
I played in the waves with abandon. The water’s too damn cold here to do that so I took advantage, tossing the beach football with the boys, diving and swimming into the waves, handstanding and back handspringing all over the place. Sigh.
Hi! I’m back. Well I mean, not emotionally, but physically. And I have some pretty solid pics but I’ll post them later, save one or two. There’s just other things worth writing about today. And, I may have secured another byline here in town…we shall see… Anyway, if y’all get something out of the following, well that’s just a fantastic bonus. But this is how I find my voice in the madness. And so if you thought it was something more, my apologies for disappointing you.
One thing happened down there in my beloved Georgia that had the mark of a lesson on it, primarily due to the fact that it followed me from Savannah to Atlanta. There’s a stretch of highway between 16 and I-95 down there that’s named the Clarence Thomas Interchange. Now, I was unaware that Thomas hailed from Savannah but it made sense immediately from what I know of the man when I realized I was bopping along it headed out of Savannah. And then, early the next morning, after some killer burgers and brats that Pops grilled up, I happened to turn on the TV at like 6 am and there was Thomas on CSPAN talking to students at Duquesne University about how he thinks there’s something remarkable about kids who come from modest means and go on to defeat the odds and obstacles — and prejudices — and become what they desire to become. He said they are the reason the expression “Do well to do good” existed. Well my God. I hear you. And I’ll get right on it.
And I’m pretty sure that whole “doing good” thing means owning up to mistakes and taking responsibility. There has been a very disturbing trend lately at high levels of government to be all, “Huh? What’s going on? Well I didn’t know that was happening…It must’ve been someone working to harm me or against my overall vision… .” I mean look, plausible deniability is a fascinating concept and useful to a degree, but it’s starting to sound stupid and, at a certain point, starts to smack of cowardice. I think you have to employ it on the front-end for it to work effectively. As in — “Don’t tell me! I don’t want to know!” Invoking it after the fact, when everyone’s pretty sure you must’ve known something, just makes you look…God take your pick of things. None of them are flattering. If you’d like to know the proper way to handle a scandal, it’s here:
“First, let me say I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I’m still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior. And as personally distasteful as I find secret bank accounts and diverted funds – well, as the Navy would say, this happened on my watch.” ~ Ronald Reagan, March 4, 1987 during a little thing known as Iran Contra
Also, one of my favorite thinkers has written something that I’m so glad SOMEONE has finally addressed. Namely, it doesn’t really matter if you’re nice to your enemies if their agenda is to see you dead. Your truce is a punchline to these folks. Or, as Goldberg says:
They say all is fair in love and war (I’m skeptical), but that doesn’t mean war and love have much in common. When it comes to love, both parties need to be in on it. In war, all it takes is one to tango. Sure, if the non-belligerent party doesn’t want to fight, it can try to talk, or cut a deal, or even surrender. But it’s up to the guys willing to kill to decide how things will proceed.
I recently watched Apocalypse Now again after many years and Kurtz kind of comes to that realization when he decides that Charlie has the will to cut off the arms of the children recently inoculated by American Special Forces. They are just men, but they are stronger because they don’t care/care that much. By no means is this meant to suggest we meet brutal killers on their own ideological battlefield; simply that it would be wise to stop pretending that we can reach them through explaining how inoculation is good for the world. And for the record Jonah, I’m skeptical as well.
On a related note, shocking right? (said no one who has been paying attention to anything in the history of the world or in modern day international affairs…)
A’ight, other fun things and stuff:
This would be hard for those slaves to email (ahem), the planning the day idea is a good one. I personally murder sticky notes at a horrifying clip.
Must read. Because the intersection of magic and psyops is just too delicious.
Engineering would have been a cool pursuit if I didn’t have the hots for all those tortured poets and writers as a teenager…
Some women are bizarre. Feminism is hilarious to me.
Like economics? How bout Game of Thrones? History? Okay, here. Thank George when you see him.
Have yet to see it but Moulin Rouge was a tear-jerking spectacle of theater and dance and the book. Oh the book…
Hmmm…I feel like the Democrats only mantra might change…
Gah! If only he could have found more private investors! Wait…what?
A man unwilling to do this need not apply.
Could eat these all day. Also, if it eludes you…
I played in a million softball tournaments here as a kid and glad to see it’s getting some street cred.
If you could have seen me playing in the waves this weekend from underwater it would have looked something like this, only with red hair and a larger frame.
If you make it to Savannah, go to Bonaventure Cemetery. Trust me.
You don’t want to waste your life, nor do I.