Bus Portrait #1: Sublime in his Pimpitude

Seen on the bus this morning: A young black man, at most twenty-two, with a beautiful face--perfect skin as warm and smooth as a melted Hershey's Kiss; gentle, almost feminine features--and an outfit so loud it seemed to be wearing him rather than him wearing it. He got on in a run-down neighborhood best known for street whores and drugs, and he was sublime in his pimpitude. His choice of attire for 10AM: a polyester suit, eggplant in color, with a slight sheen, the fabric woven in a loud pattern alternating stripes and a Greek key motif; beneath this, a lavender linen shirt. His vast suit jacket fell to mid-thigh: long enough to require seven buttons. He sat in an ostentatiously assertive way--perched on the corner of his seat, legs jutting out at a 90-degree angle to each other, one bejeweled hand gripping each knee, his spine in a permanent slouch that conveyed the message that he didn't have to sit up straight for anyone. Methinks the pimp doth protest too much: his posture was so defiant that what it really conveyed was anxiety, a touchy insecurity. The flashy outfit was a smokescreen, his poverty betrayed by details: the worn-down shoes; the fact that he was only wearing two gold rings and his watch, if it ever was real gold, was losing its plating; the slightly ratty wool disco hat in a shade of smoky aubergine, worn at a jaunty angle, the wool having long since started to pill. As the bus went about its business of picking people up and letting them off, he muttered to himself, "Damn, it just stoppin', and stoppin', and stoppin'!"

Demons for Child Literacy

To my horror, I discovered yesterday that zealous fundamentalism is alive and well right here in my own law school. Eavesdropping on a conversation in the library, I overheard a woman in my very own class say, of churches that try to ban Harry Potter books, "I agree with that. Those books are wrong." When pressed for an explanation, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. There's something in those books--they're doing something, to get these kids reading them! I mean, they've got kids reading them who never read. They've got kids reading them who CAN'T read, who were illiterate before! There's DEMONS in those books!"

So I'm thinking, "Way to go, demons! Good work fighting childhood illiteracy! Looks like you beat God to the punch (where is God these days?!)." But I remained silent. My primary form of entertainment as a teenager was arguing with streetcorner Bible-beaters, so I long ago realized that rational argument is futile against irrational people. You might as well try to explain quantum mechanics to a dog.

But I still might make myself a t-shirt that says "Demons For Child Literacy."

Who Da Man?

This just in from CNN:
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans, acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son. Gore criticized the Bush administration's slow response to Katrina in a speech Friday in San Francisco, but refused to be interviewed about the mercy missions he financed and flew on September 3 and 4.

He paid for the flights himself ($50,000 each)! He used his position as former VP to slash through red tape and get the right to land planes in New Orleans! He flew down there and helped evacuate a hospital full of patients himself! Gee, not only did we elect him in 2000 (Supreme Court ruling notwithstanding), but he--unlike Bush--is actually doing the work of a president in a time of crisis. And what's more, he did all this a week ago and didn't trumpet it to the media; they only just picked the story up. Quite the contrast to Bush's infamous "I'm hugging a black person--quick, take a picture!" approach. Bush (who da weasel?) is not even worthy of kissing Gore's feet.

Speaking of the White House's resident no-good, do-nothing fratboy, follow this link to experience the most conceptually brilliant political satire I've seen in years: America's Battered Wife Syndrome...

Where would New Orleans be without Bush?

"Tensions over funding for the New Orleans levees emerged more than a year ago when a local official asserted money had been diverted to pay for the Iraq war... Since 2001, the Army Corps has requested $496 million for that project but the Bush administration only budgeted $166 million." Full article

"You can do everything for other countries, but you can't do nothing for your own people. You can go overseas with the military, but you can't get them down here."
- Daniel Edwards, 47. New Orleans.

"We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten. Tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon."
- New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass, describing the situation at the Convention Center.

"I haven't seen a single FEMA [Federal EmergencyManagement Agency] guy. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."
- Terry Ebbert, New Orleans' emergency operations chief.

"They pulled guns and told us we had to leave that kitchen or they would blow our damn brains out. We don't want their help. Give us some vehicles and we'll get ourselves out of here!"
- Donald Dudley, 55, complaining that when he and other hungry refugees broke into the kitchen of the convention center and tried to prepare food, the National Guard chased them away.

Meanwhile, four days after Hurricane Katrina demolished New Orleans, Gulfport, and Biloxi, GW Bush went on Good Morning America and promised a rapid federal response. Definitely! The feds will be there! At some point they will arrive! Any day now! Just sit tight, N'Awlins, help is on the way... patience, patience...

Molly Ivins and Michael Moore say it all.
Quotes above from Yahoo news