Bush leaguers

That a military veteran anywhere would vote for Dubya Bush — who dodged his duty and went AWOL from the National Guard during the Vietnam War, versus John Kerry, who was wounded and saved the life of a fellow soldier — is unfathomable to Phillipe & Jorge. The little elitist dope President Flight Suit makes a mockery of people who served our country, and the recent Swift boat ads questioning Kerry’s valor are abominable. Dubya, "Big Time" Cheney, Condi Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, John Ashcroft, and the unspeakable Karl Rove are despicable cowards. In the collective, they have sent almost 1000 of America’s finest young men and women to die in Iraq under totally false pretenses. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (honk!) are so obviously bought and paid for by the White House that it is obscene. This reveals the grimy hooves of Rove — reminiscent of how the Bushies essentially called John McCain’s wife a junkie and his adopted daughter a wog in 2000. McCain might be a hero, but he’s proved to be gutless in turning around and supporting the gutter crawler who endorsed that tactic. If anything, America’s veterans should be condemning the Bush administration at every turn, because they know what the real deal is when bullets start flying. That’s right, boys, while you were fighting in the jungle, Dubya was getting popped and hanging out, spending Poppy’s bucks, in the best restaurants — a real patriot.

Sleep tight, Robert McNamara.

LINCOLN LOGS

There isn’t a better story in Vo Dilun this year — the casino extravaganza notwithstanding — than coach Randy Hien and the Lincoln Little Leaguers who went to the Littler World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The sports media rightly highlighted the inspiration of Randy, who is still recovering from a horrific car accident, and gave it the showcase it deserved. And call us sentimental fools, but it seemed as if P&J could see a trace of the Biggest Little in every one of the players’ faces on the field and their parents as they rooted in the stands. Thanks to all of youse — it was a treat.

BUSTED

As longtime mass transit proponents, P&J need not tell you how anguished we are about the recently proposed RIPTA cutbacks. As usual, our bus system is facing a deficit of well over $1 million. Naturally, the public transit folks have responded to the shortfall with a draconian proposal for cuts that, if adopted, will screw a great many people — the vast majority of whom are lower income folks who depend on the bus system to get them to and from work. Yes, the politics of the proposal are fairly transparent. But in a world where the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is squeezed to the nth degree, playing politics may be what is necessary to retain a decent and viable mass transit system.

It seems to your superior correspondents that nine out of 10 automobiles on the road have no passengers, just a driver. This is just an anecdotal observation, but doesn’t in match what you have observed? This means more gridlock, more environmental damage, more everything that is frustrating and bad. Where does state money go? To highway work, overwhelmingly. (Okay, Jorge admits he never has driven an automobile, and never will. We understand how this is considered extreme and eccentric. But does the current situation — in which everyone pretty much has to drive alone to get to work and run errands — make sense? Proponents of the status quo would have you believe that "choice" drives this fact. The reality is that most people, of course, don’t really have a choice.)

Providing a choice will cost money. As with education and a decent universal health-care system, it all costs money. If we don’t consider this and try to craft solutions, it will cost even more in the long run. We could go on for hundreds and thousands of more words, explaining what a viable statewide mass transit system would mean in terms of health, environment, and peace of mind (do you really like being stuck in traffic jams?). Of course, the big question in most people’s minds is: if we had it, would people use it?

Well, not if we continue the way we have — offering a half-assed system that, for most people, does not constitute a real alternative. Why doesn’t Vo Dilun study those US mass transit systems that do work? Or the European systems that work even better for many, many people? Oh, we forgot, there might be a socialist element in things like that. How many times do you think our governor, The Don (or any former governor or legislators . . . or folks in the media), has ridden on RIPTA?

We will continue to destroy our communities and our environment for what appears to be the convenience of driving alone in our cars. There comes a time when we just have to say that this is about helping to create a reasonable world. So, our free enterprise uber alles friends, let’s just try and understand that while free markets may generate a lot of wealth, they also tend to concentrate this wealth. If we let it go on any longer (attention Bush administration economic advisors), the disparity between rich and poor — the "class warfare" you refuse to acknowledge — will become a harsher reality than you ever imagined.

Although the public has been sedated by consumerist dreams, this can only last so long as the people have the opportunity to feel satisfied. That is increasingly not the case. RIPTA is just a tiny cog in all of this, but it matters because people, poor people (and there are more every day), need to get to where they need to go. And they ain’t buying no SUVs.

HONESTY'S THE BEST POLICY

Take the Olympics, add self-important, officious bureaucratic dickheads and what do you get? A mess.

The whole controversy over Paul Hamm’s all-around gymnastics gold medal could have been quickly and easily rectified if the judges admitted their mistake and awarded Hamm’s Korean competitor, Yang Tae Young, a gold medal as well. (They should give him one just for being the only Korean-Scottish competitor ever in the Olympics.) No need to take back Hamm’s honors, just do the right thing. Instead, we get suspensions of judges, the tortured logic of morons, and recourses to regulations that sounded like John Kerry explaining his voting record on the war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, too much candor might not be the best way to go. Little Rhody boxer Jason Estrada no doubt forgot the manly code when he admitted giving up in his super-heavyweight bout against a Cuban boxer, saying, "If I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose getting hit as little as possible." Pardon us, Jason, from all accounts you sound like an intelligent young man, but ixnay on the admitted ankingtay on the world stage. Phillipe & Jorge have seen other boxers toss in the figurative towel on occasion — say hi, Mike Tyson — but at least they would feign injury.

JEB'S PLANTATION

It is disturbing to see how the mass media, save for Bob Herbert of the New York Times, is ignoring the racial politics of President Boy George’s brother, Jeb. This is despite how Jeb and Katherine Harris’s racially tainted shenanigans in 2000 resulted in Dubya the Dumb being anointed by a Supreme Court led by Uncle Tom extraordinaire Clarence "Coke Can" Thomas, who was installed on the Supremes by Poppy Bush. Quelle coincidence, non?

Herbert has points out in his editorial page column how Jeb’s minions have resurrected Ms. Harris’s famous felons list, in an effort to disqualify black voters who wouldn’t vote for Dubya with a gun to their heads — which Jeb might be happy to arrange. It also notes how a state agency is interrogating black voters who work to get out the vote, in a blatant intimidation tactic. Ostensibly, this is an investigation into voting illegality, which seems a mystery to anyone not banging in the door of primarily elderly black activists. Add these elements to a no-paper-trail ballot, and you might as well be voting in Colombia or Iran instead of Florida for all the fairness and accountability that will be present.

Unfortunately, Herbert appears to be howling into the wind, as P&J have seen no other exposure of what could be more massive vote-rigging in Jeb’s little universe, a situation driven by the sophistry and elitism that marks Bush family endeavors. America in the Bush years — isn’t it wonderful?

THE NEWS TODAY, OH BOY

Longtime Casa Diablo regular Tom Zorabedian recently weighed in with some thoughts that deserve to be aired here. Professor Neil Postman (and if you’re not familiar with his work, we urge you to check him out) would be thrilled.

"I thought you might find this latest example of the continual plunge by the ‘news’ toward a new low interesting. The other day, on WPRO-AM 630, the CBS radio news feed had a report about Charlie Watts having cancer. The incredible choice for music in the background: ‘Paint It, Black.’ Gee, isn’t that classy. I guess they have him dead already. In this fashion, I suppose the following music sound bites would be appropriate: an update of the Columbine tragedy: ‘I Shot the Sheriff,’ or ‘Helter Skelter’ or, more ironically, ‘Hot for Teacher.’

"How about the Scott Peterson trial, or a report on O.J.: ‘Run for Your Life’ (‘I’d rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man’).

"For the Abu Ghraib torturers: ‘Why Don’t We Do It In the Road?’ (‘No one will be watching us’). How about this for the next beheading, ‘Almost Cut My Hair’? And the next time a family is burned out of their home, the obvious choice: ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ or any versions of ‘Chains.’

"What year was it exactly that the news became a low-class joke?"

VARIOUS ALERTS

The 2004 Pawtucket Art Festival kicks off on September 10. Don’t miss it. Last year’s event was attended by large crowds, and dare we say, it was fabulous. Come support the arts in the city that is doing it all. Speaking of Pawtucket, the city was featured in a piece a couple of weeks ago in the New York Times’ arts section. Pretty impressive and even more reason to make it to some of the events at the festival.

Finally, don’t miss the John Kerry/America Coming Together benefit event at the Hi-Hat in Providence on Monday, August 30 from 7 to 10 p.m. Featuring Duke Robillard, Carl Querfurth, Doug James, Dave Howard, Tom (the Coffee King) Ferraro, Marty Ballou, Mark Taber, Keith Munslow, Lois Greco, and many more (Jorge will emcee), this is a major event. As the old beer commercial goes, "Bushhh . . . head for the mountains."

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