The Hunger Inside Me Is The Hunger of Excess

My Department would be greatly improved by the addition of various Asian fast-food emporia. I'd especially like a udon stand, a few satay vendors, a Thai curry place, and one specializing in the preparation of paper-thin beef slices together with green onions and ginger. But, with all the comestible largess we experience around here, I imagine that the powers-that-be regard such commercial ventures as superfluous. I mean, when you can already look forward to three or maybe even four cookies and a few cups of lemonade for free every semester, why rock the boat?

Watch the Whole Thing

Thanks to sub__rosa for directing me to Keith Olbermann's powerful critique of Donald Rumsfeld's speech to the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City. I, too, have always had a soft spot for Olbermann. I loved him on ESPN. And I've enjoyed seeing him make the transition out of sports broadcasting. But he has inspired a new level of appreciation in me with this beautifully written speech. I won't delude myself into thinking that it means the tide is finally turning. I fear that the Republican Party will still manage to retain Congress this fall through its savvy manipulation of the liberal media and social conservatives alike. The hope I felt in the summer of 2004 has not yet grown new feathers. And yet, I have to admit that, despite my pessimism, I am heartened by the risks that some public figures are starting to take in denouncing the extreme duplicity of the Bush Adminstration. Ironic, isn't it, that the invocation of fascism should make it possible for a few rays of light to pierce the gloom.