On some older news in my inbox:

The irony

From Reuters: Republicans urge Obama to roll back “Buy American”

Republicans urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to roll back “Buy American” provisions of this year’s economic stimulus package that they said were delaying public works projects and costing American jobs.

“Clearly these provisions are creating problems for our domestic companies and employees that must be addressed,” Representative Wally Herger said at a “roundtable” Republicans organized to hear industry concerns about the measure.

Representative Kevin Brady urged the White House to exempt state, county and city governments from the Buy American requirement “so that we can get those dollars working, create these jobs, get these projects in place and move this economy.”

…

The Buy American provision included in the $787 billion economic stimulus act requires all public works projects funded by the bill use only U.S.-made goods.

As a result, many local jurisdictions receiving Recovery Act funds are faced with ensuring that their projects comply with the Buy American mandate.

That’s not as simple as it sounds because many products contain components from around the world.

…

Groups calling for changes in the Buy American provisions include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Emergency Committee for American Trade, which together represents most of the biggest U.S. companies.

They said they feared other countries would retaliate by passing their own “buy domestic” provisions, as Canadian cities are threatening to do because their firms are being shut out of U.S. stimulus projects.

So, don’t do anything to stimulate and create manufacturing jobs in the U.S., and ensure those jobs keep getting shipped off-shore, while at the same time you decry the immigrant for “stealing” the last McDonald’s job left in the U.S.. Complete hypocrites.

On Ukrainian history:

From The Day: Mazepa: Architect of European Ukraine?

…Peter I’s Russia found its ideal dimension in Imperium, a —great form— with its inertial imperative of constantly developing supranational schemes aimed at compressing all conquered space into a single ideological whole.

Victorious as it was, Peter I’s Russia built its society out of —subjects— and —serfs.— Defeated as it was, Mazepa’s Ukraine was potential society of citizens.

Mazepa’s Ukraine had thus taken a resolute and decisive step in the direction of Europe at a time of anti-absolutist revolutions. Peter I’s Russia realized itself in an imperial structure whose messianic concept was generally anti-European.

It was a bolt of lightning that split the family tree of Old Rus’. Since then the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia has been systemic and conceptual. The gist of this confrontation is that Ukraine was not an obedient territorial unit open for colonization. Ukraine was Europe’s last bulwark retaining a political tradition that was absolutely unacceptable for Russian absolutism and thus very dangerous for centralized governance. It was a republican tradition. Rooted in the philosophic legacy of European culture, this tradition became the basis of the Ukrainian idea, i.e., a republican and consequently national idea, which has since been in opposition to the Russian Idea as an imperial and consequently immanently supranational one…

It is a complex article which attempts to draw the currents of the Reformation, Humanism, Orthodoxy, Polish-Ukrainian history, and the Khmelnytsky revolt into one large bundle giving rise to Mazepa’s movement. I’m really not sure how the Reformation and humanism play out here. I would ascribe the influence of Cossack independence and self-determination as well as the philosophies already existent in the Polish-Lithuanian, (later Ruthenian) Commonwealth. Those philosophies were already well settled, and well known in the Ukraine, when the rest of Europe met the Reformation and the advent of humanism as a philosophy.

Learning about your new neighbors:

From the Times: Polska! Year comes to London

Slap-bang in the centre of Warsaw there’s a striking neo-Gothic skyscraper called the Palace of Culture. Poles are forever debating whether to demolish it —” it was a gift from Stalin, whose memory is not lovingly tended in these parts. But they could equally well celebrate it. Within its imposing walls it hosts three theatres, a cinema, bars and museums. What other capital city’s most prominent edifice is an arts centre? —Theatre is the national sport,— says Piotr Gruszczynski, a critic and dramaturge at the high-flying Nowy Theatre. —Poles still believe that theatre can change the world.—

Britons can now enjoy the fruits of this devotion in the form of Polska! Year, a 12-month arts festival that cashes in on the wave of immigration that has left Brits eager to know more about our new neighbours. Poland, we’re being told, is no slumbering ex-Soviet satellite, but Europe’s sixth-biggest country and a star in the international arts firmament.

…—Poland needs to kill its idols,— says Katarzyna Szustow, one of a triumvirate now running the Dramatyczny Theatre, based in the Palace of Culture. Here they like their drama more political. In the 19th century, Szustow says, when Poland was partitioned between Germany, Russia and Habsburg Austria, —it was to the theatre that you went to hear Polish spoken. Then, under the Soviets, theatre was the focal point of dissent. Post-1989 theatre was suddenly meaningless —” the real ‘theatre’ was happening in the public sphere.—

…

The remaining taboos in Polish theatre include homosexuality and Poland’s relationship with its Jewish population. The former is broached by Szustow’s new regime, which programmes live art about gender and the body; the latter by a new play at the National Theatre in London, Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek. His play, which confronts the country’s complicity in Second World War atrocities, hasn’t been staged in Poland —” Slobodzianek is loath to apply for state funding because of the controversy it would generate. All theatres are state-funded and highly bureaucratic, which means plenty of activity, but a lack of flexibility.

The only other taboo is laughter. —Making comedy in Polish theatre means you are not an artist,— Gruszczynski says. He’s exaggerating —“ perhaps for comic effect. But for Britons striving to reduce our own theatre to a branch of the leisure industry Polish drama takes some getting used to. And yet, the sense of a thriving, passionate scene, and of a younger generation exploiting the public role theatre has retained from the Soviet years is exhilarating. If Polska! Year can communicate that excitement, its shows will be well worth seeing.

A fitting tribute:

Dr. Jerzy J. Maciuszko – Ambassador of Polish Culture and one of the most dedicated members of the Kosciuszko Foundation by Olga Teresa Sarbinowska

Those of us who were raised in Communist Poland have much in common. We are direct, act with a characteristic ease, and we tend to pay little attention to manners. The Polish post-war generations stand in direct contrast to the Polish pre-war intelligentsia. To many of us the pre-war intelligentsia is an abstract notion often associated with rigid etiquette and snobbism. When at the end of the eighties I arrived in Cleveland, the first representative of Polonia who reached out to me was Doctor Jerzy Maciuszko, a charming, courteous man full of gentleness, humbleness, politeness, and inherent high culture.

A Warsavian by birth, Jerzy Maciuszko, is a 1936 graduate of the Department of English Language at the University of Warsaw. He began his American career in 1951 as a lecturer of Polish Literature at Alliance College in Pennsylvania. Soon thereafter, he moved to Cleveland where he enrolled in the doctoral program in library sciences at Case Western Reserve University and worked in the department of foreign literature at the Cleveland Public Library. Upon defending his Ph.D. dissertation, Maciuszko was promoted to director of the prestigious John G. White Department at The Cleveland Public Library and continued his academic career teaching Polish literature at Case Western Reserve University.

In 1969, Dr. Maciuszko accepted the position of Chairman of the Slavic Studies Department at Alliance College in Pennsylvania. It should be noted that Alliance College was established by the Polish National Alliance. An informational brochure published by the College at the beginning of the seventies explained that “Slavic studies” at most American universities amounted to “Russian studies” while at Alliance College the emphasis was on “Polish studies.” …

Unfortunately in 1974 Dr. Maciuszko left Alliance College and returned to Cleveland where he accepted the directorship of Baldwin-Wallace College’s Ritter Library. Soon after his departure, Alliance College, together with the Center for Polish Studies, closed down. The magnificent Alliance College campus was sold out and the entire complex was turned into a women’s prison.

Accepting a position as the library director at Baldwin-Wallace College, Professor Maciuszko seemingly departed from his involvement in the Polish cause. However, this was not the case. He plunged into the life of Polonia like a missionary driven by an inner fire. He wrote, published, became active in many Polonia organizations, and quickly established himself as a foundation of cultural and intellectual life for the Polish-American community in Cleveland… Furthermore, as an active member, he was involved with the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in New York, Polish-American veteran organizations in Cleveland, the Association of Polish Writers Abroad, and the Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, and others.

…

As a writer, Dr. Maciuszko dedicated his works primarily to Poland and Polonia. Since 1957, he has been publishing reviews of Polish literature in the quarterly World Literature Today. Reviews by him also appeared regularly in The Polish Review and other leading literary journals. In addition, as a prolific writer Dr. Maciuszko has authored numerous forewords and commentaries to various editions of classical literature. …

This prominent Cleveland Pole also wrote a chapter entitled “Polish Letters in America” for the book Poles in America, Frank Mocha, editor (Worzalla Publishing Company, 1978), as well as a chapter entitled “Polish-American Literature” for the book Ethnic Perspectives in American Literature, Di Petro, editor (Modern Languages Association of America, 1983). Numerous encyclopedic entries on Polish writers and poets authored by him appeared in Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (Unger Publishing Company, 1975). The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, John Grabowski, Editor (Indiana University Press, 1987) included an entry by Dr. Maciuszko. He was also a founding member of Choice, the official journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Choice was first issued in 1964, and since then Dr. Maciuszko has been a regular contributor, writing primarily reviews of Polish literature. He also has served as Chairman of the Slavic Division within ACRL organization.

In 1969 Dr. Maciuszko published The Polish Short Story in English; A Guide and Critical Bibliography (Wayne State University Press). This compendium consisted of summaries of Polish short stories published in English. The work was published within the Millennium Series of the Kosciuszko Foundation. Professor of Polish Studies at Columbia University, Dr. Anna Frajlich, called the book “a monumental work indispensable to all American teachers and students of Polish literature.”

A most puzzling fact is that a significant literary achievement of Dr. Maciuszko’s, to this day, remains completely unknown. To solve this mystery we must travel back in time to the beginning of World War II. In August of 1939, twenty-six-year-old Maciuszko was a member of one of the first military units to stand up to the Nazi war machine. Unfortunately, on September 4th, he was taken prisoner of war, and for the next five and a half years he remained in the German POW camps.

In 1943, the international Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) headquartered in Geneva announced a literary contest among all prisoners held in German POW camps. At night, by candlelight, after an exhaustive work day, while his comrades slept, Maciuszko wrote a short story which he entitled Koncert F-Moll (Concerto in F-minor). He was thrilled to find out later that it had been selected as a winner.

…

In 1974, an American professor wrote in a letter of recommendation that Dr. Maciuszko “still maintains his old-world dignity.” Never giving in to the pressures of the American culture, he has remained faithful to the ideals of his upbringing. Having known Dr. Maciuszko and his wife, Dr. Kathleen Maciuszko, throughout the years, I rediscovered the charm and splendor of Polish pre-war intelligentsia, this culture of mine that at first appeared very distant and incomprehensible, the culture that has been almost lost and forgotten. Today, I greatly value this engaging courtesy coupled with refined dignity and tremendous kindness. In today’s world of aggression, courtesy and kindness are invaluable assets. I salute Dr. Maciuszko for being able, against all odds, to preserve the most precious qualities of the Polish culture and pass them on to the next generations.

Zeal:

From Pew: The —Zeal of the Convert—: Is It the Real Deal?

A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that they are very fervent about their new faith. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life provides quantitative support for this piece of conventional wisdom often referred to as the “zeal of the convert.” The analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith, as measured by the importance of religion in their lives, frequency with which they attend religious services and other measures of religious commitment. However, the analysis also finds that the differences in religious commitment between converts and nonconverts are generally very small and are more apparent among some religious groups than others.

One of the most striking findings of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum in 2007, was the large number of people who have left their childhood faith. According to the survey, roughly half of all Americans say they have left the faith in which they were raised to adopt another faith or no faith at all, or if they were not raised in a religion, they have since joined one.

The new analysis finds that, overall, people who have switched religions consistently exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than those who still belong to their childhood faith, but the differences are relatively modest…

After joining the PNCC I went through strong convertitis. Affects others more strongly than others I suppose.

In Bridge news:

From the NY Times: Polish Wroclaw Team Blitzes, Winning Universities Title

The first European Universities Championship was played in Opatija, Croatia, from Oct. 4 through last Saturday. The 22 teams from 11 countries (Poland sent 7 teams) played a 10-board round robin.

With one round to go, Paris led Wroclaw-1 by 2 victory points. Paris played against Krakow (lying 15th), and Wroclaw-1 faced Munich (13th).

The final match started well for Paris. On Board 21 the Krakow East-West pair misdefended to let three no-trump through, giving Paris 13 international match points. And on the next deal this same Krakow pair missed three no-trump that was made at the other three tables in these matches, giving Paris another 10 imps.

…

On the penultimate board Wroclaw-1 gained 5 imps and Paris 7. So Paris needed a big swing on the final deal, but it was a dull three no-trump where the only fight was for an overtrick.

Paris had prevailed in its last match by 18 imps, which gave the team 20 victory points, but Wroclaw-1 had won a 38 to 0 blitz, gaining 25 victory points and the gold medals by 3 victory points.

The winning team comprised Zatorski, Nowosadzki, Wojciech Gawel and Piotr Wiankowski.

Bridge is hugely popular in Poland.