Ration me? Hey, Ration U2! – UPDATED

Regular readers know I am a big U2 fan. I’ve even slipped U2 songs into previous Advent posts.

But if the phonies in Cancun are going to start talking about rationing the lives of others in order to save Gaia, they’re going to have to start looking at other excesses they can eliminate, first. That’s my Tuesday column: Rationing Bono & Other Gaia-Saving Ideas

Curiously, no one at these conferences ever suggests that less-draconian measures, affecting a relative minority of human beings, might be worth exploring. Beyond canceling their annual exotically-located meet-up in favor of efficient teleconferences, for instance, these people might want to take a good, hard look at the entertainment industry in general, and rock bands in particular.

Let them start with U2, the Irish rock band that—even as our put-upon saints in Cancun are weeping over Gaia—has landed its current extravaganza, “The 360 Tour,” in Australia. Billed as the biggest tour ever mounted, and at a daily cost of $850,000, the show requires six 747 jets, 55 trucks, and an assembly crew of 130. “You compare a tour by the number of trucks they use,” production manager Jake Berry said. “The Rolling Stones ran 46 trucks. We are running 55. This is the biggest.”

You can read the rest here.

More to read:
Edmonia Lewis; Sculptor, Woman of Color, Catholic: What a FILM this woman’s life would make!

In this season of conspicuous consumption: What Consumes You?

Mysteries and Brutalities: Exploring grace from its darker side

UPDATE:
Wikileaks and Hillary Clinton: When she said a few weeks ago that she would never again seek elected office, did she know she’d be a star player in the leaks? I wonder about that. It does seem like as Secretary of State her inner Stazi came out. But perhaps that’s because Obama didn’t give her enough to do and she had too much time on her hands.

Should she resign? Probably, but Hillary doesn’t go down without a fight. Expect things to get interesting. In any case, it puts an end to a narrative that had been amazingly controlled for decades.

Some WikiLeak questions worth asking.

Peggy Noonan on Time and Excess

Smithsonian Institutes Non-Christmassy Christmas: Is this really what it’s come to?

Msgr. Charles Pope: Privatized Faith ala WaPo

Individualism and The Holy Spirit

Jerry Wilson: The Lovely and Violent Hills

Stocking Stuffer: Cold hands on Keyboards

Happy Feastday of Saint Andrew!

UPDATE II:
I showed my geek hubby the picture of the U2 stage, uptop and he said, “I want to go to there…”