A total failure of morality

It's breathtakingly sad to see it all at once. For me, this is not about partisanship, though. It's not just about a complete and total failure of government, but a complete and total failure of morality. When 9/11 happened and B*sh made a visit to ground zero, most people admired him for his courage, for standing as a symbol of American resiliency, etc. etc. The more cynical among us thought, what the fuck else would any reasonable person do? Is there anybody who has even a marginal love for this country, if they suddenly woke up one day as Commander in Chief, would not do the same?

I don't feel anything different this week. Who, with even a marginal love of this country, doesn't feel like they've been slugged in the gut when they hear of Americans going for 3 days without potable water or food? How could you fucking go SHOE SHOPPING or spending all day hanging out and getting a guitar lesson and eating cake at photo ops at a time like that? Anybody? How could you send out emails urging members of your party to fight for what you call the most important issue of the day, making sure that the Paris Hiltons of the world get their tax breaks?

Practially all we've seen is the worst in people coming out. The head of FEMA claiming that the people stuck behind in NOLA brought this on themselves, the usual "Christian" shitstains claiming that this is all God's wrath for some homo-sin-uality related hoo-hah, the pathetic fucks at The Corner trying, however desperately, to make shitty jokes about how the people left behind should just grow gills, trying, however circuitously, to blame the whole mess on Clinton.

I don't really give a fuck who is to blame. It's pretty fucking obvious who is to blame, anyway -- it's not a matter that needs a whole lot of discussion right now. In 6 months or a year we can have all the exposes on how government fuckups allowed this to happen. But right now it's not a question of who's to blame. It's a matter of people dying in the streets RIGHT NOW and doing whatever we can for the survivors.

Bullshit protector

Meet Umbert the Unborn, the world's most lovable unborn baby.

Greatest Craigslist personal EVAR.

Ministry of Reshelving

Three chords make rock songs.
Sometimes, that's par for the course.
Other times? Loud golf.

--Bad Rock Haiku #7

Pope warns against D.I.Y. religion

Nice to see the pope condemning Superchunk's first 12" as the work of the devil.

No, really, what he said was,

"If it is pushed too far, religion becomes almost a consumer product," he said.

"People choose what they like, and some are even able to make a profit from it.

"But religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said.

I guess it's nice for the pope to realize that he is not in fact a widget salesman, but it's a little hard to swallow coming from the leader of a church that has always been keenly savvy at segmenting and then franchising itself, with a whole cadre of thousands of minor saints and arcangels lined up like characters in only three frames of "Return of the Jedi" turned into action figures. Is Saint Gummarus the Jek Porkins of Catholicism? Is Saint Fiacre, the patron saint of venereal diseases, really sitting around on some cloud somewhere just waiting for somebody with a case of the crabs to call for his intercession?

The world is full of casual Catholicism -- buy the candle of this patron saint, say that many hail marys, no, not 5, 10. It takes an advanced degree in Jesus-ology to dole this shit out, young man.

hell yes.

Garrison Keillor: 2 Nasty 4 Radio

...in Kentucky at least.

stickin' up for who?

Ah, Pitchfork, just when I was tired of your shenanigans, you've decided to enter a bold and hilarious new period of rock criticism, defending the indefensible. What kind of ilXor would I be if I shat on that parade?

A couple of weeks ago it was AM easy listening favorite Electric Light Orchestra; today we get treated to 1400 or so words on the greatness of The Doobie Brothers, floppiest of all the floppy moustache bands, with some love on the side given to Steely Dan -- a band so un-rocking even my mom will turn off the stereo if one of their songs comes on.

Surely we can look forward to critical re-evaluations of Bread, Gordon Lightfoot, The Captain and Tenille, Marmalade, Seals and Crofts and of course Lynyrd Motherfucking Skynrd. I can't wait; it's all fun and games, at least until I hear the first screamo version of "China Grove", then it's on. Hey, it was either dipping into the 8 track pantheon or start reviewing jazz albums, and that Albert Ayler shit makes the old bedhead head hurt!

In Boston, even the swans are gay.