ARTS FEST - Thursday, June 1, 11:30 a.m.
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:35 PM
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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
ARTS FEST - Thursday, June 1, 11:30 a.m.
The Uke Man & his Prodigal Sons Ride Again !!!
Hey Folks,
It’s Columbus Arts Fest time!!!
This Thursday, June 1st,
Ukulele Man & his Prodigal Sons –
the whole damned band – almost all seven of us
will be playing on the Broad Street Stage
from 11:25 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. (I just got word that Karen & Jon can't make it)
Bring a lunch – or buy one there – sit down under the ample tent, have a beer, eat and enjoy.
You won’t be sorry!!!
I’ve said this before, but I mean it. You need to see the ancient One with his Band soon – if you want to see us.
The stage is on Civic Center Drive just south of Broad Street.
Come have some fun!!! See you there and then !!
- Uke Man
p.s. Ukey is doing some solo things Saturday, June 3 too - more later.
It’s Columbus Arts Fest time!!!
This Thursday, June 1st,
Ukulele Man & his Prodigal Sons –
the whole damned band – almost all seven of us
will be playing on the Broad Street Stage
from 11:25 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. (I just got word that Karen & Jon can't make it)
Bring a lunch – or buy one there – sit down under the ample tent, have a beer, eat and enjoy.
You won’t be sorry!!!
I’ve said this before, but I mean it. You need to see the ancient One with his Band soon – if you want to see us.
The stage is on Civic Center Drive just south of Broad Street.
Come have some fun!!! See you there and then !!
- Uke Man
p.s. Ukey is doing some solo things Saturday, June 3 too - more later.
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:33 PM
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Neil Young "Impeach the President"
Hey Folks,
Show Biz Tonight could use an IQ upgrade for its interviewers, but Neil takes care of that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhT6BIChuXw&search=Phil%20Ochs
- Uke Man
Show Biz Tonight could use an IQ upgrade for its interviewers, but Neil takes care of that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhT6BIChuXw&search=Phil%20Ochs
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 2:07 PM
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Wall Street Anna
Takin' care of business
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:24 AM
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Confused? It's simple!!!
Hey Folks,
Confused by the conflicting views on “the economy”?
Don’t be; it’s perfectly clear.
The new gink elevated Tuesday (if “elevated” applies when one gives up a thirty-eight million dollar salary for a paltry sub-million dollar amount) to Secretary of the Treasury says we need to take steps to be “competitive” in the “global market”; and his cheerleaders say he will work to lower taxes and cut spending in order to continue and improve the wonderful, robust, so-fucking-good economy.
Also Tuesday, the people (known as “consumers” to the upper-crust minority who prey on the people, who feed them credit cards while simultaneously instituting cruel bankruptcy “reform,” who make their fat living based on mindless consumerism but can’t tolerate losing a nickel from overextended shopping-bots) – Tuesday, the people expressed a view contrary to that of the new Secretary, his President-boss, and the Wall Street Swells.
The People (excuse me, the “Consumers”) said their confidence (their confidence in consuming, their “Consumer Confidence”) had fallen. This was reported by “The New York-based ‘Confidence Board’ ” (think about that; the ginks have an official “Confidence Board” – which works for the ginks – not the people/consumers they are monitoring).
Well, how can the economy be wonderful, robust, and so-fucking-good; but “consumer confidence” has dropped? Easy – just like when Wall Street celebrates because thousands of American jobs have been eliminated. Everything is judged by how it affects the ginks – fuck the rest of us.
When my ancestor William the Conqueror – via the rape of a chambermaid by one of his addled sons – defeated and killed King Harold and took charge of England; Anglo-Saxon serfs and Norman serfs “served” in the war of their leaders, killing and being killed to “make a better world" (for one set or other of the parasitical nobility.
But before AND after the conflict the serfs led a miserable existence, and their “heroic” service to god and noble changed not one aspect of their degraded situation. All the serfs before the glorious victory were still serfs after the glorious victory. They all still kissed noble asses; the Norman serfs still kissed Norman asses; the Anglo-Saxon serfs just redirected their lips.
It’s the same with the glorious economy. The "king" and the "barons" are doing just fine and are determined to continue their privilege – the serfs be damned. If serfs are laid off, if their jobs are shipped over seas, if it takes recruiting exploited “guest workers” – further degrading native workers, if “retirements” disappears, if “health care” becomes a joke, if endless wars decimate the children of the unwashed, if taxes must be shifted even more drastically from the powerful to the weak, if services to the least among us must be cut – if all this and more is necessary to continue and improve the wonderful, robust, and so-fucking-good economy – at least as it relates to the American Dollar-Royalty - so be it.
As I said, it’s pretty simple. When the old man died, those who cared about him mourned, but Anna Nicole celebrated – just like Wall Street!!!
- Uke Man
Confused by the conflicting views on “the economy”?
Don’t be; it’s perfectly clear.
The new gink elevated Tuesday (if “elevated” applies when one gives up a thirty-eight million dollar salary for a paltry sub-million dollar amount) to Secretary of the Treasury says we need to take steps to be “competitive” in the “global market”; and his cheerleaders say he will work to lower taxes and cut spending in order to continue and improve the wonderful, robust, so-fucking-good economy.
Also Tuesday, the people (known as “consumers” to the upper-crust minority who prey on the people, who feed them credit cards while simultaneously instituting cruel bankruptcy “reform,” who make their fat living based on mindless consumerism but can’t tolerate losing a nickel from overextended shopping-bots) – Tuesday, the people expressed a view contrary to that of the new Secretary, his President-boss, and the Wall Street Swells.
The People (excuse me, the “Consumers”) said their confidence (their confidence in consuming, their “Consumer Confidence”) had fallen. This was reported by “The New York-based ‘Confidence Board’ ” (think about that; the ginks have an official “Confidence Board” – which works for the ginks – not the people/consumers they are monitoring).
Well, how can the economy be wonderful, robust, and so-fucking-good; but “consumer confidence” has dropped? Easy – just like when Wall Street celebrates because thousands of American jobs have been eliminated. Everything is judged by how it affects the ginks – fuck the rest of us.
When my ancestor William the Conqueror – via the rape of a chambermaid by one of his addled sons – defeated and killed King Harold and took charge of England; Anglo-Saxon serfs and Norman serfs “served” in the war of their leaders, killing and being killed to “make a better world" (for one set or other of the parasitical nobility.
But before AND after the conflict the serfs led a miserable existence, and their “heroic” service to god and noble changed not one aspect of their degraded situation. All the serfs before the glorious victory were still serfs after the glorious victory. They all still kissed noble asses; the Norman serfs still kissed Norman asses; the Anglo-Saxon serfs just redirected their lips.
It’s the same with the glorious economy. The "king" and the "barons" are doing just fine and are determined to continue their privilege – the serfs be damned. If serfs are laid off, if their jobs are shipped over seas, if it takes recruiting exploited “guest workers” – further degrading native workers, if “retirements” disappears, if “health care” becomes a joke, if endless wars decimate the children of the unwashed, if taxes must be shifted even more drastically from the powerful to the weak, if services to the least among us must be cut – if all this and more is necessary to continue and improve the wonderful, robust, and so-fucking-good economy – at least as it relates to the American Dollar-Royalty - so be it.
As I said, it’s pretty simple. When the old man died, those who cared about him mourned, but Anna Nicole celebrated – just like Wall Street!!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:17 AM
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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
See & Hear Phil Ochs' "I Aint Marchin' Any More"
Hey Folks,
Watch and listen to Phil Ochs and consider War - consider what it truly means to "serve" in war - and consider what has been "gained" by it all, who has gained, who has lost, and how it has made anyone "free."
And consider why we so often celebrate it and why we keep marching, cheering, and commemorating it.
- Uke Man
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5pgrKSwFJE&search=Phil%20Ochs
Watch and listen to Phil Ochs and consider War - consider what it truly means to "serve" in war - and consider what has been "gained" by it all, who has gained, who has lost, and how it has made anyone "free."
And consider why we so often celebrate it and why we keep marching, cheering, and commemorating it.
- Uke Man
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5pgrKSwFJE&search=Phil%20Ochs
posted by Ukulele Man at 8:40 AM
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Monday, May 29, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
The "L" Word
Hey Folks,
Everybody knows the “L” word, Right!!???
Yeah, “LESBIAN.”
But seriously, Folks.
Up until recently (when the nut-cases started hating Lesbians even more than other L-Folks), “L” stood for “Liberal” – and it was (some would have us believe) a “dirty” word.
Well, “Liberals” certainly ARE – and justifiably - open to criticism: too often they talk the talk but don’t do much to back it up. Clinton talked the union, Black, underprivileged talk and then “triangulated” his way to popularity, deftly failing to deliver while also managing to avoid being found out – which isn’t to say that Billy wasn’t a WHOLE lot to be preferred to Georgie – he DID screw us a lot more slowly; and with class, charisma, and a saxophone (ouch).
Still, were I a “Liberal,” I wouldn’t be boasting that I am more sophisticated, circumspect, and cunning when kissing Rupert Murdock’s ass than are Conservatives.
Liberals can be criticized, too, for hubris. Too many of them – while often well-meaning – take it upon themselves to decide what is “best” for their “less-blessed” brothers and sisters. Too often, they have way too much confidence in their own “wisdom” for the good, health, and well-being of those they are “blessing” (see “the White-man’s Burden”).
Having said all that, let me ask you (Phil Ochs-fans* like Steve, Phyll, and Pam not included): have you heard any such criticism of Liberals lately?
Probably not. No.
Liberals, according to the Right, are much worse than THAT; they supposedly make Satan look like a Cub Scout. I mean, just look at that Michael Moore!!!
It IS possible that Liberals are actually as bad as we are told they are, but we just don’t notice it because of the contrast with Conservatives. Could be . . .
So, let’s look at what Conservatives stand for.
Conservatives:
Burned, hanged, and ostracized men and women for “witchcraft.”
Instituted slavery in the “New World.”
Allowed only white men with property to vote in America
Instituted “Jim Crow” laws and practices to continue racial segregation and exploitation after slavery itself was ended.
Instituted and maintained the Ku Klux Klan and other White-Racist/Nazi organizations.
Kept women from voting until 1920.
Had union organizers and union members (and sometimes their families) threatened, beaten, and killed to maintain their untrammeled domination.
Resisted the formation of National Parks.
Blamed contemporary Jews for the historical death of Jesus.
Resisted the reform of child labor.
Argued, on Hitler’s behalf, to stay out of WW II – it was good for business, and to hell with the Jews.
Opposed Social Security, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare, Medicaid, interstate highways, fluoridation of water, and the Post Office.
Worked to impeach judges who declared racially-segregated schooling, lunch counters, busses, and other public-services unconstitutional.
Imprisoned thousands of innocent Japanese Americans and stole their property during WW II.
Ruined thousands of careers and lives of innocent Americans during the Joe McCarthy communist witch hunts.
Helped have democratically-elected foreign leaders assassinated.
Demand that homosexuals be denied the rights held by other Americans.
Work tirelessly to reduce both taxes on the wealthy and services to the poor.
Speaking of getting tired, I think that’s enough for now about what Conservatives stand for. AND, it ought to be enough to make it perfectly clear:
“Liberal” may be a dirty word, but compared to what Conservatives have stood for since time began, Michael Moore looks damned good!
- Uke Man
* Love Me, I'm a Liberal
By Phil Ochs
....E A E A
I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
....E C#m
Tears ran down my spine
....E A E
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
....F#7 B7
As though I'd lost a father of mine
....E A E
But Malcolm X got what was coming
....G#m A
He got what he asked for this time
....E C#m A B7 E
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
Of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
As long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crane?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I read New Republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I vote for the democtratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
Everybody knows the “L” word, Right!!???
Yeah, “LESBIAN.”
But seriously, Folks.
Up until recently (when the nut-cases started hating Lesbians even more than other L-Folks), “L” stood for “Liberal” – and it was (some would have us believe) a “dirty” word.
Well, “Liberals” certainly ARE – and justifiably - open to criticism: too often they talk the talk but don’t do much to back it up. Clinton talked the union, Black, underprivileged talk and then “triangulated” his way to popularity, deftly failing to deliver while also managing to avoid being found out – which isn’t to say that Billy wasn’t a WHOLE lot to be preferred to Georgie – he DID screw us a lot more slowly; and with class, charisma, and a saxophone (ouch).
Still, were I a “Liberal,” I wouldn’t be boasting that I am more sophisticated, circumspect, and cunning when kissing Rupert Murdock’s ass than are Conservatives.
Liberals can be criticized, too, for hubris. Too many of them – while often well-meaning – take it upon themselves to decide what is “best” for their “less-blessed” brothers and sisters. Too often, they have way too much confidence in their own “wisdom” for the good, health, and well-being of those they are “blessing” (see “the White-man’s Burden”).
Having said all that, let me ask you (Phil Ochs-fans* like Steve, Phyll, and Pam not included): have you heard any such criticism of Liberals lately?
Probably not. No.
Liberals, according to the Right, are much worse than THAT; they supposedly make Satan look like a Cub Scout. I mean, just look at that Michael Moore!!!
It IS possible that Liberals are actually as bad as we are told they are, but we just don’t notice it because of the contrast with Conservatives. Could be . . .
So, let’s look at what Conservatives stand for.
Conservatives:
Burned, hanged, and ostracized men and women for “witchcraft.”
Instituted slavery in the “New World.”
Allowed only white men with property to vote in America
Instituted “Jim Crow” laws and practices to continue racial segregation and exploitation after slavery itself was ended.
Instituted and maintained the Ku Klux Klan and other White-Racist/Nazi organizations.
Kept women from voting until 1920.
Had union organizers and union members (and sometimes their families) threatened, beaten, and killed to maintain their untrammeled domination.
Resisted the formation of National Parks.
Blamed contemporary Jews for the historical death of Jesus.
Resisted the reform of child labor.
Argued, on Hitler’s behalf, to stay out of WW II – it was good for business, and to hell with the Jews.
Opposed Social Security, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare, Medicaid, interstate highways, fluoridation of water, and the Post Office.
Worked to impeach judges who declared racially-segregated schooling, lunch counters, busses, and other public-services unconstitutional.
Imprisoned thousands of innocent Japanese Americans and stole their property during WW II.
Ruined thousands of careers and lives of innocent Americans during the Joe McCarthy communist witch hunts.
Helped have democratically-elected foreign leaders assassinated.
Demand that homosexuals be denied the rights held by other Americans.
Work tirelessly to reduce both taxes on the wealthy and services to the poor.
Speaking of getting tired, I think that’s enough for now about what Conservatives stand for. AND, it ought to be enough to make it perfectly clear:
“Liberal” may be a dirty word, but compared to what Conservatives have stood for since time began, Michael Moore looks damned good!
- Uke Man
* Love Me, I'm a Liberal
By Phil Ochs
....E A E A
I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
....E C#m
Tears ran down my spine
....E A E
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
....F#7 B7
As though I'd lost a father of mine
....E A E
But Malcolm X got what was coming
....G#m A
He got what he asked for this time
....E C#m A B7 E
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
Of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
As long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crane?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I read New Republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I vote for the democtratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
posted by Ukulele Man at 5:17 PM
2 comments
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**Dr. Danga Grimaldi's
*****Exhibition Fantastique !!
*****Exhibition Fantastique !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 2:28 PM
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FANTASTIC "Fantastique"
Hey Folks,
What a thrill to have been part of such an unbelievably wonderful show !! The experience will warm me forever.
Thanks to Eoin, Kristina, Dave, Meg, James, and Robin for all the comaraderie - and especially to Eoin for thinking to include the Ancient Ukester in the first place. Thanks also to those of you who were there either in person or in spirit!!!
- Uke Man
What a thrill to have been part of such an unbelievably wonderful show !! The experience will warm me forever.
Thanks to Eoin, Kristina, Dave, Meg, James, and Robin for all the comaraderie - and especially to Eoin for thinking to include the Ancient Ukester in the first place. Thanks also to those of you who were there either in person or in spirit!!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:18 PM
1 comments
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Two Losers "Make Nice"
Hey Folks,
Check out Rummy and Saddam ! This was back when we SUPPLIED the WMD (chemical weapons) to be used against the Iranians (back when it was OK to use chemical weapons against people whom WE didn't like [either] ).
- Uke Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTldYbqlJc8&search=Rumsfeld
Check out Rummy and Saddam ! This was back when we SUPPLIED the WMD (chemical weapons) to be used against the Iranians (back when it was OK to use chemical weapons against people whom WE didn't like [either] ).
- Uke Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTldYbqlJc8&search=Rumsfeld
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:07 AM
1 comments
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Saturday, May 27, 2006
Come on !!!
Leg it out to the show!!!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:03 AM
0 comments
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Friday, May 26, 2006
The Circus
Hey folks, friends, & neighbors !!!
You've got one chance remaining!!!
We had another great show tonight!! (Friday) ! If you weren't there tonight or yesterday, tomorrow (Saturday) is your last chance!! And I sincerely MEAN that!!! This isn't Star Trek or Seinefeld; there WON'T be any re-runs!!
If you haven’t made it yet, click here for more info: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=9617686&postID=114774291544968722
So, get your ass out to east Main Street Saturday for the last show!!!
When I'm dead, you can cry, but you can't see me act or hear me sing !!!
- Uke Man
You've got one chance remaining!!!
We had another great show tonight!! (Friday) ! If you weren't there tonight or yesterday, tomorrow (Saturday) is your last chance!! And I sincerely MEAN that!!! This isn't Star Trek or Seinefeld; there WON'T be any re-runs!!
If you haven’t made it yet, click here for more info: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=9617686&postID=114774291544968722
So, get your ass out to east Main Street Saturday for the last show!!!
When I'm dead, you can cry, but you can't see me act or hear me sing !!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:47 PM
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Ra Ra Ree - Kick 'em in the knee
It's Clinton's fault !!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:31 PM
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Hey Folks,
Shake your Pom-Poms and cheer like mad!!! (Show-Biz!!!!)
- Uke Man
(then, click here):
http://funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.aspx?ad_key=BYVLTDBEYCYT&tracking_id=553519&type=wmv&path=/c/cheerleadingaccidents/cheerleadingaccidents.wmv
Shake your Pom-Poms and cheer like mad!!! (Show-Biz!!!!)
- Uke Man
(then, click here):
http://funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.aspx?ad_key=BYVLTDBEYCYT&tracking_id=553519&type=wmv&path=/c/cheerleadingaccidents/cheerleadingaccidents.wmv
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:22 PM
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Barbara Zuck Reviews "Dr. Danga Grimaldi's Exhibition Fantastique"
REVIEW COLUMBUS FRINGE FESTIVAL
‘Circus’ delights despite shoestring budget
Friday, May 26, 2006
By Barbara Zuck - the Columbus Dispatch
This "circus" has no ring. No elephants. No lions, tigers or bears.
And the clowns? Very bargain basement.
Nevertheless, the Dr. Danga Grimaldi Circus’ Exhibition Fantastique, which opened last night at Columbus Dance Theatre as part of this year’s Columbus Fringe Festival, is still lovable.
You have to love the ridiculously small puppets and marionettes, which take the place of live animals and other circus-performer staples, like the strong man.
Texas Red, the performing chicken, is particularly endearing — not to mention agile.
You have to love the stilt walker (Dave Bowling) who does everything from change the lighting and handle the taped music from on high to sing (badly).
You have to love Ukulele Man (Tom Harker) who handles props (badly) and sings (really well).
And, of course, you have to love the stars of the show, Kristina Isabelle, Eoin O’Brien and Meghan O’Brien.
This trio of talented and versatile performers has a wealth of knowledge of circus acts, burlesque and dance history, and they keep the bulk of the show interesting, funny and sometimes amazing.
Isabelle spoofs icons of dance history in her latter-day variations of the fan dance and other spicy numbers society once thought risque. Bangin’ Betty Boom is her imaginative — and challenging — take on striptease. She pops balloons strategically attached to her body — while dancing on stilts. (She wears a body suit; this festival isn’t that fringe.)
Meghan O’Brien follows suit with a clever, ’60s-look dance with lighted hoola Hula Hoops, the kind of number that used to be done with flaming batons.
Isabelle and Eoin O’Brien’s trapeze act has progressed since the first time I saw it. More polished, more daring, more poses.
Their comic bits, one involving nine beautiful boxes and another that’s a bad take-off on escape artists, begin to try one’s patience. Although not as much as Lester E. Booth, the "recently discovered" cowboy poet. Lester might have a life on television, however, where the level of humor these days is even below a corny circus act.
The circus traditionally has struck romantic chords with audiences. It can come at you from so many directions.
It’s entertainment. It’s beauty. It’s humor. It’s danger.
But, like all successful art forms, it depends on the performers carrying the audience away from themselves, from their problems, from reality. And it depends on performers who can dazzle by their being able to do things the rest of us cannot. That’s the "awe factor" — the same ingredient that made Paganini a mesmerizing violinist, Baryshnikov a dazzling dancer, Muhammad Ali the world’s most famous sports figure.
They all were larger than life.
The Grimaldi Circus offers those moments, even when it’s offering satire. It just still has too many times when the reality of a shoestring operation interferes.
bzuck@dispatch.com
‘Circus’ delights despite shoestring budget
Friday, May 26, 2006
By Barbara Zuck - the Columbus Dispatch
This "circus" has no ring. No elephants. No lions, tigers or bears.
And the clowns? Very bargain basement.
Nevertheless, the Dr. Danga Grimaldi Circus’ Exhibition Fantastique, which opened last night at Columbus Dance Theatre as part of this year’s Columbus Fringe Festival, is still lovable.
You have to love the ridiculously small puppets and marionettes, which take the place of live animals and other circus-performer staples, like the strong man.
Texas Red, the performing chicken, is particularly endearing — not to mention agile.
You have to love the stilt walker (Dave Bowling) who does everything from change the lighting and handle the taped music from on high to sing (badly).
You have to love Ukulele Man (Tom Harker) who handles props (badly) and sings (really well).
And, of course, you have to love the stars of the show, Kristina Isabelle, Eoin O’Brien and Meghan O’Brien.
This trio of talented and versatile performers has a wealth of knowledge of circus acts, burlesque and dance history, and they keep the bulk of the show interesting, funny and sometimes amazing.
Isabelle spoofs icons of dance history in her latter-day variations of the fan dance and other spicy numbers society once thought risque. Bangin’ Betty Boom is her imaginative — and challenging — take on striptease. She pops balloons strategically attached to her body — while dancing on stilts. (She wears a body suit; this festival isn’t that fringe.)
Meghan O’Brien follows suit with a clever, ’60s-look dance with lighted hoola Hula Hoops, the kind of number that used to be done with flaming batons.
Isabelle and Eoin O’Brien’s trapeze act has progressed since the first time I saw it. More polished, more daring, more poses.
Their comic bits, one involving nine beautiful boxes and another that’s a bad take-off on escape artists, begin to try one’s patience. Although not as much as Lester E. Booth, the "recently discovered" cowboy poet. Lester might have a life on television, however, where the level of humor these days is even below a corny circus act.
The circus traditionally has struck romantic chords with audiences. It can come at you from so many directions.
It’s entertainment. It’s beauty. It’s humor. It’s danger.
But, like all successful art forms, it depends on the performers carrying the audience away from themselves, from their problems, from reality. And it depends on performers who can dazzle by their being able to do things the rest of us cannot. That’s the "awe factor" — the same ingredient that made Paganini a mesmerizing violinist, Baryshnikov a dazzling dancer, Muhammad Ali the world’s most famous sports figure.
They all were larger than life.
The Grimaldi Circus offers those moments, even when it’s offering satire. It just still has too many times when the reality of a shoestring operation interferes.
bzuck@dispatch.com
posted by Ukulele Man at 2:45 PM
2 comments
links to this post
R's & D's Punkin' the Folks
May 21, 2006
The Rove Da Vinci Code
By FRANK RICH
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
IF we're to believe the reviews, "The Da Vinci Code" is the most exciting summer blockbuster since, well, "Poseidon." But the "Da Vinci Code" marketing strategy is a masterpiece: a perfect Hollywood metaphor for the American political culture of our day.
The Machiavellian mission for the hit-deprived Sony studio was
to co-opt conservative religious critics who might depress turnout for a $125-million-plus thriller portraying the Roman Catholic Church as a fraud. To this end, as The New Yorker reported, Sony hired a bevy of P.R. consultants, including a faith-based flack whose Christian Rolodex previously helped sell such inspirational testaments to Hollywood spirituality as "Bruce Almighty" and "Christmas With the Kranks."
Among Sony's ingenious strategies was an elaborate Web site,
The Da Vinci Dialogue, which gave many of the movie's prominent critics a platform to vent on the studio's dime. Thus was "The Da Vinci Code" repositioned as a "teaching moment" for Christian evangelists — a bit of hype "completely concocted by the Sony Pictures marketing machine," as Barbara Nicolosi, a former nun and current Hollywood screenwriter, explained to The Times. The more "students" who could be roped into this teaching moment, of course, the bigger the gross.
Ms. Nicolosi remains a vociferous opponent of the film. On her
blog she chastises Sony's heavenly P.R. helpers for coaxing "legions of well-meaning Christians into subsidizing a movie that makes their own Savior out to be a sham." But you do have to admire the studio's chutzpah, if the word may be used in this context. It rivals Tom Sawyer's bamboozling of his friends into painting that fence. The Sony scheme also echoes much of the past decade's Washington playbook. Politicians, particularly but not exclusively in the Karl Rove camp, seem to believe that voters of "faith" are suckers who can be lured into the big tent and then abandoned once their votes and campaign cash have been pocketed by the party for secular profit.
Nowhere is this game more naked than in the Jack Abramoff scandal: the felonious Washington lobbyist engaged his pal Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition, to shepherd Christian conservative leaders like James Dobson, Gary Bauer and the Rev. Donald Wildmon and their flocks into ostensibly "anti-gambling" letter-writing campaigns. They were all duped: in reality these campaigns were engineered to support Mr. Abramoff's Indian casino clients by attacking competing casinos. While that scam may be the most venal exploitation of "faith" voters by Washington operatives, it's all too typical. This history repeats itself every political cycle: the conservative religious base turns out for its party and soon finds itself betrayed. The right's leaders are already threatening to stay home this election year because all they got for their support of Republicans in the previous election year was a lousy Bush-CheneyT-shirt. Actually, they also got two Supreme Court justices, but their wish list was far longer. Dr. Dobson, the child psychologist who invented Focus on theFamily, set the tone with a tantrum on Fox, whining that Republicans were "ignoring those that put them in office" and warning of "some trouble down the road" if they didn't hop-to.
The doctor's diagnosis is not wrong. He has been punk'd — or Da Vinci'd — since 2004. Though President Bush endorsed the federal marriage amendment then, there's a reason he hasn't pushed it since. Not Gonna Happen, however many times it is dragged onto the Senate floor. The number of Americans who "strongly oppose" same-sex marriage keeps dropping — from 42 percent two years ago to 28 percent today, according to the Pew Research Center — and there will never be the votes to "write discrimination into the Constitution," as Mary Cheney puts it.
The real Republican establishment — including Laura Bush, who has repeatedly refused to disown the many gay families at this year's White House Easter Egg Roll — senses the drift of the culture. "Will & Grace" may have retired to reruns last week, but it's been supplanted by a gay "Sopranos" tough guy who out-brokebacks Jack and Ennis.
The religious right's hope for taming that culture is also doomed, however much Congress ceremoniously raises indecency fines in an election year. The major media companies, heavy donors to both parties, first get such bills watered down, then challenge the Federal Communications Commission's enforcement in court.
The mogul most ostentatiously supportive of Republican causes, Rupert Murdoch, may perennially fan the flames of a bogus "war on Christmas" on Fox, but he's waging his own, far more lethal war on the Christian right by starting a companion TV network this fall to match MySpace.com, his hugely popular and hugely libidinous Internet portal. Mr. Murdoch's new gift to America's youth, My Network TV, "will showcase greed, lust, sex," according to The Wall Street Journal. Conservatives fretting about his fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton don't even know what's about to hit them.
But for all these betrayals, Dr. Dobson and Company won't desert the Republicans come Election Day. If Mr. Rove steps up his usual gay-baiting late in the campaign, as is his wont, maybe the turnout of those on the hard-core right will eke out a victory for the party that double-crossed them not just on cultural issues but also on secular conservative principles (like fiscal responsibility and immigration-law enforcement). If so, they'll
promptly be Da Vinci'd yet again. A Republican retreat on stem-cell research is already under way. If there's electoral fallout from the South Dakota Legislature's Draconian abortion ban — the Republican governor's job-approval rating fell from 72 percent to 58 percent in a single month after he signed it — the pro-life checklist in Congress will suffer as well.
Whatever happens in November, the good news is that the religious right leaders most stroked by Mr. Rove, many of them past 70, may no longer command such large blocs of voters anyway. As Amy Sullivan writes in the latest New Republic, Mr.Rove has reason to worry about "another group of evangelicals: the nearly 40 percent who identify themselves as politically moderate and who are just as likely to get energized about AIDS in Africa or melting ice caps as partial-birth abortion and lesbian couples in Massachusetts." The bad news is that no sooner does the religious-right base show signs of cracking in a youthquake than the Democrats trot out their own doomed Da Vinci strategy.
This idiocy began the morning after Election Day 2004, when a vaguely worded exit-poll question persuaded credulous party leaders that "moral values" determined their defeat (as opposed to, say, their standard-bearer's campaign). Their immediate response was to seek out faith-based consultants not unlike those recruited by Sony, and practice dropping the word "values" and biblical quotations into their public pronouncements. In the House, they organized, heaven help us, a Democratic Faith Working Group.
As the next election approaches, they're renewing this effort, to farcical effect. The Democrats' chairman, Howard Dean, who proved his faith-based bona fides in the 2004 primary season by citing Job as his favorite book in the NewTestament, went on the Pat Robertson TV network this month and yanked hisparty's position on same-sex marriage to the right. (He apologized for his "misstatement" once off the air.)
Not to be left behind, Senator Clinton gave a speech last week knocking young
people for thinking "work is a four-letter word" and for having TV's in their rooms, home Internet access and, worst of all, that ultimate instrument of the devil, iPods. "I hope that we start thinking some very old-fashioned thoughts," she said. (She also subsequently apologized, once her daughter complained, joining the general chorus of ridicule.) However "old-fashioned" Mrs. Clinton's thoughts, don't expect her to turn back Mr. Murdoch's campaign cash in protest against his steamy new TV channel.
The one New York politician even more disingenuous in this
racket is Rudolph Giuliani. He outdid John McCain's appearance with Jerry Falwell by campaigning last week for Ralph Reed in the lieutenant governor's race in Georgia. Any religious conservative who mistakes "America's mayor," an adamant supporter of abortion rights and gay rights, for a fellow traveler is in desperate need of an intervention, if not an exorcism.
But that hypothetical, easily duped voter may no longer exist.
Like the Bush era, the cynical Rove strategy of exploiting faith-based voters may be nearing its end. For proof, just take a look at the most craven figure in American politics: the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. To flatter the far right, this Harvard-trained surgeon misdiagnosed Terri Schiavo's vegetative state from the Senate floor, and justified abstinence-only sex education in AIDS prevention by telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he didn't know for certain that tears and sweat couldn't transmit H.I.V. But increasingly it's not only liberals who see through him. One of his latest stunts, a proposed $100 gas-tax rebate, provoked Rush Limbaugh to condemn him for "treating us like we're a bunch of whores."
When senators as different as Mr. Frist and Mrs. Clinton both
earn bipartisan ridicule for their pandering, you have to believe that there's a god other than Karl Rove watching over American politics after all.
The Rove Da Vinci Code
By FRANK RICH
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
IF we're to believe the reviews, "The Da Vinci Code" is the most exciting summer blockbuster since, well, "Poseidon." But the "Da Vinci Code" marketing strategy is a masterpiece: a perfect Hollywood metaphor for the American political culture of our day.
The Machiavellian mission for the hit-deprived Sony studio was
to co-opt conservative religious critics who might depress turnout for a $125-million-plus thriller portraying the Roman Catholic Church as a fraud. To this end, as The New Yorker reported, Sony hired a bevy of P.R. consultants, including a faith-based flack whose Christian Rolodex previously helped sell such inspirational testaments to Hollywood spirituality as "Bruce Almighty" and "Christmas With the Kranks."
Among Sony's ingenious strategies was an elaborate Web site,
The Da Vinci Dialogue, which gave many of the movie's prominent critics a platform to vent on the studio's dime. Thus was "The Da Vinci Code" repositioned as a "teaching moment" for Christian evangelists — a bit of hype "completely concocted by the Sony Pictures marketing machine," as Barbara Nicolosi, a former nun and current Hollywood screenwriter, explained to The Times. The more "students" who could be roped into this teaching moment, of course, the bigger the gross.
Ms. Nicolosi remains a vociferous opponent of the film. On her
blog she chastises Sony's heavenly P.R. helpers for coaxing "legions of well-meaning Christians into subsidizing a movie that makes their own Savior out to be a sham." But you do have to admire the studio's chutzpah, if the word may be used in this context. It rivals Tom Sawyer's bamboozling of his friends into painting that fence. The Sony scheme also echoes much of the past decade's Washington playbook. Politicians, particularly but not exclusively in the Karl Rove camp, seem to believe that voters of "faith" are suckers who can be lured into the big tent and then abandoned once their votes and campaign cash have been pocketed by the party for secular profit.
Nowhere is this game more naked than in the Jack Abramoff scandal: the felonious Washington lobbyist engaged his pal Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition, to shepherd Christian conservative leaders like James Dobson, Gary Bauer and the Rev. Donald Wildmon and their flocks into ostensibly "anti-gambling" letter-writing campaigns. They were all duped: in reality these campaigns were engineered to support Mr. Abramoff's Indian casino clients by attacking competing casinos. While that scam may be the most venal exploitation of "faith" voters by Washington operatives, it's all too typical. This history repeats itself every political cycle: the conservative religious base turns out for its party and soon finds itself betrayed. The right's leaders are already threatening to stay home this election year because all they got for their support of Republicans in the previous election year was a lousy Bush-CheneyT-shirt. Actually, they also got two Supreme Court justices, but their wish list was far longer. Dr. Dobson, the child psychologist who invented Focus on theFamily, set the tone with a tantrum on Fox, whining that Republicans were "ignoring those that put them in office" and warning of "some trouble down the road" if they didn't hop-to.
The doctor's diagnosis is not wrong. He has been punk'd — or Da Vinci'd — since 2004. Though President Bush endorsed the federal marriage amendment then, there's a reason he hasn't pushed it since. Not Gonna Happen, however many times it is dragged onto the Senate floor. The number of Americans who "strongly oppose" same-sex marriage keeps dropping — from 42 percent two years ago to 28 percent today, according to the Pew Research Center — and there will never be the votes to "write discrimination into the Constitution," as Mary Cheney puts it.
The real Republican establishment — including Laura Bush, who has repeatedly refused to disown the many gay families at this year's White House Easter Egg Roll — senses the drift of the culture. "Will & Grace" may have retired to reruns last week, but it's been supplanted by a gay "Sopranos" tough guy who out-brokebacks Jack and Ennis.
The religious right's hope for taming that culture is also doomed, however much Congress ceremoniously raises indecency fines in an election year. The major media companies, heavy donors to both parties, first get such bills watered down, then challenge the Federal Communications Commission's enforcement in court.
The mogul most ostentatiously supportive of Republican causes, Rupert Murdoch, may perennially fan the flames of a bogus "war on Christmas" on Fox, but he's waging his own, far more lethal war on the Christian right by starting a companion TV network this fall to match MySpace.com, his hugely popular and hugely libidinous Internet portal. Mr. Murdoch's new gift to America's youth, My Network TV, "will showcase greed, lust, sex," according to The Wall Street Journal. Conservatives fretting about his fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton don't even know what's about to hit them.
But for all these betrayals, Dr. Dobson and Company won't desert the Republicans come Election Day. If Mr. Rove steps up his usual gay-baiting late in the campaign, as is his wont, maybe the turnout of those on the hard-core right will eke out a victory for the party that double-crossed them not just on cultural issues but also on secular conservative principles (like fiscal responsibility and immigration-law enforcement). If so, they'll
promptly be Da Vinci'd yet again. A Republican retreat on stem-cell research is already under way. If there's electoral fallout from the South Dakota Legislature's Draconian abortion ban — the Republican governor's job-approval rating fell from 72 percent to 58 percent in a single month after he signed it — the pro-life checklist in Congress will suffer as well.
Whatever happens in November, the good news is that the religious right leaders most stroked by Mr. Rove, many of them past 70, may no longer command such large blocs of voters anyway. As Amy Sullivan writes in the latest New Republic, Mr.Rove has reason to worry about "another group of evangelicals: the nearly 40 percent who identify themselves as politically moderate and who are just as likely to get energized about AIDS in Africa or melting ice caps as partial-birth abortion and lesbian couples in Massachusetts." The bad news is that no sooner does the religious-right base show signs of cracking in a youthquake than the Democrats trot out their own doomed Da Vinci strategy.
This idiocy began the morning after Election Day 2004, when a vaguely worded exit-poll question persuaded credulous party leaders that "moral values" determined their defeat (as opposed to, say, their standard-bearer's campaign). Their immediate response was to seek out faith-based consultants not unlike those recruited by Sony, and practice dropping the word "values" and biblical quotations into their public pronouncements. In the House, they organized, heaven help us, a Democratic Faith Working Group.
As the next election approaches, they're renewing this effort, to farcical effect. The Democrats' chairman, Howard Dean, who proved his faith-based bona fides in the 2004 primary season by citing Job as his favorite book in the NewTestament, went on the Pat Robertson TV network this month and yanked hisparty's position on same-sex marriage to the right. (He apologized for his "misstatement" once off the air.)
Not to be left behind, Senator Clinton gave a speech last week knocking young
people for thinking "work is a four-letter word" and for having TV's in their rooms, home Internet access and, worst of all, that ultimate instrument of the devil, iPods. "I hope that we start thinking some very old-fashioned thoughts," she said. (She also subsequently apologized, once her daughter complained, joining the general chorus of ridicule.) However "old-fashioned" Mrs. Clinton's thoughts, don't expect her to turn back Mr. Murdoch's campaign cash in protest against his steamy new TV channel.
The one New York politician even more disingenuous in this
racket is Rudolph Giuliani. He outdid John McCain's appearance with Jerry Falwell by campaigning last week for Ralph Reed in the lieutenant governor's race in Georgia. Any religious conservative who mistakes "America's mayor," an adamant supporter of abortion rights and gay rights, for a fellow traveler is in desperate need of an intervention, if not an exorcism.
But that hypothetical, easily duped voter may no longer exist.
Like the Bush era, the cynical Rove strategy of exploiting faith-based voters may be nearing its end. For proof, just take a look at the most craven figure in American politics: the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. To flatter the far right, this Harvard-trained surgeon misdiagnosed Terri Schiavo's vegetative state from the Senate floor, and justified abstinence-only sex education in AIDS prevention by telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he didn't know for certain that tears and sweat couldn't transmit H.I.V. But increasingly it's not only liberals who see through him. One of his latest stunts, a proposed $100 gas-tax rebate, provoked Rush Limbaugh to condemn him for "treating us like we're a bunch of whores."
When senators as different as Mr. Frist and Mrs. Clinton both
earn bipartisan ridicule for their pandering, you have to believe that there's a god other than Karl Rove watching over American politics after all.
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:10 PM
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Dr. Grimaldi's Exhibition Fantastique - Day 1
Hey Folks,
Master Thespian reporting!!!
One night down; two to go!!!
Hey!! The show was great!!!! There were giggles, audience participation, fun, fear, drama, musical interludes, unnaturally tall people (stilted – but in a good way), defiance of physical limitations, mystical trances, a chicken who dances, beautiful women (you takes your chances), clever gentlemen, an amazing Side Show in the lobby (with vicious beasts - AND the Ukulele Man !!!
It was such great fun that I intend to go back again tomorrow !!! And Saturday, too.
If you haven’t made it yet, click here for more info: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=9617686&postID=114774291544968722
See you Friday or Saturday!! You ain't seen nuthin' like this!!!!
- Uke Man.
Master Thespian reporting!!!
One night down; two to go!!!
Hey!! The show was great!!!! There were giggles, audience participation, fun, fear, drama, musical interludes, unnaturally tall people (stilted – but in a good way), defiance of physical limitations, mystical trances, a chicken who dances, beautiful women (you takes your chances), clever gentlemen, an amazing Side Show in the lobby (with vicious beasts - AND the Ukulele Man !!!
It was such great fun that I intend to go back again tomorrow !!! And Saturday, too.
If you haven’t made it yet, click here for more info: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=9617686&postID=114774291544968722
See you Friday or Saturday!! You ain't seen nuthin' like this!!!!
- Uke Man.
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:22 AM
0 comments
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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Which one is screwin US every day?
Which one would You rather hang out with? 
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:45 PM
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Reactionaries 'round the Water Cooler - again
Hey Folks,
Recently the Editor at the Dispatch put on his Propaganda hat to attack an old, bearded cigar smoker who has never gotten ONE of our kids killed in a war or in "spreading" anything around the world.
It made use of the Forbes article I've already addressed earlier here http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/castro-catherine-great.html.
For now I'm sharing the letter I sent off to to "Ohio's Greatest Ho Newspaper."
When "Dr. Grimaldi's Exhibition Fantastique" finishes its run, I'll write more.
- Uke Man
To the Editor,
Are you people out of your minds? "Keeping that many people that miserable for that many years" has been a simple matter for the greedy bastards slobbering over their lost opportunities to share in the exploitation of the Cuban people. The good old US of A is the major reason for any suffering experienced by the mass of Cubans.
What a joke! Steve Forbes, the googly-eyed nerd who inherited his old man's money comes up with an insane fantasy, and you put your dubious credibility behind it. You say the argument is "academic." What Academy did you go to? To say that the head of a socialist state owns everything in that state is beyond ludicrous: it's nuts! In this country evermore increasingly everything IS owned by half-wits like Forbes who inherited it from their (often Robber Baron) ancestors; and the voracious Republicans are bent on making it even more so - see the so-called "Death Tax."
The crap about dictatorship you put out fits our fuehrer G. W. Bush about as well as anyone. Don't you people have anything to do better than fretting over your treasure pile? Don't you think that the deaths of our children in this misbegotten war for empire rates a little bit above bad-mouthing an old man on a tiny island who HAS benefited his people at least in terms of education and medical care?
Couldn't your time be better spent attacking those here at home who believe themselves - because we are at "war" - to be above the law, to be above the Constitution, to be above decency, to be able to do whatever they damn well please to whomever they damn well please here and wherever else they damn well please?
No, I guess not. If you don't keep your eyes open, before long the people will expect to be treated honestly - that could bring about a "new world order" that W's daddy never anticipated.
Your editor is a credit to his class.
Yours,
Tom Harker
"Thief in chief" - the Dispatch Editorial
Fidel Castro, ranked among world’s richest leaders, stole it from Cuba’s people
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Poor Fidel Castro. The Cuban autocrat has spent almost half a century proving that communism is a superb system for creating poverty and distributing it equally. Just ask the 11 million Cubans who squeak by with food rations and an average of $10 a month.
Keeping that many people that miserable for that many years is no easy task. It requires a vast and elaborate police state, and those don’t grow on trees. Creating one requires long hours over many years and unrelenting attention to detail, all the while being harassed by human-rights watchdogs and others who yammer incessantly about liberty and democracy.
Other communist leaders and states have come and gone, such as the Soviet Union and most of its former satellites in eastern Europe. Or they’ve sold their Marxist inheritance for a mess of capitalist pottage, as in China and Vietnam.
So, in his twilight years, Cuba’s 79-year-old jefe maximo has every right to expect that his Marxist credentials would be above reproach.
But no. Forbes magazine, that mouthpiece of the global capitalist order, once again has soiled Castro’s socialist halo by suggesting that he is as greedy as a 19 th-century robber baron. The magazine reported that Castro is the world’s seventh-wealthiest leader, worth $900 million.
The estimate, included in the magazine’s May 5 edition, drew an angry challenge from Castro last week, who said that if anybody can prove he has vast wealth stashed away, he will resign, which presumably would create an opening for somebody else to be absolute dictator.
The magazine admits that the figure is an estimate that is open to question, and, in fact, the editors have never quite settled on what they think Castro is worth. In the 10 years that Forbes has published the annual ranking, Castro’s assets have been pegged at anywhere from $1.4 billion to as little as $100 million.
The $1.4 billion figure came from the magazine’s first estimate in 1997, when editors simply attributed to Castro a percentage of Cuba’s gross domestic product. Since then, the estimate has been derived from various formulas that the magazine defends but declines to lay out in detail. But the estimates are likely based on reports from Cuban defectors that Castro takes a cut from Cuba’s stateowned enterprises.
Forbes notes that the dictator has a fleet of black Mercedes. Anti-Castro activist Maria Werlau, who has studied Castro’s finances and who advised the magazine, says Castro also maintains overseas bank accounts, has numerous houses and controls stockpiles of food, fuel and luxury goods. She believes Forbes underestimates Castro’s wherewithal.
One could argue all day about exactly how to determine the value of Castro’s holdings. But the argument is academic. If everything of value in Cuba, including its people, belongs to the state, and if one man controls that state, then it’s all his to do with as he pleases, which is precisely what Castro has done for 47 years. Practically speaking, this is indistinguishable from ownership.
What’s important is not the total value of all that Castro controls, but how he came by it. The bottom line is that he has robbed the Cuban people of liberty and prosperity for five decades.
Recently the Editor at the Dispatch put on his Propaganda hat to attack an old, bearded cigar smoker who has never gotten ONE of our kids killed in a war or in "spreading" anything around the world.
It made use of the Forbes article I've already addressed earlier here http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/castro-catherine-great.html.
For now I'm sharing the letter I sent off to to "Ohio's Greatest Ho Newspaper."
When "Dr. Grimaldi's Exhibition Fantastique" finishes its run, I'll write more.
- Uke Man
To the Editor,
Are you people out of your minds? "Keeping that many people that miserable for that many years" has been a simple matter for the greedy bastards slobbering over their lost opportunities to share in the exploitation of the Cuban people. The good old US of A is the major reason for any suffering experienced by the mass of Cubans.
What a joke! Steve Forbes, the googly-eyed nerd who inherited his old man's money comes up with an insane fantasy, and you put your dubious credibility behind it. You say the argument is "academic." What Academy did you go to? To say that the head of a socialist state owns everything in that state is beyond ludicrous: it's nuts! In this country evermore increasingly everything IS owned by half-wits like Forbes who inherited it from their (often Robber Baron) ancestors; and the voracious Republicans are bent on making it even more so - see the so-called "Death Tax."
The crap about dictatorship you put out fits our fuehrer G. W. Bush about as well as anyone. Don't you people have anything to do better than fretting over your treasure pile? Don't you think that the deaths of our children in this misbegotten war for empire rates a little bit above bad-mouthing an old man on a tiny island who HAS benefited his people at least in terms of education and medical care?
Couldn't your time be better spent attacking those here at home who believe themselves - because we are at "war" - to be above the law, to be above the Constitution, to be above decency, to be able to do whatever they damn well please to whomever they damn well please here and wherever else they damn well please?
No, I guess not. If you don't keep your eyes open, before long the people will expect to be treated honestly - that could bring about a "new world order" that W's daddy never anticipated.
Your editor is a credit to his class.
Yours,
Tom Harker
"Thief in chief" - the Dispatch Editorial
Fidel Castro, ranked among world’s richest leaders, stole it from Cuba’s people
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Poor Fidel Castro. The Cuban autocrat has spent almost half a century proving that communism is a superb system for creating poverty and distributing it equally. Just ask the 11 million Cubans who squeak by with food rations and an average of $10 a month.
Keeping that many people that miserable for that many years is no easy task. It requires a vast and elaborate police state, and those don’t grow on trees. Creating one requires long hours over many years and unrelenting attention to detail, all the while being harassed by human-rights watchdogs and others who yammer incessantly about liberty and democracy.
Other communist leaders and states have come and gone, such as the Soviet Union and most of its former satellites in eastern Europe. Or they’ve sold their Marxist inheritance for a mess of capitalist pottage, as in China and Vietnam.
So, in his twilight years, Cuba’s 79-year-old jefe maximo has every right to expect that his Marxist credentials would be above reproach.
But no. Forbes magazine, that mouthpiece of the global capitalist order, once again has soiled Castro’s socialist halo by suggesting that he is as greedy as a 19 th-century robber baron. The magazine reported that Castro is the world’s seventh-wealthiest leader, worth $900 million.
The estimate, included in the magazine’s May 5 edition, drew an angry challenge from Castro last week, who said that if anybody can prove he has vast wealth stashed away, he will resign, which presumably would create an opening for somebody else to be absolute dictator.
The magazine admits that the figure is an estimate that is open to question, and, in fact, the editors have never quite settled on what they think Castro is worth. In the 10 years that Forbes has published the annual ranking, Castro’s assets have been pegged at anywhere from $1.4 billion to as little as $100 million.
The $1.4 billion figure came from the magazine’s first estimate in 1997, when editors simply attributed to Castro a percentage of Cuba’s gross domestic product. Since then, the estimate has been derived from various formulas that the magazine defends but declines to lay out in detail. But the estimates are likely based on reports from Cuban defectors that Castro takes a cut from Cuba’s stateowned enterprises.
Forbes notes that the dictator has a fleet of black Mercedes. Anti-Castro activist Maria Werlau, who has studied Castro’s finances and who advised the magazine, says Castro also maintains overseas bank accounts, has numerous houses and controls stockpiles of food, fuel and luxury goods. She believes Forbes underestimates Castro’s wherewithal.
One could argue all day about exactly how to determine the value of Castro’s holdings. But the argument is academic. If everything of value in Cuba, including its people, belongs to the state, and if one man controls that state, then it’s all his to do with as he pleases, which is precisely what Castro has done for 47 years. Practically speaking, this is indistinguishable from ownership.
What’s important is not the total value of all that Castro controls, but how he came by it. The bottom line is that he has robbed the Cuban people of liberty and prosperity for five decades.
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:18 AM
0 comments
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Dr. Grimaldi's Fantastique more pictures
Hey Folks,
We practiced Wed. night - the show starts tomorrow. Below are some photo's of tonight's preparation. Enjoy!!
See you at the show!!
- Uke Man
We practiced Wed. night - the show starts tomorrow. Below are some photo's of tonight's preparation. Enjoy!!
See you at the show!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:56 AM
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L to R: Kristina, Dave, Eoin getting ready.
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:54 AM
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Kristina and Meg: the baloons are done!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:50 AM
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Folks ! You ain't seen nuthin' like it!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:35 AM
0 comments
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Dr. Grimaldi's Exhibition Fantastique this Thurs., Fri., Sat. !!
Hey Folks,
For the information on the show, times, tickets, etc. click here:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/really-big-show.html
Share my "Thespian Adventure" !!!!
- Uke Man
For the information on the show, times, tickets, etc. click here:
http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/really-big-show.html
Share my "Thespian Adventure" !!!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:27 AM
0 comments
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Happy Birthday, Sondra !!!
I wish I had more pictures of ALL your friends and loved ones, but if I did I'd overload the blog!! There are so many people who care about you and who are thankful for all you do!! I know I speak for everyone in wishing you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!! Enjoy your day, Birthday Girl !!!
- Tom
- Tom
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:01 AM
2 comments
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Jesus Christ the Musical
Hey Folks,
I'm not sure how to react to this one; so I'll let you do that.
Definitely striking in its own way:
. . . . . .Holy Transit Authority, Batman!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KiAvmzcZbg&search=jesus
- Uke Man
I'm not sure how to react to this one; so I'll let you do that.
Definitely striking in its own way:
. . . . . .Holy Transit Authority, Batman!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KiAvmzcZbg&search=jesus
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:36 AM
1 comments
links to this post
Rehearsing the "Fantastique" !!!
Hey Folks,
It HAS begun !!!
We just had our first rehearsal - It's gonna be a great show!!!!!
See the shots below and check out the earlier posting for details: http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/really-big-show.html
- Uke Man
It HAS begun !!!
We just had our first rehearsal - It's gonna be a great show!!!!!
See the shots below and check out the earlier posting for details: http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/really-big-show.html
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:10 AM
0 comments
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this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday !!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:09 AM
0 comments
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Monday, May 22, 2006
Agents of Imperialism meet the Kids !!
Hey Folks !!
While some "kids" were voting their asses off for Lordi, the theatrical, demon-obsessed faux rock-band (see posting below), other Kids were taking on truly demonic beasts who would have us vote for them.
Maybe there is hope, afterall.
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
May 20, 2006
Make Poetry, Not War
By MAUREEN DOWD
It was a rough crowd for agents of American imperialism.
At the New School commencement at Madison Square Garden's theater yesterdayafternoon, dozens of the red-and-black-gowned graduates and some faculty were heckling, cackling, hissing, booing, jeering, whooping, bolting, turning their backs and holding up orange signs that read, "Our commencement is not your platform." As for John McCain, he spoke about how the "passion for self-expression sometimes overwhelms our civility."
"We're graduating, not voting," one young man yelled.
"This is all about you," another called out. "We don't care."
A little while after the senator quoted Yeats about the fleeting
nature of beauty, a student sarcastically called out, "More poetry."
First, Mr. McCain and the New School's president, Bob Kerrey,
were slapped around by a student speaker, Jean Sara Rohe, a 21-year-old from Nutley, N.J., who sang a lyric from a peace song and then abandoned her original remarks to talk about the "outrage" over Mr. McCain's speaking gig.
"The senator does not reflect the ideals upon which this
university was founded," Ms. Rohe said, adding: "I am young, and although I don't profess to possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous and wrong."
She continued: "And I know that despite all the havoc that my
country has wrought overseas in my name, Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor havethose weapons of mass destruction."
The New School, of course, makes New York University
seem like Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where
Mr. McCain kowtowed last weekend to Jerry Falwell, the looney-toon he formerly deemed an agent of intolerance. (Just as Rudy
buddy-buddied with Ralph Reed in Atlanta.)
The ultraliberal kids at the New School, the pacifist
Greenwich Village university, think of themselves as
free-thinking rabble-rousers in a world where many college kids, complacently cocooned under iPods, don't even like to debate, much less protest.
When a rigid-faced Mr. Kerrey chided the audience for being rude, a young woman yelled out, "You're a war criminal!" And a
guy chimed in, "Yes, you are!"
It was a remarkable tableau to see the two iconoclastic vets,
their bodies beneath the black gowns still bearing broken
pieces from Vietnam, being pilloried by kids angry about
another endless war, faceless enemy and feckless defense secretary.
Senator McCain came to Mr. Kerrey's defense in 2001. That's
when graduate students called for the New School president
to resign and for Congress to investigate him because a Times magazine piece had revealed that he had led a Seals unit that killed up to 20 unarmed civilians, most of them women and children.
(The Pentagon is now investigating a case in Haditha, Iraq,
where marines are accused of killing 15 unarmed Iraqis
from two families, including 7 women and 3 children.)
Yesterday, Mr. Kerrey returned the favor, admonishing the
students that when they are "heckling from an audience ... no
bravery is required."
The Arizona senator did not depart from his text
and engage the students, as Bill Clinton might have done, with
a passionate exegesis of his stance. And, still trying to show that his temper is under control, he did not push back, as Rudy Giuliani might have.
He may have even found the screaming students useful, as
a liberal hippie foil that will endear him to the evangelical
base he's smooching up. Mr. McCain's adviser, John Weaver, talked dismissively of the West Village students, saying they should get out more and hear opposing viewpoints.
Mr. McCain's panderthon grew even more absurd this week. He
let the Wyly brothers — the Texas businessmen who financed a $2.5 million ad campaign in 2000 trashing his environmental record, a move that enraged Mr. McCain and spurred him to call the Wylys W.'s "sleazy Texas buddies" — hold a fund-raiser for him in Dallas.
The senator may have wanted to give the same commencement
speech at Liberty, the New School and Columbia as a way of
showing those disillusioned by his snuggling with old enemies that he is still a straight talker, willing to say the same thing to Southern conservatives and Northern liberals.
But Bob Kerrey better summed up the feeling of many
of us about the New McCain in the new issue of Men's Vogue.
He mocked the senator's coziness with W.,telling Ned Martel: "He kissed him! McCain let Bush's lips touch him. Yuck!"
While some "kids" were voting their asses off for Lordi, the theatrical, demon-obsessed faux rock-band (see posting below), other Kids were taking on truly demonic beasts who would have us vote for them.
Maybe there is hope, afterall.
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
May 20, 2006
Make Poetry, Not War
By MAUREEN DOWD
It was a rough crowd for agents of American imperialism.
At the New School commencement at Madison Square Garden's theater yesterdayafternoon, dozens of the red-and-black-gowned graduates and some faculty were heckling, cackling, hissing, booing, jeering, whooping, bolting, turning their backs and holding up orange signs that read, "Our commencement is not your platform." As for John McCain, he spoke about how the "passion for self-expression sometimes overwhelms our civility."
"We're graduating, not voting," one young man yelled.
"This is all about you," another called out. "We don't care."
A little while after the senator quoted Yeats about the fleeting
nature of beauty, a student sarcastically called out, "More poetry."
First, Mr. McCain and the New School's president, Bob Kerrey,
were slapped around by a student speaker, Jean Sara Rohe, a 21-year-old from Nutley, N.J., who sang a lyric from a peace song and then abandoned her original remarks to talk about the "outrage" over Mr. McCain's speaking gig.
"The senator does not reflect the ideals upon which this
university was founded," Ms. Rohe said, adding: "I am young, and although I don't profess to possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous and wrong."
She continued: "And I know that despite all the havoc that my
country has wrought overseas in my name, Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor havethose weapons of mass destruction."
The New School, of course, makes New York University
seem like Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where
Mr. McCain kowtowed last weekend to Jerry Falwell, the looney-toon he formerly deemed an agent of intolerance. (Just as Rudy
buddy-buddied with Ralph Reed in Atlanta.)
The ultraliberal kids at the New School, the pacifist
Greenwich Village university, think of themselves as
free-thinking rabble-rousers in a world where many college kids, complacently cocooned under iPods, don't even like to debate, much less protest.
When a rigid-faced Mr. Kerrey chided the audience for being rude, a young woman yelled out, "You're a war criminal!" And a
guy chimed in, "Yes, you are!"
It was a remarkable tableau to see the two iconoclastic vets,
their bodies beneath the black gowns still bearing broken
pieces from Vietnam, being pilloried by kids angry about
another endless war, faceless enemy and feckless defense secretary.
Senator McCain came to Mr. Kerrey's defense in 2001. That's
when graduate students called for the New School president
to resign and for Congress to investigate him because a Times magazine piece had revealed that he had led a Seals unit that killed up to 20 unarmed civilians, most of them women and children.
(The Pentagon is now investigating a case in Haditha, Iraq,
where marines are accused of killing 15 unarmed Iraqis
from two families, including 7 women and 3 children.)
Yesterday, Mr. Kerrey returned the favor, admonishing the
students that when they are "heckling from an audience ... no
bravery is required."
The Arizona senator did not depart from his text
and engage the students, as Bill Clinton might have done, with
a passionate exegesis of his stance. And, still trying to show that his temper is under control, he did not push back, as Rudy Giuliani might have.
He may have even found the screaming students useful, as
a liberal hippie foil that will endear him to the evangelical
base he's smooching up. Mr. McCain's adviser, John Weaver, talked dismissively of the West Village students, saying they should get out more and hear opposing viewpoints.
Mr. McCain's panderthon grew even more absurd this week. He
let the Wyly brothers — the Texas businessmen who financed a $2.5 million ad campaign in 2000 trashing his environmental record, a move that enraged Mr. McCain and spurred him to call the Wylys W.'s "sleazy Texas buddies" — hold a fund-raiser for him in Dallas.
The senator may have wanted to give the same commencement
speech at Liberty, the New School and Columbia as a way of
showing those disillusioned by his snuggling with old enemies that he is still a straight talker, willing to say the same thing to Southern conservatives and Northern liberals.
But Bob Kerrey better summed up the feeling of many
of us about the New McCain in the new issue of Men's Vogue.
He mocked the senator's coziness with W.,telling Ned Martel: "He kissed him! McCain let Bush's lips touch him. Yuck!"
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:48 AM
0 comments
links to this post
Sunday, May 21, 2006
the Pope smokes Dope
Hey Folks,
I was raised Catholic and practiced into high school, but I quit because too much of it just didn't make any sense to me. For most of my life since then I've tried to be respectful of organized religions in general (and not just "Christian" ones) whether they made sense to ME or not. But things have gotten out of hand: think "Taliban," "Pat Robertson," "John Asscroft," and see my earlier post on "Christian Nationalism" (the American Taliban, so to speak).
Below is an AP story on Pope "Eggs" Benedict. Now, I know the pope is "infallible" in matters of "faith and morals" (of course, he wasn't always "infallible" - before Pope Pius IX declared himself infallible in 1870, popes were just regular guys when it came to faith and morals - but then THAT was THEN; THIS is NOW [no take-backs!!] ).
And I know he hates birth control, masturbation, fornication, un-pregnant women, abortions (for 10 year-olds or 100 year-olds - or to save a woman's life - let 'em all suffer/die/whatever; they'll get their reward in heaven !!! - God doesn't fuck you over so strongly that you can't stand it or, at least, die); he hates queers too, but we'll save that for another time.
Still, how does he justify all this? You can't find any justification in the article below. He simply "pontificates," so to speak. He just claims that low [sic] birth rates in Canada (i.e. not popping out a kid every chance one gets) are the result of the "pervasive effects of secularism" ( "pervasive" means "everywhere" and "secularism" means "concern with THIS world" and "indifference to religious authority" - oh, if only he were right !!).
To put it another way, the Pope says Canada's birth rate is bad because free people living in Canada have chosen to have families they want and can support REGARDLESS of what Eggs Benedict and Holy Mother Church demand. For some reason these demented Canadian "secularists" don't want to emulate holy third-world countries like Bangladesh.
Shame, shame Canada. While you fritter away your chance for grace and heaven, millions of impoverished, sick, hungry, vacant eyed children who HAVE popped out onto the Pope's conveyor belt are wending their way to heaven or knocking on heavens gate - begging to be let in as soon as possible - please! please! please!
Shame, shame Canada!!
If you want to make amends, maybe you should send old Popey Boy a great big Canada Goose!!
- Uke Man
Pope Cites Secularism in Canada Birth Rate
AP - Sat May 20
VATICAN CITY -
Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that low birth rates in Canada are the result of the "pervasive effects of secularism" and asked the country's bishops to counter the trend by preaching the truth of Christ. Benedict, who has spoken out several times in favor of large families, blamed Canada's low birth rate on social ills and moral ambiguities that result from secular ideology.
"Like many countries ... Canada is today suffering from the pervasive effects of secularism," Benedict told visiting bishops from Canada. "One of the more dramatic symptoms of this mentality, clearly evident in your own region, is the plummeting birth rate."
Canada's birth rate in 2005 was 10.5 births for every 1,000 people, according to Statistics Canada.
"Canadians look to you to be men of hope, preaching and teaching with passion the splendor of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness and illuminates the way to renew ecclesiastical and civic life," the pontiff told the bishops, speaking in English.
Separately, Benedict told the new Spanish ambassador to the Holy See that family based on marriage should not be "replaced or confused" by other institutions — an allusion to gay marriage, which is legal in Spain.
Benedict said he hoped his planned visit to Valencia, Spain, in July to attend a church gathering dedicated to families would give him "an opportunity to celebrate the beauty and fecundity of the family based on marriage, its very high calling and its essential social value."
The pope has been leading a church campaign in defense of traditional families.
He also reiterated church opposition to abortion and euthanasia.
"The church proclaims without reserve the primordial right to life, from conception to natural death, the right to birth, to create and live in a family, without it being substituted or confused by other forms or different institutions," Benedict said, speaking in Spanish.
Ambassador Francisco Vazquez described the audience as "cordial and affectionate."
Ties between the Holy See and Spain have been strained since Spain's Socialists took office in 2004 with an agenda that has included legalizing gay marriage and making it easier for Spaniards to obtain divorce in the traditionally Roman Catholic country.
I was raised Catholic and practiced into high school, but I quit because too much of it just didn't make any sense to me. For most of my life since then I've tried to be respectful of organized religions in general (and not just "Christian" ones) whether they made sense to ME or not. But things have gotten out of hand: think "Taliban," "Pat Robertson," "John Asscroft," and see my earlier post on "Christian Nationalism" (the American Taliban, so to speak).
Below is an AP story on Pope "Eggs" Benedict. Now, I know the pope is "infallible" in matters of "faith and morals" (of course, he wasn't always "infallible" - before Pope Pius IX declared himself infallible in 1870, popes were just regular guys when it came to faith and morals - but then THAT was THEN; THIS is NOW [no take-backs!!] ).
And I know he hates birth control, masturbation, fornication, un-pregnant women, abortions (for 10 year-olds or 100 year-olds - or to save a woman's life - let 'em all suffer/die/whatever; they'll get their reward in heaven !!! - God doesn't fuck you over so strongly that you can't stand it or, at least, die); he hates queers too, but we'll save that for another time.
Still, how does he justify all this? You can't find any justification in the article below. He simply "pontificates," so to speak. He just claims that low [sic] birth rates in Canada (i.e. not popping out a kid every chance one gets) are the result of the "pervasive effects of secularism" ( "pervasive" means "everywhere" and "secularism" means "concern with THIS world" and "indifference to religious authority" - oh, if only he were right !!).
To put it another way, the Pope says Canada's birth rate is bad because free people living in Canada have chosen to have families they want and can support REGARDLESS of what Eggs Benedict and Holy Mother Church demand. For some reason these demented Canadian "secularists" don't want to emulate holy third-world countries like Bangladesh.
Shame, shame Canada. While you fritter away your chance for grace and heaven, millions of impoverished, sick, hungry, vacant eyed children who HAVE popped out onto the Pope's conveyor belt are wending their way to heaven or knocking on heavens gate - begging to be let in as soon as possible - please! please! please!
Shame, shame Canada!!
If you want to make amends, maybe you should send old Popey Boy a great big Canada Goose!!
- Uke Man
Pope Cites Secularism in Canada Birth Rate
AP - Sat May 20
VATICAN CITY -
Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that low birth rates in Canada are the result of the "pervasive effects of secularism" and asked the country's bishops to counter the trend by preaching the truth of Christ. Benedict, who has spoken out several times in favor of large families, blamed Canada's low birth rate on social ills and moral ambiguities that result from secular ideology.
"Like many countries ... Canada is today suffering from the pervasive effects of secularism," Benedict told visiting bishops from Canada. "One of the more dramatic symptoms of this mentality, clearly evident in your own region, is the plummeting birth rate."
Canada's birth rate in 2005 was 10.5 births for every 1,000 people, according to Statistics Canada.
"Canadians look to you to be men of hope, preaching and teaching with passion the splendor of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness and illuminates the way to renew ecclesiastical and civic life," the pontiff told the bishops, speaking in English.
Separately, Benedict told the new Spanish ambassador to the Holy See that family based on marriage should not be "replaced or confused" by other institutions — an allusion to gay marriage, which is legal in Spain.
Benedict said he hoped his planned visit to Valencia, Spain, in July to attend a church gathering dedicated to families would give him "an opportunity to celebrate the beauty and fecundity of the family based on marriage, its very high calling and its essential social value."
The pope has been leading a church campaign in defense of traditional families.
He also reiterated church opposition to abortion and euthanasia.
"The church proclaims without reserve the primordial right to life, from conception to natural death, the right to birth, to create and live in a family, without it being substituted or confused by other forms or different institutions," Benedict said, speaking in Spanish.
Ambassador Francisco Vazquez described the audience as "cordial and affectionate."
Ties between the Holy See and Spain have been strained since Spain's Socialists took office in 2004 with an agenda that has included legalizing gay marriage and making it easier for Spaniards to obtain divorce in the traditionally Roman Catholic country.
posted by Ukulele Man at 2:34 PM
1 comments
links to this post
"It's time to put on make-up; it's time to start the show!"
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:10 PM
0 comments
links to this post
Lordi Moses!!!
Hey Folks,
In Finland it's dark much of the year. Hence this video - supremely appropriate to the Mordorian darkness descending on us here in the belly of the Empire.
Everything is make-up; everything is merchandising; everything is horror; nothing is real. Production!! Production!! Production!!
And, in the end, that's all that counts!! "Placing Finland among the best 5 (the semifinals of the 'Eurovision Song Contest' for the first time in 40 years").
Rock!!
& !!!
Roll !!! (burp)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KFEtySs-nM&feature=Views&page=2&t=t&f=b
(they still get out the cold cream while they count their money)
From the site:
"And the winner is... LORDI!!!!!!!! Thank you, all who voted!! A big fkc you in the face of all those fake people! Rock on!
The performance of Finnish contestant Lordi, live at the semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest. Captured from Dutch TV.
And remember kids: VOTE LORDI COMING SATURDAY!
Translation of the comment before it starts:
"We continue with the most bizarre act in the history of Eurovision, hold on: Finland. The prejudice that men take far shorter to finish make-up is dealt with here, because Lordi's four gentlemen and one lady take 3 hours in make-up before they are ready to go on stage. You will see why in a moment; they're monsters from a horrormovie, batwings and all, and they are the ones that will have to place Finland among the best 5 for the first time in 40 years.
Back home priests already prayed for forgiveness for this bloodcurdling act but Lordi thinks, the creepier, the merrier, and the lead singer, Mr Lordi stated: Bands performing in plain clothes suck, we want to give our fans value for their money. Well, that's just what you're gonna get with: Hard Rock Hallelujah!"
- Uke Man
( late breaking news: the "kids" DID vote Saturday: Lordi rules #1 !! see!! it IS all production!! - now THAT's Muppet Rock 'n' Roll - on Ice).
Unless, of course, Diebold, Bush, and Blackwell had something to do with it.
In Finland it's dark much of the year. Hence this video - supremely appropriate to the Mordorian darkness descending on us here in the belly of the Empire.
Everything is make-up; everything is merchandising; everything is horror; nothing is real. Production!! Production!! Production!!
And, in the end, that's all that counts!! "Placing Finland among the best 5 (the semifinals of the 'Eurovision Song Contest' for the first time in 40 years").
Rock!!
& !!!
Roll !!! (burp)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KFEtySs-nM&feature=Views&page=2&t=t&f=b
(they still get out the cold cream while they count their money)
From the site:
"And the winner is... LORDI!!!!!!!! Thank you, all who voted!! A big fkc you in the face of all those fake people! Rock on!
The performance of Finnish contestant Lordi, live at the semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest. Captured from Dutch TV.
And remember kids: VOTE LORDI COMING SATURDAY!
Translation of the comment before it starts:
"We continue with the most bizarre act in the history of Eurovision, hold on: Finland. The prejudice that men take far shorter to finish make-up is dealt with here, because Lordi's four gentlemen and one lady take 3 hours in make-up before they are ready to go on stage. You will see why in a moment; they're monsters from a horrormovie, batwings and all, and they are the ones that will have to place Finland among the best 5 for the first time in 40 years.
Back home priests already prayed for forgiveness for this bloodcurdling act but Lordi thinks, the creepier, the merrier, and the lead singer, Mr Lordi stated: Bands performing in plain clothes suck, we want to give our fans value for their money. Well, that's just what you're gonna get with: Hard Rock Hallelujah!"
- Uke Man
( late breaking news: the "kids" DID vote Saturday: Lordi rules #1 !! see!! it IS all production!! - now THAT's Muppet Rock 'n' Roll - on Ice).
Unless, of course, Diebold, Bush, and Blackwell had something to do with it.
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:08 PM
0 comments
links to this post
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Rick Santorum, Senator from Pensylvania
The man who's scared shitless that allowing "Gay-Marriage" will force him into polygamy and sex with dogs !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:31 PM
1 comments
links to this post
Gays bad – Unless they’re Polygamists ??
Hey Folks,
Here’s how it works.
The Republicans have to beat-up Gays in order to divert attention from their destruction of America, its people, its children, and its future (see Reuters story below).
Arlen Specter a Republican committee chair with a moderate constituency has to obey his party and introduce the disgusting ban. While kissing the party ring, Specter hopes to avoid voter backlash by saying he opposes the ban he's introducing.
When Democratic Senator Russell Feingold walked out of the closed-door session, it made Specter look bad. Hence the cat-fight. Even Republican Sen. Orin “pencil-neck” Hatch, a Utah Mormon, got caught up in his party’s self-set snare.
Senat Democrat Patrick Leahy’s willingness to criticize Hatch’s support of polygamists can be directly traced to Republican Senator Rick Santorum’s famous claim that gay marriage would lead to polygamy (AND sex with dogs).
It is pathetic that the Republicans would denigrate so many good Americans for short term political gain. Both Specter and the bill’s sponsor know it won’t pass; it will just put them on record as hating gays – and that will help their party among certain knuckle-dragging constituencies.
- Uke Man
Senate panel OKs gay-marriage ban
By Andy Sullivan Thu May 18
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel advanced a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on Thursday as the committee chairman shouted "good riddance" to a Democrat who walked out of the tense session.
"If you want to leave, good riddance," The Senate Judiciary Chairman, Republican Arlen Specter, told Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell Feingold, who refused to participate because, he said, the meeting was not sufficiently open to the public.
"I've enjoyed your lecture too. See you later, Mr. Chairman," Feingold told the Pennsylvania senator before storming out of the private room where the meeting took place.
The testy exchange highlighted tensions over the proposal, which seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to prevent states from recognizing same-sex marriages.
The measure passed 10-8 on a party-line vote. Specter said he voted for the amendment because he thought it should be taken up by the full Senate, even though he does not back it.
The gay-marriage ban is one of several hot-button social issues Republicans are raising to rally conservative voters ahead of November's congressional elections.
Because the measure seeks to change the Constitution, it must pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority and then be approved by at least 38 states.
The Senate is expected to take up the bill in early June.
The bill's sponsor told reporters he does not expect it to pass the Senate but wanted to keep the issue in the public eye.
"If we quit bringing it up here and talking about it here, in effect we leave the decision-making process to the judicial side," Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard (news, bio, voting record) said.
A similar effort failed in the Senate in 2004.
Gay marriage has been a hot topic since a Massachusetts court ruled in 2003 that the state legislature could not ban it, paving the way for America's first same-sex marriages in May the following year.
At least 13 states have passed amendments banning gay marriage while two -- Vermont and Connecticut -- have legalized civil unions. California, New Jersey, Maine, the District of Columbia and Hawaii each offer gay couples some legal rights as partners.
Legal challenges seeking permission for gays and lesbians to marry are pending in 10 states. Most recently, a Georgia state court struck down a state ban on Tuesday.
Just over half of all Americans oppose same-sex marriage, according to a March poll by the Pew Research center, down from 63 percent in February 2004.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), the committee's top Democrat, said the gay marriage ban was a waste of time for a committee that needs to tackle a wide range of other pressing issues, from judicial nominations to oversight of the National Security Administration's domestic-spying program.
"I didn't realize marriages were so threatened. Nor did my wife of 44 years," Leahy said.
Leahy said Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), who supports the ban, has expressed support for polygamists in his home state of Utah.
"I never said that," Hatch responded. "I know some (polygamists) that are very sincere. ... Don't accuse me of wanting to have polygamy."
Here’s how it works.
The Republicans have to beat-up Gays in order to divert attention from their destruction of America, its people, its children, and its future (see Reuters story below).
Arlen Specter a Republican committee chair with a moderate constituency has to obey his party and introduce the disgusting ban. While kissing the party ring, Specter hopes to avoid voter backlash by saying he opposes the ban he's introducing.
When Democratic Senator Russell Feingold walked out of the closed-door session, it made Specter look bad. Hence the cat-fight. Even Republican Sen. Orin “pencil-neck” Hatch, a Utah Mormon, got caught up in his party’s self-set snare.
Senat Democrat Patrick Leahy’s willingness to criticize Hatch’s support of polygamists can be directly traced to Republican Senator Rick Santorum’s famous claim that gay marriage would lead to polygamy (AND sex with dogs).
It is pathetic that the Republicans would denigrate so many good Americans for short term political gain. Both Specter and the bill’s sponsor know it won’t pass; it will just put them on record as hating gays – and that will help their party among certain knuckle-dragging constituencies.
- Uke Man
Senate panel OKs gay-marriage ban
By Andy Sullivan Thu May 18
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel advanced a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on Thursday as the committee chairman shouted "good riddance" to a Democrat who walked out of the tense session.
"If you want to leave, good riddance," The Senate Judiciary Chairman, Republican Arlen Specter, told Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell Feingold, who refused to participate because, he said, the meeting was not sufficiently open to the public.
"I've enjoyed your lecture too. See you later, Mr. Chairman," Feingold told the Pennsylvania senator before storming out of the private room where the meeting took place.
The testy exchange highlighted tensions over the proposal, which seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to prevent states from recognizing same-sex marriages.
The measure passed 10-8 on a party-line vote. Specter said he voted for the amendment because he thought it should be taken up by the full Senate, even though he does not back it.
The gay-marriage ban is one of several hot-button social issues Republicans are raising to rally conservative voters ahead of November's congressional elections.
Because the measure seeks to change the Constitution, it must pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority and then be approved by at least 38 states.
The Senate is expected to take up the bill in early June.
The bill's sponsor told reporters he does not expect it to pass the Senate but wanted to keep the issue in the public eye.
"If we quit bringing it up here and talking about it here, in effect we leave the decision-making process to the judicial side," Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard (news, bio, voting record) said.
A similar effort failed in the Senate in 2004.
Gay marriage has been a hot topic since a Massachusetts court ruled in 2003 that the state legislature could not ban it, paving the way for America's first same-sex marriages in May the following year.
At least 13 states have passed amendments banning gay marriage while two -- Vermont and Connecticut -- have legalized civil unions. California, New Jersey, Maine, the District of Columbia and Hawaii each offer gay couples some legal rights as partners.
Legal challenges seeking permission for gays and lesbians to marry are pending in 10 states. Most recently, a Georgia state court struck down a state ban on Tuesday.
Just over half of all Americans oppose same-sex marriage, according to a March poll by the Pew Research center, down from 63 percent in February 2004.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), the committee's top Democrat, said the gay marriage ban was a waste of time for a committee that needs to tackle a wide range of other pressing issues, from judicial nominations to oversight of the National Security Administration's domestic-spying program.
"I didn't realize marriages were so threatened. Nor did my wife of 44 years," Leahy said.
Leahy said Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), who supports the ban, has expressed support for polygamists in his home state of Utah.
"I never said that," Hatch responded. "I know some (polygamists) that are very sincere. ... Don't accuse me of wanting to have polygamy."
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:20 PM
1 comments
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Post Turtle
Hey Folks,
You may have heard this before, but here it is again:
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.
Eventually, the topic got around to former Texas Governor George W. Bush and his elevation to the White House.
The old Texan said, "Well, ya know, Bush is a 'post turtle'."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.
"You know he didn't get there by himself, he clearly doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just want to help the dumb shit get down.
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to John)
You may have heard this before, but here it is again:
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.
Eventually, the topic got around to former Texas Governor George W. Bush and his elevation to the White House.
The old Texan said, "Well, ya know, Bush is a 'post turtle'."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.
"You know he didn't get there by himself, he clearly doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just want to help the dumb shit get down.
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to John)
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:21 AM
0 comments
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Friday, May 19, 2006
If you have a problem with this picture, go to: http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/adipophobia.html
Rainy Days and Mondays
posted by Ukulele Man at 5:29 PM
2 comments
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What Notes do Mice Whistle while cutting through the Elephant Cage?
C# or Bb !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:56 PM
0 comments
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Thursday, May 18, 2006
"Hey! Indians are Pagans! And Jack is Jewish! And Casinos are the Devil's workshop!"
"What does Jesus care if we fuck over a few savages to establish our dominion? (you don't really think I'm losing my boyish good looks, do you ?"
)
)
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:37 PM
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Christian Nationalism - Look up "dominion" in YOUR dictionary! Do you want these clods to have THAT?
What is Christian nationalism?
By Michelle Goldberg
(a ukethanks to Linda)
I've just published a book called "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism," and since it appeared, I've been asked several times what Christian nationalism is, and how it differs from Christian fundamentalism. It's an important concept to understand, because the threat to a pluralistic society does not come from those who simply believe in a very conservative interpretation of Christianity. It comes from those who adhere to a political ideology that posits a Christian right to rule.
topic: US gov., Wall of Separation section:Front Page
Christian nationalists believe in a revisionist history, which holds that the founders were devout Christians who never intended to create a secular republic; separation of church and state, according to this history, is a fraud perpetrated by God-hating subversives. One of the foremost Christian revisionist historians is David Barton, who, in addition to running an organization called Wallbuilders that disseminates Christian nationalist books, tracts, and videos, is also the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party. The goal of Christian nationalist politics is the restoration of the imagined Christian nation. As George Grant, former executive director of D. James Kennedy's influential Coral Ridge Ministries, wrote in his book "The Changing of the Guard:"
"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ -- to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.
But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
It is dominion we are after.
World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish."
In the Christian nationalist vision of America, non-believers would be free to worship as they choose, as long as they know their place. When Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala became the first Hindu priest to offer an invocation before Congress, the Family Research Council issued a furious statement that reveals much about the America they'd like to create:
"While it is true that the United States of America was founded on the sacred principle of religious freedom for all, that liberty was never intended to exalt other religions to the level that Christianity holds in our country's heritage...Our founders expected that Christianity -- and no other religion -- would receive support from the government as long as that support did not violate peoples' consciences and their right to worship. They would have found utterly incredible the idea that all religions, including paganism, be treated with equal deference."
The iconography of Christian nationalism conflates the cross and the flag. As I write in "Kingdom Coming," it "claims supernatural sanction for its campaign of national renewal and speaks rapturously about vanquishing the millions of Americans who would stand in its way." At one rally at the statehouse in Austin, Texas, a banner pictured a fierce eagle perched upon a bloody cross. For a liberal, such imagery smacks of fascist agitprop. But plenty of deeply committed Christians also object to it as a form of blasphemy. It's important, I think, to separate their faith from the authoritarian impulses of the Christian nationalist movement. Christianity is a religion. Christian nationalism is a political program, and there is nothing sacred about it.
By Michelle Goldberg
(a ukethanks to Linda)
I've just published a book called "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism," and since it appeared, I've been asked several times what Christian nationalism is, and how it differs from Christian fundamentalism. It's an important concept to understand, because the threat to a pluralistic society does not come from those who simply believe in a very conservative interpretation of Christianity. It comes from those who adhere to a political ideology that posits a Christian right to rule.
topic: US gov., Wall of Separation section:Front Page
Christian nationalists believe in a revisionist history, which holds that the founders were devout Christians who never intended to create a secular republic; separation of church and state, according to this history, is a fraud perpetrated by God-hating subversives. One of the foremost Christian revisionist historians is David Barton, who, in addition to running an organization called Wallbuilders that disseminates Christian nationalist books, tracts, and videos, is also the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party. The goal of Christian nationalist politics is the restoration of the imagined Christian nation. As George Grant, former executive director of D. James Kennedy's influential Coral Ridge Ministries, wrote in his book "The Changing of the Guard:"
"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ -- to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.
But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
It is dominion we are after.
World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish."
In the Christian nationalist vision of America, non-believers would be free to worship as they choose, as long as they know their place. When Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala became the first Hindu priest to offer an invocation before Congress, the Family Research Council issued a furious statement that reveals much about the America they'd like to create:
"While it is true that the United States of America was founded on the sacred principle of religious freedom for all, that liberty was never intended to exalt other religions to the level that Christianity holds in our country's heritage...Our founders expected that Christianity -- and no other religion -- would receive support from the government as long as that support did not violate peoples' consciences and their right to worship. They would have found utterly incredible the idea that all religions, including paganism, be treated with equal deference."
The iconography of Christian nationalism conflates the cross and the flag. As I write in "Kingdom Coming," it "claims supernatural sanction for its campaign of national renewal and speaks rapturously about vanquishing the millions of Americans who would stand in its way." At one rally at the statehouse in Austin, Texas, a banner pictured a fierce eagle perched upon a bloody cross. For a liberal, such imagery smacks of fascist agitprop. But plenty of deeply committed Christians also object to it as a form of blasphemy. It's important, I think, to separate their faith from the authoritarian impulses of the Christian nationalist movement. Christianity is a religion. Christian nationalism is a political program, and there is nothing sacred about it.
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:24 PM
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A Really Big Show
Hey Folks,
Dr. Danga Grimaldi’s Exhibition Fantastique will materialize for three nights, May 25, 26, and 27 (Thursday through Saturday – and maybe Sunday too) !!
“Fantastique” is an evening-length cabaret of surreality that mixes two parts zany with one part profound to produce a superbly entertaining extravaganza filled with a vivacious variety of astounding acrobats, stirring stilt performers, dazzling dancing girls, jolly jugglers, comical clowns, clever cowboys, perky puppets, merry marionettes, and magical music
The Uke Man, veterinarian of stage and screen, will be there crooning and mugging for your enjoyment.
Not to mention:
The Great Slydini – escape artist extraordinaire
“RSC 2000” – the Intergalactic robot comedian
Sasha – the sensuous Russian hula-hoop princess
The Great Sadu, the Indestructible Man
& More !!!!!!!!!
Believe me, Folks !! You ain’t never seen nuthin like it!!!
The show will be presented in the 100 seat theater of the Columbus Dance Theatre: 592 East Main Street, Columbus, OH 43215 (614-849-0227), http://www.coldancetheatre.org/ - east of Grant and just west of Parsons – parking.
$12.00 general Admission & $10.00 students / seniors / madlab members
- See http://www.columbusfringefestival.com/
- Uke Man
Dr. Danga Grimaldi’s Exhibition Fantastique will materialize for three nights, May 25, 26, and 27 (Thursday through Saturday – and maybe Sunday too) !!
“Fantastique” is an evening-length cabaret of surreality that mixes two parts zany with one part profound to produce a superbly entertaining extravaganza filled with a vivacious variety of astounding acrobats, stirring stilt performers, dazzling dancing girls, jolly jugglers, comical clowns, clever cowboys, perky puppets, merry marionettes, and magical music
The Uke Man, veterinarian of stage and screen, will be there crooning and mugging for your enjoyment.
Not to mention:
The Great Slydini – escape artist extraordinaire
“RSC 2000” – the Intergalactic robot comedian
Sasha – the sensuous Russian hula-hoop princess
The Great Sadu, the Indestructible Man
& More !!!!!!!!!
Believe me, Folks !! You ain’t never seen nuthin like it!!!
The show will be presented in the 100 seat theater of the Columbus Dance Theatre: 592 East Main Street, Columbus, OH 43215 (614-849-0227), http://www.coldancetheatre.org/ - east of Grant and just west of Parsons – parking.
$12.00 general Admission & $10.00 students / seniors / madlab members
- See http://www.columbusfringefestival.com/
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:10 PM
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Time for a Mutiny !!
Hey Folks,
You can listen at:
http://www.awrenchinthecogs.com/Ahab.mp3
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
- Uke Man
Ahab
I was down by the seaside down by the shore
I was wading in the water while I listened to the roar
There were sirens in the sky, I said what the heck
I was up to my knees, now I'm up to my neck
People on the rooftops, trying not to drown
While the Hummers all are moving to higher ground
They told me son, now don't be a bore
We're gonna study this thing a little bit more
We're busy making profits so cut that jive
Pray to Jesus there's no category five
Put a gag on the doctor, tell him to shove it
Put your ray-bans on, you're gonna learn to love it
Who's got their hand on the tiller
Who's got their hand on the wheel
Cause it's looking to me like we're lost at sea
I can’t tell you how sick I feel
Somebody call for the captain
Cause looks like we're going down
But the captain ain’t the one
Look at what he's done
He’s running this ship aground
I was down on the tarmac watching planes come in
They fill 'em up with boys and girls and send 'em off again
Some clown asked why, tell me what's this for
Somebody said something 'bout a permanent war
I turned around the man's got his hand in my pockets
Saying spare some change son, for guns and rockets
Step right up it's a big shell game
There weren't any weapons and we don't take the blame
The numbers keep climbing higher every day
You come back in a box then they hide you away
I said, this ain't livin, we act like we're dead
The next thing I know there's a bag on my head
There was a knock on the door it was a man in a suit
He was talking on a cell phone wearing snakeskin boots
He took me to the courtroom and he put me on trial
When I said where's the justice everybody smiled
The judge was a wolf, the jury was too
The only lamb there was you know who
The DA said we got you, and it wasn't that hard
We found all your guilt on a library card
Readin' bout Buddah, Suess, and Camus
You read that much something's wrong with you
The judge found me guilty, said the terror will cease
They put me in the slammer for talking 'bout peace
I was down in the alley, I was down on my knees
Feeling like I had some strange disease
Like I was living in a bubble or a fog or a cloud
Dreaming of the truth spoken right out loud
There's a storm in the ocean, there's a storm in my head
The sun's coming up and the sky's turning red
The captain's in his cabin and he won't come out
Sayin’ everything's fine there ain't any doubt
There's a story I read, it reminds me of a tale
About somebody chasing some big white whale
I was wondering what the answer to the riddle might be
When I heard someone talking 'bout a mutiny.
©2006 Round River Music and B. Harley (BMI)All Rights Reserved
You can listen at:
http://www.awrenchinthecogs.com/Ahab.mp3
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
- Uke Man
Ahab
I was down by the seaside down by the shore
I was wading in the water while I listened to the roar
There were sirens in the sky, I said what the heck
I was up to my knees, now I'm up to my neck
People on the rooftops, trying not to drown
While the Hummers all are moving to higher ground
They told me son, now don't be a bore
We're gonna study this thing a little bit more
We're busy making profits so cut that jive
Pray to Jesus there's no category five
Put a gag on the doctor, tell him to shove it
Put your ray-bans on, you're gonna learn to love it
Who's got their hand on the tiller
Who's got their hand on the wheel
Cause it's looking to me like we're lost at sea
I can’t tell you how sick I feel
Somebody call for the captain
Cause looks like we're going down
But the captain ain’t the one
Look at what he's done
He’s running this ship aground
I was down on the tarmac watching planes come in
They fill 'em up with boys and girls and send 'em off again
Some clown asked why, tell me what's this for
Somebody said something 'bout a permanent war
I turned around the man's got his hand in my pockets
Saying spare some change son, for guns and rockets
Step right up it's a big shell game
There weren't any weapons and we don't take the blame
The numbers keep climbing higher every day
You come back in a box then they hide you away
I said, this ain't livin, we act like we're dead
The next thing I know there's a bag on my head
There was a knock on the door it was a man in a suit
He was talking on a cell phone wearing snakeskin boots
He took me to the courtroom and he put me on trial
When I said where's the justice everybody smiled
The judge was a wolf, the jury was too
The only lamb there was you know who
The DA said we got you, and it wasn't that hard
We found all your guilt on a library card
Readin' bout Buddah, Suess, and Camus
You read that much something's wrong with you
The judge found me guilty, said the terror will cease
They put me in the slammer for talking 'bout peace
I was down in the alley, I was down on my knees
Feeling like I had some strange disease
Like I was living in a bubble or a fog or a cloud
Dreaming of the truth spoken right out loud
There's a storm in the ocean, there's a storm in my head
The sun's coming up and the sky's turning red
The captain's in his cabin and he won't come out
Sayin’ everything's fine there ain't any doubt
There's a story I read, it reminds me of a tale
About somebody chasing some big white whale
I was wondering what the answer to the riddle might be
When I heard someone talking 'bout a mutiny.
©2006 Round River Music and B. Harley (BMI)All Rights Reserved
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:02 AM
1 comments
links to this post
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Castro & Catherine the Great
Hey Folks,
The article below tipped me off today that Steve Forbes was at it again – puttin’ out the propaganda, salivating impatiently as he awaits the plunder of Cuba he believes will come with the passing of Fidel Castro. Well, we shall see – at least those of us who out-live Fidel.
What I found most interesting was the correlation of this smear-piece with a recent PBS documentary on Russian aristocrat and empress Catherine the Great.
The documentary stirred some long-stored “knowledge” regarding the lady – i.e. that she was a nymphomaniac and had died as the result of a failed coupling with a horse. I’m not making this up – I didn’t hear it in junior high school. It wasn’t just “gossip.” As the documentary points out these slanderous charges were created out of nothing – by rival British and French imperialists – but were presented as absolute fact. Catherine was too good at empire-building and had to be diminished somehow.
Catherine did have a number of lovers, but was neither a nymphomaniac nor a beastophiliac.
We cannot, of course, know for sure the actual state of Castro’s “wealth,” but having seen what disgusting inventions greedy imperialists – seeking personal gain - were willing to pin on an innocent woman; my guess is that the characterization of Castro – to paraphrase the last sentence of the news item below – “is more fart than science.”
- Uke Man
Castro Denies Forbes Report on Wealth
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue May 16, 4:12 AM ET
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world's wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance on Monday to rebut the story he called "rubbish."
In its May 5 article, "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million — nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.
The article also referred to rumors of Castro having "large stashes in Swiss bank accounts."
"All this makes me sick," Castro responded Monday on the communist government's daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or "Round Table." "Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?"
Later on the program, Castro pounded the table, saying, "If they can prove I have an account abroad ... containing even one dollar I will resign my post."
Castro also gave the floor to several top officials, including Central Bank President Francisco Soberon, to deny the claims and defend his integrity.
"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of government — and especially not a leader (like Castro) ... who is recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and self-discipline — could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.
Soberon called the Forbes article "grotesque slander," and blamed the
CIA and a U.S. press controlled by "the empire" for the magazine's "vulgar and ridiculous" claims.
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate and an enterprise that sells Cuban-produced pharmaceuticals.
Soberon said, however, that all the money made from those companies is pumped back into the island's economy, into sectors including health, education, science, security, defense and solidarity projects with other countries.
Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the leaders are "more art than science."
The article below tipped me off today that Steve Forbes was at it again – puttin’ out the propaganda, salivating impatiently as he awaits the plunder of Cuba he believes will come with the passing of Fidel Castro. Well, we shall see – at least those of us who out-live Fidel.
What I found most interesting was the correlation of this smear-piece with a recent PBS documentary on Russian aristocrat and empress Catherine the Great.
The documentary stirred some long-stored “knowledge” regarding the lady – i.e. that she was a nymphomaniac and had died as the result of a failed coupling with a horse. I’m not making this up – I didn’t hear it in junior high school. It wasn’t just “gossip.” As the documentary points out these slanderous charges were created out of nothing – by rival British and French imperialists – but were presented as absolute fact. Catherine was too good at empire-building and had to be diminished somehow.
Catherine did have a number of lovers, but was neither a nymphomaniac nor a beastophiliac.
We cannot, of course, know for sure the actual state of Castro’s “wealth,” but having seen what disgusting inventions greedy imperialists – seeking personal gain - were willing to pin on an innocent woman; my guess is that the characterization of Castro – to paraphrase the last sentence of the news item below – “is more fart than science.”
- Uke Man
Castro Denies Forbes Report on Wealth
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue May 16, 4:12 AM ET
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world's wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance on Monday to rebut the story he called "rubbish."
In its May 5 article, "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million — nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.
The article also referred to rumors of Castro having "large stashes in Swiss bank accounts."
"All this makes me sick," Castro responded Monday on the communist government's daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or "Round Table." "Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?"
Later on the program, Castro pounded the table, saying, "If they can prove I have an account abroad ... containing even one dollar I will resign my post."
Castro also gave the floor to several top officials, including Central Bank President Francisco Soberon, to deny the claims and defend his integrity.
"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of government — and especially not a leader (like Castro) ... who is recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and self-discipline — could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.
Soberon called the Forbes article "grotesque slander," and blamed the
CIA and a U.S. press controlled by "the empire" for the magazine's "vulgar and ridiculous" claims.
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate and an enterprise that sells Cuban-produced pharmaceuticals.
Soberon said, however, that all the money made from those companies is pumped back into the island's economy, into sectors including health, education, science, security, defense and solidarity projects with other countries.
Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the leaders are "more art than science."
posted by Ukulele Man at 5:44 PM
1 comments
links to this post
Unitarian Jihad
Hey Folks,
The following is the first communique from a group calling itself
Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether anyone else has received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told.:
Startling new underground group spreads lack of panic! Citizens declare themselves "relatively unafraid" of threats of undeclared rationality. People can still “go to France,” terrorist leader says.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States,
We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than
one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions.
Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the
secretary.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has
Your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them.
You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!
People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever
happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea?
Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no
disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the
committee of the whole for further discussion.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.
Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and
personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.)
We will require all lobbyists,spokesmen, and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.
We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We
Have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.
Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! (There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.)
----------------Unitarian Jihad
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to John)
The following is the first communique from a group calling itself
Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether anyone else has received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told.:
Startling new underground group spreads lack of panic! Citizens declare themselves "relatively unafraid" of threats of undeclared rationality. People can still “go to France,” terrorist leader says.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States,
We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than
one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions.
Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the
secretary.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has
Your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them.
You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!
People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever
happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea?
Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no
disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the
committee of the whole for further discussion.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.
Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and
personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.)
We will require all lobbyists,spokesmen, and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.
We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We
Have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.
Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! (There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.)
----------------Unitarian Jihad
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to John)
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:39 AM
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Top Ten
Hey Folks, Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVaKNDL5DP4&search=bush - Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:48 PM
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Freedom v. Authority
Hey Folks,
When the Ohio Supreme Court declared school funding unconstitutional, the Dispatch and others screamed bloody-murder about “Legislating from the Bench”!
When it became known that President George W. Bush had signed over 700 bills into law but only with the caveat that the laws didn’t apply to HIM, where were the screams of “Legislating from the White House” ?
When Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren sought constitutional justice for Blacks, billboards sprang up crying “Impeach Earl Warren.”
With President George W. Bush attacking the protections of the Bill of Rights, where are the billboards crying, “Impeach George Bush” ?
We often hear the “Founding Fathers” invoked to “prove” (inaccurately) that America is a “Christian” nation or that the courts must respect the separation of the three governmental branches (i.e. shut up) or to explain the proper working of the “system of checks and balances” (i.e. the courts should have little or no role).
With President George W. Bush wearing the regal crown and grasping at the emperor’s wreath, where are the “Founder Groupies” screaming bloody-murder about his Satanic, un-American, dictatorial behavior ?
We are at a crossroads.
Right-wing nerd David Brooks’ column today obliquely speaks to this. He says that “conservatism” (read “the aristocracy”) is moving from “loose conservatism" to "tight conservatism”; moving from “freedom” to “authority.”
No shit ! As some would put it, Bush has the “authority” to override the “freedom” we once enjoyed under the Constitution.
When the Ohio Supreme Court declared school funding unconstitutional, the Dispatch and others screamed bloody-murder about “Legislating from the Bench”!
When it became known that President George W. Bush had signed over 700 bills into law but only with the caveat that the laws didn’t apply to HIM, where were the screams of “Legislating from the White House” ?
When Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren sought constitutional justice for Blacks, billboards sprang up crying “Impeach Earl Warren.”
With President George W. Bush attacking the protections of the Bill of Rights, where are the billboards crying, “Impeach George Bush” ?
We often hear the “Founding Fathers” invoked to “prove” (inaccurately) that America is a “Christian” nation or that the courts must respect the separation of the three governmental branches (i.e. shut up) or to explain the proper working of the “system of checks and balances” (i.e. the courts should have little or no role).
With President George W. Bush wearing the regal crown and grasping at the emperor’s wreath, where are the “Founder Groupies” screaming bloody-murder about his Satanic, un-American, dictatorial behavior ?
We are at a crossroads.
Right-wing nerd David Brooks’ column today obliquely speaks to this. He says that “conservatism” (read “the aristocracy”) is moving from “loose conservatism" to "tight conservatism”; moving from “freedom” to “authority.”
No shit ! As some would put it, Bush has the “authority” to override the “freedom” we once enjoyed under the Constitution.
They must think we're stupid !!!!!!! Are we ???
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:36 AM
1 comments
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Monday, May 15, 2006
One Night's Neon-based Truth in Advertising
posted by Ukulele Man at 2:15 PM
0 comments
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Response to today's "Dispatch" Editorial
To whom it may concern,
Your editorial on education is pathetic. It is fueled either by ignorance or your same-old upper-class agenda.
A lot of “terrible” teachers who once taught in the “worst” schools have moved on and now are “excellent” teachers teaching in the “best” schools.
W’s “Child Behinds” program - which you praise - is just a continuation of the long-standing “Proficiency Test” scheme – nothing new. And even BEFORE the state "proficiency" testing began, testing was used – it was used 57 years ago when I was in first grade. And those tests have always “produced a wealth of data that can help officials diagnose problems and prescribe solutions.”
As for following the lead of places where “it works” is concerned, “Best Practices” have been studied and pushed (even by evil teachers’ unions) long before George Bush eschewed alcohol and cocaine. Moreover, these practices weren’t sought out and selected on the basis of “hunches” or even by attending a members-and-guests luncheon at the Columbus Metropolitan Club to hear a Washington-based “expert.”
As for counting on university teacher-ed departments, the Ohio Board of Regents, and the Ohio Department of Education to suddenly produce super teachers: PLEASE!!! Who do you think has been leading the parade for the last 100 years?
So, there’s your ignorance – if that is what it is.
If you are actually just pushing the same old Country-Club Republican scheme to get poor, underprivileged kids performing like suburban kids but at urban wages – and to accomplish this on the cheap - I retract the ignorance charge.
As always, you avoid the real, expensive, and class-related causes in favor of scapegoating the schools, teachers, and their unions.
The editorial is pathetic. If you folks at the paper ACTUALLY give a damn about urban kids and REALLY want education to improve; you have offered nothing new – just the same old finger-pointing bromides and old “solutions” dressed up like young whores.
Whatever the truth may be, the editorial is still pathetic and reflects badly either on the writer’s intellect or his humanity..
- Tom Harker, Ukulele Man
Your editorial on education is pathetic. It is fueled either by ignorance or your same-old upper-class agenda.
A lot of “terrible” teachers who once taught in the “worst” schools have moved on and now are “excellent” teachers teaching in the “best” schools.
W’s “Child Behinds” program - which you praise - is just a continuation of the long-standing “Proficiency Test” scheme – nothing new. And even BEFORE the state "proficiency" testing began, testing was used – it was used 57 years ago when I was in first grade. And those tests have always “produced a wealth of data that can help officials diagnose problems and prescribe solutions.”
As for following the lead of places where “it works” is concerned, “Best Practices” have been studied and pushed (even by evil teachers’ unions) long before George Bush eschewed alcohol and cocaine. Moreover, these practices weren’t sought out and selected on the basis of “hunches” or even by attending a members-and-guests luncheon at the Columbus Metropolitan Club to hear a Washington-based “expert.”
As for counting on university teacher-ed departments, the Ohio Board of Regents, and the Ohio Department of Education to suddenly produce super teachers: PLEASE!!! Who do you think has been leading the parade for the last 100 years?
So, there’s your ignorance – if that is what it is.
If you are actually just pushing the same old Country-Club Republican scheme to get poor, underprivileged kids performing like suburban kids but at urban wages – and to accomplish this on the cheap - I retract the ignorance charge.
As always, you avoid the real, expensive, and class-related causes in favor of scapegoating the schools, teachers, and their unions.
The editorial is pathetic. If you folks at the paper ACTUALLY give a damn about urban kids and REALLY want education to improve; you have offered nothing new – just the same old finger-pointing bromides and old “solutions” dressed up like young whores.
Whatever the truth may be, the editorial is still pathetic and reflects badly either on the writer’s intellect or his humanity..
- Tom Harker, Ukulele Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:35 PM
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Herbert Holds up a Mirror - Vampires see Nothing
Hey Folks,
Is it too late? We'd better get with it and soon !!
- Uke Man
May 15, 2006
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
America the Fearful
By BOB HERBERT
In the dark days of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt counseled Americans to avoid fear. George W. Bush is his polar opposite. The public's fear is this president's most potent political asset. Perhaps his only asset.
Mr. Bush wants ordinary Americans to remain in a perpetual state of fear — so terrified, in fact, that they will not object to the steady erosion of their rights and liberties, and will not notice the many ways in which their fear is being manipulated to feed an unconscionable expansion of presidential power.
If voters can be kept frightened enough of terrorism, they might even overlook the monumental incompetence of one of the worst administrations the nation has ever known.
Four marines drowned Thursday when their 60-ton tank rolled off a bridge and sank in a canal about 50 miles west of Baghdad. Three American soldiers in Iraq were killed by roadside bombs the same day. But those tragic and wholly unnecessary deaths were not the big news. The big news was the latest leak of yet another presidential power grab: the administration's collection of the telephone records of tens of millions of American citizens.
The Bush crowd, which gets together each morning to participate in a highly secret ritual of formalized ineptitude, is trying to get its creepy hands on all the telephone records of everybody in the entire country. It supposedly wants these records, which contain crucial documentation of calls for Chinese takeout in Terre Haute, Ind., and birthday greetings to Grandma in Talladega, Ala., to help in the search for Osama bin Laden.
Hey, the president has made it clear that when Al Qaeda is calling, he wants to be listening, and you never know where that lead may turn up.
The problem (besides the fact that the president has been as effective hunting bin Laden as Dick Cheney was in hunting quail) is that in its fearmongering and power-grabbing the Bush administration has trampled all over the Constitution, the democratic process and the hallowed American tradition of government checks and balances.
Short of having them taken away from us, there is probably no way to fully appreciate the wonder and the glory of our rights and liberties here in the United States, including the right to privacy.
The Constitution and the elaborate system of checks and balances were meant to protect us against the possibility of a clownish gang of small men and women amassing excessive power and behaving like tyrants or kings. But the normal safeguards have not been working since the Bush crowd came to power, starting with the hijacked presidential election in 2000.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, all bets were off. John Kennedy once said, "The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war." But George W. Bush, employing an outrageous propaganda campaign ("Shock and awe," "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"), started an utterly pointless war in Iraq that he still doesn't know how to win or how to end.
If you listen to the Bush version of reality, the president is all powerful. In that version, we are fighting a war against terrorism, which is a war that will never end. And as long as we are at war (forever), there is no limit to the war-fighting powers the president can claim as commander in chief.
So we've kidnapped people and sent them off to be tortured in the extraordinary rendition program; and we've incarcerated people at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere without trial or even the right to know the charges against them; and we're allowing the C.I.A. to operate super-secret prisons where God-knows-what-all is going on; and we're listening in on the phone calls and reading the e-mail of innocent Americans without warrants; and on and on and on.
The Bushies will tell you that it is dangerous and even against the law to inquire into these nefarious activities. We just have to trust the king.
Well, I give you fair warning. This is a road map to totalitarianism. Hallmarks of totalitarian regimes have always included an excessive reliance on secrecy, the deliberate stoking of fear in the general population, a preference for military rather than diplomatic solutions in foreign policy, the promotion of blind patriotism, the denial of human rights, the curtailment of the rule of law, hostility to a free press and the systematic invasion of the privacy of ordinary people.
There are not enough pretty words in all the world to cover up the damage that George W. Bush has done to his country. If the United States could look at itself in a mirror, it would be both alarmed and ashamed at what it saw.
Is it too late? We'd better get with it and soon !!
- Uke Man
May 15, 2006
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
America the Fearful
By BOB HERBERT
In the dark days of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt counseled Americans to avoid fear. George W. Bush is his polar opposite. The public's fear is this president's most potent political asset. Perhaps his only asset.
Mr. Bush wants ordinary Americans to remain in a perpetual state of fear — so terrified, in fact, that they will not object to the steady erosion of their rights and liberties, and will not notice the many ways in which their fear is being manipulated to feed an unconscionable expansion of presidential power.
If voters can be kept frightened enough of terrorism, they might even overlook the monumental incompetence of one of the worst administrations the nation has ever known.
Four marines drowned Thursday when their 60-ton tank rolled off a bridge and sank in a canal about 50 miles west of Baghdad. Three American soldiers in Iraq were killed by roadside bombs the same day. But those tragic and wholly unnecessary deaths were not the big news. The big news was the latest leak of yet another presidential power grab: the administration's collection of the telephone records of tens of millions of American citizens.
The Bush crowd, which gets together each morning to participate in a highly secret ritual of formalized ineptitude, is trying to get its creepy hands on all the telephone records of everybody in the entire country. It supposedly wants these records, which contain crucial documentation of calls for Chinese takeout in Terre Haute, Ind., and birthday greetings to Grandma in Talladega, Ala., to help in the search for Osama bin Laden.
Hey, the president has made it clear that when Al Qaeda is calling, he wants to be listening, and you never know where that lead may turn up.
The problem (besides the fact that the president has been as effective hunting bin Laden as Dick Cheney was in hunting quail) is that in its fearmongering and power-grabbing the Bush administration has trampled all over the Constitution, the democratic process and the hallowed American tradition of government checks and balances.
Short of having them taken away from us, there is probably no way to fully appreciate the wonder and the glory of our rights and liberties here in the United States, including the right to privacy.
The Constitution and the elaborate system of checks and balances were meant to protect us against the possibility of a clownish gang of small men and women amassing excessive power and behaving like tyrants or kings. But the normal safeguards have not been working since the Bush crowd came to power, starting with the hijacked presidential election in 2000.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, all bets were off. John Kennedy once said, "The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war." But George W. Bush, employing an outrageous propaganda campaign ("Shock and awe," "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"), started an utterly pointless war in Iraq that he still doesn't know how to win or how to end.
If you listen to the Bush version of reality, the president is all powerful. In that version, we are fighting a war against terrorism, which is a war that will never end. And as long as we are at war (forever), there is no limit to the war-fighting powers the president can claim as commander in chief.
So we've kidnapped people and sent them off to be tortured in the extraordinary rendition program; and we've incarcerated people at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere without trial or even the right to know the charges against them; and we're allowing the C.I.A. to operate super-secret prisons where God-knows-what-all is going on; and we're listening in on the phone calls and reading the e-mail of innocent Americans without warrants; and on and on and on.
The Bushies will tell you that it is dangerous and even against the law to inquire into these nefarious activities. We just have to trust the king.
Well, I give you fair warning. This is a road map to totalitarianism. Hallmarks of totalitarian regimes have always included an excessive reliance on secrecy, the deliberate stoking of fear in the general population, a preference for military rather than diplomatic solutions in foreign policy, the promotion of blind patriotism, the denial of human rights, the curtailment of the rule of law, hostility to a free press and the systematic invasion of the privacy of ordinary people.
There are not enough pretty words in all the world to cover up the damage that George W. Bush has done to his country. If the United States could look at itself in a mirror, it would be both alarmed and ashamed at what it saw.
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:21 AM
1 comments
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Sunday, May 14, 2006
Gertrude Bell & the White Man's Woman's Burden: "I had a well-spent morning at the office making out the southern desert frontier of the Iraq." - 1921
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:21 PM
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Gertrude Bell, Imperial Bitch & Pope Surrogate
Hey Folks,
Want to know how Iraq got mysteriously formed in the first place (it’s not unlike how Portuguese came to be spoken in Brazil: i.e. the Pope got out his crayons and drew on a map of the “New World”)?
Tune in to the May 14 version of Harry Shearer’s “Le Show” at: http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=ls&tmplt_type=Program
(The particular bit starts at 9:08 minutes into the program and ends at 15:21 minutes).
In this case, Gertrude Bell; “a British traveler, writer, and linguist”; got to play “Pope” with Iraq. Harry says, “I told you on this program years ago that all of our modern trouble spots are the result of Brits drawing lines on a map at the end of WW I. This is just one of them.”
Yes, the imperial “upper-crust” feels obliged to “order” things for the less endowed, and are ready to let genteel socialites make that call, but – as Gertie herself points out – it just isn’t appreciated !!
Give a listen!!
- Uke Man
p.s. There’s a dandy Harry Nilsson song at 6:13 minutes into the program (I love Nilsson).
Want to know how Iraq got mysteriously formed in the first place (it’s not unlike how Portuguese came to be spoken in Brazil: i.e. the Pope got out his crayons and drew on a map of the “New World”)?
Tune in to the May 14 version of Harry Shearer’s “Le Show” at: http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=ls&tmplt_type=Program
(The particular bit starts at 9:08 minutes into the program and ends at 15:21 minutes).
In this case, Gertrude Bell; “a British traveler, writer, and linguist”; got to play “Pope” with Iraq. Harry says, “I told you on this program years ago that all of our modern trouble spots are the result of Brits drawing lines on a map at the end of WW I. This is just one of them.”
Yes, the imperial “upper-crust” feels obliged to “order” things for the less endowed, and are ready to let genteel socialites make that call, but – as Gertie herself points out – it just isn’t appreciated !!
Give a listen!!
- Uke Man
p.s. There’s a dandy Harry Nilsson song at 6:13 minutes into the program (I love Nilsson).
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:49 PM
0 comments
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What’s Doing with the Uke Man ??
Hey Folks,
There is a lot coming up soon in regard to Music/Art and the Ukulele Man !!
Here’s a brief run-down; I’ll have more on each event as each one approaches (but mark your calendars now!!):
May 25, 26, 27 (maybe the 28th too) I’ll be part of “Dr. Danga Grimaldi’s Exhibition Fantastique,” an evening-length cabaret of surreality that mixes two parts zany with one part profound to produce a superbly entertaining extravaganza filled with a vivacious variety of astounding acrobats, stirring stilt performers, dazzling dancing girls, jolly jugglers, comical clowns, clever cowboys, perky puppets, merry marionettes, and magical music. - See http://www.columbusfringefestival.com/
Thursday, June 1, 11:30 a.m., at the Broad Street Stage, Ukulele Man & his Prodigal Sons (all seven of us) will be performing in the Columbus Arts Festival. Bring your lunch – there are tables and chairs – eat rest and enjoy!!! The Uke Man is old – give a listen while you still can.
Saturday, June 3, 5:30 p.m. – The Uke Man dons his Poetry Cap as a “Featured Reader” at the Columbus Arts Fest Poetry Corner (Main St. & Civic Center Drive). If you like my lyrics, you’ll love my poetry.
Saturday, June 3 – Some time after the Poetry I’ll be heading north and appearing for a 45 minute solo set as part of the Short-North / Gallery-Hop musical presentation being put on in the lot across from Monkey’s Retreat, next to Skully’s. Lots of music, lots of fun !!!
As far as I know, no one has yet received word regarding COMFEST, but I hope to be playing there with the band later in June..
More as time marches on !!!
- Uke Man
There is a lot coming up soon in regard to Music/Art and the Ukulele Man !!
Here’s a brief run-down; I’ll have more on each event as each one approaches (but mark your calendars now!!):
May 25, 26, 27 (maybe the 28th too) I’ll be part of “Dr. Danga Grimaldi’s Exhibition Fantastique,” an evening-length cabaret of surreality that mixes two parts zany with one part profound to produce a superbly entertaining extravaganza filled with a vivacious variety of astounding acrobats, stirring stilt performers, dazzling dancing girls, jolly jugglers, comical clowns, clever cowboys, perky puppets, merry marionettes, and magical music. - See http://www.columbusfringefestival.com/
Thursday, June 1, 11:30 a.m., at the Broad Street Stage, Ukulele Man & his Prodigal Sons (all seven of us) will be performing in the Columbus Arts Festival. Bring your lunch – there are tables and chairs – eat rest and enjoy!!! The Uke Man is old – give a listen while you still can.
Saturday, June 3, 5:30 p.m. – The Uke Man dons his Poetry Cap as a “Featured Reader” at the Columbus Arts Fest Poetry Corner (Main St. & Civic Center Drive). If you like my lyrics, you’ll love my poetry.
Saturday, June 3 – Some time after the Poetry I’ll be heading north and appearing for a 45 minute solo set as part of the Short-North / Gallery-Hop musical presentation being put on in the lot across from Monkey’s Retreat, next to Skully’s. Lots of music, lots of fun !!!
As far as I know, no one has yet received word regarding COMFEST, but I hope to be playing there with the band later in June..
More as time marches on !!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:17 PM
1 comments
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Saturday, May 13, 2006
Maybe Parsley would Address Evolution . . . (of Dance)
Hey Folks,
Wanna dance?
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&eurl
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Linda)
Wanna dance?
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&eurl
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Linda)
posted by Ukulele Man at 11:48 PM
0 comments
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Wouldn't You Just Love to Punch those "Avalon" Kids (and their pretty smiles too) !!
Hey Folks,
On Mothers' Day the Reverend Rod "Slick" Parsley will be having a special service titled "Deceit" (a surprisingly candid admission). He will be discussing "The Da Vinci Code" at his International Harvester Church - J. Kenneth Blackwell decoder rings will be included with each purchase of Rev. Slick's book, "I Know the Number of the Beast, but I Won't Call Him Up !!"
Plans are in the works for Fathers' Day to address the most-recently discovered: Gospel of Debbie.
For my valued readers, I have included below all the information I presently have available on this startling addition to the Holy Writ.
- Uke Man
Note: You may have heard of the recently published Gospel of Judas which seeks to illuminate the life of Jesus. Not long ago, an additional text was discovered in an ancient linen backpack found in a cave outside Jerusalem, surrounded by what appeared to be earlyRoman candy wrappers and covered with stickers reading “I [heart] All Faiths” and “Ask Me About Hell.” A parchment diary found inside the backpack appears to contain the musings of one Debbie of Galilee. Many of the pages are still being translated from high-school Aramaic; here are some persuasive excerpts:
October 5
I saw him in the marketplace! Everyone says that he’s the son of God, but I don’t care one way or the other because he’s just so cute!!! O.K., he’s not hot like a gladiator or a centurion, but he’s really sensitive and you can tell that he thinks about things and then goes, “Be nice to people,” and I’m like, that is so true, and I wonder if he’s seeing anyone!
October 21
Everyone says that he’s just totally good and devoted to all humanity and that he was sent to save us and that’s why he doesn’t have time for a girlfriend, although I swear I saw Mary Magdalene doodling in the sand with a stick, writing “Mrs. Jesus Christ” and “Merry Xmas from Mary and Jesus Christ and All the Apostles,” with little holly leaves all around it. And I’m like, Mary, are you dating Jesus? and she says, no, he’s just helping me, and I’m like, you mean with math? and she’s like, no, to not be such a whore. And I said, but that is so incredibly sweet, and we both screamed and talked about whether we like him better when he’s healing the lame or with a ponytail.
December 25
I wanted to get him the perfect thing for his birthday, so I asked Matthew and he said, well, myrrh is good, but then Luke said, oh please, everyone always gives him myrrh, I bet he wishes those wise men had brought scented candles, some imported marmalade, and a nice box of notecards. So I go, O.K., what about accessories, like a new rope belt or clogs or like I could make him a necklace with his name spelled out in little clay letters? and Mark said, I love that, but Luke rolled his eyes and said, Mark, you are just such an Assyrian. So I go to see Mary, Jesus’ mom, and she said that Jesus doesn’t need gifts, that he just wants all of us to love God and be better people, but I asked, what about a sweater? and she said medium.
January 2
Oh my God, oh my God, I couldn’t believe it, but I was right there, and Jesus used only five loaves of bread and two fish to feed thousands of people, and it was so beautiful and miraculous, and my brother Ezekiel said, whoa, Jesus has invented canapés and I said shut up! And then my best friend Rachel asked, I wonder if he could make my hair really shiny, and I said, you are so disgusting, Jesus shouldn’t waste his time on your vanity, and then Jesus smiled at me and I’m telling you, those last seven pounds, the stubborn ones, they were totally gone! And I spoke unto the angry Roman mob and I said, behold these thighs! Jesus has made me feel better about me!
March 12
Everyone is just getting so mean. They’re all going, Debbie, he is so not divine, Debbie, you’ll believe anything, Debbie, what about last year when you were worshipping ponchos? And I so don’t trust that Judas Iscariot, who’s always staring at me when I walk to the well and he’s saying, hey, Deb, nice jugs, and I’m like, oh ha ha ha, get some oxen.
April 5
So Mary Magdalene tells me that Jesus and all the apostles had this big party and that it got really intense and Jesus drank from this golden goblet and now it’s missing and the restaurant is like, this is why there’s a surcharge.
April 23
It’s all over. And it’s been terrible and amazing and I don’t know what any of it means or who’s right and who’s wrong but maybe I’ll figure it out later. Anyway, I’ll always remember what Jesus said to me. He said, Debbie, I can foresee that someday you’ll meet someone, someone wonderful, but for right now let’s at least think about college.
On Mothers' Day the Reverend Rod "Slick" Parsley will be having a special service titled "Deceit" (a surprisingly candid admission). He will be discussing "The Da Vinci Code" at his International Harvester Church - J. Kenneth Blackwell decoder rings will be included with each purchase of Rev. Slick's book, "I Know the Number of the Beast, but I Won't Call Him Up !!"
Plans are in the works for Fathers' Day to address the most-recently discovered: Gospel of Debbie.
For my valued readers, I have included below all the information I presently have available on this startling addition to the Holy Writ.
- Uke Man
Note: You may have heard of the recently published Gospel of Judas which seeks to illuminate the life of Jesus. Not long ago, an additional text was discovered in an ancient linen backpack found in a cave outside Jerusalem, surrounded by what appeared to be earlyRoman candy wrappers and covered with stickers reading “I [heart] All Faiths” and “Ask Me About Hell.” A parchment diary found inside the backpack appears to contain the musings of one Debbie of Galilee. Many of the pages are still being translated from high-school Aramaic; here are some persuasive excerpts:
October 5
I saw him in the marketplace! Everyone says that he’s the son of God, but I don’t care one way or the other because he’s just so cute!!! O.K., he’s not hot like a gladiator or a centurion, but he’s really sensitive and you can tell that he thinks about things and then goes, “Be nice to people,” and I’m like, that is so true, and I wonder if he’s seeing anyone!
October 21
Everyone says that he’s just totally good and devoted to all humanity and that he was sent to save us and that’s why he doesn’t have time for a girlfriend, although I swear I saw Mary Magdalene doodling in the sand with a stick, writing “Mrs. Jesus Christ” and “Merry Xmas from Mary and Jesus Christ and All the Apostles,” with little holly leaves all around it. And I’m like, Mary, are you dating Jesus? and she says, no, he’s just helping me, and I’m like, you mean with math? and she’s like, no, to not be such a whore. And I said, but that is so incredibly sweet, and we both screamed and talked about whether we like him better when he’s healing the lame or with a ponytail.
December 25
I wanted to get him the perfect thing for his birthday, so I asked Matthew and he said, well, myrrh is good, but then Luke said, oh please, everyone always gives him myrrh, I bet he wishes those wise men had brought scented candles, some imported marmalade, and a nice box of notecards. So I go, O.K., what about accessories, like a new rope belt or clogs or like I could make him a necklace with his name spelled out in little clay letters? and Mark said, I love that, but Luke rolled his eyes and said, Mark, you are just such an Assyrian. So I go to see Mary, Jesus’ mom, and she said that Jesus doesn’t need gifts, that he just wants all of us to love God and be better people, but I asked, what about a sweater? and she said medium.
January 2
Oh my God, oh my God, I couldn’t believe it, but I was right there, and Jesus used only five loaves of bread and two fish to feed thousands of people, and it was so beautiful and miraculous, and my brother Ezekiel said, whoa, Jesus has invented canapés and I said shut up! And then my best friend Rachel asked, I wonder if he could make my hair really shiny, and I said, you are so disgusting, Jesus shouldn’t waste his time on your vanity, and then Jesus smiled at me and I’m telling you, those last seven pounds, the stubborn ones, they were totally gone! And I spoke unto the angry Roman mob and I said, behold these thighs! Jesus has made me feel better about me!
March 12
Everyone is just getting so mean. They’re all going, Debbie, he is so not divine, Debbie, you’ll believe anything, Debbie, what about last year when you were worshipping ponchos? And I so don’t trust that Judas Iscariot, who’s always staring at me when I walk to the well and he’s saying, hey, Deb, nice jugs, and I’m like, oh ha ha ha, get some oxen.
April 5
So Mary Magdalene tells me that Jesus and all the apostles had this big party and that it got really intense and Jesus drank from this golden goblet and now it’s missing and the restaurant is like, this is why there’s a surcharge.
April 23
It’s all over. And it’s been terrible and amazing and I don’t know what any of it means or who’s right and who’s wrong but maybe I’ll figure it out later. Anyway, I’ll always remember what Jesus said to me. He said, Debbie, I can foresee that someday you’ll meet someone, someone wonderful, but for right now let’s at least think about college.
posted by Ukulele Man at 8:05 PM
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Bob Herbert, Yogi Berra, and Goethe
Hey Folks,
Damn!!! This man would be good to have a drink with!!! Thank Dog somebody has a brain in a position where his (or her) thoughts can be widely published !!
This is "Shit or get off the pot." I've felt that the Dems have been in bed with the Fat Cats all along - hence their behavior. Herbert is calling them out! He's even being easy on them: "If you're personable, and possessed of just a little bit of courage, you're halfway home."
Will they listen? How they act will speak volumes!!!
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
May 11, 2006
Where's the Beef?
By BOB HERBERT
"You can't think and hit at the same time." — Yogi Berra
"One must be something, in order to do something."
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Enough already with the analyses ad nauseam of the strategies and tactics and philosophies that the Democratic Party should pursue to regain power in upcoming elections.
We've been listening to this armchair chatter for years: The Democrats need new ideas. They need big ideas. They need to move to the center. They need to wave the flag. They need to go to church. They need the soccer moms and the Nascar dads. They need to run from the blacks. They need to run from the gays.
I have no more patience with this perennially pathetic patient, this terminally timid Democrat who continues to lie cowering and trembling on the analyst's couch, wondering why the Demolition Derby Republicans control virtually all of the levers of power in the United States.
The Democrats are thinking too much and doing too little. This is a party in need of a moxie transplant. It's time for the patient to climb off the couch, walk outside and mix it up with the gang that has made a complete and utter mess of the country that was entrusted to it.
The polls tell us that the G.O.P. is ready to be routed. President Bush's approval ratings are at the lowest levels of his presidency. The war with Iraq is now widely — and properly — viewed as a disaster. Respondents to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll said they believed the Democrats would do a better job on nearly all of the major issues facing the country.
Now would be an excellent time for Democrats to pounce, to show genuine leadership. This is not the time for yet another round of thumb-sucking, for more mind-numbing nonsense about narratives and framing, for more abstract talk about how to define the party. The public needs to know what you plan to do about the war. What's your energy policy? How should we deal with Iran?
What the Democrats need more than anything, with midterms coming up in the fall and a presidential election two years later, are personable candidates of strong character who have at least some measure of political courage and are willing to stand up for what they truly believe. This is the stuff that leaders are made of.
In 1948, when Harry Truman had already been dismissed by the political geniuses as a certain loser, he got on a train and took his case to the American people. Truman told his sister: "It will be the greatest campaign any president ever made. Win, lose or draw, people will know where I stand and a record will be made for future action by the Democratic Party."
There are no Trumans in sight in this Democratic Party. Democratic candidates and potential candidates are still agonizing with their analysts over exactly what to say about this issue or that. (They're trying to figure out ways to talk about the war, for example, that will offend neither hawks nor doves.) What's almost funny is that the patient has been doing this for years, and keeps losing election after election.
Why not try something new and liberating, like the truth? Forget the theorizing and strategizing. Tell the truth about what's happening now. Let the electorate know how much the Iraq war is really costing — in human treasure, loss of influence around the world, increases in gasoline prices and cold, hard cash. Tell the truth about the monstrous buildup of state power by the Bush crowd, which has undermined the freedom and privacy of innocent people here at home, and angered many conservatives.
Talk straight about the unconscionable assault on working people in the United States.
I remember all the chatter about moral values after the last presidential election, and how the Democrats would have to pump their values up if they were ever to win again. I never bought it. The Democrats didn't lose the last time around because they lacked virtue. They lost because John Kerry was a lousy candidate.
If the Democrats don't know what they believe in yet — if they're still figuring that out — they don't deserve to win. Politicians are supposed to lead, and the U.S. has seldom been in more desperate need of leadership than now.
It's time to climb off the couch, Democrats, present yourselves to the public, and take a stand. If you're personable, and possessed of just a little bit of courage, you're halfway home.
Damn!!! This man would be good to have a drink with!!! Thank Dog somebody has a brain in a position where his (or her) thoughts can be widely published !!
This is "Shit or get off the pot." I've felt that the Dems have been in bed with the Fat Cats all along - hence their behavior. Herbert is calling them out! He's even being easy on them: "If you're personable, and possessed of just a little bit of courage, you're halfway home."
Will they listen? How they act will speak volumes!!!
- Uke Man
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
May 11, 2006
Where's the Beef?
By BOB HERBERT
"You can't think and hit at the same time." — Yogi Berra
"One must be something, in order to do something."
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Enough already with the analyses ad nauseam of the strategies and tactics and philosophies that the Democratic Party should pursue to regain power in upcoming elections.
We've been listening to this armchair chatter for years: The Democrats need new ideas. They need big ideas. They need to move to the center. They need to wave the flag. They need to go to church. They need the soccer moms and the Nascar dads. They need to run from the blacks. They need to run from the gays.
I have no more patience with this perennially pathetic patient, this terminally timid Democrat who continues to lie cowering and trembling on the analyst's couch, wondering why the Demolition Derby Republicans control virtually all of the levers of power in the United States.
The Democrats are thinking too much and doing too little. This is a party in need of a moxie transplant. It's time for the patient to climb off the couch, walk outside and mix it up with the gang that has made a complete and utter mess of the country that was entrusted to it.
The polls tell us that the G.O.P. is ready to be routed. President Bush's approval ratings are at the lowest levels of his presidency. The war with Iraq is now widely — and properly — viewed as a disaster. Respondents to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll said they believed the Democrats would do a better job on nearly all of the major issues facing the country.
Now would be an excellent time for Democrats to pounce, to show genuine leadership. This is not the time for yet another round of thumb-sucking, for more mind-numbing nonsense about narratives and framing, for more abstract talk about how to define the party. The public needs to know what you plan to do about the war. What's your energy policy? How should we deal with Iran?
What the Democrats need more than anything, with midterms coming up in the fall and a presidential election two years later, are personable candidates of strong character who have at least some measure of political courage and are willing to stand up for what they truly believe. This is the stuff that leaders are made of.
In 1948, when Harry Truman had already been dismissed by the political geniuses as a certain loser, he got on a train and took his case to the American people. Truman told his sister: "It will be the greatest campaign any president ever made. Win, lose or draw, people will know where I stand and a record will be made for future action by the Democratic Party."
There are no Trumans in sight in this Democratic Party. Democratic candidates and potential candidates are still agonizing with their analysts over exactly what to say about this issue or that. (They're trying to figure out ways to talk about the war, for example, that will offend neither hawks nor doves.) What's almost funny is that the patient has been doing this for years, and keeps losing election after election.
Why not try something new and liberating, like the truth? Forget the theorizing and strategizing. Tell the truth about what's happening now. Let the electorate know how much the Iraq war is really costing — in human treasure, loss of influence around the world, increases in gasoline prices and cold, hard cash. Tell the truth about the monstrous buildup of state power by the Bush crowd, which has undermined the freedom and privacy of innocent people here at home, and angered many conservatives.
Talk straight about the unconscionable assault on working people in the United States.
I remember all the chatter about moral values after the last presidential election, and how the Democrats would have to pump their values up if they were ever to win again. I never bought it. The Democrats didn't lose the last time around because they lacked virtue. They lost because John Kerry was a lousy candidate.
If the Democrats don't know what they believe in yet — if they're still figuring that out — they don't deserve to win. Politicians are supposed to lead, and the U.S. has seldom been in more desperate need of leadership than now.
It's time to climb off the couch, Democrats, present yourselves to the public, and take a stand. If you're personable, and possessed of just a little bit of courage, you're halfway home.
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:37 AM
2 comments
links to this post
Friday, May 12, 2006
"Hail Bush ! Hail Caesar ! Hail Yes !
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:30 AM
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Colbert to "the Man" - The Transcript
STEPHEN COLBERT: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Before I begin, I've been asked to make an announcement. Whoever parked 14 black bulletproof S.U.V.'s out front,
could you please move them? They are blocking in 14 other black bulletproof S.U.V.'s and they need to get out.
Wow. Wow, what an honor. The White House
correspondents' dinner. To actually sit here, at
the same table with my hero, George W. Bush,
to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming.
Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty
sound sleeper -- that may not be enough. Somebody
shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight?
Dammit. The one guy who could have helped.
By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs
anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and
clearly into your table numbers. Somebody from
the NSA will be right over with a cocktail. Mark
Smith, ladies and gentlemen of the press corps,
Madame First Lady, Mr. President, my name is
Stephen Colbert and tonight it's my privilege to
celebrate this president. We're not so different, he
and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol.
We're not members of the factinista. We go straight
from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies,
right down here in the gut. Do you know you
have more nerve endings in your gut than you have
in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you
are going to say "I did look it up, and that's not
true." That's 'cause you looked it up in a book.
Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells
me that's how our nervous system works. Every night
on my show, the Colbert Report, I speak straight from
the gut, OK? I give people the truth, unfiltered by
rational argument. I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I
hold a copyright on that term.
I'm a simple man with a simple mind. I hold a simple set
of beliefs that I live by. Number one, I believe in America.
I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there. I feel that
it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I strongly
believe it has 50 states. And I cannot wait to see how the
Washington Post spins that one tomorrow. I believe in
democracy. I believe democracy is our greatest export.
At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of
plastic for three cents a unit.
In fact, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, welcome. Your
great country makes our Happy Meals possible. I said
it's a celebration. I believe the government that governs
best is the government that governs least. And by these
standards, we have set up a fabulous government in
Iraq.
I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.
I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in
Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a
committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right
to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim.
I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ
as your personal savior.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's yogurt. But I refuse to
believe it's not butter. Most of all, I believe in this president.
Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man
has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay
attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection
of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality."
And reality has a well-known liberal bias.
So, Mr. President, please, pay no attention to the people
that say the glass is half full. 32% means the glass -- it's
important to set up your jokes properly, sir. Sir, pay no
attention to the people who say the glass is half empty,
because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid
in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last
third is usually backwash. Okay, look, folks, my point is
that I don't believe this is a low point in this presidency.
I believe it is just a lull before a comeback.
I mean, it's like the movie "Rocky." All right. The president
in this case is Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed is -- everything
else in the world. It's the tenth round. He's bloodied. His
corner man, Mick, who in this case I guess would be the
vice president, he's yelling, "Cut me, Dick, cut me!," and every
time he falls everyone says, "Stay down! Stay down!" Does
he stay down? No. Like Rocky, he gets back up, and in the end
he -- actually, he loses in the first movie.
OK. Doesn't matter. The point is it is the heart-warming
story of a man who was repeatedly punched in the face.
So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68%
of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask
you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve
of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't.
I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he
stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things.
Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently
flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message:
that no matter what happens to America, she will
always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged
photo ops in the world.
Now, there may be an energy crisis. This president has
a very forward-thinking energy policy. Why do you think
he's down on the ranch cutting that brush all the time?
He's trying to create an alternative energy source. By
2008 we will have a mesquite-powered car!
And I just like the guy. He's a good joe. Obviously loves
his wife, calls her his better half. And polls show America
agrees. She's a true lady and a wonderful woman. But I
just have one beef, ma'am.
I'm sorry, but this reading initiative. I'm sorry, I've never
been a fan of books. I don't trust them. They're all fact,
no heart. I mean, they're elitist, telling us what is or isn't
true, or what did or didn't happen. Who's Britannica to
tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914? If I want to
say it was built in 1941, that's my right as an American!
I'm with the president, let history decide what did or
did not happen.
The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You
know where he stands. He believes the same thing
Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter
what happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's
beliefs never will. As excited as I am to be here with the
president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal
media that is destroying America, with the exception of
Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story:
the president's side, and the vice president's side.
But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting
on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe?
Those things are secret for a very important reason:
they're super-depressing. And if that's your goal, well,
misery accomplished. Over the last five years you
people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence,
the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't
want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to
find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.
But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works:
the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The
press secretary announces those decisions, and you
people of the press type those decisions down. Make,
announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and
go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to
your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in
your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington
reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration.
You know - fiction!
Because really, what incentive do these people have to
answer your questions, after all? I mean, nothing satisfies
you. Everybody asks for personnel changes. So the White
House has personnel changes. Then you write, "Oh, they're
just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all,
that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not
sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are
rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!
Now, it's not all bad guys out there. Some are heroes:
Christopher Buckley, Jeff Sacks, Ken Burns, Bob Schieffer.
They've all been on my show. By the way, Mr. President,
thank you for agreeing to be on my show. I was just as
shocked as everyone here is, I promise you. How's Tuesday
for you? I've got Frank Rich, but we can bump him. And I
mean bump him. I know a guy. Say the word.
See who we've got here tonight. General Moseley, Air
Force Chief of Staff. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right,
you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still
support Rumsfeld.
Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle
these retired generals causing all this trouble: don't let
them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's
use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni and that crowd on Wolf
Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit
shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order
men into battle. Come on.
Jesse Jackson is here, the Reverend. Haven't heard from
the Reverend in a little while. I had him on the show. Very
interesting and challenging interview. You can ask him
anything, but he's going to say what he wants, at the pace
that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor,
by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea
what a glacier is.
Justice Scalia is here. Welcome, sir. May I be the first to
say, you look fantastic. How are you? [After each sentence,
Colbert makes a hand gesture, an allusion to Scalia's recent
use of an obscene Sicilian hand gesture in speaking to a
reporter about Scalia's critics. Scalia is seen laughing
hysterically.] Just talking some Sicilian with my
paisan.
John McCain is here. John McCain, John McCain, what a
maverick! Somebody find out what fork he used on his salad,
because I guarantee you it wasn't a salad fork. This guy could
have used a spoon! There's no predicting him. By the way,
Senator McCain, it's so wonderful to see you coming back
into the Republican fold. I have a summer house in South
Carolina; look me up when you go to speak at Bob Jones
University. So glad you've seen the light, sir.
Mayor Nagin! Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the
chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to
welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with
a marshmallow center. And a graham cracker crust of
corruption. It's a Mallomar, I guess is what I'm describing,
a seasonal cookie.
Joe Wilson is here, Joe Wilson right down here in
front, the most famous husband since Desi Arnaz. And of
course he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame.
Oh, my god. [looks horrified] Oh, what have I said?
I -- Je- minetti (sp?). I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant
to say he brought along his lovely wife Joe Wilson's wife.
Patrick Fitzgerald is not here tonight? OK. Dodged a bullet.
And, of course, we can't forget the man of the hour,
new press secretary, Tony Snow. Secret Service name,
"Snow Job." Toughest job. What a hero. Took the second
toughest job in government, next to, of course, the
ambassador to Iraq.
Got some big shoes to fill, Tony. Big shoes to fill. Scott
McClellan could say nothing like nobody else. McClellan,
of course, eager to retire. Really felt like he needed to
spend more time with Andrew Card's children. Mr. President,
I wish you hadn't made the decision so quickly, sir.
I was vying for the job myself. I think I would have made a
fabulous press secretary. I have nothing but contempt for
these people. I know how to handle these clowns.
In fact, sir, I brought along an audition tape and with your
indulgence, I'd like to at least give it a shot. So, ladies and
gentlemen, my press conference.
BEGINNING OF "AUDITION TAPE"
Colbert shows a video of a mock press conference. It opens
with an empty podium. Colbert's head rises from behind
the podium until Colbert is standing at the podium. He
addresses the assembled Washington press corps.
COLBERT: I have a brief statement: the press is destroying
America. OK, let's see who we've got here today.
COLBERT (acknowledging various reporters): Stretch!
(David Gregory nods)
Sir Nerdlington! (reporter nods)
Sloppy Joe! (reporter nods)
Terry Lemon Moran Pie! (Terry Moran nods)
Oh, Doubting Thomas, always a pleasure. (Helen Thomas
smiles)
And Suzanne Mal -- hello!!
(Suzanne Malveaux stares at Colbert, looking unhappy.
Colbert mimics putting a phone to his ear and mouths "call me.")
REPORTER: Will the Vice President be available soon to
answer all questions himself?
COLBERT: I've already addressed that question. You
(pointing to another reporter).
REPORTER: Walter Cronkite, the noted CBS anchor, . . .
COLBERT (interrupting): Ah, no, he's the former CBS
anchor. Katie Couric is the new anchor of the CBS Evening News. Well, well,
how do you guys feel about that?
You, tousle-haired guy in the back. Are you happy
about Katie Couric taking over the CBS Evening News?
DAN RATHER: No, sir, Mr. Colbert. Are you? (Laughter)
COLBERT: Boom! Oh, look, we woke David Gregory up.
Question?
DAVID GREGORY: Did Karl Rove commit a crime?
COLBERT: I don't know. I'll ask him.
(Colbert turns to Rove) Karl, pay attention please!
(Rove is seen drawing a heart with "Karl + Stephen"
written on it.)
GREGORY: Do you stand by your statement from the fall
of 2003 when you were asked specifically about Karl, and
Elliott Abrams, and Scooter Libby, and you said "I've gone
to each of those gentlemen, and they have told me that
they are not involved in this." Do you stand by that
statement?
COLBERT: Nah, I was just kidding!
GREGORY: No, you're not finishing. You're not saying
anything! You stood at that podium and said . . .
COLBERT (interrupting): Ah, that's where you're wrong.
New podium! Just had it delivered today. Get your facts
straight, David.
GREGORY: This is ridiculous. The notion that you're
going to stand before us after having commented with
that level of detail and tell the people watching this that
somehow you've decided not to talk. You've got to . . .
(Colbert is seen looking at three buttons on the
podium, labeled "EJECT," "GANNON" and "VOLUME."
He selects the "VOLUME" button and turns it. We see
Gregory's lips continue moving, but can't hear any sound
coming out.)
COLBERT: If I can't hear you, I can't answer your question.
I'm sorry! I have to move on. Terry.
TERRY MORAN: After the investigation began, after the
criminal investigation was underway, you said . . .
(Colbert presses a button on the podium and fast-forwards
through most of Moran's question.)
MORAN (continuing): All of a sudden, you have respect
for the sanctity of a criminal investigation?
COLBERT (seen playing with rubber ball, which he is
bouncing off attached paddle): No, I never had any respect
for the sanctity of a criminal investigation. Activist judges!
Yes, Helen.
HELEN THOMAS: You're going to be sorry. (Laughter)
COLBERT (looking vastly amused, mockingly): What are
you going to do, Helen, ask me for a recipe?
THOMAS: Your decision to invade Iraq has caused the
deaths of thousands (Colbert's smile fades) of Americans
and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime.
COLBERT (interrupting): OK, hold on Helen, look . . .
THOMAS (continuing): Every reason given, publicly at
least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did
you really want to go to war?
COLBERT (again interrupting): Helen, I'm going to stop
you right there. (Thomas keeps talking.) That's enough!
No! Sorry, Helen, I'm moving on. (Colbert tries to turn her
volume off, but the knob falls off his controls.)
(Various reporters start shouting questions at Colbert.)
COLBERT (agitated): Guys, guys, please don't let Helen
do this to what was a lovely day.
(Reporters keep shouting at him.)
COLBERT (putting his fingers over his ears and shouting
in a high-pitched voice): Bllrrtt! No, no, no, no, no. I'm
not listening to you!
Look what you did, Helen! I hate you!
(Helen Thomas glowers at Colbert.)
COLBERT (frantic): I'm out of here!
(Colbert pulls back the curtain behind him, desperately
trying to flee. He says, "There is a wall here!" The press
corps laughs. Colbert has difficulty finding a door from
which to exit the room, echoing Bush's experience in China.
He finally finds the door and hurries through it.)
COLBERT: It reeks in there! Ridiculous! I've never been so
insulted in my life! Stupid job.
(Colbert continues walking away. We hear sinister-sounding
music playing. We see Helen Thomas walking behind Colbert.)
(Colbert looks behind him, sees Thomas, and starts running.)
(Colbert trips over a roller skate. He yells "Condi!" We see a
close-up of Helen Thomas' face, looking determined and angry.
Colbert, increasingly panicked, gets up and continues running,
running into a parking garage. He reaches an emergency call
box, and yells into it.)
COLBERT: Oh, thank God. Help me!
ATTENDANT: What seems to be the problem, sir?
COLBERT: She won't stop asking why we invaded Iraq!
ATTENDANT: Hey, why did we invade Iraq?
COLBERT: NO!!! (runs toward his car)
(We see Helen Thomas, still walking toward him.)
(Colbert reaches his car, and fumblingly attempts to
open it with his key. He is in such a desperate hurry that
he fumbles with the keys and drops them. When he picks
them up, he looks back and Helen is even closer. In his
frantic rush, Colbert just can't get the key into the lock.)
(Just as his anxiety is getting completely out of
control he suddenly remembers that he has a keyless
remote -- so he just pushes the button on the keychain
and the car unlocks immediately with the usual double
squeak noise. Colbert jumps in and locks the door, and
continues to fumble trying to start the car. He finally
succeeds, and looks up to see Helen standing in
front of the car, notepad in hand.)
COLBERT: NO!!! NO!!!
(Colbert puts the car into reverse and drives off, tires
squealing. Thomas smiles.)
(Colbert is shown taking the shuttle from Washington,
D.C. to New York. A car and driver are waiting for him
at Penn Station. The uniformed man standing alongside
the car opens the door and lets Colbert in.)
COLBERT: What a terrible trip, Danny. Take me home.
(The driver locks the doors, turns around, and says, "Buckle
up, hon." IT'S HELEN THOMAS!!!)
COLBERT (horrified face pressed against car window):
NO!!!
END OF "AUDITION TAPE"
STEPHEN COLBERT: Helen Thomas, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr. Smith, members of the White House Correspondents
Association, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, it's been a
true honor. Thank you very much.
Good night!
Before I begin, I've been asked to make an announcement. Whoever parked 14 black bulletproof S.U.V.'s out front,
could you please move them? They are blocking in 14 other black bulletproof S.U.V.'s and they need to get out.
Wow. Wow, what an honor. The White House
correspondents' dinner. To actually sit here, at
the same table with my hero, George W. Bush,
to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming.
Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty
sound sleeper -- that may not be enough. Somebody
shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight?
Dammit. The one guy who could have helped.
By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs
anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and
clearly into your table numbers. Somebody from
the NSA will be right over with a cocktail. Mark
Smith, ladies and gentlemen of the press corps,
Madame First Lady, Mr. President, my name is
Stephen Colbert and tonight it's my privilege to
celebrate this president. We're not so different, he
and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol.
We're not members of the factinista. We go straight
from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies,
right down here in the gut. Do you know you
have more nerve endings in your gut than you have
in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you
are going to say "I did look it up, and that's not
true." That's 'cause you looked it up in a book.
Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells
me that's how our nervous system works. Every night
on my show, the Colbert Report, I speak straight from
the gut, OK? I give people the truth, unfiltered by
rational argument. I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I
hold a copyright on that term.
I'm a simple man with a simple mind. I hold a simple set
of beliefs that I live by. Number one, I believe in America.
I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there. I feel that
it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I strongly
believe it has 50 states. And I cannot wait to see how the
Washington Post spins that one tomorrow. I believe in
democracy. I believe democracy is our greatest export.
At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of
plastic for three cents a unit.
In fact, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, welcome. Your
great country makes our Happy Meals possible. I said
it's a celebration. I believe the government that governs
best is the government that governs least. And by these
standards, we have set up a fabulous government in
Iraq.
I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.
I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in
Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a
committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right
to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim.
I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ
as your personal savior.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's yogurt. But I refuse to
believe it's not butter. Most of all, I believe in this president.
Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man
has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay
attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection
of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality."
And reality has a well-known liberal bias.
So, Mr. President, please, pay no attention to the people
that say the glass is half full. 32% means the glass -- it's
important to set up your jokes properly, sir. Sir, pay no
attention to the people who say the glass is half empty,
because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid
in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last
third is usually backwash. Okay, look, folks, my point is
that I don't believe this is a low point in this presidency.
I believe it is just a lull before a comeback.
I mean, it's like the movie "Rocky." All right. The president
in this case is Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed is -- everything
else in the world. It's the tenth round. He's bloodied. His
corner man, Mick, who in this case I guess would be the
vice president, he's yelling, "Cut me, Dick, cut me!," and every
time he falls everyone says, "Stay down! Stay down!" Does
he stay down? No. Like Rocky, he gets back up, and in the end
he -- actually, he loses in the first movie.
OK. Doesn't matter. The point is it is the heart-warming
story of a man who was repeatedly punched in the face.
So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68%
of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask
you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve
of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't.
I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he
stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things.
Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently
flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message:
that no matter what happens to America, she will
always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged
photo ops in the world.
Now, there may be an energy crisis. This president has
a very forward-thinking energy policy. Why do you think
he's down on the ranch cutting that brush all the time?
He's trying to create an alternative energy source. By
2008 we will have a mesquite-powered car!
And I just like the guy. He's a good joe. Obviously loves
his wife, calls her his better half. And polls show America
agrees. She's a true lady and a wonderful woman. But I
just have one beef, ma'am.
I'm sorry, but this reading initiative. I'm sorry, I've never
been a fan of books. I don't trust them. They're all fact,
no heart. I mean, they're elitist, telling us what is or isn't
true, or what did or didn't happen. Who's Britannica to
tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914? If I want to
say it was built in 1941, that's my right as an American!
I'm with the president, let history decide what did or
did not happen.
The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You
know where he stands. He believes the same thing
Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter
what happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's
beliefs never will. As excited as I am to be here with the
president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal
media that is destroying America, with the exception of
Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story:
the president's side, and the vice president's side.
But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting
on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe?
Those things are secret for a very important reason:
they're super-depressing. And if that's your goal, well,
misery accomplished. Over the last five years you
people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence,
the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't
want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to
find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.
But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works:
the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The
press secretary announces those decisions, and you
people of the press type those decisions down. Make,
announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and
go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to
your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in
your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington
reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration.
You know - fiction!
Because really, what incentive do these people have to
answer your questions, after all? I mean, nothing satisfies
you. Everybody asks for personnel changes. So the White
House has personnel changes. Then you write, "Oh, they're
just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all,
that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not
sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are
rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!
Now, it's not all bad guys out there. Some are heroes:
Christopher Buckley, Jeff Sacks, Ken Burns, Bob Schieffer.
They've all been on my show. By the way, Mr. President,
thank you for agreeing to be on my show. I was just as
shocked as everyone here is, I promise you. How's Tuesday
for you? I've got Frank Rich, but we can bump him. And I
mean bump him. I know a guy. Say the word.
See who we've got here tonight. General Moseley, Air
Force Chief of Staff. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right,
you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still
support Rumsfeld.
Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle
these retired generals causing all this trouble: don't let
them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's
use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni and that crowd on Wolf
Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit
shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order
men into battle. Come on.
Jesse Jackson is here, the Reverend. Haven't heard from
the Reverend in a little while. I had him on the show. Very
interesting and challenging interview. You can ask him
anything, but he's going to say what he wants, at the pace
that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor,
by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea
what a glacier is.
Justice Scalia is here. Welcome, sir. May I be the first to
say, you look fantastic. How are you? [After each sentence,
Colbert makes a hand gesture, an allusion to Scalia's recent
use of an obscene Sicilian hand gesture in speaking to a
reporter about Scalia's critics. Scalia is seen laughing
hysterically.] Just talking some Sicilian with my
paisan.
John McCain is here. John McCain, John McCain, what a
maverick! Somebody find out what fork he used on his salad,
because I guarantee you it wasn't a salad fork. This guy could
have used a spoon! There's no predicting him. By the way,
Senator McCain, it's so wonderful to see you coming back
into the Republican fold. I have a summer house in South
Carolina; look me up when you go to speak at Bob Jones
University. So glad you've seen the light, sir.
Mayor Nagin! Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the
chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to
welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with
a marshmallow center. And a graham cracker crust of
corruption. It's a Mallomar, I guess is what I'm describing,
a seasonal cookie.
Joe Wilson is here, Joe Wilson right down here in
front, the most famous husband since Desi Arnaz. And of
course he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame.
Oh, my god. [looks horrified] Oh, what have I said?
I -- Je- minetti (sp?). I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant
to say he brought along his lovely wife Joe Wilson's wife.
Patrick Fitzgerald is not here tonight? OK. Dodged a bullet.
And, of course, we can't forget the man of the hour,
new press secretary, Tony Snow. Secret Service name,
"Snow Job." Toughest job. What a hero. Took the second
toughest job in government, next to, of course, the
ambassador to Iraq.
Got some big shoes to fill, Tony. Big shoes to fill. Scott
McClellan could say nothing like nobody else. McClellan,
of course, eager to retire. Really felt like he needed to
spend more time with Andrew Card's children. Mr. President,
I wish you hadn't made the decision so quickly, sir.
I was vying for the job myself. I think I would have made a
fabulous press secretary. I have nothing but contempt for
these people. I know how to handle these clowns.
In fact, sir, I brought along an audition tape and with your
indulgence, I'd like to at least give it a shot. So, ladies and
gentlemen, my press conference.
BEGINNING OF "AUDITION TAPE"
Colbert shows a video of a mock press conference. It opens
with an empty podium. Colbert's head rises from behind
the podium until Colbert is standing at the podium. He
addresses the assembled Washington press corps.
COLBERT: I have a brief statement: the press is destroying
America. OK, let's see who we've got here today.
COLBERT (acknowledging various reporters): Stretch!
(David Gregory nods)
Sir Nerdlington! (reporter nods)
Sloppy Joe! (reporter nods)
Terry Lemon Moran Pie! (Terry Moran nods)
Oh, Doubting Thomas, always a pleasure. (Helen Thomas
smiles)
And Suzanne Mal -- hello!!
(Suzanne Malveaux stares at Colbert, looking unhappy.
Colbert mimics putting a phone to his ear and mouths "call me.")
REPORTER: Will the Vice President be available soon to
answer all questions himself?
COLBERT: I've already addressed that question. You
(pointing to another reporter).
REPORTER: Walter Cronkite, the noted CBS anchor, . . .
COLBERT (interrupting): Ah, no, he's the former CBS
anchor. Katie Couric is the new anchor of the CBS Evening News. Well, well,
how do you guys feel about that?
You, tousle-haired guy in the back. Are you happy
about Katie Couric taking over the CBS Evening News?
DAN RATHER: No, sir, Mr. Colbert. Are you? (Laughter)
COLBERT: Boom! Oh, look, we woke David Gregory up.
Question?
DAVID GREGORY: Did Karl Rove commit a crime?
COLBERT: I don't know. I'll ask him.
(Colbert turns to Rove) Karl, pay attention please!
(Rove is seen drawing a heart with "Karl + Stephen"
written on it.)
GREGORY: Do you stand by your statement from the fall
of 2003 when you were asked specifically about Karl, and
Elliott Abrams, and Scooter Libby, and you said "I've gone
to each of those gentlemen, and they have told me that
they are not involved in this." Do you stand by that
statement?
COLBERT: Nah, I was just kidding!
GREGORY: No, you're not finishing. You're not saying
anything! You stood at that podium and said . . .
COLBERT (interrupting): Ah, that's where you're wrong.
New podium! Just had it delivered today. Get your facts
straight, David.
GREGORY: This is ridiculous. The notion that you're
going to stand before us after having commented with
that level of detail and tell the people watching this that
somehow you've decided not to talk. You've got to . . .
(Colbert is seen looking at three buttons on the
podium, labeled "EJECT," "GANNON" and "VOLUME."
He selects the "VOLUME" button and turns it. We see
Gregory's lips continue moving, but can't hear any sound
coming out.)
COLBERT: If I can't hear you, I can't answer your question.
I'm sorry! I have to move on. Terry.
TERRY MORAN: After the investigation began, after the
criminal investigation was underway, you said . . .
(Colbert presses a button on the podium and fast-forwards
through most of Moran's question.)
MORAN (continuing): All of a sudden, you have respect
for the sanctity of a criminal investigation?
COLBERT (seen playing with rubber ball, which he is
bouncing off attached paddle): No, I never had any respect
for the sanctity of a criminal investigation. Activist judges!
Yes, Helen.
HELEN THOMAS: You're going to be sorry. (Laughter)
COLBERT (looking vastly amused, mockingly): What are
you going to do, Helen, ask me for a recipe?
THOMAS: Your decision to invade Iraq has caused the
deaths of thousands (Colbert's smile fades) of Americans
and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime.
COLBERT (interrupting): OK, hold on Helen, look . . .
THOMAS (continuing): Every reason given, publicly at
least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did
you really want to go to war?
COLBERT (again interrupting): Helen, I'm going to stop
you right there. (Thomas keeps talking.) That's enough!
No! Sorry, Helen, I'm moving on. (Colbert tries to turn her
volume off, but the knob falls off his controls.)
(Various reporters start shouting questions at Colbert.)
COLBERT (agitated): Guys, guys, please don't let Helen
do this to what was a lovely day.
(Reporters keep shouting at him.)
COLBERT (putting his fingers over his ears and shouting
in a high-pitched voice): Bllrrtt! No, no, no, no, no. I'm
not listening to you!
Look what you did, Helen! I hate you!
(Helen Thomas glowers at Colbert.)
COLBERT (frantic): I'm out of here!
(Colbert pulls back the curtain behind him, desperately
trying to flee. He says, "There is a wall here!" The press
corps laughs. Colbert has difficulty finding a door from
which to exit the room, echoing Bush's experience in China.
He finally finds the door and hurries through it.)
COLBERT: It reeks in there! Ridiculous! I've never been so
insulted in my life! Stupid job.
(Colbert continues walking away. We hear sinister-sounding
music playing. We see Helen Thomas walking behind Colbert.)
(Colbert looks behind him, sees Thomas, and starts running.)
(Colbert trips over a roller skate. He yells "Condi!" We see a
close-up of Helen Thomas' face, looking determined and angry.
Colbert, increasingly panicked, gets up and continues running,
running into a parking garage. He reaches an emergency call
box, and yells into it.)
COLBERT: Oh, thank God. Help me!
ATTENDANT: What seems to be the problem, sir?
COLBERT: She won't stop asking why we invaded Iraq!
ATTENDANT: Hey, why did we invade Iraq?
COLBERT: NO!!! (runs toward his car)
(We see Helen Thomas, still walking toward him.)
(Colbert reaches his car, and fumblingly attempts to
open it with his key. He is in such a desperate hurry that
he fumbles with the keys and drops them. When he picks
them up, he looks back and Helen is even closer. In his
frantic rush, Colbert just can't get the key into the lock.)
(Just as his anxiety is getting completely out of
control he suddenly remembers that he has a keyless
remote -- so he just pushes the button on the keychain
and the car unlocks immediately with the usual double
squeak noise. Colbert jumps in and locks the door, and
continues to fumble trying to start the car. He finally
succeeds, and looks up to see Helen standing in
front of the car, notepad in hand.)
COLBERT: NO!!! NO!!!
(Colbert puts the car into reverse and drives off, tires
squealing. Thomas smiles.)
(Colbert is shown taking the shuttle from Washington,
D.C. to New York. A car and driver are waiting for him
at Penn Station. The uniformed man standing alongside
the car opens the door and lets Colbert in.)
COLBERT: What a terrible trip, Danny. Take me home.
(The driver locks the doors, turns around, and says, "Buckle
up, hon." IT'S HELEN THOMAS!!!)
COLBERT (horrified face pressed against car window):
NO!!!
END OF "AUDITION TAPE"
STEPHEN COLBERT: Helen Thomas, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr. Smith, members of the White House Correspondents
Association, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, it's been a
true honor. Thank you very much.
Good night!
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:24 AM
0 comments
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
Sphinkter-Man & his unrefined Gas
Hey Folks,
You may have seen this already. I may have even posted it here before (the old man can't remember). I know I've seen it five or six times; but I think it's been updated slightly and - in any case - it still makes me feel good !!
(a uke thanks to Liunda for reminding me)
Click here and enjoy !!
http://filmstripinternational.com/
- Uke Man
You may have seen this already. I may have even posted it here before (the old man can't remember). I know I've seen it five or six times; but I think it's been updated slightly and - in any case - it still makes me feel good !!
(a uke thanks to Liunda for reminding me)
Click here and enjoy !!
http://filmstripinternational.com/
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 8:48 PM
0 comments
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Wino Joe for President !!
Dom Perignon
in every bottle !!
in every bottle !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:23 AM
0 comments
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Do They Think We Are Stupid??? Are We ???
Hey Folks,
Today Linda Chavez, right-wing “Tia Tomasina,” did her best to defend W’s nomination of the 4-Star Military Man, Michael Hayden, to run the CIA. Earlier, Rumsfeld and Cheny had tried but failed to take over the CIA (see “intelligence failure” to fall into line, Valerie Plame, etc.).
NOW, they hope to get it right by putting the Pentagon in charge from the git-go!! Put a lapdog military man in charge, one who can claim (as he already has) “I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t want to be.” That obviously and conveniently opens up the “soldier’s defense.” When he tramples the People’s rights and urinates on the Constitution, well: “I vas yust followink orhders.”
Chavez says Hayden is “extraordinarily well-qualified” and will be confirmed.
That’s the same thing they said about Harriet Myers a while back when she was selected to be the next Supreme Court Justice. NOW, the new chief of staff indicates that she is unqualified to even kiss W’s ass as part of his White House entourage.
Makes you wonder what is meant by “qualified” (ask Orwell some time). Ever principal I ever knew in 31 years of teaching was “qualified” – i.e. they met the official requirements for the job; but, with a few exceptions, they were incompetent boobs at best and counter-productive dictators at worst. They WERE qualified, but they SHOULDN’T have been principals.
Bush is “qualified” to be President; i.e. he is over 37 years old and a natural-born citizen – just like my friend Wino Joe.
Wino Joe for president !! He is “extraordinarily well-qualified” !!!
Bush, Chavez, & Co. think we are stupid enough to buy into that. Are we?
- Uke Man
Today Linda Chavez, right-wing “Tia Tomasina,” did her best to defend W’s nomination of the 4-Star Military Man, Michael Hayden, to run the CIA. Earlier, Rumsfeld and Cheny had tried but failed to take over the CIA (see “intelligence failure” to fall into line, Valerie Plame, etc.).
NOW, they hope to get it right by putting the Pentagon in charge from the git-go!! Put a lapdog military man in charge, one who can claim (as he already has) “I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t want to be.” That obviously and conveniently opens up the “soldier’s defense.” When he tramples the People’s rights and urinates on the Constitution, well: “I vas yust followink orhders.”
Chavez says Hayden is “extraordinarily well-qualified” and will be confirmed.
That’s the same thing they said about Harriet Myers a while back when she was selected to be the next Supreme Court Justice. NOW, the new chief of staff indicates that she is unqualified to even kiss W’s ass as part of his White House entourage.
Makes you wonder what is meant by “qualified” (ask Orwell some time). Ever principal I ever knew in 31 years of teaching was “qualified” – i.e. they met the official requirements for the job; but, with a few exceptions, they were incompetent boobs at best and counter-productive dictators at worst. They WERE qualified, but they SHOULDN’T have been principals.
Bush is “qualified” to be President; i.e. he is over 37 years old and a natural-born citizen – just like my friend Wino Joe.
Wino Joe for president !! He is “extraordinarily well-qualified” !!!
Bush, Chavez, & Co. think we are stupid enough to buy into that. Are we?
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:09 AM
0 comments
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Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Giants, Aaron, Beer, & the Newport
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:22 PM
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Michael Leviton, my friend
& the Hit of the show !!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:20 PM
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Aaron, They Might be Giants, Michael Leviton, and Uke Man Dad
Hey Folks,
For a number of years I’d been enamored with They Might Be Giants, and my son Aaron REALLY likes the John-John’s. We’d been trying to go see them together for some time. We finally managed last night at The Newport across from the OSU Student Union.
Aaron really went the extra mile to accompany the old man; he had classes, a big test, and a drive to Cleveland from Columbus today – all starting at 8:00 a.m.. Thanks, son.
I had extra incentive for THIS show: a friend of mine and fellow uke guy with great stuff - Michael Leviton - was opening for TMBG. We had shared a large bill at the Fez (now sadly defunct) in NYC during the Reputrican National Connivention in 2004 – the “Dubya’s Ukulele Farewell Party.”
I must say that, unlike everybody else, I was a little disappointed in the Giants. I’d always revered their crisp arrangements and their overwhelmingly insightful, clever, and surprising, lyrics.
I know I’m old and that all the frequencies (Kenneth) don’t register in these hairy ears, but younger ears – I swear – couldn’t have heard the words, either. They sounded like so many local bands that turn up the dials to 11 or 12 and play to those who have all the words memorized (or not).
Oh well – the curse of age. Aaron had a good time; and I really had a good time sharing the musical evening with him ( and a pizza sub we sneaked in to complement the $6.00 beers).
Michael was awesome (his lady singer/glockenspeil-player too) – the highlight of the evening for the Old Ukester. I could hear and appreciate HIS overwhelmingly insightful, clever, and surprising, lyrics. Bought his new CD, "my favorite place to drown."
Check out Michael’s My Space: http://www.myspace.com/michaelleviton and buy his CD.
- Uke Man
p.s. pictures when the throw-away camera shots get developed and scanned
For a number of years I’d been enamored with They Might Be Giants, and my son Aaron REALLY likes the John-John’s. We’d been trying to go see them together for some time. We finally managed last night at The Newport across from the OSU Student Union.
Aaron really went the extra mile to accompany the old man; he had classes, a big test, and a drive to Cleveland from Columbus today – all starting at 8:00 a.m.. Thanks, son.
I had extra incentive for THIS show: a friend of mine and fellow uke guy with great stuff - Michael Leviton - was opening for TMBG. We had shared a large bill at the Fez (now sadly defunct) in NYC during the Reputrican National Connivention in 2004 – the “Dubya’s Ukulele Farewell Party.”
I must say that, unlike everybody else, I was a little disappointed in the Giants. I’d always revered their crisp arrangements and their overwhelmingly insightful, clever, and surprising, lyrics.
I know I’m old and that all the frequencies (Kenneth) don’t register in these hairy ears, but younger ears – I swear – couldn’t have heard the words, either. They sounded like so many local bands that turn up the dials to 11 or 12 and play to those who have all the words memorized (or not).
Oh well – the curse of age. Aaron had a good time; and I really had a good time sharing the musical evening with him ( and a pizza sub we sneaked in to complement the $6.00 beers).
Michael was awesome (his lady singer/glockenspeil-player too) – the highlight of the evening for the Old Ukester. I could hear and appreciate HIS overwhelmingly insightful, clever, and surprising, lyrics. Bought his new CD, "my favorite place to drown."
Check out Michael’s My Space: http://www.myspace.com/michaelleviton and buy his CD.
- Uke Man
p.s. pictures when the throw-away camera shots get developed and scanned
posted by Ukulele Man at 3:40 PM
1 comments
links to this post
Just a Sailor Boy
Dreaming of the sea & mermaids
posted by Ukulele Man at 3:35 PM
0 comments
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Mermaids DO exist !!
and they can sing too !!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 3:31 PM
0 comments
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Pink : "Mr. President"
Hey Folks,
A Must-Experience music video:
Click on:
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/best_of_youtube/2006/04/pink_dear_mr_president_live_on.html
- Uke Man
A Must-Experience music video:
Click on:
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/best_of_youtube/2006/04/pink_dear_mr_president_live_on.html
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:10 AM
0 comments
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Monday, May 08, 2006
"Let them eat shit and relieve me of my terrible burden."
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:38 PM
0 comments
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Do they think we are CRAZY ???? Are we?
Hey Folks,
I just wrote an essay ( http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/trouble-making-truth-tellers.html ) that spoke to "why experts - if they know so much - never agree on anything." Here is what I said:
"Even if one side of an issue is seriously struggling to find the truth, the other side isn’t listening; instead, they’re actively working to AVOID the truth. At best, one side wants to overcome ignorance for the greater good of mankind; the other side – selfishly benefiting from that ignorance – wants to keep it that way. It is a struggle, but it is neither a dialogue nor an investigation; it is not colaborative. It is a tug of war; and the Dark Side believes: all’s fair in tug and war. It’s Henry Clay turned upside down: “I’d rather be President than right.”
No sooner had I posted this than the Columbus Dispatch provided the perfect evidence for my assertion. As they periodically do, they posed a question ( "Should the estate tax be ended by Congress?") and then provided two different writers' "answer" to the question. What they provided proves the point of my earlier essay.
One writer, Mark Weisbrot (directly below) discussed the matter, providing specific facts relevant to making an informed decision aimed at the well-being of almost all the people (99.7% of us).
The other dispicable beast, James L. Martin, filled his full-page column spewing shit designed to convince us that giving a break to the top 0.3% of taxpayers was crucial to the well-being of Blacks, seniors, farmers, small businesses, families, and - need I say - DEAD people!
This son-of-a-bitch says he's "been hammering away at this simple bit of logic [sic] for the past 15 years, trying to honor Ronald Reagan." Yeah, and trying to dishonor honesty and 99.7% of Americans too.
Folks, this is clear as glass!! This is the shit we are fed, and if we refuse to see it, I guess we desrve it on our menue. This beast, James Martin, makes a good living spreading manure on the trusting American populace. He says that selling us on selling out our birthright for the good of the elite 0.3% "has been a Sysyphean struggle" (that's good). He calls it a "terrible burden" that the top 0.3% of wealthy Americans are required to pay an inheritance tax (i.e. the wealthy, LIVING, 0.3% of Americans are required to pay - not the dead ones who earned the money).
I find it reprehensible that the Dispatch would allow such crap equal time with the truth. Moreover, it is totally depressing to consider that anyone in the 99.7% of people being propagandized might buy into the bullshit.
Hey Folks, it's all right here directly below. Check it out for yourself.
- Uke Man
Should estate tax be ended by Congress?
No: Despite the rhetoric, data clearly show this would help only wealthiest Americans
Monday, May 08, 2006 - MARK WEISBROT
"Money to get power, and power to guard the money," was the motto of the powerful Medici family in 16 thcentury Florence. It is getting to be a successful modern political strategy for some of America’s wealthiest families.
A report by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy shows how 18 of these families, including the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame, spent millions of dollars to push for the repeal of the federal estate tax, which is paid by wealthy heirs when they receive inherited wealth. Using trade associations and influential lobbyists, these extremely rich families stand to gain an astounding $71 billion from the repeal.
In the next month or so, the White House and Republican leaders are hoping to eliminate the estate tax permanently.
About 99.7 percent of Americans are not rich enough to be affected by the estate tax. The existing exemptions allow their heirs to get whatever is left to them without paying any taxes. But that other 0.3 percent increasingly find themselves in the role of "the deciders."
Proponents of repeal have gone to great lengths to persuade people that the tax is a threat to small businesses and farms. The story of people having to sell the family farm to pay the tax was getting fairly good play until Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston found that there were no verifiable instances of this actually happening, despite President Bush’s insistence that "to keep farms in the family, we are going to get rid of the death tax." Death tax is the scary-sounding name that Republicans invented for the estate tax.
Repealing the estate tax is consistent with the overall thrust of President Bush’s "ownership society," where the rules are tilted ever more favorably toward owners, especially the big ones.
One goal seems to be to rewrite the tax code so that owners of wealth do not pay taxes on the income that their wealth generates. Lowering the tax on capital gains primarily has benefited rich people. The same is true for cutting the tax on stock dividends. Only about half of Americans hold stocks, and for those who do, it is generally through retirement accounts, which are unaffected by stock-dividend tax cuts.
Many people think that such changes don’t affect them if they are not rich. But because the government does not stop spending money, the overwhelming majority of Americans who get their income from labor rather than ownership will end up paying more taxes so that wealthy people can pay less.
Repealing the estate tax would be another big step in this program, costing the Treasury about $1 trillion in the first decade.
A few months ago, Congress seemed ready to repeal the estate tax. But the anger over rising gasoline prices in the face of record oil-company profits has begun to hurt President Bush. Coming on the heels of a succession of scandals and a deeply unpopular war, the gasoline controversy has driven Bush’s approval rating down to a personal worst of 33 percent and has begun to weigh on the Republican Party’s prospects for the November congressional elections.
Do the Republicans really want to add another trillion dollars to the future national debt in an election year, just so a handful of rich families can pass even more wealth to their children? Only if they can do it when no one is looking.
Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Readers may write him at CEPR, 1621 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20009-1052. Distributed by Knight Ridder/ Tribune Information Services.
weisbrot@cepr.net
Should estate tax be ended by Congress?
Yes: This legacy of wartime need has become an impediment to good business
Monday, May 08, 2006 - JAMES L. MARTIN
In the interest of fairness, we must cut beloved Founding Father and statesman Benjamin Franklin some serious slack; it was he who proclaimed more than 200 years ago that "nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
But he was wrong. The fullness of time has revealed a third certainty for Americans: taxes after death on money they already had paid taxes on when they were living.
The federal estate tax has been enacted four times in our nation’s history, each time to help finance war. But the first three times, it was blessedly rescinded. Unfortunately, this miserable tax remained in place after its fourth enactment – to help fund World War I. From 1916 to 2006 – 90 years – Uncle Sam has reached into the coffins of American taxpayers to extract money ostensibly to pay for a war long, long over.
And the terrible burden of this regressive levy on America’s farmers, small businesses and families continues. Finally, relief may be on the way. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, RTenn., plans to push legislation to bury this Dracula-like tax this month.
Mind you, the House has moved several times, most recently in April 2005, to repeal this onerous tax. Then it achieved a bipartisan consensus of 272-162, with 42 Democrats joining their GOP counterparts. Eight of those Democrats were members of the Black Congressional Caucus, who concluded the tax severely affects first-generation black entrepreneurs.
A prime example occurred recently with the death of John Sengstacke, the publisher of the legendary Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s oldest black newspapers. Deprived of a chunk of his estate, his relatives are struggling to keep the paper in business.
Now, with Frist’s promise, the Senate seems poised to follow in kind, despite the fact that a supermajority of 60 votes will be required. The proverbial light may indeed be at the end of the tunnel.
Why does our government see fit to re-tax the accumulated savings of productive, entrepreneurial people? In a nation beset with debt, with a citizenry less and less likely to save for tomorrow’s uncertainties, let’s hope the repeal of the estate tax will provide the incentives for Americans to take control of their economic futures.
As grieving families try to cope with the death of a loved one, there’s no earthly reason Uncle Sam should seize upward of 55 percent of the deceased’s assets, especially when they already have been taxed at least once!
The permanent repeal of the tax offers fairness to American families by removing an illogical motivation – one that makes it cheaper for individuals to sell their businesses prior to death and pay individual capital gains than to pass it along to heirs.
I’ve been hammering away at this simple bit of logic for the past 15 years, trying to honor Ronald Reagan, the first president to call the estate tax by its rightful name: the death tax.
Pushing a permanent repeal certainly has been a Sisyphean struggle. Every time we rolled this legislation almost to the top of the hill, it rolled back down.
We’re determined to win this fight because we know how much senior citizens hate a tax that deprives their children and grandchildren of their rightful inheritance.
America’s seniors and all who love and admire them should urge their senators and representatives, in no uncertain terms, that now is the time to drive a stake through the heart of this universally despised tax.
James L. Martin is president of the 60 Plus Association, a senior-citizens advocacy organization. Readers may write to him at 60 Plus, 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 960, Arlington, Va. 22209. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
I just wrote an essay ( http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/05/trouble-making-truth-tellers.html ) that spoke to "why experts - if they know so much - never agree on anything." Here is what I said:
"Even if one side of an issue is seriously struggling to find the truth, the other side isn’t listening; instead, they’re actively working to AVOID the truth. At best, one side wants to overcome ignorance for the greater good of mankind; the other side – selfishly benefiting from that ignorance – wants to keep it that way. It is a struggle, but it is neither a dialogue nor an investigation; it is not colaborative. It is a tug of war; and the Dark Side believes: all’s fair in tug and war. It’s Henry Clay turned upside down: “I’d rather be President than right.”
No sooner had I posted this than the Columbus Dispatch provided the perfect evidence for my assertion. As they periodically do, they posed a question ( "Should the estate tax be ended by Congress?") and then provided two different writers' "answer" to the question. What they provided proves the point of my earlier essay.
One writer, Mark Weisbrot (directly below) discussed the matter, providing specific facts relevant to making an informed decision aimed at the well-being of almost all the people (99.7% of us).
The other dispicable beast, James L. Martin, filled his full-page column spewing shit designed to convince us that giving a break to the top 0.3% of taxpayers was crucial to the well-being of Blacks, seniors, farmers, small businesses, families, and - need I say - DEAD people!
This son-of-a-bitch says he's "been hammering away at this simple bit of logic [sic] for the past 15 years, trying to honor Ronald Reagan." Yeah, and trying to dishonor honesty and 99.7% of Americans too.
Folks, this is clear as glass!! This is the shit we are fed, and if we refuse to see it, I guess we desrve it on our menue. This beast, James Martin, makes a good living spreading manure on the trusting American populace. He says that selling us on selling out our birthright for the good of the elite 0.3% "has been a Sysyphean struggle" (that's good). He calls it a "terrible burden" that the top 0.3% of wealthy Americans are required to pay an inheritance tax (i.e. the wealthy, LIVING, 0.3% of Americans are required to pay - not the dead ones who earned the money).
I find it reprehensible that the Dispatch would allow such crap equal time with the truth. Moreover, it is totally depressing to consider that anyone in the 99.7% of people being propagandized might buy into the bullshit.
Hey Folks, it's all right here directly below. Check it out for yourself.
- Uke Man
Should estate tax be ended by Congress?
No: Despite the rhetoric, data clearly show this would help only wealthiest Americans
Monday, May 08, 2006 - MARK WEISBROT
"Money to get power, and power to guard the money," was the motto of the powerful Medici family in 16 thcentury Florence. It is getting to be a successful modern political strategy for some of America’s wealthiest families.
A report by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy shows how 18 of these families, including the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame, spent millions of dollars to push for the repeal of the federal estate tax, which is paid by wealthy heirs when they receive inherited wealth. Using trade associations and influential lobbyists, these extremely rich families stand to gain an astounding $71 billion from the repeal.
In the next month or so, the White House and Republican leaders are hoping to eliminate the estate tax permanently.
About 99.7 percent of Americans are not rich enough to be affected by the estate tax. The existing exemptions allow their heirs to get whatever is left to them without paying any taxes. But that other 0.3 percent increasingly find themselves in the role of "the deciders."
Proponents of repeal have gone to great lengths to persuade people that the tax is a threat to small businesses and farms. The story of people having to sell the family farm to pay the tax was getting fairly good play until Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston found that there were no verifiable instances of this actually happening, despite President Bush’s insistence that "to keep farms in the family, we are going to get rid of the death tax." Death tax is the scary-sounding name that Republicans invented for the estate tax.
Repealing the estate tax is consistent with the overall thrust of President Bush’s "ownership society," where the rules are tilted ever more favorably toward owners, especially the big ones.
One goal seems to be to rewrite the tax code so that owners of wealth do not pay taxes on the income that their wealth generates. Lowering the tax on capital gains primarily has benefited rich people. The same is true for cutting the tax on stock dividends. Only about half of Americans hold stocks, and for those who do, it is generally through retirement accounts, which are unaffected by stock-dividend tax cuts.
Many people think that such changes don’t affect them if they are not rich. But because the government does not stop spending money, the overwhelming majority of Americans who get their income from labor rather than ownership will end up paying more taxes so that wealthy people can pay less.
Repealing the estate tax would be another big step in this program, costing the Treasury about $1 trillion in the first decade.
A few months ago, Congress seemed ready to repeal the estate tax. But the anger over rising gasoline prices in the face of record oil-company profits has begun to hurt President Bush. Coming on the heels of a succession of scandals and a deeply unpopular war, the gasoline controversy has driven Bush’s approval rating down to a personal worst of 33 percent and has begun to weigh on the Republican Party’s prospects for the November congressional elections.
Do the Republicans really want to add another trillion dollars to the future national debt in an election year, just so a handful of rich families can pass even more wealth to their children? Only if they can do it when no one is looking.
Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Readers may write him at CEPR, 1621 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20009-1052. Distributed by Knight Ridder/ Tribune Information Services.
weisbrot@cepr.net
Should estate tax be ended by Congress?
Yes: This legacy of wartime need has become an impediment to good business
Monday, May 08, 2006 - JAMES L. MARTIN
In the interest of fairness, we must cut beloved Founding Father and statesman Benjamin Franklin some serious slack; it was he who proclaimed more than 200 years ago that "nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
But he was wrong. The fullness of time has revealed a third certainty for Americans: taxes after death on money they already had paid taxes on when they were living.
The federal estate tax has been enacted four times in our nation’s history, each time to help finance war. But the first three times, it was blessedly rescinded. Unfortunately, this miserable tax remained in place after its fourth enactment – to help fund World War I. From 1916 to 2006 – 90 years – Uncle Sam has reached into the coffins of American taxpayers to extract money ostensibly to pay for a war long, long over.
And the terrible burden of this regressive levy on America’s farmers, small businesses and families continues. Finally, relief may be on the way. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, RTenn., plans to push legislation to bury this Dracula-like tax this month.
Mind you, the House has moved several times, most recently in April 2005, to repeal this onerous tax. Then it achieved a bipartisan consensus of 272-162, with 42 Democrats joining their GOP counterparts. Eight of those Democrats were members of the Black Congressional Caucus, who concluded the tax severely affects first-generation black entrepreneurs.
A prime example occurred recently with the death of John Sengstacke, the publisher of the legendary Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s oldest black newspapers. Deprived of a chunk of his estate, his relatives are struggling to keep the paper in business.
Now, with Frist’s promise, the Senate seems poised to follow in kind, despite the fact that a supermajority of 60 votes will be required. The proverbial light may indeed be at the end of the tunnel.
Why does our government see fit to re-tax the accumulated savings of productive, entrepreneurial people? In a nation beset with debt, with a citizenry less and less likely to save for tomorrow’s uncertainties, let’s hope the repeal of the estate tax will provide the incentives for Americans to take control of their economic futures.
As grieving families try to cope with the death of a loved one, there’s no earthly reason Uncle Sam should seize upward of 55 percent of the deceased’s assets, especially when they already have been taxed at least once!
The permanent repeal of the tax offers fairness to American families by removing an illogical motivation – one that makes it cheaper for individuals to sell their businesses prior to death and pay individual capital gains than to pass it along to heirs.
I’ve been hammering away at this simple bit of logic for the past 15 years, trying to honor Ronald Reagan, the first president to call the estate tax by its rightful name: the death tax.
Pushing a permanent repeal certainly has been a Sisyphean struggle. Every time we rolled this legislation almost to the top of the hill, it rolled back down.
We’re determined to win this fight because we know how much senior citizens hate a tax that deprives their children and grandchildren of their rightful inheritance.
America’s seniors and all who love and admire them should urge their senators and representatives, in no uncertain terms, that now is the time to drive a stake through the heart of this universally despised tax.
James L. Martin is president of the 60 Plus Association, a senior-citizens advocacy organization. Readers may write to him at 60 Plus, 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 960, Arlington, Va. 22209. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:31 PM
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photo by Ron Hester 4-29-06 at the Theater for the New City
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:20 AM
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Great Photos from Ron
Hey Folks,
As you know, I just visited New York City for a Protest and a Uke Show. You also know that while there I was the guest of my friend Ron Hester.
Among Ron’s many talents is photography – you’ve seen his amazing work here before.
I wanted to get a little distance from all the “reporting” hullabaloo right after the trip so that Ron’s pics could be quietly savored by themselves.
Enjoy!!
Thanks, Ron. You make even me look good !!
- Uke Man
As you know, I just visited New York City for a Protest and a Uke Show. You also know that while there I was the guest of my friend Ron Hester.
Among Ron’s many talents is photography – you’ve seen his amazing work here before.
I wanted to get a little distance from all the “reporting” hullabaloo right after the trip so that Ron’s pics could be quietly savored by themselves.
Enjoy!!
Thanks, Ron. You make even me look good !!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:03 AM
0 comments
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That Sushi was Gooooood !!!
Ron's website is under reconstruction, but check out his My Space location:
http://www.myspace.com/ronhester !!!!
http://www.myspace.com/ronhester !!!!
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:05 AM
0 comments
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Subversive Evil Doers
They must be supressed !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:04 AM
0 comments
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Trouble-Making Truth-Tellers
Hey Folks,
What do Noam Chomsky, Steven Colbert, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Galileo all have in common?
Well, they’ve all been attacked by right-wingers. Galbraith, who died recently, was attacked for being “Liberal” by that reliably patrician twit, George Will. Colbert, who recently demolished Bush in front of assembled media swells was predictably skewered by the usual Foxxxy suspects – for “going over the line.” Chomsky has been the Right’s regular whipping boy for as long as I can remember – he, a respected professor at MIT, gives lectures and writes books, but you’ll rarely see him allowed on television; he’s the right’s poster boy for “far-left whackoes” who should - under all circumstances - be totally ignored.
And then there’s Galileo.
Galileo looked through his telescope and saw that the moons of Jupiter orbited the planet. He SAW it and recorded it; anyone else could have checked out his observations. The Pope, however, knew that Galileo’s lying eyes conflicted with the Church’s official view: the earth (you see) was held up by a magical, invisible, golden chain attached in heaven; a chain that could somehow pass through the rotating crystalline spheres in which the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars were embedded and by which they all circled the the focus of the Divine eye, the center of everything, i.e. the earth (this rotation, by the way, is what creates the fabled “music of the spheres”).
If the moons could pass through these spheres, as Galileo claimed, that would screw up everything. Galileo was forcibly silenced and made to recant. And it took the Church only 500 years to admit its mistake.
So, what is wrong with Noam Chomsky, Steven Colbert, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Galileo; what is their sin?
Are they liars, swindlers, inside traders, lobbyists, war profiteers, torturers, gay, alcoholics, cocaine-snorters, greedy, or wrong? No. They have been none of these. Their sin, like that of Michael Moore, is being RIGHT – and daring to speak the truth to those who don’t want to hear it. Their sin is like that of the child at the Emperor’s haberdashery parade; their sin is choosing to speak the truth regardless of the powerful and vengeful dissemblers the truth exposes.
As such, it clarifies for me a long-standing and puzzling question:
“If experts know so much, why don’t they ever agree?”
It’s pretty simple, really. Even if one side of an issue is seriously struggling to find the truth, the other side isn’t listening; instead, they’re actively working to AVOID the truth. At best, one side wants to overcome ignorance for the greater good of mankind; the other side – selfishly benefiting from that ignorance – wants to keep it that way. It is a struggle, but it is neither a dialogue nor an investigation; it is not colaborative. It is a tug of war; and the Dark Side believes: all’s fair in tug and war. It’s Henry Clay turned upside down: “I’d rather be President than right.”
Well, Folks, what does this all say to me? It says that time for nice talk is done. We need more Rumsfeldian hecklers screaming at lying monsters. We need more Colbert Reports in the face of “the Man.” We need more honest scientists like Chomsky and Galileo sticking to their story even if it pisses off the Pope and Kkkarl Rove.
The monsters who don’t want to hear what they don’t want to hear don’t listen to talk or reason or their calcified hearts or God – whether we ask them to for us or even - as I'm sure Bush & Co. often parrot - “in the name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.” They care only about themselves, and unless we resist in stronger ways than impassioned entreaty and aguement, they will drag us into Grover Norquist’s bathtub, light a fire under it, add some carrots and celery, throw in a sprig of pasley, call it the People’s Stew, and demand that we stir it periodically.
- Uke Man
What do Noam Chomsky, Steven Colbert, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Galileo all have in common?
Well, they’ve all been attacked by right-wingers. Galbraith, who died recently, was attacked for being “Liberal” by that reliably patrician twit, George Will. Colbert, who recently demolished Bush in front of assembled media swells was predictably skewered by the usual Foxxxy suspects – for “going over the line.” Chomsky has been the Right’s regular whipping boy for as long as I can remember – he, a respected professor at MIT, gives lectures and writes books, but you’ll rarely see him allowed on television; he’s the right’s poster boy for “far-left whackoes” who should - under all circumstances - be totally ignored.
And then there’s Galileo.
Galileo looked through his telescope and saw that the moons of Jupiter orbited the planet. He SAW it and recorded it; anyone else could have checked out his observations. The Pope, however, knew that Galileo’s lying eyes conflicted with the Church’s official view: the earth (you see) was held up by a magical, invisible, golden chain attached in heaven; a chain that could somehow pass through the rotating crystalline spheres in which the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars were embedded and by which they all circled the the focus of the Divine eye, the center of everything, i.e. the earth (this rotation, by the way, is what creates the fabled “music of the spheres”).
If the moons could pass through these spheres, as Galileo claimed, that would screw up everything. Galileo was forcibly silenced and made to recant. And it took the Church only 500 years to admit its mistake.
So, what is wrong with Noam Chomsky, Steven Colbert, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Galileo; what is their sin?
Are they liars, swindlers, inside traders, lobbyists, war profiteers, torturers, gay, alcoholics, cocaine-snorters, greedy, or wrong? No. They have been none of these. Their sin, like that of Michael Moore, is being RIGHT – and daring to speak the truth to those who don’t want to hear it. Their sin is like that of the child at the Emperor’s haberdashery parade; their sin is choosing to speak the truth regardless of the powerful and vengeful dissemblers the truth exposes.
As such, it clarifies for me a long-standing and puzzling question:
“If experts know so much, why don’t they ever agree?”
It’s pretty simple, really. Even if one side of an issue is seriously struggling to find the truth, the other side isn’t listening; instead, they’re actively working to AVOID the truth. At best, one side wants to overcome ignorance for the greater good of mankind; the other side – selfishly benefiting from that ignorance – wants to keep it that way. It is a struggle, but it is neither a dialogue nor an investigation; it is not colaborative. It is a tug of war; and the Dark Side believes: all’s fair in tug and war. It’s Henry Clay turned upside down: “I’d rather be President than right.”
Well, Folks, what does this all say to me? It says that time for nice talk is done. We need more Rumsfeldian hecklers screaming at lying monsters. We need more Colbert Reports in the face of “the Man.” We need more honest scientists like Chomsky and Galileo sticking to their story even if it pisses off the Pope and Kkkarl Rove.
The monsters who don’t want to hear what they don’t want to hear don’t listen to talk or reason or their calcified hearts or God – whether we ask them to for us or even - as I'm sure Bush & Co. often parrot - “in the name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.” They care only about themselves, and unless we resist in stronger ways than impassioned entreaty and aguement, they will drag us into Grover Norquist’s bathtub, light a fire under it, add some carrots and celery, throw in a sprig of pasley, call it the People’s Stew, and demand that we stir it periodically.
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:02 AM
0 comments
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Sunday, May 07, 2006
Neil Young's "Living with War" Listen here !!
Hey Folks,
In his Living With War, Neil Young has spoken out for us.
Here it is:
http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF23130/
- Uke Man
In his Living With War, Neil Young has spoken out for us.
Here it is:
http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF23130/
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 4:47 PM
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"I'd rupture the rapture! I'd feast on the beast!! I'd push him in the Bush!! I'd get my kicks re-routing 666!! Courage !!!"
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:50 AM
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I Do believe in Spooks; I Do Believe in Spooks; I do, I do, I do !!!
The Sunday Times April 30, 2006
Mothers expect Damien on 6/6/06
Tony Allen-Mills (a ukethanks to Linda)
FOR one group of expectant mothers, their due date holds an extra dimension of dread. The prospect of giving birth on June 6, 6/6/06, has prompted talk of spawning devil children on Armageddon day.
A British self-help group that usually exchanges routine tips on parenting has turned its attention to the dangers of a date marked by the satanic symbol.
For Hollywood and the worldwide entertainment industry it is by contrast a once-in-a- century opportunity to turn evil into gold. Leading the charge is 20th Century Fox, whose remake of The Omen, the classic 1970s horror film, will appear on June 6.
The approach of the sixth day of the sixth month of a new century’s sixth year has prompted animated discussion among women participating in the website of Mother & Baby, a British parenting magazine.
One pregnant woman, Francesca Renouf, said she had been so worried that she had booked a doctor’s appointment to ensure that she would avoid giving birth on the sixth.
Others appeared to take the dangers less seriously. One woman, Emma Parker,wrote that she intends to call her baby Damien, after the satanic boy in The Omen. Another, Donna Magnante, said she would name her baby after Regan in The Exorcist.
In America the marketing of the apocalypse is well under way. Slayer, one ofAmerica’s most popular heavy metal rock groups, will start its Unholy Alliance tour, subtitled Preaching to the Perverted.
Crown Forum, a US publishing giant, has seized on 666 as the perfect date forthe launch of Godless, a new anti-liberal political polemic by Ann Coulter, a prominent right-wing columnist.
And inevitably the internet is awash with frenzied doomsday debate and 666 speculation, all reflecting America’s continuing obsession with angels, devils and the possible nature of heaven and hell.
While some Armageddon believers fear that 6/6/06 will be “a day of satanic power” that may be marked by a comet hitting the Earth, others believe that the world is coming closer to what is widely known as “the rapture” — the moment theLord calls the Christian faithful home and millions of born-again evangelicalswill suddenly disappear from the Earth, leaving non-believers behind [oh, if only this were true - Uke Man].
On one popular evangelical website last week, a “rapture index” that calculates the likelihood of the Lord’s arrival stood at 156 — which the website declared was time to “fasten your seatbelts”. By contrast, another website claimed that the Antichrist had already arrived — he is supposedly George (six letters)Walker (six letters) Bush Jr (six letters), the president whose name adds up to 666. “The violence and destruction that began when Bush first entered office is now certain to culminate in the apocalypse, as predicted in the Bible over 2,000years ago,” warned Stephen Hanchett at www.isbushantichrist.blogspot.com .
The 666 phenomenon is based on a disputed passage from the Book of Revelation,which in several popular versions declares the “number of the beast” to be 666 —although some biblical scholars claim there was a mistranslation and the number should really be 616.
Either way, John Moore, the Irish director of The Omen remake — entitled Omen666 — realised that June 6 was too good a date to miss for a film about a sinister child named Damien who turns out to be the Antichrist. “It’s a fantastic marketing gimmick,” Moore said. “We figured if we could hit this date it would make it all the more interesting.”
The only devils in Coulter’s book are abortion-loving Democrats, but that hasn’t stopped her publisher making the most of 666. Coulter, a tall blonde with a mean anti-liberal streak, is the bestselling author of How to Talk to a Liberal (IfYou Must).
Her new book, subtitled The Church of Liberalism, is reportedly even more bilious, with chapters such as “On the seventh day God rested and Liberals schemed”, and “The holiest sacrament: abortion”.
Joining Slayer on the musical front is the cult death metal group Deicide, which calls itself “Satan’s favourite band”. Its latest album, The Stench ofRedemption, is scheduled for release on what it calls “the most unholy of days,6/6/06”.
The majority of Americans may well conclude that if the last 6/6/06 (in 1906)failed to end in apocalypse, they might survive this one, too. But the current vogue for horror films suggests that the omens for Fox’s Omen 666 may be bright whatever the release date.
Unless of course anyone notices the numerological significance of “Fox”. As onecontributor to Arianna Huffington’s blog pointed out last week, F is the sixth letter of the alphabet, O is the 15th letter (1+5=6) and X is the 24th letter(2+4=6).
Could Fox be the studio of the Beast?
- Uke Man
Mothers expect Damien on 6/6/06
Tony Allen-Mills (a ukethanks to Linda)
FOR one group of expectant mothers, their due date holds an extra dimension of dread. The prospect of giving birth on June 6, 6/6/06, has prompted talk of spawning devil children on Armageddon day.
A British self-help group that usually exchanges routine tips on parenting has turned its attention to the dangers of a date marked by the satanic symbol.
For Hollywood and the worldwide entertainment industry it is by contrast a once-in-a- century opportunity to turn evil into gold. Leading the charge is 20th Century Fox, whose remake of The Omen, the classic 1970s horror film, will appear on June 6.
The approach of the sixth day of the sixth month of a new century’s sixth year has prompted animated discussion among women participating in the website of Mother & Baby, a British parenting magazine.
One pregnant woman, Francesca Renouf, said she had been so worried that she had booked a doctor’s appointment to ensure that she would avoid giving birth on the sixth.
Others appeared to take the dangers less seriously. One woman, Emma Parker,wrote that she intends to call her baby Damien, after the satanic boy in The Omen. Another, Donna Magnante, said she would name her baby after Regan in The Exorcist.
In America the marketing of the apocalypse is well under way. Slayer, one ofAmerica’s most popular heavy metal rock groups, will start its Unholy Alliance tour, subtitled Preaching to the Perverted.
Crown Forum, a US publishing giant, has seized on 666 as the perfect date forthe launch of Godless, a new anti-liberal political polemic by Ann Coulter, a prominent right-wing columnist.
And inevitably the internet is awash with frenzied doomsday debate and 666 speculation, all reflecting America’s continuing obsession with angels, devils and the possible nature of heaven and hell.
While some Armageddon believers fear that 6/6/06 will be “a day of satanic power” that may be marked by a comet hitting the Earth, others believe that the world is coming closer to what is widely known as “the rapture” — the moment theLord calls the Christian faithful home and millions of born-again evangelicalswill suddenly disappear from the Earth, leaving non-believers behind [oh, if only this were true - Uke Man].
On one popular evangelical website last week, a “rapture index” that calculates the likelihood of the Lord’s arrival stood at 156 — which the website declared was time to “fasten your seatbelts”. By contrast, another website claimed that the Antichrist had already arrived — he is supposedly George (six letters)Walker (six letters) Bush Jr (six letters), the president whose name adds up to 666. “The violence and destruction that began when Bush first entered office is now certain to culminate in the apocalypse, as predicted in the Bible over 2,000years ago,” warned Stephen Hanchett at www.isbushantichrist.blogspot.com .
The 666 phenomenon is based on a disputed passage from the Book of Revelation,which in several popular versions declares the “number of the beast” to be 666 —although some biblical scholars claim there was a mistranslation and the number should really be 616.
Either way, John Moore, the Irish director of The Omen remake — entitled Omen666 — realised that June 6 was too good a date to miss for a film about a sinister child named Damien who turns out to be the Antichrist. “It’s a fantastic marketing gimmick,” Moore said. “We figured if we could hit this date it would make it all the more interesting.”
The only devils in Coulter’s book are abortion-loving Democrats, but that hasn’t stopped her publisher making the most of 666. Coulter, a tall blonde with a mean anti-liberal streak, is the bestselling author of How to Talk to a Liberal (IfYou Must).
Her new book, subtitled The Church of Liberalism, is reportedly even more bilious, with chapters such as “On the seventh day God rested and Liberals schemed”, and “The holiest sacrament: abortion”.
Joining Slayer on the musical front is the cult death metal group Deicide, which calls itself “Satan’s favourite band”. Its latest album, The Stench ofRedemption, is scheduled for release on what it calls “the most unholy of days,6/6/06”.
The majority of Americans may well conclude that if the last 6/6/06 (in 1906)failed to end in apocalypse, they might survive this one, too. But the current vogue for horror films suggests that the omens for Fox’s Omen 666 may be bright whatever the release date.
Unless of course anyone notices the numerological significance of “Fox”. As onecontributor to Arianna Huffington’s blog pointed out last week, F is the sixth letter of the alphabet, O is the 15th letter (1+5=6) and X is the 24th letter(2+4=6).
Could Fox be the studio of the Beast?
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:15 AM
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" ' 666' is just ' 999' upside-down"
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:14 AM
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Saturday, May 06, 2006
the State of the Onion - Makes you want to cry !!
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:23 PM
0 comments
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State of the Onion Speech - Video
There was a glitch in the teleprompter - Bush went right on (this video is a little hoakey in spots, but Bush is homogeneously hoaky - so, BD!!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvqVTXpnjYg&search=bush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvqVTXpnjYg&search=bush
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:15 PM
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Chickens Come Home to Roost --(and shit on the guilty)
April 30, 2006
Bush of a Thousand Days
By FRANK RICH
LIKE the hand that suddenly pops out of the grave at the end of
"Carrie," the past keeps coming back to haunt the Bush White House. Last week was no exception. No sooner did the Great Decider introduce the Fox News showman anointed to repackage the same old bad decisions than the spotlight shifted back to Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury room, where Karl Rove testified for a fifth time. Nightfall brought the release of an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll with its record-low numbers for a lame-duck president with a thousand days to go and no way out.
The demons that keep rising up from the past to grab Mr. Bush are the fictional W.M.D. he wielded to take us into Iraq.
They stalk him as relentlessly as Banquo's ghost did Macbeth. From that original sin, all else flows. Mr. Rove
wouldn't be in jeopardy if the White House hadn't hatched a clumsy plot to cover up its fictions. Mr. Bush's poll numbers wouldn't be in the toilet if American blood was not being spilled daily because of his fictions. By recruiting a practiced Fox News performer to better spin this history, the White House
reveals that it has learned nothing. Made-for-TV propaganda propelled the Bush presidency into its quagmire in the first place. At this late date only the truth, the whole and nothing but, can set it free.
All too fittingly, Tony Snow's appointment was announced just
before May Day, a red-letter day twice over in the history of the
Iraq war. It was on May 1 three years ago that Mr. Bush did his
victory jig on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. It was May 1 last year that The Sunday Times of London published the so-called Downing Street memo. These events bracket all that has gone wrong and will keep going wrong for this president until he comes clean.
To mark the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion last month,
the White House hyped something called Operation Swarmer, "the largest air assault" since the start of the war, complete with Pentagon-produced video suitable for the evening news. (What the operation actually accomplished as either warfare or P.R.remains a mystery.) It will take nothing less than a replay of D-Day with the original cast to put a happy gloss on tomorrow's anniversary. Looking back at "Mission Accomplished" now is like playing that childhood game of "What's wrong with this picture?" It wasn't just the banner or the "Top Gun" joyride or the declaration of the end of "major combat operations" that was bogus. Everything was fake except the troops.
"We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built
palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools," Mr. Bush said on that glorious day. Three years later we know, courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers, that our corrupt, Enron-like Iraq reconstruction effort has yielded at most 20 of those 142 promised hospitals. But we did build a palace for ourselves. The only building project on time and on budget, USA Today reported, is a $592 million embassy complex in the Green Zone on acreage the size of 80 football fields.Symbolically enough, it will have its own water-treatment plant and power generator to provide the basic services that we still have not restored to pre-invasion levels for the poor unwashed Iraqis beyond the American bunker.
These days Mr. Bush seems to be hoping that we'll just forget every falsehood in his "Mission Accomplished" oration. Trying to deflect a citizen's hostile question about prewar intelligence claims, the president asserted at a public forum last month that he had never said "there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein." But on May 1, 2003, as on countless other occasions, he repeatedly made that direct connection. "With those attacks the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States," heintoned then. "And war is what they got." It was typical of the bait-and-switch rhetoric he used to substitute a war of choice against
an enemy who did not attack us on 9/11 for the war against the non-Iraqi
terrorists who did.
At the time, "Mission Accomplished" was cheered by the
Beltway establishment."This fellow's won a war," the dean of the
capital's press corps, David Broder, announced on "Meet the Press" after complimenting the president on the "great sense of authority and command" he exhibited in a flight suit. By contrast, the Washington grandees mostly ignored the Downing Street memo when it was first published in Britain, much as they initially underestimated the import of the Valerie Wilson leak investigation.
The Downing Street memo — minutes of a Tony Blair meeting with senior advisers in July 2002, nearly eight months before the war began — has proved as accurate as "Mission Accomplished" was fantasy. Each week brings new confirmation that the White House, as the head of British intelligence put it, was determined to fix "the intelligence and facts" around
its predetermined policy of going to war in Iraq. Today Mr. Bush tries to pass the buck on the missing W.M.D. to "faulty intelligence," but his alibi is springing leaks faster than the White House and the C.I.A. can clamp down on them. We now know the president knew that the intelligence he cherry-picked was faulty — and flogged it anyway to sell us the war.
The latest evidence that Mr. Bush knew that "uranium from Africa" was no slam-dunk when he brandished it in his 2003 State of the Union address was uncovered by The Washington Post: the coordinating council for the 15 American intelligence agencies had already informed the White House that the Niger story had no factual basis and should be dropped. Last Sunday "60 Minutes" augmented this storyline and an earlier scoop by Lisa Myers of NBC News by reporting that the White House had deliberately ignored its most highly placed prewar informant, Saddam's final foreign minister, Naji Sabri, once he sent the word that Saddam's nuclear cupboard was bare.
"There was almost a concern we'd find something that would
slow up the war," Tyler Drumheller, a 26-year C.I.A. veteran and an on-camera source for "60 Minutes," said when I interviewed him last week. Since retiring from the C.I.A. in fall 2004, Mr. Drumheller has played an important role in revealing White House chicanery, including its dire hawking of Saddam's mobile biological weapons labs, which turned out to be fictitious. Before Colin Powell's fateful U.N. presentation, Mr. Drumheller conveyed vociferous warnings that the sole human source on these nonexistent W.M.D. labs, an Iraqi émigré known as Curveball, was mentally unstable and a fabricator. "The real tragedy of this," Mr. Drumheller says, "is if they had let the weapons inspectors play out, we could have had a Gulf War I-like coalition, which would have given us the [300,000] to 400,000 troops needed to secure the country after defeating the Iraqi Army."
Mr. Drumheller says that until the White House "comes to
grips with why it did this" and stops "propping up the original rationale" for the war, it "will never get out of Iraq." He is right. But the White House clings to its discredited fictions even though their expiration date is fast arriving. There are new Drumhellers seeking out reporters each day. The Fitzgerald investigation continues to yield revelations of administration W.M.D. subterfuge, president-authorized leaks included. Should the Democrats retake either house of Congress in November, their subpoena power will liberate the investigation of the manipulation of prewar intelligence that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Pat Roberts, has stalled for almost two years.
SET against this reality, the debate about Donald Rumsfeld's
future is as much of a sideshow as the installation of a slicker Fleischer-McClellan marketer in the White House press room. The defense secretary's catastrophic mistakes in Iraq cannot be undone now, and any successor would still be beholden to the policy set from above. Mr. Rumsfeld is merely a useful, even essential, scapegoat for the hawks in politics and punditland who are now embarrassed to have signed on to this fiasco. For conservative hawks, he's a convenient way to deflect blame from where it most belongs: with the commander in chief. For liberal hawks, attacking Mr. Rumsfeld for his poor execution of the war means never having to say you're sorry for leaping on (and abetting) the blatant propaganda bandwagon that took us there. But their history can't be rewritten any more than Mr. Bush's can: the war's failures were manifestly foretold by the administration's arrogance and haste during the run-up.
A new defense or press secretary changes nothing. The only person
who can try to save the administration from itself in Iraq is the president. He can start telling the truth in the narrow window of time he has left and initiate a candid national conversation about our inevitable exit strategy. Or he can wait for events on the ground in Iraq and political realities at home to do it for him.
Bush of a Thousand Days
By FRANK RICH
LIKE the hand that suddenly pops out of the grave at the end of
"Carrie," the past keeps coming back to haunt the Bush White House. Last week was no exception. No sooner did the Great Decider introduce the Fox News showman anointed to repackage the same old bad decisions than the spotlight shifted back to Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury room, where Karl Rove testified for a fifth time. Nightfall brought the release of an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll with its record-low numbers for a lame-duck president with a thousand days to go and no way out.
The demons that keep rising up from the past to grab Mr. Bush are the fictional W.M.D. he wielded to take us into Iraq.
They stalk him as relentlessly as Banquo's ghost did Macbeth. From that original sin, all else flows. Mr. Rove
wouldn't be in jeopardy if the White House hadn't hatched a clumsy plot to cover up its fictions. Mr. Bush's poll numbers wouldn't be in the toilet if American blood was not being spilled daily because of his fictions. By recruiting a practiced Fox News performer to better spin this history, the White House
reveals that it has learned nothing. Made-for-TV propaganda propelled the Bush presidency into its quagmire in the first place. At this late date only the truth, the whole and nothing but, can set it free.
All too fittingly, Tony Snow's appointment was announced just
before May Day, a red-letter day twice over in the history of the
Iraq war. It was on May 1 three years ago that Mr. Bush did his
victory jig on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. It was May 1 last year that The Sunday Times of London published the so-called Downing Street memo. These events bracket all that has gone wrong and will keep going wrong for this president until he comes clean.
To mark the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion last month,
the White House hyped something called Operation Swarmer, "the largest air assault" since the start of the war, complete with Pentagon-produced video suitable for the evening news. (What the operation actually accomplished as either warfare or P.R.remains a mystery.) It will take nothing less than a replay of D-Day with the original cast to put a happy gloss on tomorrow's anniversary. Looking back at "Mission Accomplished" now is like playing that childhood game of "What's wrong with this picture?" It wasn't just the banner or the "Top Gun" joyride or the declaration of the end of "major combat operations" that was bogus. Everything was fake except the troops.
"We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built
palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools," Mr. Bush said on that glorious day. Three years later we know, courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers, that our corrupt, Enron-like Iraq reconstruction effort has yielded at most 20 of those 142 promised hospitals. But we did build a palace for ourselves. The only building project on time and on budget, USA Today reported, is a $592 million embassy complex in the Green Zone on acreage the size of 80 football fields.Symbolically enough, it will have its own water-treatment plant and power generator to provide the basic services that we still have not restored to pre-invasion levels for the poor unwashed Iraqis beyond the American bunker.
These days Mr. Bush seems to be hoping that we'll just forget every falsehood in his "Mission Accomplished" oration. Trying to deflect a citizen's hostile question about prewar intelligence claims, the president asserted at a public forum last month that he had never said "there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein." But on May 1, 2003, as on countless other occasions, he repeatedly made that direct connection. "With those attacks the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States," heintoned then. "And war is what they got." It was typical of the bait-and-switch rhetoric he used to substitute a war of choice against
an enemy who did not attack us on 9/11 for the war against the non-Iraqi
terrorists who did.
At the time, "Mission Accomplished" was cheered by the
Beltway establishment."This fellow's won a war," the dean of the
capital's press corps, David Broder, announced on "Meet the Press" after complimenting the president on the "great sense of authority and command" he exhibited in a flight suit. By contrast, the Washington grandees mostly ignored the Downing Street memo when it was first published in Britain, much as they initially underestimated the import of the Valerie Wilson leak investigation.
The Downing Street memo — minutes of a Tony Blair meeting with senior advisers in July 2002, nearly eight months before the war began — has proved as accurate as "Mission Accomplished" was fantasy. Each week brings new confirmation that the White House, as the head of British intelligence put it, was determined to fix "the intelligence and facts" around
its predetermined policy of going to war in Iraq. Today Mr. Bush tries to pass the buck on the missing W.M.D. to "faulty intelligence," but his alibi is springing leaks faster than the White House and the C.I.A. can clamp down on them. We now know the president knew that the intelligence he cherry-picked was faulty — and flogged it anyway to sell us the war.
The latest evidence that Mr. Bush knew that "uranium from Africa" was no slam-dunk when he brandished it in his 2003 State of the Union address was uncovered by The Washington Post: the coordinating council for the 15 American intelligence agencies had already informed the White House that the Niger story had no factual basis and should be dropped. Last Sunday "60 Minutes" augmented this storyline and an earlier scoop by Lisa Myers of NBC News by reporting that the White House had deliberately ignored its most highly placed prewar informant, Saddam's final foreign minister, Naji Sabri, once he sent the word that Saddam's nuclear cupboard was bare.
"There was almost a concern we'd find something that would
slow up the war," Tyler Drumheller, a 26-year C.I.A. veteran and an on-camera source for "60 Minutes," said when I interviewed him last week. Since retiring from the C.I.A. in fall 2004, Mr. Drumheller has played an important role in revealing White House chicanery, including its dire hawking of Saddam's mobile biological weapons labs, which turned out to be fictitious. Before Colin Powell's fateful U.N. presentation, Mr. Drumheller conveyed vociferous warnings that the sole human source on these nonexistent W.M.D. labs, an Iraqi émigré known as Curveball, was mentally unstable and a fabricator. "The real tragedy of this," Mr. Drumheller says, "is if they had let the weapons inspectors play out, we could have had a Gulf War I-like coalition, which would have given us the [300,000] to 400,000 troops needed to secure the country after defeating the Iraqi Army."
Mr. Drumheller says that until the White House "comes to
grips with why it did this" and stops "propping up the original rationale" for the war, it "will never get out of Iraq." He is right. But the White House clings to its discredited fictions even though their expiration date is fast arriving. There are new Drumhellers seeking out reporters each day. The Fitzgerald investigation continues to yield revelations of administration W.M.D. subterfuge, president-authorized leaks included. Should the Democrats retake either house of Congress in November, their subpoena power will liberate the investigation of the manipulation of prewar intelligence that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Pat Roberts, has stalled for almost two years.
SET against this reality, the debate about Donald Rumsfeld's
future is as much of a sideshow as the installation of a slicker Fleischer-McClellan marketer in the White House press room. The defense secretary's catastrophic mistakes in Iraq cannot be undone now, and any successor would still be beholden to the policy set from above. Mr. Rumsfeld is merely a useful, even essential, scapegoat for the hawks in politics and punditland who are now embarrassed to have signed on to this fiasco. For conservative hawks, he's a convenient way to deflect blame from where it most belongs: with the commander in chief. For liberal hawks, attacking Mr. Rumsfeld for his poor execution of the war means never having to say you're sorry for leaping on (and abetting) the blatant propaganda bandwagon that took us there. But their history can't be rewritten any more than Mr. Bush's can: the war's failures were manifestly foretold by the administration's arrogance and haste during the run-up.
A new defense or press secretary changes nothing. The only person
who can try to save the administration from itself in Iraq is the president. He can start telling the truth in the narrow window of time he has left and initiate a candid national conversation about our inevitable exit strategy. Or he can wait for events on the ground in Iraq and political realities at home to do it for him.
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:23 PM
0 comments
links to this post
Friday, May 05, 2006
Black Bush
Hey Folks,
I guess this has been around a while, but I'd never seen it. In any case, it's worth seeing.
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do2YfUa-cig&search=bush
- Uke Man
I guess this has been around a while, but I'd never seen it. In any case, it's worth seeing.
Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do2YfUa-cig&search=bush
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:27 PM
0 comments
links to this post
"I asked God, and he told me."
"Yes, George, in heaven you will have a brain."
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:34 AM
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links to this post
Heaven Help Us !!
Hey Folks,
I was listening recently to the Stephanie Miller Show and all the callers were offering condolences over the death of Stephanie’s St. Bernard. She’d missed a day or two from the program because of grief and an illness that grew out of her grief.
All the callers were very supportive. I am too, but one comment got me thinking. It was that Stephanie’s dog was now in heaven.
Some "experts" say that only people go to heaven and, even then, that only SOME people go to heaven. Well, that little controversy – though sexy and current – wasn’t what I got to thinking about. No, I started asking questions about heaven itself.
First of all it struck me that since Stephanie loved her dog so much (and the callers were also dedicated dog-lovers), believing that the dog was in heaven would be very comforting, something to be supremely desired. It also struck me, however, that just because we WANT something doesn’t make it so.
And although we have, I guess, some Biblical authority that there is a heaven for people and that some of us might end up there; there’s NO evidence to support the notion that dogs (or ANY other animal - sorry cat/etc.-lovers) can get in.
All I know is that a lady caller assured Stephanie that it was so.
For now, let’s assume that the Bible and the lady both know what they were talking about and see where that takes us. It led me to ask the following questions:
1. My friend and band-mate has a wonderful three-legged dog. When the dog dies and goes to heaven, will he have three legs or four?
2. My Dad had polio and used crutches, braces, and a wheelchair for as long as I can remember. Will he be up and running around in heaven.
3. Unlike Reverends Parsley, Falwell, and Robertson, my Dad wasn’t very religious. Will he even BE in heaven to spit on Parsley and his pals?
4. I know a woman who’s been married four times. In heaven, with which beloved husband will she be re-united ? Will there be domestic trouble as a result?
5. Will we have to work in heaven?
6. If so, will it be for a corporation or for someone interested in us?
7. Is there sex in heaven?
8. In heaven, are virgins still virgins after suicide bombers get ahold of them?
9. In heaven, are virgins still virgins after Parsley, Falwell, and Robertson get ahold of them?
10. Is there “fashion” in heaven?
11. Is there money in Heaven?
12. Are some people more important than other people in heaven?
13. If the answer is “No” to the last three questions, why are fashion, money, and status so important on earth?
14. And why do so many people working so hard for fashion, money, and status think they want to go to heaven?
I have millions of questions – yes, I do; but, for now, let me close with this one:
15. What’s the big thrill of heaven? I mean other than living forever – not dying (like a vampire or a zombie) what’s the big thrill?
My Dad used to say, “Everything that’s fun is either illegal, immoral, or fattening"; and if none of those things are allowed in heaven, I think I’d rather go to hell.
- Uke Man
I was listening recently to the Stephanie Miller Show and all the callers were offering condolences over the death of Stephanie’s St. Bernard. She’d missed a day or two from the program because of grief and an illness that grew out of her grief.
All the callers were very supportive. I am too, but one comment got me thinking. It was that Stephanie’s dog was now in heaven.
Some "experts" say that only people go to heaven and, even then, that only SOME people go to heaven. Well, that little controversy – though sexy and current – wasn’t what I got to thinking about. No, I started asking questions about heaven itself.
First of all it struck me that since Stephanie loved her dog so much (and the callers were also dedicated dog-lovers), believing that the dog was in heaven would be very comforting, something to be supremely desired. It also struck me, however, that just because we WANT something doesn’t make it so.
And although we have, I guess, some Biblical authority that there is a heaven for people and that some of us might end up there; there’s NO evidence to support the notion that dogs (or ANY other animal - sorry cat/etc.-lovers) can get in.
All I know is that a lady caller assured Stephanie that it was so.
For now, let’s assume that the Bible and the lady both know what they were talking about and see where that takes us. It led me to ask the following questions:
1. My friend and band-mate has a wonderful three-legged dog. When the dog dies and goes to heaven, will he have three legs or four?
2. My Dad had polio and used crutches, braces, and a wheelchair for as long as I can remember. Will he be up and running around in heaven.
3. Unlike Reverends Parsley, Falwell, and Robertson, my Dad wasn’t very religious. Will he even BE in heaven to spit on Parsley and his pals?
4. I know a woman who’s been married four times. In heaven, with which beloved husband will she be re-united ? Will there be domestic trouble as a result?
5. Will we have to work in heaven?
6. If so, will it be for a corporation or for someone interested in us?
7. Is there sex in heaven?
8. In heaven, are virgins still virgins after suicide bombers get ahold of them?
9. In heaven, are virgins still virgins after Parsley, Falwell, and Robertson get ahold of them?
10. Is there “fashion” in heaven?
11. Is there money in Heaven?
12. Are some people more important than other people in heaven?
13. If the answer is “No” to the last three questions, why are fashion, money, and status so important on earth?
14. And why do so many people working so hard for fashion, money, and status think they want to go to heaven?
I have millions of questions – yes, I do; but, for now, let me close with this one:
15. What’s the big thrill of heaven? I mean other than living forever – not dying (like a vampire or a zombie) what’s the big thrill?
My Dad used to say, “Everything that’s fun is either illegal, immoral, or fattening"; and if none of those things are allowed in heaven, I think I’d rather go to hell.
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:29 AM
4 comments
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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Nepal - Where PEOPLE Demand a Voice !!
Hey Folks,
A while back I posted about the situation in Nepal. Part of that posting included an analysis by a friend of mine. He's commented again, and I've included it below.
We in America, "the greatest Nation in the world," a "Shining City on the Hill," "the home of the free and the brave," the "Cradle of Democracy" where Emperor Bush acts as if he is annointed to rule by "Divine Right" could learn something from the people of Nepal - people who, by the force of their will and their actions have driven out THEIR self-annointed, god-preferred monarch !!!!
- Uke Man
The recent period has been marked by historic events involving millions of people taking the stage of history, here and around the world.
In France, the rebellion of French youth of Arab and North African descent and the mass movement against government attacks on job security by students, supported by labor have shaken the Chirac regime.
In the U.S., the immigrants' rights mobilization of millions offers the promise of reshaping the political terrain in significant ways. In addition, 350,000 marched in NYC against unjust war and occupation in Iraq.
Then there is the situation in Nepal. Events have moved rapidly since my last post on the popular effort to oust the monarchy and establish a democratic republic.
The mass demonstrations of hundreds of thousands in Kathmandu, called by an alliance of parliamentary parties and the Maoists ( who control three quarters of the countryside and have significant support in the capital as well), forced the King to bow to pressure from his Indian and U.S. backers and reconvene parliament.
The joint program of the opposition calls next for the establishment of a constituent assembly to decide on the fate of the monarchy and schedule nationwide elections.
As the King's political capital approaches zero and that of the opposition, particularly the Maoists', soars, the revolutionary/democratic movement in Nepal faces both dangers and opportunities.
Here are some new resources for those who are interested in the latest developments there, developments which may have broad significance for South Asia, particularly India:
First, from the, highly recommended, MRzine, "Monthly Review's" online vehicle, several articles:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ (edited by Columbus academic and activist Yoshi Furuhashi)
OSU English Professor, International Socialist Organization (ISO) activist , Parnav Jani , writes on recent events in "Whither Nepal?": http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/jani010506.html
Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist leader, on the "historic revolutionary tsunami going on in Nepal": http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/bhattarai260406.html
Article on speech by "underground" Maoist student leader on their resolve to establish a democratic republic: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP24176.htm
Finally, for deep background, a lengthy interview from February 2000 with CPN(M) Chairman Prachanda that demonstrates, even then at an early stage in the development of the revolution in Nepal, the vision, perspective and self-confidence of the revolutionary leadership. (Interviewed by Li Onesto, reporter for the RCP's "Revolution" newspaper)
http://www.lionesto.net/
A while back I posted about the situation in Nepal. Part of that posting included an analysis by a friend of mine. He's commented again, and I've included it below.
We in America, "the greatest Nation in the world," a "Shining City on the Hill," "the home of the free and the brave," the "Cradle of Democracy" where Emperor Bush acts as if he is annointed to rule by "Divine Right" could learn something from the people of Nepal - people who, by the force of their will and their actions have driven out THEIR self-annointed, god-preferred monarch !!!!
- Uke Man
The recent period has been marked by historic events involving millions of people taking the stage of history, here and around the world.
In France, the rebellion of French youth of Arab and North African descent and the mass movement against government attacks on job security by students, supported by labor have shaken the Chirac regime.
In the U.S., the immigrants' rights mobilization of millions offers the promise of reshaping the political terrain in significant ways. In addition, 350,000 marched in NYC against unjust war and occupation in Iraq.
Then there is the situation in Nepal. Events have moved rapidly since my last post on the popular effort to oust the monarchy and establish a democratic republic.
The mass demonstrations of hundreds of thousands in Kathmandu, called by an alliance of parliamentary parties and the Maoists ( who control three quarters of the countryside and have significant support in the capital as well), forced the King to bow to pressure from his Indian and U.S. backers and reconvene parliament.
The joint program of the opposition calls next for the establishment of a constituent assembly to decide on the fate of the monarchy and schedule nationwide elections.
As the King's political capital approaches zero and that of the opposition, particularly the Maoists', soars, the revolutionary/democratic movement in Nepal faces both dangers and opportunities.
Here are some new resources for those who are interested in the latest developments there, developments which may have broad significance for South Asia, particularly India:
First, from the, highly recommended, MRzine, "Monthly Review's" online vehicle, several articles:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ (edited by Columbus academic and activist Yoshi Furuhashi)
OSU English Professor, International Socialist Organization (ISO) activist , Parnav Jani , writes on recent events in "Whither Nepal?": http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/jani010506.html
Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist leader, on the "historic revolutionary tsunami going on in Nepal": http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/bhattarai260406.html
Article on speech by "underground" Maoist student leader on their resolve to establish a democratic republic: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP24176.htm
Finally, for deep background, a lengthy interview from February 2000 with CPN(M) Chairman Prachanda that demonstrates, even then at an early stage in the development of the revolution in Nepal, the vision, perspective and self-confidence of the revolutionary leadership. (Interviewed by Li Onesto, reporter for the RCP's "Revolution" newspaper)
http://www.lionesto.net/
posted by Ukulele Man at 5:20 PM
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Is Peep Jousting for You?
Hey Folks,
A while back I mentioned Peeps to my UK pen-pal James. They don't (alas) have Peeps there; so, James researched them and turned me on to "Peep Jousting." I was amazed by what I'd been missing all these years!!!
Can't wait to send Sir Capon the Chicken-hearted against Crusader Bunny-Rab !!
Here's how:
Peep Jousting - a recipe for fun.
(compiled from: http://humor.about.com/b/a/257535.htm )
It's a sport!
To participate, simply wage battles between the famous sugar-coated marshmallow bunnies and chicks to the death -- or better stated: to the goo.
Presented by punkasspunk.com, here's what I gleaned: Peep Jousting in a nut's shell:
1. Take two spongy Peeps and arm each with a pointy, deadly toothpick o' doom.
2. Place those eager jousters in a close, face-to-face position inside a microwave oven.
3. Then power that arena up. As the heat increases, Peeps expand.
4. The first bravehearted sticky candy to become impaled by the other's toothpick is a loser.
Peep Jousting, ladies and gentlmen! Elaborate competition instructions and commentary illustrated with numerous throat-gasping action photographs are available for your perusal. All fully endorsed, I'm sure, by Major League Peep Jousting.
- Uke Man
A while back I mentioned Peeps to my UK pen-pal James. They don't (alas) have Peeps there; so, James researched them and turned me on to "Peep Jousting." I was amazed by what I'd been missing all these years!!!
Can't wait to send Sir Capon the Chicken-hearted against Crusader Bunny-Rab !!
Here's how:
Peep Jousting - a recipe for fun.
(compiled from: http://humor.about.com/b/a/257535.htm )
It's a sport!
To participate, simply wage battles between the famous sugar-coated marshmallow bunnies and chicks to the death -- or better stated: to the goo.
Presented by punkasspunk.com, here's what I gleaned: Peep Jousting in a nut's shell:
1. Take two spongy Peeps and arm each with a pointy, deadly toothpick o' doom.
2. Place those eager jousters in a close, face-to-face position inside a microwave oven.
3. Then power that arena up. As the heat increases, Peeps expand.
4. The first bravehearted sticky candy to become impaled by the other's toothpick is a loser.
Peep Jousting, ladies and gentlmen! Elaborate competition instructions and commentary illustrated with numerous throat-gasping action photographs are available for your perusal. All fully endorsed, I'm sure, by Major League Peep Jousting.
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:37 PM
0 comments
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National Anthem Pendejo
Hey Folks,
According to the Stephanie Miller Show, Laura Bush - when asked - first said that it was OK to sing the anthem in Spanish. When told that hubby had just said it should be sung in English, SHE said it should be sung in English.
Poor thing. I can understand her confusion, having seen this item from the "Drudge Report" :
Bush sang Star Spangled Banner en español during 2000 campaign
Wed May 03 2006
"When visiting cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia, in pivotal states, George W. Bush would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing The Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish, sometimes partying with a “Viva Bush” mariachi band flown in from Texas."
So writes author Kevin Phillips in his book AMERICAN DYNASTY.Last week, at the height of the illegal immigrant's boycott build up, Bush told reporters: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English."
*********
Some slowpoke at The Ministry of Truth will be hearing about this.
- Uke Man
According to the Stephanie Miller Show, Laura Bush - when asked - first said that it was OK to sing the anthem in Spanish. When told that hubby had just said it should be sung in English, SHE said it should be sung in English.
Poor thing. I can understand her confusion, having seen this item from the "Drudge Report" :
Bush sang Star Spangled Banner en español during 2000 campaign
Wed May 03 2006
"When visiting cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia, in pivotal states, George W. Bush would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing The Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish, sometimes partying with a “Viva Bush” mariachi band flown in from Texas."
So writes author Kevin Phillips in his book AMERICAN DYNASTY.Last week, at the height of the illegal immigrant's boycott build up, Bush told reporters: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English."
*********
Some slowpoke at The Ministry of Truth will be hearing about this.
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:02 AM
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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
20 Years of Innovation !! The Last Show
posted by Ukulele Man at 4:56 PM
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SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE -- at the NY Uke Fest
Hey Folks,
One pleasant and bittersweet episode during the NY Uke Fest involved one of my favorite bands:
SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE http://www.songsfromarandomhouse.com/
Thursday night after I played, I visited a second Uke Fest stage in time to enjoy the band’s set, perhaps its last set for a long while.
These guys have been together for twenty years, and announced Thursday night that – at least for now – twenty years was enough. They’ll keep busy one way or another – and IF the stars align properly, might get it together again sometime in the future. I hope so.
Their set was wonderful, and I was – under the unexpected circumstances – VERY glad I was able to be there.
You can hear some samples of their work at: http://www.songsfromarandomhouse.com/sound.html
You’ll want to hear more !! Get their CD’s: see the ordering info at the link directly above.
All the best to SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE;
my friends: Steven Swartz, Alan Drogin, Gregor Kitzis, Jason DiMatteo, and John Bollinger.
- Uke Man
One pleasant and bittersweet episode during the NY Uke Fest involved one of my favorite bands:
SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE http://www.songsfromarandomhouse.com/
Thursday night after I played, I visited a second Uke Fest stage in time to enjoy the band’s set, perhaps its last set for a long while.
These guys have been together for twenty years, and announced Thursday night that – at least for now – twenty years was enough. They’ll keep busy one way or another – and IF the stars align properly, might get it together again sometime in the future. I hope so.
Their set was wonderful, and I was – under the unexpected circumstances – VERY glad I was able to be there.
You can hear some samples of their work at: http://www.songsfromarandomhouse.com/sound.html
You’ll want to hear more !! Get their CD’s: see the ordering info at the link directly above.
All the best to SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE;
my friends: Steven Swartz, Alan Drogin, Gregor Kitzis, Jason DiMatteo, and John Bollinger.
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 4:48 PM
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Folks,
For a SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE Video visit “Midnight Ukulele Disco” at:
http://www.ukuleledisco.com/tastecrow?PHPSESSID=7a1724610d88d6154047918252a11b0b
- Uke Man
For a SoNGS FRoM A RANDoM HoUSE Video visit “Midnight Ukulele Disco” at:
http://www.ukuleledisco.com/tastecrow?PHPSESSID=7a1724610d88d6154047918252a11b0b
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 4:38 PM
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Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Above the Law
Hey Folks,
How does it feel having that smirking, ignorant monkey in the White House stomping on your face?
Read the crap below. We live in "a nation of laws" my ass. "No one is above the law" my ass.
Napoleon said, "History is what I say it is." Fuck Napoleon!
Bush has said, by his actions, "The Constitution means what I say it means." Fuck Bush!!!!
- Uke Man
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
30 April 2006 http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Bush quietly claimed authority to disobey over 750 laws
30 Apr 2006 Dictator Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
News Update from Citizens for Legitimate Government
03 May 2006 http://www.legitgov.org/
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Hearing vowed on Bush's powers
--Senator questions bypassing of laws
03 May 2006 The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [Arlen Specter, R-PA], accusing the White House of a ''very blatant encroachment" on congressional authority, said yesterday he will hold an oversight hearing into President [sic] Bush's assertion that he has the power to bypass more than 750 laws enacted over the past five years. Specter's announcement followed a report in the Sunday Globe that Bush has quietly asserted the authority to ignore provisions in 750 bills he has signed -- about 1 in 10. Over the past five years, Bush has stated that he can defy any statute that conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
How does it feel having that smirking, ignorant monkey in the White House stomping on your face?
Read the crap below. We live in "a nation of laws" my ass. "No one is above the law" my ass.
Napoleon said, "History is what I say it is." Fuck Napoleon!
Bush has said, by his actions, "The Constitution means what I say it means." Fuck Bush!!!!
- Uke Man
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
30 April 2006 http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Bush quietly claimed authority to disobey over 750 laws
30 Apr 2006 Dictator Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
News Update from Citizens for Legitimate Government
03 May 2006 http://www.legitgov.org/
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Hearing vowed on Bush's powers
--Senator questions bypassing of laws
03 May 2006 The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [Arlen Specter, R-PA], accusing the White House of a ''very blatant encroachment" on congressional authority, said yesterday he will hold an oversight hearing into President [sic] Bush's assertion that he has the power to bypass more than 750 laws enacted over the past five years. Specter's announcement followed a report in the Sunday Globe that Bush has quietly asserted the authority to ignore provisions in 750 bills he has signed -- about 1 in 10. Over the past five years, Bush has stated that he can defy any statute that conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
posted by Ukulele Man at 10:08 PM
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Breakfast at Eisenberg's Deli - in the shadow of the Flatiron Building
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:15 PM
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Stop the War - Drive Bush Out !!
Hey Folks,
The “Ukulele National Guard” assembled at the call from “Ukuleles for Sanity” and did its part on April 29 in New York City, to confront the true axis of evil !!
What a time – getting together for breakfast with dedicated old and new friends and then testing our feet, legs, lungs, and ukes against the pavement, the air, and the dreadful disaster of War & Bush !!!
- Uke Man
The “Ukulele National Guard” assembled at the call from “Ukuleles for Sanity” and did its part on April 29 in New York City, to confront the true axis of evil !!
What a time – getting together for breakfast with dedicated old and new friends and then testing our feet, legs, lungs, and ukes against the pavement, the air, and the dreadful disaster of War & Bush !!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:10 PM
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A Statement from United for Peace and Justice regarding the April 29 effort:
What a day it was! Yesterday [April 29] upwards of 350,000 people marched through the streets of New York City in a spirited, powerful expression of our determination to end the war in Iraq, bring all of our troops home, prevent a new war in Iran (or anywhere else), and turn this country around. The nine national organizations that called for the April 29th March for Peace, Justice and Democracy will keep working together and expanding our efforts.
posted by Ukulele Man at 5:00 PM
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Based on a Demented sTrain of Consciousness Flying Home from NYC
Sitting In for Andy Rooney
Do you ever stop to think about Q-tips?
Maybe you don’t think about them, but you probably have some. Nearly everybody does.
Most of us clean out our ears with them. A few people use paper clips or ballpoint pens, but I don't recommend those items.
Of course, the doctors warn against all of that:
“Never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow” they say – like you could get the wax out of your ear with a bowling ball (or your elbow) !!
I don’t know about you, but I think it feels great swishing that cotton-tipped contraption around inside my ear. And it’s well-designed – two tips ! One for each ear. And the cotton is white; so any yellow ear wax I succeed in dragging out shows up clearly - - - and makes me proud.
I once received a card featuring a feisty old lady – I think her name is Lucille – with the caption:
“If Q-tips aren’t for cleaning out your ears, what ARE they for?
I’m with Lucille.
Now I know that what I’ve said here will gripe some of my medical friends, but I’m not recommending this to toddlers or naïve middle-schoolers. I’m talking to adults, mature people with itchy, wax-filled ears.
Anybody that old in a “free country” ( post 9-11 mentality/mental problems notwithstanding ) ought to be able to do whatever he wants with a Q-tip.
To those who disagree I have only one thing to say:
“Stick it in your ear !”
- Uke Man
Do you ever stop to think about Q-tips?
Maybe you don’t think about them, but you probably have some. Nearly everybody does.
Most of us clean out our ears with them. A few people use paper clips or ballpoint pens, but I don't recommend those items.
Of course, the doctors warn against all of that:
“Never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow” they say – like you could get the wax out of your ear with a bowling ball (or your elbow) !!
I don’t know about you, but I think it feels great swishing that cotton-tipped contraption around inside my ear. And it’s well-designed – two tips ! One for each ear. And the cotton is white; so any yellow ear wax I succeed in dragging out shows up clearly - - - and makes me proud.
I once received a card featuring a feisty old lady – I think her name is Lucille – with the caption:
“If Q-tips aren’t for cleaning out your ears, what ARE they for?
I’m with Lucille.
Now I know that what I’ve said here will gripe some of my medical friends, but I’m not recommending this to toddlers or naïve middle-schoolers. I’m talking to adults, mature people with itchy, wax-filled ears.
Anybody that old in a “free country” ( post 9-11 mentality/mental problems notwithstanding ) ought to be able to do whatever he wants with a Q-tip.
To those who disagree I have only one thing to say:
“Stick it in your ear !”
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 1:39 PM
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Monday, May 01, 2006
Music in New York City
Hey Folks,
Three nights of Ukulele Cabaret at the New York Uke Fest ( http://www.nyukefest.com/ ) !!
Sonic Uke rocks!! Jason Tagg and Ted Gottfried are Sonic Uke, and the geniuses of the New York Uke Revival. “Sonic Uke” and “New York Uke” have become synonymous – the hosts and producers of both the TV show “Midnight Ukulele Disco” (www.sonicuke.com) & the New York monthly, LIVE “Ukulele Cabaret” (http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/).
As such they were behind the “Ukulele Cabaret” section of the “NY Uke Fest,” in turn headed up by Uke Jackson of “Flaming Uke” radio fame (www.ukejackson.com/ ).
I played Thurs., Fri., and Saturday – 12 different songs in all and had a great time. As Bob Hite, one of the Prodigal Sons says, “ We play music to have fun.”
- Uke Man
Three nights of Ukulele Cabaret at the New York Uke Fest ( http://www.nyukefest.com/ ) !!
Sonic Uke rocks!! Jason Tagg and Ted Gottfried are Sonic Uke, and the geniuses of the New York Uke Revival. “Sonic Uke” and “New York Uke” have become synonymous – the hosts and producers of both the TV show “Midnight Ukulele Disco” (www.sonicuke.com) & the New York monthly, LIVE “Ukulele Cabaret” (http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/).
As such they were behind the “Ukulele Cabaret” section of the “NY Uke Fest,” in turn headed up by Uke Jackson of “Flaming Uke” radio fame (www.ukejackson.com/ ).
I played Thurs., Fri., and Saturday – 12 different songs in all and had a great time. As Bob Hite, one of the Prodigal Sons says, “ We play music to have fun.”
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:44 PM
1 comments
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Don't let ignorance stop you, Mark!!
Hey Folks,
I've added comments in blue.
- Uke Man
Chavez would be bad news for America
Saturday, June 03, 2006
I could not believe my eyes as I read Anthony Fife’s letter last Saturday. Hugo Chavez is a communist [ not true - socialist ] who follows in the footsteps of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, his idol. Chavez is currently courting Red China [so are we ] and Iran [ we are threatening them ]. He is stirring ferment in South and Central America against the United States [ this ignores the fact that they have good reason to mistrust us - but then guys like this think every foreign country should put OUR interests first ]. How in heaven’s name can Fife praise him and recommend that the United States follow his lead?
Does Fife want our economy and civil rights to follow those of Venezuela [Chavez has improved the civil rights for 80% of his people - that's part of why he was overwhelmingly elected ], Bolivia and Cuba [Cuba has universal health care; do we?]? Doesn’t he understand that when central governments own and run oil companies, only two things happen over the long term: higher prices and shortages? Does he care to look to Europe, where governments either own or have large shares in oil companies and gasoline costs upward of $6 a gallon? [prices are higher there by policy via taxation]. The exceptions are countries run by dictators, theocrats, thugs and corrupt democracies that must keep gasoline prices abnormally low to prevent street riots, which would lead to toppling the hierarchy. A prime example is Venezuela, with gasoline prices of about 20 cents a gallon [make up your mind, Goldilocks - Europe bad:too high; Venezuela bad: too low; United States just right?]
Fife said the Venezuelan economy is growing. It may be growing but only because of one thing: oil, and the price it charges us for it. I trust he remembers that Venezuela is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is an illegal (in the United States) [they're not in the United States - ande it's illegal to execute people in many countries - but not in the United States - how do you want that argument to work, Mark? We stop executions and they drop out of the cartell? or vice versa?] pricefixing cartel. The World Bank’s latest figures show Venezuela is No. 60 in the world ranking in gross domestic product, right above Uruguay, Belize and Gabon, at about $4,000 per person annually. The United States produces 10 times that figure. And a full one-third of Venezuela’s gross domestic product is oil exports, which means without oil, Venezuela would be right up there with those powerful economies of Fiji, Tunisia and Serbia and Montenegro [which perhaps explains why Chavez might want to protect his country's natural resouce and use it to better his people - unless, of course, American interests should conflict with that, in which case he should give way]. So much for Fife’s dream world of Venezuela’s growing economy. Seeing communism coming, many industrialists pulled capital out of the country for safer quarters. Leaving it there would only mean confiscation sooner or later, or loss through inflation, which has averaged about 25 percent a year. The same thing happened after Castro’s coup in Cuba, and look at the sad results 50 years later [if it's sad in Cuba, how much of the sadness have we imposed via the embargo?] . The long-term future is bleak for the average person in Venezuela if Chavez remains in power. Hint: Those costs are personal liberties via voting corruption, restrictions on free speech and press, and takeover of private industry and resources. Oil income will only postpone the end result, not prevent it [the costs he's talking about hit the local upper crust and wealthy foreigners who had formerly raked off everything for themselves and denied rights to the masses] .
Chavez attempted a coup in 1998 and, when that failed, he adopted Castro, Mao Zedong and Vladimir Lenin’s blueprint to ferment class envy [if it's bad to envy the prerogative of the class that oppresses you, is it good to appreciate and respect the class that oppresses you?] among the masses. He was barely elected [60% to 40% - better than Bush did] under suspicious circumstances, notwithstanding the approval of Jimmy Carter, who "monitored" the elections from his hotel [ he doen't like Jimmy either] . Strangely enough, this is the same Carter who, when president, instituted gasoline controls that caused the highest inflation-adjusted prices, greatest shortages and longest lines in our nation’s history. He also gave away the Panama Canal [Don't you have to own something to give it away?] , which led to China today operating the ports at either end of the canal, which some say could be a very dangerous situation should we ever incur a military conflict with China. Imported oil from Venezuela and the Middle East also come to us via the Panama Canal. Thank you, Carter, for making us so vulnerable.
No thanks, Fife. Facts speak for themselves. I’ll take the free market and freedom over government control, socialism or communism, whatever you want to call it. Under a free market, prices have a chance to come down [maybe to 20 cents a gallon - Chavez for president!!] .
MARK FRIDAY
Blacklick
I've added comments in blue.
- Uke Man
Chavez would be bad news for America
Saturday, June 03, 2006
I could not believe my eyes as I read Anthony Fife’s letter last Saturday. Hugo Chavez is a communist [ not true - socialist ] who follows in the footsteps of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, his idol. Chavez is currently courting Red China [so are we ] and Iran [ we are threatening them ]. He is stirring ferment in South and Central America against the United States [ this ignores the fact that they have good reason to mistrust us - but then guys like this think every foreign country should put OUR interests first ]. How in heaven’s name can Fife praise him and recommend that the United States follow his lead?
Does Fife want our economy and civil rights to follow those of Venezuela [Chavez has improved the civil rights for 80% of his people - that's part of why he was overwhelmingly elected ], Bolivia and Cuba [Cuba has universal health care; do we?]? Doesn’t he understand that when central governments own and run oil companies, only two things happen over the long term: higher prices and shortages? Does he care to look to Europe, where governments either own or have large shares in oil companies and gasoline costs upward of $6 a gallon? [prices are higher there by policy via taxation]. The exceptions are countries run by dictators, theocrats, thugs and corrupt democracies that must keep gasoline prices abnormally low to prevent street riots, which would lead to toppling the hierarchy. A prime example is Venezuela, with gasoline prices of about 20 cents a gallon [make up your mind, Goldilocks - Europe bad:too high; Venezuela bad: too low; United States just right?]
Fife said the Venezuelan economy is growing. It may be growing but only because of one thing: oil, and the price it charges us for it. I trust he remembers that Venezuela is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is an illegal (in the United States) [they're not in the United States - ande it's illegal to execute people in many countries - but not in the United States - how do you want that argument to work, Mark? We stop executions and they drop out of the cartell? or vice versa?] pricefixing cartel. The World Bank’s latest figures show Venezuela is No. 60 in the world ranking in gross domestic product, right above Uruguay, Belize and Gabon, at about $4,000 per person annually. The United States produces 10 times that figure. And a full one-third of Venezuela’s gross domestic product is oil exports, which means without oil, Venezuela would be right up there with those powerful economies of Fiji, Tunisia and Serbia and Montenegro [which perhaps explains why Chavez might want to protect his country's natural resouce and use it to better his people - unless, of course, American interests should conflict with that, in which case he should give way]. So much for Fife’s dream world of Venezuela’s growing economy. Seeing communism coming, many industrialists pulled capital out of the country for safer quarters. Leaving it there would only mean confiscation sooner or later, or loss through inflation, which has averaged about 25 percent a year. The same thing happened after Castro’s coup in Cuba, and look at the sad results 50 years later [if it's sad in Cuba, how much of the sadness have we imposed via the embargo?] . The long-term future is bleak for the average person in Venezuela if Chavez remains in power. Hint: Those costs are personal liberties via voting corruption, restrictions on free speech and press, and takeover of private industry and resources. Oil income will only postpone the end result, not prevent it [the costs he's talking about hit the local upper crust and wealthy foreigners who had formerly raked off everything for themselves and denied rights to the masses] .
Chavez attempted a coup in 1998 and, when that failed, he adopted Castro, Mao Zedong and Vladimir Lenin’s blueprint to ferment class envy [if it's bad to envy the prerogative of the class that oppresses you, is it good to appreciate and respect the class that oppresses you?] among the masses. He was barely elected [60% to 40% - better than Bush did] under suspicious circumstances, notwithstanding the approval of Jimmy Carter, who "monitored" the elections from his hotel [ he doen't like Jimmy either] . Strangely enough, this is the same Carter who, when president, instituted gasoline controls that caused the highest inflation-adjusted prices, greatest shortages and longest lines in our nation’s history. He also gave away the Panama Canal [Don't you have to own something to give it away?] , which led to China today operating the ports at either end of the canal, which some say could be a very dangerous situation should we ever incur a military conflict with China. Imported oil from Venezuela and the Middle East also come to us via the Panama Canal. Thank you, Carter, for making us so vulnerable.
No thanks, Fife. Facts speak for themselves. I’ll take the free market and freedom over government control, socialism or communism, whatever you want to call it. Under a free market, prices have a chance to come down [maybe to 20 cents a gallon - Chavez for president!!] .
MARK FRIDAY
Blacklick
posted by Ukulele Man at 9:30 PM
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Hey Folks,
It’s fun to go to New York – and worth it - even at 61, with arthritis, bad feet, and gimpy knees. This time I made it from Thursday through Monday / three nights of Uke Festival / a day of peace-marching / a museum stop, lots of walking, stairs, beer, bourbon, wonderful eats, and more wonderful conversations.
I think that’s about the longest trip I could have managed at this point! I say that with confidence since I fell asleep briefly on the plane this morning – I NEVER fall asleep on planes; I WANT to, but I’ve never been able to pull it off - until today.
It’s fun to be in New York !! All the bullshit I’ve always heard about “Watch out for New Yorkers; they’re rude and will ‘take’ you!” has never been accurate in my experience. In COLUMBUS, maybe; but NOT in New York.
There is still time to prove me wrong, but until that happens, I’ll believe that nice people from here are treated nicely THERE. I know a lot of people from around here who SHOULD be treated rudely.
I really enjoyed New York. I always eat like there’s no tomorrow, and there isn’t ! “Tomorrow” means “back to Wendy’s and Bob Evans. Thank God for White Castle (a gastronomic delight I have yet to com,e across in NYC), or I might be the skinniest man in Pickaway County.
Yes ! I had a great time in NYC !! headquartered in Brooklyn with my Great Pal Ron, whose courage inspires me. He lives and works year-round in America’s most demanding environment while maintaining his association with the Muses, and still can welcome and survive a smelly old guy who snores like a steam-engine (I’m told).
Bless you, Ron Hester!!
- Uke Man
It’s fun to go to New York – and worth it - even at 61, with arthritis, bad feet, and gimpy knees. This time I made it from Thursday through Monday / three nights of Uke Festival / a day of peace-marching / a museum stop, lots of walking, stairs, beer, bourbon, wonderful eats, and more wonderful conversations.
I think that’s about the longest trip I could have managed at this point! I say that with confidence since I fell asleep briefly on the plane this morning – I NEVER fall asleep on planes; I WANT to, but I’ve never been able to pull it off - until today.
It’s fun to be in New York !! All the bullshit I’ve always heard about “Watch out for New Yorkers; they’re rude and will ‘take’ you!” has never been accurate in my experience. In COLUMBUS, maybe; but NOT in New York.
There is still time to prove me wrong, but until that happens, I’ll believe that nice people from here are treated nicely THERE. I know a lot of people from around here who SHOULD be treated rudely.
I really enjoyed New York. I always eat like there’s no tomorrow, and there isn’t ! “Tomorrow” means “back to Wendy’s and Bob Evans. Thank God for White Castle (a gastronomic delight I have yet to com,e across in NYC), or I might be the skinniest man in Pickaway County.
Yes ! I had a great time in NYC !! headquartered in Brooklyn with my Great Pal Ron, whose courage inspires me. He lives and works year-round in America’s most demanding environment while maintaining his association with the Muses, and still can welcome and survive a smelly old guy who snores like a steam-engine (I’m told).
Bless you, Ron Hester!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 7:19 PM
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I'm BAAAAAACK !!!!
Hey Folks !!!
I just walked in the door !! I'll be putting up some goodies as fast as I can !!!
All the best!!
- Uke Man
I just walked in the door !! I'll be putting up some goodies as fast as I can !!!
All the best!!
- Uke Man
posted by Ukulele Man at 6:17 PM
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Southgate on Chavez
Chavez feeling backlash as Latin America takes right turn
Thursday, June 08, 2006
DOUGLAS SOUTHGATE
There is good reason to suppose that the recent wave of leftism in Latin America has crested, with recent elections in Colombia and Peru taking Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez down a couple of notches.
The tide started turning decisively against Chavez on May 28, when his main adversary in the region, Alvaro Uribe, won reelection in Colombia. Uribe’s countrymen hadturned to him in 2002 after several years of fruitless negotiations with narco-terrorists, who receive sympathy and perhaps much more from Venezuela. Although fighting continues in the countryside, violence has diminished in cities such as Bogota and Medellin, much to Uribe’s political advantage.
Peru, which held its election on Sunday, looked to be more promising for theleft. Several years of economic growth and low inflation have had slight effect on the number of Peruvians living in poverty. About half the citizens of the mineral-rich nation subsist on less than $2 a day. Furthermore, the candidate favored by Chavez, Ollanta Humala, was opposed by Alan Garcia, who was hardly an ideal candidate. In his first term as Peru’s chief executive, during the 1980s, murderous Shining Path guerrillas had the upper hand in many parts of the country. Additionally, inflation spun outof control, topping 2,000 percent per annum by the time Garcia left office.
In spite of his shaky record, Garciaprevailed, largely by turning the election into a referendum on Chavez. The Venezuelan would have done well to follow the example of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, who over the years has scrupulously avoidedcriticizing other Latin American leaders. But instead, Chavez was insulting in the extreme, calling Garcia a swine and thief, thus causing Peruvians to rally around him. Without a doubt, much of Garcia’s 10-point victory margin camefrom his backlash against the foreign dictator.
Chavez’s international victories have been few and far between recently, and even they carry significant costs for him. The main victim of the recent nationalization of Bolivia’s natural-gas industry, which the Venezuelan dictator helped toinstigate, has been Brazil. The Braziliangovernment is left-of-center, but it isnot about to neglect vital nationalinterests. Chavez should not expect aticker-tape parade in Rio de Janeiro any time soon.
And having antagonized his neighbors, Chavez cannot point to significant domestic achievements either. Hosting a summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last week in Caracas, Chavez called for all members to cut oil output. His primary motivation is that production has fallen sharply in Venezuela, which happened becausethe state oil company fired experienced professionals who refused to swearallegiance to the current regime.
The OPEC ministers saw no reason to cut production to raise prices, as would have been needed to limit the damage that Chavez’s antics have done to his country’s oil revenues. His proposal was rejected firmly.
The next piece of bad news for Chavez could come from Mexico, which will elect a new president on July 2. His man in the race, former Mexico City Mayor Andres Lopez-Obrador, had been ahead in the polls since 2004. But inrecent months, Felipe Calderon, the candidate of President Vincente Fox’s right-ofcenter party, has overtaken Lopez-Obrador.
Firm predictions might be foolhardy at this point, but here is something to ponder: If Lopez-Obrador really were on track to win and then to rule in Mexico as Chavez has done in Venezuela, Mexico’s stock market would have crashed. One reason it hasn’t might be that Calderon’s chances are pretty good. But it is also likely that even if Lopez-Obrador prevails in the election, his actions will be severely constrained by state governors, all of whom are freely elected, as well as by the national congress.
So Latin America is not falling in behind Chavez. But in a sense, the challenge that he has posed to the political status quo may turn out to be useful. Successful or not, the campaigns of President Evo Morales of Bolivia, Humala and Lopez-Obrador prove that, inplaces with reasonably democratic elections, economic expansion can be jeopardized if a sizable portion of the population remains impoverished.
Maybe Chavez and Co. will scare their opponents into improving education and other public services, thereby helping more people to rise out of poverty and to benefit from market-oriented economic development. If so, the greater good truly will have been served.
Douglas Southgate is a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at Ohio State University.
Southgate . 1 @osu.edu
Thursday, June 08, 2006
DOUGLAS SOUTHGATE
There is good reason to suppose that the recent wave of leftism in Latin America has crested, with recent elections in Colombia and Peru taking Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez down a couple of notches.
The tide started turning decisively against Chavez on May 28, when his main adversary in the region, Alvaro Uribe, won reelection in Colombia. Uribe’s countrymen hadturned to him in 2002 after several years of fruitless negotiations with narco-terrorists, who receive sympathy and perhaps much more from Venezuela. Although fighting continues in the countryside, violence has diminished in cities such as Bogota and Medellin, much to Uribe’s political advantage.
Peru, which held its election on Sunday, looked to be more promising for theleft. Several years of economic growth and low inflation have had slight effect on the number of Peruvians living in poverty. About half the citizens of the mineral-rich nation subsist on less than $2 a day. Furthermore, the candidate favored by Chavez, Ollanta Humala, was opposed by Alan Garcia, who was hardly an ideal candidate. In his first term as Peru’s chief executive, during the 1980s, murderous Shining Path guerrillas had the upper hand in many parts of the country. Additionally, inflation spun outof control, topping 2,000 percent per annum by the time Garcia left office.
In spite of his shaky record, Garciaprevailed, largely by turning the election into a referendum on Chavez. The Venezuelan would have done well to follow the example of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, who over the years has scrupulously avoidedcriticizing other Latin American leaders. But instead, Chavez was insulting in the extreme, calling Garcia a swine and thief, thus causing Peruvians to rally around him. Without a doubt, much of Garcia’s 10-point victory margin camefrom his backlash against the foreign dictator.
Chavez’s international victories have been few and far between recently, and even they carry significant costs for him. The main victim of the recent nationalization of Bolivia’s natural-gas industry, which the Venezuelan dictator helped toinstigate, has been Brazil. The Braziliangovernment is left-of-center, but it isnot about to neglect vital nationalinterests. Chavez should not expect aticker-tape parade in Rio de Janeiro any time soon.
And having antagonized his neighbors, Chavez cannot point to significant domestic achievements either. Hosting a summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last week in Caracas, Chavez called for all members to cut oil output. His primary motivation is that production has fallen sharply in Venezuela, which happened becausethe state oil company fired experienced professionals who refused to swearallegiance to the current regime.
The OPEC ministers saw no reason to cut production to raise prices, as would have been needed to limit the damage that Chavez’s antics have done to his country’s oil revenues. His proposal was rejected firmly.
The next piece of bad news for Chavez could come from Mexico, which will elect a new president on July 2. His man in the race, former Mexico City Mayor Andres Lopez-Obrador, had been ahead in the polls since 2004. But inrecent months, Felipe Calderon, the candidate of President Vincente Fox’s right-ofcenter party, has overtaken Lopez-Obrador.
Firm predictions might be foolhardy at this point, but here is something to ponder: If Lopez-Obrador really were on track to win and then to rule in Mexico as Chavez has done in Venezuela, Mexico’s stock market would have crashed. One reason it hasn’t might be that Calderon’s chances are pretty good. But it is also likely that even if Lopez-Obrador prevails in the election, his actions will be severely constrained by state governors, all of whom are freely elected, as well as by the national congress.
So Latin America is not falling in behind Chavez. But in a sense, the challenge that he has posed to the political status quo may turn out to be useful. Successful or not, the campaigns of President Evo Morales of Bolivia, Humala and Lopez-Obrador prove that, inplaces with reasonably democratic elections, economic expansion can be jeopardized if a sizable portion of the population remains impoverished.
Maybe Chavez and Co. will scare their opponents into improving education and other public services, thereby helping more people to rise out of poverty and to benefit from market-oriented economic development. If so, the greater good truly will have been served.
Douglas Southgate is a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at Ohio State University.
Southgate . 1 @osu.edu
posted by Ukulele Man at 12:20 AM
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About Me
- Name: Tom Harker
- Location: Circleville, Ohio, United States
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
- Memorial Day Considerations (reposted from 2006)
- Looks fine to the Uke Man
- Yeah, we want Civility!! None of that uppity stuff...
- "Now go forth and multiply the GNP !!"
- Gay Marriage - Financial Bonanza !! Disaster for H...
- Albert being Uncivil !!
- The Problem with a call for "Civility"
- Civility War - My Response in the next posting
- "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which ...
- Red States, REPENT!!!!
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