Sunday, November 12, 2006
DUCK SOUP
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BWEST OF BWANA
AN OCCASIONAL BREAKFAST WITH BWANA FEATURE
November 12, 2006
POLITICAL CANARD, CANARD PRESSE AND CANARD SAIGNÉ
OF LAME DUCKS, WOUNDED DUCKS AND DEAD DUCKS
Karl Rove declared that the Republican setback was occasioned by the failings of a corrupt few, thus putting a gloss on the “thumpin’” that the President recognized. It is as if Rove believes the canard that disinformation is as easy as duck soup. This political canard seems to miss the point.
Many years ago, still bubbling with the inexperience of youth, I learned that a post-prandial cognac following on the heels of a single malt taken as an aperitif, followed by a first course complemented with a soft Charmes Chambertin or its neighboring Mazoyères-Chambertin, and in the tradition of getting skins or nachos “loaded,” topped off with a Pauillac (my favorite), or Margaux (my favorite) or a lovely Saint-Estèphe (also my favorite) was not necessarily the most politic of courses along which to course. The canard that adding a goodly dose of alcohol in fortified form on top an established base and a heavy meal was good for you, disproved itself by its results.
Sobered by my own experience, I am not inclined in this post-election interlude, to treat the Democratic “victory” as a post-prandial that is judiciously savored. This was more a defeat than a victory, albeit a well-earned and well-deserved defeat for many of the toadiest and vilest people who have deigned to call themselves Republicans. What I am concerned about is that they not be followed by toady and vile Democrats.
President Bush, in an almost immediate outpouring of feigned charm, said: “I'm open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds.” Speaker presumptive Nancy Pelosi made noises about cooperation and bipartisanship similar to what we heard from Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert before they embarked on their clubbiness rivaling in exclusivity only the bond of brotherhood that a street gang can forge.
The President’s words seem to suggest that as long as the Democrats agree with his “goals” he will listen to them. Congresswoman Pelosi’s words leave one with the feeling that if the President agrees to change course as the Democrats dictate, she will cooperate.
As bookends to this mix, we saw in the pre-election hype, Vice President Dick Cheney declaring that we would proceed full-speed ahead in Iraq, and in the post-election sacrificial gesture, Donald Rumsfeld sent to pasture but definitely not with stud fees attached.
The Vice President, like his boss, seems not to know the difference between a goal and a strategy for he declared that he thought the Administration had the “basic strategy” right. What is the “basic strategy” that he touts? Well, it is that the Iraqi government can be a self-sustaining democracy and in charge of its own security. It seems as if nothing has changed but the words surrounding the words. A goal is not a strategy. But neither is declaring that the Administration’s strategy is not working equivalent to a workable Democratic alternative.
If the blood had been drained from the Republican Party and it were now officially qualified as Halal meat (a fitting fate for an Islamophobic party) we might look at the various forms of duck left, the lame ducks, the wounded ducks, and the dead ducks and think of a dish I have conjured up – canard saigné – or exsanguinated duck, a sort of Halal Republican.
Yet, with its basic policy of disinformation and damn-the-torpedos-full-speed-ahead attitude, this is more like a Republican canard à la presse. That dish is described in vivid terms, thus: the duck is first strangled but not allowed to bleed – this is decidedly not halal. The duck is then partially roasted. The liver is ground and seasoned. The carcass minus breast and legs which are removed, but including residual meat, bones, and skin is then put in a press akin to a wine press. The pressure applied extracts blood and any other fluids from the carcass/bones/skin input. The breast is sliced and cooked in a reduced red wine sauce and served together with the liver. The juice extract from the carcass is thickened cooke in butter and Cognac. All this stuff is then cooked with the breast and liver. Not to be forgotten, the legs are broiled and served separately.
In other words, all the parts are intact, but this duck has been bled, wounded, dismembered and is definitely dead.
There is no question but that Donald Rumsfeld and Senator Macacawitz Allen are dead ducks. There is no question that Vice President Cheney is a wounded duck. Perhaps his shooting incident when he got poor Mr. Whittington, was an omen – perhaps, if the Republicans had sacrificed a duck at the feast of Lupercal and checked its entrails, they might have seen that the fault was in their underlings that they are no longer stars.
As for President Bush, what shall we say? Well, he has a choice between a danse macabre with Nancy Pelosi or a Tango with Nancy Pelosi. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango.
That said, I want to remind you all that the lame duck is a position in tango. The dancers slightly separate, clasp hands, and face forward. The man steps forward with his right foot and the lady with her left, dipping with their right knee as they take the next step. The steps are repeated.
I found this nice little picture descriptive of the position.
And I also want to remind you that a lamer is someone in a strategy, combat, or other style of multiplayer competitive game who uses tactics which are either unskilled, particularly cowardly, or ludicrously easy to pull off (compared to their effectiveness). That is, someone who is being cheap or lame in a game. e.g. What a lamer strategy. (n) That guy's such a lamer.
It will be interesting to see who lands on two feet in this dance to come. For ballet aficionados, the Assemblé is apropos, literally meaning to assemble, a movement where the first foot performs a battement glissé/degagé, "swishing" out. The second foot then swishes under the first foot, thereby launching the dancer into a jump. The feet meet together in mid-air and the dancer lands with both feet on the floor at the same time.
On whom am I betting? Well, I’m not telling, but to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of cowboy boots, and a lot of fancy footwork when it comes to masking the truth, but a truthiness-filled glissé/degage? That remains to be seen. But I think I know who the lame duck is.
Cheerz….Bwana
___________________________________________________________________________________
BWEST OF BWANA
AN OCCASIONAL BREAKFAST WITH BWANA FEATURE
November 12, 2006
POLITICAL CANARD, CANARD PRESSE AND CANARD SAIGNÉ
OF LAME DUCKS, WOUNDED DUCKS AND DEAD DUCKS
Karl Rove declared that the Republican setback was occasioned by the failings of a corrupt few, thus putting a gloss on the “thumpin’” that the President recognized. It is as if Rove believes the canard that disinformation is as easy as duck soup. This political canard seems to miss the point.
Many years ago, still bubbling with the inexperience of youth, I learned that a post-prandial cognac following on the heels of a single malt taken as an aperitif, followed by a first course complemented with a soft Charmes Chambertin or its neighboring Mazoyères-Chambertin, and in the tradition of getting skins or nachos “loaded,” topped off with a Pauillac (my favorite), or Margaux (my favorite) or a lovely Saint-Estèphe (also my favorite) was not necessarily the most politic of courses along which to course. The canard that adding a goodly dose of alcohol in fortified form on top an established base and a heavy meal was good for you, disproved itself by its results.
Sobered by my own experience, I am not inclined in this post-election interlude, to treat the Democratic “victory” as a post-prandial that is judiciously savored. This was more a defeat than a victory, albeit a well-earned and well-deserved defeat for many of the toadiest and vilest people who have deigned to call themselves Republicans. What I am concerned about is that they not be followed by toady and vile Democrats.
President Bush, in an almost immediate outpouring of feigned charm, said: “I'm open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds.” Speaker presumptive Nancy Pelosi made noises about cooperation and bipartisanship similar to what we heard from Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert before they embarked on their clubbiness rivaling in exclusivity only the bond of brotherhood that a street gang can forge.
The President’s words seem to suggest that as long as the Democrats agree with his “goals” he will listen to them. Congresswoman Pelosi’s words leave one with the feeling that if the President agrees to change course as the Democrats dictate, she will cooperate.
As bookends to this mix, we saw in the pre-election hype, Vice President Dick Cheney declaring that we would proceed full-speed ahead in Iraq, and in the post-election sacrificial gesture, Donald Rumsfeld sent to pasture but definitely not with stud fees attached.
The Vice President, like his boss, seems not to know the difference between a goal and a strategy for he declared that he thought the Administration had the “basic strategy” right. What is the “basic strategy” that he touts? Well, it is that the Iraqi government can be a self-sustaining democracy and in charge of its own security. It seems as if nothing has changed but the words surrounding the words. A goal is not a strategy. But neither is declaring that the Administration’s strategy is not working equivalent to a workable Democratic alternative.
If the blood had been drained from the Republican Party and it were now officially qualified as Halal meat (a fitting fate for an Islamophobic party) we might look at the various forms of duck left, the lame ducks, the wounded ducks, and the dead ducks and think of a dish I have conjured up – canard saigné – or exsanguinated duck, a sort of Halal Republican.
Yet, with its basic policy of disinformation and damn-the-torpedos-full-speed-ahead attitude, this is more like a Republican canard à la presse. That dish is described in vivid terms, thus: the duck is first strangled but not allowed to bleed – this is decidedly not halal. The duck is then partially roasted. The liver is ground and seasoned. The carcass minus breast and legs which are removed, but including residual meat, bones, and skin is then put in a press akin to a wine press. The pressure applied extracts blood and any other fluids from the carcass/bones/skin input. The breast is sliced and cooked in a reduced red wine sauce and served together with the liver. The juice extract from the carcass is thickened cooke in butter and Cognac. All this stuff is then cooked with the breast and liver. Not to be forgotten, the legs are broiled and served separately.
In other words, all the parts are intact, but this duck has been bled, wounded, dismembered and is definitely dead.
There is no question but that Donald Rumsfeld and Senator Macacawitz Allen are dead ducks. There is no question that Vice President Cheney is a wounded duck. Perhaps his shooting incident when he got poor Mr. Whittington, was an omen – perhaps, if the Republicans had sacrificed a duck at the feast of Lupercal and checked its entrails, they might have seen that the fault was in their underlings that they are no longer stars.
As for President Bush, what shall we say? Well, he has a choice between a danse macabre with Nancy Pelosi or a Tango with Nancy Pelosi. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango.
That said, I want to remind you all that the lame duck is a position in tango. The dancers slightly separate, clasp hands, and face forward. The man steps forward with his right foot and the lady with her left, dipping with their right knee as they take the next step. The steps are repeated.
I found this nice little picture descriptive of the position.
And I also want to remind you that a lamer is someone in a strategy, combat, or other style of multiplayer competitive game who uses tactics which are either unskilled, particularly cowardly, or ludicrously easy to pull off (compared to their effectiveness). That is, someone who is being cheap or lame in a game. e.g. What a lamer strategy. (n) That guy's such a lamer.
It will be interesting to see who lands on two feet in this dance to come. For ballet aficionados, the Assemblé is apropos, literally meaning to assemble, a movement where the first foot performs a battement glissé/degagé, "swishing" out. The second foot then swishes under the first foot, thereby launching the dancer into a jump. The feet meet together in mid-air and the dancer lands with both feet on the floor at the same time.
On whom am I betting? Well, I’m not telling, but to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of cowboy boots, and a lot of fancy footwork when it comes to masking the truth, but a truthiness-filled glissé/degage? That remains to be seen. But I think I know who the lame duck is.
Cheerz….Bwana
___________________________________________________________________________________
