corrente

"and a-cruising we will go, oho, oho, oho..."

Behold upon the swelling seas with streaming pennants gay
Our gallant ship invites the waves, while glory leads the way

You beauteous maids your smiles bestow for if you prove unkind
How can we hope to beat the foe we leave our hearts behind.

See Hardy's flag once more displayed, upon the deck he stands
Britannia's glory ne'er can fade, or tarnish in his hands.

Britain to herself but true, to France defiance hurled
Give peace, America, with you, and war with all the world...

Lyrics: A Cruising We Will Go (author unknown)

Weekend Reading:
Ship of Fools: Setting Sail With 'The National Review'
by Johann Hari (via Common Dreams.org).

I am traveling on a bright white cruise ship with two restaurants, five bars, a casino - and 500 readers of the National Review. Here, the Iraq war has been “an amazing success”. Global warming is not happening. The solitary black person claims, “If the Ku Klux Klan supports equal rights, then God bless them.” And I have nowhere to run.

From time to time, National Review - the bible of American conservatism - organizes a cruise for its readers. I paid $1,200 to join them. The rules I imposed on myself were simple: If any of the conservative cruisers asked who I was, I answered honestly, telling them I was a journalist. Mostly, I just tried to blend in - and find out what American conservatives say when they think the rest of us aren’t listening.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of wild drunken midnight shindy dancing topside with Kate O'Beirne or any reference to Norman Podhoretz barfing in Midge's jollyboat during the amphibious assault on the Bay of Flags or any indication that Dinesh D'Souza was traded to Punta Mita credit card bandits in exchange for a Mexican hammock chair. Darn it. Nevertheless, it's still a darn good sea story.

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