The River

What The Hell?

there is simply no excuse for this sort of thing.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5049867


OXFORD, N.C. — Sixteen-year-old Ashton Lundeby's bedroom in his mother's Granville County home is nothing, if not patriotic. Images of American flags are everywhere – on the bed, on the floor, on the wall.

But according to the United States government, the tenth-grade home-schooler is being held on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his home on the night of Feb. 15.

The family was at a church function that night, his mother, Annette Lundeby, said.

"Undoubtedly, they were given false information, or they would not have had 12 agents in my house with a widow and two children and three cats," Lundeby said.

Around 10 p.m. on March 5, Lundeby said, armed FBI agents along with three local law enforcement officers stormed her home looking for her son. They handcuffed him and presented her with a search warrant.

"I was terrified," Lundeby's mother said. "There were guns, and I don't allow guns around my children. I don't believe in guns."

Lundeby told the officers that someone had hacked into her son's IP address and was using it to make crank calls connected through the Internet, making it look like the calls had originated from her home when they did not.

Her argument was ignored, she said. Agents seized a computer, a cell phone, gaming console, routers, bank statements and school records, according to federal search warrants.

"There were no bomb-making materials, not even a blasting cap, not even a wire," Lundeby said.

... continued here.
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Gold

I am all the more bullish on gold. not only is it, as it has always been, an exceedingly safe investment, it looks like it will be a better and better investment as the next year or two go on.

Inflation seems to be the mode of the day, and it will continue. and seeing that the government will most likely simply try to inflate our way out of debt, as that is basically the only option they've got, i don't see inflation going down appreciably any time soon.
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I'm Still Alive!

Yes i am, just still lazy too.

i have a twitter account now, so feel free to join up and follow my tweets on Twitter; my username is TheRiverman81. See ya there!
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Beware The Bear Rally

Be aware, be vigilant, be alert. I believe a Bear Rally is coming. The best thing to do is just to be aware of the possibility and what to look for. To help with the latter, here are a couple of links:

http://www.investorgeeks.com/articles/2008/03/11/selling-into-a-bear-market-rally-is-wrong/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27333422

Keep a stiff upper lip, soldiers. Much love to all.
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Happy Late 200th Birthday Edgar Allen Poe

January 19, 1809 - January 19, 2009

in commemoration of Poe's Bicentennial, I will be posting shortly an mp3 of me doing a dramatized reading of one of his short stories. i haven't decided which one? if anyone has any requests or suggestions, please comment and let me know.

much love to all.
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There Are Parading Bulls In My Room

Rally Around The Family With A Pocket Full Of Shells

Thus Playeth The Sanford.
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Voter Fraud Is Not Just Someone Else's Problem

you can find the whole story here. i've posted an excerpt below.

Voter rolls stuffed with dead and absent registrants
By Bert Case

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Mississippi's voter situation is hard to believe. Places like Madison County have over 123% more registered voters than people over the age of 18.

Sue Sautermeister, First District Election Commissioner in Madison County, tried to purge the rolls, but ran into trouble when it was discovered it takes a vote of three of the five election commissioners and the purge cannot take place within 90 days of a federal election.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is the first to admit the situation with voter registration in this state is terrible.

"It is terrible," he says. "Combined with the fact that we don't have voter ID in Mississippi, anybody can show up at any poll that happens to know the people who have left town or died -- and go vote for them."

the story continues at the WLBT website.
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To Whom It May Concern:

Please allow me to clear up a few misconceptions about our two Presidential candidates and the GOP Vice Presidential Candidate.

McCain / Palin

McCain was not brainwashed to attack the US, or brainwashed at all, while he was a POW in Vietnam.

McCain did not father an African-American child.

Palin did not cut funding for Special Needs Education in Alaska. Not by 62%, not at all.

Palin did not demand, suggest, or ask that books be banned in the Wasilla Public Library.

Palin was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.



Obama

Obama is not a Muslim.

Obama was born in the United States, Hawaii to be exact.

Obama does sing the National Anthem, he does say the Pledge of Allegiance, and does place his hand over his heart while reciting it.

Obama is not a secret terrorist spy.

Obama does not support Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.

Obama is not gay.



i hope this helps to clear up some things. if you're going to vote, please vote on the issues, and not based on this bovine excrement.

thank you
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Now This Is Just Getting Silly

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/30930849.html

Poll workers clash at Falls nursing home
Police, elections board investigate alleged assault over marked ballot

By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008

Poll workers from opposing sides in the presidential race apparently clashed in a physical altercation Friday at a Cuyahoga Falls nursing home when one accused the other of improperly marking a ballot.

George Manos, the 75-year-old Republican, told police that Edith Walker, the 73-year-old Democrat, jumped on his back and struck him in the head three to four times with her fists. Manos said two other elections workers had to pull Walker off his back, according to a report filed with Cuyahoga Falls police.
Cont'd

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/30930849.html
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HAHA!!!

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10460511

Chambers' suit against God tossed out

BY Christopher Burbach
World-Herald Staff Writer

You can't sue God if you can't serve the papers on him, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled in Omaha Tuesday.

Judge Marlon Polk threw out Nebraska Sen. Ernie Chambers' lawsuit against the Almighty, saying there was no evidence that the defendant had been served. What's more, Polk found "there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant."

Chambers had sued God in September 2007, seeking a permanent injunction to prevent God from committing acts of violence such as earthquakes and tornadoes.

Although the case may seem superfluous and even scandalous to others, Chambers has said his point is to focus on the question of whether certain lawsuits should be prohibited.

"Nobody should stand at the courthouse door to predetermine who has access to the courts," he said. "My point is that anyone can sue anyone else, even God."

Chambers, an avowed atheist, said he decided to make that point after at least two attempts in the Nebraska Legislature to limit "frivolous lawsuits."

Though I must say, if the purpose of this lawsuit is what the guy says it is, then huzzah for him. Hope it works...
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Wow...I'm Glad All Our Leaders Walk-The-Walk Too

Today at the G8 Summit, World leaders had an eight-course dinner before talking about the worldwide food crisis.

Some excerpts:

The Prime Minister was served 24 different dishes during his first day at the summit – just hours after urging the world to reduce the "unnecessary demand" for food and calling on British families to cut back on their wasteful use of food...

...The dinner consisted of 18 dishes in eight courses including caviar, smoked salmon, Kyoto beef and a "G8 fantasy dessert"...

...The dinner came just hours after a "working lunch" consisting of six courses including white asparagus and truffle soup, crab and a supreme of chicken...

Continued

Labels: irony, politics, world

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Chris Rock Got Statutory Punk'd!
(my sincerest apologies for the lame pun-ing there)

From breitbart.com

Celebrity funnyman Chris Rock was the victim of a practical joke while on tour in South Africa, after being pranked with accusations he had sex with a British minor, a prosecutor said Saturday.

"It was a hoax, it was for one of the US (United States) reality television programmes," said National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Tlali Tlali.

The US comedian, who is on his "No apologies"tour in the country, was duped by rumours he was about to be arrested for sexually assaulting a minor in Britain.

"They pulled one on him, information got to him that the South African Police Service was going to arrest him. Acting on that information he quickly approached lawyers who brought an urgent application at the Johannebsurg High Court where judgement was in his favour," Tlali told AFP.
Tlali said Rock had sought clarification on the charges to be brought against him.

A fake prosecutor, one of the cast members for the television show, appeared in court Monday urging that Rock be taken into custody, however the judge ruled he could not be arrested or detained without a proper warrant.

"This one went far, it must have been organised quite carefully," said Tlali, who said when prosecutors discovered the following day it was a prank there were mixed reactions with some slamming it as a waste of time, while others saw the funny side.
It was not known which television show was behind the prank.


You know, I just can't imagine caring enough about a joke to take it that far (literally and metaphorically that far). I would like to know who pulled this off.
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I Luv Hanidee!!!

u r soooo cute and awesome in this vid! i luv you!




i jus wish i wuz old enuf to date u! i luv u sean!

luv,
jeany cathrine
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A Spiderman Question

So what happens to all those webs and such that Spiderman leaves hanging and stuck to things all around New York? I mean, does it biodegrade or do people keep getting stuck in it or what?
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Boy-Band Mogul Lou Pearlman Sentenced To 25 Years In Federal Prison

Well, he made millions making fake bands, should anyone be surprised that he made up fake money? I mean, come on...you know...come on.



Willoughby Mariano Sentinel Staff Writer
10:43 AM EDT, May 21, 2008

Boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman was sentenced this morning to 25 years in federal prison for running a lengthy, systematic con that artificially inflated his net worth and cheated people out of $300 million.

During Pearlman's sentencing in U.S. District Court this morning, Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp offered Pearlman an incentive to pay back his investors: For every $1 million he puts back in investors' pockets, he gets one month off of his sentence.

Since Pearlman's sentence is for 300 months, he can avoid prison altogether if he forks up the cash.

"I'm most concerned for the investors, even more so than the institutions," Sharp said.

Pearlman, 53, was once the toast of Orlando. His financial empire once included popular musical acts the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync; an airplane-charter business; and Church Street Station, an iconic piece of real estate in Orlando's downtown.

Continued: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-lou-pearlman-boy-band-052108,0,6837694.story
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Senator Ted Kennedy Not Expected To Live For More Than Three Years Or So,
Quite Possibly Less

Yesterday, Senator Kennedy was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, specifically, a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. The parietal is a brain lobe that works with other regions of the brain to control things such as sensation, movement and speech/language. Malignant gliomas are fairly rare, being diagnosed in only about 9,000 Americans a year. However, almost half of those who are diagnosed die within a year of the diagnosis.

Regardless of my general disagreement with the Senator's positions and votes, I do respect his political abilities. And I respect him as a person. It is terrible that anyone and any family should have to endure this sort of thing, their political backgrounds being completely irrelevant.

Our prayers go out to Senator Kennedy and his family that they may have strength to make it through this terribly difficult time, that they may have the wisdom to discern the best decisions to make, and that they may have the peace that passes all understanding.

For more:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/21/MNI710PS9Q.DTL

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080520/cm_thenation/20080602nichols_web

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/05/the_long_goodby.php

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Sheriff Deputy Kills A Mentally Ill Man In Jackson

Ok, this angers me to the point that I really have no analysis, no comments, no words at all. I'm just going to post a couple of excerpts and leave links to the four or five articles about the "incident" that were published by the Clarion-Ledger.

Family begged deputy not to shoot

(i added the bold/italics)

A Jackson man shot and killed by a Hinds County Sheriff's deputy had threatened to kill family members and had pulled a knife on police at his home last week, according to an affidavit.
But family members of 67-year-old K.C. Battle, who they said had a history of mental illness, maintain he made no threatening move toward the law officer on Monday and should not have been shot.

"I begged them. 'Please don't shoot him,' " a crying Mattie Graves said about an hour after her brother was killed at the 3526 Cromwell St. home they shared. "They could have Tasered him. They didn't have to shoot him."

Capt. Ken Magee of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department said that when two deputies arrived to serve papers on Battle about 11 a.m., Battle wouldn't put down a knife and attempted to attack them.

Only one of the deputies, however, fired after the other had left the room where Battle was, according to a family member.

Battle was shot four times, once in the stomach, once in the face area and twice in the chest, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said.

Continued at: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805130368

Three more articles on the killing:

Hinds deputy shoots, kills man

Family decries man's killing by deputy

...The family of a mentally ill man who was shot and killed Monday by a Hinds County sheriff’s deputy are speaking out against the use of force this evening at a news conference in their community.

The family, along with City Councilman Kenneth Stokes, are at Mt. Mariah Missionary Baptist Church on Medgar Evers Boulevard, less than a mile from the home where K.C. Battle was killed.Officials with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department said the shooting occurred after deputies arrived at Battle’s Cromwell Road home on Monday morning to serve papers. Battle, they said, threatened a deputy with a knife...

...He [K.C. Battle] had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia decades ago and had been sent to the state hospital in Whitfield. Pullen said she did not recall exactly when he had been committed but that pepper spray kept her brother from resisting.“He didn’t know the deputies were coming. We didn’t tell him,” Pullen said. “We thought it would be like last time where they sprayed him and cuffed him. We didn’t think they would shoot him.” ...

Family offers shooting details

...The shooting is under investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and the results will be turned over to the Hinds County district attorney. Meanwhile, according to protocol, both deputies have been placed on paid administration leave.

Jackson City Council President Leslie Burl McLemore called local law enforcement "trigger happy" Tuesday and said he was concerned he is seeing a trend of officer-involved shootings in the metro area.

"We need to make sure our law enforcement is about the business of serving and protecting and not trying to eliminate people," McLemore said. He also called on JPD and the Sheriff's Department to be more transparent about its officer-involved shooting investigations...

Much Love To All
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Rumers Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.
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John McCain Secures GOP Nom

As of a few minutes ago, John McCain has officially clinched the Republican Presidential nomination for 2008. So, the next big question is, of course, who will he pick for his running mate.

The way I see it, he needs someone a little more conservative than he is perceived to be (though not too conservative so as to alienate the much-needed Independent vote). Also, he needs someone with administrative experience, someone like a current of former Governor. Finally, he'll most likely want someone from the South. Taking the South in the General Election is a make or break proposition for the GOP. Also, he might possibly pick a woman.

My best guesses, as of now, for names are: Huckabee (Gov, AR), Haley Barbour (Gov. MS), Bobby Jindal (Gov. LA).

Of course, it's quite possible that I'm completely off-base...we shall see.
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A Truly Biblical Re-Wording Of The So-called “Defense Of Marriage Act”

To any Christian Conservitive Right-Wing Republican whom it may concern:

I have found the Defense Of Marriage Act quite incomplete in supporting true Biblical marriage. Therefore, as I would like to help you all to define marriage in the most Biblically proper way the Defense of Biblical Marriage Act ( previously known as the Defense Of Marriage Act), I propose that it shall hereafter read as follows:

Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women (Gen. 29:17-28; II Sam. 3:2-5).

Marriage must not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam. 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron. 11:21)

In order to be considered valid, a marriage the bride must be a virgin. If she is not a virgin, she must be executed. (Deut. 22:13-21)

Marriage of a believer and a non-believer is unlawful and will be prohibited. . (Gen. 24:3; Num. 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh. 10:30)

Given that Biblical marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut. 22:19; Mark 10:9)

When a married man dies without children, his brother must marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he must pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut. 25:5-10)


And there you have it. I’m just trying to do my part for all the CCRwR’s out there…
…you’re welcome.
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My Outlook For The New Hampshire Primaries As Of 2015 7 January 2008

My thoughts on this may change, of course, as events warrant. But as of now, this is my best hypothesis as to how the NH Primaries will come out.

Republican

With a very small margin seperating 1, 2, and 3

McCain
Romney
Huckabee
Giuliani
Thompson
Paul
Hunter


Democratic

With Obama leading Clinton by a respectable margin.

Obama
Clinton
Kucinich
Edwards
Richardson
Gravel


There you go. Don't forget to watch the Primary results tomorrow night. I know I'll be :). And we'll all see how well (or how poorly) my projections are.
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a little freestyle

effectively restacking rhyming schematics
my semantics erratic; my lyrics belong in straight jackets
pedantic, am i, sometimes
i can admit it
but you too must admit it, kid, the shit i script is gifted
this Tig is lifted
like a jack's beneath my rear end
but above all that i'm miffed at
the fact that i ain't dead yet
and yet the better part of me says "come on son and talk ta me.
you bottle me and coddle me but never look inside a me
what is it that so scares ya, b?
afraid that you might like me?"
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Sharpton Aids Subpoenaed

This is an excerpt from an article on the New York Daily News website. I thought it was interesting. :

Teams of federal agents swooped down on up to 10 close associates of the Rev. Al Sharpton Wednesday, demanding the flamboyant clergyman's financial records since 2001.

Sharpton's former chief of staff said he was roused at his Harlem home about 6:30 a.m. by two FBI agents who handed him a subpoena to bring the records to a federal grand jury the day after Christmas.

Several employees of Sharpton's National Action Network also got wakeup subpoenas to testify before the Brooklyn panel, the rabble-rousing reverend's lawyer said.

The FBI and IRS are investigating whether Sharpton improperly misstated the amount of money he raised during his 2004 White House run to illegally obtain federal matching funds, a source familiar with the probe said.

Sharpton, although forced to return $100,000 in matching taxpayer funds after an investigation two years ago, denied any wrongdoing at the time.

______________________

Dang...i hope they don't take Sharpton down. He's always so fun.
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Voltage And Vancouver

i don't even feel like commenting on this. but i'm pretty damn sure that you guys and gals know exactly what i'm thinking.

below are some excerpts from this story from The Globe And Mail newspaper:

Astonishing video footage released yesterday shows Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski did not resist police or confront them before officers zapped him with a taser, setting off a struggle that ended in his death in the international arrivals area of Vancouver's International Airport.

The footage, shot by Victoria resident Paul Pritchard, was released to the news media yesterday and widely broadcast, providing a raw look at events that have prompted a furious debate in B.C. about the police use of tasers.

The release comes a month after the incident that ended in the death of 40-year-old Mr. Dziekanski, who had come to Canada on his first-ever airplane flight to begin a new life with his mother, who lives in Kamloops and had been eagerly awaiting his arrival.

He began acting erratically after more than 10 hours being processed - the footage picks up as he was positioning chairs and a table in a manner that caused the automatic doors to remain open. Security guards look on...

...Someone yells "hit him again." He was tasered twice. Police pile on, seeking to restrain him. One officer places his knee on Mr. Dziekanski's neck.

Mr. Dziekanski went into medical distress and died there. The footage shows officers attending to him. One man in a suit checks for a pulse. It is impossible to tell from the footage whether he is dead at that point, although he appears non-responsive.

An autopsy later found no sign of drugs or alcohol in Mr. Dziekanski's system, but failed to come up with any specific cause of death....



gotta love the cops. nice to know that Canada's police are the same sort of psychos that we have. at least we're not alone.

for more on the story, follow the link a few paragraphs back up, and there is more of the story at http://mvdg.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/the-vancouver-taser-affair/

sweet dreams all.
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Today's Philosophical Question

Is God exothermic or endothermic?

( i'm using the upper-case inclusive "God" here. that is, the supreme supernatural being of any religion or combination of religions or a hypothetical being existing simply for the sake of argument)
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Chevrolet Makes Official Announcement Regarding The Oft Sighted Blue Devil Corvette

Since the introduction of the C6 Corvette, there has been a "super-Vette" sighted, by car mag guys and industry insiders, being tested at various tracks and roads around the world, including the Nordschleife of the Nurbugring. this Uber-Vette has been, heretofore, codenamed The Blue Devil. However, last month, Chevrolet announced that it will be going into production, and it will be under the ZR1 moniker (non-hyphenated, as of now, unlike the early 90's version).

Here are some specs and some differentiations from the venerable 90's Monster Vette:

• The engine in the C6 ZR1 will be, like the early 90’s ZR-1, an all-aluminum mill. But, unlike the early 90’s model, it will remain a pushrod, overhead-valve design, as opposed to the ZR-1’s DOHC design

• The engine will displace 6.0 liters, be supercharged, and produce around 650 bhp

• The roof and A and B pillars (and probably the hood as well) will be made of carbon fiber, unlike the aluminum panels that make up the rest of the car. This is done, of course, to lower the total weight of the car and to lower its center of gravity.

• The projected price is $99,000. Steep, for me anyway, but there will be no other vehicle on the planet that is even nearly comparable in performance that is less than $60 grand more than the ZR1

• Also, according to spy shots, there appears to be a Plexiglas or Lexan or some other clear polycarbonate window in the hood. My guess would be that it serves purely to showcase the engine.

• The wheel and tire packages on the ZR1 will be massive. Larger even than the P325/30ZR19’s fitted to the current Z06.

• Current spy shots of the ZR1 show Carbon-Ceramic brake rotors, at least on the front. This suggests that they’ll also be available on the production version, but probably as an option. This marks a first for Carbon, Ceramic, or Carbon Ceramic brake rotors on a Corvette.

• The C6 ZR1 will most likely go on sale in late 2008 as a 2009 model, and it will probably have a production run continuing not much further than the 2011 model year.

And that’s about all I know now. I’ll update as conditions warrant.

Have a wonderful day, and a wonderful week, my friends.
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To Bomb, Or Not To Bomb..etc etc etc

There are numerous sources confirming leaked information that the US is going to execute one of its long-admitted plans for a bombing campaign against Iran. There is no date apparent, but it would be of course before 09 Jan when Bush leaves office. Most sources, however, are reporting that the attacks would begin sometime between 07 October and 08 August.

More to come, developing.
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Hot Off The Rumor Mill!

And i mean HOT. this hasn't even hit Drudge yet. the latest buzz has Bush et al. tapping Joe Lieberman to fill the AG position now that Gonzales has resigned.

Developing...

when Lieberman takes the job, remember, you heard it here first!
(and if he doesn't...you didn't hear it from me)
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Gonzo Resigns

Yes, my friends, you read that correctly. Alberto Gonzales, the heretofore Attorney General, has resigned.

In a related story, Lady Justice has been taken off of Suicide Watch.

Under orders from Der Eksekutive Branch, Gonzales has continually waged a campaign of destruction against the Constitution of the United States and the rights of Her citizens. There are numerous examples of this. I'll just list a few here, from the ACLU. I don't always agree with their politics, but, despite O'Reilly's proclamations from the mount, their fact-checking is first rate.

Quoted from the ACLU:

During his tenure as attorney general, Gonzales championed policies that eroded civil liberties protections, including:

1. Failure to investigate and prosecute criminal acts committed by civilians in the torture or abuse of detainees and repeatedly rebuffed congressional inquiries into the matter.

2. Failure to investigate and prosecute criminal acts and violations of laws as a result of the National Security Agency's warrantless spying program. Recent reports indicate that Gonzales may have recommended to the president that he block the Office of Professional Responsibility's investigation since he himself may have come under scrutiny.

3. Championing renewal of the Patriot Act despite serous civil liberties concerns from Republicans and Democrats alike. A recent audit by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General found that the FBI underreported, misused and abused the National Security Letter authority. In fact, Gonzales and others at the DOJ had to send letters to Congress retracting previous testimony on the use of NSLs after the OIG report was published.

4. Failure to investigate possible perjury committed by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez before the Senate Armed Services Committee. A memo drafted by General Sanchez, who commanded the war in Iraq, laid out specific interrogation techniques including sleep management, the inducement of fear at two levels of severity, loud music and sensory agitation, and the use of canine units to exploit fear of dogs. During sworn testimony before Congress, General Sanchez flatly denied approving any such techniques.

5. Tried and failed to have his deputy White House counsel, Timothy Flanigan, confirmed as deputy attorney general. At the White House, Flanigan was one of a handful of administration lawyers responsible for opening the door to abusive interrogation and detention policies in the war on terrorism.

What a lovely man, no?
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Hmmm...News To Me

did any of you know that Laurel has a web site? you're dang right it does, jimmy.

http://www.laurelms.com/


hey, i didn't necessarily say it was a good site. it's not bad though. has a few interesting things.

huzzah for Laurel entering the digital age.
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Breaking News

Chip Pickering to retire from US H of R. he will leave office at the end of his term and will not be seeking re-election.

rm
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Nothur Game

mindless, violent, addictive, and harder than you'll probably think it is.


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rest in pisces

how can such these empty things
present,
and yet maintain,
such a convincing façade
of depth
and breadth
remaining so
for years on end
deceiving this
once-young
sacrificial lamb
on toward and atop
this cross of stone
heart mended so
often now
as to resemble a newly
skinned baseball
but no heart
now the lingering thread
of that final slipknot
has presently been pulled
yarn curls down
and coils itself
at hoof level now
as a woman knits a crown
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Maximum Warp...Engage!

Two German scientists claim to have coaxed photon packets to move across a 3 ft. distance at a rapid rate faster than the speed of light (186,000 miles per second.

This is fascinating for many, many reasons. One of which being that moving something at a speed faster than light is physically impossible, given Einstein's Theory Of Special Relativity.

However, it has long been known that Quantum Mechanics and Einstein's theories view the universe, and the laws governing it, in very different ways. Quantum Mechanic theories allow faster than light speed movement, though under specialized and indescribable conditions.

Regardless, this is amazing stuff.

You can read the rest of the story here.
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BREAKING NEWS

AP BREAK AT 5 AM CDT

Karl Rove, the embattled cheif advisor to Presdent George W. Bush has announced that he will be resigning at the end of the month.
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Wow....I Can Think Of No Neccessary Comment On This

so i'm just posting it as is. this is the entire story....on with the show:


Man living in car since '00 upsets city


PITTSBURG, Kan. - Steve Graham might not be in the doghouse over a dispute with his wife, but as far as his neighbors are concerned, he's not far from it. For the past seven years, Graham, 55, has been living in his car parked in the backyard of a house he and his wife, La Donna Graham, own.

ADVERTISEMENT

Graham said the two have "been having troubles" since 1999 and that he's been out of the house since about 2000. His wife still lives in the home.

"She's not going to support me not having a job and bumming around," Graham said. "I'm trying my best to get a job and get up out of this rut."

But his neighbors, who say Graham plays loud music, often spouts obsenity-laced tirades and uses his yard as a toilet, aren't amused. They have asked the city to prohibit such living arrangements.

"You can't enjoy your backyard," said Linda Sanders, whose backyard is across the alley from Graham's property.

Sanders and her family are among more than a dozen neighbors who presented the Pittsburg City Commission with a petition in July asking it to prohibit people from living in their cars on private property within city limits.

Kenny and Cathy Waring live in property adjoining Graham's, near a park and across the street from Lakeside Elementary School.

"Every day he's out there. He never goes into the house," Kenny Waring said. "He sleeps out there, he eats out there, he watches TV, he plays guitar. ... Everything that you do in your house, he does out there."

Graham acknowledged that he watches TV, listens to music and sometimes sleeps in his blue, 1989 Buick Century. The car is parked on a concrete slab, mostly covered by a large, blue tarp that is secured with bricks and cinder blocks.

An extension cord from the house to the car provides power for a 13-inch TV, an oscillating fan and a radio.

"I get better reception there than I do in there," he said, pointing at the house. "I listen to Rush (Limbaugh) every day, just about."
[^HAHAHAH!!! i don't know why, but i just find that particularly funny^]

The Warings said they tried at first to get along with Graham, but by the second year, they were calling the police on a regular basis. At first, they were the only neighbors upset by Graham's living arrangement, but now they say more neighbors with children are moving into the area.

The neighbors say one of their biggest complaints is that Graham may be using his yard for a toilet.

Sanders said when her son-in-law was back from Iraq in mid-June, Graham began to burn trash and other debris across the alley.

"I walked out there, and (the smell) was terrible," she said. "Then Ronnie came out the back door and said, 'It smells just like back in Baghdad.' He said he'd been on detail where they have to burn excrement and said that was exactly what it smells like."

Graham denied that he used the yard for a toilet.

"No, I go elsewhere," he said. "I don't expose myself to people."
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In Light Of The Election Tomorrow, This Is A Public Announcement

To all the idiots and hypocrites: "Family Values" do not begin and end at hating abortion and stopping the gays from getting married.

Thank you.
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Cop Kills 5 Year Old Boy Oklahoma

The story is titled, Freak Accident: Cop Shooting at Snake Kills 5-Year-Old Boy, and here is a link to the video.

First question, why is a cop shooting a snake in the first place? Was it a 100 ft long anaconda choking 14 people or something? This makes no sense to me. For the sake of discussion, let's assume that the cop had a legitmate reason to shoot it, and we'll go from there.

The boy who was killed was about 150 yards from the gun. He was standing on a dock, fishing. He was five, so he was what, about 3 feet tall? That's a nice round number. Now, we'll assume the cop was maybe 6ft maybe. That would put his gun firing from a height of no more than probably 5 feet, tops. So, let's do a little math. The gun was fired from 5 feet off of the ground; it hit a boy's head that was 3 feet off the ground. Actually, we'll throw in a little benifit of the doubt here. Let's say he was sitting, so 2 feet. That gives a 3 feet differential. With a little 9th grade trigonometry, we see that the gun was fired at…..ok….even sitting here with my Machinist’s Handbook, Revised 21st Edition, I can’t remember all the sine cosine crap. Let’s just say that he fired his shot at an angle just a little less than parallel to the ground. Why? If anyone knows even the slightest bit about gun safety, you know that a bullet can go well past your target, if you miss it especially, and hurt and/or kill someone hundreds of feet, even hundreds of yards, away.

Just as a “for instance”, my little box of little .22 Long Rifle rounds here has a warning that the round can hurt or kill someone up to 2 miles away. Me personally, I do my target shooting down at the pond. In the direction I face when I shoot, there is no occupied or populated area for about 4 miles or so. But still, I always make sure that my trajectory puts my bullet into the ground no more than 15 ft or so beyond my target.

For anyone to discharge a firearm almost straight ahead of himself is dangerous, even down at the pond. To do it in a populated area is completely insane. But for a cop to do it, someone who is supposedly super-duper trained in firearm use and safety, is an action that amounts to depraved indifference to human life. Such an action is also known as Murder In The Second Degree in most jurisdictions.

I really hope this guy is prosecuted.

And I really want to know why he was shooting at a snake in the first stinkin place.
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Hank Aaron No Longer Alone At 755 Home Runs

Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run yesterday, tying the career home run record set at 755 by Hank Aaron. this means that Aaron will now be sharing his spot in the record books with Bonds and an asterisk.
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While You're Waiting For Me To Actually Update...

...kill some time playing this little game that is crack-like in its addictive nature:


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Inspiring Quote Of The (insert unit of time)

(...i'm not even going to try to pretend that i'll be doing this...or anything....regularly or in a scheduled manner)

everybody's goin crazy. i'm just cuttin in line.

-rm
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New Semi-Regular Feature:
odd things i've found on craigslist

This is the first entry:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bar/383474709.html

I'm quoting now:

Will barter or trade stuff for car, like a Geo Metro, Suzuki Swift, or any car that can get 40 miles per gallon or better, like a VW Diesel (Jetta, Beetle or Passat). I have my head/heart set on breaking the 40mpg barrier. (I plan to install a bed in it, so I can have an affordable bedroom.)



What I have as of this posting date: Magnepan MG-I speakers ($300). Vulcan Wood lathe ($100). Fire Safe ($20). Heads, Intake Manifold, Carb, Water Pump, for a GMC/Chevy 305 ($99). "Hot VWs" magazines ($20). Antique dresser ($150). Engine stand ($40). Electric 50ft sewer snake ($350). "Rocky Boppers" ($15). Honda 250cc road bike, (Scout?). UPS Batteries ($10). Guardian Ware. Benchtop Drill Press. Collectibles? Other stuff. Cleaning out storage unit.

(in Australian accent) How ta speak San Franciscan: ^ = normal business proposal
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As-yet Unbuilt Radio Station Recieves...um...Interesting Call Letters

wow...

http://starbulletin.com/2007/07/26/business/engle.html
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Executive Order Signed By Bush On July 17

Here’s a link to it.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html

The language, of course, is highly convoluted. But here’s what it boils down to. The Executive branch has now created and claimed the power to sieze the property of anyone who:

(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;

(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order...

So, if anyone speaks out against our occupation of Iraq, or even threatens to speak out against it, can have their land seized.

Does anyone believe me yet that we now live in a fascist state?
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By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them, Pt. 2

Back on June 4, I wrote a post under the title of Speaking Of Politics. The point I was making there was that, when a number of people are asked why they support President Bush invariably more than half answer with some form of "he's a man of God". You want to support and vote for Godly politicians? Awesome, go for it, more power to you. My problem is that i could find no evidence to support Bush's numerous assertions that he is indeed a "man of God".

So, I asked around. Friends, family, anyone I knew that supported Bush, at least in part, because he is a "Godly man", were asked to give me an example, one example to back up their belief.

I recieved zero responses.
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Pro-Life, But Not Necessarily Pro-Living

(before I get into this, I would like to state, for the record, that I don’t really have a strong stance either for or against abortion. i don’t have a dog in this fight, as they say.)

Why does it seem that most of those who believe that life begins at conception don’t really seem to care about that life after its birth?

Let’s look at this for a moment, shall we?

The anti-abortion industry is a booming behemoth. Millions of dollars and thousands of hours are put into ad campaigns, sit-ins at clinics, chaining clinic doors shut, organizing marches, organizing and putting on conferences, etc.

There is enormous effort thrown behind the anti-abortion/pro-life movement by churches and individual religious people. All this money and time is spent to try to make abortions illegal. Or, in a more localized way, the effort goes to trying to drastically reduce the number and availability of abortions. Ultimately, then, the goal is to have the maximum number of children born at all times. But what about after they’re born?

I’m generalizing here, I know. But, as generalizations, they’re true.

• The PL’s don’t care about WIC
• They either don’t care or are against welfare, even for single moms
• They don’t care about the conditions of schools anywhere except the ones their kids are in.
• They don’t care about college loan rates going up and government grants going down.
• They don’t care about the many kids growing up in bad situations, with a mom who might’ve wanted an abortion.
• They don’t care that that kid exponentially more likely to:
o Do drugs
o Get pregnant
o Join a gang
o End up in jail

I know that what I just said isn't true for all pro-lifers. Many would probably chime in now and say that they really do care about the above issues. Fine, maybe they do. I can't know. But I can know that whether or not they care about the issues or not, they're not doing a thing about them. Better to buy more chain for the clinic doors I guess.

Just my 3 cents.
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Free (and unsolicited) Advice Of The Day

When you're being pragmatic, don't let anyone tell you you're cynical.
When you're being realistic, don't let anyone tell you you're jaded.
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Iraq

tonight i've been thinking a lot about the current situation in Iraq; about my friends who are, or have been, deployed over there for multiple tours; about the American mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends deployed there who are performing (and being deployed) far above and beyond the call of duty, and are being mentally and physically destroyed; the Iraqi men, women and children who are also being mentally and physically destroyed; and, at a far, far less important level, the billions upon billions of dollars that our country is shelling out month after month, week after week, day after day.

i can grasp all of the arguments for and against "staying the course". most all of them have at least one or two valid point. i always become a little bit emotional when i'm sitting around reading, watching, and/or writing on the subject of Iraq. it's usually a smorgasbooard of many emotions. but for the past 36 hours or so, that has changed.

now i am just angry. not at anyone, just angry. and i don't have any answers on what to do. there are a million options, and it seems that, no matter which one is picked, it will simply be the lesser of the million evils.

i said all that, to get to this point and a very simple question that i want anyone who can, to answer.

the administration, over the years, has repeated the mantra that they are for "victory in Iraq" and the Democrats want defeat (which is, of course, nonsense. nobody in America wants to see more Americans wounded or injured, that's what a true "defeat" would be: a slaughter of Americans.

so, the Iraq thing is over when we 'win'. we'll withdraw troops when we achieve 'victory'.

therefore, i have a simple question. let me preface this by saying that i am asking this honestly, in hopes of getting a real answer. there is no sarcasm, no toungue-in-cheek, it's not a rhetorical question. and i don't want a general answer, a dictionary answer. i'm asking this in terms of right now in Iraq...

...What Is Victory?

i hope i get some responses.

thank you for your time...sweet dreams, all.
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F Thompson

Prediction: Fred Thompson will be officially announcing his candidacy within 2 hrs.

posted 5:45pm CST


rm
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Loving 'Green' Runs In The Family I Guess

ok guys, i realize that this is going to sound like the setup for a good joke, but no, it's a real story. wait...let me rephrase that. the story here is true...but it could still be the setup for a good joke.

Al Gore's son, Al Gore III., was pulled over for speeding...in his Prius. the cop smelled weed, searched the car, and found a little marijuana and some pills including Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Adderall and Soma.

wow.

here's the beginning of the story, and here's a link to it.

From Reuters:

Al Gore's son busted for drugs in hybrid car

Wed Jul 4, 2007 10:22PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 24-year-old son of former Vice President Al Gore was arrested for drug possession on Wednesday after he was stopped for speeding in his hybrid Toyota Prius, a sheriff's official said.

Al Gore III -- whose father is a leading advocate of policies to fight global warming -- was driving his environmentally friendly car at about 100 miles per hour on a freeway south of Los Angeles when he was pulled over by an Orange County sheriff's deputy at about 2:15 a.m.

The deputy smelled marijuana and searched the car, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. The search turned up a small amount of marijuana, along with prescription drugs including Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Adderall and Soma. There were no prescriptions found, he said.

Gore was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and booked into the Inmate Reception Center in Santa Ana, about 34 miles south of Los Angeles, on $20,000 bail. Although he quickly identified himself as the son of the former vice president, Amormino said Gore received no special privileges.
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June 29

happy birthday, wherever you may be.

odd that this is one of only 5 or so birthdays of friends that are burned into my head.
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Bush Mis-speaks...Again...Freudian Slip?

This is a Press Relase from the POTUS Press Secretary trying to spin...I mean...clarify, yeah, clarify, the President's earlier remarks. Bush's statement that's being clarified is italicized:

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Tue Jun 26 2007 11:57:55 ET

Earlier today, in speaking about comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush misspoke. He told a group, “You know, I’ve heard all the rhetoric – you’ve heard it, too – about how this is amnesty. Amnesty means that you’ve got to pay a price for having been here illegally, and this bill does that.” This has been construed as an assertion that comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the Senate offers amnesty to immigrants who came here illegally. That is the exact opposite of the president’s long-held and often-stated position.
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free writing
(title edit due to factual error)

the meaning is in the being, in the doing, of the thing
not so much in seeking, seeing what that meaning be
the walk is long, and often cold, tis rare you're not alone
but the stepping reps, the feet in step, is an answer all its own
stop the trying and the crying just to make yourself insane
remember when, i told you then, your sadness makes the rain
when the wind it strengthens, structures weaken, therein lies the fault
of believing seeing something, is more real than is a thought
and if on your journey homeward, or if you just journey on
the light that guides, can also blind, and destroy house and home

Free Writing Partial Definition From Wikipedia

Automatic writing is the process, or product, of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer. The writer's hand forms the message, and the person is unaware of what will be written. It is sometimes done in a trance state. Other times the writer is aware (not in a trance) of their surroundings but not of the actions of their writing hand.
...
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nondescript

full length gown or not, i'm a top notch something; follow not
me; follow not me: this time is a mistake i see
that |follow me not| tempestuous one, fall eyes
and spring glances: fullness reeks of empty eyes and
time flies as i fall: follow me not follow me not:
black tie nights and dinner guests laugh |mountain tops beckon
as valleys seem easier|what is it like to fall what is it like to fall|
list not here my favorite times
my favorite rhymes the time i killed time
my most loved crimes are long since forgotten
forgotten
and that's the way it should stay|i stand
and fall at the same time and colors change slower
than my mind:stalling like a jet
what is that;what is it like to fall;what is it like to fall:
Tigress
eyes me, not like prey but a tree or frog or something equally nondescript
what's the time now, summer: fall comes quicker every year fasterthanthecolorschangemymind:
i like the snow time better but the snow won't come: the snow won't come:
my eyes numb, my body allseeing:orbs are comets to me|comets|forsake
not
this time of plenty;these seven years will
go so fast. nothing lasts like these rocks so remember
you were told when the lean would come
but not tonite
the bright
lights beckon
and i come
slowly at first then faster
and faster still, untilblurbecomesall
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mead and milton

my words, they can not justify,
the ways of mine to God
tis a chore, even more, to entertain the thought
of explaining 6 and twenty
years of such these things,
and the curse, in the verse
unto lesser beings
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Blind Faith


tenets tend to make me think
the person holding such beliefs
is so caught up in wanting things
idyllic ways, that can not be
faith that's blind's a lovely thought
yet there's problems such a faith does wrought
faith that's blind, for some, is fine
but often leads to gouged-out eyes
|

March 02

non-threatening

are you the same? because i can't tell so much time and difference that it may not matter anymore. at least not now. i'm smart enough to leave well enough alone. you'll always have my sympathy, and what i call my love, my love. windows don't seem to give the view they used to. i'm glad to see you up here in the snow. the cold wind blows and blows a wisp of smoke from your marlboro. just one more bad habit. who the hell am i to judge anyway. not that i was. just noticing. thought i'd say hello, since we're here togother, a thousand miles from home. it just seems fitting that we meet. maybe kiss. ok, maybe i went to far there. what was i thinking, i feel so silly. but we're to close or far apart for such awkward moments. but i digress, does your chest hurt at this altitude, with the cigarettes and such? sorry, i didn't mean to bring it up, just wondering if you were having a good time. ok, so what now...how about dinner...maybe later...ok. i gues i'm off then. have a good time with whoever. i'l pretend not to notice, like i always do. and we'll get through this too and live to talk again. as friends or something equally non-threatening.
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So Long, Life As We Know It, It's Been Fun

guys, we are so stinkin close to world war III, and no one at all seems to be paying attention.

Abbas dismisses Hamas-led government

By Harvey Morris in Jerusalem

Published: June 14 2007 09:00 | Last updated: June 15 2007 01:22

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, dismissed his Hamas-led government on Thursday night and declared a state of emergency, although with little prospect of imposing it in the Gaza Strip after Hamas routed his Fatah loyalists there in the space of a week...



Turkish Officials Say Troops Enter Iraq

Thursday June 7, 2007 12:46 AM

AP Photo NYOL925, NYOL926

By SELCAN HACAOGLU

Associated Press Writer

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq on Wednesday pursuing Kurdish guerrillas who stage attacks on Turkey from hideouts there, Turkish security officials and an Iraqi Kurd official said...



Bush sanctions 'black ops' against Iran

By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 1:24am BST 28/05/2007

President George W Bush has given the CIA approval to launch covert "black" operations to achieve regime change in Iran, intelligence sources have revealed....

those are three very important stories to be watching. this is going to be like dominoes tipping over until Israel goes ahead and uses tactical nukes on Iran's nuclear plants. after that...well...there won't be much after that. only cockroaches and twinkies, if you follow me.
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for a change of pace:
Motor sport Trivia

Ok, outside of drag racing, which type of motor sport (the 4-wheeled kinds) would you think has the best acceleration in 0-60mph and ¼ mile times? NASCAR? JGTC? Le Mans Prototype? F1/Indy cars?

Until I read an article that got into discussing this a bit, I had always assumed that the quickest (not to be confused with fastest) cars in motor sports would be the open wheel cars from Formula 1 or Indy. I was incorrect.

A very good F1 car will do 0-60mph in about 2.7 seconds. These cars do it in 2.35s. Yeah, I know. Purt near quick.

The cars of which I’m speaking are those campaigned in an insanely awesome sort of racing known as RallyCross.




In case any of you are lazy (like me...well...not lazy like i'm lazy...nobody's that lazy. just, if you're lazy too) and don't feel like clicking on the RallyCross link above, here's a piece of the wikipedia entry for RallyCross:

Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built road cars, similar to the World Rally Cars, although usually with about 200bhp stronger engines, due to eg. their 45mm turbo restrictors. It is mainly popular in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain. An inexpensive, entry level type of rallycross is the Swedish folkrace or its Norwegian counterpart, the so-called bilcross.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this little respite from my usual politics and crap like that. have a wonderful day, my friends.
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Pace to Step Down as Chairman of Joint Chiefs

Gates Recommends Bush Nominate Adm. Michael G. Mullen for Post

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 8, 2007; 2:50 PM

link

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that Marine Gen. Peter W. Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will step down at the end of his two-year term in September, a decision Gates said he made to avoid possibly contentious re-nomination hearings before the Democratically-controlled Congress.

The surprise announcement means Pace will be removed from the nation's top military post after just two years as chairman, the shortest tenure for a general officer since 1964. Virtually all of the 16 chairmen since 1949 have served at least four years.
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POTUS ’08:
Candidate Status And Trends For The Republicans
As of 06 June 2007

In no particular order:

McCain: Hurt himself in the debate. He’s been trending down for a bit, this only furthers the fall. He’s going down and out.

Romney: Generally regarded as having been the most successful in the debate. He’s been trending up for sometime. That will go on. He will continually be in the top 2 or 3 R candidates on through most of the primaries.

Huckabee: Was a “pleasant surprise” at the debate. His name recognition and positives are trending up. As more people become aware of him, his stances, charisma, etc, his positives will increase. He’ll be a guy to watch. Will soon be in the top 3 or 4 and will remain so through most of the primaries.

Giuliani: Debate was a mixed bag for him. His support has virtually stagnated. Will fall further out of favor with CRR base and will not be as big a factor in the primaries, especially after NH, as many think. He, like McCain, has no chance of becoming the Nominee.

Gilmore, Paul, Brownback, Hunter, Tancredo, T. Thompson: No real changes with these. None are, or will be, contenders.

Unannounced, but probable, candidates:

Gingrich: Better than 50/50 that he’ll run. Has high positives among CCR’s and most R’s, but has very high negatives as well. Most likely will not be a large factor.

Fred Thompson: Has begun raising money and “testing the waters”. Will announce formal candidacy 1st or 2nd week in July. Has the highest awareness-support ratio, that is, more people who know he is support him, of any candidate in either party. Very staunch conservative views on most issues. Will be sold as the “true Conservative” in the race. Has low negatives, but they may rise as it becomes more widely known that many ex-G W Bush people, such as Tim Griffin, fill his campaign.

________________________________________

And that’s where it stands as of now. I’ll have a Democratic race update after the next debate.
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Speaking Of Politics...

...You know, I really don't care what president, congressman, candidate, etc. someone supports. It doesn't change my view of that person; I don't look down at them. That is...as long as the person can back up why he supports said president, congressman, candidate, etc.

For instance, you all know that President Bush has a very low approval rating. However, there are still hundreds of thousands of people who support this man fully and faithfully (no problem) and blindly (problem).

It never fails, when a supporter of President Bush is asked, by a reporter, talk show host, whatever, why they still report him, that person invariably responds with a paraphrase of one of these two answers:

"He's a Godly man"

"I'm a Conservative, he's a Conservative, I like Conservatives"

Ok, I have zero problems with anyone who wants a Godly man or a Conservative as President. The issue is, neither of those two responses can be reinforced with fact.

Tell me, what is Conservative or Godly about:

Starting a war of aggression in which nearly 3500 American men and women, and over 600,000 Iraqi men and women and children have died.

Massively increasing governmental spending.

Massively increasing governmental programs.

Massively increasing the size of the federal government.

Giving himself the right to arbitrarily delete Habeas Corpus rights from the law.

Giving himself the right to arbitrarily delete the Constitutional ban regarding Posse Comitatus.

Hugely increasing surveillance on American citizens, including, but not limited to, reading our emails, video taping us, tapping our phones, finding out what books we get from the library, all without warrants.

If you are a supporter of President Bush, please know that this is a very small list. I could fill pages with similar relevant items. But I ask you honestly now, not sarcastically or ironically or rhetorically, what has the President done that shows you he is a man of God? What has the President done to show you he is a true Conservative?
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

I will leave you with this excerpt from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; specifically, Matthew, chapter 7, verses 15 through 20:

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
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Hello, I Am theriverman...And I'm A Newsaholic

Of course though, most of you, my dear friends, are well aware of this. And I would much rather listen to political news- or talk-radio than the crap music that plays around here. I listen to many different hosts in every facet of the political spectrum, regardless of the degree of my agreeing with them. Well, actually there are some that I just can't bare to listen to...Michael Savage comes to mind. And also Sean Hannity.

Having said that, I will listen to Hannity's show if there is absolutely nothing else on. That was the case today, which brings me to the point of this post.

Hannity was whining, as he often does. This time it was about his perception of an “unfairness” or “double standard” regarding questions recently being asked of the POTUS candidates by various news people.

This really pissed me off, because what he was saying was SO FRICKIN STUPID. He said that people kept asking Giuliani about abortion, but then why don’t they ask Hillary about abortion? They asked Romney if he and his wife had sex before they’re marriage. Why don’t they ask Hillary if she and Bill had sex before marriage?

Ya wanna know why, ya blithering idiot? Because the questions are not relevant to Hillary or Obama, or most other Democrat POTUS wannabes!!!!!!!!!!!!

They ask Giuliani about abortion because he’s trying to win the GOP nomination for the presidency. To win the GOP primaries, one must connect with the Conservative base of the GOP and convince them to vote for oneself. Abortion is a key issue here, as that Conservative base is almost exclusively against abortion. Moreover, Giuliani has had various positions on abortion over the years, so it would be an especially obvious thing for him to get asked about, even by a journalist friendly to his side.

Hillary, as you may or may not know, is a Democrat. The Democratic base, which she (or any other Dem. Presidential candidate) must woo, is mostly Liberal and pro-abortion. Ms. Clinton has not minced words on her stance on abortion; she has been strongly pro-abortion since the 1970’s. So, continually bringing up the issue when interviewing her would be redundant, boring, and a waste of time.

Now, premarital-sex. Again, we must remember that to win the GOP primary, a candidate must win over a majority of the GOP’s Conservative base. Most of that base has some key issues, issues which are more important to them than any other. Lumped together, these issues are often referred to as “Values” issues, “Family Values”, or “Moral Issues”. Abortion falls into these issues sets, as does pre-marital sex, sex-ed/abstinence, contraception, etc.

So here we have little Hannity whining about Romney being asked if he and his wife had sex before marriage and the media not asking Clinton the same questions. I’ll explain why this happens as well.
Mitt Romney is a Mormon, a member of the LDS church. Regardless of whatever views you might hold regarding Mormons, the fact is that some of their most key teachings are “Family Values” and being a “moral” person. Romney is choosing to run with this. Part of his strength, his appeal to the base (in the eyes of those running his campaign, at least) is that he is person of faith and of high moral standards. The question he was asked about sex with his wife before marriage was in the context of his speaking out for abstinence programs. Therefore then, it too was an obvious question to ask.

Now, again we have a situation where such a question would not really be relevant to ask Clinton. She is not running on planks of her morality and holiness. She doesn’t claim to be the person of such vast moral strength as Romney does. Further, it would not matter one whit to her base whether she and Bill engaged in premarital sex or not. They, like myself, DO…NOT…CARE.

Well, Mr. Hannity, I hope I’ve explained this at a level where you are able to comprehend it and now won’t have to feign indignation anymore over these “unfair” media “double standards”.

To the rest of you, I apologize for insulting your intelligence.

rm
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My Long Range Wireless Communications Device: Wearing Its New Outfit
(with apologies to the father of Jason Isbell)





Anyone think I should've left it solid OD?

thanks for all the support over the years guys, and your time! I really appreciate it.

thank you again.

rm
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Photography

self portrait


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Photography

sunset at riverponds


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My Precision Tactical Weapon System, As Currently Modified



Choate Ultimate Sniper Stock, designed by USMC sniper Major John Plaster

Bushnell Banner 3-9x50mm Scope with variable brightness red/green illuminated reticle

Harris Bipod 3-9 Inches or anywhere in between

1.5 lbs trigger pull

Polished bearing surfaces on bolt and action.

Sub 0.75" groups at 100 yards
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Photography

Juxt/opposed



this one, to me, poses an obvious commentary. but, like all art, is completely open to the viewers' interpretation(s) as well.
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Photography

The Infamus Lure Eating Stump, Exposed


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Photography:

Mike D;Looking


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Politics And Area Rugs

So you’ve just come home from a home furnishing store where you purchased a nice new area rug. This particular rug is reversible. One side is mostly purple and blue tones, and the other is mostly burgundy. Both colors work with your room, but you decide to go with the burgundy side for now.

However, there is a problem. You find out that the rug is infected with anthrax, botulism, ricin, and the bubonic plague. Faced with this horrible new information, you make the most logical and sensible choice: you flip the rug over and use the purple side. Right?

No! You drag the whole damn rug outside and throw it in the incinerator and buy a new rug from a different, and non-infected, store.

This is, more or less, the situation we find ourselves in, in current American politics. We have the 08 POTUS race upon us. We know that, realistically, one of two things will happen when all is said and done. We will have a Democratic president, or we will have a Republican president. The problem is that the two parties are simply two slightly different colored sides of the same infected, infested rug.

But until we, as a nation, face up to the fact that our election system is screwed up, and we get rid of the electoral college, among other changes, we’re stuck with buying the same damn rug, over and over again, from the same infected, infested dealership.
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Gun Art

Savage 11 In Red





rm
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A Curious Thing

This is an un-retouched header from an email I got a couple of months ago:

from The Desk of Mark Green Apr 10
reply-to newsletter@xxxxxxx.com
to xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
date Apr 10, 2007 8:38 AM
subject MoveOn, Hillary, Barack
mailed-by mk1.netatlantic.com


So, my question is, who is ths Mark Green, and why is his Desk sending me emails?

rm

# posted by The Riverman : 6:30 PM

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My First (sort of a) Podcast

The link below will take you to an MP3 of the MC Frontalot song, Special Delivery, that was quoted in my previous post. Enjoy.

MC Frontalot - Special Delivery
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A Question

If one's policy, either toward a single person or in general, is "convert or die" and you have the force (and use/have used that force) to back that up, does it really matter if you're trying to convert people to Islam or to Democracy?

I say no. To quote MC Frontalot:

I tried to go clean from protesting but I'm a recidivist
my government behaving with unlimited wickedness
in the interest of peace is how a liar wages war
then clamors for more.
I wish we had elections every day
wave the ballot in the air like a sign when I say
that democracy delivered by the bomb and the gun
is terror elsewhere on the world I'm from

do you cheer for the once-and-for-all of an enemy
whose hand our man don was on in '83
but who now exemplifies all evil
that's what you get for shaking hands with people
who represent the vast and sinister interests of industry
we protect the free trade world, so don't dare try to stop us
we deliver them bullets and sell them their coffins

rm out
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In Case You've Forgotten

• In the history of Western Architecture, only three steel core buildings have been brought down by fire: WTC 1, WTC 2, WTC 7. link

• A hydrocarbon fire, like jet fuel burning, burns at 1000c in a pure oxygen environment. Steel melts at about 3000c. Further, it is generally agreed that the "official fires" around the WTC supports burned at around 500c.

Just a little reminder.

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Everything Is Over
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This Week In The Investment World

Prepare for another rough week for the Dow. Last week was the worst week that stock index has had in, I believe, four years.

This coming week will hold more down arrows for the Dow and Nasdaq partially precipitated by further downward tumbling of the major Asian markets this week.

Have fun ladies and gents.
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Birthday

Yes, I turned 26 on March 3. I think the following quote of Jerry from episode 17, season 4 of Seinfeld pretty much sums up how i feel.

Cheryl: Sorry, it was my aunt's birthday and she makes such a big deal aboutit.

Elaine: Well, nobody likes to get old, right?

Jerry: Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and how little we've grown. No matter how desperate we are that someday a better self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know it's not to be, that for the rest of our sad, wretched pathetic lives, this is who we are to the bitter end. Inevitably, irrevocably; happy birthday? No such thing.

happy birthday to me.
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The Most Frightening Bush Quote Of The Year

In a speech yesterday, President Bush said the following, which inadvertantly pretty much explains all of his policies:

Money trumps peace sometimes.


I only wish I was making this stuff up.
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UPDATE ON PREVIOUS STORY Re: New Bush Executive Order Power Grab

First, I think it's sort of news that i actually updated a story that i said i was going to update. But on with the real story:


From The Raw Story

NY Times: Bush signs landmark executive order increasing power over federal agencies

01/29/2007 @ 8:50 pmFiled by RAW STORY

President George W. Bush has given his administration a boost in how the government regulates key issues such as civil rights and the environment, The New York Times will report on its Tuesday front page

The President "signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules that the federal government develops to regulate public health, safety," privacy and other issues, writes Robert Pear for the Times.
Pear reports that "in an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Bush said that each federal agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee" who will monitor the creation of process and procedures and the associated documentation.
"The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency," Pear writes, "to analyze the costs and benefits of new rules and to make sure they carry out the president's priorities."
Excerpts from the Times article follow...
#
This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.
The White House said the executive order was not meant to rein in any one agency. But business executives and consumer advocates said the administration was particularly concerned about rules and guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

...
Business groups welcomed the executive order, saying it had the potential to reduce what they saw as the burden of federal regulations. This burden is of great concern to many groups, including small businesses, that have given strong political and financial backing to Bush.
Consumer, labor and environmental groups denounced the executive order, saying it gave too much control to the White House and would hinder agencies' efforts to protect the public.
#


______________

That's all I've got so far. I'll be posting more on this as I can dig it up, because, frankly, this sort of thing scares the crap outa me. When any administration starts making power grabs for the Executive Branch, that definately get's me paying attention. But this administration has gone so far with it. I was begining to wonder if there was power left to grab. And, yes, aparently there is.

I'll post the ful text of the EO when I can find it.

RM
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IMPORTANT DEVELOPING STORY

New York Times to report a new Bush executive order that gives the president much greater control over rules to regulate public health, safety, environment, civil rights, privacy, other issues...

I'll bring you more info on this as it becomes available.

STILL glad ya voted for dubya?

rm
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no title

Every living creature on this earth dies alone.
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Round

my body is here in this room,
but my heart is not in this place
the rest of my being is seeking,
an angel with a southern face.
it's most likely a waste,
this searching or waiting
for that which, likely, will never be found
but if you can wait, i'll re-enter this space
and we'll order up one more round.
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Victory In Iraq: What is it?

Part One Of...Well...More Than One Part...

Day after day, person after person, usually someone in the Bush administration or who otherwise supports the occupation of Iraq, is asked a question phrased similar to this:

“When will our troops be able to return home?”

The answer, invariably, comes back:

“When the ‘job’ is done.”

Or:

“When we achieve ‘victory’.”

To me, those answers raise the question of the definitions of ‘victory’ and ‘job’. I have no idea what those words mean in this context. I have scoured the Internet for a couple of years now, in search of an answer. I have come across a few, but they are less than appropriate I think:

When Saddam is gone.

When Iraq has an open election.

When Iraq has a government that is a constitutional democracy.

Each of those above conditions have been met. However, after each of these events occur, the ‘job’ is still not done. We have not achieved victory.

There is one other response that I’ve come across, and it presents its own problems:

Yes, Saddam is gone and Iraq has elected a constitutional democracy, but we can’t leave until the country is stable.

Stable? Iraq? Those who offer the above condition for victory seem to lack access to a World History text book. Iraq has not been stable since its existence, not without having a totalitarian regime anyway.


Next time we'll take a little look at the history of Iraq and how it became Iraq with the borders as we now know it.
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Talk Amongst Yourselves

American society is quickly becoming a mirror of classist societies in old Europe. Further, in government, money now will get one much farther than merit. Are we now, or simply soon to be, an aristocracy?

Discuss
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Boxer With Children And A (personal) Side Of Rice

This editorial in the Washington Post,
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01122007/postopinion/editorials/boxers_low_blow_editorials_.htm?page=0 , pretty much parrots everything said recently by the right wing media types regarding the relevant incident. The general consensus of those folk is that Senator Barbara Boxer made a verbal personal attack against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The specific arguments against the Senator range from saying that she was putting down Secretary Rice because she has no children to claiming that Senator Boxer said that Secretary Rice was unqualified to make military decisions because she has no children. Limbaugh went so far as to say:
Here you have a rich white chick with a huge, big mouth, trying to lynch this -- an African American woman -- right before Martin Luther King Day, hitting below the ovaries here.

Poppycock.

Let’s first look at what actually happened; let us look at the actual words that were used. First, here is some context. Secretary Rice was in the Senate defending the President’s ‘new’ plan of escalation. Senator Boxer is against the plan. One of the points she was trying to make, and indeed the entire Democratic Party has been making for some time, is that the people making the war policy are risking nothing, sacrificing nothing, and paying no price for their decisions.

Now, given that context, here is exactly what Secretary Rice said and the response that Senator Boxer made that she has now been so criticized for:

Rice: “I could never, and I can never, do anything to replace any of those lost men and women in uniform, or the diplomats, some of --"

Boxer: Madame Secretary, please, I know you feel terrible about it, that's not the point. I was making the case as to who pays the price for your decisions. Now the issue is: Who pays the price? Who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price; my kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families.

As you probably know, I’m no particular fan of either of these women, so I believe that I can form a fairly objective opinion here. To me, I can see no insult. Senator Boxer does not even directly mention the fact that Secretary Rice has no children, let alone does she suggest that the Secretary’s lack of kids is a bad thing, or even relevant.

I honestly don’t understand how this was an attack. I just really, really don’t. If any of you do, please enlighten me.

Here are a couple more articles on the subject:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243359,00.html

http://mediamatters.org/items/200701120014 < Limbaugh and his ‘lynching’ comment

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-have-no-idea-if-condi-rice-is.html
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My Partial Solution To The Situation In Iraq

The problems in Iraq now are many, and I don’t feel it necessary to go over them here, as it would be highly redundant. But I believe we all can agree that the problems in Iraq do not simply stem from one source but are the product of many events and circumstances. My idea should affect some positive changes to at least a couple of those circumstances. Here it is, in a nutshell.

As of today, the most recent American Military Census for Iraq shows that we have roughly 152000 troops in Iraq. More interestingly, perhaps, is that the same census counts over 100000 American contractors in Iraq, and that doesn’t include subcontractors. Other, non-official, counts of contractors put the number as high 300 or 400 thousand.

Regardless of the exact count of US government contractors, I believe it is safe to say that there are at least as many contractors and sub-contractors in Iraq as there are members of the US Armed Forces, many of which have a bit of a checkered past.

But what are they actually doing, and are they necessary?

As to the first part of the question, the answer is basically everything. The contractors now handle logistics for the US Military (which, up until the early to mid nineties was all handle by the USAS), they build roads and telecom systems, they work private security details, and just about everything else that needs doing that our military is not trained or equipped to do.

As to the second part of the question, are they necessary, I would say that some are. But I believe that the vast majority are not.

So here’s my idea. The commanders on the ground take an inventory of all of the government contractors and what exactly their contracts involve. If there are contractors doing jobs that are strategic, tactical, or general military requirements and these jobs, due to security reasons, must be done by people under US control, then those contractors stay. Every other contractor, however, must be sent out of Iraq.

All the jobs that were being done by the contractors must then be done by either our military or by Iraqi citizens and businesses. By doing this we accomplish a number of things:

1. We decrease the number of American casualties by getting these people out of the way.

2. We decrease the number of crimes committed against the Iraqis by non-Iraqis. Most of these crimes are being committed by contractors as there is no governing legal authority that covers them. They are basically free to do as they please.

3. We massively decrease the amount of money we are spending in Iraq.

4. We massively increase the Iraqi economy.

5. Hundreds of thousands of would-be militiamen, kidnappers-for-hire, etc, would have jobs. If there were no other reason for removing the contractors, I believe that this would be enough, as it has many positive secondary and tertiary effects.

That’s the short version of it anyway. Thoughts?

RM
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Dorm Room Steps

smokey dopefolk song

Smoke blows by so silently
In a night this dark
As I sit here quietly
And mumble in the dark

Talking to my self
Cause there’s no one else around
Seems that they’ve all got a place to be
When 4 am rolls round
They’ve got something to wake up for
I can’t say that I do
I would just go home and sleep
But there’s nothing to go home too

So here I sit
Alone and cold
On these dorm room steps
Really ain’t so bad
I could do worse
Than sit here by myself

Maybe I’ll take a ride
Tomorrow night
If I find
Myself
Here alone again
Alone with my best friend
The starry eyed night
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My Guide To Life


a classic...well, to me anyway. and i've added a couple new nuggets as well.


90% of what people tell you is crap.

Remember your roots. Just like a tree, you will fall without them.

Money won’t solve all your problems. It will solve about 9 out of 10 though.

Your mind is your most valuable possession. Without it you are nothing. With it, you are only nothing if you chose to be.

Always buy used.

Always get enough sleep.

Love is an important human need. Never take it for granted, but don’t make too much of it either.

Don’t make a habit of making promises. They work just like checks. If you make a bad one, it will come back to haunt you.

Plan for tomorrow, live for today.

Remember that sunlight is essential to the production of many chemicals in your body.

Gas prices change quickly.

Trust is a gift handed out too often, and often with too little thought.

Fear and doubt can be your greatest enemies. For whom else would you change your plans if they only whispered?

A one hit wonder is still more successful than most of the population.

Always give rides to strangers who need it.

Carry a gun.

You can never be who you want to be until you figure out whom exactly that is.

When people disagree with you it doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

When people disagree with you it doesn’t mean you’re right.

You cannot be responsible for the happiness of others.

Making up your bed is a waste of time. But you should still change the sheets once in a while.

Take lots of pictures.

Write. Letters, thank you notes, poems, stories, songs.

Run for office.

Watch the news.

Read.

Never let anyone tell you you’re wrong unless they can prove it. And if they do, take it like a man.

Stay out of debt.

Always own at least one nice suit, a navy blazer, a pair of black shoes, a pair of brown shoes, and a good pair of mud boots.

Whether you judge or not, you will still be judged.

Know whom you need to impress, don’t worry about the others.

Your mirror is not the only thing that is a reflection of you.

Marksmanship is a valuable skill.

Everyone has ulterior motives.

Start, and constantly contribute to, an IRA.

Tomorrow is never as far away as you think; yesterday is never as near as you wish.

Every man worth his salt should be equally able to rebuild a carburetor and a computer.

Balance your checkbook.

Keep your lawnmower blades sharp. Don’t wait until it’s time to mow again. (That’s not a damn metaphor, sharpen your lawnmower blades)

Learn to weld.

Make, and live by, two budgets: one for time, one for money.

Never be afraid to kill, if necessary.

Never be afraid to run, if necessary.

Go to city council meetings.

Don’t get married if you can’t afford it.

Try not to watch too much television; it will eat your time quicker than you think.

Truth can be as damaging as lies.

No matter where you move to, you still have to live with yourself; your past doesn't disappear like your last mailing address

Good fashion, like a good joke, must have one thing exaggerated or juxtaposed.
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P.S. I Wish I Was Here

An obvious play on Pink Floyds “Wish You Were Here”. This is kind of a slow rockish/folkish/singer/songwriter type groove with a little psychadelliaelectronica thrown in for good measure. It’s also my feelings concerning my long and continuing trip in life with my ever-present co-pilot of mental illness (depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and depersonalization/derealization)

Running from an 8 year old monster
The faster I run
The more I know that nothing is ever gonna be the same
So hard to run from an imbedded parasite it
Must be so comfortable in there for so long

C:
I’ll trade you the sum
Of all I’ve become
And everything I’ve ever thought
Was important
For one chance to smile without
Medication
One tear
One touch without numbing me
So many years
I wish I was here.

Plastic for so long
But decaying anyway
I won’t last forever
But apparently this will
I’ll leave it to only no one at all
No one deserves this
Take me back home

Repeat C

I want a ticket back to 13
I want a memory that doesn’t scare me
I want a feeling that I know is mine
I want an easy way through all this difficulty
I want to know how to be alive
I want to enjoy life under the pyrosphere
I want to know what happiness is
I……I wish I was here
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to her, one night, months ago

I just don't belong in this place
Everything that should be good is gone
Oxygen gives life they say,
but it burns my face
I'm told that I live here,
but this ain't home

Every day I'm so afraid
That I'm going to get caught
Everyone knows I don't belong here
That I'm an alien, a fake, a fraud
And so it's been
As long as I can remember
Everything looks spring
But I feel November
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creekriverpond

That brown southern water
Hiding, so deftly, the monster turtle.
In one quick snap,
Your finger is gone.
Just doing his job I guess.
I’m sure he’d have made
One hell of a defendant
At Nuremburg
Brown water
Showing me myself in shades
Darker than I should be
But it’s still, obviously, painfully,
Me.
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untitled #somethingelse

sunburn is the morning,
aloe is the night.
sleep to me is opiate,
my drug to fight the light.

so on to dreams of happiness,
or better yet no dreams.
on to darker pastures,
of feeling only sleep.
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Rhine at Remagen

Across the river I see you, brother,
Or compatriot as you could be
In some other time
And circumstance
You look back, circumspect,
Seeing or not
Me looking.

It matters not, as does the question,
Is this fog or smoke?
We’re both lost travelers here.
Strangers in a strange land,
The Good Book puts it.
And were it morning,
I could just as well take coffee with you
As with my

Trusted scout,
Or spotter.
Strange,
From here I can’t see your markings
Yet still enemy I know you be
But we just look
And trade not fire, but sullen nods
For that river offers us a respite
From the cold holes
We shall fill tomorrow.
©
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Untitled #something

Open pages of the gilded page book
Stare back at me from an old photograph
I stole the camera when I was 17 and I don’t care now still
The gold dust stayed on my hands for a day
They defied washing, just as the words of the pages
Wouldn’t wash from my mind

The sun is a subtle violet now
The last of the spectrum as it reclines into night
When last I spoke of that time I had never killed a man
Funny what a few words will do to you
Synapses firing emphatically, trying to find something
Inside the book or my head

I don’t know which/I never will
It’ssomethingi’llcometorealizeascellwallsdon’tdeterioratehereastheydidinbiologyclass

The grey fading to grey cement laughs at me each night saying

Even I wouldn’t be taken in by a book
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Do Not Use Elevators

fall, a time of slowly dying, cool and restful we find
our protagonist, prostrate in the peach grove cool and resting,
falling leaves cover his half-naked body
he'd have more clothes if he wasn't half-crazy
and just days ago, maybe wasn't

summer, the months of beauty and life,
between youth and death, among the flowers
and lightning and showers
the peaches still growing, a mind still unfolding
pretty pictures of people
leaving tall buildings,
direct from the top floors,
saves electricity, he thinks it’s pretty
and makes so much sense, and no one is crazy
until someone tells them

(instrumental interlude)

Spring finds our man half hungover from happiness
Of the particular
Kind spring is famous for
Wonderful colors embracing the canvas
Now glowing with glorious
Feelings so fabulous
Future so bright, holds more promise
Than children, who having
Intelligence rivaling Hawking’s,
leave adults gawking at
developed theories
of things still unsolved by
the best minds of elders
but promises die
and children don’t keep so well
so don’t make predictions

(temp drop, chord changes)

Winter is not quite
As cold as his body now
Floating so stiffly
Beneath the permafrost
Delicate beauty
Fed by the sunlight
A few flowers remaining
Despite the temperature
White silence settles
So cold and relaxing
No satisfaction
Is found in her face tonight
Black is so flattering
For such a frown
And a false form of peace comes
And shelters the family
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Captivated

Captivated,
Like a little girl in church
Accepting her insignificance
In the eyes of the Big Guy,
I sit hallucinating, you might call them dreams,
Of future times, or past, when something was/is alright
these things entrance so easily, me,
and I’m just another lost boy, though,
on most days.
blue corn chips and the smell of Arden’s Sunflowers
the sight of clear cold lakes
and the feel of an old bus seat
such little things can create such lasting
burnt-in memories
And I’m not afraid nearsomuch
Anymore
Maybe I’m a new person,
Or maybe I’ve forgotten that I’m pretending
Not to be frightened
It can’t possibly matter
When perception becomes authenticity
And I wonder aloud
Should I be sad that another’s dreams
Haven’t come together either?
I answer myself with one more “maybe”
And I take another pill

san_ford, you remember the trip to waukaway?
|

And She Always Got Straight A's Too...

I have no idea how this person is capable of dressing herself. The following is the exact text of a statement that Lindsay Lohan released Tuesday extending her condolences to director, etc Robert Altman's family upon hearing of his death.

I would like to send my condolences out to Catherine Altman, Robert Altmans wife, as well as all of his immediate family, close friends, co-workers, and all of his inner circle.
I feel as if I've just had the wind knocked out of me and my heart aches.
If not only my heart but the heart of Mr. Altman's wife and family and many fellow actors/artists that admire him for his work and love him for making people laugh whenever and however he could..
Robert altman made dreams possible for many independent aspiring filmmakers, as well as creating roles for countless actors.
I am lucky enough to of been able to work with Robert Altman amongst the other greats on a film that I can genuinely say created a turning point in my career.
I learned so much from Altman and he was the closest thing to my father and grandfather that I really do believe I've had in several years.
The point is, he made a difference.
He left us with a legend that all of us have the ability to do.
So every day when you wake up.
Look in the mirror and thank god for every second you have and cherish all moments.
The fighting, the anger, the drama is tedious.
Please just take each moment day by day and consider yourself lucky to breathe and feel at all and smile. Be thankful.
Life comes once, doesn't 'keep coming back' and we all take such advantage of what we have.
When we shouldn't.....
'Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourselves' (12st book) -everytime there's a triumph in the world a million souls hafta be trampled on.-altman Its true. But treasure each triumph as they come.
If I can do anything for those who are in a very hard time right now, as I'm one of them with hearing this news, please take advantage of the fact that I'm just a phone call away.
God Bless, peace and love always.
Thank You,
"BE ADEQUITE"
Lindsay Lohan

Yeah, you be adequite too, baby.
|

I Thougt This Was A Nice Quote

I was reading, and I saw this quote in the preface. It seems rather appropriate:


If a baseball player slides into home plate and, right before the umpire rules if he is safe or out, the player says to the umpire — ‘Here is $1,000.’ What would we call that? We would call that a bribe. If a lawyer was arguing a case before a judge and said, ‘Your honor before you decide on the guilt or innocence of my client, here is $1,000.’ What would we call that? We would call that a bribe.

"But if an industry lobbyist walks into the office of a key legislator and hands her or him a check for $1,000, we call that a campaign contribution. We should call it a bribe." : Janice Fine - Dollars and Sense magazine
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Par For The Course...

From the AP:

NY congressman says no offense intended with Mississippi remark
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - A Democratic congressman from New York says he wasn't trying to insult Mississippi in published remarks Thursday, but a Republican colleague from Mississippi says Rep. Charles Rangel should apologize to the state.
Rangel, D-N.Y., was quoted in a Thursday article in The New York Times, saying: "Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?"

Continued

I do, Mr. Rangel. But thanks for asking.
|

Fascism Conversation Continued

Ok, there was a comment left regarding my post on the 14 tenets of fascism. In responding to that post, I got rather long winded. So, instead of replying in the comments section, I just decided to make a full blog post.

First, this is the comment that I am responding to:

Though I agree with you, I'm not sure you can actually prove some of it:
6 -- depends on who you ask
7 -- it is conceivable that they're just telling the truth
8 -- if this were provable I would think that the "Liberals" would be more vehement about it.
9 -- the word "put" is quite vague
13 -- it is conceivable that Hallibuton was just the company that would do the job for the least money, right?
14 -- i doubt you can prove election theft thus far. They tried.
TT

And this is my response:

What? This, from you? Oh come on, I expect better from you man.
First, it's not about proving, it's just about showing some glaring similarities and pointing out the hypocrisy of our current regime labeling something else as Fascist.

But let's take your comments point-by-point:

6. It does not require that all the media is directly controlled. The regime has been caught, and has admitted to, paying reporters and columnistas (i typoed that at first, but i think it's a cool word) to write pieces sympathetic to the government in general or to specific legislation or policy.
As to the "sympathetic media spokespeople and executives", one needs look no further than FoxNews. It's the most watched news channel in the US, and it is demonstrably biased toward the current administration.
Ref: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=19&media_outlet_id=2
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067
http://www.outfoxed.org/


7. You can not honestly believe that the level of fear-mongering used by this regime is at all based on reality, can you? Seriously man, I know you. This regime has used fear as its principal tool in manipulating the populace. Habeas Corpus was just signed out of law a couple of days ago. The only argument that was used for this “Military Commissions Act Of 2006” and other such drek, simply uses fear. “Let us do xxx, or else the terrorists will kill you”. The vox populi is thus surpressed to silence under the suffocating warm soft blanket of comfort in the form of the Unitary Executive

This type of coersive “discourse” is called an argumentum ad baculum (Latin: argument to the cudgel or appeal to the stick), also known as appeal to force, is an argument where force, coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a justification for a conclusion. One participates in this type of argument when one points out the dire consequences of holding a contrary position. This is, as you know, a logical fallacy.


8. I don’t know what you’re listening to, but there are many, many people “making a big deal out of this.” Randi Rhodes, did her entire show on the subject yesterday. There are many people, including me, who fear the fanatical brand of “Christianity” that infects our current administration. Further, there have been a number of books written on the subject. Here are a few of those books and some links that rebut your assumption:

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2006/10/at_church_polit.html
http://www.amazon.com/Tempting-Faith-Inside-Political-Seduction/dp/0743287126
http://melissarogers.typepad.com/melissa_rogers/2006/10/david_kuo_book_.html
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20031222/stam
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/America/W
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/09/24/moon/index.html
http://www.amazon.com/Right-Wing-Politics-Religion-Alliance/dp/1882863712/sr=1-3/qid=1161260180/ref=sr_1_3/104-8624793-3311906?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/End-Faith-Religion-Future-Reason/dp/0393035158/sr=1-9/qid=1161260180/ref=sr_1_9/104-8624793-3311906?ie=UTF8&s=books

If you need more, please let me know.

9. Put could easily have multiple meanings in this context. Obviously, corporations don’t directly hand-pick the candidates and place them into office without votes. However, the lobbying power of corporate America is wholly unmatched. They basically do everything but put people directly into office.

13. Halliburton isn’t even half of it, though it is a very well-known example. I would agree that, with H. in particular, there are many jobs the USGOV has contracted out that H could do best and at the best price. However, in some of those jobs, we’ll never know if that was true because Halliburton, or other ‘friendly’ companies, were given no-bid contracts.

As for the rest of the cronyism, some links for your pleasure:

http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/cronies/index.html
http://fixco1.com/bushcrony.html
http://www.acepilots.com/mt/2005/09/21/julie-myers-more-bush-cronyism/
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/bushco/bushcontra.htm

14. For this to apply to what was our country, outright election theft is not necessary. It is not even requisite that elections are proven to have been rigged. It is only necessary to show that some elections were engineered to be biased, had severe irregularities outside the bounds of statistically acceptable error. Again, some links:

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0813-29.htm
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00211.htm
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1970/
http://www.betterworldlinks.org/book109h.htm
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud.html

Let me close with a disclaimer:

I can not vouch for the accuracy of everything in every link I posted. Nor do I necessarily agree with everything found at the links I posted. I used the links only inasmuch as they are useful to back up my opinion in this matter. However, having said that, I would not have used a link to a page that I knew or expected to contain complete fabrications.

And finally, in googling around today, I found that someone else had done a post similar to the one this post is defending. I haven’t read this person’s work yet, but I’m about to. Here’s the link:
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Thank you for your time.
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Facsism

Due to the recent row over the President’s use of the phrase “Islamic Fascism”, I’ve decided to take a look at what fascism is, and what it isn’t. The piece below was taken from http://www.rense.com/general37/fascism.htm. The additions in red are mine. Furthermore, after each of the 14 characteristics I will put a ‘US’ if the characteristic, in my opinion, applies to the current America. And/or I will put an ‘FI’ if the characteristic applies to the terroristic form of Fundamentalist Islam and or FI.

The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism
From http://www.rense.com/general37/fascism.htm

Free InquirySpring 20035-11-3
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. US. Since FI find borders irrelevant, I don’t think this applies. Though, in isolated cases, I suppose it could.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. US and FI

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. US and FI

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. US, and FI inasmuch as it is capable

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. FI


6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. US and FI

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. US

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. US and FI

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and
power elite. US, FI doesn’t really have a country or really have corporate interests

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. US

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. US

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. US

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. US


To put it mildly, it seems to be a bit of 'the pot calling the kettle black'. To put it realistically, it seem that my country is steadily dying and becoming a fascist nation. Please, prove me wrong.
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A Piece On Recent History

This was written by Thom Hartman. It is a non-fiction piece he wrote and included in one of his recent books.

A Piece On Recent History

This was written by Thom Hartman. It is a non-fiction piece he wrote and included in one of his recent books.




It started when the government, in the midst of an economic crisis, received reports of an imminent terrorist attack. A foreign ideologue had launched feeble attacks on a few famous buildings, but the media largely ignored his relatively small efforts. The intelligence services knew, however, that the odds were he would eventually succeed.

But the warnings of investigators were ignored at the highest levels, in part because the government was distracted; the man who claimed to be the nation’s leader had not been elected by a majority vote and the majority of citizens claimed he had no right to the powers he coveted.

He was a simpleton, some said, a cartoon character of a man who saw things in black-and-white terms and didn't have the intellect to understand the subtleties of running a nation in a complex and internationalist world.

His coarse use of language - reflecting his political roots in a southern state - and his simplistic and often-inflammatory nationalistic rhetoric offended the aristocrats, foreign leaders, and the well-educated elite in the government and media. And, as a young man, he'd joined a secret society with an occult-sounding name and bizarre initiation rituals that involved skulls and human bones.

Nonetheless, he knew the terrorists were going to strike (although he didn’t know where or when), and he had already considered his response. When an aide brought him word that one of the nation's most prestigious buildings was ablaze, he verified it was the terrorists who had struck and then rushed to the scene and called a press conference.

"You are now witnessing the beginning of a great epoch in history," he proclaimed, standing in front of the burned-out building, surrounded by national media. "This fire," he said, his voice trembling with emotion, "is the beginning." He used the occasion - "a sign from God," he called it - to declare an all-out war on terrorism and its ideological sponsors, a people, he said, who traced their origins to the Middle East and found motivation for their evil deeds in their religion.

Two weeks later, the first detention center for terrorists was built to hold the first suspected allies of the infamous terrorist. Ina national outburst of patriotism, the leader's flag was everywhere, even printed large in newspapers suitable for window display.

Within four weeks of the terrorist attack, the nation's now-popular leader had pushed through legislation - in the name of combating terrorism and fighting the philosophy he said spawned it - that suspended constitutional guarantees of free speech, privacy, and habeas corpus. Police could now intercept mail and wiretap phones; suspected terrorists could be imprisoned without specific charges and without access to their lawyers; police could sneak into people's homes without warrants if the cases involved terrorism.

To get his patriotic "Decree on the Protection of People and State" passed over the objections of concerned legislators and civil libertarians, he agreed to put a 4-year sunset provision on it: if the national emergency provoked by the terrorist attack was over by then, the freedoms and rights would be returned to the people, and the police agencies would be re-restrained. Legislators would later say they hadn't had time to read the bill before voting on it.

Immediately after passage of the anti-terrorism act, his federal police agencies stepped up their program of arresting suspicious persons and holding them without access to lawyers or courts. In the first year only a few hundred were interred, and those who objected were largely ignored by the mainstream press, which was afraid to offend and thus lose access to a leader with such high popularity ratings. Citizens who protested the leader in public - and there were many - quickly found themselves confronting the newly empowered police's batons, gas, and jail cells, or fenced off in protest zones safely out of earshot of the leader's public speeches. (In the meantime, he was taking almost daily lessons in public speaking, learning to control his tonality, gestures, and facial expressions. He became a very competent orator.)

Within the first months after that terrorist attack, at the suggestion of apolitical advisor, he brought a formerly obscure word into common usage. He wanted to stir a national among his countrymen, so, instead of referring to the nation by its name; he began to refer to it as "The Homeland," a phrase publicly promoted in the introduction to a speech. As hoped, people's hearts swelled with pride, and the beginning of an us-versus-them mentality was sewn. Our land was "the" homeland, citizens thought: all others were simply foreign lands. The enemy were evil people, he suggested, our citizens were the only ones worthy of our nation's concern; if bombs fall on others, or human rights are violated in other nations and it makes our lives better, it's of little concern to us.

Playing on this new implicitly racial nationalism, and exploiting a disagreement with other countries over his increasing militarism, he argued that any international body that didn't act first and foremost in the best interest of his own nation was neither relevant nor useful.

His propaganda minister orchestrated a campaign to ensure the people that he was a deeply religious man and that his motivations were rooted in Christianity. He even proclaimed the need for a revival of the Christian faith across his nation, what he called a "New Christianity." His armed forces were all told that “God Is With Us”, and most of them fervently believed it was true.

Within a year of the terrorist attack, the nation's leader determined that the various local police and federal agencies around the nation were lacking the clear communication and overall coordinated administration necessary to deal with the terrorist threat facing the nation, particularly those citizens who were of Middle Eastern ancestry and thus probably terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, and various troublesome "intellectuals" and “liberals." He proposed a single new national agency to protect the security of the homeland, consolidating the actions of dozens of previously independent police, border, and investigative agencies under a single leader.

He appointed one of his most trusted associates to be leader of this new agency, the Central Security Office for The Homeland, and gave it a role in the government equal to the other major departments.

His assistant who dealt with the press noted that, since the terrorist attack, "Radio and press are at out disposal." Those voices questioning the legitimacy of their nation's leader, or raising questions about his checkered past, had by now faded from the public's recollection as his central security office began advertising a program encouraging people to phone in tips about suspicious neighbors. This program was so successful that the names of some of the people "denounced" were soon being broadcast on radio stations. Those denounced often included opposition politicians and news reporters who dared speak out - a favorite target of his regime and the media he now controlled through intimidation and ownership by corporate allies.

To consolidate his power, he concluded that government alone wasn't enough. He reached out to industry and forged an alliance, bringing former executives of the nation's largest corporations into high government positions. A flood of government money poured into corporate coffers to fight the war against the Middle Eastern ancestry terrorists lurking within the homeland, and to prepare for wars overseas. He encouraged large corporations friendly to him to acquire media outlets and other industrial concerns across the nation, particularly those previously owned by suspicious people of Middle Eastern ancestry. He built powerful alliances with industry; one corporate ally got the lucrative contract worth millions to build the first large-scale detention center for enemies of the state. Soon more would follow. Industry flourished.

He also reached out to the churches, declaring that the nation had clear Christian roots, that any nation that didn't openly support religion was morally bankrupt, and that his administration would openly and proudly provide both moral and financial support to initiatives based on faith to provide social services.

In this, he was reaching back to his own embrace of Christianity, which he noted in a speech:

"My feeling as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers ... was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter."In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders..."As a Christian ... I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice..." When he later survived an assassination attempt, he said, "Now I am completely content. The fact that I left the Burgerbraukeller earlier than usual is a corroboration of Providence's intention to let me reach my goal."

Many government functions started with prayer. Every school day started with prayer and every child heard the wonders of Christianity and -especially - the Ten Commandments in school. The leader even ended many of his speeches with a prayer, as he did in a speech before the legislature:

"In this hour I would ask of the Lord God only this: that, as in the past, so in the years to come He would give His blessing to our work and our action, to our judgment and our resolution, that He will safeguard us from all false pride and from all cowardly servility, that He may grant us to find the straight path which His Providence has ordained for our country, and that He may ever give us the courage to do the right, never to falter, never to yield before any violence, before any danger."

But after an interval of peace following the terrorist attack, voices of dissent again arose within and without the government. Students had started an active program opposing him, and leaders of nearby nations were speaking out against his bellicose rhetoric. He needed a diversion, something to direct people away from the corporate cronyism being exposed in his own government, questions of his possibly illegitimate rise to power, his corruption of religious leaders, and the oft-voiced concerns of civil libertarians about the people being held in detention without due process or access to attorneys or family.

With his number two man - a master at manipulating the media - he began a campaign to convince the people of the nation that a small, limited war was necessary. Another nation was harboring many of the suspicious Middle Eastern people, and even though its connection with the terrorist who had set afire the nation's most important building was tenuous at best, it held resources their nation badly needed if they were to have room to live and maintain their prosperity.

He called a press conference and publicly delivered an ultimatum to the leader of the other nation, provoking an international uproar. He claimed the right to strike preemptively in self-defense, and nations across Europe- at first - denounced him for it, pointing out that it was a doctrine only claimed in the past by nations seeking worldwide empire, like Caesar's Rome or Alexander's Greece.

It took a few months, and intense international debate and lobbying with European nations, but, after he personally met with the leader of the United Kingdom, finally a deal was struck. After the military action began, the UK’s Prime Minister told the nervous British people that giving into this leader's new first-strike doctrine would bring peace.

In a speech responding to critics of the invasion, the great leader said, "Certain foreign newspapers have said that we fell on the country with brutal methods. I can only say; even in death they cannot stop lying. I have in the course of my political struggle won much love from my people, but when I crossed the former frontier there met me such a stream of love as I have never experienced. Not as tyrants have we come, but as liberators."

To deal with those who dissented from his policies, at the advice of his politically savvy advisors, he and his handmaidens in the press began a campaign to equate him and his policies with patriotism and the nation itself. National unity was essential, they said, to ensure that the terrorists or their sponsors didn't think they'd succeeded in splitting the nation or weakening its will.

Rather than the government being run by multiple parties in a pluralistic, democratic fashion, one single party sought total control. Emulating a technique also used by Stalin, but as ancient as Rome, the Party used the power of its influence on the government to take over all government functions, hand out government favors, and reward Party contributors with government positions and contracts.

In times of war, they said, there could be only one people, one nation, and one commander-in-chief, and so his advocates in the media began a nationwide campaign charging that critics of his policies were attacking the nation itself. You were either with us, or you were with the terrorists.

It was a simplistic perspective, but that was what would work, he was told by his closest advisor: "The most brilliant technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over."

Those questioning him were labeled "unpatriotic" or were said to be “aiding the enemy" by failing in the patriotic necessity of supporting the nation's valiant men in uniform. It was one of his most effective ways to stifle dissent and pit wage-earning people (from whom most of the army came) against the "intellectuals and liberals" who were critical of his policies.

Another technique was to "manufacture news," through the use of paid shills posing as reporters, seducing real reporters with promises of access to the leader in exchange for favorable coverage, and thinly veiled threats to those who exposed his lies. As his closest advisor said, "It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."

Nonetheless, once the "small war" was successfully and quickly completed, voices of opposition were again raised in the Homeland. The almost-daily release of news bulletins about the dangers of terrorist communist cells wasn't enough to rouse the populace and totally suppress dissent. A full-out war was necessary to divert public attention from the growing rumbles within the country about disappearing dissidents; violence against liberals, people of Middle Eastern descent, and union leaders; and the epidemic of crony capitalism that was producing empires of wealth in the corporate sector but threatening the middle class's way of life.









A year later, to the week, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia.
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Two Of My Least Favorite Things

Those would be, of course, self-obsessed political partisanship and hypocrisy. Let me first say that I don’t really give a whit about any of our political parties. I don’t belong to any of them, I don’t support any of them, and I don’t necessarily dislike any of them.

Ok, now that that is done, on with the story…

I was listening to one of the prime-time cable news shows tonight on XM Radio as I was driving around. A Republican congressman, whose name escapes me at the moment, said the following (this is as close to word-for-word as I can remember it, but I doubt it is exact. What is not exact, though, is only replaced by a synonymn or is a similar such situation. However, the MEANING and INTENT of the two sentences ARE exactly what the Congressman meant and intended when he spoke),

We have to stop all this blatant partisanship and bickering…
…All the Democrats just want to cut-and-run and surrender.

What??

You need only to look in the mirror, my dear Congressman.
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Not Just Another Number


00558

more to come
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"Test Nonlethal Weapons On U.S. Citizens, Official Says"

So goes the headline from this Houston Chronicle story by Lolita C. Baldor of the AP. It's actually, I don't think anyway, that it's as bad as the headline makes it seem. But it's still...um...interesting, to say the least.

Here's an excerpt, the first three paragraphs actually.

WASHINGTON - Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns, said Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4182615.html

Thoughts?
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What President Bush Should've Said
maybe.

I was reading Time this morning, and near the front of the September 11, 2006 edition of the mag is a piece by Joe Klein with the same title as this post. Klein wrote the article in response to President George W. Bush’s August 31 speech to the American Legion Convention.

If you’re not familiar with Bush’s words, you can find a transcript of the speech here.

Though I wouldn’t say I’m behind everything that Klein had to say, I thought it was a good piece and that it beared reprinting.

Klein wrote what he thought Bush should have said instead of the speech he actually gave. His column is below:

By Joe Klein

My fellow members of the American Legion, I have made some serious mistakes and miscalculations in our struggle against Islamic extremism over the past five years. Some of these were made out of anger and impatience in the months after we were so viciously attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Others were made out of my heartfelt belief that our American values—freedom, democracy, market economics—are the surest path away from the fury and despair that have plagued the nations at the heart of the Islamic world. I still believe deeply in those values.
I am still convinced that we are facing a long-term campaign against Islamic extremists who have the means to bring unimaginable horrors to our streets. But events in Lebanon and Iraq this summer have convinced me that our Freedom Agenda must be modified.
I was going to deliver a speech today in which I said, "The war we fight today is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century." But then I thought about a conversation I had recently with a young U.S. military officer, a combat veteran of the Iraq war who remains on active duty, committed to our mission. "Mr. President," he said. "If this struggle is so important, why is this the only war in American history where we haven't increased the size of the Army and raised taxes to pay for it? Why haven't you mobilized the nation?"
In the speech I planned to deliver, I would have spoken—too easily, too dismissively—about how previous Presidents pursued a mistaken policy of seeking "stability" in the Middle East, which resulted in the terrorist attacks against us. I would have implied that my aggressive promotion of democracy was the only alternative to the failed policies of the past. But that would have posed a false choice. Stability is, after all, our goal for the region. And we have learned, sadly, in recent years that the mere act of holding an election does not create a democracy. Indeed, in many countries of the region—in the Palestinian territories, Iran and, yes, Iraq—elections have brought the forces of instability to power.
Which brings me to Iraq. I want to tell you something I've never acknowledged: the U.N. inspection regime that was forced on Saddam Hussein in 2002 was working. We should have had more patience with it and supported it more fully. In the end, it would have revealed what we now know: that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. That revelation would have destroyed the dictator's credibility. His brutal regime might have toppled from within. At the very least, his power would have been severely compromised. But—impatient again—we rushed to war, without sufficient preparation and sufficient allies. Today we face a very difficult situation in Iraq. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is riddled with Islamic radicals. This week elements of the Iraqi army were attacked and defeated in Diwaniyah by a sectarian militia led by the radical Shi'ite Muqtada al-Sadr. This is the same al-Sadr who attacked U.S. forces in 2004, the same al-Sadr who controls 30 seats in the Iraqi parliament—and who is the linchpin of al-Maliki's governing coalition. I say this to Prime Minister al-Maliki: The U.S. cannot support a government that includes Muqtada al-Sadr. You must build a new coalition, one that includes the secular political parties and Sunnis and guarantees the Sunni minority the rights and the share of Iraqi oil revenues it deserves. We have not sacrificed 2,600 Americans to create a radical Shi'ite government in Iraq.
One of the many books I've read this summer was Fiasco, by Tom Ricks of the Washington Post. It is a careful summation of the military mistakes we've made in Iraq. It ends with a series of scenarios for what might happen if we withdraw now. All have terrible implications for the region and the world. So we must stay in Iraq, but we must stay smarter. To that end, I announce the following initiatives. I call on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to meet with me one on one to discuss the stabilization of Iraq. In time I hope we can also discuss other issues, like his government's nuclear program and support for Hizballah, and the resumption of normal diplomatic relations between our countries. But, President Ahmadinejad, as a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, you must appreciate the disastrous potential of the chaos on your western border. Surely you don't want to risk the possibility of a regional Sunni reaction that would bring fire to your oil fields and death, once again, to the streets of Tehran.
Here at home, I call on Democrats to join with me in building an alternative energy strategy to limit our dependence on foreign oil. Everything is on the table, including a tax on carbon-based fuels. Finally, to achieve stability in Baghdad during the creation of the new governing coalition, I am temporarily sending two divisions—30,000 more troops—to pacify that troubled city. If a stable, moderate, inclusive Iraqi government is not created, we may be forced to reassess our military posture in the region. These initiatives may not succeed. But the time for fancy words and grand theories about changing the world has passed. We need to take action now
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Breaking News: Attack On US Embassy In Damascus, Syria

About two and a half hours ago, gunmen opened fire on Syrian guards near the US Embassy in Damscus, Syria's capital city. There were also two suicide car bomb attempts. Firsthand accounts are sketchy at the moment, but it seems that one car did explode, and the other did not. Personell are presently trying disarm the explosives in the second car.

Several, if not all, of the attackers were killed, as were a small number of Syrian gaurds. No Americans were killed, and little or no damage was done to the embassy.

Here is a link to the most up-to-date reporting at this time.

This is a link to a constantly updated list of reports of the event on GoogleNews.
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The Day That Changed America Forever
Or Did It?

I know you all remember where you were That Morning when It happened. I was asleep when the first plane hit. My mother called me shortly before the second plane hit and told me to turn on the news and see what was happening. I, like millions of others, watched the second plane hit the South Tower. In the following days, weeks, and months, everyone from politicians to members of the media to pop stars told us that America had changed. America had changed, and life in America had changed. There was no turning back. This had been forced upon us. And things would never be the same again.

Fast-forward five years.

I still sleep in the same bed in which I woke up to the horror of people jumping from The Towers. I work in the family business much the same as before, though now we have a larger work load and more contracts. All my friends are pretty much either doing the same thing they were doing Then, or they are doing now what they had planned on doing five years after The Event.

The truth is, no, nothing has really changed. Yes, we’re in wars. Yes, gas prices are higher. But those are tangential changes. The core of America, of its people, and of its government basically operates the same now as then. We, for the most part, have the same values, the same desires, the same needs, the same pastimes. Simply put, it is not the “Different World” that we were told we would live in.

I don’t live in fear of terrorists, nor does anyone I know. Terrorism is way down our lists of concerns. We may be worried about our friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, daughters, mothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles getting shot at in the desert, the high plains, and the mountains, but we are not worried of being suicide-bombed on the way to Wal-Mart.

Frankly, I really don’t know whether this is good or bad that we’ve not taken up the yoke that had been so self-assuredly prophesied. I leave that question to you, my friends.

Also, if you feel that I’m wrong here, if you feel that America and/or the world has changed, I’d love to hear your opinion.

May God be with the familes of all those who lost their lives or their health five years ago. And may God be with our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who are living in danger everyday. And may they soon be brought home safely. Amen

Thank you for your time.
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Steve, You Will Be Missed

I must admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Steve Irwin’s TV antics. At first, years ago when he first appeared on our airwaves, I did enjoy. But after a while, he kind of got annoying.

But his television work was, by far, not his only work. Nor was it his most important work. Mr. Irwin was a diehard conservationist. He cared about animals, cared about taking care of them, cared about making sure they had a habitat, cared about removing them from endangering humans or humans endangering them. And he didn’t do this in some New Age, crystal-collecting, PETA type fashion. He was simply a classic conservationist, no more, and definitely no less. That was his greatest work, caring for nature and sharing his love for the flora and fauna of our planet with basically the entire world. That will be his legacy, I believe, not going “Crickey, she’s an huge buggah!”

His beliefs, his actions, his passions are all things to which, as a southern boy, I can relate. Regardless of the stereotypes put upon us, most of us rednecks are staunch conservationists. No, we don’t work for PETA or GreenPeace, and yes, we eat meat. But we were also taught that we do not own this planet, this land, these animals. We are but tenants who must keep watch over, and take care of, this fragile planet and its varied species.

Those are the things I believe in, and those are the things Mr. Irwin believed in. That is why I respect him, and not because he became a multi-million dollar brand.

Mr. Irwin died on September 4, 2006 after a stingray barb punctured his chest cavity and went into his heart (as an aside, the video footage of the attack, which is most likely to be destroyed, also shows Mr. Irwin personally pulling the barb out of his chest and heart.)

Rest in peace, Mr. Irwin. You will be missed.

Steve Irwin
February 22, 1962 - September 4, 2006

rm
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To Whom It May Concern

Please shut your frickin pie whole about idiot Tom Cruise and his idiot little wife and his little baby bastard child. I don't care. I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.I don't care.

It is not news, not even close. So please, do us all a favor and SHUT UP.

RM
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The World Series?

Ok, before I get to my point, I want to be upfront here. I don’t enjoy baseball, and I make no bones about it. I respect the talent, athleticism, and skill involved. But I find watching baseball to be mind-numbingly, soul-crushingly boring.

So, the World Series. I guess I have an outdated globe, but on it the world appears to consist of more than the USA and Canada. Maybe they could just call it “The Great North American Series” or something like that. Are we as a country so egocentric that we really think all the baseball teams in the world exist only in America and Canada?

Just a thought.
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Shocking New Scientific Study Finds...

...that celebrities are more narcissistic than the average person.

Amazing, I never would've figured that out by myself. I wonder how many millions of dollars were spent working on this "study". Brilliant, those science guys.

Link
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Apparently It Isn’t Only Muslims That Get Kicked Off Of Airline Flights

An Orhodox Jewish man was kicked off of an Air Canada Flight last week. Why? Well, because he was praying of course. Doesn’t that make perfect sense to you? No?

Me neither.

Here's a link to the story.
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Happy Anniversary Everybody!

One year ago, ok, and a couple days, we were all sitting around picking up houses and sleeping with the bugs. You know, if the night temps had been thenwhat they’ve been recently, it would’ve have been half as bad. Well, at least not for the people in this house which, thank God, is still in perfect condition.

For those thousands and thousands of you who had worse luck, I wish you peace, happiness, and the ability find your home again. God bless you all.

And to those of you who didn't make it through the storm, peace be with you.

AV
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I Have Just One Word For You

Psychopharmaparenting.

Yes, I stole it from the Repor(t). I couldn't help it. It's a great word.
|

Chris



Latest NOAA Advisory


Hurricane Andrew anyone? If it hits, don't even bother to look for me anywhere south of Starkville.

RM
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Quote Of The Day

Good fashion, like a good joke, must have one thing well exaggerated or juxtaposed.
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A Short One

the deed is done
he said to her
in tones both old and cold

the dead man said
no murderer
will ever find my home
no ill intent shall ever reach
into my walls of stone
no revenge
or recompense
shall darken my abode

the dead man died
without a word
and we did find his home
the house, it stays
although ablaze
and he remains alone
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A Comment, And A Poem

The material below and to follow may be reposts, in part or in entirity. Enjoy and/or ignore as you see fit.

Sunsets And Purgatory

The sun sets everyday
The winter comes next month
Butterflies die in the fall
But some think more of us

Some say the man never dies
His soul is neigh eternal
Some say the man shall live throughout
Tis little help come funerls

The sun has set again today
His soul mayhaps alive
The butterflies died just last week
And here his mother cries
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Hardcore Song, Written By A Good Friend

Decipher and interpret as you'd like.

Their plastic forks and plastic plates
just can't pacify my sick-sad mind
TV dinners' left too sick my head my heart but weeps
And my eyes
oH mY EYES!

Pork-pie hats and glue
won't cut it anymore
for me I gotta go
but fast but where
Dickens's but a wanker
granted nice a person
Orwell scares to death
but what with all the pigs,
its fine

School books left too sick my head my heart but weeps
and broods
my eyes

dear god mY EYES!!

Never before to see again
till after this is ended
I, the days when
I had not such power
Pressure does so much
I but like the diamond
only slightly more fiercer

Thank you Ms. Honey Thank you
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Do Ya Feel Lucky, punk?


I had an epiphany a moment ago. I was watching some videos over at ebaums world, and one of them was one of those generic lucky shot videos. This one happened to be in golf. An announcer or someone mentioned luck. He was wrong. But I figured out what luck really is.

What we might call a lucky event is simply a moment where the incomprehensible and overwhelming complexities of matter an energy become aligned into such a way, so that the end result is an outcome we were not trying to achieve but would have loved to achieve were we capable of it alone.

Example:

A fellow chips from 40 yards. He can barely see the green, let alone the hole. But then, he makes the shot. What happened is that all the incalculable variables worked in his favor for a moment. The ever-changing breeze, the humidity levels, the air pressure, temperature, the way each atom on each blade of grass is positioned at that ONE moment. All these things allow that ball to fall into that hole

This is the sort of thing that inevitably gets the phrase Chaos Theory thrown at it, but it is precisely the opposite of chaos. It is a highly ordered system, but it happens on such a small and persistently changing scale that our little brains cant get around it.

And that is luck, in a nutshell. And the next time someone uses the term Chaos Theory or uses any of its nomenclature, throw some of that complexity crap at them and explain how randomness is an illusion of the feeble human mind.

Now you know.

And knowing is half the battle.

Have a lovely day.

©2006 RM
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What?

Anyone who pays any attention to global politics knows that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, is a creepy guy. Beady little eyes, ex-KGB. And he was on up there in the KGB; it's not like he was some little Oxford student who got drafted or something. Putin had a 20+ year career in the KGB also doing other behind-the-scenes, cloak-and-dagger stuff.

Here's a link to a video clip from CBS News showing his most recent, um... odd, behavior: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=1760111n.

Below is the blurb on the event:

CBS News: On a walk through the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin kissed a boy on his stomach, patted his head and walked off through a crowd of astonished tourists.
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Missle Firing

N. Korea has just finished fueling a 3 stage rocket capable of hitting any target in the US. The test firing is set to take place literally any second as of 6/18 22:26 CST. Developing...
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DC Gossip: W And Condi?

Wane Madsen, and a couple other people, have been reporting for a few months now that Bush marriage isn't what one would call "perfect".

But now reports are coming out that GWB has been having an on-going affair with Condi and that Laura has moved in to the Mayflower hotel.

Below are excerpts from Wayne Madsen's website. I've pasted them chronologicastically for your convenieceness (Dubya helped me write that last sentance):


June 1, 2006 -- UPDATED -- Rocky shoals for Bush marriage? Informed sources Inside the Beltway report that First Lady Laura Bush has established temporary residence in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC as a result of a tiff with President Bush over an extramarital relationship involving her husband. Mr. Bush's tryst is said to involve Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is not known how long Mrs. Bush plans to remain at the Mayflower, however, her security detail has been present at the hotel during hours when the First Lady would normally be residing in the White House. While she was National Security Adviser, Rice, who has never been married, referred to George W. Bush as "my husband" before she corrected herself and said, "President. Bush" Rice was speaking at a dinner hosted by New York Times bureau chief Philip Taubman when she made her "husband" remarks.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 2, 2006 -- A White House source, speaking on background, vehemently denied to WMR that there are marital problems between President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush over a reported extramarital affair between Mr. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. However, two mainstream media sources have confirmed that their sources also have reported an ongoing affair between Mr. Bush and Rice.

The mainstream media is hamstrung in reporting stories about Bush's personal life. For example, in 2001, the media highlighted Bush's comments about his passing out from choking on a pretzel while watching a football game in the White House. In reality, Bush, who claims he gave up drinking years ago, passed out from being inebriated. Washington's movers and shakers knew the story about Bush's drinking but the media studiously avoided it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 3, 2006 -- WMR can report that a Mayflower Hotel staffer has confirmed that First Lady Laura Bush spent at least one night this past week at the hotel, which is four blocks north of the White House. Mrs. Bush reportedly moved out of the White House after a confrontation with President Bush over his on-going affair with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Mayflower's official position on the story is that they can "neither confirm nor deny" the identities of their guests. Because it's penchant for security and secrecy is well known to the Secret Service, the Mayflower has become a reliable hotel for U.S. and international VIPs.

Some Washington observers believe that the recent flare up between Laura Bush and the president stems from the fact that her poll numbers are twice as favorable as her husband's (60 percent to 29 percent). Laura Bush's recent solo missions to New Orleans, Colorado, and an AIDS conference at the United Nations represent a virtual declaration of independence from the most unpopular president in U.S. history. "She's [Laura's] taking a page right out of Hillary's book," said one Washington pundit. Rice, on the other hand, has been very close and loyal to Bush since she signed on as his chief foreign policy adviser in 2000. WMR has been told of intimate encounters between Mr. Bush and Rice on trips to New York City (multiple occasions) and New Orleans following Katrina.

Mayflower officially mum on recent VIP guest and her Secret Service detail.

WMR has received numerous email from the typical right-wing political direct marketing operations with the same talking point: how dare we violate the privacy of the President and First Lady in time of war. To refresh the memory of the right, we offer this one peek into recent history:

Feb. 18, 1998 (CNN) -- . . . Clinton also faces a divided public. In the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 54 percent of people surveyed said they would prefer to see the Iraqi crisis resolved by diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions. Maybe more importantly, though, the poll indicated a significant drop since early February in support for military strikes against Iraq, from 50 percent to 41 percent. At the same time, by about a 2-1 margin, people say if the U.S. does attack, its goal should be remove Hussein, not just to reduce Iraq's capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and threaten its neighbors.

And Clinton has another problem, and her name is Monica Lewinsky. In this public test of wills with Hussein, Clinton has tried to stake out the moral high ground. He has talked about "the chance to do the right thing for our children and grandchildren." But some of his political opponents think Clinton cannot claim the moral high ground, not now, not after the past month's lurid tales. As restrained as Republicans have been in discussing the Lewinsky controversy, there are signs that approach is ending.

In the GOP view of morality, Republican Presidents are entitled to more privacy than Democratic Presidents.

In another bit of GOP hypocrisy, on Monday, President Bush will hold a VIP ceremony at the White House to back a bill enshrining a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The name of the legislation: The Sanctity of Marriage Act. WMR hopes the mainstream TV media will focus on Laura Bush's facial reaction when Mr. Bush proclaims his support for The Sanctity of Marriage Act, i.e., if Mrs. Bush is even present for the event.

Postscript: We want to thank radio hosts Randi Rhodes and Stephanie Miller for not being cowered by the right-wing spin machine and reporting this story on their programs.


I will update as events warrant. For a little more info, and noticably quicker updating, check out Madsen's site or the site of talkradio-host Randi Rhodes. Actually, check out Randi's site anyway. She does a good show and presents a lot of accurate, footnoted, info.
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Interesting, Sad Zogby Poll

In a recent Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll, 944 US military respondents were interviewed at several undisclosed locations throughout Iraq. It was found that "nearly 90%” believed that the reason America invaded Iraq, the reason they are now risking their lives in Iraq, is a retaliation for Saddam’s role in the 9/11 attacks. This sickens me. It has long been acknowledged, even by the hardest neo-con hardliners, that Saddam was in no way involved. And yet, this what our troops are apparently told. I have to wonder, if they knew the truth, would they still happy doing the compulsory “volunteer” double- and triple-tours of duty?

God bless the men and women who signed up to defend our country. It’s a damn shame that they’re not allowed to do that.

And if there be any active military reading this, as an American I ask of you only one mission, come home safe and healthy with healthy buddies. By any means necessary.
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Rove To Be Indicted?

There has been some scuttlebut around that Prosecutor Fitzgerald has notified Rove and his attornies that Rove is indeed to be indicted. The public announcement would be coming out this week, followed immediately by Rove's resignation.

Truthout.org is the main source on this, and they're not what I would call "un-biased" in any sense. However, I haven't cought them in an out-right lie yet. I've thought all along that Rove would eventually be indicted, thus taking the fall for Bush-Cheney. Though, I believe the facts will bear out eventually that Cheney was the original sinner of Plamegate.

Thoughts?
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I Only Have One Thing To Say

Lock Box
|

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lindsay Lohan's Record Company Fined $12M for rigging TRL and doing other such things to inflate sales of her, ahem, "album". I use that term loosely.

Not that we didn't all suspect this, since her music is crap, it's nice to have it come out.

A special quote from the story:

...But Lohan is no singer, and no one, not even her movie fans, wanted her albums or to hear her on the radio.

Riverman, out.
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Yep, More Fun Ahead

Major hurricane season brewing in the Atlantic

I've been talking to a couple of you about this for sometime. It's bad enough that all the forecasts are for a monster Atlantic hurricane season. But, more so, I can't shake the feeling that it's going to be really bad. Really bad.

Seriously, if I hear of a Cat 2 or higher headed even close to this way, this little white boy is heading north. I don't know where or how far north, but I'm going. And I'm willing to bet that I've got at least 3 loyal readers who are down for that road trip as well.

Best wishes to all as we plunge head-long into global climate change (mostly cyclical and NOT caused by man, btw) and increasingly intense and bizarre weather.

Sometimes I really don't like Earth.
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Never Forget The Kent State Massacre

36 Years ago today.

It CAN happen again.

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming
we're finally on our own
this summer I hear the drumming
four dead in Ohio
Gotta get down to it soldiers are gunning us down should of been done long ago
what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground
how can you run when you know?

The above are the lyrics to the CSNY song, Ohio.
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Well, It's Official

Wednesday, Tony Snow will be named by the White House as the next White House Press Secretary replacing Scott McClellan. Let the Snowjob begin.

(and, let me toot my own horn here a little, it's 3:30 AM 4/26/06; i posted this before drudge! HAH scoop this mattiepoo)
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Cheney Sleeps During Hu Visit





Who visited? Right. What? No, Hu. So, who visited. Exactly. What is the name of the Chinese guy that visited the White House? No, Hu is his name. THAT ISN'T EVEN PROPER GRAMMAR OR SYNTAX!!! I'm just telling you who visited. Yes, that's what I want to know, WHO VISITED?? He sure did.

[gunfight ensues]
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What Was That You Were Saying About The War?

Well, here's what they said.

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

- Dick Cheney, August 26 2002



"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons."

- George W. Bush, September 12 2002

"We know for a fact that there are weapons [of mass destruction] there."

- Ari Fleischer, January 9 2003

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent."

- George W. Bush, State of the Union address, January 28 2003

"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."

- Colin Powell, February 5 2003

"We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons."

- George Bush, February 8 2003

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

- George Bush, March 17 2003

"Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes."

- Ari Fleischer, March 21 2003

"There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. As this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them."

- Gen. Tommy Franks, March 22 2003

"We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad."

- Donald Rumsfeld, March 30 2003.

"Iraq has trained Al Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases."

- Bush in October 2002.

"Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda."

- Bush in January 2003 State of the Union address.

"Iraq has also provided Al Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training."

- Bush in February 2003.

"… sinister nexus between Iraq and the Al-Qaeda terrorist network."

Powell in his U.N. speech prior to the Iraq War.

"We have removed an ally of Al Qaeda."

Bush in May 2003.

Stated that the Iraqis were "providing bomb-making expertise and advice to the Al Qaeda organization."

- Cheney in September 2003.



"Saddam had an established relationship with Al Qaeda, providing training to Al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons, gases, making conventional weapons."

- Cheney in October 2003.

How conservative and compassionate of them. You all should be quite proud.
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Too Many Links

I was going to post the following as a comment to San_ford's comment in regards to my little post on the whole South Park Mohamed thing.

It said it had too many links in it.

Well, I wanted to post it anyway, and I run this here shindig. So I just made another blog post. Yay me.

______________

Yup. screw mohamed. He was a pedophile too. Let's not forget that.

1

2

A lot about why islam sucks:

Radical Islam: Enemy of Religions Around the World

And More

One fanatic bitching about others.

Another spicy tidbit.

Semper Fi
Mohamed died
Our Boys Fight
With sand in eyes
Because a guy
Wrote, while high
On opium, a "holy" write
That said to fry
Infidel guys
Now here am I
With more war nigh
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I Really Don't Know What To Think About This One

'God made me cancel my own crucifixion'

By Nico Hines

BRITISH broadcaster who travelled to the Philippines to be crucified on Good Friday for a television programme pulled out of the stunt in tears yesterday — and blamed God for his decision.
Dominik Diamond broke down and wept after watching nine Filipinos take their turn to be whipped and nailed on crosses and realising that his turn was next. “God wanted me only to pray at the foot of my cross,” he sobbed, sinking to his knees and praying as local people and tourists started to boo.



Five, the television channel, denied it was disappointed that Diamond, a radio and TV presenter and outspoken Daily Star columnist, had decided against being crucified. No date has been set for the broadcast of the programme. If shown, it may have to change its original working title, Crucify Me.

Diamond was set to join an elite group of radical Roman Catholics who mark each Easter by re-enacting the Crucifixion. Thousands of people gather to watch the volunteers nailed to crosses with metal spikes the size of pencils.


Continued

Thoughts, anyone?
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A Quote

We cannot defend freedom abroad by abandoning it at home.

-Edward R. Murrow
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South Park Ep. 1003-04

Ok, MSNBC had some folks on ripping the South Park guys for the most recent episode. If you're not familiar with this episode, hit google and read about it. However, i couldn't find anything on the web about the PMSNBC piece. Regardless, it pisses me off. They OBVIOUSLY have no clue what was trying to be said.

If you're going to get all pissy about something, at least try to comprehend it first.

As I say in one of my favorite quotes i made up:

DON'T HOLD STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

Ok, rant complete. For now...
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Warning, Bad Pun Ahead

Well, it seems that now American can move forward, without DeLay. Well, i thought i was funny...
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ROE vs. WADE… FOR MEN TM

Below taken from: http://www.nationalcenterformen.org/page7.shtml
Men's Center files pro-choice lawsuit in federal court
Distributes men’s “reproductive rights affidavit”

On March 9, 2006 The National Center For Men will file suit in a United States district court in Michigan on behalf of a man's right to make reproductive choice, to decline fatherhood in the event of an unintended pregnancy. We will call our lawsuit Roe vs. Wade for Men. TM

More than three decades ago Roe vs. Wade gave women control of their reproductive lives but nothing in the law changed for men. Women can now have sexual intimacy without sacrificing reproductive choice. Women now have the freedom and security to enjoy lovemaking without the fear of forced procreation. Women now have control of their lives after an unplanned conception. But men are routinely forced to give up control, forced to be financially responsible for choices only women are permitted to make, forced to relinquish reproductive choice as the price of intimacy.

We will ask a United States district court judge to apply the principles of reproductive choice, as articulated in Roe vs. Wade, to men. We will ask that men be granted equal protection of the laws which safeguard the right of women to make family planning decisions after sex. We will argue that, at a time of reproductive freedom for women, fatherhood must be more than a matter of DNA: A man must choose to be a father in the same way that a woman chooses to be a mother

We will ask that women be required to share reproductive freedom with men.

Our lawsuit will be filed on behalf of Matt Dubay, 25, a computer technician from Saginaw, Michigan. The state of Michigan is seeking to force Matt to pay child support for a child he never intended to bring into the world. Matt insists that the child’s mother repeatedly assured him she could not get pregnant and, also, Matt says that she knew he did not want to have a child with her. Matt is asking for the reproductive choice he would have had if he were “Mattilda.”

________________________________________________________________



I figured the people bringing the suit could sum it up better than I, so I simply copy-and-paste-ed it. Plus, that was quicker, and I'm lazy.

I think it's high time for something like this. After all, if a woman becomes pregnant, she can then have an abortion without asking permission of the father or even notifying him (in most jurisdictions anyway) thereby "opting out" of motherhood. This can be done, as I said, without the notification of the father or even directly against his professed desire or interests.

Conversely, a woman can tell a man she's on the pill or using such and such other birth control method(s). However, in truth, she is using NO birth control and therefore she "opts in" to motherhood. Again, the father is either not consulted or the action is against his expressed interests.

So why shouldn't men have the same, or at least similar, rights? The answer is, of course, they should. Check out some of the links below to learn more about this case.

I've included links from people or organization with varying views on this subject, so as to give you a well rounded idea of what's going on.

You're welcome.

1

2

3

4

5

6
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V For Vendetta
March 17th, I'll be at the movies. I'll be seeing V For Vendetta. Follow that link there to the site for the movie. I can't actually remember the last movie I went to see, but I intend to see this one. I only feel compelled to mention it here because of the interesting plot and the fact that the hero is the villian. I get sick of watching the good guys win.
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Because We Need More Single Mothers

And babies on welfare, lines of people at the WIC places, people eating off my taxes, illiterate idiots graduating from our already overpopulated and understaffed schools. Yes, great plan guys, great plan...

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/13984932.htm
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There Is No Such Thing As Luck

Ok, most of you know i've already posted this. somehow though it disappeared from my blog. wierd. anyway, i'm reposting it

I had an epiphany a moment ago. I was watching some videos over at ebaum’s world, and one of them was one of those generic “lucky shot” videos. This one happened to be in golf. An announcer or someone mentioned “luck”. He was wrong. But I figured out what “luck” really is.

What we might call a “lucky” event is simply a moment where the incomprehensible and overwhelming complexities of matter an energy become aligned into such a way, so that the end result is an outcome we were not trying to achieve but would have loved to achieve were we capable of it alone.

Example:

A fellow chips from 40 yards. He can barely see the green, let alone the hole. But then, he makes the shot. What happened is that all the incalculable variables worked in his favor for a moment. The ever-changing breeze, the humidity levels, the air pressure, temperature, the way each atom on each blade of grass is positioned at that ONE moment. All these things allow that ball to fall into that hole

This is the sort of thing that inevitably gets the phrase “Chaos Theory” thrown at it, but it is precisely the opposite of chaos. It is a highly ordered system, but it happens on such a small and persistently changing scale that our little brains can’t get around it.

And that is luck, in a nutshell. And the next time someone uses the term “Chaos Theory” or uses any of its nomenclature, throw some of that complexity crap at them and explain how randomness is an illusion of the feeble human mind.

Now you know.
And knowing is half the battle.

Have a lovely day.
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Niemoeller's Poem


First they came for the Communists,
but I was not a Communist, so I didn't speak out.

Then they came for the Social Democrats,
but I was not a Social Democrat, so I didn't speak out.

Then came the trade unionists,
but I was not a trade unionist, so I didn't speak out.

Then they came for the Jews,
but I was not a Jew, so I didn't speak out.

Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.

-Pastor Niemoeller, protestant minister and victim of the Nazis
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A Homesteader's Lament

Soon to be a chart topping single from the Leaf River Boys!

(a work in progress)

I live in a house made a dirt
The brochure said "sod"
I call it flung, cattle dung feng shui

My wife's a beautiful gal
she thinks it's ok
would you till clay to wage your life this way?

(chorus and further verses are TBA)

Any thoughts?

RM
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Today, The Music Died

February 3, 1959

Rock In Peace, guys.
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I've Come To A Conclusion

America is now a Fascist State.

Some of you may say this is an extreme statement. To you, I would simply ask that you review the definitions of Fascism, and then take an objective look at our current situation.

If observing and commenting on facts is extreme, then ok, I am extreme. If loving the roots of one's country but hating it's rotten and poisonous recent branches is unpatriotic, then call me unpatriotic.

I really don't care.

Just look at it for yourself, and stop being a sheep.

RM
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Must Watch

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2023320890224991194&q=Loose+Change

If you ever had any doubts about the "official" story of the 9/11 "attacks", this video will strengthen them.

If you have no doubts, watch this, and you will.

Seriously, please watch this.

RM
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American Musical Culture Is Dying, As Mariah Carey Ties Elvis as #2 With A 17th #1 Single,

Link

Does God hate America? Has Hell frozen over? Why did this happen?

Apparently, the collective American musical "taste" has devolved to a point where a lollipop-pop audio-porn queen can be one of the most popular singers (I refuse to use the term "artist" here, as some have) in our history. That is, as shown by sales figures, the latest Mariah Carey single, "Don't Forget About Us", reached #1 on the Billboard Top Ten. This (her 17th #1 single) ties her with Elvis as the number two owner of #1 hits.
But Carey's brand of pap and froufrou isn't alone on the Billboard list. This is not an isolated event. Let's look at the rest of the Billboard top 5:

Chris Brown "Run It!"
Nelly "Grillz"
D4L "Laffy Taffy"
The Pussycat Dolls "Stickwitu"
(yes that is spelled accurately, I know..I know...it should be three words...I know)

All of the top 5 singles this week completely suck. All lack origionality, musical and lyrical depth, correct grammar and/or spelling, and most lack talent. I'm not just dissing pop music for the sake of dissing pop music. I have a point here. Or rather, I hope I do.

Don't get me wrong, I love music. And there is a plethora of good, if not even GREAT music out there. Of course, you've probably never heard most of it. Probably, you've never even heard of most of the artists, groups, etc. involved. Now I'm not saying this is your fault. Most people don't have time to dig around the net, read mediocre at best low-circulation music magazines and what not, I do. I am a broke, lazy, apathetic, worthless human being. But most of you trust radio stations, MTV, VH1 to filter through the flotsom and allow the good music to come to the surface. After all, that is the essence of Capitalism, free market theory, the best rising above the rest. Or, perhaps, it isn't.

To be continued...
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