Damp Powder

So nice to hear from Sarah Palin. What with the Holidays coming and all, it's sweet to get a shout out from Wasilla regarding the perfect Christmas (although, I'm guessing, probably not Kwanzaa or Hanukkah) gift from an Aspiring Goddess.
"As you have probably heard,"  Palin wrote Friday on her Facebook page, "the AP (Associated Press) snagged a copy of my memoir, 'Going Rogue,' before its Tuesday release.  And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book."
Palin wants us to judge for ourselves.
"Keep your powder dry, buy the book--wait, did I say BUY??  I meant READ!!  READ the book and, uh, enjoy it!  Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Sen. John McCain.*"


Palin's book, which debuts Tuesday, November 17, has already spent seven weeks at the top of Amazon.com's Best Seller List.  Officials are concerned that the physical impact of simultaneously drop-shipping 1.5 million copies of the deeply discounted memoir throughout the greater United States will create further stress on the North American Tectonic Plate.  Abrupt tectonic movement, combined with the anticipated carnage at Wal-Mart (also offering "Going Rogue" at $9), could disrupt the rotational inertia of the Earth,  tipping the Earth's axis and expanding the precession at the Earth's Equator, thus causing the Poles to flip and Earth's magnetic field to reverse, bringing on Armageddon well in advance of its scheduled date of 2012.
So much to wrap, so little time.

*this quote has been altered for my own amusement

Goddess Worship

A little tarnish is good for a Hero. It adds an enviable patina and softens the glare of public adoration. President Barack Obama fits the classic pattern of the Mythic Hero like Cinderella fits a slipper. Like the semi-divine Herakles, Obama stands astride dual worlds—black/white, insider/outsider, wonk/cool dude. Recently, Nobel Surprise fallout and concern over Afghanistan pointed out a potential disconnect between Obama’s walk and his talk, dimming his amperage to a 50% approval rating in early October. More personally for President Obama, the rejection by the International Olympic Committee of his pitch for a 2016 Chicago Olympics may make the President to wonder if The Gods still feel the Love.

On October 13—in the nick of time for our Hero--a new Goddess blossomed under the Capitol Building’s Greek Revival dome. The divinely named Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) strode down from Olympos, cast the lone Republican vote supporting the Senate Finance Committee health care proposal, and strapped on the helm of Health Care Reform. Moderate Democrats saw her as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Defensive War. Others cast her as Eris, Goddess of Discord, heaving her golden apple into the mosh pit of partisan politics and public options. Upbeat Republicans hailed the Junoesque Snowe as a replacement for wannabe warrior goddess Sarah Palin, newly sprung from a four month stint in the Underworld with her memoirs intact.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the Ur-goddess of health care reform, having birthed the original plan in 1994. No matter how often Clinton paints herself as the homey hearth guardian Hestia, or dons her black and yellow killer-bee Athena suits to go to war, Hillary is always Hera, wronged wife of Zeus and Queen of the Gods. Hera was the primordial child of Rhea and Kronos. Like Hillary, Hera made the huge political mistake of being first. Hera hit the Olympic glass ceiling long ago.

Hero tales speak of timeless reality. The function of a goddess in a hero tale is to connect word to action, to drive the Hero toward his destiny. Goddesses love Heroes.

President Obama surrounds himself with smart and powerful women. Which one will be the Lady of the Lake to his Arthur? Who will hand him his sword? Keep an eye on those three California Fates, Nancy, Dianne and Barbara, watching in the wings, spinning, spinning…