Lumpy Gravy
So, there I was. Sat at the dinner table with Dearest and Eldest. Opining about the turgid state of "radio stations these days" whilst simultaneously attempting to swallow some peas when....it happened. The dreaded swallow/cough interface. That strange void you sometimes find yourself in when the urge to breathe interferes with attempts to eat and hold forth on subjects of major import. End result ? A pea up my nose.
There then follows a series of absolutely hopeless, convoluted snorts, sniffs, blows and endless glasses of water in attempt to dislodge the little green bugger. All to no avail. Peas up the nose cannot be rushed. They are mule-like when lodged deep in your mucus membranes. The only solution is to do nothing. To see what happens. A lot like Asquith's* approach to the various problems facing his government in the run up to The First World War. Eventually the problem sorts itself out. In my case, the offender dislodged itself naturally about 1 hour later. Mind you Asquith ended up in all kinds of shit in autumn 1914.
* I've been re-reading George Dangerfield's "The Strange Death of Liberal England" again. I always find it a very *autumnal* kind of book. It was written not long after the Great War and argues that the war diverted three huge issues that the Liberal Government couldn't handle. Militant Trade Unionism, Suffragism and the Irish Question. All three movements were becoming increasingly violent as August 1914 approached.
Puppet on a String
So Dubya's speech to the UN fell "decidely flat". Well, there's a shock. Strange ain't it George ? Y'know - when you have to try to convince intelligent, thinking people of your arguments you don't have much success. I'd stick to Fox and attempting to brainwash your fellow Americans if I were you.
For the real deal over in Iraq try Baghdad Burning. On a par - I think - with Salam Pax. Not that I think George would believe any of it. For an intelligent view of the same situation from a GIs point of view, Moja Vera's excellent and thought provoking turningtables is a must. Good to see that he has made it home as well. This is where blogging really breaks through the bullshit that gets churned out of the TVs and Radios day after day. The sad thing is the type of people who need a little "editorial balance" in their lives are never going to look for it. Big Brother, Pop Idol, J-Lo and Ben and all the other Orwellian distractions take up too much of their time as it is.
I can't help but think that Dubya's interpretation of the New Testament would be along the lines of the Supply Side Jesus. It doesn't sound too far off a certain Iron Lady's interpretation either. Remember her pronouncement on the Good Samaritan ? (If you can't it went along the lines of if the Samaritan hadn't created wealth for himself then he would not have been in a position to help in the first place. So the Samaritan became a kind of proto-"trickle-down" economist )
Sad to see that Hugo Young has died at 64.
Blogger's spell check wants to replace Dubya with dubious. How's that for artificial intelligence ?
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