Dowbrigade

I debated all day about whether to blog the horrific
details of the vicious prision murder of convicted pedophile ex-preist
John Geoghan. Sure it was gross, but it was news, and provokes all sorts
of profound throughts about retribution, the death penalty and the American
criminal justice system in general.

Any way, for those of you outside of the local area (here in Boston
we are being innundated with blow-by-blow exposure, to the point it’ll
be difficult to find a blind jury), here is a detailed article from todays
Boston Globe.

Druce will have trouble pleading self-defense:

Easyjet 737 HB-III departed Aug,15 at 09:50 from Geneva,
and flew 10 minutes later into a Thunderstorm. Golf ball-sized hail did extensive damage to the nose and wings of the plane.

They returned to Geneva for an emergency landing. Amazingly, no one was
hurt.

via Boing Boing

Why is it every time I find a really feel good story,
something that restores my faith in the existence of pure American values,
somewhere among the aisles of this vast supermarket of a nation, my find
turns to dust in my mouth (to badly mangle a metaphor) in a flurry of
contrarian media reports.

As the winners and losers of that storied ritual of late summer evenings
culminating millions of afternoon practices and games on dusty diamonds
around the world head home to accolades and school supply shopping,

attacks are appearing on the airwaves and internet, alleging
that the purity of the rite has been irrevocably compromised and that the
whole World Series idea should be dropped.The criticisms are falling
into three general categories.

1) Kids Can’t (Shouldn’t) Throw Curves : As reported here, Mike Scuzzerella,
Saugus’s 95 lb ace hurler throws a wicked curve, and has been honing it
since he was seven.  Shame on him, his coach for allowing it, his
parents for permitting it and me for reporting it. It has been widely reported
as scientific fact (since I am not a scientist I can’t vouch for this myself)
that kids who throw curve balls before they are 14 or 15 will be drinking
their beer through long straws by the time they are 40.  Rips up their
elbows, appearantly.

2) The kids are often poorly served or even unhinged by the intense media
spotlght.  Don’t we love to bitch about the culture of privilege and
pampering which produces such an amazingly high percentage of criminals,
assholes and psychopaths among major professional athletes.  Well, this
is how it starts.  We are all guilty of glorifying and worshiping a
bunch of spoiled 12-year-old kids, some of whom will continue to be lionized
until they either one of the aforementioned unpleasant pros or burn out.

3) The interest and face time afforded the Little League World Series
has spawned widespread
gambing on this most innocent manifestation of the
national pastime.  Especially on on-line betting sites, there were
constantly moving lines on the winners, the over/under, the number of runs
scored.  A disaster waiting to happen! Only a matter of time until
shady gambling interests try to entice a kid to pad the score, or even
throw a game.

So anyway, I am disillusioned and disconverted by this revolting development.  On
the other hand, it’s hard to think of a more American triumverate than
Media Stars, gambling and physical abuse.

I don’t want the white-corded wonder. I have my very
own iPod in my mind.

I hear those little things carry up to a month’s
worth of music. Well, so does my mind . I can call up any song I’ve
ever heard, any time I want.
And I never have to load software or charge batteries. There are no firewire
cords or docks to mess with. I just put my hands behind my head, lean
back, and select a tune from the extensive music-library folder inside
my brain.

from the Onion

If you subscribe to the school of slightly paranoid
political thought that sees the last 50 years of American history as
a titanic struggle
between two power centers, the old-line gray flannel Wall Street/Ivy/Media
nexus and the up-and-coming Cowboy/Oil/Energy military/industrial nexus,
then it will come as no surprise that the White House collaborated closely
with corporate CEO’s in developing President Bush’s energy policy but
repeatedly refused to give congressional investigators details of the
meetings.

Specifically, according to a report released yesterday by the General
Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, Energy Secretary
Spencer Abraham privately discussed the formulation of Bush’s policy "with
chief executive officers of petroleum, electricity, nuclear, coal, chemical,
and natural gas companies, among others." The same old gang, or
clique, or cabal, depending on your degree of paranoia.

An energy task force, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, relied for
outside advice primarily on "petroleum, coal, nuclear, natural gas,
electricity industry representatives and lobbyists," while seeking
limited input from academic specialists, environmentalists, and policy
groups, the GAO said.

Surprise, surprise.  But since. according to prevailing conspiracy
theory, the centerpiece action in the friendly competition between the
two power centers was the assassination of an American president, I guess
we should be thankful that the current cupola is content with screwing
us out of 2 bucks for a gallon of gas…

from the Boston Globe

Presidential
Campaigns Search for the Perfect Tunes

With todays Presidential campaigns turned into glorified media circuses,
the selection of a theme song for each of them has become a question
of key importance and strategic implications.  An article in today’s
Boston Globe details the currect preferences of the main Democratic contenders
and how they were chosen. As usual, I have a few suggestions of my own.

John Kerry, desperate to ride a populist baby
boom into office, was soliciting ideas on his campaign web site.
Suggestions included "For What It’s Worth," the dirge from
the Vietnam days, "Walk This Way," by Aerosmith, to play up
his Boston roots, Steppenwolf’s "Born to Be Wild," befitting
a Harley-riding man, and "Mama Said Knock You Out," by rapper
L. L. Cool J

I would suggest "Mama Told Me Not to Come," by Three Dog Night.

Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri launched his campaign
with Tina Turner’s "The Best," said spokesman Erik Smith –
in part because Ike and Tina Turner played at one of Gephardt’s high
school dances. Lately, the campaign has been using "Let the Day
Begin," by The Call, after a Teamsters organizer played it at some
rallies.

Let me suggest "Days of Future Past" by the Moody Blues.

The staff of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut chose Sister
Sledge’s "We Are Family," spokesman Jano Cabrera said, hoping
to remind voters that "all Democrats share a core set of values."

How about Adam Sandler’s "Chanuka Song"?

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina has lately used Smashmouth’s
cover of "I’m a Believer," the Monkees hit penned by Neil Diamond.

Why not use "Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy," or anything else by the
real Jonathan Edwards?

Al Sharpton campaigns to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh’s "Get Up, Stand
Up."

Because he doesn’t have the guts to use "Legalize It" and anyway, isn’t
"Get up, Stand Up" a Bob Marley tune?

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean tends to enter rooms to "Little
Less Conversation," as performed by Elvis Presley and remixed by
Junkie XL.

Junkie XL? I would prefer a few bars of the R&B classic "I Don’t Need
no Doctor"

MBABANE (Reuters) – Swaziland’s King Mswati III has chosen
a 17-year-old girl to become his 11th wife, alarming health workers who
say he is setting a bad example for a kingdom with one of the highest
HIV infection rates in the world. The announcement came in part to clear
the way for Mswati to choose even more fiancees at this year’s Reed Dance
next
month.

from Reuters

Maybe
the reason you haven’t gotten a job is that you spend so much time
playing mindless but entertaining games like this. Now you can at least
PRETEND you’re working at Wal-Mart with the Cash Register Game