Sentential Links (Page 19)

Here we go…. :: Soupy’s brilliance was that he created this whole comic world. And to be fully appreciated you had to watch everyday. Offstage noises, wise ass puppets popping up in the window, eight foot dogs, sound effects, girlfriends with hairy arms, old film clips, lip syncing songs, classic comedian monologues, zany props, a barrage of corny jokes, slapstick sight gags, and plenty of pies in the face – that was the world of Soupy Sales, coming at you in rapid succession from every which angle. It was so unrehearsed and spontaneous that half the time he didn’t evenDown the rabbit hole….

Linkage…. :: Last week, when White House communications director Anita Dunn charged the Fox News Channel with right-wing bias, Fox responded the way it always does. It denied the accusation with a straight face while proceeding to confirm it with its coverage. :: So to sum up: Sarah Palin’s “drill” plan involves ignoring how much oil is actually in the ground, how quickly it can be drilled, how easily it can be accessed, and the basic reality of the global oil market. And this is where she thinks she is an expert. (For some reason, being a Republican “expert” doesn’tDown the rabbit hole….

Linkage time! Get yer linkage here! :: Americans just don’t realize how big a deal this is for the rest of the world. Might it be that our definition of what constitutes peacemaking is too insular and narrow — too exclusively Western — too lacking in shalom? :: But this prize isn’t about political partisanship inside the U.S. Again, it was a clear signal from an old friend. As usual, though, America is too obsessed with itself to notice. (Both of these links via Sean.) :: The key to understanding McCain’s strategic “thought” is that he loves war. Whichever warDown the rabbit hole….

Linkage: :: Not to get all Bob Somerby on y’all, but I believe that the impeachment of Clinton—and the Village reaction to it—was the signature political/media event of my lifetime. The discussion surrounding the Polanski case reminds me of a weird photo negative of it—Clinton had to be impeached for a consensual relationship with an adult, Polanski should be pay no price for raping a thirteen year-old. :: For every brutal, lawless and amoral act, there is a defense of it to be found on the Washington Post Op-Ed page. :: Comparing Obama to Hitler betrays a willful and shamelessDown the rabbit hole….

Linkage time! (And no politics this week, except for one of these posts, and that’s not totally about politics anyway. I needed a break from that. But who knows, I may be politically irritated again next week.) :: “I think Kirk and Spock slowed down the Enterprise so they could see the pretty stars go by.” (Nice way of putting it, although I wouldn’t say, as the poster does, “That’s the power of Jerry.” Any good film composer can do this.) :: I’ve never been a big fan of roller coasters. You get jumbled around, you experience g-forces, and forDown the rabbit hole….

Linkage. Politics first: :: But as someone who happened to be in New York City eight years ago today, the implicit premise of the 9-12 Project—that those who aren’t on Beck’s side must have somehow “forgotten” 9/11 and its aftermath—ticks me off royally and personally. I was at home in Brooklyn, holding my six-week-old baby on the couch, when I saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center on TV. I watched the smoking pit of the ruins from the roof of my apartment building as bits of memo paper and ash drifted on the winds to myDown the rabbit hole….

The Labor Day edition. Say, anybody ever wonder why we don’t have “Management Day”? :: The kids with those books in their hands may look like they’re reading but what’s actually going on in their heads is that they’re watching television or going to the movies. There are plenty of books that aren’t meant to be read only skimmed in a way that allows readers to remind themselves of things they’ve seen on a screen of one size or another. The trick of these books isn’t to stimulate imaginations, it’s too trigger memories of the most familiar cinematic cliches. ADown the rabbit hole….

Linkage, politics first…. :: I got to shake his hand at the end of the night. It was a huge hand. A hand that large could pick up and carry quite a load all on its own, and in a way, it did. It carried all of us. :: Teddy himself was a fascinating figure in liberal politics. Although I was still in elementary school when JFK and RFK were assassinated, until I was nearly 30 I just assumed that Ted Kennedy was going to be president. It was as inevitable as the tide. I don’t think I ever questionedDown the rabbit hole….

Before we begin, I’m instituting a new policy here with regard to these posts: I will be shutting off comments, so if you wish to vehemently disagree with something I link, your recourse is to visit that blog and register your vehement disagreement in THEIR comments. Which is kind of why I started doing these posts in the first place, anyway. (But if anybody’s wondering, no, I’m not likely to remain in a political mood forever; this is not going to become a “political” blog. But I never promised anyone a complete avoidance of politics — or, rather, I did,Down the rabbit hole….

Warning: these are all political, except for the last one. I’m in one of those moods. :: I’m sorry to have to say this, but I really hope the teabag woman who thinks this is a great system, loses her health insurance and has to go get her health care in an animal stall. If she’s lucky enough to even get that. If she believes charity health care in soaking wet tents once a year is a mark of a well functioning market, she is so stupid she deserves it. I’m not sure anymore if some of these people areDown the rabbit hole….