I won't be posting for a while, because my computer crashed on me. I think its finished, but if not, it will still take some time to get it repaired, or to get a new one. I have a major auto repair coming up that must come first, and its a doozy too. I'm lucky its in good enough shape for me to be able to drive up here to my local library and post this. I'll be checking in maybe once or twice a week, but I won't be posting to nearly as great an extent as usual, nor will I be commenting very much on any of your blogs for some time to come.
Anyway, for those of you who follow Kentucky politics, particularly those who are interested in the up-coming Senate race between Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jeff Conway, be aware that this coming weekend is the annual Fancy Farm Picnic in Western Kentucky, which traditionally kicks off the start of the Kentucky political season.
I won't be attending, but I'll be keeping my ear to the ground for any interesting information that comes out and will try to post my thoughts on the festivities sometime next week, if at all possible. This is an important race, because its by no means in the bag for Paul, whose libertarian ideology trumped his common sense and caused him to stumble coming out of the starting gate. If Conway pulls it out, it might well be the one single pick up for the Democrats in the Senate. It won't be that easy though, because Conway has still failed to pick up an endorsement from former Democrat primary rival Daniel Mongiardo. This will be what I will be looking for from Fancy Farm. If Mongiardo appears and makes a surprise endorsement, it oould be ther shot in the arm needed for Conway to win Eastern Kentucky, and Western Kentucky as well.
If Mongiardo doesn't endosre Conway, then Paul will more than likely win.
I would love to go to the Fancy Farm Picnic, not just for the political theater, but for the overall event. But that's just not a realistic part of my planned schedule. I'm doing good to be able to have a good Lughnasadh.
For now, I'll just wish all a Blessed Lughnasadh. Even if you're not a pagan, get out and about and try to enjoy nature's beauty and bounty. Try to see the ghod things in lifel. It will help you think right.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
What Sharron Angle REALLY Said About The 2nd Amendment
Here is the statement by the Nevada Republican Senate candidate, Sharron Angle, whom her opponent, Democratic incumbent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, claims is "out of the mainstream"-
‘Our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason, and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government,’ Angle told conservative talk show host Lars Larson in January. ‘In fact, Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that’s not where we’re going, but you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.’
Out of the mainstream? This would come as shocking news to the Founding Fathers, compared to many of whom-Jefferson for one-Angle would appear quite moderate.
I know its fashionable nowadays for Democrats to want to focus on the "regulation" and "militia" clause of the 2nd Amendment, but the fact is, if you are a law-abiding citizen of the United States, you are automatically a member of that state militia, according to the constitution, and you are duty bound to supply your own weapons, including standard rifles and/or sidearms-in other words, handguns. In order for you to have them at the ready, you must do just that-have them where they are immediately available at a moments notice. That would be your home, place of business, etc.
What is the reason for this? Let's put it this way-it doesn't have a damn thing to do with duck hunting. We fought a rebellion against the British for a reason. Actually, for quite a number of reasons. We won, and in our constitution, the urge for us and our elected representatives (you know, what Democrats and Liberals call "leaders")to guard against "all enemies, foreign and domestic" actually means something. In other words, exactly what it says.
If our elected politicians put themselves in the position where they can legitimately be viewed as a domestic enemy of the people, then up to a point, yes, that is the fault of the people who voted for them, but more to the point, the onus is on them, once they are in office, to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States. If they fall short of their duties, and they become tyrants along the lines of King George and the old British Empire-or worse-then they have only themselves to blame for the potential consequences.
I don't know everything about Sharron Angle. Perhaps in some regards, she is as radical as her opponents claim she is, although I tend to think that what you are hearing about are examples of Democrats twisting words and taking them out of context. For example, I don't believe for one minute that Sharron Angle wants to impose a new kind of Prohibition on alcohol.
I should also point out that, as someone recently told me, the NRA is supporting Reid, who has actually prevented gun control legislation from reaching the floor of the Senate. This is something that neither Dick Durbin nor Charles Schumer would be likely to do should Harry Reid lose his re=election bid, and yet the Democrats manage to maintain their majority status in the Senate.
This is all something that is worthy of consideration. But one thing is a definite fact. Sharron Angle's views on the 2nd Amendment might be, in our modern era, "out of the mainstream". If so, that's a shame, because her views on the 2nd Amendment are exactly what the founding fathers intended.
‘Our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason, and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government,’ Angle told conservative talk show host Lars Larson in January. ‘In fact, Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that’s not where we’re going, but you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.’
Out of the mainstream? This would come as shocking news to the Founding Fathers, compared to many of whom-Jefferson for one-Angle would appear quite moderate.
I know its fashionable nowadays for Democrats to want to focus on the "regulation" and "militia" clause of the 2nd Amendment, but the fact is, if you are a law-abiding citizen of the United States, you are automatically a member of that state militia, according to the constitution, and you are duty bound to supply your own weapons, including standard rifles and/or sidearms-in other words, handguns. In order for you to have them at the ready, you must do just that-have them where they are immediately available at a moments notice. That would be your home, place of business, etc.
What is the reason for this? Let's put it this way-it doesn't have a damn thing to do with duck hunting. We fought a rebellion against the British for a reason. Actually, for quite a number of reasons. We won, and in our constitution, the urge for us and our elected representatives (you know, what Democrats and Liberals call "leaders")to guard against "all enemies, foreign and domestic" actually means something. In other words, exactly what it says.
If our elected politicians put themselves in the position where they can legitimately be viewed as a domestic enemy of the people, then up to a point, yes, that is the fault of the people who voted for them, but more to the point, the onus is on them, once they are in office, to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States. If they fall short of their duties, and they become tyrants along the lines of King George and the old British Empire-or worse-then they have only themselves to blame for the potential consequences.
I don't know everything about Sharron Angle. Perhaps in some regards, she is as radical as her opponents claim she is, although I tend to think that what you are hearing about are examples of Democrats twisting words and taking them out of context. For example, I don't believe for one minute that Sharron Angle wants to impose a new kind of Prohibition on alcohol.
I should also point out that, as someone recently told me, the NRA is supporting Reid, who has actually prevented gun control legislation from reaching the floor of the Senate. This is something that neither Dick Durbin nor Charles Schumer would be likely to do should Harry Reid lose his re=election bid, and yet the Democrats manage to maintain their majority status in the Senate.
This is all something that is worthy of consideration. But one thing is a definite fact. Sharron Angle's views on the 2nd Amendment might be, in our modern era, "out of the mainstream". If so, that's a shame, because her views on the 2nd Amendment are exactly what the founding fathers intended.
Desperation
The Democrats have cooked up a new strategy, if you want to dignify it with that term, that seems like its based on two-thirds perspiration and one third desperation. If they would wipe the sweat out of their eyes, they might see that the Tea Party is more popular with more people than either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Once they saw that clearly, they might realize it might not be the best idea in the world to pursue a strategy of identifying the Tea Party as part and parcel of the Republican Party. I mean, most of the people who are planning to vote are, judging by most polls, planning to vote Republican anyway. All this tactic will accomplish is allow more people to vote Republican without holding their noses. The ones that will still hold their noses and vote will possibly be slightly disappointed in the Tea Party, or maybe not-they'll still vote GOP, just not because they love the party.
The real target of this strategy independent voters, and the goal is not to convince them to vote Democratic. It's to make them want to stay home. That just goes to show you that Democrats are expecting a shellacking at the polls this November.
It's going to take more than pointing to a few questionable statements from candidates like Sharon Angle and Rand Paul to tar the GOP, or for that matter the Tea Party, with the same broad brush. But the Democrats are welcome to try anyway. Hopefully they will only make matters worse for them.
The real target of this strategy independent voters, and the goal is not to convince them to vote Democratic. It's to make them want to stay home. That just goes to show you that Democrats are expecting a shellacking at the polls this November.
It's going to take more than pointing to a few questionable statements from candidates like Sharon Angle and Rand Paul to tar the GOP, or for that matter the Tea Party, with the same broad brush. But the Democrats are welcome to try anyway. Hopefully they will only make matters worse for them.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Obama Agenda
Don't believe the lies. Just because Obama is not going to attend the Boy Scouts 100th anniversary Jamboree doesn't mean he is dissing the Scouts. He has a speech on the economy to give before he appears on The View, but in the meantime, he will be addressing the Scouts via teleconference.
In fact, he's already met with the Scouts. Here's a picture of the meeting that occurred earlier this year.
I guess you know what this means, don't you? Don't look now, but here comes another Cabinet Department.
In fact, he's already met with the Scouts. Here's a picture of the meeting that occurred earlier this year.
I guess you know what this means, don't you? Don't look now, but here comes another Cabinet Department.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A Dish Of Excrement Even JournoList Wouldn't Touch
The JournoList scandal is still unfolding even as we speak, and who knows what revelations are yet ahead. The Daily Caller, which broke this story, is doing Yeoman's work putting all the pieces together, and you can keep abreast of all past and future developments here.
Not all the journalists on JournoList was involved with the attempt to subvert the electoral process in order to aid in the election of their favored candidate, Barak Hussein Obama. They considered it unethical. Many other mainstream journalists and commentators feel the same, and the ones who were involved in the controversy have been greatly criticized. One of their critics has been The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, who recently blogged about it at The Daily Dish.
Unfortunately, in Sullivan's case, the criticism isn't based on the ethics of the endeavor. He is pissed off because they didn't go far enough. He is incensed, in fact, that they did not devote any time to the Sarah-Trig Palin controversy. Oh, they discussed it at some length. What has Sullivan so angry is they seem to at least have had enough sense to know such dirty, underhanded tactics might actually have backfired on them-or more importantly, on Obama.
Andrew Sullivan's obsession with the birth of Trig Palin is obviously based on Palin's politics. She has stated her opposition to gay marriage for one thing, and she has a long-standing affiliation with an evangelical, apostolic Christian Church. She is obviously a social conservative. In Sullivan's world view, this leaves her automatically unfit and unqualified for any high office, especially a high national office, and most especially the Presidency. Had she been elected Vice-President, she would only be a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land, the most powerful position in the world. Sullivan could not abide by that, so he went to work, and promptly rolled in the gutter. The stench of that experience is still with him, and he can't seem to shake it. But then, he doesn't want to. He is now securely on the same level as the Alaskan blogger Gryphen, who seems to have been the originator of the story of how Palin's oldest daughter, presumably, gave birth to Trig, whereupon Sarah, for some inexplicable reason, claimed him as her own. This was done apparently to avoid the scandal of a daughter who had given birth to one illegitimate child, giving birth to yet another illegitimate child, this one afflicted with Down's Syndrome.
Since there might be a time disparity involved in the two births, it was soon posited that Trig may have been premature. Also, Sarah didn't look pregnant enough at seven months, and besides, what kind of woman would get on a plane while pregnant and close to going into labor. Then there were the ears. Trigs ears were gnarled in one old photo, but seem to have underwent a drastic, noticeable improvement in later photos. Something strange is going on here. Maybe there have actually been two, or three Trigs.
Whatever the case, Sarah Palin could not have given birth to the child, so somebody else must have. If not the oldest daughter, then maybe the middle one. But since Palin seems unconcerned enough about the other illegitimate child that she didn't try to hide its birth to her unwed daughter, why would she go out of her way to hide this one by claiming maternity of the child when she obviously is not and could not be the mother?
What this is all leading up to is of course blatantly obvious, and in fact it has even been stated, albeit in the closed circles of Gryphen's blog. Palin's husband is the father of Trig-by his own daughter. They just don't know which one yet. Once they figure that out, then they can go on from there to determine how culpable Palin was. When did she learn the truth about the pregnancy, and did she know about the alleged relationship of father to daughter. Was it a one time thing, the act of a drunken Todd acting out in frustration after a period of marital discord, or was it an on-going act. And was Sarah a willing enabler of all this?
These are the kinds of people who swim in the cesspool of the American political left. This is the kind of thing they dream up. They will go to any lengths to damage, and hopefully destroy, a political opponent.
It's nothing new. It's been on-going since the earliest days of the Republic, with both sides aligned with their advocates among the special interest groups, and among the news professionals. Adams, Hamilton, Burr, and Jefferson all had their supporters amongst the press who doled out propaganda. But at least then, there were no pretenses as to objectivity. We've almost come full circle, with only the slightest facades of that pretension of objectivity, with the lions share of the support of "objective" journalists going to the left.
The JournoList people excoriated George Stephanopolis for daring to question Obama, during the debates, for his associations with the Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers. It should be pointed out of course that Stephanopolis worked in the Clinton White House, and may not have been entirely objective himself during the primary contest between Obama and Clinton.
But the JournoList members had no such compunctions about the unfair allegations against Palin-except in this one brief instance, where even the people who made up JournoList knew that such allegations might result in a popular uprising at the polls in favor of the GOP ticket. In other words, the concerns were not ethical, but pragmatic ones.
On most other given days, the journalistic profession in general comprises the largest collection of garbage, and in some cases raw sewage in the entirety of the public sphere.
Sometimes one can find Andrew Sullivan clawing his way to the top of the heap. But at other times, he is to be found happily swimming at the bottom of the cesspool.
Hat Tip to Jenn Q Pulic-on Twitter
Not all the journalists on JournoList was involved with the attempt to subvert the electoral process in order to aid in the election of their favored candidate, Barak Hussein Obama. They considered it unethical. Many other mainstream journalists and commentators feel the same, and the ones who were involved in the controversy have been greatly criticized. One of their critics has been The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, who recently blogged about it at The Daily Dish.
Unfortunately, in Sullivan's case, the criticism isn't based on the ethics of the endeavor. He is pissed off because they didn't go far enough. He is incensed, in fact, that they did not devote any time to the Sarah-Trig Palin controversy. Oh, they discussed it at some length. What has Sullivan so angry is they seem to at least have had enough sense to know such dirty, underhanded tactics might actually have backfired on them-or more importantly, on Obama.
Andrew Sullivan's obsession with the birth of Trig Palin is obviously based on Palin's politics. She has stated her opposition to gay marriage for one thing, and she has a long-standing affiliation with an evangelical, apostolic Christian Church. She is obviously a social conservative. In Sullivan's world view, this leaves her automatically unfit and unqualified for any high office, especially a high national office, and most especially the Presidency. Had she been elected Vice-President, she would only be a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land, the most powerful position in the world. Sullivan could not abide by that, so he went to work, and promptly rolled in the gutter. The stench of that experience is still with him, and he can't seem to shake it. But then, he doesn't want to. He is now securely on the same level as the Alaskan blogger Gryphen, who seems to have been the originator of the story of how Palin's oldest daughter, presumably, gave birth to Trig, whereupon Sarah, for some inexplicable reason, claimed him as her own. This was done apparently to avoid the scandal of a daughter who had given birth to one illegitimate child, giving birth to yet another illegitimate child, this one afflicted with Down's Syndrome.
Since there might be a time disparity involved in the two births, it was soon posited that Trig may have been premature. Also, Sarah didn't look pregnant enough at seven months, and besides, what kind of woman would get on a plane while pregnant and close to going into labor. Then there were the ears. Trigs ears were gnarled in one old photo, but seem to have underwent a drastic, noticeable improvement in later photos. Something strange is going on here. Maybe there have actually been two, or three Trigs.
Whatever the case, Sarah Palin could not have given birth to the child, so somebody else must have. If not the oldest daughter, then maybe the middle one. But since Palin seems unconcerned enough about the other illegitimate child that she didn't try to hide its birth to her unwed daughter, why would she go out of her way to hide this one by claiming maternity of the child when she obviously is not and could not be the mother?
What this is all leading up to is of course blatantly obvious, and in fact it has even been stated, albeit in the closed circles of Gryphen's blog. Palin's husband is the father of Trig-by his own daughter. They just don't know which one yet. Once they figure that out, then they can go on from there to determine how culpable Palin was. When did she learn the truth about the pregnancy, and did she know about the alleged relationship of father to daughter. Was it a one time thing, the act of a drunken Todd acting out in frustration after a period of marital discord, or was it an on-going act. And was Sarah a willing enabler of all this?
These are the kinds of people who swim in the cesspool of the American political left. This is the kind of thing they dream up. They will go to any lengths to damage, and hopefully destroy, a political opponent.
It's nothing new. It's been on-going since the earliest days of the Republic, with both sides aligned with their advocates among the special interest groups, and among the news professionals. Adams, Hamilton, Burr, and Jefferson all had their supporters amongst the press who doled out propaganda. But at least then, there were no pretenses as to objectivity. We've almost come full circle, with only the slightest facades of that pretension of objectivity, with the lions share of the support of "objective" journalists going to the left.
The JournoList people excoriated George Stephanopolis for daring to question Obama, during the debates, for his associations with the Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers. It should be pointed out of course that Stephanopolis worked in the Clinton White House, and may not have been entirely objective himself during the primary contest between Obama and Clinton.
But the JournoList members had no such compunctions about the unfair allegations against Palin-except in this one brief instance, where even the people who made up JournoList knew that such allegations might result in a popular uprising at the polls in favor of the GOP ticket. In other words, the concerns were not ethical, but pragmatic ones.
On most other given days, the journalistic profession in general comprises the largest collection of garbage, and in some cases raw sewage in the entirety of the public sphere.
Sometimes one can find Andrew Sullivan clawing his way to the top of the heap. But at other times, he is to be found happily swimming at the bottom of the cesspool.
Hat Tip to Jenn Q Pulic-on Twitter
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Beakerkin Group And Our Anti-Yeagleyist Agenda
We were hoping to keep it a secret for a while longer, but the cat's out of the bag, so it looks like we have no other choice-The Beakerkin Group is henceforth going public. I guess its only right. We have worked behind the scenes for years now in our attempts to subvert the Constitution of the United States in order to bring about an irrevocable end to, and total destruction of, the white race. In the past, we have sought to achieve our goal in this regard by way of the promotion of the process of miscegenation. We have generally used the media as our main tool in this endeavor, but we have also used political advocacy as well.
We have done this in the background of course, trying to stay hidden, keeping our true natures concealed while we publicly have always adopted a hypocritical persona of supposed adherence to the values of conservatism, liberty, and the constitution. Ours is, after all, a secret society, and as such, our public faces have concealed a diabolical set of priorities revolving around eventual world domination.
You see, we understand full well that a mixed race of humans would be intellectually inferior, and easy to lead and control. We are also well aware that blacks in particular have a savage nature, being more or less straight out of the jungle. They are sexual beasts, whom most white women secretly desire to be ravaged by. Over time, this would be an important tool by which our eventual goal of a muddled and mixed race of humans would be achieved. It would by no means be our only strategy. There would be others, such as encouragement of the crushing burden of white guilt and liberal angst. We have also promoted acceptance of homosexuality, abortion, lax moral living in a variety of ways, such as drug and alcohol abuse, all in an attempt to undermine the family structure of society and the underpinnings of the Judaeo-Christian values that have been the bedrock of its strength.
Our most deliciously evil tactic, however, has been in persuading gullible Americans that competent consenting adults have the right to engage in romantic, sexual, and marital relationships with whomever they want so long as it is by mutual consent. Some of the biggest laughs we get when we are having our secret meetings is when we see pictures and videos of mixed race couples, obviously deceived by our propaganda. And when we see the mixed race product of one of these unions, we laugh and howl with demonic glee.
Naturally, we could not be open about such beliefs, about our true feelings and actual agenda. It cannot be stressed too often, we are-or we were-a secret cabal bent on world domination. But then it happened-Dr. David Yeagley exposed The Beakerkin Group.
I'm glad its over. I can breathe a sigh of relief now. In a way, I owe Doctor David Yeagley a debt of gratitude for revealing our secret, nefarious agenda to none other than Monica Crowley. I guess I went a little too far. I had assumed that Ms. Crowley would be easy to subvert to our cause, so I have been working on her. Unfortunately, Yeagley seems to have targeted her for conversion to his own philosophy, to his devotion to what he and his followers, the Yeagleyists, would tell you are the truly conservative American values of segregation and racial purity.
I overreacted to his propaganda, and in so warning the other denizens of Ms Crowley's blog as to his intentions, by trying to play off their sense of white guilt as I have so often successfully done with countless other naive and gullible white Americans, I inadvertently enabled Yeagley to expose our existence, and our agenda.
But while this battle has been lost, the war is by no means over. In fact, The Beakerkin Group will emerge from this defeat stronger than ever. Now, we have no reason to hide, and can openly and forthrightly stand against the Yeagleyist forces wherever we might find them.
No matter how long it takes, we will stand forever strong against Yeagley. And if he dares use his rights of free speech to oppose our goals of unlimited racial mixing and hybridization of the human species, we will do everything within our power to deny him his rights of freedom of speech and expression, and the rights of others to free association with him. We will do this by way of the deceitful, hateful, insidious and diabolical tactic known as "disagreement".
The Beakerkin Group will-we must-prevail.
Our new slogan must now be-
ONWARD, TO A MULTI-CULTURAL, MIXED RACE AMERICA!
I'm just glad now we can be open, and that the Beakerkin Group can now be made known to all-including Beakerkin.
We have done this in the background of course, trying to stay hidden, keeping our true natures concealed while we publicly have always adopted a hypocritical persona of supposed adherence to the values of conservatism, liberty, and the constitution. Ours is, after all, a secret society, and as such, our public faces have concealed a diabolical set of priorities revolving around eventual world domination.
You see, we understand full well that a mixed race of humans would be intellectually inferior, and easy to lead and control. We are also well aware that blacks in particular have a savage nature, being more or less straight out of the jungle. They are sexual beasts, whom most white women secretly desire to be ravaged by. Over time, this would be an important tool by which our eventual goal of a muddled and mixed race of humans would be achieved. It would by no means be our only strategy. There would be others, such as encouragement of the crushing burden of white guilt and liberal angst. We have also promoted acceptance of homosexuality, abortion, lax moral living in a variety of ways, such as drug and alcohol abuse, all in an attempt to undermine the family structure of society and the underpinnings of the Judaeo-Christian values that have been the bedrock of its strength.
Our most deliciously evil tactic, however, has been in persuading gullible Americans that competent consenting adults have the right to engage in romantic, sexual, and marital relationships with whomever they want so long as it is by mutual consent. Some of the biggest laughs we get when we are having our secret meetings is when we see pictures and videos of mixed race couples, obviously deceived by our propaganda. And when we see the mixed race product of one of these unions, we laugh and howl with demonic glee.
Naturally, we could not be open about such beliefs, about our true feelings and actual agenda. It cannot be stressed too often, we are-or we were-a secret cabal bent on world domination. But then it happened-Dr. David Yeagley exposed The Beakerkin Group.
I'm glad its over. I can breathe a sigh of relief now. In a way, I owe Doctor David Yeagley a debt of gratitude for revealing our secret, nefarious agenda to none other than Monica Crowley. I guess I went a little too far. I had assumed that Ms. Crowley would be easy to subvert to our cause, so I have been working on her. Unfortunately, Yeagley seems to have targeted her for conversion to his own philosophy, to his devotion to what he and his followers, the Yeagleyists, would tell you are the truly conservative American values of segregation and racial purity.
I overreacted to his propaganda, and in so warning the other denizens of Ms Crowley's blog as to his intentions, by trying to play off their sense of white guilt as I have so often successfully done with countless other naive and gullible white Americans, I inadvertently enabled Yeagley to expose our existence, and our agenda.
But while this battle has been lost, the war is by no means over. In fact, The Beakerkin Group will emerge from this defeat stronger than ever. Now, we have no reason to hide, and can openly and forthrightly stand against the Yeagleyist forces wherever we might find them.
No matter how long it takes, we will stand forever strong against Yeagley. And if he dares use his rights of free speech to oppose our goals of unlimited racial mixing and hybridization of the human species, we will do everything within our power to deny him his rights of freedom of speech and expression, and the rights of others to free association with him. We will do this by way of the deceitful, hateful, insidious and diabolical tactic known as "disagreement".
The Beakerkin Group will-we must-prevail.
Our new slogan must now be-
ONWARD, TO A MULTI-CULTURAL, MIXED RACE AMERICA!
I'm just glad now we can be open, and that the Beakerkin Group can now be made known to all-including Beakerkin.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Homespun Humor Of Fred Thompson-Via Twitter
If I didn't know better-and really, I don't-I would swear Fred Thompson is toying with the idea of making another run for the Presidency, or possibly entering the political sphere in a different capacity. If not, he must just be bored, or maybe angry, and he's using Twitter as a release. But his tweets aren't boring, and they really don't come across as angry in a petulant, hateful kind of way-but Thompson sure does have a gift for the sarcastic jibe. Most politicians that Twitter put out kind of run-of-the-mill observations, or announcements of appearances, sometimes you'll get a link to a news story, etc. In other words, to most politicians, Twitter is a tool.
Fred Thompson, by contrast, looks as though he's actually having fun with Twitter.
Some examples-
Obama's recovery plan: taking money from people who create jobs, then giving it to people who can't find work.
Geithner: economic crisis due to people "living beyond their means". Yup, that's why those people won't get re-elected in 2010.
Biden: Pelosi is "the mother of health care". If that's true, then we need to report her to Child Protective Services.
Black USDA employee fired for not helping white farmer. Outrageous! All colors deserve equal level of surly, resentful govt help
Pelosi: Bush tax cuts "did not create jobs". Sure. Low unemployment rate was from all those temporary census workers Bush hired
Geithner: "every business better off now than 18 months ago." Wonder if that includes the ones that aren't in business any more?
Rangel charged w/ violating House ethics rules. No doubt accusing him of not having enough violations to meet his quota.
Greens say spill clean-up efforts hurt environment. Guys, go holler that in front of a windmill & make some clean energy
Navy uses laser to shoot down drone. Obama to only authorize its use on terrorists for corrective eye surgery.
Biden fined $219K for 2008 campaign violations. He probably figures it's worth that much just to not be President right now.
Gingrich: Obama like a "teenager with a credit card". Yup. And the 2010 elections are going to be like a big pair of scissors
Russia to spend $800M on new space center. Maybe we should sell them Cape Kennedy. Not like Obama plans to use it for anything
3.6-magnitude earthquake hit DC. President Obama said it was due to 8 years of Bush failing to regulate plate tectonics
Obama: fin ref bill would end "era of irresponsibility". Huh... I didn't know it moved election day up to July
Poll: 73 % oppose Obama's offshore drilling ban. Other 27% think oil should only come from quart bottles marked Quaker State.
Axelrod: Medicare Czar "not coming to implement the British system". Good. Obama would look silly wearing a dress and a crown.
Biden to visit flood damage in TN. I'll bet the first thing he says is "great clean-up job. I don't see a single tar ball!"
Cuomo: Ground Zero mosque opponents Islamophobic. Yeah, should be grateful. If not for radical Islam there'd BE no Ground Zero.
Hezbollah: CNN firing editor for terrorist-praising is "intellectual terrorism". Guess he's offended by the "intellectual" part
There's much more, some of it going back some time before I discovered he even had a Twitter account. One things for sure, if Thompson isn't planning on returning to politics, he would sure make one hell of a great speech writer
Fred Thompson, by contrast, looks as though he's actually having fun with Twitter.
Some examples-
Obama's recovery plan: taking money from people who create jobs, then giving it to people who can't find work.
Geithner: economic crisis due to people "living beyond their means". Yup, that's why those people won't get re-elected in 2010.
Biden: Pelosi is "the mother of health care". If that's true, then we need to report her to Child Protective Services.
Black USDA employee fired for not helping white farmer. Outrageous! All colors deserve equal level of surly, resentful govt help
Pelosi: Bush tax cuts "did not create jobs". Sure. Low unemployment rate was from all those temporary census workers Bush hired
Geithner: "every business better off now than 18 months ago." Wonder if that includes the ones that aren't in business any more?
Rangel charged w/ violating House ethics rules. No doubt accusing him of not having enough violations to meet his quota.
Greens say spill clean-up efforts hurt environment. Guys, go holler that in front of a windmill & make some clean energy
Navy uses laser to shoot down drone. Obama to only authorize its use on terrorists for corrective eye surgery.
Biden fined $219K for 2008 campaign violations. He probably figures it's worth that much just to not be President right now.
Gingrich: Obama like a "teenager with a credit card". Yup. And the 2010 elections are going to be like a big pair of scissors
Russia to spend $800M on new space center. Maybe we should sell them Cape Kennedy. Not like Obama plans to use it for anything
3.6-magnitude earthquake hit DC. President Obama said it was due to 8 years of Bush failing to regulate plate tectonics
Obama: fin ref bill would end "era of irresponsibility". Huh... I didn't know it moved election day up to July
Poll: 73 % oppose Obama's offshore drilling ban. Other 27% think oil should only come from quart bottles marked Quaker State.
Axelrod: Medicare Czar "not coming to implement the British system". Good. Obama would look silly wearing a dress and a crown.
Biden to visit flood damage in TN. I'll bet the first thing he says is "great clean-up job. I don't see a single tar ball!"
Cuomo: Ground Zero mosque opponents Islamophobic. Yeah, should be grateful. If not for radical Islam there'd BE no Ground Zero.
Hezbollah: CNN firing editor for terrorist-praising is "intellectual terrorism". Guess he's offended by the "intellectual" part
There's much more, some of it going back some time before I discovered he even had a Twitter account. One things for sure, if Thompson isn't planning on returning to politics, he would sure make one hell of a great speech writer
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fair Game
The Guardian has a story of Arab-Jewish relations that has a bit of a twist. An Israeli Jewish woman filed charges against a Palestinian Arab of East Jerusalem, who seduced her after claiming that he, too, was a Jew.
I hope that was some good pussy, because he's been sentenced to eighteen months in jail for rape by deception. Originally he was charged with rape by coercion and indecent assault, but the charges were downgraded in the course of a plea bargain.
According to the judge who tried the case, he has an obligation to protect the innocent from coercion by such smooth talking rakes, implying that he hoped to send a message that such behavior would not be tolerated or greeted with a mere slap on the wrist.
A liberal Jewish attorney, however, pondered whether the judge would have levied such a harsh sentence had the woman been an Arab and the offending male a Jew.
I'm going to be criticized by certain people no matter what I say. I will be accused of Islamophobia or sexism, one of the two, so I might as well opt for both.
On the one hand, I have to point out that, in the example given by the liberal attorney, were this to happen in an Arab or Muslim country, I can assure him the offending Jewish male would not only be sent to prison, he would be there for the rest of his life, which would be a brief one. He would soon be executed and, by the way, so would the Arab or Muslim woman.
Having said that, now allow me to doff my Islamophobic hat and don my sexist one. This woman is an obvious slut who will seemingly sleep with any male she finds attractive or in some manner desirable, provided he tells her what she wants to hear. She further displays a remarkable lack of dignity and self-respect by advertising her whorish behavior in public by filing a criminal charge.
This could set a dangerous precedent anywhere it might be adopted. Like it or not, the average male has within his DNA the genetic coding of the hunter-gatherer. In this particular case, the man in question didn't have to do a lot of hunting, she just lay down and he gathered the goods. No, its not admirable behavior, but it is entirely human. Any time a woman is faced with such potential seduction, she owes it to herself to take the time to consider the prospect that all people, male and female, present themselves with a public face designed to help them best achieve their goals, however worthy or unworthy they might be.
The onus is on her to take the time to check out the man's story. Bear in mind, this incident took place over the course of one day-the day she met him in downtown Jerusalem, where he worked as a construction worker and told her he was a Jew who was interested in a serious, long-term relationship. They went that day to the nearest hotel.
A cruel person would assert that she got exactly what she deserved-so I will assert just that. A smart person would learn from the experience and consider that maybe, just maybe, she should be a little more careful about spreading her legs for any good looking guy with a gift for gab.
Maybe the judge of this case should consider that as well, as this does not seem to me to be a case fit for any court docket anywhere. If a pregnancy resulted, or the man made unwarranted promises of marriage, or acted in such a way that proved an intent to humiliate (and no doubt he bragged to all his friends of his conquest of a "Jewish slut", but that's beside the point), then the woman might have a case, depending on the circumstances as demonstrated and proven. But so far as I know, none of that transpired. He didn't even promise her a long-term relationship. He merely claimed he was interested in one.
This is nothing but the case of a woman who is far too easy to fuck, and a man who fucked her. End of story.
Hat tip to Sonia Belle, who is having one hell of a hard time believing me when I tell her, with all the sincerity I can muster, that I, too, am a lesbian.
I hope that was some good pussy, because he's been sentenced to eighteen months in jail for rape by deception. Originally he was charged with rape by coercion and indecent assault, but the charges were downgraded in the course of a plea bargain.
According to the judge who tried the case, he has an obligation to protect the innocent from coercion by such smooth talking rakes, implying that he hoped to send a message that such behavior would not be tolerated or greeted with a mere slap on the wrist.
A liberal Jewish attorney, however, pondered whether the judge would have levied such a harsh sentence had the woman been an Arab and the offending male a Jew.
I'm going to be criticized by certain people no matter what I say. I will be accused of Islamophobia or sexism, one of the two, so I might as well opt for both.
On the one hand, I have to point out that, in the example given by the liberal attorney, were this to happen in an Arab or Muslim country, I can assure him the offending Jewish male would not only be sent to prison, he would be there for the rest of his life, which would be a brief one. He would soon be executed and, by the way, so would the Arab or Muslim woman.
Having said that, now allow me to doff my Islamophobic hat and don my sexist one. This woman is an obvious slut who will seemingly sleep with any male she finds attractive or in some manner desirable, provided he tells her what she wants to hear. She further displays a remarkable lack of dignity and self-respect by advertising her whorish behavior in public by filing a criminal charge.
This could set a dangerous precedent anywhere it might be adopted. Like it or not, the average male has within his DNA the genetic coding of the hunter-gatherer. In this particular case, the man in question didn't have to do a lot of hunting, she just lay down and he gathered the goods. No, its not admirable behavior, but it is entirely human. Any time a woman is faced with such potential seduction, she owes it to herself to take the time to consider the prospect that all people, male and female, present themselves with a public face designed to help them best achieve their goals, however worthy or unworthy they might be.
The onus is on her to take the time to check out the man's story. Bear in mind, this incident took place over the course of one day-the day she met him in downtown Jerusalem, where he worked as a construction worker and told her he was a Jew who was interested in a serious, long-term relationship. They went that day to the nearest hotel.
A cruel person would assert that she got exactly what she deserved-so I will assert just that. A smart person would learn from the experience and consider that maybe, just maybe, she should be a little more careful about spreading her legs for any good looking guy with a gift for gab.
Maybe the judge of this case should consider that as well, as this does not seem to me to be a case fit for any court docket anywhere. If a pregnancy resulted, or the man made unwarranted promises of marriage, or acted in such a way that proved an intent to humiliate (and no doubt he bragged to all his friends of his conquest of a "Jewish slut", but that's beside the point), then the woman might have a case, depending on the circumstances as demonstrated and proven. But so far as I know, none of that transpired. He didn't even promise her a long-term relationship. He merely claimed he was interested in one.
This is nothing but the case of a woman who is far too easy to fuck, and a man who fucked her. End of story.
Hat tip to Sonia Belle, who is having one hell of a hard time believing me when I tell her, with all the sincerity I can muster, that I, too, am a lesbian.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Avengers Assembe!
It seems that every time you turn around there's a Comic-Con going on somewhere, but the latest one produced a bit of news that will have millions of comics fan boys the world over masturbating frantically as they gaze at their newest Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man poster.
Are you ready? Joss Whedon is set to direct the up-coming Avengers movie. Who said so? Why, Joss himself, in what seems to be a bit of a high pressure power play. He's calling dibs on the project, even though Marvel Studios has yet to issue a press release.
I think Whedon's talents are wasted here, frankly, but I can understand how this might be a dream job for Joss. Although I never bothered with Buffy, Angel, or Firefly, I did enjoy Dollhouse to the extent it made me sorry that I never bothered to tune in to these earlier offerings. But the Avengers? Unfortunately, Whedon is a little bit too suited for the project.
One of the things about Dollhouse that I disliked, that drove me nuts about it-in fact it was the only thing that marred what was otherwise a great series-is Joss's penchant to have his characters engage in snappy repartee'-whilst in the midst of combat. Can you spell C-O-R-N-Y? We're talking Adam West and Burt Ward Batman and Robin style camp. It ruined some episodes of Firefly as much as George Harrison Hindu mysticism songs ruined some Beatles albums for many people. You still loved the albums, you just wished you could forget about that annoying sitar and whiny vocal.
Well, maybe Joss will reign in that tendency in the Avengers, but I wouldn't count on it. He is just now in the process of outlining the script. He claims he sees the Avengers as a kind of family. He then goes on to explain that to him, a family is made up of people that probably shouldn't be together under the same roof.
Such is extent of Whedon's bona-fides with the realm of nerddom, he might be the only one that can hold that comics fan world together long enough to pull in big numbers for this probably ill-advised venture. But if anyone can pull it off, he can.
Whedon's challenge will be to produce a script and direct it in such a way as to maintain an expanded audience over the course of weeks, while hoping for a big enough opening weekend to more than offset any disappointing follow-up.
Big, muscular men in tight-fitting costumes are sure-fire crowd pleasers on any day, so there's already a ready-made base audience of comic books fans. If they pick the right actors, they might pull in a respectable number of female viewers as well.
Of course, I'll be going to see The Wasp.
Are you ready? Joss Whedon is set to direct the up-coming Avengers movie. Who said so? Why, Joss himself, in what seems to be a bit of a high pressure power play. He's calling dibs on the project, even though Marvel Studios has yet to issue a press release.
I think Whedon's talents are wasted here, frankly, but I can understand how this might be a dream job for Joss. Although I never bothered with Buffy, Angel, or Firefly, I did enjoy Dollhouse to the extent it made me sorry that I never bothered to tune in to these earlier offerings. But the Avengers? Unfortunately, Whedon is a little bit too suited for the project.
One of the things about Dollhouse that I disliked, that drove me nuts about it-in fact it was the only thing that marred what was otherwise a great series-is Joss's penchant to have his characters engage in snappy repartee'-whilst in the midst of combat. Can you spell C-O-R-N-Y? We're talking Adam West and Burt Ward Batman and Robin style camp. It ruined some episodes of Firefly as much as George Harrison Hindu mysticism songs ruined some Beatles albums for many people. You still loved the albums, you just wished you could forget about that annoying sitar and whiny vocal.
Well, maybe Joss will reign in that tendency in the Avengers, but I wouldn't count on it. He is just now in the process of outlining the script. He claims he sees the Avengers as a kind of family. He then goes on to explain that to him, a family is made up of people that probably shouldn't be together under the same roof.
Such is extent of Whedon's bona-fides with the realm of nerddom, he might be the only one that can hold that comics fan world together long enough to pull in big numbers for this probably ill-advised venture. But if anyone can pull it off, he can.
Whedon's challenge will be to produce a script and direct it in such a way as to maintain an expanded audience over the course of weeks, while hoping for a big enough opening weekend to more than offset any disappointing follow-up.
Big, muscular men in tight-fitting costumes are sure-fire crowd pleasers on any day, so there's already a ready-made base audience of comic books fans. If they pick the right actors, they might pull in a respectable number of female viewers as well.
Of course, I'll be going to see The Wasp.
Some Of My Best Friends Are Colored People
And the same with Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for the US Senate from Kentucky, who is maintaining a lead in the polls over Democrat Jeff Conway by a margin of 49% to 41%. That's up about three percent from the last poll taken, which had Paul up 47% to 42%. Looks like one percent of the undecideds went firmly into the decided column for Paul, while another one percent of Conway's weak support abandoned him for the Republican candidate.
Thank you National Association For The "Advancement" Of Colored People.
Thank you National Association For The "Advancement" Of Colored People.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wiseguy
Wiseguy is in my opinion one of the greatest series in the history of network television. If you have time to watch this episode, you are in for a treat. It's the story of Vinnie Terranova, an undercover agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) working undercover to investigate the Mafia family run by Sonny Steelgrave.
Vinnie is conflicted. He had to spend a number of months in a federal prison in order to establish his cover as a mob thug. He can't reveal his cover to anyone, not even his beloved mother, who has at this point all but disowned him, and who is suffering from an incurable progressive heart condition.
The is the premiere episode of the series, in its entirety, divided up into four segments/ Courtesy of New Video Digital.
Vinnie is conflicted. He had to spend a number of months in a federal prison in order to establish his cover as a mob thug. He can't reveal his cover to anyone, not even his beloved mother, who has at this point all but disowned him, and who is suffering from an incurable progressive heart condition.
The is the premiere episode of the series, in its entirety, divided up into four segments/ Courtesy of New Video Digital.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Mark Williams-Kicked Out Of Tea Party-But Why Again?
The Tea Party Federation has kicked out Mark Williams, and since his group the Tea Party Express will not follow suit, they are out of the federation as well. The stated reason has to do with a satirical post Williams posted on his blog which he has since removed. The real reason might not be so apparent, obvious though it is to some insiders. I'll go into that at the end. But first-
The Tea Party Federation is a loose organization of groups of individuals who are against increased taxes, burdensome government regulations, and further growth of big government. Their main focus is on spending deficits and the national debt, though your mileage may vary thanks to other additives, be it Christian Conservatives, Libertarians, or national defense hawks.
How do you fight something like that? Well, if you're the NAACP, you accuse them of racism, of course. It's a tried and true tactic that has worked well in the past, and unfortunately, this time is no different. Last Sunday, on Face The Nation, David Webb, spokesman for the Tea Party Federation, played defense against the accusations of Benjamin Jealous, Chairman of the NAACP, over accusations which conservative pundit George Will has described as "left-wing McCarthyism".
Webb in the course of his appearance announced that Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams would no longer be a part of the movement, and further stated it would disassociate from the Tea Party Express.
ROUND ONE-NAACP
With this move, the Tea-Party Federation has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt one charge that is constantly hurled at them. They are, after all, a Republican organization. It's impossible to find a bigger wuss than people who cave in to unmerited charges of racism by firing a leader for expressing, however clumsily, what is after all a pretty prevalent attitude among not just the Tea Party, but a broad segment of Americans, including Independents. Yet, Webb seems willing to go along with a vague plan to appear with Jealous in a series of Town-Hall meetings. Of course, Jealous congratulated Webb on removing those racists from their ranks, and encouraged Webb to "keep up the good work" in what has to be seen as a purge almost worthy of Stalin.
In the meantime, Ben Jealous ignores the rants of New Black Panther leaders who express such sentiments as "crackers should be killed" and that they should "kill cracker babies". Cracker, of course, is a pejorative term for white people. Yet Jealous justifies this lapse due to the Black Panthers not being members of his group. So then, the Tea-Party is? Bullshit! If a group of fourteen whites, of any affiliation or none, expressed the desire to "kill niggers" and "jigaboo babies", all hell would break loose, and Jealous would be at the forefront of demanding some kind of prosecution for terrorist threats. incitement to violence, possible civil rights violations, and God knows what else. Yet, such threats uttered by the New Black Panthers are none of his concern? Incredible!
Meanwhile, as the media jumped at the opportunity to engage in the public humiliation of the Tea Party at the hands of the NAACP, it blatantly ignores the Justice Departments alleged memo to refrain from investigating and prosecuting African Americans like the New Black Panther Party accused of poll tampering and voter intimidation. When Bob Schieffer had Eric Holder also on a different segment of Face The Nation, he refused to ask him anything pertaining to this charge, later having the chutzpah to claim that he knew nothing about it. I have this strange idea the real reason might be Schieffer is just another one of those cowards Holder was talking about some months back. Or maybe this is one of those conversations about race Holder isn't quite courageous enough to hold himself. Why do I feel this point was made clear to Schieffer prior to the segment?
The Tea Party has lost the opportunity to score a big touchdown. David Webb, as the designated quarterback of the movement, had the opportunity to lob a thirty yard pass but while he had wide receivers down field, open and waiting, he spiked the ball unnecessarily. Twenty yard penalty. Second down and thirty. Most of the Tea-Party leaders are on the defensive about these ridiculous allegations. Mark Williams has been one of the few exceptions to this rule, the response of most of the rest being tepid at best.
The irony is, Williams has been made a scapegoat in a sacrifice to the demons of political correctness, by a federation of groups that outwardly oppose the stifling atmosphere of that political hell. And what is even worse, they do so with a black man, David Webb, who is probably now being derided in leftist circles as the "house Negro" of the Tea Party movement, much as Michael Steele is considered more or less the lawn jockey of the Republican Party, unfortunately for valid reason. The GOP doesn't get it, and that's understandable. I had hoped the Tea Party would know better than to play such a transparent game. "Oh, we're not prejudiced, look we have some black members, and one of them is one of our leaders, and he'll tell it like it is."
Could anything possibly be more humiliating that to trot out a black person to reassure people that you're not prejudiced, only to have him act as club bouncer to somebody who allegedly is. And for what?
Here's the piece Williams wrote on his blog, which has now been taken down, though thankfully copied and pasted by Gawker, which did so as an attack on Williams and on the Tea-Party. It's a satire, based on what Ben Jealous might have written to President Abraham Lincoln concerning the Emancipation Proclamation, had he been alive and the head of the NAACP at the time.
Dear Mr. Lincoln
We Colored People have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!
In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the 'tea party movement'.
The tea party position to "end the bailouts" for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn't that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds.
And the ridiculous idea of "reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government." What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves and make decisions!
The racist tea parties also demand that the government "stop the out of control spending." Again, they directly target Colored People. That means we Colored People would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right.
Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government "stop raising our taxes." That is outrageous! How will we Colored People ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society?
Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.
Sincerely
Precious Ben Jealous, Tom's Nephew National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Head Colored Person
So there you have it. Like I said, clumsily written and not really that funny as a piece of satire, perhaps somewhat over the top. Yet, perfectly illustrative of the mind-set of the "leaders" of many liberal black citizen's advocate groups, including but by no means limited to the NAACP, who tend to support the big government and entitlement policies of the Democratic Party.
I reproduced it not to disparage Williams, but because its right on. Ben Jealous is nothing more nor less than a would-be Democratic Party Plantation straw boss protecting his own position and personal interests. And while it might be clumsily expressed, and a bit over-the-top, that makes it no less relevant. Bear in mind, Williams wrote this as though Jealous on behalf of the NAACP organization might have written it-not as how black people as a whole might have felt. To ignore that misses the whole point.
So was this the real reason Williams was kicked out of the movement? I doubt it, though it did provide the perfect excuse many have been looking for. The Tea Party Express is actually an arm of a Republican Party PAC called Our Country Deserves Better, and as such, has been at the forefront of trying to bring the Tea Party and all its disparate groups into the political mainstream. As in any such situation, it has attracted rivals who have their own ideas as to who should set the pace and control the Tea Party agenda, and all the power that might ultimately bring. Those ideas, of course, chiefly revolve around themselves to no less an extent than Williams or Robert Kaloogian, founder of Our Country Deserves Better, might like to see themselves as the movement leaders.
There might be valid reason to remove the Tea Party Express, and Williams, I don't know. I can see where there are other ways in which he can be and has been a divisive influence. When Williams makes statements to the effect that his purpose is to jump in front of the parade and say follow me, on the grounds that somebody needs to lead what amounts to a herd of cats, it becomes pretty clear that he wants a leadership role. It becomes pretty disingenuous then for him to claim that there are no Tea Party leaders, that they are merely concerned citizens who are all their own leaders, to paraphrase him.
But if the Tea Party Federation has a valid reason to remove Williams and the Express, they should do it for those reasons, and do so openly, without opting for the appearance of placating a group of race hustlers like the NAACP and their made up controversy in which, thus far, even Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson has avoided entangling themselves.
The best response thus far to the NAACP charges of racism, that I have heard, was the response by Andrew Breitbart to NAACP head Ben Jealous. It was brief, and to the point.
"You can go to hell" he told Jealous.
That's really all that needs to be said.
The Tea Party Federation is a loose organization of groups of individuals who are against increased taxes, burdensome government regulations, and further growth of big government. Their main focus is on spending deficits and the national debt, though your mileage may vary thanks to other additives, be it Christian Conservatives, Libertarians, or national defense hawks.
How do you fight something like that? Well, if you're the NAACP, you accuse them of racism, of course. It's a tried and true tactic that has worked well in the past, and unfortunately, this time is no different. Last Sunday, on Face The Nation, David Webb, spokesman for the Tea Party Federation, played defense against the accusations of Benjamin Jealous, Chairman of the NAACP, over accusations which conservative pundit George Will has described as "left-wing McCarthyism".
Webb in the course of his appearance announced that Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams would no longer be a part of the movement, and further stated it would disassociate from the Tea Party Express.
ROUND ONE-NAACP
With this move, the Tea-Party Federation has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt one charge that is constantly hurled at them. They are, after all, a Republican organization. It's impossible to find a bigger wuss than people who cave in to unmerited charges of racism by firing a leader for expressing, however clumsily, what is after all a pretty prevalent attitude among not just the Tea Party, but a broad segment of Americans, including Independents. Yet, Webb seems willing to go along with a vague plan to appear with Jealous in a series of Town-Hall meetings. Of course, Jealous congratulated Webb on removing those racists from their ranks, and encouraged Webb to "keep up the good work" in what has to be seen as a purge almost worthy of Stalin.
In the meantime, Ben Jealous ignores the rants of New Black Panther leaders who express such sentiments as "crackers should be killed" and that they should "kill cracker babies". Cracker, of course, is a pejorative term for white people. Yet Jealous justifies this lapse due to the Black Panthers not being members of his group. So then, the Tea-Party is? Bullshit! If a group of fourteen whites, of any affiliation or none, expressed the desire to "kill niggers" and "jigaboo babies", all hell would break loose, and Jealous would be at the forefront of demanding some kind of prosecution for terrorist threats. incitement to violence, possible civil rights violations, and God knows what else. Yet, such threats uttered by the New Black Panthers are none of his concern? Incredible!
Meanwhile, as the media jumped at the opportunity to engage in the public humiliation of the Tea Party at the hands of the NAACP, it blatantly ignores the Justice Departments alleged memo to refrain from investigating and prosecuting African Americans like the New Black Panther Party accused of poll tampering and voter intimidation. When Bob Schieffer had Eric Holder also on a different segment of Face The Nation, he refused to ask him anything pertaining to this charge, later having the chutzpah to claim that he knew nothing about it. I have this strange idea the real reason might be Schieffer is just another one of those cowards Holder was talking about some months back. Or maybe this is one of those conversations about race Holder isn't quite courageous enough to hold himself. Why do I feel this point was made clear to Schieffer prior to the segment?
The Tea Party has lost the opportunity to score a big touchdown. David Webb, as the designated quarterback of the movement, had the opportunity to lob a thirty yard pass but while he had wide receivers down field, open and waiting, he spiked the ball unnecessarily. Twenty yard penalty. Second down and thirty. Most of the Tea-Party leaders are on the defensive about these ridiculous allegations. Mark Williams has been one of the few exceptions to this rule, the response of most of the rest being tepid at best.
The irony is, Williams has been made a scapegoat in a sacrifice to the demons of political correctness, by a federation of groups that outwardly oppose the stifling atmosphere of that political hell. And what is even worse, they do so with a black man, David Webb, who is probably now being derided in leftist circles as the "house Negro" of the Tea Party movement, much as Michael Steele is considered more or less the lawn jockey of the Republican Party, unfortunately for valid reason. The GOP doesn't get it, and that's understandable. I had hoped the Tea Party would know better than to play such a transparent game. "Oh, we're not prejudiced, look we have some black members, and one of them is one of our leaders, and he'll tell it like it is."
Could anything possibly be more humiliating that to trot out a black person to reassure people that you're not prejudiced, only to have him act as club bouncer to somebody who allegedly is. And for what?
Here's the piece Williams wrote on his blog, which has now been taken down, though thankfully copied and pasted by Gawker, which did so as an attack on Williams and on the Tea-Party. It's a satire, based on what Ben Jealous might have written to President Abraham Lincoln concerning the Emancipation Proclamation, had he been alive and the head of the NAACP at the time.
Dear Mr. Lincoln
We Colored People have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!
In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the 'tea party movement'.
The tea party position to "end the bailouts" for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn't that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds.
And the ridiculous idea of "reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government." What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves and make decisions!
The racist tea parties also demand that the government "stop the out of control spending." Again, they directly target Colored People. That means we Colored People would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right.
Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government "stop raising our taxes." That is outrageous! How will we Colored People ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society?
Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.
Sincerely
Precious Ben Jealous, Tom's Nephew National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Head Colored Person
So there you have it. Like I said, clumsily written and not really that funny as a piece of satire, perhaps somewhat over the top. Yet, perfectly illustrative of the mind-set of the "leaders" of many liberal black citizen's advocate groups, including but by no means limited to the NAACP, who tend to support the big government and entitlement policies of the Democratic Party.
I reproduced it not to disparage Williams, but because its right on. Ben Jealous is nothing more nor less than a would-be Democratic Party Plantation straw boss protecting his own position and personal interests. And while it might be clumsily expressed, and a bit over-the-top, that makes it no less relevant. Bear in mind, Williams wrote this as though Jealous on behalf of the NAACP organization might have written it-not as how black people as a whole might have felt. To ignore that misses the whole point.
So was this the real reason Williams was kicked out of the movement? I doubt it, though it did provide the perfect excuse many have been looking for. The Tea Party Express is actually an arm of a Republican Party PAC called Our Country Deserves Better, and as such, has been at the forefront of trying to bring the Tea Party and all its disparate groups into the political mainstream. As in any such situation, it has attracted rivals who have their own ideas as to who should set the pace and control the Tea Party agenda, and all the power that might ultimately bring. Those ideas, of course, chiefly revolve around themselves to no less an extent than Williams or Robert Kaloogian, founder of Our Country Deserves Better, might like to see themselves as the movement leaders.
There might be valid reason to remove the Tea Party Express, and Williams, I don't know. I can see where there are other ways in which he can be and has been a divisive influence. When Williams makes statements to the effect that his purpose is to jump in front of the parade and say follow me, on the grounds that somebody needs to lead what amounts to a herd of cats, it becomes pretty clear that he wants a leadership role. It becomes pretty disingenuous then for him to claim that there are no Tea Party leaders, that they are merely concerned citizens who are all their own leaders, to paraphrase him.
But if the Tea Party Federation has a valid reason to remove Williams and the Express, they should do it for those reasons, and do so openly, without opting for the appearance of placating a group of race hustlers like the NAACP and their made up controversy in which, thus far, even Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson has avoided entangling themselves.
The best response thus far to the NAACP charges of racism, that I have heard, was the response by Andrew Breitbart to NAACP head Ben Jealous. It was brief, and to the point.
"You can go to hell" he told Jealous.
That's really all that needs to be said.
Friday, July 16, 2010
All Right, If You Won't Listen To Me-
Maybe you'll listen to Charles Krauthammer.
The short version-Even if the GOP wins big this year, if they aren't careful Obama could win re-election in 2012 and pick up seats, maybe regain or retain his majority in one or both Houses of Congress, and go on from there to fundamentally change America, for conceivably far into the future.
Krauthammer goes me one better though. According to him, Obama and his inner circle are counting on it, and are not at all blind to the coming election loss for their party that this year seems to portend. For them, it might well be an acceptable trade off.
In other words, Obama is looking at the long-term and couldn't really care less about short term losses.
It's actually scary, sobering reading, and I would advise all libertarian, conservative, federalist, and independent minded Americans-and even some honest, well-meaning liberals (deluded however they might be) to read the article linked above.
If conservative Republicans take the House, and/or the Senate, they need to be very careful. They need to be more than just obstinate opponents of the Obama leftist agenda. They need to offer worthy, compelling alternatives, and they need to set the tone of the debate, not let the Democrats define it, or especially not define them. They need to be combative, but reasoned. They need to be passionate, but rational.
They need to, like Obama, think of the long term.
Thanks to Sarah Palin for this article.
The short version-Even if the GOP wins big this year, if they aren't careful Obama could win re-election in 2012 and pick up seats, maybe regain or retain his majority in one or both Houses of Congress, and go on from there to fundamentally change America, for conceivably far into the future.
Krauthammer goes me one better though. According to him, Obama and his inner circle are counting on it, and are not at all blind to the coming election loss for their party that this year seems to portend. For them, it might well be an acceptable trade off.
In other words, Obama is looking at the long-term and couldn't really care less about short term losses.
It's actually scary, sobering reading, and I would advise all libertarian, conservative, federalist, and independent minded Americans-and even some honest, well-meaning liberals (deluded however they might be) to read the article linked above.
If conservative Republicans take the House, and/or the Senate, they need to be very careful. They need to be more than just obstinate opponents of the Obama leftist agenda. They need to offer worthy, compelling alternatives, and they need to set the tone of the debate, not let the Democrats define it, or especially not define them. They need to be combative, but reasoned. They need to be passionate, but rational.
They need to, like Obama, think of the long term.
Thanks to Sarah Palin for this article.
McCain-Hayworth Debates
Tonight and tomorrow night will be the only scheduled debates between John McCain and JD Hayworth. Hayworth, a former House member, is running against McCain in the GOP primary for the Arizona Senate seat McCain currently holds.
I have mixed feelings here. My hope would be Hayworth would win the primary, but only if I was dead sure he would go on to win the general election. That I'm not so sure about, but its probably a moot point anyway. In most polls, McCain is holding a ten point plus lead over Hayworth, who lost his House seat some years earlier over his propensity to support bills that were considered by many to be examples of bloated government spending. Since then, Hayworth has worked as a right-wing talk radio host. He is supported by the Tea Party, although interestingly enough, McCain has the backing of former VP running mate Sarah Palin. I chalk this up to gratitude on her part, but it could also be she thinks she sees the writing on the wall. Without McCain, the seat will go Democratic.
If that's true, then I guess its worth putting up with the old RINO, to a point. And I have always been at the forefront about this. If the Tea-Party expects to wrest control of the GOP they can probably do that in incremental stages, but if they expect to do so and at the same time make and keep the Republicans the majority party, then they have to accept that some of their members, by virtue of their constituencies, are going to be RINOs. That's just the world we live in. Nobody ever said it was easy.
I have mixed feelings here. My hope would be Hayworth would win the primary, but only if I was dead sure he would go on to win the general election. That I'm not so sure about, but its probably a moot point anyway. In most polls, McCain is holding a ten point plus lead over Hayworth, who lost his House seat some years earlier over his propensity to support bills that were considered by many to be examples of bloated government spending. Since then, Hayworth has worked as a right-wing talk radio host. He is supported by the Tea Party, although interestingly enough, McCain has the backing of former VP running mate Sarah Palin. I chalk this up to gratitude on her part, but it could also be she thinks she sees the writing on the wall. Without McCain, the seat will go Democratic.
If that's true, then I guess its worth putting up with the old RINO, to a point. And I have always been at the forefront about this. If the Tea-Party expects to wrest control of the GOP they can probably do that in incremental stages, but if they expect to do so and at the same time make and keep the Republicans the majority party, then they have to accept that some of their members, by virtue of their constituencies, are going to be RINOs. That's just the world we live in. Nobody ever said it was easy.
Texas-Number One
The number one state in the Union for business is Texas, according to CNBC, which ranked all the states according to the following criterion-
cost of doing business, workforce, economy, education, quality of life, technology and innovation, transportation, cost of living, business friendliness, and access to capital.
Governor Rick Perry credits "low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulations, and a skilled workforce" with Texas's success.
Last year, Texas ranked number two, behind Virginia. This year, the two states have traded places. But the most surprising thing about the top ten states in the list?
Massachusetts is number five, and Minnesota is number eight. I'm guessing it must have something to do with availability of capital and tax incentives, along with a skilled workforce. I wouldn't count on any of that lasting long. Here's the complete list-
* Texas
* Virginia
* Colorado
* North Carolina
* Massachusetts
* Iowa
* South Dakota
* Minnesota
* Utah
* Georgia
UPDATE-I just got a comment from Quimbob, who provided a link to a different survey which relates a slightly different survey which, while still ranking Texas number one, ranks North Carolina, not Virginia, at number two behind Texas and, more importantly in contrast to the CNBC survey, puts Massachusetts in the bottom five. I tend to believe this survey over CNBC.
It also goes into some striking detail regarding the problems in California, which according to one respondent is so bad that, according to him, if they could grow their crops in Reno, they'd move their plants there tomorrow. He goes on to say that businesses have completely opted out of doing business with Sacramento, so bad is the anti-business environment there. And of course, when they leave, the jobs go with them.
This serves to verify my feelings that, before long, California will be the American Greece. Actually, it already is. It just hasn't gotten around to asking for a bail-out. Give it time, because as I said before, California will be considered "too big to fail".
This also goes a long way towards explaining Scott Brown's recent vote in favor of the Financial Reform bill. If California is the American Greece, Massachusetts is probably in line to be the American Portugal. Brown's vote makes sense in the context of laying the groundwork for federal aid, and even if the GOP takes over both houses of Congress in 2010 (unlikely as far as the Senate goes), the infrastructure will be in place, and the onus will be on the new Republican House and possibly Senate majorities to accede or deny to any such aid. Such a scenario is unlikely before this November, but between then and November 2012, it becomes a near probability, and will provide the Democrats a hammer with which to hit Republicans. And it might well work, as the majority of people in dire straights by that time will be, shall we say, not looking at the long term, but living in the moment.
In the meantime, I have to wonder how Massachusetts could end up in such wildly different positions in two different polls. Bear in mind that CNBC is a sister network to NBC and MSNBC, and they might have a reason to paint Massachusetts in a more flattering light than what it really deserves. I was so stunned by the first poll it was hard to let it pass without comment. Consider the "Big Dig" which lasted for years longer than anticipated at staggeringly high cost overruns. It is a state where bureaucracy and inefficiency is the normal cost of doing business, where labor unions are a malignant influence, and state regulations are on the one hand a drain and an obstacle, and at the same time a cash cow for crooked regulators and for contractors looking for kick-backs.
If you really want to know why the business community is holding onto 1.4 trillion dollars of assets, and why many others want to outsource production to more friendly business climates, look no further than the current state of affairs, and try to understand that its probably only going to get worse-much worse-because of it.
And the liberals still don't get it. They never will understand that the business community is under no obligation to invest their money-and the operative term is THEIR MONEY-in what they can't help but see as a losing proposition, one that if they play along with, will only result in even more massive business failures down the line.
Government make-work is not the answer. That is just temporary relief for a relative few, at best. At worse, it just adds to the tax burden. Nor can the private business sector be expected to invest their money in what would amount to a charitable enterprise that would leave their companies in danger of collapse.
There has to be a better way, but it will require some more pain, and more sacrifice, before people get it.
cost of doing business, workforce, economy, education, quality of life, technology and innovation, transportation, cost of living, business friendliness, and access to capital.
Governor Rick Perry credits "low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulations, and a skilled workforce" with Texas's success.
Last year, Texas ranked number two, behind Virginia. This year, the two states have traded places. But the most surprising thing about the top ten states in the list?
Massachusetts is number five, and Minnesota is number eight. I'm guessing it must have something to do with availability of capital and tax incentives, along with a skilled workforce. I wouldn't count on any of that lasting long. Here's the complete list-
* Texas
* Virginia
* Colorado
* North Carolina
* Massachusetts
* Iowa
* South Dakota
* Minnesota
* Utah
* Georgia
UPDATE-I just got a comment from Quimbob, who provided a link to a different survey which relates a slightly different survey which, while still ranking Texas number one, ranks North Carolina, not Virginia, at number two behind Texas and, more importantly in contrast to the CNBC survey, puts Massachusetts in the bottom five. I tend to believe this survey over CNBC.
It also goes into some striking detail regarding the problems in California, which according to one respondent is so bad that, according to him, if they could grow their crops in Reno, they'd move their plants there tomorrow. He goes on to say that businesses have completely opted out of doing business with Sacramento, so bad is the anti-business environment there. And of course, when they leave, the jobs go with them.
This serves to verify my feelings that, before long, California will be the American Greece. Actually, it already is. It just hasn't gotten around to asking for a bail-out. Give it time, because as I said before, California will be considered "too big to fail".
This also goes a long way towards explaining Scott Brown's recent vote in favor of the Financial Reform bill. If California is the American Greece, Massachusetts is probably in line to be the American Portugal. Brown's vote makes sense in the context of laying the groundwork for federal aid, and even if the GOP takes over both houses of Congress in 2010 (unlikely as far as the Senate goes), the infrastructure will be in place, and the onus will be on the new Republican House and possibly Senate majorities to accede or deny to any such aid. Such a scenario is unlikely before this November, but between then and November 2012, it becomes a near probability, and will provide the Democrats a hammer with which to hit Republicans. And it might well work, as the majority of people in dire straights by that time will be, shall we say, not looking at the long term, but living in the moment.
In the meantime, I have to wonder how Massachusetts could end up in such wildly different positions in two different polls. Bear in mind that CNBC is a sister network to NBC and MSNBC, and they might have a reason to paint Massachusetts in a more flattering light than what it really deserves. I was so stunned by the first poll it was hard to let it pass without comment. Consider the "Big Dig" which lasted for years longer than anticipated at staggeringly high cost overruns. It is a state where bureaucracy and inefficiency is the normal cost of doing business, where labor unions are a malignant influence, and state regulations are on the one hand a drain and an obstacle, and at the same time a cash cow for crooked regulators and for contractors looking for kick-backs.
If you really want to know why the business community is holding onto 1.4 trillion dollars of assets, and why many others want to outsource production to more friendly business climates, look no further than the current state of affairs, and try to understand that its probably only going to get worse-much worse-because of it.
And the liberals still don't get it. They never will understand that the business community is under no obligation to invest their money-and the operative term is THEIR MONEY-in what they can't help but see as a losing proposition, one that if they play along with, will only result in even more massive business failures down the line.
Government make-work is not the answer. That is just temporary relief for a relative few, at best. At worse, it just adds to the tax burden. Nor can the private business sector be expected to invest their money in what would amount to a charitable enterprise that would leave their companies in danger of collapse.
There has to be a better way, but it will require some more pain, and more sacrifice, before people get it.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Alvin Greene's Job Creation Program
UPDATE-Alvin Greene now has his own Twitter account, GreeneForSenate. You can also access it and others from my new Twitter Sidebar, The Twitterbug Corral.
UPDATE UPDATE-Well, its probably not him after all, but its a pretty damn good satire site if its not him. Not too much over the top. Well, unless you discount the bit about giving the keynote address at the next NAACP meeting. DAMN!
Unemployment is now somewhere around ten percent, more than that if you include the people who've stopped looking for work. We've got to put people back to work in this country, but how remains elusive, or at least it has until-well, it might actually hinge on the outcome of the up-coming South Carolina Senate race.
South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene has a solution. It's so brilliant I have to wonder if he thought it up all by himself, or rather some, er, genius, maybe an unnamed adviser, gave him this plan over a couple of six-packs and a reefer or two.
Alvin's plan, in his own words-
“ Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays. Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls. Me in an army uniform, air force uniform, and me in my suit. They can make toys of me and my vehicle, especially for the holidays and Christmas for the kids. That’s something that would create jobs. So you see I think out of the box like that. It’s not something a typical person would bring up. That’s something that could happen, that makes sense. It’s not a joke. ”
Of course, Alvin is by no means a "typical person". And you know what? I'm starting to think he's going to win. I'll go you one better. I would almost be willing to bet good money he will be the one Senate candidate who will keep the Democrats in the Senate majority.
Because, let's face it, the Universe hates all of us, and I think it might have a special degree of loathing for South Carolina-especially the no-count Upcountry.
Hat Tip-Rusty of The Jawa Report.
UPDATE UPDATE-Well, its probably not him after all, but its a pretty damn good satire site if its not him. Not too much over the top. Well, unless you discount the bit about giving the keynote address at the next NAACP meeting. DAMN!
Unemployment is now somewhere around ten percent, more than that if you include the people who've stopped looking for work. We've got to put people back to work in this country, but how remains elusive, or at least it has until-well, it might actually hinge on the outcome of the up-coming South Carolina Senate race.
South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene has a solution. It's so brilliant I have to wonder if he thought it up all by himself, or rather some, er, genius, maybe an unnamed adviser, gave him this plan over a couple of six-packs and a reefer or two.
Alvin's plan, in his own words-
“ Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays. Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls. Me in an army uniform, air force uniform, and me in my suit. They can make toys of me and my vehicle, especially for the holidays and Christmas for the kids. That’s something that would create jobs. So you see I think out of the box like that. It’s not something a typical person would bring up. That’s something that could happen, that makes sense. It’s not a joke. ”
Of course, Alvin is by no means a "typical person". And you know what? I'm starting to think he's going to win. I'll go you one better. I would almost be willing to bet good money he will be the one Senate candidate who will keep the Democrats in the Senate majority.
Because, let's face it, the Universe hates all of us, and I think it might have a special degree of loathing for South Carolina-especially the no-count Upcountry.
Hat Tip-Rusty of The Jawa Report.
Black Gold-Texas Tea
Venezuela might have more oil than Saudi Arabia, huh? That settles it. What say we pull ourselves up by our boot straps. Let's kick Chavez's ass out of there and take dat shit. Muahahahahahahaaaaaaaa
Camelot's Round Table Found-Or So They Say
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At first glance, the reports out of England make a lot of sense. According to some archaeologists, the Round Table of King Arthur was not a piece of furniture after all. It was, instead, an abandoned Roman amphitheater (pictured in the above drawing at bottom left corner of town square) that could seat as many as one thousand people. They say this because they think they have discovered it in a town called Chester, sometimes called West Chester. It was abandoned by the Romans after the fall of Rome to Odoacer and the subsequent large scale invasions of Britain by the Saxons. But the native Britons of the day held off the invading hordes until well into the sixth century, when the Saxons and some other Germanic tribes finally overwhelmed the former Roman province. But until that time, Chester might have been a major point of defensive operations. A headquarters, if you will.According to the archaeologists making these claims, the amphitheater contains an execution stone, and a wooden shrine to Christian martyrs, as detailed long ago by the Christian monk and later canonized Saint Gildas.
There's only one problem. Gildas, who wrote extensively about this era and in fact was at least a near contemporary-never mentioned King Arthur. Or Camelot. Or the Round Table. The closest he came was a mention of a certain Ambrosius, who is said, by later sources, to have been an elder brother of Arthur's father Uther, and father to Merlin.
This of course does not prove Arthur didn't exist, as Gildas mentions several kings of the era, though not by name. What it does seem to imply is that, if Arthur did exist, he might not have been that big a deal. He might not have even been a king, but a kind of warlord. And of course we can't discount the possibility that he may have been mentioned under another name, possibly one of the five kings Gildas excoriated, the most important of whom was Maelgyn Gwynned, a Welsh king whose name sounds or looks just enough like Guinevere to grab your attention. In fact, that was the name of his kingdom, and Gildas seems to have hated him for some reason that is not completely known or understood, though I suspect it to be for corruption of the clergy-i.e., bribery. Or, it could have been the opposite. Gwynned might not have been sufficiently impressed by Gildas to have patronized his support. Unfortunately, that is probably something else that will forever remain a mystery.
One of Gwynned's fellow kings, who due to his association also earned Gildas's ire, was judging by his name a seeming descendant of the aforementioned Ambrosius.
A more trustworthy source for information about Arthur, however, might be the bard Taliesin, also a near contemporary of the day, who might have mentioned Arthur, or might not have. That depends on whether the alleged oral history by him in which Arthur is briefly mentioned, as written down in the eleventh century, is an accurate reflection of his work, or whether elements were added. Even if the account is accurate, it is not good for much beyond that, as the account is short both in duration and detail. Still, it would prove Arthur existed, as Taliesin's work is generally considered historical, and more than likely accurate.
My own feelings about the Arthurian legend is mixed. I want to believe it. I'm not meaning by this the more obviously fantastical tales of supernatural fantasy, but just the basic facts, if they exist, that might have provided inspiration for the medieval tales.
My objective feelings, however, are that Arthur, even if he really existed, represents as we have come to know him a symbol more of Medieval ideals transposed onto a period of time called the Dark Ages for a good reason. Nobody knows but very precious little about them. Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table provided a historical facade that served to fill in some much needed blanks, and at the same time imposed on the public imagination of the day an idealized personification of the very sort of medieval ideals of chivalry that could not have possibly existed under such conditions as existed during the Dark Ages.
And if Arthur really did exist, we must also realize that most of those who are listed as his contemporaries did not. Lancelot and his affair with Arthur's Queen, for example, are obvious fictions, as is Merlin, Gawain's battle with the Green Knight, Galahad's search for the Grail, etc.
At most and at best, what we have is a brave king, who might have led a relatively small force of desperate allies in a last ditch effort to save their formerly civilized country from invading hordes of savage barbarians, and who may have been lost to history for all his efforts, save for a few sentences strung together almost as an afterthought, and who was for whatever reason made the central focus of a magnificent legend that would have probably been a source of great mirth to the genuine article and to those who actually knew him.
Perhaps we need our King Arthur's, our Robin Hood's, and all our other heroes, and have needed them since long before there was ever a movie or television medium, or even printing press to help us fulfill our need for such inspirational tales of heroism, back in days when the written medium and a few rare traveling minstrel shows were all that served to fill such needs.
And of course, they also might conceivably help you get funding for your next archaeological project.
Monday, July 12, 2010
World Cup Follies
When I learned a friend of mine was going to attend the World Cup, I knew I might hit the mother-lode, since everybody that was anybody was going to be there. As fate would have it, my friend Mohammed Shahiri, who used to blog quite some time back at Aladdinslad, was lucky enough to get a place in proximity to two of the most recognizable faces to attend the South African event.
Although he was shocked at what transpired, he was good enough to relay the information to me. One should not be too surprised at what I will soon relate.
After all, Mick Jagger has a mouth that practically begs, "Please let me suck your dick." Whereas former President Bill Clinton has a libido that practically begs, "Please suck my dick."
So then it stands to reason that, when these two get together, you know that nothing but hi-jinks could possibly ensue.
And so, without further ado, I present to you the basic transcription of what was said at the time the various following pictures were taken.
As we shall see, Mick was initially reluctant. But, Bill was insistent. And determined.
"Oh come on Mick, you can do it. We've got enough cover down here no one will see it."
Naturally, though, Mick had concerns. After all, forewarned is forearmed.
"Okay Bill, but before I go through with this I have to ask you-is it bigger than this?"
Unfortunately, no matter how many times you go through something, there are some things that are just impossible to prepare for.
"Damn Bill that tasted like rotten death. You need vitamins mate."
But, as it turns out, all was not as it seemed, and Bill wasn't quite as clever as he thought he was. There are always those ready to exploit your weaknesses. But, we suppose Bill will make the best of what might otherwise be a, let us say, embarrassing situation. Because, no sooner had Mick taken his leave than-
"Damn, all right Wolf, Katie, I'll keep you two in the loop whenever something goes down, I promise. Damn that fucking Mick."
Even though Mick seems to have helped set Bill up after all, I'm sure he will make it up to Bill someway. Maybe he'll sing Tumbling Dice at Chelsea's wedding.
Although he was shocked at what transpired, he was good enough to relay the information to me. One should not be too surprised at what I will soon relate.
After all, Mick Jagger has a mouth that practically begs, "Please let me suck your dick." Whereas former President Bill Clinton has a libido that practically begs, "Please suck my dick."
So then it stands to reason that, when these two get together, you know that nothing but hi-jinks could possibly ensue.
And so, without further ado, I present to you the basic transcription of what was said at the time the various following pictures were taken.
As we shall see, Mick was initially reluctant. But, Bill was insistent. And determined.
"Oh come on Mick, you can do it. We've got enough cover down here no one will see it."
Naturally, though, Mick had concerns. After all, forewarned is forearmed.
"Okay Bill, but before I go through with this I have to ask you-is it bigger than this?"
Unfortunately, no matter how many times you go through something, there are some things that are just impossible to prepare for.
"Damn Bill that tasted like rotten death. You need vitamins mate."
But, as it turns out, all was not as it seemed, and Bill wasn't quite as clever as he thought he was. There are always those ready to exploit your weaknesses. But, we suppose Bill will make the best of what might otherwise be a, let us say, embarrassing situation. Because, no sooner had Mick taken his leave than-
"Damn, all right Wolf, Katie, I'll keep you two in the loop whenever something goes down, I promise. Damn that fucking Mick."
Even though Mick seems to have helped set Bill up after all, I'm sure he will make it up to Bill someway. Maybe he'll sing Tumbling Dice at Chelsea's wedding.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
John LeCarre Couldn't Have Made This Up
While many have been fascinated by tales of Russian spies spending years in deep cover while living fairly ordinary lives and pretty much accomplishing nothing of known or revealed importance, another tale of espionage is unfolding, one that might well be considerably more serious and damaging. It is now being alleged that something like 260,000 documents have been pilfered from the State Department.
I want to stress, not a mere 260,000 PAGES of documents, but 260,000 SEPARATE DOCUMENTS!
So what do these documents contain? It is said that they include blistering assessments of foreign leaders, operational details involving covert activities, information regarding foreign policy decisions, and even classified files of meetings with Israeli officials, among many other embarrassing and damaging files of information.
The culprit, supposedly, is U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst Bradley Manning, who was arrested sometime in June of this year in connection with the leaking of an explosive video of attack-helicopter gun camera footage from Iraq. Whether that arrest is what led to the discovery of the leak of these documents is not exactly clear.
The alleged recipient of the documents are, like in the Iraq video case, Wikileaks, a website that specializes in serving as a repository for whistle blowers to leak documents that prove unscrupulous and criminal actions by government agencies and officials.
Manning is currently in jail, and Wikileaks has issued a denial as to its own involvement in the case of the disappearing documents.
Julian Assange, the Australian born founder of Wikileaks, has curiously seemed to disappear over the last few days. No one seems to know where he is.
What I wouldn't give to get to read these documents, if that is they really exist. I guess that's the point. No one knows for sure where they went, or who has them, or how and when they might turn up, or where. But if and when they do, I can almost promise you they would be worth their weight in gold to certain relevant parties.
Hat Tip-Defense Tech
UPDATE-Although it is not really surprising, Bradley Manning has his supporters, and one of them, Mike Gogulski, has started a web-site called Help Bradley Manning, with the tag-line "Because True Heroism Merits No Punishment".
The site seems clearly based only on his status as a whistle-blower related to the release of the aforementioned video. There is no mention on the site, that I have seen, related to the release of the 260,000 documents. I want to be clear, however, that there is no proof Manning himself was involved in this. But if he was, he is obviously going away for a very long time, more than likely for the rest of his life. He might even conceivably face the prospect of execution.
I should also mention that Julian Assange, the co-founder of Wikileaks, is being sought in connection with the leaking of the helicopter-attack video leaked by Manning.
CORRECTION-I stated in the post that Manning was arrested earlier this month, which was incorrect. I have corrected it. He was evidently arrested sometime last month, as the first post in the aforementioned blog Help Bradley Manning is dated June 17th of 2010.
I want to stress, not a mere 260,000 PAGES of documents, but 260,000 SEPARATE DOCUMENTS!
So what do these documents contain? It is said that they include blistering assessments of foreign leaders, operational details involving covert activities, information regarding foreign policy decisions, and even classified files of meetings with Israeli officials, among many other embarrassing and damaging files of information.
The culprit, supposedly, is U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst Bradley Manning, who was arrested sometime in June of this year in connection with the leaking of an explosive video of attack-helicopter gun camera footage from Iraq. Whether that arrest is what led to the discovery of the leak of these documents is not exactly clear.
The alleged recipient of the documents are, like in the Iraq video case, Wikileaks, a website that specializes in serving as a repository for whistle blowers to leak documents that prove unscrupulous and criminal actions by government agencies and officials.
Manning is currently in jail, and Wikileaks has issued a denial as to its own involvement in the case of the disappearing documents.
Julian Assange, the Australian born founder of Wikileaks, has curiously seemed to disappear over the last few days. No one seems to know where he is.
What I wouldn't give to get to read these documents, if that is they really exist. I guess that's the point. No one knows for sure where they went, or who has them, or how and when they might turn up, or where. But if and when they do, I can almost promise you they would be worth their weight in gold to certain relevant parties.
Hat Tip-Defense Tech
UPDATE-Although it is not really surprising, Bradley Manning has his supporters, and one of them, Mike Gogulski, has started a web-site called Help Bradley Manning, with the tag-line "Because True Heroism Merits No Punishment".
The site seems clearly based only on his status as a whistle-blower related to the release of the aforementioned video. There is no mention on the site, that I have seen, related to the release of the 260,000 documents. I want to be clear, however, that there is no proof Manning himself was involved in this. But if he was, he is obviously going away for a very long time, more than likely for the rest of his life. He might even conceivably face the prospect of execution.
I should also mention that Julian Assange, the co-founder of Wikileaks, is being sought in connection with the leaking of the helicopter-attack video leaked by Manning.
CORRECTION-I stated in the post that Manning was arrested earlier this month, which was incorrect. I have corrected it. He was evidently arrested sometime last month, as the first post in the aforementioned blog Help Bradley Manning is dated June 17th of 2010.
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