LEFT IN EAST DAKOTA

(a sketch) Two men are pressed close to each other in a long line waiting to get into a sold out concert. The line is tight and people are being bumped.  Tensions are running high. Bouncer (shouting): Doors open in 2 minutes! Please have your tickets ready so this line will move as fast as possible! Everyone is quite uncomfortable. Eventually the underlying tension is released and a confrontation is initiated. Near the middle of the line, a man unleashes on another man who is directly behind him.  Man 1: What the fuck man!?! Stop fuckin’ touching me! Man 2: Fuck you! I can’t move at all! Go fuck yourself you fuckin’ bitch! The two men are nearly touching noses; ready to fight. Man 1: Fuck you jerk off! I’ll fuck you up! Man 2: Dude. I’ll kick your ass. Seriously. Man 1: Fuck off. I’ll break your fuckin’ nose. Man 2: Go fuck yourself! I’ll break your fuckin’ face! Both men back up a small amount and share a brief moment of silence. Man 1: Really? My face?! Soun

Historically, Charles Taylor isn’t that interesting. History certainly has produced no shortage of despots. What makes him a likely footnote in future textbooks is that he got caught. He, like Bernie Madoff, was tried and convicted.  Mr. Taylor, it would appear, was big enough to be a bastard to many, but not big enough to be “our bastard,” as the famous quote goes. It’s been a few years since Hollywood made us associate Leonardo DiCaprio’s boyish grin with the phrase “blood diamond,” but the diamond industry hasn’t forgotten. I never gave it much thought until I went looking for a ring for my soon to be wife. Given her family is from diamond-rich west Africa, we both decided it would be the height of poor taste to not at least have some idea of where our public display of love came from. Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusions in global capitalism creating an equitable structure to extract and trade shiny rocks rich people collect, but if I can get a cup of “fair trade” coffee one w