Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE DEAD

This, basically, is what Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said yesterday: Okay, sure, the firings of eight U.S. attorneys not sufficiently sympathetic to the Bushinista cause might have been politically motivated, but he had nothing to do with it, or maybe he did, but it's not that big a deal and certainly not something he should be forced to resign over.

As I'm reading this story, trying to dig deeper into it, wondering how, when such a blatant abuse of power occurs, it can be allowed to just kind of go by, I realize that my head is getting heavier and heavier, and feels like it may do a Scanners number any second.

So I look for something else, a pointless distraction, a glossy, upbeat showbiz story.

Oh, this should fit the bill: this year's Showest is underway, the annual ritual in which Hollywood types parade their wares in front of the nation's theater owners, in an increasingly desperate attempt to convince them times aren't passing them by.

This year, Hollywood is spurting all over itself, convinced this will be the best year ever. Why just look at this summer's lineup: Another Shrek. Another Pirates Of The Caribbean. Another Harry Potter. Another Spider-man. Another Rush Hour. Another animated penguin movie, presumably unrelated to any previous one, but who the hell knows?

And suddenly the transgressions of the Bush administration almost seem like the lesser evil.