Mario Vargas Llosa

On its opinion pages the WSJ celebrates Nobel Prize winner in literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, in two articles this morning. The editorial begins, “Winners…are typically distinguished by their literary obscurity, suffocating prose and left wing politics. But every decade or so the prize-givers get it right: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1970, Czeslaw Milosz in 1980, Octavio Paz on 1990, V.S. Naipaul in 2001. Right on schedule, this year’s prize went to Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa.”

In 2007, WSJ’s Emily Parker interviewed Mr. Llosa in Lima, Peru. She writes today, “Mr. Vargas Llosa’s Nobel Prize is a great victory - and not just for the talented and prolific author. His work is perhaps the greatest rebuttal to those who believe literature exists on the periphery of history and politics, or who claim that they have ‘no time’ for fiction.”

She goes on, “Mr. Vargas Llosa’s novels reflect his deep personal hatred of dictatorships and his staunch belief in the value of individual liberty… he describes how dictatorships impregnate ‘every act of life’…(and how) ‘the woman is almost always the first victim of a dictator…’ (Llosa) gained notoriety for his emphasis on a market economy, free trade and private property (rights). He was no less controversial for his support of the invasion of Iraq, which he saw as necessary to ending the ‘monstrous dictatorship’ of Saddam Hussein.”

Book chains such as Borders may face a moral dilemma as their stock of unsold liberal tomes continue to clog their groaning display shelves; especially now, in light of the Nobel Prize committee’s remarkable hat tip to Llosa’s international triumph.

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Bloody Men in Boots

I remember when Saddam Hussein set fire to his oil wells. I remember seeing the pictures of the fires burning; the black smoke rising. It seemed an impossible task to stop it. But highly specialized American teams moved in and put out the fires one by one. They were well trained in this choreography. I remember the on-site TV interviews of these bloody men in boots. They didn't think it was a particularly big deal. They just did what they came to do without undue hand-wringing and mama drama. I remember being surprised by how quickly they were able to finish their work. Their manner on camera throughout was reassuring. …and we felt reassured (though still uncertain as to whether or not the Baghdad museum had been looted of its antiquities by the rough-hewn American invaders).

While the bloody men in boots could reassure us now, they are no where to be seen. This time the pretty ballerinas in pink petticoats appear to be running the show. Their only weapons are obfuscation and blame-shifting (with a furtive nod toward furthering their ball-busting agenda). They are far from reassuring. Maybe the only way to stop this leak is by a strategically placed nuclear detonation as some have suggested. The ballerinas swoon at the thought.

Come to think of it, there are other leaks in progress: the influx of illegals from along our Mexican border; the steady deflation of the dollar; our evapotating influence on the word stage. Deepwater Horizon’s gusher is an appropriate metaphor for all these and more.