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

Personal Information

Superpowers
Defies gravity Can spit really far Almost touch my toes Can cut a fly's legs off with a beer cap from 20 paces Know how to say useless stuff and prattle on in a dozen languages Don't know when to shut up
Favorite Quotes
To be for or against the Plague, it's much the same thing. Fiddledee, how a body shure do get around - just 2 weeks ago I was in Mississippi and now I'm all the way to Tennessee... Eat or Be Eaten Better to be pissed off than pissed on.
Biography
Born in swaddling clothes (designer, of course) at the confluence of big waters, my first recorded words were "Dad, can I have the keys to the car?" Raised a Southern Pedestrian, my musical talents were recognized at an early age, leading to my being exiled to the shed out back with a stack of books that became my eddykayshun - advanced readin', writin' & ritmytick, creating a major quandary of "what will I do, oh what will I do?" (Gunslinger) As an old black man advised in song, "You Gotta Move", so move I did, traveling the byways sideways even a lot of driveways, picking up sticks and psychological tics, even movin' to Beverlee through a quaint misunderstanding of the seriousness of TV series, until finally I blew up so big the carry nation incarnation tarnation couldn't hold me no more, so I fixed my sights on yonder sitar, and like Queequeg and Paul Bowles and one of those abducted kids by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I ventured forth to the larger world, pickin' and grinnin', doin' me some reckonin' and naughts from naughts, occasionally rightin', building me some buildings and wiring and just trying to understand the babble comin' out of people's mouths and heads, I finally ended up in what Rummy quaintly calls "New Europe", which ain't so new from what I sees, but that pit in my stomach from lack-of-moving-sickness finally disappeared, and instead I sit behind a whopping big desk stacked with missives from all the chiefs with big whampum around the world telling me "what's going on". Which seems like a load of boolshit to me, but I guess that's what keeps me busy and entertained now, separatin' the weeds from the chapstick. So my name is Perry Keys, or Peracles to you, and since my mammy always said, "say please and thank you", I added the please, but I'm holdin' back on that thankee until I feel you've earned it. But do welcome, and I hope we's a gonna have a real good time. It all starts with, "I wuz born a poor young white chile livin' in the South..." and we cycle through again, like Nietzsche and his infernal regurgence. So enjoy, and let's spin a spell...

Never Quite Good Enough

In 2008, Hillary Clinton was the first serous female candidate and the first to ever win a presidential primary, eventually racking up 23 of them and arguably winning the popular vote, losing to the rising star of the party by only 97 pledged delegates, while only falling behind in superdelegates a month from the finish.

Throughout the primary campaign, Clinton was labeled as "inevitable", in lieu of her husband's presidency and her party connections, often as a pejorative accusing her of feeling entitled. Missing from this simplified equation was that many Democratic leaders had condemned her husband's actions, that he'd been impeached, that the 2000 election was largely about "Clinton fatigue" with many "liberal" media figures regularly slamming both Clintons' actions and reputation, and he didn't even have the coattails to pull his VP over the line.

Nebraska votes (again)

As if to point out the bizarreness of caucuses, Nebraska offers both a primary and a caucus too.

Bernie won the caucus 2 months ago by a fairly large margin, though with superdelegates Hillary came out only 2 behind, with 2 more left to be selected.

                                                         Hillary        (delegates)        Bernie       (delegates)

Obama's Smart War?

Recent announcements of attacks on ISIS paint a picture of a rogue group of militants finally on the run, getting their come-uppance as it were (being "brought to heel", since I'm not running for office?). Defeated in battle, having $800 million in cash destroyed, even having the US turn up the heat on their famed social media advocacy (helped by rock star hackers Anonymous).

After 7 years of maintaining and extending the Bush Doctrine to new countries, and tip-toeing around the Syrian conflict, has Obama finally found his groove, his not a "dumb war", but a smart war, one that has at least tangible benefits to what most people see as something worth fighting for?

Hillary Releases Transcript

Okay, not that one, but the Bejing one, but as bonus, you can find one of the Goldman Sachs videos below sans transcript. In the meantime, to answer Nancy Fraser (via Trkingmomoe):

Horse Latitudes

There's been a lot of discussion lately regarding fracking, obscene oil profits, and the need to funnel part of this largesse into social programs and needed improvements. Oil companies and their lobbyists are seen as immoral and exploitive, and the taint of money from any of these sources is an overriding theme to this campaign season. Moreso, as they're seen as the culprits both behind our endless Middle East wars and the growing concerns of global warming and greenhouse gases, with calls to phase out fossil fuels now, not later.

Jane plays victim card

So Jane Sanders goes on Fox to agree with Donald about how unfair the delegate process is.

Let's see how hypocritical that stance is. Her big complaint is about closed primaries. But Hillary's won 11 open primaries yugely including semi-open Ohio, while Bernie won Michigan by the skin of his teeth (1%/17000 votes). New Hampshire was a closed primary, Oklahoma and Rhode Island semi-closed, but Vermont & Wisconsin were open - kudos, 2 open primary wins, finally.

I'm Voting Your Vajayjay

I've been a bit bewildered from the start - when people frame the election in terms of "voting your vagina", I expected a rousing round of "Hell yes!" At least I would, ever since I was 8 or 9 or so. I of course vote and think with my dick too, so it might be a bit conflicted, but "I'm in" was the expected response.

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