House of the Rising Sons

Because... I can't

2011-11-06T21:48:00.003-06:00

Reading this worthy's account of the Oakland Occupiers, I came to this conclusion:

They are doing the hard work, so obviously, yes, they aren't the other 98% of us, who do realize we are being screwed by 1% but can't seem to muster the energy or motivation to do anything but bitch about it, occasionally.

Burning a flag will piss off some large group of Americans. True. And it will alienate those. But, I can't disagree with it, that much. I understand. That flag doesnt stand for what it used to. Our country is what it is, right now. It could be better.

These folks are patriotic in a very pure sense- they are out there, because they actually BELIEVE their voice counts.

I aint out there.

I got to go to work. I got to put food on the table, lucky me, cuz i can.

They believe that protest can work. They believe that if they can draw more attention to the root cause of the problem in our country's economic and moral (yep, i said it, but probably not meant in the same way most amerkans say it) downfall-will make lethargic middle america take notice. AND, yes, affecting the bottom line of corporations by fucking with a port for a couple of hours will be a thorn in some corporate spreadsheet this quarter. Maybe, maybe not.

They Believe in America. They wouldnt be out there if they didnt. I admire the hell out of that.

Because, I don't any more.

Its kind of like wanting to believe in Love, or some shit. I want to, late at night, when I've had about four too many drinks.

So "God bless their dumb asses".

These folks, flag-burners and all, are whats left of our country's soul. Mine, damn me to hell, has fled.

If we have a hope to survive as the greatest free country in the world, it lies in another quote I read tonight:

"Injustice will be ended when those who are not wronged are as indignant as those who are"

It's far, far too late for Me to start holding my breath, but I save a last gasp for those with the Gods-defying audacity to do so.

Delayed Responses

2011-10-09T23:48:00.002-05:00

Response to a friend who is bitching that somehow his freedoms are being taken away by the government:

A solid government is an ever-evolving entity. Its strength lies in its ability to protect, promote, and foster its people. Pure capitalism, as we have seen, time and time again, will NOT do these things. America was founded on principles of freedom, equality and justice.

The amount of freedom, equality and justice we receive is up to us and the government we allow to be established. How WE protect, promote and foster our Government will determine these things. Nothing is black and white, and we have to give up certain amounts of freedom in order to maintain a more perfect union. We have to be taxed, in order to fund this nation and take care of it. Equality and Justice are two items that we do not have to sacrifice on any level in order to make this country work.

We are pretty well protected in most general cases. I don't fear invasion anytime soon. We have decent roads and infrastructure, but we must maintain it with federal and state monies. But, can we re-establish the powers that the last couple of Presidents and congress have stripped from the EPA in order to protect us from the next environmental disaster corporations have in store for our land and water?

Can our government protect our jobs by taking away tax breaks to the corporations that have moved 2.5 billion jobs to foreign countries?
Can they protect our soldiers by getting us out of these bullshit wars in the Middle East?
Can they protect my children by ensuring social safety nets and good education by putting my tax dollars to good use?

I'd rather pay to help the people of this country than to subjugate the people halfway around the world.

America has moved into this "Winning is Everything" mentality. Well, just be sure that what you are "Winning" at is the game that is worth winning. The smartest people in the room always lose when they take shortcuts to the greater good.

And, don't let these Ayn Rand selfish bastards fool you. There IS a greater good. If you work towards it. They just don't trust themselves enough to believe that anyone out there is good. That's their own shortcoming. Don't let it be OURS.

W. glances back and shrugs...

2010-11-25T10:39:00.004-06:00

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/13/all-about-mea.html#

All About Mea
by Jacob Weisberg

Upon leaving office, the U.S. president moves quickly into a new job: press agent for his past. None openly acknowledge this role, and few fail to become obsessed with it. By tradition, the former commander in chief directs his energy toward three reputational weigh-ins: the blockbuster memoir (which only the self-effacing Bush 41 failed to produce), the partisan biographical museum known as a presidential library, and his obituary.

What distinguishes George W. Bush from previous redemption seekers is that while protesting that he doesn’t sweat the judgment of history, he has focused on it to the exclusion of any other useful contribution to society. Bush did not remain engaged in foreign-policy issues, like Nixon or his father, or devote himself to global good works, like Carter and Clinton. His closest model so far is LBJ, who raced around his Texas ranch and stewed.

Bush faces an even steeper climb. When he left office, he was tied with Nixon for the title of least popular president. The legacy of two unfinished wars and a financial crisis make his near-term prospects for rehabilitation look pretty bleak. The right dislikes him for leaving behind a bloated government, the left for all the obvious reasons. In coming out with a book less than two years after leaving Washington, 43 is challenging a strong consensus that rates him a failure.

Decision Points sets out a straightforward case that we should think better of him. The argument in a nutshell: after the September 11 attacks, he had to act forcefully to defend the country. He did what he thought was right, made tough decisions, and prevented another major terrorist attack. He encouraged the spread of freedom around the globe.

The presentation has some of Bush’s familiar virtues: it’s crisp, blunt, and doesn’t ramble on and on. In the book, he does something he never did in office, namely, acknowledge error. Bush says he failed to make decisions quickly enough or communicate his concern after Hurricane Katrina. He shouldn’t have let them put up that MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner. “It was a big mistake,” he writes.

The book also has Bush’s weaknesses: it is superficial, simplistic, and impatient to be finished. He leaps to conclusions without apparent thought or evidence. Bush’s capable former speechwriter, Chris Michel, has done an impressive job structuring a readable narrative around a series of major events. But if he leads his old boss to water, he can’t make him think. Because Bush is intellectually and emotionally incapable of truly reconsidering the past, his memoir fails to make a case that we should reconsider our view of him.

When CIA director George Tenet asks him to approve the waterboarding of terrorist suspects, Bush replies in characteristic fashion: “Damn right.” When When he asked “the most senior legal officers in the U.S. government” to review interrogation methods, “they assured me they did not constitute torture.” Case closed. You can’t argue with the choices Bush defends in this book, because he doesn’t argue them himself. He describes, asserts, and cites any authority handy, usually the authority he hired to defend his decisions.

Elsewhere, Bush’s disengagement tends toward delusion. Speaking up for his education policy, he offers this footnote: “The increases in federal education funding were significant, since my budget restrained non-security discretionary spending and eventually held it below the rate of inflation.” Does Bush sit in Crawford telling himself that he “restrained” spending? In fact, Bush enlarged the government faster than any president of the last half century, including LBJ, nearly doubling the budget from just over $2 trillion to just under $4 trillion during his eight years in office.

As to who he really is, and why he did what he did, Bush would seem the last person to provide insight. I’ve proposed my theories at length elsewhere. Given the way his worst choices reflected challenges to Bush 41, a good title for a more authentic memoir might be Nightmares for My Father. But boy, does W. not go there. He has always loved and admired his dad, nada mas. He acknowledges no cloaked motives, no pride, no politics, no competition with his father or brother Jeb. Bush wants us to believe he tried his hardest and did the best he could. His thin, shallow book strongly suggests that he did.

Thanks for stopping by

2009-04-03T21:57:00.004-05:00

The House is now pretty much vacant, but due to requests, I'm opening the doors back up for whoever wants to look back at the past postings and maybe chuckle at a rant or two. Hopefully, you will read an older, angry post and then look around at this nation and let loose a deep sigh of relief that the Bush years are over.

I never said Goodbye to all my friends, and I've never been good at goodbyes, anyway. So, this will be my fare-thee-well post, 5 months after I quit posting.

This blog (and all of YOUR blogs) saved my life and my sanity many times over the past few years. I haven't been posting because the fire in my gut has cooled somewhat, and I just don't feel like I've had anything worth sharing to impart for a while. I will be content to haunt all of your blogs and listen for awhile and keep my own mouth shut for a little bit. It'll be good for me.

From 2004- 2008, those at the forefront of the Newsblog and Poli-blog movement changed this country. We made a difference. I don't include myself lightly in that "We." I've lost friends and gained friends, traded curses and even fists with a wide array of people over the events that warped and shaped our nation this past half-decade. From arguments with trolls I'll never meet to shouting matches with family members who now grudgingly acquiese because they know they were really and truly wrong. The "trust my gut" era is dead, thank the gods.

When I look back at 2004 in Lubbock when I started blogging, it's almost like looking back at the dark ages. So much has changed, in many ways- but the way I feel is the most important is that I am no longer shouted down when I dare open my mouth in public about ANYTHING. That severe black and white has been merged into a much more manageable grey. And that's a very, very good thing.

So, my work here is done. I've spent all the righteous zeal I possessed. I'll let others, with more nuance, and less in-your-face take over from this point on.

But if ya'll ever need a half-crazy Redneck Liberal to out-smart the fascist white collar ruling class of this country while simultaneously out-white-trashing their bible-thumping racist blue collar pawns- I'll be here... and those of you who know me the best will know it won't take much to recharge my righteous wrath.

Hope for the best and plan for the worst- And don't be bullshittin' the neighbors, now.

Ya'll be good.

I'll try to...

Last Gasp of the Republican Party

2008-12-03T07:31:00.004-06:00

Requiem for a Maverick by the incomparable Matt Taibbi

EXCERPT
It sounds strange to say, but this election season may have done to the word "Republican" what 1972 did for the word "liberal": turned it into a poisonous sobriquet that no politician with bipartisan aspirations will ever again welcome. The Republicans didn't just break the party — they left it smashed into space dust. They weren't just beaten; the very idea of Republican conservatism was massively rejected in virtually every state where large chunks of the population do not believe in the literal existence of a horned devil, and even in some that do.

They lost in every way imaginable, on every political front. The symbol of their anti-gay crusade, Colorado congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, was beheaded. The party that had made so much hay running against Mexicans saw noted anti-immigration crusader Bill Sali of Idaho ousted along with several other members of the Immigration Reform Caucus. The GOP's grasp on the so-called "moral values" issue likewise went up in roaring flames, with Rep. Vito Fossella of Staten Island the poster child — his morals were once so perfect that he refused to be seen with his gay sister, and now he's a national joke, bounced after being caught drunk driving and having unprotected, babymaking sex with a married Air Force officer.

The ironic thing is that the destruction of the Republican Party was a two-part process. Their president, George W. Bush, did most of the work by making virtually every mistake possible in his two terms, reducing the mightiest economy on Earth to the status of a beggar-debtor nation like Pakistan or Zambia. This was fucking up on a scale known only to a select few groups in history, your Romanovs, your Habsburgs, maybe the Han Dynasty, which pissed away a golden age of Chinese history by letting eunuchs take over the state. But John McCain and Sarah Palin made their own unique contribution to the disaster by running perhaps the most incompetent presidential campaign in modern times. They compounded a millionfold Bush's legacy of incompetence by soiling both possible Republican ideological strategies going forward: They killed off Bush-style neoconservatism as well as the more traditional fiscal conservatism McCain himself was once known for by trying to fuse both approaches into one gorgeously incoherent ticket. It was like trying to follow the recipes for Texas 10-alarm chili and a three-layer Black Forest chocolate cake in the same pan at the same time. The result — well, just take a bite!

I witness the whole pathetic mess summed up a week before the election, on a baseball field in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The campaign has scheduled an outdoor rally, with a joint appearance by McCain and Palin, at this crucial moment in the race. But now there is driving snow and sleet, trees downed on roads all around, and the campaign — with no alternate indoor plan — is forced to cancel the event at the last minute. I watch as locals keep pulling up to the field, looking for the candidate, a lonely, rain-soaked "Country First" banner whipping back and forth above the stage. The whole scene captures the essence of the McCain run perfectly: Instead of a plan, they had an endless succession of dumb ideas scrapped at the 11th hour in favor of even dumber ones.
...

Like millions of Americans, I watched Barack Obama's victory on Election Night in a state of amazement. The only thing that gave me pause was the question of what kind of country this remarkable figure was now inheriting. Some of the luster of Obama's triumph would come off if the American presidency were no longer the Most Powerful Office in the World but simply the top job in a hopelessly broken nation suffering an irreversible decline.

Of all the problems facing this country by the end of the Bush years, the biggest is the absence of a unifying national idea. Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity. We tried being a "world policeman" in Somalia, which didn't work so well. We tried retaining our Cold War outlook by simply replacing communists with terrorists. We created two bubble economies that blew up in our faces, and headed into 2008 a struggling capitalist state with a massive trade deficit and an overtaxed military that suddenly had to ask itself: For the supposed world leader in the community of nations, what exactly is it that we're still good at? Who are we, and what do we represent to the peoples of the Earth here and now — not in 1775 Concord, or 1945 Paris, or 1969, from the surface of the moon?

When Obama took the stage in Grant Park as president-elect, that question was answered. We pulled off an amazing thing here, delivering on our society's most ancient promises, in front of a world that still largely thought of us as the home of Bull Connor's fire hose. This dumbed-down, degraded election process of ours has, in spite of itself and to my own extreme astonishment, brilliantly re-energized the American experiment and restored legitimacy to our status as the world's living symbol of individual freedom. We feel like ourselves again, and the floundering economy and our two stagnating wars now seem like mere logistical problems that will be overcome sooner or later, instead of horrifying symptoms of inevitable empire-decline.

For this to happen, absolutely everything had to break right. And for that we will someday owe sincere thanks to John McCain, and Sarah Palin, and George W. Bush. They not only screwed it up, they screwed it up just right.

Simpler Dreams

2008-11-23T21:20:00.003-06:00

The Sucker bait called hope

There's a lot of good stuff in that link. And in a lot of the older posts as well.

...and, following the same thread of "Hope" I bid you goodnight with this prayer to God:

Come, endless darkness- Mother Earth, fold us in your arms, pull us close to your breast-

and choke the poisonous breath from us before we kill everything.

Republican Spam

2008-11-21T09:36:00.004-06:00

I receive at least one of those "George Carlin says/Bill Cosby says/David Letterman says/Insert Celebrity name says" emails once a week.

It is always some speak english/worship the flag and the pledge of allegiance/don't take the word "God" off money bullshit. And it's always a lie concerning who wrote the damn thing-

For those of you who get the same standard Republican email spam every day from your lackwit friends and relatives, I've got a canned response that you can customize and respond to all with:
( in order to save you time and effort with the mouthbreathers)

Please forward this to all:

The thing about these email-shortcuts to independent thought is that every single time a "concerned American" sends out these simple-minded screeds- is that they feel they have to say they were written by a celebrity in order to give them some sort of legitimacy. So, they will attribute it to some famous, well-liked celebrity instead of having the guts to put his/her own name on it.

It doesn't take a genius to know David Letterman didn't write this simplistic bit of airy propaganda, with its jingoistic, xenophobic, and not-so subtle racism.

People - please look further than your email box for political insight. I implore you- read a book, preferably a history book- and explore insights that may even seem antithetic to your current world-view.

It REALLY undermines the person's viewpoint in this email, in the simple fact that he had to lie about who really wrote it. If someone really believes what he is saying, why lie about who said it?
My name is Kirk Berryhill and I may not be a celebrity, but I have the guts to stand behind my own words. Please do so yourselves and you will discover that, like the lie concerning who wrote this crap, you will discover more simple lies wrapped in "common sense".

And don't be afraid to piss off Aunt Edna. If unanswered, these morons will never comprehend that there is an alternative other than their circle-of-stupidity-groupthink. Tell them Un-flock themselves.

And hope for the best. The stupid, as bad as it burns, is really contagious.

In Search of the greater good

2008-11-07T05:55:00.003-06:00

Kester has an excellent post about leadership and what the Tao Te Ching has to say about it.

He also had a funny post that addresses Blue States vs. Red States, an old joke but a good one. It struck me though, that pitting "us" vs. "them" (as I am guilty of all the time, I know) isn't really smart or good for our future. Nobody's going to pack up and leave the country just because the leader of the "other party" won.

Texas and my fellow Texans have never seemed so ... just damn 'back-ards' as they do this week, with almost every Republican Christian I know praying for the Death of Obama (Seriously).. I would like to point out to Eva that the real Socialist elites are the guys who who 700 Billion bucks to bail themselves out... I don't know How much money these people THINK goes to welfare but believe me, it ain't even close to that number, which is just designed to keep the Rich Elite from falling into the ranks of the Underpriveleged (which, to them, is the under 1 million a year crowd).

The statistics were the most interesting thing to me from the joke post. As someone who loves my whole country, red states and blue states alike, I'm not big on gloating at this point. I just want to take back the country from the willfully stupid and their leaders who can feed their supporters lies all day long and pretend their will never be a backlash.

Note to the Redstate Repubs: Now that the Election is over you can let the scales fall from your eyes(please, o please) and note these TRUTHS, which if simply acknowledged may serve to move this country forward.

1. Obama is a Christian, not a muslim. He may not be the Perfect Christian, but then, neither are you, are you?

2. Obama is definitely not even in the top 20 most liberal Democrats currently serving in the Senate. He is extremely centrist, he has always reached across the aisle (despite the way Republicans have scorned Democrats while they were controlling the country) and he will continue to be bipartisan, (despite the future loud protestations of Democrats).

3. Electing a half-black man who believes that the future of this country lies with the lower and middle class and their well-being, NOT the rich, truly "elitist" CEO entitlement crowd is NOT the Death of our nation. The Death of our nation was narrowly averted. The Death of America and its ideals are being a country that tortures, a country that ignores the rule of law and the constitution, a nation that bombs and invades other countries without provocation, and a nation that only gives flag-waving lip service to its true ideals: Equality, Freedom, and Independence.

If the minds of the red-staters can be wrapped around these three simple ideals, then perhaps we can move forward TOGETHER. Hell, if I can put away my guillotine for the moment, surely ya'll can too.

If we continue to embrace red and blue only, and embrace the black and the white only, we are doomed to witness the death of this nation. Extreme views bring only extreme realities.

SUNRISE

2008-11-04T20:49:00.009-06:00

Free at last, Free at last... Lord Almighty, we are free at last!

House of Representatives: Check

Senate: Check

Presidency: Check

(Told ya so moment: 2005 thoughts on the 2008 elections )

Not a moment too soon. It does not speak highly of my fellow Americans that we came close to electing another carbon copy of that madman Bush.

Racism, narcissism and ignorance still fuel a large segment of the American population. I am surrounded my those who are voting for McCain here in West Texas. I have yet to find even ONE of these folks who actually believe in McCain. They fear and hate Obama, though. They send text messages in the millions daily - racist jokes and lynching fantasies. I knew most people in this area were racist. This list includes my co-workers, my family, and even some people I considered friends. But the level that this group of people has outed themselves at shocks even this Redneck. I guess all it takes is one uppity nigger-and the very real fear that the White man's thumb on everything is being removed.

Change. That's what they fear.

They can't stop it. But thank Crom we've stopped them, at least for the moment. Every day more of these McCarthyist dinosaurs breathe their last, cancerous breath and new Americans are born to breathe fresh new life into this country.

Change is coming.

..
It's not gloating, it is tears of joy and relief...

In case you've forgotten - some memories of the Republican Reign of Terror:

TraitorGate

Treason for Dummies

Palin-publicans

Media Apologists for Bush

Rummy

Crimelords in Office

Conspiracy to Terrorize

Olbermann: We will not fear George Bush

Bush vetoes bill banning Waterboarding

The Bailout before the Bailout

and for shits and giggles:
Images from the House of the Rising Sons from the past 4 years

Scared of what, exactly?

2008-11-03T22:09:00.003-06:00

Socialism like Social Security does not scare me. Communism like Community healthcare does not scare me.

4 more years of corporate cronyism, misguided wars that weaken our country, stealing the freedoms of our citizens and billions in welfare to our nation's richest people does.

Don't blame the poor mexicans that walk miles through a desert to get a job. Blame The Republicans that allow corporations to hire these illegal immigrants with no legal consequence.

Don't be fooled into being a pawn of the Republican elite. Take it from one of their alumni, rich Republicans don't consider you with your sub million dollar a year income as one of them. You are just a convenient tool. Your subservience to their Robber Baron system does not enable you. It just enables them.

What is to fear for an American citizent? THIS

Bloated Hearts and Twisted Minds

2008-10-30T05:46:00.003-05:00

Tom Delay on Hardball (from Blue Herald)

My thoughts on Tom Delay:

As I like to point out to the hardest of the hardcore of my Republican friends, a man who actually donated money to Delay-

"This scumbag took your money, days before his re-election- dropped out of the race on the legal deadline that enabled him to keep his campaign contributions- and funnelled that money into his legal defense fund instead of using it to the defeat his opponent."

“You loved this guy BECAUSE he was just such a fucking bastard who fucked over the Democrats in outlandish ways. And when you and his other Texas Republican donors became his new piece of ass, you sat in stunned silence as he packed up and left you without so much as a kiss on the cheek.”

Delay, and the other self-serving crooks like him are EXACTLY the reason why the Republican party is a sinking ship. To have him come on tv and parrot this bullshit may fool the stupidest of the Republican base, but some Republicans, it’s a reminder that that they brought this shame on themselves with transparent bullshit such as Delay spews.

All I want for Christmas....

2008-10-28T19:28:00.004-05:00

I just want all you Republican Dicks to watch this fucker like you were watching the Titanic sink and your life savings was in Cruise ship stock.

Own it, Bitches. OWN this motherfucker to the bottom of the motherfucking sea.

Shorter Republican Party:
"Do Not Flee! Wait until we have negotiated!"

Trickle down Idiocy

2008-10-20T22:02:00.003-05:00

The Idiots who run America

EXCERPT

Andrew Lahde, the Santa Monica, Calif., hedge fund manager who made an 870 percent gain last year by betting on the subprime mortgage collapse, has abruptly shut down his fund, citing the risk of trading with faltering banks. In his farewell letter to his investors he excoriated the elites who run our investment houses, banks and government.

"The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking," he said of our oligarchic class. "These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America."

"On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal," he went on. "First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have [reined] in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government."

Democracy is not an outgrowth of free markets. Democracy and capitalism are antagonistic entities. Democracy, like individualism, is not based on personal gain but on self-sacrifice. A functioning democracy must defy the economic interests of elites on behalf of citizens. This is not happening. The corporate managers and government officials trying to fix the economic meltdown are pouring money and resources into the financial sector because they only know how to manage and sustain established systems, not change them. Financial systems, however, are not pure scientific and numerical abstractions that exist independently from human beings.

"When the elite begin to think that money is real, the crash is coming," Saul said in a telephone interview. "That is just a given in history. Because what they've done is pull themselves out of the possibility of looking in the mirror and thinking, this is inflation, speculation, this is fluff. They can't do it. And when you say to them, gosh, this is not real. And they say, oh, you don't understand, you're so old-fashioned, you still think this is about manufacturing. And of course, it's basic economics. And that's what happens every single time.

(Chris Hedges)

And check out this post by Driftglass: Junkie Republicans

(Hat tip Physioprof )

zero innocent sighs

2008-10-19T21:55:00.001-05:00

Happiness is...

2008-10-12T19:40:00.003-05:00

One of my oldest and dearest accomplices sent me the trailer to a movie that he is in, that is premiering Oct. 16 (in ATX)...

My "accomplice" is an artist and woodworker. I had the great gift of having him design two bedrooms onto my house almost eight years ago, in preparation for the arrival of my second daughter, Rain. He lives and creates in Austin with a whole host of other artists and is currently involved in more projects that even he could list in just one sitting. The movie looks great. His happiness stems from being able to create and enjoy the creativity of those around him. It is my great happiness to have worked and created with him.

I Link, therefore I am...

2008-10-08T22:48:00.002-05:00

Kucinich on the Democrat's Bailout Betrayal ...

The Independent party you can "Believe" In ...

Your Bailout dollars in action... YAY! Cuz we had to do... er ... Something!

Badtux the illuminating Penguin on The McCain strategery and Reaganism hindsight

Polishifter: It's Time For a New Kind of Capitalism

McCains willfully Lie, Republicans dutifully eat it up

2008-10-08T21:17:00.005-05:00

I made the following comment (roughly) at Blue Herald :

I just watched Cindy McCain attack Obama for not supporting the troops concerning a vote that Obama made. It was pretty vicious. But what makes it sickening is that her Husband voted the exact same way on the exact same vote. This was NOT a mistake or an oversight on the part of Cindy McCain. This was a LIE. A big, obvious dirty fucking LIE to the Republicans who were watching her speak.

She KNOWS her husband voted no to the funding, exactly like Obama did. McCain, behind her, does too, and he sat idly by while his wife lied to their supporters. He did not correct her. He didn't even have the balls or the grace to look uncomfortable while they lied to their supporters.

They are banking on the fact that their supporters are fools.

And, well, anyone who would support a man who will get up on stage and lie in their faces so blatantly IS a fool. Not to mention that they are a cowards and co-conspirators for letting him lie so many times in so many transparent ways, nodding stupidly all the while.

I finally blew off the last of my friends who is still supporting McCain last night. He actually tried to blame the Sub-prime mess on Obama. ?! I told him that I was sorry but I can’t waste my time being friends with fucking dumbasses anymore, no matter how fun he is to get drunk with. This guy is a nuclear technician but he CHOOSES to remain ignorant. And I really am tired of making excuses for these dumb fucking ass people in my family and around West Texas who just don’t have a clue and don’t plan on ever getting one.

As a side note, I will tell you this, I have seen ONLY ONE McCain sign in a yard and only one McCain sticker on a car, compared to wall to wall plastered vehicles and yards for W four years ago. The republican base - willfully stupid as it may be- is not on the McCain bandwagon that strongly.

Obama is handling this PERFECTLY. I am so glad that Hillary did not win out. She alone could have moved the base together in their hate. This “mystery man”, black or not, is weathering their typical barrage a lot better than the Clintons in the past or Kerry. I am also glad to see Biden coming out strong against the scumbags(Palin and the McCains).

My fellow prisoners, there's only one choice. Anyone, ANYONE, who thinks a vote for Backslider and Nimrodette is good for the future of America is simply a god-damned ignoramus.

A Perfect Epitath

2008-10-07T20:43:00.002-05:00

to our glorious, glazed inaction...

TARGA

A nation this dumb...

2008-10-03T14:33:00.001-05:00

... can't last forever.

Democrats push through Bailout Bill

172 chickenshit Democrats. 172 Dems voting with Bush. Twice as many Dems bend over for Wall street than Repubs.

“It’s pretty funny to see House Republicans run around claiming to be acting on true conservative principles”

What is decidedly un-funny is seeing kneejerk Democrats falling prey to the status quo once again.

“We must do Something!” Thank you for nothing. There’s not a damn spine among Dems and it’s a crying shame.

And the country wonders why Bush gets away with everything= it’s less because of the psycho republicans and more because of cowardly Democrats.

Fucking hell, this country has really gone to shit.

VOTE

2008-10-03T01:54:00.002-05:00

... A Big Thank You to everyone at Blue Herald

Mo Betta Bailouts

2008-09-30T21:41:00.005-05:00

Nicole Belle at C&L:

"As much as I didn’t like the bailout bill that lost on Monday, I do recognize that we must do something. For those screaming, “NO! Let them fail!” that’s all well and good for you, but the ramifications are far-reaching. How many of you own small business that rely on lines of credit to pay employees? Or are you employed by a small business owner who uses LOCs? How many of you have children who need a student loan to go to college? How many want to buy your first home or sell the one you have before it’s foreclosed upon? All of these very common scenarios require loans and lending is at a standstill right now."

Bullshit, Bullshit, and Bullshit. Lending is NOT at a standstill right now. The Sky is NOT Falling.

“We must act and we must act now,” Obama said. “We cannot have another day like yesterday.”

Yawn. Double Fucking Yawn. 777 down yesterday, Up 485 today. Investment bankers and banks lost money. And some people who play the market saw their portfolios take yet another big hit. And some smart players made a shitload. How did yesterday affect YOU? If your portfolio took a hit, don't fucking panic and don't jump on the sell-at-the-bottom bandwagon. Or do, if you like- that's your own decision. I took my own little bit of money (that was in double inverse funds) out of the market because I had the good sense to get the hell out of such volatility. I could have made a killing, but then again, that is only if I timed my exit just right.

The world will not end if more of these banks fail. Other banks, smarter banks, that haven’t played too fast and loose will buy up the failed ones. Other corporations will devour those that go ass up. The world will not end tomorrow if Paulson doesn’t get A NON REVIEWABLE wad of cash that he can dole out to his friends and other bush cronies as he sees fit.

This whole premise is ridiculous. I can’t believe that Nicole and others who should know better, don't. In the past twenty years (not just the Bush years), I have seen this same ploy being foisted on the American public, over and over again. "The Free Market must not be tied by all these rules and regulations!" - Followed by "X bank is too big to fail!" when their scorched earth investment policies turn around to burn their own asses.

This mass failure of banks could very well be the catalyst that the nation needs. Let the myth of free market supremacy die a very horrible and very public death. The morons on the right don’t argue that we should eradicate the police, the fire department, and the highway departments in favor of a “free” system that somehow magically corrects itself. Why do we let these small minded nitwits argue that “free market” is some kind of panacea for healthcare, the economy, and the innumerable Gordon Geckos running wild on Wall street?

Burn their golden parachutes. Let them die. It won’t hurt as much as you think. Hell, it won’t even hurt as much as the billions wasted in Iraq and $5 gallon gas is hurting us right now.

NO BAILOUTS.

No Bailout

2008-09-29T19:31:00.004-05:00

Time to cut Corporate America's nuts off.

No More Golden Parachutes. Save America. Hang a CEO til he's dead, dead, dead.

Damn the luck. We knew it was coming, and we told em. Too bad all those investors didn't have the balls to hang with those double inverse funds.

Fuck em and feed em fishheads. How's that W sticker working out for ya, Jackass?

"And they never saw the hammer til they hit themselves in the face with it. Twice."

God Bless Wall Street. God Bless Capitalism. God Bless shiny stuff and Blessings from God.

God Save America from Republicans.

But you know what those good ole boys helping themselves to America's wealth say:
GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES.

I do believe it's time to Help the Republican party to the exit.

and why is it so fucking hard to accomplish such a necessity to sanity?

This is Why

2008-09-27T01:00:00.002-05:00

Hollow pride burns low
America the two faced
Shame and faith combined

Inspiration ala Mauigirl.
Er, and the collapsing American flag, decaying freedom, decomposing liberty and dying independence.

Good night, and Good mother-fucking luck.

Better seen than Heard, at least to the McCain campaign

2008-09-25T07:30:00.005-05:00

Some thought that David Letterman went a little too far last night in his excoriation of McCain. I personally think Ol' Dave is completely fed up with the Republican party, even "war hero" McCain and went as far as he possibly could in his show to demonstrate just how incompetent this Republican ticket is.

The Vid is at Crooks and Liars. I'll link it later, got to get the girls to school.

UPDATE: The always excellent SadButTrue has the vid and more

I thought it was brilliant, especially the way he framed it. Dave is a master at dealing with the Mainstream semi-buffoon average American audience.

I didn't think Letterman was being sexist, but I could be wrong. I believe Letterman was playing a subtle double point from a different direction- that it's McCain who is being sexist, by not allowing Palin to stand in for him while he goes off to, uh, save Washington- And by the same token, Palin, is not considered "ready" by McCain himself to even run her own portion of the campaign.

The Republican party itself is delegating Palin to a simple symbolic position- that of a Pretty tough woman, in fact the perfect woman for Republicans. One that is seen more than she is heard.

And dealing with the 90% McCain following here in West Texas, I have to tell you- that's all these people want. They Love their Caribou Barbie. They don't need anything more than that simple image. They don't want to know anything more than that. The more she talks about Policy the less they'll like her, Which, incidentally- is exactly the same story with McCain. They've already made their minds up- Republican party over America. They will put focus on Muslim-Black-High Taxes! and ignore everything else on purpose. America, the stupid, is more apparent now than ever before.

Racism trumps Sexism in this case, I'm afraid, or do you think that the Republican party would have put a black man on their ticket to Combat Hillary if she had beat out Obama?

Sitting in the middle of Racist Republican Redneckistan, I don't think so.

I link, therefore I am

2008-09-22T21:35:00.005-05:00

1 in 3 Americans

Buy My Shitpile

Online Timetravel Pharmacy

McCain and the Red Threat

Why 700 Billion?

Thought vs. Instinct

2008-09-22T21:23:00.002-05:00

(found at Edge, from Gawker.com)

WHAT WE NEED MORE OF IS SCIENCE

SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS
Every election season, commentators trot out the old statistics about how more education makes people more likely to support Democrats, more studies are published on how liberal Daily Show viewers are so well-informed, and various smart people try to explain why anyone would ever vote for a Republican, against their "self-interest." This month has seen three alarming and remarkable scientific investigations into Americans' inexplicable habit of voting for George Bush and John McCain. Which means: trend! Hooray! Let's take a look at what America's top scienticians say about fucking idiot flyover losers and their stupid voting: ...
...Conservatives Have An Entirely Different Moral Code

This should bring you down, a little bit. Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist, wrote a lengthy anthropological investigation into why people vote for Republicans. It's not the Thomas Frank "they are distracted by bullshit" explanation, though it is related: they have different cultural standards of ethics and morality! Liberals and college students define morality as "how we treat each other," conservatives attach more significance to "supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way." Liberals recognize fairness and care as important moral virtues, conservatives add to that loyalty, respect for authority, and duty. The educated moral relativism worldview is fundamentally incompatible with the way like 50% of America thinks, and stereotypes about out-of-touch elitist coastal democrats are basically correct. Sigh.

So What Have We Learned?

Conservatives respond instinctually, not rationally, to scary images, "facts," and institutions. Whether this is innate and biological or cultural seems still up in the air. Democrats can't win with logical arguments or even appeals to the innate rightness of concepts like "diversity" and "tolerance," because those aren't considered essentially good and important by the voters they're trying to appeal to. This does suggest that an appeal to old New Deal institutional concepts like the Welfare State might actually be effective, if they're wrapped in the flag and a sense of duty. Also scientists still consider the majority of Americans to be like a fascinating exotic backwards tribe and the fucking country is doomed.

Anthrax Scientist Suicide/Death

2008-08-01T11:51:00.013-05:00

Anthrax Scientist found dead - standard AP story

The Sun-Sentinel has a comprehensive roundup

So, I guess that's that, eh? He was just a lone scientist who didn't mind killing his fellow Americans in order to help terrorize the nation. The fact that he released the spores directed at Democratic party members on 9-11 and during a large anti-war protest was just a coinky-dink. Nothing to see here folks, just a crazy scientist. Move along...

Oh, you want to look into this a tad bit further than the mainstream media before it returns to stalking Angelina Jolies' adoptive children? Shame on you- well Here you go . (link fixed)

Amazing how many Americans that these die-hard Republicans are willing to sacrifice in the name of their skewed patriotism.

and in related Govt-Asshole-plots: Cheney's ploys to start war with Iran

UPDATE: Crooks and Liars is a little behind the curve, but they got here eventually.

Hey, they don't want to go all 9-11 Truther on us. What?! The government lie? Surely you jest...

UPDATE 2: An Insider speaks out about Ivins

Troops murdered while President does nothing

2008-07-31T14:15:00.003-05:00

THIS IS HOW THE BUSH GOVERNMENT TREATS OUR TROOPS-

PFC Lavena Johnson was raped,beaten, set-on-fire and army calls it suicide

American soldiers raped and killed and then their deaths covered up by the Military they are serving.

It makes me sick and ashamed. How many coverups can YOU Stomach?

Private contractors are getting away with murder in Iraq. But it's not just Iraqis getting raped and murdered- its regular American citizens who are working in Iraq and NOW its a U.S. Soldier.

Do you think a U.S. Soldier deserves better than this shit?

Our current Government doesn't.

Whatever you do, whoever you vote for- Don't let your kids join the military while a two-faced Republican is in the office of the President - saying Support the troops on tv, then cutting benefits, stop-lossing troops, and allowing Corporate pirates, mercs, and scumbags kill, rape, and rob anyone they feel like, INCLUDING our troops.

Today, 1 million emails will zip around about Obama not supporting our troops, meanwhile, this shit is going on and everyone turns a blind eye, all under Republican rule.

How much more fucked up will America get before we get these nutball Republicans out of the whitehouse and our government?

Distant Oceans

2008-07-21T23:50:00.001-05:00

Go Here

Distant Ocean.

Really good stuff.

Prayer chains

2008-07-14T23:25:00.002-05:00

Daughter, crying herself to sleep, again
empty voicemail messages to her missing mother

Andrea's singing plays in the background as they struggle into dreams,
Dreams that I hope will turn out good.

Rage turns to disgust and then to emptiness.

I stroke her hair softly and Lauren holds her hand as her body shudders in tears.

Nothing can replace a parent who disappears without explaining why to their children.

I can see the scars on my daughters heart, forming and reforming. I try to stop them, but I can't.

Someone else might not understand.
I do.
Got my own scarred heart to prove it.

I'd do anything to prevent it happening to my daughters. My wife would too.

Their mom is.... broken.

And everytime she gets close to repairing herself, she throws herself back off a new cliff to shatter herself anew.

Everyone's got a hobby. Hers is seeing just how close to self-destruction she can get without ever going over the edge completely. Of course, meanwhile, this involves lots of drugs, angst, and self-absorbtion.

I'd kill the bitch myself if I thought it would help.

It wouldn't.

But it would sure be nice to visit some form of retribution on the person who causes my children- HER CHILDREN- a constant stream of pain.

Times like this brings a man to prayer-
I have lots of prayers. Some humble, some hopeful.
Never vain, never selfish. I've got NO belief in a god that aids the shallow.

And I've not much more faith in any prayer of hope.

I've got a prayer of wrath, though.
Only a fool would desire it.

But when you hurt someone's children, the deep, torturous way that she has, it does something awful to a person's soul.

So, my one prayer, the one I don't believe in but desperately desire -is this-

I pray for hell.

I pray for a hell to exist-

a Hell that WILL give some Old testament justice to the parents who abandon their children.

If hell exists, believe me, I'll burn as well, I'm sure - for a thousand simple travesties and a million outright sins. I'd take my eternal damnation in a minute, though- just to know Andrea would be there too- burning for what she did to our kids.

I have lots of prayers.

Some humble, some hopeful.

But seeing those tears in Amy's eyes when she cries for her mother- there's only one prayer in my bible.

All she has to do is make one call to a little girl. But, as with most of the world's miserable bastards, even the simplest gesture is too much.. .

Fan Club Blues

2008-07-14T19:32:00.004-05:00

SHIT TALKING CUNTS NEVER DIE, Unfortunately.

Mega-Cock-Sucker

MegaBrad can kiss my megafucking ass with his stupid twitchy fake-ass patriotism and his piss yellow Flag underwear while he lectures me on what the fuck it means to be American while he pimps his racist, homophobic, little dick, self-esteem issue ass bullshit. Come to Texas you twinkle toed little bullshit artist. Come to West Fucking Texas.

This "Hippie/Commie/whatthefuck ever else your little peabrain wants to call me will take you out into the oilfields with a 30 pack and a shovel and plant your worthless fucking ass head first in a bed of fireants and shoot beer bottles off your tiny nutsack while Lee Greenwood sings God Bless America from a ipod shoved up your ass. You stupid piece of shit fake fucking Amerkan hero, you.

Get offa mah land, muthafucker.

Does Science make God Obsolete

2008-06-11T16:13:00.002-05:00

Several essays on the subject, both yes and no...

http://www.templeton.org/belief/

Hat tip- Michael Shermer, from Skeptic magazine.

Ashamed ...

2008-06-06T01:23:00.005-05:00

MSNBC's Jim Makalakkahi-mekkahineyho-kewzewski whines that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed isn't behaving like a beaten down marionette...

Deep Background

So, what are you saying, that the waterboarding didn't work?

Does anyone REALLY expect these guys to accept the shitty legal counsel they have been provided after 5 years without a trial?

This is a ridiculous article. Should KSM be cowering in his cell, and begging America for more of this "justice"? 5 years in solitary, torture, and no real evidence against ANY of these guys...

Hell, If you can't stand up to a kangaroo court like Gitmo, you deserve to be put to death and shuffled off this mortal coil.

Once upon a time, America WAS BETTER than the KSMs of the world- now these enemies of the state look like Rambo, stumbling stoically out of the russian shock-spring mattress-room, bloodied but yet unbowed, and still able to say "Fuck you" to his oppressors, cowardly cunts embodied by journalists like Miklaszewski, who can't seem to understand what it's like to own a pair of nuts. "How dare Khalid Sheik Mohammed still fight back?! Should we have tortured him MORE?' seems to be his underlying refrain, one shared by every dipshit, sack-less neocon Pre-emptive strike supporter in this country.

If we had any real evidence against these people, they'd be dead already. Who is the real terrorist in this equation? Fucking chickenshit, that's what this Gitmo fake trial travesty is. Another smear on America, brought to you by weaklings that would fold after three days in a holding cell themselves, but still manly enough to kill as many of the "enemy" and their children as it takes. The terrorists of the world would love to kill ALL of the "enemy", including the women and children. I look at both sides of the coin and see the same hate-filled hearts on both sides, the same futile aggression and murder in their eyes.

How low we have fallen, as the "home of the brave".

Our government is now on an even keel with 70's era-Commie U.S.S.R.

Are YOU ashamed? How can you not be?

Trust your instincts motherfucker

2008-05-29T23:22:00.002-05:00

What is financial independence?

It’s making more money than you can spend.

I’m working on it.

Questions occurring late at night drinking…

GREG: Why are YOU so emotionally detached? Hell, I know why I am- why the hell are you? Life;s been good. No women have systematically destroyed you, like they have me.

Bubba: Why in the hell do I NOT want revenge this time? I used to be such a vengeful bastard. I ALWAYS had to win in the end. Why don’t I care this time? Cuz I know he’s already lost in the long run? Because – in this instance, pretending to lose AND still care makes me the psychological winner? My mind has such subtle turns any more, I do things before I know I am doing them. The only time I fuck things up IS WHEN MY Conscious actions get in the way of my subconscious ones.

Scary,. Eh?

Trust your instincts, motherfucker. Your level of experience in life far surpasses your ability to react. Quit kneejerking and let your inner self take over. Its far less conflicted than your outerself, that’s for fucking sure.

Wow. I have reached a new plateau of existence. Relegating my conscious thought to a subordinate role. Hmmm: Outer self says to “Inner” Self, reaching for another beer- Hope that works out for you. I’ll be here. Getting fucked up as usual.

Damn. I feel like a red-stater, just dedicating my life to God and Dubya Dubya 3. It’s a helluva release, letting someone else do the thinking. Ah, sweet Dependence, enfold me in your parental embrace. Let me latch on to that nipple and suck myself into oblivion.

It occurs to me that I am unable to get … that… drunk.
Although I can try.
What kind of complete fucking loser even WANTS to relinquish control? Well, apparently to my control freak ass, its incomprehensible, even deep into a whiskey drunk, softened by a Budweiser chaser. I must not have broken through to the “other side” yet. I am not misspelling words, yet.

Come sweet Jesus of Oblivion, Saint of Serenity, O peaceful bliss through alcohol saturated brain cells. Numb and Number. Numb and Number
Numbest.

“The distinctive flavor of this rare sippin’ whiskey results from a special “charcoal mellowing process” perfected by Jack Daniel and still in use today.”

Two thoughts come to mind… “Rare” what’s rare about mass produced whiskey? There’s a hundred bottles of this shit in every fucking city in America right NOW.
The other contemplation is “Charcoal mellowing”. Fuck. Not only Am I drinking shit that’s been filtered through … CHARCOAL… the Tennesee jackass whose poisoning me is not ONLY bragging about doing it, he’s using it as a fucking selling point!

Woooeee. And Copenhagen uses the choicest fiberglass particles with which to shred your lip lining in order to speed the flavor into your bloodstream.

BRAVO. Balls. Gotta respect the sheer Audacity, if nothing else. And here at Bushco, we only use the finest cancer causing agents to limit your suffering. Tips are Accepted.

Good god,. We ARE as completely fucking ignorant as I always expected. Even the slavers, because in the end, their fate is the same as the slaves.

Hmm. Hope that works out for you.

Damned to Repetition

2008-05-29T23:05:00.000-05:00

Ah, the glory of the "I told you so". Except its not so damn glorious telling these idiots "I told you so" over and over when you are up to your armpits in the blood of people who really, REALLY didn't have to be killed.

Our knowledge is impotent. Our Logic is useless. Our Morals are trumped by their blind obedience to themselves. Knowing what is going to happen while those in power chug along in oblivious, or perhaps not-so-oblivious fashion, makes it all so much more unbearable.

Do they know they are wrong? Do they know their rhetoric is a failure? I think so, and for us to point out the obvious doesn't seem to hurt them at all. Bush and Cheney just unload another wheelbarrel full of bullshit on the public and chuckle to themselves when no ones watching.

I think another thing that those of us in-the-know Realize is that these men are callous criminals who would sell out our country in a heartbeat for their own bottom line. Some men become twisted for glory. Some men become twisted for misguided nationalism. These men are twisted for the simplest and shallowest of reasons: simple greed. Simple selfish greed. And our country will continue to suffer until enough of us stop trying to REASON with them and remove them from positions of power.

the rule of fear, the fear of rule

2008-05-29T22:53:00.002-05:00

I WANT to hate because it is an alternative to breaking down and crying. Violent thoughts banish all the FEAR, as if being able to destroy could reaffirm my position in this-life and refute my failings...

night comes and so do i.
spewing forth, containing the day, invoking the mystery once again,

No one without the other DOOM and SALVATION
fear and bravado life and death, yet no beginning and no end.
A PARADOX with an answer, most assuredly. BUT who owns the textbook to this one?

NO END no answer/s the big funny all over again. And then it is GONE. Are you laughing? I'm not... maybe i should be. And the greatest god is DOUBT. as ever it will be.

and late as i ponder i realize that the existence of any god at all is moot.
the only thing that matters is--YOUR decision.
so go with it. or dont. Just DONT do what they tell you to.

Salvation

2008-05-29T10:21:00.002-05:00

Salvation (hat tip Hill)

during his first 100 days in office, says

'I would call my attorney general in and review every single executive order issued by George Bush and overturn those laws or executive decisions that I feel violate the constitution'

It's a start...

Dispatches from America's class war

2008-05-28T10:00:00.003-05:00

The age of working class art is over

EXCERPTS
"Also, I never would have had the money to spend a couple of months in Europe backpacking and using my Eurorail pass like many kids from wealthier families. So while these tours involved playing a show every night and were definitely "work", they are the only way a working class redneck punk such as myself would have had a shot to see the world. And what I saw blew my freaking mind.

My band had done some tours in the states, in typical budget-rock circumstances. Sleeping on people's floors and such. We did the same thing in Europe, but what blew my mind was that the quality of the floors was vastly improved. The difference in the quality of life of the average "socialist" western European compared to the average working class American was not only obvious, but also contrary to everything I had been brainwashed to believe while growing up in the greatest country in the world. I know these sorts of observations are neither original nor surprising to most educated and rational folks, but coming from where I was I could hardly be classified as either. Also, being from Missouri, I guess ya really do have to "show me" before I'll believe it. Quite frankly, it took a few years of cognitive dissonance to even come to terms with the idea. But, I had seen it myself. Explaining it to others, well, forget about it. They don't want to hear it. Rural America doesn't really even believe that Europe exists, except as maybe where a rich cousin went on vacation."

...

"As for the small town world I left? If anything, things have gotten worse. The European Union has raised the fortunes of much of western Europe, while the decline in small town America has been even more pronounced. Of all the places I've traveled that reminded me of my home the most, I'd have to say it was -- Serbia! Hell, a small village there isn't that different in feel from a little one in Missouri or Arkansas, and they had a damn WAR there. But try to tell that to the average liberal, in Europe or the states, and they won't believe you.

I can sometimes get pretty irritated at my European friends. It gets old constantly hearing how dumb Bush is, even if you happen to agree. And I guess it's my inner redneck coming out, but my orneriness is sometimes aroused when I hear bitching about rich, fat, and stupid Americans. Most Europeans, though they would be loathe to admit it, have their consciousness shaped and molded by the media just as much as their US counterparts. From the constant portrayal in the media, they seem to have bought the line that all Americans are loaded. I've had a hard time understanding this, it's not like I think all Mexicans are rich just because the characters on Univision soaps have nice houses. But that's what seems to have sunk in over there. If they come over to the states for a holiday, they never make it to the rural backwaters where I grew up. They don't understand being one medical problem away from bankrupt. They don't understand the reality of no social safety net whatsoever. If you look at the list of the worlds wealthiest nations, the USA ranks above Switzerland. But only a dumb redneck who couldn't find Switzerland on a map (or a liberal, Euro or American, who's never been to Niangua, Missouri) could possibly believe that the average American was better off than the average Swiss citizen.

Unlike you, I have no plans on ever going back to a small town, my hometown or anywhere else. The rampant racism, bible-thumping, and ignorance are too much for me to handle. But just as the Europeans can rankle me, I can also see where the typical American liberal rubs common folks the wrong way. To illustrate I'll go back to music, which got me started on this rant in the first place. At any American university worth its corduroy blazers and suede elbow patches you will find an ethnomusicology department. You will find intense study devoted to Javanese Gamalen or the music of the Baka Pygmies. But you will have to look very hard to find anyone who considers American indigenous music worthy of academic study. Grad students can travel to a remote village anywhere in the world to study a musical style, but you will never find one venturing out to East Bumfuck in America to see what the "natives" here listen to. Though you wouldn't know it from looking at the academic world, America has a rich musical tradition of poor folks who created interesting music. Poor white folks have actually made cultural contributions to this country, really! But throw a rock at a university music school in the states and you'll hit a dozen people writing papers on Fela Kuti before you'll find somebody who even knows who Merle Travis is. The simple fact is that the music of poor white trash isn't sexy enough to merit study, just like the poverty of poor white trash isn't a cause for hand wringing in the liberal world. Rednecks can tell that none of these rich liberal types gives two shits about them, not even as a cultural curiosity, and they vote accordingly."

...

"Working class now means you only have time enough for working. Creativity? Forget it. We've got cable. Easier to consume than it is to create, especially when you get home from a twelve hour shift. Don't even get me started on music education in this country, it's as bad as art education. Take away the time to do something creative, the space to do it in, and the education to even know such things are possible, and you get what we've got now. What passes for American culture."

A point for Conscience

2008-05-28T08:16:00.004-05:00

Scotty McClellan finds his soul... about 6 years too late.

MSNBC

EXCERPT
McClellan admits to letting himself be deceived about the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, which resulted in his relentless pounding by the White House press corps over the activities of Rove and of Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the matter.

"I could feel something fall out of me into the abyss as each reporter took a turn whacking me," he writes of the withering criticism he received as the story played out. "It was my reputation crumbling away, bit by bit."

The truth will reveal itself, more and more, as Bush's last days in office expire. These cunts can't lie for this dirty son of a bitch forever, and they WON'T.

It's a little fucking late, but better late than never for the millions of dumbass Americans who have been hanging on every one of Bush's lies.

They've been played for fools, and our country is suffering for it.

Damn every one of the stupid bastards who have supported this vile piece of shit for the past eight years.

Damn them all to hell.

Viruses of Thought

2008-05-14T07:12:00.001-05:00

I think that humans are far more susceptible to ‘viruses of thought’ than may be realized.

The more that people compartmentalize their ‘allies’ and ‘enemies’, the easier it seems for the collective consciousness to breed hate and loathing for those who “are not on my side”. The less empathy that we allow ourselves as individuals, the more the virus grows in us all. The cure for the collective madness is to cultivate independent thought and care and concern for ALL of our fellow mankind. As hippy-dippy as that may sound- it makes a lot of sense on a psychological level.

How to combat this affliction? By open conversation, understanding and less going off the handle about our own beliefs. The path of peace- IS PEACE. Gandhi’s way is a lot harder than Patton’s. But in the end, it is the only way that will allow humans to evolve past the savagery and the simplistic animal butchery that has been our way of life for too long.

We are the enlightened.

Humans DO build more than we destroy, in the grand scheme. But those who make excuses for their own callous treachery to mankind bring us low daily. We have to stand tall in the face of their shallow reasonings; the petty justifications of their support for evil acts against their fellow man.

Ours IS a better way. Our only enemies are those who believe that there can never be peace because they are not at peace with themselves.

Losing Gracefully

2008-05-09T12:49:00.001-05:00

"I Will Fuck You All in Half!"

Discipline, Lack Of

2008-04-30T12:59:00.001-05:00

Rise and Shine

2008-04-29T13:23:00.008-05:00

Bidding ya'll the Fare-thee-Well-

I have no idea if I can actually stay away this time- but I am going to move on to more important matters than trying to sway my friends, family, (and eventually everyone else who became my blogging family) to my way of thinking. To everyone who has enjoyed my Redneck Liberal ranting, raving, and waxing poetic-like, thanks for the friendship and support!

When I started blogging three years ago, the tubes were a far different place. Believe it or not, the discourse HAS advanced. What used to be the liberal opinions of a small minority has grown to be the pervading mentality of the blogosphere in general. That is a very good thing. The only purpose I had at first was to learn more about what was going on, then to link every important story I found for dissemination to my Texas acquaintances.

I, of course, started adding my distinctive flair ;)

My only real goal was to convert a few of them from the ranks of the bushbots into thinking individuals who took an active interest in the news, the media, and politics. And this is all from the wilds of West Texas- so you can just guess how impossible this task was.

In the end, I succeeded with my friends, made inroads with my dumb-as-dirt relatives, and found a couple thousand other voices who taught me far more than I ever managed to teach... Blogging has been a most rewarding outlet for my frustrations. More than once you people have kept me sane just by allowing me to understand that there were others like me out there- And not just out there- but All OVER America- Stretched from one end of the country to the next. And I hope I let ya'll know that all is not lost, even in a Podunk town that once hoped to be the home of the Bush Library (THANK GOD THAT DIDNT HAPPEN!). This place is bad enough.

Other than a few bad jokes, some creative mixed metaphors, and a few pitiful attempts at graphic artwork- I don't feel like I've got much more to offer as a "Voice" at this moment. I've said my piece.

And gratefully, I look around the 'tubes and realize that there's a LOT more of you out there, some just now voicing your own piece- I welcome you to the patch of internet I used to take up- enjoy yourselves and BE YOURSELVES.

I thank every single person who ever bothered to make their opinion known on this blog- from Progressive Chicano, the first commenter I ever had (back on the Old House of the Rising Sons ) to Targa (who was my first commenter here, back in Nov. 2006) to Fred, to Swan, to Caveman, to Hill to the fans of Ioz's blog who are chewing my ass out as we speak on my Ioz post-

Thank you all.

IT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT MAKES US BETTER.

I'm gonna shut the fuck up now.

(And put my efforts outside the tubes where my mouth has been.)

Ya'll Have a good one.

Slow Death

2008-04-24T10:49:00.010-05:00

How is starving in Gaza different from starving in Auschwitz?

Joe Bageant - on the Audacity of Depression

POLISHIFTER: Gluttony is a Sin, ya fat Bastard!

Sorry that this post is slow going, lotsa stuff going on in the world of the Non-Tubes , most notably- leaving the life of money massaging for Lubbock fatcats and the ex wife is on a bender.

And I may actually post more of my pathetic attempts at "video". Compared to Culture Ghost , Fred, and Agi, my attempts at internet Art was like a stick figure scribble compared to ze Mona Lisa, but I haven't let lack of talent stop me thus far...

Let Mickey's Malt Liquor be my Muse ! (What? I'm broke for four more days)

UPDATE : Check out The Poetry Man's Obama in 30 sec video here. Then sign in and vote for a few videos there...

Our Government is a bad sitcom

2008-04-23T22:36:00.006-05:00

Come and listen to a story about a man named Dub

A poor oil man’s son, barely a silver spoon scrub,

Then one day he was shootin up some coke,

And up through his brain came a bubblin' hoax.

War that is,

black gold, all for me

Well the first thing you know

ol' dub's a dictator,

Neocons said all you lefties are just haters

Said Guantanamo is the place you ought to be

So they loaded up the truck and killed what was free.

our laws, that is.

signing statements, wiretaps.

The Corporate Pharisees!

Well now its time to say good-bye to Dub and his bloody crown.

And he would like to thank you folks fer kindly bowing down.

You’re all invited back again to this locality

To have a heapin helpin of his hospitality

War profiteering that is.

dying for your country’s rich.

Empty your pockets.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

The Grand Masturbation of the Non-Reformists

2008-04-23T10:09:00.023-05:00

"Nothing you do matters! It's all for naught! I am above you because I quit trying! So there! Phbbbt!"

Of course, they throw around their defeatist logic in much more erudite terms, but that's basically the gist of it. I've got no other way to put it but this :

Fucking Cowards.

Sorry. That's you. That's those of you who whine that it doesn't matter. And THEN when we tell you to get off your fucking asses and help do something- you oh-so-smugly "educate" us that it's all some worthless endeavor. "There is nothing you can do to change anything, goddamnit, cuz we-are-Powerless! Don't you see?!" you scream as you pull your asshairs out in clumps-

"Don't you See ?!?!?"

All I see is a crowd of losers who give up once everything doesn't go exactly their way. The worst of the worst of this ilk- is the Grand Masturbator himself, Ioz. The pseudo-intellectual poobah whom the disenfranchised flock to like a golden Nader idol. "We won't vote- We'll show you!"

I have never seen such a smug apathy-selling blogger. Wallowing in his own shit, he passes down his judgement on all who would dare attempt to make a difference. Here, again, he restates what passes for his principles:

The Occasional Restatement of Principles

You know, most Americans are imperialists. One of the reasons--the reason--that it so amuses me to find the occasional commenter here ask me why I offer no practical solutions to "our" problems, why the closest I ever come to advocating for direct action is to propose minor acts of cultural vandalism. Being an anti-imperialist in America is like being a Zionist in the Third Reich. I am a fringe radical. If you agree with even a tenth of what you read on this site, you too are a fringe radical. Your beliefs and opinions are not reflective of those of your countrymen. The question, "How do we stop being imperialists?" bears as much practical import as, "How do we live without breathing?" We don't. The United States of America is an empire. Maybe you think it's on the downhill slide? I certainly hope so. But it is what it is, nevertheless. The notions that within the body of empire lurks the heart of an egalitarian, constitutional republic, or a libertarian minarchy, or a parliamentary social democracy are the purest forms of political self-flattery. The subjects here may be largely political, but the program is purely perceptual. I am not a reformist.

He'th Amuthed. Well, shit on me.

Look, you pawn shop Socrates- you can sell fiddles until Rome burns if you like, but don't try to pawn your bullshit on me that you are some kind of radical. "The closest I ever come to adovocating.." Jaysus fucking Christ. Spare me your master plan of breaking windows to stop Imperialism, mkay? "like a Zionist in the Third Reich" ... good fucking grief. While pissants like you were telling your neighbors you can't fight the Third Reich, this Imperialist power did indeed help the Jews win in the end. The Third Reich didn't last, for all the help nihilists like you are. The Neoconservative movement won't last either. Unless a lot of good people stand aside and let them run roughshod because they feel apathetic towards it all. .
.
Within the body of THIS Empire, there ARE people like me- and there is the heart of a constitutional republic. We are NOT a minority in this country, although I do surely hope that if you are right about one thing it is that people with your mindset are a tiny, flaccid minority. Everything evolves. And if you haven't noticed, this Empire has actually steadily improved on all fronts- UNTIL the advent of the neoconservative radicals. So don't piss on my head and tell me it's a torrential downpour. There's work to be done. And our actions, and yes, even our votes can be used to shift the direction of this empire.

It's times like this that I actually miss certain things about being part of the Republican sheeple- as stupid as that may sound- I never ran into anyone crying in a corner saying they were ready to give up fighting. We need to rally around the Democratic candidate, whoever that might be- because that's the important battle before us. It isn't proving that some half ass huckster like Nader can make a few votes and pocket some change every four years. It isn't about showing the Dems that they you won't vote because they didn't cater as much to the left as you wanted.

It is about slowing down the Radical neo-conservative ultra Imperalists in our current government. And that battle is won by defeating the Republican party.

It is about winning the class war in America by defeating the Republican party.

It is about defanging the racist, sexist, corrupt Republican party and bringing our soldiers home. PERIOD

I just have ONE Question for you: Of all the legislation that Bush threatened to veto and came out swinging against the Dem party in speech after speech - How much would have passed if there would have been a Democrat, ANY Democrat in the oval office? That, I believe, is a valid question.

So, Ioz, spare some of us who are actually out here trying to improve the country, not help continue the Imperial Corporatocracy- Why don't you focus on something important like this
.
And, I'll leave you with one more Warhol quote, useless bastard that he was:
.
"I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say "figment." "
.
The Iozs of the world might as well have blank epitaths, because no one remembers the crybabies on the sidelines who champion the Imperialists by default. Nothing WILL change, while the country is populated with these impotent self-important folks who think they are above it all.
.
They aren't. And by the time these people are forced into activity from their comfort zones- it will be too late. Don't be just another couch potato. Just because Ioz is intelligent, doesn't mean the sum of his inactions make him anything more than just another Homer Simpson, albeit one with a blog.

I shall conclude with a bit from The Sermon To The Hypocrite by Zos, who may be a spiritual ancestor to Ioz:

O, ye whose future is in other hands! This familiarity is permitted not of thy-but of my impotence. Know me as Zos the Goatherd, saviour of myself and of those things I have not yet regretted. Unbidden ye listen'd to my soliloquy. Endure then my Anathema.

Foul feeders! Slipped, are ye, on your own excrement?
Parasites! Having made the world lousy, imagine ye are of significance to Heaven?

Desiring to learn-think ye to escape hurt in the rape of your ignorance? For of what I put in, far more than innocence shall come out! Labouring not the harvest of my weakness, shall I your moral-fed desires satisfy?

I, who enjoy my body with unweary tread, would rather pack with wolves than enter your pest-houses.

Sensation . . Nutrition . . . Mastication . . . . Procreation . . . ! This
is your blind-worm cycle. Ye have made a curiously bloody world for love in desire. Shall nothing change except through your accusing diet?

IN THAT YE ARE CANNIBALS, what meat should I offer?
Having eaten of your dead selves savoured with every filth, ye now raven to glutton of my mind's motion?

In your conflict ye have obtained . . . ? Ye who believe your procreation is ultimate are the sweepings of creation manifest, returning again to early simplicity to hunger, to become, and realise-ye are not yet. Ye have muddled time and ego.

Think ye to curb the semen SENTIMENTALLY? Ye deny sexuality with tinsel ethics, live by slaughter, pray to greater idiots-that all things may be possible to ye WHO ARE IMPOSSIBLE.

For ye desire saviours useless to pleasure.

Verily, far easier for madmen to enter Heaven than moral Lepers. Of what difference is Life or Death? Of what difference is dream or reality? Know ye nothing further than you own stench? Know ye what ye think ye know for certain? Fain would I be silent. Yet too tolerant is this Sun that comethup to behold me, and my weakness comes of my dissatisfaction of you solicit. . . . but be ye damned before obtaining fresh excuses of me!
...
Cursed are the Reformists! Cursed I say!.

UPDATE: Those defending the idea of that nothing Americans can do matters are working pretty hard to convince me. Not exactly the action I was hoping for, but at least they seem to be doing something to change others, even if they don't believe in it...

A final note (from the comments):

Party affiliation isn't the end-all, be-all. It's important to get in the individuals who will support the issues that you want. Yes, it seems hopeless. But what the Deconstructionists don't seem to realize is that you can get mired in your own complexity. I have no doubt that Ioz (and the rest of you guys, for that matter) are more intelligent than those who support the status quo.

HOWEVER, their continuance of power relies upon your "deconstruction". The less you do, the easier it is FOR THEM to maintain control. They may not be brainiacs, but they realize this simple strategy. The subtleties of the political spectrum are NOT Lost on me, I choose to step over them in order to implement a strategy that sets back the status quo elite. Yes, Hillary and Obama are not the candidate I want- but Change is not some Overnight sensation as some of you seem to feel- it is a gradual evolution.

You have to win small battles and get the most progressive choices you have into office over the worst of the worst. Unfortunately, if the "Ioz crowd" decides to sit this one out, in the name of apathy, or Deconstruction, or what have you- it's a win for the worst. There is a reason they (the status quo pimps) are winning. And it's because there are more people willing to sit out Democracy than participate- And whether you claim it's for some Deconstructionist purpose, or whether you are simply one of those people to lazy to vote, the end result is the same.

Defeat.

It's the Status Quo folks that PUT us down, but its the Ioz's who KEEP us down.

Earth vs. the Earthlings

2008-04-22T07:37:00.008-05:00

"Man seeks knowledge like the lemming seeks the ocean, instinct provoking self-destruction."

Does over-population invoke in man a greater level of instinctive self-destructive tendencies?

Yes, I realize that lemmings don't commit suicide en masse. The population fluctuation of lemmings is actually equally interesting as the fact that lemmings will accidentally run off cliffs or inadvertantly swim to their deaths during their migratory cycles in the middle of a population explosion. But it's this "suicide" that piques my interest on this Earth day.

This seems to me to be nature's way of culling the herd sans predators. As their population spikes they consume more of their resources, they crowd out habitable areas and the more innate the instinct for the animals to migrate into new areas. When new habitable areas with food sources are no more and the mass of their population is teeming, starving and frantic, some push onwards off cliffs or into bodies of water to their deaths.

Is certain behavior density dependent? It seems to me common sense that the more dense the population, no matter what the creature, that extremes of instinctive behavior will become more common. Especially as the increasing density of the population stresses and depletes the resources for said creature. These extremes will result in a culling of the herd in most cases.

With humans and our current population explosion, technology could be said to broken through our natural barriers to extreme density of population. Disease, starvation, and natural disasters no longer affect the human population with as much of a culling effect as they have centuries before. Our only natural predator is ourselves. It seems to be it could be said that the earth's ecological salvation may depend on human's ability to cull our own herd - ourselves.

Humankind's ability to adapt makes the un-checked population explosion of our species a most resilient plague upon our host-planet. Have our wars served to aid the planet by eradicating large swaths of humans periodically? Are human (and all other populations for that matter) destined to follow elliot wave-like patterns of growth and decline?

And If this is indeed the pattern that provides for an orderly balance of ecology- What happens when humans crash gluttonously through the pattern, crowding out all other life with just more and more of US? Is it pure selfishness to desire to end plague, death, and war? By saving more and more of ourselves are we dooming ourselves and the entire ecosystem in the end?

Senator Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day, stated:

"Forging and maintaining a sustainable society is the critical challenge for this and all generations to come. In responding to that challenge, population will be the critical factor in determining whether or not we succeed in forging such a society."

And Garrett Hardin, in 196,8 had this to say in Tragedy of the Commons:

"The most important aspect of necessity that we must now recognize, is the necessity of abandoning the commons in breeding. No technical solution can rescue us from the misery of overpopulation. Freedom to breed will bring ruin to all. At the moment, to avoid hard decisions many of us are tempted to propagandize for conscience and responsible parenthood. The temptation must be resisted, because an appeal to independently acting consciences selects for the disappearance of all conscience in the long run, and an increase in anxiety in the short.

The only way we can preserve and nurture other and more precious freedoms is by relinquishing the freedom to breed, and that very soon. "Freedom is the recognition of necessity" -- and it is the role of education to reveal to all the necessity of abandoning the freedom to breed. Only so, can we put an end to this aspect of the tragedy of the commons."

UPDATE: Cheyenne has a related Earth Day post- Check out the Plant-viewpoint vid too.
UPDATE 2: Dcap does the Math

Related subjects:
Ecology
Sustainable Population
Population and Environment
Tragedy of the Commons
Patterns within waves

Off the Fence

2008-04-21T06:45:00.006-05:00

First things First: Freida Bee and Liberality: I'm working on my tag post... (busy weekend)

Now, on to business-

Like me, A lot of Democrats have been sitting on the fence. Obama or Clinton wasn't our first choice, so we didn't really care which one of them won the nomination. And then, I made a distinction based on the recent actions of the two candidates. I went with Obama.

Michael Moore has finally jumped off the fence and onto Obama's side. His reasoning is much like mine. This is from his newsletter:

My Vote's for Obama (if I could vote) ...by Michael Moore
April 21st, 2008

Friends,

I don't get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan. The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn't get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.

So, if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote -- and yours -- on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?

I haven't spoken publicly 'til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don't give a rat's ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there's a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word "Democratic" next to the candidate's name.

Seriously, I know so many people who don't care if the name under the Big "D" is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.

Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama's pastor does -- AND the "church bulletin" once included a Los Angeles Times op-ed from some guy with Hamas! No, not the church bulletin!

This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!

Yes, Senator Clinton, that's how you sounded. Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity. How sad that I would ever have to write those words about you. You have devoted your life to good causes and good deeds. And now to throw it all away for an office you can't win unless you smear the black man so much that the superdelegates cry "Uncle (Tom)" and give it all to you.

But that can't happen. You cast your die when you voted to start this bloody war. When you did that you were like Moses who lost it for a moment and, because of that, was prohibited from entering the Promised Land.
How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).

There are those who say Obama isn't ready, or he's voted wrong on this or that. But that's looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.

That is not to take anything away from this exceptional man. But what's going on is bigger than him at this point, and that's a good thing for the country. Because, when he wins in November, that Obama Movement is going to have to stay alert and active. Corporate America is not going to give up their hold on our government just because we say so. President Obama is going to need a nation of millions to stand behind him.

I know some of you will say, 'Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?' That's a damn good
question. In November of '06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?

I'll tell you why. Because I can't stand one more friggin' minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I'm almost at the point where I don't care if the Democrats don't have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain't "Bush" and the word "Republican" is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that's good enough for me.

I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters -- that big "D" on the ballot.

Don't get me wrong. I lost my rose-colored glasses a long time ago.

It's foolish to see the Democrats as anything but a nicer version of a party that exists to do the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgement and a hope that one day we will have a party that'll represent the people first, and laws that allow that party an equal voice.

Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

That's why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That's why he'll take us down a more decent path. That's why I would vote for him if Michigan were allowed to have an election.

But the question I keep hearing is... 'can he win? Can he win in November?' In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it's possible to hear the words "President McCain" on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She's counting on it.

Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only "three fifths" human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.

Yours,Michael Moore

If you can read all that, AND STILL Support Clinton, well, I'd love to know why. If not, start emailing your Dem reps, your Dem Senators, your delegates and everybody else- that Clinton needs to bow out. It's time to move forward.

Bag em and Tag em

2008-04-19T21:16:00.007-05:00

Rules of the game …

*Link to the person who tagged you.

*Post the rules on your blog.

*Write six random things about yourself.

*Tag six random people by linking to their blogs.

*Let each of the six know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment (on each blog).

*Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

I was tag-teamed by Freida Bee and Liberality (or is it team-tagged?) Oh well, the more, the merrier, I always say...

I love art, I love drawing, even though I don't do it much anymore. Writing or reading is what I end up spending all my free time doing now. But every once in a while If I do draw something, it's usually for my kids. They all love art, and I get more contentment watching them sketch, paint or build something than most parents get watching their kids play a sport. And every once in a while they need Dad to show them how to draw something. That is the best.

I am known to most of my friends as a very outgoing person. But to people I don't know closely, I appear to be a very quiet, even brooding person. I don't like bringing attention to myself except when I'm in my circle of friends, where I am a twisting Texas tornado. The people who I meet in the "social circuit" who see me out in the "real world" almost don't recognize me. And the people who I've met via work, or other situations who run into me in that mode can't tell me fast enough how boring they thought I was before then. So, that's kind of weird to me.

I cook very well. This surprises people when they have an occasion to partake of a dinner I've made. I don't know why this surprises them. I have been a single dad for most of my life. Someone had to feed my kids. The concoctions I create are a little weird, I'll give you that. Typical man that I am, I almost never use a recipe except as a rough guideline. I also never go to the grocery store just to purchase items for one meal. I just look in the fridge and cabinets and work with what I've got. My kids are very picky, but they will usually eat anything I cook (This drives Lauren crazy!)

I shot my younger brother in the head with a bb gun when I was in fifth grade. He was holding a bucket up through a clubhouse window while we were playing war. I hit the bucket and the bb slid past it and embedded itself in his right temple, about an inch from his eye. I took him back to the house, forced him to take some tylenol (to deaden the pain) and was about to do surgery with an X-acto blade when Mom came home. He got a quick trip to the emergency room. Mom took our bb guns away but we were still allowed to take the shotguns out down the street whenever we felt like it. In her words "At least I know you won't be shooting at each other with THOSE guns"... well, actually Mom...

My older sister cut the tires of the apartment complex manager's car where our parents lived one New Year's Eve. I got blamed. My older brother whooped my ass good. I never narc-ed her out, but I still feel like she should at least admit to the shit after all this time.

If I was to find out I would die tomorrow, I would die satisfied and content. I couldn't always say that, but I believe that I've made up for every bad thing I've ever done and made amends to everyone in my life that I've ever hurt. I'm a good friend, a stand up person, and the best father that I know how to be. I've paid it forward every day of my life, even before I even knew what the hell that meant. That's the only thing to me that matters- that I can look myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of who I am.

Framing The "Debate"

2008-04-18T18:50:00.008-05:00

A friend called me early this morning. He's a default Texas John McCain supporter, which means : He won't vote for no split tail or no negro, by God.

A day before I had ripped McCain to this Truck Driver- and explained why he should be voting Democrat for the rest of his natural born life, apparently, 24 hours set in and he forgot the fifteen damn factors I had instilled in him via reason, logic, and historical example.

He called me from his cell as he was truckin along, and he asked me if I was still supporting Obama. Before I could answer, he followed up with : "Have you seen the news?" - Now, I am a news JUNKIE. I mainline C&L, I shoot MSNBC Straight, I chase it with NPR Radio , and while I'm at it, I have a slice of Yahoo and smoke a bowl of CNBC. And I wash it all down with a suicide of various blogs. So, sitting down at my desk that early morning, I hadn't even booted up my PC yet. All I had was my morning drive with NPR's tibetan updates.

I thought- 'Well, shit! what did I miss?'

"Obama got a terrorist working for him.Yep, it's all over the news!" He exclaimed.

Unawares of what the heck he was talking about, I kinda mumbled- "I didn't see that on the news" But nonplussed, I followed up with the standard West Texas talking point- "Well, hell, Rocky, I'll still vote for a terrorist over Hillary or McCain". That got a chuckle.

"Well, I just thought you should know that's what I heard. That your boy got terrorists working for him."

He couldn't cite a news agency or details, and he had to go abruptly. I quickly got online, thinking to myself- What-in-the-fck-now?

Unsurprisingly it dawned on me that there was no news concerning this soundbite. I had forgotten that the rest of the country isn't quite up to speed on current events. Maybe he had finally heard some shit about Madrassas. Maybe he had heard about Weather Underground. Maybe he heard some uppity black preacher was badmouthing the flag. But whatever bullshit he took in one ear, didn't quite make it out the other.

All that careful conversation I had with him the day before, meant nothing now. All he heard was that I was supporting a black man over the white one. And although he listened carefully and even told me what a sorrry ass Bush was, worst President ever- a day later all that registered was that crazy ass nigga's middle name was Hu-saaaaannnnne and he won't say the pledge of allegiance by damn!

...

He wants to vote Republican. Because he's been told to. But everything is shit and it has been for the past 8 years. Nothing has quite worked out like the Republican party told him it would. He just don't know. But ho-shit- It's not just a split-tail running for President, that's a god-damn Clinton! By Jesus, He'd take a bj in an outhouse with his wife holding a roll of toilet paper outside, but he cain't abide the Preznit getting his jollies in the oval office!

Not if he's damn democrat, at least! And then the other option is a half-breed! And half breeds ain't so bad, Hell this guy's grandson is a "half-breed". But this fucker is half (whisper- BLACK! whisper)

Sumbitch!

McCain is a white guy and hell he's even a War Hero. (If it all it takes to be a war hero is to be captured by a rice farmer in a paddy where you've been bombing civiilians)... So when he hears "Hussein" or "Farrakhan" or "black President" his mind is made up.

The wit and wisdom, the facts and the figures, the history and the truth isn't going to sway him.

UNLESS...

So, what I propose- is to fight like a dirty, piece of shit Republican. Do what they have done to Obama and to Hillary before him- Make up a bunch of bullshit and pass it down the line. Who knows? Knowing the Middle Amerkan dipshit like I know so well, they will PROBABLY improve on it as it goes in one ear and out their ass.

I'm sure you've heard some dirt on McCain. Well, do what THEY do, and just assume its true and pass it around. But frame it in the worst possible way to Right wingers and their ilk; Make a headline about McCain. Say that you heard it from a "reputable source" and let that fucker fly. We are dealing with idiots, slaves, and sycophants. For four years of blogging, I've laid out the truth in careful little lines only to be ignored by morons who want to know who's Britney's Sister's Baby's Daddy is.

FUCK THEM.

McCain wants to Double the Estate Tax! I read it in the Wall Street Journal!

McCain owns interest in a Chinese Nuclear Weapons facility! It was on FoxNews!

McCain called one of Mitt Romney's three wives' (the thirteen year old) a bitch! I heard it on Rush!

McCain beat his ex-wife as she lay in a cancer ward, then had sex with his mistress in the same room as she lay bleeding afterwards! it was on Drudge, I Swear!

McCain wants Cheney as his Vice President! (that might be true)

Rove threatens to blow the whistle on McCain's Bondage Affair with Condi Rice, her lesbian girlfriend and Jeff Gannon! I read it at Free Republic!

McCain secretly vows to George Bush in a satanic blood brother ritual that they will do a 9-11 in every major city until the Democrat party is no longer a majority in Congress! I saw it on Perez Hilton!

Because the horrible truth is- THESE Lies are more likely to get attention than Bush okaying Torture, Blackwater pulling guns on American soldiers with no consequences, Iraq going to hell in a handbasket, our President funneling millions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and Israel, our government allowing crooked corporations to loot American stockholders, or our military being destroyed by the Incompetent Republican leadership.

So lie all you want. The truth is far worse.

Blogger Universe!

2008-04-18T10:18:00.005-05:00

Real Name: Unknown
Other Blog handles: Redneck Liberal, Faded
Base of Operations: West Texas, ya'll

First Blog Appearance: Crooks and Liars, 2004
Group Affiliations: MCCS1977, Blue Herald, and Unruly Mob

Topic of Choice: Government is out of control, Right Wing is ruining America

Medals of Valor: Thinking blogger award, thrice decorated, Awarded the coveted Iamsoretarded.com linkage from Archvillain Megabrad.

Special Powers: Fast typing, Profanity Specialist, ability to use True Conservative arguments in the Liberal cause to dismantle the bullshit of Right wingers. Unafraid to piss people off.

Google-Link Ability: Level 10 - Master
HTML Ability: Level 2 - Cut and paster

Weaknesses: Alcohol, Vulgar women , Truly Intelligent people, ability to piss people off.
ArchEnemy: Caveman , destroyed in mid-2007, not seen since.

History: Born in a trailer, raised in the projects while simultaneously living on weekends with his millionaire father, Fade is a man of contradictions and exceptions. May possibly be the only member of Who's Who with multiple college scholarships prior to entering high school who was a gangmember and frequent incarceree of the Lubbock jail system.

Leaving West Texas for the Big D, he escaped the confines of the bible belt and expanded his mind in college. However, his criminal side resurfaced and he became a young Republican. Returning to Lubbock, he became a board member of the corporation his father was President of. Dark days of dittoheadness followed.

Days after championing W in the 2000 elections, Fade discovered something was very wrong. He realized his political views and life were a complete hypocritical self-serving pile of shit.

Then he discovered the intertubes. He fell under the tutelage of Blog Master Actor212, who took him under his wing and tried to hone Fade's pathetic lack of html skills. After Actor212 showed him the ways of the tubes- Fade opened his zen blog temple, House of the Rising Sons.

Fade became a junior member of the Justice Blog of America (aka MCCS1977) sometime in 2006, where he learned much at the feet of Frederick, Navyswan, and Bacchus. Fade then struck out on his own again with a new House and to this very day fights crime and Republicans from this stronghold.

The Mother's Prayer

2008-04-17T11:37:00.006-05:00

The Mother's Prayer

Our Mother, which art underfoot and all around

Hallowed be thy world, to which all are bound

Thy kingdom now

Our will be one, as above, so below

Give us this day our daily need

and let us give back what is not needed

let us live without greed, sloth, or vanity

let us know our place in thy world

let us sow so that we may reap

let us reap so that we may sow

let us live so that we may die

let us die so that we may live

Give us balance

and let us have the wisdom to maintain the balance

From thy we are born

and to thy we return

For thine is the kingdom,

earth and heaven and hell, wrapped in one.

Let it be.

Kirk Berryhill

4/17/2008

Political Survey

2008-04-16T08:21:00.004-05:00

Stony Brook Survey - (found at Crooks and Liars)

...feeling a little burnt out lately, posting may be light unless inspiration striketh... will be haunting YOUR blogs, so get cracking!

SadButTrue of "The Mob" On Fascism

Bitter pictures, Bitter pills

2008-04-14T23:42:00.005-05:00

Is this the bitter picture Obama painted?

The truth is ugly. But it's there. Not very many people want to look it in its bestial eyes...

Make sure that you go from Cheyenne's place to the Robert Reich blog.

Do you see what I see?
Truth is an offense
Your silence for your confidence

Do you hear what I hear?
Doors are slamming shut
Limit your imagination,
keep you where they must

Do you feel what I feel?
Bittering distress
Who decides what you express?

Do you take what I take?
Endurance is the word
Moving back instead of forward
seems to me absurd

Doesn’t matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If its done just how I say

Independence limited
Freedom of choice -is made for you my friend

Freedom of speech is words that they will bend
Freedom with their exception

Do you fear what I fear?
Living properly
Truths to you are lies to me

Do you choose what I choose?
More alternatives
Energy derives from both the plus and negative

Do you need what I need?
Boundaries overthrown
Look inside to each his own

Do you trust what I trust?
Me, myself and i
Penetrate the smoke screen
I see through the selfish lie

Doesn’t matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If its done just how I say

Independence limited
Freedom of Choice -is made for you my friend

Freedom of Speech is words that they will bend
Freedom with their exception

Do you know what I know?
Your money and your wealth
Your silence just to hear your self

Do you want what I want?
Desire not a thing
I hunger after independence
lengthen freedoms ring

Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If its done just how I say

(My favorite song off that album. That whole song could just be the theme song for the Amerka: The Bush Years)...

Art image by Samantha

Yes, its the weekend and i am bored

2008-04-12T22:13:00.008-05:00

I watched that, and I remember how it felt - to feel like that. Long time ago.

And immune to those feelings now, I wonder if I am better - or worse.

And then I find this Holy Hell ,

"Lust, you are a thief."

I am in love again. with the thief who has stolen these words from my heart and placed them on display where I could steal them back... Nothing is so invigorating as the cold splash of furious poetry across my numb,dumb face... Wake me and Take me.

and I realize, we don't ever become immune. but fortunately, we can express it a lot more eloquently as our pain ages...

It was a brief romance, just the way I like them...

Bask in my love and let me run before you can discover how impure my love really is.

apology for paradise tasted, but never given.

One Needless Death

2008-04-11T15:48:00.003-05:00

Winter Patriot: While my guitar and I both gently weep

Letter From John Edwards

2008-04-11T10:23:00.005-05:00

Hat tip to Bob at Mad in the Middle for finding this-

John Edwards Letter to the editor - The New York Times

(reprinted in full):

In “For Wounded Veterans and Their Families, a Journey Without Maps” (Editorial Observer, March 24), Lawrence Downes missed an important opportunity to explain why both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are unprepared to care for the service members who have been hurt in the Iraq war.

The reason is that the frequently reported number of the wounded in action (29,320 as of March 1) does not include everyone who’s been hurt.

The complete number of nonfatal casualties in Iraq is 60,645. Most assume the wounded number includes all, but it does not. It leaves out another 8,273 injured and 23,052 who became ill and required medical air transport from the war zone. The Department of Defense releases two reports: one with the weekly numbers of those wounded and killed, and then another monthly report with the complete numbers. After five years, it is time for respected news organizations to use the complete number.

The public needs this information so that we can better prepare for the care of all of our veterans from this war and others. The struggle for them and their families your article addressed is happening all across this country. Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already sought care from the V.A.

The system is broken. That is why so many veterans are still fighting for the care they earned. That is why their families struggle with paperwork and months of delay. And that is why 154,000 veterans sleep on grates or under bridges every night.

We have tens of thousands set to come home, and we aren’t prepared. Every day we should honor the more than 4,000 lives lost: every suicide, bullet or serious accident.

And every day we should honor those who have been hurt. That number is 60,645 and rising.
John EdwardsChapel Hill, N.C., March 31, 2008

also blogged about at: EENR and TPM

Spilling out of the Reasonable Mold

2008-04-11T06:44:00.005-05:00

Cretin-Doofus-Master-of-Morons

Stuff like this is exactly why I love the internet. Kester has a heartfelt post concerning his son, his self, and not fitting into the common mold...

Come Sweet Oblivion

2008-04-10T08:08:00.011-05:00

May the Higgs Bosun be with you
personal note : What a crock of shit.

Wild Wild Key West
personal note: Be Kinder to your employees

Jewish marathoners conflicted by diet options
personal note: Today's national tragedy brought to you by: Matzo's

Historians agree: Worst Prez ever.
personal note: And he's not even done yet...

Rachel Maddow
personal note: Yes, I like her, but does she have to cultivate the appearance of a right wing chicken hawk male, down to the hair part? All she needs now is a bow tie.

Alternet Asks can Feminism and Porn co-exist? An article so stupid, I won't bother linking... But it's an easy opening for a smartass answer: Only if it's girl on girl.

It's always darkest before dawn. Betmo offers this glimmer of hope

Fairlane has this interesting take on dealing with wingnuts

Chaos Inc.

2008-04-09T07:56:00.008-05:00

Random blogging, part 763

NOTE TO DISGRUNTLED BLOGGER-AMERKANS:

I think we've all felt this way sometime or other during the past year:

"that this election is really going to make one godamn bit of difference and that this is still a functioning democracy....ha-ha! Now, that's funny!"
The Culture Ghost

I think the biggest way to cure apathy is to get pissed off again. So, to all of you who feel like CG right now, and I'm sure its a growing group out there: Get Pissed Off Again.

To all of you who feel like this election is all a useless endeavor- Remember this- The Republicans WILL be voting. Even though they don't like their candidate, they seem to understand what many of us don't - Their vote counts, and it's worth the effort to put it in for your candidate, because, even though that candidate may not be everything you want, it's the small differences that WILL COUNT in the 4 years of the immediate future. They know it. They know McCain will keep pushing Republican bullshit that will aid them in little ways, if nothing else, he will keep the ni**ers, the fa*s, the wetbacks, the fucking poor, the unions, the non-christians, the non-racists, the peaceniks and the socialists DOWN where the Republicans think they all belong. And they will hustle their sorry asses down to vote for that one point only, if it all boiled down to it.

And if You STILL don't think it matters in the end- well fucking shut the hell up and DO Something MORE for your country.

For those of you who feel that working within the parameters of the system isn't going to effect any change- you have plenty of alternatives outside the box. If you are convinced that Democracy is dead, and I am certainly not- are you going to put up or shut up?

Because I'd love to see something either way. I've been right here with you myself before, feeling defeated and dismayed at the whole bullshit system. But selling the idea that everything is useless is ... well, useless. Be a patriot. Shake things up. Get back in the game. Fight for what you believe is right. Too many people sitting on the sidelines is what makes this country weak.

"We are about to become refugees. Was Moses an independent?" Mandt (commenting at The Culture Ghost)

Fuck being a refugee. That shit's for the birds. FIGHT. Note: You may have to turn off your computer and go outside.

Best Matthews description Evar :

"Yet for as basic as he has become to the political and media furniture, Matthews is anything but secure. He is of the moment, but, at 62, also something of a throwback -- to an era of politics set in the ethnic Democratic wards of the '60s and the O'Neill-Reagan battles of the '80s. And he is a product of an aging era of cable news, the late-'90s, when "Hardball" started and Matthews made his name as a battering critic of Bill Clinton during the Monica saga.Cable political coverage has changed, however, and so has the sensibility that viewers -- particularly young ones -- expect from it. Mat-thews's bombast is radically at odds with the wry, antipolitical style fashioned by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert or the cutting and finely tuned cynicism of Matthews's MSNBC co-worker Keith Olbermann. These hosts betray none of the reverence for politics or the rituals of Washington that Matthews does. On the contrary, they appeal to the eye-rolling tendencies of a cooler, highly educated urban cohort of the electorate that mostly dismisses an exuberant political animal like Matthews as annoyingly antiquated, like the ranting uncle at the Thanksgiving table whom the kids have learned to tune out."

American Roulette

2008-04-08T11:02:00.004-05:00

Dr. Chris Martenson, at Financial Sense University -The Federal Reserve Plays A Dangerous Game

At this point, I’ll share a belief of mine with you: I believe the stock market is being propped up by the Fed and/or US government (PPT), who are desperately afraid of allowing the stock market to signal the true state of affairs. In some ways I can understand this; I think that the authorities who are stabilizing the markets right now are quite justifiably worried about what would happen if the stock market were “allowed” to send a correct signal to a wider audience. Because I believe that the stock market is being propped, I do not trust that it’s telegraphing useful or meaningful price signals and so I will take very different actions than someone who holds the opposite view. I might be wrong, or the person holding the opposite view might be wrong, but one of us is making a colossal mistake.

And here’s a second belief: The market is bigger than the authorities, and they will ultimately fail in their attempts to prop the stock market because they are merely masking symptoms, not treating causes. If it were possible for an elevated stock market alone to cure what ails our economy, I might think differently, but those efforts are surely misdirected.

In addition, this podcast is a must listen for those of you who want to know more about Greenspan's follies and the stupefying way our Government works concerning the market and the fed.

Financial Sense Newshour: Ask the Experts: William Fleckenstein

Today's Headline in the Wall Street Journal: His Legacy Tarnished

"The scrutiny of Mr. Greenspan's record has taken on urgency now that the Bush administration and congressional Democrats are skirmishing over how to overhaul U.S. financial regulation. If Mr. Greenspan's critics prevail, then financial companies will likely face tighter oversight and less freedom in the products they offer. If Mr. Greenspan's views carry the day, the trend toward self-policing will continue."

"Self-Policing" Yes, and let's have gangbangers design our new gun laws. How about policing some of this criminal mismanagement? How about Oversight, Accountability, Criminal penalties, and seizure of CEO and company funds when those entities have been discovered to have robbed their shareholders as a matter of policy?

"On at least one occasion, Mr. Greenspan did resist colleagues who urged further oversight. In 2000, then-Fed governor Edward Gramlich, who was in charge of the Fed's consumer affairs, proposed to Mr. Greenspan that the Fed's staff examiners look for abusive lending practices in banks' lightly regulated mortgage affiliates.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last June, three months before his death, Mr. Gramlich said that at the time, he generally considered subprime loans a good thing. He didn't then know the extent to which the loans would become a problem, but he wanted the "Fed to be a leader" in cracking down on predatory lending.
Mr. Greenspan recalls that he demurred, saying that the Fed shouldn't have oversight of these lenders."

We've got to let go of the Self-policing myth that the Republican party has sold America. The corrupt will NEVER police themselves. These men cannot continue to be given a get out of jail free card forever by a Republican party that is in the back pocket of corporate interests. The Super-rich get richer while the rest of America rots beneath.

Greenspan's 'Legacy', hell. Let's call it what it is : A Curse. And the curse continues, under the systematic incompetence of our current government.

Absolut-ly ridiculoso

2008-04-07T14:25:00.005-05:00

Absolut ad offends non-Mexicans

It's kind of stupid to me. Sort of like Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants fighting over which branch of christianity is the 'true' religion for Eire.

Newsflash- In an Absolut America, we wouldn't have Spanish Conquistadors OR English Colonists fighting over who stole the land first.

Christians: Whether they speak Spanish or English, the heirs to Jewish mythology are the biggest Thieve's Guild in human history.

The George W. Bush Sewage Plant

2008-04-05T08:18:00.003-05:00

http://sfist.com/2008/03/31/presidential_me_1.php

http://arnoldsandoval.com/2008/04/04/john-gibson-interview-with-chicken-john/

"We would like to basically turn every toilet in San Francisco into a monument for George Bush"

Support your Global Blogger/Musicians

2008-04-03T15:52:00.004-05:00

Old Hack is in this contest

Give him a little support and a vote!

http://www.youtube.com/oldhacks

BAILING OUT WALL STREET

2008-04-03T12:15:00.019-05:00

A sick feeling rises from my gut. I've rarely seen the level of asskissing going on right now with Ben Bernanke. We didn't bail out the shareholders, but we did bail out the lenders. Dodd (D-CT)and Menendez (D-NJ)stand up for regular Americans by actually asking some serious questions, especially Menendez. Shelby (R-AL) actually wasn't too bad. Tester (D-MT) was okay.

But for a majority of the others, especially Bob Corker (R-TN)- it's a mad rush to thank the Fed for saving the big corporations from the weally weally nefarious FREE MARKET.

Bernanke feels that its likely that $29 BILLION investment by the Fed with taxpayer money will be worth it. But, he stammers, they haven't assessed it yet, they are in the process...

They haven't even figured out how much the Fed will be charged by BlackRock yet. Seriously- Repeat that to yourself: BlackRock was hired to evaluate Bear's assets for an unspecified fee. And not one that they aren't just specifying TO US- One they haven't figured out yet.

As in "Trust us. We'll tell you how much of this crap is crap. And we'll charge you something, er reasonable. Yeah, that's it, Ben."

Don't you Fed guys worry your pretty heads about it, m'kay? The big businessmen will tell you what they need and when. Go back to designing your dreamhome when you resign from the Fed next year...

Well, we've sent a lesson to the Mortgage holders. And we've sent a lesson to the shareholders of Bear-Stearns (and soon to be shareholders of several other major financials). But where is the lesson for the people who have been uprating the dirty Financial Institutions? Where is the lesson for the architects of this mess? Where is the lesson for these cutthroat lenders who give the loans with no accountability, then quickly bundle them all together and sell them away to the big financials as soon as possible?

Ben Bernanke just GUARANTEED an un-assessed pile of shit at a price tag of $29 Billion. But he feels that it will all be okay in the end. The only thing this insect has really guaranteed is a future position at JP Morgan.

And a panel made up mainly of sycophant Senators prattles on, helping cover the asses of THEIR biggest lenders, Corporations.

Once again, regular Americans get screwed and Big Business- who screwed over all these people, took the cash and ran- gets a big wet kiss.

Free Market my ass. There is NOT ONE DAMN Republican in Congress that isn't a crony for Big business. Trickle down into your rep's pockets.

Enjoy it, those of you dumbasses that vote for these dirty crooked Republicans even though you can't afford to buy stock.

By the way, Senator Bob Corker is the biggest Asskissing Weasel I've ever seen. If anyone is firmly of the back pocket of corporate interests its this slimeball. God, he's practically blowing Dimon, not questioning him. Do you HAVE any questions, Corker, you sellout?

The Headline on CNBC moments ago: Dimon: I was asked the right questions

Doesn't that just say it all...

Oaths, and some damn paperwork, and no more of this "no one can understand all this durn complexity" Bullshit! I also don't want to hear what you people are "reasonably confident" about!

Slave Market

Contact the Senate Banking Committee and commend Menendez for taking a stand, albeit a small one - it still towered above the rest. Let them know this is a wee bit more important than baseball players pumping up on roids.

If Bernanke is "reasonably confident" that Bear Stearns assets AREN'T a pile of worthless paper, then why was this bailout needed? Smokescreens that aid the Financials AREN'T in the Americans best interest. Without some real oversight - these lenders will keep this going until it breaks the country's back.

UPDATE: Welcome to everyone visiting ala Mike's Blog Round Up and C&L : Mike also had this link on the matter: Naked Capitalism: Bear Hearings Charade

UPDATE 2: Bear Stearns goes to work For J.P. Morgan. 7000 Bear Stearns Employees fired Bear Stearns goes to work For J.P. Morgan. 7000 Bear Stearns Employees fired

Drunken Vid Bloggin: Loverboy

2008-04-03T00:33:00.008-05:00

They never have EXACTLY what you are looking for... But. still, its amazin how much shit "they" have...

I guess she was married to him. But as of the filming of this video, it sure looks like she is ready to make it through the night without him...

I am now in love with Rita Coolidge. Or the memory of Rita, as it were...

Bonus afterthought #1 : Kris is giving off a pathetic horndog vibe in this vid.

You know, before I started drinking heavily, I never knew how bad-mfkn-ass these guys really were..

Start me like a motor, make me run... Can you believe I'm down to the fuckin rum? I bet you can..

No matter how FUCKED UP i might get, I take solace that I'm not THIS fucked up...

and, for the record, i wuz lookin for Take me to the top, with the line "Help me make it through the night" which explains the Kris Kristofferson vid above. Couldn't find that fucker on youtube, but I downloaded the whole "Loverboy Library" (self-inflicted) while I put together this blogpost. And, full disclosure: I'm out of fucking beer.

And lest I leave any douchebags out, This one's for Maverick-

Bonus Afterthought #2: Rita, Rita, Rita.

Bonus Update 3: My wife is really pissed that I woke her up with an emergency blog about Loverboy and Rita Coolidge.

Geez. I thought she loved me.

I link, therefore I am

2008-04-02T13:27:00.006-05:00

Tracking a Marine lost at home

Letter from Venezuela

The alternating Relevance of those who make the simple truth look so easy to understand

Bob ponders not voting for Obama...

My response:

To me, actions speak louder than words. Hillary or Obama, in my crystal ball, will ACT much the same in office. Like you, John Edwards was my choice. Hillary has dropped the ball in three ways recently, though: failing to vote on the FISA matter, when Obama did. That's an action that had a consequence with this voter. Then cozying up to the worst of the worst of Republican hacks: Rush and Scaife. Finally, I believe I've watched this race with a neutral eye for some time. And again and again, I see the Clinton campaign using Rethug tactics to smear her Democratic opponent and actually Cheer on the Republican candidate. So, I am for Obama. Even so, Bob, I'd happily vote for Hillary over McCain. Because I can tell the difference between McCain and Hillary. And if Obama becomes the candidate, I surely hope you (and other HRC supporters) can find it in your heart to see the difference between Obama and McCain.

Why did you become a Democrat?

Paul addressing Bernanke

2008-04-02T10:03:00.003-05:00

I know there's plenty of you out there who dislike Ron Paul, but his comments concerning the marketplace collusion with our government versus our civil liberties are spot on.

He's speaking on CNBC as I type this. (Capitol Hill inquiries of Bernanke). I will try to find a transcript later. He's attempting to get an answer out of Bernanke that I know he won't get. But I think it's important to voice these important concerns.

Ignoring this important issue won't make it go away.

UPDATE: Here's the Youtube...

Watch this video

2008-04-02T08:03:00.005-05:00

Montel Calls out Conservative

"Stop turning this into a political issue while I gotta man sitting there suffering. It's not a political issue"...

"This is not the time to get a soundbite. Tell me what you're gonna do about this man sitting here before you" ...

"Then let's get the President right now to take responsibility. He's the Commander in Chief- Quit turning his back on people who's doing his dirty work. Why not do that? "...

"I want a Republican and a Democrat to go tell that President- listen to me, you were a Reservist, you didn't even put your uniform on and do the real job-Why don't you now support the people who did?"

The truth is, if the President wanted to fix this, he could. And not ONE Democrat would vote against money for the healthcare of the troops.

So, the question is, Why doesn't the Decider do something?

I think we all know the answer.

There's plenty of money to finance Blackwater. But there is not a damn dime for troops that can't fight anymore. Once an American soldier is wounded beyond ability to serve in Iraq, the Republicans don't support them ANY LONGER.

UPDATE: Frederick has more on McCain and Veteran's Healthcare

Fafblog Back?

2008-04-01T16:21:00.006-05:00

Or is Giblets just fucking with us on April Fools?

http://fafblog.blogspot.com/

The Billion dollar Soap Opera

2008-03-31T12:59:00.006-05:00

from Moon of Alabama

EXCERPT
To sum it up:

Maliki is the U.S. supported puppet in Iraq
Maliki starts a war on Sadr
Sadr stops the offense against him and successfully attacks Maliki's forces and his backers in the Green Zone
Maliki sends folks to Iran to have an Iranian "terrorist supporter" mediate a peace deal with Sadr
Sadr sets the terms under which he agrees to stop fighting
Maliki agrees (somewhat) to Sadr's terms and the truce
The U.S. taxpayer pay $12 billion a month to watch this show

Isn't this a bit absurd?

The Full Article is a good read

Last of Iraqis gives you the 6 days of the Sadr Surge from an Iraqi perspective

And of course, Juan Cole always has more information on the situation

UPDATE: Newshoggers: Basra and Beyond

The Maniac and the Brainiac

2008-03-31T11:40:00.003-05:00

Sorry I love this pic and had to share. Two sides of the same coin....

True Patriots fight FOR Freedom, not against it

2008-03-31T09:17:00.007-05:00

80 year old Anti War Deacon arrested for t-shirt

They are arresting American citizens for t-shirts that offend warhawks. They are arresting preachers in America for calling for an end to the Iraq war. They are arresting eighty year old men who openly voice their opinion peacefully.

They are arresting American citizens for exercising free speech.

We are not free to oppose the warlike among us. We are not free to express morality in a country run by the immoral. We are not free to assemble peacefully when our opinion opposes that of the corporatists.

We are not free.

Those who are for the war can assemble, protest, and even assault the antiwar crowd and not be arrested. But if you dare stand up for the thousands of soldiers who are dying to make money for the military industrial complex, you will be spat upon, you will be accosted, you will be harrassed, you will be arrested by government officials.

I don't know who I despise more, the government who is taking away our American freedom, or the pathetic citizen scumbags who assault other Americans for speaking out FOR THE TROOPS.

I take heart that more and more christians are standing up for true christian beliefs and morality against the war. I pick christians out because the pro-war, pro-torture crowd, by and large, is made up of those who consider themselves christians.

Another Gathering of Eagles brownshirt story. This weak ass nazi gets "assaulted" by an 82 year old woman after verbally abusing her veteran husband. She kicks the dumbass in his dumb ass. I guess those Octagenarian peace activists are really dangerous, after all.

She got a $25 fine. Where can I send her my $25 for standing up to these nazis?

More American Patriots, veteran and otherwise:

Amnesty International teen protest

Winter Soldier

Iraq Vet: we need to leave Iraq immediately

Voices speak out (World Can't Wait)

Give me a link to your favorite American patriot who is working to end the war now, in the face of those who would steal our freedom...

BONUS LINK: Matt Taibbi on the Rev.Wright

Bullets to the Face

2008-03-28T08:07:00.004-05:00

Sacrificing your child to your Religion

Canadian Seal Hunters now required to kill baby seals before they start skinning them

Strip Club where 12 year old runaway danced nude cannot be shut down

Demonica Abron, 27, who worked as a stripper in the club, and David Bell, 22, have been charged with felony sexual performance of the child in connection with making the 12-year-old work at the club. Both are also accused of engaging in organized crime.

Bell is accused of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping.

He was being held at the Dallas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of a $450,000 bond. It was unclear if Bell had an attorney.

Abron also faces a prostitution charge.

Feminism for Typical clueless Males

2008-03-27T13:09:00.013-05:00

That would be the Other version of Shazam- Selene, Hera, Athena, Zoroastra, Artemis, and Macha ...

Uh, did I mention that I'm from West Texas?

whenever I say that, it means I was raised clueless, and sometimes it takes a lot to clue me in...

While I was commenting on the subject that's been on my mind quite a bit lately, (Marriage) on Alternet , someone mentioned that I might be clueless as to what feminism meant. I support feminism and even claim the title of feminist from time to time. I decided I would set this person straight for attempting to set me straight, and I'd do it with by first providing the definition of feminism to them.

Oops. The danger of researching facts when setting folks straight- is that you might set yourself straight. And I guess that's what I did. This morning my personal definition of feminism was simply "A movement to advance women's rights." What I found first was:

Feminism Feminism: 1. Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
2. The movement organized around this belief.

Wait, I thought, that's not right. It doesn't mention women specifically at all. So I dug in again, and I found something that fit a little better with my personal interpretation (which we all know is what the internet is REALLY good for).

Merriam-Webster had this: 1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

That was a little better, because it mentioned women. And Fem is the latin root for woman, and that's what it's all about- giving women equal rights with men. And because I believed it was ALL about women, I had some misconceptions about the concept and how it has evolved, uh, in the last 100 years or so. And maybe I'd even held some inner contempt for what I believed feminism was, on some levels. This feeling was intensified by some of the times that I had been soundly thrashed over at Pandagon by some commenters for basically just saying what was on my mind. Anyway, realizing there was something that I was missing, I dug in to the concept feminism once again today.

As it struck me that Feminism has a broader scope, a couple of doors opened in my mind, and I realized what the commenter had subtly (and I thank them for the subtlety) tried to guide me towards. And I also realized that a lot of beliefs that I had of the man's role - were in actuality Feminism. So, I learned some things today, not the least of which was that I truly am a Feminist!

I know, I'm a dumbass. But I'm less of a dumbass than I was yesterday ;) and that's what's important.

How bad do you want it?

2008-03-26T12:54:00.004-05:00

How did I miss this?

Bill Clinton does the Limbaugh show

..Bill going on the Rush show the day of the Texas primaries, when Rush was exhorting Republicans to illegally vote as Democrats just to hurt the Democratic party- That's just... ..low. Damn, it's lower than low.

Then there's this- Scaife-Hillary

"I don't know just how this went down. But the idea Sen. Clinton and her staff went into an editorial board meeting with Scaife and his lackey reporters without a clear sense that they were going to get at least one choice Jeremiah Wright question just somehow doesn't ring true to me."

The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is baaaaack... and apparently this time the Clintons are working with it.

Rush Limbaugh!? Richard Scaife?!

I can put up with a LOT from a presidential candidate as long as they are willing to fight for the constitution against the Bushbots. But I'll be damned if I support a candidate who panders to Rush Limbaugh's crowd and then works side by side with the people who worked so hard to attempt to destroy you. Hell, how can she even sit in the same room with that man? Unless...

Unless it's all been a goddamned sham from the get-go.

Any way you slice it, it's NOT what I want from a Democratic leader. And half of Progressive Democrats in America want Hillary to be the next President?

It's times like these that I come close to agreeing with Vlad Kalashnikov on the state of American politics: America is fucked beyond all repair.

I will leave you with Vlad's thoughts on Bear Stearns and the financial symmetry of the Russian collapse with the impending American one...

Everything about Bear Stearns collapse and bailout is a deja vu of collapse of Yeltsin-era banking system. Back then in the 1990s, American advisers created Russia's "market" system, and that ended in a total economic collapse in August of 1998. What is happening today in America is just a repeat. For example, the development this week of the Bear Stearns collapse reminds me so much of the same way Russian banks collapsed under American guidance in the 1990s. In Russia under Yeltsin, when a bank was close to collapse they always assured the public that everything was fine and they blamed "rumors" for causing problems; this week, the CEO of Bear Stearns and all the American journalists on Bear Stearns payroll blamed "rumors" and "irrational psychology" for causing a run on Bear Stearns' money during the week. The purpose of these lies is that it allows the insiders to cash out their money while the rest of the trusting American fools keep their money in, only to lose it later. Then after the insiders cash out, comes the supposed "panic" and "sudden" collapse, best to take place on a Friday of course. The "sudden collapse" and "panic" gives cover for the next even bigger transaction: the connected Bear Stearns banker calls the Central Bank Chief Bernanke, just as Khodorkovsky would call Dubinin or whoever was Central Bank chief then, and naturally Bernanke gives to Bear Stearns as many billions as the CEO asks for, and everyone thinks it's okay because the billions were necessary in this atmosphere of alleged "sudden panic," as if Bear Stearns and Bernanke had not been speaking to each other like phone sex addicts every day 24/7 the entire week. Reports Bloomberg:

The Fed is taking on the credit risk from collateral supplied by Bear Stearns, which approached the central bank for emergency funds, Fed staff officials said today.

The Fed, under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, voted unanimously to lend the funds through JPMorgan because it would be operationally simpler than a direct loan to Bear Stearns, the staff said on condition of anonymity. The regulator invoked a little-used law that allows it to make loans to corporations and private partnerships, which required a Board vote, according to the staffers.

Yes, you read that correctly. In the exact replay of Yeltsin-oligarchs' strategy to steal and steal, the Central Bank bailout money is not directly from the government to Bear Stearns, because that makes it harder to steal those billions. Instead, it is funneled through another well-connected bank, J.P. Morgan, so that those corrupt bankers can also take a nice cut in the deal ("otkat" it's called). Essentially the "bailout" is a massive bribe from corrupt Bush to corrupt J.P. Morgan, and in return JP Morgan will buy the ruins of Bear Stearns with the government money (minus what they steal). Meanwhile plenty of billions make sure that major Bear Stearns principles all cash out well. Here comes the funny part. How does "free speech" America hide this outright corruption and thieving from the population? Let a Russian explain to your naive innocent little American eyes: stop all this bullshit about "transparency" because it is no longer convenient:

The senior [Central Bank] staffers declined to describe how large the loan to Bear Stearns was, and declined to say whether a private- sector bailout was attempted before the Fed extended credit through JPMorgan.

NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY BILLIONS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT JUST GAVE TO BEAR STEARNS, AND HOW MANY MORE BILLIONS WILL FOLLOW. The ghost of Yeltsin lives in the Federal Reserve! We don't know anything, and we didn't know it was even legal, because American government and banks exploited "obscure never used" laws to justify outright corruption and fraud, according to Wall Street Journal:

The arrangement employs a little-used Depression-era provision of the Federal Reserve Act.

It is sad to see Americans imitating the very worst Russians 10 years late, what incredible fucking losers you are! And meanwhile the American masses have no fucking idea, free press or no free press, they just stand around like retarded jackasses with a sign on their backs that reads "ASS-FUCK ME", because they trust their leaders. Americans don't know anything about Iraq anymore except that they're winning, they don't know hundreds of billions being stolen in front of their fat stupid faces, they don't know anything except where to find a bargain on hamburger buns. I almost cannot blame Bush and the bankers for stealing from American fools, it's just too easy! Let the bloodthirsty corrupt elite steal from the bloodthirsty retarded masses, it will hasten the final collapse of this cruel and shameful empire called "America."

...

No, Americans have no fucking idea what is happening to them. We Russians were not such trusting dumbshits, even against all odds, we did understand when it happened to us in the 1990s. We are not trusting dumbshits Americans. We fought but we were too weak to fight against Yeltsin regime, supported with hundreds of billions of American "loan" money, sophisticated propaganda which we still didn't understand, and guns. Do not forget that the entire Yeltsin economy, including the notorious corrupt banking system, was forced upon us by United States government and the American investment bank advisers who were seated inside the Russian government at all times. That is why today's American banking collapse is so easy to understand for Russians. Russians tried as early as in 1993 to stop the vicious Yeltsin/American "shock therapy" economics that turned a proud nation into desperate paupers. I remember the dark time because even though I was just a student in 1993, my family suffered through this years together. First we lost all savings, and first my grandfather and then two uncles died quickly and brutally. Our democratically elected parliament tried to stop Yeltsin "shock therapy" and throw out American "free market advisers" to save what was left. Americans and Yeltsin decided democracy was not good anymore so Yeltsin, the democrat, ordered tanks to attack the opposition parliament in 1993. He killed several hundred brave Russian patriots, who died fighting against this corrupt ruinous American "shock therapy" economics. We were crushed with tanks, you see. Naturally President Clinton immediately supported Yeltsin, showing who was the real master of that putsch against Russian democracy. It meant something that Clinton immediately gave his support to Yeltsin. It was like a wartime defeat. I can tell you, back then we were in such awe of America, we had no choice but to accept defeat, it was hopeless. We lost the power to stop banks and government from stealing every last part of Russia, until the final collapse in 1998.

It took tanks to keep Russians down while they robbed the country. Tanks, and American money.

What is your excuse today, Americans? There are no tanks, no Russian interference to destroy you and demoralize you. Why do you let your leaders steal everything your country has? Why do you sit passively like slaves who mated with sheep, the sheep-slaves with a big stupid smile on your fat fucking faces? You are not even human beings, you deserve worse than a total collapse of you country, you deserve to be wiped off the face of this planet forever, as if you were just an embarrassing accident and it will never happen again, you sickening pussy sub-human dumbfucks!

Oh fuck, now ruined my good mood. I need to run back to my friends now to celebrate your collapse. There will be time for bitter memories of the 1990s.

And for me, I'm sure, time for bitter memories of the 2008 elections.

News

2008-03-26T09:31:00.011-05:00

Good Mammal News of the Day

From the Duh Dept -
Sex Ed reduces teen pregnancy, Abstinence does not

What kind of parents let their kid get breast surgery? Death by plastic surgery Anyone who opts for plastic surgery just to make them more attractive is a FOOL. Hell, I'm ugly, it's not that bad, really.

Another Top Notch Arizona Republican speaks: Sen.Kyl blames Democrats, minorities, the poor, and the young for the Sub prime mess. What next? Brittney Spears was behind the Bear Stearns Bailout?

Cheney on 4,000 Dead Americans : They Volunteered.

More on what they volunteered for... Prisoners of War

EXCERPT

What kept him going was the end that was in sight. He just had to hang on till his contract was up, and then he could go home, go back to school, and finally be a 20-year-old kid. Then days before he was scheduled to get out, his unit was locked down, stop-lossed as part of the surge. He was looking at another 18-month deployment.

...

I find it so painfully ironic that as other excuses for the war have been proven false, (weapons of mass destruction, U.N. sanctions, ties to Al-Queda, etc.) the administration has fallen back on the most unbelievable of all: freedom. While George Bush insists that Iraqis accept freedom, American style, one out of every 100 of our own citizens are in prison. Almost twice as many as the runner-up, China. Iraq is 62 on the list, though it is unclear whether that includes those being held by Americans. In this country, there are 2,258,983 in prison. That figure does not include the 723,000 locked up in local jails. Or the 60,000 stop-lossed soldiers.

Pentagon studies have shown that each deployment leaves a soldier 60 percent more likely to suffer serious mental health problems. In support of that, as this president sends soldiers back into combat as many as five times in as many years, the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan acknowledges that suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 were up 20 percent from 2006, their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980. And the number of suicide attempts has increased sixfold since the Iraq war began. There were several in the I-30 Infantry Battalion, and Goldsmith holds his sergeant major responsible. Like Goldsmith, these young soldiers are being told not only that they are prisoners, but that they are disposable. They are our children, and their deaths are on the hands of those who hold their freedom hostage.

Dept of Republican Security - Nuclear Fuses sent to Asia on Accident

"The Defense Department mistakenly shipped secret nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan more than 18 months ago and did not learn that the items were missing until late last week, Pentagon officials acknowledged yesterday, deepening concerns about the security of the U.S. nuclear arsenal."

Ligers ...

And Glenn Greenwald brings us Iraqis thoughts on American Intervention- that you seldom see on American media : Operation: Pay Attention

A Plague of three piece suit Locusts

2008-03-25T12:52:00.006-05:00

Pestilence

EXCERPT
Under these circumstances, how can anyone seriously accept any judgment or opinion of the Federal Reserve as an honest or ethical arbiter?

The original Bear takeover agreement was forged with the support of federal regulators, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is balking at the higher price, The New York Times said, citing people involved in the talks.

The newspaper said the Fed originally directed J.P. Morgan to pay no more than $2 per share to assure that it would not appear that Bear shareholders were being rescued.

By these metrics, will Bear be valued next week at $50 or $0 per share? Better yet, is the DOW properly valued at 12,000, or does 2,000 or perhaps 60,000 sound a little closer to the mark?

Do these grotesque proceedings, from start to finish, not reek of a snake-oil-swindling carnie act?

The entire article, from Financial Sense is here: Pestilence

UNRELATED BONUS UPDATE: War Nerd splains Kosovo

Religious Persecution in America

2008-03-24T09:32:00.010-05:00

And by this I mean, being persecuted by Christians, not the silly notion that Christians are somehow persecuted in America...

Extremism

Blog against Theocracy

Expelled at Expelled - PZ Myers gets bible-blocked at a creationist movie that supposedly addresses the issue of SUPPRESSION. I've got mixed feelings about this movie since another equally intellectual flick is about to hit the theaters and is aimed at the same demographic, the average American idiot.

Will Ben Stein convince Amerkan idiots that Jewish Mythology is getting the short end of the stick in Amerkan education? Will Harold and Kumar touch a nerve of morality within that same dumb Amerkan bastard and convince him (in between tokes) that destroying the constitution and torturing people (although hilarious) is bad? God (my one true god, not yours!) only knows...
Make sure you check out the link to see which big bad atheist made it in to see the film.

"Whoever fears to submit any question to the test of free discussion, loves his own opinion more than the truth."

I should have known this already, but I discovered yesterday that the reason we hide eggs on the spring festival of Easter is because centuries ago Christians tried to kill off the pagan tradition of giving colored eggs as a symbol of fertility on this pre-christian holiday. They banned the practice of giving the eggs and punished those who they caught giving them as gifts on Easter.

I guess the ban didn't work. A thousand years later, my brother, a part time christian, took his children to the largest easter egg hunt in our area yesterday, a church sponsored event where 5000 christian children unwittingly participated in an ancient pagan ritual. And I'm sure, like me before them, there were 5,000 children wondering what rabbits and eggs had to do with the death of Jesus. I sat down with my daughter and we discussed what Easter meant to our ancestors. We discussed the celebration of Spring, the rebirth of the earth, the traditions and the meanings of the colored eggs and the rabbits. It ended up being a great conversation that I believe enriched her understanding of our world, and the mentalities of people both past and present. Unfortunately the parents of those 5,000 children (like my brother) will brush aside their own children's questions and inexplicably attempt to convince them that this is all for Jesus.

After talking about the christians attempting to make Easter their own holiday, she told me something I've heard many, many times growing up in West Texas: "My friend Bethany isn't my friend anymore because she says I am not a christian and I'm going to ... down there"
I smiled and replied "Honey, there isn't a hell. Why would a god who loves us and forgives us need a place like that?" She shrugged, and gave me that I dunno look.
"God doesn't NEED Hell. Only christians do. The ways of our ancestors were not the ways of christians. Their prisons are the ones they create for themselves. You don't need to worry too much about their judgements. " And then, realizing the cold truth of the matter, I added "But sometimes, it's safer not to make yourself a target for them. What you believe is only your business."

"He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot reason is a fool, and he who does not reason is a slave."

UPDATE: Creationists instruct their children about Vegetarian T-Rex

Sunday, bloody Sunday

2008-03-24T07:35:00.003-05:00

Easter letter from Michael Moore:

Friends,

It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn't it, that the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone surprised?

4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.

And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, "two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting." Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: "So?"

"So?" As in, "So what?" As in, "F*** you. I could care less."

I would like every American to see Cheney flip the virtual bird at the them, the American people. Click here and pass it around. Then ask yourself why we haven't risen up and thrown him and his puppet out of the White House.

The Democrats have had the power to literally pull the plug on this war for the past 15 months -- and they have refused to do so. What are we to do about that? Continue to sink into our despair? Or get creative? Real creative. I know there are many of you reading this who have the chutzpah and ingenuity to confront your local congressperson. Will you? For me?

Cheney spent Wednesday, the 5th anniversary of the war, not mourning the dead he killed, but fishing off the Sultan of Oman's royal yacht. So? Ask your favorite Republican what they think of that.

The Founding Fathers would never have uttered the presumptuous words, "God Bless America." That, to them, sounded like a command instead of a request, and one doesn't command God, even if they are America. In fact, they were worried God would punish America. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington feared that God would react unfavorably against his soldiers for the way they were behaving. John Adams wondered if God might punish America and cause it to lose the war, just to prove His point that America was not worthy. They and the others believed it would be arrogant on their part to assume that God would single out America for a blessing. What a long road we have traveled since then.

I see that Frontline on PBS this week has a documentary called "Bush's War." That's what I've been calling it for a long time. It's not the "Iraq War." Iraq did nothing. Iraq didn't plan 9/11. It didn't have weapons of mass destruction. It DID have movie theaters and bars and women wearing what they wanted and a significant Christian population and one of the few Arab capitals with an open synagogue.

But that's all gone now. Show a movie and you'll be shot in the head. Over a hundred women have been randomly executed for not wearing a scarf. I'm happy, as a blessed American, that I had a hand in all this. I just paid my taxes, so that means I helped to pay for this freedom we've brought to Baghdad. So? Will God bless me?

God bless all of you in this Easter Week as we begin the 6th year of Bush's War.

God help America. Please.
Michael Moore

Anything but fkn Politics

2008-03-20T15:33:00.010-05:00

A prominent Feminist blog posts about the joys of Competitive Cheerleading.

No, it's not a joke. It's like important, and stuff. A girl, raised by veggies and yoga instructors, with a blue streak in her hair even, like wrote it. YAY Feminism! Gimme an F!

(and just so you know, I hate ALL teenage sports equally. I don't even want my son to play football, but his mom is convinced that he's going pro... I'd rather him study and learn than roll around in the dirt and glorify such inconsequential bullshit)

The Adrenaline post in honor of my upcoming nuptials...

I am soooo addicted to this song. 'Tube didn't have the Radiohead cover of Rhinestone cowboy. Too bad...

A poem for 5 years of hell

Life
They bruised my soul with a proverb,
They bruised my back with a rod,
And they bade me bow to my elders,
For that was the word of God.

They pent up my soul and bound me
Till life was a living death,
They struck the wine from my fingers,
The passion from my breath.

I reached my hands to living,
They hurled me back into school,
And they said, "Go learn your lessons,"
You innocent young fool."

They yowled till they woke the trumpets --
And the sword blade rent the plow,
And they said, "It is your duty"
"To die for your elders now.

"They cowered far from the battle
As I went into the strife,
And I spilled my guts in the trenches
In the red dawn of my life.

And the elders named me hero,
But more than their words and ire
Was the scent of a strange wild flower
There where I died in the mire.

Robert E. Howard

This one's for Angry-

okay, maybe a little politics... Neocons in Star Wars? of course they would be living on a planet that they made into a wasteland ...

God aborts the child of a sinner - Old skool God wasn't Pro-life.

And What's a Good Friday without a Pagan fertility rite? Procreate, Fornicate, Multiply. Do it with love. or at least a modicum of enthusiasm.

Perspective.

2008-03-20T10:14:00.007-05:00

Maybe it's being on so many Republican's mass mail lists that allows me to keep the whole Hillary/Obama stuff in perspective... Unity. Get some.

Hillary or Obama would both be fine as President. And if they realize just how much they will owe to the American voter (who will elect the next President on Change and Ending the War) they will make strides to truly serve the American people. Especially if they desire that all-important second term in the White House.

Hillary or Obama is much better than McCain. Continuing to snipe irrationally at both of them for playing politics is a self-defeating endeavor. Slow your role, don't be chumps. Try not to act like a bunch of spastic chicken littles when your candidate of choice looks like they might lose. It's not the end of the world. Obama will not make slaves of all the white people. Hillary will not begin her Presidency by announcing WWIII. Don't fall prey to the Dan Abrams sniping at the Democratic candidates. Focus on the real problems and concentrate on asking YOUR candidate how they plan to address these issues. Don't fall prey to mindless bickering about Obama and Clinton- Rush Limbaugh is popping a viagra and beating off furiously with that big fat fucking smug grin on his dopey face over this shit. Let's not give him the satisfaction, okay?

But, as far as perspective goes- that's ALL Rush has to be happy over- the Dem on Dem violence. Seriously, the right wing is losing it's damn mind right now over its loss of prominence, respect, and power. 75% of the population realize that Republicans are simply full of shit hypocrites. The right wing has been burnt by their leaders. And they finally know it. Even the bushbots who forward all the misogynistic Hillary jokes and the racist Obama jokes are starting to taper off into nothingness. My in-box used to be full of that simple shit. Still the Republicans cling to the desperate notion that as bad as it has been that it would have been worse with a Democrat.

I don't know how.

They've got a President who couldn't protect them from terrorism, couldn't (or didn't want to) catch Osama Bin Ladin, lied them into war, completely screwed the pooch on Hurricane Katrina, who tripled their gas prices, who shot inflation into the sky, helped destroy what little healthcare they had, went on a radical government spending spree that makes me want to bring back Reagan and his $300 hammers and $500 toilet seats, sold out the EPA for corporate interests, helped expand NAFTA and outsource american jobs to other countries, cut benefits to our troops while pretending to support them, and has wiped his feet with our constitution with a system of government cronies that make Nixon's little helpers look like a phalanx of angels. They can't even whine about Global warming any more. Now all they can say about it is a weak splutter and some mumbling about "still haven't proved it's caused by man". Who the hell cares? Now that you admit it's there, dipshit- let's do something about it, mkay?

A Democrat couldn't have fucked up as bad and as consistently as Dubya, it's impossible. He's staying the course of sticking his head right up his ass . And no one, especially not the American people will tell him how, why or when to pull it out. He's the decider.

To put another Republican in office after the ALL THIS is pure retardation. The only thing worse than Der Shrubenfuhrer would be to continue this madness under McInsain. And even the Republican leadership understands this. They've got a candidate that they basically dislike. He's an idiot and a flip flopper. He has lost the christian coalition wingnuts And he STILL doesn't seem to know the difference between a Shia and Sunni. Not that it matters to the Republican voters in general, they don't know either. McCain doesn't even have a decent running mate who isn't hated just as much as he is. He'll basically have to bring up a second stringer who is an unknown. Face it, the Republicans are fucked.

They are so fucked, that the one Repub email I did receive this morning was a fricking Bob Hope clip. That's it?! Holy smoke, not even John Wayne or maybe a fake story about a soldier who beat up a hippie or shot an ay-rab for jesus? I got a clip of Bob Hope calling Democrats zombies....

wow.

How weak is that? It was entitled "Greatest Movie Line Ever." which shows the Republican talent for blowing miniscule bs completely out of proportion. This is all they can do right now, take their 80 year old asses and look for Bob Hope clips..? Fricking pathetic. Republicans don't believe in Evolution, they think the world is 6,000 years old. They are old dusty racist dinosaurs. They, in short, are the past. Every day another hundred or so of these old dumb bastards die off and America is that much better for it.

Bob Hope clips are the last gasp of the Republican party. It's really all they ever had, soundbite bluster, jingoistic flag-waving, and manly chest thumping bout War, dammit!

It's time to put this segment of uneducated hypocrites to bed for awhile. That means showing a little more tolerance. This means YOU SusanUnPc. This means YOU John Aravosis. This means everyone who has went off the deep end attacking our own side. Ranting about Republicans whose actions have hurt all Americans is fine. Ranting about how bad a Democrat - ANY Democrat at all- would be in the White House is just bullshit.

The Speech

2008-03-19T15:18:00.009-05:00

It takes someone who is both white and black to be 100% credible to Americans when speaking like this. I can't say I've ever heard anything like this from a politician before. It was just ... truth. Unglossed and laid bare- just simple truth about the race divide and how to get past it. I know there are those of you who think he threw his grandma under the bus , and then there are those who think he threw Rev. Wright under the bus. I don't believe in moving towards the right, making concessions with those who have outright ruined so much in the past few years. But, when it comes to race, we can all stand to move a little closer together. This speech did that for me, and apparently quite a few others.

The Speech

Reactions:

at Ice Station Tango

at Crooks and Liars

Ornery Bastard

Yakety Yak

The Poor Man Institute

Morning Martini

It's hard to pick just one piece out of this very important and candid talk about race by Obama. Read the whole thing, please.

EXCERPT:
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

...and all I got was this lousy youtube...

2008-03-19T14:36:00.004-05:00

Freida Bee has the intertube of the week - (below the Johnny Cash)

Shatner, Seventies, Scifi Awards show

They're still there, we're still here.

2008-03-19T09:44:00.003-05:00

Polishifter posts about the antiwar protests at Huntington beach recently...
There's a lot of great pictures of patriotic Americans using their freedom to speak out.

How many more? lives, souls, dollars, years..?

And to those of you who have recently been championing Nader - A vote for Nader won't stop the war. It won't stop lives from being wasted in Iraq. The ONLY way to do that is to vote for whichever Democratic candidate ends up running for President and holding them to getting us out of Iraq. THIS ELECTION is it. War or No war? It's a simple enough choice to me.

Casting a larger shadow

2008-03-18T22:24:00.006-05:00

Liberality tagged me with the Book Meme. The instructions for this meme are as follows:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

This book was on my nightstand, I am reading it for the second time. It's George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings, book two of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I don't know why I'm re-reading this series, because I have thrown the last two books of the series across the room through various parts of the story... I don't know if he kills ALL of the main characters off in horrible ways in ALL of his books, but ... shit. These books are fricking depressing. He's got my attention though, if he'd just hurry up and finish the next book so he can kill off the final living member of the hero's family AND his family pet so I can quit hoping that somehow, someway this story manages to end up with a happy ending. Awesome books, but it's like: hell, if I wanted to see a neverending story where the bad guys win in the end I'd blog about politics or something...

"You are too kind, more wine?"
"No, no, truly I ... Oh, gods be damned, yes. Why not? A bold man drinks his fill!"

And the five people I tag are: Greg, Ryan, Everett Eugene, Bobby jr, and Lauren.

I sorta like the whole randomness of it, but chaos yields somewhat lackluster results. If I could have picked and chosen, I would have gone with this passage:

"Why are you so helpful, my lord Varys?" he asked, studying the man's soft hands, the bald powdered face, the slimy little smile.

"You are the Hand. I serve the realm, the king, and you."

"As you served Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark?"

"I served Lord Arryn and Lord Stark as best I could. I was saddened and horrified by their most untimely deaths."

"Think how I feel. I'm like to be next. "

"Oh, I think not," Varys said, swirling the wine in his cup. "Power is a curious thing, my lord. Perchance you have considered the riddle I posed you that day in the inn?"

"It has crossed my mind a time or two," Tyrion admitted. "The king, the priest, the rich man- who lives and who dies? Who will the swordsman obey? It's a riddle without an answer, or rather, too many answers. All depends on the man with the sword."

"And yet he is no one," Varys said. "He has neither crown nor gold nor favor of the gods, only a piece of pointed steel."

"That piece of steel is the power of life and death."

"Just so. . . yet if it is the swordsman who rule us in truth, why do we pretend our kings hold the power? Why should a strong man with a sword ever obey a child king like Joffrey, or a wine-sodden oaf like his father?"

"Because these child kings and drunken oafs can call other strong men, with other swords."

"Then these other swordsmen have the true power. Or do they? Whence came their swords? Why do they obey?" Varys smiled. "Some say knowledge is power. Some tell us that all power comes from the gods. Others say it derives from law. Yet that day on the steps of Baelor's Sept. our godly High Septon and the lawful Queen Regent and your ever-so-knowledgeable servant were as powerless as any cobbler or cooper in the crowd. Who truly killed Eddard Stark, do you think? Joffrey, who gave the command? Ser Ilyn Payne, who swung the sword? Or . . . another?"

Tyrion cocked his head sideways. "Did you mean to answer your damned riddle, or only to make my head hurt worse?"

Varys smiled. "Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more, and no less."

"So power is a mummer's trick?"

"A shadow on the wall," Varys murmured, "yet shadows can kill. And oftimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow."
...

And for those of you out there who may consider yourselves writers more than bloggers, you might relate to this : Don't Blog. Write.

For no particular reason

2008-03-18T14:17:00.004-05:00

My Three Favorite Illustrators, no particular order...

click on the artist's names to go to their official sites

M.W.Kaluta

Charles Vess

Barry Windsor-Smith

I have this last print hanging in the entryway to my house. I own both volumes of Opus. I highly recommend them.

Damn its been a great Day!

2008-03-14T15:16:00.003-05:00

Ahhh. And it's friday and it's payday. And while treating myself to lunch, fajitas ole, and a couple of Bud lights (Kiss my ass, diet!) I ran into a friend who informed me of a party for a friend who just got out of the military tonight. And since this is my last free weekend before the wedding, I am most definitely there.

FISA Fight Update - Whoda thunk?

from the Kos comments, by The Ice Cream Man:

I agree. In this case, Reid and Pelosi appear to have done something amazing. They have totally outmaneuvered the Republicans (plus Lieberman and Rockefeller and some of the "Blue Dogs"), and in order to do so, they had to endure some pretty harsh criticism from progressives. Given that criticism of them from the extreme Right is constant and heavy, they allowed themselves to be attacked from all sides while they quietly laid the groundwork to make it really hard for the Republicans (and DINOs) to give Bush what he wants. If they had said what they were doing, the Republicans might have been able to stop them somehow, but they went about their work, putting the long-term interests of the country ahead of their own short-term political interests.

In other words, they acted in a way that was exactly the opposite of how Republicans always act, putting their party's short-term political interests ahead of everything, including the interests, long-term and short-term of the USA. This is why we all worked and donated to get Congress back in the hands of Democrats, and why we're still working to elect "more and better Democrats" to Congress.

If Reid and Pelosi really planned this the way Kagro X suggests, then I am as impressed with them as I have ever been with poltical leaders. What an amazing series of moves! I personally take back the negative things I've said about them, because FISA is a really big one, and they are doing just the right things to keep the country safe while at the same time laying the groundwork for some major doses of the "best disinfectant" (sunlight) to be applied to some of the dirtier corners of Bush-Cheney malfeasance. With more and better Dems elected to Congress on Obama's coattails in November, we should see some major revelations in the first half of 2009.

Some part of me hopes Bush and Cheney will have to answer for some of their crimes, but I suspect they'll end up getting away with just about all of it without any punishment. But at least we'll have the chance to protect US citizens from the kinds of abuses that have taken place under Bush and Cheney, with the complicity of the rubber-stamp Republican-controlled Congresses.

And the market closed down, making all my inverse fund option spreads look very, very good.

Hope your friday was as good as mine... Tell me about YOUR good news of the day

have a loco weekend!

Zip! Pow! Bam! Socialism bad-

2008-03-14T09:15:00.010-05:00

... unless you are a corporation facing insolvency....

Day Traders generally ain't worth a damn... Arrogant Gordon Gecko Young Republican wannabes, bragging about how much money they made on blah blah blah. No one knows market movements like those guys, though, (they've lost enough money in one minute's time to be fully aware of sudden spikes the wrong way).

Fly at IBankcoin.com cracks me up daily, along with his flytrap of faithful followers. He's always close to the target, but it's the nature of the daytrading mentality to secondguess themselves. While they are bobbing and weaving, trading jabs- investors are standing back, waiting for the time to unload the haymaker and call it a day. Reminds me of the old Dad and son bull joke...

"No, son, let's walk down, and fuck em all".

Fly's dead on with his assessment of today's news, though -

Wasn’t it nice to find out there is NO inflation, via today’s CPI data? According to the Fed, gasoline and commodity prices went LOWER. Ha.

Something tells me the g-men are trying to save a few bad dollars in social security payments, via juking the inflation data to appear benign.

Forget about what the idiots with pocket protectors say. We have run away inflation. Trade accordingly.

Apparently, (BSC: 32.48 -43.02%) is on the brink of insolvency. As you know, should the worthless assets of Bear Sterns be recognized for what they are (worthless), the world would slip into a black hole and be eaten by dinosaurs.

So, in order to prevent world destruction, the NY Fed, in their infinite wisdom, decided to save Bear Sterns. Very nice.

Let’s sum up the bullshit country we live in:

During the worst housing crisis in 100 years, we’ve learned, NO ONE is allowed to fail. Everyone is too big. From homebuilders to money centers to low-end brokerage houses to monoline insurers, if you need a little scratch, knock on the Governments door and they’ll help you out. This, as you know, is not capitalism. This is socialism heavy, not light, which is disgraceful.

However, none of my bickering or sharp spikes in interpersonal acts of violence will help anyone make money.

Here’s how I see it:

Fuck Dennis Gartman. Ride this sucker out. When I smell panic, there is bound to be some sort of shoe to drop. Just so you know, the Fed is panicking. If you’re the nervous type, hedge some of your downside plays, with a few longs. No big deal.

Inevitably, those betting on the downside will be right, as the recession deepens and little fuckers like Bear Sterns get washed out.

UPDATE: Watching Dubya (for moral and fiscal inspiration) on CNBC: Quotes as fast as I can type them:

"Interesting times ... Envy of the Free world ... ups and downs ... this is not the first time since I've been the President that we've faced economic challenges... corporate scandals and I have the difficult decision to confront the terrorists (lol)... resilient...flexible...Fortunately we recognized the slowdown early and took action... may sound incongruous (nailed it!) to you...robust... once I sign the bill, the signal's clear... tax rebates (bitches!)... buoy the consumer. (keep em bobbing in the ocean?) ... it's coming! Those checks ...second week of May... that's what the experts say (Bernanke, Paulson?)... I respect Ben Bernanke (heckuva job, Bernie!)... we also hold dear the notion that the Fed acts independently (snort!)... adding liquidity... some financial institutions... must repair their balance sheets (no sheet!)... make more credit available (max out, Amerka!)... promote stability... foreclosure disrupts community... temptation for people to limit the number of foreclosures is to put bad law into place... anything short of a massive intervention... deeply concerned about law- ... (hang on, picking myself off the floor... people in office staring)...

a couple of ideas I strongly reject... purpose of government ought to be to help the individuals... (ouch, couple of Bush corporate supporters just felt stabbing pains in their necks)... it sounds reasonable in a speech, I guess... market is in a process of correcting itself (to the bottom)... checks...second week of May... we want to help you refinance your notes!... 300, 000 families (and their mortgage lenders!)... walked across the street in Midland Texas and said I need a little help (Daddy!)... foreign country... hard to renegotiate the note... (no speaka da english)... industry wide standards ... (AAA ratings for all!)... whole purpose is to help people stay in their houses (and keep paying those mortgages!)... beginning to help, problem we have is, a lot of people aren't responding to letters send out... pay attention.... toll free numbers (wake up Amerka- we'll gladly ADJUST your finances to uh.. a better deal, yeah, thats it)... complete transparency... too complex... better confidence...strengthen oversight (oh noes!)... rough period... long term negative effects on the economy... without paying taxes (taxes is teh bad!)...
Congress... uncertainty...major source of uncertainty... (when is he going to mention terra again?)... if Congress doesn't act, capital gains will be taxed at a higher rate (oh the poor are worried about that!)... waste some of your money... Challenge congress to cut earmarks.. (Iraq is a biiiiiiiiggg earmark)... sent Congress a budget... priority... put those troops in harm's way... beyond that... non-security spending (all money for war) ... calm people's nerves (oh, THAT'S what he's doing?! My bad)... whether or not this country is confident enough to open markets overseas (China needs YOUR MONEY)... dangerous for this country to become isolationist ( I LUV Dubai!) ... made it clear... important agreement...national security... most Americans don't unnerstand... terrible signal... false populism.. (them, the people, bad)... work the issue hard... a confident nation accepts capital from overseas (keep buying our dollar, Please?!)... NAFTA has been good... best way to describe govt policy is like a car in a rough patch... its important not to over-correct... important to be steady... deal with the issues as we see em (yeehaw,bitches!)... respects- uh....

Uh-oh question and answer time... chuckles gonna wing him some. Expect laughs and lot of "uhs". Okay, got to stem the cerebral hemorrhaging... can't take it anymore.

Oh shit- "we got to figure out what the enemy is saying on their telephones" Christ on crutches, this bastard is full of shit.

Long term Goals

2008-03-13T12:00:00.007-05:00

Just some thoughts on the current Primary situation-

I talked at length with one of my closest friends last night. Now, Greg is as Republican as I am liberal. I don't mean he is conservative, because his thoughts just don't run that deep. He's a good friend, but the guys a straight-up freeper and proud dittohead. Politics means more to him than policies. He is convinced that Liberals are the devil, he reads Coulter, and couldn't create an original thought if an attack on Iran depended on it. He's mainly just a computer geek and scion to a small fortune, so he's never really had to think much, anyway.

He chuckled as we discussed politics. "Don't you get what Rush is doing?" he asked.

"Well, yes," I replied, "he's playing the dems against each other to weaken Obama. But doesn't he realize that if Hillary gets the nomination, he might be facing his worst enemy?"

"Oh please!" I was told. "Obama is the threat, not Hillary. She's just doing our work for us right now and pissing off the undecideds at all Democrats."

"McCain?" I laughed- I know what the true Repubs think about McCain. "But he doesn't have a chance in hell against either of them!" I insisted.

"Sure, that's what you said about Bush in '04."

"But what do you Really think about McCain?"

"Oh" -long pause -"he sucks, but it doesn't matter. Every single Republican out there will vote for McCain, regardless, no matter what we say now. The "Terror" and the "liberal threat" talking point is going to get real big. You guys can't do anything in Congress that involves the war or terror, can you?"

But looking around, the divide and conquer strategy is working. The momentum is slowing, and the focus is being shattered. Meanwhile, supposedly Coulter is gearing up to release a movie about Hillary in spite of her loud claims of supporting Hillary over McCain.

Coulter (and Rush and the rest)would never give an ounce of support to Hillary if they believed it would actually result in her becoming President. When they recently threw their support behind Hillary in the primaries and in the media, it was just to keep the Dem race going closely.

As Greg brags, they are gaming America again. And, some progressives are helping them. The 2008 election isn’t the be all, end all for Hillary. In fact, it is my belief, that by standing down now and throwing her full support towards Obama and whoever he chooses as VP- it will yield PRICELESS results as far as 2012. Face it- in 2012 there will be MORE dems in Congress, and there will be a lot less of a burden to deal with as President.

Let Obama have ‘08. Bow out gracefully, and without expecting to be appointed as VP. Let Progressives come together to fight against our true enemy, as one, without any more of this divisive race. My candidate, Edwards, didn’t get there, and I’m sad, because I think he would have been the strongest candidate. But I’m not that worked up over it- there will be more chances for our candidates to have the presidency. Right now, Obama has the momentum, and for better or for worse- the high ground.

Let’s join, fight and Hillary can have her day in years to come, when the anti-Hillary fervor has abated a bit more. As someone mired in a red-state, I can tell you, Anti-Hillary bias is still at a fever pitch and will make the 08 race closer than it needs to be.

That's my long-er term plan. The bitch of it is, whoever ends up in the white house in 2008 has a HUGE row to hoe. I simply hope that whoever it is can end the farce of an occupation in Iraq and remove the radicalism of the Bush agenda from U.S. policy once and for all.

FRIST!'s Republican Leadership survey!

2008-03-13T10:40:00.008-05:00

Take Bill Frist's VOLPAC "Republican Leadership Survey"

Because this man cares deeply...

The questions of course, are weighted to the Bushbot eleetz. And of course, no discussion questions, you know how the Repubs don't want to hear anything but their carefully selected talking point answers.

Sample Questions and the fristian results thus far :

So, Bush blowing too much money, Mexicans!, government having to collect more money to pay for Iraq, the dangers of improving Healthcare, the threat of addressing social issues, or Judges that don't favor corporations- Whatever could be the biggest Fear of Fristians?

Survey sez: MEXICANS! Closely followed by the horrors of attempting to fix social issues at home!

And, what do you believe that other Americans feel is the most important issue?

Hmm.. Apparently the economy didn't make the grade. Neither did healthcare, the environment, inflation, war, torture, America's global loss of prominence, the damage done to the military, corruption, or corporate outsourcing of American jobs. It looks like its neverending war, spying on Americans, Mexicans!, and ... Iran? Seriously? Bush just sold millions of dollars worth of state of the art missles to Saudi Arabia, the country behind 9-11 , and Frist is worried about Iran building a nuke to protect itself from Israel? Oy.

Survey sez: MEXICANS! Twice in One Survey! Odelay!

And, I guess even only 5% of Fristians think that Iran's nuclear program is of note. Hopefully Frist (and other Rethugs) will take note. And only 11% of bushbots think that the Surge needs more time. That's heartening, if nothing else.

I encourage you all to join up and become an iFrist volunteer and help steer Volpac back towards some true conservatism and away from the neocon-war profiteering path they've been stuck on, which has really hurt the Republicans. Help let them know what the American people really want. The best way to do that is from inside Volpac itself. Go forth and multiply, friends.

Going Down?

2008-03-13T08:03:00.009-05:00

CAPITALISM THREAT RED!!
(Ooogah! Ooogah!)

Carlyle Group's Mortgage bond fund collapsing - someone besides me will blog it better, I'm sure...

Retail sales decline because of High gas prices...

Dollar falls below 100 Yen...

Olbermann rips Clinton, justifiably.
I would beseech her to give up for the sake of the party and, uh, the country- but Amerka, apparently, has teh spoken. They are lackwits and popularity-chasing buffoons, even among the Progressives, and they are playing right into the hands of an extremely weak Right wing. And that right wing may walk away with this election because of our power hungry candidate. Hillary defers gracefully and she might be receiving long term gains for 2012. But, you know, my fellow Americans can't see past next fucking week, so I don't expect anyone with the foresight greater than that of a housefly to prevail.

ACLU reports that we are one minute closer to Midnight

And once again- Corporate corruption and LACK of REGULATION makes America unsafer

Today's investment tip: Stock up on Salvia and Ammo Now!

And remember kids- it could be worse- at least the Zombie assault hasn't begun!

Opinions you should have

2008-03-12T12:40:00.003-05:00

From the Dept. of What goes around, comes around:
Spitz, Don't swallow the bullshit

From the Dept. of Vortex of Unchanging Violence:
Blood in,Blood out

From the Dept. of It's about M-F-ing time:
A Judge with Balls

From the Dept. of Popular Amerka Sports Deities:

I'm a lot like you, Dad

From the Dept. of God's people doeth the funniest things:

Bathroom Art critics and Let there be light!

2008-03-11T15:52:00.004-05:00

6 word memoir meme - Passed to me from Liberality ... Not sure if there are rules, if so, I ain't found em... My fate:

Children- the only immortality you'll possess

(for my Steel, my Amethyst, my Amber, my Mercury... and ... something new. I'm afraid minimalism is something I have in short supply)

A Tale of Two Headlines

2008-03-11T10:39:00.007-05:00

Both under "Terrorism" on MSNBC this morning...

Judge: Detainee's abuse claim not believable

Bush vetoes bill banning Waterboarding

A judge ruled Friday that an Australian man's claim that he had been mistreated in custody in Pakistan before being sent to the U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay could not be believed.

President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.

Justice Peter McClellan of the New South Wales state Supreme Court ruled against Mamdouh Habib in the man's defamation suit against a Sydney newspaper, which Habib said had implied he lied about being tortured.

"The Bush administration continues to insist that CIA and other nonmilitary interrogators are not bound by the military rules and has reportedly given CIA interrogators the green light to use a range of so-called 'enhanced' interrogation techniques, including prolonged sleep deprivation, painful stress positions, and exposure to extreme cold," Daskal said. "Although waterboarding is not currently approved for use by the CIA, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has refused to take it off the table for the future."

"I am satisfied that Mr. Habib's claims that he was seriously mistreated in the place of detention in Islamabad cannot be accepted," McClellan said.

The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said.

He said Habib was "prone to exaggerate," "evasive" and had made claims about mistreatment in Pakistan and Egypt which could not be sustained.

Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch, said Bush "will go down in history as the torture president" for defying Congress and allowing the CIA to use interrogation techniques "that any reasonable observer would call torture."

Habib, an Egyptian-born immigrant, was arrested in Pakistan in late 2001. He says he was held there for 28 days and was interrogated by Americans before being transferred to Egypt, where he alleged he was beaten, shocked with electricity and nearly drowned while under interrogation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush often warns against ignoring the advice of U.S. commanders on the ground in Iraq. Yet the president has rejected the Army Field Manual, which recognizes that harsh interrogation tactics elicit unreliable information, said Reid, D-Nev.

The intelligence bill would limit CIA interrogators to the 19 techniques allowed for use by military questioners. The Army field manual in 2006 banned using methods such as waterboarding or sensory deprivation on uncooperative prisoners.

The military specifically prohibited waterboarding in 2006. The CIA also prohibited the practice in 2006 ... But the administration has refused to rule definitively on whether it is torture. Bush has said many times that his administration does not torture.

After six months, he was sent to the U.S. military base at Bagram, Afghanistan and then Guantanamo Bay. He was returned to Australia in January 2005.

Australian judges continue to believe that George Bush's policies haven't been resulting in kidnapping and torturing their citizens. I guess Australia believes that if the U.S. eventually releases their citizens after torturing them it's okay. The U.S. government decided that Habib was innocent after all.

Fortunately for Canadian citizens, their judicial system isn't so trusting of countries who want to torture their people.

The acclaimed Army officer who literally wrote the book on counterinsurgency weighs in on 24, its impact on the U.S. military’s view of torture, and the implications for the fight against terrorism: Torture is NOT ACCEPTABLE (from Foreign Policy.com)

Why Torture doesn't work (also from Foreign Policy.com)

UPDATE: I noticed that Frederick has been on fire lately, check his blog out...

UPDATE 2: Funny shit of the day : Whiny Cops -More Proof that the Internet has EVERYTHING. This site is for cops to whine about other cops giving them tickets and not letting them slide "for the brotherhood". It's fucking hilarious to see our "Proud men in blue" nominating their fellow officers for Dick of the Month. The whole point of the website seems to be that cops think they should only treat citizens like shit, not each other. The indignant cop who put this site up might get a little more respect from me if it was just a site for anyone to bitch about the poor common sense of traffic officers. But the attitude that Cops should get favorable treatment when breaking the law is just bullshit.

Burnt outtie

2008-03-06T12:20:00.005-06:00

The past two weeks have been wild, politically. I usually would be drinking myself through the harder bits. "Hillary said what? Obama did not just go there! Quick I need a bottle of rotgut whiskey before I lose faith in mankind!"

But, since I promised my health nut fiancee' that I would go on a diet until I get my abs back, I am no longer allowed my food group of choice- Anheuser Busch. So while I am "enjoying" the first week of workouts and sobriety, I probably will be too depressed to blog in my normal good spirits.

Anyway, while I take the week off, take a spin through my Bad Influences and warp yourselves further.

and here's a few of my Favorite blogs that you need to add to your Blogroll NOW!

The Doctor is in

My Favorite Antisocial Socialite

A Distant Ocean

Da Guys - and check out their individual blogs as well

Moon of Alabama - still miss the Whiskey bar...

Enjoy your weekend-

I'll still be haunting your blog comments, I'm sure -see you around

The Dungeon Master

2008-03-05T16:58:00.003-06:00

Gary Gygax R.I.P.

Swinebread at Atomic Romance has this tribute