A CHILD'S ABCs OF TERRORISM

A is for al Qaeda and amnesia. Are you old enough to remember when the War on Terror was being fought against people who actually attacked us?

B is for Bush and bin Laden. They hate each other, but they could never be the same without each other--just like lots of mommies and daddies!

C is for Chalabi and the cap President Bush would like to pop in his ass. Ahmed Chalabi was the man America paid lots of money (over $340,000 a month) to make up scary stories about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. But that’s not why President Bush is mad at him. He’s mad because last month Chalabi was caught trying to organize a coup against the US occupation forces. No more allowance for you, Chalabi.

check out the rest at Steve Perry's Bush Wars

Finally its spelled out so simply that even Sean Hannity can understand it.

40 YEARS AGO

On this day in 1964, T. S. Eliot wrote to Groucho Marx to confirm that a car would be at waiting at the Savoy to pick "you and Mrs. Groucho" up for dinner. Eliot also noted that Groucho's announcement of having "come to London to see me has greatly enhanced my credit in the neighbourhood, and particularly with the green grocer across the street." Eliot began corresponding with Marx several years earlier, having first sent a fan letter saying how much he enjoyed his movies. They exchanged photographs -- Eliot had to ask for a second of Groucho as his first one had no cigar -- and over several years tried to arrange an occasion for dinner or, as envisioned by Groucho, an evening wherein "you and I will get drunk together."

more at today in literature (via Rake's Progress)

When I was 11 I saw a marathon of Marx Brothers films (Duck Soup, Monkey Business and Horsefeathers) and instantly became a convert to their brand of Marxism. Their stuff is still amazingly fresh after more than 70 years. I've had many other culture heroes through the years, but Groucho ultimately inspired me more than any writer or "subversive" punk rocker.

HIBERNATION OVER

I've decided to charge up this blog again after exactly a year away. As Mark Twain said, "never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow". I'll stop procrastinating tomorrow. Until then here's a link to a bunch of recent book reviews from the staff of the bookstore I work at. (My reviews are signed J.H.)