Immigration Policy revisited

I'm so glad we're finally putting up a fence. I'm so sick of these immigrants showing up illegally at our shores!!! the country used to be a nice place before they started showing up in droves and bringing their stinky, smelly diseases across our shores. but while we're getting rid of the latest gang, can I ask that we get rid of the frickin' irish while we're at it? Belching, farting, full of cabbage - they drive me crazy!! and those obnoxious Italians. Talk about garlic breath. And then those krauts. Man, I've had it up to here with the rules and regulations - acting like a much of anastazis. Let's not forget the slaves they all brought with 'em.. comin' over here and demanding their 40 acres and a mule. Can we talk about the Polee for a minute? Chicago used to be a city of broad shoulders .. and now it's all eastern euros! Those russkies have shown up in record numbers, and now, we're gonna have this huge influx of iraqis showing up wondering why we blasted their country to kingdom come and won't let 'em in the front gate. Speaking of gates, we're not even close to keeping those pesky canadians out of here.. next thing they're going to swamp us with their frickin health care system and their cheap knock off drugs!! It gets my gall! And not to mention the Gauls!! If we had just kept the danged French out of our shores we wouldn't have lost the first revolution!!! Those ridiculous frogs bringing all their china and linen.. did someone say China? If someone had been smart enough, we wouldn't have had the country ripped in half by Chinamen putting up a railway system. We should have known better - it's just so hard to tell them apart when so many of them look like Apaches. So I'm outraged as well.. put up the damned fence and keep the whole lot of them out, which I said we should have done against those freakin' Spaniards.. but no.. everybody told me this Columbus guy was going to bring his 'new world' to our benefit. Some benefit!!! Should shot him through the head with an arrow when I had the frickin' chance!!! signed Chief Kick-In-The-Pants.

Thomas the Tank Engine Recall

For all those parents out there..

I wish this wasn't true - but have checked it out. The people who own Thomas have been letting the Chinese use lead based paint on the red painted wooden train cars. This means James, Fire Engine, etc, etc.

You can get a complete list from www.rc2.com - been checking in to just what to do - the company is requesting that you return the piece IMMEDIATELY for a refund and a gift certificate.

However, some pediatrician websites are recommending that you NOT return the piece if it was a favorite toy of your child - take the piece in to your pediatrician and discuss if your child should be checked for lead poisoning... which as we all know, leads to some pretty creepy side effects. (and if, God forbid, something awful does happen, better to have the evidence in your possession.)

I remember back in the 60's the psychic Jeanne Dixon (who predicted JFK's assassination) said something about a wave of poisonings coming from China.. of course this was the 60's, and she associated it with willful acts - but there's that old Confucious saying "man who lie down with dog wake up with fleas."

So - if your kids (like mine) are Thomas fanatics, double check your red engines.. and go to the site. Here's more details from the CPC:

Thomas & Friends Toy Recall
Thomas Train RecallThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and RC2 Corp. have recalled about 1.5 million Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Toys because 'surface paints on the recalled products contain lead.'

If your kids are at risk and played with Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Toys that were purchased between January 2005 through June 2007 and may have been involved in this recall, more importantly than simply trying to get your money back or a replacement toy, take them away and contact your pediatrician to see if a lead test should be done on your children. This would be especially important if your kids frequently put the Thomas toys in their mouth and/or you notice chipped or flaking paint on the toys.
Kids who only occasionally played with these toys are likely not at any risk for lead poisoning, but it would be a bigger risk if they were his favorite toy and he played with the trains on most days. If your child always carried one of the Thomas trains around, like a security object, and puts it in his mouth or puts his hands in his mouth a lot, then he could also be at risk for lead poisoning from this exposure and a lead test should likely be done.
Related:

* Lead Poisoning
* Lead Poisoning Risks from Lead Paint
* How do I protect my kids from lead poisoning?
* Lead Poisoning Alert
* Metal Toy Jewelry Recall
* Target Recalls Various Toys Due to Lead and Laceration Hazards

There's a notice at the consumer protection agency (www.cpsc.gov) from jun 13th, and one at the company's home site.

Here's the company link..

http://recalls.rc2.com/recallinfo/RecallPoster_Wood061407.pdf

or visit http://recalls.rc2.com/

The Sopranos Ending

as to the ending of the sopranos - looks like i'm the only guy who loved it.

like everyone else, i was on the edge of my seat - waiting for a squib fest.. they're all going to get shot - no, meadow is going to miss the bloodbath.. and then... BLANK SCREEN!

my wife and i both had dropped jaws. and it's not easy to get dropped jaws around here. I had heard they shot 'multiple endings' - or maybe wrote multiple endings - and maybe those will show up on the dvd of the season when its released. but what i liked most about it was:

we create the ending. (i saw the slate blog (http://www.slate.com) last night where he quoted the lady and the tiger ending from a book in the 1880's that was popular - where the reader gets to pick the ending). But this show did a lot of that.. remember when Dr. Melfi got raped, and everyone in the country was hoping she'd tell Tony so that he'd rub out the rapist? It was an interactive show to begin with - and all the heat that Chase took from the Italian American community - complaining about the depiction of Italians - or people weighing in on what the Sopranos should be..

and in this case, like the Time magazine cover Man of the Year - (http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20061225,00.html) YOU are the person who writes the ending. It's whatever you, in your heart of hearts, wants the ending to be. Tony gets arrested by FBI agents. Tony dies in a hailstorm of bullets, Meadow survives because she can't park. Tony takes out a gun and saves his family. You're the author - and that doesn't let us off easy either - because we've been rooting for Tony - and Chase is saying "look what you're rooting for - look which ending you think is going to happen."

It's being reported that Phil Leotardo's son was in the credits as to being in the diner. (Hmm, I don't think the credits tell where someone's scene takes place, but I digress) I think that's great that Phil Leotardo's son was in the diner - and who was the guy who went into the bathroom? (My wife said - he looks russian.. is it that missing russian?) Who were the two black kids coming in at the end, looking like the guys who tried to pop tony in the first episode..? It was like he was having a hit parade of all the hit men who tried to whack him.. it was also a way of saying Tony will never rest easily - every time a door opens, or a guy walks past, he will have to consider - is this the guy sent to kill me? No rest for the wicked.. and no rest for us either - because we're the wicked viewers.

I think killing tony and famiglia would have let us off easily. or pulling back and seeing them dine in their diner would have let us off too easily as well - this way, David Chase (http://www.hbo.com/sopranos) has ratcheted up the tension so that we too - will always be looking up when someone walks through the door - is this a smile for my daughter? or a frown to the guy who's sent to whack us?

anyways, that's what I got out of it.

Bury My Iowa Heart at Wounded Knee

I was doing a channel flip tonight. Bouncing back and forth between 60 Minutes, (http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml) and it's terrific piece on the soldiers from the Iowa National Guard, and HBO's Dick Wolf special; "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee." (http://www.hbo.com/films/burymyheart/?ntrack_para1=feat_main_text)

Watching the Iowa soldier come home and hug his new born infant baby wearing the Santa Hat, watching the wife of the soldier who burst into tears at the thought of her husband's tour being extended another 120 days, or the son of the soldier who stared at his mother when she told him about the 'surge' and his head collapsing in his mother's arms... flashing back to the death of Sitting Bull, the mindless violence perpetrated on the Sioux nation in the name of nation building, the vast amounts of suffering that went on with the native American people, who wanted nothing more than to live out their days on their own property, and the government doing its best to make that not happy.

Do we learn nothing as a nation? Do we learn nothing as human beings? When did war become the first resort instead of the last one? Are we really better off as a nation for attacking a nation that had nothing to do with why we went to war in the first place? Weren't we going over to catch Osama? And then weren't we over there to get rid of Saddam? Well, Saddam is gone. Osama is alive and kicking. What are we doing in Iraq anyways? The same thing we were doing in Wounded Knee.

It was so sad to see the Iowa national guard father, serving with his son in Iraq, whose wife is going crazy back home - but who is angry that people in the US are fed up with the war in Iraq - he explains because after the events of 9/11, how the nation had banded together to go and find those responsible for who perpetrated those events, and how our country has lost interest in doing so - and the 60 minutes reporter not pointing out that the people of Iraq, that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the events of 9/11, and we had no business going into that country, and have no business being there now. And that father standing next to his son, who also puts his life on the line every day, because our leaders sent them there together to hunt down the perpetrators of 9/11 - when it knew full well that they weren't in Iraq, they had nothing to do with Iraq.

The administration argues that Al Qaeda is in Iraq. Well, they certainly weren't there before. And who are they talking about? The radical Saudis who are lining up to fight us in Iraq? That Al Qaeda? The only reason Al Qaeda is in Iraq is because we're in Iraq. And once we're out of Iraq they aren't going to come here - they're going to go after our assets in the middle east. So why aren't we pouring our troops into Afghanistan where the Taliban is regrouping with the help of Al Qaeda? You think the Shia militia are going to tolerate Al Qaeda telling them what to do? Or the Sunni militias? These are the same guys who fought Iran for over a decade. You think they fear Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda will go back to Afghanistan the day we leave Iraq. And they'll plot more attacks on the U.S. because they know that we don't follow up what we say we're going to do. We said we were going after Osama, Zawahiri, even Mullah Omar. Then Bush said "I don't think much about Osama anymore." Then Bush last week said "Osama is trying to regroup in Iraq." Hey! I thought you didn't care much about him? When our dear misguided President makes up his mind, will someone let the nation know?

The War on Terror is such a bumper sticker, a misnomer. Like the War on Poverty or the War on Drugs. If you declare War on something that is shape shifting - something that you can define to your own likes and dislikes - how about "We are a nation of laws, and we have a Constitution, and we will protect it and its citizens ruthlessly, and anyone who attacks us, we will hunt down and bring to justice.. by the laws that have founded our country." Why isn't that just as strong as the "war on terrorists?" Why can't we arrest people who've done a crime and put them on trial? People in England are doing it - they've arrested the terrorists, and have put in a zillion cameras to keep an eye on people, and have figured out how to track down those who might attack their country, and are vigorously stopping them. Their nation doesn't throw out the Magna Carta the day after the subway bombings - my English friends remind me that they lived through the IRA bomb blasts in London for a number of years, and managed to sort that out in the end.

It just strikes me as incredibly stupid that we haven't learned any lessons from our mistakes. Whether they were in Vietnam, or in Wounded Knee. We just don't have a clue about other people's cultures, and we tend to through them all into the same pot. We have this paternalistic attitude about Iraqis where he assume that if we left their country it would go up in smoke - that their 10,000 year old civilization would just dematerialize into a blood bath, over run by Iran on its way to destroy Saudi Arabia. We have got to be the most egocentric nation on the planet. Either that, or the greediest, willing to sacrifice anyone on the altar of oil.

Anyways, I feel bad for those poor National Guardsmen who signed up to seek revenge for 9/11, and were sent in completely the wrong direction. And now they and their families have to suffer another 3 months fighting this ridiculous civil war. It's the equivalent of us attacking China after Pearl Harbor. We assume they must all be on the same wavelength, because after all, they're Asians. And here we are, fighting a war in the wrong country, making families suffer here and abroad, whether it's the world accepted number of 650K dead in Iraq from all the devastation of War, or if it's the US figure about 'oh, about 60K' or so. Thousands of our soldiers are dead fighting in the absolute wrong theater, and many thousands are wounded, and many more will be psychologically damaged by the time they get back. So my final thought for this Memorial Day; For those veterans who now make up something around 70% of the homeless people in America - move over, there's a whole new generation of soldiers who will be denied treatment, ignored by the government, and will wind up joining you on the streets.

my two cents.

Happy Memorial Day

Just taking time out to say "Thank you for serving."

There's alot of people who have served in the US military. My brother is one of them. He was lucky - while in boot camp, he was bitten by red ants and died on an operating table. But he was brought back to life by the doctor there with a shot of adrenaline. The doc knew there weren't red ants in Vietnam, but declared that my brother might die if he was bitten by a red ant in Vietnam, and signed medical dox that kept him from going there. My brother spent his time in the Army at the DMZ in Korea. Out of the 21 guys that were in his unit that served in Vietnam... something like three of them survived.

I was walking near the Vietnam memorial once some years ago - I wasn't aware that I was walking near it, I had just left the Lincoln Memorial and was heading up towards the Capitol, talking to a friend from college - and I was pretty focused on what we were talking about, and suddenly I was overcome with emotion. I had to stop to keep from sobbing. It was then I turned around and realized I was standing near a panel from the names on the Memorial. Mind you, I didn't know I was near the panels, I just had this overwhelming feeling of sadness.

Some years later, I was covering the inauguration for Variety - I had somehow talked the Editors of that mag into letting me cover the "music of the inaugural" for Clinton's first.. and had some great times - met Bob Dylan, scammed my way into seeing Streisand, sneaking into seats a few rows back from the just inaugurated Pres.. but I digress. While I was there, I took my video camera with me and walked along the wall again.. this time just filming the names on the wall. And when I came to that panel again, I was again overwhelmed by sadness. I walked a few feet past the panel and the feeling went away - then I walked back and it came back - stronger than ever. Like I should just burst into tears, and wrenching sadness overwhelming me. So I scanned the wall of names - I didn't recognize any of them - I don't know anyone who died in Vietnam. I know people who served, I know people who were shot, I know people whose lives were dramatically changed forever by that conflict.. but none that died, or who were named on that panel.

And the only logical conclusion I could come to is that people who had prayed in front of that panel - or people who came and cried in front of that panel, had somehow left behind an 'imprint' of their sadness. (Two other times I've had this effect happen to me - once in Dallas at the book depository, and the other was in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam). I don't know how the physics might work for something like that to happen - but all I know is, I did an experiment, and the experiment proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt, that some kind of emotion was remaining in that wall. Maybe because it's marble - I don't know - maybe because of this one panel - I don't know. I know that no one is buried there, so it can't be some left over spirit calling out for emotion - the only reasonable explanation I have is that the sadness from those who've come and cried and prayed in front of the wall, left some of that emotion behind.

And that's basically in a nutshell why I'm anti-war. I'm not anti-service, and I'm not anti-fighting the bad guys where they might live - like in Afghanistan - but when the time came for me to sign up for the draft during the vietnam war era, I was relieved to get a really low number in the draft - something like 320 out of 365, for those of you old enough to remember how that went down. I was relieved, because I had decided that there was no way I was going to go and fight in Vietnam, that I would have gone to Canada instead - and told my father so. He was just as glad that I didn't have to make that decision back then - but in my heart I knew that LBJ was lying about Vietnam, you could hear it in his voice - I knew that Nixon was lying, and I knew that the whole govt. was lying and just plain wrong to be fighting that war - the same way I know the govt is saying the exact same things about the war in Iraq. "If we don't fight them there, they'll come here," "The rest of the countries around it will become our enemies," "if we leave now, it will all become a disaster." As George Santayana put it over a century ago; "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Or perhaps more aptly as Rudyard Kipling said: “If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied.”

But I honor those who served. My brother. My father. My mother. My grandfather, who at one point was National Commander of the American Legion. His picture is in every American Legion hall in the country, and when I find myself near one of them, I'll usually dip in to say hello. But they're heroes, all of them, and those who are serving and dying in this unjustifiable, contemptous war, are just as heroic.

There's a national cemetery near my home in Santa Monica - it's over in Westwood. And if you take the time to walk the grounds, you'll find that the majority of the dead were part of the Spanish American war. A war that most of us have forgotten, and history doesn't really reflect well upon. These guys signed up to protect the country, were shipped off to the Phillippines, (A war that is widely acknowledged to have been created by yellow journalism courtesy of WR Hearst)- and thousands died of malaria, fever, and other jungle diseases. It's easy for me to say "what a waste" and few would disagree - but it's all a matter of degree. They too signed up to fight for our country - right or wrong, and they deserve credit for doing so.

So when you're flipping burgers and sipping a cold one this weekend, raise a toast to those who've served.

My two cents.

Michael Moore & "Sicko"

Politics aside, Michael Moore is an incendiary filmmaker, and has changed the market for documentary filmmakers (myself included) worldwide. Just got this email from his mailing list missive, but it sounds like he's going to have a bumpy ride.. which will translate into big B.O. Either way, thought y'all would be amused:

"Sicko" Is Completed and We're Off to Cannes!

May 17, 2007

Friends,

It's a wrap! My new film, "Sicko," is all done and will have its world premiere this Saturday night at the Cannes Film Festival. As with "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," we are honored to have been chosen by this prestigious festival to screen our work there.

My intention was to keep "Sicko" under wraps and show it to virtually no one before its premiere in Cannes. That is what I have done and, as you may have noticed if you are a recipient of my infrequent Internet letters, I have been very silent about what I've been up to. In part, that's because I was working very hard to complete the film. But my silence was also because I knew that the health care industry -- an industry which makes up more than 15 percent of our GDP -- was not going to like much of what they were going to see in this movie and I thought it best not to upset them any sooner than need be.

Well, going quietly to Cannes, I guess, was not to be. For some strange reason, on May 2nd the Bush administration initiated an action against me over how I obtained some of the content they believe is in my film. As none of them have actually seen the film (or so I hope!), they decided, unlike with "Fahrenheit 9/11," not to wait until the film was out of the gate and too far down the road to begin their attack.

Bush's Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, launched an investigation of a trip I took to Cuba to film scenes for the movie. These scenes involve a group of 9/11 rescue workers who are suffering from illnesses obtained from working down at Ground Zero. They have received little or no help with their health care from the government. I do not want to give away what actually happens in the movie because I don't want to spoil it for you (although I'm sure you'll hear much about it after it unspools Saturday). Plus, our lawyers have advised me to say little at this point, as the film goes somewhere far scarier than "Cuba." Rest assured of one thing: no laws were broken. All I've done is violate the modern-day rule of journalism that says, "ask no questions of those in power or your luncheon privileges will be revoked."

This preemptive action taken by the Bush administration on the eve of the "Sicko" premiere in Cannes led our attorneys to fear for the safety of our film, noting that Secretary Paulson may try to claim that the content of the movie was obtained through a violation of the trade embargo that our country has against Cuba and the travel laws that prohibit average citizens of our free country from traveling to Cuba. (The law does not prohibit anyone from exercising their first amendment right of a free press and documentaries are protected works of journalism.)

I was floored when our lawyers told me this. "Are you saying they might actually confiscate our movie?" "Yes," was the answer. "These days, anything is possible. Even if there is just a 20 percent chance the government would seize our movie before Cannes, does anyone want to take that risk?"

Certainly not. So there we were last week, spiriting a duplicate master negative out of the country just so no one from the government would take it from us. (Seriously, I can't believe I just typed those words! Did I mention that I'm an American, and this is America and NO ONE should ever have to say they had to do such a thing?)

I mean, folks, I have just about had it. Investigating ME because I'm trying to help some 9/11 rescue workers our government has abandoned? Once again, up is down and black is white. There are only two people in need of an investigation and a trial, and the desire for this across America is so widespread you don't even need to see the one's smirk or hear the other's sneer to know who I am talking about.

But no, I'm the one who now has to hire lawyers and sneak my documentary out of the country just so people can see a friggin' movie. I mean, it's just a movie! What on earth could I have placed on celluloid that would require such a nonsensical action against me?

Ok. Scratch that.

Well, I'm on my way to Cannes right now, a copy of the movie in my bag. Don't feel too bad for me, I'll be in the south of France for a week! But then it's back to the U.S. for a number of premieres and benefits and then, finally, a chance for all of you to see this film that I have made. Circle June 29th on your calendar because that's when it opens in theaters everywhere across the country and Canada (for the rest of the world, it opens in the fall).

I can't wait for you to see it.

Yours,

Michael Moore

P.S. I will write more about what happens from Cannes. Stay tuned on my website, MichaelMoore.com.

Dick Cheney and The DC Madame

According to the Wayne Madsen Report, later backed by Stephanie Miller on Air America Radio, the curmudgeonly Dick Cheney was a frequent client of the DC Madame while he was at Halliburton, not while he was in the White House. (Hopefully no one kept a blue dress with DNA evidence.) But since he's been in the White House, The Shooter's gotten the bulk of his massages at the hands of the mainstream media. That's funny. The Shooter now takes on a different connotation, doesn't it?

Check this article out:

Quote:
May 10, 2007 -- WMR (http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/) has received a third well-placed confirmation that Vice President Dick Cheney, while CEO of Halliburton, was a client of the escort service of DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. In addition, one of Cheney's closest military advisers and friends was also a client of the DC Madam's Pamela Martin & Associates escort service. Cheney used the escort service while he was a part time resident of the posh Ballantrae section of McLean, Virginia.
....
After intense pressure from the White House and Disney executives, ABC News killed the DC Madam client story after having been given exclusive access to Palfrey's ten years' of phone call records."


Quote:
May 8, 2007 -- Cheney .... reportedly engaged the services of Palfrey's escort firm while he was the CEO and maintained a residence off Chain Bridge Road in the Ballantrae neighborhood in McLean, Virginia, a few blocks from the headquarters of the CIA."

WOAH!

So ABC execs, people throughout the administration - everyone needs a massage now and then, what's the big deal? The truth is, if Bill Clinton had used the service, Al Gore would still be in the White House and we wouldn't be in Iraq. So God bless 'em, I think they could all use a little release now and then.

On the other hand; what's going on here? Is this the "night of the long knives?" Is the administration crumbling around us as we speak?

Our Attorney General Gonzalez is on the bubble. If he doesn't quit, he'll be the least effective AG in the history of the office. He could keep his head in the sand and stays for another 2 years - but his reputation has been shot to smithereens as it is.

Wolfowitz has now gone howling into the night. Terrific article about the reasons behind his downfall, directly tied to his behavior in the Defense department can be found at (http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,482945,00.html) Der Spiegel. The writer uncovered a number of offenses from all the people he brought in with him.

I think every administration has its share of dissemblers, liars and charlatans.
I don't think Dick Cheney should be faulted for going to an escort service any more than I think he should be chastised for being a good Republican against gay rights, despite having a gay daughter. What gets my gallstone throbbing is Cheney insisting on WMD's in Iraq, a connection to 9/11, and the myriad of other lies that he's put out to force us into Iraq. I think he (and W) genuinely believes that a democratic Iraq is in the best interests of the U.S. and Israel. I just don't think he has a clue if that's what the Iraqis ever wanted. As MacNamara so aptly put it in "Fog of War;" (to paraphrase) "If we had known that the Vietnam conflict was a civil war and not part of the Cold War, we would have backed the North."

I'm not anti-Republican, or anti-anyone. I'm just for an open air policy - or in this case, and open door policy. Those in office who want to lie, use cronyism, are war profiteers, or use hate, fear and hostility to get their point across - here's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out. Whatever party your in. I say we take a page out of the European Parliament handbook - if you don't have a mistress or a lover stashed away somewhere, then you aren't working hard enough.

As Claude Rains says in Casablanca; "I'm shocked! shocked! that gambling is going on here."

What's next? Condi and W in a love nest? Heaven forfend!!

Chris Albrecht & HBO

Chris Albrecht fell on his sword yesterday.

Here's a guy who has been part of a team that has brought the best television has to offer over the past ten years, and for an incident that happened on a drunken evening, the guy's career is in tatters.

One wonders why Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld weren't all subject to the same kind of corporate relief?

According the LA Times article today, Chris has had a 'history' of this kind of behavior. But if one reads between the lines, the stories become a little odd - in the first instance, Chris is said to have had an affair with a fellow employee, who was also married - and after they broke up when he found out she was seeing someone else, he 'grabbed her by the throat.' $450K later, she had a settlement, which hasn't come out in the media until today.

I'm of the opinion that you can't hit a woman - you can't strangle them either - but I'm also of the opinion that people do stupid things, and since the incident happened in the workplace, I can't imagine Mr. Albrecht was really trying to strangle his former mistress, just acting out in a bad fashion. Is that worth $450K? Well, in light of the recent HBO much hyped bout, the payment is miniscule.

But then may we examine the events from the past weekend? Mr. Albrecht is caught in flagrant delicto - strangling his girlfriend in a parking lot, so badly that 'there were marks on her neck.' The arresting officer quoted Mr. Albrecht as saying "she pissed me off." The victim in the case, whom I won't name, but the LA Times chose to name, even though no crime was committed, because she refuses to press charges - is mute on the point. Why is she mute? Because it wasn't the first time? Or because she really did 'piss him off.' Odds are, she probably admitted to seeing someone else - and hence another neck lock by Mr. Albrecht, who can't help himself in these cases.

Now - lets talk about a matter of degree. In the OJ case, his rage and jealousy led to the results we all know about - for one side of the spectrum - but in the US Administration, when either the head of the World Bank gets his girlfriend a pay raise and a plump job, he refuses to accept responsibility for it. Or in the case of the Attorney General, who when caught lying on the subject of the recent political dismissals, refuses to step down. Why? Was it because "the finger marks" are not visible in either case?

I applaud Mr. Albrecht for doing what must have been a really difficult decision. I don't know him, never met him, but I know there's a long list of people in Hollywood who are making great livings based on his belief and faith in him. Here's a guy who not only hasn't been convicted of anything, but admits that he has a drinking problem, and is seeking help for it. It's not like he went off and called a police officer "sugar tits" or ranted about Jews causing all the wars. He obviously can't drink and hear bad news at the same time.

It may turn out that this is a serious problem for him, and that this was the best thing that could have happened in his life - it will force him to reflect on behavior and how he can turn it around. After all, it's not like he was seducing teenaged boys over the internet while in office in Washington, or profiteering from an illegal war.. but the guy made a mistake, has fessed up to it, and fallen completely on his sword. It's a rare act these days - in fact I can't think of anyone else in recent memory who has done so - and I'm surprised that the parent company didn't give him 30 days to straighten himself out, or go into therapy. However, in a town that has a severe short term memory loss, I'll predict that within a year, he'll have joined another company with media clout, and will continue to bring quality programs into our world.

But will anyone else from Washington follow his lead? My two cents.

Holding the Qu'ran and the Bible

Dear Dennis Praeger,

With regard to your article (http://www.townhall.com/)
about the right of newly elected Congressman Keith Ellis
to hold the Qu'ran instead of the Bible to be sworn into Congress:

I'm moved to write you about your article. Perhaps
you're not aware of it, but the Islam faith marks its
beginning with Abraham, as does the Jewish faith and
the Christian faith. So the Qu'ran, if you've read it
(great online translation by the way at usc.edu) comes
out of the Bible as we know it and acknowledges the
wisdom of the Bible, and Jesus as well. Secondly,
Congessmen don't swear on the Bible when they're
'sworn in' - they raise their hands and stand at their
desks. It's too time consuming to go around and check
to see who's got what on their desk when they're sworn
in. Those pictures are done as 'photo ops' at a later
date. I'm sure Mark Foley raised his hand on a bible
at some point, but I won't belabor the point; it's not
what's in the hand of a Congressman, but what's in the
heart. And last time I looked, the Bill of Rights is
pretty specific about Congress not passing any law
that tells people what religion we should hold dear.
(or what book they need to hold to get into office)
In fact, if you get a chance, just read the first line
of the Bill of Rights.

I sincerely hope you find a way to mitigate the anger,
or hatred, or misunderstanding you have about Islam.
I'm a Christian, but when 9/11 happened I took it upon
myself to learn and understand the Islamic faith, as
well as to travel to countries where their faith is
practiced, and interview Imams to find out what the
differences really are. I was suprised at how little
differences there are between us and the people who
follow Islam. (honest! and the State dept paid for the
film!) But that took me lots of research, which, as
an intelligent person, I highly recommend you do. As
you can see from the vitriol you've engendered on your
website, I'd hate to see some crazy person cause
violent harm to an innocent Muslim because of their
faith. All because of your column. I think to equate
9/11 with Islam is to fundamentally misread what
happened on that day. You might equally argue that 19
Saudis were on those planes, and therefore Saudi Arabia is
reponsible. Or they were all dark haired -
dark haired people are responsible. It's not what's in
your hand, but what's in your heart. I pray that you
are able to find it within your heart to forgive those
who don't think the same as you, after all, as I've
learned as a Christian; love your neighbor not less
than yourself, but as much if not more than yourself.
And a fitting reason to hold the Bible in your hand,
if only to learn that one lesson.

Sincerely,

Richard Martini
Filmmaker

Putin & The Nuke Pill

For those of us in the West, the idea of poisoning those who know the truth is .. creepy. As y'all know, this Russian dude was poisoned by a "nuclear pill" for digging up facts around the death of a famous Russian journalist.

Here's the truth; Putin was just in office when a series of bombs went off in Moscow. Using these "terrorist attacks" as a pretext for going to war against an oil rich province, former Soviet satellite of Chechnya, the Russians went back into Grozny with tanks and troops, and have been battling the poor Chechens for six years. Only problem is; evidence points to the Russians planting those very bombs in the Moscow capital, and planting evidence that the Chechens had done it. It was widely reported at the time that one of the cars seen at the scene of the crime was traced back to people within the Russian administration - call it an official police vehicle. This famous Russian journalist was working on the story when she was executed. This Russian guy in London was working on the story of who killed her. Now he's dead, and he blames Putin (or members in his administration) for his murder.

Sound familiar?

I'll explain; the 9/11 conspiracy camp believes that the Bush administration either looked the other way or actively participated in the 9/11 attacks so that we could go to war with Iraq. The terrorist attack on NY became a pretext for our sojourn into the middle east and that oil rich region. Never mind that we went after the Taliban.. and walked away from the battle there. (Which is where "Cut and run" originated.) And now there is this huge body of paranoid people out there showing clips, writing books, and making speeches about the conspiracy.

The conundrums are all there; why let the Bin Laden's out of the country if they didn't know something about it? What about all the 'puts' made on the stocks of American Airlines, and the insurance companies hit in the WTC? Who made those trades? Why is it that the majority of those trades were made through a former CIA official's trading firm? (reported by the UK Guardian in 2001).

Here's my take on it; claiming that the CIA or the Shadow Govt of the US was behind the attack is an attempt to rectify how 'men with box cutters' could bring down two huge buildings. That's trying to diminish the ability of those who did it. I'm not going to refer to them as terrorists, because one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. (Needless to say, the Freedom Fighters of Afganistan have all turned into the terrorists who are trying to kill Americans.) So let's leave that on the table for now - if you spend anytime reading or doing research about Al Qaeda, you'll find a group of very smart, very formidable opponents. Yes, they'd worked out all the details of how to bring down a plane. Yes, they put men with box cutters on the plane, and they did their jobs well. Whether those working on the planes for Al Qaeda knew they were going to die or not is moot - they pulled off the crime of the century. With box cutters. It's arrogance for people to assume their enemies have no ability. It's equally dangerous to assume that your enemy can't pull off an attack of this magnitude without the help of the US secret services. The US Secret Services have shown gross incompetence in the war in Iraq, why would they suddenly become the cleverist of all services? You can't claim incompetence on behalf of the Bush administration, and then claim they pulled off the crime of the century.

That being said - why was Mohammed Atta allowed to traipse across the US scouting locations, sending email, dressing up like an American airlines pilot and arrested in Miami for not paying a bar tab? - Atta was no super criminal.. he comes off like a cartoon most of his trip here. And yet, he was there on the plane and able to direct a pretty amazing airstrike on America. There's some truth in there - something to do with trying to figure out what karma is about, or why the fates of the planet, or our guardian angels allowed this guy to pull off such a heinous crime. But does he deserve credit for it? Credit where credit is due.

Why haven't "they" struck again? Why should they? We've dumped all our troops, money and resources into Iraq. They know that our failure there will be their victory. However, there needs to be another key element for their plan for world domination - and that's for the Iraqi people, for the arab world, for the muslim world, to roll over and play dead for them. People in the Arab world enjoy their advances in luxury - in living - despite hating the West for its lack of religion, or its lack of spirituality. And they aren't going to roll over for Al Qaeda either, when the US wakes up and gets out of Iraq. It's another arrogant point of view to assume that the Arab world will fall apart the moment we leave it. Does anyone remember the "domino theory?"

I lived through the Vietnam era. It's incredible to me that Kissinger has the ear of the President, and that the US Generals in Iraq are pursuing a "Vietnam" strategy to get out of the country. Did no one see "Fog of War?" It's pretty clear what MacNamara says - "If I had understood that the war in Vietnam wasn't the cold war, but was a civil war, we would have been on the side of North Vietnam." That's pretty simple isn't it? In retrospect we didn't understand Vietnam. We still don't. We fought on the wrong side of the war in Vietnam. If that's not saying "60,000 American troops died needlessly" I don't know what is.

So what will happen when we leave Iraq? A civil war? Perhaps. "Al Qaeda will suddenly get nuclear weapons.." from who? Iran? Doubt it. Pakistan? Doubt it. And then what? Wouldn't it make more sense to know where Al Qaeda's power base is so that we can demolish it at a later date? If everyone that's in Al Qaeda races to Iraq to participate in the new "caliphate" - wouldn't that be a good thing? After all, it's easier to do battle with a state of bad guys, then it is to do battle with a movement of bad guys. And that's presupposing that the Iraqi people, who've enjoyed a certain amount of liberty in their non-sectarian country for the past 50 years (until we came in and destroyed it in the name of hunting down our old friend, our hero of the Iran-Iraq war Sadaam) - so now we've saved the Iraqi people from Sadaam, at the cost of 60,000 humans. And the toll is climbing every day. Eventually it will top a million. And the US will go down in history, alongside Germany, Cambodia, Darfur, Bosnia, where millions died in conflict in the pursuit of our wrong headed policies. What history proves is that we have learned absolutely nothing about anything.

But does that mean there's no hope? On the contrary, it's a breath of fresh air in Washington, Pelosi's vindictive behavior aside, but the other side of the coin is that despite mankind's relentless pursuit of power at the point of a gun, eventually even that comes to pass, and a period of peace and reconciliation comes about. Even the Maoist "terrorist insurgents" in Nepal can come to the table with the King, and form a new government by the people. And one day, peace will return to Iraq, and I can guarantee that we won't be the people bringing it to them.

Which brings us back to the "nuclear pill." I can see the minds of those in Washington turning - why were we spending so much money on building nuclear weapons when a "nuclear pill" could have done the same work? A dose for Sadaam would have saved 60,000 lives, but wouldn't have put all the money into the American military machine that needs that money to feed it. It wouldn't have jacked the prices up at the gas pump, and put record billions of dollars of profits into the pockets of the cronies, and war profiteers that are still busy emptying our nation's future into their pockets. I can think of a few people who are candidates for the "nuclear pill," but I won't post them here - after all, I don't believe in capital punishment, and hopefully I won't be given a sushi snack with a side of ginger that has a dose designed for those in this country who disagree with the politics as usual.

The Martini shot for Nov 25, 2006

Vanum Populatum

Vanum Populatum

Had a weird dream yesterday.

I've got a bad cold, and weird dreams come to me when I'm loopy from a cold.

I was visiting somewhere ancient I guess.. it almost seemed out of body. Hazy images, smoky. And I heard the words "Vanum populatum."

So when I woke up I wrote it down. Maybe I've been watching too much of the "Rome" miniseries. But then I looked up the words at a Latin translation site;

vanum means "empty, vain, false, untrustworthy.'

populatum means "ravage, devastate, lay waste; plunder, despoil, strip."

It took me awhile to decipher it;

"Strip away that which is vain." or "Lay waste to that which is false or untrustworthy."

What the f am I doing talking to myself in Latin? I don't speak Latin. So who the heck was talking to me in Latin? I'd like to know. And why so philosophical?

It sounds Buddhist to me - but coming from a Latin.. hey wait a second. Nah, Jesus spoke in aramaic, not Latin. So maybe it was a priest - I had an uncle who was a priest - but is that the kind of casual thing a Priest might say? Even to his old nephew?

I was a little shocked to say the least. But it's a cool motto:

"Devastate that which is empty, vain, false or untrustworthy."

sounds like time for a new election.

Always Connect

Always Connect

some years ago i was sitting at a table in cannes with all these high falootin' folks. i mean, there was a prince, a queen, some other royalty at the table, and yours truly. not that i belonged there. i'm always somewhere that i don't belong. but that's another story. "what are you doing here?" is the most frequent question i get at unusual out of the way places. I think to myself "if you knew me well, you'd say 'hey, of course you would be here.'"

but i digress. I was sitting opposite from the great film producer ishmael merchant. this had to be ten years ago. and i made some comment like 'well this is an unsual table of folks.' and he said 'always connect.' Which he explained as things get put in your path for a reason, he believed, and that one should always try and connect with other people. which is kind of what myspace is all about.

now, it's a little peeving (is that a word?) that this place is filled with PR bots, as I call them. PR people who've created a website for their client - you see 'em around.. selling something.. sell sell sell, everything you live for" that's a line from a song in "O Lucky Man" one of my favorite films. if you haven't seen it, it's worth renting. and then the multiple persona pages - if i see someone on here that i've met or said hi to, or admire, i'll click on their pic and see if they'll add me - and then send 'em a note to see if they remember me from 'that time that we met at so and so's.' and of course, inevitably it's a fan putting up a web page.. which is kind of weird in a way - and kind of indicative of the times we live in. we live through other folks vicariously.. on the net, on t.v., on the silver screen. (are there any silver screens left?)

and yet here you are, reading this blog - which is composed of O's and 1's.. with pix attached. and we try to ascribe meaning to the O's and 1's - or the X's and O's - all with the same inherent meaning. what i've observed about myspace is that since everyone gets only a small box that you can have your pic in - or long box in the case of some folks who need to have bigger pix - everyone's the same. like going into blockbuster and seeing "Lawrence of Arabia" next to "Larry the Cable Guy" movies. (I'm not knocking Larry. I added his comedy page, he's hilarious) My point is, everything becomes relative when it's reduced in size, and scope. Blockbuster titles are all just boxes in a row. They don't reflect the hours and blood sweat and tears that have gone into these films, these works or art, or works of non art.. they're just dvd boxes in a row.

like the pix on your myspace page. just a bunch of pixels - and when you see them, you get an emotion attached to them - 'oh, i love that guy's work' or 'isn't she unsual?' or 'i didn't know he was on myspace.' of course they probably aren't, but their PRbot may print out a missive or two and pass 'em along..

which isn't to say that i haven't had some interesting conversations here.. i have. about all kinds of things.. i guess what i'm trying to say is that what it all boils down to is.. 'always connect.' it may be that we're connecting with people from our past, or connecting with people from our future.. or past lives, or future lives, or what have you. There's a law in phsyics that shows that the atoms and ions and gluons that bounce around each other have a tendency to find out other atoms and ions that they've bounced around with before.. attracted to places and other atoms they've already been.. so maybe that's also true of myspace. we're just bouncing atoms finding each other again in the ephemera of webspace.

my two cents.

My Flix on google and youtube

The Flix on my myspace page

I've just posted a bunch of my flix, or clips from my flix, or short films, or what not on this myspace page. I finally got around to uploading them, so get out the popcorn, pull up a chair and enjoy a sampling of my life. Soon I'm putting up "The Big Bang" the first film I ever did in high school, then there's my short "Video Valentino" that became my first feature "You Can't Hurry Love." There's a bunch of clips from my film "Camera - dogme ..15" because - well they're funny. And I made the flick for nothing. So the actors should be seen, because they're great in it. So, we'll see if anyone pays any attention to this stuff.. I just like having my stuff out in the planet, because it's just sitting on my shelf otherwise. The internet is not only the new yellow pages, it's the new garage sale, and the new closet where you put all your stuff - it just so happens other folks can get a gander.

And a word about Luana Ander's work - she's listed in my top 8 - she passed away 10 years ago - but I put up two flix we did - "Clones at Greaser's Palace" where she plays all the parts - it's a student film I did while at USC - Luana was in over 300 t.v. shows and 30 feature films - she's no longer on the planet, but you can visit her memorial page at www.luanaanders.com - anyways, I think there might be another one on there, I forget. But she's the real deal. Enjoy.

RM

American Idol Redux

“Tea for Two”

Here's a recap of my latest post from USA TODAY. Here's a link:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-05-22-idol-coaches_x.htm

Talk about a tight race. It’s tighter than the election of 2000, and if history repeats itself, the Supreme Court may have weigh in to decide the winner - the Court being those pesky purveyors of American Supremes; the Idol Mod Squad of Randy, Paula and Simon. It was a shame to see Elliot hit the road, but there couldn’t have been a finer tribute - kudos to the editors of those ‘farewell’ videos, they capture the essence of the Idols, and in this case, showed a heartwarming depature for a kid from the pharmacy counter in Virginia who went all the way to singing in his hometown’s baseball stadium. A classic Idol moment.

I think Taylor’s first solo album would aptly be named “Soul Patrol.” Why not? They got him this far, he might as well honor them with a nod. He’s going to have a lot of fun in the studio, with or without his hometown band, and he should build on his foundations with material from his root mentors; Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Otis Redding, or Michael McDonald. But there’s a few titles I’d like to hear from Taylor, like John Lennon’s “Imagine” done with the backing of a gospel choir, Ray Charles “You Don’t Know Me” done with Billy Joel, Van Morrison’s “Real Real Gone,” or any Muddy Waters tune, as long as he plays his blues harp on the tracks. He might give a shout out to Ray beyond the pearly gates by doing his own version of “America the Beautiful;” he’s got a shot of being asked to sing that at every down home grits fest they can get him to roll up his sleeves for. Kelly Clarkson scored with her version of the “Star Spangled Banner,” but “America” is more suited to Taylor’s chops. Other oddities come to mind; Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks “I Feel Like Singing,” a version of “Soul Man” with Clarence Clemmons backing him on sax, or “Midnight Rider“ with Dickey Betts‘ new band, “Great Southern.” His choice of Michael McDonald for the Idol Cd was sharp, but can’t wait for him to have some fun with “Sweet Home Alabama” or even my hometown anthem “Sweet Home Chicago.” I’d like to hear his take on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” if only to see if he can match Jeff Buckley’s haunting version, which I can‘t seem to get off my car‘s CD player. As for duets, big blues voices like Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, or Bonnie Raitt would all have some fun with the funky white boy’s joie de vivre. I’d shy away from getting mired in the insipid song list the Clive Davis assembly-liners churn out for the Idol contractual CD’s - they’re hard to sing, have little or no soul, and although sell piles of ‘units‘, taste like Chinese fast food; listen once, you’re still hungry for something more substantial. Suffice to say, if it don’t fit like an old boot, don’t put it on your foot. Mr. Hicks is a triple threat, being able to sing, play guitar and harmonica, and despite having pitchy moments, technology can smooth out the pitchiest voice - including stars like Rod Stewart who returned to the show to prove why he sounds so good in the studio. (My mom asked why she couldn’t vote off Rod after his performance on the show.) The odd occasion Taylor hits a clam can be ironed out in post, and his live shows will drown out any sour notes via his megawatt enthusiasm. As for a producer, I’d drag Grammy winning Russ Titelman out of his Hudson River digs, and get him to work the same magic he did with Eric Clapton, Chaka Khan, Rickie Lee Jones and Randy Newman, among others. If Taylor stays true to his roots, he’s going to have a Kelly Clarkson career, no matter if he wins the Idol crown or not; it’s time for another “Blues Brother” wave to sweep the country. I thought Taylor should win from the moment he picked up his harmonica and wailed it at the gob smacked judges, seconded by my two year old dancing around the house chanting his name like a mantra. She‘s got his vote, even if it’s by a half point.

Kathering McPhee knocked “Over the Rainbow” onto Waveland Avenue, and wouldn’t hurt as a title for her first solo album. She really can sing a capella, and I’d love to hear her do a rendition of Tracy Nelson’s overlooked paean “When You Went Away.” I also loved the snippet of coloratura she did with Andrea Bocelli; perhaps she can strong arm curmudgeon David Foster into getting Andrea to do a Lucio Dalla “Caruso” with her. As odd as it sounds, a pairing with Kellie Clarkson would make synergistic sense - politics aside - since Simon pointed out how similar they can sound. Would love to hear them both wail on “It’s Raining Men.” Mac’s performances of Whitney Houston, or other “big vocalists” demonstrated how fearless she is at attacking songs that are out of her range - in the case of her own choice of material, I’d allow people like Simon to tell her what to sing, and how to sing it, as he was on the money with “Rainbow.” She may enjoy doing the wild stylings of a Christina Aguilera, but it rarely feels organic - and she’s scored best when she was singing fun songs, heart breakers, or even Aretha, when she obviously felt she had nothing to lose by kicking off her heels and rocking the house with “Think.” This is the kind of material she can own, and the women vocalists she’s tried to emulate by giving the songs the Michael Bolton full-throated blast have been the least successful. However, that being said, I’d like to hear her version of “Piece of My Heart,” Joni Mitchell’s “California,” Sting’s “Fields of Gold” or even a standard like “Autumn Leaves.” As for a producer, I’d cozy up to Glen Ballard, who when not winning Grammy’s for his work with Alanis Morrisette, has been known to create magic even in the San Fernando valley. I think Katherine is well poised to snatch the crown from Taylor, and I’ll polish my own apple by noting previously she’d have the chops to “sail under the wire” to the end. Her dad’s ubiquitous tears aside, I just happen to believe Taylor’s going to be doing the tears of joy with that smidgen of a point that decides the victor. However, my choice for Kat’s most sentimental duet on her solo album would be one with Elliot Yamin, who would bring a jazzy feel, an emotional lift and a cute counterpoint to her talented vocals. After all, wouldn’t they make the perfect American Idol twosome?

RichMartini: The Dalai Lama & The Mouse

RichMartini: The Dalai Lama & The Mouse

The Dalai Lama & The Mouse

Was in Tucson today, went to see the Dalai Lama.

It's always good to see him - he's surrounded by really nice people and I always enjoy seeing them as well. Today he was hosting an interfaith conference, with a Catholic Bishop, a Protestant Minister, an Imam and a Rabbi. I know, it sounds like the start of a joke, but it was interesting to hear everyone talk about compassion.

The Protestant Minister - his name escapes me, told a very cool story, which I'd like to post here.. it went like this:

This Minister was camping in the woods about 12 years ago, up in canada, and about day 9 he was meditating (a protestant minister who meditates; cool!) and he was suddenly aware of a sound behind him. He looked back and saw a mouse coming out of his backpack of food. He said his first reaction was to freak - he needed to kill that mouse, and get him out of his food supply. He saw him scamper under a leaf and into a hole. Then after thinking about it for a minute - he's a minister after all, he changed his attitude, then thought, "You know what I'm going to share some of my food with that mouse and make a little mound of food so we can both have it."

So he went over to the mouse hole and knelt down, put a little food out, and said a little prayer 'Here you go mouse, I'm going to share this food with you, because you probably need it too." Then he went back to his perch and sat down to meditate some more. After some time went by, and he was deep in meditation, he opened his eyes and saw the mouse was sitting on his knee, looking at him.

True story.

So. What does that tell us about compassion? I thought it was pretty amazing. The Dalai Lama was as well.

Karl Rove - American Hero

Ah. The hero has finally come out of the closet. It turns out that the Deep Throat behind the outing of Valerie Plume, CIA agent, was none other than the brilliant man who ran George Bush's two campaigns. So we have this paragon of virtue to thank for using the Constitution as he sees fit, for the benefit of us all. I guess one could argue that Clinton's right hand man Dick Morris wound up in a scandal between the sheets, and in this case GB's right hand man has wound up with some serious poop on his hands. So, maybe it's a law not to out CIA agents. So what? Rove is quoted as saying "I never game her name." Well, most likely that's because he didn't know her name - didn't care to know her name - he was in the process after all, of trying to bury someone who had come out and spoken the truth about the fictitious reasons we went to war with Iraq. What part of the word treason isn't clear here? Our nation tries to impeach a President for lying about his sex life, how dare he!!! and now we have a Congress and a nation sitting on its hands - after all who cares about some CIA agent whose career was ruined? And the careers of all those people who worked with her, now under suspicion in the countries she worked in - hmm.. maybe even some of them executed? Could it be? But we have this hero - this Karl Rove, who will go down in history as the man who brought us George W. He obviously knows the President will never fire him - otherwise he wouldn't have told the reporter that he's giving his permission to reveal his source. Forget that the President said "whoever gave that leak will be fired" knowing full well who it was. Does anyone doubt that Karl Rove told George Bush before he told anyone else that he was behind the felony? Does anyone doubt what George Bush's response to that information was? "Whoever it was will be fired." That is, unless I change my hand. The nation's security is at risk. In fact, forget the Constitution, because I decide who is needed or not needed. Hmm. Are there any other lies that have been told to the American people in recent memory that come to mind? There's an old saying about "you get what you deserve;" in the case of the American public, we certainly are getting it in spades. Hail Karl Rove. The untouchable American hero, who as an example to our children, will do anything to get elected, anything to crush his enemies, including treason - well, maybe just a felony - because after all it's not how you play the game - it's how you win the game. Democrats will wring their hands and cover their heads, because secretly they wish they had a Karl Rove on their team who would do anything, just anything to win. A shining example to all those other nations that we excoriate for human rights abuses, for corruption - when we dare not look in the mirror.

Deep Throat

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Always Connect

Always connect...

Ishmael Merchant died this week. He was 68. They say he died from a 'burst ulcer' - didn't know that you could die from that. They packed him up in a box and flew him back to Mumbai, where he was from. They said his box went to the house of a friend. Well, Ishmael was gay - I hope it went to the house of his best friend or lover, or whatever. But of course that's not in the article. Not that it should be - just noting the non mention - and that whenever you read the paper, if you read between the lines, you always get a bit closer to the truth. Truth is I met him once - at a dinner in Cannes, one of those fabulous affairs, where everyone is dressed to the nines and a waiter walks around with free champagne and cocktail treats until they seat you at a big table. Somehow I was at his table - he was wearing a big white caftan kind of thing - well there's an Indian name for it - maybe it was a white sari - and he was sitting next to some princess type - older woman, royalty blah blah blah. And I started chatting with him, not about movies, but about how unusual the Cannes experience is - because of time and place you wind up meeting people you never thought you'd meet, having conversations you never thought you'd have.. And he looked over at me, smiled and said "Always connect." I've thought about that since then - when I"m tired, trapped in some airport somewhere, waiting for my starbucks - impatient, in a bad mood, cranky, ready to take someone's head off for an incompetent move that cannot be tolerated at any.. and I stop and hear his voice and say outloud; 'How ya doin'? ' Of course since I'm from chicago, i can be forgiven for doing what all chicagoans do everywhere on the planet - 'how ya doin' is a universal greeting in chicago, usually followed by 'what high school did you go to?' friendliness for the sake of a laugh - finding some way to break the ice that surrounds us every day when we're out in the world. Or "what's up on your side of the counter today?" and you hear all kinds of tales.. I love to collect stories from people, they go into my work sometimes, and other times, I can see people lighten up physically just because I've taken the time to ask how they're doing. Or phone operators, who are bored out their minds - i'll ask "so where are you located now?" sometimes it's in colorado - atlanta, canada, even india... but just by taking that extra time to connect - 9 out of 10 times the transaction goes that much quicker, the outcome is that much more favorable, and the memory is that much happier. So, I salute you Mr. Merchant, and in your next life whatever it may be; may you always connect.

The Pope et al

Hmmm. Cardinal Ratzinger. Well, not that I was partial to my cousin, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, but I was a bit put off by this choice. A bit? Let me put it more succinctly - he's not longer the Panzer Cardinal; he's "The Panzer Pope." This is a guy who served in the Nazi Hitler Youth. Oh, there were extenuating circumstances I know - but has anyone bothered to read what his excuse was about serving in the Army? "I had an infected finger, so I never fired my rifle." Oh my. So one finger goes, the rest are not of any use? Anyone notice that he served some of his time in the army protected the BMW plant, working alongside prisoners from Dachau? Cheese Louise. Okay, forget for a minute that every one of his public stances lines up with the Nazi party - so he doesn't want women as priests, he doesn't want homosexuals in the church, he doesn't want married priests in his church.. hmm.. what's left? Gypsies? Forget for a second that he came out and said that Turks were not Christian enough to be considered part of Europe - shall we burn some of their books as well? Am I just missing the point? Didn't John Paul II spend time making Opus Dei one of his pet projects, and wasn't Ratzinger the choice of the OD fellas? I'm not paranoid. But I'm going to think twice about baptizing my next kid into this place - he actually said that the scandal of sex abuse in the church was 'limited to one percent of the priests' and that he felt the US media - anti Christian in its bent - was out to destroy the Church. Can anyone see the words anti-Christian media and not think of what's going on up in Capitol hill? So - here I am ranting from the relative anonymity of my blog. But the Pope should have known better - JPII that is - let's not forget the stories behind what happaned to JPI (check out the book at amazon.com - In God's Name - published in England) - which happened to be the subject of Coppola's film: "Godfather III" - somehow all the critics, bent on critiqueing his daughter's performance, missed the point that FFC nailed the Church for it's complicity in the murder of JPI - basically following the facts outlined in the above mentioned book. There's some solace in the fact that an Italian professor once told me; "All American Catholics are Protestants.. they choose which dogma to believe and which to leave behind, which in essence, is Protestantism." Maybe he's right. I'm subscribing to Rantism.