The sheer lunacy we're up against

I'm sitting here contemplating a post a bit more dramatic than usual simply because I found two pieces today that jarred me and I really want to share them.  They're a bit of a departure for me since I usually rail against whatever ill has struck my fancy today and let it go at that.  However, this time I think we need to really look at what we're facing at the polls.

This is representative of the faction that is working very hard to control the government, and I think we all need to make informed decisions.  I realize they're nuts, and I realize there are a lot of sane people out there who don't believe these things, and also that these people are the drag queens and rent boys of the conservative movement, which is to say they get the press cause they're outrageous.  Like the FABULOUS faction at the pride parades.

But, let's say they don't have as much control as it seems, let's say they're the prestidigitation of this era.  Don't we have to ask what's going on behind the curtain if that's the case?

I know there were only 80k or so at the Beckoning, and  the relatively small groups that show up at these things represent fringes that are so bent on their hate that they'll travel to demonstrate it.  I get that.

But don't you think we should take note that there are people out there who are financing such things?  That those with enough clout and money are interested in showing THIS face to the world?  These things don't come cheap, so someone's footing the bill for hate.  Who? Why?  What do they want?Are they so bent on discrediting the dems and Obama that they're willing to show THIS face to the world?  Money can buy a lot of things if you want it to. 

I suppose the lesson here should be, "Be careful what you want."

And yes i am posting both videos, I think it's necessary.  



Counterpoint



Make informed choices.

and so it goes:

Getting to know you...

I have said in the past that I refuse to live in fear,  and for the most part I do refuse to allow fear a foothold in my life.  It's counterproductive.

Fearing anything or anyone, is not the way I choose to live my life.  I have wandered from job to job for many years and though they were seldom the job I thought I wanted, they provided me with what I needed if not what I thought I wanted.  Funny thing is that when I got the few jobs I thought I wanted, I didn't want them at all.  they involved lots and lots of bullshit and dealing with...people, (see earlier posts regarding that subject) which is never a good thing in my mind.

I could easily choose right now to live in fear.  To fear losing my job, my home, my car, etc.  All are very real possibilities.  Not in any way imminent, but possible. Just as I made it to the end of the summer of my discontent and money starts to come in from teaching again, they reduce my hours at the grocery preventing me from being able to get caught up as I'd planned.  The economy is not recovering as we'd all like and this prevents me from acquiring a full time job which would help...a lot.

But I'm not going to be afraid.  I'm not going to worry about money or jobs or the future, let it take care of itself.

I do think there are responsibilities as Americans we should concern ourselves with.  We should know that these are the people who likely will be deciding the next election and who represents us in congress:

  These are the people who find themselves angry over something that apparently exists only in their minds.  Which I find happens a lot these days,  people sit around and make up shit in their heads and then get mad about stuff that doesn't exist and share that anger with the world.  We're a country of narcissists who are about to get what they deserve I think.

I've said before that I'm contemplating moving to the country and living in seclusion, and though it sounds good in theory,  there's no escaping this mindset, in fact in the country it's worse.  One can choose to ignore it, but that's at one's peril I think. I'd love to think that education would help, but I think it might just be too late.

Our leadership has failed these people.  It has set bad examples,  preyed on their basest fears, and purposely neglected to educate them.  (examples abound above) Now they're going to try to force us all to pray in school, our offices, and deny the civil rights of anyone we don't agree with, or who, in our mind, violates principles of the Holy Bible.

Think I'm kidding?  Go out in November and vote Republican and see what happens.  Talk about something to fear.

And so it goes:

On Not playing well with others

I'm not a big fan of people. I think I've said that before. If not I should have, it bears repeating, in fact, needs repeating since people rarely listen.

Just got a call from the ex inquiring as to my availability for the day and thankfully, since I'm kinda over the whole lot of them today, (they don't read my blog) I'm a bit glad.  Breakfast, lounging, Machete later this afternoon...blah blah blah.  No thanks.

First I have things to do, I rode this morning and after I'm through here I'm making some pots, and then I have to be at the grocery for a couple of hours this afternoon to help out.   Second, all these things will involve more people, and after over 40 collective years, one would think they would know better than to ask me along.  See, bears repeating.

But this morning we're celebrating the American worker.  Those folks who labor fruitlessly  day in day out for the good of all us narcissistic Americans.  (ok they do it for a paycheck so they can buy stuff)  But many of them are lovely and though I don't care to interact with them I can appreciate the incredible views they often bestow:

Here's to you American Labor.

And so it goes:

hgf

Say what?

What exactly did Barack Obama say in those two speeches the other day? i just finished watching them both and I swear I have no idea.

"We were at war in Iraq...now we're not. George Bush was motivated by love of country."

"The economy sucks, but not as bad as it did when Republicans ruled."

AND......(?)

WTF Mr. President?

I mean, I realize that most people are completely stupid. Take a look at this if you need evidence:




But really, you could have given us some clue of your plan. Do you have one? Is it your plan to lay low until after the elections to see what happens if you stay out of sight since no one wants to have you around? It's not gonna help sir.

Shit is fucked up yo.

Alas, I'm tuning out the rest of the day, I can't take NPR gloom and doom today, I need to have a bit of a rest.

Besides, there's no shortage of naysayers out there to fill in for me today.

And so it goes:

Is that love in the air or just lust

Lust I can handle, but the impression I'm getting from a rather young-er man is disconcerting.

Yes, I have and age issue.

This youngster is very handsome and very sweet, at least in the limited contact we've had and not the least bit bashful about letting me know he likes the attention I give him. And I do like giving it.

But goodness he's young.

Oh it may come to naught, who knows.

So while we're ignoring the rather young elephant in the room let's have a little chuckle while dear Rachel rakes George and his pals over the coals:



And so it goes:

It's fixin' to come a goodun'

Pardon me while I steal a Matt Damon line from that Billy bob Thornton atrocity "All the Pretty Horses." Great book, what Thornton did to it was just a shame.

But it IS fixin' to come a goodun'. The very very rich are rousing their armies of the stupid, which are in no short supply here in America, and our fearless leader is playing it safe. That way we get more bad shit and he can say, "Oh, well, I tried."

But he didn't, not really. Desperate times call for desperate measures. No I'm not studying Latin, it's just working out that way recently. Latin is a dead language, and the U.S. is a dead country perhaps that symmetry is what's bringing all this Latin into the blog.

Measures must be taken before the elections to, at least, attempt to forestall the takeover of at least one house of congress by the GOP. If that happens we're really in for it. The GOP has proven time and again they have no interest in helping the people and that they will block ANY effort to do so unless it's accompanied by a measure to help big business finish off the country. And right now it's being run by people whose interest is not with the people. It's with the ignorant,with those who think it's 1955 and only white christian hetero people are important.

Barack Obama, the guy who has ignored all the warning signs that this is going actually happen will be the guy who rightfully is to blame when we find ourselves unable to escape the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. There are no jobs to be had. I find that my hours at the grocery are going to be reduced and I doubt at my age with my lilly white skin that I'll even be able to secure a job at McDonald's to help make ends meet. So it's time to batten down the hatches. No bills beyond the basic necessities will get paid if the hours are reduced.

I am certain I am not alone in this dilemma. This type of action, though I find it deplorable is unavoidable. I don't live like a king, I don't spend a great deal, and now with my newfound inability to remain solvent I'm sure I'll see that there are many others in the same boat.

This maters not to Tea-Partiers. In fact I present for your perusal typical Tea-Partiers at last weekends Beckoning:




Please Gods forgive these ignorant fat white people because they truly know not what they're talking about. It's all fear and hate and "Why can't they go back where they came from..." It's pathetic that this is what the Beckoning was all about.

This is the embodiment of what's wrong with America, of what's about to happen come November. The tragedy is that they have no idea the problem is them.

And so it goes:

Why did it have to be Al Sharpton???

Why was it necessary for the universe to play such a cruel joke on me? Why did it need to say haha in my face by showing me that the only person speaking publicly and saying things I agreed with in D.C. last weekend was Al?

It's like finding out that this guy is your secret admirer:

 This all so goes right to the heart of what I've been saying for so long.  That the populace is stupid.  That they're kept stupid because that's the way our elected officials want them.  That anyone capable of critical thinking does not serve their purpose and has no place in our culture. 

A great deal was made this weekend that the "rally" wasn't political in nature.  Except it was held in the nation's capitol, it was held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's dream speech, future pillar of salt Sarah Palin was there telling the morons how much THEY'RE being screwed, and the only positions represented were those of white religious America.Oh and King's niece who thinks gay people marrying will make straight people extinct.  Talk about solidifying my argument about the education system.

White Republican Christian Hetero America is pissed.  Why?

Could it be because they don't play well with others?  Could it be that they've got it all and don't want to share?  Could it be that  they percieve their monopoly in all the good stuff is in jeopardy and they're going to "take back America?"  From who exactly?

Well first, people of color, Obama in the White house goes against everything these racists believe in.  They'd literally cut of their noses to spite their faces to keep a black person out of the white house again.  And they will.

If anyone in this country has been brainwashed it's these idiots.  They vote against their own interests, which is to say that they vote to starve the government of funds it needs to function, to provide basic services, and to educate the people.  They vote to provide tax breaks to the very businesses that are killing the small towns throughout America, they vote to benefit the businesses that are throwing everyone including them out in the streets in droves, and they continue to do so based on some misguided notion that religion will save the day.

They're creating this self-fulfilling prophecy.  That by starving the government of the funds it needs to provide educational services and by having morons running what little education system we have, their religious leaders are rushing in to fill the void.  It's the smart thing to do.  Someone has to teach the people, they're simpletons and need guidance, and if the government isn't being allowed nor encouraged to teach them to be thinkers then why not carpe the opportunitis?

Because they're making this a third world country. They bitch about the deficit and stealing from our grandchildren and yet fail to take note how their actions will effect future generations.  By weakening the country with this religious fervor they're doing more damage than all the credit card bills they can imagine.

Beck, Palin, and their ilk are the representatives of the ruination of the U.S.

Cave canem.

And so it goes:

Men who inspire

Sometimes I just can't keep my mouth shut

And this is one of them.

Ken Mehlman, what a complete hypocrite.  He masterminded the 2004 election, in which hating gay people was the central theme, and, I might add, won George Bush his second term.  He took ALL KINDS of money for the fabulous job he did screwing us time and again.  And now that he's done with politics on a big scale he wants us to embrace him and let bygones be bygones.

Fuck that.

I have no interest in  joining hands and singing kumbaya with a guy who would do such heinous things to his own. (we didn't know for sure he was gay but he damn well did)  There is no excuse for what he did, and there should be no forgiveness for someone who would actively work with anyone, to promote bigotry and hatred whether it's directed at us or anyone.  But this guy did particularly damaging things to the very people he now wants to  be forgiving of what he did.

I'm certain it's all a part of a larger plan for the Republican party to seem inclusive now that they see that the marriage debate is a loser. I mean really, Glenn Beck says it's not a big deal, Bill O'Reilly has shut up about it, and one after another key people are laying down their arms.  So here's their big secret weapon, their token mo who they can parade out for all to see who'll come out and tell us all how inclusive and hate free the Republicans are.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, the republican party has not been against big government in about 30 years, and anyone who is any kind of a minority and votes republican is not paying any attention. We all embraced Capitalism a long time ago so develop some principles and stand up for yourself America.  Read "What's the Matter with Kansas" if you have any questions, Tom Franks book will answer them all.  That party is surviving by the notion that the good people of Kansas will vote against their own interests.
LOOK AT KANSAS!!!

The small towns are dying, because the very industry the populace embraces is killing them.  Why no one sees that I cannot understand.  The Conservative vote is almost exclusively based on a morality that the voters who embrace it would force us all to accept if it were up to them not what's best for us, nor what's best for the country, but governance of what happens in our bedrooms and in our heads.

This is of course denying the very obvious fact that they have dirty little thoughts of their own they can't face, and therefore have to repress.

It seems that they're finally just coming out in the open and being obvious with their hate instead of hiding it behind closed doors,  a la suburbia.

Ken Mehlman is nothing more than a symptom of the malaise that grips this country and keeps us from becoming what is possible.

I refuse to embrace that or give tacit approval to his complicity.

And so it goes:

hgf

When it starts winding down...

Signals come from everywhere don't they? Blogactive, that abhorrent outing site was right all along about Ken Mehlman, and now he's out. 

I've got my own little signals going and I do not like most of them. Last week I was informed by my immediate supervisor at the college that class wold begin that week and I had a class on  Thursday.  I said, "But I thought it was on Wednesday."

The response, "YOU HAVE A CLASS THIS THURSDAY." 

I went, and no one else showed.  Concerned, I sent them an email  this monday informing them that semester had started and we'd meet this week.  They came.  LAST FUCKING NIGHT WHEN THE CLASS IS SCHEDULED!!!!!

Yes, it's my fault for not following up my concern about the bosses statement but when  he uses his "I'm the boss and you will do this." voice, I'd prefer the fucker was correct. 

So after explaining to not only the registrar AND the new Dean, to whom I got to look like a doofus thanks to my immediate supervisor, I received an email from a student DEMANDING an explanation.
Needles to say my response was not positive. 

So as I said signals that things are winding down here are on the rise. Maybe it really IS time to move on.

And Ken Mehlman can go fuck himself and his new outness. 

And so it goes:

Tedious Tuesday

Blogs are getting taxed!

A city in the east is requiring blog owners to buy business licenses. They're like $300.

Innovative ways of taxing are the norm nowadays since the governments have discovered that they can't get money from us off payroll taxes they used to get because we don't have jobs that pay as much anymore, so they're going to get it from us another way even though we still have incomes 1/3 of what they were previously. They simply don't care they just want the money.

There's another government agency that operates that way and we aren't friends right now. I fear I have bad news coming today. I'll hate it.

Other than that the semester has started, the weather looks to be finally moderating, and I appear to be as poor as I always feared I would be.

C'est la vie

And so it goes:

Cause for concern

Should we be concerned that THIS is part of an article in Men's Health this month?

Not that Men's Health is much of a magazine, but just the idea that they thought to publish this...yikes.

Lesson number one: Anger fantasies should involve mostly strangers or people you're no longer close to or you barely know. It's fine to have an anger fantasy about the cop who gave you a ticket or some dictator in a foreign land or some religious freak who killed a doctor and so on, but if your anger fantasies persistently focus on someone you know, say your wife or girlfriend, your boss, or a colleague, then you're perhaps taking the first steps to going postal and should seek professional help.

Lesson number two: Anger fantasies should feature specific strangers. If you're consistently angry at entire groups — say, Jews or Arabs or blacks or women or cops — then you have a problem.
Lesson number three: At the end of an anger fantasy, you should feel better, not worse. The point is to release tension and deal with a perceived injustice over which you have no actual control. In an anger fantasy, you are your own Captain America. You punish a bad guy in your head because he's not being punished in reality, and better a fictitious punishment than no punishment at all. So feel good about that.
Lesson number four: An anger fantasy should be strictly contained within your head. You don't want the anger churning inside your head to spill over onto the waitress who happens to interrupt you, or onto your mother who happens to call. An anger fantasy has no bearing on reality. You are doing in your head what you don't want to be doing in reality — and that's the point. So know what it is and keep it inside.

Other than that, go for it. Shout at, spit at, break with a bat, gouge out with a fork, hack at with a machete, dismember, set fire to, bury alive to your heart's content. I've been doing it for years. Yet you'd meet me and think, What a nice guy. So friendly and genuine. And I am a nice guy. I don't like guns, I've never swung a fist at anyone, I like Gandhi and Mandela as much as anyone, I'm a vegetarian, I'm a liberal. Hell, I'm even Canadian.
Just don't rub me the wrong way. If you do, you'll meet me again in my fantasy — and you'll be sorry about that, motherf--ker.

By Yann Martel 

Are we all so angry that we fantasize about beating the shit out of each other?  Have we become such a nation of assholes that we can't want to be nice to each other?  Or have we gone out of our way to be violent, and filled with anger over the slightest provocation? 

Am I saying that my guilt is sterling over the anger fantasy issue..alas, no. I've done it, and in fact do it every day.  I agree that it's healthy and allows me to shake off that chance encounter with some ass whose character could only be improved by a beating. 

So, though I do think it's a concern that we run into so much naked aggression on a regular basis that we need to resort to fantasies of violence to rid ourselves of toxic encounters, I think it's a good thing that we're inventive enough to come up with such a safe and effective relief valve for our aggression.

Something that should concern us far more are the headlines of the "fluff pieces" that in my experience tell the story of what's really becoming of the culture.

Headlines such as:
Home ownership fading as a means to build wealth-

Cozy homes by the sea just snapped up-

Rare-car show draws fans with fat wallets-

These are indicators that wealth is moving farther away from the masses and as a result will widen the gap between the haves and have nots.

THAT should be a subject for concern.  

Almost 30 years ago a friend sat me down, (I was 22, he was approximately my age today) and advised me to "be careful out there" in regard to sexual appetites.  I recall his exact words to this day, "I've been reading strange things in the back of  Time magazine about this GRID that seems to be getting worse, so don't get yourself in a situation you feel uncomfortable with. This is bad I think."

How right was he?

Things they change all the time, it's regrettable but necessary.  The world people grow up in today is very different from the one I grew up in many years ago.  

We're all looking for that comfort zone in which we can feel safe and secure, and  barring that we look to reate a world in which we can take care of ourselves.  Such is not always the case.  

Personally I think I may have found the answer. It depends, in part on something coming to pass that's been mentioned to me as a possibility recently, but it could happen independently.  It mostly depends on my willingness to let go, to stop being such a control freak and wait for just the right moment to act. To maybe just say "Hey, THIS is what I want at this point in my life and I'm gonna go get it."  Sounds just like me doesn't it? lol

Letting go of that is cause for concern.

 And so it goes:

 

 

 

Pepsi Throwback rules! and hgf too

I'd drink that shit again if they'd make it with real sugar all the time! Very tasty, Don't feel as though I've just had my pancreas manhandled.  Much nicer.

Things they are a changin'

Well, in point of fact I have a determined employer at the college.  I got a call the other day telling me the classes made.

Since last I'd looked they hadn't, I didn't spend the time last weekend to put together the syllabi and calendar etc. 

Oops!
So yesterday morning i sat down and slapped all that together,  And today i discover I'm not in the same classroom so there's no computer save my own laptop, which doesn't recognize the lcd projector in the room.  Joy. 

I have copies to make, computers to secure, and forms to fill out, places to be and miles to go before I sleep, added to which indignity I have to work at the grocery until just before I teach tonight. 

Not to mention that fact that I'm beginning to get the idea that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Fasten your seat belts it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

And can we drop the 9/11 mosque thing already!

And so it goes:

That damn Olberman

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." -The Constitution of the United States

What, pray tell, could people possibly be thinking when they rail about not allowing a mosque near ground zero?

First of all Barack Obama needs to stay out of it, it's a matter of constitutionality and no one should be saying yes or no to it at all.  I bet if Nazi's wanted to build a meeting hall near the Museum of Tolerance uptown, the Jews would stand up and say "Hey! it's ok, we don't agree with them and we'd rather not have them around, but this is America and they have the right to have their meeting hall anywhere they choose."

But not good old Christian America.

The disservice we're being done because our populace is undereducated is, well, I'd say it's immeasurable, but judging by the good work we're doing this past decade in dismantling the very freedoms the country was founded on is a pretty good measure. And I really shouldn't blame the churches for seizing the opportunities they have, after all if the government isn't going to assume it's rightful responsibility of educating it's populace someone has to fill the role and this is a perfect opportunity to spread their propaganda.

Sarah Palin, asks Obama "...Should they have the right to build it?"  (See yesterdays post regarding integrity.) It's so typical of those who would inflame moral outrage that they wouldn't at least have the decency to state the case along with the facts.  The mosque site is nowhere near the World Trade Center site. And this all begs the question "Why are these self-same people not outraged that World Trade Center is still just a hole in the ground a decade later?"  What kind of a memorial is THAT to those who died that morning?   Why are they not ashamed over that?  What are they doing to see that their loved ones are memorialized properly and in a timely fashion with the return of the dam buildings which should have been rebuilt immediately after they were knocked down!

So, YES! Sarah you stupid bitch, they should have the right, this is the only place in the world with the built in right to do that and it MUST stay that way..  It's the very principle on which the entire country was founded!  Why must this be repeated time and again?  It's obvious you refuse to understand it.  I'd like to see the reaction in Wasilla if someone tried to build a mosque.  See, Olbermann can say it so much better than I.



And so it goes:

murder and indoctrination....Ooo goody!

If you feel the need to be afraid of something be afraid of the Catholics:

Some things never change

In my personal experience, which is not inconsiderable, with Catholics they don't tend to lean toward probity.

Integrity is something everyone thinks they have, why I don't know.  It
is not an innate characteristic.  It's something one develops through a cogent and heartfelt analysis of one's actions or potential actions regarding their morality based on the facts of a situation, the effects those actions have on those around them and the perception they develop of you as a result.

It's about relating to oneself, about looking in the mirror and liking what you see.

It's not something, in my mind to be taken lightly.  It's a signal of character, of maturity, and the willingness to stand up for what one believes is right no matter the consequences.

Whether one perceives integrity as as deliberate decision about how to live life, or if you perceive that one who possess integrity must live according to a moral certitude that precludes  any form or tolerance of immorality as one perceives it, the people at the American Society for the Defense of Tradition do not fit the bill.

I'd pose the question " How can these people look in the mirror every morning?"  yet I know from personal experience that   this is not a quandary that troubles them.  Catholics who will cheat to win, or at least look like they're winning don't really possess a moral compass, nor any grasp of what in means to be integritous.

In other words they're Catholic.

Cheating is nothing new in the church, and along with their ability to mourn their existence they manage to rationalize all of their indiscretions by not allowing that they're "only human" but that they're prone to sin, and therefore are in some irrational sense allowed to commit the heinous acts they're infamous for.

Does it sound like I have a true and profound hatred for the Catholic Church and it's inexhaustible tendency toward hypocrisy?

Good.

So along with this little diatribe I bring you an article to support it from Towleroad, which in fact inspired it, as an example of the  Machiavellian behavior from the church that has had so much influence on cultural development for hundreds of years. I doubt I'll rest easy until they're eradicated, or at the very least rendered ineffectual in influencing matters of morality and culture.

If these are the good guys, how much trouble are we in?

They're Not Just Gay-Hating Catholics, They're Cheaters Too

So, remember the fashionable closet Catholics from the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property on NOM's penultimate stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I posted about yesterday?
The group had a poll up on its website asking people what they thought about Judge Walker's decision to overturn Prop 8.
Overwhelmingly, people supported Judge Walker's decision, which, as you can probably guess, wasn't what they were expecting.
So, what did they do? Homogenius at DailyKos notes, they just changed the text on the questions around.

See, it's so easy to make it look like the whole world agrees with you. They don't.

And so it goes:

enough with the pity already

Not that I've really been having a pity party recently I've just been discouraged over the way that events have been unfolding.

Though they're going to go they way they're going to go, I'd rather they went differently.

I'm torn too over direction. Do I take off for the southwest (not without a job) or do I stick with the bird I have in hand? (as it appears) For now I have to stick with the bird, my little gemini insecurities about money prevent me from throwing caution to the wind and taking off. I like my car too much to go back to playing the "I wonder what'll happen when I turn this key" game.

I have decided that I simply can't pick one profession and just do that from now on. Can't do it, don't care the consequences. I simply cannot do it.

I can't give up teaching and directing for pottery and I can't give up writing and/or riding for a sure paycheck. I won't do it.

I came up with an ideal combination in my head for all the current possibilities and it's pretty cool. Now to see how to make any version of it happen.

And so it goes: