or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
June 03, 2008
Only So Many Ways For Human Beings To Oppress Each Other
This is from the first episode of the HBO miniseries John Adams, which just came out on DVD:
A square in Boston. JOHN ADAMS and SAM ADAMS are among a crowd listening to Massachusetts Attorney General JONATHAN SEWELL. SEWELL, protected by a regiment of redcoats, is reading a new proclamation from King George III.JONATHAN SEWALL: Whereas dangerous insurrections have been fomented in the town of Boston to the utter subversion of His Majesty's government and the utter destruction of the public peace, be it enacted that no goods or merchandise whatever be transported to or brought from any other colony or country. Be it enacted that for the suppression of riots and tumults, all disturbers of the King's peace are to be transported to England for trial. Any British soldier or officer charged with a capital crime will in like manner be transported out of the colony to receive a fair hearing. Be it enacted that for better regulating the government of Massachusetts, the present council is to be immediately disbanded...
CUT TO: SAM ADAMS and JOHN ADAMS walking near Boston Harbor.
SAM ADAMS: The King's ships shall close the bay and cut us off from the rest of the country.
JOHN ADAMS: Boston must suffer martyrdom.
SAM ADAMS: Our people will not stand idly by. They have weapons and they know how to use them.
JOHN ADAMS: Against the British Empire?
Sounds like Gaza.
Of course, there is one critical difference: very few Gazan men wear wigs.
(I got the John Adams DVD from HBO as part of their blugger publicity.)
—Jonathan Schwarz
Posted at June 3, 2008 01:43 AM"Sounds like Gaza." You kidding? Inflate Gaza at least 15x, move it across several thousand miles of ocean, restrict the Israeli Navy to sails, cut off 7/8 of their intelligence resources, and then maybe you'd have a Gaza that would make sense to the Adams cousins.
Posted by: Ralph Hitchens at June 3, 2008 01:51 PMOh, and one other thing. Were the rebellious colonists trying to expel the English from England and claim it as part of their patrimony?
Posted by: Ralph Hitchens at June 3, 2008 01:59 PMNothing at all like Gaza that I can can see. For one thing, it was the Gazans who attacked the Israelis and began their war. It is quite like the illegal American (ie, Christian) occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan though. But I guess it's easier to criticize others than it is to accept responsibility for what your own nation has done.
Posted by: mike at June 3, 2008 06:35 PMWere the rebellious colonists trying to expel the English from England and claim it as part of their patrimony?
I'm confused - who're the Gazans and who're the Israelis in this analogy?
Posted by: RobWeaver at June 3, 2008 10:36 PMSomehow I doubt "Sounds like Gaza" is the sort of review that HBO had in mind when they comp'ed you the discs.
Posted by: c at June 4, 2008 12:36 PMAnother difference is that the British army was not much more technologically advanced than the rebel militias and army.
Whereas the Israelis in Gaza and the occupation forces in Iraq have air power and vast array of other weaponry way in advance of the people they are attempting to subdue.
Another difference is that the British army was not much more technologically advanced than the rebel militias and army.
Whereas the Israelis in Gaza and the occupation forces in Iraq have air power and vast array of other weaponry way in advance of the people they are attempting to subdue.
