We can't stay here - this is bat country!

This phrase is starting to bang around in my head like a lot – it seems to say something profoundly true about these times – it could just be the day however. Still we are in the middle of a horrible time; people are being killed every day in Iraq while the learned men in Washington pull their beards and prattle on about if we can call this a civil war or not.

Jesus what the hell do you need Robert E Lee on Traveler?

“We can’t stay here this is bat country”

Indeed – the bats are everywhere flying low and swarming like, well, bats. Their squeaking and gibbering most of which is in the ultrasonic range is managing to drive people mad.

What else can explain the combination of peevishness and murderous rage that haunts the op-ed columns of the hoi and the paloy. Tom Freidman – who described the invasion of Iraq as the Normandy Invasion of the war on Terror – is saying that we should bring in a lot more troops and just kill a lot more or just go home. Am I just simple or does this sound crazy?

Just to side track here a bit - the only WW 2 Operation that could compare to the Iraqi invasion was one that didn’t happen. In 1939-40, during the phony war Stalin invaded Finland – and the idea of some French and British Generals had (who were not so gung ho for some reason or the other about the war with Germany) was to aid the Gallant Finns in their fight against the evil communists That would have been completely nuts considering the Germans were going to invade in the spring of 1940– but there were people in both the British and French governments who were for it…well guys communism was a bad thing but the immediate problem was the army just on the other side of the Rhine. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed, as bad as Chamberlain and the French Government were they were not completely mad.

Not like this crew we have now

I am reading that W will ignore or not agree with or hold his breath until he turns blue about the recommendations of the advisory group. He seems more and more insolated and disengaged with every passing day. The odd press conference were he blamed Al Quedia for Iraqi violence, the meeting non meeting with Iraq’s president. His petulant statements about John – the mustache of evil – Bolton. This and other actions have led one columnist to wonder if he was talking to the pictures as Nixon was said to have done in the final days.

Which is a polite way of saying the guy’s nuts.

And the whole thing brings to mind Scott Adams lament/observation that the nuttiest people are the ones defining reality. Especially if one of the is president. The only people that the people inside the beltway are willing to listen to about Iraq are the ones who were in favor of the war. I’m reminded of medieval barbers here “we need to bleed them more.” Never minding the fact that most of their paitients are dying. You know, given these guys track records I’d carefully listen and then do exactly the opposite of what they say.

Work was quiet and yet oddly tense – the rumors are flying and the soft tread of the RIFF man (RIF stands for reduction in force – oh the bloodless words of modern business) haunts the halls. I don’t know how many more people we can cut and end up not being able to do our jobs. But there will be cuts.

Of course with my low self esteem part of me is figuring I’m for the chop next – one of the thinks I utterly hate about myself is this mental tossing in the towel before the trouble starts. More on this later. Yes if I get laid off I’m screwed but I can’t do much about that so worrying about it ain't going to do much.

No sign of Crossroads just yet – still someone is gonna owe me for this I can promise you.

Off to the Waltz for the comedy open mike before we go to Otto’s – we have the recording dates set – now it’s just a matter of getting the plane tickets and such.

Over on my personal myspace account (bobbynyc if you must know) I have as the music Selection ‘the Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky and a video clip from the appalling Robot Monster. It says something about me – but I’m not too sure I want to know.

Ah the beans are ready.

“We can’t say here – this is bat country”

Later.