Molly Ivins and Why We Fight

I wish I had known Molly Ivins.

I found her name turning up repeatedly as I was moving around the Net today, so I did a search on her. It turns out she was a respected political journalist and I suspect the Bushies are not mourning her. (Bushies is a Mollyism that I like, as is guvment.) In fact, there may be general rejoicing in a certain house on Pennsylvania Avenue that a thorn in their respective hides has now been removed.

I found a link to some of her last columns, written as she was succumbing to her illness (or as death was rescuing her from cancer). As I read them, I found myself wishing that I'd discovered her much earlier and very sorry that will be no future columns.

She comes across as a thoughful woman pained by the lengths to which the guvment will go to fool itself, not easily sidetracked by b.s. herself, and happy to point out the flaws which need correcting. If Keith Olberman is the dessert, Molly Ivins would have been the entree.

I like and respect common sense, which may be the commodity in shortest supply. But, hey, judge for yourself. http://www.creators.com/opinion/molly-ivins.html

Also, if you get a chance to see the documentary Why We Fight, don't pass it up. I ran across it as I was channel surfing this last week and was instantly riveted.

It's not about human nature or testosterone. It's the award winner from the Sundance Festival 2005 and worth seeing. It actually puts the war in Iraq in historical and current perspective. Having had two friends lose their sons in that part of the world has made me antsy to get the answers to those nagging little questions about the how and why and who and what.

The answers are not pretty.

I came away with new respect for Ike. His farewell speech warning about the Military-Industrial Complex really was a window into the future. Too bad we weren't paying attention--we could have saved ourselves money, time, and lives. Heck, this film is two years old and we weren't paying attention then either.

For those who remember TV news during the Vietnam era with nightly shots of bloody litters carrying the wounded and wondered why we don't see anything but bombed out cars and pock-marked walls in Iraq--well, there was actually a memo about how the electorate shouldn't see the bodies of their neighbors on TV or else we might not support a war. Somehow the guvment successfully neutered the news media.

If I had any doubt before, the Bushies have successfully proved the truth of the adage that "those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it," not that Dubya has ever shown any respect for History. Maybe he has more respect for politicians who twist the facts.

It's out on DVD and was on the Sundance Channel last week. Check out the trailer at this site to get a feel for it. Totally worth it, people. http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/


So...Molly Ivins and Why We Fight ...check them out.

6 Weird Things About Me

I was surfing the Bloggies Awards site and came across this meme. I couldn't resist. So without too much soul-searching or editing, here are a few of things that make me me.

1. I'm a cord neat freak. Be it extension cord, hair dryer or curling iron cord, or clipper cord--I put it away neatly coiled or folded.

2. I love doing laundry. I sort, wash, dry, fold and iron effortlessly. If only I liked doing any other sort of housework.

3. When I have a headache, I have ice cream for breakfast.

4. I hate obstructions in ice cream. You will never see me eat Rocky Road or Tin Roof Sundae. Ever.

5. I'll read anything except novels by Russian authors. In-flight magazines, romance novels, biographies, scientific articles, newspapers used as packing material, blogs, Dick Francis mysteries, Euripides, Jane Eyre for the hundredth time, short stories, poetry, Highlights for Children, the Yellow Pages--all okay. Five lines of Tolstoy...five lines too many.

6. I can't smell. Nope, not roses, apple pie, barbecued hamburgers. Also not teenage sweat. Not barf. Not skunks. Not farts. I'm really quite happy this way. Don't for a moment think that I can't taste food. Taste and smell are two quite separate senses. My opinion is that most people have never actually tasted their dinner because they were too busy smelling it.

Please don't let numbers one and two lead you to think that I'm tidy. I'm absolutely not, which is why those two things seem odd to me. My sweetie is the clean-it-up-as-you-go type. I'm the clean-it-up-when-you-can't-stand-it-anymore type. I frequently tell him that he's lucky I'm just obsessive about cords because otherwise I could make his life a living hell. (I'm sure that in his deepest soul he thinks his life could only be improved by clean floors and counters.) He doesn't know how lucky he is that I'm not following behind him and demanding, er...suggesting, improvements in packing the car for vacation, putting groceries in the fridge, and organizing the medicine cabinet.

And when it comes to laundry, I'm happy to get his clothes from hamper to drawer, but I do draw the line at ironing his clothes. My clothes are all ironed, but unless he has a dress shirt he's going to be using soon--well, just let's say that he's lucky his shirts and pants seem to be wrinkle resistant.