President Obama's Kill List: Murder Incorporated Drones

Obama kills children. I meant to write on this last week but due to work requirements I had to table it. Let's get back to some serious questions. You may not have noticed it what with all the media's fawning over the President at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the President's oh so brave announcement that he supports gay marriage that made some people fall out in Messianic ecstasy or the sudden Democratic "discovery" and "shocked outrage" (just in time for the November election) that the US income and wealth distributions have continued to ever more sharply tilt toward the well off but the undeclared war of worldwide drone attacks that the President has sanctioned and directed has continued. It's worse than I thought and probably worse than any of us know. 


No, while Democratic partisans were girding themselves for holy war over the pressing issue of forcing the Catholic Church to underwrite birth control for middle class women, hunting out homophobic heresies among comedians and preachers or stating with a straight face that a federal mandate to give money to huge corporate insurers without price controls was actually a progressive position, the Obama Administration was taking the so-called war on terror (a term it avoids because Bush used it) to a level of lawlessness and violence undreamed of by President Bush. The most striking aspect of Obama's first term has been not the ugliness with which some low-information racist voters oppose him, but the extent to which Obama's policies around war and civil liberties have been a continuation, well really a degradation, of Bush programs. 


That's right. There may be some mild debate among the elites on homosexual marriage or abortion but when it comes to killing or spying on people without warrant, judicial or congressional oversight, this Administration fits perfectly with the previous one. You can vote for a Republican and get war or vote for a Democrat and get war. Yummy. What great choices we have in our duopolistic plutocracy.
The New York Times, which is generally supportive of President Obama, recently did an expose of the Murder Incorporated campaign which the President is personally overseeing in contravention of law and morality. It is quite lengthy but I strongly urge you to take some time, okay a lot of time, and read it here.

Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent. Counterterrorism officials insist this approach is one of simple logic: people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good. “Al Qaeda is an insular, paranoid organization — innocent neighbors don’t hitchhike rides in the back of trucks headed for the border with guns and bombs,” said one official, who requested anonymity to speak about what is still a classified program. This counting method may partly explain the official claims of extraordinarily low collateral deaths. In a speech last year Mr. Brennan, Mr. Obama’s trusted adviser, said that not a single noncombatant had been killed in a year of strikes. And in a recent interview, a senior administration official said that the number of civilians killed in drone strikes in Pakistan under Mr. Obama was in the “single digits” — and that independent counts of scores or hundreds of civilian deaths unwittingly draw on false propaganda claims by militants. But in interviews, three former senior intelligence officials expressed disbelief that the number could be so low. The C.I.A. accounting has so troubled some administration officials outside the agency that they have brought their concerns to the White House. One called it “guilt by association” that has led to “deceptive” estimates of civilian casualties.“It bothers me when they say there were seven guys, so they must all be militants,” the official said. “They count the corpses and they’re not really sure who they are.

I am the law!

Did you get that? Everybody who looks like a terrorist is a terrorist so there haven't been many civilians killed because we only kill terrorists. The President said so. So it must be true. This is hogwash!!! The fact that a Black man is saying it doesn't change that fact. It shows how ridiculously premature and insane it was to give Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. But hey I'm sure that the families of those killed from afar by our brave philosopher warrior-king will take solace in knowing that their loved ones were either terrorists or up to no good. And it's not like the Third World is running out of people so what's the big deal, right? Every male we kill is a terrorist until someone can POSTHUMOUSLY prove otherwise. Hmm. Isn't that the EXACT same mentality of the NYPD supersized steroid gobbling thug who rousts, harasses or kills black men? You're black so you must be up to something. And even if you weren't doing anything wrong this time well let this arrest/insult/beatdown be an example to those who were. This is the mindset that is processing the Global War on Terror, uh excuse me Overseas Contingency Operation. 

But some State Department officials have complained to the White House that the criteria used by the C.I.A. for identifying a terrorist “signature” were too lax. The joke was that when the C.I.A. sees “three guys doing jumping jacks,” the agency thinks it is a terrorist training camp, said one senior official.  Men loading a truck with fertilizer could be bombmakers — but they might also be farmers, skeptics argued. Now, in the wake of the bad first strike in Yemen, Mr. Obama overruled military and intelligence commanders who were pushing to use signature strikes there as well. “We are not going to war with Yemen,” he admonished in one meeting, according to participants. His guidance was formalized in a memo by General Jones, who called it a “governor, if you will, on the throttle,” intended to remind everyone that “one should not assume that it’s just O.K. to do these things because we spot a bad guy somewhere in the world.”Mr. Obama had drawn a line.  But within two years, he stepped across it. Signature strikes in Pakistan were killing a large number of terrorist suspects, even when C.I.A. analysts were not certain beforehand of their presence.  And in Yemen, roiled by the Arab Spring unrest, the Qaeda affiliate was seizing territory. Today, the Defense Department can target suspects in Yemen whose names they do not know. Officials say the criteria are tighter than those for signature strikes, requiring evidence of a threat to the United States, and they have even given them a new name — TADS, for Terrorist Attack Disruption Strikes. But the details are a closely guarded secret — part of a pattern for a president who came into office promising transparency.

Future Terrorist Stopped!!!

Whoa Nelly... The Defense Department can target suspects in Yemen whose names they do not know. This is amazing. So we don't even need to know your name, what your alleged crime was or who you are. All we need is that some soft bureaucrat or politician without the stones to put his own life on the line gives an order, no doubt while munching on arugula salad or sipping decaf latte, and halfway around the world another human being is blown to bits. What a country we live in. How wonderful it is that a President's courage can be written down in the blood of other people's children. Historians will doubtless write admiring biographies detailing President's Obama's steadfast grim determination to stay the course in the face of absolutely no serious political opposition on this issue.


But hey he's a good guy because he's trying to get people to drive Volts and help women in their struggle for "reproductive justice". Perhaps this is just what President Obama had in mind when he said that after he was elected that this would be the moment when the planet began to heal. I think his idea of healing the planet and mine are somewhat different but what do I know. Maybe you really can bring peace to the world by dropping bombs on brown and black people you don't like. I had a much longer diatribe planned but this is long enough already. If you really think these actions are just fine there's not much I can write to convince you otherwise. I'll just make a few final points and stop since work beckons. 

• Drone attacks on countries with whom we have not declared war are a particularly odious and dare I say cowardly way of conducting foreign policy. The Constitution lays out a clear road map to declaring war. I don't care what other Presidents did in the past. You either do the right thing or you do not. 
• The US is setting a very very bad precedent here. Does the US think it's the only country with grudges to settle with so-called terrorists? Do you know the name Luis Posada Carriles? If you don't then you should. He is a terrorist with a very long history of violence against Cuban and Venezuelan people, including an airliner bombing. But as far as the US military and intelligence community is concerned, he was killing the right people so he is a popular fixture among the insane right-wing Miami Cuban-American community. Cuba and Venezuela would very much like to get their hands on him but the US has refused. Now what do you think would be the US response, what would be your response, if one or both of those countries started a series of drone attacks across south Florida, killing dozens or even hundreds of people until they got Carriles? And when the US protested, Cuba responded "Hey well, people knew who this guy was. The way we see it, anybody hanging around him was a terrorist so we won't lose sleep or apologize over what we did. You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs so quit your crying."
• The US is making more enemies than it is killing with these drone attacks. Again, what would you do if someone starting shooting at your relative's wedding because they had information that your second cousin twice removed was there. And he was a bad guy. But let's say your cousin wasn't there and scores of your relatives and friends and their children were wounded and killed. Chances are you wouldn't be in a joyous mood. In fact you might be so angry and desperate that you and some other like minded people would get together to plan a little payback. It might take a while. It might happen two decades later and then just like with 9-11 naive and historically illiterate Americans would wonder why "they" hate us. It's already starting to happen. 
• It is of course I'm sure a mere coincidence that one of Obama's earliest big money contributors just happens to be the billionaire Lester Crown, a previous chairman of and primary stockholder in General Dynamics, which wouldn't you know, makes drones. How lucky Crown is then, that the politician he supported has increased demand for his company's product. 

The NYT story is only concerned with process and how this might play politically. The NYT is not that concerned with the number of children killed. If Bush or Cheney had been overseeing this program I suspect there might have been a different tone to the article. The ugly truth about this though is that the Times story not withstanding this system of extra-judicial murder and unsanctioned war is something that is deeply bi-partisan. Neither major party presidential candidate would stop this program. In my view, neither man is worthy of being President or has much use for either the Constitution or basic morality. Many people who got on their high horse and attacked President Bush over Guantanamo, torture, assassinations or cherry picked intelligence are quiet as church mice now that it's their guy sitting in the big seat. There are a few brave consistent souls, Ralph Nader for one or Jeremy Scahill, who have the integrity not to change their beliefs about murder, based on which party the President claims. Good for them. There's something rotten in America's soul when these actions pass without comment. Should we get a President Romney I don't want to hear a mumbling word from some snide slug of a delinquent Democrat who has, post-election, miraculously rediscovered his or her dedication to constitutional limitations on Presidential actions. Not. One. Word.

Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so, whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose -- and you allow him to make war at pleasure. If today, he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada, to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us' but he will say to you, 'Be silent; I see it, if you don't.'" -Abraham Lincoln

What's your take?

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Valar Morghulis

Something that is true in life as well as the world of Game of Thrones is that sometimes you're on top of the world, thinking you're a player and a big time shot caller. Something changes and suddenly you discover that you're weren't the king; you weren't even a rook. You were just a pawn in someone else's game. That certainly was the case this week for Tyrion Lannister, last seen unconscious and possibly dying on the battlefield. Well he's not dead. But he wakes up and the first face he sees is that of Grand Maester Pycelle, who is pleased at Tyrion's discomfort. Frightened, Tyrion calls for his squire Podrick in order to prevent any murder attempts by Pycelle but for now Pycelle is content to stick the knife in verbally. Tyrion learns that he's no longer Hand. That job is Tywin's. Bronn has been removed as head of the City Guard. Tyrion's personal guard of Vale tribesmen has been paid off and sent home. In revenge, Pycelle flips Tyrion a coin for his troubles.


As discussed Joffrey formally makes Tywin the Hand. Remember that Tywin DID tell Tyrion that the appointment was only temporary. Joffrey grants Littlefinger Harrenhal and makes him an official Lord. Loras Tyrell claims that Margarey (and boy is that a revealing dress she's wearing or what-I like) is still a virgin and would love to marry Joffrey. In what is an obvious put-on for the court audience, Joffrey pretends reluctance to break his betrothal to Sansa. Cersei and Pycelle say that because of the Stark treason and revolt that it would be okay in this instance and the religious authorities concur. Joffrey states that he will marry Margarey, who cynically plays to Joffrey's arrogance. Sansa pretends disappointment and shock and leaves court but can't stop a smile from breaking out. Littlefinger tells Sansa that she's not out of danger because married or not Joffrey won't let her go. He also tells Sansa that he will help her because she reminds him so much of Catelyn. Right. If Catelyn Stark, who wasn't even in King's Landing, knows that Littlefinger betrayed Ned, surely Sansa would as well. Why would Sansa believe anything Littlefinger says and more importantly why would Littlefinger expect her to?
Ros is cleaning up in the brothel and is visited by Varys. She realizes who he is after she tries to grab his manhood and can't find it. Varys is evidently on a recruitment hunt. He agrees with Ros that Littlefinger is dangerous but says that Littlefinger has weaknesses just like everyone else. He also points out that if Ros were working for him she probably wouldn't be in a position where she would be raped or abused. I didn't really buy that Ros wouldn't have known who he was or that Varys would travel to a brothel. We already know that Littlefinger owns the brothel and spies on customers.


Brienne and Jaime are continuing their journey south. Jaime is telling Brienne his insulting ideas about her sex life or lack thereof when they run across three women hanged by Stark soldiers or mercenaries for the "crime" of sleeping with Lannister soldiers. Brienne intends to bury the women because it's the right thing to do (again shades of Ned Stark) even though it will cost precious time. The men who hanged the women come across Brienne and are amused beyond measure that she's a woman. They admit they killed the women; one man implies he raped a woman first. They are suspicious of Jaime and when they realize who he is, decide they will take him from Brienne. Bad decision. 

They must not have seen the previous episodes because once again Brienne demonstrates her sword is not for show. She quickly kills all three men. She stabs the rapist through his privates. Jaime is a bit put out by this as whatever their sins these men were fighting on the Stark side. Brienne reminds Jaime again that she's sworn to Lady Catelyn, not the Starks. I really liked this scene, not just because of Brienne's bada$$ery but because we get to see that no matter how just WE think the Stark cause is or how much we want Robb to rescue his sisters and kill Joffrey, a lot of innocents are going to be harmed or die for that. Once war breaks out, crimes are done by both sides. We also get a nice contrast between Brienne's oath to Catelyn and Jaime's (patriarchal?) assumption that the oath includes all Starks.
Catelyn warns Robb that Walder Frey is not a man to cross and that a leader breaking his word sets a poor example for his followers. She doesn't mention it here but Catelyn was born a Tully and the Tully words are "Family, Duty, Honor". Catelyn reminds Robb that her marriage was arranged.* It took time for she and Ned to love and respect each other but Robb is simply not listening. He leaves and shortly afterwards marries Talisa. He does so under the Seven, not the Old Gods.
Stannis wants Melisandre-in her normal cleavage revealing outfit-to explain why he lost. She gives him a "God works in mysterious ways" answer which he doesn't want to hear. He chokes her but can't go through with killing her. She challenges his faith and tells him the war will go on for years before he wins but he will win. Melisandre believes Stannis is the chosen one. She tells him to look into the fire. Evidently he does see something.

At Winterfell Theon is surrounded by Northern forces. He's in a pretty bad mood and ranting again about how irritating it was to (as he saw it) to be kept a hostage all those years by the Starks (who, along with Stannis killed his brothers) and have to hear how lucky he was to be a hostage. As he knows Bran and Rickon are alive, Luwin has pity for Theon and advises him to join the Night Watch. Theon says he can't get out of Winterfell and even he could he's convinced that Jon Snow would find a way to kill him. He also says that it's too late to change.
This is almost C.S. Lewis like in that people that go to hell are not condemned by God; they deliberately place themselves there through their own actions and rejection of grace. Every choice Theon has made has been the wrong one but you can certainly understand the rationale behind his decisions. The best villains have human motivations.
In the morning Theon gives a ROUSING speech to his small band of Northmen. I mean this rivaled Tyrion's speech last week. Theon name checks various Iron Isles heroes. He says they're not going out cheap and their names will be used to inspire Iron Islanders and bring fear to their enemies for years. In any other story this is the kind of epic speech that brings a tear to your eye as the men rush out to fight and die against overwhelming odds (ie. the two brothers in Takers or the final assault in Glory). But this is Game of Thrones and at the climatic moment Dagmar Cleftjaw hits Theon in the head. He then stabs Maester Luwin. 

Afterwards Osha, Hodor and the boys sneak out of the crypts. Winterfell has been burned and everyone is dead. They find the dying Maester Luwin who advises them to go to the Wall, charges Osha to protect the boys and gets Osha to grant him a merciful death. Where is Theon? Who burned Winterfell? We don't know.
Varys tells the badly scarred Tyrion that Cersei was behind his attempted murder. Varys says that Tyrion won't get any credit for the successful defense of King's Landing but that he will remember, even if for obvious political reasons he can't be seen as friendly to Tyrion. Shae chides Tyrion for self-pity and says she's staying with him. This is important because an essential part of Tyrion's personality is that he is convinced that because of his ugliness and deformity no normal woman would want to be with him and that the whores he's with are only with him because of his money and power. If Shae can break through that we could see some changes in Tyrion Lannister going forward. Time will tell.


Hot Pie, Arya and Gendry are traveling and are surprised to see that Jaqen H'ghar is ahead of them. Arya wants to know how he was able to do all the things that he did. He replies that she still has a lot of other people she wants dead and if she wants to know how to be a Faceless Man she has to come with him. She declines on account of her family. He gives her a coin and tells her that if she ever changes her mind just give that coin to any man from Braavos (where her fencing instructor was from) and say "Valar Morghulis". He also changes his face in an apparent display of magic.
North of the Wall Ygritte is smacking Jon in the head with his sword. Did I mention I like her accent? Halfhand manages to attack Jon. Evidently amused, the Wildlings allow them to fight. Jon kills the Halfhand, who reminds Jon of their oath as he dies. Impressed the Wildlings release Jon. Ygritte takes him to meet the Wilding King.

Daenerys goes to the House of the Undying and passes through several illusions, including one of her husband, Khal Drogo. Finally she finds her chained dragons. And don't they look so cute and pathetic. She is magically chained as well as the wizard Pyat Pree explains his magic is stronger with dragons nearby and the dragons are stronger with her so he will just imprison them all. He's not the sharpest pencil in the box because as the dragons are stronger with her she just orders them to burn the wizard. Which they do. It's rather impressive actually. Daenerys is unharmed by the fire which passes around her. Daenerys, Jorah and remaining Dothraki surprise Xaro in bed with a Dothraki woman (Doreah) that betrayed Daenerys. They force Xaro to open his vault and upon finding it empty decide to lock both traitors inside permanently. They loot what they can in hopes of getting funds for ships. I didn't really care for this storyline. It had a bit too much of the "Evil Overlord overlooks critical flaw in design". Like making a Death Star that has a special secret passage that if bombed will destroy the the entire ship or making a ring that can control everything but can be destroyed by the simple method of dropping it in a volcano, it seems like Pree didn't really unit test his plan. The dragons are STRONGER with Daenerys around and you're going to put Daenerys right next to them. Right. Well we see why most evil overlords don't last long. At least we didn't get a "No this cannot be!!! My plans were perfect!!!" from Pree as he burned.

Sam Tarly is boring his friends yammering on about Gilly. They point out that the only reason Sam is impressed with her is that most girls don't talk to him. Then they hear three blasts of a ranger's horn. This NEVER happens and means White Walkers. It gets very cold very quickly and a storm arrives. Sam's friends leave the fat boy behind as they run for cover. Unable to keep up, Sam tries to hide. He is right in the middle of an army of White Walkers and wights. Evidently they are headed for the Wall.


Well that's it for this season. This episode felt a little rushed and anti-climatic. Season 2 saw a lot more changes from the source texts than Season 1. Some of these worked, some didn't. I may do one final post on that soon but again I urge everyone to read the books. The books are not limited by budgetary or timing concerns. HBO is doing a good job overall but television is a different medium. Things would be much better if we had a longer season, even by two episodes, but financial and timing constraints mean that we're lucky to get as many as we do. 


*Catelyn Tully was originally betrothed to marry Ned's older brother Brandon. Brandon was the heir to Winterfell, not Ned. Brandon was murdered by the Mad King Aerys along with his father Rickon Stark when they demanded justice for the kidnapping of Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister. In order to maintain the alliance between the Tullys and Starks, Ned stood in for his brother and went through with the marriage.It was the right thing to do and Ned and Catelyn are very big on doing the right thing.

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes. If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea

Book Reviews-The Winter King, The Best Of Simple, Florida Roadkill

The Winter King
by Bernard Cornwell

So let's say you're undergoing A Song of Ice and Fire withdrawal and want to read some more historical/fantastical fiction with morally ambiguous heroes and heroines, a fair amount of bloodshed and oh yes a death before dishonor desperate last stand against overwhelming odds. Well if that is you (and it's definitely me) then Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King is something you probably should have read when it first appeared in 1995.

The Winter King is a reinterpretation of the Arthur legend. Much like the movie King Arthur with Clive Owen, Cornwell strips away the glamour and beauty from the mythology until only the core remains. In post-Roman fifth century Britain, a Romanized Celtic (British) war leader arises in what is today Wales, to lead resistance against the brutal Saxon invaders. Arthur attempts to build a fair society that treats both pagan and Christian equally.

But we know the Saxons, and their cousins the Angles and Jutes did succeed in invading Britain, conquering, raping and subduing (if not eliminating the Celts) and driving many of them to the far reaches of the land or overseas to Ireland. And Christianity ultimately became Britain's dominant religion. Pagans were persecuted, converted or killed. So we know that in the long run, Arthur failed. But for a brief period he may have held back the darkness. There is some historical evidence that a Celtic warlord may indeed have beaten the Saxons at Badon Hill.

Cornwell takes the bits and pieces of the legend and reworks them into his own character driven story. The story is told from the POV of a Derfel Cadarn, a former Saxon slave, who was saved from execution by Merlin and grew up culturally Celtic. Derfel became a feared and respected warrior and one of Arthur's most trusted right hand men. Nearing the end of his life he retires to a Welsh monastery presided over by a Christian Bishop who despised Arthur. But as the Welsh Queen loves the Arthur story, the monk is forced to allow the somewhat Christian Derfel to stay there. In secret and at the Queen's urging, the elderly Derfel writes down the story. The illiterate Bishop is told that Derfel is writing the Gospels in Saxon. This is almost a gender reversal of the Scheherazade story as Queen Igraine is the only thing protecting Derfel's life and story from the increasingly suspicious Bishop Sansum. But Queen Igraine is discomfited to discover some truths behind the legends she loves (Lancelot was a handsome perfumed coward who avoided the front lines the way a vampire avoids the sun; Galahad was Lancelot's half brother and not his son; Queen Guinevere was a bit of a *****; Arthur tried so hard to be just and fair because in truth he loved war and killing more than anyone else but felt guilty about it). Derfel suspects that the Queen will alter his script to suit her own fancy.

Cornwell does a great job depicting Arthur as a more or less decent man who has to make some ugly choices in trying to unite the constant warring British tribes against the Saxon threat and reconcile his own romantic desires with the practice of arranged marriages. Merlin is the most powerful of druids. He may or may not be able to perform magic and his political ends don't always coincide with Arthur's. In some ways the relationship between Merlin and Arthur parallels the real life relationship between Tecumseh and his brother. Arthur is determined to defeat and remove the Saxons. He is not interested in religion. Merlin thinks removing Saxons is pointless unless Britain reconsecrates itself to the Old Gods. Merlin, though quite earthy and sarcastic, is extremely devout. Derfel is sworn to both Arthur and Merlin, something that causes him problems on a regular basis. Nimue, a one eyed druidess, is an occasional lover to Derfel (they grew up together) but is more devoted to Merlin. In this telling Mordred is not Arthur's son but his nephew. Mordred is the rightful King and Arthur is only the regent until Mordred comes of age.

I liked this quick moving story. There's not a huge amount of exposition or character internal thoughts. As everything is told from Derfel's POV I guess there couldn't be. Usually I am not a fan of first person narrative because we never know anything outside of what the narrator sees or feels. But for some reason Cornwell is able to brush aside this bias of mine. Cornwell writes intense battle scenes and does a masterful job describing the British countryside. This book is first in a trilogy. BTW Cornwell and GRRM are evidently friends. GRRM interviewed Cornwell here.



The Best of Simple
by Langston Hughes

If you are at all familiar with the author and poet Langston Hughes then you are probably familiar with one of his most famous creations, Jesse B. Semple. And if you aren't then you ought to be. Semple is a Harlem everyman, who the author uses to explore the issues of the day both big and small. Whether Semple is holding forth on the impossibility of finding any really good greens in New York or telling the unnamed author about his friend who suffers from "Jim Crow Shock" and refuses to set foot south of the Mason-Dixon line, explaining to his leeching cousin that no he will not borrow money to get her bailed out of jail, or explaining how housing segregation and white flight works, Semple always has something intelligent and insightful to say even though he may take a while to get there. He's a fount of street wisdom and knowledge earned from rough knocks-just being Black in America.

Hughes said that he received the initial inspiration for the character during World War Two while he was talking to a young man who worked in a war plant. Hughes asked the man what he did and the man said he made cranks. Hughes then asked what kind and the man said he didn't know. The man's girlfriend chided the man for not knowing what sort of cranks he made. The man responded that she had to know white people didn't tell black people anything and they certainly weren't going to start at this point.

Semple is pretty easy going but can be stubborn on matters of principle. When the author asks him why he refuses to pay for the divorce that both he and his wife want, Semple answers:

"I told Isabel when we busted up that she had shared my bed; she had shared my board, my liquor, and my Murray's but that I did not intend to share another thing with her from that day to this, not even a divorce. That is why I would not pay for it. Let that other man pay for it and they can share it together."
And when chastised by the author that he needs to stop running around, settle down and get married again as he is old enough to know better, Semple retorts:
I might be old enough to know better, but I am not old enough to do better.

This is really quick, fun and if you forgive the pun, simple writing. It is an excellent window into a time that's gone and yet isn't. Everyone knows someone who rolls with the punches in life but always seems to end up on his feet. He may not be the big winner but he's no loser either. Semple is that man. I love this collection of short stories. I originally read them as a kid and they bring back good memories. Actually these aren't really even long enough to be short stories. You could easily read the whole collection in an hour or two. And it would be time well spent.






Florida Roadkill
by Tim Dorsey.

This author's absurdist style is very similar to Carl Hiassen and Bill Fitzhugh. Very similar. I'm not sure who was published first but they all have styles which poke fun at the vagaries of life in very sardonic and strange ways. This book was first in a series. Unfortunately in later books I got a little tired of the main character but in this book it wasn't necessarily clear who the main character is.

This is an extremely funny book. It has Three Stooges-like slapstick and a more subtle (Monty) Pythonian style of humor. There's occasionally a hint of cruelty I guess but usually bad things happen to worse people. This all takes place in Florida so if you're familiar with the area you might get more out of this book. Dorsey gleefully skewers all the bad things and stereotypes about Florida, the racism, the corrupt land deals, simple minded inbreds, swamps, homophobes, strippers, tourists, everything. It is unfortunately a cliche to say something is Tarantinoesqe but that is a fitting description here. For example a white truck driver in a bad mood makes an insulting racial comment to a Black convenience store clerk and when urged to apologize by Hispanic customers compounds the error by making unflattering references to illegal immigrants and guacamole. By the clerk's description he then witnesses "an entirely new league of violence." The author is a former reporter for the Tampa Tribune. Given some of the stories we see today coming out of Florida, situations in the book that I thought were ridiculously over the top no longer seem so.

The storyline jumps around a lot and there are some subplots that don't go where I thought they would. Serge A. Storms is a mentally deranged Cuban American criminal who has become even crazier by refusing to take his medications or occasionally taking too many. He is something of a sadist but usually only against people he considers bad (racists, bullies, greedy people, ignorant people) Serge knows more than any living man should about the history, flora and fauna of Florida. When he's calm he's not a bad guy but inevitably he flips back and forth between manic and obsessive states. The intelligent Serge has hooked up with his muscle man Coleman and Coleman's sociopath stripper girlfriend Sharon. Sharon is as beautiful on the outside as she is cold and empty on the inside. Coleman is just a dummy that loves cocaine.

They intend to rob a dentist who defrauded his insurance company. However they lose the money to two tourists, Sean and David, who have no idea they even have the cash. There's a subplot with three bikers who can no longer make the cut as intimidating 1% club members and are reduced to looking for work at retirement homes. Mayhem ensures as everyone tries to get the suitcase with $5 million. Again, this is a really funny book and one that I enjoyed immensely. Serge is an everyman but a warped one. If you ran into him you might learn a lot about Florida landmarks, history and culture but you would also constantly be looking for a big rock to hit him with.

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Blackwater

George R.R. Martin wrote this, Season Two's penultimate episode. It stays tightly focused on King's Landing. Stannis is attacking. Tyrion is defending. Quite simple. This episode shone because it didn't jump around to a number of different story lines. It has a number of internal cuts but that's it. I liked this episode a lot. It definitely made up for last week's somewhat desultory program. If this episode had a theme it might have been that in war you find out who your real friends are. Tyrion, Sansa, The Hound and a few others all discover some things about the people close to them.
Blackwater opens up with Stannis' fleet advancing through the night while some of his troops are seasick beneath deck. Stannis is serene. He's made his move and is ready to fight and die for what he believes is his by right. God help you if you're in his way. Davos speaks to his son about the dangers of war and possible things that could go wrong but his son gently chides him for his lack of faith in R'hllor, the Lord of Light and tells Davos that he has faith in God, his king and his father. Tyrion admits to Shae that he is afraid and wants her to make love to him as if it's their last night on earth. Meanwhile Cersei has Maester Pycelle bring her poison and admonishes him not to ask what she needs it for. 


Bronn, cavalier as always, is at an inn/brothel(?) leading guardsmen in a rendition of "The Rains of Castamere"* while possibly preparing to have public sex with a prostitute. The Hound enters, bogarts a table, and just sneers in Bronn's general direction. Bronn wants to know if The Hound has a problem and The Hound asks if the smaller Bronn thinks he's Billy Bada$$. They are about to face off but the bells ring, signalling the imminent approach of Stannis. While Tyrion is being dressed in armor by his squire, Podrick, Varys tells Tyrion he doesn't want anyone associated with magic, like Stannis, to be on the throne.

While everyone prepares for battle, Joffrey shows up and demands that Sansa kiss his sword. Showing that Joffrey's tactics have started to lose their ability to shock or scare her, Sansa deftly turns the tables by asking if Joffrey will lead from the front as that is what her brother Robb, who is only a horrible traitor, always does, and so doubtlessly Joffrey will as well. Sansa, belatedly perhaps, is learning to play the game. Joffrey says of course he will be leading from the front. Left unsaid of course, is Sansa's hope that he will die.

Cersei orders the important highborn ladies to her chambers where Ser Ilyn Payne awaits. Payne is the executioner who killed Ned Stark. Cersei offhandedly orders the execution of people who tried to leave the city. Cersei (and Lena Headey did a magnificent job portraying the capricious and malicious fountain of resentment that is Cersei) becomes increasingly drunk and bitterly cynical as the night moves on. Cersei mocks Sansa's prayers and claims that prayer is useless. She says that should the city fall they will all be raped and that a woman's best weapon is what she has between her legs. Cersei goes into full feminist rant, revealing her anger that she was not born male and her contempt for other women. Cersei just loves the idea of ruining what she sees as Sansa's dumb illusions. Even though Cersei is approaching meltdown she is still sharp enough to notice Shae is an outsider. Cersei picks up on Shae's strong foreign accent. She knows that Shae is lying about having come to Westeros a long time ago both because of the accent and the fact that Shae can't curtsey properly. It says a lot about how paranoid and malicious Cersei is that at a time like this she would investigate such things. Given how Joffrey also found the time to try to agitate Sansa earlier, it shows that a (rotten) apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Before she can bully the truth out of Sansa or Shae a wounded Lancel enters to give news of the battle. Cersei orders Lancel to bring Joffrey back. Cersei also informs Sansa that Ser Ilyn is there to kill them should the city fall. There is a very strong Downfall feel to this. Everything is suitably claustrophobic. Only one Lannister ship comes out to meet the Barratheon fleet. Joffrey wants to know what Tyrion is up to and Davos and Stannis would like to know the same thing. The ship is unmanned but it's crammed full of wildfire and is helpfully leaking same across the harbor. Tyrion gives a signal and Bronn sets it off. There is an INCREDIBLE EXPLOSION. Actually there are several INCREDIBLE EXPLOSIONS! If you didn't see this, you really ought to. And if you did see it watch it again.

Just like that the greater part of Stannis' fleet is wiped out, including it looks like, Davos' son and possibly Davos. The Hound is discomfited by the use of fire. But like Scarface Jones in the Coasters song "Riot in Cell Block #9" , Stannis says it's too late to quit and orders survivors to press on. He says he will lead from the front and does just that. Tyrion grudgingly admits Stannis is serious and orders The Hound and Podrick to get more men. Battle is joined. I enjoyed the editing here. As we saw before when it comes to killing The Hound is in his element. Bronn saves The Hound's life and again we see that The Hound is very nervous about the use of fire. One thing I've often wondered about battles in this (fantastical) time period is once melee is joined, absent different uniforms or different race, how do people tell each other apart? It seems like that could be a problem, especially at night. Anyway The Hound doesn't have that problem. He's off leash and biting. Hard.

Stannis and crew hit the beach. Stannis is first over the wall and the man has got serious skills with the longsword. He came to kick a$$ and chew bubblegum and wouldn't you know he's all out of bubblegum. If you get within his reach, you're going down. It's that simple, partner. The Hound retreats when he shouldn't have, primarily because of the fire. Tyrion and Joffrey ask him what is he doing and The Hound, now wounded and frightened, shows that even the deadliest warriors have a breaking point. He refuses direct orders to rejoin the battle and curses at Joffrey. Lancel comes to bring Joffrey back to safety. Joffrey pretends like he won't leave but being the poopbutt he is, he runs back to Mommy. This is a nice contrast with Stannis' first in, last out approach. Stannis asks no man to do what he won't. Tyrion is shocked, angered and I dare say a bit ashamed of Joffrey's cowardice.

While Stannis is evidently fighting on the battlements, his men have brought up a battering ram. The gate will not hold much longer. Tyrion, of all people, drops the cynical snark . He gives a speech that is very Henry V like and rallies the men to fight. Using the knowledge of the secret tunnels he will lead a counterattack from the rear. Lancel arrives at Cersei's rooms to say the battle is lost. Cersei goes to get her son Tommen. Sansa takes over and tries to get the women not to be afraid by singing hymms.  I want to point out something here. Sansa often gets unfairly and negatively compared to her sister Arya but neither one would have survived five minutes in the other's shoes. Sansa is not a tomboy but she does have a particularly and peculiarly feminine strength and endurance that is on display here tonight. Not every battle is fought directly or with swords. Sansa is fighting with the weapons she has. 

Shae tells Sansa to run to her chambers and lock the door. However the very drunk and wounded Hound is in Sansa's room. He says he's leaving and offers to take Sansa with him. Sansa declines, perhaps thinking that The Hound is only after one thing. The Hound angrily responds that the world is built by killers and Sansa had better get used to it.  She tells The Hound that she knows he wouldn't hurt her and The Hound agrees. As I wrote before there is a very strong Beauty and The Beast vibe here. Over time The Hound has subtly protected Sansa when he could but he is sworn to the Lannisters and did kill Arya's friend. So I don't necessarily think we can blame Sansa for declining to leave with him. Again, no one can see into another's mind.
Although Tyrion's counterattack is initially successful, Stannis still has more soldiers to throw into the fray. Did I mention that Stannis is handling his business. Heads, arms, legs, Stannis is handing out free amputations to any Lannister soldier. In the battle something strange happens, a Kingsguard tries to kill Tyrion but is killed by Tyrion's squire, Podrick. Tyrion is out of it. Now who could want our man Tyrion dead? Hmm....


Cersei has the poison and is sitting on the Iron Throne telling stories to her son Tommen, whom she intends to murder. However on the battlefield the tide has turned yet again, Tywin Lannister and Loras Tyrell have arrived and their numbers are enough to win the battle. Tywin enters the throne room and Cersei drops the poison. Again, we see Cersei's essentially selfish nature in full effect. As far as she is concerned her children are just an extension of her and she doesn't think they need to survive if she doesn't.
*Another reason that Catelyn Stark should have known better than to kidnap Tyrion Lannister while her husband and daughters were surrounded by Lannisters in King's Landing is that Tywin Lannister is an insanely vengeful man who believes in immediate and disproportionate responses to any insult to his family. The Rains of Castamere is a song written about two families who revolted against Tywin's father. But it was Tywin who put down the rebellion. He did so by eliminating the two families in toto-men, women, children, homes, castles, everything. This was so notorious that years afterwards Tywin could bring rebellious lords to heel just by sending bards to sing this song to them. Everyone knows this story. Tywin made sure of that.

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes. If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea

Movie Reviews-Hustle: Season One, The Tortured, Chronicle

Hustle Season One

This is something I had briefly seen a few excerpts from probably on BBC America a long time back. I ordered the DVD but not gotten around to watching it for whatever reason. But I finally sat down and watched it and I'm glad I did. This is an intelligent little comedic drama set in England, mostly London from what I can tell, about a group of con artists, white collar criminals and grifters who despite being almost thoroughly amoral, eschew violence and usually do not practice their trade on everyday people.

Their first rule is "You can't cheat an honest man". This is somewhat less of a moral commandment-though their leader likes to live by it-than it is a description of the con artist's lifestyle. An honest man is not greedy or looking to hurt people. But a dishonest man is and is thus vulnerable to the group's manipulations and diversionary tactics. As the group's sole woman explains to a new member , "We find people who are looking for something for nothing. And we give them nothing for something". So they especially enjoy sticking it to the high and mighty, the greedy, corporations, those who hurt other people, the violent, etc. However in truly desperate times they don't mind occasionally taking advantage of the honest sheep, though a few of them may feel some guilt about it later on. The show's lead writer, Tony Jordan, said that he saw this group as a five member pseudo-family (husband, wife, grandfather, uncle and child) and this is why in the first season he limited any sense of outside connections.
These hustlers like to play the "long con". This is a con job that may end up with the mark not even knowing he's been ripped off but also requires quite a bit of set up and trust to be gained over a period of time. It's high risk and high stakes-like deliberately mispricing an IPO, selling all your stock at the inflated price and high tailing it out of the country.

Nobody is better at the long con than Michael Stone (Adrian Lester) aka "Mickey Bricks", a legendary con man who just exudes confidence, coolness and charisma. He just completed a prison term for throwing a beating to his (soon to be ex) wife's lover. This was highly atypical for Mickey, who always preaches patience and playing the odds. Now that he's out Mickey is putting his old crew back together. This includes Ash Morgan (Robert Glenister), a technical whiz who also specializes in getting "hit" by cars, Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughn), an older American and smooth inside man of the group who is Mickey's mentor, and Stacie Monroe (Jaime Murray) the lure, a fast talking smart beautiful woman who is great at research, better at distraction and disguise, and despite telling another character that she does not become intimate with co-workers, shares a room with Mickey and is rumored to be among the reasons Mickey's marriage disintegrated. Albert recruits a brash new addition to the crew, a much younger man named Danny Blue (Marc Warren), who claims to be ready to move from small time grifting to the big leagues. Occasionally Danny's confidence outruns his competence, as Mickey is quick to point out.

This season has a definite Ocean's Eleven or Mission Impossible feel to it as the group does various takedowns of marks, gets extorted into helping perform a bank robbery, takes revenge on a mobster who hurt Albert, scams big time art dealers and even finds the time to make things right with a honest factory owner they inadvertently harmed. The show is odd in that it doesn't mind occasionally breaking the Fourth Wall and freezing time to explain what's going on. You may find this ridiculously fun or just ridiculous. One such occurrence had a full on Broadway song and dance show as Mickey coached Danny on the proper way to appeal to a mark's need. Interestingly enough Lester's appearance in this series was an example of colorblind casting. The producers' original concept was that Mickey was Caucasian but when the producers saw Lester's work they wanted him. Although this is an ensemble cast with everyone getting a chance to shine, it's Lester and to a lesser extent Vaughn, that really make this show work. Bricks has the strongest backstory, one which explains his adamant refusal to live by the rules of society. He's also usually the smartest man in the room and knows it.

You will root for them to win as their marks and opponents are generally pretty horrible people.
If you like movies like The Sting or Contraband you might enjoy this show. They are literally rogues, criminals with hearts of gold. All the same if one of them were to ask you to hold some money for a while, I'd advise against it. Fun stuff and you can learn about a lot of classic scams that are no doubt being run on someone right this instant.
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The Tortured

How far would you go in seeking revenge for the murder of a loved one? A husband, wife, or parent is bad enough but what if it was your child that died? This movie purports to answer that question but is kind of uneven. It zips back and forth between a righteous revenge flick and a movie that asks if the torture being inflicted is indeed justified, since at various times the perpetrators themselves ask that question. It gets to some quite graphic events but the worst stuff is the stuff that is implied. The ending takes you some places you may not have seen coming. Or you may have seen it coming and be really angry about it. I can't call it. YMMV and Caveat Emptor and all that.

Anyway Elise Landry (Erika Christensen-who has evidently grown up since her role in Traffic) and Craig Landry (Jesse Metcalfe) are a Vermont upper middle class couple with a six year old son Benjamin (Thomas Greenwood). Elise is a realtor and Landry is a doctor. One day Elise goes off to work while Craig (evidently his shift doesn't start until much later) stays home to play with Ben. Ben is playing outside. Craig does not notice an idling pickup truck just 20 feet away from his home. He goes inside to get a tool he needs to fix one of Benjamin's toys and just that quick he hears his son screaming. He runs back out to see John Kozlowski (Bill Moseley from The Devil's Rejects) grab Ben and throw him in the truck. Craig is this close to getting his son back but the truck takes off. Craig runs back to get his SUV and follows after the truck but loses it in traffic. This is pretty powerful. Some events are shown in flashback as we see Kozlowski in makeup taunting and threatening the frightened Benjamin. Acting on a tip from someone who heard screams the police knock on Kozlowski's door and enter without warrant when they see bloody clothes but it's too late. Benjamin was possibly molested and already murdered.

The film's best acting comes shortly after this event as the Landrys deal with guilt, fear and anger. Erika can't stop asking her husband why he left their son alone and why he didn't jump on the truck or break the window or DO something, even as she knows Craig has already asked himself all of those questions and repeating them daily is on the verge of destroying the marriage. At the trial it's revealed that Kozlowski is a serial killer. In order to find out where other bodies are buried the prosecutor allows Kozlowski to avoid a life sentence. He gets 25 to life and will be eligible for parole in a little over a decade. The Landrys decide that this is unacceptable and that Kozolowski owes a debt in blood to their son that must be paid. And this is where the movie went off the rails a bit. I could buy that middle class people would feel that way and want to take the law into their own hands.  I could not buy that evidently all by themselves they could arrange split second surveillance and timing that allows them to know when Kozlowski will be transported from jail to prison, follow the truck, hijack it, kidnap their target, take him to a deserted cabin for torture,and do all of this without being spotted, identified by any witnesses or apprehended by law enforcement. There are no hidden reveals when one spouse finds out the other used to do hits for the mob or has friends in nasty government agencies or was trained in Japan by murderous Ninja. Nothing. Just two relatively boring people decide on a plan of action.

Anyway the second act of the film is bloody torture and some surprises. The look of the film is deliberately(?) dark and murky just like the moral lessons. When a child is killed many people like to claim that they would want to make the perpetrator's life hell. This film asks if you could really do that.
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Chronicle

What would you do and how would you live if you had powers and abilities beyond those of other humans? Would you still be the same moral person you are today? Or would you start to find morality somewhat constraining? Would you live and let live or would you make a list and start settling scores? This film investigates this. It signals intelligence by name dropping the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, but ultimately it doesn't really live up to what it could have been, perhaps because it's set in a high school. Also the black guy dies first. Again.

Three high school friends, well actually more associates, are in their senior year. Matthew Garetty (Alex Russell) is somewhat popular with his female classmates. Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) is even more popular with everyone as he is running for class president. He's also on the football team. But the last member of the trio isn't popular with anyone. Matt's cousin, Andrew Detmer( Dane DeHaan) is painfully shy and withdrawn. His mother is dying of cancer. Andrew is routinely physically and verbally abused by his alcoholic father (Michael Kelly) who drinks up the money that should be used for his wife's medicine. And when Andrew goes to school he's bullied by other classmates and mocked by the cheerleaders. On the way home the local hoodlums like to mess with him. And his constant carrying around of his camera makes people nervous. Macho types invariably think he's trying to record their girlfriends and beat him up. So he's not having a good life.

But one night at a party that his cousin Matt has dragged him to, Andrew, Matt and Steve find an entrance to a cave. It looks more like a crater but the inside appears too regular. They enter and at the bottom find some sort of massive crystal device. Of course they get too close to the device and get nosebleeds, headaches and get nauseous. They leave but over the next few days they discover they're changing. Each of the boys start to show telekinetic powers and some form of immunity to blunt force trauma. At first they use these powers for obvious pranks such as using leaf blowers to look up women's skirts, making teddy bears scare little girls or hitting each other in the head with baseballs, Three Stooges style.

But their powers continue to grow as they test them. One day Steve shows that they can fly. Steve and Matt are content with their powers and decide not to show them off in public. But Andrew has other ideas, especially since he's tired of getting beatings at home and wild with grief over his mother's approaching death. Andrew starts to wonder if this just isn't a new element of evolution and he is thus no longer accountable to humans. His morality should only be his will. Andrew has a lot of bad feelings to work thru and when a Steve arranged tryst with a hot girl goes bad, ending up in further humiliation for the hapless Andrew, his links to Steve and Matt are much reduced.

This was a very entertaining film BUT it would have been so much better I think were it placed in an adult setting. The special effects are superb. They're really good, particularly when one of the trio isn't paying attention while they're flying and almost gets hit by a 747. The SFX are not  Avengers level special effects but they're close enough. The camera work makes you think you're flying. This is not a horror movie but it does make use of a few good horror tropes-ie. someone thought to be dead or unconscious opening their eyes before their opponent is aware. If you really didn't enjoy high school and/or are the sort of person who lies in bed thinking about how you're going to have retribution on all your enemies you might sympathize with Andrew. But the rest of us will just enjoy a fun flick.  TRAILER

Naomi Schaefer Riley: Arrogance and Ignorance

I can outline but do not fully understand such scientific concepts as Schrodinger wave equation, general and special relativity, Olbers' paradox, Planck's law, the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, study of fluid mechanics, Bernoulli equation, or several other ideas that are basic building blocks of modern physics and engineering. I've got the big picture on some of those ideas but definitely can't go into the nitty gritty details or the mathematical equations. Why? Well I took a few classes some decades ago and enjoy reading about them but I'm not a physicist or an engineer. So I'm not the man to speak with authority about any of those topics in either an applied or theoretical sense.

Imagine if I didn't let that little lack of knowledge or any basic credentials in physics stop me. Suppose I sauntered into a convention of physicists discussing string theory and smugly informed them that not only were their equations and calculations all wrong but also their entire field was balderdash, completely worthless. I declared the only reason they were involved in the field was because of a Eurocentric bias against non-Western modes of understanding the Universe. So to me, they were all, by definition, losers and racists with a special hatred of black people.


Let's say that, once challenged to share my credentials and experience in the field, provide some evidence of my claims, or even simply show that I had even read some of the sources which I was categorically dismissing, I arrogantly responded that I hadn't read any of their simple-minded twaddle and had not the slightest intention of doing so. If I were asked to leave it wouldn't be censorship. It would be an incident of experts involved in grown folks' discussion realizing that I was neither expert nor grown and had nothing of value to add.

Former Wall Street Journal writer Naomi Schaefer Riley did what I just described above, only being a conservative, she substituted black studies (history, sociology, everything) for physics. She was invited to give her opinion on the field by the Chronicle of Higher Education. When you're writing critically for something which is read by actual educators and scholars you need to come correct but Riley did not. You can read what she wrote here. Her essay shows that she has such incredible contempt for anything investigating the history, culture, or sociology of black people that she not only thinks such academic endeavors are not worth her time, she doesn't think they're worth anyone's time.  For example:

You’ll have to forgive the lateness but I just got around to reading The Chronicle’s recent piece on the young guns of black studies. If ever there were a case for eliminating the discipline, the sidebar explaining some of the dissertations being offered by the best and the brightest of black-studies graduate students has made it. What a collection of left-wing victimization claptrap. The best that can be said of these topics is that they’re so irrelevant no one will ever look at them....

Seriously, folks, there are legitimate debates about the problems that plague the black community from high incarceration rates to low graduation rates to high out-of-wedlock birth rates. But it’s clear that they’re not happening in black-studies departments. If these young scholars are the future of the discipline, I think they can just as well leave their calendars at 1963 and let some legitimate scholars find solutions to the problems of blacks in America. Solutions that don’t begin and end with blame the white man

OK. By all means please read the entire piece yourself. Riley had more to say, much of it nonsensical in my view but make up your own mind. The biggest problem with what she wrote is that she freely admits she didn't even read the dissertations she was mocking. Because to her it's just not worth her time. In some aspects her know-nothing attitude is akin to what Dubois had to deal with at the turn of the century.

Now I do not believe that social sciences are quite as rigorous as the disciplines of physics or mathematics (personal bias) but I do believe that before you dismiss something you need to at the very least know something about it. That's true in every discipline, soft or hard science, music, sport, art, whatever. It's an academic and logical crime to jump to a conclusion without even evaluating the evidence. Clearly Riley was not willing to engage in fair criticism; her mind was already made up beforehand. So the Chronicle of Higher Education(CHE) decided maybe it would be for the best that she blogged and critiqued elsewhere. On cue, the usual suspects started screaming and crying about academic freedom and political correctness and censorship.

This all misses the point. Riley's puerile and viciously lazy condemnation of an entire academic body of knowledge is really quite breathtaking in what it reveals about the thinking of SOME right-wing, mostly white conservatives.

• There is nothing that black people have done, are doing or will do in America that is worthy of rigorous study.
• The only reason anyone would study black history, sociology, anthropology, etc is because they hate white people.
• Black studies are only of worth to the extent that they agree with a conservative ideology around race.
• Even if some black person somewhere did something worth studying, black studies departments lack the ability to produce such study.

That pretty much sums it up. Never mind that there are such esoteric fields as Judaic studies, seminars on Ottoman economics, scholarly books about music printing in Leipzig during the 30 Years War, or a myriad of other popular or obscure topics in which some number of people study, become expert, teach and obtain doctorates. Only the study of Black people , and especially the study of Black people by Black people seems to call forth such putrid bile by the right wing. 

Riley ignores the fact that there is of course no reason that you could not be both right-wing and an expert on Harlem Renaissance poets or Negro Baseball league economics. You could be damn near fascist and know more than any living soul about sharecropper political economy in the Mississippi Delta of the late thirties or musical sharing between 1920's Cuba, Jamaica and New Orleans. So you can make your own judgments on why Riley is so fearful and contemptuous of Black studies. You can also read what Black Ivy League scholars had to say about their field here.


QUESTIONS
1) Was the CHE right to part company with Mrs. Riley?
2) Do you think black studies is a worthwhile field of endeavor?
3) Is it fair to condemn something without examining it?
4) Can you explain special relativity in ways that I could get it?

Desmond Hatchett-30 children and counting

You have probably heard about this Knoxville, Tennessee man of profound potency and vast virility, Desmond Hatchett, who at the time of this writing has acknowledged 30 children by 11 different women. This may be a county or even state record. Just three years ago he only had 21 children so obviously Mr. Hatchett is something of a crosscut saw that some women like to have buried in their wood. Unfortunately for Mr. Hatchett, unlike other noted men such as Clint Eastwood (seven children by five different women) or Ted Nugent (eight children by four different women) Mr. Hatchett has apparently no marketable skills other than his good good loving. He makes minimum wage. He's 33 years old and only earning minimum wage which is $7.25/hr.

There's a saying that you can't get blood from a stone, though you can apparently get some other bodily fluids. So Hatchett recently went to court to try to get the state to reduce the child support payments. State law allows the state to take up to 50% of a non-custodial parent's income for child support but since Hatchett doesn't earn much money in the first place his children don't receive very much assistance-one child's mother is paid just $1.49/month.
Just where is Octodad? That's perhaps the most pressing question -- among the many -- pertaining to Desmond Hatchett, a Knoxville, Tenn., man who reportedly has so many children that he's struggling to keep up with child-support payments.

Hatchett, nicknamed Octodad by various media outlets, gained considerable notoriety last week after WREG in Memphis posted a story and video describing his struggles to keep up with child-support payments for his 30 children.

To say the story went viral would be an understatement. It was republished, reposted, tweeted, shared and commented on thousands and thousands of times. We wrote about it as well on Friday. That story alone was shared more than 26,000 times.

One of the most common questions among readers who have called, e-mailed and commented on the story is this: If Hatchett is having trouble paying child support for these children, who is paying for them? Tennessee taxpayers?

LINK

Original Story

Now in my opinion he is a sad excuse for a man. And of course most of the media or blog coverage of this situation also promoted that opinion. Some people even called for castration or vasectomy.  That's good for a chuckle and allows people to vent their frustrations with this situation. That's fine. I did the same above. But if we can be serious for just a moment we should realize that unless Hatchett forcibly raped a woman or slept with an underage girl (which is rape of a different sort) it takes two, or in Hatchett's case, 12 to tango. The women's names, photos and situations have not been released but I'm sure that they're all upstanding citizens with great jobs who are not on any sort of public assistance. In any event they are just as responsible as Hatchett for their children. If he's a reprobate and a clown, then so are they. We can't demand that Hatchett be more responsible than the women he's running around with. Can we?  But neither Hatchett nor the mothers of his children have broken any laws. One would wonder why a man would want to impregnate so many different women that he can't support or why so many women would want to be impregnated by such a man but I wonder about a lot of things that I'll never figure out.

The moral of this story is that you can't fix stupid. You can't take more than 50% of someone's income. You can't prevent someone from having children they can't afford. You can't stop someone from valuing short term pleasures more highly than the long term costs of bringing another human being into this world. All you can do is show people the costs of stupid behavior and try to change their incentives. That's what freedom means.

QUESTIONS

1) Should the state be able to take more than 50% of your income for child support?

2) What would happen if we just got rid of all assistance to unmarried women or children born out of wedlock?

3) Should the state be able to force sterilization on irresponsible men or women? 

4) How did people's lives become so empty that someone like Hatchett is considered a good catch by so many women? Why wasn't anyone using protection?