Bill Maher

Why do I watch this program? I have decided that I simply watch it to get angry. The opinions he spouts are just that, opinions... But man... come on..

George Bush is the devil revisited and all the woes suffered by this nation were created by him and the cattle industry. Maher is bad enough, but couple him with Janeane Garofalo and you have the makings for an evening of blithering bullshit that could only be seconded by a three hour meal with Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan.

I just bit the bullet and watched these two asshats pontificate on his latest HBO showing. Garofalo, as usual, blamed every criticism of obama on racism, and Maher almost came to tears while soap-boxing about the stupidity of those that don't buy into man made global warming. They have no original opinion between the two of them and waste time that could have been given to a guest that could've created an interesting dialogue. Why did HBO get rid of Dennis Miller and put this clown on? He is the spokesperson for walking in lockstep with the mindless masses of drooling simpletons that get their information from Jon Stewart.

It seems that fad and fashion is what should rule the day when you are interested in current events and political points of view. The people you have to deal with are mindless, either parroting Limbaugh or Maher.. what the hell is the problem? what happened to people actually reading a damn bill in congress to find out what it really says, or just simply digging into an issue to get to what is really going on? Maher is constantly speaking of the stupidity of the American people and praising the intellect and maturity of Europeans, while showing that he has no more understanding of what he is speaking about than does George Galloway...

This is what happens when a true investigative media gets replaced with the infotainment we are having to deal with. Made only worse by the neo-intellects that begin to spew about how much better BBC is at reporting the news...

The only person that can speak on Maher's show in an intelligent manner, and knows how to deal with Bill's automated audience, appears to be Mr. Hitchens...

Relax....

Are things as bad as they seem, or do we just hear about the horror more in these days of instant information?

The world is going to hell in a hand basket, violence is everywhere you look. Marriages are ending in vitriol at every turn and children are being forced to deal with situations beyond their comprehension. Scandal and partisan bitching are the order of the day in politics. Intolerance of race, religion, and sexual preference is rampant throughout society. Diseases are morphing and killing more people than ever. Geopolitical situations are sitting on powder kegs awaiting a spark, which would ignite war that could involve the entire globe. More children than ever are disappearing each day. Natural disasters abound and the earth itself seems to be revolting against us.

I see and hear these things everywhere I go. It indeed seems that there is no hope for my kids, they are doomed to have lives of horrid peril, crawling through duct work and fighting off all manner of evil to squeeze out a daily life amongst the rubble of the society we are surely destroying.

After much pondering, research, study and reading of endless figures and statistics, I have come to a simple conclusion about all of this….

Bullshit.

While there are things that do seem ridiculous, these things have been with us throughout our history as humans… I read magazines and articles from circa World War Two and saw many of the same things being said then as are being said now about current military actions in Iraq and around the Middle East. I’ve read newspaper stories from all around the country dating from the twenties containing stories of parents killing their own children, mass shootings, missing kids, wars in far away countries, devastating earthquakes, fires, floods and storms…. You could simply retype the same things over and over and it would fit year after year…

Coupled with these stories were constant warnings about the ecology of our planet falling apart from getting colder to getting warmer, and the end of the world, as we know it being just over the horizon. Group after group of zealots have soap boxed the end of mankind for the entirety of our existence. I even read an article by a “noted scientist” that warned that cosmic winds were headed for this planet would rip our atmosphere away from Earth within ten years… That was in the 30’s…

“Nowadays we can’t live like our parents did… One parent works and another stays at home with the kids…”

You can’t?

How many people do you know live in a six to seven hundred square foot home, with one car, no air-conditioning, no cable television, no video games, no cell phones, no internet, just one phone line with a rotary phone provided by the phone company with no call waiting – forwarding – or answering machine, eat meals at home every day, do not go shopping unless its a holiday or birthday, never stay in step with fad and fashion, go out to eat once or twice a month.. maybe, rarely go to movies, and usually have people over to play cards or cook out for entertainment?

If you were to sit down and look at your life in those terms.. Do you think you could live like that and get by one paycheck? I am sure you could….

I read articles that were published during the founding of this country and was shocked with the amount of partisan sniping that took place… Very similar to what you see on talking head television these days.. Accusations of everything from affairs to stealing of public funds…

All in all, things may be harsh, jobs difficult to find, prices going up, wages remaining stagnant, nickel and diming by government… but to think of how people felt during the dustbowl or depression kind of puts things in perspective…

I hope we can be thankful for what we have and enjoy whats around us and not let the anxiety and angst we feel affect the quality of our lives too much…

Underground Right Wing Fanatic

Damn... reeducation will not be fun...


I hate that I am going to have to learn how to think all over again... Here I was all comfortable with who I am and what I thought I was, then... oops... I was wrong.

It seems that after all this time I have just never realized that I was a racist war monger. I'm very thankful that ms. garofalo has cleared this up for me.. at least I wont be confused anymore... Protesting the war in Iraq is ok, it's cool to be an anarchist and attack cops and damage property to get your point across. That's quite the correct thing to do. It's fine to shout down people that show up at a college to speak, or throw pies at them, or attack them... That's what being a good little radical is all about...

fad and fashion...

To redefine what a true radical is seems to be in order.

The true radicals are the ones who get out of bed every morning and head off to work, who don't expect anyone to help them out and never ask. They take no money from the government in any form, just pay into a system that would be illegal if private enterprise attempted to pull it off. They are the ones who give time, goods and money for causes they believe in without talking about it. They make no sound or seek no attention when things go bad, they are just there to start picking up the pieces, quietly setting to work as everyone else complains. They smile to themselves when they are made fun of, take it on the chin and keep going. When they find themselves unemployed, they look for a job until they find one. When they make a commitment, they stick to it and work through the rough parts. Their heads are down, their noses to the grind stone and their shoulders and hearts encumbered constantly as they simply do what must be done. They simply seek freedom. They toe the line, all the damn time.

But something is happening that people need to pay attention to... they are getting tired.

Fifty hours of work, followed by a trip to resupply at a crowded market with kids hanging on to you wanting what you can't afford to give them, buying food that isn't quite what you want, but fills everyone up.. and you get in line behind someone paying with a government issued card you paid for... and man, they eat good...

Standing in stunned silence watching live as three thousand of your countrymen die because they went about their business on a bright Tuesday morning... then getting to see your commander in chief bow before the king of the land most of the perpetrators were born in...

Wincing when a country not involved in said attack was bombed for a litany of convoluted reasons...

Worrying from day to day about keeping a job while watching people that began the economic tumble by inflating stocks and stealing from the people that produced the goods and services that lined their pockets being forced to sell one of their homes to pay a fine before they jet to Paris for lunch...

Shaking your head as you watch four people hold off a military multiple days waiting for orders that never came, until a man in the field could take it no longer and put his career and standing on the line and said, "Do it"...

Reading through a text book your child brings home that gives Lincoln three pages while reserving and entire chapter for bill clinton...

Watching silently as greed, ignorance and arrogance destroy that which you hold dear, this Republic that thousands have given their lives for...

Then being tired, fed up with watching your time in the form of money you earn flow out to every country on this planet, as their leaders sit in a building in new york and call you a back water rube.. you see something beginning, thousands of people coming together to say enough is enough...

and what is the reported reaction?



"a bunch of teabagging rednecks, this is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up."





It does not matter what race you are, what gender you are, what nationality you are or whether you are right or left of center...

We are tired...

Who is John Gault?

Death threats

Last night I ran into a highschool acquaintance when we were eating dinner at a local hamburger joint and we spent a few minutes talking. During the conversation I mentioned writing in general and people’s reactions to what you pen. I tossed out that I have received several death threats down through the years, usually associated with political rants I may go on, but you just never know what will set people off.

Several years’ back, I wrote a weekly opinion editorial for the now defunct Quicksand Magazine, a local rag that was distributed around three or four counties here. Most of these pieces of work were political in nature dealing with subjects such as the death penalty, gun control, and political correctness. A few days after the first one appeared I came home from work and found a message on our answering machine that stated in no uncertain terms that I was destined to die at the hands of this guys relatives for the offensiveness of what I had written. During the course of my writing for them I had several more items such as that left on our machine. The reaction to the first few was fear; this was new to me. Paranoia set in and I began looking over my shoulder every time I ventured out.

With the little corner of the internet that I write on here, I decided to put my email address right over there to your left, on my profile, so these folks might have a way to contact me directly… and let me tell you.. They have contacted me on several occasions…

Here are a few gems I like to keep:

“You and your son should be pulled into a tree by hooks in your mouths for the cruelty you’ve shown to earth’s first inhabitants”

“Islam is the true word of god, you know nothing and will burn in hell with the rest of the infidels! I and my brothers shall see to it that you arrive there before your natural time”

“Guns kill people and hopefully you’ll die at the hands of a gun carrying maniac just like yourself, asshole”

“Rednecks aren’t good for anything but having sex with their sisters and killing black people. I hope you die a horrible death”

“If ignorance was currency, you would be a millionaire, I hope Fowlers friends find you and get rid of you, you don’t deserve to live”

“You right-wingers only know how to hate. I want you to die, knuckle dragging racist bastard”

There are many more, they usually get deleted with a chuckle after I read them, but some are disturbing. I can’t help myself though; I just love hate mail…

So here’s some recap fodder for all the peace loving folks that wish they could kill me..

I support the death penalty, with definitive proof such as DNA. Hell, I would like to see it done as pay per view with the proceeds going to the victim’s families.

I shall wantonly fish and hunt, destroying god’s woodland creatures at my whim.. Bullets are cheaper than groceries…

I believe that all private citizens should be armed if they desire to be.

I do not have the correct mindset to be a cop. The first time I stood between a husband and wife yelling at each other on a domestic disturbance call, I would simply shoot the both of them and then go for coffee..

I do not have a problem with gay marriage, how does it affect the sanctity of my marriage?

I have a white-hot burning hatred for Mannheim Steamroller.

It’s a tree, plant another one…

Global warming doesn’t have anything to do with people, its an anti achievement mentality that uses anything that’s a fad to advance any given agenda.

You breathe in less harmful shit from second hand smoke than you do from sitting in traffic.

I eagerly volunteer my services as public executioner for any asshat that harms a child in any fashion. And I will use only a spoon to carry out the punishment…

Lucifer doesn’t live in music, movies or books.. Only within yourself.

Abortion is legal. Like it or not the law of the land stands as it is until changed. To kill people that provide it means that you should be retro aborted ASAP.

Corporations do not pay taxes, their customers do.

Term limits of two terms for all elected officials from local to state to federal and the national retail sales tax would fix the economy.

War should be declared on Mexico.

Islam is not a religion of peace, read a Koran…

I am a firm believer in karma, so when you burn people, don’t bitch when it comes back on you…

I am the easiest person in the world to get along with, so if you find that hard to believe, you must be an asshole….

Stephen Fowler on Wife Swap

We had settled in this past Friday to night watch the program Ghost whisperer, or Boob whisperer as I refer to it… yet it was a rerun. I then pulled up the guide and saw that Wife Swap was on and clicked on it. What I was then treated to was an hour of quite possibly the most offensive human being I have ever had the misfortune to listen to.

You watch these shows to see outrageous behavior so that you can feel somewhat better about yourself in the long run, or just simply to laugh your ass off over unbelievable people who hold views that simply can not be for real.

One Stephen Fowler, naturalized U.S. citizen from England, living in San Francisco has proven to be one of the most unpopular individuals to ever grace a television screen. I understand why. To make fun of people is something that we all do, but to completely show contempt for another living human being is so disgusting on such a primal level that I myself would’ve popped this guy had I been in his presence. He is involved in several business endeavors for sustainable energy, and sits on many boards, yet he seemed not to think about any of this when he appeared on national television and insulted the following things… Middle America, the United States Military, people with only high school educations, fat people, people with IQs less than 158, people who use fossil fuels, etc etc etc… In other words, about 98% of the population of this country, and indeed this world.

Having googled the guy that night after the show, I found several things about him on line and read quite a bit about him. He seems by all accounts to be a typical liberal elitist. I found nothing new here, except for his disdain for America and the people living here. I have run across this many times, but never at quite such a vitriolic level as this guy.

Now, it seems that his performance has created somewhat of a backlash for himself and his family… and they are shocked. Many of the web sites for this guy are now gone, many were brought down by traffic. He has received death threats, and threatened to sue “forthwith” a site that allowed his home address to be published. His facebook account has been taken down, anti Stephen Fowler groups and sites have popped up everywhere, blogs defending him – posted by his friends - have been taken down, and his business relationships have been affected by his performance on this television program.

You would think that with an often-repeated IQ of 158 he would have thought about this before he appeared on the tv show… In his position, he should have been nice and plugged all of his business ideas to a national audience, but what did he do? He informed his “stand in wife” that she was… “stupid”, a “redneck”, “this country needs people like you to feed the military”, “probably makes more in a week than her husband does in a year”, “scored in the 99.9 percentile of the CRE” she lived in a “Podunk” town.. and tossed out a parting insult to her husband at the end of the show as he walked away… Yes, quite the classy guy…

I have since read a blog by a friend who was there with them the night the show aired and defended him , as “suffering no fools”… and commented about the stupidity of the swapped wife since she “only has a high school diploma”… the blog has since been removed or taken down. She was actually surprised that they began to receive hate calls and emails as the show aired across the country, and made light of one of their friends being so “witty” on the phone with the “uneducated caller”… business as usual…

I’m shocked on a few fronts here.. First, the hatred this guy has for most of the people in the world. Second that he and his circle of family and friends are surprised by the mass’s reaction to his “intellect”. Third, that people are having such a vile reaction to an elitist, liberal, anti military, environmentalist, anti American individual… Most of these people are like this, he was just in their face with it. And lastly, that even with his intelligence level he is threatening to sue people for publishing information that is included in the public domain…

People live and move in relatively small groups of individuals and come to think that most folks agree with their take on “common sense”, yet are frequently surprised to discover that they indeed are among the minority when it comes to certain views and opinions. The “fly over” country that most of us live in (and he repeatedly insults) is peopled by the very individuals that fund these endeavors that keep families such as the Fowlers living in the pristine surroundings provided by such superior intellect and steeped with all the trappings that come with such a fortunate attitude and seemingly endless supply of talent for business… (dripping sarcasm does taste funny)

If you haven’t seen the program, go to youtube, unless little Stephen Fowler has threatened to sue them yet, and watch some of this guy, its really very, very sad stuff… quite nauseating to witness..

I’m actually a bit sad at this point that I watched the television program, being that a new attitude of success has now swept the country with President Obama at the helm to cleanse all the evil perpetrated across this land by us uneducated rednecks… To be reminded of my over all uselessness has popped my happy glow bubble…

Hey... I know that guy!

While watching the inaugural parade and working on a carving I happened to glance at the screen as they announced the NASA group approaching the President.... Imagine my surprise when I saw a high school friend walking across my screen... (he's the tall one) Jim's a good guy and I bet he had a great time.. even though I'm sure he was quite cold.... Go check his family blog out for more details...

I cant believe he said that....

"when white will embrace what is right..."


Way to set the tone good reverend.. way to set the tone...

Change

I was watching some of the festivities yesterday associated with obama's inauguration and landed on a talking head show on msnbc. Chris Mathews was talking to spike lee and a group of black pundits... Somehow the conversation got around to predominantly black colleges. There seemed to be an agreement among the panelists as to why people would choose to attend a school that enrolls mainly one race.

The first person to speak up on the subject said, "They enjoy and want to spend time with people that are like them. People that think and look the way they do." Everyone on the panel agreed, and then they launched into a bit of Bush bashing to round out the discussion.

My question is a simple one... Why is that ok? I asked myself the same question a few months ago when I was watching a local newscast doing a story about a neighborhood in Atlanta that was being slowly transformed by the gay community. They had been buying up older houses and renovating them, it seemed to be a popular spot for such activity. A local Pastor from a black church in the area was interviewed for the piece and was upset about the developments in his community. I wasn't surprised when he was introduced as having an opposing view of the situation, and expected him, being a baptist minister, to begin wailing and gnashing his teeth because of the growing gay population. Yet, I was a bit surprised when he looked right into the camera and said, "We don't want all these crackers coming into our community." I waited for some sort of comment from the news ferrets about his quote causing a racially tense situation, but nothing came.... Why is that?

Is the fear of even speaking about such things and being labeled a racist that strong? Is this true equality? Equality means just that... A level playing field. Everyone is treated the same, without looking at the physical appearance of said individual. You want a job, or a spot at a college? Then meet the qualifications for that position, if you make it, then you're in, if not, go to the next one. If you meet the qualifications and there is room, yet you get turned down, fight to the death for that spot if you desire it, bring attention to it, write about the unfair treatment, scream from every available soapbox, but make sure you meet the qualifications first. There should be no differing sets of qualifiers depending on race, gender, or sexual appetite... In other words.. completely level.. open to all and everyone...

I didn't vote for obama, not because he's black, but because I don't want taxes to be raised... I fail to see how the economy is going to be better by making sure the federal government is taking in more money in the form of taxes... His plan is just backward... it's woefully simple economics, nothing to do with race, political ideology, or religious theology. You want the economy to be stronger? Then let people that earn money keep more of it to invest and spend, that simple. It has been shown time and again that when you cut income tax rates, the government takes in more money, because people have more to spend... It's not about the money, it's about keeping the power.... How about having a plan in place to grant funds to people who want to build solar panels for private housing? So that the average joe can add them to their home for a few hundred dollars instead of several thousand? How about letting the individual states handle these sorts of things?

He has spent the entire campaign speaking of change. He has done a one eighty on most of his proposals since winning the election. This isn't new, it's politics as usual. He's talking of keeping the income tax cuts a bit longer and raising taxes in other areas, he is talking now of "looking again" at the iraq withdrawals instead of pulling everybody out, he has taken the small business tax hikes "off the table"... Nothing new... just politics... get elected and start working on your reelection...

I watched the concert at the lincoln memorial on hbo last night and was struck by the fervor of the crowd. I've said before that you won't hear me complaining about the man's experience level regarding being president, as I am a firm believer in getting rid of career politicians and having a true citizen government. I just couldn't get caught up in the excitement. He is a good public speaker, but what else can he do? He certainly has a tough road ahead of him... Whether the mess he's stepping into was created by Bush or not doesn't matter at this point. Obama is about to own it and he knows it. We Americans are a fickle group and can and will turn on a dime... I have said that we should look for a real change of appearance in the man after he gets his first real intel briefing the morning after he takes office.. I'm sure he is going to begin the "rapid aging" process that afflicts all presidents... It's a nasty world that we live in and there is a multitude of people that want us all dead for no other reason than our physical location at time of birth, they care little for race, religious affiliation, or what we do with our reproductive organs... they just want us dead.

So far I've seen just business as usual.. and little actual change... I can only hope he enjoys the high approval ratings he has now...

Abortion... A small rant

On every corner of every street on the internet, there is a soap box.... Upon said soap box there is someone spewing forth a commentary that they feel is worth listening to, this then is my soap box. I stand here to talk, maybe some will listen, maybe most wont.

I ran across a blog that I shall not name, nor shall I link to, lest more people fall victim to this disgusting asshole... There is very little out there that can offend me, but this one did it. I wont even get into content.

To take a position on a subject is what people do, to argue that position with people that do not agree with you is what comes naturally. To debate your position in hopes of changing minds can be a noble endeavor, but to simply insult people, I just do not get.

Seems this blogger is an educated individual, which makes it all the more ridiculous. I read through several exchanges she had with people dumb enough to leave comments.

The sad part about it is that open debate on any given subject can be quite entertaining. If you are going to take the time to bring it up, why not engage in serious discussion about the topic? The topic in question that brought me to the blog was abortion.. A topic that brings forth rabid folk anyway, but again, why can't it be discussed in a serious, civil manner?

We all know that you can't really debate a matter of opinion, yet it's within these same debates that the most interesting times can be had. These are real opportunities to treat with people from all walks of life, to share views and opinions with those that we do not agree with, so why get three steps into it and begin insulting everyone? That seems nonsensical to me, a waste of effort.

I love to sit around a dinner table and engage in a lively debate over such issues over the course of an evening, but to borrow a phrase from Julie.."There's always one asshole that takes it a bit too far.." Yet, in most cases, that is a risk I'm willing to take...

How long could you make it without tossing out an insult?

My opinion on the matter goes like this... I do not agree with abortion, I think the legality of the issue should be left up to individual states and put on an actual ballot.. (frightening thing for socialists... letting the populace actually decide an issue...) While I feel like abortion is really used as an expensive method of birth control, which is a sad state of affairs in my opinion, I think that it should be legal, for that all too rare - actual case of rape, danger to the mother, or molestation. Bad situations can actually be avoided by abstinence, or use of a condom... either one is cheap & fairly simple...

So on to it then... What do you think about abortion?

Pure evil

Within the scope of individual understanding exist the many guises it can slip on, it's when it moves outside your comprehension that it becomes deadly. Whether you consider yourself to be prepared or simply never think on it, counting on the fortuitous nature of existence - it will find you.

Alice Paul

I have written before about the sacrifices that people in our past have made being the reason for me going to vote, even if I do not particularly like either candidate. Alice Paul is a fine example of this American spirit.

I say American spirit, but it's really the human spirit that I'm talking about. The "right" and literal responsibility that exists within each human to rise up against those that would seek to oppress either them or others. If someone attempts to keep your freedoms from you for any reason other than your provable commission of a crime, then you, as a human, have the right to commit insurrection. There is a reason that the framers of the constitution and founding documents of this nation made it very difficult to meet all the conditions to convict an individual of treason, because they themselves were guilty of that crime.

" We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

These phrases are possibly the most powerful words ever written by man. They lay down the basic framework for free humans to govern themselves, placing law above power, and individual freedom above collective thought. Think about that...

The phrases "For the good of the body politic" or "The needs of the many outweigh those of the few" have a place in certain situations and laws are meant to define these situations. Above the "many" rests the "one". That is a truth that tends to get lost, as long as the "one" acts within the boundaries of the law they are to remain untouched. That is why the founding fathers sought to stay away from a true democracy and went forward with a constitutional republic. Some people get confused by this thought process because it seems that we live in a majority rule scenario, when in fact, there is a system in place that protects us from this very thing. The best way to explain this is by simply asking the question, "What if the majority of people in this country voted and decided overwhelmingly that you should die for no good reason?" Laws dictate whether or not that could happen, if they simply didn't like you, then in a true democracy, you would die. Get the point? That would be a wee bit unfair.

It was questions and thoughts of this nature that drove Alice Paul in her quest for women to have the right to vote. She and her friend Lucy Burns met with the leaders of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, created by Susan B. Anthony in 1890, and worked them to the point that Alice was placed in the role of heading the Washington, D.C. wing of the organization. They were pushing for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, while the existing powers that be of the group were working toward a state by state method.

Alice's outspoken methodology drew attention and wrath from the power brokers that ran the inside networks in Washington, and indeed from the heads of her own organization, leading her to form the National Woman's Party. They decided to picket the White House and were arrested for "obstructing traffic". Since they weren't in any traffic they refused to pay the fine and were sentenced to prison in Virginia for sixty days. While in prison they were beaten by guards, tortured, and brutalized in many ways. Alice began a hunger strike when she was placed in solitary confinement for breaking a window to get fresh air. She was bound in a straitjacket, denied access to a lawyer and forced to undergo psychiatric observation... She was found to be completely sane.

She pressed the other women that were arrested with her to join in the hunger strike. Eventually they were tied down and forced fed through tubes shoved down their throats. Alice managed to get her story out and it broke across the press quickly. When the public outcry became too loud to ignore, they were released from prison...

That was in 1917, in 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified and became law granting women the right to vote...

Alice Paul is one of many people who fought for this right, the right to be involved in self government. The list of people who have fought and even died fighting for this right grows constantly. I've said it before and I am sure I will say it many more times... Freedom, where humans are concerned, is an inevitability, a bloody, nasty business - but it will happen.

So, come election day, what mundane excuse will you use to keep from taking the time to stand in line and press a few buttons on a screen so that you can participate in the "useless choice between the lesser of two evils"? Sure.. all politicians are liars and power mongers... but... I just can not stay away from the voting booth on that day, just because of what people like Alice Paul went through.

I am so relieved...

While carving several projects at once, my mind runs in.. well... several directions at once. Being a veteran of a large, argumentatively loud family, moving right into a family of my own with strangely maniacal children I find a constant background roar to be the norm. So if the people around me aren't loud enough for me to concentrate on what I'm doing, I must create a level of noise that causes my mind to become fuzzy, so that I can then focus on what it is that I'm doing. When it is too quiet I become uneasy. A fact illustrated by my behavior when my wife and kids go out of town. I always spend a couple of hours cleaning like a madman, to get everything done and in its proper place, so I can crash into my favorite chair and stare at everything until they get home, by which time I am usually so paranoid that I am twitching at every sound I hear.

Now when I hear something that normal humans would consider to be blatantly ridiculous, one of two things happen, I look over my shoulder, away from the direction of the professed stupidity, and give the imaginary camera that follows me around recording my life for later review the "benny hill" look, if you've seen the show you know what I am talking about... The other thing that happens is that I wait, with a blank stare, for the child catcher to appear and violently insert his hook into the offensive party to drag them from my presence. Most of the time this doesn't happen. So I begin to blink rapidly until it becomes clear that this individual was serious and therefore is not very bright, so I must cautiously move away while guarding myself from attack.

This particular evening my mind was going all over the place, the four year old was screaming and attacking everything, the fourteen year old was loudly looking around you tube for the latest video of whatever band he likes, my wife was playing referee while trying to finish a project of her own, I was covered in wood chips, the dogs were barking, and cnn was blaring over everything... So, situation normal, I could concentrate. There was the ubiquitous talking head blather fest running sideways across the speakers, free flowing with the usual dribble of the non biased media, letting us know that palin is a succubus who will eat our children while obama fights her down from the mountain top to save mankind from certain republican created doom. When, as the show was ending, one of obama's minions made the statement that caused both the benny hill look, and the child catcher hunt to occur at the same time. The discussion was centered around palin's obvious unpreparedness for the vice presidential slot because she is in favor of gun owner's rights and a christian. The obamaton then looked directly into the camera and said, "Well owning a gun certainly means that you are not a christian".

I didn't bother to look over my shoulder for the camera, the crew moved around me to get the shot. I waited in vain for someone to challenge the guy but nobody did. I began prodding the token conservative with, "Ummmm, come on, you can do it". No dice, she just sat there gleaming her smile waiting for the talking head to give her the ok to speak. The conversation ended, the show went off, larry king's gremlin like visage popped up and life went on.

I began chewing my imaginary bubble gum, I do that sometimes when faced with cavernous intellects that are superior to mine, that or either point off in the distance and say, "There castle". There was no hope, what I witnessed would go unchallenged in the face of yet another person who is so much smarter than I am. I am so glad that these people are out there to tell me how to live and what to think. I must immediately go now and hand over all means of protecting my family, so that I don't get mad and kill them all in a redneck haze of my own inbred stupidity. Damn, to think how close it came... A huge weight has now been lifted from me. Thank you obama for allowing me to see the error of my ways via your little helper....

They, you know those guys, always say that we want straight talk and profess to give it to us. Well, their version at least. On one hand we have people that believe the devil lives in our books, movies, music and genitalia.. On the other hand we have people that think that money should be taken from people that have it where ever it can be gotten and given to those who do not have any so that they can stay in power.

By setting the way you have to give and get money they tell you what to do to either A) keep more of your own money or B) what to do to get someone else's money, they are in fact controlling all aspects of our lives. Forget the patriot act, you want this government backed loan to get that house for your family, well then you have to put toilets in it that hold this much water. You want to put some away for your kids in a trust, well then you must leave it there for this long without touching it or you will get a penalty... The shit is never ending.

There were semi-automatic 22 caliber rifles on the Assault weapons list, think about that. They were put there because of the way they looked, that's it. The same rate of fire, the same bullet, the same everything, but because you put a fold down stock on it, it becomes an assault weapon. This is the freewheeling unadulterated mind power of the government collective at work.

There used to be shooting clubs at schools for crying out loud, kids brought weapons on the bus and took them to school to shoot at club meetings after classes were over. But I am told, things were different then, Bull shit. They were exactly the same, the only difference was back then if you acted up the principal or teacher actually disciplined you, your parents whipped your ass when you did wrong, there were no statements like this: "He needs Ritalin, he can't pay attention in school" Yet he can sit his fat ass in front of a television for six hours straight playing a video game while stuffing his face with hot pockets and never deviate once from his "mission", and there were no twenty four hour news channels or Internet to speed you live shots of fat cops standing around in parking lots not wanting to advance on the criminals and risk their own lives for thirty five grand a year. But wait, we did this to ourselves folks. "If some one touches my child, I will sue the living daylights out of them", we made this bed, so here we are, don't you just love political correctness....

And while I'm on the soap box, get the hell over it you people on the left, you are not enlightened at all. Democrats are just as big in dealing out hypocrisy as republicans are, Republicans can just afford the hookers and good weed at the conventions without having to go to parties to "hook up" and be seen... We know what's going on, we know that people are worms, they watch porn, they gossip, they lie, they steal, they cheat on their spouses, they get abortions for their kids, they drink or do drugs.. Not all of them, but enough to call for the hypocrisy label... We just don't give a damn. Do you really think Clinton's antics in the white house raised an eyebrow on the right? Of course not, they just saw a way to go after the guy and make him look bad. Following the same train of thought, do you really believe people on the right are going to listen to people that are preaching about fuel consumption and global warming when all their private jets that brought them to said function are being refueled and waiting on stand by for their return? We are all human, we all fall short of perfection every day that we breathe. Choose your mountain to die on and fight to the bitter end, but don't get mad if the next guy doesn't believe that global warming is real, or homosexuality doesn't exist in the military, or someone just plain ass doesn't give a shit about you or your cause. Live and let live....

Sometimes I think of it....

.... and I can't help but laugh

Sarah Palin and politics in general

I had to tune in to see her speech because I knew nothing about her. I spent some time after her appearance on stage and did some digging into her votes, views and opinions. The die hard socialists have wasted no time in ripping her to pieces, one only needs to spend a few seconds at huffinton, democratic underground, or daily kos to get an instant picture of what they think of her.

Business as usual, politics never changes. She has been accused of lying, having affairs, attempting to get a state trooper fired, saying her child born in april was hers when in fact it was her daughters, making porn movies, being stupid, mean, and a bitch.

She did back the infamous “bridge to nowhere” until she saw which way the political winds were blowing, she has lobbied Washington for lots of money for Alaska, and she did increase the tax rates in her state. She delivered the speech well. The speech has been labeled as an attack piece, there were jabs at obama and biden, but why not? Come on, minions of these guys accused her of saying that her child was hers so that she wouldn’t have to say that he was her daughter’s. That is why she moved ahead and admitted that her seventeen year old daughter is pregnant. God knows unwed teen pregnancy is unheard of. One of the goons at democratic underground led with the remark, “when teen pregnancy happens in a minority urban area its sad and a reason to end welfare, when it happens to affluent white people it’s a reason to celebrate and worship at the alter of anti-abortion”. What place does this sort of dribble have in politics? None, it doesn’t accomplish a damn thing, but sadly it works. That’s why attack ads are used… They work.

As I have said on multiple occasions, regardless of the rhetorical bullshit that is spouted, the bottom line is the voting record. Go look, spend a few minutes and actually read the voting records of the four people involved in this campaign and use this information to help you decide whom it is you would like to vote for. Me, I will more than likely vote for McCain. I will not vote democrat for personal reasons, ever. The leadership of that party has said things that I, in good faith, will not forgive. I would follow the libertarian party as I agree with most of what they stand for, but the foreign policy issues they put forward stop me from listening to much else they have to say.

Am I a conservative? Not really. I would label myself a pragmatist. More often than not when I look at a situation and consider the options, actions, and possible outcomes – I usually find myself siding with the dreaded right wing nuts… In some cases, in theory only. They preach it, but rarely walk it, as is normally the case in politics.

Where I stand on issues:

Abortion – I think that it should be up to individual states as to the legality of the practice.
I do not like it, it’s used more as a method of birth control for those of us too lazy to take a pill or roll a condom on than for cases of incest or harm to the mother or fetal deformation and quality of life issues. These situations are actually rare, but understood, and should be legal. But at the same time… It is the law of the land and if you want it to be illegal, then work within the system to change the laws, don’t shoot a doctor. I find late term abortions to be pretty sick and don’t mind a ban on them so much. If you can’t figure out that you are pregnant by that time you have more serious problems than not being able to figure out how to sheathe a penis with a rubber balloon, and may just want to consider putting it up for adoption.

Gay marriage - How do two gay people getting married harm the sanctity of my marriage? There are several issues that fall under this one. I am for freedom. I think that you should be able to have whoever you want on your insurance policy regardless of whether they are related to you or not. I think that you should be able to file your taxes jointly with whomever you want to. I think that its up to the individual as to who it is that can visit them in the hospital.

Taxes - NATIONAL RETAIL SALES TAX. ENOUGH SAID. (SEE LINKS SECTION)

2nd Amendment - In favor of it. (see federalist papers for definition of militia) Criminals by nature are cowards, they will not accost someone that will or can kill them, see (Kennesaw Ga.)

Dependency on oil – Is it indeed a fossil fuel? We should drill here, as much as we can. Rebuild our infrastructure to support the growing population, and develop alternative methods such as wind, solar, and biofuels (see veggie van) so that they are realistically affordable to the average citizen.

Border control – Shut it the hell down. Close military bases where they are, relocate them to the border, build a wall, whether real or virtual, and make everyone entering this country do it legally.

Size of Government – It should be about one twentieth of what it is now. The federal government should maintain the military and that’s about it. Everything else should be handled by the individual states.

Term limits – Two terms for every elected official, from local to state to federal. This would get rid of career politicians, the scourge of our wallets. This is why I haven’t remarked on the “experience” argument of either obama or Palin, I am all for a true citizen government.

Sarah Palin seems ok, she has voted for things I do not agree with, but then they all do. I’m sure I will vote their ticket. After all, there seems to be no one running on a platform of issues I agree with completely.

bob beckel can kiss my ass

The thickness of my skin has been worn down by a year brought to me by none other than satan himself. I have had the privilege of living through a year that includes such lovely goings on as my father, uncle, and aunt passing away, two dogs dying, the loss of four pet birds to a hawk, estrangement, ridiculous car problems, health issues in the family, etc etc etc.... The bullshit has left me angry, tired and pissed off. I have tried my best to remain on an even keel while all around me turns to pure shit.

I knew that sooner or later some craptacular piece of nothing would toss my psyche over the edge and cause a flood of rage to vomit forth with vitriol and manifest itself on some unknowing soul who happens to be standing within reach. In a year that I have had to endure slack jawed bastards slinging insults at me and my family under the guise of anonymity, I have now reached the point of just not giving a shit. To what do I owe this mind set. None other than little bob beckel, pundit extraordinaire, he became the official camel straw back breaker.

It seems this ass hat has felt it necessary to insult the south. This is common fare for the uneducated blowhards that seem to place themselves on a pedestal because they live in a more enlightened area of the country. Every part of the country has rednecks, regardless of the accent they have when they speak. Every part of this country has areas a law abiding person will not go to. Every part of this country has people that just plain suck. But this endless bullshit about the south has reached its limit of being humorous.

‘If you can’t shoot it, eat it, drink it or fuck it, they just aren’t interested in it’ This is what he considers to be serious political discourse? He has said that the democrats should just forget about the south and obama shouldn't even land a plane here because the color of his skin. God knows there are no racists or bigots outside of the deep south are there? He even insulted the eating of catfish... It pissed me off and I don't even like catfish. I have lived here for my entire life, my wife is from chicago and has lived here for the past sixteen years. When she first got here she was dumbfounded by the way the people here talked about people of other races. Now she has seen the things that go on where the rubber meets the road, in real life and real time. She has seen real bigotry in action, and you know... most of it has been towards us poor, ignorant, incestuous southern rednecks.

Conversational bigotry was a spice of life I grew up with, it was everywhere. I am aware of lynchings and horrible things done to people. But, I am also aware of the flip side of this coin that you never hear about. Truth is truth, regardless of how ugly it is. Less than four percent of the people sold into slavery actually made it to the shores of this horrible region of the country. The largest purchaser of slaves during the time of the civil war was the U.S. government (see buffalo soldiers). There were no white people picking up slaves from africa (see spain and portugal) they were sold in cuba, well noted to be a hot spot for white folks, most wound up in south america and the Caribbean. The civil war was fought over taxation of goods from the south being at an unfair rate because those of the enlightened breed not liking the money the cotton barons were taking in and the power it brought to them. Black on white violence goes largely unreported by media.

I spent the early portion of my life pretty much raised by a black woman that I loved dearly. She helped to instill in me my love for real food and good times in the face of ridiculous bullshit brought on by people that have no real souls to speak of. She died not knowing when her birthday was or really how old she was, but the mark she left on me is deep and runs with a love that no bastards or spider witches can touch.

We that have grown up in the deep south feel a love for the place and guard it with a fierce line of blood that is willing to be spilled in the defense of it. We know that politicians are full of shit. We know that war is nasty business and the reasons for it are usually masked and delivered to us in a patriotic package designed to touch the deepest feelings of loyalty and win over the weak minded. But why do we accept it? Why do we line up to go? Why do enlistment rates always run higher in this region of the country than anywhere else? It's not because of love of country, or pride in a nation, or the desire to kill another human being. It's simply because we feel like we can help the other guy get home alive. We feel pride and patriotism, but we know what the score is. We would rather be the ones to face the shit and just get it done than to see others put to the test. We don't like whiners and would just as soon do it and hear less of it. There are people who feel like this all over the country. That is the point. We are just like everybody else. Yet we are forced to listen to shit spouting bastards from all angles and points in media take shots at us continuously. Why? Because they know we won't say or do anything about it. We are the last of the groups they won't lose a gig over... We have no jesse jacksons to file papers in a court of law. We have no al sharptons to go on hunger strikes (see a soup diet) to gain attention to anything we go through. Traditionally we shut the hell up and take it, get the job before us done and step aside to return to our normal lives.

Despite the lovely picture painted by things like gone with the wind, the reality of our history is one of poverty and labor. Sharecroppers worked side by side with slaves. White trash lived at a level comparable with them on most all levels. We too suffered under plantation owners. My own ancestors were forced to walk to Oklahoma (see trail of tears) They fought in wars, they were bad people with violent lives, some came from places like Scotland and Ireland where they were driven from lives they knew by rich people who held power over them. Some were here before the immigrants set foot on this shore. Yet they all prevailed and stayed the course.. and as a result.. Here I am. Here I am because of the pure fucking guts they had, the work ethic they stuck to, the bad times they lived through, and the blood and sweat they left on this land so that I could enjoy it and share it with my own children. They did it all for love, love of family and love for this place. That to me lays a heavy sense of responsibility on my shoulders, and it makes me weep in the very pit of my heart to hear some flippant remarks generalizing all of us come free flowing from the mouths of human stains like this asshole.

Let it go, we hate it, yet remain quiet when the jokes are made so you can feel important. You can have your opinion that's fine. But I can also have mine. Me.. I will take up the moniker of redneck, hillbilly, white trash, knuckle dragger, mongrel, blue eyed devil, bigot, and whatever other labels the more learned among our society decide to place on me. Like I said, I know the score.

Obama / Biden

As I sat and listened to Obama give his introduction for Biden as his running mate the drone of the words that were expected went on at its usual pace. I reached over and picked up a piece of modeling clay and began to form up what I think Biden looks like when the lights are off and he is alone in bed with nobody to impress. The picture here is what I came up with while he was speaking, it's a representation of his soul, laying naked before us. James will have fun smashing it up when he gets up from his nap...

Joe Biden's voting record speaks for itself, party line. You will hear his remarks about Obama that he made while campaigning against him tossed out by his opponents, you will hear all about any dirt in his closet that can be dug up. The one and only thing you need to read is his voting record. If you read it and agree with how he voted, then God bless you. If you read it and don't agree with what he says, then vote for another ticket.

The main theme that I heard running through his speech is how this country is falling apart. Home repossessions, expensive gas, dwindling military... All the usual talking points. Nothing new, nothing at all. The democrat line of doom and gloom is alive and well and running at full force within the party of "the common man"... Its the little things they don't say that are louder than any words coming from their mouths... When they attack corporations they don't tell the dumb masses that these "ridiculously high profits" are what is keep the jobs in this country which are still around. Yes I think that billion dollar bonuses for corporate heads are pitiful while people on the front line are getting laid off... But how many jobs have you ever gotten from a poor man? They want to put more taxes on these evil corporations, so they pay their fair share... What they fail to tell you is that corporations do not pay taxes, they pass this expense on to the customers of the goods and services they sell. Expense it is.. that's how its written up, I know, that's what I do for a living... When they bitch about George Bush, they don't want to tell you they went along with him, for fear of losing their careers in politics.

So here we are yet again, the choice is clear. Vote for more taxes and a pretty picture... Or vote for a guy that can't lift his hands above the top of his head like a character from charlie brown.. Damn.

When is someone that really is a crusader for people going to run for office?

When is someone going to push for a real solution oil prices, like drilling more. I do not care who it's sold to.. china, the U.S. who ever.. there is a basic economic principle in play here, the more goods on the market, the lower the price, regardless of who the purchaser is...

When is some one running for office going to actually work to cut out ADMINISTRATIVE waste in government? A great starting place would be getting rid of tax payer (read you & me) paid for govt issued cars, cell phones, credit cards, expense accounts, ridiculously high salaries and pensions for nothing more than a completely useless layer of govt bureaucracy.... All we need are the people to make the decisions and the people to carry them out. Between the two there should be nothing more than a guy in a cinder block room with a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling, a phone, a filing cabinet, and no computer...

When is someone going to push for fuels in cars and to spin electrical turbines that can be grown or picked up from mcdonalds for pennies a gallon?

When is someone going to push to put a stop to income taxes?

When is someone going to push for two term term limits for all elected officials from the local to state to federal levels? That way the lobbyists will drill themselves into the ground from spinning round and round so fast trying to figure out who to throw money at for favors, eventually that system would fail completely with term limits.

On one side you've got a guy that pushed legislation through that is a direct violation of free speech, and on the other there is a guy with a questionable abortion stance... keeping in mind that I have no real opinion on this issue being that I lack a vagina, but I hear scary stories about partial birth abortions floating around...

Why are we such champions of hard line mediocrity in this country?

Just a damn good smoke...

Pirate's Gold by Rolando Reyes has turned out to be one of my favorite blogging companions. Make no mistake, an aficionado I am not. This little secret vise is a smooth flavorful companion that fits well in the past midnight lets have a good cup of coffee and surround ourselves in aromatic clouds of cigar smoke setting. Even though this habit is full of so many bad things and detrimental to your person on so many levels, it's just so good... Thanks for the tip Mark! ( let me know when the next order goes in!! )

Five minutes thirty four seconds....

That is how long it took me to find and download these pictures of children that have been murdered. Their stories range from parents, to cousins, to friends of the family, to vans pulling up and people snatching them, to kids at school getting out of control in fights. I looked into their faces and hundreds more, and thought of my own children. The theft of innocence is the highest of crimes punishable by death in my book. To abuse a child is the lowest of criminal activity known to the human race. Take a second and look into these faces... What did they do to deserve to die? Nothing. Yet they are dead, they will never know the simple pleasures of life - lovers, friends, movies, roller coasters, picnics, parks, swimming, Christmas toys, driving, grandparents, playing, all the things that we work our asses off to be able to do and provide. Their hopes, dreams and voices are now silenced forever. Some of the people that did these things have been caught, some have not. We look around on these computers and see stories of things like this, or see the talking heads making money from the tragedy that befalls these children. Yet we do nothing.

I look at my children when they are at their worst and still could not imagine hurting them. I would not hesitate to kill the person that would hurt them. Those that treat them poorly will die, simple. I have contacted several organizations that I have found and will be doing what I can to help in any way that I can. I have no money to give them, but I will offer myself in any capacity I am able.

I saw images that I will not repost. Neglect, rape, beating, burning, starvation, drowning, hanging, mutilation, strangling, rage killing... it disgusts me as a human. I will do what I can to end it in any way possible.

Lawyers help to get the people who do this the best deal they can, some even go free. Some people begin to feel sorry for them and call for leniency. Some even get marriage proposals. People sit in their dens and conceive webs of deceit to hurt others for nothing more than their own pleasure, or to cover up their shortcomings before they are exposed, these assholes are really no better. The human race is comprised of the lowest there is in creation. It's driven by the desire for power and the things that they think it can bring to them. To hurt children, physically, verbally, sexually, emotionally.. all the same... Theft of innocence...

This must stop.