barryshap

I AM NOT YOU.

2012-01-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

In a poll conducted by ABC in July, 2006, 83% of Americans identified themselves as Christians. 13% indicated they have “no religion.” That leaves just 4% for all non-Christian religions combined—Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and others.

It was not specified what percentage of the 4% were Jewish. But clearly, I am in the minority. Whether or not that counts as being among the “Chosen Few” is another matter altogether.

While nearly 40% of all the Jews in the world reside in the United States, they only make up a little over 2% of the population.

I know I am a minority. Perhaps a minority within a minority. But it hasn’t hit home with such bludgeoning force as when I hear some of the Republican Presidential candidates speak. Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and especially Rick Santorum have continually referred to the America that the “founding fathers” created as based on Christianity. And, if they had their way, they would go on to define Christianity with the prefix, “fundamentalist.” This is just not true.

According to George Seldes’s The Great Quotations, (Secaucus, New Jersey Citadel Press, 1983), Thomas Jefferson wrote, in a letter to Horatio Spafford in 1814, “In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them, and to effect this, they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer for their purposes.”

In “Notes on the State of Virginia,” Jefferson said, “There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites” (quoted by newspaper columnist William Edelen, Politics and Religious Illiteracy, Truth Seeker, Vol. 121, No. 3, p. 33).

And it goes on. A little research reveals that, despite attempts at revising history in the matter of George Washington’s faith, he never received communion and indeed, was merely accompanying his wife when he attended church services. In fact, it was General Washington, as chief of American Armies, who visited the first synagogue in the United States (in Truro, Rhode Island) and issued a written proclamation, protecting the right for the Jewish Congregation to worship freely and without persecution. (“To bigotry, no sanction, to persecution, no assistance… ”)

In 1785, when the Commonwealth of Virginia was considering passage of a bill "establishing a provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion," James Madison wrote his famous "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments" in which he presented fifteen reasons why government should not be come involved in the support of any religion.

There were Jews in America before there were founding fathers… even before the Mayflower. Joachim (Chaim) Gans arrived in Roanoke Island, North Carolina in 1585, as part of Sir Walther Raleigh’s expedition. Reportedly, there were Jews on Colombus’ expedition to the New World. The first Jewish community was set up in New Amsterdam (what is now New York… surprise!) in 1654.

Former Senator Rick Santorum is particularly troublesome to me. His campaign espouses “Faith, Family and Freedom.” His platform statement begins by stating, “Rick Santorum believes that to have a strong national economy, we must have strong families. America’s government must recognize this and help create a positive pro-family environment for our families, our communities and our businesses.” Under the sub-head of Champion of Faith & Families, “During his time in elected office, Rick Santorum fought for the preservation of the traditional American family and for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society. Rick was the author of legislation outlawing the heinous act known as partial-birth abortion and he championed the fight to pass the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” and the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act.” He also authored legislation to advance adult stem cell research, so that ethical research could take place to fight debilitating diseases without the moral implications associated with embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life.”

"Please prevent me from taking control of myself."

Personally, I have issues with men dictating to women what they can and cannot do with their bodies. As much as I philosophically detest women like Phyllis Schafly, et. al., I do think she and her ilk are more qualified to speak of women’s rights and related decisions of what they can and cannot do with their bodies than I do a man—any man, including Rick Santorum.

What, precisely is the “traditional American Family?” Inadvertently, my mind always returns to a pivotal and socially accurate scene in the movie, “Annie Hall.” It shows the contrast between dinner at the Hall family table and that of the Singer’s. The Hall family’s dinner table is quiet—no talking, no noise other than the muted clatter of cutlery over each plate. The Singer family table, in their apartment under the roller coaster at Coney Island, is a cacophony of noise and activity—people screaming over one another, reaching over for serving plates, trying to be heard or at least seen.

A dirty comic and a clean comic.

And so it is with Jews and Gentiles. Lenny Bruce had related insight into why Jews are “dirty” comics and Christians are clean comics. The mores are not necessarily better or worse in one socio-religious group… they are different. One is, shall we say, more liberal than the other. Is a criterion of the traditional American family to “be fruitful and multiply?” Certainly, with dictates against birth control and abortion, one would think so. Evidently, having as many children as physiologically possible is also one of the criteria—physiologically possible, as in as long as the subjugated and called-upon wife’s uterus holds out. Having a gazillion children is not the exclusive domain of Christians. Orthodox Jews, for example, are encouraged to spread the religion through prolific procreation. But again, Jews—all Jews—make up a little more than 2% of the population. Their offspring are but a mere drop in the bucket. In the meantime, I haven't seen a TV reality show about a Jewish family with a dozen or so kids. I thought the Octo-Mom was bad (and, Lord knows, she is shamelessly bad), but the Duggars? 19 children. Or what is it they taunt America with? 19 and counting! Look at them, for Chrissake... patriotic lemmings.

How do they find time for music?

There was an old woman

who lived in a shoe

she had so many children

her uterus fell out

By the way, did I mention, my wife and I have no children?

The rewriting history to make the founding fathers fundamentalist Christians who envisioned the country they were creating to be a Christian one certainly should not be seen as racist. Indeed, of the 83% of Americans who claim to be Christian, there are many who are black and Hispanic. No, it seems, from all outward appearance, to be dogmatic exclusionism, if such a term exists. Certainly the term, “exceptionalism” exists, as former Senator Santorum uses it in the context of the country. Santorum, according to a piece on Slate in April, 2011, promotes “the belief that it (America) is a unique moral force in the world, promoting freedom and fighting evil…” His belief in American Exceptionalism is not an inference. He has stated it explicitly and has even used the term and concept in an exclusionary way when discussing the differences between him and President Obama. Evidently, the president does not share Santorum’s premise that America is exceptional and with that distinction must be the world’s bearer of morality and freedom. In essence, because of our place of power in the world, we have a responsibility to spread and maintain the Christian-based standard. It is important to state here that the term “Christian” that Santorum applies is not exactly the same as the poll used. The poll used “Christian” as a generic umbrella, under which Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Evangelicals, etc. And, despite the fact that the fundamentalists reject the notion that Mormons are Christians as see the sect as a “cult,” they are also included under the umbrella. Santorum and his ilk refer to Christianity in a much narrower, more subjective way. When he talks about faith and family, he does not call to attention the fact that he is a Roman Catholic. Indeed, he let’s others draw the conclusion that, in his heart, he is evangelical… that kind of Christian. It seems he doesn’t correct the misperception, either. From Huffington Post, January 11, 1012, “Rick Santorum may technically not call himself an evangelical but he is definitely one when it comes to social issues, so don't get too caught up in the title of ‘Roman Catholic,’” David Brody, chief political correspondent for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, wrote after the Iowa vote. “Santorum is an evangelical at heart.” Santorum’s stance on same-sex rights and marriage, birth control, abortion and teaching intelligent design” seem to blur the borders between Catholicism and Evangelicalism.

But, to get back to issue at hand: It is the Evangelical Christians who feel their God is a better God than other Christians’ God and certainly, better than the Jewish God. Their membership in the Judeo-Christian World is both tenuous and one of both convenience and selective benefit. At the core, Evangelicals believe first that they are exceptional and then the country their forefathers founded is exceptional. Ultimately, their validation is in their exclusivity.

I can simply not vote for Rick Santorum. I can support someone else, which goes without saying. But, the conversation has been raised, as have the implications. We know what America in general believes that all Muslims are terrorists. As for Jews, well, there are volumes written and spoken regarding anti-Semitism in America and the world. The crimes and the atrocities committed in the name of God are innumerable. And most of them have been justified, as they are today, in the name of “faith, family and freedom.”

* * *

And then, there is the other statistic. The big one. The one that started all the noise in the fall. The 1% and the 99%. The have’s and the have not’s. The millionaires and the rest of us.

“Corporations are people, my friends,” he said with that smarmy smile of his. Willard “Mitt” Romney. A man of the people… if the people you are referring to are filthy rich and have no idea what a gallon of gas costs or what house wine is.

President Barack Obama wrote a book called The Audacity of Hope. Romney is working on one simply called Audacity. The fact of the matter is, I do not begrudge Mitt for being stinking rich. Most presidents have been rich… or they got rich on the way to the office. I certainly don’t fault, say, Franklin Delano Roosevelt for being rich… because of what he did. In the same way, I cannot fault John, Robert or Edward M. Kennedy for their inherited wealth when all three brothers fought for equality and dignity for what used to be called the common man. Mitt Romney is out of touch and vows to remain so. This week, the topic of Mitt’s taxes came up. He said that he pays a tax rate of about 15%, which is a lot less than if it had been for earnings and wages and not investment dividends and gains. He also that he received money from speeches before announcing his candidacy for president last year, but “not very much.” Mitt considers $374,327.62 not very much money. AP reported, “That amount alone would place his income among the top 1% of all Americans… ”

And then there’s the man trying to wrest Mitt from his most-likely position: Newt Gingrich. Another man of the people. Yeah, right. Between the Tiffany’s account and Calista’s Greek Isle Cruise plot, Newt is bought and sold. Just ask Sheldon Adelson, eighth richest man in America and the bucks behind Newt’s Super PAC. He pretty much single handedly sported the bill for Newt’s anti-Mitt movie that, by the way, has been pretty badly reviewed. As an aside, I worked for Shelly Adelson when he was still a Democrat and couldn’t have card less about Israel. But that’s another story.

Watch the rich guy-- he's either going to pull out a .38 or his checkbook.

They, like Santorum, do not represent me. I guess I’ll stick with that “hopey-changey” stuff… for now.

Stand by the Man.

Year in Review

2011-12-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it’s been over 3 months since my last post. Time flies while global shit is hitting the fan. My absence has neither been due to a lack of subject matter nor a lack of interest in said. The fact that I couldn't get up for the game to rant about Greece or Syria, Hamas or Newt is testament to information/bullshit overload. I mean, what can you say when the quote/unquote objective report says it all. You don't have to read into it. The bizarre and If you have read any of my posts then you know one of my fall-back tenets is that I can’t make this stuff up. I am constantly finding myself in awe of the pitiful state of America’s politics and economics, which are inextricably connected.

My temptation is to not recount the events of the year. Unless the media and the government have completely seized your brain, you lived through the year and know what happened. I hate to dwell on the bad and the ugly, so I won’t. Like I say, you know what happened. I don’t have a top ten of news stories. I don’t have a top ten list at all. I didn’t see ten movies this year. The music I listen to is mostly ten years old and I barely watch commercial television. And not in that effete way, like I am above it all... I've just lost interest.

The bottom line is, I agree with Time magazine, who named the Occupy Movement as “person of the year.” I don’t particularly agree with the direction the movement took. I don’t think shutting down our ports. I watched the movement evolve into turning the consciousness into encampments for the homeless, although I do think it is high time there is attention given to the homeless problem. More than anything else , the movement brought attention to the disparities between the haves and have-nots in the country. Personally, I find the adulation that the unwashed masses show toward anything and everything that relates to wealth is grossly unhealthy. I can’t blame Robin Leach for doting on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Like Billy Joel sang, he didn’t start the fire. But things have gotten so far out of control.

Kim--Superstar

While Republican politicians and phony religious zealots preach family values, Kim Kardashian covers every tabloid and gossip rag in the country. In a country where half the children go to bed hungry, there is a certain level of obscenity when a talentless, pneumatic woman becomes a celebrity by allegedly being herself, along with the rest of her talent-deficient family. Where said woman gets married for $15 million, sells the rights to the event to People Magazine and separates from her new husband 72 days later. Basic math reveals that the amount of money spent could have put an average of 300 more teachers to work.

A convergence of collagen and cleavage.

Baby-dolls in public?

At the beginning of this past Christmas shopping season, one of the more popular viral videos showed a woman pepper-spraying other shoppers so she could get the latest gadget for her ADD addled, malnourished child. Last week, near-riots broke out as predominantly African-American shoppers literally fought to be among the first to buy a pair of $180.00 Air Jordans. They have bought the dream on layaway. The payments go on way past their misbegotten goal has been tarnished and torn.

Disillusioned words like bullets bark 

As human gods aim for their mark 

Make everything from toy guns that spark 

To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark 

It’s easy to see without looking too far 

That not much is really sacred

It is sad and ugly to watch people shed their dignity like a slithering serpent crawling out of last season’s skin. How much proof does one need that our priorities have become so distorted and ultimately self-annihilating? Can I tell you something between just you and I? I used to go after that gold-toned brass ring. Hell, that was how I was brought up. I wanted the latest, newest, shiniest, coolest. But that drive has passed. It is not like I am not motivated. It is that my priorities have shifted. Last week, my wife and I went to a town in California’s central coastal region that has evolved into a wine growing Mecca. I literally got sick when I looked at the menu at a restaurant we went to with our friends. The prices were so stupid expensive, I had what could only be considered a panic attack. I just can’t do that anymore.

You say you’re sorry 

For tellin’ stories 

That you know

I believe are true 

You say ya got some 

Other kinda lover 

And yes, I believe you do 

You say my kisses are not like his 

But this time I’m not gonna tell you why that is 

I’m just gonna let you pass

Yes, and I’ll go last 

Then time will tell who fell 

And who’s been left behind 

When you go your way and I go mine

Petra Ecclestone-- almost real

Ever read the New York Times Style section on Sundays? There lies the bastion of the idle rich for intelligent people to cluck their tongues at out loud but secretly envy. Have you ever heard of Petra Ecclestone? I never did until I read about her in said section of the “Old Gray Lady.” Now, there’s a piece of work. Admittedly not American, but included for buying a serious piece of it. She is 22 years-old, and, as far as I can figure, has never worked a day in her life. Well, that’s not really true nor fair. She has worked, as a model for Armani. But it is her diminutive father’s moolah that allowed her to buy Candy Spelling’s Holmby Hills estate for $35 million. She called the 57,000 square foot mansion a comfy little home.

The former Candy Spelling Residence... comfy

It is publicly known that she also has a $91 millon home in Chelsea, London for her five dogs. She reportedly has seven Rolex watches, each worth about $33,000 and ten Hermes Birkin handbags worth “upwards of $65,000.” And, how do you define obscene? How about this: in reaction to Paul McCartney’s proposal for meatless Mondays, Petra was quoted as saying, “I am not a veggie and I don't have much time for people like the McCartneys and Annie Lennox.” In all fairness to Ms. Ecclestone, she was launching her leather fashion line at the same time. Fashion line? Hmmm… makes me think of Paris Hilton and the Olsen twins.

Bernie Ecclestone, Petra Ecclestone, Slavica Ecclestone

A financial giant and human slug, with his wife and child

Where are your stilettos, Bernie?

I could never have imagined that an over-the-top Oliver Stone film (is that redundant?) would be so prescient. But the essence of his movie, Wall Street was right on. It hit the golden nail on the head. He pointed out, through the words of Gordon Gecko, that greed is actually not so good. That greed leads to really bad things.

* * *

Bottom line: if you want to find out what made the top ten lists, find it in the magazines and newspapers. Otherwise, cue up Blonde on Blonde, Beggar’s Banquet, Who’s Next and London's Calling, roll another joint and kick 2011 on down the road.

Thanks to Bob for the words, always.

The King's Speech and Mine-postscript

2011-09-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Stuttering Foundation of America has gained a lot of traction with the movie, The King's Speech, and justifiably so. They are a wonderful organization focusing attention on a misunderstood and sometimes debilitating affliction. They raise awareness and urge those affected to seek help... any help is better than doing nothing.

As I wrote in the post, "The King's Speech and Mine (2/2011), I was a severe stutterer for the first 23 years of my life. I was fortunate enough to learn about and attend the Fluency Shaping Program at Hollins College, in Roanoke, Virginia. I will never say I was cured as no one is truly cured of stuttering, but when I arrived at the program, I was diagnosed as 33% fluent (which meant I couldn't be understood 2/3 of the time I spoke). When I left, I was 99% fluent. My life had changed. Literally.

The SFA ran a contest last month: What, if anything, are you doing differently since seeing "The King's Speech"?

This was my entry...

Let's see... I contacted some old acquaintances (pre-fluency) and, among other things, thanked them for their patience, friendship and understanding when I was at my worst, speech-wise. I put a call into Jane Fraser (Executive Director of SFA), who I have gotten to "know" over the years, but have never had the pleasure of actually meeting. I again offered my "pro-bono" services-- in the past, I have written and designed some ads for the SFA. I called Hollins to try to get in touch with some of the staff people who helped transform my life. And finally, I sat in with a monthly NSA support group meeting in Portland, Oregon and showed the attendees my "before and after" video from Hollins. For the most part, the people who were there were moderate stutterers--there was one man who was quite severe. What concerned me a bit is that, for the most part, the consensus among them was that I am "special" (because my speech improved so dramatically). I don't consider myself "special." I just took the Hollins Fluency Shaping Program as seriously as I could.

It's been over 38 years and I am, for all intents and purposes, fluent. As I have discussed with Jane, there are those who are almost contemptuous of the Hollins program and question their high success rate. I have always thought, if I can do it, anyone can do it. I also truly believe the line I wrote for one of the FSA ads: "There are many proven, effective ways to reduce stuttering. Doing nothing is not one of them."

CONVERGENCE

2011-08-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Image used for illustration only

Apologies to Ellie May Clampett

For 27 years, I read the Los Angeles Times. Stands to reason, since I was living in Los Angeles. For the last 5 or so of those years, my wife and I also got the New York Times delivered. To some, that would seem redundant. But we were informed. We moved to a little town in Oregon almost four years ago. We almost immediately subscribed to The Oregonian out of Porltand. Never mind that we live about an hour south of the "city." It was–and is–for all intents and purposes, the only choice we had. I'm not one of those people that can eat breakfast in front of a computer. Call me a Luddite. For that matter, call my wife a Luddite. We won't mind. I bought a book today, with a cover and paper pages. Imagine. But the point I am trying to make is that neither the LA Times nor the NY Times prepared me for The Oregonian. The paper is skimpy, and what seemingly little content it does have is filled to a great degree with small time crimes and white trash misdemeanors. For that matter, the Portland TV news also seems to occupy itself with the kinds of events and incidents that would never make it in a big city. Near drownings. One car accidents. And gang violence. I have said it before: if the Los Angeles Times covered gang-related crimes the way The Oregonian does, it would have the daily heft of the Manhattan phone book. And so, it is a convergence of a seemingly lack of editing and the contents itself.

I could have chosen almost any example. But the excerpted item from Tuesday's Oregonian particularly struck me. It should probably be read while throwing a shot of Elijah Craig down yer neck and listening to a raucous country song, (perhaps "Papa shot the Juke Box" by Mark Chesnutt)

* * *

Police arrested Sally Ann Lee, 57, on accusations of attempted murder. She allegedly fired a rifle about 8:00 pm at two people at Lee's U-Catch Trout Farm... about five miles from Vernonia.

Her brother, Tom Lee, 56, told 9-1-1 dispatchers his sister was drunk and armed. The dispatcher heard at least two shots during the call, and people were running for cover, Sheriff Jeff Dickerson said.

* * *

And don't you dare get me started on Salem's Statesman Journal.

Michele Bachmann scares me.

2011-07-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Michele Bachmann... scary.

And here I was thinking Rick Santorum (synonymous with sexual spooge) was going to be the fun/nutjob candidate on the right. But while Mrs. Palin is still creasing her butt on the fence, we have the irrepressible, always quotable and imminently laughable Michele Bachmann. This is not the first time I have written about her and I daresay as the campaign stumbles along, she will come up again. So while everyone is justifiably fretting over the debt ceiling negotiations, there is Mrs. Bachmann to offer, if nothing else a little comic relief in the midst of a national crisis.

The Republican party could not be more divided. Speaker of the house John Boehner is not only seeming to be moderate, he is also alone, swinging in the breeze. Traditional Republicans are pretty much keeping mum as the Tea Party is dictating unrealistic guidelines for the debt ceiling negotiations. They have soundly rejected Boehner’s proposal, saying it doesn’t cut enough. But Our Lady of the Land of Lakes takes it even further…

According to the AP, Mrs. Bachmann has “vowed to vote against any increase in the debt ceiling and called the deal being negotiated on Capitol Hill as one based on ‘illusory’ and ‘counterfeit’ savings. She said President Obama has misled the American people on when the government would run out of borrowing authority and has employed ‘scare tactics’ that have needlessly spooked Wall Street.”

Talk about scare tactics. If this is indicative of her thinking, the very idea, no matter how remote, of her becoming the leader of the country sends chills down my spine.

But wait, it gets better… in an article from USA Today, Mrs. Bachmann was quoted as saying that, “if (President) Obama raised the debt ceiling on his own, ‘he would effectively be a dictator.’

And, of course, Mrs. Bachmann concludes that at that point, President Obama would have to be overthrown.

Not wanting to be left out, obvious Tea Party nutjob, representative Tim Scott, who has been on the job about six months, but is clearly a constitutional scholar (NOT), said that any “unilateral” action could be grounds for impeachment.

Yeah, right.

Amy Winehouse: Back in Black

2011-07-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of pictures of Amy Winehouse you can find on a Google image search that show her at her worst: cocaine hanging out of her nose, her eyes rolling up into her head, in various stages of dishevelment, inebriation and worse. Amy became a joke. A sick and sad joke. Clearly, the woman had demons. She also was surrounded by enablers and fools. Family members, boyfriends (and a husband), and toxic hangers-on. Her death yesterday at 27 years-old was probably inevitable, but that doesn't strip the story of the inherent sadness and tragedy. It would be one thing if Amy was a no-talent pop star. But she wasn't. She was immensely talented. Her brilliant Back to Black album is both a personal watershed work and an important piece of soul-pop. Without her, we would never have seen the likes of Duffy or Adele and others. It is, I suppose, difficult to separate the artist from the woman, her artistry from her public personae. I sincerely hope that she will be remembered not as fodder for the tabloids nor just for one song (Rehab), but for her talent and a promise never to be fulfilled. Time may help. Bottom line: her death is a terrible waste. Her talent will be missed. Ironically, she and I shared our birthday. Her death, for the moment, is, according to the London police, "unexplained."

Let Gary Haugen die.

2011-07-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

"The law? The law's wrong."

Death-row convicted killer, Gary Haugen. Had a small victory today in his battle for the right to see his sentence carried out. He was able to fire his lawyers who have been publicly questioning his mental competence in his desire to see his sentence meted out. How incompetent is someone who would rather be put to death and spend the ret of his life locked up in a cell by himself with an hour or so a day outside? As I have written before, Mr. Haugen was tried in the beating murder of his ex-girlfriend’s mother. He was competent then to stand trial, and competent enough to be sentenced to life without chance of parole… until he, along with another inmate, crushed a third inmate’s skull and stabbed him 84 time. Again, he was competent to stand trial for the crime and competent to be sentence to death. Ah, but Oregon’s death penalty is hardly ever enforced. What Mr. Haugen is demanding is not beyond the realm of comprehension. It makes sense. He is clearly competent to have his sentence carried out.

It is of no small consolation to see that Oregon is not alone in the hypocrisy of having the death penalty on the books but makes every effort not to enforce it.

Not Ted Bundy

John Edward Duncan III was convicted in Idaho of kidnapping, torture and murder. He was sentenced to death. The 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has seen fit to request a competency hearing, to see if Mr. Duncan is competent to represent himself. The AP reported on Tuesday that “Duncan has been found competent by every court that has considered the issue that his three death sentences remain in place.” U.S. Attorney Wendy Olsen was quoted as saying the hearing was simply a procedural matter.

Mr. Duncan was sentenced to die in 2008 for kidnapping, torture and murdering a 9 year-old Coeur d’Alene boy in 2005. Prosecutors said that Duncan “snatched Dylan Groene and his 8 year-old sister from their Idaho home after killing their older brother, mother and mother’s fiancé. Duncan kept the children at a Montana campsite for weeks before killing Dylan and returning with Dylan’s sister to Coeur d’Alene, where he was arrested.

Now, maybe I have mistaken the law according to fictitious San Francisco inspector Harry Callahan, but if a scumbag pervert like Mr. Duncan is not competent to being put to death—according to the law of the land for his crimes then the law is wrong… and there is no reason for the death penalty, at least in Idaho and Oregon.

* * *

UPDATE: The Statesman Journal reported on Saturday, July 16. that the two attorneys that the judge agreed to remove from the Gary Haugen case have filed a petition asking the Oregon Supreme Court to rescind the order.

The attorneys had noted that they had "explained to the judge at Thursday's hearing that 'the court should make a decision based on the request of someone who has been determined to be delusional and incompetent by the only mental health professional to examine him following the issuance of the appellate judgement."

Hmmm. Does this sound like a delusional, incompetent individual?

"You have attorneys that have agendas that have so overpowered their ethical obligations and oaths that they're willing to sit there and just blatantly lie in the face of a presiding judge."

HANG THE RICH

2011-07-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Opinions on the debt crisis are kind of like assholes... everyone has one. I have one and I have this forum to lay it out for anyone who stumbles upon it or seeks it out.

1. Raise the debt ceiling. It is essential for the running of this country and its alleged good standing in the world. It need not--should not--have anything to do with cuts in spending or taxes or your mother-in-law. They can be dealt with later. Right now, raise the debt ceiling. And I say this to our weak-kneed, I-want-to-reach-across-the-aisle president.

2. President Obama should come out and announce he is not going to seek nor accept the nomination from his party for reelection. It worked for Lyndon Johnson. Dig in and make the next year matter more than anything.

3. Throw in congress. During the negotiations with the non-negotiating GOP scumbags, put their pay on the table. As part of the items "on the table" to reduce government spending, put congress's salaries and benefits. Fuck 'em. They have brought this on. They are holing the country hostage. Pull their bennies from under their noses. Stop reaching across the aisle and make them pay for their effete bullshit. Pull the fucking rug from out under Cantor, Boehner and McConnell. Strip them of the freebies and the fat salary. Sacrifice their sorry asses.

4. Tax the rich. They need to pay their fair share. Never mind fooling with loopholes and entitlements and the rest. Tax the rich the way you tax the middle class, which is disappearing faster than the bunny in the top hat.

5. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are off the table. Shall I emphasize the point? Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are off the table. End of conversation. You don't place the burden on the poor and the elderly. What's next, Mr. McConnell, you're going to run them over with your Escalade?

Out of the Box

2011-07-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Funny thing about Pandora's Box. Once she opened it, she couldn't get what had flowed out back in. A little like the negotiable items president Obama has let drop onto the table. Medicare. Medicaid. Social Security. The very items he promised were non-negotiable as a presidential candidate. The things that were never supposed to be "on the table." The leaders of the GOP are acting like terrorists, holding the country hostage. And instead of walking away, (as Representative Cantor did, in a rehearsed impulsive moment), and not negotiating with these fat cat thugs, the president flinches at first blush. You don't give in and give up before putting up a fight. Why no one can get through to t he GOP base and tell them that their leaders' tactics will only hurt them by burdening the middle and lower class even more than they already are, while continuing to enrich the top 2%, who are minimally taxed as it is. The GOP sham of saying increased revenues will hurt small business is so obvious, to everyone but those drinking the tea. In fact, damned near every argument on why taxes should not be raised for the wealthy can and has been debunked. Common Dreams ran a piece by Paul Buchheit on The 10 reasons not to tax the rich. And why they're all bad.--

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/20-1

The point is clear and the scenarios are only too obvious. The GOP represents the big business and the wealthy. They have stated their position and are visibly unmoving. The Democrats claim that they will not vote for anything that has the triumvirate of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in it. It is literally a matter of time before we know what the president said when he said, "Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to." I'm not sure if the influence for that kind of quotable is Vince Lombardi or Yogi Berra. We will have to see if, unlike Pandora, the president can take off the table what he has put on it.

Personally, I don't have a good feeling.

Not helping my ambivalence

2011-07-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

The July 1 issue of the Jewish Review reported that former Fox News nutjob Glenn Beck will address the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee on July 11 during his “visit to Israel.” From past events, we know Mr. Beck doesn’t so much “visit” as trample. The meeting Mr. Beck will address “reportedly will focus on the September meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, when the Palestinians say they will ask for recognition of a Palestinian state.”

Mr. Beck will be filming his address to be shown on his subscription-based online “show,” which, according to the Jewish Review, will be used to promote Beck’s “Restoring Courage” rally to be held in Jerusalem in late August. The report goes on to say that Herman Cain, CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and a current Republican presidential candidate and Senator Joseph Leiberman have said they will attend the rally.

My faithful readers may recall I wrote about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and my desire to understand it more fully. I must say, my research has not made me more of a supporter of Israel. I must admit, I am, to be diplomatic, ambivalent. But Mr. Beck rallying in Israel does not make my support any stronger. In fact, it makes me more suspect.

Oh and the Gaza flotilla issue is not helping matters any.

SCORPIONS ON A PLANE

2011-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

http://abcnews.go.com/US/scorpion-stings-man-flight-seattle-anchorage/story?id=13969984

Liars and Morons

2011-07-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

The news has reported that, after Michele Bachmann’s stellar performance during the Republican Presidential debate, she is rapidly ascending in the polls to be the front runner. Not everyone is happy about this development. And I’m not talking about myself. As much as I want to see Rick Santorum be considered a serious candidate, I don’t think he’s got snowball’s chance in hell. Not with Michele in the race… and Sarah in the wings. But I’m jumping ahead of myself. To get back to Mrs. Bachmann–she’s the liar I am referring to, although the label “moron” also fits her like a J.C. Penny’s suit. Her gaff about Lexington and Concord being in New Hampshire was one thing. Her claim that John Quincy Adams was one of our forefathers that fought in the Revolutionary War (when he was 8 years old) was ludicrous, but she did try to back it up. Like Mrs. Palin, she insists on being right (vis a vis, half-governor Palin’s explanation of Paul Revere’s ride), even when she’s clearly wrong. And there’s the one about our forefathers fighting slavery… while they all had slaves. But, let’s put all that nonsense aside. For the time being, let’s focus on Mrs. Bachmann’s well-earned title of “liar.” She has said that she has “never gotten a penny” from a family farm that has received federal farm subsidies when in fact the farm produced income of at least $32,500 and as much as $105,000 from 2006 through 2009. In addition, she reported in personal financial disclosure reports (required annually from members of congress) that she holds an interest in the family farm worth between $100,000 and $250,000.When pressed on the issue, Bachmann responded that she “wasn’t involved in decisions about running the farm.” Uh… no one asked her about “running” the farm, only about earning an income from it. Then, there’s the one about her husband’s Christian mental health clinic. While criticizing the Democratic healthcare program and making the repeal of “Obamacare” her number one priority, her husband’s clinic has received tens of thousands of dollars in state and federal funding. Her response to these facts in a Sunday morning interview with Bob Schieffer was to divert the conversation to the Obama administration’s reckless use of limousines. Yes, behind that beatific smile, big hair and scary eyes is a liar. Meet the new boss… same as the old boss.

* * *

And then there’s the perpetual moron. Half-governor, fully-loaded nitwit with a persecution complex and a bizarre level of pride of ignorance… Sarah Louise Palin. This week saw the world premiere of the movie, “Undefeated” in Pella, Iowa… the movie capitol of the world. Wha? The director, Steve Bannon, saw fit to begin the movie with drawn-out footage of Sarah bashing by Hollywood celebrities, clearly setting the star up as a martyr and victim. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the movie “opens with several minutes of Hollywood entertainers using some of the most vulgar language imaginable to express their displeasure with the former vice presidential candidate.”

“This is the first that I've seen much of that. It kind of takes you back," she told the Hollywood Reporter. "It makes you want to reach out to some of these folks and say, What's your problem? And what was the problem? And what is the problem?

"What would make a celebrity, like you saw on screen, so hate someone that they'd seek their destruction, their death, the death of their children? What would make someone be so full of hate and, I guess, a sense of being threatened that they would want to see that person destroyed?"

Don't hate me because I'm, uh... because, er....

You see? She’s a regular hockey-mom martyr like Jesus on skates.

Personally, the title, “The Undefeated” stopped me dead in my tracks. Am I mistaken or did she, along with presidential candidate, John McCain, lose the election? Weren’t they… DEFEATED??? Details, details.

A writer's obligation.

2011-06-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

I would like to say that I am a voracious reader. The truth is, I read considerably less than I used to. What, with the television, the internet, the oncoming onslaught of increasing senior moments and attacks of CRS ("can't remember shit"), it's hard to find time to make a "to do" list anymore.

I also write. Again, not as much as I used to... I self-published two crime novels, under the pen name, Steven Mann, back in the '90's. Ah, yes, the good old days. Huh?

The complete works of Steven Mann.

At any rate, I did considerable research for my books. Since there was to be gunplay involved, I wanted to know what it felt like to shoot a pistol. I took a course at the Beverly Hills Gun Club (where else) and I shot semiautomatic 9mm's and revolvers--38.'s and 357. magnums. For the record, I prefer the Ruger SP-101. I wanted the knowledge so that the sentence or two that referenced handguns would ring true. I think that is the least a writer should do. He or she should know what they're talking about. They should never, never condescend to their readers nor ever think details are unimportant. I ran across a book once that had a character taking the safety off a revolver. It was the equivalent of hitting an unexpected STOP sign. Revolvers don't have safeties. A good example of a book where the author has all the hardware right is Chuck Hogan's Devils in Exile (a terrific, taut action thriller). Hogan, author of The Town, which was made into a damned good movie by and starring Ben Affleck, seems to relish the details, but doesn't bog down the story with them.

I once wrote to a writer after throwing down one of his books. I read the first two books by Robert Ferrigno, which I remember enjoying. Then I started reading a later one.

Writer, Robert Ferrigno

In the dark on facts.

He had his mysterious protagonist smoking Marlboros unfiltered cigarettes. There are no such things. I've known cancer-eager smokers who used to tear the filters off of bummed cigarettes so they could get the full-on benefits of sucking carcinogens straight/no-chaser, but that's different. Mr. Ferrigno had it wrong. Then his character got into his BMW 800 series sports sedan. BMW never manufactured such a vehicle. To my knowledge, the 850 was a sleek sports coupe, with pop-up headlights and enough horsepower to gobble up asphalt in seconds.

I didn't get very far in Mr. Ferrigno's book and subsequently gave away the books of his I had. I was never going to re-read them. By the way, I never did get a reply from Mr. Ferrigno.

Carl Hiaasen has been one of my favorite writers over the years. I've enjoyed his skewering of his home state of Florida from Tourist Season on. He shares his comic approach and locales with Dave Barry, who I also admire as a writer. Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs had me laughing out loud on the beach in Marina Del Rey years ago. It is clearly a bit of a stretch for Mr. Barry to write novels, though.

I have read all of Hiaasen's "adult" books (he also writes children's books) and even some of his non-fiction, including the brilliantly scathing Team Rodent as well as some of his collected Miami Herald pieces. His book, Nature Girl, should have tipped me off. The repetitive quality of his plots, characters and predicaments was showing. Okay. I can buy that. Robert B. Parker had a bit of a challenge keeping Spenser fresh. Hiaasen still provided a pleasant diversion. I have never not finished one of his books.

Except Star Island.

From the very first page of the book, paragraph two: "The stranger in Jimmy Campo's ambulance had two 35-mm digital cameras hanging from his fleshy neck, and a bulky gear bag balanced on his ample lap."

What is a 35-mm digital camera?

A camera can be one or the other, but not both. 35-mm describes the film size and digital cameras use no film.

I stopped reading the book. Was I being rash? Probably. Will I revisit it? Unlikely. Like I say, the writer has an obligation not to belittle or be inconsiderate towards his reader. DETAILS COUNT! Now, in his (and Mr. Ferrigno's) defense, Mr. Hiaasen is not writing police procedurals, but he is known for having cultivated a fairly sophisticated level of reader. He owes them better. There is no excuse for being sloppy. And, in my mind, Mr. Hiaasen has added insult to injury, by dedicating the book to Sonny Mehta, the publishing world God of taste and bestsellers. Hiaasen also thanks his editor(s).

The Law

2011-06-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Gary Haugen–sentenced to death

First off, let me just say that one must be careful with Google searches. As Spellcheck misses things like homonyms, Google is kind of a non-discriminatory search engine. There is, for example, a Gary Haugen who is the president and CEO of the International Justice Mission, an international human rights agency that rescues victims of sex trafficking and human slavery. And then, there is a Gary Haugen who sits on Oregon’s death row. It is he that I am writing about.

I probably know less about the intricacies and nuances of the death penalty argument than I know about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But that doesn’t disqualify me from commenting on it. I think it was Sophocles, the ancient Greek writer who said that “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.” And so, it is with that sense of self-empowerment that I let loose with my opinion on the Gary Haugen Case and capital crime in general.

Fact: Gary Haugen was found guilty of beating his former girlfriend’s mother to death in 1981 and was sentenced to life, with the possibility of parole.

Fact: Gary Haugen, along with fellow inmate Jason Brumwell, murdered another inmate in 2003. Brumwell had been sent to prison for his role in the murder of a convenience store clerk in Eugene. Haugen and Brumwell crushed David Polin’s skull and stabbed him 84 times. They thought Polin was an informant for the Oregon State Penitentiary officials and had told them about their drug use.

Fact: Capital punishment is legal in Oregon.

"I ask the court to at least respect my will and initiate the process for execution A.S.A.P!" Haugen wrote in an April 10 letter to the state court administrator. Haugen decried the "arbitrary and vindictive actions of this system" and said there will no efforts by him or anyone on his behalf to appeal his death sentence. (www.cncpunishment.com)

Haugen’s public defenders made weak and mostly token efforts for a serious appeal. One of the motions for overturning the verdict was based on the fact that “the state should have provided an interpreter for a prospective juror who did not speak English and that excluding that juror violated his rights to a jury composed of a fair cross-section of the community.”

Please.

Haugen is scheduled to be executed on August 16. I will lay odds that it won’t happen. One of the reasons is so predictable and, in my opinion, wrongheaded. In this case, its name is “Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.” Despite Mr. Haugen’s wish for no appeals, the “group” has argued that the judge “initially agreed to let defense attorneys gather more evidence to establish whether Haugen was competent.” (The Oregonian, June 14, 2011)

Hmmm.

Evidently, Mr. Haugen was competent enough to beat his ex-girlfriend’s mother to death, which sent him to prison in the first place. Once there, he seems to have been competent enough to procure drugs, and then to aid in crushing David Polin’s skull and stabbing him 84 times. How can he not be competent to be put to death, as was the punishment he was served in court? And if he is found to be incompetent, what then? Do we offer up treatment until he is deemed competent? And then, do we kill him?

The Oregonian reported that Muriel Lezak, the neuropsychologist who examined Haugen found that he “suffers from a significant attention-deficit disorder” and that “some aspects of cognitive functioning appear to be compromised due to fetal alcohol syndrome.”

So, Mr. Haugen can’t be executed as the law has determined because he has ADD? If he can’t pay attention for the time it takes to give him a lethal dose, the state can’t kill him? Is Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty suggesting Mr. Haugen get help with his conditions–say, counseling and medication–until he’s stable enough to be put to death?

Oh, and by the way, are you, in the least bit surprised that Mr. Haugen has fetal alcohol syndrome? What? Do you–along with Muriel Lezak and Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty–have your undies in a knot because Mr. Haugen is not considered normal enough to legally be put to death? Is a neuropsychologist really taken aback when she finds a brutal murderer's brain is wired badly? What did she expect? I don't think too many members of MENSA would beat someone to death. And don't give me the Ted Bundy argument. Like he was such a genius. In Bundy's case–as with Gary Haugen–there is the fact that he was a unfeeling, pathological killer, which supersedes his perceived brilliance. The fact that Gary Haugen has ADD doesn't totally explain why he would commit such horrifying criminal acts nor does it exonerate him in any way.

Why have a death penalty if you aren’t going to enforce it? Is it supposed to be a deterrent? Like all the other “deterrents,” criminals, by their very definition, ignore the threat of a death sentence. Do we expect criminals adhere to societal and psychological definitions of normalcy when we determine whether they live or die? If so, why? It’s okay to call criminals monsters in court but they need to be found human before we mete out their punishment… that’s crazy. Being a sociopath is not a sometimes thing. If you commit a sociopathic crime, your punishment should be measured as a sociopath, not a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome. Haugen is not a victim.

I said I didn’t know much about the subtleties of capital punishment, but I do know that the world would not be negatively impacted by Gary Haugen’s death. The state of Oregon, however, is negatively impacted by not carrying out the death sentence on Mr. Haugen. It has been reported that it costs the state well over a million dollars to house and keep criminal “lifers” alive and ensconced in seemingly endless appeals.

What do Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty want?

According to their mission statement from their website, “The mission of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) is to repeal the death penalty in Oregon as an essential step toward a more cost-effective, humane and restorative response to violent crime, and thus toward safer, more peaceful and just communities.”

And what exactly would be “a more cost-effective, humane and restorative response to violent crime?” What is cost-effective about keeping a seemingly incorrigible murderer alive and locked up? It costs $86.08 for the chemistry in a lethal injection, and a lot more to keep them alive in prison year after year. Oregon spends about a third more than the national average on housing, feeding and caring for prisoners. Each taxpaying household pays approximately $840. per year to the prison system. There are almost 14,500 convicts locked up in Oregon prisons–about 1 in 33 of all people in the state.

Bill Long, a Willamette University law professor and death penalty opponent who wrote the only book on capital punishment in Oregon, has estimated Oregon’s oldest cases could end up costing more than $10 million per defendant (the national average for capital cases is around $3 million). Hardesty estimated in 2005 that Oregon and its counties spend at least $9 million a year pursuing death penalty cases. (wweek.com/portland/article-8334-killing_time.html)

School systems in the state are cutting teachers, librarians–even closing schools. They’ve also have had to reduce the number of beds in prisons—the way prison populations are measured. And what happens when prisons face budget cuts? They certainly don’t frontload the number of executions. No. They reduce sentences. Imagine if Gary Haugen was released? Would he come to terms with his fetal alcohol syndrome and live the rest of his life in a productive way? Or will he beat someone else to death? Where would you put your money? Personally, I think an informal “falling on a shank in the shower” program should be instituted in the Oregon prison system. But it would have to be kind of like the military’s former position on enlisted gays: don’t ask/don’t tell.

I am reminded of a pair of lines from an old Bob Dylan tune. “I’m liberal, to a degree. I want everybody to be free… ” But evidently, my liberalism ends at the door to the maximum security prison. There are just too many precedents, from Jack Abbot to Gary Gilmore, that indicate an absence of rehabilitation among felonious violent criminals. Gary Haugen will never get better. He will never be anything beyond a menace to society. He should be granted his wish and be put to death. This is not a Barry Scheck–the DNA proved him innocent–issue. Haugen’s DNA was all over the Polin murder scene. And this is not like Haugen is a first time offender. He is not going to get better. He will never contribute to society. He was convicted of life imprisonment when he participated in the violent prison murder of David Polin. Oh, and here’s a good one: his defense team argued in their appeal that the death sentence should be imposed after Haugen’s life sentence is fulfilled.

Oh and something else to ponder: is it hypocritical to be pro-life and pro-death penalty?

Just asking.

"The Saudi Arabia of Coal"

2011-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Virginia Representative Eric Cantor proved once again that his vision goes only as far as his pockets, which are clearly being stuffed by the rich, the corporate greedy and, in this case, the coal industry. He actually said that America is "the Saudi Arabia of coal." What a putz.

Sad to say, even President Obama has it wrong on this one; there is no such thing as clean coal. Consider it an oxymoron, as I consider Representative Cantor a conniving moron. Coal pollutes. But one thing the Republicans seem to be good at is pushing for planet-endangering policies that leave future generations a depleted, toxic planet. While the Republican continue to whitewash, mislead and/or downright lie, the semi-comatose hoards of blind followers buy the package, willfully ignoring the skull and crossbones on the label.

abandoned mine

Burn, Baby, Burn

She's baack(and other movement on the right)

2011-05-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday's Statesman Journal ran an AP story, reporting that Sarah Palin will "embark this weekend on a campaign style bus tour along the East Coast." The AP referred to half-Governor Palin as "telegenic but divisive"-- nothing if not tactful. She hasn't announced her candidacy formally, but was quoted as saying that she has "that fire in the belly" for a presidential bid. While most people would remedy that fire in the belly with Maalox or Pepto, Sarah takes it to mean the time is right to buy a house in Arizona and get on the bus. She said that the bus tour will serve as a reminder "who we are and what Americans stand for."

Scary thought, eh? We need an illiterate hockey-mom who quit a job less than halfway through the term to tell us who we are? If that is the case, "we" are in deep doo-doo. But the fundamental issue is that neither the Mavericky one nor any of the announced and/or unannounced Republican presidential candidates are talking to me. If I accept Mrs. Palin's premise, I have to imagine her telling me what Americans stand for amounts to respecting someone who is a quitter, who shoots wild animals from airplanes and helicopters, names her kids with nonsensical names, like Trig and Track, and, if I'm not mistaken, absconded with campaign funds the last time around to clothe herself in Manhattan finery. She better think this through before giving up her gig at Fox News. As it is, she has a movie coming out. IMAX? I doubt it... YouTube, more likely.

The AP article surmised that Mrs. Palin is looking at the current field and concludes, "why not me?"

The Kinkster (right) with Will Smith and Bill Clinton

Why not, indeed. The last person I recall saying that while running for office was the inestimable Richard "Kinky" Friedman. Actually, the Kinkster's tagline was "Why the hell not?" Unfortunately, Texans took him as seriously as Groucho and voted instead for Rick Perry. More on him n a minute.

Yesterday, Mrs. Palin photo-opped her way into the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride and rally. One could say her appearance was less than welcome by some of the participants.

Sarah Palin on the Stealing Thunder tour

Why just a few weeks ago, Newsweek ran a teaser placed above the publication's name. "Is Sarah Palin Over?"

Just when you thought it was safe...

She's baack!

* * *

No one is terribly concerned about my personal fave, Rick Santorum. I am a little saddened that he is not being taken seriously... yet. Before this whole thing shakes out, Rick may look damned good.

Newt certainly doesn't. Between his marriages, his infidelities, his flip-flopping on the Paul Ryan Medicare movement, Newt is just not being taken seriously.

Separated at birth?

Ah, and then there's former and closeted preacher, former governor, Fox News provocateur and bass player, Mike Huckabee. He has decided his "fair and balanced" gig is more better than being president. Somewhere down the line, Chuck Norris bailed as Mike's number one fan, replaced by inimitable Ted Nugent. Now, I have nothing against Mr. Nugent, other than the fact that the best thing he ever did was "Baby, Please Don't Go" with the Amboy Dukes. Actually, the picture below is Ted grooving out with Mike on bass, playing Ted's mega-hit, "Cat Scratch Fever."

Jammin' with Ted

I make the pussy purr with

The stroke of my hand

They know they gettin' it from me

They know just where to go

When they need their lovin man

They know I do it for free

Uh, Pastor Mike...? You should be ashamed of yourself.

Mike is out, but Rudy and Ricky are in the wings. It's like an off-night on the Ed Sullivan show.

Least likely to receive the nomination...

most likely to bow out before getting in, etc.

What am I thinking?

Which brings me to Texas Governor Rick Perry.

The mere fact that Mr. Perry didn't take the above mentioned Kinky Friedman's run for the governorship seriously is a huge negative. He may be a Te-Party fave for exactly the reasons I find him and his policies so detestable.

Lone Star Search winner.

I don't hold Mr. Perry's rugged good looks against him. He could be in a Cohen Brothers film or a character in a Cormac MacCarthy book. Rick Perry-- somewhere between Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. He is the best–and the most obvious–that we can hope for. A good looking, empty suit. According to www.ontheissues.org, Governor Perry is against federal funding for abortion, supports the equal rights amendment and the amendment preventing same-sex marriage. He opposes any restrictions on gun control, which seems to be less than a very smart policy, considering an alarming number of the guns bought in Texas are used during the commission of crimes in Mexico. In 2002, he had overseen the execution of a Mexican citizen, despite pleas from then President Vicente Fox. Also in 2002, he vetoed the ban on executing mentally retarded inmates. He is one of the governors in favor of citizens having to show photo I.D.'s in order to vote. Oh, and did I mention the guy's full of shit? In November, he emphatically stated he would not run for President.

Perhaps fate and the unpredictability of the race will set things right. Still, I've got my money on the other Rick... Santorum. No one else provides such slapstick over the top humor. But, wait... I forgot Michele Bachmann! No worries. There'll be time...

Maybe I'll be a Zionist.

2011-05-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

opposing points of view

Tom Wolfe coined the term, the “Me Decade” in a piece he wrote in New York Magazine, extrapolating the line from the Clairol ads of the day, “If I have one life to live, let me live it as a… ”

I don’t necessarily want to be a blonde. Maybe I’ll be a Zionist. It seems like the time is right. Although, if I don’t get on the bus now, I may miss the opportunity. The chance to become a zealous supporter of Israel through Zionist eyes doesn’t come around every day. Listening to the rants of Ahmadinejad or watching Inglorious Basterds get the juices flowing. Or, more recently, the posts and comments of an Irish woman named Anna on Facebook.

Facebook can be the “six degrees of separation” gone terribly wrong. I know someone who knows someone who idolizes Sarah Palin and still doesn’t believe the president was born in Hawaii.

In this case, it is someone I met in Salem who, along with her husband, publish an online newspaper. I talked to them about writing about the gangs in Salem. We had a lively conversation and I never saw them again. When I got on Facebook, I friended them and the virtual newspaper. On the eve of Israeli president Netanyahu visiting the United States, our president spoke in favor of asking the Israelis to relinquish the West Bank, which they had taken over after winning the 6 Day war of 1967. To Netanyahu, it is simply not a topic to discuss. And this is where Anna comes in…

Under “Basic information” on her Facebook page, where damned near everyone else writes a little bit of puffery about themselves, Anna wrote:

“FREE GAZA... There will only be peace when the Jews leave. They do not belong on Arab land.

They are committing GENOCIDE everyday they are there. They have proven with all the ethnic cleansing and wars that they have no respect for Palestinians.

. . . thanks to all decent peaceloving Palestinians who are suffering so much right now.”

Ah, Hamas children... they blow up so fast.

Really? That's what you want people to know about you, first and foremost?

My heart goes out to all the peaceloving Palestinians, particularly the ones who dress their kids up in explosives. Maybe Anna hasn’t read the Hamas Covenant (or Charter), issued in 1988. According to Wikipedia, the Covenant “outlines the organization's position on many issues, and identifies Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and declares its members to be Muslims who "fear God and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors." The charter calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and the obliteration or dissolution of Israel."

Anna lists as one of her favorite books, “Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.” And on May 18, she commented on Facebook that “Israelis are pure evil.”

So I’ve decided, rather than call this Irish Jihadist what she is in terms of Middle English, without any substance behind it, I would read up on my Israeli-Palestinian history. I’ve ordered three books on the subject. One claims to be unbiased. Another is clearly pro-Israel. The third is a collection of pieces, so it may be more balanced than the other two. I feel a little like Captain Renault in Casablanca, when he drops the bottle of Vichy water into the trash and kicks the can. My Judaism has lain dormant for most of my life. What there was of it was more traditional than religious, more custom than ritual. But if what Anna buys into and spews is representative of even a dozen others, it is dangerous, and far too reminiscent of events and attitudes of the past. Yes, those events and attitudes.

Now, of course, I don’t really want to be a Zionist. Even some Israelis don’t want to be Zionist nor do they particularly like what they stand for. But, at the heart of it, Zionism is simply “the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland.” Zionism takes many forms: Labor Zionism, Liberal Zionism, Nationalist Zionism, Religious Zionism, Green Zionism and so on. In 1975, the U.N. general assembly passed a resolution that designated Zionism as "a form of racism and racial discrimination." The resolution was repealed in 1991. By the way, the topic of accepting "Palestine" into the U.N. is being discussed. They are requesting membership if there is no peace with them and Israel by September. And who said there's no such thing as Palestinian comedy? Within the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Zionism is viewed by critics as a system that fosters apartheid and racism. The critics are, no doubt Arab. Wikipedia points out iin their page on Zionism that it “is dedicated to fighting antisemitism. Some Zionists believe antisemitism will never disappear (and that Jews must conduct themselves with this in mind), while others perceive Zionism as a vehicle with which to end antisemitism.”

All of which is to say that one needs to look past the labels and epithets and see people and their groups for what they are. Anna may be right– there may be some peaceloving Palestinians. Both of them may be very nice people. Then, there are the rest. I say that with an obvious tongue-in-cheek. Anna doesn't. From her words, she seems deadly serious, with an emphasis on 'deadly.' The thing is, there must be thousands–no, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands–who feel the way Anna does. I don't know if her comments are directed at all Jews or just the Israelis. Rarely is the distinction made. Did I mention I am Jewish? To paraphrase Jon Stewart, I'm not really a Jew... I'm Jew-ish. I am Jew Lite. But there are certain images indelibly etched in my mind that neither time nor tolerance will erase. When I went to Hebrew School, ostensibly to study for my bar-mitzvah, I had a teacher who had numbers tattooed on his arm. The girl of my dreams in high school was forbidden to date me because I was Jewish. I was assigned to a room in the dorm my freshman year in school with a kid from Sewickley, Pennsylvania who had never seen a Jew before and was driven to stab me or throw me from the nearest window in our room on the 16th floor. And like the hundreds of thousands of Anna's, there are hundreds of thousands of Jews (or Jew-Lites, if you prefer), who have had close encounters with the holocaust, brushes with anti-semitism, and feelings of persecution. The stereotype is nerdy, over-achieving and most of all, sublimating... sucking up and keeping a lid on it. There have been books written on the subject. But I digress. The topic is the hate thrust upon Israelis and Jews for things they have and have never done.

And this is where you should drop the needle down on "Neighborhood Bully," on Bob Dylan's Infidels album.

I will follow up on this topic once I gain insight and the necessary background that will invariably reinforce my dislike of the people like Anna and their ignorant, misdirected hatred.

I SUPPORT RICK SANTORUM ;-P... continued.

2011-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Santorum: McCain doesn't understand interrogation

BY DONNA CASSATA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Tuesday that Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years enduring brutal treatment at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, doesn't know how effective waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques can be. The Republican presidential contender insisted the tactics led the United States to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a speech last week that waterboarding al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, did not provide information that led to bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

McCain said he asked CIA Director Leon Panetta for the facts, and that the hunt for bin Laden did not begin with fresh information from Mohammed. In fact, the name of bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, came from a detainee held in another country.

"Not only did the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not provide us with key leads on bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed, it actually produced false and misleading information," McCain said.

In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday, Santorum said McCain was wrong.

Harvard grad and right-wingnut Hugh Hewitt,

broadcasting from an undisclosed location (his basement).

"Everything I've read shows that we would not have gotten this information as to who this man was if it had not been gotten information from people who were subject to enhanced interrogation," Santorum said. "And so this idea that we didn't ask that question while Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was being waterboarded, he (McCain) doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works.

"I mean, you break somebody, and after they're broken, they become cooperative. And that's when we got this information. And one thing led to another, and led to another, and that's how we ended up with bin Laden," said Santorum.

He added: "Maybe McCain has better information than I do, but from what I've seen, it seems clear but for these cooperative witnesses who were cooperative as a result of enhanced interrogations, we would not have gotten bin Laden."

In the House, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the Intelligence committee, said the Justice Department should stop investigating CIA interrogators for alleged abuse of detainees under the Bush administration because their work was a "vital part of the chain" that led to the successful raid on bin Laden's hideout.

The Justice Department had no comment.

I SUPPORT RICK SANTORUM ;-P

2011-05-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The former senator/Fox commentator is a deeply and publicly religious man. He may even believe he is a gift from God. And in that assessment, I couldn’t agree more. The guy is a gift. I am sure all the president’s men think so. Former senator Santorum is right up there–classified as a gift from God–along side half-governor Palin and “The Donald.”

Many pundits and right wingnut radio pretty much declared Mr. Santorum the winner of this week’s South Carolina Republican candidate debate. Fox, the host of the debate, declared Ron Paul the winner. “examiner.com” declared Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain the “unofficial” winner. Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty was cranky more of the “candidates” chose not to participate. He was referring to Mitt Romney, but where was half-governor Palin, Michel Bachmann… and The Donald? Be thankful for small favors. Any of those three could suck the air out of the room… and Tom Pawlenty with them.

But back to our “gift from God” for a minute: In 2004, sex columnist Dan Savage launched a website and related campaign that defined “Santorum” as “the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.” Savage’s campaign was-and continues to be-so successful that any subsequent Google search on “Santorum” brings up the www.spreadingsantorum.com as the top link. The second highest link is Wikipedia, where “Santorum” is also defined as shitty spooge. Dan Savage, (no relation to Doc Savage, aka Michael Weiner) began his merry gay prankster campaign in response to former senator Santorum’s 2004 assertion that 2004 assertion that allowing same-sex marriage would lead to bestiality or, as Santorum put it, “man on dog.”

(http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/50052.html#ixzz1LmnkbAnW)

Homophobia should not be a dealbreaker for one running for president. No doubt, there are many Americans who probably agree with Santorum. For that matter, they may also agree with his statement during the debate (which he repeated in a post-debate interview with sympathetic blockhead, Sean Hannity.

“If you look at what President Obama has done right in foreign policy… it has been a continuation of Bush policies.” Santorum stated, adding, "He's done right by finishing the job in Iraq. He's done right by trying to win in Afghanistan. Those were existing policies that were in place." He continued, "What President Obama has done on his watch, the issues that have come up while he has been president, he's gotten it wrong strategically very single time."

Hmmm. Maybe Santorum could have alternate definitions. In addition to being a “frothy mixture,” it could also be a noun, synonymous with “liar” and/or “delusional simpleton.” erhaps, one could have a “Santorum,” which would mean a teeth whitening and brain reduction.

I need not go through a list of President Obama’s historic accomplishments since he’s been in office. Google it. They’re all there, and more... for example, what (or who) do we attribute the job growth that was reported on by the AP Friday?

Hiring now at fastest pace since 2006

WASHINGTON – American companies are on a hiring spree. Businesses delivered a jolt of strength to the economy by creating 268,000 jobs in April, the biggest monthly total in more than five years. The gains were solid across an array of industries, even beleaguered construction.

It was the third month in a row of at least 200,000 new jobs. The private sector has added jobs for 14 consecutive months. Even a slight rise in the unemployment rate to 9 percent appears to be a quirk.

The job growth was better than economists expected and perhaps the strongest sign yet that what they call a "virtuous cycle" has taken hold: When people spend more, corporate earnings rise, leading to more hiring and then more spending.

Companies have added more than 200,000 jobs for three months in a row.

… Retailers reported strong April sales, partly because Easter fell later than usual but also because people appear to be more willing to spend. Auto companies say sales are brisk. And factories have expanded production this year at the fastest pace in a quarter-century.

JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer – Fri May 6, 7:03 pm ET

No one is claiming credit for this. Maybe President Obama, fresh off his victory lap for having Public Enemy #1 killed on his watch, should (duly) take the credit. It sure ain’t anything Bush did. Nor, for that matter, can Representatives Cantor, Boehner and (economic policy architect) Paul Ryan claim credit. While their “Path to Prosperity” espouses stimulating the economy with a commitment to less government spending and even lower taxes for the rich, jobs have increased and the market is going strong under the Obama administration. Spread the good news…

And let Santorum run… Support his canidacy. Encourage him to keep talking mealy-mouthed gibberish. Let the wingnuts see him as the voice of the sleeper cells of stupidity in this country. I'm thinking, a vote for Rick Santorum is a vote for Barak Obama. Do I need to break that down for you? Santorum, as in divisive.

Meanwhile, the rest of us need to stay awake, stay focused and, to paraphrase W, “stay the course.”

P-A-L-I-N spells moron.

2011-05-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Boy, I hate going back to the same tired well, filled with stagnant one-liners and flippancy that falls flatter than a badly baked soufflé. But why should I not take the obvious. It's like a gift. Late-night talk show hosts and the likes of Jon Stewart absolutely love when things like this happen. Stupidity is funny. Repeated stupidity is really funny. Or sad, depending on your perspective. Take the bit from Saturday night's White House Press Corps Dinner. You would have thought after her debacle over her reading material with Katie Couric, (the Perky One), Mrs. Palin would have gotten an answer together. Uh-unh... not our Sarah. Today's Huffington Post reports:

Stump the half-governor-- a really easy game.

Sarah Palin had a Katie Couric moment over the weekend during the White House Correspondents Dinner festivities.

At the MSNBC after party, NBC's blog NBCU Direct asked several party attendees the following question: Who do you think is the most influential journalist today?

But while most of the attendees had no problem coming up with answers (Eliot Spitzer said Brian Williams, as did Andrea Mitchell, while SNL's Bill Hader went for The New Yorker's David Grann), Palin fumbled when asked.

"Oh my goodness, that's a great question," she said, before turning to her husband Todd and asking for his input.

When Todd also balked, Palin came back and said, "Um, gosh, that's a great question, I have to think about it, OK? Because there are many."

Does Guns & Ammo count?

As Palin walked away from the camera, she ran into her Fox News pal Greta Van Susteren, and then turned back to the NBC cameras to shout, "Greta Van Susteren is the most influential journalist!"

• • •

Yesterday, stupid turned to snarky when, speaking in Colorado, Mrs. Palin pretty much ignored the facts, and the history and credited George Bush for the killing of Osama Bin Laden. According to AP, "In delivering a speech in Colorado on Monday night, Sarah Palin reacted to the death of Osama bin Laden and the path taken by the country to achieve the accomplishment.

According to multiple reports, Palin acknowledged President Barack Obama in her remarks, though not by name. She did, however, offer her thanks and appreciation to his predecessor George W. Bush.

"Yesterday was a testament to the military's dedication in relentlessly hunting down the enemy during many years of war," Palin said. "And we thank our president. We thank president Bush."

* * *

Is it any wonder why Newsweek is running a teaser on the cover of this week's issue asking, "Is Sarah Palin over?"

My answer is, "I hope not." Between her, Bachmann and Trump, I don't know which I find more amusing. Oh, and then there's word that Sharon Angle will be running for a house seat.

Einstein and Imbeciles

2011-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

What is it? Einstein, I think, defined insanity as doing the same thing and expecting different results. I knew right-wingnut radio would do some sort of blow-back or reverse spin on the killing of Bin Laden, but when I actually heard it, I was shocked way beyond disappointment. I heard lunacy, lies and libel all in the same sentence. And this was from just one of the nuts. You know, the one who sounds like a neutered nut. Mark Levin. I shall refrain from the whack pronunciation. Oops.

The testosterone-deficient Mr. Levin said that the president did nothing and should get no credit for killing Bin Laden. It was the military, pure and simple. Oh, and beyond that-- get this, the operation was a clear vindication of George Bush, Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby and Don Rumsfeld. The operation was a result of Gitmo and advanced interrogation procedures. Really?

Some people kvetch that blogs are nothing more than an excuse to rant tirelessly at some obvious target-- in this case, right wingnut hate radio. And, the problem is??? This is my opinion and you can take it for what it is: Mark Levin is a treasonous, goading moron, who is sponsored and paid to prattle racist faux anger, wrapped up in constitutional tinsel, for the unwashed masses, who have been told they are the rightful inheritors of the American Dream. God, it makes me sick. He and the rest of them should have to proclaim their membership to SAG and AFTRA and just admit they are what remains of the Catskills and stand-up. They are bad lounge acts... worse than that, actually, because they seem to actually believe the shit they spew. Levin and Savage are, for me the worst. Savage? Don't fucking get me started. Such an obvious Lenny Bruce wannabe. Feh!

We will look back on these days and wonder how the fuck we could have just let them slip away.

The decline and fall of civilization, continued.

2011-04-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

So, today’s top story is the president releasing his long-form birth certificate, with the aim of ending the “birther” (non) issue. Guess what? It ain’t over. Despite the upcoming Royal Wedding that will undoubtedly crowd the news for the weekend, right-wingnut radio and real estate mogul Donald Trump will try keeping the issue alive. For the moment, “The Donald” is glowing in accomplishing what no one else was able to do. He, and he alone, flushed out the long-form birth certificate. But he is not satisfied. The unannounced candidate for president wants the president’s school transcripts, never mind that no president has ever released school records. The bar is tilted a bit for president Obama.

Elsewhere in the story…

Former White House press secretary and Obama confidante Robert Gibbs is throwing down the gauntlet on Donald Trump.

"Donald Trump said he’d release his tax returns as soon as the president released his birth certificate, so the ball is in his court now and I know everybody is anxious to see his tax returns over the last 10 years," Gibbs told POLITICO.

Trump first floated the trade-off in an interview with ABC earlier this month.

"Maybe I’m going to do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate," said the real estate mogul, whose wealth has long been a matter of dispute. "I may tie my tax returns [to the birth certificate]. I’d love to give my tax returns."

At a Wednesday morning news conference in New Hampshire following the president’s release of his birth certificate, Trump repeatedly ignored questions about whether he'd fulfill his pledge, POLITICO’s Maggie Haberman reports.

(from politico.com)

While we wait for The Donald to announce his candidacy on the final episode of Celebrity Apprentice, let’s ponder these eloquent words, in a letter to the editor to the Oregonian from a Mr. Dennis Lively, from Tualatin, Oregon:

Politics as entertainment

The election run has just barely started and already I am so discouraged that there are Americans who feel The Donald makes any sense as a candidate for the highest office in the land. A man who can't come to terms with his own hairline is trustworthy?

Just seeing the lies and base behavior makes me wonder how he can be the favorite of anyone. The tea party folks who claim they own "basic American values" must see this overbearing clown for what he is, or do they? Is there any hope that we can elect someone who understands the difficulty of the job? Next we will change our election process to a reality show like "Dancing with the Stars," and the winner will be chosen by call-in votes.

American politics has become a joke, and the voters are the clowns.

I could not have said it better.

Victoria Taft

Portland's own suburban mom suicide bomb talk-show radio hostess

One of my least favorite right-wingut radio personalities is Portland’s own Victoria Taft. I have written about her before. I asked her to shut up back then. I’m asking again. Please. You are going beyond embarrassing yourself… you are revealing yourself to be a humorless racist, ironically wrapping your despicable anti-American attacks toward the president in the American flag. I caught a snippet of her diatribe today. I tried calling in, got the wrong number and gave up. Which was a prudent thing. I was driving. It is illegal to use a cellphone is that manner while driving in Oregon. It also posed a health risk. I could have had a coronary trying to talk sense to Ms. Taft. Among the barbs she slung at the president is that he is not “one of us.” Hmmm. Really? And what exactly does that mean? Do we need to draw a picture on that one? She said, repeatedly, that the president hates America, even though he has reaped every benefit from being an American. Personally, I wonder why someone would campaign and spend gazillions of dollars to take on the most stressful job in the world if he “hated” the employer, the employees, customers and clients?

Take a breath, and head for the caves. The slingers of shit are advancing.

WORST CELEBRITY BASKETBALL FAN

2011-04-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

In mild fan attire.

The Boston Celtics swept the New York Knickerbockers in the first round of the NBA East playoffs. This is a glorious thing if only for the fact I don't have to watch Spike Lee until he shows up at a Yankees/Red Sox game.

For the last game of the series, (tonight), Mr. Lee wore a burnt orange porkpie hat with a wide band of deep lavender. Team colors, okay... but with the matching square cut sport coat and red and white polka-dot ascot, the guy like some Cab Calloway wannabe. Enough about Mr. Lee's sartorial splendor. The guy's seat is court side, on the floor. He evidently takes this to mean he can stand up, get on the court, call plays or time-out in the refs' faces. He was standing on the court!!! The only one standing on the court-- further onto the court than Knicks' coach Mike D'Atoni. Who the hell does he think he is? You don't do that! Take a lesson from the number one L.A. Lakers fan. Jack shows up in black, somber clothing. He's got his signature red-orange shades, okay. But he sits in his seat. He doesn't plant his feet on the court, waves his arms up and down like some guy flagging in a plane on the runway, calling plays.

Maybe he forgot he is a "fan" and not on the Knicks payroll. He does make a pretty pathetic cheerleader, who has clearly overstepped his bounds. It was reported in February that he had a confrontation with Kevin Garnett during a game in Madison Square Garden. “Garnett needs to calm the fuck down,” he continued. “There’s no reason he should be cursing at me the way he did the last game. So you can put that in the article. It was disrespectful and I would never do nothing like that to him.”

Think what you will about KG. He has been an all-star every season he has played in the NBA. He is a team player and, while no one disputes his on-court intensity, his contract does not stipulate he has to put up with confrontations with wealthy and self-important fans.

Maybe Mr. Lee is suffering from an identity crisis. Perhaps, he's deluded himself into believing he isn't a has-been in his chosen profession. He has long since stopped "Doing the Right Thing" and has become a sports groupie with the irritation level of an oversized gnat.

Spike... your 15 minutes are way over. Get into the cheap seats and... shut up.

More truth than you know.

2011-04-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Arizona Senator, John Kyl said on the senate floor, "If you want an abortion, you can go to Planned Parenthood, and that's well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does."

It seems that Mr. Kyl was only off by 87%. When it was pointed out to the senator that his math was beyond fuzzy, his office issued a statement. The senator's remark "was not intended to be a factual statement but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, an organization that receives millions in taxpayer dollars, does subsidize abortions."

Alas, the truth does come out. To a point, and to mostly deaf ears.

Maybe Paul Ryan can adopt this philosophy, too. Maybe he can come out and say his "path to prosperity "was not intended to be factual."

And so on.

It would be funny, if these teabagged dimwits weren't bulldozing the country into total disaster.

Sign we're approaching the apocalypse.

2011-04-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Baseball & Beatings--the season begins.

2011-04-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Being a Boston Red Sox fan is, for some, a choice. For others, like me, it is both a birthright and, like the pre-2004 Sox, a curse. I inherited my love for the team from my grandfather, who would watch them on the black & white, with Curt Gowdy doing the play-by-play. They were bums, then. The '50's were not the greatest decade for the team, but with a history going back to 1901, and a following that spans generations, you simply don't leave the Red Sox.

Before the season began last week, almost all prognosticators had the Red Sox as favorites to win the 2011 world series. Now, granted, there are 162 games for each team to play and so, losing three is not exactly a big hairy deal. Except when they are the first three of the season. Call it a bad omen or a fluke, an extension of spring training or a team that believes the press and gave it less than a 100%. Jon Lester is one of the best pitchers in the game. John Lackey has seen his best seasons already, and Clay Bucholz is a pitcher on the rise.

But they seemed unable to do anything with the Texas Rangers. They go up against the Cleveland Indians tomorrow for a series before heading to Fenway for their home opener, against those damn Yankees. Now, that'll will signify the real beginning of the season!

Suspected "Dodger Fans"

Just as being a Red Sox fan is in my blood, so is my dislike of the New York Yankees. However, that doesn't mean I would beat the living daylights out of someone for wearing a Yankees cap. Evidently, the rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants is a little more rabid. On opening day in L.A., two "fans" beat up three Giants fans in the parking lot, one bad enough to be in the hospital with what is being reported as a medically-induced coma. The suspects were described as Latino males, in the teens or 20's. The two had reportedly driven off with a 10 year-old in their car.

Two years ago, on opening day, a Giants fan was stabbed in the parking lot.

I wouldn't dignify the suspects by calling them fans. Nor would I rush to a Dodgers game. I love the game, but I am not willing to die for it.

The cost of freedom.

2011-03-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Fred Phelps is one of the most vile people on the planet. Certainly in America. He is referred to as reverend, but he is surely no man of God. He preaches hate and sends his extended family to taunt and torment, among others, grieving families at the funerals of sons and daughters who were killed in the service of their country. His children and grandchildren stand on the flag and hold up signs of hatred in plain view. And the laws of this land give them that right.

This is a sticky one. It came up before the Supreme Court this week and aside from a dissenting vote by Justice Alito, the despicable acts committed by the Westboro Baptist Church are protected by the first amendment.

A number of the "members" of the congregation are lawyers. Their reason for being seems to be being sued. I am not sure if they are compensated as defendants in the numerous suits filed against the "church" or if it's just a matter of face-time in the news. What ever the reason, they are horrible people, who should not have the right to be called a church. What do other Baptists say about them? Whatever. What they do is legal in the United States, and I suppose I'm glad for that. Otherwise, I probably couldn't write this.

The photograph was scanned from the front page of the Oregonian.

Evidence we are nearing the End of Days

2011-03-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

one of a series

This one is for Mort, who built a career out of skewering the Kennedys and using newspapers as props. He proved the axiom that you can't make this shit up.

The following are just from today's Oregonian.

The AP reported that "Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee suggested in a radio interview that President Barack Obama's childhood in Kenya shaped his wold view — even though Obama did not visit Kenya until he was in his 20's."

The article goes on, reporting that the "executive director of Huckabee's political action committee said the former governor misspoke." (italics are mine). Huckabee's "handler" is a guy named Hogan Gidley. And if that ain't a phony baloney moniker, I don't know what is.

The gaffs continue, with Hogie saying that Huckabee "meant to reference Obama's childhood in Indonesia, where he lived from age 5 to 10. Gidley din't explain the connection to the Mau Mau uprising."

What?

Y'all speak Obama?

On the same page of the paper a small piece reported that Anti-Obama groups set fundraising goal. This one is about two "advocacy groups" tied to "republican politcal guru," Karl Rove. My quotes. My disbelief. My disgust. The groups plan to raise $120 million to spend against President Barack Obama and other Democrats in 2012. They're calling themselves the "American Crossroads" and they appear not to be for anyone. I shouldn't be so snarky. I can clearly remember when the chant was "anyone but Bush."

The same section had a little piece about Newt Gingrich "poised to become the first top-tier Republican to take steps toward a presidential run..." The article concluded that a spokesman for Gingrich declined comment on the former speaker's plans. By the way, he converted to Catholicism after two divorces, one requested as his wife was lying in a hospital bed. Class act.

The next page had an article entitled, Georgia legislator pushes 'birther bill. The AP reports that "Georgia is the latest state to propose legislation that questions whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States." There are 10 other states that "have measures seeking more proof before his name is put on the 2012 ballot."

So, in essence, we now have blue states, red states and states of denial. The latter classification is applied to Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Connecticut, Indiana, Tennessee and Maine.

You're right. That's only nine. The article counted Nebraska twice.

What is it with Tennessee? Page 7 had an article reporting that they are "considering making it a felony to follow some versions of the Islamic code known as Shariah.

yuck.

And finally, the wire reports that "the bacteria that cause Legionnaire's disease were found a the Playboy mansion during an investigation into an illness that affected about 200 people who attended an event the last month."

Hmmm. Was the event in the grotto?

Fowl Play

2011-02-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

I don’t have a photograph, so you’re going to have to use your imagination. We have two white roosters. Their names are Henny and Harry. Harry is a little bigger than Henny. They get into fights and Henny always gets the worst of it. The other day, I was in the room we built behind the garage, and above the goat grotto. It’s my music room and kind of sanctuary. The other day, I went in and decided to play one of the acoustics. Usually, my back is to the north facing window. Sometimes I turn around and look out. I saw the two of them going at it. They thrust our their chests, thump against one another and then literally go for the throat... or the comb. As usual, Henny resembles nothing less than Jake LaMotta after a serious beating. His comb and wattle, usually cardinal red are spotted in black blood. But he keeps going at it. I turn around and try to play something. The next time I look out, I see Henny sitting in the deep grass by himself. Not dead but pretty damned defeated. I try to decide whether I should play “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” or go out and see if I can do anything for the overpowered rooster. I get through two verses and put the guitar in the stand and go outside.

One of Henny’s eyes are closed. His comb and wattle look much worse close up. He standing still but his neck is jerking back and forth like the flag of the pole in the hole at a golf course on a windy day. He offers little resistance when I pick him up. Very unlike a free-range rooster. But, what do I do with him?

I brought him into the garage and set up the dog crate, scratching the fender of my parked car in the process. I put down a little straw and placed him gently in the midst of it. I was like Jackie Gleason asking Mountain Rivera after the fight where he was.

“I’m in Pittsburgh and it’s raining.”

Henny stayed pretty much where I put him. I went up and got some paper towels and the hydrogen pyroxide. There was a thick blood snot hanging from Henny’s beak. I wiped it off and tried cleaning up his crown. He shrunk away in pain and irritation. Then I put him back in the generously fenced off area where he lives with about sixteen or so other chickens and three goats. I placed him in some of the taller grass, away from any other animals (at the moment). I didn’t know what else to do. Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.

Bea would know what to do. She came home and we decided we’d sequester Henny in the chicken area up the hill, that’s divided in half—with the coop on one side and the poultry penthouse on the other. Both were open at the moment–have been for months–and the inhabitants are about as free range as you can get, being a chicken. We place him in a dog crate outside in the half with the penthouse. That night he stayed locked up in the penthouse. At least he was safe from Harry and other predators, like raccoons. In the morning we trimmed the feathers on one of his wings to impeded his flying and set him loose in the penthouse half of the chicken area, keeping the chicken wire door locked. Well, chicken wire is not exactly solid and the chickens free to hang out on the other side of the fence tended to notice the new kid on the block. Schmellman–the oversized bard rock rooster with the horribly misshapen feet and Johnny Havlichick (son of Larry Bird) took exception to the white rooster with the bloody comb. They started squawking and try to get to Henny through the fence. Well, this wasn’t going to work.

We moved Henny back downstairs with Team Fabio, where he belongs. But we couldn’t just let him loose. He was now as good as James Caan after Kathy Bates hobbled him in Misery. He was easy game for Harry. Clearly, we hadn’t thought this through.

We still have the portable tractor that Bea ordered when we first got chickens. There were five at the time. It turned out two were roosters—Fabio and Schmellman. How that number grew to over two dozen is an issue of mystery, bewilderment and consternation. We slipped Henny into the screened in tractor, safe, for the time being, from the gawking girls, along with Harry, Chuck and Fabio. He’ll probably have to stay in there until his wing feathers grow back.

The inestimable Johnny Havlichick

"Shmelly" Schmellman

Meanwhile, we had inadvertently riled up Schmellman and Johnny. They started going at it. Now, Johnny Havlichick is the son of a banty. He’s not all that big himself. He’s pretty much a good guy and he takes care of his three sisters. But introducing a strange rooster into the mix got his juices going. Schmellman, being old and handicapped, is no match for the younger, faster, healthier Johnny. This morning, we found Schmellman bloodied on his comb and wattle and cut on one of his feet. All because I couldn’t let nature be and not intercede in the aftermath of Henny’s fisticuffs with Harry. We cleaned and dressed the cut on Schmellman’s foot and locked him into the penthouse half. Of course, everyone else in his team have full, untrimmed wings and can fly over and hang with him anytime. He just can’t get up and out.

Oh, yeah... that gulf.

2011-02-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Just in case you've forgotten, there was a fairly catastrophic oil spill about seven months ago. I know. So much has happened since then that you can't help but put the situation on, pardon the pun, the back burner. We need to look forward and not dwell on problems that occurred in the past. Like, for example, the republicans who want to eliminate the EPA and any other government regulators concerned with the air we breathe, the water we drink and the ground we plant our crops in. They continue to show their transparent allegiance to big business at any and all cost.

Google "BP Oil Spill" and the first thing that comes up are the BP sponsored sites, throwing the same line of crap that they did last May. Only now, it rings a little more hollow, if that's possible.

A little piece ran in yesterday's Oregonian, tucked away on page 7 or something. A link to the full article is below. The headline read, "Oil stuck at bottom of Gulf, scientist says."

"Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a scientist's video and slides that demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.

At a science conference in Washington, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn't.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco told reporters Saturday that "it's not a contradiction to say that although most of the oil is gone, there still remains oil out there."

Earlier this month, Kenneth Feinberg, the government's oil compensation fund czar, said based on research he commissioned he figured the Gulf of Mexico would almost fully recover by 2012 — something Joye and Lubchenco said isn't right.

"I've been to the bottom. I've seen what it looks like with my own eyes. It's not going to be fine by 2012," Joye told The Associated Press. "You see what the bottom looks like, you have a different opinion."

NOAA chief Lubchenco said "even though the oil degraded relatively rapidly and is now mostly but not all gone, damage done to a variety of species may not become obvious for years to come."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gsv8vJ45hWNxvco5tgcPE_iHt6dQ?docId=b0876e788169473cb4fbe2d7ff275ffb

Semantics. Mind games. Smoke and mirrors. This is a shameful situation all around. Shameful that a greedy company was allowed to drill in an unsafe location with an unproven procedure. Shameful that those who are to blame are not being held accountable--the claims against BP continue to drag on. Shameful for a government to have tried to gloss over the issue, gave insufficient initial response and too little follow-up. Shameful that one of the most important areas on the planet for sea life, fish, sea birds etc etc. has been destroyed.

And what about the clean-up after Katrina? Is that completely off the table now?

Farewell to the Colonel.

2011-02-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

We didn’t adopt Wallace as much as we had him thrust upon us.

A dark green minivan pulled up to our gate. A typically overweight pale skinned woman behind the wheel. Two typically overweight kids in tow. It was a Saturday morning and we were about top take our dogs for a walk.

“I see you have goats–”

“Uh huh–”

“Do you want another?”

“Well, we weren’t really thinking about it.”

“Well, I’m movin’ and I can’t have a goat where we’re movin’, so–”

“When are you moving?”

“Well, the truck’s s’posed to come in about four minutes.”

She said it deadpan. We were stunned. We walked the dogs up the hill, to woman’s house. She had been renting it. We found out later, she was going to be moving into a Habitat for Humanity house. It was almost a year later, we read about her in the local paper. She was being evicted from the Habitat house for not paying the less than four hundred dollars a month for the place. The rental truck showed up right behind us as we approached the house.

He was a mostly white goat, with amazing light amethyst colored eyes and the remnants of his horns. He looked to be malnourished. They called him Wallace and we saw no reason to change his name. He remained Wallace, or Wally. Sometimes, we called him the colonel, on account of his long, full beard that reminded us of Col. Sanders.

We walked him down the hill, pulling leafy branches off of the trees that hugged the road to entice him to keep walking in the direction of our house. He was starving, and being loose and free were also the things he was hungry for.

At first–no, actually, for most of the time he lived with us, he was not accepted by the O.G. The original goats– Arthur, Molly and Annabelle.

He gained weight and got as spoiled as the others. He loved apples and especially tortilla chips for snacks. He would line up by the fence that separated the goats from the vegetable garden and wait for us to give him the tomatoes that had fallen to the ground, or lettuce leaves.

This winter, his coat turned color. It grew in sparse and dark in places. He looked like he had mutton chops.

We didn’t know he was growing weak with age and weariness. Curious, but lately, Wally had been more affectionate than usual. He’d press his lips to my face and sometimes try to nibble at my forehead. He’d get a faraway look in those eyes. Kind of the look he had when I found him Sunday afternoon, lying on his side half in and half outside of the goat grotto. I tried to get him to stand up. I don’t know why but learned later that it was the right thing to do. Dr. Deitrich said that when a goat lies on his side like that he’s liable to bloat. He was going and there was nothing I–or anyone else–could do. We got him to where he was comfortable, or more comfortable, anyway. Dr. Deitrich came over. He saw the blood dripping out where pee should have been. He told us he thought maybe he had bladder stones, then he took an ultrasound. Wally’s bladder had ruptured. We gave the doctor the okay, cried a bit and caressed the old boy's face as he drifted off.

He’s off running, now. In a field thick with fresh, full grass. His smile is genuine and he is free. Truly free.

Republican Spending Slashers

2011-02-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

What Republicans are currently proposing will neither sit well with the squeamish… or the intelligent. According to various wire reports, Republicans have unveiled cuts in government spending that go to the heart of the administrations job-creating, clean energy and social programs. For example, they want to slash the home heating assistance program and federal block grants that help cities with their current budget challenges. So, the folks under two feet or so of snow need not bother turning on their heat. Boehner & Co. would rather you freeze to death. Oh, and Detroit? Forget that revitalization you’re experiencing. The next sound you hear is the bottom falling out. One of my particular favorites is the cutting nearly $760 million from the administration’s request for the WIC nutrition program that provides support to pregnant women and their children. These are the same men of compassion and concern that want to overturn Roe v. Wade. The conclusion is inescapable: we will neither allow you to end your pregnancy nor will we ensure you remain healthy during it. Oh, and we’re not all that interested in your baby being healthy, either.

Republicans on the House energy committee are proposing to block the EPA from reducing greenhouse gases. And they want to reverse the agency’s finding that climate change is dangerous. And why not? Climate change is a myth, perpetrated by unproven science and greedy whack-jobs like Al Gore. All the Democrats want to do is regulate, regulate, regulate. And for what--to support faulty findings and put a stranglehold on the energy industry? To paraphrase Mr. Boehner, “chicken crap.”

It makes perfect sense for the Republicans to want to strip the EPA’s ability to curb pollution and reduce emissions. It costs too damned much. Representative Fred Upton (R-Michigan), the author of the proposed legislation, was quoted as saying the EPA’s planned regulations would “boost the cost of energy, not just for homeowners and car owners, but for businesses both large and small.” It is interesting to note that Representative Upton received almost $39,000 in campaign contributions from EnergySolutions, Inc., and over $24,000 from Ford Motor Company. He also received almost $23,000 from CMS Energy and over $19,000 from DTE Energy.

Bad science, indeed.

It was fun while it lasted.

2011-02-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

news item:

Palin, Daughter try to trademark names

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sarah Palin is attempting to trademark her name ahead of a possible 2012 presidential run.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November to register the trademark.

The federal office is seeking more information and examples of usage. The office is also seeking additional details for the application submitted in September by Palin's daughter, Bristol, a contestant on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" last year.

Palin's attorney, John J. Tiemessen, said Friday that he has six months to provide the information.

"We are preparing to respond to all their questions for both," he said.

Herewith are examples of possible usage:

This just in...

An application by Sarah Palin to trademark her name has been turned down by US officials.

Mike Bradbury, Sky News Online

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate filed paperwork with the US Patent and Trademark Office in November.

But it emerged over the weekend that the application to register her name for "motivational speaking services" has been rejected.

According to the official record, the bid, filed by her lawyer, was rejected on the grounds that she failed to personally sign the application.

The records also show that two examples she had given supporting her application were "not acceptable".

Her application specimens were a story from Fox News saying she had been hired as a contributor for the network and postings about herself on Facebook.

According to the official record the specimens "are not acceptable because they do not show use of the applied-for mark in connection with any of the services specified in the application".

An application to trademark the name of Palin's daughter Bristol was also filed on November 5 by their family lawyer Thomas Van Flein.

That has also been refused because it did not have a signature.

- - -

Another great news story and late-night punchline sucked into the vortex and gone into the darkened halls of trivia, all because they didn't sign the applications!

In praise of Pinky.

2011-02-05T16:23:00.001-08:00

I was going to write (yet again) about Sarah Palin. She gave the keynote speech at the tribute to Ronald Reagan yesterday, and, well… she said some Sarah-like things. But, you know, I’ve written a lot about Mrs. Palin and, she has never said a word about me, kind or otherwise. The net is filled with up-to-the-minute reports, opinions and critiques of the former governor’s speech. I wouldn’t be adding anything. You know where I stand—suffice it to say, Ron Reagan was kinder than I would be in calling Mrs. Palin a “soap-opera.”

Instead, let me turn my attention, and hopefully yours, to Pinky, aka Miss Pinky Stinksalot.

Our friend Dogfish Donna found Pinky in Los Feliz, somewhere near Hollywood Boulevard and Hillhurst. Clearly, she had been dumped. Her people may have known she was sick and in need of an operation. Maybe they just got tired of her. How anyone could get tired of Pinky is beyond me. Donna brought Pinky, who at that point was a Jane Doe, to the vet and learned she was probably about 12 years old and had bladder stones the size of a small developing nation. For a girl her size, they had to have been giving her a tough time. Donna conferred with the other animal rescuers–my wife and another woman–wondering if Pinky should have the surgery. Twelve dog years are a lot more people years, but they decided. Pink had the surgery. Being that Donna and her husband had a house full of crazy, big rescued dogs asked us if we’d take care of Pinky until she recuperated and could be adopted out. Actually, Donna asked my wife. My acquiescence is unspoken and taken for granted in most animal rescue matters, which is how we’ve no doubt ended up with four dogs and seven cats.

My wife insists that animals should have human names and, with one exception, the cats, dogs, chickens and goats do. The exception is Pinky. Not that I am disparaging the late Pinky Lee, whose real name was Pincas Leff and got his stage name while in vaudeville. Our little Pinky got her name from the color of her belly, which was shaved clean when we got her. In all probability, she wasn’t named until after a failed adoption attempt.

Christine Chavez, Pinky and me

My wife used to put on monthly pet adoption events in the Wells Fargo parking lot in Atwater Village the first Sunday of each month with Dogfish Donna and the other animal rescue-minded women. On the Sunday in question, Bea left early to set up and told me when to bring Pinky over, so that she could be put on display in the hopes of finding her a loving, permanent home. At that point, we already had three dogs, one of which was Mikey–another that Donna had rescued from living on the street. Do you see a trend here?

I brought Pinky to the adoption event. Christine Chavez was there that day. She is Cesar Chavez's daughter and at the time was running for state senate. She is most definitely a chip off the old block and a good sport. And so was Pinky. She was dressed in her signature pink sweater and took to the "adopt me" sign with good natured indifference–Pinky, that is, not Christine. She was paraded around for all of ten minutes when my wife looked at me with maternal resignation. "Take her home," she said. Pinky has been with us ever since.

That summer, Pinky sat and watched the Red Sox games beside me on the sofa. We even got her a pink Red Sox T-shirt. Her hair grew and she got comfortable and healthy. She held her own in our little pack. She may have been spoiled before we took her in. We certainly didn't correct any of her self-centered ways. She has her moments of being irate and sometimes she pulls her little psycho-dog act of running from one end of the house to the other, slip-sliding on the hardwood, with a look of grim determination. She has quite a personality. To look at her, you would never think of her as a guy dog, but I love her to pieces.

Pinky with her sister, Daphne

Pinky, with her sister, Chuckie

Pinky must be about 16 now. She lost her hearing a while ago. She's lost most of her sight. She still does her psycho-dog, but sometimes she runs into the wall. She stares into space and sometimes gets lost when she goes outside to pee. She has kind of a fermented dog smell and has had a bunch of bad teeth pulled. My heart breaks a little every time I see her not knowing quite where she is. My wife and I sometimes fight for holding rights to Pinky when we watch TV. The other morning I held her to my chest and she fell back to sleep on me. I swear my tinnitus subsided for those few minutes. A peaceful, quiet calm took over. I know she is in the post-golden years and hasn't got many more miles on the road of life. But, aside from a tumor near her heart and lumps and little growths here and there, she's healthy. She barks indignantly when its mealtime and sleeps like a log in front of the wood pellet stove. I'm not sure what I give her, but I know what she gives me.

The King's Speech, and mine

2011-02-01T20:35:00.001-08:00

I saw the King’s Speech Sunday. Great film. Colin Firth was simply extraordinary, showing restraint, gravity and the inner weight that a stutterer carries every moment. He was no Fish Called Wanda over-the-top comedy. He didn’t play it Porky Pig style. He inhabited the constant anxiety a stutterer carries within, fearing the without.

The film brought back many memories for me. No, I was never asked to ascend to the throne nor did I ever change my name to George. It’s always been Barry. Kind of like Bertie, in the sense of Ba-Ba-Ba-Barry. I was a stutterer.

Kids laughed at me. People thrust pads of paper and pencils in my face, imploring me to write down what I couldn’t say. My father and a business associate in the shoe business called me FD, or derivations thereof. It stood for Factory Defect. Nice, huh? I suppose it could have been worse. He could have called me Fuckup. The telephone was my enemy. I hated it. It compelled me to speak on demand. I would do all kinds of bizarre physical moves, unseen by the person on the other end of the phone, trying to push the words out, jerking my head, blinking my eyes, trying to utter a sound while taking in a breath. Oh, I was a sight. Later, I learned you can’t talk when you have no breath in your lungs. Kind of obvious, I guess. But that didn’t stop me from trying. I would bounce on consonants, often not getting past them. I, like Bertie, smoked. My doctor never told me it would calm me down. I found myself changing brands as each name became too difficult to say to the person behind the counter. They were all difficult. I guess I smoked M-M-M-M-Ma-Ma-Ma-Marlboros the longest. Ionce dated a girl in college who, when it was time to meet the folks, she asked if I would please not stutter. If only. I went to college in New York, the place of fast talkers… literally. They talk fast and expect you to talk just as fast. It was a little like hell. My father wanted me to get a job while I was in school. He could have helped me into a job in the shoe department at A&S or Ohrbach’s or somewhere. Can you picture it? Better yet, can you hear it? Mu-mu-mu-mumumumum-may I help yuh-yuh-yuh-yuh-you? Customers would run as if I was contagious. Actually, I worked in my father’s shoe store in Newton, Massachusetts summers between college. Once I tried waiting on a woman. Her reaction to me was, “Christ, they’ll hire anyone to work here.” I graduated and moved back to Boston. I studied advertising design and graphics. I was going to be a Mad Man. Or, should I say, a Ma-Ma-Ma-Mad Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Man. I interviewed with the top creative director at the biggest agency in Boston. He liked my work, but told me I’d never amount to anything with “that stutter.” His words. “You’ll never be an art director.” I nodded and left his office with my big, black portfolio. I wanted to toss it into the nearest garbage can, buy a box of pencils, stick them in a can and beg, like a blind man on the street corner. I was handicapped. Some people thought it was worse. They thought I was a retard.

I did go into advertising and design—never the top jobs, but jobs nonetheless. But I never did make it to art director while I stuttered.

Past tense.

No one knows exactly what causes stuttering. There are plenty of theories. The latest is that there is a stuttering gene. And, there is no cure for stuttering. But I, or rather a friend of my mother’s, found the next best thing. It was over 37 years ago when the Today show did a feature on the Hollins College Research Institute, and the work Dr. Ronald Webster was doing. At the time, their Fluency Shaping Program was fairly new. But, from the get-go, it had achieved amazing results. He had developed a program based on the tenets of behavior modification. He didn’t particularly care what the causation was. He attacked the symptoms by breaking down the participant’s speech, correcting it and building it back up again. A few months after hearing about it, they had an opening and I drove down to Roanoke, Virginia. Rather than boring you with all the details, the bottom line is that when I first arrived at Hollins for the three-week program, I was diagnosed as 66% disfluent, meaning simply that two thirds of the time you couldn’t understand what I was saying. When I left, I was 99% fluent. To be honest, I had a bit of a setback during the first year after going through the program. I attended a reunion of people who had gone through the program. That helped snap me right back to fluency. For all intents and purposes, I have not stuttered since.

Hollins’ HRCI has a pretty amazing record. They run at about a 91% success rate. I am confident it would be higher if their students would do the follow-up “maintenance.” I have heard some stutterers say that the HRCI is not for everyone. I agree. It is only for stuttererers who want to stop stuttering.

I am not unique. I don’t think I am particularly special. To paraphrase John Mellancamp, I’m the same old jerk that I’ve been for years. But I don’t stutter.

The Oregonian ran a piece about a stutterer in Eugene and tangentially, the National Stuttering Association. I don’t like the NSA. I abhor their philosophy and have for years, since I encountered them when they were headquartered in Orange County. I approached them to speak and try to inspire some of the people attending their support groups. My advice was not particularly welcome.

The NSA's approach can be summed up in a quote form Sheryl Hunter, who, according to the article that ran January 19, (Stutterers hope new film 'The King's Speech' sheds light on communication disorder), sits on the board of directors for the National Stuttering Association and said that, “the conventional wisdom now is that if someone stutters, let them.”

Bullshit. That may be conventional but it is certainly not wisdom.

No one is comfortable being seen as handicapped, special or in need of “acceptance” by others.

I wrote a letter to The Oregonian in response to their article. Strangely, it wasn’t published. In part, I said that Ms. Hunter’s statement that "A lot of therapy is designed to make people feel almost comfortable with it" is simply bad therapy.

I corresponded with one of the stutterers featured in the article. She talked about support groups, which the NSA advocates. "Support groups are support groups" she wrote me. But stutterers are not recovering heroin addicts or alcoholics. They don’t need someone reassuring them that their disorder is socially acceptable, or should be. It isn't. I never liked being laughed at and no amount of support from similarly afflicted people could minimize that.

I think that some people who stutter are so self-identified with it that they are afraid to let it go. They don’t want to lose it. I wrote to the paper and the woman who was profiled in the article about the success rate of the HCRI. She responded that she knew people who went through it but reverted to stuttering after a few weeks or months. So did I. And then I compelled myself to practice my new speech more vigorously. She said that the HCRI program is not for everyone. She’s right. It’s only for people who stutter who want to stop stuttering.

I apologize to anyone who finds my tone offensive, overly brusque or impatient. I’m also impatient with Christian fundamentalists who refuse medical attention for their children, believing that God will heal them from whatever ails them. When the child dies, they say, well, it was God’s will. And they are justifiably arrested and sent to prison. Their blind adherence to Jesus Voodoo killed their child. Refusing to seek out a known, proven program to stop you from stuttereing, or at the very minimum, to reduce your stuttering, is equally and willfully ignorant. If you stutter and that is the course you take, then don’t ask the fluent world to “accept” you. You are choosing to be disordered.

And, for the record, I hope Colin Firth wins the Academy Award, and Geoffrey Rush along with him.

That Was the Week That Was-1.24.2011

2011-01-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

TW3 staff, early 60's

Gilda Radner, SNL, mid 1970's

I'm not planning on this being a regular thing, but to quote Roseanne Rosannadanna, "It's always something." Let's see... I already covered the State of the Union, but need to add something. Actually, it was Paul Krugman, of the New York Times, who added a bit of fact-checking to Congressman Paul Ryan's blithering nonsense about America going the way of Ireland and Britain...

What, me worry?

"Mr. Ryan is widely portrayed as an intellectual leader within the G.O.P., with special expertise on matters of debt and deficits. So the revelation that he literally doesn’t know the first thing about the debt crises currently in progress is, as I said, interesting — and not in a good way."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/opinion/28krugman.html

Smoke gets in your eyes

And speaking of idiotic Republicans posing as smart and insightful, there's the perennial in-your-face Pillsbury Doughboy, Newt Gingrich. On Tuesday, perhaps trying to steal any thunder the President--or Congresspeople Ryan or Bachmann--may have gotten from the State of the Union and the Republican/Tea Party Movement responses, Newt called for the elimination of the EPA. "What you have is a very expensive bureaucracy that across the board makes it harder to solve problems, slows down the development of new innovations," according to the AP, who interviewed Mr. Gingrich in Iowa, where he was talking with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Iowa, by the way, has the nation's first presidential caucus. Coincidence? Hmmm. Enquiring minds want to... oh, never mind. The guy is such a self-inflated windbag, it's amazing anyone takes him seriously. Ah, but that's the nutty left talking. Newt was quoted as saying he would like to replace the Environmental Protection Agency with the "Environmental Solution Agency," to be headquartered in Houston or someplace convenient for Shell, Mobil, Chevron and BP. Spouting the virtues of deregulation while being in bed with the industrial fat cats is one thing. Dropping your keys and letting them drive you home is quite another. Ouch!

And while I'm in a kind of right-bashing frame of mind, I can't omit a Sarah related item. Related as in her daughter, Bristol. It seems the former Dancing with the Stars contestant, will not be speaking about abstinence at Washington University in St. Louis next month. The university's Student Health Advisory Committee invited the single mom top speak about prevention of teen pregnancy and abstinence during the university's "Sexual Responsibility Week." Hmmm. Ms. Palin clearly knows a bit about teen pregnancy, but not much about prevention and next to nothing about abstinence. It had been reported that she was to receive between $15,000 and $30,000 to speak. It was reported that a Facebook group called "Keep Bristol Palin out of the sex discussion at Washington University" said, "It's not about conservative or liberal, it's about not wasting our money on people who don't matter... especially people who are only famous for being the teenage pregnant daughter of a politician." Isn't that a bit harsh? I mean, her mom's got a gun or two and has been known to put "surveyors' marks" on her enemies. The Washington University students might think twice before talkin' trash about such a high-profile daughter of white trash royalty. In an unrelated story, Ms. Palin is dating a dreamy new boy who works on the Alaska pipeline but lives in Texas. Huh? I can't make this shit up. She was reported to be trying to extricate former mate and father of her child, Levi Johnson from joint custody. Mr. Johnson was not available for comment.

Can you make it a venti?

In business news, Starbucks CEO and founder Howard Schultz's total compensation rose nearly 45% in fiscal year 2010 to $22 million. That's a lot of Lattes-- enough to bail out Seattle, and some left over for Porltand and you can probably throw in Spokane. Plans to open a Starbucks on every block in every city in the country have yet to be announced, but that's the buzz. (groan)

* * *

And in sports, my hometown heroes, the Boston Celtics, played their worst game of the season last night in Phoenix. What is it about Arizona? Never mind. It was just an ugly, ugly game.

According to Julian Benbow oof the Boston Globe, "A garden variety gripe between coach and referee turned into a heated exchange where Rivers all but called Steve Javie an egomaniac and Javie, quick on the trigger, tossed Rivers.

Rivers exploded.

“You’re terrible,’’ he said. “It’s all about you. It’s all about you.’’
Eventually, Rivers was escorted to the Celtics’ locker room by team security.

In the 4th quarter Canning Frye of the Suns set up for a 3 point shot. KG (Kevin Garnett) got in Frye's face, or, more accurately, his groin. Watching it, it didn't seem like a big hit. But Frye flopped for all the world like a Hollywood stuntman. The refs charged KG with two technical fouls and he headed for the locker room to join Doc.

Like I say, it was ugly. I hope they got it out of their collective system. They're in the Staples Center tomorrow, against the much-despised Lakers.

And, that was the week that was.

The State of The Union

2011-01-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

Last night was a little bizarre. The least bizarre was President Obama's State of the Union speech. The instant analyzers thought the first half was stirring, the second, less so. I think he said what he had to say and did so well. He could have taken the Republicans to task for their reactionary and uncivil ways, but he stayed above the fray. He could have focused on what he has accomplished, which is considerable. He didn't. Instead, he spoke of the challenges we still face and the work ahead of us. He reached across the aisle, after the Republicans and Democrats sat among one another.

Yesterday, I heard a woman call in to one of the hate radio shows complaining that she wasn't happy with the mixed seating arrangement. "The tea party won all those seats and they're not going to let us see them."

Oh, but we saw them, beginning with the Tan Man behind the President, who looked like he was dying for a cigarette and a good stiff one. And what was that crystal looking thing in front of him? Well, I'll give him this; he put hardly anything into his applause. Apathy never looked so genuine. But the President almost brought him close to tears by mentioning his humble beginnings, sweeping floors in Cincinnati or something.

And then came the Republican rebuttal...

I don't know. Maybe Paul Ryan has pink-eye. Maybe he got stoned before delivering his genteel little speech and forgot to use Visine. But his eyes were distracting. What was also distracting was his delivery. It took away from his message. He sounded like he was telling a story to children, in a sing-song, kinder-gentler voice, so that he didn't sound like the typical scary Republican who usually use fear to motivate the tea-toting sheep. The message was not any more palatable or believable. A lie told sweetly is still a lie.

But the Republicans weren't done with Ryan. Oh no. They had to foist Michele Bachmann upon us as well. To be totally accurate, the GOP was not totally responsible for her speaking. Some of their ranks were even a bit miffed at her. She spoke on behalf of the Tea Party Movement, being that she is the founder of the Tea Party Congressional Caucus. That distinction alone should give her a one way ticket to the Fergus Falls State Hospital.

If there was a thematic connection between Paul Ryan and Ms. Bachmann, it was optic. Her eyes are pretty crazy, too. Not red... possessed. And... who was she looking at? Someone must have moved the teleprompter or whoever was holding the cue cards moved them, along with her cheese, and most of her mind. Ms. Bachmann, you'll remember, recently announced that the founding fathers ended slavery, which would come as a shock to thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Last night she harped on the scourge of "Obamacare." To her credit, she tried to substantiate her rambling with charts and graphs... oh, and the famous shot from Iwo Jima. The bloviators are having a field day with that one.

WTF???

But, let's take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. I know I've been harsh with our President in the past. I will admit I pretty much gave up on him there for a while. But you know what? He has gotten quite a few things done in his first two years in office. His approval rating is at an all-time high, the market is going gangbusters and consumer confidence is the highest its been in 8 months. Are we out of the woods? Not by a long shot. Would we be better off with a Republican in the White House? Not a chance. Now, play on...

Good night and good luck.

2011-01-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

He's smug. He's contentious. He's pompous and at times boorish. He was invaluable and how much he will be missed is yet to be calculated. Keith Olbermann did not make a particularly big deal of it. He briefly stated Friday night that it would be the last broadcast of Countdown. And then he read the final installment of Fridays with Thurber.

There were hints on the web of his conflict with MSNBC. He is reported to have had conflicts with ESPN when he was with them. Maybe his report card once read that he does not get along with others. Personally, I got a bit tired of his "special comments"-- I thought Ben Affleck did a great spoof on SNL. The issues in general have brought on a certain fatigue. They tend to wear on you. But I already feel the void and it's not even Monday night. Lawrence O'Donnell will take his time slot, but no one will be able to take his place.

Evidently, according to the New York Times, it was O'Donnell that Keith recently had a bit of a problem with. His few words on the subject were due to being barred from discussing it by MSNBC, who have also stipulated that he cannot return to television for 6-9 months.

Our loss.

Keith put his money where his mouth was-- in some cases, to his detriment. He made political contributions when perhaps he shouldn't have. He helped create healthcare events around the country that let thousands see doctors for the first time in years, if indeed the first time ever. It was not his pomposity but his passion that made him imminently watchable and, yes, important. He may have been a bit of a windbag, but he was an honest windbag. Where folks like Glenn Beck admit to being "entertainers," who have the credibility of Lonesome Roads, Olbermann seemed real. His interviews were heartfelt. His reaching out to those who have been rejected by Jan Brewer's health programs was empathic and heartfelt.

Undoubtably, Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch and the on-air morons at Fox have been dancing for joy. Maybe they have already spoken out. Hannity and O'Reilly and the rest of them. The ones that lie or just blithely misinform. The ones that perpetuate the vitriol, in the name of reporting. www.olbermannwatch.com states that they have the scoop from John Gibson on what really happened to the "infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann."

John Gibson? Get serious.

Good luck, Keith.

The Cover of the Rolling Stone

2011-01-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Years ago, before we moved to Oregon, a kid came to the door selling magazines so he could go to Disneyland or M.I.T.-- I forget which. At any rate, my wife bought the rap and signed on. I think she spent like three hundred dollars on magazines. When she ran out of things she would read in the bathroom, she picked Rolling Stone, for me. It was a selfless and now we see, an unnecessary gesture. It took a long time before we got any of the magazines and we thought for sure we had been ripped off. We contacted the Better Business Bureau. And then they started showing up in the mailbox, beginning with the bonus magazine: Black Enterprise.

I've been reading Rolling Stone, off and on, for like 40 years, since it was a folded up tabloid, with John Lennon on the cover. Recently, he was on the cover again. God rest his soul. This week, the new issue arrived in the mail. Lil Wayne is on the cover. After I picked up the mail and laid it on the dining table, I went through it. There on the cover of the Rolling Stone (to paraphrase Dr. Hook), was Lil Wayne. Something came over me. I looked at it and a second later, ripped off the cover, balled it up and tossed it into the recycling bin. Kind of like Belushi ripping the guitar out of Stephen Bishop's hands in Animal House and smashing it to bits. Only I didn't raise my eyebrows for the camera. It was an internal move. Shortly after, I spat out a letter to the magazine, which in all probability, will never see the printed page. I sounded, and, to me, justifiably so, like some cranky old man, kvetching about kids today and the shit they listen to and all that. Being that part of my brain is wired like an old Wurlitzer with the bubbling lights with no new music loaded into it, I just heard Tom Petty...

Yeah, my momma was a rocker way back in '53

Buys them old records that they sell on TV
I know Chuck Berry wasn't singin' that to me, oh no

But you know, Chuck was singing to me. And so were Don and Phil, and Buddy and Bobby and all that. And they still are. Lil Wayne ain't singing to me. Shit... he ain't singing at all. He's slinging out out this mad tirade with 10 letter curse words and rhyming to a computer driven backbeat. I didn't like Sinatra and Sammy when I was a kid, but you know what? I grew up and learned to appreciate what they did. On the other hand, I doubt I will ever "grow" to like any of what passes for music today. I find very little of it that moves me. Frank, and Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald never needed Autotune to sing on key like Britney.

Am I my parents? Punk and power pop wasn't my music but I think that the Clash was one of the last bands that mattered. My wife can't really stand the fact that I still listen to doo-wop. Sorry, babe, but they don't sing like that anymore. Not on American Idol and not on the radio. The Moonglows and the late great Johnny Ace. That's when music mattered.

So I pick the world up and I'm a drop it on your fuckin' head, yeahh!

Bitch, I'm a pick the world up and I'm a drop it on your fuckin' head

And I could die now rebirth mother fucker

Hop up in my spaceship and leave Earth

Mother fucker I'm gone

Just like Rogers and Fucking Hammerstein, huh? How about this:

I'ma hustla so I be on the grind

I always got the money and the bitches on my mind

And I was born to dine so every where I goes at

The first thing I wanna know is where them hoes at

Where them girls that be takin off they clothes at

And where them girls that be slidin down them poles at

... and so on. So, call me old fashioned, but I still think that Rap Music is an oxymoron. The few things I've heard by Snoop Dogg have been kind of cute. He could be a comedian, and may very well be. I can't take him seriously. I even like a couple of Eminem's older things. But I won't call them songs and I won't buy into 50¢ or any of these other miscreants that believe part of stage attire is a 9mm. Smokey didn't pack heat. And, yeah, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard went to jail but, well... it was different. I swear it was different.

Rock 'n Roll meant the world to me when I was growing up. It was the voice I struggled to find. It annunciated my alienation and sense of not belonging. And maybe for the kids today Lil Wayne and all the rest speak for them. And maybe there's no maybe. And you know, that's too bad.

When I was coming up, there were songs about teen angels and dreams come true. Today, they're called bitches. That ain't right. Call me old fashioned. Call me obsolete. Whatever. I would love to hear some new music that moves me. Something that aspires to reach me and take me to a higher place. Something that speaks the words I can't find. Something like Bomani D'mite Armah...

Read a book! Read a book! Read a muh 'fuckin book!

R-E-A-D, B-O-OAHH-KAYYY!

Gibberish.

2011-01-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

Villified, or just plain nuts?

I tried watching Sean Hannity's interview with Sarah Palin tonight. Honestly. He fed her the softest softballs and she didn't answer them. She rambled about freedom and being victimized and blah blah blah. He referred to her as Governor Palin. Her responses to him might as well have been patched together from other interviews or speeches. She evaded answering someone who is arguably her most adoring fan. I say I tried watching. I couldn't. Blood-libel? How about mind-numbing. I switched back after watching Keith Olbermann to catch a glimpse of Hannity's post interview wrap-up show... with Lou Holtz, a petrified former football coach from Notre Dame, Kirsten Haglund, the Miss America pageant winner from 2008 and a stand-in "liberal." I watched long enough to hear Hannity claim that "Governor" Palin is the "most vilified person in America." As political theater, it pretty much sucked. It was as predictable as it was unbelievable. I turned the television off.

Sarah Pulls a Britney

2011-01-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Oops, I did it again!

According to Steven Thomma of McClatchy-Tribune, "Sarah Palin lashed out Wednesday at her critics, saying it was a "'blood libel' when some in the media and on the left said she'd contributed to an atmosphere of violence... 'If you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that vision... "

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't understand how anyone in their right mind can believe a word this moron says, let alone support her and consider her for the highest office in the land.

By using the term, "blood libel," she made matters worse. Maybe she doesn't realize "blood libel" refers to the false accusation that Jews murdered Christian children for their blood. Never mind that Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "Despite the strong association of the term with collective Jewish guilt and concomitant slaughter, Sarah Palin has every right to use it."

Shmuley? Is Woody Allen or Mel Brooks writing this?

Mrs. Palin tried defending herself in a video, where she said nothing about the map with crosshairs nor did she bring up her now famous (and well documented) line, "We don't retreat, we reload." Instead she said that "We know that violence isn't the answer. When we 'take up arms,' we're talking about our vote."

Really?

Does that even make sense? Does it matter?

Do you remember during the presidential campaign where it was revealed that Mrs. Palin spoke in tongues at some voodoo church in Alaska? Maybe that's what she's doing now. Speaking in tongues... a forked tongue.

She is literally unbelievable.

Lying is not a particularly ingratiating quality. This shit is going to come back and bite her in the ass. With any luck, she will be advised to stop twittering, facebooking... perhaps, talking altogether. She is worse than irrelevant. I don't care what Sean or Glenn or gun-totin' Tammy says-- Sarah is dangerous. She needs to be muzzled, and no... I am not making a gun reference. I am just giving her the same advice I gave Portland, Oregon's answer to the Wicked Witch: SHUT UP.

Spinning Out of Control

2011-01-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

(note: this post was begun Tuesday, January 11, 2011)

Yesterday, Facebook, and the Internet in generally, fairly buzzed with opinions, thoughts and ramblings on the tragic shooting in Tucson on Saturday. I (may have) made the mistake of entering the fray. I commented on a friend's post, reiterating what I had written on Saturday, while the blood was still fresh on the Safeway parking lot:

Personally, I think Mrs. Palin should be arrested as an accessory before the fact. You don't get to yell "fire" in a movie theater and not face the consequences.

I stand by my words, by the way.

Well, someone decided to respond to me:

Geez, Barry why be so polite in your vindictiveness? Your blog is a perfect example of the inane ramblings of political vitriol. Where is one word of compassion for the victims of a deranged individuals actions? I thought so, none. You're more interested in keeping the pot of dissent boiling to promote your personal agenda called a blog. You're doing an admirable job of it, so keep up the good work, pal.

I prefer to believe that I call them as I see them. And what I have seen, read and heard, since Saturday only reinforces my "inane ramblings."

First off, let me say, that my compassion goes without saying. One cannot be liberal and be dispassionate, or so I believe. Nobody, and I mean nobody deserves to be wounded or killed by an assassin's bullet. Not George Wallace nor Ronald Reagan. Not John Kennedy nor Lee Harvey Oswald. Nothing is ever resolved through violence. As for the victims of Saturday's massacre–and I don't know what else one calls an incident where 6 people were killed and 13 wounded. I have not read a negative word about Gabrielle Giffords (except, I should point out, from the right). She is sounds like a fighter and is already doing the miraculous, although still in critical condition. Randy Rhodes described the nine-year-old, born on 9/11, who was fatally shot in the chest as having a "bookended life." Between the tragic day she was born and the untimely tragedy of her death was a short life filled with love.

In the heat of the moment, people say things that they may at some point regret. And then, there are those who are so thick-headed, filled with hate and even the word du jour, vitriol, that they neither have a reflective or introspective cell in their diseased brains.

Take, for example, "Robert M," who is the author of the website, "Patriot Action Network." The headline on the website Sunday read, "Thank the Lord... HE'S A LIB-NUT!!" His exclamations, not mine. He goes on, "Assassin's politics lean 'left wing, quite liberal'-- 'Communist Manifesto,' 'Mein Kampf,' listed as alleged gunman's favorite reads... "

And then there's Tammy Bruce.

Tammy Bruce, with "Snuffy"

According to The Atlantic website, "Sarah Palin new media aide Rebecca Mansour sought to deflect attention from an electoral map Palin posted on her Facebook page last March in an appearance on Tammy Bruce's radio show Saturday. The images long described as crosshairs or rifle sights were actually just surveyor's symbols, Mansour said."

Not quite. As you can see, Ms. Mansour never said that the crosshairs were surveyors' symbols. Ms. Bruce fed her that little bit of disingenuous nonsense:

MANSOUR: I just want to clarify again, and maybe it wasn't done on the record enough by us when this came out, the graphic, is just, it's basically -- we never, ever, ever intended it to be gunsights. It was simply crosshairs like you see on maps.

BRUCE: Well, it's a surveyor's symbol. It's a surveyor's symbol.

MANSOUR: It's a surveyor's symbol. I just want to say this, Tammy, if I can. This graphic was done, not even done in house -- we had a political graphics professional who did this for us.

All that's missing from that little discourse is Ms. Mansour mimicking SNL's Jon Lovitz as the world's greatest liar... "yeah, that's the ticket."

Surveyors' symbols, my ass.

I know Tammy. She had been to our house in Los Angeles. She adopted a cat from my wife, who I assume is "Snoopy," who is referred to on Ms. Bruce's website-- clearly, not to be confused with "Snuffy," the .38 snub-nose she is seen holding on the masthead of same website. Tammy is, among other things, a bright and articulate woman. I mean, who else could have come up with the surveyors' symbol defense off the top of her head? She is a published author, a USC grad and former head of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW. I really can't fault her for trying to explain away the incendiary graphic on the Sarah Pac website. It was a valiant effort.

Let's give Ms. Bruce the (patently absurd) benefit of the doubt here. Let's say Mrs. Palin was "surveying" the opponents of candidates on the right. No, let's not stop there. Let's say Mrs. Palin didn't even know someone on her staff put the map on the site, removing all complicity on her part. Continuing to play devil's advocate, let's say, she didn't know the meaning of the phrase, "Don't retreat. Reload." Maybe it was just a speechwriter's line and she thoughtlessly read it from her palm. For that matter, maybe she's been shooting blanks on every episode of her now ended television saga, Sarah Palin's Alaska on TLC. I love that one-- Sarah Palin on the Learning Channel. Maybe the wolves, elk and moose and God know what else she leveled and aimed at were trained circus animals, taught to play dead at the sound of her mini-Howitzer.

Sarah Palin, huntress of the Yukon

But let's not stop with Mrs. Palin, who, for all intents and purposes, would have remained unknown had John McCain not plucked her from Wasila to be his running mate. We'll always have John to thank for that.

When Joyce Kaufman, an outspoken South Florida conservative radio talk show host on WFTL-850 AM, who garnered national attention after newly elected U.S. Rep. Allen West hired her as his chief of staff a week after the Nov. 2, 2010, election, said that "if ballots don't work, bullets will," at a Tea Party rally that she was speaking, uh, figuratively. And maybe the members in the audience clapped because they misunderstood her.

Funny, no one seemed to have misunderstood Malcolm X when he said, "if we don't cast a ballot, it's going to end up in a situation where we're going to have to cast a bullet. It's either a ballot or a bullet." We all know how that ended.

Let's say that Gabrielle Giffords' opponent, Jesse Kelly, had not really meant you could shoot a fully loaded M16 to help "remove Gabrielle Giffords from office." I don't know what else he could have meant, but let's just say...

... and let's just say that Lee Harvey Oswald was, as he said, just a patsy.

* * *

The point is not the tragedy in Tucson nor questioning the sanity of Jared Lee Loughner. It is not the debate over whether those symbols on the map were crosshairs or surveyors' marks. The point is, as the gentleman so accurately stated on Facebook, but misdirected toward me. The point is the culture of vitriol, of "us vs. them" -- the utter lack of civility between the parties and supporters of each side of the aisle. We are both to blame.

And maybe Mick Jagger was right, when he answered the question, "Who killed the Kennedeys?" with, "well after all, it was you and me."

I never thought I'd agree with Roger Alles, but I did yesterday, when he implored the commentators on Fox News to "shut up, tone it down."

’nuff said. Time to move on...

That Was the Week That Was

2011-01-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

There was a television program from the UK called, "That Was the Week That Was" or TW3, as it was known. It ran on the BBC in 1962 and 1963. Then it was brought to the US for two seasons with pretty much the same cast. David Frost and Nancy Ames come to mind. That was back in the day when there was no 24 hour news cycle. The show was the precursor to The Smothers Brothers, and certainly shows like The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert. Now, what we have for week in review is not nearly as entertaining. Take this week, for example. It it was any indication of how the next 51 weeks of the year will go, it is time to pack up the tent and head to another sideshow. What began with a touch of levity–if you can call a big heavy gavel light–and ended with a bang, or, to be more accurate, 15-20 bangs, from the gun of Jared Lee Loughner.

John Boehner, the "Man of Orange," as Keith Olbermann calls him, was sworn in as speaker of the house. He asked for, and got, a big gavel. I am not sure if it is a Freudian thing, like a man driving a Corvette or a big hairy 4X4. I do know that Speaker Boehner resisted the urge to cry, as he often does. He did take his hankie out, but only to blow his nose at this historic moment. The he, and his not quite amiable sidekick, Eric Cantor, the new Majority Whip, got down to business. The business, in their case, is to say any meaningless shit that they think sounds good and panders to their core constituency, ie., the Tea Party and related nincompoops.

First, according to the AP, Boehner "made the challenge as the new GOP majority voted to cut funding for House members' own offices and committee operations by $35 million. Rank and file Republicans described that vote as a down payment on a much more ambitious assault on record federal deficits."

Sounds noble, huh? But, according to the same article, "The $35 million would be enough to keep the government running for about five minutes."

It's a little bit like soon to be outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates telling reporters that the Pentagon will cut their budget by $78 billion, (with a "B"). That leaves about $553 billion to be spent in 2012. Can you say Apocalypto? According to the AP, the total is "$13 billion less than the Pentagon wanted but still representing 3% in real growth." Whatever. The United States continues to spend more of military power than every other country on the planet, combined.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26kristof.html?_r=1

... and the Republicans are telling us that they will cut $100 billion from government spending this year... but won't touch the defense budget. Hmmm. They backtracked almost immediately, paring it down to $30 billion. Still, that drop in the deficit bucket would be great. But, again, they're kinda full of shit.

What else would you expect from a guy that is the lobbyists' best friend, a hell of a golfer and someone who likes to cut out of work around five and indulge in happy hour? You don't get to look like John Boehner without liberally applied doses of alcohol and tobacco. There. I managed to use the word liberally in the same sentence as John Boehner.

Then we have the looming repeal of healthcare, or what the–and I'll be delicate–fringe calls Obamacare. First of all, it ain't gonna happen, no matter what the Man of Orange or anyone else says. They may question his place of birth, but as far as I know, the president still has the power of veto. Now, this is where it gets interesting: the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that overturning healthcare bill that President Obama signed into law will leave 32 million more Americans without health coverage. In response, House speaker Boehner said that the "CBO is entitled to their opinion." Bear in mind, the CBO is one of the most nonpartisan , objective entities in Washington. Boehner went on to say, "I do not believe that repealing the job-killing healthcare law will increase the deficit."

In the words of Mary Chapin Carpenter, "the stars might lie, but the numbers never do."

This ain't climate change, folks. This is math. You know, with numbers and stuff. You can keep disputing climate change, as polar bears scramble for rapidly melting chunks of ice in the arctic, but you can't argue with math. So, the knuckleheads with the tricorns with bags of Tetley hanging from the brims can spew all they want.

* * *

And then there's that Maverick from Wasila.

This is where it stops being funny. When a misguided, off-the-beam 22 year-old (who may or may not have had a 50 year-old accomplice), brings a Glock with an extended clip to a Safeway parking lot in Tucson and kills a young judge and a nine-year-old girl, who was there as an honor. A young congressional aide was also fatally shot. And Gabrielle Giffords, congresswoman from Arizona was shot in the head and lies in critical condition in a Tucson hospital.

Let's give Jared Lee Loughner the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Maybe he didn't hear Mrs. Palin her imploring her adoring pent-up zombies "don't retreat, instead reload." Maybe he doesn't know she likes to shoot defenseless animals from the air. We'll give Mr. Lougher the benefit of the doubt and say that he never read the newspaper nor went on the Internet, that he never saw the graphic "hit list" Palin has on her website.

You know, the cute little map of the United States with hairline targets on it, referring to names on a list. One of those names was Gabrielle Giffords, who is now fighting for her life. Maybe Mr. Lougher never heard the way Mrs. Palin incites her fans and supporters with angry bile, smarmy attacks and inciting directives. But, on the other hand...

From Sarah Palin's Twitter page.

I sincerely hope Mrs. Palin has learned a few things. I am not saying that she had anything to do with what happened in Tucson. Then again, yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater is bound to have unpleasant ramifications. But we live in a time when we treat terrorism seriously. We scrutinize peoples' underwear and mouthwash as they travel throughout the country and the world. We are on the lookout for enemy combatants. What would you call someone like Mark Kerr? A nut? Or something more serious. Lack of action is the only thing that separates him and the man who killed Dr. George Tiller. What makes us think Mr. Kerr is harmless? Has he shown a lack in his courage of convictions? Is he "just kidding?" Or tomorrow, will we say that all the signs were there and we just didn't act. I am hoping that Mrs. Palin will button her flappy lips and stay away from Twitter and Facebook and all the other social media she turns to in order to incite her moron followers. I haven't checked, but I hope she and her peeps have had the sense to remove her target map from her website. I am bewildered why anyone would take her seriously, let alone watch her hunting on the The Learning Channel and threatening elected officials on the Internet. She seems to be veering from a national embarrassment to a public danger.

Like I say, perhaps Mrs. Palin had nothing to do with Mr. Lougher's decision to lock and load, and let loose in a Tucson parking lot. But, just to be on the safe side, I think Mrs. Palin arrested and charged with being an accessory before the fact, if not an accomplice, complicit in the killing of 6 and the wounding of (at least) 12 in Tucson.

* * *

And now we've come full-circle: the AP reports today that "House Speaker John Boehner says that the shooting of an Arizona congresswoman won't stop representatives in Washington from their duties."

Hmmm. I wonder what that is supposed to mean.

An open letter to Victoria Taft:

2010-12-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

Shut up.

Are those fangs I see, or... um, canines?

Really. Walk away from the microphone. Go back to your other job... what was it again? Oh, that's right. There is scant information on you on the Internet. All I could find out is that you attended the University of Washington. I don't know what you studied nor if you graduated. Linkedin says you are in "entertainment." Really? Baiting morons to spew hatred is entertaining? Inciting the unwashed masses to foment and call "them" Marxist, Socialists and... yes, Nazis. That's entertainment? Today, I heard you railing against the "enviros" because they want to cease coal production and export. You made it sound like it would be okay for China to continue to burn coal, and hell, why shouldn't we? You seem to believe that climate change is "junk science." Do you really believe that, or is that just you being entertaining? Facts don't seem to matter to you. But, in that you aren't alone. Your tricorn wearing idiots cast off facts that don't jibe with their twisted agenda. Does it matter to you that China is now ahead of the United States in developing renewable and sustainable energy resources? You advocate the continuation of coal mining because it gives people jobs. Developing alternate energy wouldn't? Have you ever heard of black lung? I'm not sure if people get cancer from working on wave technology or wind power. I do know mining kills people... a lot of people. Those that mine it and those that breathe in the emissions. It's funny, when I went to Google images to find a picture of you, there are posters of President Obama positioned with Stalin and Lenin. Really? I am not sure if riling up the idiots is entertaining, but in other countries you and your ilk would be arrested and charged with treason. You abuse freedom, not espouse it. Go home. Join a book club. Learn to knit. Find a hobby. Do the right thing. Tell KPAM you are done and tell them to take the other "entertainers" off the air. Montovani would be preferable to the extremist haranguing you and your cohorts spew. Oddly, I wish you had a National audience, so more people could hear the bile you spit, in the name of "entertainment" and expose the verbal ugliness you deal in. I actually do think you are fundamentally unhappy. And, what if you got your way? What would you do if Sarah or Newt or whoever you stand behind got into office? Would you be satisfied or would you find something else to rail against? Maybe you'd turn leftie and complain about the right. You'd be like Salk without polio. Who would need you? You are either very bright and know how to manipulate the morons out there with their guns loaded, their hatred against anyone not lilly-white or right-wing crazy, or you are a complete idiot. Personally, I am a bit tired of trying to figure out which you are. It doesn't matter. The message has gotten garbled. Whether a genius or a moron, just go away... or just shut up.

Piece, on earth.

2010-12-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

This originally meant "ban the bomb" when that was fashionable and necessary. I don't know how much it helped or who decided to co-opt it to be the "peace" symbol. Maybe it needs to revert to the original meaning. True peace will never occur with the constant threat of militarization. Banning the bomb and the START treaty are all well an good, but as Ncholas Kristof wrote in yesterday's New York Times ("The Big (Military) Taboo"), the United States spends nearly as much on military power as every other country in the world combined. That's insane.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26kristof.html?scp=2&sq=kristof&st=cse

Not only is Kristof a compassionate journalist. He is also a gifted writer. This line popped out at me: "...if you're carrying an armload of hammers, every problem looks like a nail."

I don't know much about art...

2010-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Of course, I'm laughing.

( from the Sunday New York Times, December 19, 2010--"Big Bucks and Been-There Fare")
... "food artist" Jennifer Rubell, daughter of big-deal collectors Don and Mera Rubell, continued to draw big art crowds to her eatable installations. Slaughterhouse-worth of animals have been tortured and killed to enable Ms. Rubell's career, and everyone smiles and digs in. The Brooklyn Museum, which these days snaps up any bones it's tossed, recently hosted one of these things.

* * *

So many ribs, so few assholes.

Is that Mario Batali in the orange shirt?

Okay. My first reaction is, "are you shittin' me?" My second reaction is wondering why Ms. Rubell hasn't been arrested and why hasn't the Brooklyn Museum been shut down for inhumane treatment to animals?

I'm not an animal nut. Honest. Well, I didn't use to be. My wife is and well, stuff rubs off. But this? This is so fucking obvious. Which reminds me of what Henry Chinaski hated about Eddie the bartender in Barfly; his obviousness. Here is this spoiled überliberal Jewish girl, the daughter of art collectors, no less. Can you say 'privilege'? Of course you can. Unfortunately, Jennifer has not artistic talent or ability, so she reverts to the age-old desire to shock. Sadly, her second sin is that what she is doing is ultimately boring. Her first sin, of course, is her amateur butchering in the name of art. It kind of makes you want to retire the word, or come up with another that one must qualify to use. A "food artist" is someone who works on the set of commercials or a movie. A "food artist" is not someone who "tortures and kills" animals for her own and those of her lofty strata amusement. There isn't much difference between her and Michael Vick, other than he's black and watched by millions on Sundays and she's a white Jewish girl, (yet another one giving Jewish girls a bad name), with every advantage in life, but one. Lenny Bruce danced around the idea in his Thank You Masked Man bit when he said that "without polio, Salk was a putz." I don't know. To me, it strikes me that every disease needs a host, or hostess. Whether it's Jennifer Rubell or Mitch McConnell... there's enough illness to go 'round. Can you say ‘ Emperors' New Clothes'?

Hang on while I Photoshop the Brooklyn Museum in flames.

Out of Our Heads

2010-12-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

The clamor seems to be subsiding a bit. "Life," by Keith Richards is now on the decline on the bestsellers' list, being unseated by George Bush's memoir. It's hard to figure who is the bigger fabricator. I imagine Bushie comes off more flatteringly in his "autobiography." I quote it because, really, someone else wrote the book, just as Keith's book would not be nearly as readable without the input by Robert Fox. I bought "Life" when it first came out and read it soon after. I wanted to like it. Keith has been to me, as with so many of my generation and those that frustratingly pick at an electric guitar, unconsciously striking a Keith pose, up-striking a chord, a little too loud for my tinnitus tinged ears. I won't find out how Bushie comes across in his book. I do have to admit, Keith did not come out all that well. Most reviews of the book have been positive. The preview in the December issue of Uncut, the British music magazine was not so generous. Evidently, a lot of the revelatory info has been known to the rabid followers of Keith and the Stones. For me, what came across as a bad little boy, who grew up into an isolated, coddled and ultimately damaged adulthood. Keith turned 67 today. He was just 21 when the Stones hit the big time. He went from very little to luxury hotels, country manors, blue Bentleys and everything else that went with untold wealth, including any and all drugs available. He speaks warmly of Gram Parsons, who, for all we know, died as much from hero worship as heroin. Brian Jones and Mick Jagger do not fare as well. Brian, who he credits as the impetus behind the band was a thoroughly loathsome creature, who practically asked that Keith steal the affections (and oral expertise) of Anita Pallenberg. The fact that Keith refers to Mick as a superficial prima-donna is overwhelmed by Keith's cattiness. You get the sense that there is not a remorseful bone in Keith's ravaged body. Nor, for that matter is there any sense of consequence. The gun and knife play just isn't all that amusing. Neither is his referring to women as "bitches." He admits to his heroin addiction but never goes near the core of it, describing the feeling and the coming off it. He makes it sound both inevitable and somehow not horrible. After all, he reasons, he shot up in his muscles, he didn't mainline. He makes it sound like he fell off the wagon as many times as he went cold turkey. Nowhere does he bring up his drinking. That evidently isn't a problem. Knowing what I know about Ry Cooder and his influence on Keith's "self-discovered" alternate guitar tunings is, at best disingenuous. And, for all I know, he has taken off the 6th string of his trademark Telecaster(s) to make playing easier, with no significance to musicality. Whatever. After reading "Life," I came away knowing more and like less of Keith Richard.

The same can't be said for the two most recent books on Dylan. I don't necessarily know any more about Bob than I knew before I read Sean Wilentz's book, "Bob Dylan in America," and Greil Marcus's "Bob Dylan." Mr. Wilentz's book reminded me of the predominant problem with most books I have read about Dylan. The adoration gets in the way of clear, informational writing. I did find it interesting, though that "They're coming to take me away (ha-ha)" and "Rainy Day Women 12 and 35" have the same drumbeat.

Mr. Marcus, on the other hand, reveals himself as a sort of navel-gazing throwback to early rock journalism, always treading the fine line of taking itself too seriously. But then again, Marcus isn't a throwback. He's the real deal. His book is subtitled, "Writings 1968-2010." Suffice to say, the early stuff doesn't hold up. What passed for journalism in Creem Magazine over forty years ago is both naive, and out of date. He recalls the joy of coming home with a new album, tearing off the shrink wrap and putting it on the turntable... and listening to it, over and over again. He doesn't acknowledge accessorizing his listening experience with cannabis, but the passages in the book reek of it.

There are a lot of Dylan songs that frankly, I don't know what he is talking about. The songs have unfolded for me over time. Some have made me work a little to get it. And, honestly, I can't be objective about Dylan. He is, to me, an artist of such tremendous output and impact on those around him and on the planet in general. He has no equal and he never fails to amaze, impress and provoke. The first installment of what has been reported to be an eventual trilogy, "Chronicles, Volume One," reveals some of the intricacy, multiplicity and origins of its author. It may yet be the best book about Dylan.

Let 'em Eat Cake

2010-12-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

Senator McConnell as Marie Antoinette

I could say it. But I've already said it. So has damned near everyone else. On one side or the other. Everyone in America believes the country is going to hell in a handbasket, for (at least) two different reasons. My posts have grown more infrequent and I either need to write about other things, they will pretty much end. Politics in this country are, for the time being, a lot like the dungeness crabs I shelled the other day; they smell bad and can make you sick. Oh, and one more thing, they can kill you. No one has talked about the suicide rate lately, but you might find it interesting. Oh, and watch it rise as Mitch McConnell, Eric Cantor and John Boehner cut unemployment benefits and cater to the über-rich. Entertainment is only one reason why The Walking Dead, on AMC is/was such a huge hit. Sure, zombies are big, but so is fear of an apocalyptic breakdown. To quote David Byrne, "this ain't no party/this ain't no disco/thgis ain't no foolin' around." It's the end of the world as you know it. I feel somewhat consoled by the Oregon darkness and the rural semi-isolation, but I won't be safe for long. The politics will become like an organism growing out of control in a really big Petri dish. It will no longer be a case of the players. Senators and congressmen won't matter. It will be the will of the people. Of the thing. The "dittoheads" as Rush calls them. They're already like zombies, buying into Mrs. Palin's mavericky gibberish... and, for chrissake, really... what does McConnell look like if not the undead? John Kyl is straight out of Central Casting and Boehner belongs on an ad for Chesterfield. Chicken crap, indeed.

The Marshall Islands are disappearing into the ocean (really). The government is trying to wrest the control of Alaska from the Alaskans in order to preserve some of the ice for the polar bears, whose habitat is literally melting away. It's so far beyond America... or any contrived borders. It's more than the retirement age in France or the tuitions in England. And it's more than the malignant disease and devastation in Haiti. It's more than the raped women and children in Africa or the starvation throughout regions of Africa and Asia. It's the earth. I usually misquote her, but one of the most memorable things my wife ever said to me was that man fucks up the earth a little every day he lives on it, or something to that effect.

I am really glad that I am as old as I am, and don't have children. This is an insane world to grow up in, let alone, grow old in.

As it is, I have found myself turning away from television news. I am in a self-induced 12-step program to wean myself away from Keith Olbermann and even Jon Stewart. It's relentless and unfunny. Better I should wax on about the weather, photography or guitar porn.

Guitar porn. Hmmm... stay tuned.

I used to be disgusted...

2010-11-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

... but now I'm just amused.

Fame—thankfully—is fleeting

2010-11-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

Warhol said it, and hopefully, he was right. I would like nothing more than to see the likes of Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell relegated to answers in a future edition of Trivial Pursuit...

You know, I could be a little Asian, too

Separated at Birth?
Just as an aside, I found the Anti-Christ Alfred E. Newman on a Google search. It is from www.boxingcorner.co.uk/img/img.php?q=alfred-e-newman. Interesting.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

2010-11-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Let me take you down...

2010-11-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

Living is easy
with eyes closed
misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone
but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me...

On Sunday (Halloween), the Oregonian ran a story on p. 2 wih the banner, “Focus on politics.” The headline was Climate change skepticism, denial run deep in tea party movement. The story originally ran eleven days earlier in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/us/politics/21climate.html). I’m not sure what precipitated the Oregonian’s delay in running the story or if I should even read into it. Reading it was enough.

Understanding the world begins and ends here.
Norman Dennison, founder of the Corydon Tea Party in southern Indiana was quoted in the article as calling climate change a “flat-out lie.” He said he based his view on the preaching of Rush Limbaugh and the teachings of Scripture. “I read my Bible. He made this earth for us to utilize.”

Kelly Khuri, founder of the Clark County (Indiana) Tea Party Patriots calls the “so-called climate science just ridiculous.” She believes it’s “all just a money-control avenue.”

The article states that these views are “spread by a number of widely followed conservative opinion leaders, including Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, George Will and Sarah Palin, who oppose government programs to address climate change and who question the credibility and motives of the scientists who have raised alarms about it.”

Because scientists usually have untoward motives for their findings, right?

“The oil, coal and utility industries have collectively spent $500 million since the beginning of 2009 to lobby against legislation to address climate change and to defeat candidates who support it.”

What was I saying about motives?

The article quotes a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, which found that 14% of tea party supporters said that “global warming is an environmental problem that is having an effect now, while 49% of the rest of the public believes it is.”

“More than half of tea party supporters said that global warming would have no serious effect at any time in the future, while 15% of other Americans share that view, the poll found.”

“And 8% of tea party adherents volunteered that they did not believe global warming exists at all, while 1% of other respondents agreed.”

What does all of this mean?

Aside from the fact that if, as predicted the Republicans (re: Tea Party candidates) take control of either or both houses of congress, nothing will get done, specifically any climate change legislation. It also means that the fat cats, like the notorious Koch Brothers will continue to dominate the willingly ignorant into thinking they’re empowered and free, all the while, they accelerating the death of the planet. Kind of reminds me of a Bob Dylan song. In fact, it could have been written today...

The operative word is "moron."

2010-10-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I was watching Anderson Cooper. On his "Keeping them honest" segment, he discussed the constitutional scholar, Christine O'Donnell and her understanding--or lack thereof--of the separation of church and state. He had three panelists discussing the issue. Two men and a woman. The woman turns out to be someone named Dana Loesch. She claims she is not a Republican, but a member of the Tea Party. That association earns Ms. Loesch the status of "moron." What? I have to respect these idiots? They give the old expression "collective unconscious" a new meaning.

But I digress... let's get back to the issue at hand.

I Googled Ms. Loesch. She's a 31 year-old stay-at-home mom, who had been a liberal until she met and married her husband, Chris. But, Dana is no Tammy Wynette. Tammy kept her mouth shut, except to warble and pop them pills. Dana spews. I tried Googling her name and the word "education." Nothing came up. Hmmm. It is claimed that she is the co-founder of the Tea Party. An auspicious honor if there ever was one. Playboy said, "Loesch is the sweet Midwestern goth version of Laura Ingraham." I wonder if they've gotten her to take her clothes off for that pictorial, "naked morons on the right." Actually, she is kind of cute. I think she was having a bad hair night last night. It was stringy and glued to her head. Meeoww. Michael Savage called her "My mental match" and has had her substitute for him, on "The Savage Nation." Now, there's an honor... coming from one of the most hateful, self-centered dicks on the planet and on the airwaves. There's a special place for Michael Savage but it is not on the earth but under it. Another topic for another post. For now, the topic is Dana Loesch and the idiots who buy into her nonsense speak.

Kind of cute, huh? Reminds me a bit of
The Mothers of Invention's song, "What's the ugliest part of your body?" Some say your nose. Some say your toes...
I think it's your mind.

From the transcript of Anderson Cooper's show:

" ...when you deny rights in the classroom to one group, when you deny rights to one group in favor of secularism, which is its own religion -- religion is not -- is not patented by just a faith in God or Christian principles. It's a devotion and a set of beliefs to a certain something."

A "certain something?"

Are you shitting me?

Does Dana really believe "secularism" is a religion? I think she does. Which earns her a merit badge is stupidity. About.com says that "Calling secularism (the insistence on separation of church and state) a religion should be instantly recognized as an oxymoron." The operative word is... moron.

Dana and her ilk, and their access to the media scares me and makes me dread election day. Maybe she's smarter than she lets on and is just leading the lemming to the cliff's edge. But maybe she is really a moron... and is just leading the lemming to the cliff's edge. It is kind of a no-win situation. As Frank Rich pointed out in his column in the Sunday New York Times, if the Tea Party loses, they're just going to get angrier. If they win, they will gloat over the remaining sane.

This is no longer about birth certificates or being a muslim. This is about the safety and future of this country. Dana Loesch and her minions make me want to take my ball and jacks and play the game somewhere else.

TRANSPARENCY

2010-10-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Statesman Journal endorsed former NBA center and 75th draft pick and current Republican candidate for Oregon governor. On the front page of the same edition, the Statesman Journal ran a piece headlined, "NO GUARANTEES-- Biggest war chest doesn't always deliver governorship." It seems Dudley has almost twice as much in campaign funds as his Democratic rival, former governor John Kitzhaber. Dudley has received $2.25 million from the RGA (Republican Governors Association) and $285,000 from the Stimson Lumber Company. Kind of reminds me of the out-of-nowhere quip from candidate George Bush in his debate with John Kerry... "I am the owner of a timber company? Want some wood...?"

On the other hand, Kitzhaber/s biggest contributor (at $175,100) is the Oregon Educational Association PAC.

Does that make Kitzhaber a better person and/or a better candidate?

Perhaps, but not for that reason. I personally find a candidate for the governor of a state that has a fucking pine tree on their license plate in the pocket of a lumber company transparently repugnant.

Where is Ken Kesey when you need him?

Deja Vu all over again.

2010-10-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

This seems to be a familiar subject and extrapolation of a Pete Townsend song. It's illustrated this blog before. According to www.songfacts.com, "Pete Townshend wrote this song about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, they overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one ("Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"). Townshend felt revolution was pointless because whoever takes over is destined to become corrupt."

Townsend said in a Rolling Stone interview that, "It's interesting it's been taken up in an anthemic sense when in fact it's such a cautionary piece."

Today's extrapolation is driven by the Washington Post piece, (carried in the Oregonian), "Reports rip White House's response to BP spill." It seems the Obama administration "failed to act upon or fully inform the public" of the worst case scenario. Their underestimation delayed action on a response to the spill. The article quoted one of the reports, "the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent top handle the spill or not fully candid with the American people about the scope of the problem."

Great.

It's not like the current president and his administration haven't done anything. They have. He and his staff have accomplished a lot, in a short time, especially considering the adversarial climate in Washington. By the same token, the previous administration also accomplished a lot... let's see, they initiated an unprovoked war with Iraq, committed war crimes, created one financial disaster after another (including cutting taxes for the rich). Oh, and Dick Cheney was a disaster all his own. That's all behind us, right? The left plays the blame game–-and an accurate one--but who cares? They're as full of shit as the right... maybe more so. The right makes no claim to utilizing intellect. Melodrama and scare tactics are their ticket. The left is more disingenuous by claiming compassion, representing the "people" all the while bending over backwards and taking it up their collective ass, seeming to be thanking their rapists.

The Gulf disaster truly is Obama's Katrina, just like the right said early on. At this point, I really don't care what else he has accomplished. His administration's response to the reports was to minimize, and in some cases, flat-out deny the findings. Where have we heard this before?

DENY & LIE.

The thing that makes this report so disheartening is that it completely feeds into the right's initial criticism. "Hope and change," they jeer, like some taunting chant at a baseball game.

So, what's left? (pardon the pun). A massacre is predicted for the mid-terms. The president has proven to be much less of a concern because of his color or foreign birth than for his same-old same-old. Really. I can't exactly turn to the dark side and start chatting up half-governor Palin or Newt. From the frying pan and all that. Really... what's left? If we gong the incumbent, what will replace him?

I don't know.

Not that long ago, we heard chants of "anybody but Bush." That "anybody" appeared to be somebody special. A charismatic, unifying agent of change... hope and change. Now that "anybody" doesn't seem to be working out.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

2010-09-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

emaciated fashion model, Freja Beha Erichsen and ageless rocker, Mick Jagger

The Stars Might Lie, but the Numbers Never Do

2010-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

(lyrics by Mary Chapin-Carpenter

After last night's tough loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox are now 6 1/2 games back, with only six games left to play in the regular season. Mathematically, they can pull off an upset and land in the playoffs, but there are a lot of if's involved. If they win the rest of their games (3 with Chicago and 3 with the Yankees). If Tampa and the Yankees lose all their remaining games. The post-mortem for a tough season will come. Right now, the prayers are in and the money is, as always, on the home team. GO SOX.

You might have missed this one

2010-09-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

From the Jewish Review (Portland, OR)Kapparot rite said foul

Jerusalem (JTA)—A leading Israeli rabbi has come out against the tradition of using a live animal for the kapparot ceremony.

Religious Zionist Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Beit El and the head of the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in Jerusalem issued a religious ruling suggesting that it was better to give money to the poor rather than wave a live chicken over one's head and transfer one's sins to the animal in order to achieve atonement for sins in advance of Yom Kippur.

The ruling came at the request of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel, Haaretz reported.

* * *

The above article does beg for a comment: First off, this is crazy! However long this ritual of flinging a chicken about over one's head, it needs to stop, for more than the obvious reasons. It makes Jews look like nuts. We've got enough against us as it is, what with controlling the World Bank and the entertainment industry, and being the brunt of the ire of hate groups, racists and various and sundry other angry goyim, not to mention the arabs. In fact, the whole ritual seems like something the arabs would do. It just seems too barbaric for members of the tribe. Let me be clear, I am not governed by any Yeshiva or settlement on the West Bank. I haven't gone to a synagogue since moving to Oregon and used to go to the High Holiday services at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. My wife and I have chickens. I hesitate saying we "own" them. They are very much their own hens and roosters.We house and feed them. I would no more think of twirling one over my head than I'd put a loaded gun to my head. Especially, Fabio, who has had it in for me since the year gimmel, or last year, whichever came first. Come to think of it, I'd like to put a loaded gun to his head, but my wife would never forgive me. Besides, I'd have to get a gun. Which brings me to the conclusion that just because the Marx brothers and the Three Stooges, along with Henny Youngman, Lenny Bruce and Shecky Green were all Jewish is no justification for twirling a chicken over your head. The laughs you may get are outweighed by the shame you will feel of having chicken shit on your nice black coat and having to explain it to the Chinaman at the dry cleaners.

Las gallinas de arriba cagan a las de abajo.

2010-09-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

The chickens on the top always shit on those below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/opinion/20krugman.html

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

2010-09-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday on Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer asked House Minority Leader John Boehner about the proposed tax cuts. He asked him three times, just to make sure he and his viewers heard it right. Boehner said that he would vote for the bill if it offered cuts only for those making under $250,000 a year. He said it three times...
... then he was called up on the carpet by his counterpart in the senate.

Is it me, or does Mitch McConnell look like an alien middle-age Ninja Turtle zombie? Yeah, I know... but I digress. McConnell stated emphatically there will be no exceptions to the tax cut. It is non-negotiable. His cohort from the land of Mex-bashing, John Kyl was quoted in today's paper as saying that "his party will not give ground."

The rich will get richer. And the blind will be led to the cliff's edge. Maybe the Tea Party populace can't read. Maybe they want to enable the rich more than they already are. Maybe their hate for our President and his party is so virulent that they will take every contrary position, even if it directly and adversely affects them. Can this issue be more transparent? It is not good for those who seem to be supporting it. It is bad for 98% of the population.

Maybe President Obama will stay try to his word and not back down to these hypocritical whores. And I don't use that term lightly. I don't quite know what else to call Mr. Boehner, especially after the revealing article in Sunday's New York Times. It the presumptive next Speaker of the House is not only a chain-smoker and avid golfer, but is best friend to big business lobbyists-- not surprisingly, tobacco company flunkies among them, who have contributed "at least" $340,000 to his campaigns. The Times article reported that "Mr. Boehner won some of his first national headlines in 1996 after he was caught handing out checks from tobacco lobbyists to fellow Republicans on the House floor. Then the fourth-ranking House Republican, he said he had broken no rules and was simply assisting his lobbyist friends, who were contributing to other Republicans’ campaigns."

Uh-hunh.

"From 2000 to 2007, Mr. Boehner flew at least 45 times, often with his wife, Debbie, on corporate jets provided by companies including R. J. Reynolds. (As required, Mr. Boehner reimbursed part of the costs.)

In addition, over the last decade he has taken 41 other trips paid for by corporate sponsors or industry groups, often to popular golf spots. That makes him one of the top House beneficiaries of such travel, which has recently been curbed as a result of changes in ethics rules.

Mr. Boehner continues to travel to golf destinations on a corporate-subsidized tab, though now it is paid for through his political action committee, the Freedom Project. In the last 18 months, it has spent at least $67,000 at the Ritz-Carlton Naples in Florida, at least $20,000 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., and at least $29,000 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, federal records show, for fund-raising events."

So, when the hapless Tea-Partyists rant about wanting their country back, what exactly are they talking about? Checkbook diplomacy? Maybe they mean taking the country club back. But they don't have a chance on that score. Those clubs are restricted. When they stick that bumper sticker on their family sedan, they'd better think of the ramifications. Between Glenn Beck, Boehner and McConnell, I am no longer sure who will play Lonesome Roads in the remake of A Face in the Crowd. They are all certainly as convincing as Andy Griffith, though not nearly as entertaining.

What? McConnell in a cowboy suit, singing and-a-laughing? I don't think so,

It's alright, Ma...

2010-08-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked

Saturday, Glenn Beck brought about "tens of thousands" of people to the Lincoln Memorial to not talk about politics, but to tell the audience that he is channeling La Grande Fromage and that his holiness is telling him that this country is his, whoever HE is. I keep asking myself how people can be so stupid but, like Zimmerman sang, it's blowin' in the wind.

Out of the dream, out of the sky
Into my heart, into my life
And you were just a face in the crowd
Out in the street, thinking out loud

Thinking back, it was sinful... Sue Lyons, Carol Lynley sinful. Lee Remick. Ouch. Ga-Ga can't hold a candle to that kind of hot. Elia Kazen, Budd Schulberg, Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick... oh, and Anthony Franciosa. A Face in the Crowd truly is a movie for the ages. Like a sped-up version of yesterday, and what will happen tomorrow. The truth will win out. Sooner or later.

The whole enchilada makes me somewhat happy or relieved I guess, that I'm in relatively rural Oregon and not the middle of Los Angeles. It's not 2012 I'm worried about. No apocalypto. More just the slow and steady grinding down of our moral and spiritual fiber. The very thing they are trying to win over is being lost to lowered expectations and mass disillusionment. I would like to think it is a matter of time before the vox populi come to their senses and topple Mr. Beck like the false idol he is.

Or we can sit our days out under the shade of a gently swaying pine tree, overlooking the rolling hills and carrying shades of the plots of land. The gold of the just cut wheat. The distinct rows of green meandering over the green hill. The blue skies and the ever present hints of "real America"-- not the words on bumper stickers or on Fox, but at the ongoing State Fair and the farms and ranches of the mid-Willamette Valley, the folks in Salem working on encouraging the diversity of the population. What Beck and his loud and mostly ignorant ilk are doing is stepping up the "blandification of the whole situation," (as stated by Greg Brown). The postings on his own website indicate the disparity and divisiveness of his followers:

Facebook User11:27 am
It was a very inspiring event. America to turn back to God and American values.

Mahilena Dianz10:53 am
It is always a good thing to see a great number of Christians and spiritual people together rejoicing in Love,....and this is good, but the messenger who brought it all together is not a true leader, he is camouflaged into a peace maker which he is not he is a conservative extremist which we do not need as a leader.

Hmmm, maybe they're not so ignorant, after all.

Mahilena Dianz10:51 am
This event will be forgotten pretty soon!!! ...this has and will not have any significance in our Nation...

Facebook User10:50 am
This event is a turning point for our nation.

Facebook User10:00 am
Blessed, honored, and oh so privileged to have attended Glenn Beck's rally on a sunny Saturday afternoon in our Nation's Capitol. From the people we met, to witnessing 'God's Fly-Over', to listening to His word (God's through Glenn), and praying among the masses, it was an awe-inspiring/glad to be there/God loving proud to be American kind of afternoon. God bless Glenn Beck for doing this, God bless all of us who are in His service (God's, of course), and God bless America ♥ If we haven't been doing it before, now is the time to go out and say the right thing, do the right thing, and get on our knees and pray to God for His Divine Providence in helping to get all of us back on track.

Oy, vey. I feel your pain but your blind allegiance to a gold coin huckster who proclaims on the top of his web home page that he combines entertainment with enlightenment. Well, I suppose he's half right... and all wrong.

Mark Burak9:37 am
Mahilenduh, please go away. This is a wonderful place right now and does not need to be infected by your mean ignorant spirit. Hava a great day... somewhere else

Mary Annette Nicholson Weeks9:29 am
I was truly amazed as I looked around me on Saturday and viewed the diversity of the attendees. The Spirit of God moved in Washington,DC on Saturday and we prayed as ONE for the restoration of the founding pronciples (sic) of this country!

Glen Beck, formerly a Roman Catholic, divorced his first wife, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He and his healthy second wife joined the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why, if there is a Big Kahuna, would he decide to channel him or herself through such a flawed and transparently hypocritical "entertainer." This is the same man who has a bestselling novel that he didn't write. Beck is a deejay who stopped spinning platters and switched to selling himself and his self- taught deluded thinking.

If such a man has been chosen by the Big Kahuna to pass down the big words, what exactly does that say about BK? That He (or She) is a really bad judge of character? Perhaps. And perhaps His or Her lemming followers won't know what hit them when they fall from the metaphoric cliff.

I am glad that the blind and those void of original thought/incapable of thinking for themselves found solace, strength and revelation in Saturday's restoration event. Nothing was in today's (Monday's) paper about the "event." A blip on the screen. An aberration of less significance that the reflective interpretation of the Madonna on a recently washed office building window. Just as Lonesome Roads was found out for what he was, so too, will Glenn Beck. The sheep-like throng of drooling semi-literate Bible-thumpers will either wake up and smell the lack of veritas or find another phony huckster to follow.

What was attempted to be restored Saturday was neither hope nor honor. The masses should be praying to P.T. Barmum. There's a sucker born every minute, which is what people like Glenn Beck pray for.

"shhh! don't tell them!"

TRUST NO ONE

2010-08-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today's paper carried an AP article headlined, Looking for the oil? NOAA says its mostly gone." The article began with " ...the government said Wednesday that the mess made by the BO oil spin in the Gulf of Mexico is mostly gone already.

What's left in the water is still almost five times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in 1989."

Remnants of that spill continue to show up... over 20 years later. The big point, though is... what happened? Didn't we all vote for the "YES, WE CAN" candidate? This report, in combination with its consistent support of the BP lies shows emphatically that the candidate of change is the president of same old same old. The handling of this felonious disaster by the administration has been fairly abysmal, but the explicit supporting and publicizing of such a ludicrous and obvious PR lie drops the administration to another notch on the believability scale.

"'I think it is fairly safe to say ... that many of the doomsday scenarios that we talked about and repeated a lot have not and will not come to fruition,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said at a briefing with NOAA's top scientist." (AP article)

Yeah, right. I suddenly feel like I'm reading about Ron Ziegler again. But with a nasty twist. Even beyond Tony Snow or Ari Fleischer. More like Dana Perino, who is now a pundit on Fox. Does that rate as an oxymoron?

But I digress. The point is, I will never be able to erase the broadcast scenes during 9/11. And I don't think I will forget the video on the news of the plumes of black smoke in columns spewing out of the surface of the ocean. There's something clearly apocalyptic, Blade Runner, Mad Max about the world we're living in. I just ordered a copy of Children of Men. I've only seen it once but it (god, I hate this word... ) resonated with me. Lately, I've been thinking about the Michael Caine character. We live in the country, surrounded by rolling hills and pine forests. An hour from a respectably sized city. But tonight, we're within earshot of an outdoor Pat Benatar concert at the Gardens. I guess you could call that comic relief.

GEORGE MICHAEL STEINBRENNER III

2010-07-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

(July 4, 1930 – July 13, 2010)

When horrible stuff is going on every day in the news, it is so refreshing to actually smile at something in the newspaper (even if it is so obviously biased). Jack Ohman's cartoon in today's Oregonian was clearly drawn from an outpost of Red Sox Nation... all the more reason for me to like it.

Letters to the Editor

2010-07-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

The following are two letters printed in The Oregonian, verbatim with no changes, edits or personal comments. To paraphrase the now tired expression, "they are what they are."

Help me out, GOP (July 9)
I have been a strong supporter of the Republican Party my entire life. I was very disappointed when I read that my party was responsible for filibustering the Senate jobs bill.

I have been unemployed since Aug. 4, 2009. I have not been sitting around on my sofa eating bonbons and watching TV since. I have a personal website advertising my resume, www.hiresherry.com. I'm advertising my website on my car. I've been on the news and the radio to promote myself and my website. I search the job boards and newspaper classified ads daily. I'm working very hard to find another job.

I am still unemployed after almost a year, and it is very depressing. The unemployment check I receive each Wednesday is only half of what I was earning when working full time. I feel hopeless some days when all I receive is more rejection e-mails and letters from employers.

I do not understand why we can pass a massive health care bill, dump money into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and send money to other countries when a disaster hits, yet our government cannot help its own. I know I am not alone in my disappointment over the jobs bill, and I hope that the government will not turn its back on its constituents.

SHERRY CALLAHAN
Eugene

The party line (July 10)

Sherry Callahan (Letters, July 9), a "strong supporter" of the Republican Party her "entire life," is now unemployed and disappointed that the party has been filibustering the Senate jobs bill, which would extend unemployment benefits and preserve some existing jobs.

Since the Republicans' position on the jobs bill is consistent with the party's past positions on unemployment and jobs, apparently this position was acceptable to Callahan -- even laudable -- as long as she was not one of the unemployed. It is this kind of selfishness that the Republican Party has always counted on as it opposes legislation to benefit those in need.

Sorry, Sherry -- you got just what you voted for.

BARRY BENNETT
Southeast Portland

You Can't Tell a Book by Looking at the Cover

2010-06-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

(apologies to Willie Dixon)

Sunday's Statesman Journal carried a piece by Bob Minzesheimer of USA Today entitled, "Glenn Beck's latest a political thriller." I didn't have to get too far into the article to learn Mr. Beck doesn't actually write his own books. And how could he find the time, what with his TV show, his radio show and spending all his spare time looking for Nazis under his desk and in the cupboard?

Minzesheimer wrote that Glenn Beck "is not only a bet-selling author; he's an Oprah Winfreylike force in publishing."

The article goes on to report that "Beck and 34 employees have built a $32 million-a-year media empire that includes books such as Glenn Beck's 'Common Sense,' and his own magazine (Fushion)."

But–and Mr. Minzesheimer doesn't conceal the fact–Beck doesn't write his own books. Mr. Minzesheimer marvels at Mr. Beck's honesty (this is the part where I reach for the air sickness bag).

(Beck) "takes a team approach to writing his own books, including his first political thriller, 'The Overton Wiindow'. On the title page, Beck shares credit with three contributors. He calls the conspiracy novel 'my story,' but he said Jack Henderson, one of his contributors, 'went in, and he put the words down."

Uh... putting "the words down" is called writing.

The article went on. "Other novelists might not acknowledge such help, but Beck, a self-described 'fiscal conservative and common-sense libertarian,' said, 'I'm a team kind of guy."

Teams play sports. They don't write books. For Minzesheimer to claim that Beck has an approach to writing while having "contributors" is disingenuous. To praise him for admitting he has a "team" is downright sleazy. Glenn Back is not a "best-selling author"-- even though "The Overton Window" is number one on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.

For the record, Minzesheimer goes on to point out that the book isn't even Beck's idea: "The novel was inspired by two other ideological thrillers: Michael Crichton's 'State of Fear,' which challenged conventional science on global warming, and Brad Thor's "The Last Patriot"... and so on. Brad Thor refers to Beck as the "Oprah of right-wing fiction," which implies Ms. Winfrey doesn't write her own books, either. If I was the executor of Dr. Crichton's estate, I would sue Beck's plagiarising ass. Fortunately, for Beck, I am not.

I should be wearing hip boots when wading into this subject. It's like slogging through pond scum. No one else's name is credited on the bestseller list for "The Overton Window." The fact that it is number one on the list is more of an indictment of those that buy books than on the alleged author. The unwashed masses may buy the book, but they may not actually read it. It looks good on their book shelf, with Bill O'Reilly's books and, of course, their signed copy of "Going Rogue."

* * *

Half-Governor Palin, may still smart from being asked by "the Perky One" (Katie Couric) what periodicals she reads. She brought it up in her bestseller. And her defensive response at the time was "all of them." She, of course, couldn't name one. It was Randy Rhodes, who pointed out on the radio that "Going Rogue" was a bestseller "written" by someone who didn't write it and doesn't read. And she made $12 million on it and the signing tour? She and the morons that bought it should be ashamed. But they, like their idiot heroine, don't have the intelligence to even grasp the concept of shame or, for that matter, depth of any kind.

In 1972, the National Lampoon produced a spoof of a piece by then radio personality Les Crane, called Deteriorata. It is still funny, even without foreknowledge of the original. One of the lines I have always liked and find particularly appropriate in this day and age is "a walk through the ocean of most souls will barely get your feet wet."

I won't belabor the point of Mrs. Palin's non-acheivement. It is just too obvious.

* * *

And while we're on the subject of bestselling authors who don't actually write their own books, allow me to vent for a moment on the head of James Patterson.

When he did write his own books, they were't very good. I read "Along Came a Spider" and stopped there. I am a fan of crime fiction and suspenseful stories. Patterson was merely formulaic. You could tell he was writing to sell the story to Hollywood. And he did. Grishom did the same thing with "The Firm," but he has gotten better as a writer. Patterson has gotten rich, and lazy.

Caroline Leavitt, novelist, screenwriter, writing mentor and book critic, (among other self-admitted areas of interest and addiction) asked on her blog (http://carolineleavittville.blogspot.com), "Is it wrong for James Patterson not to write his own books?" Her answer was simply, "yes."

She wrote, "I just finished reading the NYT Magazine article about how James Patterson no longer writes his own books, but does the outlines and hires different co-writers. He does credit the other writers, and he probably does pay them handsomely, but the whole thing is coiled up in my stomach like bad diner food."

Ms. Leavitt is kinder than I.

I read the New York Times Magazine piece when it first came out. Patterson is like Warhol in the factory, but instead of a loft in lower Manhattan, the article reported that Mr. Patterson has the biggest house in Palm Beach and is building a bigger one. And in the background I hear Mark Knopfler. Money for nothing.

The shame of it is that there are some very good writers out there who can't raise spit, never mind get published. The publishing houses are no better than Hollywood, churning out sequels and the same shit in a different container season after season. I recall not that long ago Random House holding a contest to find a writer to come up with a sequel to Mario Puzo's "The Godfather." Is that really necessary? Are there no new ideas left?

I could rant on. The point has been made. I'm reading Stieg Larson at the moment. It's a bestseller.