Global
Contrary to media cliches about “the silly season,” this is a time
of very serious -- and probably catastrophic -- political maneuvers.
From California to the U.N. building in New York City to the sweltering heat of Iraq, the deadly consequences of entrenched power are anything but humorous.
Can you remember watching a movie when some calamity is happening on the screen, and laughter ripples across the darkened theater? You might wonder why people are chuckling at the grievous misfortunes of others. To comfortable viewers, a disaster can seem quite amusing.
The market is hot for Hollywood extravaganzas that fill screens at multiplexes. The spectacles of high-tech weapons and cinematic bloodshed are experienced as just so much viewing pleasure. The unreality, we’re told, is just for diversion -- people understand the difference between movie posturing and the real world.
But this summer, news outlets are agog with real-life versions of what could be called “Pulp Nonfiction.”
From California to the U.N. building in New York City to the sweltering heat of Iraq, the deadly consequences of entrenched power are anything but humorous.
Can you remember watching a movie when some calamity is happening on the screen, and laughter ripples across the darkened theater? You might wonder why people are chuckling at the grievous misfortunes of others. To comfortable viewers, a disaster can seem quite amusing.
The market is hot for Hollywood extravaganzas that fill screens at multiplexes. The spectacles of high-tech weapons and cinematic bloodshed are experienced as just so much viewing pleasure. The unreality, we’re told, is just for diversion -- people understand the difference between movie posturing and the real world.
But this summer, news outlets are agog with real-life versions of what could be called “Pulp Nonfiction.”
Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, Ridge, Ashcroft
PRESIDENT BUSH: Alright! Alright! Alright! Karl Rove. You are the man. Arnold
Baby in California. You are a GENIUS! I haven't had so much fun since I went
AWOL from the Guard. And BELIEVE me, that was a lot of fun.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Karl, you know what a great kidder I am. But I could
never have dreamed up this one. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governor of California.
SECRETARY RUMSFELD: Old Arnold. He's a one-man weapon of mass destruction. He
reminds me of Saddam before he got fancy and went with the Euro. God, I miss
that guy.
KARL ROVE: Thank you, gentlemen. It was nothing, really. I realized long ago
there was just one guy to get Gray Davis out of there. We couldn't run Arnold
in the general election. That would mean debates and a long campaign and a lot
of media scrutiny. To elect a specimen like Arnold, who is basically a circus
strong man, you need, well, a circus.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Hang in there, Texas Eleven. You are not
forgotten.
Gov. Goodhair Perry says the AWOL senators are holding up "issues of great importance to the people of Texas." That's funny. There has been one and only one item of business on the agenda for both special sessions called by the guv (at a cost of $1.7 million each): the crass rejiggering of congressional distric lines in order to elect more Republicans out of Texas. Using taxpayer money for partisan political purposes, period.
Really Bad Idea of the Week: Attorney General John Ashcroft is now investigating judges. He is requiring prosecutors to report cases where the judge hands down sentences that are less than the federal guidelines suggest. This is part of a concerted effort by both Congress and the Justice Department (part of the executive branch) to pressure judges to follow rigid sentencing guidelines. When last consulted, the Constitution still said there are three co-equal branches of government -- the executive is not assigned to intimidate the judiciary.
Gov. Goodhair Perry says the AWOL senators are holding up "issues of great importance to the people of Texas." That's funny. There has been one and only one item of business on the agenda for both special sessions called by the guv (at a cost of $1.7 million each): the crass rejiggering of congressional distric lines in order to elect more Republicans out of Texas. Using taxpayer money for partisan political purposes, period.
Really Bad Idea of the Week: Attorney General John Ashcroft is now investigating judges. He is requiring prosecutors to report cases where the judge hands down sentences that are less than the federal guidelines suggest. This is part of a concerted effort by both Congress and the Justice Department (part of the executive branch) to pressure judges to follow rigid sentencing guidelines. When last consulted, the Constitution still said there are three co-equal branches of government -- the executive is not assigned to intimidate the judiciary.
The famous British philosopher Ted Honderich is threatening to
sue the head of the Holocaust museum in Frankfurt, Germany, for calling him
an anti-Semite. The director, Micha Brumlik, leveled the charge last week
after Honderich's book, "After the Terror," was published in Germany in
July. Suhrkamp, the publisher, has said it is taking the book off the
market, though in practice this appears to mean Suhrkamp won't order a
reprinting when the first printing of 3,000 is sold out. Germany's most
eminent philosopher, Jurgen Habermas, has said he can find nothing
anti-Semitic in the book, though he regrets any offense that may have been
caused. Honderich is a resolute supporter of the Palestinian struggle for
nationhood. But, as he emphasizes, he is in no way an anti-Semite, has a
Jewish wife and stepchildren, and has always refused to lecture in Germany
because of the Holocaust.
Time's running out on death row
The masses need appeased
Appeals and pleas have all run out
The family's running out of sweet money
Money greases the wheels of justice
That's how so many guilty rich slip away
But if you're innocent or poor
There's a higher price you'll have to pay
As the people line up outside the prison
As they wait for the lights to go dim
They say
We got have some closure
Gotta get it anyway we can
Got to find some closure
Got to go kill another man
Life in prison is not good enough
Now we need to see them die
It's been this way since time began
Another eye now for an eye
It doesn't matter that they may be innocent
As long as they are strapped to the bed
As long as they have a vein to shoot up
As long as they end up dead
The death supporters are screaming at the protesters
The facts of the case get lost in the fray
They yell
We got to find some closure
Gotta get it anyway we can
We got to find some closure
Got to go and kill another man
Fighting for all the pay-per-view rights
It's what the people want and need
The masses need appeased
Appeals and pleas have all run out
The family's running out of sweet money
Money greases the wheels of justice
That's how so many guilty rich slip away
But if you're innocent or poor
There's a higher price you'll have to pay
As the people line up outside the prison
As they wait for the lights to go dim
They say
We got have some closure
Gotta get it anyway we can
Got to find some closure
Got to go kill another man
Life in prison is not good enough
Now we need to see them die
It's been this way since time began
Another eye now for an eye
It doesn't matter that they may be innocent
As long as they are strapped to the bed
As long as they have a vein to shoot up
As long as they end up dead
The death supporters are screaming at the protesters
The facts of the case get lost in the fray
They yell
We got to find some closure
Gotta get it anyway we can
We got to find some closure
Got to go and kill another man
Fighting for all the pay-per-view rights
It's what the people want and need
The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. This is a direct quote from the CNN.com website, first paragraph. I wonder how much of a fine or prison time we should give George Bush and his little gang of warriors on lying to the American people about Weapons of Mass Destruction that are nowhere to be found? What is the justification in how our government handles those who do not agree with them? This administration moves quickly on those individual’s who disagree and usually act out on these people with such fervor that it just scares the hell out of the rest of us. Of course the monster that is our news doesn’t help.
Lesbian Festival is on SEPTEMBER 13, 11 am to 11 pm, at the Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville as it has been for thirteen previous years. Kirkersville is 30 miles east of Columbus in a natural, private setting.
Our MCC (God's Promise of Granville, OH) is sponsoring two workshops. The first is with presenter and writer Donna Brooks on being single and staying sane . There will be an opportunity to meet all the other singles who come to this! We also will have a "singles' dating service," for the day at our booth! The other workshop is for people already in relationships. Believe it or not, we will learn about the support for, and healing of, our relationships, found in the Bible, both Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
Our MCC (God's Promise of Granville, OH) is sponsoring two workshops. The first is with presenter and writer Donna Brooks on being single and staying sane . There will be an opportunity to meet all the other singles who come to this! We also will have a "singles' dating service," for the day at our booth! The other workshop is for people already in relationships. Believe it or not, we will learn about the support for, and healing of, our relationships, found in the Bible, both Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
You Bet.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
BuzzFlash is a little bit tired of the press hedging about whether or not the White House is behind the recall effort and Arnie "The Groper's" candidacy for governor of California. According to Molly Ivins, when BuzzFlash interviewed her, one of Karl Rove's few strategic mistakes against the Democrats was backing former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. But, the right wing Republicans in California revolted and supported William Simon.
So the way BuzzFlash sees it is that Rove was planning the recall initiative probably within days after Davis beat Simon last November. They got a multi-millionaire California Grand Hypocrisy Party (GHP) Congressman (are there any other kind?) to pay petition gatherers for a recall less than a few months after the actual election!
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
BuzzFlash is a little bit tired of the press hedging about whether or not the White House is behind the recall effort and Arnie "The Groper's" candidacy for governor of California. According to Molly Ivins, when BuzzFlash interviewed her, one of Karl Rove's few strategic mistakes against the Democrats was backing former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. But, the right wing Republicans in California revolted and supported William Simon.
So the way BuzzFlash sees it is that Rove was planning the recall initiative probably within days after Davis beat Simon last November. They got a multi-millionaire California Grand Hypocrisy Party (GHP) Congressman (are there any other kind?) to pay petition gatherers for a recall less than a few months after the actual election!
Greetings,
As you may know, I was in court yesterday for the start of my anti-war trial. I face a year in jail for participating in an anti-war protest in Cleveland on March 28, 2003. I wanted to give you an update on what happened. For background info, get the current "Free Times" and read my Statement on page 9.
A spirited march and rally took place outside the Justice Center before we went into the court. There was a lot of interest among passersby, with people eagerly taking fliers. Stationed nearby was the crew of plainclothes cops that have been following peace activists for months. I was interviewed by channel 19/43 and WCPN.
As people entered the courtroom, the bailiff immediately announced that no one wearing shorts would be allowed in! Huh? This was just the beginning of an atmosphere of arbitrariness and hostility from the City that would mark this day. It's a good thing for the plainclothes cops that followed us into the courtroom that they weren't wearing shorts.
As you may know, I was in court yesterday for the start of my anti-war trial. I face a year in jail for participating in an anti-war protest in Cleveland on March 28, 2003. I wanted to give you an update on what happened. For background info, get the current "Free Times" and read my Statement on page 9.
A spirited march and rally took place outside the Justice Center before we went into the court. There was a lot of interest among passersby, with people eagerly taking fliers. Stationed nearby was the crew of plainclothes cops that have been following peace activists for months. I was interviewed by channel 19/43 and WCPN.
As people entered the courtroom, the bailiff immediately announced that no one wearing shorts would be allowed in! Huh? This was just the beginning of an atmosphere of arbitrariness and hostility from the City that would mark this day. It's a good thing for the plainclothes cops that followed us into the courtroom that they weren't wearing shorts.
DUBLIN, N.H. -- What a summer for national credulity fitness. My
credulity gets a lot of exercise, since I cover Texas politics. Like Alice
in Wonderland's White Queen, years of practice have enabled me to believe as
many as six impossible things before breakfast. But here we are with a
perfect feast of mind-bogglers, everyone's credulity stretching and
straining in a giant national workout session.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California. Well, sure, I can handle that one. Manna from heaven for political humorists of all stripes. I'm afraid the joke will begin to wear thin, however. I know we all like to make fun of California as the epicenter of nuttiness, but in fact that big, beautiful state is in terrible trouble. A $36 billion deficit is not amusing. Teachers are being fired, programs to help the most helpless -- the oldest, the youngest, the most frail -- are being cut.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California. Well, sure, I can handle that one. Manna from heaven for political humorists of all stripes. I'm afraid the joke will begin to wear thin, however. I know we all like to make fun of California as the epicenter of nuttiness, but in fact that big, beautiful state is in terrible trouble. A $36 billion deficit is not amusing. Teachers are being fired, programs to help the most helpless -- the oldest, the youngest, the most frail -- are being cut.