[Think of the way Ella Fitzgerald sings "April in Paris"]

Scooooo-ter and Paris...

Rich folks in prison...

Holiday jail terms

Locked in the can!

-----

They never felt the handcuffs bite

Never tasted jailhouse rations

Thought they'd get off on probation...

-----

Sooooo-ter and Paris!

Nowhere to run to!

What have you done to

Yourselves?????

...Paris deserves to be in jail for a month or so!

All this abstract analysis and societal theory is preposterous. She got stopped TWICE driving without a license while she was on probation... when she could have afforded to hire a driver.

She is doing this on purpose to get attention. She (almost anybody) is smart enough to avoid these kinds of problems. But she chose to create them instead.

Do you yourself not have ACTUAL problems? To heck with Paris.

Apparently, it is so much better to be in the USA, rather than anyplace in Latin America, that all the Latin American ballplayers will knuckle under.

From Gary's perspective, it is better to be some guy in some hood in the USA than to be a great ballplayer anywhere in any Latin American country.

Maybe Gary is falling for the "USA Greatest Ever In Every Way" fallacy. Or maybe Gary has learned the real dope from real Latin American ballplayers.

Gary may not be in a position to answer this question. What do you think?

Did you see the Sopranos episodes where they dealt with Italian-Americans who do not like the stereotype? And the episode where the mobsters turned out to support Columbus? When Ralphie tried to negociate with the Native Americans?

Take it easy with your simple-minded stuff. The show already has done a deep, nuanced treatment of the issues.

...These people, working together, will provide some sort of a lifeboat for a few of the characters.

Several others will go down in flames fairly early in the episode.

I love the suggestions that Janice and Paulie will get it on, and that Dr. Melfi will eat duck.

Somehow, that cold, cold Russian Green Beret and Vito Jr. will figure in the finale.

The Romans fought among themselves and with their neighbors, and with everybody else they could reach. During the 500 years of the Roman Republic, after they had conquered their neighbors, they had numerous horrid, bloody civil wars.

Then, during their Empire, they conquered and defended continuously.

The USA's founding fathers knew this. And they set up our Constitution to try to avoid it. Rome lasted a long time, but it was not happy. Do not let the Neocons (who do NOT know history) turn us into Rome.

How did these shows end? (Not a rhetorical question. I do not know.)

These were David Chase's previous TV series. Any clues here? Any TV experts here, to remember Northern Exposure and The Rockford Files?

P.S. We have three separate Sopranos threads going in Salon right now.

I have asked these questions before.

Are they all just little part-time creeps such as Lindy English and her backwoods National Guard buddies?

Is there a Torture Academy at Fort Dix or somewhere?

Do we have professional career-track torturers in the CIA or in the Department of Commerce or somewhere?

Can the Army order any kid who joins up (my kid?) to torture? And then maybe torture an American kid who refuses the order?

Classical Rome always was brutal, bloody, powerful, and cruel. THAT is the topic here. The question is whether the USA is brutal, bloody, powerful, cruel Rome.

In the USA, we are at an an historical stage that is somewhat analogous to the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire in the first century BCE (time of Julius and Augustus and Cleopatra, with Jesus right around the corner).

Please bear in mind, though,that the Roman Republic already had an empire, and it was a multi-century bloodbath, even though it was not called "Roman Empire" yet.

Since 2000 CE, the USA has taken a brutal, bloody, arrogant Roman attitude, and has conducted Roman-style conquest. Our leaders have discarded American ideals and aspirations (our saving graces in the past), and have taken on Roman-style bloodthirst.

The question is NOT whether we will fall, NOT how we will fall, NOT whether the USA might endure...

The question is whether we still are American, whether we have become global killers instead (Romans), with no more aspirations toward justice and progress.

Do not come to Salon without knowing about The Sopranos, and do not come to Salon with 4-Years-Out-Of-Date political arguments.

Let us write about The Sopranos here. And, you, read back in Salon or elsewhere, and bring yourself up to date on whether we had Saddam contained, and whether we needed to conquer.

Also, get a name. On Salon, "Anonymous" is reserved for people who worry about your president's Secret Police. You have no such worry.

Pussy, That Rat In The College Town, Jackie Aprile Jr., Ralph, Cwisstofuh, who else?

Any good guys?

Tony did not kill Jackie Aprile Jr. He and pussy killed some other kid in the NJ hinterlands.

In about 22.5 hours

...Just as soon as Custer finishes stabilizing Little Big Horn.

This is one thing our W.Bush did NOT have to say! Why in the world is he bringing this up now? Talk about kicking sleeping dogs!

W. Bush supports Kosovo independence? Those Kosovars are Muslims, no? Are they The Good Muslims? W. Bush, now, apparently, is the National Darling of Albania (Kosovo's Motherland). Somebody likes him! Amazing!

Maybe W. Bush will move to Albania. Albania has more bomb shelters per capita than any other place on earth. Just the spot for W. Bush!

...What about Janice's old boyfriend? The guy who kept falling asleep on the couch, at the digital keyboard? What ever happened to him?

He will be back, along with Vito Jr!

Four Hours To Go!