A good old fashioned double feature

Robin and I went to see "Children of Men" in Monrovia last night, then got back in line and saw "The Good Shepherd". Two good films in one night!

"Children" was an excellent sci-fi film, convincing and scary, with extraordinary camera work. Its vision of a nightmarish future paired neatly with "The Good Shepherd" - a revelation of the ugly doings of our government in the recent past. The illegal and murderous manipulations of the OSS/CIA, supposedly in the name of anti-communism, are laid bare - and there are plenty of scary reminders that these creepy Skull-and-Bones boys are more powerful than ever, now operating under the guise of the so-called "war on terrorism."

Ford's pardon of Nixon...

A friend writes...

I remember being quite upset [about the pardon] at the time, but was surprised that my parents (who hated Nixon) didn't seem to object. But to this day, I'm still a bit upset about it. Sure, without the pardon, the Nixon case would have occupied the newspapers and congress for a while, but surely it would still have been mostly in the background, just as most investigations only come to the forefront when there is something new. In any case, I don't think Nixon should have been pardoned until it had been determined exactly what laws he had broken.

I think he's right to still be upset about it. If Nixon had been forced to stand trial for his crimes, future presidents like Bush might not be so confident that theirs would also go unpunished. I also think there was a deal - perhaps unspoken, perhaps not. One NPR interview with a former insider from the time said that Ford, soon before Nixon's resignation, was asking "theoretical" questions about the scope of presidential pardon powers - and that Nixon's awareness of Ford's probable pardon was one of the factors that clinched his decision to resign.

Whether the deal was explicit or not, the pardon was a terrible move, and I fail to see why the media are falling all over themselves to glorify a lackluster caretaker president whose most important major decision was a bad one. I guess it's because the current president is such a disaster that there's some nostalgia for ANY former president.

Granddaughter walking

Angela reports on Saturday, 12/16:

...Kaitlin took 10 unassisted consecutive steps this morning!!! She is what we can officially call a walker!

And by Sunday, 12/17, she's traipsing all over the Christmas tree lot. (photo by Darryl)

Robin turns sixty

Robin’s 60th birthday. When she got home from work at 7:30, James and I took her to breakfast at Paradise Cove, and got her back home in time for Kris’ surprise arrival from Davis.

Then, while Kris took her mom out for a manicure, James and I decorated the house, and the food arrived from Brent’s Deli. By the time Robin and Kris got home, the first guests were arriving for her surprise party. Guests: David, Kenlyn, Rachel, and Ryan; Liz, Gary, and Devyn; Darryl, Angela, and Kaitlin; Liz’s Aunt Jeanne; Steve & Veronica Winston; Burt & Charlene Weinstein; Roger Eaton & Sandy Chaves; Peter Rashkin & Camilla; Steve, Celina, and Gideon Shutman.

White House Going After Journalists

Re: Huffington Post article "White House Going After Journalists And Their Govt. Sources..."

It's difficult for me to understand how stories like this can surface, day after day, year after year, without the public rising up to throw these scumbags out on their collective asses. In a reasonable, just, world, the Bush regime and its currupt, cronie-laden Republican supporting apparatus would be impeached, hooted out of office – and Bush and Cheney would have their sorry asses hauled into court and charged with war crimes, along with Rumsfield, Rowe, Wolfowitz, and their ilk.

Hamas wins Palestinian elections

My reaction to the recent news that Hamas, the radical “terrorist” faction, has swept the Palestinian elections:

I can only hope that (a) the vote was indeed a reflection of disgust with the corruption and lack of progress with the long standing party of record, and (b) there will be some kind of “Nixon goes to China” effect – that Hamas will be able to compromise without the charge of being weak, etc.

I’ve thought for a long time that settling this issue would be the greatest achievement of our era, and that the U. S. could be the catalyst in pulling it off. Here’s where our use of “force” would be justified – not in Iraq, not in Iran, but in Israel. And we could do it without any direct military action. I say we should tell both sides that…

1) Enough is enough: The world recognizes that you both have legitimate claims, concerns, and grievances that go back countless centuries. But your continued squabbling, and failure to settle your dispute, is disrupting the entire world.

2) Israel, you need to cede the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians for creation of a state of Palestine. Not an “autonomous region”, but a completely independent, sovereign state. If you don’t, we will cut off all support, both military and financial. No kidding. But if you do, the U.S. will guarantee your security with the full force of its military.

3) Hamas, or whoever currently represents the Palestinian people, this is the best deal you’re going to get. You need to accept the existence of Israel and get on with your lives, building a society of your own, in your own newly sovereign state.

For a country that currently preaches “preemptive” military invasions, our failure to apply power where it might really make a difference is inexplicable.

Coming to an end

Ted Koppel is leaving Nightline after 25 years of hosting the best news show on network TV. He's considered too old, too stodgy, and will be replaced by a younger team that's more dynamic, with fewer scruples - dumbing the news ever further down.

On last night’s final episode, he replayed excerpts from his shows featuring Morrie Schwartz, a professor dying from ALS, who became the subject of Mitch Albom’s best selling book Tuesdays With Morrie.

I haven’t read the book, but the Ted Koppel interviews were quite moving, and I especially liked Schwartz's tale illustrating his view of his coming demise...

A small ocean wave is cresting along quite happily until he notices that the waves ahead of him are crashing on the shore, disappearing into nothingness. Terrified at the realization that he too will soon crash on the shore and die, he confides his fear to another wave. But the other wave explains that there’s nothing to fear: he will not be crashing and dying - he'll merely return to being a part of the larger ocean.

Tragic Fire

Crawford, Texas (not AP) - A tragic fire this morning destroyed the
personal library of President George W. Bush. The fire began in the
presidential bathroom where both of the books were kept. Both of his books have been lost. A presidential spokesman said the president was devastated, as he had almost finished coloring the second one.
[a story currently circulating on the internet, courtesy Paul Bleifeld]

The Pro-Torture Nine

In a vote to add an anti-torture amendment to a defense spending bill, 9 senators (all Republicans) voted against:

Wayne Allard - Colorado
Kit Bond - Missouri
Tom Coburn - Oklahoma
Thad Cochran - Mississippi
John Cornyn - Texas
James Inhofe - Oklahoma
Pat Roberts - Kansas
Jeff Sessions - Alabama
Ted Stevens - Alaska

Keep this list. Never let them forget.

Internet Radio

Sittin’ late in the night, listening to Doc Watson sing St. Louis Blues, courtesy of the Yahoo! Custom radio service that Darryl turned me on to. Thank you Darryl! Now it’s Delbert McClinton doing Lovey Dovey...