As the four people who read this blog (and I'm being generous), you probably expect me to talk about the execution of Saddam Hussein. Nah. Actually, everyone at Common Dreams pretty much nailed it.

Nope. I'm going to do something unexpected. I'm going to go a bit webjournal on you and actually declare this Christmas a success. Yes, I know...I am the Grinch, I hate Christmas like a fat kid hates tofu. I've been evolving in terms of what I do and it's worked out relatively OK.

So I bitch about consumerism and all that stuff, so...no...I didn't make all my Christmas presents...but I did try to buy stuff from the more progressive businesses I could find. That does mean less local and more online, but it's the compromise I had to make when I had to buy relatively so much stuff that ranged in scope. And I have to say that it went pretty well...even the gift certificates were for things like Seeds of Change, an organic gardening place.

So the advice from Uncle Whitee is...do a little homework and buy some different stuff - even for the kids. Use "the google" and look for...uh....organic clothes, peace toys, stuff like that. OK, that sounds lame, but you narrow your use of the google based on individuals you know. Enough said.

**********************************************************************************

I know, I've been evasive, but I should be ready to unveil the big change in a few days. Let's just say that Whitee, as we know...uh...him / it....will cease to be. Stay tuned....it's gonna be cool.

Labels: christmas, consumerism, presents

Gerald Ford is a punk-ass bitch. That's right, I said it.

Ford gets interviewed by Bob Woodward in 2004 and says that invading Iraq was wrong that he never would have done it that way - but he tells Bobbo that he can only publish the comments after his death. Punk. Punk-ass bitch! I hope they have sunscreen where you are now.

Why did Woodward have to wait? Because you didn't want to make your party look bad? Or your buddies? Or the institution of the president? Then why could your words be published after you died? Because you're a fucking coward.

Do you think the dead soldiers, their families and the thousands of dead Iraqi's care about whose toes you would have stepped on?

"You shouldn't say that. The man just died. He was president, you have to respect the office." Hey, I respect the office more than the jokers who occupy it.

Punk.

UPDATE: I'm not the only one. More reason's why Gerald Ford's a jive turkey.

Labels: Gerald Ford, Hell, iraq, Punk

James Brown dies. Then Gerald Ford. They say these things come in 3's. Somebody better check on Abe Vigoda. I'm just sayin...



Oh...and stay tuned...there's exciting news coming down the pike, or up the pike or wherever you put news in your pike. Hey, you shouldn't be leaving your pike out like that. It's not right.

Labels: Abe Vigoda, Gerald Ford, James Brown

Tera Conner is a punk-ass bitch. That's right...I said it. In case you don't know who this is or what it's about, go here. Go ahead...I'll wait...

OK. What she should have done was to tell Donald Trump to kiss her fine, white ass, that he's a big hypocrite for telling her she can't get a little sapphic delight and party. Hell, we all want to make out with Miss Teen USA, what's his problem? Shit, that dickhead has a f-ing vodka named after him.

Then she should have said that the whole system of "beauty pagents" is just porn without the money shot. No, porn's more respectable in my opinion...at least it can serve a purpose. She should have apologized to human kind for helping perpetuate such an attitude toward women by participating in this and in conclusion she is going to give up her "crown" to follow her dream - to become Mrs. Violet Blue.

Oh, and she should have done the whole press conference with a beer in her hand wearing a strap-on.

At least that's how I would have done it. And, yes, if she asked, I would become Mrs. Violet Blue in a heartbeat. I check my e-mail every day, but so far, nothing.

UPDATE: Come on...if I looked like this I'd be out painting the town as well. Jeez.

Labels: beauty pagents, Donald Trump, Tara Conner, Violet Blue

I had other things, non-political things, that I was going to talk about...this ridiculous Miss USA stupidity, mysuck...I mean, myspace and get in my annual rant about f-ing Heatmiser, but I stumbled upon something tonight that made me put all that aside and go back to my old faithful - politics...and actually, it's not really politics, it's more of a current events thing, but it definitely has it's base in the political realm. Anyway...

I don't consider myself to be the smartest person around. I'd like to think I have a healthy share of common sense, but that's about it. And when I "spout off" here, I know I sound like some dork who has no real social skills (which is true in some ways, untrue in others). But on occassion, someone says something that says what I've been trying to say only more clearly and rationally than I ever could. So here is something Scott Ritter said:

Again, I mean to correct the American public here. 65% of the American public aren’t antiwar. They’re just anti-losing. You see, if we were winning the war in Iraq, they’d all be for it. If we had brought democracy, they’d be cheering the President. It wouldn’t matter that we violated international law. It wouldn’t even matter that we lied about weapons of mass destruction. We’d be winning. God bless America. Ain’t we good? USA, USA! But we’re losing, so they’re against Iraq. -Democracy Now

I've taken shit from people since 9/11, but my stance on war has been the same...no war unless we are specifically attacked by a specific country. Pre-emptive war is illegal and immoral and our "representatives" are war criminals. And this crap about not going after impeachment because of (insert the last lame-ass excuse you've heard, here), is just as immoral.

So, whatcha gonna do about it? Eh?

Well, here we go...time for another war protest. I'm going to do everything in my power to get there and you should too. It's time - even if you've never been in one, you need to send a message to people in Washington, in the press and to people around the world that these corporate-owned war criminals do not speak for us. Bring your kids, get them involved, push 'em in a stroller, get them used to being involved in their democracy- even if you're not.

"On Saturday, Jan. 27th, people from every corner of the country will march on Washington, DC. Our message will be clear, our voice will be strong: End the war in Iraq, Bring all the troops home now! We urge you to join us!" Go to http://www.unitedforpeace.org

Labels: iran, iraq, january_27th_protest, scott_ritter

I just finished reading a book called Heat by Bill Buford. I first heard about it when Buford was a guest on Idiot's Delight. In fact, I've gotten a bunch of cool stuff from listening to that show - more on that another time. And as I've started eating less...uh...junk lately and cooking for myself more, I thought I'd check the book out.




The book tells of the author's time working in Mario Batali's restaurant as well as his other research & travels around the world about cooking & restaurants - particularly Italian cooking. If you go into this book naive about what happens in the kitchens of restaurants (not the most sanitary places in the world) then you may not want to read the book.

The book made me think about what we eat. At the very end, Buford gives a paragraph or two about vegetarianism and eating meat and he seems to kind of shrug the subject off, but for anyone who gives it thought, it's an interesting read in that regard as well. It also provided me with a lot of thought about how to cook...and it just confirmed what I already know...I don't know jack squat.

I've worked in a restaurant kitchen before - by no means 3 star, big city establishments - and in those places the cooking was pretty straight forward, but in the trendy places, the ones that come up with "original" dishes, they use everything...including the kitchen sink...in their food. I really have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars on that kind of food. Look man, if I really want to eat quail anus...well...I'd never want to eat quail anus...that's kind of the point. And in a Batali restaurant it wouldn't say "quail anus" so why take the chance.

It's kinda like Crunchy Frog.

Anyway, read the book, but don't go to the restaurant.

I really had intended on doing a post about food - connected to a book I just finished, but that'll have to wait for another time... And I know I said I was going to chill on politics, but...must...reach...utility...belt...

OK, Dennis Kucinich announed that he's running for president. Knowing what he stands for and all that jazz, I should be...uh...jazzed, but I just can't. (big shock, huh) Look, after the powers-that-be decided that The Douchbag was going to run against the War Criminal - that two Yale, Skull & Crossbones scumbags as the corporate candidates was a good idea - Dennis kept on running becuase he wanted his anti-war stance as part of the platform. So he kept running, got to the convention...aaaaaand... oh, nice try Denny.

Folded like a cheap tent. Why? Weeeelll, I can't give up my credible source on this one, but I do have it on a reliable source, that Kucinich is one of those elected progressives who has real progressive values, but isn't willing to risk his standing in...uh...whatever he's standing in. So good luck with all that. So called progressive dems will shovel their white, suburban money to Kucinich and feel good about not giving it to Clintonbagger then watch in horror as they get the same punch in the throat at convention time as they got last time.

And speaking of the misty world of progressive dems...I totally missed this, but I heard that there's some documentary that aired on my local PBS station about 3 dems who just ran for the house - one of whom was in a local race and who lost. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this race before. All these local "progressives" were excited about this guy and there were lawn signs and bumper stickers all over the place. They were out hitting the streets for this guy big time. The only problem was, apart from being against being in Iraq, the guy was a violent, angry guy who really had no real solutions. I'd hunt down this movie, but I'm afraid my head would explode.

And while we're on the topic of congresspeople, it seems that while the War Criminal refuses to talk to Syria, some congresspeople are going over there on their own. THAT'S what I'm talking about. That's what should have been going on in North Korea, Iran, Iraq, etc. All's we heard were apologists saying that dems aren't in power, they can't do anything. They could get on a freakin plane! It's easy to do this stuff when you're in the "majority" - what makes you a leader is if you're willing to do it when you're not.

Like...uh...Cynthia McKinney. Michael Moore (who I have my own problems with) made liberals cream their jeans a few years ago with Farenheit 9/11, but McKinney actually holds hearings and she's a nutjob. A friend told me today that folks on Air America are dismissing McKinney. (I'll get details later). I'm telling you...while I don't think Gore or Douchebag would have done all this damage, they're still part of the system and will protect it at any cost. They don't have the political will - same as Kucinich. Look, if Dennis Kucinich doesn't run for President, the anti-war, impeachment lefties will go to a third party. Kucinich is the bone that gets thrown to them, but it's not going to amount to any change in the system. A real focus on a third party candidate will have long-term implications.

Oh...and then there's this weak-ass argument by John Dean, that we shouldn't be focusing on impeaching the War Criminal & Deadeye Dick; that we should be focusing on impeaching lower criminals in government. The main reason is that there isn't the supermajority to successuflly get them out of office.

So let me get this straight, you can get away with killing thousands of people and stealing billions of dollars if your party is in power or the other party isn't big enough? Jesus! It's pretty simple...did those two assholes do XY&Z? Yes. Is there proof? Yes. Great...you go on a campaign to show the country this and "shame" if you need to, the R's into voting for impeachment. That's what happened with Nixon & Dean knows this. Christ, you can't go after the lower ones as well?

"But it'll look partisan..." Bullshit, not if you present the evidence at the same time. This nob even compared it to the R's impeachment of Bubba...can you believe that jump in logic.

OK, I'm done for now.... I really need to start focusing on some non-political stuff.

Technorati Tags: kucinich, mckinney, impeachment, war criminal

In the spirit of blogging on non-political topics, I bring you this. There's a Hooters-type restaurant in Arizona whose waitresses dress up like sexy nurses. Of course there are a few people with no lives (and who don't realize the free publicity they're giving the place) who are publically complaining that the uniforms sexualize the nursing profession.

Is there a cliche of the sexy nurse? Damn straight. But come on...guys can make just about any profession sexy in their heads. (I'm assuming women can too) I like the quote, ""We're asking people, if they're going to have these fantasies, please don't make it so public. Move these sexual fantasies to other professions."

Look here, Sweetie...if I find a woman sexy then it really doesn't matter what she does, it's going to get me hot. Grease Trap Repair? Yep. Hog Farmer? Sqeeeeeal! Fox News Pundit...well, maybe in that Taboo-kinda way. (oh the things I would do to Michelle Malkin...blog for me you right-wing tramp!)

It's pretty easy to fetishize the nursing profession - they're caregivers...women who actually don't need to get drunk to put their hands on you. But who the hell goes to the doctor's office looking to get laid - unless you've had an erection for longer than 4 hours...but that's a different story.

Technorati Tags: sexy nurses, michelle malkin, priapism

For the 3 regular visitors...you may have noticed that all the music is off of the site. Why? Well, let's just be honest, I'm just not working on anything and I don't see it happening any time soon. I don't have the attention span to actually get good on an instrument, I still can't write any more and...oh yeah...I can't sing! So that pretty much takes care of that.

So we'll just keep blogging for the time being. As thrilling as that is for y'all. Though I would like to make a committment to start blogging on things other than politics. Maybe not go back to volleyball porn or table tennis chicks, but something different. I still don't intend on making this a webjournal/diary, but I may go to some more day-to-day stuff.

Feel free to send me suggestions for a new name for the site. You can throw it in the comments area. I do like "Purveyor of Fine Beats" but it just doesn't fit any more.

And while I'm at it, feel free to throw a vote or two my way at the various blogging sites you see down the side and when you order anything from Amazon.com, do it from here. Every little bit helps.

Technorati Tags: music, mp3's, blogging

Let's do a little bit of media scruitiny, shall we?

Outgoing...well...as of yesterday, I guess she's gone...Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney did what no one else had the cojones to do...draft Articles of Impeachment against the War Criminal. You can see the transcript of her speech HERE.

Now, I'm not sure at what time this speech was given on the House floor, but as of...ummm...it's 2:45 in the morning, websites I normally praise up & down have said nothing....not Crooks & Liars, Not Common Dreams. The "mainstream" press is reporting this, but not as it's lead story and everyone's just using the AP write-up which is very slanted. How? Let's take a look:

The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. This was the second sentence of the AP report. Of course this couldn't be McKinney doing her duty as an American...hell, as a human being. It has to be political...so says the AP. But CNN does it one better. Not only did they just repeat the AP story, but the so-called 'story highlights' feature these sentences:
• Impeachment bill has no chance of passing
• McKinney leaving Congress after losing primary runoff
• McKinney had dustup in March with House security officer

Yep, those are the highlights of the story. No questioning of Pelosi or other dems as to why impeachment is "off the table" for them.

And MediaMatters hasn't reported on this. Randi Rhodes is tempering it by saying that we shouldn't judge the dems yet because they can't do anything yet and that they'll need to spend the first XXXX amount of time doing investigations. Look, it's pretty simple - impeachment is the latest elephant in the room. Bush could have sex with an underage corpse right now and it wouldn't be an impeachable offense to these jokers in office.

[tangent alert]
Oh...and on another note...the new democratic talking point is that supposedly, the American voters have spoken through the recent elections and they say XY&Z. Uh Sparky, what was the turnout? I don't know how accurate it is, but I found 53%. Whew...brace yourself for that upswelling of public sentiment.

Technorati Tags: mckinney, articles of impeachment, pelosi, voter turnout

Speaker-to-be, Nancy Pelosi said that voting down funding for the military in Iraq (which is pretty much the only way Congress can do an end-around The War Criminal on this) is "off the table".

So Representative Barbara Lee was interviewed on Democracy Now and asked her opinion about this. This is significant because she is the only person who voted against giving The War Criminal carte blanche in going into where ever he pleases. She has never voted for military funding for this stuff. She has been one of the main anti-war stalwarts.

So, Amy Goodman asks her what she thinks about Pelosi's statement...twice. Lee never answers the question. She does a lame politician / teenager trick of saying whatever she planned on saying anyway - which she had already said in the answer to the previous question. Here's the transcript and you can download audio & video of it there as well.

So what does this say when THE major anti-war Congressperson will not speak out against this? It says that she'll fight against the "other team" but won't speak out against her own. "So?" you say? Well, who does she represent? Does Lee stand for ideals & values or the "winning team"?

Same as it ever was, sports fans...

Technorati Tags: Pelosi, Barbara Lee, backbone, military funding

God Damn...I have to be the biggest loser in the world...what other motherfucker would get a Dear John Christmas Card.

Forget about it, Kid. You'll poke your ego out. Ho...ho...ho.

Two Quick Hits:

*We spend so much money and give up our liberty to protect us from terrorists abroad...allegedly. But the real danger are nutjobs right here in the good old US. This douchbag is more of a threat than Saddam.

*What will you "progressives" do when the Dems come into office and basically don't do dick about Iraq?

Technorati Tags: American Terrorists, Democrat's War

It's really stunning how many people ask me what I think about Obama Barack. My main impression of the guy is that I have no impression of the guy. His only claim to fame is his speech at the 2004 democratic convention - and who the hell knows if he wrote the damn thing himself. What has the guy done? Nothing. And he sure has a lot of excuses for it as well.

Here is a perfect commentary on the Vacuousness Known as 'Obama'.

Oh, and the fact that eveyone calls him Obama, like Oprah or Madonna, shows what a celebrity he is and not a statesman / politician.

Technorati Tags: obama barack, lack of substance, no resume

I just have too many issues I want to talk about so we’ll just get em all out of the way:

* Think you’re going to be seeing a Democratic Revolution come January? Check out this blog entry. Oh yeah, big changes are in the works…can’t wait for it. And when you say, "but it’s better than what’s been going on." I will bitch slap you. Stop accepting mediocrity!

* Check out what’s happening in Mexico. That's M-Fers fighting for their democracy, for their right to have their votes counted. In 2000, lazy-ass pseudo-progressives just went looking for Nader as a scapegoat. In 2004, people just acknowledged fraud, but few were willing to do anything about it.

As a quick aside – check out the website for the movie American Blackout. I've seen the movie…pretty freakin powerful. Now that Congresswoman McKinney is about to leave office, I hope she keeps up the fight.



* I'm starting to get in my ususal holiday funk, combined with some other relationship stuff I'm dealing with. I'm listening to the station on one of the satellite radio outfits that does torch songs. (yeah, I know...not very manly...bite me) What the hell is this? Tom Wopat – one of the original Duke brothers from the Dukes of Hazzard – is a jazz singer! A song he did came on – not horrible. At least from the one song I heard, his voice isn't the strongest in the world, but it's not bad. Something not expected.



* I'll try not to make this last thing too long... I was reading an interview with activist, Adrienne Maree Brown in the latest Clamor Magazine. She’s done a movie about African-American women who have been raped called No! – the movie itself and how difficult it’s been to get the movie out there. But she kept bringing up a point that I have a real problem with. She’s very down on white people who work on issues that relate to black people (that's my summarization of it).

This is a concept that I've been struggling with for a while – what right do white people have to work on issues that are centric to the American black population? Should black people be the only people who should be working to improve black people’s lives? I'm not going to deny that there are a ton of white people who look at black people as victims – which is pretty condescending and disempowering. But if I want to work on issues of poverty (or rape in the case of this movie) and the majority of people in my area who are affected by this are black, does that mean I can't?

Let me give a more concrete example...poverty in my city. In my city, poverty is concentrated and the majority of people who are affected by it are people of color. Over 80% of the kids in the city school district live in poverty here…what a shock that the graduation rate sucks so bad. So, if I work on alievating poverty in my city does that mean I'm condescending to blacks & hispanics because I'm white? At first, I felt that I couldn't...then, as I became more embedded as an activist, I figured that I could get involved, but that it wasn't my place to lead; that I could use my talents as an activist to help achieve what black people in the community wanted to achieve. That's what I focused on – I would continually ask, "how can I help?" I think I gained trust in the black community to some degree, but I was getting frustrated. The more I was involved, the more I saw the division within the local black community. Coalitions would get together only to fizzle out soon after. As black people in town trusted me more they confided in me more – which meant I got to be privy to a lot of backbiting and accusations. It was pretty disheartening.

So I don't have an answer here, only questions...what about those kids I mentioned? The ones living in poverty? Do you think they give a crap about if I'm white or black? Hopefully not. They just don't want to live in the shitty neighborhoods they're in; they want to be safe; have a decent place to live; be respected. And if I'm an advocate for children (which I am) does that mean I can't advocate for black kids? If I do, does that mean I'm racist?

The problem with Ms. Brown's assertion / generalization is that I (or any white person) wouldn't work on behalf of a white kid living in poverty (or white woman who was raped) because if the kid is white, she can work her own way out of the cycle of poverty and that a black kid can't. While I won't dispute it is relatively easier for whites to do this, it’s still not easy nor fair for her to have to do this at all.

I'm not saying that the conditions Ms. Brown talks about don't exist, only that to generalize and say all white people have condescending, paternalistic intentions only divides. Don't tell me what I shouldn't be doing, tell me what you think I should be doing. I'll follow, I'm just waiting for someone to actually lead.

OK, have at it...

Technorati Tags: democrats, tom wopat, rape, activism, racism

Are you a patriot? I don't believe in the concept of patriotism. Not for the US or France or North Korea or Iraq. It's man-made. Patriotism is based on government, which handles invisible, man-made borders. What about the "patriots" of Yugoslavia? The concept of patriotism is forced on people by dictators who do not want the people to question or think for themselves. We've allowed ourselves to have our rights taken away so that we don't feel comfortable, and we use patriotism as an excuse for our laziness. And the more difficult things become for us intellectually, the more we retreat into mindless diversions.

I aspire for not only "my" country, but for the world to become more humanist. Humanism does not necessarily contradict spirtualism, but it does contradict organized, man-made religion.

Many times, when someone brings up the fallacy of patriotism, they are "accused" of advocating for a world government. Whatever. It's the same argument in America between federalism vs. republicanism. It's the same argument localities make in New York when they say that state, unfunded mandates are unfair. At what point do we allow (allegedly) representative governments usurp individual rights in the name of "safety" or the the "common good".

What are you willing to give up for your safety? For your comfort? For many, a beer and a big screen TV is enough to give up almost every right they have. The ironic thing is that in a supposedly free society, you actually have the right to do that. The problem comes when those who are not willing to take technolical trinkets in exchange for our freedom are called "unpatriotic", "commie" and now "terrorist".

Am I calling for everyone to march into the streets? Not necessarily. There are other ways to fight the power. There are the blatant - send letters & e-mails, support specific political campaigns and non-profits, etc. But there are also more subtle ways - what and how much you buy, what and how much TV you watch, how you raise your children, will you give someone the stink eye who deserves it? Will you contribute to a litigative society that thrives on its cannibalistic nature? Will you allow your sexuality to be something that's more than just a commodity? {OK, that was my unsubtle way of telling people to stop hoarding the booty}

How about this for starters...when was the last time you allowed yourself to sit in silence for...oh...I don't know...30 minutes? With no agenda, no timer, no TV or music on. Just sit in silence and let your mind wander...not think about the bills or the kids or the spouse or work. Call it meditation, call it chilling out, whatever. When was the last time you MADE the time to do this? It would be a good start.

Thus endeth the lesson...

(this is getting depressing...I may need to go back to blogging about beer & volleyball porn)

Technorati Tags: patriotism, individual rights, individual responsiblities, meditation