Troopergate

AOG, Madrid

Last weekend I was in Barcelona. I went to the Sitges Film Festival and had a swell time. On the flight back, I found, much to my chagrin, that I had to fly back to Madrid on an international flight.

This means a long boarding process, having to show ID at all points of access and again exit points (God forbid one should try to enter Spain illegally!) on what was, for me, a domestic flight.


Whilst boarding, I befriended, briefly, a lovely lady from New York City whose husband, named Richard, was a couple of decades older than herself. Given Iberia’s usual customer service, and the lack of announcements, I had to reassure them that they were on the right flight, and that in Madrid they would be redirected unto their NYC flight.

The lady’s husband went to sit down since he “really hates people making a fuss”, as she told me when I suggested they got a wheelchair and, thus, priority boarding. Good on him, but then he was a prime candidate for this, and by choosing to be independent and stalwart, his wife must bear the brunt of his care. Nonetheless, I kept that to myself.

She told me of her son's plans to be a writer. He and his newlywed wife are going to live in Italy for a year to try and kick-start him (and her) into writing. She said she hoped the money lasted. Later on I discovered she flew 1st class to Madrid, and probably to New York. I assume the money will last. He is, after all, an Attorney.

But this is nothing to do with his dream. I wish I had the possibility to live in Italy rent-free for a year and just write. Instead I work as a journalist in Madrid, pay rent, and write, albeit occasionally.

Anyway...



Soon enough, after discussing Madrid’s new airport, we got unto the subject of Sarah Palin and the elections.

How Bush got re-elected a second time was beyond her understanding (I happen to think that if enough uneducated people vote, and the chattering classes choose not to vote in protest, then people like Bush get elected, simple as that really). And she found it hard to find anything good about Mrs. Palin.

Mostly she found her scary. I had to, in a McCain-defends-Obama kind of way, tell her that Palin was not too bad a candidate because her only sin was a lack of education, not intelligence. She agreed to that point of view, but discerned that McCain-Palin was not the best ticket for America’s future.

I have to agree. Especially since news about her alleged abuse of power back in Alaska. To say nothing of Creationism....

But I digress. I was watching Fox news last night, and was appalled to see just how biased they are in favor of the Republicans.

A panel was analyzing the news, and one of the commentators (a black lady whose name I can’t recall at present) said that these days the electorate does not care about things like what’s happened in Alaska, that other issues were of more importance. So corruption is not on America's electoral agenda.

Right.

One of two things may happen if Sarah Palin is elected- 1- that that abuse of power (Troopergate) is merely anecdotal and will never happen again, or 2- that she means to go on as she started. In which case, we are all "F'd" big time.

Once bitten, twice shy, I think is the popular saying.