S3e20- We Killed Yamamoto ("There are moral absolutes.")

Well, Aaron Sorkin is taking us on a nice journey through leadership manuals.  Last episode, it was The Art of War, and in this episodes, it's Machiavelli's The Prince, which the President refers to in Italian- "Il Principe has has justified every act of oppression..." in response to Leo stating that doing something wrong to end another thing that is wrong is right.  There's a nice symmetry that exists between this and Josh's dilemma.  Through Amy's actions, Josh is forced into making this decision- grabbing votes to the right for every vote she takes from the left.  If he wins, he can claim victory, though the strength of the bill is less than what it was- better to win ugly that lose with your principals intact.

So, that paragraph above seemed smart, I think.  There was a nice parallel that I drew there- and plus I let you know that they were talking about Machiavelli.  So, I hope I've earned a bit of what is about to happen.

NASA didn't spend millions trying to develop a space pen, and the Russians didn't just send their cosmonauts up with pencils!

Folks, let me introduce you to the privately funded Fisher Space Pen:

That's right.  Designed by Paul Fisher, who invested a million dollars of his own money, patented the pen and has had the market all to himself ever since.  In 1967, he sold these pens to NASA for their use at the very reasonable price of $4 per pen- a bargain, considering NASA has tried two years prior to purchase Mechanical Pencils made by Tycam for $129 per pencil.  Fisher Pens ended up selling the Space Pens to the Russians in 1969, which replaced the grease pencils they were using.  Of course, even though these pens were cheap, Fisher got an incredible endorsement and marketing strategy for their product:

  

Fantastic.

If you've been reading this blog much, you'll know that I'm not usually someone who tries to find holes to poke- I'm all about celebrating this wonderful show called "The West Wing."  But I bought my first space pen long before I watched my first episode, and by golly, I'm going to stand up for the pen I believe in.   Aaron Sorkin should apologize to the Fisher Pen company for the egregious slander he commits in this episode.  SHAME!  He thought it would be ok to do, because his errors might have made for a better episodes, but Aaron, there are Moral Absolutes!  

Seinfeld's no better!  Really, Seinfeld?  Too cheap to use the proud Fisher brand name??

Seriously, though- I really am a huge fan of space pens.  Space foods, on the other hand, are the worst...  What an incredible marketing ploy- eat this thing that tastes like crap, but enjoy it, because it's as close as you'll come to orbiting the moon!

Oh my god, Sean Spicer must have really hated Space Ice Cream!

Shoot, there, I made reference to the over-cooked Tanning-Bed residue with a toupee who currently lives in the White House...  I was trying to not rise to the bait of Toby trying to get rid of his candidates tax problem (how quaint!), and the amazing quote "Jed Bartlet: Not quite as mean-spirited as the other guy." Doesn't really send me running to my polling place," which sent me into a spiral of despair thinking about this past November's Election.  

Oh well- better luck next time.

What's Next?  S3e21- Posse Comitatus

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S3e19- The Black Vera Wang ("All warfare is based on deception.")

The saying "all warfare is based on deception" mentioned by Bruno is from Sun-Tzu's The Art of War:

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

It comes from the first of thirteen chapters, ranging from instructions on paying for warfare to the moral implications and responsibility of going to war. 

Needless to say, though this may be often referenced in MBA programs and television shows (Tony Soprano commented that he really was getting some nice advice from it in an episode of "The Sopranos"), I find it to be completely frustrating when applied in this way, as Bruno is encouraging Sam to remember that everything could be a threat, everyone could be an enemy, and it's that mindset that's probably contributed to the current state of affairs, which I've taken to calling "a bucket of melted democracy."  Everything's still there, but not in any recognizable form.

Anyhow, on to the meat of the episode.

As the title cleverly suggests, CJ goes dress shopping with her niece, Hogan, and tries on... you guessed it- a Black Vera Wang:

First of all, buy that dress, CJ- you look great- something I felt better typing until I remembered that's what the guy who's trying to kill her said in his last email to her.  Yucky.

It's worth noting that Hogan, is clearly an early version of a Host in WESTWORLD...

Yup, it's Evan Rachel Wood.

Second of all, I really appreciate the lengths to which they went to really get that product placement in there...

OOOOOHHHH... so that's a rack of Vera Wang dresses?

Yeah.  It's a Black Vera Wang.  Thanks, Sherri Wexler.  

So, that plotline is still in motion.  Newly set into motion is the rather ominous notion of the Qumari Defense Minister ordering an attack on the Golden Gate Bridge.  He was supposed to be helping the US with intelligence from the middle east, so apparently, he's also read The Art of War.  

Toby manhandles some network executives, but I have a question- he had four people in the meeting, and I want to know where the fourth network news president works.  NBC, ABC, CBS and who?  They didn't read The Art of War, because they made the planning for their attack far too obvious. 

Some intern, who may or may not be the first example of putting a Millennial character on television, got some moose meat from Donna, who got it from Josh, who got it from the Finnish Office of Protocol, and put it on eBay.  Though it turns into a nice lesson on the dwindling intern corps, in the end, it's just an opportunity to talk about moose meat.  

I thought this must be a joke, but then I visited a site maintained by Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Department for Communications.   There I found an article entitled "Close Encounters with the Mighty Moose"

Notice the chilling headline:

Um, excuse me?

That's right, the Finnish people are so crazy to eat Moose (Meese?), that there are petting zoos where you can pet, feed, and then eat a moose.  I'm all about the circle of life, but this makes "The Hunger Games" look like a May Day carnival.  

Or, maybe, they're just training the Finnish people in The Art of War, to appear friendly before attacking the Moose.  It's all about deception, after all.

What's Next?  S3e20-We Killed Yamamoto

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