The Chronicles of Devastatin' Dave

Happy April 15th

2009-04-15T16:00:00.007-06:00

The power to tax involves the power to destroy

- John Marshall

The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know when it's through, if you are a crook or a martyr.

- Will Rogers

Taxation: How the sheep are shorn

- Edward Abbey

The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation and distorts, unbalances, and shrinks production. Total real wealth and income is made smaller than it would otherwise be. On net balance there is more poverty rather than less.

- Henry Hazlitt

It is important to remember that government interference always means either violent action or the threat of such action. The funds that a government spends for whatever purposes are levied by taxation. And taxes are paid because the taxpayers are afraid of offering resistance to the tax gatherers. They know that any disobedience or resistance is hopeless. As long as this is the state of affairs, the government is able to collect the money that it wants to spend. Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning. Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

- Ludwig von Mises

The first great lesson to learn about taxation is that taxation is simply robbery. No more and no less. For what is "robbery"? Robbery is the taking of a man’s property by the use of violence or the threat thereof, and therefore without the victim’s consent. And yet what else is taxation?

Those who claim that taxation is, in some mystical sense, really "voluntary" should then have no qualms about getting rid of that vital feature of the law which says that failure to pay one’s taxes is criminal and subject to appropriate penalty. But does anyone seriously believe that if the payment of taxation were really made voluntary, say in the sense of contributing to the American Cancer Society, that any appreciable revenue would find itself into the coffers of government? Then why don’t we try it as an experiment for a few years, or a few decades, and find out?

But if taxation is robbery, then it follows as the night the day that those people who engage in, and live off, robbery are a gang of thieves. Hence the government is a group of thieves, and deserves, morally, aesthetically, and philosophically, to be treated exactly as a group of less socially respectable ruffians would be treated.

- Murray Rothbard

Please, Just Go Away

2009-02-20T14:37:00.012-07:00

If you want to understand the true nature of governments and politicians, consider this definition from the great anarcho-capitalist, Murray Rothbard:

"Government is a criminal gang writ large."

The truth shall set you free. Just as you freed yourself from the trite myths of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, so to must you free yourself from the myth that governments are just and moral. Go on, make the leap; you can do it. Cleanse the soul.

I say this because I have to endure yet another criminal gang in D.C. In my post-college life, I've had to endure the Compassionate Conservative Cabal, The Clintonista Camp, the Chickenhawk Chums and now the Chicago Shakedown Artists. Assclown after assclown after assclown. Not only that, but Ivy League Assclowns. As I like to say, Ivy Leaguers are schooled, but not educated. Let's take a look...

Bush The Elder - Yale grad. Bill Clinton - Yale Law School grad. Bush The Lesser - Yale and Harvard Business School grad. Barack Obama - Columbia and Harvard Law grad. If your goal is to destroy a relatively-free, representative republic, then go with this crew. Each one worse than the last.

Bush The Elder was handed the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union. Here was his chance to scale back Reagan's burgeoning militaristic State and reap the benefits of the end of the Cold War. Instead, he prosecuted a war in Iraq and began a new Cold(and Hot) War with the Muslim world. Nice going, Corky. Meanwhile the State grew larger and larger.

Clinton continued the Iraq War with periodic bombings and a brutal embargo, itself an act of war. He also prosecuted a war in the Balkans, escalated operations in Somalia and began his own little War on Terror with questionable military strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan. Nice going, Bubba. Meanwhile, the State grew larger and larger.

Bush The Lesser, campaigning on a humble foreign policy, decided to turn things up a notch. Since "everything changed" because of 9/11, he felt emboldened to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq to defeat "terrorists." About 6 years out and we're still bogged down in both with nothing to show for it but piles of dead bodies, a collapsing economy and a collapsing empire. Nice going, Koko. Meanwhile, the State grew larger and larger.

(Another common denominator of these three is that they all retained Alan Greenspan, Columbia grad, as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve)

Obama, elected on the vague concepts of "Hope" and "Change," has ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan with another 13,000 to be deployed later. He's OK'd missle strikes in Pakistan. He's backed off his timetable of the drawdown of American troops in Iraq and sent his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, - Surprise! A Yale Law School grad - to China to beg the "Communists" to continue funding our failing empire. The irony is rich. Nice going, Slick. Meanwhile, the State grows larger and larger.

If I were a university that competed with Ivy League schools for students, this would be my marketing campaign:

The brochure would have a picture of all of the above on the front with the slogan:

"Send your child to XXX University. At least they won't turn out like these buttfucks!"

(That's gold, Jerry, gold!)

Seriously, post-Cold War Ivy Leaguers have absolutely destroyed this country.

Animated Liberty

2008-12-05T07:37:00.002-07:00

I recently came across this 8 min. 14 sec animated feature, which I have seen before but forgotten about. It's a good primer on the philosophy of liberty. It seems a good follow up to my previous post. Enjoy.

Thuggery by Proxy

2008-11-05T09:46:00.005-07:00

Another election has come and gone and, to my dismay, you continue to elect politicians. The title of this post may seem provocative, but I'd like to point out the ramifications of democracy.

Thuggery - violent or brutal acts as of thugs

Proxy - A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.

One of the best lessons I've learned from Rothbard is to apply the same standards of ethics and morals to the actions of government agencies and their agents as you would an individual. When you do this, everything becomes clear.

If Neighbor A came home from work on payday and you took, by force, a portion of his pay to give to Neighbor B, would this seem just? Of course not, it's theft. Then please don't have elected officials do it for you in the form of payroll withholding, taxes and redistribution.

If you have a dispute with others, do you advance on their homes and families and neighborhoods with deadly force? Of course not, so don't have elected officials do it for you in the form of "pre-emptive" war.

If you owe someone a debt, would you fraudulently pay them with something of lesser value and not expect to reap the consequences? Then don't have elected officials do the same by controlling and debasing our currency, which is the quickest route to poverty.

If you don't like someone's lifestyle, in spite of being peaceful and non-coercive, would you detain that person and deprive them of their freedom? Then don't have politicians do it through legislation and the enforcement thereof.

If you don't like what someone drinks or ingests, in spite of being peaceful and non-coercive, would you detain that person and deprive them of their freedom? Then don't have politicians do it for you.

In other words, if some action you undertake is wrong, then it is also wrong for your proxy to do it.

The above is what takes place in a democracy where 51% tells 49% what to do. It's 3 wolves and a sheep deciding on what's for dinner. It's immoral, uncivilized and anti-social. If you're worried about a "chaotic" world without politicians and rulers, remember that "chaos defeats order because it's better organized."

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Samuel Adams:

If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

Revisionist Blogging

2008-10-08T19:58:00.005-06:00

Pardon me while I snicker and gloat a bit. The buffoonery meter is off the charts now that these ass-clowns called nominees are engaging in debates. The only thing funnier than an Obama-McCain debate would be a Lenny and Carl debate. Come to think of it, you'd get more insight from a Simpons script. With things going into the shit-can as we speak, I'm gonna take a walk down memory lane when I was pretty hard on you, the voter, in a blog post last March.

When the economy continues to go south, I don't want to hear the complaints when Clinton, Obama or McCain doesn't know how to react. I'll tell you right now that they are all economic dumbasses. Ron Paul knows what to do because he actually is learned in economic theory and understands the causes of the current downturn.

Would anyone argue that the economy isn't going south right now? Is there a douchebag politician that still wants to stand in front of a podium and tell us that "the fundamentals are still strong."? Guess who is being interviewed on the cable networks concerning the economic meltdown? Yup, Paul. Why? Because he's the only one that understands what is going on. Guess who voted to bail out Wall St.? Yup, Obama and McCain. Is this the "change" the country can expect from Obama? I expected it from McCain, because he's admitted, on numerous occasions, that he knows nothing of economics. Reeeeaaaalllly? I'm shocked!

When the unpleasantness in the Middle East continues or escalates, don't come crying to me.

McCain has been threatening Iran for some time now and has been doing some saber rattling against Russia. I guess he won't be happy until we're fighting on five fronts. Obama has totally blown his anti-war street cred. During the primaries, he claimed to be against the war. Now that he has secured the nomination, he wants to escalate in Afghanistan, engage Pakistan and "hold Russia accountable." That's some anti-war candidate the Dems came up with. Plus, his Iraq stance has morphed from "withdrawal" to "responsible withdrawal." What the fuck does that mean? By "responsible," does he mean our troops will pick up their spent, depleted uranium rounds on the way out? Guess who's had a principled anti-war stance since day one and has not wavered? Paul.

Do you see a pattern forming here?

I don't think I could have been more prescient on the following one. And it's not that I'm some genius savant. It's just coming to terms with politics and politicians - they are liars and murderers and thieves. No other way to put it. So, we should not be surprised when they lie, kill and steal. Time for all you voters to take the red pill and come to terms with it yourselves.

When you are taxed at ever higher levels or the printing presses are revved up to fund McCain's adventures abroad or some version of universal health care or a bailout of the banks and mortgage companies, don't even bother protesting. I ain't listening. Paul is the only candidate who is fiscally sound.

Need I say any more? McCain may be the worst Republican nominee of all time and that's because he's a Democrat. How funny is that? And Obama should be up at least 10 pts. on McCain, but I'm afraid he's lost some of the independent vote due to his new pro-war stances. If he manages to lose to McCain, he should have to turn in his "Corrupt Chicago Politician" card.

I'd seriously like to hear from McCain and Obama supporters in defense of your man.

VPs

2008-09-06T19:26:00.006-06:00

John Nance Garner

"The vice presidency isn't worth a pitcher of warm spit."

- John Nance Garner

And that's how it should be. If the original constitution hadn't been so corrupted or ignored, this idea of the "experience" level of a VP candidate would be a non-issue. Right now, Sarah Palin's supposed lack of experience is being attacked. She was "only" a mayor of a small town in Alaska, she was "only" the Governor of the sparsely populated state of Alaska. Supposedly, this is a detriment because she has no foreign policy experience and, oh my God, she would only be a "heartbeat away from the Presidency." Ummmm, how much foreign policy experience do you think Gov. Reagan had? Or Gov. Carter. Or Gov. Clinton. Or Gov. Bush.

In contrast to that, you have someone like John McCain who, he tells us, has vast experience in foreign policy. And he's a belligerent, bellicose old fuck. I'll tell you one foreign policy he has experience with - if you bomb civilians, get shot down and captured, then the locals just may beat the living tar out of you.

While we're on the subject, what experience does Obama have to be President? He was only a community activist. He was only an Illinois State Senator for a few years. He was only a US Senator for a few years. So what? And what of Joe Biden? His only job since the age of 28 has been a trough-feeding US Senator. So what? I was a licensed stock broker for Charles Schwab for seven years, but that didn't mean I was qualified to be CFO.

Now let's see how adherence to the original constitution would make this debate moot.

Originally, the VP was the Presidential candidate that got the 2nd most electoral votes. Under this method, there wouldn't be this nonsensical aura around choosing a running mate.

Since the VP was the runner up in the Presidential race, the only qualifications were that the person be a natural born citizen and at least 35 years of age.

The VP's only constitutional duties are to preside over the Senate and break any tie votes. A monkey handler at the San Diego Zoo is qualified for that.

What I'm getting at is that this idea of having an experienced VP that is ready to take over the reins of the Presidency is only a problem because past Presidents and VPs have overstepped their constitutional boundries. As the saying goes, no matter who you vote for, a politician always wins.

I'm thinking of using this as my slogan for the upcoming election season. Let me know what you think:

"Mock the vote!!!!"

I kinda like that. I think it's a keeper.

FYI, this post was inspired by a YouTube video sent to me by my buddy, Audie. It's a CNN appearance on Larry King by James Carville. I understand that Carville is a character and is a straight shooter. I'd probably enjoy sitting around a fire, drinking whiskey and listening to him and Fred Thompson tell stories. Other than that, I got no use for either of them.

The Republican National Convention

2008-09-02T18:05:00.006-06:00

I'm gonna start this post by pitching a bitch. Today was Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic at the Target Center in Minneapolis, which is a counter convention to the RNC. C-Span 2 announced that they would cover the entire rally. At about 7:15, they broke into a FEMA press conference to talk about Hurricane Gustave. So, I switched over to C-Span 1 and lo and behold they were still broadcasting the RNC. C'mon, how transparent. In terms of disaster, Gustave was a bust. We don't need to hear some press conference where you pat yourselves on the back for something you couldn't control. I almost expected them to claim that their pre-landfall response scared Hurricane Gustave from a category 3 down to a category 2.

While on the subject of Hurricane Gustave, how transparent was the Republican grandstanding on delaying their convention out of respect for the Southerners enduring this natural disaster. Bush and Cheney and McCain all said they might not make the convention so they could focus on the unfolding natural disaster. What, actually, did they think they were going to do? Envision a scene where a distressed woman is clinging to debris and on the verge of being swept away by surge waters. McCain, on top of a levee, reaches to grab her, but...ohhhhhh, his arms are just toooooo short to reach her. That's a shame. (Look, I already know that I'm going to Hell. If McCain can carpet bomb civilians in Viet Nam and be called an American hero, then I can make fun of his short arms.)

Now, back to my regularly scheduled blog post.

The cameras were panning around the Xcel Energy arena showing many people holding signs that read "Country First." How nationalistic. Remember, Country First! Not your family, not your god, not your principles and surely not yourself. Bow to the State.

During a break in the action, they were showing a video montage on the big screen of, I guess, supposedly great Americans. They had the usual shots of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and Joe Lieberman...Joe Lieberman? What?! Are you kidding? Lincoln and Roosevelt were blowhards. I guess that makes Lieberman a blowhard, too. And everyone cheered when pictures of Ronald Reagan were shown.(boring) When anti-war types called for a withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, the Neocons smeared them as Cut and Run Democrats. Have they forgotten that in the early 80's, after the bombing of the Marine base in Lebanon, that Reagan withdrew our troops from there? Does that mean that Reagan, their icon, was a proto- Cut and Run Democrat? I think it does.

Now let's talk about the Republican nominee for President, John McCain. Here is a guy that was persona non grata in the Republican Party in 2000. Here is a guy that was on the verge of being recalled by Arizonans in 2001. Here is a guy that Joe Biden - yes, Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden - thought should be tapped as a VP for the Democrats in 2004. Do the Republicans realize that they nominated a Democrat? How sweet that all the Necon, jackass shills; like O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. - the ones that marginalized Ron Paul - are now left in the position of having to defend McCain as the nominee. Sweet, sweet irony.

Here are some of my comments concerning McCain from past posts. I stick by all of them:

McCain should just wear his dress military uniform 24/7. It's appropriate for the Banana Republic that we are morphing into and his constant war mongering and sabre rattling. The guy is unhinged. You would think that a vet who endured years as a POW in Viet Nam would be a little more judicious about going to war, but this guy would attack Canada if he could come up with a reason. I consider him the most dangerous and unstable of all the candidates. I would love to see a foreign policy debate between he and Paul.

Seriously, McCain killed himself in this debate. His verbal gymnastics in trying to convince us that Romney had "timetables" for our troops leaving Iraq, when it was obvious that the opposite was true, was quite a sight to behold. And I am no fan of Romney. Also, this guy can only think in militaristic terms even when the talk is not about the military. "I was a footsoldier in the Reagan Revolution." "I was a fighter alongside..." Blah, blah, blah.

John McCain - Had the gall to suggest to Ron Paul that he read Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Ummm, not only am I confident that he has read it, but he's read better and more important books, such as Human Action by Ludwig von Mises and Man, Economy and State by Murray Rothbard. (You're fearless blogger has read the last two. Classics.) He also went into a screed where he thought that a prescription for America was more involvement with the Peace Corps, Ameri-Corps and other nationalistic service organizations that only serve to remind you, lowly peasant, that your greatest duty is to serve the Fatherland.

Also, did you know that McCain was a POW and that Rudy Giuliani was mayor of NYC on 9-11? Snoozefest!!!!

Also, what does it say that one of the prime speaking spots went to Joe Lieberman, former Democratic nominee for VP? Do the rank and file Republicans understand that their party has been corrupted and co-opted? Maybe they aren't bright enough.

As for the selection of Sarah Palin as his VP choice, I'm not falling for it. She supposedly has a libertarian/independent streak in her. Any libertarian worth their salt would have told McCain to go pound sand.

That sad part about all this is that with such a despicable nominee like McCain, the Republicans still have a chance to win the general election. Sad, sad times.

The Democratic National Convention

2008-08-29T18:12:00.016-06:00

OK, enough with the swooning and crying and religious allusions. In other words, quit drinking the Obama Kool-Aid. For the love of Baal, is it only obvious to me that this guy is just your standard Chicago political hack? I'd really like to hear from you Obama idolaters what actually sets him apart from the other Democrats that ran for President? How does his platform differ from HRC's? And I don't want to hear vagueries like "hope" and "change." Are you taken with the preacher quality in the orations of this secular Elmer Gantry? In a previous post, I wrote the following concerning Obama and I stick by it :

...I've always been suspicious of his quick rise in the ranks. It doesn't add up. Someone is pulling the strings on this one.

He claims he's for change, but he chose a tired, old establishment politician - Joe Biden - to be his running mate. Joe Biden?! Nice choice there, Barack. Is that the best your team could do? Are you trying to capture the coveted Delaware vote? Joe Biden?! Was John Glenn not available?

In 2006, the Democrats swept the midterm elections with an anti-war platform. They've failed their constituency in a ribald manner and you're sitting there, submissively and joyfully, taking it. Sand in your Vasoline and not even the courtesy of a reach around. And not only that, your convention turned into sabre rattling.

From Bill Richardson:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must fight the terrorists not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be like Afghanistan and Pakistan. We must lead a global effort to secure loose nuclear materials, not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be, in Russia, and the countries of the former Soviet Union.

From Joe Biden:

And for the last seven years, the administration has failed to face the biggest -- the biggest forces shaping this century: the emergence of Russia, China and India as great powers, the spread of lethal weapons, the shortage of secure supplies of energy, food and water, the challenge of climate change and the resurgence of fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the real central front in the war on terror.

...with Russia challenging the very freedom of the new democratic country of Georgia. Barack and I will end that neglect. We will hold Russia accountable for its actions and we will help the people of Georgia rebuild.

Seriously, they want to pick fights with the Afghans, Pakastanis, Russians and Chinese? Will this be in addition to the continued unpleasantness in Iraq? The unpleasantness they vowed to end? And what about the Iranians? Are they not worthy of a Democratic invasion?

Vizzini, from The Princess Bride, sums it up best:

"Haha, you fool. You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia."

Basically, Democrats, you've screwed the pooch on this one. After the 2006 elections, you were the odds-on favorite to recapture the White House and now you're in jeopardy of losing to an unhinged misanthrope...that being John McCain. Your only consolation in the event of a McCain victory is that there will still be a Democrat in the White House.

I'm gonna offer some advice to the Dems. You wanna win elections? Then return to your Jeffersonian roots. You won't defeat the Republican fascism/corporatism/crony capitalism with socialism. Liberty is the endgame, not democracy.

Quips for Jebus

2008-08-02T11:03:00.010-06:00

Hmmm...Is he bonded and insured?

Where do they come up with these? Is there a book? Do they subscribe to a monthly email? Some of these are funny, others are just hokie.

Dick Van Dyke would beg to differ

Is this all inclusive or will I have to tip Peter at the Pearly Gates?

Punny

Lame

OK, now it's my turn - with the help of Church Sign Generator.

An Open Letter to American Voters

2008-03-04T19:36:00.010-07:00

Dear Voter,

I'd like to thank you all for solidifying my anarchism. In moments of weakness, I would question myself and then you would do something so confounding that it would cause me to blurt out - in Tourette's Syndrome fashion - comments such as:

"What the fuck?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Really? You're buying what that ass clown just sold you?"

Yes, another presidential primary or caucus had taken place and I was left scratching my head at who you chose to govern us, the unwashed masses.

Or, another horseshit debate had been broadcast on a "respectable" cable news channel where the bias towards the favorite sons was so palpable as to make Goebbels blush. The watchdogs have transformed into lapdogs. Pathetic.

As Rothbard made perfectly clear, liberty is the end game, not democracy. I could give a shit how the majority thinks society should be ordered. A mob by any other name...

Yes, yes, I've heard it before - "If you don't vote, you can't complain." To which I say, "Bullshit!" As long as my money is being forcibly taken to fund this nonsense and make me an unwilling participant in a sadistic game, then I will complain at the top of my lungs. And for those of you who yearn for justice, just know that justice is impossible in a system built on the injustice of confiscated wealth. In other words, politicians can't claim the moral high ground while picking your pocket.

In fact, the converse is more valid. "If you do vote, you can't complain." When you participate in this charade posing as self-government, then you get what you deserve, so I don't want to hear it from you.

When the economy continues to go south, I don't want to hear the complaints when Clinton, Obama or McCain doesn't know how to react. I'll tell you right now that they are all economic dumbasses. Ron Paul knows what to do because he actually is learned in economic theory and understands the causes of the current downturn.

When the unpleasantness in the Middle East continues or escalates, don't come crying to me. McCain is a bellicose dickhead and shouldn't be around weapons of any kind. Why another Senator hasn't kicked his ass in the cloak room is beyond me. Our only salvation is that his arms may be too short to push the button. Obama and Clinton think they are anti-war because they say they may bring the troops home by 2010 or 2011 or 2012 or whatever. Depends on which group they are pandering to at the time. Paul is the only one who has been against the war since its inception and will not only bring home troops from Iraq ASAP, but will work to bring the rest of troops home from overseas. There is a reason Paul leads all candidates in contributions from military personnel.

When you are taxed at ever higher levels or the printing presses are revved up to fund McCain's adventures abroad or some version of universal health care or a bailout of the banks and mortgage companies, don't even bother protesting. I ain't listening. Paul is the only candidate who is fiscally sound.

You, the Republican voters, had the chance of a lifetime to support a man of character and integrity and honor and you pissed it away. While your party apparatchiks, along with your buddies at Fox and CNN and MSNBC were marginalizing Paul, you got stuck with a chump like McCain. Someone who, as recently as 2000, was persona non grata in your own party; your party's worst nightmare. And all because Paul had the audacity to oppose the Neocon policy of "benevolent hegemony." Glad that all worked out for you, you assholes.

You, the Democratic voters, with your history of being anti-war and pro-civil liberties, have narrowed your choices to a life-long opportunist and an empty suit who both support the war and voted for the Patriot Act. You had the chance to cross over and support Paul, but you pissed it away, too. Good for you, jackasses.

Basically, you have decided that it is better to be taken care of, regardless of the cost or who pays, as long as it is someone else. Protect us from the boogeyman, protect us from viruses and injuries, protect us from others who may say or think things that are offensive to us, protect us from smokers, protect us from the climate, protect us from global-extremist-Islamic Jihad. And while you're at it, can you cover all my expensive meds? Thanks. And on and on and on and on. You have relegated yourselves to grown-up children. As the saying goes, "The tyrant is the child grown strong." And you're getting it in spades.

While your exalted, elected officials waste time deciding whether Roger Clemens took HGH or if the Patriots taped other teams' signals, Rome and the empire burns. Meanwhile, I'll just sit back and enjoy the circus while eating bread. Hopefully, Vermont's secession movement will be successful, or maybe I'll hang with Russell Means and the valiant Lakotah Sioux.

Good Times Watching the CNN Debate

2008-01-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Some remarks while Steve and I watched the CNN debate tonight from the Reagan Presidential Library:

Me: McCain can't help but be a jackass.
Steve: He's not a jackass, he's an asshole

Steve: Look at Huckabee's wife. She's bigger than Schwarzenegger.

Me: Look at Nancy Reagan. She looks like Harry Caray
Steve: I thought she looked like Phyllis Diller.

First of all, the Republican field is down to four candidates. You would think that this would lead to more balanced time among the candidates. But, noooooooo. Paul and Huckabee were pushed out by the debate moderators in exchange for fawning over Straight Talkin' T-Rex and Glamor Boy. It was patently obvious and shameful. And make no mistake, if McCain is the front runner, then we're heading towards a train wreck.

Seriously, McCain killed himself in this debate. His verbal gymnastics in trying to convince us that Romney had "timetables" for our troops leaving Iraq, when it was obvious that the opposite was true, was quite a sight to behold. And I am no fan of Romney. Also, this guy can only think in militaristic terms even when the talk is not about the military. "I was a footsoldier in the Reagan Revolution." "I was a fighter alongside..." Blah, blah, blah. After the tedious exchange between McCain and Romney, it was refreshing to see Paul take both of these punks to task:

Romney still likes to avoid giving straight answers to questions and he went out of his way not to criticize Bush. Pretty Boy, if you're going to posture yourself as a Washington oustsider for change, then you better be able to criticize a Washington, elitist, piece of crap like Bush. And he thinks that forcing people to buy health insurance is a free market position.

McCain is nothing more than a militaristic drone. His grandfather was in the Navy, his father was in the Navy, he was born and grew up on naval bases, he was in the Navy and then he went into politics. The guy just needs to go away. Any chance the Viet Cong would take him back? But, he has been endorsed by both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvestor Stallone, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

Huckabee is still trying to be folksy and faux-humble and down-homey. It's wearing thin. Plus, he is an obvious panderer. He even admitted that when he was in Florida, he talked about the supposed benefits of an interstate highway project from Bangor, Maine to Miami, Fl. But, since he was now in California, he could talk about a highway project for a California interstate. So, if we extrapolate that, I guess he would endorse a 50 state, interstate highway project. No, that wouldn't be an expensive pork barrel project at all!

Current Thoughts on the Candidates - The Repubs

2008-01-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ron Paul

If I have to endure politicians, is it asking too much to have them at least obey their oath to defend and uphold the Constitution? This guy does with every vote. He is the only honorable man in D.C. If the Constitution is going to be ignored, then I guess we should just ignore the 16th Amendment. In spite of this principled stance, he is being marginalized and ignored by the mainstream media.(MSM) Shameful. However, he has a strong presence on the internet, which is doing the work that the MSM refuses to do. He's sitting on $20 million, so he has staying power. Duncan Hunter just dropped out and Fred Thompson is rumored to be close to dropping out. Because of his fund raising prowess, he'll win any battle of attrition.

Rudy Giuliani

This guy is self-destructing faster than Britney Spears. His "America's Mayor" and "9-11" schtick wore thin months ago. Joe Biden's comment that his speech pattern consisted of "noun, verb and 9-11" was spot on. The guy is a crude, crass opportunist and the more people see of him the less they like him. Since his other schtick wore thin, he has resorted to trying to posture himself as a Reagan Republican. That won't work, either, because his record doesn't back that up. His senior staff is rumored to be working for free right now, so you can assume that his campaign is in financial trouble. He's tapped out all the big money donors and the average American can't stand him, so he may be done soon. Especially if he doesn't do well in Florida.

John McCain

McCain should just wear his dress military uniform 24/7. It's appropriate for the Banana Republic that we are morphing into and his constant war mongering and sabre rattling. The guy is unhinged. You would think that a vet who endured years as a POW in Viet Nam would be a little more judicious about going to war, but this guy would attack Canada if he could come up with a reason. I consider him the most dangerous and unstable of all the candidates. I would love to see a foreign policy debate between he and Paul.

Mitt Romney

This guy continues to get away with changing his positions to suit his needs. He'll pander to any audience, if it gets him votes. He claims to be against subsidies, but is for agricultural "supports." That plays well in Iowa, but what is the difference? In NH, he'll talk about being fiscally conservative, but goes to Michigan and promises handouts to the auto industry. This guy is slick and superficial. He's got a personal fortune, so he's in for the long haul. Joseph Smith help him if he has to get into a debate on economic policy with Ron Paul; he'll be destroyed.

Mike Huckabee

You could argue that this Gomer is as dangerous as McCain. In a recent speech to religious types, he stated the Constitution needed to be amended to meet God's standards. So, we're advocating a theocracy? Is this any different than the rants of the mullahs in Iran or Zionists in Israel? Why was there not more outrage at his position? Why aren't CNN and Fox News raking this guy over the coals for this? He, like Giuliani, is trying to pose as a conservative when his track record is to the contrary. And is it asking too much to not have to be ruled by another rube for Arkansas? One good thing about his campaign is that it has spawned a new term - Talibangelical. Perfect.

Fred Thompson

This guy just can't be bothered to campaign. His much ballyhooed campaign has been a colossal failure. He was supposed to be the savior of the Reagan Coalition, whatever that is. He's close to being broke and is rumored to be dropping out. Thank God, because he makes Ben Stein look like Dick Vitale.

Current Thoughts on the Candidates - The Dems

2008-01-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton

If any of the candidates has a sense of entitlement about being President, it's her. She acts as though she deserves the nomination because of time served. The time you served, hon, is called marriage to Bill Clinton. He's an albatross and you did this to yourself. You hitched your star to his political wagon and the wheels have started to come off. This culminated in her now infamous "emotional moment" before the NH Primary. My problem isn't with the fact that she choked up and tears welled in her eyes, it was the arrogance of her words. The idea that only SHE could save us in this important election. That all we have to do is elect HER and we would be privvy to her wisdom and vision for the future. And, of course, she mentioned "the children." Screw her - she's a standard-issue Socialist. Pure and simple. Nationalized health care, higher taxes, more spending, etc., etc. Those ideas don't sit well with my libertarian sensibilities. Nor does it sit well with economic theory. Or historical facts. In spite of all this, it's a battle between her and Obama. Her candidacy just isn't "inevitable" like it was before.

Barack Obama

Can anyone tell me, fundamentally, how he differs from Clinton? You can say "change" all you want, but that doesn't make it so. The Bolsheviks changed Russia. Mao changed China. Pol Pot changed Cambodia. Che and Fidel changed Cuba. But so what? If that is change, I'll stick with the status quo, thank you very much. He is claiming to be the anti-war candidate for the Dems, but that is disingenuous. He wasn't a Senator, yet, when Congress voted to give authorization to Bush to conduct his nonsense. The fact that he has voted in lock-step on war issues with Hillary, who is quite hawkish, since he arrived in the Senate speaks volumes. C'mon, Dems! What happened to your anti-war past? You won the mid-term elections in protest of Bush's foreign policy. Not surprisingly, you greatly failed the voters.

In addition, I've always been suspicious of his quick rise in the ranks. It doesn't add up. Someone is pulling the strings on this one. It's become a personality contest with Hillary at this point. It's a toss up between the two.

John Edwards

Is it me, or does his Southern accent seem forced at times? Just part of the superficiality, I guess. He's tried the Two Americas bit, but it hasn't resonated. Haves vs. Have Nots, Rich vs. Poor. Yeah, we get it, but you have the Two Americas all wrong. It's Ruled vs. Rulers. Always has been. Anyway, with the exception of Iowa, he hasn't made a serious challenge to Hillary and Obama. He won't be around much longer.

Bill Richardson

Probably has the best resumé of all the Dems. Just couldn't put together the funding and the star quality, so he's dropped out. He should go back to New Mexico and work on seceding, like the other 49 Governors should be doing. That is where real change can and will happen. Step up, Bill.

Dennis Kucinich

The only Dem that can honestly lay claim to being anti-war. Otherwise, standard Dem platform. He's been marginalized because of his claim of seeing a UFO. So what? There are any number of astronauts and fighter pilots that have made the same claim. But, we can't marginalize them, because they're heroes.

CNN/YouTube Debate

2007-11-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer #1 - Although I don't involve myself in the voting process, I'm a supporter of Ron Paul. I have contributed $200 to his campaign, because he is the only honorable man in D.C.

Disclaimer #2 - I have yet to watch a Democratic debate for a few reasons. I had enough of Hillary during her 8 years as co-President. She is nothing but a hardcore Socialist; I have no time for her. Obama has come out of nowhere to become the "anointed one," which makes me suspicious of him. Edwards is more fake than boobs on Baywatch. Richardson takes me for a fool. I saw him on one of the cable news shows discussing the housing/mortgage crisis. He equated mortgage lenders with loan sharks and thought it would be a good idea for the government to buy up bad loans. Look Bill, I know that means a taxpayer bailout, so screw you, pendéjo.

This debate was supposed to be different in that video questions from YouTube users were going to be used. This was supposed to have the effect of having the candidates think on their feet more. CNN claims that they had thousands of entries and had to pare it down to about 40. They didn't do a very good job. There was the guy that dramatically held the Bible to his camera and said, "Do...you...believe...every...word...in...this...book?" There really are only two answers that should've been given to this assclown. "Yes, what of it?" or "No, what of it?"

Another lame question was the dude that tried to insinuate that Ron Paul's supporters were conspiracy theorists and, by association, Paul himself. Nice try, CNN. It takes more than the support of conspiracy theorists to raise $5.1 million last quarter and currently have contributions of almost $10 million this quarter. He'll get to $15 million by the end of the quarter. And why does Mike Huckabee, an ordained minister, get a Bible question, but Ron Paul, a doctor, doesn't get a health care question? I'm no genius, but how hard is it to ask a question and have EVERY candidate answer it? Wouldn't that give us a better idea of how these guys think and the breadth of their knowledge on different issues? Now, to my critique of the candidates...

Ron Paul - Once again, ignored at the outset. When they finally directed his first question at him, it's the Council on Foreign Relations conspiracy question. Paul set himself apart from all the other candidates with his anti-war, pro-freedom, pro-Constitution stances. C'mon, he routinely wins online polls and straw polls and has become a fund raising juggernaut. You can't continue to ignore him. He'll take 2nd or 3rd in the Iowa Caucus and he'll win the NH primary. Bank it. By the way, he won the post-debate online poll.

Rudy Giuliani - He provided a laugh-out-loud moment for me when he provided an answer to the assclown's Bible question. He mentioned that he read the Bible frequently, (queue the laugh-out-loud moment) especially in times of trouble. What troubled times do you speak of Rudy? When you "discovered" that you were married to your cousin? When you were cheating on your first wife? On your second wife? When your good buddy, Bernard Kerik, was being indicted on multiple charges? When you were trying to figure out how to hide the money trail for your security detail when they took you on your Long Island booty calls with Judith Nathan - your current wife and soon-to-be 3rd ex-wife? If you could animate a cesspool, it would look like Rudy.

Mitt Romney - Seriously, guy, just ANSWER the question. Quit tip-toeing around EVERY question. Quit QUALIFYING every question. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!! Whew, glad I got that off my chest. I've discovered that he is physically unable to voice the word "subsidy." When asked his position on agricultural subsidies, he kept using the word "supports," as if we wouldn't realize that he means handouts to farmers. Look, Mitt, just say it. Shit, by any other name, still smells bad. (Apologies to The Bard) This guy is slick, slimy, vapid and vacuous.

John McCain - Have you seen a more passive-aggressive guy than this? One moment, he's upbraiding Romney for not admitting that waterboarding is torture and the next he's scolding Paul for not wanting to invade and occupy other countries. This guy would wipe your brow and ease your suffering while strangling you with a garrote wire. He also seemed a little agitated. Maybe he was constipated and was irritated because his arms were too short to give himself an enema.

Fred Thompson - Boring. I like him as an actor and I think he should stay one. I do have a good position for him in the Paul administration. Secretary of Story Telling. He could regale dignitaries with yarns of growing up in the South. (Fred Thompson voice) "When I was a boy in Alabamy, my Pa and I would go possum huntin' down in the hollow. After walking through the thickets and bogs, we'd sit a spell and rest and chew bark from sassafras trees. Sure as all get-out, as soon as we sat down, those coon dogs would catch the scent of a possum and tear off after it. Happened every time. If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'. Nothin' like possum stew. Tastes a bit like owl." Seriously, this would kill at State dinners. By the way, my Bumpass brethren, I'm dubbing Thompson "Hangdog" Bumpass.

Mike Huckabee - For some reason, he's become the darkhorse darling. Standard issue neo-con and friend of the Evangelical Right and born-again Chuck Norris. People seem to be taken by his Fair Tax scheme. Here's the thing, there is NO SUCH THING as a fair tax. It's like advocating Fair Mugging. Here's another problem I have with him - He has that vocal quality, common among ministers, that is artificially calm and soothing and low-key. I don't trust him one bit.

Duncan Hunter - Still afraid of the Chi-Coms and "Islamofascism." Had a particularly odd view of the 2nd amendment. I'm paraphrasing from memory, but something to the effect that the 2nd amendment was intended for protection, hunting and to be used from the rooftops of Fallujah. Huh? The intent of the 2nd amendment is to completely obliterate foreign cities? That's jacked up.

Tom Tancredo - Ignored like Paul and Hunter. His problem is that he's a one-trick pony. If you asked him his thoughts on the effects of the Fed raising or lowering interest rates, he'd somehow find a way to blame illegal immigration. I actually find him kinda funny.

As always, your comments are both desired and appreciated. Tawk amongst yaselves.

CNBC Debate

2007-10-12T17:23:00.000-06:00

Is Mitt Romney unfit for President? My answer is YES, based on only one answer he gave at the debate. Chris Matthews set forth a scenario for Romney and others to answer. The scenario, basically, was, would the President need to consult Congress if he intended to take out Iranian nuclear facilities that may be a threat? Not an imminent threat, just a potential threat. Romney's answer was, basically, "let the lawyers sort that out." What? How's that? Apparently, Mitt isn't aware that Congress alone has the power to declare war. And bombing someone else, that doesn't pose an imminent threat, is an act of war. Romney gets slimier the more I see and hear him. The others that were asked the same question tip-toed around the answer, falling back on the old standby that the President has the duty to protect the American people. In this case, protect them from what? The vaunted Iranian navy that surely is just off our shores? Check out Ron Paul setting these clowns straight...

Some other thoughts on the debate:

Mitt Romney - Looks like he colored his hair. Good for you, Mitt. Looking sharp. Maybe that will distract people from your horseshit non-answers. He also said that he was against subsidies, but was for "supports" for farmers. OK, what are supports? I bet they're subsidies and price controls. Just a guess.

John McCain - Had the gall to suggest to Ron Paul that he read Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Ummm, not only am I confident that he has read it, but he's read better and more important books, such as Human Action by Ludwig von Mises and Man, Economy and State by Murray Rothbard. (You're fearless blogger has read the last two. Classics.) He also went into a screed where he thought that a prescription for America was more involvement with the Peace Corps, Ameri-Corps and other nationalistic service organizations that only serve to remind you, lowly peasant, that your greatest duty is to serve the Fatherland.

Fred Thompson - This was Freddy's first debate since he graced the Republican field with his presence. Boring. Same old stuffed shirt. In answering one question concerning the Iraq war, he said that President Bush's policy was the correct one. Enough said, Freddy. You're done. Thanks for playing. He's a good actor - stick to it.

Rudi Giuliani - Apparently Rudi is a "strict constructionist" because of his stance on the line item veto. Hmmm...how does that jibe with your support of gun legislation in violation of the 2nd amendment? Oh, it doesn't. Thought so. By the way, did you know that Rudi is America's Mayor and he is a hero of 9/11? Just reminding you in case you forgot.

Duncan Hunter - A relic of the Cold War. Kept referring to Communist China. C'mon Duncan, that doesn't scare anyone anymore. Anyways, everyone knows they were much scarier when the were Red China or the Chi-Coms. He had the usual protectionist rants about jobs moving to China. Hell, I thought all the jobs were moving to Mexico. Wait, all the Mexicans are moving to the jobs in the U.S. What was that giant sucking sound that Ross Perot talked about? That was the sound of Duncan Hunter sucking at this debate.

Tom Tancredo - Hurumph....illegal immigrants....hurumph...destroying our civilization....hurumph...did I mention illegal immigrants? YES, you did.

Mike Huckabee - The good minister from Arkansas is The Humanitarian with a Guillotine, as Isabel Patterson put it in her book, The God of the Machine.

Sam Brownback - A poor man's Mayor Quinby.

Ron Paul - Schooled these guys on the the source of inflation and its effects. Schooled Romney and the others on the Constitution. Schooled these guys on economic matters. Just plain schooled them. He was asked the fewest questions (7) and had the least amount of speaking time (6 min., 51 secs.) What he lacked in quantity, he made up for in quality. Here is a montage of his answers. Not the answers you'll hear from the supposed "front runners."

BTW, a post-debate poll on CNBC's website had Paul winning the debate with 75% of the vote until they took the poll off claiming it MUST have been hacked or spammed, because Paul couldn't be winning by that margin. Uh-huh.

Taking Notice, Yet?

2007-09-08T13:22:00.000-06:00

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.

- Ghandi

Looks like we're about to enter into the fighting stage with Ron Paul.

The audio is out of synch with the video, but it's a good montage of Paul's latest debate performance. If you want to hear a principled man with his own ideas, this is it. He's got some fire in his belly. If you want to hear childish dickheads, laughing and giggling and mocking, then this is it, too. Giuliani needs a good cock punching. No other way to say it. Fuck that guy. Romney gets slimier and slimier the more I see of him. And shame on the moderators, too, who did their best to make Paul look foolish and failed on every attempt. After the debate, Fox News held a text messaging poll asking viewers who they thought won the debate. To the dismay of Sean Hannity, one of many Fox News jackasses, Paul won with 33% of the vote.

By the way, these people have taken notice:

John Fout - Political correspondent for TheStreet.com -

"So, were Paul's comments ludicrous and unacceptable? Hardly. The record from the debate is clear: Paul has his facts straight. I'm not sure this can be said for the other candidates on the stage Wednesday night."

Pat Buchanan -

"Ron Paul clearly won last night's debate," said Pat Buchanan on Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show this evening.

Peggy Noonan - former Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal columnist -

"The debate was full of fireworks about Iraq, about its essentials--the rightness of the endeavor, and what should rightly be done now. From the libertarian Ron Paul a blunt argument against the war: We never should have gone in and we should get out. 'The people who say there'll be a blood bath are the same ones who said it would be a cakewalk.... Why believe them?' His foreign policy: 'Mind our own business, bring our troops home, defend our country, defend our borders.' After Mr. Paul spoke, it seemed half the room booed, but the other applauded. When a thousand Republicans are in a room and one man of the eight on the stage takes a sharply minority viewpoint on a dramatic issue and half the room seems to cheer him, something's going on.

"Ron Paul's support isn't based on his persona, history or perceived power. What support he has comes because of his views. As he spoke, you could hear other candidates laughing in the background. They should stop giggling, and engage in a serious way."

Let it Begin

2007-08-07T13:21:00.000-06:00

JS tipped me off to this article on a court case involving the IRS. This is encouraging. Things like this can make me downright giddy. In the past, when I have had discussions/debates on how to help American families and workers, I always mention two things to do immediately: eliminate the Federal Income Tax and eliminate the Federal Reserve to stop the devaluation of the currency. These two actions alone would lead to a startling increase in the standard of living.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56855

How You Gonna Act?

2007-08-05T13:26:00.001-06:00

ABC News hosted and televised a debate between the Republican candidates for President. Both ABC and The Drudge Report had online polls afterwards asking who their readers thought had won the debate. These numbers are as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern. How long will the media ignore Paul and his grassroots campaign? Why shouldn't he get as much play as Ross Perot did in '92? The talking heads like to make excuses that Paul's followers are spamming online polls and otherwise rigging them. C'mon. I went to the ABC online poll and voted. If I tried to vote again, it just opened a window that had the latest results. I couldn't vote more than once if I tried. It's time for the media to understand that people, when they hear it, like Paul's message. There's a reason he's been elected 10 times to Congress.

ABC News poll:

Now that the debate's over, it's time to consider the winners and losers.

Who do you think won the Republican debate?

Ron Paul

11,311

Mitt Romney

1,859

Rudy Giuliani

1,631

Mike Huckabee

1,435

Nobody. I'm waiting for Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich to enter the race.

1,272

Nobody won. I'm voting Democratic.

1,128

Sam Brownback

581

Tom Tancredo

387

John McCain

341

Tommy Thompson

201

Duncan Hunter

199

Total Vote: 20,345

The Drudge Report:

{{{{DRUDGE POLL}}}}WHO WON THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE IN IOWA? Brownback

29%

11,364

Giuliani

13%

5,230

Huckabee

3%

1,055

Hunter

2%

590

McCain

1%

585

Paul

37%

14,365

Romney

11%

4,299

Tancredo

2%

959

Tommy Thompson

2%

663

Total Votes: 39,110

The Scene of the Crime

2007-07-30T18:56:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I had to drop off some campers and counselors in New Hampshire so they could hike Mt. Washington. The drop off for the trailhead was in Bretton Woods - home of the legendary monetary conference in 1944. If you want to know why your money has been steadily devalued and your hard earned tax dollars have been squandered through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, then look no further than Bretton Woods.

Mt. Washington Hotel

GOP Debate, Round 2

2007-05-19T08:44:00.000-06:00

Last Tuesday night, I watched the 2nd Republican debate with brothers Jeff, Steve and Matt. This debate was televised by Fox News. From the outset it was apparent what needed to be done - an alternative way to gauge the candidates. So, without further ado, I bring you...

DD's Neck Fat Index!!!!!

This index works on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being normal and 10 being Chris Farley-esque. The smart money was originally on John McCain, but a darkhorse emerged. Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson emerged as a surprise winner. His impressive neck fat, in combination with his Mr. Potatohead ears, put him over the top. Here's how the candidates graded out, with rating in parentheses and notes on each:

Tommy Thompson (9) - Glorious neck fat being squeezed by an ill-fitting collar. Clearly the winner. The only thing missing was a tranquilizer dart and an ear tag.

John McCain (8) - The early favorite faded to 2nd. Still a threat to winner future contests.

Tom Tancredo (5) - He had a slight overlap of the entire collar region. Needs some work.

Jim Gilmore (4) - Also overlap of entire collar region, but not as bad as Tancredo.

Rudy Giuliani (3) - Annoying throat wattle. In combination with his squinty, beady eyes and round head, he was definitely the most reptilian of the candidates.

Duncan Hunter (3) - Wattle

Mike Huckabee (3) - Wattle

Sam Brownback (2) - Less of a wattle

Ron Paul (2) - Less of a wattle

Mitt Romney (1) - He's definitely the pretty-boy of the campaign.

Some more scores...

Best Zinger: Mike Huckabee - "We have a Congress spending money like John Edwards at a beauty shop." Gold, Mike, gold!

Matt and Jeff's Top 3 Crazy Candidates:
1- McCain
2- Giuliani
3- Tancredo

Matt's Crybaby Award: Rudy Giuliani(more on this in the post below)

DD's Crypto-Authoritarian Award: Rudy Giuliani. His prescriptions for immigration problems are a fence, a technological fence(database) and a tamper-proof ID card. Hey, Rudy, why don't you just be honest and tell the voters you desire a Police State; it'll save us all some time.

To the Non-Paul Nine(props to Audie for this moniker): Not every problem is a "national security" issue. Seriously, stop the militaristic scare-mongering. You can only cry "wolf" so many times. There's a reason Sparta no longer exists.

Random comments during the debate:

Steve - "This is 10 times worse than the MSNBC debate."

McCain was asked a question and started blinking uncontrollably, which prompted this exchange...

Matt - "Blinking like that is a dead giveaway of a liar."
Jeff - "He's a bad blinker."

It's possible that the bright lights of the stage triggered a POW flashback and he was actually signalling his commanding officers.

DD - "Has Ron Paul been asked a question in the last 15 minutes?" (Right before his exchange with Giuliani. It was worth the wait.)

As always, let me know your thoughts.

Ron vs. Rudy

2007-05-17T07:11:00.000-06:00

The 2nd Republican debate was held Tuesday night in Columbia, SC. The highlight of the debate was a contentious exchange between Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani on the subjects of war and foreign policy. Please watch this clip from Youtube.(Hello, Youtubes!) I'll make my comments on the exchange afterwards.

My first comment is this: This is THE defining moment of the Republican race for the Presidential nomination. No other way to say it. Also...

The candidates, other than Paul, that call themselves Conservatives, don't even know the elements of a traditional Conservative. Traditionally, Conservatives were known for their belief in small government, low taxes and a non-interventionist foreign policy. Paul is the only one that understands this and this is why he stands out from the other candidates. That is why he often refers to Robert Taft instead of Reagan.

Paul did NOT say that we invited the 9/11 attacks. These are the words of the moderator that asked the question that were then echoed by Giuliani. They will try to smear him in this way.

Giuliani claims that he has NEVER heard such a reason for the 9/ll attacks. Really? Are you kidding me? Bold-faced lie, Rudy. You're either lying, grandstanding or ignorant. I'm guessing it's a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B and a little bit from column C.

Giuliani says, "I would ask the Congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that." First of all - Fuck you, Rudy! This statement is the equivalent of a gradeschooler pleading, "you take that back." Rudy, it's a fucking debate! Can you counter his position or just shout platitudes?

Can someone tell me why Giuliani is considered a 9/11 hero and America's Mayor? What, actually, were his heroic moments on 9/11? Is standing in front of a podium heroic? More heroic than emergency services personnel saving people in the WTC buildings or die trying? Please, Rudy, you were probably sporting a pair of Depends for two days afterwards, because you were pissing and shitting yourself.

Don't be surprised if Ron Paul is barred from further debates. He's a threat to the Neo-cons that have corrupted the Republican party and he is a threat to the media, who idolize the State and their corrupt minions.

Fox News televised the debate and their post-debate coverage was embarrassing. Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes were the post-debate commentators and they interviewed each candidate. Hannity was fit to be tied over Ron Paul. Colmes, to his credit, stayed objective about Paul. While the interviews were going on, Fox was running a text message poll asking viewers who they thought won the debate. 45 minutes after the debate had ended, Paul was leading the poll with 30% of the vote.(When the poll finally ended, Paul came in 2nd to Romney 29%-25%) Hannity was in a lather and stated, "Ron Paul did not win that debate." Really? You're dismissing your own poll? Are you saying that your own viewers don't know what they're talking about? I think you are. Why don't you just dispatch with all this debate nonsense and unilaterally name Romney, McCain or Giuliani - the Holy Triumvirate - as the Republican nominee?

Freakin' Embarrassing

2007-05-03T19:35:00.000-06:00

Tonight, my brother, Steve, and I watched the Republican presidential debate that was televised by MSNBC. How embarrassing. First, let me say that I'm a fan of Ron Paul as I'm sympathetic to his libertarian principles and I consider him the only principled man in D.C. With that being said, I was amazed at how childish the majority of the candidates came across. If these are the best and brightest, then we're in a world of hurt. When asked about recent Republican malfeasance and their thoughts on it, most began their responses with some variation of, "Democrats do it, too." And if I had a dollar for every time one of the candidates name-dropped Ronald Reagan, I'd have a 50 burning a hole in my pocket right now. Nothing but shameless ass kissing with Nancy in the crowd.

Some other thoughts -

Two or three times, the term "Cold War" was used. Not referring to something that actually ended in 1989, but referring to our current policy in the Middle East. Seriously? You want another Cold War? Is this longing for another Cold War a substitute for the actual Hot War that is going on in the Middle East or do you want a combination of the two?

It was painfully obvious that there was a purposeful attempt to give more face time to Romney, McCain and Guiliani. Fuck those hacks. This was comically evident at one point when a question was posed by Chris Matthews. He asks Romney for an answer, camera pans to Romney. Matthews skips over 5 candidates and asks McCain for an answer, camera pans to McCain. Matthews skips over Ron Paul and asks Gov. Gilmore for an answer, camera pans to...ooops...Guiliani. Even the cameraman had figured out the pattern.

Tommy Thompson was asked a question and, by the look on his face, we were sure his response was going to be, "Duhhhhh, what?" We laughed at Tommy Thompson on more than one occassion.

Was it just me, or does McCain have really short arms? Our guess is that his arms barely hang down to waist level. His short arms were accentuated by the large shoulder pads in his suit jacket.

A few times, Sen. Brownback sounded like Mayor Quinby.

A lot of fear-mongering was to be had. Everything from the supposed attempt by Muslims to destroy the Western world to the collapse of American society due to immigration. Shameful.

Some comments uttered by Steve and I during the debate -

Me: Hey McCain, stick your neck back in your shirt you short-armed SOB!

Steve: Tommy Thompson looks like a retarded Tommy Lee Jones.

Me: Tommy Thompson looks like Officer Barbrady from South Park.

Steve: Does anyone other than Ron Paul have an IQ over 100?

If anyone watched the debate and has commentary, please share.

True Dat, Murray

2007-04-15T14:36:00.000-06:00

This unsigned editorial, written by Murray N. Rothbard, appeared in the April 15, 1969 issue of The Libertarian (soon to become The Libertarian Forum).

April 15, that dread Income Tax day, is around again, and gives us a chance to ruminate on the nature of taxes and of the government itself.

The first great lesson to learn about taxation is that taxation is simply robbery. No more and no less. For what is "robbery"? Robbery is the taking of a man's property by the use of violence or the threat thereof, and therefore without the victim's consent. And yet what else is taxation?

But does anyone seriously believe that if the payment of taxation were really made voluntary, say in the sense of contributing to the American Cancer Society, that any appreciable revenue would find itself into the coffers of government? Then why don't we try it as an experiment for a few years, or a few decades, and find out?

This issue of The Libertarian is dedicated to that growing legion of Americans who are engaging in various forms of that one weapon, that one act of the public which our rulers fear the most: tax rebellion, the cutting off the funds by which the host public is sapped to maintain the parasitic ruling classes.

Here is a burning issue which could appeal to everyone, young and old, poor and wealthy, "working class" and middle class, regardless of race, color, or creed. Here is an issue which everyone understands, only too well. Taxation.

Let the rebellion begin!!

OK, Let's Review...

2007-03-23T13:21:00.000-06:00

Last November, after the Democrats took control of the House and Senate, I wrote the following on my blog...

Now, don't think that I expect anything great from a Democrat-controlled Congress. I still expect the D.C. status quo - lies, theft, graft, corruption, war and death. Ah, the folly of democracy. Let's all vote to see who gets to put sand in our Vaseline.

What I now see happening is a quid pro quo between Bush and Congress. Bush keeps his Warfare State abroad and the Democrats, in turn, increase their Welfare State at home. Isn't "bipartisanship" beautiful? Looks like we're in for higher budgets, higher deficits, higher inflation and higher taxes.

Now, we're treated to this story from the USA Today :

The Dems have added $3.7 billion in pork to the new Iraq spending bill. Here are two telling quotes from the article...

"That's what politics is: Who gets what, when and how," said Bishop, an Appropriations Committee member.

Obey said those donations played no role in his actions. "I represent dairy farmers. You got a problem with that?"

To Mr. Bishop - if that's what politics is, then count me out. And, to put your definition of "politics" a different way: the taxpayer takes it up the ass, every fucking day, with all the gentleness of 20-grit sandpaper.

To Mr. Obey - Spoken like a true Mafia don. At least the Mafia doesn't claim to be doing us any favors.

Two Years and Counting

2007-03-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been two years now since I entered the blogosphere. This is also my 100th post. It's been an interesting ride, so far, and I plan to keep going. Thanks to all of you who frequent my site.

Western Civilization's Most Frivolous Complaint

2007-02-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Scene of the crime

This morning, I went into the bathroom and was greeted with a note that someone(a gal) had taped to the mirror that rests on the toilet tank. It was addressed to the guys and, basically, said in Spanish, "Thank you for thinking of those that follow" with a diagram of a toilet showing that the lid should be put down. I don't know which is more disturbing; the fact that someone put this note up, or that they spent more time drawing a picture of a toilet than it takes to put the lid down themselves. By the way, the stuff in red ink is my doing in response to the note. I added "y Chicas" to the salutation and added a red arrow signifying that the lid can go up, too. It's only a matter of time before I catch hell for doing that.

The Note

Anyways, how did this virulent custom start and why is it perpetuated? I'm guessing that a few too many gals; either half-asleep, drunk, hungover or some combination thereof, ambled into the bathroom, plopped their asses down without looking and got a nice little butt bath. Of course, the previous person to use the toilet is to blame. Look, if I go into the bathroom to pee and I find the lid down, I don't stand there in dispair and then piss on the lid. I lift the lid - which is faster than drawing a diorama of the bathroom - and do my business. Likewise, if I cop a squat and find that I'm riding pure rim, then it looks like I'm the big idiot for not checking.

Let's agree on the following rules of engagement:

If you have to stand to do your business,(dudes and trannys-in-progress) then lift the lid.

If you have to sit to do your business, (dudes, chicks and trannys-in-progess) then put the lid down.

Now, isn't that simple?

Chicks That Wail

2007-01-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Listening to Evanescence prompted me to do this post. I've been meaning to do it for a while, but I've dragged my feet. Beamis' recent post about The Faces was another reminder. Some female singers just wail and below are some of my favorites. I invite you to submit your favorite "chicks that wail." Just to be clear, I don't consider lame songbirds like Celine Dion or Joni Mitchell or Joan Baez chicks that wail. You've got to be able to belt out a tune and get the house rockin'! Let's get it on!

Grace Slick - Jefferson Airplane
To me, Grace is the queen. Can anyone listen to "White Rabbit" or "Somebody to Love" and not sing along as Grace tears into it? Rent The Cable Guy just to see Jim Carrey's karaoke version of the latter. Classic.

Big Mama Thornton - Legendary Blues singer
At 6', 350lbs, Big Mama was known for belting out a tune. In 1953, she was the first singer to record "Hound Dog," which was made famous by Elvis Presley three years later. From Wiki: As an influence over the music and musicians which followed her, her importance cannot be overstated. Her name and legacy will forever remain amongst the very greatest of blues legends. Thornton's mighty voice, take-no-guff attitude, and incendiary stage performances influenced generations of blues and rock singers and carried on the tradition of tough "blues mamas" like Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, and Ma Rainey.

Johnette Napolitano - Concrete Blonde
Always a favorite of mine. Have a listen to "Mexican Moon" and "I Call It Love" on Mexican Moon. And, "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man" from Walking in London.

Linda Perry - 4 Non Blondes
They only released one CD - Bigger, Better, Faster, More! - but she did a lot of wailing in one CD. Especially listen to "What's Up," "Spaceman" and "Drifting." Personally, I thought the CD was underrated.

Amy Lee - Evanescence
She's the reigning queen of Goth Rock. Take a listen to the Fallen CD, she's either kickin' ass or busting out a haunting ballad. Great versatility.

And How Arrogant Is This Prick?

2007-01-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez

Excerpt:
Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.

“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales’s remark left Specter, the committee’s ranking Republican, stammering.

“Wait a minute,” Specter interjected. “The Constitution says you can’t take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there’s a rebellion or invasion?”

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/011807.html

And this excerpt:

"I try to imagine myself being a judge," Gonzales said. "What do I know about what is going on in Afghanistan or Guantanamo?"

"How are judges supposed to gather up the information, the collective wisdom of the entire executive branch ... and make a determination as to what is in the national security interest of our country?" Gonzales asked. "They're not capable of doing that."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/18/MNGNINKGA91.DTL

This is the head law enforcement agent of the U.S.! Just more proof of the lawlessness that exists in Mordor on the Potomac. How dare a judge rule that their actions are illegal and unconstitutional! How dare someone challenge their authority to trample the Constitution that they swore to defend and uphold. Don't they realize that the gods in D.C. are all-knowing and all-powerful?

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

2007-01-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Spurious George is going to initiate an attack on Iran. At least all signals point in that direction. Is it possible for one brain to hold so much stupidity? Is it possible that Bush Family inbreeding has led to a genetic anomaly wherein George W's brain has a left, right and stupid lobe? He and Condi have stepped up the sabre-rattling rhetoric toward Iran as well as dispatched a 2nd carrier group to the Persian Gulf. Here's the funny part...no, really, it's a laugh-riot - To paint Iran as a threat, he's using the same false rationales that he used with Iraq. Do these sound familiar?

Iran has, or is attemting to acquire, WMD
Iran is a threat to other countries in the region, especially Israel
Iran is harboring terrorists
The President of Iran is a latter-day Hitler

Just substitute "Iraq" for "Iran" and you get the picture. The sad part is that a lot of Americans will fall for this ruse once more and they'll be on board for one more military campaign. Already, Bush and the American military are unable to win in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, there is ample evidence that Bush will wage war against a country that, in land area, is almost four times as big as Iraq and very mountainous. Not only that, but Iran has about 70 million people compared to Iraq's 29 million. I can see Bush and his IQ squad sitting around the Oval Office plotting this next excursion:

GW: "You know, I've managed to piss off these 29 million people in this small country. I've been looking at my ball-map and I think we should try to piss off the 70 million people in this bigger, mountainous country. What y'all think?"

Condi: "It shows promise Mr. President. I have no problems with white people and black people, but these brown people are just too much. Plus, they don't possess the elegant, lizard-like features that I possess."

Cheney: (hic, burp) "Do you even have to ask me? Is someone running a microwave? My chest is tingly."

What a bunch of tools. If Dante were still alive, he'd create a special circle of Hell just for this crew in D.C.

Just In Case You Were Curious...

2006-12-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

I came across this cool, animated map. Pretty neat. I guess this is my official "Bah, humbug" in response to all the religious holidays throughout the calendar year.

Well Said, Butler

2006-12-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from a recent article by Butler Schaffer...

Like the headless chicken, the state is brain-dead. Its power derives from inertia (i.e., the unwillingness of a well-conditioned populace to consider alternative systems) rather than from intelligent conviction. There is nothing coming from within its halls that would engage the mind of any thoughtful human being. It has become as meaningless to the modern world as a slide-rule in an age of pocket computers; as out of place as an ice-truck on a residential street; as irrelevant as legs on a snake. As its actions throughout the world – including America – demonstrate, it is capable of nothing more than the infliction of violence, threats, torture, and fear upon innocent and productive men and women. It produces nothing more than tools of death and destruction. All of its actions place it in a state of endless war with the health of people.

Here is the complete article, if you're interested...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer149.html

Let the Purging and Catharsis Begin

2006-11-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, G.W. and his crew have managed to destroy an entire party all by themselves. The Republicans were thoroughly crushed in the mid-term elections this past Tuesday - and they deserved it. It cost Rumsfeld his job and a few more will probably get their pink slips before the dust settles. Que sera, sera. I won't shed any tears for these jackasses. Now, don't think that I expect anything great from a Democrat-controlled Congress. I still expect the D.C. status quo - lies, theft, graft, corruption, war and death. Ah, the folly of democracy. Let's all vote to see who gets to put sand in our Vaseline.

What I now see happening is a quid pro quo between Bush and Congress. Bush keeps his Warfare State abroad and the Democrats, in turn, increase their Welfare State at home. Isn't "bipartisanship" beautiful? Looks like we're in for higher budgets, higher deficits, higher inflation and higher taxes.

There was one other developement on Wednesday as a result of the elections that provided me with a lot of enjoyment. In my previous post - the haiku challenge - I submitted the following haiku:

Useful idiot
Or shill for the G.O.P
Limbaugh is a tool.

And wouldn't you know it, not only was my haiku confirmed, but it was confirmed by none other than Limbaugh himself on his website. In the course of his mea culpa, he confirmed that he was both a useful idiot and a shill. A two-fer for the Davester. Here is an excerpt...

The way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried. Now, you might say, "Well, why have you been doing it?" Because the stakes are high. Even though the Republican Party let us down, to me they represent a far better future for my beliefs and therefore the country's than the Democrat Party and liberalism does.

(Here is the link to the entire transcript. It would be comical if it weren't so pathetic.)

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110806/content/rush_on_a_roll.guest.html

Are we supposed to feel sorry for him? No one asked him to provide cover for wayward Republicans. And how has the Republican Party let him down? They've been doing their thing for the last 6 years and, all of a sudden, Limbaugh is surprised. Please, gimme a break. In the full transcript, Limbaugh complains about the Republicans not exhibiting any "conservative" principles in the last two or four years. Two or four years? There hasn't been a traditional conservative in the Republican Party since Barry Goldwater ran for President in 1964. Plus, I like the way he thinks that his beliefs are reflective of the entire country. What hubris to think that you speak for over 300 million people.

I'm amazed at how this guy keeps his audience. He sells himself as this paragon of virtue and morality, yet he's been married and divorced three times. He is unrepentant on his stance for the War on Drugs, yet he's a pain-killer and Viagra junkie. In the past, he's referred to some Liberals as "dope-smoking FM types." I guess that makes him a "pill-popping AM type." In short, he is a loud-mouthed hypocrite. Now, with this latest bombshell, he is basically saying to his listeners that his support of Republicans during the Bush II administration has been a sham and that the joke is on them. This current stance of his shows him to be unprincipled and cowardly. If his audience doesn't leave him in droves now, then you can only assume that his audience is a bunch of sycophants.

Haiku Challenge

2006-10-16T10:08:00.000-06:00

It's that time again, everyone. Since we are closing in on another election season, the topic of this haiku challenge will be something near and dear to my heart - politics and politicians. Everyone and everything related to politics - past, present and future - is fair game. Let me review the haiku format so that everyone is up to speed. A haiku is a 17 syllable poem consisting of 3 lines. The first and third lines are 5 syllables each with the second line being 7 syllables. Anyone deviating from this format (you know who you are) will be made fun of. As always, I will start things off...

George, Dick and Rummy
Boogeymen everywhere
We must stay the course

Abe takes in a play
The South lays devastated
Oops, and so does he

Hillary for prez
No woman as president
Even if she wins

With all the snooping going on these days by you-know-who and his crew, I understand that some may be hesitant to post a haiku of a political nature. Feel free to post as "anonymous" if you don't want to use a username. For this reason, know that the graphic I used at the top of the post is not arbitrary. As Thomas Paine said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

Ass Face

2006-09-26T15:07:00.000-06:00

Remember this guy's face. If you see him coming, at the very least, run from him. In all honesty, he deserves a kick right in the nads. He should definitely go second in a game of Rochambeau. He´s Michael Wynne, Secretary of the Air Force. Here's what he had to say about testing (supposed)nonlethal weapons...

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

Let's substitute a few words and see if he would still be as gung ho.

"If we're not willing to use it here against my family and friends, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

Look at the last sentance of the quote. He's not even concerned about the moral aspect of his position, only how he would be perceived in the press. What trash he is. No, trash isn't good enough. He's a steaming pile of shit. But that's only fitting since he resides in the nation's toilet.

Here's the full story...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/12/usaf.weapons.ap/index.html

How did this little nugget fly under the radar of most of the American press? Why isn't there more outrage at his comments? Why hasn't he done the honorable thing and resigned? Or hara-kiri, perhaps, but that would be defiling a fine sword. Why isn't someone kicking Secretary Wynne's ass all over the barracks? (My apologies to Full Metal Jacket for that last remark)

Putting the U and N in Fun

2006-09-22T04:43:00.002-06:00

Most of you have probably seen stories of the recent U.N. gathering where Bush gave his megalomaniacal speech, which was followed up with the incendiary speech given by Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. I´ll let you read both and decide which side of the fence you fall on.

Bush speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060919-4.html

Chavez speech: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/9/20/123752.shtml

For me, the entertainment value of this is priceless. First you have Bush keeping a straight face while lying through his teeth and acting like he is President of the World. Then, you have Chavez referring to Bush as ¨The Devil,¨ crossing himself and looking towards the heavens with prayerful hands. Too funny. To top it all off, you have Rep. Charles Rangel getting steamed about Chavez´speech. Here´s what he had to say...

"You do not come into my country, my congressional district, and you do not condemn my president. If there is any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans, whether they voted for him or not. I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chávez or any other president, do not come to the United States and think because we have problems with our president that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our Chief of State."

I´m going to rewrite this using The Karate Kid as my muse...

Rangel: You don´t come into my dojo, drop a challenge and then leave, old man.

Chavez: Too much advantage. Your dojo.

I think all this nonsense at the U.N. is sparking an idea for a haiku challenge! Stay tuned!

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

2006-09-14T07:08:00.000-06:00

In a previous post, I extolled the virtues of Mac technology and how it had "paid for itself" already. Well, it's a good thing it's paid for itself, because it all got stolen last Friday night.

An American gal from Dartmouth moved into our apartment last Thursday, so Matt and I took her to some local bars on Friday night. While we were out, someone got into our apartment and stole our electronics. I lost my Mac laptop, iPod and digital camera. Matt lost his Mac laptop and laptop bag. The American gal lost her Mac laptop, iPod, digital camera and $2500.00 in traveller's checks. At least the thief had good taste. Of course, the owner of the apartment didn't have insurance to cover it, so we're screwed.

If you're wondering how the thief got in, we are too. There was no forced entry. You need a key to get into the street level door of our apartment building and a key to get into the apartment. Our individual rooms have keys, but of course, we didn't lock them that night. Anyways, the thief either had a key or picked the lock.

On Tuesday, I sucked it up and bought a new Mac laptop. That alone hurts, but I now have to reload the 2300 songs that were on my iTunes and the hundreds of pictures that were in iPhoto. I have an external harddrive back in the states that has my music and photos on it, but any photos I acquired since coming to Spain are lost. Since I haven't replaced my digital camera, yet, it will be awhile before there is another post on the travel blog.

So, if you hear of an "international incident" - one of the Jason Bourne variety - then that means we found the guys that stole our stuff.

Fear the Cats!!

2006-09-02T05:42:00.000-06:00

On September 15th of last year, I had a blog post where I predicted that the Bengals would go 11-5 and win the AFC North. Well what do you know? They went 11-5 and won the AFC North. The only thing that stopped a crushing run thru the playoffs was Carson Palmer's ACL injury early in the wildcard game against the Steelers. After 7 1/2 months of rehab, it appears that Palmer is back and better than ever. Bad news for the rest of the NFL. With the exception of Tom Brady, I consider Palmer the best QB in the NFL. Yes, better than Peyton Manning. Plus, Cincy's defense, which led the NFL in turnovers last year is much improved and as opportunistic as last year. As devastating as their offense is gonna be, their defense may be the surprise of the league. So, without further ado....my fearless prediction for the 2006 season...

The Cincinnati Bengals will go 12-4 and win the AFC North. That's right...you heard me.(say like David Puddy) They will roll thru the playoffs and be the AFC champions. Then, on February 4th, 2007, you will see Marvin Lewis hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after they crush the NFC champion. So it be written, so it be done.(say like Yul Brenner in The Ten Commandments)

Your Chance to Reconsider

2006-08-26T06:34:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to a lot of my music the last two months. I must say that Ass Ponys is moving into Pink Floyd territory for me in that I can listen to them anywhere, anytime, no matter what mood I'm in. If you want to listen to unique, fresh music that is a mix of indie-rock, roots-rock and folk, then give them a listen. I also consider Chuck Cleaver, the lead singer, to be one of the finest lyricists in the music world. Each song plays like a short story. I suggest starting with their last two CDs - Lohio and Some Stupid With a Flaregun. I've suggested them to friends and family in the past, but to no avail. Brother Beamis can testify, though. Brother Beamis, can I get an amen?

I own 5 Ass Ponys CDs and recently put together a playlist of my favorite songs. I had to stop at 25 songs. I easily could have extended it to 30. It's been a while since their last CD and there have been rumors the last couple years that the boys from Cincinnati were working on a new one. If true, it can't come a day too soon.

Horrible

2006-08-07T04:37:00.000-06:00

Spaniards are horrible dancers. I've been to two dance clubs in Spain; one in Granada and one in Barcelona. Seriously, these guys make me look like a freakin' Solid Gold dancer. Their dancing consists of a lot of head bobbing and shifting of weight. Compared to them, I'm Marv Gomez, the Leatherman.(Guess the movie everyone.) The kid on Peanuts can outdance these no-talent ass-clowns. You know the Peanuts kid - the one whose dancing consisted of tilt to the left, shrug the shoulders, tilt to the right, shrug the shoulders.

I could take my boy, Skeeter, have him bust out his Ohio State days dance moves and it would only be a matter of time before a circle of onlookers would form around him cheering him on.

Bravo!!

2006-07-27T06:52:00.000-06:00

"War is the health of the State."

- Randolph Bourne

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1774

Thoughts on Moving and Living Abroad

2006-07-21T02:19:00.000-06:00

AA BS
We flew out of National Airport in D.C. using American Airlines. Since the length of our stay in Spain was up in the air, we bought one-way tickets. We were checking in and everything was going fine until the following conversation(paraphrased) took place:

AA ticket lady: What is your scheduled date of return?

Devastatin': We're not sure how long we're staying, but it'll be at least a year.

AA ticket lady: Anyone travelling on a US passport and buying a one-way ticket has to declare a return date.

(Devastatin' to himself: WTF?! If I had a fucking scheduled return date, I would have bought a round-trip ticket. Jackass!!)

Devastatin': We're attending a language school and then we're going to teach, so we're not sure of the length of our stay.

AA ticket lady: You're gonna need some proof of employment or acceptance in a school.

Luckily, I had a copy of an e-mail from the Director of Via Lingua accepting us into the school. That brought the AA dogs to heal.

My first thought after this encounter - FUCK YOU!!
My second thought after this encounter - Can I go, please?! Please, please, please Mr. Chertoff, can I go, please?!
My third thought after this encounter - FUCK YOU AGAIN!!!

Food
The Spaniards love cured ham and cheese. Not a big fan of cured ham myself, I'll take the cooked stuff, thank you. I love the cafe con leche. Plenty of fresh fruit to be had, also. My days have consisted of a lot of apples, plums and bananas. With the Arab influence in southern Spain, there are plenty of places to buy schwarmas; schwarmas are similar to gyros. It's a thin pocket pita with your choice of chicken, lamb or beef. You can then add lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, yogurt sauce, etc. Very filling. With all the walking I've been doing and the better choices in food,(hardly any junk food or pre-packaged food) I've probably dropped 10lbs in the last two+ weeks. 20 more and I'll be a happy boy. One other thing - I've become a believer in the ill effects of high fructose corn syrup. Everything over here is sweetened with sugar instead. The last few months in the States, everything I was eating was causing either a sour belly or heartburn. I have had no such problems since landing on Spanish shores. Since HFCS is used in countless products in the States, I'm blaming it for now.

Language
The only unease I feel right now is from the fact that I don't know Spanish very well. We're moving to Barcelona at the end of this course(we're in Granada, for those that don't know) and I'm going to sign up for a semi-intensive Spanish course when I get there. Gotta know the language. For those of you who may want to move abroad at some time in your life - learn as much of the language as possible!

Women
(Ladies, you can skip to the next paragraph. Or maybe not...)
The Spanish women have no qualms about showing off the goods. Short skirts, tight shorts, low-cut blouses, cleavage-bearing t-shirts. There are some very good looking women in Granada. Women from southern Spain tend to have dark hair and a more olive-skinned complexion. We also spent a couple days in San Sebastian, which is in Basque Country, and the Basque women are very beautiful. They tend to have dark hair, but are more fair-skinned. Maybe, one of these days, I'll actually be able to talk to one of them.

Mac Technology
My new Mac laptop and my somewhat new iPod have already paid for themselves. Our Via Lingua class has nine students, but there are only three computers in the resource room. It can be hard to get on one to check e-mail or work on a lesson plan. Not for me. The school has a wireless router which I use to seamlessly connect to the internet. I write my assignments on my laptop, e-mail them to myself and then use the school computers to print them off. Seamless. One project we have is to conduct two one-hour, private lessons with a student that is learning English. The first lesson had to be recorded. No problem, plug the microphone attchment into my iPod, record the lesson and download it on to my computer, if needed. Seamless

Wood

2006-06-24T15:10:00.000-06:00

I finished up my woodworking projects just in time to gift them to my parents before I leave for Spain. In bringing both projects from Denver to Ohio, I felt the wrath of the bane of woodworkers - humidity. The drawer on the end table sticks and the lid on the blanket chest bowed slightly. Oh well.

Project 1 - Shaker-style end table

Made of poplar using mortise & tenon and dovetail joinery. It is stained with a medium-walnut, Dutch oil. The Shaker style is characterized by straight, simple lines and tapered legs.

Front view

Side view with drawer open

Project 2 - Blanket chest

Made of maple with an aromatic cedar bottom using mortise & tenon joinery. A piano hinge and two toy box hinges were used to attach the lid to the base. Leather strap handles were attached to each end. This, too, is stained with a medium-walnut, Dutch oil and a poly-eurathane coating.

Side view

Side view with lid open

Overhead, interior view of cedar bottom

Convergence

2006-05-26T11:33:00.000-06:00

Rarely do the planets align as they did on May 19th when the 2nd annual Bumpass family reunion coincided with the 2nd installment of the Denver Roller Dolls roller derby. And, to top it all off, the Denver Coliseum was serving up 24 oz. tall-boy PBRs. You can't make this stuff up.

The evening started with a pit stop at Pints Pub. It's an English-style pub that serves over 260 types of single-malt Scotch. Then, it was on to the Denver Coliseum for two bouts of rip-roarin' roller derby.

Pints Pub

Roller Derby

Bumpass kinfolk in attendance:

Stumpy
Pervis
Clevis
Versey
Virgil
Scoopy
Merle
Nita

PBR Tall-boy

Special non-Bumpass appearance:

Jim

Newly inducted Bumpass:

Joy and Pain of the Denver Roller Dolls was inducted into the Bumpass clan as Lurlene Bumpass. She may be too perty for a Bumpass womanfolk.

Lurlene Bumpass

l. to r. Clevis, Stumpy, Scoopy, Merle

Insomnia?

2006-05-15T09:20:00.000-06:00

Here's your cure...

http://mattyagainsttheman.blogspot.com/

On The Immigration Debate

2006-05-08T08:50:00.000-06:00

I've put off commenting on this issue, because, quite frankly, it has bored me. There have been rallies in major cities lately concerning the plight of Mexican immigrants in the United States. First of all, if I was in another country working illegally I wouldn't broadcast that fact by attending rallies and protests. Therefore, I'm skepitcal of the make-up of the protesters and what they seek to gain from it.

Some protesters and activists are calling for amnesty for those immigrants that are in the US illegally. Others feel that deportation of illegals is the only correct solution. Still others want a fence or wall constructed along the US-Mexican border. Jake Johannson, the comedian, summed up his solution in 4 words - "Burning river of gas."

Some complain that employers that hire illegal immigrants should be cracked down on. Others protest that the country would collapse without immigrant workers. Some say that illegal immigrants are taxing on "the system." Others remind us that most American citizens are ancestors of immigrants, legal or otherwise. Let's go to the great French economist Frederic Bastiat for some help on this issue...

"When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will."

Labor is a good like anything else. An employee exchanges his labor for wages. I have no problem if an employer wants to hire any employee, regardless of citizenship status. That is a contract between the two parties. All those willing to work should be able to work.

"The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else."

This is the crux of the problem. When people say that illegal immigrants are "taxing the system," they are referring to the fact that illegal immigrants are provided health care, public schooling, etc. at tax-payer expense, while not paying taxes themselves. While this is true, the problem is with taxes and the funding of so-called public goods itself. Eliminate the state and it's method of funding itself(i.e. taxation) and these problems disappear. Likewise, stringent labor laws, usually enacted on behalf of labor union interests, make criminals of employers who hire illegal immigrants(i.e. those willing to work at the market wage).

Thus, in a state-less, free society where all property is privately owned, the "immigration problem" is no problem at all. A private employer offers a job which is accepted by a person from another country. That person travels to their new job via a private mode of transportaion.(plane, bus, etc.) A private landowner offers housing to the new employee. The new employee is then expected to provide for the needs of himself and his family which include food, health care, schooling, transportation, etc.

You Ol' Heathen!

2006-04-17T09:14:00.000-06:00

I was sitting around yesterday wondering how an erstwhile Catholic and current heathen should celebrate Easter. My original plan was to watch The Life of Brian and then read from the Gospel of Judas. But, alas, that didn't happen. So, I decided to do a musical montage in honor of Holy Week. And here 'tis...

Hurt - Johnny Cash
This is a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song and has a "crown of thorns" reference, not to mention the ironic name of the band. It may be one of the best covers ever done. A homage to Good Friday.

Dust in the Wind - Kansas
"Remember man that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shall return." A homage to Ash Wednesday. (Yes, I'm aware that Ash Wednesday isn't part of Holy Week, but it kicks off the Lenten season, so piss off.)

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
This is a cover of a Leonard Cohen song. Great tune. A homage to Easter Sunday.

Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
Enough said. A homage to 12 years of Catholic school.

Passion(entire album) - Peter Gabriel
This is the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ.

Praise Jebus!

Sad Decline

2006-03-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I once held out hope that a secession movement in America would be lead by "the once and future Republic of Texas," but no more. What a sad state of affairs this is. The state of Texas is actually arresting people in bars for being drunk. They have the nerve to use the state's public intox law as a basis for their arrests.

http://tinyurl.com/e55rh

Some excerpts...(my comments in bold)

The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication, said the commission's Carolyn Beck.

Bars are privately owned and, thus, it strains credulity that they're using public intox laws. Are they gonna start arresting people for public intox at backyard BBQs and frat houses, too?

Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness, Beck said.

I don't think this statement would hold up well to a court challenge.

The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.

What if the drunk in question has a designated driver or is catching a cab?

"There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they're intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car," Beck said. "People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss."

Ms. Beck, at least they have the excuse of being intoxicated. What's your excuse? You're supposedly sober. In a just world, here's what should happen:

Alcohol nannies: Sir, we have reason to believe that you are intoxicated

Bar patron: No shit, Sherlock, it's called being in a bar

Alcohol nannies: Sir, we're placing you and your buddies under arrest for public intox.

Bar patron: You and your flunkies have two choices - either sit down and drink with us or commence to getting your sorry asses whupped by some Texans.

V For Vendetta

2006-03-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

V for Vendetta is the next movie I plan on seeing in the theaters. Here is a summary of the plot for http://www.imdb.com/:

Plot Outline: A shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V" uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. Upon rescuing a girl from the secret police, he also finds his best chance at having an ally.

Already, there are those in the press that are apoplectic over this movie. "How dare they pose a terrorist as a hero!" "He's blowing up buildings in London!" "Hurumpf, hurumpf, hurumpf!"

From a Richard Roeper article: (http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep141.html)

"In "V," Big Brother has taken over Britain. The fascist leader of the country (played by John Hurt) is a Hitlerian tyrant who spews invective on giant monitors placed everywhere. Free speech, homosexuality and artistic expression have been outlawed; citizens must abide by a curfew; and the streets are controlled by secret police. The government has conducted gruesome medical experiments on innocent citizens, with tragic and horrific results."

and

"The villains in V are many. There's the Hitler-like dictator. His ruthless henchmen. A pedophile bishop. A hate-filled commentator who worked in a torture camp."

So, with this much being known and the fact that V, himself, was the victim of a gruesome medical experiment gone wrong, I can only ask one question - "Can ya blame him?"

This is the state of the world that we live in - only governments and their armies are allowed to blow things up and kill people. All others are terrorists. To quote The Borg, "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

Thanks From DD

2006-03-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of The Chronicles of Devastatin' Dave. I'd like to thank all of you who have contributed to lively discussions and kick-ass haikus.

Haiku Challenge

2006-02-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

A guest haiku challenge from T-Bone:

As I can usually only understand about a 1/3 of what DD is trying to say in his posts and even then I get bored and make jack ass remarks, I have decided to go straight to the jack assed-ness in this guest post.

I am throwing down HAIKU CHALLENGE!

70’s and 80's Television shall be your muse and I shall kick it off with this:

Dy No Mite! Think Not!
Ghetto Life For Poor JJ
But Thelma Was Hot!

Good luck my friends….

(Editor's Note: Remember the 5-7-5 syllable format)

Learn From Somalia? Sure, Why Not?

2006-02-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.mises.org/story/2066

Some excerpts...

As even the CIA factbook admits:
"Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security."

As for Somalia being lawless, Van Notten, a Dutch lawyer who married into the Samaron Clan and lived the last dozen years of his life with them, specifically challenges that portrayal. He explains that Somalia is a country based on customary law. The traditional Somali system of law and politics, he contends, is capable of maintaining a peaceful society and guiding the Somalis to prosperity. Moreover, efforts to re-establish a central government or impose democracy on the people are incompatible with the customary law.

Customary laws develop in a country like Somalia in the absence of a central legislating body. Rules "emerge spontaneously as people go about their daily business and try to solve the problems that occasionally arise in it without upsetting the patterns of cooperation on which they so heavily depend" (Van Notten, 15: 2005). Van Notten contends that the Somali customary law closely follows the natural law and therefore should be preserved.

Questions arise as to rampageous warlords when discussing a country without a central government. Van Notten explains that warlords exist because of the efforts to form a central government, not because of its absence:
"A democratic government has every power to exert dominion over people. To fend off the possibility of being dominated, each clan tries to capture the power of that government before it can become a threat. Those clans that didn't share in the spoils of political power would realize their chances of becoming part of the ruling alliance were nil. Therefore, they would rebel and try to secede. That would prompt the ruling clans to use every means to suppress these centrifugal forces… in the end all clans would fight with one another." (van Notten, 136; 2005)

My New Favorite Sport

2006-02-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

I watched women's curling yesterday. The US team has two hottys - the Johnson sisters. From what I understand, the Russian team has some lookers, too. I then found out there is a women's curling calendar that just came out...

Polish Curler

Unknown Curler

Appropriate

2006-02-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Since its completion, I can't help but notice that the Clinton Presidential Library looks like a giant trailer up on blocks. Coincidence? I think not. Looks like someone else agrees with me...

Action

2006-02-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Guest blog from T-Bone:

DD has invited me to speak to the BLOG world on a topic he and I have been debating recently. My stance is simple:

YOU CAN’T HAVE AN ACTION MOVIE WITHOUT GUNFIRE!

Plain and simple. I challenge the BLOG world to prove me wrong. DD tries to say that Enter The Dragon disproves my claim. No. Reason being is that Enter The Dragon is a ‘Karate Movie’. That is not the same as an action movie…yes there is Kung Fu action taking place within the movie but it is not classified as an ACTION MOVIE.

DD is also trying to say those movies his Mom made in the 70’s would qualify as ‘Action Movies’….just because she was getting some ‘action’ from the Harlem Fire House doesn’t mean it was an ACTION MOVIE!

So, BLOG world, see if you can do it. See if you can name an ACTION MOVIE without gunfire.

(and why the random CAPS? Why not. BRONCS!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Don’t edit me DD…the world will know.

Are You Fucking Kidding Me?

2006-02-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

From the Jerusalem Post...

Israel's Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said on Tuesday morning that Iran is the biggest problem facing the world since World War II.
He said the UN Security Council must force Iran to accept real supervision that would prevent the further development of its nuclear program.
If they continue with their plans, Ayalon warned, Iran may have the know-how needed for the production of nuclear weapons by the end of the year.
Ayalon, in an interview to Reuters, stated that he believed Iran's nuclear program would be blocked by diplomatic, not military means.

Now, c'mon. Is there anyone with any shame left in this world? When was the last time Iran attacked anyone? Why is it OK for Israel to have a nuclear arsenal, but no one else in the Mideast can? Why, all of a sudden, is Israel afraid of Iran when Israel has the backing of the US military? It's just shameless fomenting of war. Its time to kick Israel to the curb and let them fend for themselves. Maybe they will learn to behave if they don't have the big bully standing behind them.

Why No Love For Chris?

2006-01-26T12:11:00.001-07:00

Chris Penn, the actor, died Tuesday night in his home at age 40. Even though I'm frequently on the web, I didn't hear of this until Sinister Steve clued me in last night. In my opinion, he was a much better actor than his more famous brother, Sean. He didn't have the matinee-idol, leading man looks, but he usually stole any scene he was in. I still love his performance in Reservoir Dogs.

Real Money

2006-01-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Most of the nefarious machinations of central governments would be avoided if there was a return to real money, such as gold and silver. The following article is an example...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11654.htm

From Ludwig von Mises:

"The gold standard has one tremendous virtue: the quantity of the money supply, under the gold standard, is independent of the policies of governments and political parties. This is its advantage. It is a form of protection against spendthrift governments."

"The gold standard alone makes the determination of money's purchasing power independent of the ambitions and machinations of governments, of dictators, of political parties, and of pressure groups."

"All those intent upon sabotaging the evolution toward welfare, peace, freedom, and democracy loathed the gold standard, and not only on account of its economic significance."

"The gold standard did not collapse. Governments abolished it in order to pave the way for inflation. The whole grim apparatus of oppression and coercion, policemen, customs guards, penal courts, prisons, in some countries even executioners, had to be put into action in order to destroy the gold standard."

"The classical or orthodox gold standard alone is a truly effective check on the power of the government to inflate the currency. Without such a check all other constitutional safeguards can be rendered vain."

Two Jakes

2006-01-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

If your first name was Jake, you had a rough time in yesterday's Conference Championship games.

Jake Plummer - in the interest of full disclosure, I just want to say that I hate this guy and think he is a mediocre QB, at best.

vs. the Steelers in a 34-17 loss...

2 fumbles
2 interceptions
66.4 QB rating

Jake Delhomme -

vs. the Seahawks in a 34-14 loss...

3 interceptions
34.9 QB rating

From the Master

2006-01-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

"If governments budget their revenues and expenditures, so must criminals; where a government levies taxes, criminals extract their own brand of coerced levies; where a government issues fraudulent or fiat money, criminals may counterfeit. It should be understood that, praxeologically, there is no difference between the nature and effects of taxation and inflation on the one hand, and of robberies and counterfeiting on the other. Both intervene coercively in the market, to benefit one set of people at the expense of another set. But the government imposes its jurisdiction over a wide area and usually operates unmolested. Criminals, on the contrary, usually impose their jurisdiction on a narrow area only and generally eke out a precarious existence. Even this distinction does not always hold true, however. In many parts of many countries, bandit groups win the passive consent of the majority in a particular area and establish what amounts to effective governments, or States, within the area. The difference between a government and a criminal band, then, is a matter of degree rather than kind, and the two often shade into each other." (Murray Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State)

Movie Review

2006-01-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

Guest Movie Review of “Hostel,” by matt_in_carajo

Thinking about visiting Europe? Prague? London? Rome? Amsterdam? Not interested? Ahh, so you’re one of those travelers – not touring for Picasso or the Alambra Palace, but for exotic ass. How about a small paradise in Slovakia then? Where, if you’re an American, the bitches are as easy as they are gorgeous. What happens when you get to Brataslava, Slovakia, and you find out that it’s not a myth? That you’re abounded with prototypes from Perfect 10 Magazine, with unpronounceable surnames, and a sexual hunger for tourists.

Watch Hostel, and I’ll tell you what you’d do. You’d pack your bags and go back to smoking dope in Amsterdam, or you’d say, “Maybe Paris was kind of nice.” To get rid of your fire inside, maybe you’d jerk off, because you’re grateful that you still have your hands – or your teeny weenie for that matter. As Nightmare on Elm Street showed us - “Every town has an Elm Street.” Hostel’s tag line might be “Every European town has a hostel, where you might get properly fucked, but most likely you’ll get Fucked, capital F, with a big hole made somewhere it’s not supposed to be."

Hostel lures us in with the charm of Europe, then it does that thing about half-way through – you know, that thing that makes you sit incorrectly, where the taint of your ass refuses to touch the seat. That’s the feeling I got.

Prescience

2006-01-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

On September 15th, I predicted that Cincinnati would go 11-5 and win the AFC North. Check.

On January 4th,(before the game) I predicted that Texas would beat USC for the National Championship. Check.

On January 5th, I'm predicting that something is amiss in the recent health problems of Ariel Sharon. Sharon recently left the Israeli Likkud Party. Since then, he has been hospitalized for a minor stroke and now a massive stroke. Don't know who or how, but I suspect something nefarious is going on. Just a hunch. You heard it here first.

Truce

2005-12-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

How many of you have heard of the Christmas Truce of World War I? I think I first heard of it a year or two ago. It's one of the most remarkable stories you'll ever hear and one you won't learn of in school. Enjoy and Happy Holidays.

http://www.mises.org/story/1978

Pants On Fire

2005-12-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

On my post below, entitled "Duplicity," an anonymous person took exception to my criticism of GW and posted the following comment:

"where is the proof he lied. where are the disenfranchised of the florida 2000 election, where are the ohio voters left out in the cold. all your accusations make a mediocre blog,, but do not prove a thing. where is the proof you nancy pelosi rump swab?"

OK, then...

In 2000, when GW was running for President, he had a debate with Al Gore. On a question about foreign policy, GW said that his foreign policy would not include "nation building." He is now nation building in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's only fair, since he destroyed them first. Lie.

In his 2003 State of the Union address, he claimed that Iraq was a threat because they had weapons of mass destruction. Both Hans Blix and Scott Ritter of the UN inspection team in Iraq told the world - on more than one occasion - that no weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq. This was borne out when, to this day, none have been found. Lie.

GW claimed that Iraq had drones capable of attacking the Eastern seaboard of the US and dispersing chemical and biological agents.(I'm trying not to giggle) C'mon! Lie. By design, drones are small and have limited range, which means they would need to be launched off the US coast. Was the vaunted Iraqi navy going to sail undetected thru the Persian Gulf, around the cape of South Africa and up the Atlantic to launch these drones of death?(that didn't even exist.)

GW claimed that Iraq and al-Queda had collaborated on 9/11 and other terrorist endeavors. Lie. It was well known in the intelligence community that bin Laden, a dogmatic Muslim, was at odds with Saddam because of his secular bent.

Another Festivus Miracle!

2005-12-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

The Festivus pole is up!!

From Wikipedia:

Festivus is a nondenominational holiday featured in an episode of Seinfeld, a popular American television sitcom of the 1990s. The holiday was a plot device in episode number 166 of the show, entitled "The Strike," which first aired on December 18, 1997. Many people, influenced or inspired by Seinfeld, now celebrate the holiday, in varying degrees of seriousness.

According to Seinfeld, Festivus is celebrated each year on December 23, but many people celebrate it other times, often in early December. Its slogan is "A Festivus for the rest of us!" An aluminum pole is generally used in lieu of a Christmas tree or other holiday decoration. Those attending participate in the "Airing of Grievances" which is an opportunity for all to vent their hostilities toward each other, and after a Festivus dinner, The Feats of Strength are performed. Traditionally, Festivus is not over until the head of the household is wrestled to the floor and "pinned."

Duplicity

2005-12-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

du·plic·i·ty

a. Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.
b. An instance of deliberate deceptiveness; double-dealing.

El Presidente gave a speech to a foreign policy forum the other night. I'll relay some of his quotes along with my comments...

"It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq," the president told a foreign policy forum on the eve of elections to establish Iraq's first permanent, democratically elected government. "And I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities. And we're doing just that."

So, you're supposedly fixing the intelligence capabilities due to the intelligence failures, but you're doing nothing about the result of those intelligence failures, which was to prosecute a war? If you take action based on faulty information, shouldn't you reconsider your actions, i.e. pull out of Iraq? Just a thought.

"We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of brutal dictator," Bush said. "It is to leave a free and democratic Iraq in his place.

What a crock of shit. The original reasons for going to war in Iraq -that were spoonfed to the American public - were that Saddam had WMD(none found) and that there was a connection between Iraq, al-Queda and 9/11.(preposterous) So, if your intent for invading Iraq was different than the false ones laid out to the public, then you were either being duplicitous now or you were being duplicitous then. The truth is, you and your boys want a hegemonic hold on the Mideast.

"My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision. Saddam was a threat and the American people and the world is better off because he is no longer in power," the president told the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Substitute "Saddam Hussein" with "George Bush." I like the ring of that.

I'll leave you with some quotes from H.L. Mencken:

- As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

- Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.

- Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

-The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

Alternative Titles For an Alternative Lifestyle

2005-12-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

This post is on the recommendation of JS:

A new movie comes out soon called Brokeback Mountain. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal play two ranchhands who form a special bond. They both go on to marry women and have children, but their love for one another is unrequited. With that being said, here are some alternative titles for the movie:

Pokeback Mountain
Strokeback Mountain
Bareback Mountain
Backdoor Mountain
Barebuck Mountain

My Mecca

2005-12-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

I went to Seattle over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit friends. While there, I was able to make pilgrimages to two gravesites of men I admire.

Bruce Lee

I visited his grave on Saturday, the day before the anniversary of his 65th birthday. Here is a man who made contributions to martial arts, philosophy, fitness and movie making. The more I learn about him, the more I consider him one of the greatest men of the 20th century. He bucked hundreds of years of Chinese tradition when he developed his own martial art, Jeet Kune Do, and by teaching it to non-Chinese. Sadly, he is buried next to his son, Brandon, who also died tragically young.

Jimi Hendrix

I visited his grave on Friday in the Seattle suburb of Renton. He was The Master of the Stratocaster. He went from being a studio/backup musician to a breakout performance at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival to guitar legend. His silky-smooth voice only added to his music.

Both men died young, yet lived more than most people. R.I.P.

Photos courtesy of TT

Pure Americana

2005-11-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to The Bladium to watch the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls season finale. What a hoot! It was a round-robin event of flat track roller derby featuring the Sugar Kill Gang, the Red Ridin' Hoods and the Varsity Bruise. The Sugar Kill Gang came out on top as the champions of the 2005 season. They pretty much dominated thanks to their killer jammer corp of Rikki Rocket, Penny Payne and Joy and Pain. We were even treated to a couple rolling-on-the-track girl fights. More fun could not be found in the entire city, I'm hear to tell ya. The crowd was a diverse mix of average Joes, goths and punkers, young and old. And from what I could tell, there was a good contingent of lesbians in the crowd.

Sugar Kill Gang vs. Red Ridin' Hoods

Sugar Kill Gang warming up

You've been warned!

Referees

In case you're interested...www.rmrollergirls.com

On the Nature of Rights

2005-10-29T15:56:00.000-06:00

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.

- Declaration of Independence

This is a continuation of a discussion on another blog. I was taking the Natural rights position and my cohort was taking the position that rights are granted to us by society. Below is the comment I posted(with some additions and subtractions) on the other blog in response to my cohort's position. Have at it!

I believe that man has certain rights by virtue of his existence. However, my laundry list of rights is not as extensive as some would think. Basically, I beleive man has rights to life, liberty and justly acquired property. Anything else is a corollary of those. "Society," as an entity, doesn't exist. It is an abstraction. Only individuals exist. I have the right to live by virtue of the fact that I own myself. The corollary of that is that I have the right to defend my life. So, when you say society grants rights; you are saying that you, Sinister, MM, Skeeter, et al, grant me the right to live. If someone can grant something, it implies that they can rescind it, also. If that is the case; then you, Sinister, MM, Skeeter, et al, can rescind my right to live. The slippriest slope if ever there was one. I'm basically living by the permission of others.

Rights, properly understood, do not confer obligations on others. The exercise of my rights does not detract from your rights. For instance, I have the freedom of speech, but no one is obligated to give me a platform. I have the right to life, but no one is obligated to feed, clothe and house me. I have the right to justly acquired property, but no one is obligated to pay for it or maintain it.

This is not a libertine position, nor is it an "anything goes" position. Obviously, my actions cannot be such that they infringe on the rights of others.

On Voting

2005-10-26T14:05:00.000-06:00

Nothing raises the hackles of sheeple more than when you don't vote. The wailing and gnashing of teeth is legion among this group. Their cries of servitude resound through the mountains and valleys of the countryside. My only response is, "Pipe down!" Here are the main protestations they present:

"If you don't vote, then you can't complain."

As long as my money is being taken from me to support your games, I can complain all I want. California doesn't exact taxes from me and I don't complain about their politics. See how that works? Say your neighborhood has a common outdoor area. Some of the homeowners feel the area needs to be equipped with picnic tables and lawn chairs. So, they decide to put it to a vote. By majority vote, it is determined that each home must contribute a picnic table and lawn chair to the common area. For those that voted against the measure or didn't vote at all, a picnic table and lawn chair is forceably removed from their property. Can anyone truthfully tell me that this is just? Can anyone truthfully tell me that this is nothing but theft?

"You have to vote to affect change."

What kind of change? Americans have been voting since colonial days. Can anyone truly tell me that we are better off as a result of the last 200+ years of voting? If the goal is a more oppressive, debt-laden, uncivilized society, then yes, you have been effective with your vote. Keep pulling that lever, Sparky, your man will make things right. Like P.J. O'Rourke said, "Giving power and money to politcians is like giving a bottle of whiskey and the car keys to a 16 year old."

I don't vote because I don't believe that the majority should rule me.

I don't vote because politicians are not fit to rule me.

I don't vote because I don't believe that force and coercion are a proper way to affect change. Force and coercion, in general, are not a proper way by which man should live.

I don't vote, so stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

(This was originally going to be a response to a post by MM, but I got too fired up.)

The Romance of the Lighthouse

2005-10-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

I recently returned from a trip to Boston. While there, I made a day trip with friends up to the southern Maine seacoast. After a lunch of fish and chips at a seaside diner, we came across this lighthouse near York Harbor, Maine.

All the conditions were right for visiting a lighthouse - misty rain, gray skies, ocean breeze and crashing surf. It immediately transports you back to days of yore when seafarers depended on these beacons to keep their ships off the rocks. You can almost hear the sad, dulcet tones of the foghorn and see the rotating luminescence which pierced the darkness of the treacherous coastline.

Celebrating a Great Man

2005-09-29T09:17:00.000-06:00

Today is the 124th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig von Mises. He is, arguably, the greatest economist of the 20th century. For decades, he was the lonely standard bearer for the Austrian School of economics, which has seen a revival the last few decades thanks to Mises' great student, Murray Rothbard, and Lew Rockwell.

For those of you who still think of economics as the "dismal science," that is because you have been reading dismal economists. I highly suggest the following books by Mises - Human Action, Theory of Money and Credit and Socialism. Also, pay a visit to www.mises.org.

I'll leave you with some quotes from the master:

"Though a tyrant may temporarily rule through a minority if this minority is armed and the majority is not, in the long run a minority cannot keep the majority in subservience. The oppressed will rise in rebellion and cast off the yoke of tyranny." - Human Action

"No physical violence and compulsion can possibly force a man against his will to remain in the status of the ward of a hegemonic order. What violence or the threat of violence brings about is a state of affairs in which subjection as a rule is considered more desirable than rebellion. Faced with the choice between the consequences of obedience and of disobedience, the ward prefers the former and thus integrates himself into the hegemonic bond. Every new command places this choice before him again. In yielding again and again he himself contributes his share to the continuous existence of the hegemonic societal body." - Human Action

"The citizen must not be so narrowly circumscribed in his activities that, if he thinks differently from those in power, his only choice is either to perish or to destroy the machinery of state." - Liberalism

"The real significance of the Lenin revolution is to be seen in the fact that it was the bursting forth of the principle of unrestricted violence and oppression. It was the negation of all the political ideals that had for three thousand years guided the evolution of Western civilization." - Planned Chaos

"Laissez faire does not mean: let soulless mechanical forces operate. It means: let individuals choose how they want to cooperate in the social division of labor and let them determine what the entrepreneurs should produce." - Planning for Freedom

Happy birthday, Ludwig.

On Disaster Relief

2005-09-27T18:05:00.000-06:00

This weekend, I read a column by economist Walter Williams from George Mason University. He's one of my favorite writers. His topic was disaster relief in relation to the Constitution. Here is an excerpt from his column:

In February, 1887, President Grover Cleveland, upon vetoing a bill appropriating money to aid drought-striken farmers in Texas, said, "I find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and the duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit."

Cleveland added, " The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood."

Kudos, Grover. Well said. Cleveland was probably the last President that took his oath of office seriously. With the recent strikes of Katrina and Rita, we've been witness to too many people unable to take care of themselves and too many people waiting idly by for someone to take care of them. "...weakens the sturdiness of our national character," indeed. We also have the specter of politicians on all levels blaming each other for their own ineptitude. In the end, we'll all be pilfered by higher taxes and inflation to pay for the recovery. It's been proved time and again that higher tax rates push out charitable giving. So, when someone asks what you are doing to help in the relief effort, make sure to tell them that you are working two days of every work week to pay for it.

Deal With It

2005-09-15T21:08:00.000-06:00

The Bengals will go 11-5 and win the AFC North Division. Cleveland sucks, Baltimore is overrated-again- and Pittsburgh will fade from last year's 15-1 season. See ya in the playoffs.

My Call for Louisiana to Secede

2005-09-03T17:54:00.000-06:00

Why shouldn't they? What possible benefit is there for remaining tied to politicians in DC that have done nothing but fail them? Their great city of New Orleans has been laid to waste by the failures of the Feds.(See post below) Article I, Section 26 of the Louisiana Constitution states:

The people of this state have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free and sovereign state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, pertaining thereto, which is not, or may not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in congress assembled.

Free yourself from the shackles that bind you and once again become the great, sovereign State you were prior to your absorption into the Union. Become the Hong Kong of North America.

***UPDATE 9/4***

This excellent article was brought to my attention by Monkey. Even more reason for Louisiana to break away. I'm gonna make a prediction that if, and when, NO is rebuilt that DC will try to "nationalize" the city. e.g. take over the port, provide law enforcement, etc. It will become the Fallujah of America.

http://www.stratfor.com/news/archive/050903-geopolitics_katrina.php

A Rejoinder

2005-09-03T16:44:00.000-06:00

In my post entitled "Supply and Demand," Audie posted the following as part of a comment:

...aren't any of the anti-anarchy voices in this group gonna challenge pro-anarchy DD to address whether or not present-day New Orleans is what anarchy looks like (minus, perhaps, the high water)?

I've been waiting for days for that discussion here -- either for the challenge, or for DD's pre-emptive strike telling us how it is not so.

Even though the media-at-large are referring to the situation in New Orleans as anarchy, that doesn't make it so. Chaos, yes, but not anarchy. Again, I define anarchy as "absence of government." The specter of government has it's handprints all over the devastation.

First, a mandatory evacuation was issued prior to Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast. Now, some of those that evacutated would have done so anyway, but others probably were just obeying the directive. This let a lot of private property unprotected against looters. The police force, there to protect said property, has done nothing of the sort. In fact there are many reports of police and fire department employees engaging in looting. So, in that respect, the government police force has failed the citizenry. In an anarchic situation, property owners would not have been mandated to leave their property unprotected. Also, private protection agencies would have evolved to protect the property of owners that bought their services. The private protecton agencies would have had a huge financial incentive to execute their duties. There is no incentive for the government cops to maintain law and order.

Second, the flooding was caused by breaches in the levee system built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. Apparently, the levee system was only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane. Katrina was a category 4 as it hit land. In an anarchic system, a levee system built and maintained by a private entity would, once again, have huge financial incentives to have a levee that could withstand a category 5 hurricane. But, what private entity would build and maintain such a levee? How about an insurance company that insured property owners against flood damage? How about a consortium of business owners that know their livelihood is dependent on staying above water? You also have to consider the fact that under an anarchic system, the city of New Orleans may not even exist, with the risk of starting a city on the Mississippi Delta so great. Also, it is coming to light that funding for maintaining and/or upgrading the levee system was either cut by the Bush administration or diverted to Iraqi War efforts or the Orwellian Department of Homeland Security. Guess the security of the New Orleans Homeland doesn't count.

Third, citizens that didn't have the means to evacuate the city were instructed to take shelter at the Superdome. They were checked for knives and guns before entering, thus rendering law-abiding citizens defenseless. When conditions inside the Superdome began to deteriorate due to loss of electricity and sanitation, those wanting to leave were forced to remain at gunpoint. When you forceably cage humans are you surprised when they act like animals?

Fourth, state National Guard units have traditionally responded to natural disasters. However, National Guard units across the country have been stretched thin as troops and equipment have been sent to Iraq to fight Bush's War.

So, you have a city that depended on security and livelihood from the Army Corps of Engineers, a city police force, the state National Guard and FEMA. They have all failed miserably. The perverse thing is that all of these agencies will demand - and get - additional funding in spite of their failures. If private security firms had failed in this manner, they would quickly go out of business to be replaced by firms that have a track record of success.

Lawn Jockey

2005-09-01T20:55:00.000-06:00

A long-time friend of mine is appalled that her mother's yard is adorned with a lawn jockey. It's seen as a racial slur- or at least bad taste - to have one in one's yard. Going on the premise that 1.) most people are not racist and 2.) those that are racist wouldn't be so overt as to openly slur another race in this manner, I decided to find out the story of the lawn jockey. This is what I found...

Jocko or the Lawn Jockey is seen in the South and in the Appalachians of the United States.

Many have been destroyed because of the thinking that they are a racial slur to African-Americans. But is this true?

The River Road African American Museum in Louisiana tells us that lawn jockeys represent nothing of the sort, rather they show us a proud moment in U.S. history.

The story begins the icy night in December 1776 when General George Washington decided to cross the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on the British forces at Trenton.

Jocko Graves, a twelve-year-old African-American, sought to fight the Redcoats, but Washington deemed him too young and ordered him to look after the horses, asking Jocko to keep a lantern blazing along the Delaware so the company would know where to return after battle. Many hours later, Washington and his men returned to their horses who were tied up to Graves. He had frozen to death with the lantern still clenched in his fist. Washington was so moved by the young boy's devotion to the revolutionary cause he commissioned a statue of the "Faithful Groomsman" to stand in Graves's honor at the general's estate in Mount Vernon.

By the time of the Civil War, these "Jocko" statues could be found on plantations throughout the South: like the North Star that pointed fleeing slaves to their freedom, the Jocko statues pointed to the safe houses of the Underground Railroad. Along the Mississippi River, a green ribbon tied to a statue's arm — whether clandestinely or with the owner's knowledge — indicated safety; a red ribbon meant danger. Thus these original lawn jockey statues today fetch thousands of dollars as true artifacts of the Underground Railroad that conducted so many African-American slaves to freedom.

Similar cast-iron statues began appearing in the decades after Washington's crossing of the Delaware in jockey silks, whether for aesthetic reasons or confusion born of Graves's first name. The clothing worn by the lawn jockeys resembled the clothing worn by black riding jockeys, who have a glorious history. In 1875, the first 13 winners of the Kentucky Derby were black, the first being Jockey Oliver Lewis.
Lewis was the first to win three Derbies.

So contrary to some folk's thinking that these statues are a racial slur they are a memorial to Jocko, a beacon for Freedom and a tribute to some of the greatest Jockey's racing has ever known!

So, my long-time friend, rest easy. Things aren't always as they seem.

Supply and Demand

2005-09-01T08:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, gas prices are high and going higher. Yesterday, I paid $2.69 a gallon for regular unleaded. In the South, where they are feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the prices are much higher. This has lead to cries of "price gouging." The market pricing system is working as it should and, in spite of initial reactions, is providing a benefit. First, lets be clear on one thing - the selling price of a good is NOT determined by the cost of that good. Prices are determined by supply and demand. Consumers, by their buying or abstention from buying, determine the price of a good- basically, the price of a good is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay.

When demand increases and supply remains constant or decreases, then the price increases. It increases because you have more people(demand) bidding on the same or decreased amount of a good. (supply) Conversely, when demand drops and the supply remains the same or increases, then the price decreases. In the case of high gas prices, we have a situation where the supply is being decreased by a few factors. First, oil supply from Iraq has been hindered due to war. Also, oil platforms in the Gulf have been damaged from Hurricane Katrina. In addition, refineries on the Gulf Coast that convert oil to gasoline have been damaged due to Katrina, also. All these factors are straining supply and leading to an increase in prices.

Now, you may ask, "But Devastatin', how are these high prices a benefit?" Well, let me tell you. In the case of rising prices during a natural disaster, the high prices work as a mechanism to convserve a tenous supply. For instance, if water is being sold for $10/gallon, then people will think twice about how much they will buy to get them through the hard times. If it is mandated that water cannot be sold for more than $5.00/gallon, then people will buy more, hoard it, and the shelves will soon be empty. Price ceilings ALWAYS create shortages.

The conundrum of sellers is current Antitrust laws. If they sell their product above a price thought reasonable by authorities, then they are "price gouging." If they sell a product below a price thought reasonable by authorities, then they are "undercutting" or engaging in "predatory pricing." And if they are selling at the price thought reasonable by authorities, then they can be accused of "collusion." They can't win.

DD's Second Haiku Challenge

2005-08-30T09:19:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, I held my first ever haiku challenge. It was a rousing success and garnered me the most comments of any of my posts. Well, lets do it again. The topic for this challenge will be Seinfeld. I'll start things off...

Serenity now!
Frank has a much tortured soul
Serenity now!

Kramer lives next door
He is manic and whacky
Kozmo is his name

Inertia

2005-08-23T09:19:00.000-06:00

Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change: the inertia of an entrenched bureaucracy

What drives people to stay with groups and institutions even when that group or institution has proven to be immoral, illegal and/or duplicitous? I, for one, can't understand why people don't shed connections to those that are harmful to them, either physically, spiritually or emotionally. A few examples submitted for your approval:

Pat Robertson and The 700 Club: Pat recently went on record as saying the US should assassinate the President of Venezuela. Why? Apparently Pat considers Chavez a "terrific danger" to the US. Give me a fucking break, Pat; you're insane. Why do supposed Christians continue to support his ministry? Whatever happened to "Thou Shalt not Kill?"

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/22/D8C595H80.html

Rush Limbaugh - He holds himself up as a paragon of virtue. Yet, he's thrice divorced and abuses painkillers. He's a chickenhawk that advocates other peoples' kids should die in far-off lands. He has frequently referred to certain segments of the Left as "dope-smoking FM types." I guess that makes him a "pill-popping AM type." Why does his audience remain? Why do they tolerate his hypocracy? He's either a shill for the Republican Party or one of the Neo-Cons "useful idiots."

Democracy - Ah, the supposed Gold Standard of societal organization. It's nothing more than mob rule, 51% telling 49% what to do. Why do people continue to go to the polls when they are continuously lied to and deceived by politicians? And don't give me the "if you don't vote, you have no right to complain" horseshit. As long as someone is forcing me to contribute money to a corrupt system and forcing me to follow it's rules, I'll complain all I fucking want.

Orthodox Medicine and Nutrition - Why do people continue to give sanction to the current orthodox medical profession that has presided over the continuing physical and emotional degeneration of the populace? Why do people continue to follow the FDA Food Pyramid? There are a lot of unhealthy, overweight people in the country, yet they continue to follow government eating guidelines that are only good for fattening up livestock. They continue to shovel every psych med under the sun down their throats and then wonder why there are so many behavioral problems. When will people realize that modern medicine treats symptoms and not causes?

It's time for individuals to become that "outside force" that breaks the hold of inertia. It's time for individuals to find purpose within themselves. It's time for individuals to take control of their physical, emotional and spiritual lives. Free yourself from the bonds of the collective. We are not Borg, we are men.

As for myself, I'll continue to follow Groucho Marx' maxim that has served me well: I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member.

Oh, What Tangled...

2005-08-16T20:49:00.000-06:00

...web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

http://www.itv.com/news/index_1677571.html

and this...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4157892.stm

and this...

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050817/2005-08-17T105422Z_01_DIT739199_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-SECURITY-BRITAIN-DC.html

The Death of Nibbles

2005-08-15T16:16:00.000-06:00

Last week, my Mom informed me that their pet rabbit, Nibbles, had died. Nibbles was a cool little pet that was pretty low maintenance. He also provided some company for my Dad who is retired. The following is a eulogy for Nibbles submitted by Dirty Miguel:

Nibbles: A Eulogy

A word, at once! For a rabbit dear: For Nibbles is dead, dead ere his prime, and no equal remains. And when laid to rest (Quite solemnly, I believe, under the family pine), the sad shovel moaned, and old Pheobus veiled his face for grief, and flooded tears upon the grave. —Who would not sing for Nibbles? And, what answer? at the sad question posed by a maiden strewing posies, “Is Heaven a haven for bunnies too?”

“To morrow to fresh woods and pastures new.”

To the wood! To the field! With easy legs a-thump.

And run, run about the dandelioned plain,

And feast, feast on that favorite flower,

And rest, rest up-on the shady bower.

Lay your limbs and nap,

And dream of couching on father’s lap

(Gently tugging on a button and digging at his shirt).

Gently dream a rabbit’s dream:—

Miles of flowers and miles of dirt!

Adieu! fair friend, to the cageless meadow sent;

Farewell! to frolick the wooded tent.

And what answer now? to the sweet girl who with posies is strewing: “Does God have room for bunnies too?”

“To morrow to fresh woods and pastures new.”

Hidden Gem

2005-08-09T16:39:00.000-06:00

In Colorado Springs, there is a hidden, natural gem called Seven Falls. The owners of the area bill it as "The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado." It's hard to argue with them.

The area is a box canyon consisting of Pikes Peak Granite. The waterfall cascades down the cliff face in seven distinct stages, hence the name.

A metal stairway climbs the cliff face all the way to the top. On the way up, there are several viewing platforms to take in the immensity of it all and to see some of the small pools the exist between stages of the waterfall.

If you ever pop in for a visit, remind me to take you there.

Joe and Jebus

2005-08-05T09:43:00.000-06:00

This is a guest blog from TT in Seattle:

We bought our haus in March of aught-3. Later that spring, as I was rootin' around in the back yard with a rather crude scratching-device, simular to that of a gnarled antique half rake mechanism on a stick, I came upon a little plastic statue of St. Joseph holding baby Jesus.

I've treasured him ever since, giving him space to roam at the base of our grand cedar tree.

It was during Dave's visit 8 months later that the two became acquainted. How lovely.

I haven't given St. Joseph and baby Jesus much thought until today when I became determined to seek out his reason for being buried in my dirt. Or The Lord's dirt...depending on how one looks at the matter.

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stj01002.htm

Anarchy

2005-08-02T13:57:00.000-06:00

One of the better definitions I've ever come across:

“Anarchism (from the Greek an- and arche, contrary to authority), the name given to the principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government – harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being.”

~ Prince Peter A. Kropotkin (1842–1921)
Russian Revolutionary & Author

I can live with that.

The Haiku Challenge

2005-07-28T13:10:00.000-06:00

OK, everybody. It's time for the 1st ever Haiku Challenge. A Haiku is a 3 line Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables. The first and third lines have 5 syllables each and the second line has 7 syllables. The topic for the Haiku Challenge is: The Brady Bunch. I'll start out with a couple.

The boys with their 'fros
Damn, don't play ball in the house
A vase lies broken

and

Brady Bunch is whack
Alice is a closet lez
No sausage from Sam

Do your worst...

Last Meal

2005-07-24T07:59:00.000-06:00

Today's post is a guest blog by Sinister Steve

Not expecting to ever be in this situation, I’m not sure what I would I have for my last meal if I was ever sentenced to the death penalty. I’ll take a shot.

I would start with an appetizer of potato skins with cheese and bacon. I would then move on to an order and a half of New Reigel BBQ ribs with about 10 extra breads and extra sauce. The ribs come laid over a bed of french fries that soak up the grease that I can do with or without. Because I already had the potato skin I would have to nix the fries and go with a side of rice-a-roni and cottage cheese (personal favorite combo). I think I would then finish it off with a Reese’s Peanut butter cup sundae from Friendly’s while smoking about 20 cigarettes. To wash it down I think I would go with a few cool Cokes served in the 10 ounce glass bottles.

Here are the last meals of some prisoners put to death:

10. GARY GILMORE, UTAH, 1977--The alpha. The first person executed when the death penalty was reinstated. Hamburger, eggs, potatoes and contraband bourbon. Happy about winning his legal battle for immediate execution, Gilmore spent his last evening dancing with relatives and tossing back a few mini-bottles of smuggled bourbon.  

9. THOMAS GRASSO, OKLAHOMA, 1995--The signature meal in "Last Suppers". Mr. Grasso devoured a dozen steamed mussels, a Burger King double cheeseburger with mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato, a can of Franco-American spaghetti with meatballs, a mango, half of a pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and a strawberry milkshake. But, there was a problem. Mr. Grasso had been served spaghetti and meatballs, but had actually requested Spaghetti-O's. He did not take this slight lightly, his last words included this complaint, "I did not get my Spaghetti-O's. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this!"(I don’t blame this guy for being pissed. There is a big difference)

8. TED BUNDY, FLORIDA, 1989--The scourge of Chi-O's across America, Bundy didn't eat a special last meal. His dinner the night before was a burrito and Mexican rice.

7. EVERYONE LOVES CANDY! GERALD MITCHELL, TEXAS, 2001--one bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers & LEWIS GILBERT, OKLAHOMA, 2003--a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream, a box of assorted cones and a box of Whoppers.

6. TIMOTHY MCVEIGH, THE FEDS, 2001--2 pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Federal criminals are limited to a frugal $20 tab for their last meal requests. During the time leading up to his execution, the radical, self-serving, asinine, propagandizing, deluded animal rights group, PETA, spent time corresponding with McVeigh, imploring him to order a meatless last meal.

5. THE IDEALISTS--ROBERT MADDEN, TEXAS, 1997--He asked that his final meal be provided to a homeless person. His request was denied. & ODELL BARNES, JR., TEXAS, 2000--Justice, Equality, World Peace. His request was denied.

4. AILEEN WUORNOS, FLORIDA, 2002-- One from the softer side of death row. Wuornos didn't order a last meal and skipped the regular fare of barbecued chicken, mashed potatoes, apple crisp and tea but had a cup of coffee about 12:30 a.m. Instead, ate a hamburger and other snack food from the prison's canteen. Later, she drank a cup of coffee. Her story has been portrayed in two movies, three books and an opera.

3. WALTER LAGRAND, ARIZONA, 1999-- LaGrand asked for six fried eggs, 16 strips of bacon, one large serving of hash browns, a pint of pineapple sherbet, a breakfast steak, a cup of ice, 7-Up, Dr Pepper, Coke, hot sauce, coffee, two sugar packs. And, as a final item: four Rolaids.

2. JOHN WAYNE GACY, ILLINOIS, 1994--Kentucky Fried Chicken, fried shrimp, french fries, strawberries and Diet Coke. Once you get the Colonel's recipe of secret herbs and spices in your blood, it's pretty tough to shake. Gacy, the killer of at least 33 young men, was a former manager of a KFC.

1. ROBERT BUELL, OHIO, 2002--A single black, unpitted olive. Actually, Buell was paying homage to to Victor Ferguer, the last prisoner executed by the federal government until Timothy McVeigh. Ferguer was hanged in 1963. His last meal--an olive with the pit still in it. He told prison officials that he hoped it would sprout from his body an olive tree -- a sign of peace. Ferguer's body was unclaimed by family and was quickly taken away by a funeral home after the execution and buried. His unmarked grave in a barren corner of a public cemetery bears no olive tree.

I remember reading one time that one prisoner had Scotch eggs for his last meal. What are Scotch eggs? Possibly the perfect combination of food know to man. If memory serves me correctly, Scotch eggs are hard-boiled eggs, coated in sausage, dipped in pancake batter and then deep-fried. Guess you would be obligated to pour syrup over them also.

What would everyone have for their last meal? Dave’s boss better think about this one real hard for he may actually have to place that order.

I believe alcohol and cigarettes are not allowed but we can waive that.

Making My Case For Me

2005-07-23T14:33:00.000-06:00

Why should I go to the effort of promoting an anarchic society when politicians will do it for me? Some congressmen recently added a provision to an energy bill that would lengthen daylight savings by 4 weeks. Do these clods really think they are creating more sunshine? Do they know they're just shifting daylight from one part of the day to another? This is what that august body of deliberators in D.C. spends their time on? It's an exercise in futility. Here's a quote from pedantic congressman Edward Markey of Massachusetts:

"This is a huge victory for sunshine lovers."

Were the sunshine lovers in battle with moonlight lovers? Was this an epic battle of our times between solar and lunar cults that I missed out on? I fully believe the following press conference will take place in the near future:

"People of America. Today at 3 p.m Eastern on this Vernal Equinox, we will slow the rotation of the Earth down to one rotation every 365.25 days so that the Western Hemispehere will be eternally bathed in sunshine and experience eternal Spring. The evil Eastern Hemisphere will be cast into eternal darkness and cold as punishment for their insolence."

(Editor's note: The above press conference text has been changed since the original post because I figured out my science was wrong. In order to have the same side of the Earth continuously bathed in sunshine, one rotation of the Earth would have to equal one revolution of the Earth around the Sun. Completely stopping the rotation of the Earth, as I first posted, would not have this effect. My apologies.)

Movie Speech

2005-07-21T08:02:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite speeches in a movie comes from Dr. Evil, played by Mike Myers, in one of the Austin Powers movies. He and his son, played by Seth Green, are at a father-son counseling session and is prodded by the counselor, played by Carrie Fischer, to recount details of his life growing up. It's hilarious.

The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... very well, where do i begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

Music Poll

2005-07-16T09:30:00.000-06:00

Recently, I've been listening to Alice in Chains quite a bit. Particularly, "Down in a Hole" from their Dirt CD. This prompted me to think - Who has(had) the best Seattle Grunge voice?

Kurt Cobain (R.I.P) - Nirvana
Chris Cornell - Soundgarden/Audioslave
Layne Staley (R.I.P.) - Alice in Chains
Eddie Vedder - Pearl Jam
Others?

Personally, I think I'd have to go with Chris Cornell. To me, he seems to have the most versatile voice of the group.

Motives

2005-07-12T10:17:00.000-06:00

My previous post dealt with the possibility that the 9/11 attacks have been misrepresented. I dealt with a theory that the collapse of the WTC towers were the result of a controlled demolition. In that post, I only wanted to deal with physical evidence. Now, let's talk motives. For those of you who think that it is beyond the pale for politicians to have orchestrated such an event, I give you the following historical events for your consideration:

The U.S.S. Maine - in 1898, the U.S.S. Maine sank in Havana Harbor from an explosion. It was blamed on the Spaniards and sparked the Spanish-American War. Later investigation proved the explosion was internal. Whether accidental or not, the event was used as a rallying cry for war.

The Reichstag Fire - In 1933, the German Parliament was torched. Hitler and Goering blamed the Communists. The Nazis were only a minority party in the German government. Hitler, Chancellor at the time, used the event to declare a state of emergency and persuaded President Hindenburg to consolidate power under the Chancellor. Y'all know the rest.

Pearl Harbor - Recent scholarship has provided evidence that FDR and others knew of Japan's impending attack on Pearl Harbor and allowed it to happen. I seem to remember reading an article that stated that FDR's speech to Congress on December 8th was written on December 5th - two days before the attack.

Operation Northwoods - from an internet link...In his new exposé of the National Security Agency entitled Body of Secrets, author James Bamford highlights a set of proposals on Cuba by the Joint Chiefs of Staff codenamed OPERATION NORTHWOODS. This document, titled "Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba" was provided by the JCS to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962, as the key component of Northwoods. Written in response to a request from the Chief of the Cuba Project, Col. Edward Lansdale, the Top Secret memorandum describes U.S. plans to covertly engineer various pretexts that would justify a U.S. invasion of Cuba. These proposals -- part of a secret anti-Castro program known as Operation Mongoose -- included staging the assassinations of Cubans living in the United States, developing a fake "Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington," including "sink[ing] a boatload of Cuban refugees (real or simulated)," faking a Cuban airforce attack on a civilian jetliner, and concocting a "Remember the Maine" incident by blowing up a U.S. ship in Cuban waters and then blaming the incident on Cuban sabotage. Bamford himself writes that Operation Northwoods "may be the most corrupt plan ever created by the U.S. government."

Gulf of Tonkin - In 1964, US ships reported being attacked by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. This event was used by LBJ to convince Congress to escalate the war in Viet Nam. Funny thing is, the attack never happened.

Just something more for everyone to chew on...

Conspiracy Theories

2005-06-30T12:37:00.000-06:00

Now I won't believe just anything, but the thing I like about conspiracy theories, whether right or wrong, is that they get people thinking in a different manner. With that being said, I found the following article fascinating...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/reynolds/reynolds12.html

After reading this article, I did some more searching on the web about alternate theories on 9/11. It's remarkable stuff and, I must say, very believable. I find the theory of controlled demolition bringing down 3 WTC buildings very plausible. What say you my engineer friends, and others, out there? Read the article carefully and go to all the provided links. Also, focus on the physical evidence provided and not, just yet, any motives if this theory is borne out to be true. We can deal with that later.

Now, if 9/11 was a ruse, then the chilling thing is that there were 4 planes that were destroyed in some other manner with all the people onboard. Also, the one thing I remember about that day and the proceeding days was that every official that stepped in front of a microphone was referring to the terrorist attack as "the events of 9/11" or just "9/11" as if they all had talking points and they had a slogan devised already. It's akin to "Remember the Alamo."

Just some thoughts. Tawk amongst yaselves.

Fuck The Runaway Bride

2005-06-21T08:26:00.000-06:00

I walked into the breakroom and the TV was showing Katie Couric's interview with the "Runaway Bride" and that pathetic thing she calls a fiance. It's nice to see that Katie Couric is still a hard-hitting journalist taking on the tough stories. God knows, there isn't anything more important happening in this country than a flaky chick running away from an impending marriage to a milquetoast. Here's my prediction - this woman is a nurse and, if those dilated pupils and bug eyes are any indication, we'll find out she's addicted to pills that she stole from the hospital. Take it to the bank.

Apparently, this woman now has a book deal and/or movie deal to "tell her story." BORING!

I can just see a Movie of the Week starring Kelly Martin. They may as well reunite her with the actor that played Corky and he can play the role of the fiance. "Becca!!" God, now I'm pissing myself off.

This woman derserves nothing but scorn and ridicule, but instead, she is cashing in.

Crock Pot

2005-06-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Huh? What? Oh, sorry, I just awoke from a 5 day stupor induced by the last post.

I just got back from Whole Foods where I purchased a 3lb pork butt roast. The roast is now secure in my crock pot and will slow cook overnight. The smell of pepper, garlic and oregano will soon permeate my apartment. It will be about 9hrs of cooking time in total. Tomorrow, I will awake to tender, succulent pork. Add a little BBQ sauce and I will have a delicious batch of pulled pork BBQ. Mmmmmmmm. Plus, Anon will have to watch me eat it at my desk as jealousy rots his soul. I'm guessing productivity will decrease by 25%, which means I will be working at only 125%. By the way, this method also works well with beef brisket.

Boo-yeah!

Summer Update

2005-06-10T07:58:00.000-06:00

Hi All – An update on the Summer of Anon.

First topic of discussion: The Burns

After trying valiantly to keep them going (even resorting to the tried and true comb forward move) I have had to adjust my strategy. I knew it was a losing battle when I could count how many hairs had grown in (it was like Junior High all over again…SS, you’ll get that one as it is your current reality).

So…I have moved from dreams of Dylan McKay burns to a more subdued Captain Kirk half-burn. The dream still lives….just looks a little different.

Second topic: The ‘Tine

Too early to say for sure but it seems to be working…getting that tight clothes feel I have been craving!! I will send another update later on this one…I know everyone’s Summer won’t be complete without it.

I also want to rant & toss props.

The Props…

Max….you have upped your blog game! Way to go….your joke about deep throat/whistle blowing….fantastic. I think you just need to let us in on your crazier side….(you know my favorite story).

DD….as always, good people. Too bad you are afraid of the Tae Kwon Do Master….

The Rant…..

I have a side business that deals with game-used jerseys & helmets for colleges (so the actual jersey the player wears on the field – including grass stains) ….if you want to know more contact DD and he can direct you to me. Anyway, I have a customer that is a CEO of a local company here (so big $) and he wants this, wants that, wants it yesterday. I jumped through hoops to get him want he wanted and the $##@$ still hasn’t paid me. I know, I know, my fault for delivering the goods and not getting paid up front…some extenuating circumstances around that…My rant is more focused on how this guy views his financial status as something that allows him to operate in the world under his own rules and his own timeframe.

Why is it that some people equate power (be it in the workplace, physical, financial) as a free pass to be an asshole? Don’t get it, don’t like it.

Hugs & Kisses to you all.

Anon out!

Gratuitous Laughs

2005-06-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of crude jokes to appease the Cretins that frequent my blog.

Joke #1:

What's better than winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics?

Not being retarded!

Joke #2

What's the difference between a drunk and an alcoholic?

Drunks don't have to go to those stupid, fucking meetings.

Letters of Marque and Reprisal

2005-06-07T13:55:00.000-06:00

Here's how you get bin Laden:

"Article I, Section 8, paragraph 11 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to "grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water." A "reprisal" means an action taken in return for some injury. A reprisal could be a seizing of property or guilty persons in retaliation for an attack and injury. It could include force used against the perpetrators for the redress of grievances. A reprisal could even involve killing a terrorist who is threatening further harm and cannot be captured. "

Basically, its setting a bounty on someone or something. If they had set a $50 million dollar bounty on bin Laden's head, I'm sure he'd be in custody now. Look how quickly we got Saddam and his boys after a bounty was put on their heads. Plus, a $50 million bounty is much cheaper than a protracted war.

However, there are two assumptions you have to make when using the Letters of Marque and Reprisal. 1.) That congressmen have read the Constitution and know it's in there, and 2.) that they abide by their oath to follow and uphold the Constitution. I'm skeptical of the former and sure that the latter, with the exception of Ron Paul, isn't happening.

The Summer of 'Anonymous'

2005-06-02T11:22:00.000-06:00

First, props to DD for allowing me to invade his space…sorry, there will be no discussion of the following:

Taxes
Politics
Other stuff I don’t pretend to understand

Another thing I will not discuss, my tried and true topic:

Poo

I will, however, talk about what the Summer of Anon holds. The first item will be the birth of my Dylan McKay sideburns. While Mother Nature is going to make this an uphill battle, I swear I will persevere!! The second topic will be my first foray into the world of Creatine…or The ‘Tine as we will call her from here on out. Finally, some random thoughts will be sprinkled about….

The Burns:

Not much else to say here….you know they will look bad, I know they will look bad. Bottom line is they will look bad. They are spawned from my disdain with Great Clips. Last time I was there they chopped what minimal burns I had. Now, when I go back, they will truly earn that $9 making sure they don’t mess these babies up!

The ‘Tine:

The question for many of you (or at least the 3 that are still reading this) is why? Why would the Great Anon need anything to help him achieve even greater greatness? Here’s the answer….tight clothes. Nothing says you are alive like a pair of pants that are ready to burst at every step! Never mind that skin-tight (note the hyphen) shirts from ’78 never went out of style.

I promise I will randomly post on DD’s blog with updates on both these as the summer goes on…

Final bit of sharing…

While it doesn’t often show, Anon thinks about things too. The first of which is referring to myself in the 3rd person….a lost art. Anon will bring it back. I also think that I have been too hard on MonkeyMax (but not as hard as the guys in the can!) so here is my public apology MM. Also, I think that SS will be funding my Winter of Anon after the Broncs roll and the Bung’s fold.

So…as usual, not much substance from The Anon…but guess what, The Anon could give a @#$*.

Anon out!

Just What the Doctor Ordered

2005-05-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

Philosophically, I am an anarcho-capitalist. It is defined as a stateless society based on free-market capitalism. For anyone interested in learning more, they can do a Google search and find out all they want about it. I won't go into details about it here.

As most of you are aware, a lot of my posts are "anti-government." I offer no apologies for that. I consider governments to be parasitic, criminal and murderous, to name a few. However, please note that just as the map is not the territory, the government is not the citizenry. So, when I level my sights on some governmental office, action or representative, don't try to brand me as "un-American," "blame America firster" or anything like that. Not that any of you have, I'm just anticipating potential name-calling. It is obvious that different rules apply to politicians than to the rest of us.

In the past, when I've gotten into politcal discussions, I'm always asked what I would do to change things. When I voice my changes, I'm usually dismissed as a "utopian." Nevertheless, I will state them again.

Eliminate the income tax - the income tax is an admission that the government has a prior claim on your labor and property. Elimination would be an instant increase in the standard of living for most Americans as well as liberating. It also would remove private information from the hands of the government. i.e elimination of the IRS.

Eliminate the Federal Reserve and return to sound money(gold) - As Lenin pointed out, the easiest way to impoverish a country is to debauch the currency. Your currency is debauched. By some estimates the dollar has gone down in value 98% since the inception of the Fed in 1913. That is a heavy blow to a person's buying power and standard of living. The currency is debauched by the ability to print it at will. The more you have of a good, the less valuable the marginal units become. You can't print gold.

Foment Secession- Any state that wants to leave the Union should be allowed to immediately and without question and repercussions. There is nothing sancrosanct about "The Union." By the way, the Revolutionary War was an act of secession. Likewise, any county or city should be allowed to secede from a state. Likewise, any individual should be allowed to secede from all political entanglements without repercussions. Just because a political apparatus would be removed does not mean that relations between citizens would cease. Without a political apparatus, individuals would then enter into relationships on a voluntary basis, which means a peaceful basis.

All of the above prescriptions would severely neuter the federal government. Obviously, there are more, but this space is short.

But here is the caveat. In an anarchic society, or a min-archic society, the individual has to take responsibility for their life. They can't expect to have everything handed to them. Sadly, I think the mindset of "yearning to be free" is quickly vanishing from the American landscape

Also, I'll have to address the bin Laden issue in another post.

Some People Never Learn

2005-05-23T11:26:00.000-06:00

Especially politicians. There have been recent news stories that Pat Tillman's family is upset that the US military lied about the circumstances surrounding his death in Afghanistan. You know Pat Tillman, he was the NFL star that left football and joined the Army after 9/11. He went to Afghanistan to, ostensibly, search for bin Laden. But, what the heck, while we're there let's take out the ruling government. So Pat Tillman gets killed and he is hailed as a hero for battling the Taliban. NFL players pay tribute to him during the season. Turns out he was killed by American troops in a friendly fire incident.

I don't feel sympathy for Pat Tillman. He got caught up in the post 9/11 frenzy. He abandoned his wife and family, so that he could liberate Afghani women from having to wear scarves. Good for you Pat. Now don't get me wrong, those responsible for 9/11 should pay the price, but the Taliban wasn't involved. All of this reminds me of a passage I read once from a Herbert Spencer essay written in 1902:

"Some years ago I gave my expression to my own feeling – anti-patriotic feeling, it will doubtless be called – in a somewhat startling way. It was at the time of the second Afghan war, when, in pursuance of what were thought to be "our interests," we were invading Afghanistan. News had come that some of our troops were in danger. At the Athenæum Club a well-known military man – then a captain but now a general – drew my attention to a telegram containing this news, and read it to me in a manner implying the belief that I should share his anxiety. I astounded him by replying – "When men hire themselves out to shoot other men to order, asking nothing about the justice of their cause, I don’t care if they are shot themselves."

So, the British in the late 19th century, the Soviets in the 1980s and the Americans in the early 21st century think that they can control Afghanistan. Let me clue you in on something - taking the Khyber Pass from the Afghans is like trying to take a bottle of liquor from Ted Kennedy - ain't gonna happen!