Category: Other People

People refer to a Bait and Switch routine that Our Leader is perpetrating with respect to Saddam and those pesky WMDs. That is, we went to war over the weapons, but now that we’ve found none, we’re saying this was the right thing to do because Saddam is so awful.

Some people argue that weapons will be found, no matter what, even if we have to plant them there, because we need post-facto justification. I doubt it: we can find a justification that’s harder to disprove. After all, Saddam was awful. We know it because we propped him up and provided him with weapons for so long.

Two weeks away from the gym, one of which is spent lying in bed eating M&Ms, and what do I have to show for it? I’ve lost 2.5 pounds (and much of the strength that went with it). I don’t know what’s more annoying, the fact that I’ve lost the weight and strength, or the fact that I actually care. I mean, I feel like I’m turning into a Bizarro Peach or something.

I sure did like that Bizarro episode of Sealab 2021. That was funny as hell.

Well, do you?

I’m reminded of the Ice Cube song “Givin’ up the Nappy Dugout,” which is as nasty and inventive a song as there is. I mean, really, what rhymes with Czechosolvakia? Not a lot that fits into a rap song, but Cube managed it. “Mista mista before you make me go, I am here to tell you that your little girl’s a ho!”

Not like it’s polite to insult someone just for being related to Our Leader, but for a friend of mine being courted by a distant relative of his, the Bush kinship was the last straw in a series of dealbreaking character flaws.

I’ve been trying to explain the appeal of this new subgenre people keep calling electroclash, and of Fischerspooner in particular, and there’s a very good description in the NYT review this week. Two guys, one of them does the showboating, one of them does opposite– not quite behind the scenes, but visibly helping with costume changes, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, joining in on dance sequences but slightly out of step. It’s… well, it’s self-consciously half-assed, it’s sarcastically fabulous. Mr. Lead Rock Star, between songs, demands his political jacket, he’s going to do a political song. He wears a white suit and at the high point of the song, the second guy hides behind him and pulls the whole snap-away thing off, revealing shiny underwear and a moderately buff body.

Not perfect. Obviously, deliberately, imperfect. Perfection would be too easy.

Now, we hear about the reasons for the implosion of LTCM, and about Saddam’s depravity. It would have been good to have that sort of information prior to taking action, prior to bailouts and bombing runs.

But most of life is composed of actions taken with insufficient information, actions taken on a hunch or a whim or an estimate. Risk and risk management rear their ugly heads again and again. Will I be pretty, will I be rich? Does she like me or is she merely tolerating my presence? Will I be loved again, like the Cowboy Junkies song says I will? Oh, we’d all like to know a lot of things. Maybe some of them will be revealed. Maybe not.

Or maybe my friends are celebrities. At least celebrated: Kari got interviewed in S&M News.

• Pregnant wives of US servicemen are having a tough time of it.
• You can lose weight by turning off the TV and going for a walk instead.
• Rock star Tommy Lee is accused of being incredibly irresponsible.
• Many fat kids are unhappy.

Single: drinks from bottle of milk when nobody is looking.
Staying Single: drinks from bottle of liquor when nobody is looking.

From the IHT: “A former chief executive of Shell Oil Co. appears to be the leading contender to oversee the Iraqi oil industry after the fall of Saddam Hussein, according to industry experts who have spoken with U.S. officials.”

Bush is certain and that worries me. He knows what’s going on. He knows that his tax cuts will force either tax hikes or spending cuts down the road and he’s just left that problem for others to take care of. The Reagan strategy of deliberately bankrupting the federal government rides again. Why not cut back on entitlements? That’s politically difficult. He’ll just force someone else’s hand later.

FYIFV