Mitt Romney, Nowhere Man

Although I won't be voting for Gov. Romney let me say I think he is a good American. But golly Miss Molly he sure can put his foot in his mouth. He had the misfortune to question arrangements for the London Olympics. Nothing really serious but the Brits are, how shall we say, a little brittle these days. The PM extolled London and said, “it's not like putting on an Olympics in the middle of nowhere”. I agree, but those Mormon souls in Utah were not amused. Sigh. What's coming on his next two stops; in Israel he might say that some of his best friends are Jewish; in Poland he can tell jokes like: What does it say on the bottom of a Coke bottle in Warsaw...open other end. I think the problem is that he is a rich guy and there is no one to fire him or reprimand him so he tells it like it is (for him). I only wish he were funnier like James Watt, the Secy. Of the Interior who was asked a few years ago if he backed Indian rights and he said, unequivocally “Without any reservations”.

Airstrip One hosts the Olympics

Airstrip One was Orwell's name for England in “1984”, a country perpetually on a war footing, sort of like now for the London Olympics. There are gunboats on the Thames, an aircraft carrier, soldiers, sailors, commandos, cops, security teams—and this is just a huge track meet. This isn't the London I know and love—the London of “A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square”, of a smile from Julie Christie on a Mayfair street and some good conversation in the Camden Brasserie. Luckily for me it's now just a telly event far from the madding crowd. Orwell points out in one of his essays that international sports events do not unify, they antagonize. No one here will be cheering for Germany when there are Yanks in every event. And speaking of Dear Old Deutschland, the 1936 Games in Berlin were pretty memorable. Sure, you had Adolf and the Nazis hogging the best seats but you also had the wonderful performance of Jesse Owens and that epic and beautiful film “Olympiad”. But that was peacetime, wasn't it?

So sue me!

Student loan debt is now over $1 trillion. These loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. So thousands of young people and their families are held hostage by the courts and their banking masters. They have been betrayed by their dreams and will have to sacrifice their lifestyles and be robbed of their future lives for decades. No more home equity to lean on. A $34,000 (that's modest) debt will in time grow to $50,000 with interest over a standard ten year period. What to do? Stop paying the lenders who hold 90% of college tuition debt. They've been bailed out and have billions in the coffers. The rest goes to bonuses. You can keep paying the 10% of the debt held by. the government since the terms are far more lenient. You could meet your obligations if only you could find a decent job. You could apply for a scholarship but there aren't many Chinese Running Backs in college football. Or you can just stagger along and bear the crushing weight of the loan. Maybe even drop dead in self defense in your cubicle. Or you can take the advice of the headline in this blog. Fold your arms and stop paying so you can get on with your life. What can they do, take away your education and degree? No, they only want the money. If enough of you do this you'll probably get a better deal down the line. You have nothing to lose but your credit cards.

Homage to my two heroes

Read the August issue of Vanity Fair (Alex Baldwin cover). Amidst all the fashion fol de rol is a piece by Christopher Hitchens titled: “The Importance of Being Orwell”. It is the best and most complete review of George Orwell by the late, mourned voice of modern Orwell. In it you can see the genesis of the public intellectual who championed political honesty and moral courage. You can also see where “doublethink” originated and is now so much a part of today's hypocritical politics. Also read today's (July 15th) New York Times Book Review Q&A of Dave Eggers the talented American novelist. He says that if he could meet any writer it would be George Orwell. Of those authors he's already met, Christopher Hitchens most impressed him. Eternal truths for our times.

A product of our times

Whatever happened to Flit?

Whatever happened to Quink?

Whatever happened to Ipana,

And all those who were told to Think Pink?

Where did they go

All those brands we so adored?

What about Oxydol, Hadicol et al

Or did we over time just get bored?

No one could save them

Once we simply didn't care

They went to their graves

Like the dear departed Corvair.

But don't give up hope

We still have Kitty Litter,

And the always inviting,

Time-waster they call Twitter!