With all the non-tobacco topics floating around concerning media events, art, abuse of power, people bleating like goats at the hands of "the man," I'm reminded of the quote by George McGovern's campaign manager about the book "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail." It was "the least factual and most accurate" account written at the time. It is times like these that I ask myself, "What would Raoul Duke do?" Where is the "freak power" that renders subterfuge, talking heads, and talking points impotent. How do we get to the meat of the matters at hand. I've no Mescalito, tequila, Chivas Regal or any number of truth enhancers or filters at my disposal. I've only my last tin of tobacco to get me through until reinforcements arrive... a four and a half year old tin of Old Dark Fired. One of my forebears supposedly proclaimed, "Give me Liberty, or give me death." I, for one, feel the need for the return of Gonzo Journalism to cut through the PC morass and tell it like it is. I was once told that perfection was a compromise between precision and accuracy. What say you? Oh, and how do you like this here tobacco?
This is why I love Thompson's and Bukowski's work. They anthropomorphize the heavy, lumbering, bureaucracy of injustice into a "filthy beast" so palpable I feel I can grab a sword and behead the monster. In Hermetic symbology, the sword represents intellect. All the maps I'm reading say, "Here, there be monsters." Or, in the words of Rod Serling, "That's the sign post up ahead. Your next stop; The Twilight Zone."