Right wing columnist Robert Novak belatedly dies at the age of 78

WWW--He was a demagogue, a player, a hater, and just one-of-many jackapes screeching in our collective-ear for the last 30+ years, ramming a failed and moronic rightist agenda down all of our throats. At the end of his very pathetic and partisan career as an ostensible journalist and political commentator for old and young fools alike, he outed an active CIA officer for political purposes, for the Bush II administration. That's not a columnist, a journalist, or even a talking head. That's a political mercenary who deserves no respect whatsoever, a hack like Tim Russert or former NYT journo, Judith Miller.

But you wouldn't know any of this listening to NPR today, those scions of ass-licking. I expected this since they're as predictable as a Rush Limbaugh monologue, but they were gunning for a new low today and their rush to the bottom was achieved. When NPR offers the same drivel as the rest of the mainstream media--which is generally free--why pay for it at all? Thankfully, few are, and jazz fans are going to have to deal--all 10,000 of them.

Whenever I feel the slightest twinge of guilt over never having contributed to public radio, it's days like this that remind me that it was always a good move. But NPR are hardly alone in this bizarre adulation of this not-a-man, this moron, this careerist slimeball. No, we shouldn't be mourning Robert Novak, we should be mourning the perfectly viable cancer cells that had to die with him, it's not fair. That he was intellectually bankrupt is a given. That he was annoying is a given. That he was a liar is a given. There's no reason to celebrate him anymore than it would have been when some clone-like apparatchiki died in the former Soviet Union. Good riddance.

Nixon's former counsel John Dean (no, not Howard Dean, former DNC chair) once told the late President Richard Nixon that, "There's a cancer on the presidency," referring to the Watergate burglars. He was far too optimistic--Nixon was that cancer. When thinking of the late conservative columnist it just brings-to-mind the obverse: "There's a Robert Novak on the cancer." Poor cancer. He wasn't a journalist, he was just some asshole powerful people gave a soapbox to, and for far too long. Thanks for reminding me that mortality's not so bad, Bob, thanks for the reminder (thanks God!). At least you die too.

And what should be his epitaph? We already know: Valerie Plame, and the fact that he did a hit-and-run on someone, went to the doctor, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. That seems to sum-up the reactionary right. Finally, I and millions of others don't have to tell this asshole to shut the fuck up.

"You can't change the world"

WWW--Ever heard of global warming? Economic development? You know, I was hoping to change the world by lunch tomorrow, but I can't fit it into my schedule--could you do it on the way home? And get some milk too? Thanks. I can't think of a better example of a straw man argument than that one. You express outrage over the way things are and you automatically get branded Superman, the messiah, the one who's supposed to fix it all. You know: daddy. I'm not saying everyone who pulls this kind of a move is being dishonest on purpose; were it that easy.

This is all about will which the status quo at least shows, as destructive as it is. One should hardly be surprised at their contempt for the victims that don't fight back. "Can't change the world?" They never heard of it, there's no such thing. What does someone mean when they say it then? That they feel powerless and that they've given up on doing anything at all. And who said confronting power had to be unpleasant? I'm having a very entertaining ride, yes indeed, it's not boring.

It's very simple: either you've accepted the mantle of victimhood, or not. If you reject it that then means you have to make some kind of effort at thinking about your place in the scheme of things and what you might have to contribute to the struggle against unaccountable power everywhere. That's inconvenient, a cardinal sin in a consumer society, so it's all on the "complainer." That's skyhigh B.S. and a defense mechanism.

Contrary to what some say, this does not mean that the entire fate of the world rests on your shoulders, a contention that needs no further comment. In other words, this is about getting real, which is the last thing most Americanized people are capable of. When you express hope for change and the fact that citizenship is a lifetime responsibility, you're reminding someone who has given up that they've copped-out and they're being irresponsible. The world is broken-up generally into "hawks" and "doves," victims and victimizers. That's not happy wisdom, but there it is. Struggle is eternal, accept it, or it will come looking for you one day.

Why else would someone irrationally put the entire onus on you? Now you understand the meaning of the term "working stiff." Dead man walking, dead man walking, dead man walking...

Sgt. Rock demoted in Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas--Ted Nugent...where to begin, where to begin? Mmm-hmm. The Waco Tribune fired Nugent this last week for being Ted Nugent, an unsurprising outcome to everyone except Ted Nugent, for whom life is a constant surprise! Wheeeeeee!!! Yes, the rifts in the right are still very much alive it seems, at least outside of Congress, the domains of the D.C. lobbying cesspools, and the corporate boardrooms where they're finding it difficult to wipe these days.

The Waco Tribune was taken over by a new owner and they wanted Nugent to "tone it down" in his "Teditorial" columns covering home cooking and finery, a reasonable request considering what flows from his mouth and pen, never mind the rest. Ted got angry and threw a fit, but never had the anatomical manhood (pride) to talk face-to-face with his new editor. Once again, Ted's painting himself as some kind of comic book hero, another casualty of believing one's own press from over thirty years ago. How do I put this? Where to begin?

OK, first: Nugent got as many draft deferrments as he could during the Vietnam War, not unlike Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Dan Quayle, or even Karl Rove. This makes this "reply"to the Waco Tribune's new editor, Carlos Sanchez, all the more galling:

...When the Nazis had the Americans surrounded in the town of Bastogne, they demanded American General McAuliffe surrender or they would level the city. General McAuliffe’s reply: Nuts!

The new editor of the Waco Trib recently told me that I could only write nice things about people, that I could not be critical. Basically, that I need to tone it down. I can not, nor will not, comply with this Romper Room request. My reply: Nuts!... ("The Nuge vs. The Waco Trib," Evan Smith/Ted Nugent, 08.16.2009)

He seems to have fixation on "nuts," probably implying that he has none. I had a great-uncle who was at Bastogne, by the way. He was in the 101st Airborne and literally had to fight his way out of Remagen in hand-to-hand combat with members of the Waffen-SS and Wermacht--all crack troops--with a knife. He was briefed by the OSS before going into Western Europe over a distant Slovak relative in their branch of the Waffen-SS, but that's another story for another time. But that was a real war fought by real men for the most part. Ted, being your typical Midwestern redneck doesn't know his history from his ass, and him invoking those kinds of stories had better know them well and have a damned good reason to do so. He does not. But we learned one very important message from all of this: one of Ted's favorite shows is Romper Room. And speaking of kids...

Second: he has oodles of illegitimate kids all over North America, and yes, he's that kind of deadbeat you're assuming he is right now. Reference that with his moronic and Libertarian-style economics and social policy opinions, and his hypocrisy takes on an almost aristocratic air, the bad kind.

Third: he stole at least half of his style from the hard left MC5, originators of the real "Detroit sound." Even "the Nuge" himself has admitted witnessing them back in the day and being scared shitless by them. The one thing he really copped from them was the sheer volume, dynamics, and intensity of Wayne Kramer's and Fred Smith's sound, and he wasn't alone; even Funkadelic did. Fine, whatever, but don't lie and tell me "I blew Hendrix off the stage in 1970, he was washed-up by then from the drugs, man," because we all know that story is bullshit you loud-mouthed asswipe. Frankly, I think he meant "I blew Jimi."

Fourth: Ted--are you perhaps the finest example of the North American male tendency for overcompensation, trying to prove to us all that "you're a man," when clearly you are not? Your invoking of the Nazis was nowhere to be seen under the last president, and yes, Obama is barely any different, except that he's black. That's your real problem, you thicko, you moron.

Fifth: We all know that all of this high talk of insurrection and secession isn't going to go anywhere and that nothing will come of it. Being a natural coward, you won't be on any battlefields. You'll be hightailing it like the yellow-bellied adolescent you are today.

Keep being Ted, and stay out of Edwardsburg! They say hobbyists are already reenacting the Vietnam War. Someone should tell the president, and you, Ted, that none of that was necessary with Afghanistan and Iraq, two more unwinnable wars to declare victory over in the our endless game of military adventurism and mindless stupidity.

"The Nuge vs. The Waco Trib," Evan Smith/Ted Nugent, 08.16.2009: http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/stateofmine/?p=1647

Make some Romper Room for my main man: http://www.tvparty.com/lostromper.html

Dude: Don't go to Chicago tomorrow, dude.

Chicago, Illinois--You know, once the home to my father until his family wouldn't pay protection money to "the Outfit" (Capone's former gang continued on without him...), Chicago is a place of ambivalence to me, and it always will be.

I love the town, don't get me wrong. It's an exciting place and I've had my share of great times there, but wow...how are they going to turn away all those people tomorrow? I mean, really, Chicago's closed. Chicago's going to be closed, man, game over, like NYC in 1975--who's going to tell them to drop dead when Gerald Ford still is? Does Rod Blagojevich's hair look so funny now folks? Of course it still does--he sports quite a pate--but that's not the point. Ask any scientist and most philosophers, and they'll tell you that there is no point (eat your heart out Michael C. Moynihan). I concur.

C'mon, Gerald Ford spared us from so much, you know. Like upholding law and order and allowing Nixon to be prosecuted fairly (no favors, no sentimentality, just the letter of the law) so we wouldn't be in the mess we're in right now with the executive branch. But to be fair, the integrity of all three are endangered now, so thanks, Jerry, for saving us from ourselves. Why celebrate Woodstock when you should be reflecting on Nixon's resignation 35 years ago? Pardon me. Where was I? Ah yes, Chicago, home to the water tower that Oscar Wilde loved so much...

So, if you want to go to a library, a city clinic, have your garbage picked-up--crazy shit like that--you're outta luck, babe, the social contract is over, and they put one on you. The cost-cuts (sounds commercial) being done with the City of Chicago only affect non-union and non-sworn union city workers, which to me just illustrates why we should be getting everyone unionized, just a thought. If union bosses had half-a-clue, they'd be unionizing every single illegal alien they could get their hands one, starting yesterday. And strikes? C'mon, people need work, but it's been 90 years since there was a general strike in a major American city, why not have one for yucks?

But don't go to Chicago tomorrow, on Monday, August 17th, 2009, things could go wrong. C'mon, most Chinese restaurants are closed on Mondays anyway! Monday= bad. They get it, man.

Health care: where's my change?

The campaign trail--Where's my single-payer? 70% of the public wants it. After that, it's all confusion, lies, and political theater, there's nothing left to discuss. Enough of the smokescreen. We want single-payer, make it happen.

And to all these morons shouting everyone else down: we're on to you, and shut up and let the rest of us speak our minds. The president's so-called "deal" with the drug companies is a total sham, it will save a mere 2% on drug prices over ten years, something he's not willing to discuss in much detail. That's a honey deal.

Will he really allow the Bush II tax-cuts for the richest expire? As nutty as his decisions have been for the last few months, it wouldn't surprise me, one might be excused for thinking he and Congress were high. They just don't get that the profit-motive is what's destroying everything and that the public could use a break from unremitting social darwinist policies.

Sadly, President Obama is proving himself to be nothing more than another kiss-ass lawyer, for sale to the highest-bidder.

Postscript, 08.16.2009: This weekend, the White House is making their scripted move away from a public health care option. Why? Because they never intended to pass one. But no worries--the economy will just keep crashing, again and again. Then, at least, there won't be money for our bloated military and two illegal wars raging in the Middle East. Obama never intended to pass a public health care option, wake up, and regret you ever voted for him, because I didn't. Being naive isn't exactly being hopeful, is it? But ask any economist worth their salt, and they'll tell you that without any real leadership in reforming the economy, we're just never going to have a recovery. Believe it or not, I can live with that, so long as the rich lose it all too. I'm sure they will.

Woodstock, 40 years later

WWW--Well, it gave Carlos Santana, Richie Havens, and Mungo Jerry (I jest), a great career, and CSN is now charging $100-a-ticket (and up), so it must have accomplished something. Beyond that, I couldn't say what. Captain Beefheart actually had a chance to play at both the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock, but declined. Perhaps he was wiser for it, and hey, Squeaky Fromme's been released, it's a good vibe week in general.

It doesn't bother me to say that Jimi Hendix was probably the only reason I would have been there, but that many people in one place always bothered me. Did I say I was one at the time?

No, the real question is this: of all the people who lied about being there since August 1969, how many got laid? Hey, at least they say the acid at Altamont was good--OK, maybe a little too good. And sure, lots of people got their asses kicked at Altamont, but at least the Stones were properly amplified, they had monitors, and only one person died at each event, granted that it was murder at Altamont.

All I can say is thank God for John Waters & the Dreamlanders; thank God for the MC5 and the Stooges, bringing us punk rock; thank God for the Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention for calling a spade a spade; and thank God for Burroughs' healthy dose of skepticism as a strong coffee-antidote to Ginsberg's hopeless utopianism.

Underneath every Guilded Age is the real era, the rot, the effluvium. And when you look at many of the psychedelic posters of that bygone era, you'll see that strange fixation on the Edwardian, that moment right after the Victorian era that the 60s counterculture was also obsessed with, that moment before the fall. It's that sad and irrational American Utopian notion that America can be the redeemer of the world--partly true, but for other reasons--when it's quite the opposite. Myths won't deliver Americans and the rest of the world from American-style theocratic capitalism, that's the work of actual adults.

But more importantly: how many people got laid when they lied and said that they were at the Colombian Exposition of 1893 when they were not? Hmmm? There were no golden ages of human history. Sentimentalism is one of the single greatest threats to human survival, besides America's two party system and their shared values of Manifest Destiny. Who cares about a stupid rock festival?

Postscript, 08.15.2009: It seems to me the best thing to celebrate would be some kind of arboreal, tranquil moment in one's life. But that's just me it seems. ;0)

Les Paul (1915-2009)

WWW--The man was a giant. Long after his popular singles with his wife Mary Ford in the 1940s until the early 1960s, Paul was noted for being the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, and much more.

Without Les Paul, there would have been no Sgt. Pepper's. Without Les Paul, there would have been no Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin, or even a Velvet Underground, DEVO, or a Joy Division. There would be no techno. There would be no industrial music. There would be no hip-hop. There would have never been any punk rock. There would have been no funk, no James Brown, no Parliament.

The fact is, Les Paul invented multitrack recording long before anyone else had. The ability to record and isolate guitar, bass, drums, and any number of combination of instruments as we now know them today would have either taken longer, or been an impossibility without Les Paul. As a musician, he was practically unparalleled in his abilities, he was a stunning jazz-guitarist and even dabbled in country and other forms of pop music.

My second guitar was a Les Paul Custom, and it was a beauty, a great model. I have to wonder, however, if we're ever going to know how his "Les Pulverizer" worked. Paul could mount the stage alone, playing to his own accompanyment. The guitar-controller itself had wires leading from it to a unit offstage, but Paul would never let anyone near it or to examine it, and he claimed he would take the secret of it to the grave. I'm betting he did.

Les Paul died today of complications from pneumonia, as many people his age do. He was 94. But there will never be another Les Paul again.

Les Paul using the Les Pulverizer live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foXSXOAfB4U

AP: "Brooks & Dunn: Out of new ideas after 20 years"

AP Universe--Who said Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn ever had any ideas musically? Them. "You know what, I think we've just exhausted it," said the duo to a CMT audience member during a taping for the unwatchable "Invitation Only" show. Get the fuck outta here. There haven't been any new ideas in country music since the early 1970s, and I love old school country, but let's be honest. Country music is dead and the corpse has been walking around for over a generation unaware of its own cultural demise, the death of its actual relevance.

There is no country music, just listen to it. Does it sound like country music? No, it does not. What it sounds like is country-rock or pop-country, but it's not country music. Brooks & Dunn were quaint-at-best. What they remind me of is that music arising organically from people--real "folk" music, meaning "music by folks"--is more alive in underground genres like hip-hop, garage rock, and yes, even techno. Just "little people" making music to express themselves and their take on life; their joys; their longings; the despair; the anger, and so on.

There was a time when these kinds of music makers could percolate up into the mainstream, getting radio play locally, regionally (how do you think Hank Williams Sr. became well known?), but decades of unregulated music industry greed and criminality have snuffed-out those routes to distribution. Word-of-mouth was crucial. Perhaps the wheel has turned a full-revolution again with the Internet and we'll see something old become new again. But people want more from their culture and they've been tired of having it sold back to them along with everything else for some time. We got an interesting example of this just nine years ago.

Around 2000, the music-buying public had had enough and wanted to hear something with soul, something that actually said something they could related to, and they unexpectedly made the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers' "O Brother Where Art Thou?" a multi-platinum hit. The dog began to wag the tail again, if only for a time. Nobody in the music industry could get it at the time--that people want sincerity in their music--because as top-down corporations, they can't and won't. Corporations aren't about serving people, and they're not about innovation, honesty, or sincerity. What they are is dumber than a box of rocks. People want to feel something when they listen to music, something that touches their hearts and their souls. After that, people began downloading the pop garbage that they were previously paying $16.99 for in-droves, and I can hardly blame them for it.

Frankly, good riddance to this recent model of cultural transmission, it sucked, like just about every business model ever devised by our moronic managerial class. Good riddance indeed, but at least Brooks & Dunn had the honesty to finally admit they had no ideas. More people need to take this responsibility upon themselves, they'll feel liberated. But enough about Washington D.C. and the corporate board rooms...

Anticipating Rob Zombie's Halloween II

WWW--YES, I loved Rob Zombie's reimaging of John Carpenter's original Halloween, I thought it was extraordinary and worthwhile, almost a "what if" of filmmaking--think Peckinpah doing a slasher.

All the more reason to do a reimagining of the 1981 sequel, since it, well, sucked. Everything that the original Halloween was accused of--namely, being bloody and gratuitous--were writ large in the original Halloween II, it never justified its existence. Zombie's films justify themselves purely on their stylistic charms, but he does have point-of-view, something that's sorely lacking in most of today's cinema. Where are the great directors? Maybe Rob Zombie has yet to prove his mettle as a "great" director," but he's gradually convincing me, and I've been watching movies for at least 36 years.

Other than maybe Guillermo Del Toro, I'd have to say that Rob Zombie is one of the only noteworthy directors my generation has yet to produce. Whenever they make a new film, I'm as excited as I ever was or am when the new Terry Gilliam or David Cronenberg film becomes news.

Why? Zombie actually has something to say, and I thought his first remake in this series was a good anti-violence tract, it made me cringe the way a horror movie's supposed to, but it didn't allow me to like the carnage. This irritated a lot of the audience I saw it with a couple years ago, your typical Indiana goober crowd. Zombie went for the Kubrick approach from A Clockwork Orange or Peckinpah's masterstrokes in Straw Dogs and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: show violence and its consequences, show it for what it is, ugly and tragic. More of the same? Bring it on, I want more...

Why do we need Huffington Post at all: top stories today at Huffington Post...

WWW--Besides the fact that Arianna Huffington's incapable of making love to the Hollywood sign or George Clooney (she deserves both jabs, puns doubly-intended, double entendre), or exhibiting as much partisan loyalty towards the Democratic Party as she did the cuddly Republican Party, there is no real reason for Huffington Post to exist at all, it's hardly ever been substantially "progressive."

But it's gotten her lots of attention and new friends, and it's brought her a lot more power and influence. Sad, considering her parents were Greek Communist partisans in the aftermath of WWII...

If you look to-the-right (as Arianna's true self does) of each page, you'll a sidebar that says "Popular Stories on Huffpo," which is almost always a depressing statement on the state of things in American culture and politics.

Today--at this 2:27 PM EST writing--the top stories are:

1. Miss Universe Swimsuit Competition 2009: Who's Hottest? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2. Short Skirts And High Heels: Brit, Miley, Leighton & More: Who Wore It Best? (PHOTOS, POLL)

3. Ashley Greene NUDE PHOTOS: Naked Pics Of Twilight Star 'Unlawfully Displayed

4. James Rucker GEICO Pulls Its Ads from Glenn Beck Show

5. Rufus Lusk Nowhere in Manhattan: Vote On These Unbelievable Photos

6. Howard Dean The Media's Treatment of Palin's Outrageous "Death Panel" Claims

7. Gabrielle Giffords Town Hall: Gun Left Behind

8. Jon Stewart Vs. Town Hall Crazies (VIDEO)

9. Levi Johnston And Kathy Griffin Hold Hands At Teen Choice Awards (PHOTOS. VIDEO)

10. Dr. Andrew Weil The Wrong Diagnosis

11. Olbermann Slams Palin For "Death Panel" Claim, Calls Her Dangerously Irresponsible (VIDEO)

12. GM: New Chevy Volt To Get 230 Miles Per Gallon

13. Target Of Obama-Era Rendition Alleges Torture

14. Women Walk In Fall 2009's Most Punishing Heels (VIDEO)

15. Obamas Visit National Parks: Send Us Photos Of Your Favorite National Park

A good friend pointed-out that (I'm paraphrasing them), "You can look at it two ways: either Huffington Post has assigned the list, or the readers have. Either way, it's pretty sad."

My one act play on social mountaineer, Arianna Huffington (truly, a bourgeois hoot!): http://chickasawpicklesmell.blogspot.com/2009/01/arianna-satirical-play-by-matt-janovic_31.html

The House Judiciary Committee releases the Rove/Miers interviews related to the U.S. Attorney firings (with some excerpts from the Miers testimony)

Washington D.C.--And so, we finally have a window, a real window, into what was going on at the DOJ during the time leading-up to the U.S. Attorney firings in that culminated in December 2006.

The House Judiciary Committee has today released what several scholars and pundits were saying would never see the light of day: the transcripts of the interviews with Bush II political operative and adviser Karl Rove and former Deputy Chief of Staff and White House Counsel (the president's legal adviser until early 2007), as well as emails and other documents and materials relating to what appears to be politically motivated firings of U.S. Attorneys, thus endangering their abilities to enforce the law correctly without undue or illegal political influence and/or obstruction through a general abuse of office.

Some highlights of the Miers testimony from June of this year:

(Beginning P.7) ...Q Yes, and also prior to that time. Let me -- why don't I start out asking you, before your work in the White House in any capacity, did you have any role in the selection of U.S. Attorneys or in the discharge of U.S. Attorneys?

A Not that I recall. (pg. 8) ...

(P.14) ...Q Now, there could be inappropriate reasons why a U.S. Attorney would be let go, as well, right?

A Yes.

Q If the Department of Justice were to recommend removal of the U.S. Attorney for a political partisan purpose, that would be an inappropriate basis for removal, right?

A I don't know what that term means. U.S. Attorneys are, by their nature, political.

Q Well, would you find it proper to remove a U.S. Attorney to stop him from prosecuting a friend of the President?

A I would not expect the Department to recommend removal for the U.S. Attorney doing his or her job. And if his or her job was investigating someone and there was an effort to cause that 15 person to step down because of that reason, I would view that as inappropriate.

Q So if the Department of Justice were recommending a U.S. Attorney be forced to resign because he was investigating a friend of the President, that would be an inappropriate reason for the Department to recommend his removal?

A If the reason was to interfere with a prosecutor's ongoing investigation of a particular matter, I would consider that inappropriate.

Q And, along those lines, if a U.S. Attorney refused to prosecute a political opponent of the President, that would also be an inappropriate reason to remove them?

A If the reason for a recommendation to ask a person to step down or to take action against the person was to cause them to take action that was inappropriate, then, yes, I would consider that not something that should happen.

Q Well, I just wanted to be very clear on this. If a U.S. Attorney is asked to resign because he refused to prosecute an opponent of the President, that would be improper, wouldn't it?

A If it was to cause the U.S. Attorney to take some action that the U.S. Attorney and others believed to be appropriate -- or inappropriate, then I would consider that something that should not happen. ...

P.16) ...Q And if, by the same token, a prosecutor refuses to bring a meritless prosecution against an opponent to the President, that would be improper also, right?

A If someone is asked to step down because they weren't bringing something that they, in good faith, thought they shouldn't and the examination concluded that that was a legitimate 17 position, then I would not expect them to be asked to step down.

Q Let me ask you also about the timing of prosecutions. Would it be improper to remove a U.S. Attorney because that U.S. Attorney failed to bring a prosecution that would aid a candidate during election time?

A It would be inappropriate to interfere one way or the other, either by asking somebody to bring an action they shouldn't bring or to not bring an action that they should, in both instances it would be inappropriate.

Q And particularly so if it was done with a design to influence an election?

A If that was the purpose, then I would think it would be inappropriate to attempt to influence an election.

Q Are there circumstances in which it would be proper to remove a U.S. Attorney based on purely partisan political considerations? A I would have difficulty answering that question.

Q Would it be proper to remove a U.S. Attorney because he refused to use his office to assist Republican candidates for elective office?

A If the sole purpose of asking someone to leave or to step down is to influence an election or do something the individual thought shouldn't be done, and the examination indicates that is correct, or to not do something, I think any of those things would have been inappropriate. ...

(P. 18) ...Q Would it be appropriate to remove a U.S. Attorney simply because one of the President's political allies or supporters has asked that U.S. Attorney to be removed?

A That would depend on the circumstances.

Q If the sole reason that the President removes a U.S. Attorney is because a supporter asked, would that be appropriate?

A U.S. Attorneys are serving at the pleasure of the President. And so, if anything is presented to him, then he has the ability to remove that person. ...

(P.21) ...Q Under what circumstances do you think it would be appropriate for the origination of the idea to remove a U.S. Attorney to come from the White House?

A I would think that would be perfectly appropriate from any other source. ...

(P. 27) ...Q Well, let's say you had a U.S. Attorney who refused to bring meritless cases.

A Well, you can stop right there. No one is going to condone bringing meritless cases.

Q And so, removing them for the failure to bring meritless cases would be an inappropriate reason to remove them?

A I believe we have already covered that. And I said you should not ask someone to leave because they won't bring a meritless case. ...

(P.38) ...Q And what about the Office of Political Affairs' role in the decision to let U.S. Attorneys go. What role did they play in 39 the process?

A I would say providing information.

Q And what type of information would they provide?

A Whatever they had in any particular situation. And if they had any, I would think many times they would not, but if they had any they may well have let their views be known. And in fact, and I apologize for not thinking about this at the time, someone from that office frequently attended the Judicial Selection Committee. So they were always there to provide the political sense with respect to the environment in any particular state.

Q And who was it from the Office of Political Affairs that attended the JSC meetings?

A Sometimes Karl Rove himself participated, but he may have had on his deputy chief of staff hat. But the Office of Political Affairs reported to him, so he could have been there. I don't really have a recollection of Sara Taylor being there, but she would have been logical. I remember Scott Jennings being there.

Q Do you recall any of the JSC meetings where it was clear Mr. Rove attended for the specific purpose that a U.S. Attorney removal was the issue to be discussed?

A I don't have a recollection of that.

Q Do you recall any case where the suggestion for the removal of a particular U.S. Attorney originated in the Office of Political Affairs rather than the Department of Justice? 40

A I think that's a good question. And I know that, for example, with respect to Mr. Iglesias that there were comments made about him and his performance. And those comments certainly could have been made at a Judicial Selection Committee meeting, but I don't recall it.

Q And did you raise the case of Mr. Iglesias because the first suggestion that he be considered for removal came from the Office of Political Affairs rather than the Department of Justice?

A I don't know whether it did or not come from the Department of Justice or whether that was just one more voice if, in fact, it happened. But I don't really know who came up with the idea. But certainly there were comments about Mr. Iglesias coming from the political office, or the deputy chief of staff for that matter. ...

(P. 41) ...Q But it was a call that Mr. Rove originated, you didn't call him? A Well, unless I called him back. But, yeah, he instigated the call. 42

Q And tell us the best you can about what you recall what Mr. Rove had to say when he called?

A My best recollection is that he was very agitated about the U.S. Attorney in New Mexico. I don't know that I knew the gentleman's name at that time.

Q And what did he tell you about the U.S. Attorney in New Mexico?

A That he was getting barraged by a lot of complaints about the U.S. Attorney and his not doing his job.

Q And who were the complaints coming from?

A People that he was in contact with, which I assumed, of course, and he may have said, were political people that were active in New Mexico.

Q These are Republican Party activists?

A They were the people that he would have been interfacing with as political leadership of the State, is my assumption.

Q And who would that have been?

A I have no idea.

Q Would they have been Republican Party activists?

A All I can tell you is that Karl was reporting multiple people complaining about Mr. Iglesias.

Q And did he identify any of the people who were complaining to him about Mr. Iglesias?

A I don't recall that.

Q Did he tell you what they were complaining about? 43

A That he wasn't doing his job. I do recall that.

Q Do you recall what specifically the complaints were that he wasn't doing his job?

A I don't recall the specifics of what he was saying.

Q Did Mr. Rove raise with you complaints about voter fraud prosecutions?

A That's my best recollection, that he did.

Q And what did he say about that?

A I don't know what he said. I know it's my impression that he talked about the complaints that the guy wouldn't do his job. And I believe he mentioned voter fraud.

Q What else do you recall that Mr. Rove said about the complaints, if anything?

A I'm giving you all the information that I can about that call. That's my best recollection that that happened.

Q And you said Mr. Rove was agitated. What led you to believe that he was agitated?

A He was just upset. I remember his being upset.

Q Was it the language he used or was it the tone of his voice that told you he was upset?

A I can't tell you. It's my recollection that he was upset. And how that was conveyed to me I can't tell you.

Q Did Mr. Rove tell you that he wanted the U.S. Attorney gone?

A I don't have that specific recollection. And I'm under 44 oath and I'm not going to swear to something coming out of his mouth that I just can't remember. The clear import was that he was upset with how this individual was performing.

Q And was the clear import also that he wanted him removed from his position?

A He was getting complaints about the guy. And he wanted to express, I think, and this is my general sense about the New Mexico situation, that there were complaints about how he was performing.

Q Ms. Miers, wasn't the clear import of his conversation with you that he wanted the U.S. Attorney removed from office?

A I can't say with certainty that he ever used that language. He may well have. I don't recall it.

Q Well, I'm not asking about specific language, but you were able to tell us the clear import of part of his conversation was that the U.S. Attorney was not doing his job and he was getting an earful?

A That's correct.

Q If Mr. Rove communicated to you that he wanted a U.S. Attorney replaced, you would recall that, right?

A Not necessarily.

Q Well, in this case did Mr. Rove communicate to you in whatever language he used that he wanted this U.S. Attorney removed?

A I can't put those words in his mouth. 45

Q I'm not using any specific words. But when you hung up with the -- when you hung up the phone call with Mr. Rove, was it clear to you that he wanted this U.S. Attorney removed?

A It was clear to me that he felt like he had a serious problem and that he wanted something done about it. And whether he said, and the answer is ask the guy to be removed, I can't -- I don't recall that, I just don't recall it.

Q But you do recall he wanted something done about it? A Yes, sir. I think he was calling for that purpose.

Q And he may have asked you, or he may have told you that he wanted the U.S. Attorney removed?

A That's speculation. And I can't put those exact words in his mouth. I mean, he was complaining about the guy.

Q The clear import was that he wanted something done about it, right?

A Yes, sir. That was his purpose in calling me.

Q And at this point, you can't rule out whether he asked that he be removed from office?

A I can't swear that he did or did not say that. Q So he may have? A I can't swear one way or the other.

Q So he may have asked for him to be removed, you just can't recall?

A I don't recall his using words like I want him fired or words of similar import. I just don't have that recollection. 46

Could he have said that, I can't rule it out. I probably should say that he may have said can't we get rid of this guy or something like that.

Q And do you recall what your response would have been?

A I don't recall him saying even that, so I certainly don't recall my response.

Q But he may have said that?

A I can't rule it out.

Q If Mr. Rove wanted him removed, what would the next step have been?

A If he had said that he wanted us to consider removing the guy, then I would have relayed that along with whatever else I believe I called Paul McNulty about. Because my belief is that I called Paul McNulty and reported this situation.

Q So at some point after your conversation with Mr. Rove, you called Mr. McNulty at the Justice Department?

A That's my belief. That I took whatever information he gave me and I called Paul and gave it to him. ...

Not a pretty picture at all, and these are just excerpts. I'm assuming Rove's transcript has some relevant material but that it's generally a lot of skirting around his culpability/guilt in the affair. And yes, we can expect them to protect the president at all costs...unless, perhaps, it means that they're going to to go to prison.

Keep in mind that this woman was nominated for the Supreme Court. Now we know why she declined.

The House Judiciary Committe's Rove/Miers interviews and materials: http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/issues_WHInterviews.html

Arlen Specter's Town Hall and the articulate, gesticulating chick in the blue shirt

Lebanon, Pennsylvania--A very well-spoken woman, I must say. One might be mistaken in thinking that she was the ringleader of all the jackapes yelling at Senator Specter, but certainly not their paymaster.

Here's some problems:

--She went out of her way to state that she was 35 since--let's be honest--most of the morons yelling and violating other people's right to speak (a clear violation of the First Amendment, meaning it's OK to drag them out) are old fools. Not many young people...OK, virtually no young people at all...

--She stated that, "This isn't about TARP [right, why would the right-wing care when the people sending them there benefited from it?]...this isn't a left-right issue...I don't want my country turning into Russia [sure about that one?]," and a bunch of other inane comments about "dismantling our country" that aren't worthy of repeating.

--She and the other jackapes engaging in political theater for the benefit of the health care trusts have no concept of the social contract (look it up), so Arlen Specter, yes, Arlen Specter, had to explain it to them like the overweight schoolchildren that they are.

The main problem was that she was most certainly a handpicked activist/actress put there to appeal to a specific demographic of stupid American woman--reactionary, greedy, narrow-minded ones. You know, Kate Gosselin, that flaming shrew extraordinaire, part of the minority of 30% who don't want socialized medicine, and "you're just jealous." No, I'm not. We're not. Happy? I don't think so, and it's obvious. Her point-of-view is most definitely to the far right of the political spectrum when put up against public opinion, but she shares this with many politicians currently holding office.

How many times does it have to be repeated? A firm, unmovable 70% of the American public strongly desires socialized medicine, like a Medicare program for everyone. You know, that program that dirty hospitals, doctors, and all the rest like ripping-off whenever they can because free enterprise doesn't need to be regulated, and other unicorns and animals that couldn't fit on Noah's Ark.

One old moron in the audience really put it well, though: "I don't think we have bad attitudes, we're just being Americans." Yes, retarded ones, and yes again, this isn't about left or right, it's about what the public really wants, meaning socialized medicine. And this means these people are hardly representative of the public by any stretch of the imagination. But keep yammering, I'd love to see the crappy bill (as opposed to H.R. 676, the real deal) that the Obama administration, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, and the best Congress money can buy, are trying to float through.

Even if they do, it's just going to keep wrecking the economy with the cost.

A bolder contention: the entire thing is a sham, these town hall meetings are nothing but political theater, and there are no real "sides" being represented, certainly not the public one. How could it be with all the shouting? Now you know the whole point of this charade, this Shibboleth. Hey, you could be easily forgiven in thinking Billy Mays was still alive-and-snorting...

Postscript, 08.14.2009: The woman at the Specter town hall was Katy Abram. She was recently taken to task on MSNBC with a little rundown on it here (hit the link below) at Crooks & Liars. (http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/hardball-town-hall-protester-exposed). Of course she's ill-informed. But I'm sure someone put this pushy monkey up to it...

"The Underground Railroad never happened."

Michiana--Of course it did, and it was more widespread than bigots and racists here in Northern Indiana would care to admit.

Whether the local Klaverns around here or foaming-at-the-mouth racists like attorney Tony Zirkle want to admit it or not, a lot of people around here were involved in the hiding and ferrying of runaway slaves into Canada and other "free" states that wouldn't cooperate with slave hunters in returning the "property" of slaverholders in the American South and the border states.

My own father--not exactly someone I'd ever refer to as racially progressive in any sense--even had to admit this to me. During the 1970s, he did a lot of work on construction sites throughout Michiana as a civil engineer (the area I live in was once part of Michigan, and the borders might be contested again soon, another story for another time...) and he and his coworkers found several sites that were part of it, even tunnels that weren't on any map, completely unknown until their discovery by the construction crews.

But besides being a nexus for the Underground Railroad, Michiana has also been yet another place where local folklore once flourished. In 2005, folklorist Carl Lindahl visited the Suggs house and Underground Railroad museum, still run by the family of the same name up in Vandalia, Michigan, right outside of the city of Niles.

Lindahl's article is about a collection that was released at the time, but his observations about the Suggs patriarch J.D. Suggs and the legacy of certain folklore collectors from the last century are interesting ones:

Much more commonly, however, I emerged from the listening experience with enhanced respect for the collectors and for the positive bonds they had forged with the storytellers. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of this sort was Richard Dorson. Dorson has been roundly (and rightly) taken to task for many of his statements about the nature of African American narrative, especially his contention that it was a “borrowed” tradition —adapted from European sources rather than being “truly” African American. Such theoretical positions have long been discredited, but they have influenced many folklorists, including myself, to belittle Dorson’s work with African American narrators and narratives. So I was astonished to find that the children of Dorson’s favorite African American storyteller, J.D. Suggs, not only remembered Dorson, but cherished their memories of him. Their father had had a vision of “black and white coming together”—and the Suggs children have interpreted that vision in terms of Suggs “coming together” with Dorson. When I drove up to the J.D. Suggs Underground Railroad Museum and Historical Site in Vandalia, Michigan, I was stunned to find two metal silhouettes —one of Dorson, painted white, and one of Suggs, painted black—facing each other. The silhouettes were fashioned on the model of a photo of Dorson and Suggs that Suggs had carried with him until the day he died. In August 2004, shortly after American Folktales had been released, I attended the J.D. Suggs Freedom Festival at the museum and emerged from my car to find the Suggs family gathered in a circle around the metal cutouts of Suggs and Dorson.
The recordings of Suggs and Dorson reveal a strong mutual affection based on the two men’s common love of story. These and similar recordings from other storyteller- collector teams underline the importance and redeeming quality of fieldwork. We may get it wrong theoretically, our scholarship may sometimes seriously misrepresent our “informants,” but as long as we can record their remarkable performances and deal with them personally, in an atmosphere of mutual respect, we have done something remarkably right. The recorded performances will survive our misperceptions and, through such archives as the AFC, be available for their grandchildren and ours. We justify our existence by prolonging that of the storytellers.
The Archive of Folk Culture is in many ways America’s folkloric memory. There is no substitute for the wealth of oral art and wisdom to be found there. (Lindahl, Carl. "The Making of American Folktales," Folklife Center News, Winter/Spring 2005, Volume XXVII, Numbers 1-2)

God love the common man, the only conscience America's ever had or ever will have, because it's not going to come from above. The Suggs House Freedom Festival is being held today and tomorrow in Vandalia, Michigan. Its main-thrust is racial unity between African-Americans and Euro-Americans and a reminder that the nation most of us has always wanted has always been there, right under our eyes all along, if only we heed the call. Most of us already have in our hearts and minds, the real battleground.

Listing of local events that include the Suggs Freedom Festival (Aug. 8-9): http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090705/INTHEBEND/305029998/1044/Ent

Lindahl, Carl. "The Making of American Folktales," Folklife Center News, Winter/Spring 2005, Volume XXVII, Numbers 1-2: http://www.loc.gov/folklife/news/news-text-winter-spring2005.html

Purple Mays, all in my brain...

WWW--You know, who woulda thunk? Me. Millions who aren't pathetically naive. Billy Mays, a not-a-man who was a carnival barker for fifteen years of his unnatural life, and who hawked a bunch of products I'm not going to mention, was a coke-head. Well, duh.

Far be from me not to speak ill of the dead. This one's worthy of it. And besides: he's dead Jim, he can't feel anything, just like most of corporate America and Wall Street, hence the need for all the coke, hookers, amphetamines, alcohol (sorry, they don't make ludes anymore in America, but that's not good fuel for these folks), and whatever other addictions can fill that gaping-hole in their souls.

When did it all start, and who cares? For over fifteen years, this not-a-man has yelled at me and America, blaring his inanities to sell crap nobody ever wanted or need for rich asshole investors to...get richer. No, I don't think that's a good thing, nope. Again, I'm obviously "just jealous," so please bear with me...

It's doubtful that the autopsy report's going to be impeached--ever--even if someone gets sued or bribed to do it, we now know he had metabolites of cocaine in his system, it's out. Science can be a tad tenacious like that, as seen on TV. Yet, his family and backers are scared shitless about the stiff's image, making statements that contradict--I don't know--a valid autopsy report by the accredited and licensed Hillsborough County medical examiner? You know, a mean guy, so he's probably just doing his job and was just telling us the truth, so money is surely at-stake somewhere in all of this.

"We were totally unaware of any non-prescription drug usage and are actively considering an independent evaluation of the autopsy results," Mays' family said in a statement.

The statement said the family was "extremely disappointed" by the release of the information by the medical examiner's office. The report "contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension, which only demonstrates how important it is to regularly monitor one's health."...

Longtime friend and colleague AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of the "As Seen on TV" product company Telebrands, said Mays never exhibited any signs of drug use and was always prepared for his many commercial [sic] shoots.

"I'm just shocked," Khubani said. "He was the model of a responsible citizen." ("Autopsy: Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death, AP, 08.07.2009)

Mmmm-hm. Life's full of disappointments, or didn't you get the memo? I know I did. Hey, if I was all coked-up, I'd be "prepared"most of the time too, locked-and-loaded, baby. Mr. Khubani: define what a "model" and responsible citizen is for me some time. I'm assuming it means making you rich(er).

No, I would never think that someone yelling at the top of their lungs showing absurd and abnormal degrees of stamina for the majority of his adult life was taking stimulants, no. Considering that the examiner has listed cocaine as a "contributor" (no, not that kind, silly) to his death (make more sense now?), that he did cocaine just a few days before his departure from this dimension, and the fact that his head appeared poised for explosion since the public first heard of him from all that yelling, I'd say he was at least using the drug off-and-on much of his life. You could say he was probably driven to it, but that he was wrong-headed appears pretty obvious to these eyes and ear, and these ears are still ringing.

Whether he abused the drug is another story, but clearly the man had lifestyle problems. Mays' family made a public statement:

We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension, which only demonstrates how important it is to regularly monitor one's health.

Given the hectic nature and pace of Billy's life, especially during the past 10 months of his exhaustive travel across the country, it was not surprising to hear that hypertension was the cause of his death.

We were totally unaware of any non prescription drug usage and are actively considering an independent evaluation of the autopsy results. As those who were close to Billy knew, he had been in chronic pain for more than two years and was about to have his third hip surgery in 18 months.

His use of prescription pain medication for his hip condition was guided by his physician and was at recommended usage levels. This has been a very difficult period for our family and we appreciate the respect for our privacy that Billy's many clients, fans and members of the media have extended.

We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for the family and will not have any immediate comment beyond this statement.

If you think that I don't pity Mays and his family or mourn him, you're sadly mistaken, I do. The bastards that made a mountain of money (and concomitantly polluted our minds, bodies, and our world, and still are right now) took this poor little man--this barker--and used him up until there was no more to take. Now he is gone, and the madness continues on, but for how long? Until they've made our world uninhabitable.

So, it's not that I hated Billy Mays the man, it's that I hated the image he had to project out there at-the-behest of a bunch of evil businesspeople and investors. Bearing witness to his death is almost like watching the statues falling in the former Soviet Union: Crash, crash, crash. Watch the Shibboleths fall, one-by-one. Historians say that the late Richard M. Nixon was a barker for the gambling-tents during the Great Depression. Makes sense.

"Autopsy report: Cocaine use contributed to death of Billy Mays," 10 Connects.com, 08.07.2009: http://www.wtsp.com/news/mostpop/story.aspx?storyid=111143&provider=top

"Report of Diagnosis and Autopsy on William Darrell Mays, File 09.04082," Hillsborough County, Florida, Medical Examiner Department, conducted 06.29.2009: http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/wtsp/pdfs/2009/mays-autopsy.pdf

"Toxicology Report, Mays, William Darrell ... ," 07.27.2009: http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/wtsp/pdfs/2009/mays-toxicology.pdf

Coming soon: An essay on connections between a Tiananmen Square account and the science fiction of Cordwainer Smith (Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger )

WWW--Like most of my observations, this comes through serendipity. In 1989, I was told some very shocking accounts behind the violent repression of the student democratic forces by the Red Army troops in and around Tiananmen Square. This was told to me by a Chinese exchange student in his 30s, and he told me without any prompting.

He was an unassuming man with a family who had absolutely nothing to gain in telling me any of it. I have, therefore, little reason to think it's an inaccurate or false account, not that I make any claims that it could be corroborated.

We spent an entire summer doing student painting with him and lived in the same married housing units as him for a few years, he was a very kindly person who's probably instructing at the college level nowadays. This story still shocks me, but when I was recently introduced to the writings of American sci-fi writer Cordwainer Smith (the pen name of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger).

Linebarger's father was close to the Chinese nationalist movement in the 1930s and his godfather was Sun Yat-Sen, practically the George Washington of modern Chinese nationalism. As a result of his ties with China, Linebarger became an expert in Far Eastern studies in academic settings. He also worked in the earliest incaranations of the American psychological warfare sections during WWII. We'll leave it at that for now...

Food for thought until we meet again:
http://www.cordwainer-smith.com/foundation.htm