A Belated Anniversary Reflection

If I ever get married, I have a good excuse for not remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Hell, I can't even remember my own. When June 12th rolled around, I had completely forgotten that I had in fact had this blog for a full year. Worse, I had planned on marking the occassion, but circumstances ended up seeing the day come by, go, and completely slip my mind. Well, based on the assumption that late is better than never, I guess I should take the time to pat myself on the back. It's now about one year and four months since I started this blog.

Not much has changed, but some things have. I decided to limit my political postings, for one thing, while not entirely avoiding politics. I look at it like this. Nobody is going to change my mind, and the chances of my changing anybody's mind is like slim and none, and-wait a minute, what's that, over there in that cloud of dust that just left town? Fuck, it's Slim.

In other words, I figure the only people that want to hear what I have to say about politics is people that either already agree with me, or not, but I ain't going to make no big mark on the world one way or another. I might get linked here and there on a few political blogs, but I'm pretty unlikely to be interviewed by Larry King or Keith Olbermann, so why bother?

On the other hand, if I feel I have some unique perspective on things, yeah, I'll still chime in here and there. But for the most part, I've decided to just take it as it comes. Just write about whatever I feel, when the mood hits.

Anyway, I thought, well, since this is a late anniversary exercise in ego, I'll just go over some of my past posts, with links. Of course, there is the dilemna of what to choose from, but the obvious answer quickly presented itself. Why not post a link to one post from each month?

Hopefully, somebody somewhere might find my bizarre ramblings on varied subjects over the last roughly one and a half years worth clicking on to. And so, without further ado, I once again embarass myself with some of the most oddball reminiscences I could collect under one post.

This June 05 post falls under the category of "Do as I say, not as I do". It was a technique for the gradual cessation of smoking that I called The Way-I Hope-To Stop Smoking. I failed, but don't let that stop you. The formula, and accompanying year long ritual observances are still sound, in my opinion. The problem was not with the message, it just needed a better messenger.

In July of 05, I conducted a little experiment in Tarot reading, to try to ascertain who George Bush was going to pick for his first Supreme Court appointment. It ended up being John Roberts, and if I say so myself, the reading I conducted on this post here, while not perfect, came awful close in describing Bush's eventual appointee. You read it, and you be the judge of it's overall accurracy.

In August 05, I delved into a little bit of my ancestral heritage as a pagan eccentric in this post I did about my great-great granfather, Ira Wells Senior-Satanist. I never actually met the man, he was long long dead and gone by the time I was born, but this might be proof that certain things are just in the blood.

In September 05, which for the most part was dedicated to rages and rants involving Hurricane Katrina, I took enough time out to conduct a rant against the political correctness agenda of the folks of Court TV, in which I decided that it was more Court TV for Soap Lovers than it was for those actually interested in equal justice or the law.

In October of 05, I decided, after careful consideration, to relate an experiment that I once conducted with marijuana and anise seed essential oil in The Ritual Uses Of Anise. It was an experiment that proved most interesting and provocative. I may have also inadverdently as a result learned the identity of a murderer. Too bad I have no way of proving it.

In November of 05 I was somewhat amazed as well as amused at the spectacle of so many people who were heading to a certain cathedral near Sacremento California, in hopes of viewing, and receiving healing, from the purported miracle of a statue of the Virgin Mary that cried tears of blood. I have never learned exactly what the truth was concerning this, but I did posit a list of very possible reasons as to Why Is Mary Crying.

In December of 05, I decided to be the Al Gore of Kentucky, in an environmental post that I called Pikeville And The Vanishing Mountains.

Janurary of 06 was a boring month, filled with pretty much useless rants, but some good posts as well, but for now I'll stick to this simple little propserity ritual of my own design. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to cut your own hair by candlight at night? Read this and wonder no more.

In February of 06, I uncovered a sinister plan of George W. Bush and the Neo-Cons which he revealed in his State Of The Union Address of that year in what seemed to be an exercise in plausible deniability. Watch out, I declared, for Those Evil Human Animal Hybrids.

In March of 06, I reminisced about the evil plan I could have made my own, but passed up the chance for power, fame and infamy in The Cult That Never Was.

In April of 06 I finally posted the story of Washington DC councilman Jim Graham, Aaron Burr, and the skull of James Wirt in the bizarre mystery I called The Place Of A Skull.

In May of 06 I made the mistake of copying and pasting from my Yahoo Group, Paganbitchslap, a short story that I should have rewritten and posted directly from Blogger, and to Blogger, as the printing is smaller than usual. Still, it's a good short story, in my opinion, though I do probably need to rewrite it. The name says it all, and if you have the stomach you can read here The Curse Of The Pussy Eating Vampire.

In June of 06, I delved into what seems to be the second childhood of Neil Young, as he bemoaned the lack of protest singers. It's the gold records, stupid, I more or less explained in
The Times They Have A' Changed.

Well, that should have been my anniversary post, but why leave well enough alone? Since we're on the subject of celebrities , might as well delve into this July 06 post I did in response to Mel Gibsons drunken anti-Semitic rant, in which I explain the background and historicity of Chrisitian Anti-Semitism in Anti Semitic Conscousness And Consequences.

That brings us to August of 06, and one of my own personal all time favorite posts, in which I extoll the red-blooded, all-American virtues inherent in A Teenage Sexual Fantasy.

Finally, I guess we'll end it with this one post from last month, September 06, in which I come clean and admitted my own past indiscretions-er, sort of-in Confession-MeAnd Debbie LeFave.

Well, so I guess that's it. Happy Birthday to me. Please take the time to read some of this inane crap, and feel free to comment as usual, preferably on this post, about any of them. Your regular readership and friendship, your praise and constructive criticism, is always appreciated. Hell, I think if I was to have you all over for a party some time, I might even have to add an extra room to the house. I must be doing something right.

Question

UPDATE: Well, the fucking shit has happenned again, and I'm almost sure it has something to do with this god damn Blogger Beta bull shit, so fuck it. No more posts until this fucking shit has been settled, for good, which means no more posts for maybe a week after it has been fixed with NO MOTHERFUCKING INTERRUPTIONS!!!!

So if some of these cocksucking sites want to try to sell me something with their goofy fucking ads I guess they are just shit out of luck, not that I would buy anything from the fucking morons anyway, becasue they slow me down so much THEY PISS ME THE FUCK OFF!!!!



Just wondering, does anybody besides me have a problem with Blogrolling.com, or is having one? Jus thought I'd ask, because I want you to know, in case you come on this site and notice the Blogroll is gone-I didn't do it. I can't log onto the site either, I keep getting an error message. Yet, the blogroll shows up on Hillbilly White Trash, so I can't figure it out. If anybody has any information as to what's going on, I'd appreciate hearing it. Until such time as this mess is fixed I won't be blogging. I've about had it with this shit anyway, if it ain't one thing it's another. I'm sick of wasting my time with this crap, there ain't a night that goes by that I get to bed at a decent hour. It's either something with Blogger itself, if not, then it's Technorati, or Site Meter, or some other stupid fucking shit, and I've had it. Now it's Blogrolling, the one major feature on my blog I seldom have a problem with. So fuck it.

Goodbye for now, I need a vacation from this useless shit anyway.

The Mysteries Of Asatru

An interesting fusion of sorts seems to be transpiring in American prisons, involving the seeming conversion of many white prisoners to the pagan religion of Asatru, prisoners who happen to be White Supremacist. It was a woman by the name of Else Christesnsen who seems to have been responsbile for the recognition within the prison system of Asatru as a bona fide religion, the same as Judaism, Islam, etc. Still, she and the majoriy of Asatru adherents could scarcely have been prepared for the latest results of these eforts.

In fact, perhaps the major Asatru group, known as The Asatru Alliance, is quite adamant, that there is no place within it's ranks for hatred or racial prejudice. Thanks at least in large part to this controversy, they have stated that there shall be no political alignment with either the left or the right within it's ranks.

Still, they are not the last word, or the only word. In fact, the fusion and confusion which I mentioned seems to be due to the presence of two similar though ideologically distinct pagan organizations. The second, not legitimately called Asatru, is known instead as Wotanism, which was founded by a man by the name of David Lane, who intended his sect to be purposefully distinct from what he calls the "folkish" Asatruers, who are for the most part disdained as univeralist and "new age", equated by Wotanists with Wiccans.

Wotan, Lane says, serves also as an antonym, or, W.O.T.A.N.-Will Of The Aryan Nations.

Whereas Asatru tends toward Norse Reconstructionism, Wotanism tends to see their gods, Wotan of course being the most important, as Jungian archetypes. Yet, they seem as well to go beyond this in some respects.

Even the old myth of the warriors death and reward in Valhalla is given a white racialist slant. Those who fight and die for the preservation of the white race, will be sent to Valhalla, where they will engage in many heroic battles, and at night will feast and be tended by beautiful maidens known as Valkyries. Those who do not fight, called Thralls, will upon death be torn assunder and dispersed into the chaos of eternal night, or Helgard.

As for Valhalla, this is seen as not as a literal spiritual afterlife, but actually as a form of reincarnation, where they will then carry on the battle, be blessed with a beautiful wife (who herself will be the reincarnation of a virtuos Aryan woman). Eventually, they will be granted entrance into Valhalla, where they will blend into the Universal Life Force.

All this is for the pleasure of the AllFather-Wotan, or Odin-who it turns out created all races of man for his own pleasure. He needed flesh and blood forms in order to be able to experience death, victory, love, pleasure, etc. In other words, if you fail to provide the All-Father with this entertainment, you are really going to piss him off.

And evidently, to ensure there was plenty of fun and games, he created all races just to compete with each other.

The Asatru, in the meantime, are beside themselves. Their attraction to their religion was not based on any feelings of racial superiority, or race hatred, it is merely an outgrowth of pride in their own racial culture and heritage, which they respect and want to promote in it's positive aspects. They see the Middle Eastern religions, rightly in my opinion, as foreign agents which are unatural to those of European descent.

In other words, the difference in Asatru and Wotanism is a fine line between the positive and the negative. The Asatru should have seen that coming when they initiated their prison outreach programs, but evidently they weren't looking out of Odins good eye.

To the prisoners who embrace the new faith, it is a mark of good behavior, as pointed out to me in a comment on this earlier post I did on the subject. Alignment with a recognized religous group gets you certain privileges and considerations. It also offers a degree of protection from prison predators and scavengers.

It didn't turn out so well, however, for Mark Lenz, Jeffry Remington, and Brent Parker, the last of whom was murdered, stabbed more than fifty times before an altar of Odin, by the other two. Accordding to Lenz, who was just recently executed by lethal injection for the crime, Parker disrespected the gods, did not treat the religion seriously, and so their honor was at stake. Or, maybe it was because the two suspected Parker was planning to attack them. Or, it might have been a calculated murder to gain control of the cult. No one knows for sure.

Ironically, Lenz was orignally sent to prison for a series of burglaries that didn't involve violence, while Parker, the murder victim, had received fifty years in prison for the drunken murder of an associate whom he beat literally to death, then running over his body with his car, later laughing and bragging about it at a local bar. Jeffrey Remington, the co-murderer of Parker, hung himself in his own prison cell some years ago.

Of course, this kind of shenanigans can happen in any religion, and particularly in any prison group. The Asatru groups are, however, understandably dismayed that these activities might come in time to be identified with them. Still, as I pointed out on The Wild Hunt Blog, in a comment on this post which was deleted for some mysterious reason I can only guess at, prison outreach to these people should be continued. But they shouldn't expect these people to overnight become tolerant univeralist minded pagans adhering to concepts of universal broherhood and love.

It is fine to stress pride in European culture and heritage. That is one of the reasons these people gravitated to Asatru to begin with. There is no reason to give up now, due to a few unfortunate incidents, which should in some respects have been foreseen to begin with. Asatru can be a valuable tool with which these people can put their lives back together, and learn to live in positive ways, both inside the prison system, and outside of it, for those who will eventually be released. One thing is for certain. Whether you prefer to think of them as legitimate Asatru, or as Wotanists who have insinuated themselves into a prison outreach program under maybe false pretenses in order for the benefits they might derive from the system, they are there now. The Asatru can try to bridge the gap and try to moderate their behavior through the prison system and hope it sticks in time, or they can denouce them and maintain a rivalry which will accomplish nothing.

Otherwise, they will simply gravitate to the various Neo-Nazi groups on the outside, as they have already been doing. It is a growing trend in the White Nationalist movement as it stands now, and can only get bigger. It didn't have to be that way, and maybe still doesn't have to be that way. But that's the way it probably will be.

The picture above of Odin comes from Norse Mythology Pictures, which are all on the public domain. For anyone interested in Norse mythology, I recommend it highly.

Abortion-The Board Game

This coming election year, there will be the dependable percentage of both Democrats and Republicans who will be single issue voters. In some cases, those single issues will come in bundles, known as values. But an appreciable percentage will be bona fide numbskulls who will vote solely on how politicians and, in a great many if not most cases, a political party in general, is perceived on one issue.

Perhaps the largest and most obvious example of single issue voters are those whose vote is based solely on the abortion issue. Republicans, of course, are the "Pro-Life" party, while Democrats are seen as the party which is "Pro-Choice".

So controversial and divisive is this issue there seems to be no chance for common ground when it comes to single issue voters, and the subject of abortion is certainly no exception. Conservatives for the most part insist there is no legitimate reason for an abortion whatsoever. Rape, incest, the life and health of the mother, or severe deformity of the fetus in question is no excuse.

The most liberal Democrats and their supporters are no better. If they had their way there would be no controls, no regulations whatsoever, on a womans right to seek a safe and legal abortion at any time or place, during any period of her pregnancy. Nor is age a factor, to them any young girl should have the right to get an abortion and be under no compunction whatsoever to receive parental consent, or for that matter to provide notification to said parents of her intentions.

Politicians for the most part are brought and paid for by the proponents of one side or another, and are dependent on the voting drive efforts put forth by the supporters/opponents of the various positions, to say nothing of financial contributions to the coffers of the various candidates.

As such, it is not unusual to see a politician spend a great amount of time demagoguing this subject. Nor does it stop after the election cycle. Then it moves into the stratosphere of court appointments. Republicans are determined to appoint conservative activist judges who would, if they got their way, overturn Roe v. Wade. Liberals of course oppose the appointment of such judges, in fact during confirmation proceedings, this seems to be their main area of concern. If they had their way, they would insure that Roe remained the law of the land.

It has, in effect, become a game. As such, I propose just that. Let's turn it into a board game, one that I would call, "Abortion: The Game". For players from 8 on up, and from four to eight players, I believe it would be a great educational tool, and fun for the entire family.

Here's how it would work. No player gets to choose what role he plays in the game, this would be determined by the random drawing from a specific deck of pre-shuffled cards. These cards will be used only once, for the purpose of assigning roles. These roles would be as follows:

1. One pregnant woman, who is unsure as to whether to get an abortion. She feels she should get one because
a. She has been raped
b. She wasn't aware the man who seduced her was, in reality, her long lost half brother
c. The child will be deformed
d. Her health, possibly her life, is at stake
e. The child is not her husbands
f. The child is her husbands, but he is a louse and she wants a divorce
g. She is poor and cannot provide for the child
h. It would interfere with her career and educational pursuits
i. She just doesn't want to have a baby yet, she's just not ready for that kind of responsibility
j. She is unmarried and wants to stay that way, and does not want to have to be a single mother
k. She is a young girl, too young to have a baby, and is also afraid of getting in trouble for being sexually active
l. She and her family are pillars of the community and she fears the scandal of giving birth to what is actually an interracial child.

One of these twelve choices will be determined by a roll of the dice within a marked area on the back of the board. If both die remain on the board she (or he) must combine the numbers, giving her a choice of from seven to twelve. If only one of the die remains on the board, the other will be excluded, giving her a choice of from one to six. If no die remains on the board, the toss is repeated for a total of three times, after which the number showing on the die closest to the board will be chosen. The dice should be tossed by a person other than the person playing the role of the mother.

The other characters are as follows:

2. The potential father of the child, the first players husband (or lover, half-brother, rapist, etc.).

3. A Pro-Choice politician

4. A Pro-Life politician

5. An abortion provider

6. A conservative minister

7. Pro-Choice protestor

8. Pro-Life protester

All these characters will be assigned a specific pack of cards appropriate for their roles. The game then starts. The object of the game is for each character to make it from the beginning to the end-"The Abortion Clinic".

Every move by each player will be determined by a toss of the dice. However, there are four spots on the board marked "Danger". If you land on one of these spots, you are relegated from that point on to the use of only one die.

Also along the way, there will be spots on the board which require you to draw a card from your appropriate pack. Every such deck will contain some cards which are similar in nature. For example, one will say, "on your next roll you must move backwards the number of spots equal to the number you roll." Also, each will have one card which will say to "Advance four extra spots.

These are the "Draw A Card" spots, and each player will as I said draw from a card which will contain instructions appropriate for their particular characters. Examples of these might be:

The woman-"Describe how you felt when you were raped (or discovered you were pregnant by your half-brother, or was pregnant with an interracial baby, etc.) At this point, she has to draw from a different set of cards before she can advance, when it comes her turn. The correct card will be marked, and she must read it, after which she advances off the square the number of points on the die or dice she has rolled. She can not advance for example if she draws a card that says, "I felt like baking a cake".

Or the preacher might draw a card that says "Give an example of a Biblical verse that justifies your position". He then as well must when it comes his turn cast the die or dice, and draw a card, after which he advances the number of moves only upon drawing the appropriate card. "Blessed are the peacemakers" ain't going to cut it.

The husband or whatever is in a peculiar position. A toss of the dice will determine as to whether he is in favor of or opposed to the womans actions, and a particular set of cards will be appropriated him accordingly. He might well draw a card that says, "You have been accused of spousal abuse, go back twelve spaces."

All characters as well might land on a space that will require them to draw a card, which might well inform them they have now been arrested for this, that, or the other. They are stuck there until they roll doubles.

The object of the game is to make it to the abortion clinic, which requires a specific roll of the dice or die from any one specific point on the board. Players also can land on the same spot. However, if two characters from opposing teams land on the same spot, they are in opposition, and are fighting to advance, which will be determined by which character rolls the largest number on the dice or die. If one character has been relegated to one die and the other hasn't, then the one die player is of course at a disadvantage. Also, though neither player can move until both have rolled, they still must take their time in the appropriate order. What is more, the person who rolls the least amount, must after both rolls have been made, move backward according to the number he or she has rolled.

If the doctor and the woman both make it to the clinic, then she has had her abortion and wins the game.

Finally, there is one spot that is critical, the last spot before reaching the abortion clinic. If you land here and are using both die, you must then go backwards your next roll.

If two of the opposing teams players make it inside the abortion clinic, and the doctor is there, then they "kill the abortion doctor" and the game is over. Similarly,if they make it to the abortion clinic before the doctor, then they "bomb the abortion clinic" and likewise have won the game.

If the woman is there, however, then all four opposing players must make it there before the doctor in order to win the game.

If the doctor along with the woman makes it there before all four of the opposing players, they have won the game. Likewise, if one or more of her teammates,including the doctor, makes it there, they nullify the effects of the corresponding opposing player.

If the woman makes it there before the doctor, then she must wait for him or her. However, she blocks the path of the opposing players, until they roll doubles. If two or more opposing players finally make it in with her before the abortion doctor, then they talk her out of having the abortion. Game over.

Needs some work, maybe, but like I said, a fun way to learn the ins and outs of both sides of the issue, which is why, natch, nobody can arbitrarily choose the roles they want.

The picture at the top is of an aborted fetus, which I propose for the front cover of the box for "Abortion:The Game", courtesy of Phatmos.com.

For Robert Anton Wilson-Have A Heart Or Two

There is no God. Well, okay, maybe one. Two, three, tops. Maybe. Okay, two or three dozen, all right, enough already, who cares?

Although I am a relatively new self-appointed Pope of Discordianism, am constantly getting excommunicated by GrouchoGhandhi, and am constantly being ignored in my quest to have pig-wrestling-with-a-blanket-in-mud recognized as the official initiation ritual of Discordianism, still I deeply appreciate the efforts of Robert Anton Wilson in his life pursuit to demonstrate just how totally ridiculous, to the point of absurdity, is the concept of organized religion.

Now, this greatest of all founding profits is in dire need of assistance, being as he is a sufferer of post polio syndrome. A good man is dying, and his medical bills are considerable. I will say nothing further about it, as Rufus in Grad Student Madness has already said it very succinctly.

And so, I urge you to read that post from Rufus, and afterwards to visit Wilsons web-site. If you are so inclined, and able, I urge you to contribute to his medical expenses, which you can do through his pay-pal account listed there.

As Rufus says, Karma will thank you. Hey, it works in "My Name Is Earl."

Also, your third eye will finally be able to see past your nose. It might not like everything it sees, but you can't have everything. So what, just e-mail a donation by way of this pay pal account, all right? It's at olgaceline@gmail.com. You might have to go to the web-site though for that to go through Pay-Pal.

In closing, that greatest of all universal secrets is, there are actually countless numbers of gods, at last count in fact there are seven billion or so here on this planet. Some of them should have a heart.

News Flash- "I'm Gay", Says Foley

When Foley recently released through his lawyer a statement to the effect that, "he wants you all to know he is gay", I said to myself, well what do you know, the son-of-a-bitch is trying to deal one last, desperate blow (no pun intended) at the Democrats.

Consider that Republicans are desperate to not let Foley's Follies contribute to a Conservative Christian revolt at the polls, and this self-serving message becomes all too obvious. After all, to Christian Conservatives, who ordinarily tend to vote overwhelmingly Republican, this could well be a coded reference to the fact that these people look at gays as:

1. Potential child molesters all
2. Overwhelmingly Democratic in voter sentiment
3. Especially if they are flagrantly open and activist.

In other words, what Foley's coded message seems to be is, if you hate me and find me despicable, fine, but remember, it is the Democratic Party who openly supports the agenda of people like me.

Sure enough, later on today I received in my e-mail a link to this editorial from Ann Coulter which contains her take on the matter, comparing the Foley scandal to one that transpired two decades ago, involving a Democratic Congressman by the name of Gerry Studs. I have to admit that, if true, she does make a valid point as to the difference of the Democratic Party reactions then, as compared to now. You can read the article here.

Or, just for the hell of it, you might prefer the missive of our good Reverend Hayes of Conservatives For Family Values, who makes it all too plain that Congressman Foley himself might himself have been the victim of young sex obsessed pages , in
Dont Take A Page From Foleys Book.

First it was alcohol that received the blame, and now it's homosexuality, due to Foley's alleged molestation by a priest. Surely there's more, though. Oh, if only they hadn't taken God out of the classrooms.

Pssst!-Hey, Kid! Wanna Play With My Bill?

(Photo from Boorman.Livejournal.com)
Now that Mark Foley has gone into alcohol rehab, in order to help deal with his "alcohol related behavioral problems", he will doubtless at some future date devote a good deal of time to fighting the evil scourge of alcohol abuse, maybe even as much time as he had previously devoted to fighting the scourge of child sex abuse.

Who knows, he might even do it as a returning Congressman. Stranger things have happenned, and you know what they say. Americans have a short memory. Or is that, Americans are a forgiving people?

Or is that, Americans tend to be stupid motherfuckers?

I've always wondered about people who seem so strident about certain issues. I've known people who spend a lot of their conversational time making statements such as, child molesters should be castrated; or hung; or locked up for life where they should be prison bitches; or they should be monitored for life.

Well, what I find interesting about this is the simple fact that I know of few people that are beating the drum in favor of the constitutional or civil rights of pedophiles, with the sole exception of Nambla, and arguably, the ACLU. And even Namble is questionable, in my opinion, as I have to wonder just how deeply imbedded within that organization are FBI undercover internet porn investigators.

Be that as it may, when I hear people going on like this, I have to wonder if:

1. They are just obsessed with this issue and are genuinely disgusted with it. Understandable, of course, but certainly an unusual thing on which to spend an inordiante amount of time, if you are a normal person, that is.

2. They are suspicous of everyone around them including me, or you, if you are the recipient of one of these monoloques, as I have been, and possibly we are being fed a line to ferret out exactly where we stand. Are we for pedophiles, or against them? And is that bad-or is that a good thing?

3. Possibly, they themselves have been molested, which if true would certainly be an understandable expression of rage.

4. They are themselves pedophiles who are full of self-loathing, and trying to work through their problems, maybe in a state of denial, desperate to hide the awful truth from everyone around them, most especially themselves.

5. They are themselves pedophiles who are comfortable in their own skins, but still feel obliged to play a cynical game. This last group is the ones who might in time graduate from mere conversational obsession with the subject, to actual pro-active involvement through such avenues as, for example, the Center For Missing And Abused Children.

It might be a good investment of a persons time to visit one of these centers, during a public relations type event. Learn about the program, hob-nob with the various volunteers and other contributors and position holders in this and various other similar organizations. Shake hands with them. When you get home later, you might feel like taking a shower, when you consider that, if you met as many of ten people who work for one of these groups on a regular basis, there is a pretty good chance that one, two, or three, or more, might actually be pedophiles.

Some of them might even end up, as Mark Foley did, seeking a political career.

And don't think for one second Foley could not possibly recover from this debaucle. Consider this fact. The young man whom he has been mainly accussed of pursuing,through e-mails and instant messages, was sixteen at the time. He is now seventeen.

The age of consent in Florida is seventeen. The age of consent in Washington, where the alleged crimes occurred, is sixteen. It could very well be that Foley's more legally damning crime is that of abuse of power.

Still, you have to wonder exactly why, according to The Raw Story, Foley has a
MYSpace Profile, albeit one of little distinction. You do of course have to have a MySpace Profile before you can communicate with other members, of any age.

You also have to wonder just why so many Republicans set on this story and seemed unwilling to do anything substantial about it. On the other hand, you should equally wonder just why so many Democrats possibly, although this isn't quite so clear, did not seem fit to reveal the facts of this bizarre case until a month before the election.

There are a lot of people who are genuinely conerned about this issue, and they should feel outraged. They should also feel pretty fucking stupid.

Jack The Ripper-Television Show Proposal

Pictured above-the corpse of Mary Kelley, as discovered after becomming the fifth, and allegedly last, of the five canonical victims of "Jack The Ripper".

If you read this, consider yourself tagged. I decided to do a dreaded meme, only this one is a bit different from the ordinary. My idea is, see what kind of television show proposals we can all come up with. If you happen to hate television, no excuse. All the more reason for you to develop a proposal which you consider would be above the ordinary fare you usually find.

My idea would not be suitable for the commercial networks, as it would be far too bloody and gruesome. It would be more ideal for HBO or Showtime. Basically, what it would amount to, would be a continuing drama, a serial, in which a reporter for the London Times, one who works out of the London Whitechapel Police Departtment, would become obsessed with investigating the Jack The Ripper murders, in the hopes of being the one who would discover his true identity and thus crack the case.

My character would make a perfect suspect in his own right. His mother was a prostitute, while his father had been a high ranking officer in Scotland Yard who went mad from syphyllus. Yes, he is still alive, and is a suspect. As for the main character, he had been married, but his wife had run out on him, leaving no clue as to where she had gone, or who she had run off with, if anyone. Yet, he had considered their marriage to be a good one, as in flashbacks she seems to have loved him as much as he did her.

Following their split, their teenage son had fallen in with a gang of roughnecks, and is still a continual source of trouble to him.

Then, following the murder of the fourth prostitute, Catherine Eddows, whom he had known well, he becomes more and more obsessed with the killings, and begins investigating.

There are a number of recurring characters. His editor, his contact at the Whitechapel police, a fellow reporter. There are a number of well known characters and others who are vaguely known due to their tentative connections to the Ripper case. For example, Montaque J. Druitt, a barrister and former teacher who had fallen into some kind of trouble due to, it is rumored, an innapropriate sexual contact with a young student.

One of the most important characters will be Mary Jane Kelley, a prostitute who happens to have as her real name the same name that his prostitute friend had often used as an alias. She wonders if she had not been the intended target, as rumors had circulated that it was she who had been arrested prior to the other womans murder.

For the most part, however, most of the characters are random examples of London Whitechapel street life, or middle class businessmen, and prostitutes, etc. Cops, reporters, doctors, craftsmen, ministers. For the most part the kind of seemingly ordinary people that would have gone unnoticed in daily life.

But of course there would be a fair share of well known folks as well who might in some ways come under the umbrella of suspicion. It would be remiss not to include the now infamous painter Walter Sickert, recently accussed by author Patricia Cornwall of having been the Ripper. And so, he would be a regular character as well, along with some of the other suspects that have been identified over the years.

By the end of the first season, it is obvious that one thing is going to happen. Mary Kelley is going to be murdered. And that will take up, in fact, almost the entirety of the last episode, as the main character is laid up in his own bed, shot up with opium by his former runaway wife, whom he has found, and who has now returned in the hopes of robbing him. She has done so, and left, and he tries desperately to pull himself together, as the scenes alternate between his helplessness and the assault of Mary Kelley, by a person whose image we only see from behind, as he suddenly cuts her throat, and then begins to savagely mutilate her, all the while whistling an oddly familiar tune, one we seem to have heard once before, closer toward the beginning of the season. Who was it?

Then, we see him leaving the apartment house of Mary Kelley, and for the first time we see him. We finally learn the identity of Jack The Ripper. Well, this fictitous one, that is, probably an ordinary person that was not well or even slightly known.

The next season, and the last one, would revolve around the main character eventually discovering who it is, and killing him, but in the meantime being unable to gather the evidence to prove the persons guilt.

I got this idea from a conversation a bunch of us were having on The Widows Son's site
The Burning Taper, on a September 22nd post, with some moron called "MySpace Mike", who was obsessed with the idea of some grand Masonic conspiracy. In the course of an extraordinarily long series of copy-and-paste jobs from anti-Masonic sources, he mentioned somewhere the subject of Jack The Ripper, whom some have tied to the Masons, due to some obscure suppossedly Masonic reference left in graffiti on the wall by one of the murder scenes.

I thought, well, that would make a great television series, and for that matter, a great meme.

So there you have it. Come on, everybody, top this one if you can. Let those creative juices flow.

Hail Eris, Full Of Grace

Well, you've certainly been a busy little goddess throughout the eons, and you've certainly made your mark on the world. You've convinced the sun to go in the opposite direction. With just one toss of an apple you were responsible for the Trojan War. You've still got your own, fun loving cult of followers. And now, finally, you've got your own little planet named after you.

So, what will you do next?

"Ah, but that would be telling."

American Dream

It seems congratulations are in order for Muhammed Shahiri, aka Aladdinslad though neither one is actually his real name, according to him. It's good to know that, somewhere in route on his "spiritual and magical journey", he would finally realize the dream he has nurtured for some years now.

He is finally another in a long line of hyphenated Americans. In this case, Syrian-American. Yes, he has finally become an American citizen.

To mark the occassion, I have decided to present him with something that might be what he has said he has wantd for some time now. A suitable avatar for his blog, pictured above. It's not exactly the naked female genie he had in mind, but, on the other hand, if you use your imagination, who knows what might pop up-or out.

At any rate, it's good to know things are finally starting to look up for him, after all the horrible experiences he has gone through lately, such as the horrid tale told here.

Anyway, congratulations, and good luck, Aladdinslad.

And, yes, God bless America.

Beasts Of Burden

I think it's incredible that one of America's biggest Middle Eastern allies, the United Arab Emirates, is ruled by a man-Sheikh Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum-who, along with his brother and deputy ruler Sheikh Hamdan, are accussed of engaging in the trafficking of young boys, most under the age of ten. Yet, the Sheikh, who owns hundreds of horses that he keeps in Ocala Florida, was sued in a Miami Court. The papers were served to him in Kentucky, where he was in the process of buying thoroughbred horses.

The Sheikh is a big owner of throughbred horses, and has had horses run in the Kentucky Derby, and other races. Likewise, he is a fanatical devotee of the ancient bedouin sport of camel racing, and that is exactly where he seems to have run afoul of the law. The law that he himself has passed, and has sought over the years to implement and enforce, according to The Ansar Barney Trust, which is a Pakistani based human rights group that has lobbied and fought to end the practice of trafficking in human slavery, including that of children for the purposes of enforced work as camel jockeys.

The group has arranged for the shelter and rehabilitation of hundreds of former child camel jockeys and has applauded the Sheiks efforts to change the culture of camel racing, by the development and the gradual implementation of robot camel jockeys.

Still, according to various civil rights groups, as reported here on the Aljazeera website, the efforts of the Sheikh would seem to be half-hearted at best, considering that he may be responsible for as many as tens of thousands of children who have been purchased as slaves to meet the demands of the wildly popular sport.

The children reportedly come mainly from Pakistan, Bangla Desh, and some other parts of the Muslim world, and are typically either sold outright by their parents, or the parents are paid on a monthly basis. They are fed as little as pssible in order to keep their weight down, three biscuits and water being a typical days total food intake. Some are even injected with hormones in order to keep their weight down as low as possible past puberty and into their teen years.

They are expected to devote the entirety of their waking hours to training and racing. Any deviation is often met with brutal punsihment, including beating with metal rods. Some of the young boys have even been raped by their owners. They are kept in altogether miserable conditions, while the camels themselves are treated far better, as it is they who are the valuble commodity. The boys are expendble and, apparently, easily replaceable.

A small number of them, it is said, actually enjoy this life, which makes you wonder exactly what kind of life they lived before. For the most part, though, the brutality of their treatment is severe. It is further alleged that some of the owners even treat them brutally during the races. If they are uncomfortable, in fear, and crying-or screaming-this seems to effect the camels. It makes them run faster.

Did I point out that this is a wildly popular sport throughout certain Arabs states? Popularity of course implies a wide degree of acceptance. And these are the people that George Bush-and Bill Cliton, as well-favored allowing to run our ports. It's mind boggling.

Still, what can you do? This is a perfect eample of the conundrum the West has to deal with in regards to the Middle East. You either have people like this you have to deal with, or religous fundamentalists who would prefer to set up Islamic "Republics" based on sharia law. Depose one set of brutal, corrupt dictators and you get something that may be worse, as Jimmy Carter discovered in regards to Iran, a mistake we are still paying for.

And as George Bush, the Sheiks ally, may be finally starting to learn, whether he wants to admit it or not. At any rate, as long as he has a good, solid ally in the person of Sheikh Maktoum, he is unlikely to rock the boat. Hopefully, the Sheikh will finally make good on his pledges to uphold the law he himself passed in 1992. The way it looks for now, the law was evidently never meant to be more than diplomatic window dressing.

In themeantime, these childrens lives have been ruined, their childhoods lost, their futures destroyed. It will be years no doubt before the technology of robot camel jockeys is perfected to the degree that they can be widely and permanently implemented, and hopefully, gradually accepted by the for now skeptical fans of the sport of bedouin camel racing.

In the meantime, as supplies of young camel jockeys hopefully dry up, the current batch can be hidden away, injected with growth inhibiting hormones, and hopefully treated a little better, as they become a bit less expendable.

What other choice do they have?

The Brothers Karamazov

Earlier today I was on the blog Meriel's Medley, where the blog owner-Meriel, natch-has recently posted a list of all the books she has or has yet to read that fit into specific categories. "Book that changed your life ', for example, or "Book You'd Wish You'd Written", so on and so forth.

I've seen this list before, on other blogs and web-sites, it's like one of those memes that have been making the rounds lately. When I saw this on Meriel's site, I got to thinking-hell, I ain't got nothing else for the moment I feel like posting about. I'm sure not too many people care to read about the drama I went through the last three days with the plumbing, which has pretty much got me out of the mood to think about anything. On the other hand, something like this might just take my mind of all this shit.

That would be all this shit I've been holding off shitting becasue my motherfucking commode won't flush. So, right about the time I'd made up my mind I was going to go ahead and buy that bag of lime, then go ahead and buy those shower curtains to drape around my back porch deck, then go ahead and saw that hole in the middle of it, then go ahead and take my presently useless toilet out on the deck and place strategically over that hole, I happenned right upon Meriel's post.

Afterwards, the city sewer people came out and unblocked my sewer, and I felt waves of relief rushing over me, and not too long afterwards, a great big hefty load of shit rushing out of me. I never thought the sound of a flushing toilet could sound so much like a chorus of angels.

Soon, I was thinking about Meriels post, and then my own little potential exercise in reading futility, one that stretches back a few years. I got to thinking about what what is almost inarguably the greatest novel ever written-The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the all time greats of Russian literature.

I remembered the time that book was heartily recommended to me, and the time that then I purchased the book, and began to read. Without a doubt, it is indeed at least one of the greatest novel ever written. It is an intensely spiritual book but set around a fairly common setting and premise.

Three brothers have this father, who is grossly immoral, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. There is a fourth alleged brother he keeps as a servant, the son of an insane woman, a deaf mute epileptic who was considered a holy idiot, yet was seduced by this man in an ultimate act of willful debauchery. She died giving birth to this illegitimate son.

They all hate the father. One brother, though, the oldest, is very much like him. The second is an atheist, and yet, has a concrete set of values and ethics. The third brother is highly spiritual. The son of the demented woman seems to be a symbolic representative of some evil satanic force of nature, cunning and yet stupid. Some might say a Russian version of karma.

At one point, the father is brutally murdered, and naturally all three of the brothers are suspects. But the third son is actually the main character of the novel, and the events portrayed are actually a journal of his own growing spirituality, and search for the true meaning of life.

This is the kind of book you don't really have to agree with insofar as it's spiritual aspects go. You can appreciate it wholly for the one thing it is which can not be disputed. A great work of literature.

Unfortunately, when I set out to read this book, I found out that, in a way, this was too true. This book, as literature, is too damn good. I read the first four chapters of the damn thing, and found myself going back and re-reading them.

That wasn't good enough. I had to go back and read them again, these same four chapters. Damn, I thought, that was fucking good. It seemed that every time I read those first four chapters, the better they were.

And so I read them a fourth time. In fact, believe it or not, this book is so damn good-I never made it past the first four chapters.

Which brings me to the list.

BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE

"The Brothers Karamazov"-This is the book that taught me what makes a truly great work of literature. No matter how many times you read it, you come away with something different, a different insight, something you might have missed before, something that adds some texture and appreciation, and speaks to something deep inside of you. Something that makes you say, damn, I can't wait to read chapter five-but I think I want to read those first four fucking chapters over first.

Book You've Read More Than Once

The Brothers Karamazov, of course. But only the first four fucking chapters.

BOOK YOU'D WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND

The Brothers Karamazov

If I were never found, maybe-maybe-I'd finally get around to reading more than the first four fucking chapters. Maybe I'd read the whole fucking book.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH

The Brothers Karamazov. Yeah, there are some funny parts to it too. Well, at least there were in the first four fucking chapters.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

The Brothers Karamazov. I cried becasue I lost the motherfucker somehow in the stressful process of moving, along with a bunch of other stuff. I have yet to acquire another copy and finish reading it. Those first four fucking chapters are burned in my brain, though, or they were. Now, I know good and well, when i get around to getting it, I'll end up reading those four fucking chapters a bunch of more times.

BOOK YOU WISH YOU'D WRITTEN

The Brothers Karamazov. Only I seriously doubt I'd ever have written past those first four fucking chapters.

BOOK YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN

The Brothers Karamazov. At least not those first four fucking chapters, maybe then I could finish the whole fucking book.

ONE BOOK YOU ARE READING RIGHT NOW

Well, it's not the Brothers Karamazov, thank God, if it were, I'd probably still be on those first four fucking chapters.

ONE BOOK YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ

Do I really have to tell you that.

Sonia-The Perfect Blogger Woman

I recently discovered a blog that I just had to put on my blogroll, written by the lovely and talented Sonia Belle, who you see pictured here. What can I say? As she puts it, she has not worn clothes since the age of twenty. She is, nevertheless, happily married, with two teenage children. She loves sex, and has numerous affairs, but with women only, for, as she explains, she would never cheat on her husband with another man.

Yeah, I know, sorry guys, but check out her blog anyway. In the political realm , her concise logic and reason focuses like a laser on both American and international politics and problems, to the extent that I wish she'd get off the island where she lives with her family and devote her time to public service, where her talents and reason are desperately needed, and would be of great value.

On the other hand, why ruin a good thing? Sonia is by no means a knee-jerk partisan, and so in that sense I feel she is almost like a soul mate. She is truly a free thinker and an independent spirit. Would that there could be more.

She also has an eye for art and film, and a great deal of her blog is devoted to these subjects. She is an artist herself, creating collages from works she fnds on the internet. Beautiful, talented, original, sensuous, independent, and intelligent, yet loyal. Yes, I may have found the closest thing to the perfect woman here, folks. If you want to ever engage in a meaningful, reasonable, aticulate discussion and debate, by all means visit her blog.

Befre closing, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that I discovered this treasure on the blog of Renegade Eye, yet another member of the blogroll whose blog I heartily recommend, for mostly the same reasons. No nude photos though. Still, if you ever want to visit a blog with insights from a socialist perspective, pay him a visit. He too welcomes a hearty, well thought out and reasoanble debate.

Until later, well, later. For the time being, I feel this strange impulse to scroll back up to the top of the page.

Conservatives For American Values

Pictured-the abomination called "The Huggable Jesus Doll" (Courtesy of Conservatives For American Values)

If you would like a good look at a representative example of the thought processes of your average, garden variety Christian fundamentalist conservative, I urge you to devote a few minutes of your time to reading one of the newest blogs on my blog roll, which is

Conservatives For American Values

Some people might take exception to their seemingly hard core views, but to my way of thinking that is all the more reason why you should check them out. Some people might think they are quite scary. Personally, I think they are quite funny.

Take, for example, their view on the upcoming elections, and why you should vote Republican:

The issues are simple: Republicans will keep you safe and healthy. Democrats will essentially come to your house, then rape and kill your family while sodomizing your pets and doing crack on your couch. Then they will tax you for their time.

Of course, they are exaggerating here-I think-to make a point. Or maybe not. One of the writers seems equally adamant on the matter of the Arab family he has recently acquired, much to his chagrin, as neighbors. He seems certain that:

I know that Mahmuud is doing something sinister in that “Garage of Terror” that he spends so much time in.

"Don’t try to tell me that he is working on his lawn mower, because I know better than that. I am sure that any day now he will be having tons and tons of sand delivered so that he can live in the desert again. A lawn mover will be of little use then, will it not? I bet that he is rigging that self-propelled mower with explosives. It would be easy, then, for him to fire it up and send it on a collision course with the side of my house. I would be even more un-nerved if he had a lawn tractor…he would then make himself the slowest moving suicide bomber ever."

You see, the folks at Conservatives For American Values are unabashed Christians, and they seem to be among the few that have never forgotten the important lessons of 9/11. In fact, they are outraged that the original site of the World Trade Centers-ground zero-has yet to be utilized to it'sfull potential. They explain here:

"The terrorists are winning each and every day that Ground Zero is not making money. Remember, this was not a Kentucky Fried Chicken that these Islamo-Fascist-Neo-Barbarians slammed planes into. Leaving a smoldering pit of chicken parts and gravy to rot for five years would have been a tragedy, but nothing compared to the shame and sorrow of failing to rebuild that much business space in Manhattan. America is about two things, worshipping God and making money. Ground Zero is a testament to neither of those American ideals, and the thought of it enrages my Lord."

They are also enraged at thecurrent state of American culture, and how nothing seems to remain sacred. Not even the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they see as the latest of theri beloved symbols to not only be abused by liberals, but hijacked by them for their own nefarious purposes, as demonstrated by their concerns about the Huggable Talking Jesus Doll

The company that made this doll has earned their scorn, and the bloggers warn all parents about the perfidious danger in one post, by pointing out that:

"If this doll were an accurate representation of the angry vengeful God I know then no child would want to hug or play with it. If my son, Michael Jr., had a real Jesus doll then he would cower at the very sight of it. Having a Jesus doll watching you as you sleep should be as terrifying for a child as being tucked in with a Chucky doll. The child should fear and respect their Jesus doll, not love it and cuddle it as if it were a damned teddy bear. It is for these reasons that I’m urging parents not to buy one of these dolls for your child. If you wish to be a responsible Christian parent you need to make sure that your child views the Lord not as his “bestest snuggle buddy” but as the one thing standing between him and eternal torment in Hell."

And speaking of Jesus, nothing seems to outrage them more than the current state of religion in schools, or more precisely the lack thereof. They seem to feel that, as this was, is, and always has been a Christian nation, it is incumbent that ourchildren be taught the Bible and Christian faith throughout all aspects of society, maybe especially the schools, which they now see as a hotbed of multi-culturalism and political correctness run amok. To summarize their feelings on this subject:

"You see, I understand this school prayer argument perfectly. I acknowledge that the lone Muslim kid in the classroom might feel a bit isolated sitting alone in a corner while the rest of his class is lead in a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. But frankly the thought of little Osama Jr. being teased on the playground isn’t enough to make me overlook the importance of giving our children a good moral education. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior or find another place to play ball, kid!"

On the recent ruling against the use of warrantless wiretaps by the Bush Administration as a means of waging the war on terror:

"The liberal commitment to the destruction of the American way of life was shown again as Judge Anna Diggs Taylor (a woman no less) recently ruled that the Bush administration’s use of warrantless wire taps is both illegal and unconstitutional. In case you’re wondering, this ruling does in fact seal the fate of all Americans. This out of control activist woman judge with the help of the ACLU (surprise, surprise) have just handed al Queda the keys to your house. The most you can hope for at this point is that the terrorists don’t track mud onto your nice carpet as they sneak into your home to slit your throat while you sleep."

On why Democrats hate war:

"Liberals think that war is a bad thing because they are not very good at it. You effeminate little flip-floppers need to realize that sometimes you need to take a violent stand against everything that is wrong in the world. Violence is the answer, it really is. Look at Iraq, as an obvious example. The Iraqi people are no longer living under the fear and oppression wrought by Saddam. Now the Iraqi people have free elections, and they are devouring the fruits of Democracy. I know that you liberals have some fire in your bellies, though. I have seen the way you react when the minimum wage employee at Starbucks puts whole milk in your Coffee-Latte-Tino-Flaming-Mochafrothy when you asked, repeatedly, for skim."

And, speaking of war, they make their support for the nation of Israel, and their reasons for it, crystal and blazingly clear:

"Israel is the only nation on Earth, besides the United States, that has the God given authority to kill anyone that it sees fit. Do not stand in the way of Israel. The Chosen People of God will have no qualms about sending someone to your happy little home to kill you. Israel must defend itself, using any means necessary. There are no innocent people, and no people who are not expendable, when the safety of Israel’s northern border outposts is at stake."

So, you might ask yourself, how can anybody be that hateful, that prejudiced, that-well-fundamentalist in their beliefs? And the answer to that question would be, in their case, they are not. This is actually a parody web-site, just in case you haven't already figured it out. In my opinion, they should do away with the disclaimer and the legal notice. According to them, however, they still get plenty of hate mail. Evidently some people get so incensed they don't notice the disclaimer, nor bother to click on the legal notice at the bottom of the page. And some of these people actually comment on the blog, unknowingly adding to the fun when they are reprimanded with a Christian "rebuke".

Go visit the blog, and have yourself a good laugh.

Mabon-Brought To You By Mary And The Widows Son

Today is Mabon, the second of three harvest festivals, which is used to commemorate the Autumnal Equinox. Over at Sacred Fems, Mary And The Widows Son has placed an excellent post in recognition of the sacred Wiccan holiday, titled:

The Autumnal Equinox-Welcoming The Lord And Lady

Part of it is as follows:

Mabon is also the Autumn Equinox, the balance between light and dark. As we give thanks for the abundance that the long days and strong power have given, we also take this moment to balance, to rest, to simply be, and prepare ourselves for the growing cold and dark. And to recognize and remember, as always, that what appears as death is merely the preparation for rebirth. That what is reaped at the harvest will become seed for the next year. And we remember the mystery — there is no death; all that dies will be reborn. And for this too, we give thanks.

A very concise look at the day, with rituals for invoking the god and goddess included. For anyone interested in Wicca, or simply curious and wanting to learn about it, the information presented here is about as good as you will find anywhere.

It was originally presented in the Indiana Pagan Resource Network

However, though it was posted for Indiana Pagans, there is very little, if anything, that can't be modified to fit Mabon celebrations in any part of the country, or world. I would also advise that this is a GeoCities web-site, and if you don't have a working and sufficient pop-up blocker you might want to stay away from this YaHell subsidiary. I only mention it and link to it as a means of crediting the original authors.

Sacred Fems has reprinted it in it's entirety, so is entirely sufficient. I want to thank the Widows Son, in fact, for posting this as it saves me the trouble of having to make something up that probably wouldn't have been as good.

The Maggot Punks

No, she's not my wife or girlfriend, though she is in a sense somewhat of a sister. She's "Betti Wannabang", and she is a member of a Pro-Choice advocacy group known as-The Maggot Punks

and they have had their share of success over the four odd years or so since they started out in Wichita Kansas as a group in oppossition to such Far Right radicals as the Army of God

In fact, they have been sucessful enough they have been profiled in Rolling Stone, though unfortunately I have been unable to find the url to the specific magazine article, assumming it was ever on-line to begin with. If I find it I will update this post.

In the meantime, I would be remiss in posting this were I not to mention their main opponents, a Kansas based splinter group of Operation Rescue, known as Operation Rescue West

They began by escorting women into abortion clinics when the latter were being blocked from entry and otherwise harassed by members of this organization, who sometimes went as far as to stalk the women to their own neighborhoods. On one occassion, a shouting match started, which culminated with one or more of the group members being called "maggot punks"-hence the name.

Since that time, they have grown in stature and determination. Devoting their limited resources and their seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm to the cause, they were successful in instigating an investigation of ORW's leader, a man by the name of Troy Newman, which resulted in Operation Rescue West-whom they consider a domestic terrorist organization- being relieved of it's tax exempt status by the IRS, due to a number of illicit activities This included support of Republican political candidates, as well as the harrassment of people who were pursuing perfectly legal abortions, and evidently even birth control and other family planning counseling.

Their complete investigation of Newman is detailed in a file you can download for ten dollars (to help the group defray it's expenses), called The Newman Report. A spokesperson for Newmans group claimed laughably that the group actually wished to no longer be a tax exempt organization. Well, good for them. The IRS has granted their wish, with evidently no input from them. Christmas came early for them I guess.

The Newman Report also contains other information about Newman, such as his criminal associations, money laundering activities, and "extensive property holdings".

Ultimately, Newman has ended up being charged with assault for the unfortunate happenstance of misplacing somewhere his Christian love and patience, when he assaulted a cameraman, and group member "D-Cubed", during the course of an attempted interview. As if that were not enough, Newman was holding his child at the time, and so may also end up being charged with child endangerment.

Nor has the group limited it's resources and drive to this one issue, they have also been instrumental in objecting to religous fundamentalism pervading the public schools, and were active in the latest political primaries. Due in no small part to their efforts, a number of religous conservatives- who wished to foist "Intelligent Design" as a part of science classes in the public schools in Kansas- found themselves ousted in the schoolboard elections by more moderate candidates.

For these efforts alone, The Maggot Punks deserve gratitude, and support. Even if you don't donate any money to them, you can still visit their web-site via the link I provided, read all about them, join in on their forums, and spread the word about them to anybody you think might be interested by sending a link to their url.

They are unabashed atheists who believe strongly in seperation of church and state, and are determined to go all out to protect that most basic and fundamental of American concepts. Yet, they insist they have no problem with people exercising their own personal private religous faith, so long as they don't endeavor to force it on them, or anybody else. Good for them.

They are also Pro-Choice advocates who believe and care deeply about womens reproductive freedom, and have also achieved a great deal of success, in addition to notoriety, in fighting for these rights. Again, good for them.

They have also been active in peace rallies. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

Islam-The Fastest Growing Religion?

Only problem is, the faster it grows, the more everything else seems in danger of coming to either a complete standstill, or even of going backward, say by about, oh, thirteen fucking centuries or so.

Special thanks to WhiteTrash Republican

As I pointed out to her though, while this might be true on a symbolic level, more than likely "Lady Liberty", which they doubtless consider an idol, would probably in reality end up sufferring the fate of the Afghan Bhuddhas, the goddesses of the original Arabian pagan faiths, and any other idol they get their hands on-blown up and melted down into scrap metal.

Defenders Of The "Religion Of Peace"

Yeah, this is funny, in a way, but in a way you have to wonder just how true it really is. From the web-site Cox And Forkum

and a special thanks to Lemuel Calhound of Hillbilly White Trash

who features Cox And Forkum on his blog on a fairly regular basis.

What can you say? For a so-called "religion of peace", a good lot of it's adherents seem to be anything but "moderate" when it comes to how they react to critiicsms of their religion. Of course, it doesn't help that they make it so damned easy in oh so many ways.

Rasputins' Severed Cock-Good For What Ails You?

If you ever get a chance to visit Saint Petersuburg, Russia, you might want to pay a visit to the Museum of Erotica, where museum curator Igor Knazkin has on display, what are allegedly the severed genitals of the "mad monk" Rasputin.

Who needs viagra? According to Knazkin, who is also a urologist and sexologist, just looking at the organ, on display in a large jar filled with formaldehyde, will cure impotence and any other kind of sexual dysfunction.

Rasputin was assassinated in 1914 by a gang of Russian noblemen who feared and detested him and his influence over the Czars family, especially the Czarina. Rasputin was the only person who could halt the bleeding of the hemophiliac heir Alexei, presumably through some as yet unknown hypnotic influence. So intense was Rasputins powers it was said a note from him was enough to stop the childs bleeding, pointing to some form of post hypnotic suggestion as a likely component. Still, the Czarina, and the more devout Russian peasants, attributed this to Rasputins holiness.

As a former member of the streltzky, a small sect of Siberian cultists, Rasputins powers were indeed formidable. As an initiation, he allegedly had been obliged to stand outside in the Siberian winter overnight unclothed.

Yet, the stretzky were considered a heretical sect, and Rasputin was so despised and feared not only by the aristocraxy, but by the officials of the Rusian Orthodox Church, who considered him at best a fraud, and at worse, a Satanic influence.

Rasputins influence over Russian noblewomen was formidable as well, and though he was uncouth, and unkempt, rarely bathing, and a notorious drunk- with a preference for madeira over vodka- he seduced a great many Russian noblewomen, claiming that in order to achieve salvation they should experience sin in all it's degrading aspects. He was all too happy to show them both sides, and with a penis allegedly thriteen inches long, he had no problem doing so.

Doubtless Rasputin was too crafty to seduce the Czarina, or her daughters, and expressed devotion to the empress as a mother to him, and she seemed equally devoted to him. Therefore, Czar Nicholas tolerated him, at least, though he was not quite so captivated by him, yet appreciated his help to Alexei. In fact, his influence was such that he influenced cabinet appointments of people that were notoriously unqualified.

When he was finally murdered, a nobleman had pretended to arrange for Rasptuin to meet his wife, and the mad monk so went off unsuspectingly to his doom. He was fed candies and cakes which were laced with enough poison to kill several people-all to no avail. In desperation, Prince Yusopov shot him, then went to fetch his fellow conspirators. Once they arrived down in the basement to which Rasputin had been lured, their intended victim rose and assaulted them, then flew before they could react. However, they made it outside in time to shoot him a number of more times in the back before he could completley leave the estate, and then they beat him severely.

Afterwards, they carried him to the River Neva, whereupon, after tying his hands, they dumped him in. When his body was found in the frigid waters the next day, he had freed his hands and and raised one fist in what seemed to be a bizarre gesture of holy blessing. Upon being autopsied, it was discoered his lungs had been filled with water. Grigory Effemovich Rasputin, after being poisoned, shot, and bludgeoned, had finally died by drowning.

According to legend, they had also castrated him, and a maid later discovered his penis in the frozen park grounds. Somehow or another they made their way to the possession of some Russian aristocratic women, who practically worshipped the mutilated genitals as a kind of sacred phallic symbol. When Maria Rasputin, who was the mad monks daughter, heard of this, she demanded the artifact be handed over to her. She kept it in her possession until her death in 1977.

It was later determined to be not a severed penis at all, but in fact what was described as a "sea cucumber", a form of marine life. Yet, Knazkin was more than happy to pay 8000 dollars to a collector who had acquired the object. Since that time, it has held a place of honor in his museum.

There is no indication that any tests have ever been performed on the object which would put to rest once and for all the matter of it's true identity. If it were to turn out to be a penis, it might be possible to arrange an exhumation of Rasputins remains in order to do a DNA profile.

One interesting point is that, according to the autopsy, Rasputins genitals were intact. Now, if this were the exact wording of the autopsy, tha would be most curious. If this is merely inferred due to no mention being made, that would seem to put the matter to rest.

Of course, there is also the possibility that people are making the wrong assumtpion as to who in fact castrated Rasputin, if anybody actually did.

Another point that has been made is that previous owners of the "sacred relic" kept it inside a box, and that it was dried. Yet, now, it has been preserved in formaldehyde, and is exactly eleven inches long. The genuine article was said to have been thirteen inches, and in fact Rasputins wife had once remarked she didn't mind that her husband had been unfaithful to her, in that he had plenty to share. So long as she received her part, she had no qualms about what others received from him.

The two inches disparity has been explained as an effect of the preservative process. The woman in the picture above seems suitably impressed.

Eris-Holy Chao!

As a newly self-ordained Pope of Discordianism, I welcome the recent addition to the family of planets of the newly discovered so-called dwarf planet Eris, named after the Goddess of Discord, due to the manner in which the planet which is her namesake has thrown the astronomical world into a frenzy, and a great lot of the rest of us into a tizzy.

But such is the nature of chaos and I hereby issue this proclamation against the pseudo religions foisted upon the world in the year 2160 or thereabouts B.C. by the false prophet Greyface. He was evil, through and through. Well, he was a control freak, what can you say? What ever thing new he brought was nothing but evil, in the form of order and discipline.

Why? Because I, Pope Ahdamn Ghoddamnit says so, and I hereby issue this invitation. You should all put aside your falsehoods and lies, and come into the true Erisinian light of Discordianism. Before it is too late. You've been warned, now.

Well, okay, you can clean your rooms one more time, but from henceforth, leave those socks and underwear in those bathroom floors, leave those discarded shirts and pants in piles on your beds. Think of how much time and energy you’ll save.

And when the next period arrives when the sun is at the nineteenth degree of Aries-somewhere between the ninth and eleventh days of April-step out and face up toward the constellation of the ram, and extend your middle finger upwards, and then, bending it slightly, touch the tip of it to your pineal gland. No, not directly, just on the outside of it, as you gaze with your two visible eyes up to where the planet hides from sight, and say, “Lady Eris, may you sprinkle me with faery dust.”

Afterward, repeat this gesture to all you meet as a way of discerning who all around you has likewise entered the one true path of the Holy Chao. If the person does not return the gesture, and begins to look at you suspicously while whispering to those around him or her, leave quickly. If the person returns the gesture, leave even quicklier.

Finally, it is vital that you memorize the sacred words written here.

And of course you will want to meditate on the myth of Eris, she who, because of the original snub of being refused an invitation to the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia, crashed the wedding banquet and threw a golden apple inscribed “To The Fairest”, which resulted in a feud between the three goddesses that lead in time to the Trojan War. Actually, there were five goddesses, and it is said the Greeks just didn’t know about the Law Of Fives. To tell you the truth, I have it on sacred authority they were otherwise engaged. Artemis’s attention was on the chef, whom she was haranquing about the proper techniques of roasting venison, while Demeter devoted her attention to preparing the salad.

Eris just went off to enjoy a hot dog, because of which you should never partake of any hot dog buns. Pig, now, that is fine. Pig-in-a-blanket, that is. Well, as long as the pig don’t squeal, if he does, use a sheet, especially on a hot day. Be kind. And be fair. Make sure there is plenty of mud.

In conclusion, may I say, blessed be Eris, sacred goddess of the divine and Holy Chao. May she too sprinkle you with faery dust.

Confession-Me And Debra LaFave

It was me, all the time, and none of you fucks ever figured it out. I've been hearing all this crap about how I was abused by Deb, and I've sufferred in silence. Well, now it's time to set the record straight.

The first time I met Deb was, of course, at school, and I was naturally impressed but didn't give her really THAT much thought, until I saw her at a local shopping mall. I was with some friends and I saw her go into a toy and game store from behind, and said, "I think I'll go in here guys, if you know what I mean."

Garth who was an idiot didn't get the message and came in with me, the other guys stayed outside, most of them not really thinking I had much of a chance to score with something on that level, nor did I, but what the hell? At the time, I was just like all the guys you read about when it comes to wanting to be with Deb.

See, I didn't know who she was, but damn I liked what I saw. I didn't even realize who she was when I saw her from the front, just that she seemed familiar. Then, she spoke to me-by name-and I almost fell over. After a second or two it dawned on me who she was-"Miss LaFave?"

"Call me Deb", she purred as she suddenly approached to within inches of me, smiling. She then saw Garth, and said, "oh, hi", and backed away.

I whispered for him to get the fuck out, but the little idiot still didn't get the message, and insisted he was looking at things in the store. I threatened to beat his ass, and I still don't think he got it, he asked me what was wrong, why was I acting like such a prick? I was almost down to begging him to go, and I looked over toward an aisle where Deb had gone and noticed her glancing at us and smiling.

Finally, he asked for ten dollars, and I said get out of here now and I'll think about it when I come out. He said, okay, fine, then left. Then, I was thinking, now if my other asshole friends come in here bugging me I'm going to go off on somebody. I was afraid to approach where she was, but then I glanced back toward her, and she suddenly asked me if I knew anything about some game. I took that as an invitation to approach her and I stammerred that no, I didn't know that much about it. I was breathing hard and was all red faced just looking at those long sexy legs and that sexy pout on her face. I was getting a boner and it was killing me straining against the pants legs. Suddenly, she said, "what about that one up there?", but she wasn't clear what she was talking about, so I asked which one and she said, "oh, I tell you stand right here behind me and I'll point it out". I did and she backed up and pressed her fine ass up against my throbbing hard dick. And started moving sideways as she pressed, and of course I pushed up against her.

Neither of us were saying a word now as she reached her hands back behind her back and started rubbing my dick. Then, she started to unzip my pants. "I was just curious ", she said, "do you wear underwear? I don't, and, well, it looks like you wear boxers. I always wondered why men do that, it seems like it would make it hard to take a dick out when you need to pea. Is it?"

"Uugghhh-well, sometimes", I said. By now she had turned around and was straining to get it out, but finally did. "Wow!", she said "I think I'm going to have a hard time getting it back in. It's so damn big, and hard. I think men and women have it all wrong. You are the one that should not wear underwear, and girls like me should, yet I dont'. See?"

Suddenly, she hiked up her thin, almost skin tight white mini skirt to reveal nothing on under it. Meanwhile I felt like I was going to explode any second, but all I could say was "Uggghhhhhh" as she suddenly turned around and bend over, saying, "it's not easy to see my pussy when I bend down like this, is it?"

Suddeny, I lurched forward, she thrusted backward, and I was against her and then in her, as I grabbed her around the waste, the wifts of jasmine perfume filling my senses and mingling with the smell of our sweat as I lunged inside her over and over, for what seemed like forever, though I have to be honest here, I actually came inside her, actually seemed to explode inside her, after about the tenth thrust or so.

That was the first time I had sex with her. It was the first time I had ever had sex, actually. It was also the first time I had ever been barred from a public store. Luckily there was no one else in there but one clerk, who looked at us all red faced and informed us that we were never to come back. Old women are funny that way. Funniest thing was, she had to unlock the door to let us out. At the time, though, I didn't reall pay that no mind. None of my friends were around, so we went over to a restaurant and had some pizza slices and coke, and just talked. Before we left we exchanged phone numbers, and I swore not to tell anyone.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Well, no, actually, it's a fantasy. One I had years ago, and not about Debra LaFave. It was a teacher, though, and I was fourteen. Or maybe thirteen.

The part about being kicked out of a toy store was true, though.

I guess I'll never know how lucky I was it stayed just a fantasy, and never actually came true. Who knows how it might have ruined my young, innocent life?

Why Iraq Will Probably Remain A Hopeless Disaster

Like a lot of people last night, I was a captive audience to Bush's ill-advised and innappropriate campaign speech which was ostensibly billed as a memorial to the 9/11 victims. Luckily, he didn't cut out the enjoyment of either of my guily pleasures of tv viewing, "Prison Break" and "Vanished", he just abruptly appearred on my tv screen for about twenty eternal minutes between the two. I found myself feeling like a prisoner, and wished that he would just vanish.

So far, no word on what effect this will have on his sagging poll numbers, but I am thinking it can't be good. Nor do I think for one minute he did his fellow Republican party members, especially those running for re-election in their various races, the least bit of good. Most Americans, whether they are Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, will surely see this for what it was-a politically motivated speech given in such a way as to lock out the traditional oppossing party viewpoint.

And it had little to do with remembering the victims of 9/11, although that was it's stated purpose. Instead, it was yet another in a series of "stay the course" speeches, aimed not just at the war on terror, but by implication, the Iraqi War. Actually, especially that. He made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that we would finish the job in Iraq, and painted a disturbing picture of the potential consequences were we not to do this.

Although it is good the Democrats did not provide an equally innapropriate political response to his speech, it would do us well to look at the main reason the War in Iraq has been such a failure, and one of catastrophic proportions.

It's not just that we went in with far too few troops, with no real help from our traditional allies-even Britain, our strongest ally in the war, provided jusy a small percentage of troops relative to ours, and they have been stationed for the most part in the relatively peaceful Shi'ite South-nor is it simply that we miscalculated the degree and intensity of the insurrection from the various internal parties to the conflict. All this is very true, and has resulted in our being bled dry in terms of money thrown haplessly into this seemingly bottomless pit. It is also true that it has caused us no small degree of anger and even hatred from a great many Arab and Muslim nations, even those that are, like Britain, ostensibly our allies, and where as well our policies are contoversial at best.

The latter of course was to be expected, and can be seen as merely the unexpressed reality finally coming to the surface. And even this seems not to have been a part of the military and political calculations of the Bush Administration, and so this, as well as everything else I mentioned, points to a degree of incompetence that is absolutely remarkable.

The only thing that can possibly lead to a succesful conclusion in our favor, is if the Iraqi government maintains it's power, and establishes a police, security, and military force that is capable of standing up to any threat, and soundly defeating it. Once it establishes it's position and relegates the terrorist insurgency to irrelevance, then and only then can the Iraqi War be seen as a success. But they have to be the ones to do this.

Unfortunately, this requires a degree of professional training which has been slow in coming. Nor do I think it will ever occur. I pointed this out some months ago, and now it seems appropriate to say it again. The United States military and government are not in a hurry to train a professional, standing Iraqi army capable of holding it's own against any foreign or domestic threat.

The reason for this is simple, and in a way understandable. The US government and military establishment is loathe to admit it, but it makes sense. The last thing they want is an Iraqi army, trained to US military levels, that might one day form, under a majority Shi'ite government, a military and political alliance with Iran. Or one that might eventually come under the control of another Saddam, perhaps worse than the original.

Such a professional military, under such leadership, might pose a far greater threat to US interests and to Middle East stability and security than Saddam ever could have-even in his wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what it is going to take to resolve this conflict, like it or not. We just have to take our chances, bluntly stated. It's that, or, as Bush and the Republicans like to say, "cut and run". Those are the only two options. One is acceptable, though a gamble. The other is not, but at some future date may become unnavoidable. Otherwise, we stay, for years, and keep getting the same results, like that crazy person that never learns from his mistakes and thinks if he keeps doing the same thing he will get a different result.

If we do train the Iraqi military to the necessary level of strength and proficiency, we might well find ourselves at some future date having to stand up to a Frankesteins monster of our own creation. But if that's what it takes to resolve this issue, so be it. Decades more of what is going on surely can't be any better. Yet, that is precisely what we are faced with, or tucking our tails and running. It's time for somebody to make that hard choice, but Bush and his Neo-Con Administration are too busy trying to sell us on blind faith. Fortuately, more people are opening their eyes every day.