Some Bones to Pick...

Horny in Paris! Photo: Associated Press/AFP/Miguel Medina

As if it weren't a joyous enough occasion to celebrate this weekend's opening of the 21st Century's first primordial magnum opus 10,000 BC on movie screens across America on lo, this, the very week of my birthday, I must also note the news in

in Paris, where the skeleton of the 65-million-year-old Triceratops horridus is now on the auction block, the first such specimen in 11 years (remember the T. rex Sue?).

So, if anyone's looking for the appropriate gift for me, look no further. It would like mighty fine in my back yard.

Birthday girl, fellow Pisces, cartoonist extraordinaire and Center for Cartoon Studies anchor and faculty member Robyn Chapman has launched a new blog, beginning humbly here (click on this link). Check it out, stay tuned and enjoy!

And speaking of CCSers, birthdays aside just for the moment,

check out CCS pioneer class alumni Alexis Frederick-Frost's latest, now previewed on the First Second Books site.

But the best birthday gift of all will have to wait until next year, when the Bush Presidency is history. Still, mighty damage must yet be done, and rest assured he's doing it. President Bush's final year in office continues to be characterized by his ongoing attempts (and those of the hardcore Republican supporters remaining) to wriggle out of legal consequences for Bush and Cheney's extraordinary redefinitions of Presidential power, a topic being carefully kept off the table by the Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle.

In terms of the ongoing maneuvers to let the phone companies off the hook for selling us all down the river post 9/11,

Stephen Colbert's 'AT&Treason' sums it up nicely.

Further tortured interpretations of US and international law also plague the shameless Presidential justifications for ignoring all standing 20th Century laws of fair treatment of prisoners and 'detainees,'

likewise in the name of national security.

Come what may on those fronts, the Bush legacy will be devastating and long-lasting, a staining beyond

the economic crater that will left behind when Bush continues to refuse to acknowledge the consequences of his disastrous Presidency: the 2007-8 Recession and likely Depression to follow.

We're already reaping the benefits of rampant deregulation and 'free market' forces the GOP has touted since octogenarian Reagan was in office, so what the hell? To quote Bush (in another context, even more foolhardily there), 'Bring it on!'

So what if your home is now worth squat, while property taxes skyrocket to staunch the regional devastation due to Bush domestic policies and tax cuts and the terminal erosion of all previous social support services and networks?

With almost 100,000 jobs cut since December 31 (and note that "450,000 people left the labor force" in the same period), gas costing three times what it cost at the pump when Bush took office, billions squandered every month on ongoing unprovoked pre-emptive war, the national deficit and debt racking up far beyond any historic record previously set, and the gap between the rich and the poor greater than its been since the Robber Barons era of a century ago, Bush is spreading the love and the wealth from sea to shining sea.

So, okay, I'll likely not even end up with this. But I can dream, can't I? Can't I?.

Yippee-ki-yi-ay, motherfuckers!

So, really, if just one of you could see your way clear to buying me that Triceratops skeleton, I reckon Marge and I just might make it through the coming Depression. Then I could really embrace extinction -- or at least climb onto those glorious skeletal shoulders and wave my hat and cry out, "Yippee-ki-yi-ay!" while my mental faculties completely disintegrate.

Barring that, I reckon I'll have to make due this year with a token gift from my old home town -- a symbolic gift, really. I'm absolutely delighted to note that Marge's and my old home town, Marlboro VT, joined neighboring Brattleboro VT this past Tuesday on Town Meeting Day

passing an article calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for their horrendous abuses of power.

Now, I know it'll never happen -- I mean, after all, Bush hasn't even visited Vermont once his entire Presidency.
But that would be one hell of a birthday gift.

And on that happy note of no doubt vain but voiced rebellion, I bid you all adieu for the day.

Old Man River, Sold Down Old Man River...

Within the same week of his loopy State of the Union speech (which finally I read online; how Bush can dare to say the word 'trust' any longer demonstrates either how oblivious he is, or stupid he thinks we all are), President Bush concedes our economy "is weakening and that we've got to do something about it,"

though he and the GOP refuse to deal with how their own policies (and many ongoing deregulation and 'corporate welfare' laws active since the Reagan years) have precipitated this plight.

Why should he give a fuck? One year left to go,

unprecedented Presidential signing statements

on over 1100 laws (expanding Presidential powers beyond any Constitutional parameters and encroaching on those of Congress, the courts, etc.), and a superficial proposed economic stimulus package dependent upon simply borrowing more money to swell the national deficit -- we have been collectively sold down so many rivers, it's impossible to begin to grasp the magnitude of how fucked we are.

Of course, the petro giants are soaring: Exxon Mobil posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company in history ($40.6 billion!) today, and set a new American record for the biggest quarterly profit (net income of $11.7 billion for the final quarter of 2007, beating its own previous record!)

(and second-largest petro firm Chevron reported record profits, too),

the very same week Halliburton posted quarterly net profits rising 5 percent, "helped by growth in its Eastern Hemisphere business and a lower tax rate."

Got that? A lower tax rate, while the US plunges further into massive debt waging war -- wars Halliburton also profits directly from. "The company said it had benefited from a lower tax rate as increased international profits allowed it to recognize additional foreign tax credits..." Suck it up, America.

Bully for them; for the rest of us, record national debt, record personal debts, record foreclosures and April 15th income tax deadlines mark the landscape created in large part by two decades of massive government deregulation of once-sane banking and credit practices and the Bush Administration's overhaul of personal bankruptcy laws in 2001-2002 to further favor predatory credit and banking institutions. It's hard to stomach a third year of record oil corporation profits as gas prices continue to hover between $3.00-$3.25 a gallon. The tanking economy is measurable by

American payrolls suffering their first major decline in five years.

Note among the references to current unemployment numbers still doesn't take into account those so long unemployed that they cease to register; hence, the uncounted unemployed -- an indeterminable portion of the population, until/unless new and reliable poverty statistics are compiled -- remain invisible.

Depression of another kind is hitting hard, too, as an inevitable consequence of President Bush's policies and actions. This week's staggering report concerning military suicides has made the news;

Military.com confirms the statistics, providing further links and context.

"The report also shows an increase in the number of attempted suicides and self-injuries - some 2,100 in 2007 compared to less than 1,500 the previous year and less than 500 in 2002. The total of 121 suicides last year, if all are confirmed, would be more than double the 52 reported in 2001, before the Sept. 11 attacks prompted the Bush administration to launch its counter-terror war."

It's worth noting earlier Military.com reporting: here's the December 2003 report --

-- at which point Military.com noted, "The Army is concerned about the deaths. Outside experts have said the rate is alarmingly high compared with the military's average suicide rates..." --

-- and in February 2004 this was where we stood.

By 2006, Military suicides were at a horrific high,

and now it's much, much worse.

Given the Pentagon's breaking of long-standing rules concerning reasonable tours of duty, the repeated extension of those deployment periods, and the obscene lack of support for the troops and returning veterans by the very President, Vice President, Pentagon and government that launched these pre-emptive wars, it's hardly surprising.

As I've said here repeatedly, the correlation between Bush, Cheney and the Pentagon's treatment of our troops and their treatment of detainees is obvious: interminable imprisonment based on a war that is, by definition, impossible to win (e.g., a "war" on a tactic, not a nation or geographically-definable 'enemy'). How much can the human spirit withstand?

How long can we inflict this upon our own troops, as well as the countries we have invaded and occupied?

And when will the inevitability of a military draft, in the face of how irrevocably Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al have manhandled, mismanaged and damaged our military, be the wake-up call to those still complacent about all this? I dread that day, but given the ongoing madness and Bush's determination to lodge America in Iraq and Afghanistan far beyond the end of his term -- and the Republican candidates (save Ron Paul) so arrogantly brandishing the war(s) as a given and necessary path for their hoped-for Presidencies -- it indeed seems inevitable.

(Note, too, the whispers are getting louder.)

As the saying goes, "...a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves” (so said Edward R. Murrow).

But don't take my word for it;

William J. Lederer echoed Murrow in 1961,

and Judge Andrew P. Napolitano echoes Murrow today.

How baaaaaaaaahhhhd can it get?
I think we're going to find out this year.

Another Reason to Love Vermont

My home state Senator Bernie Sander's riposte to Bush's State of the Union speech is worth sharing:

The State of the Union Bush Forgot to Talk About

I listened intently to President Bush's State of the Union speech. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding what country he was talking about, what reality he was talking about. Certainly, if the "state of the union" refers to what is happening to the shrinking middle class of this country, and how we as a people are doing, the president had almost nothing to say that rang true. In fact, the speech just reminds us once again how far removed from the reality of ordinary life this president is, and how little he and his administration know about what is going on with the vast majority of Americans.

The president said that "in the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth." I wish that was true. Unfortunately, since President Bush has been in office it is important to understand that nearly five million Americans have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty. Amazingly, the poverty rate is higher today than it was during the last recession in 2001.Median household income for working-age Americans has declined by almost $2,500 and overall median household income has gone down by nearly $1,000. More than 8.6 million Americans have lost their health insurance. More than 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, including more than 10,000 in Vermont. The list of troubling economic statistics goes on.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest people in our society have not had it so good since the 1920s. Income inequality is on the rise. According to the latest figures from the IRS, the top 1 percent earned more income in 2005 than the bottom 50 percent, and the national share of income going to the wealthiest Americans is higher than at any time since 1929. Perhaps even more disturbing is the unequal distribution of wealth. According to Forbes magazine, the collective net worth of the wealthiest 400 Americans increased by $290 billion last year to $1.54 trillion. In addition, the top one percent now owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

What are the super-wealthy doing with their money? As Robert Frank of The Wall Street Journal has pointed out in his book Richistan, the super wealthy, those worth between $100 million to $1 billion, spent an average of $182,000 on wrist watches; $311,000 on automobiles; $397,000 on jewelry; and $169,000 on spa services last year alone. The middle class is shrinking, poverty is increasing, and the wealthiest Americans have not had it so good since the 1920s. That is the state of our economy.

In order to protect the interests of the sinking middle class the federal government needs a change in direction in almost every area of public policy. We must start by passing an economic stimulus package as soon as possible. A stimulus package that the House approved on Tuesday could and should be improved.

In my opinion, for an economic stimulus package to be most successful, we must do three things: 1) We must provide help to those most in need, particularly senior citizens on fixed incomes, low-income families with children and persons with disabilities. 2) We must strengthen the middle class. 3) We must put Americans back to work at good paying jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure: our roads, bridges, schools, homes, health centers, sewers, and other important needs.

If we pass an economic stimulus package that does not accomplish all three of these goals, we will have missed out on an important opportunity to strengthen our economy.

Here is what I believe we should do.

First, I would increase the economic stimulus package from $150 billion to $175 billion. We should reduce the business tax breaks on equipment purchases by 50 percent or roughly $25 billion. These tax breaks are referred to as bonus depreciation. It has been argued that businesses need these tax breaks to buy more equipment, but experts tell us that businesses will be buying this equipment regardless of whether these tax breaks are signed into law or not. According to Mark Zandi with Moody's, for every $1 the government provides for bonus depreciation, it would only add 27 cents to GDP. In other words, it would provide very little stimulus. If we did these two things: increase the overall economic stimulus package by $25 billion; and cut the bonus depreciation tax break by 50 percent, that would leave us with about $50 billion.

What could we do with this $50 billion? We could put Americans to work at decent paying jobs; we could help those most in need; and we could strengthen the middle class. Those are the three pillars I believe should be included in any economic stimulus package. Specifically, I believe we should provide $5 billion for an expansion of the Food Stamp program. The Congressional Budget Office and other experts have indicated that such an increase would be one of the most effective ways to stimulate the economy. For every $1.00 invested in the Food Stamp Program, we would add $1.73 to GDP. More importantly, these benefits would go to the Americans who have been hit the hardest in our economy.

We could provide $3.62 billion in home heating assistance for senior citizens on fixed incomes, low-income families with children and persons with disabilities through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The price of energy is skyrocketing. People in Vermont and all over this country are paying record prices to heat their homes this winter. In the richest country on the face of the earth, we must ensure that no-one goes cold this winter.

In addition, with unemployment rising and our infrastructure crumbling, we could address both of these concerns by providing $16 billion to repair our schools, bridges, roads, sewers, rails, ports and airports. We could also put people to work weatherizing nearly 100,000 homes; expand our health delivery system by increasing funding for Community Health Centers, and help veterans with disabilities retrofit their cars and refurbish their homes. States, localities, economists and other experts have identified thousands of projects throughout the country that could not only use this money, but spend it quickly. Last year, about 200,000 construction workers lost their jobs. We could and should put many of these Americans back to work through this economic stimulus package.

Let me give you two examples of investments we could be making that would have a tremendous economic impact on the lives of Americans. If we just provided $148 million for an expansion of Community Health Centers, that would be enough to create 227 new health centers throughout the country; provide health care services to an additional 1.4 million previously unserved Americans; lead to the creation of 15,000 new jobs, and provide a total economic benefit of $1.25 billion.For those that question the appropriateness of including an expansion of community health centers into an economic stimulus package, I would say to my colleagues that this is exactly what we did during the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan. It worked. If it worked in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, it will work today.

Another important investment that we should make is to provide at least $200 million for the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program. Not only could the program easily absorb this level of funding and create additional construction and retrofitting jobs, but it also would save millions of dollars for low-income people who are struggling with higher energy costs by weatherizing an additional 75,000 homes.

In 2001, I was an early backer of tax rebates. I support tax rebates for the middle class, for low-income families with children, and for persons with disabilities. I also believe that senior citizens who don't pay income taxes should be receiving this assistance as well through a bonus in their Social Security checks. But giving someone $300 or $600 or $1,200 alone will not fix the economic situations facing millions of Americans. Putting Americans to work at decent paying jobs and helping those most in need would do much more to strengthen the middle class and reduce the poverty rate than simply sending rebate checks and bonus depreciation tax breaks.

Let's pass an economic stimulus package quickly, but let's make sure we get it right. Let's help those most in need. Let's put Americans to work at good paying jobs.

He hasn't listened to anyone but his cronies for seven years; why should 2008 be in any way different? President Bush, of course, is doing quite the opposite of what Senator Sanders recommends.

And, on a far less consequently note, but of great potential consequence to online activity, I'd wager,

note that if this sale goes through, we'll be seeing some insidious internet mutations. I'll be changing my email address soon.

What, me worry?

Have a great weekend...

Help Me Make It Through The Year...

At this time next year, we will be into the first week of a new Presidency. The presidency of George W. Bush, and the terms of the Vice (and that word in this context has never resonated so, since Spiro Agnew's resignation in disgrace) President Cheney and of Condi Rice and all Bush's cronies, will be over at last.

Has any President done so much damage to our country in our lifetimes? Not that I can recall; even President Nixon, in hindsight, seems but the first slide down the slippery slope Bush has gleefully sent us all hurdling down, seemingly impervious himself. The Teflon President.

I've listened carefully to almost every other State of the Union address from our President, but I won't be tuning in to this one, I don't think. I've no more belly for his swill, really I don't.

In the face of disastrous economic straits, he's still intent that he will "make permanent his first-term tax cuts, which are due to expire in 2010," the destination of his first term squandering of our one-time surplus; hasn't he rewarded the wealthy enough? We're back to the Robber Baron era of the late 19th Century, and Bush and Cheney (who has completely redefined the power of the Vice Presidency, as we'll be able to more fully assess after he's gone) happily helped put us here.

A review of Bush's prior State of the Union speeches is a litany of obfuscation, diversion and deception, save for his "Madam Speaker" moment (balancing Cindy Sheehan's moment).

Here's an assessment of what has happened on this swaggering President's watch; "Waving Goodbye to Hegemony" says it all.

Consider how "...the distribution of power in the world has fundamentally altered over the two presidential terms of George W. Bush, both because of his policies and, more significant, despite them." (Special thanks to Jean-Marc Lofficier for bringing this to my attention this weekend; well worth reading.)

Thankfully, Halliburton is riding high -- oh, what a relief, amid such economic woe! -- to quote Liberace, Cheney and his crew will be laughing all the way to the bank, as they have every day since Cheney took (never before has that word in this political context rung so true) office.

We'll see what further damage Bush, Cheney, Rice et al can inflict and exact in their final year, and hope we'll all be here after their exit.

Have a Mopey Monday, maybe...

One More Crazy Vermonter

Another Reason I love Vermont:
Vermont remains "the only state President Bush has neglected to visit during his seven years in office" (see article, below).

I don't think it's 'neglect,' really. Here's a recent article from the Brattleboro Reformer to ensure the record stands until the end of President Bush's term:

Activists look for arrest of Bush, Cheney
By Paul H. Heintz, Reformer Staff

Saturday, December 29

BRATTLEBORO -- When then Vice President George H. W. Bush visited Brattleboro 23 years ago, he was greeted by protesters who booed and heckled him.

But if his son ever comes to town, some residents hope to present the sitting president with an even less friendly reception: a pair of handcuffs and a jail cell.

"We're planning to arrest, detain and extradite him," said Kurt Daims of Brattleboro, an activist who has sought to impeach President George W. Bush and is now trying to up the ante. "There's a fundamental question here. If Congress doesn't do this, shouldn't it be done anyway?"

Daims hopes to gather the 440 signatures necessary to place an article on the Town Meeting warning that would call for the Brattleboro Police Department to arrest Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and cart them off to unspecified foreign entities.

"Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictment for consideration by other municipalities?" Daims' proposed article reads.

"And shall it be the law of the Town of Brattleboro that the Brattleboro Police, pursuant to the above-mentioned indictment, arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro and extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them."

Daims joined a group of eight like-minded activists Friday afternoon for their weekly impeachment march through town. Beating homemade drums and waving signs calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, the protesters walked from the Brattleboro Food Co-op to the Municipal Building and dropped off a copy of the proposed article at the Town Clerk's office.

Daims recognizes the myriad legal barriers between his goal and its coming to fruition, but pointing to the Declaration of Independence as his inspiration, he contends that sometimes the laws of the land take second seat to "a higher jurisdiction."

"There was no legal standing to the document that was written in 1776. It was just people saying 'we've got to get rid of this guy,'" Daims said. "We can't let him get away just because we don't have the proper forms and paperwork."

Vermont remains the only state President Bush has neglected to visit during his seven years in office, and Daims' proposed article is not likely to hasten a presidential trip to the Green Mountain state.

"I don't know if Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney are scheduled to visit Brattleboro any time in the near future," said acting Police Chief Eugene Wrinn, whose force would presumably be charged with making an arrest. "We will wait and see if it passes and then we will check with the town of Brattleboro's legal counsel to check out what our legal obligations would be."

And on another front: Mitt Romney blather:

My amigo HomeyM in Jamaica reminds me this AM that Romney warned against those "intent on establishing a new religion in America -- the religion of secularism." Romney went on to assert that "freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom."

Huh? What is the man jabbering about???

I've got a simple credo I live by: Freedom OF religion means freedom FROM religion.

We're free to practice, or not practice, religion in this country.

Welcome to America, Mitt.

Have a simmering Sunday, amigos!

Crazy Quilt: Linx & Bytes

I'm going to be posting random links and eye-candy today and tomorrow, so tune in as you can, it'll be going up higgilty-piggilty as I find time. I'll be adding them below this initial entry this AM, so scroll down throughout the day for more goodies. Enjoy!

Swamp Jogger!

(Image: Jill St. John peeks over a T. Hee towel on a 1957 men's zine: just one of the pop candies in Devlin Thompson's gallery; click link, below)

Check out this link from Devlin Thompson, illuminating a long-buried phase of Swamp Thing's secret life that DC Comics does their best to keep buried. Thanks, Devlin!

(Also check out Devlin's entertaining gallery of pop culture debris and delights, here, for a few minutes of eye-candy and fun.)

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Whoa! Blow Me Down!

The brand-new four-disc Popeye the Sailor DVD set is simply amazing, an essential addition to any animation devotees library. But don't take my word for it!

I've never met anyone (except maybe Leonard Maltin) who knows more about the Fleischer Brothers animation studio and legacy than my amigo G. Michael Dobbs, aka Mike Dobbs. By all rights, Mike should have been among the commentators and extras on the brand-new Warner Bros. Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938 DVD set, but -- alas -- he isn't.

But Mike has scribed and posted the best online review of the package to date, and here it is -- give it a read!

Mike's new book Escape! How Animation Broke Into the Mainstream in the 1990s, collecting revised, updated versions of many of his best articles, interviews and essays from Animato! magazine -- which he edited in its final run -- will be out in November from Bear Manor Books (here's their site).

More on that, though, closer to publication date...

Anyhoot, the Popeye DVD set is indeed exquisite and a long-needed corrective to decades of smeary, incomplete public domain videos and DVDs. I'm along for the duration, and can't wait for the next set.

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Critter Chow

This just in from my sister-in-law and photographer/artist/teacher extraordinaire Patricia Lambert.

Give it a click, and a click:

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "feed an animal in need" for free. It's in a purple box in the middle of the page. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

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"It's a Quagmire" -- Damage (Out-Of-)Control

"I think we got it right..." What changed, Dick?

Dick Cheney, circa April 1994, when he was Secretary of Defense under President George H. W. Bush, voicing almost every single sentiment many of us had about the Iraq War in 2003. Why couldn't this have scored air time in the 2006 election? It's circulating at last. Here's the video; give it a peek/listen, and pick your jaw up off the floor.

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More later...

We're Back in Bush's Hands --

What a relief!

Say Good Morning to Your New (Temp) President...

First off, a quick reminder from New England comics creator collective Trees & Hills co-founder Daniel Barlow about the Trees & Hills 2007 anthology release party at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vt. today -- Saturday, July 21.

"Cartoonists and other comic creators from all over the region will be celebrating the release of Field Guide to Cartoonists. The 52-page mini-comic anthology features new work by members of the comics group, including Stephen R. Bissette, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Jennifer Omand and Ethan Slayton.

And everyone is welcome to join us! RSVPs, which are appreciated but not necessary, can be sent to barlowdaniel@gmail.com.

New Hampshire cartoonists Marek Bennett and Colin Tedford will be presenting their groovy musical sounds for everyone's delight, follow-up by a rocking set by Vermont-based Web comic pioneer Cat Garza and Center for Cartoon Studies fellow Gabby Schulz. Don't be surprised if they all just end up rocking the house at the same time.

In addition to having copies of Field Guide for sale (only $3) or trade, the Trees & Hills comics group will be announcing the details of their next anthology, which will come out in time for SPX 2007 in October.

The fun begins at 3 p.m. with a potluck. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door for the musicians. White River Junction's amazing and unparalleled Main Street Museum is located at 58 Bridge Street. Check them out at

this link, now!

The whole darn thing will probably end around 6 p.m., followed by which some of us will retire to a nearby establishment to be merry some more.

The Trees & Hills comics group is a collective of comic creators from Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts. We formed two years ago during a comic drawing event at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center that challenged creators to draw a 24 page comic in 24 hours!

In addition to hosting monthly drawing parties for cartoonists, the Trees & Hills comics group publishes and distributes comics throughout the three states. The past year has seen the group featured at several comic conventions, including the 2007 MoCCA Art Festival in New York City."

I'll be there for some of the festivities.

For more info, visit the Trees & Hills site, here.

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In one asshole, out the other.

What do you give to the man that has everything? Well,

while President Bush has the interior of his ass examined, George W. gives his pal and Vice-Prez Dick Cheney the Presidency.

"In transferring power while under anesthesia, Bush is electing to implement Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, making Cheney acting president until Bush indicates he is prepared to reassume his authority. It has been invoked only twice before. The first time was in July 1985 when President Reagan underwent surgery and turned over power to his vice president, Bush's father. The other time was in 2002" [the initial time George W. ceded power to Cheney, again for a medical procedure].

Nice to know the boys do have some use for our Constitution after all.

Given all Vice President Cheney has quietly and covertly accomplished when he's just Vice-Prez (if you haven't read Jo Becker and Barton Gellman's multi-part essay on Cheney for The Washington Post, "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency," click this link and do so immediately),

one can only wonder what Cheney does during these windows of opportunity when he is full-fledged President. It's likely we'll never know;

as Becker and Gellman note, Cheney "leaves no tracks" though he exercises greater power than any Vice President in history.

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And here's a recent bit of Bush news that most Americans are completely unaware of, a further eroding of civil rights and privacy --

As my friend Jean-Marc noted when he brought this to my attention, "I can't wait to see how they use this one. Note: no appeal, no redress! When the time comes I'm sure Blackwater's Chilean mercenary squads will have no problem keeping order in the streets of America. What's a few gringos? What goes around..."

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This arrives compliments of HomeyM in Jamaica, from a recent issue of The Brattleboro Reformer:

Bush unlikely to visit state
By EVAN LEHMANN, Reformer Washington Bureau
Brattleboro Reformer

Friday, July 20
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has crisscrossed the country. He bikes in Maryland, fishes in Maine, and just Thursday, visited a bun-baking operation in Tennessee.

Indeed, almost seven years into his presidency, George W. Bush has set foot in all of the nation's states -- except Vermont.

His itinerary could be influenced by the state's tiny amount of electoral votes -- just three, tied for the lowest -- and that it's home to vigorous political opponents like Sen. Patrick Leahy. It also hosts one of the president's lowest approval ratings in the nation.

Known for choosing friendly audiences, Bush would find no military bases on which to rally pep, and televised coverage of his visit would plunge into forested hillsides rather than populated metropolises.

"All the reasons a president would have for visiting a state -- none of them apply to Vermont," said Eric Davis, a political science professor at Middlebury College. "It would be hard for him to find a friendly audience here."

"There's no point," said professor Garrison Nelson at the University of Vermont. "He'd show up and get booed and yelled at."

Nevertheless, there's time for the New England-raised president with a Southern drawl to pay his respects. He still has 17 months in office.

And he's often nearby, visiting other northeastern states. New Hampshire and Maine have hosted Bush about a dozen times each, and he made his first stop in Rhode Island last month, according to CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, the authoritative record keeper of presidential travel.

But the White House isn't making any promises.

"If the president were to visit The Green Mountain State, it would be the last, but by no means the least," White House spokesman Trey Bohn offered in an e-mail. "He would certainly look forward to the visit."

Bush family visits to Vermont haven't always gone smoothly.

George H.W. Bush, as vice president, was heckled in 1984 by about 200 anti-nuclear protesters when he spoke on the Brattleboro Common.

Vexed by the confrontation, Bush's press secretary, Peter Teeley, told reporters the next day that advanced copies of Bush's speeches would no longer be available. The new policy was rescinded hours later, with Teeley explaining, "You guys can't take a joke."

Later, Bush Sr. visited Vermont twice after becoming president, once in 1988 and again in 1990, according to Nelson of the University of Vermont.

The earlier trip followed what Nelson described as a "rather embarrassing visit by his daughter (Dorothy) who was unable to answer questions by elementary students."

"Vermont has been sort of a trap for the Bush family," Nelson said. "That W has avoided the state makes good family sense."

But the state's liberal congressional delegation seems intent on providing the current president with an enjoyable visit -- perhaps with some strings.

Sen. Bernard Sanders, an independent, invited Bush to the state during an event this spring. In a press conference this week, Sanders said that Bush "deserves to be given respect" if he makes the trip.

"He is the president of the 50 states," Sanders said. "I hope he has the decency and the courage to come to the state of Vermont -- that's his job."

Andrew Savage, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, said the congressman "encourages the president to visit Vermont and believes it will help him understand the passion Vermonters feel about his extremely unpopular and misguided policies."

________________

Have a great Saturday, knowing Cheney is in charge today...

Saturday. Stuff.

Hey, Look, Mom! I'm in the Christian Science Monitor! Nifty article and pix on our beloved Center for Cartoon Studies,

link compliments of Rutland Herald reporter, Trees & Hills Comics group co-founder, and all-around swell guy Dan Barlow. Hey, Dan, and thanks.

And if you didn't get to check this out earlier this week when I posted it, here's Indie Spinner Rack's interminable interview with yours truly. C'mon, it's the weekend -- you've got time now, don'tcha?

John Totleben hisself send this link, exclaiming, "Check this out -- pretty freakin' wild!" and whatdyaknow, it sure is!

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Most Dangerous Cyborg in the World continues to spread doubt, discord, distress and terror in the Middle East...

Have a Great Saturday!

Late night (for me) post:

This just in --

"...His words were greeted with restrained applause..." -- ya, I bet they were. Cheney dodged service, but talks the talk.

And:

This spam.

Did you all get this one, too?
_____________

CONFIDENTIAL

FROM: GEORGE WALKER BUSH
DEAR SIR / MADAM,

I AM GEORGE WALKER BUSH, SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, AND CURRENTLY SERVING AS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE
YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET NEITHER IN PERSON NOR BY CORRESPONDENCE. I
CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO
HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION, WHICH INVOLVES THE
TRANSFER OF A HUGE SUM OF MONEY TO AN ACCOUNT REQUIRING MAXIMUM
CONFIDENCE.

I AM WRITING YOU IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE PRIMARILY TO SEEK YOUR
ASSISTANCE IN ACQUIRING OIL FUNDS THAT ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN THE
REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. MY PARTNERS AND I SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE IN
COMPLETING A TRANSACTION BEGUN BY MY FATHER, WHO HAS LONG BEEN ACTIVELY
ENGAGED IN THE EXTRACTION OF PETROLEUM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND BRAVELY SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.

IN THE DECADE OF THE NINETEEN-EIGHTIES, MY FATHER, THEN VICE-PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUGHT TO WORK WITH THE GOOD OFFICES
OF
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ TO REGAIN LOST OIL REVENUE
SOURCES
IN THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. THIS UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE
WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY A FALLING OUT WITH HIS IRAQI PARTNER, WHO SOUGHT
TO
ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING EMIRATE OF
KUWAIT, A WHOLLY-OWNED U.S.-BRITISH SUBSIDIARY.

MY FATHER RE-SECURED THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF KUWAIT IN 1991 AT A COST
OF
SIXTY-ONE BILLION U.S. DOLLARS ($61,000,000,000). OUT OF THAT COST.

THIRTY-SIX BILLION DOLLARS ($36,000,000,000) WERE SUPPLIED BY HIS
PARTNERS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER PERSIAN GULF
MONARCHIES, AND SIXTEEN BILLION DOLLARS ($16,000,000,000) BY GERMAN AND
JAPANESE PARTNERS.

BUT MY FATHER'S FORMER IRAQI BUSINESS PARTNER REMAINED IN CONTROL OF
THE
REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ITS PETROLEUM RESERVES.

MY FAMILY IS CALLING FOR YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN FUNDING THE REMOVAL
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ACQUIRING THE PETROLEUM
ASSETS OF HIS COUNTRY, AS COMPENSATION FOR THE COSTS OF REMOVING HIM
FROM POWER.

UNFORTUNATELY, OUR PARTNERS FROM 1991 ARE NOT WILLING TO SHOULDER THE
BURDEN OF THIS NEW VENTURE, WHICH IN ITS UPCOMING PHASE MAY COST THE
SUM
OF 100 BILLION TO 200 BILLION DOLLARS ($100,000,000,000 -
$200,000,000,000), BOTH IN THE INITIAL ACQUISITION AND IN LONG-TERM
MANAGEMENT.

WITHOUT THE FUNDS FROM OUR 1991 PARTNERS, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO
ACQUIRE THE OIL REVENUE TRAPPED WITHIN IRAQ. THAT IS WHY MY FAMILY AND
OUR COLLEAGUES ARE URGENTLY SEEKING YOUR GRACIOUS ASSISTANCE. OUR
DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES IN THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION INCLUDE THE
SITTING VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RICHARD CHENEY,
WHO IS AN ORIGINAL PARTNER IN THE IRAQ VENTURE AND FORMER HEAD OF THE
ALLIBURTON OIL COMPANY, AND CONDOLEEZA RICE, WHOSE PROFESSIONAL
DEDICATION TO THE VENTURE WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NAMING OF A CHEVRON
OIL TANKER AFTER HER.

I WOULD BESEECH YOU TO TRANSFER A SUM EQUALING TEN TO TWENTY-FIVE
PERCENT (10-25 %) OF YOUR YEARLY INCOME TO OUR ACCOUNT TO AID IN THIS
IMPORTANT VENTURE. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA WILL FUNCTION AS OUR TRUSTED INTERMEDIARY. I PROPOSE THAT YOU
MAKE THIS TRANSFER BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH (15TH) OF THE MONTH OF APRIL.

I KNOW THAT A TRANSACTION OF THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD MAKE ANYONE
APPREHENSIVE AND WORRIED. BUT I AM ASSURING YOU THAT ALL WILL BE WELL
AT
THE END OF THE DAY. A BOLD STEP TAKEN SHALL NOT BE REGRETTED, I ASSURE
YOU. PLEASE DO BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION IS 100%
LEGAL.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO CO-OPERATE IN THIS TRANSACTION, PLEASE CONTACT
OUR
INTERMEDIARY REPRESENTATIVES TO FURTHER DISCUSS THE MATTER.

I PRAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND OUR PLIGHT. MY FAMILY AND OUR COLLEAGUES
WILL
BE FOREVER GRATEFUL. PLEASE REPLY IN STRICT CONFIDENCE TO THE CONTACT
NUMBERS BELOW.

SINCERELY WITH WARM REGARDS,

GEORGE WALKER BUSH

Switchboard: 202.456.1414 Comments: 202.456.1111 Fax: 202.456.2461
Email:
president@whitehouse.gov --

___________

(Compliments of Jean-Marc Lofficier!)

Old Hikers Never Die,
They Just Smell That Way

So, Peter Money and I led a valiant group of CCS students up Mount Ascutney yesterday.

Well, Peter led. Actually, Sean Morgan -- CCS senior, Brownsville local, a man who knows the mountain and was climbing like a mountain goat -- led. Peter and Sean led, joined by fellow vet woodsman and CCS senior Ross Wood Studlar and freshmen Chuck Forsman, Dane Martin, Bryan Stone and Alex (Joon-Ho) Kim. A fine time was had by all.

As the oldest poopster of the party, 52-year-old Bissette held his own, sweeping behind for at least the final third of the climb, but I kept up and I made it to the top. But man, oh man, it was a climb.

I hadn't hiked a mountain in over nine years -- I used to hike

the beloved North Duxbury landmark Camel's Hump

regularly in my youth. Even a couple of winter hikes, mind you -- I was a boy scout, and I loved hiking.

But I was in my forties when I made my last climb (Haystack in Wilmington), and I tell you, I was feeling the years yesterday. Particularly in the last mile of the 3.2 or so mile hike uphill. The equivalent hike down went much quicker and (per usual) tested a whole different set of leg and foot muscles, but it was easier on the ol' bod that the climb up. Gravity, you know.

As Dirty Harry quipped in Magnum Force, "A man's got to know his limitations." I used to climb Camel's Hump's 4,080+ feet once or twice a year and love it, but I was a much younger man then. Mount Ascutney is far shy of Camel's Hump's altitude (see below), but it sure marks my current limit -- though I fully intend to visit the peak this summer, I'll take the car up to the near-summit parking lot and walk that mile versus the 3+ miles uphill we managed yesterday. It's unlikely I'll be making the hike we made yesterday ever again in this lifetime, unless it's as ashes in an urn for my students to spread over the summit.

Peter and I planned this way back in December 2006 and this past January. It was our intention to bring the entire freshmen class on this end-of-the-year sojourn, but alas, due to a number of issues I shan't go into here, that didn't happen as we'd hoped. Still, we stuck to our staffs and those who could join us, did.

Since the state park proper is closed until May 18th -- the day before CCS graduation -- planning a day trip that involved simply driving ourselves to just shy of the summit (there's apparently a parking lot between the south peak and summit; a less-than-a-mile foot trail takes you to the summit) was impossible. So, we decided, Peter and I, to make the climb to the peak on the Brownsville Trail, and just go for it.

Who is this Peter Money cat? He teaches at CCS, and he's a poet and a good man. Check him out.

What's this Mount Ascutney thang? Rather than bore you with historical and contextual blather, here's the Wikipedia listing for the mountain,

and here's the tech-stuff at Peakbagger.com, for those into such matters.

We made the climb. It was memorable, a great, grand experience. I'll write about it in some detail later -- jeez, I not only climbed it, I came home and prepped for the coming week of CCS and drew two complete pages for James Sturm's CCS class today (the climax to a class 'round robin' 'versus' comic, which concludes with my "Baby With Adult Legs vs. Bryan Stone" final round -- Baby With Adult Legs created by Joe Lambert, Bryan Stone by -- uh, Bryan's mom, I think. And his Dad. I hope.) -- so I'm too pooped to blog much today.

I'm not sure how high up we were -- there's some confusion in the available literature on the mountain.

Ross checked his hiking guide in the drive to Peter's house to eat after we were off the mountain, and reported it was 2600 feet, rated as a 'strenuous climb' (that it was!), but I don't know about that height.

We passed the North Summit sign, marking 2600+ feet, and there was still considerable climbing after that. Since the parking lot for the park is reportedly at an elevation of 2,800 feet, I reckon we climbed at least a wee bit higher than that, whatever the hiking guide books say otherwise. I know that after the North Summit sign, we climbed for at least another half hour, and it was all climbing!

Anyhoot, we made it to the observation tower. This was originally a fire tower; the cabin was long ago removed and the whole contraption has been relocated, and the views are breathtaking, encompassing the entire landscape round Ascutney's peak. We didn't make it to Brownsville Rock, which was about another 1/4 mile northwest of the summit -- Sean told us about this (it's a hang gliding launch site), but going to and coming from the tower we passed the sign for the Rock and simply continued on our way; nobody even commented on it. Next time, eh?

If you're into going yourself some time, check out the Vt. State Parks site, with mucho links to this and that relevant to such a trek.

Here's all the trail particulars, too, for those in any way interested in reading more about the hike.

OK, enough on that -- for now. If anyone who had cameras send me pics, I'll post 'em here!

In any case, gentlemen -- Peter, Chuck, Sean, Dane, Ross, Alex, Bryan -- it was a real honor to climb that rock with all of you, and it's a day I'll savor to the end of my days. Thanks for making it happen!

Things to ponder today:

As Head Honcho Asswipe continues to dodge his own culpability for this war-funding situation, acting like the sociopathic self-centered 'no one says no to me' colostomy bag leakage he continues to come across as (if it were so damned vital, why leave it out of the federal budget every single year of these interminable wars and require seven ancillary budgets to be voted through make up for the shortfall?),

and Vice-Cyborg McQuack-Quack further aggravates what Condi already fucked up so adroitly last week ("So we blew your country and all existing infrastructures completely to shit on false pretenses -- get over it! Get up on your own damned feet and act like men instead of like you're ravaged by four years of war, still without clean water, electricity, food or any shred of civilized security! What are you, a pack of pansies?"),

let's have another reality check in assessing how completely they've only spiraled the increasingly dire fiscal situation of the average American:

"The real income of the bottom 90 percent of American taxpayers has declined steadily: they earned $27,060 in real dollars in 1979, $25,646 in 2005."

- Heather Boushey and Christian E. Weller, "What the Numbers Tell Us," in James Lardner and David A. Smith, eds., Inequality Matters (New York: 2005), p. 36.

"The 2006 round of tax cuts delivers 70 percent of its benefits to the richest 5 percent of Americans, and 6.5 percent to the bottom 80 percent."

- Clive Crook, "The Height of Inequality," Atlantic, September 2006, p. 36.

Have a Great Thursday, You Paupers!

Look, Christians want me to leave my wife!
I keep getting these spams -- what is Jesus trying to say to me? Should I abandon my happy marriage with Marge in search of Christian singles? What the fuck? (or, should I say, "do they"?) And -- is that woman hugging another woman? What's up with this spam campaign, Oh Lord? Oh, I'm so confused...



Soap on a Rope: Libby Takes the Bullet; Cheney, Rove Dance

Well, I've shied away from the current news here for some time, if only to keep the blog from living up to its title too much. But the news of

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction

is too much to pass unnoticed. Many of us out here in voting America have been watching and following this closely since the initial outing of Valerie Plame's CIA status.

Yes, Cheney and Rove cakewalked -- Libby's dangling, appeal to follow -- but the revelations of Cheney's complete culpability in the treasonous outing of a CIA agent's identity out of sheer political vindictiveness is now public record -- and in Cheney's own handwriting.

The man is too contemptible for words, the outing of the corruption of the Vice Presidency ("the most powerful Vice President in U.S. history" has been a frequently heard assessment the past two days) apparent. Cheney's vicious betrayal of his oath of office, the power of his position, and utter contempt for the American people and those who serve in the intelligence community outstrips even Spiro Agnew's absolutely shameful abuses of power.

That this verdict arrives in the wake of the latest series of stories concerning the neglect and abuse of Iraq War vets (via the Washington Post's investigation and stories about the conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center) further proves the rampant callousness and disregard for the most fundamental of human realities demonstrated time and time again by this current President and Administration. They are contemptible leaders in every arena of power they have claimed as their own, and the insanity of maintaining any further patience or tolerance of their horrific abuses, or for their apologists, could not be clearer.

The local scene is catching the shock waves, as every corner of the country must.

This, from The Brattleboro Reformer of Brattleboro, VT:

Panel hears from injured vets about squalor at Walter Reed
By Evan Lehmann, Reformer Washington Bureau
Brattleboro Reformer


Tuesday, March 6
WASHINGTON -- He returned from Iraq with one eye, one ear and the idea he'd recuperate somewhere other than the "ghetto."

That's how Spc. Jeremy Duncan described his room in Building 18, a former motel adopted as an outpatient dorm by Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The building is the symbol of squalor in an unfolding scandal that has the Army on its heels. Building 18 has mold, holes, mice and cockroaches. Its inhabitants, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, face long delays in receiving health care.

"It was unforgivable," Duncan told a congressional panel holding a hearing at the hospital Monday. "It wasn't fit for anybody to live like that."

Staff Sgt. J. Daniel Shannon was shot in the head by an insurgent's AK-47. The blunt military careerist suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his left eye. The attack came in November 2004, outside Ramadi.
Three days later, he arrived at Walter Reed for inpatient care. He was discharged two days later, given a photocopied map of the sprawling facility and told to bunk in Building 18.

He got lost along the way, disoriented by the prescription drugs meant to soothe the bullet wound he suffered less than a week earlier.

Later, the hospital lost him.

"I sat in my room for another couple of weeks wondering when someone would contact me about continuing my medical care," Shannon said.

They never did. It was up to him.

More than two years later, he's still a patient, still waiting for plastic surgery and a prosthetic eye to fill the socket behind his black patch.

Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat and member of the Oversight and Government Reform's subcommittee on national security and foreign affairs, which held the hearing, said the hospital's failures could be the "tip of the iceberg."

Welch, who requested that the hearing be held at Walter Reed, questioned Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, who oversaw the hospital for two years until 2004, about reports that patients were retaliated against for revealing the squalid conditions at the hospital.

Soon after The Washington Post exposed the conditions, patients were required to fall into formation around dawn each morning.

Kiley denied it was retaliation, saying Col. Roland Hamilton required the morning formation so patients could air their concerns to him directly.

"He was not in any way threatening them," Kiley said.

Welch also suggested that the Army might have fired the wrong man: Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was relieved of duty as the hospital's commander last week.

Weightman worked at the hospital for six months.

Welch asked if the conditions at the hospital "have been in existence for over six months?"

"I can't say right now whether this was a short-term or long-term problem," Kiley said.

Shannon, however, knows his stay has been too long.

"I want to leave this place," he said. "I've seen so many soldiers get so frustrated with the process that they will sign anything presented (to) them just so they can get on with their lives."

In many cases, that means they forfeit disability benefits.

You got that? "Forfeit[ing] disability benefits."

This is monstrous on more levels than one can comprehend

The war machine, ramped up on a bed of lies and deceptions, pours patriotic young Americans voluntarily serving into the the jaws of man-made hell, spits them back dismembered, traumatized, in pieces -- and buries them alive in a fresh hell of this government's making. To escape, the young soldiers who have given their all will forfeit their disability benefits -- this is criminal.

War crimes, perpetrated upon our own military by our own leaders.

On the local level, more and more Vermonters are finding their voices to speak out against the ongoing corruption and abuses of power. HomeyM of Jamaica sent out this email to his compadres:

"I was very proud of my town today, Town Meeting day in Jamaica.

There were two resolutions offered, both of which I thought would elicit struggle and debate in a town and state that are after all traditionally Republican (albeit Vermont Republican).

One resolution called for bringing the troops in Iraq home now. The second called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney for lying to get us into war, condoning torture, and taking away our Constitutional freedoms by listening in to phone conversations without a warrant. In this kind of situation of introducing a national (not local) matter, it was almost certain that someone would rise to complain that this is "not something we should be discussing at a Town meeting."

With just one speaker on behalf of each resolution, and NO ONE rising to oppose them, not a single word of opposition, the first passed quickly and UNANIMOUSLY. (For a second I thought I was dreaming.) The second by voice vote had about 95 AYES and only five NAYS. Hooray for Jamaica!

The night before last, in Brattleboro, Cindy Sheehan had asked us to lead the nation in calling for impeachment. Today we responded, as did some twenty other towns in Vermont. Many of those at this meeting, remember, are natives who have traditionally supported Republican leadership. And these are not people who will suppress their opinion if they disagree with you. Of that you may be sure.

I just didn't think it was going to be this easy. My fellow citizens surprised me today, in a very positive way."

Last year, at Marlboro Town Meeting, we had already done the same, as had a clutch of other Vermont towns.

To what end?

More on all this, later --

________________

Cine-Ketchup, Wednesday Edition:

* Grbavica (2006) - When uneasy pick-up lines like, “I’m sure I know you” leads to the commonalities of “Maybe you go to postmortem identifications?”, we aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. We’re in Sarajevo, recovering from one of the most brutal wars in the European theater in the late 20th Century. Welcome to Grbavica -- the film, a time, place, and state of mind. This modern metropolitan European city is haunted by fresh memories of the Bosnian conflict. The wounds are deep and fresh: in the first scene, an innocent bout of tickling between mother and daughter grows untenable when daughter pins her mother’s arms; only later do we realize almost any human touch or intimacy evokes the rape camps. The echoes are everywhere: talk of mass graves still being disinterred and the search for missing parents, partners, friends or family; angry, outcast teenagers (some the offspring of the rape camp experiences) bond over missing fathers and their affiliations (“he’s a shaheed”); songs sung on buses stir memories; survivor support groups tied to monthly state stipends prompt unexpected, utterly human expressions of fear, despair and trauma; male bar patrons could be innocents, sympathizers, survivors or former brutalizers. We experience all this through the day-to-day life of traumatized Esma Halilovic (Mirjana Karanovic) and her daughter Sara (Luna Mijovic). The immediate tension between them is Esma’s inability to come up with the money necessary to Sara joining her school’s upcoming class trip; if Esma can provide certification of Sara’s shaheed parentage, there is no fee. It’s the kind of economic desperation rich people never know, and may never understand: for want of 200 euro for her daughter’s class trip, Esma’s life, held together by the most tenuous of threads, is unraveling.

From this seemingly inconsequential situation, writer/director Jasmila Zbanic delineates with increasing power the many fault lines between generations -- each struggling with (unspoken) shock waves and wounds, emotional and physical -- gender, class, affluence, unemployment, poverty and the absolute invisibility of all these all-too-real conflicts, rendering any one of them a near impossibility to deal with. Adding to the quiet dread is the fact that any in Esma’s circles -- work, acquaintances, anyone she has to deal with in any capacity -- who did not experience the worst of the Bosnian War are ignorant or indifferent to her plight or that of every survivor; worst yet, others still prey upon the survivors’ situation. Dangerous underground black markets thrive, assassination is an ongoing job opportunity, violence is central to male life (even Sara’s teen beau has a handgun), but the veneer of life-as-usual is sustained. These tensions conflate normal parent/teenager tensions, further tangled with the truth of Sara’s conception.

A precious few films or TV programs dealing with the current post-Bosnian War conditions exist, much less reach American viewers: the most recent installment of the British series Prime Suspect (6) grounded its script in the conflict’s wake, tied to Bosnian War atrocities spilling over into England. Grbavica is a potent drama of Bosnian life in the 21st Century, eschewing melodramatic or genre conventions that trivialize the harsh realities, rendered all the more terrible for their casual banality -- and its final shots moving for their simplicity and honesty.

________________

I've gotta get to work -- another busy day at CCS --
have a great Wednesday, one and all!