Lieberman = Tessio

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Once there was an iconic movie, The Godfather, which played out in grand scale the struggles of good and evil, strong vs weak, smart vs stupid.

Tessio, they say, did the "smart" thing...taking sides against The Godfather. Betraying the Corleone family to ally with Tataglia for the opportunistic "winning" side. Except, Michael turned out to be not just a kid to be patted on the cheek and dismissed.

In a political sense, the same story is playing out as Joe Lieberman now starts talking about how much he "respects" Barack Obama. Larger minds than mine will decide Lieberman's political fate, but I'd proffer that the just end to this current political epic for Joe Lieberman will be to sleep with the political fishes.
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Snow Job

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Digby's blog must've started something, or it's the great minds think alike scenario, but following up on digby's list Saturday of hot and steamy summer flicks for the holiday weekend, the local newspaper here in Fargo published a list of hot'n'sultry summer flicks today.

Enough, I say!

If I want hot and steamy all I have to do is step outside. In the tall timber the wee window air conditioner coughed and did its darnedest to reach the other end of the cabin, but 'twas not to be.

And with $4 gas, there's only so long you can stay in the air conditioned car. And even in Fargo the temps seemed to overheat this weekend.

Oh, wait, that was the hyperverbiliating McCain campaign and its tag team partner, the BBQ media, goin' ga-ga over Obama in Fargo sounding like, you know, a responsible commander in chief, willing to refine his policy based on reality. Don't you hate when politicians do that? Makes it so much harder than just goin' along with the sheeple media right into the McCain bar-be-que.

So I propose we all chill out. And here are a few starters:

The Shining
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Star Wars: Episode 5—The Empire Strikes Back
Day After Tomorrow
Jeremiah Johnson

Yes, you do have to do a little work to learn about these films once you get to imdb's homepage. But then that's what this season's all about, isn't it? Fire up...
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Million Mega-Watt Smile

There's a difference between winners and also-rans. You can accept it with good grace, like George Clooney, acknowledging that Daniel Day Lewis is something in a whole ’nother stratosphere.

As is Tiger Woods to Phil Mickelson. And Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton.

Sportsmanship’s been on display a lot lately, more off the field than on. We’re getting a good education in what makes an iconic figure in a chosen field, be it baseball or golf, politics or film.

It’s not lost on Prairie that the stench of corruption has followed one man from Texas baseball to the “hardball” practiced by the White House team.

If you haven’t yet seen it, check out this 60 Minutes report on the political show trial and prosecution persecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman...now labelled felon sitting in prison.

This is stuff straight out of the old Soviet. Sorry times we’ve come to, indeed.

The man from Texas tells us he’s the decider, the commander in chief, the one lookin’ for those WMD under the desk in the Oval, that he doesn’t have a problem with dictators as long as he gets to be one.

On his watch, under his command: Hugh has a list that’ll knock your eyes out. The Siegelman story is only the latest.

In the meantime, though, give a thought to the power of a smile, and words of hope, and the seasoning to win and win and win again.

And never trust the smile of a man without lips. Nor truth in his heart.

Into The Breach

Watching the self-delusional—or was it?—portrayal of a high-ranking government official, deeply religious, cynical, not trusting anyone except one young assistant, an official who committed acts of treason over and over for years and got away with it....one wonders if it’s left to the film makers to tell us our history.

The Breach is riveting film-making, and it debuted on HBO Saturday night, which means it’s long been out in theatres and even DVDs, so we none of us have an excuse for missing what is one of the most powerful movies in recent times about the inner workings of our government.

Chris Cooper as the FBI-turned-spy Robert Hanssen adds to the chilling tone of the movie. No Sheriff July Johnson, steadfast, honorable, here. Instead, the path of an older law man gone totally corrupt. Hanssen’s deeds are destructive of everything he professes to hold dear...his family, his career, his personal values. His devotion to Opus Dei religiosity, his hyper-intelligence about what the FBI needs to do to protect its security are totally at odds with his betrayal of U.S. secrets, his betrayal of his relationship with his wife and family.

In The Breach we see but never come to understand how a man could totally trash everything he professes to value. But perhaps this dialog from Cooper as Hanssen, delivered in a matter-of-fact tone all the more haunting for its mundaneness, sums things best: “He spied...the why doesn’t mean a thing, does it?”

The real Eric O'Neill, the FBI staffer who gained Hanssen’s trust and ultimately led to his downfall, served as a special consultant for this film. There are countless others like him who work anonymously for the best interests of our country, and their value is incalculable when corruption or criminality sinks deep roots within the government.

Yet for those who follow events of current times, who chafe at the “sand in the umpire’s eyes,” who beat the drums for oversight, there is this postscript in stark white letters on the blackened screen which may well also be the signature for the first Twenty-First Century administration:

The full extent of the damage done remains classified.