Not long ago the HB and I were watching a chat show on the telly. The interviewee was an older comedian. He’s very successful and quite wealthy. He was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt with sandals. His eyes were concealed with dark glasses. His demeanor seemed as if he had looked into his soul and had seen an abyss.

Everyone must go through the ‘darkest part of the longest night’ at some point in their lives: it is a moment when we have nowhere to look for answers but into our own soul. The measure of the person is how we emerge from that night. (more…)

After the flurry of activity yesterday, it’s time to reflect on power and the truth.

Here’s something to ponder: in a representative form of government does anyone have absolute power? The short answer is: no. The first problem is, however, when people in power think that their power is absolute. The second problem is inherent in the concept of power; because power, in and of itself, tends to corrupt.

Hubris is the underlying fault. That is to say: having hubris enables a person’s willingness to believe that he/she can have absolute power. That belief is, of course, foolish. But when has foolishness ever stopped self-deception? Furthermore, it’s imprudent to believe that one has absolute power under any circumstance. (more…)

Well, it took me a while for it all to sink in. The White Sox won the World Series in a clean sweep. I found myself wishing it would go on for at least one more game. But a clean sweep, it’s just brilliant.

Chicago is not the biggest metropolis, though it’s certainly substantial, yet Chicagoans manage to support two major league teams. Not only do they support these teams, they fervently support these teams. The most amazing thing about this support is that neither the Sox nor the Cubbies have been winners. Is it America’s love of the underdog?

Does this also explain the disdain for the Yankees? ‘Damn Yankees’ is part of the American vernacular. Outside the 5 boroughs is there anyone who really roots for the Yankees? I say this even though I have a soft spot in my heart for Derek Jeter. He always puts the team before himself. But, Derek Jeter does not a team make.

I just remembered a song from ‘Damn Yankees’: “You’ve gotta have heart“. The coach is talking to the disgruntled players: (more…)

The wheels on the cart are coming off, coming off
Coming off, Coming off.
The wheels on the cart are coming off, coming off
All through the town.

The vipers on the cart go hiss, hiss, hiss,
Hiss, hiss, hiss, Hiss, hiss, hiss.
The vipers on the cart go hiss, hiss, hiss,
All around the town.

The Georgie on the cart asks “What to do?
What to do? What to do? ”
The Georgie on the cart asks ” What to do? ”
all through the town.

The Dickie on the cart sneers “Shut your trap;
Shut your trap; Shut your trap.”
The Dickie on the cart sneers “Shut your trap”
all around the town.

The Scooter on the cart whines, “it’s not me,
It’s not me, it’s not me”
The Scooter on the cart whines, “it’s not me,
All round the the town

The Judy on the cart screams, “Get off my arse!”
“Get off my arse,”
“Get off my arse.”
The Judy on the cart screams, “Get off my arse”
all through the town.

The Novak on the cart smirks “I won’t tell,
I won’t tell, I won’t tell;”
The Novak on the cart smirks “I won’t tell,”
all through the town.

The Donnie on the cart shouts “Nuke ‘em all!
Nuke ‘em all, nuke em all!”
The Donnie on the cart shouts “Nuke ‘em all!
All through the town.

The Karl on the cart says nothing at all,
nothing at all, nothing at all.
The Karl on the cart says nothing at all,
All through the town.

The bell on the cart, it tolls for thee
Tolls for thee, tolls for thee.
The bell on the bus, it tolls for thee,
All the way down.

I had a not great day Sunday. Little under the weather was Anon. You might remember how I extolled on the aspect of technology that gave us caller ID. I love caller ID. On Sunday, caller ID was a godsend.

First of all, it’s the season of political calls. I’m not against answering real poll questions, but I hate ‘push’ polls. Those are fake polls that don’t want a real measure of public opinion the people behind these “polls” just want to “push” you to vote for their candidate, against the opponent, or to not vote at all. These so-called polls are anathema to a representative form of governing.

Fortunately, because I have a degree in Political Science, I can tell the difference and I’m not shy about pointing that fact out to the boiler room denizens who have the misfortune of being at the other end of the line from me. I usually ream them a new one.

The other thing I can’t stand are legitimate polls that haven’t trained their people properly. There is a way to run a poll professionally and it makes me nuts to hear it get screwed up. (more…)

It’s hard to know where to begin when discussing Judith Miller’s role in the Wilson/Plame/CIA leak case. Ms. Miller sees herself as a latter day Joan of Arc. In fact she appears to have been so intoxicated by her proximity to power that she was willing to lie.

Here is a telling snippet: In her breakfast meeting with Scooter Libby in DC, Miller has testified that Libby asked her to not identify him as a “senior administration official.” Rather he wanted to be cited as a “former hill staffer.” This would obfuscate the source of the leak (in Libby’s mind anyway). What’s most egregious is that Miller immediately agreed to this lie.

So, Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, has now, in an internal memorandum meant for public dissemination, apologised to the staff of the Times for his own missteps in dealing with Ms. Miller (and Miller has answered back). It begs the question: Did Keller just want to believe a Pulitzer Prize wining reporter or was he afraid to reign her in because of her ties to the administration? The truth is somewhere in there and we’ll probably never know. We must ask of everyone concerned from the White House to the press the old Howard Baker question: what did they know and when did they know it?

What the public do know is that journalistic integrity was thrown aside like yesterday’s news. It was at the bottom of the cage and Judy Miller was posing as the bird who wouldn’t sing after having sung many front page arias written by the White House.

It’s a funny thing about lies, they have a way of coming back and sticking to the liar. Lies are tar babies.

Right about now, Ms. Miller is having to douse those flames in her knickers.

You know, the camera doesn’t lie. Somehow, Tom Delay’s attorney got his mug shot without the usual height markings and numbers. There he is, just grinning away like a cat eating shit. Well, at least he couldn’t hide everything. Good ol’ Tom, he’s always good for a laugh.

In August of 1998 Tom Delay observed the sagacity of resigning before you’re convicted:

I just think that, if the president wants to put this behind him, then he ought to do the honourable thing, and that is to resign…. We’re talking about something that’s very dangerous, when the American people have lost the trust and respect of the president of the United States…. If he’s lied … then how can he stand before the American people and the American people trust what he has to say?

Anon’s question: Will he follow his own advice?

In October 1998, Tom Delay made this observation on the impeachment of President Clinton:

This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law. Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth . . .No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

We hear you Tom. You know, you’re just slicker than deer guts on a gate post. Listen you can always go back to playing with them cucarachas in Houston.

Gosh, this just warms the cockles of my twisted little heart.

One late autmn afternoon, when I was a child, a letter arrived from one of my great aunts in Chicago. She said that Cousin Harry, whom we never knew, was coming for a visit. He was the son of a long dead aunt and he couldn’t take the Chicago winters.

At the time, my Mum, my Uncle, one of my Aunts, and I shared a flat. My Mum and I had one bedroom. My Aunt had another bedroom. My Uncle slept on the sofa bed in the lounge. It was crowded.

Cousin Harry whom-we-never-knew showed up with a beat up suitcase. He was a small tired-looking man. His hair was thin on top. He had a haunted look. His eyes were sunken deep in their sockets. His cheeks were hollow. It was hard to tell how tall he was because his shoulders sagged so. He rarely laughed and reminded me of a character in the comic pages of the time, the Sad Sack. He was older than I had imagined. But then, my Gran had 7 sisters and he was the son of the oldest.

Harry had evidently never made a habit of work. As a matter of fact, Cousin Harry whom-we-never-knew assiduously avoided anything that reeked of labour. He shared the sofa bed in the lounge with my uncle. Uncle had to get up very early every day, and he liked to have the sofa bed made up. Cousin Harry whom-we-never-knew liked to sleep in late. My mother and auntie worked and I had school. We all had to tip toe around Cousin Harry-whom-we-never-knew. (more…)

Yesterday, I speculated on the psychological/religious motivations for Robert Novak to bow low to right-facing power. Today, let’s delve into the implications of that misplaced fealty.

Conservatives are not a monolithic bloc. Conservatism takes on many forms. There are philosophical Conservatives. These folks believe in truly limited government. They feel that the government that governs least governs best. Yes, they’ve got their wingtips firmly planted in the 18th century.

Then there are the fiscal Conservatives. These folks can, at the same time be social moderates (or, OHMYGAWD, Liberals). They aren’t looked upon as “true” Conservatives by any of the other conservative factions. Fiscal Conservatives are often mistaken for Clinton Democrats.

The most fascinating sect is the religious Conservatives. These folks don’t seem to understand why the framers decided that we wouldn’t have a state religion. These folks also don’t seem to appreciate the freedom that we have to worship in whatever way we want in this country. They also seemed to have missed the point that in the industrialised countries of Western Europe (where there is not a defining line between the state and religion) people are far less religious than in the U.S. Why? Could it be that when religion is part of the state, people will feel oppressed by it? (more…)

There’s a thing about being a ‘cradle’ Catholic: a cradle Catholic will be one ‘til the day he/she dies. It defines your every move. You can fall out with the Church Universal, but it never lets go of you. If someone asks you while you’re in this unforgiven state what your religion is, you’ll say, “I’m a non-practicing Catholic.” Notice it’s not, “I’m a Christian,” or “I’m Protestant,” or I’m an atheist.” No, Catholicism defines you – and all you can ever be is either practicing or non-practicing.

My Mum, the non-practicing Jew, once asked my non-practicing Catholic Dad if, in the event of his being on his death bed would he want her to call a priest and he said, “Damn straight!” She knew that, as she was “born a Jew, die a Jew,” his Catholicism would grab him by the jugular as his spirit departed this earthly toil.

Since I went to Catholic schools, I am living proof of the Jesuit’s maxim,”Give me the child, and I’ll give you the man.” No matter what my frustration with the church might be at any given time (there is always something to be frustrated with the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church about) I could never consider myself anything but Roman Catholic. Thus is the curse of the cradle Catholic. (more…)