G. Keillor: Raging Against Repub Hypocrisy Is Tonic Keeps Liberals Young

[kpete]

Miracle drug of anger
Raging against Republican hypocrisy is the tonic that keeps us old liberals forever young.

By Garrison Keillor


...............

........... Pick up a newspaper and read about Congress and you will find yourself yelling at walls and terrifying the cat. Last week, Congress moved to suspend habeas corpus, one thing that distinguishes a civil society from a police state. Reaction was muted.

Then the Party of Family Values was revealed to have protected a sexual predator in its midst until finally a reporter asked some pointed questions and the honorable gentleman resigned and ran off to recovery camp: This level of hypocrisy takes a person's breath away. You thought that Abramoff, Norquist, Reed & DeLay had established new lows, but the elevator is still descending.

The power of righteous vexation is what keeps so many old Democrats hanging on in nursing homes long past the time they should have kicked off. Ancient crones from FDR's time are still walking the halls, kept alive by anger at what has been done to our country. Old conservationists, feminists, grizzled veterans of the civil rights era fight off melanoma, emphysema, Montezuma, thanks to the miracle drug of anger. Slackers and cynics abound, not to mention nihilists in golf pants and utter idiots. Time to clean some clocks. As Frost might have written, "The woods are lovely, dark and thick. But I have many butts to kick and some to poke and just one stick."

more at:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/10/04/keillor/

[babylonsister]

1. Bookmarked for later, but love Keillor and the title! nt

[razors edge]

2. Then I'm immortal.

[MzNov]

3. LOL

[zanne]

21. And with a 30 year mortgage...

I guess I'll be living forever, too.

[Gregorian]

4. It's nice to know we have company.

We're not talking about misery, but therapy.

What a great man. Truely great.

[kath]

5. "The woods are lovely, dark and thick. But I have many butts to kick and

some to poke and just one stick."

BWAH!!

Go, Garrison!

[DemoTex]

6. How true is this?

When I say "Thank you" to a younger person and he says, "No problem." That's a brushoff, not an acknowledgement. He is supposed to smile and say, "You're welcome." Or he could say, "It was my pleasure." A thank-you should not be brushed away like a housefly. You could be lying unconscious on the floor, your arms and legs twitching uncontrollably, and a paramedic puts the paddles on your chest (Stand back!!) and saves your life and you say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, a thousand thank-yous," and he says, "No problem." How inappropriate is that?

Garrison Keillor

Anyone who says "no problem" to me, unless I have stated a problem or inquire if a problem exists, gets an earful. I absolutely loath to be told: "No problem." It is code for my status as a "big problem" in their little, vapid lives.

Thank you Mr. Keillor!

[liberalhistorian]

8. I wish he'd turn his rapier, accurate wit onto that

horrid phrase that started out small a few years ago in a couple parts of the country and has now insidiously wormed its way into every clerk's mouth in every single type of store.

I'm talking about when you're handed the bag with your purchases at the conclusion of a transaction, and, instead of saying "thank you", what comes out of the clerk's mouth is "there you go." There you go! Who in the hell started that and how in the holy netherlands of hell it was allowed to even flourish beyond one store in some podunk bumblefuck town in the middle of nowhere is completely beyond me, but it is SO ANNOYING! I'm supposed to be thanked after spending my hard-earned money there when I didn't have to do so, not just be told "there you go!" Sheesh!

End of grouchy rant.

BTW, I saw Keillor live in Vermillion, SD, at the end of April, he was doing a live Prairie Home Companion. He was fantastic in person!

[DemoTex]

9. Lucky-ducky! I'd love to see GK live!

That offensive phrase, "there you go", has not made it here (SC) yet. However, "NO PROBLEM" is ubiquitous, pervasive, and utterly nauseating.

:puke:

[Sherman A1]

11. Seen him a several times here in St. Louis

once opening for the Symphony, the other at our Speaker Series and last time on a book tour with his book of Good Poems for Bad Times. He is great!!! And..... There ya, go....

[tblue]

10. I know someone who asked a waiter if he recommended the chili

and the answer was "Dude....Dude...."

Is that information?

[DemoTex]

14. Might as well have said ...

Ptomaine, ptomaine!

[grasswire]

13. How about "I'm good"?

When asked if you want another helping of supper, the answer should not be "I'm good."

When asked if you need some help with a task, the answer should not be "I'm good."

And so on.....

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. I can't understand what anyone would find wrong with "no problem"

Do you rail against the whole French nation for using "de rien"? It, and "no problem", are perfectly polite ways of saying "It's no problem for me to help you". I see no difference in the sentiment behind it and "you're welcome".

[Reader Rabbit]

16. True. Are all Spanish-speakers being rude...

...when they respond, "De nada," to "Gracias"?

For what it's worth, many Irish say, "Not at all," when you thank them. Are they incorrigibly rude, as well?

Seems to me a great deal of nitpickery going on here. Or "ugly Midwesternism"? Different strokes, and all that, peeps.

[datasuspect]

17. i was thinking the same thing

linguistically challenged . . .

[foo_bar]

18. in Costa Rica they say "con mucho gusto"

Maybe "de rien" and "de nada" are universal insults to a Babel fish. French has a more ornate response, "il n'ya pas de quoi", which less forcefully chides the thanker for making something of nothing.

"Not at all" strikes me as exceedingly polite, unlike "it's nothing" or even "you're welcome" (bienvenidos?); it suggests "I can't take credit" not "it was dreadfully simple" or "here, enjoy the fruits of my labor".

[Reader Rabbit]

19. "Bienvenidos" is "Welcome" in the greeting sense.

Literally, well (bien) come (venido). If you really want to pick entymological nits, those responding, "You're welcome," are incorrect, because they are literally saying, "Glad to have you here. Come on in!" in response to an offer of thanks—which makes no sense!

I know that Italians say "prego" in response to "grazie." Can any Italians translate its meaning for us?

[PunkPop]

20. Yeah, that seems kind of nitpicky

I've never had a problem with somebody saying "no problem". I say it and I certainly don't mean it as a brush off - nor do I take it as a brush off. Don't really have anything against "there you go" either. If they're said with a smile in a courteous tone what is the big deal?!? Geez.

[mdmc]

7. nice find

[Raster]

12. the sad, sad fact of the matter is that by now EVERYONE knows, or has a

heavy gut hunch that the worst of bush* and bushco* is yet to come. This shitty excuse for government and leadership is a car wreck in slow motion. Unfortunately we all get to be passengers. The last six years have made it painfully obvious that courage and competence and moral fiber are in short supply in all stations of our government, and on both sides of the aisle. That the Congress of the United States actually debated the virtues of torture makes the skin on the back of my neck crawl.