Reflections: You're Laughing Now

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Here is an excerpt from an essay on George Orwell that I read this morning on the New York Times Sunday Book Review page:


… [W]henever perplexed Americans fret over Osama bin Laden or suicide killings, and delude themselves that material progress will cure these ills, I think of what Orwell wrote in 1940 about another charismatic monster. “Hitler, because in his own joyless mind he feels it with exceptional strength, knows that human beings don’t only want comfort, safety, short working-hours, hygiene, birth control and, in general, common sense; they also, at least intermittently, want struggle and self-sacrifice. . . . However they may be as economic theories, Fascism and Nazism are psychologically far sounder than any hedonistic conception of life.”

While I agree with the essayist about Osama bin Laden in this connection, I glean something more about current events from this quote to which the author does not allude. What could sum up more succinctly the impetus behind the snowballing rejection of Barack Obama’s liberal agenda of providing the security of universal health care, along with “comfort, safety, short working-hours, hygiene, birth control “ for all citizens than does this typically prescient insight of Orwell’s?

This quote shows exactly how, and why, the activist “Tea-baggers” have arisen to agitate against their own best interests by championing the likes of intellectual and ideological non-entities such as Sarah Palin, Rick Perry and Scott Brown.

And it shows, more chillingly, whom they most resemble within the larger context of history.

I know, I know... You’re laughing now…

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Your comments welcomed: irodak47@gmail.com
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Rants: Sarah Who?

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Alright, I'll admit it: I actually tried to watch Sarah Palin's debut as a paid talking head on O'Reilly last night. But she was, quite frankly, boring. I'd much prefer to watch any Geico commercial. Or even the Progressive girl.

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As for those of you who expect Sarah Palin will be running for POTUS in 2012--y'all are delusional. She is interested in money, not in hard work. She has demonstrated the fact of her aversion to toil both as a failed candidate for VP, who refused to prep effectively for such things as the big debate with Biden, and as the takes-her-puck-and-goes-home quitter of an Alaskan governor.

It amazes and disturbs me that she has so many Americans bamboozled by her Grand Ole Opry good looks and the bumpersticker sloganeering that, for her, passes as political philosophy.

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"God help this once great nation." ~ Bill Barker

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Reflections: Busted

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So now we apparently have the smoking gun (or the metaphorical "nekkid pitchers") that show us Governor Sarah Palin as I always intuited her to be. She is a "Mean Girl" indeed; signed, sealed, delivered: she's yours. As in, not mine.

This whole affair, since it is apparently known that McCain was aware of "Trooper Gate" up-front, makes me wonder if Palin's willingness to use the power of her office against her personal enemies wasn't exactly what "qualified" her for a role in the neocon passion play in the first place? If you seek Dick Cheney in lipstick, look no further. But she must have convinced them that she'd beat the rap. Where was Sarah's Scooter?

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Reflections: An Analogy

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For some reason, as I was observing, via various blogs, the conflict going on in the Catholic world over the question of whether it is licit to vote for Barack "Baby Killer" Obama, the thought popped into my head that there is an analogy to be drawn between the saga of John and Sarah and the biblical story of Simon Magus and his consort Helene.

Here, as clipped from Wikipedia, is a capsualization of that story:

Justin Martyr (in his Apologies, and in a lost work against heresies, which Irenaeus used as his main source) and Irenaeus (Adversus Haereses) recount the myth of Simon and Helene. According to this myth, which was the center of Simonian religion, in the beginning God had his first thought, his Ennoia (see Sophia), which was female, and that thought was to create the angels. The First Thought then descended into the lower regions and created the angels. But the angels rebelled against her out of jealousy and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Thereafter, she was reincarnated many times, each time being shamed. Her many reincarnations included Helen of Troy; among others, and she finally was reincarnated as Helene, a slave and prostitute in the Phoenician city of Tyre. God then descended in the form of Simon Magus, to rescue his Ennoia. Having redeemed her from slavery, he travelled about with her, proclaiming himself to be God and her to be the Ennoia, promising that he would dissolve this world the angels had made, but that those who trusted in him and Helene could return with them to the higher regions.

Don't John McCain, with his god-like promises of the utter defeat of Evil on earth , and Sarah Palin as the embodiment of his Idea, suggest parallels to the story above?
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UPDATE (10/10/08): It is interesting that Kyle Cupp has now posted this reflection on Senator McCain's "religiosity" on his excellent blog, Postmodern Papist.
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Readings: Like, Nowhere, Man

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Before I get on with the main topic of this post, I have a little aside for the guys. Any chicks who may have wandered in here (would that there were chicks!) may be excused for the nonce. Kick your shoes off, mosey out to the kitchen, and whip up a batch of chocolate chips, or something...

Now, guys… I’m sure that we’ve all had the experience of seeing a to-die-for, knock-out gorgeous woman across a room and, impelled by visions of hot monkey (but nevertheless oh-so-soigné) love, maneuvered ourselves like pawns on a chess board until we finally arrived, hearts knocking in syncopation with our knees, within the shining aura of that great beauty… And then she opens her mouth, speaks, and what had seemed like USDA-prime was instantly transformed into lowly chuck—pot roast—so much stew meat. Zut, alors!

Well, that’s what we’ve been going through for the last several days with the arrival on the scene of the Governor of Alaska. Man, she looked like a million bucks. But, all too soon—as soon as her acceptance speech, in fact—that million bucks was seen to be Confederate money. The guv was mere eye candy. Thus my blog has been heavy on graphics for the past few posts, and short on words.

While this political soap opera has been unfolding on cable, however, I have been occupied as well with finishing up a pretty good novel. I hadn’t planned to post about it. But when I booted up this morning, a Yahoo! News headline about the discovery of a mass grave in Bosnia changed my mind. The novel is Nowhere Man. The author is Aleksandar Hemon. Hemon is an interesting writer, due in no small part to his background. From Wikipedia:

Hemon graduated from the University of Sarajevo with a degree in literature in 1990. After moving to Chicago in 1992 knowing little English, and finding himself unable to write in his native Bosnian, he resolved to learn English within five years.

In 1995, he began to write in English, and his work soon appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. In 2000 Hemon published his first book, The Question of Bruno, which included short stories and a novella.

As an American who has studied French, Latin, and Japanese, but still speaks only English, this kind of facility with language blows my mind. The novel takes place in Bosnia, in Chicago, and elsewhere. But the main thing that struck me in reading it was how much like American kids are the Bosnian kids about whom Hemon writes.

Rather than making this post any longer, I will leave the synopsis of the novel to the Amazon.com link and simply urge anybody looking for a good read to consider Nowhere Man.
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Reflections: What Goes Around Comes Around

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I'VE COME TO THINK OF SARAH PALIN AS

THE REVENGE OF PAULA JONES

Reflections: Geriatric Serenade

WILD THING

YOU MAKE MY HEART SING

YOU MAKE EVERYTHING

GROOO-VY!

C'MON, C'MON

WILD THING...

Readings: There's No Bunny Like Snow Bunny

From the September 22, 2008 issue of The New Yorker, here is one of the funniest takes that I’ve seen on the bouffant Queen of Seward’s Folly:

Explaining how she felt when John McCain offered her the Vice-Presidential spot, my Vice-Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin, said something very profound: “I answered him ‘Yes’ because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can’t blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we’re on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can’t blink. So I didn’t blink then even when asked to run as his running mate.”

Isn’t that so true? I know that many times, in my life, while living it, someone would come up and, because of I had good readiness, in terms of how I was wired, when they asked that—whatever they asked—I would just not blink, because, knowing that, if I did blink, or even wink, that is weakness, therefore you can’t, you just don’t. You could, but no—you aren’t.

That is just how I am.

One can see immediately that Queen Sarah is, indeed, a natural-born first-runner-up in that Beauty Contest that is American politics. You can read George Saunders’ whole piece here.

Reflections: Just Like Abe Lincoln

Compare and contrast:

St. Ronnie the Teflon Lifeguard:

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!"


St. Sarah the Hillbilly Huntress:

"Poot'n--kiss mah grits!"
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Reflections: Sarah's a-Palin' Fast

It's Sunday morning, and instead of having booked Sarah Palin on the Sunday morning talk shows, so she could meet the press to demonstrate the appropriateness of McCain's choice, we are rather being subjected to the smoke screen of a faux-controversy about Oprah's failure to book Palin on her show. "Show" is the operative word here, boyz and grrrls: It becomes increasingly obvious that Ms. Palin is 90% show-biz. The remainder may be substance. Who knows? She won't say.

The name of Ms. Palin's act is:

How Johnny Mac Got His Mojo Back

It becomes increasingly obvious that exposing her knowledge base to the serious press would be a disqualifier. Clearly, she was chosen to cement the GOP base as a bonafide Holier-than-thou paleo-conservative Bible-babe. This translates in the vernacular as:

Mo'-Ho-Than-Joe.

May I have your attention, please: The Straight Talk Express will be making a scheduled stop at Jo'nestown, where the herd may enjoy a kool liquid refreshment, while the driver stretches his new-found legs, and the shepherds replace the batteries in their prods/crooks. Sweets fo' my peeps!

Reflections: Sarah Palin - A Very Brief Review

The G.O.Proletariat had been conditioned to believe that they would see and hear an epochal performance by Sarah Palin on Wednesday night. And, by God, they "saw" and "heard" one. If they had been told that they would cluck like a chicken when Palin said the word "organizer" they would have done everything but lay eggs.

BTW, she sounds just like Roseanne Barr.

When Palin steps up to a mic, her big hair seductively a-jiggle, seemingly defying gravity, there is a moment of uncertainty as to whether she will deliver a speech, or belt out a chorus of "Harper Valley P.T.A."

If she who looks "presidential" to the American people could pass just as easily for the winner of a hog calling contest, there may be a problem.

That said...John who?

WWWtW-Watch #19: Of Silk Purses and the Ears of Sows

Dedicated to the proposition that it can happen here.

It has been some weeks since I've directed your attention to the ravings of our would-be masters over at What's Wrong With the World. But since we're on the fascinating topic of Gov. Sarah Palin and the wisdom of her selection as the vice presidential candidate of the GOP, I thought you might find it amusing to see the lengths to which the crypto-fascist/politico-religious right is forced to go to defend that selection. Here they even bring the Obamamomma into it. Tsk.

It should be noted, by anyone who is buying the constant refrain wafting from the camp of the forces of reaction, that our colleges and universities have been ruined by leftists, that the core authorial cabal of WWWtW are academics; academics, and manifestly not so very bright...

Quote du Jour: Sarah Git Yer Gun

Maureen Dowd muses upon what it might be like, if Sarah Palin were to have greatness thrust upon her:

Putting away her breast pump, [Palin] points her rifle and informs [Putin] frostily that she has some expertise in Russia because it’s close to Alaska. “Back off, Commie dude,” she says. “I’m a much better shot than Cheney.”

Maybe Putin has offered to sell her certain negatives?

HT: AIP

Reflections: Night Sweats for Johnny Mac

Here is one worry with which Barack Obama does not need to cope as a result of choosing Joe Biden as his running mate. To wit:

It is Rodak’s 23rd Law of Popular Culture that:

Of any woman who has posed with a motorcycle, nekkid pitchers exist.

And further that:

Any such pitchers that exist will emerge to be posted on the web.

This is an age-old law -- much, much older than motorcycles. For instance, the lady whose lovely form adorns my previous post provides alluring proof of this Law of Nature. In her day, of course, there were not yet motorcycles upon which to pose. When she graced the earth with her beauty, the clue was provided by having had one’s portrait made riding a strong stallion astride, rather than sidesaddle. Posing in a state of nature was as certain follow as night the day.

Sleep well while you can, John McCain; the wheels of that Big Chopper, Fate, are inexorably turning.