Friday, December 08, 2006

Britney Blog

Britney!
From a brief note on her website: “…[T]hank God for Victoria’s Secrets’ new underwear line!”

We hope Britney has come to her senses, and will resume wearing underpants, if not her singing career.

Britney! And the very large thoughts of Camille Paglia.
Camille Paglia in US ONLINE:

“A great promise was contained in the moment when Madonna kissed Britney at the MTV Awards. She in a sense was saying, “I’m passing the torch to you.” It was a fabulous moment. Britney looked toned, in control of her career and it was up to her to take the next step. Literally from that kiss, from that moment onward, Britney has spiraled out of control. It’s like Madonna gave her the kiss of death! Britney is throwing it away!”

We hope Britney has come to her senses, and will resume wearing underpants, if not her singing career. We also hope that Ms. Paglia will re-examine her conception of “great promise.”

George W.S. Trow RIP
From WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF NO CONTEXT: “Television is dangerous because it operates according to an attention span that is childish but is cold. It simulates the warmth of a childish response but is cold. If it were completely successful in simulating the warmth of childish enthusiasm — that is, if it were warm — would that be better? It would be better only in a society that had agreed that childish warmth and spontaneity were equivalent to public virtue; that is, a society of children. What is a cold child? A sadist.”

Iraq Study Group: My Mom says it’s okay to meet at my house tonight.
I’m no expert on foreign policy, but then again, who is these days? But I find myself wondering, “Iraq Study Group?” What? Doesn’t that sound like a gaggle of high school kids getting together to make a poster?

Lee Hamilton and James Baker do look like assistant principals of a high school, come to think of it. You know, the grown-ups in charge of discipline.

At first, it was weird and oddly reassuring to see these figures from the past arise again like shades summoned by the spirit of Ronald Reagan to show the stubborn yet clueless kids how statecraft is done. These are the guys with red ties who know how to get it done, or – failing that – spin failure into success. The Bush administration was very good at spin, until it wasn’t (around the time of “Heckuva job, Brownie,” I believe). For a brief moment it seemed like we were going back to a time when administrators knew what they were doing, and even if we didn’t believe in what they were doing, we had confidence in their ability to do it.

Memories of the whole Iran Contra thing grow dim, and all we remember is the Berlin Wall coming down, the Soviet Union falling apart, the economy booming, the first cell phones coming on the market - weighing ten pounds or so -, and everybody thinking of Mel Gibson as an action hero, and not a weirdo.

But what did these grown-ups come up with? They conclude that Iran and Syria are a problem.
They say that Iraq needs a stable government that can protect its people. We need to train Iraqis. The situation is “grave and deteriorating.” Crikey. I could have told the President that.

All in all, they come up with 79 recommendations. I say it’s Power Point, and I say the hell with it.

Best ALL THINGS CONSIDERED lead of the week:
“Some people don’t like camels.”

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