From the darkness he prayed

I find this story poignant for two reasons. One is that I attended college in Waco and the only African-Americans I recall ever seeing were at a black church I attended a few Sundays. And the other reason I love it is that Sullivan references Merton, a man I have been fascinated by since my friend Christopher introduced me to Merton’s work back in September. And I am currently reading Seven Storey Mountain, Merton's autobiography, a book my brother gave me for my birthday.

The Oakeshott conference was quite wonderful in so many ways and I hope to blog about it soon. But leaving the rather poignantly named Waco International Airport, I came upon one of those little moments of grace worth passing along. On my way to the gate, the shoe shine man did a boisterous sales job. "You've got plenty of time, sir. Plenty of time." I brushed him off, but he kept at it. I find the whole process of a shoe shine faintly embarrassing (although it has its moments in a leather bar) and the idea of sitting up on a pedestal while someone bows and scrapes on your shoes ... well, it just feels wrong to me. Before me in line, Roger Scruton had sat there and been ministered unto and I had inwardly smirked (to my shame).

But the man insisted - he was African-American - and at that point my libertarian instincts kicked in. This was his job and my own snooty sense of p.c. amour-propre shouldn't get in the way of his making a buck.

So I climbed up, sat down, and by way of easing my discomfort, asked him where he was from.

"Waco, all my life, sir." I then asked him what it was like when he was younger (he seemed in his sixties, I'd say). He told me of a tornado, and of floods. I then asked him about segregation. He didn't hesitate to talk about it, but I could tell he would have never brought it up if I had not prompted him. Yes, he recounted the indignities, as he dabbed my shoes with polish, but without a trace of bitterness: of how he and a co-worker would have to enter a store by different entrances, how any hint of rebellion would be met with violence, how you had to keep your head down or "you had a problem", how certain neighborhoods were simply off-limits by day or night, how his relatives had been beaten, how he had learned to keep his peace and do his job. At one point, it got so bad he left for Nevada. But he soon returned.

I asked him how he survived. "Prayer," he instantly replied. "I just prayed. We all prayed. We're Christians and we prayed. Couldn't have got through it without prayer. And prayer for them too."

He meant, prayer for those who tormented him.

We hear constantly about what Christianity is, but it seems to me that this was as clear a statement as it gets. And when I hear some dismiss religious life, and argue, as my friend Hitch does, that religion poisons everything, I wonder what they would say to this man.

On the plane to DC I took out my Merton (I'm re-reading The Seven Storey Mountain these days) and came across this passage:

It was St Augustine's argument, that envy and hatred try to pierce our neighbor with a sword, when the blade cannot reach him unless it first passes through our own body.

The shoe shine was a Christian. And he was happy.

Why Sarah Palin Still Matters

Read this and then read it a second time and then forward it to everyone you know.

Andrew Sullivan:

Some readers think my continuing attempt to expose all the lies and flim-flam and bizarre behavior of Sarah Palin is now moot. She's history - they argue. Move on. I think she probably is history. Even Bill Kristol and his minions in the McCain-Palin campaign may not be able to resuscitate her political viability now. But even if she is history, she is history that matters.

Let's be real in a way the national media seems incapable of: this person should never have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural "identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent this from recurring.

It happened because John McCain is an incompetent and a cynic and reckless beyond measure. To have picked someone he'd only met once before, without any serious vetting procedure, revealed McCain as an utterly unserious character, a man whose devotion to the shallowest form of political gamesmanship trumped concern for his country's or his party's interest. We need a full accounting of the vetting process: who was responsible for this act of political malpractice? How could a veep not be vetted in any serious way? Why was she not asked to withdraw as soon as the facts of her massive ignorance and delusional psyche were revealed?

The Palin nightmare also happened because a tiny faction of political professionals has far too much sway in the GOP and conservative circles. This was Bill Kristol's achievement.

It was a final product of the now-exhausted strategy of fomenting fundamentalist resentment to elect politicians dedicated to the defense of Israel and the extension of American military hegemony in every corner of the globe. Palin was the reductio ad absurdum of this mindset: a mannequin candidate, easily controlled ideologically, deployed to fool and corral the resentful and the frightened, removed from serious scrutiny and sold on propaganda networks like a food product.

This deluded and delusional woman still doesn't understand what happened to her; still has no self-awareness; and has never been forced to accept her obvious limitations. She cannot keep even the most trivial story straight; she repeats untruths with a ferocity and calm that is reserved only to the clinically unhinged; she has the educational level of a high school drop-out; and regards ignorance as some kind of achievement. It is excruciating to watch her - but more excruciating to watch those who feel obliged to defend her.

Her candidacy, in short, was indefensible. It remains indefensible. Until the mainstream media, the GOP establishment, and the conservative intelligentsia acknowledge the depth of their error, this blog will keep demanding basic accountability.

My point is not to persecute or hound some random person. I wish I had never heard of Sarah Palin. I wish this nightmare had never happened. I wish totally innocent by-standers, like Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston and Heather Bruce and Trig Palin, had not had their lives disrupted by this circus. It's distressing to everyone, which is why most journalists left many aspects of this charade alone. But Palin is claiming vindication, is on every cable show, is at the National Governors Association Conference, and is touted as a future leader of the GOP. There comes a point at which you have to simply call a time out and insist that this farce cease and some basic accountability and transparency be restored to the process. Since no one else seems willing to do so, the Dish will stay on the case. So where are those medical records anyway?

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

I'm a goldfish in Andrews Sullivan's eyes

Andrew Sullivan thinks I am a goldfish and that I need him to plop me back in my fishbowl. Thanks Andy!!!

"In. Need. Of. Oxygen"
Jon-Marc, the goldfish

McCain's attempt to smear Andrew Sullivan will backfire. Big time!

This may be the most facinating development in the entire Sarah Palin / Trig Palin saga.

Today Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post wrote an article in which he included e-mails that Andrew Sullivan had sent to the McCain campaign. The two emails read:

"I'm very sorry to say, it's come to this: can you confirm on the record that Trig Palin is Sarah Palin's biological son? . . . Since this is a crazy idea, it should be easy for you or someone to let me know, the most popular one-man political blog site in the world, what the truth is."

"I asked a simple question akin to asking whether you can confirm that the sky is blue. Here's the question in case it got lost: can you confirm on the record that Trig Palin is Sarah Palin's biological son? Can I please get a response of some sort, even if it is that you will not respond?"

So how did the McCain campaign respond? By passing Andrew’s inquiries on to Kurtz to publish. They did not respond to Andrew, did not supply any evidence as to the birth of Trig. They simply attempted to smear the messenger and ridicule his legitimate questions.

Anyone, ANYONE that does not now believe that McCain campaign is the sleaziest in modern history is either asleep or dead . And the attempts to humiliate Andrew are nothing more than further evidence that the campaign has become a bunch of unhinged henchmen ready to destroy anything that gets in their way.

Something is brewing, I assure you. And the McCain campaign is in pure panic mode. Whatever delusions they once fostered have been replaced by overwhelming, toxic fear. Fear, the basest of human emotions, causes humans to react in the basest of ways.

When historians reflect on the exact moment the campaign slipped beyond the reach, overwhelmingly they will conclude that the campaign’s utter contempt for, and disregard of, a free and unbridled press was the decisive point of no return.

Responding to cries of more transparency with increased opacity only leads to two things: The first is heightened suspicion and the second is a steely resolve to affirm that suspicion with evidence.

If this is the game the McCain campaign wants to play, that is certainly their prerogative. But it is a game they will most certainly lose.

Therefore, I will include a post from last week since none of my questions from that post have been answered:

As many have said before, the reason Sarah Palin is so important, and the reason that there is such a focus on her, is because she shows how reckless John McCain’s judgment is and her lies, as we are discovering each day, prove that she was not vetted AT ALL.

Andrew Sullivan has done a wonderful job at disseminating all the facts on Sarah Palin.

But there are more questions that need to be answered. Let’s start with these:

** Bristol Palin, the 17 year old unmarried pregnant daughter of Sarah and Todd, was out of school for a significant amount of time last year (anywhere from 5-8 months) with “mono”. The maximum a child is normally out of school for such a thing as mono is less than three months. Did she have a rare strain? Was she, as one would assume, quarantined so as to not infect others? If so, could someone find out the dates she was out of school? Surely, with such an infectious disease, she would not be having sex while infected? She has been pregnant for, what, five months according to Sarah Palin?

** When Sarah Palin realized she was going into labor, why did she go ahead and make a speech at a governors’ conference in Texas? She says she was leaking amniotic fluid? Who is her doctor and why did they tell her it was ok to make an eight hour trip back to Alaska, on a PLANE? Did Sarah tell any of the flight attendants she was in labor? Did the pilot know? The governor of Alaska was five weeks premature with a special needs child and yet all the powers that be told her it was A-OK for her to travel? On a plane? Leaking amniotic fluid? Why wouldn’t they, for the sake of the baby, do what is in the best interest of the child and deliver in Texas so as not to risk more harm to little Trig? Todd Palin said they wanted the baby to be born in Alaska because “You can’t have a fish picker in Texas?” First of all, what does that even mean? And secondly, they were willing to risk further harm to the baby just so he could have Alaska as his place of birth?

** When she arrived back in Alaska, why weren’t there medical personnel waiting there to whisk away the governor? Why did she drive an additional 45 minutes to get to the hospital when there were others closer?

** Where are Trig Palin’s birth records? This is a legitimate question. After all, Trig had his own webpage on the governor’s state-run website. Where are Sarah Palin’s medical records? Mat-Su, the hospital where Palin gave birth, does not even list the birth of Trig the day the Palins claim. They don’t list the birth at all. Why is this?

** Sarah Palin returned back to work just three days after giving birth to her 5th child. Did her doctor, the one that is apparently MIA, allow this too? Or did Sarah go against her doctor’s wishes? I admit, I am no Sarah Palin. I’m a sissy-boy faggot that can barely move after a week with a slight cold. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, can shoot 437,000 caribou before dusk. But it seems to me that just 72 hours after giving birth to a child with special needs and she returned to work? Am I the only one that finds this not only remarkable, but also hard to believe?

I am sure there are very obvious answers to all these easy questions. Could people just give them to me? In the comments please list the answers if you have them. List the source as well.
Psst. Snopes does not count as a “source”

Also, if there are more questions that I have not listed, list them in the comments.

Oh, and I am fully prepared for the comments calling me crazy, unhinged, reckless. Say what you will. I don’t give a shit. I just want the answers. We deserve the answers. And one way or another, the answers will come out.

Andrew Sullivan on Real Time with Bill Mahar

Andy does it again! Watch the whole thing.

Say what you will about Andrew Sullivan. As I have written before, his are often the loneliest positions to take. And though I do not always agree with him, I respect him immensely. I wish there were more vocal conservatives like him that saw Palin for the farce she is.

Stay strong, Andy! And "never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or conviction" Dag Hammarskjold

The odd circumstances of Trig Palin's birth. Just because the story has gone away does not mean there is not a story

As many have said before, the reason Sarah Palin is so important, and the reason that there is such a focus on her, is because she shows how reckless John McCain’s judgment is and her lies, as we are discovering each day, prove that she was not vetted AT ALL.

Andrew Sullivan has done a wonderful job at disseminating all the facts on Sarah Palin.

But there are more questions that need to be answered. Let’s start with these:

** Bristol Palin, the 17 year old unmarried pregnant daughter of Sarah and Todd, was out of school for a significant amount of time last year (anywhere from 5-8 months) with “mono”. The maximum a child is normally out of school for such a thing as mono is less than three months. Did she have a rare strain? Was she, as one would assume, quarantined so as to not infect others? If so, could someone find out the dates she was out of school? Surely, with such an infectious disease, she would not be having sex while infected? She has been pregnant for, what, five months according to Sarah Palin?

** When Sarah Palin realized she was going into labor, why did she go ahead and make a speech at a governors’ conference in Texas? She says she was leaking amniotic fluid? Who is her doctor and why did they tell her it was ok to make an eight hour trip back to Alaska, on a PLANE? Did Sarah tell any of the flight attendants she was in labor? Did the pilot know? The governor of Alaska was five weeks premature with a special needs child and yet all the powers that be told her it was A-OK for her to travel? On a plane? Leaking amniotic fluid? Why wouldn’t they, for the sake of the baby, do what is in the best interest of the child and deliver in Texas so as not to risk more harm to little Trig? Todd Palin said they wanted the baby to be born in Alaska because “You can’t have a fish picker in Texas?” First of all, what does that even mean? And secondly, they were willing to risk further harm to the baby just so he could have Alaska as his place of birth?

** When she arrived back in Alaska, why weren’t there medical personnel waiting there to whisk away the governor? Why did she drive an additional 45 minutes to get to the hospital when there were others closer?

** Where are Trig Palin’s birth records? This is a legitimate question. After all, Trig had his own webpage on the governor’s state-run website. Where are Sarah Palin’s medical records? Mat-Su, the hospital where Palin gave birth, does not even list the birth of Trig the day the Palins claim. They don’t list the birth at all. Why is this?

** Sarah Palin returned back to work just three days after giving birth to her 5th child. Did her doctor, the one that is apparently MIA, allow this too? Or did Sarah go against her doctor’s wishes? I admit, I am no Sarah Palin. I’m a sissy-boy faggot that can barely move after a week with a slight cold. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, can shoot 437,000 caribou before dusk. But it seems to me that just 72 hours after giving birth to a child with special needs and she returned to work? Am I the only one that finds this not only remarkable, but also hard to believe?

I am sure there are very obvious answers to all these easy questions. Could people just give them to me? In the comments please list the answers if you have them. List the source as well.
Psst. Snopes does not count as a “source”

Also, if there are more questions that I have not listed, list them in the comments.

Oh, and I am fully prepared for the comments calling me crazy, unhinged, reckless. Say what you will. I don’t give a shit. I just want the answers. We deserve the answers. And one way or another, the answers will come out.

Fogey dust and Palin's Pearls of Special Needs...Forgetting Andrew Sullivan for a moment

I am going to get off the one-track Andrew Sullivan coverage for a moment. I would note, however, that though he is back to what appears to be regular posting, most of the posts don't include his usual commentary. But moving on.

There is a phrase -- actually, it's a theory -- called the "Willing suspension of disbelief". In very simple terms it basically means that humans often suspend their disbelief of something in order to be entertained.

This phrase (or theory) is often used with movie goers. A movie goer watches a fantastical movie while willingly suspending their disbelief that what is occurring on the screen is actually real. The theory goes that if one were to watch a movie without the suspension, they would not enjoy the movie simply because they would be analyzing how unbelievable it all is.

As children, my cousin and I felt we were growing too old for cartoons. We did not want to be perceived as children any longer. But secretly deep within, we still liked them. So what did we do? We watched the cartoons while loudly decrying their unbelievability. "The smurfs are in no way real. Little blue people. That's just stupid"... "There is no way Punky-power is real. I bet little kids think Punky power is real. They're so stupid"... "He-Man is sooooo fake. There is no way! But look at those muscles. He looks yummy"

Ok, the last one we did not say but I certainly did think it! The point is, whether we are willingly suspending or willingly not suspending our disbelief, we do it for a reason. We do so to either be entertained or, as in the case of my childhood, to feel some sort of superiority.

Enter McCain and Palin.

For the past week, especially at the Republican National Convention convention, we have been told that Palin and McCain are the agents of change that will mend the broken corriders of Washington. The Maverick and the Pit-Bull are going to fly into Washington and shake things up. They are the change that we have been waiting for.

Of course, as everyone knows, there are just a few problems with that scenario. George W. Bush is a republican, republicans have have held both houses of Washington for six of the last eight years and most, if not all, of our nations woes have been at the hands of republicans.

But instead of apologizing for it, McCain and Palin are actually asking us to willingly suspend our disbelief that they represent change. We are to believe that they are not republicans or even conservatives. And the saddest thing is that many Americans are suspending their disbelief of the campaign and republicans in general in order to be entertained. Or, and this is most likely the case, in order to not feel how badly these last eight years have hurt. They want to believe the unbelievable because they need something to believe in again.

Now, you might ask, what about Obama? He brings such freshness and hope. Why aren't Americans gravitating to him more than they are?:

The far-right has put so many pieces of untruth in the minds of voters concerning Obama that voters have been looking for permission to not vote for him. The right-wing has smeared him so much these last 20 months that the voters have a lot of doubts and they want permisson to vote for more of the same. And their permission is Palin.

Forget her record (suspend), forget her lies (suspend), forget her extreme views (suspend). Instead look at the fresh face and keep in mind her genatalia. She's a woman. That's all they want you to know.

And when you don't forget, they turn to page two of this years right-wing playbook:

When the press gets tough, have Sarah and her surrogates clutch their pearls in unison and cry. Cry so loud and for so long that that the press will do anything to quiet you, including quieting themselves.

When Obama makes a reference to a pig and lipstick, scream that he is referencing Sarah. And when the public ask "What..." cut them off and tell them to forget (suspend) that McCain said the same thing about Clinton last October as well as laughed and answered the question "How do we beat the bitch?" from a supporter earlier this year.

And when Obama uses the word "old" in any context wail that he means McCain. Old fish=McCain, old ways of Washington=McCain, old lies=McCain.

And make sure the public believes that taking on either McCain and Palin is either ageism or sexism.

If Obama says the economy has been slowing down for so long that we are, in fact, in a recession respond with: How dare he bring Sarah's son Trig into this! She chose life! Life! He is a down-syndrome child, not slow!

If Obama says the war in Iraq is not working respond with: You want to know who's not working? The executive chef to the governor of Alaska is not working. Now that's not working we can believe in!

If Obama mentions McCain's embrace of Bush respond with: How dare Obama mention John McCain's embrace. Everyone knows John McCain has trouble embracing people ever since he was a POW! He was hurt very, very badly (DON'T SAY TORTURED!) by very, very bad people. He can hardly embrace a thing. I cannot believe Obama would use John McCain's injuries as a political weapon! (Clutch pearls)

Fogey dust and Palin's pearls. That's their strategy heading into November.

In the end, though, all it really is is dandruff and plastic beads.
Will we suspend our disbelief? Let's hope to He-Man we don't!

Continued Sully Watch: 2008

UPDATE III 1:30PM 2008-09-09 He's back. It's still all fishy. My response to his post about his whereabouts can be found by clicking here


NOTE: See my previous posts about this (1st)here and (2nd)here
NOTE II: As many have pointed out, Sully has never broken a major story. I said that as well. It could be all this fuss is an illness and it could be that he getting the boot from The Atlantic. Who knows? I just suspect there is something more. I may be wrong. It would not be the first time!

My speculation as to whereabouts of Andrew Sullivan has once again brought a huge amount of attention to this blog. The hits last night and this morning alone are more than this blog normally receives in a four month period.

As of this morning Sully has yet to post. Many comments seem to think Sully could be ill or that something might be wrong with his husband or he might be on vacation. But Sully always, always leaves a post about this sort of thing and also gets people to guest-blog. Additionally, he just took a vacation and Sully would not miss the last few weeks of the presidential race for anything. He might be sick (or Aaron might be sick) but I doubt it.

Another comment asked if Sully has broken a major news story in his life. To my knowledge, no. His forte is commentary. But he has implored journalists to start asking the right questions about Palin and start doing their jobs. He has screamed (as loud as one can scream on a blog) that they not be intimidated by the McCain campaign and get to the business of thoroughly vetting Palin since McCain apparently did not .

Is he on to something? I don't know. But I do know he is not intimidated easily. He takes hits from all sides and keeps going strong.

Now, if he is on to something and does "break" a story be prepared for the war on Sully to intensify. His opponents will bring up the sex controversy of 2001 and use it as reason to discredit Sully's story. They will also say he is a hypocrite.

If they do, they do so at their own peril. I imagine Sully is prepared for whatever might come.

UPDATE: As many have pointed out, Sully has never broken a major story. I said that as well. It could be all this fuss is an illness and it could be that he getting the boot from The Atlantic. Who knows? I just suspect there is something more

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JON-MARC MCDONALD'S BAKING BLOG, BakeItTilYouMakeIt.com click here

Sully Watch: 2008

UPDATE 1:30PM 2008-09-09 He's back. It's still all fishy. My response to his post about his whereabouts can be found by clicking here

UPDATE 847AM 2008/09/09 NOTE: FIXED LINK Click here for another post about Sully's whereabouts

So just where is Andrew Sullivan? Last night, at 8:25, Andrew Sullivan posted something that, on its face, seems straight-forward and clear. The post simply applauds Sarah Palin's decision to raise Trig despite the fact that the Palin's knew of his Down Symdrome during the pregnancy. Take a look:

In thinking about this astonishing week, and what's to come, I want to go on record again as saying that the decision to bring up a child with Down Syndrome is one of the most noble, beautiful and admirable decisions any person can make. That Sarah Palin is doing that says a huge amount in favor of her. The love obviously being shown toward tiny Trig is also about as profound an advertisement for genuine, pro-life Christianity as you can have. It means that, in this respect, Palin has walked the walk of the pro-life movement - in ways that many others have not. In my view, and I mean this as passionately as I mean my criticisms of her public record, this really is God's work.

I have no reason to doubt that Sullivan feels this way. It is consistent with his beliefs about abortion. However read it again.

Now keep in mind that Sully is despised by both the left and right of the political spectrum. In many ways his positions are the loneliest to take because they are not often aligned along party lines or ideologies. I respect Sully for this approach (hence my regular citations of his blog on this blog). Now, once again, read what he wrote.

Did you catch any of it? What seemed perfectly clear at first glance becomes quite cryptic upon further observation. It seems to be foreshadowing something, telling his readers that something is about to break and when it does and chaos ensues, he wants people to know where he stands in regards to the innocent child, Trig, and the woman who is raising him as her own.

Let's pick the statement apart piece by piece. My commentary is in red:

In thinking about this astonishing week, and what's to come (what is to come? What information does Sully have that we do not? And why is he withholding it? Is he getting his ducks in a row on a potentially devastating story?), I want to go on record again as saying that the decision to bring up a child with Down Syndrome is one of the most noble, beautiful and admirable decisions any person can make (the "decision to bring up" Did you catch it? Bring up. Not "give birth to a child") . That Sarah Palin is doing that says a huge amount in favor of her. The love obviously being shown toward tiny Trig (not "her son". That's odd. Just the "love that is being shown toward Tiny Trig) is also about as profound an advertisement for genuine, pro-life Christianity as you can have. It means that, in this respect, Palin has walked the walk of the pro-life movement - in ways that many others have not. In my view, and I mean this as passionately as I mean my criticisms of her public record, this really is God's work. (Sully never once calls Trig Sarah's son)

Sully is not some unhinged blogger. He is someone that has built a respectable career on nuance and self-reflection. But reading his posts over the past week, one can't help but wonder if Sully has knowledge of something for which he is catiously seeking proof. If the information he has is not concerning the legitimacy of Sarah's relationship to Trig, I have no doubt it is something equally explosive. The question is, will he collect sufficent evidence to reveal the information, or will he, for the sake of his own reputation, be forced to keep the information to himself?
So, once again, where's Andrew Sullivan?

UPDATE 847AM 2008/09/09 Click here for another post about Sully's whereabouts

FOR JON-MARC MCDONALD'S BAKING BLOG, BakeItTilYouMakeIt.com, click here

Where's Andrew Sullivan?

UPDATE III 1:30PM 2008-09-09 He's back. It's still all fishy. My response to his post about his whereabouts can be found by clicking here

UPDATE: See my post here for more speculation as to where Andrew Sullivan might be?
UPDATE II 847AM 2008/09/09 Another post about Sully's whereabouts

Where is Andrew Sullivan today? His blog has received, just today, nearly half-a-million hits as of 5PM and he has only posted once, and that was a "View from your Window" post. So, where's Andrew Sullivan?
Hmmm
UPDATE: See my post here for more speculation as to where Andrew Sullivan might be?
UPDATE II 847AM 2008/09/09 Another post about Sully's whereabouts