Praise the lord and pass the ammunition. How about the Westboro Baptist Church splinter fundamentalist group (we’re not in Kansas any more Toto) that picket the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq? Carrying signs like “God hates you,” and “Thank God For Dead Soldiers,” they believe God is killing our troops as punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.
It’s Cormac McCarthy, Bonnie, and I’ve read that one. His stuff is heavy.
I found the recent news item about the sale of Che Guevara’s hair and death photos very sad.
Rudy Giuliani couldn’t say whether waterboarding was torture either. What say we strap Rudy to a board, cover his mouth with a cloth, and repeatedly pour water over the cloth until he gags and experiences a drowning sensation--trying to avoid the unfortunate possibility that he might drown or have a heart attack. Well Rudy, is that torture? John McCain had this comment regarding Guiliani’s ignorance on the subject: “All I can is that it was used in the Spanish Inquisition, it was used in Pol Pot’s genocide in Cambodia, and there are reports that it’s being used against Buddhist monks today.”
October 26, 2007
October 25, 2007
Prison Lit.
“All men should strive to learn before they die
What they are running from, and to, and why.”
James Thurber 1956
Bonnie Q., are you okay out there in the land of mudslide, fire and earthquake? You know how we worry.
Hi Maggie, and thanks for reading the blog.
Chemo thoughts on a windswept day:
The dread of death and the overwhelmingness of life, that tragic dichotomy of being we strive to ignore, to neatly compartmentalize, manifests itself most concurrently in that moment when one’s mortality is made concrete, the moment of diagnosis, the close of the real. The collision of mortal dread and life’s absurdity and fragility produces a chain of recognitions that are otherwise impossible, unthinkable, and unimaginable. Why, because abstraction is the balm of denial. It’s not me this is happening to, it’s that gaunt, bald woman crossing the street with her walker. And then it’s you with the swollen lymph glands and night sweats.
Letter to a loved one:
Dear Trainee Tessier:
I hope they’ve let you outside. It’s a beautiful day. Sumo is sitting in the sun on my bed as I write this. I had a couple of specific questions and some literary information I wanted to discuss. Specifically, what’s the food like? Where do they have you bunked and what friends have you made? What are the “trainers” like? When you say chop wood, do you mean with an axe? Is PT (physical training) a part of the regimen? Do you march? Do you sing as you march/run? What will they allow you to read, and do they have a library?
I wanted to tell you a bit about the literary genre of prison literature. Probably the earliest example is Plato’s 5th century B.C. description (The Crito) of Socrates’ last days in jail. His crime against the state was corrupting the city’s youth with his radical moral and political philosophies. His friends pleaded with him to escape, but always a man of his principles, he refused. For Socrates the only opinion that matters is not that of the majority, but rather that of the individual who seeks and knows the truth. The truth should always be the basis of human action. Wise counsel methinks, but sometimes hard to follow. In 524 A.D., Boethius, jailed by the Romans for heresy, wrote The Consolation of Philosophy. Following Socrates/Plato, Boethius believed that wisdom is worth nothing if it does not console. I would say, Sarah, that knowledge is not inherently good, nor does it make you a better person. What it does is foster an independence of mind that can lead to sounder judgments about the world around us. Many of Cervantes ideas for Don Quixote (1605) came from his experience as a galley slave between 1575 and 1580. Sir Walter Raleigh compiled his History of the World while in a prison chamber in the Tower of London. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) while in jail. Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German while incarcerated at Wartburg Castle.
Of more interest to you, I’m sure, would be some of the prison literature contemporary to the Twentieth Century. I think you would enjoy reading Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), a short novel based on his own experience while imprisoned in the Soviet Gulags. The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1964), which you’ve probably read, is the story of a man, born Malcolm Little in 1925, the son of a Baptist preacher, who became a hustler, “uneducated, unskilled at anything honorable.” Jailed, where he learned to read and write by starting with the dictionary, he became a Black Muslim. He would later found the Organization of Afro-American Unity. In 1970 the letters of George Jackson, written from a prison cell would be published as Soledad Brother one year before his murder in prison. A good source for these kinds of texts is Angela Y. Davis’ 1971 collection of writings, If They Come in the Morning, by and about prisoners, including herself.
Enough of that. Your dear brother, Russell, is doing well. Did you know your presence on this earth has helped me today? You’ve given me a reason to do some research, take time to write, and provided a welcomed distraction from dwelling on my burning butthole (a side effect of the chemo). Thank you my dear daughter.
Love - Dad
What they are running from, and to, and why.”
James Thurber 1956
Bonnie Q., are you okay out there in the land of mudslide, fire and earthquake? You know how we worry.
Hi Maggie, and thanks for reading the blog.
Chemo thoughts on a windswept day:
The dread of death and the overwhelmingness of life, that tragic dichotomy of being we strive to ignore, to neatly compartmentalize, manifests itself most concurrently in that moment when one’s mortality is made concrete, the moment of diagnosis, the close of the real. The collision of mortal dread and life’s absurdity and fragility produces a chain of recognitions that are otherwise impossible, unthinkable, and unimaginable. Why, because abstraction is the balm of denial. It’s not me this is happening to, it’s that gaunt, bald woman crossing the street with her walker. And then it’s you with the swollen lymph glands and night sweats.
Letter to a loved one:
Dear Trainee Tessier:
I hope they’ve let you outside. It’s a beautiful day. Sumo is sitting in the sun on my bed as I write this. I had a couple of specific questions and some literary information I wanted to discuss. Specifically, what’s the food like? Where do they have you bunked and what friends have you made? What are the “trainers” like? When you say chop wood, do you mean with an axe? Is PT (physical training) a part of the regimen? Do you march? Do you sing as you march/run? What will they allow you to read, and do they have a library?
I wanted to tell you a bit about the literary genre of prison literature. Probably the earliest example is Plato’s 5th century B.C. description (The Crito) of Socrates’ last days in jail. His crime against the state was corrupting the city’s youth with his radical moral and political philosophies. His friends pleaded with him to escape, but always a man of his principles, he refused. For Socrates the only opinion that matters is not that of the majority, but rather that of the individual who seeks and knows the truth. The truth should always be the basis of human action. Wise counsel methinks, but sometimes hard to follow. In 524 A.D., Boethius, jailed by the Romans for heresy, wrote The Consolation of Philosophy. Following Socrates/Plato, Boethius believed that wisdom is worth nothing if it does not console. I would say, Sarah, that knowledge is not inherently good, nor does it make you a better person. What it does is foster an independence of mind that can lead to sounder judgments about the world around us. Many of Cervantes ideas for Don Quixote (1605) came from his experience as a galley slave between 1575 and 1580. Sir Walter Raleigh compiled his History of the World while in a prison chamber in the Tower of London. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) while in jail. Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German while incarcerated at Wartburg Castle.
Of more interest to you, I’m sure, would be some of the prison literature contemporary to the Twentieth Century. I think you would enjoy reading Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), a short novel based on his own experience while imprisoned in the Soviet Gulags. The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1964), which you’ve probably read, is the story of a man, born Malcolm Little in 1925, the son of a Baptist preacher, who became a hustler, “uneducated, unskilled at anything honorable.” Jailed, where he learned to read and write by starting with the dictionary, he became a Black Muslim. He would later found the Organization of Afro-American Unity. In 1970 the letters of George Jackson, written from a prison cell would be published as Soledad Brother one year before his murder in prison. A good source for these kinds of texts is Angela Y. Davis’ 1971 collection of writings, If They Come in the Morning, by and about prisoners, including herself.
Enough of that. Your dear brother, Russell, is doing well. Did you know your presence on this earth has helped me today? You’ve given me a reason to do some research, take time to write, and provided a welcomed distraction from dwelling on my burning butthole (a side effect of the chemo). Thank you my dear daughter.
Love - Dad
October 24, 2007
Chemo #5
10/24/07
I had my 5th chemo yesterday, one to go. I’m listening to the Massey Hall 1971 live Neil Young disc. How beautiful. Yes, sometimes it is hard to make arrangements with yourself. His voice is in its prime, and the guitar is miked perfectly. Highly recommended.
I’m on steroids today. I suspect a chemical cartography of sorts might be applied to my blog. One might look back and trace those days upon which my energy was chemically induced, enhanced and inflected. If having cancer elicits heightened sympathies, enticements to rest and take it easy, well-meaning advice, and other such attitudes un-exhibited toward those in otherwise good health, there must also be, inevitably, should one have the good fortune to experience a remission, another chance, another day, another sunset, another enjoyable conversation, a time to put this kindly attention aside. After all, it’s probably important to be the first on your block to think of yourself as a survivor. Did you forget man? I’ve got cancer! I think it’s probably obvious to those of you who follow this as to when and when I’m not chemo geeked. Praise God!
I sent a letter to someone I love today. Here’s an excerpt:
Dear Sarah:
I suppose I should say, Trainee Sarah. The bird in the cage, the horse that never gets out of the barn, the un-walked dog on a short leash in a forgotten back yard, I suppose they could tell us how you feel. You’ve always been so good with animals that if anyone could know what they think, it would be you. Ashes’s pointy gray face seems to approve of Sumo’s new accessory, a hilarious pink collar someone put on him.
No politics today, Randy? First some sports. So tell me, my sporting pals, which Favre is going to show up next Monday, the gunslinger or the game manager? Don’t count out the Bears, you Blatz guzzling Yoopers, come Sunday they’re gonna be on the lions like a bad rash. Oh, are you still smarting from that IMPROBABLE cheese head collapse in the Pack/Bears last match up? Ouch. I won’t rub it in, although that was a very nice pass to Urlacher on your own 5, Brett.
No politics today, Randy? First, some more on music: Bonni Q., I think that Ronnie Hawkins really meant to say Bonni, rather than Suzie, when he wrote the song. I’m diggin the way kickin “Shake Ya Boogie,” a cool synthesis of jump 30’s jazz and hip hop, new age beats. The remake of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” (Bauhaus, I think, did the original), lugubriously chic. Really like “Slide Away,” nice voice, 60s pop alt-rock the way it should be. “Koop Island Blues,” is slightly reminiscent of Massive Attack’s stuff. “Kjiribah,” it sounds like Indonesian gamelan music, but I’m sure this is west African stuff, almost like Mbiras (thumb pianos). You’ll have to tell me more. I love the Pietra Brown cut, “Are You Free,” it has a brooding, slidy appeal. “Seven Angels on a Bicycle,” I like. The Cake cut, “Thrills,” is perhaps my favorite on this stellar compilation you’ve made. A, put “New Shoes’” right there with it. How many of you out there know that Tom Jones did a cover of “Black Betty,” how unusual!
Politically, what’s left to say? A lot, of course. Darfur, Iraq, Burma, the United States, lots of bad juju globally. Who cares? Not Americans. Besides what can you do when your representatives have neither the courage nor inclination to force a Democracy turned Plutocracy into upholding the principles that comprise its integrity. It’s really about the rich controlling the poor, not social equality for all versus the rule of the few. The latter would mean reducing the lining of the Democrats' as well as Republicans' pockets. While Bush once again appeals for money to fund the bloody carnage of a senseless cause, we scratch our heads about the cost of universal healthcare.
I had my 5th chemo yesterday, one to go. I’m listening to the Massey Hall 1971 live Neil Young disc. How beautiful. Yes, sometimes it is hard to make arrangements with yourself. His voice is in its prime, and the guitar is miked perfectly. Highly recommended.
I’m on steroids today. I suspect a chemical cartography of sorts might be applied to my blog. One might look back and trace those days upon which my energy was chemically induced, enhanced and inflected. If having cancer elicits heightened sympathies, enticements to rest and take it easy, well-meaning advice, and other such attitudes un-exhibited toward those in otherwise good health, there must also be, inevitably, should one have the good fortune to experience a remission, another chance, another day, another sunset, another enjoyable conversation, a time to put this kindly attention aside. After all, it’s probably important to be the first on your block to think of yourself as a survivor. Did you forget man? I’ve got cancer! I think it’s probably obvious to those of you who follow this as to when and when I’m not chemo geeked. Praise God!
I sent a letter to someone I love today. Here’s an excerpt:
Dear Sarah:
I suppose I should say, Trainee Sarah. The bird in the cage, the horse that never gets out of the barn, the un-walked dog on a short leash in a forgotten back yard, I suppose they could tell us how you feel. You’ve always been so good with animals that if anyone could know what they think, it would be you. Ashes’s pointy gray face seems to approve of Sumo’s new accessory, a hilarious pink collar someone put on him.
No politics today, Randy? First some sports. So tell me, my sporting pals, which Favre is going to show up next Monday, the gunslinger or the game manager? Don’t count out the Bears, you Blatz guzzling Yoopers, come Sunday they’re gonna be on the lions like a bad rash. Oh, are you still smarting from that IMPROBABLE cheese head collapse in the Pack/Bears last match up? Ouch. I won’t rub it in, although that was a very nice pass to Urlacher on your own 5, Brett.
No politics today, Randy? First, some more on music: Bonni Q., I think that Ronnie Hawkins really meant to say Bonni, rather than Suzie, when he wrote the song. I’m diggin the way kickin “Shake Ya Boogie,” a cool synthesis of jump 30’s jazz and hip hop, new age beats. The remake of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” (Bauhaus, I think, did the original), lugubriously chic. Really like “Slide Away,” nice voice, 60s pop alt-rock the way it should be. “Koop Island Blues,” is slightly reminiscent of Massive Attack’s stuff. “Kjiribah,” it sounds like Indonesian gamelan music, but I’m sure this is west African stuff, almost like Mbiras (thumb pianos). You’ll have to tell me more. I love the Pietra Brown cut, “Are You Free,” it has a brooding, slidy appeal. “Seven Angels on a Bicycle,” I like. The Cake cut, “Thrills,” is perhaps my favorite on this stellar compilation you’ve made. A, put “New Shoes’” right there with it. How many of you out there know that Tom Jones did a cover of “Black Betty,” how unusual!
Politically, what’s left to say? A lot, of course. Darfur, Iraq, Burma, the United States, lots of bad juju globally. Who cares? Not Americans. Besides what can you do when your representatives have neither the courage nor inclination to force a Democracy turned Plutocracy into upholding the principles that comprise its integrity. It’s really about the rich controlling the poor, not social equality for all versus the rule of the few. The latter would mean reducing the lining of the Democrats' as well as Republicans' pockets. While Bush once again appeals for money to fund the bloody carnage of a senseless cause, we scratch our heads about the cost of universal healthcare.
October 22, 2007
Waterboarding
To the Editor:
Re: “Mukasey displays independence an attorney general needs”
Catherine McClure’s editorial lauds President Bush’s nominee for attorney general as having that ”deciding factor” necessary to a fair and just appointment confirmation: “independence from the Bush administration.” Rhetorically, the reader is asked to agree with her conclusion that Michael Mukasey’s decisions are “thoughtful and ultimately compelling.” Why? Because “generally commentators have described” them this way. Notwithstanding her credentials as a seasoned lawyer (what is described as “ethos” in compositional studies), we also need some concrete evidence here, some “logos.” Some facts. Who are these “commentators?” If I’m to be persuaded, I need to know upon what or whose authority they draw. The only real evidence she cites is idle opinion, in this case, her own. Syntactically, it looks pretty on the page, but it says little. Effective writing, writing that persuades, requires critical thinking. This means having a carefully thought out argument backed by some credible outside sources. If she had named but one of the “political and legal pundits “ that have written “many columns” on Mukasey’s “suitability” we might begin to be convinced. Her conclusion, “All indications are that Michael Mukasey has the independence to provide credible leadership,” rings hollow in that the only “indications” she’s cites are her own general impressions.
McClure’s writing aside, I disagree with her thesis that Mukasey’s ideological stance is an indicator of his independence from the Bush White House. His testimony before the Senate reflects a political philosophy that sees executive power as having the capacity to super-cede the authority of Congressional controls. The implied peril in Mukasey’s on record quote, “I would certainly suggest that we go to Congress whenever we can” is that the unasked question (what about when we can’t?) threatens the system of checks and balances that lie at the very core of the Constitution. As attorney Herbert Shafer points out, “Absolute executive power leads, ineluctably, to tyranny. The notion that the executive can unilaterally ‘trump’ legislative enactments is anathema to the Constitution.”
What is perhaps most troubling about Mukasey’s nomination is his position on torture. Given that the Geneva Convention’s Common article 3 prohibits the humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners, it is particularly disturbing that a justice familiar with interrogation techniques would be ignorant of waterboarding (a form of torture with a long pedigree). After Senator Sheldon Whitehouse described exactly how waterboarding works, Mukasey couldn’t be certain that Whitehouse’s description constituted torture. Like pornography, it shouldn’t take much of a moral compass to know what torture is! The very idea of framing the issue as a question of semantics is unconscionable. Gabor Rona, international legal director of Human Rights First, is right in suggesting that, “He seems to be leaving room for the argument made in the torture memos that the executive does have room to violate the Geneva Conventions.” Mukasey’s thoughts on the scope of executive power, and his willingness to consider the place of torture in a civilized society, are reasons enough to find another candidate for the next attorney general.
Based on my research in analyzing Ms. McClure’s argument, I would recommend that the Senate reject the Mukasey confirmation with all due haste.
Randall L. Tessier
Lecturer II, Comprehensive Studies Program
University of Michigan
Re: “Mukasey displays independence an attorney general needs”
Catherine McClure’s editorial lauds President Bush’s nominee for attorney general as having that ”deciding factor” necessary to a fair and just appointment confirmation: “independence from the Bush administration.” Rhetorically, the reader is asked to agree with her conclusion that Michael Mukasey’s decisions are “thoughtful and ultimately compelling.” Why? Because “generally commentators have described” them this way. Notwithstanding her credentials as a seasoned lawyer (what is described as “ethos” in compositional studies), we also need some concrete evidence here, some “logos.” Some facts. Who are these “commentators?” If I’m to be persuaded, I need to know upon what or whose authority they draw. The only real evidence she cites is idle opinion, in this case, her own. Syntactically, it looks pretty on the page, but it says little. Effective writing, writing that persuades, requires critical thinking. This means having a carefully thought out argument backed by some credible outside sources. If she had named but one of the “political and legal pundits “ that have written “many columns” on Mukasey’s “suitability” we might begin to be convinced. Her conclusion, “All indications are that Michael Mukasey has the independence to provide credible leadership,” rings hollow in that the only “indications” she’s cites are her own general impressions.
McClure’s writing aside, I disagree with her thesis that Mukasey’s ideological stance is an indicator of his independence from the Bush White House. His testimony before the Senate reflects a political philosophy that sees executive power as having the capacity to super-cede the authority of Congressional controls. The implied peril in Mukasey’s on record quote, “I would certainly suggest that we go to Congress whenever we can” is that the unasked question (what about when we can’t?) threatens the system of checks and balances that lie at the very core of the Constitution. As attorney Herbert Shafer points out, “Absolute executive power leads, ineluctably, to tyranny. The notion that the executive can unilaterally ‘trump’ legislative enactments is anathema to the Constitution.”
What is perhaps most troubling about Mukasey’s nomination is his position on torture. Given that the Geneva Convention’s Common article 3 prohibits the humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners, it is particularly disturbing that a justice familiar with interrogation techniques would be ignorant of waterboarding (a form of torture with a long pedigree). After Senator Sheldon Whitehouse described exactly how waterboarding works, Mukasey couldn’t be certain that Whitehouse’s description constituted torture. Like pornography, it shouldn’t take much of a moral compass to know what torture is! The very idea of framing the issue as a question of semantics is unconscionable. Gabor Rona, international legal director of Human Rights First, is right in suggesting that, “He seems to be leaving room for the argument made in the torture memos that the executive does have room to violate the Geneva Conventions.” Mukasey’s thoughts on the scope of executive power, and his willingness to consider the place of torture in a civilized society, are reasons enough to find another candidate for the next attorney general.
Based on my research in analyzing Ms. McClure’s argument, I would recommend that the Senate reject the Mukasey confirmation with all due haste.
Randall L. Tessier
Lecturer II, Comprehensive Studies Program
University of Michigan
October 19, 2007
Ashes
My cat’s in trouble. She’s old and on her last legs. I’m so sad. Her name is "Ashes."
Les & R.J., please, communicate on my blog. Communication is good, especially when its context involves such old and valued friends.
Bonni, thank you so much for the gift packet. I just read the “Life Extension” piece, but I need more time to respond.
Les & R.J., please, communicate on my blog. Communication is good, especially when its context involves such old and valued friends.
Bonni, thank you so much for the gift packet. I just read the “Life Extension” piece, but I need more time to respond.
October 18, 2007
Dumbo Kickin in My Stall
When you single out Jazz etc. you, in a way, exclude the U.S. from the larger Western culture you seek to champion. I too think the breadth and scope of what western culture has achieved is unparalleled (you might have also mentioned Beethoven, Michaelangelo and Picasso). Ok, we’re great, does that give us the right to bomb the hell out of people. German’s invented Concentration Camps, doesn’t that count as a part of the Western legacy? Can you measure the difference between Yusef Lateef and Duke Ellington? Duke’s mark is greater, but what purpose does it serve to focus on the lesser/greater dichotomy. So Western Culture is superior to Islamic Culture, so what? They are horribly misogynistic, and we are inherently militaristic, whoopee yai yo tai eh! Praise God! That ain’t no mule kickin in your stall, Mitt. Tickle me Elmo.
R.J., your question. Notwithstanding the fact I would have to exit my social network (work/music/friends) yes, I could live in Spain, France, or Italy, and enjoy every minute of it. Much of the time soaking up that good old western culture we’re so proud of. Gimme another Da Vinci burger, and please, get in here and change my Mona Lisa shower curtains. When are these Frogs and Dagos gonna pick up on American hygiene?
R.J., your question. Notwithstanding the fact I would have to exit my social network (work/music/friends) yes, I could live in Spain, France, or Italy, and enjoy every minute of it. Much of the time soaking up that good old western culture we’re so proud of. Gimme another Da Vinci burger, and please, get in here and change my Mona Lisa shower curtains. When are these Frogs and Dagos gonna pick up on American hygiene?
October 17, 2007
CT ABDOMEN WO IV CONTRAST
MEDICAL
Name: Tessier, Randall Louis
Exam: CT Thorax WO IV CONTRAST, CHEST
Exam Date: 10/05/07
There has been marked decrease in the size of multiple enlarged lymph nodes which is quite striking.
Findings: Interval essentially complete resolution of intrathoracic lymph node enlargement that was previously quite extensive.
No lung nodules, and no other significant thoracic abnormality.
Impression: Virtually 100% regression of intrathoracic disease.
POLITICAL
A close friend of mine was curious to know what society (if indeed Western culture is as messed up as many people think), do I think is getting it right, or close to right. Sophisticated and bright as my esteemed colleague is, there’s no hiding his implied point that the western democratic model may not be perfect but it’s the best darned thing we’ve got going. Shane, come back!
Here’s the problem, most Americans assume without question that the Iraqi people want freedom and democracy. Here, I defer to the eloquence of Robin Fox, professor of social theory at Rutgers:
For a start, there are no ‘Iraqi People.’ The phrase is pure rhetoric. Iraq as a nation was devised by the compasses and protractors of Gertrude Bell when the British and French divided up the Middle East after World War 1. We know well enough the ethnic-religious division into Kurd, Sunni, and Shiite. But what is not understood is that Iraq, like other countries of the region, still stands at a level of social evolution where the family, clan, tribe, and sect command major allegiance, and the idea of the individual autonomous voter, necessary and commonplace in our systems, is totally foreign, and would not make sense to the ‘average Ahmed’.
R.J. the analogy that begs itself is the aesthetic comparison. Am I to look at the work of another artist, consider their negatives and positives, and then decide how to best assess your work? Certainly context matters, but, putting insane, cruel theocracies and murderous dictatorships aside, how should we judge our policies, on civil liberties, on torture, on military intervention? I would argue that many of my good friends, like Doc (Fubar Trumpeter), McGee, GB of Kingpins fame, and you, R.J., have been betrayed by someone who has gone against a proud tradition of just and equitable Republican political policies. Would Andrew Sullivan, William Safire, George Will, William F. Buckley and other important conservative thinkers really endorse what is happening in this country? Do you?
Today, Wednesday, October 17, 2007, I listened to Bush’s press conference. He talked about the Dalai Lama, but not a word about Darfur. I too like the Dalai Lama, but pretending to be egalitarian and socially concerned by cozying up to the Dalai Lama, while at the same time encouraging Congress to ignore the Turkish massacres of Armenians is like having your picture taken with Bono while waterboarding Larry Craig. Praise God and tickle me Elmo! Bush said the people were behind the policies he’s built into the bills he’ll consider passing. Excuse me? The people? Has anyone told the great decider that 70% of the public no longer supports him? What people?
Name: Tessier, Randall Louis
Exam: CT Thorax WO IV CONTRAST, CHEST
Exam Date: 10/05/07
There has been marked decrease in the size of multiple enlarged lymph nodes which is quite striking.
Findings: Interval essentially complete resolution of intrathoracic lymph node enlargement that was previously quite extensive.
No lung nodules, and no other significant thoracic abnormality.
Impression: Virtually 100% regression of intrathoracic disease.
POLITICAL
A close friend of mine was curious to know what society (if indeed Western culture is as messed up as many people think), do I think is getting it right, or close to right. Sophisticated and bright as my esteemed colleague is, there’s no hiding his implied point that the western democratic model may not be perfect but it’s the best darned thing we’ve got going. Shane, come back!
Here’s the problem, most Americans assume without question that the Iraqi people want freedom and democracy. Here, I defer to the eloquence of Robin Fox, professor of social theory at Rutgers:
For a start, there are no ‘Iraqi People.’ The phrase is pure rhetoric. Iraq as a nation was devised by the compasses and protractors of Gertrude Bell when the British and French divided up the Middle East after World War 1. We know well enough the ethnic-religious division into Kurd, Sunni, and Shiite. But what is not understood is that Iraq, like other countries of the region, still stands at a level of social evolution where the family, clan, tribe, and sect command major allegiance, and the idea of the individual autonomous voter, necessary and commonplace in our systems, is totally foreign, and would not make sense to the ‘average Ahmed’.
R.J. the analogy that begs itself is the aesthetic comparison. Am I to look at the work of another artist, consider their negatives and positives, and then decide how to best assess your work? Certainly context matters, but, putting insane, cruel theocracies and murderous dictatorships aside, how should we judge our policies, on civil liberties, on torture, on military intervention? I would argue that many of my good friends, like Doc (Fubar Trumpeter), McGee, GB of Kingpins fame, and you, R.J., have been betrayed by someone who has gone against a proud tradition of just and equitable Republican political policies. Would Andrew Sullivan, William Safire, George Will, William F. Buckley and other important conservative thinkers really endorse what is happening in this country? Do you?
Today, Wednesday, October 17, 2007, I listened to Bush’s press conference. He talked about the Dalai Lama, but not a word about Darfur. I too like the Dalai Lama, but pretending to be egalitarian and socially concerned by cozying up to the Dalai Lama, while at the same time encouraging Congress to ignore the Turkish massacres of Armenians is like having your picture taken with Bono while waterboarding Larry Craig. Praise God and tickle me Elmo! Bush said the people were behind the policies he’s built into the bills he’ll consider passing. Excuse me? The people? Has anyone told the great decider that 70% of the public no longer supports him? What people?
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