Watching Lord Voldemort, also known as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, being interviewed by Larry King yesterday, I felt my life force being sucked out of my body as if I was being kissed by a Dementor.
I realized it's better if you keep your mouth shut, and don't gaze directly into his eyes. (Kevlar under your robes don't hurt neither.) From his smug and strangely threatening half-smirk, one gets the impression that he likely has President Bush under an Imperius Curse, which will hopefully break at midnight on December 31, 2008, provided he-who-must-not-be-named (Cheney) deigns not to use the dreaded killing curse.
This, while Dolores Umbridge, also known as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, continues to chop away at civil liberties on behalf of the Ministry of Magic on Pennsylvania Avenue, where an end to Iraq is plagued by an unusually fierce "Stupefy!" spell.
So some might be wondering: where is Harry Potter? Is he on a secret mission to the land of the giants or something? Whatever. More to the point, since he's little more than a puppet with integrity these days--where is Albus Dumbledore? That is indeed the question that continues to plague the political landscape. Dobby the House Elf, also known as presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was set free at the end of 2000 by Bill's term limit--or was it that someone gave her her own clue? No matter--she was even able to run for and hold very her own office, just like a human (cute!). It's not a knock on her that she has no values of her own, and is will to bend like a flacid wand in the political winds--after all, being a house elf was hardly the best training for leadership.
So let's summon up the Room of Requirement one more time (wands up, please!) and ask it to materialize a place for practicing our own Defense Against the Dark Arts skills, lest our society starts to look more like the pre-Nazi era in Germany, or to put it simply: designed by Voldemort.
Think about it while you enjoy your summer reading!
