Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Un-Warren-ted

The choice of Rick Warren to be the religious figurehead at the inauguration is an insult. Warren is anti-gay/lesbian and anti-abortion. Why is Obama pandering to the social conservatives with this strange choice? It's not as if many of these ideologues voted for him. Is Obama going to abandon the folks left of center who voted for him for obvious reasons? Is he going to be another Clinton and run to the center? At least it is less than two months until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Detroit Three Rescued By NY Yankees

Hank and Hal Steinbrenner today announced that in order to get more mileage out of the NY Yankees newly revved up pitching staff, the Yankees have purchased GM, Chrysler and Ford, as well as Packard, DeLorean and Hudson. Hal emphatically stated that rumors that American Motors and Willys International have been recalled to the Majors were just that -- rumors.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Blagojevich Arrested!

If guilty, this guy deserves prison time as in the fine tradition of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Alaska, District of Columbia and Louisiana politicians (amongst others). Since there has been no trial or admission of guilt yet, I have to wonder if there is some sort of dirty trick going on such as has been documented in Alabama where the governor was framed by political opponents. It is interesting that many of the corrupt RIers are Republicans, whilst the Louisianans are usually Democrats.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Have You Driven a Ford Lately?

I have taken the month off from blogging as a source of keeping my head shrunk, substituting the Alpha-Stim (AS) medical device to cool my fevered brain. The AS costs money; the blogging is free. Because I am still on the dole thanks to the miracle of modern technology (see if you can figure out what I really mean by that), money is always an issue. So I again implore you, youse guys, y'all or all y'all to continue to "support" the advertisers that glom onto my blog. Those pennies, while not adding up to anything, give me delusions of grandeur or future nouveau riche status, not unlike Joe the Plumber or any other of the hoi polloi who think that supporting the GOP will enhance their financial status (not unlike those ads for breast enlargers and penis enhancers).

Unemployment is at a 15-year high, my 401k is dying, no bank will let us refinance our mortgage to a lower rate, automobile dealers can't sell their inventory, Detroit is going the way of US Steel, small businesses (including several here in Corvallis) are failing daily, and baseball player salaries are rising at their lowest rate in years... and W's lame duck crew is going to fix things by giving money to the boneheaded perpetrators, architects, stewards, and leaders of this debacle.

The working class's zenith was reached prior to the the big con of Reaganism. Since 1981, the working class has suffered shafting after shafting while being told that it was a good thing. The pigeons have now roosted and we are trapped beneath the grate on which they roost. The aforementioned poobahs are not finished with their work, however. They will not be satisfied until all unions are broken, the working class have been restored to serfdom and the middle class reduced to fear and feality to their liege lords. Lewis Black, in his 2004 Black on Broadway rant, had it correct when he opined that the best fix for the fix we're in is to have massive public works projects. The roads and bridges need the repairs, the leaking water and sewer pies need to be plugged, people need the jobs, and if people have money they will spend it on stuff that will cause the capitalists to have more money.

Then maybe we can drive a new, fuel-efficient, union-built Ford.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Who'd A Thunk It!!

And there was no fraud, no corrupt secretaries of state, no brotherly guarantees and no appointment by the Supreme Court.

Monday, November 3, 2008

A Curmudgeon's View

Yes, I have been silent for several days now, enjoying Sarah Palin's and John McCain's comedy(?) routines during their SNL appearances. I just loved Ben Affleck's brilliant send-up of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO has been hilarious, not to mention Comedy Central's Chocolate News, Colbert Report and The Daily Show. Glenn Beck is off CNN and onto Fox (where he is one of their more centrist voices) and Lou Dobbs is still off his rocker. But what has fueled my indignation is the fact that 23% of Texans believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim. I am sure that many other states can boast(?) of similar ignorance, but Texas has often bragged of its education system and its enlightened stances on a myriad of subjects. Note that I have written the word "ignorance", not stupidity. Texans, as a whole, are far from stupid and those that I met in my four years there were anything but stupid. My point is not that something is incredibly wrong when this many folks believe fiction to be fact. The point is, what is wrong with being a Muslim? In my jaundiced view, being a Muslim is no different than being a believer in any of the many major or minor organized religions. So, I am appalled that someones actual or supposed religious beliefs are relevant or that it needs to be asked. A civilized society should be past superstition and myth and wholly focused on issues. Who one votes for should be a function of rationale thought, not ignorance, myths, fear or how many Joe the Plumbers or Ralph the Bus Drivers we have as our role models.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Ballad Of John and Joe II

What is the strange appeal of John McCain to the average Joe or Jane? McCain is a son and husband of privilege; Jane and Joe are working class folks generally making less than $50K per year. Somehow, McCain and the GOP have convinced the estimable J&J that they will be come rich like John and own many houses if only they will support John and the GOP. The fact is that since Ronald Reagan, the working class has gotten screwed and the Upper 1% have added to their winnings. McCain and Palin lie to us how things will be better if only we will trust them. Since 1980 we have trusted the GOP and its ally Bill Clinton and all we have gotten is an increase in the depth and duration of that red hot poker up our wazoos. I am not convinced that Barack Obama can make that poker instantly disappear, but at least he would appoint no Scalias, Thomases, Alitos or Robertses to the Supreme Court. McCain can only make things worse!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Ballad of John and Joe The Plumber (or was it Joe Six-Pack?)

The Obama campaign, the media and soft-in-the-head lefties such as me should lay-off John McCain on this one. (That one?) So Joe isn't really a plumber. So he isn't really buying the company he works for. So the company isn't for sale. So Joe made $40 some odd thousand last year. So the company didn't last year and won't this year make $250,000. So what?

Joe the Plumber and Joe Six-Pack have taken it on the chin and in the gut for so long that they are delusional about the reasons for their pain. They have seen hard work, blood, sweat and tears fail them as they get jerked around by credit card companies, mortgage brokers, banks, brokers, international corporations, big oil, the Supreme Court, and on and on ad nauseum. They must blame someone. For we white guys, the culprit is not the face in the mirror of self-delusion, it's not the broken promises of trickle-down economics, it's not what we refuse to acknowledge that is true (that we have been sucker-punched time and again by the GOP, their corporate allies and the sell-out by Bill Clinton). No, we blame Americans with different skin color, different names, different religions, different social experiences. We blame them for all the ills that the real culprits have brought upon us. We'd rather believe the lie that Barack Obama is an Arab terrorist who consorted with the Weather Underground than accept the fact that Todd Palin did consort with an anti-American fringe group and that Sarah Palin addressed the same group with the words "...keep up the good work and God bless you..."

Why? We love being ignorant of the facts because this excuses our belief in the phantasmagorical? We'd rather believe a talking snake or a burning bush than recorded data?

Just today I heard an interview with former MA Governor Jane Swift, a Republican, who is an education advisor to the McNasty campaign. Pell Grants will not be funded in the austerity economics program of a John McCain administration. No school for you unless you agree to borrow money from John's banker friends (Keating 5?). It costs too much. Well John, so does ignorance. Being ignorant is part and parcel of why we stupidly attacked Iraq. Not being trained to think for ourselves is part and parcel as to why we believe the lunatic ravings of Pat Robertson, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

No, let's shout for sanity, thoughtfulness, fair play, education, the Bill of Rights (all of them, not just #2), justice.

And by the way...what the hell is wrong with being an Arab? Or anyone named Joe?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Wave Those Flip Flop Sandals, McNasty

John McCain, aiming to set a new record for flip-flops in a presidential campaign, will appear on Late Night with David Letterman on Thursday. Will this maverick ever get his game tactics straight? And speaking of the name Maverick, I read where the Maverick family of Texas, staunch Democrats for the most part, are rather insulted at the sullying of their name by Senator McNasty. They were just fine with Bret and Bart Maverick (of the old TV series) being fictional gamblers, but McNasty as a Maverick is a bit much for them. Turns out that this charter member of the Keating 5 is quite a gambler himself, reportedly screaming at a woman at the table when his luck turned sour. Sound familiar?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

But Wait, There's More!!!!!

Got to love George Will (sometimes): he described Sarah Palin as Sancho Panza to John McCain’s Don Quixote. That translates to an illiterate sword bearer and sidekick to an addled old man. Sounds good to me!

Flash: This is mental illness awareness week, and Cindy McCain has stated (in Marie Claire magazine) that enlisted men are more susceptible to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than “trained” officers such as John McCain. My fellow prisoners, indeed. Classism? Elitism? Or just stupidity? Oh, McCain also voted against better body armor for soldiers – twice. Indeed. Just how long will the McCain’s noses get?

In case you haven’t read the comments section of this blog, one erstwhile correspondent took me task for not stating that McCain voted against troop support in Iraq because that version of the bill contained a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. True. However, when Obama voted against another version of the troop support bill, Obama was voting against the lack of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. So, they both voted against funding for the troops.

Got to love Sarah Silverman for commenting on NBC being trashed in tomorrow’s (10/10/08) New York Post: “Whatever happened to the liberal Jew media?”

Will the Bradley Effect raise its ugly racist head when we whites get into the voting booth?

After watching a McCain rally in WI today, I am wondering why those angry voters are blaming the media for McCain’s ineptitude? Are they blaming the media for reporting the news? If the media had accurately reported the Bush Crime Family’s actions in 2000 and 2004, the Supreme Court would not have had to appoint W president. What is very scary is that these crazies also are yelling for Obama to be killed, and that the McCain wing of the Bush Crime Family has refused to acknowledge this.

Sarah Palin has addressed the Alaska Independence Party on more than one occasion. This group is a secessionist organization whose founder (Joe Vogler) was virulently anti-American. Vogler once stated that he “…had no use for America” and he had the support of Iran in his anti-America work. Todd Palin is a former member of that group. Palin told the Party to “Keep up the good work….” She has also been supported in her campaigns by members of this Party. Why is Obama's "association" with Bill Ayers a cause celebre but this is not in the news? Why haven’t the media made an issue of this? I say that Palin has consorted with terrorist organizations and needs to be brought to task. If you doubt my reportage, please see www.palinspin.com or www.salon.com for more details.

My Fellow Prisoners...That One...Obama is a Liar...Not you, Tom

More lies, bone-headed ideas and obfuscations from the McCain campaign (in addition to the above):

  1. He sang “Bomb, Bomb Iran” at a fundraiser, not as a joke with another veteran.
  2. He had his wife Cindy attack Obama for voting against funding for troops in Iraq. What Cindy did not say was that McCain also voted against funding for the troops.
  3. McCain missed more votes on veteran affairs (6 of 9 votes) than Senators Tim Johnson (in a coma most of the year) and Ted Kennedy (brain tumor). He skipped voting on the new GI Bill for a San Diego fundraiser. His veterans voting record this session has been rated a D, while Obama and Biden each rated a B. Dennis Kucinich had a higher rating than McCain.
  4. McCain shares the connection between Obama and Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers. The Annenberg family that sponsored the forum on which both Obama and Avery served in Chicago is supporting McCain for president. How many degrees of separation are there here between Obama and McNasty?
  5. McCain surrogates in FL yesterday raised the Islamic fear factor by having a law officer refer to Obama as Barack Hussein Obama. I know that this is his name, but when a white cop in FL is talking about a black man, you just know what he is really saying. A PA McCain surrogate (head of the GOP in that state) today also used Obama’s middle name. This obviously comes from the same Swift Boat team that slurred McCain in SC in 2000, Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004.
  6. McCain surrogates on the Hannity-Colmes FOX News show featured a right wing McCain supporter who is a known anti-Semite. And they expect us to believe this guy?
  7. McCain wants the Fed to buy foreclosed mortgages from the failed/failing banks at the full price of the mortgages but then sell them at market prices. Not only is this incredibly stupid, but also an incredible socialist windfall for our failed capitalist system. Strange that a free-market, cut taxes, deregulation “maverick” is promoting socialism for his bank(rupt)ing cronies. The moral of this story, the hero of the Keating 5 fiasco wants to reward his banking buddies for being stupid and place the burden on the middle class. Thank you, Senator McNasty, for driving that red-hot poker into our posterior orifices.
  8. McCain is in trouble with rock bands “Heart” and “The Foo Fighters” for inappropriately using their songs in his campaign. Does his campaign know anything about respecting the rights of intellectual property?

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Red Sox Lose...

Not that I am trying to get any one's goat (sorry Cubs fans) but I needed an attention getting headline. Since my beloved Yankees have failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995 I have been hesitant to express my opinion about the 2008 season. So, in short, I have to say that I am following the Rays (AL East loyalty) and Dodgers (Joe Torre loyalty). I will, as always, root for the AL East and AL in general as the playoffs advance. I will hold my nose if the Red Sox make the Series, not because of the team, but because of Red Sox Nation firstly and the wild card system secondly.

Only people who insist that W has done a good job are more bizarre than those folks who are flaunting their Red Sox Nation-hood but wouldn't give the team a damn prior to 2004. True Red Sox fans understand suffering and are not just front-runners. Nightmares of Don Buddin, Ike Delock, Dr. Strangelove, Bigfoot, Bucky Dent, et al are the stuff of the dreams of true Sox Fans. They truly deserve the ride that they are on the past 5 years. I despise the wild card system; I dislike the designated hitter less.

Making predictions is stupid and a waste a time. Baseball is entertainment even though we all know that life imitates the World Series (thanks Thomas Boswell). Those so-called fans that get their knickers in knots are to be shunned. Ticket prices are too high.

Atlas Shrugged; bin Laden Laughed

Back in the Reagan years, when I was corrupting young minds as an adjunct instructor of geophysical sciences, I would show a video of a PBS documentary to students of a Geography of the Soviet Union class. The video was about a trip to the USSR by a group of older USA citizens. One of the characters they met stated to the tour group that the USA was spending the USSR into bankruptcy. In truth, the USSR just could not compete financially against the capitalist forces of the western countries. Every time we spent a dollar on munitions or the like, the USSR felt compelled to do the same. The USSR blinked first. The USA claimed victory.

As one consequence of 9/11/2001, the USA has spent incredible amounts of money (can't be cash, since it doesn't seem to exist any more) on war against terrorists. Other fantasmagorical sums of money have been spent on who knows what. In the USA'a attempt to overcome terrorism, we have spent ourselves into insolvency. The Milton Friedman Chicago School of Economic Terrorism (masquerading as Libertarianism) just shrugs and bin Laden laughs. The attack on the World Trade buildings has lead to ecnomic defeat for capitalism.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

My Debate Hangover

I must admit that I am more concerned with Opus's impending doom than the outcome of any phony debates. The non-debate format and Jim Lehrer's lackluster moderator-ship gall me no end. The debates that were held under the auspices of the League of Women voters were much better than these farces staged by the Democrats and Republicans. Watching the pundits debate the debate after the debate was more illuminating than the actual debate! The talking heads whined and postured at least as much as John McCain did. Pat Buchanan was very entertaining and Chris Matthews was firing saliva all over the set! History tells us that in the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate, Nixon won on substance but Kennedy looked more presidential (what with Nixon's sweat, beard and used-car-salesman persona). McCain solidified his McNasty persona by being grouchy, rude, and condescending and refusing to look at Obama but once after the handshake. Obama appeared calmer and cooler. Sometimes, ala 1960, substance does not indicate the winner. Sometimes perception rules.

I must say that McCain surprised me with his overall performance, presenting himself better than I had expected. Obama appeared to let McCain off the hook several times by not hammering him on his numerous lies and stupid comments. In fact, a review of the fact checking sites and CNN's post debate analysis revels that McCain misspoke and distorted data far more than Obama did.

I so wish that Obama had pressured McCain into explaining how "Bomb Bomb Iran" shows leadership, diplomacy and good judgment. One last thing: what was McCain up to by his news bulletin on Ted Kennedy being in the hospital? By debate time, it had been determined that Kennedy had a minor reaction to a change in medication and had gone home.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Shock Doctrine???

Several House and Senate Republicans apparently are of the opinion that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's proposal to bail the country out of its current financial crisis is not draconian enough. These Republicans want LESS regulation, believing (incredibly) that market forces will do the right thing! Time and time again, market forces have failed to do the right thing, resulting in successive financial calamities. Methinks that these GOP hardliners are actually disciples of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics. These yahoos want to see the whole system collapse so that they can institute an Ayn Rand-style unregulated economy upon the landscape. A lack of regulations lead to a series of recessions culminating in the Great Depression. De-regulation of the Depression-era reforms has lead to the current fiscal crisis. Ayn Rand was wrong and her Libertarian followers are wrong also. More regulation is needed.

As the World Turns (Or, As My Head Spins)

As Prime Minister Putin of Russia invades Alaska's air space (or is it the space between Sarah Palin's ears?), John McCain is flying around the country (Country First, after all) aiding the airline industry's bottom line and single-handedly pulling the economy out of recession. No wait, he's trying to solve the current banking crisis (even though he's not on the Senate committee working on Czar Hank Paulson's takeover of the economy). Or is he just trying to avoid debating Barack Obama and emulating Sarah Palin's verbal ineptitude? By all accounts, McCain brought nothing of substance to the financial crisis discussion and was nearly incoherent in what he did say. He should have stayed in New York and appeared on Late Night With David Letterman.

If it weren't for the inherent racism of "we the people", Obama would be mega-points ahead in the polls. I am deliberately playing the race card here. So many white folks (I am one in case you consider it relevant) just cannot shake the fear that minorities are out to destroy polite society (is this what Fox Business News anchor Neil Cavuto really meant?). Remember that Thomas Jefferson - the god-king of the anti-government crowd - wrote that "...all men are created equal." Does this mean that those who hang on Jefferson's every word as slavishly as they hang on biblical verses believe that all non-whites are not human?

Sarah Palin's favorite (apparently) preacher chases witches out of whatever town he is in. Why hasn't Fox News made an issue of this? Is she really more of a disaster than Dan Quayle and W? Combined?

Merde!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Gordon Smith must go!

On Saturday September 6, 2008 there was a small item published in the Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times (G-T) titled Smith: Palin has 'right stuff' for job. If Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) really believes this, he is not fit for re-election to the United States Senate. In fact, that he said it should seal his fate. I strongly urge my fellow citizens of Oregon to send Smith back to work in his family food processing business. Jeff Merkley deserves our support.

Of further interest is the burying of this damnable statement by Smith deep into the newspaper by the G-T. Does this rag have a pro-Smith agenda?

Sarah Palin for VP??

I have held off long enough on this matter so as to allow my initial ire to cool. Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) was nominated by the GOP for one reason only: to appeal to the Christian-right, anti-choice, anti-gay, pro-second amendment, anti-tax, anti-education, pro-Iraq War, be afraid of foreigners, Republican base. If she dragged in some disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters from the Democrats, that would be a bonus.

Several women that I recently spoke with were intrigued with Palin, because she is a woman, a mother (as were they), outspoken, affable, and a wisecracker. All good things to them (and me, incidentally). That the GOP nominated her is admirable, but incredibly cynical. These women will not vote for her. Let's look at the facts.

As mayor of Wisilla, AK, Palin was a strong advocate of accumulating as much "pork" for her city as could be had, hiring a PR firm to work for the city. On the surface, that is not a bad thing, but it is hardly the record of a government reformer who is against earmarks now that she is a VP candidate. Indeed, she was a strong advocate for the infamous Gravina "Bridge to Nowhere" when the bridge was an earmarked project for Alaska. The earmark was dropped from the federal budget, but the money remained. Palin's administration spent most of the money on other projects before she "killed" the already terminally ill project. Of course, the $500 million bridge had only a reported $50 million left on the table. Nice flip-flopping, exaggerating, and, yes, lying!

Palin's speech at the GOP convention contained an anti-tax message, but she advocated a raise in sales tax for a sports complex while a public servant in Wasilla. Then there is the issue of the local librarian whom she (Palin) asked if she (the librarian) would ban books if Palin asked her to. No way, said the librarian. No job said then Mayor Palin. She is anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-sex education in schools (ditto), pro-creationism. While she brags about fighting against Big Oil to get more money for Alaska citizens, she advocates drilling anywhere and everywhere. (Her husband works for BP Oil; more work for him in the future if ANWR is opened?)

How about the public works director who would not fire Palin’s ex-brother-in-law (despite intense lobbying for his firing by Palin’s staff and family)? He was canned.

She also takes credit for a new pipeline that is to be built in Alaska. Okay, but the pipeline is a project developed by a previous administration and will not be started until 2018. But she did sign the paperwork!

I have no problem with her support of the second amendment, the so-called Right to Bear Arms. That she thinks that it is okay to hunt wolves from helicopters does seem strange to me. (If she gets to be the actual VP, I’ll want to have access to guns to protect myself when she comes looking for pointy-headed liberals such as me!) Based upon her record as a city councilor, mayor and governor, however, she does not seem to have much use for the rest of the Constitution or that it should apply to all citizens.

Somehow, I do not think that Senator Clinton’s supporters will vote for McCain because of Sarah Palin. Palin is a hypocrite, an extreme social conservative, who is an anti-gay, anti-choice, pro capital punishment, anti-education opportunist who will advocate whatever position will get her elected!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

What's Goin On? (III)

A guy walks into a UU church and shoots "liberals" because he (the shootist) can't find a job. A guy walks into the office of the chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party and shoots the chairman because he (the shootist) wants to volunteer. A swiftboat assassin publishes a book attacking Barack Obama and it (the book) shoots (pun intended) to #1 on the NY Times Bestseller list. Nevermind that most of the information in the book is unsubstantiated or an outright lie, or that the sales for this book are inflated by bulk-purchasing programs of right-wing hate/nut groups. It is open season on any and all who are not right-wing nutcases or haters. Here it comes - I'm going to clearly state it - a vast right wing conspiracy to drive anyone not a right wing nutcase or a liberal hater into hiding. I challenge all of us who are not nuts or haters to put a stop to this immediately.

Travels With Bubbie

Bubbie's business has taken us "on the road" of late: one journey to Northern California and a second to Western Washington, both by automobile. Even at $4+/gallon, gasoline is less expensive than flying. The Bay Area and Marin County haven't changed much since our last jaunt there in the spring. Bubbie had her meeting in Emeryville, we hung out with family in Corte Madera and San Geronimo, and Pop and I ate oysters fresh at and from Drake's Bay. Cousin Jack was nowhere to be seen, heard or felt, neither in the town nor the city.

The trip back to OR via the Redwood Highway was spooky. The forest fires plaguing CA had driven many of the forest folk to seek shelter along the coast in and about Arcata and environs. All of the motels were full of desperate folks, as were the streets. Even though they roll up the sidewalks at 8 PM thereabouts, at that hour lots of sullen-looking people were sitting around every available table at just about every venue. We scurried home.

WA was more the usual. Again, Bubbie had business in Bellevue after which we headed to Port Townsend and Chimicum for more family revelry (and more oysters for me). The combination of tourists and trust-fund-babies in PT is always remarkable and this last trip did not disappoint. H. Bert Frank, like Cousin Jack, was conspicuous with his apparent absence.

Friday, August 1, 2008

What's Goin On? Part II / Oh, Blackwater...

Unemployment is up; economic growth is down. The cynic in me states that it is now time to attack Iran, or North Korea, or Venezuela...let's make it Venezuela. Bush hates Chavez because Chavez was actually elected by his people, not appointed by his daddy's judges. Venezuela is close by, has lots of oil and we haven't already destroyed their oil-production infrastructure with a previous war. Nah! That just might affect the November election adversely. The following thought gives me chills...

It will be interesting to see what the Bushies do to maintain power come November if McCain is somehow behind in the polls despite all of the coming swift-boating and race baiting. Blackwater USA has announced that it is curtailing its Iraq operations and will concentrate on its security operations. Hmmm...Blackwater has approximately 30,000 operatives on its on-call list and its HQ (in NC) is a relatively short drive from Washington, DC. In keeping with the GOP's history of October surprises, wouldn't it be amazing if the Bush-Cheney crime family were to announce that since we are at war, al Qaeda is in the streets of DC, and our armed forces are otherwise engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Constitution (what little still remains 7.5 years after the coup) is herewith suspended and Blackwater has been deputized to defend the country. Science Fiction you say? Granted, but just keep in mind that the Bush-Cheney family also stacked the Supreme Court with toadies, arranged for the 2000 coup, ignored the Saudi connections to 9/11, ignored the "chatter" prior to 9/11, fabricated an Iraqi connection to 9/11, illegally and immorally attacked Iraq, botched the occupation, cemented the 2000 coup with the 2004 takeover of Ohio, outed Valerie Plame, set new standards for scandals and corruption that make even the Grant and Harding (mis)administrations blanch, set aside the constitution, violated the law at every turn, ignored the courts and congress, etc, etc, etc, etc. Going on will do no good for my disposition. When it happens, I told you so...If it doesn't happen, I will be very happy that I was wrong.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

"What's Goin' On?"

The latest presidential poll data has the race very tight, with Barack Obama's slight lead in certain "battleground" states getting slighter. I wonder why. Obama is bright, articulate, young, vigorous, inquisitive, intelligent, well-read, a teacher, a lawyer, etc. McCain is none of these. He may be intelligent, but has yet to prove it. But wait, he is experienced!! Yes, he was a prisoner of war and he was tortured. OK, what else? Experience? He was/is a member of the Keating 5. What else? He tells bad jokes. His picture is next to flip-flop in the illustrated dictionary of politics. He hired the infamous Swift Boat liars to help his campaign. His economic adviser was (and probably still is) former Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) who thinks that there is no current economic problem and states that the country is composed of whiners. Of course, Gramm's wife was a director of ENRON and she and Phil have yet to be implicated for their malfeasance in that crime family. What else? He kissed W after he (McCain) was swift-boated by Rove and company. The upshot? I have to state what is on my mind...racism. The country still fears a black man. Remember the primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky?

Monday, July 28, 2008

Holy Incompetence, Batman!!

So the nice lady at Social Security left me a message on our land line telephone stating that I needed to supply them with a certified copy of my birth certificate because I had lost my old copy in a basement flood. No, she said when I called her back, I could not provide copies of all of those documents that I have that are based upon previous presentations of the lost birth certificate. I had to re-prove my birth, in case I was trying to establish a false identity and steal my own meager benefits. So I contacted the City Clerk for my esteemed home town of Woonsocket, RI and found that I had to send a check via the USPS to get a copy of the birth certificate. No, there is no way to order via the internet or telephone or fax. No, a credit card payment is impossible. Send a check in the mail. OK. I received said birth certificate. Unfortunately, it had no birth date on it. How in the hell can a city clerk's office send out a birth certificate without a birth date on it? Of course, each person with whom I spoke at the clerk's office refused to take responsibility for omission and blamed a "part-timer" for the mistake. There was no answer as to who was supposed to check the "part-timer's" work. In any event, the clerk's office would get a complete copy in the mail, if I would just repeat my data to them. I offered to fax the date-less copy to them, but they stated that their fax machine did not always work. Would they send my new document via overnight mail? No, they do not have that capability. Because it was the city's mistake, however, the office would send two copies of the document in today's mail. Let's hope that they put the same date on each!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Who Framed Roger Clemens and the Fountainhead Follies

Oh my god, they are trying to frame Roger Clemens!! Wait, maybe he did lie! What, a Texan lying? A Texan doing drugs? Roger is just like W??!!?? You mean that both of them are not holier than thou? (Dabottadem in RI-speak) You mean that they are as fallible as you and me? Say it ain't so, Joe!!!

As the economy continues to tank, even TV commercials are picking at the scab. Allstate insurance has their current spokesperson (the former President of the USA - at least on "24") mentioning a "recession" (it's on TV so it must be true). The upshot is that Ayn Rand's crackpot theories as expressed in her minor science fiction novels "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" have been shown to be the malarkey they truly are. That so-called leaders such as Andrea Mitchell's husband (didn't he used to be somebody?), Phil Gramm, W, Slick Willie, Robert Rubin and the rest of the Chicago School of Economics devotees and Ayn Rand boot-lickers should quickly and publicly apologize for their errors and withdraw from polite society. (Oh, there are many others, but space and hunger prevent me from naming them all, including the many so-called liberals among them.) Deregulation has been a freaking disaster: energy (remember Enron? Gramm's spousal unit was a Board member - any jail time for her? I think not); airlines; banks (remember the Hatch-St. Germain Act and its aftermath; plus the current Gramm sponsored debacle?); telecom; etc. Sure, telephone calls are cheaper than the 70's, but last I checked Ma Bell was re-assembling here dismembered parts and now these bums are beyond the law). I could go on, but low blood sugar is attacking me! But I rant and rave...and I saved another $100 in shrink fees!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Remember the Keating 5

As IndyMac tanks and FreddieMac and FannieMae teeter on the brink of collapse, please remember this: Neil Bush (yes, W's brother) was bailed out and John McCain (yes THAT McCain) was absolved of complicity in the bank failure that was such a horror in Texas, Arizona, Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma and Rhode Island, amongst other places, in decades gone by. W does not want to see any lenders get bailed out this time (Oh, really!?!?!?!?!?) - after all, Neil and Jeb are into other things now and Happy Jack is running for W's seat. Interesting to note that McCain, a war hero, and John Glenn, a space hero, both managed to wriggle out of the Keating mess. Can't have our heros dripping in doo doo, can we??? C'est la vie!!

Stinkin' Excuses

One of my not-so-humble correspondents who hails from Tejas claims that he cannot get past the password to respond to my blog. What is he talking about? Being the right-wing boomer that he is, he probably is semi-illiterate when it comes to computers. Maybe he needs to hire someone to figure this out. Even my sister figured it out. Tejas-man must be just too damned smart for this stuff. Since he could not respond to the blog, I have reproduced my pointy-headed, commie-pinko reply to his tirade against me..."...since you haven't read it, you have no right to lambaste me...yet...so are you stating that Jesse Helms was a lunatic lefty since he was racist, ignorant of economics, a mean-spirted character assassin, naive in foreign affairs and held in disdain all who did not agree with him?? Any password block that exists is on your system...I would not block anyone from replying. Air America failed (wait, it is still on the air...) because of lack of advertising revenue, which is controlled by polemicists such as you and your ilk.

OOO, that felt good..."

"And it's 1, 2, 3, what are we fighting for? Don't ask me I don't give damn, next stop must be Iran..." sorry Country Joe.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Is Anyone Reading This?

Seriously. Of course, writing these little essays is better than therapy at $100 for 45 minutes (or so I think). Since I have not had any comments posted for some time now, I am guessing that no one is reading or that nothing that I am writing about strikes any of you in any way, shape or form. Please let me know via your comments on the blog itself. The self-gratification is good, but even brickbats, insults and bashing from right-wing, born-again Red Sox fans would be better. Oh, and how about those New York Football Giants!!! It was lovely to see those Dallas and New England fans sputtering and fuming. So, batter me back. By the way, what was your choice for the best rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" as presented on ESPN's Baseball Tonight? My 2-year old grandson Gannet (who knows the lyrics courtesy of his fanatical dziadziu) clapped and cheered for John Pizzarelli's entry. I voted for Gretchen Wilson (who made the final cut).

Profiles In Courage: July 2008

1) Kudos to the director of a state agricultural laboratory in North Carolina who refused to place flags at half staff for Jesse Helms. Seems as if he did not want to honor the memory of one of that state's leading racists. For following his conscience, this man was asked to resign or be fired. Since he was able to, he took early retirement.

2) Kudos to the 28 senators who had the chutzpah to vote against the FISA bill. The Democratic majority and those who claim to be upholders of the Constitution (4th Amendment in particular) should be ashamed!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Has Success Spoiled the Red Sox Fans???

There is no question that Yankee fans have a history of obnoxious arrogance. Some would say that the team's historical sucesses have spawned this reality. Also historically, the Red Sox and the Cubs, as well as their fans, have been deemed "lovable" by many. Having been verbally abused for being a Yankee fan by many a Red Sox fanatic, I have always felt that Boston fans are among the worst on the planet - Bill Russell is among the many who agree. However, sports pundits have acclaimed the Boston sports fan as among the best. Similar to WMD in Iraq or that Iraq was involved in the World Trade Center attacks or that W has been over-mis-underestimated by the left-wing media (short of The Nation and Mother Jones...Oh, they mean Rupert Murdoch, I guess), repeat these calumnies, canards and lies often enough and the muddled masses say it must be so! Sorry, brethren, but it ain't so! An example follows as written in the Boston Globe about a Cape Cod "Fanatic."


By Maddie Hanna
Globe Correspondent / July 8, 2008

A Falmouth man accused of using a bat to beat a man he allegedly thought was a New York Yankees fan pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday in Falmouth District Court.

Robert D. Correia, who faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of a motor vehicle, was ordered held without bail, pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

On Friday, police said, the 20-year-old attacked a New York man, who police said was driving away from a Fourth of July fireworks display in Falmouth. When police arrived about 10 p.m., the fight had died down, Falmouth Police Chief Anthony Riello said yesterday. The initial investigation found that a group of young people from Falmouth had accused the man and his family of being Yankees fans because their car had New York plates, Riello said.

A Nashua man died in May after he was run over by a vehicle driven by a Nashua woman in what was called another fan dispute turned violent. Ivonne Hernandez, 43, was charged with reckless conduct, aggravated drunken driving, and second-degree murder. Police said she slammed into Matthew Beaudoin, 29, near a bar.

When the situation escalated Friday, police said, Correia hit the man with a bat. The man suffered injuries to his head and body. He was released from Falmouth Hospital, Riello said.

Riello said he did not know how many people were involved in the fight. He also did not know whether family members or bystanders had reported the Yankees taunts.

Robert Nolan, a Falmouth lawyer who represents Correia, said his client had been in his apartment nearby when the argument began. He grabbed a bat and went outside in an attempt to break it up, Nolan said. He dismissed the idea that Correia had swung at the man out of team rivalry.

"There's an awful lot of talk about this guy was attacked because he was a Yankees fan," Nolan said. Correia "never heard a word about Red Sox, Yankees, New York, anything like that."

Local authorities have withheld the name of the alleged victim. The New York Post has identified him as William Nestor, 29, of Northport, N.Y. The newspaper also reported that Nestor was in his car with his wife and parents when a group of rowdy young people approached.

"They were yelling, 'Yankees! Yankees!' " Nestor told the Post.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said what started the argument was "largely irrelevant." Still, he said it was appalling that violence would enter an argument about baseball.

"I think that the idea of introducing a baseball bat into a verbal argument that people are having over whether or not somebody likes one sports team versus another sports team is absurd," O'Keefe said.

Nestor could not be reached.

Riello said police would issue a warrant today for another Falmouth man suspected of being involved in the altercation. The man, who allegedly threw himself into and damaged the New York family's car, will probably be charged with malicious destruction to a motor vehicle, Riello said.

Maddie Hanna can be reached at mhanna@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Southern Strategy Redux

Seems as if the GOP is rolling out its time-tested race-baiting ways: Obama is "...John Kerry with a tan..." and I am still seeing/hearing references to Obama being a Muslim and that he may be killed after the Dems convention. Even one of my saner correspondents (Manny being Manny) has made references to assassination, as well as his (Obama's) inexperience. What the hell does experience mean and what does it get us? W was experienced running Texas (as Kinky Friedman asked when he was running for Gov in Texas, "How hard can it be?" ) and GHWB was probably the most experienced politico we've ever elected. Rap Master Ronnie was experienced? JFK? Look where LBJ and Tricky Dicky got us!!!

So let's cut the crap and admit that a large segment of the population is racist and will not vote for Obama even though he's less African-American than Derek Jeter and Mariah Carey. Remember, Obama senior was from Africa by his own choice, not as an economic commodity. So the crazies on the religious right are barking at the moon, just itching for a reason to vote against Obama , even to the extent of voting for an addled pre-Boomer whose flip-flopping has resulted in his photo being in my illustrated dictionary next to "you've got to be kidding me!" McCain is the biggest GOP joke of a candidate since Bob "I've just met a drug named Viagra" Dole (apologies to the Capitol Steps).