Friday, May 26, 2006

Me Israelite

Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir,
So that every mouth can be fed.
Poo------r
Me Israelite. Aah.


1. The great Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker has died, in England, at age 64.

His song "The Israelites" (1968) was my introduction to reggae. Yours, too, I'll bet.

I was just a kid. The song annoyed me. A few years later, I loved it. People don't change, I guess, but their ears sure do.

I recall seeing Gus Van Sant's wonderful Drugstore Cowboy (1989). At one point in the film, we hear "Israelites."

At that moment, swoonage is inevitable.

2. Enron

For a delicious recounting of Mr. Bush's relationship with Enron, go to the Center for Public Integrity website (Enron Backgrounder)

Have I mentioned that the President is a rat bastard from Hell?

3. Hastert and Fuentes

C’mon, reach over mama,
An’ hand me my travelin’ shoes
I want you folks to know right now,
I’ve got the Statesboro Blues

Yes, my mama had ‘em,
My sister had ‘em
My brother had ‘em,
My daddy died with ‘em

When I got up this morning,
The family had them weary blues…
I poked my head down in the corner, an’
Grandma had ‘em too

—from David Bromberg’s Statesboro Blues

Speaking of delicious, here's a tasty schadenfreudular factoid. As you know, Dennis Hastert appointed our man Fuentes to the EAC. That's just swell.

Recently, ABC News reported that Mr. Hastert is among those being investigated by the FBI with regard to the Abramoff corruption scandal. The Justice Dept. denies this. ABC is thusfar sticking to its guns.

In any case, here's the factoid: the day after Abramoff pleaded guilty (in January), Hastert gave to charity $60,000 in campaign contributions given to him by Abramoff's clients.

Give me back the hat I bought you, the big umbrella
Give me back the shoes, I want the dress ‘an
--Ah, if you don’t like your daddy, woman
You’ve got no right to stand and squall

Gimme back the wig I bought you
Now that your goddam head go'd bald

Hey, I did more for you woman, away last winter
I suffered through the summer, an’ I scuffled through the Fall
--I done more for you woman than
The good Lord ever done

Hell, I put hair upon your head, an’
You know, he never give you none

4. Flake bombs

In today's edition of What's New, Bob Park reports:
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), one of the countless independent, nonprofit, public policy research institutes in Washington, reported last week that the Pentagon will spend $30 billion on classified programs in FY 2007.

Why? In a new book, Imaginary Weapon: A Journey Through the Pentagon's Scientific Underworld, Sharon Weinberger peeks behind the curtain at hafnium bombs, "remote viewing," telepathy and all the rest and concludes secrecy is mostly to avoid rational oversight.

D'oh! I'd rather pay for John Williams' Orlando junkets than for this nonsense!

For a rational discussion of "remote viewing," go to Remote viewing

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...