. . . well, you know.

Hard to say who deserves the other more, between her and Fox.

Judith obviously believes that looking at one's self provides a total perpective on all events. Gitmo is a stain that is being kept in delayed closing because it has become part of her benefactor's playbook. For the rest of the world, Gitmo is a turd, incarcerations without trial, regardless of how well she and the rest of her cabal mates try to polish it.

Wasn't Gatsby the archetypal second act of American life? In any case, since F. Scott's time, his assertion has been proven wrong over and over again. I still love my homeboy (fellow Saint Paulite), but it's time to put this one to bed.

However, Miss WMD has followed the advice of another Fitzgerald quip:

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.

I'm far from knowledgeable regarding literature, but I encountered a compelling argument someplace that, while the "no second acts in American life" quote is frequently encountered and seemingly always used to remark upon someone unexpectedly getting a second chance, Fitzgerald actually had an entirely different meaning in mind.

There is a traditional three-act structure in the theater, with which Fitzgerald was throroughly familiar. In this structure, the first act introduces the characters and setting, the second act contains character development and conflict, as I understand (see my first statement regarding my ignorance of literature). And in the third act the story is resolved, with major consequences for the main character.

For some reason, people talk about Fitzgerald's quote as if he had been speaking of vaudeville acts, rather than talking about the function performed by the middle section of a play.

I don't know much about Fitzgerald, but I will say that 'leper colony' may be a bit too good for FOX news. The unfortunate lepers were ruined by chance and circumstance, whereas FOX seems to deliberately do whatever it can to provide an unfair and off-balance look at news.