The Furious Spinner

I enjoy Mr. Vidal's wit and glorious mind. Here's his discussion with Amy Goodman about the inaugural speech the Emperor With No Clothes gave. This is just a taste of what Vidal had to say: "He (Bush) doesn't define what tyranny is. I’d say what we have now in the United States is working up a nice tyrannical persona for itself and for us. As we lose liberties he’s, I guess, handing them out to other countries which have not asked for them, particularly; and what he says—the reaction in Europe—and I know we mustn’t mention them because they're immoral and they have all those different kinds of cheese–but, simultaneously, they're much better educated than we are, and they're richer. .." What a hoot.

Did you know there are public war resisters within the U.S. military? The link will take you to a site with a list of them. They are quite eloquent in what they have to say about this war. One of them, Jimmy Massey, who had been in the military for some time, was offered a desk job when he told his superiors how he felt. He refused. He said, among other things, "I’m not going to kill innocent civilians for no government.... I was taught and raised by parents and relatives that there are certain things you don’t do, and killing innocent civilians is one of them."

This piece by Bernard Chazelle called "Why the Children in Iraq Make No Sound When They Fall" is amazing. His anger and sarcasm will offend some, no doubt. When talking about the tsunami, he writes, "When fate appears to cross the thin line between cruelty and sadism, grief turns to anger. We expect the church organist at the funeral mass to interrupt Bach in mid-measure, look up to the sky, and shout 'Come on!'" That’s a fair assessment of what I’ve been feeling. He quotes our new Secretary of State who says this about the tsunami: "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us."

At this point let us pause to listen to Pink Floyd’s “Money.”

And about Iraq, Chazelle says, "We've been Iraq's tsunami. But expect no charity drive, no minute of silence, no flag at half-staff: nothing that would allow shame to rear its ugly face." He also writes, "We don't tally the children we kill for the same reason monsters don't buy mirrors: That's how they go through life thinking they're angels."

Wow.

He is so right on.

However, I will not take responsibility for Iraq. I didn't do it. I fought hard against it, as did millions of other Americans and people around the globe. The Emperor and his people (including all those who voted for him) get the credit and the guilt. They've all got portraits in the attic, don't you know it? Stinky, rotten, putrid... One can only hope the people of this country will soon wake up and smell the stench. The rest of the world has certainly gotten a whiff of it. 0 comments

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