Friday, October 21, 2005
Tom Stall Scores Again!
(October 15, 2005) Indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay today released a video entitled “Earle’s Gone Wild” in what he described as the first phase of the “Mother of all smear campaigns” launched against Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, who brought conspiracy and money laundering charges against him.
(omigod, this is like so funny)
(omigod, this is like so funny)
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Life Update
For those of you who know me and/or actually read my tripe, it's time to update you on my life situation. I will be flying up to Washington this Sunday evening to look at the Poulsbo lab for my company and meet the staff there. My bosses have decided (quite wisely, I might add) that they can't afford to let me work for another company (the usual story: skeletons, mob hits and all that). So, they are paying for the flight, hotel room, rental car and food. I'll return Monday night late. What's going on is that I posted my resume on monster.com and suddenly different companies were very interested in my talents. And I made it known that I wouldn't mind relocating to Washington (love the weather, seasons, culture, produce, snow, real fires in real fireplaces, the fact that spring is announced not by birds but by comely young women peeling off their clothes to show lots of leg and arm and neck and collarbone in public...makes a guy appreciate females anew each and every year). I lived in Seattle for 9 years, so I know.
Anyway, my company is ready to offer me management of the lab up there. I really like working where I'm at, but there is no room for growth. I am a technician who has reached most of my limits as such. And a very good friend is my manager at present, so I would never do anything to get his job. Hence, the only way to stretch my wings is to move to another lab or company.
Also, I got the weirdest email about my car. I have been told to consider the BMW sold and to pull my ad. Further, a check will be sent to me and I will deduct my price plus $100, then transfer the balance to the representative who will pick up the car. I'm down with that. There is one ethical dilemma, though. When this gentleman emailed me previously expressing interest, he asked me my final price. I had decided to drop it by $1000 and told him so. This was two or three days ago. Today he sent me three emails. The middle one asked me what my final price was (even though he had decided to buy it already). I'm thinking of sticking to the original price, because that is what is still showing on the car ad website AND I have received two other emails expressing interest at that price. I have not responded to that particular email. I feel that if he is wheeling and dealing and not reading his emails, then perhaps it's my call and reverting to the original asking price is ethically okay. Help me out on that one, would you folks? Especially since his first email of the day said he was going to send me a check for $5,500, but the third email said he was going to send me one for $7,500. Plus, I can tell this car is not for him. I can tell he is a reseller and most likely will be selling it in Europe (he's an English bloke who will be over there on business while his rep picks it up and I think the oversize of the check is for shipping to Europe). Either way, whoohoo for me. Thinking of moving has me all atizzy about what to keep, what not to keep, how to move it, where to move it (if I don't a place rented before I get there) and what to do with a second car I don't drive. He has one week to send me the check.
What a day. Hope yours was as weird as mine.
Anyway, my company is ready to offer me management of the lab up there. I really like working where I'm at, but there is no room for growth. I am a technician who has reached most of my limits as such. And a very good friend is my manager at present, so I would never do anything to get his job. Hence, the only way to stretch my wings is to move to another lab or company.
Also, I got the weirdest email about my car. I have been told to consider the BMW sold and to pull my ad. Further, a check will be sent to me and I will deduct my price plus $100, then transfer the balance to the representative who will pick up the car. I'm down with that. There is one ethical dilemma, though. When this gentleman emailed me previously expressing interest, he asked me my final price. I had decided to drop it by $1000 and told him so. This was two or three days ago. Today he sent me three emails. The middle one asked me what my final price was (even though he had decided to buy it already). I'm thinking of sticking to the original price, because that is what is still showing on the car ad website AND I have received two other emails expressing interest at that price. I have not responded to that particular email. I feel that if he is wheeling and dealing and not reading his emails, then perhaps it's my call and reverting to the original asking price is ethically okay. Help me out on that one, would you folks? Especially since his first email of the day said he was going to send me a check for $5,500, but the third email said he was going to send me one for $7,500. Plus, I can tell this car is not for him. I can tell he is a reseller and most likely will be selling it in Europe (he's an English bloke who will be over there on business while his rep picks it up and I think the oversize of the check is for shipping to Europe). Either way, whoohoo for me. Thinking of moving has me all atizzy about what to keep, what not to keep, how to move it, where to move it (if I don't a place rented before I get there) and what to do with a second car I don't drive. He has one week to send me the check.
What a day. Hope yours was as weird as mine.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
So much for Pain Management
When did the party of small government become its evil twin? quite a long time ago, actually. the evil twin, however, is still very much a growth industry.
And Dick Seemed Like Such A Nice Guy
(from the U.S. News)
Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Cheney clips right-wing objections (10/5/05)
Press fumes over Bush timing (10/4/05)
Standing by DeLay, somewhat (9/29/05)
DeLay indicted in Texas probe (9/28/05)
More from Washington Whispers
More from Nation & World
"It's certainly an interesting but I still think highly doubtful scenario," said a Bush insider. "And if that should happen," added the official, "there will undoubtedly be those who believe the whole thing was orchestrated – another brilliant Machiavellian move by the VP."
Said another Bush associate of the rumor, "Yes. This is not good." The rumor spread so fast that some Republicans by late morning were already drawing up reasons why Rice couldn't get the job or run for president in 2008.
"Isn't she pro-choice?" asked a key Senate Republican aide. Many White House insiders, however, said the Post story and reports that the investigation was coming to a close had officials instead more focused on who would be dragged into the affair and if top aides would be indicted and forced to resign.
"Folks on the inside and near inside are holding their breath and wondering what's next," said a Bush adviser. But, he added, they aren't focused on the future of the vice president. "Not that, at least not seriously," he said.
John Nichols Tue Oct 18, 1:08 PM ET
The Nation -- Well, of course, the investigation of who leaked
CIA agent Valerie Plame's name -- violating the federal law that bars the "outing" of intelligence operatives -- has come around to Vice President
Dick Cheney' name. While it may be news to the Washington Post -- which headlined a breathless report on Tuesday: "Cheney's Office Is A Focus in Leak Case" -- the fact is that Cheney and his aides have been likely suspects from day one.
No prominent member of the administration had more to lose as a result of the 2003 revelation by Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, that the White House's pre-war claims regarding
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been inflated than did Cheney -- who, to a far greater extent than
George Bush, had a hand in shaping the arguments for going to war, plugged them in media appearances and defended them after all evidence suggested his pronouncements had been wrong. It is important to recall that, while Bush may have deliberately fuzzed the facts in his 2003 State of the Union address, it was Cheney who leapt off the cliff of speculation with the pre-war declaration that, "We know
Saddam Hussein's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
No key player in the administration was more at odds with the
Central Intelligence Agency than Cheney. Indeed, Cheney's badgering of the agency to come up with "evidence" of Iraqi WMDs and al-Qaeda connections was so aggressive -- he regularly stormed into the CIA headquarters to demand a briefing and then, when the information did not fit his biases, demanded that someone else brief him -- that members of the House Intelligence Committee complained in a reprimanding letter, "These visits are unprecedented. Normally, vice presidents, including yourself, receive regular briefings from (the) CIA in your office and have a CIA officer on permanent detail. There is no reason to make personal visits to the CIA."
No top office within the administration was better positioned than Cheney's to gather the information that was used to attack Wilson and his wife and to peddle that information to the press. In fact, as Joe Wilson told me in an interview about the leaking of his wife's name that we did early in 2004, "With respect to who actually leaked the information, there are really only a few people -- far fewer than the president let on when he said there are a lot of senior administration officials -- who could have done it. At the end of the day, you have to have the means, the keys to the conversations at which somebody might drop my wife's name -- deliberately or not -- a national security clearance, and a reason to be talking about this. When you look at all that, there are really very few people who exist at that nexis between national security and foreign policy and politics. You can count them, literally, on two hands."
Wilson added that, without a doubt, "the vice president is one of those people."
And no one, repeat no one, in Washington is known to be more vindictive than Dick Cheney. So the notion that Cheney would not only have been aware of but in fact delighted in punishing Wilson by ruining the career of the ambassador's wife is entirely plausible. By all accounts, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating that prospect as his long examination of crimes that may have been committed in relation to the Plame leak draws to a close.
Does this mean that the vice president will be indicted by the federal grand jury that is currently examining the actions of White House political czar Karl Rove and, more importantly, Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby?
Don't bet on it.
Libby is blood-oath, fall-on-the-sword loyal to Cheney. A Reagan-era State Department hand and Congressional staffer who came to know his future boss when Cheney was serving in Congress during the 1980s, Libby went with Cheney to George H. W. Bush's Defense Department -- serving Secretary of Defense Cheney as Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Strategy and Resources and Deputy Under Secretary for Policy. Libby was then a founder of the neo-conservative Project for a New American Century, which promoted the vision of American Empire that Cheney and his staff had cooked up in their controversial draft Defense Policy Guidance statement during their final days at the
Pentagon. And when Cheney returned to the corridors of power, as vice president, Libby was at his side.
But the Cheney-Libby partnership is not merely a power and policy connection. Their relationship is more father-son than boss-surrogate. Libby vacations with Cheney at the vice president's $2.9 million villa in Wyoming, and Libby's access is such that he is welcome to invite friends and compatriots along to enjoy the skiing near Jackson Hole.
The likelihood that Libby would give up a relationship that has buttered his bread for the better part of a quarter century is even more remote than the likelihood that Rove would turn on Bush.
Yet, no one who knows about how Cheney and Libby operate will doubt that the two men had no secrets from one another during the period when the attacks on the CIA, in general, and Wilson and Plame, in particular, were taking place.
The vice president is a famously hands-on player. He personally requested information about claims that the Iraqis were attempting to obtain uranium from African countries -- the issue that Wilson examined in 2002, when he was dispatched to Africa and found that the claims were not credible. And while Cheney now says that he knew nothing of the report that Wilson produced before the war, the former ambassador has never believed him.
"If you are senior enough to ask the question, you are senior enough to get a very specific response," said Wilson. "In addition to the circular report that was sent around as a consequence of my trip, I have every confidence that one way or another the vice president was briefed as well." Yet, it was the vice president who continued to claim, long after Bush had dropped the line, that Saddam Hussein was a nuclear threat. And Cheney always went much further than Bush or others in the administration when making that claim. Indeed, it was Cheney who specifically stated prior to the Congressional votes on authorizing the use of force in Iraq that, Hussein had "resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons." Cheney claimed in the same speech that, "Armed with an arsenal of these weapons of terror, and seated atop 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saddam Hussein could then be expected to seek domination of the entire Middle East, take control of the world's energy supplies, directly threaten American friends throughout the region, and subject the United States or any other nation to nuclear blackmail."
It is certainly reasonable to argue that Cheney had more reason to strike out at Wilson than anyone else in the administration when the former ambassador revealed the truth in a New York Times opinion piece that appeared in the summer of 2003. And, while Cheney may not have done the deed directly, it is comic to suggest that the vice president -- who was in constant contact with both Libby and Rove around the time of the leak -- could have been unaware of any serious effort to discredit Wilson by "outing" his wife as a CIA agent.
Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Cheney clips right-wing objections (10/5/05)
Press fumes over Bush timing (10/4/05)
Standing by DeLay, somewhat (9/29/05)
DeLay indicted in Texas probe (9/28/05)
More from Washington Whispers
More from Nation & World
"It's certainly an interesting but I still think highly doubtful scenario," said a Bush insider. "And if that should happen," added the official, "there will undoubtedly be those who believe the whole thing was orchestrated – another brilliant Machiavellian move by the VP."
Said another Bush associate of the rumor, "Yes. This is not good." The rumor spread so fast that some Republicans by late morning were already drawing up reasons why Rice couldn't get the job or run for president in 2008.
"Isn't she pro-choice?" asked a key Senate Republican aide. Many White House insiders, however, said the Post story and reports that the investigation was coming to a close had officials instead more focused on who would be dragged into the affair and if top aides would be indicted and forced to resign.
"Folks on the inside and near inside are holding their breath and wondering what's next," said a Bush adviser. But, he added, they aren't focused on the future of the vice president. "Not that, at least not seriously," he said.
John Nichols Tue Oct 18, 1:08 PM ET
The Nation -- Well, of course, the investigation of who leaked
CIA agent Valerie Plame's name -- violating the federal law that bars the "outing" of intelligence operatives -- has come around to Vice President
Dick Cheney' name. While it may be news to the Washington Post -- which headlined a breathless report on Tuesday: "Cheney's Office Is A Focus in Leak Case" -- the fact is that Cheney and his aides have been likely suspects from day one.
No prominent member of the administration had more to lose as a result of the 2003 revelation by Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, that the White House's pre-war claims regarding
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been inflated than did Cheney -- who, to a far greater extent than
George Bush, had a hand in shaping the arguments for going to war, plugged them in media appearances and defended them after all evidence suggested his pronouncements had been wrong. It is important to recall that, while Bush may have deliberately fuzzed the facts in his 2003 State of the Union address, it was Cheney who leapt off the cliff of speculation with the pre-war declaration that, "We know
Saddam Hussein's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
No key player in the administration was more at odds with the
Central Intelligence Agency than Cheney. Indeed, Cheney's badgering of the agency to come up with "evidence" of Iraqi WMDs and al-Qaeda connections was so aggressive -- he regularly stormed into the CIA headquarters to demand a briefing and then, when the information did not fit his biases, demanded that someone else brief him -- that members of the House Intelligence Committee complained in a reprimanding letter, "These visits are unprecedented. Normally, vice presidents, including yourself, receive regular briefings from (the) CIA in your office and have a CIA officer on permanent detail. There is no reason to make personal visits to the CIA."
No top office within the administration was better positioned than Cheney's to gather the information that was used to attack Wilson and his wife and to peddle that information to the press. In fact, as Joe Wilson told me in an interview about the leaking of his wife's name that we did early in 2004, "With respect to who actually leaked the information, there are really only a few people -- far fewer than the president let on when he said there are a lot of senior administration officials -- who could have done it. At the end of the day, you have to have the means, the keys to the conversations at which somebody might drop my wife's name -- deliberately or not -- a national security clearance, and a reason to be talking about this. When you look at all that, there are really very few people who exist at that nexis between national security and foreign policy and politics. You can count them, literally, on two hands."
Wilson added that, without a doubt, "the vice president is one of those people."
And no one, repeat no one, in Washington is known to be more vindictive than Dick Cheney. So the notion that Cheney would not only have been aware of but in fact delighted in punishing Wilson by ruining the career of the ambassador's wife is entirely plausible. By all accounts, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating that prospect as his long examination of crimes that may have been committed in relation to the Plame leak draws to a close.
Does this mean that the vice president will be indicted by the federal grand jury that is currently examining the actions of White House political czar Karl Rove and, more importantly, Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby?
Don't bet on it.
Libby is blood-oath, fall-on-the-sword loyal to Cheney. A Reagan-era State Department hand and Congressional staffer who came to know his future boss when Cheney was serving in Congress during the 1980s, Libby went with Cheney to George H. W. Bush's Defense Department -- serving Secretary of Defense Cheney as Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Strategy and Resources and Deputy Under Secretary for Policy. Libby was then a founder of the neo-conservative Project for a New American Century, which promoted the vision of American Empire that Cheney and his staff had cooked up in their controversial draft Defense Policy Guidance statement during their final days at the
Pentagon. And when Cheney returned to the corridors of power, as vice president, Libby was at his side.
But the Cheney-Libby partnership is not merely a power and policy connection. Their relationship is more father-son than boss-surrogate. Libby vacations with Cheney at the vice president's $2.9 million villa in Wyoming, and Libby's access is such that he is welcome to invite friends and compatriots along to enjoy the skiing near Jackson Hole.
The likelihood that Libby would give up a relationship that has buttered his bread for the better part of a quarter century is even more remote than the likelihood that Rove would turn on Bush.
Yet, no one who knows about how Cheney and Libby operate will doubt that the two men had no secrets from one another during the period when the attacks on the CIA, in general, and Wilson and Plame, in particular, were taking place.
The vice president is a famously hands-on player. He personally requested information about claims that the Iraqis were attempting to obtain uranium from African countries -- the issue that Wilson examined in 2002, when he was dispatched to Africa and found that the claims were not credible. And while Cheney now says that he knew nothing of the report that Wilson produced before the war, the former ambassador has never believed him.
"If you are senior enough to ask the question, you are senior enough to get a very specific response," said Wilson. "In addition to the circular report that was sent around as a consequence of my trip, I have every confidence that one way or another the vice president was briefed as well." Yet, it was the vice president who continued to claim, long after Bush had dropped the line, that Saddam Hussein was a nuclear threat. And Cheney always went much further than Bush or others in the administration when making that claim. Indeed, it was Cheney who specifically stated prior to the Congressional votes on authorizing the use of force in Iraq that, Hussein had "resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons." Cheney claimed in the same speech that, "Armed with an arsenal of these weapons of terror, and seated atop 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saddam Hussein could then be expected to seek domination of the entire Middle East, take control of the world's energy supplies, directly threaten American friends throughout the region, and subject the United States or any other nation to nuclear blackmail."
It is certainly reasonable to argue that Cheney had more reason to strike out at Wilson than anyone else in the administration when the former ambassador revealed the truth in a New York Times opinion piece that appeared in the summer of 2003. And, while Cheney may not have done the deed directly, it is comic to suggest that the vice president -- who was in constant contact with both Libby and Rove around the time of the leak -- could have been unaware of any serious effort to discredit Wilson by "outing" his wife as a CIA agent.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Normally, I'd say my life is so-so. Not much movement anywhere, just hanging tough and wondering where the next punch is coming from. You know, weathering the storm or the lulls between. But something exciting has happened. I put my resume on the internet and I got hits (not punches). Two outfits contacted me. One was a recruiter for a San Jose firm that's looking to pay someone $45,000-50,000 a year to do what I do. The other was a regional heavyweight. I turned down the San Jose gig, because...well...it would mean moving to San Jose. The second I submitted my real resume to and am hoping they would like to talk. I don't know that I would accept that offer either ( I do like my current employer). However, my current employer has an automatic printout anytime an applicant puts a resume on monster.com and it matches up with their search words. So, they saw it. And they freaked. It's now possible that I will be offered a promotion and transfer to Poulsbo, Washington. I want to go back to WA if possible and financially feasible. So, stirring the pot has been good. I found out that it's a major seller's market for someone like me. There are no qualified technicians out there to handle all aspects of an engineering lab. Makes me feel good finally for sticking this out for over 5 years and getting as many certifications as I can.
Also, that bad BMW I own finally got a hit on cars.com. Who knows? If someone wants to buy it they'll find it to be a sweet, sweet ride.
So, I'm happy as a restless soul can be. Which is what I think I now have figured myself to be. I guess I always was, but thought I was just unhappy or hard to satisfy. Perhaps, I just refuse to settle when I think something on the horizon is calling to me. perhaps i simply refuse to commit. whatever it is and whatever happens, I now that change is the only constant. And, once again, I rush to embrace it.
Also, that bad BMW I own finally got a hit on cars.com. Who knows? If someone wants to buy it they'll find it to be a sweet, sweet ride.
So, I'm happy as a restless soul can be. Which is what I think I now have figured myself to be. I guess I always was, but thought I was just unhappy or hard to satisfy. Perhaps, I just refuse to settle when I think something on the horizon is calling to me. perhaps i simply refuse to commit. whatever it is and whatever happens, I now that change is the only constant. And, once again, I rush to embrace it.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Let's Get Serious
If "talking" to "regular" people is all it takes to be President, then I'm voting for Mickey Mouse. Remember that the Generals on the ground in Iraq have recently stated that one (ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!) Iraqi battalion is ready for operations sans American military supervision and accompaniment. ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
In this "talk" the "grunts (read: officers and one Iraqi soldier)" are much more upbeat. Hmmm....why might that be? Because maybe (just maybe) they were vetted, coached and threatened? Nah...couldn't be. our president would never stoop to such levels, such abrogation of moral honesty. Why, if a leader of our society were to do something such as that then he should pilloried. And Bush is not an immoral man. Look at what he's done to find the culprit who outed Valerie Plame. Look at what he's done to find the person who fabricated the Niger uranium claims. Look at what he's done to corner the Iraq/Al-quaeda link liar. Look at what he's done to stop poverty. And AIDS. And genocide in the Sudan. And global warming (have you heard that the Northwest Passage may be open again within the next decade?). Look at what he's done to slow the bank accounts of the corporate mightys. Look at what he's done to ensure our domestic tranquility at the expense of "spreading" "democra-fascism" throughout the world. I mean, come on. People, this President has pushed us further toward global likeism than any leader since...uh...well, you get the point. A heck of a guy. FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! BOO-YAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Democrats, Liberals, Europeans, Africans, Asians, Canadians, Russians (and all of those damn new countries under their sway), UNers, World Courters, World Bankers, World Tribunalers, and all of the other global thinking people are full of ess-aytch-eye-tee. Poo Poo.
P.S. And Greenpeace is anti-human.
In this "talk" the "grunts (read: officers and one Iraqi soldier)" are much more upbeat. Hmmm....why might that be? Because maybe (just maybe) they were vetted, coached and threatened? Nah...couldn't be. our president would never stoop to such levels, such abrogation of moral honesty. Why, if a leader of our society were to do something such as that then he should pilloried. And Bush is not an immoral man. Look at what he's done to find the culprit who outed Valerie Plame. Look at what he's done to find the person who fabricated the Niger uranium claims. Look at what he's done to corner the Iraq/Al-quaeda link liar. Look at what he's done to stop poverty. And AIDS. And genocide in the Sudan. And global warming (have you heard that the Northwest Passage may be open again within the next decade?). Look at what he's done to slow the bank accounts of the corporate mightys. Look at what he's done to ensure our domestic tranquility at the expense of "spreading" "democra-fascism" throughout the world. I mean, come on. People, this President has pushed us further toward global likeism than any leader since...uh...well, you get the point. A heck of a guy. FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! BOO-YAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Democrats, Liberals, Europeans, Africans, Asians, Canadians, Russians (and all of those damn new countries under their sway), UNers, World Courters, World Bankers, World Tribunalers, and all of the other global thinking people are full of ess-aytch-eye-tee. Poo Poo.
P.S. And Greenpeace is anti-human.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Why'd I Even Blog?
Plamegate:
From Murray Waas in the National Journal comes this breaking story.
From Democracy Now comes Amy Goodman's interview with Murray Waas this morning.
And from 9/29/03 we get a White House press conference with Scott McClellan soon after this story hit the media.
...You know, I was going to spend my time today researching political stories and see what caught my fancy. I was in the mood and feeling ornery. Ready to spew forth my own little brand of venom on the Bush badministration for its hypocricy and discomboobulated conswervatism. Man, I was there. In the zone. Locked and loaded. A 5000 pound missile with words stenciled on it that read "Say Hi To Nixon For Me". or "Benedict Arnold Shoulda Had A Hung Jury". Or "My Bosses Went To Iraq And All I Got Was Bombed". But noooooooo.......! I find that I'm bored and all I want to do is watch TV. So, that's what I'm going to do. Ta.
From Murray Waas in the National Journal comes this breaking story.
From Democracy Now comes Amy Goodman's interview with Murray Waas this morning.
And from 9/29/03 we get a White House press conference with Scott McClellan soon after this story hit the media.
...You know, I was going to spend my time today researching political stories and see what caught my fancy. I was in the mood and feeling ornery. Ready to spew forth my own little brand of venom on the Bush badministration for its hypocricy and discomboobulated conswervatism. Man, I was there. In the zone. Locked and loaded. A 5000 pound missile with words stenciled on it that read "Say Hi To Nixon For Me". or "Benedict Arnold Shoulda Had A Hung Jury". Or "My Bosses Went To Iraq And All I Got Was Bombed". But noooooooo.......! I find that I'm bored and all I want to do is watch TV. So, that's what I'm going to do. Ta.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Quag-Miers
it's a funny pickle. harriet miers is nominated by bush to the supreme court and the group that goes ape-banana-shit over it is the right wing. obviously, her lack of ANY judicial experience should raise two eyebrows straight to heaven. obviously, her statement that bush is a genius should cause ANOTHER tsunami to happen and this time roll right over the biblical lands. obviously, she is strong on rolling back abortion rights...or is she? obviously, she's big on constitutional interpretation...or is she? obviously, she has no track record on anything...or does she? james dobson claims that (from conversations he's not allowed to discuss) she's anti-abortion. other pundits claim they've been told that "on background" she falls right in line with the Right. democrats look up from the foxholes they've chosen to inhabit for the last five years and can't seem to find the weapons they brought into battle with them. instead of talking about her lack of judicial experience, why aren't they rattling sabres over bush's claim that her faith is enough? why aren't they agreeing with the Right who opposes her and then informing the public that the reason george will is against her is because she hasn't proven herself conservative enough? that is the real reason the Right is against her. it's not the lack of good lawyering or the lack of ever having been a judge. it's that her paper trail isn't cohesive. the conservatives don't consider john roberts a true conservative. he's not religious enough. now they have a fundamentalist, but she's not legal enough? come on. bull....shit. the Right realizes it bought a pig in a poke with roberts. he may turn out to be a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who will work to overturn every "liberal" ruling from the past 300 years or so, but they can't bank the farm on it. they feel that they are OWED. owed by this administration that they helped elect. owed by bush who claims visions from god (no one else seems to be that close to the Almighty other than him in the administration, though. noticed?). now they want a justice who will tell the congress in nomination hearings that god will kill all of their firstborns if he/she is not voted onto the bench.
and the dems sit by and wonder what the next step in acting more civilized is. note to dems: civilized is a word 86'd by webster's because it's "archaic, nondemonstrable and naive to the max". get on board the reality bus. miers shouldn't be on the court, because she's a wolf in sheep's clothing. whose wolf is what everyone is debating. but it's clear to me that she is bush's wolf. he's nominated her on the "trust me" ticket. in other words, he will not give out any concrete specs for her viability. why? that is the question. it may be that she has none other than her unswerving loyalty to bush. and the possibility that she helped cover up his national guard days.
necessity is the mother of invention, but
graft is the bastard of hubris.
and the dems sit by and wonder what the next step in acting more civilized is. note to dems: civilized is a word 86'd by webster's because it's "archaic, nondemonstrable and naive to the max". get on board the reality bus. miers shouldn't be on the court, because she's a wolf in sheep's clothing. whose wolf is what everyone is debating. but it's clear to me that she is bush's wolf. he's nominated her on the "trust me" ticket. in other words, he will not give out any concrete specs for her viability. why? that is the question. it may be that she has none other than her unswerving loyalty to bush. and the possibility that she helped cover up his national guard days.
necessity is the mother of invention, but
graft is the bastard of hubris.
Monday, October 10, 2005
No Title, Because That Would Most Likely Be Misleading And I would Never Want To Do That To You And (After All) I Am Already The Cosmic Gallactic Univ
(ersal Big Head In The Sky Who Loves A Huge Hummer Of A Post Title)
wow. it seems today's my day. if you know my previous posts, then you know that i posted a resume on monster.com. that was when? Saturday or Sunday? Maybe last Friday? Yeah, I think it was Friday. Hmmm...took longer than I thought.
When I got home today from work I found a message on my phone from a materials supplier who wanted to talk to me, because he has two openings. His is a company I know well. I test against it all of the time. I create asphalt mix designs (actually making asphalt in my lab) from its material and specifications in order to see if the material will do what it wants it to do. He called from L.A. Who knows where he has openings for. It could be L.A. It could be San Jose. Or Fresno.
Then I logged in to my email. On the bulk mail page I found two messages of interest. One was from the guy who called me. Very good so far. I decided to talk to my boss before answering that one. But then I read the second one. It was from a "head hunter" who may have not read my resume all of the way through. It's for a job in San Jose. I have most of the prerequisates, but I don't have a "Degree in Science or something equivalent". I wrote her back to tell her this. I also wrote that if the degree had any waiverability to it I would be interested. She wrote back almost immediately that the degree waiver had been lifted if the applicant had good enough experience (and, unfortunately, has experience in word, excel and something else). she says the pay should be $45-55,000 with benefits and a company car. i know i'm already either:
a) out of my depth
b) dealing with a company that is desparate for qualified talent.
Either and both could be the case. Don't even think for a moment that I know how to downplay my expertise. I love my knowledge and talent in the lab. I'm one of a rare breed who chooses to stay in the lab. A lab technician by definition makes the least amount of money per hour. Most technicians start in the lab and move on, because they want state wages when they can get on field job. Lab techs who stick it out become valuable commodities. As an example, I know more about asphalt and how to make it then my degreed managers do. I also know more about soil than most engineers do, because i used to deal with it every day. I looked at it, kneaded it, compressed it, stretched it, tore it apart, broke it down, reassembled it, theorized about it. Engineers know what it's supposed to do. Technicians know what it does. An amazing concept in many ways.
Engineers spend so much money to attain a piece of paper that states they know soil or asphalt or concrete. With that paper they can earn $50,000 right out of college. But they may not know what friable clay actually looks like. They may not understand what "heavy flushing" means when they look at asphalt. They may not know how to recognize "rootlet voids". When looking at a blueish soil from the foothills what would they say? Can they tell you what the Valley normally uses for an asphalt emolliant on highways? What is the minimal degree faranheit atmosperically allowed when paving in the Valley? When are you allowed to use a laser temperature gun as opposed to a metal asphalt thermometer when inspecting paving on the mat?
I can answer these questions. An engineer can't always. But an engineer can use a calculator to solve for an angle on a slope. An engineer can tell you how steep your hill can be and still build on it. He can formulate a theory based on my tests that lets you manifest your dreams.
I can't do that. I can only help. I can only provide reality. And both are equally important. But the engineer can look at what I've done and extrapolate. I cannot look at what he's done and interpolate.
So, the Astros will be playing the Cardinals. Who will be playing the White Sox? It's still up to chance.
wow. it seems today's my day. if you know my previous posts, then you know that i posted a resume on monster.com. that was when? Saturday or Sunday? Maybe last Friday? Yeah, I think it was Friday. Hmmm...took longer than I thought.
When I got home today from work I found a message on my phone from a materials supplier who wanted to talk to me, because he has two openings. His is a company I know well. I test against it all of the time. I create asphalt mix designs (actually making asphalt in my lab) from its material and specifications in order to see if the material will do what it wants it to do. He called from L.A. Who knows where he has openings for. It could be L.A. It could be San Jose. Or Fresno.
Then I logged in to my email. On the bulk mail page I found two messages of interest. One was from the guy who called me. Very good so far. I decided to talk to my boss before answering that one. But then I read the second one. It was from a "head hunter" who may have not read my resume all of the way through. It's for a job in San Jose. I have most of the prerequisates, but I don't have a "Degree in Science or something equivalent". I wrote her back to tell her this. I also wrote that if the degree had any waiverability to it I would be interested. She wrote back almost immediately that the degree waiver had been lifted if the applicant had good enough experience (and, unfortunately, has experience in word, excel and something else). she says the pay should be $45-55,000 with benefits and a company car. i know i'm already either:
a) out of my depth
b) dealing with a company that is desparate for qualified talent.
Either and both could be the case. Don't even think for a moment that I know how to downplay my expertise. I love my knowledge and talent in the lab. I'm one of a rare breed who chooses to stay in the lab. A lab technician by definition makes the least amount of money per hour. Most technicians start in the lab and move on, because they want state wages when they can get on field job. Lab techs who stick it out become valuable commodities. As an example, I know more about asphalt and how to make it then my degreed managers do. I also know more about soil than most engineers do, because i used to deal with it every day. I looked at it, kneaded it, compressed it, stretched it, tore it apart, broke it down, reassembled it, theorized about it. Engineers know what it's supposed to do. Technicians know what it does. An amazing concept in many ways.
Engineers spend so much money to attain a piece of paper that states they know soil or asphalt or concrete. With that paper they can earn $50,000 right out of college. But they may not know what friable clay actually looks like. They may not understand what "heavy flushing" means when they look at asphalt. They may not know how to recognize "rootlet voids". When looking at a blueish soil from the foothills what would they say? Can they tell you what the Valley normally uses for an asphalt emolliant on highways? What is the minimal degree faranheit atmosperically allowed when paving in the Valley? When are you allowed to use a laser temperature gun as opposed to a metal asphalt thermometer when inspecting paving on the mat?
I can answer these questions. An engineer can't always. But an engineer can use a calculator to solve for an angle on a slope. An engineer can tell you how steep your hill can be and still build on it. He can formulate a theory based on my tests that lets you manifest your dreams.
I can't do that. I can only help. I can only provide reality. And both are equally important. But the engineer can look at what I've done and extrapolate. I cannot look at what he's done and interpolate.
So, the Astros will be playing the Cardinals. Who will be playing the White Sox? It's still up to chance.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Indiana Means In Diana And Nothin' Else!
we here at dyerama central, known clearinghouse of information, wish to pass along the following alert to anyone residing in the state of indiana: your rights to assisted pregnancy (i.e. you're infertile and wish to go the surrogate route, you're unmarried or gay) may end soon. a proposed bill has been introduced to the Health Finance Commission. it is Request Number 20061258. within this "request" is a line which states that an unmarried person may not be an intended parent. further down (and it's long) is a section that would require "intended parents" to describe in detail their lives and livlihoods (okay on the surface). however, within this list is: "values" and "relationships". read further and one finds that the bill would require one to list any and all "faith-based" associations and activities. evidently, this proposed bill has the backing of the commission's chairperson, state senator patricia miller. however, yesterday she withdrew this bill from consideration. one wonders why. one's mind boggles. one shakes the magic eight ball for insight into how this neanderthal was ever elected. then one checks the map that shows all 50 states, peruses past statewide voting tendancies, and shrugs. unles, of course, one has been to indiana in the past lifetime...then one doesn't even have to look at stats. one just knows.
p.s. ginandtacos has a good line on this topic as well. look to the october 6 entry.
p.s. ginandtacos has a good line on this topic as well. look to the october 6 entry.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
fed up in fresno
so, i decided to post on monster.com and whore out my expertise. i did this, because today i found out that a field technician who is returning to washington and was going to quit working for my comapny was offered a lab manager position in poulsbo. he has no lab experience whatsoever. he evidently is a great field tech, but...he has none of the below. when i accepted employment with this company i made a point of telling it that i would be willing to relocate in order to help the company (and myself). i think that i am in the grips of yet another behemoth that will hold me back at all costs in order to keep me where it wants me. at my last job i was told i was their "secret weapon". in other words i did such a good job that they would never tell me when a rival company was interested. but they would tell lesser qualified employees about openings elsewhere. simply put, i am a bit put out. i can run 98% of an engineering lab's tests (plus, i have learned a few tricks that aren't in any test manual). i can run a lab. my only weakness is that i will tell managers where they can stuff it when i think they are being unreasonable or supercilious. so, does anyone know of lab openings at an engineering firm in washington? i'd actually like to move closer to my parents and one of my brothers and his family (who live in spokane). i'm tired of being the player not to be named later.
and i'm willing to post tattoos.
Laboratory Technician, Level 3
(blank) and Associates
Clovis/CA
I currently run all asphalt tests for this office. I am engaged in all phases of asphalt mix designs. Tests I am proficient in include: Hveem and Marshall compaction, stability, stability and flow, bulk specific gravities, theoretical specific gravity, solvent extraction, asphalt content via ignition oven, gradations, sand equivalent, coarse and fine aggregate specific gravities, CKE, particle size analysis, atterburg limits, L.A. rattler, tensile/strength ratio (asphalt), all soil compaction, expansion index, direct shear, soil permeability, cleanness value, durability index, unconfined compression, resistance values (soil), concrete cylinder compression, fractured faces, flat and elongated particles, unit weight, moisture determination (oven and microwave), material finer than the 200 sieve, Concerning field work, I am proficient in concrete specimen sampling (all phases), aggregate and oil sampling at batch plants, asphalt sampling from the roadway, batch plant supervision and inspection.I currently hold certification of Caltrans 105, 106, 125 Aggegrate, 125 Asphalt, 201, 303, 304, 308, 370, 382.I am Nicet Level 1 certified.I am ACI Field certified.I have been a co-manager of an engineering laboratory. I have been certified in all of Caltrans field concrete requirements. I have passed multiple government security clearances for field work.I have my Troxler Nuclear Gauge Safety certificate.I have more than 5 years experience in this field. My strength and enjoyment is in the lab. I am currently in the process of attaining my ACI Lab certificate and will be attempting to attain my NICET Level 2 certificates in the next month. Also, I will most likely have 8 more Caltrans cetificates as well in that time.I am a self starter and require no supervision.
and i'm willing to post tattoos.
Laboratory Technician, Level 3
(blank) and Associates
Clovis/CA
I currently run all asphalt tests for this office. I am engaged in all phases of asphalt mix designs. Tests I am proficient in include: Hveem and Marshall compaction, stability, stability and flow, bulk specific gravities, theoretical specific gravity, solvent extraction, asphalt content via ignition oven, gradations, sand equivalent, coarse and fine aggregate specific gravities, CKE, particle size analysis, atterburg limits, L.A. rattler, tensile/strength ratio (asphalt), all soil compaction, expansion index, direct shear, soil permeability, cleanness value, durability index, unconfined compression, resistance values (soil), concrete cylinder compression, fractured faces, flat and elongated particles, unit weight, moisture determination (oven and microwave), material finer than the 200 sieve, Concerning field work, I am proficient in concrete specimen sampling (all phases), aggregate and oil sampling at batch plants, asphalt sampling from the roadway, batch plant supervision and inspection.I currently hold certification of Caltrans 105, 106, 125 Aggegrate, 125 Asphalt, 201, 303, 304, 308, 370, 382.I am Nicet Level 1 certified.I am ACI Field certified.I have been a co-manager of an engineering laboratory. I have been certified in all of Caltrans field concrete requirements. I have passed multiple government security clearances for field work.I have my Troxler Nuclear Gauge Safety certificate.I have more than 5 years experience in this field. My strength and enjoyment is in the lab. I am currently in the process of attaining my ACI Lab certificate and will be attempting to attain my NICET Level 2 certificates in the next month. Also, I will most likely have 8 more Caltrans cetificates as well in that time.I am a self starter and require no supervision.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
HNT I got NOTHING!!!!!
i got nothing this week. so i reversed color on this tat. i like it. but i still got nothing. no story, no nothing. my life is a chasm of work hell right now and i literally don't know what day it is. lecram had to correct me earlier today when i thought it was tuesday.
but that is one good looking tattoo. better than the real thing. and you can still see the ribbon in the dancer's hands. happy HNT to all and to all a good fright.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Tabula Rasa
okay, maybe it's a cheap shot...but i'd swear i can see the president's lips moving. now let's see him drink a glass of water.anyhoo, his doll is perhaps the next supreme. be aware, be vary aware. and to those of you who might make the assertion that charlotte mccarthy over there is maybe not so zealously partisan because it's on the record that she donated to al gore's campaign fund...think about who was gore's campaign chairman at the time-none other than democrat-turned-republican (insert triumphal music cue here) texas's now-governor rick perry. big raspberries.
next topic: the DOD has better things to do, it seems, than repay families who bought body armor and whatnot for their soldier-children when the DOD wouldn't (even though congress ordered it to last year). tsk, tsk. but maybe that money is going to the starving children of Sudan. no? well then, it must be the victims of hurricanes katrina and rita. wrong again? huh...
(by the way, two sidenotes here on the 'canes. did anyone else think on the song "walking on sunshine" and notice any irony? also, everyone knows that tornadoes target mobile home parks and wipe them from the face of the earth. that's a given. but recently there have been articles about 150,000 mobile homes springing up out of nowhere after these 'canes. so, do the tornadoes waft them up into the air, take them out over the atlantic, hand them to the hurricanes [who clean them up, polish them, get rid of the residents] and the hurricanes bring them back ready for new inhabitants? not that anyone really is. only about 5000 of the 150,000 are actually being resided in. just wondering.)
"Lady Thatcher met Mr DeLay as as one politician meeting another. It was in no way a business meeting." um, how can that NOT be a business meeting? they're politicians for crying out loud! that's all they do. they eat it, breathe it, live it, crap it and bugger it. delay does not go anywhere without an agenda. least of all, to england...oh wait, it was a golf outing. perhaps, he just wanted her advice on how best to swing a mashie. there are a few other tidbits (rumors) on thatcher's health and decline thereof. i can't say i didn't admire her after a fashion and it would be a shame for her to lose her mental prowess. casting aside the falklands photo-op war, she did much to bring england back into the mainstream of world politics. she was more than smart enough to realize that the dollar was once again invincible, reagan was on a major roll and the Cold War was being won by him. when you are no longer the world's biggest power, what do you do? well, the smart leader places her money on the biggest and strongest horse. this she did and it was the right thing to do at the time. which is more than can be said of many world leaders at any given time in history.
oops, charlotte mccarthy ( i mean, harriet miers) time again. here is her resume. then she says this: "The wisdom of those who drafted our Constitution and conceived our nation as functioning with three strong and independent branches has proven truly remarkable" and i wonder where she was vacationing when terri schiavo was being batted around by the republicans who accused the federal and supreme courts of activism in refusing to become involved in a private matter and threatened them with physical retaliation. or when the supreme court actually agreed to step in and stop the 2000 presidential vote recount? does an independent judicial branch do what the white house tells it to do? does it interpret law as decreed by a 250-ish year old manuscript and allow as how only men are created equal? thomas jefferson and ben franklin were were very wary of instituting laws that, once in ink and signed, could be used by the few to oppress the many. and they both knew it could be done through "strict interpretation" easier than through verbal manipulation.
enough for now. as everyone knows...i hate politics except when it hates me back.
Friday, September 30, 2005
friday night fights? Swing and a Spliff
oh my. it's friday, isn't it? it was monday and now it's friday. it was monday, then it was tuesdaywednesdaythursday and tonight it's not. i need a moment to do a system check...minor knot in the mid-back region next to the spine (curable with Heinieken10, per hour x2, low-level headache and small blister on finger from busting ass all day today so that tomorrow will only be a long short work experience (see above prescription); beer fluids level is acceptable (but can be topped off); red sox are beating the yankees. cheers.
okay. everything's fairly in the green.
so, let's chat. i'll open up the floor to questions first. anyone? no? you sure? great.
looking to the news:
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. the link really is to a story, but when i was at the end of it and saw the threat...well, call me immature. call me reactionary. call me...The Pale Writer.
Storms in U.S. divert gaze from worsening Iraq...yeah, remember this one? that "war" over "there"? wasn't going so well, people dying, soldiers getting blown up, constitution in crisis and all that? still happening...yup. didn't go away. except from the papers, of course. it seems judith miller being freed from jail is more newsworthy than 62 iraqis being blown to pieces along with 5 of our soldiers. karen hughes handing out books about our presidents to children in istanbul (by the way, the four photos on the book's cover were of washington, kennedy, lincoln and...you guessed it...bush) is also more noteworthy. but the iraq "experience" is still kicking up dust in the rear view mirror and gaining again. unless, of course, we can generate another diversion.
some time ago i was sent a link by lecram to a site that traded photos of dead iraqis from american soldiers for free porn access. lecram did not send it for prurient reasons. he sent it to inform me of a gruesome and immoral "hobby" going on. i did not blog about it. instead i sent it to a fellow blogger. he posted about it and sent it to other friends who could investigate it. little did we know at the time that this would become something of news importance. we were just trying to get the word out about this atrocious site. now, i find who the first blogger was to see it and post about it. don't click on the link unless you know italian. now, though, the press is beginning to run this story and ask questions. like "how can it be legal to trade desecration of the dead for 'lolitas-r-us'"? this link gives multiple links to those in the press picking up the thread. and about time. the site started as a place for soldiers to post nude pictures of their wives/girlfriends (huh?). it eventually morphed into what it is when the site's owner was sent pictures of iraqi dead (civilians, insurgents, terrorists...what's the difference, right?). he chose to then open the porn up to anyone who would email him or post macabre shots. and give free access to retail porn. i can understand soldiers using morbid humor to relieve the daily stress over there. cops do it, too, over here. we civilians tend to not understand the pressures constantly placed on soldiers. they are not the decision or policy makers. they are the front line holding the decisions and policies together on a shoestring budget and no armor for their trucks. and getting shot at and blown up...however. trading death for what one can only hope is a good 30 second jackoff is just wrong. FUCKING wrong! there is plenty of free porn to be had out there (and way more fun). more than i can shake my stick at. one doesn't have to buy a dime's worth in order to get off. so, there you have it. straight from the ass's mouth. my moral two cents, which is worth $.00014 less than it was when you started reading this post.
The Senator's aide chuckled rather loudly and said, "What VA? By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA." cue villain theme music, an offstage "bwahahahah!!!" and four shots of something strong. the Veteran's Administration actually works? despite the budgetary cutbacks they've experienced over the past 6 years or so? go figure. they should be bankrupt by now. they should be mere rubble under the boots of Small Government Nazis. we should be watching old soldiers lining up for the "special showers". that's how much conservative compassion this administration has had for those who served our country (for better or worse) in times of war and peace. once again: front line grunts paying the political price instead of those politicians on both sides of the corporate boardwalk who try to gut needed programs in order to free up money for their pet pork. at the moment, this IS a republican pogrom. but politicians will be politicians no matter who's in power. sell to the highest bidder and hope they have really good lawyers who can hide the shady dealings, reword untimely sales of stock and redistribute focus when it it all spills out (what politico can honestly think nowadays that the BIG fuckups will go away? especially with us fuckass bloggers getting involved).
now, it's important to remember that the Texas District Attorney is well known for his indiscriminatory pursuits of justice. and it's important to remember that a cia agent's outing is still not solved at the highest level. this man in Texas has managed to convince a grand jury that Tom (How To) Delay should be indicted for conspiracy (granted, grand juries merely rule on the general news). this indictment follows in the footsteps of not less than three rebukes by the House On Ethics and Reform in the last three (?) years. the majority leader has a few marks on his record? seems to me that if his scoresheet belonged to me i would be paying very high insurance rates and unable to secure loans or any kind of real financial help. but How To still has the public backing of the largest insurance company in the world: the republican party. if things went this south for me i'd be worried that the check cashing place on the corner wouldn't really hold my check until monday.
the one time i ran afoul of the law (in any meaningful way) was when i got really, really, really drunk and insisted on driving. it was a barbecue after a matinee at second space. we started at one actor's house where we drank beer and ate. then we went to the "english" pub where i used to work and drank guinness (notice how i separate beer from guinness?). after some games of real cricket we sojourned to the roadhouse. i had been given $5 by a friend who couldn't go and had told me to buy a kamakazi and drink it for her. when the gang got to the roadhouse one of my compadres talked the bartender into giving the two of us a pitcher of kamakazis for the same price. i remember saying to him "that's damn slick". then i turned to view the pool table. then i woke up and was driving through a school fence at 3 a.m. the only thing that woke me in time was the cigarette ember burning into my hand, because my head was slumped down onto my arm. at the station i blew a .27. at the court appearance to plead guilty to drunken driving 2 or 3 months later the prosecuter's assistant's jaw hit the floor when the judge read off my blood alcohol level. so did i actually. i hadn't heard what it was. and i immediately thought of how i drove right through the fence without hitting the posts and no car rammed me and nobody was hurt. and only one word came to mind: wow. i'm alive.
and all of this makes me think of my cat who expects me to feed it, house it and then leave it the fuck alone.
this is the tabby translated into siamese. holy cat on a cross, saint francis. i don't know her name, but thumper is her game.
okay. everything's fairly in the green.
so, let's chat. i'll open up the floor to questions first. anyone? no? you sure? great.
looking to the news:
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. the link really is to a story, but when i was at the end of it and saw the threat...well, call me immature. call me reactionary. call me...The Pale Writer.
Storms in U.S. divert gaze from worsening Iraq...yeah, remember this one? that "war" over "there"? wasn't going so well, people dying, soldiers getting blown up, constitution in crisis and all that? still happening...yup. didn't go away. except from the papers, of course. it seems judith miller being freed from jail is more newsworthy than 62 iraqis being blown to pieces along with 5 of our soldiers. karen hughes handing out books about our presidents to children in istanbul (by the way, the four photos on the book's cover were of washington, kennedy, lincoln and...you guessed it...bush) is also more noteworthy. but the iraq "experience" is still kicking up dust in the rear view mirror and gaining again. unless, of course, we can generate another diversion.
some time ago i was sent a link by lecram to a site that traded photos of dead iraqis from american soldiers for free porn access. lecram did not send it for prurient reasons. he sent it to inform me of a gruesome and immoral "hobby" going on. i did not blog about it. instead i sent it to a fellow blogger. he posted about it and sent it to other friends who could investigate it. little did we know at the time that this would become something of news importance. we were just trying to get the word out about this atrocious site. now, i find who the first blogger was to see it and post about it. don't click on the link unless you know italian. now, though, the press is beginning to run this story and ask questions. like "how can it be legal to trade desecration of the dead for 'lolitas-r-us'"? this link gives multiple links to those in the press picking up the thread. and about time. the site started as a place for soldiers to post nude pictures of their wives/girlfriends (huh?). it eventually morphed into what it is when the site's owner was sent pictures of iraqi dead (civilians, insurgents, terrorists...what's the difference, right?). he chose to then open the porn up to anyone who would email him or post macabre shots. and give free access to retail porn. i can understand soldiers using morbid humor to relieve the daily stress over there. cops do it, too, over here. we civilians tend to not understand the pressures constantly placed on soldiers. they are not the decision or policy makers. they are the front line holding the decisions and policies together on a shoestring budget and no armor for their trucks. and getting shot at and blown up...however. trading death for what one can only hope is a good 30 second jackoff is just wrong. FUCKING wrong! there is plenty of free porn to be had out there (and way more fun). more than i can shake my stick at. one doesn't have to buy a dime's worth in order to get off. so, there you have it. straight from the ass's mouth. my moral two cents, which is worth $.00014 less than it was when you started reading this post.
The Senator's aide chuckled rather loudly and said, "What VA? By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA." cue villain theme music, an offstage "bwahahahah!!!" and four shots of something strong. the Veteran's Administration actually works? despite the budgetary cutbacks they've experienced over the past 6 years or so? go figure. they should be bankrupt by now. they should be mere rubble under the boots of Small Government Nazis. we should be watching old soldiers lining up for the "special showers". that's how much conservative compassion this administration has had for those who served our country (for better or worse) in times of war and peace. once again: front line grunts paying the political price instead of those politicians on both sides of the corporate boardwalk who try to gut needed programs in order to free up money for their pet pork. at the moment, this IS a republican pogrom. but politicians will be politicians no matter who's in power. sell to the highest bidder and hope they have really good lawyers who can hide the shady dealings, reword untimely sales of stock and redistribute focus when it it all spills out (what politico can honestly think nowadays that the BIG fuckups will go away? especially with us fuckass bloggers getting involved).
now, it's important to remember that the Texas District Attorney is well known for his indiscriminatory pursuits of justice. and it's important to remember that a cia agent's outing is still not solved at the highest level. this man in Texas has managed to convince a grand jury that Tom (How To) Delay should be indicted for conspiracy (granted, grand juries merely rule on the general news). this indictment follows in the footsteps of not less than three rebukes by the House On Ethics and Reform in the last three (?) years. the majority leader has a few marks on his record? seems to me that if his scoresheet belonged to me i would be paying very high insurance rates and unable to secure loans or any kind of real financial help. but How To still has the public backing of the largest insurance company in the world: the republican party. if things went this south for me i'd be worried that the check cashing place on the corner wouldn't really hold my check until monday.
the one time i ran afoul of the law (in any meaningful way) was when i got really, really, really drunk and insisted on driving. it was a barbecue after a matinee at second space. we started at one actor's house where we drank beer and ate. then we went to the "english" pub where i used to work and drank guinness (notice how i separate beer from guinness?). after some games of real cricket we sojourned to the roadhouse. i had been given $5 by a friend who couldn't go and had told me to buy a kamakazi and drink it for her. when the gang got to the roadhouse one of my compadres talked the bartender into giving the two of us a pitcher of kamakazis for the same price. i remember saying to him "that's damn slick". then i turned to view the pool table. then i woke up and was driving through a school fence at 3 a.m. the only thing that woke me in time was the cigarette ember burning into my hand, because my head was slumped down onto my arm. at the station i blew a .27. at the court appearance to plead guilty to drunken driving 2 or 3 months later the prosecuter's assistant's jaw hit the floor when the judge read off my blood alcohol level. so did i actually. i hadn't heard what it was. and i immediately thought of how i drove right through the fence without hitting the posts and no car rammed me and nobody was hurt. and only one word came to mind: wow. i'm alive.
and all of this makes me think of my cat who expects me to feed it, house it and then leave it the fuck alone.
this is the tabby translated into siamese. holy cat on a cross, saint francis. i don't know her name, but thumper is her game.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
HNT Goes Coastal
we walked into the theater and claimed our spots. we were first in line, the three of us. picking seats in that back row (because that's usually the safest place in a Neo-Surrealist show) we began to enjoy our beers. lecram had run out after the previous show and bought a fifth of C.C. you see, the Neo-Surrealists are what some might categorize as "drunken fools on a parade float with four flat tires and nowhere to go". in plainer words, they don't care what happens so long as they have fun and make us have fun in the process. but i don't agree. i think they have a master plan to show themselves as aliens, take over the world and then redo mount rushmore to make it look like mojo nixon, lyle lovett, ed wood and all of southern culture on the skids. oh, and they're drunk. the Neo's, that is.
so, they we are. lecram has handed me the fifth. i have yet to open it. i had been drinking most of that afternoon, but it was all beer. i don't like to mix beer with the hard stuff on the weekend. so, i left it capped and sealed. then, daniel walked in and asked in his childlike voice "so, where that drink?". or something to that effect (one year it was "who's got the fucking booze?"). i have to admit now that the bottle was for him and his cohorts. i have learned over the past 4 years that (when walking into one of his shows) one should come well stocked.
but i digress. we're here for the show.
well, i don't remember how it started other than lights down. but the lights down part was pretty good. then a man was rubbing northern quilted toilet paper through his crack while yelling at the quilters that the stitching was'nt tight enough. then really bad carpentry...hit a bit close to home. at one point a mime fucked up a heckler. the c.c. came back out for the portrait session. somewhere in there, they threw cheese at us. generik and i were given chocolate as a love gift by a naked man whose genitalia always reminds me of a lotus blossom on the pond. i mean literally. and that's all i mean... shut up.
there were bouncy balls with a black light. a "go fly a kite" song. zuskha wasn't there this year and she is my favorite techie in the world, because she's really pretty and got naked for the show last year. in fact, there were 4 or 5 naked women in that booth. where'd that go?
so anyway. i'd broken the rule of the festival that said no pictures allowed during a show. well, i didn't break it really. when daniel was hanging out before the show and told me he was doing the "love" skit i told him about HNT and asked him if it would be okay to use him for it. he agreed and told the actors that there would a flash during the skit. but when it started i couldn't do it. he was on top of his game that night. i've seen that skit 4 times now and this year was by far the best (even though it wasn't zuskha). it was tight. and i didn't want to interrupt it. so, i didn't get The Shot. what i got was bathroom humor:
disgusting. immature. freakish. not the high brow i was expecting. i felt dirty afterwards. i hate myself now... i ate his chocolate.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Roger Roger, Over Rover
president bush wants to allow the military to wander our streets and tell us what to do in the event of a(nother) catastrophic event. contrary to popular belief, there are some critics of this plan. and this is the government which i think broke our basic agreement with it by not protecting us from weather beyond our normal control. so, i do not give the benefit of doubt any more. and this proposal of bush's is ludicrous at best. at worst it's ...well, i don't see a worst. i see fascism. i see a strangelovian operetta filled with all of the "worst" things that our government can think of to throw at us in times of stress in order to divert with either a new scare (and reason for continued patriotism) or an old triumph (and reason for renewed patriotism). the only reason we went crazy down in new orleans after the flood was because we thought we had been left to die. i watched it from the west coast and couldn't believe my eyes. i couldn't believe what i read. it started bad really quickly and then it went straight to hell. but do i think that letting the military step in as if it's martial law is right? why, wouldn't that basically say that the government has quit the business of our safety if it means giving up afghanistan and iraq?
have you heard of the davis-bacon act of 1931? neither had i until today when i read that president bush had suspended it. go here to find a summary of it. or go here to read the actual act itself.
evidently, federal contractors working to rebuild any area damaged by the recent hurricanes need not pay a local area's prevailing wage (don't read that as union wage...not even close!) to workers hired. in louisiana that prevailing wage is about $9 per hour. many of the people who would apply for these jobs are the very locals put out by the storms and in need of jobs and money. now, they will work for minimum wage or thereabouts. if they can even get the jobs. word is going around that the contractors are trying to hire as many undocumented workers as they can find.
apparently, bush looked at the money he was willing to let go of to help the storm reconstruction and looked at the amount of bodies needed to do the work and sagely decided that the only way in which to keep the budget under control was to roughly halve the wages. hey, let's all give a damn hearty round of applause to those white house bean counters, huh? kudos to youse guys! and let's not forget that oh-so-humble white house counsel who looked into the murky, murky past and saw an opportunity to do good for the common citizen by suspending a major law that protected the common citizen up until today, but was now "keepin' the kid down on the farm". big, big shout out!
hell, you'd think the "citizens" down around the Big Easy would be more than grateful for this government handout. minimum wage? so what? it's a job and those folks who were dumb enough to choose to live 6 feet under sea level should be grateful to bush for this show of generosity. and they should just get to work and tote that cotton. damn, i love this country! what a great way of life! now shut up and eat your gruel!
evidently, federal contractors working to rebuild any area damaged by the recent hurricanes need not pay a local area's prevailing wage (don't read that as union wage...not even close!) to workers hired. in louisiana that prevailing wage is about $9 per hour. many of the people who would apply for these jobs are the very locals put out by the storms and in need of jobs and money. now, they will work for minimum wage or thereabouts. if they can even get the jobs. word is going around that the contractors are trying to hire as many undocumented workers as they can find.
apparently, bush looked at the money he was willing to let go of to help the storm reconstruction and looked at the amount of bodies needed to do the work and sagely decided that the only way in which to keep the budget under control was to roughly halve the wages. hey, let's all give a damn hearty round of applause to those white house bean counters, huh? kudos to youse guys! and let's not forget that oh-so-humble white house counsel who looked into the murky, murky past and saw an opportunity to do good for the common citizen by suspending a major law that protected the common citizen up until today, but was now "keepin' the kid down on the farm". big, big shout out!
hell, you'd think the "citizens" down around the Big Easy would be more than grateful for this government handout. minimum wage? so what? it's a job and those folks who were dumb enough to choose to live 6 feet under sea level should be grateful to bush for this show of generosity. and they should just get to work and tote that cotton. damn, i love this country! what a great way of life! now shut up and eat your gruel!
Can We put Bush's Face On It?
Official Announcement
The government today announced that it is changing its
emblem from an Eagle to a CONDOM because it more
accurately reflects the government's political stance. A
condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the
next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you
a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
i like to write to the Fresno Bee with my pompous, self-serving genuflections. it beats actually doing anything concrete to change society. the following are the most recent two i wrote and considered sending. enjoy, hate, froth, writhe, undulate...whatever. i'm becoming pretty damn cynical, so i don't really care much anymore.
It seems the media and the populace at large are content to be enthralled with Mayor Autry's taxpayer-paid excursion to Louisiana where he is conducting a touchy-feely, goodwill tour full of newsbites.Yet I have not seen or read of one instance in which a family has been issued an invitation to our city while they sort out their affairs at home. Are we really looking to bring 300-400 evacuees here or are we merely paying for a re-election junket? Autry looks good "getting down" and yucking it up with selected Lousianans, but what is he actually doing? I'm beginning to seriously doubt that a few busloads of displaced poor people will be allowed to enter our county. It's really the "thought" that counts anyway, right?
While we focus on Mayor Autry's re-election tour in Louisiana it may be time to, also, think on how we might respond to a natural disaster happening closer to home. We now know that we can't rely on the federal government to protect us in any manner resembling that which it agreed to when any of us became citizens. That agreement involves our government protecting us from harm to our bodies and our properties from individuals or events that endanger our basic way of life. That is democracy. In return, we work hard and tithe a certain percent to its coffers. This is the big question. What did we receive from it when Katrina hit? Answer: platitudes, assurances, denials, finger pointing and death. There will be a next time and chances are the response will be the same without common outrage forcing change at the highest levels. This is an American tragedy. Not White versus Black. Poor versus rich. American. How do we not let our government simply wipe this blood off its hands? If we don't speak up, shout out, then history is doomed to repeat itself.
It seems the media and the populace at large are content to be enthralled with Mayor Autry's taxpayer-paid excursion to Louisiana where he is conducting a touchy-feely, goodwill tour full of newsbites.Yet I have not seen or read of one instance in which a family has been issued an invitation to our city while they sort out their affairs at home. Are we really looking to bring 300-400 evacuees here or are we merely paying for a re-election junket? Autry looks good "getting down" and yucking it up with selected Lousianans, but what is he actually doing? I'm beginning to seriously doubt that a few busloads of displaced poor people will be allowed to enter our county. It's really the "thought" that counts anyway, right?
While we focus on Mayor Autry's re-election tour in Louisiana it may be time to, also, think on how we might respond to a natural disaster happening closer to home. We now know that we can't rely on the federal government to protect us in any manner resembling that which it agreed to when any of us became citizens. That agreement involves our government protecting us from harm to our bodies and our properties from individuals or events that endanger our basic way of life. That is democracy. In return, we work hard and tithe a certain percent to its coffers. This is the big question. What did we receive from it when Katrina hit? Answer: platitudes, assurances, denials, finger pointing and death. There will be a next time and chances are the response will be the same without common outrage forcing change at the highest levels. This is an American tragedy. Not White versus Black. Poor versus rich. American. How do we not let our government simply wipe this blood off its hands? If we don't speak up, shout out, then history is doomed to repeat itself.
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