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Sunday, September 30
The Low-Tech Lynching of Clarence Thomas
by
Radio Left Review
on Sun 30 Sep 2007 10:03 PM CDT
Bad Attitudes
As Justice Clarence Thomas flogs his million-dollar memoir, sound bites from his 1991 nomination hearings have been surfacing in the news fragrant bubbles from the swamps of George Herbert Walker Bushs administration.
The saddest of these golden oldies was the justices anguished cry that the hearings were a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks. Is it even remotely possible that Justice Thomas actually imagines himself to be an uppity black? Can he be unaware that he was the least uppity black that Poppy Bush had been able to find in all the land?
Of course its possible, and of course Thomas is unaware of it. All of us lie to ourselves, and most of us lie to others. But only a few of us get the chance to lie to the Senate Judiciary Committee under oath. Clarence Thomas is one of them. The Pubic Hair Test proves it.
Fans of political theater will recall that Professor Anita Hill had charged her former boss at the Department of Education with a pattern of sexual harassment which included showing her a Coke can with a pubic hair stuck to it.
But Judge Thomas swore, no doubt truthfully insofar as the ... more »
Jenna Bush Answers The Question
by
Radio Left Review
on Sun 30 Sep 2007 05:04 PM CDT
Operation Yellow Elephant
 Money quote from the New York Times reporting on Jenna Bush's book tour: Ms. Jackson, of HarperCollins, said Ms. Bush was well aware that by exposing herself to the kind of news media scrutiny she has never had before, she will get questions that run the gamut, from why she and her sister have not served in Iraq (“I think if people really thought about it, they know that we would put many people in danger,” she told Ms. Sawyer) to her wedding plans.And, here's more of Media Lizzie defending Henry Hager (see comment 10, 27 September 2007, 02:09): Finally, having Henry Hager enlist or be a commissioned officer - while it would enable you OYE folks to claim a domestic political coup - would be a disaster. As a Gold Star Wife, I damn sure wouldn't want such a high value target standing next to my man.
As the son of the man who presided over the war, Hager would not only be a target - his presence would compromise the lives of others - lives already hanging in the balance.
There is more at stake than domestic political points folks. Real lives. Not ... more »
A Tale of Two Cities
by
Radio Left Review
on Sun 30 Sep 2007 05:03 PM CDT
Bad Attitudes
For todays essay question. please read carefully the New York Times story from which this excerpt is taken:
Like Stalingrad after World War II, Grozny, the Chechen capital, has reappeared from the rubble. It has done so more swiftly than European cities revived by the Marshall Plan.
As recently as early 2006, Grozny was less a city than rows of shattered buildings overlooking cesspools. It now has electricity almost around the clock and reliable natural gas service. Many neighborhoods have water. Block upon block of housing complexes have been rebuilt, and families have moved into buildings that a year ago were buckling shells. Now compare and contrast the reconstruction of Baghdad and Grozny.
more »
The Story of Concierto de Aranjuez
by
Radio Left Review
on Sun 30 Sep 2007 05:03 PM CDT
Bad Attitudes
I've done several posts featuring Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjez. Many people have apparently been deeply moved by the song. The song does that for me.
For many years many people believed that the second movement was about the bombing of Aranjuez by Franco and Hitler. Recent revelations have revealed that this isn’t the story of the song, although the song is about death. Death is always a personal tragedy. So for those who have suffered death, either due to unfortunate circumstances, or due to authoritarians who create death for their own purposes, the story of Concierto de Aranjuez is one that should surely resonate in the soul of those who have one. So here is the story of Concierto de Aranjuez. And here is Rodrigo himself.
more »
"To Think of Them Greatly"
by
Radio Left Review
on Sun 30 Sep 2007 07:04 AM CDT
Bad Attitudes
Another semi-random quote, this one from Bertrand Russell.
The life of Man, viewed outwardly, is but a small thing in comparison with the forces of Nature. The slave is doomed to worship Time and Fate and Death, because they are greater than anything he finds in himself, and because all his thoughts are of things which they devour. But, great as they are, to think of them greatly, to feel their passionless splendour, is greater still. And such thought makes us free men; we no longer bow before the inevitable in Oriental subjection, but we absorb it, and make it a part of ourselves. To abandon the struggle for private happiness, to expel all eagerness of temporary desire, to burn with passion for eternal things — this is emancipation, and this is the free man’s worship. And this liberation is effected by a contemplation of Fate; for Fate itself is subdued by the mind which leaves nothing to be purged by the purifying fire of Time.
more »
Saturday, September 29
Bush knew Saddam Hussein was willing to go into exile, but invaded Iraq anyway
by
Geoff Staples
on Sat 29 Sep 2007 08:28 PM CDT
Bush thought Saddam was prepared to flee: report
By Jason Webb. Reuters, Wednesday, September 26, 2007; 12:07 PM
MADRID (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was prepared to take $1 billion and go into exile before the Iraq war, according to a transcript of talks between U.S. President George W. Bush and an ally, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday.
During a meeting at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on February 22, 2003, Bush told former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar that Saddam could also be assassinated, according to the transcript published in El Pais in Spanish.
In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe declined to comment on the report.
"The Egyptians are speaking to Saddam Hussein. It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to take $1 billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction," Bush was quoted as saying at the meeting one month before the U.S.-led invasion.
Asked by Aznar whether Saddam could really leave, Bush replied: "Yes, that possibility exists. Or he might even be assassinated."
A spokesman for Aznar's private foundation had no comment on the transcript or its authenticity. El ... more »
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