Like My Desk at Work

The title refers to the fact that my desk here is testimony to the power of miscellany--over the three day weekend so many things happened I'm having trouble keeping track...

Beginning with news around here, most folks probably have heard about Ray Nagin's decision to eschew more traditional adjectives in describing NOLA--"creole," "melting pot," "cultural and ethnic diversity," etc. etc.--choosing instead , ahem, "chocolate"...Nagin also alluded to almighty wrath as the storm's cause, suggesting a message of punishment for military misadventures abroad and black/African-American irresponsibility at home, i.e., a new Old Testament, or The Revenge of the YHWH.

And I thought it was a combination of warm water conditions, the Loop Current, and so on...

Changing subjects, I heard about/read Al Gore's most recent speech, once again wondering why he wouldn't or couldn't be as strong a speaker back in 2000, when it might have saved us from the present predicament. Yeah, yeah, I know that 2000 was sooooooo pre 9/11, but, then again, so is the Constitution, and it survived the War of 1812, the Civil War, the First and Second World Wars, though the Mexican-American, Spanish-American, and Vietnam Wars, not to mention the American Indian and Western Hemisphere campaigns, certainly certainly added a few dings and dents prior to Cheney and Shrub's ongoing attempt to shred it (I dunno--I hear the Consitution is printed on hemp paper--maybe Jenna's stash is low).

Operation-Who-Gives-a-Shit,-Blast-Away, um, succeeded...if by "success," you mean maybe killed a few low level Al Qaeda operates (emphasis on maybe) and certainly killed at least a dozen people--including women and children--who were guilty of...being Pakistanis. And, of course, issues of sovereignty and respect for international borders is soooo....pre 9/11.

Again, changing subjects, sort of, it seems flouting laws isn't just for village-idiots-in-chief anymore: in an example of trickle down, three teenagers in Florida decided they could ignore the law too, and engaged in a fine example of Storm Trooper imitation in beating and killing homeless people. But, full disclosure here: beating and/or killing homeless people isn't exactly a new phenomenon. Sadly, I once personally witnessed an obviously homeless person get similar treatment from a few young thugs. Fortunately, a police car was passing by, and I was able to flag the officer down. To be honest, I have no idea what happened to the old man who was beaten pretty badly--he was loaded into an ambulance and my involvement was over after that. But, in the more recent case, I have a strong feeling the culture of violence pervading this country of late must've had some effect on their decision (not to absolve them of any responsibility, mind you).

Scalito seems to be on his way to the bench; unfortunately, that's not a sports metaphor. I've mostly been avoiding this topic--first, because others are doing a much better job, and second, because it's just too goddamned depressing, particularly when "our team" has to limp along with an such an obvious last-pick like Joe Biden. Grrr...

But I'll note one thing: once again, it's wingnuttia that can't seem to grow up and accept the end of the 1960's. Scalli himself made reference to the era--BEFORE his membership in CPA was brought up--and it follows a pattern I've noticed: lame-o's like the judge, who were hopeless chickenhawk nerds at that time, continue to harbor a bull-sized taste for revenge. Kate O'Beirne writes a horrible little screed of a book, Shrub himself scornfully dismisses the era with the line "it used to be 'if it feels good, do it,' now it's 'let's roll'" (one of THE MOST ironic phrases in modern politics, considering his personal history), Operation Enduring Clusterfuck aka the Twin Defeats in Iraq and Afghanistan (and, no, heaven forbid, they're going for the trifecta) ARE, for this generation, an attempt to "prove" that Vietnam was "winnable" (and, with defeat looming, they're playing the same old blame game), and, in a truly gross spectacle, preen around on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day while doing all they can to undermine his legacy (a legacy that, back IN the day, they were unremitingly hostile towards).

And I haven't even gotten around to looking at Josh Marshall's interesting observation re: Gore's speech--the "connection between authoritarianism, official secrecy and incompetence."

Finally, to throw the kitchen sink into this post, a couple of lines on television last night really hit me. The first two came from The History Channel's special on Abraham Lincoln (which I can recommend--not all that enthusiastically, but recommend nonetheless). Some academic type--didn't catch his name--noted, pointedly, that Lincoln didn't demand syncophantry. I even wrote down his exact statement:

Mediocre presidents hide from bad news. Great presidents seek it out.

Someone might want to tell that to the boy king, who, I believe, has taken to thinking of himself as a modern day Abe Lincoln.

And Gore Vidal, featured on the program, offered this by way of saying "Shrub, you're no Abe Lincoln:"

A war against terror is like a war against dandruff.

Vidal also had a few things to say about wingnut fantasia, i.e., their drooling over coercive measures Lincoln took during the war. You'll have to catch the program itself to see his response.

Finally, if you've managed to get this far, I'll close with one last bit of miscellany: while wandering through channels during the commercial break, I happened across a basketball game just in time to hear Dick Vitale commending someone for doing "a heckuva job."

To paraphrase Emeril Lagasse, bam.

George W. Bush: the Dick Vitale of American presidents.