"I'm Shocked...

shocked to find out that gambling is going on in here. "

Richard Perle in the oil business? Shocking.

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! [a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]

Croupier: Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.

[aloud] Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!

If you don't get it, go watch Casablanca. Now.

Update: I posted this at 10:52 this morning. At 9:50ish Keith Olbermann used the same quote from Capt. Renault in reference to Bill O'Reilly. You're welcome, KO.

There is More Hope Somewhere

Please say a prayer, if you do, or send good thoughts, or take a moment to remember those whose lives were shattered by the shooting at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, TN. I am a UU. The shooter, it seems, targeted the church for its liberal views and its support of civil rights, women's rights, and gay rights. Precisely the reason I am a member of All Souls, Unitarian in Washington.

As the pastor of that church said, " In the midst of religious controversy, I choose to love my neighbors as myself." Again, why I am a UU.

As my minister and dear friend has said, "This is perhaps the greatest spiritual challenge of our lives, to discover hope in precisely those places where hope is hardest to find." There is more hope, more love, more peace somewhere. Let us keep on til we find it.

Another Door Down

I found this 1990 Vanity Fair piece on Barack Obama. He had just been elected president of the Harvard Law Review, the first African American to hold the post.

He decided to seek the post after a friend told him: “There’s a door to kick down...and you’re in a position to kick it down.”

Quote of the Day

OK is the new good.

Sad but true. Thanks, Jen.

Dying for Your Country

I'm watching Generation Kill on HBO. Getting past the homophobia (which clearly borders on the homoerotic) and the liberal use of a vulgar term for women, the smatterings of racism, and the cursing that would make Scorsese blush. It's said to be a very realistic look at a Marine recon unit.

We teach these kids to kill, to want to kill, to view the enemy as just that, and blame them too. We honor their suffering and sacrificing and dying and we blame them for the death of civilians when we care to take notice.

No one ever does talks about the glory of killing for it.

Quote of the Day

"In the midst of a broken world, unspeakable beauty, grace and mystery abide. ...Those who are blessed live their lives as a gesture of thanks." Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker

The Last Lecture

"We don't beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well, and fully." Randy Pausch, 1960-2008.

We should all live so well.

When the Walls Come Down

"...the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.

The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

We know they have fallen before. " Barack Obama in Berlin today

Will the wall of race be torn down so that an African American will lead the U.S.? Will we finally tear down the wall of secrecy and corporate ownership of government and shame that Bush has built?

In this speech, Obama managed to invoke Abraham Lincoln, FDR, MLK, JFK , Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. He looked and sounded and inspired like the President of the United States. Yes we can.

Yeats and His Own Words

This is really cool. Hear Yeats, the inspiration for this blog's name, read "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." Strange to hear such an English accent on this quintessential Irishman. There are other poets and writers reading excerpts of their work.

Face It

OK, I finally really joined Facebook. So far so good. I've got about 10 friends so far. Even my nephew thought I was cool enough to friend me. Face me if you want.

Update: It's actually a pretty cool way to keep in touch with people and learn a little more about them. I'm slow, but I come around.

Like Charging Hitler's Pool Man

The first trial at Guantanamo is of Bin Laden's driver? Really? The mastermind behind Uturns? double parking?

New Hope. New Energy.

LCV (who pays the bills round here) has endorsed Barack Obama. This is the first Democratic endorsement since 2004. Download your fabulous sign here.

We Can Solve It

"When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely in 10 years, many people doubted we could accomplish that goal. But 8 years and 2 months later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon."

See, even Al Gore made the analogy in his speech on renewable energy.

Words to Live By

"If you don't ask the question, the answer is always no." Tim
Greeff

Tim doesn't hear no alot.