If you are looking for a funny, sarcastic, and solid cultural commentary, pick up a copy of Bill Maher's new Book, New Rules. It's very funny. He makes fun of just about everything from Bush to parents and parenting coaches -- even though it's obvious he has no kids of his own, because just suggesting you can make kids do something. . . . The scary thing is that we are watching the rise of the post 9/11 generation of kids who are accepting the idea that you need to watch what you say, that anything that could conceivably be construed as criticism of the government might be unpatriotic, and if you're not careful you could go to jail, or at the very least lose access to your favorite reality show. President Bush has posed the question, "Is our children learning?" Obviously, they isn't. You can teach sign language to a gorilla in four years; why is it taking so long for George W. to learn? And by the way George, by definition, being a Washington insider relates to how close you are to the president so quit whining about all the Wahington insiders and politicians and look in the mirror. Everything that happened after 2000 is your fault, not the Clintons, not the Democrats. Take some responsibility for God's sake. And what is it with all these shows like Desperate Housewives. "If I had any interest in other people's sex lives, I'd be a Republican."
If you enjoyed The Hunt for Red October you'll like Typhoon by Mark Joseph. It's the late nineties and a few naval officers, fearing the implosion of the Soviet Union and loss of Soviet satellites, have hatched a plan to force a military coup by faking a rebellion and threatening to launch an atomic missile at the capitol of Georgia. Admiral Zenko, in charge of the Soviet Typhoon class submarine base at Gremikha is determined to thwart the rebellion. A Los Angeles class American sub gets caught in the middle and a cat-and-mouse game results. A very entertaining read.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
When You Ride Alone...
What ever happened to the Americans of World War II who were willing to sacrifice for their country, Bill Maher asks in When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden. The attitude today seems to be, "I'll use as much gas as I want, screw you and your Victory Garden, too." Not one person in a leadership position has asked that we sacrifice something. Jimmy Carter was practically crucified when he asked people to turn down their thermostats. The attitude seems to be, "Shop till you drop," and "Thanks for traveling." Self-promotion and greed rule the day. In the meantime we become more and more indebted to the Middle East and a slave to foreign oil. We ask nothing of our leaders and in return ask that they return the favor.
The book is now a little dated -- it was published before the invasion of Iraq, but many of his comments are worthy of serious thought. Labeling him a liberal is perhaps misguided as he's really more of a progressive libertarian, but most labels are balderdash anyway. Maher is a funny satirist who needs to be taken seriously.
The book is now a little dated -- it was published before the invasion of Iraq, but many of his comments are worthy of serious thought. Labeling him a liberal is perhaps misguided as he's really more of a progressive libertarian, but most labels are balderdash anyway. Maher is a funny satirist who needs to be taken seriously.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Noteworthy quotes
"Fox News nearly herniates itself straining for a silver lining to each bolt of bad news (watching Ollie North interview the troops makes North Korean propaganda look sophisticated.)"
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair , August 2005
"Ladies and gentleman, I am a desperate housewife." and "George's answer to any problem at the ranch is to cut it down with a chain saw -- which I think is why he and Cheney and Rumsfeld get along so well."
Laura Bush at the annual White House correspondents' dinner. No mention was made by anyone of the carnage and sacrifice in Iraq even though the weekend death toll was 120 dead.
"Iraq is Vietnam on crack."
"I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns."
"You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question, without ever having contacted me, without ever having written to me or telephoned me, without any contact with me whatsoever and you call that justice."
"Senator [Coleman], in everything I said about Iraq I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong and 100,000 have paid with their lives, 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies."
British member George Galloway of Parliament appearing before Senator Coleman's investigation committee. He left all the Senators, who had not done their homework, speechless. See link for more details.
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair , August 2005
"Ladies and gentleman, I am a desperate housewife." and "George's answer to any problem at the ranch is to cut it down with a chain saw -- which I think is why he and Cheney and Rumsfeld get along so well."
Laura Bush at the annual White House correspondents' dinner. No mention was made by anyone of the carnage and sacrifice in Iraq even though the weekend death toll was 120 dead.
"Iraq is Vietnam on crack."
"I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns."
"You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question, without ever having contacted me, without ever having written to me or telephoned me, without any contact with me whatsoever and you call that justice."
"Senator [Coleman], in everything I said about Iraq I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong and 100,000 have paid with their lives, 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies."
British member George Galloway of Parliament appearing before Senator Coleman's investigation committee. He left all the Senators, who had not done their homework, speechless. See link for more details.
Ellsberg and Kissinger
A new bumper sticker seen in Madison, WI:
"Focus on your own damn family." I concur.
I was listening to an excellent Justice Talking program featuring Ken Starr and John Dean. (Available for MP3 download here.)
The discussion surrounded the ethics, constitutionality, and judiciousness of the special prosecutor laws. It provided me with some new insights into Ken Starr whom we liberals have disdained since the Lewinsky business. It also provided new information on the role Henry Kissinger played in prodding Nixon into a deeper state of paranoia following the release of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg.
The whole concept of a special prosecutor has fallen on hard times as both Democrats and Republicans have begun to see Justice Scalia's dissent as rather prescient. (Justice Scalia's fear that the law allows for the appointment of a "prosecutor antagonistic to the administration, or even to the particular individual who has been selected for this special treatment.") Both Starr and Dean concur that things can easily get out of hand.
Discussing impeachment, John Dean believes George Bush has committed impeachable offenses, since the misdemeanors of "high crimes and misdemeanors" includes making false statements to Congress. In any case, since impeachment is clearly a political maneuver, it won't happen with the current Congress.
"Focus on your own damn family." I concur.
I was listening to an excellent Justice Talking program featuring Ken Starr and John Dean. (Available for MP3 download here.)
The discussion surrounded the ethics, constitutionality, and judiciousness of the special prosecutor laws. It provided me with some new insights into Ken Starr whom we liberals have disdained since the Lewinsky business. It also provided new information on the role Henry Kissinger played in prodding Nixon into a deeper state of paranoia following the release of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg.
The whole concept of a special prosecutor has fallen on hard times as both Democrats and Republicans have begun to see Justice Scalia's dissent as rather prescient. (Justice Scalia's fear that the law allows for the appointment of a "prosecutor antagonistic to the administration, or even to the particular individual who has been selected for this special treatment.") Both Starr and Dean concur that things can easily get out of hand.
Discussing impeachment, John Dean believes George Bush has committed impeachable offenses, since the misdemeanors of "high crimes and misdemeanors" includes making false statements to Congress. In any case, since impeachment is clearly a political maneuver, it won't happen with the current Congress.
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