Lying's Okay, When Something Important Like Hannah Montana Tickets Are At Stake

Sometimes you come across a story that is a barometer of how far off track this country has become. We are, in my opinion, a nation of dishonest people. From our leaders we hear such lies as "I did not have sex with that woman" to "Mission Accomplished" to "My father marched with Martin Luther King" to "If I'm elected the oil-producing countries will drop the price of oil", and we expect them, and only get angry when the other side lies. We do this because in this country, it's more acceptable to be a dishonest winner than an honest loser.
So it should come as no shock to find out that a mom has admitted to lying to win her daughter Hannah Montana tickets (for those of you who outside of the mainstream who don't know, Hannah Montana is the latest crime against the pop culture perpetrated by the follicular challenged Billy Ray Cyrus since his "Achy Breaky Heart" gave a bunch of inbred mouth breathers an excuse to boot scoot at the local trailer trash breeding ground and Budweiser dispensary). Plus, she got an awesome Hannah Montana blonde wig, because even though we like to make jokes about them, every girl wants to be blonde!
Now as House is fond of saying, everybody lies, but it's what we lie about and what we stand to gain from the lie that determines the difference. I lie to spare myself the embarrassment of past mistakes being brought to light, this mother lied about the child's father being blown up by a roadside bomb in Iraq so her daughter could gain much coveted concert tickets (and who says we're a Christian nation?).
And what did this mother teach her child with this deception?

“We did the essay and that’s what we did to win,” Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. “We did whatever we could do to win.”

So Ms. Ceballos' daughter learns that honesty is less important than things, values aren't as important as winning, and worshipping at the altar of the cult of celebrity personality is the new morality in today's society.
In the meantime, Ms. Cyrus has a photo scandal brewing (which she blames on "Satan attacking". Time for the Vatican Satan squad to step in!) that's sure to place her in the running to be the next Jamie-Lynn Spears.

Ghouliani:The Final Solution

When you're a one-issue candidate, you tend to attract the singly simple-minded people, as is the case with Rudy Ghouliani, as this video of Rudy's New Hampshire campaign official shows. To this obviously Fox News addled idiot, it's much easier to wipe the planet clean of Muslims (or at least chase them back into their caves)than it is to:
1)address the security issues that allowed a horrendous assault on the US to occur in the first place, or
2)address the geopolitical issues that cause the Muslim population to "hate" Americans in the first place.
(Thanks to mike votes for the heads up on this story)

Curiouser and Curiouser

Like many people, I was shocked to hear today of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. But I was also struck about the way it was carried out The assassin first shoots her, then blows himself up? It seemed a bit odd, I mean, isn't the modus operandi typically the suicide bomber just blows himself up in close proximity to their intended victim?
Now comes the news that the US is sending a "surge" of troops into Pakistan in the wake of the assassination, after Pakistan had temporarily restricted US involvement in cross-border military operations as well as paramilitary operations on its soil.Hmmmm.
One only needs to look at the globe and see how nice and cozy Pakistan is in regards to Iran. Perhaps this lends some credence to Ron Paul's claim that we're getting ready to bomb Iran on MSNBC's Morning Joe today.
Very curious, indeed.

Next: A Promise To Leap Tall Buildings In A Single Bound

Is this the best the Democrats can muster? (No, it isn't) Can anyone, for God's sake tell me why Hillary Clinton is the front runner when she says absurd things such as “Elect me and oil prices will instantly drop!” Surely she must be intelligent to know that the president doesn't control oil prices, but maybe she's hoping that her supporters aren't that savvy.
Oil prices are set by demand, so as long as Americans insist on driving gas sucking pigs of cars, the oil prices will stay high. Sure, there are things a president can do to ensure lower gas prices, such as, I don't know, not labeling Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization(second story down), a step towards a war with Iran that will, that's right, drive up oil prices. (of course, Ron Paul is a kook for suggesting that America's foreign policy is why we are hated in the Middle east, Hell, the whole damned planet, but what does he know? He voted against the war in Iraq that Hillary voted for, which was the start of the rise in oil prices.
Of course, Hillary has her kool-aid drinking legions who think she would be a great president, or maybe they feel that a female president would be better than a male (which, if you look at it, is chauvinistic sexist drivel.) Sure, she could be a president, just not a very good one, if her past actions are any indication of what the future holds from her.

Another Holiday Tradition: Lew's Annual Christmas Rant

I really hate this time of year. With the incessant hawking of every damned invention on the planet as "the perfect Christmas gift" to the non-stop blaring of awful Christmas music from every imaginable source, Christmas has because a time of major annoyance than a time of peace.
The most truly irritating is of course, the advertisers, of whom I'm sure would advertise their product as a sure cure for the war on terrorism, if they thought they could get away with it. Blissfully unaware of the growing stagflation, they hawk new cars and expensive jewelery as the way to "show your wife how much you really love her". Enough to pay thirty-nine percent for five years on a useless trinket destined to sit in a box for most of the rest of her life (oh, right, it's an investment, something she can pawn off in five years when she runs off to Florida with the pool boy, leaving with nothing but the debt and an awful taste in you mouth).
Then of course, there is the Christmas music. Every fresh crop of pop singers ensures us another string of new Christmas CDs, designed to cash in on the singer's popularity before all their recorded output ends up in the cut-out bin at a bargain book store. So they sing the same songs that 16,000 other singers have sung, just as sincerely and emotionally overwrought, where it will end up being about as memorable as Barry Manilow's version of Jingle Bells. Apparently no one can do anything original, like write a new Christmas song, but even if they did, most people wouldn't like it, as they fear the unknown, and tend to stick to familiar territory.
I had someone ask me what I wanted for Christmas this year, and I thought long and hard. I don't really want anything, but I do need a cheese grater, so I suggested that, and was given the dirtiest look I've managed to arouse from someone since my days as a dirty hippie at a punk rock show.
The one thing I do enjoy about the season, however, is being able to give my children presents. I don't get an opportunity the rest of the year, but the end of the year is when I get my annual attendance bonus, where the company I work for reimburses me for the sick days I did not take. It's supposed to come two weeks before Christmas, giving me ample opportunity to shop (which I loathe) and stash the loot away before Christmas. Well, once again this year, as it did last year, the company I work for screwed up and did not give me my bonus as they are contractually obligated to, so I had no money to get my kids gifts, except for the gift card my ex-mother-in-law sent me, which I was grateful to receive, but with prices the way they are these days, didn't go too far.
So today, I was a little down, a little depressed, and angry that management, who fucked up their responsibility, didn't step up to the plate (one of the corporate cliches they are fond of using)and deliver my bonus to me in a timely manner. I felt like Clark Griswold from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Then, a miracle happened. Cindy, a good customer of mine paid me a visit. She had told me that she had prayed the night before that she may be able to deliver a gift to someone who really needed it this year, and was directed by whomever to me and my two boys. My eyes began to tear up and my throat was choked close as I thanked her very much. Suddenly, the whole meaning of Christmas was shown to me, it's the joy of giving out of love, not from obligation, that is the real meaning of Christmas.

A Kinder, Gentler Machine Gun Hand

Hilary Clinton is trying to "warm up" her image, in which she is seen as cold and calculating.
Excuse me, but isn't that in and of itself a cold and calculating move?
Sen. Clinton has slipped somewhat in the polls, and with the primary season busting wide open next month, she must do something to counter that slippage.
Only the loyalist of Kool-Aid drinkers are unable to see her for what she really is, the next step in turning our country over to the corpocracy that began with her husband screwing over the working class in this country by giving away the keys to the farm with NAFTA. Sure, she may have suckered some into believing she may do something about the abysmal health care system in this country, but I surely hope you don't believe she'll actually do anything about it.
As someone from the John Edwards camp stated "In fairness, I think the only image make-over that would work would be Senator Clinton saying no to lobbyist money and finally embracing an agenda of real change".
Like that's gonna happen.
Remember the days, long before television, when a politician ran on their accomplishments, not on some focus-group-created image designed to sucker voters into voting against their own self-interest? Real accomplishments, not some exploit-a-national-tragedy-for political-gain situation (I'm looking at you, Ghouliani).
Unfortunately, some people want to keep you from hearing those people who want to effect real change, which in case you haven't noticed, is what we really need.

Neocons:Truthseekers, or Raving Paranoiacs?

By now you've all read how the NIE proves Iran suspended it's nuclear weapons program in 2003. Still that hasn't deterred the neocons who feel Iran is still a danger, in spite of the report. Even presidential hopeful Rudy Ghouliani hasn't stopped banging the war drums.
How bad do they want this war? Well, leading neocon "godfather" claims the intelligence community is trying to sabotage Bush with the NIE. John Bolton, the bastion of sanity, has called for a Congressional investigation in to anti-Bush people in the intelligence community.
Hey! I got an idea! How about instead of spending time and money trying to start a war with a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, we track down the one person we know had something to do with it. I mean, if Morgan Spurlock can find Osama Bin Laden, there's no reason the US government can't find him either. Unless they don't want to find him.

Neocons Overstate The Obvious

Neocon war hawk and former defense policy board member under Donald Rumsfeld Richard "Prince of Darkness" Perle admitted Wednesday that the invasion of Iraq was an illegal act under international law. He also said he had the worse comb over and was really bald. Perle, who had to step down from his position on the advisory board because of questionable business ties still thinks the war was the right thing to do, just against the law, that's all.
Law means nothing to the neocons, neither international, nor the rights of citizens anywhere on the planet, with the US declaring it has the right to kidnap British citizens wanted in the US, not only for "extraordinary rendition", but in other cases as well.
Another PNAC member, Paul Wolfowitz, has been
offered a top position at the State Department apparently unable to hold a real job in the private sector since having had to step down from his spot at the World Bank for giving his girlfriend a raise, and not the kind in his trousers. Wolfowitz, a prime architect of the war on Iraq (and we all know how well that turned out) will be advising Secretary of State Rice on matters concerning WMD (because he knows so much about where they aren't).
Isn't it refreshing to know that instead of seeking new ideas, the current administration is looking for the same old stale ones?

Don't Expect Real World Solutions From People Out Of Touch With Reality

The more things change, the more Bush's perspective stays the same. Bent askew.
In his radio address today, Bush proved that the simple minded can only focus their attention on one thing, filling the War party's coffers via defense contractors. How, you may ask? By insisting that funding the wars in Aghanistan and Iraq are our top priority.
What they are really doing is distratcting the people from the real problem (from CNN):

After years of living happily beyond their means, Americans are finally facing financial reality. A persistent rise in energy prices will mean bigger heating bills this winter and heftier tabs at the gas pump. Job growth is slowing and wage gains have been anemic. House prices are sliding, diminishing the value of the asset that's the biggest factor in Americans' personal wealth. Even the stock market, which has been resilient for so long in the face of eroding consumer sentiment, has begun pulling back amid signs of deep distress in the financial sector.

This set of priorities comes from the guy who thinks faith is the answer to the world AIDS crisis. That was Ronald Reagan's solution, and look how well that worked in stopping the spread of AIDS. Real world solutions don't appeal to Bush because he has never been in toch with the real world.
Don't expect the Democrats to stand up to Bush, they have yet to do so, and to think they will now is folly. They need to look tough on terrorism by continuing to fund the US spread of it by military force, lest they be pilloried by the corporate media for their failure to do so.

Three Months Is Like A Lifetime on the 'Net

When did Bush bashin' become all the fashion?

Seriously, I have spent the last three months disconnected from the web (due to corporate hostility towards those who choose to live a non-consumerist lifestyle), much of it spent vegetating, actually having Favorite shows!!! In the world of television (broadcast television, alas, soon to be swept away by HD-TV so that corporate America can sell more airtime to imbeciles who feel it necessary to hold conversations at supermarkets. Yay technological advancement!!) George W Bush rarely exists, except as a target for jokes for those who wouldn't have had the temerity to make them two years ago. The war in Iraq is never discussed, except when the networks feel it necessary to trot out the troops to thank them for fighting a war that has long lost it's reason.
The yellow ribbon magnets have all faded, and are no longer being offered at any store I shop at. (Which is like, two or three. Maybe they sell them at Wal-Mart, right next to the new Eagles album, er, CD, that I will never purchase, because I will never set foot in such a den of evil)
On television, everybody is dancing because they got a new cell phone, floor cleaner, moisturizer, or air freshener, and their whole life has vastly improved so much that they can barely contain their glee at being able to be free to purchase these items because our soldiers are over in Iraq, fighting non--existant terrorists to give them the chance to dance with glee because they have a new deodorant. Sure, they probably don't have fresh water or electricity 24/7, but they can always ululate because Allah has provided them with a cell phone in their choice of colors. Not a rainbow of colors, but three, which is three more choices than they had before.
So anyway. now I'm back. It may take a while for me to get back up to speed, having had my head filled with misinformation for the last three months. And hopefully, I will reacquaint myself with all my old friends soon (the ones still out there). And special thanks to the friend who helped hook me up with my new ISP.

Another Rat Jumps Ship

White House spokesmodel Tony Snow announced he is leaving his job due to "financial reasons". What does it say about a man who is unable to survive on a mere $168,000 a year? What does it say for the majority of people out there who have to survive on considerably less? Remember when somebody who pulled in that amount of cash was considered well off?
That this announcement comes on a Friday evening dump leads me to believe there's more to this story than we are being told. Is the $168,000 not enough to pay off those who maybe extorting him because the father of three's name may be on a certain DC madam's list? Or did Mr. Snow have a sudden attack of conscience because he has cancer and wishes to make things right before he shakes off his mortal coil and must stand before his maker and atone for his sins?
Whatever the reasons, Snow joins Karl Rove as another high profile member of the Bush administration who is jumping ship. Who knows? I think the Ramones express my sentiment the best......
Ramones Glad To See You Go

I Wish It Was Only A Joke

The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead. Then there would be little risk or expense and no American army would be left exposed. But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life.

By Philip Atkinson Family Security Matters
You know when you combine "Family" and "Security" you're nothing but a front for the Republicans. Who else would advocate the dissolution of the democracy that is spreading democracy throughout the world while eliminating it here at home?
But when it comes down to it, which millionaire are you voting for? Doesn't it seem silly to wonder which candidate "seems like presidential material"? It's not like we're casting a fucking Hollywood movie folks, we're deciding who will decide our fate for the next four years. Harry Truman was just a clothing store owner folks, a haberdasher, fortunately for him he was elected in the pre-television era, when a president had to have command of the english langauge to be considered 'presidential', not just look good in a suit and power tie.
And now, to celebrate getting my computer back..............................

The Official "Terrorist" Act

Today, on the radio as they discussed the bridge collapse in Minnesota, the hosts described how the major (corporate) news outlets had to go to the Department of Homeland Security to see if this was an act of terrorism. This, of course, caused me to start thinking, what did they mean? Wouldn't the local law enforcement on scene be a better source than a government bureaucrat thousands of miles away?
Everday we arewarned of impending doom from a department that wants to intrude even more on our privacy. This isn't the first time we've been warned of imminent terror attacks, it seems almost evry summer a warning is issued, which comes to pass with no attacks, but people forget because they're too distracted gearing up for the next season of American Idol. Is the reason the media needs official confirmation because they know that in order for the official terrorist attack to occur, it has to be allowed (or be another government black op) like 9/11.
Make no mistake, the next attack won't benefit terrorists, but will benefit the corpocracy, defense contractors, neocons, and Israel-firsters like John Hagee. The people of the Middle East, if they wish to attack the US, need only to wander into Iraq (like most of the anti-Americans over there are doing anyway) to strike at us.

A Pointless Move By A Spineless Congress

Senators are considering a perjury investigation against Alberto "El_Turdo" Gonzales after documents contradict Gonzales' testimony, and I wonder, what's the point?
In the enfeebled mind of the Republican, perjury is only applicable when someone like serial rapist Bill Clinton can't recall with whom he had sex (when most Republicans can name all three women they've had relations with: their wives, that hooker from the DC madam and that drunk girl they forced themselves on following a night of binge drinking.)but not when a member of the Bush administration lies under oath to a grand jury or a Senate investigation. Even if Bush would allow an investigation (which he won't since he has continually placed himself above the law), if the verdict was guilty, he'd just pardon Gonzales or commute his sentence, no need for taking responsibility for one's actions when you're a member of the party of values. Besides, Gonzales can't remember every law his office is doing, he's way too busy violating the Hatch Act and ignoring Congressional orders.
And right on cue, anytime Bush has politcally damaging revelations we are suddenly warned of another possible "terrorist" attack, which only proves that all the illegal spying, the illegal wars and executive privilege hasn't made us any safer than we were on 9/11, so you'd have to be a real doofus not to see it.

Same Shit Different Asshole

The 2008 presidential election is one of the most important elections ever (Okay, they're all really important, but bear with me), a chance for the US to change the disastrous course on which it has been recklessly traveling these past seven years. So we need a chief executive who's going to do things differently than the way the satanist in the White House has been operaring.
At last night's Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton criticized Barack Obama for saying that he would talk with nations that are supposed enemies. This is a complete about face from her criticism of Bush for not talking to those same countries. We all know how well not talking to these countries has been successful for the current regime, isn't Sen. Clinton running against their failed policies? And what are the countries that Hillary won't talk to? Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. You know, the countries that refuse to bend to the will of the corpocracy.
Iran has yet to be found doing anything wrong, amid growing accusations being flung at it by the Bush administration, eager to start another war that will make Halliburton even richer before Dick Cheney steps back in the reins when (or if) he steps down from the vice-presidency. But who is behind the push to demonize Iran that so many US lawmakers have signed on with it? And why is the frontrunner in the Democratic Party talking war with Iran, just like Dick Cheney? (Please, no apologists) I suppose once she has started war on Iran she could fli-flop, just like she did with her position on using diplomacy, or her support for the war in Iraq, and millions of addle-pated Democrats, more signed on to a cult of personality than anything the demgogue-in-the-making stands for, will merely accpet it because they think she be better than Bush. But to be better, you have to be different. And Hillary isn't.

An open letter to Vern Ehlers (R)MI

below is a copy of an email I sent to my congressmen, asking him to get behind Rep. Kucinich's call for impeachment. If you wish to contact your congressperson, you may do so at this site.


Mr. Ehlers,
Back in 2002, I wrote you asking you to vote against the authorization for war with Iraq, A war that is illegal under international law, no matter how much support the president had from congress. You were kind enough to respond back to my letter, in effect stating that according to an article in a magazine, you felt that the invasion was the right thing to do. Many years and many deaths later, we are stuck in an endless war that could have been prevented if you had listened to a constituent, and not the media.
Now here it is almost five years later, and things haven't improved concerning Iraq. One of the main reasons for us fighting there is because Vice-President Cheney manipulated intelligence, a fact borne out by too many sources to quote here. This is beyond his authority. We also have a president who refuses to be held accountable for any of his actions. Our political system has a series of checks and balances to prevent the types of abuses that the current administration is involved in. So I ask of you: Which is more important, the constitution and the country it protects, or the party for which you belong?
If you say the former, than I urge you to contact Rep Conyers and agree to start impeachment proceedings. Then, if there is just cause for impeachment, I ask you to vote for it, just as I would expect you to vote against it if there is no cause.
If you say the latter, then I hope you remember this missive when in the future, another president continues the arrogant abuses first conceived by the current administration, and your children, or perhaps your grandchildren ask you why our country has strayed so far from it's original intentions, that you had an oppurtunity to stop this now, but chose instead to be loyal to your party moreso than to the constitution you swore to uphold. Thank you.

Lern Two Spel

Looking at this picture, it's easy to see why the President, or even the Republicans still have support in this country: the people who still do are a bunch of morons (that's morons, not morans). These people, who I'm sure lots of tax payer dollars were spent to give them an education, decided that looking intelligent wasn't as important as looking cool. How hard is it to spell "momma"? There are two preferential spellings, the previous example I gave, or Mama as evidenced in Mama's Family, or in the myriad of "Mama____" Italian food/pizza restaurants that dot the country.
What's even worse than having a bunch of of window-lickers proudly displaying their ignorance is the politicians who exploit the spell-challenged to garner votes for themselves. These are the same people who believe Saddam had something to do with 9/11, the war in Iraq is winnable, or Rudy Ghouliani is "America's Mayor". Basically all you have to do is tap into their fear factor, and they'll respond in kind, which is why they have somehow linked "Osama" to Obama, even though the two have nothing to with each other (and the fact that Osama has been dead quite a while surely is lost on them ).
Now I'm not advocating a literacy test for voters, as that would be a violation of the Voting Rights Acts, nor I do I think we need to spend more on public education, since this person went through the system and didn't gain any rudimentary skills so it's too late for them anyway. Maybe if the media did a better job of informing people, instead of acting like the propaganda branch of the government, there might be hope for our society.

Bush Takes It Up The Ass!

Bush will cede power to Dick Cheney while he undergoes colonoscopy, which means it's one for the record books for the world's longest colonoscopy ever, since he's pretty much ceded most his powers to Cheney anyway. Well, I wouldn't call it the world's longest, since that's pretty much what Bush has been doing to the country since taking office. Let's hope that it's a long drawn out and painful process, much as the Bush administration has been for these past six and a half years.
And we should also hope that once Cheney gets the reins, he doesn't do something stupid, like order a bombing of Iran, which is something he and his neocon buddies have been aching to do since bungling, well, I was going to say Iraq, but they've pretty much bungled Afghanistan, oh Hell, the whole damn war on terrorism. But most of all, and as much as I hate to say it, let's hope he gives the powers back to Bush rather than signing some executive order making him Dicktator for life, which, given the state of Cheney's heart, may not be for very much longer, one would hope.

What Flavor Is Your Kool-Aid?

Neil shakespeare had a post about Kool-Aid where I learned, among other things, that it was actually Flvaor-Aid that was quaffed in mass quantities in Jonestown. Also, that while his mother didn't add the correct amount of sugar, making it blander than usual, my step-mother used Sweet'N'Low, which had no conversion chart for mixing with Kool-Aid, which made the most horrible colorful drink you'd never want to taste.
But why do we only associate Kool-Aid with Republicans? How many people drank the Democratic Kool-Aid last night, when it looked like Harry Reid was going to force the Republicans to filibuster the Levin-Reed Iraq Deployment bill, only to have him pull the bill from consideration on the senate floor, leaving a lot of people with blue dye #6 and yellow dye #10 moustaches around their mouths as the hopes of ending the war came crashing down like a six-year old after the sugar buzz wears off.
Our two party system is a lot like Kool-Aid, or is it Funny Face, Choo-Choo Cherry on the right and Blastin' Blue Raspberry on the left, looks good, tastes good, but really is just laden with sugar and a lot of bad chemicals with no nutritional value whatsoever. Where were the three Democratic front-runners last night, when they had an oppurtunity to show off their leadership skills that qualify them to be the leader of the free world? Sadly, they are non-existant, appealing only to those whose brains have been damaged from drinking too much Kool-Aid, while offering nothing beyond their collective cults of personality.

Dick Gets A Hard-On For Iran (Again)

Iran has agreed to open it's heavy water reactor to UN inspections as part of it's obligations as a co-signee to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. say what you will about Ahmadinejad being a madman, at least he alows more transparency than the crazies in the "I don't recall/executive privilege" Bush regime. So while Al Qaeda thrives in Pakistan, Dick Cheney has been pushing for war with Iran. This won't stop terrorism, of course, but it will mean billions of dollars worth of no0-bid contracts and overcharges for Halliburton, and that's good for Dick Cheney.
But it's not good for the people of Iran, many of whom want democracy, not nuclear fallout. It would not end terrorsim, only increase it as much as the war in Iraq has drawn more people to oppose the US occupation. Increased risks of attacks in a more volatile region wouldn't be good for US troops stationed over there.
According to a Washington source, Bush and Cheney do not trust the next administration to deal with Iran decisively. Of course, people who lack trust are often not trustworthy themselves, as evidenced by a). the repeated lies spewn forth from the mouths of Bush and Cheney, and b). the veil of secrecy they cloak themselves in.