Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 221

Dubya: From Lyin' to Feline

Gawker with hysterical review of newly emerged latest from the brush of Bush--new paintings from the former president and our new Van Ga.   He's now left his "immature" dog period andentered his "cat period" and has already come up with a "masterpiece" (left). 

Finally, Something Wise on Going Gaga Over Miley

Special thanks to Sadhbh Walshe for this.  A sad, thirty-year history.  Though she still does seem to come down on the tired old "if-a-woman-is-really-in-charge-of-her-brand-it's-okay." A couple  excerpts:

Unwittingly, however, Cyrus may have done us all a service by illustrating in a painfully embarrassing way how casually the music industry exploits women and how casually women in the music industry allow themselves to be exploited.

You can see why a 20-year-old up and coming pop star might be confused about whatʼs acceptable and what isnʼt when it comes to baring it all, or at least most of it, during a live performance. Apparently, itʼs okay to gyrate on stage in a bikini so long as you can sell it as art form or as an act of female self empowerment, even if itʼs anything but. Back in the early 1990s when Queen of Pop, Madonna, was pioneering the art of simulated masturbation on stage, she managed to pass it off as a grand gesture of female self determination. Itʼs quite a feat when you think about it, to cast oneself as a great feminist crusader while you perfect the art of self objectification and then go on to spend your entire career pandering to the male gaze. To Madonnaʼs credit, however, she did push the boundaries of female sexuality along the way and at least did so in a way that has been interesting to watch.

Re-Play of 2003?

As I have noted previously, one can't take the comparisons to our invasion of Iraq precisely.   The current crisis in Syria is certainly different--there may have been a real chemical attack vs. the absence of WMD in 2003--but the drumbeats for war feel familiar.  I warned yesterday that the U.S. was now repeating one move in 2003--questioning value of UN inspections, claiming they come too late, and then asking the inspectors to leave for their own safety since we might start bombing at any time.  This basically worked then, if you want to look at it that way.

Now today comes word that the second day of UN inspections were called off after inspectors said their safety was threatened there.  And the culprits?  The UN confirms it was the rebels.  Who for some reason don't want the inspections now?  And are just buying time until a U.S. missile strike on, say, Thursday?  Yesterday Sec of State Kerry suggested that the sniper fire that hindered the inspectors came from the Assad side--which he probably knew was false or unproven but made the charge anyway. 

Assad Day Indeed

My piece at The Nation collects media views on Syria, including those of "liberal hawks."

Greatest Song Came Out of March on Washington--and Dylan

As I've posted and tweeted before, I consider Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come" the greatest song of our era.  Rolling Stone calls "Like a Rolling Stone" the greatest single and I list Dylan's Highway 61 as the greatest album.  Now how does this sort of fit together? It's still little known that Sam Cooke's response to Bob's "Blowin' in the Wind" becoming the new anthem of the civil rights movement--as it was enshrined at the March on Washington fifty years ago, via Peter, Paul and Mary--was to 1) record it himself  2) determine that a black writer should pen such an anthem himself or herself.  So he wrote "Change Is Gonna Come," inspired you might say by Dylan.   Here's Sam and below that the Peter, Paul and Mary performance at the march.

Blast from the Pre-Butt Crack Past

Have to laugh at all those claiming Miley "crossed the line" at VMAs when lines were crossed long ago and few complained, ever celebrated it.  Also, some prominent TV liberals now mocking pundits who critique the seemingly mandatory, highly-sexualized, always suggestive, performances by most of the top female singers--from Grammys to Super Bowls--rather than hitting the long-running but now escalating trend in that direction.  As the risk of being accused of telling kids to get off my lawn, I will say that some of  us Boomers recall the 1970s, in the afterglow of the rise of feminism, when the top singers did not have to show cleavage, or thighs up to their waists, let alone butts or even butt cracks, did not grab their crotch or their partner's crotch.   Carole King.  Joni Mitchell.  Linda Ronstadt.  Stevie Nicks.  Patti LaBelle.  Aretha.   In that group, Debbie Harry was most "suggestive," but now seems quaint.   Then along came MTV and the rest is history.  And here's Patti Smith from 1976:

When Billy Graham Called for 'Throat Slashing'

I'm a day or two behind this, even though I have covered other low-lights from the last batch of Nixon tapes just released.  This one finds Nixon, after his first big Watergate speech, asking the Rev. Billy Graham how he thought coverage on CBS went.   Billy replies, "I felt like slashing their throats." His people claim he was merely speaking in a "euphemism."

A response:  "Even Nixon, who was stone cold silent in response, seemed astounded. When you can freak out the notoriously profane Richard Nixon, that speaks volumes."

But U.S. Doesn't Want to See Evidence

Video of UN inspector studying alleged chemical weapon shell today.

Killer Cats

Very funny accounting of the secret lives of your cuddly little house cat, when they go outside.  "Dogs are a man's best friend.  Cats are a man's serial killers."

'New Yorker' Goes Inside MSNBC

Piece in this week's issue, available in full or in part (for non-payers) here.   Opens with look at QB Maddow and post-Keith wonk emphasis, then into problems.  Comes as same day Chris Hayes admits to Mike Calderone at Huff Post that his ratings are in the crapper.