American flag shirt. Nor did she have any way of knowing that when he wore another American flag shirt on The Merv Griffin Show, his half of the TV screen was blocked out all across America. She was, in short, unaware of the roots of her own, limited freedom.¶
It' s Saturday night, and the Carnival Masquerade Ball is being held in the huge Convention Center Ballroom. On the wall behind the stage are gigantic masks. Above the tables are gold and purple balloons, fashioned after either somebody's school colors or a Chinese restaurant's little hot mustard and soy sauce plate. The taped music is loud, and the dancing is raunchy, enhanced by gaudy yellow, blue and red lights. Pheromones are flying, and the costumes are kinky. "Costumes," the program states, "may be anything of fertile imagination (genital area musts be covered) for an exotic night of adult social fun." Hey, look who's here: Superman. The Phantom of the Opera. The devil. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse (in a see-through top). An executioner. An Arabian potentate. A gold-plated pharaoh. A chicken lady covered with big yellow feathers. A guy in a dog collar being led around on a leash. And the one-legged man, who is wearing a roller skate as his costume. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015213¶