The Writing Life Too

The sky is deep blue promising summer perfection. The news is full of car bombs reports and Glasgow airport is closed, and the latest American death in Iraq makes 100 for the month. The day looks too perfect for such senseless violence.

I’m afraid I’ve been a sketchy blogger lately—I plead that my writing energy was taken up with finishing my book. Yesterday I sent my final chapter of Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, the Bad Guys of Fiction to my editor at Writer’s Digest. Now comes the rewrites….

I went out with friends to celebrate and came home in time to watch Bill Moyers Journal on public television. Last night he interviewed Republican Victor Gold about his book INVASION OF THE PARTY SNATCHERS: HOW THE NEO-CONS AND HOLY ROLLERS DESTROYED THE GOP. After complimenting Gold on his terrific title they discussed Gold’s frustration with Bush, the neocons and fundamentalists who have hijacked the Grand Old Party along with his general complaints about the current state of politics. He wrote: The impact of the sound bite mentality which you find in both parties...is there's been a debasing of the system. Because if you listen to these — I call them the Stepford candidates — on both sides in these debates the only two candidates that speak clearly are the ones they call the kooks.

Each week Moyers reads a rant/editorial. This week he talked about Rupert Murdoch’s plans for taking over the Wall Street Journal. Here is the opening of his editorial:

“If Rupert Murdoch were the Angel Gabriel, you still wouldn’t want him owning the sun, the moon, and the stars. That’s too much prime real estate for even the pure in heart.

But Rupert Murdoch is no saint; he is to propriety what the Marquis de Sade was to chastity. When it comes to money and power he’s carnivorous: all appetite and no taste. He’ll eat anything in his path. Politicians become little clay pigeons to be picked off with flattering headlines, generous air time, a book contract or the old-fashioned black jack that never misses: campaign cash. He hires lobbyists the way Imelda Marcos bought shoes, and stacks them in his cavernous closet, along with his conscience; this is the man, remember, who famously kowtowed to the Communist overlords of China, oppressors of their own people, to protect his investments there.

The ambitious can’t resist his blandishments, nor his power to get or keep them in office where they can return his favors. Mae West would be green with envy at his little black book of conquests: Tory Margaret Thatcher, Labor’s Tony Blair, George Bush. Even Jimmy Carter couldn’t say no. Now, Bill and Hillary Clinton, who know which side of their bread is buttered, like having it slathered by their new buddy Rupert. Our media and political system has turned into a mutual protection racket." To read the complete editorial and follow the astute journalist’s blog go to http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/ We need Rupert Murdoch taking over more media outlets like we need more bombings in Iraq.