A Purim Primer

I knew about the Amalaks but nothing much of how it ties in with Purim. Interesting stuff:
http://www.slate.com/id/2246139. The author gets it right when he mentions, "context" when viewing Purim or really anything else when it comes to religion. One pet peeve is the habit of Christian ministers to adopt an Old Testament story to the New Testament, either disregarding the context of the original tale or coming up with a convenient application to whatever message they wish to convey. I suppose the same is true in other faiths and it is certainly true when viewing fanatical Muslims and their hair brained interpretation of jihad or paradise (we touched on this a few weeks past).

Mrs. Bulba and yours truly have been invited to attend the first night of Passover at a good friend's home again, with the holiday coming in about a month. It's not a bad way to spend an evening and I even got to read one of the parts last year and didn't screw up. At the break, some pretty good chow, even some stuff that wasn't overly vegetarian or politically correct--not exactly a Young Republican confab at one of these things. Anyway, a Seder reminds of the rich heritage of Judaism and how much more serious Jews understand their religion, even if they're highly secular, compared to the vast majority of Christians. Also, mindful that they're missing out on some damn good eating when it comes to that shit about no pork chops and fried shrimp.

BTW: pictured above is Ashely Geller. She's Jewish and is having some wholesome Purim fun. See what you're missing, you bacon eating goyem? Shalom, amigos.

Climategate

Here's a comment on the current Climategate score:
http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=9ed4f421-6134-4484-98be-d9f4f18d4a9c. Apparently, the Global Warming guys were driving the ball but have been having a slew of false start and illegal procedure penalties of late. Game's still in the third quarter so we've got some game to play.

Does human activity and industry contribute to the climate? Uh, yeah. Does it make a profound difference as opposed to sun spot activity and the really significant stuff that pales humanity? Uh, maybe not. Seems more and more people are thinking that Team Alarmist has been out kicking its coverage.

It's all on paper right now. That's why they play the game.

About Religion

Sounds like a good read:
http://www.economist.com/culture/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15124974. I agree with the contention that people/tribes/societies have tended to have a greater chance of survival with some type of religious thought and practice. It's been proven in hellish circumstances, such as American POWs in Japanese or later North Korean forced labor mines, that those with a sense that God was with them were the ones who made it out alive. I spoke with a doctor once who did her residency in Oregon, a state with a high population of folks describing themselves as atheist or agnostic. Purely anecdotal, but her observation was that many of these same people had profound difficulty accepting and coming to grips with death--that they could not figure a way out of thing or why it was their turn. Conversely, those with a belief in God had a more accepting resignation with the end of life. Maybe so and we'll all get an opportunity to experience it ourselves.

The Euros, excepting the growing Muslim population, has been largely agnostic or atheist for some time now (something about a few wars here and there in the last century will do that to you) and a lot of writers think they've lost their will to vigorously promote their way of life as a result--probably some truth to that. America is maybe a few decades or so behind depending on how much of the usually reliable American optimism remains in place. The thing with Muslim fanaticism has had an effect: after seeing what it means to be a zealot about one's faith a growing number of people now want nothing to do with religion. They may not know the certainty of God but they damn sure know they don't want to be a Muslim or maybe anything religious if this kind of delusional madness comes with it. In other words, a rubbing off effect is occurring.

Maybe dues paying Hellfire Club member Ben Franklin was indeed, correct when he said something about moderation--I know that Denholm Elliot's character in Trading Places was on target when he uttered that "religion in moderation is a good thing." Brilliant movie. Whatever the case, Franklin was never better than when he preached from on high that "beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Now, that is some kick ass divinity. Peace be with you.

Forty for the Road

Nice piece on forty things to do while drinking before you throw down your last glass:
http://drunkard.com/issues/01-04/01-04-40-things.htm. How many have you done? I can count far fewer on the list than I thought before finishing reading it. There's a couple I'd do away with or replace with some of my own. Sadly, age and legal liability have neatly arranged some now clearly outside of my wheel house--don't know that I could go on (or would want to do) a three or four day bender at this stage of the race. I would add firearms to such a list--what could be grander than the excessive use of gun play while drinking other than guns and women while doing the same? That recalls a story from my long ago days in San Antonio involving a very, very wealthy customer who also owned what was then either the largest or next largest gun collection in the world. He would throw an annual outrageously large party at his ranch west of town and at one such gathering, became just a tad tipsy and decided to roll out one of his recent acquisitions; a fully working (and fully loaded) Gatling gun. The end result was a lot of tuxedos and formal gowns spread eagled in the caliche and a lot of Suburbans and Mercedes and Jaguars with unique indentions in their bodywork. Today, he'd be hauled off and lawsuits filed, etc. but then it was just another case of good ol' Charlie getting a little tight and having him some fun. Most everyone just got up, marvelled that they were still alive and then went back to downing quality liquor. Good times.

Hump Day: Adios a Febrero Ediccion

Don't know about you, but we're kind of getting tired of this cold shit. Fortunately, it's apparently flag day in Mexico, so here's Vanessa Arias to render a proper salud and warm the hearts of her countrymen and gringos, alike.

Letting the Euros Go

Andrew Bacevich with an interesting opinion on letting go of NATO and allowing the Euros to find their own way:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/22/let_europe_be_europe?page=0,0. Bacevich is an iconolast--a retired colonel and graduate of West Point who wrote "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism" which pretty much flays everything about what we're doing as a country right now. Bacevich says it's time to call a spade a spade and stop trying to drag the Euros along in order to add the coalition building thing to whatever fire the United States is currently trying to put out in the world. As nations, they long ago lost their taste for fighting and maybe if America cut 'em loose, they'll either realize Uncle Sam ain't there to help and may begin rolling up their sleeves, or they'll just fade away (probably the latter, but might as well give them a chance). Bacevich is a guy who doesn't fit on either side of the political spectrum. He calls himself a conservative, but there's not much he likes about what constitutes mainstream conservatism in the country. Worth reading.

Dan Jenkins is the Shore Patrol

The great one weighs in on Tiger:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2010-02/golf-tiger-jenkins-0218. Consider yourself served, Mr. Woods. At least you'll always have the honor of being drawn and quartered by the best. Nice work, Mr. Jenkins. Nice work.

One Hell of an Obit

Col. Mike Osborn is finally down for a dirt nap:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/army-obituaries/7265977/Colonel-Mike-Osborn.html. I dare say he may be the last of a breed. "Bung ho" and all that, Colonel Osborn.

Iwo Flag Raising

Today is the 65th anniversary:
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Iwo-Jima-Flag-Raising-65th-Anniversary.aspx?cp-searchtext=Iwo%20Jima%20Flag%20Raising%2065th%20Anniversary. Maybe the greatest photo of all time.

In the Kitchen

Elizabeth Bernstein reports on the ongoing low level intensity conflict that is two married people in the kitchen:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703494404575081313493773140.html. The news for all of you folks who are either newly married or thinking about living with someone for a long time is that you may not have to resort to firearms or knives in dealing with kitchen or food items, but the issue will always be in doubt. Marriage is said to be the art of learning to compromise and adjust with your partner but they should add a special section when it comes to the kitchen that counsels on the correct procedure for calling in an air strike on your own position. I speak on this with a measured sense of experience and also the realization that nowhere is passive aggressive behavior and outright hostility metered out more proficiently than the modest distance between the stove and the refrigerator. To be brief, Mrs. Bulba grew up on the Texas-Mexico border (you can hit Tampualipas with a 5 wood from her family's front door) where maids were both inexpensive and could be counted on for cooking duty. As a consequence, cooking for her is pretty much a job and if she's going to do it, something reasonably healthy will be the result. Contrast that with Mr. Bulba, whose Alabama born mother stood ever ready to make sure her only son had the best in lard smothered fried goodness. The trench lines have moved some through the years--I threw in the towel on the fried stuff and she's figured out that if I have to fix something for myself, I'll do something classically childish like leaving the dirty dishes in the sink instead of rinsing and placing them in the dishwasher. But, it's the salt shaker that remains constantly in contention (see Bernstein's article). If this were a real war, thousands of lives would have already been wasted for that small piece of space on the table. I retrieve my favorite shaker from the spice cabinet each morning and she returns it there at the end of each day. To me, it's utilitarian and works. To her, it's ugly and I don't need the stuff. I guess it's a battle that won't end until one of us dies or Al Gore calls for the end of salt mining. I could go on, but you get the picture.

War is Hell.

Briefly on Zhivago

Caught Doctor Zhivago for the umpteenth time on TMC yesterday--it almost qualifies for the "Movies You Have to Watch When Stumbled Upon While Channel Surfing" list. Almost. In all, it's uneven, overly sentimental, drags, and doesn't tie things together very well. But, it's interesting to watch for the spectacle of revolutionary Russia that Lean creates and for some great star turns, notably that of Rod Steiger as the horny, despicable, and very clever Komarovski. The guy could eat up the screen and he takes the very delicious role and runs with it. The "There's two kinds of men in this world" scene with Julie Christie is worth the price of admission, alone. When I think of Steiger and his performance, it also reminds of Richard Boone and his role in Hombre opposite Paul Newman. Like Steiger, Boone was a pro and he chews up the movie--even Newman looks like a hack against him. In fact, Boone should have won the Oscar twice for two choice scenes in the film, he was that good. Oh, back to Julie Christie. I know she was/is an utter loon with some typical arts type loon outlooks on life, etc. but was there ever a hotter looking actress than Christie? Was there? She melts MELTS the camera. She was the total package and it pains me to think that Warren Beatty passed PASSED on making her his steady strange. What the hell was he thinking? Uh, maybe that the entire world was his harem, I guess. Asshole.

Keeping it Covered

A guy named Edward Rothstein at the NYT (you're kidding me, right?) has a piece on an exhibit tracing the history of the condom:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/arts/design/05sex.html?pagewanted=all. A furtive glance at the condom section at CVS or pretty much any grocery store will quickly inform the furtive glancer that there's a fair amount of choice when it comes to the condom market. You can even buy rubbers that come with a built in vibrating device, a sure fire method to wake things up with the missus who will be either enthused or quickly conclude that you've lost your mind, or both. I was in a conference room once and had a client who reached into her purse and inadvertently pulled out a Trojan "ribbed for her pleasure" condom along with her ringing cell phone. That will get a meeting going.

Amnesty International Goes Jihad

Moral equivalancy grips the handwringers at AI:
http://www.slate.com/id/2244802/. Unlike Hitchens, I've never been a big fan of the forward thinkers at AI. It tends to bug me a little when they place the US and the Irans of the world on equal footing due to the death penalty. That's in the same realm as equating Rosie O'Donnell to Gemma Atkinson due to each being (technically) a woman.

I read and listen to passionate voices here in the United States calling for an end to the death penalty. They think it is demeaning to the ideas of the country and is not equally enforced, citing bad defense and greater numbers of minorities on death row being executed. Most (the honest ones) will also indicate that virtually all of those sitting in the death house went above and beyond the call of duty in earning a trip there--absolutely heinous criminals. I'd be willing to let go of the death penalty if there was a certainty that those sentenced to life without parole were assured of staying behind bars but there isn't any way of knowing if a future Supreme Court will not strike that designation down as cruel and unusual, thereby freeing a future Kenneth Wayne McDuff to go out and brutally torture and murder another innocent citizen. All that said, the death penalty has proven to be wildly expensive and inefficient to prosecute--it's a lot less expensive in all respects to lock 'em away. Just make sure they stay locked.

North Korea. Again.

Once again, proof that there is no end to my fascination with the Hermit Kingdom:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/22/north_koreas_race_problem?page=0,0. Sums up pretty well what the civilized world is up against when dealing with hideous thugs like Kim or Muslim fanatics or Sheila Jackson Lee. Fast forward to the final paragraph if you want a nice down and dirty--essentially, for anything to get better when it comes to North Korea, Kim will have to die: either naturally or by getting knocked off by one of his junior henchmen. At some point, I fully expect some kind of military dust up to occur--don't know how serious it will get--maybe just an opportunity for the North to lash out as they've been chomping at the bits to do so for years now. They'll be playing with 60's and 70's era technology on the ground and not much of an air force above so it could get interesting for them but they don't seem to mind loss of personnel as demonstrated by their willingness to allow a good portion of their own population to starve. What a happy, happy place. For the record, I have no interest in visiting Korea (either North or South) but I do like bulgoki. Kimchi, not so much.

Flipping Channels

The last two nights, I've sat in the easy chair Mrs. Bulba moved to the living room during my absence last weekend, surfing channels and eating a mixture of food items that were apparently appealing at the time but take on the coyote ugly texture in the light of the following day. Seriously, dates, dry cereal, popcorn, and olives. I need an intervention.
Watched a smattering of the Olympics off and on but any hint of figure skating drives me to the farthest channel. Included last night we had:
1. Some program about Marine snipers. Basically, they have to gauge wind, etc. and haul around a seriously heavy load of shit. Also, they can kill very effectively.
2. The "Dog Whisperer" guy. Really, what he does is to go into people's homes and politely declares, "You people are pussies" and then shuts their idiot dogs up and makes them mind. After he leaves, the pathetic individuals revert back to their whining and the dogs resume mindless barking. My old man didn't need the services of a guy like the Dog Whisperer. He had a whispering technique of his own when it came to barking dogs: a half brick thrown to the side of the head. Say what you want, but whenever the dog even thought about barking, it would make a quick glance to see if the old man was around.
3. "Pawn Stars." I enjoy this show. It's a little bit of "Antiques Roadshow" without having to put up with NPR types in birkenstocks.
4. "Archer" on the FX channel. This is the find of the year, thus far. I had seen it a few times before, but they ran three episodes back to back and it is outstanding. It's a hilarious cartoon send up of the whole spy genre with highly topical and irreverent dialogue. Kind of hot, too, especially the female agent, Lana Kane, voiced by Aisha Tyler . I want her. Check it out:
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/archer/.

Hump Day: Belated Valentine Edition

Valentine's came and went (get it?) with the usual card/flower/gift/dinner idiocy courtesy of the greeting card industry which offices adjacent to the souls going to hell industry. Anyway, here's a mostly unclad female wearing something sort of red. How romantic. Should do the trick.

NYT on Orwell

Wade through some of the doublespeak and you can gleam a few good nuggets from yet another stallwart NYT writer:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Wheatcroft-t.html?ref=books. Like gillions of other ignorant high school chillens, I read "1984." I think that both of my own kids read it at least twice; both in middle school (we called it "junior high" back in the old days) and in high school. I think that English teachers like the foreboding of a society gone over the edge thing that you get from Orwell. I don't know--I wasn't smart enough at the time to pick up on a lot of the book's subtleties or non-subtleties. Mostly, it was a trudge to get through the thing. I found Vonnegut to be more compelling at that age, or at least more entertaining when it came to the subject of morbid authority. I didn't take Vonnegut seriously even then--he would be hurt by that--he still chafes that neither Bush is in prison. I mostly took him as fun to read and also largely full of shit. It was the filtering thing--you know, the effort of wading through and casting aside the idiotic political bent or slant from a writer or broadcaster or actor to get at the core of the message or to take what entertainment you wish from the thing. Anyway, I'm not very good at a lot of things but I think I am a pretty good filterer. A friend asked me the other day what I wanted to leave behind as a legacy when I die. Alas, I can only recommend that "He was a pretty good filterer" on the grave stone. I guess that's better than "He was an okay shrubber" or "He could tie a decent knot." Mrs. Bulba is intent on burying me in her family cemetery on the border, an idea I find incongruous for a lot of reasons but I have no inclination to object to on account that I really don't care. Funny to think though, that assuming I die first, she'll get planted on top of me. Yeah, baby.

On Gays in the Military

Bret Stephens with a thoughtful piece on the issue of gays in the U.S. military:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB30001424052748703427704575051622368312934html.



Currently, the best thing I've read on the subject. The pic shown here is just for grins so don't yell at me for being a homophobe or a homo. Speaking of, ever see the episode of "South Park" that centered on the use of the term, "homo?" Pretty damn funny. Only surpassed by the take they did years ago during the Segway frenzy. If you've never seen it, make sure you wear an adult diaper when you sit down to watch it.

More on Faulkner

So, Faulkner isn't my favorite but this is an interesting piece concerning his connection to a plantation era diary:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/books/11faulkner.html?ref=arts&pagewanted=all. I never read, "Go Down, Moses" so maybe now I'll get around to it.

A Good Timin' Man

A week or so late but a nice tribute to Charlie Wilson:
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2010/2/12/1307508/the-digital-viking-edsbss-guide-to#storyjump.

Lady Jane Bites the Dust

Here's something about the death (and brief life) of Lady Jane Grey:
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/leanda-de-lisle/lady-jane-grey. For some reason, British royal history confuses the shit out of me, especially when you get into the middle innings with Henry VIII and the herd of queens and queenettes surrounding him. I read this and got light headed about a quarter way down. Could have really used a scorecard.

Orson's Viking Funeral

Seems it was anything but:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7094071/In-My-Fathers-Shadow-a-Daughter-Remembers-Orson-Welles-by-Chris-Welles-Feder-review.html. Interesting--you sort of assume that famous people go out with aplomb but that's often not the case. Sometimes, hardly anyone shows up to send them off and they end up buried in the corner of a less than auspicious cemetery. Welles was one of those guys who seemed to have had talent in spades but either wasted it or just fizzled out. I think he probably was brilliant or immensely talented but liked to eat and screw off a lot, so he never became the force everyone thought he would be. He went out schilling for cheap wine in the end, huffing around in his immense girth until keeling over at 70. That's no slam against cheap wine, either. I drank some last night and it went down well with a PayDay bar.

What's in a Name?

Seems to be an indicator:
http://www.slate.com/id/2116449/. I'm guessing you didn't know any of this.

Classics

Pretty neat:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/sets/72157604247242338/show/with/2346008881/

Didn't see my first car ('65 Ford Galaxie pictured here--it was too new for this parade). Mine came minus the happy family. I added "diamond" mags and a "surfer" foot pedal, along with the customized KLOL sticker centered perfectly on the rear window. The Ford was underpowered but had the advantages of large bench seats both fore and aft, crucial to high school adventures. I'd love to sit in one again.

More on Manning

Doesn't seem like the guy ever turns it off:
http://www.slate.com/id/2243726. The Saints probably need to do the crippling thing like they did on Favre. It won't be good if they leave him intact in order to perform dissection.

What it Takes

Read this at lunch:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704041504575045342282499792.html. Whatever you thought went into an NFL team's preparation, think again. They make major league baseball look like a bunch of Barbie collectors. NTTAWWT. Even if you're hurt, you come in early for therapy and stay late for film.

Shackleton's Whisky

Shellback, always on the lookout for a man among men story, pointed this out:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/feb/05/shackleton-whisky-recovered. Hope some of the stuff survived.

Korean Electric Grid

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8351/1207koreaelectricitygrikf0.jpg. North Korea is an astronomer's paradise! The American lackeys and their South Korean stooges cannot pretend to match the brilliance and purity of the glorious North Korean night sky! Long live the darkness of the People's Revolution over the imperialist running dogs and their hideous light!

Hump Day: Rainy Day Edition

Great day for a nap.

Caught Short?

Fun with Hitler's nut sack:
http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article01151001.aspx.

Testicles can be a source of imminent concern or uproarious humor, depending upon the circumstances. Watching a shot to some poor guy's junk is always funny. A shot to yours--well, that's not. Children and dogs have an uncanny knack for either hitting or stepping directly on your naughty bits; I've suffered greatly from both over the years. Our current dog will sometimes jump up onto our bed in the wee hours and frequently land directly on my groin--nothing better than to be woken up at 4AM with a small animal launching itself onto your private area. Damn dog.

Last Letter

Chilling to read, the last letter from Mary Stuart (written at 2AM) prior to her execution at dawn:
http://networkedblogs.com/p26543649. The woman had sand--no blubbering and shrieking for her. She'd have been a poor guest for Oprah.

Facts on Peyton

Enough of the shitbird, Edwards. Here's some interesting stuff on Manning:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4870733.

Even More on Edwards

More from the Young book:
http://www.slate.com/id/2243109/. Jeez, what awful people.

Hermit Kingdom on Parade

Hitchens talks about North Korea:
http://www.slate.com/id/2243112. I can't get enough of this stuff. Saw on Saturday that North Korea claims that the second American it has in custody over the last week wants to join up with the NK army to kick some capitalist running dog ass. I guess he didn't read much Hitchens. Or, see that documentary about the sad sacks who defected there during the Cold War--that's some interesting viewing.

Jews in Banking

Anti-Semites on the Left, Rush Limbaugh, self conscious Jews (is there any other kind?), generally wrong-headed people--it's all here:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/How-to-Think-About-Jewish-Bankers-2352.

I was a banker once, and a damned sorry one at that. I wasn't worth a shit at accounting in either undergrad or grad school and screwing up financial analysis was second nature to me. I don't recall a lot of Jewish guys (or gals) in the banks I worked for--mostly it was pasty faced Anglos or Hispanics dressed up like tight assed white guys (or gals)--all living lives of quiet desperation. I did learn some useful things during my years lending money and getting yelled at by the bank, bank examiners, customers, and anyone else that I came into contact:

1. One of the last things that people want to give up when they've blown through daddy's money or their money or the money they screwed someone else over is the country club membership. That's a big deal to those desperately needing that type of affirmation of whatever they think they are or should be. They'll even hock jewelry, first.

2. Some of the stoutest (that's a popular lending term) customers were guys who came in dressed modestly without any jewelry or other outward signs of success. Conversely, I've sat down with many guys with Rolexes and gold shit all over their hands, neck, etc. who were anxious to once again extend that 90 day unsecured loan. That's a lesson to know for virtually any business setting.

3. A lot of the folks driving the nicest vehicles, living in swanky homes, etc., etc., are leveraged to the max--they don't have a pot to piss in. Keeping up with the Jones' is a fool's errand.

4. Debt is not a good thing. Avoid it.

5. A career in banking is not any fun unless your dad owns the bank and he'll someday die and then you get to own the bank. Otherwise, you have to answer to too many damn people who are always constipated.

6. Banks are constantly attempting to figure out how to get rid of their people. Who the hell wants to work for an entity that is always working on a way to replace you?

7. I met Mrs. Bulba while working at a bank. I've had to buy jewelry and help measure drapes, as a result.

Writers on Writers

Good stuff:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/you-suck-and-so-does-your-writing/article1449304/. Apparently, Faulkner didn't like Twain. I don't really care much for Faulkner which means I won't get invited to an Ole Miss literary festival or fox hunt or otherwise hang out with women with long gray hair and multiple scarves. Whatever. Great writing means different things to everyone. While Hollywood and people who tend to wear a lot of purple fawn over Cormac McCarthy, I think he's much overrated and whatever he's written has been said much better by many other authors. I've met a lot of writers, most of whom I enjoyed reading, and found almost all of them to be fairly unpleasant in person. Maybe that goes with the territory.

Right now, I'm reading about three or so books--that sort of happens with me--I can't just finish one and then start another. Instead, I embark upon some idiotic process of going back and forth. Started a Stephen Fry novel (I think it's largely autobiographical) while sitting in a deer blind. Have a few pages left of a well researched book on Agincourt--it's taken me ages to knock off--don't know why because it's really quite good but I've sort of run out of gas on Agincourt. Now, have picked up a book that's a collection of first person narratives on various aspects of the Crusades. Another thing--the Amazon.com phenomenon is extraordinary when it comes to surfing for and buying books. I've gone ape shit on it for a month now and have now placed myself on "cease and desist" until I plow through what I've bought. More to come.

More on Edwards

A review of former aide, Andrew Young's expose of Senator Edwards:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704722304575037443544453292.html#mod=todays_us_opinion. I guess this is all well and good--we get to see Edwards exposed as the lying sack of shit that evidently the great unwashed in flyover country always knew he was but the smart people who faithfully receive their weekly instructions from the Sunday Times did not. What's annoying about this, however, are people like Young who went along with Edward's gruesome behavior for many, many years but now decide to cash in on it when the former senator has begun to get a little overripe.