can you feel the darkness shining through


Natchez Bridge Crossing, by van Etten.

* Maureen Dowd on The Passion of Tom. excerpt:

"Usually, the White House loves bullies. It embraces John Bolton, nominated as U.N. ambassador, even though, as The Times reports today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is reviewing allegations that Mr. Bolton misused intelligence and bullied subordinates to help buttress W.M.D. hokum when he was at State.

"But there's some skittishness in the party leadership about the Passion of the Tom, the fiery battle of the born-again Texan to show that he's being persecuted on ethics by a vast left-wing conspiracy. Some Republicans are wondering whether they need to pull a Trent Lott on Tom DeLay before he turns into Newt Gingrich, who led his party to the promised land but then had to be discarded when he became the petulant 'definer' and 'arouser' of civilization. Do they want Mr. DeLay careering around in Queeg style as they go into 2006?"
...
"The Washington Post also splashed Mr. DeLay on the front page with an article about a third DeLay trip under scrutiny: a six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by Mr. DeLay was 'underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements.'

"All the divisions that President Bush was able to bridge in 2004 are now bursting forth as different wings of his party joust. John Danforth, the former Republican senator and U.N. ambassador, wrote an Op-Ed piece in The Times last week saying that, on issues from stem cell research to Terri Schiavo, his party 'has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement.'

"When the Rev. Danforth, an Episcopal minister who prayed with Clarence Thomas when he was under attack by Anita Hill, says the party has gone too far, it's way over the edge."

* Flagpole's George W. Bush dictionary. [via] excerpt:

"Intellectual n. An unpatriotic individual who has the temerity to think or question during a time of crisis or war.

"Liberal Elite n. A disparaging phrase used to describe anyone smarter than the person using the term.

"Mandate n. A fictional popular cry for change derived from a statistically insignificant political victory or a simple inability to count.

"Safe Sex n. A low risk sexual activity from which teenage Americans are taught to abstain and of which they are to remain ignorant.

"School Prayer n. A government-sanctioned daily interruption of public school system designed to alienate religious minorities.

"Unlightenment, The n. A 21st century philosophical movement of the American political right marked by embracing the traditional, social, and political ideas of the 17th century. See Luddite, Flat Earther.

"Values n. 1. A set of standards frequently mentioned, loosely defined and selectively applied. 2. A word used by politicians to enjoy the popular good will associated with honesty and ethics without being burdened by the accountability of those terms.

"W n. 1. A mnemonic device for people incapable of remembering an entire name. 2. The logo for a successful 21st century marketing scam."