Unknown News | Commentary by Helen & Harry Highwater

"News that's not known, or not known enough."

Helen & Harry's MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT

From inside the numbness

by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News August 6, 2007

Sometimes I think I'm growing numb to the horror, other times I think numbness is the only way it's possible to endure it. Our method is to remain fixated, as much as possible, on the website, or on activism toward a specific and possibly even attainable local goal, and try to block out "the big picture" as much as possible ... because any time I see the big picture clearly, I want to cry or scream or just blow my brains out.

So toward that end, here are a few glimpses of "the little picture" ...

^{* * *} A few months ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would convene Congress during August for mini-sessions, to avoid the month-long recess that would open the door for Bush to make more "recess appointments" of cronies and crooks. Now it appears that's been forgotten, and Congress is about to adjourn for "summer vacation."

So Reid knows exactly what's going to happen, and so do you: Look for more cronies and crooks to be appointed, without the need for Senate hearings. And when it happens, remember, Democrat Harry Reid knew it was coming, and let it happen.

^{* * *} Illegal immigration is a tough issue, and the only truly effective solution would be stiff sanctions against employers. Any anti-immigration stance that doesn't include those stiff sanctions -- from "let's build a wall" to "tougher border patrols" to anything else -- is a charade, a lie from politicians' lips, pure pandering to worried voters.

And of course, there are no significant sanctions against employers of illegal immigrants precisely because the federal government wants a steady flow of cheap, virtually unregulated labor for business.

And here's Louis J. Barletta, the Mayor of Hazelton PA. Barletta made news last year bragging about his town's new Illegal Immigration Relief Act, a law that would revoke the business license of any company that employs an illegal immigrant.

Last week, Hazelton's law was struck down as unConstitiutional, and I'm pleased about that, because the sanctions in Hazelton's law are ridiculous. Yanking a company's business license on the first offense? And more -- the town's law would fine apartment owners $1,000 per day for renting to illegal immigrants. That's not getting tough, that's getting reamed. That's way too much, and it's cruel and unusual punishment.

Still, I hadn't been sure whether the Mayor was a hard-ass hard-liner or simply an out-and-out racist monster, until I heard Mayor Barletta interviewed on the radio program As It Happens last week -- here's the audio file, if you're interested. As he answered questions about illegal immigration with stories of illegal immigrants as murderers and child rapists, that pretty much settled the question in my mind: Mayor Barletta is an out-and-out racist monster.

^{* * *} Here's something I found way down in a USA Today article about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dancing around questions about the lies of cover-up of Pat Tillman's murder:

Excerpt: The House inquiry comes a day after the Army laid most of the blame for the errors on Philip Kensinger, a retired three-star general who led Army Special Operations. The Army censured Kensinger for "a failure of leadership" and accused him of lying to investigators.

Kensinger, in a rebuttal recently released by the Army, denied deceiving investigators or covering up Tillman's friendly-fire death. "For over 36 years, I have tried to do the right thing," Kensinger wrote. "I have kept my commitment to 'Duty, Honor, Country,' as my focus and I would never sully the reputation of the Army."

Kensinger was subpoenaed by the committee, but Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the panel was informed by Kensinger's attorney that he "would not testify voluntarily" and if issued a subpoena, he would not accept it.

Stop and ponder that for a moment: There's a subpoena for Gen Kensinger, to get his testimony in Congress -- and he's dancing around receiving it. This retired General has so much "commitment to 'Duty, Honor, Country," that he's avoiding process servers. When a stranger in a suit knocks on his door, Kensinger pretends he's not home.

The underlying lies and cover-up in this matter are dead serious, but man, ain't Gen Kensinger just hilarious? "For over 36 years, I have tried to do the right thing ... but now I'm done trying." And talk about sullying the military's reputation"? When he dies, Kensinger's obituary will remember him as that cowardly old fart who kept the curtains drawn and sat real quiet on the couch until the doorbell stopped ringing.

^{* * *} Masters of Science Fiction is a new show that airs on ABC at 10:00 on Saturday nights (9:PM Central time). The concept: It's an anthology show -- a free-standing mini-movie every week -- based on science fiction stories by respected authors like Robert Heinlein, Harlan Ellison, etc.

If there was any publicity for this show, I missed it. My understanding is that the series was filmed more than a year ago, and it's been sitting on the shelf all that time because it's the worst thing that can happen on American commercial TV -- it's intelligent, well-made, and thought-provoking. And despite ABC's obvious embarrassment, the show itself was quite good -- science fiction with a definite relevance to the here and now.

But more than that, what struck me was that the first episode of Masters of Science Fiction was clearly a kick in the right-wing's ass. It was based on a John Kessel short story that's more than twenty years old, but without giving away anything of the plot, you'd have to be empty-headed indeed to miss its Bush-Cheney parallels.

And you'd have to be living in Disneyland not to suspect that's at least part of the reason why the show wasn't broadcast when it was finished -- before the 2006 elections.

Typical of the cowardice audiences have come to expect from Disney-owned ABC, the series has no doubt already been cancelled. The Internet Movie DataBase says they made six episodes, but ABC has only announced four episodes will air, and this will be your only chance to see these shows until or unless they're eventually released on video.

Based on the first week's story, and looking at the writers involved in subsequent weeks, the show is very much worth watching. You can spend the commercial breaks cursing under your breath in frustration, that shows like this are only shown on TV by mistake.

^{* * *} And OK, one last thing: If you give a damn about America, please call your Congressperson, and demand impeachment of the Bush-Cheney cabal. These Satan-possessed gargoyles must be removed from office, before they start World War III. And time is running out.

And if you've already called your Congressperson, please call again.

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Helen and Harry Highwater have published Unknown News since 1997. We're a married couple sharing a byline à la Lennon and McCartney, and "I" can be either of us, or both of us. If you're consumed by curiosity, it's safe to assume the more boisterous and aggressive bits come from Helen, and anything ladylike or demure is probably Harry's work.

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