Defending Your Life (1991)
Good morning, my fellow Little Brains. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about fear, because we seem to be surrounded by so much of it lately: fear of the Other, fear of change, fear of the "ism" of the week--socialism, communism, etc. There are way too many frightened people out there, fearful of some intangible bogeyman keeping them from what they feel is rightfully theirs. I quote Bob Diamond from the movie:
"Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything. Real feelings, true happiness, real joy. They can't get through that fog. But you lift it, and buddy, you are in for the ride of your life."
I don't know that truer words have ever been written. So let's lift that veil of fog for this Sunday, and refuse to accept the fear in which these bobbleheads deal. And fear is definitely on the agenda this week. The issue of Afghanistan--nine years and thousands upon thousands of deaths after our initial invasion--will be discussed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be on both This Week and State of the Union to talk Afghanistan, but you can bet there's going to be a little fear-mongering on Iran too. We get both Clintons--Hillary on Face the Nation and Bill on Meet the Press and your basic coterie of Republican politicos: John McCain (yes, again--more on that later), Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham, John Kyl, Kit Bond and might-as-well-be Republicans Evan Bayh and Dianne Feinstein. All of them full of doom and gloom prognostications, no doubt. Is it small of me to say that I suspect that politicians aspire to use 3% of their brain?
ABC's "This Week" - Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Former President Bill Clinton, New York Gov. David Patterson and Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Jim Webb, D-Va.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Rick Stengel, Trish Regan, Kathleen Parker and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Topics: How will President Obama address the looming tower of unemployment? Could Democrats lose their majority in the House of Representatives in 2010? Was the anti-Obama venom unavoidable? YES: 6 NO: 6; Has Obama Got Command Back?
YES: 12 No: 0.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Gates, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - With open arms Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi welcomed home a convicted terrorist. Fareed asks him why, and whether he regrets that move now. Gadhafi speaks out about his controversial UN speech, his meeting this week with families of Lockerbie victims, and why he calls President Obama "my son."
"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kit Bond, R-Mo.; Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell; conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe.
So, what's catching your eye this morning?
