I think you merged the ADL and the IDF — not an unreasonable mistake — when you came up with the ADF there at the end.

But thinking about Jeffrey Goldberg too much will do that to you.

As the proverb goes, "Things which are apparently opposed may be working together."

This also relates to the concept of dynamic tension in Charles Atlas's body building system.

Speaking of the Universe --

...Purusha and Prakriti (or Spirit and Matter)... have been postulated in the Yoga Philosophy of India as emanating from the Supreme Lord, Ishvara....Just as Ishvara in the very act of manifestation gives forth these Twain -- Spirit and Matter -- so also for the purpose of manifestation, according to Zoroaster, are needed the Twain Spirits, the Good and the Evil, 'created by Mazda'. They represent the two poles upon which the whole of manifestation and evolution revolves.

http://www.farvardyn.com/zoroaster3.php

The news media is just doing its job of convincing us that Muslims are all crazy.

Speaking of the universe remaining horrifying and disgusting, I must second the recommendation of the film In The Loop made by a commenter a few posts back. It is non-stop laughs even as it kills your soul.

I have a hard time keeping Jonah and Jeffrey Goldberg separate in my head. Does anyone have a handy chart, or something? One wrote about liberal fascism, the other is a liberal fascist?

Mistah charley and Charles Atlas and Ishvara and the whole of manifestation are right that things which are apparently opposed may in fact be working together. If I may change the meaning a little and add a mixed metaphor, illusion has many faces. The trouble is, they aren't all as ugly Jeffrey Goldberg's face, so it isn't always so easy to pick them out of a lineup.

Then again, sometimes it is. Visiting the home of relatives by marriage, I browsed the magazine rack and found a recent Time cover of an otherwise pretty and fair-skinned but noseless Afghan girl with the headline 'What happens if we leave Afghanistan?" and then a Newsweek cover with a picture of a mushroom cloud and the headline "After Iran Gets the Bomb" and then another Time cover with the headline "Why They Hate Each Other" over some shifty-looking terroristical eyes peering out of traditional arab costume and a small 'Sunnis vs. Shia" subheadline, which kind of reminded me of an ad for a WWF knock-down.

Later, my brother-in-law, a very nice guy who has never heard a right-wing talking point he didn't like, recommended out loud that all Americans should have to watch video of people plunging to their deaths from the WTC every day just to remember what happened. I bit down on my lip and ignored that in the interest of domestic tranquility.

Lord help us. I'm going to have to check out that "In the Loop" flick.

Mock smugness becomes you. ;-)

I was a bit surprised to see Jeffrey Goldberg quoted on the internet tubes saying sensible and even insightful things, but I hadn't gotten to the full piece. Ouch.

I'm confused by your use of "on the same side". Does this mean that they both want the war? I.e., Scipio Africanus and Hannibal were "on the same side" because both of them were enthusiastic about the Punic Wars?

I'm pretty sure Hannibal was enthusiastic. Who wouldn't want to be in a clash of civilizations?

@ NE

"I bit down on my lip and ignored that in the interest of domestic tranquility."

My sympathies. It is situations like this that make me even more grateful I have no family. The only domestic tranquility I worry about is rarely disturbed, since my dogs have no opinions about politics.

RedPhillip

Dogs are great, and I highly recommend cats too, because although they are actually opinionated, they have good manners and keep their opinions to themselves.

NE: Ever mention WTC7 to the brother-in-law?

Yeah, In the Loop is well worth checking out.

"I highly recommend cats too, because although they are actually opinionated, they have good manners and keep their opinions to themselves."

No cat I've ever served fits that description. They're great animals, but they are not self-effacing.

Donald Johnson

I presently have three cats, and they are all indoor-outdoor cats and often leave small mammal and bird body parts on the front porch and back deck to our disapproval, but none of them has ever accompanied the slaughter with a bombastic diatribe against Iran, Iraq, Osama, terrorists, North Korea, communists, or even liberals. So I have to agree with you that maybe their manners aren't really all that good, especially in you're a chipmunk or sparrow, but at least they aren't quite warmongers.

Mike Meyer

You are too funny, but the man even now thinks Lee Harvey Oswald was a KGB agent, so I don't think his mind is open to what David Ray Griffin or Steven Jones or Niels Harrit and the like have to say. Even if I told him all the things I know and left out the ones I suspect, he'd blow a fuse in his brain. Some years ago I tried to change his mind in smaller ways, and before long he opted out of that torture.

My cat Pau died in January (Dinah is still with us, though). Think of the following as a rap song.

This is your Pau - what a great cat
Enjoy your Pau and love him like that

Groove with the rhythm, bopping down the block
move his paws and tail as he go hip-hop

Purr at the neighbor, purr at the sky
Life is a blessing - why ask why

Energy moving his fur and bones -
This is his life - this is his home

Something good happen - maybe soon
Maybe next week - maybe next June

Count all your blessings - let go of strife
This is your Pau - treasure his life

Mistah Charley,

I like the song, its great. Sorry about your cat Pau, he was obviously loved.

Love your poem, mistah charley phd. Just love it.