Dear Governor Sanford,

Fuck you, you hypocritical, right wing, piece of shit. Where the fuck do you get off comparing yourself to King David?!? You're not even up to the level of Pontius Pilot you worthless scumbag. If you were alive in the days the Old Testament mythologizes you would not be mentioned. The State you rule wouldn't be mentioned. Your descendants nor your ancestors would get a stroke of ink. You are only slightly above NOBODY in American politics so don't even for a second seek to equivocate yourself with a BIBLICAL KING! Maybe if you weren't such a self centered prick you wouldn't have fucked around on your wife. Admittedly she deserves being fucked around on for being stupid enough to buy into the right wing worldview but you, Sanford, you're below contempt. Shitting on you would be a waste of good shitting.

Weren't you one of the conservative shit-heels screaming most loudly for Clinton's impeachment? For getting a blowjob? Not for lying about his whereabouts and repeatedly leaving the country (basically abandoning his elected position) to fuck a mistress as you did, but for getting a BJ from a pretty young thing (tip o' the hat to Michael Jackson) and trying to cover it up? You have abdicated your position as governor for some pussy in Argentina and you think you should remain governor because King David went through some shit you somehow force to resemble your fuckups? You're not only a piece of shit, you're a worthless piece of shit.

And who is it that shouts loudest in support of the Defense of Marriage Act? Claiming gays getting married would ruin the "sanctity of marriage?" That would be you, asswipe. You who proves to the world that uptight, rightwing, conservative hypocrites are bound to do exactly what they condemn the rest of us for doing.

In closing, Mr. Sanford, I'm looking forward to seeing your ass booted out of office and your house. Even as I type this news is coming in of other trysts with other women and the fact that you "withheld" (i.e. lied) the extent of the affair you just confessed to. Yeah, fuck you, buddy.

Bat Shit Crazy Idiot and Liar

She repeatedly says, "We know..." but everything she says we know is false. Is she a liar or an idiot? I'm gonna say she's both liar and an idiot, mixed with a giant dose of bat shit crazy.

Unless she says or does something really amazingly wacky,* as opposed to her normal bat shit craziness, I'm going to leave Madam Bachmann to some people who are really serious about her. I thought I'd leave you with the "Michele Bachmann Year In Review" video and link you to an entire blog of her videos here:

*Anybody want to start a pool on how long 'til she says or does something else bat shit crazy?

Bat Shit Crazy Cont'd

You know someone is bat shit crazy when even Glenn Beck thinks they're nuts:

To Da Moon!

Japan's Kaguya spacecraft crashed into the Moon last week, as planned. APOD

My Robot

What would Isaac Asimov think of this?

The Continuing Crisis

More Post-Traumatic Stress: Peter Singer, the author of a new book on battlefield robotics, told LiveScience.com in May he had seen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan grow so attached to their bomb-disposal robots that, in one case, the soldier risked 160 feet of enemy machine gun fire to retrieve his little buddy, and in another, a soldier brought his robot in for repairs with tears in his eyes over the "injury" to his beloved "Scooby-Doo." Several units, he said, had given their robots promotions, Purple Hearts and even a military funeral. [LiveScience.com, 5-21-09] via News of the Weird

Michael Jackson

I can't say I was effected greatly by news of Mr. Jackson's passing. Writing this piece has given me a slightly melancholic feel and has brought back memories, but mostly I've just had "Billy Jean" stuck in my head all day. Most of us were a little surprised to hear of his death as he was only 50, he had that line-up of shows in London coming up, and despite being kind of miniature and deathly looking I just figured he was still in good shape.

I never met the man but he's been around me since I was a child (which is a disturbing image, I must admit). I distinctly remember singing along to "ABC"* and "I'll Be There" when I was about eight (that was 1983 so he was a 15 year old kid), spinning Bad and Thriller when DJ-ing high school dances, the video for "Thriller" being a major event my freshman year at Tulane (the MTV broadcast was projected on a big screen in the basement of the campus bar), and I sold all his records (in staggeringly enormous quantities) for the decade I worked in record stores. His songs are part of the vast quilt of music in my life. It is sad that one of those pieces won't add to itself.

As a musician I never feel I am intimately acquainted with anyone I know through their songs. Though I have hung out with and even engineered live sound for many musical legends I have no personal connection to those people. They are just people I have met who happen to be famous and/or brilliantly talented and when the nice ones die it makes me a little sad. I have much less personal connection to Michael Jackson and, like so many people, many aspects of his personal life (that I was exposed to whether I wanted to be or not) disturbed me in many ways. His extravagant lifestyle was sickening. At one point this man had enough money to buy the Beatles catalog. And he was able to piss that money away on monkeys and theme park rides and go bankrupt?!? I don't even want to know this crap about this man but he was famous and rich and weird and kind of stupid and he made a bunch of great records. And he's dead. That's kind of sad.

But I'm going to die some day too, just as will all of you. There is a slew of people who are adults who have no memory of John Lennon being killed. It won't be long until there will be adults who don't remember Nirvana. Michael Jackson's music was around for all of us in a way that only we can relate to and under conditions which are gone forever. There will never be a time again when you can go cruise around the court square and here something like "Beat It" coming from every car because it was on the cool local radio station. There is no MTV so what are the chances there will be another dancing superstar to approach his status? Just trying to think of how much our world has changed since "ABC" seems nearly impossible. From cell phones to satellite radio to mp3 downloads to YouTube and Facebook, the world is utterly different and I doubt anyone can begin to aspire to the level of a Michael Jackson. Shouldn't every generation have a "Thriller" moment?

So yeah. I know this was a bit jumbled and repetitive but life is a bit jumbled and repetitive and the whole concept of Michael Jackson is jumbled and repetitive. It is sad the man is dead. Long live his recordings.

*My clearest memory of singing a Michael Jackson song (with that strange distortion all those early memories have) is singing "ABC" on the school bus when I was 8. We also sang "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" and I remember us getting the giggles over saying the word "damned." Do eight year olds still get embarrassed at saying "cuss words" out loud?

WWCD?

3D Glasses

Here's that erupting volcano picture... in 3D!!!

A Photograph

Talk about being in the right place at the right time! NASA

Bat Shit Crazy: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann

Y'know, we expect asshole right wing pundits to make up ridiculous shit to scare the gutless rightwing fraidy cats. False boogeymen like ACORN. C'mon, it's an organization trying to help poor people. Here's their mission statement:

Mission Statement

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) aims to organize a majority consituency of low- to moderate-income people across the United States. The members of ACORN take on issues of relevance to their communities, whether those issues are discrimination, affordable housing, a quality education, or better public services. ACORN believes that low- to moderate-income people are the best advocates for their communities, and so ACORN's low- to moderate-income members act as leaders, spokespeople, and decision-makers within the organization.

Oooooo. Scary! An organization that seeks to empower poor people by aiding them in exerting their Constitutional right to take part in their government by organizing and representing themselves. The only reason I can see to be scared of ACORN is if you're an ultra-wealthy paranoic and you believe ACORN is going to raise a revolt against you and leave you begging on a corner or even working at a real job. Oh wait, there is one other reason you might be afraid of ACORN, if you're a brain dead moron that believes what comes out of the mouths of right wing pundits (i.e. lies and fabrications). Case in point (from here with video):

Washington Times: In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times "America's Morning News," Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become "very intricate, very personal" and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts.

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," she said. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

Washington Times: Minn. lawmaker vows not to complete Census

This woman is just out of her ever lovin' mind. Is she afraid some poor person is going to find out she's rich? She is just a repulsive piece of work. I have so much sympathy for the person that comes to her door with a census form. I'll bet she's as pissy and mean as a hungry female bobcat with a brood to feed when it comes to insulting those "below" her. Do a Google search on Rep. Bachmann and read and watch her for a little while. I think you'll agree, she's

BAT SHIT CRAZY!!!

1

New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

So much for transparency. President Obama is fighting against FOIA requests for visitor logs for the White House citing the exact same arguments as Darth Cheney. Obama has decided that the 700 year old right to habeus corpus is outdated (why not just call it "quaint" and square that circle?) and he can throw people in jail forever without proving cause. But you really want your mind blown? An actual reason for not releasing Cheney's FBI interview is --and seriously, I can barely type this because it is so ridiculous as to sound invented-- because satirists might use it to make fun of the former Vice President:

Justice Department lawyers told the judge that future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could become available to their political opponents and late-night comics who would ridicule them.

"If we become a fact-finder for political enemies, they aren't going to cooperate," Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith said during a 90-minute hearing. "I don't want a future vice president to say, `I'm not going to cooperate with you because I don't want to be fodder for 'The Daily Show.'" AP

I'm sorry, Mr. Obama, but that's complete and utter bullshit and you know it. Grow a pair, buddy, and back up the rhetoric that got you elected.

Get Government Off My Back

Where's My Vote? cont'd

Was Congressman Ensign Tipped Off By Fox "News?"

Fox, Coburn knew about affair before Ensign's admission

by Jed Lewison (Daily Kos)

Fri Jun 19, 2009 at 09:19:40 AM PDT

A week before John Ensign's admission that he'd carried on an affair with a former political aide, her husband wrote a letter to Fox anchor Megyn Kelly detailing the affair and appealing to Kelly and Fox for help...

Again proving they are nothing but a Republican propaganda machine, Fox "News" is the last network to report Senator Ensign's affair despite being the first and only network told about it by the adultress's husband, Doug Hampton, in advance of Ensign's news conference where he admitted to being a worthless SOB. Hampton only wrote to Fox News, and reportedly Ensign held his news conference because, "Mr. Hampton first approached the media. He approached a major television news channel before Tuesday. We learned of this fact before the press conference," Ensign's spokesman said. So Fox Noise tipped off Ensign and then did not report on the affair until everyone else had pitched in. Really reprehensible, but what more can we expect from these lying fuckers?

I think my favorite part of this is how Hampton tells Fox how much he admires them in his letter. And then they shit on him. Typical Republicans.

Fox "News," Your Wadded Panties are Showing

Jim Webb's Speech on Criminal Justice System Reform

Transcript here.

Score One for Renegade Public Art

Where's My Vote?

The Healthcare Debate... Continues?

"There Are Countries Where a Single-Payer System Works Pretty Well"

So are even the newspapers so in the thrall of the gigantic insurance and healthcare industry that they won't even report when the President says something good about single payer health care? Apparently so:

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama told the American Medical Association yesterday that he believes single-payer health care systems have worked "pretty well" in some countries, but no major U.S. newspaper available in the Nexis database reported the president's comment in their news stories about the speech...

(Harper's) - ... However, three of the nation’s most prestigious newspapers—the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times— did publish quotes from the president’s speech that artfully took language from both immediately before and after the president’s statement that single-payer systems work. “I’ll be honest,” Obama said in his speech to the AMA, “there are countries where a single-payer system works pretty well.” A search of the the terms “Obama,” “single-payer,” and “pretty well” in the “Major Newspapers” file of Nexis turned up no hits as of 3:00 PM on Tuesday, June 16.

Not in America!... Because We're Pathetic

Ping Pong

More Crashin'!

Holy Shit! Iran Erupts!

When our elections get stolen (two times in a row) we just sit back and take it. Anywhere else they riot. Are Americans just a bunch of weak pussies? Considering how scared we are of the Guantanamo prisoners, I guess we prove it over and over, huh?

Q: How Do You Know a Right Winger is Lying?

A: Their mouth is moving.

"Why Alan, isn't that a bit harsh?" No. The recent rash of domestic terrorism is a perfect case in point. We'll stick to the terrorist assassination of Dr. George Tiller but since Obama was elected we have had three major terrorist attacks in this country carried out by right wing extremists.

Bill O'Reilly says he never suggested Dr. Tiller should be killed and he says he never called him "Tiller the baby killer." Well, not only did he constantly refer to Tiller as "Tiller the baby killer," in 2006 he said on his radio show:

OK. So, I'm the fascist, I'm the bad guy, I'm the problem. Not Tiller. No, he -- no, no, no. He's a good guy. Now, Tiller's pumping all kinds of money into obviously the attorney general race. He wants the guy that's gonna let him off the hook to win. Those of you listening in Kansas, you ought to know that. You know, I don't -- I'm not gonna tell you who to vote for. You guys know these guys better than I do, but I tell you what, anything Tiller wants, I'm voting the other way. And if I could get my hands on Tiller -- well, you know. Can't be vigilantes. Can't do that. It's just a figure of speech.

But despicable? Oh, my God. Oh, it doesn't get worse. Does it get worse? No. Back with your calls and comments.

"Oh, but that's just that wacky Bill O'Reilly. Nobody takes him seriously." Well, you're wrong about that. An uncle of mine (RIP) who became shockingly right wing after being "born again" said once, in a grave and serious voice, "Bill O'Reilly is looking out for you, believe me." Made me sick with anger but he was in the hospital so I bit my tongue. I guarantee you the man that shot Dr. Tiller worships O'Reilly and the rest of the Fox News machine. They incite this kind of violence.

O'Reilly is only one example. How about "activist judges?" Here's one thing I can tell for sure, when a conservative says he is against "activist judges" he is saying he wants the most activist of judges as long as they're conservatives. When he says he wants them to follow the Constitution as written he means interpret it according to the right wing world view.

When conservatives say they want to protect the environment you can rest assured they're about to poison as much land as possible in as bad a way as one can imagine.

When conservatives say New Deal liberalism has ruined the economy they are lying. Using the GDP as measure you will find that when Republicans have been in power we have had the worst GDP growth. The best growth has been under Democrats. Jimmy Carter is the only Democratic President who has done worse than a Republican, Reagan (who did worse than every other Democrat), but Carter's economy was better than every other Republican President. Our most prosperous years were when the government was taxing corporations and the wealthiest the most. The New Deal got us out of the Great Depression. "That's not true, it was WWII," I hear some feeble minded conservative mimic parrot out there. WWII was the epitome of "tax and spend." We taxed the richest in this country 91%, the government took complete control of business and industry in this country and regulated what we could eat, how much we could drive, and when our lights were on or off and we came out of the war the government shifted the wealth to the not wealthy amongst us with the GI bill, rural electrification, the minimum wage, protections for unions, and works projects. The way we waged WWII is the closest we've come to communism and right wingers will agree that it brought us out of a depression.

The truth is that conservative policies have ruined the economy every single time it's been ruined. Reagan brought us a horrible recession which GHW Bush kept us in and under GW Bush our economy weakened and our capital system collapsed.

Here's yet another HUGE conservative lie: "We follow the intent of the Founding Fathers." Nothing could be further from the truth. The Founding Fathers believed in education and science while conservatives are opposed to and supicious of both. The Founding Fathers were from very firm to rabid in their belief in the separation of church and state while right wingers want evangelicals everywhere and everyone else elsewhere. The Founding Fathers believed your privacy was sacrosanct while Republicans have pressed for reduced protection from being stopped at random and searched, more surveillance of private citizens, and spying on people simply for having different opinions than theirs (they spied on the Quakers, for Christ's sake!). And don't even get me started on habeus corpus.

How about this lie: "We want to reach across the aisle." When the Republicans held power in the Congress and the Executive they totally shut out the Democrats (who took it like a bunch of fucking pussies, I'd like to throw in here), including not even allowing them to use a proper meeting room for their caucus. They put the "fuck you" in bi-partisanship.

Here's a few more:
Colin Powell's speech before the U.N.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

"The United States of America does not torture."

"It was just a few bad apples." - Donald Rumsfeld

So if you hear it come out of the mouth of Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnel, Bill O'Reilly, Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, or any other "conservative" figure the exact opposite is true.

Crash Meme Still Limping Along

How Our Healthcare "System" "Works"

Logical Conclusion

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I haven't read this book though I applaud the premise which is to use the original text of Pride and Prejudice and adding zombies. Did you know you can't do this kind of thing with Gone With the Wind? The author is long dead but somehow Gone With the Wind is still under full copyright protection.

Copyright law is a farce and must be corrected. Copyright was originally created to protect an author's product for 25 years, a more than reasonable amount of time for the author to produce something else to pay the bills. The very idea that a few distant relatives and a publishing company are still collecting money from the sale of Gone With the Wind is complete and utter lunacy. That book should have gone out of copyright in 1961 but you can still get the living shit sued out of you if you use the print from it in another way.

I've wanted to use Disney songs from the 40's and 50's in my music but this would be a way to insure involuntary payments to Disney Corp. for the rests of my life. Why can't I sample the sounds of my early childhood for music? There is no way I would be hurting any of the musicians or writers that created the soundtrack to Cinderella or Jungle Book but Disney Corp. will hunt you down and murder you (not really, but metaphorically) for even showing an old cartoon as an interlude between acts. If you even suggest the image of Mickey Mouse in a painting they will sue you. They'll probably lose but in the process this corporation can destroy the life of an artist that attempts to stand against them.

It is time to fundamentally change the way we treat corporations in this country. There is no justice or equal treatment under the law if an individual is pitted against a corporation. A corporation, for instance, can afford to string a lawsuit along for decades, just waiting for the litigant to die. And they own our Congress so we're not going to get any help from them. I'm not sure how to fix this other than full on revolution. Which means it's hopeless because Americans don't have the balls to stand up to the status quo.