Rome has come to you (The Korea Times)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. 
    

A recent Korea Times editorial advised American-retail store Costco to recall the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Sage advice, sure, but its expiration date has come and gone. That old saying needs to be updated as, “Rome has come to you.”
 

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" allegedly goes back to ancient Rome when St. Augustine, on a visit, was advised by the bishop of Milan: "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are." It has been shortened to: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
 

That is practical wisdom for those who enjoy staying out of jail or avoiding an embarrassing faux pas. But should one "do as the Romans do" or turn a blind eye when the locals engage in barbarism, oppression, or just plain old stupidity? Literally doing as the Romans did could have also meant engaging in pedophilia, slavery, rape, and a host of other barbaric things that were legal or condoned in ancient Rome.

Random Stuff

The rich talk back: Lee Gil-ya

Sometimes the messenger, not the message, is the problem. Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart recently caused a bit of a controversy when she wrote:

"There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working."

On the other hand, Lee Gil-ya, president of a foundation in South Korea, is so "no excuses" that I feel like I've been slacking off even though I have been working all day today.

"Lee is constantly questioned how she did it. She answers she has always had dreams and strived to reach them. Specifically, she advises people to sleep no more than four hours; stay focused; set clear goals; and have a dream. "

That's right. Sleep no more than four hours. I have done that a few times in my life, but I would probably sleep 14 hours the next day.

Cafe Hayek

At my Facebook page, a friend thanked me for directing him to CafeHayek. Well, speak of the devil, CafeHayek and its cohost Don Boudreaux are even featured in a syndicated column in Saturday's Korea Times.

Here's an interview I did with Don Boudreaux in May 2007 on the topic of immigration. A few behind the scenes things about the interview:

1) I kept talking to Nate--he was the technical producer of the show who made many mistakes. Nate became a four-letter word to keep myself from cursing on the air. So when you hear me saying his name, just imagine that I was cursing--because I was.

2) I had a different technical producer show me how to run the board so I could do so in case Nate had a heart attack--or I strangled him during one of the commercial breaks.

3) Eliot and Prof. Boudreaux were both good-natured about the many mistakes.

4) I was both the host and producer of the show. Meaning, I booked my own guests, prepared the audio clips, selected the topics and even made promos during the week--all without the help of speech writers or teleprompters. As host, I had to guide the conversation, talk without overshadowing the guests, watch for callers (it wasn't always obvious with their system), and watch the clock. I failed to watch the clock at the end of segment 3, so I cut off Prof. Boudreaux a little too abruptly at the end.

5) XM 169 (now 128 on Sirius XM) is a black talk station. This interview below was done in the context of other hosts deriding immigration as a conspiracy against blacks and callers attacking us as Republicans and sellouts.

Segment 1 intro
Segment 2 (with Prof. Boudreaux and Eliot Morgan)
Segment 3 (with Prof. Boudreaux and Eliot Morgan)