An excerpt from Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.”
TOM: And so the following evening I brought Jim home to dinner. I had known Jim slightly in high school. In high school Jim was a hero. He had tremendous Irish good nature and vitality with the scrubbed and polished look of white chinaware. He seemed to move in a continual spotlight. He was a star in basket-ball, captain of the debating club, president of the senior class and the glee club and he sang the male lead in the annual light operas. He was always running or bounding, never just walking. He seemed always at the point of defeating the law of gravity. He was shooting with such velocity through his adolescence that you would logically expect him to arrive at nothing short of the White House by the time he was thirty. But Jim apparently ran into more interference after his graduation from Soldan. His speed had definitely slowed. Six years after he left high school he was holding a job that wasn't much better than mine.
He was the only one at the warehouse with whom I was on friendly terms. I was valuable to him as someone who could remember his former glory, who had seen him win basketball games and the silver cup in debating. He knew of my secret practice of retiring to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business was slack in the warehouse. He called me Shakespeare. And while the other boys in the warehouse regarded me with suspicious hostility, Jim took a humorous attitude toward me. Gradually his attitude affected the others, their hostility wore off and they also began to smile at me as people smile at an oddly fashioned dog who trots across their path at some distance.
I knew that Jim and Laura had known each other at Soldan, and I had heard Laura speak admiringly of his voice. I didn't know if Jim remembered her or not. In high school Laura had been as unobtrusive as Jim had been astonishing. If he did remember Laura, it was not as my sister, for when I asked him to dinner, he grinned and said, 'You know, Shakespeare, I never thought of you as having folks !'
He was about to discover that I did…
[TOM enters With the caller, JIM O'CONNOR.]
TOM: Laura, this is Jim. Jim, this is my sister, Laura.
JIM [stepping inside]: I didn't know that Shakespeare had a sister!
The Gentleman Caller Arrives
Bush Administration Protective Services
Well, Prezint Shirky McAvoidworkerson is on vacation, showing us yet again how little he cares for actual Presidentin'. Adding another 10 days onto his already staggering 370 days of vacation since he first took office, Bush plans to knock around with his usual vacation activities: biking and clearing brush.
But if you think the wheels aren't turning while he's away, you are wrong! There's plenty of activity while Bush is in Crawford... of course, it has nothing to do with the Mideast Crisis, the Iraq War, or any other situation that you and I might think is important. Bush has become the lamest of the lame ducks; Republicans are smelling the failure and getting nervous, and elections are in the not-too-distant future.
Time to do some ass covering!
US Seeks to Shield its War Interrogators
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel would not face prosecution for humiliating or degrading wartime prisoners under amendments to a war crimes law drafted by the Bush administration, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
The amendments are part of the administration's three-pronged response to a June 29 Supreme Court ruling that struck down as illegal and a violation of the Geneva Conventions the military tribunal system set up to try Guantanamo prisoners, the Post said.
The court's ruling gave prisoners captured in Afghanistan protections under the Geneva Conventions, which the administration previously maintained did not apply to them.
Citing unidentified U.S. officials, the newspaper said the administration plans to amend the 1996 War Crimes Act, which makes it a crime to violate the Geneva Conventions, by narrowing the number of potential criminal prosecutions.
I think this is what we can expect from the Bush administration for the remaining few years of his Presidency. They have produced nothing but failure, they've been breaking the law, and sooner or later the noose will tighten. So, why not spend your time in office ensuring that you can all get off scott free once the opposition is in a place to actually punish you?
For the next few years, I'm sure all we will see coming out of the white house is legislation designed to cement Bush policies in place, and protect Bush and his cronies from the fallout. As for protecting Americans? I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you.
(I love little cross-posts, they make me feel so good...)
Joe
Via Blogenfreude, Lieberman gave the following response when asked this morning if there was anyone who could convince him not to run in the general election:
Respectfully, no. I am committed to this campaign, to a different kind of politics, to bringing the Democratic Party back from Ned Lamont, Maxine Waters to the mainstream, and for doing something for the people of Connecticut. That's what this is all about: which one of us, Lamont or me, can do more for the future of our people here in Connecticut.If only Lieberman actually believed that last sentence. But if it really were “all about” (and only about) giving the people of Connecticut the best representation possible, that first sentence wouldn’t exist. He’s angry about what he perceives to be the misdirection of his party and has charged himself with single-handedly rescuing it, with bringing it “back to the mainstream.” But Lieberman fails to recognize that his positions on certain key issues—including the war in Iraq—being outside the mainstream is what lost him the primary. No matter how principled and passionate his support of the president’s strategy in Iraq may be, it’s not shared by a majority of Connecticut (or American) voters any longer. Lieberman is the one now outside the mainstream on a very big issue, and so his assertion to save the party by bringing it back in line with mainstream (“his”) ideals is, quite simply, rooted in a deliberate disregard of reality.
Just as Lieberman didn’t have the “right” to an uncontested primary as an incumbent, Lamont doesn’t have the “right” to a general election without a potential spoiler. That’s democracy—and Joe can run if he wants to. But he needs to stop purporting to be a savior of his party. His party made a decision, and only not running shows respect for it. If he’s going to run, he needs to be honest enough to say that the mainstream is wrong, not that he best represents them.
Open Lamont/Lieberman Thread
Thoughts?
UPDATE:
Mr. Lieberman vowed to continue his fight to remain Connecticut’s junior senator by running as an independent in November."My party?" Uh, what party is that exactly?
“As I see it in this campaign, we just finished the finished the first half and the Lamont team is ahead,’’ he said. “But in the second half, our team — Team Connecticut — is going to surge forward to victory in November.”
He said the he could not let the results stand, “for the sake for our state, my party, and our country.’’ And he added: “But I am not discouraged. I am disappointed not just because I lost but because of all the old politicsof polarization won today.”
Later in the evening Mr. Lamont stood before his supporters and said: “Families still dream of a land of opportunity. With your vote this evening, we’re going to start to make your dreams come true.’’
Question of the Day
Shakes has turned over the reins to me this evening...
Is there any town in particular that holds especially romantic memories for you, for one reason or another?
For me, it's London, because that's where Liss and I met for the first time and where I got my finacee visa. King's Cross station reminds me of the first time I saw Melissa; Norfolk Square is where we had our first kiss; Regents Park is where is we laid in the grass together; the Volunteer Arms is where we had our first drink together; strolling down Oxford Street, going to the Tate Modern, riding the tube, our shitty room at a place called the Shakespeare Hotel, no less... As many times as I visited London, and it's been many, and as much as I love it for its vibrancy and culture and history, I'll always remember the times I spent there with Melissa most vividly.
History is repeating itself faster and faster these days…
Another VA laptop has been stolen. Truly, the Keystone Douchebags are running the country.
Anybuddy see a laptop ’round here?
(Hat tip Maurinsky.)
News from Shakes Manor
Last night…
Mr. Shakes: Doon’t pinch my foorheed!
Shakes: I wasn’t going to pinch your forehead. You can’t even pinch a forehead! [Tries; fails.] See?
Mr. Shakes: That was soo a pinch!
Shakes: No, it wasn’t. This is a pinch. [Pinches the soft bit under his arm.]
Mr. Shakes: Oow, yoo dirty whoore! [Slaps her ass hard.]
Shakes: Quit it, fuckface!
Slap fight. Giggles…
Five years ago today at this very time, the proprietress of Shakes Manor was on her way to O’Hare Airport for a flight that would take her to London for her first face-to-face meeting with the future Mr. Shakes. By the time we met at King’s Cross, I was skanked from an 8-hour flight, and Mr. Shakes was skanked from a trainride to London from Edinburgh. After some showers and a fry-up, we set off on our first 10 days together, which took us from London to Inverness to Glen Affric to Edinburgh. It was a good 10 days.
A view of Dog Falls at Glen Affric.
Long-legged Mr. Shakes asleep on a bench at the Inverness bus station (for reasons explained here). My backpack, along with an assortment of empty cups, cigarette butts, and candy wrappers from the fine vending machines at the nearby taxi stand, are scattered on the ground below.
The scene arriving in Auld Reekie—Edinburgh Castle.
The floral clock at the edge of Princes Street Gardens, on the corner at The Mound.
Getting a peek at Clann an Drumma, just outside the gates surrounding the Scotts Monument.
We went into the gardens and stayed for the whole show.
Shakes holds up a CD of Clann an Drumma; behind her is the view from the estate on which Mr. Shakes lived in Edinburgh.
Mr. Shakes spits on the Heart of Midlothian, a mosaic built into the pavement outside St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile. It’s a tradition.
Mr. Shakes makes arrangements for us to see Margaret Cho at the Fringe Festival, part of Edinburgh Festival. I hadn’t planned my trip to coincide with Edinburgh Fest; in fact, we weren’t even planning originally to be in Edinburgh at all. Just a happy coincidence the way things worked out.
Fringe Fest.
Drunk at the Cellar Bar.
Mr. Shakes. I loved his walk, the way he hunched up his shoulders as he trekked uphill, so I fell behind just to take a picture.
Shakes and Harry, Mr. Shakes’ budgie. How pale am I? I can get sunburned in Scotland. That’s how pale I am.
The Killin'ist Place on Earth!
It's vacation time! Sure, you could take your kids to the usual places... Disney... Knotts Berry Farm... a wax museum in the Wisconsin Dells...
But why bother with those wimpy, latte drinkin' places when you can go to... ARMY WORLD!
FORT BELVOIR, Virginia (AP) -- The Army is considering a proposal to allow a private developer to build a military-themed park that would include Cobra Gunship rides and bars including a "1st Division Lounge."
[...]
"You can command the latest M-1 tank, feel the rush of a paratrooper freefall, fly a Cobra Gunship or defend your B-17 as a waist gunner," according to the proposal, which was obtained by The Washington Post.
Wooo! And that's just the beginning! You can also command the rape and slaughter of civilians, feel the rush of carpetbombing a city full of innocents, and collect ears for valuable prizes! Feel the warmth of blood as it splatters onto your face! Thrill to the sensation of being slipped into a body bag to be shipped home in the dead of night!
And what's the big complaint about this proposed Wonderful Playground of Fun and Joy?
Military officials said a massive entertainment and hotel complex built next to a national Army museum could draw more than 1 million people a year. But authorities in Fairfax County are objecting because of already traffic-clogged roads surrounding the proposed site.Yep. Traffic.
You know, maybe if they took the money from this proposed project and... well... spent it on the military, things might get a little better for the real military.
So, take your kids to Army World, and let them blast the hell out of The Enemy! Army Recruitment kiosks are conveniently located next to the "1st Division Lounge," for when you get good 'n liquored up. Just keep them away from that evil rock and roll music. You never know how that's going to warp them.
(Tip 'o the Energy Dome to Dependable Renegade. I don't know but I've been told, this cross-post gag is gettin' old.)
Put those breasts away, young lady!
The Arlington, TX school district will be starting the school year with a new rule: “The display of cleavage is unacceptable. Low cut blouses, tops, sweaters, etc. with plunging necklines are not allowed.”
Teen fashions often leave parents a little disgruntled. Arlington Independent School District parent Frances Henson said, “I'm thinking that our daughters are growing up a little bit too fast these days.”You’re darn tootin’, Frances! And when teenage girls start asserting their sexuality, the best thing we can do is shame them for it. Sure, some liberal birdbrains might suggest that some kind of discussion about body image and self-objectification could be in order, followed by letting girls make their own decisions, but why bother with all that nonsense, when telling them their body parts are dirty—unless they’re stuck on top of beer cans—is actually much better preparation for adult womanhood in America.
“It's gotten bad enough that, unfortunately, our young males are looking at more than their English book, their speech book, their science book,” says school board president Sherri Wade. “And it's kind of nice to have something left to the imagination.”I think we’ve just discovered the root of that (mythical) Boy Crisis. If the girls would just put their dang titties away, maybe the boys could get some work done!
Even some teenagers agree there is a problem. “I think it's good that they're doing it,” said student, Tyler Edwards.
I predict that Arlington’s Clevage Embargo will soon catch on throughout the land—and within two years, we’ll see boys heading back to college in record numbers.
While most parents support the new rule, some worry that enforcing it could be a challenge. “I think that's going to be a little tricky, because it puts a little bit of a policeman approach to the educators, and they really need to focus more on teaching,” said Tom Pederson, AISD parent.A little bit policeman…and a little bit perv. (That’s my favorite Donnie and Marie song, by the way.) The rule provides for the disciplining of any (female) student who wears a shirt with a neckline “more than four inches below the neck.” I imagine I’m not the only woman who remembers at least one creepy high school teacher who would have dedicatedly endeavored to enforce that rule by carrying around a ruler in his shirt pocket.
Dearest drama teacher, whom any girl with sense would avoid on the last day of school, because of your “too tonguey to be teacherly” goodbye-for-summer kisses, where are you now…?
(Hat tip Sploid.)
Lost in the fog of someone else's civil war
Thirty-one people dead. Five bombs exploded. One bank robbed. Just another day in yet another security crackdown in Baghdad.
And as if that wasn't enough, the prime minister of Iraq blasted the US for a Sadr City attack, involving air and ground elements, aimed at capturing "individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities." A woman and child - no doubt deeply immersed in those punishment and torture cell activities - were killed. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed outrage:
"Reconciliation cannot go hand in hand with operations that violate the rights of citizens this way," al-Maliki said in a statement on government television. "This operation used weapons that are unreasonable to detain someone - like using planes."He apologized to the Iraqi people for the operation and said "this won't happen again."
Wonder what he's going to do about it?
It should be noted that Sadr City is the stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a political ally of al-Maliki who is also a Shiite. To make things even hazier, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani - a Kurd - told US Gen. George W. Casey that "it is in no one's interest" to force a showdown with al-Sadr.
Perhaps this is what people mean when they speak of "the fog of war."
(Cross-posted.)Qualitative Equivalence
I had exactly the same reaction to this idiotic piece about “Liberal McCarthyism” (which misuses the term McCarthyism, but I digress) as The Rude Pundit:
Why is it that whenever right-wingers wanna criticize the "viciousness" of the left, more often than not, they use e-mails and blog comments instead of, say, the words of writers (bloggy and non-bloggy) and leaders? …Davis writes, "The far right does not have a monopoly on bigotry and hatred and sanctimony. Here are just a few examples (there are many, many more anyone with a search engine can find) of the type of thing the liberal blog sites have been posting about Joe Lieberman" and then quotes the mean meanies of the left, like at Daily Kos. But not, you know, Kos, or Hunter, or McJoan, or DarkSyde, or any of the other posters. Nope, it's commenter "tomjones."Exactly. As I’ve said before, trying to discern which "side" is "worse" on the basis of content provided by largely anonymous commenters in the blogosphere is futile, and so is any attempt to establish some sort of qualitative equivalence between the content of each side. The quality of discourse is not determined by what anonymous commenters and emailers, but what emanates from the most influential voices.
…When the Rude Pundit wants to go trawling for right-wing hate, he doesn't need to look to his hate e-mails, with their occasional threats of violence. He doesn't need to point to the comments on right-wing blogs. He can just point to the blogs themselves, or turn on the goddamn radio or the fuckin' Fox "News," or open the newspaper to read the vomitous rantings of every other conservative columnist talking about liberals despising and destroying America. They can only pick nits; we have to swat hissing cockroaches.
I’m not suggesting that the comments gathered by Davis aren’t nasty; they are. But if one can’t find a single comparable example in the writing of any major Lefty bloggers, no less a pattern of examples across a selection of blogs, it’s utter horseshit to claim to have evidence that the Left is as vicious as the Right—and it’s mendacious to identify comments as “the type of thing liberal blog sites have been posting.” Does Davis really not know how blogs work, or is it just more useful to make it sound as though comments (and, apparently, emails) are the same thing as posts? I guess “the type of thing people who visit liberal blogs leave in comments” doesn’t have quite the same zip to it, nor the disingenuousness of making commenters and bloggers indistinguishable to a passing reader.
Zzzzzzzz... *snort* Huh?
I see some of the horses are finally beginning to cross the finish line.
US Paying Diplomatic Price for Bush Refusal to Deal Directly With Syria, Iran
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush persists in communicating only indirectly with Syria and Iran despite criticism he is paying the price for years of diplomacy rooted more in ideology than pragmatism.Yeah, maybe Condi could have sat down at that there pie-yana.
Bush's refusal to deal with so-called rogue states or organizations accused of terrorism has both undermined US diplomacy and inflicted a painful price on the Middle East, according to numerous policy experts and former US officials.
"The most obvious cost is the extension of the conflict," said Bilal Saab of The Brookings Institution in Washington.
"This conflict that has endured for more than three to four weeks could have ended rapidly if the United States had sent one of its senior envoys to either Damascus or Tehran," he said.
So, the media is finally waking up and realizing that Bush's swaggering, "you're either with us or against us," "axis of evil," "bring 'em on" brand of politics isn't exactly sitting well with the rest of the world, and is in fact making the situation worse. Gee, thanks guys. We've only been trumpeting this since day one. And, of course, not the slightest nod in the direction of the Bush detractors.
By the way: Time Magazine scooped you a month ago. And they were six years too late. Way to be on top of things, you knob-ends.
(Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cross-posts...)
The next CNN headline I expect to see
Note to the credulous: It's satire. For now, anyway.
(Cross-posted.)
For Your Consideration
Mr. Shakes and I were watching who-knows-what last night, and this ad, called "Liberals 'Visit' the White House," came on:
I did a little digging this morning and found out that Kayak.com has turned all sorts of political issues into ads for a viral marketing campaign that includes a contest in which people can submit their own ads. (The submissions are all over YouTube.) Here are a couple more of Kayak’s own ads:
"President Starts a War"
"Go Hunting with VP Cheney"
"Explore Alaska Before Big Oil"
Ho ho. That sad little whale covered in oil at the end is just so hilarious.
Is there something just a bit too blithe about the way these political issues have been turned into ads, or am I just being crabby?
(No need to point out I’m playing right into their marketing plan; I know.)
Welcome to the Bed of Tomorrow!
The bed I use in my apartment has been in my family for a fairly long time; it was my parents' bed before it was mine (in fact, there’s even a chance I was conceived on it, which is Freudian in a way I’d rather not explore too thoroughly), and it was the only bed I had growing up. Vaguely unsettling psycho-sexual implications aside, it’s a good bed, except for one particular sticking point; the box spring and mattress were replaced a few years ago, and for some reason, the replacements are a few inches less wide than the originals. Which means they don’t rest quite as precisely as they used to, and I’m dependent upon the three boards which lie across the two metal runners connecting the head board to the- er- foot board.
It’s a precarious system, in no small part because the boards aren’t quite long enough to stay consistently on the slats. I was woken up one morning when the “top” board (the closest to the headboard) slipped off underneath me, leading to the corner of the bed collapsing to the floor. Which was a bit of a surprise. I’ve talked about taking the whole thing apart and just resting the box spring and mattress on the floor, but I’ve never had the patience to go through with it. Besides, it means every night is an adventure- will my bed stay together? Did I adjust things properly before I climbed onto the mattress, or will my tossing and turning knock anything lose? Will, god forbid, the boards ever break? (This might not sound adventurous- try humming the Indiana Jones theme while you read it.)
But that adventure may soon be over; provided, of course, that I have a spare couple million bucks lying around.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A young Dutch architect has created a floating bed which hovers above the ground through magnetic force and comes with a price tag of 1.2 million euros ($1.54 million).A floating bed, eh? Sounds pretty sweet to me. Great way to pick up women, too. “Hey baby, want to join the Floating Bed Club?”
Of course, it’s not entirely perfect:
"It is not comfortable at the moment," admits Ruijssenaars, adding it needs cushions and bedclothes before use.“Suddenly tugged.” Heh. Oh my, that doesn’t sound dangerous at all…
Although people with piercings should have no problem sleeping on the bed, Ruijssenaars advises them against entering the magnetic field between the bed and the floor.
They could find their piercing suddenly tugged toward one of the magnets.
