A Split In Conecticutt

Joe Liebermann is paying the price for playing the lice in the Bush. Democratic activists and other leftists have denounced him roundly and soundly to the point that he now faces a serious challenge for his partys primary to retain his seat as Senator from Conneticutt. The challenger, one Ned Lamont, is running mainly as an anti-war candidate, and to the ire of Liebermann, the Joementum toward New Mexico was put into reversal a couple of nights ago due to the urgent need to face the challenger in a debate.

It was classic Liebermann, all at once petulant, arrogant, yet at the same time whiny and ingratiating. He knows he might be in serious trouble, for there's a chance he could lose to Lamont, who by all accounts ran as if he were the incumbent, knowledgeable and dignified.

It's of concern to the Democratic Party as a whole. Chuck Schumer, the Senior Senator from New York, is on record as saying that he will support Liebermann, even should he run as an independent against Lamont in the general election. Most Democrats say they will support whoever wins the primary, out of respect for the wishes of the Connecticutt party members. At the same time,however, they vow to support Liebermann in the primaries. Certain of them, such as Barbara Boxer of California, and Joe Biden, from Delaware, have caught a lot of heat for supporting Liebermann even to this extent.

Still, they are in a bind. If Liebermann follows through on his vow to run as an idependent if he fails to secure the party nomination-and he has begun a petition drive to do just that in the event-he could conceivably win the election. If he wins in that manner, the Democrats would of course hope he would continue to caucus with them, though at the same time they have to realzie that as an independent, he might have more of a free hand than ever to be just that-totally independent. And the party who retains power in the Congress could easily have the biggest pull on his loyalty, for the good of his state. This would be all the more ironic in that he could be responsible for the Repubicans retaining majority status in the Senate, if he does run as an independent and thus splits the Democratic vote.

He could make the claim that he was being targeted for elimination by the leftist elements of his own party, and that might be slightly justified. By the same token, the degree of support Lamont has gained from the liberal wing of the Democratic voters is indicative of the fact that Liebermanns Joementum has just been leaning too heavily for the right for quite some time, and to far too great a degree for them to feel comfortable with or good about.

There is a reason after all that Ann Coulter has gone on record as supporting Liebermann, even going so far as to advise him to become a Republican. The worse thing she has said about him lately is that if he were to do that, "he wouldnt be our best Republican".

And the facts are Liebermann is as he claims in many ways a traditionalist liberal Democrat. He is pro-choice, pro-civil and gay rights, pro-environment and pro-labor, if but moderately so.

My main bitch at him isn't his votes on Homeland Security, which he originally co-authored, or on the Iraqi War, or the "War on Terror". His votes along those lines were not so different from most Democrats, who also voted for these things, before they, of course, voted against them. Lieebermann at least has been consistent. No, my main bitch at him is his vote on issues like the bankruptcy bill, and his pandering to the religous elements of society, something I find personally abhorent.

That, and his conduct in the 2000 Presidential campaign,when he ran for Vice-Preisdent. If I didn't know better I'd swear that Liebermann was sitting there besides Cheney during this "debate", and all the while jacking him off under the table. He just comes across as ingratiating, as even servile, in the effort to exude a positive appearrance. If he had lived in Germany during Nazi times, Goebbels could have used him as two different characters in his propoganda films, as one character the arrogant, scheming Zionist Jew out for his own welfare at the expense of everything and everybody else, in another the servile, ingratiating type of Jew that would eaily colaborate with the Nazis as a way of saving his own neck.

And while that might seem extreme, it's worth pointing out that Connecticutt is not only Liebermanns home state, it is also the home state of the Presidents father, the former Preisident, George H. W. Bush. Who knows what shadowy connections the two of them might share? Connecticutt is an old money state, where family heritage goes back many years, and is deeply ingrained in the fabric of the society.

And if there is one thing that can bring Democrats and Republicans together, it's money.

Lay Down In Hell

I don't really know whether I believe in hell or not, but if the gods truly exist, they ought to invent one just for the likes of Kenneth Lay, the late former CEO of Enron. This guy and his cronies ruined more lives than anybody in recent memory, in America. He may actually take the grand prize in that regard .

Everybody knows about how he ripped off his investors and his employees, who were rpetty much forced to buy Enron stock, and as a result lost their 401 k's, while this turd had the temerity to encourage them to buy even more, knowing the stock was worthless.

Most people tend to forget that he almost bankrupted the state of California, holding the state hostage with Enrons predatory energy pricing policies, and engaging in a series of blackouts that amounted to almost a hostile takeover bid of the states infrastructure. He should have been prosecuted for this alone, yet he had friends in high places, in both the Clinton and the Bush Administrations.

Now, he's dead. Some people don't believe it,and some people think he was murdered. Take your pick.

* He committed suicide to protect his familys finances
*His wife murdered him; see reason stated above
*He was murdered by orders of someone in the Bush Administration in order to protect Bush from being confronted with the potential for the public release of Lays knowledge of his culpability in criminal actions.
*He was murdered by some of his own business associates, to protect their own skins.
*He faked his death. He is living somewhere high on the hog right now, laughing at all of us.

Well, he's dead, so I advise you to forget about that last one. I tend to think he simply died. He was an old man, under a lot of stress, was not that healthy to begin with, and may have overmedicated.

On the other hand, nothing would really syrprise me.

Crooks In Business Cults

The Big Business philosophy goes beyond the mere assumption that if you offer a customer a good product at a fair price, he will come back for more. Big business wants to make sure you have no say in the matter, and will get over on you any chance it gets. This has been proven time and again.

Now it's been proven quite visibly with Cingular Wireless, who have now been seen to have given poor service to lower grade customers in an effort to get them to upgrade their service at a higher price. Yep, their asses have been caught up with. But they are not the only ones. I am having the same experience with my local cable company, Charter Cable.

I recently downgraded my service from expanded basic cable to just basic, as a result of which I no longer get Fox News or MSNBC. Boo Hoo.

I get the local channels, including two PBS channels, in addition to C-Span, so that's good enough for me. I also get CNN and ESPN. Or, that is, I am suppossed to get them. The sound quality of CNN is static, and the visual quality of ESPN is likewise. All the other stations come in fine. So, yesterday I finally got around to calling Charter, and after spending quite a few minutes getting connected, I spent even more time being put on hold, before I was finally routed to an agent, who put me on hold while she went to check to "see what the problem is." I was eventually discnnected from her, whereupon I was informed I must go through the proces again.

I hung up in disgust. Fuck Charter, I decided. I am not, under any circumstances, going back to expanded basic, or any of the other packages. I might, however, think about Dish Network, if they don't straighten up their fucking act.

Rare Blood

Now here's some news that is indicative of the progress of science if ever there was. It concerns a certain Northfield Labs. What have they invented, and why is it so great? Well, it's a substance called, Polyheme, and it is-ready now-artificial blood. Synthetic, yet which can if successful adapt to a human blood supply. The uses and benefits are endless. No longer any need for dependence on human blood donors, many of whom may unknowingly or not carry diseases which might in cases go undetectd, until it is too late. A potential complete cure for blood diseases, should this substance eventually be able to replace a humans entire blood supply.

The problem is, of course, it is still in the testing phase, and will probably require some time before it is finaly if ever approved.

Now here comes the scary part. It has to be tested on humans, of course, before it can be certified as being safe. And it is being testd on humans, at various hospitals, who have gotten permission to conduct these tests without having to adhere to usual standards requiring informed consent.

In other words, if you go in for treatment, they don't necessarily have to tell you if they are testing this shit out on you. One hospital that is on the list of facilities involved in the teting of this synthetic blood is University of Kentucky Medical Center.

Thanks to Microsoft Word deciding to act up on me at the worse possible time, I no longer have the list of all the other hospitals that do, but you can find out which ones are involved by going to ABC News.com, the proper url to which I have also temporarily lost. But it should be relatively easy to find.

If you have to go to the hospital for anything more compicated than a flu shot, you might seriously want to think about looking for this list first, or especially if you have an older parent, or a siblign or child, or friend, etc. What you don't know can sometimes hurt you in more ways than you might ever imagine.

UPDATE: I've now recovered the url for the original story on ABC NEWS.com. Go there and read the story, and you will see that, if you live near one of the listed hospital,and find yourself having to avail yourself of their services, you can opt out of having a blood transfusion with this new synthetic blood by asking to be given a blue wristband, which will identify you as not willing to participate. Otherwise, you might very well find yourself in the unfotunate position of receiving what is still an experimental substance that your immune system might eventually reject. And who knows what the consequences of that might be.

I almost forgot to add, the link is in the post title.

Who Would Have Guessed

Now somebody has finally come out and verified the obvious, what I have known for fucking years now-tanning beds are dangerous. Yeah, it has something to do with the ultraviolet light, which seems, amazingly, can give you fucking skin cancer. Well, you could have knocked me over with a fucking feather.

Now that these finding have been released from a study conducted by doctors in Belgium, I wish I was still around some of the same people that used to look at me like I was a fucking idiot when I was telling them this shit TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO!!!!

And what kind of pussy wants to go to a tanning bed anyway, I thought the whole point of a tan was to look like a stud, or a sex siren, or some kind of shit like that, so-ooh, I guess that's it, you don't look so fucking sexy at first so you don't want nobody to see you until you are sufficiently brown, so you have to hide in a tanning booth. I get it.

Tanning booths have a real good game going. It's actually cheap to go for a series of visits. Where they stick it to you is selling you these fucking lotions, specialized scents and all, some of which are quite stimulating, I hear (no I haven't nor ever will try it). One small plastic container about three times thesize of a thimble will run you five dollars and more. A whole like 16 ounce bottle? Usually more than twenty.

Buy yourself a bottle of coppertone and go to the beach, idiots.

Lets Reevaluate DDT

Fuck Microsoft Word.

Anyway, I was recently over at Lemuels blog, Hillbilly White Trash, where he made the point about how the banning of DDT has in the long run proved detrimental to a far greater extent than it's use had ever allegedly been.

Now, personally, I had always been of the mind that DDT was banned due to the potential health hazards to humans, in particular, it could be a cancer causing agent. I'm still unconvinced it's banning by the then young EPA was necessarily a bad call.

What I do think, and know, is that there is enough of an impetus now to warrant restudy on the issue. I give two reasons for this:

West Nile Virus-this disease, which is carried by mosquitos, would be potentially all but eradicated if DDT, a highy effective mosquito killer, was now in use. According to Lem, it's banning has lead to a resurgence of malaria throughout the world, particularly in the Third World, among other things.

Japanese Beetles-Is the third new problem that might be solved by DDT, in fact, might only be solved by it. Japanese Beetles are so desructive to epecially small family farms they could in time lead to an econmic disaster not far removed from the epic proportions of locust plaques.

They eat fruits, in addition t flowers, are extremely prolific breeders, as well as eaters, and there seems to be nothing that can abate them for long. DDT might well be the answer.

The EPA needs to look into this, and once everything is weight=ed inthe balance, the pesticide might well prove useful. If it'sreported harmful effects are indeed exaggerated, as Lemuel and others claim, to not do so would amount to a criminal act, in my view.

Virtual Prey

Louisiana has just become the 21st state to ban Internet hunting, a "sport" that involves, for the payment of a fee, the ability to access the web-site of a preserve which contains deer. Through streaming video, you can see the deer, and through the click of a mouse can enjoy the magic of "hunting".

You simply point your mouse at the desired game, which produces a virtual crosshairs target. You then click the mouse, which somehow is attached to a rifle which is fired somehow, killing the animal. You then have the option of having the animals stuffed hide and horns delivered to your doorstep, there to adorn the walls of your den.

Well, as sorry as this is, I guess it is an improvemnt over the Dick Cheny style of hunting, which seems to be pulling up in your car to where the game is, and casually blowing away as many as you can (in his case game birds) from the comfort of your air-conditioned or heated automobile. At least here you don't have to worry about shooting your friends.

Still, it's good this has been outlawed. If you want to hunt, by God go out in the wild and walk and stalk your prey and hunt, like a fucking man. Leave the fucking armchair bullshit for the Sunday NFL.

Tata-An Old Crow

When Tata, the worlds oldest known living crow was born in 1947, Saturn was in the same position in the Zodiac that it is now. By the time he recently died, at the age of 59, the planet had made, in fact, two trips around the sun. And, when he died, Tata the crow was older than most baby boomers, the generation of Americans who began in 1946.

He had fallen from his tree, as a young crow, and was found by a tender hearted person there on the ground at the Long Island Cemetary. He was cared for by the Manetta family until 2001 when, at the age of 54, due to their own declining health, he was handed over to the care of Kristine Flones, a wildlife rehabilitator in Woodstock New York, in the hamlet of Bearsville. By that time, Tata was blind from cataracts.

According to Kevin McGowan, an ornithologist at Cornell University who has studied crows for more than 20 years, the oldest crow that he has proof of is one that he has tracked for fifteen years, though he has heard claims of one that had lived to be 29 or 30.

Still, according to McGowan, the age of Tata is certainly understandable given his relatively easy lifestyle, particularly the lack of predators, communicable diseases, and the relative security from fatal accidents.

The last few years of his life, according to Flones, Tata would in the spring call out loudly to the crows outside, befinning at five a.m. Sometimes he would be quite loud.

Although I don't know if it's true, I have heard that by splitting a crows tonque will enable it to talk in much the same manner as a parrot. Also, if you point a broomstick at a flock of crows flying in formation, they will ignore you, as they can tell the difference btween a broomstick and a rifle, the sight of which will cause the leader to cry out a warning to others, whereupon they all will scatter.

It would be interesting to know what would have been the result if he had been released at the age of four, perhaps. Would he have returned to what would have been the relative comfort of his adopted home, or wouldhe have elected eventually to stay in the wild? What if he could have been mated with a female crow? Coul they have been bred, and eventually produced a breed of tame crows? I've often wondered about this as regards to owls.

Whatever, I just thought this was a nice little story, though kind of sad. And when you think about it, tatas passing might even be seen as a symbolic allegory of the baby boomers whose arrival he accompanied. The coming passing of a bunch of 0ld crows who started out wild and free, and ended up caged, and all too tamed, yet calling out impotently to their successors in hopes of what can never be.

Ole' Toro

It takes an idiot to do certain things, and one of those things is getting out in the middle of a very narrow cobblestone street, say just for example in Pomplona Spain, and try to outrun a herd of frightened bulls that have just been released. For one thing, these bulls are pretty much being herded toward their deaths, and while they might not necessarily be aware of that, they know something is definitely not right, and boy are they scared, and boy are they pissed. At this exact moment, the last thing they want to see is a human being, who they do know, I’m sure, is responsible for their plight.

I’m not one of these overly sensitive types who think hunting and meat eating should be outlawed. I think meat eating in moderaton is fine. After all, as animals ourselves, humans are merely lucky enough to be on the top of the food chain, and meat eating at this stage of our evolution is not only acceptable, it is desirable, and this will be true for millenia to come, doubtless.

Hunting, as well, is beneficial to the balance of nature, so long as it is regulated and done responsiby.

This, however, is barbaric cruelty for no real reason other than the pursuit of tourist dollars, though it says more about the tourist in question than it does the Pamplonans who understandably are all too eager to avail themselves of their currency. Unfortunately, it is probably the only thing that keeps this ancient Spanish city above ground financially.

Every now and then, somebody pays a hefty price. This last time out, one tourist ended up paralyzed from the waste down with only partial use of his arms. And he is yet in serious condition, though his family has hopes that he will recover, due to his overall peak physical condition and state of health. And he wasn’t even involved in the main running of the bulls that transpire on the streets of Pomplona, an event which usualy inevitably results in some participants being trampled, or gored, or both.

No, this person was in the bullring with a herd of female cattle, taking part in some minor event, and got his ass trampled. Well, I hope he recovers completely. These people aren’t necessarily bad people, they are just stupid.

Matadors, that’s another question altogether. I know it’s their culture, the way they were raised, I know it’s their career, etc. But it’s the bulls life, and he is an unwilling participant. Givn my choice between the two, I will root for the bull eveyrtime.

Ahhh Those Were The Days

This is absolute proof that pornography has been around for a long, long time. I’m guessing from the Victorian Era, anywhere from the 1870’s to the 1890’s. What is more to the point, notice how the woman doesn’t have the mans dick in her mouth, that it is in plain sight, while at the same time hiding her face. Yet, you can see her mouth is wide open as though ready to insert it.

It is hard to tell if this was geared toward a male or a female audience. But I suspect it was for females, only because of the prominent display of the dick, as oppossed to it being in the womans mouth. Had it been aimed toward men, my guess is that it would be wholly and obviously in her mouth.

On the other hand, the look on his face speaks of an attitude of a successful triumph, nearly arrogant. Note that he is somewhat muscular, thogh somewhat bowllegged, the body of a sportsman, I think. He has the body of I am guessing a tennis player. It’s too bad, really too bad, that the womans face is hidden. I wonder why that is, but I am suppossing she might have been married. She was very well buildt, beautiful actually.

These were upper class people, I think. They certainly weren’t poor. Maybe what would in the day have passed for upper middle class. Possibly even aristocrats.

I post this not only out of just general interest and curiosity, but to point out a little known fact about the Victorian Era. There was quite a bit of pornography, actually, although most of it admitedly was written prose. A typical story, based on an even older one by the Marquis DeSade, revolved around a convent in which occurred sexual shenanigans with a priest, a gardener, and every single nun in the convent, one of whom was a new arrival, and, of course, a virgin-though not for long.

The Victorian Era as wild and raucous in it’s own time sexually as is our own. This is the era after all that gave us Jack The Ripper, whose chosen victims were all Englsih prostitutes, of whom the numbers were obviously considerable.

This is the era in which upper class males in many cases in addition to maintaining a marriage and family, had outside the home what were termed as “kept women” for their extra marital pleasures. In not a few cases these women were presented the wholesome task of initiating their lovers teenage sons to the mysteries of sex.

And this is the Era from which this picture originated, which I acquired from another blog, and which is only one known survivor of what was obviously many more. What a treausre trove were they still around, yet to be disovered.

As for the blog in question, it unfortunately hasn't been updated since December of last year. Were it updated on a regular basis, it would be a definite addition to the Blogroll. Still, if you would like to view "Vintage Erotica", this Blogspot blog may be accessed in the link via the post title.

Ahhhhh, yes-the good old days, indeed.

Michael Jackson-Psychic Vampire Update

Update-Please note, this is an old post. For the latest Michael Jackson post, posted in the days following the demise of this extraordinary individual, please see this post.

Michael Jackson has been existing in the Neverland of financial limbo for some time now, and seems ready to reemerge from the shadows of darkness back into the light of who gives a fuck. He has or will be moving to Europe, while maintaining a home in Bahrain, in order to be in proximity to music industry figures. In other words, he is planning on releasing another album, sometime over the next year.

His spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain, in what might be an unfortunate descriptive choice of words in Jacksons case, explained that his “creative juices are flowing”. That might be interpreted as “lock up the kids, especially the boys, Michaels back in town”, except of course Michael is still wildly popular, supposedly, in Europe.

In the meantime, in an apparent effort to restructure his finances, which have been on very shaky ground the last few years, Jackson has fired his Bahrainian lawyers, as well as his long time accounting and business partners, the firm of Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman, and Sloan, and has hired L. Londell McMillan and The McMilan Firm. And he’s not finished yet. Well, he hopes not anyway.

Unfortunately, vampires, like Disney characters, never age and they never grow up. And I still hold that Michael Jackson is a psychic vampire, as I did a year ago in this earlier post on the subject. I don’t know what the inspiration is for the recent resurgence of his “creative juices” beyond the apparent desperate necessity to reestablish his career and finances. I would imagine though there were a lot of little cute Bahrainian boys running around the estate of Michaels Bahrainian prince friend, at right about the time his now fired Bahrainian lawyers announced he had restructured his finances in a deal with Sony. The result of this is that company now shares ownrship with him of his musical cataloque, including the Beatles songs.

Be that as it may, Micahel, like all the undead, may soon arise from the grave, reaching out to a child near you.

The Times They Have A'Changed

Neil Young has lately gone on record as bitching about the lack of “protest” singers, of current artists ready and willing to stand up to the evil ways of the Bush Administration. He has evidently been hanging around former Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young bandmates David Crosby and Graham Nash. Crosby has earlier bemoaned the lack of what he calls the “modern troubadour”.

I think all this is questionable myself. An acquaintance of mine has just recently explained to me, in voicing his agreement with Young, that this generation is just not “standing up”.

But what exactly is it they are not standing up to? What it seems to amount to is, when you get right down to it, Young wishes there were modern young rock artists who would devote the entirety of their careers to protesting the policies of the Bush Amdinistration. I mean,that has to be what he’s getting at, because there are certainly artists who have protested to some degree. You have not only the Dixie Chicks resurgence in popularity, but Green Day, and even the Rolling Stones, a band who at their height of creative influence and fame, in the sixties and early seventies, were not exactly known as protest singers, or for that matter even slightly socially conscous (though they did dabble a bit).

And outside the realm of music, you have of course other performers, the so-called Hollywood elite, who for the most part are obviously progressive or liberal, and as often as not self described as such. George Clooney, for example, has had no problem finding work in Hollywood, and last year saw two of his films nominated for Oscars-“Syrianna” and “Good Night And Good Luck”.

Nor do Hollywood artists seem to have any problem “standing up” on any various number of issues, for the most part liberal, but some conservative as well. Of course, I understand that Neil Youngs area of concern is that of rock music, but the plain fact is, this ain’t the sixties anymore. Meaning, most people don’t really care about political statements in art, in my opinion.

I should clarify that, though. It’s fine to make a political statement. But nobody wants to hear it all the time, neither from Hollywood film or television stars, or from rock musicians. Most people that like rock music, and top forties pop, want mainly to be entertained. They can appreciate a message song, or an issue oriented song, being included here and there. But to put it bluntly, they more often than not arent going to be influenced by it one way or another.

Nobody is likely to change their mind on an issue because their favorite artist pontificates on the subject. At best, their favorite artist might offer them validation for beliefs they all ready hold, and I guess in some cases they might sway somebody that is on the fence, or make somebody think about an issue they have previously not considered that much. And that’s fine. But that’s not what we’re talking about here.

The bottom line is, up and coming artists of today are concerned first and foremost with their careers, and they are going to put out what people want to hear. If they make it far enough up the ladder to where they have the option of creative control of their output, then they have obviously done something right, and they aren’t likely to tamper with success. They are doubtless going to grow creatively,and evolve, which is normal. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to turn their music, their art, into a forum for political punditry or issue advocacy. The minute they do that, they are probably approaching the twilight of their careers, truthfully.

And before that career finaly ends, they will find themselves faced with an ever dwindling audience, as, in all truthfulness, they will have by their own design limited the scope of their appeal to a smaller audience. Now, no sensible group of people are going to get all that worked up about an artist who voices an opinion, however controversial, on any subject, either by word or by deed or by song. But again, that is not what I’m talking about here. And that is most certainly not what Neil Young seems to be talking about. What I am talking about, and what he seems to be talking about, are those artists who would base and revolve their entire careers on it.

I’m talking about the limited scope of artists who devote the entirety of their careers to protest and issue advocacy, or who are thought of as such. I can think of two examples, from the early days of folk and rock. One is Pete Seager. The other is Jonathon Edwards, who in the early seventies had a hit song called “Sunshine”, from what is only one album in what has been described by one reviewer as “the best of a miserable body of work”. Yet, to hear “Sunshine”, it is obvious Edwards was talented as a singer and songwriter, yet despite a pretty voluminous output, this was his one sole hit. And this as much as anything had to do with the way he put himself across, which, to paraphrase the same reviewer, amounted to a sanctimonious preachiness that heaped scorn on anyone who did not agree with the aritsts views.

The same could be probably said for folk artist and icon Pete Seager, who never made it beyond the scope of his chosen genres limited appeal, and who was considered outside that world as self righteous and sanctimonious as they ever came. Yet, to the folk music crowd, he is practically a god. Yet, these are the same people who turned on Bob Dylan, the penultimate protest singer, because he dared to branch out, which offended their sense of folk music purity.

Yet, though they disdained Dylan for this, he achieved a degree of success that went far beyond any of the purist crowd heroes ever has or will achieve. There are aritsts who have a talent that just can not be kept in bounds, and Dylan, like Springsteen, Lennon, and yes, Neil Young, belong in this category. Which makes it all the more surprising that Young would take this incomprehensible position. Does he or anyone seriously believe that he or any of the major artists I have mentioned would have lasted long if they had confined the majority of their output to political punditry or issue advocacy?

I think this is frustration speaking here, and a longing for the long gone, supposed good old days, which no longer exist, and in which artists influence were greatly exagerrated anyway. They were mainly preaching to the crowd to begin with, which in some cases was the reason for their appeal, in that they offerred a degree of validation. But the rock music fan of today is not the monolitihic entity it may have been in the sixties. Now, if an artist criticises Bush, he mght discover a good percentage of his fan base might not really care, or even actually not agree with him. A few of them might even think George Bush is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Therefore, again, why should they limit their audience appeal?

But more importantly, again, the bottom line is, people want to be entertained. They might at the same time appreciate some message songs every now and then-so long as the songs in question are good. But nobody wants to listen to an artist who utiizes the bulk of his or her creative output to sing the fucking editorial pages at them.

Flaming Flags

I guess you fucking idiots on the radical left are happy, now that the United States Senate has failed to pass a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the American flag. It was close, though, it only came up one vote short. But for now, I guess the issue is over and done with as a partisan national issue, until, say, the day of the 2008 Republican Convention.

Until that day, you fucking morons, I have an idea. There are a few issues where I am in pretty much agreement with you on the left. I would like to see these issues put forward. And, though a lot of theAmerican public are skeptical, I think enough of them are on the fence that they might, if we approached it the right way, be convinced to come over to our side. With that in mind, I suggest we go all around to the different communities, hold rallies in support of our common issues, and when everybody gathers around to hear what we have to say-

WE BURN, DEFILE, OR OTHERWISE DESTROY A BELOVED NATIONAL SYMBOL!!!!

Yeah, that’s bound to get them on our side, you fucking half-wits. And that is exactly why this issue is going to stay an issue, everytime there is an election on or just this side of the horizon. And that’s why you never have to be worried, not in the least, that this constitutional amendment is ever going to become law.

Just look how this damn thing was set up for failure by the Republican Party. This bill was oppossed by no less powerful a Republican figure in the Senate than Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConell, the senior Republican Senator from Kentucky, who spoke out against it on the grounds that it would be an abridgement of the first Amendment guarantees of Freedom of Speech.

That, dear fools, is because, in my opinion, the Republicans had to make sure their bases were covered in case just enough Democrats crossed over in support of the bill, that it actually might pass, therefore depriving them of one of their number one bullshit issues. There are a few Republicans who can afford to take the position of spoiler, so long as the overall Republican position is solidly on the side of protecting “Old Glory”. Why?

Because if it ever passed, again, it’s no longer an issue. Therefore, if any of you flea bags ever decide, from that point on, to set flames to flag, your asses are going to jail, and no Democrat will jump to your defense. Their asses are covered, from that point on. But the way things stand now, McConnell and all the other Republicans know full well that, whenever the American public sees you engage in this infantile, moronic act of abject stupidity, they aren’t going to necessarily say, “hey, look at those commies. They must be members of that leftist Workers World Party. Or maybe Code Pink. Or maybe they’re just a bunch of leftist punks who just want to be a part of an “event”.

No, a substantial number of them, if not the majority, are going to be saying, LOOK AT THOSE FUCKING LIBERAL BASTARD DEMOCRATS!!

Then, after you are shown over and over again on the mainstream media, and Republican campaign ads, and presented as examples of “liberal” ideology, a large number of voters are going to run, not walk, to their polling places on election day and VOTE REPUBLICAN.

And so, in conclusion, my final request to you brain dead fucks is, the next time you decide to hold a rally in favor of gun control, or against the death penalty, or in favor of open borders and against strict enforcement of our immigration laws, please, by all means, do me the favor of burning the American flag. You have my blessing.

I Bitch Out Kentuckys Best

I used to know a lady in Cincinnati Ohio who used to talk to her cigarrettes. You would see her all over the place, in restaurants. White castles, Kentucky Fried Chicken, MacDonalds, etc., there she would be, at any given time, her pack of Pall Mall keeping her company along with her coffee. You never knew exactly what she was saying to them, despite the fact that sometimes she all but yelled at them. Then, she would go back to talking quietly. “Normally”. Then, she would start yelling again. Sometimes she would spank them. And, of course, she would smoke them. Nobody ever hardly said anything to her. I know I sure as hell wasn’t about to.

I heard once that years ago she set her apartment on fire, and then left her hsband and kids there, all who died as a result. According to this story, the veracity of which I cannot vouch for, she then went insane. I wonder sometimes if she is still alive. It’s been going on ten years now since I last lived in the Cincinnati/Covington area, though the last time I saw her, she seemed like she had actually started to get a grip. She seemed sane. But I will always remember her for those cigarettes, and the way she would sometimes jab her fist in her mouth suddenly, as if in realization of some sudden, sickening horror that was indescribable.

And so, in honor of “Crazy Betty”, I am now going to have a conversation with my cigarrettes. I am going to here transcribe the conversation. Just for posterity.

ME: God damn you. Why won’t you leave me alone? Will I never be rid of you?

KENTUCKYS BEST: It’s you who wont leave us alone. I’ve never seen you before you just waltzed into the store and bought me. I had no say in it. You must have me confused with another pack of Kentuckys Best cigarrettes. Like maybe the one you just finished smoking before you opened me up.

ME: Fuck you. You are a fucking pack of cigarrettes, you are all the same.

KENTUCKYS BEST: Bite me.

ME: Now I’m hooked on you and I can’t quit. All because the people who make you made you even more addictive than you would normally be, and the politicans used to support them. Now that I’m hooked the politicans have turned on me and other smokers and are trying to capitalize off our addiction. I hate them all.

KENTUCKYS BEST: Admit it, you love us, though.

ME: Yeah, right, according to the Surgeon General even your second hand smoke is dangerous to the other people I’m around. The no-good bastard is saying the science is now indisputable, supposedly. Soon, more and more people are going to ban smoking in indoor facilities. More and more states and municipalities are going to enact restrictions. No more smoking in restaurants, not even in bars. Not even smoking sections. No more smoking in any work places. And they keep making you more and more expensive, trying to make me quit, supposedly, yet deep down hoping I don’t so they can keep raking in the extra tax money for their stupid wasteful programs.

KENTUCKYS BEST: Come on, take a drag, you’ll feel better.

ME: It’s just wrong. It ain’t fair. I hate politicians. And I hate that lousy fucking Surgeon General. It’s all the fault of these motherfuckers who want to use politics to enforce their own values on the rest of us. Some employers are now going to more and more fire workers who smoke due to increased insurance costs. Before long they are going to try to ban it in your own home, suppossedly because it can harm your kids and other non-smoking relatives.

KENTUCKYS BEST: Can I ask you a question?

ME: All these motherfuckers should die. Hopefully from cancer.

KENTUCKYS BEST: I SAID CAN I ASK YOU A FUCKING QUESTION????!!!!!

ME: WHAT THE FUCK IS IT????!!!!!!.

KENTUCKYS BEST: WHY ARE YOU SO GODDAMNED PISSED OFF???? I’M THE ONE THAT’S GETTING FUCKING BURNED HERE!!!!!!

The Ugly Tourist

Joe Mikelik, the manager of the Minor League baseball team the Ashville Tourists, put on quite a show in Lexington Sunday when his team played the hometown Lexington Legends in the last game of a five game series. He objected strenuosly to a call on second base when one of his players, unable to reach third, tried to return to second, and was thown out. Mikelik thought he was safe. And that was when the fun began.

First he got all in the second base umpires face, in no uncertain terms. After some few minutes of furious, impotent ranting and raving, he dug the second base out of the ground. Then, he flung it as far into right field as he could. Then, he got in the umpires face again, then headed for home, where he got in the homeplate umpires face. Then, he decided to kick around homplate, which he eventually covered with dirt. Then, he went to the visting Ashville teams dugout, bitching and cussing all the while to anybody that happenned to be standing in proximity to him.

He was far from finished. He returned, with a pitcher of water, which he proceeded to pour over the mound of dirt that yet covered home plate. He then proceeded to kick at the muddy concoction, until the homeplate was now uncovered. I’m thinking that he might have been advised to uncover the plate he had covered with dirt, but maybe not. What happenned next, however, I’m reasonably sure he wasn’t advised to do by anyone. Having returned to the Ashville dugout, he then threw, one at a time, all the bats out of the dugout and onto the infield.

The Lexington Legends went on to win the game. It has been opined that Mikelik wil probably be fined and suspended for these actions. While that would certainly be appropriate, I hope the man doesn’t lose his job, and hasn’t ruined his career, over this stupid display of temperament and bad sportsmanship.

For one thing, I love shit like this. I especialy love it when an irate player opens a good solid can of whup ass on a particularly obnoxous fan, and think they should be rewarded for this if anything, certainly not punished. I love to see a good fight between oppossing players, so long as no one is seriously injured. And nothing is likely to make me roar with laughter more than did the hilarious site of Tommy LaSworda, in the playoffs I think two years ago, furiously throwing himself at a member of an oppossing team, who proceeded to dodge him while pushing him by his head on toward the gorund.

The only thing I hate along these lines is fans who start shit, and especially the parents of young child athletes who go ballistic. Them I want to see their asses kicked, right in front of their kids. But this was nothing I found reason to see objectionable. Neither did the Lexington area reporters who covered the story, all ofwhom really seemed as delighted as did I. Face it, there is something about this that is funny, and most people enjoy it. Well, I do anyway.

One thing though, if you ever get a chance to fuck Joe Mikeliks wife, you damn sure better hope he doesn’t walk in and catch you.

The Execution Of Angel Maturino Resendiz

Angel Maturino Resindez was finally put to death Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m., following a two hour delay necessitated by a last minute final appealed, that was ultimately denied. He was then put to death by lethal injection for a murder in Texas. He was also evidently responsible for a series of other murders throughout the country, as well as rapes, that he would commit near railroad tracks. He had a habit of travelling across the country by way of hopping freights, and I guess rape and murder was one of the ways he got his jollies, or relieved his tensions and frustrations, or both. Some people when they travel like to visit historic sites, amusement parks, recreational facilities, natural preserves, nightclubs, sporting events and regional performances. Other people like to visit brothels, crack houses, pornographic bookstores and theatres-or, like Reendiz, go that extra mile by committing various forms of mayhem.

I actually want to thank him for providing me with a few good laughs, for what it was worth. Before he was eventually caught, any neighborhood in the US that was near the vicinity of a railroad track was in the grip of varying degrees of terror, or at least some anxiety, wondering when next he might strike, and against who. This was especially true in Kentucky, where he had been accussed (though never tried and convicted) of killing one Lexington UK student and raping his girlfriend, who survived following a brutal beating, then went on to identify their assailant.

I used to keep a former workmate in tears teasing her about her habit of walking near the railroad tracks at night, after telling her I had seen a suspicous looking Hispanic male lurking around them, looking as though he were trying to avoid being seen. I would invite her to come along for an evening stroll by the tracks after work. Yeah, I know I’m an asshole, but I did put a stop to this inadviseable habit, which would be dangerous were Resendiz not within a thousand miles of the place. After all this is Covington kentucky we are talking about. At that time it was the third largest city in Kentucky and, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, is a major rail transportaion center. Now, due in part to it’s crime and economic stagnation, it has fallen to about fifth in population in this span of almost ten years to about fifth, behind Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro, and Paducah. It would have been a prime target for a character like Resendiz, who was already familiar with Kentucky.

But now, at any rate, he has gone to meet his long overdue reward, though at the last minute he offerred some kind of apology for the pain he had caused. Previously, he had described himself as “half man half angel”, which was a basis for his appeal by his atorneys on the grounds of incompetency. He had also made statements to the effect that after he was executed he would reappear, resurrected, three days later. Now Jesus Fucking Christ but I wonder where he got that from?

The most glaring omission on the NBC Nightly News of that night may have been (I missed the first ten minutes) it’s lack of coverage of Resendiz’s execution. Even though he was due to have been executed at 7:00 p.m. this last Tuesday night, this went without a word of mention from NBC anchorman Brian Williams (if someone knows different you are welcome to correct me). Nor, strangely enough, did I hear any mention about the execution from the usual suspects who haunt the grounds outside prisons during the inmates last few hours. No sign of The Ferrell Bitch, or any of the other hordes of celebrities or human rights activists who seem to have never seen a criminal whose execution they can justify or agree to, no matter how vile and malignant a tumor on the human condition they might be. But then again, I no longer receive Fox News or MSNBC, and CNN is most of the time all but unwatchable.

At any rate, I’m sure my point hasn’t escaped you bright souls. And that is, why should the anti-death penalty crowd stick to it’s vaunted principles? Could it be that most of these same people are the ones that support open borders between the US and Mexico, as well as amnesty for the more than ten million illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, that currently here reside? Could it be that they, as well as the generally sympathetic mainstream media, feel that drawing attention to Resendiz, by way of protesting the execution of this very possibly insane man, is just drawing ever more attention to the very real dangers of open immiration into the United States. Could they feel this could demonstrate the threat posed by those who for whatever reason feel it is not in their best interest to try to immigrate to this country in the legal manner? That it could fire up even more support for ever more stringent border security?

Oh, surely not. Surely these fine, loving, tolerant, progressive minded saintly people couldn’t be so cynical. Not great, caring, civic minded liberals like Ed AssNerd and “BlowJob Hunnicunt” Mike The Ferrell Bitch.

Me, I am glad that this human piece of shit was put to death, an attitude which I am proud to say has nothing to do with his country of origin, but solely with the crimes the committed, the lives he shatterred-and ended-and the grief he caused.

Still, I hope Mike Ferrell sees him every night, standing by his bed.

Primate Rules

It looks like the divide between Anglicans and Episcopalians, the American branch of the Church of England, threatens to grow ever wider, now that the Americans have named as their leader the former Bishop of Nevada, a woman, Katharine Jefforts Schori, who in addition to being female is an open supporter of gay rights, not only in society, but in the Church itself. This apparently includes the ordination of gays.

While there is evidently no problem with the ordination of women at the local parish level, the naming of a woman to such a position of authority is indeed controversial, and against traditional church doctrine and policy. This, then, would be the second crisis since 2003, when relations between the two branches became frayed over the Americans appoitment of V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man with a live-in partner, to be the bishop of New Hampshire.

Anglican Church doctrine explicitly states that homosexuality is a violation of scripture. This, however, seems to be the minority opinion in the US, or Episcopal, branch of the Anglican Church. When the Anglican leadership demanded that the Episcopals elect no more gay bishops for now, Episcopal officials voted to agree only to call for “restraint”.

In order to forestall a permanent rupture of the churches, Archbishop Rowan Williams suggested the divided churches could stay together under a system in which members with non-traditional views on such issues as gay clergy could accept a lesser role.

“Some actions-and sacremental actions in particular-just do have the effect of putting a church outside or even across the central stream of the life they have shared with other churches”, he explained in a missive to the Anglican Communities 38 ironically named Primates-the leaders of the Church.

Me, I don’t see what the problem is, so long as a gay priest keeps his sexuality to himself. Though I can see how it might be a problem to some if a male priests male lover sits there making goo goo eyes at him through the service, or gets in a snit over a look another male parishioner gives the big boss man, or throws a hissy fit over some slight, real of imagined. Or if a gerbil suddenly comes scrambling out from under the priests robes. On the other hand, if it’s against official Church policy, there you have it-it is what it is. Yes, as you might have guessed, I think it’s funny.

So there you have it. And see, all this time you thought American Christians were all Bible thumping, hellfire and brimstone preaching, right wing social conservatives.

Thin As A Hog

Pagans have always been pig lovers, and pork eaters, one thing that always lead to our disdain amongst Jews and Muslims in the early days. The good thing about this story is, now we can hold our heads up high as lovers of the reviled swine. The bad news is, of course, we, along with Christians, will still be reviled by Jews and Muslims for at least this practice.

Still, there can be no doubt that the creation of a healthier cut of pork is welcome news, and this due to a special diet which farmers are encouraged to feed their pigs, and are actually paid a higher price to produce this leaner, healthier variety. In fact, not only is the trans fat and cholesterol content of this new breed of hog roughly the equivalent to that found in a skinless chicken breast, it has the added advantage of being higher in vitamins and minerals.

Of course, the reason for the ancient revulsion amongst Jews and Muslims for pigs has nothing to do with choleserol, the pig was just noted as an all around filthy animal, one that would, and will, eat anything. A story I heard once explains this quite aptly, dealing with a traditional German way of raising hogs.

They feed them corn. They shit out the corn. They eat their own shit, containing the corn. The corn is finally digested. You have a super fat, tasty, filling pork chop. Yes, you read all that correctly. They will not only eat their shit, they will wallow in it, as a means of keeping their bodies moist on hot days, due to an absence of sweat glands. Knowledgeable farmers therefore keep plenty of water availiable for their hogs, and feed them well, with what is commonly called “slop”, a vile concoction of field corn, with husks, apple cores, grains, and anything else imaginable that is biodegradble and non poisonous. They are not encouraged to eat their own or each others shit, though of course they still will do so given the opportunity, and the slightest hunger pangs.

So this, not some divine revelation as to the dangers of trichinosis, is the ultimate reason for the ancient Jewish revulsion for the meat of swines, especially considering that in these ancient days, pagans probably herded their swine the way we herd our cattle and sheep. Hence, the term “swineherd”. This condition enabled greater freedom for the pig, explaining the ability of the herd in the new testament to go bounding over a cliff into the ocean upon being possessed by the devils whom Christ exorcised into their bodues from that of the demon possessed man he cured.

Mostly, this made them easier to manage and to feed, as anything in their vicinity that died became food for them. By the same token, in some respects they may have been somewhat healthier than the tradfitionally raised American pig, in that this greater flexiility of movement helped lessen their cholesterol content, though at the same time trichinosis may have been even more of a problem, albeit an unknown one.

Now, of course, science may eventually breed the predisposition to trichinosis out of their systems within a few generations. This is great news altogether for us epicures, as I for my part generally love swine at least as much as chicken, and I absolutely despise skinless chicken, which is a violation of the civilization of the culinary arts, in my opinion.

Maybe they’ll even breed out of them the nasty inclination for eating shit. As long as they don’t do anything to ruin the taste though, that’s all that really matters to me.

Rush Limbaugh Makes It Harder

I never was a fan of Rush Limbaugh, and this has only a little to do with his political beliefs, actually when you get right down to it it has nothing to do with it. I just never really liked the man. He always struck me as arrogant. A better word would actually be pompous. He has always been, to me, a garden variety hypocrit who happens to be a brilliant marketer of ideas. That I will give him credit for, he sensed that the time was right to feed into the right wings dissilusionment with the political system and the media they felt, fairly or unfairly, preferred their opponents. He probably never honestly thought he would attain the degree of success that he has, but what he did was he moved far beyond the cottage industry and cult status he envisioned and into the stratosphere of broacasting success. He spawned a horde of imitators all in the span of ten years, and is still going strong.

But his life started to unravel when he was accussed of doctor shopping in order to feed a dangerous addiction to the highly addicitve pain killer Oxycontin. In one of the biggest ironies of the modern age, he was defended by the ACLU, who filed a firend of the court brief in order to ascertian the degree to which Limbaughs private patient information, his medical records, had been compromised by the prosecution by what they felt were overly zealous supporters of Limbaughs political rivals, and out and out enemies. They hated him and wanted revenge on Limbaugh, for just being Limbaugh.

His attorney, Roy Black, did an admirable job of arranging a deal whereby Limbaugh could be spared prosecution. But Limbaugh may have already violated the terms of his agreement by having in his possession a bottle of Viagra, that was not in his name. Come to find out, his doctor had prescribed the drug for the use of the treatment of erectile dysfunction, to himself, but for Limbaughs benefit, as a means of protecting Limbaughs privacy. A stupid move which insured that once Lmbaugh was searched at Palm Beach International Airport, and the bottle was found, the word would get out far and wide, even though this was evidently not a violation of Floida law. Still, Limbaugh is subject to specific terms. And so, had it been prescribed to him as it should have been, I would probably be typing a story right now about how hogs have been put on a special diet which makes their transfat, cholesterol, and other harmful content the same level as that of a skinless chicken breast.

But Limbaugh is taking the embarrassing situation as well as can be expected, laughing as he joked on his show that he wished he could tell his audience about the great time he had in the Dominican Republic. He also said that Customs officials didn’t believe him when he explained that he got the pills at the Clinton Library and were told they were blue M&Ms.

What he might have a harder time joking his way out of is how he has gone on record, on his own show, by criticising people that engage in sex to the extent of taking viagra, as an example of how we live in a “sex obsessed culture”.

Rush shoud really try some of that reduced fat pork, it might be better for his arteries.

Those Slutty Little Eight Year Old Girls

I’m hopeful that the latest news concerning the potential for a vaccine to prevent infection by a virus determined to cause cervical cancer in females will not be met with scorn by Rush Limbaugh as evidience of our “sex obsessed culture”, even though it is recommended that girls as young as eight receive these vaccinations.

No, Rush, this is unlikely to encourage little eight year old girls to go out and have sex. No, Rush, what ones might be inclined to have sex will not be discouraged if they aren’t allowed to have this vaccination. Yes, Rush, it might protect them if and when they do eventually get around to having sex, but no, giving it to them or not is not going ot have the slightest effects on the declining moral values of our society.

Take your viagra, Rush.

Bush Changes In Welfare Work Requirements

The Bush Administration has now provided guidelines for what qualifies as work for those now or in the future who might currently receive money or other aid from participation in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program-commonly known as “welfare”.

From now on, you can no longer qualify for this program simply by reading the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” to fulfill the necessary work requirements. Nor does bed rest count as qualification, which apparently is used in some states as a medical excuse, one which is apparently abused. Nor will you be able to meet the work requirements simply by running errands for friends.

In other words, the Bush Administration is saying that a good many states are abusing their privileges in setting guidelines as to what qualifies as work, and there is evidently a wide range across the states. In many, caring for an invalid family member qualifies as work. In many it does not. The Bush Administration guidelines is supposed to provide a comprehensive synchronized set of requirements for all the states, which is probably a good thing.

There can be little doubt that welfare, though well intentioned when first conceived, quickly became a boondoggle as well as, possibly, a vote buying scheme. It got worse throughout the years, and became for a long time one of the Repulican Partys favorite whipping tools against the Democrats, along with “crime on the streets”.

Thanks to Bill Clinton and The Republican Congress, who fought tooth and nail with each other over the scope of the welfare reforms which both promised to enact (Clintons version for the most part won out, though this conflict temproarily was at least partially responsible for the infamous government shut down of 1995), the welfare rolls have now shrunk from the then 4.4 million families receiving government assistance to now less than 2 million families.

As part of the new guidelines, ten different categories of work will now be defined. This will include on-the-job training and unsubsidized employment, in addition to community service. As it stands now, the difference in work requirements that exist state to state make if difficult to determine which states do a better job of phasing recipients back into full time employment.

Any state that fails to meet these new guidelines risk lossing up to five per cent of their funding. It needs to be higher, but at least this is a good start. The threat of funding cuts is probably the best incentive to insure that workers will work their asses off to help people phase off welfare-as oppossed to keeping them on it forever.

The DeSegregation Of Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson is trying to organize a rally in Louisville over the still divisive issue of school desegregation, calling for a ten thousand person rally to “urge” the US Supreme Court to allow the local school district to use race in student assignment. He is afraid that otherwise black students would be concentrated in low income schools that often have fewer resources.

He is also worried that an adverse ruling of the court could affect years of civil rights progress. He feels that failing to consider race as a factor it would “set back a whole century of work”.

The challenge due before the Supreme Court is based on a Louisville mothers challenge to the districts racial assignment guidelines. Though the guidelines allow for some choice among schools, it seeks through these guidelines to keep black enrollment between fifteen and fifty percent at most schools. However, in the lawsuit, the mother copmplains that her son was denied entrance into his own neighborhood school based solely on the fact that he was white. If true, this is atrocous.

There are two ways to solve this problem. One, make sure all schools have the funds they need to ensure quality education, regardless of their location. The second one is obvious, and that is, in order to assure a minimum percentage of black students at all schools in such a way as not to limit the rights of white residents to attend their own neighborhood schools, there should be some method to expand these schools whenever possible to allow for the increase in the student body, when or where that becomes a factor.

And this can be all be paid for in part by the process of ending the atrocious policy of bussing students across the city. This is a drain on economic resources, to say nothing of energy resources. They and all schools should also look into the possibility of closing schools up during the coldest parts of the year, in adition to the hottest periods, as a further way to cut energy costs.

Black students could still attend white schools, and both they and white sutdents could be given extra credit for voluntarily attending schools in diverse neighborhoods. For the student bodies at large, this would probably improve school performance, and discipline. How many kids actually feel like putting a lot of effort into school when in a lot of cases they spend anywhere from two hours or more just waitng for and riding busses?

The Miami Seven

In the middle of onslaughts by the Left against various aspects of the “War on Terror”, such as revelations about the tracking of Americans overseas banking transactions as reported by The New York Times, and the just ultimately successful challenges to the legitimacy of Guantanamo Bay and, more to the point, the Bush Administrations prosecutions of terror suspects (The Supreme Court just announced by a vote of 5-3 that the Bush Administration has overstepped it’s legal bounds and advised it to follow Geneva Conventions guidelines) comes yet another assault on the legitimacy of a recent terror arrest involving seven suspects in the Miami area.

These suspects are accussed of seeking to initiate an affiliation with Al-Queda for the purpose of carrying through a plan to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago, as well as FBI headquarters in Miami. The left is screaming “entrapment”. They might have a small point, though on the other hand, this has been an ongoing tactic of Federal prosecutors in it’s on-going war against organzed crime. Carlos Marcello, the former head of the oldest Mafia family in the United States, from New Orleans, was brought down in this fashion as long ago as the late seventies or early nineteen eighties, to the objections of no one outside his own legal defense paramaters.

Politicans as well have fallen prey to this brand of “entrapment”, such as the not so awful distant Boptrot scandals that nearly decimated the populaton of the Kentucky Legislature. This as well raised no serious eyebrows. Not even the near entrapment of Al Sharpton, videotaped attemtping to arrange for the purchase of cocaine, caused much of a stir when the information was released (he explained that he was conducting his own “undercover operation” into the drug trafficking in his area.).

Some of the Bush Administration opponents are crying foul and even characterizing the seven suspects as mentally challenged, and as mere “kids”. Actually, their ages range from 22 to 32, and their leader is a self-described self-employed father of four children of his own.

Some have pointed out that, as frequenters of a “Temple”, they are not Muslims, as Muslims frequent mosques, not temples. But actually, and incidentally, these seven practiced a Moorish form of Islam, called “Mohammedanism”, they do refer to their house of worship as a “Temple” (though the true Temple officials of their area have evidently disavowed their actions), and they claim as their holy scriptures and basis for their beliefs the Qu’ran.

Not that that matters. They haven’t been arrested on the grounds that they are Muslims-or Mohammedans. They were arrested on the grounds that they willingly plotted to blow up the Sears Tower, and sought the weapons and finances in order to accomplish this goal, a goal which their leader seems to have proposed to the undercover agent, who claimed to have been an Al-Queda operative.

As for the charge of “entrapment”, even that isn’t necessarilly factual. The investigation of this group of seven was initiated after some area residents complained that they were intimidated by the group, who maintained a private headquarters in a warehouse, where they conducted exercises of some sort. The investigators were really just following through on a complaint, and what seems to be neighborhood tips.

Even at this, it must be stated that these seven men are suspects, they have only been accussed, not yet convicted, and should be given, if only technically, a presumption of innocence. There is always the possibility that the investigators involved did step outside the parameters of their duties. But that will be, after all, for a court to decide.

Responsibility And Response

What started out as a ploy to gain the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails has turned into an “Oh shit what the fuck have we done” moment. Now, the kidapped soldier has been offerred to be returned, evidently unharmed, to the Israeli governemnt, which refused to give in to the ill-advised Hamas extortion scheme, out of the obvious and understandable fear that this would only encourage more and ever greater scenarios.

As it stands now, the Hamas governemnt is about one third shy of Parliament members and cabinet officials, this great a number currently under arrest by the Israeli military, who are now once more occupying Gaza, and readying plans for more excursions into the West Bank if they feel the need. Or maybe if they don’t.

I found it insufferably hypcritical that a Hamas leader tonight demanded that Israel be held accountable by the world community for it’s illegal actions. In the meatime, two other Israeli citizens have been kidnapped and executed, in retaliation for the Israeli response.

Nor is even Syrian President Assad, a Hamas supporter, immune from the Israeli response, as Israeli fighter jets have flown over his palace. In typical Syrian braggadoccio fashion, the Syria state run television services have reported that the Israeli jets were “run off” from the area. Yeah, right.

My advice to the Palestinians, not that they asked, is as follows-return the Israeli soldier, alive and unharmed. The next time he is seen, it would be helpful to your cause if he had a great big smile on his face.

Otherwise, folks-this could be the big one.

Weapons Of Choice

Kofi Annan has recently attempted to reassure those who might feel they have reason to be suspicous of his motives, and that of the UN, that the organizations attempts to instigate an international ban on weapons sales is not aimed at limiting or ending the right of various countries citizens to bear arms according to their ownnational laws. No, he insists, it is merely an attempt to rein in illegal weapons trafficking, to keep them out of the hands of criminals, and is aimed primarily at intrnational trafficking. Well, if that was all it is, I could agree to that-maybe. But, as usual, I want to read the fine print.

For one thing, just what constitutes a criminal in the eyes of the UN. If the US were to become a signatory to this treaty, would I be obliged to hand in my firearms, no longer allowed to purchase one or the ammunition for them, if I were convicted of, say, sptting on the sidewalk. Or jaywalking. Or any kind of traffic violation of varying degrees of seriousness.

This is not an attempt at humor, I ask this in all seriousness. Remember, the main reason that marijuana will probably never be legal in this coutnry is due to the fact that, back in the 1930’s, or thereabouts, the US signed various treaties which, for all I know, are still in effect, and are legally binding, at least technically so. The brainchild behind this was the man who went on to become the founding director of the DEA, which went on to become what is arguably the most corrupt government agency in United States history.

In other words, international treaties are legally binding, for a variety of reasons, having mainly to do with trade and other aspects of international relations, and have long term ramifications that are not easily reversed. That is why US citizens should be very concerned at the prospect of this coutnry entering into any kind of international agreement that contains too many words to fit onto both sides of one postcard. After all, the main body of a treaty can often lead to other incidental, additional details, being overlooked. But these incidental details, though supposedly minor in nature, are every bit as legally binding as any other part.

Kentucky Needs FutureGen

There are twelve sites in seven states that are in the running for the site of the FutureGen plant, which, when completed, promises to utilize clean technology to produce clean electrical energy from coal. Kentucky is in the running for one of these sites, and has a lot to offer. Easy access to the Kentucky coal mines, in addition to access to transportation by way of the Ohio and Mississipp Rivers.

Despite this, Kentucly may be a long shot, as the tax incentives that it offers to lure the compay only amount to about 2.4 million dollars in tax incentives in addition to 215 acres of free land. Considerable- until you consider, that is, that Ohios incentive package could total as high as 160 million dollars.

It would be a shame for Kentucky to lose out on this deal, which amounts to a one billion dollar project. This is not some sweat shop factory that might employee fifty people for a few years while it wrecks the environment, pays no taxes, and reserves the best jobs for a few people whose families have “pull”.

This is a job whose incentives would pay for themselves in a few years, would add long term high paying quality jobs and provide economic revitalization to the state, in addition to cheap sources of clean energy. Kentucky may not be able to match the tax incentives packages of Ohio and some other states, but it might not need to, given it’s other benefits, which are sorely lacking in other areas.

It could also help Kentucky reestablish that proud tradition that it lost during the Civil War, and has never regained-it’s place of honor as a state of advancement of civilization, one of whose cities, Lexington, was once known as the “Athens of The West”. A chance to be the homeplace of a needed advancement in science and technology in the area of overall national energy independence deserves more than just a little over two million dollars and some free land.

Criminal Insanity

A number of things have become all too clear over the last few years concerning The Communities of Oakwood. a Pulaski County Kentucky based facilitie for the housing and care of the mentally handicapped. To reside there you have to be, of course, mentally retarded or similarly disabled.

To work there, you have to be a fucking sadist.

Just over the last few months, the following events have transpired:

• For his birthday, a resident was taken to a strip club in Lexington, after which he was encouraged to engage in sexual intercourse.
• On a scheduled and approved fishing trip, one resident was beaten when he resisted leaving at the appointed time.
• Just recently, one resident was beaten, at least twice, by at least three employees of the facility-with a broomstick.

And overall there have been numerous other similar allegations of abuse, both physical and mental, of such a serious nature that the facility has been sanctioned and fined, and placed on extended periods of probation. As a state accredited institution, it has been forced through a change of ownership, yet all evidently to no avail.

You have to wonder just what all else goes on there that hasn’t yet been made known, or if it ever will. How many deaths there can be possibly attibuted at least in part if not wholly to some for of abuse and/or neglect. I would imagine it would be substantial, and all this points to an obvious lack of supervision. The state of Kentucky should hold these people accountable with more than just words and empty threats. Failing that, the state of Kentucky itself should be held accountable. But if fines, probation, and change of ownership won’t change the situation, then what will? Should the federal governemnt step in? Would that be any better,or even as good? Or shoud lthe place just be shut down?

The obvious solution would be to pay to hire a better qualified, more extensively trained staff, and direct state supervision. To those who would point out this would increase the expense of running the palce, I would point out that the reusltant decrease in insurance fees, in addition to other austere cuts in unnecessary bureaucratic spending by way of streamlining, would go a long way towards making up the difference.

By the same token, the mentally handicapped don’t deserve to have to put up with this kind of treatment.

What Do You Want On Your Tombstone

I have an idea that may be controversial, and it may even seem unpatriotic, but if so, so be it. It is based on recent events involving the widow of one Patrick D. Steward, formerly of Nebraska, who was killed last year, on September 25, in Afghanistan, by a rocket propelled grenade. Stewart, a Sergeant, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Pruple Heart.

Yet, his widow, Roberta, has run into a problem with the Pentagon. They have refused to honor his and his widows wishes to put on his grave at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetary, a pentacle, a symbol of his Wiccan faith. As of now, the widow has refused to allow the erection of even a temporary marker.

She has objected to the Pentagons politices to no avail though she has received support, both from the Americans United For The Seperation of Church And State, and from Christianity Today magazine. It has been turned into a politcal issue at the behest of Bush, who has gone on record as oppossing the recognition of Wicca as a legitimate religion, and by the typical hordes of right wing conservative religious fanatics who for now make up arguably the most influential base of the Republican Party (at least they are influential to Bush, and the Neo-Cons that surround him, when it is convenient for the latter-usually and especially around election time).

My response is simple, straightforward, and to the point. Any Wiccan or Pagan or military age should henceforth refuse to volunteer for military service. If they are already in the military, they should leave when their time of enlistment expires. In the meantime, it would be helpful if a substantial number of them could get together and issue a press release to the effect that all Wiccans and Pagans will be discouraged from joining any branch of the armed services until this issue is addressed, and decided completley in our favor. No compromises.

In the meantime, all Pagans and Wiccans who are parents of military age sons and daughters should issue a similar statement to the effect that, again, until this issue is resoved satisfacotrily, to us, they will strongly discourage any of their sons or daughters from joining any branch of the US military.

It may do precpous little good, but it will still make a statement on behalf of the substantial number of Pagans who have served, who are currently serving, and who have, like Sergeant Stewart, given their lives in the service of their country. If we’re good enough to risk life and limb to serve, then the least we can get in return is to have our basic constitutional rights, including Freedom of Religion, respected. If we can’t get that much, you can all-well, go to hell.

The original story on BeliefNet.com can be found in the link at the post title.

A Brief But Concise View Of Franco-American Relations

I could have told Rufus a number of things about his trip to France that seem to have surprised him, but which I was quite aware of. For one thing, the food is excellent. I don’t think this really surprised him, to tell you the truth, I think he’s just wanting to rub it in. The other thing that surprised him was the general politeness and all around friendliness of the French.

It all begs the question, exactly where did the French derive this reputation for being such culturally elitist, smug and superior assholes? Before this question can be sufficently answered, it might help to look briefly at the history of FrancoAmerican relations.

Beginning shortly after the adoption of the US Constitution, things sort of got off to a bad foot, when President Washington sent the French ambassador packing, as he was rightly certain this gentleman aimed to draw us into the middleof their problems with Great Britian. The French were naturally antagonized at this, and considered us ingrates, as they had after all been instrumental in securing our victory agaisnt the British to begin with.

But Washington was adamant, he would pursue a policy of neutrality in world affairs to as much an extent as possible. In fact, this is one of the reasons he is rightly considered among our greatest Presidents. This was a policy which governed American foreign policy for more than a century, and truthfully, it would be one we would be well advised to return to, in my view. But the French were understandably, perhaps, perturbed, and this lead to, during the Adams Administration, the onset of the notorious spy scandal known as the X,Y, Z affair. It also was a factor in the formulation of the disastrous Alien And Sedition Act, and helped to bring about the end of Adams Presidency after one term.

By the way, it should be noted that in addition to appearring ungrateful, the French were actually doubly annoyed in that their involvement with the Revolutionary War was at the behest not of the people of the nation, but of it’s now deposed and summarrily executed monarchy. So as you can see, more and more the seeds are being sown for an ever bigger headache.

This was temporarily alleviated by Thomas Jeffersons purchase of the Lousiana Territory from Napoleon, but this temporary cure proved in the long run an even greater agitation. Not only did the French feel they had been given a raw deal, ultimately, in this agreement, but they did not benefit from it in the least. In fact, it added to their sufferrings, as Napoleon used the money from this deal with Jefferson primarily to fund his war of aggression which ended ultimately in the humiliating defeat at Waterloo.

The French, it seemed, could not win for loosing, and throughout the next century they must have felt that the US was some kind of a curse on their national pride and dignity. So hard was feelings of the French toward the US in the earliest days that one of their noted philosophers made the statemnent, one of my favorite sayings (just due to it’s cleverness) which I here paraphrase: “America is the only nation in the history of the world that has gone from barbarity straight into decadence, without the usual intervening period of civilization.”

But we got along, somewhat, the highlight of our relationship being the presentation by the French governemnt of the gift of the Statue of Liberty. But even here, I imagine that quite a few secretly wondered that the French were only too glad to give to us, their tired, their poor. If so, this as well backfired, as US immigration policy at the time, though controversial (yet please note, it was reasoned and controlled) proved to be a massive brain drain on Europe. The US was riding ever higher, from the vantage point of our European cousins.

By the time we saved the French’s asses, first in World War I, then again in World War II, they must have been secretly thinking, “it’s about time”.

Still, I have to think the French, the vast majority of them, were genuinely grateful for our aid (what ones of them weren’t actual Nazi collaborators, anyway), but relations quickly soured. The question remains, why?

I have to blame the phenomenon of the “Ugly American”, that tourist who travelled the continent fully expected that he would be lavished, and kowtowed to. Remember, in the early days of American tourism follwing World War II, it wasn’t your average American who got the chance to travel abroad, but rarely. The vast majority of them were high minded socialites and business people with a fucking attitude. They were the ones with the superiority complex,and this offended the obviously prideful French, which would only be natural.

Exceptions to this rule of the travelling class would be the American soldier stationed overseas, which may have aggravated an already delicate situation. Show me a family who likes to see their women folk looked at as the type that can be easily fucked for a chocolate bar and a pair of nylons, and I’ll show you a rare breed of individuals, whether they be French or any other nationality.

So yes, the French can be hostile to Ameircans, just as they can be gracous and respectful. It all depends really, in most cases, on the face you yourself present to them. That’s the same way it is actually with all people of the world you might meet in your daily travels. The French aren’t any different. We just have a longer, more troubled hisotry.

The Great Snake Goddess Of Minoa

I am a little bit late on the draw, it seems, when it comes to authenticating the legitimacey of my new avatar, insofar as it being a valid representation of my path of what I like to call, Hellenic Wicca. The term for my path is probably as valid as the avatar, in other words, not very. Of course, I never utilized this term out of a desire to be deceptive about my beliefs. What would be the point? It just seemed easier, far less complicated, to refer to myself as a Hellenic Wiccan, than to explain that I follow a modern version of Hellenic Paganism that has a heavy Wiccan influence. Thus Hellenic Wicca, which isn’t perfectly accurrate, but it sounds good, and close enough. I also like to at times refer to my religion as Hellenism, which historicaly, and accurrately, is the culture of ancient Hellenic Greece, the ancient Greek religions of which are only one part, though an important an integral one.

In reality, culturally I am at best a diamond in the rough, and it seems to be getting rougher every day, these days. Yet, I do definitely try to keep abreast of cultural news, including discoveries in the field of archaeology. Alas, I am a lazy blogger, and an even lazier researcher, and so, even though I have the URL for a very good archaeology site on the sidebar of this blog, which I urge you to check out, I myself have been lax at keeping up on it, and so missed this little bit of information.

The “snake goddess” that I have chosen as my avatar, suppossedly an ancient artifact that was dug up on the island of Crete, was believed at one time to have been an ancient religious artifact( possibly a votary, depicting either a goddess or a priestess, a snake in each upward stretched arm), from the Minoan Period, and thus predating not only ancient Classical Greek, or Achaean, culture, but even Mychaenaean civilization as well.

Alas, come to find out, it, like a good many other artifacts, was a fraud. Not only were they circulated in response to a demand for Minoan artifacts at about the beginning of the last century, but it has been known for some time they were frauds. I felt a degree of sadness upon learning this, and not a little embarrassment.

On te other hand, the good news is, even though these artifacts were themselves frauds, they were in fact based on legitimate artifacts that were in fact discovered and authenticated. So yes, Virginia, there was, after all, a snake goddess.

And so, whether mine is the fake or the genuine article, I have elected to keep her. I have grown quite fond of her, after all, and moreover, when all is said and done, when it comes to the realms of religion, magic, and mythology, who is to say what is real, what is fake, what is symbolic, and what is just wishful thinking.