The Explorers Club
№ CCXLI - Jason, Part II: his betrayal of Medea & her terrible revenge.







I strive not to reproduce the same images found on the Wikipedia, but an exception had to be made in the case of the last image; it had to be included. In my files the picture is saved as "Medea kinder." Given what it about to happen in the picture, I enjoy the pun of the English "kinder" & the German "Kinder."

Project MERCATOR
The weekend last I had the privilege of seeing some most welcome out-of-town visitors, The Guy & his lovely & formidable bride, The Gal. We met for breakfast at Venus Coney Island on Saturday morning; as they are both early birds I feared a rendezvous to which I would arrive still half-asleep, but in the event we did not gather until the thoroughly civilized hours of ten o'clock. I was the only one who actually had breakfast for breakfast, as The Gal had a coney dog & The Guy had two coney dogs; the poor devils can't get coney dogs in Saint Louis, & The Guy reported the jones began to form as soona s he knew he was coming back to sacred Michigan. We spoke of everything under the Sun & nothing at all, as do old friends for whom time & distance spent apart are nary any obstacles to amity. The Guy & I saw Cars 2 on Sunday evening; the film was a bitter disappointment, but I'm glad I saw it with him as our after-action discussion helped to make sense of the debacle we'd just witnessed.

The Guy & The Gal asked when next I will be in Saint Louis to visit them; noises were made about a visit in the fall. Most of the transplanted Michiganders whom I see upon their visits to the Great Lakes State ask when I will next visit their new homes; this is proper & welcome & I hope to travel as much as possible once Project RADIANT has been retired & my treasury is in a stronger position. The curious part of all this is that they always ask when I am going to travel to visit them... even though they have not traveled to visit me. The time spent with The Guy & The Gal was grand, but they did not sojourn back to Michigan for me, at least not principally for me. When last I saw The Sardine during the Christmastide & she inquired as to my next visit to her in Brooklyn she had not departed from the Empire State on my account, but to spend the holidays in mourning with her family over the sudden demise of her father. I do not intend any criticism by these remarks, but it is interesting to note the juxtaposition of various persons' reasons for traveling. That said, I do look forward to next calling upon The Guy & The Gal, to returning to the Mighty City by the Mighty Mississippi & exploring what is has to offer.

Two weeks hence I attended a going-away party for Love/Hate & her code nameless boyflesh Matthew, both of whom are soon to leave the country to teach English abroad. I have no particular wish to spend any time with Love/Hate; so, Too Sly was appropriately confused when I told him I'd gone, asking me why I'd bothered. Why? Because I had no sufficient reason to decline the invitation; the protocols of Project MERCATOR thus compelled my attendance.

Last week I attended the guerrilla wedding of Mr. & Mrs. Awesome, the second & third designated Super Fans of The Loose Ties. The Awesomes have been a couple for six years, even though they are only in their early 20s. The decided to get married rather abruptly & the wedding was held five days later. The ceremony was in a public park, standing in the shade of some trees because the chosen day was blisteringly hot, even for skinny folk like Mr. & Mrs. Awesome. Ska Army was the "minister," having attained his certification online; it's amazing what passes for binding nuptials these days. After the wedding on the surface of the Sun we motored to the reception at Don Pablo's, where late in the proceedings I was fortunate enough to sport briefly a gaily-colored sombrero, a perfect addition to any festivities. At the reception, Farr Afield's boyflesh invited me to a poolside shindig he'll be hosting over the Fourth of July weekend; so, we shall see if that pans out in the days ahead.

I am returned home from smoking a pipe for the first time. A ban on smoking is about to go into effect on all three campuses, in Ann Arbor, Flint, & Dearborn. A small group gathered in McKinnon Plaza to have one last non-illicit smoke in the heart of campus. I joined Ska Army & was given instruction by Kevin, one of his frat "brothers." I feel vaguely ill upon catching the scent of cigarette smoke, but I have fond memories from my youth of the smell of Grandpa Wilson's pipe. And then I found five dollars.

The Savage Wars of Peace
Regarding Libya, my reactions are these: {a} I support & encourage the use of martial power to overthrow Qaddafi's monstrous regime. Particular kudos go to the French who, stung by their out-of-step-with-the-new-wisdom support for Ben Ali in Tunisia, have been that much more zealous regarding Libya, to the extant that they have actively armed the anti-Qaddafi resistance, much to the annoyance of the Russians.

{b} I oppose two very curious aspects of America's participation in the anti-Qaddafi/"protect civilians" campaign. The first is President Obama's "lead from the rear" approach; N.A.T.O.'s military structure is specifically set up for American forces to be the core of any expeditionary force with the Europeans & Canadians playing as large a supporting rôle as their lesser capabilities allow. N.A.T.O. exists because we wished it so; the other N.A.T.O. members are our allies, not mere puppets as the old Warsaw Pact states were to the Soviet Empire, but the United States is still & must remain the first among equals, the primus inter pares. It is a manifestation of Mr. Obama's deep-seated leftist detestation of America that he wishes us to follow our European friends rather than assume our necessary & proper position of leadership. Also, I am confused: regime change in Tripoli is the explicit policy of the United States & the United States is using deadly force against the regime in Tripoli, but the purpose of the use of that deadly force is not regime change but rather a nebulous protection of the civilian population? If regime change is our stated policy, why are American lives & American treasure being risked in support of a mission other than regime change? There is no coherence to our martial involvement in Libya & that is a recipe for disaster.

{c} The War Powers Act is one of the most unconstitutional pieces of legislation ever to emerge from the United States Congress. It is am embarrassment, one President Obama is right to flaunt. The President of the United States is the commander-in-chief of our armed forces. Yes, the Congress alone has the power to declare war, but if the Congress disapproves of how the President is commanding our armed forces it should withhold the funds for the operations to which it objects. An end-run around the Constitution such as the War Powers Act is no remedy, it is a muddying of the waters to no good purpose.

Vote for Kodos
The great tragedy of the rise of the "tea parties" is the legitimization of Libertarian isolationist thought in the Republican Party. The unholy alliance of the isolationist Right (Representative Ron Paul, R.-Texas) & the anti-war left (Representative Dennis Kucinich, D.-Ohio) is one of the most disturbing trends in American politics of the last decade.

Also, a question on the anti-war Left: Where are the massive protests against the ongoing war in Afghanistan & the half-measures being employed in Libya? President Bush was roundly denounced as a "terrorist" & a "war criminal" for America's involvement in Iraq & Afghanistan. Under President Obama those same American troops are still deployed in Iraq & Afghanistan, & are now involved in the skies over Libya. Where are the protests? Where are the outraged pacifists? Where are the T-shirts denouncing Mr. Obama as an "international terrorist"? Where the the effigies? The protests against Mr. Bush were despicable; I am glad that the hypocrisy directed toward Mr. Obama have finally revealed that those disgusting orgies of hate had naught to do with the wars & everything to do with partisan politics.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Ivy, "Lucy Doesn't Love You" from Long Distance (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Some dreams don't come true."