Like a bad pepperoni pizza…

…Nixon just won’t go away.

The person who has been introducing Palin into the more exalted social and political circles of the capital, and who has already arranged her appearance at the Alfalfa Club, is Fred Malek. Two things about Malek are worth bearing in mind.

The first is that he was an important member of the Nixon administration, a senior figure on the Republican National Committee, and the campaign manager for the re-election of George H.W. Bush in 1992. With his Carlyle Group and other corporate connections and his mansion in suburban McLean, Va.,* Malek is almost the prototypical “establishment” Washington insider and consiglieri Republican, against whom Palin’s adoring book-tour crowds, in their pathetic dreams, imagine her to be a crusader. But her preposterous book Going Rogue is larded with praise for the wise support and advice of this leathery old Beltway bandit. Populism? Hah! Unless, that is, you count Jew-baiting as a form of populism, which I suppose in a way it is. (Bryan, that other foe of Darwin, was also a fan of the Klan.)

D&D and G-G-G-Girls…

One of the fun things anout the non-linear nature of the web is that sometimes you stumble onto articles that talk about things you’ve thought about, even though you’ve never really thought about them, like Sex Advice From Dungeons & Dragons Players.

Some good advice here, including:

How soon into the relationship should a player bring a twelve-sided die into the sack?
I am going to interpret your question literally and assume you are planning to fashion a string of anal beads out of the dice. A word of warning: they have slightly pointed edges that can cause discomfort. I would recommend starting with a d4 and working your way up. Usually, the third date is a good time to introduce this.

Plenty of shit to fit under everyone’s hat.

From Going south: militaristic, corrupt America increasingly resembles a Third World state. I’ve excerpted here, but I really suggest reading the whole thing, especially if you think I’m just cherry-picking the parts that make the former administration look bad. There’s plenty of shit to rain on everybody…

A repressive leader quickly realizes that the best way to unite his countrymen is to rally them against an outside threat–actual or invented. …..As Akbar Ahmed puts it in Islam Under Siege, a sense of grievance motivates extremism, but even “those societies that economists call ‘developed’ fall back to notions of honor and revenge in times of crisis.” Sept. 11 proved his point.

The fact that 19 misfits with box-cutters scarcely constituted an invading army was of little consequence–that anyone could touch us so shocked the American system that we lashed out with disproportionate fury. When wounded ego drives policy, force becomes the default. Far from being a passing spasm, this honor impulse has become a way of life. It rules our international conduct and makes our wars nearly impossible to quit ….

As the martial spirit rises, soldiers are necessarily heroes, even though they are treated as expendable. Patriotism is defined in militaristic terms. And it’s not unusual for an American president to wear a jacket with “Commander in Chief” emblazoned across the chest–an only slightly subtler version of Chavez and Castro couture.

….

In countries with a history of authoritarianism, it is not uncommon for the practiced agitators who presided over a crisis to hold sway long after they appear to exit power…..Even after a crisis subsides, much of the population remains in panic mode and supports the bare-knuckled approach of the previous government.

America is similarly afflicted. Dick Cheney wields such clout that even after his term ended he gave the order and previously classified information on “enhanced interrogation” was made public. His contention that the disclosure proves the value of those interrogations remains inconclusive, but he demonstrated his reach.

Barack Obama, for all his pledges of transparency, has upheld government secrecy to shield the previous administration and the former vice president in particular. He blocked the release of the FBI’s interview of Cheney in the Valerie Plame case, though a federal judge recently rejected arguments for keeping the file sealed. The Obama administration has promoted, through its actions and its rhetoric, the fiction that post-9/11 abuses were committed by “bad apple” agents rather than condoned by high-ranking officials. The Obama and Bush administrations have both sought to block the release of detainee abuse information. 

Right wing lies and sincere thanks.

Here’s a question:

What’s the difference between the disrespect shown to veterans by denigrating a medal “awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after April 5, 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died after being wounded”*, as shown here, and those damned dirty hippies spitting on returning veterans of an unpopular war?

Answer: Only one of them actually occurred, and that photo ain’t the result of Photoshop.

I was led to consider this when I spontaneously and sincerely thanked a young man who told me he had served. Truth is, I very much appreciate the services of soldiers, sailors and marines (as well as police and firemen and too many others to name) who work to protect me and mine.

They choose to do this, and, even though I’m a dirty hippie and I usually strongly disagree with their bosses, They’re out there for me and my neighbors, and that doesn’t change. I’m sorry that they so frequently end up as political pawns (admittedly played by both sides at times).

Thanks.

Happy blogiversary!

Ten years o’ pap, baby!