BEEN REMISS, SORRY...
...but Kelso, Jr., arrived in La Ciudad de Panama on August 1 for the month and Kelso's been run ragged as full-time Dad, plus his normal business to spend too much time blogging. Besides, the Democratic cave-in in the last blog was just so depressing that it took a lot of the spirit out of Kelso. Saturday's freshwater bass fishing with Jr, a couple of poker friends and the sons of one of the dudes' girlfriends, around K Jr's age, put the spirit back in. As a boat on Lago Arosena, 5 hours of fishing produced 68 bass, 14 of which were accounted for by Jr. Upon arrival back at the slip, cooks at the lakeside tavern fried 9 of our catch with plantains and lime. Cold bottles of Atlas for the big kids and cold, old-fashioned bottled Cokes for the kids, as in made with real sugar not with high-fructose corn syrup. The adult-children including Kelso and his friend Jack Woo (named changed) took in the cock fights and managed to cash one winner and hit one artibitrage during a longish fight between two small gamecocks in the opener. The actual children napped back in the city.
But back to the sad political state of the United States Of Embarrassment. Basically, of the Democratic contenders for President, none who were eligible voted with Bush, yet, again Kucinich was the only candidate to lead on the issue. As we've said over and over again Kucinich was once the Dems "rock star." And at age 28 or so, he bet and lost his career to George Voinovich to fight Cleveland's utility monopoly on behalf of Cleveland's poor largely Black population, losing the love of his Slavic friends and family. What has Obama done with his "rock-star" status? Cozy up to Dobson, Lieberman, and Rick Warren. He's continued to harmonize his "plans' with those of Bush, and as far as we know contues to make the church rounds on Sunday railing against "the gay agenda." He continues to argue for that repulsive "third-way," (Obama, Kelso's got your 'third-way." Right here!). Luckily, he also makes every rookie mistake in the book. And is, once again, completely outclassed in a debate.
A sort of sidelong dig at Obama with nothing really to do with Obama except his co-DLC religionist, Harold Ford, Jr., now head of the DLC after the great Carville couldn't push out Dean at the party level, debated Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos about the state of the Democratic Party. Twice Ford levelled charges at KosMan that his blog said bad stuff about "Jewish people." Kelso has read Daily Kos quite a bit and never saw anything remote anti-Semitic on it. Harold Ford, Jr.'s Senate campaign (was it for Junior Tennessee United States Senator or for Jesus Christ v2006 himself for which Ford was running?), and Ford's Christian tub-thumping certainly did make Kelso a little froggy. Harold "Deuce" is apparently as corrupt as his father was, but once again the Robert Shaw line from The Sting comes into play. Ford is not only a cheat, he's a gutless cheat as well.
Edwards gave off a very big tell on his bluff of "left-wing populist and peacenik." He bollixed up, as he always does, the "gay" issue which leads Kelso to believe that when he wasnted to be president the last time, his advisors said "vote for the war." Now, that he's running again his advidors are telling him "be against the war and kind of sort of be for working-class America." But his continued inablity to handle the gay questions, shows that his default position is the DLC one and that there's some reason one of the country's best class-action attorneys is non't killing these debates -- he doesn't believe what he's saying. He has merely made a calculation. Edwards ought to realize that even in Kelso's adopted Latin American, notionally Catholic, adopted Homeland, gay marriage is legal and the right-wing opposition isn't running on repealing that. Nor is abortion or contraception an issue anyone considers anything but ho-hum. Could Ann Coulter have been right?
Kucinich hasn't a prayer, so that leaves us with Clinton, and while she too is basically still the Goldwater Girl she was in '64, she's tough and careful and would be a responsible president. So, we'll take the winner and be done with it. Or give up the franchise and vote for Torrijos.
Good to see Cindy Sheehan taking a run at Pelosi's seat. She's got a puncher's chance against Pelosi. And nothing would make Kelso happier than seeing one of these Bay Area snobs go down. Kelso's had enouigh of the lot of them. Pelosi. Feinstein. Newsome. Boxer. They can all go to hell. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey are worth keeping, though. And you read that right. Boxer. Just as bad as all the rest. Oh sure, she's got the great liberal voting record apparently, but she's another one who folds at the mere mention of Israel. Has no advisor told her to read Ha'aretz online? Or maybe because she's so wealthy, she really doesn't give a crap. Peace is bad for business, so we'll stick with war. Just like like Pelosi. Feinstein. Newsome. What is it about these Bay Area types that makes them so god-damened show-offy. Kelso doesn't give a rat's ass how devoted to PETA they are. They got to go.
This brings up a meditation on the LA vs SF debate. It's game, set and match for LA. At least, in LA for all the Hollywood pretense and dummies, when people brag about success, it's measured in the 10s of millions and not measured by the notional value of a highly-mortgaged property South of Market. And certainly not measured in pets.com options. At least, there's some licentiousness in LA. SF=fresh produce, over-priced food, and whiteness. Didn't Haight-Ashbury used to be hippie ground zero? SF is just a vast consumerist Yuppieville with dull braggarts for locals and shit for weather. No "Mexican problem" in SF. They get the bum's rush out of Frisco faster than the do from Douglas, Arizona. To quote one of the good native San Franciscans, Jello Biafra: "We are the ultra-suede denim police/We have come for you uncool niece..."
Kelso has yet to see how any of those "pretty food" restaurants have a patch on In-N-Out Burger. For Christ's sakes, are the Arnold Palmers (1/2 lemonade, 1/2 iced tea) bottomless in your average high-tone SF eatery? How about in "quaint" North Beach? The Arnold Palmers are INDEED bottomless at In-N-Burger and that Morgan "Supersize Me" dude can go fuck himself. Life is too short for Whole Paycheck shopping, self-denial, wheat grass juice and that dumb counter-culture bookstore Northern Lights or whatever the fuck it's called. Chinatown in LA and NYC kick SF Chinatown's ass. Jeanne Kirkpatrick famously said during the 1984 Republican National Convention that the "San Francisco Demorats" always "blame America first." If only, if only.
Man, this was a really bad Russ Smith kind of NY Press jerkoff post here. Sorry. Forego may have more interesting sports opinions.
Kelso's Nuts love you.
8 comments:
Frankly I am just relieved and delighted to see you back. I was beginning to worry.
ditto that! I love your rants. You've managed to nudge me back a little to the left of center.
Thanks.
In re-reading my post, I see my copy-editing was less than stellar. Please excuse errant letters.
Oh Kelso - for your appearance, however brief, I am willing to put up with an errant letter or two!
Kelso I am so glad you are having fun but the cock fighting thing would totally make me give up my peacenik thing and smack you upside the head.
But anyway...you know how I feel about Kucinich already and we are in agreement. I dont know what will happen with SHeehan but I think she is correct in the idea of some kind of challenge. I mean, they take the left for granted and their progress to date shows that they are just republican lite.
I hope you continue to enjoy the month, glad you are spending time with Jr.
Lynn:
You may smack me anytime you like! If you can find me and IF it's done with kindness. Or IF you are ready to defend yourself IF your smack is in earnest!
I really don't care if I'm in the blogosphere club or not. I enjoy the birds and I'm not likely to stop enjoying them. On a lot of stuff I am very Old School which comes from my upbringing I'm sure.
I am WHOLEHEARTED WITHOUT ANY RESERVATION AT ALL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY...I don't know where someone like, say, Obama stands on cock-fighting, but he's WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITHOUT ANY RESERVATOIN AT ALL IN FAVOR OF THE DEATH PENALTY. Who's more humane?
I don't know. It's not for me to say. But I surely don't feel the need to hew to anyone's concept of what a progressive is, certainly not PETA's.
On balance, I think you'd be hard -pressed to find ONE paid member of PETA whose politics are to my left.
I get it that "identity" and "single issue" politics have supplanted the Dead White European Man leftism of MARX, MARCUSE, GALBRAITH, CAMUS, SARTRE, deBEAUVOIR & ALGREN, I could go on...but I'm old school.
I just don't think soy milk, hemp products, cruelty free coffee, and greenhouse whatever, and the "rights" of gamecocks, boxing and are side issues to be dealt with after human PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, and COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, to name but three of long list.
The only "group" I belong to is the Democratic Party and I really don't belong to them anymore because I may only vote for President in the general election, so my politics are going to be my own. I knew "9/11" was going to bring nothing but trouble by the afternoon of 9/11/01. Not too many people took that point of view. I didn't stand up for the national anthem or "God Bless America" at baseball games. If there are any members of PETA who care about international affairs or baseball at all, I have no doubt they are and have been sheep throughout this. Again, who's more "authentic"? And, again, who knows?
I don't believe in charity in place of change but I do have three: African water purification, THE NEW PRESS (I do pro-bono financial analysis for them), and in its day ACT-UP. I'll probably give Cindy Sheehan's campaign some real money. PETA doing anything for them?
Progressives are like Baskin-Robbins; we come in 31 flavors. I'm a good asset to have. I have a voice and I'll give my time and money. But I'm not going by anyone's morality but my own.
Listen, I have my OWN litmus test and nearly everyone fails. If you've watched TWO episodes start-to-finish of LAW AND ORDER, you fail. I'm not kidding about that and I can make a good case for that point of view, but what's the point? We have so much to agree on.
Kelso quit being a dick I was just saying. Who the hell are you talking to? I am not like that with a list of criteria. I dont think it is helpful to expect everyone to be on the same page.
You know better. I hope.
Dont be defensive! Now I will smack you because thats what a bad liberal would do and I want to defy your assumptions! Feh.
I plead guilty on all counts. Just having a little fun. I have a provocative streak in me -- typical older brother I suppose -- and I like being a dick sometimes. Of course, I know how sensible you are!
I wasn't being defensive. I was trying to sell the joke a little. An acting teacher taught me that the only way to play a comic role is to play it seriously.
And my point is a fair one, you have to admit. Right-wingers do a much better job of agreeing to disagree on stuff than left-wingers do. Sometimes it's easier to focus on small stuff like idiom and one's interests and hobbies because the big stuff is so awful to contemplate. Probably why there has been cultural progress but political and economic regress.
Once again, I invite you smack me any time you like. Again, if you can find me (hint: cnr Calle 59 Este Y La Calle De La Colmena) and are prepared to defend yourself if you plan to smack me in earnest, but as I've never hit a woman in my life even back to preschool, I think I'd just run away.
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