I am in Baltimore -- and a hell of a town it seems, on initial impression, to be. So THIS is that thing called "winter." I've heard about it and seen it in movies.
I'll have a full post about our trip soon. In the meantime, let me state that we heard about the horrible AZ events while staying in a small motel on the Ohio river, bereft of access to the internet. There was nothing for it but to get the details from one K. Olbermann -- who, in his special comment, castigated all violence-inducing speech against politicians.
He then went on to offer an apology for his own infamous public call for the murder of Hillary Clinton. (I will not re-phrase that. He said what he said.) It was a proper apology: No special pleading, no "What I meant to say...", no "some people took this remark out of context..." None of that crap. Just pure, straightforward loss of face. THAT's how to do it.
I once said that all I wanted was an apology from the great offenders of 2008. Finally, we got one.
A less classy act was offered by Josh Marshall, who also appeared on Olbermann's program. Marshall, wearing his trademark chin stubble (like so many of today's hip hypocrites) derided intemperate political speech without once mentioning that he had published tons of the stuff during 2008.
Boo, Josh. Bravo, Keith.
And now I must be off. Be back as soon as I figure out how to install permanent internet in our new digs...
6 comments:
Welcome to the other side of the continent!
Baltimore (my beloved home) is INDEED a hell of a town. Unfortunately you're not seeing it as its best, as in the last 10 years its gap-toothed beauty and charm have been wrecked by overbuilding, overdevelopment, and massive (and massively destructive) over-yuppification. The housing boom brought huge, hideous "townhouse developments" to rugged old sections of the port, wide open fields, and charming little bayside vistas that are now gone, obliterated under these super-sized monstrosities.
The overdevelopment didn't bring any prosperity--just the opposite, in fact. The housing boom drove prices up to insane heights (Baltimore used to be dirt cheap to live in, no more) and drove away the many local businesses and ruined the streets and sidewalks.
I still live near, no longer in, the city, but I recently took a drive through all my old favorite haunts and just felt more and more sad as the blocks flew by. Still, a few pockets of diehard Baltimorese persisted and gave me some of the old magic: The luridly purple-bedecked yards in honor of our Glorious Ravens; the proudly un-refurbished rowhouses with marble stoops and painted screens intact; a few bars and hangous the yuppies haven't yet ruined.
Baltimore is a dirty, poor, run-down, crime-ridden town with heart and charm and good neighborliness to spare. I'm hoping the crime and poverty and the housing crash will drive the yuppies away, bring the buildings down, and let it return to its former half-cocked glory.
And yeah -- winter sucks.
Welcome to the East Coast!!
You'll be in for a sample of East Coat misery come Tuesday afternoon if predictions hold true. Expect 1 to 4 inches of the white powder (no not the stuff from Colombia).
You should hear the conservative talk weasels trying to spin the shootings.
I agree Joseph...I was surprised and pleased by Olbermann's apology.
lmao, tho, on your winter shellshock...only because my brother had been whining about the lack of winter and snow down in that area, so I'm pleased the DC -Baltimore area has been on the receiving end.
On the other hand...damn. I wanted to relocate there to AVOID the harsh New England weather. But now that even southern TN is getting a foot of snow, I think I'll stay put.
Congrats on the arrival and I look forward to reports from the snow. And I can't wait to hear how you like east coast humidity in the summer. That will be the true test for an ex-west coaster. Humidity is kryptonite to anyone who wasn't raised with it as a child.
Anyway, I will have to take your word on the apology as Olbermann has been off of my tv around the same time he made the statement against Hillary. From don't miss, to can't be bothered, in a relatively short time.
Granted, he was getting old before the primary season really geared up and had already become exactly what he railed against in O'Reilly. But the entire station followed him off of the edge in 2008.
I'm originally from Baltimore as well--still visit my brother there often, and I concur with everything D.O. has to say (I knew there was a reason I liked D.O. aside from her obvious political sagacity). Baltimore is sometimes known as as "Charm City" when it's not being called "Rat City," "Heroin Central," "Bodymore, Murderland," etc., etc. Minus the crush of yuppies from the one side and the criminal element from the other, there is more charm, character, and good spirits to be found in Baltimore than just about anywhere.
As to the K.O. Special Comment, I say meh. To me, K.O.'s biggest sin in 2008 wasn't his one violent figure of speech leveled at Clinton, but rather his incessant and increasingly vitriolic drumbeat to end her candidacy, culminating in his most stupefying Special Comment ever, in which he suggested that Clinton had deliberately raised the spectre of the RFK assassination as if she were hoping that Obama might meet a similar fate. What a monumental dickhead! Now K.O. apologizes for his one intemperate remark during that shameless season, but only so that he can now bludgeon Republicans for their similar failure to temper their remarks. Personally, I have no use for purely self-serving apologies.
But, to be honest, I should be thankful to K.O. I quit my cable subscription the day after the aforementioned K.O. special comment, and I haven't gone back since. No regrets and much money saved. Besides which, I enjoy catching up with shows like Boardwalk Empire marathon-style on DVD.
Welcome to our side of this crazy quilt of a country! Btw, good to see you commenting again.
Inky! My Balmer brother! (Or sister!) In heaven, everyone will get to eat clams and beer at the Cross Street Market and cheer for the Ravens, hon.
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