Tuesday, December 26, 2006
BIG MISTAKE: EXECUTION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN IN 30 DAYS
BAGHDAD--They're done with the sentencing, and finished with a kangaroo court trial that even his enemies know was rigged. This is going to be a huge-mistake for America, and Iraq. After his execution, Iraq is no-more, it will never be governable as the geopolitical entity it was. The splintering-effect will cause many-more deaths, and who knows what the region will look like afterwards. One other thing is certain: an Islamist Republic will emerge from one of the pieces Iraq splinters-into, where a mostly-secular one had previously existed. Prepare for a massive-escalation in the fighting in Iraq. Bring em' home now.
Monday, December 25, 2006
LITVINENKO'S ITALIAN CONTACT SCARAMELLA ARRESTED BY NAPLES POLICE YESTERDAY
Naples, Italy/London, the United Kingdom--We know why:Scaramella is involved in numerous illegal-activities. This site is happy to be right about suspicions surrounding this shadowy man, and the arrest confirms that he's a man with a lot to hide (and not just regarding Mr. Litvinenko).
He has changed his story several times, though I think this blog could be one of the earliest to note it. It struck me as odd how easily he was going back-and-forth between the UK and Italy, so he was either being protected or allowed-to incriminate himself by Scotland Yard.
The Yard isn't claiming no-involvement in the Naples arrest of Scaramella, but are asserting there is no connection with the Litvinenko affair.
Whatever the case-may-be, he's definitely part of the global intelligence community contracting for someone--likely a double-agent with Italy's intelligence-community and the FSB (or other unknown elements). Don't be surprised if he suddenly dies in custody, as people like Mario Scaramella have a tendency to do this. Jack Ruby always claimed he was poisoned with radioactive-materials from his jail cell in Texas, and he died in-custody of cancer in 1967. Sit on that one for awhile. An exhumation of Rubenstein would probably reveal traces of some sort of radioactive-isotope, but one that had degraded for 40 years. Imagine the implications of that one.
Whatever the case, Scaramella's cover is blown. Ironically, Scotland Yard says that the arrest yesterday in Naples is "not connected to the Litvinenko case." There is a strong-possibility that the polonium-210 came from Italy, or was ferried-through the country. This would be yet-another violation of the sovereignty of a European state. Search this site for earlier-posts on Mr. Scaramella, he's a cagey man, and he's in a lot of trouble right-now. Even worse, he's also been contaminated with polonium-210.
This site on Mario Scaramella:
http://chickasawpicklesmell.blogspot.com/search?q=Scaramella
The Telegraph on the Arrest:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/24/uspy124.xml
A November 15th Russian allegation that Scaramella is FSB:
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/11/15/6425.shtml
An Excellent Eurotrib Piece on Many of the Strange Facts Surrounding the case:
http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/11/19/20439/209
Ohmy News just four-days before Scaramella's arrest:
http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=335755&rel_no=1
Itar-Tass on Today's Developments:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11115117&PageNum=0
UK Mail 11.26.2006:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/261106Sushi.htm
http://chickasawpicklesmell.blogspot.com/search?q=Scaramella
The Telegraph on the Arrest:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/24/uspy124.xml
A November 15th Russian allegation that Scaramella is FSB:
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/11/15/6425.shtml
An Excellent Eurotrib Piece on Many of the Strange Facts Surrounding the case:
http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/11/19/20439/209
Ohmy News just four-days before Scaramella's arrest:
http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=335755&rel_no=1
Itar-Tass on Today's Developments:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11115117&PageNum=0
UK Mail 11.26.2006:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/261106Sushi.htm
Postscript, 09.12.2008: Try doing an American google search on "Mario Scaramella." Good luck getting anything recent to come up. However, try google.au, google.it, and some others, and you'll find significantly more. Curious, that.
JAMES BROWN, DEAD AT 73
It had to happen eventually, we just didn't know when or exactly how: James Brown is dead from complications related-to pneumonia, a heart-attack. Now you can finally rest, Godfather of Soul. My favorites: Lickin' Stick (1968), Stay in School (1967), Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) (1969), Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine (1970), Pass the Peas (1972), and nearly everything from 1956-1976. From 1966-1969, James invented a new form of music: funk. He'd already done it with Soul. How many artists invent two-genres? There is almost nobody alive who is as influential as James Brown was to music, he's global baby. That's a pretty good epitaph for any musician and composer. There will always be funk, and James Brown (and his bands, especially Jabo Starks & Phelps "Catfish" Collins) invented it. I know, we all thought it would be from drugs, but these things happen. He beat the odds his whole-life. Sleep well.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
GRACE JONES
What happened to this incredible woman? She needs to do some more sessions with Sly & Robbie, grab Wally Badarou, and Nigel Rogers has to produce the sessions. I remember seeing her photo in a photo digest as a kid--she was naked, caged and oiled. Wow. Hot. Commanding. My kind of woman, no bullshitting-around, the real-deal. The new woman. A woman to admire, and a voice that kills. Her best work is available on the 2cd set: Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions, from 1998, a knockout collection of 12"s that are legendary.
The original sessions are from 1979-through-1981 and haven't aged a jot. Here, you have Sly & Robbie, the greatest rhythm-section reggae ever produced (and they did some of the best dub-sides too) with one of the greatest voices pop has had since Billie Holiday or the best of the Weimar-singers. You gotta check this material on the internet, it's possibly the best dance music ever written. It has class in an era where there is almost none. Grace, come back, we need you. Will a real chanteuse come-forward?
The original sessions are from 1979-through-1981 and haven't aged a jot. Here, you have Sly & Robbie, the greatest rhythm-section reggae ever produced (and they did some of the best dub-sides too) with one of the greatest voices pop has had since Billie Holiday or the best of the Weimar-singers. You gotta check this material on the internet, it's possibly the best dance music ever written. It has class in an era where there is almost none. Grace, come back, we need you. Will a real chanteuse come-forward?
In case you're wondering...
"I would never join a club that would have me as a member."
--Groucho Marx
I'm unaffiliated with anyone. No unions (I'd definitely take it), no businesses, no corporations (I'd take it, less-money for their PACs). No. Even though my week beats your year, I don't take-money from people with any strings-attached. If ads eventually appear here, it's not going to change the content in any respect. C'mon, do I look like a professional editor or journo? I am not a whore, thank-you. Neither are actual-prostitutes. The real whoras are wearing suits in corporate suites, ruining our lives as I write this. They are the Dick Cheneys and John Rockefellers, the John Jacob Astors of our time. The faceless dictatorship of pervs and freaks; the cops, the crooks, and the twisted-rich, taking a page from Dashielle Hammett (who took a page from life).
If someone wants to advertise, they get no say in editorial-content, zilcho. I'm actually exploring the possibility of having registered-brothels in Germany, Denmark, South America, Vegas, and Canada advertise here. Hey, do they pollute the environment like a multinational? I think-not. Just cut the pimps out entirely, they're unnecessary middle-management, and you know what we think of that type here. Pimp-slap the pimps, they can go be busboys. Women--not rich ones--should control prostitution, period.
Not only would it be a hoot, raising-eyebrows of the low-brows, but the irony would be almost Brechtian. The funds of Venus, yes, and why not? Most of them want what I want anyway--a better world, a less-restrictive one. A place that's safe for the babies. This isn't very complicated. Besides, I should be paid for this shit, it's a great site that's fighting the good fight. We can make a better world, it's been proven possible many-times. If the 20th Century proved anything, it's that we hold our fate in our own hands. The best-revenge is making revolution pleasurable. The day of the secret college is here, existentialists and true hidden-Christians unite! Am I kidding? You figure-it-out.
PS: I work best alone. However, reasonable submissions are reviewed and accepted on-the-basis of what I deem fit for the site. I reserve the right to refuse or accept a piece for whatever reason.
--Groucho Marx
I'm unaffiliated with anyone. No unions (I'd definitely take it), no businesses, no corporations (I'd take it, less-money for their PACs). No. Even though my week beats your year, I don't take-money from people with any strings-attached. If ads eventually appear here, it's not going to change the content in any respect. C'mon, do I look like a professional editor or journo? I am not a whore, thank-you. Neither are actual-prostitutes. The real whoras are wearing suits in corporate suites, ruining our lives as I write this. They are the Dick Cheneys and John Rockefellers, the John Jacob Astors of our time. The faceless dictatorship of pervs and freaks; the cops, the crooks, and the twisted-rich, taking a page from Dashielle Hammett (who took a page from life).
If someone wants to advertise, they get no say in editorial-content, zilcho. I'm actually exploring the possibility of having registered-brothels in Germany, Denmark, South America, Vegas, and Canada advertise here. Hey, do they pollute the environment like a multinational? I think-not. Just cut the pimps out entirely, they're unnecessary middle-management, and you know what we think of that type here. Pimp-slap the pimps, they can go be busboys. Women--not rich ones--should control prostitution, period.
Not only would it be a hoot, raising-eyebrows of the low-brows, but the irony would be almost Brechtian. The funds of Venus, yes, and why not? Most of them want what I want anyway--a better world, a less-restrictive one. A place that's safe for the babies. This isn't very complicated. Besides, I should be paid for this shit, it's a great site that's fighting the good fight. We can make a better world, it's been proven possible many-times. If the 20th Century proved anything, it's that we hold our fate in our own hands. The best-revenge is making revolution pleasurable. The day of the secret college is here, existentialists and true hidden-Christians unite! Am I kidding? You figure-it-out.
PS: I work best alone. However, reasonable submissions are reviewed and accepted on-the-basis of what I deem fit for the site. I reserve the right to refuse or accept a piece for whatever reason.
STILL UNANSWERED: HOW DID THE TROOPS VOTE?
WARSHINTUHN--Anyone? And can anyone tell me what terror alert color we're at (no, not "salmon")? Who cares? Live in fear, die in fear. Good-luck in your search, Sir Galahad, the grail awaits...ewige Blumenkraft!
"TENTATIVE DEAL" REACHED IN GOODYEAR STRIKE
"The door of Scrooge’s counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn’t replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of a strong imagination, he failed."--Charles Dickens, "A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN PROSE, BEING A Ghost Story of Christmas", 1843.
NORTH AMERICA--A "tentative deal" (Meaning not finalized, or not validated or agreed-upon) has been reached between the United Steel Workers union and Goodyear, states Reuters in a piece from this early-morning. Getting a smooth-transition seems hardly a "good-deal" at all, and the article seems to be more a matter of wishful-thinking on-the-part of the corporate sector, the owners of the mainstream media. What does it mean? No lump-of-coal for Bob Cratchit's stove, naturally. Ho-ho-ho. Reuters reports:
The agreement calls for the largest U.S. tire maker to give a one-year period of transition for workers instead of an immediate closure of a Tyler, Texas plant. The closure of that plant had been one of the principle obstacles to an agreement. Goodyear is in the process of exiting unprofitable private label tire production in a bid to boost profits. (Reuters, 12.22.2006)
The "agreement" doesn't offer much, and is admittedly being done simply to "boost-profits", a raw-deal-at-best. If I was an intelligent union leader, I'd tell them to shove their deal up-their-ass, and look to the long-term consequences of said "deals." Goodyear also wants to make all new-hires non-union, at non-union pay. This is also unacceptable, and should be roundly-rejected with further walkouts, and should be echoed in Canada as well. Don't buy Goodyear, I won't until there is some reasonable solution to this, meaning keeping the plant and future-hires union.
This is hardly over, and should be viewed as a highly-suspicious news release that favors ownership/major-shareholders. Also curious are the numbers quoted for strikers--one release says 12,500 (excluding Canadian strikers?), 15,000 in today's, and 16,000 in others. This is reminiscent of public opinion-polls for President Bush, as well as on social concerns, exit polls, and election-results. Watch the counters, and watch them well.
It would behoove currently unionized workers to go wildcat on their national unions and the NLRB (http://www.nlrb.gov/) when they aren't watching-out for their interests and the long-term picture. They should also be working-hard to get Hispanic workers naturalized and unionized, something only the daft would oppose. What do they have to lose? Their future? That's already being decided by the company and union hacks. Unannounced work-slowdowns are also a powerful-tool in driving-down the stock of companies that view workers as disposable. The only rule in this game is winning, and losing means social-chaos that would make a General strike seem tame in-comparison.
The agreement calls for the largest U.S. tire maker to give a one-year period of transition for workers instead of an immediate closure of a Tyler, Texas plant. The closure of that plant had been one of the principle obstacles to an agreement. Goodyear is in the process of exiting unprofitable private label tire production in a bid to boost profits. (Reuters, 12.22.2006)
The "agreement" doesn't offer much, and is admittedly being done simply to "boost-profits", a raw-deal-at-best. If I was an intelligent union leader, I'd tell them to shove their deal up-their-ass, and look to the long-term consequences of said "deals." Goodyear also wants to make all new-hires non-union, at non-union pay. This is also unacceptable, and should be roundly-rejected with further walkouts, and should be echoed in Canada as well. Don't buy Goodyear, I won't until there is some reasonable solution to this, meaning keeping the plant and future-hires union.
This is hardly over, and should be viewed as a highly-suspicious news release that favors ownership/major-shareholders. Also curious are the numbers quoted for strikers--one release says 12,500 (excluding Canadian strikers?), 15,000 in today's, and 16,000 in others. This is reminiscent of public opinion-polls for President Bush, as well as on social concerns, exit polls, and election-results. Watch the counters, and watch them well.
It would behoove currently unionized workers to go wildcat on their national unions and the NLRB (http://www.nlrb.gov/) when they aren't watching-out for their interests and the long-term picture. They should also be working-hard to get Hispanic workers naturalized and unionized, something only the daft would oppose. What do they have to lose? Their future? That's already being decided by the company and union hacks. Unannounced work-slowdowns are also a powerful-tool in driving-down the stock of companies that view workers as disposable. The only rule in this game is winning, and losing means social-chaos that would make a General strike seem tame in-comparison.
Tons of United Steel Workers Stories You Aren't Seeing:
http://news.google.com/news?q=United+Steelworkers+union+update&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title
http://news.google.com/news?q=United+Steelworkers+union+update&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title
A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN PROSE, BEING A Ghost Story of Christmas:
The UN Security Council on Iran: We Want Your Oil and Energy Dependence
"Arabs may have the oil, but we have the matches."
--Ariel Sharon, to Robert Friedman, early-1990s.
NEW YORK CITY--So, the UN has been pressured by the US State Department into beginning a new-round of sanctions against Iran because of their uranium-enrichment program. No wanting to look like anything other than a hypocrite, President Bush authorizes the a nuclear-cooperation program with India. This alone will surely enrage the political-hierarchy in Pakistan (concentrated in their intelligence community), and numerous other Arab states who also have nuclear club aspirations. Then, there's Israel, who likely possess a minimum of 50 nuclear warheads. This toleration will only embolden additional-players on the world stage, and it is an irritation that speaks more of power-relationships than actual diplomatic pragmatism.
It's a strange idea that the Bush administration could even field more troops, so Israel must fit-in here somewhere. Still, the call for a surge in troops into Iraq has to be seen within this context. But what of Russia? What of Turkey or Pakistan? How will they react to either an invasion or an attack on Iran? Russian economic-ties to Iran are well-known, and her neighbors will surely be alarmed by any open-provocations from the West. But, while the resolution bars any interventions, this wouldn't stop the United States and her allies from military-actions: it didn't in the case of Afghanistan or Iraq, so why would the UN be able to stop them now? However, Russia has chimed-in:
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who was successful in watering down parts of the resolution, emphasized that the resolution did not permit any use of force. Moscow's earlier hesitation over supporting the resolution prompted a phone call on Saturday from President George W. Bush [Ed.-an architect of all of this.] to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had reviewed the resolution until the last minute following two months of tough negotiations. Russia is building an $800 million light-water reactor for Tehran that is exempted in the resolution. (Reuters, 12.23.2006)
The vote was unanimous, 15-0--a margin the US is used-to, just in-reverse. This is the usual source of anti-UN sentiment in the United States, including in the far-right peanut gallery: if the US doesn't get it way, it's a threat of world-domination by the UN, a sentiment without any credibility. On one-end of this pseudo-argument, the UN is omnipotent, on the other it's "useless." The adherents to this argument aren't worthy of any recognition, and can be viewed as ultranationalist and on the margins of reasonable-debate. Kooks. The sanctions are a ban on basic imports, especially of materials that could be used in a nuclear program. What is strange is the emphasis on even civilian-use of uranium-enrichment. Certainly, some fissile-materials could be misused and conveyed to questionable-elements, and the State Department knows this all-too-well.
America is the Pandora's box of proliferation, particularly in the case of Israel, though espionage between allies is another factor. If the American message on proliferation is anything, it's this: don't get-caught while you're developing you nuclear programs. After a successful-completion, we cannot control you or your ability to develop further. The problem is, this gives any future military-strikes by the US and Israel a sheen of legitimacy, a problem for those who wish for stability in the region. It seems China wants that oil too, and so do a lot of other consumer nations. The catch (-22) is that American troops will probably be the proxy-forces for all of these economic interests:
The Selective Service System is planning a comprehensive test of the military draft machinery, which hasn't been run since 1998. The agency is not gearing up for a draft, an agency official said Thursday. The test itself would not likely [Ed.-barring an urgent need to.] occur until 2009. Meanwhile, the secretary for Veterans Affairs said that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft and that it shouldn't have any loopholes for anyone who is called to serve. (AP, 12.22.2006)
Why was the Secretary of Veterans Affairs told to recant his previous-statement? Because perceptions have to be molded by Karl Rove and others who support PNAC war-aims in Congress and elsewhere. Merry Christmas early! Moloch wants your kids. Will you hand them over? I wouldn't for the upcoming-conflagration all the global elites have planned for us. At least the rich-kids will be going too; time to hammer-shut those deferments. Still want war? OK, you and your kids can go. Ah, I see you aren't so gung-ho now. You can go to the daily hour-of-hate meeting now.
Israel's WMDs:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/STE203A.html
The BBC's Take on "the death of the neo-con dream" (I'm skeptical):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6189793.stm
Selective Service (Happy Talk!):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122101327_pf.html
The UN Votes to Sanction Iran:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iran-nuclear.html?hp&ex=1166936400&en=6d6796bc114418c9&ei=5094&partner=homepage
--Ariel Sharon, to Robert Friedman, early-1990s.
NEW YORK CITY--So, the UN has been pressured by the US State Department into beginning a new-round of sanctions against Iran because of their uranium-enrichment program. No wanting to look like anything other than a hypocrite, President Bush authorizes the a nuclear-cooperation program with India. This alone will surely enrage the political-hierarchy in Pakistan (concentrated in their intelligence community), and numerous other Arab states who also have nuclear club aspirations. Then, there's Israel, who likely possess a minimum of 50 nuclear warheads. This toleration will only embolden additional-players on the world stage, and it is an irritation that speaks more of power-relationships than actual diplomatic pragmatism.
It's a strange idea that the Bush administration could even field more troops, so Israel must fit-in here somewhere. Still, the call for a surge in troops into Iraq has to be seen within this context. But what of Russia? What of Turkey or Pakistan? How will they react to either an invasion or an attack on Iran? Russian economic-ties to Iran are well-known, and her neighbors will surely be alarmed by any open-provocations from the West. But, while the resolution bars any interventions, this wouldn't stop the United States and her allies from military-actions: it didn't in the case of Afghanistan or Iraq, so why would the UN be able to stop them now? However, Russia has chimed-in:
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who was successful in watering down parts of the resolution, emphasized that the resolution did not permit any use of force. Moscow's earlier hesitation over supporting the resolution prompted a phone call on Saturday from President George W. Bush [Ed.-an architect of all of this.] to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had reviewed the resolution until the last minute following two months of tough negotiations. Russia is building an $800 million light-water reactor for Tehran that is exempted in the resolution. (Reuters, 12.23.2006)
The vote was unanimous, 15-0--a margin the US is used-to, just in-reverse. This is the usual source of anti-UN sentiment in the United States, including in the far-right peanut gallery: if the US doesn't get it way, it's a threat of world-domination by the UN, a sentiment without any credibility. On one-end of this pseudo-argument, the UN is omnipotent, on the other it's "useless." The adherents to this argument aren't worthy of any recognition, and can be viewed as ultranationalist and on the margins of reasonable-debate. Kooks. The sanctions are a ban on basic imports, especially of materials that could be used in a nuclear program. What is strange is the emphasis on even civilian-use of uranium-enrichment. Certainly, some fissile-materials could be misused and conveyed to questionable-elements, and the State Department knows this all-too-well.
America is the Pandora's box of proliferation, particularly in the case of Israel, though espionage between allies is another factor. If the American message on proliferation is anything, it's this: don't get-caught while you're developing you nuclear programs. After a successful-completion, we cannot control you or your ability to develop further. The problem is, this gives any future military-strikes by the US and Israel a sheen of legitimacy, a problem for those who wish for stability in the region. It seems China wants that oil too, and so do a lot of other consumer nations. The catch (-22) is that American troops will probably be the proxy-forces for all of these economic interests:
The Selective Service System is planning a comprehensive test of the military draft machinery, which hasn't been run since 1998. The agency is not gearing up for a draft, an agency official said Thursday. The test itself would not likely [Ed.-barring an urgent need to.] occur until 2009. Meanwhile, the secretary for Veterans Affairs said that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft and that it shouldn't have any loopholes for anyone who is called to serve. (AP, 12.22.2006)
Why was the Secretary of Veterans Affairs told to recant his previous-statement? Because perceptions have to be molded by Karl Rove and others who support PNAC war-aims in Congress and elsewhere. Merry Christmas early! Moloch wants your kids. Will you hand them over? I wouldn't for the upcoming-conflagration all the global elites have planned for us. At least the rich-kids will be going too; time to hammer-shut those deferments. Still want war? OK, you and your kids can go. Ah, I see you aren't so gung-ho now. You can go to the daily hour-of-hate meeting now.
Israel's WMDs:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/STE203A.html
The BBC's Take on "the death of the neo-con dream" (I'm skeptical):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6189793.stm
Selective Service (Happy Talk!):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122101327_pf.html
The UN Votes to Sanction Iran:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iran-nuclear.html?hp&ex=1166936400&en=6d6796bc114418c9&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Thursday, December 21, 2006
SAMIZDAT
THE BLOGOSPHERE--Under Soviet domination, a lot of the dissident groups in occupied-countries (and within the Soviet Union) would publish little circulars to pass-on information and ideas. They just got passed, hand-to-hand, being hidden-away from the secret police. If you got caught with them, you could go to the gulags, maybe work in a coal or a uranium-mine. In Cold War Czechoslovakia, this was even done with the plays of Vaclav Havel; people would copy them by-hand and disseminate them to as many other "cells" as-possible. Havel's plays were usually performed in living-rooms! The blogs serve the same function. They create networks of information between concerned citizens, a social-patchwork where many other networks have fallen. Welcome to the American Velvet Revolution, this is bigger than the invention of movable-type in Middle Ages Europe. The blogs are samizdat. And did you hear? South America is considering creating their own-version of a continental-wide union like the EU.
Eric Filipkowski's "Hollywood Phony" Site
Fellows/guys/broads: You gotta check this site out. Eric is a really funny comedian and actor in Hollywood. If you need a humor-break from the post-9/11 world, if you CRAVE goofy stories that defy logic, yet show some incredible comic-insight---Eric's blog is your oasis. I found it strongly-recommended by Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show, Ben Stiller Show, Tom Goes to the Mayor) at http://www.bobanddavid.com/, another site you should check-out for yucks. Genius, just pure-genius, Eric.
Da' Man:
http://hollywoodphony.wordpress.com/
Da' Man:
http://hollywoodphony.wordpress.com/
NYT: GOVERNMENT DECLASSIFYING NEARLY ALL 25-YEAR-OLD DOCUMENTS (WITH EXCEPTIONS)
WASHINGTON--After a three-year extension by the Bush administration, we're finally seeing the very first automatic release under the FOIA of our internal- history, says the New York Times yesterday. It takes an enormous staff to search and review the endless-array of internal memos and directives, and they couldn't make it in 2003. Of course, none of this will exempt other key-ones that are still being classified for "reasons of national security" (because there would be criminal-convictions or a public groundswell over what's in them?). For some documents, this is understandable and realistic. Also, you want to respect the privacy of agents and shady informants who have violated people's rights, this is important. In declassification cases, you'll never find a more staunch defender of the 4th Amendment than the Executive--regardless of who's in office at that historical-moment.
Yes, you don't want to advertise your techniques to your enemies (the public being one), but looking at the final 10-pages of John Lennon's FBI-files, we know this is a frequently abused excuse to hide criminality. It's also just a good technique to keep people waiting on files that are of no-importance, causing various archives and researchers to waste precious resources fighting for what is basically worthless-information. And they have to do it in the courts, which is pretty expensive. This is by-design, from both congressional legislation and Executive orders. The NYT article discusses how the Carter years will be illuminated, but how about the Reagan years?
Yes, over the next-few-years, we're going to be seeing some long-overdue revisions by American historians about the "great communicator". You can be assured that the timing of the Hussein trial was figured-into some of that era's declassification, because the files concerning our aid to Saddam Hussein are looming. It might even be a sub-motive for the invasion of Iraq. So are parts of the Iran-Contra records, as some of the Bush administration were part of Reagan's cabinet: "Secret documents 25 years old or older will lose their classified status without so much as the stroke of a pen, unless agencies have sought exemptions on the ground that the material remains secret." Is it time to rename those airports and mountains, before it's too-late? Too-late. The importance of declassification is that we know our history, and so that we can hold office-abusers like Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney accountable. They probably broke-laws then, and are fearful of us finding-out now. Considering the current political climate, they should be.
The New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/washington/21declassify.html?ex=1324357200&en=282fb72dc92fd0d4&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Yes, you don't want to advertise your techniques to your enemies (the public being one), but looking at the final 10-pages of John Lennon's FBI-files, we know this is a frequently abused excuse to hide criminality. It's also just a good technique to keep people waiting on files that are of no-importance, causing various archives and researchers to waste precious resources fighting for what is basically worthless-information. And they have to do it in the courts, which is pretty expensive. This is by-design, from both congressional legislation and Executive orders. The NYT article discusses how the Carter years will be illuminated, but how about the Reagan years?
Yes, over the next-few-years, we're going to be seeing some long-overdue revisions by American historians about the "great communicator". You can be assured that the timing of the Hussein trial was figured-into some of that era's declassification, because the files concerning our aid to Saddam Hussein are looming. It might even be a sub-motive for the invasion of Iraq. So are parts of the Iran-Contra records, as some of the Bush administration were part of Reagan's cabinet: "Secret documents 25 years old or older will lose their classified status without so much as the stroke of a pen, unless agencies have sought exemptions on the ground that the material remains secret." Is it time to rename those airports and mountains, before it's too-late? Too-late. The importance of declassification is that we know our history, and so that we can hold office-abusers like Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney accountable. They probably broke-laws then, and are fearful of us finding-out now. Considering the current political climate, they should be.
The New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/washington/21declassify.html?ex=1324357200&en=282fb72dc92fd0d4&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Gingrinch
"I also want to mention a very difficult subject before you here, completely openly. It should be discussed amongst us, and yet, nevertheless, we will never speak about it in public. Just as we did not hesitate on June 30 [1934, the execution of Brown shirt leader, Ernst Rohm] to carry out our duty, as ordered, and stand comrades who had failed against the wall and shoot them. "
--Heinrich Himmler, at Posen, 1943.
Radical conservative ideology that posits government cannot provide for the common good is dead, it died with Katrina and this war. It's over. Over. Reasonable conservatives, the Populist Left is here for you, we agree on more than you might think. We can better this nation, we can be proud of her again. Gingrich knows the GOP-version of conservatism was a sham. He knows that it's over. Sadly, this is why he pathetically-clings to it anyway: '"If there was no FEMA, New Orleans would have recovered faster," Mr. Gingrich said.'
Wrong. What he's saying is if there was no FEMA, nobody would be helped, and that's fine. How is this different from what Bush has done? It just shows the obvious-limitations of their type of conservative-ideology. Fortunately, the laws of physics have held-up and routed them with objective-defeats. An astute commenter at Huffpo noted that the Bush administration simply did what Gingrich would have wanted--only the did it too-quickly, and I would again add, incompetently. Newt Gingrich wilfully-ignores what we all know anyway. That it's the Bush administration's incompetence and vindictiveness towards Louisiana politicians, and the blame-game between both elements. FEMA did a much-better job before Katrina, we all know this. Does FEMA seem so dangerous and invincible now? Gingrich's comments recently confirm his continued allegiance to a dead-ideology, making him resemble Vladimir Putin.
If the Bush administration hadn't misruled, FEMA would have worked. For those who disagree, here's to nobody bailing-you-out either when a natural disaster strikes, you're simply not in-touch with reality. The sham is over, commissars, shills, fixers, and hacks. We either have a society, or we don't. We either have a social contract, or we don't. If we have to jail some of you, we will, if you've broken the existing-laws. This applies to the President and his administration. On Iraq, on Katrina, on basically everything, Gingrich offers exactly what the Bush administration has--incompetence and disaster from misrule. Their version of conservatism isn't conservative at all, it's radical and dangerous. It is un-American, and barbaric, a threat to all of human civilization, and it is losing.
To all the nut job neocons, I ask you this: what is a society for, then? Government is always, always better than misrule by corporations. The GOP is over. Done, like Soviet-style communism. All they achieved was more intrusive-government into all of our lives, an obvious violation of Habeus Corpus, and an ongoing rollback of the 4th Amendment. Does that sound like conservative ideology? This week, Gingrich is attacking Karl Rove, but he's just as guilty of the mess we're in today. They all are, the incumbents in the GOP. Gingrich is smart enough to know the public doesn't want him in 2008, or possibly ever again. It's good to know when you're whipped, but why the secret, Himmler-like (Himmler's October 4th, 1943 speech at Posen) meeting on November 30th? Why are we only finding-out about this now from Insight and the rest of the mainstream press? Yes, there were blurbs about it, but no quotes. Why?Himmler's Secret 2006 Speech in Virginia:
http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/Gingrich3.htm
Himmler's Secret 1943 Speech at Posen:
http://www.holocaust-history.org/himmler-poznan/
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
GASSING OF KURDS VIDEO SHOWN AT SADDAM TRAIL
BAGHDAD--Question: Where did he get them from? We might want to ask Donald Rumsfeld, since he was responsible for arming the Iraqi military with chemical weapons from the United States. Why isn't he testifying? Why isn't this fact being brought-to-light? The questions are the answers. As bad as Hussein was, we made him, it's a simple-fact: "Al-Faroon did not reveal the source of the grainy videos with distorted sound. A timecode under the images showed the clips were made at various times in 1987 and 1988 [Ed.-We provided chemical WMDs to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war of 1982-1988. The Reagan years]." (AP,12.19.2006) Sounds like a fair trial, doesn't it? The money is on the source being the CIA. They had a team of animators at Hanna-Barbera (in Thailand) photoshop "Made in the USA" off of the images. Jane, stop this crazy war.
Online Music-Posting: Suggestions? Bueller?
SMOLA--I don't have a high-speed connection, we're out in redneck heaven here. If anyone has suggestions as to how I can post my upcoming EP and album, please let me know. Yes, I am aware of i-Tunes, but there are some obvious logistical-problems with my connection. It would take mailing someone a CDr of my selections (already pre-sequenced and EQ'd), then they would have to post it. Since I don't trust anyone around here in Michiana to do it, I'm doing this shoutout, yo. There's a link already to one cut from this-month, but it's not representative of my work, just a sliver. My idea is to post the EP for free-downloading, with the possibility of the same for the album. I might even post the cover-art here, we'll see. The material I wanna release would make great bar music in Bladerunner, it's pretty decadent electronic music. A little brown, a little blue, something old, something new. But not techno, it's electronic music (sometimes with a smidgen of Martin Denny, postpunk, some atonal hip-hop & motion picture scores).
Monday, December 18, 2006
ARMY CONSIDERING FORCING STRIKING GOODYEAR WORKERS BACK TO THEIR JOBS: STOP BUYING GOODYEAR NOW
TOPEKA, KANSAS--The Financial Times is reporting--finally, after the ELECTIONS--that "[a] strike involving 17,000 members of the United Steelworkers union has crippled 16 Goodyear plants in the US and Canada since October 5." Wow, where's this story been? No reporting on a strike of this size? Where's the press? Indeed. This is bigger than the General Motors strike of 1937 (in Flint, Michigan), one that literally galvanized the labor movement around the world. It appears the military is considering intervention, but they have a problem, Houston: an army already overextended, with new call ups for the Reserves and the National Guard coming down-the-pipe.
I know, it's so unfair for these guys to strike in-solidarity because Goodyear is closing a unionized plant in Texas (where else?), so unfair. Now those stupid Hummers that are manufactured here in Michiana won't have tires for 35% of the Army's fielded-vehicles. But hey, yeah, let's send more troops to Iraq so they cannot quell a domestic labor-uprising. This isn't the American South in 1934, you morons, you cannot hide this forever. The public won't have it, and the news-gap is narrowing. Bring-it-on.
Let's send those troops that we don't even have now. The strikers have videos at Youtube, go check em' for me, I can't, we's not highfalutin' bawss! I'm wondering how they'll make them work once they've dragged them from their homes, and how good a P.R. move that's going to be for a public that's already extremely-angry over the war in Iraq and the corruption of the GOP. Yes, you order those troops, President Cheney. You do that. Support these men and women. I just did. We're finally seeing the birth of a genuine international labor movement, it's long-overdue. It's good to hear middle-management is having to do all the work of the striking-employees, what suckers. They always are.
Unionize!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16226231/
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/16262176.htm
http://labornotes.org/node/351/print
http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/580/31/
http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/media/1046
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B3F7FFE63-22EA-4FAF-8241-D7E9AD88F406%7D&siteid=mktw
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aB3kVwme7OM8&refer=news
http://cjonline.com/stories/100506/bre_goodyear.shtml
The United Steelworkers:
http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/index.php
I know, it's so unfair for these guys to strike in-solidarity because Goodyear is closing a unionized plant in Texas (where else?), so unfair. Now those stupid Hummers that are manufactured here in Michiana won't have tires for 35% of the Army's fielded-vehicles. But hey, yeah, let's send more troops to Iraq so they cannot quell a domestic labor-uprising. This isn't the American South in 1934, you morons, you cannot hide this forever. The public won't have it, and the news-gap is narrowing. Bring-it-on.
Let's send those troops that we don't even have now. The strikers have videos at Youtube, go check em' for me, I can't, we's not highfalutin' bawss! I'm wondering how they'll make them work once they've dragged them from their homes, and how good a P.R. move that's going to be for a public that's already extremely-angry over the war in Iraq and the corruption of the GOP. Yes, you order those troops, President Cheney. You do that. Support these men and women. I just did. We're finally seeing the birth of a genuine international labor movement, it's long-overdue. It's good to hear middle-management is having to do all the work of the striking-employees, what suckers. They always are.
Unionize!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16226231/
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/16262176.htm
http://labornotes.org/node/351/print
http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/580/31/
http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/media/1046
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B3F7FFE63-22EA-4FAF-8241-D7E9AD88F406%7D&siteid=mktw
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aB3kVwme7OM8&refer=news
http://cjonline.com/stories/100506/bre_goodyear.shtml
The United Steelworkers:
http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/index.php
LAURA BUSH REMOVED FROM SHIN-TUMOR
WARSHINTUHN--In a bold-move, the White House admitted today that First Lady Laura Bush had a malignant-tumor removed from her shin, according to the AP. The sex of the shin was not disclosed: "Explaining why the procedure was not disclosed until now, the first lady's press secretary Susan Whitson said, "This medical procedure was a private matter for Mrs. Bush, but when asked by the media today, we answered the question," states the article. So, I know Senator Johnson had his medical problem while speaking to journalists, but why not respect his privacy just a bit more? Hmmmm?
I think we all know why. It's a matter of political-capital, and Mrs. Bush doesn't amount to much. Vice President George W. Bush had lesions removed from his face in 2001--they'll be running-for-office in a few years. Madame Curie is smiling somewhere, right-now, but she's glowing. It was the Polonium, getcha every time. Now, you kids go and play nice (or not). Queries: why lie about this and hide it? Are they pathological-liars? Should we bother even asking? The tumor is reported to be well, and resting. I was worried for it.
I think we all know why. It's a matter of political-capital, and Mrs. Bush doesn't amount to much. Vice President George W. Bush had lesions removed from his face in 2001--they'll be running-for-office in a few years. Madame Curie is smiling somewhere, right-now, but she's glowing. It was the Polonium, getcha every time. Now, you kids go and play nice (or not). Queries: why lie about this and hide it? Are they pathological-liars? Should we bother even asking? The tumor is reported to be well, and resting. I was worried for it.
JOE BARBERA, DEAD AT 95
The Ranger really isn't gonna like this one: Yes, Hann
a-Barbera are no-more. Joe died this-week at the incredibly old-age of 95. ZOINKS!!! At 95, I think your toenails must hurt too. Who's going to bankroll all the crappy animation?! It wasn't entirely their fault. After the 1940s, people like the Fleischers were gone, American animation being nearly-dead by the early 1960s. It just cost too-much--or at least that's how the story goes. Meanwhile, the Soviets were kicking-our-asses with Sputnik...and animation. In fact, if you look at animation worldwide from the 1950s to the present, we have sucked at it for half-a-century. Cartoon Network is great, but most of the stuff I like just slags how bad Hanna-Barbera were for over 40-years. It's like a celebrity-roast. The best we have right-now is Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly", but that's really just rotoscoping, like tracing. Still, it's impressive, and you should see it. It's going to change how movies are made in a number of ways, and it only cost $8 million.
I know, I know, there are a few great examples, like some of Ralph Bakshi's work. But overall, it's clear we'll never make something like the quality of the Looney Tunes, early-Disney, or the Fleischers (Popeye, Superman, Betty Boop, etc.). So, why not have a fund for it? I'm not saying we should stop doing commercial animation, but why not fund it so we have something that doesn't look like poorly-articulated dog shit? You know, characters with three-finger (easier and cheaper to animate), "movement" that make Clutch Cargo look like Fantasia, crap. Sure, those Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s were hilarious because they were so cheesy, but let's have some pride here. Even CANADA is better at it, Jesus Christ. State-funded art? Yep, an uphill-battle, we're cretinous. Zoinks indeed.
a-Barbera are no-more. Joe died this-week at the incredibly old-age of 95. ZOINKS!!! At 95, I think your toenails must hurt too. Who's going to bankroll all the crappy animation?! It wasn't entirely their fault. After the 1940s, people like the Fleischers were gone, American animation being nearly-dead by the early 1960s. It just cost too-much--or at least that's how the story goes. Meanwhile, the Soviets were kicking-our-asses with Sputnik...and animation. In fact, if you look at animation worldwide from the 1950s to the present, we have sucked at it for half-a-century. Cartoon Network is great, but most of the stuff I like just slags how bad Hanna-Barbera were for over 40-years. It's like a celebrity-roast. The best we have right-now is Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly", but that's really just rotoscoping, like tracing. Still, it's impressive, and you should see it. It's going to change how movies are made in a number of ways, and it only cost $8 million.I know, I know, there are a few great examples, like some of Ralph Bakshi's work. But overall, it's clear we'll never make something like the quality of the Looney Tunes, early-Disney, or the Fleischers (Popeye, Superman, Betty Boop, etc.). So, why not have a fund for it? I'm not saying we should stop doing commercial animation, but why not fund it so we have something that doesn't look like poorly-articulated dog shit? You know, characters with three-finger (easier and cheaper to animate), "movement" that make Clutch Cargo look like Fantasia, crap. Sure, those Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s were hilarious because they were so cheesy, but let's have some pride here. Even CANADA is better at it, Jesus Christ. State-funded art? Yep, an uphill-battle, we're cretinous. Zoinks indeed.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA--Yes, they're still spying on us, and it's not making us any safer. The opposite is true. Imagine the unprecedented possibilities for insider-trading that there are for President Cheney, or how it's been used to surveil political opponents. Starting Jan. 4th, the fight will begin. We'll all see what a scumbag Arlen Specter really is, and how much he obstructed investigations into this illegal violation of our right-to-privacy (as writ in the 4th Amendment in the Bill of Rights). The Bush administration has openly-admitted to breaking the law, the 1978 FISA statute that was created in-the-aftermath of Watergate and numerous other revelations uncovered by the Left, anti-war movement, the Civil Rights movement, and the Church Commission. There was also an illegal break-in by an unknown activist-group in Media, Pennsylvania in 1971 that brought the release of hundreds of FBI-documents on illegal-ops. The Democrats have a lot to prove in January, like their commitment to democracy and the social contract.
It's pretty clear today that Sen. Church and the Congress of that time didn't do enough, and didn't go far enough in reigning-in the powers of the Executive. There's a reason for this: even the Democrats want to spy on you. Why? They and the wealthiest fear us. This is how criminals think. The key is to figure-out who they are in public-office, and to keep removing them again-and-again, sending many of them to prison. We can install our own genuine representatives to write laws with harsh-penalties and accountability for such violations. It's just a matter of will. If you don't care, you're probably just a pathetic, jaded creep. Fortunately, they'll come-for-you too if things don't change, nobody will be immune. In 2005, we had 40,000 drug-raids in this nation, a startling figure for any developed nation.
How many raids did the Gestapo do at their height? We don't know, many of the records haven't survived, but looking at concentration camp statistics, it was lower than contemporary statistics in America. Remember also, that Nazi repression relied upon informants in the general population. Sound familiar? We imprison a lot more of our citizenry than National Socialism ever did. Imagine how easily our prisons and military bases could be converted into death factories--we're practically there with the inhuman conditions of our penological system. It's a war alright. A war on people, not drugs. Why do I mention this? Because a portion of anti-terrorism funds going to Police departments are being used to spy on all of us for the War on Drugs. Cops have gotten pretty ballsy about surveillance in drug-interdiction too, thanks to the hysteria surrounding the aftermath of September 11th, 2001. Fear sells in our cowardly America, but will it continue-to as it has? This is an unknown.
For a time, the Bush administration and the GOP (with an unhealthy-dose of bipartisanship) in Congress tried to emphasize that 'some terrorist activities are funded by drug-smuggling', a ham-fisted attempt to fuse both efforts at population-control that has basically failed. Indeed, the illegal-war against the Sandinistas (Iran-Contra) appears to have been partly-funded by such smuggling by CIA-assets. The oligarchs (drug cartels of Northern Colombia) who we fund with drug-interdiction monies (billions) use it for counterinsurgency against the Marxist insurgent FARC. It is well-known that FARC controls a fraction of all the cocaine flowing from Colombia, the oligarchs controlling the lions-share. These kind of observations should raise some flags, and I believe the public is now emotionally-prepared to hear them. This has only ever been about controlling we, the people. It has bipartisan support, and will continue-to if we let it. All of this is the opposite-view of the Bush administration, especially Cheney. They must be imprisoned for their crimes for this society to be able to move-on as a democracy.
It's pretty clear today that Sen. Church and the Congress of that time didn't do enough, and didn't go far enough in reigning-in the powers of the Executive. There's a reason for this: even the Democrats want to spy on you. Why? They and the wealthiest fear us. This is how criminals think. The key is to figure-out who they are in public-office, and to keep removing them again-and-again, sending many of them to prison. We can install our own genuine representatives to write laws with harsh-penalties and accountability for such violations. It's just a matter of will. If you don't care, you're probably just a pathetic, jaded creep. Fortunately, they'll come-for-you too if things don't change, nobody will be immune. In 2005, we had 40,000 drug-raids in this nation, a startling figure for any developed nation.
How many raids did the Gestapo do at their height? We don't know, many of the records haven't survived, but looking at concentration camp statistics, it was lower than contemporary statistics in America. Remember also, that Nazi repression relied upon informants in the general population. Sound familiar? We imprison a lot more of our citizenry than National Socialism ever did. Imagine how easily our prisons and military bases could be converted into death factories--we're practically there with the inhuman conditions of our penological system. It's a war alright. A war on people, not drugs. Why do I mention this? Because a portion of anti-terrorism funds going to Police departments are being used to spy on all of us for the War on Drugs. Cops have gotten pretty ballsy about surveillance in drug-interdiction too, thanks to the hysteria surrounding the aftermath of September 11th, 2001. Fear sells in our cowardly America, but will it continue-to as it has? This is an unknown.
For a time, the Bush administration and the GOP (with an unhealthy-dose of bipartisanship) in Congress tried to emphasize that 'some terrorist activities are funded by drug-smuggling', a ham-fisted attempt to fuse both efforts at population-control that has basically failed. Indeed, the illegal-war against the Sandinistas (Iran-Contra) appears to have been partly-funded by such smuggling by CIA-assets. The oligarchs (drug cartels of Northern Colombia) who we fund with drug-interdiction monies (billions) use it for counterinsurgency against the Marxist insurgent FARC. It is well-known that FARC controls a fraction of all the cocaine flowing from Colombia, the oligarchs controlling the lions-share. These kind of observations should raise some flags, and I believe the public is now emotionally-prepared to hear them. This has only ever been about controlling we, the people. It has bipartisan support, and will continue-to if we let it. All of this is the opposite-view of the Bush administration, especially Cheney. They must be imprisoned for their crimes for this society to be able to move-on as a democracy.
My Mother's Father (1922-2003) Part I
My grandfather was such a good man, but he was troubled by the world that he lived through. He never found a good way to express this until the very end of his life, which I find sad. His was a life that is no more and an America that is long-gone.
In many respects, this is a good thing, but it's impossible to say that I don't miss him or the generation he was a part of, now receding into the twilight. I won't say that my grandfather's generation was the " greatest [American] generation"--it wasn't. Most of the racists who beat civil rights activists, and even murdered them, were of the WWII generation. They were as wrong as one can be, but they weren't the whole story.
There were and are many shades of racism, and it's a part of our basic anthropology, almost innate to us. This isn't to say that people cannot overcome it, but it's a tendency within all of us as human beings. I think of racism as the greatest tragedy of the human experience. Were it not for the fact that I was shunted into the worst classes with the Black kids, I might not understand this. I understand discrimination well, and Black Americans have my admiration and empathy for the crap they have to put-up-with. I hate most White Americans myself, they're generally pigs. That said, it doesn't excuse reverse-discrimination or a racist response.
My grandfather was bigoted to-a-point, and I lament this fact, but he still saw Black Americans (and other so-called minorities) as people. God, the times he would bait me with racial-comments--he was a teaser, he loved to pick. But he didn't hate Black people, and he was a friendly man for the most part. He worked with them at his factory job at a ball-bearing plant (Torrington) for decades and had a few Black acquaintances. For someone like Rollie, this was a very big step indeed.
His job was building the equipment and tools for the machinists, and he did it for about twenty years. Before that, he and my grandmother worked in other factories and munitions-plants like many in their generation. Interestingly, he was discriminated against at his job for a variety-of-reasons (some due to his personality!). South Bend is a town that is almost predominantly Polish and Hungarian, with the rest falling-off from there. However, with the influx of Hispanics, it's changing rapidly as it is in many places in the United States. Most of these ethnic groups had (and have) one thing in-common: Catholicism, and the cold, cruel, Old world exclusionary version of it. America is a very primitive and tribally oriented place. Tribalism is for the birds and needs to go the way of organized religion. It needs to die. If that's community, you can have it, and I'm glad that the modern world is crushing it.
Like in most American cities that have ethnic enclaves, each group really just takes care of its own. South Bend has been, and is, no different in this. Each group tended to discriminate, especially when one wasn't Catholic. In truth, my family has probably been discriminated-against on this basis more than we'll ever know. This is ironic, since I was baptised a Catholic! My grandparents weren't very active religiously, which I still admire. They taught me from an early-age, "Don't ever trust the preacherman, he doesn't know anymore than you do. He just wants your money." This is pure prairie Populism, a tradition I am more-than-proud-of. After being forced to attend congregationalist churches with my father, this belief was only reinforced, what hollow, meaningless-crap. If Jesus showed-up, they would turn him away because he would be in-rags, they wouldn't recognize him if he was glowing.
My grandparents didn't trust authority of any kind, a lesson for us all, because they saw authority abused during their lives. I believe that the time has come again for prairie Populism's resurrection, only this time it won't be agrarian, and just a simple expression of the will of the people in different times. What could be more beautiful and sacred than the unprompted assertion of humanity by ordinary people? My family comes from this tradition, and our familial culture extends-back to our Anabaptist ancestors in Germany and possibly Switzerland. Somehow, it survived organically within our family's culture.
The Anabaptists were the first religious group in Western Europe to call for a separation of Church and State. I suspect we've always been anti-clerical, and anti-war (excepting defensive wars of survival) in some ways, but WWII was necessary. Few would argue this, and fascism had to be stopped. It really was the good war to my mind. It was the aftermath that the politicians and big businessmen screwed-up, and keeping them in-check is the role of the people. The "world's greatest generation" tried to do this, but I believe the postwar economic-boom caused many of them to lapse into forgetfulness--they forgot who the enemy really was, namely concentrated wealth.
My grandfather was from Kansas, while my grandmother was from Arkansas. Her family were literally dirt-farmers, and she was a mountain-girl, and such a lovely and warm woman. She was a real-life Cinderella. When she died, I nearly went with her, the shock was so overwhelming. She was literally my second mother. My grandfather's family moved to Arkansas (Marshall, I believe) during the late-1920s, and this is how they met.
His father was insane--he was both a Freemason (Masonry teaches universal brotherhood!) and a member of the KKK during the 1920s (probably because of the movie "The Birth of a Nation"), and one of the earliest Jehovah's witnesses. He'd had a good-paying job with the railroad as an engineer, but he was basically an abusive asshole who felt he was always right. So, he quit his job, and moved his family to start a farm during worst period in American history to start one (except now), right before the Great Depression! I was told many stories about the dustbowl and the dust storms that blanketed parts of the South, Southwest, and plains states, as a child.
They were stories of an apocalypse, a wall of death that smothered everything. Entire families were found suffocated-to-death in their shacks and farm houses according to my grandparents and the historical record. The Bloughs nearly starved-to-death, and eventually the hothead had to get another job. He was also a physically-abusive man, and rarely spoke to his children.
Things got better for them, gradually, in Arkansas. My grandfather was one of the only young men in his town with a car (a 1929 model A Ford with a rumble seat--I've ridden in a rumble seat! Fun!). My grandparents met at a dance that could have been out of a John Steinbeck novel, and they knew the life he wrote about intimately. They were poor, but luckier than many. They had food. My grandparents met at a public dance in Arkansas in the late-1930s.
There wasn't much work to be had, so my grandfather joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps, public works jobs provided by the New Deal). He always talked fondly about his experiences with the CCC and said that we should do it again as a nation. This was no Leftist firebrand, no radical, but a unionized worker who slaved his entire life. He was no fool, which is what America has been overpopulated with for some time.
I heartily agree with his sentiments about public service, and I think that it should be compulsory in our society, and mandatory for all economic strata. This goes for war. The draft should be reinstated as a first-step towards ending our love affair with overseas meddling, and our bloated military budgets must be slashed for all time. The time for beating our swords into plowshares has come. We should look to past wars as they're instructive of what not to do.
The invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939 dragged the world into a global conflict. The world was aflame. This takes us to 1940 in the lives of my grandparents...
Revised 10.13.2008
Saturday, December 16, 2006
NEWT GINGRICH ON RUSSERT'S MEET THE PRESS TOMORROW
Be sure not to watch, he and Tim have absolutely nothing relevant to say! Is Meet the Press the most irrelevant news program on television? No, CBS News with Katie Couric (still number 3!) and Fox News are. Honestly: who gives-a-shit what Gingrich has to say? Are you that fuckin' stupid? He started the whole-mess that became the Bush administration and the 109th Congress, get real. They're just so cuddly, these commissars, but are they more-popular than Elmo? Stop watching television news. Stop watching television programming, it's rubbish. Lay-off the crack and cheap beer. Later historians will note that Americans were the most-propagandized culture in human history, equatable with an enclosed lab-experiment. Scary, no? Soon, they won't have to do the Nielsen ratings, what with everyone under constant-surveillance! The United States Police Force--like an army--will always have cable for-free! What a relief it is to know this.
NORTH AMERICAN GUYS (NOT DOLLS)
In case you haven't noticed, my philosophy is fundamentally misanthropic. I don't like most-people, and while I'm not rich-enough to have travelled across-the-globe, it seems certain to me that assholes are everywhere in the world. I've met people from virtually every country on this rock, and I can tell you they were no-different at-base than the assholes I call 'my fellow Americans.' Yes, I dump-on women a lot here, but they don't hold-a-candle to males--'men' being much too-fair to describe most of the eternal-children known as 'guys'. Animalistic would also be too-fair. When Valerie Solanas said men would 'wade, nostril-deep through a river of snot, if there was a cunt on the other side', she was correct. Guys suck. They suck worse than women, it's true. Women don't even come close to how lowly males are. All the 'myths' are true, and there are real-life versions that are worse.
They are lying, cheating, thieving, reactionary, racist, sexist, homophobic, rapist-children. That 'hot-guy' you think would be great-in-bed--get-real, he doesn't give-a-shit about your pleasure, just his. He sucks in-bed. He also tends to vote Republican because he's that kind of selfish, stupid-asshole, and he's got nothing. Nothing. He doesn't really even fit-in within the modern, genteel world. He's an animal in a cage that's too-good for him, which is why he yearns for prison. Yes, the 'ultra-male' really wants anal-penetration, that's why he's so violent in his attitudes and actions towards homosexuals. He fears the 'enemy-within'...himself. He also fears the Black male, because he knows being-penetrated by him is in his future. Black homophobia is another issue related to the history of slavery and its aftermath, but most of the same piggish-behaviors are exhibited by Black males too. It's never acceptable, even when one is poor, and most models of manhood are obsolete. It's possible most males will extinguish-themselves, leaving mostly women and children behind. Only a few men will endure, and the statistics show this is where it is all heading.
While he's not fearing his inevitable-fate, the male runs-around 'proving his manhood' by tagging as many females as he can, this is how wretched he is. He suspects this quality within-himself, and like most manipulators, projects it onto others. When his victims won't comply to his demands for his version of reality, or sex, money or food cooked the way he wants, he beats them. Frequently, he puts these poor, lost-souls into the Emergency Rooms and halfway houses that pepper America like polka-dots. When he isn't ripping-off investors at a corporation, he's selling-methamphetamine to other rednecks from his corporate suite. Frequently, he joins the military so he can take-out his sexual and class-frustrations on helpless Iraqis, and other people of color. He molests his own children, devouring-them like the God Saturn. He makes them into monsters resembling himself in behavior. He makes life a painting by Goya or Bosch. He is ultra nationalist, and loves seeing good people lose. To say he worships power would be redundant. He hates any display of weakness or vulnerability, because he fears it in himself, knowing he's weaker than all those around him. He is despair-itself, the source. He is lack.
Or, sometimes, he's out gay-bashing, embezzling from public-funds, abusing his political office, exploiting his workers, attacking and harassing immigrants and refugees, raping women and murdering some of them, robbing a bank or convenience store, often killing-someone to prove that he's a 'man', when it's obvious he never will be. Sometimes, just sometimes, he's a serial-killer. He runs-out on the mother of his children to be with his girlfriend, smoking-crack, or just drinking until he passes-out in his trailer with a lien on it. He never pays his child-support with a court order behind it. He is the source of all 'psycho-bitches', yet tends to be the one who uses the term the most. The statistics (American) paint an even worse picture. Endless iniquity, the badasses the (dysfunctional) ladies love. The Buddhists are correct about this life. Anything to get-laid, anything. Any price women can pay is OK with him. Are all males like this? Nope, just most. If these clowns weren't so funny, providing all of us with the basis for drama and comedy, we'd be forced to jail them all. In America, we're doing our best, we're no quitters. That'll learn ya'. This reads a lot like radical feminism, doesn't it? That's because not all radical feminism is radical, just outraged. The outrage is appropriate.
They are lying, cheating, thieving, reactionary, racist, sexist, homophobic, rapist-children. That 'hot-guy' you think would be great-in-bed--get-real, he doesn't give-a-shit about your pleasure, just his. He sucks in-bed. He also tends to vote Republican because he's that kind of selfish, stupid-asshole, and he's got nothing. Nothing. He doesn't really even fit-in within the modern, genteel world. He's an animal in a cage that's too-good for him, which is why he yearns for prison. Yes, the 'ultra-male' really wants anal-penetration, that's why he's so violent in his attitudes and actions towards homosexuals. He fears the 'enemy-within'...himself. He also fears the Black male, because he knows being-penetrated by him is in his future. Black homophobia is another issue related to the history of slavery and its aftermath, but most of the same piggish-behaviors are exhibited by Black males too. It's never acceptable, even when one is poor, and most models of manhood are obsolete. It's possible most males will extinguish-themselves, leaving mostly women and children behind. Only a few men will endure, and the statistics show this is where it is all heading.
While he's not fearing his inevitable-fate, the male runs-around 'proving his manhood' by tagging as many females as he can, this is how wretched he is. He suspects this quality within-himself, and like most manipulators, projects it onto others. When his victims won't comply to his demands for his version of reality, or sex, money or food cooked the way he wants, he beats them. Frequently, he puts these poor, lost-souls into the Emergency Rooms and halfway houses that pepper America like polka-dots. When he isn't ripping-off investors at a corporation, he's selling-methamphetamine to other rednecks from his corporate suite. Frequently, he joins the military so he can take-out his sexual and class-frustrations on helpless Iraqis, and other people of color. He molests his own children, devouring-them like the God Saturn. He makes them into monsters resembling himself in behavior. He makes life a painting by Goya or Bosch. He is ultra nationalist, and loves seeing good people lose. To say he worships power would be redundant. He hates any display of weakness or vulnerability, because he fears it in himself, knowing he's weaker than all those around him. He is despair-itself, the source. He is lack.
Or, sometimes, he's out gay-bashing, embezzling from public-funds, abusing his political office, exploiting his workers, attacking and harassing immigrants and refugees, raping women and murdering some of them, robbing a bank or convenience store, often killing-someone to prove that he's a 'man', when it's obvious he never will be. Sometimes, just sometimes, he's a serial-killer. He runs-out on the mother of his children to be with his girlfriend, smoking-crack, or just drinking until he passes-out in his trailer with a lien on it. He never pays his child-support with a court order behind it. He is the source of all 'psycho-bitches', yet tends to be the one who uses the term the most. The statistics (American) paint an even worse picture. Endless iniquity, the badasses the (dysfunctional) ladies love. The Buddhists are correct about this life. Anything to get-laid, anything. Any price women can pay is OK with him. Are all males like this? Nope, just most. If these clowns weren't so funny, providing all of us with the basis for drama and comedy, we'd be forced to jail them all. In America, we're doing our best, we're no quitters. That'll learn ya'. This reads a lot like radical feminism, doesn't it? That's because not all radical feminism is radical, just outraged. The outrage is appropriate.
SENATOR JOHNSON RECOVERING, MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND GOP STILL SEXUALLY AROUSED BY POSSIBILITIES
WARSHINTUHN--Yes, he's still-alive, much-to-the-chagrin of the the GOP and the media lapdogs (a degree in journalism now being worthless-paper). They're still banging the misinformation-drum: A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President tie-breaking vote. Yet, this would really--at-most--give them a power-sharing role, period. No irony here. None whatsoever. Still trust the AP and Reuters? I don't.
Friday, December 15, 2006
WHAT'S ON THE OLD CD-PLAYER NOWADAYS...
Something eclectic? My week beats your year:
1. Can--Tago Mago (1972. Krautrock, nuff'-said.)
2. Killing Joke--what's THIS for...! (1981. Some of the best post punk here)
3. Erik Satie--3 Gymnopedies & Other Piano works (1890s-1900s. SUPERB, Satie was an interesting fellow...Gymnopedie No. 2 is better than the famous No.1)
4. Raymond Scott--Manhattan Research (1950s-60s. He's the jazz-guy whose music is quoted all-the-time by Carl Stalling in the Looney Tunes cartoons. He was a genius of electronic-music, too. Many of these recordings are music for ads, but they're cool. The most cutting-edge electronic-music as we know it began as advertising-music, not simply with the avant-garde.)
5. Brian Eno--Here Come the Warm Jets (1973. Yes, the title is about being pissed-on. Classic LP, the songs are just so rockin' in that glam-sense. Lots of lyrics about gay-cruising--not my yen--so it's just some great campy rock. Lots of influence of the V.U. here. Legendary.)
6. Silver Apples--Silver Apples/Contact (1968-69. The beginning of funky-techno! These guys were very visionary, using funk-beats with their oscillators and tone-generators. Amazing, very-cool. Chemical Bros. sampled them once, but I won't hold that against the Silver Apples.)
7. Hanayo & Panacea--Hanayo in Panacea (1999. Japanese performance and visual-artist Hanayo doing excellent little-girl and banshee vocals over Kraut Panacea's hard drum-n'-bass. Pretty decadent, and very experimental. I've corresponded with Hanayo, she's an incredibly-talented woman, magical! Good shit.)
8. Gas--Zauberberg (1999. From the now-defunct Mille Plateaux records of Frankfurt. Incredible techno that can be called the real trance music. Imagine Wagner being looped-endlessly into ambient-waves of chordal-washes. Impressive.)
9. The Mothers of Invention--Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention during their best-period of 67'-69'. It doesn't get much better than this for 1960s rock. Check Sugarcane Harris's violin-solo! Legendary.)
10. Hank Williams III--Straight to Hell (2006. Possibly the best album of the year! He's made the country 'Ummagumma' here, doing one disc as the songs, and the other as a huge sound-collage that is very psychedelic. This is what real country is, and it's pretty-cool. He looks so hauntingly like his grandfather, and his singing isn't far-off, either.)
11. Hawd Gankstuh Rappuhs MC's Wid Gatz--2 Hype 2 Wype (2001. The Butthole Surfers--80s' era--doing gangsta rap. This is 2-hilarious 2 B signed 2 the major-labels, it would make mainstream rap out for the gaggle of clowns it surely is. Hilarious chipmunk MC-ing. Classic. It kills.)
12. ESG--A South Bronx Story (Late-1970s, early-1980s: No, not the dumb rapper, but the girl-funk, minimalist outfit of Black ladies who would later be ripped-off by Luscious Jackson. ESG was much better, and not as annoying. Sampled more-times than one could imagine. Joy Division's producer, Martin Hannett, produced some of their best tracks. 1981's 'Moody' is considered the beginnings of House music." Yep, it's all been done before, and done better. They even influenced hip-hop and--ugh--punk and post punk.)
13. Noel Coward--The Songs of Noel Coward (1920s-40s: He was hilarious, and this is some funny camp here. How many of these recordings survived is miraculous, because the 1920s ones were generally heard on the English stage. Gay men are pretty observant about women, and have a funny-way of expressing it! He was a good actor. The best-sides are when Coward sings his own songs, it's funnier.)
14. John Carpenter--Assault on Precinct 13 Soundtrack (1976: I've always loved his scoring for his own movies, they're just so cool. The DVD has an isolated-score function, and I listen to it occasionally. It still sounds really cutting-edge alongside all the dross of today. Afrika Bambataa sampled the theme, and so have many-many hip-hop DJs. Classic.)
1. Can--Tago Mago (1972. Krautrock, nuff'-said.)
2. Killing Joke--what's THIS for...! (1981. Some of the best post punk here)
3. Erik Satie--3 Gymnopedies & Other Piano works (1890s-1900s. SUPERB, Satie was an interesting fellow...Gymnopedie No. 2 is better than the famous No.1)
4. Raymond Scott--Manhattan Research (1950s-60s. He's the jazz-guy whose music is quoted all-the-time by Carl Stalling in the Looney Tunes cartoons. He was a genius of electronic-music, too. Many of these recordings are music for ads, but they're cool. The most cutting-edge electronic-music as we know it began as advertising-music, not simply with the avant-garde.)
5. Brian Eno--Here Come the Warm Jets (1973. Yes, the title is about being pissed-on. Classic LP, the songs are just so rockin' in that glam-sense. Lots of lyrics about gay-cruising--not my yen--so it's just some great campy rock. Lots of influence of the V.U. here. Legendary.)
6. Silver Apples--Silver Apples/Contact (1968-69. The beginning of funky-techno! These guys were very visionary, using funk-beats with their oscillators and tone-generators. Amazing, very-cool. Chemical Bros. sampled them once, but I won't hold that against the Silver Apples.)
7. Hanayo & Panacea--Hanayo in Panacea (1999. Japanese performance and visual-artist Hanayo doing excellent little-girl and banshee vocals over Kraut Panacea's hard drum-n'-bass. Pretty decadent, and very experimental. I've corresponded with Hanayo, she's an incredibly-talented woman, magical! Good shit.)
8. Gas--Zauberberg (1999. From the now-defunct Mille Plateaux records of Frankfurt. Incredible techno that can be called the real trance music. Imagine Wagner being looped-endlessly into ambient-waves of chordal-washes. Impressive.)
9. The Mothers of Invention--Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention during their best-period of 67'-69'. It doesn't get much better than this for 1960s rock. Check Sugarcane Harris's violin-solo! Legendary.)
10. Hank Williams III--Straight to Hell (2006. Possibly the best album of the year! He's made the country 'Ummagumma' here, doing one disc as the songs, and the other as a huge sound-collage that is very psychedelic. This is what real country is, and it's pretty-cool. He looks so hauntingly like his grandfather, and his singing isn't far-off, either.)
11. Hawd Gankstuh Rappuhs MC's Wid Gatz--2 Hype 2 Wype (2001. The Butthole Surfers--80s' era--doing gangsta rap. This is 2-hilarious 2 B signed 2 the major-labels, it would make mainstream rap out for the gaggle of clowns it surely is. Hilarious chipmunk MC-ing. Classic. It kills.)
12. ESG--A South Bronx Story (Late-1970s, early-1980s: No, not the dumb rapper, but the girl-funk, minimalist outfit of Black ladies who would later be ripped-off by Luscious Jackson. ESG was much better, and not as annoying. Sampled more-times than one could imagine. Joy Division's producer, Martin Hannett, produced some of their best tracks. 1981's 'Moody' is considered the beginnings of House music." Yep, it's all been done before, and done better. They even influenced hip-hop and--ugh--punk and post punk.)
13. Noel Coward--The Songs of Noel Coward (1920s-40s: He was hilarious, and this is some funny camp here. How many of these recordings survived is miraculous, because the 1920s ones were generally heard on the English stage. Gay men are pretty observant about women, and have a funny-way of expressing it! He was a good actor. The best-sides are when Coward sings his own songs, it's funnier.)
14. John Carpenter--Assault on Precinct 13 Soundtrack (1976: I've always loved his scoring for his own movies, they're just so cool. The DVD has an isolated-score function, and I listen to it occasionally. It still sounds really cutting-edge alongside all the dross of today. Afrika Bambataa sampled the theme, and so have many-many hip-hop DJs. Classic.)
MORE ON THE 'MARGINAL-MAJORITY' IN THE SENATE
'All power to the people.'
--Thomas Paine
Here's a link to a very cognizant take on the whole issue surrounding Sen. Tim Johnson. While it appears he's going to be in the Senate no-matter-what now, things can change. Nonetheless, even if he were to leave the Senate, it would NOT give the GOP a majority. So why has the media picked-up this tack? Probably because they're predominantly owned by the right, or simply due to a concentration of ownership (first enabled by Reagan deregulation, & continued by the Democrats under Clinton of the FCC--take-that, kooky libertarians) that no sane nation would tolerate. Take this quote from the TownHall.com piece by Rich Galen, titled 'That Pesky Constitution' :
"Ah HAH," I can hear you saying. "What if Vice President Cheney, as President of the Senate, strolls in a vote for Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Doesn't that create a 50-50 tie?"
Yes. It would. Except he is Constitutionally forbidden to do that. According to Article I Section 3: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. Thus, a Vice President can only vote to break a tie. He cannot vote to create one [a tie-vote--my emphasis].
Read the article, it's very enlightening, a voice of reason in the abyss of the internet. For those who would claim the piece is 'partisan'--forget it, Galen was a press secretary for Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. Save it. I suspected the math was being fudged in the wire articles, and this is exactly why this is the fact. While the news media lies and obfuscates about this for their right-wing masters, observers like Galen speak the plain-truth. A simple glance at most of the articles and blurbs reveal an almost sexually-charged hope that Johnson would die, while many had a tone that he was virtually dead.
This should raise some flags. Ever wonder why the newspapers and the media in-general aren't trusted? I don't, just read the blogs--hah, you are! Authoritarian-led media outlets eventually become useless to their owners when this trend occurs. You and I can now scour the internet for foreign news, blogs, and numerous other sources to compare against the 'conventional wisdom'. Everyone in the Soviet Union knew Pravda was lying, and the American public are experiencing a similar-awakening. It was easier in the Soviet Union, everyone knew it was a tyranny from-inception, but progressives have the myth of democracy to counter here. We can once again thank the Bush administration for throwing this myth into-confusion, dropping the scales from the eyes of millions.
Galen's article amounts to a bridge-building action that I applaud, and there are certainly rational conservatives out there. Amazing, I know, but they are out there. We have an historical opportunity here that would be absurd to botch--but the Left-in-general is adept at this. It would behoove the Left to ally-themselves with these rational conservatives in a Populist coalition. It's time for a real Third Party movement, with the realization that we still have to pressure the existing political-context to do what we want and need them to do for the common good. This is picking-up where things collapsed for Populism during the 1920s-30s, but rest-assured there would have been a marginal 'New Deal' without their ideals and agitating.
Splitting-hairs ( identity politics, primarily) won't accomplish anything, we have to discover what we all agree-on. Getting candidates into Congress should be the main-agenda, not stupid, symbolic Presidential candidacies. Power flows from Washington, so get over it. Power isn't a dirty-word, it's something we all need to grab back, and for those who don't understand power-politics: step-aside. We're not in Kansas anymore, and there is no Wizard. There is only we, the people. We are the only solution to the mess we're in as a nation. The GOP has a funny way with math, they don't have the number-zero in their system, it seems. More of that football-is-life ideology. Lack.
Mr. Galen's Article:
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/RichGalen/2006/12/15/that_pesky_constitution
12.18.2006: There's a reason I never give to NPR. They suck.
--Thomas Paine
Here's a link to a very cognizant take on the whole issue surrounding Sen. Tim Johnson. While it appears he's going to be in the Senate no-matter-what now, things can change. Nonetheless, even if he were to leave the Senate, it would NOT give the GOP a majority. So why has the media picked-up this tack? Probably because they're predominantly owned by the right, or simply due to a concentration of ownership (first enabled by Reagan deregulation, & continued by the Democrats under Clinton of the FCC--take-that, kooky libertarians) that no sane nation would tolerate. Take this quote from the TownHall.com piece by Rich Galen, titled 'That Pesky Constitution' :
"Ah HAH," I can hear you saying. "What if Vice President Cheney, as President of the Senate, strolls in a vote for Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Doesn't that create a 50-50 tie?"
Yes. It would. Except he is Constitutionally forbidden to do that. According to Article I Section 3: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. Thus, a Vice President can only vote to break a tie. He cannot vote to create one [a tie-vote--my emphasis].
Read the article, it's very enlightening, a voice of reason in the abyss of the internet. For those who would claim the piece is 'partisan'--forget it, Galen was a press secretary for Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. Save it. I suspected the math was being fudged in the wire articles, and this is exactly why this is the fact. While the news media lies and obfuscates about this for their right-wing masters, observers like Galen speak the plain-truth. A simple glance at most of the articles and blurbs reveal an almost sexually-charged hope that Johnson would die, while many had a tone that he was virtually dead.
This should raise some flags. Ever wonder why the newspapers and the media in-general aren't trusted? I don't, just read the blogs--hah, you are! Authoritarian-led media outlets eventually become useless to their owners when this trend occurs. You and I can now scour the internet for foreign news, blogs, and numerous other sources to compare against the 'conventional wisdom'. Everyone in the Soviet Union knew Pravda was lying, and the American public are experiencing a similar-awakening. It was easier in the Soviet Union, everyone knew it was a tyranny from-inception, but progressives have the myth of democracy to counter here. We can once again thank the Bush administration for throwing this myth into-confusion, dropping the scales from the eyes of millions.
Galen's article amounts to a bridge-building action that I applaud, and there are certainly rational conservatives out there. Amazing, I know, but they are out there. We have an historical opportunity here that would be absurd to botch--but the Left-in-general is adept at this. It would behoove the Left to ally-themselves with these rational conservatives in a Populist coalition. It's time for a real Third Party movement, with the realization that we still have to pressure the existing political-context to do what we want and need them to do for the common good. This is picking-up where things collapsed for Populism during the 1920s-30s, but rest-assured there would have been a marginal 'New Deal' without their ideals and agitating.
Splitting-hairs ( identity politics, primarily) won't accomplish anything, we have to discover what we all agree-on. Getting candidates into Congress should be the main-agenda, not stupid, symbolic Presidential candidacies. Power flows from Washington, so get over it. Power isn't a dirty-word, it's something we all need to grab back, and for those who don't understand power-politics: step-aside. We're not in Kansas anymore, and there is no Wizard. There is only we, the people. We are the only solution to the mess we're in as a nation. The GOP has a funny way with math, they don't have the number-zero in their system, it seems. More of that football-is-life ideology. Lack.
Mr. Galen's Article:
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/RichGalen/2006/12/15/that_pesky_constitution
12.18.2006: There's a reason I never give to NPR. They suck.
SHADES OF 1938 'WAR OF THE WORLDS' BROADCAST IN BELGIUM
BRUSSELS--It appears that the Belgians have been hoodwinked by a broadcast that reported in a fictional-context that the Flemish-provinces of the nation had seceded. This was actually done on state television (RTBF), and a 'this-is-fiction' warning only came about 30-minutes into-the-program. This is a touchy-issue in Belgium, as the Flemish-part (Flanders) of the country holds the better-territory, while the French-speaking sections (Wallonia) languish. Both language-groups essentially hate one-another intensely, so the broadcast is a pretty touchy-issue. But both-regions are condemning the broadcast as hyperbole--it depicted the Flemish-speakers as the seceding-region. Keep-in-mind, also, that NATO and the EU are headquartered in Belgium. The proverbial flooding of the phone-lines occurred. Orson Welles would be amused, while European leaders are not.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/12/15/belgium_splits_up_tv_hoax_is_decried/
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/12/15/299925/State_TV_airs_hoax_on_Belgium_break_up.htm
http://www.einnews.com/belgium/newsfeed-guy-verhofstadt
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061215/belgium_revolution_061215/20061215?hub=World
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/12/15/belgium_splits_up_tv_hoax_is_decried/
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/12/15/299925/State_TV_airs_hoax_on_Belgium_break_up.htm
http://www.einnews.com/belgium/newsfeed-guy-verhofstadt
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061215/belgium_revolution_061215/20061215?hub=World
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Bush as Anti-Social Personality Type
Huffington Post--I gotta hand it to some of the regulars at Huffpo, they are a bright bunch (excluding the trolls). "Snowball" just made this observation on Bush, and it does seem to fit:
List of Antisocial Personality Disorder Traits: Sense of entitlement; Unremorseful; Apathetic to others; Unconscionable behavior; Blameful of others; Manipulative and conning; Affectively cold; Disparate understanding; Socially irresponsible; Disregardful of obligations; Nonconforming to norms; Irresponsible.
[W]hereas the DSM-IV "clinical" features of Antisocial Personality Disorder (with a person having at least three of these characteristics) are:
Clinical Symptoms for an Antisocial Personality Disorder Diagnosis[:]I would say that George W. Bush is a border-line of this type, while someone like Stalin or Hitler would be on the highest-end of the scale. But, this could describe most statesmen. It's a chilling-reality, but these traits are both why they are able to reach such heights in our political system, while conversely wrecking it.
1. Failure to conform to social norms [.]
2. Deceitfulness, manipulativeness [.]
3. Impulsivity, failure to plan ahead [.]
4. Irritability, aggressiveness.
5. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
6. Consistent irresponsibility.
7. Lack of remorse after having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.
That about sums up the Chimperor.
By: Snowball on December 14, 2006 at 03:23pm
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TIM JOHNSON AND THE REALITY OF THE 'SLIM-MARGIN'
WARSHINTUHN--It appears the vultures (GOP) are circling on this one. Where's Dr. Frist with his video-diagnosis? Creepin'-Christ. So, it's obvious the GOP wishes the Senator death, it's their modus operandi. You know, death, murder, molestation, pillaging, and the necessary cover-ups. It's what a band of brigands does. Since his removal would save a few of them from prison, it's safe-to-say all the platitudes are flibber-flabber. They're forgetting two-people again: Joe Lieberman, and Bernie Sanders, they've decided to caucus with the Democrats. Sanders could very-well be the more important wedge, since as a Socialist, he'll be all-for constructive social-spending, investigations--you-name-it.
But he's going to want something-in-return, and so will Lieberman. A lot of confusion is being sowed here by the media, so expect plenty more. Were Johnson to die or be unable to return, the GOP Governor of South Dakota has some serious thinking to do. We might be surprised at the outcome, considering how-badly the GOP needs a credibility-boost. Choosing a GOP-appointee wouldn't do this, the opposite would occur, but if you're desperate...anything's possible. Even GOP-defections, which would be a good-idea when your party is taking-on-water.
The GOP might keep their Senatorial majority, but this doesn't mean they can break every tie, either. It also doesn't change the situation in Iraq, or that the public also voted-against very open GOP-corruption over the last few-years. It's a strange psychology to think that if you just keep lying to the public, that the political-reality (context) will suddenly be changed. It won't, and there will be investigations no-matter what happens to Sen. Johnson. Were Sen. Johnson to die, disaster for the GOP would still be inevitable, and by their own hands. They have already illustrated this time-and-again in recent-months. If they've proved anything, it's that they can stall legitimate-oversight, but this fact can never be maintained for very long. No, even were they to somehow control both Houses again (not possible in the House), all they would do is to continue undoing-themselves, only it would have an outcome that would be truly devastating for themselves and their party. They aren't capable of governance alone, and they have proved this amply. They require oversight.
Of course, this is all contingent on if they get their wish, and Johnson either dies or is permanently-incapacitated. Aren't they a warm, friendly party? The AP has some funny-math, or I'm missing something here: 'A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie, and allow the GOP to retain Senate control.' The problem is, there are 100 members of the Senate, with two independents--Bernie Sanders, a self-described Social Democrat (like in the EU) who isn't a Democrat, but it seems he's being counted as DNC. The other is Joe Lieberman. The AP forgot to mention the fact that they're going to caucus with the DNC! They must be understaffed, I know the feeling. It could all rest on Lieberman and Sanders if Johnson is incapacitated. The stakes are high: prison for many in the GOP, and the 86-ing of Dr. Strange (Bush) and the Red Skull (Cheney, aka Professor Moriarty). Strange, that AP. Notice how they wilfully-ignore the elephant (really, donkeys) in the room? A strange-bias, a curious-bias. Dracula rises again? At least the Washington Post wrote a better-piece on this, and God works in mysterious-ways (or not).
The Original Cagey Blurb:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061214/ap_on_go_co/johnson
'I have isolated the specimen!' :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/14/AR2006121400379.html
But he's going to want something-in-return, and so will Lieberman. A lot of confusion is being sowed here by the media, so expect plenty more. Were Johnson to die or be unable to return, the GOP Governor of South Dakota has some serious thinking to do. We might be surprised at the outcome, considering how-badly the GOP needs a credibility-boost. Choosing a GOP-appointee wouldn't do this, the opposite would occur, but if you're desperate...anything's possible. Even GOP-defections, which would be a good-idea when your party is taking-on-water.
The GOP might keep their Senatorial majority, but this doesn't mean they can break every tie, either. It also doesn't change the situation in Iraq, or that the public also voted-against very open GOP-corruption over the last few-years. It's a strange psychology to think that if you just keep lying to the public, that the political-reality (context) will suddenly be changed. It won't, and there will be investigations no-matter what happens to Sen. Johnson. Were Sen. Johnson to die, disaster for the GOP would still be inevitable, and by their own hands. They have already illustrated this time-and-again in recent-months. If they've proved anything, it's that they can stall legitimate-oversight, but this fact can never be maintained for very long. No, even were they to somehow control both Houses again (not possible in the House), all they would do is to continue undoing-themselves, only it would have an outcome that would be truly devastating for themselves and their party. They aren't capable of governance alone, and they have proved this amply. They require oversight.
Of course, this is all contingent on if they get their wish, and Johnson either dies or is permanently-incapacitated. Aren't they a warm, friendly party? The AP has some funny-math, or I'm missing something here: 'A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie, and allow the GOP to retain Senate control.' The problem is, there are 100 members of the Senate, with two independents--Bernie Sanders, a self-described Social Democrat (like in the EU) who isn't a Democrat, but it seems he's being counted as DNC. The other is Joe Lieberman. The AP forgot to mention the fact that they're going to caucus with the DNC! They must be understaffed, I know the feeling. It could all rest on Lieberman and Sanders if Johnson is incapacitated. The stakes are high: prison for many in the GOP, and the 86-ing of Dr. Strange (Bush) and the Red Skull (Cheney, aka Professor Moriarty). Strange, that AP. Notice how they wilfully-ignore the elephant (really, donkeys) in the room? A strange-bias, a curious-bias. Dracula rises again? At least the Washington Post wrote a better-piece on this, and God works in mysterious-ways (or not).
The Original Cagey Blurb:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061214/ap_on_go_co/johnson
'I have isolated the specimen!' :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/14/AR2006121400379.html
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
INCOMING SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEAD LEAHY VOWS INVESTIGATIONS AND ROLLBACK OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION SURVEILLANCE
The Senator from Arizona is recognized for 2 minutes.
AMENDMENT NO. 3801
Mr. KYL. Mr. President [Ed.-of the Senate], we are going to be asking unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 3801, which is an amendment Senator Chambliss and I offered to deal with the problem of overlapping and redundant civil rights and privacy investigations, entities, or individuals that would be added to those that already exist to protect civil rights and privacy in the national intelligence director office and other offices of the intelligence community.
--the beginning-of-the-end of the Patriot Acts, Oct. 6th, 2004
WASHINGTON--Reuters has reported that Sen. Patrick Leahy will be fighting Bush administration infringements of civil liberties that have occurred without oversight during the last six-years. Leahy is one of a handful of Senators (along with Russ Feingold) who opposed key-provisions of the Patriot acts that have allowed for extra constitutional surveillance of American citizens. It will be an uphill battle for allies of these unconstitutional provisions in both parties to make a good case against sunsetting the legal-aspects. If illegalities are uncovered, their chances of prevailing are virtually-nil. Civil libertarians will be a little more relieved by his comments today at Georgetown University for the Constitution Project:
We have a duty to repair real damage done to our system of government over the last few years...Americans' privacy is a price the Bush administration is willing to pay for the cavalier way it is spawning new databanks. But privacy rights belong to the people, not to the government," Leahy said.
The newspapers have already reported a few crimes (the President has openly-admitted to warrantless-wiretaps and surveillance, which is illegal under the 1978 FISA law), so some of this will be a mere formality. It appears the sunlight is beginning to come out again in America, which is heartening. It's the best disinfectant. If you don't know what your government is up-to, you've already lost a lot of your freedom, and it's time to take-it-back. Leahy has said this is the primary-agenda for his panel. He should be given complete-support from the public and his peers in the Senate, but we know he won't. There will be a fight over this, rest-assured. Note the players who argue-against sunsetting these provisions, because they're unworthy as guardians of democracy and our liberties. Only the public can do that. Because of the way they are, they'll have to be removed through the electoral-process again.
Leahy's fellow Senator from Vermont--Bernie Sanders--will definitely have his back, as will Senators Robert Byrd, Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Akaka, Jim Jeffords, Tom Harkin, Ron Wyden, Jeff Bingaman, Carl Levin, and Patty Murray. Where's John Kerry or Hillary Clinton? Where's Barbara Boxer? Where is Diane Feinstein? If they don't change on this issue, they're going to pay a political-price. Ten Senators is a pretty hefty-bloc to counter, and they can use this as a wedge-issue. They can slow-things, or even kill bills (pun-intended) by letting them die in-committee (I watched my Schoolhouse Rock, pal). There are even a tiny-minority of GOP Senators who might join them to survive, politically.
This is real political power, forget Joe Lieberman, he's one guy. This is why he's being pumped-up by people like DCCC chairman, Rahm Emanuel, who is as questionable as Lieberman-himself. This is a smokescreen, Lieberman isn't as crucial as they're making-out. It's true, Bush could veto these measures, but it will be difficult with several ongoing-investigations against the political-backdrop. One also has to factor-in that Iraq is going to continue-to-disintegrate, which will render the Bush/Cheney/Rice axis virtually impotent and politically-toxic. You wouldn't want to be them, trust me. The irony of all this is: Joe Lieberman is going to join these Senators in the fight, you watch. He already has joined them in 2004 with the Collins-Lieberman Act, which was fought by the same forces who will fight many of the oversight-suggestions of Leahy in the near-future. Here's some excerpts from Leahy on October 6th, 2004 on the Collins-Lieberman bill:
The civil liberties board outlined in the Collins-Lieberman bill makes great strides toward meeting these goals [of adequate oversight]. It represents a true bipartisan effort from conception to introduction. I was pleased to work with these Senators along with Senator [Dick] Durbin to make this civil liberties board the kind of board that would honor the 9-11 Commission’s intent...Unfortunately, Senator Kyl’s Amendment 3801 [Ed.--it was withdrawn, but who put him up-to-it originally? It should be noted that Kyl worked on another bill with Sen. Charles Schumer. Was it him? Was it Tom Delay? The Bush administration?] attempts to gut the carefully crafted, bipartisan civil liberty and privacy provisions that are the hallmark of the Collins-Lieberman bill. It is inconsistent with the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission and would undermine the civil liberties that we cherish.
And we thought Joe Lieberman was a total rat. Boy, were we wrong! Look at his social-spending record, it's pretty liberal in a good-sense. But the central-question is: who backed Kyl (R-Arizona) on this amendment? I would wager it was the White House. Not even Mr. Macaca would back it. Are some doors too frightening to open? Democrats had better not have the same fears during the investigations, we've had too-close of a brush with a coup in the United States. Congressional Democrats had better be thorough with the upcoming-investigations, going wherever the trail leads--even if it's some of their own.
Most-importantly, there had better be firm and strictly-worded legislation with adequate enforcement provisions attached. Watch your elected-officials have to show their true-colors, grab the popcorn! We're probably going to be surprised who some of the worst-enemies of democracy really are...or maybe-not. We know that two of them are Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and that there are several-others in the House and Senate just like them. This is one reason for the dip in Kerry's popularity--his unresponsiveness to the public-will. Another one of them is Evan Bayh. They have to be dealt-with if they aren't willing to change-course of all-fronts. Vote with a vengeance.
Leahy-Leahy-Leahy (get you adverbs here):
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200410/100604D.html
http://www.constitutionproject.org/article.cfm?messageID=268
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/releases/December.6.2006.html
Leahy on Scalito:
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200601/011906.html
The ACLU on Patriot Act II and the failed Kyle Amendment (read, or perish):
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/17203leg20030214.html
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/18582leg20041004.html
More on the failed S.3801 (PDF):
http://jameslandrith.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=438
The Death of S.3801 Using the 'Riddim Method':
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r108:FLD001:S60477
The Populist Party of America on Liberty:
http://www.populistamerica.com/
AMENDMENT NO. 3801
Mr. KYL. Mr. President [Ed.-of the Senate], we are going to be asking unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 3801, which is an amendment Senator Chambliss and I offered to deal with the problem of overlapping and redundant civil rights and privacy investigations, entities, or individuals that would be added to those that already exist to protect civil rights and privacy in the national intelligence director office and other offices of the intelligence community.
--the beginning-of-the-end of the Patriot Acts, Oct. 6th, 2004
WASHINGTON--Reuters has reported that Sen. Patrick Leahy will be fighting Bush administration infringements of civil liberties that have occurred without oversight during the last six-years. Leahy is one of a handful of Senators (along with Russ Feingold) who opposed key-provisions of the Patriot acts that have allowed for extra constitutional surveillance of American citizens. It will be an uphill battle for allies of these unconstitutional provisions in both parties to make a good case against sunsetting the legal-aspects. If illegalities are uncovered, their chances of prevailing are virtually-nil. Civil libertarians will be a little more relieved by his comments today at Georgetown University for the Constitution Project:
We have a duty to repair real damage done to our system of government over the last few years...Americans' privacy is a price the Bush administration is willing to pay for the cavalier way it is spawning new databanks. But privacy rights belong to the people, not to the government," Leahy said.
The newspapers have already reported a few crimes (the President has openly-admitted to warrantless-wiretaps and surveillance, which is illegal under the 1978 FISA law), so some of this will be a mere formality. It appears the sunlight is beginning to come out again in America, which is heartening. It's the best disinfectant. If you don't know what your government is up-to, you've already lost a lot of your freedom, and it's time to take-it-back. Leahy has said this is the primary-agenda for his panel. He should be given complete-support from the public and his peers in the Senate, but we know he won't. There will be a fight over this, rest-assured. Note the players who argue-against sunsetting these provisions, because they're unworthy as guardians of democracy and our liberties. Only the public can do that. Because of the way they are, they'll have to be removed through the electoral-process again.
Leahy's fellow Senator from Vermont--Bernie Sanders--will definitely have his back, as will Senators Robert Byrd, Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Akaka, Jim Jeffords, Tom Harkin, Ron Wyden, Jeff Bingaman, Carl Levin, and Patty Murray. Where's John Kerry or Hillary Clinton? Where's Barbara Boxer? Where is Diane Feinstein? If they don't change on this issue, they're going to pay a political-price. Ten Senators is a pretty hefty-bloc to counter, and they can use this as a wedge-issue. They can slow-things, or even kill bills (pun-intended) by letting them die in-committee (I watched my Schoolhouse Rock, pal). There are even a tiny-minority of GOP Senators who might join them to survive, politically.
This is real political power, forget Joe Lieberman, he's one guy. This is why he's being pumped-up by people like DCCC chairman, Rahm Emanuel, who is as questionable as Lieberman-himself. This is a smokescreen, Lieberman isn't as crucial as they're making-out. It's true, Bush could veto these measures, but it will be difficult with several ongoing-investigations against the political-backdrop. One also has to factor-in that Iraq is going to continue-to-disintegrate, which will render the Bush/Cheney/Rice axis virtually impotent and politically-toxic. You wouldn't want to be them, trust me. The irony of all this is: Joe Lieberman is going to join these Senators in the fight, you watch. He already has joined them in 2004 with the Collins-Lieberman Act, which was fought by the same forces who will fight many of the oversight-suggestions of Leahy in the near-future. Here's some excerpts from Leahy on October 6th, 2004 on the Collins-Lieberman bill:
The civil liberties board outlined in the Collins-Lieberman bill makes great strides toward meeting these goals [of adequate oversight]. It represents a true bipartisan effort from conception to introduction. I was pleased to work with these Senators along with Senator [Dick] Durbin to make this civil liberties board the kind of board that would honor the 9-11 Commission’s intent...Unfortunately, Senator Kyl’s Amendment 3801 [Ed.--it was withdrawn, but who put him up-to-it originally? It should be noted that Kyl worked on another bill with Sen. Charles Schumer. Was it him? Was it Tom Delay? The Bush administration?] attempts to gut the carefully crafted, bipartisan civil liberty and privacy provisions that are the hallmark of the Collins-Lieberman bill. It is inconsistent with the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission and would undermine the civil liberties that we cherish.
And we thought Joe Lieberman was a total rat. Boy, were we wrong! Look at his social-spending record, it's pretty liberal in a good-sense. But the central-question is: who backed Kyl (R-Arizona) on this amendment? I would wager it was the White House. Not even Mr. Macaca would back it. Are some doors too frightening to open? Democrats had better not have the same fears during the investigations, we've had too-close of a brush with a coup in the United States. Congressional Democrats had better be thorough with the upcoming-investigations, going wherever the trail leads--even if it's some of their own.
Most-importantly, there had better be firm and strictly-worded legislation with adequate enforcement provisions attached. Watch your elected-officials have to show their true-colors, grab the popcorn! We're probably going to be surprised who some of the worst-enemies of democracy really are...or maybe-not. We know that two of them are Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and that there are several-others in the House and Senate just like them. This is one reason for the dip in Kerry's popularity--his unresponsiveness to the public-will. Another one of them is Evan Bayh. They have to be dealt-with if they aren't willing to change-course of all-fronts. Vote with a vengeance.
Leahy-Leahy-Leahy (get you adverbs here):
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200410/100604D.html
http://www.constitutionproject.org/article.cfm?messageID=268
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/releases/December.6.2006.html
Leahy on Scalito:
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200601/011906.html
The ACLU on Patriot Act II and the failed Kyle Amendment (read, or perish):
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/17203leg20030214.html
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/18582leg20041004.html
More on the failed S.3801 (PDF):
http://jameslandrith.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=438
The Death of S.3801 Using the 'Riddim Method':
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r108:FLD001:S60477
The Populist Party of America on Liberty:
http://www.populistamerica.com/
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The (Still) Unanswered Question: 'How did the Troops Vote?'
Caesar: "Et tu, Brute?"
THE UNITED STATES AGAIN--Hmmmmm? Nowhere on the media's radar. It seems that the fact must be embarrassing. Also embarrassing are all the irregularities that are still cropping-up from the November 7th midterm-elections. It seems that irregularities were more widespread in Ohio than 2004, and this is just one story. If anyone knows the vote-tally for who our troops voted-for, I'd sure love a link to it, it's elusive. We should all be proud that they had to try to rig the elections--this-time, it was an obvious landslide against the GOP. The spell only works if there is a close-margin, based on voter-discontent and concomitant apathy. Voter-apathy is the only chance the GOP has ever had to win anything beyond their minority-status. They have nothing to offer, just complaints about how awful it is they can't spend trillions on worthless weapons-systems, instead of feeding-the-poor. Did those weapons save anyone at the WTC? Nope.
Make no mistake: the American people don't like or trust either the GOP or the DNC, this is clear. The elections were an unofficial plebiscite on the war in Iraq (and, oh yeah, Afghanistan). We voted 'nay', Bob (Woodward). Pun-intended. To the two-party system: watch your backs, we don't have them unless you give us what we need as a country. We want the war over NOW. Not tomorrow, but NOW. This is why many people hate John Kerry in America, he just won't respond to our will. That's why he's going to continue to decline as a politician. His own sister turned-away Cindy Sheehan at the UN, and was involved in her arrest. What filth. No White House, nada. Zip. Zilch. Null. Lack. Over. He's like one of the Roman Senators who never lifted-a-finger to stop Caesar. He looks like the Patrician asshole that he really embodies. Retire. That goes for Hillary, and Schumer, and all of their ilk in politics. Get out of our country, you true-anarchists (right-wing), we don't want you here.
THE UNITED STATES AGAIN--Hmmmmm? Nowhere on the media's radar. It seems that the fact must be embarrassing. Also embarrassing are all the irregularities that are still cropping-up from the November 7th midterm-elections. It seems that irregularities were more widespread in Ohio than 2004, and this is just one story. If anyone knows the vote-tally for who our troops voted-for, I'd sure love a link to it, it's elusive. We should all be proud that they had to try to rig the elections--this-time, it was an obvious landslide against the GOP. The spell only works if there is a close-margin, based on voter-discontent and concomitant apathy. Voter-apathy is the only chance the GOP has ever had to win anything beyond their minority-status. They have nothing to offer, just complaints about how awful it is they can't spend trillions on worthless weapons-systems, instead of feeding-the-poor. Did those weapons save anyone at the WTC? Nope.
Make no mistake: the American people don't like or trust either the GOP or the DNC, this is clear. The elections were an unofficial plebiscite on the war in Iraq (and, oh yeah, Afghanistan). We voted 'nay', Bob (Woodward). Pun-intended. To the two-party system: watch your backs, we don't have them unless you give us what we need as a country. We want the war over NOW. Not tomorrow, but NOW. This is why many people hate John Kerry in America, he just won't respond to our will. That's why he's going to continue to decline as a politician. His own sister turned-away Cindy Sheehan at the UN, and was involved in her arrest. What filth. No White House, nada. Zip. Zilch. Null. Lack. Over. He's like one of the Roman Senators who never lifted-a-finger to stop Caesar. He looks like the Patrician asshole that he really embodies. Retire. That goes for Hillary, and Schumer, and all of their ilk in politics. Get out of our country, you true-anarchists (right-wing), we don't want you here.
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