My Stars and Stripes Knickers

It started as a reflection on the office of the whipping boy. Or how it might be turned in to a whipping girl. Then it occurred to us that perhaps such a whipping girl might be utilized to balance the karmic order in the universe. Soon we were listing various evil doers and miscreants and what would be the appropriate implement to use on their backsides -- or the whipping girl's.

The list was as follows:

Condoleeza Rice -- Hairbrush
A smart girl who is either being too naive or too incompetent (though also someone my boyfriend fantasizes about spanking).

Ken Lay -- Ruler
He should probably get something much worse as he ruined the lives of thousands, but now at least he's finally going to face trial.

Tony Blair -- Cane
That implement was a given. Wonder how many times he got the cane as a public school boy?

Marvin Olasky -- Leather Belt and Riding Crop
He's a professor of journalism at the University of Texas and the guy who founded the philosophy of "compassionate" conservativism with his book The Tragedy of American Compassion in 1993. He started out as a communist but while doing doctoral work was born again and became obsessed with John Wayne. He has his own website should you desire to read more.

Richard Perle -- All of the Above
The (former) chairman of the Defense Policy Board who orchestrated the Iraq War and pisses on international law even to the point of suggesting that the U.S. take over Saudi oil fields.

Now, each of these names is written on a piece of paper and put into a bowl, hat, etc. After they have been properly shaken up, I pick out a name and receive whatever punishment that person has been assigned.

And the karmic order is put back into balance (well, a little bit).

As all but Tony Blair are Americans (and he might as well be anyway), we thought it might be appropriate if such punishments were over knickers with the American flag. I looked online for some panties with the Stars and Stripes, and while I found a number of sites with thongs that had the flag on it (and in sizes that didn't accommodate my... er... voluptuous figure), no panties. Since I know how to sew, I decided I would make some. Couldn't find any stretchy knit fabric with the flag, but did find a heavy cotton fabric (a bit heavier than poplin but not as heavy as canvas) with flags all over and made what look sorta like bloomers (it occurred to me later that I could have simply hand sewn a flag on the back of some white cotton panties, and I may yet do that). I felt like a kinky Martha Stewart.

Sewing is great for thinking, even meditating. As I cut out pattern pieces and fed fabric beneath the needle, I kept thinking about how my grandfather who fought in the South Pacific during WWII must be spinning in his grave. I even wondered for a moment if spanking the flag is against the law. It's funny how Americans are about our flag. Almost pagan, like it's an idol or something. Veterans often talk about how they risked their lives for the flag, which is something I have a hard time understanding. Dying for freedom, democracy, principle, protecting your family -- those I understand. But a piece of cloth? Yes, I know it's a symbol of our country. But a symbol, not the country or its supposed ideals themselves. I guess the only thing I can think of that I would be offended if someone burned might be my icons (I'm Byzantine Catholic and have several icons -- Christ, the Holy Mother, etc.). But, that's like, a real religion. How do you serve both God and Flag?

So far, my Stars and Stripes knickers have only received a sort of breaking in...in which, shall we say, they were rendered crotchless...

But after last Tuesday, I believe they are going to get good and truly thrashed in the next couple of months when my boyfriend is here.

Note, however, that after he was demoted from chairman of the Defense Policy Board, Richard Perle was replaced with Karl Rove.

I shudder to think of picking his name out of the bowl after last week.

As mentioned in my last post, I'm thinking of replacing Ken Lay with Pfizer, who charges extortionate prices for medication. But then I was thinking today that perhaps we might make each implement a category into which we could place any number of people. My boyfriend suggested we add Lynn Cheney. At first I thought she would fit well in the hairbrush category, but then I remembered what she was like when she was head of the National Endowment of the Humanities in the 80s and decided she would go in the same category as Marvin Olasky. Dick, of course, would go in the "all of the above" category.

And from time to time my boyfriend suggest the United States for not just becoming one of the current greatest threats to world peace, allowing its poor to suffer, and filling its prisons with black people, but for things like McDonalds and other random things that piss him off.