Now that's more like it!
I loved my time in college, even though it was a semester longer than I planned. The late 60's were the time for marching in the streets, and rebellion against a stupid war that was killing us. We all bought into the notion that there actually is such a thing as right and wrong, and that human beings are better off treating each other with kindness.
Remember Kindness? That quaint New Testament idea espoused by Jesus? Some folks think he got it from the Budhists, but that doesn't actually matter. It was about taking care of each other and turning the other cheek, and it isn't ok to kill each other. Jesus has changed his mind about that, according to Conservatives. He got in trouble for disagreeing with the Old Testament "Eye for an Eye" thing and now, 2000 years or so later, according to the wingbats who hear voices in their heads, Jesus spoke to them and his new message is to hate and kill.
Sorry...I digress...
Anyway, College kids are beginning to wake up again. John McCain, who hides his true nature with a kindly smile, got what he deserved at a commencement speech this week. Dear old John is a patsy. He's been taken by George Bush and Karl Rove time and time again but he just smiles and says, "Hey, those incredible lies about me having a black baby so George could energize his racist base and win the South Carolina primary were just all in the good spirit of political campaining...What a joker, that Karl."
At the Commencement speech at New University, the undergraduate speaker quit reading her speech ... "This ceremony has become something other than the celebratory gathering it should be," Jean Sara Rohe said. "The Senator does not reflect the ideals on which this school was founded. This was a top-down decision in which the students played no part."
The crowd erupted.
In his speech, McCain stated, "I supported the decision to go to war in Iraq."
"Booooooooo!" said the student body.
"I stand that ground because I believed, rightly or wrongly, that my country's interests and values required it." said John McCain.
"Wrongly!" one student boomed from the back.
"This speech sucks!" they yelled. Some walked out.
That's more like it!
Peace,
Steve
Dear John
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Go!
The Flycatchers are nesting. When we built the lower deck, we had no intention of making nest boxes for them, but that's what happened and that's just fine with me.
Since I put the screen over the chimney to keep the swifts from winding up looking out at me through the glass doors on the wood stove, we haven't had them around. They have apparently found a good spot to nest because they're back to their old aerobatics at dusk. I can't wait to see the formation flying that they do when the young have fledged.
The Cardinals have a nest in one of those bushes I can't name. it's right by the path down to Lake Steve and the poor momma startled poor me as she scurried off the nest as I walked by... Choosing a different route for a few weeks.
The eagles are flying up the creek several times a day carrying things. I assume there's a nest up there but good luck finding it without a helicopter.
A different scarlet Tanager hung around for a couple of days. The ugliest one I've ever seen was stunning but this one was head and shoulders above anything I've ever seen. The normal red was so bright that it was more of a flame color. I didn't even think it was a tanager until I got the binoculars.
(I really need a 600 mm lense...I mean Really! It would be soooo useful for those thirteen seconds every year when the tanagers pose for me. Doesn't that seem worth it to you guys?)Here's a poor shot of the earlier tanager:
bigger
The indigo buntings are coming to the feeder. That's unusual, but really nice.
It's Spring and the weather is...well, challenging. It takes several layers and a rain coat which you will need ,and then not need, and then need, again to go hiking for any distance. I'm here to tell you It's all worth it.
Go outside!
Steve
******
Molly:
....I do not think George W. can be put together again... Rove's only option is go negative against the Democrats -- no surprise there. At this point, they could attack Democrats on almost anything, but that would leave the large question,
"Compared to what?"
Molly
Since I put the screen over the chimney to keep the swifts from winding up looking out at me through the glass doors on the wood stove, we haven't had them around. They have apparently found a good spot to nest because they're back to their old aerobatics at dusk. I can't wait to see the formation flying that they do when the young have fledged.
The Cardinals have a nest in one of those bushes I can't name. it's right by the path down to Lake Steve and the poor momma startled poor me as she scurried off the nest as I walked by... Choosing a different route for a few weeks.
The eagles are flying up the creek several times a day carrying things. I assume there's a nest up there but good luck finding it without a helicopter.
A different scarlet Tanager hung around for a couple of days. The ugliest one I've ever seen was stunning but this one was head and shoulders above anything I've ever seen. The normal red was so bright that it was more of a flame color. I didn't even think it was a tanager until I got the binoculars.
(I really need a 600 mm lense...I mean Really! It would be soooo useful for those thirteen seconds every year when the tanagers pose for me. Doesn't that seem worth it to you guys?)Here's a poor shot of the earlier tanager:
biggerThe indigo buntings are coming to the feeder. That's unusual, but really nice.
It's Spring and the weather is...well, challenging. It takes several layers and a rain coat which you will need ,and then not need, and then need, again to go hiking for any distance. I'm here to tell you It's all worth it.
Go outside!
Steve
******
Molly:
....I do not think George W. can be put together again... Rove's only option is go negative against the Democrats -- no surprise there. At this point, they could attack Democrats on almost anything, but that would leave the large question,
"Compared to what?"
Molly
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
What if...
What if we had an honest electoral system in this country? And an Honest Supreme Court?
In 2000, the Supremes merely said, "Time's up...The information you need to prove that Al Gore won Florida has been successfully hidden for long enough that the final buzzer has sounded and George W. Bush will now be given a Presidency he was not voted into by the American people."
That is essentially what happened, even though the Republicans have been on a massive public relations campaign ever since to hide that fact. Bush was given the election by a few hundred votes because only certain precincts were recounted. Had a recount been done over the entire state, Gore would have won by a few hundred votes....A few hundred votes.
Katherine Harris became a National figure because she used a list to purge nearly 90,000 voters from elegibility by proclaiming them felons. Some 60,000 of them were democrats and had never been convicted of anything. Their name was put on a list by a government contractor at the behest of republican officials. They weren't notified until they tried to vote and were turned away.
...A few hundred votes decided the election...wrongly. It was stolen.
(The proof is down below in Greg Palast's piece.)
But what if Al Gore had been elected? Well he was but he wasn't inaugurated, but what if?
Leave it to the comedians to present the truth.Here's the transcript from his Saturday Night Live appearance last weekend:
Here's Gore's opening speech last Saturday night:
Saturday Night Live
Al Gore is going to be the next President of the United States. Friend Matt said it first...
Courage,
Steve
*****
How the Grinch stole the election...Really!
Greg Palast:
Palast
In 2000, the Supremes merely said, "Time's up...The information you need to prove that Al Gore won Florida has been successfully hidden for long enough that the final buzzer has sounded and George W. Bush will now be given a Presidency he was not voted into by the American people."
That is essentially what happened, even though the Republicans have been on a massive public relations campaign ever since to hide that fact. Bush was given the election by a few hundred votes because only certain precincts were recounted. Had a recount been done over the entire state, Gore would have won by a few hundred votes....A few hundred votes.
Katherine Harris became a National figure because she used a list to purge nearly 90,000 voters from elegibility by proclaiming them felons. Some 60,000 of them were democrats and had never been convicted of anything. Their name was put on a list by a government contractor at the behest of republican officials. They weren't notified until they tried to vote and were turned away.
...A few hundred votes decided the election...wrongly. It was stolen.
(The proof is down below in Greg Palast's piece.)
But what if Al Gore had been elected? Well he was but he wasn't inaugurated, but what if?
Leave it to the comedians to present the truth.Here's the transcript from his Saturday Night Live appearance last weekend:
"Baseball, our national pastime, still lies under the shadow of steroid accusations, but I have faith in baseball Commissioner George W. Bush when he says, 'We will find the steroid users if we have to tap every phone in America.'
Here's Gore's opening speech last Saturday night:
Saturday Night Live
Al Gore is going to be the next President of the United States. Friend Matt said it first...
Courage,
Steve
*****
How the Grinch stole the election...Really!
Greg Palast:
"I first ran across these guys in 2000 in Florida when our Guardian/BBC team discovered the list of 94,000 "felons" that Katherine Harris had ordered removed from Florida's voter rolls before the election. Virtually every voter purged was innocent of any crime except, in most cases, Voting While Black. Who came up with this electoral hit list that gave Bush the White House? ChoicePoint, Inc."
Palast
Monday, May 15, 2006
Worlds in Collision
Lots of things seem likely to happen today:
Karl Rove appears likely to be indicted for obstruction of Justice for lying to Federal investigators in the CIA leak case.
George Bush will speak on tv for the 35th time this year. He will stand tall and announce that he will deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to defend and protect America's borders... At the same time, Bush will not mention that he himself blocked 10,000 additional border guards last year.
Hey that was a mistake, and the Bush administration doesn't make mistakes, or admit them anyway. Besides, this is an election year and Bush needs a new enemy that won't make him look like an idiot this time.
Fox News will then trot out several talking heads to confuse their viewers into thinking this is a bold action on the part of the President.
Missing will be The obvious fact that the swarms of cheap labor illegals from Mexico are coming here because of Bush's corporate masters who fund his administration with a great wash of campaign donations and seats on corporate jets.
Also missing will be any word on the impending collision between Bush's requirement of an enemy for his conservative voter base and the money from his donors who are fueling the illegals penetration of our borders in the first place.
Immanuel Velikovsky...Where are you now that we really need you?
The charade can't last for long, but it appears that Bush is betting that America can be distracted for the six months it will take to get through another election, thereby saving himself from impeachment and Dick Cheney from jail.
Courage,
Steve
Karl Rove appears likely to be indicted for obstruction of Justice for lying to Federal investigators in the CIA leak case.
George Bush will speak on tv for the 35th time this year. He will stand tall and announce that he will deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to defend and protect America's borders... At the same time, Bush will not mention that he himself blocked 10,000 additional border guards last year.
Hey that was a mistake, and the Bush administration doesn't make mistakes, or admit them anyway. Besides, this is an election year and Bush needs a new enemy that won't make him look like an idiot this time.
Fox News will then trot out several talking heads to confuse their viewers into thinking this is a bold action on the part of the President.
Missing will be The obvious fact that the swarms of cheap labor illegals from Mexico are coming here because of Bush's corporate masters who fund his administration with a great wash of campaign donations and seats on corporate jets.
Also missing will be any word on the impending collision between Bush's requirement of an enemy for his conservative voter base and the money from his donors who are fueling the illegals penetration of our borders in the first place.
Immanuel Velikovsky...Where are you now that we really need you?
The charade can't last for long, but it appears that Bush is betting that America can be distracted for the six months it will take to get through another election, thereby saving himself from impeachment and Dick Cheney from jail.
Courage,
Steve
Friday, May 12, 2006
News to Me
You know how frustating it is to try to discuss something with someone who simply believes something, and that something simply isn't true?
Like: "Saddam was involved in 9-11"
I personally hold the very strong belief that what separates Americans from the rest of the world, is our belief in fair play. I could be wrong, of course, but I cling to that with all the strength residing in my own personal reservoir of cognitive dissonance.
We make judgement calls based on the knowlege we have. Given the knowlege, I believe we tend to do the right thing as a Nation. That, of course, is the problem. As right wing talking heads rail about the "Liberal Media", every single peer reviewed academic study ever done comes to the conclusion that there is no Liberal bias. In fact...the truth is just the opposite. Sunday morning talk shows are overwhelmingly populated with Republicans and Conservative think tank denizens. Liberals and moderates combined make up less than one third of the people who give their opinions, and that is only on the broadcast networks. Fox network is simply a propaganda organ for the various factions of the right wing. And "Propoganda" has been raised from art to science by Republicans...So much so, that even THEY can't always tell when they themselves are lying.
As an aside...Ever wonder why the Religious right never spends much time on the "Thy Shalt Not Lie" commandment? It really screws up their version of things when you have to tell the truth all the time.
Anyway...There have been several studies that show Fox news as a vehicle for false information. Here is an interesting survey on the 2004 election, and before you read it, you should know that at least three republican operatives have already been convicted of fixing that election, (the Republican party spent over $3,000,000.00 on a Republican state chairman's defense who was convicted anyway) :
Bigger
Of course, you Fox News watchers didn't know that did you? Did you know that viewers who watch The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are way more informed than viewers of Fox News? Those aren't even real news shows
...But then neither are the ones on Fox.
Democracy demands an informed voting electorate. Unless we reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in media, Democracy is an illusion.
Courage,
Steve
The whole article is here
Like: "Saddam was involved in 9-11"
I personally hold the very strong belief that what separates Americans from the rest of the world, is our belief in fair play. I could be wrong, of course, but I cling to that with all the strength residing in my own personal reservoir of cognitive dissonance.
We make judgement calls based on the knowlege we have. Given the knowlege, I believe we tend to do the right thing as a Nation. That, of course, is the problem. As right wing talking heads rail about the "Liberal Media", every single peer reviewed academic study ever done comes to the conclusion that there is no Liberal bias. In fact...the truth is just the opposite. Sunday morning talk shows are overwhelmingly populated with Republicans and Conservative think tank denizens. Liberals and moderates combined make up less than one third of the people who give their opinions, and that is only on the broadcast networks. Fox network is simply a propaganda organ for the various factions of the right wing. And "Propoganda" has been raised from art to science by Republicans...So much so, that even THEY can't always tell when they themselves are lying.
As an aside...Ever wonder why the Religious right never spends much time on the "Thy Shalt Not Lie" commandment? It really screws up their version of things when you have to tell the truth all the time.
Anyway...There have been several studies that show Fox news as a vehicle for false information. Here is an interesting survey on the 2004 election, and before you read it, you should know that at least three republican operatives have already been convicted of fixing that election, (the Republican party spent over $3,000,000.00 on a Republican state chairman's defense who was convicted anyway) :
BiggerOf course, you Fox News watchers didn't know that did you? Did you know that viewers who watch The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are way more informed than viewers of Fox News? Those aren't even real news shows
...But then neither are the ones on Fox.
Democracy demands an informed voting electorate. Unless we reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in media, Democracy is an illusion.
Courage,
Steve
The whole article is here
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Sign Wars
(Thursday, 7:27 am...mature bald eagle flying in the wrong direction, upstream, carrying something. I wonder where the nest is? It will be very hard to find without a helicopter, because of the lush forest in the gorge. I guess that's why they put the nest up here.)
Sign wars have started! Our county has a several hotly contested races this cycle, and there's a longstanding Southern tradition that the person with the most political signs in the most places is the best candidate. This situation won't be helped by the republican Senate primary, which will pour millions into roadside trash.
Signs will go up in a Darwinian battle for the optimum spots. In the night, some will be uprooted and take a pickup truck ride to oblivion. Most of the time, they show up after election day in a back road ditch. Every so often someone will get busted with a load of stolen signs, criminals to the opposition candidates, fallen heroes to their own.
It was classic entertainment to watch certain prime areas cover up with signs, re-cover and cover again. With the sleaze factor pervasive in local politics, the workers for some of the candidates are always willing to throw out sportsmanship and fairplay, nailing their man's signs up over that "other" guy's. That "Other" guy comes along and one-ups the foul and starts the play over...And so it goes until the limits of the ground's ability to support metal fence posts is reached, or election day...whichever comes first.
It is different for me this time, since I am now a campaign worker in one of the candidates in the County Mayor Race. I have a pickup truck. There's a temptation that brews itself up, when I drive by the park entrance, a prime sign breeding ground, and see one of the other candidate's signs placed strategically blocking mu guy's. "No fair!" I think, but then I laugh.
These things are so divisive in local communities. I won't be sucked into that. Both of these candidates are my friends and I know them well. I am treating this like I'm hiring someone for a job after years spent interviewing prospective employees. It's not a tough choice for someone like me who knows all three candidates and has the ability to separate myself from personal loyalties and look at what would be best in the long run. I suspect this is not a talent you are born with but one that you have to develop by making mistakes. I made several mistakes of that type as I helped build a tiny company into a big one. People decisions are the hardest and most crucial and I have some spectacularly bad choices on the books.
Look at the resume and not at the friendship... easier to type than to do.
Well, there's not much time until August 2, 2006. I need to go pound in some signs.
Peace,
Steve
www.elect-tyler.com
Sign wars have started! Our county has a several hotly contested races this cycle, and there's a longstanding Southern tradition that the person with the most political signs in the most places is the best candidate. This situation won't be helped by the republican Senate primary, which will pour millions into roadside trash.
Signs will go up in a Darwinian battle for the optimum spots. In the night, some will be uprooted and take a pickup truck ride to oblivion. Most of the time, they show up after election day in a back road ditch. Every so often someone will get busted with a load of stolen signs, criminals to the opposition candidates, fallen heroes to their own.
It was classic entertainment to watch certain prime areas cover up with signs, re-cover and cover again. With the sleaze factor pervasive in local politics, the workers for some of the candidates are always willing to throw out sportsmanship and fairplay, nailing their man's signs up over that "other" guy's. That "Other" guy comes along and one-ups the foul and starts the play over...And so it goes until the limits of the ground's ability to support metal fence posts is reached, or election day...whichever comes first.
It is different for me this time, since I am now a campaign worker in one of the candidates in the County Mayor Race. I have a pickup truck. There's a temptation that brews itself up, when I drive by the park entrance, a prime sign breeding ground, and see one of the other candidate's signs placed strategically blocking mu guy's. "No fair!" I think, but then I laugh.
These things are so divisive in local communities. I won't be sucked into that. Both of these candidates are my friends and I know them well. I am treating this like I'm hiring someone for a job after years spent interviewing prospective employees. It's not a tough choice for someone like me who knows all three candidates and has the ability to separate myself from personal loyalties and look at what would be best in the long run. I suspect this is not a talent you are born with but one that you have to develop by making mistakes. I made several mistakes of that type as I helped build a tiny company into a big one. People decisions are the hardest and most crucial and I have some spectacularly bad choices on the books.
Look at the resume and not at the friendship... easier to type than to do.
Well, there's not much time until August 2, 2006. I need to go pound in some signs.
Peace,
Steve
www.elect-tyler.com
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The race is on...
The great Race is on!
There is a growing public awareness, not only of the abject incompetency of the Bush Administration, but of the maggoted corruption infecting the crucial institutions that hold this country together. Bush plays the Judas goat, bleating, "Terrorists!" while his minions infect and destroy the very core governmental systems that absolutely must remain functional in order for us to protect ourselves.
While making public speeches saying they are only involved in wiretaps which target "foreigners" calls, Bush knew full well that General Michael Hayden was using the National Security Agency to carry out illegal domestic spying. Not only that, but the actual technological sying was being handed over to private corporations.
Think about it...the powers of the Central Intelligence Agency are being handed over to your telephone company by President George Bush.
The illusionists now controlling the Fifth Estate, the people who hold the sacred duty to expose corrupton and tell America the truth, have become fat addicted prostitutes, complicit in the sleight of hand required to pull off the county's enslavement to corporatists.
When our media should be agast at Orrin hatch using the NSA to spy on his political enemies, they have instead gone apoplectic at another drunken Kennedy wrecking his car.
When our News programs should be headlining the bribing of high CIA officials with hookers and wondering if they are being blackmailed at the same time, we read instead about hispanic terrorists marching in our streets in the guise of immigrants searching for a job.
When our once trusted and respected newspapers should be exposing the wanton disregard of the Bush Administration for the highest law of America, the Constitution of the United States of America, they are instead announcing the capture of the number two man in Al Queda...for the third time...which will turn out to be false news and Osama seems to be doing just fine, thank you.
When they should be laying out the incredible web of scandal after scandal by the GOP, they prostitute themselves into merely printing GOP press releases claiming Democrats are mired in the Abromoff scandals too, which is a singular and transparent lie.
So the Great Race is on!
The race against time for the Republicans...The race to see which happens first...
The time when enough people in America figuring out exactly how corrupt the Republican party has become...
Or the time in which the offices of American government have become so corrupted, sold out to corporate entities, that justice will become a myth....Replaced instead by the voracious hunger of entities that will never stop eating until there is no more food.
Food? That would be You, America!
Good Bye,
Steve
******
And the media should be reporting:
.....In 2001 Verizon, along with CACI (a defense contractor shepherded by Abramoff that heavily contributed to the GOP), was awarded part of a multi-billion dollar NSA contract to privatize the NSA's information technology systems, capabilities that were then used by the Bush Administration to carry out illegal domestic spying. This massive privatization of NSA was managed by its Director at the time, Gen. Michael Hayden. As part of that ten-year program, code-named Project Groundbreaker, NSA surveillance systems continue to be developed, operated and maintained by private sector IT companies...
.....The surveillance mechanism of privatized intel agencies, along with allied foreign intelligence operations inside the U.S., have been used for domestic partisan advantage and private gain. In return, GOP-allied contractors have been massively enriched by inflated defense and counter-terrorism spending. This is a criminal conspiracy that the FBI is only now beginning to break up after years of obstruction by the GOP. It's a criminal subversion of the political process that threatens the constitutional basis of the American republic.
Kos has the Juice
There is a growing public awareness, not only of the abject incompetency of the Bush Administration, but of the maggoted corruption infecting the crucial institutions that hold this country together. Bush plays the Judas goat, bleating, "Terrorists!" while his minions infect and destroy the very core governmental systems that absolutely must remain functional in order for us to protect ourselves.
While making public speeches saying they are only involved in wiretaps which target "foreigners" calls, Bush knew full well that General Michael Hayden was using the National Security Agency to carry out illegal domestic spying. Not only that, but the actual technological sying was being handed over to private corporations.
Think about it...the powers of the Central Intelligence Agency are being handed over to your telephone company by President George Bush.
The illusionists now controlling the Fifth Estate, the people who hold the sacred duty to expose corrupton and tell America the truth, have become fat addicted prostitutes, complicit in the sleight of hand required to pull off the county's enslavement to corporatists.
When our media should be agast at Orrin hatch using the NSA to spy on his political enemies, they have instead gone apoplectic at another drunken Kennedy wrecking his car.
When our News programs should be headlining the bribing of high CIA officials with hookers and wondering if they are being blackmailed at the same time, we read instead about hispanic terrorists marching in our streets in the guise of immigrants searching for a job.
When our once trusted and respected newspapers should be exposing the wanton disregard of the Bush Administration for the highest law of America, the Constitution of the United States of America, they are instead announcing the capture of the number two man in Al Queda...for the third time...which will turn out to be false news and Osama seems to be doing just fine, thank you.
When they should be laying out the incredible web of scandal after scandal by the GOP, they prostitute themselves into merely printing GOP press releases claiming Democrats are mired in the Abromoff scandals too, which is a singular and transparent lie.
So the Great Race is on!
The race against time for the Republicans...The race to see which happens first...
The time when enough people in America figuring out exactly how corrupt the Republican party has become...
Or the time in which the offices of American government have become so corrupted, sold out to corporate entities, that justice will become a myth....Replaced instead by the voracious hunger of entities that will never stop eating until there is no more food.
Food? That would be You, America!
Good Bye,
Steve
******
And the media should be reporting:
.....In 2001 Verizon, along with CACI (a defense contractor shepherded by Abramoff that heavily contributed to the GOP), was awarded part of a multi-billion dollar NSA contract to privatize the NSA's information technology systems, capabilities that were then used by the Bush Administration to carry out illegal domestic spying. This massive privatization of NSA was managed by its Director at the time, Gen. Michael Hayden. As part of that ten-year program, code-named Project Groundbreaker, NSA surveillance systems continue to be developed, operated and maintained by private sector IT companies...
.....The surveillance mechanism of privatized intel agencies, along with allied foreign intelligence operations inside the U.S., have been used for domestic partisan advantage and private gain. In return, GOP-allied contractors have been massively enriched by inflated defense and counter-terrorism spending. This is a criminal conspiracy that the FBI is only now beginning to break up after years of obstruction by the GOP. It's a criminal subversion of the political process that threatens the constitutional basis of the American republic.
Kos has the Juice
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Washington Ho..
When I was 17 or 18, I hit a big time college with student protests and hippies and draft dodgers. It's amazing how much a teenager will think about things if they think they might be drafted and die. Up until then, I had seen the letters of the CIA and the FBI in a high school textbook but that was about it...Now they would become matters of life and death. Suddenly, I had friends who were dead. Killed in war...A war which no one could explain.
The Viet Nam war had no real purpose except to make defense contractors very rich. Tens of thousands of American kids got killed for some obscure reason that no one could really figure out called the "Domino Theory". Even after we elected Richard Nixon because he said he had a secret plant to end the war, even more American chldren were sent to their deaths. The needs of the defense contractors were just too great to be opposed.
"We can't just cut and run," they said..."We are not cowards." "Americans don't surender."
So an additional 30,000 or so Americans died while the Nixon Administration imploded in its own political juices and came up with some obviously transparent lie about "Withdrawal with Honor", which I have likened to some Pope approved birth control method. Neither one works, by the way.
America tucked its tail and ran. We all saw it on tv. Mothers and fathers orphaned their babies by throwing them into the open door of a helicopter as it lifted off from the roof of the American Embassy. A combat boot kicked out at the screaming locals who were trying to climb onto the chopper as it left them behind to serve their death sentence as American sympathizers. It was the end of the world...Everyone had said so. If we don't stay the course, Vietnam and America would be lost, somehow.
They weren't.
But hundreds of thousands of returning American troops were wounded in their hearts and minds, far beyond what anyone could have predicted. Part of their goodness was gone.
The CIA had wanted this war and the FBI took down anyone who opposed it. Today this has all changed. The CIA never wanted the Iraq war. The CIA warned the President that Osama was determined to attack inside the United States. The CIA eventually got eviscerated.
Porter Goss was installed as CIA head in order to turn the CIA into a political tool. Good old Porter brought in a few underlings with no experience in covert activity, but lots of political connections. They also didn't have the discipline required of intelligence operatives and they apparently lacked something else an intelligence operative requires...Intelligence!
So there's this floating card game with lobbyists and hookers at the Watergate Hotel in Washington and these idiots can't stay away from it. One Congressman has already gone to jail for it and several more (all Republicans, btw) are now being fitted for an orange jumpsuit. But does this hit the news bigtime? Hell no...But just let a Kennedy crash a car, by golly. National security is getting totally compromised and nary a peep out of any of the big news orgs, except for the Baltimore Sun.
Ok, so Goss has resigned and his hooker whipped flunkie named Foggo have resigned. Bush names the one guy absolutely guaranteed to make everyone realize that the Constitution is an outdated document.
Here's Molly:
"So now they’re turning the CIA over to a general who not only ran the warrantless wiretap program but still can’t figure out that it’s unconstitutional. Why do I get the feeling this is W. and Karl again flipping the finger at some grown-up they don’t like? "
From here on, Molly Ivins says it far better than I...
Washington Ho
I leave you hoping that you folks can draw your own parallels with today's situation before all of our children also have friends who are dead in war.
Peace,
Steve
The Viet Nam war had no real purpose except to make defense contractors very rich. Tens of thousands of American kids got killed for some obscure reason that no one could really figure out called the "Domino Theory". Even after we elected Richard Nixon because he said he had a secret plant to end the war, even more American chldren were sent to their deaths. The needs of the defense contractors were just too great to be opposed.
"We can't just cut and run," they said..."We are not cowards." "Americans don't surender."
So an additional 30,000 or so Americans died while the Nixon Administration imploded in its own political juices and came up with some obviously transparent lie about "Withdrawal with Honor", which I have likened to some Pope approved birth control method. Neither one works, by the way.
America tucked its tail and ran. We all saw it on tv. Mothers and fathers orphaned their babies by throwing them into the open door of a helicopter as it lifted off from the roof of the American Embassy. A combat boot kicked out at the screaming locals who were trying to climb onto the chopper as it left them behind to serve their death sentence as American sympathizers. It was the end of the world...Everyone had said so. If we don't stay the course, Vietnam and America would be lost, somehow.
They weren't.
But hundreds of thousands of returning American troops were wounded in their hearts and minds, far beyond what anyone could have predicted. Part of their goodness was gone.
The CIA had wanted this war and the FBI took down anyone who opposed it. Today this has all changed. The CIA never wanted the Iraq war. The CIA warned the President that Osama was determined to attack inside the United States. The CIA eventually got eviscerated.
Porter Goss was installed as CIA head in order to turn the CIA into a political tool. Good old Porter brought in a few underlings with no experience in covert activity, but lots of political connections. They also didn't have the discipline required of intelligence operatives and they apparently lacked something else an intelligence operative requires...Intelligence!
So there's this floating card game with lobbyists and hookers at the Watergate Hotel in Washington and these idiots can't stay away from it. One Congressman has already gone to jail for it and several more (all Republicans, btw) are now being fitted for an orange jumpsuit. But does this hit the news bigtime? Hell no...But just let a Kennedy crash a car, by golly. National security is getting totally compromised and nary a peep out of any of the big news orgs, except for the Baltimore Sun.
Ok, so Goss has resigned and his hooker whipped flunkie named Foggo have resigned. Bush names the one guy absolutely guaranteed to make everyone realize that the Constitution is an outdated document.
Here's Molly:
"So now they’re turning the CIA over to a general who not only ran the warrantless wiretap program but still can’t figure out that it’s unconstitutional. Why do I get the feeling this is W. and Karl again flipping the finger at some grown-up they don’t like? "
From here on, Molly Ivins says it far better than I...
Washington Ho
I leave you hoping that you folks can draw your own parallels with today's situation before all of our children also have friends who are dead in war.
Peace,
Steve
Monday, May 08, 2006
"Just because those obvious Liberals at Harvard have conducted a good scientific study with excellent methodology and solid data doesn't mean they are right," said an official from the flat earth society.
"Science just doesn't get it," she said. "This is because Science is bogged down with facts and mathematics, and is simply unable to get past logic and reason in order to make valid determinations based on superstition and ignorance. No study can be considered valid if it simply determines the truth, without taking wishful thinking into consideration ."
What has these people in such a tizzie? Here are some real quotes from the so called "Concerned Women for America" group...They say they are a "Think Tank", but I don't know so much about the THINK part. Here are a few statements issued from their global headquarters located in the State of Denial:
"Those who make virginity pledges have shown greater resolve to save sex for marriage."
"The Harvard report is wrong," said Janice Crouse, a fellow at a Concerned Women for America think tank.
"This study is in direct contradiction with trends we have been seeing in recent years," Crouse said.
These fine people base their position on the fact, and folks it is definitely a fact, that when they sit their daughters down at the family table and ask them point blank in front of god and everybody, "Have you been having sex?" ...The overwhelming majority of these fine christian girls say, "No, Daddy, I swear!"
"So there!" said sister Janice Crouse. "That proves it."
The Harvard Study found this:
...Virginity pledges, in which young people vow to abstain from sex until marriage, have little staying power among those who take them...
More than half of the adolescents who make the signed public promises give up on their pledges within a year...
Well me and sister Janice just simply don't believe it and we are going to carry right along demanding that our virginal children remain that way, And since they are going to stay virgins, they don't need to know a darn thing about birth control, safe sex, STD's, or personal health care, either.
So there,
Steve
that stupid study
"Science just doesn't get it," she said. "This is because Science is bogged down with facts and mathematics, and is simply unable to get past logic and reason in order to make valid determinations based on superstition and ignorance. No study can be considered valid if it simply determines the truth, without taking wishful thinking into consideration ."
What has these people in such a tizzie? Here are some real quotes from the so called "Concerned Women for America" group...They say they are a "Think Tank", but I don't know so much about the THINK part. Here are a few statements issued from their global headquarters located in the State of Denial:
"Those who make virginity pledges have shown greater resolve to save sex for marriage."
"The Harvard report is wrong," said Janice Crouse, a fellow at a Concerned Women for America think tank.
"This study is in direct contradiction with trends we have been seeing in recent years," Crouse said.
These fine people base their position on the fact, and folks it is definitely a fact, that when they sit their daughters down at the family table and ask them point blank in front of god and everybody, "Have you been having sex?" ...The overwhelming majority of these fine christian girls say, "No, Daddy, I swear!"
"So there!" said sister Janice Crouse. "That proves it."
The Harvard Study found this:
...Virginity pledges, in which young people vow to abstain from sex until marriage, have little staying power among those who take them...
More than half of the adolescents who make the signed public promises give up on their pledges within a year...
Well me and sister Janice just simply don't believe it and we are going to carry right along demanding that our virginal children remain that way, And since they are going to stay virgins, they don't need to know a darn thing about birth control, safe sex, STD's, or personal health care, either.
So there,
Steve
that stupid study
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Porter Goss Medal of Freedom
Neither I, nor the General have any idea why he resigned...But the General thinks he deserves a medal for leading the CIA during several months of troubled times. A special medal...One with special significance for the Head of the CIA...Former head...Well... Head... anyway!
Make it bigger so I can see the girl better...please?
The General his self
And if Jesus winks at you?...So be it!
Make it bigger so I can see the girl better...please?The General his self
And if Jesus winks at you?...So be it!
Taking...
I was sitting at a Conservation Commission meeting when the guy from National Coal said something to the effect that outlawing any coal mining activity that would damage stream quality would be a "Taking of the first order"...
I thought about that... Who owns the natural state of the world?
You know...the "healthy" one?
Bill, the Coal Lobbyist, seems to think that his company "Owns" the right to destroy water quality and preventing them from doing that would be one of those "Takings" often spoken of by the folks who think the right to make money trumps the right to a healthy world.
He claims righteousness for his Corporation because they aren't going to dump nearly as much acid mining run-off into the New River in Tennessee as those other guys. I guess he doesn't want the fact that the water quality result he advocates would pretty much mess up the river once again. I say "again" because the New River is a success story in recovery. Most of the time, if you just quit doing the things that are ruining the planet, the Planet, that would be Earth in this case, will quit being ruined.
This is the case with the New, even though the black sand on it's shores is coal dust, still leached into the watershed by coal mining. Looking at the info I was given, it looks like the coal industry is steadily eliminating its labor force with new processes. 100,000 jobs lost in the last few decades. Strip mining uses big machines and fewer workers. It is also freaking devastating to the environment...takes about 50 years for a reasonable recovery to the point that water running off the mined land is no longer detrimental to stream quality.
But somebody can make a lot of money if they can mine coal without having to worry about polluting everything downstream of their mines. It's about the money. It is so much easier to make money if you can forget about the obligation of maintaining a healthy planet. Of course, without a healthy planet, some living things get sick and some of them die. Human beings would fit into the "some living things" category.
Wealthy and Dead is not a desirable state, in my personal opinion. Too bad corporate lackeys seem to think it's an ok thing. It actually isn't "righteousness" they are interested in, by the way...the correct term would be...
"Mighteousness"
And I suppose they have it.
It will take a bit of courage to take back this Mighteousness for the real people who should have it.
That would be us!
Peace,
Steve
I thought about that... Who owns the natural state of the world?
You know...the "healthy" one?
Bill, the Coal Lobbyist, seems to think that his company "Owns" the right to destroy water quality and preventing them from doing that would be one of those "Takings" often spoken of by the folks who think the right to make money trumps the right to a healthy world.
He claims righteousness for his Corporation because they aren't going to dump nearly as much acid mining run-off into the New River in Tennessee as those other guys. I guess he doesn't want the fact that the water quality result he advocates would pretty much mess up the river once again. I say "again" because the New River is a success story in recovery. Most of the time, if you just quit doing the things that are ruining the planet, the Planet, that would be Earth in this case, will quit being ruined.
This is the case with the New, even though the black sand on it's shores is coal dust, still leached into the watershed by coal mining. Looking at the info I was given, it looks like the coal industry is steadily eliminating its labor force with new processes. 100,000 jobs lost in the last few decades. Strip mining uses big machines and fewer workers. It is also freaking devastating to the environment...takes about 50 years for a reasonable recovery to the point that water running off the mined land is no longer detrimental to stream quality.
But somebody can make a lot of money if they can mine coal without having to worry about polluting everything downstream of their mines. It's about the money. It is so much easier to make money if you can forget about the obligation of maintaining a healthy planet. Of course, without a healthy planet, some living things get sick and some of them die. Human beings would fit into the "some living things" category.
Wealthy and Dead is not a desirable state, in my personal opinion. Too bad corporate lackeys seem to think it's an ok thing. It actually isn't "righteousness" they are interested in, by the way...the correct term would be...
"Mighteousness"
And I suppose they have it.
It will take a bit of courage to take back this Mighteousness for the real people who should have it.
That would be us!
Peace,
Steve
Friday, May 05, 2006
Who?
How about this statement:
"Believing that God created the universe in six days is a form of superstitious paganism"
Or this one:
"....creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events."
Now before you think I've gone off on another anti religion rant, I had better tell you that these statements came from a spokesman for the Holy Catholic Church, who also said this about the Pope himself:
"It's not like he has a magic power, that God whispers the truth in his ear," he said.
Well, sure...That would be George W. Bush, anyway, to hear him tell it. But get this...the person who actually said this was the Pope's official astronomer.
Vatican Astronomer
"Believing that God created the universe in six days is a form of superstitious paganism"
Or this one:
"....creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events."
Now before you think I've gone off on another anti religion rant, I had better tell you that these statements came from a spokesman for the Holy Catholic Church, who also said this about the Pope himself:
"It's not like he has a magic power, that God whispers the truth in his ear," he said.
Well, sure...That would be George W. Bush, anyway, to hear him tell it. But get this...the person who actually said this was the Pope's official astronomer.
Vatican Astronomer
Ole, Monsieur...
I'm sure you already know this, but the cross cultural drinking game we call "Cinco de Mayo" is a regional holiday in Mexico that celebrates the defeat of the French by the Mexicans at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
This severely pissed off the French, since that Bonaparte guy wanted his cousin Max to have his own country, so about a year later the French showed up with five times as many troops and kicked some Mexican butt. Archduke Maximilian was then installed as the ruler of all Mexico...lasted about three years. Realizing that old Max would probably shift the alchohol producing regions from cacti to grapes, thereby screwing up the supply of Mezcal and Tequila into the United States, the Americans decided that god wanted Max dead. They sent money and mercenaries and so Napolean's Cousin Max's shirt wound up in a Mexican museum, so everyone can go look at all the bullet holes in it.
Bummer for cousin Max, but hey, he's famous, right?
See...The US government had recently taken over by early republicans during the rein of Lincoln, and they wisely forsaw the need for cheap labor coming up 150 years later as well as the need to consolidate the takeover of Texas and California. (A bunch of Tennessee natives led by Sam Houston were involved in some of this and some even wound up with their names on the Alamo wall as dead people.)
See...If some Austrian French guy managed to organize the Mexicans, he might realize that California and Texas were gonna have a bunch of oil wells in a hundred years and want them back. Nothing scares any world leader more than the thought of a bunch of French Oil barons controlling the world, so they decided to save it for the Saudis.
So "Cinco de Mayo" is like the Mexican version of celebrating something like the time cousin Bevis poked the bull with the pitchfork and laughed about it as he ran off but the bull caught up with him later on and stomped him into a cow pie.
So today we party!...And Just so's you and your friends can join in the celebration and get stomped yourselves, here is a fun thing to do:
Get some limes. The big fresh ones are best.
Squeeze a bunch of them into juice but keep a lime wedge to wipe around the glass to make the salt stick.
Wipe a lime wedge around the edge of a glass to make the salt stick.
Put salt in a saucer and smush the rim of the glass into it.
Pour equal parts, Tequila, lime juice, and Triple Sec into the glass.
Add ice and test...
Adjust recipe and test again...Note: It rarely needs more Triple sec...(whatever that is...)
Repeat...
Hide your car keys so that you will not find them for 24 hours and continue research and development and you'll soon find yourself stomped in the fine tradition of the Mexican French.
Cheers,
Steve
Just in case you still want to know more about General Zaragoza:
Ole
This severely pissed off the French, since that Bonaparte guy wanted his cousin Max to have his own country, so about a year later the French showed up with five times as many troops and kicked some Mexican butt. Archduke Maximilian was then installed as the ruler of all Mexico...lasted about three years. Realizing that old Max would probably shift the alchohol producing regions from cacti to grapes, thereby screwing up the supply of Mezcal and Tequila into the United States, the Americans decided that god wanted Max dead. They sent money and mercenaries and so Napolean's Cousin Max's shirt wound up in a Mexican museum, so everyone can go look at all the bullet holes in it.
Bummer for cousin Max, but hey, he's famous, right?
See...The US government had recently taken over by early republicans during the rein of Lincoln, and they wisely forsaw the need for cheap labor coming up 150 years later as well as the need to consolidate the takeover of Texas and California. (A bunch of Tennessee natives led by Sam Houston were involved in some of this and some even wound up with their names on the Alamo wall as dead people.)
See...If some Austrian French guy managed to organize the Mexicans, he might realize that California and Texas were gonna have a bunch of oil wells in a hundred years and want them back. Nothing scares any world leader more than the thought of a bunch of French Oil barons controlling the world, so they decided to save it for the Saudis.
So "Cinco de Mayo" is like the Mexican version of celebrating something like the time cousin Bevis poked the bull with the pitchfork and laughed about it as he ran off but the bull caught up with him later on and stomped him into a cow pie.
So today we party!...And Just so's you and your friends can join in the celebration and get stomped yourselves, here is a fun thing to do:
Get some limes. The big fresh ones are best.
Squeeze a bunch of them into juice but keep a lime wedge to wipe around the glass to make the salt stick.
Wipe a lime wedge around the edge of a glass to make the salt stick.
Put salt in a saucer and smush the rim of the glass into it.
Pour equal parts, Tequila, lime juice, and Triple Sec into the glass.
Add ice and test...
Adjust recipe and test again...Note: It rarely needs more Triple sec...(whatever that is...)
Repeat...
Hide your car keys so that you will not find them for 24 hours and continue research and development and you'll soon find yourself stomped in the fine tradition of the Mexican French.
Cheers,
Steve
Just in case you still want to know more about General Zaragoza:
Ole
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Reading Assignment
A Reagan era General points out that there are no possible desirable outcomes of the Iraq war, due to massive bungling onthe part of the Bush Administration. When you find yourself deep in a hole you've dug for yourself...the first thing you ought to do is stop digging.
Cut and Run? You bet...
general principles
Jon Meacham, an editor of Newsweek, has a sensible take on Christianity and its place in American Democracy. Here is his look at the birth story of Jesus. This is very timely since the season of Jesus' birth would be about now...
Story
Gotta run...traveling today.
Peace,
Steve
Cut and Run? You bet...
general principles
Jon Meacham, an editor of Newsweek, has a sensible take on Christianity and its place in American Democracy. Here is his look at the birth story of Jesus. This is very timely since the season of Jesus' birth would be about now...
Story
Gotta run...traveling today.
Peace,
Steve
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ah, Tragedy...
No good art comes of happiness and tranquility. Sorry about that. Now that things are really screwed up, we're finaly getting some good art.
AS we endure the worst Presidency in history by almost any objective standard, the one thing we are seeing is a rennaisance of the protest song. Neil Young, the Dixie Chicks, Green Day, and others are putting them out and feeling so strongly about the seriousness of the problem that they are making them available for FREE on the Internets.
Here's a new one by the Blakes, Norman and Nancy. I first saw them at the Moonshadow Lounge near Atlanta...It was exactly one gazzillion years ago today, so this is a good way to offer tribute.
Don't be Afraid of the Neo-cons
Norman and Nancy Blake
(A bunch of verses later it ends)
Hear it all
Listening to the Blakes is like sitting on the back porch with a glass of iced tea, watching the kids play in the yard.
Norman and Nancy
Bigger
AS we endure the worst Presidency in history by almost any objective standard, the one thing we are seeing is a rennaisance of the protest song. Neil Young, the Dixie Chicks, Green Day, and others are putting them out and feeling so strongly about the seriousness of the problem that they are making them available for FREE on the Internets.
Here's a new one by the Blakes, Norman and Nancy. I first saw them at the Moonshadow Lounge near Atlanta...It was exactly one gazzillion years ago today, so this is a good way to offer tribute.
Don't be Afraid of the Neo-cons
Norman and Nancy Blake
And away down yonder in the Florida sand
Old Jeb Bush is a mighty man
He told little brother, don't be blue
For I'ma gonna hand this thing to you
The churches all got on board
In the Holy name of our Lord
They took him for their favorite son
And they sent him away to Washington
Now Georgie Bush, he is the man
He landed in Afghanistan
We'll get Osama, was his crack
And now we're stranded in Iraq
(A bunch of verses later it ends)
Hear it all
Listening to the Blakes is like sitting on the back porch with a glass of iced tea, watching the kids play in the yard.
Norman and Nancy
Bigger
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Dang..Missed it..
Somehow, I missed my invitation to the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Sounds like it was a lot of fun. President bush had a comedy routine where he mispronounced the word "nuclear" and got corrected by a look alike double.
CNN is all over the President's bit with his other self. What you're not seeing on CNN is the routine that Stephen Colbert performed after that. When Don Imus mentioned the "Blue dress" in front of the Clintons it became national news. So far this morn, NBC hasn't mentioned Colbert once.
Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, were there, and so was a Doobie Brother...wearing a kilt.
...Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president’s side and the vice president’s side." He also reflected on the good old days, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, "You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction."
Here"s E&P with their take...Damn, I wish I hadn't overlooked my invite...Bush was "Not Amused"...
Editor and Publisher
CNN is all over the President's bit with his other self. What you're not seeing on CNN is the routine that Stephen Colbert performed after that. When Don Imus mentioned the "Blue dress" in front of the Clintons it became national news. So far this morn, NBC hasn't mentioned Colbert once.
Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, were there, and so was a Doobie Brother...wearing a kilt.
...Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president’s side and the vice president’s side." He also reflected on the good old days, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.
Addressing the reporters, he said, "You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction."
Here"s E&P with their take...Damn, I wish I hadn't overlooked my invite...Bush was "Not Amused"...
Editor and Publisher
Friday, April 28, 2006
Vengence is Mine...
With the advent of DNA testing, over 100 people...People who were convicted and sentenced to death by the Courts of our land...Over 100 people have been found to have been wrongly convicted and sentenced to die. Convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Can you say, "Innocent" boys and girls?
For myself, I do not want any government killing people on my behalf. Put them away until they die. Sure it cost money but so does an execution. About the same in today's society...and locking people up instead of killing them does something else...
It takes away the possibility of misuse by our government.
Prosecutorial misconduct has been dicovered time after time in cases of this sort. Pressure on the American Justice system is exerted from many directions, but the most heinous is the pressure to convict someone at all costs from within.
There is no question that we have executed innocent people in America...No Question, whatsoever.
But there's more to this than just innocence and wrongful killing...Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says that the condemmed can suffer immensely as they die. It's just fine with him.
A good god fearing man, apparently, Justice Scalia. He and the other conservative judges laughed about methods of killing prisoners as they sat in deliberation on the bench of the highest court of our Nation.
The recent Bush appointees laughed along. amused that there are laws against cruelty that prevent certain methods being used to kill a stray mongrel dog but those same methods can be used to execute a human.
Our Conservative Justices seem to like the idea of Torture.
Bastards!
Peace,
Steve
High Court Justices Clash Over Executions
Can you say, "Innocent" boys and girls?
For myself, I do not want any government killing people on my behalf. Put them away until they die. Sure it cost money but so does an execution. About the same in today's society...and locking people up instead of killing them does something else...
It takes away the possibility of misuse by our government.
Prosecutorial misconduct has been dicovered time after time in cases of this sort. Pressure on the American Justice system is exerted from many directions, but the most heinous is the pressure to convict someone at all costs from within.
There is no question that we have executed innocent people in America...No Question, whatsoever.
But there's more to this than just innocence and wrongful killing...Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says that the condemmed can suffer immensely as they die. It's just fine with him.
A good god fearing man, apparently, Justice Scalia. He and the other conservative judges laughed about methods of killing prisoners as they sat in deliberation on the bench of the highest court of our Nation.
The recent Bush appointees laughed along. amused that there are laws against cruelty that prevent certain methods being used to kill a stray mongrel dog but those same methods can be used to execute a human.
Our Conservative Justices seem to like the idea of Torture.
Bastards!
Peace,
Steve
High Court Justices Clash Over Executions
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Ask me a Question
Do you believe President Bush misled the nation in order to go to war with Iraq?
Yes
94%
No
5.9%
Not a scientific survey but 87,377 MSNBC viewers have voted in this poll... MSNBC is not exactly a Liberal organization.
America has very grave questions about this war. Why are we there...Really?
What are our goals in Iraq?
How will we accomplish them..What's the plan, exactly?
How successful have we been so far?
How long is this going to take?
I would answer those questions with, "Goals? What goals?...Plan? What plan?...Success? What success?...and Who the bleep knows?
The only way the public will find out is for Congress to have an open and honest discussion about Iraq. One in which some substance bubbles to the top..Not something idiotic like,
"Liberals just want to cut and run."
Well just what, exactly, do the Conservatives want to do? What American goals will be achieved by sacrificing the health and lives of another thousand American warriors?
Do you like seeing Cindy Sheehan out and about? Think America will be better off with one thousand more Cindy's?
Ready to volunteer to be one?
That is the question that all of us have to answer regarding war:
A bill is now in Congress to debate this question....
Bart Gordon has signed it...Lincoln Davis has not. Harold Ford Junior has not signed it.
Why not?
Here is the full list of Tennessee Representatives who do not want Congress to discuss the Iraq war.
Bill Jenkins (R-01)
John Duncan Jr. (R-02)
Zach Wamp (R-03)
Lincoln Davis (D-04)
Jim Cooper (D-05)
Marsha Blackburn (R-07)
John Tanner (D-08)
Harold Ford Jr. (D-09)
Here's the list for the entire country...Call em!
Open Debate
Peace,
Steve
Yes
94%
No
5.9%
Not a scientific survey but 87,377 MSNBC viewers have voted in this poll... MSNBC is not exactly a Liberal organization.
America has very grave questions about this war. Why are we there...Really?
What are our goals in Iraq?
How will we accomplish them..What's the plan, exactly?
How successful have we been so far?
How long is this going to take?
I would answer those questions with, "Goals? What goals?...Plan? What plan?...Success? What success?...and Who the bleep knows?
The only way the public will find out is for Congress to have an open and honest discussion about Iraq. One in which some substance bubbles to the top..Not something idiotic like,
"Liberals just want to cut and run."
Well just what, exactly, do the Conservatives want to do? What American goals will be achieved by sacrificing the health and lives of another thousand American warriors?
Do you like seeing Cindy Sheehan out and about? Think America will be better off with one thousand more Cindy's?
Ready to volunteer to be one?
That is the question that all of us have to answer regarding war:
Is this such a grave threat to the future of our country that my child should die for it?
A bill is now in Congress to debate this question....
Bart Gordon has signed it...Lincoln Davis has not. Harold Ford Junior has not signed it.
Why not?
Here is the full list of Tennessee Representatives who do not want Congress to discuss the Iraq war.
Bill Jenkins (R-01)
John Duncan Jr. (R-02)
Zach Wamp (R-03)
Lincoln Davis (D-04)
Jim Cooper (D-05)
Marsha Blackburn (R-07)
John Tanner (D-08)
Harold Ford Jr. (D-09)
Here's the list for the entire country...Call em!
Open Debate
Peace,
Steve
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
I like to Ride my Bicycle, I love to ride my Bike,
So what do you do if you're the Prez and you have the country running perfectly?
I mean the National debt is through the roof (more than all the other presidents combined) but your very good friends, the Saudis and the Chinese are happy to hold your markers...no need to worry about them being Dictators and Communists.
The war in Iraq is going so well, you're thinking that you need another one in Iran. And just to show what a great person you are, you're thinking of breaking the greatest taboo in world history...first use of a nuclear weapon against a sovreignnation, whose biggest transgression was to not be conquered by Iraq when your Daddy was backing Saddam.
I mean Iraq is well in hand, right? Infrastructure levels are still below prewar levels, American troops are being dismembered and killed on a daily basis, and the local Al Queda guy seems to have his own TV show.
And your immigration plan is working well, too. You cut the resources out from under the border patrol so millions of mexicans got though, stopped the immigration authorities from enforcing the laws against employing illegal workers so your business buddies could rack up big time, and now you get to use it as a campaign issue about how you're going to take charge and fix a problem you caused in the first place.... Cool!
Now you're going to investigate the problem with gas costing so much that it now eats over 20% of the income of nearly a third of the population of America. This shouldn't take too much time...All you have to do is have Cheney drop off the minutes of his "Energy Task Force" on his way through town between hunting trips.
(Memo to self: Give Shooter back his copy of "The Most Dangerous Game"...I'm solving problems so fast I don't have time to read it, anyway)
And the environment is toast anyway so there's no need to worry about that one...you can use gas prices to authorize the EPA to suspend air quality rules, too, now that you think about it.
The people cheer your accomplishments wherever you go.
(Did you like the one that said... "Impeach the Bastards"?):
So with things going so well, what do you do? You take a little mountain bike ride, all peaceful like, out in the wilderness:
President Bush woke up early and rode his mountain bike along the Clara Burgess Trail to the top of Murray Hill, which affords a spectacular view of the Coachella Valley and Little San Bernardino Mountains.
The trail is considered strenuous for riding, with a 500-foot elevation gain. The total round-trip was a little more than 7 miles.
“He said it was a pretty tough terrain, but he enjoyed it,” Press Secretary Scott McClellan said...
There's a little problem with President bike boy's ride on the morning after Earth Day:
...Jim Foote, acting manager of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, said the Clara Burgess trail is also among those monument managers ask people to avoid part of the year to prevent disrupting endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep.
The trail is one of about 10 in the monument under a “voluntary avoidance” program. People are asked to stay off the Clara Burgess trail from Jan. 1 to June 30 during the sheep lambing season, he said.
Hey! You're the President...You wanna wipe out a species or two in the name of having a good time...Well no one's gonna stop you. And actually, how much damage can your little bike cause, Disregarding the eight big black SUV's that followed along the dirt road behind you?
I mean the National debt is through the roof (more than all the other presidents combined) but your very good friends, the Saudis and the Chinese are happy to hold your markers...no need to worry about them being Dictators and Communists.
The war in Iraq is going so well, you're thinking that you need another one in Iran. And just to show what a great person you are, you're thinking of breaking the greatest taboo in world history...first use of a nuclear weapon against a sovreignnation, whose biggest transgression was to not be conquered by Iraq when your Daddy was backing Saddam.
I mean Iraq is well in hand, right? Infrastructure levels are still below prewar levels, American troops are being dismembered and killed on a daily basis, and the local Al Queda guy seems to have his own TV show.
And your immigration plan is working well, too. You cut the resources out from under the border patrol so millions of mexicans got though, stopped the immigration authorities from enforcing the laws against employing illegal workers so your business buddies could rack up big time, and now you get to use it as a campaign issue about how you're going to take charge and fix a problem you caused in the first place.... Cool!
Now you're going to investigate the problem with gas costing so much that it now eats over 20% of the income of nearly a third of the population of America. This shouldn't take too much time...All you have to do is have Cheney drop off the minutes of his "Energy Task Force" on his way through town between hunting trips.
(Memo to self: Give Shooter back his copy of "The Most Dangerous Game"...I'm solving problems so fast I don't have time to read it, anyway)
And the environment is toast anyway so there's no need to worry about that one...you can use gas prices to authorize the EPA to suspend air quality rules, too, now that you think about it.
The people cheer your accomplishments wherever you go.
(Did you like the one that said... "Impeach the Bastards"?):
So with things going so well, what do you do? You take a little mountain bike ride, all peaceful like, out in the wilderness:
President Bush woke up early and rode his mountain bike along the Clara Burgess Trail to the top of Murray Hill, which affords a spectacular view of the Coachella Valley and Little San Bernardino Mountains.
The trail is considered strenuous for riding, with a 500-foot elevation gain. The total round-trip was a little more than 7 miles.
“He said it was a pretty tough terrain, but he enjoyed it,” Press Secretary Scott McClellan said...
There's a little problem with President bike boy's ride on the morning after Earth Day:
...Jim Foote, acting manager of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, said the Clara Burgess trail is also among those monument managers ask people to avoid part of the year to prevent disrupting endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep.
The trail is one of about 10 in the monument under a “voluntary avoidance” program. People are asked to stay off the Clara Burgess trail from Jan. 1 to June 30 during the sheep lambing season, he said.
Hey! You're the President...You wanna wipe out a species or two in the name of having a good time...Well no one's gonna stop you. And actually, how much damage can your little bike cause, Disregarding the eight big black SUV's that followed along the dirt road behind you?
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Knothole
I have always said that the incentive to deal with impending environmental disaster never comes soon enough. The reason is because there are conservatives loose in the world. As a species, we will never do what must be done to prevent a collision course with climatic events...it would require too much personal sacrifice for too many greedy people.
I liken societies course to throwing a handfull of marbles at a knothole in a fence. The longer we wait, the smaller the knothole becomes and fewer and fewer marbles will get through to the other side. As small as it is now, that knothole is shrinking at an ever increasing rate as the climatic engine revs up in response to human activity.
We are the Stooges...loading a truck with stolen jugs of moonshine whiskey while it sits on the hill above the house containing everything we hold dear. Jug by jug, we load it well beyond the capacity of the parking brakes until the truck starts to roll, un-noticably slow at first then picking up speed, as the stooges whine and moan and scream as they watch in buffoonish horror as the truck crashes into the house, it's destructive force tragically magnified by the burden of cargo the Stooges couldn't live without.
I have a very low opinion of conservatives, as most of you know. They have an incredible capacity to lie, not only to others, but to themselves. Some of them are waking up, connecting a few dots, and crapping in their pants as they realize that "Liberals" have been absolutely right all these years. Why didn't they listen?
This from a conservative voice:
No serious person can deny the overwhelming scientific evidence that the world's climate is changing dramatically for the worse. Conservative skeptics, however, argue that the science isn't clear enough to pinpoint the degree to which human activity is responsible. Even if that were true, given the staggering magnitude of the stakes, it is wildly imprudent to wait for a level of certainty that may never come, or come too late.
Tim Flannery, an Australian scientist and former global-warming skeptic, says there is no way to account for the temperature rise outside of human activity. In his book The Weather Makers, Flannery writes, "Skepticism is an indispensable element in scientific inquiry, but when the intention is to mislead rather than clarify, we have not skepticism but deceit."
There's much self-deceit about global warming among us conservatives. To take this stuff seriously would mean confronting the fact that we cannot continue living as we like. It would mean dealing like grown-ups with the real possibility that we are condemning future generations to excruciating hardship because we refuse our duty to stewardship.
Well, Duh!...here's the rest:
USA today
I liken societies course to throwing a handfull of marbles at a knothole in a fence. The longer we wait, the smaller the knothole becomes and fewer and fewer marbles will get through to the other side. As small as it is now, that knothole is shrinking at an ever increasing rate as the climatic engine revs up in response to human activity.
We are the Stooges...loading a truck with stolen jugs of moonshine whiskey while it sits on the hill above the house containing everything we hold dear. Jug by jug, we load it well beyond the capacity of the parking brakes until the truck starts to roll, un-noticably slow at first then picking up speed, as the stooges whine and moan and scream as they watch in buffoonish horror as the truck crashes into the house, it's destructive force tragically magnified by the burden of cargo the Stooges couldn't live without.
I have a very low opinion of conservatives, as most of you know. They have an incredible capacity to lie, not only to others, but to themselves. Some of them are waking up, connecting a few dots, and crapping in their pants as they realize that "Liberals" have been absolutely right all these years. Why didn't they listen?
This from a conservative voice:
No serious person can deny the overwhelming scientific evidence that the world's climate is changing dramatically for the worse. Conservative skeptics, however, argue that the science isn't clear enough to pinpoint the degree to which human activity is responsible. Even if that were true, given the staggering magnitude of the stakes, it is wildly imprudent to wait for a level of certainty that may never come, or come too late.
Tim Flannery, an Australian scientist and former global-warming skeptic, says there is no way to account for the temperature rise outside of human activity. In his book The Weather Makers, Flannery writes, "Skepticism is an indispensable element in scientific inquiry, but when the intention is to mislead rather than clarify, we have not skepticism but deceit."
There's much self-deceit about global warming among us conservatives. To take this stuff seriously would mean confronting the fact that we cannot continue living as we like. It would mean dealing like grown-ups with the real possibility that we are condemning future generations to excruciating hardship because we refuse our duty to stewardship.
Well, Duh!...here's the rest:
USA today
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Sunday Sermon
In the Genesis myth, God kicks Adam and Eve out of Eden for knowing too much. See, this talking lizard seduces Eve into eating a fig or some grapes, and the grapes are magic and they make Eve smart, only they don't really because she gives some to Adam so he gets smart too, and that wasn't real smart if you think about it.
Eve coulda had it all.
She shoulda stopped for a second and made a plan... See what happens when you don't make a plan? Eve got herself and her man kicked out of Paradise and that stupid Lizard became a quadruple amputee and gave a bad name to all his descendants who were forevermore called "Snakes".
It seems like Religion has been at war with knowlege ever since, and has acted as the Scotty McLellan for figs and grapes, blaming the whole incident on "Apples" which are from Tajikistan anyway, and are getting a bad rap from the FundXtians. (Islam blames it on bananas, did ja know?)
I blame it on the lack of a "Plan".
"So you're gonna get all this knowlege and you have no idea what you're gonna do after you get smart?" someone, maybe the lizard, shoulda asked Eve after a grape or two when she was only a little bit smart and before she ate so many that she got too smart for her own good and got Adam involved in the whole thing. The Lizard got burned, too, by this lack of planning, and has been dodging garden hoes ever since. Eve got Adam involved in a sewing operation to make clothes out of leaves after she pointed out to Adam that they were nekkid.
"I'll be Damned!" said Adam, in one of the great understatements in all of history.
I don't remember what the moral was supposed to be when they told me that story in Sunday school, but here's the one I've come up with:
"Knowlege isn't much good without a plan."
I keep hearing that the Democrats don't have a plan. Well, that's not true but wait just a minute...How about telling me what the Republican "Plan" is?
Ha, I thought so.
See, a "Plan" implies that some thought has been given to some imaginable "Future" and this "Plan" thing is the method by which we can achieve it. Here is the Republican "Future":
1."They" get filthy rich, mostly by stealing your tax money.
2. Everybody else works for sub-minimum wage to make "Them" happy.
3. The Constitution? What Constitution?
4. Put the United States so deep into debt that it can never ever recover.
I think that's about it...Everything else seems to flow from Republicans being able to do what they want, and Laws apply to everyone else.
Some DINO's (Democrats In Name Only, such as Joe Leiberman) think this is a fine plan.
Some others think that America used to be a force for Good in the world...They seem to like that idea and want America to be loved, once again, not just by the rest of the world, but by it's own people.
Howard Dean is the Chair of the DNC and has laid out an agenda that can do just that. Other Democrats are offering similar ideas. Dean's six point plan:
1. Raise the minimum wage
2. Create a fair system of government that serves Middle Class America, not just the rich
3. Reduce the power of Lobbyists, create a complete ban on lobbying "gifts"
4. Protect our ports, inspect all cargo coming into the United States
5. Fix Medicare
6. Transition out of Iraq, the greatest Presidential disaster in the history of America
Another Democratic plan :
(1) making college education affordable for every American;
(2) holding a summit to fix the budget;
(3) achieving energy independence in part by switching to a hybrid economy;
(4) creating an institute on science and technology to spur American innovation;
(5) universal health care.
And from John Kerry:
1. Tell the truth.
2. Fire the incompetents.
3. Find Osama bin Laden
4. Secure our ports and our homeland.
5. Bring our troops home from Iraq.
6. Obey the law and protect our civil rights
"Tell the Truth?"...What are they trying to do? Bring our system of government down in ruins? Well no, but they ARE trying to bring the NeoCon Republican system of controlling the United States government for their own purposes to an end.
Peace,
Steve
more
Eve coulda had it all.
She shoulda stopped for a second and made a plan... See what happens when you don't make a plan? Eve got herself and her man kicked out of Paradise and that stupid Lizard became a quadruple amputee and gave a bad name to all his descendants who were forevermore called "Snakes".
It seems like Religion has been at war with knowlege ever since, and has acted as the Scotty McLellan for figs and grapes, blaming the whole incident on "Apples" which are from Tajikistan anyway, and are getting a bad rap from the FundXtians. (Islam blames it on bananas, did ja know?)
I blame it on the lack of a "Plan".
"So you're gonna get all this knowlege and you have no idea what you're gonna do after you get smart?" someone, maybe the lizard, shoulda asked Eve after a grape or two when she was only a little bit smart and before she ate so many that she got too smart for her own good and got Adam involved in the whole thing. The Lizard got burned, too, by this lack of planning, and has been dodging garden hoes ever since. Eve got Adam involved in a sewing operation to make clothes out of leaves after she pointed out to Adam that they were nekkid.
"I'll be Damned!" said Adam, in one of the great understatements in all of history.
I don't remember what the moral was supposed to be when they told me that story in Sunday school, but here's the one I've come up with:
"Knowlege isn't much good without a plan."
I keep hearing that the Democrats don't have a plan. Well, that's not true but wait just a minute...How about telling me what the Republican "Plan" is?
Ha, I thought so.
See, a "Plan" implies that some thought has been given to some imaginable "Future" and this "Plan" thing is the method by which we can achieve it. Here is the Republican "Future":
1."They" get filthy rich, mostly by stealing your tax money.
2. Everybody else works for sub-minimum wage to make "Them" happy.
3. The Constitution? What Constitution?
4. Put the United States so deep into debt that it can never ever recover.
I think that's about it...Everything else seems to flow from Republicans being able to do what they want, and Laws apply to everyone else.
Some DINO's (Democrats In Name Only, such as Joe Leiberman) think this is a fine plan.
Some others think that America used to be a force for Good in the world...They seem to like that idea and want America to be loved, once again, not just by the rest of the world, but by it's own people.
Howard Dean is the Chair of the DNC and has laid out an agenda that can do just that. Other Democrats are offering similar ideas. Dean's six point plan:
1. Raise the minimum wage
2. Create a fair system of government that serves Middle Class America, not just the rich
3. Reduce the power of Lobbyists, create a complete ban on lobbying "gifts"
4. Protect our ports, inspect all cargo coming into the United States
5. Fix Medicare
6. Transition out of Iraq, the greatest Presidential disaster in the history of America
Another Democratic plan :
(1) making college education affordable for every American;
(2) holding a summit to fix the budget;
(3) achieving energy independence in part by switching to a hybrid economy;
(4) creating an institute on science and technology to spur American innovation;
(5) universal health care.
And from John Kerry:
1. Tell the truth.
2. Fire the incompetents.
3. Find Osama bin Laden
4. Secure our ports and our homeland.
5. Bring our troops home from Iraq.
6. Obey the law and protect our civil rights
"Tell the Truth?"...What are they trying to do? Bring our system of government down in ruins? Well no, but they ARE trying to bring the NeoCon Republican system of controlling the United States government for their own purposes to an end.
Peace,
Steve
more
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Saturday Funnies (Earth Day Edition)
No more lost wetlands, eh? Damned amazing!
From the United States government website we learn these amazing things that they are doing to save the environment...
But wait...there's a little more to this story brought to us by the truth tellers of America...No, not the media, silly...Our comedians.
" The Bush administration says they want to declare all golf course water hazards as protected wetlands. It's part of their plan to save restricted country clubs." --David Letterman
And the air is not cleaner. That's simply a lie. Was has happened is that the EPA doesn't measure air quality nearly as effectively any more. The sampling rate has plummeted.
It's kinda like the "Texas Miracle" in education...never happened. They cooked the test scores then and they're cooking the results now.
The stupidest thing I saw this weekend was a man being interviewed by CNN as he pumped gas into his vehicle. He was complaining about gas prices as he pumped and pumped and pumped.
"The government just isn't doing all it can to find enough oil," he said. That was the quote shown on TV. Well I can double the amount of gas available. Yep, me personally. The man who was complaining was pumping gas into his Chevrolet Suburban, a monster SUV that gets 15 miles to the gallon if you're careful.
What a twit!
Peace,
Steve
Bigger
The Bush Administration is focused on achieving meaningful results - cleaner air and water, and healthier lands and wildlife habitats.
The nation's air is much cleaner today than it was in 1970 and progress will continue.
The trend of annual loss of wetlands has been reversed.
Restoration and redevelopment of abandoned industrial sites is accelerating.
President Bush is meeting his commitment to reduce the National Park Service maintenance backlog.
From the United States government website we learn these amazing things that they are doing to save the environment...
But wait...there's a little more to this story brought to us by the truth tellers of America...No, not the media, silly...Our comedians.
" The Bush administration says they want to declare all golf course water hazards as protected wetlands. It's part of their plan to save restricted country clubs." --David Letterman
And the air is not cleaner. That's simply a lie. Was has happened is that the EPA doesn't measure air quality nearly as effectively any more. The sampling rate has plummeted.
It's kinda like the "Texas Miracle" in education...never happened. They cooked the test scores then and they're cooking the results now.
The stupidest thing I saw this weekend was a man being interviewed by CNN as he pumped gas into his vehicle. He was complaining about gas prices as he pumped and pumped and pumped.
"The government just isn't doing all it can to find enough oil," he said. That was the quote shown on TV. Well I can double the amount of gas available. Yep, me personally. The man who was complaining was pumping gas into his Chevrolet Suburban, a monster SUV that gets 15 miles to the gallon if you're careful.
What a twit!
Peace,
Steve
Bigger
Friday, April 21, 2006
biggerGreat Moments in Irony...The answers
Did you know who said these?
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the president."
Bill Frist
"No man is above the law, and no man is below the law -- that's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."
Tom DeLay
Isn't Freedom of Speech wonderful?
Peace,
Steve
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the president."
Bill Frist
"No man is above the law, and no man is below the law -- that's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."
Tom DeLay
Isn't Freedom of Speech wonderful?
Peace,
Steve
His lips are moving...Again
Hard core Conservatives are so stupid, sometimes, I can't believe they remember to breathe.
How in the heck can 33% of Americans still have a positive opinion of George W. Bush or any other Republican, for that matter? Check out Mallard Filmore in the comics to see what republican humor looks like and you can see how gullible they are.
I was asked, yesterday, if there were any Republicans I liked and I said, sure...Barry Goldwater and Everitt Dirksen...And I should add that in retrospect, Dwight Eisenhower was a great man, even though he failed to stop the ascension of the corporatists taking over his party.
Republicans have gotten more servile to their corporate masters since those guys were around. War is merely a business opportunity and that's OK because no rich Republican children are going to get shot at, anyway. Halliburton misplaces more money than it would take to deal with the Mexican immigration problem and nobody mentions it.
(It's just bidness, you understand...No hard feelings. Sorry you guys gotta get dumped on. The President is in trouble right now...It'll all blow over after the elections and you guys can get back to work on trimming the shrubberries.}
And has one Republican told Cindy Sheehan they are sorry that they bought into the pack of lies that got her son killed?
George Bush lied to America and got us into war. Lied to me and lied to You...The bald faced lies are still up on the Whitehouse website and there's a reason. The Conservative base is so stupid and intractable...incapable of personal reason...that by continuing to tell the same old lie, conservatives think it is true.
Here is the White house web site in question...See how many lies you can pick out, boys and girls. See how you feel about the Bush Administration's justification for war now?
Whitehouse web site
Let's do this the easy way...Item one is partly true and item number 8 is completely true. the rest of the statements are essentially false.
But things went so well in Iraq that Bush is careening headlong onto a war with Iran, and it seems like nothing is going to stop him.
the Iranians don't want a war, by the way. They keep trying to talk about things with Bush, but a diplomatic solution doesn't serve their purposes...Which at this point boil down to preventing a Democratic takeover of Congress...the only thing that will prevent George bush from being impeached and thrown out of office.
Hey...Just so you'll know...The Cheney administration has an arms dealer friend on the ground in Iran to make sure that there are no secret communications between the United States Ambassador to Iraq and the Iranian government. Cheney and Bush seem to be doing everything possible to produce a war in Iran.
(Our Ambassador to Iraq turns out to be a really wonderful and wise man...How the hell did Bush appoint him? They're slipping...happened to Capone, happened to Gotti, happened to Hitler...They all mess up in the end.)
Drum
Courage,
Steve
How in the heck can 33% of Americans still have a positive opinion of George W. Bush or any other Republican, for that matter? Check out Mallard Filmore in the comics to see what republican humor looks like and you can see how gullible they are.
I was asked, yesterday, if there were any Republicans I liked and I said, sure...Barry Goldwater and Everitt Dirksen...And I should add that in retrospect, Dwight Eisenhower was a great man, even though he failed to stop the ascension of the corporatists taking over his party.
Republicans have gotten more servile to their corporate masters since those guys were around. War is merely a business opportunity and that's OK because no rich Republican children are going to get shot at, anyway. Halliburton misplaces more money than it would take to deal with the Mexican immigration problem and nobody mentions it.
(It's just bidness, you understand...No hard feelings. Sorry you guys gotta get dumped on. The President is in trouble right now...It'll all blow over after the elections and you guys can get back to work on trimming the shrubberries.}
And has one Republican told Cindy Sheehan they are sorry that they bought into the pack of lies that got her son killed?
George Bush lied to America and got us into war. Lied to me and lied to You...The bald faced lies are still up on the Whitehouse website and there's a reason. The Conservative base is so stupid and intractable...incapable of personal reason...that by continuing to tell the same old lie, conservatives think it is true.
Here is the White house web site in question...See how many lies you can pick out, boys and girls. See how you feel about the Bush Administration's justification for war now?
Whitehouse web site
Let's do this the easy way...Item one is partly true and item number 8 is completely true. the rest of the statements are essentially false.
But things went so well in Iraq that Bush is careening headlong onto a war with Iran, and it seems like nothing is going to stop him.
the Iranians don't want a war, by the way. They keep trying to talk about things with Bush, but a diplomatic solution doesn't serve their purposes...Which at this point boil down to preventing a Democratic takeover of Congress...the only thing that will prevent George bush from being impeached and thrown out of office.
Hey...Just so you'll know...The Cheney administration has an arms dealer friend on the ground in Iran to make sure that there are no secret communications between the United States Ambassador to Iraq and the Iranian government. Cheney and Bush seem to be doing everything possible to produce a war in Iran.
(Our Ambassador to Iraq turns out to be a really wonderful and wise man...How the hell did Bush appoint him? They're slipping...happened to Capone, happened to Gotti, happened to Hitler...They all mess up in the end.)
Drum
Courage,
Steve
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Great Moments in Irony
Great moments in Irony..
Here are some really fun quotes...Guess who?
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the president."
"No man is above the law, and no man is below the law -- that's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."
The most indicted and convicted Presidential Administration in history was Ronald Reagan's. This usually comes as a surprise to people who naturally think Nixon holds that record. Reagan, in spite of the deep levels of corruption and serious jail time for his buddies, is about to be surpassed by George Bush, in spite of the tremendous advantage the republican party has in controlling the presidency, congress, and the Supreme Court. At the present time, every single investigation into Bushista misconduct is being blocked or derailed by Bush operatives.
The greatest fear of the Bush cabal is not another 9-11. They would consider that a godsend, actually. No, it is a Democratic takeover of one or both houses of Congress in the coming elections. Karl Rove is changing job titles in order to get him further from public scrutiny as he starts the final campaign in what will probably be known as the dirtiest election campaign in American history.
It has to be dirty...it's all Karl's got to work with. That's why Illegal Immigration is such a big deal all of a sudden. Karl needed a new enemy to be afraid of. "Mexican Terrorists" ...
One that doesn't have WMD's this time... the last enemy Karl picked seems to be fighting back. A manufactured "enemy" is necessary for Karl to have any chance of staying out of jail after November, because he simply cannot run on the Bush record. Even two years ago it was horrible but the Dems were unable to come together enough to make ther case. This time they may not even have to.
In 2004 historians were polled as to the "worst" presidency in history...84% called Bush a failure by historical standards, with only 10% calling his Administration a success.
Now they are calling Bush, "The Worst President in history!"
Very High praise, indeed!
Courage,
Steve
Rolling Stone magazine has the best reporting on this.
The Worst!
Here are some really fun quotes...Guess who?
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the president."
"No man is above the law, and no man is below the law -- that's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."
The most indicted and convicted Presidential Administration in history was Ronald Reagan's. This usually comes as a surprise to people who naturally think Nixon holds that record. Reagan, in spite of the deep levels of corruption and serious jail time for his buddies, is about to be surpassed by George Bush, in spite of the tremendous advantage the republican party has in controlling the presidency, congress, and the Supreme Court. At the present time, every single investigation into Bushista misconduct is being blocked or derailed by Bush operatives.
The greatest fear of the Bush cabal is not another 9-11. They would consider that a godsend, actually. No, it is a Democratic takeover of one or both houses of Congress in the coming elections. Karl Rove is changing job titles in order to get him further from public scrutiny as he starts the final campaign in what will probably be known as the dirtiest election campaign in American history.
It has to be dirty...it's all Karl's got to work with. That's why Illegal Immigration is such a big deal all of a sudden. Karl needed a new enemy to be afraid of. "Mexican Terrorists" ...
One that doesn't have WMD's this time... the last enemy Karl picked seems to be fighting back. A manufactured "enemy" is necessary for Karl to have any chance of staying out of jail after November, because he simply cannot run on the Bush record. Even two years ago it was horrible but the Dems were unable to come together enough to make ther case. This time they may not even have to.
In 2004 historians were polled as to the "worst" presidency in history...84% called Bush a failure by historical standards, with only 10% calling his Administration a success.
Now they are calling Bush, "The Worst President in history!"
Very High praise, indeed!
Courage,
Steve
Rolling Stone magazine has the best reporting on this.
The Worst!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Practice?
Some of the best stuff out there comes from the comments.
Here's Gordon:
Sam said:
Jim said:
Steve said:
Oh Wow, Man...Nixon was like the Sixties, I think...Don't you remember?
Peace,
Steve also said
Here's Gordon:
As for abstinence, it may be a bit backwards, but as near as I can tell the best way to practice it is to get married. Have some kids, live a normal, over-busy life, and any sexual relations beyond a quick hug and tickle are to be treasured and recorded.
Well, maybe not recorded.
And why do we need to practice it? Sex should be practiced, but not doing it is pretty easy to get right.
And your take on Judas was fine. I wonder when the other "lost" gospels will be discovered. Talk about not toeing the party line! Not that any of this will make any difference whatsoever. Its not about history, facts, or even alternate views. Its much more about being spoon-fed, and a nice set of comfortable beliefs.
Sam said:
I have been waiting to see exactly when we would start seeing the type of propagana that wins elections. I knew it would come.... so it has started, 1) around Easter weekend, and, 2) 6 1/2 months before the elections. I wonder why this timing.
I have been in the home of a Southern Baptist who was told that they need to learn about other religions and so they read a book they were given by their pastor that says Unitarianism is a cult.
So... these people (and there are so many of them) are not the target of a campaign of reason. We can't say to them... OK folks, the Republicans have now started their Nov. campaign, and they are going to make you temporarily forget about the war and supply-side economics, they are going to remind you about gay marriage for 6.5 months.
Jim said:
Honestly, I can't remember when it was this bad, I'm not sure Nixon was this bad , maybe he was and I just don't remember...
Steve said:
Oh Wow, Man...Nixon was like the Sixties, I think...Don't you remember?
Peace,
Steve also said
Chastity Now!
Chastity Now!
That is what our dear leader and his administration wants taught to the school children of America. Aside from the fact that there is no study that shows abstinence instruction does a damned thing to reduce STD's or preteen pregnancy or any of the other problems associated with "non-abstinence", there is the sheer hipocrisy of the situation. Al Franken made fun of the Abstinence crowd in one of his books where he asked Republican leaders to give examples of their own experiences with "abstinence"...Doesn't appear that there were any.
Now, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced guidelines for organizations applying for grants for abstinence-only education programs.
this is your government in action, folks...Morons!
thinkprogress.org
If we are going to get Teenagers to practice abstinence, they must have adult role models....We need role models for abstinence. Hmm...Just who exactly is the General talking about as our models for "Chastity"?
"Convincing single adults to remain abstinent won't be an easy job. There aren't many positive role models for them to emulate. What we need is a chastity posterboy, and I think you're the man for the job. You're successful, a bachelor, and a tireless advocate for abstinence-only education. You're perfect. You'll be a fabulous posterboy.
We'll start out with a national tour, hitting local news shows and editorial boards, service clubs, chambers of commerce, senior centers, and college campuses. At each stop, you'll discuss how much you value your virginity and how rewarding your chastity has been to you."
Closeted
Peace,
Steve
That is what our dear leader and his administration wants taught to the school children of America. Aside from the fact that there is no study that shows abstinence instruction does a damned thing to reduce STD's or preteen pregnancy or any of the other problems associated with "non-abstinence", there is the sheer hipocrisy of the situation. Al Franken made fun of the Abstinence crowd in one of his books where he asked Republican leaders to give examples of their own experiences with "abstinence"...Doesn't appear that there were any.
Now, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced guidelines for organizations applying for grants for abstinence-only education programs.
this is your government in action, folks...Morons!
Abstinence curricula must have a clear definition of sexual abstinence which must be consistent with the following: “Abstinence means voluntarily choosing not to engage in sexual activity until marriage. Sexual activity refers to any type of genital contact or sexual stimulation between two persons including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse.”
...Throughout the entire curriculum, the term “marriage” must be defined as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife, and the word ’spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” (Consistent with Federal law)
thinkprogress.org
If we are going to get Teenagers to practice abstinence, they must have adult role models....We need role models for abstinence. Hmm...Just who exactly is the General talking about as our models for "Chastity"?
"Convincing single adults to remain abstinent won't be an easy job. There aren't many positive role models for them to emulate. What we need is a chastity posterboy, and I think you're the man for the job. You're successful, a bachelor, and a tireless advocate for abstinence-only education. You're perfect. You'll be a fabulous posterboy.
We'll start out with a national tour, hitting local news shows and editorial boards, service clubs, chambers of commerce, senior centers, and college campuses. At each stop, you'll discuss how much you value your virginity and how rewarding your chastity has been to you."
Closeted
Peace,
Steve
Monday, April 17, 2006
It's Starting...
The Republican campaign to keep Bush and Cheney from being impeached has started. By that, I mean that if the Republicans lose their majority in the House of Representatives, Bush and Cheney are in trouble...Even more so than they are now.
The GOP is already harping on Gay marriage, flag burning, and abortion as the big issues in the campaign. They will try to make so much noise on these issues that no one will be able to ask questions like:
"Is gay marriage a bigger problem to America than a President who lies to us in order to start a war which he will be incompetent to run?"
I haven't heard this yet but I think that if polls show them really far behind before the elections this fall, Cheney will resign.
Right now, polls show the President with a 63% negative rating which is phenominal. That is in Tricky Dick Nixon range. Just to remind you, Slick Willie Clinton not only never had those kinds of negatives, but he had beter than a 60% approval rating at the time he was being impeached... And if Bill Clinton could have run again...He would have won easily.
The worst thing Al Gore ever did was to put Joe Leiberman on the ticket instread of embracing Clinton.
The second worst thing Al did was turning into a pussy during the Florida recount scandal. Gore won Florida by every objective study, the only difference in the outcome is in the size of the victory...a few hundred, a couple of thousand, or 29,000...And none of these studies accounts for the tens of thousands of likely Democratic voters that were purged from the records and not allowed to vote. So I'm thinking...
How would things be different if Gore had been recognized as the President? I would like for you folks to add your own in the comments but Here's a few ideas for starters:
No tax cuts for the rich..the National debt is at least $2,000,000,000,000.00 less and President Gore has not borrowed more money from foreign governments than all the Presidents in history before him..
Iraq is a boring news item from time to time, much like Lybia... Iran has a nuclear program?
9,000 American fighters don't have brain injuries.
15,000 American fighters are not missing arms and legs.
2,500 American fighters aren't dead, and Cindy Sheehan is that kooky but nice lady who lives down the street somewhere in America. You and I don't know who she is.
The very idea of selling off American Park Service land to developers in unheard of, except in the very sick minds of certain unscrupulous developers.
Some kind of domestic partner arrangement for gays and lesbians has become common and is no big deal except in the screaming rants of fundamentalist ministers...only heard as background noise in a far less hateful American mainstream.
America is leading the world in environmental salvation. We aren't doing quite as much as we need to but steps are definitely being taken to reduce human caused climate change.
The idea of the President violating any provision of our Constitution is an outrage.
The right to privacy is sacred. Your phone conversations are none of the government's business and the left breast of Lady Justice is artfully pleasing and not porn.
Abortion would be safe, available, and rarer than it is now.
Reinstating the "Fairness Doctrine" in American journalism is being discussed.
Your local FM radio station is not owned by a corporate conglomerate in another state. You have not heard a song by Air Supply in months and certainly not three times today already.
The whole world isn't wondering, "What happened to America?"
They still like us.
And Lastly...
President Gore would have actually read the Presidential Daily Briefing entitled...
"Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States."
Peace,
Steve
The GOP is already harping on Gay marriage, flag burning, and abortion as the big issues in the campaign. They will try to make so much noise on these issues that no one will be able to ask questions like:
"Is gay marriage a bigger problem to America than a President who lies to us in order to start a war which he will be incompetent to run?"
I haven't heard this yet but I think that if polls show them really far behind before the elections this fall, Cheney will resign.
Right now, polls show the President with a 63% negative rating which is phenominal. That is in Tricky Dick Nixon range. Just to remind you, Slick Willie Clinton not only never had those kinds of negatives, but he had beter than a 60% approval rating at the time he was being impeached... And if Bill Clinton could have run again...He would have won easily.
The worst thing Al Gore ever did was to put Joe Leiberman on the ticket instread of embracing Clinton.
The second worst thing Al did was turning into a pussy during the Florida recount scandal. Gore won Florida by every objective study, the only difference in the outcome is in the size of the victory...a few hundred, a couple of thousand, or 29,000...And none of these studies accounts for the tens of thousands of likely Democratic voters that were purged from the records and not allowed to vote. So I'm thinking...
How would things be different if Gore had been recognized as the President? I would like for you folks to add your own in the comments but Here's a few ideas for starters:
No tax cuts for the rich..the National debt is at least $2,000,000,000,000.00 less and President Gore has not borrowed more money from foreign governments than all the Presidents in history before him..
Iraq is a boring news item from time to time, much like Lybia... Iran has a nuclear program?
9,000 American fighters don't have brain injuries.
15,000 American fighters are not missing arms and legs.
2,500 American fighters aren't dead, and Cindy Sheehan is that kooky but nice lady who lives down the street somewhere in America. You and I don't know who she is.
The very idea of selling off American Park Service land to developers in unheard of, except in the very sick minds of certain unscrupulous developers.
Some kind of domestic partner arrangement for gays and lesbians has become common and is no big deal except in the screaming rants of fundamentalist ministers...only heard as background noise in a far less hateful American mainstream.
America is leading the world in environmental salvation. We aren't doing quite as much as we need to but steps are definitely being taken to reduce human caused climate change.
The idea of the President violating any provision of our Constitution is an outrage.
The right to privacy is sacred. Your phone conversations are none of the government's business and the left breast of Lady Justice is artfully pleasing and not porn.
Abortion would be safe, available, and rarer than it is now.
Reinstating the "Fairness Doctrine" in American journalism is being discussed.
Your local FM radio station is not owned by a corporate conglomerate in another state. You have not heard a song by Air Supply in months and certainly not three times today already.
The whole world isn't wondering, "What happened to America?"
They still like us.
And Lastly...
President Gore would have actually read the Presidential Daily Briefing entitled...
"Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States."
Peace,
Steve
Sunday, April 16, 2006
biggerSaturday, April 15, 2006
It ain't necessarily so...
Ok, most of you know how much I like to poke fun at people who throw their religion around like a bludgeon. Most of them have no real understanding of their own religions, preferring instead to march to the beat of some master drummer who manipulates them to his own purposes... Hilarious and tragic at the same time.
Bubbling to the surface at this moment is the "Newly discovered" Book of Judas. Nothing new about it, nor its discovery. it has been around for, well, every bit as long as all the other biblical books but since it is so "inconvenient" for the organized christian sects it has been swept into the vault until recently, due to its highly uncomfortable picture of Judas and Jesus scheming together to confront the authorities in the events that led to Jesus's execution.
The book of Judas is just as valid as any other gospel, but while it tidies up a lot of questions about the events leading to the cross, The book of Judas ruins the cherished plot line. Organized religion loves nothing more than a villian, and to take away their most prized human villian would ruin the simpleness of their tragedy and screw up passion plays all over Christendom.
If Judas did not betray Jesus, Milton's grand purgatorial scene of Judas's eternal damnation is highlighted as the transparent lie that it really is for anyone who actually thinks about it anyway.
I like what Judas says about Jesus, who becomes much more intelligent when seen through the eyes of the Judas gospel...much more the protagonist as opposed to the hapless victim...The revolutionary in full plot as the righteous underdog.
For me, a more believable figure, tragic in a scheme gone wildly wrong. Judas's suicide, a reaction to the seeming failure of their life's mission and the devastating loss of his best friend.
Of course this will be rejected out of hand by church leaders, who will celebrate the resurrection of jesus tomorrow, instead of today as their bibles actually indicate...Late this afternoon actually.
But this is a really fun celebration no matter how incorrect or distorted. I get high on life and chocolate bunnies and laugh at people who will alter their schedule to see a sunrise once a year, thinking it is more special than the others.
I see every single one of them as a miracle.
Peace,
Steve
Further reading
...the word Easter is derived from an ancient Teutonic goddess of fertility named Estere whose feasts were celebrated in the spring by her pagan adherents. Typically, the Estere celebration occurred in April at which time the pagan goddess demanded sacrifices from her followers.
Going back even further into antiquity, Easter can also be traced to the ancient goddess Ishtar, and is associated with the deification of women goddesses...
Easter history
Bubbling to the surface at this moment is the "Newly discovered" Book of Judas. Nothing new about it, nor its discovery. it has been around for, well, every bit as long as all the other biblical books but since it is so "inconvenient" for the organized christian sects it has been swept into the vault until recently, due to its highly uncomfortable picture of Judas and Jesus scheming together to confront the authorities in the events that led to Jesus's execution.
The book of Judas is just as valid as any other gospel, but while it tidies up a lot of questions about the events leading to the cross, The book of Judas ruins the cherished plot line. Organized religion loves nothing more than a villian, and to take away their most prized human villian would ruin the simpleness of their tragedy and screw up passion plays all over Christendom.
If Judas did not betray Jesus, Milton's grand purgatorial scene of Judas's eternal damnation is highlighted as the transparent lie that it really is for anyone who actually thinks about it anyway.
I like what Judas says about Jesus, who becomes much more intelligent when seen through the eyes of the Judas gospel...much more the protagonist as opposed to the hapless victim...The revolutionary in full plot as the righteous underdog.
For me, a more believable figure, tragic in a scheme gone wildly wrong. Judas's suicide, a reaction to the seeming failure of their life's mission and the devastating loss of his best friend.
Of course this will be rejected out of hand by church leaders, who will celebrate the resurrection of jesus tomorrow, instead of today as their bibles actually indicate...Late this afternoon actually.
But this is a really fun celebration no matter how incorrect or distorted. I get high on life and chocolate bunnies and laugh at people who will alter their schedule to see a sunrise once a year, thinking it is more special than the others.
I see every single one of them as a miracle.
Peace,
Steve
Further reading
...the word Easter is derived from an ancient Teutonic goddess of fertility named Estere whose feasts were celebrated in the spring by her pagan adherents. Typically, the Estere celebration occurred in April at which time the pagan goddess demanded sacrifices from her followers.
Going back even further into antiquity, Easter can also be traced to the ancient goddess Ishtar, and is associated with the deification of women goddesses...
Easter history
Friday, April 14, 2006
biggerHis Lips are Moving...
Ya know...I think the President could do a lot to reverse his job approval ratings. I mean , when roughly 63% of the American public not only doesn't like you but also thinks maybe you should be impeached or censored or something, you got a p.r. problem you maybe oughta deal with.
This is a common and fairly straight forward problem politicians and businesses deal with all the time.
Take the Ford Company for instance. When their cars and trucks started falling appart, they did the only thing an American Corp should do...Ran a massive ad campaign letting everyone know that "Quality is job 1" at Ford and they do job number 1 just as well as they build cars and trucks. The American car buying public immediately responded by making a foreign car the number one seller in the United States.
See how it works?
So Bush gets called a "LIAR" just for a little thing like, you know, telling a whopper...Just so's he could wipe out a sovereign Nation that wouldn't let his buddies operate their oil pipeline.
When a newspaper actually put down in black and white what everyone with an IQ above a turnip already knows... and so do the turnips... the President's flack called for an apology:
Yeah, but it is absolutely true!
True Dat
Come on, guys...Let's get that Ad program revved up, how 'bout it.
"Honesty is Job 1!"
Peace,
Steve
*****
In the interest of informing the American people, WhitesCreek Journal brings you this highly informative and relevant bit of information...See...That's what someone in my position does, you see...Informs. When something pops up on my radar screen that has the potential to be, well, really informative, and possibly a bit pruriently interesting, I feel it's my duty, what with the job I selflessly do for Truth, Justice, and American Gossip..I fell like it's my duty to report it.
Anne Coulter, right wing Republican wingnut, bitch.. Is...was...possibly might have been, or still is...
A Man!
She/He/Whatever got in trouble for voting in the wrong Congressional Distrct in Florida. The manner in which she did such a thing turns out to be a felony. Well, when they checked her voter's registration card, guess what? Rather than check the box that says she's a female...
Which would be perjury if she is not actually a female, you know...She left that part of the form blank.
Ann Coulter's a man?
Well, All I have to say to that is, "Tee Hee!...snicker...Har! Har! Har!"
Da Juice
This is a common and fairly straight forward problem politicians and businesses deal with all the time.
Take the Ford Company for instance. When their cars and trucks started falling appart, they did the only thing an American Corp should do...Ran a massive ad campaign letting everyone know that "Quality is job 1" at Ford and they do job number 1 just as well as they build cars and trucks. The American car buying public immediately responded by making a foreign car the number one seller in the United States.
See how it works?
So Bush gets called a "LIAR" just for a little thing like, you know, telling a whopper...Just so's he could wipe out a sovereign Nation that wouldn't let his buddies operate their oil pipeline.
“We gave him (Saddam Hussein) a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power.”
“If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is,”...
“By the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires – a wiretap requires a court order,” Bush said. “Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so.”...
When a newspaper actually put down in black and white what everyone with an IQ above a turnip already knows... and so do the turnips... the President's flack called for an apology:
“The lead in the Washington Post left the impression for the reader that the President was saying something he knew at the time not to be true,” McClellan said on April 12, 2006. “That is absolutely false and it is irresponsible, and I don’t know how the Washington Post can defend something so irresponsible.”
Yeah, but it is absolutely true!
True Dat
Come on, guys...Let's get that Ad program revved up, how 'bout it.
"Honesty is Job 1!"
Peace,
Steve
*****
In the interest of informing the American people, WhitesCreek Journal brings you this highly informative and relevant bit of information...See...That's what someone in my position does, you see...Informs. When something pops up on my radar screen that has the potential to be, well, really informative, and possibly a bit pruriently interesting, I feel it's my duty, what with the job I selflessly do for Truth, Justice, and American Gossip..I fell like it's my duty to report it.
Anne Coulter, right wing Republican wingnut, bitch.. Is...was...possibly might have been, or still is...
A Man!
She/He/Whatever got in trouble for voting in the wrong Congressional Distrct in Florida. The manner in which she did such a thing turns out to be a felony. Well, when they checked her voter's registration card, guess what? Rather than check the box that says she's a female...
Which would be perjury if she is not actually a female, you know...She left that part of the form blank.
Ann Coulter's a man?
Well, All I have to say to that is, "Tee Hee!...snicker...Har! Har! Har!"
Da Juice
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Take Me Out...
Dick Cheney threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals baseball game yesterday to a wildly cheering crowd.
Well, actually they didn't cheer all that "wildly"...And actually they didn't cheer at all...And actually, what they did was boo. The Vice President of the United States was enthusiastically booed by a crowd of baseball fans. Loudly enough that the Fox Television producers tried to mute the sound of the crowd.
Think about it...there he was... alone on a hill, the man with the foolish grin was keeping perfectly still...As people showed him how much they love him...
Not!
...But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool.
And he never gives an answer .....
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
Well on his way, his head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices, talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears him,
Or the sound he appears to make.
And he never seems to notice .....
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
And nobody seems to like him,
They can tell what he wants to do.
And he never shows his feelings,
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
And then there's this verse:
...He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Weird, huh? And then he threw the little white ball into the dirt and walked away. This was one of the few things the man on the hill has done in which nobody got hurt. No lawyers were hit in the face.
Peace,
Steve
Watch him and listen
Well, actually they didn't cheer all that "wildly"...And actually they didn't cheer at all...And actually, what they did was boo. The Vice President of the United States was enthusiastically booed by a crowd of baseball fans. Loudly enough that the Fox Television producers tried to mute the sound of the crowd.
Think about it...there he was... alone on a hill, the man with the foolish grin was keeping perfectly still...As people showed him how much they love him...
Not!
...But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool.
And he never gives an answer .....
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
Well on his way, his head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices, talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears him,
Or the sound he appears to make.
And he never seems to notice .....
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
And nobody seems to like him,
They can tell what he wants to do.
And he never shows his feelings,
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.
And then there's this verse:
...He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Weird, huh? And then he threw the little white ball into the dirt and walked away. This was one of the few things the man on the hill has done in which nobody got hurt. No lawyers were hit in the face.
Peace,
Steve
Watch him and listen
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Why?
"Hey Dad...What's the big deal with George Bush leaking?"
"Well... son, everyone seems to be missing the point, arguing about whether it was or wasn't illegal. The bottom line is that it was a scumbag thing to do."
"Why?"
"Well... President Bush was trying to talk Americans into letting him start a war in Iraq and he gave us all kind of reasons for it. Now we know that none of them were true. Saddam never had anything to do with 9-11, he didn't have Weapons of Mass Destruction, he didn't have any "Mobile Biological Weapons trailers, and he wasn't on his way to having nuclear weapons."
" Remember President Bush's scary litlte "Mushroom Cloud" speech?
"Yeah?"
"Well... at the time George Bush was telling his boogieman stories, his flunkies were making a big deal about some documents that they said proved that Saddam was trying to buy uranium yellow cake from the country if Niger, and had these aluminum tubes that were going to be used to process it into a bomb...but it wasn't true. None of it was. And not only that, but lot's of people knew none of it was true and said so, and by pointing out that the President of the United States was a lying S.O.B. who was gonna screw things up royally and get a bunch of good American sons and daughters killed, these people who should have been called patriots were given another name by the President's people...Enemies!"
"Who were they?"
"Well...A bunch of British scientists pointed out that Bush's mobile weapons labs were actually gas generators for weather balloons (they had sold the danged things to him in the first place). An American named Scott Ritter pointed out that he had led the United Nations team of inspectors who had decided that there was no way Saddam could hide any WMD's from them, and they were actually inside Iraq when Bush said he was going to start bombing Iraq because Saddam had thrown the inspectors out of the country. Several American metallurgists said the aluminum tubes could never be used to make weapons grade uranium, and a loyal Republican named Joseph Wilson said he had been over to the Middle East and that the documents that Bush claimed proved Saddam was trying to buy uranium were, in fact, forgeries."
"I've heard of Joe Wilson"
"How about Valerie Plame?"
"The CIA lady?"
"Exactly."
"So?"
"Well...This is the part that shows what true scumbags the Bush and Cheney really are. George Bush and Dick Cheney already knew that they were making their case for war with information that was bogus. Bush was trying to talk Americans into send their children off to war, and some of them were going to die, and he was telling lies to do it. See, if you say something you believe is true and it turns out later not to be true, you are mistaken, If you say something to get your way, and it turns out later that it isn't true, and it also turns out later that you knew it wasn't true at the time...You are a liar!"
"Well...Joseph Wilson committed a brave act. He said to America, 'President Bush has said something that is not true and he knows it, and if you believe him, Americans will die for the wrong reason.'"
"Well...So President George Bush was caught in a lie, but that wasn't the most scumbag thing that he did. Caught in a lie, President Bush got back at Joe Wilson by ruining the career, not of Joe Wilson...Bush is much too cowardly to try that...he ruined the career of Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. And then he made it look like Dick Cheney did it...And Dick Cheney made it look like Scooter Libby did it...And Scooter Libby got arrested for lying to a Federal prosecuter trying to make it look like he DIDN'T do it...But they all did it."
"President Bush lied. Vice President Cheney lied. Scooter Libby lied. Joe Wilson told the truth."
A couple of hundred thousand people died...Some of them were the children of people like Cindy Sheehan, who still asks the same question that we should have been asking before we ever went to war...
"Why?"
Why did we go to war?
Why didn't we stop it?
Courage,
Steve
"Well... son, everyone seems to be missing the point, arguing about whether it was or wasn't illegal. The bottom line is that it was a scumbag thing to do."
"Why?"
"Well... President Bush was trying to talk Americans into letting him start a war in Iraq and he gave us all kind of reasons for it. Now we know that none of them were true. Saddam never had anything to do with 9-11, he didn't have Weapons of Mass Destruction, he didn't have any "Mobile Biological Weapons trailers, and he wasn't on his way to having nuclear weapons."
" Remember President Bush's scary litlte "Mushroom Cloud" speech?
"Yeah?"
"Well... at the time George Bush was telling his boogieman stories, his flunkies were making a big deal about some documents that they said proved that Saddam was trying to buy uranium yellow cake from the country if Niger, and had these aluminum tubes that were going to be used to process it into a bomb...but it wasn't true. None of it was. And not only that, but lot's of people knew none of it was true and said so, and by pointing out that the President of the United States was a lying S.O.B. who was gonna screw things up royally and get a bunch of good American sons and daughters killed, these people who should have been called patriots were given another name by the President's people...Enemies!"
"Who were they?"
"Well...A bunch of British scientists pointed out that Bush's mobile weapons labs were actually gas generators for weather balloons (they had sold the danged things to him in the first place). An American named Scott Ritter pointed out that he had led the United Nations team of inspectors who had decided that there was no way Saddam could hide any WMD's from them, and they were actually inside Iraq when Bush said he was going to start bombing Iraq because Saddam had thrown the inspectors out of the country. Several American metallurgists said the aluminum tubes could never be used to make weapons grade uranium, and a loyal Republican named Joseph Wilson said he had been over to the Middle East and that the documents that Bush claimed proved Saddam was trying to buy uranium were, in fact, forgeries."
"I've heard of Joe Wilson"
"How about Valerie Plame?"
"The CIA lady?"
"Exactly."
"So?"
"Well...This is the part that shows what true scumbags the Bush and Cheney really are. George Bush and Dick Cheney already knew that they were making their case for war with information that was bogus. Bush was trying to talk Americans into send their children off to war, and some of them were going to die, and he was telling lies to do it. See, if you say something you believe is true and it turns out later not to be true, you are mistaken, If you say something to get your way, and it turns out later that it isn't true, and it also turns out later that you knew it wasn't true at the time...You are a liar!"
"Well...Joseph Wilson committed a brave act. He said to America, 'President Bush has said something that is not true and he knows it, and if you believe him, Americans will die for the wrong reason.'"
"Well...So President George Bush was caught in a lie, but that wasn't the most scumbag thing that he did. Caught in a lie, President Bush got back at Joe Wilson by ruining the career, not of Joe Wilson...Bush is much too cowardly to try that...he ruined the career of Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. And then he made it look like Dick Cheney did it...And Dick Cheney made it look like Scooter Libby did it...And Scooter Libby got arrested for lying to a Federal prosecuter trying to make it look like he DIDN'T do it...But they all did it."
"President Bush lied. Vice President Cheney lied. Scooter Libby lied. Joe Wilson told the truth."
A couple of hundred thousand people died...Some of them were the children of people like Cindy Sheehan, who still asks the same question that we should have been asking before we ever went to war...
"Why?"
Why did we go to war?
Why didn't we stop it?
Courage,
Steve
Monday, April 10, 2006
We have seen the Enemy...
So what do you do, as a Fundamentalist Christian with an Apocolyptic vision of the future of the world, when you wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and realize that in the puppet show at the end of time, the part of Satan, is played by...You?
Did Adolph Hitler ever question himself? Does George W. Bush? Does Bush think that he is destined to be the one to end the world?
So the good news in all this is that the damned nuclear weapon doesn't actually work?
http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/B61-11.htm
Did Adolph Hitler ever question himself? Does George W. Bush? Does Bush think that he is destined to be the one to end the world?
After ten years and tens of millions of dollars spent on developing the B61-11, the Bush administration is now trying to persuade Congress that the solution to the unsatisfactory mission capability of the B61-11 is to build yet another modified bomb
So the good news in all this is that the damned nuclear weapon doesn't actually work?
The B61-11 "cannot survive penetration into many types of terrain in which hardened underground facilities are located. Given these limitations, the targeting of a number of hardened, underground facilities is limited to an attack against surface features, which does not does not provide a high probability of defeat of these important targets."
http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/B61-11.htm
Lost?
I can't find it...Looked all over but it just isn't there and I am really worried.
Where is America's Outrage?
President Bush is obviously lying...again.
"We are seeking a diplomatic solution...The only military preparations currently underway are normal defense activities."
We've heard this before.
The Bush Administration is considering a bombing campaign against Iran. They are also considering using the great abomination of our time, nuclear weapons.
Fellow Americans, there aren't any Iranians at the gates of America, and we can do plenty of uncalled for damage with plain old ordinary weapons of mass destruction that we already have loaded in the bomb bays of our tactical and strategic planes of war.
There can only be one reason Bush would consider starting another war in the most abominable manner possible...America has woken up to the Bush Administration as the great evil of our time.
But we aren't expressing it as we should. It is time!
It is time to be Outraged!
The investigations into the CIA leaks have narrowed to Bush himself. His leadership is not just inept but devastatingly destructive of everything that makes America America. Our economy is about to run up against the credit card limit, Bush has borrowed more money from foreign goevernments than all other presidents in history. Our schools are troubled. The environment is cascading into world crisis. The only thing rising faster than the cost of healthcare is the cost of secondary education, and Healthcare is a disaster.
The rest of the World now hates America, not because of what we are, so much, but because of what we are not, even though it is well within our power to be...The moral leader of the world.
We no longer stand for truth and justice and fairness. But we can...and we should.
It is time to be outraged, people. Now is the time for courage! Let your outrage be known. Let it be known that you think starting another senseless war would be moral suicide in the World's eyes.
And ours, too.
Courage,
Steve
Where is America's Outrage?
President Bush is obviously lying...again.
"We are seeking a diplomatic solution...The only military preparations currently underway are normal defense activities."
We've heard this before.
The Bush Administration is considering a bombing campaign against Iran. They are also considering using the great abomination of our time, nuclear weapons.
Fellow Americans, there aren't any Iranians at the gates of America, and we can do plenty of uncalled for damage with plain old ordinary weapons of mass destruction that we already have loaded in the bomb bays of our tactical and strategic planes of war.
There can only be one reason Bush would consider starting another war in the most abominable manner possible...America has woken up to the Bush Administration as the great evil of our time.
But we aren't expressing it as we should. It is time!
It is time to be Outraged!
The investigations into the CIA leaks have narrowed to Bush himself. His leadership is not just inept but devastatingly destructive of everything that makes America America. Our economy is about to run up against the credit card limit, Bush has borrowed more money from foreign goevernments than all other presidents in history. Our schools are troubled. The environment is cascading into world crisis. The only thing rising faster than the cost of healthcare is the cost of secondary education, and Healthcare is a disaster.
The rest of the World now hates America, not because of what we are, so much, but because of what we are not, even though it is well within our power to be...The moral leader of the world.
We no longer stand for truth and justice and fairness. But we can...and we should.
It is time to be outraged, people. Now is the time for courage! Let your outrage be known. Let it be known that you think starting another senseless war would be moral suicide in the World's eyes.
And ours, too.
Courage,
Steve
Saturday, April 08, 2006
The Price of War
....the airline placed Private Eisenhauer's coffin in a cargo warehouse with crates and boxes stacked high around it. There was no ceremony, no flag over the coffin.
..."To glance over and see your child's casket on a forklift is not really the kind of thing you want to see,"...
The rest of this story
..."To glance over and see your child's casket on a forklift is not really the kind of thing you want to see,"...
The rest of this story
Thursday, April 06, 2006
biggerVampire II
When I was a little kid, my Dad and Mom took me to the Drive in. Knowing what I know now, I suspect that they had been to the drive in on previous occaissions without me, but there I was in the back seat.
Up there on the big screen was an old house, all shadowy in black and white, and a Butler who kills someone who showed up at the door after having car trouble, and then the Butler cuts off the head of the guy he just killed and pours the blood into a coffin and this scary looking man in a tuxedo and a black cape morphs into being alive inside the coffin and the Butler helps the scary man to stand up and then you know the vampire has returned because nobody drove the right kind of wooden stake in its heart the first time around and now some people are gonna get their blood sucked until somebody shows up and does it right this time, and it's probably gonna be some guy in a grey suit who works hard in his government job and does it proudly because he is just that kinda guy and he'll save us all from the vampire in the end but it'll be rough and scary for a while, and I'm hiding in the floor of the car in the back seat by now and I don't ever know how the movie comes out but I think the good guys won, but I'm not sure and maybe one day the vampire will come back and there may not be enough garlic in the whole world to save us but we think things are ok and try to sleep for now but I'm not sure we can...
Allegorically speaking, the vampire is really the evil that resides in the human race. It lives in the big house and seems to have a lot of money and expensive things but it never seems to be happy unless it is sucking the life blood out of some poor soul who just needed some help with a flat tire...And it is because the Vampire never thinks it has enough money or silver candlesticks because, even though the Vampire has more than it can ever ever use, there are still silver things left in the world that aren't his and he wants them.
And the Vampire will always want things that don't belong to it. And the Vampire will always want more.
And the man in the grey suit will have to kill it again...and again...and again...in order to save his Country.
And now you know why the little kid in the back seat didn't sleep well last night, because there's always some stupid butler around who is willing to serve the Vampire, and the only way to keep the Vapire from coming back is to kill the Butlers, too.
And that is why I am only partly happy about Tom Delay going down in flames. The Democratic party will dance around and be happy while the butlers of the world go about their business of serving evil and calling it good.
Vampires can't survive in the light of day. If you let the Butler keep you in the dark, you'll never kill the Vampire. Remember that as you watch the news. Ask yourself:
Who does this Butler serve...the Vampire? Or the light of the Sun?
So enjoy your celebration, progressives, but get back to sharpening those wooden stakes as soon as you can.
Courage,
Steve
Up there on the big screen was an old house, all shadowy in black and white, and a Butler who kills someone who showed up at the door after having car trouble, and then the Butler cuts off the head of the guy he just killed and pours the blood into a coffin and this scary looking man in a tuxedo and a black cape morphs into being alive inside the coffin and the Butler helps the scary man to stand up and then you know the vampire has returned because nobody drove the right kind of wooden stake in its heart the first time around and now some people are gonna get their blood sucked until somebody shows up and does it right this time, and it's probably gonna be some guy in a grey suit who works hard in his government job and does it proudly because he is just that kinda guy and he'll save us all from the vampire in the end but it'll be rough and scary for a while, and I'm hiding in the floor of the car in the back seat by now and I don't ever know how the movie comes out but I think the good guys won, but I'm not sure and maybe one day the vampire will come back and there may not be enough garlic in the whole world to save us but we think things are ok and try to sleep for now but I'm not sure we can...
Allegorically speaking, the vampire is really the evil that resides in the human race. It lives in the big house and seems to have a lot of money and expensive things but it never seems to be happy unless it is sucking the life blood out of some poor soul who just needed some help with a flat tire...And it is because the Vampire never thinks it has enough money or silver candlesticks because, even though the Vampire has more than it can ever ever use, there are still silver things left in the world that aren't his and he wants them.
And the Vampire will always want things that don't belong to it. And the Vampire will always want more.
And the man in the grey suit will have to kill it again...and again...and again...in order to save his Country.
And now you know why the little kid in the back seat didn't sleep well last night, because there's always some stupid butler around who is willing to serve the Vampire, and the only way to keep the Vapire from coming back is to kill the Butlers, too.
And that is why I am only partly happy about Tom Delay going down in flames. The Democratic party will dance around and be happy while the butlers of the world go about their business of serving evil and calling it good.
Vampires can't survive in the light of day. If you let the Butler keep you in the dark, you'll never kill the Vampire. Remember that as you watch the news. Ask yourself:
Who does this Butler serve...the Vampire? Or the light of the Sun?
So enjoy your celebration, progressives, but get back to sharpening those wooden stakes as soon as you can.
Courage,
Steve
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Sympathy for the Devil
With Tom DeLay going down in self pitying flames blaming everyone but his own deeply corrupt self, one must wonder at the folks who have been marching lockstep with the most openly hypocritical regime in living memory. I chatted with a fiercely republican friend yesterday, having joke after joke at his expense. Usually he comes back with some memorized talking point laughing at his own cleverness and the fact that His party won...But not now. As unassailable evidence builds and builds making the case that his Party is nothing more than a pompously cufflinked organized crime syndicate, I wonder what he will do?
How does he feel as he faces the fact that god is NOT on his side? That his precious W is actually not even a very good liar?
My friend spent a very profitable lifetime selling insurance. His smile is photographically beaming but false and his eyes give him away. He is worried. He is beginning to feel a guilt that his Sunday piety will not erase.
At some level I feel a kind of pity for my friend and hundreds more like him, but I do not forgive him. I am angry at him and can bestow my own forgiveness when he rises off his knees and helps us fix this mess we are in due to his intellectual laziness and self delusional righteousness.
These people have harmed my country and my countymen. Only their own penance can save them.
Do they have the courage?
Steve
******
Here is a very good piece in similar vein from Darksyde at Kos.
An excerpt:
.
kos
How does he feel as he faces the fact that god is NOT on his side? That his precious W is actually not even a very good liar?
My friend spent a very profitable lifetime selling insurance. His smile is photographically beaming but false and his eyes give him away. He is worried. He is beginning to feel a guilt that his Sunday piety will not erase.
At some level I feel a kind of pity for my friend and hundreds more like him, but I do not forgive him. I am angry at him and can bestow my own forgiveness when he rises off his knees and helps us fix this mess we are in due to his intellectual laziness and self delusional righteousness.
These people have harmed my country and my countymen. Only their own penance can save them.
Do they have the courage?
Steve
******
Here is a very good piece in similar vein from Darksyde at Kos.
An excerpt:
.
..Of all the people that unwittingly facilitated the Republican Culture of Corruption of which DeLay has come to represent, and the string of astonishing GOP failures stemming from the White House, perhaps the grass-roots religious-right deserve the most sympathy. I'm talking about the ordinary guys and gals. Most of those hard working folks were expertly handled by religious opportunists and misled into supporting some of the most immoral politicians ever to disgrace the halls of power. Their eyes and hearts were drawn skyward by the smooth political operators while their collective pockets were then picked by neoconservative policy...
...But it takes tremendous courage to question one's very identity. And it is likely humiliating to confront the possibility that trusted comrades in faith have so cleverly played them like a harp, played them with their deepest, personal spiritual beliefs...
kos
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
I see the Light
If you've been to WhitesCreek Journal Global Headquarters, you know that I love a good storm. The storm viewing room, which doubles as the bedroom, has a glass front facing Southeast over the gorge. The ridge behind the house is a little over 500 feet above us, but we are still roughly 250 feet above the class two rapid below which signals the end of the whitewater canoe and kayak run for the four creeks that come together a mile and a half upstream. When we have a good electrical storm it can be as one house sitter called it, "A religious experience."
It is a glorious thing to see a soaring bald eagle from above. It is interesting to look down on an Army Air helicopter violating FAA regulations as it hovers up the creek with incredible noise reverberating back and forth from wall to wall in the gorge. But friends I'm here to tell you, when Zeus hurls that ionized javelin past your bedroom window in the middle of the night, you can see it with your eyes closed and go from a soundly sleeping repose to standing at attention straight up in a waterbed in point oh, oh, two seconds...faster if you weren't sleeping all that soundly.
Everybody in the valley got woken up by the storm early Monday morning. And everyone I talked to remembers the one big strike. You know...the one where the blinding light and the horrendous boom occur at the same time. I remember one more blinding flash. It happened after I reset the breaker to our well pump and tried to throw the pressure switch to get the water back on. Just to be sure, I did it again with the same result. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust back to the predawn dark.
We have water in reserve for coffee but nobody got a shower that morning. Two hundred and thirty feet down a little hole in the ground is a glob of blackened copper windings that used to be individual wires inside the well pump. The little wires have now been joined in molten matrimony and have sworn to never pump water for me again.
This would be exactly the time that my mother in law had arrived to spend a month with us.
One well service company says they can get here as early as Thursday.
Courage!
Steve
It is a glorious thing to see a soaring bald eagle from above. It is interesting to look down on an Army Air helicopter violating FAA regulations as it hovers up the creek with incredible noise reverberating back and forth from wall to wall in the gorge. But friends I'm here to tell you, when Zeus hurls that ionized javelin past your bedroom window in the middle of the night, you can see it with your eyes closed and go from a soundly sleeping repose to standing at attention straight up in a waterbed in point oh, oh, two seconds...faster if you weren't sleeping all that soundly.
Everybody in the valley got woken up by the storm early Monday morning. And everyone I talked to remembers the one big strike. You know...the one where the blinding light and the horrendous boom occur at the same time. I remember one more blinding flash. It happened after I reset the breaker to our well pump and tried to throw the pressure switch to get the water back on. Just to be sure, I did it again with the same result. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust back to the predawn dark.
We have water in reserve for coffee but nobody got a shower that morning. Two hundred and thirty feet down a little hole in the ground is a glob of blackened copper windings that used to be individual wires inside the well pump. The little wires have now been joined in molten matrimony and have sworn to never pump water for me again.
This would be exactly the time that my mother in law had arrived to spend a month with us.
One well service company says they can get here as early as Thursday.
Courage!
Steve
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Changing Time
Time doesn't change much, actually. Clocks do. This morning most of my clocks have changed themselves. The one on my wrist needs a little work but the one down in the corner of my computer screen thinks it's Spring forward time now.
I don't like it.
Way back in the old days, I could get up at my usual time, a little before daylight, and have an hour or two by myself, just me and the world, before the demands of family life and society would take over. There was time to enjoy the morning light, soft in Spring and pastel colored...Maple red and Tulip Poplar green between fading Sarvis berry blossoms and the yellow Dogwood buds announcing an impending pop into white bloom.
And, geez, at the bird noise.
Before they screwed up the clocks, I had plenty of time for those morning walks which sometimes turned into hikes...And do you realize that if you walk into the woods and be still for a few minutes, the animals will forget about you and go about their business? They have things to do and you get to watch. Only you don't because your government has banned Free time in the morning.
They call it "Daylight savings time" which illustrates as much as anything how stupid Americans are. Let me let you in on a little secret your government is hiding...Today is going to be the same length no matter what the clock says.
We aren't saving a damned thing.
You can't save Daylight, people! You gotta use it as it flies by.
Now go outside and breathe the morning air. (I've already had a hike today, just so you'll feel jealous)
Peace,
Steve
*****
I can't put my finger on exactly why I like this picture. In a couple of months, this momma is going to beat the crap out of her baby and make it leave home forever, but for now, all is good.
Close to Momma
Redwing
I never knew that those little red thingies on a blackbird's wings could flap all by themselves. They flare out and vibrate during a territorial display, as this shot demonstrates. Cool, huh?
I don't like it.
Way back in the old days, I could get up at my usual time, a little before daylight, and have an hour or two by myself, just me and the world, before the demands of family life and society would take over. There was time to enjoy the morning light, soft in Spring and pastel colored...Maple red and Tulip Poplar green between fading Sarvis berry blossoms and the yellow Dogwood buds announcing an impending pop into white bloom.
And, geez, at the bird noise.
Before they screwed up the clocks, I had plenty of time for those morning walks which sometimes turned into hikes...And do you realize that if you walk into the woods and be still for a few minutes, the animals will forget about you and go about their business? They have things to do and you get to watch. Only you don't because your government has banned Free time in the morning.
They call it "Daylight savings time" which illustrates as much as anything how stupid Americans are. Let me let you in on a little secret your government is hiding...Today is going to be the same length no matter what the clock says.
We aren't saving a damned thing.
You can't save Daylight, people! You gotta use it as it flies by.
Now go outside and breathe the morning air. (I've already had a hike today, just so you'll feel jealous)
Peace,
Steve
*****
I can't put my finger on exactly why I like this picture. In a couple of months, this momma is going to beat the crap out of her baby and make it leave home forever, but for now, all is good.
Close to Momma
RedwingI never knew that those little red thingies on a blackbird's wings could flap all by themselves. They flare out and vibrate during a territorial display, as this shot demonstrates. Cool, huh?
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Picture of "----You"
My! Don't we live in an interesting world?
A charming little story arose out of the visit to a Boston Catholic church by that paragon of eclesiastic virtue, Antonin Scalia, known to his close associates as "Yo, Tony!"
So Tony Scalia is a Supreme Court justice, right? and his vote counts more than yours so you better suck up or pay big, right? Well Tony goes to this church for mass and mabe some confession, just like the mobsters do after they whack someone.
You know the drill...Do something bad, go to church, confess all, make a big donation, receive absolution, and reload, right?
Tony loves guns, is afraid of being recorded, and thinks orgies are a fine way to let off some steam. He got his picture taken making a little Italian finger sign for...well, the same thing the finger sign usually means. Just to be sure the photographer knew what the sign meant, Tony said, "F--- You" at the same time, to make sure there was no missing his meaning. So we got a good christian man saying "F--- You" in church and this good christian man happens to be a Supreme Court Justice, so the reporter thinks this might be a news item.
"Aw, shucks," said the right wing mouth pieces. "Tony didn't actually mean 'F-u'," and it doesn't matter if he did because he's a god fearing Republican and he gave W the Presidency back in 2000. See? It's OK if a Republican does it.
So now comes the burning question of the moment: Who's the bad guy in this picture?
...The guy who say's "F-U" in church or the guy who takes a picture of the guy who says "F-U" in church who was working for the church but now he isn't because they fired him for printing the picture of the guy who said "F-U" in church while he was making an Italian sign for "F-U" in church?
Why, the messenger, of course.
Peace,
Steve
A charming little story arose out of the visit to a Boston Catholic church by that paragon of eclesiastic virtue, Antonin Scalia, known to his close associates as "Yo, Tony!"
So Tony Scalia is a Supreme Court justice, right? and his vote counts more than yours so you better suck up or pay big, right? Well Tony goes to this church for mass and mabe some confession, just like the mobsters do after they whack someone.
You know the drill...Do something bad, go to church, confess all, make a big donation, receive absolution, and reload, right?
Tony loves guns, is afraid of being recorded, and thinks orgies are a fine way to let off some steam. He got his picture taken making a little Italian finger sign for...well, the same thing the finger sign usually means. Just to be sure the photographer knew what the sign meant, Tony said, "F--- You" at the same time, to make sure there was no missing his meaning. So we got a good christian man saying "F--- You" in church and this good christian man happens to be a Supreme Court Justice, so the reporter thinks this might be a news item.
"Aw, shucks," said the right wing mouth pieces. "Tony didn't actually mean 'F-u'," and it doesn't matter if he did because he's a god fearing Republican and he gave W the Presidency back in 2000. See? It's OK if a Republican does it.
So now comes the burning question of the moment: Who's the bad guy in this picture?
...The guy who say's "F-U" in church or the guy who takes a picture of the guy who says "F-U" in church who was working for the church but now he isn't because they fired him for printing the picture of the guy who said "F-U" in church while he was making an Italian sign for "F-U" in church?
Why, the messenger, of course.
Peace,
Steve
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