Why I'm Voting For Edwards

At the recent Democratic debates, regarding health care Edwards said:

"Some people argue that we're going to sit at a table with these people [insurance and drug companies] and they're going to voluntarily give their power away. I think it is a complete fantasy; it will never happen."

This in a nutshell sums up my whole political philosophy. History bears this out time after time after time.

Whaaaaah?

Speaking of Oprah's fans and how they relate to Obama's hoped-for supporters, Frank Rich in his latest column says (pull the string, folks),

This is hardly the chardonnay-sipping, NPR-addicted, bicoastal hipster crowd that many assume to be Mr. Obama’s largest white constituency.

Hipsters sipping chardonnay? (Shipsters hipping sardonnay? Sipsters shipping harddonay? Whaaaaaaaaaaa?)

I thought it was supposed to be lattes! Damn, that's sooo...original!

Douchebag!

Republicans: Destroying the Earth Since 1981

Yet another example of the stark differences between our two major parties: Senate Blocks Energy Bill. Republicans have shown themselves to be the unfeeling killers that they are: of common sense, of innovation, of solutions to problems i.e. climate change, of people (see Iraq War), of truth (also see Iraq War, and Iran's nuclear bomb nonexistence), of anything that is good. Are they really trying to lose big next year? I don't get it, but I hope so. The terrorist organization known as the Republican Party needs to be defeated, permanently.

Sixty Democratic senate seats next year. At least.

I'm tired of this.

Nasty-Ass Motherfuckers

Yesterday's revelation that U.S. intelligence knew in 2003 that Iran had no nuclear bomb program (see article in WaPo) just shows what cold-hearted killers we have in Bush, Cheney et. al. The fact that they would hide this until now, lying the whole time about Iran and threatening yet another illegal war, just for the sake of ego in the last miserable, pathetic year of this god-damned fascist administration, just reinforces the very real danger of having them around for another year. God-damn them. We must go back to the trials of Nuremberg for a comparison of the crimes these thugs have committed. And damn us for not getting these rats, these Goebbels's and Himmler's of this American regime, the justice they deserve. I used to just think that impeachment/removal from office was good enough punishment. Power is, after all, their thing -- THE thing, really, the only thing that matters to them. Take away that, and they're left squabbling like children. But no. People who kill this way, from comfortable chairs in comfortable offices with the mere stroke of a pen -- they do not, in any sense, deserve life. We witnessed the hanging of war criminals some 60 years ago, and though we cringe at the finality of death -- any death -- we still have a sense of peace that these killers, these nasty-ass motherfuckers who value production, abstraction, efficiency over the wonderful and awesome and enchanting thing that is life; who joyously participated in the misery and cruelty of other human beings -- got their ultimate due. They were hanged. Do we reflect back on their deaths with regret that we did this? Call me crazy, but I don't think so. Then what is it? I used to think, well, these were human beings, too, no need to go there, to go to that place which is rage, which "eats you up" inside, all the lies pacifists tell us that we then "become just like them." Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! I can hate just as humanely, just as humanly, as I can love. And of course my hate for George W. Bush in no way negates my love for my family and friends. And I do hate him, for what he has done to us psychically and physically, killing souls, hopes, soldiers in Iraq -- killing everything that is wonderful about being human. But these killers kill remotely without seeing the physical consequences on the ground, face-to-face, close up. They are not human beings in the true sense at all, but rather anthro-machines, lumps of biomass that shrugged off any sense of humanity long ago and traded it for profit, wealth, power, all amassed from the exploitation of others. So is, then, locking them up in prison for life the answer? Is not this a form of taking away their lives? Is this cruel, being that cruelty and inhumanity is the real culprit here? The idea of punishment itself, of justice, of behavior modification through incarceration, which is really just a form of slavery, which IS cruel. So many questions of what to do with these people which could be a model of how we carry out justice humanly and humanely, to human monsters that are neither human nor humane.

Addendum to Last Post

I suppose I have to give some credit to the NY Times and WaPo, for their editorial pages. We get a few crumbs of truth in the form of Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, and a few columnists at WaPo I can't name right now. Fine. Thanks so much for that, for making us have to go to the back of the A section in order to get the real story. What is the reason for this disconnect? Why do I have to read in the Times editorial section of a loss for privacy rights? We pretend we live in a democracy where we all have a say, that it has always existed thus, that a free press is necessary for it, and on and on. The "press" protects the powerful, gives deference to them every time, is disdainful of us "masses" and pretends we give a shit about "soccer moms" and "spirited" debates about nothing, and other meaningless "issues" no one really cares about, using language only they understand but no sane person would use.

Our Corporate Media At Work

This snippet from WaPo's website reveals quite a lot:

Romney, Giuliani Clash On Immigration Issues
Republican presidential candidates engage in a free-for-all as they field video questions in the most spirited debate of the 2008 campaign
Michael D. Shear and Dan Balz
· Republicans Get Mixed Bag of Questions
· The Fix: A Battle in Fla. Live Q&A, NOW
· Media Notes Podcast Channel '08 VIDEO
· Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors

Yeah, I'm talking about that last part about Obama. Oh yes, and also, Republicans have a "spirited" debate because, of course, they are the true holders of "American values" and are true "Christians." Notice the bias here with the use of "spirited." There's plenty more of it regarding, Giuliani, Romney et. al. Why is it that all debates must be commented on as "spirited" for them to be acceptable? Always appealing to our "feelings," our wish for politicians to be "like us." Never actually focus on the issues at stake. No, debates have to be "spirited" and said spiritedness must be what we focus on. Fuck you, WaPo.

Most people who have been paying attention (who just plain pay attention) know that Obama's religious status has been quite the obsession for the right-wing nuts out there. The talking point here is the lie that Obama is Muslim. They refer to his childhood in Indonesia and that his stepfather and grandfather were Muslim. Of course we all know this is what's called Swift-Boating, that tactic of spreading lies among so many sources that eventually it sows doubt about someone. The really sickening thing here is that the Washington Post would publish this trash and sell it as "rumor." We all like to tell ourselves that papers like The New York Times and The Washington Post are intelligent, thoughtful, credible sources of information. The truth is that they are just like any other corporation trying to make a profit, and so they push stories like this off as "news" so that we can get some "perspective" on what "all sides" are saying. I could give a flying fuck what religion Obama calls his own, or where he chooses to "worship." It's sad, really, that he has to emphasize his "Christianity" so much. Hmm, does the phrase "convert or die" ring a bell to anyone who knows what so-called "Christians" did (and are still doing, but in more PR-friendly ways but still in ways that destroy minds) to people all over Asia who didn't acquiesce to their culture of abstraction that is religion?

We truly are a culture of competition, of abstraction, of exploiting others to amass wealth. We worship the god of production. The "God" of Christianity, of Islam, of Judaism -- is really just a ruse to get people to follow, to get people distracted enough to kill each other over who is the "one true God," to get the masses to not direct their ire toward those in power, toward those who are doing the real harm to them, exploiting them, abusing them, killing them.

Expect articles like this one, and more vicious, next year, whoever the Dem nominee is. (Republicans? Why pick on them -- they just want to "lower your taxes" [sic] and "keep you safe" [sic]?) And, expect to find these articles on the front pages of corporate newspapers. This is what passes for "informed," unfortunately, for our culture.

Abuser and Media Whore: Larry Craig & Matt Lauer

Actually, in a way they are both abusers. Craig, of the state of Idaho and of the country by his anti-gay rights voting record; and Lauer, of the truth and of honest journalism. Lauer's soft-ball approach may have snagged Craig and made him look pathetically emasculated at times, but he failed to ask the larger questions of why Craig is so anti-gay and votes the way he does; why he "doesn't agree with" the gay lifestyle. Does he find it abhorrent, and why? Press this motherfucking abusive right-wing asshole on it. Oh, and Suzanne, wasn't she the picture of the dutiful wife, wearing that red tunic and smiling all the while? I wonder if Craig orders her to wear a suit and tie and shave her head before she goes down on him? Is that a wig you're wearing, Suzanne, you right-wing witch? The whole interview was so creepy, and so illustrative of this fucked-up culture. A whole hour devoted to getting "their side" of the story, of being lied to again and again and again. "Senator, are you gay?" America is dying to know. Bush wants to spy on you sans warrant, and grant immunity to telecoms, and torture and kill some more, but AMERICA WANTS TO KNOW IF LARRY CRAIG IS GAY. Of course he is, you morons! Now boot him the fuck out of office!

Keep distracting us: of course! -- the behavior of the abuser to get us to look the other way while, say, Iraq explodes, and global warming is torching southern California.

In the end this gets us no gay rights, more global warming and more war. Duh.

As for the Minnesota laws on "disorderly conduct" in public restrooms: dude, you really need to re-write those laws. Craig is totally going to win his appeal, clear his arrest record, and continue his gay-bashing ways. Guilty plea? What guilty plea? Fuck no public sex, fuck all cops everywhere, fuck Larry Craig and fuck the Republican Party.

Republican Party as Abusers

Rep. Pete Stark of California last week remarked on the House floor, regarding the lie that is the Iraq War and the inability of Congress to override Bush-Monkey's veto of child health insurance: "You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it, to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq, to get their heads blown off, for the president's amusement." For this the House of Representatives cell of the terrorist organization known as the Republican Party wants to censure him. God-damn them. They will do what they can, every time, to get what they want, to destroy people, to lie, to steal, to exterminate opposition through terror. Abusers often do these things.

But Bush is amused by the deaths and dismemberment of soldiers in Iraq. Just read Justin Frank's Bush On the Couch to get a sense of the reach of Bush's cruelty. There are no limits. There never can be, of course.

But never mind that. The fact that there was a vote in the House to censure Stark for saying the above is indicative of the insanity that is the American culture. Stark did not go far enough. Republicans -- our American Taliban -- will lie and tell us we can't afford this program or that, all the while spending us into an oblivion to pay contractors like Blackwater extortion money to kill innocent people and destroy infrastructure in Iraq. Classic behavior of an abuser. And the all-too-familiar behavior of the abused, i.e. Democrats like Stark, is to apologize (for what!?).

And Republicans ARE the abusers. Of people, of the earth, of common sense, of science, of the truth. They need to be collectively shoved up against the wall with our collective hand on their throats, and told, "If you fuck with us one more time we will kill you."

No apologies.

We need to have a world where Republicans are systematically denied any say in governing or in policy, denied in having any power to rape our minds and bodies. They are willfully and gleefully destroying the earth and all that is beautiful about it, and getting rich in the process. They are shredding our Constitution, laughing at justice and viciously attacking those who would only disagree with their policies. Derrick Jensen pretty much sums up the abuser's twisted psychology in his book Endgame: " 'You asked for it by wearing those clothes,' says the rapist." ..." 'Don't worry about it, I'll take care of everything. Things will change, you'll see,' says the abuser."..." 'I promise I will never hit you again,' the abuser repeats." And most Americans go along with this abuse, are willing to be abused. Absolutely insane.

To be fair, not a few Democrats behave and vote the way of their "opposition." The difference is that Republicans and their "party" are defined by power. That is the single biggest reason for their existence. And how do they maintain power? By terrorizing opponents, of course. Make it so that their position is always the right position, and make the opposition look like the enemy if they disagree. Witness the fraudulent "war on terror." Anyone who disagress with the Patriot Act [sic] must be on the side of the "terrorists." The real terrorists being, of course, Republicans, the ones (always) projecting their terroristic side. They just can't help themselves, you see.

Jensen uses the metaphor of the abuser (wife-beater, child abuser, rapist, etc. -- almost always men) to describe our culture as a whole. But I'd like to point out how singularly abusive and destructive the Republican Party is, and has been since Reagan. And this is the machine that spit out the current abuser-in-chief, George W. Bush. Bush is the ultimate abuser. Witness the smirk, the joking about not finding WMD under his desk at that charade that's known as the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, where all the white-owned corporate media types had quite a laugh at the cruel mocking of the misery and suffering in Iraq, a nation full of worthless brown people, of course. What assholes. And we wonder why Iraq is not the lead story on every newscast. The more to distract us with the news of Britney's comeback.

To quote JFK, as Jensen does: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."

To those who would censure Pete Stark: Go Fuck Yourselves. No apologies.

"In Rainbows": A Review

Okay, so I've decided to play music critic/reviewer for this one time. Radiohead's new LP, In Rainbows, was the catalyst, and that's what I'm reviewing.

For starters, there is no price. You pay what you want, and none of that money goes to a greedy record company. Right off the bat the band deserves praise for this move. Yes, they are in negotiations right now with independent labels to put out IR in CD-format, but it will be on their terms, with a temporary license for the songs, the ownership of which will ultimately rest with the band. But back to the music.

After a good, careful listen on my Ipod today, after a few listens at home and away that were partially interrupted by things one can't control, I can only say that this is the most sublime collection of rock music (conventionally known in the past as an "album") that I have ever heard. Yes, I am an avowed and unabashed Radiohead fan, have been since The Bends. No matter. There are no other Radiohead LP's that can match this one, on the whole, for its sheer musical mastery. Witness the almost un-replicable syncopations of 15 Step and Videotape, defying the listener to follow along with a simple one-two-three-four tap on the knee. Add to that the methodical build-up of most songs, from slow, simple melodies to elegiac climaxes of orchestral proportions, such as seen on All I Need, Nude and Videotape. Yes, these elements are found in abundance throught the Radiohead oeuvre, but none so much as in this one single LP. Another thing that pops out to the casual listener is the lack of guitars in In Rainbows. Well, this is actually an ongoing practice for Radiohead since Kid A. I have to say I don't miss them. Thom Yorke is just fine when strumming his acoustic or sitting down at the piano - perfect accompaniments to his unmatched tenor voice. Add to this Jonny Greenwood's mastery at the keyboard, Ed O'brien's unconventional rhythmic guitar riffs, Colin Greenwood's haunting bass and Phil Selway's off-beat percussive syncopations and you've got one hell of a band. And when you really think about it, Paranoid Android's best moment was Yorke's elegant voice solo ("from a great height" indeed) in the middle, not Jonny Greenwood's electric guitar solo near the beginning and its coda at the end. No, a guitar is best when it accompanies, not leads.

I haven't even mentioned In Rainbow's "bonus" songs, available December 3rd to those who pre-ordered the "box set" from Radiohead's website. I've previewed a few from YouTube and Rollingstone.com. One that stands out for me is Down Is the New Up, a playful yet catchy tune that, in Radioheads new funked-up version of it (Yorke has a solo version that ITunes released earlier in the year, just he and the piano), is destined as a crowd-pleaser. I can't wait to hear these songs when they come out as studio releases.

So yeah, these songs got to me. This is nothing new for those who know me, as I get absolutely giddy with each new Radiohead LP. The band starts "touring" next May, so I've read. Yorke has said he does not like touring in the conventional sense, as it is just exhausting to constantly travel, and he adds it is not doing the environment any good. Agreed. I hope to see the band at a music festival, as is their preferred venue, away from big stadiums and greedy sponsors.

Republican Party as Monolith & Why They Suck

Wow, it turns out that in lieu of yesterday's veto override failure, not only Bush but a vast majority of Republicans also hate children. They are smug, selfish, cold, vicious creatures who belong on a deserted island off the coast of Siberia.

Better yet, ship them to Mars, let them build gated communities there and then let them die.

George W. Bush Hates Children, Too

Monkey-asshole Bush is at it again, vetoing another program everyone wants and which would benefit millions, this time millions of poor children. What a class act.

So, chucklenuts, I guess you think it's just fine to take out all your aggression against your cold, unfeeling ice queen of a mother out on the country now that you are Preznit. Poor Georgie, all those times you needed your Momma, especially when your younger sister Robin died when you were seven -- Babs was just unavailable. And Pappy, well, forget about him, he was too busy digging for oil in Texas and jetting off on exciting CIA trips to have time for you. You never even got the chance to say goodbye, to grieve for Robin, because your momma, the one who ended up having to stick around to "take care" of you, is such a cold, uncaring witch. Now you have to project all that bad stuff, all that neglect, out onto the world, out onto other even more unfortunate children than you.

I get it, I totally get it. But you don't, and you never will.

Radiohead the Revolutionaries

The music industry is about to get a big kick in the ass thanks to Radiohead. Their new EP, In Rainbows, due out October 10th, will not have any promotion or come with any pricetag. You can download it entirely for free, or pay whatever you want.

This is huge.

The best rock band in the world is about to give away their new album. No record company, no promos, no manufactured buzz. Just a band offering their music for anyone to download, pay what you want. This is exactly what needs to happen with music. This is fucking amazing; this is...this is just huge. Pay what you want for the recorded music, then go see the band in concert, live, where you'll pay more. Simple, egalitarian, meritocratic. Fuck you, record company whores and theives! What you gonna do now? Clone more Ashley Simpsons? How's that working out for you? And I see the record stores are just booming in sales, aren't they?

Now if only other big acts like Madonna and Prince could follow suit, what a flood this would be.

[Update: Prince already has offered a pay-what-you-want album; still waiting to see what Madonna does with her new record deal.]

MacBook Adventures II (Cont'd)

...But it turns out I don't need Windows on my Mac because the Student version of MS Office for the Mac, i.e. MSWord, works just fine. So, six long days and nights and a couple of Starbucks mobile office set-ups later, I finished, zombie-like, at home hunched over my MacBook on the rolling table, sitting in our lounge chair, at 6:30 in the morning. What a relief, but also quite a lesson in time/task management.

Now that I've sold me G4 IMac, me only computers are me laptop, me phone and me brain.

MacBook Adventures II

Actually, my MacBook adventures have come by way of professional adventures from hell. First, the good, Mac-ish adventures.

So I bought my MacBook - the white one, since to own a black one will cost you $200 more! Jesus Christ! - last Thursday, in a panicked but clear-headed frame of mind that damn it, I am going to finish this report I've been hacking away at since May, and that technically was due at the end of June. So it totally helped me - saved me! I befriended Starbucks, and our relationship evolved into something much deeper. Oh, we shared laughs, we shared tears, we shared frustrations - you have to stop what you're doing, save your work, close up the computer, put it in your bag and carry it with you to the bathroom every time you have to pee. Yes, you're right, Jeff, I thought - you never leave your laptop alone for ANY reason. Oh we people watched, Starbucks and I, especially all those amused students enjoying their half-caff venti skim lattes, deconstructing $10.00 films. What bores. And then those conversations come streaming in, you know, the ones in foreign languages just to distract me from my typing. Oh, fine. By the way, did you know that these new computers automatically find free WiFi networks? Well, most times they do. And did you know that they have names? Names like pastawater, giraffe, and - I really liked this one - getyourown? Oh, and if you log on to the one called TMobile, you get sent to the Starbucks website featuring free wifi with your TMobile phone service, or if you pay just $29.99 a month, you too can surf the web at Starbucks worry-free. Um, no thanks. And how annoying? If you try going to any other website, it sends you back to the Starbucks site. Lame. I also learned that Icahn Stadium in Randalls Island Park has free WiFi. In fact, pretty much everywhere I've been with this thing there has been free WiFi. So go suck it, TMobile! So anyway, I finished my report on my laptop, and though I was home at the time, it was Starbucks that came through for me when I needed it most. Just find a table with access to a nearby outlet, plug in, and stay as long as you need. It's quite a community, us laptoppers. I know, I never thought I'd be ONE OF THOSE people. But I was this week.

Now, the not-so-fun professional adventures. I had no office time in which to work - I was sent to the field at the beginning of June. Fine, I said, I'll work at home, after I get home from bridge inspecting, I'll do what it takes to finish by the magical date of June 30th. Could I maybe make it to the office on occasion to work a late night and get some things done there I couldn't otherwise, like PDF management on Acrobat Professional and AutoCAD drawings? Well, no, since the office opens no later than 8, and if you aren't one of the chosen ones with the master key to the office you gotta leave, them's the rules. And trying to get someone to open the office on Saturday or Sunday had limits, too, because then you're at the mercy of personal schedules, appointments and errands that just will not be interrupted no matter what. Yes, the administrators are king, you see. Damn them peon (oops, I almost just wrote porn engineers, which, when you think about it, is fucking funny) engineers, the ones who actually get the work done so that we can busy ourselves administrating. Okay. Way to run an office, don't you think? Okay, so time goes, by, avoidance behavior starts setting in, and I keep doing small tasks that I can get done at the office, telling myself I did a lot of work, I can enjoy a nice night doing whatever it is that's not getting my report done. Finally I said enough, I'm getting a laptop. Yes, the Mac kind of course. I was worried that trying to get done what I needed to get done efficiently required a Windows machine. But then I thought, the new Macs all come with the ability to install Windows on them, so fine...

More later.

Neo-Nazis in Our Midst

I just read this snippet from Micheal Moore's website. These stories infuriate me, as well they should anyone. The (I'm assuming) men who attacked this man are some of the sickest, sorriest people one could ever (hope not to) meet. In essence they are abusers. And abusers have no place in this world. Their appropriate residence is in hell. This man's attackers do not deserve and are unworthy of any type of debate. They only deserve contempt. And dare I say should I ever come across someone who, unprovoked, willfully beats up or helps to beat up a grieving parent of a dead child, I should like to think I'd be the one to pull him off and proceed to bash the living shit out of him. Not all violence is bad, only violence perpetrated on the unsuspecting, the unprovoked, children. Like that done by wars of aggression. Basically, that which is perpetrated by the abuser to the abused. You know, by George W. Bush- and Barbara Pierce Bush-type people. Violence visited upon the abusers themselves, and only the abusers, IS justified, IS moral.

Always remember that.

MacBook Adventures

Just bought a MacBook (laptop) and loving it. The East Village is wired, too. Way wired!

More to come on this post...

Mass Transport Hell (Why This Should Not Happen)

Nothing like being advised to "stay home," as MTA has advised commuters to do. What an idea! Hey, why not just take the day off! Tell that to countless medical workers, public works workers, social workers who had to work today. What about bridge inspectors?

The fact that I and many others could not get to work today is unacceptable. Subways flood and have flooded. Fine. Provide contingencies, or tell the truth and just be straight with people. Don't tell people to take express buses (in Bronx, Brooklyn & Queens, perhaps) and then not provide express buses, or have drivers turn them away. Don't imply that there is regular service at a particular station when there really isn't any at all. Stop fucking obfuscating!

I personally could not get to the Bronx by 10 a.m., and that was starting at 7 a.m. attempting to get on the 6 train to the 4/5 train going uptown. I then had to find a bus to take me up to 86th Street/Lexington Ave to get on the 4/5/6 uptown train there. Well, at 9:30 a.m. I reached 86/Lex only to find out nope, no trains running uptown, or, they may be running I don't know, or, all uptown 6 trains running on the downtown track (huh?) but no the trains are downtown trains and they're packed so you can't get on them... Did I even have any chance whatsoever? I stayed home, after walking 60 blocks south on 2nd Ave, exhausted, red and sweat-soaked. Thanks, MTA! Thanks for the day off, assholes! Good luck making sure your bridges are safe for the SUV-driving douchebags from Long Island!

This is what I posted to 1010wins.com:

"I was unsuccessful in getting to work today, with the mass confusion of the NYC subways and buses. Interestingly (or not) I am a structural engineer working on bridge inspections - specifically the Throgs Neck Bridge of late. I was trying to get to the site, on the Bronx side of the bridge, by bus, but was unable to get to the site because of crammed buses and no uptown subway service from Manhattan, even at the 86th St 4/5/6 station where they told people there was service. I finally gave up at 9:45am at the subway station, realizing I could not make it to the Bronx at a reasonable time. This should not have to happen. There should be contingencies for flooded subways for everyone to get to work. I saw plenty of empty/nearly empty buses on the avenues that were not taking people. This is unacceptable and stupid. I missed a day of crucial bridge inspection because of the MTA's lack of planning and poor communication to the public. Thanks."

I also called and e-mailed same to Channel 7 News. I also contacted the White House and told Monkey-Boy and Dr. Death to go suck it because they do not care a whiff about any of this and can go fuck themselves. I plan on sticking it to Bush & Cheney, Inc. at any and all occasions.

Bill O'Reilly (a.k.a. Felafel Man), You Know Not What You've Wrought...

So Bill O'Lie-ly's (please notice his initials are B.O.) at it again with the denouncing of the Daily Kos website, listed as a link on the right here, www.dailykos.com. Calling it a "hate" site, as if his whole raison d'etre weren't hate speech itself. Well, thank you, Bill, actually, for making the site so widely known and popular. And exposing yourself for the crazed loon you are. This posting is hilarious!

It would seem the Republicans' Death Star machine ain't quite what it used to be.

"I'm Not Drinking Gold -- I Wish"

"Did you know that in the past 12 years, the value of gold has gone up a little bit?

"Speaking of gold case, I'm late for work. I work for GOLD."

Just Say 'Motherfucker' Already!

What's with the irritating ad campaign on NYC buses for the latest Die Hard movie (Live Free Or Die Harder: Die Hard 4 -- gaaah! That's a total rip-off of New Hampshire's slogan, 'Live Free Or Die! How fucking lazy)?

"YIPPEE KI YAY MO- -John 6:27" (The 'O' is cut off in the middle! I need a cigarette.)

What the fuuuuuck? AAAAAAGGGHHH!

Yes, I know it refers to the famous line Bruce Willis (John Whatever in the movie) swaggeringly delivers just before a big explosion in all the Die Hards -- "yippee ki yay, motherfucker." I wish I didn't know this, but I do. What make the ads so irritating -- and insipid -- is the ever so American notion of the 'tease.' You know, come up with some obscure (at first) phrase that just registers enough to make people salivate with recognition -- "Ooh, another Die Hard is coming out! Awesome! Right, that line I love so much -- Yippee Ki Yay, Motherfucker! I love that part!"

Of course, you know that kids all over are asking, 'What is MO (and the 'O', by the way, is cut off to make the Pavlovian response all the more intense), Mommy?' 'Oh, I don't know, sweetie. I think it might be Motherfucker. Let's go to the zoo, hon.' Yes, and so kids at school are now giggling in class talking about how cool the ads are, whispering 'Motherfucker' everywhere and probably getting not a few detentions/suspensions for it. The profanity part doesn't really bother me, really. It's that wink-and-a-nod way it is presented, appealing to the lower back part of our brains instead of the front. These artless teases have always bugged me. Why not just be direct? If you want to say Motherfucker, just say it! Otherwise, come up with something else. Here's one: 'Catch the new Die Hard -- "Live Free Or Die Harder: Die Hard 4," starring Bruce Willis, in theaters June 27th.' There. Simple. To the point. Doesn't annoy me or waste my time making me think about how much I hate the Die Hard franchise and the endless insipid comparisons to it to sell other movies, "Die Hard in a..." "Die Hard on a..." "Die Hard with a..."

"You know it's ah, really difficult to open mayonnaise, when your fingers are covered in your own blood and your head is filled with the endless ticking of a stupid sound effect!"

A Question

JimmyQ1: Do you think Jesus Christ lighsk bright lighst during the long winter nighst?

JimmyQ2: I don't know. Let's ask our neighbors, the Wighst.


[Another night on cold medication.]

Last Post On Meaning of Liberal (Part 3 of a series)

Okay, so I'm closing this series of posts on the topic of language, media and the meaning of 'liberal' -- and, by extension, 'conservative.' This subject needs to come to a point where I can leave it for a good...long...time. Aaah, now let the headiness commence.

First, on language, media, political implications of the 'liberal' meme, political implications of the 'conservative' meme, blah blah blah. Mainstream Media (MSM) types like Blitzer, Hume (I know, why do so many millions watch FoxNews and call it legitimate NEWS???), Stephanopoulos, Russert and Couric; and right-wing media (RWM)types like Hannity, O'Reilly (ick - FoxNews again), Drudge, Coulter and Malkin form a sort of critical mass in the collective (un-?)consciousness, and all misuse the term 'liberal' to describe the political left, both noun (person) and adjective (quality of political philosophy); and 'conservative' to describe same on the political right. Okay. Please don't be pissed off at how mechanical this sounds, I have Asperger's Syndrome and tend towards the literal at times, bear with me. Still, I have a problem getting branded a 'liberal' as something derogatory, this pisses me off. It has (maybe not so much now, with Pelosi et. al. flexing some muscle) become a linguistic sword of Damocles coming down too often on politicians of the lefty sort (Democrats). And, for too long, same politicians have run away from the 'liberal' brand and looked ridiculous, and ended up losing elections anyway. At the same time, 'conservative' is looked upon positively, more distinguished, serious, mature, polite, statesman-like, whatever: 'He's a true conservative on this issue, therefore he is the serious candidate, someone you can trust...She is JUST TOO LIBERAL on that issue, she can't be trusted.' That sort of thing, what you hear over and over again come election time.

Let me try to end this somehow by asking...How? How did this come to be? And Why? Why are politicians running away from the L-word? Was it the Sixties? Is it just out of expedience? I suppose, in the end, as some have pointed out to me -- who the fuck cares? Words are things that can mean one thing to one person at one moment, and something else to someone else in the next, and on and on. We do our best to communicate with whomever it is we need to communicate. And we choose certain words we feel will resonate the most with the group to whom we are communicating. I'd like to hear one of the Democratic candidates (it is almost axiomatic it will not happen on the Re-thug-lican side), when asked during a primary debate -- as happened to John Kerry -- if he or she considers himself or herself a liberal, to just say, yeah, what's it to ya, 95% percent of Americans are, and this is why... That would be great. That's all. Just fucking do it, stop hemming and hawing, and be truthful. One could counter with something like, 'Oh, you mean providing armor for the troops in Iraq, making sure they are well-rested and that new troops are well-trained before sending them over -- is that what YOU would call liberal? Because I would.'

And so would I.

End scene and...fade to black.

Blacksburg: We Have No Right To Be Shocked

How many times does this need to happen before we wake up? I'm so pissed off at headlines shouting Evil! Maniac! Sicko! (read NYPost, FoxNews, + other various Murdochian amphibian outlets) describing this guy Cho. Oh, pleeeease! Yeah, he was pathetic, miserable and a sociopath, I get it. Oh yeah, he was also a young male. Ooooh, that was not supposed to happen! Fucking fuck of all fuckosity, just stop the moralizing blather about how heinous this was, because we've seen it before, way too many times.

For Christ's sake, it's about our pathetic lack of any sensible gun laws -- and I'm just talking state level, never mind anything on the federal level! We just let a ban on assault weapons expire, and for what? You can't even sue gun companies, or check records to see if suspected terrorists have bought guns. The stupid NRA is way too organized and has stopped way too many common-sense measures from becoming law. Politicians have cowed to them like sheep and the result is 30,000 gun homicides per year in this country. This is embarrassing let alone shameful. In Virginia, you can buy a gun with no questions asked once you turn twelve -- TWELVE! Does not the Brady Law apply here? Someone educate me.

In 2004 not one major Democratic candidate brought up gun control as an issue, and I was starting to believe we should just drop it in order to win some western mountain states like Montana. But no, as long as we look the other way when someone acts suspicious, as long as we only just denounce instead of look for ways to prevent gun violence, this will continue. And it will get worse. So, what I'm looking to see from Obama, Clinton, Edwards et. al. is sensible gun control proposals that go beyond Brady and actually address where all guns are sold, namely gun shows. Where, of course, there is a loophole to the Brady Law. We already know Decider-Monkey Bush will have no part in fixing this problem -- his "solution" is to arm everyone. As if that would solve the problem of protecting yourself in a split second against someone armed with a semi-automatic weapon already pointed at you. Fucking should-have-been-impeached-by-now idiot.

Should we be shocked? Yeah. Can we be, at this point? Memo to most major media: no, no, no! Get on with talk about gun control -- hint: we need it. The Second Amendment is BUNK!

More Thoughts on the Term Liberal (and conservative): Part 2 of a series

lib·er·al
Pronunciation: 'li-b(&-)r&l Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin liberalis suitable for a freeman, generous, from liber free; perhaps akin to Old English lEodan to grow, Greek eleutheros free
1 a : of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts b archaic : of or befitting a man of free birth
2 a : marked by generosity : OPENHANDED b : given or provided in a generous and openhanded way c : AMPLE, FULL
3 obsolete : lacking moral restraint : LICENTIOUS
4 : not literal or strict : LOOSE
5 : BROAD-MINDED; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms

-Merriam-Webster


"...if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.' "

-John F. Kennedy Speech of acceptance of New York Liberal Party Nomination, Sept. 14, 1960


"Inasmuch as the members of a liberal society have a right to basic requirements of human development such as education and a minimum standard of security, they have obligations to each other, mutually and through their government, to ensure that conditions exist enabling every person to have the opportunity for success in life."

-Paul Starr, from the book ‘Freedom's Power: The True Force of Liberalism’


con·ser·va·tive
Pronunciation: k&n-'s&r-v&-tiv Function: adjective
1 : PRESERVATIVE
2 a : of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party professing the principles of conservatism : as (1) : of or constituting a party of the United Kingdom advocating support of established institutions (2) : PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
3 a : tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL b : marked by moderation or caution c : marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners
4 : of, relating to, or practicing Conservative Judaism

-Merriam-Webster


I've been getting some heat from various sources about how long it's been since I've posted. I've been kicking around the 'liberal' meme inside me head for quite a while now, and so, as they say -- out with it!So can we finally stop with the nonsense? Being liberal is a good thing, evidenced by the above aphorisms and definitions. Note the third definition: 'lacking moral restraint: LICENTIOUS.' Oh look, this definition is -- what's that? -- obsolete! Yet this is the definition mouth-breathing cretins such as Hannity, Coulter and their ilk employ in their efforts to destroy reputations. So you begin to see the motivation behind the attack on this word and the resulting calumnies that get spread. This expired definition of liberal allows for attacks on personal character, and that is what is intended when Decider-Monkey George W. Bush calls John Kerry "that liberal senator from Massachusetts." Connotation: immoral imp who will eat your babies. And for some reason that meme has sunken in to countless, unsuspecting, uninformed millions.

Now look at the term conservative. Nothing bad on its face. No obsolete meanings with negative associations. There is nothing bad about being conservative in style, or having traditional notions of what a Christmas tree should look like. What is your definition of 'traditional?' People make up their own traditions all the time. Alice and Jackie get together in the Catskills every third week in October and have been doing so since 1993. That is a tradition. And yes, it is conservative behavior when they return this year. It is also conservative to want to drive cars fueled by biomass (thanks, NoAgenda). Is NOT conservative, however, to want to ban gay-straight alliance clubs in Utah public schools, or to slap a support-the-troops bumber sticker on your gas-guzzling SUV, or to ban embryonic stem cell research while thinking you are 'pro-life.'

Okay, so all this is getting to my point: by and large, the Republican Party (and at this point they have lost any and all claims to the label 'conservative'), in their power-hungry journey to take over all three branches of government, have unleashed their destructive policies to an unsuspecting populace -- subjects? -- in large part by corrupting the English language. They coin terms like 'death tax' and 'healthy forest initiative' with not a thought as to what words mean. No, words to them are to be viewed as weapons of (mass) deception, all the better to steal, cheat and lie their way to power and fortune.

I think I'll touch more on the subject of language in politics in a later post.

Oh My God, Ted Haggard IS Gay!

We just watched 'Jesus Camp' today and am still getting over the disturbing feeling in my stomach. I'm so glad they closed down this camp. I hope the woman running it was arrested as well. I do have to say though, Ted Haggard is, in a weird way, kinda cute. He's also VERY VERY GAY. He's always telling the cameraman, "Are you getting this?" and words to the effect of, see how these kids all love me? -- right in front of an audience of over 100 kids. Sick. Fucking. Man. Also, love the earnest pleas of "God, please bless this PowerPoint presentation" referring to the indoctrination. Yes, God, and please make sure to make the presentation in the ugliest Times New Roman font, too. Yes, God, in italics where possible. Because good typography and graphic design is Satan's domain! It's what those ho-mo-sex-yoo-als use, God!

Travels in Pooposity

So we have been joking for some time about the new dessert/cafe/lunch place Max Brenner (Chocolate by the Bald Man). And we were thinking how everything there could look like poop if presented in certain ways. For example, bagel with chocolate could be "poop-on-a-bagel" or: "Oooh, have you tried their Hot Steamer Salad?" The consensus favorite seems to be "pinched loaf," an item found in the bread area perhaps. Anyway, lots of chocolate food items to be found there, and one imagines an accident involving a waiter/waitress dropping a tray full of assorted chocolate desserts on the floor and seeing the process of cleaning the mess up, brown streaks and all. Oh, and their signature cocktail -- the Cat Poopatini! Eeeeeewwww! I know, what's this got to do with the Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama celebrity death match going on during Super Bowl halftime, Nancy Pelosi's endless winking during last Tuesday's SOTU and other important goings-on... It must be February!

It's Jimmy Q-arter!

This is the kind of mood I'm in today. New posts to come soon, I promise.

Happy New Year, Everybody!