I always derive a fiendish delight when the left turns on one of its icons. Bob Woodward, along with Carl Bernstein, rose to fame and acclaim by breaking the Watergate story, which eventually brought down the Nixon presidency. Tricky Dick was held in contempt by doves ever since his role in the McCarthy hearings. This did not change despite policies that should have delighted liberals: ending the Vietnam War, wage and price controls to battle inflation, a personal visit to Red China, and the first environmental laws. Anyway, Woodward has drawn the ire of his former supporters by speaking out against the President's tactics in the sequester battle. He labeled Obama's bid to recall an aircraft carrier from the Persian Gulf, a supposed consequence of impending
budget cuts, "a kind of madness." It's so much fun to see the media hacks open fire and get themselves into a snit. Now it is being said that Woodward was never really a liberal, anyway. I don't know or care what his politics are. The only wrong is in the eyes of the left, who believe Republicans are evil and that their own underhanded tactics are legitimate because they are on the side of the angels. This was manifested recently on one of SNL decade reviews broadcast in prime time. Lorne Michaels said that any complaints about political portrayals almost always came from Democrats. Only the most partisan would be surprised. The hand-wringing over the looming cuts, which amount to less than three percent, is comical.
We don't get mail in our building until late in the day, sometimes after five. I usually forget about it until the next morning. When I went downstairs for my walk, I checked the box. I didn't have my glasses with me, so I held the stuff at arm's length, trying to determine if there was anything important. My gut contracted when I saw IRS. What did they want? I report my paltry income faithfully. Did they believe I was fudging? Was it something in the past, perhaps my last significant return for my 2007 income? How large would the fine be? I ruminated the entire walk, telling myself it wasn't the end of the world. I know my preparer would back me in any audit. I'd pay any fine, even in the thousands, just to end the siege. Fortunately, it was simply a letter stating that my 2012 return was satisfactory. As soon as relief wore off, contempt jumped to the surface. Why was the government wasting money to tell me what I already knew? In the battle over what should be cut, stupid letters like this should be one of the first items on the chopping block.
The floating book shop had a nice day, although the sunshine that was forecast made only a brief appearance. A gentleman who may have had a few drinks overpaid for pictorials on Greek art and culture, and golf. I also sold a bunch of religious booklets to a woman who has purchased several Bibles from me. I did a three-for-one deal on second line romance novels with a young home attendant who has a beautiful smile. And when a man asked if I had anything on the civil war, I suggested, without hesitation, Michael Shaara's impressive historical fiction on the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, a runaway best seller and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1975. I vividly remember one part. One of the Union flanks was out of ammunition. Rather than order a retreat, the commanding officer decided to charge - and it worked, as the Grey Coats fled! Shaara was an Italian-American, born to immigrant parents, from Jersey City, the original spelling of his name being Sciarra. Unfortunately, he succumbed to a heart attack at age 50.
Thanks, folks.
Visit Vic's sites:
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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