Discalced Crusader in Berkeley,
Speaking Truth to Power
Berkeley's public library will face a showdown with the city's Peace and Justice Commission tonight over whether a service contract for the book check-out system violates the city's nuclear-free ordinance.
Up there with my all-time favorite opener, from Anthony Burgess' Earthly Powers
It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.Which conversation would you really rather continue with?
2 comments:
Dear Children:
Please gather around and listen to Grandpa.
Many many years ago, in the dawn of time, before Gerald Ford was in the White House and slice and bake cookies were widely available, there was a movement in Berkeley called the "Free Speech Movement."
While the members of that movement were, by and large, not marketing majors, they did produce a red, white and blue bus poster that said "Fuck Communism."
The idea was that juxtaposing our flag, with communism, and the "F" word, would like the average public transport rider in a supportive mood towards the Free Speech Movement.
The poster never made it on to a bus; the bus never made it to the corner on time, and our enemies the Ruskies are now our friends.
Thank you, Still in Berkeley, for your evocative, if not crystal clear, riff on regional history.
Not so sure about the Ruskies, though, not having had the chance to look into Vlad the Putin's eyes and see his soul.
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