That's it -- it's now official: America is geopolitically, economically, culturally, and diplomatically bankrupt. It all coalesced this weekend in Maine, with George W. Bush hosting his new copain, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the consummatory power lunch featured... hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, and blueberry pie. Monsieur le President's stylish wife stayed away -- quelle surprise -- with a proverbial sore throat... One can hope that the hotdogs were actually saucissons and baguettes, and the hamburgers steak tartare and brioche, but as the US president admitted, he can't even speak English let alone French, so they likely ate beans and wienies while discussing good and evil and the combined force of their superpowers...
Too bad Carol Warner Christen wasn't there to teach the good men a thing or two about gladiators, generational nonsense, and the meaning of the Constitution. Nor was Robert Byrd invited -- the eloquent senator gets little public exposure outside of C-SPAN2 and Swans, where Gilles d'Aymery brings the great orator's words, and more, to the fore. Monsieur d'Aymery, had he been there, could have translated a few blips about military spending into French or plain English for the new playmates, and now that Gilles has declared his wholehearted support for war, why shouldn't he be invited to the party?!? (Oops, he's not part of the Establishment, as Philip Greenspan reminds.) Martin Murie could have gone -- he's just a stone's throw away near Plattsburgh, though a world away from the mainstream, which he's learned through the inconspicuous placement of his books in stores from Wyoming to Maine. Muckraker Bruce Anderson would have added some zest to the party -- he's done so with his return to the helm of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, where free speech endures (unlike in the airwaves, as Gerard Donnelly Smith explains).
Speaking of zest, Michael Doliner provides a humorous tale from the paranoia-inducing Global War on Terror, where even our cats have become al Qaeda operatives, and Peter Byrne explores the hypocrisy of reformed sinner, Senator David Vitter. Finally, a taste of culture in which Charles Marowitz shares his experience directing playwright Joe Orton; Francesca Saieva imagines the holistic possibilities that could be realized with one world book written in a blended language; and your letters top off this edition.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans. It's your voice that makes ours grow.
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Carol Warner Christen: Human Generational Nonsense
After humanity's maladaptation to nearly 4,000 years of war, what will it take to surprise us -- to shock us -- into a different, humane, manner of living? More...
Gilles d'Aymery: The Senior Senator From West Virginia
The great orator, Senator Robert C. Byrd, was spot on with his opposition to the Iraq War and his dire predictions for its outcome, voted against the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act, defends Habeas Corpus, yet he is virtually ignored by both the media and the antiwar movement alike. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #56
A few selected tidbits that landed on the Editor's desk, from finding funds for America's perpetual war, but not for her uninsured children and crumbling infrastructure, with antiwar critics as a creative new source of revenue; to capitalism at its finest and recycling at its worst in the form of bottled tap water; to the Middle East and the presidential candidates that We (i.e., the Establishment) want to see; and more... More...
Philip Greenspan: Fiddling During The Conflagration
The author responds to Gilles d'Aymery's "The Establishment's Tocsin," proposing that the Establishment is indeed happy with the Bush administration's actions, particularly the expanding war. More...
Martin Murie: On Foot In Plattsburgh
A day in an American city; a pedestrian's view: A walk from the wilderness to the urban jungle of Plattsburgh, New York, with the requisite strip malls, empty blacktops, and typical customer service. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Bruce Anderson's Latest Roar
Three years after selling the Anderson Valley Advertiser and moving to Oregon, Bruce Anderson is back in Boonville, California, after having repurchased the paper. More...
Gerard Donnelly Smith: The Chilling Effect: The Fairness Doctrine
Opponents of the Fairness Doctrine package it as a threat to free speech, when in fact it would have the opposite effect, requiring balanced reporting and promoting debate -- exactly what the Establishment does not want. More...
Michael Doliner: An Early Warning
Al Qaeda forces have landed on American soil and are taking over our cats -- just watch how yours prowls at night, and you too will take up arms. More...
Peter Byrne: A Saint And Her Senator
Reality TV spotlights political scandals, with the senator (Vitter) caught in the act who is now a reformed sinner with loving, impeccably-coiffed wife at side. More...
Charles Marowitz: Remembering Joe Orton
The author sheds some first-hand insight into the dark and comedic British playwright Joe Orton, whose play Loot he directed and resurrected at the London Traverse Theatre in the mid-1960s. More...
Francesca Saieva: Linguistic Blending
Francesca Saieva describes linguistic blending as "meaning gift," defending again, in tune with Borges, the idea of writing one only world Book. More...
On Robert Byrd and human barbarity; Bush's victories, in spite of his ratings; the silence of Mr. Kos and absence of Ms. Rennard; a free book for the taking, and more. More...
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