May 2006 (I): Do Not Touch Your Dial

An irresitable invitation: Department Gals' Day Out—


Jesus' Best Administrative Assistant is in the midst of caring for the post-Caesarian puppy bounty: "I have hives so bad! I'm allergic to newsprint, with the puppies being potty-trained. I thought it would get better, but it's not!"

Mid-month, Jesus' BAA takes a day off to prep the party she's throwing at home, for her [special needs] church camper-parishioners. The day before, she announces she'll have to start hiding things tonight, because: "Deaf people are the biggest thieves you've ever seen! They take everything that isn't locked down!"

It suggests a level of psychological projection I don't want to think about.

Another day, a rapt audience of Ghengis, Cruella, and Jesus' BAA listen to Dr. G. Zuss tell an anecdote:

After the announcement that I was leaving X University to come here, a friend who's a ... [pausing to come up with a euphemism] ... liberal thinker... said, "That's the worst news I've heard since Bush won!"

Jesus' BAA gasps, "Oh, no!" as Ghengis and Cruella laugh heartily.

Which may not even have been sucking up by those two; they may have laughed to think Bush won, so the no-good librul was PO'd!

An amused Dr. G. Zuss says to Jesus' BAA, "Don't look at me that way!"

Turning red, she insists the story doesn't bother her.

Dr. G. Zuss gets sly: "Now, I know you have a Bush sticker on your vehicle!"

Which Jesus' BAA also denies, claiming she doesn't put on stickers because they make a mess. Then she goes on (and on, and on) about how her husband's vehicle is "plastered with them," and he's been asked to be the county chair for [local Rethug running for governor], but she told him not to, it's just asking for headaches...

It could mean she's toning down her political activity, since realizing the boss is somewhere vaguely left of Joe McCarthy.

And that, I gather, is mainly due to the anti-science stance of the current regime.

When not trying to impress the Chief, Cruella is busy as ever with American Idol commentary. In one morning's phone conversation with her Good Daughter:

I was in shock! She did an awful job, she deserved to go!
...Taylor has a fan base: he's never been in the bottom…
To be honest, I thought Chris would win...incredibly market-savvy: that's the kind of music people listen to...
... [Some other name I don't catch] is awesome! He's phenomenal! He's so emotional when he sings!

Another morning, after a favorite has been bumped, "I was devastated! Absolutely devastated!"

Though Idol takes up the airwaves, some news still seeps out, if not into the consciousness of Cruella and the others. The Hartford Courant publishes "Mentally Unfit, Forced To Fight"

The U.S. military is sending troops with serious psychological problems into Iraq and is keeping soldiers in combat even after superiors have been alerted to suicide warnings and other signs of mental illness, a Courant investigation has found.

...Once at war, some unstable troops are kept on the front lines while on potent antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, with little or no counseling or medical monitoring.

And some troops who developed post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq are being sent back to the war zone, increasing the risk to their mental health. These practices, which have received little public scrutiny and in some cases violate the military's own policies, have helped to fuel an increase in the suicide rate among troops serving in Iraq... accounting for nearly one in five of all Army non-combat deaths.

Earlier in the month, Ray McGovern attended a talk in Atlanta by Donald Rumsfeld, and managed to get out some questions. Prior to that, protestors were removed—to the applause of the audience at the Southern Center for International Studies.

In this interview, McGovern says of the encounter, "I suppose the good news is that finally someone had a chance to ask Don Rumsfeld—if I were in Washington, I never would have got into a session where Rumsfeld spoke." McGovern also quotes a pre-event leaflet distributed by The World Can't Wait:

There's going to be a question-and-answer period, but please adhere to these guidelines. Refrain from using the word 'lie' in relation to the war in Iraq. Do not question the secretary’s personal responsibility for torture. And please don't discuss first use of nuclear weapons against Iran. If you violate these guidelines, you'll be immediately removed from the auditorium, flown to an undesignated prison location somewhere in Eastern Europe and tortured. Thank you for your cooperation.

From the LA Times on May 18 there's a piece by Laura K. Donohue—originally headlined "Battlefield: U.S."—currently posted by the Times as "Pentagon spies are watching you"—! It succinctly describes the ever-growing list of methods of surveillance of Americans—the methods that have come to light, that is.

But, to paraphrase the Reich-wing's, "you have nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide" — you have nothing to trouble you if stay tuned only to American Idol.