"Very few animals were harmed in the filming of this war - overwhelmingly it was men, women & children who were killed, maimed, or psychologically destroyed. It's all perfectly legal - and quaint, don't you think?
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Travel Film
Hey Folks,
And this one !!: “Iraq the Musical” :
http://iraqyouknow.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
This is the last video from Ms. Huffington (it's the Beach Boys without the water and without the innocence - just the sand and the degradation).
- Uke Man
And this one !!: “Iraq the Musical” :
http://iraqyouknow.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
This is the last video from Ms. Huffington (it's the Beach Boys without the water and without the innocence - just the sand and the degradation).
- Uke Man
Monday, February 27, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
"Well, Mr. Bush. The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake those, you've got it made."
"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list"
Hey Folks,
A while back the Dispatch editorialised against Maryland's effort to force businesses (mainly Wal-Mart) to quit shifting their health care expenses onto the taxpayers. Now, Dispatch reporters have laid out evidence that may change their editors' attitude (but don't hold your breath).
It's all reprinted below, if you missed it.
Besides the joy of bashing Wal-Mart, I was particularly pleased to read:
"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list."
Isn't it interesting that our compassionate President made the effort just last week to come all the way to Cowtown Columbus to congratulate Wendy's for adopting his wonderful plan to "shaft-the-workers-out-of-health-care-and-increase-profits" !
I wonder why Wendy's wasn't mentioned until near the end of the article. Hmmmmmmm . . .
In any case, the Uke Man did his own expose' right after Bush's photo op at Wendy's Healthful Headquarters.
I've reposted it directly below this one.
- Uke Man
Wal-Mart workers costing taxpayers
Thousands depend on health-care benefits through government
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Catherine Candisky and Jeffrey Sheban
The Columbus Dispatch
Taxpayers are picking up the tab for health-care costs of more Wal-Mart workers and dependents than for any other Ohio employer, long-awaited state figures show.
And McDonald’s has the most workers and family members getting food stamps and cash assistance.
The report, released yesterday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, shows taxpayers spent millions last year providing Medicaid to 104,652 employees and family members of some of Ohio’s biggest companies.
Two businesses, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, each had more than 10,000 employees and dependents receiving benefits from Medicaid, the health-insurance program that is funded by the state and federal governments. Wal-Mart workers got an estimated $27.7 million in Medicaid; McDonald’s employees received about $25.8 million.
The report was issued a day after Wal-Mart, Ohio’s largest employer and a frequent target of complaints about low wages and benefits, said it would expand health-care coverage for its 1.3 million employees nationwide.
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, who introduced legislation last year to force large corporations to pay for employee health in- surance, called the report "a first good step in getting all the information we need" to reform the health-care system.
"When bad apples don’t pay their fair share, it’s costing taxpayers and good businesses that are providing adequate coverage for workers," the Youngstown Democrat said.
The Job and Family Services agency prepared the report after receiving requests from legislators and news organizations, including The Dispatch. Ohio is the 21 st state to produce such a list.
"Wal-Mart employees now top the Medicaid lists in 21 of 21 states that have disclosed," said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a union-supported group that pushes for reforms in Wal-Mart’s policies.
"Ohio taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the employee health-care plan of a corporation with $10 billion in annual profit," he said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said the report doesn’t tell the whole story.
"What the list doesn’t address is that Wal-Mart is actually helping Americans leave the ranks of the uninsured."
Hobbs said 7 percent of Wal-Mart employees are on public assistance when they start working for the company, but that figure falls to 3 percent after they’ve been with the company for two years.
She said Wal-Mart "stands ready to partner with elected leaders to bring about solutions to solve the health-care crisis in America."
Wal-Mart said Thursday that it would begin allowing parttime workers to enroll their children in health plans and build more than 50 in-store clinics for workers and the public.
Hobbs said three-fourths of Wal-Mart workers have private health insurance through one of the company’s 18 plans or through a spouse.
Critics say Wal-Mart’s plans are unaffordable for workers averaging $10 an hour. Some states are taking unilateral action.
Last month, Maryland became the first state to mandate that large private employers pay a fixed amount for employee health-care benefits. The new law requires companies with more than 10,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on health care. Wal-Mart is the only company that will be affected.
Ohio’s findings, like those in other states, show that many working families earn so little, they still must rely on tax-supported benefits. The data underscore how states and businesses are struggling to deal with health-care costs.
"The health-care system in this state is broken and states cannot fix this problem on their own. It’s a national problem," said Mark Rickel, spokesman for Gov. Bob Taft.
Ohio spent about $11 billion last year on Medicaid. The program covers about 1.7 million low-income children, working parents and blind and disabled Ohioans. It eats up the biggest portion of the state budget.
The burden has put a strain on state budgets across the nation. Last year, Ohio lawmakers cut 25,000 parents from Medicaid to save about $37 million for the two-year budget.
Likewise, many businesses are dealing with skyrocketing health-care costs by scaling back benefits or requiring employees to pay a higher share.
"As health-care costs rise, it’s the lowest-wage workers who are losing benefits," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, which studies health-care issues.
"I don’t think people should be surprised by what they are seeing, and they probably shouldn’t expect a lot more out of these companies. It’s hard to expect an employer to provide health-care benefits to an employee making $7 an hour."
Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list. The rate of Medicaid recipients, including dependents, came to 36 per 100 employees for Bob Evans, well above the 25 per 100 at Wal-Mart.
Bob Evans spokeswoman Tammy Roberts Myers said late yesterday that company officials hadn’t seen the report.
"It’s something we will certainly be looking at here and discussing," she said.
ccandisky@dispatch.com
jsheban@dispatch.com
A while back the Dispatch editorialised against Maryland's effort to force businesses (mainly Wal-Mart) to quit shifting their health care expenses onto the taxpayers. Now, Dispatch reporters have laid out evidence that may change their editors' attitude (but don't hold your breath).
It's all reprinted below, if you missed it.
Besides the joy of bashing Wal-Mart, I was particularly pleased to read:
"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list."
Isn't it interesting that our compassionate President made the effort just last week to come all the way to Cowtown Columbus to congratulate Wendy's for adopting his wonderful plan to "shaft-the-workers-out-of-health-care-and-increase-profits" !
I wonder why Wendy's wasn't mentioned until near the end of the article. Hmmmmmmm . . .
In any case, the Uke Man did his own expose' right after Bush's photo op at Wendy's Healthful Headquarters.
I've reposted it directly below this one.
- Uke Man
Wal-Mart workers costing taxpayers
Thousands depend on health-care benefits through government
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Catherine Candisky and Jeffrey Sheban
The Columbus Dispatch
Taxpayers are picking up the tab for health-care costs of more Wal-Mart workers and dependents than for any other Ohio employer, long-awaited state figures show.
And McDonald’s has the most workers and family members getting food stamps and cash assistance.
The report, released yesterday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, shows taxpayers spent millions last year providing Medicaid to 104,652 employees and family members of some of Ohio’s biggest companies.
Two businesses, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, each had more than 10,000 employees and dependents receiving benefits from Medicaid, the health-insurance program that is funded by the state and federal governments. Wal-Mart workers got an estimated $27.7 million in Medicaid; McDonald’s employees received about $25.8 million.
The report was issued a day after Wal-Mart, Ohio’s largest employer and a frequent target of complaints about low wages and benefits, said it would expand health-care coverage for its 1.3 million employees nationwide.
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, who introduced legislation last year to force large corporations to pay for employee health in- surance, called the report "a first good step in getting all the information we need" to reform the health-care system.
"When bad apples don’t pay their fair share, it’s costing taxpayers and good businesses that are providing adequate coverage for workers," the Youngstown Democrat said.
The Job and Family Services agency prepared the report after receiving requests from legislators and news organizations, including The Dispatch. Ohio is the 21 st state to produce such a list.
"Wal-Mart employees now top the Medicaid lists in 21 of 21 states that have disclosed," said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a union-supported group that pushes for reforms in Wal-Mart’s policies.
"Ohio taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the employee health-care plan of a corporation with $10 billion in annual profit," he said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said the report doesn’t tell the whole story.
"What the list doesn’t address is that Wal-Mart is actually helping Americans leave the ranks of the uninsured."
Hobbs said 7 percent of Wal-Mart employees are on public assistance when they start working for the company, but that figure falls to 3 percent after they’ve been with the company for two years.
She said Wal-Mart "stands ready to partner with elected leaders to bring about solutions to solve the health-care crisis in America."
Wal-Mart said Thursday that it would begin allowing parttime workers to enroll their children in health plans and build more than 50 in-store clinics for workers and the public.
Hobbs said three-fourths of Wal-Mart workers have private health insurance through one of the company’s 18 plans or through a spouse.
Critics say Wal-Mart’s plans are unaffordable for workers averaging $10 an hour. Some states are taking unilateral action.
Last month, Maryland became the first state to mandate that large private employers pay a fixed amount for employee health-care benefits. The new law requires companies with more than 10,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on health care. Wal-Mart is the only company that will be affected.
Ohio’s findings, like those in other states, show that many working families earn so little, they still must rely on tax-supported benefits. The data underscore how states and businesses are struggling to deal with health-care costs.
"The health-care system in this state is broken and states cannot fix this problem on their own. It’s a national problem," said Mark Rickel, spokesman for Gov. Bob Taft.
Ohio spent about $11 billion last year on Medicaid. The program covers about 1.7 million low-income children, working parents and blind and disabled Ohioans. It eats up the biggest portion of the state budget.
The burden has put a strain on state budgets across the nation. Last year, Ohio lawmakers cut 25,000 parents from Medicaid to save about $37 million for the two-year budget.
Likewise, many businesses are dealing with skyrocketing health-care costs by scaling back benefits or requiring employees to pay a higher share.
"As health-care costs rise, it’s the lowest-wage workers who are losing benefits," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, which studies health-care issues.
"I don’t think people should be surprised by what they are seeing, and they probably shouldn’t expect a lot more out of these companies. It’s hard to expect an employer to provide health-care benefits to an employee making $7 an hour."
Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list. The rate of Medicaid recipients, including dependents, came to 36 per 100 employees for Bob Evans, well above the 25 per 100 at Wal-Mart.
Bob Evans spokeswoman Tammy Roberts Myers said late yesterday that company officials hadn’t seen the report.
"It’s something we will certainly be looking at here and discussing," she said.
ccandisky@dispatch.com
jsheban@dispatch.com
Casino Health Care
Hey Folks,
Well, the Dispatch has reported: “Bush praises health-savings accounts, but prognosis grim.”
Whenever Bush presents ANYTHING, one thing is perfectly clear: it is designed to make money for those who have money at the expense of those who struggle with what money they have. Nothing different in this case – it’s the same old bullshit.
Bush says “Free Markets and competition have the power to transform our health-care system.” True, but who will benefit from that change?
Bush says, “HSAs are making health care more affordable.” True, but for whom?
According to the story, “The administration argues that, if people are forced to pay more health-care costs out of pocket, they will comparison shop and request quality data, thereby driving down the cost of care.”
Yeah, right! Consumer Reports: “Best Deals on Dialysis !”
The scam, also reported in the story, is: “A consumer who obtains health-care coverage with A HIGH DEDUCTIBLE can set aside money tax-free to pay for such costs as doctor visits or prescription drugs. IF THE MONEY ISN’T USED, it can be rolled over from year to year with any INTEREST earned also TAX FREE.”
The man who was born again and who talks with God wants regular folks to take up gambling! Gambling with their lives. IF the “saved” money is enough (for the rest of ones life) to pay the bills; groovy, Dude! If not, tough shit – we have NEW bankruptcy laws, you know!
If you never, ever get sick; Dude! Think of the Vegas trips you could take on the money you save!! The story reports a Wendy’s corporate pilot who “likes his HSA and Bush’s plan," says he hasn’t yet tapped his account, so "it has turned into a small INVESTMENT”!
Well, isn’t that nice for him.
Of course, things COULD change for the pilot. Even if they don’t, a large portion of Wendey’s employees won’t be so fortunate. But who gives a fuck!? The plan DOES save corporate money!
According to the story, Wendy’s “health-care costs went up only 1 percent last year after HSAs were implemented. Without the change, the increase would have been 11 percent to 13 percent.” So, HSAs DO save money – for Wendy’s!
Do you think that Wendy’s employees “consumer-shopped” their way into a 10 to 12 percent savings for the company? Or do you think the employees took on 10 to 12 percent of the cost and risk?
Pretty obvious. Whenever Bush presents ANYTHING, it is designed to make money for those who have money at the expense of those who struggle with what money they have.
And in this case, it’s the old “divide and conquer” approach: offer a windfall to those who foolishly feel lucky, and they won’t object to screwing their fellows.
The World Can’t Wait!
Bush must go!
Drive him out!
-Uke Man
Well, the Dispatch has reported: “Bush praises health-savings accounts, but prognosis grim.”
Whenever Bush presents ANYTHING, one thing is perfectly clear: it is designed to make money for those who have money at the expense of those who struggle with what money they have. Nothing different in this case – it’s the same old bullshit.
Bush says “Free Markets and competition have the power to transform our health-care system.” True, but who will benefit from that change?
Bush says, “HSAs are making health care more affordable.” True, but for whom?
According to the story, “The administration argues that, if people are forced to pay more health-care costs out of pocket, they will comparison shop and request quality data, thereby driving down the cost of care.”
Yeah, right! Consumer Reports: “Best Deals on Dialysis !”
The scam, also reported in the story, is: “A consumer who obtains health-care coverage with A HIGH DEDUCTIBLE can set aside money tax-free to pay for such costs as doctor visits or prescription drugs. IF THE MONEY ISN’T USED, it can be rolled over from year to year with any INTEREST earned also TAX FREE.”
The man who was born again and who talks with God wants regular folks to take up gambling! Gambling with their lives. IF the “saved” money is enough (for the rest of ones life) to pay the bills; groovy, Dude! If not, tough shit – we have NEW bankruptcy laws, you know!
If you never, ever get sick; Dude! Think of the Vegas trips you could take on the money you save!! The story reports a Wendy’s corporate pilot who “likes his HSA and Bush’s plan," says he hasn’t yet tapped his account, so "it has turned into a small INVESTMENT”!
Well, isn’t that nice for him.
Of course, things COULD change for the pilot. Even if they don’t, a large portion of Wendey’s employees won’t be so fortunate. But who gives a fuck!? The plan DOES save corporate money!
According to the story, Wendy’s “health-care costs went up only 1 percent last year after HSAs were implemented. Without the change, the increase would have been 11 percent to 13 percent.” So, HSAs DO save money – for Wendy’s!
Do you think that Wendy’s employees “consumer-shopped” their way into a 10 to 12 percent savings for the company? Or do you think the employees took on 10 to 12 percent of the cost and risk?
Pretty obvious. Whenever Bush presents ANYTHING, it is designed to make money for those who have money at the expense of those who struggle with what money they have.
And in this case, it’s the old “divide and conquer” approach: offer a windfall to those who foolishly feel lucky, and they won’t object to screwing their fellows.
The World Can’t Wait!
Bush must go!
Drive him out!
-Uke Man
Cheney Cashes In
Hey Folks,
Now check out this one: “Cheney Plays Folsom”:
http://cheneyplaysfolsom.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
- Uke Man
Now check out this one: “Cheney Plays Folsom”:
http://cheneyplaysfolsom.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
- Uke Man
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Twain - the Battle Continues
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 34th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – That night the Yankee and Clarence waited and watched as more and more knights naively joined their dead brethren, electrocuted all along the fence lines.
“We concluded to make a tour between the inner fences. We elected to walk upright, for convenience sake . . . Well, it was a curious trip. Everywhere dead men were lying outside the second fence – not plainly visible, but still visible; and we counted fifteen of those pathetic statues – dead knights standing with their hands on the upper wire. . .
Pretty soon we detected a muffled and heavy sound, and the next moment we guessed what it was. It was a surprise in force coming! . . . we stood by the inner fence and watched the silent lightning do its awful work upon that swarming host. One could make out but little of detail; but he could note that a black mass was piling itself up beyond the second fence. That swelling bulk was dead men! Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead – a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say."
- Uke Man
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 34th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – That night the Yankee and Clarence waited and watched as more and more knights naively joined their dead brethren, electrocuted all along the fence lines.
“We concluded to make a tour between the inner fences. We elected to walk upright, for convenience sake . . . Well, it was a curious trip. Everywhere dead men were lying outside the second fence – not plainly visible, but still visible; and we counted fifteen of those pathetic statues – dead knights standing with their hands on the upper wire. . .
Pretty soon we detected a muffled and heavy sound, and the next moment we guessed what it was. It was a surprise in force coming! . . . we stood by the inner fence and watched the silent lightning do its awful work upon that swarming host. One could make out but little of detail; but he could note that a black mass was piling itself up beyond the second fence. That swelling bulk was dead men! Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead – a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say."
- Uke Man
Not Sold in Any Store!!!
Hey Folks,
Check out this video: “Songs of the Far Right Wing”
http://folksongsofthefarrightwing.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
- Uke Man
Check out this video: “Songs of the Far Right Wing”
http://folksongsofthefarrightwing.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
- Uke Man
Friday, February 24, 2006
a little mind
Hey Folks,
President Bush has recently received a lot of criticism over allowing the United Arab Emirates to administer several large, American ports. Columnist David Brooks is angry about that.
He argued recently that the criticism of Bush results from an hysterical fear of Arabs, a fear not unrelated to ethnic profiling. He points out that a number of professional experts see no problem with the deal. He calls the criticism “bogus,” “illogical,” and “irrelevant.” He argues that there is no connection between the United Arab Emirates and “Taliban radicalism.” He explains how this will cause us financial difficulties, and he ends by claiming that thwarting Bush will give our enemies “All the garbage they need.”
Every one of these points is perfectly parallel with arguments made earlier against invading Iraq, but Brooks was strangely silent then – no mention of hysteria, fear, and racism – no name-calling - no respect demanded for CIA/FBI/State Department professional experts - no objection to linking Saddam to Al Qaida - no concern for the financial consequences of war - and no recognition that attacking Iraq would provide “All the garbage” Osama “needed.”
Well, Brooks may be hypocritical, but he’s not inconsistent!
When we were being pushed into an unnecessary war that could lead to disaster, he was willing to take a chance that thousands of our young people would be killed and tens of thousands maimed. Now that we are being pushed into an unnecessary business arrangement that could lead to disaster he again is willing to take a chance that thousands of Americans will be killed and tens of thousands maimed.
What is it they say about consistency and hobgoblins?
- Uke Man
President Bush has recently received a lot of criticism over allowing the United Arab Emirates to administer several large, American ports. Columnist David Brooks is angry about that.
He argued recently that the criticism of Bush results from an hysterical fear of Arabs, a fear not unrelated to ethnic profiling. He points out that a number of professional experts see no problem with the deal. He calls the criticism “bogus,” “illogical,” and “irrelevant.” He argues that there is no connection between the United Arab Emirates and “Taliban radicalism.” He explains how this will cause us financial difficulties, and he ends by claiming that thwarting Bush will give our enemies “All the garbage they need.”
Every one of these points is perfectly parallel with arguments made earlier against invading Iraq, but Brooks was strangely silent then – no mention of hysteria, fear, and racism – no name-calling - no respect demanded for CIA/FBI/State Department professional experts - no objection to linking Saddam to Al Qaida - no concern for the financial consequences of war - and no recognition that attacking Iraq would provide “All the garbage” Osama “needed.”
Well, Brooks may be hypocritical, but he’s not inconsistent!
When we were being pushed into an unnecessary war that could lead to disaster, he was willing to take a chance that thousands of our young people would be killed and tens of thousands maimed. Now that we are being pushed into an unnecessary business arrangement that could lead to disaster he again is willing to take a chance that thousands of Americans will be killed and tens of thousands maimed.
What is it they say about consistency and hobgoblins?
- Uke Man
My visit to Worthington Kilbourne
Hey Folks,
I visited Worthington Kilbourne High School today to address the “Political Radicalism” classes, and told them to listen to all the speakers but not to believe anything they said – including me. I argued that nobody knew any more about the important aspects of life than they did. I asked, “If experts know so much, why don’t they ever agree and suggested that almost everything they confront in life is dedicated NOT to solving problems for them or helping them to find the truth, but instead was designed to draw them into a particular “camp” – something helpful to the proselytizer rather than the proselytizee.
Two movies provided examples of how I see “culture” or “civilization” operate in this regard.
From The Truman Show:
“We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.”
From the 1st Matrix :
Morpheus: “Let me tell you why you are here. You are here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it is there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. That’s what brought you to me.
Do you know what I’m talking about?”
(Neo) “The Matrix?”
Morpheus: “Do you want to know what it is?
The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.
It is the world that has been pulled down over your eyes to blind you from the truth, the truth that you are a slave. The Matrix is a dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into a power source for others.
As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free."
* * *
To help challenge the “givens” foisted upon us as we grow up I suggested “questioning the dominant paradigm” – so to speak. Here are some examples:
Question the Matrix
1. Why do politicians spend so much money to get a job that pays peanuts?
2. Why do corporations give so much money to politicians who are elected by and responsible to the People?
3. If, as studies have shown, in most cases the amount of money spent campaigning determines the victor, what is “democracy” based upon – people or money?
4. If our nation’s foreign policy is aimed at “American Interests,” which Americans’ interests are they?
5. Why do the vast majority of people surveyed believe THEY will go to heaven but that most of the other people won’t?
6. If Cuba is our enemy because it is run by a “Communist dictator,” why do we like China?
7. If this nation was founded on “Christian” principles, how could it have
accepted slavery?
8. In WHAT wars did soldiers fight and die to “protect our rights”?
9. If adultery is a sin, couldn’t we eliminate it by outlawing straight marriages along with gay ones?
10. If experts know so much, why don’t they ever agree?
11. If it makes sense to say, “Choose life; your mother did,” what about “Have sex with your mother; your father did”?
12. If a number of religions claim to be the one, true religion, don’t all but one HAVE to be wrong?
13. If, as some say, health care is a privilege not a right, does that mean that sick poor people have the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but NOT life?
14. If the “death tax” is so bad, why don’t we hear more dead people complaining?
15. If it is wrong to collect a welfare check for doing nothing, why is it OK to inherit Wal-Mart?
16. If winning athletes thank God, why don’t losers cuss him?
17. If winning athletes used performance-enhancing drugs, should God still get the credit?
18. If God saves the survivors of a disaster, who killed the victims?
19. If God made man in his own image, what does that say about God?
20. Put another way: If we are the product of God’s “intelligent design,” just how intelligent IS he?
21. If a Christian is a capitalist, does that mean he doesn’t covet his neighbor’s wife – just his neighbor’s goods?
- Uke Man
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Twain - Silent Death
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 33rd entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 - The Yankee enters the cave, turns
off the current on the outer fences, and returns to the darkness - with
Clarence - to observe:
We started a whispered conversation, but suddenly
Clarence broke off and said -
“What is that?”
“That thing yonder?”
“What thing? - Where?”
“There beyond you a little piece - a dark something -
a dull shape of some kind - against the second fence.”
I gazed, he gazed. I said:
“Could it be a man, Clarence?”
“No, I think not. If you notice, it looks a lit -
why, it is a man! - leaning on the fence.”
“I certainly believe it is; let’s go and see.”
We crept along on our hands and knees until we were
pretty close, and then looked up. Yes, it was a man -
a dim great figure in armor, standing erect, with both
hands on the upper wire - and of course there was a
smell of burning flesh. Poor fellow, dead as a
doornail, and never knew what hurt him. He stood
there like a statue - no motion about him, except that
his plumes swished about a little in the night wind.
We rose up and looked in through the bars of his
visor, but couldn’t make out whether we knew him or
not - features too dim and shadowed.
We heard muffled sounds approaching, and we sank
down to the ground where we were. We made out
another knight vaguely; he was coming very stealthily,
and feeling his way. He was near enough now, for us to
see him put out a hand, find an upper wire, then bend
and step over it, then bend and step under it and over
the lower one. Now he arrived at the first knight -
and started slightly when he discovered him. He stood
a moment - no doubt wondering why the other one
didn’t move on; then he said, in a low voice, “Why
dreamest thou here, good Sir Mar-” then he laid his
hand on the corpse’s shoulder - and just uttered a
little soft moan and sunk down dead. Killed by a dead
man, you see - killed by a dead friend, in fact.
There was something awful about it.
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 33rd entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 - The Yankee enters the cave, turns
off the current on the outer fences, and returns to the darkness - with
Clarence - to observe:
We started a whispered conversation, but suddenly
Clarence broke off and said -
“What is that?”
“That thing yonder?”
“What thing? - Where?”
“There beyond you a little piece - a dark something -
a dull shape of some kind - against the second fence.”
I gazed, he gazed. I said:
“Could it be a man, Clarence?”
“No, I think not. If you notice, it looks a lit -
why, it is a man! - leaning on the fence.”
“I certainly believe it is; let’s go and see.”
We crept along on our hands and knees until we were
pretty close, and then looked up. Yes, it was a man -
a dim great figure in armor, standing erect, with both
hands on the upper wire - and of course there was a
smell of burning flesh. Poor fellow, dead as a
doornail, and never knew what hurt him. He stood
there like a statue - no motion about him, except that
his plumes swished about a little in the night wind.
We rose up and looked in through the bars of his
visor, but couldn’t make out whether we knew him or
not - features too dim and shadowed.
We heard muffled sounds approaching, and we sank
down to the ground where we were. We made out
another knight vaguely; he was coming very stealthily,
and feeling his way. He was near enough now, for us to
see him put out a hand, find an upper wire, then bend
and step over it, then bend and step under it and over
the lower one. Now he arrived at the first knight -
and started slightly when he discovered him. He stood
a moment - no doubt wondering why the other one
didn’t move on; then he said, in a low voice, “Why
dreamest thou here, good Sir Mar-” then he laid his
hand on the corpse’s shoulder - and just uttered a
little soft moan and sunk down dead. Killed by a dead
man, you see - killed by a dead friend, in fact.
There was something awful about it.
Adventures in "Gaming"
Hey Folks,
If you don’t already know, “Gaming” does not refer to hunting quail (or aged lawyers), selling used cars, or behavior at singles bars. It is the genteel term for (dare I say it here in the bosom of Blackwell Country, in such proximity to the Circleville Bible College ?)
GAMBLING!!!!
Periodically, my degenerate friends connive to involve me in their evil pursuits, and we abandon prudence, embrace turpitude, check our wallets, and head for INDIANA, the home of Satan.
Now, thanks to the magic of my Canon graven-image device, the faint of heart can share – vicariously – in the decadence.
Today, the boat !!!!
Tomorrow, the World !!!!
- Uke Man
If you don’t already know, “Gaming” does not refer to hunting quail (or aged lawyers), selling used cars, or behavior at singles bars. It is the genteel term for (dare I say it here in the bosom of Blackwell Country, in such proximity to the Circleville Bible College ?)
GAMBLING!!!!
Periodically, my degenerate friends connive to involve me in their evil pursuits, and we abandon prudence, embrace turpitude, check our wallets, and head for INDIANA, the home of Satan.
Now, thanks to the magic of my Canon graven-image device, the faint of heart can share – vicariously – in the decadence.
Today, the boat !!!!
Tomorrow, the World !!!!
- Uke Man
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Frankenstein's Monster
Folks,
I had to laugh – an insane laugh – when I read the front page of the Dispatch Tuesday!! The chickens are coming home to roost.
The venal political, economic, and social corruption committed by the “leaders,” “opinion makers,” “money interests, and other elite ginks has coalesced into corporeal form and risen from its slab - anxious to embrace enough other mental defectives to be elected governor.
Not unlike the “chosen” leaders of Saudi Arabia who kept their "unwashed" in line and unfocused on important matters via government-sanctioned, religious prejudice and bigotry toward the West, our own reactionary leaders have – for years - “managed” the hoi polloi via religion, prejudice, and bigotry.
Not unlike the situation in Saudi Arabia, the monster here has taken on a life of its own, no longer within control of his “master.” In the lead story, by Joe Hallett it is reported that the Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell “went nuclear” (of course, that should be “nucular”); he “drew blood,” announced attack ads saying his primary opponent’s “ethics” were “worse than [Gov. Bob] Taft’s” (who, the ad points out, was “guilty of ethics violations”), called his fellow Republican candidate “a clear and present danger,” and accused him of corrupt “pay-to-play schemes” and premeditated accounting misrepresentations.
Surprise, surprise. The Republican establishment, if initially apoplectic, were quick to howl “Foul !” Ronald Reagan (Blackwell’s purported hero) was mentioned (implying, if not actually invoking his “11th Commandment”: “Don’t poop on fellow Republicans”).
Taft claimed to be busy “moving this state forward” and bemoaned “smear tactics.” One of the funnier comments came from Robert T. Bennet, Ohio’s Republican Party Chair. Speaking from his above-the-fold picture – looking like an aged deer caught in the headlights – he said – as any good Republican would:
“The race for governor should be a contest of ideas, not smear tactics [ I can’t keep from laughing as I type this] and attack ads. I expect this kind of negative campaigning from the Democrats, but Ken Blackwell should have a better strategy for winning this primary than simply burning down the house.”
A Saudi Prince lecturing a zealous ayatollah couldn’t have said it better.
Another laugher came from candidate Jim Petro’s campaign manager Bob Paduchik who said, “Ken Blackwell has aired probably the most deceptive and vile political attack [now here’s the funny part] I’ve ever seen.”
Did this guy just fall off a turnip truck? Can he truly be a Republican?
Now, Blackwell - as everybody should know by now - is in tight with the pompous, faith-healing, charlatan ("minister") Rod Parsley. He’s also – like Parsley and our President - in tight with god. As a result, talking sense to the man works about as well as debating a fence post. Taft, Bennett, and Paduchik wasted their breath (see “Bush Administration” for historical parallels).
The article concludes, “But Blackwell said he would continue his anti-Petro tactics: ‘I believe that pursuing a path of truth [it’s probably in “Leviticus” somewhere] and doing it out of love for my party and respect for good government is why we’re going to pursue this issue as aggressively as we’re going to pursue it.’”
The creature believes ! He believes in himself and in his understanding of God and the World. Why shouldn’t he? All the rotten political body parts sewn together in his construction have always been valued by politicians, particularly - in this state and for many years – by Republicans. Racial prejudice and fear, homophobia, exploiting the poor, “supporting” God, keeping women “in their place” (even so far as refusing an abortion to a woman who will otherwise die), cutting taxes for the rich while cutting programs for the needy – all this rotting protoplasm has been lovingly propagated for decades in Republican petrey dishes.
It’s rotten, but it has worked. Enough uneducated, fearful, prejudiced people have been brought around to voting against their own interest to justify the careful and judicious use of despicable, even immoral, tactics.
The present difference is that in the past “good” Republicans tiptoed around their ugly impulses, dressing them up in fancy clothes, hiding behind surrogates, and making use of them as sparingly as political necessity would allow. Hypocrites, yes, but they knew how the truth would make them look - so they hid it.
Now, animated by God’s lightning bolt and the certainty of God’s counsel, Blackwell stands forth proudly proclaiming the holy nature of his rancid crusade, unencumbered by doubt or shame, so convinced of his righteousness that he, like Frankenstein’s original monster, is clueless as to the actual spectacle he presents or the dark significance of his ascendance.
The saddest thing is that he could end up being our next governor. He does have access to and control of the voting machines. But even without that, I don’t feel absolutely certain he won’t be embraced by a majority of Ohio voters. After all, he is God’s candidate; and this is God’s country.
In Ohio, with God all things are possible.
- Uke Man
I had to laugh – an insane laugh – when I read the front page of the Dispatch Tuesday!! The chickens are coming home to roost.
The venal political, economic, and social corruption committed by the “leaders,” “opinion makers,” “money interests, and other elite ginks has coalesced into corporeal form and risen from its slab - anxious to embrace enough other mental defectives to be elected governor.
Not unlike the “chosen” leaders of Saudi Arabia who kept their "unwashed" in line and unfocused on important matters via government-sanctioned, religious prejudice and bigotry toward the West, our own reactionary leaders have – for years - “managed” the hoi polloi via religion, prejudice, and bigotry.
Not unlike the situation in Saudi Arabia, the monster here has taken on a life of its own, no longer within control of his “master.” In the lead story, by Joe Hallett it is reported that the Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell “went nuclear” (of course, that should be “nucular”); he “drew blood,” announced attack ads saying his primary opponent’s “ethics” were “worse than [Gov. Bob] Taft’s” (who, the ad points out, was “guilty of ethics violations”), called his fellow Republican candidate “a clear and present danger,” and accused him of corrupt “pay-to-play schemes” and premeditated accounting misrepresentations.
Surprise, surprise. The Republican establishment, if initially apoplectic, were quick to howl “Foul !” Ronald Reagan (Blackwell’s purported hero) was mentioned (implying, if not actually invoking his “11th Commandment”: “Don’t poop on fellow Republicans”).
Taft claimed to be busy “moving this state forward” and bemoaned “smear tactics.” One of the funnier comments came from Robert T. Bennet, Ohio’s Republican Party Chair. Speaking from his above-the-fold picture – looking like an aged deer caught in the headlights – he said – as any good Republican would:
“The race for governor should be a contest of ideas, not smear tactics [ I can’t keep from laughing as I type this] and attack ads. I expect this kind of negative campaigning from the Democrats, but Ken Blackwell should have a better strategy for winning this primary than simply burning down the house.”
A Saudi Prince lecturing a zealous ayatollah couldn’t have said it better.
Another laugher came from candidate Jim Petro’s campaign manager Bob Paduchik who said, “Ken Blackwell has aired probably the most deceptive and vile political attack [now here’s the funny part] I’ve ever seen.”
Did this guy just fall off a turnip truck? Can he truly be a Republican?
Now, Blackwell - as everybody should know by now - is in tight with the pompous, faith-healing, charlatan ("minister") Rod Parsley. He’s also – like Parsley and our President - in tight with god. As a result, talking sense to the man works about as well as debating a fence post. Taft, Bennett, and Paduchik wasted their breath (see “Bush Administration” for historical parallels).
The article concludes, “But Blackwell said he would continue his anti-Petro tactics: ‘I believe that pursuing a path of truth [it’s probably in “Leviticus” somewhere] and doing it out of love for my party and respect for good government is why we’re going to pursue this issue as aggressively as we’re going to pursue it.’”
The creature believes ! He believes in himself and in his understanding of God and the World. Why shouldn’t he? All the rotten political body parts sewn together in his construction have always been valued by politicians, particularly - in this state and for many years – by Republicans. Racial prejudice and fear, homophobia, exploiting the poor, “supporting” God, keeping women “in their place” (even so far as refusing an abortion to a woman who will otherwise die), cutting taxes for the rich while cutting programs for the needy – all this rotting protoplasm has been lovingly propagated for decades in Republican petrey dishes.
It’s rotten, but it has worked. Enough uneducated, fearful, prejudiced people have been brought around to voting against their own interest to justify the careful and judicious use of despicable, even immoral, tactics.
The present difference is that in the past “good” Republicans tiptoed around their ugly impulses, dressing them up in fancy clothes, hiding behind surrogates, and making use of them as sparingly as political necessity would allow. Hypocrites, yes, but they knew how the truth would make them look - so they hid it.
Now, animated by God’s lightning bolt and the certainty of God’s counsel, Blackwell stands forth proudly proclaiming the holy nature of his rancid crusade, unencumbered by doubt or shame, so convinced of his righteousness that he, like Frankenstein’s original monster, is clueless as to the actual spectacle he presents or the dark significance of his ascendance.
The saddest thing is that he could end up being our next governor. He does have access to and control of the voting machines. But even without that, I don’t feel absolutely certain he won’t be embraced by a majority of Ohio voters. After all, he is God’s candidate; and this is God’s country.
In Ohio, with God all things are possible.
- Uke Man
We Can't Wait! Drive Bush Out !!!
G.O.P. to W.: You're Nuts!
By MAUREEN DOWD
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
WASHINGTON
It's enough to make you nostalgic for those gnarly union stevedores in "On the Waterfront," the ones who hung up rats on hooks and took away Marlon Brando's chance to be a contend-ah.
Maybe it's corporate racial profiling, but I don't want foreign companies, particularly ones with links to 9/11, running American ports.
What kind of empire are we if we have to outsource our coastline to a group of sheiks who don't recognize Israel, in a country where money was laundered for the 9/11 attacks? And that let A. Q. Kahn, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, smuggle nuclear components through its port to Libya, North Korea and Iran?
It's mind-boggling that President Bush ever agreed to let an alliance of seven emirs be in charge of six of our ports. Although, as usual, Incurious George didn't even know about it until after the fact. (Neither did Rummy, even though he heads one of the agencies that green-lighted the deal.)
Same old pattern: a stupid and counterproductive national security decision is made in secret, blowing off checks and balances, and the president's out of the loop.
Was W. too busy not calling Dick Cheney to find out why he shot a guy to not be involved in a critical decision about U.S. security? What is he waiting for — a presidential daily brief warning, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack U.S. Ports?"
Our ports are already nearly naked in terms of security. Only about 5 percent of the containers coming into the country are checked. And when the White House assures us that the Homeland Security Department will oversee security at the ports, is that supposed to make us sleep better? Not after the chuckleheaded Chertoff-and-Brownie show on Capitol Hill.
"Our borders are wide open," said Jan Gadiel of 9/11 Families for a Secure America. "We don't know who's in our country right now, not a clue. And now they're giving away our ports." The "trust us" routine of W. and Dick Cheney is threadbare.
The more W. warned that he would veto legislation stopping this deal, the more lawmakers held press conferences to oppose it — even conservatives who had loyally supported W. on Iraq, the Patriot Act, torture and warrantless snooping.
Mr. Bush is hoist on his own petard. For four years, the White House has accused anyone in Congress or the press who defended civil liberties or questioned anything about the Iraq war of being soft on terrorism. Now, as Congress and the press turn that accusation back on the White House, Mr. Bush acts mystified by the orgy of xenophobia.
Lawmakers, many up for re-election, have learned well from Karl Rove. Playing the terror card works.
A bristly Bush said yesterday that scotching the deal would send "a terrible signal" to a worthy ally. He equated the "Great British" with the U.A.E. Well, maybe Britain in the 12th century.
Besides, the American people can be forgiven if they're confused about what it means in the Arab world to be a U.S. ally. Is it a nation that helps us sometimes but also addicts us to oil and then jacks up the price, refuses to recognize Israel, denies women basic rights, tolerates radical anti-American clerics, looks the other way when its citizens burn down embassies and consulates over cartoons, and often turns a blind eye when it comes to hunting down terrorists in its midst?
In our past wars, America had specific countries to demonize. But now in the "global war on terror" — GWOT, as they call it — the enemy is a faceless commodity that the administration uses whenever it wants to win a political battle. When something like this happens, it's no wonder the public does its own face transplant.
One of the real problems here is that this administration has run up such huge trade and tax-cut-and-spend budget deficits that we're in hock to the Arabs and the Chinese to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. If they just converted their bonds into cash, they would own our ports and not have to merely rent them.
Just because the wealthy foreigners who own our debt can blackmail us with their economic leverage, does that mean we should expose our security assets to them as well?
As part of the lunatic White House defense, Dan Bartlett argued that "people are trying to drive wedges and make this to be a political issue." But as the New Republic editor Peter Beinart pointed out in a recent column, W. has made the war on terror "one vast wedge issue" to divide the country.
Now, however, the president has pulled us together. We all pretty much agree: mitts off our ports.
By MAUREEN DOWD
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
WASHINGTON
It's enough to make you nostalgic for those gnarly union stevedores in "On the Waterfront," the ones who hung up rats on hooks and took away Marlon Brando's chance to be a contend-ah.
Maybe it's corporate racial profiling, but I don't want foreign companies, particularly ones with links to 9/11, running American ports.
What kind of empire are we if we have to outsource our coastline to a group of sheiks who don't recognize Israel, in a country where money was laundered for the 9/11 attacks? And that let A. Q. Kahn, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, smuggle nuclear components through its port to Libya, North Korea and Iran?
It's mind-boggling that President Bush ever agreed to let an alliance of seven emirs be in charge of six of our ports. Although, as usual, Incurious George didn't even know about it until after the fact. (Neither did Rummy, even though he heads one of the agencies that green-lighted the deal.)
Same old pattern: a stupid and counterproductive national security decision is made in secret, blowing off checks and balances, and the president's out of the loop.
Was W. too busy not calling Dick Cheney to find out why he shot a guy to not be involved in a critical decision about U.S. security? What is he waiting for — a presidential daily brief warning, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack U.S. Ports?"
Our ports are already nearly naked in terms of security. Only about 5 percent of the containers coming into the country are checked. And when the White House assures us that the Homeland Security Department will oversee security at the ports, is that supposed to make us sleep better? Not after the chuckleheaded Chertoff-and-Brownie show on Capitol Hill.
"Our borders are wide open," said Jan Gadiel of 9/11 Families for a Secure America. "We don't know who's in our country right now, not a clue. And now they're giving away our ports." The "trust us" routine of W. and Dick Cheney is threadbare.
The more W. warned that he would veto legislation stopping this deal, the more lawmakers held press conferences to oppose it — even conservatives who had loyally supported W. on Iraq, the Patriot Act, torture and warrantless snooping.
Mr. Bush is hoist on his own petard. For four years, the White House has accused anyone in Congress or the press who defended civil liberties or questioned anything about the Iraq war of being soft on terrorism. Now, as Congress and the press turn that accusation back on the White House, Mr. Bush acts mystified by the orgy of xenophobia.
Lawmakers, many up for re-election, have learned well from Karl Rove. Playing the terror card works.
A bristly Bush said yesterday that scotching the deal would send "a terrible signal" to a worthy ally. He equated the "Great British" with the U.A.E. Well, maybe Britain in the 12th century.
Besides, the American people can be forgiven if they're confused about what it means in the Arab world to be a U.S. ally. Is it a nation that helps us sometimes but also addicts us to oil and then jacks up the price, refuses to recognize Israel, denies women basic rights, tolerates radical anti-American clerics, looks the other way when its citizens burn down embassies and consulates over cartoons, and often turns a blind eye when it comes to hunting down terrorists in its midst?
In our past wars, America had specific countries to demonize. But now in the "global war on terror" — GWOT, as they call it — the enemy is a faceless commodity that the administration uses whenever it wants to win a political battle. When something like this happens, it's no wonder the public does its own face transplant.
One of the real problems here is that this administration has run up such huge trade and tax-cut-and-spend budget deficits that we're in hock to the Arabs and the Chinese to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. If they just converted their bonds into cash, they would own our ports and not have to merely rent them.
Just because the wealthy foreigners who own our debt can blackmail us with their economic leverage, does that mean we should expose our security assets to them as well?
As part of the lunatic White House defense, Dan Bartlett argued that "people are trying to drive wedges and make this to be a political issue." But as the New Republic editor Peter Beinart pointed out in a recent column, W. has made the war on terror "one vast wedge issue" to divide the country.
Now, however, the president has pulled us together. We all pretty much agree: mitts off our ports.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Twain
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 32nd entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – After the thundering explosion as the charging knights entered the mine-field, heavy smoke obscured the battlefield for half an hour before it dissipated.
“No living creature was in sight! We now perceived that additions had been made to our defences. The dynamite had dug a ditch more than a hundred feet wide, all around us, and cast up an embankment some twenty-five feet high on both borders of it. As to destruction of life, it was amazing. Moreover, it was beyond estimate. Of course we could not count the dead, because they did not exist as individuals, but merely as homogenous protoplasm, with alloys of iron and buttons."
Feeling secure, the Yankee spoke to his “army,” his fifty-two boys, in no uncertain terms that after this victory, only the nights would be left to fight – the commoners having left the scene – and that, as for the knights, “We will kill them all.”
He then sends out work crews laboring through the night to prepare the diversion of a mountain brook just south of his defences, “arranging it in such a way that I could make instant use of it in an emergency.” Later . . .
“As soon as it was good and dark, I shut off the current from all of the fences, and then groped my way out to the embankment bordering our side of the great dynamite ditch. I crept to the top of it and lay there on the slant of the muck to watch. But it was too dark to see anything.”
After a long wait . . .
"At last I caught what you may call indistinct glimpses of sound – dulled metallic sound. . . This sound thickened, and approached – from toward the north. Presently I heard it at my own level – the ridge- top of the opposite embankment, a hundred feet or more
away. . . I heard that metallic noise descending into the great ditch. It augmented fast, it spread all along, and it unmistakably furnished me this fact: an armed host was taking up its quarters in the ditch. Yes, these people were arranging a little surprise party for us. . . I groped my way back to the corral, now; I had seen enough. I went to the platform and signaled to turn the current onto the two inner fences. . . It was my notion that as soon as dawn approached we could expect the ditch’s ambuscaded thousands to swarm up over the embankment and make an assault, and be followed immediately by the rest of their army.”
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 32nd entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – After the thundering explosion as the charging knights entered the mine-field, heavy smoke obscured the battlefield for half an hour before it dissipated.
“No living creature was in sight! We now perceived that additions had been made to our defences. The dynamite had dug a ditch more than a hundred feet wide, all around us, and cast up an embankment some twenty-five feet high on both borders of it. As to destruction of life, it was amazing. Moreover, it was beyond estimate. Of course we could not count the dead, because they did not exist as individuals, but merely as homogenous protoplasm, with alloys of iron and buttons."
Feeling secure, the Yankee spoke to his “army,” his fifty-two boys, in no uncertain terms that after this victory, only the nights would be left to fight – the commoners having left the scene – and that, as for the knights, “We will kill them all.”
He then sends out work crews laboring through the night to prepare the diversion of a mountain brook just south of his defences, “arranging it in such a way that I could make instant use of it in an emergency.” Later . . .
“As soon as it was good and dark, I shut off the current from all of the fences, and then groped my way out to the embankment bordering our side of the great dynamite ditch. I crept to the top of it and lay there on the slant of the muck to watch. But it was too dark to see anything.”
After a long wait . . .
"At last I caught what you may call indistinct glimpses of sound – dulled metallic sound. . . This sound thickened, and approached – from toward the north. Presently I heard it at my own level – the ridge- top of the opposite embankment, a hundred feet or more
away. . . I heard that metallic noise descending into the great ditch. It augmented fast, it spread all along, and it unmistakably furnished me this fact: an armed host was taking up its quarters in the ditch. Yes, these people were arranging a little surprise party for us. . . I groped my way back to the corral, now; I had seen enough. I went to the platform and signaled to turn the current onto the two inner fences. . . It was my notion that as soon as dawn approached we could expect the ditch’s ambuscaded thousands to swarm up over the embankment and make an assault, and be followed immediately by the rest of their army.”
Monday, February 20, 2006
"There are reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say,what they do,and this is not a time for remarks like that.There never is."
Ari Fleischer, former White House Spokesman
"The Constitution is just a piece of paper!" - G.W. Bush
Hey Folks,
The Blundo column directly below struck a uke-nerve.
I’m so incredibly driven to distraction by hypocrisy! The lame crap we are fed:
We have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly; we’re “a nation of laws,” no one is above the law, all men are created equal, “life-liberty-and the pursuit of happiness,” “of –by-and for the people,” etc., etc., etc.
It’s not that I have a problem with these high-minded items; I have a problem with the windbags who strut around campaign podiums or editorial pages claiming that these things are already accomplished facts here in this “greatest country in the history of the world,” in this “shining city by the sea,” in this “Christian” nation – claiming that thousands of “brave Americans” have died to “protect” all these imaginary blessings.
Just one example. During Watergate, the publisher of the Washington Post was lionized as a courageous heroine because she printed a news story, a story which was true and for which there was overwhelmingly sufficient supportive evidence. Although EVERYONE advised against it, she printed the story – and has been celebrated ever since.
For what?
For printing an accurate, important, well-supported story in a newspaper, in Washington D.C. in the United States of America where the constitution suposedly guarantees “freedom of the Press.” That’s like being sainted for being Catholic.
Didn’t thousands of American soldiers die to ensure her right to freedom of speech and press? Isn’t publishing honest, supportable stories what newspapers are supposed to do? Doesn’t the constitution protect her right to do just that?
Well, then, why did EVERYONE tell her NOT to? Why was she so heroic in just doing her job.
Blundo has the reason directly below. All these high sounding phrases are ideals or goals – NOT extant facts. Our “leaders” should be working to make them realities – NOT trotting them out as excuses for accepting continued manipulation.
- Uke Man
The Blundo column directly below struck a uke-nerve.
I’m so incredibly driven to distraction by hypocrisy! The lame crap we are fed:
We have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly; we’re “a nation of laws,” no one is above the law, all men are created equal, “life-liberty-and the pursuit of happiness,” “of –by-and for the people,” etc., etc., etc.
It’s not that I have a problem with these high-minded items; I have a problem with the windbags who strut around campaign podiums or editorial pages claiming that these things are already accomplished facts here in this “greatest country in the history of the world,” in this “shining city by the sea,” in this “Christian” nation – claiming that thousands of “brave Americans” have died to “protect” all these imaginary blessings.
Just one example. During Watergate, the publisher of the Washington Post was lionized as a courageous heroine because she printed a news story, a story which was true and for which there was overwhelmingly sufficient supportive evidence. Although EVERYONE advised against it, she printed the story – and has been celebrated ever since.
For what?
For printing an accurate, important, well-supported story in a newspaper, in Washington D.C. in the United States of America where the constitution suposedly guarantees “freedom of the Press.” That’s like being sainted for being Catholic.
Didn’t thousands of American soldiers die to ensure her right to freedom of speech and press? Isn’t publishing honest, supportable stories what newspapers are supposed to do? Doesn’t the constitution protect her right to do just that?
Well, then, why did EVERYONE tell her NOT to? Why was she so heroic in just doing her job.
Blundo has the reason directly below. All these high sounding phrases are ideals or goals – NOT extant facts. Our “leaders” should be working to make them realities – NOT trotting them out as excuses for accepting continued manipulation.
- Uke Man
At last some Honesty !!
Price can rise pretty high for free speech
Sunday, February 19, 2006
JOE BLUNDO
I know that this sounds like a contradiction, but I think we use the term ‘‘free speech" too freely. Free speech isn’t free — if by ‘‘free" we mean "without cost." Speech always carries a cost. I’ve been thinking about this in light of the riots resulting from the Muhammad cartoons, first published in a Danish newspaper. People who dislike free speech try to squelch it by raising the price.
Hence, the reaction to the cartoons. In effect, the mobs are saying that the cost of portraying Muhammad will be riots across a broad swath of the world.
Most of the American media have decided that the price is too high. They’ve declined to reprint the cartoons.
Some commentators are saying the media are violating their sacred commitment to free speech by caving in to pressure.
To which I say: What else is new?
The media make judgments every day about what costs they’re willing to bear for free speech. Those judgments are called editing. I won’t claim that the judgments are always perfect.
When the AIDS epidemic first made itself apparent two decades or so ago, the media mostly declined to print the nitty-gritty details of exactly how it was transmitted. Instead, they relied on vague references to bodily fluids, the better to avoid paying the price of offending audiences.
If the media were unwilling to bear the costs of disseminating clear and possibly lifesaving information about a deadly disease, how can it be surprising that they’ve taken a pass on mediocre cartoons?
In a perfect world, people would be wise enough to recognize that burning and killing to protest a cartoon stop several degrees short of rational behavior. But in a perfect world, free speech would be free, in all senses of the word.
It’s not.
Free speech angers people. That’s why the Founding Fathers, those savvy judges of human behavior, put it in the Constitution. They knew that people would tolerate free speech until the first time someone said something they disagreed with.
But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that speech will never carry a cost.
America is, of course, saturated in free expression, to the point that almost nothing stays repressed for long.
Just a few years ago, if those controversial cartoons hadn’t been published by the socalled mainstream media, they would have gone largely unseen, period.
Now? It took me five minutes on Google to find them. Before long — and I wouldn’t be surprised if it already exists — someone will probably create a Web site that features nothing but offensive religious cartoons.
But what if Google itself determines that the price is too high?
After all, the Internet search company recently decided that it was unwilling to pay the cost of providing a large measure of free speech to China. In exchange for the right to do business there, it agreed to limit what its Chinese customers can find through its search engine.
Google, in effect, chose to compromise on the very quality that defines it.
I suppose you could argue that some free speech is better than none at all. But what other compromises will Google make to spread its business throughout the world? There’s a lot of potentially offended people on this planet.
Free speech always comes with a cost. But, then, all things of value do.
Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.
jblundo@dispatch.com
Sunday, February 19, 2006
JOE BLUNDO
I know that this sounds like a contradiction, but I think we use the term ‘‘free speech" too freely. Free speech isn’t free — if by ‘‘free" we mean "without cost." Speech always carries a cost. I’ve been thinking about this in light of the riots resulting from the Muhammad cartoons, first published in a Danish newspaper. People who dislike free speech try to squelch it by raising the price.
Hence, the reaction to the cartoons. In effect, the mobs are saying that the cost of portraying Muhammad will be riots across a broad swath of the world.
Most of the American media have decided that the price is too high. They’ve declined to reprint the cartoons.
Some commentators are saying the media are violating their sacred commitment to free speech by caving in to pressure.
To which I say: What else is new?
The media make judgments every day about what costs they’re willing to bear for free speech. Those judgments are called editing. I won’t claim that the judgments are always perfect.
When the AIDS epidemic first made itself apparent two decades or so ago, the media mostly declined to print the nitty-gritty details of exactly how it was transmitted. Instead, they relied on vague references to bodily fluids, the better to avoid paying the price of offending audiences.
If the media were unwilling to bear the costs of disseminating clear and possibly lifesaving information about a deadly disease, how can it be surprising that they’ve taken a pass on mediocre cartoons?
In a perfect world, people would be wise enough to recognize that burning and killing to protest a cartoon stop several degrees short of rational behavior. But in a perfect world, free speech would be free, in all senses of the word.
It’s not.
Free speech angers people. That’s why the Founding Fathers, those savvy judges of human behavior, put it in the Constitution. They knew that people would tolerate free speech until the first time someone said something they disagreed with.
But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that speech will never carry a cost.
America is, of course, saturated in free expression, to the point that almost nothing stays repressed for long.
Just a few years ago, if those controversial cartoons hadn’t been published by the socalled mainstream media, they would have gone largely unseen, period.
Now? It took me five minutes on Google to find them. Before long — and I wouldn’t be surprised if it already exists — someone will probably create a Web site that features nothing but offensive religious cartoons.
But what if Google itself determines that the price is too high?
After all, the Internet search company recently decided that it was unwilling to pay the cost of providing a large measure of free speech to China. In exchange for the right to do business there, it agreed to limit what its Chinese customers can find through its search engine.
Google, in effect, chose to compromise on the very quality that defines it.
I suppose you could argue that some free speech is better than none at all. But what other compromises will Google make to spread its business throughout the world? There’s a lot of potentially offended people on this planet.
Free speech always comes with a cost. But, then, all things of value do.
Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.
jblundo@dispatch.com
Sunday, February 19, 2006
"Are you gonna believe me, or your lying eyes?" - Red Foxx
Hey Folks,
Can we KNOW anything?
I think we can.
Is it easy to know things?
I don’t think so.
Is it good to know things?
I think so.
Is it easier to accept things than it is to know them?
Sure.
Do people want to know things, or would they rather accept things they are told and act as if they are known?
Good question. An important question.
It seems that, at least in terms of how things have been run historically, folks prefer to have their “knowledge” placed in their heads by someone else. Every “civilization” that has ever existed has rested on a dream world - created out of whole cloth, but nevertheless accepted by its people as real. Successive “civilizations” laugh at the “silly” notions of defunct cultures, but go to vicious war to establish the “truth” of their own. There are a lot of possible explanations for why this has always been the case, but I’m not getting into that now.
Instead, let’s look at the possibilities of doing it differently. Perhaps if enough people could become aware of the simple truth above about the relativity of cultural “truth,” it could lead to a saner, better world.
Here is a list of options. If forced to decide, which one of each pair would YOU choose?
Science or Faith
Learning or Accepting
Education or indoctrination
Thought or emotion
Knowing or Guessing
Self or Authority
Evidence or Dogma
Activity or Passivity
The Present or the Past
Sanity or Adjustment
Doubt or Certainty
Discovery or Testimonials
Reality or Virtual Reality
Objectivity or Spin
Truth or Fiction
Freedom or Security
Independence or Dependence
Intelligence or Emotion
Courage or Cowardice
Explanations for the dream-world nature of “civilizations” can be found in the second options. The inherent difficulty of the first options – along with the ease of the alternatives - explains the attractiveness of the second options.
In reading an article on the use of aroma in Las Vegas casinos, I came across this comment:
"Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient andprimitive part of the brain, which is thought to be the seat of emotion."
Our ancient, primitive natures DO make it easy for us to FEEL rather than THINK. Isn’t it ironic that many of the folks who most strenuously object to the notion of evolution – the idea that we descended from animals - are the ones relying disproportionately on their ancient, primitive (animal?) brain centers?
Though they may feel a necessity to do so, they don’t really NEED to. Each of us is equipped to make either the difficult choice or the easy choice. It really IS up to us. It all depends on whether we are courageous enough to use our neo-cortex rather than our limbic system.
- Uke Man
Can we KNOW anything?
I think we can.
Is it easy to know things?
I don’t think so.
Is it good to know things?
I think so.
Is it easier to accept things than it is to know them?
Sure.
Do people want to know things, or would they rather accept things they are told and act as if they are known?
Good question. An important question.
It seems that, at least in terms of how things have been run historically, folks prefer to have their “knowledge” placed in their heads by someone else. Every “civilization” that has ever existed has rested on a dream world - created out of whole cloth, but nevertheless accepted by its people as real. Successive “civilizations” laugh at the “silly” notions of defunct cultures, but go to vicious war to establish the “truth” of their own. There are a lot of possible explanations for why this has always been the case, but I’m not getting into that now.
Instead, let’s look at the possibilities of doing it differently. Perhaps if enough people could become aware of the simple truth above about the relativity of cultural “truth,” it could lead to a saner, better world.
Here is a list of options. If forced to decide, which one of each pair would YOU choose?
Science or Faith
Learning or Accepting
Education or indoctrination
Thought or emotion
Knowing or Guessing
Self or Authority
Evidence or Dogma
Activity or Passivity
The Present or the Past
Sanity or Adjustment
Doubt or Certainty
Discovery or Testimonials
Reality or Virtual Reality
Objectivity or Spin
Truth or Fiction
Freedom or Security
Independence or Dependence
Intelligence or Emotion
Courage or Cowardice
Explanations for the dream-world nature of “civilizations” can be found in the second options. The inherent difficulty of the first options – along with the ease of the alternatives - explains the attractiveness of the second options.
In reading an article on the use of aroma in Las Vegas casinos, I came across this comment:
"Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient andprimitive part of the brain, which is thought to be the seat of emotion."
Our ancient, primitive natures DO make it easy for us to FEEL rather than THINK. Isn’t it ironic that many of the folks who most strenuously object to the notion of evolution – the idea that we descended from animals - are the ones relying disproportionately on their ancient, primitive (animal?) brain centers?
Though they may feel a necessity to do so, they don’t really NEED to. Each of us is equipped to make either the difficult choice or the easy choice. It really IS up to us. It all depends on whether we are courageous enough to use our neo-cortex rather than our limbic system.
- Uke Man
Hey Folks,
Some of you may have seen this already, but it never hurts to refresh one’s memory regarding moral behavior.
Below is a letter sent some time ago to the “Leader of the Free World” seeking his righteous advice in clarifying certain immutable moral requirements as set forth in God’s own (English) words – which He transmitted by invisible wires to certain ordained human vessels blessed with satellite dish-sized ears – who, in turn memorized the words and much later wrote them down (after translating them to Hebrew from the original English – which required the eventual RE-translation(s) American believers revere today.
Who better to offer advice on the will of God than a political ideosavant who talks more with his heavenly father than with his earthly one?
( this entry was dictated to and posted by my Canadian slave - I hope that's OK )
- Uke Man
Dear President Bush:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you.
I understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you said, "in the eyes of God marriage is between a man and a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.
When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind the person that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
For example:
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this law applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors, they claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I do not agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean. May I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
Mr. Bush, I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
- Sincerely,
Rev. Rod Celery, A.H., SOb
Some of you may have seen this already, but it never hurts to refresh one’s memory regarding moral behavior.
Below is a letter sent some time ago to the “Leader of the Free World” seeking his righteous advice in clarifying certain immutable moral requirements as set forth in God’s own (English) words – which He transmitted by invisible wires to certain ordained human vessels blessed with satellite dish-sized ears – who, in turn memorized the words and much later wrote them down (after translating them to Hebrew from the original English – which required the eventual RE-translation(s) American believers revere today.
Who better to offer advice on the will of God than a political ideosavant who talks more with his heavenly father than with his earthly one?
( this entry was dictated to and posted by my Canadian slave - I hope that's OK )
- Uke Man
Dear President Bush:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you.
I understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you said, "in the eyes of God marriage is between a man and a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.
When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind the person that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
For example:
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this law applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors, they claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I do not agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean. May I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
Mr. Bush, I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
- Sincerely,
Rev. Rod Celery, A.H., SOb
Saturday, February 18, 2006
"George Bush is a Saint"
Hey Folks,
President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit aMethodist Church outside Washington D.C. Karl Rovemade a visit to the Bishop and said to him, "We'vebeen getting a lot of bad publicity among Methodistsbecause of Bush's position on stem cell research andthe like. We'd gladly make a contribution to thechurch of $100,000 if during your sermon you'd say thePresident is a saint."
The Bishop thinks it over for a few moments andsays, "The Church is in desperate need of funds and Iwill agree to do it."Bush pompously shows up looking especially smug and asthe sermonprogresses the Bishop begins his homily:
"George Bush is petty, a self-absorbed hypocrite and a nitwit. He is a liar, a cheat, and a weasel of severely limited intelligence. He has lied about his military record and had the gall to put himself in a jet plane landing on a carrier and then pose before a banner stating 'Mission Accomplished.' He invaded a country for oil and money, and is using it to lie to the American people. He is the worst example of a Methodist I've ever personally known.
But compared toDick Cheney, George Bush is a saint."
- Uke Man
President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit aMethodist Church outside Washington D.C. Karl Rovemade a visit to the Bishop and said to him, "We'vebeen getting a lot of bad publicity among Methodistsbecause of Bush's position on stem cell research andthe like. We'd gladly make a contribution to thechurch of $100,000 if during your sermon you'd say thePresident is a saint."
The Bishop thinks it over for a few moments andsays, "The Church is in desperate need of funds and Iwill agree to do it."Bush pompously shows up looking especially smug and asthe sermonprogresses the Bishop begins his homily:
"George Bush is petty, a self-absorbed hypocrite and a nitwit. He is a liar, a cheat, and a weasel of severely limited intelligence. He has lied about his military record and had the gall to put himself in a jet plane landing on a carrier and then pose before a banner stating 'Mission Accomplished.' He invaded a country for oil and money, and is using it to lie to the American people. He is the worst example of a Methodist I've ever personally known.
But compared toDick Cheney, George Bush is a saint."
- Uke Man
Twain - the battle begins
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 31st entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – With the realization that “All England was marching against” him, the Yankee had to do some quick thinking to avoid losing the fifty-two frightened boys who were still standing by him. He argued that the despised nobility and gentry – rather than the common folks – the boys’ own class – would, as was the custom, lead the attack; that these thirty thousand would be destroyed and “Immediately after, the civilian multitude in the rear will retire, to meet business engagements elsewhere”; and that would end it. - The boys were satisfied.
“I was ready for the enemy, now. Let the approaching big day come along – it would find us on deck.
The big day arrived, on time. At dawn the sentry on watch in the corral came into the cave and reported a moving black mass under the horizon, and a faint sound which he thought to be military music. Breakfast was just ready; we sat down and ate it.
This over, I made the boys a little speech, and then sent out a detail to man the battery, with Clarence in command of it.
The sun rose presently, and sent its unobstructed splendors over the land, and we saw a prodigious host moving slowly toward us, with the steady drift and aligned front of a wave of the sea. Nearer and nearer it came, and more and more sublimely imposing became its aspect; yes, all England was there, apparently. Soon we could see the innumerable banners fluttering, and then the sun struck the sea of armor and set it all aflash. Yes, it was a fine sight; I hadn’t ever seen anything to beat it.
At last we could make out the details. All the front ranks, no telling how many acres deep, were horsemen – plumed knights in armor. Suddenly we heard the blare of trumpets; the slow walk burst into a gallop, and then – well, it was wonderful to see! Down swept that vast horse-shoe wave – it approached the sand-belt – my breath stood still; nearer, nearer – the strip of green turf beyond the yellow belt grew narrower – narrower, still – became a mere ribbon in front of the horses – then disappeared under their hoofs. Great Scott! Why, the whole front of that host shot into the sky with a thunder-crash, and became a whirling tempest of rags and fragments; and along the ground lay a thick wall of smoke that hid what was left of the multitude from our sight. "
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 31st entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – With the realization that “All England was marching against” him, the Yankee had to do some quick thinking to avoid losing the fifty-two frightened boys who were still standing by him. He argued that the despised nobility and gentry – rather than the common folks – the boys’ own class – would, as was the custom, lead the attack; that these thirty thousand would be destroyed and “Immediately after, the civilian multitude in the rear will retire, to meet business engagements elsewhere”; and that would end it. - The boys were satisfied.
“I was ready for the enemy, now. Let the approaching big day come along – it would find us on deck.
The big day arrived, on time. At dawn the sentry on watch in the corral came into the cave and reported a moving black mass under the horizon, and a faint sound which he thought to be military music. Breakfast was just ready; we sat down and ate it.
This over, I made the boys a little speech, and then sent out a detail to man the battery, with Clarence in command of it.
The sun rose presently, and sent its unobstructed splendors over the land, and we saw a prodigious host moving slowly toward us, with the steady drift and aligned front of a wave of the sea. Nearer and nearer it came, and more and more sublimely imposing became its aspect; yes, all England was there, apparently. Soon we could see the innumerable banners fluttering, and then the sun struck the sea of armor and set it all aflash. Yes, it was a fine sight; I hadn’t ever seen anything to beat it.
At last we could make out the details. All the front ranks, no telling how many acres deep, were horsemen – plumed knights in armor. Suddenly we heard the blare of trumpets; the slow walk burst into a gallop, and then – well, it was wonderful to see! Down swept that vast horse-shoe wave – it approached the sand-belt – my breath stood still; nearer, nearer – the strip of green turf beyond the yellow belt grew narrower – narrower, still – became a mere ribbon in front of the horses – then disappeared under their hoofs. Great Scott! Why, the whole front of that host shot into the sky with a thunder-crash, and became a whirling tempest of rags and fragments; and along the ground lay a thick wall of smoke that hid what was left of the multitude from our sight. "
Friday, February 17, 2006
Trailer # 4
Hey Folks,
This is the last in the series of satirical trailers.
See you at the Movies !
- Uke Man
See trailer four at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/shining?v=1J9ufqCoqyo&search=shining
This is the last in the series of satirical trailers.
See you at the Movies !
- Uke Man
See trailer four at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/shining?v=1J9ufqCoqyo&search=shining
Ukulele Girl - Sarah Asher
Hey Folks,
March 4th
Ukulele Man
. . . & his Prodigal Sons
will be back at Larry’s for two sets,
playing into the night !!!
I’m pleased to inform you
that opening for us (around 10:00)
. . . . . . .will be:
Sarah Asher, Ukulele Girl !!!
It’s an “all-uke” evening.
. . . . . . . .(plus the band)
Sarah is a great kid with a great voice
and does original music to boot
(not just a wild and crazy ukester!)
I’ve included some photos here, but check out her music,
bio, and more photos at: http://www.myspace.com/sarahasher & http://www.sarahasher.com/music.html
Or stop by the Joy of Soy shop at North Market and say hello if you catch her in! (It's right next to the friendly, helpful, tasty Curds & Whey cheese corner)
- Uke Man
March 4th
Ukulele Man
. . . & his Prodigal Sons
will be back at Larry’s for two sets,
playing into the night !!!
I’m pleased to inform you
that opening for us (around 10:00)
. . . . . . .will be:
Sarah Asher, Ukulele Girl !!!
It’s an “all-uke” evening.
. . . . . . . .(plus the band)
Sarah is a great kid with a great voice
and does original music to boot
(not just a wild and crazy ukester!)
I’ve included some photos here, but check out her music,
bio, and more photos at: http://www.myspace.com/sarahasher & http://www.sarahasher.com/music.html
Or stop by the Joy of Soy shop at North Market and say hello if you catch her in! (It's right next to the friendly, helpful, tasty Curds & Whey cheese corner)
- Uke Man
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Twain - waiting
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 30th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – After posting the Proclamation and making sure defenses were “ship-shape,” as the Yankee put it, they had a week to sit and wait.
“I had spies out, every night, of course, to get news. Every report made things look more and more impressive. The hosts were gathering, gathering, down all the roads and paths of England the knights were riding; and priests rode with them, to hearten these original Crusaders, this being the Church’s war. All the nobilities, big and little, were on their way, and all the gentry. This was all as was expected. We should thin out this sort of folk to such a degree that the people would have nothing to do but just step to the front with their Republic and –
Ah, what a donkey I was! Toward the end of the week, I began to get this large and disenchanting fact through my head: that the mass of the nation had swung their caps and shouted for the Republic for about one day, and there an end! The Church, the nobles and the gentry then turned one grand all-disapproving frown upon them and shriveled them to sheep! From that moment the sheep had begun to gather to the fold – that is to say, the camps – and offer their valueless lives and their valuable wool to the “righteous cause.” Why, even the very men who had lately been slaves were in the “righteous cause,” and glorifying it, praying for it, sentimentally slobbering over it, just like all the other commoners. Imagine such human muck as this; conceive of the folly!
Yes, it was now “Death to the Republic!” everywhere – not a dissenting voice. All England was marching against us! Truly this was more than I had bargained for.”
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 30th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 43 – After posting the Proclamation and making sure defenses were “ship-shape,” as the Yankee put it, they had a week to sit and wait.
“I had spies out, every night, of course, to get news. Every report made things look more and more impressive. The hosts were gathering, gathering, down all the roads and paths of England the knights were riding; and priests rode with them, to hearten these original Crusaders, this being the Church’s war. All the nobilities, big and little, were on their way, and all the gentry. This was all as was expected. We should thin out this sort of folk to such a degree that the people would have nothing to do but just step to the front with their Republic and –
Ah, what a donkey I was! Toward the end of the week, I began to get this large and disenchanting fact through my head: that the mass of the nation had swung their caps and shouted for the Republic for about one day, and there an end! The Church, the nobles and the gentry then turned one grand all-disapproving frown upon them and shriveled them to sheep! From that moment the sheep had begun to gather to the fold – that is to say, the camps – and offer their valueless lives and their valuable wool to the “righteous cause.” Why, even the very men who had lately been slaves were in the “righteous cause,” and glorifying it, praying for it, sentimentally slobbering over it, just like all the other commoners. Imagine such human muck as this; conceive of the folly!
Yes, it was now “Death to the Republic!” everywhere – not a dissenting voice. All England was marching against us! Truly this was more than I had bargained for.”
Trailer # 3
Hey Folks,
This is the third of four satirical trailers in this series.
See trailer three at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Sleepless-In-Seattle-Trailer-Redux?v=bzGf-YBgujg&search=sleepless%20in%20seattle
- Uke Man
This is the third of four satirical trailers in this series.
See trailer three at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Sleepless-In-Seattle-Trailer-Redux?v=bzGf-YBgujg&search=sleepless%20in%20seattle
- Uke Man
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Resistance
Hey Folks,
We went to Wendy’s HQ in Dublin today and gave Dubya a “Frosty” welcome.
Following a visit by a black helicopter, he rolled in, mugging behind the black glass of his black limo, its multiple little flags fluttering.
Later, after selling his elite, hamburger-helper audience on the benefits of conning gullible employees into bogus health insurance “improvements,” he passed by again, snickering through his binky.
Good riddance!
Between 100 and 200 of us were there to show resistance.
There were counter demonstrators too – they were D-U-M-B !!
e.g. one benighted biddy told us we were “elite, paid-professional protestors.” Then she took off her aluminum helmet.
Some people are either too stupid to recognize or too selfish to admit the truth. BUT their numbers are declining. More and more are awakening to the threat this administration presents to America and the World.
The World Can’t Wait !
Drive Bush out!
- Uke Man
We went to Wendy’s HQ in Dublin today and gave Dubya a “Frosty” welcome.
Following a visit by a black helicopter, he rolled in, mugging behind the black glass of his black limo, its multiple little flags fluttering.
Later, after selling his elite, hamburger-helper audience on the benefits of conning gullible employees into bogus health insurance “improvements,” he passed by again, snickering through his binky.
Good riddance!
Between 100 and 200 of us were there to show resistance.
There were counter demonstrators too – they were D-U-M-B !!
e.g. one benighted biddy told us we were “elite, paid-professional protestors.” Then she took off her aluminum helmet.
Some people are either too stupid to recognize or too selfish to admit the truth. BUT their numbers are declining. More and more are awakening to the threat this administration presents to America and the World.
The World Can’t Wait !
Drive Bush out!
- Uke Man
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Let's Do It !!!!
OK Folks,
Here's the scoop, straight from the meeting:
All are invited to participate!
Protest Bush in Columbus Wednesday 2/ 15 (tomorrow)
Protest Bush's Agenda of war and repression during his stop at Wendy's Headquarters tomorrow!!
People will meet at 11:00 a.m.
at Lowe's parking lot at Northwest corner of Sawmill and Dublin-Granville (161) Rd's.
From there we will cross 161 and cross to the south side and walk west on 161, approx 1/ 4 mile across from Wendy/s HQ.
PLEASE BRING FRIENDS!!!
Wendy*s HQ is located north of Columbus at 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio - east of route 33, west of Sawmill. Use Mapquest - Yahoo Maps doesn't have it.
Q:
---WHY
A:
---Unjust War and Occupation, Repression, Torture, Criminal Negligence in the Gulf Coast, Environmental Assault, Rendition, Git mo, 100,000 Iraqi fatalities and 2500 U.S casualties,Attacks on our Personal Lives and Woman*s Rights to Reproductive Freedom, Moves to Establish Christian Theocracy, Electoral Disenfranchisement,,Surveillance, The Abandonment of Science and Rationality...
Here's the scoop, straight from the meeting:
All are invited to participate!
Protest Bush in Columbus Wednesday 2/ 15 (tomorrow)
Protest Bush's Agenda of war and repression during his stop at Wendy's Headquarters tomorrow!!
People will meet at 11:00 a.m.
at Lowe's parking lot at Northwest corner of Sawmill and Dublin-Granville (161) Rd's.
From there we will cross 161 and cross to the south side and walk west on 161, approx 1/ 4 mile across from Wendy/s HQ.
PLEASE BRING FRIENDS!!!
Wendy*s HQ is located north of Columbus at 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio - east of route 33, west of Sawmill. Use Mapquest - Yahoo Maps doesn't have it.
Q:
---WHY
A:
---Unjust War and Occupation, Repression, Torture, Criminal Negligence in the Gulf Coast, Environmental Assault, Rendition, Git mo, 100,000 Iraqi fatalities and 2500 U.S casualties,Attacks on our Personal Lives and Woman*s Rights to Reproductive Freedom, Moves to Establish Christian Theocracy, Electoral Disenfranchisement,
"There's a Monster in the White House" Video
Hey Folks,
Here's the Uke Man's best musical effort to get you out tomorrow (Wednesday) protesting, resisting, repudiating the Monster in the White House (see earlier postings directly below).
http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/?clip=whitehouse#whitehouse
Let's all get up, stand up together now -
and make the Monster pay!
Check back later for updates -
- Uke Man
Here's the Uke Man's best musical effort to get you out tomorrow (Wednesday) protesting, resisting, repudiating the Monster in the White House (see earlier postings directly below).
http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/?clip=whitehouse#whitehouse
Let's all get up, stand up together now -
and make the Monster pay!
Check back later for updates -
- Uke Man
Bush Protest Update - MEETING TONIGHT - TUESDAY (also see posting below)
BUSH ALERT - WATCH HERE FOR UPDATES-
LEVEL - ELEVATED
All are invited to participate!Protest Bush in Columbus Wednesday 2/15
Planning Meeting 5 PM Tonight (Tuesday)
Join various individuals and representatives of anti-war and other progressive organizations at Victorian*s Café tonight to discuss plans to protest the Bush Agenda of war and repression during his stop at Wendy*s Headquarters tomorrow at noon.
Victorian*s is located on W. 5Th Avenue at Neil.
Wendy*s HQ is located north of Columbus at 4822 Dublin-Granville Road between route 33 and route 315 ) - also 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio
Q: . . .WHY
A: . . .Unjust War and Occupation, Repression, Torture, Criminal Negligence in the Gulf Coast, Environmental Assault, Rendition, Gitmo, 100,000 Iraqi fatalities and 2500 U.S casualties,Attacks on our Personal Lives and Woman*s Rights to Reproductive Freedom, Moves to Establish Christian Theocracy, Electoral Disenfranchisement, "Unitary Executive," Surveillance, The Abandonment of Science and Rationality...
LEVEL - ELEVATED
All are invited to participate!Protest Bush in Columbus Wednesday 2/15
Planning Meeting 5 PM Tonight (Tuesday)
Join various individuals and representatives of anti-war and other progressive organizations at Victorian*s Café tonight to discuss plans to protest the Bush Agenda of war and repression during his stop at Wendy*s Headquarters tomorrow at noon.
Victorian*s is located on W. 5Th Avenue at Neil.
Wendy*s HQ is located north of Columbus at 4822 Dublin-Granville Road between route 33 and route 315 ) - also 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio
Q: . . .WHY
A: . . .Unjust War and Occupation, Repression, Torture, Criminal Negligence in the Gulf Coast, Environmental Assault, Rendition, Gitmo, 100,000 Iraqi fatalities and 2500 U.S casualties,Attacks on our Personal Lives and Woman*s Rights to Reproductive Freedom, Moves to Establish Christian Theocracy, Electoral Disenfranchisement, "Unitary Executive," Surveillance, The Abandonment of Science and Rationality...
The World Can't Wait - Drive Bush and his Agenda Out !!
Hey Folks,
Big Bushy-Goat Stupid is coming to town to talk HEALTH to FAST-FOOD executives!!
Let’s toast his buns!!!!
He’ll be smirking, winking, and strutting his cheesy self at Wendy’s International Headquarters (see map link below) tomorrow (Wednesday!!). The best guess on timing is some time soon after noon.
Columbus NION is working on it, Connie (she’s everywhere) has her posse saddling up, Cleveland World Can't Wait are sending folks, and I’m sure there are more organizations and freelancers making plans.
Plans are sketchy now: arrive early, get situated, and protest!!!
Watch this space for updates!!
When I get it tied down better, I’ll share.
And plan on getting out to shout!!
- Uke Man
Wendy’s International (healthy) Headquarters are at 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio. It’s off Rt. 161 (Dublin-Granville Rd.), east of 33 & west of 315.
The address below wouldn't fit properly on the blog. Either cut and paste it, or go to Mapquest (Yahoo maps doesn't have it) and use the address.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?
searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory
=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&
popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&
phone=&level=&cat=&address=1+Dave+Thomas
+Boulevard&city=Dublin&state=OH&zipcode=
Big Bushy-Goat Stupid is coming to town to talk HEALTH to FAST-FOOD executives!!
Let’s toast his buns!!!!
He’ll be smirking, winking, and strutting his cheesy self at Wendy’s International Headquarters (see map link below) tomorrow (Wednesday!!). The best guess on timing is some time soon after noon.
Columbus NION is working on it, Connie (she’s everywhere) has her posse saddling up, Cleveland World Can't Wait are sending folks, and I’m sure there are more organizations and freelancers making plans.
Plans are sketchy now: arrive early, get situated, and protest!!!
Watch this space for updates!!
When I get it tied down better, I’ll share.
And plan on getting out to shout!!
- Uke Man
Wendy’s International (healthy) Headquarters are at 1 Dave Thomas Boulevard, Dublin, Ohio. It’s off Rt. 161 (Dublin-Granville Rd.), east of 33 & west of 315.
The address below wouldn't fit properly on the blog. Either cut and paste it, or go to Mapquest (Yahoo maps doesn't have it) and use the address.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?
searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory
=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&
popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&
phone=&level=&cat=&address=1+Dave+Thomas
+Boulevard&city=Dublin&state=OH&zipcode=
Monday, February 13, 2006
Maybe she bought some New Shoes !!
Hey Folks,
Isn’t Condie a hoot!!!
According to an AP story [excerpts, with my comments in brackets] :
“Rice: Nations Must Not Incite Protests
By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press
WASHINGTON –
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Sunday that violent protests in the Muslim world over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad could 'spin out of control' if governments refuse to act responsibly.”
[Sort of like the Iraq war spinning out of control because Condie, her beau, and his posse didn’t act responsibly.]
"Rice, speaking from Washington on ABC television's "This Week," said Iran, in particular, should be urging its citizens to remain calm — not encouraging protests against Western embassies."
[ Isn’t it always the people who get you stirred up who tell you to settle down! And against whom SHOULD they be encouraged to protest? ]
"The governments of Iran and Syria, Rice said, organize street protests whenever they want to make a point."
[ Yeah, why don’t they just organise a photo op and give a short speech to a sympathetic audience about Islam being on the march; then declare “mission accomplished,” and go cut some brush? ]
"Everybody understands that there's a sense of outrage, that these cartoons were inappropriate in the Muslim world," Rice said. "But you don't express your outrage by going out and burning down embassies. ... You express your outrage peacefully."
[ Yeah, do like peaceful Mama Condie: shock ‘em & awe ‘em into the Stone Age.]
"Rice said a 'tremendous coalition' of nations has joined in saying that Iran has a right to a peaceful nuclear program — but not technologies that could lead to nuclear weapons.
'Nobody trusts them with that because they've been lying to the international community for 18 years,' Rice said of Iran's nuclear weapons program. 'The Iranians now need to step back, look at where they are, see that they're isolated on this issue ... and get back into negotiations.' "
[ Yeah, President Bush has only been lying for six years – if you just count the years he’s been president. And Condie should know something about a nation being isolated.]
"When asked about reports that America was making plans for a possible military strike against Iran, Rice said the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic solution, but the 'president never takes any options off the table.' "
[ Didn’t she just tell Iran: “You express your outrage peacefully.” But, then, she and Monkey Man are just following the Biblical admonition, “Do unto others however you fucking please.” ]
- Uke Man
Isn’t Condie a hoot!!!
According to an AP story [excerpts, with my comments in brackets] :
“Rice: Nations Must Not Incite Protests
By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press
WASHINGTON –
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Sunday that violent protests in the Muslim world over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad could 'spin out of control' if governments refuse to act responsibly.”
[Sort of like the Iraq war spinning out of control because Condie, her beau, and his posse didn’t act responsibly.]
"Rice, speaking from Washington on ABC television's "This Week," said Iran, in particular, should be urging its citizens to remain calm — not encouraging protests against Western embassies."
[ Isn’t it always the people who get you stirred up who tell you to settle down! And against whom SHOULD they be encouraged to protest? ]
"The governments of Iran and Syria, Rice said, organize street protests whenever they want to make a point."
[ Yeah, why don’t they just organise a photo op and give a short speech to a sympathetic audience about Islam being on the march; then declare “mission accomplished,” and go cut some brush? ]
"Everybody understands that there's a sense of outrage, that these cartoons were inappropriate in the Muslim world," Rice said. "But you don't express your outrage by going out and burning down embassies. ... You express your outrage peacefully."
[ Yeah, do like peaceful Mama Condie: shock ‘em & awe ‘em into the Stone Age.]
"Rice said a 'tremendous coalition' of nations has joined in saying that Iran has a right to a peaceful nuclear program — but not technologies that could lead to nuclear weapons.
'Nobody trusts them with that because they've been lying to the international community for 18 years,' Rice said of Iran's nuclear weapons program. 'The Iranians now need to step back, look at where they are, see that they're isolated on this issue ... and get back into negotiations.' "
[ Yeah, President Bush has only been lying for six years – if you just count the years he’s been president. And Condie should know something about a nation being isolated.]
"When asked about reports that America was making plans for a possible military strike against Iran, Rice said the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic solution, but the 'president never takes any options off the table.' "
[ Didn’t she just tell Iran: “You express your outrage peacefully.” But, then, she and Monkey Man are just following the Biblical admonition, “Do unto others however you fucking please.” ]
- Uke Man
The World is Insane !!!!
Hey Folks,
Bush is coming to Columbus Wednesday to address executives of a fast-food hamburger empire - about HEALTH!!!
Whose fricking health??
- Uke Man
February 13, 2006
The Destroyers
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
We've pretty much forgotten about Keith Maupin, an American soldier who was kidnapped near Baghdad in April 2004. He was 20 at the time. His captors released a videotape that showed him in the custody of masked gunmen. Looking nervously into the camera, he said: "My name is Keith Matthew Maupin. I am a soldier from the First Division. I am married with a 10-month-old son."
He has not been heard from since.
We've also pretty much forgotten about Marla Ruzicka, a 28-year-old humanitarian aid worker who was killed in April 2005 when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy that was passing near her car in Baghdad. There was a flurry of news coverage at the time, much of it focused on the gruesome fact that a young, fun-loving California girl had been consumed in the flames of a burning vehicle in Baghdad.
Yesterday The Times ran an extraordinary front-page article detailing the physical agony and profound emotional distress being faced by troops trying to cope with absolutely ruinous wounds suffered in Iraq. "The worst car crash is nothing in terms of what we see here," said a surgeon at an American base in Balad.
Most of the discussions in the media about the Bush administration and its allies center on how the president is doing politically. Is he up or down in the polls? Are the Democrats gaining steam, or will the Republicans make them look like wimps again when it comes to national security? How harsh is the song that Jack Abramoff is singing? And what about those pictures of Mr. Abramoff with the president?
Talk about focusing on the trees! The forest in this instance is the incredible mess that the Bush crowd has made with its policy blunders, relentless duplicity and outright incompetence. This sorry track record has resulted in, among other things, the horrible suffering and premature deaths of thousands of men, women and children.
I remember talking with Bernice Jones, a 64-year-old New Orleans woman who had to pry her way through the roof of her attic to keep from drowning in the floods that followed Hurricane Katrina. "I had to use a board to hold my head above the water, 'cause it was up to my neck," she said. "So help me, I thought I was going to die."
I remember talking in Ottawa last February with a traumatized 34-year-old family man — a Canadian citizen with two children named Maher Arar — who was seized by American authorities at Kennedy Airport in the fall of 2002 as part of the reprehensible practice known as extraordinary rendition. He was flown out of the U.S. surreptitiously and handed over to Syrian authorities, who tortured him and kept him caged for a year like a nocturnal animal in an unlit, underground, rat-infested cell.
Then he was let go. No connection between Mr. Arar and terrorism has ever been made.
The litany of tragic incompetence continued unabated last week. On Wednesday we learned that the federal government has still been unable to provide the trailers it promised as temporary shelters for tens of thousands of people driven from their homes by the hurricanes that slammed the Gulf Coast last summer.
As for Iraq, James Glanz reported in The Times on Thursday that newly declassified statistics on insurgent violence "appear to portray a rebellion whose ability to mount attacks has steadily grown in the nearly three years since the invasion."
Mr. Glanz has also reported that despite an infusion of $16 billion in American taxpayer money, virtually every measure of the performance of Iraq's oil, electricity, water and sewage sectors has fallen below prewar levels, according to government witnesses who testified at a Senate committee hearing.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Bush administration to rebuild Iraq or New Orleans. These are not the folks you'd call on to create a shining city on a hill. This is a crowd that's more comfortable with the destructive arts — squandering money, wasting lives and undermining the potential of a great nation like the U.S.
Can you imagine what Republican politicians and conservative commentators would be saying if a Democratic president — say Al Gore or Hillary Clinton — had compiled exactly the same track record over the past five years as George W. Bush?
Bush is coming to Columbus Wednesday to address executives of a fast-food hamburger empire - about HEALTH!!!
Whose fricking health??
- Uke Man
February 13, 2006
The Destroyers
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
We've pretty much forgotten about Keith Maupin, an American soldier who was kidnapped near Baghdad in April 2004. He was 20 at the time. His captors released a videotape that showed him in the custody of masked gunmen. Looking nervously into the camera, he said: "My name is Keith Matthew Maupin. I am a soldier from the First Division. I am married with a 10-month-old son."
He has not been heard from since.
We've also pretty much forgotten about Marla Ruzicka, a 28-year-old humanitarian aid worker who was killed in April 2005 when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy that was passing near her car in Baghdad. There was a flurry of news coverage at the time, much of it focused on the gruesome fact that a young, fun-loving California girl had been consumed in the flames of a burning vehicle in Baghdad.
Yesterday The Times ran an extraordinary front-page article detailing the physical agony and profound emotional distress being faced by troops trying to cope with absolutely ruinous wounds suffered in Iraq. "The worst car crash is nothing in terms of what we see here," said a surgeon at an American base in Balad.
Most of the discussions in the media about the Bush administration and its allies center on how the president is doing politically. Is he up or down in the polls? Are the Democrats gaining steam, or will the Republicans make them look like wimps again when it comes to national security? How harsh is the song that Jack Abramoff is singing? And what about those pictures of Mr. Abramoff with the president?
Talk about focusing on the trees! The forest in this instance is the incredible mess that the Bush crowd has made with its policy blunders, relentless duplicity and outright incompetence. This sorry track record has resulted in, among other things, the horrible suffering and premature deaths of thousands of men, women and children.
I remember talking with Bernice Jones, a 64-year-old New Orleans woman who had to pry her way through the roof of her attic to keep from drowning in the floods that followed Hurricane Katrina. "I had to use a board to hold my head above the water, 'cause it was up to my neck," she said. "So help me, I thought I was going to die."
I remember talking in Ottawa last February with a traumatized 34-year-old family man — a Canadian citizen with two children named Maher Arar — who was seized by American authorities at Kennedy Airport in the fall of 2002 as part of the reprehensible practice known as extraordinary rendition. He was flown out of the U.S. surreptitiously and handed over to Syrian authorities, who tortured him and kept him caged for a year like a nocturnal animal in an unlit, underground, rat-infested cell.
Then he was let go. No connection between Mr. Arar and terrorism has ever been made.
The litany of tragic incompetence continued unabated last week. On Wednesday we learned that the federal government has still been unable to provide the trailers it promised as temporary shelters for tens of thousands of people driven from their homes by the hurricanes that slammed the Gulf Coast last summer.
As for Iraq, James Glanz reported in The Times on Thursday that newly declassified statistics on insurgent violence "appear to portray a rebellion whose ability to mount attacks has steadily grown in the nearly three years since the invasion."
Mr. Glanz has also reported that despite an infusion of $16 billion in American taxpayer money, virtually every measure of the performance of Iraq's oil, electricity, water and sewage sectors has fallen below prewar levels, according to government witnesses who testified at a Senate committee hearing.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Bush administration to rebuild Iraq or New Orleans. These are not the folks you'd call on to create a shining city on a hill. This is a crowd that's more comfortable with the destructive arts — squandering money, wasting lives and undermining the potential of a great nation like the U.S.
Can you imagine what Republican politicians and conservative commentators would be saying if a Democratic president — say Al Gore or Hillary Clinton — had compiled exactly the same track record over the past five years as George W. Bush?
Sunday, February 12, 2006
And I thought it was Dan
Hey Folks,
In case you missed Phyll's comment below about the crook who couldn't shoot straight, click here:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/02/this-is-my-rifle-this-is-my-gun.html
- Uke Man
In case you missed Phyll's comment below about the crook who couldn't shoot straight, click here:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/02/this-is-my-rifle-this-is-my-gun.html
- Uke Man
Trailer #2
Hey Folks,
“Brokeback Mountain” is in the news and the race for Oscars!
It’s got to figure that besides porn movie-makers putting out “knock-offs” such as “Bareback Mountain,” that there would be satirical take-offs.
This is the 2nd in this series of satirical trailers that were inspired by “Brokeback Mountain.” Two more, based on other movies, will follow in time.
See trailer two at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Brokeback-Top-Gun?v=nCroNgidfxI&search=brokeback%20top%20gun
- Uke Man
“Brokeback Mountain” is in the news and the race for Oscars!
It’s got to figure that besides porn movie-makers putting out “knock-offs” such as “Bareback Mountain,” that there would be satirical take-offs.
This is the 2nd in this series of satirical trailers that were inspired by “Brokeback Mountain.” Two more, based on other movies, will follow in time.
See trailer two at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Brokeback-Top-Gun?v=nCroNgidfxI&search=brokeback%20top%20gun
- Uke Man
Twain - Proclaim the Republic
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 29th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
- Uke Man
Chapter 42 – In the Yankee’s absence, faithful Clarence has been busy preparing a defense for him and his remaining supporters. In a large cave – formerly one of Merlin’s haunts – he’s activated a large generator and built wire fences.
“The wires go out from the cave and fence-in a circle of level ground a hundred yards in diameter; they make twelve independent fences, ten feet apart – that is to say, twelve circles within circles – and the ends come into the cave again.”
The fence is to be electrified as needed. Clarence also has gatling guns at the ready and mines (“glass-cylinder dynamite torpedoes”). The defense is impenetrable. The Yankee speaks to Clarence.
“Yes, everything is ready; everything is ship-shape, no detail is wanting. I know what to do, now.”
“So do I: sit down and wait.”
“No, sir! rise up and strike!”
“Do you mean it?”
“Yes, indeed! The defensive isn’t in my line, and the offensive is. That is, when I hold a fair hand – two-thirds as good a hand as the enemy. Oh, yes, we’ll rise up and strike; that’s our game.”
“A hundred to one, you are right. When does the performance begin?”
“Now! We’ll proclaim the Republic.”
“Well, that will precipitate things, sure enough!”
“It will make them buzz, I tell you! England will be a hornet’s nest before noon to-morrow, if the Church hasn’t lost its cunning – and we know it hasn’t. Now you write and I’ll dictate – thus:
****************** PROCLAMATION
‘BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas, the king having died and left no heir, it becomes my duty to continue the executive authority vested in me, until a government shall have been created and set in motion. The monarchy has lapsed, it no longer exists. By consequence, all political power has reverted to its original source, the people of the nation. With the monarchy, its several adjuncts died also; wherefore there is no longer a nobility, no longer a privileged class, no longer an Established Church: all men are become exactly equal, they are upon one common level, and religion is free. A Republic is hereby proclaimed, as being the natural estate of a nation when other authority has ceased. It is the duty of the British people to meet together immediately, and by their votes elect representatives and deliver into their hands the government.’
I signed it ‘The Boss,’ and dated it from Merlin’s Cave.”
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 29th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
- Uke Man
Chapter 42 – In the Yankee’s absence, faithful Clarence has been busy preparing a defense for him and his remaining supporters. In a large cave – formerly one of Merlin’s haunts – he’s activated a large generator and built wire fences.
“The wires go out from the cave and fence-in a circle of level ground a hundred yards in diameter; they make twelve independent fences, ten feet apart – that is to say, twelve circles within circles – and the ends come into the cave again.”
The fence is to be electrified as needed. Clarence also has gatling guns at the ready and mines (“glass-cylinder dynamite torpedoes”). The defense is impenetrable. The Yankee speaks to Clarence.
“Yes, everything is ready; everything is ship-shape, no detail is wanting. I know what to do, now.”
“So do I: sit down and wait.”
“No, sir! rise up and strike!”
“Do you mean it?”
“Yes, indeed! The defensive isn’t in my line, and the offensive is. That is, when I hold a fair hand – two-thirds as good a hand as the enemy. Oh, yes, we’ll rise up and strike; that’s our game.”
“A hundred to one, you are right. When does the performance begin?”
“Now! We’ll proclaim the Republic.”
“Well, that will precipitate things, sure enough!”
“It will make them buzz, I tell you! England will be a hornet’s nest before noon to-morrow, if the Church hasn’t lost its cunning – and we know it hasn’t. Now you write and I’ll dictate – thus:
****************** PROCLAMATION
‘BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas, the king having died and left no heir, it becomes my duty to continue the executive authority vested in me, until a government shall have been created and set in motion. The monarchy has lapsed, it no longer exists. By consequence, all political power has reverted to its original source, the people of the nation. With the monarchy, its several adjuncts died also; wherefore there is no longer a nobility, no longer a privileged class, no longer an Established Church: all men are become exactly equal, they are upon one common level, and religion is free. A Republic is hereby proclaimed, as being the natural estate of a nation when other authority has ceased. It is the duty of the British people to meet together immediately, and by their votes elect representatives and deliver into their hands the government.’
I signed it ‘The Boss,’ and dated it from Merlin’s Cave.”
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Put on some oven mits - this is HOTT!!!!
February 11, 2006
Smoking Dutch Cleanser
By MAUREEN DOWD
(and a ukethanks to Phyll)
Vice President Dick Cheney bitterly complains that national security leaks areendangering America. Unless, of course, he's doing the leaking, tapping ScooterLibby to reveal national security information to punish a political critic.
President Bush says he will not talk about specific security threats to America.Unless, of course, he needs to talk about a specific threat to Los Angeles toconfuse the public and gain some cheap political advantage.
The White House says it has done everything possible to protect the homeland.Unless, of course, it hasn't. Then it can lie to hide the callous portrait of Incurious George in Crawford as New Orleans drowned.
The attorney general can claim that torture and warrantless wiretapping arelegal, and can mislead Congress. Unless, of course, enough Republicans stand upand say, as Arlen Specter told The Washington Post, that if that lickspittlelawyer thinks all this is legal, "he's smoking Dutch Cleanser."
The president doesn't know the Indian Taker Jack Abramoff. Unless, of course, W.has met with him a dozen times, invited him to Crawford and joked with him about his kids.
The Bushies can continue to claim that the invasion of Iraq was justifiedbecause Saddam was a threat to our security. Unless, of course, he wasn't, andthe Cheney cabal was simply abusing the trust of Americans to push a wild-eyedpolitical scheme.
At the Bush White House, the mere evocation of the word "terror" justifiesbreaking any law, contravening any convention, despoiling any ideal, electingany Republican and brushing off any failure to govern.
Asked yesterday by Senator Susan Collins why the administration had reacted inslo-mo on Katrina, with "people dying, people waiting to be rescued," MichaelBrown replied that if FEMA had declared that a terrorist had blown up the 17thStreet Canal levee, "then everybody would have jumped all over that and been trying to do everything they could."
Instead of just going after the 9/11 fiends, as W. promised with his bullhorn,the president and Vice President Strangelove have cynically played the terrorcard to accrue power and sidestep blame. They have twisted our values,mismanaged crises, fueled fundamentalist successes and violence around theworld, and magnified a clash of civilizations.
It used to take an Israeli incursion to inflame the Arab world. Now all it takesis a cartoon in Denmark.
W. and Vice have wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, turning Iraq into aterrorist training ground, leaving the 9/11 villains at large, and lettingcronies and losers botch the job of homeland security.
Brownie, one of the biggest boneheads in U.S. history, considered the homelandsecurity chief, Michael Chertoff, so useless that he deliberately didn't callhim right away about the suffering in New Orleans.
"The culture was such that I didn't think that would have been effective andwould have exacerbated the problem, quite frankly," Brownie told the Republicansenator Bob Bennett, who called the statement "staggering." A telephone call tohis boss, Brownie said, "would have wasted my time."
The doofus who frittered away lives e-mailing colleagues about being a "fashiongod" and wondering how he looked on television may have just been engaged inself-protective spin. Or has the Homeland Security Department simply createdanother set of paralyzing turf battles?
The most dysfunctional man in government is calling the governmentdysfunctional.
W.'s sophomoric "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" line makes even Browniecringe. "Unfortunately," the former FEMA chief complained, "he called me'Brownie' at the wrong time. Thanks a lot, sir."
In the new Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar, who was a senior C.I.A. officialoverseeing Middle East intelligence assessments until October, says the obviousconclusion that should have been drawn from the intelligence on Iraq was thatwar was unnecessary. He says the White House "went to war without requesting —and evidently without being influenced by — any strategic-level intelligenceassessments on any aspect of Iraq."
He calls the relationship between the intelligence community and the policymakers — you guessed it — politicized, damaged by bureaucratic rivalries anddysfunctional.
A final absurd junction of dysfunction was reached on Wednesday, when RepublicanParty leaders awarded Tom DeLay with a seat on the Appropriations subcommitteeoverseeing the Justice Department, which is investigating Jack Abramoff,including his connections to Tom DeLay.
Perfect.
Smoking Dutch Cleanser
By MAUREEN DOWD
(and a ukethanks to Phyll)
Vice President Dick Cheney bitterly complains that national security leaks areendangering America. Unless, of course, he's doing the leaking, tapping ScooterLibby to reveal national security information to punish a political critic.
President Bush says he will not talk about specific security threats to America.Unless, of course, he needs to talk about a specific threat to Los Angeles toconfuse the public and gain some cheap political advantage.
The White House says it has done everything possible to protect the homeland.Unless, of course, it hasn't. Then it can lie to hide the callous portrait of Incurious George in Crawford as New Orleans drowned.
The attorney general can claim that torture and warrantless wiretapping arelegal, and can mislead Congress. Unless, of course, enough Republicans stand upand say, as Arlen Specter told The Washington Post, that if that lickspittlelawyer thinks all this is legal, "he's smoking Dutch Cleanser."
The president doesn't know the Indian Taker Jack Abramoff. Unless, of course, W.has met with him a dozen times, invited him to Crawford and joked with him about his kids.
The Bushies can continue to claim that the invasion of Iraq was justifiedbecause Saddam was a threat to our security. Unless, of course, he wasn't, andthe Cheney cabal was simply abusing the trust of Americans to push a wild-eyedpolitical scheme.
At the Bush White House, the mere evocation of the word "terror" justifiesbreaking any law, contravening any convention, despoiling any ideal, electingany Republican and brushing off any failure to govern.
Asked yesterday by Senator Susan Collins why the administration had reacted inslo-mo on Katrina, with "people dying, people waiting to be rescued," MichaelBrown replied that if FEMA had declared that a terrorist had blown up the 17thStreet Canal levee, "then everybody would have jumped all over that and been trying to do everything they could."
Instead of just going after the 9/11 fiends, as W. promised with his bullhorn,the president and Vice President Strangelove have cynically played the terrorcard to accrue power and sidestep blame. They have twisted our values,mismanaged crises, fueled fundamentalist successes and violence around theworld, and magnified a clash of civilizations.
It used to take an Israeli incursion to inflame the Arab world. Now all it takesis a cartoon in Denmark.
W. and Vice have wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, turning Iraq into aterrorist training ground, leaving the 9/11 villains at large, and lettingcronies and losers botch the job of homeland security.
Brownie, one of the biggest boneheads in U.S. history, considered the homelandsecurity chief, Michael Chertoff, so useless that he deliberately didn't callhim right away about the suffering in New Orleans.
"The culture was such that I didn't think that would have been effective andwould have exacerbated the problem, quite frankly," Brownie told the Republicansenator Bob Bennett, who called the statement "staggering." A telephone call tohis boss, Brownie said, "would have wasted my time."
The doofus who frittered away lives e-mailing colleagues about being a "fashiongod" and wondering how he looked on television may have just been engaged inself-protective spin. Or has the Homeland Security Department simply createdanother set of paralyzing turf battles?
The most dysfunctional man in government is calling the governmentdysfunctional.
W.'s sophomoric "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" line makes even Browniecringe. "Unfortunately," the former FEMA chief complained, "he called me'Brownie' at the wrong time. Thanks a lot, sir."
In the new Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar, who was a senior C.I.A. officialoverseeing Middle East intelligence assessments until October, says the obviousconclusion that should have been drawn from the intelligence on Iraq was thatwar was unnecessary. He says the White House "went to war without requesting —and evidently without being influenced by — any strategic-level intelligenceassessments on any aspect of Iraq."
He calls the relationship between the intelligence community and the policymakers — you guessed it — politicized, damaged by bureaucratic rivalries anddysfunctional.
A final absurd junction of dysfunction was reached on Wednesday, when RepublicanParty leaders awarded Tom DeLay with a seat on the Appropriations subcommitteeoverseeing the Justice Department, which is investigating Jack Abramoff,including his connections to Tom DeLay.
Perfect.
Pots & Kettles
Hey Folks,
Just a “fair-and-balanced” observation.
Listening to the news the other day I heard again the uproar over Hamas and Iran’s desire to see Israel eliminated.
What a mess in the so-called “Holy” Land!
It struck me, though, that although we have been hearing an awful lot of commentary about Muslim hatred of Jews, we haven’t heard much about those “Christians” who openly SUPPORT the Jews and Israel ONLY because they selfishly believe it is temporarily necessary in order to bring on the Second Coming - in which the Jews and the nation they just supported will be ANNIHILATED.
Neither do we hear much about those Jews who, for the benefit of their agenda, "play" those nitwit "Christians" like a fiddle.
As I've said before, religion can be pretty stupid at times.
- Uke Man
Just a “fair-and-balanced” observation.
Listening to the news the other day I heard again the uproar over Hamas and Iran’s desire to see Israel eliminated.
What a mess in the so-called “Holy” Land!
It struck me, though, that although we have been hearing an awful lot of commentary about Muslim hatred of Jews, we haven’t heard much about those “Christians” who openly SUPPORT the Jews and Israel ONLY because they selfishly believe it is temporarily necessary in order to bring on the Second Coming - in which the Jews and the nation they just supported will be ANNIHILATED.
Neither do we hear much about those Jews who, for the benefit of their agenda, "play" those nitwit "Christians" like a fiddle.
As I've said before, religion can be pretty stupid at times.
- Uke Man
Trailer # 1
Hey Folks,
“Brokeback Mountain” is in the news and the race for Oscars!
It’s got to figure that besides porn movie-makers putting out “knock-offs” such as “Bareback Mountain,” there would also be satirical take-offs.
In this series, I’ll be sharing two trailers inspired by “Brokeback Mountain” and two based on other movies.
See trailer one at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Brokeback-to-the-Future?v=zfODSPIYwpQ&search=brokeback%20to%20the%20future
and the others will follow over time.
- Uke Man
“Brokeback Mountain” is in the news and the race for Oscars!
It’s got to figure that besides porn movie-makers putting out “knock-offs” such as “Bareback Mountain,” there would also be satirical take-offs.
In this series, I’ll be sharing two trailers inspired by “Brokeback Mountain” and two based on other movies.
See trailer one at:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Brokeback-to-the-Future?v=zfODSPIYwpQ&search=brokeback%20to%20the%20future
and the others will follow over time.
- Uke Man
Friday, February 10, 2006
Truth in Advertising
actual night photograph ofthe gigantic sign above the
3rd Street Fortress
(it's was fixed - i.e. changed
back to the lie - long ago)
the Funeral and Bush
An Open Letter to the Columbus Dispatch
“Ohio’s Greatest Ho Newspaper,” the Columbus Dispatch is BACK!!!
Someone must have been calling in sick to the 3rd Street fortress because, for a while, it actually looked like they were starting to care a little about “the People.” There was talk that the Tin Man had sporadically subcontracted his heart; but . . .
Nevermind!!
The aristocrats are back!! And acting out their country-club Republican / Chamber-pot of Commerce fantasies. Based on their editorials, they clearly see no problem in telling people WHERE they can live, WHAT they can do in their own home, and THAT they can get along without health insurance. Imposing such things is just the prerogative of the elect who “own” things in this “ownership society.” These matters are simply “requirements of the job”! Workers know what the deal is; so, they can take it or leave it.
Today, the Dispatch editor took it upon himself even to oversee other people’s funerals, Black people’s funerals, funerals of leaders the People love and revere, heroes who – in life - stood up against country-club Republican / Chamber-pot of Commerce / Class-ist agendas. How dare they assume such authority!
They dare because they are as ignorant and as benighted as Marie Antoinette, of -apocryphal or not - “let them eat cake” fame. I used to think these beasts were evil, but they’re just stupid. Ignorantly, they lie to themselves, unconsciously desperate to maintain or increase their own status - as they perceive it.
The editorial begins with just such a delusion: “When President Bush attended the funeral of Coretta Scott King on Tuesday, he did so to honor her memory and that of her late husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Such a claim says a lot about the editor’s mind set. One doesn’t honor leaders of the People by attending their funerals. One honors them by responding to them in life, by addressing the problems they bring forward. It is contemptible and pathetic – as with the comment ascribed to Marie Antoinette – to describe Bush’s attendance as “honorable.” Even the flint-skinned editor MUST see the transparent political motives/necessities behind Bush’s appearance!
Beyond that, we have the subconscious racism inherent in the editorial. Bush enjoys the support of only 2% of African Americans – and with good justification. Yet, he has the balls to show his face at Mrs. King’s funeral - and then cries about not being embraced.
To paraphrase the Dispatch, it was a requirement of the political “job,” and Bush knew that BEFORE he took it on; he didn’t HAVE to go.
He did, though! And he got off easy, as far as I’m concerned. Of course, the Dispatch thinks a Black minister and a former President got a bit uppity - didn’t know their place! They were “rude and mean-spirited . . . in-civil.” Isn’t that sooo aristocratic!
The president, his owners, and supporters can screw the people calmly, quietly, and with grace, and that’s just fine. But if the people raise their voice to say anything except “Thank you,” they need to be admonished.
I’ll bet Marie Antoinette was a graceful, happy queen who, although she “loved” her people, and spoke “civily” of them – found talk of bread riots to be rude and mean-spirited – uncivil.”
Unfortunately, she and Bush and the Dispatch value “civil discourse” over “civil rights”! Appearance over substance. Isn’t that convenient – and so regal.
In the end, rather than complaining about Bush’s experience at the funeral, the editor should be cheering. Things turned out a lot worse for Marie Antoinette.
- Uke Man
“Ohio’s Greatest Ho Newspaper,” the Columbus Dispatch is BACK!!!
Someone must have been calling in sick to the 3rd Street fortress because, for a while, it actually looked like they were starting to care a little about “the People.” There was talk that the Tin Man had sporadically subcontracted his heart; but . . .
Nevermind!!
The aristocrats are back!! And acting out their country-club Republican / Chamber-pot of Commerce fantasies. Based on their editorials, they clearly see no problem in telling people WHERE they can live, WHAT they can do in their own home, and THAT they can get along without health insurance. Imposing such things is just the prerogative of the elect who “own” things in this “ownership society.” These matters are simply “requirements of the job”! Workers know what the deal is; so, they can take it or leave it.
Today, the Dispatch editor took it upon himself even to oversee other people’s funerals, Black people’s funerals, funerals of leaders the People love and revere, heroes who – in life - stood up against country-club Republican / Chamber-pot of Commerce / Class-ist agendas. How dare they assume such authority!
They dare because they are as ignorant and as benighted as Marie Antoinette, of -apocryphal or not - “let them eat cake” fame. I used to think these beasts were evil, but they’re just stupid. Ignorantly, they lie to themselves, unconsciously desperate to maintain or increase their own status - as they perceive it.
The editorial begins with just such a delusion: “When President Bush attended the funeral of Coretta Scott King on Tuesday, he did so to honor her memory and that of her late husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Such a claim says a lot about the editor’s mind set. One doesn’t honor leaders of the People by attending their funerals. One honors them by responding to them in life, by addressing the problems they bring forward. It is contemptible and pathetic – as with the comment ascribed to Marie Antoinette – to describe Bush’s attendance as “honorable.” Even the flint-skinned editor MUST see the transparent political motives/necessities behind Bush’s appearance!
Beyond that, we have the subconscious racism inherent in the editorial. Bush enjoys the support of only 2% of African Americans – and with good justification. Yet, he has the balls to show his face at Mrs. King’s funeral - and then cries about not being embraced.
To paraphrase the Dispatch, it was a requirement of the political “job,” and Bush knew that BEFORE he took it on; he didn’t HAVE to go.
He did, though! And he got off easy, as far as I’m concerned. Of course, the Dispatch thinks a Black minister and a former President got a bit uppity - didn’t know their place! They were “rude and mean-spirited . . . in-civil.” Isn’t that sooo aristocratic!
The president, his owners, and supporters can screw the people calmly, quietly, and with grace, and that’s just fine. But if the people raise their voice to say anything except “Thank you,” they need to be admonished.
I’ll bet Marie Antoinette was a graceful, happy queen who, although she “loved” her people, and spoke “civily” of them – found talk of bread riots to be rude and mean-spirited – uncivil.”
Unfortunately, she and Bush and the Dispatch value “civil discourse” over “civil rights”! Appearance over substance. Isn’t that convenient – and so regal.
In the end, rather than complaining about Bush’s experience at the funeral, the editor should be cheering. Things turned out a lot worse for Marie Antoinette.
- Uke Man
Sphincter in the Whitehouse
Hey Folks,
Check out the educational film strip (nice sound track) at:
http://filmstripinternational.com/
- Uke Man
Check out the educational film strip (nice sound track) at:
http://filmstripinternational.com/
- Uke Man
2005 from a British Perspective
Subject: 2005 in retrospect
(a ukethanks to John Locke see: http://www.anenglishmanabroad.com/)
Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes tournament.
4. The Pope Died
Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes tournament
4. The Pope Died
In the future, if Prince Charles decides to remarry,
someone should warn the Pope!
(a ukethanks to John Locke see: http://www.anenglishmanabroad.com/)
Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes tournament.
4. The Pope Died
Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes tournament
4. The Pope Died
In the future, if Prince Charles decides to remarry,
someone should warn the Pope!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
The Great Simplicity
Once there came a man
Who said,
“Range me all men of the world in rows.”
And instantly
There was a terrific clamor among the people
Against being ranged in rows.
There was a loud quarrel, world-wide.
It endured for ages;
And blood was shed
By those who would not stand in rows,
And by those who pined to stand in rows.
Eventually, the man went to death, weeping.
And those who stayed in bloody scuffle
Knew not the great simplicity.
-----Stephan Crane
Twain - education & superstition
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 28th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 42 - The Yankee and all his plans are in jeopardy, and all but sixty of his faithful followers have succumbed to superstitious fear. His assistant Clarence explains that the Church, through its servants the doctors, had sent him out of the country for their own purposes; whereupon the reactionary
forces immediately began to dismantle every one of the Yankee’s 19th century “improvements.”
“Our navy had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared! Also as suddenly and as mysteriously, the railway and telegraph and telephone service ceased, the men all deserted, poles were cut down, the Church laid a ban upon the electric light! I had to be up and doing - and straight off. Your life was safe - nobody in
these kingdoms but Merlin would venture to touch such a magician as you, without ten thousand men at his back - I had nothing to think of but how to put
preparations in the best trim against your coming. I felt safe myself - nobody would be anxious to touch a pet of yours. So this is what I did. From our
various works I selected all the men - boys, I mean - whose faithfulness under whatsoever pressure I could swear to, and I called them together secretly and gave them their instructions. There are fifty- two of them; none younger than fourteen, and none above seventeen years old.”
“Why did you select boys?”
“Because all the others were born in an atmosphere of superstition, and reared in it. It is in their blood and bones. We imagined we had educated it out of
them; they thought so, too; the Interdict woke them up like a thunderclap! It revealed them to themselves, and it revealed them to me, too. With boys it was
different. Such as have been under our training from seven to ten years have had no acquaintance with the Church’s terrors, and it was among these that I found my fifty-two.”
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 28th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 42 - The Yankee and all his plans are in jeopardy, and all but sixty of his faithful followers have succumbed to superstitious fear. His assistant Clarence explains that the Church, through its servants the doctors, had sent him out of the country for their own purposes; whereupon the reactionary
forces immediately began to dismantle every one of the Yankee’s 19th century “improvements.”
“Our navy had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared! Also as suddenly and as mysteriously, the railway and telegraph and telephone service ceased, the men all deserted, poles were cut down, the Church laid a ban upon the electric light! I had to be up and doing - and straight off. Your life was safe - nobody in
these kingdoms but Merlin would venture to touch such a magician as you, without ten thousand men at his back - I had nothing to think of but how to put
preparations in the best trim against your coming. I felt safe myself - nobody would be anxious to touch a pet of yours. So this is what I did. From our
various works I selected all the men - boys, I mean - whose faithfulness under whatsoever pressure I could swear to, and I called them together secretly and gave them their instructions. There are fifty- two of them; none younger than fourteen, and none above seventeen years old.”
“Why did you select boys?”
“Because all the others were born in an atmosphere of superstition, and reared in it. It is in their blood and bones. We imagined we had educated it out of
them; they thought so, too; the Interdict woke them up like a thunderclap! It revealed them to themselves, and it revealed them to me, too. With boys it was
different. Such as have been under our training from seven to ten years have had no acquaintance with the Church’s terrors, and it was among these that I found my fifty-two.”
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
My God is bigger than your god!!
"I talk to him, an' he told me so! He's smart! He didn't go to Yale, but he's smart! Fool him once, shame on . . . uh . . .you!! uh . . . fool him twice . . . uh . . . you can't fool 'im again - Hee-hee, yep!"
We bad! We bad! We bad!!
Hey Folks,
We keep hearing about certain Muslims who are pissed off over some political cartoons. Well, I get pissed off by political cartoons all the time (I read the Columbus Dispatch, for Dog’s sake!), but I haven’t thrown a brick through their window yet, haven’t burned any buildings, haven’t sent death threats, haven't seen any fellow cartoon-protestors sprayed, gassed, beaten, or killed.
So, it’s easy for Westerners to think, “Boy! Are these people crazy or what!”
Personally, I think most of what constitutes religion IS crazy and that the world would be better off without it; but this Muslim uprising involves a lot more than cartoons and religion. Most thinking people I’ve checked with see it as a revolt against arrogant abuse and disparagement by selfish, money-grubbing Westerners. The protestors might not know that and may think they are standing up for their prophet, but they are really – in a twisted way – standing up for themselves.
A lot of Americans and much of the media may think these people are nuts, revolting over cartoons. But the world IS listening to these protestors; the world IS concerned; the world IS giving thought to the situation!
In this country, Bush & Co. is up to their ears in corruption, is spending us into the Stone Age, is suspending our constitutional rights, is getting our sons and daughters killed and maimed and innocent Iraqi men, women, and children killed and maimed in an unjust and unnecessary war; is restricting the opportunity to attend college, is ignoring the needs of hurricane victims, has mistreated our soldiers for the benefit of Halliburton, has neglected the safety needs of our troops, have cut Veterans’ benefits, have actually caused (I know this for a fact) people to die as a result of their attack on Medicaid prescriptions, and have attacked – and continue to attack - Social Security while simultaneously humping like a mad dog to make permanent earlier tax cuts for millionaires.
Yet, there are few Christians in the streets. No one is throwing bricks through windows. No one is burning buildings. Do you think anyone is receiving death threats? How many Americans are outraged enough to be sprayed, gassed, beaten, or killed? Where are they?
It’s easy to make fun of Muslims; but, if you think about it, how smart are we?
- Uke Man
We keep hearing about certain Muslims who are pissed off over some political cartoons. Well, I get pissed off by political cartoons all the time (I read the Columbus Dispatch, for Dog’s sake!), but I haven’t thrown a brick through their window yet, haven’t burned any buildings, haven’t sent death threats, haven't seen any fellow cartoon-protestors sprayed, gassed, beaten, or killed.
So, it’s easy for Westerners to think, “Boy! Are these people crazy or what!”
Personally, I think most of what constitutes religion IS crazy and that the world would be better off without it; but this Muslim uprising involves a lot more than cartoons and religion. Most thinking people I’ve checked with see it as a revolt against arrogant abuse and disparagement by selfish, money-grubbing Westerners. The protestors might not know that and may think they are standing up for their prophet, but they are really – in a twisted way – standing up for themselves.
A lot of Americans and much of the media may think these people are nuts, revolting over cartoons. But the world IS listening to these protestors; the world IS concerned; the world IS giving thought to the situation!
In this country, Bush & Co. is up to their ears in corruption, is spending us into the Stone Age, is suspending our constitutional rights, is getting our sons and daughters killed and maimed and innocent Iraqi men, women, and children killed and maimed in an unjust and unnecessary war; is restricting the opportunity to attend college, is ignoring the needs of hurricane victims, has mistreated our soldiers for the benefit of Halliburton, has neglected the safety needs of our troops, have cut Veterans’ benefits, have actually caused (I know this for a fact) people to die as a result of their attack on Medicaid prescriptions, and have attacked – and continue to attack - Social Security while simultaneously humping like a mad dog to make permanent earlier tax cuts for millionaires.
Yet, there are few Christians in the streets. No one is throwing bricks through windows. No one is burning buildings. Do you think anyone is receiving death threats? How many Americans are outraged enough to be sprayed, gassed, beaten, or killed? Where are they?
It’s easy to make fun of Muslims; but, if you think about it, how smart are we?
- Uke Man
Simple, Ruthless, and Mythic
February 8, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Who's Hormonal? Hillary or Dick?
By MAUREEN DOWD
(& a ukethanks to Phyll)
The Republicans succeed because they keep it simple, ruthless and mythic.
In 2000 and 2004, G.O.P. gunslingers played into the Western myth and mined images of manliness, feminizing Al Gore as a Beta Tree-Hugger, John Kerry as a Waffling War Wimp With a Hectoring Wife and John Edwards as his true bride, the Breck Girl.
Now, in the distaff version of Swift-boating, they are casting Hillary Clinton as an Angry Woman, a she-monster melding images of Medea, the Furies, harpies, a knife-wielding Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction" and a snarling Scarlett Johansson in "Match Point." (How many pregnant mistresses does Woody Allen have to kill off in movies before he feels he's reversed Dostoyevsky and proved that if the crime is worth it, there should be no punishment?)
Republicans think that men who already have nagging, bitter women in their lives will not want for president the sort of woman who gave W. a dyspeptic smile or eye-rolling appraisal during State of the Union addresses.
In "Commander in Chief," writers were careful to make Geena Davis's chief executive calm and controlled under pressure — even when her rival, played by Donald Sutherland, made an insulting menopause crack.
The hit on Hillary may seem crude and transparent. But in the void created by dormant Democrats, crouching in what Barack Obama calls "a reactive posture," crude and transparent ploys work for the Republicans. Just look at how far the Bushies' sulfurous scaremongering on terror, and cynical linkage of Saddam and Osama, have gotten them.
The gambit handcuffs Hillary: If she doesn't speak out strongly against President Bush, she's timid and girlie. If she does, she's a witch and a shrew. That plays particularly well in the South, where it would be hard for an uppity Hillary to capture many more Bubbas than the one she already has.
It's the riddle of the Sphinx that has been floating around since the selection of Geraldine Ferraro. Betty Friedan worried then that a woman seen as a threat to men would not get to the White House. But how can a woman who's not a threat to men get there?
The G.O.P. honcho Ken Mehlman kicked off the misogynistic attack on George Stephanopoulos's Sunday show. "I don't think the American people, if you look historically, elect angry candidates," he said. Referring to Hillary's recent taunts about Republicans, he added, "Whether it's the comments about the plantation or the worst administration in history, Hillary Clinton seems to have a lot of anger."
Hillary did not sound angry when she made those comments — she's learned since her tea-and-cookies outburst in the '92 campaign. A man who wants to undermine a woman's arguments can ignore the substance and simply dismiss her as unstable and shrill. It's a hoary tactic: women are more mercurial than men; they get depressed more often and pop pills more often. As a top psychiatrist once told me, women are "hormonally more complicated and biologically more vulnerable."
But as the G.O.P. tars Hillary as hysterical, it is important to note that women are affected by lunar tides only once a month, while Dick Cheney has rampaging hormones every day.
Republicans have also labeled men hysterical (from the Greek for "womb"). Howard Dean was skewered on the Scream. And when John McCain was soaring in the 2000 primaries, Bush supporters viciously whispered that his fits of temper signaled that he had come back from Vietnam with snakes in his head.
Senator McCain went over the top again this week in a letter to Senator Obama. Although Mr. McCain tried to cast his "I'm the reformer — you back off, new guy" letter as "straight talk" after an Obama dis, it was snide and bitchy, more like an angry missive of a spurned lover to an ex-boyfriend than a note from a respected senior senator to a respected junior one.
Mr. McCain could take a lesson from Condi Rice, who gets hyperarticulate and bristly when she's mad, but not bitchy. Or Oprah, whose anger at James Frey had a Mosaic dignity.
Hillary's problem isn't that she's angry. It's that she's not angry enough. From Iraq to Katrina and the assault on the Constitution, from Schiavo to Alito and N.S.A. snooping to Congressional corruption, Hillary has failed to lead in voicing outrage. She's been too busy triangulating and calculating to be good at articulating.
The Republicans can't marginalize Hillary. She has already marginalized herself.
Op-Ed Columnist
Who's Hormonal? Hillary or Dick?
By MAUREEN DOWD
(& a ukethanks to Phyll)
The Republicans succeed because they keep it simple, ruthless and mythic.
In 2000 and 2004, G.O.P. gunslingers played into the Western myth and mined images of manliness, feminizing Al Gore as a Beta Tree-Hugger, John Kerry as a Waffling War Wimp With a Hectoring Wife and John Edwards as his true bride, the Breck Girl.
Now, in the distaff version of Swift-boating, they are casting Hillary Clinton as an Angry Woman, a she-monster melding images of Medea, the Furies, harpies, a knife-wielding Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction" and a snarling Scarlett Johansson in "Match Point." (How many pregnant mistresses does Woody Allen have to kill off in movies before he feels he's reversed Dostoyevsky and proved that if the crime is worth it, there should be no punishment?)
Republicans think that men who already have nagging, bitter women in their lives will not want for president the sort of woman who gave W. a dyspeptic smile or eye-rolling appraisal during State of the Union addresses.
In "Commander in Chief," writers were careful to make Geena Davis's chief executive calm and controlled under pressure — even when her rival, played by Donald Sutherland, made an insulting menopause crack.
The hit on Hillary may seem crude and transparent. But in the void created by dormant Democrats, crouching in what Barack Obama calls "a reactive posture," crude and transparent ploys work for the Republicans. Just look at how far the Bushies' sulfurous scaremongering on terror, and cynical linkage of Saddam and Osama, have gotten them.
The gambit handcuffs Hillary: If she doesn't speak out strongly against President Bush, she's timid and girlie. If she does, she's a witch and a shrew. That plays particularly well in the South, where it would be hard for an uppity Hillary to capture many more Bubbas than the one she already has.
It's the riddle of the Sphinx that has been floating around since the selection of Geraldine Ferraro. Betty Friedan worried then that a woman seen as a threat to men would not get to the White House. But how can a woman who's not a threat to men get there?
The G.O.P. honcho Ken Mehlman kicked off the misogynistic attack on George Stephanopoulos's Sunday show. "I don't think the American people, if you look historically, elect angry candidates," he said. Referring to Hillary's recent taunts about Republicans, he added, "Whether it's the comments about the plantation or the worst administration in history, Hillary Clinton seems to have a lot of anger."
Hillary did not sound angry when she made those comments — she's learned since her tea-and-cookies outburst in the '92 campaign. A man who wants to undermine a woman's arguments can ignore the substance and simply dismiss her as unstable and shrill. It's a hoary tactic: women are more mercurial than men; they get depressed more often and pop pills more often. As a top psychiatrist once told me, women are "hormonally more complicated and biologically more vulnerable."
But as the G.O.P. tars Hillary as hysterical, it is important to note that women are affected by lunar tides only once a month, while Dick Cheney has rampaging hormones every day.
Republicans have also labeled men hysterical (from the Greek for "womb"). Howard Dean was skewered on the Scream. And when John McCain was soaring in the 2000 primaries, Bush supporters viciously whispered that his fits of temper signaled that he had come back from Vietnam with snakes in his head.
Senator McCain went over the top again this week in a letter to Senator Obama. Although Mr. McCain tried to cast his "I'm the reformer — you back off, new guy" letter as "straight talk" after an Obama dis, it was snide and bitchy, more like an angry missive of a spurned lover to an ex-boyfriend than a note from a respected senior senator to a respected junior one.
Mr. McCain could take a lesson from Condi Rice, who gets hyperarticulate and bristly when she's mad, but not bitchy. Or Oprah, whose anger at James Frey had a Mosaic dignity.
Hillary's problem isn't that she's angry. It's that she's not angry enough. From Iraq to Katrina and the assault on the Constitution, from Schiavo to Alito and N.S.A. snooping to Congressional corruption, Hillary has failed to lead in voicing outrage. She's been too busy triangulating and calculating to be good at articulating.
The Republicans can't marginalize Hillary. She has already marginalized herself.
what's Morton Kondracke say ???
Hey Folks,
Columbus Dispatch “Accent” columnist, Joe Blundo, reported recently on a study and a book that scientifically support what the Uke Man learned the hard way:
“• The New York Times reported on a study in which die-hard Republicans and die-hard Democrats underwent brain scans while hearing damning facts or opinions about their favored candidates. Guess what areas of the brain lighted up?
‘The (reactions) were almost entirely emotional and unconscious,’ the Times reported. ‘And there are flares of activity in the brain’s pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.’
• A recently published book, Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? says that experts with the strongest beliefs in the soundness of their arguments are the most likely to be wrong."
There you have it! We never get anywhere because we don’t think - - we FEEL!
When we hear something we WANT to hear, we FEEL good. When we hear things we DON’T want to hear, we FEEL bad. Don’t bother us with the facts; just light up our feel-good centers!!
Is it any wonder that FOX “News” has a following? Reality is a pain. Faith-based feelings light up our lives.
Happiness? Just listen to the talking heads with those really strong beliefs – they’re NEVER wrong!!! Don’t worry; be happy!
Except!!
Remember the Neo-Conehead’s comments, comments made with unassailable certainty? (October 17, 2004, New York Times Magazine article by writer Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to George W. Bush):
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
I bet gigantic “flares of activity” exploded in Little Skippy’s “pleasure centers” when he said THAT!
On the other hand, sitting here today in the “reality-based” community, I get pleasure by saying, as Malcolm X might, “The chickens are coming home to roost.”
And, after judicious study of discernible reality, that looks likely to be true!
- Uke Man
Columbus Dispatch “Accent” columnist, Joe Blundo, reported recently on a study and a book that scientifically support what the Uke Man learned the hard way:
“• The New York Times reported on a study in which die-hard Republicans and die-hard Democrats underwent brain scans while hearing damning facts or opinions about their favored candidates. Guess what areas of the brain lighted up?
‘The (reactions) were almost entirely emotional and unconscious,’ the Times reported. ‘And there are flares of activity in the brain’s pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.’
• A recently published book, Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? says that experts with the strongest beliefs in the soundness of their arguments are the most likely to be wrong."
There you have it! We never get anywhere because we don’t think - - we FEEL!
When we hear something we WANT to hear, we FEEL good. When we hear things we DON’T want to hear, we FEEL bad. Don’t bother us with the facts; just light up our feel-good centers!!
Is it any wonder that FOX “News” has a following? Reality is a pain. Faith-based feelings light up our lives.
Happiness? Just listen to the talking heads with those really strong beliefs – they’re NEVER wrong!!! Don’t worry; be happy!
Except!!
Remember the Neo-Conehead’s comments, comments made with unassailable certainty? (October 17, 2004, New York Times Magazine article by writer Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to George W. Bush):
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
I bet gigantic “flares of activity” exploded in Little Skippy’s “pleasure centers” when he said THAT!
On the other hand, sitting here today in the “reality-based” community, I get pleasure by saying, as Malcolm X might, “The chickens are coming home to roost.”
And, after judicious study of discernible reality, that looks likely to be true!
- Uke Man
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Twain - "War!"
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 27th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 42 – “War!” - In the Yankee’s absence war broke out, THE war of the Arthurian legend – i.e. the trouble over Guinevere - Lancelot and Arthur, and the darkness of Mordred. When the Yankee returns, the knights have been decimated and the round Table is no more, Mordred and Arthur are dead, Guinevere is in a convent, and the Church is in charge.
The Yankee, who is being briefed on all of this by his loyal cohort Clarence, says:
“What changes! And in such a short while. It is inconceivable. What next, I wonder?”
“I can tell you what next.”
“Well?”
“Stake our lives and stand by them!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Church is master, now. The Interdict included you with Mordred; it is not to be removed while you remain alive. The clans are gathering. The Church has gathered all the knights that are left alive, and as soon as you are discovered, we shall have business on our hands.”
“Stuff! With our deadly scientific war-material – with our hosts of trained – “
“Save your breath – we haven’t sixty faithful left!”
“What are you saying? Our schools, our colleges, our vast workshops, our – “
“When those knights come, those establishments will empty themselves and go over to the enemy. Did you think you had educated the superstition out of these people!”
“I certainly did think it.”
“Well, then, you may unthink it. They stood every strain easily – until the Interdict. Since then, they merely put on a bold outside – at heart they are quaking. Make up your mind to it – when the armies come, the mask will fall.”
- Uke Man
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 27th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 42 – “War!” - In the Yankee’s absence war broke out, THE war of the Arthurian legend – i.e. the trouble over Guinevere - Lancelot and Arthur, and the darkness of Mordred. When the Yankee returns, the knights have been decimated and the round Table is no more, Mordred and Arthur are dead, Guinevere is in a convent, and the Church is in charge.
The Yankee, who is being briefed on all of this by his loyal cohort Clarence, says:
“What changes! And in such a short while. It is inconceivable. What next, I wonder?”
“I can tell you what next.”
“Well?”
“Stake our lives and stand by them!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Church is master, now. The Interdict included you with Mordred; it is not to be removed while you remain alive. The clans are gathering. The Church has gathered all the knights that are left alive, and as soon as you are discovered, we shall have business on our hands.”
“Stuff! With our deadly scientific war-material – with our hosts of trained – “
“Save your breath – we haven’t sixty faithful left!”
“What are you saying? Our schools, our colleges, our vast workshops, our – “
“When those knights come, those establishments will empty themselves and go over to the enemy. Did you think you had educated the superstition out of these people!”
“I certainly did think it.”
“Well, then, you may unthink it. They stood every strain easily – until the Interdict. Since then, they merely put on a bold outside – at heart they are quaking. Make up your mind to it – when the armies come, the mask will fall.”
- Uke Man
Brooks Spills the Beans Again
“If you sit by the river long enough, the body of your enemy floats by” – Chinese proverb
Well Folks,
The dead body of “We need more math and science” just floated by.
For years as a teacher, I heard over and over and over again about HOW F’n BADLY we needed math and science teachers and HOW F’n BADLY we needed better math and science programs in our schools, and HOW F’n BADLY we needed more math and science workers. Math & Science, math & science, mth & scnce!!!!!!!
Well, if you sit by the river long enough, the body of your enemy floats by.
Recently columnist David Brooks – no commie/pinko friend of Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan spilled the beans. After all these years and a mountainous pile of “supporting” bullshit (and even a call by Dubya [the anti-Darwin] in the State of the Union charade), the truth is out:
There is no shortage in math and science fields.
“Vastly overblown” says Brooks and Duke University. “More engineers per capita than China or India.” Businesses report no shortage – some report OVER-supplies. According to Michael Teitelbaum of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, “no one I know who has looked at the data with an open mind has been able to find any sign of a current shortage.”
He cites “The Government Accountability Office, RAND Corp., and many other researchers and organizations” that have failed to find any evidence that there is a problem.
What!!!??? How can THAT be? It’s like after thirty or more years of conservative bullshit, suddenly “No!!!!!! King’s X!!”
How can Brooks, a conservative, put out such a jarringly sudden and conflicting assertion? The answer is simple, really.
All these years the math/science boogeyman has been a manufactured fear conceived and fostered by those corporations that most needed math and science workers. The “threat” of a math/science deficit was always intended to increase the supply of math/science workers to, in turn, reduce demand pressure and, thereby, reduce labor costs.
Brooks can get by, NOW, with telling the truth (in support of his newly convenient assertion that the American economy [as opposed to China’s and India’s] is just hunkey-dorey) because the massive out-sourcing of math and science jobs (to China and India) has provided the longed-for increase in supply (and reduced domestic labor costs).
The bullshit is no longer needed. Actually, the system will probably be producing FEWER domestic science/math/technology workers because, with shrinking availability, they are increasingly seen as less of a “plum” than they once were; and these workers are NOT really courted as fervently as before - they aren’t needed as badly.
With this new reality, instead of hyping the domestic supply, people like Brooks are changing course 180 degrees and arguing that we really don’t have a problem. As wages are eroded and prestige jobs are degraded – the NEW need is to convince everyone that everyhing is really going along swimmingly! Greeters at Wal-Mart are the wave of the future.
Well, these liars can say whatever they want, but I’ve watched a long time, and a few days ago the body of one despicable lie floated by – dead at last. If you keep YOUR eyes open, maybe you'll catch the next one.
- Uke Man
Well Folks,
The dead body of “We need more math and science” just floated by.
For years as a teacher, I heard over and over and over again about HOW F’n BADLY we needed math and science teachers and HOW F’n BADLY we needed better math and science programs in our schools, and HOW F’n BADLY we needed more math and science workers. Math & Science, math & science, mth & scnce!!!!!!!
Well, if you sit by the river long enough, the body of your enemy floats by.
Recently columnist David Brooks – no commie/pinko friend of Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan spilled the beans. After all these years and a mountainous pile of “supporting” bullshit (and even a call by Dubya [the anti-Darwin] in the State of the Union charade), the truth is out:
There is no shortage in math and science fields.
“Vastly overblown” says Brooks and Duke University. “More engineers per capita than China or India.” Businesses report no shortage – some report OVER-supplies. According to Michael Teitelbaum of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, “no one I know who has looked at the data with an open mind has been able to find any sign of a current shortage.”
He cites “The Government Accountability Office, RAND Corp., and many other researchers and organizations” that have failed to find any evidence that there is a problem.
What!!!??? How can THAT be? It’s like after thirty or more years of conservative bullshit, suddenly “No!!!!!! King’s X!!”
How can Brooks, a conservative, put out such a jarringly sudden and conflicting assertion? The answer is simple, really.
All these years the math/science boogeyman has been a manufactured fear conceived and fostered by those corporations that most needed math and science workers. The “threat” of a math/science deficit was always intended to increase the supply of math/science workers to, in turn, reduce demand pressure and, thereby, reduce labor costs.
Brooks can get by, NOW, with telling the truth (in support of his newly convenient assertion that the American economy [as opposed to China’s and India’s] is just hunkey-dorey) because the massive out-sourcing of math and science jobs (to China and India) has provided the longed-for increase in supply (and reduced domestic labor costs).
The bullshit is no longer needed. Actually, the system will probably be producing FEWER domestic science/math/technology workers because, with shrinking availability, they are increasingly seen as less of a “plum” than they once were; and these workers are NOT really courted as fervently as before - they aren’t needed as badly.
With this new reality, instead of hyping the domestic supply, people like Brooks are changing course 180 degrees and arguing that we really don’t have a problem. As wages are eroded and prestige jobs are degraded – the NEW need is to convince everyone that everyhing is really going along swimmingly! Greeters at Wal-Mart are the wave of the future.
Well, these liars can say whatever they want, but I’ve watched a long time, and a few days ago the body of one despicable lie floated by – dead at last. If you keep YOUR eyes open, maybe you'll catch the next one.
- Uke Man
Monday, February 06, 2006
Herbert Speaks Out about our Dictator's Actions - listen to him!
Hey Folks,
On Feb. 4, I posted my views on this at:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/02/uke-man-predicts.html
The plot thickens!
(the emphasis below is mine)
- Uke Man
February 6, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Do You Know What They Know?
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
Has the National Security Agency referred your name to the F.B.I. as a result of information it picked up from its illegal domestic eavesdropping program?
You don't know, do you? And the Bush administration, which has linked its mania for secrecy with its fetish for collecting data on Americans, is not saying.
The big problem related to this program, as far as the administration is concerned, is not its metastasizing threat to constitutional government, the rule of law, the privacy of innocent Americans, the venerable system of checks and balances, and the American way of life as we've known it.
No, the big problem for Bush & Co. — the thing that makes the president and his apologists apoplectic — is the mere fact that this domestic spying program has come to light. Investigations are under way to determine who might have leaked information about the supersecret program to The New York Times, which disclosed its existence, and others.
This is not a time for Congress or the media to bow before the intimidation tactics of a bullying administration. This is a time to heed the words of a federal judge named Damon Keith, who reminded us back in 2002 that "democracies die behind closed doors."
The attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is scheduled to testify about the N.S.A. program today at a public hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Here are some of the questions that need to be asked:
Who is being spied upon, and why?
How many Americans here in the United States — or others who were lawfully in the country — have had their phone conversations or e-mails intercepted without a warrant?
Who determines what calls or e-mails are to be monitored in the U.S. without warrants, and what are their guidelines?
How many of those who were spied upon were found to have been involved in terror-related activities? How many were referred to the F.B.I. or other agencies for further investigation?
Of those who were referred, how many were cleared of wrongdoing?
What kind of information is being collected about people who are spied upon without warrants but are not referred to law enforcement agencies? How is that data being used, and how is it stored?
Is the government collecting information about the political views of the people who are being spied upon? With whom is that information being shared?
What has been the nature and the extent of the objections from people inside the government to the warrantless spying?
Until recently, no one was above the law in the U.S., not even the president. Richard Nixon was threatened with impeachment and run out of town for thumbing his nose at the Constitution. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about his sex life.
The Bush administration, by exploiting the very real fear of terrorism, and with the connivance of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, has run roughshod over constitutional guarantees that had long been taken for granted. The prohibition against cruel and inhuman punishment? Habeas corpus? The right to face one's accuser? When it suits the Bush crowd, such protections are simply ignored.
The president would have you believe that the warrantless N.S.A. spy program is a very limited operation, narrowly focused on international communications involving "people with known links to Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations."
If that were true, there would be no reason not to get a warrant from the secret court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The most logical reason for not getting a warrant is that the president's intelligence acolytes, who behave as though they graduated from the Laurel and Hardy school of data mining, have not been able to demonstrate that the people being spied upon are connected to Al Qaeda or any other terror organization.
The National Security Agency sent so much useless information to the F.B.I. in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks that agents began to joke that the tips would result in more "calls to Pizza Hut." The Times reported that thousands of tips a month came pouring in, virtually all of them leading to dead ends or innocent Americans.
The American public needs to know what's really going on with this spy program. "Liberty," said John Adams, "cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people."
On Feb. 4, I posted my views on this at:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/02/uke-man-predicts.html
The plot thickens!
(the emphasis below is mine)
- Uke Man
February 6, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Do You Know What They Know?
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
Has the National Security Agency referred your name to the F.B.I. as a result of information it picked up from its illegal domestic eavesdropping program?
You don't know, do you? And the Bush administration, which has linked its mania for secrecy with its fetish for collecting data on Americans, is not saying.
The big problem related to this program, as far as the administration is concerned, is not its metastasizing threat to constitutional government, the rule of law, the privacy of innocent Americans, the venerable system of checks and balances, and the American way of life as we've known it.
No, the big problem for Bush & Co. — the thing that makes the president and his apologists apoplectic — is the mere fact that this domestic spying program has come to light. Investigations are under way to determine who might have leaked information about the supersecret program to The New York Times, which disclosed its existence, and others.
This is not a time for Congress or the media to bow before the intimidation tactics of a bullying administration. This is a time to heed the words of a federal judge named Damon Keith, who reminded us back in 2002 that "democracies die behind closed doors."
The attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is scheduled to testify about the N.S.A. program today at a public hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Here are some of the questions that need to be asked:
Who is being spied upon, and why?
How many Americans here in the United States — or others who were lawfully in the country — have had their phone conversations or e-mails intercepted without a warrant?
Who determines what calls or e-mails are to be monitored in the U.S. without warrants, and what are their guidelines?
How many of those who were spied upon were found to have been involved in terror-related activities? How many were referred to the F.B.I. or other agencies for further investigation?
Of those who were referred, how many were cleared of wrongdoing?
What kind of information is being collected about people who are spied upon without warrants but are not referred to law enforcement agencies? How is that data being used, and how is it stored?
Is the government collecting information about the political views of the people who are being spied upon? With whom is that information being shared?
What has been the nature and the extent of the objections from people inside the government to the warrantless spying?
Until recently, no one was above the law in the U.S., not even the president. Richard Nixon was threatened with impeachment and run out of town for thumbing his nose at the Constitution. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about his sex life.
The Bush administration, by exploiting the very real fear of terrorism, and with the connivance of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, has run roughshod over constitutional guarantees that had long been taken for granted. The prohibition against cruel and inhuman punishment? Habeas corpus? The right to face one's accuser? When it suits the Bush crowd, such protections are simply ignored.
The president would have you believe that the warrantless N.S.A. spy program is a very limited operation, narrowly focused on international communications involving "people with known links to Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations."
If that were true, there would be no reason not to get a warrant from the secret court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The most logical reason for not getting a warrant is that the president's intelligence acolytes, who behave as though they graduated from the Laurel and Hardy school of data mining, have not been able to demonstrate that the people being spied upon are connected to Al Qaeda or any other terror organization.
The National Security Agency sent so much useless information to the F.B.I. in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks that agents began to joke that the tips would result in more "calls to Pizza Hut." The Times reported that thousands of tips a month came pouring in, virtually all of them leading to dead ends or innocent Americans.
The American public needs to know what's really going on with this spy program. "Liberty," said John Adams, "cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people."
Ted Lewis Finale
Hey Folks!
“Is Everybody Happy ???”
This is the 6th and final installment of a continuing tribute to the remarkable Ted Lewis.
IS EVERYBODY HAPPY ?
Hope so! You can’t get to know Ted – even a little – and not get a little lift out of it.
You can hear all the Ted recordings I’ve already shared and MORE at:
http://great-song-stylists-uk.com/Ted%20Lewis/Tedlewis2.htm
You can purchase CD’s and tapes of his music at the museum – as well as view his films and see first-hand what I’ve shared and more. Give it a try – just 30 minutes south of Columbus, Ohio off route 23.
The Ted Lewis Museum is in Circleville Ohio, at 133 W. Main St., just off State Route 23. It is open Fridays and Saturdays 1:00-5:00 P.M. and by appointment. Call 740-477-3630 for details.
Be Happy!!
- Uke Man
“Is Everybody Happy ???”
This is the 6th and final installment of a continuing tribute to the remarkable Ted Lewis.
IS EVERYBODY HAPPY ?
Hope so! You can’t get to know Ted – even a little – and not get a little lift out of it.
You can hear all the Ted recordings I’ve already shared and MORE at:
http://great-song-stylists-uk.com/Ted%20Lewis/Tedlewis2.htm
You can purchase CD’s and tapes of his music at the museum – as well as view his films and see first-hand what I’ve shared and more. Give it a try – just 30 minutes south of Columbus, Ohio off route 23.
The Ted Lewis Museum is in Circleville Ohio, at 133 W. Main St., just off State Route 23. It is open Fridays and Saturdays 1:00-5:00 P.M. and by appointment. Call 740-477-3630 for details.
Be Happy!!
- Uke Man
Sunday, February 05, 2006
The more things change, the more they stay the same
Hey Folks,
Here's a poem I wrote and put on the very first posting of this blog, December 30, 2004.
I still mean it.
- Uke Man
Moving through the Maelstrom
in a bubble of delusion,
a neurotic bubble
of face lifts and missile shields,
of Jesus and the dollar,
of History and Progress,
of faith, hope,
and the invisible hand of the Market,
we are safe;
secure in this bubble
of youth and angels,
of science and Super Bowls,
of Limbaugh and eternal life,
of Hobbes and Norman Vincent Peale.
Yes,
we move through the Maelstrom
wrapped in delusions,
and to peer beyond them
is to be in jeopardy,
for should we dare to leave the bubble
and dance amid the chaos,
then, surely, we will die!
But I will dance with chaos,
and dance beyond my turning blue,
because for me - death or delusion -
either one would do;
the hell I face is being stuck
somewhere between the two.
- Uke Man
Here's a poem I wrote and put on the very first posting of this blog, December 30, 2004.
I still mean it.
- Uke Man
Moving through the Maelstrom
in a bubble of delusion,
a neurotic bubble
of face lifts and missile shields,
of Jesus and the dollar,
of History and Progress,
of faith, hope,
and the invisible hand of the Market,
we are safe;
secure in this bubble
of youth and angels,
of science and Super Bowls,
of Limbaugh and eternal life,
of Hobbes and Norman Vincent Peale.
Yes,
we move through the Maelstrom
wrapped in delusions,
and to peer beyond them
is to be in jeopardy,
for should we dare to leave the bubble
and dance amid the chaos,
then, surely, we will die!
But I will dance with chaos,
and dance beyond my turning blue,
because for me - death or delusion -
either one would do;
the hell I face is being stuck
somewhere between the two.
- Uke Man
Leonard Peltier 30 Years
Hey Folks,
Thanks to my friend Michael Eckhardt, we can further consider “justice” as it is practiced in our country, and give attention to the call for real justice in the future.
- Uke Man
February 6th will mark the 30th year since Leonard Peltier was locked in a steel cage following a shoot-out in Oglala on the Pine Ridge reservation. The conflict between the American Indian movement and the F.B.I./United States government resulted in the loss of life for two agents and one American Indian activist in 1975. The subsequent arrest, conviction and incarceration of Leonard Peltier is a continuing nightmarish illumination of unconscionable social injustice.
The case of Leonard Peltier is a case of political failure, political intervention, political manipulation and political incarceration. Leonard remains a political prisoner in a country that states it holds none. Leonard now approaches the beginning of an unbelievable fourth decade of this nightmare. It is a continuing crime against indigenous peoples here. It is a direct attack on land rights, burial rights, mineral rights, water rights, religious freedom, and sovereignty. Each moment that passes constitutes a new crime against Leonard and Indian peoples.
Below, please find a copy of a statement from Leonard released on 1/24/06.
Peace in struggle, Michael Eckhardt
-----
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year will mark more than three decades of my unjust imprisonment.Behind bars I have aged from a youth myself, into an elder. As an elder Ihave become increasingly encouraged by the potential and promise of indigenous youth from all First Nations. Today indigenous youth have greater opportunities than possibly ever before in our peoples history. However,these opportunities were not attained without sacrifice. They arose from great struggle. They came from ordinary men and women; your relatives who made extraordinary sacrifices. These warriors' struggle to ensure a better future for generations to come can never be taken for granted.
I am especially pleased to hear of the rising numbers of indigenous youth who are graduating from high school and entering institutions of higher learning; universities, colleges, and technical schools. Other youth are taking advantage of social programs that will assist them in each of their respective futures. These are all opportunities that as a youth I could have only dreamed of. Yet, even though we have made much progress and advances for our people we still have a long path ahead to attain justice for FirstNations.
I strongly believe that the first step on that path is to always be conscious of our people's history. Irregardless of what nation we belong to we have shared a combined history of struggle against a more than 500-yearlong genocide. It has been a genocide focused not only on the death of our relatives, but of our spirituality, culture, and language. All will be lost if we do not honor our ancestors by learning about their sacrifice so that the people may live. We must never forget our ways, our traditions, and our wisdom.
Each one of you must acknowledge your capacity and ability to bring about positive changes for our people. This is done not only by bettering yourself, but by helping your brothers and sisters who have wandered off the Red Road. I am deeply pained by the numbers of youth who have prematurely lost their life to gang violence and suicide. It is just as troubling to hear of those who continue to suffer from drug and alcohol abuse. I ask you to bring your brothers and sisters who need guidance and medicine to our ceremonies. It is our spirituality that has always sustained us as a people.
Throughout history there have been countless attempts to rob us as a people; our lands, our history, our language, and our culture. However, they have never been able to take our future from us. The future belongs to theCreator only and it is the Creator who gives it to the youth. As a youth it is your responsibility to honor all your relations, our Mother Earth, and the Creator by committing yourself to the struggle for a future of justice and a better tomorrow for all peoples.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Thanks to my friend Michael Eckhardt, we can further consider “justice” as it is practiced in our country, and give attention to the call for real justice in the future.
- Uke Man
February 6th will mark the 30th year since Leonard Peltier was locked in a steel cage following a shoot-out in Oglala on the Pine Ridge reservation. The conflict between the American Indian movement and the F.B.I./United States government resulted in the loss of life for two agents and one American Indian activist in 1975. The subsequent arrest, conviction and incarceration of Leonard Peltier is a continuing nightmarish illumination of unconscionable social injustice.
The case of Leonard Peltier is a case of political failure, political intervention, political manipulation and political incarceration. Leonard remains a political prisoner in a country that states it holds none. Leonard now approaches the beginning of an unbelievable fourth decade of this nightmare. It is a continuing crime against indigenous peoples here. It is a direct attack on land rights, burial rights, mineral rights, water rights, religious freedom, and sovereignty. Each moment that passes constitutes a new crime against Leonard and Indian peoples.
Below, please find a copy of a statement from Leonard released on 1/24/06.
Peace in struggle, Michael Eckhardt
-----
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year will mark more than three decades of my unjust imprisonment.Behind bars I have aged from a youth myself, into an elder. As an elder Ihave become increasingly encouraged by the potential and promise of indigenous youth from all First Nations. Today indigenous youth have greater opportunities than possibly ever before in our peoples history. However,these opportunities were not attained without sacrifice. They arose from great struggle. They came from ordinary men and women; your relatives who made extraordinary sacrifices. These warriors' struggle to ensure a better future for generations to come can never be taken for granted.
I am especially pleased to hear of the rising numbers of indigenous youth who are graduating from high school and entering institutions of higher learning; universities, colleges, and technical schools. Other youth are taking advantage of social programs that will assist them in each of their respective futures. These are all opportunities that as a youth I could have only dreamed of. Yet, even though we have made much progress and advances for our people we still have a long path ahead to attain justice for FirstNations.
I strongly believe that the first step on that path is to always be conscious of our people's history. Irregardless of what nation we belong to we have shared a combined history of struggle against a more than 500-yearlong genocide. It has been a genocide focused not only on the death of our relatives, but of our spirituality, culture, and language. All will be lost if we do not honor our ancestors by learning about their sacrifice so that the people may live. We must never forget our ways, our traditions, and our wisdom.
Each one of you must acknowledge your capacity and ability to bring about positive changes for our people. This is done not only by bettering yourself, but by helping your brothers and sisters who have wandered off the Red Road. I am deeply pained by the numbers of youth who have prematurely lost their life to gang violence and suicide. It is just as troubling to hear of those who continue to suffer from drug and alcohol abuse. I ask you to bring your brothers and sisters who need guidance and medicine to our ceremonies. It is our spirituality that has always sustained us as a people.
Throughout history there have been countless attempts to rob us as a people; our lands, our history, our language, and our culture. However, they have never been able to take our future from us. The future belongs to theCreator only and it is the Creator who gives it to the youth. As a youth it is your responsibility to honor all your relations, our Mother Earth, and the Creator by committing yourself to the struggle for a future of justice and a better tomorrow for all peoples.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Insanity on the Move
Did you read the Columbus paper today (Feb. 4, 2006)?
Heard the news around Ohio?
A murderer is running for governor!
We’ve heard abortion doctors and their supporters called murderers for years. Today, the worm turned.
The front page of the Columbus Dispatch reported:
“The two Republican candidates for governor have altered their positions on abortion and now would foreclose almost every option for a woman to have one, including if pregnancy was the result of rape or
incest. . . Blackwell would preclude abortion even if the life of a mother is at stake.”
So, there you have it, both Republican monsters side with the perverts and rapists, insisting that THEIR psychotic will, not the innocent woman’s be done. As demonstrated not long ago in the Balkans, rape is a revered method of warfare employed by fighting “men” to “cleanse” their territory. Republicans apparently understand that and are working to maintain it. Screw the woman and then make HER pay for it!
Of course, these same grinning beasts oppose any “evil” taxation and “socialistic” programs designed to help either the women whose lives they have appropriated or the children for whose lives they are themselves ultimately responsible.
Worse than that, Blackwell – beloved by the religious, fascist right - has taken it upon himself to condemn women to death - women unknown to him, women who have committed no crime, saintly women for all Blackwell knows, who – even if impregnated by their father or some slobbering pervert – MUST carry forward a non-consensual pregnancy that will kill them.
This is insanity!! Blackwell must be stopped!!
- Ukulele Man
Heard the news around Ohio?
A murderer is running for governor!
We’ve heard abortion doctors and their supporters called murderers for years. Today, the worm turned.
The front page of the Columbus Dispatch reported:
“The two Republican candidates for governor have altered their positions on abortion and now would foreclose almost every option for a woman to have one, including if pregnancy was the result of rape or
incest. . . Blackwell would preclude abortion even if the life of a mother is at stake.”
So, there you have it, both Republican monsters side with the perverts and rapists, insisting that THEIR psychotic will, not the innocent woman’s be done. As demonstrated not long ago in the Balkans, rape is a revered method of warfare employed by fighting “men” to “cleanse” their territory. Republicans apparently understand that and are working to maintain it. Screw the woman and then make HER pay for it!
Of course, these same grinning beasts oppose any “evil” taxation and “socialistic” programs designed to help either the women whose lives they have appropriated or the children for whose lives they are themselves ultimately responsible.
Worse than that, Blackwell – beloved by the religious, fascist right - has taken it upon himself to condemn women to death - women unknown to him, women who have committed no crime, saintly women for all Blackwell knows, who – even if impregnated by their father or some slobbering pervert – MUST carry forward a non-consensual pregnancy that will kill them.
This is insanity!! Blackwell must be stopped!!
- Ukulele Man
The Uke Man Predicts . . .
Hey Folks,
You’ve heard the controversy over the Bushy, warrant-free wire-tapping. Well, I think I know what it’s all about. Time will tell. If we find out while I’m still kicking, I’ll admit I was wrong or strut around like I’m some kind of genius.
Here it is:
We know (the FBI has admitted it) that Big Bro USA has already been operating something called “Carnivore” (out of some secret hole in Canada). It listens in on everything we do on the internet, watching for predetermined words and phrases and, when they are found, turning us over to the “authorities.”
It seems very likely to me that what we have now is some similar snooping applied to phone messages. It will be found out eventually that our Christian/Fascist/Neo-Con government is listening in on either EVERY phone call to or from EVERY foreign country, or if that is too overwhelming for the technology, then EVERY call to or from SELECTED countries is being monitored.
Whichever way it is, the scale of the operation is too big to involve actual eavesdropping – i.e. human beings wearing earphones or reviewing tapes. No, this is some Carnivore-like “mining” operation listening for certain tell-tale words or phrases.
This scenario rings true to me because it would explain a few things:
Bush doesn’t go to the secret court because he CAN’T – before OR after the fact - because EVERYBODY involved in ANY non-domestic call is being tapped – the only “justification” to offer the court would be that it wasn’t a “domestic” conversation or that it involved an "evil" country. That wouldn’t stand up and requesting the court’s sanction could lead to the eventual termination of the program.
Security agencies are complaining about being overwhelmed by the number of suspect-referrals sent them by the administration, almost all of which turn out to be dead-ends. The Carnivore-like nature of the “program” (as Bush called it) results in a tremendous number of potential concerns, but rarely delivers anything worthwhile.
Bush & Co. complain that our knowing about this “program” and/or explaining the program would aid the enemy. Well, if they ARE listening in on EVERY call, that WOULD be information helpful to terrorists; and if the “program” IS Carnivore-like, that information could help terrorists adjust to better avoid detection.
Of course, the complaints don’t make the “program” legal; they’re just an attempt to justify hiding the administration’s disregard for law and the Constitution.
OK, that’s it. The Uke Man has spoken. In time we shall see who is full of shit. I’m betting on Bush. You can decide for yourself.
- Uke Man
You’ve heard the controversy over the Bushy, warrant-free wire-tapping. Well, I think I know what it’s all about. Time will tell. If we find out while I’m still kicking, I’ll admit I was wrong or strut around like I’m some kind of genius.
Here it is:
We know (the FBI has admitted it) that Big Bro USA has already been operating something called “Carnivore” (out of some secret hole in Canada). It listens in on everything we do on the internet, watching for predetermined words and phrases and, when they are found, turning us over to the “authorities.”
It seems very likely to me that what we have now is some similar snooping applied to phone messages. It will be found out eventually that our Christian/Fascist/Neo-Con government is listening in on either EVERY phone call to or from EVERY foreign country, or if that is too overwhelming for the technology, then EVERY call to or from SELECTED countries is being monitored.
Whichever way it is, the scale of the operation is too big to involve actual eavesdropping – i.e. human beings wearing earphones or reviewing tapes. No, this is some Carnivore-like “mining” operation listening for certain tell-tale words or phrases.
This scenario rings true to me because it would explain a few things:
Bush doesn’t go to the secret court because he CAN’T – before OR after the fact - because EVERYBODY involved in ANY non-domestic call is being tapped – the only “justification” to offer the court would be that it wasn’t a “domestic” conversation or that it involved an "evil" country. That wouldn’t stand up and requesting the court’s sanction could lead to the eventual termination of the program.
Security agencies are complaining about being overwhelmed by the number of suspect-referrals sent them by the administration, almost all of which turn out to be dead-ends. The Carnivore-like nature of the “program” (as Bush called it) results in a tremendous number of potential concerns, but rarely delivers anything worthwhile.
Bush & Co. complain that our knowing about this “program” and/or explaining the program would aid the enemy. Well, if they ARE listening in on EVERY call, that WOULD be information helpful to terrorists; and if the “program” IS Carnivore-like, that information could help terrorists adjust to better avoid detection.
Of course, the complaints don’t make the “program” legal; they’re just an attempt to justify hiding the administration’s disregard for law and the Constitution.
OK, that’s it. The Uke Man has spoken. In time we shall see who is full of shit. I’m betting on Bush. You can decide for yourself.
- Uke Man
Twain - "stupendous calamity"
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 26th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 40-41 - “Three Years Later” continued – In these years the Yankee has married Sandy – the damsel of his earlier adventure - and they have a child, “Hello Central.” The knights are kept busy as stock brokers, and in their spare time play baseball on teams consisting of kings and emperors from around the known world.
At one point the Yankee and Sandy are advised to take their sick child to a healthier climate in France. While there, oblivious of everything except nursing their sick child, things changed. The ship they’d sent for supplies and news never returned, and all the evidence of sea commerce that had been so evident during their arrival had evaporated. The Yankee leaves Sandy and the baby and sails home.
“ I approached England the next morning, with the wide highway of salt water all to myself. There were ships in the harbor, at Dover, but they were naked, as to sails, and there was no sign of life about them. It was Sunday, yet at Canterbury the streets were empty; strangest of all there was not even a priest in sight, and no stroke of a bell fell upon my ear. The mournfulness of death was everywhere. I couldn’t understand it. At last, in the further edge of that town I saw a small funeral procession – just a family and a few friends following a coffin – no priest; a funeral without bell, book or candle; there was a church there, close at hand, but they passed it by, weeping, and did not enter it; I glanced up at the belfry, and there hung the bell, shrouded in black, and its tongue tied back. Now I knew! Now I understood the stupendous calamity that had overtaken England. Invasion? Invasion is a triviality to it. It was the INTERDICT!
. . . The Church had struck; the thing for me to do was to get into a disguise; and go warily . . . A miserable journey. A desolate silence everywhere. Even in London itself. Traffic had ceased; men did not talk or laugh, or go in groups, or even in couples; they moved aimlessly about, each man by himself, with his head down, and woe and terror in his heart . . . it made me feel as if maybe it was symbolical – a sort of sign that the Church was going to keep the upper hand, now, and snuff out all my beautiful civilization just like that.”
- Uke Man
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 26th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 40-41 - “Three Years Later” continued – In these years the Yankee has married Sandy – the damsel of his earlier adventure - and they have a child, “Hello Central.” The knights are kept busy as stock brokers, and in their spare time play baseball on teams consisting of kings and emperors from around the known world.
At one point the Yankee and Sandy are advised to take their sick child to a healthier climate in France. While there, oblivious of everything except nursing their sick child, things changed. The ship they’d sent for supplies and news never returned, and all the evidence of sea commerce that had been so evident during their arrival had evaporated. The Yankee leaves Sandy and the baby and sails home.
“ I approached England the next morning, with the wide highway of salt water all to myself. There were ships in the harbor, at Dover, but they were naked, as to sails, and there was no sign of life about them. It was Sunday, yet at Canterbury the streets were empty; strangest of all there was not even a priest in sight, and no stroke of a bell fell upon my ear. The mournfulness of death was everywhere. I couldn’t understand it. At last, in the further edge of that town I saw a small funeral procession – just a family and a few friends following a coffin – no priest; a funeral without bell, book or candle; there was a church there, close at hand, but they passed it by, weeping, and did not enter it; I glanced up at the belfry, and there hung the bell, shrouded in black, and its tongue tied back. Now I knew! Now I understood the stupendous calamity that had overtaken England. Invasion? Invasion is a triviality to it. It was the INTERDICT!
. . . The Church had struck; the thing for me to do was to get into a disguise; and go warily . . . A miserable journey. A desolate silence everywhere. Even in London itself. Traffic had ceased; men did not talk or laugh, or go in groups, or even in couples; they moved aimlessly about, each man by himself, with his head down, and woe and terror in his heart . . . it made me feel as if maybe it was symbolical – a sort of sign that the Church was going to keep the upper hand, now, and snuff out all my beautiful civilization just like that.”
- Uke Man
Friday, February 03, 2006
The World Can't Wait ! Drive out the Bush Administration / Repudiate its Agenda
Hey Folks,
January 31 was one heck of a day!! As advertised, people who were mad as hell and not going to take it any more protested at the Ohio State House, the Columbus Dispatch offices, the Federal Building, the Recruitment Center, and (whoooooooo-eeeeeee!!) Republican Party Headquarters!!
Would you be surprised to learn that Republicans would call the cops to harass sidewalk protesters? Would it surprise you if they thought the Gestapo would drive the unwashed from their threshold? Would it surprise you that the police didn’t interfere?
Well, that’s all exactly as it went!!
If you’d like to go back and visit our priggish Republican friends in the future, check in with Connie Harris at: connieharrispeace@yahoo.com - and Connie deserves a BIG thank you for all her organizing efforts!!!! Thanks, Connie!!!
In the evening, prior to the monkeyshines of the “State of the Onion” address, folks gathered at Victorians’ Midnight Café, and thanks to the efforts of George Bohichik, George W. Bush was indicted on a number of charges, presented to his face by a citizens’ tribunal.
We, the jury, found him guilty on all counts! He was ordered to step down and take his agenda with him - a good start on driving him out for real.
It was then determined by a close vote to view his address, but his lies and inanities were unanimously heckled, booed, hissed, challenged, and ridiculed by the assembled activists.
Dubya kept smirking and winking as the whirlwind of criticism whirled through the canyon meandering 'tween his ears - but he was NOT well-received.
It seemed to me that people are getting angrier and more serious about driving out Bush & his Agenda. I hope so! Let’s do it!!!!
- Uke Man
January 31 was one heck of a day!! As advertised, people who were mad as hell and not going to take it any more protested at the Ohio State House, the Columbus Dispatch offices, the Federal Building, the Recruitment Center, and (whoooooooo-eeeeeee!!) Republican Party Headquarters!!
Would you be surprised to learn that Republicans would call the cops to harass sidewalk protesters? Would it surprise you if they thought the Gestapo would drive the unwashed from their threshold? Would it surprise you that the police didn’t interfere?
Well, that’s all exactly as it went!!
If you’d like to go back and visit our priggish Republican friends in the future, check in with Connie Harris at: connieharrispeace@yahoo.com - and Connie deserves a BIG thank you for all her organizing efforts!!!! Thanks, Connie!!!
In the evening, prior to the monkeyshines of the “State of the Onion” address, folks gathered at Victorians’ Midnight Café, and thanks to the efforts of George Bohichik, George W. Bush was indicted on a number of charges, presented to his face by a citizens’ tribunal.
We, the jury, found him guilty on all counts! He was ordered to step down and take his agenda with him - a good start on driving him out for real.
It was then determined by a close vote to view his address, but his lies and inanities were unanimously heckled, booed, hissed, challenged, and ridiculed by the assembled activists.
Dubya kept smirking and winking as the whirlwind of criticism whirled through the canyon meandering 'tween his ears - but he was NOT well-received.
It seemed to me that people are getting angrier and more serious about driving out Bush & his Agenda. I hope so! Let’s do it!!!!
- Uke Man
Deluded Dubya
Hey Folks,
Another analysis of the speech.
- Uke Man
February 3, 2006
State of Delusion
By PAUL KRUGMAN
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
So President Bush's plan to reduce imports of Middle East oil turns out to be no more substantial than his plan — floated two years ago, then flushed down the memory hole — to send humans to Mars.
But what did you expect? After five years in power, the Bush administration is still — perhaps more than ever — run by Mayberry Machiavellis, who don't take the business of governing seriously.
Here's the story on oil: In the State of the Union address Mr. Bush suggested that "cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol" and other technologies would allow us "to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East."
But the next day, officials explained that he didn't really mean what he said. "This was purely an example," said Samuel Bodman, the energy secretary. And the administration has actually been scaling back the very research that Mr. Bush hyped Tuesday night: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is about to lay off staff because of budget cuts. "A veteran researcher," reports The New York Times, "said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol."
Why announce impressive sounding goals when you have no plan to achieve them? The best guess is that the energy "plan" was hastily thrown together to give Mr. Bush something positive to say.
For weeks administration sources told reporters that the State of the Union address would focus on health care. But at the last minute the White House might have realized that its health care proposals, based on the idea that Americans have too much insurance, would suffer the same political fate as its attempt to privatize Social Security. ("Congress," Mr. Bush said, "did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security." Democrats responded with a standing ovation.)
So Mr. Bush's speechwriters were told to replace the health care proposals with fine words about energy independence, words not backed by any actual policy.
What about the rest of the speech? The State of the Union is normally an occasion for boasting about an administration's achievements. But what's a speechwriter to do when there are no achievements?
One answer is to pretend that the bad stuff never happened. The Medicare drug benefit is Mr. Bush's largest domestic initiative to date. It's also a disaster: at enormous cost, the administration has managed to make millions of elderly Americans worse off. So drugs went unmentioned in the State of the Union.
Another answer is to rely on evasive language. In Iraq, said Mr. Bush, we've "changed our approach to reconstruction."
In fact, reconstruction has failed. Almost three years after the war began, oil production is well below prewar levels, Baghdad is getting only an average of 3.2 hours of electricity a day, and more than 60 percent of water and sanitation projects have been canceled.
So now, having squandered billions in Iraqi oil revenue as well as U.S. taxpayer dollars, we've told the Iraqis that from now on it's their problem. America's would-be Marshall Plan in Iraq, reports The Los Angeles Times, "is drawing to a close this year with much of its promise unmet and no plans to extend its funding." I guess you can call that a change in approach.
There's a common theme underlying the botched reconstruction of Iraq, the botched response to Katrina (which Mr. Bush never mentioned), the botched drug program, and the nonexistent energy program. John DiIulio, the former White House head of faith-based policy, explained it more than three years ago. He told the reporter Ron Suskind how this administration operates: "There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus. ... I heard many, many staff discussions but not three meaningful, substantive policy discussions. There were no actual policy white papers on domestic issues."
In other words, this administration is all politics and no policy. It knows how to attain power, but has no idea how to govern. That's why the administration was caught unaware when Katrina hit, and why it was totally unprepared for the predictable problems with its drug plan. It's why Mr. Bush announced an energy plan with no substance behind it. And it's why the state of the union — the thing itself, not the speech — is so grim.
Another analysis of the speech.
- Uke Man
February 3, 2006
State of Delusion
By PAUL KRUGMAN
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
So President Bush's plan to reduce imports of Middle East oil turns out to be no more substantial than his plan — floated two years ago, then flushed down the memory hole — to send humans to Mars.
But what did you expect? After five years in power, the Bush administration is still — perhaps more than ever — run by Mayberry Machiavellis, who don't take the business of governing seriously.
Here's the story on oil: In the State of the Union address Mr. Bush suggested that "cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol" and other technologies would allow us "to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East."
But the next day, officials explained that he didn't really mean what he said. "This was purely an example," said Samuel Bodman, the energy secretary. And the administration has actually been scaling back the very research that Mr. Bush hyped Tuesday night: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is about to lay off staff because of budget cuts. "A veteran researcher," reports The New York Times, "said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol."
Why announce impressive sounding goals when you have no plan to achieve them? The best guess is that the energy "plan" was hastily thrown together to give Mr. Bush something positive to say.
For weeks administration sources told reporters that the State of the Union address would focus on health care. But at the last minute the White House might have realized that its health care proposals, based on the idea that Americans have too much insurance, would suffer the same political fate as its attempt to privatize Social Security. ("Congress," Mr. Bush said, "did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security." Democrats responded with a standing ovation.)
So Mr. Bush's speechwriters were told to replace the health care proposals with fine words about energy independence, words not backed by any actual policy.
What about the rest of the speech? The State of the Union is normally an occasion for boasting about an administration's achievements. But what's a speechwriter to do when there are no achievements?
One answer is to pretend that the bad stuff never happened. The Medicare drug benefit is Mr. Bush's largest domestic initiative to date. It's also a disaster: at enormous cost, the administration has managed to make millions of elderly Americans worse off. So drugs went unmentioned in the State of the Union.
Another answer is to rely on evasive language. In Iraq, said Mr. Bush, we've "changed our approach to reconstruction."
In fact, reconstruction has failed. Almost three years after the war began, oil production is well below prewar levels, Baghdad is getting only an average of 3.2 hours of electricity a day, and more than 60 percent of water and sanitation projects have been canceled.
So now, having squandered billions in Iraqi oil revenue as well as U.S. taxpayer dollars, we've told the Iraqis that from now on it's their problem. America's would-be Marshall Plan in Iraq, reports The Los Angeles Times, "is drawing to a close this year with much of its promise unmet and no plans to extend its funding." I guess you can call that a change in approach.
There's a common theme underlying the botched reconstruction of Iraq, the botched response to Katrina (which Mr. Bush never mentioned), the botched drug program, and the nonexistent energy program. John DiIulio, the former White House head of faith-based policy, explained it more than three years ago. He told the reporter Ron Suskind how this administration operates: "There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus. ... I heard many, many staff discussions but not three meaningful, substantive policy discussions. There were no actual policy white papers on domestic issues."
In other words, this administration is all politics and no policy. It knows how to attain power, but has no idea how to govern. That's why the administration was caught unaware when Katrina hit, and why it was totally unprepared for the predictable problems with its drug plan. It's why Mr. Bush announced an energy plan with no substance behind it. And it's why the state of the union — the thing itself, not the speech — is so grim.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Your arms aren't long enough to box with the Tooth Fairy
Hey Folks,
Religion can get pretty stupid. Here’s an example.
Cartoon blasphemy
uproar gathers pace
Reuters -
PARIS - An international row over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad gathered pace on Thursday as more European dailies printed controversial Danish caricatures and Muslims increased pressure to stop them.
A dozen Palestinian gunmen surrounded European Union offices in the Gaza Strip demanding an apology for the cartoons, one of which shows Islam's founder wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous.
* * * *
As I remember, a number of Middle-Eastern people have died in the not too distant past because tread designs on tires and on the bottoms of sandals have seemed to, if considered as Arabic lettering – a consideration which is just as common and sensible a practice as interpreting chicken scratches in the dust in terms of Chinese calligraphy – were disrespectful of some religious dogma. Brilliant!!!
But don’t get me wrong. I’m not focusing on Muslims. Some time ago “Christian” morons burned recordings of the “Mr. Ed” TV show theme song because it supposedly said “Satan”– if you played it backwards (I actually heard it played backwards, and it DID actually say “Satan” – if you seriously suspended disbelief, were seriously neurotic, and heard “Suhhahhtaaaaaan” as “Satan”).
Let’s face it. We may live in the 21st Century, but an awful lot of our contemporaries are no further advanced than our Neanderthal forebears (who lived, of course, no more than seven thousand years ago – contemporaneously with the dinosaurs – and were wiped out when Noah wouldn’t let them on the Ark [the world's first gated community] ).
It REALLY makes you want to get Blackwell elected governor of Ohio so we can finally start burning witches again. I have a list of names in my pocket and plenty of dry and seasoned firewood stacked against my garage just itching to oxidize evil old women before they can kill cattle, ruin crops, or listen to Dixie Chicks CD’s - much less fly around like geese, cast the evil eye, or be familiar with Satan's cats.
- Uke Man
Religion can get pretty stupid. Here’s an example.
Cartoon blasphemy
uproar gathers pace
Reuters -
PARIS - An international row over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad gathered pace on Thursday as more European dailies printed controversial Danish caricatures and Muslims increased pressure to stop them.
A dozen Palestinian gunmen surrounded European Union offices in the Gaza Strip demanding an apology for the cartoons, one of which shows Islam's founder wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous.
* * * *
As I remember, a number of Middle-Eastern people have died in the not too distant past because tread designs on tires and on the bottoms of sandals have seemed to, if considered as Arabic lettering – a consideration which is just as common and sensible a practice as interpreting chicken scratches in the dust in terms of Chinese calligraphy – were disrespectful of some religious dogma. Brilliant!!!
But don’t get me wrong. I’m not focusing on Muslims. Some time ago “Christian” morons burned recordings of the “Mr. Ed” TV show theme song because it supposedly said “Satan”– if you played it backwards (I actually heard it played backwards, and it DID actually say “Satan” – if you seriously suspended disbelief, were seriously neurotic, and heard “Suhhahhtaaaaaan” as “Satan”).
Let’s face it. We may live in the 21st Century, but an awful lot of our contemporaries are no further advanced than our Neanderthal forebears (who lived, of course, no more than seven thousand years ago – contemporaneously with the dinosaurs – and were wiped out when Noah wouldn’t let them on the Ark [the world's first gated community] ).
It REALLY makes you want to get Blackwell elected governor of Ohio so we can finally start burning witches again. I have a list of names in my pocket and plenty of dry and seasoned firewood stacked against my garage just itching to oxidize evil old women before they can kill cattle, ruin crops, or listen to Dixie Chicks CD’s - much less fly around like geese, cast the evil eye, or be familiar with Satan's cats.
- Uke Man
House Band @ Stagecoach BBQ
Hey Folks,
I just wanted to share some photo shots of my good friends - The House Band - local good-guys who play great, fun music!!
Keep your eyes open for them when they're back at the BBQ !
- Uke Man
I just wanted to share some photo shots of my good friends - The House Band - local good-guys who play great, fun music!!
Keep your eyes open for them when they're back at the BBQ !
- Uke Man
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Uke Man’s blow-by-blow comments on Bush’s State of the Union bullshit - Part 1
Yeah Folks,
He REALLY cares about Coretta Scott King – just like his Mommy cared about hurricane victims. Bushie calls King a “courageous woman who called America to its founding ideals.”
Too bad he’s hard of hearing.
He says, “even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another.”
Yeah, like Tom “the Hammer” Delay and Kkkarl Rove, and all the civil gentleman on cable news. Yeah, it’s just like the LAPD told Rodney King.
He says, “. We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy.”
Yeah, like a village in Viet Nam, we will save the world economy by destroying it. And as for “prosperity,” who besides the wealthy is experiencing that? Does Halliburton really need its prosperity built?
He says that around the world, “We seek the end of tyranny . . . replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens . . . act boldly in freedom's cause.”
While here he daily builds tyranny, crushes hopes, disrespects citizens, and boldly restricts freedoms . . . and arrests wearers of dangerous T-shirts.
He says, “. And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is radical Islam, the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an ideology of terror and death.”
While he claims affiliation with perverted, radical Christian fascists who propagate an ideology of hate, assassination, and death.
He says (and I puke), “Once again, we accept the call of history to deliver the oppressed, and move this world toward peace.”
If there were a god, the dome would have crashed down on this Philistine at the utterance of such a blatant sarcasm.
He says that in three years Iraq has moved to “sovereignty.”
If you heard him explain Native American “sovereignty” to a reporter, you know he’s up to speed: http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/sovereignty.html
He says, “we should be able to further decrease our troop levels, but those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C.”
Even a brain-dead monkey like Bush knows this is a lie – especially since he knows first-hand that “military commanders” have never yet been listened to.
He says: “our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission.”
That’s more than ONE option. And Bush & Co. ARE “our enemies,” the ones “standing behind” our young soldiers and pushing them forward to meaningless death and maiming.
As for the pitiful misuse of the widow and parents of a young, naïve soldier – misled by the self-serving propaganda of blood-thirsty, money-grubbing, power-hungry ghouls – not enough vitriol can be spewed upon those heartless beasts who in cold, selfish blood paraded the poor, dead man’s survivors before the nation – while the Chimp-in-Chief smirked and fidgeted and winked from out the appropriated glow of their pathetic, soul-wrenching loss!
(to be continued)
He REALLY cares about Coretta Scott King – just like his Mommy cared about hurricane victims. Bushie calls King a “courageous woman who called America to its founding ideals.”
Too bad he’s hard of hearing.
He says, “even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another.”
Yeah, like Tom “the Hammer” Delay and Kkkarl Rove, and all the civil gentleman on cable news. Yeah, it’s just like the LAPD told Rodney King.
He says, “. We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy.”
Yeah, like a village in Viet Nam, we will save the world economy by destroying it. And as for “prosperity,” who besides the wealthy is experiencing that? Does Halliburton really need its prosperity built?
He says that around the world, “We seek the end of tyranny . . . replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens . . . act boldly in freedom's cause.”
While here he daily builds tyranny, crushes hopes, disrespects citizens, and boldly restricts freedoms . . . and arrests wearers of dangerous T-shirts.
He says, “. And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is radical Islam, the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an ideology of terror and death.”
While he claims affiliation with perverted, radical Christian fascists who propagate an ideology of hate, assassination, and death.
He says (and I puke), “Once again, we accept the call of history to deliver the oppressed, and move this world toward peace.”
If there were a god, the dome would have crashed down on this Philistine at the utterance of such a blatant sarcasm.
He says that in three years Iraq has moved to “sovereignty.”
If you heard him explain Native American “sovereignty” to a reporter, you know he’s up to speed: http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/sovereignty.html
He says, “we should be able to further decrease our troop levels, but those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C.”
Even a brain-dead monkey like Bush knows this is a lie – especially since he knows first-hand that “military commanders” have never yet been listened to.
He says: “our nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission.”
That’s more than ONE option. And Bush & Co. ARE “our enemies,” the ones “standing behind” our young soldiers and pushing them forward to meaningless death and maiming.
As for the pitiful misuse of the widow and parents of a young, naïve soldier – misled by the self-serving propaganda of blood-thirsty, money-grubbing, power-hungry ghouls – not enough vitriol can be spewed upon those heartless beasts who in cold, selfish blood paraded the poor, dead man’s survivors before the nation – while the Chimp-in-Chief smirked and fidgeted and winked from out the appropriated glow of their pathetic, soul-wrenching loss!
(to be continued)
Hill Blue Bush Review
The Rant
One con too many
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill BlueFeb 1, 2006
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
To use those sports cliches that pundits like to deploy when talking about politics, President George W. Bush needed to hit a home run in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to save his sagging, corrupt Presidency.
Instead, he fouled out.
Offering nothing but pathetic political platitudes, Bush fell back on his tired, overused con game of “trust me, I’m your President.” Problem is, America no longer trusts this man who has lied, abused the Constitution and misused the power of the Presidency to further his tarnished political goals.
In another sports analogy, Bush looked like a tired fighter, worn out, against the ropes, flailing wildly but seldom connecting.
The con man is out of cons. He has gone to that well once too often and no one is buying his snake oil.
"I thought that speech was tired," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat. "I thought that speech said, 'if you liked the last six years, we're going to give you two more years of that.'”
While you’d expect a Democrat to find fault with Bush’s speech, the truth is the President looked, acted and sounded tired, like a runner out of breath, unable to muster enough strength to cross the finish line. While the Republican party leadership offered its usual collection of worn-out clichés to try and support the President’s speech, Americans across the country – Republican and Democrat – expressed doubt, dismay and disbelief at what they heard.
In New Orleans, a 75-year-old Republican and Korean War veteran watched the State of the Union Speech and shook his head.
“Did I miss something? That’s all he had to offer? I think that’s a crying shame,” he said.
In interviews with Americans who watched the speech, reporters found skepticism and disappointment that crossed party lines and revealed an angry nation fed up with its President and his many failures.
They know the state of the union is bad and the nation is in trouble. They no longer buy the lies from the man responsible.
Bush offered another lame attempt to justify his illegal orders allowing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans, a claim that virtually every legal scholar – Republicans included – call phony and an outright violation of the Constitution.
He served up his tired rhetoric that anyone who dares oppose his policies is aiding and abetting the enemy and repeated the often-discounted argument that his dictatorial policies have made America safer in this age of international terrorism.
In a dramatic, pitiful example of how repressive America has become under Bush, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan was led from the House gallery in handcuffs because she committed the horrific crime of wearing a T-shirt protesting the Iraq war.
Sheehan’s t-shirt read: "2,245 Dead. How many more?" -- a reference to the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq.” Accounts differ on what happened. Capitol Police spokesmen claimed they ordered her to cover it up and she refused. Sheehan says she was never told to cover the t-shirt but was simply arrested in an obvious violation of free speech. But free speech does not exist in George W. Bush’s America and Capitol police held her incommunicado for four hours so the TV cameras could never focus on her or her anti-Bush message.
In St. Louis, Republican Diane Jenkins, joined friends in a downtown bar to watch Bush and said she felt like getting drunk after the speech.
"The man is a crook," she said. "He belongs in jail, not the White House."
One con too many
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill BlueFeb 1, 2006
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
To use those sports cliches that pundits like to deploy when talking about politics, President George W. Bush needed to hit a home run in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to save his sagging, corrupt Presidency.
Instead, he fouled out.
Offering nothing but pathetic political platitudes, Bush fell back on his tired, overused con game of “trust me, I’m your President.” Problem is, America no longer trusts this man who has lied, abused the Constitution and misused the power of the Presidency to further his tarnished political goals.
In another sports analogy, Bush looked like a tired fighter, worn out, against the ropes, flailing wildly but seldom connecting.
The con man is out of cons. He has gone to that well once too often and no one is buying his snake oil.
"I thought that speech was tired," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat. "I thought that speech said, 'if you liked the last six years, we're going to give you two more years of that.'”
While you’d expect a Democrat to find fault with Bush’s speech, the truth is the President looked, acted and sounded tired, like a runner out of breath, unable to muster enough strength to cross the finish line. While the Republican party leadership offered its usual collection of worn-out clichés to try and support the President’s speech, Americans across the country – Republican and Democrat – expressed doubt, dismay and disbelief at what they heard.
In New Orleans, a 75-year-old Republican and Korean War veteran watched the State of the Union Speech and shook his head.
“Did I miss something? That’s all he had to offer? I think that’s a crying shame,” he said.
In interviews with Americans who watched the speech, reporters found skepticism and disappointment that crossed party lines and revealed an angry nation fed up with its President and his many failures.
They know the state of the union is bad and the nation is in trouble. They no longer buy the lies from the man responsible.
Bush offered another lame attempt to justify his illegal orders allowing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans, a claim that virtually every legal scholar – Republicans included – call phony and an outright violation of the Constitution.
He served up his tired rhetoric that anyone who dares oppose his policies is aiding and abetting the enemy and repeated the often-discounted argument that his dictatorial policies have made America safer in this age of international terrorism.
In a dramatic, pitiful example of how repressive America has become under Bush, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan was led from the House gallery in handcuffs because she committed the horrific crime of wearing a T-shirt protesting the Iraq war.
Sheehan’s t-shirt read: "2,245 Dead. How many more?" -- a reference to the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq.” Accounts differ on what happened. Capitol Police spokesmen claimed they ordered her to cover it up and she refused. Sheehan says she was never told to cover the t-shirt but was simply arrested in an obvious violation of free speech. But free speech does not exist in George W. Bush’s America and Capitol police held her incommunicado for four hours so the TV cameras could never focus on her or her anti-Bush message.
In St. Louis, Republican Diane Jenkins, joined friends in a downtown bar to watch Bush and said she felt like getting drunk after the speech.
"The man is a crook," she said. "He belongs in jail, not the White House."
Twain - the Yankee's two schemes
Hey Folks,
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 25th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 40 - “Three Years Later” – In the three years following the massacre in the lists, the 19th century “improvements” blossomed: schools, colleges, newspapers, railroads, telephones, phonographs, typewriters, sewing machines, electricity, etc. Slavery was outlawed; knights were employed as salesmen and railroad conductors. Modernity was rampant. Things were moving in the Yankee’s desired direction.
“ I was very happy. Things were working steadily toward a secretly longed-for point. You see, I had two schemes in my head, which were the vastest of all my projects. The one was, to overthrow the Catholic Church and set up the Protestant faith on its ruins – not as an Established Church, but a go-as-you-please one; and the other project was, to get a decree issued by and by, commanding that upon Arthur’s death unlimited suffrage should be introduced, and given to men and women alike – at any rate to all men, wise or unwise, and to all mothers who, at middle age, should be found to know nearly as much as their sons at twenty-one. Arthur was good for thirty years yet, he being about my own age – that is to say, forty – and I believed that in that time I could easily have the active part of the population of that day ready and eager for an event which should be the first of its kind in the history of the world – a rounded and complete governmental revolution without bloodshed, The result to be a Republic. Well, I may as well confess, though I do feel ashamed when I think of it: I was beginning to have a base hankering to be its first President myself. Yes, there was more or less human nature in me; I found that out."
- Uke Man
I’ve been re-reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court and sharing pieces of Twain’s political commentary with you here (this is the 25th entry) .
His insights remain pertinent to this day. We haven’t changed much from Twain’s day – or from King Arthur’s, for that matter.
Chapter 40 - “Three Years Later” – In the three years following the massacre in the lists, the 19th century “improvements” blossomed: schools, colleges, newspapers, railroads, telephones, phonographs, typewriters, sewing machines, electricity, etc. Slavery was outlawed; knights were employed as salesmen and railroad conductors. Modernity was rampant. Things were moving in the Yankee’s desired direction.
“ I was very happy. Things were working steadily toward a secretly longed-for point. You see, I had two schemes in my head, which were the vastest of all my projects. The one was, to overthrow the Catholic Church and set up the Protestant faith on its ruins – not as an Established Church, but a go-as-you-please one; and the other project was, to get a decree issued by and by, commanding that upon Arthur’s death unlimited suffrage should be introduced, and given to men and women alike – at any rate to all men, wise or unwise, and to all mothers who, at middle age, should be found to know nearly as much as their sons at twenty-one. Arthur was good for thirty years yet, he being about my own age – that is to say, forty – and I believed that in that time I could easily have the active part of the population of that day ready and eager for an event which should be the first of its kind in the history of the world – a rounded and complete governmental revolution without bloodshed, The result to be a Republic. Well, I may as well confess, though I do feel ashamed when I think of it: I was beginning to have a base hankering to be its first President myself. Yes, there was more or less human nature in me; I found that out."
- Uke Man
About Me
- Name: Tom Harker
- Location: Circleville, Ohio, US
Music and Politics, Politics and Music!!! * * * Everything is political. We’re admonished, “Never discuss religion or politics.” Follow that advice, and we’ll have to quit talking altogether. * * * Well, the Uke Man speaks! * * * Keep track here of my musical shenanigans, my political ruminations, and - from time to time - some other interesting eruptions.
Previous Posts
- "Things are lookin' good !!"
- The Chicken are coming home to roost !!
- The Gateway to Crime !!
- Ice Cream and Coffee can be Dangerous !!
- Bush's Pet (scape) Goat ???
- How Smart Are We ??
- Consumed
- A short (hopefully interesting) discussion
- Hi, atus!!
- So rested he by the Tumtum tree and stood a while ...
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