A week ago, Neal “Mule-Fucker” Horsley, rabid gay-hater and abortion opponent who famously posts the names and addresses of abortionists on his website, appeared again on Alan Colmes’ radio show to defend and clarify his statements about having had sex with a mule when he was a kid:
[. . .]
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Mule fucking
And other good shit from the Sister:
Cast irony
You know, Snot 'Lyin Turd' McClellan has such a set of brass balls he must have to carry them in a wheelbarrow. Via Maru:
I have no clue how this man can say shit like this with a straight face. Lowlife piece of shit.
[. . .]
Q Scott, you said that the retraction by Newsweek magazine of its story is a good first step. What else does the president want this American magazine to do?
MR. McCLELLAN: This report has had serious consequences. People did lose their lives. The image of the United States abroad has been damaged; there is lasting damage to our image because of this report. And we would encourage Newsweek to do all that they can to help repair the damage that has been done, particularly in the region. I think Newsweek can do that by talking about the way they got this wrong, and pointing out what the policies and practices of the United States military are when it comes to the handling of the Holy Koran. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
I have no clue how this man can say shit like this with a straight face. Lowlife piece of shit.
Misdirection
Clearly, I've become unhinged today, but what the hell is up with all these plane diversions at times when the Administration looks really bad? Last Thursday morning a plane was diverted to Maine from London at about the same time Bolton was getting reemed by Voinovich and not being recommended by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the UN Ambassador position. This morning, a plane from Milan has been diverted about the same time George Galloway is delivering a damning case against the war in Iraq, and on the same day we learn that this Administration was the biggest culprit in the oil-for-food scandal. We haven't had a plane diversion for months, but now we've had two in the last two weeks at strangely convenient times. Strange.
No, my friend John is not becoming overly paranoid. It's a sad commentary from an American who is too used to the government lying to us to cover their fuckups.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
If you build it . . .
As someone who's been directly affected by 9/11 (it was different here in New York than it was on the TV in Kansas, you wingnut motherfuckers), The Donald made me smile today:
Fuck the Freedom Tower bullshit. There can be no better memorial to the 3000 of my neighbors who died than to put the fucking Towers back the way they were. Yeah, and a bit taller too. Fuck you, Governor Pataki. Fuck you, Mayor Bloomberg (you little fucking troll), Fuck you, Osama bin Laden. And most of all, Fuck you, (p)resident Dicknose. Put 'em back, goddammit!
By the way, tell the idiots you want 'em back too:
Governor George Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
FAX (212) 788-2460
And to all of you who say no one will want to work in them. Bull-fucking-shit. My wife's company gladly pays $2.6 million in rent every year for 2 floors of the place across the street. The new Towers will be full before it's built, trust me.
[. . .]
This morning at his headquarters on Fifth Avenue, the Donald unveiled his vision for Ground Zero. The Twin Towers, just like the original only stronger and a bit taller."
[. . .]
Fuck the Freedom Tower bullshit. There can be no better memorial to the 3000 of my neighbors who died than to put the fucking Towers back the way they were. Yeah, and a bit taller too. Fuck you, Governor Pataki. Fuck you, Mayor Bloomberg (you little fucking troll), Fuck you, Osama bin Laden. And most of all, Fuck you, (p)resident Dicknose. Put 'em back, goddammit!
By the way, tell the idiots you want 'em back too:
Governor George Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
FAX (212) 788-2460
And to all of you who say no one will want to work in them. Bull-fucking-shit. My wife's company gladly pays $2.6 million in rent every year for 2 floors of the place across the street. The new Towers will be full before it's built, trust me.
On the inside to Cmdr. Sue: What was that you said about taking the Towers out of my book? Heh.
Nuclear options
WASHINGTON - The Senate began its historic floor debate Wednesday morning on appeals court nominee Priscilla Owen, a process that will likely lead next week to a showdown vote on changing the filibuster rule and making it easier to confirm judicial nominations.
[. . .]
In his debate-opening speech, Frist said that traditionally judicial nominees were confirmed by a majority vote. But "in the last Congress the minority party radically increased that threshold to 60, and that is wrong," Frist said.
[. . .]
Personally, I thought it always (since Woodrow Wilson's time anyway) required a supermajority to pass a cloture vote, but I could be wrong. Raising it to a supermajority (from 51% to 60%) ain't a radical increase regardless. If people feel that strongly about someone not receiving a lifetime appointment, a little more talk couldn't hurt.
[. . .]
But [Senate Minority Leader Harry] Reid replied, “If Republicans roll back our rights in this chamber, there will be no check on their power. The radical right wing will be free to pursue any agenda they want.”
[. . .]
And that's exactly what they want, Harry me boy.
[. . .]
A bipartisan group of four Democratic and eight Republican senators, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., met in Sen. John Warner's, R-Va. office Wednesday to seek a deal that would avert a showdown over the filibuster rule change that Frist seeks. The meeting concluded only with an agreement to reconvene.
[. . .]
No, no, no, no, no, no! Listen to me, Lugnut. The Repubs killed 69 of Clinton's appointments in committee. We're only filibustering 7 of Bush's. Repeat after me. No Compromise, No Quarter, No Deal. Stand up to the wingnut sonsabitches for cryin' out loud.
15 months = 8 years
USAToady via Glen:
Remember, kiddies, before you sign up, bring your lawyer along to read the fine print. How much you wanna bet Rummy and the Pentagram had the credit card companies draw up the enlistment contract?
Faced with the biggest recruitment shortfall since the draft was abolished in 1973, the Army has come up with what it thinks is a good idea. The nation's largest military force will allow new enlistees the option of serving just 15 months on active duty.
[. . .]
But before anyone bellies up to a recruitment center to take advantage of this offer, they should read the fine print in the enlistment contract and an appeals court ruling that was issued a day after the Army's announcement.
'Stop-loss' authority
While one year and three months might not sound like a long time to serve this country in a time of war, those who take advantage of the Army's offer should know that their actual commitment to Uncle Sam will be at least eight years - not 15 months. Everyone who enters the all-volunteer military incurs a total service obligation of eight years, a portion of which is spent on active duty. For the remainder of this time, the enlistee can be called back into uniform at the government's discretion under a program called "stop-loss." [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Remember, kiddies, before you sign up, bring your lawyer along to read the fine print. How much you wanna bet Rummy and the Pentagram had the credit card companies draw up the enlistment contract?
Economies
Now, I've been saying this for a long time (here, here, and here). But don't take the manic mechanic's word for it. From none other than Krugman himself:
Now, I don't claim to know the ins and outs of currency values, but I do know a little about markets. The housing market cannot withstand much more stress and it's gonna collapse.
Thanks to Suburban Guerrilla for the link.
. . . If he were Obi wan-Kenobi in this particular galaxy, what would he do to extricate the US from this mess? "No more budget deficits," he says. "We should be running surpluses." Tax increases: "We should be getting 28% of GDP [gross domestic product] in revenue. We are only collecting 17%." And most of all, clean up the foreign-policy mess. Not much of a chance though. "We are a banana republic. For the moment, all of these things are politically impossible."
[. . .]
. . . And for him, the dollar is not weak enough: "It should go down more, for instance, against the yen." He does not realistically expect a major devaluation of the Chinese yuan - maximum 5%. Krugman admits it's hard to predict what happens next: "It needs a trigger. But I'm convinced it's the collapse of the housing market in the US that will trigger the dollar's decline." [my emphases]
[. . .]
Now, I don't claim to know the ins and outs of currency values, but I do know a little about markets. The housing market cannot withstand much more stress and it's gonna collapse.
Thanks to Suburban Guerrilla for the link.
Oaths
The Congressional Hypocritical Oath
"I [state your name] do solemly swear to uphold and defend my elected office at all costs. I promise to desecrate the Constitution, even rape and kill, if required, in the cause furthering my personal gain and retention of power. I further hold that placing the interests of large corporations or interest groups who might employ me or family members now or in the future is paramount and desireable. Their interests are above the interest of those "little people" back in my state or district or our nation. All contributors (of large money) will receive my personal attention and benificence whenever possible to the fullest extent of my ability and office.
I further swear to always be seen in the presence of at least one "disadvantaged" person, and be seen carrying a bible or other religious icon and say "Jesus" or "God" whenever television cameras are within 100 feet of me, so help me Protestant God"
Stolen from DemVet who cannot be any more dead on. Another squid who calls 'em right.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Truth hurts
George Galloway, the Respect MP, attacked a US Senate committee today for its "schoolboy errors" over claims that Saddam Hussein awarded him lucrative contracts under the UN Oil-for-Food programme.
[. . .]
The subcommittee, chaired by Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican, had alleged that Mr Galloway used a charity he established in 1998 to channel funds from allocations of 20 million barrels from 2000 to 2003.
[. . .]
He selected Mr Coleman as the focus of his wrath, adding: "You have nothing on me, Senator, except my name on lists of names from Iraq, many of which have been drawn up after the installation of your puppet government in Iraq.
"Now I know that standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer, you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice." [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Slapdown, you wingnut bitches. Norm Coleman is an oozing, santorum-leaking asshole.
Update: 14:25:
Atrios(Attaturk) has lots of links.
Photo stamps
I just heard about this:
You know I'm gonna have the wife take a pic of my ass and I'm gonna put 'em on envelopes that contain bills.
PhotoStamps are now available to anyone who wants to create their own personal USPS-approved postage. Learn more
You know I'm gonna have the wife take a pic of my ass and I'm gonna put 'em on envelopes that contain bills.
AWOL
From the Independent via Granny:
Now, I don't condone desertion, especially in this age of a volunteer force. Joining the military should be a well thought out process. It's not like going out and getting a job. But I can understand these people not wanting to be used as cannon fodder in an unjust, illegal war. What have Gord and I been saying? Don't you feel it getting Drafty?
As the death toll of troops mounts in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's military recruiting figures have plummeted to an all-time low. Thousands of US servicemen and women are now refusing to serve their country.
[. . .]
Now, I don't condone desertion, especially in this age of a volunteer force. Joining the military should be a well thought out process. It's not like going out and getting a job. But I can understand these people not wanting to be used as cannon fodder in an unjust, illegal war. What have Gord and I been saying? Don't you feel it getting Drafty?
More Newsweak
The King:
Go read. His Highness makes a lot of sense.
[. . .]
The Bush administration has just collected Newsweek's scalp, on the grounds that Newsweek's flawed reportage enraged our enemies, resulted in the deaths of 16 (or 17) people, and damaged the hitherto-unblemished reputation for tolerance and goodwill that America, according to Condoleezza Rice, enjoys in the Muslim world. If, however, we assume (as seems inarguable) that the Muslim world is offended less by dubious sourcing than by desecration of its holy book, then, based on the single passage above, the NYT is plainly guilty of the same crimes as Newsweek -- and the Times, needless to say, boasts an even more impressive scalp. Therefore: . . .
[. . .]
Go read. His Highness makes a lot of sense.
Morning thought
From Badtux:
Every life is precious
Until it's born. Then it's just garbage to dump in the woods or allow to die for lack of health insurance. Remember, life is only a right for the unborn. After that, who cares?
Monday, May 16, 2005
Incredible
I usually don't go to wingnut sites. The idiocy, hypocrisy, and hate turn my stomach even though I realize the Constitution gives them a right to peddle their drivel, just as I do mine. It works for all. But I went to this one thanks to Maru:
I hope the Muslims welcome them with firearms. Who the fuck do these people think they are, to try and forcibly impose their faith on others as they try to worship? This is what's wrong with the Jesus freaks. They think the fucking Constitution was written on their behalf and no one else's. Stupid wingnuts.
(AgapePress) - W.L. Cati, a former Muslim and founder of an evangelical Christian ministry, wants to train fellow followers of Christ how to go boldly into mosques and witness to Muslims.
[. . .]
I hope the Muslims welcome them with firearms. Who the fuck do these people think they are, to try and forcibly impose their faith on others as they try to worship? This is what's wrong with the Jesus freaks. They think the fucking Constitution was written on their behalf and no one else's. Stupid wingnuts.
Good news
From the Sister:
I think Jesus would be quite pleased.
Bells began tolling for same-sex couples in Massachusetts one year ago this week. A year in numbers:
Date same-sex couples began legally marrying: May 17, 2004
Number of same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts from May 17, 2004, until February 2005: 6,142
[. . .]
[. . .]
It’s amazing how Massachusetts hasn’t spontaneously imploded or turned into 7,840 square miles of nothing but leather bars and Bally’s or been the recipient of a brutal and horrific smiting by God himself.
[. . .]
I think Jesus would be quite pleased.
WTF????
Somehow I deleted my post on my stupid Republican assemblyman when I thought I was deleting a draft copy. Shit. I'll rewrite after dinner.
Use your head
(New York-WABC, May 15, 2005) — In New Jersey, an FBI employee is in serious condition after being run over by her own vehicle.
It happened in Jersey City this morning, when the woman spotted someone being attacked on the street.
Police say when she tried to intervene, the suspect pulled her from her SUV--then ran her over as he escaped in her car.
The vehicle was found later in the afternoon, but the suspect is still on the loose.
Fixer wisdom: If someone approaches you in your car and you're pretty sure they have malicious intent, don't wait until he gets to your door. Throw the fucking car in gear and run him the fuck over. When he's pinned under your wheel, then you get out and find out what the fuck he thinks he's doing.
He gets letters
Whether (p)resident Miserable Failure can read 'em or not is another story:
If Ms. Sheehan is half as tough as my mom, Chimpy is in for a rough time. Go get him, darlin.
Thanks to DemVet for the link.
November 4, 2004
Dear George,
You don’t mind if I call you George do you? When you sent me a letter offering your condolences on the death of my son, Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, in the illegal and unjust war on Iraq, you called me Cindy, so I naturally assume we are on a first name basis.
George, it has been seven months today since your reckless and wanton foreign policies killed my son, my big boy, my hero, my best-friend: Casey. It has been seven months since your ignorant and arrogant lack of planning for the peace murdered my oldest child. It has been two days since your dishonest campaign stole another election…but you all were way more subtle this time than in 2000, weren’t you? You hardly had to get the Supreme Court of the United States involved at all this week.
You feel so proud of yourself for betraying the country again, don’t you? You think you are very clever because you pulled the wool over the eyes of some of the people again. You think that you have some mandate from God…that you can “spend your political capital” any way that you want. George you don’t care or even realize that 56,000,000 plus citizens of this country voted against you and your agenda. Still, you are going to continue your ruthless work of being a divider and not a uniter. George, in 2000 when you stole that election and the Democrats gave up, I gave up too. I had the most ironic thought of my life then: "Oh well, how much damage can he do in four years?" Well, now I know how much you have damaged my family, this country, and this world. If you think I am going to allow you another four years to do even more damage, then you truly are mistaken. I will fight for a true vote count and if that fails, your impeachment. Also, the impeachment of your Vice President. The only thing is, I'm not politically savvy, and I don't have a Karl Rove to plan my strategy, but I do have a big mouth and a righteous cause, which still mean something in this country, I hope.
All of this lying, fooling, and betraying must be “hard work” George. You really think you know what hard work is?
George, let me tell you what “hard work” really is.
Hard work is seeing your oldest son, your brave and honorable man-child go off to a war that had, and still has, no basis in reality. Hard work is worrying yourself gray and not being able to sleep for 2 weeks because you don’t know if your child is safe.
Hard work is seeing your son’s murder on CNN one Sunday evening while you’re enjoying the last supper you’ll ever truly enjoy again.
Hard work is having three military officers come to your house a few hours later to confirm the aforementioned murder of your son…your first born…your kind and gentle sweet baby.
Hard work is burying your child 46 days before his 25th birthday. Hard work is holding your other three children as they lower the body of their big “baba” into the ground. Hard work is not jumping in the grave with him and having the earth cover you both.
But, Dear George, do you know what the hardest work of all is? Trying to digest the fact that the leader of the country that your family has fought for and died for, for generations, lied to you and betrayed your dear boy’s sense of honor and exploited his courage and exploited his loyalty to his buddies. Hard work is having your country abandon you after they killed your son. Hard work is coming to the realization that your son had his future robbed from him and that you have had your son's future and future grand-children stolen from you. Hard work is knowing that there are so many people in this world that have prospered handsomely from your son's death.
George, I must confess that I and my family worked very HARD to re-defeat you this time, but you refuse to stay defeated. Well, we are watching you very carefully. We are going to do everything in our power to have you impeached for misleading the American people into a disastrous war and for mis-using and abusing your power as Commander-in-Chief. We are going to scream until our last breath to bring the rest of our babies home from this quagmire of a war that you have gotten our country in to: before too many more families learn the true meaning of Hard Work. We know it is going to be an uphill battle, knowing how Republican Congress is, but thanks to you, we know the meaning of Hard Work and we’re not afraid of hard work at all.
The 56,000,000 plus citizens who voted against you and your agenda have given me a mandate to move forward with my agenda. Also, thanks to you and your careless domestic policies, I am unemployed, so this will be my full-time job. Being your political downfall will be the most noble accomplishment of my life and it will bring justice for my son and 1125 (so far) other brave Americans and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis your lies have killed. By the way, George, how many more innocent Iraqis are your policies going to kill before you convince them that you are better than Saddam? How many more of their cities are you going to level before you consider that they are liberated? If you really had any moral values, or if you were an honorable man at all you would resign. My son was a man who had high moral values and true courage. Humanity lost a bright light on April 04, 2004. I will live the rest of my life missing Casey desperately. Thank you for that, George. Have a nice day.
God Bless America!! We surely need it!
Cindy Sheehan
Broken hearted mother of a True American Hero: Spc Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04 Sadr City, Baghdad
If Ms. Sheehan is half as tough as my mom, Chimpy is in for a rough time. Go get him, darlin.
Thanks to DemVet for the link.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Morons
16 people dead (at least) over half-assed journalism. Morrow is rolling over in his grave.
Thanks to Atrios for the link.
Drivin' makes ya smart
We made it. I'm posting from my sister-in-law's house in beautiful Arroyo Grande. She's got a computer that makes mine look like a wood-burnin' job.
She is busy at the moment making up care packages to send to our troops overseas. They send her e-mail and snail mail, introducing themselves, and she has developed several pen pals. Do you think it helps that she tells 'em she's eighteen, stacked, and loose? She got onto this at Any Soldier.com and it's a good way to support our troops.
You sure can learn a lot listening to the radio whilst drivin' down I-5 through California's central valley. Here's what I learned:
1. There's more different kinds of Mexican music than you can shake a stick at. I like the kind best with accordions, horns, and gritos.
2. What the wingnuts would like to do to us commie Liberal pinko rat bastids that make up all those nasty lies about the saintly Bush, DeLay, etc.
3. Don't put a bird feeder over the picnic table. I think that was on the same station as No. 2.
You are also reminded that there are always those drivers so focused on themselves that they think they absolutely have the right to go twenty miles an hour faster than everybody else, and that if anybody should impede their progress, that person is in the wrong and must move over. At 75mph in the right hand lane, this is hard to do, so they pass on the right anyway. There's not many of those kind of ying-yangs, thank goodness. Occasionally you get to see them pulled over by a cop or wadded into a little ball, but not often enough, dammit.
Later.
She is busy at the moment making up care packages to send to our troops overseas. They send her e-mail and snail mail, introducing themselves, and she has developed several pen pals. Do you think it helps that she tells 'em she's eighteen, stacked, and loose? She got onto this at Any Soldier.com and it's a good way to support our troops.
You sure can learn a lot listening to the radio whilst drivin' down I-5 through California's central valley. Here's what I learned:
1. There's more different kinds of Mexican music than you can shake a stick at. I like the kind best with accordions, horns, and gritos.
2. What the wingnuts would like to do to us commie Liberal pinko rat bastids that make up all those nasty lies about the saintly Bush, DeLay, etc.
3. Don't put a bird feeder over the picnic table. I think that was on the same station as No. 2.
You are also reminded that there are always those drivers so focused on themselves that they think they absolutely have the right to go twenty miles an hour faster than everybody else, and that if anybody should impede their progress, that person is in the wrong and must move over. At 75mph in the right hand lane, this is hard to do, so they pass on the right anyway. There's not many of those kind of ying-yangs, thank goodness. Occasionally you get to see them pulled over by a cop or wadded into a little ball, but not often enough, dammit.
Later.
Gay-bashing queers
At least according to the inimitable Dave Johnson:
Seems to me he's got it exactly right.
[. . .]
Why else would they be insisting that the presence of gay people risks "luring" straight people to become homosexual? This wouldn't even occur to a person who is not fighting such urges.
[. . .]
Seems to me he's got it exactly right.
My Air Force
Whatever is ailing the Air Force Academy, and the academy has had its share of ailments over the years, campus pressure on cadets to adopt a particular set of religious beliefs will not cure it. Last year, academy officials promised to do something about widespread complaints of unconstitutional proselytizing of academy students by evangelists whose efforts were blessed by authority figures in the chain of command. An authorized investigation by the Yale Divinity School and local news reports documented numerous instances of pressure on cadets to adopt Christian beliefs and practices. Such pressure came from dozens of faculty members and chaplains, and even the football coach, with his "Team Jesus Christ" banner. [NYT]
[. . .]
I guess I've been putting off commenting on this situation because it hits close to home. One of my closest friends is an instructor at the Academy, another is an alumnus, and several are still active duty officers of the colonel and general officer ranks. My own Air Force career spanned 8 years (6 active, 2 reserve) and I have a great love for my former branch of service. This kills me.
Looking back, I got out in '86, I remember the pressure placed upon us in the enlisted ranks to accept the Evangelical Christian version about how the world works during Basic Training. Needless to say, I never let it affect me. Regular readers know the lack of tolerance I have for proseletyzing and I regularly told people to fuck off or I'd shove their Bible up their ass. After a while, people didn't bother me anymore. Once the Commander of Chaplains (at Lackland AFB, a two-star) told me I should embrace Jesus Christ, that masturbation was a sin, as well as premarital sex. Got a Letter of Reprimand for telling him where to put his Bible too.
I was branded as a troublemaker. Fortunately for me, something like that I wear as a badge of honor. I got a lot of shit jobs, dangerous assignments, and eventually was forced out and into a reserve unit. I never made the connection between that and my religious views (I got into a lot of other trouble), but I'm certain it helped. My answer once, when asked why I wasn't going to church one Sunday, "God and I made a deal, I'd stay out of His way and He'd stay out of mine. It's worked out well for both of us so far", pissed of my CO at 7th Bomb Wing (SAC).
A chaplain at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., who has publicly accused her superiors of using their positions to promote evangelical Christianity among the cadets, says she was fired from an administrative job because of her outspokenness and given orders to ship out to Japan.
An Air Force task force, meanwhile, finished up an investigation at the academy into charges by the chaplain and others that officers there were inappropriately proselytizing the cadets. [Link]
[. . .]
This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. They're sending this chaplain to Japan now. If I didn't know differently, I'd probably believe the Air Force line that she was being transferred for manning reasons. But I know better. You see, my friend who is an instructor there (an Evangelical Christian) recently got out of orders. This person has been on this tour for close to ten years, far longer than is common and received orders to a posting in the Pentagon. I know the affiliation with the church most of the senior officers attend helped immensely in this person's effort to stay in Colorado Springs.
While I am happy for my friend, in this day and age of 'Stop-Loss' and call-backs the situation is hardly fair. It's time for a purge of the senior leadership at the Air Force
Update: 10:00:
Reading this over, I think I lost my point. Comes from posting in a blind rage. But my point was, when you told someone to take their Bible and fuck off, word got out and you were left alone. Now, these clowns won't take a 'fuck off' as an answer.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Yay!
One of my mostest favoritest blogs, A Mockingbird's Medley, run my one of my favorite bloggers, the lovely and talented Mimus Pauly (also a member of the Skippy International team), was a year old yesterday. Sorry I missed it then, but I have an excuse. If you haven't been over there, go now. Congratulations, my fine feathered friend.
Update: 19:45:
Another birthday announcement from another of my favorites. Rook's Rant is 2 years old. Congrats to Guy Andrew Hall, the GirlFriend, and the Fuskers.
Heh, Gord, he called us 'rock-ribbed'.
Update: 19:45:
Another birthday announcement from another of my favorites. Rook's Rant is 2 years old. Congrats to Guy Andrew Hall, the GirlFriend, and the Fuskers.
Instructions
Since we've been on the subject lately. Via the Old White Lady, A Beginner's Guide to Sodomy.
Inside the 'Blogger's Studio' Part 2
These are my answers. I'll add the Mrs.' later on. Update: The Mrs.' answers are in italic.
01. What is your favorite word?
Payday.
Fuck and most things said by a great voice.
02. What is your least favorite word?
Nuk-u-ler.
Cunt; nuk-u-ler comes a close second.
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
My wife is my muse, and she also turns me on like you wouldn't believe.
Romance, intelligence and creativity.
04. What turns you off?
Dishonesty and deceit.
Stupidity.
05. What is your favorite curse word?
Motherfucker.
Fuck.
06. What sound or noise do you love?
That noise women make when you've found the right spot.
The sound of an ocean liner's air horns at it pulls into/out of port. Preferably, I am on the ship.
07. What sound or noise do you hate?
Police sirens . . . behind me.
Loud noises, nails on the blackboard
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Supermodel gynecologist.
Chef/Restaurant owner.
09. What profession would you not like to do?
The guy who cleans up after the elephants in the circus.
Manual labor.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Hey, Pete, how'd this asshole get in here?"
"I wasn't certain you would be coming up here!"
01. What is your favorite word?
Payday.
Fuck and most things said by a great voice.
02. What is your least favorite word?
Nuk-u-ler.
Cunt; nuk-u-ler comes a close second.
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
My wife is my muse, and she also turns me on like you wouldn't believe.
Romance, intelligence and creativity.
04. What turns you off?
Dishonesty and deceit.
Stupidity.
05. What is your favorite curse word?
Motherfucker.
Fuck.
06. What sound or noise do you love?
That noise women make when you've found the right spot.
The sound of an ocean liner's air horns at it pulls into/out of port. Preferably, I am on the ship.
07. What sound or noise do you hate?
Police sirens . . . behind me.
Loud noises, nails on the blackboard
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Supermodel gynecologist.
Chef/Restaurant owner.
09. What profession would you not like to do?
The guy who cleans up after the elephants in the circus.
Manual labor.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Hey, Pete, how'd this asshole get in here?"
"I wasn't certain you would be coming up here!"
The end of the world as we know it
BBC:
At least the Brits think so.
US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has won control of Manchester United in a £790m ($1.47bn) takeover bid.
The American has secured the 28.7% stake owned by Irish racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier, and now has more than 70% of the Premiership club.
[. . .]
At least the Brits think so.
I like this
I'm gonna have fun on Monday. This is going around Mrs. F's place:
Slap Your Co-Worker Day is Coming!!
Monday is the official Slap Your Irritating Co-workers Holiday: Do you have a co-worker who talks nonstop about nothing, working your last nerve with tedious and boring details that you don't give a damn about? Do you have a co-worker who ALWAYS screws up stuff creating MORE work for you? Do you have a co-worker who kisses so much booty, you can look in their mouth and see what your boss had for lunch? Do you have a co-worker who is SOOO obnoxious, when he/she enters a room, everyone else clears it? Well, on behalf of Ike Turner, I am so very very glad to officially announce Monday as SLAP YOUR IRRITATING CO-WORKER DAY!
There are the rules you must follow:
* You can only slap one person per hour - no more.
* You can slap the same person again if they irritate you again in the same day.
* You are allowed to hold someone down as other co-workers take their turns slapping the irritant.
* No weapons are allowed...other than going upside somebody's head with a stapler or a hole-puncher.
* CURSING IS MANDATORY! After you have slapped the recipient, your "assault" must be followed with something like "cause I'm sick of your stupid-a$$ always F'n up stuff!"
* If questioned by a supervisor [or police, if the supervisor is the irritant], you are allowed to LIE, LIE, LIE! Now, study the rules, break out your list of folks that you want to slap the living day lights out of and get to slapping.....and have a great day!
More 'moral values'
I wrote about these assholes last week, but the Rude One's take is excellent.
Don't talk to me about moral values anymore. The people yelling loudest are some of the most fucked up individuals I've ever seen. I got nothing against kinky sex, with consenting adults, but even my 'liberal' mores draw the line at forcible rape and bestiality. These assholes should be in jail, not be given a pulpit to promote their insanity.
[. . .]
And it's fuckin' everywhere, the fuckin'. It's gay fuckin', group fuckin', straight anal fuckin', just so much fuckin', where the repressed libidos of ranting right wingers runs rampant. Somewhere in heaven, Michel Foucault is laughing his sore ass off.
There's Jim West, wayward gay-bashing mayor of Spokane, who not only fucked men he met at Gay.com, offering jobs and gifts to young men he wanted to bugger, but he is being investigated for having fucked young boys back in the 1970s. West made his name by blocking and getting into a huff about gay rights legislation.
There's the appointee to the Bush administration's FDA advisor committee on reproductive health drugs, W. David Hager, who as an OB/GYN for Jesus refused to prescribe contraceptives for unmarried women and has written that women who suffer from PMS should pray for help. Apparently one reason Hager never worred about contraception is because he loves the ass fucking. He loves the ass fucking so goddamn much that he raped his (now ex-)wife's ass repeatedly for years. Said the former Mrs., Linda Davis, "I would be asleep and since [the ass fucking] was painful and threatening, I woke up. Sometimes I acquiesced once he had started, just to make it go faster, and sometimes I tried to push him off.... I would [confront] David later, and he would say, 'You asked me to do that,' and I would say, 'No, I never asked for it.'" Hager believes he was called by God to stop abortion and emergency contraception. But apparently God was too busy to slip into his calls to Hager, "Hey, Davey, by the way, stop raping your wife's asshole. It's fucked-up and, frankly, it's kinda gay."
[. . .]
Don't talk to me about moral values anymore. The people yelling loudest are some of the most fucked up individuals I've ever seen. I got nothing against kinky sex, with consenting adults, but even my 'liberal' mores draw the line at forcible rape and bestiality. These assholes should be in jail, not be given a pulpit to promote their insanity.
Fading stars
See, when you're a crazy man like me, people don't take you seriously. Take this thought I advanced months ago (right before Christmas). I said we are beginning to see the end of the American Century (here and here), hastened by the ineptitude of the Bush Administration.
You get a calm, level headed guy like Atrios (in the guise of Avedon Carol) saying the same things and people listen. Story of my life. It's tough being an evil genius.
We're gonna be left behind soon enough. Our inept leadership had put the American Century soundly to bed. It's downhill from here.
You get a calm, level headed guy like Atrios (in the guise of Avedon Carol) saying the same things and people listen. Story of my life. It's tough being an evil genius.
I have previously been known to discuss the fading star of the USA, and the rise of China (greatly facilitated by the Bush Family Empire). I have also talked about how, in India, they don't really think much about us anymore (but I'm too lazy to look it up). Now Jim Henley detects more signs of this in the de-escalation between China and Taiwan.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Snotty's smackdown
Q: Doesn't the President want to be involved in what could be a decision to shoot down a plane over Washington?
McCLELLAN: Well, it may not have been a threat, Mr Smarty-Pants! So there!
Q: There seems to be so many disconnects here. You've got a plane that was assessed as not being a threat, you've got 35,000 people evacuated, you've got a person who you claim is a hands-on commander in chief who is left to go ride his bicycle through the rural wildlands of Maryland while his wife is in some secure location somewhere, it's just not adding up.
Go read Maru.
Light blogging today. Got a wake this evening and I had to work late. Now I gotta go make myself pretty (a tall order). Maybe I'll post after I get home if I'm not too depressed from watching a bunch of Italian ladies crying.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Inside the 'Blogger's Studio'
[Posted by Mrs. Fixer]
I've been enjoying reading the questionnaires and quizzes over the past weeks. I've always been intrigued by the answers I've been reading in the posts. This one is stolen from Inside the Actor's Studio, stolen from Bernard Pivot by James Lipton. I'd be interested in how bloggers answer these.
01. What is your favorite word?
02. What is your least favorite word?
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
04. What turns you off?
05. What is your favorite curse word?
06. What sound or noise do you love?
07. What sound or noise do you hate?
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
09. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I've been enjoying reading the questionnaires and quizzes over the past weeks. I've always been intrigued by the answers I've been reading in the posts. This one is stolen from Inside the Actor's Studio, stolen from Bernard Pivot by James Lipton. I'd be interested in how bloggers answer these.
01. What is your favorite word?
02. What is your least favorite word?
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
04. What turns you off?
05. What is your favorite curse word?
06. What sound or noise do you love?
07. What sound or noise do you hate?
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
09. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
[The Mrs. and I will post our answers later. - F-man]
Hasta la vista, baby! I'll be back
I am going on hiatus from The Brain for about ten days. Mrs. G and are are going on a business/pleasure trip to the Central Coast of California, one of the loveliest parts of the state.
I may comment some later, but I have things to do in preparation for our trip, such as service the pickup (if you're keepin' a diary, I use Valvoline Max Life 10w-30, Fram DG16 oil filter w/Teflon) and collect Mrs. G's travellin' necessities all in a pile. Sometimes the union on the kitchen sink gets stuck and it takes extra time. I'm glad we have the truck. When we travelled on my old Triumph, I had enough room for a quart of oil for myself. Luckily, I'm a good, safe rider and didn't need a fresh pair of shorts. I also have to complete one major project.
If you think these things don't take much time, keep in mind that things always take more time than you think they will. For instance, before I could take the trash out this morning, normally a one-minute job even in the pre-coffee fog of morning, I had to make an unscheduled foray out into the woods to collect said trash from where the damn bear took it. It must be Spring, and she musta been awfully hungry.
Anyway, while I'm gone I'll try to post once or twice from my sister-in-law's house.
I will miss you all. I'm already starting to have withdrawal pains. Take good care of yourselves, and I'll see y'all real soon, Brainsketeers.
I may comment some later, but I have things to do in preparation for our trip, such as service the pickup (if you're keepin' a diary, I use Valvoline Max Life 10w-30, Fram DG16 oil filter w/Teflon) and collect Mrs. G's travellin' necessities all in a pile. Sometimes the union on the kitchen sink gets stuck and it takes extra time. I'm glad we have the truck. When we travelled on my old Triumph, I had enough room for a quart of oil for myself. Luckily, I'm a good, safe rider and didn't need a fresh pair of shorts. I also have to complete one major project.
If you think these things don't take much time, keep in mind that things always take more time than you think they will. For instance, before I could take the trash out this morning, normally a one-minute job even in the pre-coffee fog of morning, I had to make an unscheduled foray out into the woods to collect said trash from where the damn bear took it. It must be Spring, and she musta been awfully hungry.
Anyway, while I'm gone I'll try to post once or twice from my sister-in-law's house.
I will miss you all. I'm already starting to have withdrawal pains. Take good care of yourselves, and I'll see y'all real soon, Brainsketeers.
Clairvoyance
Ike had it. Another good one from my brother-in-law:
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things.
Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954
(Note to all who believe that this quote is way too perfect to be for real: should you wish to find the source, go to the Eisenhower Presidential Papers, Document #1147; November 8, 1954. The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part VI: Crises Abroad, Party Problems at Home; September 1954 to December 1954 Chapter 13: "A new phase of political experience" )
Principles
[. . .]
Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, who had earlier stunned Republican peers by saying he wanted to review allegations against Bolton, portrayed the nominee as “arrogant” and “bullying.” The senator said that while he would vote against the nomination in committee, he supported sending it to the full Senate for a vote.
“John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be,” Voinovich said, adding that Bolton would be fired if he was in private business.
[. . .]
Nice to see a Repub with a couple. Good on ya, George.
Bumpkins Invade D.C.
I'm so sure you've heard about the little puddle-jumper that invaded D.C. that I'm not even going to bother linking to it, but I have some thoughts on the incident. Duh.
Bush was in more danger from his fuckin' bicycle, which he was off ridin' in the park instead of being at work (that's "at work" as opposed to "working", which he has shown no inclination of doing as yet), than from the air assault. He's the only guy I've heard of that somehow managed to fall off a Segway, fer Christ's sake! Years of drinkin' and druggin' can wreak havoc on yer balance, so I'm told.
I think the upshot of this deal is that the Feds overreacted as usual, inconveniencing maybe 35,000 people and spending millions of our dollars, unnecessarily no doubt. Those are what they do best and, hey, ya gotta go with whatcha know.
The poor slobs who caused this mess are in deep guacamole. They were on their way from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. I looked at a map. The straight shot goes right over D.C. The FAA has put out the word in no uncertain terms NOT to fly there, but somehow these rocket scientists missed it. If the authorities are makin' the Runaway Bride pay for the public outlay in her case, and they apply that criterion to these clowns, they'll be eatin' rice 'n beans forever. If they're lucky, that is.
I have a certain amount of empathy for these guys, tho'. I got to thinking the same thing could happen to me 'n Fixer. Or to any of us. Picture this: you're on a road trip. You decide to enjoy it, so you turn off the C.B., crank up the tunes, pop a cold one, light a fatty, and put the hammer down while dancin' with your left foot and generally jokin' around. At the same time as a chemical plant explodes ten miles away. If you somehow miss the ensuing sea of red lights and sirens...well, you get my drift.
My advice to the gummint? Them F-16's are too fast for this kinda work. Dust off some P-47 Thunderbolts or F4U5A Corsairs. They're plenty fast enough to catch a Cessna and a lot cheaper to run. Them big round motors sound good, too.
Bush was in more danger from his fuckin' bicycle, which he was off ridin' in the park instead of being at work (that's "at work" as opposed to "working", which he has shown no inclination of doing as yet), than from the air assault. He's the only guy I've heard of that somehow managed to fall off a Segway, fer Christ's sake! Years of drinkin' and druggin' can wreak havoc on yer balance, so I'm told.
I think the upshot of this deal is that the Feds overreacted as usual, inconveniencing maybe 35,000 people and spending millions of our dollars, unnecessarily no doubt. Those are what they do best and, hey, ya gotta go with whatcha know.
The poor slobs who caused this mess are in deep guacamole. They were on their way from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. I looked at a map. The straight shot goes right over D.C. The FAA has put out the word in no uncertain terms NOT to fly there, but somehow these rocket scientists missed it. If the authorities are makin' the Runaway Bride pay for the public outlay in her case, and they apply that criterion to these clowns, they'll be eatin' rice 'n beans forever. If they're lucky, that is.
I have a certain amount of empathy for these guys, tho'. I got to thinking the same thing could happen to me 'n Fixer. Or to any of us. Picture this: you're on a road trip. You decide to enjoy it, so you turn off the C.B., crank up the tunes, pop a cold one, light a fatty, and put the hammer down while dancin' with your left foot and generally jokin' around. At the same time as a chemical plant explodes ten miles away. If you somehow miss the ensuing sea of red lights and sirens...well, you get my drift.
My advice to the gummint? Them F-16's are too fast for this kinda work. Dust off some P-47 Thunderbolts or F4U5A Corsairs. They're plenty fast enough to catch a Cessna and a lot cheaper to run. Them big round motors sound good, too.
"The Note" on media and the news
It's a media kind of day. Following up on my previous post, go see "The Note" at ABC News.
What follows is an extensive report on stuff & things. If they'd put "The Note" on the air it would improve television news coverage immensely. Fat chance.
A comment on the above from Sirotablog:
Disgusting and criminal, too.
Brides gotta run, planes gotta stray, and cable news networks gotta find a way to fill a lot of programming hours as cheaply as possible. (CNBC gets to talk about the booming April retail sales numbers, and the NRA's television network will replay the Secretary of State on Larry King over and over.
We say with all the genuine apolitical and non-partisan human concern that we can muster that the death and carnage in Iraq is truly staggering.
And/but we are sort of resigned to the Notion that it simply isn't going to break through to American news organizations, or, for the most part, Americans.
Democrats are so thoroughly spooked by John Kerry's loss —- and Republicans so inspired by their stay-the-course Commander in Chief —- that what is hands down the biggest story every day in the world will get almost no coverage. No conflict at home = no coverage.
What follows is an extensive report on stuff & things. If they'd put "The Note" on the air it would improve television news coverage immensely. Fat chance.
A comment on the above from Sirotablog:
Let me reiterate how unbelievable this actually is: A MAJOR AMERICAN MEDIA OUTLET HAS NOW DECLARED THAT THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN LETTING THE CARNAGE IN IRAQ "BREAK THROUGH" IN THEIR NEWS COVERAGE - AS IF IT IS SIMPLY NOT NEWSWORTHY. You can just imagine the pathetic newsroom attitude: we don't cover cats getting stuck in trees, we don't birthday parties at the local McDonalds, and we don't cover America's multi-billion dollar war in the Mideast.
Sorry America, the insulated, out-of-touch, Washington media is simply uninterested in providing any real coverage about the war. Because remember, the media has to be "very deferential" because "no one want[s] to get into an argument with the president at this very serious time."
Truly nauseating.
Disgusting and criminal, too.
All the news they think is fit for you to know...
William Rivers Pitt on the media and what they want you to hear v. what's actually happening. Via Truthout.
He goes into a lot more detail, of course. Please read.
So picture this moment. There I was, trying to drive down one of the worst roads in Cambridge with a cell phone the size of a gallon of milk stuck to my ear, and I have this MSNBC producer telling me that if I go on the show, I have to dump all over the inspectors who at that time had been in-country about a week. Coincidentally, that was exactly the same line of rhetoric being pushed by the White House at exactly that time. I'm sure the look on my face was priceless, and I'm lucky me, the car and the giant cell phone didn't wind up in the Charles River.
I asked her if she knew who she was talking to. She didn't understand. My book, I told her, says there are no weapons of mass destruction and therefore no reason to go to war there. I'm the last person on the planet, therefore, who is going to haul water for the idea that there are weapons in Iraq. Furthermore, I said, I don't know where you get off trying to gin up resentment against the inspectors. They just got there, and if they can finish their work without getting derailed by nonsense like this, it'll hopefully keep a lot of people from getting killed. The MSNBC producer laughed quietly - that's the part I will never forget, how she laughed - and hung up.
If this MSNBC producer is an appropriate example - and I think she is, because she was asking me to basically be yet another Bush administration mouthpiece - the fictions they create do not merely soothe and placate the populace. They kill. They kill in large numbers, and a few people (who coincidentally own large chunks of the corporate news media) get paid handsomely for that killing.
Speaking of the pleasant fiction, have you heard about that leaked secret British intelligence memo? Have you seen it covered on the TV news? I haven't. I haven't even seen mention of it in the print realm. It must not be important.
In my humble opinion, we need two exit strategies: one to get our forces out of Iraq, and another to get George W. Bush out of the White House and into a cellblock in The Hague. Save a bunk for Mr. Blair, too. Criminals belong in prison.
But this doesn't fit the fiction, it grates against the consensus, and it also by the way would cut significantly into media profits if they were no longer able to sell fear and war. CNN's viewership went up 500% after September 11. Have you any idea the advertising dollar-value a ratings boost like that brings along? They aren't dumb. Fear sells. Soul-scorching fear sells really well.
What we in the alternate media need to do, and what you media activists need to do, is advocate hard in your own communities for the providing of computers and internet access to poor and rural communities. In other words, we need to wire up the people who need this information, who get lied to by their televisions every day, who send their sons and daughters off to die so Halliburton and Exxon can line their pockets. I know this stuff, you know it, but too many others don't even have access to it. That has to change.
I have this dream. In my dream, I turn on my TV and CNN is on. Some talking head is there to do the top of the hour report. In my dream, the talking head says, "Today in Iraq, the 26,000 liters of anthrax, the 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, the 500 tons which is one million pounds of sarin, mustard and VX gas, the 30,000 munitions to deliver these agents, the mobile biological weapons labs, the uranium from Niger and the robust nuclear weapons program that George W. Bush told us about in his January 2003 State of the Union address were, once again, not found anywhere. Now here's Flappy with the weather."
He goes into a lot more detail, of course. Please read.
un-Real ID
Lambert has more:
Internal passport controls? What is this, Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia? Am I gonna need papers to cross the George Washington Bridge into Jersey? I hope they realize I won't put up with that. You have been warned.
[. . .]
Besides setting up a national ID system, placing every American's identity at risk of theft, and laying the groundwork for a RFID-enabled system of internal passport controls, the RealID sets a precedent for the executive branch overiding any law without judicial review: [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Internal passport controls? What is this, Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia? Am I gonna need papers to cross the George Washington Bridge into Jersey? I hope they realize I won't put up with that. You have been warned.
The stench of hypocrisy 7
W. David Hager is a physician. He's also on the advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and an outspoken evangelical wingnut. Now he has decided to take the credit for the failure of Plan B, which would have allowed over-the-counter sales of the so-called morning-after contraceptive pill. The story is unusual, because the FDA has a habit of following the recommendations of its advisory panel, yet it decided to go against the panel's advice in this particular case. Hager explains this as follows:
[. . .]
The wingnuts like Dr. Hager don't like Plan B because it might encourage unsafe sexual behavior. Thus, it comes as a teeny surprise that Dr. Hager himself has been accused of unsafe sexual behavior. His ex-wife, Linda Carruth Davis, has this to say about Dr. Hager:
[. . .]
Echidne goes in-depth on this asshole. Why is it that the folks who scream loudest against birth control, homosexuals, sodomy, and abortion are the ones who are the most fucked up when it comes to sex?
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Gunmen Erupt in L.A.
As you may have heard, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has stepped on its dick again, big time. From the LATimes (whose site has a nice new look, by the way):
Compton, for those of you unfamiliar with L.A. neighborhoods, is predominately Afro-American, and the original home of the Crips and Bloods. Not that the ethnicity of the area would have anything to do with this story, perish the thought, but I can't see this happening in Beverly Hills.
Keeps folks off the street and out of trouble, though.
Wow. 120 rounds? I never use more than eight to retaliate against motorized boom boxes. That's all my Garand holds. But then, I have to pay for ammo with my own money.
Ten deputies fired 120 rounds, for an average of twelve rounds each, and scored four hits on the poor bastard, as well as a lot of collateral damage to the 'hood. If I'da done that poorly, my Primary Marksmanship Instructor would've hung me by my 'nads, which is exactly what oughta happen to these fool deputies, and not all because of their aim.
I was always taught that you should never point a firearm at anything unless you intended to shoot it. What the hell were those idiots thinking? Don't they know guns can kill people? Do they just plain not care what happens to folks in Compton?
Cops have in their job description the power to kill. I think they either need to have the serious nature of that explained to them before they are let out in public, and not to use potential deadly force lightly, or be disarmed, shitcanned, and told to go forth and sin no more against the people who pay their salaries. Preferably the latter.
The damage is done in this instance, however, and thank God nobody was killed. I'm sure some heads will roll, but probably not those of the higher-ups who let those idiots out on the street with a badge and a gun.
Training? Discipline? Communication? Planning? Marksmanship? Brains and/or common sense? Leadership? LACoSD? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Compton officials today joined a chorus of protest over the weekend shooting of an unarmed motorist by 10 sheriff's deputies who fired 120 times, striking the suspect, an officer, and the homes of five residents.
Compton, for those of you unfamiliar with L.A. neighborhoods, is predominately Afro-American, and the original home of the Crips and Bloods. Not that the ethnicity of the area would have anything to do with this story, perish the thought, but I can't see this happening in Beverly Hills.
"The overriding objective of every police operation is to protect the public. However, 120 rounds sprayed along a narrow residential street is not in the interest of public safety," Hall said.
Keeps folks off the street and out of trouble, though.
The shooting came after Hayes had been driving around the neighborhood for several hours playing loud music.
Wow. 120 rounds? I never use more than eight to retaliate against motorized boom boxes. That's all my Garand holds. But then, I have to pay for ammo with my own money.
Ten deputies fired 120 rounds, for an average of twelve rounds each, and scored four hits on the poor bastard, as well as a lot of collateral damage to the 'hood. If I'da done that poorly, my Primary Marksmanship Instructor would've hung me by my 'nads, which is exactly what oughta happen to these fool deputies, and not all because of their aim.
I was always taught that you should never point a firearm at anything unless you intended to shoot it. What the hell were those idiots thinking? Don't they know guns can kill people? Do they just plain not care what happens to folks in Compton?
Cops have in their job description the power to kill. I think they either need to have the serious nature of that explained to them before they are let out in public, and not to use potential deadly force lightly, or be disarmed, shitcanned, and told to go forth and sin no more against the people who pay their salaries. Preferably the latter.
The damage is done in this instance, however, and thank God nobody was killed. I'm sure some heads will roll, but probably not those of the higher-ups who let those idiots out on the street with a badge and a gun.
Training? Discipline? Communication? Planning? Marksmanship? Brains and/or common sense? Leadership? LACoSD? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Duh
Sisyphus Shrugged:
The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says.
[. . .]
Bend over
And grab your ankles:
We should have let the major airlines go under after 9/11. We wouldn't be bailing them out again. Trust me, we wouldn't have been any more inconvenienced than we were for the time it would take regional carriers to fill the vacuum. This is the age we birthed in 2000. The 21st Century, the Age of Broken Promises. Stupid, stupid Republicans.
CHICAGO May 11, 2005 — United Airlines gained a significant financial victory with court approval to dump its four pension plans but faces a tough challenge to win back the support of angry employees.
While smoothing the path toward a targeted exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy later this year, Tuesday's ruling in U.S. Bankruptcy Court inflamed United's unions, with some hinting at the possibility of strikes or other disruptive actions.
It also prompted a renewed warning from some members of Congress that taxpayers may someday have to bail out the deficit-riddled government pension agency, which now will assume an additional $5 billion in pension obligations from United. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
We should have let the major airlines go under after 9/11. We wouldn't be bailing them out again. Trust me, we wouldn't have been any more inconvenienced than we were for the time it would take regional carriers to fill the vacuum. This is the age we birthed in 2000. The 21st Century, the Age of Broken Promises. Stupid, stupid Republicans.
Awwww
"You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel." - Darrell Waltrip
From the Lady of the Lake:
[nelson muntz] Ha-ha! [/nelson muntz] The wheels are coming off. Heh.
From the Lady of the Lake:
[. . .]
For the past six consecutive months, Fox News Channel's ratings in the all-important 25-54 age group (the ones most likely to buy whatever Fox advertisers are selling) have declined versus the previous month. Fox defenders were quick to leap to O'Reilly's defense today, saying everyone's ratings peaked around election time and then went down again. But in April 2005, FNC's weekday primetime demo average decreased 25% compared to the same time period a year ago. CNN's, on the other hand, increased 27%. Only on a network well-versed in promulgating the war in Iraq as an unqualified success could these numbers be smeared with lipstick and sold as a "triumph."
[. . .]
[nelson muntz] Ha-ha! [/nelson muntz] The wheels are coming off. Heh.
Breathe
"Breathe in the air,
Don't be afraid to care." - Breathe - Pink Floyd
"Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room." - Late Lament - Moody Blues
From the Sister:
Who cares, the NY Metro Area is in blue states. That's why Cheyenne, Wyoming gets more Homeland Security money per person than NYC does.
Don't be afraid to care." - Breathe - Pink Floyd
"Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room." - Late Lament - Moody Blues
From the Sister:
[. . .]
It is the deadliest target in a swath of industrial northern New Jersey that terrorism experts call the most dangerous two miles in America: a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas, so close to Manhattan that the Empire State Building seems to rise up behind its storage tanks.
According to federal Environmental Protection Agency records, the plant poses a potentially lethal threat to 12 million people who live within a 14-mile radius.
[. . .]
[. . .]
What’s unbearably annoying is that on the same day I’m reading about such a huge security gap, questions about which directed to the administration would no doubt be met with excuses about funding, . . .
Who cares, the NY Metro Area is in blue states. That's why Cheyenne, Wyoming gets more Homeland Security money per person than NYC does.
Heh . . . see yas!
Pam:
Well some of the founding members of the congregation came to their senses and put pressure on this dickhead to leave.
Amen, brother.
We posted a couple of days ago about the dumb*ss pastor of East Waynesville Baptist Church, you know, the knucklehead that "excommunicated" followers with "Democratic tendencies" if they didn't vote for Chimpy (since a vote for Kerry was a vote for abortion and support of homos).
[. . .]
Well some of the founding members of the congregation came to their senses and put pressure on this dickhead to leave.
Frank Lowe, one of the nine asked to leave, said Tuesday: "I think his duty was to preach God's word and let the people sort out what they want to do."
Amen, brother.
Warblogger Appreciation Month
God, how'd I miss this? From the Penguin, snark and all:
Not that I have anything against masturbation (30 seconds and I don't break a sweat), but jeez, it's no substitute . . .
The Culture Kitchen reminds us that May is the month set aside in commemoration of the brave men of the 101st Fighting Keyboarders, that pasty-faced flabby-bicep'ed division who, from the front lines of their parents' basements, fight for truth, justice, and Mom's apple pie (of which they regularly over-indulge, thus their penguin-like figures). Yes, May is Masturbation Month, in honor of the only sex that the 101st Fighting Keyboarders ever have!
[. . .]
Not that I have anything against masturbation (30 seconds and I don't break a sweat), but jeez, it's no substitute . . .
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Hillaryphobia
Go read the Moose via RUFNKM.
Let 'er buck, I say. I wonder why all the "horse" references lately?
The ugly truth is that if Jesus of Nazareth himself returned and dared to run on the Democratic line the righteous right would tar him as a bleeding heart vagabond who couldn't hold a job and that he needed a shave. No doubt a Galilee Fishingboat Veterans for Truth outfit would call into question Jesus' miracle claims - financed with lavish funding from Rove's buddies in Texas and maximum exposure on Fox News. Just imagine the book - "Unfit to Save".
Let 'er buck, I say. I wonder why all the "horse" references lately?
Don't miss this one...
From the Niagara Falls Reporter.
I am not only happy to help in a small way to expose the bastards, it's my civic duty, whatever the outcome.
Those quotes are the beginning and the end of the piece. There's a lot in between. Hie thyself yonder and read.
When historians write about our times, they'll shake their heads and wonder how so many people could believe so many lies for so long. They might actually write two parallel books -- one describing the cascading lies and deceptions George W. Bush and the Republicans sold and the other telling the truth.
We're told, in effect, that trampling on civil liberties and eroding freedom are a sure way to protect us from terrorists who envy our freedom. That colossal lie will be one of the lasting stains on this era, and I fear the day coming when the Busheviks or their political heirs, gripped in fascist fever, will silence those who expose the fraud.
I am not only happy to help in a small way to expose the bastards, it's my civic duty, whatever the outcome.
George W. Bush lied to the world when he said he sought peace in Iraq and war was a "last resort." That's what historians will write and they now have a document proving it.
Journalism is often called the first draft of history. For the most part, America's big corporate media's first draft of Bush's war has been devoted to his propagating lies. That's very dangerous in a fragile democracy.
Those quotes are the beginning and the end of the piece. There's a lot in between. Hie thyself yonder and read.
Are Bush supporters literally insane?
That must be it. It would certainly help us understand why so many otherwise good Americans support that criminal fucking moron. Go read Slate's take on it.
Asleep at the switch
Telegraph:
How? WTF?
A review of security at a major British naval base has been carried out after an alleged intruder was found on board a visiting American aircraft carrier.
The alleged trespasser was discovered on board the USS Harry S Truman, anchored off Stokes Bay, Gosport, on Saturday night during a week-long visit to Portsmouth Naval Base.
[. . .]
How? WTF?
GOP Plan to 'Fix' the Democrats
Damn, it hurts just thinking about it! By E.J. Dionne in the WaPo.
Lots about DeLay in the Op-Ed as well. Go read.
The stakes in politics are about to get a lot higher.
Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform and a leading figure in both the DeLay and Bush political operations, chose more colorful post-election language to describe the future. "Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans," he told Richard Leiby of The Post. "Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant. But when they've been 'fixed,' then they are happy and sedate. They are contented and cheerful."
If you wonder in the coming weeks why Democrats are so reluctant to give ground, remember Norquist's jocular reference to neutering the opposition party. Democrats are neither contented nor cheerful over the prospect of being "fixed." Should that surprise anyone?
Lots about DeLay in the Op-Ed as well. Go read.
This Day in History
On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
It runs along about a half mile from where I'm sitting.
Since the builders were getting paid by the mile, and Big Business being what it is, the crews coming from both east and west actually built the lines right past each other for a few miles before they got reined in.
Also, since they got paid more for mountain miles than for flatland miles, and since nobody in Washington DC knows shit from shinola, the Sierra Nevada range got extended west to about Sacramento for billing purposes.
You can read about this major milestone in "Nothing Like It In The World" by Stephen Ambrose. A wonderful read.
It runs along about a half mile from where I'm sitting.
Since the builders were getting paid by the mile, and Big Business being what it is, the crews coming from both east and west actually built the lines right past each other for a few miles before they got reined in.
Also, since they got paid more for mountain miles than for flatland miles, and since nobody in Washington DC knows shit from shinola, the Sierra Nevada range got extended west to about Sacramento for billing purposes.
You can read about this major milestone in "Nothing Like It In The World" by Stephen Ambrose. A wonderful read.
Taking Earth's Pulse
In light of the wonderful, caring way that Preznit Horse Cranker is taking care of the planet, I think this article in the NYTimes is very interesting.
I hereby volunteer to take a bunch of the largest probes they got and go to Washington D.C.. Believe me, I know right where to stick 'em for maximum effect.
In the wilds of the San Jacinto Mountains, along a steep canyon, scientists are turning 30 acres of pines and hardwoods in California into a futuristic vision of environmental study.
"It's a sea change across a whole range of fields," said Dr. Robert S. Detrick, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. "The objective is long-term investigation of temporal, climate or human impact. It's a big change."
"It's the largest undertaking in the history of geoscience," said Dr. Gregory E. van der Vink, project director of EarthScope, which is based in Washington. "It's about instrumenting North America."
The scientists say the nation should press ahead because the opportunities are so great and the stakes so high.
"It's a paradigm shift," Dr. William J. Kaiser of the Center for Embedded Network Sensing said of innovative new ways of monitoring the environment. "It's going to change the way we think."
I hereby volunteer to take a bunch of the largest probes they got and go to Washington D.C.. Believe me, I know right where to stick 'em for maximum effect.
Causes
If ya can spare a couple bucks. From Suburban Guerrilla:
Operation Truth, the Iraqi war vets organization, is going to Washington next week to meet with Congress.
They need a few bucks to cover expenses. If you want to really support the troops, click here.
No surprise
From Leah at the Blog of 8:
Does this come as a surprise to anyone? Four months of falling recruiting totals and we're gonna have to do something. The recruiters are desperate and the brass is probably crawling all over 'em. Remember, the recruiters are mere enlisted weenies. They're being told by their officers to say anything to meet the monthly quotas.
[. . .]
The story they have to tell is about the circumstances under which the was "recruited" into the National Guard, in which he is still serving. Those circumstances involve intense pressure, on both the son, who was seventeen at the time of his recruitment and the mother, (who had to give permission for her son to enter the Guard), lies told, promises broken, and more. It's a story that is disturbing and heart-breaking.
[. . .]
Does this come as a surprise to anyone? Four months of falling recruiting totals and we're gonna have to do something. The recruiters are desperate and the brass is probably crawling all over 'em. Remember, the recruiters are mere enlisted weenies. They're being told by their officers to say anything to meet the monthly quotas.
More 'pearls'
One of these days, I have to meet Jayinbmore for a drink. He comes off with some deep stuff and I'd love to spend a couple hours or so swapping ideas. His newest, stolen fully and completely:
Thoughts from Kansas sums up the story so far, with links. The thing that drives me batty, continually, is that even very smart people don't directly address the really serious issue, although TfK gets at it. Yes, the war is on "naturalism". But rarely is the question asked: who benefits from the war, and who benefits if "naturalism" is destroyed? There's only one group of people who benefit from the enforced ignorance of the general population, and that group of people doesn't have the general population's best interest at heart.
Tin Ear Man Gets Tapped
Ol' Yelladog got me too. He saved me from volunteering.
First, let me tell you about my musical acumen. I'm good at listening, but playing and singing, not so much. I may be the only guy in history to have this happen to me:
Once upon a time, many years ago (I can't remember that decade, exactly, or even which one it was) I went to see The Rolling Stones at Anaheim Stadium. Sixty thousand people in the crowd, yellin' an' screamin'. Mick Jagger comes struttin' out like a banty rooster, his scrawny chest stuck out nearly as far as his lips, one arm pointed at the sky. The crowd got wilder. You couldn't hear yourself think. Jagger grabbed a microphone (they still used them in those days), pointed at the crowd and yelled, "Thank you all for coming." Then, he pointed directly at me and said, "Gordon, don't clap. It throws our drummer off!"
As far as singing, I'm best in a group. Whenever I sing on a clear night, no problem. Dogs 'n frogs join in from miles around.
Here we go.
A. Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart:
"The Marine's Hymn" goes without saying.
1."Night Rider's Lament" - Nanci Griffith on "Other Voices, Other Rooms"
Tell me, why do you ride for your money, and why do you rope for short pay?
You ain't gettin' nowhere an' you're losing your share,
Oh, you must have gone crazy out there.
Well, they've never seen the Northern Lights,
never seen a hawk on the wing.
They've never seen Spring hit the Great Divide
Or heard ol' camp cookie sing.
2. "You Don't Miss Your Water" - Kathy Kallick on "Good Ol' Persons: Good and Live"
In the beginning you really loved me,
but I was blind and I could not see.
I was a playgirl, I could not be true.
I could not believe I really loved you.
But when you left me,
Oh, how I cried.
You don't miss your water
'Til your well runs dry.
3. "She's More To Be Pitied" - The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys
She's there at the bar every evenin'
Face powdered and cheeks painted red.
Her beauty has faded too early
Brought on by the fast life she's led.
She's more to be pitied than scolded,
She needs to be loved, not despised.
Too much beer and wine, too many good times.
The lure of the honky-tonk has wrecked her young life.
4. "Joe's Last Train" - The Country Gentlemen
Standin' by the railroad track, his chin down on his chest,
The old man couldn't catch the train, although he tried his best.
A sleepin' roll, a coffee pot, a jug half full of wine,
He threw inside the boxcar that went on down the line.
Poor ol' Joe's too old to catch the train,
But somethin' keeps him tryin' just the same.
Old soldiers and old sailors have a place to go,
But no one helps a railroad bum like poor ol' Hobo Joe.
5. "Gypsies in the Palace" - Jimmy Buffett
-- spoken:
In days of old, when knights were bold,
And journeyed from their castles,
Trusty men were left behind,
Knights needed not the hassles.
They helped themselves to pig and peach,
And drank from king’s own chalice.
Oh, it was a stirring sight
These gypsies in the palace.
And some things never change. hit it boys!
So long boss, knock ’em dead, don’t worry ’bout a thing
Wish that we could come along, we’d love to hear you sing
Limo’s here, your bags are packed, the list is by the phone
Me and snake will watch your place and treat it like our own
Look at all this liquor
Look at all this food
It’s only gonna go to waste
We’re not really being rude
But the good stuff’s in his closet, I swear he wouldn’t mind
Hell we’ll just shoot the lock off, I do it all the time.
He’s the greatest guy to work for, man he’s really cool
Hey snake this party’s gettin’ dull, throw someone in the pool
Hey let’s all take our clothes off and form a conga line
Watch out for that broken glass, hey snake we need more wine
We’re gypsies in the palace, there ain’t no wrong or right
We’re gypsies in the palace, and we’re raisin’ hell tonight
Hey
Oh hi there boss, what’s goin’ on
You say you’re coming when?
I’ll send snake out to pick you up tomorrow night at ten, okay!
Everybody outta here, this joint is closin’ down
We gotta find someone to clean this up, he’s comin’ back to town
Hi there boss we waxed your cars, we raked and mowed your lawn
We couldn’t find enough to do in the short time you were gone
Man it sure is peaceful here, you’ve really got it all
If you ever hit the road again, give me and snake a call!
-- spoken:
Hey, jimmy, it’s glenn
Glenn, how ya doin’?
Fine man, I’m goin’ on the road.
Do you know anybody who could possibly house-sit for me?
I got these two great guys that look after my place.
Man, they’re the best!
B. Top 5 Instrumentals:
1. "Walk, Don't Run" - The Ventures
2. Any of the selections on CLARENCE WHITE: 33 ACOUSTIC GUITAR INSTRUMENTALS
3. "Dixie Breakdown" - The Dillards
4. "Thus Sprach Zarathustra" from "2001: A Space Odyssey"
5. Any selection from TUT & CLARENCE FLATPICKING
C. Top 5 Live Musical Experiences:
1. Smoking a joint with Doug Dillard in the back room of The Palomino Club in North Hollywood in the '70s. He told me I had a nice grin. If you've ever seen his shit-eatin' grin, you'd know that was like Jesus telling you you're a good person.
2. Malibu Mountains Bluegrass Festival, 1976. 100,000 people for a one-day event. Closed down the Ventura Freeway, ten miles away. Rode there with Joe Gastwirt, a mastering engineer and fellow motorcycle mechanic from Brooklyn who had just learned to drive and really shouldn't have been on the L.A. Freeway. I don't scare easy, but I made an exception that day. We had to carry a lot of water to get his load of an overheatin' Fairlane there and back. The music was good, but the whole day was one-of-a-kind.
3. Getting my friends "The Saddlerash Bluegrass Band" their first gig at the Pastime Club, aka The Knife n' Gun Club, in Truckee in the late '80s. They're from North Lake Tahoe, 12 miles away, and had never played that far from home before. Also, they were scared of Truckee's reputation as a tough town. It used to be. They had a great time and are still playing, and have become much more professional with time. Hey, ya gotta take it outta town sometime.
4. Seeing Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band at the Palomino Club in the '70s with Ricky Skaggs as her guitar player. We got to sit right in front. They got three bucks for a Bud so I snuck in a six-pack in the pockets of an English motorcycle jacket. The waitress kept checking my beer to see if I needed a fresh one but I never did. I think she musta thought I got pretty gooned on one bottle. Hell, I'm a cheap date.
5. I sang an old country tune, Freddy Hart's "The Wall", a cappella to a dorm full of youngsters in the county jail once and got applause. Yes, it was a captive audience but, trust me, these were not country fans. And just what was I doing in jail, you ask? Thirty days.
D. Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To:
1. Kathy Kallick, solo, with "Good Ol' Persons" or anybody else.
2. Allison Krauss and Union Station
3. The Fox Family
4. The Seldom Scene - Bluegrass band from the D.C. area.
5. Bryan Bowers - Probably the best autoharp player in the world. He can play at least six parts of a song with one hand. I don't even know if it's been recorded but his "Hash Eatin' Song From Virginia" is not to be missed.
E. Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish:
1. Emmylou Harris - "Quarter Moon In A Ten-Cent Town"
2. Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer - "Bramble and the Rose"
3. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris - "Trio"
4. Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen - "Bakersfield Bound"
5. Jimmy Buffett - "Meet Me In Margaritaville"
F. Top Five Musical Heroes:
1. Doug Dillard - World's best 5-string banjo player. I have never heard anyone play while they were sober with better speed and precision than he could while dead drunk and/or stoned on his ass. His band,"The Dillards", played "The Darlings" on the Andy Griffith Show.
2. Emmylou Harris, for her entire body of work.
3. Jimmy Buffett, just 'cuz he's Jimmy Buffett.
4. Woody Guthrie. He wrote and sang about hard times, and tried to make a difference.
5. Alan Lomax, for preserving an awful lot of American and world music.
This was fun but actually kinda hard, not just the research and typing but choosing from all the wonderful music and brilliant writers and performers. Since the whole thing is sorta mood-driven, the whole shootin' match could come up different on any given day. There's other categories that should be included too, but I'm tired.
Do this to me again 'dog and I'll...do it again.
First, let me tell you about my musical acumen. I'm good at listening, but playing and singing, not so much. I may be the only guy in history to have this happen to me:
Once upon a time, many years ago (I can't remember that decade, exactly, or even which one it was) I went to see The Rolling Stones at Anaheim Stadium. Sixty thousand people in the crowd, yellin' an' screamin'. Mick Jagger comes struttin' out like a banty rooster, his scrawny chest stuck out nearly as far as his lips, one arm pointed at the sky. The crowd got wilder. You couldn't hear yourself think. Jagger grabbed a microphone (they still used them in those days), pointed at the crowd and yelled, "Thank you all for coming." Then, he pointed directly at me and said, "Gordon, don't clap. It throws our drummer off!"
As far as singing, I'm best in a group. Whenever I sing on a clear night, no problem. Dogs 'n frogs join in from miles around.
Here we go.
A. Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart:
"The Marine's Hymn" goes without saying.
1."Night Rider's Lament" - Nanci Griffith on "Other Voices, Other Rooms"
Tell me, why do you ride for your money, and why do you rope for short pay?
You ain't gettin' nowhere an' you're losing your share,
Oh, you must have gone crazy out there.
Well, they've never seen the Northern Lights,
never seen a hawk on the wing.
They've never seen Spring hit the Great Divide
Or heard ol' camp cookie sing.
2. "You Don't Miss Your Water" - Kathy Kallick on "Good Ol' Persons: Good and Live"
In the beginning you really loved me,
but I was blind and I could not see.
I was a playgirl, I could not be true.
I could not believe I really loved you.
But when you left me,
Oh, how I cried.
You don't miss your water
'Til your well runs dry.
3. "She's More To Be Pitied" - The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys
She's there at the bar every evenin'
Face powdered and cheeks painted red.
Her beauty has faded too early
Brought on by the fast life she's led.
She's more to be pitied than scolded,
She needs to be loved, not despised.
Too much beer and wine, too many good times.
The lure of the honky-tonk has wrecked her young life.
4. "Joe's Last Train" - The Country Gentlemen
Standin' by the railroad track, his chin down on his chest,
The old man couldn't catch the train, although he tried his best.
A sleepin' roll, a coffee pot, a jug half full of wine,
He threw inside the boxcar that went on down the line.
Poor ol' Joe's too old to catch the train,
But somethin' keeps him tryin' just the same.
Old soldiers and old sailors have a place to go,
But no one helps a railroad bum like poor ol' Hobo Joe.
5. "Gypsies in the Palace" - Jimmy Buffett
-- spoken:
In days of old, when knights were bold,
And journeyed from their castles,
Trusty men were left behind,
Knights needed not the hassles.
They helped themselves to pig and peach,
And drank from king’s own chalice.
Oh, it was a stirring sight
These gypsies in the palace.
And some things never change. hit it boys!
So long boss, knock ’em dead, don’t worry ’bout a thing
Wish that we could come along, we’d love to hear you sing
Limo’s here, your bags are packed, the list is by the phone
Me and snake will watch your place and treat it like our own
Look at all this liquor
Look at all this food
It’s only gonna go to waste
We’re not really being rude
But the good stuff’s in his closet, I swear he wouldn’t mind
Hell we’ll just shoot the lock off, I do it all the time.
He’s the greatest guy to work for, man he’s really cool
Hey snake this party’s gettin’ dull, throw someone in the pool
Hey let’s all take our clothes off and form a conga line
Watch out for that broken glass, hey snake we need more wine
We’re gypsies in the palace, there ain’t no wrong or right
We’re gypsies in the palace, and we’re raisin’ hell tonight
Hey
Oh hi there boss, what’s goin’ on
You say you’re coming when?
I’ll send snake out to pick you up tomorrow night at ten, okay!
Everybody outta here, this joint is closin’ down
We gotta find someone to clean this up, he’s comin’ back to town
Hi there boss we waxed your cars, we raked and mowed your lawn
We couldn’t find enough to do in the short time you were gone
Man it sure is peaceful here, you’ve really got it all
If you ever hit the road again, give me and snake a call!
-- spoken:
Hey, jimmy, it’s glenn
Glenn, how ya doin’?
Fine man, I’m goin’ on the road.
Do you know anybody who could possibly house-sit for me?
I got these two great guys that look after my place.
Man, they’re the best!
B. Top 5 Instrumentals:
1. "Walk, Don't Run" - The Ventures
2. Any of the selections on CLARENCE WHITE: 33 ACOUSTIC GUITAR INSTRUMENTALS
3. "Dixie Breakdown" - The Dillards
4. "Thus Sprach Zarathustra" from "2001: A Space Odyssey"
5. Any selection from TUT & CLARENCE FLATPICKING
C. Top 5 Live Musical Experiences:
1. Smoking a joint with Doug Dillard in the back room of The Palomino Club in North Hollywood in the '70s. He told me I had a nice grin. If you've ever seen his shit-eatin' grin, you'd know that was like Jesus telling you you're a good person.
2. Malibu Mountains Bluegrass Festival, 1976. 100,000 people for a one-day event. Closed down the Ventura Freeway, ten miles away. Rode there with Joe Gastwirt, a mastering engineer and fellow motorcycle mechanic from Brooklyn who had just learned to drive and really shouldn't have been on the L.A. Freeway. I don't scare easy, but I made an exception that day. We had to carry a lot of water to get his load of an overheatin' Fairlane there and back. The music was good, but the whole day was one-of-a-kind.
3. Getting my friends "The Saddlerash Bluegrass Band" their first gig at the Pastime Club, aka The Knife n' Gun Club, in Truckee in the late '80s. They're from North Lake Tahoe, 12 miles away, and had never played that far from home before. Also, they were scared of Truckee's reputation as a tough town. It used to be. They had a great time and are still playing, and have become much more professional with time. Hey, ya gotta take it outta town sometime.
4. Seeing Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band at the Palomino Club in the '70s with Ricky Skaggs as her guitar player. We got to sit right in front. They got three bucks for a Bud so I snuck in a six-pack in the pockets of an English motorcycle jacket. The waitress kept checking my beer to see if I needed a fresh one but I never did. I think she musta thought I got pretty gooned on one bottle. Hell, I'm a cheap date.
5. I sang an old country tune, Freddy Hart's "The Wall", a cappella to a dorm full of youngsters in the county jail once and got applause. Yes, it was a captive audience but, trust me, these were not country fans. And just what was I doing in jail, you ask? Thirty days.
D. Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To:
1. Kathy Kallick, solo, with "Good Ol' Persons" or anybody else.
2. Allison Krauss and Union Station
3. The Fox Family
4. The Seldom Scene - Bluegrass band from the D.C. area.
5. Bryan Bowers - Probably the best autoharp player in the world. He can play at least six parts of a song with one hand. I don't even know if it's been recorded but his "Hash Eatin' Song From Virginia" is not to be missed.
E. Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish:
1. Emmylou Harris - "Quarter Moon In A Ten-Cent Town"
2. Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer - "Bramble and the Rose"
3. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris - "Trio"
4. Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen - "Bakersfield Bound"
5. Jimmy Buffett - "Meet Me In Margaritaville"
F. Top Five Musical Heroes:
1. Doug Dillard - World's best 5-string banjo player. I have never heard anyone play while they were sober with better speed and precision than he could while dead drunk and/or stoned on his ass. His band,"The Dillards", played "The Darlings" on the Andy Griffith Show.
2. Emmylou Harris, for her entire body of work.
3. Jimmy Buffett, just 'cuz he's Jimmy Buffett.
4. Woody Guthrie. He wrote and sang about hard times, and tried to make a difference.
5. Alan Lomax, for preserving an awful lot of American and world music.
This was fun but actually kinda hard, not just the research and typing but choosing from all the wonderful music and brilliant writers and performers. Since the whole thing is sorta mood-driven, the whole shootin' match could come up different on any given day. There's other categories that should be included too, but I'm tired.
Do this to me again 'dog and I'll...do it again.
Monday, May 9, 2005
Tagged and snagged
I was trying to lay low, but Ol' Yella snagged me.
A. Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart:
"You're my castle, you're my cabin, you're my instant pleasure dome
I need you in my house 'cause you're my home" - You're My Home - Billy Joel
"If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you
Mountains crumble to the sea, but there will still be you and me" - Thank You -Led Zepplelin (Our wedding song, by the way)
"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive, Wanted dead or alive" - Wanted, Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi (My old squadron song, by the way)
"But with any other beat I got left in my heart, You know I’d rather be damned with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned, Dancing through the night with you" - Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
"O'er the land of the Free
and the home of the Brave" - Star Spangled Banner - Francis Scott Key
Honorable Mention: "I met a gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis" -Tumblin' Dice - Rolling Stones
B. Top 5 Instrumentals:
Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin
Jessica - Allman Bros.
On The Run - Pink Floyd
Fanfare for the Common Man - Aaron Copeland
1812 Overture - Piotr Iliych Tchaikovskiy
C. Top 5 Live Musical Experiences:
Grateful Dead - Radio City Music Hall, NYC - 1978
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Lake Compounce, Bristol CT - 1986
AC/DC - Market Garden Arena, Indianapolis IN - 1984
Meat Loaf - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY - 1995
Billy Joel - Reunion Arena, Dallas TX - 1984
D. Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To:
Unicorn - A German band out of Kaiserslautern
Frank Zappa
Bond
4 Non Blondes
Van Morrison
E. Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish:
Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, ladies and gentlemen, Emerson Lake and Palmer - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
Supernatural - Santana
Zofo - Led Zeppelin
F. Top Five Musical Heroes:
Jon Entwistle - The Who
Mick Jagger - Rolling Stones
Frank Zappa - FZ
Jimmy Page - Led Zeppelin
Kieth Moon - The Who/Bono - U2
A. Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart:
"You're my castle, you're my cabin, you're my instant pleasure dome
I need you in my house 'cause you're my home" - You're My Home - Billy Joel
"If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you
Mountains crumble to the sea, but there will still be you and me" - Thank You -Led Zepplelin (Our wedding song, by the way)
"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive, Wanted dead or alive" - Wanted, Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi (My old squadron song, by the way)
"But with any other beat I got left in my heart, You know I’d rather be damned with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned, Dancing through the night with you" - Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
"O'er the land of the Free
and the home of the Brave" - Star Spangled Banner - Francis Scott Key
Honorable Mention: "I met a gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis" -Tumblin' Dice - Rolling Stones
B. Top 5 Instrumentals:
Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin
Jessica - Allman Bros.
On The Run - Pink Floyd
Fanfare for the Common Man - Aaron Copeland
1812 Overture - Piotr Iliych Tchaikovskiy
C. Top 5 Live Musical Experiences:
Grateful Dead - Radio City Music Hall, NYC - 1978
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Lake Compounce, Bristol CT - 1986
AC/DC - Market Garden Arena, Indianapolis IN - 1984
Meat Loaf - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY - 1995
Billy Joel - Reunion Arena, Dallas TX - 1984
D. Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To:
Unicorn - A German band out of Kaiserslautern
Frank Zappa
Bond
4 Non Blondes
Van Morrison
E. Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish:
Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, ladies and gentlemen, Emerson Lake and Palmer - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
Supernatural - Santana
Zofo - Led Zeppelin
F. Top Five Musical Heroes:
Jon Entwistle - The Who
Mick Jagger - Rolling Stones
Frank Zappa - FZ
Jimmy Page - Led Zeppelin
Kieth Moon - The Who/Bono - U2
Truth, DeLay, and Rectal Bleeding
Took me a while to quit rolling on the floor, unwrap the wires from around my head, wipe off the keyboard and screen, and steal this from Yelladog:
You could always read during the actual programs, I guess.
Perhaps I am the last person in America to give a damn, but why are our elected officials using the corporate jets of the likes of Enron as personal taxis? Shouldn't they be required to disclose this sort of largesse? Is there any way we can force them to disclose these things?
Imagine how that would play in a campaign commercial- something like those monotonic flurries of information at the end of pharmaceutical commercials, where the voiceover announces that the product may have certain side effects, like baldness, hairy palms, headache, dry mouth and rectal bleeding.
"Tom DeLay is not for everyone. Tom DeLay may have certain side effects, including theocracy, homophobia, complete obeisance to corporate interests, higher energy prices, pointless wars and rectal bleeding. In the past, Tom DeLay has flown on the Enron jet 47 times, watched the Superbowl from Jack Abramoff's skybox eight times, played golf on Russia's dime X times, blahblahblah..."
In a world where campaign commercials were forced into full disclosure, I know that I would watch more television.
You could always read during the actual programs, I guess.
Haben Sie deine Führerschein, bitte?
RealID is real now. Make zertain you haff your papers. Paul the Spud blogging at the Sister:
Call me paranoid, and I've said this before, but we're inches away from tattooed barcodes.
Yeah, Yeah, I know... it's to fight terrorism. Well, bullshit. It's making our police force and millitary into the SS. How is "show me your "Real ID" different than "Papers, please," when you get down to brass tacks?
[. . .]
Today in History
From Working for Change:
Things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school:
Things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school:
1432: Charges of witchcraft dismissed against Margery Jourdemain, John Virley, and John Ashwell, in England. They're executed for littering instead.
1933: First Nazi-inspired mass public book-burning, Germany.
1967: Muhammed Ali stripped of world heavyweight boxing title for refusing military draft.
1974: Congress begins impeachment hearings of President Richard M. Nixon.
The Redhead and Her Friends
Arianna Huffington has opened her new blog, "The Huffington Post" today. Check it out.
Bush Gets Tough Queries From Youths in Holland
From the LATimes:
Might not have passed muster? They probably would have been arrested. Going off script by asking an actual question is at least a misdemeanor in Bushworld. I wonder if Bush thought those kids wouldn't speak English so the interpreter could ask the pre-planned questions and pass along the pre-planned compliments. I'll bet he was amazed they weren't wearing wooden shoes, too.
I guess the "Free Press" is only "Free" to go along with the program of lies and deceptions. Any chance of actual reporting seems to be off the table.
MAASTRICHT, Netherlands — At home, President Bush regularly travels the nation for "conversations" with hand-picked audiences who routinely shower him and his policies with praise. But abroad on Sunday, some youths in Holland had a rare, unscripted opportunity to ask questions that some Americans might want to pose if given the chance.
Based on the questions asked in the first half-hour, before reporters were ushered from the room (my emphasis), this group of students might not have passed muster at a typical White House event.
Might not have passed muster? They probably would have been arrested. Going off script by asking an actual question is at least a misdemeanor in Bushworld. I wonder if Bush thought those kids wouldn't speak English so the interpreter could ask the pre-planned questions and pass along the pre-planned compliments. I'll bet he was amazed they weren't wearing wooden shoes, too.
I guess the "Free Press" is only "Free" to go along with the program of lies and deceptions. Any chance of actual reporting seems to be off the table.
Sunday, May 8, 2005
Sunday Stupids
I was just watching Jack Welch on Little George. Am I the only one who thinks this guy is completely out of touch? I'm surprised Chimpy doesn't have him working at 1600. And don't even get me started on George Will. And I don't care what anybody says. I like Sam Donaldson.
Update: 16:45:
I'm sending you to Jane for more.
Update: 16:45:
I'm sending you to Jane for more.
Nothing's changed
We went to war in Iraq, got close to 1600 Americans killed so far, 30,000 - 40,000 wounded, and probably a hundred thousand Iraqis dead. For all of that, nothing has changed. Swerve Left:
Mission accomplished.
Recruitment's down; high-ranking military officers themselves admit that American military readiness has been compromised; worldwide terrorist incidents are the highest they've been in two decades; Iraq once more has convicted felons and known killers occupying key government posts . . .
Mission accomplished.
More reefer madness
Jane says it far better than I could. That's 'cause she's not an old pothead like me.
Northwest pedophiles
I linked to this earlier in the week, but JJ from Big Brass Balls, . . . er Blog has more . . . much more on this group of sickos.
Saturday, May 7, 2005
"Healthy Forests"
Yeah, right.
May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration issued rules today that could open up as many as 58.5 million acres of U.S. forestland to road building, logging, mining and other commercial purposes, clearing the last remnants of a ban imposed in 2001.
The U.S. Forest Service can begin allowing 34.3 million acres of national lands to be opened to road building as early as next week, and the rule gives state governors the option to request use for an additional 24.2 million acres. The Agriculture Department said states had 18 months to protest the changes.
[. . .]
"Mushroom clouds"
SEOUL — As North Korea accelerates the pace of its nuclear weapons program, the United States and its allies have limited options to prevent one of the world's poorest and most erratic nations from becoming a nuclear power.
[. . .]
I know I talk about this a lot, basically because the press has decided not to . . . until that little lunatic in North Korea does something to get their attention. I spent three years of my life in South Korea, not far from the DMZ. I love and respect the Korean people, and I look back on my time spent with them with fondess. It's an area rich in history and culture, and the last thing I want to see is this land become the blast point of the next regional conflict. They went through enough earlier this century.
More below the fold . . .
Thanks a lot
Now shut the fuck up. Via Skippy, vets write letters to our leaders:
my husband, ramey evans, jr. passed away a few weeks ago knowing what the government thought about him and his service in the korean war. he was denied enrollment because he had saved a little too much money to live on in his retirement years, along with his social security. it didn't matter that he had earned the right to have help with his medicine, he didn't get it. he put off going to the va for help because he would have to travel so far. . .
dear mrs. bush, i have written to your husband regarding this issue but also wanted to write you. given that you are a mother you will probably be more sympathetic to my particular situation and the impact that insufficient va funding has on it. i have 2 children, a 9 year-old daughter a a 15 month-old son. i have a service-connected disability, my back, and have had great difficulty in receiving treatment. the va doctors tell me things like "don't pick up your child". Iim sure you can realize that as a mother it is literally impossible not to pick up a baby. since an injury in january my back has been very bad. it took me until monday, may 2,05 to get the va to do a ct scan. this scan shows that i have a significant bulge on one of my discs. i believe that it has taken so long to get any progress on treatment because the va finds itself out of money. . .
Coolness
Found this while rooting around over at Cmdr. Sue's place. Good links, good info, and pretty Cool Government.
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