I distrust everyone too, Paul. From the time I can recall until mid-high school every night after supper was the evening news. On it was a litany of explosions, damaged bodies, body bag counts, casualties. In high school I did a satire of a Nixon interview for an English class. I did not grow up with a high notion of patriotism. I eschewed the News, as a young adult, as I Can't Do Anything About It It's Just Depressing. I return to "current events" at this age to find it as cynically-enhancing as ever. Julie Krueger ========Original Message======== Subj:[lit-ideas] Re: Hitchens on Moore's flick Date:6/29/2004 3:30:57 PM Central Daylight Time From:pas@xxxxxxxx To:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent on: >Hitchens refers to a > > ... well-worn TV news clip, on a golf course, > > making a boilerplate response to a question on terrorism and then > asking the > > reporters to watch his drive. Well, that's what you get if you catch the > > president on a golf course. If Eisenhower had done this, as he often did, > > ... If Clinton had done it, as he often did ... > >Hitchens is making this up. Neither Eisenhower nor Clinton ever did >anything like this. (BTW - Some of us will recall that Kennedy, who >enjoyed golf, refused to be photographed with a golf club lest he appear >to be, like Eisenhower, too unengaged and lackadaisical.) > >It is Bush's routine display of "ignorant, smirking, chest-out, >crotch-forward triumphalism" /** [note below] that is objectionable, and >the golf clip is yet another, muted, version of this. Now you have to remember, I have only been aware of who "the president" was since about 1976 when Jimmy Cahta was elected, but I was too concerned with where my next meal was going to come from (and toys -- I was only 10) to care about much with that benign man, until the hostage situation and Grandfather Reagan began his term. For the next twelve years, well, we had pretty much the same thing didn't we -- one bobble-head after another. I didn't pay too much mind to [American] politics because I was really busy doing other things in my own country. So... Lest I be labelled a Bush supporter, I think he's a total TOOL like Stephen has suggested he should be, but I must say, AT LEAST he does it in public. hahahahaaha. Like I said, anyone who takes a politician seriously should have THEIR head examined. I only have one other guy to compare him to. Clinton was such a great bullshit artist but he got caught quite a bit too. I remember (around 1995) seeing a clip of Clinton walking along the cemetery grounds at (I think) Vince Foster's funeral. He was talking to an aide and they were laughing, until suddenly Bill saw that a camera had caught him and he immediately changed face and started shaking and hanging his head and mocking a sad face even wiping his eyes. It was an absolutely pathetic try at a coverup. From that moment on -- it was about halfway through his first term -- he was FULL OF SHIT!!! The other night when former President Clinton was talking to Dan Rather on 60 Minutes, he was mentioning all the things that he had been investigated for and subsequently cleared of, and when it came time to mention whitewater and the vince foster death, his [tell] lip-bite came out in full force. He even blinked and looked up and to the left. You know what a psychologist would say about that? Who conducted the Foster investigation anyway -- Arlen Spector? See, this is what I get for reading Chomsky before I was 16 and watching things like "Growing Up in America" and "Manufacturing Consent" and "Return Engagement" in my formative years. I was bred to be a baaaaaddddaaaaaassss (I think that's how you spell it). Trust me, keep your kids away from Mr. Moore. distrusting everyone, paul ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html