Learn to speak Teabag!

Happy Saturday, everyone. The boys and I are getting headaches from the race-cars' window-rattling racket (the St. Pete Grand Prix is taking place just a few blocks from our apartment), so I'm off to the country, where I plan to indulge in some truly communist sunbathing by the lake followed by a big fascist pasta dinner with my own darling Il Duce Sr.

What are you up to this weekend?

Sinéad O'Connor on the Catholic Church's ongoing child rape scandals

Readers, I commend this well-written and moving WaPo op-ed to you with my highest praise. I've long admired Sinéad's musical gifts but did not know much about her background, only that her exquisite voice always seemed laced through with an aching emotion the shape of which suggested something darker than the garden-variety lament of the lovelorn. Upon hearing her singing, I often have a lump in my throat, much as I do when listening to certain string pieces, like Samuel Barber's Adagio.

Now, at least, I have a sense of where Sinéad's pain comes from.

The writing is compelling and I can't decide which grafs to excerpt, so I'll just point you to the Post and tell you to read the whole thing.

(H/T Minstrel Hussein Boy)

A motherly come-to-Jesus talk that might save rightwingers from jail, if not political irrelevance

Children...children!

Come here. Right now. NOW, I said. Sit your bottoms down and listen, because as much as I don't like having to deal with this, it's high time you faced facts.

I've had enough. Everyone has had enough. You know what I'm about to say, because I've said it before, but I made the mistake of speaking to you as though you were intelligent almost-grownups, and clearly you've got a long way to go before anyone in his right mind would call you grownups.

Your behavior is unacceptable, and if you keep it up, you're going to wind up in history's rubbish pile and no-one will want to help you or even talk to you ever again.

But, but...HE DOES IT TOO!!! He's just as bad. He was making fun of my favorite President, Ronald Reagan...

Stop it right there, mister. There is a big difference between drawing political cartoons with your new Photoshop program and standing on the steps in front of your school with a megaphone and telling your friends to reload their paintball guns, it's time to show that school who's boss. Yes, I'm talking to you--everyone heard you say that, it's on YouTube now, and you can't deny it.

Well, the school deserved it. They gave us so much homework this week, it made us mad.

Mmm-hmm. Is that your position, then? Is that your excuse: your brother does something that annoys you, so you're allowed to do whatever you want to get back at him? Or wait, let's try the other excuse: your teachers do something that's good for you, but you don't happen to agree with it, so you can do anything you like in retaliation?

You will to go to your rooms, right now, and read quietly. Yes, I know you've finished your homework, off you go anyway--you're going to do some important reading for the next several hours.

First, here's some information on something called the principle of imminent lawless action. Essentially, it says that when you rally your friends to do something illegal that could hurt people, something dangerous or destructive, and they then get busy doing those illegal things--hurting people, destroying things--before the authorities can get there to protect people from your friends, the words you were yelling into that megaphone are themselves a crime; they're not considered protected speech because they caused imminent lawless action.

Then, I want you to reflect on all the horrible things you've been saying and doing and think long and hard about them. Not just the words and actions themselves, mind you, but the long-term effect they have and the shame they've brought to your family and country. Here, a lady named Digby says it really well with this list of some absolutely dreadful behaviors--examples of what I'm talking about--and the risibly pathetic excuses you've been using:

I can hardly believe it, but apparently America's wife beaters have actually decided to use the defense that these Democrats are "asking for" death threats from the right wingers because they are "making them mad." I documented Sere and Cantor's warnings this morning, but there are more:

Breitbart: Congressional Black Caucus members went "searching for ... racism" by walking through Tea Party crowd

Graham tells Beck -- Beck! -- Tea Partiers "get mad" because they "don't like being called racist

Michael Graham: Pelosi was "asking for" response by carrying Medicare gavel

Rove warns Dems that discussing threats against them may "inflame emotions"

Now. I want you to stay there, in your rooms, reading and reflecting. I'm disconnecting the XBox and the Internet until you can prove to me that you're willing to try hard and do better, which means you're going to have to start over, okay? Hey, you're always saying that when you're losing a game--Waaah, let's start over!--well, now I want *you* to start over. Show me that you want to be a part of this family even if we don't all agree on everything; that you finally realize that you're not the only human being on the planet--not even close!--and that you truly, honestly, deeply understand that what you say and do affects all those other people.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping a close eye on you.

Also at Cogitamus.

Vel Omarr sings Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come

Such a perfect--and perfectly beautiful--song, don't you think?

I've been peeking in on the debate throughout the afternoon and evening, and I honestly can't stomach too much more Republican ridiculousness.

Republicans: we get it. You oppose the bill. You'll never vote for it; but then, you were never planning to anyway. Can you please stop the pathetic grandstanding now? There is only so much localized hypocrisy and lying one planet can handle before it gets thrown off its axis.

Happy Sunday, everyone. Change has been a long time coming, but I really believe it's here. At last. And I've a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of it in the coming months.

(H/T Jaqueline, who sent me the original audio-only Sam Cooke version.)

Tuesday's musing and Open Thread: Pascal Toussaint, Je suis malade

Meet Pascal Toussaint, male soprano with an angel's voice. The multitalented and generous author and artist Amy Tan--dear friend, prolific writing idol, and world traveler--came across Pascal singing in a Paris nightclub one evening and decided that the world ought to hear his extraordinarily beautiful voice, starting with America. (That's Amy's little Yorkie, Bombo, in the video). Amy writes:

I discovered Pascal in a Paris cabaret Aux Trois Mailletz in the 5th arrondissement on rue Galande. He is the star of a contingent of performers each night.

His voice is that of a boy soprano, which never changed with pubescence due to an anomaly. Some say his voice is like the great Jimmy Scott. But his style is purely his own.

He was born in Guadeloupe, won a singing contest at age 14, was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire, where he received classical voice training for opera. In addition to opera, he branched out into jazz, rock, and cabaret. He is also a composer, actor, and writer.

Thus far, Pascal has performed in San Francisco and New York; I hope to make it to one city or the other when returns, undoubtedly as a serious star next time.

(Dear Petulant, I knew you'd get my reference immediately!)

Je suis malade

Je ne rêve plus;
Je ne fume plus;
Je n'ai même plus d'histoire.
Je suis laide sans toi; je suis sale sans toi; comme une orpheline dans un dortoir...

[I don’t dream any more;
I don’t smoke any more;
I don’t even have a story any more.
I am dirty without you; I am ugly without you; like a little orphan in her room...]

So...how is everyone this morning?!

Your Monday motivation: Bend it like Grayson

I've decided I'm going to make a concerted effort to bring more Alan Grayson goodness to the rest of America--he really is too wonderful a politician, writer, human being, and all-around wit to keep to ourselves here in the Sunshine (finally!) State.

This weekend, former half-governor Palin descended on Orlando, which city is just a couple of hours from my door and smack in the middle of Grayson country. No, we couldn't hear the screeching all the way out here on the coast (heh) but there's plenty of YouTube footage of her speech, should you wish to subject your eardrums and sensibilities to it. Unsurprisingly, Palin rudely slammed Congressman Grayson, a Democrat who was elected by the very district--a largely conservative one, by the way--in which she currently spoke, tossing out lines like, "What can you say about Alan Grayson? Piper is with me tonight, so I won't say anything about Alan Grayson that can't be said around children. [Good one, Sarah!] But thank you, Florida, for allowing candidates in a contested primary to duke it out over ideas and principles and values, all with the same goal, and that is unseating those who have such a disconnect from the people of America. That's what the goal is here in this race against Alan Grayson."

But over in the leftmost corner, in the non-shrinking violet trunks, one of the few politicians blessed with both wit and the will to use same, Alan GraaaAAAaaayson:

In response to Palin's attack on Rep Grayson, Grayson actually complimented Palin. Grayson praised Palin for having a hand large enough to fit Grayson's entire name on it. He thanked Palin for alleviating the growing shortage of platitudes in Central Florida. Grayson added that Palin deserved credit for getting through the entire hour-long program without quitting. Grayson also said that Palin really had mastered Palin's imitation of Tina Fey imitating Palin. Grayson observed that Palin is the most-intelligent leader that the Republican Party has produced since George W. Bush.

But enough with the pie-fighting, though. We know better than to be distracted by it (we do know better, don't we? Please say Yes.) There are more than enough Big Issues to which we must turn our attention. War profiteering, for example, and its less-than-upstanding players and the Caymans accounts that love them. Now, here in the States, this would seem to be yesterday's news, at least it would seem so judging by the paucity of coverage on American networks (not here, though--come on, you know I'm never getting over that noise, not as long as otherwise perfectly logical people keep insisting we can't afford to provide Americans with health care). Over in England, though, the BBC is just getting started. And of course, they're talking to Alan Grayson, since he's been banging the accountability drum for a while now. Watch this and ask your own Congresscritters where the hell THEY stand on the billions (and billions and billions) of tax dollars that have gone missing, that were, in short, lost down what the BBC calls "the back of a very big sofa in the desert".



Keep at it, Congressman Grayson. Please. We've got your back here in sunshine-land.

Divine Comedy: Jon Stewart on the Beck-Massa interview

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Sour Gropes
www.thedailyshow.com

This is one of Jon Stewart's best and funniest segments ever, I think, which may have something to do with the state of my sense of humor these days. Enjoy.

Glenn Beck targets litbrit

Oh dear. It seems Glenn Beck has discovered the truth about me. I hope you'll still be my readers and friends. ;-)

Carpe diem! Aaron Copland, The Promise of Living

Several weeks ago, reader Jacqueline sent me this gorgeous YouTube creation: it's Aaron Copland's haunting piece, The Promise of Living, set to a montage of old 8mm and 16mm films of human beings doing what we do best: living and loving. I wonder if you can make it all the way through without tearing up. I certainly couldn't.

I'd also like to share this gem, by tripsadelica, from the comment section beneath the video:

Snippets of light captured upon powdered silver, of a time long ago. Gone, but somehow not gone...preserved forever as if light was the essence of life itself. Most all of these people have left this earth but here they are, walking, dancing, playing...living. You know the expression, "they live on in our hearts"...they live on here in light; light captured with fine silver powder. Luminous argent.

Here in Florida, it's sparkling and sunny outside for the first time in a long while. Spring is almost here--hooray!--the boys will be on break next week, and I have visions of sugar cones and sandy shores dancing in my head. Carpe diem! I say, as I will say next Monday morning when I wake the boys and haul them off to Fort DeSoto for some much-needed vitamin D and fresh air. What will you be doing when it warms up?

Sunday Avoidance Therapy: A favorite show; familiar voices

Top Gear (on BBC-America in the U.S.) is one of my favorite television programs. It's a car enthusiast's weekly thrill ride laced with plenty of humor from the Homeland, and this recent episode happened to feature a family friend and fellow ex-pat-turned-Florida-resident (when he's not touring), a man my boys know simply as "Uncle Brian" (and who refers to me as Li'ul Deborrrrrrah, me darrrlin'). Jeremy doesn't mention it, but Brian is actually an accomplished race-car driver, which immediately becomes evident in the segment when they "Put a Star in a Reasonably-priced Car" and send him around the track. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Mrs. Johnson is also a formidable driver, perhaps even...ah, no, must not go there. Ginger Rogers, dancing backwards, high heels, and so on.

I'd like to post one more video, if you'll indulge me, featuring another Brit. This time it's John Cleese, whom I hope to meet one day and thank for the many times his witty words have pulled me (and who knows how many others) out of the darkest doldrums. Herein, he speaks at the memorial of a fellow Python, the late Graham Chapman, and as you'd expect, it's not a terribly, um, proper eulogy, nor is it safe for work. (H/T Driftglass.)



Apologies for the chronic light posting of late. Sometimes, as Jon Swift would have said, there are no words, you know? Better times, and better states of mind, lie ahead. Surely.

Friday Frank: City of Tiny Lights; Paris, 1980

The weekend must begin right now. I have declared it; so shall it be.

I also wish to say that I adore Ike Willis' voice. And Frank's solo, which begins at 2:45.

We're taking the lads to see Alice in Wonderland tomorrow morning; other than that, I think it will be a make-it-up-as-we-go kind of weekend. The very best sort, in my opinion.

What will you be getting up to?

R.I.P. Jon Swift: A monument more lasting than brass

Exegi Monumentum Aere perennius
"I have made a monument more lasting than brass".
From the title page of Works (1735): Swift receiving the thanks of Ireland.

The brilliant blogger known as Jon Swift has died. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Jon was a gifted, profoundly funny wordsmith as well as a generous and encouraging friend to other writers. I want to honor Jon properly, but I'm struggling to find the right words. I want him to come back, you see, he has to come back because he's going to do the year-end roundup as he always does, and I can't find the right words because this doesn't exist for me, not really, not yet. That must be it.

Jon, I've been missing you for many months now, ever since the blog went quiet. I'm not ready to miss you forever.

UPDATE: Here's a link to The Best of Jon Swift. Fans from days of yore will love revisiting what is surely some of the finest, wittiest writing to ever infiltrate the blogosphere; newcomers, well, you've got a lot of catching up to do--many hours of laughter and reading pleasure lie ahead, lucky you!

And here is the real-life website of Al Weisel--writer, son, brother, and beloved partner. He was the incomparable Jon Swift to most of us; to his loved ones, he was everything.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Something tells me Jon/Al would like it very much if people remembered him with laughter as opposed to (or at least, in addition to) tears. Accordingly, I'll send you over to this wonderful post: Jonah Goldberg's Shining (Liberal Fascism with LOLcats).

Rep. Anthony Weiner: We are going to solve this problem...DEAL WITH IT!

The Republican party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the insurance industry...

They can try to erase his words--as if the medium you're interacting with right now did not exist!--and they can keep sending him to the corner as though he'd just irritated Sister Mary Evangeline by chewing gum in algebra. But they can't silence this guy, and thank your deity of choice for that.

May I just add my own hearty Hear, hear to the many who are already praising Congressman Weiner's powerful words today. How I wish we had forty more Democrats like Anthony Weiner and Alan Grayson.

(H/T Toast)

Sunday avoidance therapy: the good, the bad, and the utterly gobsmacking

Sorry seems to be the weariest word: Tiger Woods' apology x 10ⁿ.
For embarrassing all those squeaky-clean sponsors, I guess.
(photo via Gawker)

Let's see...gazillionaire golfer/Alpha male has extramarital affairs = fourteen-minutes of internationally-televised apology.

Former Justice Department lawyer issues legal advice to Bush administration that okayed the wanton massacre of civilians; at first faces disbarment for "violating professional standards", then has infraction downgraded to school report-card-like comment: "(used) poor judgment" = hours and hours of... *crickets*

The OPR report included an exchange between an OPR investigator and Yoo regarding what he referred to as the "bad things opinion," what Yoo felt the President could do in wartime.

"What about ordering a village of [resistance] to be massacred?" an OPR investigator asked Yoo. "Is that a power that the president could legally—"

"Yeah," Yoo said.

"To order a village of civilians to be [exterminated]?" the questioner replied.

"Sure," Yoo said.

But Margolis, who suggested Yoo and Bybee's flawed legal work was due to efforts to prevent another 9/11, dropped OPR's "misconduct" conclusions.

***

It's not all depressing and disheartening news on the legal front, however. I'm pleased to report that in Saudi Arabia, matters are inching toward equality for women. To western sensibilities, this might seem a small step, but I've a feeling that Saudi women are of the mind that any and all movement in this direction is a very good thing:

Saudi Arabia is planning to bring in a new law to allow women lawyers to argue cases in court for the first time.

Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah's plan to develop the legal system.

The law - to be issued "in the coming days" - would allow women to appear in court on family-related cases, including divorce and child custody.

At the moment, they can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices.

The new legislation will also allow Saudi women to complete certain procedures without the presence of a witness.

***

Walking tall with heavy hearts and even heavier shoes: British models mourn the passing of Alexander McQueen and stand up for Haiti, raising £1 million for relief efforts in a single evening while showing off pieces from the brilliant and troubled designer's final collection.

***

Did you really need a scientific excuse for grabbing your favorite blanket and curling up by the fire for spell? I didn't think so. But here's one anyway:

A nap during the day doesn't just beat tiredness, but actually improves the brain's ability to absorb new information, claim US scientists.

Volunteers who slept for 90 minutes during the day did better at cognitive tests than those who were kept awake.

The results were presented at a conference in California.

A UK-based expert said it was hard to separate the pure "memory boosting" effects of sleep from those of simply being less tired.

The wealth of study into the science of sleep in recent years has so far failed to come up with conclusive evidence as to the value of a quick "siesta" during the day.

The latest study, from the University of California at Berkeley, suggests that the brain may need sleep to process short-term memories, creating "space" for new facts to be learned.

"Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness, but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap," said Dr Matthew Walker, UC Berkeley.

Study, schmudy--next time, just ask a cat.
It's not for nothing I'm called the King of the Jungle.

-- Marley Salvatore Tornello

The revolution of revolution, and the rewriting of its violent and tragic symphony

"The Revolutionist is a doomed man. He has no private interests, no affairs, sentiments, ties, property nor even a name of his own. His entire being is devoured by one purpose, one thought, one passion - the revolution. Heart and soul, not merely by word but by deed, he has severed every link with the social order and with the entire civilized world; with the laws, good manners, conventions, and morality of that world. He is its merciless enemy and continues to inhabit it with only one purpose - to destroy it."

-- Sergey Nechayev, nihilist from The Other St. Petersburg, in his 1869 tome Catechism of a Revolutionary. Nechayev--and his deeply fascinating and frightening story--represent the earliest record of a non-state-directed individual or group encouraging, and engaging in, terrorism* as the word is currently defined.

***

"I felt like putting a bullet between the eyes of every Panda that wouldn't screw to save its species. I wanted to open the dump valves on oil tankers and smother all the French beaches I'd never see. I wanted to breathe smoke."

-- The Narrator in Fight Club (played by Edward Norton), which 1999 movie was based on Chuck Palahniuk's similarly-titled novel, itself a catechism of a revolutionary.

***

"Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn't so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing at, and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well."

-- Joe Stack, software engineer, in an online suicide note. On February 18, 2010, Stack is alleged to have intentionally crashed a plane into an Austin, Texas building that housed the local offices of the Internal Revenue Service.

***

* ter·ror·ism
Pronunciation: 'ter-&r-"i-z&m
Function: noun
1 : the unlawful use, or threat, of violence, especially against the state or the public, as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion (from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996)


We can't live in fear. Certainly most of us can't, not every minute of every day; the angels and warriors among us, well, they simply refuse to live that way at all. For the rest of us, though, it's a feeling we know well, even as we also live with those omnipresent and self-imposed reminders that there are things we need to get done. At some point, in short, you have to commute to work and wash the dinner dishes and carry out whatever quotidian tasks you need to carry out in order to maintain the reasonably smooth rhythm of being alive. The time for heeding those noisy demons will be later, when you're under the covers--after the children are soothed to slumber and before the camomile tea or Xanax has kicked in.

Despite the numbing agents and the partial deafness of sleep, the drumbeats of fear are always there, aren't they? Sometimes, for some people, they're too loud to ignore. The drums will mingle with the cacophony of Righteous Anger's string section; then, Helplessness and Despair will add their insistent percussion. And all the while, Media and Culture take turns conducting: there they are, standing at the fore and waving their arms, keeping the strange and horrible symphony going (and going and going).

Terrorism is not the act of a single religion or race or ideology. I submit it is a form of mental illness, an inability to drown out the unbearable; an insufficient supply of Reason's calming balm; an injured or incapacitated frontal cortex; a twist of mind wherein a murderous or destructive impulse overrules the survival instinct so vital to man and species alike.

Restoring harmony--achieving it in the first place, really--will require hard, detail-intensive work on the part of every player.

But first and foremost, we must hold accountable the ones who conduct these violent symphonies-in-situ from their vast electronic podiums; we must point to the men and women with the flailing batons and say, J'acuse. We must fire or replace them; or else, ignore them. After all, they need us more than we need them.

And then, we must do the work. We must address the music in front of each of us, and study its past and present, paying close attention to the clues and tiny directions scribbled in history's margins, and strive to learn--to make, and to make better. We must shun the opportunists and instead share our insights with one another, ever mindful of improving everything for everyone, not just a politically powerful few. And despite rancor and discord and walkouts and tantrums--despite the impulse to destroy that ingnites and often burns away relentlessly in the soul of every creative being when he fails--we must resolve to try, try again.

What we cannot do--what we must not do--is live in fear. And we cannot expect anything good to come from fear's never-ending deployment by the morally bankrupt, the despairing, and the despotic.

Sunday avoidance therapy: On Love, Tina Fey, Frank Zappa, and the First Amendment

Happy Sunday, and Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

In Escondido (Spanish for "hidden"), love (and chocolate) is in the air. And in Lincoln, MA, love is in the garden:

Two Big Black Hearts, by Jim Dine (American, b. 1935)
at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA

-----

Presidents, senators, governors, and half-governors have long been parodied by the talented comedians of Saturday Night Live, none of whom has attracted voluminous quantities of hate mail and threats like actor, writer, and producer Tina Fey, famous for her spot-on portrayal of the ex-governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. Ironically (which is part of the problem with Palin's fans, right there), Fey would often only recite, verbatim, the very words Palin herself uttered. So this part of the interview with Fey for the upcoming issue of American Vogue was disheartening to read (H/T Bree):

[...] She also bought a "little house" in the country, but she won't say where, because "I don't want anyone to come there and try to kill me." Ever since her devastatingly funny Sarah Palin impressions, she has for the first time in her life attracted unwanted attention—and hate mail. "People started projecting politics onto me," she says. "There are people who hate me now because of that." Fey's parents are Republicans, and she herself is an Independent. "The partisan nature of politics continues to appall me. I'm almost paralyzed by my inability to see things in black-and-white. I encountered a lot of hard-core Democrats who are just as rabid and hateful, and I found that just as shocking. It was scary to be in that world of politics. I felt uncomfortable to be in that discussion. The weird thing is, when Darrell Hammond or Will Ferrell or Dana Carvey did an impersonation of a president, no one assumed it was personal, but because Sarah Palin and I are both women and people think women are meaner to each other, everyone assumed it was personal."

-----

I originally posted these at Ezra Klein's blog, back in the day, and given all the recent hullabaloo about doing away with certain perfectly good English words because someone, somewhere might get offended, I thought it might inspire readers--especially new ones who missed this the first time around and who might not be aware of the late Frank Zappa's profound interest in politics and First Amendment issues--to see our hero FZ pointing out the then-nascent rightwing trends ("toward a fascist theocracy", as he aptly described it).

What you're about to see is a video clip--in three parts--of Maestro Zappa appearing on the CNN program Crossfire. Also appearing are On the left! Tom Braden, On the right! Robert Novak, and along with Mr. Zappa--In the crossfire!--is Washington Times columnist John Lofton. Enjoy!

Analyst points out facts to Bush flunkie who accused Obama of inviting terror attacks; Joe Scarborough:We're going to break right now...

O'Donnell: Isn't it true that the president YOU worked for invited the first attack? You just admitted, "We didn't know who hit us", yet you were TOLD who--before we were hit on 9/11--and YOUR administration invited the first attack, for Which. You. Should. Live. In. Shame.

Fresh off the MSNBC video press is an amazing exchange I witnessed live this morning when Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen, author of a newly-published book charmingly entitled Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack (the Amazon page of which I would not link to if you paid me all the chocolate in Switzerland) appeared on Morning Joe to promote his bullshit premise.

Rather than do the usual media-tiptoe around All Things Bushian and allow Thiessen to spew his lies unchallenged, MSNBC senior political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell pinned him down. Throughout the exchange, Thiessen smiled the smug smile of a practiced liar; meanwhile, Scarborough, as usual, attempted to talk over O'Donnell, saying Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence! over and over, and eventually cut his mic. At which point, to my surprise and delight, O'Donnell shouted his questions sans mic, and the show then cut to a commercial.

When they returned, O'Donnell was still on air (hey, Son One worried they might have whisked him off to some CIA black site!), his mic restored. Scarborough admonished O'Donnell to "stay in the corner" and sort-of completed the interview, and amazingly, O'Donnell piped up again and asked--after pointing out that Thiessen hails from the wealthiest ZIP codes in America, that he attended a private boarding school with its own golf course and then Vassar, and that he never served a day in the military--what, exactly, did he (Thiessen) know about torture?

Whoa.

It was must-see teevee and then some. More like this, please, MSNBC.

(If you would like to send a note to the network in praise of O'Donnell's all-too-rare line of questioning, please go here.)

Winter Wonderfood: litbrit's Turkey and Bean Chili

My boys--including the (sort-of) grown-up one--absolutely love this dish, and I'm happy to make it for them, as it's delicious and warming; it's adaptable to different palates (we like it hot); and nutritionally speaking, it packs a nice wallop of lean protein and fiber while keeping fat and calories to a minimum.

If you're going to keep things healthy, I'd recommend using low-fat (not fat-free, yuck) sour cream and low-fat sharp cheddar as toppings. This will serve about eight adults; if you're cooking for a roomful, as I was during the Superbowl, you can easily double the quantities, too (and leftovers are wonderful for breakfast when added to scrambled eggs in tortilla wraps). Cornbread is the classic accompaniment, whether you make it from scratch, use a pre-fab mix, or send someone to the supermarket bakery.

I want to say I adapted this from one of Martha Stewart's recipes; I'm about 99% certain I found the original version in one of her magazines several years ago. Given the chilly outlook, so to speak, this seems to be the perfect thing to kick off a home-bound weekend. So...let's cook!

You'll need a big, heavy-bottomed stock pot, a sharp knife, a long-handled wooden spoon, and a cutting board.

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds ground (or finely-minced leftover) turkey (if using already-cooked leftovers, I like to use a mix of dark and light turkey; otherwise, buy the fresh ground turkey that's about 7% fat, as the fat-free kind will be too dry.)
* olive oil
* 1/2 sweet onion (i.e. Vidalia or Maui), finely chopped
* 1 head of garlic, peeled and finely minced (note, that says head, not one measly clove! Hey, you need lots of garlic in your life if you're going to ward off heart disease and vampires; besides, garlic is delicious and it sweetens when you cook it.)
* 3-4 large fresh jalapeño chiles, ribs and seeds removed for less heat, minced (wash your hands well before you touch your face or anyone else's, okay?)
* red pepper flakes to taste (we like a lot; start with a pinch or two if you're not sure)
* 3 tablespoons chili powder
* 3 generous rounded tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (very important!)
* 4 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in puree (I use the Cento brand)
* 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses (it might sound counter-intuitive to use something so sweet in chili, but trust me, it all works)
* Coarse salt
* 3 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) best-quality pinto beans, organic if you can find them, drained and rinsed
* 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Method:

1. Pour a little oil--a tablespoon or two--into your stock pot or Dutch oven and place over medium heat; roll the pan around to coat bottom as the metal warms. Add onions and jalapeños, lower the flame a little, and cook until the onions are beginning to turn translucent; then add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes (again, go easy at first; you can add more toward the end if you want serious fire), and cook until everything is soft, stirring occasionally. Add the ground turkey and break it up with a wooden spoon, cooking and stirring until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes (if using already-cooked leftovers, much less time is needed, obviously; just warm through).

2. Stir in chili powder, cocoa powder, and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Things will start smelling really good now, and you may notice children, neighbors, cats, and dogs wandering into your kitchen.

3. Break up tomatoes with a spoon or your hands, and stir them in along with the puree. Add molasses, 1 cup water, and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, partially covered, 30 minutes.

4. Add beans and continue cooking, uncovered, until turkey and beans are very tender, and chili is thick, about 30 minutes more. Stir in the cilantro. Serve in your favorite ceramic bowls, with some shredded cheese, sour cream, and corn bread on the side.

Enjoy! Stay warm--and stay off the roads.

XXX
D.

Rachel Maddow on the GOP's stunning hypocrisy: Trash the stimulus, vote "No", then claim credit for the beneficial effect in their districts

Going through the matter fact by fact--and exposing legislator after slimy, two-faced, hypocritical Republican legislator--Rachel Maddow demonstrates how the Party of No is utterly full of shit and how its members don't care about constituents or country, but rather, seek only one thing: to try to break President Obama.

Quoth Rachel: "Grow up, Democrats: face the music; do it alone; you're the majority".

Yes.

Teabagger Watch, Part Two: The shining puppet (with crib notes)

They paid her over $100K for some teabagging, but all they got was a lousy hand job.*

"These stupid peasants, who, throughout the world, hold potentates on their thrones, make statesmen illustrious, provide generals with lasting victories, all with ignorance, indifference, or half-witted hatred, moving the world with the strength of their arms, and getting their heads knocked together in the name of God, the king, or the stock exchange---immortal, dreaming,hopeless asses, who surrender their reason to a shining puppet, and persuade some toy to carry their lives in his purse."

-- Stephen Crane, American author and poet

*Cf.