Hammer Mill Days

Okay, boys - let's dig a bit deeper. Matt, it's your turn with the post-holer. Marvin (my personal robot assistant), you've got the pick axe this time. I'll occupy myself with this dime novel. (KLANG!) Oowwww!!! Dissent in the ranks. Happens every time you try to get some work out of this crew. Though telling Matt to dig is kind of like bossing your boss around. (He euphemistically directed me to engage in autosex with myself. I, of course, refused.) Still, you would think Marvin, at least, would do what I ask, and yet he's worse than most of the others, tossing his tools into the drainage ditch, muttering to himself in that robotian way of his. He's still surly over the space robot Dextre thing - another obsession that, thus far, Mitch Macaphee has been unable to program out of the poor boy. For his own part (and don't ask which part I'm referring to), Mitch has been keeping far away from the work zone as well. Not that I would expect him to use those m...

Israelis celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of statehood this week. The festivities drew our lame duck president like a moth to flame, so in a sense, the Israelis gave us a gift for their birthday, by taking custody of Mr. 28% for a few precious days. Dubya was able to find people who adore him there - principally a bunch of failed politicians who wouldn't last a week in office were it not for our massive decades-long investment in the ongoing stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians. The press dutifully played Bush's visit as an effort to move the "peace process" forward (even as he pushed for war with Iran), but any child can see that there is no chance for a meaningful settlement under the current conditions... namely the fact that Israeli politicians have built their careers on the occupation and American politicians have built theirs , in part, on supporting and underwriting it. It is a hideous and corrosive symbiosis that those folks smiling about, whateve...