Bush-backing conservatives like me must remind ourselves that calling out the failings of government is not just a job for liberal media. George Will’s excellent Sunday column was about better public policy through private solutions, not more rules and higher taxes. Mr. Will trained his intellect on traffic congestion in populous areas.
America’s dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our national security. I expect President Bush to illustrate this anew next Tuesday. We’re sending oil dollars to despots who hate us and want to destroy our way of life, to oil broarons who provide funding and safe harbor to terrorists who plot ways to deliver on the despots’ goals. This was recently confirmed by U.S. intelligence chief John Negponte, our soon-to-be deputy secretary of State, in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Ok, so all this got started with Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour on XM. I’ve caught several of the shows and they’re a revelation. Actually, the host is the eye-opener. The shows were packed with delightfully obscure songs, but best of all there’s the approachability of Dylan himself. He’s funny. He’s real. He’s cool (the way his fans always considered him) and somehow warm (the way I never had). Okay, so that’s oxymoronic but that’s his gift, or part of it. And now I know. You see, Dylan always seemed a distant icon from an era that wasn’t ‘mine’. The show opened my ears.
