The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

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Moral authority and changes in perceptions.

By Oxy Mora on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 11:43am |

OWS is getting traction in the aftermath of Steve Jobs' death and I began to ponder a connection between the two events. Was the end of the Steve Jobs/Apple "story", meaning its mystique, also the lifting of a veil of complacency and gullibility about what's going on in plain sight around us? What if the Apple story needed to be debunked, stood on its head in the same way that much of our politics and economic struggles need to be?

Can perry light off his burn pile?

By Oxy Mora on Mon, 10/17/2011 - 10:50am |

When I purchased country property in Texas a few years back I didn't realize one of its assets was the burn pile. A neighbor helped me clear some dead tree limbs and I asked him to take it all to the dump. He had a good laugh and said, "I was going to haul it over to your burn pile" I asked him where that was. "Over behind the old barn, been there for years."

We rode four wheelers over to the other end of the pasture. And there it was--kind of a sacred site--a large mound of black rubble, with bits of twisted metal poking out to catch glints of sunlight. "That burn pile has been there for as long as I can remember". My neighbor said. "Even longer than that bodark wood post them surveyors found on the corner of your property. Dates back to the 1800's".

Cain's 999 plan vs. Perry's "drill baby drill"

By Oxy Mora on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 12:45pm |

Rick Perry has just unveiled his "drill baby drill" plan, a plan to bring dirty oil to ourselves and perhaps have enough left over to sell to the the rest of the world. Perry wants to "Make what we make" , "Buy what we make" and "Sell what we make" to the rest of the world. Perhaps instead of "drill baby drill" Perry's plan could be described as the "Make, Make, Make" plan. or "Make, Buy and Sell" plan. In any event Perry's makeover has him positioned aside a simplistic plan well suited to his experience running an energy state and his inexperience in just about everything else. And Perry's plan is positioned just opposite Cain's 999 plan. Of course, neither of their plans is ever going to be implemented. The plans are a ruse for getting one or the other of these candidates through the primaries.

Obama's new best friends: SuperCommittee and Bush Tax Cuts.

By Oxy Mora on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 9:32am |

In last night's Republican debate Romney was the clear leader. The great hope of the Southern religious whites and Republican values voters in general, Rick Perry, was ineffectual, if not pitiful. Cain, the replacement Savior for Perry, has staked so much on the 999 plan, and the plan is so conceptually weak that I think he will fade.

republican debate as A Cluster-pandering-muck-up.

By Oxy Mora on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 4:52pm |

I thought Bruce Bartlett on Bloomberg Radio earlier today gave a proper account of the lineup of candidates who will be "debating" tonight in Hanover, New Hampshire.

"The Republican candidates are all just pandering to the Tea Party".

Pikes are not allowed but tar is a dream come true

By Oxy Mora on Sun, 10/09/2011 - 3:03pm |

My 70 lb. Chesapeake Retriever jumped up on the bed sometime around midnight and we both had fitful nights. She had her legs stretched straight out and dreamed intermittently of chasing bad people and varmints from the yard, clawing my backside every thirty minutes. When I finally got out of bed and tripped over the round mattress where my dog is supposed to sleep an exit dream stayed lodged in my mind.

David Brooks eulogizes the bygone Culture Clash.

By Oxy Mora on Fri, 10/07/2011 - 1:34pm |

Writing from a remote location and employing a pun that would embarrass a ninth grade writing class Brooks has managed to turn the memory of Steve Jobs's life into a commentary on innovation-less joblessness. 

NYT Article: Where are the Jobs?(I have trouble even typing it) by David  Brooks.

Republican debate Oct. 11 and Cain's 999 plan.

By Oxy Mora on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 11:00pm |

Returning to Hanover, New Hampshire yesterday following a 9 week hike down the Appalachian Trail I found the town and the Dartmouth campus overrun by politicians and media faces lifted from T.V. screens across the country. Satellite trucks jammed traffic. A PT Cruiser painted in orange script,  FEEL THE FLAMES BAPTIST MINISTRY, blared its horn. It looked like a circus.

Republican debate Oct 11--a serious take.

By Oxy Mora on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 11:20am |

Charlie Rose will moderate the GOP debate to be held on the Dartmouth college campus in Hanover, New Hampshire on Oct 11. Also on the panel will be Julianna Goldman, W.H. correspondent for Bloomberg Television and Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post.

This debate may be a pivotal experience for the Republican contenders because it will focus on the economy and Charlie Rose and the panel will have at their disposal a Bloomberg Terminal. For those who don't know, this terminal is a coveted, high dollar mother lode of financial information. I don't know if the screens will be viewable by the television audience, but the presence of actual facts may sober up some of the participants.

Charlie Rose publishes debate questions for New Hampshire.

By Oxy Mora on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 2:19pm |

Sources tell me that Charlie Rose has agreed to moderate the upcoming Republican New Hampshire debate on the condition that the decorum of both candidates and audience can be upgraded to New England standards. While New England Republicans are fine with such language as "laying the wood to Obama" and "taking a baseball bat" to a woman legislator in New Jersey they flinch at things like booing the troops and clapping at executions, as unfortunately occurred in the Simi Valley and Orlando debates. In sympathy with the goal of higher level discourse, the Manchester Union Leader is said to be withholding a story that Romney muttered a phrase that sounded like "Frigging Canucks" when he was detained at the Canadian border for strapping a large dog to the top of his family car.

In order to raise the debate bar and minimize knee-jerk reactions, Charlie Rose has published his list of questions ahead of time. But to make sure the candidates actually prepare for the debate, questions will be assigned only at the last minute to candidates of Matthew Dowd's choosing. The questions have been geared to an audience of conservative, taciturn and frugal New Englanders and vacationing hedge fund managers.

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