Illinois’ embattled but defiant governor turned to the history books to describe the emotional strain on him and his family, comparing his arrest last month to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
“Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States,” Gov. Rod Blagojevich told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. “It was a complete surprise, completely unexpected. And just like the United States prevailed in that, we’ll prevail in this.”
I’m afraid Fitzy may have awakened a bleeping giant.
UPDATE: Scooter Libby: Fitzgerald Prosecution Like Rape of Nanking
Comment by Jeffersonian on 1/23 @ 11:03 am #
Blago is obviously prepping the battlefield for an insanity defense.
Comment by kelly on 1/23 @ 11:15 am #
Who’s going to be his Doolittle?
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 11:16 am #
Prolly Rex Harrison or that skinny Belgian broad.
Comment by Carin on 1/23 @ 11:36 am #
Ok, totally and completely off topic, but did you guys see this at David Thompson’s joint.
I’m not sure if it’s safe for work or not - it’s balloon animals getting busy.
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 11:41 am #
Well, that’s one way to get that fence built, Carin.
Comment by Techie on 1/23 @ 11:54 am #
And the his team of lawyers finds a legal loophole or a technicality, it’ll be Emancipation Day?
Comment by Techie on 1/23 @ 11:55 am #
“the day”
Comment by MAJ (P) John on 1/23 @ 12:08 pm #
“I’m afraid Fitzy may have awakened a bleeping giant”
Boooo!
Ok, maybe it wasn’t that bad a pun…
I do, for some reason, now want to go reread the chapter “Yamamoto” in Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 12:09 pm #
Love that book. I’ve just begun Anathem
Comment by Jeffersonian on 1/23 @ 12:13 pm #
You need to read The Baroque Cycle trilogy, Dan. Fascinating look at the world of that era, Newton and Liebniz especially.
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 12:14 pm #
Thanks, Jeffersonian. I did.
Comment by MAJ (P) John on 1/23 @ 12:17 pm #
Best to pay strict attention when reading “Anathem” - it is very good, but it ain’t beach chair reading, or ‘a few pages before I fall asleep’ type stuff!
Comment by Jeffersonian on 1/23 @ 12:20 pm #
I shoulda guessed.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 1/23 @ 12:36 pm #
Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon
I’ve heard good things about that. What’d you think?
Comment by Techie on 1/23 @ 12:40 pm #
I highly enjoyed it, but it really skips around and Stephenson sometimes skirts dangerously close to the “Golly, aren’t I smart” voice.
I’d still recommend it, and definitely read it before reading the Baroque Cycle.
Comment by MAJ (P) John on 1/23 @ 12:54 pm #
#14 - very, very, very good book.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 1/23 @ 5:13 pm #
it ain’t beach chair reading, or ‘a few pages before I fall asleep’ type stuff
Yep. I think I’m going to have to read Anathem a second time, actually.
Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are also excellent, although not quite the same sort of stuff as his more recent works.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 1/23 @ 5:15 pm #
I just love the way that Stephenson inserts weird anachronisms into his work — such as the 16th Century galley slaves in The Baroque Cycle who cook up what is recognizably a dot com business plan.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 1/23 @ 5:24 pm #
I loved Cryptonomicon. I think Stephenson might actually think he’s very smart, but I think he’s right about it, and he isn’t gee-ain’t-I-smart in a tedious way; rather, in an interesting way.
Snow Crash was less good; more gritty in a William Gibson kind of way, but still good. Diamond Age required that you paid good attention to the various backstories and was a MUCH different kind of book. Stephenson’s newest is good, but I think I’m going to have to read it again before I say that I like it.
Oh, and I think Cryptonomicon is beach reading; it’s fascinating without being preachy or heavy, but also insightful and tricky and agile and…
Just go ahead and read it. It’s not for everyone, but I find that it tends to make me consider more where we are, culturally, and where that came from, and where that came from. In an abstract way, though; a less abstract way of doing that would be Will Durant’s story of civilization, which is a 13-volume set last I looked.
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 5:26 pm #
You should get the Reader’s Digest version of the Story of Civilization, Slart. It’s . . . pithy.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 1/23 @ 5:42 pm #
Trivia moments:
Stephenson wrote The Baroque Cycle with quill pens.
Durant would be incarcerated as a sex offender nowadays — had an affair with a 15 year old student and lost his job.
They were married from 1913 until their near-simultaneous deaths in 1981.
Comment by guinsPen on 1/23 @ 5:53 pm #
I’m afraid Fitzy may have awakened a bleeping giant.
Leg’go my Blago!
Comment by guinsPen on 1/23 @ 5:54 pm #
My Governor!
…
For another two weeks, more or less.
Comment by Matt on 1/23 @ 5:55 pm #
This fucker has no shame.
Its the Chicago way.
Comment by Log Cabin on 1/23 @ 6:11 pm #
Did anybody else here see Shep Smith’s hysteria over Blago’s press conference at about 3PM EST/Noon PST on Fox? Shep is absolutely terrified that Blago may actually get to call witnesses and defend himself during the impeachment trial. I wonder why? Hmm, perhaps Blago is getting ready to drop the dime on Rahm and maybe even The Messiah?
Anyway, he was screaming like somebody put sand in his Astro-Glide.
Comment by Dan Collins on 1/23 @ 6:15 pm #
Sand? I put white phos in his Astroglide.
Comment by guinsPen on 1/23 @ 6:25 pm #
Gov. Rod Blagojevich* told The Associated Press
*(D) Ilinois.
Comment by Rusty on 1/23 @ 7:02 pm #
#25
He was on WLS radio Don And Roma show this morning and apparently he thinks his impeachment is some sort of criminal trial, at least he’s treating it that way puplicly. He’s pulled out all the stops. The only thing he’s lacking is the stigmata.
Comment by guinsPen on 1/23 @ 8:39 pm #
And the syrup.