old story that the great Bismarck, the German war leader in the late 1800s, was shown a map of Africa and told, "The British and French and Italians are carving it up for themselves. We must get in on this." Bismarck pointed to a map of Europe and replied, "There is my Africa." The Pendragon was reminded of this story today when he heard on the news that NASA is dedicated to establishing a permanent base on the moon by 2020. Somebody in Washington needs to point to a globe and say, "That is my moon!" We're wasting taxpayer dollars and for what? The space race was a way to keep patriotism alive in the heyday of the Cold War, but those days are over. We know now that they can't lob bombs at us from the moon, so who cares who else is doing it? Space may be a fascinating exploration but that doesn't mean the government should waste taxpayer dollars towards doing it when there are so many more worthwhile projects here (or if they can't think of any, just give all that money back). I am seriously annoyed that NASA wants to spend billions towards establishing a way-station on the moon while here on earth, our troops languish for lack of training and equipment, people can't afford to go to college because of rising prices, gas is astronomically expensive and there are people in this country who can't afford Christmas presents or a decent place to live. The moon is dead and it is always going to be--we've looked for that side of it that is turned away and doesn't share our curse. Earth we have a chance to do something about--heck, even sending that money to Africa would be a better use for it than putting a couple people on the moon year-round. Just one more instance of governmental priorities being screwed up. I just hope we don't hear that it's vital to the War on Terror or something!