Go see how the cartoon should have looked.
And this.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thought of the day
Since last Friday, I have cleared my driveway of snow 6 days in a row. I am thinking of marrying my goddam driveway so I won't have to blow it anymore.
Also, everybody, and especially you mechanics, should go see Badtux's Bad Joke. Heh.
Also, everybody, and especially you mechanics, should go see Badtux's Bad Joke. Heh.
Suicide Is Painless
The Political Carnival on RNC Chairman Steele. References also to the M*A*S*H theme song. Heh.
Note to Chairman Steele: Save us all a lot of time and trouble, willya Tom? Spare us the bullshit and just reach up and flush the damn thing and get it over with.
If going beyond cutting-edge means political suicide, he's dead-on (no puns intended).
“We missed the mark in the past, which is why we are in the crapper now,” he said.
Who could resist a charm offensive like that?
Note to Chairman Steele: Save us all a lot of time and trouble, willya Tom? Spare us the bullshit and just reach up and flush the damn thing and get it over with.
The cartoon ...
You all know which one. All I'll say is they can make up any excuse they want, but I grew up in a time where black folks were regularly referred to as monkeys. This* sends only one message, the obvious one. No excuses will suffice.
*And no, I'm not posting, nor linking to, the damn thing. It's easy enough to find it on your own if you want.
But ...
America is a conservative nation! Waaahhhhhhh!!!!
Seems like the maiden voyage of Titanic was an unqualified success compared to the Republicans lately. Heh ...
Seems like the maiden voyage of Titanic was an unqualified success compared to the Republicans lately. Heh ...
Thanks to Athenae for the link.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I knew it was a mistake ...
To go down the road of giving the automakers money:
That's just GM. How much is Chrysler gonna ask for? This is what I wrote last October:
And what will Ford want down the line?
I'm sorry, but if they want more, the CEOs and boards of directors should resign. I don't give a fuck who runs 'em but the current crop of idiots have to go. A case can be made for bailing out the banks, but I draw the line at pouring money into a car company that builds crap (and has been for a long time) and whose management is so myopic that the Future comes up and bites them in the ass on a regular basis. It just ain't worth it.
Fuck them.
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Tuesday it could need a total of up to $30 billion in U.S. government aid -- more than doubling its original aid -- and would run out of cash as soon as March without new federal funding.
The request for additional aid from the top U.S. automaker came in a restructuring plan GM submitted to U.S. officials on Tuesday.
...
That's just GM. How much is Chrysler gonna ask for? This is what I wrote last October:
...
Didn't we just hand the U.S. majors $25 bln last month [August 2008 - F.] so they "could modernize in order to be competitive"? Fuck them. Sorry you decent, hard working folks who work for GM, I feel for you, but enough is enough. GM and the other major U.S. auto houses have made one bad business decision after another since 1978 and I'm tired of bailing them out.
...
And what will Ford want down the line?
I'm sorry, but if they want more, the CEOs and boards of directors should resign. I don't give a fuck who runs 'em but the current crop of idiots have to go. A case can be made for bailing out the banks, but I draw the line at pouring money into a car company that builds crap (and has been for a long time) and whose management is so myopic that the Future comes up and bites them in the ass on a regular basis. It just ain't worth it.
Fuck them.
Great thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.
Harley-Davidson Tries to Rejuvenate Its Business
Good article in Time about how Harley-Davidson is trying to attract younger riders to boost flagging sales due to the economy.
I have never thought of motorcycles as a 'luxury item', but then I've been a dyed-in-the-wool motorcyclist for over fifty years. Bikes are as necessary to my well-being as air. I own two Harley-Davidsons, the oldest is 77 years old, the newest, 26 years old. I would sell these first if I had to.
Just as an aside, 'Screamin' Eagle' is Harley-Davidson's own line of Taiwan aftermarket performance parts. I call 'em 'Death From Above' parts because "Screaming Eagles" is the nickname of the 101st Airborne Division, whom the Vietnamese called 'rooster men' because they had never seen a bald eagle like the one on the shoulder patch. Heh. Fits the newer Harley-Davidson riders to a T.
"Marginally successful." Here's why: These sleds are too expensive for young folks with no houses to re-fi, and they're stodgy, even Sportsters, which were stone powerhouses when they were introduced fifty-two years ago. The kids want things unavailable from Harley-Davidson, such things as speed, razor-edge handling, space-age looks, and a price tag they can live with. 'Twas ever thus. Most old folks ride slow and want to look sharp and get an ego boost. Kids wanta slick their hair back and gas it! Generally speaking, the bikes from Japan do the trick.
Here's H-D's sales pitch:
So much for 'you meet the nicest people on a ...'! Back to the old tried and true! Do we still have enough juvenile delinquents to make a viable customer base? Heh.
I think the big appeal of Harley-Davidsons is their retro looks and outlaw image, all Made In America. Step right up and buy an outfit and you can be an instant old-fashioned outlaw patriot too. Visa, MasterCard, and cash-out re-fis accepted.
Don't get me wrong - a lot of older riders want a good turn of speed and handling. They have more money than the kids and turn to some truly fabulous bikes produced in Italy, Austria, Germany, and England. I'm sure that some younger riders are attracted to these as well, and probably go amazingly into hock to have one. As the old saying goes, "If ya keep spendin' money on food, clothes, and other non-essentials, ya ain't never gonna have a new bike."
I know enough about motorcycles that I'm not dazzled by them any more. Yes, of course there are machines I lust after, but to want a $10 or $20,000+ bike enough to actually buy one is probably not in the cards unless I hit the Lotto. Then, I'll need a bigger garage.
I wish Harley-Davidson well, but I'm not doing them much good. I don't give a shit what folks think I look like as I pass them on my bike, and I'm happier'n a pig in shit on my old-fashioned slow $3500 Made In India Royal Enfield, thank you very much.
Also see the evolution of Harley-Davidson in pictures.
Yer intrepid reporter on the H-D 'Splinter' board tracker
It's been a grueling few weeks for American companies, but particularly so for Harley-Davidson, purveyor of bikes that easily top $30,000. Last month, the company reported that its fourth-quarter global sales fell 13.1%. Last year, its profit sank nearly 30%. And it's been a wipeout for investors: Harley-Davidson's stock price has plunged nearly 70%, to $11.96 a share in mid-February, from $37.34 a share one year ago. Americans haven't lost reverence for Harley-Davidson. But a key problem is that people are simply less willing to spend money on luxury items: Overall motorbike sales fell 7.2% last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, an Irvine, Calif., trade group. (See pictures of the world's most expensive motorcycles.)
I have never thought of motorcycles as a 'luxury item', but then I've been a dyed-in-the-wool motorcyclist for over fifty years. Bikes are as necessary to my well-being as air. I own two Harley-Davidsons, the oldest is 77 years old, the newest, 26 years old. I would sell these first if I had to.
[...] But by the 1970s, motorcycling had become a marginalized sport. Its renaissance came in the late-1980s, driven largely by Baby Boomers' new affluence. Between 1992 and 2007, new bike sales soared from 278,000 to 1.1 million annually. Harley-Davidson rode much of that wave, chiefly with touring bikes like the brawny Ultra Classic Electra Glide (starting price: $35,499, with a "110" Screamin' Eagle Engine, and a 6-speed transmission). Its patrons grew older and wealthier, but its efforts to cultivate a large base of female and younger riders have been marginally successful.
Just as an aside, 'Screamin' Eagle' is Harley-Davidson's own line of Taiwan aftermarket performance parts. I call 'em 'Death From Above' parts because "Screaming Eagles" is the nickname of the 101st Airborne Division, whom the Vietnamese called 'rooster men' because they had never seen a bald eagle like the one on the shoulder patch. Heh. Fits the newer Harley-Davidson riders to a T.
"Marginally successful." Here's why: These sleds are too expensive for young folks with no houses to re-fi, and they're stodgy, even Sportsters, which were stone powerhouses when they were introduced fifty-two years ago. The kids want things unavailable from Harley-Davidson, such things as speed, razor-edge handling, space-age looks, and a price tag they can live with. 'Twas ever thus. Most old folks ride slow and want to look sharp and get an ego boost. Kids wanta slick their hair back and gas it! Generally speaking, the bikes from Japan do the trick.
Here's H-D's sales pitch:
"About six bucks a day. Cheaper than your smokes, a six pack, a lap dance, a bar tab, another tattoo, a parking ticket..."
So much for 'you meet the nicest people on a ...'! Back to the old tried and true! Do we still have enough juvenile delinquents to make a viable customer base? Heh.
I think the big appeal of Harley-Davidsons is their retro looks and outlaw image, all Made In America. Step right up and buy an outfit and you can be an instant old-fashioned outlaw patriot too. Visa, MasterCard, and cash-out re-fis accepted.
Don't get me wrong - a lot of older riders want a good turn of speed and handling. They have more money than the kids and turn to some truly fabulous bikes produced in Italy, Austria, Germany, and England. I'm sure that some younger riders are attracted to these as well, and probably go amazingly into hock to have one. As the old saying goes, "If ya keep spendin' money on food, clothes, and other non-essentials, ya ain't never gonna have a new bike."
I know enough about motorcycles that I'm not dazzled by them any more. Yes, of course there are machines I lust after, but to want a $10 or $20,000+ bike enough to actually buy one is probably not in the cards unless I hit the Lotto. Then, I'll need a bigger garage.
I wish Harley-Davidson well, but I'm not doing them much good. I don't give a shit what folks think I look like as I pass them on my bike, and I'm happier'n a pig in shit on my old-fashioned slow $3500 Made In India Royal Enfield, thank you very much.
Also see the evolution of Harley-Davidson in pictures.
The Alternate Brain crew prepares to go to D.C. and clean things up
Halfway there, we discover some weed, whites, wine, and chicks. The mission evolves...
You own it now ...
Ever since we've been pretty sure Barry would be our President, Gordon and I have been warning about getting too deeply involved in Afghanistan. And I hate to speak for my friend but I'm pretty sure, like me, he wants us out of there instead. Digby has a thoughtful post up today going over many of the arguments we've made over the past few months.
Though she left out an important one. The ability to resupply. You cannot keep up the tempo of operations if your troops ain't fed and they got no bullets or gasoline. It hasn't been a story here, but on CNN International (I wish we could get it in the States) I learned the Kyrgyzstan government is throwing us out of the base we have there. So now we're in negotiations with the Russians to use bases in Russia to stage in and out of. To an old Cold Warrior, this strikes me as unwise. Maybe I'm biased but experience tells me not to trust them with something this vital. At the least, they'll try to shake us down for every ruble they can. Why are we fretting about the Kyrgyz and Russian bases? Because our main supply line, through Pakistan, is vulnerable to attack and disruption.
So now we're putting more troops into a place where our supply line is tenuous. On one end, it's susceptible to destruction, on the other, we'll be wasting more money than we have to (for security and bribes), a lot more. Mr. Obama, take it from a couple old enlisted guys who've been around and who've learned the lessons of history. To quote Digby again, Aghanistan is:
Once this new round of troops sets foot in the Hindu Kush, you own this war, Mr. Obama. Regardless of the neglect and contempt George Bush showed for it, anything that goes wrong over there now will be hung around your neck. I'm glad you're lowering expectations but you still own every casualty, every civilian and combat death from here on out. You'll be thinking about that as we make our exit in a similar fashion to the Soviets and the British.
...
I hear a lot of people talking about how more troops are necessary because, until now, airstrikes have papered over the lack of boots on the ground and led to an uncomfortable increase in the civilian death toll, which is unsustainable. The first response to this is that 17,000 extra troops and personnel in a country the size of Texas isn't likely to change that, especially when the airstrike targets are often in inaccessible areas. The second is to look back at recent history. We "surged" in Iraq with an increase in forces and airstrikes surged, mainly to protect the new influx of boots on the ground, which American policymakers see as more precious resources than Afghans or Iraqis. It is not consistent to suggest that more troops=less airstrikes. That never happens. Escalation is escalation. [my em]
...
Though she left out an important one. The ability to resupply. You cannot keep up the tempo of operations if your troops ain't fed and they got no bullets or gasoline. It hasn't been a story here, but on CNN International (I wish we could get it in the States) I learned the Kyrgyzstan government is throwing us out of the base we have there. So now we're in negotiations with the Russians to use bases in Russia to stage in and out of. To an old Cold Warrior, this strikes me as unwise. Maybe I'm biased but experience tells me not to trust them with something this vital. At the least, they'll try to shake us down for every ruble they can. Why are we fretting about the Kyrgyz and Russian bases? Because our main supply line, through Pakistan, is vulnerable to attack and disruption.
So now we're putting more troops into a place where our supply line is tenuous. On one end, it's susceptible to destruction, on the other, we'll be wasting more money than we have to (for security and bribes), a lot more. Mr. Obama, take it from a couple old enlisted guys who've been around and who've learned the lessons of history. To quote Digby again, Aghanistan is:
... The Graveyard Of Empires
Once this new round of troops sets foot in the Hindu Kush, you own this war, Mr. Obama. Regardless of the neglect and contempt George Bush showed for it, anything that goes wrong over there now will be hung around your neck. I'm glad you're lowering expectations but you still own every casualty, every civilian and combat death from here on out. You'll be thinking about that as we make our exit in a similar fashion to the Soviets and the British.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday traveling music blogging ...
I've been everywhere:
My laptop. Click to make really big.
Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere
What, no Jesus?
Heh ... I love the French:
Hey, some people don't want god in their lives. When the Mrs. and I got married, a rabbi officiated though it wasn't a sanctioned Hebrew ceremony because of ... well ... heh ... me. We had the rabbi for my mother-in-law's benefit. Next year, we'll be married 20 years and it's gonna be a shindig with us retaking our vows before the Master of an ocean liner at sea. Nobody's god is getting an invitation.
PARIS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Authorities in France say a civil union designed a decade ago for gay couples has become increasingly popular with heterosexual couples.
Heterosexual men and women see the Civil Solidarity Pact as halfway between living together and marriage, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Saturday.
...
Hey, some people don't want god in their lives. When the Mrs. and I got married, a rabbi officiated though it wasn't a sanctioned Hebrew ceremony because of ... well ... heh ... me. We had the rabbi for my mother-in-law's benefit. Next year, we'll be married 20 years and it's gonna be a shindig with us retaking our vows before the Master of an ocean liner at sea. Nobody's god is getting an invitation.
Great thanks to Shakes for the link.
Debugging ...
Creature gets it exactly right (in toto):
I'd rather they realize the plan should be changed rather than using the George Bush method of charging on though failure is obvious and apparent. Yes, the roll-out was clumsy, at least they didn't throw hundreds of billions down a dry hole before they realized they fucked up.
It's kind of refreshing that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner scrapped his first bank bailout plan and was willing to start from square one so late in the game. Better to suffer a bit of embarrassment now, then dig a deeper hole later.
I'd rather they realize the plan should be changed rather than using the George Bush method of charging on though failure is obvious and apparent. Yes, the roll-out was clumsy, at least they didn't throw hundreds of billions down a dry hole before they realized they fucked up.
Duty calls...
Gotta go out and rearrange mass quantities of snow. For the fourth day in a row. A healthy outdoor activity, as my muscles keep telling me. Hasn't been too bad, as I've not been letting the snow build up too much on the driveway and I can put My Machine in a high gear and let 'er rip. Also, The Berm Fairy has been quite wonderful. I finally found out exactly who he is and that he is best thanked by buying him some berm-removal fuel, aka Heinekens.
The rigs have quite a bit of snow on them, but we're getting a coupla days break from the storms so I'll clear them too. We haven't been anywhere since Thursday and I gotta get to the store for supplies. Hopefully thenon-snow-drivin'-fuck traffic hazards skiers have gone home. I gotta chance it - Mrs. G is out of her cinnamon vanilla coffee creamer. Oh the horror!
Here's a coupla tips for you folks in snow country. Get one of these, made locally and proving that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. The amount of snow on the car in the picture is not unusual around here, and that device beats the shit out of a scraper/brush, which is really a finishing tool.
Then, after ya knock enough snow off the rig so you can see out of it, take it someplace besides yer own driveway to knock off the rest. Don't go too far. The inside of the car will warm up, and the first time ya hit the brakes, all the snow on the roof'll be on your hood and windshield, which besides dangerously obstructing your vision, makes ya look like an idiot. I just go about 100 feet to a wide spot in the road, and sometimes there's a queue! That way, the town plow can take care of it and I don't have to. They'll probably plow it right back into my driveway anyway. I'll detail the snow off the car in Safeway's parking lot.
Then I'll go to the Post Office and get mail, just to clear out my PO box. No matter how bad the roads have been, the bills and junk mail always get through.
See yas later.
Update:
I think my snowthrower has a mechanical malfunction. The Dog Poop Finder seems to be out of synch with the Automatic Wind Direction Changer. I actually blew some dog poop away from me...
The rigs have quite a bit of snow on them, but we're getting a coupla days break from the storms so I'll clear them too. We haven't been anywhere since Thursday and I gotta get to the store for supplies. Hopefully the
Here's a coupla tips for you folks in snow country. Get one of these, made locally and proving that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. The amount of snow on the car in the picture is not unusual around here, and that device beats the shit out of a scraper/brush, which is really a finishing tool.
Then, after ya knock enough snow off the rig so you can see out of it, take it someplace besides yer own driveway to knock off the rest. Don't go too far. The inside of the car will warm up, and the first time ya hit the brakes, all the snow on the roof'll be on your hood and windshield, which besides dangerously obstructing your vision, makes ya look like an idiot. I just go about 100 feet to a wide spot in the road, and sometimes there's a queue! That way, the town plow can take care of it and I don't have to. They'll probably plow it right back into my driveway anyway. I'll detail the snow off the car in Safeway's parking lot.
Then I'll go to the Post Office and get mail, just to clear out my PO box. No matter how bad the roads have been, the bills and junk mail always get through.
See yas later.
Update:
I think my snowthrower has a mechanical malfunction. The Dog Poop Finder seems to be out of synch with the Automatic Wind Direction Changer. I actually blew some dog poop away from me...
Oval Newlywed Game
If you don't like MoDo, pass this by. Anything involving that Irish redhead and the words 'newlywed game' piques this dirty old man's interest! Alas, she's talking about the relationship between Obama and Biden, which, while interesting, made my pique, er, droop.
There's more.
All the too-easy 'Odd Couple' references aside, those two guys are as different as night from day, and I like them both and think they are just what we need after emerging from Cheney's black hole (shudder) into some light.
Admittedly, it must be an adjustment for the president, a detached observer who “travels light,” as friends put it, to be yoked to such a garrulous social animal.
It can’t be easy for someone with a highly defined superego to be bound to the wacky Biden id, for one so disciplined to be tied to one so undisciplined, for a man so coolly unsentimental to be paired with someone so exuberantly sentimental.
Mr. Biden’s stream of consciousness can be impolitic. Politico’s Glenn Thrush refers to “the human political polygraph that is Joseph Robinette Biden.” It can also be bracingly honest.
Obama advisers say that the two men get on well and that the president wants his second’s candid advice. Mr. Biden considers Mr. Obama inclusive.
But some aides joke about the care and feeding of Mr. Biden’s ego, and kid about the way the vice president clings to the president’s schedule. Mr. Biden puts out guidance about his schedule — a refreshing change from the black hole of Cheney.
There's more.
All the too-easy 'Odd Couple' references aside, those two guys are as different as night from day, and I like them both and think they are just what we need after emerging from Cheney's black hole (shudder) into some light.
Prosecuting Yoo
Michael Isikoff on "The Rachel Maddow Show"
Let's hope the new AG pursues this with a hard-on and locks these bastards up. Better yet, get 'em to roll on The Dick and Bush. Then lock them up.
Ahem ...
Blame watertiger for reminding me, but allow me to bitch for a moment.
1. Excuse me, Delta, and the rest of you, but fuck you, in the ass, with a stick. I paid $1.85 for regular gas yesterday; why are you still charging me a 'per bag' fee? What the fuck you think I'm gonna live out for two weeks, with formal engagements included? My wife's fucking pocketbook and my computer case? Fuck you again.
2. Once more, Delta, and the rest of you, but as I said in '1', gas is $1.85 a gallon. Why the fuck am I still paying an overweight charge for bags over 50 lbs? When I was younger I used to bring everything I own, needed a fucking forklift to pick it up. The fucking plane still flew. Again, what the fuck do you expect me to live out of for two weeks? My fucking duffel bag from the Air Force? "That will be $15 please, Mr. Fixer." Fuck you.
2a. And your gate agent at JFK can suck my hairy white ass for her attitude. Lecturing me for having two(!) overweight bags? If it'd been a guy they'd have been wiring up his jaw. Listen, we used points for the flights to Ft. Lauderdale and back, but it was like buying an extra fucking ticket for my suitcases. Seriously, fuck you.
3. To my fellow cruise passengers who think because they spent thousands of dollars on their cruise gives them the right to treat the people who serve them like shit. A big, hearty, fuck you with a telephone pole in the ass ... dry (yes, Gord, all the way). Goddamnit, you fucking people walking around like you're King Shit because you rented a tux and bought a new pair of shoes. Just because they don't speak English well, or are a different color than you are, doesn't mean you can abuse them. They are people, just like you and me, busting their asses to make a little money and make sure I have a good time. They come from impoverished countries (if you got to know them, you'd find they're not stupid and care about the same things we do), sometimes having to spend as much as a year away from their families (I've watched some of their children grow up through pictures over the years), all to make sure you have the best vacation ever. They put their pants on the same way you and I do. Suckmy monkey ass, you cretins.
4. And while we're on the subject of cruise and airline passengers, fuck your kids. I like kids, I really do. I have nephews and nieces ranging in age from 6 to 30, all of whom I adore, but when they acted up their parents kept them in line. Your kids are not the greatest thing to walk the Earth and not everything they do is good, or smart, or cute. Turning them loose at the baggage claim to play WWE Wrestling as I'm pulling an overweight bag ("Are you buying a ticket for that, Mr. Fixer?") off the carousel. My back doesn't need me suddenly changing direction with 65 lbs. and your little savages don't need me dropping it on them. Turning them loose on the cruise ship elevators unsupervised is a dumbass idea too. Leaving them unattended on a cruise ship after turning them loose on the other passengers isn't a good idea either. Big ocean out there. Little Johnny is but a drop (on several levels). Discipline the little shits or they'll be swimming to Catalina.
5. See '1' and '2', you cheap motherfuckers. You're too cheap to pay the $25 for the second bag, let alone the $15 for the first so you jam everything you own in a 'carry-on' bag the size of a Fruehauf trailer. In addition to my computer bag and my wife's travel bag, which fit under the seat, we had another the size of a plastic grocery bag. You think I found enough space overhead to jam it? Fuck me, you people. If I donated all the shit you carry on to an aircraft, I'd get a tax deduction so big I wouldn't have to pay for 5 years. Fuck you, cough up the $40 or stay home. I gotta pay, you gotta pay, you cheap bastids.
And in general, I'm tired of seeing you people who think the world revolves around them. It doesn't and the better majority of us don't give a shit if you live or die, let alone care that the "pool boy" wouldn't hold your chair all day so just in case you want to get some sun, there would be a chair free for your botoxed, siliconed, old ass. Shut the fuck up and get out of my space.
Thanks for listening, ladies and gents. I'm better now.
1. Excuse me, Delta, and the rest of you, but fuck you, in the ass, with a stick. I paid $1.85 for regular gas yesterday; why are you still charging me a 'per bag' fee? What the fuck you think I'm gonna live out for two weeks, with formal engagements included? My wife's fucking pocketbook and my computer case? Fuck you again.
2. Once more, Delta, and the rest of you, but as I said in '1', gas is $1.85 a gallon. Why the fuck am I still paying an overweight charge for bags over 50 lbs? When I was younger I used to bring everything I own, needed a fucking forklift to pick it up. The fucking plane still flew. Again, what the fuck do you expect me to live out of for two weeks? My fucking duffel bag from the Air Force? "That will be $15 please, Mr. Fixer." Fuck you.
2a. And your gate agent at JFK can suck my hairy white ass for her attitude. Lecturing me for having two(!) overweight bags? If it'd been a guy they'd have been wiring up his jaw. Listen, we used points for the flights to Ft. Lauderdale and back, but it was like buying an extra fucking ticket for my suitcases. Seriously, fuck you.
3. To my fellow cruise passengers who think because they spent thousands of dollars on their cruise gives them the right to treat the people who serve them like shit. A big, hearty, fuck you with a telephone pole in the ass ... dry (yes, Gord, all the way). Goddamnit, you fucking people walking around like you're King Shit because you rented a tux and bought a new pair of shoes. Just because they don't speak English well, or are a different color than you are, doesn't mean you can abuse them. They are people, just like you and me, busting their asses to make a little money and make sure I have a good time. They come from impoverished countries (if you got to know them, you'd find they're not stupid and care about the same things we do), sometimes having to spend as much as a year away from their families (I've watched some of their children grow up through pictures over the years), all to make sure you have the best vacation ever. They put their pants on the same way you and I do. Suck
4. And while we're on the subject of cruise and airline passengers, fuck your kids. I like kids, I really do. I have nephews and nieces ranging in age from 6 to 30, all of whom I adore, but when they acted up their parents kept them in line. Your kids are not the greatest thing to walk the Earth and not everything they do is good, or smart, or cute. Turning them loose at the baggage claim to play WWE Wrestling as I'm pulling an overweight bag ("Are you buying a ticket for that, Mr. Fixer?") off the carousel. My back doesn't need me suddenly changing direction with 65 lbs. and your little savages don't need me dropping it on them. Turning them loose on the cruise ship elevators unsupervised is a dumbass idea too. Leaving them unattended on a cruise ship after turning them loose on the other passengers isn't a good idea either. Big ocean out there. Little Johnny is but a drop (on several levels). Discipline the little shits or they'll be swimming to Catalina.
5. See '1' and '2', you cheap motherfuckers. You're too cheap to pay the $25 for the second bag, let alone the $15 for the first so you jam everything you own in a 'carry-on' bag the size of a Fruehauf trailer. In addition to my computer bag and my wife's travel bag, which fit under the seat, we had another the size of a plastic grocery bag. You think I found enough space overhead to jam it? Fuck me, you people. If I donated all the shit you carry on to an aircraft, I'd get a tax deduction so big I wouldn't have to pay for 5 years. Fuck you, cough up the $40 or stay home. I gotta pay, you gotta pay, you cheap bastids.
And in general, I'm tired of seeing you people who think the world revolves around them. It doesn't and the better majority of us don't give a shit if you live or die, let alone care that the "pool boy" wouldn't hold your chair all day so just in case you want to get some sun, there would be a chair free for your botoxed, siliconed, old ass. Shut the fuck up and get out of my space.
Thanks for listening, ladies and gents. I'm better now.
Reality intrudes on the drug war
Following up on yesterday's post, here's more on the Latin American Commission Report on the failure of our War On Some Drugs in the ChiTownTrib:
The people in charge of the Drug War and the Prison Industry have no interest in reality, and to admit that their goals are pure fantasy would be admitting a mistake, which, like Bush, they simply are incapable of doing. They may even admit to themselves that what they are doing is totally wrong, but as long as the money keeps pouring in, they will keep on keepin' on and the hell with the harm they are doing.
Much more at the link.
In the story of the emperor with no clothes, it took someone whose observations are rarely heeded—a child—to point out the obvious fact that no one else could acknowledge. In the case of drug policy, it takes people who are usually ignored by Washington policymakers—Latin Americans—to perform the same invaluable service.
Last week, a commission made up of 17 members, from Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa to Sonia Picado, the Costa Rican who heads the Inter-American Institute on Human Rights, did nothing but admit the truth: The war on drugs is a failure.
The U.S. government has sent a lot of money south to eradicate fields of cannabis and coca. But this amounts to plowing the sea. Where there is demand, there will be supply.
The Latin American commission suggests using education and treatment to reduce the demand for illegal pleasure in consuming countries. But between the lines lurks a more important and radical idea, namely to treat recreational drug use (like drinking or smoking cigarettes) as a vice, not a crime.
"The enormous capacity of the narcotics trade for violence and corruption can only be effectively countered if its sources of income are substantially weakened," it argues. Unsaid is that the only way to drastically reduce the profitability of drug production and trafficking is to make them legal—as we did with liquor after Prohibition.
Most people, here or in Latin America, may not be ready for that remedy. But facing the truth about the drug war is a step toward salvation. If you want to change reality, it helps to abandon your fantasies.
The people in charge of the Drug War and the Prison Industry have no interest in reality, and to admit that their goals are pure fantasy would be admitting a mistake, which, like Bush, they simply are incapable of doing. They may even admit to themselves that what they are doing is totally wrong, but as long as the money keeps pouring in, they will keep on keepin' on and the hell with the harm they are doing.
Much more at the link.
Ya got nothin' ...
So, not to belabor a point, but I've been floating my way around the Caribbean the last two weeks with limited connection to the intarwebs. I did get the CNN feed aboard ship (the great thing about that is once we left U.S. waters, we got CNN International instead of the American version; wish we could get it here) and I had the distinct displeasure of seeing the Rethugs crying for the last 14 days.
I got to hear them whine about the lack of bipartisanship (maybe the Dems should have taken the tax cuts out of the bill when House Rethugs refused to vote for it), about how they "won" becuase they showed a unified front against the new President and the Dems (oh, the oppressed minority) and how Obama's presidency has "failed" less than a month into his tenure.
I got to see John "The Human Tan"Boner Boehner do a dead lift of the stimulus bill on the House Floor and Eric "Twelve year old girls whine less than I do" Cantor do his best Newt Gingrich impersonation. Thankfully, the ship had a nearly unlimited supply of alcohol for, if I had to listen to it sober, the TV would have been the start of an artificial reef somewhere east of Grand Bahama.
So, amongst all the bluster and outrage from Republicans, I tried to listen for something, anything, they put forth that is not a rehash of the same old shit they've been peddling for the last 8 years and longer. You know, the policies that got us into this mess to begin with. Just a scintilla of a new idea. Something.
Nothing.
Not a fucking thing but "the Dem plan is a disaster". Nothing more than the same old mantra: "tax cuts, especially for the rich". They whined and cried and stamped their feet, the Dems gave them a lollipop in the form of $300 bln in tax cuts (and also took out some public health initiatives out), and they still weren't happy.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Republican Party has become an opposition party purely to oppose. They don't want what's best for the American people, they don't want to fix the economy, they don't want us to have affordable health care, and they don't want anything the President does to succeed. They will happily watch the American Republic go down in flames (we're smoldering and losing altitude now) as long as they get their way.
The Big Boner John Boehner was correct the other day (not that he meant to be, I'm sure) when he said "we don't want to be the 'Party of No'" and that's exactly right. They want to be the 'Party of Self'. They are like children who take their ball and go home. They are like the abusive guy who kills his wife when she finally gets up the strength to leave him because "if I can't have her, nobody can." You can understand the reaction of a child when he feels unwanted by his friends but the murdering husband is a criminal.
The Republicans aren't 10 years old and their actions are criminal. They have abused this nation in one form or another since '93 and, now that the American people won't take it anymore, they will destroy it. "If I can't have her, nobody can." It's disgusting and disgraceful and, judging from the polls, the American people are beginning to get it.
It's sad that it took financial catastrophe for the majority of us to notice but then we were never (as a people) quick on the uptake. What the Republicans don't realize (or refuse to see), it the public makes the connection now. We (collectively) understand now that it was Republican policy-making that got us into this mess. We understand, now, that continuing on the present course will undoubtedly end in a collision with an iceberg and they see the Republicans continue to demand just that.
The President's initiative passed without the Republicans' support and in spite of their opposition (the Collins, Snowe, Specter Triumvirate is an interesting side discussion and a politically savvy move on their part). He will sign it today in Denver (good political theater that). If the Republicans want to sign their death warrant, they will continue to oppose for opposition's sake. If they're smart, they'll change their tune soon enough. The signing of this bill today should be a flashing neon light for the Republicans to get with the program or wither away to nothing at worst, a shriveled, ineffective, vestigial organ of the American body politic at best. An appendix in the book of American history.
Let's hope this comes to pass quickly.
Off to work to see if I still remember how to fix cars ...
I got to hear them whine about the lack of bipartisanship (maybe the Dems should have taken the tax cuts out of the bill when House Rethugs refused to vote for it), about how they "won" becuase they showed a unified front against the new President and the Dems (oh, the oppressed minority) and how Obama's presidency has "failed" less than a month into his tenure.
I got to see John "The Human Tan"
So, amongst all the bluster and outrage from Republicans, I tried to listen for something, anything, they put forth that is not a rehash of the same old shit they've been peddling for the last 8 years and longer. You know, the policies that got us into this mess to begin with. Just a scintilla of a new idea. Something.
Nothing.
Not a fucking thing but "the Dem plan is a disaster". Nothing more than the same old mantra: "tax cuts, especially for the rich". They whined and cried and stamped their feet, the Dems gave them a lollipop in the form of $300 bln in tax cuts (and also took out some public health initiatives out), and they still weren't happy.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Republican Party has become an opposition party purely to oppose. They don't want what's best for the American people, they don't want to fix the economy, they don't want us to have affordable health care, and they don't want anything the President does to succeed. They will happily watch the American Republic go down in flames (we're smoldering and losing altitude now) as long as they get their way.
The Republicans aren't 10 years old and their actions are criminal. They have abused this nation in one form or another since '93 and, now that the American people won't take it anymore, they will destroy it. "If I can't have her, nobody can." It's disgusting and disgraceful and, judging from the polls, the American people are beginning to get it.
It's sad that it took financial catastrophe for the majority of us to notice but then we were never (as a people) quick on the uptake. What the Republicans don't realize (or refuse to see), it the public makes the connection now. We (collectively) understand now that it was Republican policy-making that got us into this mess. We understand, now, that continuing on the present course will undoubtedly end in a collision with an iceberg and they see the Republicans continue to demand just that.
The President's initiative passed without the Republicans' support and in spite of their opposition (the Collins, Snowe, Specter Triumvirate is an interesting side discussion and a politically savvy move on their part). He will sign it today in Denver (good political theater that). If the Republicans want to sign their death warrant, they will continue to oppose for opposition's sake. If they're smart, they'll change their tune soon enough. The signing of this bill today should be a flashing neon light for the Republicans to get with the program or wither away to nothing at worst, a shriveled, ineffective, vestigial organ of the American body politic at best. An appendix in the book of American history.
Let's hope this comes to pass quickly.
Off to work to see if I still remember how to fix cars ...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Quote of the Day
Watertiger:
Yeah, I'm home. What a fucking surreal trip and to top it off, through our friends Annie and Joe (whom we travel with), I met up with a high school colleague I hadn't seen in 30 years (who is now a Homeland Security agent; at least two people from that piece-of-shit school made good. Most of the alumni hold reunions in Ossining.) last night in Ft. Lauderdale who has a German girlfriend who was born not far from where my people are. Small fucking world. We had a hell of a party at dinner last night with Annie and Joe along.
Shayna's home too and the family is back together. Home is good. I'll get some more pics up from the trip soon. Bandwidth sucked on the ship and I didn't look at any other blogs so I'm catching up tonight before I pass out (I did see that twit McCain on the tube with that other twit John King). Back in regular form tomorrow. Dropped my liver off at Betty Ford on the way home to have it wrung out and dried. Heh ...
Jesus H. Christ, Gord, how much fucking snow did you get? Shit, bro ...
FUCK YOU, John McCain, you fucking hypocrite.
Yeah, I'm home. What a fucking surreal trip and to top it off, through our friends Annie and Joe (whom we travel with), I met up with a high school colleague I hadn't seen in 30 years (who is now a Homeland Security agent; at least two people from that piece-of-shit school made good. Most of the alumni hold reunions in Ossining.) last night in Ft. Lauderdale who has a German girlfriend who was born not far from where my people are. Small fucking world. We had a hell of a party at dinner last night with Annie and Joe along.
Shayna's home too and the family is back together. Home is good. I'll get some more pics up from the trip soon. Bandwidth sucked on the ship and I didn't look at any other blogs so I'm catching up tonight before I pass out (I did see that twit McCain on the tube with that other twit John King). Back in regular form tomorrow. Dropped my liver off at Betty Ford on the way home to have it wrung out and dried. Heh ...
Jesus H. Christ, Gord, how much fucking snow did you get? Shit, bro ...
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