What's an Antonym for Dignity

“All of us have voices in our heads, whispering insanities. Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s problem is that she lets hers speak.”

slate.com

Sorry for the extensive emptiness in this space. It's not a marmot-advocacy society or anything, I was just trying to keep the page moving. My favorite loon is back on the radar, literally. Cynthia much-ado-about-a-hairdo McKinney took her one person band of crazy on the road. Recognizing a kindred spirit in the perpetual Own Goal Society known as Palestine she decided to lend a hand. She stowed away in what looks like a pretty swanky yacht called the Dignity (too much irony, it burns) and attempted to bring the Palestinians some bandages and warm bodies. This didn't sit too well with the Israelis, so they decided to PIT the boat.

So much to topically tickle, so little time. In keeping with the ethic of the professionally oppressed she made sure there was room on the boat for a reporter. Mind you, they could have carried more medical supplies if the reporter hadn't been there, but then who would have documented her righteousness? Also, I noticed a distinct lack of Black Panther bodyguard types on this mission. Guess they aren't too enthusiastic about situations where the other side might actually shoot back. I think the part of this I love most is that its lost on Cynthia that if she were a woman in Palestinian society she'd be a barefoot, burka wearing, baby making machine that could be beaten just for opening her pie hole. Of course, the bigger picture here is now is our chance. She's out of the country, revoke her stinking passport & inflict her on the rest of the world. Let her be a true believer and go live amongst the people she champions. The backside bonus would be an increase in the national IQ and a bit of peace and quiet.

Ares

my year in books

Ares began this little exercise last year, and, inspired by a gift from L., my local book pusher, I decided to continue on with it myself. Following are all the books I’ve read this year, in order (mostly—I put down and picked up a few). For me, when it comes to books, all things are created equal, so there are vast swings from the canon to non-fiction to chick lit (its mostly crap, with a few exceptions) and back again. And when I discover a writer I like, I tend to read everything they’ve written (preferably in chronological order—yes, I know I have control issues, and I’m at peace with that knowledge).

So thanks, L, for the journal and for many of the books on this list!

The History of God, Karen Armstrong. Incredibly dense, full of good info.
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris. This is where it all began, for you True Blood fans.
Club Dead, Charlaine Harris
In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant
Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris
Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris
Absolute Friends, John LeCarre
All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris
Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky
U-Turn, Bruce Grierson. Ares recommended it, and I agree its worthwhile.
Secret Yankees, Thomas Dyer
Sweet and Deadly, Charlaine Harris
Last Scene Alive, Charlaine Harris
Undaunted Courage, Steven Ambrose. Fascinating account of the Lewis and Clark expedition--now I want to visit Montana.
What’s a Ghoul to Do? Victoria Laurie. Crap.
Sleeping with the Fishes, MaryJanice Davidson
How to Manage Your Mother, Alyce Faye Cleese. Good info for any situation, not just mothers.
Dead and Dateless, Kimberly Raye. Worse crap.
The History of Love, Nicole Krauss. Engaging.
The Alphabet Sisters, Monica McInerney
The Mission Song, John LeCarre
Coyote Waits, Tony Hillerman
Listening Woman, Tony Hillerman. Thanks for the Hillerman dose, Jayne.
On Beauty, Zadie Smith. I liked White Teeth better.
Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion. Extraordinary.
Small Favor, Jim Butcher. Love me some Harry Dresden.
Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes. Dude is in love with pain.
From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris
Undead and Unworthy, MaryJanice Davidson
Bottlemania, Elizabeth Royte
Natural Capitalism, Paul Hawken, L. Hunter Lovins, Amory Lovins. Very, very good ideas for improving our world--all of which are in use, not just conceptual.
Under Cover, MaryJanice Davidson
Brick Lane, Monica Ali
The Great Awakening, Jim Wallis
Things I Learned from Knitting, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Funny, but not her best.
Dog of the Marriage, Amy Hempel. Sublime haiku in fiction.
Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh. Lovely story
The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks. Sorry L., but its sentimental crap.

In progress, on the nightstand, at year’s end:
Your Money or Your Life, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
A More Perfect Constitution, Larry Sabato (Ares’ copy)
The Cultural Creatives, Paul Ray, et. al. (beloved by a friend, but its just not blowing my skirt up)

So that's my year in books, though there's still room for one or two more. We'll see. I'm working on a knitting project with a deadline, so it may be more movies than books for the next week or so.

Athena

Marmot Monday

Marmot Monday

Marmot Monday

Marmot Monday

Sunday Quote

"Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit."

FDR's inaugural speech. More applicable than ever, 75 years later. Lifted from the quite readable Dr. Housing Bubble.

Ares

Marmot Monday

Sorry, been a bit slack in the marmot department lately.

Ares

Autumn In Decatur

Arguably Atlanta's best season

Oskar Blues' Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, on tap at The Brick Store.

A Little Hesse

Now there are times when a whole generation is caught......between two ages, two modes of life, with the consequence that it loses all power to understand itself and has no standards, no security, no simple acquiescence.

Herman Hesse Steppenwolf

Yea, what he said.

Ares

New Headline

Economy So Bad Half of All U.S. Households Are Below Median Income Level. Obama Promises to Fix Within First 100 Days.

Okay, maybe The Onion has already done that one. I don't know. It's along the lines of their "Earth's Continued Rotation Plunges Half the Planet Into Darkness" entry.

Ares

Separated At Birth

Is it just me or does that moronic, self-proclaimed skin head that wanted to lop off a bunch of heads look like a cast member of Sesame Street? (Note to self: Must get Photoshop.)

Ares

So. Much fuss is made by the Rs about the Obama tax plan, and they say it would have 45% of the tax base paying no taxes. While, as a taxpayer, I like to believe that my fellow Americans are pulling that wagon with me, I know that all of them are not.

For those earning too little, I bear no ill will. Since I was raised by a single mom working pink collar jobs, I know what its like to be in a family headed by a hard worker who just doesn’t earn enough.

For those earning too much, however, I would like a little change. I am not naïve enough to believe that there will ever be an employee of the I.R.S. savvy and well-equipped enough to find all the myriad tax shelters and refuges of the very wealthy.

And yes, I know that the very wealthy pay a large, large portion of the taxes already in this country. But, and I quote W. here, quoting John F. Kennedy “to whom much is given, much is expected.” (Interesting side note: he has used that quote at least four times in the last year or so; in announcing his intention in early 2007 to reauthorize PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in remarks in honor of World AIDS Day last November, in a BBC interview in February 2008, and in a USAID speech in July 2008. Does he know he’s quoting a Democrat? Does he care?)

So, when I turned on my television the other night for little mindless viewing, I was amused to see Ari Fleischer (yes, the one who left the Bush administration a while back) singing the party song about that 45% who will not pay taxes under an Obama presidency.

And it got me to thinking (always a bad sign, but bear with me).

Let’s flip that, shall we? What that really tells me is that 45% of our working folks earn SO LITTLE that they should not be taxed. Nearly one half of Americans, working jobs, who earn so little that they should not be taxed. And its contrary to all we are taught as Americans—that if you work hard, play by the rules, and do the right thing, you will get ahead.

None of this changes my mind about who I will vote for Tuesday week. But it does remind me how very lucky I am—I have a roof over my head, heat in my house, and (too much, really) food to eat. I am lucky to live where I live, at the time I live, and to have the freedoms and abilities I have. I am happy to do my part, and for those who might take advantage or try to get over, well, that’s for them to live with.

Athena

Marmot Monday

Marmot Monday

Marmot Monday

Get Well P.J.

Disturbing news was just received at the A&A Global Operations Center. Seems P.J. O'Rourke, Ares favorite and writer I'd most like to be, has been diagnosed with cancer. Those that are familiar with P.J.'s work will probably say "what took so long". From his own literary mouth....

I looked death in the face. All right, I didn't. I glimpsed him in a crowd. I've been diagnosed with cancer, of a very treatable kind. I'm told I have a 95% chance of survival. Come to think of it -- as a drinking, smoking, saturated-fat hound -- my chance of survival has been improved by cancer.

I still cursed God, as we all do when we get bad news and pain. Not even the most faith-impaired among us shouts: "Damn quantum mechanics!" "Damn organic chemistry!" "Damn chaos and coincidence!"

I have, of all the inglorious things, a malignant hemorrhoid. What color bracelet does one wear for that? And where does one wear it? And what slogan is apropos? Perhaps that slogan can be sewn in needlepoint around the ruffle on a cover for my embarrassing little doughnut buttocks pillow.

Furthermore, I am a logical, sensible, pragmatic Republican, and my diagnosis came just weeks after Teddy Kennedy's. That he should have cancer of the brain, and I should have cancer of the ass ... well, I'll say a rosary for him and hope he has a laugh at me. After all, what would I do, ask God for a more dignified cancer? Pancreatic? Liver? Lung?

You can read the rest of it here. Surely P.J. is laughing loudly at the irony. God speed and best wishes for a rapid recovery. Hope you're back on your ass in no time.

Ares

Athena PS: my darling friend Annie, a 23-year survivor of colon cancer (who was given a 20% chance of surviving, by the way) would say PJ needs a brown ribbon. If he had been so lucky as to be diagnosed with colon cancer, she would have dubbed him an honorary member of the Semi-Colon Society. She's a real punster, that one, as well as a gem of a human being.

bailout, shmailout

So, this week's prize for best manipulation of the political machine goes to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Goodness knows the last word is far, far off in the entire Wall Street debacle, but I'm here to talk about my personal favorite snapshot of the moment. All the geniuses we've sent to Washington to serve in our nation's Congress have apparently not figured out one of the basic rules of legislative sausage-making: don't call a vote if you don't think you can win.

Yesterday the $700 billion bailout bill was called for a vote, and while we're all shocked--SHOCKED!!!--that the vote failed to pass, what is more shocking is who did NOT vote for it.

The President and Vice President reportedly worked the phones furiously, attempting to persuade Republican legislators to vote for the bill. When all was said and done, Speaker Pelosi delivered the votes she promised. However, the Republicans failed to deliver, and 2/3 of the House Republicans voted against the bill.

As a side note, the President's approval rating is 27%, which only reinforces why the bill lost despite the frantic politicking.

Now, Congress is currently controlled by the Democrats, though narrowly, so this could be called their loss. But this match still goes to the Speaker. She brought the votes she promised.

I make no predictions about how this fiasco will end, but I am proud to see that John Boehner, a mighty, mighty jerk, got beat by a girl.

PS: this is a much more succinct description of my question about the whole nasty mess.

Athena

Ares Postscript: Constitutional scholar and Ares & Athena favorite Larry Sabato says in his experience Rasmussen tends to have the most accurately reflected polling data. Rasmussen puts congressional approval ratings at 9%! Holy Margin of Error, Batman.

Marmot Monday

Another Name for Atlanta

I think Atlanta is a Latin word that means "metropolis full of f****** morons". Why, you ask? Gasoline. For those not local, Hurricane Ike disrupted gasoline supplies to the southeast because of refinery shutdowns. Mind you, the effects of the hurricane on supplies took a few days to make themselves known. Then, quite suddenly, the media noticed there was a supply disruption and gleefully reported on it every chance they got. Using tried and true phrases like "worry about" and "fears of..." they created a feedback loop. Fear about shortages are now making the shortages worse, which allows for a wider display of shortages by the media. (I'm looking at you AJC/WSB/WXIA/Fox5.) Now panicked people are sucking stations dry. My local QT usually gets a tanker delivery every day or two. Saturday they had 5 and were empty by 3 pm. There are confirmed reports of people convoying behind gasoline tanker trucks then mobbing the destination. Deep thinkers are even dialing 911 to ask where there is gas. Anybody seen my copy of The Road Warrior?

Ares