OUR
ENEMIES,
THE
LEFT GATEKEEPERS

IN THIS EPISODE:

ON OUR WAY TO CONCLUDE
OUR VISIT WITH
NICHOLAS LEMANN LET'S STOP OFF
AT
JACOB WEISBERG'S
PLACE
·..........·..........·..........·..........·
THE CONTEST

We've Got Plenty
of Trouble
AND
We've Got MORE than Plenty of
You-Know-What

..........Well, well, well—it never rains but it pours, so they say. In "Part Four-D," I mentioned Laurence Sterne and the difficulty he had getting Walter Shandy (I mistakenly said Tristram) down the stairs, since each step Mr. Shandy took awakened new (or old) memories and considerations that drew him—his mind, that is—farther into the past as well as into present complexities (including the question of whether damage had been to his son Tristram's nose during childbirth moments before). And Sterne? Well, Sterne had the job of following and describing Walter's mind but also the job of getting him down the stairs—with the result, a bit like a paradox of Zeno, that Walter would seemingly never, ever go forward in the narrative (or forward down the stairs, either), at least not for so long as Sterne remained true to his artistic-intellectual task, which was, of course, the task of truthfully describing the nature of Walter—and Tristram—Shandy's mental-emotional life.

..........Now I'm in the same boat as Sterne was—or in a parallel boat, at any rate. . In trying to reach Nicholas Lemann, we're distracted by John Perkins, who leads us to Catherine Austin Fitts, and in turn—as you're about to discover—we next find ourselves sailing the most murky seas of the "mind" of Jacob Weisberg. Will we ever get back, ever get to where we were going?

..........Who among you remembers, in Gulliver's first voyage—his voyage to the land of the six-inch-high Lilliputians—the occasion when he has to move his bowels for the first time? All right. Of course everyone does (except maybe Nicholas Lemann, since I can't imagine that he's ever read Gulliver's Travels). In any case, Gulliver by this time has been brought into the capital city and, secured by ankle-chains "that were about two yards long," is given a small hut to shelter in—a small hut that was in fact "an ancient temple" and "esteemed to be the largest in the whole kingdom" (the front gate was "about four foot high"). Living there, Gulliver, when he first feels the need to move his bowels, makes an unfortunate decision. Let's read:

....................I had been for some hours extremely pressed by the
....................necessities of nature; which was no wonder, it being al-
....................most two days since I had last disburthened myself. I
....................was under great difficulties between urgency and shame.
....................The best expedient I could think on, was to creep into
....................my house, which I accordingly did; and shutting the
....................gate after me, I went as far as the length of my chain
....................would suffer, and discharged my body of that uneasy
....................load. But this was the only time I was ever guilty of
....................so uncleanly an action; for which I cannot but hope
....................the candid reader will give some allowance, after he
....................hath maturely and impartially considered my case,
....................and the distress I was in. From this time my con-
....................stant practice was, as soon as I rose, to perform
....................that business in open air, at the full extent
....................of my chain. . .

..........Reading Swift's great satire requires an alert imagination—and, indeed, we can all "maturely and impartially" imagine what things smelled like inside Gulliver's hut after his first "disburthening," and the wisdom of his decision from then time on "to perform that business in the open air"—though an alert imagination and good memory will still make the sharp reader wonder just how sufficient a solution to his problem Gulliver's really was.

..........Now, I'm going to propose ANOTHER CONTEST, and, once again, the winner will receive a free, inscribed copy of A Nation Gone Blind. But to set up the terms of the contest, we'll have to read a few more phrases from the elegant Jonathan Swift. Since we're in no hurry greater than Laurence Sterne was, we can repeat a bit of what we've seen:

....................From this time my constant practice was, as soon as
....................I rose, to perform that business in open air, at the full
....................extent of my chain, and due care was taken every
....................morning before company came, that the offensive mat-
....................ter should be carried off in wheelbarrows. . .

..........I'm sure you see those ellipsis marks. I've put them there to indicate that we, too, have more business to attend to before I announce the Great Quiz Question and raise the question of why it's so appropriate a one.



[FROM THIS SPACE, THE ENTIRE CENTRAL SECTION OF THE ORIGINAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT 11.4.E (2006) HAS BEEN DELETED. IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ THE ORIGINAL WHOLE PIECE, YOU CAN DO IT BY CLICKING HERE.]



.........."[The] relentless denial of reality perverts judgment and rots the soul," said Arianna Huffington.

..........One wonders what soul we have left that's even capable of rotting.

..........And, said Webster Tarpley, "Above all, we want 9/11 truth as the essential precondition for restoring lawful government." [my emphasis]

..........It has got to be so. This lying and this covering up of the vile iniquities and malicious crimes that have been committed in our name by our criminal "leaders" and that continue to be committed will kill us all in spirit and in body—if it isn't already too late—unless what's been done is revealed openly and honestly for precisely what it is and has been: A great, heinous, on-going and unbroken committing of acts of treason and of crimes against humanity.

..........Until we see this truth for what it is and until we speak this truth openly, clearly, and honestly—until that happens, the iniquities will continue, they will increase, and we, with absolute inevitability, will be crushed, doomed, and destroyed.

.......... It's up to us.

............................................................—Eric Larsen
............................................................—December 14, 2006

AFTERWORD

Clearly, we have work left to do, having not yet even returned to Nicholas Lemann in order to finish up with him, nor having said what really needs to be said about the as-yet-unmentioned Christopher Hitchens and others as well.

And there's also our CONTEST to straighten out. You remember the situation as we left it, I'm sure, and you remember that, at that point, Gulliver had made a point of "disburthening" himself early each morning and "in open air, at the full extent of my chain. . . " You'll also remember, I trust, Gulliver's having told us that "due care was taken every morning before company came, that the offensive matter should be carried off in wheelbarrows. . ."

The CONTEST QUESTION is a dual one, thus: First part: How many Lilliputians were assigned the detail of carting off Gulliver's "disburthenment" each morning? Second part: In what exact way does that correct answer reveal a parallel between those Lilliputians and me, writing here about the Gatekeepers, in this extended series of pieces?

Now, the rules: The first reader to send me the correct answers will receive a free copy of A Nation Gone Blind, inscribed by me to that person. Previous winners, I'm afraid, must, in fairness, be excluded from the competition. Good luck. God knows, every one of us needs it.

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