"Bill Clinton will be the most problematic Cabinet member's spouse since Martha Mitchell"
--Pat Buchanan, on Morning Joe.
(Never thought I'd be quoting THAT guy, but, hey, a good line is a good line--KJ)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Quips and Quotations
"Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. It's power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crises has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control--and a nation cannot prosper long when it only favors the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross national product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart--not out of charity, but because that is the surest route to our common good.
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers...our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideas still light the world, and we will not give them up for expediency's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
"Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, not does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."
--President Barack Obama, inaugural address.
(Don't mistake this for a wholesale endorsement of Obama's speech. Much of it made me either yawn, sigh, or roll my eyes...but I did like this part--KJ)
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers...our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideas still light the world, and we will not give them up for expediency's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
"Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, not does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."
--President Barack Obama, inaugural address.
(Don't mistake this for a wholesale endorsement of Obama's speech. Much of it made me either yawn, sigh, or roll my eyes...but I did like this part--KJ)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Well, It's Not Exactly New York Harbour...
Got things to do today, so I'll have to catch Obama's speech tonight on C-span. They'll play it a couple of times, I'm sure. True, it's not the same as watching it live. But the live version's not necessarily live. There's a rumor on the Internet that Obama's inauguration speech is on a five-second tape delay. Networks execs are afraid a strong wind might knock over Dick Cheney's wheelchair, and the subsequent curse words will be caught on mike.
Even though I'm not watching the inauguration live, I will pass this along to you. Earlier this morning, I was in Berea, driving down Bagley through a mild snowstorm, when I suddenly see this guy on the side of the road dressed like the Statue of Liberty, and waving a cardboard torch! He certainly seemed to be in a good mood.
Something written by Emma Lazarus popped into my head.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp besides the golden door!"
Lamp? Golden door? Speaking for this wretched refuse, after eight years of Bush, I'd be willing to follow a Zippo lighter through the garage door entrance!
Even though I'm not watching the inauguration live, I will pass this along to you. Earlier this morning, I was in Berea, driving down Bagley through a mild snowstorm, when I suddenly see this guy on the side of the road dressed like the Statue of Liberty, and waving a cardboard torch! He certainly seemed to be in a good mood.
Something written by Emma Lazarus popped into my head.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp besides the golden door!"
Lamp? Golden door? Speaking for this wretched refuse, after eight years of Bush, I'd be willing to follow a Zippo lighter through the garage door entrance!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Recommended Reading
Even though the medical mart/convention center hasn't been built, I find myself paying it yet another visit.
If you live in the Cleveland area, or you're merely a follower of fucked-up government, then read Frank Lewis's latest in Scene.
If you live in the Cleveland area, or you're merely a follower of fucked-up government, then read Frank Lewis's latest in Scene.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Corrections and Retractions
In an earlier post (Finite Feagler , 12/15/08) I inveighed against The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation for never having the induction ceremony here in Cleveland. Well, it turns out this year it IS in Cleveland, at Public Hall on April 4.
BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD IT HERE LAST YEAR, TOO!!!
BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD IT HERE LAST YEAR, TOO!!!
In Memoriam: Andrew Wyeth 1917-2008
Artist. Christina's World, the Helga paintings
"I think most people get to my work through the back door. They're attracted by the realism and they sense the emotion and the abstraction--and eventually, I hope, they get their own powerful emotion."
(Speaking for myself, whenever I view Christina's World, I feel like driving up to Christina and asking, "Do you want a lift?"--KJ)
"I think most people get to my work through the back door. They're attracted by the realism and they sense the emotion and the abstraction--and eventually, I hope, they get their own powerful emotion."
(Speaking for myself, whenever I view Christina's World, I feel like driving up to Christina and asking, "Do you want a lift?"--KJ)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Brain Damage
There was was an interesting discussion on Hardball last week. It was all about whether Dick Cheney was really the one in charge these last eight years. Chris Matthews had two guests, one a Democrat, the other--surprise!--a Republican. The Democrat was positive Dick Cheney was the brains of the operation. The Republican not so sure. Now, I usually agree with the Dems more than I do with the GOP, but this time I wasn't so sure. I mean, since when is the belief that a VP shouldn't be pulling the strings an integral part of liberal philosophy? Does that mean we can't have a fair, just, and equable society unless every word that comes out of a president's mouth has it's origins in his brain? As long as a president agrees with the thought, idea or sentiment, whatever it's source, isn't that enough? As long as We, the People, approve of the outcome, then what do we care that some shadow government's not getting it's proper due?
Leaving all that aside, just why do people think that Dick Cheney is running things? Well, I suppose, he SEEMS smarter. To begin with, Bush is stuck with a southern accent. After years of watching shows and movies like Gomer Pyle, The Beverly Hillbillies and Forrest Gump, we've all come to associate that dialect with dimwittedness. Even Scarlet O'Hara was a little dingbatty, what with picking a fight with Rhett Butler when she was at the TOP of a flight of stairs. Wait until you're closer to the source of gravity, you hoop-skirted bimbo. None of this means southerners are actually stupid--they're not--but that's how they're often portrayed, and they suffer accordingly.
There's also the President's mangling of the English language. He shares this trait with his prep school-dialect father. But talking is different than writing. The spoken word, sans teleprompter, is always a first and only draft. Part of the problem may be that leaders tend to think they're smarter then their followers. Why else would they want to lead in the first place? Would you want to tell someone smarter than you what to do? "Hey, Albert, forget that E=mc2 shit. Just say the relativity theory has something to do with cousins not marrying!" What I'm trying to get at is the Bushes may have been trying to talk down to all of us, and, not unlike Scarlet O'Hara, they lost their balance.
But none of the above would matter if Cheney didn't come across as so damn smart. He talks in a low voice. Do you know why smart people talk in low voices? They have no other choice. The extra energy it takes to fuel their giant brains must be absorbed from other parts of their body, such as the lungs. So much of a drain is intelligence on the rest of the body, in fact, that not only do smart people mutter, they also move slower, are prone to heart attacks, have difficult time aiming rifles, and show up at solemn Auschwitz ceremonies dressed like retirees about to snow blow their driveways.
So, yes, maybe Cheney is the "brains" of the operation, the man pulling the strings, the power behind the throne.
Where does that leave us?
4226 Americans killed in Iraq. The worst economic crises since the Great Depression.
In a recent radio interview, Dick Cheney said, "There was never any question who was in charge. It was George Bush."
Smart move, Dick.
Leaving all that aside, just why do people think that Dick Cheney is running things? Well, I suppose, he SEEMS smarter. To begin with, Bush is stuck with a southern accent. After years of watching shows and movies like Gomer Pyle, The Beverly Hillbillies and Forrest Gump, we've all come to associate that dialect with dimwittedness. Even Scarlet O'Hara was a little dingbatty, what with picking a fight with Rhett Butler when she was at the TOP of a flight of stairs. Wait until you're closer to the source of gravity, you hoop-skirted bimbo. None of this means southerners are actually stupid--they're not--but that's how they're often portrayed, and they suffer accordingly.
There's also the President's mangling of the English language. He shares this trait with his prep school-dialect father. But talking is different than writing. The spoken word, sans teleprompter, is always a first and only draft. Part of the problem may be that leaders tend to think they're smarter then their followers. Why else would they want to lead in the first place? Would you want to tell someone smarter than you what to do? "Hey, Albert, forget that E=mc2 shit. Just say the relativity theory has something to do with cousins not marrying!" What I'm trying to get at is the Bushes may have been trying to talk down to all of us, and, not unlike Scarlet O'Hara, they lost their balance.
But none of the above would matter if Cheney didn't come across as so damn smart. He talks in a low voice. Do you know why smart people talk in low voices? They have no other choice. The extra energy it takes to fuel their giant brains must be absorbed from other parts of their body, such as the lungs. So much of a drain is intelligence on the rest of the body, in fact, that not only do smart people mutter, they also move slower, are prone to heart attacks, have difficult time aiming rifles, and show up at solemn Auschwitz ceremonies dressed like retirees about to snow blow their driveways.
So, yes, maybe Cheney is the "brains" of the operation, the man pulling the strings, the power behind the throne.
Where does that leave us?
4226 Americans killed in Iraq. The worst economic crises since the Great Depression.
In a recent radio interview, Dick Cheney said, "There was never any question who was in charge. It was George Bush."
Smart move, Dick.
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