We-the-People

Shorter Sher Zieve:

Obama & Congreƒs want a civil war so they can declare martial law, etc. Well, bring it on, boys, I've got teabags!

A bit more on Ms. Zieve & her associates from alex constantine's blacklist.

Fuck You Too!

Brought to our attention by Mick Farren of DOC40 is Dave Marsh's stirring condemnation of globalist asshole & talent-free fuckwad "Bono Vox," of Irish stadium rockers U2.

As for the lyrics, don’t jump to the wrong conclusion. It can’t be denied that Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton and the Edge can still make fascinating music.

Yes it can. And it will be. Right here, right now: They suck. They've always sucked. For 25 yrs. they have sucked. And we can only expect them to continue their suckery, until they're literally too old to suck. And that's only the music, mid-tempo slop that it is. Now we agree w/ Marsh.

Bono’s yelped vocals are another matter, his hollow lyrics--where every platitude yields to an obscurantist pretension and back again--yet another. Unfortunately, even if he’d come up with a lyric as great as “One,” Bono also carries into each project his off-stage political pronouncements, and his fawning affiliations with war criminals such as Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

Not quite a war criminal, but please: NYC Mayor Bloomberg & B. V. Finding the music so disposably dismissible, & Bono generally a self-righteous bullshit artist, we've never paid serious attention to U2 ('though they're certainly difficult to avoid, as they go forth to pollute the media-o-sphere every time they need to make money w/ their latest project). So we had no idea what an actual dilrod Bono is. Example: He's a co-owner of Forbes magazine. Yeesh!!

Pope On The Road, Bringing Death, Chaos & Lies

The vestiges of Western attempts at colonialism were on display in Angola today, as His Repulsiveness, Pope Ratzi, urged Angolan Catholics to

reach out and convert people who believe in witchcraft. "In today's Angola, Catholics should offer the message of Christ to the many who live in the fear of spirits, of evil powers by whom they feel threatened."

Sez his un-holiness, Dracula, seen here performing an obscure Catholic ritual,then condemning those who live in "the fear of spirits?"

In the completely non-spiritual real estate world of the church, a denial is issued.

Amnesty International on Saturday called on the pope to use his influence to halt the threat of forced evictions for residents of Luanda to make rise for high-rise apartments and office buildings. Many have been given cheap houses in faraway satellite towns that have no running water or electricity. Amnesty said that between 2003 and 2006, thousands of people were forcibly evicted from land belonging to the Catholic Church in three Luanda districts. Asked at the press briefing about Amnesty's allegations, Lombardi referred the question to an Angolan bishop, Monsignor Jose Manuel Imbamba. The prelate denied that anyone had been evicted or houses destroyed. "We help the poor, we don't send them away," Imbamba said.

Like you help the altar boys, Monsignor? The Pope does bring happiness wherever he goes.

Hours before he arrived at the Coqueiros stadium, a stampede broke out as the gates were opened to people waiting outside, and two people were killed in the crush, said Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. "The pope is very upset," Lombardi said late Saturday. Portuguese news agency LUSA cites an unidentified source at a local hospital as saying a man and a woman were killed, eight others were hospitalized with minor injuries, and 10 were given medical assistance at the site.

Thank you, Jesus. Your love for humanity is a shining beacon of hope for the world. See how well it's worked for Angola.

Drawing on the more than 500 years of Roman Catholicism in Angola, [Pope Hitleryouth] called Christianity a bridge between the local peoples and the Portuguese settlers. The country's history as a Portuguese colony gave the country Christian roots. Eighty percent of the 16 million people are Christian, about 65 percent Catholic.

"Portuguese settlers." What a hideous euphemism. Benedict XVI is truly a pig. So we hope this is an indication of things to come very soon.

The 81-year-old pontiff, wearing white robes, looked tired and moved slowly in the tropical heat during the youth appearance in late afternoon.

Take him back to your bosom, Jeezis. Now.

Pot Claims Kettle To Be "Hot"

At American Thinker, this is what passes for thought & writing (See the way each sentence is as long, or longer, than the previous one?):

Reagan did great things. He decided to win the Cold War. He cut tax rates and federal regulation. Ronald Reagan took the tide of history and turned it away from the dreary meanders of the postwar world and channeled events towards new and happy futures.

American Thinker. The one w/ a mostly sepia illustration of Uncle Sam, sitting on what appears to be a two-ft. high pile of shit. You know the one.

Please do not, even for a moment, think that author Bruce Walker doesn't have some great new ideas that the Prez might try, to break from the ordinariness, the dullness, the lifelessness of the Obama Administration. Check this out!

Obama, by stark contrast, seems to think that doing what we have been doing will somehow bring a better America.  What if Obama had promised within his term of office to consolidate the cabinet into eight offices?  Even Richard Nixon had the imagination to propose that idea.  What if Obama proposed a radical tax simplification, even if rates stayed high? That would be something to savor: he could remain a socialist, but at least stand against hopeless confusion.

Yeah, do what Nixon wanted to do, that's a new idea whose time has come. (And, what we think is really behind the right's rabid opposition to taxes: They get all huffy & frustrated because they're too fucking stupid to fill out the forms. "Hopeless confusion." Hopeless idjits, is more like it.)

Mr. Walker, the typist behind this (or his editor) actually entitled it "The Banality of Obama." As in, of course, the "banality of evil." 

Bullwinkle's Nostalgia Corner

Naval Forces Briefing

The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and command ship USS Blue Ridge from the US Navy's Seventh Fleet are anchored at a base in Busan on March 11, 2009. The ships will take part in joint US-South Korean military exercises on March 9-20 that North Korea has said is aimed at launching a "second Korean War".

It's 21 March here, & no sign of this second Korean war. Other news from the seven seas:

In this undated photo released by the U.S. Navy, the port-side bow of the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) is seen anchored off the US Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet says two of its vessels — a submarine, the USS Hartford and an amphibious ship, the USS New Orleans collided in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Arabian peninsula early Friday, March 20, 2009.

No serious injuries reported, thousands of gallons of diesel fuel overboard. Biggest casualty may be the submarine commander's career.

Through The Sniper's Scope

And dig Jerry & his shirt in this one. Did the coffee mugs come in yet?
Seriously, this poor guy is scared beyond belief by the sweet boys. Open the closet door & step into the light, Jerry!

Ho-Hum Date In History

By The Associated Press 1 hr 44 mins ago Today is Saturday, March 21, the 80th day of 2009. There are 285 days left in the year. The usual extras: AP. A/V. UPI. Today's Highlight in History: On March 21, 1685, composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. On this date: In 1804, the French civil code, or the "Code Napoleon" as it was later called, was adopted. [If the state has accused you, you're guilty & must prove your innocence. — Ed.] In 1806, Mexican statesman Benito Juarez was born in Oaxaca. In 1907, U.S. Marines arrived in Honduras to protect American lives and interests in the wake of political violence. [Where have we heard that one before? — Ed.] In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan began a four-day conference in Bermuda. In 1960, some 70 people were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fired on demonstrators. In 1963, the Alcatraz federal prison island in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its last inmates at the order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. In 1972, the Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, ruled that states may not require at least a year's residency for voting eligibility. In 1985, police in Langa, South Africa, opened fire on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville shootings; the reported death toll varies between 29 and 43. In 1990, Namibia became an independent nation as the former colony marked the end of 75 years of South African rule. Ten years ago: Israel's Supreme Court rejected a final effort to have American teenager Samuel Sheinbein returned to the United States to face murder charges. (Under a plea agreement with Israeli prosecutors, Sheinbein was later sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder of Alfred Tello Jr.) At the Academy Awards, "Shakespeare in Love" won seven Oscars, including best picture and best actress for Gwyneth Paltrow; Roberto Benigni won best actor for "Life is Beautiful," while Steven Spielberg won best director for "Saving Private Ryan." Five years ago: The White House disputed assertions by President George W. Bush's former counterterrorism coordinator, Richard A. Clarke, that the administration had failed to recognize the risk of an attack by al-Qaida in the months leading up to 9/11. (Clarke's assertions were contained in a new book, "Against All Enemies," that went on sale the next day.) Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid won the prestigious 2004 Pritzker Architecture Prize, becoming the first woman to receive the profession's highest honor. One year ago: Officials admitted that at least four State Department workers had pried into the supposedly secure passport files of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, prompting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to personally apologize to the presidential contenders. Today's Birthdays: Actor Al Freeman Jr. is 78. Violinist-conductor Joseph Silverstein is 77. Actress Kathleen Widdoes is 70. Singer Solomon Burke is 69. Actress Marie-Christine Barrault is 65. Singer-musician Rose Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 64. Actor Timothy Dalton is 63. Singer Eddie Money is 60. Rock singer-musician Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) is 59. Rock musician Conrad Lozano (Los Lobos) is 58. Rhythm-and-blues singer Russell Thompkins Jr. (The Stylistics) is 58. Comedy writer-performer Brad Hall is 51. Actress Sabrina LeBeauf is 51. Actor Gary Oldman is 51. Actor Matthew Broderick is 47. Comedian-talk show host Rosie O'Donnell is 47. Rock musician Jonas "Joker" Berggren (Ace of Base) is 42. Rock MC Maxim (Prodigy) is 42. Rock musician Andrew Copeland (Sister Hazel) is 41. Hip-hop DJ Premier (Gang Starr) is 40. Actress Laura Allen is 35. Rapper-TV personality Kevin Federline is 31. Today in Entertainment History

Associated Press - March 21, 2009 3:13 AM ET

On March 21st, 1944, comedian Charlie Chaplin went on trial in Los Angeles, accused of transporting former protegee Joan Barry across state lines for immoral purposes. Chaplin was acquitted, but he lost a paternity suit despite tests showing he wasn't the father of Barry's child. In 1956, "Marty" won the best picture Academy Award. Ernest Borgnine won the best actor award for his role in that film. In 1961, The Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.The band would play more than 300 dates there. In 1963, Barbra Streisand and Elliot Gould were married. They divorced in 1971. In 1970, the single "ABC" by the Jackson Five was released. In 1987, actor Robert Preston died at the age of 68. He's probably best known for playing Professor Harold Hill in "The Music Man." In 1989, Madonna's "Like A Prayer" album was released. Dick Clark announced he was stepping down as host of "American Bandstand" after 33 years. In 1991, Smashing Pumpkins signed a seven-album deal with Virgin Records. In 1995, the "Howard Stern Rest Stop" opened along Route 295 in New Jersey. Thought for Today: "One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible." — Henry Brooks Adams, American historian and author (1838-1918). Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

Can You Wait Until 2012? We Can't!!

Via Sully's Daily Dish, an Alaskan web log proprietor types:

The most controversial chunk of change left on the table was $170 million for education that has both lawmakers and education professionals stunned.

Part of an e-mail allegedly rec'd. by the proprietor, Andrew Halcro, from a "legislative leader" (No doubt a Dem!):

The issue became a big tug of war for control of the Gov between folks in state government and Sara PAC. Sara PAC won, literally hours before the announcement was made. Alaska was sacrificed again to the godless pagan illusions of her national ambitions.

There might just have been some special education money for little TwigTrig in the refused monies. TwigTrig being the child sweet Sarah decided to have even though she was too damn old to chance it, & then decided to use him as a prop for the rest of her losing vice-presidential campaign. Now, he can spend his life under inadequate gov't. care, since Mom is ready to throw him under the short bus to further her aspirations.

“I was shocked to learn of the comment made by President Obama about Special Olympics,” Palin said in a statement. “This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world."

[...]

Meanwhile, Palin has come under fire this week for refusing stimulus money slated to help special needs education programs. Her stance on funding for such programs as governor led to attacks during the campaign as well.

Can not wait until she & amateur exorcist Bobby J are clawing at each other in the primaries. (Assuming there's anything left over which to claw.)

We've Nothing To Add

Big Time Ninny

We're anxiously waiting for rodeo clown Glenn Beck to turn himself in & do his time for having been a booze n' blow abuser. C'mon, Glenn, do the right thing. As you said:

America doesn’t mind if you make a mistake, just admit that you made a mistake. If you break the law, pay the penalty. 

We're inclined to doubt if he's really off the rock. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt, though. Perhaps he just snooted so much that paranoia is now irreparably hard-wired into his noodle.

Do you really believe that Barack Obama is leading us toward socialism and that we are in danger of becoming a totalitarian state? I believe that he’s not leading us there, he’s led us there. Check the cover of Newsweek magazine, “We’re all socialists now.” We’re there. However — again, some context — I said these things under George Bush with the beginnings of the bailout. You don’t do this in a free-market society. I’m afraid that we are headed toward a state that is controlled in Washington and by these global corporations. We’re headed toward statism where these gigantic corporations and government are in bed. That was one of my main problems with George W. Bush.

That's why so many of Beck's programs, radio & telebision, were devoted to the cause of increasing regulation & oversight during the Bush administration's, shall we say, lax, enforcement of Beck's precious laws. (By the way, is this what the right means when talking about "respect" for an office? As long as their guy's in office, you have to respect the office. The minute their despised by 75% - 80% of population toad is out, it's "Who? Him? Never liked him. Not a real conservative.") 

Also amusing are Beck's & others' reactions to that Newsweek cover. Blood pressure medication & Depends® sales must've leaped that wk. 

After all, not just any magazine would brazen its cover with the canard “We’re All Socialists Now,” as Newsweek did in February. Though we’re not all socialists, that their editors have always been sympathetic to the movement is a given.

Yes, it's the same guy who called Newsweek "a roach’s den of radicalism." But back to Beck.

You seem to have said that Al Gore has used Nazi-like propaganda tactics to promote the idea that global warming is a man-made threat, is that correct? Yeah, the argument that he was making was the same kind of tactic used by the Nazis. I don’t believe Al Gore is trying to gas or round up Jews, I don’t believe the result is going to be the same thing. Just understand that the tactic used was a device used by the Nazis. For instance, we have him on tape during the convention or during the inauguration where he was talking to 12-, 13-, 14- and 15- year olds, and he said “Look there’s a lot of things you understand instinctively but your parents don’t understand those things because they’re just too trapped in old thinking.” Well, gosh, I mean, I know he’s not going to be rounding up Jews any time soon but that’s called the Hitler Youth where you turn the children against the parents.

Or "give the children an education," sometimes they call it that too. 

"OK, Johnnny, if your father says there wasn't a cure for the clap when he was your age, then I guess there isn't a cure, penicillin or not."

Really, how does this crap go on & on? It's never going to stop, is it?

Sure, You Think This Is A Joke ...

... until you get a look at the Male Chastity Devices. We thought Xian Wife Spanking was bizarre, but we should have known the religiously ill would be able to top it.

Newt: 15% Of Nation Threatens Religious Freedom Of Other 85%(Not An Onion Item)

From USN&WR, we see that Gingrich isn't exactly crossing the droolers off his list for the New Republican Apparatus. Actually, he's pandering to them.

"In the last few years I've decided that we're in a crisis in which the secular state, if allowed, will fundamentally and radically change America against the wishes of most Americans," Gingrich said in a phone interview on Thursday. "You've had such rising hostility to religious belief that I wanted to reach broadly into the country and dramatically raise public awareness of threats to religious liberty."

Yes. Thursday. Yesterday. The very day some people were a-bitchin' & a-moanin' that the Prez was on the tube w/ Leno, when he should have been handling the economy. And meanwhile the "idea man" of the Gumming Our Peas Party is re-recycling the "atheists will put us Gawdly Murkins in camps" routine.

The PowerPoint slides list Republican senators and congressman with the highest ratings from the National Right to Life Committee and juxtapose them with ratings for the same elected officials from Americans for Tax Reform. The conclusion: politicians with the strongest socially conservative records also have the strongest antitax records. [...] "A lot of donors have been out to lunch on this issue," says Tyler. "If I can prove to them that mobilizing evangelical voters leads to the best economic policies, I don't have to convert them into Catholics or Protestants. It's pretty straightforward."

One question: Aren't most of them Prots or Catholics already? What's this conversion he thinks he has to perform? Otherwise, we have to say Gingrich's plot is very discouraging. Sensible, even. (In which case it may not stand a chance in the current "conservative" environment.) We don't need con men like Newtie re-uniting (let alone renewing) the Party of Nixon. By the way: Is it coincidence that these advertsare on the page w/ the Newt piece? (Free Newt! Get it?) No, it isn't. It's done by robot. But it isn't as if USN&WR doesn't know which stories will make the robots post the ads that are going to get the most clicks from the droolers who read it.

Three Stooges - Dopey Dicks

Why not?

Henry IV Dead! Long Live Henry V!! Bonus: Spring Has Sprung

Today is Friday, March 20, the 79th day of 2009. There are 286 days left in the year. Spring's arrival: 7:44 a.m. Eastern time. More from AP. AP A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On March 20, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule. On this date: In 1413, England's King Henry IV died; he was succeeded by Henry V. In 1727, physicist, mathematician and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton died in London. In 1828, poet-dramatist Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien, Norway. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential novel about slavery, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was first published in book form after being serialized. In 1899, Martha M. Place of Brooklyn, N.Y., became the first woman to be executed in the electric chair as she was put to death at Sing Sing for the murder of her stepdaughter. In 1956, union workers ended a 156-day strike at Westinghouse Electric Corp. In 1969, John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. In 1977, voters in Paris chose former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac to be the French capital's first mayor in more than a century. In 1985, Libby Riddles of Teller, Alaska, became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. In 1995, in Tokyo, 12 people were killed, more than 5,500 others sickened when packages containing the poisonous gas sarin were leaked on five separate subway trains by Aum Shinrikyo cult members. Ten years ago: Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland and Brian Jones of Britain became the first aviators to fly a hot-air balloon around the world nonstop. The Yugoslav army, taking advantage of the departure of international monitors from Kosovo, launched a furious offensive against outgunned ethnic Albanian rebels. Five years ago: Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide rallied against the US-led war in Iraq on the first anniversary of the start of the conflict. The US military charged six soldiers with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. The Rev. Karen Dammann, a lesbian Methodist pastor, was acquitted of violating church doctrine in a trial held in Bothell, Wash. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won re-election. Former Dutch Queen Juliana died at age 94. One year ago: In a setback for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, a drive for a second Michigan presidential primary collapsed as the state Senate adjourned without taking up a measure calling for a do-over contest. Mao Asada of Japan won the women's title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.  Today's Birthdays: Producer-director-comedian Carl Reiner is 87. Actor Hal Linden is 78. Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney is 70. Country singer Don Edwards is 70. TV producer Paul Junger Witt is 66. Country singer-musician Ranger Doug (Riders in the Sky) is 63. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bobby Orr is 61. Blues singer Marva Wright is 61. Blues singer-musician Marcia Ball is 60. Actor William Hurt is 59. Rock musician Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 59. Rock musician Jimmie Vaughan is 58. Country musician Jimmy Seales (Shenandoah) is 55. Actress Amy Aquino is 52. Movie director Spike Lee is 52. Actress Theresa Russell is 52. Actress Vanessa Bell Calloway is 52. Actress Holly Hunter is 51. Rock musician Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) is 48. Actress-model-lifestyle designer Kathy Ireland is 46. Actor David Thewlis is 46.  On March 20th, 1948, "Gentleman's Agreement" won the Academy Award for best picture. In 1952, "An American In Paris" was named best picture at the Oscars. In 1964, "Funny Girl," starring Barbra Streisand, opened on Broadway. In 1969, John Lennon married Yoko Ono in a private ceremony in Gibralter. In 1970, David Bowie and Angela Barnett got married in London. They later split up. 

In 1990, singer Gloria Estefan broke her back when her tour bus was hit by a truck in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. She underwent surgery and took months to recover. In 1991, Sony announced a long-term contract with Michael Jackson that was said to be potentially worth one billion dollars. Eric Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, died when he fell out of a window in New York. In 1992, "Basic Instinct," starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, opened nationwide. Activists who claimed the movie was anti-gay turned up to protest at several theaters. 

Thought for Today: "I am I plus my circumstances." — Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (1883-1955).

Who Cares What Manson Looks Like Now?

From the "Where are they now?" file, Charlie has been re-popularized by the Calif. State Dep't. of Corrections.Our immediate & cynical reaction is that the Corrections Dep't. wants all CA taxpayers to remember they're keeping us safe from Charlie, so don't cut their budget. Teachers, smeachers.

Velveeta®-Sucking Surrender Monkeys

"Freedom fries."

"The U. S. is not France!" (Accompanied by the sound of a tiny foot stamping.)

"Cheese-eating surrender monkeys."

Next time you hear crap like that, compare France's "surrender monkeys" to America's "tea parties." 

France: One to two and a half million in the streets.

An estimated 2.6 million people joined 213 demonstrations across France, according to the Confédération Générale du Travail, one of the nation’s largest unions. The national police, however, put the number of protesters at 1.2 million. The largest unions said in a statement that Mr. Sarkozy’s response to the financial crisis had been inadequate, and they called on the government to do more to safeguard jobs and to improve workers’ purchasing power.

America: If 2,500 saps total, nation-wide, showed up to heave tea-bags, we'll eat our Dr. Scholl's® memory fit™ Work Customizing Insoles. (Which would be a shame, as they're very comfy.) France's citizens take to the streets by the millions; here, the Velveeta®-loving masses meekly turn over & beg for another tapeworm of business, industry or finance to be shoved down their craws, to suck the very life from them. Sheep.

Iraq, Shining Beacon Of Democracy

The whining conserva-crowd has, of late, been crowing that the (royal) "we" have won in Iraq, all is rainbows & lollipops or something. The news sources we prefer indicate that the surge was pretty much bullshit, & whatever reduction in death levels has been achieved is the result of buying off tribal leaders, the conclusion of Baghdad's division into cleansed ethnic enclaves & American forces hiding in their bases. (That keeps American casualties down. Not as much for the inhabitants, however.) But we know nothing, nothing. Let's check w/ an impartial source (not even American).

But so entrenched has the new narrative of success and wind-down to withdrawal become that such events are barely reported in the occupying states. The western media mostly long ago wearied of Iraq and its western-inflicted travails. Meanwhile, the US and its dependent Iraqi administration still hold tens of thousands of prisoners without trial; corruption and torture are rampant; the position of women has sharply deteriorated under US and British tutelage; and more than 4 million Iraqi refugees are still unable to return home - or vote in the less-than-free elections.

On a lighter note:

There is no question that the US has suffered a strategic defeat in Iraq. Far from turning the country into a forward base for the transformation of the region on western lines, it became a global demonstration of the limits of American military power.

Neener neener neener, stupid AmeriKKKan pig-dogs. Blame America first, hate America second!!

Still Not Caring One Fuck About

Let the Gray Lady cover it. That'll give you an idea of why you shouldn't care.

Oh Land: Imagine Bjork leading the Pointer Sisters. A three-woman group from Denmark with close harmonies, synchronized moves, drum-machine beats, piano ballads and peculiar costumes; the two backup singers wore small rectangular hats that lit up like hard drives.

Danes. Yikes. Just how does a hard drive light up? Is the author the kind of nimrod who has a build-your-own devil-box w/ holes in it & an illuminated hard rive?  Continuing not to care: March "madness." 

Fifty Yrs. Pass Like Nothing

Los Angeles, CA -- Friday will be a big day for music in Hollywood. The Miracles are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smokey Robinson, his ex-wife, Claudette Robinson and the other members are expected to be there for the honor. And, guest speakers Berry Gordy and Stevie Wonder will heap praise on them. The Miracles' star will be near the western edge of the walk of fame not far from Wonder's star and those of The Supremes and the Temptations. The star ceremony coincides with the 50th anniversary of Motown Records.Associated Press

Bad Day For Gitarzans In Planes, Countries Standing Innocently By

Today is Thursday, March 19, the 78th day of 2009. There are 287 days left in the year. This is the date the swallows traditionally return to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California. And from the AP. Their A/V. The UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On March 19, 1979, the U. S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business. On this date: One hundred & fifty years ago, in 1859, the opera "Faust" by Charles Gounod premiered in Paris. In 1917, the Supreme Court, in Wilson v. New, upheld the eight-hour work day for railroad workers. In 1918, Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time. In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. In 1931, Nevada Governor Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling. In 1945, during World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved. Adolf Hitler issued his so-called "Nero Decree," ordering the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands. In 1953, the Academy Awards ceremony was televised for the first time; "The Greatest Show on Earth" was named best picture of 1952. In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage. In 1987, televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20th in Iraq.) Ten years ago: During a White House news conference, President Bill Clinton prepared the nation for airstrikes against Serbian targets following the collapse of Kosovo peace talks in Paris. A powerful bomb shattered an outdoor food market in Vladikavkaz, Russia, killing at least 53 people. Five years ago: President George W. Bush, on the first anniversary of the Iraq war, urged unity in the war against terrorism. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and his vice president were shot and slightly wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on the final day of Taiwan's presidential campaign. The Army dropped all charges against Capt. James Yee, a military chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who had been accused of mishandling classified information. One year ago: Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush strongly signaled he wouldn't order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refused to "jeopardize the hard-fought gains" of the past year. In a new audio message, Osama bin Laden criticized the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and warned Europeans of a strong reaction to come. Death claimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke at age 90 and actor Paul Scofield at age 86. Today's Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 84. Theologian Hans Kung is 81. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 79.Author Philip Roth is 76. Actress Renee Taylor is 76. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 76. Actress Ursula Andress is 73. Singer Clarence "Frogman" Henry is 72. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 63. Actress Glenn Close is 62. Film producer Harvey Weinstein is 57. Actor Bruce Willis is 54. [No one under 50 we've even heard of. — Ed.] On March 19th, 1953, the Academy Awards were televised for the first time. "The Greatest Show On Earth" was named best picture. Gary Cooper won the best actor award for "High Noon." Shirley Booth won best actress for her role in "Come Back, Little Sheba." In 1957, Elvis Presley bought Graceland.In 1958, Cadence Records release the instrumental song "Rumble" by Link Wray, which later was credited with being the first heavy-metal song. In 1974, Jefferson Airplane began its first tour as Jefferson Starship. In 1976, blues rock guitarist Paul Kossoff, formerly of Free, died aboard a plane en route from London to New York. He was 26. He died of unknown causes, but he had been plagued by heart problems. In 1982, guitarist Randy Rhoads of Ozzy Osbourne's band was killed in a freak plane crash in Leesburg, Florida. He was 25. The plane was buzzing Osbourne's tour bus and crashed into a house. In 1996, the second installment of The Beatles' "Anthology" album was released, featuring the song "Real Love." In 2000, a batch of Oscars was found in a trash can in Los Angeles, a week after they had been stolen from a loading dock.  Thought for Today: "History is principally the inaccurate narration of events which ought not to have happened." — Ernest Albert Hooten, American anthropologist (1887-1954). [True & amusing. — Ed.] Copyright ©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Copyright ©2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reversed.

Little Street We Used To Live On

Behind the red door on the left. The door was not red in our day (1969-70) but black. The stanchions along the sidewalk (to prevent people from parking cars half on the side walk & half in the paved horse path/rue) weren't there. Plenty of small-to-Yankee-eyes half-parked cars then. No greenery or signage either. 

Gentrification is global. We are digging Google Earth™. As soon as we get an armchair, we'll be doing some armchair traveling. And weight-gaining.

The photo is ©Eric Pelliard. See more of his Belles Rues de Paris here. 

Afghanistan In The Atomic Age, Predators Over Pakistan

Three in a row from The NYT: 1) Pakistan. It's falling apart. 

The only way forward is for the government and those opposition politicians, such as Mr. Sharif, who still have popular support to unite with progressive elements inside the Army, and to recognize the real and immediate danger of the Islamist threat. If they do not, their country risks becoming a nuclear-armed Afghanistan.

That's encouraging. 2) Predators Over Pakistan. (As told in The NYT Business section, because death is always good business.)

Air Force officials acknowledge that more than a third of their unmanned Predator spy planes — which are 27 feet long, powered by a high-performance snowmobile engine, and cost $4.5 million apiece — have crashed, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. [...] P. W. Singer, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the Predators have already had “an incredible effect,” though the remote control raised obvious questions about whether the military could become “more cavalier” about using force. Still, he said, “these systems today are very much Model T Fords. These things will only get more advanced.”

Alright. We can't wait until one of these things can track our IP Address & pop a friendly little reminder about patriotism, the limits of "free speech" & treason right into our motel room.

But enough w/ the coming war at home.

3) The representations of two (for lack of a better term) public intellectuals have a "diavlog" about the use of UAVs on the other side of the world, & collateral damage. We haven't, & may never, watched it, but it does go w/the subject, so why not get all new media?

Stamp Act Of 1765 Finally Repealed (In 1766)! And: A Hundred Yrs. Of Ham (Radio)!!

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press Wednesday, March 18, 2009; 12:01 AM Today is Wednesday, March 18, the 77th day of 2009. There are 288 days left in the year. AP tells it another way. W/ sound & pictures. The UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On March 18, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. (Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.) On this date: In 1766, Britain repealed the Stamp Act of 1765. In 1837, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, Grover Cleveland, was born in Caldwell, N.J. One hundred years ago, in 1909, Einar Dessau of Denmark used a shortwave transmitter to converse with a government radio post about six miles away in what's believed to have been the first broadcast by a "ham" operator. In 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced in India to six years in prison for civil disobedience. (He was released after serving two years.) In 1937, some 300 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas. In 1938, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas nationalized his country's petroleum reserves and took control of foreign-owned oil facilities. In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass, where the Italian dictator agreed to join Germany's war against France and Britain. In 1962, France and Algerian rebels signed a cease-fire agreement, which took effect the next day. In 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov went outside his Voskhod 2 capsule, secured by a tether. In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their embargo against the United States. Ten years ago: The Kosovar Albanian delegation signed a U.S.-sponsored peace accord following talks in Paris; the Clinton administration warned NATO would act against Serb targets if Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic rejected the agreement. Five years ago: Addressing thousands of soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., President George W. Bush warned that terrorists could never be appeased and said there was no safety for any nation that "lives at the mercy of gangsters and mass murderers." Overruling its staff, the Federal Communications Commission declared that an expletive (the "F-word") uttered by U2 frontman Bono on NBC the previous year was both indecent and profane. One year ago: Democrat Barack Obama confronted America's racial divide head-on with a speech in Philadelphia in which he urged the nation to break "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years." The just-inaugurated governor of New York, David Paterson, and his wife, Michelle, both acknowledged having had affairs during a time when their marriage was troubled. German Chancellor Angela Merkel earned a standing ovation from Israel's parliament with a speech that included a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") died in London at age 54. Today's Birthdays: Actor Peter Graves is 83. Composer John Kander ("Chicago") is 82. Nobel peace laureate and former South African president F.W. de Klerk is 73. Country singer Charley Pride is 71. Actor Kevin Dobson is 66. Actor Brad Dourif is 59. Jazz musician Bill Frisell is 58. Singer Irene Cara is 50. Movie writer-director Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element") is 50. Actor Thomas Ian Griffith is 47. Singer-songwriter James McMurtry is 47. Singer-actress Vanessa L. Williams is 46. Olympic gold medal speedskater Bonnie Blair is 45. Country musician Scott Saunders (Sons of the Desert) is 45. Rock musician Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) is 43. Rock singer-musician Miki Berenyi is 42. Rapper-actress-talk show host Queen Latifah is 39. Actor-comedian Dane Cook is 37. Rock musician Stuart Zender is 35. Singer Devin Lima (LFO) is 32. Rock singer Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is 30. On March 18th, 1965, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones were arrested for urinating on the wall of a gas station. The owner wouldn't let them use the restroom. In 1970, Country Joe McDonald of Country Joe and the Fish was fined $500 for leading a Massachusetts audience in the so-called "Fish Cheer." [What's that spell?" — Ed.] In 1978, Ontario, California, hosted the California Jam Two concert, which included performances by Aerosmith, Heart, Ted Nugent, Dave Mason and Santana. In 1982, singer Teddy Pendergrass was paralyzed from the waist down in a car crash in Philadelphia. XTC singer Andy Partridge walked off stage during a concert in Paris after only 30 seconds. He had long suffered from stage fright. The group only played one more show ever, in San Diego. In 1993, comedian Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell got married in New York. They divorced in 2006. A report by a team of child abuse experts in Connecticut cleared Woody Allen of charges he molested his seven-year-old adopted daughter. Allen's former girlfriend, Mia Farrow, had accused him of molesting the child. In 1994, the Rolling Stones announced Darryl Jones as the replacement for Bill Wyman on bass. Wyman had said he would no longer tour with the group. [They finally get a black guy in the band, then they never put him in the pictures. What is up w/ that? — Ed.] Police confiscated ammunition and four guns from singer Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. His wife, Courtney Love, had called authorities because she was afraid Cobain was contemplating suicide. In 1996, the Sex Pistols announced they were reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour. In 1997, Taylor Hawkins replaced William Goldsmith as drummer for the Foo Fighters. Goldsmith left over creative differences. In 2001, singer John Philips of The Mamas and The Papas died of heart failure at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 65. Thought for Today: "Liberty is from God, liberties from the devil." — Old German proverb. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reversed.

Thought For Today:

IRISH MUSIC.

DO NOT LIKE.

Robots Are A Serious Business

Go ahead, laugh. We hear you. All of you. ("Har har. Stupid paranoid. Robots taking over! Nagunna happen.") Well, just you keep laughing, while you look at this. Not so funny anymore, is it?Our actual fear is not these robo-tools somehow growing brains which will tell them to murder & enslave us, it's the humanoids among us who'll be able to run the world remotely, reducing the rest of us to virtual pixels in their real-world videogames. These three photos show a "cybernetic human" HRP-4C, which is designed to look like an average Japanese woman, that can express emotions such as anger (left) and surprise (right). (Koji Sasahara/AP)Not yet perfected, however. To us, the face on the left is more sultry come-hither than angry. Just as well we'll be dead by the time these abominations & their masters are fooling the masses. Here, HRP-4C is about to allow herself to be crucified. The robots will need martyrs like humans have, won't they?

Up The Irish!

Is the above a result of excessive Catholicism at the Buckley-founded National Review?

That About Which We Could Not Possibly Care Any Fucking Less Today: St. Patrick

By The Associated Press 48 mins ago Today is Tuesday, March 17, the 76th day of 2009. There are 289 days left in the year.

And from the AP. Their A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On March 17, 461 (or A.D. 493, according to other authorities), St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.On this date: In 1776, British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with "the muckrake in his hand" in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington. In 1910, the Camp Fire Girls organization was formed. (It was formally presented to the public on this date two years later.) In 1941, the National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C. In 1950, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they had created a new radioactive element, "californium." In 1958, the U.S. Navy launched the Vanguard 1 satellite. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in the wake of a failed uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. In 1966, a U.S. midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb which had fallen from an American bomber into the Mediterranean off Spain. In 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel. In 1992, 29 people were killed in the truck bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ten years ago: A panel of medical experts concluded that marijuana had medical benefits for people suffering from cancer and AIDS. The International Olympic Committee expelled six of its members, but backed president Juan Antonio Samaranch, in the wake of a bribery scandal. Instant replay was voted back in the NFL for the 1999 season. Five years ago: A car bomb tore apart a five-story hotel catering to foreigners in the heart of Baghdad, killing seven people. Charles A. McCoy, Jr., suspected in a series of highway shootings in central Ohio, was arrested in Las Vegas. (McCoy later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Gail Knisley plus 10 other charges, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.) Former MTV personality John "J.J." Jackson died in Los Angeles at age 62. One year ago: David Paterson was sworn in as governor of New York; he succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who'd resigned because of a prostitution scandal. A female suicide bomber struck Shiite Muslim worshippers in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 49 people. Paul McCartney's divorce from Heather Mills was settled for $48.6 million. Today's Birthdays: The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 76. Rock musician Paul Kantner is 68. Singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly is 66. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) is 65. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 63. Actor Patrick Duffy is 60. Actor Kurt Russell is 58. Country singer Susie Allanson is 57. Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 55.Country singer Paul Overstreet is 54. Actor Gary Sinise is 54. Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge is 50. Actress Vicki Lewis is 49.Actor Casey Siemaszko is 48. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 47. Actor Rob Lowe is 45. Rock singer Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) is 42. Rock musician Van Conner (Screaming Trees) is 42. Actor Mathew St. Patrick is 41. Actor Yanic Truesdale is 40. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 37. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 36. Actress Marisa Coughlan is 35. Rapper Swifty (D12) is 34. Actress Natalie Zea is 34. Actress Brittany Daniel is 33. Singer Stephen Gately is 33. On March 17th, 1937, Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian and actor (Dolemite) was born. (d. 2008) In 1961, the live country program "Five Star Jubilee" premiered on NBC. It took its name from the five stars who rotated as hosts. In 1962, the band Blues Incorporated played its first gig in London. At various times, the band included future Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. Another member was Jack Bruce, who later became the bassist for Cream. The Shirelles' single "Soldier Boy" was released. In 1968, The Bee Gees made their US television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show." The brothers sang "To Love Somebody" and "Words." In 1980, fiddler Hugh Farr, an original member of the Sons of Pioneers, died in Caspar, Wyoming. [Spelled "Casper" by those who live there. — Ed.] In 1982, the leader of The Capitols, Samuel George, was stabbed to death in Detroit during an argument. The group is known for the hit "Cool Jerk." In 1993, actress Helen Hayes died at age 92 in Nyack, New York, following a battle with heart problems. In 2004, Courtney Love was arrested for allegedly throwing a microphone stand at a member of the audience at a show in New York. Earlier that day, she had appeared on David Letterman's show and flashed him six times. In 2005, rapper Lil' Kim was convicted of lying to a grand jury regarding a shooting outside a New York radio station.  Thought for Today: "History is not life. But since only life makes history, the union of the two is obvious." — Louis D. Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1856-1941). Copyright ©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.Copyright ©2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reversed.

Musical Mental Health Breakdown

Frank Zappa - Cosmic Debris

"We Don't, As A Country, Recognize Evil Any More."

A professional pants-pisser goes for the trifecta. We're not sure if he enjoys pissing his own pants more than making others do the same, but he's into it either way.We love the "Name evil & you will no longer fear it" shtick. More like, "Let me call everything evil, & you shall fear it!" 

Bail Outs For Incompetence? Been Going On For Some Time Now

Filthy, socialist, corporation-hating USA Today brings more class warfare, implying that missile defense might be some sort of boondoggle to transfer funds to corporate "defense" entities that might kick back a certain amount of the profits they receive from gov't. work to the politicians that vote to bail out the anti-missile missileers when their toys don't perform.

All told, the government has spent $144 billion on missile defense since 1985, according to the CBO.

And how has that worked out? Not too well for Mr. & Mrs. Hard-Working American Taxpayer, but just fine for the close-to-30-yrs.-of-failure corporations. That's 25+ yrs. of Reagan's SDI crap. Not the first ABM (as they called in the day, making it more difficult to connect today's pork to yesterday's) boondoggle, either.

The type of ground-based interceptors that would be deployed in Europe failed to hit targets in five of 13 tests, according to the Pentagon. They have not demonstrated an ability to detect decoys, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says. [...] In the most recent test of the U.S.-based system, an interceptor launched in December from California destroyed a warhead launched from Alaska. But a goal of the test was to see if the interceptor could distinguish a live warhead from decoys, and the decoys failed to deploy.

Heh. We'd heard the December test was "successful," as the target was destroyed. Unmentioned (or buried) by the biased old MSM was the failure of the decoys to deploy. (Must've been a very short announcement. Seriously, the Google™ only showed us the verbatim press release reprint from Oz & the LAT. And that fool Breitbart, who couldn't be bothered to provide a link. We'll link to him anyway.) Decoys that may be as simple as balloons.

Independent technical analysis has shown that Iran and North Korea, which has a nuclear program, could fool the system using simple countermeasures such as balloons, says critic David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

(Yes, we know. To be fair, they should also be identified as the Union of Commie Socialists.)

Charles McQueary, who directs testing for the missile agency, told a congressional committee last month that the U.S.-based system "has demonstrated a limited capability to defend against a simple long-range ballistic missile threat launched from North Korea," but "we still have a long way to go."

Always fighting the previous war, even if they never had the chance to fight it. (Fortunate for the rest of us, probably a bit disappointing for them.)

Physicist Richard Garwin, who helped design the hydrogen bomb and served recently on a commission to assess the ballistic missile threat, said in an email that because it can be so easily defeated by decoys, the "system is not worth deploying, because it will be useless."

Whatever. Something working (ever) or not is far from the biggest question in defense procurement. Nor is whether it's needed now or in the future, even if it works. Note that no corporations are mentioned in the USA-USA! story. And that our hopes for an in-depth look at what goes on here, as put forward in the opening paragraph, didn't quite pan out. There wasn't even an implication.

Big Day For KIdnapping

By The Associated Press 49 mins ago Today is Monday, March 16, the 75th day of 2009. There are 290 days left in the year. Alternate History. Moving pictures & sound. Yet another world. Today's Highlight in History: On March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War, the My Lai Massacre of Vietnamese civilians was carried out by U.S. Army troops; estimates of the death toll vary between 347 and 504. The same day, in Washington, D.C., Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. On this date: In A.D. 37, Roman emperor Tiberius died; he was succeeded by Caligula. In 1751, James Madison, fourth president of the United States, was born in Port Conway, Va. In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. In 1915, the Federal Trade Commission began operations. In 1926, rocket science pioneer Robert H. Goddard successfully tested the first liquid-fueled rocket, in Auburn, Mass. [Ad astra, baby! — Ed.] In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the military terms set by the Treaty of Versailles by ordering the rearming of Germany. In 1969, "1776," a musical about the writing of the Declaration of Independence, opened on Broadway. In 1978, Italian politician Aldo Moro was kidnapped by left-wing urban guerrillas, who later murdered him. In 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by gunmen; he died in captivity. In 1985, Terry Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press, was abducted in Beirut; he was released in December 1991. Ten years ago: The Dow Jones industrial average briefly topped the 10,000 level, reaching a high of 10,001.78 before retreating. The entire 20-member European Commission resigned following publication of a critical report on sloppy management and cronyism. The Nebraska Cornhuskers beat Chicago State 50-3 in an NCAA baseball game. Five years ago: China declared victory in its fight against bird flu, saying it had "stamped out" all its known cases. Mitch Seavey won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in nine days, 12 hours, 20 minutes and 22 seconds. [How many of the dogs died? — Ed.] One year ago: Protests spread from Tibet into three neighboring provinces; the Dalai Lama decried what he called the "cultural genocide" taking place in his homeland and called for an international investigation into China's crackdown on demonstrators. Actor Ivan Dixon died in Charlotte, N.C., at age 76. Today's Birthdays: Comedian-director Jerry Lewis is 83.Country singer Ray Walker (The Jordanaires) is 75. Movie director Bernardo Bertolucci is 68. Game show host Chuck Woolery is 68. Singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker is 67. Country singer Robin Williams is 62. Actor Erik Estrada is 60. Actor Victor Garber is 60. Actress Kate Nelligan is 58. Country singer Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) is 58. Rock singer-musician Nancy Wilson (Heart) is 55. Golfer Hollis Stacy is 55. Actress Isabelle Huppert is 54. Actor Clifton Powell is 53. Rapper-actor Flavor Flav (Public Enemy) is 50. Rock musician Jimmy DeGrasso is 46. Folk singer Patty Griffin is 45. Actress Lauren Graham is 42. Actor Judah Friedlander ("30 Rock") is 40. Actor Alan Tudyk is 38. Actor Tim Kang ("The Mentalist") is 36. R&B singer Blu Cantrell is 33. Actress Brooke Burns is 31. Rock musician Wolfgang Van Halen is 18. On March 16th, 1969, a musical about the Declaration of Independence, "1776," opened on Broadway. In 1970, singer Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor in Philadelphia at age 24. The tumor was diagnosed three years earlier when she collapsed during a concert. In 1971, Simon and Garfunkel were the first winners of the so-called "Triple Crown" of the Grammys. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was named song and record of the year, and the album by the same name won album of the year. It was also the first year the Grammys were televised live. In 1974, the Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium to a new facility at the Opryland complex.In 1991, seven members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager were killed when their plane crashed after taking off from an airport in San Diego. In 1993, the long-awaited collaboration between former Whitesnake singer David Coverdale and guitarist Jimmy Page was released by Geffen Records. [What? Anyone know or care about that? — Ed.] In 2005, actor Robert Blake was acquitted of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. He was later found liable in a civil court and ordered to pay her children $30 million. In 2006, Michael Jackson paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to employees at his Neverland Ranch in California, then shut down the ranch. He paid them back wages to avoid a lawsuit threatened by California officials.  Thought for Today: "Until we lose ourselves there is no hope of finding ourselves." — Henry Miller, American author (1891-1980). Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reversed.

But He's Not A Socialist

Really, he isn't, says (Dare we say it?) an authentic Socialist. As might be expected, this commie rat bastard is given space in the Liberal Bible of Washington to deny The Usurper's stealth socialism.

So stealthy it's virtually unobservable. Yes, the Prez is often referred to as "The Usurper" in Bizarro World commentary. In the real world? Not nearly as many such references. Which is dull, so to hell w/ so-called real life.  What does Billy Wharton have to say? 

Not only is he not a socialist, he may in fact not even be a liberal. Socialists understand him more as a hedge-fund Democrat -- one of a generation of neoliberal politicians firmly committed to free-market policies. [...] [H]is administration is avoiding structural changes to the financial system. [...] Socialists support nationalization and see it as a means of creating a banking system that acts like a highly regulated public utility. The banks would then cease to be sinkholes for public funds or financial versions of casinos and would become essential to reenergizing productive sectors of the economy.

Best idea this reporter has heard since losing 18 yrs. of his life as a wage-slave in the banking industry. We'd like to see all the "productive, bill-paying" Americans (the real ones) given the opportunities to start, or perhaps "purchase," Joe the Plunger style, an already going concern, & put their Heartland small business drive & entrepreneurial job-creating spunk to work — thanks to Socialized banks! And the flame crash & burn of these start-ups, Amway schemes & worse scams would be a joy  to watch as well. Not so enjoyable: post-bankruptcy wails of "Regulation! Bureaucrats! Not my fault!"

Yet the president remains "the world's best salesman of socialism," according to Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. DeMint encouraged supporters "to take to the streets to stop America's slide into socialism." Despite the fact that billions of dollars of public wealth are being transferred to private corporations, Huckabee still felt confident in proposing that "Lenin and Stalin would love" Obama's bank bailout plan.

All are welcome at the membership meetings.

My guess is that the president will avoid these questions, further confirming that he is not a socialist except, perhaps, in the imaginations of an odd assortment of conservatives. Yet as the unemployment lines grow longer, the food pantries emptier and health care scarcer, socialism may be poised for a comeback in America. The doors of our "socialist cubby-hole" are open to anyone, including Obama. I encourage him to stop by for one of our monthly membership meetings. Be sure to arrive early to get a seat -- we're more popular than ever lately.

We're not quite ready to hold our breath in anticipation. Fingers may be crossed.