Omens and portents

"… and the moon became as blood." (Revelation 6:12)

Last night I saw the moon turn to blood, and then I saw the Boston Red Sox win the World Series.

The lunar eclipse was pretty cool (so cool, in fact, that my vocabulary for expressing how cool it was is reduced to useless phrases like "pretty cool"). Part of what makes events like that worth seeing is that they're so rare — the next lunar eclipse won't happen until 2007. By that standard, of course, seeing the Sox win a championship was even cooler.

I did think it was a bit over the line yesterday for Vice President Cheney to tell a group of Ohio swing voters that they must vote for him lest he send his great dragon to swallow the moon.

He didn't really. But President Bush, yesterday, really did say "I want to speak directly to the Democrats" at a rally in Lititz, Pa.

Those of us in the reality-based community find it odd that someone who wants "to speak directly to the Democrats" would choose to do so at an audience that was exclusively composed of non-Democrats. A few had tried to sneak in, but they were "handcuffed and escorted away."

If I had begun this post saying that "I want to speak directly to illiterate, non-English speakers without access to the Internet," you would have to conclude that I was either disingenuous or a fool. If I really wanted to speak to — or really cared about — such people I would have to realize that this forum was utterly inappropriate. The same holds true for the president's new enthusiasm for "speaking to Democrats" at fiercely screened, GOP-faithful-only rallies. Whether he is being disingenuous or merely foolish I cannot say. (But surely the president knows that his remarks will be echoed by the press — doesn't that make any forum an opportunity to talk to anyone? No. The president has repeatedly told the American people they should not listen to the press nor trust them to convey his message without a distorting "filter.")

Anyway, much has happened in the last few days — Inkblot Drum gets profiled in The New York Times, our corrupt and raving House Majority Leader seems to equate blogging with terrorism, Josh Marshall has been dismantling the coverup of QaQaa-gate in real time, and Dr. Cole reveals an unexpected fondness for hip-hop. (Apparently Eminem will be voting the same way as Moby.)

Obviously, I have some catching up to do.