The Flying Spaghetti Monster got his own Nativity Scene at the Leesburg Virginia courthouse. How cool is that? Well, lots of folks think its cool, but others think its not cool. Not cool at all. I guess I see their point. It's seen, probably with some merit, as an attempt to make the Christian faith look foolish and superstitious.
I can put myself in those shoes. Suppose instead of swallowing a rock disguised as the infant Zeus, Rhea had gifted Cronus with a steaming hot plate of spaghetti monster. He never would have gotten sick and vomited up Zeus's brethren, thus the Titans would have ruled the universe from thenceforth.
Then again, who knows, maybe Cronus would have mellowed out some and demanded continuous servings of spaghetti monster with garlic bread and would have gotten so obese he would have been helpless to defend himself against a grown and matured Zeus. Yeah, that's probably how it would have turned out. All the same. Even the other elder gods might have eventually made their escape, albeit perhaps in somewhat less dignified fashion.
When all's said and done, there's always room for more, and really, how serious a threat to Christendom can one little old spaghetti monster be, even a flying one? It could be worse. Muslim extremists could have easily demanded a Nativity Scene featuring the prophet Mohammed skulking around some alley whispering to the eight-year old Aiesha, the future bride of the prophet, something to the effect, "Psssst, hey little girl do you wanna see something big?"
Chill, people, learn to laugh at yourself, that way it won't sting so bad when others do so. Plus it makes it even funnier when you laugh at them.
Real world obligations got in the way of my posting over the last couple of weeks, which made me late for Yule and Christmas postings. So its too late now for me to encourage you to do whatevetr Christmas shopping at Lowes as would be practical. But its not too late to urge you to do other off-season shopping at the home improvement giant retailer who has been threatened by Congress over its recent decision to pull advertising from the TLC program All American Muslim. I won't comment on whether Lowe's was justified. Their explanation sounds reasonable enough, that the program is a propaganda piece aimed at promoting the cause of Islam while not addressing the real concerns Americans might have and the conflicts between the values of the religion with traditional American values. Others assert that Lowes is merely kowtowing to the demands of social conservatives in particular a group called the Florida Family Association. What I do know is there is nothing that warrants or justifies Congress or any branch of government threatening Lowes or any other business with sanctions for refusing to advertise for any program, whatever their reasoning.
As might be expected various Muslim groups have called for a boycott of the store. Well and good, no one can force them to shop there. But no one can force you not to shop there either. Here's a good place to start. I didn't know Lowe's also sold Keurig Coffee Makers.
Richard McEnroe of Three Beers Later has discovered the perfect satire of what is possibly my all time favorite Christmas song. I would imagine that with this, Melissa McQueen has very much earned herself a place on Ron Paul's naughty list. If I hadn't already been circumcised I'd be willing to go through the ordeal for any one of these ladies, including the old fashioned way via the sharp edge of a stone.
Tonight's the night fans of the show have been waiting for, while wondering what could possibly happen that would top everything that's come before in the course of this crazy first season? Both Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) are dead. In one of the worst kept secrets in television history, Violet committed suicide whereupon her ghostly psychopath boyfriend Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) hid her body in a crawl space of the Murder House. Previously, as a favor to one of the houses original occupants, Nora Montgomery (who desired even in death a baby to replace her murdered child Thaddeus) Tate raped Vivien and managed to impregnate her while she was also pregnant with a child by her husband Ben (Dylan McDermott). Vivien died in the house giving birth to the twins, the fully human one being supposedly stillborn. Or was it? In that house, how could you possibly know? You would have to wait say three or four years, when you would finally figure out that it was still, you know, a baby and stuff.
Which brings me to the secret of Murder House. Everybody that dies in the house or on the property seems to be trapped there, forever. Or that is, their spirits stay trapped there. This has been an ongoing phenomenon since the mid-twenties, when Doctor Charles Montgomery, then a world-famous "Surgeon To The Stars" built the house for his wife Nora. However, Montgomery's business suffered when he became first a drug addict, and then, well, somewhat unhinged, performing ghastly experiments to graft animal body parts together in vain attempts to create reanimated hybrids. When Nora came to the finally finished home and saw what was going on, she out his ass back to work-as an abortionist for girls wanting to be stars but who had gotten themselves "in trouble".
This went on for some time, until one of Montgomery's patients spilled the beans to her boyfriend, who took revenge on the Montgomery's by kidnapping their son Thaddeus, killing him, and chopping the poor tyke up in pieces, which is how the Montgomery's received his remains-in pieces in a box.
Driven even further insane with grief, Montgomery stitched the pieces back together and combined them with the heart from "one of our girls" (apparently an aborted fetus) and possibly some animals parts, and succeeded in bringing the infant back to "life", which turned out to be the life of a blood sucking monster. When it tried to take blood from Nora, she tried unsuccessfully to kill it with a letter opener, but it got away. Nora then killed her husband, and then herself. Poor Thaddeus apparently died of his wounds later, after some time spent living off the blood of insects and opossums.
Charles and Nora's spirits remain trapped in the house to this day, as does Thaddeus, as indeed do the spirits of anyone else who subsequently died in the house, which would seem to include most of those who ever lived there.
So what then is the true secret of Murder House? There seems to be two different types of ghosts, those who died there and whose bodies were discovered and buried (or whose bodies were at least removed elsewhere) and those whose bodies were hidden and remain somewhere on the premises.
The latter include the following, with some caveats-
Thaddeus-assuming he actually died.
Moira the maid-who was killed, shot through the eye, by Tate's mother Constance Langdon (Angela Lange) when she discovered her being raped by her husband (who she also murdered, ground up, and fed to her dogs), and who she buried secretly on the grounds of Murder House.
Hayden-A former lover of Ben's who was the reason the family left Boston to begin with. She followed Ben there and threatened him with the news she was pregnant by him, whereupon she was killed by Larry, yet another victim of the House (one of the few surviving ones, though scarred for life by a fire inflicted on him at the hands of Tate), who prevailed upon Ben to bury her with the long buried remains of Moira, then covering them with a gazebo he constructed himself.
Violet Harmon-daughter of Ben and Vivien Harmon, she committed suicide via drug overdose. Tate, her ghost lover, hid her body in a crawl space. She did not know for some time she was dead, having forgotten her own attempt on her life. When she was unable to leave the house, Tate told her the truth and showed her own own decaying remains.
An exterminator who discovered Violet's body in the crawl space and who was subsequently killed by Tate, because Violet realize she was dead and he was waiting for the right time to tell her.
Add to this the fully human son of Vivien, and possibly the unborn child of Hayden, and you have an interesting subset of ghosts. But what is so different about them in comparison to the others?
Well, the others remain stuck at the age in which they died. But the ones whose bodies remain there seem subject to the ravages of aging. Moira, for example, was murdered as a young woman in her prime, yet appears to be now a woman past middle age, well into her fifties or possibly even sixties.
Her she is as a young woman, played by Alexandra Breckenridge. This was her age at her murder, and is the way she appears to Ben and to any man she tries to seduce.
And here she is as she appears to all others, at the age she would be had she not died, and which is apparently her normal appearance, played by Francis Conroy.
As for the Infantate, though he still wears the period clothing of an infant of the twenties, and remains that basic size, he nevertheless presents the appearance of a wizened old man well into his eighties. In fact, here is a photo of him.
Everybody else listed was of course recently dead, so it is too early for any aging to be apparent. However, I am struck by something Constance said to Moira in one of the earliest episodes. She in effect warned her that "I'll kill you again".
So it could be that a ghost whose body remains at Murder House might not just be subject to the ravages of aging but of death as well. If so, is it not about time the Infantate, or Thaddeus, die a normal death of old age? And perhaps more to the point, is it possible that all the problems caused by the vicious Hayden might be solved simply by, well, killing her?
I won't speculate any further, because with this crazy ass show, just about anything is possible. But I did want to put that out there, as I have never seen any speculation as to the reason for the aging process of Moira other than that she is an "old soul", one who nevertheless can appear in the form of a beautiful, voluptuous woman, at the age at which she was murdered, whenever it suits her. And no one has ever commented on the apparent advanced old age of Thaddeus, the Infantata.
Maybe tonight on the season finale, we'll get some answers. But probably a whole lot of other questions as well.
Tim Tebow and the Broncos finally lost after a six game winning streak, but they lost to the greatest team of the last decade, led by the greatest quarterback in that time frame. But though they lost handily by a score of 41-23 they didn't do so bad at that, all things considered. They kept it close until near the end of halftime, when they were only behind by one point, 17-16. Tebow even ran the pigskin in for a touchdown once after the half.Yet Brady's Patriots pulled away and stayed in control of the second half. So the Broncos lost, which means Tebow the prayer warrior lost. And while this will doubtless make the left happy, it really surprised no one, including the right, and most especially the gamblers.
I just don't get what all the controversy is about. So Tebow takes a knee sometime before the game (or is it after? I'm not really sure), and thanks his "lord and savior Jesus Christ". Let the record reflect he also gives a shout-out to his teammates, who he seems to rally every game. He is a proven leader and is likely headed down the path to an exceptional career.
I can understand why people might think Tebow's public prayer service is silly. or a distraction, or why they just don't like it, feel its inappropriate, whatever. But is it really that big a deal? I think this is just another ginned up media controversy myself. It's not like he's really praying for God to give him a win. He's just, you know, thanking him and stuff?
Nevertheless, you get fools like Bill Press chiming in, and you realize what its all about. In his and probably many other cases, it's likely just another way for some mediocre hack to draw attention to himself, and then whine about the lack of respect for his First Amendment rights when he is criticized, even though he is being purposely strident for that very reason. And let's face it, you don't get much more strident than telling somebody to "STFU about Jesus", as Press put it. Now you even have some idiot Rabbi inferring that if Tim Tebow were to somehow win the Super Bowl (which is not going to happen-sorry, not this year), it could lead to the Holocaust.
So far of course all that's happened is some high school kids took a knee in the school hallway between classes, which lead to an in-school suspension for the two brothers who instigated the "Tebowing" incident. Well, you know, you have to get to these potential brown-shirts while they're young, because otherwise, you never can tell. One day its praying in the hallways, and the next thing you know, its Krystalknacht all over again.
What really bothers the left, of course, is that Tebow is so widely admired by conservative Christians, who see him as a spokesman for Christian values, such as the pro-life movement. In other words, a repudiation of leftist "values". In fact, this so bothers the left there is a movement called 10 For Tebow that encourages donations to Pro-Choice causes every time Tebow scores a touchdown.
But leftists can relax a bit for now. Again, Tebow lost tonight to the Patriots, led by quarterback Tom Brady, who in 2004 supported the re-election of George W. Bush.
Whoops!
It's too bad I never had the talent to be an NFL quarterback. I could envision myself offering the sacrifice of a pig to Ares at the start of every game, and pissing off as many aggrieved groups as I possibly could. Not only due to Christian sensibilities regarding pagan rituals, but Muslims and Jews would find it doubly offensive due to the use of the pig. Vegetarians and animals rights groups would also have me in their cross-hairs, and by invoking Ares I can be sure to piss off the peaceniks as well. By that time I'd have managed to infuriate every other special interest group due to the solidarity of the left, sort of like a group of brain dead zombies in a George Romero film, folks who, having that one thing in common, exercise a kind of unreasoned, even nonsensical cohesiveness.
But at the end of the day, most people would only give a damn about how I played the fucking game. And that's the way it should be.
People should be concerned about the recent rise in the polls of Texas Congressman Ron Paul who is currently polling in second or third place in Iowa, in some cases with more than twenty percent support. Can it hold? I doubt it, but every time a candidate rises, he either crashes and burn like Rick Perry, or his support leaks out as from a balloon, as is the case currently with Newt Gingrich. When this happens, people give somebody else a look, and right now, Ron Paul seems to be the main beneficiary of Gingrich's loss of support.
This is mainly disturbing in view of Paul's core group of supporters, who tend to be mainly comprised of Nazis, Klansmen, and not a few booger-eating conspiracy theorists. Then you have those who seem to gravitate freely amongst all groups of Paul supporters, such as is the case here.
Some Paul supporters are undoubtedly intelligent, thoughtful, and well-meaning, but make no mistake, what will wreck Paul's campaign in the long run are those "others". The American Thinker compiled a list of them as far back as 2007. Reason Magazine also came out with a post that identified the author and ghost-writer of many past Ron Paul newsletters, racist and antisemitic screeds which have been denied by Paul supporters and by Paul himself. But it turns out they were according to many reliable sources penned by none other than Lew Rockwell, a longtime Paul friend and supporter on up to this day.
But if you still need convincing, look no further than the horses mouth, the well-known Stormfront, where there is still no shortage of expressions of loyalty to Ron Paul. Interestingly enough, Paul refuses to disavow the support even of radical Neo-Nazis and Klansmen such as this, and gladly accepts donations from them as well.
Does this mean Paul is himself a racist and antisemite? No, I don't think so. They support Paul mainly because of his opposition to the federal reserve and his intention to end the welfare state in the course of slashing government spending. They also object to the Neocon policies that put America in the position of being the "policeman of the world" as Paul puts it. Do you see the problem here? If a Klansman or Nazi said it was raining in the middle of a thunderstorm, or declared support for the death penalty against rapists and murderers, one would be hard pressed to argue the point. But it would still be an embarrassment.
Yet, surely you can agree with even the most loathsome of people over specific issues without accepting their political support and endorsements, and taking their money. Paul has not yet learned that lesson, which is precisely what brings his integrity into disrepute.
Moreover, some of Paul's policies go beyond borderline racist into a dangerous naivete. The recent interception by Russia of radioactive materials targeted for transfer to Iran, as described at The Other McCain proves that point. Yet Paul insists to this day that Iran could be our friends, if we would only reach out. You know, sort of like Obama did when he first ran. How did that work out again?
To paraphrase an old saying, the Paultards would be dangerous if they had brains. Unfortunately, they seem to have one brain collectively among them, in the form of an octogenarian, naive libertarian idealist whose reasoning power is questionable at best. They will follow him to the gates of hell. And they want to make you follow him too.
Unfortunately, while he will not win the GOP nomination, he could indeed cause problems with perception for the Republican brand. Or more precisely, his followers could. Make no mistake, their legions might not be so huge as their passion infers, but they are out there (way out there).
And they are amongst us. Some of them are racists adherents of the Klan or some other neonazi organization or ideology. And some of them are merely the kind of deranged neurotic, possibly even psychotic type of person who genuinely believes the government planned out 9/11 possibly with the aid of Mossad and even members of a complicit media, for some mind-numbing purpose I have never completely been able to comprehend. These are the kinds of people who've spent their whole lives thinking somebody, somewhere, in some cases possibly from a galaxy far, far away, have been out to get them. And of course, all of us. They've just been smart enough to figure it out. And their leader, their savior, is Doctor Ron Paul.
Because Dr. Paul can make things right, you see. He can, yes, make it all right for them to step out of the shadows, lo, after all this time of living in fear and shame.
Michelle Bachmann was at a book signing appearance in South Carolina when she was approached by this little boy, Elijah who, obviously at the urgings of his "mother", whispered in Bachmann's ear "My mommy's gay and she doesn't need fixing". It's painfully obvious the little boy didn't want to do it, was uncomfortable enough that he had to be urged to repeat the message by his dyke mother. Even Bachmann, sensing the boys discomfort and probably legitimately concerned for him, motioned him close enough to her to where he could whisper the message to her. Bachmann was clearly shocked and taken aback by "his" message.
The main point to me is that this proves beyond any and all reasonable doubt homosexuals should be kept as far from children as possible. In a sense, though, Elijah might be very, very fortunate that his gay "parent" isn't a male homosexual IYKWIMAITYD
The question now is how everything shakes out. So says Donald Douglas at American Power about the recent announcement by Herman Cain that he is suspending his campaign. Robert Stacy McCain deserves a measure of respect and sympathy for the way he has steadfastly supported the Cain campaign almost from the beginning, while stoically ignoring my efforts to torture him with what has now become a kind of gallows humor on my part. But make no mistake, the Cain campaign became a walking corpse about two weeks ago. McCain himself got no respect for his efforts, as he himself has come to realize. He blames Cain's staff, a certain one in particular. But indeed this very post points out the systemic problem with Cain's campaign. It almost looks like its being conducted on the fly. But really, whose fault is that? Isn't Cain the guy who claimed he knew how to hire and surround himself with the right people, the kind of people who knew what they were doing, and who could give him the right kind of advice? Well, if his campaign turned into a clusterfuck based on Cain's hiring decisions, what ever would his presidency have been like?
Let's face facts here. Some people claim that Cain was promoting his book the whole time, and there might be a great deal of merit to the charge. But I think he was also and perhaps chiefly angling for an appointment. Possibly Secretary of Commerce, or possibly even as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve when the next appointment comes up, assuming it will be under a Republican Administration. That does make sense, as Cain is a former Fed governor in the Kansas City Office. Hell, his whole 9-9-9 policy might have been an audition to head the IRS, or possibly even for the big prize, Secretary of Treasury. But I don't believe for one minute he seriously thought he had a shot at winning the GOP nomination. When he shot up in the polls after the implosion of the Perry candidacy, probably no one was more shocked than Herman Cain. It probably speaks volumes as to why Cain treated many of his biggest supporters in the blogosphere so shabbily, including even McCain, his most devoted blogging advocate. Any time Stacy reached out Cain probably secretly said "Hasn't he caused enough problems?"
But now it's all come to naught. And as far as I'm concerned its just as well. It's all well and good to point to Ronald Reagan as an example of a President who made decisions based on the expert advice of his staff. But hell, if that's the criterion, I or anybody else could be a great President. Unfortunately, you have to know how to pick the right staff. And perhaps more importantly, you have to know what the fuck they're talking about when they're advising you.
The whole damn thing has been a big waste of time and a distraction from valid candidates who might have had a legitimate impact and had a chance of winning, like Bachmann or Santorum. It still might not be too late, but I'm very much afraid we're nearing the end. But it could have been worse. Imagine what it would have been like if Cain's personal failings and general incompetence for high office had not come out until he had amassed a significant number of delegates, or conceivably even won the nomination.
As a general rule when you want to run for office, you start out small. Cain could have got Tea Party support for a run for House, Senate, or maybe Governor. But arrogance does strange things to people. It makes them think they should dream big even against all realistic odds of success, or even common sense.
From what I've seen of the zombie apocalypse as related on The Walking Dead, I would describe the people afflicted in the following way-
When a person dies and comes back as a "walker", nothing is left of that person but his dead and decaying corpse, albeit reanimated by what seems to be a colony of viruses driven by an insatiable appetite for human flesh and blood. When a "walker" looks at you, growls, stalks you and attacks you, it is that colony of viruses working through the person much as you might think of a person possessed by a band of demons.
Herschell Green didn't see it that way, and when the survivors, desperate to find the missing Sophia and needing safe harbor after the hunting accident that almost claimed the life of Rick Grime's young son, took refuge on the Greene farm, they learned in time that Herschell saw them not as dead people reanimated by a virus, but as sick people who might one day be cured.
When they discovered Herschell kept in his barn captured walkers, many of whom were former friends and relatives, including his wife and step-son, it was Shane who took matters into his own hands and led the remainder of the survivors in what amounted to a massacre of the walkers, shooting them down as they filed out of the barn one by one, before doing so demonstrating to Herschell that this was not merely "sick people" by shooting a just captured walker multiple times in the torso with a high-powered rife, with no discernible effect.
Herschell and Rick watched helplessly as the massacre went unabated. Until the last walker came out of the barn, at which point the stunned survivors were faced with the same emotions Herschell had struggled with for months, in what was probably one of the best, most stunning, and most heart-wrenching, mid-season finales of all time.
When the show returns in February, more than one question will be answered, at least in part, not the least of which will be, how could this have happened without anyone's knowledge. Or was it a purposeful deception meant to protect the secret of the barn. But perhaps more importantly, the secret of the season one finale will finally be addressed. What was the big secret whispered by the doctor/scientist to Rick Grimes in the final moments before the Atlanta CDC exploded?
Some have posited he told Rick his wife Lori was pregnant, but I doubt that, since he seemed surprised when Lori told him this in the previous episode. The more likely guess bandied about is that he told him everyone was infected, which means everyone who dies will come back as a walker regardless of the means of death. The only difference a walker's bite makes is that it hastens the process. Which makes sense, given the countless numbers of walkers displayed thus far. It seems pretty obvious that not that many people would survive a bite long enough to escape a walkers grasp, then die and be reanimated, while most people who are eaten don't have enough left of them to return. An exception was "bicycle girl" from the series season one premiere, who was infected a few minutes before being half-eaten, the implication being the walkers stopped eating her when she "revived".
Whatever the case, I have no problem with the series thus far, unlike the myriads of other complainers who want non-stop zombie actions and chases, deaths, etc. That too would get old and predictable. I commend the writers for their focus on character development and story. In this show, believe me, there is plenty of blood and gore to go around. In fact, a little bit goes a long, long way.
Thanks to Perez Hilton for providing the embedded clip.
The survivors still haven't found Sophia, and Herschell Greene has been discovered to be housing a horde of zombies in his barn. So what could possibly happen in tonight's second season, episode seven mid-season finale when Herschell demands Rick and company hit the road?
Here's a lovely, tantalizing taste of a previous episode, when the crew discover a zombie trapped in one of Herschell's well.
I think I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The Walking Dead might not be the scariest show ever on television, but one thing is certain. It is for damn sure by far the nastiest.
The Noisy Room has a post about a little known initiative that is almost passing under the radar screen, practically unknown and almost completely unremarked. It's not just some minor bill or amendment being pressed by some minor or backbencher Congressman. In fact, right now its not a bill at all, but it is a major initiative favored by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi meant to control how your children are raised. In order to do this, she wants to pass a Federal Child Care Law. She knows she could never pass something like that now, of course, but this is one of her major goals, one of which she speaks often and unapologetically as she campaigns relentlessly to help Democrats take back the House of Representatives.
The Noisy Room was kind enough to provide a link to a page that would demonstrate just what this kind of government run child care might look like, from the earliest days of the Soviet era. TNR also provides a helpful passage which might be especially pertinent. Following is a small portion-
Communist society considers the social education of the rising
generation to be one of the fundamental aspects of the new life. The old
family, narrow and petty, where the parents quarrel and are only
interested in their own offspring, is not capable of educating the “new
person”. The playgrounds, gardens, homes and other amenities where the
child will spend the greater part of the day under the supervision of
qualified educators will, on the other hand, offer an environment in
which the child can grow up a conscious communist who recognises the
need for solidarity, comradeship, mutual help and loyalty to the
collective. What responsibilities are left to the parents, when they no
longer have to take charge of upbringing and education? The very small
baby, you might answer, while it is still learning to walk and clinging
to its mother’s skirt, still needs her attention.
The scary thing about it is that these very kinds of people, whether or not strictly communist, have had a stranglehold on our nation's educational system for decades, and they aren't about to relinquish their steely cold grip. We see it tightening at an alarmingly accelerating rate even as the overall quality of our children's education has in general declined to such a corresponding degree it could not be an accident, even if it is not intentional.
It has only been lately that so many of our major political figures on the left have actively pursued such a goal so openly, directly, and unapologetically. Perhaps it speaks to an air of desperation on the part of Democrats. After all, this is not something widely advertised or disseminated to the general public, but is a selling point Nancy Pelosi uses in her fund raising efforts among hard core leftist donors. Help return Democrats back to power in the House of Representatives, help them keep control of the Senate, and re-elect Barak Obama to a second term as President, and I, Nancy Pelosi, once and future Speaker of the House of Representatives, will give you a National Child Care Law.
This should come as no surprise. It has been a goal of the left,
including liberal Democrats, for many decades, to establish complete
control of the nation's education system and to indoctrinate
schoolchildren to adhere to leftist dogma. This latest attempt by Pelosi
is just the latest strain of the virus, and the one which might prove
the most resistant to any political antibiotic should it ever be passed.
After all, it would be yet another entitlement, one that so many would
find attractive, and once it was established it would be extremely
difficult and problematic for any politician to speak against it or try
to repeal it. Or at least, that is Pelosi's hope, and if she is successful in regaining control of the House for the Democrats, she would feel she has the mandate and the same kind of power and influence she used to pass Obamacare.
She did it once, right? Don't think she would be shy about trying it a second time. Only this time, we don't really have to wait until the bill is passed before we know what's in it. Subsidized child care for the poor, at taxpayer expense, and maybe, just possibly, a mandate that you have to actually purchase child care from a qualified provider if you are at a certain income level or above.
Is there any question as to where all this could possibly lead? Vladimir Lenin would be so proud of his ideological twin sister.
UPDATE-I've actually been called a liar concerning the content of this post, but thankfully Bob Belvedere of Camp Of The Saints has rode to my rescue and supplied the link to The O'Reilly Factor interview in question. Perry's incredibly naive remarks pertaining to the Occupy Wall Street movement and what he falsely believes to be their true motivations begins at about the 4:00 mark of the accompanying video.
Rick Perry just keeps on acting in ways that make him seem determined to wreck his campaign. Maybe he was serious all those times when he said he really wasn't interested in running for President, and some inner part of him just hasn't truly reconciled the conflict. Whatever the case, he really stepped in it last night on The O'Reilly Factor.
It would have been bad enough as it was originally set up. See, I am reasonably sure O'Reilly is in the tank for Mitt Romney, so this whole interview with Perry was probably a set-up. But that's neither here nor there, because Perry just makes things so easy for his detractors.
O'Reilly questioned Perry about a new ad which criticizes Obama for supposedly calling Americans "lazy". I am very aware of the occasion, but there is a good reason you would very much in vain look through the archives of this blog for a post relating to it. Sorry, there's no there there, and I can find sufficient reasons and occasions to criticize Obama without making shit up, or portraying things out of context. That does not do the GOP cause any good, particularly as pertaining to matters when it is so blatantly, obviously false, and provably so. O'Reilly correctly pointed out that Obama was not referring to "the folks" but to those government entities, ambassadors and officials, who should try harder to sell America as a good investment.
That was bad enough, but then Perry really stepped in the shit when he started on the #OWS. Somehow, he seems to have swallowed the latest meme promoted by the mainstream media, and by Democrats, and others among the left, that all of the problems caused by the #OWS are a result of a minority of the demonstrators, or that somehow evil, vicious anarchists have taken over the movement, or corrupted it somehow. But the original premise of the group is still valid, supposedly, as are the intentions of the original members, who are actually the majority.
You would expect this kind of blathering nonsense from Democrats and the MSM, but from a GOP presidential candidate? I think Perry has solidly cemented himself alongside Herman Cain as a starring cast in the Not Ready For Prime Time Candidates.
Unfortunately, there is as of yet no links I can point you to, but really, does it matter? At this point, Rick Perry should do the right thing and get out of the race, as his only legitimate role now is that of spoiler.
Who knows, maybe that's all he was ever meant to be.
I think its funny how most Republicans are going way out of their way to nominate anybody but Mitt Romney. They started out with Michelle Bachmann, but when Rick Perry got in the race practically the same damn day Michelle won the Ames Iowa Straw Poll, people gravitated to the Texas governor who admittedly looks great on paper. We've been stirring the ingredients in this pot ever since.
We gave Michelle an all-too brief look, had a flubbedy-dubbedy conversation about Rick Perry, just recently got smashed up in the Cain Train derailment, and now we're all wanting to sit on the love seat by Uncle Newt, still wet with the Global Warming induced bodily juices of Nancy Pelosi. Through it all we sat and listened and watched as The Donald demanded birth certificates, while Tim Pawlenty whined about not being liked enough and while Chris Christy whined about being like too much. We watched with mouths agape as Mitch Daniels declared that no bitter clingers need apply, and Paul Ryan said, "Me? Hell no" (in so many words). We watched in amazement as the MSM told us if we were really smart we'd nominate Jon Huntsman, and we wondered when Rick Santorum would bring out the chain saw.
And still there is flappably unflappable, flippety floppety Mitt, holding a steady and firm hold on 24 percent of the GOP electorate, poised to take it all, while the Crazy Uncle of the Tea Party, Ron Paul, keeps managing to escape from the attic.
But we decided against Michelle Bachmann early. Why? Maybe she's too religious, or too conservative. Maybe she's a little nutty. After all, she mixed up the birthplace of John Wayne Gacy as the birthplace of John Wayne, and accepted as truth an anecdote from a supporter who claimed her daughter suffered brain damage as a result of a forced Gardasil vaccination. Maybe they're afraid Marcus her husband (with whom she's had not one or two show children, but FUCKING FIVE) is a closet homosexual, or maybe they resent his insistence that homosexuality can be cured, to the extent he runs a business based on that proposition, that a man or a woman can be what the hell they want to be.
Whatever the reason-and granted, there is some validity to some of them-there can be no doubt that Michelle Bachmann is the one candidate who has stood the test of time. She has not wavered, has stood strong, and continued the good fight.
Because of this, and because I think she's the candidate most likely to reach across the aisle and rip Obama's smug fucking face off in a debate, I support Michelle Bachmann for the GOP nomination. Note I said this is tentative. Nothing should ever be written in stone.
But this lady is, despite what the leftist smear merchants and their "Republican" and "conservative" fellow travelers say, far from merely another far right wing ideologue and wingnut. She knows her stuff, as demonstrated in the below video.
UPDATE-Since I'm getting ready to move on to newer posts, I'm going to remove the embed, since it plays automatically and I can't change that, which would be irritating having to scroll down the page to find it to turn off the sound. However, here is the link to the radio interview, and I urge any who read this post to go there and listen to this very compelling interview of radio personality Mark Madden. First of course, read this post in its entirety, as near the end I give the most pertinent points of the interview in the timeline. Although I can't of course vouch for the veracity of all the charges against Jerry Sandusky-or Joe Paterno-it's nevertheless an interview you don't want to miss.
I've also included an update about Saturday's game between Penn State and the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers.
You know what I'd hate to be this weekend? A Nebraska Cornhusker football player, or for that matter, one of the many Cornhusker fans at the game, which due to fallout over the recent scandal has raised security concerns. Because no matter how the game turns out, its going to be messy. The Nittany Lions might well be so distracted and demoralized by the recent scandal that culminated late yesterday in the firing of legendary Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno, in which case their victory will be a hollow one. Or, the Nittany Lions could be out for blood and satisfaction to such an extent that their last home game, the much vaunted Senior's Day, could result in a romp of the Cornhuskers. Don't be surprised too much if the penalty flags start flying early and often. Hopefully, there won't be any serious injuries for either side. But, don't bet on that.
Penn State fans were so outraged they took to the campus last night in an orgy of protest that could have been much worse than what it ended up being. Thankfully, no one was injured, and the only significant property damage was that of a news van that was overturned, its windows then kicked out.
But this was a situation that could not have been addressed in any other way. When Jerry Sandusky was reported to have sodomized a ten year old boy in a Penn State locker room, the authorities should have been informed immediately. Instead, what transpired over the course of at least the last nine years, and which did involve Paterno, can only be described as a coverup of near epic proportions, assuming all the current reports are to be taken at face value.
But what has been reported so far may be just a very small tip of a very big iceberg. And if what is currently being alleged by some turns out to be true, its not going to be a matter of the other shoe dropping, but several other shoes kicking the Penn State legacy clean in the nuts.
According to Pittsburg talk show host Mark Madden, in fact, Jerry Sandusky, who founded a non-profit agency for young boys, did not merely use The Second Mile as his own private procurement agency for sex with young boys-
Yes, as sickening as it sounds, that is what is being alleged. After what has been reported so far, is it really that hard to believe? I just wonder how many of them are former or even current members of the Penn State Alumni Association. This is going to be really bad, and you have to wonder whether or not Penn State might actually face legal, criminal and civil actions because of this. This could even warrant sanctions by the NCAA.
It's hard to see how Penn State recovers from this in our lifetimes. This could destroy all their athletic programs, including but not limited to football. Think about it. If you were a star high school athlete offered a scholarship, or even a chance to play as a walk-on, at any first class university, would Penn State be your first choice, or even in your top ten, after this?
It makes it somewhat easy to empathize with the kids at Penn State, who are having to come to grips with their whole universe turning upside down practically overnight. And if this is true, its only going to get worse.
Just for them, this Saturday, I'll be rooting for them.
UPDATE-Since the above radio interview with Mark Madden is fairly long, I thought it might be helpful to provide a timeline of the three most important points relevant to the new information. They are approximations, possibly off by two or three seconds, but are as follows-
7:43-Madden alleges that Sandusky used The Second Mile as a way to procure young boys for sexual puposes.
8:06-It is highly probably that Sandusky was allowed to take an early retirement, at the age of fifty-five, in exchange for a coverup, and that the situation was well known among the highest levels of the Penn State Administration and the football coaching staff. Yet, Sandusky continued to make use of the Penn State facilities and was more or less a permanent fixture at Penn State even after his retirement.
13:43-Joe Paterno didn't just have a vague idea of what was going on. He knew the situation with Sandusky "in great detail", or this was at least the case as pertaining to the one incident in 2002 with the ten year old boy in the locker room showers whom Sandusky is alleged to have sodomized.
In closing I apologize for the radio embed, I typically don't embed players that play automatically, and frankly its getting to be a pain in the ass. But I thought this story was too important not to spread.
Finally, I am frankly worried that this story might be swept under the rug and ignored. This might involve some very wealthy, influential people, and more to the point, known homosexuals and it could be a cause for concern if the homosexual community starts alleging false accusations and "homophobia", or "gay-bashing", etc. Which would be bullshit, but there you have it. I hope I am wrong, as it would be a shame if this were glossed over for the sake of a politically connected special interest group, but I'm very much afraid that's what might happen here.
UPDATE-The fans and the players of Penn State acquitted themselves well yesterday. Unfortunately, Penn State lost, but still played admirably, almost overcoming a 17-0 nothing deficit beginning near the end of the third quarter, only to ultimately lose by a respectable score of 17-14.
Before the game, past and present Penn State players joined on the field with the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers in a touching prayer for the young victims, which are rumored to be far greater in number than the eight now being alleged.
Other than some turbulence at the tailgating aimed mostly at the media by some boisterously angry fans, the crowd was engaged, yet respectable throughout the game. I was also wrong about the penalties. There were some, but not that many, probably not as many as in a typical game, and nothing that really stands out, other than one bizarre instance in which a Nittany Lion offensive player was called for a face mask violation against a Cornhusker on the defensive squad, which is an exceeding rare penalty.
Otherwise, a good game. A clean game. And surreal.
I was having a late breakfast this morning, and I had the Fox News Show Happening Now on in the background, where a Mr. Joe Cirincione of the State Department was being interviewed by Jenna Lee about the current controversy regarding the nation of Iran. Cirincione has been hyped as some kind of nuclear expert and was giving his opinion about current worries about Iran's nuclear program. I wasn't really paying that much attention, until I heard him mention the name of GOP presidential primary candidate Herman Cain. When I heard what he said, I was so shocked I literally jumped up from my chair and practically ran into the living room. I was so shocked I wasn't exactly sure I had heard what I thought I had, so later I went on the Fox News website and found the Happening Now Blog.
Sure enough, others had heard it, and were commenting on it. One of the commenters was kind enough to supply what seems to have been a direct quote. Or if not, it was close enough to what I remembered I copied it and pasted it below, as follows-
"Iran basically has a Herman Cain problem, they both DID something terribly wrong in the past that is now being disclosed. It is humiliating to try to acknowledged what happened."
Like i said, I couldn't believe my ears, and evidently many others are equally outraged. Some blame Jenna Lee for not calling him, but frankly, what could she say? This interview had nothing whatsoever to do with Mr. Cain, and she clearly was not prepared for such an obvious political hit job.
Fox should issue an apology to Mr. Cain, his family, his campaign, and his supporters, which by the way I am not one, though I would have zero problem voting for him or supporting him should he win the nomination.
Furthermore, this Democratic apparatchik should no longer be invited on Fox to speak on any matter whatsoever. And while they're at it, there are a plethora of other leftists and liberal Democrats who should be given the boot.
One of these days the Koch Brothers or someone similar are going to realize that a cable news channel that in addition to hard news and investigative journalism, is devoted to the discussion of conservative issues with a minimum of liberal bullshit, would bury Fox along with every other "news" show currently running.
Fair and balanced. It was good while it lasted, but its run its course. You can only put up with a minimum of vermin infestation. Before long they get to the point where they start to take over, and then you have a problem. Before long, the integrity of your dwelling becomes so compromised it is no longer fit for human habitation. What happened today is just one sign among many that its time for Fox to call the exterminators.
UPDATE-Fox News has provided a video of the interview, so you can see for yourself. The entire video is 4:33. The offensive remark comes at roughly the 1:23 mark.
UPDATE-Welcome to readers of Doug Ross @ Journal and thanks to Doug for the link, and of course to my buddy Zilla for sending it to him.
Shepherd Smith went ballistic a few days ago when a couple of expert legal guests, in discussing the latest developments regarding the case of missing Kansas City baby Lisa Irwin, stated that sometimes the police are more interested in closing a case than they are in solving it. They also said plainly that sometimes cops will rush to judgment to the closest available suspect in order to do so. If you want to see somebody get their panties in a knot, watch the following video courtesy of Mediaite. Warning-its not pretty, but it is kind of, well, hilarious. He even defends the actions of policemen who in an earlier time arrested him and a friend for open container. Shep obviously loves him some po-po.
This isn't the first time ol' Shep has exhibited hang-ups regarding the police. Just take a look at this Freudian slip from Shep's closet.
Now that's dedication to our men in blue. I thought it might be interesting to go digging into Shep's past, to see if I could find just what was the genesis of his devotion to our nation's law enforcement. Thankfully, police interrogations are typically videotaped and stored in archives for future reference. With some digging, I think I might have found the video of the interrogation Shep underwent so long ago which he alluded to in the first video. It's a little rough, but hey, who knows? I know he doesn't seem the type who would like things rough, but you never can tell about our Shep.
Michelle Fields deserves some kind of journalism award for her report on The Daily Caller, along with combat pay. At one point, protesters are blocking traffic, refusing to allow a man with a child to pass. They pushed an old woman to the ground, causing what was hopefully a minor injury. But they get all worked up when somebody stepped on the gas when a couple of the mangy assholes stepped out in front of their automobile, and the police let the driver of the car in question go. I'm not sure I get what the bit was with the woman, man and the two young kids, but it seems like they were acting in an untoward way toward the family and the woman let them all have it and then stormed off.
Throughout all of this, Michelle Fields was harangued by the Occupy protesters, who accused her of making up her reports while some of them chanted "Fuck the Daily Caller".
As hard as it is to believe, it is even worse than the video demonstrates. This all took place when Americans For Prosperity tried to conduct a conference entitled "Defending The American Dream Summit". The Occupy Protesters were trying to storm the meeting, and Fields, who had been assigned by the Daily Caller to cover the protests, was there to film the attempt.
Robert Stacy McCain, who was present at the seminar, interviewed Fields for his blog The Other McCain following the events on the videotape. According to her, they followed her around, purposely blocking her from interviewing any of the participants, and even insulted her clothes. Apparently they didn't like the company Ann Taylor, where they assumed she got her clothes. And according to her, they also screamed out repeatedly "Fuck Michelle Fields" although unfortunately not while she was in the process of recording them.
Yeah, these fucking animals are just like the Tea Party, huh?
There's been a problem with the Daily Caller embed, so if it doesn't come through here, go to the link and watch it.
Can you write a novel by the end of the month? If so, you might be interested in National Novel Writing Month You are required to register on the site, where they can track your progress, offer you support, and supply a forum of like minded writers. If you get er done by the end of the month, you'll see it published on-line. I'm seriously thinking of giving it a shot. The catch is, it has to be 50,000 words or more. I'm not sure, but I think that works out to 1700 words a day, which is roughly five pages, I think. That is not as easy as it might sound, by the way. I just found out about this, so I don't know if I can do it without sacrificing time for other matters. Obviously, quality would be one of them.
But I think I do have a partial solution. Tarot cards. Yep, I'll draw a card at the end of every night, sleep on it, and craft the novel based on what card, or cards, I draw.
It might be interesting, but I just wish I had known about it ahead of time. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any prizes, outside of the title, and of course the bragging rights. But if anything else, this might be a good motivational exercise.
Pictured-1947 Los Angeles murder victim Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia, as pictured by Marilyn Manson the artist. As you might suspect, there's more, much more, at the link.
I've been trying to avoid letting my blog be taken over by the Occupy Wall Street movement, but there are some things that bear mention, and a Halloween death is impossible for me to ignore. Gateway Pundit tells the story of the for now unnamed homeless man, known for now only as "Street Poet", who died over Halloween while availing himself of the "hospitality" of the Occupy Oklahoma City protesters. It's pretty sad. The guy was a homeless drug addict who suffered from asthma, and over the previous two days before he was found dead in his tent, he complained of breathing problems. Instead of taking him to a clinic or an emergency room, the protesters housed him, fed him and fattened him for the slaughter. Now they have their symbol, an image of homelessness and despair to contrast against the "corporate greed" of the "1%". Here he is sometime before his death.
Wait and see if the Occupy Movement doesn't blame his death on capitalism and corporate greed. Uh, no, he rushed headlong into his own demise, however out of control he might have been, and he didn't get any help from you, you scumbag hipsters. In fact, capitalism didn't kill him. Wall Street didn't kill him. You sat back and fed him, encouraged him, listened to his sad attempts at rap, yet ignored his obvious need for medical attention. So if anyone is responsible for his demise, besides himself-that would be you. You let him die.
But hey, you good what you wanted. Another symbol, this one in the form of a needles, senseless death to exploit.
The following movie is actually just one segment from a silent film from 1922. Somebody added the soundtrack, a Satanic prayer. The film, named Haxan (The Witches), by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen, was in fact a documentary based on Christensen's study of Malleus Maleficarum, which in the fifteenth century was a respected study of witches used by witch hunters and inquisitors. Christensen wanted to make a film which he hoped would explain the mythology behind witchcraft, and how the beliefs and legends grew over the centuries.
The following clip from the film is a dramatization of Christensen's vision, not of what he believed actually happened, but of what people genuinely believed, and feared, as he saw it.
Not surprisingly, the film was banned in the US and was heavily censored in much of Europe. Nevertheless, it has become recognized as one of the great cinematic achievements of the early film era.
This is the best rendering of the Minotaur I've ever seen. I started out looking for an old painting by an artist named George Frederick Watts, painted in the 1880's, when I found this. Unfortunately, I have no idea who did this artwork. All I know is its advertised as a "free wallpaper".
To me, to captures perfectly the inherent nature of the beast. The savagery, the insatiable blood lust, In addition to the sheer sense of debauchery and corruption that led to the creatures birth, hidden life, and ultimate demise.
I see the Minotaur as a symbol of the hidden, unconscious savage nature we constantly try to bury and contain within the hidden recesses of the unconscious mind. When we come face to face with him within our own private labyrinth, we are in effect coming face to face with our own inner beast.
No, the man in the above photo is not going to a Halloween Party, he's actually standing outside the doors of his former abortion clinic in Rockford Illinois, taunting the Christians who used to stand outside his clinic on a regular basis protesting his business. Note I said former, because the business has now been shut down.
This was because of numerous safety and health violations that seemed to be a systemic problem with the clinic. The closing of this clinic, which transpired near the end of September, is important for a variety of reasons.
One, the fact that it was in Illinois, arguably the most liberal of all Midwestern states, dominated by the state Democratic Party and/or the Chicago machine, speaks to the reality of shifting attitudes. After all, when Roe v Wade was first decided in 1973, the science was far from settled as to whether or not an unborn child was truly alive. Now it has been settled, and there is no doubt that an unborn baby is alive, and has feelings and emotions. It's not just a glob of tissue. As such, more and more people are starting to view abortion in general as murder.
It's also important to note that, being in Rockford, the clinic was across the state line from Wisconsin, which has a parental notification law. This clinic provided a way out, a safe haven for teens who wished to acquire an abortion and avoid Wisconsin law. That avenue has now been thankfully closed. Nothing to me is more despicable than passing a law permitting abortions for young teen girls without notifying the child's parents, and for someone to take one across the state line in order to get an abortion should be grounds for a federal indictment, both of the responsible adult as well as the clinic operators.
And worst of all, not only does the left and the Democratic Party support this, they want the taxpayers to subsidize it. And they aren't asking nicely either.
I'm not one of these that favor outlawing abortion at the federal level, either by way of legislation or by constitutional amendment. But its high time Roe v Wade was overturned and the matter left to the purview of the individual states, including the matter of what to do with those adults who take children across state lines, for this or any other purpose, without their parents knowing consent.
Its just too bad there's no comprehensive way of dealing with those cases where an abortion might be justified, especially due to life and health issues, or rape. But it is what it is.
To all of you fans of The Walking Dead, I'm sure you will remember the "Bicycle Girl" from last seasons premiere episode. Well, YouTube has a six part "Webisode" series which explains her origin. I decided to post the last part. If you want, you can go to YouTube and view all six webisodes by way of the link to this video.
One things for sure about The Walking Dead. It may damn well be the scariest show that's ever been on television. One thing that's beyond dispute is its damn well the nastiest.
Since Halloween is a day when the dead walk the earth and we strive to pay them due honor and respect (or should) I want to say something about one kid who left this world far too quickly, and while here got little respect in life. His name was Jamey Roddermeyer, from Buffalo New York. He was bullied mercilessly by classmates, because he was supposedly a homosexual. Watch this video he made for the It Gets Better Project shortly before he died.
Notice the level of discomfort he betrays when talking about the level of support he had received from the homosexual community, and from strangers, which he says he knows "sounds creepy" as though he is trying to shrug off the germs. This happens at just after the 1:40 mark of this 2:05 minute video. In another part he inadvertently lowers his voice a slight degree as he glances around nervously, apparently at his bedroom door.
If this kid was a homosexual, then he was sick, in my opinion, in the throes of a delusion. So why in the hell harass him? Would you harass somebody that had cancer?
Of course, I'm wasting my time explaining this to heterosexual bullies, because 1, they don't give a damn, and 2, they don't give a damn. But its incumbent on parents and teachers to understand this phenomenon, and try to get some kind of control over it. After all, not all kids who are bullied are gay (not that it would make it all right if that was the case). Just recently, there was a young kid in Covington Kentucky who, like Jamey, committed suicide because he was constantly bullied. Yet, there was no indication at all that he was gay. He was Sam Denham a nice kid who just wanted to be friends with people and help those who needed help.
A sign of weakness to bullies, and probably to most kids. And there's the rub. Until we understand what causes bullying, it will not get better. This is a primal urge with roots back in prehistory, when the weak were outcast and even destroyed, or made completely subservient to the will of the strong. Bullying is just an outgrowth of that, and it was and is based on an unconscious drive aimed at strengthening the species. This is why a sick animal will be left behind by the herd, even its immediate family. While healthy enough to travel with the herd, they serve the function of being the prey to an attacking predator and thus enabling the others to escape with their hides intact. When they get too weak, or old, to keep up, then they no longer fulfill this function. In fact, they become a hindrance.
So when kids fight, or when they brutalize a smaller, weaker child, they are following the same pattern of asserting their authority, manhood, or worth to the tribe as two buck deers when they lock horns. The bullied kid is worth nothing more, and as a result has no self-worth.
There are ways of dealing with this, by sublimation, and in previous years sports provided a vital outlet. Now, however, in many schools, sports are frowned upon, at least in more "progressive" districts, discouraged by those who don't want to see any child excel or stand out above his or her peers. This mindset, while not prevalent in sports in most schools, yet, still rears its ugly head in other areas of public school, even in the grading system in many cases, while kids are hammered constantly with the demands that they treat all minority groups with a kind of respect that nearly amounts to deference. We are not allowed to express certain aspects of cultural pride in our own European ethnicity, or increasingly even pride as Americans. Yet, such ethnic and cultural and even religious pride is not only encouraged among minority children, it is expected, all but demanded of them.
Is it any wonder then that bullying, aggression, and hostility, having fewer and fewer outlets provided it for positive manifestation, has instead metastasized? And in the meantime, we as a society are encouraged to be supportive of homosexual behavior, which not too long ago was seen by mental health professionals as a sickness and a delusion (rightly in my opinion), to the extent that it almost seems as though homosexual activists are actually trolling public schools for naive, insecure boys and girls to indoctrinate, if you will. As such, homosexuals, in and out of the school yard, seem to be growing into more and more of a protected class status. And the more misguided educators and other adults encourage them to "come out", the more of a target they become.
Ironically, though I concede I might be wrong, I don't think Jamey was a homosexual. He might have been, he might not have been. He might have just been a weak, insecure kid going through puberty and not knowing how to deal with his feelings and the hormones raging through him. On the one hand, not having any "guy friends", only girlfriends, and facing constant bullying and harassment. Maybe he was nothing more than an effeminate boy who made an easy target.
For whatever reason, he reached out, and found aid and support from the homosexual community, and I'm sure he was quite popular. He received tons of support and encouragement from homosexuals and their supporters in the greater community, and seemed to have a supportive family as well.
Yet, he killed himself. How, I am not clear, though he was found in his family's front yard. Assuming he did really kill himself purposely, and not through an accidental overdose in a desperate attempt at self-medication, the question remains, why?
This is why I am personally convinced that he was not really a homosexual, he was just going through a great deal of confusion. Unfortunately he had no one to whom he could turn to, no one he could trust. On the one hand he was bullied by people who hated homosexuals, while on the other he was pressured to be a homosexual by gay activists and their supporters, in school and out. He had no choice in the matter, it seems, but to accept the fact that he was a homosexual. And at his age, that was a choice he not only didn't feel comfortable making, it was one he didn't have to make. Not at the age of fourteen.
Yes, he killed himself, but he had all kinds of help getting to that decision, from both sides of the issue, and no reason to not go through with it, from his perspective. After all, he wasn't just some messed up kid in desperate need of acceptance, love, and help. He was far more important than that. He was a symbol, and he was made to know that he had a responsibility, one that was greater than the feelings and insecurities of a fourteen year old boy.
He owed it to some obscene movement to speak for all of them, and to be out and proud. In the meantime, the bullies on one side of the issue hated him, and many other bullies from the other side of the issue wanted to go down on him. And the responsible adults in his life either didn't know the right way to deal with it, or in the case of the educators in his life, were hamstrung by political correctness if they cared at all.
You all helped kill this kid. Yay, good job douchebags.
There will be a brief break from the typical fare here, as I get ready to, hopefully, post some Halloween and/or Samhain related material. A few things will be serious, most will just be fun or entertaining, and hopefully all of it will be interesting. One things for sure it will be different. I might post everything on hold and then post it all at once on Halloween. I haven't really decided yet.
Remember Jack Abramoff? Well, turns out he might have been innocent of the charges against him, the victim of a vengeful plot hatched by rival lobbyists and organized crime figures tied to Senator John McCain.
I recently ran across her blog, Susan Bradford Press, where on the post titled The Shamelessness Of The Washington Post Knows No Bounds she went into some detail mainly about the culpability of the Washington Post in helping to engineer the downfall of Abramoff. But in this post she also explains how the Posts villainy culminated in John McCain using his Senate influence to call a special committee hearing on behalf of his own lobbyist friends and Abramoff rivals, and how this was instrumental in Abramoff's persecution.
I was mainly curious as to whether she considered McCain to be a dupe, or whether he was willingly involved in the effort to intentionally destroy Jack Abramoff. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an answer from Susan the same day I posted the query, and she gave me permission to post it in full. It follows, along with a subsequent response from me, and again from Susan.
SUSAN BRADFORD-Thank you for writing. Is your question: was McCain duped in the Abramoff conspiracy? I know that legislators are tremendously busy and rely heavily upon the advice and judgments of others. Since I never interviewed McCain, I cannot answer with complete certainty.
However, according to Indians close to McCain, the Senator’s wife, Cindy, demanded that he take down Abramoff after losing the South Carolina primary of 2000 since she was under the mistaken belief that the lobbyist spread the rumor that she was a drug abuser.
There are a number of indications that McCain carefully orchestrated the take down of Abramoff. Many participants were offered/cut deals. For example, Louisiana Coushatta Council Member William Worfel, who defended Abramoff, changed his position after McCain invited him to appear in the hearings with the representation of Roy Fletcher, counsel McCain personally recommended to him after promising that he would amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, with the advice of Worfel. In addition, the firms involved were aligned with McCain.
McCain was personally close to the accusers. In fact, he even used his office to act on their behalf. The accusations brought forth against Abramoff in his hearings could easily have applied to McCain’s own fund raisers – including the exceptional fees Abramoff was able to command from tribes. Lobbying firms close to McCain micro-managed the hearings, investigation, and media to acquire the results they sought.
McCain, in turn, used the information he had acquired to challenge political opponents, like JD Hayworth — and others, by threatening to either turn the investigation on them or slander them by tarring them with the Abramoff scandal.
In fact, he used the scandal, after removing from power a lobbyist who had thwarted his presidential ambitions in 2000, to position himself for a second presidential run in 2008. McCain was no innocent bystander.
What is unclear is what and how much he knew. My view is that McCain is an incredibly savvy and ruthless political operator who knew exactly what he was doing and was arrogant enough to think he could get away with it.
Rather shocking for many people, wrongful convictions are becoming more common than not.
I am glad you are asking questions and seeking out the truth. Our country needs more people like you!:)
Please keep in touch — and thank you for your post!
Reply
On October 26, 2011 at 8:52 pm ThePaganTemple said:
TPT-You’re welcome. Actually, I was wanting to do a post about this on my blog. Would you mind if I use your reply in my post? I’m assuming its all right with your attorney for you to talk about it. This is really some interesting stuff here, and could be very important. I for one never questioned Abramoff’s guilt. I just assumed everything I had heard was basically the truth. I was never a McCain fan though, so this doesn’t really surprise me, other than it ever seeing the light of day. If the truth was known, this is probably the tip of the iceberg.
On October 26, 2011 at 11:08 pm susanbradfordpress said:
SB-I would be deilghted if you would! What was uncovered is the tip of the iceberg, as you said. My book, Lynched, which is available on my website (www.susanbradford.org) and on Amazon, does provide a full and detailed account of what actually transpired over the investigation, if you are interested. Look forward to reading your post! Thanks again!:)
There the conversation ends, and I think I should point out that the reason I made the statement that I assumed her attorney was all right with her discussing this is because there is currently a lawsuit in the works, in which Susan Bradford is seeking damages from The Huffington Post. The Post, the lawsuit claims, made an agreement with Bradford to publish her story, and then reneged on the agreement. At some later date, however, they published the story and attributed it to a different author.
I just learned all of this today and am still digging. Sometime tomorrow I'll try to update with some links pertaining to the suit.
For now though I'll just end this by saying that if this is true-and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt Ms Bradford or her story-this could be really big, and a lot of people could go down, not the least of whom is Senator John McCain.
Sometimes you can only push a hipster so far even if you do so under the cover of authority. He might put up with so much, but once you cross that line then by golly it's on. Witness the following scumbag hipster who in the following video declares war on the Oakland Police Department for their recent actions against #OccupyOakland.
He's a former security guard. He has a pair of handcuffs. He knows how to use them. And he's coming for you, Oakland PD. And when he gets there-
Some might remember a while back when Rick Perry was introduced at the Value Voters Summit by a certain Baptist Minister who proclaimed that Mormonism, the religion of Perry rival Mitt Romney, was a cult. It caused a firestorm of controversy. Many conservative bloggers considered it a distraction which the liberal media would gleefully use to tear apart any conceivable hope of Republican unity. Even many of those who support Rick Perry, such as Emperor Misha, quickly jumped to Romney's defense. Such vile anti-Mormon bigotry has no place in electoral politics according to Misha, owner of The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.
Meanwhile, Lemuel Calhoun of Hillbilly White Trash is more or less in agreement to the extent that a person's religion should not be the determining factor as to his or her worth or ability to be president so long as that person follows and adheres to the constitution. However, Lem points out that it is wrong to demand that any other presidential candidate deny that Mormonism is a cult, and goes on to relate some key beliefs of Mormon doctrine. From Lem's post-
Mormons do not believe that God is eternal. They believe that he was born a mortal human in the distant past on a distant planet (a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away) and that he earned his godhood by perfect obedience to the Mormon religion. They believe that upon his death he was judged worthy and elevated to godhood and that he then called out the name of all his wives who then were elevated to the status of goddesshood. That he then formed his own heaven and earth (our earth) out of already existing materials and began populating his heaven by having sex with his goddess wives, who became pregnant and gave birth to babies who had only spirit bodies. The first of his spirit children was Jesus and the second was Lucifer. They call this life in spirit form before getting a body "the preexistence".
Lem goes on to explain that all Mormons who qualify by adherence to the faith will at some point repeat this same process. Having read this, on reflection it gradually dawned on me exactly what Romney's true goals might be.
Mitt Romney is running for President because he figures it will be good practice for the day he becomes-wait for it-
The god of his own planet!
With this in mind, I've done some digging, and come up with what I believe to be an accurate summary of Mitt's future Ten Commandments. They are as follows.
Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me, For I Am The Lord Thy God And Must Come First!
Thou Shalt Have No Graven Images Unless They Are Edgy Or Unless They Make A Statement!
Thou Shalt Not Take The Name Of The Lord Thy God In Vain Unless Thou Art Really Pissed Off! Or It Makes A Salient Point! Or It Sounds Cool Or Funny!
Remember The Sabbath Day To Keep It Holy Unless Something More Important Comes Up!
Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother So Long As They Do Not Become A Burden Unto Thee!
Thou Shalt Not Kill Unless Thou Hast A Darn Good Reason!
Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery Unless Thou Make Darn Sure No One Knows!
Thou Shalt Not Steal Those Things Thou Needs Not!
Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor When Thou Hast Nothing To Hide!
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife, House, Or Possessions Unless Thy Neighbor Is A Prick!
Now that's what I call a caring, devoted God for the ages, always ready to offer absolution, salvation, and most important of all-wiggle room.
Robert Stacy McCain nails it in this post about the current state of sexual education and, if recent events in the New York school system are any indication of what's coming nationally, soon your kids will be nailing it as well. And by "it" I'm not talking about the honor role.
And this is not high school students. This is 11-year-olds. This is New York-
New York City 11-year-olds will soon be learning sex education from workbooks that include instruction on “mutual masturbation, French kissing, oral and anal sex, and “intercourse using a condom and an oil-based lubricant.”
The shocking revelations were uncovered in “recommended” workbooks reviewed by The New York Post. . . .
One of the preferred resources for students is Columbia University’s website, “Go Ask Alice,” the Post reported. That site includes discussions on topics ranging from “doggie-style,” oral sex with braces, fetishes, and “sadomasochistic sex play.”
As for how this story applies nationally, here's the new rules from the Department of Education-
Starting in the spring, the DOE will require one semester of sex ed in sixth or seventh grades and one in ninth or 10th.
It says schools can pick any curriculum but recommends the widely used HealthSmart and Reducing the Risk programs and trains teachers to use them.
By the time most kids graduate, its up in the air whether they can read or write in comprehensive sentences or perform simple math. But at least they'll know how to perform every sex act known to man.
And besides, how in the hell can a young girl have any real kind of self-esteem if she can't suck a mean dick while she's wearing braces?
Here we have an Occupy Wall Street progressive fuckstick interrupting the meal of patrons of a restaurant owned by Danny Meyer, who sits on the board of Sotheby's. In fact, that's the reason for the disruption, which the thug promises will continue until Meyer, and Sotheby's, stops engaging in "union busting".
Frankly, I'd like to see somebody bust this little cocksuckers head open with a baseball bat.
According to Politico that is the subject line in an e-mail sent to Republican New York State Senate leaders concerning a New York State surcharge on the wealthy which was passed in 2009 and is due to expire. The e-mail in question demanded the tax be renewed. The tax levies an extra one percent tax on anyone making over 200,000 dollars a year, and a extra 2.12 percent on those making over 500,000 dollars a year. One part of the e-mail states-
“It’s time to tax the millionaires!” reads the email, according to WTEN in Albany. “If you don’t, I’m going to pay a visit with my carbine to one of those tech companies you are so proud of and shoot every spoiled Ivy League [expletive] I can find.”
To be sure the message was clear, the sender got even more specific-
“How hard is it for us to stake out one of the obvious access roads to some tech company, tail an employee home and toss a liquor bottle full of flaming gasoline through their nice picture window into their cute house,” wrote the author of the email.
The message asserted that the "wealthiest 1 percent" were being assisted in the confiscation of the wealth of the bottom ninety-nine percent, as though the wealthiest Americans were thieves who stole their riches from the poor.
This is presumably an outgrowth of the recent Occupy Wall Street Movement, which has been recently promoted and supported by the media, 9/11 Truthers, Stormfront, the SEIU and other unions, and progressive activists, leftist celebrities, Mahmoud Ahmadinajahd and the Iranian regime, Democratic lawmakers, and, oh yeah, Barak Obama.
New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is on record as joining the Republicans in the state legislature in opposing as extension of the surcharge on wealth. No word as yet as to whether he also received a copy of the e-mail in question.
But there can be no doubt that these people are dangerous, and need to be dealt with in a way that is direct and, let's just say, definitive.
