And Then Put Out The Light

Now available for preorder at Amazon! With ISBNs, even!

On Powell's endorsement; I actually kinda like the guy, for a change

So, Colin Powell endorsed Obama this morning. And damn, Powell can put a sentence together, and make me believe him. Not agree with him, necessarily, but believe him.

When he stated his reasons, they had the ring of truth. I particularly found myself nodding along with his answer to the racial aspect of it: surprise that anyone even considered that. Why are all people of colour supposed to leap into Obama's camp, whether or not they agree with him or believe him? It's as insulting as assuming that all women are supposed to leap to vote for McCain because he picked a woman to run with (which, by the way, he didn't; he picked a Martian. Had he actually picked a woman, this race would be too tight to call.) Both sides in this campaign have been playing their BS cards this entire election cycle, and it's done as much as the complete lack of an economic plan or a healthcare plan to convince me that neither side represents me or gives a rat's arse about anything other than my money and my blind obedience.

It's a funny thing about Colin Powell. I lost a lot of my respect for him when he got up in front of the UN at Bush's command and lied to the world. He told them that he - not the administration, but he, personally - had seen proof that Iraq was building nukes. I thought then, and still think, that he bears a HUGE load of responsibility for getting a lot of countries to sign on to Bush's invasion. Because, you know, he lied. The only "proof" he'd seen was what Condi Rice and George Bush told him. He knew his word was golden, he knew they would believe him - and he lied anyway.

I've had a lot of people being apologists for that, telling me, well, he's career military, they take orders and are trained to not question their superiors. Sorry, but I'm not in the military - I'm We The People. My taxes pay for their existence. I'm their boss, no less than Condi Rice is. And I expect him to tell the truth.

I have trouble with the military mindset, and I'm sick of apologists, period. If you stand up and use your reputation for integrity to convince people into a course of action that results in thousands of death, in the full knowledge that you haven't seen that proof and are merely parroting what your "superior" officers are telling you to say, then you bear responsibility. I have yet to hear anyone involved in that miserable mess, military, executive or otherwise, take any responsibility at all. That's another major reason I left my own party after 35 years: you vote for something, take responsibility. You DON'T show up to vote for something - in my mind, way worse, since voting their mind is what your constituency is paying and expecting you to do - take responsibility for it. And they don't. None of them do.

A lot of my respect for Colin Powell went straight down the toilet that day. But his comments about his endorsement, and the reasons why he went for Obama instead of McCain, gave me back a small measure of that respect for him.

I have no plans to vote for either of these candidates. The last debate sealed that for me, solid. Nothing would induce me to vote for John McCain - no, you miserable tool, my health concerns have not been blown out of proportion, and if you'd married a woman instead of a zombie, you might know that. As for Obama, to quote a friend, I have no more wish to be forced into having a clergy than I wish to be forced into having a child. My reproductive decisions are not between me and my family, or me and my minister, or whatfrickingever: they're between me and my doctor.

Whoever gets in, good luck to them, but they're doing it without my vote. I'm probably writing in Dennis Kucinich. But two points to Colin Powell, for a reasoned, cogent, lucid and entirely believable explanation of his endorsement.

[LitCrawl] We rocked the HOUSE, yo!

LitCrawl? Frickin' ROCKED.

Not sure what Amnesia's capacity is, but we packed it, SRO. Maybe 150 people or so? I talked about the series, showed off Rock and Roll Never Forgets - and then read the scene from While My Guitar Gently Weeps, JP and the borrowed Zemaitis and Mac and recording "Liplock" in the basement studio with the Bombardiers. A song about oral sex, what's not to love?

Wonderful readings from everyone - for me, Denise Sullivan and Blag Dahlia were serious standouts. Scaling the stage with the MS shakes was interesting, to say the least. Oh, and Johnny Strike had a HOTT like a HOTT THING guitar player with him. Said guitarist let me play his axe, a black featherweight Yamaha electric that quacked like a Strat.

In a genuine R&R moment, Jack Boulware (the festival organiser) told me on the QT that there was an afterparty, told me where, and let me know that I was on the guest list, plus one. Queueing up for it with Kathi Kamen Goldmark and her companion, I noticed that people were waving little black Litquake invitations. Hmmm, thought I, and I was right: my name wasn't there. I pretty much burst out laughing, because it was shades of Bill Graham and FM Productions, thirty years later. They let me in anyway, and the party was a bit too loud and claustrophobic for me, but I was glad I got in, and much gladder I got to read with, and for, such thoroughly awesome people.

Brought down the house. Totally going to hope Jack Bouleware invites me back.

Ummm....I already wrote this one, kinda

Just saw the notice of a sale: Jacqueline West's OLIVE AND THE SHADOWS, about a girl who can step into paintings, but finds that there's an evil presence lurking in them that wants to step out.

This one's a children's book. I did that one for adults already: Still Life With Devils.

In other news, I'm on the music writers panel at LitCrawl this Saturday. Half past eight, at Amnesia, on Valencia Street: come on out.