It was inevitable that she should accept any inconsistency and cruelty from her deity as all good worshippers do from theirs. All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.
-- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Forgotten Dish: A matter of some concern in my area is the inability of Time-Warner subscribers to watch Mets games because of an ongoing contract dispute. This results in some back and forth, including some annoying commercials wherein apparently typical fans complain about not being able to see them because of one's sides intransigence. My personal view is that I want equal time! An article noted that a competitor is trying to use the dispute to rack up business; in passing, it noted said provider did not offer YES (Yankees) Network.
This fact, even though thousands or even hundred of thousands, use this dish provider, is rarely mentioned in local coverage. Am I chopped liver? For the last two years or so, I cannot watch most Yankee games (Bronx boy, if one who favors the Mets these days) at home, since my provider (or rather, my landlord's) does not air the Yankee network. Nonetheless, one might not know it from all the coverage a year or so ago when Cablevision did not air the games for some time because of a contract dispute.
It does now, so I can see them various places, but Dish Network does not. So, I am provided with a retro experience of listening to games on the radio. In fact, when CBS was blocked for a few days (and various other stations related to it), my local paper only mentioned it briefly on the business page! Sheesh.
Marla Ruzicka RIP: To focus on a matter of more importance, and that was addressed nicely in a Daily News (page three) story with fine photos (it helps that she was very pretty) and personal quotes, the death of Marla Ruzicka is one of those "life is not fair" moments. A strong opponent of the war, twenty-something Ruzicka went over to Iraq on a human rights campaign, including directly challenging the likes of Rumsfeld and Gen. Tommy Franks. Earlier, her friend Margaret Hansen (CARE), was kidnapped and beheaded.
And, such deaths are useful for the resistance, since horrible deaths of innocents adds to the drive to get everyone out. It might backfire too, especially when the person killed is not only a care worker, but someone labeled as "vehemently opposed U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq" is involved. No matter: "It was a short life, but a life really well lived."
[A guest editorial, by Halley Bondy (a student*) -- concerning claims of bias against Rashid Khalidi, a Middle East expert and professor -- is also well worth reading. I do not know enough about the story, but it is an eloquent defense of academic freedom and respect for true scholarship.]
NRA: One last thing news related. I caught a bit of a NRA event over the weekend on C-SPAN. The incoming leader mentioned how "their" people won in November as if the Democratic presidential hopefuls were not clear supporters of Second Amendment rights. Also, Rep. DeLay came on to rile up the troops and try to divert attention from his recent troubles.
I doubt if he apologized to Michael Schiavo, though others damn well should. [Kudos to Mark Kleiman. As to estate taxes, see here.]
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* A sports writer has the same last name.