I’ve woken up to a second day’s fallout concerning the latest scandal over Rick Nolan’s coddling of a long-time buddy and butt grabber. Nolan’s gaffe has left a field of victims like that duckboat sinking yesterday in Branson. Both pilots should have seen the storm coming but were too preoccupied to avoid disaster. I’m still ruminating on the news and practicing my french so I’ll tackle it later today for my “eight loyal readers.” Before I return I’ll leave them with proof that I’m no prude. (I kinda doubt that there is such a thing as a prude anymore. I suspect most of them are hypocrites.)
Last night Claudia and I watched the third and fourth episodes of the earthy and binge-worthy series GLOW. Its about a mythical 1970’s movie being made about women’s wrestling. In the second episode the 115 pound protagonist engaged in vigorous, naked sex with someone she shouldn’t have breasts flailing away for the viewing public. I’m 67 and I don’t see breasts like that anymore except on television. The Brits have had them peaking out on public television for at least thirty years but the vigorous sex is a newer HBO/Showtime/Netflix television appurtenance. In fact, as a kid I saw naked breasts all the time on television between episodes of Leave it to Beaver and the Flintstones. They were on a syndicated show called “Bold Journey’s.” It was a conglomeration of rich people’s home movies of their travels across the far flung world of the 1950’s. Their in situ movies of remote corners were chock full of bare breasted, dark hued women whose sartorial modesty was restricted to their nether regions. National Geographic recently ran a marvelous apology about this era.
Sex, hypocrisy, political power. What a stew! As the fictional Mr. Dooley said over a century ago “Politics, ain’t bean-bag” except that it is and lately the beanbags have been flying. Innocents get hit too including Lori Swanson and Joe Radinovitch. The force of the bean-bags was multiplied by the “me too” movement and I sympathize. Even though I marched with women in January of 2017 that didn’t save me from them in the 2017 school board election. As for Joe Radinovich’s innocence….well it should be noted that a lot of women think he lofted a pretty good bean-bag himself on his way to the DFL non-endorsement. More on that later.
For moral clarity’s sake I’ll pass on Mr. Dooley’s (Finley Peter Dunne) quote in full for context which came from an Era when “decent” people were not encouraged to dabble in its grubby precincts. Said Dooley, in his thick Irish brogue, “Sure, politics ain’t bean-bag. ‘Tis a man’s game, an’ women, childer, cripples an’ prohybitionists ‘d do well to keep out iv it.”
I’ll be back to pontificate about the “deplorables” later.
