Vonnegut, on politics, presidents and librarians

[deadparrot]

Kurt Vonnegut opens an interview at La Mediterranée, a pretty Manhattan restaurant, this way:

"What do you want to talk about? Politics? Our president is a complete twit. I'll talk about the death of the novel. I'll talk about anything you want."

And so it goes.

For all those who have lived with Vonnegut in their imaginations - with the listless soldier Billy Pilgrim in 1969's Slaughterhouse-Five, with the religious Bokononists whispering "busy, busy, busy" in 1963's Cat's Cradle- this is what he is like in person.

Polite, courtly even. He has thick, light brownish hair. He was born left-handed but taught, as they did back in the day, to write with his right. He says Law & Order on TV is "absolutely first-rate" - as long as the episode has Sam Waterston or Jerry Orbach in it.

And at 82, this hero of the left is as unafraid as ever to speak out.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/vonnegutonpoliticspresidentsandlibrarians

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Vonnegut is a true American patriot.

The freeps and other useless filth could learn a lot from a man with integrity, intelligence, and an ability to see and speak the truth.

Vonnegut is the Anti-Fuckstick McAWOL, the anti-Rush, the anti-Coulter, and anti-Robertson/Falwell...

[evlbstrd]

2. Thank you for that.

[vonslagle]

3. ?

"Libertarians are not famous for their physical strength"

What's he got against Libertarians?

[Mokito]

6. That's Librarians

as in people who work in library.

[vonslagle]

7. Do-oh!

I though people who worked in Libraries were called "Liberals."

[Voltaire99]

4. Love him.

He graced Maher's show a few weeks ago, and was old, frail and brilliant as ever.

[dweller]

5. He holds the secret remedy...

"Automation has made labor worthless, so the losers are in awful trouble, and have no power whatsoever. They used to be able to withhold labor."

Think 'consumer' for labor. Same result.

dp