Diary | First Draft

Nov 15 2021

Of Chimerical Landslides & Real Indictments

BERJAYA

Tommy T is taking a mental health break from his Freeper duties. Who can blame him? Overexposure to the crazy can make even the sanest person nuttier and nearly as tasteless as a fruitcake.

Tommy will, however, keep the random ruminations rolling, rolling, rolling like them dogies in the Rawhide theme. Now that think of it, the lyrics to that song fit Tommy’s efforts quite neatly:

Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep them dogies movin’, rawhide
Don’t try to understand ’em
Just rope ’em, throw, and brand ’em

You know what that means, an early musical interlude:

The Chimerical Landslide: We had municipal elections in New Orleans last Saturday. I was uncharacteristically apathetic this year. The mayor’s race was the big deal and Mayor Teedy D/B/A Latoya Cantrell faced 13 nobodies. nutjobs, and the odd (literally, not figuratively ) perennial candidate. I voted for one of the latter: Manny Chevrolet Bruno whose perennial campaign slogan is, “A troubled man for troubled times.”

Manny Chevrolet finished in the middle of the wack-pack with 578 votes. Turnout was low: only 28.2%. Mayor Teedy received 48,750 votes, which was 64% of the vote.

Sounds like a landslide, doesn’t it? I demur: it was the lowest number of ballots cast to re-elect a New Orleans mayor in the modern/civil rights era. Hence the chimerical landslide cited in the post title.

Mayor Teedy disagrees with the notion that her victory was NOT a landslide. She gave a typically annoying, rambling, and loud victory speech in which she seemed to claim the lord’s mandate or some such shit. It’s hard to tell because Mayor Teedy is verbose: she never uses 10 words when 100 will do. She did, however, decry “naysayers” and that means me. Nay, verily.

Instead of being chastened by the low turnout, the mayor seems to think she’s beloved instead of an incumbent with a mighty war chest. If qualifying had happened *after* Hurricane Ida instead of before, there would have been a real challenger instead of just the aforementioned 13 nobodies, nutjobs, and perennial candidates. Timing is everything in both life and politics.

The good news is that any excesses on the part of Mayor Teedy will be limited by the incoming city council. New Orleans mayors *always* have a tougher time with the council in their second term and it will be no different this time around.

On a personal note, my friend and fellow OG NOLA blogger Editor B D/B/A Bart Everson ran for one of the council-at-large seats. He told me that he’d hoped to receive at least 1500 votes. He got 4776 votes in a race where the two leading candidates were mudslinging and pumping out vast quantities of lying flyers.

Well done, Bart. I’ll let his band Half Pagan play him off:

There will be runoffs in multiple races including the one for sheriff in which oily incumbent Marlon Gusman faces Susan Hutson who is running on a criminal justice reform platform. I usually mock reformers in New Orleans races but I’m supporting this one. It had to happen.

Sheriff Gusman’s picture is in the dictionary next to political hack. My primary personal contact with him over the years has been during Carnival. He usually rolls up in a squad car and parks where we watch Orpheus. The man is a major bead whore, so the headline for this segment could have been Bead Whore Forced Into Runoff.

The last word of the segment goes to Fleetwood Mac:

I’ve always thought that Stevie Nicks was a chimerical rock star, so it works.

The Real Indictment: I looked for antonyms for chimerical and they were all on the boring side, so I opted to keep it real by going with real. I hope that wasn’t really confusing but if it was, you should be used to it by now. I’ve been confusing readers here since 2009. Really.

I was good when the Bannon indictment came down and didn’t post this image on social media:

BERJAYA

I had written the previous day that I expected the DOJ to indict Mr. Unmade Bed. I’m always glad to be right, especially in this instance as it involves my former profession.

A reminder: the law is slow. If we want to restore the rule of law after years of abuse by the Trump regime, we need to do things the right way, not the fast and sloppy way. Now that I think of it, fast and sloppy describes the Trumper approach to everything.

The best thing I saw on social media about the indictment came from an old blogger buddy:

If Bannon goes to prison will he wear three jumpsuits? pic.twitter.com/OTdhRg1utw

— Spocko (@spockosbrain) November 12, 2021

Orange is definitely not Mr. Unmade Bed’s color even if it’s the hue of his former boss’ face.

That’s all I’ve got this morning. I threw this together in a hurry when I remembered that Tommy was resting up from his Freeper duties. One could even call it a fast and sloppy post.

The last word goes to a short-lived band from Northern Ireland that I’d never heard of until today. Life is a Chimera and so were they:

Nov 13 2021

3 Comments

Adrastos, Comedy, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, Odds & Sods, Television, Twitter

Saturday Odds & Sods: How Will I Ever Be Simple Again

Two Comedians by Edward Hopper

April 2020 was Richard Thompson/Edward Hopper month Odds & Sods-wise. I couldn’t resist reviving the combination for this week’s entry. They go together like peas and carrots.

Today is Dr. A’s birthday as well as municipal election day. I haven’t been that electorally engaged this cycle. Perhaps it’s the deluge of flyers we’re gotten in the mail. New Orleans pols save their low blows for direct mail. My policy is to disbelieve everything in them. I call them lying flyers.

This week’s theme song was written by Richard Thompson in 1986 for the Daring Adventures album. It was the first RT album to be produced by Mitchell Froom. Does that make it a Froom With A View? Beats the hell outta me.

We have three versions of How Will I Ever Be Simple Again for your listening pleasure: the studio original, Emmylou Harris, and RT and Emmylou live.

The stars have aligned with a second RT/EH combination. I wonder if Emmylou likes the art of Edward Hopper. Another mystery to ponder.

Now that we’ve simplified our lives, let’s complicate them by jumping to the break or is that breaking to the jump? Beats the hell outta me.

Continue reading →

Nov 12 2021

3 Comments

Adrastos, Bigotry, Diary, Fog Of History, Gret Stet Politics, Law/Justice, Legal Docket, New Orleans, Race

Judging Judges Schroeder, Walmsley & Shea

BERJAYA

Judges are in the news right now. Judge Bruce Schroeder who is presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse case fancies himself an insult comedian. He’s luxuriating in the national spotlight by making racist jokes and yelling at prosecutors.

Judge BS considers himself a “tough on crime” jurist but not in this case. He seems to empathize with the defendant. I think we all know why. Cryin’ Kyle is a white vigilante who shot and killed two men in defense of property that wasn’t his. Oy, just oy.

Meanwhile in Glynn County Georgia 3 white dudes are on trial for killing Ahmaud Arbery. There was some racist grandstanding by one of the defense attorneys yesterday. Kevin Gough objected to the presence of Al Sharpton in the courtroom.

Upon seeing the famous activist and pastor, Gough had the vapors and objected to the presence of black pastors in a public court room. At least Gough didn’t call the Rev an “outside agitator” but the implication was there.

Mercifully, Judge Timothy Walmsley is nothing like Judge BS in Wisconsin. He handled Gough’s objection like a pro:

Walmsley said he was made aware Wednesday that Sharpton would be sitting in the courtroom instead of someone from Arbery’s family.

“And my comment to that was simply, as long as things are not disruptive and it’s not a distraction to the jury or anything else going on in the courtroom, so be it,” Walmsley said. “But if it violates the court’s rules with regard to the conduct of the trial or violates my orders with respect to how people are to conduct themselves in this courtroom, I will take it up with whomever I need to take it up with.”

Walmsley said he noticed Sharpton once “and that was it.”

“And the fact that nobody else even noticed that he was in here, means that everybody complied with this court’s rulings on sitting in this courtroom and listening to the evidence,” Walmsley said. “I don’t hear a motion and I will tell you this, I am not going to blanketly exclude members of the public from this courtroom.”

“If individuals, based on the limitations that we have, in the courtroom, end up sitting in the courtroom, and they can do so respectful of the court’s process and in compliance with this court’s orders with regard to the conduct of the trial,” Walmsley said, adding that if a person wasn’t a distraction, he wouldn’t do anything about it.

The name Walmsley triggered a memory. It’s a famous name in New Orleans. T Semmes Walmsley was Mayor of New Orleans from 1929-1936. He hated Huey Long and his machine with a fine fury. The enmity was reciprocated. The Kingfish’s nickname for the mayor was Turkey Neck Walmsley. It’s a complicated story so I’ll link to a 2016 Picayune piece by my friend James Karst to tell part of this twisted tale.

The memory triggered by the Walmsley name has nothing to do with Huey Long or Turkey Neck Walmsley for that matter. It’s a Judgey memory that was also evoked by Judge Schroeder’s misconduct in the Rittenhouse trial.

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Nov 11 2021

The Refusenik Wannabes

BERJAYA

I used to be one of those people who tried to do too many things at once. Over time, I have simplified my approach to life. I strive to do one thing at a time, do it well, then move on. It doesn’t always work out that way but it’s a worthy aspiration. Life is hard enough without over-complicating it.

I feel an early musical interlude coming on:

That brings me to the curious case of the Refusenik Wannabes. In the Soviet Union, dissidents were called refuseniks, especially Jews who were denied permission to emigrate. I’m using the term in the broadest sense possible. Besides, it’s an analogy, so cut me some slack, jack.

The refuseniks were lionized in the West but many were thrown into mental institutions in the USSR. The state viewed those who rejected the status quo as mentally ill; at least they claimed to. The governing communist party was as hypocritical as the current American party of stupidity and sedition. So it goes.

As the pandemic grinds on, there’s a group of people who will do anything to avoid getting jabbed. They’ll spend thousands of dollars on bogus treatments instead of getting a free shot of Pfizer, Moderna or J&J. They think that it’s an act of political courage to defy the status quo. It’s really an act of self-destructive stupidity. Hence my new nickname for them: the Refusenik Wannabes.

These anti-vaxxers think that they’re striking a blow for freedom, man; instead, they’re risking their lives and those of others in an act of supreme selfishness. Soviet refuseniks hoped to break the grip of oppression for everyone or at the very least emigrate. Dissidents such as Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn were willing to sacrifice a cushy life as members of the elite in order to change their society. In contrast, the Refusenik Wannabes want their fifteen-minutes of viral fame and glory. Freedom, man.

There’s a perverse irony at work here. The big shots who are urging the Refusenik Wannabes to resist getting jabbed have all been vaccinated. Fox News has one of those vaccine mandates they decry when imposed elsewhere. Right-wing hypocrisy has never been so blatant as it is now. And that’s saying a great deal.

Mistrust of the government is as American as apple pie. Rebellion has long been embraced by both the right and left. The Beatniks were rebelling against the status quo in the Fifties even though it was unclear what they wanted. It’s best summed up by this scene in The Wild One:

BERJAYA

That applies to the Refusenik Wannabes. It’s unclear what they want but they want it now, dammit. Freedom, man.

Back to the practicality of getting jabbed. It’s much easier than being a rebel without a cause. The Refusenik Wannabes are so aggrieved that they make their lives twice as hard as they need to be,

The same goes for Sixties veterans and contemporary anti-vaxxers such as Eric Clapton and Van Morrison. They’re self-proclaimed rebels but that haven’t the foggiest notion as to what they want. It’s what happens when you over-complicate your life.

The last word goes to Three Dog Night with a song from the musical Hair. It should be just as easy to be easy as it is to be hard.

Nov 08 2021

Adrastos, Diary, Food and Drink, New Orleans, Sports

Over The Weekend

The view from Section 129. Photo by Dr. A.

I’m feeling disoriented as I write this. My weekend almost qualified as pre-pandemic normal.

We had out-of-town company, so we treated them to one of Dr. A and my favorite New Orleans eateries, Brigtsen’s, on Friday night. The words homey and fine dining rarely appear in the same sentence, but they apply to Brigtsen’s. It’s located in an Uptown house that was converted into a restaurant in 1986. Chef Frank Brigtsen is a protege of Paul Prudhomme. It doesn’t get better than that, y’all.

Brigtsen’s has become one of my happy places and I was pleased to share it with our company. Great food, great service, and a great vibe. That concludes this inadvertent restaurant review except for this picture of Dr. A’s gorgeous dessert:

BERJAYA

Cue obligatory musical interlude:

On Saturday, we went to a Diwali party thrown by one of Dr. A’s favorite colleagues and her husband who is one of my favorite fellow faculty spouses, Diwali is a festival of lights that’s a big deal on the Indian subcontinent. I was also there to honor the most important lesson I learned at my father’s knee, “Never turn down free food.”

I spent much of the evening hanging out with the Brazilian fiancée of one of Dr. A’s colleagues. I didn’t know that mathematicians could be so funny. He’s lived in the US for many years but still closely follows events back home. I learned that anti-Bolsonaro Brazilians call him Bozo. It’s perfect, especially since I call Bozo’s American role model, Pennywise. Bring on the sinister clowns…

We go from Bozo to Bingo. Another thing I learned at the Diwali party is that Bingo is the universal language. We played it to earn the favor of the goddess Lakshmi as well as good luck for the coming year. The last thing I expected to do was play Bingo. It made me feel Catholic or like one of the Golden Girls…

I’m proud of myself for not making a joke about Diwali and De Beaver at the party. I wasn’t sure that anyone had the required knowledge of American teevee trivia. Besides, why date myself by sounding like Eddie Haskell. Of course, I do that here nearly every day…

I also resisted the temptation to sing this childhood favorite:

The grand finale of this almost-normal weekend was attending the Saints-Falcons game at the Superdome. Nobody except sportscasters adds the sponsor’s name but I must admit to liking the Caesar’s label more than former sponsor Mercedes-Benz. They currently sponsor the fakakta dome in Atlanta. Cue obligatory booing…

We sat in seats given us by Dr. A’s mentor Dr. Rod. He’s a wonderful man who put us on his ticket sharing list long ago. He has new seats. The Saints turned his old section into luxury boxes last year. It wasn’t quite the same: I went often enough that I became acquainted with his “section family” many of whom had sat in the same seats for decades. I missed them and Dr. Rod as well. It’s more fun when he’s at the game. Thanks again, kind sir

Another thing that was different was the outcome. My winning streak was broken when the Falcons won 27-25. I was previously undefeated when sitting in Dr. Rod’s seats. I was something like 10-0 before yesterday’s close loss. Oh well, what the hell.

I enjoyed the game and even felt comfortable being unmasked. So much for this zinger from the last Saturday Odds & Sods post:

The mask mandate has been lifted here but I plan to mask up like Zorro. I’ll leave the saber at home for obvious reasons. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

I kept one promise and broke the other. So it goes.

I did *not* enjoy the post-game scrum of exiting our seats and leaving the Dome. That’s when the mask came out. In part, to ward off the cigarette smoke. I remain wary of crowds. The habits of a long lockdown are hard to break.

I took the weekend off from politics and spent it eating, drinking, and booing the Falcons. I didn’t feel like writing about it today either. I’ll be back on the beat tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned.

The last word goes to Nancy Wilson and Dianne Reeves with today’s theme song:

Nov 06 2021

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Adrastos, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Sports, Television, Twitter

Saturday Odds & Sods: Bluebird

Toucan by Henri Rousseau.

It’s cold enough in New Orleans that I broke down and turned on the central heat. We’ve been making do with space heaters and extra blankets. I hate the burning dust smell when the unit is first switched on. It usually gives me a headache and it happened again. Oh well, what the hell.

Sunday is a Saints home game against the arch-rival Atlanta Falcons. A friend gave us his tickets so I’m going. It’s the first real crowd I’ve been in since the Cursed Carnival of 2020. I’m nervous but vaccines or negative COVID tests are required. The mask mandate has been lifted here but I plan to mask up like Zorro. I’ll leave the saber at home for obvious reasons. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

This week’s featured image is a Toucan by French primitive artist Henri Rousseau. This week’s theme song is about a different bird altogether. Bluebird was written in 1967 by Stephen Stills as a follow-up single to Buffalo Springfield’s monster hit, For What It’s Worth. It was an Odds & Sods theme song last year, FWIW.

There are many swell versions of Bluebird out there. We’re showcasing four: the Buffalo Springfield original, the James Gang with Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, and Los Lobos.

Now that we’ve been mesmerized by the depth of her eyes, let’s join hands and jump to the break.

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Nov 02 2021

3 Comments

Adrastos, Diary, Dipshit Insurrection, Fog Of History, Fog Of Scandal, Language, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media

Lies, Not False Claims

BERJAYA

I was raised to mistrust euphemisms. My mother was a plainspoken Midwestern farmer’s daughter. She said what she meant and meant what she said. She rarely cursed but disliked the euphemisms for shit, “The word poop is cute. Shit isn’t cute.”

Mom was a courteous, polite, and kind person who wouldn’t tolerate bullshit or lies. The phrase “let the chips fall where they may” was made for her. She told it like is even if it wasn’t what you wanted to hear.

I haven’t always lived up to her example, but I’ve tried. It’s gotten me in trouble at times but I, too, prefer to let the chips fall where they may. To be blunt, I’m blunt.

That brings me to the Washington Post’s great three-part article, The Attack. They weave together various strands of what happened before, during, and after the 1/6 Dipshit Insurrection. It combines original reporting with the known facts in a coherent and interactive fashion. It’s a story that was made for the internet.

As much as I hate to cavil about such a magisterial accomplishment, cavil I must. Throughout all three parts, the word lie is rarely used. Instead, they deploy variations on falsely claimed. It’s a phrase you might use when you catch someone you care about in a lie but using it in the context of the Dipshit Insurrection is like calling shit, poop.

Whose feelings are they trying to spare? The Impeached Insult Comedian? The insurrectionists? The My Pillow Guy? John Eastman? Fuck that ~~poop~~ shit.

A lie is a lie even when it’s called a false claim. The WaPo’s use of this particular euphemism doesn’t wreck the piece, but it undermines it. The Dipshit Insurrection was based on the BIG LIE that the 2020 election was rigged. The BIG FALSE CLAIM doesn’t work.

It’s time for the media to stop calling the shit that went down on 1/6/2021 poop. Shit is not cute, neither was the Dipshit Insurrection. A lie is a lie even when it’s called a false claim.

We have a four-headed last word from The Rolling Stones, Manassas, The Black Keys, and En Vogue:

Oct 30 2021

Adrastos, Art, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, Odds & Sods, So Called Liberal Media, Television

Saturday Odds & Sods: In The Midnight Hour

Max Schreck as Nosferatu.

It’s been chilly the last few days in New Orleans; not Vermont or Minnesota chilly but it will do. Of course, we were subjected to a helluva storm before things cooled off. Cool air hitting muggy air tends to do that. The light show accompanying the storm would have been spectacular if it wasn’t so scary. I jumped a few time in response, but we didn’t lose power. It had to happen.

This week’s theme song was written by Wilson Pickett and Steve Cropper in 1965. It became a monster hit on both the R&B and pop charts shortly thereafter. It remains a classic as well as perfect for this feature, which goes live every Saturday at midnight.

We have three versions of In The Midnight Hour for your listening pleasure: the Pickett original as well as covers by The Jam and Roxy Music.

Now we’ve that waited til the midnight hour, let’s jump to the break. I suspect more music awaits us on the other side. Go ahead and jump.

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Oct 29 2021

2 Comments

Adrastos, Congress, Diary, Fog Of History, Political Crack, Religion

Wrap It Up

BERJAYA

It’s been a long and newsy week. Part of me wants to hide under the covers, but I can’t help peeking. I’m going to break this post into segments like an Ikea bookshelf. I’ll try and keep the directions simple. Mercifully, there’s no translation from Swedish to English involved.

Publisher’s Note: I nearly plotzed when Athenae told me that she was leaving First Draft. I took her presence for granted, but didn’t try to talk her out of it. I still, however, miss her distinctive voice. Nobody drops F-bombs with her verve and grace.

I was pleased when Athenae asked if I wanted to succeed her as publisher. I’ve been telling jokes here since 2009. I love this joint and our readers.

I’m proud of the group of writers we’ve assembled over the course of the year, Both Tommy T and Michael F have been here longer than I have. I encouraged Tommy to branch out knowing that our readers would be interested in what makes him tick, tick, tick. His random ruminations have been a joy to behold. As to our photoshop wizard Michael F, I love using his images in my own posts. I only steal from the best.

I asked two old friends, Shapiro and Cassandra to join First Draft earlier this year. They’ve settled in nicely into their respective slots: Cassandra on Wednesdays and Shapiro on Tuesdays and Fridays. He received an excused absence today because of his son’s wedding. Our newest addition, Jamie O, agreed to fill in for our wandering blogger. He’ll be back doing matinees on Monday and Thursday next week. Cassandra commended Jamie to my attention. Thanks, C,

I wish that my buddy Ryne Hancock posted more BUT his contributions have been exceptionally good. Quality is better than quantity, after all. I provide the latter.

I’m still open to submissions from guest writers and returnees. The more others write, the less I have to. I’m not quite as bone idle as Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances but I aspire to it.

I’d like to thank our writers for being such good team players. I seem to be achieving my goal as publisher: to let them to do their thing with minimal input from me. I think of myself more as a traffic cop than an editor.

First Draft endures because of the strong foundation built by Athenae, Holden, Scout, Jude, Doc, and everyone else who has written for First Draft. Thanks, y’all. We’re still walking in your footsteps.

Cue musical interlude:

Enough self-back-patting, on to the news of the week, which was on the bleak side. We’ll wrap it up in a neat package after the break.

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Oct 28 2021

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Adrastos, Diary, Dipshit Insurrection, Legal Docket, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, Television, The Darnold

The Threat Set

BERJAYA

During the Trump regime my cable news habit was out of control. Teevee news has a visceral impact on viewers, and I felt it all too often. The only MSNBC show I watch regularly now is The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell who I recently called the last sane person on cable news. Lawrence is a calm and cerebral host who’s there to feed your brain, not your gut.

I’ve noticed lately how many stories involve threats, mostly of violence. It’s particularly dangerous to be an election official, a school board member, or a federal judge right now. There are so many threats that it’s hard to discern credible ones. This is some serious shit.

One of my specialties as a pundit is handing out nicknames. I’m running the phrase the Threat Set up the flagpole to see who salutes it. Not really. I tend to throw nicknames against the wall and see which ones stick. I think this one will stick because it evokes the Jet Set. The Impeached Insult Comedian, with his private plane and past patronage of Studio 54, qualifies as a member of the Jet Set. Few of his supporters do.

Back to the matter at hand. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said this about the Threat Set when she testified before the Senate Rules Committee this week:

“Two weeks after the election, armed protesters gathered outside my home and chanted, Katie, come out and play. We`re watching you.

I never expected that holding this office would result in far right trolls threatening my children, threatening my husband`s employment at a children`s hospital or calling my office, saying I deserve to die and asking, what is she wearing today? So she`ll be easy to get.

But what concerns me is near constant harassment faced by the private servants who administer our elections. We`re seeing high turnover among election staff and I fear that many more will reach a breaking point and decide that this line of public service is no longer worth it.”

As a woman, Hobbs is subjected to gross forms of harassment. The “Katie come out to play” thing sounds like something out of a Steven King novel. It’s something that this guy might say:

Image by Michael F.

Federal judges handling Dipshit Insurrection cases are feeling the heat as well:

A district judge said on Friday that defendants in Jan. 6 cases who push the conspiracy theory that the election was stolen are inciting threats to judges presiding over insurrection cases.

D.C. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said that he and other judges involved in Jan. 6 trials “are getting all kinds of threats and hostile phone calls” from people who “buy in on this proposition … that somehow the election was fraudulent.”

I’m relieved to hear that Trumpers aren’t gathering outside his house chanting, “Reggie, Reggie, Reggie.”

On a more serious note, this has got to stop. Threats that used to be laughable must be taken seriously because of the current political climate.

MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance had this exchange with Lawrence on The Last Word last night:

VANCE: You know, the distinction between just the very small number of federals judges who were tragically killed in the last century and the attack this century on a judge`s family is that those stemmed primarily from people who were upset about their individual cases or family members` cases.

What`s so troubling about the era that we`re in right now in Judge Walton`s comments is this is about people with a political agenda.

And those are the sort of risks that judges face in countries where cartels have influence or in the Philippines or even in Afghanistan, where two women judges were killed earlier this year.

The risk — and I`m not saying, for instance, that Donald Trump is directly responsible, but it`s the rhetoric and the level of political divide in this country that can fuel troubled people towards attacks that`s so very risky and troubling.

O`DONNELL: Well, I would say that Donald Trump is responsible for any attack on any federal judge who`s handling any of these January 6th cases, as the judge was talking about the threats are pouring in against them.

I agree with Lawrence. The Kaiser of Chaos has fanned the flames of hatred and poured gasoline on the fire like a modern-day Nero.

He may not be legally culpable but he’s morally and politically responsible for the Threat Set acting out his sick and twisted fantasies. Former President* Pennywise is a coward. He incites violence but lacks the courage to participate. He leaves that to the Threat Set.

Repeat after me: Donald Trump is a pussy. He should grab himself.

The last word goes to John Prine and Iris DeMent:

Tagged Dipshit Insurrection, Donald Trump, Lawrence O'Donnell, media, Politics, Violence

Oct 23 2021

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Television

Saturday Odds & Sods: Wild World

Hirondelle Amour by Joan Miro.

We’re gearing up for a municipal election in New Orleans and I’m disinterested at this moment. One reason is that two of the major offices, mayor and one at large city council seat, have pre-determined outcomes. Mayor Teedy will be reelected as will Council President Helena Moreno. I’m resigned to the former and pleased about the latter, but my level of interest is not high right now. Oh well, what the hell.

We received letters this week informing us that we won’t be voting at the Catholic school where we’ve voted since Katrina. I’m old school and still prefer casting my ballot on election day. Sorry, Shapiro. Instead, we’ll be voting at the former HQ of NOPD’s second district. I wonder if we’ll get to see the former holding cells. Beats the former hell outta me.

This week’s theme song was written by Cat Stevens for his 1970 album Tea For The Tillerman. In addition to being his commercial breakthrough, the album title inspired several Tea For The Tillerson posts in the early days of the Trump regime. It’s a pity that Rex hasn’t spilled any tea about the man he called a “fucking moron” when he was secretary of state.

We have three versions of Wild World for your listening pleasure: the Cat Stevens original as well as covers by Jimmy Cliff and Maxi Priest:

Oh baby baby it’s time to jump to the break.

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Oct 18 2021

2 Comments

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Law/Justice, Legal Docket, Television

A Sisterhood Of Lies: Showtime’s Buried

BERJAYA

I grew up in a planned suburban community south of San Francisco. Foster City was the brainchild of real estate developer T Jack Foster. The idea was to build a community from scratch. My family were among the pioneers. Foster wanted to be the William Levitt of the West Coast and he succeeded to some extent.

Like the Talking Heads song, Heaven, Foster City was a “place where nothing happens.” Cue early musical interlude:

That changed in 1969 when an 8-year-old girl named Susan Nason went missing. Her body was eventually discovered near the Crystal Springs Reservoir some 11 odd miles from Foster City. After an initial flurry of activity, the case went cold for 20 years. Enter Eileen Franklin Lipsker who accused her firefighter father George of kidnapping and murdering her childhood bestie.

That’s the story behind the new Showtime true crime docuseries Buried in a nutshell. It hit close to home for me both literally and figuratively. I recall my father joining the search for the missing child and my mother taking food to the Nason home. My mom knew everyone in Foster City at that point: she founded the local Newcomers club and was later a successful realtor.

I was acquainted with George Franklin Jr. He was a shy kid, so I didn’t know him well but occasionally he’d turn up at the park for our pickup baseball games. I don’t think he was very good. Neither was I. I was the klutzy son of an athletic father but made up for it with enthusiasm. George Jr. was quiet and subdued. I know why now.

Looking back, I’m proud of my parents. They didn’t panic or stop me from roaming our community. We were all free-range children back then. Besides, the Nason kidnapping was an anomaly, the town returned to being a sleepy suburban burg shortly thereafter.

The Franklins were a large and wildly dysfunctional family. Buried presents credible allegations of George Sr being a violent drunk who beat his wife and children. There are also allegations of sexual abuse that are tangled up in the lies told by Eileen and Janice Franklin. Both sisters lied so often about so many subjects that it’s hard to know what to believe. Suffice it to say that George Franklin was a bad guy.

We’re not supposed to try defendants just for being bad people. We try them for specific offenses. That’s why the Franklin case eventually collapsed under the weight of what could be called a sisterhood of lies.

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Oct 16 2021

Adrastos, Art, Books, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Television

Saturday Odds & Sods: Art For Art’s Sake

Ambiguous Figures by Max Ernst.

There are rumors of a cold front later this morning. It’s really a cool front but cold front is the technical term and I’m a stickler for something or other. I’m just looking forward to not running the air-conditioner.

We’ve been talking Carnival in New Orleans. We all want it to happen but it’s unclear when it will be safe to cavort in the streets with strangers. Perhaps we should consult with Laurence Olivier’s character in Marathon Man:

Beats the hell outta me, Larry.

The City is allowing the annual Halloween parade for tourists to roll. It’s called the Krewe of Boo and this year it’s going to serve as an experiment into public gatherings. Contact tracing will be involved. If things go well, the chances of Carnival 2022 happening increase. If not, stay tuned.

This week’s theme song was written by Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart for 10cc’s 1975 album, How Dare You. That’s what Dustin Hoffman should have said to Olivier.

Here’s Art For Art’s Sake, money for God’s sake:

Graham Gouldman trivia time. He also wrote this wildly successful Hollies hit:

Let’s pick up our umbrellas and jump to the break.

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Oct 15 2021

Adrastos, Diary, Dipshit Insurrection, Film, Fog Of Scandal, New Orleans, Political Crack, Sports, The Darnold

Stirring The Potpourri

BERJAYA

As I pondered the potpourri images, it occurred to me that there’s been a lot of dumbassery this week. That’s why I went with the Magritte dumbbell caveman image. I hope I can live up to Magritte’s vision, if not I can always wear a derby/bowler in penance. Unfortunately, the only derby I have is green, which I wear during Carnival season and on St. Patrick’s Day. It hasn’t been worn since the pandemic started. Le sigh.

I rarely watch sports on the idiot box anymore. I felt compelled to watch the Giants lose to the Dodgers last night. It was a bummer, man. It was also a long bummer: a 2-1 pitcher’s battle shouldn’t last over 3 hours. Oy just oy.

I was also surprised by how many sports betting ads there were during the ballgame. I commend Shapiro’s sports gambling post to your attention. It’s the real deal. I used to play poker with Shapiro back in the day. He’s a real card. He never “let that Deal go down.”

Back to sports gambling teevee ads, there were a shit-ton of them during the New Orleans Saints-Washington No-Names game. I know I just said that I rarely watch sports anymore but viewing Saints football is a civic duty here in Debrisville.

Caesar’s Palace just obtained the naming rights to the Superdome, which has resulted in cheesy gambling-Roman crossover ads. None of the fake Caesars can top Peter Ustinov as Nero in the 1951 movie, Quo Vadis:

BERJAYA

It’s a great performance in a bad biblical movie. I recently watched Quo Vadis on TCM OnDemand and only viewed the Ustinov scenes. I kept hoping that Nero would light the eternally wooden Robert Taylor’s character ablaze. I’m not talking about the RT who played Walt Longmire. He’s the strong silent type but like Gary Cooper that RT can emote.

BERJAYA

There was a lot of Dipshit Insurrection news this week. A rioter named Brandon Fellows is representing himself in court. In classic Trumper fashion, he’s stupid and garrulous. Judge Trevor McFadden was not amused:

“You are charged with a federal felony. This is not a community college where you get pats on the back.”

“You’ve admitted to incredible lapses of judgment here on the stand, not least of which was seeking to disqualify a New York state judge. You’ve admitted to obstruction of justice in that case, and you’ve admitted to what was probably obstruction in this case in trying to have me disqualified, and only Ms. Halverson’s advice stopped you from doing so. You’ve engaged in a pattern of behaviors that shows contempt for the criminal justice system, and I just have no confidence that you will follow my orders if I release you.”

Fellows is still incarcerated. I’m waiting to hear him called a MAGA martyr when he’s really a MAGA meathead.

That’s why I call it the Dipshit Insurrection.

It looks as if Steve Bannon will be cited with criminal contempt for refusing to cooperate with the 1/6 Committee. The Twitteratti are excited by this news. They’re hoping for a perp walk and extended jail time. They’ve been watching too many cop shows. The truth will be less dramatic since Bannon is unlikely to make like Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon:

BERJAYA

As Jon Gruden would surely say, Steve Bannon is a pussy. He incites riots. He leaves the rioting to dipshits like Brandon Fellows.

The Kaiser of Chaos issued a statement from his gilded Mar-a-Dorn exile the other day. It’s spectacularly dumb even by his standards:

“If we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in ’22 or ’24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do.”

Bring it on, Donald, bring it on.

It’s time to stop stirring the potpourri and give the last word to Graham Parker & The Rumour:

Oct 09 2021

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Television, Twitter

Saturday Odds & Sods: People Are Strange

Twin Sisters by Diane Arbus.

Things are slowly returning to normal in post-Ida New Orleans. The trash problem seems to have abated somewhat, but there’s still a lot of tree and construction debris about. It’s time to take the debris out of Debrisville.

I usually only have a Spring allergy problem, but that’s no longer true. I suspect it has something to do with the dust in the air after the storm. Whatever it is, I wish it would relent. Achoo.

I’m getting my Pfizer booster shot at noon today. Unlike Gary Cooper in High Noon, I won’t beg for help. I can take a jab with the best of them.

This week’s theme song was written by Jim Morrison and Robbie Krieger for the Doors’ 1967 album Strange Days. It was originally credited to the whole band. That’s what hippies did; not that Morrison was a hippie. He was one of the original goths.

We have two versions of People Are Strange for your listening pleasure: the Doors original and a cover by Echo & the Bunnymen from the 1987 movie, The Lost Boys.

That was almost as strange as the Diane Arbus featured image. Those twins have always given me the heebie jeebies.

Now that I’ve creeped you out, let’s join arms and jump to the break.

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Oct 05 2021

Adrastos, British Politics, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Political Crack, The Darnold

Kangaroo Tales

Australian artist Bill Boyd spars with his pet kangaroo, Kanga Joe, 1923.

The only current world leader who is as mendacious and muddle-headed as Donald Trump is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson aka Bozza or BoJo. The new book by former Trump aide Stephanie Grisham tells some odd tales about what Donald and Boris discussed when they met:

The British prime minister was “one of the few European leaders Trump seemed to tolerate”, Grisham writes. “Conversations between those two, both pudgy white guys with crazy hair, redefined the word random.”

“Johnson once told us over breakfast that Australia was ‘the most deadly country – spiders, snakes, crocodiles and kangaroos’. Then they discussed how powerful kangaroos were at considerable length.”

As you can see from the featured image, Kangaroo boxing used to be a thing in Australia back in the day. There was also a 1978 movie about this “sport” starring Robert Mitchum and Elliott Gould:

BERJAYA

Bobby, Elliott what were you thinking? Were you punch drunk? Oy, just oy.

America did not love that winner. Matilda bombed at the box office.

Finally, one of my father’s Greek relatives presented my parents with the weirdest host present ever: a Kangaroo paw corkscrew. I am not making this up. I thought my mom was going to vomit when she saw it. Oy, just oy.

The last word goes to Men At Work:

Oct 02 2021

Adrastos, Art, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, Odds & Sods, Television

Saturday Odds & Sods: Thru and Thru

Target by Jasper Johns.

It’s fall in most places, but summer is tenacious in New Orleans. We had our annual autumnal tease last weekend. It was a good thing because Dr. A and I masked up and went to an outdoor wedding last Saturday. It was an interesting mixture of cultures: the groom was Egyptian-American, the bride from Monroe in North Louisiana. As a guest the important thing was that the food was good and there was an open bar.

I haven’t mentioned my head injury since the destapling. It’s healing so well that I barely have a scar. Oh well, what the hell.

This week’s theme song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the Rolling Stones’ 1994 album Voodoo Lounge. It’s pure Keith; one of his best songs. David Chase certainly thinks so: it was featured in the season-2 finale of The Sopranos.

We have 3 versions of Thru and Thru for your listening pleasure: the studio original, the Stones live, and The Sopranos edit.

Sopranos aficionados will recall that that was the hallucinatory episode in which Big Pussy not only met his maker, but appeared to Tony as a talking fish.

Speaking of fishy songs:

Now that we’re through with fish, let’s jump to the break.

Continue reading →

Oct 01 2021

2 Comments

Diary, Guest Post, Jamie O, Legal Docket, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, The Darnold

Guest Post: Trump’s Lawyer Wrote, Shared Coup Plan – See Page 37

Jamie O is back with some media criticism. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.

-Adrastos

Trump’s Lawyer Wrote, Shared Coup Plan – See Page 37 by Jamie O

I hold a degree in journalism/communications. It’s served me pretty well. I have a good job as a science writer for a big university. It’s interesting work, as they say. My degree has also given me sort of an inside-baseball view of how journalists are trained, and to be honest, the training needs to be updated.

I say this because a lot of the DC media is covering politics as if it’s still the 1980s (when I was getting my degree, in fact). You are taught in journalism not to hold bias (or at least control it). You get a quote and information from each side of an issue, and that’s pretty much that. It was simple and good and if one person wouldn’t comment, you’d write “Sen. Reddnose declined to comment.” Then you hit the bar like any worthy hard-nosed journalist as you call it a day.

Problem is, that climate might as well included dinosaurs roaming Capitol Hill, as long ago figuratively that world is compared to this one. Conservatives have bulldozed the unwritten ethics, mores and traditions of American politics that once were the bedrock of our entire political system. For example, as the New York Times’ Ezra Klein has pointed out, Mitch McConnell broke no rule of the Senate when he refused to put Merrick Garland through the confirmation process. But he did break one of those “you can’t do that” sort of rules that our system relied on for decades. Since then, American politics has seen a lot of conservatives crossing a line you weren’t supposed to cross, erasing it, and then drawing a new one, then crossing that. This includes levels of lying that would be considered political death just 10 years ago.

Among the many issues with this is the media hasn’t really adjusted, despite the events of the last six years. The headline style of “Democrats see little risk of inflation but Republicans disagree” from the 1980s has evolved into basically “Experts say the world is round, but some disagree.” It demands a different sort of news coverage, one that acknowledges what exactly is going on, a clarity of the current. The most recent poster child for this is the Eastman Memo.

If you are not familiar with what the Eastman Memo is, It is a memo written by a former Trump lawyer that outlined a six-point plan for former Vice President Mike Pence to basically treat the Constitution like a woman that is not his wife (read: purposely ignore it) and toss the rightful 2020 election results. You can read it here.

This should have been a moment in American history where all DC journos were in a state of hair-on-fire, speaking-in-tongues urgency. After all, this is clear evidence of a president of the United States overseeing a literal coup attempt. Right? Well…as my link showed, CNN certainly covered it. Various columnists, such as the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie, New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait, and the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent covered it. But outside of that, there was limited coverage of the memo in the newspapers, and the network evening news programs ignored it.

It may be tempting to write this all off as no big deal, because they didn’t pull it off, right? On the other hand, it’s not like conservatives are apologetic about January 6. In fact, the GOP has been as suspicious as a teen stoner refusing to let his mom search his room about it. They certainly put enough effort into blocking the Congressional investigations.

This is all alarming because a lot of smart people are sounding alarm bells, including a former Republican, about the growing threat to democracy. Even more alarming, as was shown in this week’s Margaret Sullivan Washington Post column, network news types were pretty much “eh, no big surprise” about the memo. Which brings me back to my college journalism days…I had a professor one time tell us that her answer to people who complained that the media was full of bad news and very little good news was “when bad news is so common it stops being news, we’re in a lot of trouble.”

Are we there now? Apparently, many national news outlets say yes.

Sep 29 2021

Adrastos, Diary, Hurricane Ida, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, New Orleans

Debrisville Update

Root Beer Blues, 2005 photograph by Dr. A.

It’s been one month since Hurricane Ida kicked the Gret Stet of Louisiana’s ass. It’s given us another reason to remember 8/29. One could call it a Double Doomsday.