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Shanghai—17 July: Cockroaches, Speaking in Tongues

When the cockroaches in New York City heard about Jesus Day(1) in Texas, they declared Bush Day in the sewers of Manhattan.

(1) One of George W. Bush's "achievements" as governor of Texas was the signing of a bill that proclaimed June 10th "Jesus Day" in Texas.

Bush is out of office but the Bushmen are still there, dreaming up the next war and the funding scheme that will benefit their business associates.

If you were robbed on the street and you knew who did it, would you not go to the police to report the crime? In politics the robbery is considered to be "water under the bridge"—unrecoverable. Bu hao, not good! Why not go after the real estate industry and its accessories, the assessors? Simple answer: They are the biggest contributors to political campaign funds.

Cheney the sportsman? Seventy pen-raised pheasants left dead on the ground on a single day—beaks in the dust, eyes glazed, buck-shot broken legs and wings, drops of blood on downy feathers, beauty destroyed—Cheney the killer. Even worse: The slaughter of 150,000 retreating, white-flag-waving Iraqi troops in 1991. Shiva, meet the Prince of Slaughter.

Carl Roves and "Scooter" Libbys are a dime a dozen. Just wait for their parole date to come up and meet 'em at the prison gate with a bag full of money.

Democracy in America: Scoundrels, and scoundrels waiting to be scoundrels. The good guys are now on stage but the bad guys are waiting in the wings. The show goes on and it is just a matter of time. America is a serial killer.

Who's next? There's one named Palin out there now. See here in the wings? Cute, deadly, dumb. Sarah Barracuda they used to call her. A smiling mean bitch who likes to kill for sport. Part Cheney, part Rice, part Bush but able to grammatically complete a sentence. Kill, smile, charm.

But it all comes down to money. Bought and paid for by big business. Oiled words, purchased deeds.

Rice. "I'm so charming it's alarming ..." And a cross look for those who do not agree. Spoiled teenager at a piano recital, unconditional parental love: "Such a lovely dress, my child, don't get blood on it today!"

So what did Greenie know? Apparently everything and nothing. The captain of the Titanic changed jobs before the ship went down.

And what about American jobs? For sale to the lowest bidder. Get in line with India, you SOB ITs.

Corporate America? The only thing that matters if you can word it another way.

Trickle down? Not on my watch, says the Bushman.

What would Jack London think of hunting wolves by helicopter, Ms. Palin?

And what about all those Iraqi, dead and dying, bulldozed into graves? Do you believe in that too, Mr. Cheney?

Did we keep America safe, or did we make a buck?

Does anything matter?

What's the matter?

What's the matter here?

(Let's be honest but only in the toilet. The truth may be a messy.)

Waiting in the wings and taking aim: "My fellow Americans, can we afford four more years of right-doing?"

Jesus Day in Texas. Good Lord!

Look at the official photo of George W. Bush. Notice the far-off look in the eyes? It is the look of a man with a vision that does not include the bodies on the ground in front of him.

A week after resigning as Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin says, "I'm not a quitter, I'm a fighter." Right. She's fighting to explain why she quit.

She also likes to kill large animals. Smiling beside a bloodied big-horn sheep she has just shot, she looks like a pathological killer.

They are all destroyers of nature and beauty. What what are they doing here?

Or pretend it is Jesus Day:

"Lord, they are all destroyers of nature and beauty. What are they doing here?"

"My son, I do not know. Something has gone wrong in the divine plan."

"If you want something to be true, just make a wish and say it three times. It's true."—George W. Bush

If you have ethics problems, call them frivolous. If they don't go away, resign to take up a higher cause." - S. Palin

"I believe in waterboarding. I believe in anything that causes pain and suffering." - R. Cheney

Kill chicken, warn monkey. - Chinese way

Reward chicken, encourage monkey. - American way

And what about all those bodies buried in Desert Storm, Mr. Cheney? Aren't you afraid of ghosts?

Do those visions show all the blood, Mr. Bush? Is red your favorite color—along with white and blue, of
course.

Play it again, Rice. But quite smiling and get it right. No one thinks you're charming.

Get off the stage, Palin. The only stage you deserve is the back stage of a high-school auditorium with your mouth shut.

And the next time you have a vision, Mr. Bush, don't run for public office, call your doctor.

"When the cockroaches in New York City ...

The ad said young and funny. What's wrong with old and sarcastic?

No wonder gambling is illegal. They want you to be an "investor."

Financial language is toilet math.

Loose, then flow. Wait a moment, go. Stop, start, empty, full. Lao Zu void, wedding a Cana full. There it is, now's the time. Umm.

We are eating huangshan, or swam eels, and talking about food, shiwu. I tell her that cai, or plate, is plat or assiette in French. Recipe, or pengrenfa, is recette. Our discussion has turned into a kind of pengrenfa—a little putonhua, a little Faguoren, a dash of Anglais, English or Yinguoren. We are mixing yuyan too much; women xuyao une petit digestif. But the sound—sheng—c'es bon. Superior. Hen hao. Women hen tanchi. We have a big appetite and can't stop.

I don't think they eat swamp eels in France, I say, but maybe in Louisiana, zai Meiguo. Bu renwei. Ni zhidou? Ting bu dong. But they have escargot. Lots of 'em in the alleys in Shanghai aussi. Tubs of 'em live. Xiaode, dade; grand, petit.

And other things. Ting. Ting ting. Beaucoup. Hen Duo. Sipailou. Zhonghua. Remnin. Used to be Rue des deux Republiques. Rue Lepic, Abbesses, Caulaincourt—where are you now? Ting! Et vin. Putaojiu. Et bier. He pijiu. Pianyi pijiu sheng. Gesheng. Woden gesheng, melide gesheng. Son. Mon chanson. My song, your song, our song. Écouter! Shanti, body, corp. Womende shanti, our body, une corp. Mouth, zui, bouche. Yi zui. Une bouche. Ai yuyan. Language of love. Langage d'amour. The one language. Tounao, mind, esprit; linghun, soul, âme. The One Language. Yi, un, one. Bon appetit!

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