Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Integrity deficient

You’re the kind of man who wants everyone to think
that he’s successful
So you talk about it, and you write about it,
and blah blah blah blah
But way deep down inside you’re afraid that you’re a fraud

~~ “Like Dogs” by The Rainmakers

Check one!
Instead of focusing on the Yam threatening to blow up North Korea, I’m going to write about something else. But that is really, really bad and someone (paging General Kelly!) needs to yank that goddamn phone out of his hand and smash it right in front of him and then rub his face in it until he fucking GETS IT ALREADY.

[deep breath]

I’m not going to write about that, though. It’s a little too horrifying for me to contemplate right now, anyway.

I’m going to write about another story I saw about how the Yam is “sending messages” to special counsel Robert Mueller, telling him how much he appreciates what he is doing. At least according to the Yam Legal Team (The Yamteam? The Yamyers?), anyway. Who knows anymore? They all lie like rugs. It seems pretty obvious that the Yam is very worried about this investigation and about what Mueller might find out. And well he should be.

So if he really is sending him notes (I made a joke on Facebook and Twitter about getting a leaked copy of one of the notes, seen above), it is probably part of an effort to butter Mueller up, suck up to him, and flatter him in a clumsy attempt to get him to go easy on him. This tells us a lot about the Yam.

First, he has no concept of personal and professional integrity. We saw this with James Comey (Jaaaaames). He tried to wine and dine Comey at the White House, calling him up just to see how he was doing, and then in return, expected a pledge of loyalty. When he didn’t get it, and when Comey continued with the investigation about Russia, he fired him.

Another gratuitous picture of James Comey
Second, and this is related to the first item, he also does not understand the concept of swearing an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution rather than pledging loyalty to any one person. As a businessman, he expected unfailing loyalty, and he just can’t grasp why he is not getting it from certain people in the FBI or the Department of Justice. They are not there to do your bidding, you tool, they are there to uphold the Constitution.

He just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t get the mission of the FBI and why they are and must be above partisan politics. (Some would argue this point, and I will debate that all damn day...but not on this day.)

All of these things are beyond his comprehension. He has no integrity so he does not understand it when he sees it in others. He expects loyalty from others but is incapable of exhibiting it himself. He loves the power of the presidency without understanding the great responsibilities with which it comes. (Someone slip him a Spiderman comic book, please.) He is stumbling through his presidency like a wounded bull, clueless and in pain, wanting to harm whatever stands in his way.

He is a damaged person.

And if he thinks that Robert Mueller will be swayed or softened by his platitudes about how the Yam appreciates what he is doing, he doesn’t understand people at all. A Marine and Vietnam veteran, a prosecutor, an FBI director so beloved by both parties that he was asked to stay on two years beyond his ten-year term, this guy has dealt with the worst dregs of society and humanity and maintained his sense of justice and integrity. I guarantee that Mueller doesn’t give one single fuck about your laudatory messages, Yamboy. He has lived a life of integrity and worked for the betterment of humanity and the ideal of justice for his entire career. He doesn’t need your little “attaboys” and is probably disgusted by them.

By all means, keep throwing that sop to Cerberus, Yammy...but Robert Mueller is coming for you. And I’m guessing that he is a man who does not suffer fools lightly.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

A quickie movie review

There are other worlds than these.

~~ Roland Deschain


We don’t go to see that many movies in the theater, but when anything by Stephen King gets to the big screen, that’s a must-see.

So today we checked out “The Dark Tower,” which brought King’s magnum opus to life. Or at least breathed some life into a project that has been lingering in limbo for many years.

There are no spoilers here, just general impressions.

No, this did not follow the books much at all. I had already read that, so I wasn’t disappointed by that fact.

I loved the Stephen King easter eggs we caught little glimpses of! I’ll need to watch it again to catch them all, but I caught a few, including a woman walking a St. Bernard (Cujo).

Excellent casting. Tom Taylor was perfect as Jake Chambers, Matthew McConaughey played the Man in Black with a wonderful, dark glee, and Idris Elba…?

There was some discontent about a person of color playing Roland. Everyone can shut up about that now, because he brought Roland of Gilead to life in a way that made me weep. I don’t know how anyone can read the books and not fall a little bit in love with the IDEA and IDEAL of Roland. He is nothing less than a knight along the lines of King Arthur’s court, defending truth, justice, and the Mid-World way. Oh, and trying to save not just his world but every other world that is out there, including ours. The Dark Tower must survive and Roland is there to protect it.

So yes. Idris Elba delivered. Total bad-ass. Some great fight sequences! The man can rock a duster, that’s for damn sure.

I do not aim with my hand; I aim with my eye.
He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I do not shoot with my hand; I shoot with my mind.
He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I do not kill with my gun; I kill with my heart.
He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.

~~ The Gunslinger Mantra

I’m not going to lie. Hearing this spoken by Roland of Gilead sent a shiver down my spine and it made me cry. Anyone who has read and loved the books will be as moved as I was. If Repairman Jack ever makes it to the big screen, I’ll be just as moved. Both Roland and Jack are literary figures who embody our sense of justice. I think it’s fair to add James Bond into that mix. That is why we love them. (And personally, it’s why I’m currently loving the FBI so much.)

Will purist fans of the books be upset with the movie? Maybe. Probably. I found it so fun and engaging that when the movie ended, I still had a third of my beer left and I had to drink it fast! I’ll be the first to admit that it doesn’t even begin to tell the full tale of Roland Deschain. That’s why I’m so excited to hear that the TV show is currently being developed, and the showrunner will be Glen Mazzara, who was the showrunner for “The Walking Dead” for a while. With a serial, I think there is great potential to tell Roland’s story in depth and to introduce Eddie and Susannah, and Mazzara promises us billy bumblers! Oy!

But as someone who loved the books and the characters from the start, I can say that the actors in the movie delivered. They each were everything I’d hoped for in Roland, Walter, and Jake.

I look forward to traveling the Beam with the ka-tet at some point in the future. All things serve the Beam.

Long days and pleasant nights to my own ka-tet.