Robert Wayne Holsey And Will Robinson
December 9 is the scheduled day for the execution of Robert Wayne Holsey. On “December 17, 1995, Robert Wayne Holsey was arrested and charged for the murder of Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputy William E. Robinson IV. There apparently is little doubt that Wayne Holsey (his family calls him Wayne) committed the crime. Here is the Murderpedia account:
“The evidence at trial showed that shortly before 1:30 a.m. on December 17, 1995, Holsey entered the Jet Food Store in Milledgeville with a gun and demanded money. After receiving money from the store’s cash register, Holsey directed the store clerk to open the store’s lottery machine. Although Holsey ordered the clerk into a back room, the clerk was able to observe Holsey leave in a small red automobile. The clerk immediately called the police and provided a description of Holsey and his car.
Less than four minutes after Holsey left the food store, Deputy Sheriff Will Robinson stopped a red Ford Probe at a nearby motel. He relayed the vehicle’s license plate number by radio and approached the vehicle; Holsey then fired. Forensic evidence showed that the deputy suffered a fatal head wound.
Several guests at the motel observed a person matching Holsey’s description returning to the red Ford Probe and speeding away. The police soon discovered the vehicle and gave chase, but Holsey was able to avoid apprehension. One witness testified that she observed the red Ford Probe and recognized Holsey, with whom she was personally acquainted.
Holsey’s girlfriend testified that shortly after the shooting Holsey called and asked her to meet him at his sister’s house. He told her to drive her blue Jeep Cherokee rather than her red automobile because the police were searching for a red Ford Probe. When she arrived at the house, Holsey was hiding behind a fence. Holsey had his girlfriend drive him past the murder scene. When she refused his request to be driven to his mother’s house where he could monitor a police scanner, Holsey had her drive him through back roads to his sister’s house where she had picked him up. Holsey instructed her to park directly behind the red Ford Probe in order to conceal its license plate.
While Holsey and his girlfriend were still in the Jeep, a law enforcement officer drove up to the red Ford Probe. The officer checked the Probe’s license plate number, which matched the number transmitted by the victim. The officer then illuminated the Cherokee and the Probe with his headlights and transmitted a request for additional support.
When Holsey exited the Cherokee “very quickly,” the officer turned on his blue police lights, exited his own vehicle, drew his service weapon, and twice commanded Holsey to raise his hands. Holsey failed to comply, began looking around as though searching for an escape route, and, after the officer threatened to shoot, Holsey finally raised his hands.
The officer then commanded Holsey to lie prone on the ground. When the chief deputy sheriff arrived less than two minutes later, he confirmed that the Probe’s license plate number matched the number from the victim’s radio call and discovered a fresh bullet hole in the back of the Probe. He then awakened and interviewed the occupants of the residence. The occupants, Holsey’s sister and another woman who was the owner of the Probe, both stated that Holsey had borrowed the vehicle that night. The chief deputy then, less than fifteen minutes after Holsey was initially detained, asked Holsey his name and placed him under arrest.
Clothes matching the description of those worn by the armed robbery perpetrator were discovered nearby. Shoes removed from Holsey after his arrest matched the description given by witnesses to both the armed robbery and the murder. A sample of blood taken from one of the shoes proved through DNA analysis to be consistent with the blood of the victim.”
Mother Jones has an excellent article about what happened at the trial. If you have a few minutes, you should read it. They tell the story much better than this slack blogger.
Wayne Holsey had an alcoholic for a lawyer. Andy Prince had recently gone to an emergency room with a blood alcohol level of .345. He was drinking a quart of vodka a night during the murder trial. Mr. Prince had numerous other issues, and was eventually disbarred. Mother Jones discusses Mr. Prince in great detail. Brian Andrew Prince died December 2, 2011.
Several details about Mr. Holsey were not told to the jury. Mr. Holsey has an I.Q. of 70, and is considered borderline disabled. He grew up with considerable abuse, in a house that neighbors called the “torture chamber.” If the jury had known this, the sentence might have been different.
The District Attorney has a different view of Mr. Prince. “Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fred Bright convicted Wayne Holsey and will argue against clemency. His recollection of Prince is different. “He was the go to guy for the death penalty defense lawyer at the time.”
Bright said from his side of the table, Prince was a tough opponent regardless of whether or not he was an alcoholic at the time. “It wouldn’t shock me that he drank at night. I’m not there so I wouldn’t know, but that wouldn’t shock me,” But Bright says what Prince did at night doesn’t matter. He says in court, Prince was formidable. “During the day when he was in court he was sober, he was lucid, he was a fighter, he worked his tail off.”
The case went through the standard protocol of appeals. On Sept. 14, 2012, “The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, in a 2-1 decision issued Thursday, said that even though Robert Wayne Holsey’s trial lawyers did not do a competent job, their deficient performance did not prejudice the outcome of the trial.”
Circuit Judge Ed Carnes wrote the 104-page lead opinion in the case. Senior Circuit Judge J.L. Edmondson wrote a concurring opinion. He criticized the lead opinion for being too long. “In my experience, longish opinions always present a strong possibility of error lurking somewhere in the text. That the opinion writer is a skilled and careful judge does not eliminate the risk. Furthermore, no one wishes to join in an opinion that they do not understand fully.”
UPDATE: Wayne Holsey died at 10:51 pm, December 9, 2014. According to reporter Randall Savage, who witnessed the execution, Wayne Holsey addressed the father of his victim: “Mr. Robinson, I’m sorry for taking your son’s life that night: I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and my family.” Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Six Pack Of PBQ
As 2014 winds down, the playbuzz quiz is off the chain. Almost every day another facebook denizen announces What Kind Of Demon Are You? or Which Magical Creature Should You Adopt? Today’s waste of bandwidth will explore these dimensions. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The is an accounting procedure called LIFO. It means last in, first out. The last PBQ on FB was Which Magical Creature Should You Adopt? “If you could pick one of these superpowers, which one would you choose?” “Where would you rather live?” The first four questions offer a non choice, like “something else”, or “somewhere else.” The research oriented PG chose these placebo options.
The first result was GREMLIN. “You are a generous, yet rebellious individual and you and your pet gremlin will have loads of fun getting into trouble together! Just remember, don’t feed him or her after midnight!” Hopefully, an AMC automobile is not involved.
What Kind Of Demon Are You? DJINN “Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will.” Some cleansing cream product called Puffs advertised in this segment. Magic Dragons are pleased.
What Crime Did You Commit in Your Past Life? This does have a fun question. “Pick a celebrity mug shot.” The options are Kholoe Kardashian, Lil Wayne, Lindsay Lohan, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Nick Nolte. Lindsay Lohan has the best hair.
There is a bit of ironic presentation. The meme-headline says “Am I the only one around here that gives a shit about the rules!?” A mean looking actor holds a pistol, and screams. The question is: Finish this sentence: Rules are meant to be ______ . The answers are Bent, Broken, Followed. To the right of the question is an ad for Ricoh Healthcare Technology & Document Management.
The last question was “Pick a weapon.” An option is a knife, and handgun, with the universal no pasted on. The criminal result: PRACTICING WITCHCRAFT. “After the rumors began spreading, a wave of hysteria washed over the community and you were thrown in jail.” That sounds like the last two weeks in “post racial” Amerika.
When you work on the internet, there is temptation and distractions. There is always *something* on twitter. @paul_lander FOX News had on Mark Fuhrman talking race relations. Let’s face it, if he were alive, they’d give a cooking show to Jeffrey Dahmer. Just try the mashed potatoes.
Which leads us to the next PBQ, Which Mythical Creature is Hidden Inside You? FAIRY A hair care product called Pantene is advertised.
The last two PBQ are about allegedly real people. It is a fine line between history and myth, especially when you are promoting a war. What Iconic Figure In American History Are You Most Like? probably will overlook this sordid reality.
“Which of these periods in American History would you most like to live in?” The options are “Now – The Information Age” (picture of aluminum skyscrapers”,) “The Founding Days” (painting of George Washington looking cool,) “The Roaring 20s” (picture of women in short skirts dancing,) “The Influential 60s” (picture of post pubescent Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.)
“Which of these influential figures of Western History do you hold in highest regard?” Winston Churchill, Salvador Dali, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln. Six white men, with the hispanic Dali posing with a cat. This PBQ is politically incorrect. Maybe PG should not worry about being compared to slaveowner GEORGE WASHINGTON.
The last PBQ is Which Famous Genius Do You Think Like? ALBERT EINSTEIN PG might trim the mustache back a bit. The rumored affair with Marilyn Monroe can stay. Being misquoted on the internet, sixty years after you die, is good, clean fun.
Gremlin, Djinn, Fairy, Practicing witchcraft, George Washington, Albert Einstein. Life is good. Political correctness is greatly overrated.
#UnwieldyInsults
@llamaranch Your intelligence is so low it makes some question if you are afflicted with a mental disability #FizzleOff #UnwieldyInsults
@llamaranch You are the male offspring of a female canine
@HoorayBacon You look like what would happen if a wookie mated with one of the guys from Duck Dynasty #UnwieldyInsults #YeahNotFunny
@JohnParrish56 There is an odor emitting from your torso that is most egregious. I do say you should stop living. #UnwieldyInsults #YeahNotFunny
@KebabManiac With your wit, you’d make a wonderful dinner guest for Jeffrey Dahmer
@rockskimmer Lawrence Welk wants his Tupperware back, you bubble-hating, enemy of the accordion! #WeCantBreathe #UnwieldyInsults #newsnight #ISIS
@papermonkeynz A preponderance of recessive genetic traits has made you unattractive in a society that values symmetry in facial structure
@KebabManiac I don’t care what the others say – you wear that hunch well
@facebookie You, sir, are lower than Eubalaena japonica ordure at the nadir of the Mariana
@MXTracy66 You are like an Adam Sandler movie with an all Nickelback soundtrack.
@shelikesitloud I bet if you tried to spell pterodactyl, your brain would break.
@laurieallee Your mythology is archetypally incongruous.
@rockskimmer In the HeeHaw auditions of life, you would be laughed from the room and not allowed any of the craft services cornbread. #UnwieldyInsults #newsnight #ISIS #WeCantBreathe
@KebabManiac You Have The Grace Of A Pygmi Hippo With ‘The Shits’ And The Dancing Prowess Of The Great Proffesor Stephen Hawking
@DaiseyDoesIt Your pompous presence reveals your inherent nature as one best illustrated by a phallically formed cranium
@zolaris64 Your mother wears Bates 30501 Durashock desert foot protection.
@laurieallee Your voice has tonal anomalies that would make Schoenberg abandon dodecaphony & long for traditional harmonics.
@laurieallee If Anton Van Leeuwenhoek had seen the inner machinations of your aberrant deviations he’d have smashed his microscope.
@rockskimmer You have the spelling skills of an umbrella stand and the wry wit of a Bass Pro Shops fish finder. #UnwieldyInsults @TheHashtagGame
@TheBrandonHolly You are a maladroitly uncoordinated ape who is unable to take notice of his own bemusing presence & horrendous malfeasance.
@MullingHagel In the theater of the absurd you were asked to stop acting.
@Bat_Guano_1 Your bad taste is exceeded only by your bad breath.
@lowdudgeon Your judgement is so lacking you would not be out of place on certain American Grand Juries I could name.
@Pacific231 The woman who gave birth to you some number of years ago wears specialized footwear designed specifically for times of war!
@MHanson62 “Hey, Excrement for Intelligence…”
@MullingHagel Your personality is comparable to a poorly written novel about vampire teenager and your face is cubic in design.
@steverand616 Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
@FateJacketX I would rather read Hawthorne to a bovine in heat than suffer your malodorous company at the debutant ball!
@KennyBrendan You’re an objectivist Marxist who fails to appreciate the potential for revolutionary subjectivity. #WeCantBreathe #UnwieldyInsults #newsnight #ISIS
@thecoolnoodle Your vapid, feckless attempts at blatant obfuscation r tedious and leave me disheartened by your woeful lack of intellect.
@llamaranch This meal tastes like the regurgitated bile of a pregnant hippopotamus who suffers from leprosy. #UnwieldyInsults @TheHashtagGame #ladygaga
@tlcninjarx Your only value is the plethora of calumnious epithets you have reminded me are in my arsenal of verbal eviscerators
@MHanson62 While I appreciate your Mother’s military service, her combat footwear is inappropriate and unflattering.
@jpostman You’re about as effective as the 1992 Maastricht Agreement was at unifying EU monetary policy #UnwieldyInsults #YeahNotFunny
#UnwieldyInsults are from twitter. They might be talking about you. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Fairyland: A Memoir Of My Father
Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father was published last year. It got some attention in Atlanta, where the story started. A few weeks ago, a copy appeared at the Chamblee library. It was time.
Steve Abbott and Barbara Binder were grad students at Emory. They met, fell in love, and got married. On December 6, 1970, Alysia Rebecca Abbott was born.
As might be predicted for a couple that met at an SDS meeting, the Abbotts had an unconventional relationship. They lived for a while in a decaying mansion on Clifton Road, with a few dozen commune neighbors. Truth be told, the Abbotts might have wound up with a divorce. Instead, on August 28, 1973, Barbara was killed in an automobile accident.
Steve had always been bisexual. If you have any doubts, see this cover he drew for The Great Speckled Bird. After Barbara died, he took his daughter to San Francisco. After a couple of stops, they wound up at 545 Asbury Street. Steve wrote poetry. Alysia grew into a young lady.
When it was time, Alysia went to college in New York. Barbara Binder Abbott was from a “comfortable” family, and the Binders stayed in touch with their granddaughter. Meanwhile, Steve turned up HIV+. Eventually, his condition required Alysia to move home. On December 2, 1992, he took his last breath.
Alysia Abbott can tell a story. Fairyland is an entertaining read, even when the story is tough to take. Hopefully, there will be more reading product from the lady.
This is the dedication: “for my mother and my father, and for Annabel, so she may some time know where her mother “was at.”” Annabel has a brother, Finn. He is profoundly autistic. When the NPR book promotion interview was given, Finn could not talk.
A few months ago, PG heard Annabelle, a song by Gillian Welch. The chorus rhymes Jesus with please us. PG found this to be upsetting. He wondered if he was going to go the rest of his life being triggered by Jesus. And now, the author of this deeply moving book has a daughter, with a very similar name. Annabel will have an autistic younger brother to grow up with.
The second part of this feature is a repost. It is the story of a World Aids Day rally, December 1, 1992. The next day Steve Abbott died. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
1992 was a year for PG. His father died in February. In July, PG went to Europe. It was a bad, bad year for friends with aids. Several were recruited by the grim reaper.
By the time December 1 came around, PG was ready for another year. In those days, PG was working in an architect office downtown, and had lots of free time. There was a rally for World Aids Day at the state capitol, and PG saw a chance for free entertainment. A podium was set up in the rotunda, and a series of speakers declaimed. One man said to use a condom every time you FUCK. He seemed to enjoy screaming the F word in the state capitol.
A man named Doug Teper spoke. He was the only state legislator to speak, and he criticized the organizers for not inviting him. Later, PG … who lived in Mr. Teper’s district … asked him for a business card. Mr. Teper forgot to bring his business cards. (PG was standing next to Mr. Teper when a speaker demanded health care for everyone. PG leaned over and said, how are we going to pay for this? Mr. Teper shrugged. Twenty two years later, we still don’t know.)
In July, a close friend had died. Jim lived in Loganville, in Walton County. PG stood behind a statue of George Walton during the rally.
PG saw a person named Gene Holloway at the rally, and went to talk to him. Years earlier, when Betty Ford was the first lady, PG was taken to his eighteenth birthday party. A couple of years after the rally, PG saw an obituary for Gene Holloway.
Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving was a time our family cherished. It was the only time all of us got together under one roof and mingled. Except for me. ~ I was the the family embarrassment. They were Catholic, and disliked my way of life. I played guitar, loved Heavy Metal, and worshiped Satan. ~ All this explains why my family shunned me. In their eyes, I was the flaw of a nearly perfect gem, but in mine, I was the cream of the crop.
I should’ve known they had something awful in mind when they asked me to join them somewhere. They drove me to the very corner of the ranch. ~ “What the fuck are we doing back here,” I asked. My only reply was, “Shut up you blaspheming fool.”
At last we got to the destination. My father, mother, and sister were standing around, wearing funeral clothes. ~ In the middle was a shallow grave. “What’s that hole for?” I asked dumbly. “Take a guess you satanic fucker!” Was the reply from my father.
I felt a thud on my head. I hit the ground with a loud thlap. I turned in spite of excruciating pain to see my uncle wielding a shovel. ~ I touched the back of my head to find my fingers coated in blood. I suddenly grew light headed and passed out. When I woke up I inhaled dirt. ~ Luckily, my family didn’t know how to properly bury someone so I was able to dig myself out. I sat there and puked for about fifteen minutes.
When I got back, it was Thanksgiving night. through the window I could see my family, sitting there, saying grace like the sheeple they were. ~ Seeing them praying made my hate for them and all Catholics grow. It went from a smouldering, muddled anger, to a flaming, outrageous hatred
I ran into the garage and found my uncle’s shotgun, sitting there, waiting for me, beckoning, saying, “Go ahead, make these fuckers pay.” ~ “Hi Mom!” I shouted as I pulled the trigger, I started laughing uncontrollably as I continued firing at my family until I was empty.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” My father asked, wounded, shot in the gut. “Wrong with me?” I asked calmly. “What’s wrong with you?” ~ With that I threw the gun away and dined. Not on Turkey, but on raw human flesh. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. ~ Text presented in twitter serialization by @creepypasta_txt. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
The Toni Morrison Video
There was a quote on facebook. “[A] racist white person […] doesn’t understand, that he or she is also a race that’s also constructed, its also made and also has some kind of serviceability. But when you take it away, if I take your race away and there you are all strung out and all you’ve got is your little self. And what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself?” – Toni Morrison
PG saw this, and was not happy. This week saw another unpopular opinion from a legal institution. Much noise has been made. The nation is on fire, and producing more heat than light. It seems like the concept of a peaceful, unified “post racial” america keeps getting further, and further away. Facebook rhetoric is part of the problem.
The most polite thing that PG could say was “What is the source of this quote?” An hour later, the response was “Google it, sir.”
This is a problem. If you are going to put content on the internet, you should show the source. This is the rule when you write a term paper. You show the source of your information. It is too easy to misrepresent people, and to take things out of context. You should allow people to see the facts. When you post your comment, you copy a link to where you got your information. It is easy.
After a bit of digging, PG found the source. It is a video. Ms. Morrison was a guest on the Charlie Rose show. The website for the show has archival videos, and a horrible search engine. The best anyone can say for a date is sometime in 1998.
There is almost no way to know when the interview took place, or to see the complete interview. The video starts with Ms. Morrison saying “Yes I do Charlie, but let me tell you, that’s the wrong question.” It would be very helpful to know what that “wrong question” was.
A few months ago, the video began to circulate. A blogger named Keyamsha produced a transcript, for which this slack blogger is grateful. The facebook quote is not quite what Ms. Morrison said.
Before the quoted part, Ms. Morrison talks about “the people who do this thing, who practice racism” The race of “the people” is not specified. Apparently this is the attitudes of individuals, and not institutional systemic oppression. It is noted that “It has just as much a deleterious effect on white people and possibly equal as it does Black people.”
We get then to the facebook quote. Here is the full paragraph. “That’s right. He always felt superior. And that was a form, you know, of defense of racism. And if the racist white person, I don’t mean the person who is examining his consciousness and so on, doesn’t understand, that he or she is also a race that’s also constructed, its also made and also has some kind of serviceability. But when you take it away, if I take your race away and there you are all strung out and all you’ve got is your little self. And what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself? I mean these are the questions…part of it is…yes [puts hand over her heart] “victim,” how terrible it’s been for Black people.”
The printed transcript does not really convey the message of the video. It seems to this slack blogger that Ms. Morrison sees the pity talk of liberal white people as being part of the problem. There has been plenty of oppression porn the last few days. Oh, the poor oppressed People of Color! They have such tough lives. This victim talk might not be the best way to approach the problem. Would you want people to label you a victim, and have pity? (Toni Morrison: “I’m not a victim. I refuse to be one.”)
While discussing this video, you should keep in mind that it is a tv show appearance sixteen years ago. You cannot expect someone to get every word perfect. It does not help matters when no one seems to know what the question was.
That said, there is a problem with the phrase “racist white person.” If you were to say “criminal black person” there would be an uproar. If you are not a racist, then you should not mind her saying that, right? Lets try the other phrase out. If you are not a criminal, then you shouldn’t mind the reference to criminal black people. Lets see how that works out for you. Maybe you should not use a pejorative adjective, along with an ethnic designation. Just because someone is a member of a privileged community does not make it ok to insult them.
There might be a reason for specifying the color of the racist person. Lets take a look at the lines before the quoted paragraph. Toni Morrison: … I always knew I had the moral high ground. All my life. I always thought those people who said I couldn’t come in the drug store, or sit in front of the place or couldn’t go to the park… Charlie Rose: You were morally superior to them because they were… Toni Morrison: I did. I thought they knew, that I knew that they were inferior to me, morally. I always thought that. And my parents always thought that. Charlie Rose: You said your father was racist because he thought he was superior.
Maybe she said “racist white person” because she was distinguishing rwp from a racist black person, her father. When she talks about the problems of racism, she meant the attitudes of black people towards white people, in addition to the attitudes of white people toward black people. Maybe the concept that black people could not be racist had not become popular in 1998.
When you take this into consideration, it changes the meaning of the quote. The statement should be heard in context, including the mystery question. When you put an abbreviated quote on facebook, beginning with the insulting phrase “racist white person,” you do more harm than good. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Harold Bloom
On September 3, 2000, Harold Bloom appeared on Booknotes to promote How to Read and Why. Other C-SPAN news that day involved Vice President Al Gore and Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush. Mr. Bloom is a professor at Yale University. He has written many books, despite not knowing how to type. There is no false modesty on display.
A teacher is an entertainer, knowing the value of a good line. Over the years, platitudes pile up. Mr. Bloom has collects both books, and clever lines about books. “Oh, I read everything and anything. I’m a desperate reader. If I can’t find anything else, my wife is likely to find me obsessively re-reading cereal box tops in the morning. … I now call myself at times, partly in self-deprication, but partly, I suppose, with a certain fury Bloom brontosaurus bardolater; that is to say, not only a worshiper of Shakespeare, but a brontosaurus, a dinosaur. I’ve never learned how to type”
Fourteen years ago, the internet was still called the “World Wide Web.” It was very much a work in progress. Mr. Bloom viewed the information superhighway with horror. “But the Internet, which I acknowledge is an economic and commercial necessity–the Internet–and many people disagree with me on this, I know–the Internet, I think, is a terrible danger to the life of the mind. It’s a terrible danger to real reading because it’s a kind of great, gray ocean in which everything merges with everything else. And extremely difficult–it is extremely difficult for a young person to establish standards of reading or to find again what could be called intellectual and aesthetic standards of judgment in relation to what is available on it. There is no guidance.”
PG listened to the conversation with Mr. Bloom in the background. In the foreground, pictures were being edited.This is something you cannot do with a dead tree book. This went on happily until the shockwave player crashed, and the machine needed a reboot. This is something else that does not happen with traditional publishing.
“He got rather offended and explained to me, in rather hurt tones, that Sir So-and-so was the leading British authority on information retrieval. I told him honestly, and it’s still true, I did not know what information retrieval was, and I did not wish to find out, and I still don’t know what it is. I said, `Who is the other gentleman?’ And then he said, quite coldly, `He is our leading authority on software.’ I said, `I’ve never learned to type. I’m not at all sure what software is.’ He said, `It doesn’t matter.’ He said, `In any case, Professor Bloom, you ought to come. You will represent the book.’ I said, `This is ridiculous.’ I said, `You’re going to ask me to have a discussion with an authority on something called information retrieval and an authority on software, and I, wretched creature, am supposed to represent the book? I am highly inadequate to represent the book. Anybody would be. And I will not come. Goodbye, sir.’ But that is the British Library.”
Mr. Bloom tells of a visit to Stanford University. The only pleasant time he had was a conversation with the Provost, Condoleezza Rice. (spell check suggestion: Condolence) The rest of the time he decries the custom of teaching literature based on the ethnicity of the author. He tells the story of a desk, with the legs falling off. From clumsy carpentry, he moves onto brain surgery. “If you were being wheeled in for a brain operation, and you were told that the brain surgeon had been chosen on the basis of fairness, on the basis of universalism, on the basis of multiculturalism, you would jump right off the operating table. We do not enforce these things in the medical schools.”
This sounds nice in theory. In real life, the brain surgeon was determined by the willingness of a health insurance bully to pay. Reality is more frightening than fictitious furniture.
The Booknotes conversation took place during election season. The discussion of politicians was indicated. “Leon Trotsky, who was a great, though murderous, human being, but a remarkable writer. And in his own way, a remarkable literary critic.” “I find it powerfully offensive that one of the two major presidential candidates is perhaps the least distinguished graduate of the entire history of Yale University, and I’ve taught there for 46 years, though I never taught this gentleman. But he has boasted to the press, at least until his people told him to talk differently about it, but he began by boasting to the press that he had never read a book through since he left Yale. And indeed, he laughed, he hadn’t read many through there. And, of course, I believe him”
No discussion about Harold Bloom is complete without Naomi Wolf. “In the late fall of 1983, professor Harold Bloom did something banal, human, and destructive: He put his hand on a student’s inner thigh—a student whom he was tasked with teaching and grading. The student was me, a 20-year-old senior at Yale.” Is Bill Cosby going to be teaching at Yale?
The one star comments about the book are festive. “His prose is at times crisp, yet his reasoning wanders about like somnambulist on a treadmill.” “Instead I found myself dragged into a solipsistic rant of Mr. Bloom’s favorite books.” “Please do not waste your money on this book. Each section is devoted ostensibly to a “critique” of a work that Mr. Bloom recommends to his unwashed readers.” Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Political Correctness In Self Parody Mode
From a Braves report on the new stadium…The Cumberland area has been identified as one of the most walkable communities in the region, and this will only enhance that. ~ What if these reports are not true? ~ People get offended when you tell them Santa Claus does not exist. ~ Please use your words we are all still people and be kind! There is no reason to have this animosity towards one another! ~ “But during those years as I grew into adulthood, I watched Cosby be praised by everyone from Presidents to Oprah to the Jello Corporation.” Accuser Joan Tarshis ~ This link has a popup ad. You must answer the “poll question” to read the content. This scandal is being reported by the sleazy depths of the internet. There is also an auto start ad. And now it seems that Raven Symone never said this. ~ I have serious doubts about this accuser. I don’t doubt that Mr. Cosby has some problems. It is just that Joan Tarshis is more than a little bit flaky. The spell check suggestions for Tarshis are Tarnish, Starfish, Ishtar. ~ She does seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. And, to be honest, she may have been attractive 45 years ago … she is not now. ~ Please note that @aLtwiculate will not retweet sexist, racist, homophobic tweets. The world consists of both men & women & use of male only words to describe humanity is unacceptable in the 21st century – unless you are actually describing men only. ~ twitter has a strange sense of humor ~ Dr. Loury never did get a good explanation for the phrase “people of color”. This is a problematic expression. It apparently means everybody except caucasians of European origin. POC lumps in many divergent groups, who have little in common. Many of these groups speak a language other than english. Why do we use an english expression to describe them? There is also the curious cousin of POC … colored people. CP was considered a polite expression a few years ago. CP is almost the same expression as POC. It is like profanity … POC is acceptable, CP not acceptable, because society says so. ~ “people of colour” is political correctness in self-parody mode. I find it to a highly useful expression myself, because when someone says it, it reminds me to tune them out and think about something else more interesting, because they are unlikely to say anything meaningful.~ There is a Fibonaccian synchronicity to Wednesday’s anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. The original is famous for the phrase four score and seven. If you add four and seven, you get eleven. Wednesday was 151 years after the original address, or seven score and eleven. ~ How can you be against something you believe does not exist? ~ We want to know your opinion on this issue! While arguing about an opinion or idea is encouraged, personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please be respectful of others. The editorial team will delete a comment that is off-topic, abusive, exceptionally incoherent, includes a slur or is soliciting and/or advertising. Repeated violations of the policy will result in revocation of your user account. Please keep in mind that this is our online home; ill-mannered house guests will be shown the door. ~ I had never heard of Mr. Hutchins. Mr Google says: Widely regarded as one of the most gifted, charismatic and inspirational leaders of his generation, the Rev. Markel Hutchins, embodies servant leadership. ~ Send them a box of your beautiful memories. ~ The monday morning quarterbacks have spoken. ~ “No it was sold while we were still at DHS…and I’m probably still alive because of that fact” When I first saw that, the majority of the comments were hidden. I thought you were alive because they sold the house. ~ There is an ancient device for telling if someone is racist… a mirror ~ The look on Dr. Loury’s face is priceless ~ the lady has a sense of humor ~ Yes I will unfriend you if you choose this moment to troll people who are grieving. Good night. ~ I agreed until the last part Jesus is the source of the hatred I have felt from african america ~ pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Your Racism
Last night, in anticipation of the Grand Jury presentation, chamblee54 published Freedom Lies Bleeding. Here is the text: grand jury renders opinion ~ national hissy fit begin again ~ when justice is popularity contest ~ freedom lies bleeding in street.
There was a comment. Anonymous said, on November 25, 2014 at 2:28 pm (Edit) Thanks Luthor… you’re racism never disappoints! The name was misspelled. The spell check suggestion is Author.
There is both style, and substance, to consider here. Is Freedom Lies Bleeding racist? Who knows? The definition of racism is growing, in carcinogenic fashion, as we speak. Some say it is systemic institutions of oppression. Some say it is jokes about toothpaste flavor. Maybe the best definition is that racism is anything that you do not like.
The poem was directed at the concept of mob rule. As President Obama said, “We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we have to accept this decision was the grand jury’s to make.”
A few years ago, O.J. Simpson was accused of murder. Many people thought he was guilty. After a long trial, he was found innocent. Should popular opinion have overruled the jury? No, it should not. The jury saw the evidence, and heard the arguments. The people can protest and debate, but they cannot take the place of a jury.
Is a dependence on a system of law and order racism? Anonymous seems to think so. Is they qualified to make this judgment? If racism is anything that you don’t like, then Anonymous is qualified to make the call. Maybe they knows something we don’t.
There is the style of the comment to consider. While Anonymous did not give their name, there was an I.P. address. The IPA is connected to a .edu server. Apparently, this is a workplace computer. Leaving insulting comments from your employer’s computer does not reflect well on the institution.
Anonymous is entitled to an opinion. However, leaving a name calling comment does not speak well for this individual. The six words say more about Anonymous than they do chamblee54. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Lemony Snicket And His Money
PG was trolling twitter when he found this: @Number13Press Lemony Snicket pledges up to $100,000 in racist joke apology. Who/what is Lemony Snicket? What did this person say? How can this joke be worth $100,000? Did he ever fork out the change?
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of Daniel Handler. Apparently he is not related to Chelsea Handler. Mr. Handler told a “joke” at the National Book Award affair about a black lady who was “allergic to watermelon.” Toothpaste flavor was not involved.
Knickers were twisted coast to coast. Mr. Handler was called out, and out, and out. Mr. Snicket took to twitter, and said my bad.
@DanielHandler My remarks on Wednesday night at #NBAwards were monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist. -DH [1/4]
@DanielHandler It would be heartbreaking for the #NBAwards conversation to focus on my behavior instead of great books. So can we do this? -DH [2/4]
@DanielHandler Let’s donate to #WeNeedDiverseBooks to #CelebrateJackie. I’m in for $10,000, and matching your money for 24 hours up to $100,000. -DH [3/4[
@DanielHandler Brown Girl Dreaming is an amazing novel and we need more voices like Jacqueline Woodson. -DH [4/4]
The mea culpa tweets were dated November 21. It is now November 24. Presumably, the 24 hours are over. A check on google does not reveal how much money Mr. Handler will need to match. It also is not known whether the money was ever sent. This is a problem when people make a show about donating money in the future. There is seldom any proof that the donation took place.
When googling Daniel Handler, the first suggested search is “net worth.” He wrote an article for the New York Times in 2007. It began: “Let’s start by saying I have a lot of money. I’ve acquired it by writing children’s books about terrible things happening to orphans, and this seems like such a crazy and possibly monstrous way of acquiring money that I give a lot of it away.”
The tweet at the top of the page linked to The Guardian. It has a lively comment section. ArkEton “A paltry $100k and an apology? It’s time we stop letting these people off so lightly. Making a racist joke is the worst thing in the world. It should be highly illegal and they should go to prison for a very long time. An apology? Like that makes it okay? Damn you racists.”
Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Fifty One Years
Fifty one years ago, John Kennedy went to the oval office in the sky. Did Marilyn Monroe greet him?
The bullets hit Mr.Kennedy at 12:30. He arrived at the hospital at 12:37. He had a faint heartbeat on arrival, but quickly succumbed to his wounds.
In Georgia, PG was nine years old. He was in Miss Mckenzie’s fourth grade class. There was going to be an assembly soon, and the class was going to perform. There was a rehearsal in the cafetorium, and some of the kids were acting up. They went back to the class, and PG thought they were going to be chewed out about the misbehavior in the cafetorium. Instead, Miss Mckenzie came into the room, and told the kids that President Kennedy had been shot during a parade in Dallas Texas. She did not say anything about his condition. One kid cheered the news.
School let out at the regular time, and PG walked home. His mother and brother were crying. He was told that the president had died. The cub scouts meeting that afternoon was canceled.
Later that night, a plane arrived in Washington. The tv cameras showed a gruesome looking man walk up to a microphone. He was introduced as President Lyndon Johnson. This may have been the worst moment of that day. Pictures by “Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Jyoti Joan Tarshis
People are talking about Bill Cosby. More women are coming out of the woodwork to accuse him. One of them spoke, to a man with the strangely appropriate name Lemon. The video is embedded above. Mr. Lemon discusses oral sex strategy. This does not totally jibe with the original story.
The accuser is Joan Tarshis. On facebook, she is Jyoti Joan Tarshis. There is a resume, of sorts, at media bistro. The resume shows her “Total Media Industry Experience” as being 30 years. Ms. Tarshis met Bill Cosby 45 years ago. The story of the incident was told in Hollywood Elsewhere.
“I was 19 years old in autumn of 1969. I had flown to Los Angeles from New York to work on a monologue with Godfrey Cambridge. Two women I was staying with were friends of Bill Cosby, and they took me to have lunch with him in his cottage at Universal Studios, where he was shooting The Bill Cosby Show. He was always generous with his food and drinks, though he never drank alcohol. But he always topped my Bloody Mary’s with beer, which he called a ‘redeye.’
“Cosby seemed to take a liking to me, and so I was invited back a few times. … One day he asked me to stay after the shooting and work on some material with him. … In his bungalow he made me a redeye, … The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed. Through the haze I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an infection and he would catch it and his wife would know he had sex with someone. But he just found another orifice to use. …So the day that he called, she (her mother) answered the phone and he told her he was inviting me to The Westbury Music Theater. … He sent a limo to pick me up and I was dropped off at the Sherry Netherland Hotel and went up to his suite. I remember noticing that his leather shaving kit was filled with bottles of pills, and thinking that this seemed odd. He was, of course, very friendly and I, of course, was very uncomfortable. He made me a redeye, and I, being nervous and dealing at the time with an alcohol problem (I’ve been in recovery since 1988), drank it. In the car I had something else to drink, but was already beginning to feel a bit stoned.
“When we got to Westbury and he went on, there was no seat for me. I stood in the back of the theater with his chauffeur, feeling insulted that I wasn’t respected enough to be given a reserved seat. But soon after, I remember feeling very, very stoned and asking his chauffeur to take me back to the car. I was having trouble standing up. The next thing I remember was waking up in his bed back at the Sherry, naked. I remember thinking ‘You old shit, I guess you got me this time, but it’s the last time you’ll ever see me.” The theater is on Long Island. The hotel is in Manhattan.
Lots of people are saying nasty things about Mr. Cosby these days. Some of them are probably true. This does not mean that every accuser is telling the truth. This lady comes forward 45 years later. She went to see Mr. Cosby several times, and accepted drinks from him. She was underage, for drinking, at the time. After the first rape, she went out with him again, in a different state.
One internet story is Joan Tarshis: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. “Her Facebook page shows her to be passionate about her cats, and she also writes that she worked at Tantra to Love, a company that teaches about tantric sex.” There is a comment. Jyoti Joan Tarshis · Follow · Woodstock, New York “I have never taught Tantric sex!! haha You have me confused with Sting.”
The lady, allegedly, is a professional writer. “But during those years as I grew into adulthood, I watched Cosby be praised by everyone from Presidents to Oprah to the Jello Corporation.” Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
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