Saturday, August 6, 2011

Chapter Nine: Chipping Away at the Stone


 “A man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest.” 
~Paul Simon 

They kissed for a while and then just held each other before drifting off to sleep.
Waking up several hours later Edward looked down at Epiphany as she slept in his arms.  He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about had changed.  She was about ten years younger than him, just a few years out of school, but her face now possessed the same look of indeterminate youth that Edward’s did.  She could be 30, or she could still be in high school, but it was impossible to narrow it down.  There was nothing specific that he could see, but she had gone from being merely beautiful to being perfect – or at least a perfect version of herself.  Slowly she opened her eyes, yawning and looking up at him. 
He smiled back at her. “Hey, you.”
“Hey,” she yawned. “We fell asleep.  What time is it?”
“Past eight, I think.” He kept smiling.
“Wow.  I didn’t realize… Wait!” She jumped up and ran to the mirror. “Oh… my… God!”
She spent several minutes poking and patting her skin, and closely inspecting various areas of her face.
“So? What do you see?”
“Well… Acne scars, gone. Not that I had that many!” she quickly added. “Eyes… Cheeks… Oh, my God… I had no idea how OLD I’d gotten to looking!”
“You were beautiful, sweetie.  You weren’t ‘old looking.’”
“Ok, yeah, but…” She hiked up the bottom half of her shirt. “Whoa.”
“What?  You didn’t need to lose any…”
“No, it’s not that.” She paused and twisted around, as if she was looking for something. “My appendectomy scar is gone! It was small, but it was right… well somewhere around here.” She motioned to her side.
“I told you: The tears in that vial will heal all injuries, as well as all damage caused by age, disease or injury. You are becoming the perfect ‘you’; all of your genetic potential fulfilled. And you’ll pretty much remain like this forever.”
“You mean… Seriously? We won’t ever die?”
“We won’t grow old. There is definitely some level of bodily destruction that we won’t survive, but we won’t age, we won’t get sick, and even fairly traumatic injuries will be healed fairly quickly - not that I’ve tried that out yet.”
“Well… You’re definitely right: Impossible thing number two.  And Luci gave you these?”
“Actually, these came from her friend, Gabriel.”
She didn’t answer, but her eyes widened in understanding. After another moment of self-admiration, she straitened herself up, turned around and spoke in a steady, serious tone. “So it’s all true then.  The Tears, the Tablet... the Judgement?”
Edward took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yes. It certainly looks that way.”
“And you’re still dead set against…?”
“Against what we talked about earlier? Yes.”
“OK. I can understand that. So what else then?”
“I don’t know.  The problem with any alternative I can think of is that before too long, you start running into too many variables to predict what will happen. And I DON’T want to be constantly doing this to people, even if it is just giving them a push here and a push there.  What’s more, just so you know, it will only work one time for each person. Once their destiny is spelled out, it can’t ever be changed again.”
Epiphany let out a small laugh. “So it’s almost as if you were supposed to do something along the lines of what we were talking about.  Maybe not so dramatic, but still…” She give him a lopsided smirk.
“Yeah.  But after actually saying it out loud, I’ve realized how psychotic it is.  So I’m not doing it.  We’ll figure out something else.  Something… humane. Something halfway MORAL is any case.”
“Well, I wouldn’t take too long, if I were you,” she said, raising her eyebrows.
“Why not?”
Epiphany nodded toward the Tablet. The traffic light marking Edward’s lifeline had gone Yellow, and the one marking the bulk of humanity’s was now Red. “Shit. Yeah, well… We’ll think of something.”
They ordered a Pizza and had a late dinner along with a couple of beers. For most of the evening, Edward tried to keep the conversation steered away from politics.  Epiphany was having none of that however, and while she didn’t make any more overt attempts to persuade him, she was curious to know what the manifesto he mentioned might look like.
“It would be fairly general, not specific or detailed. More of a kind of broad vision that would replace our current paradgm of Ayn Rand's brand of ‘viruous selfishness’ with one of collaboration and cooperation.  It would remind us that collectivism is not a bad word, and that so much more can be accomplished when we act together.  What’s more, it’s not that there can’t be rich people, or even that there can’t be poor people, but that the lifestyles of the rich should remain at a constant proportion to the poor.  If they want more, then there has to be enough to ensure that all classes of people get their proportionate share as well. And we might as well start that process at the bottom: The poor SPEND their money. So it’s all going to filter up, right back to the top anyway.  Nothing ever ‘trickles down’. The last thirty years have proven that. That’s just the ghost of Ronald Reagan peeing on your back.”
Epiphany laughed at that, almost spitting out the beer she had just sipped. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m with you. That all sounds great. You need help writing it all up?”
“Actually… I saw something earlier in the week that got me thinking,” Edward started, with a wry grin.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.  You started blogging again. About your grandmother I mean.”
“Yeah. It was… helpful. Kind of like writing in a journal, except that I’ve never done that.”
“Well… I figured I'd takle a look at some of your older stuff. I'd noticed that it’s been awhile since you’d been writing regularly. Until this past week anyway.”
“Uh-huh. Just got too busy , I guess.”
“So there I am, reading though some of Feminst’s Rag’s archives when I come across an old piece of yours, that’s… well... it’s basically 99% perfect. It said almost exactly what I would want to say.”
“Really?  Which piece? Wait… I think I know that one you mean!  It was from a few years ago, but it was basically a one-pager on progressivism. It was actually called ‘Progressive Manifesto’ as I recall.”
“Yeah! That’s the one.  Save for some minor changes, mostly format issues, THAT’S what I want these people to say.”
“Which people?” she asked, smiling.
Edward sighed. “The people who eventually end up delivering our message, once I figure out how I want them to do that.” He'd walked right into that one.
“You’re dead-set against what you suggested before then?”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, and YES, I am.” But even as he said it, he was not so sure.  He couldn’t deny to himself that there was a part of him who shared her view that it really was a good idea.
“That’s a pity, but I guess I’ll just have to accept that and help you come up with something else.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
He mentally breathed a sigh of relief, even as doubts lingered about her sincerity.
They cleaned up and avoided any more discussion of politics or the tablet and that night shared a bed for the first time, consummating their relationship and ending a week of awkwardly separate cohabitation.  The next day, neither had any intention of going to work. Edward had already put in for time off through Thanksgiving, and Epiphany decided that she’d also stay home though the holidays, ostensibly due to her Grandmother’s death although she had no intention of mentioning that she had also just started a relationship.  They woke up much later than the intended and held each other a while longer before finally getting up.
“So… what should we do today?” Epiphany asked.
“I don’t know. I thought we could go into the city. You ever take a tour of the Capitol?”
“Serious?”
“Yeah.”
“No, no actually I never have.”
“Well… You want to?  We could get a cup of coffee at your favorite place while we’re in town.”
She knew the exact place he was talking about, even though it was the only time she had ever been in there. “That’s not my favorite place!” She laughed. “I’d never been in there before you spilled my drink!”
“Well, hey! That was the only time I’ve ever been in there as well!  So it’s like… fate, or something!” Edward was clearly hamming it up. “Well… That’s totally our place now!”
She was still laughing. “You’re such a clown! OK.  Fine. Yes, that sounds lovely.”
It took them longer than they expected to find the coffee shop again, and by the time they managed to walk back to the National Mall and make the trek up to the Capital it was after noon.
“I told you we should have taken the Metro!” Epiphany complained.
“Yeah, yeah, you win. Still… I’m not the least bit tired. You?”
“No, not at all. It’s a nice day though. Nice breeze.”
The Autumn air was invigorating, but it was not the reason for their seemingly boundless energy. “That’s not it though,” Edward told her.
“The tears?”
“Yeah.  You’ll always feel 100%.  At least I have. Every day since I’ve received them. My feet would have been killing me by now and I’d likely be winded to boot.”
“THAT out of shape?” Epiphany asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It was pretty bad,” Edward admitted. “But I was pushing forty. You should be thankful that you’ll never have to experience that!”
“Hey… Does that mean I can eat whatever I want, and never do a lick of work and I’ll never get fat?”
“As I understand it, yes.”
“Cool.”
They continued walking, hand in hand, over that last stretch of the Mall and around to the back and downstairs, where the public was directed to gather, for the afternoon tour. The inside of the Capital Building was beautiful. Epiphany had never been inside and Edward hadn’t since he was a child.  Both of them enjoyed it immensely, lamenting that neither had brought their cameras. 
“Did you enjoy that?” Edward asked her.
“That was amazing.  I never imagined!”
“Yeah, they do a good job. Especially considering it’s free. Well, not free, but you know what I mean.”
“Yeah.  Anything different form the last time you were here?”
Edward laughed, “Well, there wasn’t a statue of Reagan in the Rotunda, seeing as how we was the President at the time!  Hey, by the way… What was that all about during the movie, when you laughed out loud.”
It took her a minute to figure out what he meant, but it came to her. The tour started with a short film, talking about the history of the Capitol Building and in her opinion romanticizing a lot of what went on there these days. “Oh, that… Well, when they started talking about how it was the place where they debate ‘legitimate differences?’” She asked rhetorically, making air quotes. “I was just thinking, ‘What part of legitimate differences is having for your top priority, as McConnell has stated, making sure Barack Obama is a one-term President?’  With all the problems this country faces – the recession, unemployment, deficits, wars, blah, blah, blah… How can the defeat of the President possibly be ANYONE’S top priority?! I mean… it’s not like he caused ANY of this. And all the people who just won a decisive victory have done for the past two years is sabotage everything he’s tried to do to bring about a recovery! They're so irresponsible, it's sickening! All they’ve done – as he’s given them everything they’ve asked for – is continue to delay, continue to whine, continue to filibuster, and continue to blame everything on HIM… AND THEY WERE REWARDED FOR IT!  I’m sorry. I just don’t see where debating ‘legitimate differences’ fits into all that.”
“I hear you.”
“Things are broken.”
“I know.”
“And you are meant to FIX THEM.”
“I know.”
“So?  What it’s gonna be?”
“I don’t know.”
“OK. That’s cool. There’s time.”
But Edward was concerned, as the traffic light reporting on humanities prospects had remained red that morning. “Yeah.  Speaking of time, it’s still early.  You want to see the White House?”
“You mean go in?”
“Nah. You need tickets way in advance for that. But we can walk by it anyway.”
She smiled. “Sure.”
The made their way over to Pennsylvania Avenue and approached the stately mansion.  Becuase they could clearly see it almost from the beginning of the road, hardly a block away from the Capitol, they underestimated how long the walk would take them, not realizing the size of the actual building.
“Huh. It’s actually smaller than I expected.  Or maybe that Capitol was just that much bigger.” Epiphany said, as the approached one of the gates.”
“Well, that has to house the entire legislature. This is just a house.
“That’s true.  Pretty big for a house though.”
“You think?” Edward smiled at that masterpiece of understatement.
“I'd hate to have to vacuum it!” Epiphany laughed.
“Yeah… I‘m pretty sure they have help.” Edward chuckled as they walked up the gate and were met by a Secret Service Agent.
“Can I help you?” he asked, through the tall, iron bars.
“We were just wondering who to call to get tickets, for the tour I mean.” Edward offered.
“Easiest way is to check online. Whitehouse dot gov.  All the contact info is there.  The tour’s free, but there’s a wait.”
“Thank you. That’s exactly what we wanted to know, Agent…?”
West.  My name’s West.”
“Well, Agent West, you’ve been very helpful.  Thank you.”
The said their goodbye’s and agent the agent wished them a “nice day.”  Having opted to drive into the city, but walk from place to place, they had a bit of a hike back to where they parked.  As they hit the Capitol Beltway, Epiphany turned on the Radio and, giving Edward a sideways glance, tuned into AM 630, WMAL.  As she turned up the volume, Edward’s car was filled with the voice of Rush Limbaugh, giving his take on the issue of Internet Neutraliy.
[Limbaugh] Now, this has already been voted down in Congress.  It failed an FCC vote.  Now they're gonna do it again, and net neutrality, of course, it's not what it claims to be.  It's like so many other liberal things.  It doesn't mean that they're gonna be neutral on the net. It doesn't mean that there's not gonna be bias on the net.  What it's going to do is limit the amount of conservatism that you will be able to find on the Internet.  That's what its purpose will be, via blogs, via search engines, or what have you. 
[click]
Edward shut it off, slightly perturbed.  “Turn that shit off.”
“Pretty interesting take, huh? Net neutrality as a form of censorship?”
“The man lies for a living.”
“Yeah… And if he and his corporate masters have their way, any websites who point that out will be relegated to dial-up speeds.  Preventing censorship is a form of censorhip.  Only on the Right, huh?”
“You’re preaching the choir. And I know what you’re trying to do.”
“What?” Epipahny responded, feigning innocence.
“Look, you don’t need to convince me that Rush Limbaugh is a self-important, hypocritical, dishonest, propagandizing, piece of shit.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. But there’s no law against being an asshole.  And it’s certainly not a capital offense.”
“Really?” she asked flatly. “And what about murder? How many have DIED, and will continue to DIE, as a result of their policies – on health care, on social safety nets, on war, on the environment?  And that’s before you even consider the Judgment that’s coming.”
“So you’d have me commit murder to stop them?” Edward sounded annoyed, but it wasn't entirely at her.  He knew that everything she said was true. And it made him angry. It stirred his hatred.
“I’d have you force them to reap what they’ve sewn! I’d have you take away their power, and their stranglehold on the polital process and the media stop them from pursuing these policies which are utterly ruinous for everyone but themselves, while not only continuing to mislead the public on every single issue, but lying so effectively that everyone is convinced they’re somehow the ‘good guys’ when all they care about is their own wealth and power, at the expense of everyone else's health, welfare and security!” Her passion was palpable in every word.
“Like I said: You’re preaching to the choir. And that’s exactly what I want to do. Just… not the way I described it.”
“All right.  All right. I’ll drop it.”
“Thank you. Dinner?”
“You pick,” she said, sounding far more apathetic than she's intended.
They picked up some Italian carry-out on the way home, and tried to avoid talking about politics anymore that evening. 
“I should probably head back to my apartment tonight.”
“Really?” Edward answered, his disappoint showing through.
“I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just… we need to figure some thigns out, you know? And I don’t mean about the Tablet.”
“You mean about... us?”
“Yeah. And it’s not just about our relationship, or even our living arrangements.  What about our jobs? We’re going to have to go back to them after the holidays, and…”
“How can I go back?” Edward asked flatly, never looking up from his plate.
“What? I mean, I know you’ve got a lot of work to do, no matter what you decide to do, but still…”
“It’s not that at all. Who there would believe it’s me?  You saw my liscense. That’s what I looked like the last time I was in the office.  You don’t lose forty pounds, not to mention twenty years, in just over a week.”
“Tell 'em you got… plugs?” She was smiling, knowing this was a woefully inadequate suggestion.
“Yeah. And some extensive plastic surgery and enough liposuction to kill a man.  Hell, my VOICE isn’t even quite the same!”
“I was kidding. Sort of. Not that I have any better ideas.”
“I know.  In all seriousness? I’m just going to resign. And I’m mailing that in. I can’t go back there.”
“Rough.”
“Not really. It’s not like I liked the job anyway. It was just a paycheck.”
“For fourteen years? You must have really liked that paycheck!”
Edward laughed. “No, not really. Not that it was enough to complain about, given the state of the economy, but it wasn’t even like the pay was really all that GOOD. It’s just so easy to get stuck in a rut, you know? Before you know it half you're life's gone by and you start to wonder what the hell you've been doing with it!”
“Yeah.”
“You know what? Yeah: Go back. Spend tonight back in your old place. Think about what you really want to do and I’ll do the same.  Tomorrow, or whenever, we’ll get back together and figure it out, K?”
“All right. Sounds good.”
After she left, Edward had some time to himself for the first time in over a week.  Although he felt extremely ALONE, he appreciated the fact that it gave him some time to think.  He knew he wanted Epiphany to move in, but he would respect whatever decision she made on the matter.  That was the easy part.  And before long, his thoughts drifted to politics, and to things that fueld his anger.  He thought about the mortgage meltdown; about millions of people losing their homes because appraisers, banks and rating agencies conspired together with a wink and a handshake to defraud investors, making billions for themselves, and getting bailed out by taxpayers when it all came crumbling down around them. 
“Too big to fail,” he said to himself, following up with, “Too big to run honestly or regulate too, apparently.” 
And the thing that really burned him was that they were right. NOT bailing out the banks would have been an even greater disaster. So once again the taxpayer get screwed over by the billionaires – twice this time: Once for the tax bill, and again with so many continuing to lose their homes simply because the banks STILL have policies in their books that put short term profits over long-term value and stability. “Not to mention PEOPLE,” he said to himself again. 
And after the recent election, the party of “deregulation” and “small government” was poised to make a comeback. To take back control, even though literally nothing had been done by the current administration to move against their corporate masters.
For some reason, from there his thoughts drifted to Enron.  It seemed so long ago now, but there was one always one thought that had stuck with him: That you had tens of thousands of people who had lived within their means, skrimped, saved, and sacrificed their whole lives, only to see it all taken away from them just a few years before the retirement that had been promised them for so long.  “So sorry you worked you whole life this! I guess you’re just going to have to keep working now! No retirement cottage near a golf course for you, little man!”  And as stupid as it was to have so much of  of one’s money tied up in one company, the reason this thought still tore at him all these years later was that, just as the scandal was breaking, all of the employees who owned shares were blocked from selling them.  Not outright – that would have been illegal – but under the guise of “the system being updated.”  So all these thousands of people were forced to sit there and watch as their life savings went down the drain, powerless to do what the powerful took for granted: SELL THEIR SHARES.  Even this basic free-market right was taken from them.  Of course, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling and other exectutives still managaed to sell off most of THEIR shares.  And having been able to prevent a mass-selloff by  employees, they mitigated much of the loss they would have taken themselves.  Thousands of people, at the tail end of their careers completely wiped out, robbed of everything they had led a modest lifestyle to build, and left with no opportunity to ever see the life they had planned on – they life they had EARNED – all so that their billionaire bosses could keep a few more million. And the party that just took back the house wants to end social security, the bastards! They would dismantle all of our safety nets and put them in the hands of the Lays and the Skillings and the Ebbers and the Madoffs of the world.  They would put them in the hands of those who would profit immensely off of the public’s trust, feathering their own nests quite nicely, only to betray that trust when it came time to pay up.
“Fuck no!” he said, again out loud to himself.  And as he though thought of the sacrifices it took to really make any wealth for yourself, and what it must be like to see it all taken away by some billionaire who had be defrauding EVERYONE, it made him angry.
Very angry.
Easily angry enough to kill.
But looking at the tablet, he backed away for those thoughts once again.  “OK. All I need is one reason. ONE GOD DAMNED REASON NOT to do this, and I’ll think of something else.  I’ll find some other way.”  Was he asking God? The way he felt at that moment, he was not optimistic that ANY reason, ANY sign would dispel his anger, or dissuade him for what now seemed like his inevitable path.
His phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hi Ed, it me,” Epihpany’s voice called from the other end. “I just wanted to let know I made it home. I had to run a few errands - all my food went bad - but I'm home now. Thought I'd let you know.”
“Thanks.  It’s good to hear from you.”
“Geez, I only left a couple hours ago, you goof!”
“Sorry.  I’ve been… thinking about a lot of stuff. Seems longer.”
“Hey… I don’t know if you’re interested, but Sean Hannity’s interviewing Sarah Palin tonight. Might be good for a laugh?”
He did laugh. The very idea of Sean Hannity interviewing Sarah Palin actually sounded like the start of a joke. “You serious?”
“Sure. We can watch it together. Well, you know, I mean stay on the phone with each other.  It’ll be like a long-distance date or something.”
“Meh, what the hell? Fox, right?”
“Who else?”
Edward clicked on the Televion and flipped over to Fox. The interview was already underway.
[Hannity] All right. What you said in The New York Times Magazine interview, you said, look, I'm engaged in internal deliberations. And then you talked about your family. But what are the internal deliberations? What are the things going through your mind?
[Palin] Well, it's personal consideration, because it's life changing, obviously, when you are willing to consider even putting yourself forward on a national stage -- again, in my case -- and being willing to really put your life, your family's life out there on the line. So there is a lot of prayerful consideration going into the personal aspect of it.
But, even more importantly, is the consideration of what is it that our country needs? We know we need common sense. We know we need experience in the Oval Office. We know we need someone who believes in time-tested truths and a restoration of all that's good and exceptional about America versus the transformation of America that presently we see coming out of the Oval Office.
“So where the hell does that put a half-term governor who thinks foreign policy experience is being able to see Russia from her house?!” Edward asked, half laughing, half annoyed.
“I know, can you imagine? President Palin? She'd make Bush look like Roosevelt!”
“Which one?”
“BOTH OF THEM, COMBINED!”
[Hannity] You said that your family is the most important consideration here. I assume that there had to have been some discussions with family members, you know, for example, where is Todd on this? Where are your children right now on this? Have you discussed it at this point? Are some leaning one way, some leaning another way?
[Palin] Haven't talked about it too much with the kids. I think I know them well enough that they circle the wagons being part of the team effort that is everything Palin is a team effort. And they would be there if I chose to go forward.
Todd certainly is there. Todd knows that we have been blessed with these opportunities to speak a common sense conservative message that reflects what I believe the majority of Americans are feeling and desiring in their government.
“Is it me, or does ‘common sense conservative’ sound like a contradiction in terms?” Eppihany asked.
“Kind of like ‘religious scholar’?” Edward answered rhetorically.
[Palin] I mean this is about the future of our country. This is about all of our children and our grandchildren and their opportunities and the hope that they should be able to embrace because they are Americans. And yet much of that hope is eroding because of government policies and decisions coming out of Washington today.
“Well, yeah! But they're all REPUBLICAN policies! For-profit health care, endless war, the dismantling of social safety nets, unsustainably low taxes despite crushing deficits, forestalling economic recovery just to prevent Obama and the Democrats getting any credit for cleaning up YOUR MESS!  Even the bullshit polices that Obama has gotten behind are lousy ideas recycled from REPUBLICANS you simple, simple girl!” Edward was almost yelling.
“Save democracy, vote for a Democrat!” Epihpany followed with, almost quietly enough to be subliminal
[Hannity] You talked about some of the other candidates. And we know at least the names of being bantered about. Nobody is fully committed. Probably the person closest to doing that, I would argue, is probably Governor Tim Pawlenty.
You said that you would face hurdles that other candidates would -- or other potential candidates would not have to cross right out of the chute. And the one would be proving my record. And you also said it's the most frustrating thing for you and that is what you believe is the warped description of your record.
What did you mean by that?
[Palin] Yes. That is a great question and I'm glad I get to address it because people probably think that my greatest frustration is the lies that are told in the tabloids and on hateful blogs full of anonymous sources about my family. And there are constant everyday lies that we have to read that are out in the public.
“WHAT lies? What the hell is she talking about?” Edward asked, honestly not remembering anything that she might have been referrign to.
“You know that Enquirer thing about how trig was actually Bristol’s.”
“Well, I guess if you consider Fox to be legitimate news source, then you might be stupid enough think that anyone on the Left really believed that crap.  But who cares?  Even if every word of it were true, it would still be the least of the problems with her!”
“I know, right? I could give a shit about that! It’s the lies SHE TELLS and how god-damned fucking stupid she is that that concerns me!”
“Well that and a forty-some year old having an un-planned child while her own daughter gets pregnant out of wedlock has no business preaching absitinence, or forcing our public schools to stick to abstinence only sex-ed programs!”
[Palin] ...And Willow finally responded and she used a bad word when she responded in defense of her family. And her response became national news, even hard news copy it turned into. So that's ridiculous and I had to explain to her, Willow, there is no justice here but you have to just zip your lip and let's move forward.
“What the fuck is she babbling about?”
“I have no idea.”
[Palin] Anyway, that is not my greatest frustration. Mine is that my record, my administration records over the last 20 years in public service has been so warped. And a little bit in my book, "Going Rogue," the earlier book and in this book, "America by Heart," I got to talk about what it is that I have done as a CEO and as a commissioner and as a businesswoman, too.
“She was a disaster as a mayor, a quitter as a governor and a sell-out as a candidate.  The prefect Republican!”
Epiphany just laughed.
[Palin] What I have done with common sense solutions, time-tested solutions, to help on each level of government that I've served and private sector, to get in our own little circle the economy roaring again. By eliminating taxes and reducing other taxes and incentivizing businesses and job creators, not punishing work ethic.
Things like that that throughout 20 years of public service and campaigning I've been able to accomplish. And I know that other candidates, because the mainstream media hasn't been so adamantly and grossly opposed to their ideas, they haven't had to go through the scrutiny, the criticism, the lies that I have.
“Everything you’ve touched has turned to shit!  And the only thing you did right for Alaska was to INCREASE TAXES on oil companies!  The only thing you did right was something any LIBERAL would love! Unbelievable! The reason the mainstream media is so opposed to your ideas now is because THEY ALL SUCK!”
Epiphany said nothing, but could tell that watching this, and sharing this moment with him, was having the desired effect.
[Hannity] One of the things, you did get thrust into the public stage there. And so -- there was this immediate feeding frenzy. And we're going to get to the specifics in your book because there's a lot of interesting nuggets in there and things I learned about you, and even though I've interviewed you a lot I didn't know.
You did say something -- they kind of described you running a guerrilla organization is how the Times Magazine piece put it and that you run pretty much with your instincts on a lot of things. And I know that during the last campaign, you were frustrated because you felt like you were controlled by the presidential campaign. And for example, you wanted to do more media. In that Times' piece it says, you know, that yes, you're in the media and you're proud to be associated with Fox. But you said you're not avoiding anybody and anything.
If you were to get back out in the public arena and run for president, I mean would you -- would you then do interviews with the "lamestream" media figures? Would you even do another interview with Katie Couric?
[Palin] You know I would look forward to being even more open than I already many in speaking to the public. And I do that through social networks today, every single day I'm posting something about the discourse, the debate in the country and driving a lot of that debate. And I'm proud to be able to do that. But as a candidate for president, if I would chose to do that, yes, absolutely, I would be out there even more.
As for doing an interview, though, with a reporter who already has such a bias against whatever it is that I would come out and say, why waste my time?
“Stop telling lies about us, and we’ll stop telling the truth about you, my dear!” Epiphany was convuinced she had really hit the sweet spot.  This was right in his wheelhouse, and the momentum was building.
[Palin] No. I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree. I studied journalism. Who, what, when, where and why of reporting. I will speak to reporters who still understand that cornerstone of our democracy, that expectation that the public has for truth to be reported. And then we get to decide our own opinion based on the facts reported to us.
“I’m turning this off.  This is making me sick. This chick, of all people, on Fox lamenting the ‘sorry state of journalism?!’  More like the refusal of REAL JOURNALISTS – what few of them are left – refusing to play ball and carry your bullshit, right-wing lies and propaganda!  It’s more like ‘We get to decide the facts based on our own opinion!’” And with that, it was over.
Epiphany made no effort to hide her disappointment. “Hey: These are the people you’re having this huge a moral dilemma over!  These people who will do nothing with their power exect make sure that nothing can ever threaten that power and the power of those who will exploit everyone else, destroy everyone else, in their own reckless and unsustainable pursuit of profits!  She’d be nothing more than the President of the United States of the Koch Brothers! And so would anyone else they put up!  And they’ll WIN too! They already have! Obama’s been emasculated, the Democrats have caved and cowered… What’s stopping them? You want them dictating the budget? How long will ANYTHING good last the next time around?!”
“Stop.”
“Eddie, COME ON!”
“No, just stop.  You’re right.”
“Wait… What?”
“You’re right.  I’ve known it for some time now. Right from the beginning, in fact.  There’s no other way. And what’s more, these people DESERVE IT for what they’ve done, and what they are planning to do.  This insanity has to end. Now. We’ll end it. Together. Come back tomorrow. I want you to live here. I want to be with you.  Come back, and we’ll fix this. All of it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There’s no other way. Any other way and we’ll be no more effective that the Democrats, or the electoral process – which they’ve bought and paid for – is.  The will of the people WILL be heard. And the Government WILL act in their interests and not the interests of the rich and powerful. Not anymore. That psychopathy ends now.”
“…”
“’Piff?”
“…”
“Say something.”
“I love you.”
Edward just smiled. “I know. I'll see you tomorrow.”

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