Choices

So Judith Miller's out of jail. Huzzah. Three cheers for da freedom of da prass. Hubba hubba and a ringa-ding-ding.

Scratch that. Honestly, I couldn't really give a shit. Just looking at that twisted pompous face is enough to send me packing to TV Land, where prettier visuals from my empty youth flash 24/7. I cruise the blogs and see extended discussions about Miller's upcoming testimony and whether or not confidential sources should be protected and so on and etcetera, and none of it stirs me. I know that it should, on some level at least. I mean, I am a former professional Media Critic who for years spoke profoundly about such topics on stage, radio and TV. Why don't I care? What the fuck's wrong with me?

Well, for one thing, there's no shortage of bloggers and yakkers who find the minutiae of Millergate oh so fascinating, so there's really no need for my added voice. Plus, I'm simply tired of showing, yet again, that our Free Press is largely inept when not utterly corrupt; that profits and prestige mean more than informing the public and energizing democratic discourse. When in doubt, go back and read any chapter from Chomsky and Herman's "Manufacturing Consent." That'll pretty much tell you all you need to know.

Oh, Mistah Son! How cynical you is! Naw -- more fatigued than anything else. I read this crap daily and it's like having wet cement poured into my head. After a few hours my face crashes on the keyboard and I call for one of the kids to help the old man up.

"What's with Dad?"

"He's reading the press and blogs again."

"Why doesn't he just stick to porn like most men his age?"

"Dunno. Glutton for pain, I guess."

There is a dilemma I'm wrestling with this weekend: who do I want to see make the American League playoffs? In these final days of the regular season, three teams are vying for two spots -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Indians. Now, I'm not a fan of any of these teams, and my lesser evil formula just isn't cooking. I can't stand the Red Sox because of their racist legacy and the insanity of their fans. I despise the Yankees because I'm a Mets fan, and as we know, Mets fans are far more logical and less insane than Yankee fans. And I cannot root for the Indians because they insist on wearing that racist Chief Wahoo, red Sambo symbol, which Indian fans embrace as an emblem of cultural defiance. What to do? I suppose I could curse the Twins and the A's for having a subpar season, but that would be like cursing the New York Times for employing hacks like Judith Miller. A waste of time, esp when greener acres beckon.