Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Just let it die

“Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too,”

-Michelle Bachmann on Fox News-

John Wayne, I never really liked him; not as an actor and particularly not as something he attempted to portray off the stage: a patriot. No, the only uniform he ever wore came from the costume department at Republic Studios, the folks who got him his 2A draft status during WW II because it would have meant lost profits had he followed so many actors into the military.

But of course by the time the Vietnam war became a tragi-comic opera, he was a Hollywood soldier of long standing, fond of telling many of us we weren't real Americans because we didn't quite see the glory of the whole thing.

So leave it to Michelle Bachmann to claim she's channeling his "spirit" -- whatever that might be. Whether that consists of telling us we're not real Americans because we dare to measure the age of things or don't accept the Biblical nonsense about the "waters" above and below the Earth I don't know, but there are few things that amuse me more than the trolls, public and private, who present their limitations and disabilities and delusions as their strength. Haven't we all had people tell us ungrammatically how stupid we are and spell stupid wrong? Petty irony it is indeed, but then such little moments of irony may provide the most satisfaction one can expect in our kind of times. It costs too much to care any more.

So should we laugh at Michelle for confusing Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne (nee Marion Morrison) with Waterloo, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne Gacy who strangled little boys and buried them in his crawl space? The entire pandemonium of journalists, bloggers and blowhards has been going at it since yesterday morning. Go ahead and join in, but I'm beyond laughter or tears for that matter. When it comes to giving a shit, I don't. I'm all out of givadamn and I'm not shopping for more. As I said, it just costs too much these days.

5 comments:

Chris the Hippie said...

I have a cup of givadamn I could loan you, but I'm down to my last half-pound myself...

d nova said...

but what bugs me is the way media react. they don't have any problem ridiculing bachmann for the gacy flub, but they're too chicken to take her on when she spouts voodoo economics: http://phobizone.blogspot.com/2011/06/npr-weekend-edition-saturday-bachmann.html

Capt. Fogg said...

There are still things you can give a damn about and enjoy without much cost - fishing, the beach, etc. I'll have to make do.

You're right Nova. The media is about cheap shots and nothing more.

d nova said...

but u really never liked wayne as an actor?

Capt. Fogg said...

No, not really although there were one or two of his movies I liked, but he was always playing the same role in the same way with the same voice and attitude and self-conscious mannerisms.