Saturday Musings (or enough with the housework)

I'm at that point on a Saturday where it's either coffee time or beer time.  I can't quite pull the trigger yet, although I fear that beer time may then slide into nap time, which I do not want.  Going to see "The Hurt Locker" at 7:15 and I don't want to be sleepy.

[Alright you all knew what would win out -- that Nostradamus Belgian Brown Ale, which seemed to be yelling drink me, drink me as I walked into the kitchen -- much like Larry Craig hears faint cries of suck me, suck me whenever he walks into a men's room.  But I digress.]

What a week, eh?  Or is it month.  It feels like the moon has been in crazy for weeks and that there has been a ludicrous surplus of events both cosmic and trivial.  And some that were just plain hilarious -- thank you Mark Sanford and John Ensign.   Every time I think of something to write about, something else comes along and displaces it.

- Ah, John Ensign.  I am curious at what point (and if) the MSM will run with the significant part of this story, which is the creepy religious cult to which these many powerful Republicans belong -- the so-called "C Street Christian Fellowhsip" better known as "The Family.". When I first heard about the book "The Family" I thought it might be slightly hyperbolic and paranoid.  Now I wonder if it was paranoid enough. The idea of Ensign being driven to Federal Express (of course these fuckers couldn't use the U.S. Postal Service) under Family supervision to drop off his break up letter to his mistress is at once chilling and comic. Keith Olbermann's puppet theatre of the event is priceless, although my favorite comic treatment of it was this comment at TPM:

 At least he's morally one step above me. When my sect forces me to fedex break up letter to my mistresses (it has happened a few times), I don't call. I just send it for early delivery, and guess who's there picking it up in the morning, yours truly. It may not always work out well, but as anyone cheating, make sure you know the partner's schedule.
That's my tip of the day. More to come soon.

At least I hope that was comic.

- I am now an enthusiastic Sarkozy supporter, seeing that he and I evidently share a hobby in common.  It's hard for me to believe that various right wing sites, in the wake of Sanford, Ensign, Craig, etc. were making a big deal about Obama allegedly checking out a young woman's ass.  So the fuck what if he did?  He's President -- not a saint or a dead man.  (Of course I am perhaps not the ultimate judge on these issues -- I nudged a friend of mine the other day about the attributes of a young woman walking in front of us and he advised me that she is in the class of his son -- a freshman in high school -- I presented myself later in the day for preventative detention at C Street.)

- I actually used to live on D Street on Capitol Hill in the mid-1980s, a few blocks from where these culties now reside.  I can't imagine that these cracker bastards were living there back then -- there was street crime galore, as Capitol Hill went from PCP epidemic to gentrification to crack epidemic.  Jesus, I'd take the crack heads over these guys any day of the week.

- Speaking of crack heads, our charming ex-mayor and still City Council member (and I use that term deliberately) continues to be a blight upon humanity.  Sweet Jesus, I despise Marion Barry.  He's the only person who could ever have made me vote for a Republican in my entire life.  (Many years ago I was appointed to a commission in DC that required confirmation by the City Council and Barry was the Chairman of the Committee.  He was the only Council member at the hearing and he and I got to go mano a mano for a while -- it's fair to say that he's a character.) (I saw our current mayor today at a Starbucks and he is impossibly young and impossibly thin -- the notion of him ingesting an illicit substance is preposterous -- he was very enthusiastic that me and my friends were all dressed in gym clothes and sweating -- I didn't have the heart to tell him that we fat white people just dress badly and sweat unprovoked.)

- As much as Marion Barry is an asshole, Tucker Carlson is a bigger one.  He argues that DC residents don't deserve congressional representation because we keep electing Barry.  If I had voted twice for George W. Bush, a man who presided over the collapse of the world financial system, shredded the Constitution, and destroyed America's reputation abroad, I would shut the fuck up.  Tucker and I both live in Northwest DC -- if I ever run into him, he's going to need a radical bowtieectomy when I get finished. Carlson's comments reek of racism, giving liberal MSNBC two racist commentators, Carlson and other DC Metro native(ist) Pat Buchanan.  Fuck both of these guys.       

Comments

[oddjob]

He argues that DC residents don't deserve congressional representation because we keep electing Barry.

If repeatedly electing known idiots of crappy character were sufficient to bar representation there would be entire states disallowed from representation!

[oddjob]

(Alaska & Oklahoma come to mind in a heartbeat, closely followed by the Indiana 6th Congressional District that repeatedly elects Mike Pence!)

[oddjob]

better known as "The Family."

Does one need a better clue about this organization?

[oddjob]

he advised me that she is in the class of his son -- a freshman in high school

This reminds me immediately of short discussions I've had on other blogs with a commenter I virtually know relatively well who laments bitterly over how unfair it is that I get to thoroughly enjoy watching Men's Gymnastics events during the Olympic Games while he has to make a point of not squicking himself out as he uncomfortably watches the minor-age female competitors in Women's Gymnastics (with their equally insanely in shape bodies).

[Sir Charles]

oddjob,

The funniest thing I've ever seen in this vein was a an adult guy watching the movie "Aquamarine" on a DVD player on an airplane. Probably John Derbyshire.

And no -- he had no children with him.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429591/

[litbrit]

Oooh, I saw that DC mayor of yours on tv for the first time after the horrible trainwreck (no, not the Sarah Palin appearance at the Alfalfa thing). And I thought, Mmm-mmm-mmm, now *there* is some beefcake for my imaginary calendar. This is what the wingnuts don't get: it's normal and healthy to admire a handsome person, right? Good grief. Are we supposed to all walk around with blinders on? I realize that in the company of some (cough *Doughbob* cough), one might be inclined to slap on a blindfold, even, for the sake of one's stomach contents, but in general, I think life is too short to not appreciate beauty.

Please understand, our mayor in St. Pete kind of...pales in comparison, shall we say. There are no hunky politicians in Florida, really, unless you count Charlie C, and well, you know. He's, uh, married. Yeah. That's it.

[oddjob]

Sir C. (& others): this is totally OT, but just saw it and thought it might be of interest.

[oddjob]

I saw our current mayor today at a Starbucks and he is ... impossibly thin

Well, duh! I just checked out his bio and learn he was a long distance runner in high school and is now a triathlete.

[Sir Charles]

oddjob,

Yeah, Fenty is a big time runner. His parents are the long time owners of a running store in DC's Adams Morgan neighborhood.

I remain concerned about the Prop 8 lawsuit for the reasons discussed in Stephen's thread below. I tend to think a 2012 ballot initiative is the way to go.

D.

Criss is a good looking guy -- and any sane party would actually consider him for a national ticket.

[big bad wolf]

SC, the aquamarine-on-a-plane story is spectacular.

[has_te]

"...the so-called "C Street Christian Fellowh[sic]sip" better known as "The Family.". "...to live on D Street on Capitol Hill in the mid-1980s, a few blocks from where these culties now reside. I can't imagine that these cracker bastards were living there back then --

Was struck that this rings a bit like the Men's Club in Stepford Wives

And a little OT;

"..much like Larry Craig hears faint cries of suck me, suck me whenever he walks into a men's room. But I digress."

Would have thought he might rather be the suck-er?; But then, one is not a Washingtonian. and mightn't understand these Insider things.

[Sir Charles]

has_te,

Oh, he's definitely the sucker I believe -- it was the forbidden fruit calling to him I was trying to depict.

And the men's club in Stepford Wives is a perfect description.

bbw,

Re: "Aquamarine" -- it took me a while to realize what I was seeing. I was in an aisle seat and he was in the aisle across from me and one seat forward and the DVD player was in my line of vision a lot (oh sure!) -- and I guess about the third time I looked and then looked at him, I thought hmmmm that's a tad odd for a thirty something guy to be watching. Later, when I stood up to stretch I figured out he that he was traveling alone and watching a movie whose cast seemed to consist entirely of nubile teens. I finally caught the credits at the end to figure out what it was. Maybe he has a mermaid fetish.

[oddjob]

Maybe he has a mermaid fetish.

Uh-huh...

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

A few tempting comments to tiptoe around -- but I will say that, assuming the police report was accurate and not 'boilerplate,' Larry Craig's 'form' was perfect -- major style points -- and yes, your assumption as to what role he wished to play was accurate. (Yes, I know wherof I speak, you don't have to be either closeted or Republican to enjoy such pursuits. I'm tempted to tell stories, but I don't want COG to be on the UForW list, permanently.)

As for "The Family" I am suspicious -- and have been since it first turned up in the campaign last year. (For those of you who missed it, the first person connected to the group was our current Secretary of State.) But I'm going to reserve judgment until a lot more evidence is in. I've just heard -- from right, left, far right or left, and even center, stories of different groups that were the 'secret meeting places of the True Rulers' and usually there is much less than meets the eye, no matter how impassioned the writer is or how many footnotes he uses.

Certainly the Toby Hall story is, perhaps, the most interesting one -- a Congressman who stayed there, entering as liberal and pro-choice and becoming ahti-choice and much more conservative on other issues.

But I'm waiting for more data -- and certainly hoping people are doing solid jobs investigating. In general Sharlet is only mildly hysterical -- a common fault among the Talk2Action group with several major exceptions -- and I consider him usually trustworthy.

But while I hate to wuote the best known host of DEATH VALLEY DAYS, he did say one important thing in his later career: "Trust, but verify."

[John]

He argues that DC residents don't deserve congressional representation because we keep electing Barry.

I agree with oddjob – time to disenfranchise Oklahoma!

Also, it's worth noting that Barry currently only represents one ward. Even if you grant that electing idiots is reason for disenfranchisement, why punish the other seven wards for the electoral choices of one?

As for The Family / C Street Fellowship, the idea of such a thing gives me the creeps. And now that two of its members have been outed as adulterers, I wonder how many of the rest share their proclivities.