Wednesday, November 19, 2003 :::
 
Am stuck in Mac land again, so no links, prompting the question of when Blogspot will improve its Mac support.

In response to the cry on this blog eariler this morning for a more active attempt on the part of the Administration and the conservative press to make the case for the war, the President today delivered a rousing speech in London...

No wait, A Mind That Suits cannot claim that one. But the President did in fact make a rousing speech in London. You can get it at www.washingtonpost.com and following the links on the right. The opening was positively Reaganesque. Bush, alas, has to think about being Reaganesque, whereas Reagan came to the White House fully formed as a leader, but still, it is always inspiring to see him do his Reagan bit. It is natural to compare it to Reagan's great House of Lords speech, which marked the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union, if not, alas, for Communism. One hopes. But if it marks a turn in the public diplomacy of this Administration, that may be good enough.

The underlying policy needs to be strenghthened, however. Actions always speak louder than words, and right now we are combining the right policy (speeding up political transfer) with a radically different set of actions, to whit, pulling the troops out quickly and seeking more help from the UN, which implies that we need more troops. For reasons why these actions may undercut the fine speechifying, please see today's earlier posts, with links to finer minds than this one.

The only problem is that he made the speech in Banqueting Hall, the throne room and all that is left of Whitehall Palace, which was teh Buckingham Palace of the 17th and 18th Centuries until it burned down. What makes that problematic is that about the only other part of the building left standing is a staircase out of the window of which Charles I tried to escape in 1642, only to land in the hands of those who would behead him later.


From the "approaching the sublime" to the "unquestionably ridiculous," a warrant has been issued for Michael Jackson's arrest. The 70 cops that spent 12 hours at his house yesterday were probably a tipoff that the end was about to come but really, hasn't it seemed like the whole sad story was reaching some kind of conclusion during all the furor over those documentaries and interviews earlier this year? This writer for years has wondered why any parents would let their child spend time alone with the King of Pop, and Dave Spade made it the object of a pointed "Hollywood Minute" on SNL nearly a decade ago. And now I would think that the freakish appearance would give even most children pause.

What it is about Michael Jackson that makes him hate himself so? Look at the cover of Up Against the Wall and you will see a perfectly normal looking young man, if not a particularly prepossessing one. What has always been prepossessing is his enormous stalent. A Mind That Suits himself sort of starts liking music somewhere around the Beatles and heading over to the Blues and Country, but Michael Jackson's very best has always been among the very best music out there. And the dancing--no pop star can even come close.

which makes all this very sad. But the allegations and suspicions, if true, are horrifying, and it is just as well that we are heading toward some sort of answer. But still, the qustion remains, why does it take the law for some people to see they shouldn't send their kids over to spend the night with Michael? Was it the money? Did fame blind people?

Speaking of money, an extensive article on Mr. Jackson's finances in Vanity Fair earlier this year revealed that he has borrowed $250 million against assets of $1 billion. But when you try to liquidate those assets all at once, their value drops precipitously, so he may be left with nothing if he really faces huges fines and lawsuits. Hopefully some of it will end up helping children and not with the lawyers if it comes to that, but then, what of his own children?



::: posted by A Mind That Suits at 3:14 PM


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What doesn't kill me, makes me laugh... usually.