GRIMY RHYMES

FILTHY LIMERICKS

Dirty Ditties

There was a young student from Boston,
Who drove around town in an Austin.
There was room for his ass
and a gallon of gas.
But his balls hung way out and he lost 'em

In the garden of Eden lay Adam
Complacently stroking his madam.
He was loud with mirth
For he knew that on earth
There were only two balls and he had'em.

There once was a lad from Nantucket
Whose cock was so long he could suck it
He said with a grin
As he wiped off his chin
"If my ear were a cunt I could fuck it."

There was a young fellow named Jean
Built a GREAT masturbation machine
Concave or convex
It would fit either sex
But the thing was a bastard to clean

Let us all tip our hats to the Persians
Whom we note for their kinky diversions
They make love all day
In the usual way
And save up the nights for perversions

There was a young lass from Mauritius,
Who thought her last shag was delicious,
but she said, "Next time,chum,
it'll be up the bum,
because that spot on your dick looks suspicious!"

There once was a gal named Lewinsky
Who played on a flute like Stravinsky
'Twas "Hail to the Chief"
On this flute made of beef
That stole the front page from Kaczynski.
(the Unibomber)

There once was a Malibu peasant,
Who thought gerbil-stuffing was pleasant.
When stuffed up his rectum,
They were bound to infect him
And his buttocks became incandescent.

Young Brother Ignatius the Gracious
Kept harems of Asians curvaceous
The Abbot would visit
For humpings illicit
Remarking, "Good Geishas, Ignatius."

There was a young damsel named Baker
Who was poked in a pew by a Quaker.
He yelled, "My God! just what
Do you call this - a twat?
Why the entrance is more than an acre!"

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AU CANADA

NEWS FROM THE FROZEN WILDERNESS ABOVE OUR HEADS

Tens Of Thousands Protest Bush Visit

People are marching in the streets in Canada, peacefully protesting war, injustice, and electoral fraud. We don't do that here, any more, in America. Whatever happens now, we just sit there and take it. Pretty much everybody has more brains and more balls than we do. Almost makes you want to get the fuck out of here.

Ever been to Canada? It's nice. I like it. Only ever been to Montreal, Quebec city, and a few small towns in Quebec province. Nice people, the French up there. They live well, in their dark cold corner of the world's largest country. Good food, good company, good music. They know how to live, them Frenchies.

I remember sitting in a cafe in the Rue St. Catherine, kind of a main drag in Montreal. A cross between New York's Fifth Avenue shopping district, Greenwich Village's bohemian cafe society, and Times Square's former adult fun. I walked from one end of it to the other, window-shopping, people watching, bar-hopping. The strip bars featured total nudity with alcohol, always a boost on a chilly night. Ain't girls beauty-full? I ended up in the red light district, and stopped in at a warm, friendly-looking coffee shop.

Sitting in the next booth were four hookers, one of whom kind of reminds me, now, of the fake French one on "The Kids In The Hall." She was a girl, though, but with the same kind of scandalous French exuberance. I believe they call it joie de vivre. We don't do much of that here any more, either, en Amerique. The ladies of the evening were discussing their clientele, hilariously. Right behind me sat a full table of kids and their parents, on a family night out. It was well after midnight, but everyone was quite lively. The kids were switching effortlessly back and forth between French and English, accentlessly, as far as I could tell: Well, Canadian/ Quebecois accents, only.

It was wonderful sitting there between these two extremes of Montreal society. Not something you would be likely to see in the States, even in New York. The two tables chatted away, not entirely oblivious, not at all inhibited, not disrespectful of one another, just peacefully co-existing in the same cafe together, enjoying a rest and a meal after an evening out. Hard to imagine this kind of unconscious tolerance in the United States, today.

I have family in Canada. I once thought of moving up there, during the Vietnam War. Instead, I just kept moving. I ended up in the Marines, much later, as a volunteer, not a draftee. Lots of people escaped the draft by moving to Canada, back then. Some of them are still up there. Lots of people in the U.S. are contemplating Canadian exile now. It's a big country. The population is only about the size of New York State's. Much less than California's. And it's cold. And very white. They never had slavery, and most U.S. runaways got off the underground railroad before the very last stops, up in Canada. So, it's different up there.

If everybody goes up there, it won't be the same any more, in Canada. We might not be able to resist Americanizing it, like we do everything else. They might not be able to resist us. And, I wonder, can the US really afford to lose a lot of good people right now, just as a few really bad people are taking over down here? I don't think so. So, I guess I'll stay put. I think we all should stay put. And fight. Fight for that joie de vivre. But thanks, anyway, Canucks. Way to give Bush the what-for.




"M. Bush veut se réconcilier avec le Canada"


"A very Canadian protest"



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MAJORITY MINORITY

RACISM THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Or, How Alice Got Her Groove On

Today, on NPR, Claudio Sanchez said California was the first State to have a non-white majority. NOT! Guess he never heard of the Aloha State. It's been majority Asian and Pacific Islanders for quite some time. It's the second place I've ever lived that wasn't "Caucasian" majority, in the U.S. The first was Harlem.

Not that there isn't racism in the Big Apple. But New York City is a different kind of a place. Everyone struggles there, to survive, to succeeed, to prosper, to rule the universe. In that sense, all New Yorkers, past, present and future, are brothers and sisters, and conscious of it. And rivals, too. And enemies. And strap-hangers. Yeah. That's a big part of it: All REAL New Yorkers ride the subway, frequently. It's the most democratic institution on the face of the Earth.

There you are, winter, summer, spring and fall, armpit to armpit with the creme de la scum, and the dregs of planetary High Society. Puttin' on the Schvitz in the Dawg Days, shivering in tandem during the annual hibernal big chill. Demos Kratia. The whining, bitching, protesting, complaining vox populae, boombox dei. Right there on yer ah, GG train. Awn that midnite train to BrOOKlyn, baby!

There is no subway in Hawaii. We zoom, or fume, in traffic, on the freeway, like atomized Angelenos. Nobody knows the troubles we've seen. They're too busy yakkin on their cell phones, eating their brekky, putting on makeup or shaving. Lots of times, different folks have no contact until they start punchin' each other out. That's Hawaii, today.

It's worse if you're white. OK, I'm prejudiced. But it's a fact, Jack; the prevailing local mythos makes us haoles out to be responsible for all the sins of the world. And, hey, maybe the Dole Boys, or some other rich, Hawaiian-connected white boys from Plantation Days DO deserve the ass-whuppins. But me, I'm just a hard-workin' kama'aina like you, brah.

What people don't seem to get is that what effectively divides us should also unite us: Class. I have no beef with anybody but racists on the subject of race. I have a real problem with the endless class warfare practiced by the rich against the rest of us. Race is just their means of dividing us, to conquer us.

The piece on NPR today went on to discuss the struggle between older, more established European- American- majority communities in the Bay Area, and newer Asian immigrant communities. What struck me is what the report didn't say: This was a war between the classes, not the races.

The newcomers happened to be from the Orient, and so were their values. But the beef was really about rich people taking over schools from middle-class and working people. The beef was about institutionalizing the privileges that come with money, and creating harder lines between more divided communities, along class differences, into the next generation.

It was significant that the newcomers are members of an elite in their countries of origin; highly stratified countries with little social mobility. In the past, people came to America to get away from such entrenched privilege, and lack of opportunity. Now, we have people coming from all over the world to enhance their privileged status, and to carry their privileges over to America.

The issue of race, or ethnicity, or religion, or "valueing education more" is a red herring. The real issue is, will we remain committed to social and economic democracy, or simply cease being a land of opportunity, for everyone?

Here in Hawaii, that battle is, to some extent, already lost. Some of the children of plantation workers have pulled out of the public education system, beggaring it financially and institutionally, to enhance and improve their own class status. The rest of us are left struggling with over- crowded, under- funded schools. Meanwhile, we haggle about taxes. Should our tax system be used to level the playing field, taking more from the rich, and giving more to the poor? Or will it be used to take more from the rest of us, and give us less?

We're not talking about building swimming pools for the poor with money from the rich. This is about continuing to use our entire system to lift up the people who need a lift, benefitting of our entire society by giving opportunities to talented new, needy people and their ideas, as always in the New World. Or will we fall back on an antiquated and discredited system of propping up people who don't need the help, which could ossify and ultimately drag down our entire society, as in the Old Worlds?

So, will your tax dollars go to benefit everyone, or just the rich? It's your choice. At least, as long as this remains a democracy. Either way, you WILL be taxed. Don't believe Republican lies about "no new taxes." And don't let them bait you on race. It's all a matter of class. When they say "no class warfare," they mean don't fight back. Fight back.




"Immigrants Weigh Splitting from Calif. School System"

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INACTIVIST COURTS!

DAMNED CONSERVATIVE JUDGES!!

Now The Fundies Can Curse Their Own!!!

In one major case today, the Supreme Court decided not to hear a word from anyone. And they did so without a word, themselves. In another, they seemed inclined to do nothing. PLUS, they were both "morals" cases, near and dear to where the Fundies would have a heart, if there actually were a big white Santa Claus in the sky.

The Supremes could have struck down the Massachusetts State Supreme Court's ruling allowing same-sex marriage. But they didn't. They could also have struck down California's medical marijuana laws, now and not next year. But they didn't. Wazzup wit dat? Are they finally practicing what they preach, and forsaking neo-conservative judicial activism? Let's see what they do on abortion.

And let's see if this wasn't just an excuse to rule on other cases on these issues, less favorable to the pro- sides. After all, these cases should have been right up Scalia's alley: States Rights, limiting the power of government, all that neocon crap. They could have cut the baby in half by ruling either way: On conservative wing-nut legal philosophy, or on conservative psuedo-morals. But they didn't.

They did NOTHING. Makes me suspicious. Will they throw out gay marriage on a challenge from another State, based on Full Faith & Credit? What ARE they up to? Will gay marriages be portable, or not? Will pot? Only their Nina Totenberg knows fer sure, fer sure.

Meanwhile, people already in, or contemplating gay marriages will be left hanging, faced with a patchwork of different States' laws. And people desperately ill will be left to suffer further by not knowing whether the Federal government's "jackbooted thugs" will kick in their doors and grab their medical marijuana.

All to satisfy the mean-spirited power-hungry so-called conservatives that want to use the law to interfere in other peoples' personal lives. And they're promising to put more of their kind on the Federal bench. Activists all, who may make our current, quite elderly Supreme Court justices look liberal, by comparison. Let's hope the current old fogies do take some action to protect our rights, before that happens.



"Supreme Court declines to step into Massachusetts gay marriage fight"


"US Supreme Court appears split over marijuana use"





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IRONY ON THE BAY

SHAKEY TOWN GETS SHAKIER

Opportunist In Chief, Diane Feinstein Bashes Gays

Having made her career on "healing" after her sudden and fortuitous elevation to Mayor of Frisco following the Moscone & Milk assassinations, Dianne turns around and blames Kerry's loss on the current mayor of San Francisco's strong stand pro gay marriage. Funny. Without gays, she'd be still be shilling for big corporations. Oh, wait, she IS still shilling for big corporations. Maybe Bush will appoint her to something. The Fundies will love her.



S.F. Mayor Stirs Debate Among Democrats


Eyewitness to history - Senator Diane Feinstein - Interview


Profile - Diane Feinstein


Feinstein and Blum Scam Documentation


Torture in Guantanamo? Senator Condones, Protestors Condemn

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DEFINING DEFLATION: ALWAYS THE LOW PRICE

WHEN WALMART SALES LAG, AND THEY START LAYING OFF

Then You Know They've Dragged Us To The Bottom

Everyone loves a bargain. But you have to have a good job to really take advantage of them. Walmart has made its' name by flaunting that, with low-wage, no-benefit jobs, and prices that forced competitors to cut their pay & benefits, or die. They began a race to the bottom, and they may have reached it. Thanks to Walmart, our workers are now forced to compete with workers in China, who earn just pennies a day. As if the resulting cost-structure weren't bare-boned enough, they cut pay and benefits to the marrow all over the US. Now their target market may not be earning enough even to shop at Walmart.

So, what's next? 99-cent stores, paying less than minimum wage? Where will THEIR workers be able to afford to shop?

America built its' prosperity on a rising tide: Everybody got paid better, everybody spent more, everybody made more. It worked. There were problems when outside forces intruded into our relatively closed markets: the oil cartel sent prices skyrocketing, but we recovered. Cheap Japanese goods hit our older, heavier manufacturing industries hard. But we adapted, switching to hi-tek, and service industries. Now we're outsourcing that.

We talk free markets, but it's all one-way. Most other countries markets are closed to us, to some extent. Ours seems wide open, by comparison, which makes a target of anyone or anything not well-connected, politically. And that includes our labour markets, especially.

We had an economy that was the envy of the world. It was insular, domestically driven, and consumer oriented. It worked, for most everyone. Then, for some reason, free marketeers were given the reins. As a result, our standard of living is declining, along with real wages. We can no longer assume that our children and grandchildren will live better than us, the American Dream from day one. What the hell are we doing? Or, more properly, what the hell are the Republicans doing?

If they thought they were serving big business, they were wrong. US businesses are getting their asses kicked all over the world. Now the American worker is feeling the boot in his ass, as businesses try to become more "competitive." Competitive with whom? The Third World? Is that where our lifestyle is headed? Shouldn't we think about this, talk about this, before it's too late to do anything about it?



Fears over recovery as Wal-Mart sales stall




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BULLSHIT IN THE NEWS

STORIES YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY SWALLOW


NOW, YOU TOO CAN CHEW THE SCENERY
Germans Develop Edible Real Estate
"Germany Unveils 'Biedermeier'-Style Chocolate Room"


WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION
Please, Sir, Can We Have Our Royalties?
"Pink Floyd pupils claim royalties"


MOON GIVES EARTH GAS
Critical Toy-Balloon Shortage May Be Solved!
"Moon gas may bail out energy-starving Earth"


BUSH ADMITS ELECTIONS RIGGED
No. Not His.
"Validity of Ukraine election in doubt, Bush says"


NOW THAT THE PHONY ELECTION IS OVER
We Can Drop The Phony "War On Terror."
"Pakistan pulls troops from Afghan border area"

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MY EX WANTS ME TO KILL HER

I NEVER COULD SAY NO TO HER

Love Means Never Having To Say "I'm Dying"

Actually, this was years ago. I was in Twenty-Nine Palms, California, at the MCAGCC, where I'd gone to forget about Cybele, I'll call her. She'd gone back to Montmartre, staying at the same hotel where we'd spent our belated honeymoon. Even after the divorce, we stayed in touch, unable to quit picking at the scabs.

Cybele was living on the cheap in Europe. I was blowing up rocks and sand in the high desert. I sent her cigarettes from the Exchange, four cartons at a time, saving her a fortune on US butts at French prices. She complained about having to pay the French Post Office some small fee for the packages, which she'd urgently requested. That was Cybele. Kvetch, kvetch.

She got herself a job at some bistro that catered to American students. She started having trouble waiting tables. Her arm or her leg would go numb. She'd lose her balance. She would trip and fall, for no reason. She couldn't write, at times, because of tremours or lack of control. Her vision was blurred, sometimes. The doctors thought it might be a brain tumour. She went home to Maman.

I offered to bring Cybele to California, for treatment. The Marine Corps didn't know we were divorced, because they had never known we were married. I didn't think it was any of their business, and I didn't have any of the paperwork on the marriage or the divorce, so I just didn't mention any of it.

They were pissed about that. They don't like secrets, except their own, which they love. But I was entitled to medical coverage for all dependents. It just wasn't worth a damn, as I was later to find out. Still, it was all I had to offer Cybele.

Cybele decided to stay in Louisiana. She got the better treatment there, in the best hospital in New Orleans. Cybele somehow got coverage from her mother's insurance company, from her teaching job. Don't know how they fiddled that, but they did. Cybele then began a long, painful and exhausting series of tests.

Spinal taps, radioactive dyes, blood work, lots of blood. No answers, just more questions, and worsening symptoms. Aneurysm? Embollism? We learned some new words. Then, they thought it was a brain tumour. A small one, buried deep. They couldn't find one on the MRIs, but they treated for it anyway. Unpleasant.

After months of this, with no positive results, they changed their minds. It was multiple sclerosis. MS is a progressive neurological disease causing destruction of the myelin sheath that serves as a kind of insulation for your nervous system: Like the rubber or plastic on electrical wiring. MS is caused by a virus that attacks that insulation, making it difficult for signals to get through to your body, or even within your brain, eventually.

Multiple sclerosis is related to herpes, and, like herpes, can remain dormant in the body for many years. What causes it, what awakens it, what brings on attacks is unknown, or was back then. It's debilitating, incurable, and fatal. It takes a long time to kill you. There was no effective treatment for it. You just slowly fell apart, and then died, with great difficulty, pain, and humiliation, as you lost control over your own body.

Cybele asked me to kill her, if it came to that. To be honest, I wasn't all that anxious to kill her, much as I hated her, sometimes, for the mess she'd made out of my life, my head, my heart. I still loved her, too. But I said I would, because I would have wanted someone to do the same for me, under those circumstances. Besides, who wouldn't want to kill their Ex?

Cybele gave up on the treatments, at that point. She said they were worse than the disease. Anyway, there was no real treatment for MS, at the time. They're still futsing around with treatments, but there's no known cure, yet. Mouseketeer Annette Funicello is keeping her fingers crossed, when she can. She should have tried Cybele's solution. Fuck Disney.

Cybele started smoking pot. She'd heard it would help. It did. She doesn't have symptoms, anyway. Of course, marijuana is illegal, for some reason. Guess the drug companies figure they'd have a hard time making billions on something anybody could grow for himself. Or herself. Or maybe it just wasn't MS, to begin with.

Cybele was OK. She got her doctorate, after that. Comparative Lit. Reading. A PhD in reading. She had been brilliant in French, music, art. But she got her advanced degree in the easiest subject out there, short of Art History, or Communications. Her thesis? "The Gendering of Humour."

That was the last straw, for me. What I'd always loved about her was her unpretentious, sparkling wit, her irrepressible, irreverent sense of irony, her unerring instinct for skewering the absurd. "The Gendering of Humour"? And she was SERIOUS! I should have put her out of her misery, when I had the chance.

Ha-hah. Just a little male humour, there.



"FDA approves drug for multiple sclerosis"





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THANKSGIVING

IT'S TURKEY DAY

Let's All Stuff Ourselves

I love turkey. I eat it all the time. It's in everything, now. Turkey bacon, turkey sausage, turkey ham, turkey pastrami, turkey ice cream. It's like tofu for carnivores. I guess it's supposed to be good for you. Or, maybe it's just cheap. Leaves plenty of money for paying dieticians to say it's good for you. Come on, how much can a dietician cost?

I don't care. I still like turkey. Even if it is good for me. Barbequed is good. Hot turkey sandwiches, with gravy. Turkey tetrazini. Turkey pot pie. Turkey soup. Turkey and melted cheddar with avocado, bacon, Virginia ham and honey-mustard on sourdough bread. Smoked turkey with pastrami, Swiss cheese, corned beef, cole slaw and Russan dressing on Jewish rye. Turkey breast, provolone, roast beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt, oregano, black pepper on toasted Italian bread. Dark meat turkey with cranberry sauce, Hellmann's mayo, on a fresh, buttered hard roll. Are you getting sick, yet?

One of the best meals I've ever had was turkey cutlet in hazelnut sauce, baby carrots, new potatoes and fresh greens. The hazelnut sauce was unbelievable. It was in a little French restaurant in Quebec city, on Canadian Thanksgiving, in early October, about ten, fifteen years ago. I walked out of my hotel, and discovered that most everything in town was closed. I was lucky to have found this place, as I wandered around the walled city. I couldn't figure out why everything was so quiet. There was hardly anybody on the streets. It was early October, I didn't know it was a holiday.

They have to have Thanksgiving early, before they get snowed in, I guess. I saw some candles burning in the windows of this place, so I looked in. There were a few people in there, eating. There was a chalkboard on the door, offering "dinde." That's turkey, in French, I discovered. It was cozy inside, nice and warm, and friendly. They were happy to see me on a holiday. They explained to me about Canadian Thanksgiving. Dinde was the only thing on the menu that day, prix fixe.

Well, I have ancestors in Canada, going back centuries. Buried, I trust. So I thought I'd celebrate two Thanksgivings that year, one early. You can never be too thankful. I got my American dollar's worth. Really good food. Nice people. Actually, it was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. So, how was yours?

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UNDERSTANDING WOMEN

YES, I KNOW THEY'RE NOT

That Was The Passive Voice

Women speak a different language. We all know that "Maybe" means "Yes," "Yes" means "No," and "No" means "Maybe." "Thank you," means "I'll get you for this." "I don't want to talk about it," means "Apologize or die." "We need to talk about this," means "I've already moved your stuff out." "Do I look fat in this," means "Say I look great, or else."

"You're welcome", means "Go fuck yourself." "Let's be friends," means, "I'd rather fuck the dog." "I like a man who owns a dog, " means "I'd like to fuck that guy, and then move in with a guy who cooks, cleans, lifts the toilet seat then puts it back down, and has a cat." Here are some simple translations of everyday words, to aid in the building of a Glossary of Understanding, that men and women might one day live in peace:


WOMANSPEAK = MANSPEAK

Bikini Area = Crotch
Cute = Unfuckable
Sensitive = Gay
Gay = Potential Lover/ Potential Rival
Marron = Brown
Mauve = Brown
Teal = Brown
Beige = Brown
Aubergine = Brown
Issues = Psychoses
Psychoses = Other Peoples Problems
My Friend = Mercy Hump; or, Her Period
My Kids = Goat-like Little Bastards
Uncle = Possible Father
Ex = Scumbag
Bank Account = Black Hole
Fantasy = Don't Go There
Oil Change = $300
Lesbian = Prettier Girl
Girl = Bitch
Bitch = What She's Not/ What She Can Be
Dog = Man
Man = Dog
Out Of Control = Not Doing Exactly What She Wants At All Times; Too Independent; Free
Free = Available
Redneck = Southern Gentleman
White Trash = Southern Gentleman's Family
Hillbilly = Southern Gentleman's Ex-Girlfriend
Whore = Your current, Or Ex-Girlfriend
Girlfriend = Black Girl
Homey = Black guy
Asian = Oriental
Latino = Spanish
Continental = Eurotrash
British = Unusually Pale, Spotty People With Bad Teeth Who Talk Funny
Francais = Frog
Flight Attendant = Stewardess
Housekeeper = Maid
Gardener = Illegal Alien
Educator = Teacher
Therapist = Headshrinker
Executive Assistant = Secretary
Physician's Assistant = Nurse
Doctor = Eternal Graduate Student
Blemish = Zit
Cold Sore = Herpes
Liberal = Fuckable
Conservative = Unfuckable
Thing In The Car = Engine
Thing In The Car = Transmission
Thing In The Car = Steering Wheel
Whisk = Thing In The Kitchen
Zester = Thing In The Kitchen
Food Processor = Thing In The Kitchen
Duvet = Thing In The Bedroom
Comforter = Thing In The Bedroom
Sham = Thing In The Bedroom
Pashmina = Rag
Blouse = Shirt
Slacks = Pants
Chapeau = Hat
Bra = Titsling
Panties = Gift Wrapping
Purse = Gunny Sack
Shoes = Personality
Boyfriend = Current Fuck
Fiance = Placeholder
Husband = Temp
Mother = Tormenter
Father = Husband Prototype
Sister = Rival
Brother = That Thing On The Couch
God = Ice Cream
Ice Cream = Guilt
Guilt = God
Candy Dish = Ash Tray
Objet D'Art = Ash Tray
Scented Candle = Ash Tray
Love = Committment
Sex = Payment



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GINNY'S ARTWORK


Links:

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• The Dirty Ashtray


• Swerve Left


• Mirthful Ones


• Shining Light In Dark Corners


• The American Street


• americablog


• Eschaton


• daily kos

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TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

IT'S CHRISTMAS!

RIGHT AFTER HALLOWEEN

Deck The Malls With Bows Of Lolly

Gee, can't you just feel it? That most sacred time of the year, for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindu's, Buddhists, Taoists, Bahai's, Zoroastrians, Animists, Wiccans, Satanists, Agnostics, Atheists, Importers, Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Retailers! Boy, if you've got kids, or friends, it doesn't matter if you've accepted American shopping icon Jesus Christ as your "personal savior" or not. Come January, you'll be praying for his help with the bills, or cursing His Holy Name, and Visa's.

It's not possible to ignore Christmas in the United States. It's right in your face for two full months every year. Radio jingles, TV commercials, magazine ads, newspaper supplements, online pop-ups, email spam, junk-mail, catalogues, store displays, holiday movies, TV specials, Christmas decorations, pageants, school events, church choir concerts, parades, Santas, elves, angels, stables, mangers, creches, Wise Men, frankincense, myrrh, reindeer, flying sleighs, big bags of toys and goodies, and all that WONDERFUL Christmas music! Aaahh! It's the Hap-Hap-Happiest Time of the Year! Ain't it? But, does it have to be quite so all-pervasive? So inescapeable? SO FUCKING LONG!!!???

Imagine if the Muslims started shoving Ramadan down your throat for two months every year. Think our violently Christian friends would stand for it? Or our bizniz community? No eating all day, for a month. Hard to shop on an empty stomach. How about the Jewish High Holidays? Two months of atonement, anyone? Some pretty dreary TV specials, and holiday movies, there. Oy, vey, think of the CAROLS! And what of our Hindu friends? They've got LOTS of gods! Why not give each one two months, so they can rub our noses in their religion all year long? Or, maybe just cut this shit out all together.

You want to buy your kids presents? Go ahead. You don't need an excuse for that. OK, maybe you do, for spending several thousand dollars on those gifts. Maybe you shouldn't do that. It's bad for your bank balance, and your credit rating. And it sure doesn't help your kids grow up to be responsible, or well-adjusted. Maybe just a couple of simple presents, and a long weekend in the country together, getting to know each other. No TV, no video games, no computers. OK, bad idea. But so is all this over-the-top Xmas shit.

If you really want to show what a great Christian you are, start by leaving the rest of us alone. Then, maybe, do some good works. Nothing too radical. Buy a few books for your underfunded local schools or libraries. Kick in a few bucks to the underfunded local homeless shelter. Take a hooker to lunch. Or three! Ho-ho-ho! I believe that's what would Jesus do. Or, maybe just coffee, anyway. And, hey, go ahead pray. It's no skin off my nose. Just do it quietly. I'm trying to sleep through Christmas. Thanks.

Oh, eh... unless you want to turn it into one long fucking orgy... you know... a sexual orgy... like, with fucking? Ho-ho-ho! Call me. I'm a very devout Pagan.

TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS

WITH ARMED GUARDS AND BARBED WIRE

Otherwise, They Might Get Away

It's tough, being in the military. You're separated from your friends and family. You're cut off from your own life, career, education, relationships. You're usually far from home, often in unpleasant places, under difficult conditions. Many military bases have upgraded their facilities so that they are not just camps, with barracks and latrines and chow halls, like concentration camps. Efforts have been made to make military life less like prison.

Still, you are "government property," twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, for four, eight, sixteen, thirty two, and who knows how many more years. You signed up, or got drafted, to kill or be killed, and, legally, you have almost no rights. They can do anything they want with you, including medical and psychological experiments. If you don't like it, too bad. You signed a contract. They own you.

Under these conditions, it might seem that it would be difficult to get men, and women now, to give their all, to accomplish any mission, to make the ultimate sacrifice, to die for their country. We have some highly dedicated, totally motivated, patriotically activated soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and coastguardsmen and women out there.

They'll "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." All they ask is a little respect. And they're getting it, from the civilians back home. No matter what happens, we support our troops.

But they are not getting proper respect from our so-called leaders, the civilian politicans and bureaucrats, and the career military at the top of the chain of command. They are being lied to and intimidated into signing up, re-enlisting, extending their tours, volunteering for duty, accepting call-ups, and being deployed and redeployed. They are being held like prisoners in poorly equipped camps, and prevented from having any contact with their families.

They are being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan on short notice, without complete training, and with inadequate equipment. They are being put in dangerous positions without the ability to properly defend themselves. They are being exposed to radiation and toxic substances that WE brought to the battlefield. They are being abused and misused and wounded and disabled and killed in battles without an overall military strategy, in a war based on lies, deception, and delusion, by the White House.

Read the articles I've linked to, below, and you'll see what I mean. This is not merely some liberal's opinion. These are facts. Whatever you may think of the goals and pretexts for this war, or the people who started it, this is no way to treat our troops.

They deserve respect from the very top on down to their own unit commanders. They deserve to be treated like human beings, even if they are going to war. They deserve to be treated like Americans, even if they are in the military. They deserve better than what the Bush administration is giving them now: Disrespect.



"Guardsmen Say They're Facing Iraq Ill-Trained"


"The Soldiers Who Said No"


"Troops feeling strain"

"GIs Lack Armor, Radios, Bullets"


"Weapons of Self-Destruction"

Send comments to cosanostradamus AT excite DOT com.



GINNY'S ARTWORK


Links:

• ratboy's anvil


• By Beauty Damned


• The Dirty Ashtray


• Swerve Left


• Mirthful Ones


• Shining Light In Dark Corners


• The American Street


• americablog


• Eschaton


• daily kos

BLOGSHARES BLOGROLLING BLOGDEX WEBLOGS
BLOGGER SITEMETER PING-O-MATIC BLOGARAMA
BLO.GS

Site Feed

FEEDBURNER: Syndicate this site

Search Popdex:

DAYPOP



News & Weblogs NewsWeblogsRSS Headlines

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Popdex Citations

The Progressive Blog Alliance

TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!