Let 'er Rip!

I was all set to post some boring, wonky thing when I heard about this. So this is like the blog version of "Extra! Extra! Extra!" Can you believe this dude? He's seventy-freakin'-nine!

In case you missed it, here is a report from Entertainment Weekly:

"Actor Rip Torn, 79, was arrested Friday night on charges of burglary and criminal trespassing after officials allegedly found him carrying a loaded revolver inside a bank in Salisbury, Conn., according to the Register Citizen newspaper. A police report published on TMZ.com states that Torn used “forced entry” to get inside the bank and was “highly intoxicated” when taken into custody. The actor is being held on a $100,000 cash bond and is set to appear in court on Feb. 1. A rep for Torn did not immediately respond to requests for comment."

I've always loved this guy but I guess he decided he wasn't going to be forgotten by anyone. (The mugshot was from a previous transgression.)

State of the Union Comments?

Feel free to vent here during or after the speech.

Somebody new to worry about

As if it weren’t already a full time job keeping an eye on a thieving Congress and a feckless President, now we have to monitor every decision made by the Supremes. I confess I never did before. Sure they sometimes ruled more liberally or conservatively than I might have, but I always viewed them as a pretty good gyroscope for the government, generally pulling us back to the center on important issues.

But Holy Crap Batman! What in the world happened to the gyro? Who in their right mind felt that corporations weren’t getting their voices heard in Washington? Who beside these five old men felt there was no difference between a real live human being and a corporation when it comes to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? I don’t know about you but I’m just stunned by this decision. Just when you think it can’t get any worse – it does.

I blame Justice Roberts over the other four idiots. I should have know he’d be trouble when he thought he was too smart to need notes at the Presidential inauguration and then blew the oath of office, which must be – what -- 50 words?

To those pundits who are saying that it probably won’t make than big a difference because most corporations won’t want to become politically active in elections, I ask, “How many elections would it take to make a difference?” It seems like one recent election in Massachusetts is likely to make a fair difference for the next couple of years.

For a fascinating, if frightening, view on how this might play out I recommend John Grisham’s “The Appeal.” It’s a novel about one Mississippi Supreme Court election and it’s the best political novel I’ve read in a long time. Grisham saw this coming.

If a corporation can be declared to be a person it’s not a very big leap to declare a fetus to be a person also. Get ready to kiss Roe v. Wade goodbye.

The playoffs: I like the Saints and the Jets in two close games.

The moment Martha lost

Forgive my presumptuousness, but I believe I know exactly when and how Martha Coakley lost the Senate race in Massachusetts. It was on the day that Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska sold his vote for health care reform in exchange for exempting people in his state from Medicare tax increases.

Politicians continue to believe, and behave, as if party affiliation, or labels like liberal or conservative, are what matter to voters. It’s understandable how they get this impression. They are members of gigantic national organizations that have to be fed, their meals are served by legions of wealthy private interest groups and both of these cadres are well served by these distinctions. Moreover, the cable news industry, and to a lesser extent, the media in general, perpetuate these myths of philosophy because it makes good TV.

But they are so very wrong. What people want is change. They want to change self-dealing into altruism. They want to change corruption into honesty. They want to change partisanship into cooperation and problem solving. They want to change grasshoppers into ants. They want to throw the bums out.

This deep desire for change made Barack Obama’s message so powerful last fall, but it has turned into a tiger that the President has by the tail. The contempt in which the American people hold Congress gave Obama the perfect leverage to build upon his electoral success. The Democratic Party owed its success to him, his favorability ratings were more than double those of Congress. He could have scored huge points with Americans of all political persuasions (especially independents) if he had taken a firm hand with his party from the very beginning, during writing of the stimulus legislation, and if he’d turned to a few non-Goldman advisors for developing the TARP program.

But he didn’t. He gave us more of the same: a pork-packing Congress and special status for privileged interest groups, with the average Joe picking up the tab for all of it. The voters are starting to let him know what he can expect this November, and in 12/12, if all the change he’s going to give us is the next generation of self-serving, partisan political leadership, funded and stage managed by Wall Street.

This may sound ridiculous to you, or maybe even vaguely like a Tea Party manifesto. For this reason I will again say that I do not regret voting for Obama, I believe him to be a sincere and honest man, trying hard to do the right things, after being left a complete shit-show by his predecessor. Never-the-less, I don’t see that the big things have changed much (the Taliban shut down Kabul yesterday) and I’m not happy about it.

If I lived in Massachusetts there is no way I’d have voted to let him keep the 60th vote in the Senate because he’s not using it. It belongs to Harry Reid. Any uncertainty about that evaporated when Reid paid Ben Nelson’ s price for his health care vote, and all Americans lost whatever illusions they may have had about real change.

More road notes

The whole drive south I felt like a guy in one of those romantic comedy B movies who thinks he’s about to finally reach the Promised Land with the female lead. As they work their way into her apartment building, up the stairs and into the apartment, he’s shedding clothes as they pick up the pace, finally hopping on one leg and falling into the bedroom as he removes his pants. That was me all the way south; as the thermometer rose I was stripping layers. Once I got into Georgia I just wanted to find I-95 and get to the Promised Land as quickly as possible. When I reached Jacksonville Friday morning the sun was shining and it hit 65.

I pulled off 95 in St. Augustine and found A1A – the coast road – stripped off another layer, and traded my driving shades for the Ray-Bans. God it was a beautiful thing for the next couple hours just cruising along the Atlantic with the windows down and a Montecristo burning.

More recommended road music: Omar and the Howlers, and the Rambling Dogs.

Speaking of music, go hear the Prowlers at the Ace of Clubs on Great Jones Street next Saturday night, January 23^rd. I don’t know who’ll be on cowbell, but I promise you a fun night.

When I wrote about recent great meals I should have mentioned the whole wheat pasta, pea plant and garbanzo dish Hankster prepared for Doc and me. While we all agree it would have benefited from a sauce, it was still very tasty. Plus, I never knew anybody ate pea plants. Turns out that actual peas are too indulgent for the Hankster.

NFL playoffs: Hey, I was three out of four today. I should have gotten ‘em all. I can’t believe I picked the skanky Cowboys. I hate picking teams I don’t like and then being conflicted about who to root for during the game. Good riddance to them. And how about them Jets? They may be a team of destiny, but even if they aren’t I love the way old Rex has them playing. I believe Woody was also 3 for 4. I’ll make next week’s picks in a couple days.

With luck, the movers show up Tuesday and I’ll be an official Floridian.

Random road notes and this week’s picks

A thousand miles from home in a dumpy hotel bar, but it’s been a fun trip. Crossed the GW Bridge on Tuesday. The Caddy had a full tank and new shoes. The day was sunny. On the seat next to me were a loaded i-Pod, a bottle of water, an E-Z Pass, a Captain Beefheart CD, two pair of sunglasses, and a box of Montecristo White Toro Grandes, courtesy of my old mates at Time (gracias amigos!). Ready for a road trip.

The Captain was a farewell gift from Hankster. He and Doc and I had an herbal cocktail in the Village a few days earlier. I’d planned to listen to it on the way out of town, but contemplating the NJ Turnpike to a Capt. Beefheart soundtrack was just too frightening, so I held off on the CD for a while.

First stop – Arlington, Virginia and dinner with Birdman and KGWhit (whom I’d not met before). We went to “Ray’s the Steaks” (get it?) – corny name but great food. We talked mostly politics and had a fine time, although I also had a triple double beverage evening (see-throughs, red wine and Remy) which made for a late start the next morning.

Hauled down I-95 until I hit North Carolina, then turned onto US 17. It was beautiful for quite a while but civilization eventually took over. Love the back roads but some parts of the country only deserve to be seen from an interstate highway.

Stopped in Wilmington, NC and met up with my Bro – the other db. Had dinner with him and the GM of the local Cadillac dealer. (Told him my Caddy joke, which he of course, loved.) Talked cars. (Did you know more cars were sold in China than the US last year?) Had an awesome meal at a local joint – Hieronymus Seafood. Fabulous oysters, the best scallops ever eaten and ridiculously cheap. That’s one of the great things about leaving NY – everything seems cheap.

Got up early and emailed Fenway for a restaurant suggestion in Charleston. She sent me to Harmony Grill. What a find. Sesame crusted catfish. Fried cheese grits. Unbelievable cornbread. Chocolate pudding, and an unpretentious little chardonnay. Fired up a Monty and walked around south of Broad and along the Battery on a sunny afternoon. What a fantastic city!

Popped in the Captain and put the pedal to the metal in order to make up some time through lower SC. It was the perfect combo. The Captain is trippin’. (Other road trip music: Murphy’s Saloon podcasts, Roseanne Cash, Ray Davies, The Insomniacs, and Watermelon Slim – all good to great!)

A couple more hours on 95 and it got real dark fast, and the big trucks own the road. Got off in Brunswick, GA and found a Comfort Inn that will never be mistaken for a Ritz Carlton (I do miss one or two things about working). Tomorrow: Florida.

The playoffs: Well, I was 2-2 last week, which is good enough to be Secretary of Homeland Security. I’m getting my picks for this weekend in early so all you second-guessers can stick your necks out this round.

Dallas over Minnesota by 7. The ‘Pokes are hot and the ‘Vikes are not.

Jets over San Diego by 3. I’m picking with my heart over my head on this one. The “same old Jets” will show up eventually, but not this weekend.

New Orleans will beat Arizona by one. The over/under on this one is 137. Jack Tatum is coming out of retirement to play d-back for NO.

The “Battle of Baltimore” is the one I really want to be right about. I’ll be happy to be 1-3 if Indy can take this one by 10, leaving Ray Lewis humiliated, prostrate, and crying like a little girl at the gun.

RIP Teddy Pendergast. Whatever you thought of isco, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were awesome.

Football & movies

Here are my playoff picks, which I’m posting just as the Jets and Bengals kickoff. Let’s start with that one: the Jets will gain 735 yards rushing and win by 10. Chad Ochocinco will score the only Bengals TD, after which he will strip nude and pantomime having rough sex with Commissioner Goodell.

Eagles defeat the Cowboys by 3 because everyone knows you can’t beat the same team three times in one season. Post game, Jerry Jones burns down his new stadium and Donovan McNabb leaves his wife for Jessica Simpson, making the ‘Pokes 0 for 3 on the day.

Tomorrow: the Pats over Baltimore by 17. Ray Lewis has no tackles and no sacks after pulling a hammy during his pre-game psych-up, coo-coo dance. The guy he murdered is still dead however, so it is only fair.

Arizona v. Green Bay? Who cares? I’m tempted to go with Green Bay because Brett Favre doesn’t play there anymore, but I’ll go with Arizona by 7 because they’ve got Beanie Wells, and Kurt Warner used to have that awesome mullet.

The Browns will be the prohibitive favorites to win the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, but apparently the world ends on December 21, 2012, before the playoffs begin. Just my luck.

Movies: I haven’t seen it yet, but everyone (AY, Buzzard, Hankster) loves “Crazy Heart” for great acting and great music. I can’t wait to see that one. AY sees every movie. She recommends “Avatar,” as do I, but you have to see the 3-D version as it is “total eye candy” with a very simple story (read David Brooks’ sorta-review last week). AY, my wife, 2,543,768 other women and I liked “It’s Complicated.” It is kind of a chick-flick, but Baldwin, Streep and Steve Martin are all great, Santa Barbra is beautiful, and it has a good script. AY, Buzzard and I all give “Sherlock Holmes” a limp thumbs up. It was more action flick than I was expecting, but Guy Ritchie’s vision of 19th century London looks so cool it’s worth seeing for that alone; plus Robert Downey, and Jude Law as Watson, are great together. I’d have liked it 50% more if they’d left 30 minutes on the cutting room floor. Buzzard liked another movie, the name of which I forgot, and AY says “Nine” is “just plain awful.”

I’m off for a road trip to Florida on Tuesday. I’ll be taking my time, hoping to see a little of America off the Interste. TTY later.

The two-headed beast

As much as I enjoy the conversation we have here, it feels increasingly beside the point to me. We scold and ridicule the politicians on the right, and occasionally those on the left, as if they were different kinds of beasts – as if one side wants to do the right thing and the other side doesn’t.

We attribute policies to the left or to the right, but there is really only one party and one policy – the Greenback party whose policy is get mine now.

It takes millions to get elected to the House and tens of millions to the Senate. We allow candidates to take vast sums of money from organized business and labor interests, and they have to be paid back after the elections.

We allow those same powerful and wealthy special interest groups to write legislation that is hand deliver to Congress. We allow the ruling party in each state to draw the Congressional districts in ways designed to minimize competition, like McDonalds’ franchises. We permit the entrenched pols this system produces to rise in a seniority system that gives them disproportionate legislative powers and increased ability to divert tax dollars to support their own purposes. We’ve allowed them to create extra-Constitutional rules that limit debate and distort majority rule.

There isn’t a single problem facing this country that isn’t significantly the fault of both parties. This is the only political issue worth discussing. Marx said religion is the opiate of the masses; I say partisan political debate is pure Mexican brown smack.

There are not two parties struggling for power in America. There is just one formidable, two-headed monster and he is eating our children.