Old School

Here's a blast from the past for you:

Georgie!!!

Oh George, you will be so missed! Who else can say fuck, shit, hell, damn, piss, etc. with such meaningful emotional connotations that everyone has felt? Who else can make fun of the American psyche in such an offensive way and still be irresistably funny? Godspeed on your new Excellent Adventure, and give my best to Buddy Christ.

60 Years Ago?

It's funny how an article during an election year can turn anything into a political debate. Take, for instance, this one:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080622/ap_on_re_eu/berlin_airlift

When it comes to the Berlin Airlift, I would love to have seen an article about how much Berlin and Germany have changed. I would have loved to see an indepth discussion on the pros and cons of Allied and Soviet occupation and a comparison between them. I would also have loved to see what people who live there now remember, how they are taught about it, and what they think about it now. I wouldn't even mind seeing opinions of Americans who lived through it.

However, I really don't care to see a political discussion that focuses on current American politics. They pull it together by explaining that Germans think of Obama as another JFK-or a "mixture of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy." This thought is incredibly uncomfortable to me. Martin Luther King, for however great he was, I don't believe would have ever sought the presidency. That would have placed too many restrictions on him and too many people in direct opposition to him within his own circle. Think of how difficult it would have been for him to inspire the people he did had he become president while Strom Thurmond was in office.

Now for JFK. All you have to do is look at his record to know that he was not that great. He was more of an enigmatic and charsimatic person who lucked out in being surrounded by good and intelligent people. He may have been great had he lived, he was intelligent enough to learn from his mistakes, and the thought that he was working toward that greatness has perpetuated the myth of JFK and the Kennedys. So to say that Obama is another JFK is worrisome because there is no way that he could live up to the myth and it's setting a lot of people up for disappointment.

This article does delve a little bit into the history of the Berlin Airlift, but not enough for my tastes. There is no way that an article such as this could convey the emotion--the fear, the excitement, the nervousness, the gratitude, and the sense of obligation--that was felt during this time. Especially when America is the main focus, when it shouldn't be.

Let Susan Atkins Out?

So, take a look at this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25143989/?GT1=43001

Why would you let anyone related to the Manson case out of prison? All you have to do is look at that picture and see the complete and utter insanity staring at you. I wasn't even alive when this was happening and I still get chills seeing Susan Atkins' photographs. She reminds me of Bellatrix Lestrange. She really really didn't care that she killed someone--for her, it was all for Charles. You can't tell me that living nearly 39 years in prison has not furthered her insanity, either. I don't care if she has six months to live...I wouldn't care if she had six HOURS to live. To let her out is a slap in the face to those who died. Charles Manson and his "family" should have been given the death penalty (Charles Manson was, actually, then it was deemed unconstitutional by the State of California and was remanded to life--I think California now has another death penalty, but it's not retroactive). What difference does it make if she dies in prison from a terminal illness or through lethal injection? One or the other! Still, doctors have been wrong before, and what would they do if they let her out and she lived for several more years? Would they re-arrest her? What would they do if she found some other freak to kill for? What if Charles Manson was still giving her orders and she's been told to kill someone else when she gets out? Retaliation for keeping him in prison is something that he has wanted for a very long time. He has said that he still has followers and could order them to do whatever he wanted as late as his last parole hearing. I tend to believe him, as crazy as he is. There is always someone willing to follow an idiot.

The Supportive Friend

Another blog, another thought, another diary I probably won't update. However, I am doing this in support of Melissa. You know, for one summer a friend and I had a co-diary. I would write something, usually a couple of pages, then give it to her. We filled up an entire binder and would write at least twice a week. This guaranteed that we could keep in touch, both intellectually and physically as we would have to deliver it to each other. While I don't expect to do something like that with Melissa, I do expect that keeping up with each other this way will go a long way to keeping us in contact, which has been iffy the last couple of months because of the way I work. So, let's see how it goes!