Odds and Ends

Let My Maniacs Go

It seems that there is at least one case where Californians are willing to “hang tough” on crime, and that is the question of whether to grant a “compassionate release” to Susan Atkins, one of the Manson family of killers, based on her terminal illness and low probability of participating in any more multiple homicides while under the influence of illegal drugs and a charismatic, psychopathic cult leader. Hey, we’re talking about someone who stabbed a pregnant woman to death, OK? And she admitted it; no DNA testing required. Well, in my opinion, she should have been granted a “compassionate release” back in 1970, by means of the electric chair. But the other kind of “compassion” – the kind so prevalent in California, where criminals are considered folk heroes and victims just, well, losers – took over, and she was packed off to prison where she, today, is experiencing a slow and lingering, and undoubtedly quite painful, decline. Say, maybe this was a better punishment after all!

Russian to Judgment

A survey of Russians as to “the country’s most important historical figure” has Nicholas II and Stalin “neck-and-neck”. Well, no one ever said the Russians weren’t historically impaired; the Soviet system, for all of its strengths (think: Olympic gold medals and chess) hardly imparted objective views of history to its public school students. But really, Nicholas II? He seems like a pretty decent sort, but let’s face it, he was a total nonentity – an empty chair (or throne) would have done just as well… better, maybe. Not only was he totally unfit for the job (as many hereditary rulers are apt to be), but he was – dare I use a very un-PC term? – dreadfully pussy-whipped by his wife, who was, in turn, under the baleful spell of Rasputin, the “Mad Monk”. As to Stalin, he was, admittedly, “the presence” in Russia for many decades – oversaw the war with Nazi Germany, which turned into a splendid victory for Russia, arguably the only country to come out of the conflict better off. He had both Churchill and FDR wrapped around his pinky at Yalta… again, not a totally trivial achievement. But he was working from a “platform” that had been firmly established – politically, socially, economically, and militarily – by Lenin. Without Lenin, Stalin would have been just another provincial bank robber; at least that’s the way I read it. Lenin was the true genius of the revolution, along with Trotsky of course, and when it came down to brass tacks Stalin managed to push Trotsky aside in a most conclusive manner. The difference is this: Lenin became a leader because he inspired; Stalin inspired because he was the leader. It’s like the difference between Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il – one had the ideas, the other the position, which he would not have had if it hadn’t been for the ideas.

Hell Bent for Lethargy

Now it seems that another new and exotic disease has infiltrated the American populace – “teen-aged lethargy”. By some mysterious – hormonally-based, undoubtedly – process, American youth morph from being highly physically active in grade school to being total couch potatoes in high school, held fast on those couches by infernal machines like “video games and computers”. OK… to begin with, welcome to the adult world, where some of the most “challenged” people around are still expected to have a basic working knowledge of computers (with hilarious results, I might add – as anyone who has ever stood in a checkout line, i.e. everyone, can attest). In my day, it wasn’t video games, but TV in general that threatened to turn all of our striated muscle into revolting globules of fat. But I have another suggestion, and it goes along with the tendency of teen-agers to cop various “attitudes”, like punk, goth, “emo”, and so on. They are finally old enough to see, and understand, what adult life is like in these United States. They accidentally read, or overhear, enough of the news to get a whiff of the utter absurdity of our political situation, the fragile state of our economy, the extent of our social decay, and all the rest of it. And then we blame them for being “lethargic”, and retreating into various fantasy worlds? We’re lucky they stay as engaged as they do. Why don’t they “schitz out” completely and wind up in institutions? (Oh wait, they do – they’re called “public schools”.) In any case, the proposals now include giving children as young as 8 cholesterol-lowering drugs. How about giving them some hope-raising drugs – like getting serious about the real problems afflicting this country, which they are bound to inherit (and they know it – and that’s the problem)?