Faux News Ministry Of Information Reliable Source Of Propaganda For Israeli Lobby

So I'm laying there in bed (I'm on vacation), flipping through the channels when I land on ch 66, Fox News - or as I like to call it, The Faux News Ministry Of Information. Unfortunately, it's the only news network Comcast allows basic cable subscribers (mostly old people and poor people) to watch, seeing how they're so reliably susceptible to right-wing propaganda.

Anyway, it's a commercial break and there's some charity begging for dollars for Israel to build bomb shelters for the Israelis. No, seriously. You see, Hamas has been lobbing Katusha rockets over the border again and, this time, they actually managed to kill about four people in southern Israel which is not cool. The voiceover in the commercial begs, "Now is the time to stand beside Israel!" They're begging Americans to send money to Israel.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Not only does Israel receive BILLIONS of dollars (estimated at $108 Billion annually) from the U.S. in foreign aid, more than ANY OTHER country in the world (approximately 1/3 of our total foreign aid budget), but they also happen to be bombing the shit out of that hellhole known as the Gaza strip with OUR F16 fighter jets. Over the last week Israel has managed to kill 100 times as many Palestinians as Hamas has managed to kill Israelis. Doesn't sound like they need any more help from us. And yet, they still need our sympathy - for political reasons.

What's sad is probably half of the U.S. - the half that voted for Bush & McCain, I'd bet - probably believe that Israel needs U.S. money to build bomb shelters to protect them from Hamas. Yup, grandma's cutting the check right now for those poor, poor people who suffered so terribly at the hands of Hitler during the war.

Well, I'm here to tell ya grandma - over the last sixty years the oppressed have become the oppressors and they've got a marketing budget that would make Disney blush (anyone remember the tens of millions of dvds the Israeli lobby sent out through the mail just before the 2008 U.S. presidential election?). And as long as they have such a reliable vein into the heart of the American electorate (i.e. Fox News), you can bet they'll continue to inject it with propaganda.

So Israel, when you have all the power, all the money and all the weapons, with apparently no problem in using them (e.g. Lebanon last year), it's pretty hard to take you seriously as the victim. I think that politcal well has finally run dry.

Oh yeah, and they don't want anybody else helping the Palestinians either. Israeli patrol boats rammed a U.S. relief yacht full of medical supplies, a U.S. Senator & journalists from CNN and Al Jazeera. Typical Israeli belligerance.

Check out the video from CNN.



...and another about the conflict in general.

Campaign Fatigue & New Song "Liars & Cheats"

I haven't posted anything in a while, mostly due to campaign fatigue from the 2008 election. Thankfully, Obama won. What that's going to mean remains to be seen, but as a friend of mine quipped, "At least he doesn't spell his name backwards with a broken crayon." I'm pretty sure that was a dig at GWB - who, I think, has done more damage to this country than I thought humanly possible - so much so, I can't even keep track of it all. The last eight years have left me drained, politically speaking. I have guarded optimism for the future.


I did write a new song during the campaign, called "Liars & Cheats" - my cynical take on electoral politics over the last forty years. I started it near the beginning of the campaign, because of all the nonsense spewed by the candidates to get one over on their opponents. Here are the lyrics.


Liars & Cheats by ejp ©2008

Verse 1
Get ready people, it's time for the race
the horses are all at their gates

The odds have been set, so please come place your bet
on the one you would trust with our fate

Bridge

but it don't really matter if you never choose
no matter the outcome, you're still bound to lose, because...

Chorus

Liars & Cheats & Harlots & Charletans
don't give a damn about what you might need
they're only concerned with their schemes and conspiracies
using your vote to serve their own greed

Verse 2

When the wolf starts to cry, the sheep start to lie
they both want you to live in fear
but they'll quiet down if we all stand our ground
it's the same nonsense every four years

Bridge

courage is shining a light on a lie
and having good reasons to fight or to die, but
(alt: courage is doing what you think is right, no matter how many sheep try picking a fight)

(repeat chorus, ending with "using your fear to serve their own greed")

Part B

Well, don't, don't, don't be fooled again.
No we won't, won't, won't be fooled again.
Well, maybe....

Verse 3

Don't hold your breath while you hope for the best
your face will just turn red to blue
and don't you complain while you wait for a change
because changes are waiting on you

Bridge

turn on your conscience from zero to one
drag them out from their rocks and into the sun, because

(repeat chorus, ending with, "using your hopes to serve their own greed")
(repeat part b and end with "well maybe we'll be fine")
(end)


The chords are as follows (I don't know how to format them correctly over the lyrics so you can experiment on your own if you want to record your own version - just give me credit, please).

Verses:
EAEAEB
EAEAEB

Bridge:
F#min, Bmaj, G#min, C#maj

Chorus:
A,E,A,E,B
A,E,A,E, F#, B, back to E

Part B:
F#min, G#min, Amaj, C#maj, B#maj (followed by descending bass line & repeat)

repeat of part b ends with Amaj, Abmin, C#maj, Bmaj, E

Notes:

So, the 1st verse was written first - an obvious "horse race" metaphor for political campaigns. The third verse was written next - the "red" and "blue" references regarding the bi-polar political mapping of America. The second verse was added later. I alwasy get hung up writing a third verse. It's a bit of a non-sequitor and I'm not entirely pleased with how it sits, but there it is. The "part b" (whatever you want to call that part of a song that isn't the verse, bridge or chorus), I'm pretty sure was added last - and is a quote from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again".


So there it is. E-mail me with any thoughts or comment below.

McCotter Drinking The Company Kool-Aid™ Again

My illustrious congressional representative Thaddeus McCotter (R - MI, 11th district) has sent out his quarterly e-mail, dutifully towing the Republicon line as predicted - in this case DRILL DRILL DRILL DRILL! Well, actually he said...

If the government would just get out of the way, remove its regulations, litigation, taxation, and other obstacles to the production of American energy by entrepreneurs and allow free markets to work,the supply of oil will increase...

Riiiight - because de-regulatioin has worked so well for us in the past, eh congressman? Remember Enron? How about the results we're now seeing from the deregulation of the mortgage business? I can't believe neocons can still make this argument with a straight face. Then again, their nominee is blaming Barack Obama for the price of gas. Good thing their party-faithful are hateful nincompoops.

Do you know what happens when you leave businesses to their own devices with no oversight? They steal everything they can from the consumer. I've seen it time after time after time after time in my own life. Business only does for the consumer and for the public what it's required to do by law - and only then when there are enough resources to enforce it. They loot the U.S.treasury, YOUR treasury, for everything they can get.

And do you know what happens when nobody's watching our so-called representatives? Ted Stevens happens, that's what. Ted Stevens....tee hee hee hee. I knew they'd catch you with your hand in the oil drum.

Oh, and by the way, Congressman McCotter, the next time you go bashing the government, remember - YOU ARE THE GOVERNMENT GENIUS!

You Can't Escape The Batman Boyo

If I see, hear or read one more Batman "The Dark Knight" tie-in I'm gonna puke. NPR, The History Channel - all the f*cking major networks have deconstructed this stupid movie from every conceivable angle. You couldn't escape that marketing budget if you tried.

What does this level of attention given to something so ...... so......RETARDED....say about our North American culture?

That we're just as simple and shallow as the rest of the world believes.

Review of STP @ Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort

We went to see Stone Temple Pilots at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Mi on Friday night. I'd never been there before; I see most of my concerts in the Detroit area. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see STP on their way back around again; they'd already played The Fillmore (formerly The State Theatre on Woodward in Detroit) several months before. I chose not to go because I was a bit put off by their marketing practices. To join their fan club and view their blog it's $45 - that's on top of the $65 to $95 for tickets! A big WTF to STP! I passed. But I couldn't pass on the concert twice. Who knows when singer Scott Weiland might disappear again - or disappear permanently. He'd been busted twice for possession of heroin and cocaine in as many years and even did an eight-month stint for his bad behavior before the tour, at least according to what I've read online.

STP has been one of my favorites since the early nineties, back when Rolling Stone wrote them off as grunge-era copycats. But I knew there was more there than just hard-rock songs about rape, dead bodies and serial killers; there was a singer/lyricist who could empathize with those severely troubled souls - and do it convincingly. That takes a special personality, a troubled personality, or perhaps a very talented actor - but for some reason I don't think Weiland is acting.

The Venue

Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort is a sprawling complex whose driveway entrance is bedecked by two giant eagles with splayed wings and whose enormous, cedar portico covers eight lanes of valet parking. A dozen stories of hotel rooms are located in a seperate building to the right of the casino. Just inside the main automatic doors is the gambling pit. Slot machines and various games of chance chatter just below the pumped-in musical tones, creating a mesmerizing cacophony of sound designed to help part you from your cash. To get to the show, you have to walk past all the gambling action, naturally.

The Soaring Eagle show room is much like you'd imagine Las Vegas show rooms of the past; an enormous open room with maybe three or four levels, each level only elevated a couple of steps below the last, continuing like that toward the stage. But unlike the glamorous Vegas shows of the past which included linen-draped tables and over-stuffed chairs, this one is filled with hard, plastic, stackable chairs laid out in countless rows. Because of the low angle and the fact that there is no stadium seating, the stage is difficult to see from most points in the room when the audience is standing - which, in an American rock show, is almost always.

We were in section L3, seats 31 & 32 about mid-way back and all the way to the left of the stage. The pros were that it was easy and quick to get a beer or go to the bathroom (short, fast moving lines), but the cons were that we could barely see the stage and watched the video monitor through most of the concert. I probably wouldn't come to see a rock concert here again unless I had seating directly in front of the stage.

The Show

STP opened with "The Big Empty" and Weiland, much to the audience's delight, was wearing an Native American Fox Headdress! He tilted his head down while singing so it covered his face completely. It was kind of surreal - especially in an indian-owned casino. A stranger next to me smiled, hi-fived me and said, "Don't take it off! Don't take it off! That's Awwwwesome!" I had to agree. It was a great way to start the show.

Weiland's performance reminded of Jim Morrison's classic performance at The Hollywood Bowl I'd seen play on a loop at The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame just the week before. Morrison was INSIDE his performance - completely removed from his surroundings, a spectacle to behold. Weiland has that same unwieldy, unpredictable and INTENSE nature; it's a drag for his band mates and handlers, a delight for his audience, but probably not sustainable for the long-haul; at 41, Weiland's survived the pure rock & roll lifestyle much longer than he should have - by most accounts he should be a member of the "27 Club" with Janis, Jimmy, Brian & Kurt. According to some reports, his exit may not be too far away; a post at the STP forum claims that Scott has once again left the reservation. Here's an excerpt from the STP forum regarding show at The Chippewa Valley Music Festival the following night.

If you saw tonight's show...you know that Scott is in big trouble. The band was terrible... I don't say this lightly...I've seen STP before, and they were great...What I saw tonight was a dead man walking.

If this tour continues, Scott may not survive. If I don't read tomorrow that the tour is canceled, the rest of the band may have some serious moral issues to deall with very soon.

It's not worth the money. You're friend isn't going to make it. - posted by TheShorn

By the second or third song, Weiland pulled off the fox headdress to display a freshly-shaven dome, an unsettling haircut for what some already consider a drug-addled psychopath. But his performance was sharp and lively, dancin' the "shaky jake" while he blasted through his vocals. Never once during the show did he stand idle or disinterested. At points near the end of the show he waved Native American feathers while doing the traditional pow-wow dance (arms extended like wings, knees bent, flying in circles on the stage).

Between songs, however, he mumbled incoherently. Sometimes it was about existential matters relating to the songs, something about his mother and father, and once he even shared an explanation of his in-ear monitor which, presumably, some audience member close to the stage had asked him about.

"It's just like this," he said, landing a foot on a nearby floor monitor. "And this one, and this one, and this one," making his way to the floor monitors across the stage. "But I can hear myself and I don't have to shout. We can keep the stage volume low," he said. Adding quietly, "and I can speak like this."


I don't have the official set list so I'll just tell you which songs I think I remember. Let's see, in no particular order - "Sex Type Thing" "Coma" "Vaseline" "Plush" "Interstate Love Song" "Hollywood Bitch" "Sour Girl" "Meatplow" "Silvergun Superman" "Big Bang Baby" "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart" and "Lounge Fly" among others. "Dead & Bloated" was one of the encores. There were choice tunes from every record they released but they didn't play "Days of The Week" or "Pretty Penny" unfortunately. Overall, a very good mix of STP. Hmm, did they play "Unglued" too? Maybe.

Other Facets and conclusions...

The show started about an hour late (around 9:00 pm) and lasted a little over two hours. But it wasn't a long wait and gave us time to get settled in and get beered up.

Robert & Dean DeLeo & Eric Kretz performances were, as usual, energetic and on the mark, a necessarily steady base from which Weiland can jump. Bassist Rob DeLeo's slick-backed hair, tear-drop sun-glasses and satin shirt always cracks me up. It reminds me of my childhood in the late seventies.

The light show consisted of psychedelic overlays on the video feed, various vivid colors and patterns and aircraft lights on towers on either side of the stage that flashed when appropriate. The only props were Weiland's Indian Headdress and feathered handles. Oh, and I think he brought out that wide-brimmed black hat during the encore.

The sound was a little dead in the heavily carpeted and fabric-laden room, but was considerably better toward the rear of the hall by the bar & bathrooms.

The STP merchandise was, as usual, overpriced - about 25 percent above the prices at the online store. There was a really cool looking "Four" t-shirt with the big white star but it didn't come in 3x for big guys like me - so I didn't buy. $50 for a t-shirt is a bit much anyway.

All in all, a satisfying show, particularly for those who could actually see the stage. Let's just hope Weiland leaves plenty of room for recovery during this grueling tour. He's got this week off, so I hope he makes good use of his time. Some long bouts of sleep and some Pedialyte are probably in order.

Didn't mean to, but....

...I spent my stimulus check on furniture and weekend get-aways. Meant to save it, but....shit.

Oh well, that check comes with a built-in rationale.

Hope the economy doesn't tank in the interim.

The continued looting of the U.S. treasury

I've just got done learning about how this whole Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac crisis started and, again, it turns out to be little more than the looting of our treasury by another bunch of asshole bankers, lawyers and accountants. Bunch of greedy mother-fuckers who gamed the system so they'd come out ahead and fuck everybody else in the process. And now we're supposed to bail out these motherfuckers who put us in a horrible financial crisis - thanks to their greed and disregard for anybody else.

They spend much of their time, energy and money preaching the wisdom of the free market and demand the government stay OUT of their business, arguing that American business and the American people will flourish if left to their own devices. The Market, they preach, will self-correct.

Then when the shit hits the fan because of their own greedy practices (namely lending money to people who don't really understand the terms and who couldn't possibly afford the loans they were getting) the once market-wise bankers want to be bailed out by the American Tax Payer. That's right, you and I get to underwrite the failure of their predatory lending practices to the tune of TRILLIONS of dollars.

I heard it described today as "...the Capitalism of Profit and the Socialism of Debt." Use that line the next time some asshole right-winger wants to argue about the burdens of oversight and regulations.

Bush: The Disaster Capitalist's Best Friend

You know, every time I hear George Bush speak publicly, I'm always reminded of his statement that he's "a uniter, not a divider". I'm reminded of it because I'm blown away by how many times he's publicly proven himself to be either delusional, or just a liar.

Todays' press conference (seen below), designed to calm the fears of Americans who might make a run on the bank due to the near collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac among the collapse of other financial giants (due in no small part to a complete lack of oversight and regulation of the mortgage industry - brought to you by the concerted efforts of high-priced finance industry lobbyists), showed again how willing the president is to hammer the Democrats in congress for not allowing the oil companies to exploit sensitive natural reserves like ANWAR - regardless of their failure to exploit the vast majority of government land leases they already hold or the failure to creatmore refining capacity in the last thirty years. Anything they gain at this point in the game is pure gravy.

But, as recent history has proven since September 11, 2001, every American disaster is an opportunity for George Bush Jr. to provide more opportunities for the industry closest to his heart - big oil. The fall of the twin towers allowed a frightened populace to be cow-towed into allowing the invasion of Iraq so energy companies could eventually divide the spoils amongst themselves - assuming we ever get the hornets back in the nest. But even now, as oil executives have recently admitted to congress, they're negotiating side-deals with the Iraqis just in case the U.S. bungles the job - which seems likely considering our current leadership.

So once again Presidnet Bush has missed the opportunity to, in essence, say "We're all in this together people, so let's pull together and fix this energy crisis", and instead accused the Democrats of impeding the progress of oil companies who would no doubt save us if they had the opportunity.

Right.

And President Bush made no call for Americans to conserve energy like President Carter did in the 1970's - well, at least not until a reporter brought it up. What a surprise.

And now.....on to IRAN

Iran is testing medium and long-range missiles in response to recent threats from the U.S. & Israel - to prove they can DEFEND themselves from an attack. The U.S. and Israel vow to DEFEND themselves from IRAN's provocations - of course, nobody is taking responsibility for being on the OFFENSIVE or provoking a war. Just in time for the election, eh?

I think a quote from Hunter S. Thompson sums it up quite well....

"The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now -- with somebody -- and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives."

Democracy Is Not Personal

Yesterday I canceled my MySpace page. Then I cancelled my DetroitCity.com page. Then I canceled my PayPal account. All on a whim. No Regrets. There's an incredibly satisfying feeling I get from paring away the digital clutter in my life. I'll keep my blogger account because I think it's healthy to reflect - not in the meaningless mall-chat of MySpace - but really think out loud on the page. The internet's great and all, but it's not everything and it's sucking too much time out of my life.

Anyway, I've been reading the futurist Douglas Rushkoff for a good many years now and his latest point, which he makes in a speech @ The Personal Democracy Forum, I think, is a good one - that "Personal Democracy" is an oxymoron, a bill of goods sold to the masses to make them feel virtually empowered while keeping them actually separated and weakened as a political force in the real world.

Rushkoff says we should consider our democracy as an open source proposition that can be altered and changed by ACTIVE participation. I think it's a fancy way of saying, "Get off your $%^&* computer and get INVOLVED!" Your computer is only as good as it connects you to real people, real issues, real relationships. It's a tool, not a way of life. I need to remember that.

His A** Is Mine.... More Unsavory Christian Behavior

Well, if I had any doubts about the sexual proclivities of my uptight Christian co-worker, Shitbrick, (as reported in the blog post Unsavory Christian History), those doubts have been laid to rest by another co-worker's (let's call him "Coach") most recent find.

While packing up our office for a move to another building, Coach came across a DVD hidden high on a shelf, well out of view from any passers-by. It was titled "His A** Is Mine" (I think you can fill in the blanks) with the title strategically placed over the hairy hind-quarters of some anonymous male. Ewwwwwwww!

Ok, so it's not my bag (and that was really the wrong word to use).

Anyway, I'm not one to shame the sexual peculiarities of anybody - God knows I have my own and I'm a liberal after all. Live and let live, I always say. It's just the hypocrisy of this particular Christian who spends a great deal of time and energy shaming others for their beliefs, their lack of morals and/or judgment and yes - their sexual preferences. Then it turns out, as it always seems to with this type, that he's projecting his own psychological baggage. ShitBrick has always been a rabid homophobe who even shared a story once of how he threw a hitch-hiking homosexual out of his car, abandoning him by the side of some rural road, and boy if he had his gun he wouldn't know what he might have done....yada, yada, yada.

To me, finding this DVD, and the computer history before it, was like a gift from God - no, seriously! It's like God saying, "Hey, it's ok. See? He's not all that. He's just another frightened, confused human just like you. But he's really trying to be my devotee in his way so be kind. I know you will." Presumptuous, right? Well that's what if feels like anyway.

Even though I've personally suffered from his Christian rigidness and righteousness, I sort of feel bad for him having to harbor such a big secret. The cognitive dissonance it's no doubt creating in his conscience must be hell. But we all have our demons and it's also kind of reassuring, and poetically justified, to know that he has his.

How Much Would It Cost To Kill Your Town?

Question: How much would it cost a company to kill a town, destroy the livelihood of most its current inhabitants, and change the landscape forever?

Answer: $500,000,000 - or approximately $15,000 per resident after twenty years of waiting for a so-called "speedy trial".

Reason: It helps if this happens during the lawless reign of an oil-man and more than half of the highest court owe their lifelong cushy gig to like-minded individuals.
Details can be found here.

Moyers Takes On Media Reform

If you believe the mainstream media has serious problems, in particular telling Americans of any particular political persuasion what they want to hear (e.g. CNN=tending toward Left of Center ideas/Fox News=tending toward Right of Center ideas) and not what they need to hear (i.e. facts, convenient or otherwise, and not advocacy), then you should probably watch this video of Bill Moyers addressing the National Conference for Media Reform '08. One quote I find particularly poignant:

'So it is that Democracy without honest information creates the illusion of popular consent while enhancing the powers of the state and the privileged interests protected by it...

In essence, the mainstream media have been the willing mouthpiece for those looting our treasury, the PUBLIC treasury, for very powerful private corporations - instead of being the watchdog who should bite their greedy little hands.

Hillary Supporters Chant "NoBama" and "McCain"

I fear our country, my own party rather, the party of my father and his father, is still too racist to allow Barack Obama the presidency. According to a story in The New York Times (Democrats Approve Deal on Michigan and Florida), Hillary Clinton's supporters showed they would rather elect John McCain than allow Barack Obama the Democratic presidential nomination. My own father, I'm ashamed to report, feels the same way and has no problem admitting to his racism. When Hillary supporters didn't get their way with the rules committee yesterday, they chanted "McCain!McCain!McCain!". Makes me sad for my country - again.

Dear Working-Class America

....please take a look at your future. That is, unless you're willing to take your rage out on those who are responsible for your slide into poverty.

What happenss when banks have too much money?

In the last few years around where I live there has been a glut of new banks opening. Every available corner and shopping complex has one if not two banks located there - and most within five miles of their nearest branch. It's getting pretty ridiculous and every one I know has commented on their viral spread.

Then, as you may have heard, the mortgage crisis came. The real crisis was, from the perspective of those with truckloads of money to invest in real estate, was that there was more money available than there were loans to invest in. That's when the banks started underwriting some pretty sketchy loans to anyone fool enough to take one - and eventually the default of the same master plan.

You and I, as taxpayers, will bail them out undoubtedly.

Douglas Rushkoff, author and futurist, has written an interesting piece on his blog about this whole mess. Check out
WILLING DUPES: Douglas Rushkoff on the credit crisis at Arthur Magazine.

The American Prophet, Franklin D. Roosevelt

I came across someone else who came across this FDR quote on wikipedia:

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power."


Word.

Unsavory Christian "History"

So I get back to work on Tuesday after taking a vacation day for Monday and settle down at the work computer to check the weather, etc... When I say etc.. I mean checking my personal webpages for a few minutes - which is, of course, a no-no at work, right? Sure, but everybody does it and my supervisor, who uses the same computer to do his banking and correspondence with his church homies on a regular basis, is on a Christian retreat for the next three days. The big boss is gone for the week so I figure I'm in the clear. But just to be on the safe side, I clear my history on the browser. To rationalize my bad behaviour, I decide to get nosy and check the browser's history to see what kind of nonsense my supervisor has been looking at - since he hordes the computer to himself the whole day while we're all out working.

That's when my mind was blown.

But before I go any further, let me tell you a little bit about ShitBrick. He's a beast of a man who, in the past three or four years, has gotten very serious about his Christianity. And since his ego is as massive as his body, no one can escape his gravity (kinda like Jupiter). So he brings Bibles to work, listens to sermons and Christian books on the work computer and sniffs at anyone who isn't an evangelical Christian (he particularly dislikes Catholics and Muslims). He also spends a lot of time shaming the trappings of popular culture; secular movies, secular books, secular politicians, secular culture in general. And he's also probably the most homo-phobic dude I've ever come across. This guy REALLY detests "fags".

Which is why I found his tastes in websites particularly interesting.

Seems our Christian Soldier has developed a taste for transsexual escorts (I know!). And this was no minor dalliance. He was several pages into this website, all transsexuals, all looking for local action - which means he was looking for a date, or at least toying with the idea of hooking-up. And since our network connection at work is dial-up (snore), he was also extremely patient in his quest. I'm pretty sure nobody else had access to that computer on that day. I checked with my other co-worker (who, btw, gets shit every time he even uses his personal phone, not to mention the work computer).

Thank You Ted Haggard - Poster-boy for self-righteous Christian hypocrites everywhere who end up spending their evenings with crack-smoking homosexual prostitutes while spending their days projecting their fears and pathological baggage onto everybody else.

Truth is, I don't know why he was looking at transsexual escorts. For all I know, he and the Christian Taliban were planning on going downtown to partake in some hate crimes (I'll be watching the news). But I do know that this information could #1. Damage if not end his marriage. #2. Damage if not end his association with the church. #3. Damage if not end his career.

Of course, I would never tell anybody, save for you anonymous blog reader. I don't care what he does for entertainment, as long as he's not hurting anybody. That's the difference between liberals and those uptight, hypocritical, religious-right-wingers. We're not going to bust somebody's balls for how they get their kicks. We ALL have skeletons. We're ALL hypocrites to some degree.

American SICKO - A Bitter Citizen Vents

The wife and I watched Michael Moore's SICKO last night. I already knew the arguments that he was going to use so I wasn't really that excited to watch it - but it blew me away anyway.

Sure, Sicko's all in support of Moore's persepective. Is it "balanced" journalism. No, but I don't give a shit. Is Fox News balanced journalism? Give me a fucking break - yappy little dogs and their Stepford Wives who do the shameless bidding of the right wing. If Michael Moore wants to pull a publicity stunt like driving sick 9/11 workers on boats down to Guantanamo Bay to make a point about the need for universal health care, more power to him.

Michael Moore features working-class problems in his films, shines a light on those problems and gets people talking about it - which is a public service as far as I'm concerned. He pisses off the establishment because he gets the working folk all riled up by telling them the pitiful truth about their so-called representatives and the corporate crooks who've bought and paid for them. Personally, I hope Moore gets fabulously wealthy from his films so he can buy a congressman of his own. Then, maybe, finally, the working stiff will have half a chance in this cuntry.

Moore illustrates the plight of the 911 emergency workers who can't get insurance or affordable treatment, people who had to quit their jobs because of chronic breathing problems or work at the convenience store until they die because they can't afford to retire. Sure, they were our heroes when it suited a moment of nationalistic pride or helped the administration's publicity campaign. But when they want payback for their broken bodies it's right back the the good 'ole American ethic of every man for himself. Fuck you, go back to work. Stop bitching and pull yourself up by the bootstraps. Pitiful and sick.

One of Moore's theme in Sicko is that, compared to the rest of the developed world who provide worry-FREE health care, our system and the way we treat our most vulnerable is completely FUCKED UP. In one scene we are shown a U.S. hospital worker dumping-off a sick and confused senior citizen because she can't afford her bill. I've heard of this happening in Detroit. Just dumped off on the curb near another facility. There, it's somebody else's problem now. That's how fucking sick we've become in this cuntry. Health care for profit is a fucked-up way to operate.


We should all be beating down the doors of Congress over this BULLSHIT while they waste our money on Wars nobody wanted and massive tax giveaways to the rich - and don't even fucking tell me that isn't happening. Every fucking time we turn our backs on these cocksuckers we're getting ripped off by some secret cabal of CEO's who used to be checked by regulation or, gasp, by congressional oversight - but now, under Bush and his ilk, they have carte blanche to loot the treasury until there's such massive damage done to our economy we have to bail them out with our taxes - AGAIN.

If you don't believe me I've got two words for you "Savings & Loan", or how about "Hedge Funds". Here's two more for you: "Mortgage Crisis". If you don't put a short leash on these fucking bankers and whip there asses now and then it just happens sooner rather than later. Enron - there's one word for you. And why does this shit happen? Because the foxes are in the hen house, writing all the fucking legislation while you're watching American Idol and farting in your chair. We should be dragging our so-called representatives out into the street for a righteous lashing, putting the fear of public humiliation back into their crumbling spines.

Okay, I'm done ranting - for a moment.

But Sicko made me realize how myopic and mentally ill we've become in the U.S., unable to believe that things could be different in this country. If only we had the will to act in our best interest. God knows we've still got the money laying around, but the power-players out there spend a lot of time and effort keeping us afraid, worried, anxious, unwilling to make trouble in fear of finding ourselves on the street without a job. Well, you know what friend? They've shipped all the good jobs out of the country anyway! Whatever labor jobs are left go to illegal immigrants - supposedly doing the jobs that nobody will do (well, I do them on a daily basis, so don't tell me that bullshit, George). THEY SOLD YOU OUT for cheap labor in other countries you silly, nostalgic American fool. Wave your red, white & blue and see if you get your standard of living back, Jack. Need to get re-educated for the new economy? Well, they've jacked the price of education through the roof too! Need to borrow money for that necessary re-education? Fine, but the bankers have seen to it that you'll be paying interest so high it'd make a fucking gangster blush with envy. Need to drive to that educational institution? Well, they've jacked up the price of gas so far you'd be better off stealing it. Sure, there's opportunity in the U.S. - but it comes at such a high price you'll never see the light of day in your pursuit of it. The only growth industry in this cuntry will be surveillance and security for the fat-cat mother fuckers who will need to keep you and me outside their gates.

Fucking Free Trade. That's what killed the working man in this cuntry. I can't tell you how many local companies I've seen move their manufacturing plants to Mexico since Clinton opened the floodgates. And every time Big Business promises free trade will benefit domestic manufacturers in the U.S. and create more jobs. You believe that and I've got a war to sell you. Now republicons want "free trade" with Columbia (Asia must be getting too expensive). But free for whom? They want you to believe it will be good for American manufacturers who will sell what to the Columbians? What the fuck are we going to sell the Columbians that they can afford to buy? How 'bout a Caterpillar tractor? Every Columbian peasant needs a Caterpillar earth-mover, right? So some fucking Agri-Giant like Monsanto or ADM can be free to bulldoze what's left of the rain forest to make room for more cheap beef or corn for ethanol - which will be grown by Columbian peasants who will work like slaves. Fuck Caterpillar. Let Caterpillar pay a huge tariff for that kind of shit. But I've got a better idea...

Let's put Caterpillar deep in the black by re-building the crumbling infrastructure in the U.S. How 'bout that? What's that? There's no money for that? Why not? Oh, right, the TRILLION dollar fucking war for......for......what the fuck do we want from Iraq again? And who's brilliant idea was this shit? Wolfowitz. Cheney. Rumsfeld. You fucks...

Okay, I'm getting too pissed off. Back to health care. By the way, Cheney and Rumsfeld both worked for Nixon, you remember, the crook who resigned the presidency rather than face the musc? - and Nixon is the fuck who gave the green-light for all this privatized, profit-based health care in the first place. So his buds could get rich. It's always the same. In Sicko they show Nixom admitting it, on tape, that the only way to profit from health care is to provide less care for more money. Nice plan. Thanks for watching our backs, you DICK!

Sicko also showed, by contrast, how life in America can be better, less anxious, more life-affirming, by showing us how Europeans live. We can't even imagine life here anymore without being strapped with worry for our health, for our safety, for our jobs - high anxiety everywhere. We're in a constant state of hyper-vigilance and FEAR thanks to the worthless lies of our so-called leaders and their lying, cheating, asshole friends. It's not like that in Europe. Not yet anyway. Why? Because they don't WANT to live like that. They REFUSE to live like that. They'd rather burn their cities to the fucking ground than live like that. And their politicians know it. They fear their population - which is as it should be and as our founders wanted it way back when. Face it, the emperor has no clothes - and he has a little dick too.

So I'm ranting again, but it pisses me off. The difference betwee the America I grew up in and America now is such a stark contrast it makes me sick to my stomach. And, regardless of my lack of credibility in the scheme of things, I mean, nobody listens to a working stiff, it's true: The health care providers and the pharmaceutical companies are ripping everybody off while they can - while Bush, or any other establishment shill, is still in office. Want proof? How about this article in today's New York times.

On a personal note, I've got a friend who hasn't had health care in years. His fucking teeth are rotting out of his head; he's missing two front teeth now. He got laid off from his government cable job a couple years ago and has been working at a fucking Wendy's to pay his bills. And Wendy's, a national chain, doesn't offer affordable health coverage. Hell, if it wasn't free he couldn't afford it anyway. He can barely pay his personal expenses, not to mention his mortgage which is being paid by his elderly father's savings. He only makes, like, $8.50 and hour. He'd be on the fucking street if it wasn't for his father saving his ass. But his father is in his eighties now. I keep asking my friend what he's going to do when his dad dies? He doesn't know, doesn't like to think about it, and it's all he can do to drag his ass down to Wendy's every fucking day to survive. He's got a broadcasting degree, but nobody's hiring someone with only government cable experience. He's fucked and he knows it.

The sad thing is, he, and most others in the same position, will probably take his economic-induced angst and depression out on himself instead of the fucks who sorely deserve it. He'll commit suicide, or freak out on some poor, unsuspecting schlubs who are just trying to survive this bullshit too - instead of organizing and directing the anger where it should go - to the greedy mother-fuckers who perpetuate this system of degradation. But more and more you're going to see mother-fuckers taking shit into their own hands and lashing out at the establishment - you can count on it. History is replete with examples of the people rising up to eat the rich when they've got nothing else to eat.

So sharpen your forks, Sickos. America is going to get ugly in the years ahead.

Shake That Piggy Bank, There's Something Rattling In There!

What a cuntry.

Not only has the Bush administration emptied the U.S. taxpayer's treasury for the benefit of their war profiteers (even the big Dick hiding behind the little Bush made off with a cool 31 million in Halibucks, I'm told), but now it's evident that the mortgage bankers will make off with whatever is left.

The Federal Reserve not only has taken action unprecedented since the Great Depression — by lending money directly to major investment banks — but also has put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in questionable trades these same bankers made when the good times were rolling.

....and Republicons and Wall Street bankers have the audacity to whine about proposals for new regulations to prevent another near-collapse.

But both President Bush and Mr. Paulson, a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs, remain philosophically opposed to restrictions and requirements that might hamper economic activity. NYT link

..."economic activity" no doubt defined as money flowing out of our treasury into private bank accounts. Personally, I'm "philosophically opposed" to illegal wars and getting ripped off by bankers and their predilection for fine print. Somebody needs to watch over the hen house because congress sure as hell isn't doing it.