the rix mix

the calling of a new generation
the calling of our time

the ideology of hate
the enemies of liberty

a comprehensive plan
the hard work necessary

I listened to Bush's press conference today, the radio was on the other side of the room & I thought, how long can this last before the weather report? & left it on. I heard the silly word "robust," which is still used in retro coffee advertisements & maybe that's where Bush's writers found it a few months ago. But Bush's verbal style is to stumble around - the transcripts don't convey this well - & retreat as soon as he can to a series of stock phrases, used like Biblical quotes & with the certitude of a religious convert.

Coincidentally, tonight I watched clips of John F. Kennedy on Jack Paar's Tonight Show from June 1960. Kennedy was facile, not deep, but his words fit him whether or not they were entirely his own, & I understood everything he said. He took questions from the studio audience & answered them better than Bush answers predictable press questions. In response to one, about how America would counter Communist propaganda in other nations, Kennedy concluded by saying we should have the kind of nation other countries would want to emulate, but they would have to want freedom for themselves. It was a remarkable contrast, & made me sad.

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I don't get it. You're allowed to climb Mount Hood in winter, & then when you get in trouble the government is obliged to spend millions of dollars looking for you in order to rescue you or retrieve your body, & the search continues until the weather gets too awful to go on.