Tuesday, January 18, 2011

 

Just What Haiti Needs

First the earthquake, then flooding and cholera, and now the return of Baby Doc.

How much must Haitians endure?

The papers report the 'mysterious' return of the once-chubby offspring of Papa Doc Duvalier. Tain't mysterious at all.

Recently I read that much of the financial aid donated to Haiti after its catastrophes has yet to be spent. Little of the reconstruction has been completed. The medical crisis created by the cholera outbreak has put lots of projects on the back burner. There are lives to be saved.

A great time for the return of Baby Doc.

You may remember him in his previous incarnation, the chubby one who fled his homeland 25 years ago with a sizable portion of Haitian assets in his overstuffed little pockets. The image above shows us that he's slimmed (slimed?) down, perhaps having run through the generous allowance to which he helped himself all those years before.

An unspent fortune? A miserable and impoverished people distracted by an epidemic?

Baby Doc is here to help, more with the first than the second. But hey, 50 per cent ain't bad.

Some Haitians want him jailed and prosecuted for him crimes against humanity. Others are crowding together and waving enthusiastically... just in case you thought that Americans were the only people with a historical memory the size of a gnat's.

It's only appropriate that they'd push against fences that look a lot like a jail cell. Let this predator back in, elevate him to power, and watch the rebuilding and filling of Haitian prisons.

Gawd. Bust 'im quick!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

 

A Walk on the Wacked Side



When I read a column by David Brooks in the NY Times that Jared Loughner's videos were easily available on youtube, I headed over to see what he'd done. Pathological Power Point, a loaded-with-symbolism Flag burning, to peruse a couple.

This Power Point flick is supposed to be a series of syllogisms for a class he took in logic.

It's strange to step into the void of youtube. On my way to Jared's "My Final Thoughts," I happened across a film by a guy who calls himself humans4targets2 and who reviews guns in his videos. I felt as though I'd stumbled into a really scary neighborhood. Nearby was somebody putting a cat into a vise, either a demonstration against animal abuse or a direct example of it. I couldn't tell, since I couldn't bear to watch it, free speech or no damn free speech.

Jared's films themselves draw responses, some of which are only slightly less crazy than the videos' contents. Some respondents try [unsuccessfully] to make sense out of his assertions, while others just dive into the water and try to speak the language.

I'm bemused by the clinicians' analyses of the attacks as 'non-political.' It may be that Jared was obsessed with his 'new language' and 'new currencies' topics and was frustrated by Gabrielle Giffords' response to his propositions. Reviving the gold standard is a sort of political issue. If the word 'political' can be traced through its etymology to a definition involving the exercise of power, and Loughner trips out on control, then there may be at least echoes of the political in his ramblings.

Jared Loughner aside, it's worth noting that a gun manufacturer has decided to honor loony pol Joe Wilson with his own gun component. Named "You Lie!" the line of assault rifles includes his fabled outburst etched on its components.

Talk about hunting down a market niche. That's Yankee ingenuity for you.

Whether Jared was an actual political animal lapping up every creamy drip of Mama Bear metaphor or simply a lost soul deep in a schizophrenic whirlpool, my little walking tour tells me that there are actually business opportunities created by our current national insanity. Candidates for president of the Republican National Committee were asked how many guns they owned, right after Michael Steele recited the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities, which illustrated why he found War and Peace so relevant today(?). Steele didn't own any guns, but a lady at the end of the candidate table (the far right, actually) said that she owned 16--an interview coup, to be sure.

Are these the mad ramblings of an Empire in decline?

Bloody likely.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

 

Play It Like You Really Mean It




While surfing about for guitar tutorials, I came across this media sensation. Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

 

This Year's Fun Couple

Try to show a little compassion, for God's sake.

While it is true that John Boehner tends to be teary, he is plumb exhausted by his pursuit of the American Dream, for himself and everybody else: lobbyists, billionaires, fetuses.

The man could use a little fun outside the tanning booth.

Perfect match: Snooki.

Snooki values a good tan as much as John. She knows how to party. She doesn't lug around a lot of baggage, and she lives in the moment.

Boehner's only in-the-moment experiences are his policies, which would bloat the deficit and fry the planet.

Clearly, he needs some distractions.

The Jersey Shore isn't far from DC. Snooki could hop a train down, and Boehner could slip away just as easily. I could see him learning to twist the night away in her care.

Let's hope we see a shot like this in the Enquirer soon.

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