Holy America

If it seems that Dennis Kucinich is the only democrat with balls it may be because he is. Yes, we have seen Christopher Dodd throw his "body upon the gears" of the machine that was destroying our civil liberties, by putting a "hold" on the latest FISA bill, but at least there are a few thousand ACLU types and libertarians who support him. Kucinich, by contrast, is going to bat for "atheists in foxholes" who, by popular slogan, do not exist. So Kucinich, by forming an organization to combat the fundamentalist christian takeover of the U.S. military will have EVERYONE, save the ghost of madeline murry o'hare, pissed as hell at him. For information of how lonely this must be, I refer you to a poem by the welsh poet Halden Caufield; "the ballad of the breadman" where he uses the words "no man was THAT mans freind" to describe the isolation of Jesus, just before he got capital punishment.


In the same light, a freind sent an e-mail forward of merriments, one of which was read by Jay Lenno (solidarity to the writters strike!) in which Jay said essentually; "with all these floods and wild fires are you sure we should be taking God out of the pleadge of alligience?".


The following screed was a responce to this popular foolishness

As to Jay Leno, theologian, I would be the last to deny the need of divine providence, but his support of such incantations shows the power of flimflam and a lack of history, not withstanding that these positions are very popular they are still wrong.

The pledge to the flag was composed by a person beyond the present American imagination, a Christian socialist who was also a Baptist minister. Long ago, Baptists were among the greatest defenders of religious liberty and the separation of church and state, as they had been abused by the Episcopalians and other majority religions. American Baptists today eat at the same table as the president of the United States, an ample user of religious slogans, with now, Episcopalians and other former majority religions licking at their feet like so many puppies, such principles can fall by the wayside. Anyway, Francis Belamy, the writer of the pledge, did not see fit to include G-d in the pledge. Such inclusion did not come until the Eisenhower administration, when in a moment of national crisis, we set out to differentiate ourselves from our former World War 2 allies; the Russians, by tagging them the "Godless" victors over the" axis of evil" whilst we were the "Godfull" victors over the" axis of evil". Thousands of innocent schoolchildren awkwardly piled "under God" on top of "indivisible" on our behalf, to stamp out Godless communism. To this day, millions of innocent schoolchildren in China express their gratitude for this victory of Christian Capitalism over Godless communism; they express it just after lunch, when they have to leave school to go sweat in the fireworks factory to pay for their books.

Could we perhaps stack up enough national introspection to consider that the prevalence of fire, earthquake, wind and pestilence May be a sign that God is a bit pissed with the way things are going and our insistence on dragging his name into it? Being as innocent schoolchildren have emerged as a point of focus; consider those of Iraq, who over the years have viewed the United States as “the evil bastards who sold arms and poison gas to our oppressor Sadam” to “the evil bastards that got rid of Sadam, along with running water, electricity, sewage and civil society. Would the sweltering shit-stink of 100 degree high noon Baghdad be swept clear as a fall mountain breeze by a Blackwater helicopter, festooned with the stars and stripes and blaring Lee Greenwoods “God bless the USA”? Call me a surrender monkey, but I think not. Beyond that I think that the present scheme of national Godly incantation is a constant irritant to the master of the universe and that these natural disasters are Gods form of “cease and desist” orders, which I fear, will grow in proportion to the continued divine insult. So if someday, you hear thundering from the skies (with the sartorial tones of Charlton Hesston, no doubt) “You F#&*$rs keep it up and I’ll put a volcano where Colorado used to be”, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Gratitude

Thanks to all who made the radio show such a blast today, Matt will have the podcast up on the WPTT web site in the next day or two. Thanks to Matt for lots of good, timely comments. Every time the ball was placed he kicked it thru the uprights. cet1360@yahoo.com if you have comments.
a post on the pledge of alliegence comming soon

Sunday Sermon

A family member, smart enough to have employment as a research scientist, once cautioned against my poking around in my computers registry trying to fix things;” its like a great big ball of spaghetti, start cutting strands and it will never go back together right”.

The integrity of this serpentine starch could be held as metaphor of the complex components of our nation’s reputation among the nations of the world, the snippets seem unrelated at first, but none to long, the unraveling starts.

Listening to KXOT, they ran “as it happens” pretty much the Canadian equivalent of “All things considered”. Interview was with the Canadian photographer who shot the infamous photo of a dead US soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu Somalia. He spoke of the Personal responsibility he felt for the pictures effects on US policy; the flight from Somalia and the blind eye turned to Rwanda. He had nightmare filled, mental illness provoking RESPONSIBILITY for what he had done and its EFFECT ON OTHERS. Could we, perhaps inoculate some folks in Washington, with this absent strain of simple humanity.

The other snip is explanation of why we don’t have to give a shit and why God is kicking our ass for it.

Listening to KUHF Houston TexaCUTION, one of the sponcers of NPR programming was a local company specializing in offshore drilling and national defense.

Was there not an American president, viewed both as warrior and humanitarian, who warned of the dangerous power of the “military industrial complex”.

Allowing private industry to get powerful enough to hijack our foreign policy. Allowing an image, no matter how poignant to cause us to turn our backs on the humanitarian interventions necessary in Africa. Both, in my Sunday morning morallism, sins.

Photo/Africa is a sin of simple fear, well practiced as of late; the industrial complex is an outgrowth of greed and pride.

And in this light we have the balls to wonder, why anyone on this planet would be pissed at us.

May God help those who deserve it.

May we work toward being deserving.

Another accidental internet discovery

The Vanity Fair article concerning the BS which the republicans crafted against Al Gore, and how the "liberal media" reported these as "gospel truth" had my antenna up for this trick.

So when this Letter, Written by the then 23 year old Bill Clinton dropped in my lap (thank G-d Gore invented the internets) I just had to check it out.

Before being bespoiled by the truth, what is your (media shaped) memory of this?

I was still doing the talk show at Jeanette, reading the NY Times, wall street journal, Trib and Post every day, I would listen to NPR while delivering pizza and would sample as much Limbaugh as I could stand.

My memory is of a proud and elitist Clinton, proclaiming the military to be a task "beneath him" and stating that HE, PERSONNALLY "LOATHED THE MILITARY"

I never remember ANYONE, not NYT, not NPR, putting this statement in to the context of the letter.

The most charitable treatment I remember hearing, is of an "older wiser Clinton" disowning his "youthful indiscretion"

Here is the letter, read the letter!

The “loathing” “smoking gun” is in the final paragraph

The media treatment of this issue was, as usual; Bullshit!

http://historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/clinton.htm

Poetry of Life

We will be subverting the public order on WPTT 1360 AM thursday June 26 from 9AM -Noon EDT.(Listen live link at http://www.stationcaster.com/stations/wptt/index.php?d=AM)

Our Guest in Hour 2 will be Sam Hazo of the International Poetry forum speaking of appearance Vs. Reality.

It will be the usual blabfest otherwise, be there or be square!!!

Corruption of the Airwaves

Thy humble blogger will be retreating to his old habits for a day, as substitute blabbermouth on WPTT 1360 Pittsburgh. this link is for streaming and pod;

http://www.stationcaster.com/stations/wptt/index.php?d=AM

the following is a promotional announcement

Despite the best efforts of responsible adults, Clair Thomas will be heard on this program on Monday, April 9, 9AM-noon EDT.

At 10:05 his guest will be Allen Kukovich, southwestern Pennsylvania director of Governor Rendell’s office, to discuss the governors plan to reduce the size of the legislature, Allen, as a state representative, sponsored a bill every session to reduce the size of the legislature, so he may know a few things about that. Allen is also the former State Senator from the now infamous district 39, but to preserve the dignity of the show, we won’t be asking him a damn thing about that.

The guests otherwise, will be the callers and listeners who will be encouraged to surround the White House with flaming torches and pitch forks for the Bush administrations blatant disrespect for Nancy Pelosi and all other patriotic Slavic/Americans who wear BABUSHKAS TO CHURCH.

For the preservation of national security, Vice President Cheney and Dick Scaife will monitor this subversive outburst from an undisclosed location on Amberson Avenue in Shadyside.

the Rovian Sausage grinder

“The less the people know of how laws and sausages are made, the better!”

The pretender is caught, Rove and company fingered, complicit in the political categorization of US Attorneys along with their subsequent (and more importantly RESULTANT) firing or promotion.

The bankruptsey of their analysis is laid bare by two results

1) Mary Beth Buchanan is a wonderful US Attorney, deserving of special assignments and praise.

2) Patrick Fitzgerald sucks and is next in line to be fired, except that it would be so stunningly obvious it would get the attention of the residents of the United States of Amnesia.

Despite 34 Clinton administration officials giving sworn, non-scripted, C-Span recorded testimony on everything from travel gate to blowjobs, the pResident thought him self entitled to distorted and ahistorical powers; as the WashPost characterized:

”The White House limited the kinds of questions the aides would answer and said the interviews may not be conducted under oath or transcribed, Bush signaled a willingness to go to the courts if necessary to prevent his aides from giving public testimony. He described his plan for private interviews as reasonable”

The pResident re-enforced his petulance with this Rovian terd:

“Members of Congress now face a choice: whether they will waste time and provoke an unnecessary confrontation, or whether they will join us in working to do the people's business. We have many important issues before us. So we need to put partisan politics aside and come together to enact important legislation for the American people.”

So, we need to go along with his pornographic notion of executive power, or we are obstructionist jaggoffs?

I have a 4 word reply for that:

F*#% You, Mr President

Except that in the present circumstance, I find the utterance of “Mr. President” obscene.

What is reality?

How to change the subject when the subject is uncomfortable

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/03/24/tom-tomorrow-spin-vs-reality/

Grassley subpoena vote

Conservative Iowa republican votes to subpoena Rove & Myers, is this” partisan politics or truth?”

http://mediamatters.org/items/200703230010

The end of Evil? From 2 of the Bushitters who started the Iraq war

http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2004/01/30/frum_perle/index.html

Pacem et Terra!

CET

King George

The Bush administration is taking on the appearance of a crack dealer caught in the headlights of a police car at the terminus of a dead end alley.

“We were never politics…those democrats are politics with their political subpoenas. I offered the truth, they want to play politics, those ahhhh POLITICIANS!!”

34 separate appearances, under oath, before congress by CLINTON administration officials will be ignored.

Republicans are good honorable patriotic Jesus worshipers. While Democrats are politicians who want to bother the freedom fighter likes of Karl Rove and Harriet Myers with pesky questions after swearing on the HOLY BIBLE as if they would ever tell a lie!

No wonder King George the prevaricator gave a speech to that great gathering of constitutional scholars; the American people, the same bunch of Einstein’s that RE-elected him.

Inking the water with Rovian ballzspracht,” the octopus in chief”

Not all is complaint

Being as complaint is the mainstay of this screed, I relish the occaisional opportunity to speak of the pleasant surprises of life.
Had to fix a problem with the computer, so I called up the 800 # at the "major" computer company, a technically proficient young lady patiently listened to my long winded report of symptoms, reccomemded reloading a driver, which fixed it. To top it off, the phone center was in that sweltering, low tax, right-to-work state called Ontario!
A local political windbag (Jim Roddy) was recently saying that Pittsburgh must follow the lead of right-to-work states to attract jobs, resulting in me screeming at the TV "you mean a right-to-work state like Ontario? like Toyota just did?

When the health care costs more than the steel in a car, "socialized medicine" is looking like a good deal to industry.

Same as it ever was

The state of things as they are, the news is horrible but could get worse

Halliburton subcon F$%^ed up Walter reed

FLASH Halliburtan will now show their good taste and patriotic spirit by moving operations to Dubai

G-d Bless Amerika!!!

http://prairieweather.typepad.com/big_blue_stem/2007/03/walter_reed_hal.html

KAREN KWIATKOWSKI former air force general and Iraq war critic

On how bush bushitted us into Iraq and will now bushit us into Iran

http://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20070227_pentagon_whistleblower_on_the_coming_war_with_iran/

Remember november2 2001, when new York firefighters fought with new York police who had told them only 20 would be allowed to search for remains instead of 300.

The firefighters are still pissed at Guiliani,they should be

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/3/9/18752/07816

Deeper story of same

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900962.html

NewsPorn

The excellent blog “Simply left behind” has apparently caught some flack for making (what I thought was) a grand slam point about the shallowness of the media.

It seems the Dianne sawyers of the world have been wagging about some young lady who was a contestant on American idol, having some photos of a “pornographic nature” about. I guess the 5^th estate has nothing better to watchdog these days than the morals of a person who can’t sing well, are we expecting Miss America here?

The same wags can be relied upon to miss stories about tons of missing YELLOWCAKE URANIUM from the DR Congo; they didn’t even pick up on the ironic time twist with the scooter Libby verdict (what did that start with again?)

Soo… Carl, the writer of said blog threw down the gauntlet and said essentially “here is the big distraction” and published the (naughty) picture with the caption “whatshername at the microphone”(3 guesses as to what the microphone is and the first 2 don’t count)

I thought it was great (check his comments) but I guess he took some heat

People are allergic to the truth.

The original (contains naughty bits)

http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/2007/03/story-you-wont-read-about-in-united.html

The return

http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/2007/03/porn.html

trouble at home

Sorry for the absence,thank God for Absinthe

Rudy Giuliani has been called every name in the book by the New York Firefighters unions, They have invited everyone except Rudy(check crooks and liars for excellent posts)

Also, John McCain has a homestate rebellion on his hands, state committee has stolen his lunch for being too lllibral on campaign finance and illegal alliens

New poll says americans want a president with character, so WTF happened the past 7 years??

Look for further screeds soon!!!!!