Notepad

U.S. Col. Harry Summers to North Vietnamese officer: "You never defeated us in the field."

North Vietnamese officer: "That is true. It is also irrelevant."

That story gets repeated a lot as a reminder of what war is not. It is not a sporting event in which the winners of various battles are awarded points, and the team with the most points wins.

Dick Cheney doesn't know this.

"Keep in mind," Cheney told NPR yesterday: "We've never been defeated in a stand-up fight in Iraq in over three years."

This is true. It is also irrelevant.

* * * * *

You know who I don't like? Whoever it was who conducted the polling that found that a big chunk of white voters A) are adamantly opposed to "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, and B) don't know what "amnesty" means.

This has led to the ugly spectacle of candidates accusing one another of supporting "amnesty," and then, by way of denying it, engaging in a game of who-hates-those-dirty-Mexicans-more?

It is, at least theoretically, in the abstract, possible to advocate stricter enforcement of immigration laws without being ugly and stupid. In practice, however, the ugly and stupid demographic is precisely the target of all those campaign ads condemning "amnesty."

It's a pretty sizeable demographic, too. Just check out the "Story Chat" for any of the articles in the paper relating to immigration. Even when the article in question is explicitly and exclusively about legal immigrants, the comments quickly fill up with angry condemnations of "illegals." Ugly. And stupid.

Anyway, here are some useful numbers from the Inter-American Development Bank: the middle column on that page estimates how much money immigrants contribute to a state's economy (here in Pa., $5.2 billion). The key word there is "contribute."

* * * * *

Saw an ad on TV for Panasonic bathroom exhaust fans. Odd.

While I don't question the quality of their craftsmanship, I'm not sure that Panasonic understands the function of their product. They're touting their bathroom exhaust fans as the quietest money can buy, naming them things like "WhisperFit" and "Whisper Lite."

That's really not what I'm looking for from a bathroom fan. I don't want the "Whisper Lite" exhaust fan, I want the "Rolling Thunder" or the "Runaway Freight Train" or the "Leaf-blower At Close Range" model.

* * * * *

WXPN, the best thing on the left end of the dial here in the Philadelphia area, just concluded one of those weekslong, messy countdowns. This time it was the "885 All-Time Greatest Artists."

Such lists are great fun, especially since the tabulating of ballots for these things always produces lots of jarring juxtapositions and rankings you feel ought to be corrected. (Here, for example, a typical series: 45. Tom Petty; 46. Nirvana; 47. Ray Charles; 48. Billy Joel; 49. John Coltrane; 50. Sting; 51. Simon & Garfunkel; 52. The Kinks; 53. The Beach Boys; 54. Phish.)

They also didn't restrict anyone from voting however they liked, regardless of genre, thus producing lovely sequences like this: 96. The Pixies; 97. Ludwig van Beethoven; 98. Patty Griffin ...

For at least the first 850 or so, the list is pretty interesting -- a great source of recommendations and a great source of arguments. (The end of the countdown was less interesting. It's hard to get worked up over the suspense of whether it will end Dylan-Stones-Beatles or Stones-Dylan-Beatles.)

Not in the countdown: OK, Go. That's probably right, but after seeing this, I'd vote for them.

Comments

[JMiller]

With regards to bathroom fans, we've got the "Aluminum Hamster in a Wheel being Gnawed Upon by a Cybernetic Doberman" model. And every weekday morning at about 6:45, I silently vow to replace the dang thing with something that isn't so bloody obnoxious. I am Panasonic's target market, except that I haven't yet gotten around to relinquishing my money to Home Depot.

Besides, if you've ever heard a 45mm fan try to move the same amount of air as a 120mm fan, you'll realize that the noise that a fan makes has no (ball) bearing on its ability to move air.

[Steve]

Love your exhaust fan note: I remember when the place I used to work put in new ultra-quiet exhaust fans, and one day while using the facilities after, uh, probably some chili, I was thinking "Damn, why is that thing so quiet!"

[Bob]

As an architect, I find most clients think they want the quiet model. But I always specify the loud model. They thank me later.

Yes, the bathroom fan dilemma is the big issue in this comment thread, of course. It is a matter of importance for all, unlike this Iraq war thingy, and that illegals issue. Maybe some politicians should take note.

[Xanthippas]

I'm with you on the fans buddy.

Btw, does Cheney really think that's relevant?

[Richard Hershberger]

XPN is a great radio station. It speaks well of the listeners that Beethoven came in that high, considering that the station plays no classical whatsoever.

[Kate]

OK, thinking that there must be a trick to it, I actually went and looked up "amnesty" on dictionary.com ... and it still means what I thought it meant... I'm always dumbfounded that there are people out there who will answer a question when they don't know what it means. We're decades on now and I bet that the same number of people would be fooled by P.T.Barnum's "this way to the egress!"

Also, the only thing I thought a bathroom fan was good for was clearing fog off the mirror so I could do my hair... this comments section has been an education.

[Steve]

Ohh...and XPN rocks...and so does that video.

[jw]

I'm just here waiting for the Eschaton. Blogger's working for you, so it must be something else. Someone in the thread will have to explain what's so jarring about #45 - #52.

[Steve]

Another thought on loud exhaust fans. They don't really block out the sound for people outside the restroom as much as they block you from hearing outside noise giving you the false impression they can't hear you because you can't hear them. Like when I'm at home sitting at the computer next to the window air conditioner: I can say something to my wife in the other room and she can hear me clear as day, but if she responds I won't hear her.

So, you get the loud exhaust to protect your dignity, but all you get is peace of mind and smirks from everyone as you leave the bathroom. As Dwight Schrute would say, "paradox."

[cjmr's husband]

Tomorrow night on Doctor Who: "Rise of the Cyberdobermen". Can't wait....

[JRoth]

In Japan some public restrooms come equipped with buttons that activate a speaker playing the sound of running water. This is a water-saving measure, as modest Japanese might otherwise run the tap to provide sound screening.

[SV]

WXPN totally rules.

I was back home in Philly for a wedding, and on the way down to Delaware we had the countdown on. In one short car trip we heard Audioslave, the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, Devo, the Chieftains, and Cher.

Imagine a rental car full of bridesmaids screaming the lyrics to "Halfbreed!" cruising down Route 1. Good times...

[Ian]

Cheney: "We've never been defeated in a stand-up fight in Iraq in over three years."

Quite true. Also, no American unit has been broken by a cavalry charge, and no American General has been defeated in single combat.

[chris y]

Washington never beat the British in the field either. Which is why there's just that bunch of underdeveloped little colonies strung out along the east coast in the shadow of greater Canada and Louisiana.

[Ian]

HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were never so much as grazed by shells from Japanese battleships; I suppose you could say that Imperial Japan never won a capital ship engagement against them..

The fact that you're not losing the old fashioned way doesn't mean that you're not losing.

[cjmr]

What exactly would 'winning in Iraq' look like anyway?

[Doctor Science]

What exactly would 'winning in Iraq' look like anyway?

If you're Cheney? Halliburton shares up, best year ever. Record profits for Exxon. Chevron profit up 40%. Shell profit up 25%.

That's not just winning, that's making a killing.

[Adrian]

re: quiet bathroom fans) I live in an apartment building. One of the conditions of the lease is to run the bathroom fan after bathing or showering, to remove humidity from the bathroom and reduce the risk of mold getting in the walls. I can hear the fans of 3 neighboring apartments on this floor, and the apartment directly downstairs. The fan of the apartment directly next to mine used to be really unpleasant and distracting. Now that I have some new industrial-hearing-protection earmuffs, I can read more comfortably while lying in bed.

[Jeff]

jw:
Someone in the thread will have to explain what's so jarring about #45 - #52.

Those are artists without a large cross-over audience, especially Nirvana, Billy Joel and John Coltrane (Sting kinda fits with Coltrane, a little). I can't think I've ever heard a station play Colbane, Joel and Coltrane near each other, except perhaps Jim Ladd's show on KLOS (wikipedia entry for Ladd here).

[Cactus Wren]

The polling that indicated many voters were opposed to "amnesty" for illegal immigrants while not knowing what the word meant resonated for me, because I live in the Southwest, where "My opponent favors AMNESTY!" is a constant refrain in political advertising. Reminds me of the old (and sadly false) anecdote about Claude Pepper's in the 1950 election accusing him of having a sister who was a "thespian" and a brother who was a "practicing Homo sapiens".

[Julia]

On the fan thing - I have an autistic kid who is sound-sensitive, and some days we just can't run the fan while he's having a shower because it's too much for him. If I could put a very quiet fan in that bathroom, that would be good.

Still keeping the noisy ones in certain other bathrooms, though. ;)

[Jo vain]

You are shafted. The toilet seats made by Panasonic make the flushing sound. Not the fan.

Besides making appropriate sounds and washing your fanny the toilet seats have also about 6 different functions but they are labeled with kanji I haven't have guts to try them.