Folks,
I don't know that I can make up a story any better 'n this one.
James Starret done gone and shot his cousin. Seems he mighta been drinkin' and shootin' with his brother Martin, which is what country folks might do after they bury their own father, who..well...died.
For reasons undisclosed, James got angry and decided that the only Christian thing to do was to shoot. Only he twern't meanin' to shoot his cousin Paul, he totally meant to shoot his brother Martin.
Well, Martin, who had every intention of being Not shot, ducked and the 12 gauge shotgun load that was meant for Martin went flying into, what else in East Tenessee, but a trailer, whereupon dear cousin Paul, who was a sittin on the couch inside the aforementioned trailer, got himself shot entirely on accident.
Deputy Investigator Jon French said, "He's still alive." meaning cousin Paul.
"He's a lucky man." French said.
After much discussion, those of us still coherent enough to make such determinations decided that while cousin Paul may be lucky to be alive, Brother Martin scores way upper on the lucky scale, as the aforementioned shotgun load was meant for Brother Martin in the first anyhow.
Brother James, the shoot-er, was still in the decrepid old Roane County jail that has been much in our local news of late, being unable to make the $25,000.00 bail set for him by our one remaining Judge who is not under indictment so far.
James has asked that the good people of Roane County give special consideration to the bond issue coming up that would provide him a new house to live in and a fine excercize yard in which to take the morning air as he pays his debt to what passes for society in greater Roane County.
Those of us who live in this fair county and who are NOT related to Brother James, which is probably less than half of us, think the old accomodations are just fine.
Around here in East Tennessee, we don't have much patience with folk who shoot the wrong quail.
Peace,
Steve
Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
I read the News Today...Oh, Boy...
Well, ok, it was yesterday's news. Out here, the paper comes in the mail around noonish, and we tend to read the morning paper later that night, or the next morning as the case may be.
So I'm looking at the front page to see what the editors of the Knoxville paper think is important.
At the top of the page is the weather, how much the paper costs, and the fact that the Lady Vols beat Auburn.
Then we find out that Governor Bredesen is pretty upset at President W trying to sell off the people's land. Bredesen is trying to figure out how to preserve thousands of acres of land that Bowater is selling off and now the Prez goes and tries to sell off land that the people already own, and don't really want to sell. Actually, I suspect the Prez found out about this from a newspaper he didn't read. He seems to be the last to know what happens in his administration.
Then we get the main big picture article about saving a church and right below that an article on a guy named Dango Moore, who's mother is a Bishop in the True House Church of God. Dango is going to jail for the "victimless crime", as his attorney called it, of distributing crack cocaine. His mother's church was founded because Dango Moore's brother was shot dead during a gun attack over a drug deal. Phillip Moore was an innocent bystander along with several other people who happened to be passing through a parking lot when he was murdered as gunmen tried to ambush a rival drug dealer. The Judge gave Dango 12 years in jail to see if he could come up with the name of a possible victim in the gang war and drug conspiracy.
And in the Side bar...in the second paragraph of the side bar... there's a note that seven more soldiers were killed in Iraq.
In the side bar of the side bar there's this:
"Featured speaker...gives President Bush a low grade on talking straight with his constituency." (page 11)
I don't think Bush actually lies. I don't think he has a clue in the first place. He found out about his people selling our seaports from an AP reporter, apparently.
President Bush should read the Newspapers. Then he'd know what was going on.
I'll bet that if you ask a local Newspaper reader around here what was in the paper, you find out:
Tennessee beat Auburn!
Sigh,
Steve
So I'm looking at the front page to see what the editors of the Knoxville paper think is important.
At the top of the page is the weather, how much the paper costs, and the fact that the Lady Vols beat Auburn.
Then we find out that Governor Bredesen is pretty upset at President W trying to sell off the people's land. Bredesen is trying to figure out how to preserve thousands of acres of land that Bowater is selling off and now the Prez goes and tries to sell off land that the people already own, and don't really want to sell. Actually, I suspect the Prez found out about this from a newspaper he didn't read. He seems to be the last to know what happens in his administration.
Then we get the main big picture article about saving a church and right below that an article on a guy named Dango Moore, who's mother is a Bishop in the True House Church of God. Dango is going to jail for the "victimless crime", as his attorney called it, of distributing crack cocaine. His mother's church was founded because Dango Moore's brother was shot dead during a gun attack over a drug deal. Phillip Moore was an innocent bystander along with several other people who happened to be passing through a parking lot when he was murdered as gunmen tried to ambush a rival drug dealer. The Judge gave Dango 12 years in jail to see if he could come up with the name of a possible victim in the gang war and drug conspiracy.
And in the Side bar...in the second paragraph of the side bar... there's a note that seven more soldiers were killed in Iraq.
In the side bar of the side bar there's this:
"Featured speaker...gives President Bush a low grade on talking straight with his constituency." (page 11)
I don't think Bush actually lies. I don't think he has a clue in the first place. He found out about his people selling our seaports from an AP reporter, apparently.
President Bush should read the Newspapers. Then he'd know what was going on.
I'll bet that if you ask a local Newspaper reader around here what was in the paper, you find out:
Tennessee beat Auburn!
Sigh,
Steve
Friday, February 24, 2006
Here, There, and Everywhere
Over there...
When the most aggressively radical fundamentalist Cleric in Iraq, Moktada al-Sadr, urges restraint, you have to think Iraq is about to blow. Soem folks think it has already.
Long suffering readers of this blog will remember that prior to the start of the Iraq war, I prophecized all possible outcomes of American intervention leading to civil war.
If only I could have been wrong!
There is only one possibility that can prevent all out Islamic sect against Islamic sect war and that is for a few horrible things to happen that scare everyone to their senses. It has to involve terrible losses by all sides (and there are at least four) to the point that no one can be considered to have suffered less than anyone else.
What are the chances of this occurring? Virtually none but not zero. Now is the time for true martyrs to fall victim in large numbers in Iraq.
Where is the Prince of Peace?
Over Here:
Do you support the imprisonment of doctors for up to five years for the alleged “crime” of performing an abortion, as South Dakota’s legislature demands?
Framing the issue
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is joining in the defense of Scooter Libby for his role in the treasonous outing of a CIA operative by raising nearly three million dollars for his defense. I wonder how Fred Thompson, who is no hero but plays one on TV, can justify such a cowardly act as the one perpetrated by Libby and his boss, Dick Cheney. Remember that this slimeball act was one in which Libby and Cheney acted to destroy the career of the wife of a man who had shown them to be liars.
"Wives are fair game" said Karl Rove at the time.
This is nothing more than cowardice in support of cowardice. I detest these people.
When the most aggressively radical fundamentalist Cleric in Iraq, Moktada al-Sadr, urges restraint, you have to think Iraq is about to blow. Soem folks think it has already.
Long suffering readers of this blog will remember that prior to the start of the Iraq war, I prophecized all possible outcomes of American intervention leading to civil war.
If only I could have been wrong!
There is only one possibility that can prevent all out Islamic sect against Islamic sect war and that is for a few horrible things to happen that scare everyone to their senses. It has to involve terrible losses by all sides (and there are at least four) to the point that no one can be considered to have suffered less than anyone else.
What are the chances of this occurring? Virtually none but not zero. Now is the time for true martyrs to fall victim in large numbers in Iraq.
Where is the Prince of Peace?
Over Here:
Do you support the imprisonment of doctors for up to five years for the alleged “crime” of performing an abortion, as South Dakota’s legislature demands?
Framing the issue
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is joining in the defense of Scooter Libby for his role in the treasonous outing of a CIA operative by raising nearly three million dollars for his defense. I wonder how Fred Thompson, who is no hero but plays one on TV, can justify such a cowardly act as the one perpetrated by Libby and his boss, Dick Cheney. Remember that this slimeball act was one in which Libby and Cheney acted to destroy the career of the wife of a man who had shown them to be liars.
"Wives are fair game" said Karl Rove at the time.
This is nothing more than cowardice in support of cowardice. I detest these people.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Brain Dead
The Bush administration has made the stupidest decision so far in handing our seaports to the United Arab Emirates. I mean except for deciding to go to war in Iraq, that is.
But don't worry about this incredibly tone deaf move compromising the security of our Nation's ports. There isn't any security there to compromise in the first place.
Now, members of bothj houses of Congress are working up bills to stop the handover...But President Bush has come out and said he'll veto the bill if Congress tries to stop him. The weirdest part of this whole scary episode is this:
Bush knew nothing whatsoever about this deal until the Press found out. The President immediately went on the attack representing his base constituency with the full power of his office,,,
Multinational Corporations.
Mureen Dowd
Sirota
Courage,
Steve
But don't worry about this incredibly tone deaf move compromising the security of our Nation's ports. There isn't any security there to compromise in the first place.
Now, members of bothj houses of Congress are working up bills to stop the handover...But President Bush has come out and said he'll veto the bill if Congress tries to stop him. The weirdest part of this whole scary episode is this:
Bush knew nothing whatsoever about this deal until the Press found out. The President immediately went on the attack representing his base constituency with the full power of his office,,,
Multinational Corporations.
Mureen Dowd
Sirota
Courage,
Steve
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
OK, I'm Pissed!
So let's see...There's a wild and beautiful tract of land that developers are trying to get their hands on but the locals want to save it. The conservation crowd gets together and raises money, buys the land, and donates it to the Forest Service for protection. This happened in 2004 and less than two years later, the Forest Service plans to sell the land to the developers, anyway.
In the Southeast, they are trying to sell off 55,000 acres. The smoke screen is that they are claiming the money will go to help rural schools. It will only raise one billion dollars...which will pay for roughly half the tax break they gave Exxon in the last two weeks.
check your state for damage:
The List
Every day I see the horrible effects of the Bush administration. This one so pisses me off I could spit.
Read this, get mad, and contact your reps through the link at the end.
via Kos
GRRRRRRRR.....
Steve
In the Southeast, they are trying to sell off 55,000 acres. The smoke screen is that they are claiming the money will go to help rural schools. It will only raise one billion dollars...which will pay for roughly half the tax break they gave Exxon in the last two weeks.
check your state for damage:
The List
Every day I see the horrible effects of the Bush administration. This one so pisses me off I could spit.
Read this, get mad, and contact your reps through the link at the end.
via Kos
GRRRRRRRR.....
Steve
Monday, February 20, 2006
More Capers Island
WE had the entire island to ourselves...except for the volunteer ranger, as it turns out. What a fascinating guy.
The first morning I took this shot of nothing in particular, more of a feeling than a picture.
There are pieces of boats all up and down the Capers Island shore. Several shipwrecks are marked on the charts and I have walked to some of them at low tide but not this time. Morning temps were at the freezing point.
This Pteradactyl was imbedded near the high tide mark. I don't have a clue what part of the boat it was.
The first morning I took this shot of nothing in particular, more of a feeling than a picture.
There are pieces of boats all up and down the Capers Island shore. Several shipwrecks are marked on the charts and I have walked to some of them at low tide but not this time. Morning temps were at the freezing point.
This Pteradactyl was imbedded near the high tide mark. I don't have a clue what part of the boat it was.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Figures:
Just a few things I've run across this morning that interest me:
The risk of violent death for an Iraqi citizen is 58 times higher now than before the invasion.
Halliburton stock opens at $71.24 this morning.
In September of 2001, before 9-11, Halliburton stock was trading below $20 a share.
Vice President Cheney holds (...Or held since I can't find out if he has excercised them or not) stock options worth millions. The option prices were at $34 and $50. His net worth appears to have doubled since he has been in office to somewhere between 60 and 100 million dollars.
In September of 2001, the trading volume for Halliburton stock doubled after 9-11.
Vice President Cheney has also held a huge percentage of a mutual fund that consists primarily of a Halliburton share holding company.
Two years ago, analysts found that poor execution of the war had resulted in 100,000 more deaths than necessary to achieve military goals. We've stopped counting and don't know how many civilians we've killed in the past two years.
The Iraq "Insurgency" is stronger now than ever before, and has steadiliy increased the sophistication of its methods.
A better analysis is here:
Kos
The cost of using the fossil fuels known to be still underground will be a 36 foot rise in sea level...At a minimum!
Outsourcing of American jobs is generating a $300,000,000.00 loss each year to the Social Security fund for each 100,000 jobs sent overseas.
The risk of violent death for an Iraqi citizen is 58 times higher now than before the invasion.
Halliburton stock opens at $71.24 this morning.
In September of 2001, before 9-11, Halliburton stock was trading below $20 a share.
Vice President Cheney holds (...Or held since I can't find out if he has excercised them or not) stock options worth millions. The option prices were at $34 and $50. His net worth appears to have doubled since he has been in office to somewhere between 60 and 100 million dollars.
In September of 2001, the trading volume for Halliburton stock doubled after 9-11.
Vice President Cheney has also held a huge percentage of a mutual fund that consists primarily of a Halliburton share holding company.
Two years ago, analysts found that poor execution of the war had resulted in 100,000 more deaths than necessary to achieve military goals. We've stopped counting and don't know how many civilians we've killed in the past two years.
The Iraq "Insurgency" is stronger now than ever before, and has steadiliy increased the sophistication of its methods.
A better analysis is here:
Kos
The cost of using the fossil fuels known to be still underground will be a 36 foot rise in sea level...At a minimum!
Outsourcing of American jobs is generating a $300,000,000.00 loss each year to the Social Security fund for each 100,000 jobs sent overseas.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Resignation Watch
Well...My predictions are almost always accurate. Except for that Seattle Super Bowl thing. The impeachment proceedings for President Bush don't seem to be moving at the clip I expected but we're still stuck in Iraq, Osama is still on the loose, and Saddam didn't have WMD's. As for the civil war in Iraq...what exactly does it take to classify something as a civil war?
Now I predict that Dick Cheney will resign. This is a problem for those of us who were glad that W had adult supervision but there comes a time when Grampa has to have his gun taken away...Well the ammo at least! The Press is going to continue to eat Cheney's lunch until he goes away. They've been afraid of this admoinistration and now they are starting to smell blood.
Interesting in all this is the number of people who have come forward and announced that they've been shot, too, while hunting...no biggie! Well that's BS of the highest order. I've hunted with a lot of folks and one thing I can state for certain is that danged near nobody puts up with an unsafe hunting partner. Regardless of what the NRA says, guns are dangerous all by themselves, even without having a senescent drunk waving them around.
Lost in all the bombast about Cheney shooting a guy and hiding from the Sherriff for 14 hours Is another more sinister statement by the Vice President...Cheney claims he has the power, by virtue of a Presidential Executive order, to declassify information. Are you shocked?
What this means is that Cheney has rewritten the Constitution to try to keep himself out of jail in the Valerie Plame case, as Scooter Libby turns State's evidence to save his own skin. Scooter claims Dick ordered him to blab about Plame's CIA connection as a political attack on Joe Wilson, you'll remember.
It's all tooooooo interesting, and may fullfill the old Russian curse, "May you live in interesting times."
I wish things could get a little more boring for a few years.
Peace,
Steve
Now I predict that Dick Cheney will resign. This is a problem for those of us who were glad that W had adult supervision but there comes a time when Grampa has to have his gun taken away...Well the ammo at least! The Press is going to continue to eat Cheney's lunch until he goes away. They've been afraid of this admoinistration and now they are starting to smell blood.
Interesting in all this is the number of people who have come forward and announced that they've been shot, too, while hunting...no biggie! Well that's BS of the highest order. I've hunted with a lot of folks and one thing I can state for certain is that danged near nobody puts up with an unsafe hunting partner. Regardless of what the NRA says, guns are dangerous all by themselves, even without having a senescent drunk waving them around.
Lost in all the bombast about Cheney shooting a guy and hiding from the Sherriff for 14 hours Is another more sinister statement by the Vice President...Cheney claims he has the power, by virtue of a Presidential Executive order, to declassify information. Are you shocked?
What this means is that Cheney has rewritten the Constitution to try to keep himself out of jail in the Valerie Plame case, as Scooter Libby turns State's evidence to save his own skin. Scooter claims Dick ordered him to blab about Plame's CIA connection as a political attack on Joe Wilson, you'll remember.
It's all tooooooo interesting, and may fullfill the old Russian curse, "May you live in interesting times."
I wish things could get a little more boring for a few years.
Peace,
Steve
Monday, February 13, 2006
Unfair to Dick Cheney
The news headlines are all wrong, and this is patently unfair to Dick Cheney. As a result of mistaking the man who was his host for a quail on the rise, Cheney shot the guy in the face and chest. He's being vilified in news reports...No, not Cheney, silly, This is obviously the fault of Harry Whittington, who is still in intensive care as I write. (He'll be fine, maybe.)
See, Harry got Cheney a few drinks and they got in the car and rode down the road looking for things to shoot. Harry, being a big time Texas attorney, knows how to schmooze and he and the Veep mighta been schmoozing something fierce...They shure as hell weren't hunting. What Harry doesn't know, is how to hit the dirt when some moron aims his gun in your direction. See?
All Harry's fault.
Dick Cheney doesn't really like hunting. A hunter has to know the land he's on and where his game will likely pass. A hunter knows where the safe fire zone is. Dick prefers to shoot birds who have been hiding inside a cage until they are released for his blood sport pleasure. He shot over 70 birds one day in Pennsylvania, recently...All of them killed as the cage door opened. This is what Dick likes...
Killing things...Not hunting.
Riding down the road in a vehicle with a loaded weapon looking for something to kill isn't hunting either, but let's be absolutely fair to the Veep. Sure he was completely irresponsible and out of control and recklessly violating a few hunting regulations and maybe a law or two, but look at the service he has provided America...Let the headlines read:
"Cheney Bags Lawyer"
In a test of a new hunting season on lawyers, Dead Eye Dick Cheney shot a big one. Can't have 'em mounted if they live though...Too bad.
Peace,
Steve
See, Harry got Cheney a few drinks and they got in the car and rode down the road looking for things to shoot. Harry, being a big time Texas attorney, knows how to schmooze and he and the Veep mighta been schmoozing something fierce...They shure as hell weren't hunting. What Harry doesn't know, is how to hit the dirt when some moron aims his gun in your direction. See?
All Harry's fault.
Dick Cheney doesn't really like hunting. A hunter has to know the land he's on and where his game will likely pass. A hunter knows where the safe fire zone is. Dick prefers to shoot birds who have been hiding inside a cage until they are released for his blood sport pleasure. He shot over 70 birds one day in Pennsylvania, recently...All of them killed as the cage door opened. This is what Dick likes...
Killing things...Not hunting.
Riding down the road in a vehicle with a loaded weapon looking for something to kill isn't hunting either, but let's be absolutely fair to the Veep. Sure he was completely irresponsible and out of control and recklessly violating a few hunting regulations and maybe a law or two, but look at the service he has provided America...Let the headlines read:
"Cheney Bags Lawyer"
In a test of a new hunting season on lawyers, Dead Eye Dick Cheney shot a big one. Can't have 'em mounted if they live though...Too bad.
Peace,
Steve
Sunday, February 12, 2006
A Tail for Our Time
The new Natural History magazine has a great letters section. They did a smack down of Intelligent Design, noting several design flaws in the Human animal, such as the appendix, and lots of folks wrote in to add stupid design flaws of their own. I had never thought about the human eye and it's reversed positioning of the retina and nerve arrangement before. As a half assed designer myself, even I know better than to put the neurotransmittors in the way of the light receptors.....Duh!
The best line was from a reader who lamented the loss of our tail. We only have the vestigal remains to give us grief when we bump our asses on the bike seat, but nothing to help hold that flashlight when we're working on the sink pipes. I can visualize my tail holding my beer while I pocket the white one in a game of eight ball. (That is exactly why I don't hang around in bars, by the way)
Funniest letter was from a guy who was outraged that they were even questioning ID. The writer defined "Science" as knowlege, which is so wrong as to define the Creationist ignorance of Science. Science is not "Knowlege"...Remember this, if you remember nothing else:
Science is not Knowlege...It is the Art of Knowing.
It is the method of determining Truth. It is the process by which we know facts to be facts.
If we know a fact through Science, and it contradicts religious dogma, we should re-examine religious dogma. Ther is no need whatsoever to call for a re-examination of Science because this will happen by definition of Science itself, anyway.
Science wants you to "know".
If by that knowing, your religion is challenged...Well, Science wants you to be able to "Know" the facts. If you need the supernatural, fine. About half of all Doctoral level scientists are religious, by their own definition. They accept the allegory and metaphor of religious writings. Nearly all Scientists have strong ethical standards...philisophical boundaries that govern their lives...Even the a-theists among the scientific community.
A-theism does not mean that they "believe" there is no god, by the way. It means they go about their day without expecting the intereaction or interference of the supernatural. It means that scientists do not put god in too small a box, to be opened and entreated when convenient. No...It means that god is to be placed in the "I don't know (and I don't think anybody else does either) file, awaiting further factual evidence. In the mean time, we (you and I) will just have to get along and plan for the future as if there really will be one.
And...There you have the one thing I, personally, believe in....A Future!
How about we get together and make it the best one we can, how 'bout it?
Peace,
Steve
*****
I watched a bit of Albert Gonzales' testimony before Congress. He's the Attorney General and is supposed to represent the interests of "The People" but he is acting more like the White House Attorney than anything else. His testimony was so transparent, and frankly stupid, that even Fox News must have had a time finding some sound bite that made a favorable case for warrantless wiretapping.
Since the Attorney General was speaking in tounges, I have found a translator who is fluent in the Washington Bullshittese dialect to help us out:
Gonzo
The best line was from a reader who lamented the loss of our tail. We only have the vestigal remains to give us grief when we bump our asses on the bike seat, but nothing to help hold that flashlight when we're working on the sink pipes. I can visualize my tail holding my beer while I pocket the white one in a game of eight ball. (That is exactly why I don't hang around in bars, by the way)
Funniest letter was from a guy who was outraged that they were even questioning ID. The writer defined "Science" as knowlege, which is so wrong as to define the Creationist ignorance of Science. Science is not "Knowlege"...Remember this, if you remember nothing else:
Science is not Knowlege...It is the Art of Knowing.
It is the method of determining Truth. It is the process by which we know facts to be facts.
If we know a fact through Science, and it contradicts religious dogma, we should re-examine religious dogma. Ther is no need whatsoever to call for a re-examination of Science because this will happen by definition of Science itself, anyway.
Science wants you to "know".
If by that knowing, your religion is challenged...Well, Science wants you to be able to "Know" the facts. If you need the supernatural, fine. About half of all Doctoral level scientists are religious, by their own definition. They accept the allegory and metaphor of religious writings. Nearly all Scientists have strong ethical standards...philisophical boundaries that govern their lives...Even the a-theists among the scientific community.
A-theism does not mean that they "believe" there is no god, by the way. It means they go about their day without expecting the intereaction or interference of the supernatural. It means that scientists do not put god in too small a box, to be opened and entreated when convenient. No...It means that god is to be placed in the "I don't know (and I don't think anybody else does either) file, awaiting further factual evidence. In the mean time, we (you and I) will just have to get along and plan for the future as if there really will be one.
And...There you have the one thing I, personally, believe in....A Future!
How about we get together and make it the best one we can, how 'bout it?
Peace,
Steve
*****
I watched a bit of Albert Gonzales' testimony before Congress. He's the Attorney General and is supposed to represent the interests of "The People" but he is acting more like the White House Attorney than anything else. His testimony was so transparent, and frankly stupid, that even Fox News must have had a time finding some sound bite that made a favorable case for warrantless wiretapping.
Since the Attorney General was speaking in tounges, I have found a translator who is fluent in the Washington Bullshittese dialect to help us out:
Gonzo
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Bird and Bones
My bird shot from Capers Island could benefit from a tripod, a long lense, and a real photographer...
In that first red light of dawn, the bone orchard phantasms glow...
In that first red light of dawn, the bone orchard phantasms glow...
Friday, February 10, 2006
Any Questions?
Where I've been....
Why I went....
Capers Island, SC
You have to have a permit to camp on Capers and we had the only one. Over two miles of beach...And just us. Shrimp for breakfast, anyone?
Peace,
Steve
Why I went....
Capers Island, SC
You have to have a permit to camp on Capers and we had the only one. Over two miles of beach...And just us. Shrimp for breakfast, anyone?
Peace,
Steve
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Fire
Albert Gonzoles won't testify under oath in the NSA Forth Amendment violation hearings in Congress. George Bush nor Dick Cheney would testify under oath at the 9-11 hearings.
Gee...I Wonder why?
The Senate Republicans refused to have Gonzoles sworn in so that some simple questions could be asked in the context of good old Albert going to jail if he lied. It was no big deal, actually, merely a simple Constitutional crisis. Albert simply did not want to answer, or have to refuse to answer, a couple of questions like,
"The President has stated that these warrantless wiretaps were only used on Bad People...And only on calls made to foreign countries. Did you wiretap any calls involving the President's political enemies?"
The dam is breaking on the wiretaps and several insiders have come forward with damaginf information on the Bush administration...It is only a matter of time.
Peace,
Steve
*****
I'm going to the islands for a few days, but I wouldn't want you folks to be relaxing while I'm gone so here's some extra reading. First, this allegorical tale from the Angry Liberal illustrates our situation and the clear solution, "Duh":
The angry liberal
While you're at it Buzzflash can give you enough info each day to keep you fairly riled up until I get back.
You can always click on my friends listed in the side bar.
See you in a few days.
Gee...I Wonder why?
The Senate Republicans refused to have Gonzoles sworn in so that some simple questions could be asked in the context of good old Albert going to jail if he lied. It was no big deal, actually, merely a simple Constitutional crisis. Albert simply did not want to answer, or have to refuse to answer, a couple of questions like,
"The President has stated that these warrantless wiretaps were only used on Bad People...And only on calls made to foreign countries. Did you wiretap any calls involving the President's political enemies?"
The dam is breaking on the wiretaps and several insiders have come forward with damaginf information on the Bush administration...It is only a matter of time.
Peace,
Steve
*****
I'm going to the islands for a few days, but I wouldn't want you folks to be relaxing while I'm gone so here's some extra reading. First, this allegorical tale from the Angry Liberal illustrates our situation and the clear solution, "Duh":
The angry liberal
While you're at it Buzzflash can give you enough info each day to keep you fairly riled up until I get back.
You can always click on my friends listed in the side bar.
See you in a few days.
Monday, February 06, 2006
A Fair Proposal
There is grotesque violence in the Mid East over a stupid cartoon that supposedly slanders and disrespects Mohammed. And anyway, There are cartoons insulting Jews in nearly every Arab newspaper, bespeaking the unfairness of the Fundamentalist stance on a daily basis. They don't get upset when A religion is insulted, of course, only when "Their" religion is seemingly insulted.
I have no tolerance for this sort of thing, particularly since it is common for people to insult my own religion several times a day to my face, and I let it go.
Well, ok, I do tend to make some quietly sarcastic joke at unthinking ritualists, but that's beside the point. The real point is this:
Fundamentalists will scream and whine if their religion is tweaked but will nearly always laugh when it happens to the "other." Jew jokes, Catholic jokes, Muslim jokes, etc...usually funny to the Others, but they are a source of anger when it is your own religion being laughed at. There are two possible ways in which we of the world can handle this silly state of affairs.
We can agree to never insult anyone's religion, or we can agree to allow ALL religions to be insulted, laughed at, criticized, followed mindlessly, challenged, or ignored.
The first is nearly impossible to do, if for no other reason than some religions consider themselves to be insulted by even the mere existance of members of some other religions. Some Islamist and some Jewists, and some Baptists, etc... fit this description, though not all. Fundamentally, this stance is a challenge to a "Duel to the Death"...
Actually, if some suitable Seconds and an appropriate "Field of Honor" could be found that wouldn't endanger the rest of the world, I would go along with such a resolution, on one condition.
The rest of us have to agree to join forces and kill the winner.
This is obviously necessary for a tolerant world, since anyone who would fight and kill for religious reasons is not fit for a world of Pluralists...A world in which differing views are accepted.
Mine, for instance...and possibly yours (but I'm not sure...)
Peace,
Steve
I have no tolerance for this sort of thing, particularly since it is common for people to insult my own religion several times a day to my face, and I let it go.
Well, ok, I do tend to make some quietly sarcastic joke at unthinking ritualists, but that's beside the point. The real point is this:
Fundamentalists will scream and whine if their religion is tweaked but will nearly always laugh when it happens to the "other." Jew jokes, Catholic jokes, Muslim jokes, etc...usually funny to the Others, but they are a source of anger when it is your own religion being laughed at. There are two possible ways in which we of the world can handle this silly state of affairs.
We can agree to never insult anyone's religion, or we can agree to allow ALL religions to be insulted, laughed at, criticized, followed mindlessly, challenged, or ignored.
The first is nearly impossible to do, if for no other reason than some religions consider themselves to be insulted by even the mere existance of members of some other religions. Some Islamist and some Jewists, and some Baptists, etc... fit this description, though not all. Fundamentally, this stance is a challenge to a "Duel to the Death"...
Actually, if some suitable Seconds and an appropriate "Field of Honor" could be found that wouldn't endanger the rest of the world, I would go along with such a resolution, on one condition.
The rest of us have to agree to join forces and kill the winner.
This is obviously necessary for a tolerant world, since anyone who would fight and kill for religious reasons is not fit for a world of Pluralists...A world in which differing views are accepted.
Mine, for instance...and possibly yours (but I'm not sure...)
Peace,
Steve
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Evil Organization Threatens America
As a service to Readers of the "Creek", I have startling information on a threat, far more grave than Al Queda! A threat to every American, but far more serious than any speculative terrorist danger, this one is real...These people propose to kill and injure tens of thousands of Americans each year unless we stop them. And tragically, this evil scourge comes from within America. They have already begun their dastardly work, and have killed thousands...Who is this enemy of America?
Bush Administration officials at the EPA, of course.
Who will stop them?
You!
The scientists are soooooo pissed that they went public, jeapardizing their jobs to warn America.
Actually, the attacks on Science, led by Creationists and Intelligent Design Radicals, have undermined America's ability to make real judgements about environmental health. One thing bothers me, though...How in the hell can anyone possibly justify stealing someone else's health by saying it will hurt their business's profits?
Jeebus Freekin Crap!
I detest these people.
Peace, of course.
Steve
And PS: Support your local Scientist ,why don't you?
Good Scientists vs Evil Bastards
Peace,
Steve
Bush Administration officials at the EPA, of course.
Who will stop them?
You!
The scientists are soooooo pissed that they went public, jeapardizing their jobs to warn America.
The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, mandated by Congress to review such proposals, asserted Friday that the standards put forward by EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson ignored most of the committee's earlier recommendations and could lead to additional heart attacks, lung cancer and respiratory ailments.
Actually, the attacks on Science, led by Creationists and Intelligent Design Radicals, have undermined America's ability to make real judgements about environmental health. One thing bothers me, though...How in the hell can anyone possibly justify stealing someone else's health by saying it will hurt their business's profits?
Jeebus Freekin Crap!
I detest these people.
Peace, of course.
Steve
And PS: Support your local Scientist ,why don't you?
Good Scientists vs Evil Bastards
Peace,
Steve
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Bizarre
My head is spinning into an alternate reality. I have gone from living in a rational world to one that is upside down and crazy.
President Bush wants America to fight its addiction to oil, help the environment, be nice to each other, and work together to face the most evil entity mankind has ever encountered...
Human-Animal hybrids!
At the same time that President Bush was chastizing America for an addiction to oil, his own energy policies are bankrupting the country. Bankrupt is not too strong a word, by the way. Financially our books are worse than Argentina at the time it was defaulting on its international loans.
Anyone who thinks Bush has gotten us into a quagmire in Iraq with no way out, ought to consider Bush's plan to get the country out of its massive deficits. If the world shifts away from the US dollar to something else, our currency will collapse. Want to know why we attacked Iraq? Yeah, oil, but consider this: Iraq had just announced that it was shifting away from US dollars to "Petro" dollars as its standard of currency. Iraq was the first country on this planet to try to do this and it got them wiped out. Wanna guess who the second country on this planet to announce that they were considering such a move?
Iran...Uh oh...And worse for the Iranians, Bush said he wants to be their "Friend."
Another bizarro statement by Bush in the SOTUS was his whine wanting people to be more civil...This from the leader of the Swift Boat party? Whose operatives called John Murtha a coward?
The biggest joke of the evening was the incredible number of times the words Freedom and Terror were used in a strange goulash of appeasement and fright. Freedom, as Cindy Sheehan was being arrested for...
a Dress code violation?
Terror? Frankly I am not afraid of Al Queda. That organization has only managed to kill less than 3000 Americans in the last five years. An organization that I am afraid of?
...The American Medical system, which has managed to kill 750,000 people through medical mistakes since those planes brought down the World Trade Towers five years ago.
Let's see...I get it. If we worry about something totally irrational, we won't have to think about a real problem facing us every single day of our lives, medical care. Thankyou Senator Frist, I feel so much better now.
And what legal issue was on the front page yesterday? Something America should be paying close attention to? Well, no. the only legal issue to make the front page was a Greyhound bus driver who was using his "Big Dog" to deliver cocaine. Amusing, sure, but what about this bit of real news? Guess who said this:
(Erased the tapes, did we? didn't Richard Nixon go down for exactly this same thing?)
That was a written statement from Patrick Fitzgerald, Special Prosecutor in the Valery Plame case. That, my friends, is what is called "Obstruction of Justice" and will ultimately bring the Bush Administration down. How much damage they do in the meantime is anybody's guess.
But down they'll go. Their ship is sinking before our very eyes if we know where to look. Did you know that Grover Norquist said that George Bush broke the law in the NSA wiretap case? Grover is being linked more and more to Abramoff, and will most likely face charges himself.
So, here we go! As they turn on each other, it will be fun to watch in our own Bizarro way.
Peace,
Steve
President Bush wants America to fight its addiction to oil, help the environment, be nice to each other, and work together to face the most evil entity mankind has ever encountered...
Human-Animal hybrids!
At the same time that President Bush was chastizing America for an addiction to oil, his own energy policies are bankrupting the country. Bankrupt is not too strong a word, by the way. Financially our books are worse than Argentina at the time it was defaulting on its international loans.
Anyone who thinks Bush has gotten us into a quagmire in Iraq with no way out, ought to consider Bush's plan to get the country out of its massive deficits. If the world shifts away from the US dollar to something else, our currency will collapse. Want to know why we attacked Iraq? Yeah, oil, but consider this: Iraq had just announced that it was shifting away from US dollars to "Petro" dollars as its standard of currency. Iraq was the first country on this planet to try to do this and it got them wiped out. Wanna guess who the second country on this planet to announce that they were considering such a move?
Iran...Uh oh...And worse for the Iranians, Bush said he wants to be their "Friend."
Another bizarro statement by Bush in the SOTUS was his whine wanting people to be more civil...This from the leader of the Swift Boat party? Whose operatives called John Murtha a coward?
The biggest joke of the evening was the incredible number of times the words Freedom and Terror were used in a strange goulash of appeasement and fright. Freedom, as Cindy Sheehan was being arrested for...
a Dress code violation?
Terror? Frankly I am not afraid of Al Queda. That organization has only managed to kill less than 3000 Americans in the last five years. An organization that I am afraid of?
...The American Medical system, which has managed to kill 750,000 people through medical mistakes since those planes brought down the World Trade Towers five years ago.
Let's see...I get it. If we worry about something totally irrational, we won't have to think about a real problem facing us every single day of our lives, medical care. Thankyou Senator Frist, I feel so much better now.
And what legal issue was on the front page yesterday? Something America should be paying close attention to? Well, no. the only legal issue to make the front page was a Greyhound bus driver who was using his "Big Dog" to deliver cocaine. Amusing, sure, but what about this bit of real news? Guess who said this:
"In an abundance of caution," he writes, "we advise you that we have learned that not all email of the Office of the Vice President and the Executive Office of the President for certain time periods in 2003 was preserved through the normal archiving process on the White House computer system."
(Erased the tapes, did we? didn't Richard Nixon go down for exactly this same thing?)
That was a written statement from Patrick Fitzgerald, Special Prosecutor in the Valery Plame case. That, my friends, is what is called "Obstruction of Justice" and will ultimately bring the Bush Administration down. How much damage they do in the meantime is anybody's guess.
But down they'll go. Their ship is sinking before our very eyes if we know where to look. Did you know that Grover Norquist said that George Bush broke the law in the NSA wiretap case? Grover is being linked more and more to Abramoff, and will most likely face charges himself.
So, here we go! As they turn on each other, it will be fun to watch in our own Bizarro way.
Peace,
Steve
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Nooooo....Not the Cure...
What happened? Where am I? I think I was watching TV and George Bush was on it, and then I though I heard him say:
"America is addicted to foreign oil. We must end this addiction."
And people started applauding and I got light headed from the incredible realization that the President of the United States had just made the most obvious statement in American History...And then I realized two things...
George was reading that from the teleprompter...The most straight forward statement of truth in America and George had to have it written down so he could remember it.
And secondly...George and his buddies will attack this problem with all the expertise they have brought to bear on every other problem facing America.
Like the fight against terror, where our incopetence let Osama escape from one country to another so we attacked a third country that had nothing to do with 9-11 and now we are fast closing in on getting more American troops killed with George's remedy for Terror than the number of Americans who were killed in the original act of terror that got George all lathered up in the first place.
Over 51,000 American troops have been wounded so badly that they were unable to return to duty in Iraq.
67% of those injuries were head and brain injuries.
George's cure has not only not solved the Terror problem, it has devastated America.
If we had spent less than ten percent of the cost of the Iraq war on energy conservation and renewable energy sources...The Saudis, Bush's friends and the main source of Osama's funds, would be headed for financial recession right this very minute, and the Iranians would be in the same boat.
Think about it.
Peace,
Steve
From our "I'll be Danged!" Department:
Hey, check this out. The Editor of the Roane County News, Teri Likens, is included in this anthology:
A newspaper Editor who can actually write....Who knew?
Grandcanyon Association
"America is addicted to foreign oil. We must end this addiction."
And people started applauding and I got light headed from the incredible realization that the President of the United States had just made the most obvious statement in American History...And then I realized two things...
George was reading that from the teleprompter...The most straight forward statement of truth in America and George had to have it written down so he could remember it.
And secondly...George and his buddies will attack this problem with all the expertise they have brought to bear on every other problem facing America.
Like the fight against terror, where our incopetence let Osama escape from one country to another so we attacked a third country that had nothing to do with 9-11 and now we are fast closing in on getting more American troops killed with George's remedy for Terror than the number of Americans who were killed in the original act of terror that got George all lathered up in the first place.
Over 51,000 American troops have been wounded so badly that they were unable to return to duty in Iraq.
67% of those injuries were head and brain injuries.
George's cure has not only not solved the Terror problem, it has devastated America.
If we had spent less than ten percent of the cost of the Iraq war on energy conservation and renewable energy sources...The Saudis, Bush's friends and the main source of Osama's funds, would be headed for financial recession right this very minute, and the Iranians would be in the same boat.
Think about it.
Peace,
Steve
From our "I'll be Danged!" Department:
Hey, check this out. The Editor of the Roane County News, Teri Likens, is included in this anthology:
A newspaper Editor who can actually write....Who knew?
Grandcanyon Association
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