Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Mainstreaming Mormonicity
For The Fringe Religious Right

Writing about the rally, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat noted, snidely, that “a suspicious liberal could retort that all the God-and-Christ talk and military tributes were proof enough that a sinister Christian nationalism lurked beneath the surface” of Beck’s movement. Douthat was wrong: Beck’s Christian nationalism isn’t beneath the surface at all. It’s right on top.

It’s long been obvious, at least to those of us who follow the religious right, that the ostensibly secular Tea Party movement is deeply imbued with the ideology. In my 2006 book, Kingdom Coming, The Rise of Christian Nationalism, I tried to describe the worldview of the Christian right—its belief that the United States began as a Christian nation, blessed for its piety, before sinking to unimaginable lows as secularism gained ground. In the Christian nationalist imagination, the true catastrophe started with the New Deal, which brought socialism to America and turned government, rather than churches, into guarantors of social welfare. The Christian nationalist mind-set is apocalyptic: Time is always running out, a Satanic, hideously powerful enemy is always on the verge of instituting tyranny, and only a brave band of utterly committed believers can restore the nation to its lost glory.

Beck’s rally made the connection between the Tea Party and Christian nationalism explicit, as he called for Americans to go to “God boot camp” in preparation for a coming “global storm.” He drew heavily on the work of David Barton, a revisionist Christian nationalist historian and staple of Christian right literature. Barton specializes in combing through history and stringing together out-of-context quotes to argue that the founders intended for Christianity to serve as the basis of American government. In the early ’90s, as I reported in my book, he spoke at white supremacist events, but has since climbed into the Christian right mainstream. Beck has been championing Barton all year, and Barton spoke at Beck’s Divine Destiny pre-rally event on Friday at the Kennedy Center.
So typeth Michelle Goldberg. Now we know: Beck's been channeling this Barton loon since he ran out of W. Cleon Skousen material. M.G. continues:
Evangelicals have never accepted Mormonism as a branch of Christianity. Indeed, in the early 20th century, Christian writers often compared it to Islam. After all, it was polygamous and militant, born from the vision of a prophet claiming to be the latest in the Judeo-Christian lineage. As the Baptist author of the 1911 book Mormonism: The Islam of America put it, “[T]here is no other body of people from whom we have so much to fear in proportion to their numbers.”
Indeed, Bab-tiss. Can't wait for these potential schisms to start playing out. While waiting, we'll find some ammunition in that Bab-tiss book, courtesy of Google & Hah-vad, & fully enjoy the irony of fights between adherents of varying fairy tales. "Let's you & him fight," as they say.

Just one book in a series (from 98 yrs. ago):
Plus ça change ...

House & Garden

Apartment-dwellers can enjoy living things even w/o a yard, a windowsill, or the slightest intent.

You Can Fool Some Of The People
All Of The Time

Now that we've watched this masterwork of lies & deception, we'll leave it on top of the heap for a while as we enjoy restful, non-reactionary, apolitical tee vee time.

There is certainly no better (legal) way to waste 13 mins. of existence (& boost one's self-esteem) than to watch this.Other than, obviously, 13 mins. of sex w/ a stranger in a public place.

Annals Of Home Schooling:
"No More Phonies"

We suspected this little bastard was home-schooled. (Yes, we just insulted a 12-yr.-old, although his mother's the real villain of the piece. Bitch.)
Patrick and his mother have been involved in many Tea Party and 9/12 inspired rallies, and Patrick says he enjoys watching Glenn Beck nightly and listening to his radio program. He already has his own opinion about the way the country should be run. When I asked him about the America that he hopes to inherit or to help create, he answered, “I would want to help create an America with as small a government as possible, no deficit spending, no more debts, no more phonies, and more jobs for people.” It’s a tall order, but fortunately, Patrick is getting an early start in helping to make his dream America a reality.
Quite the pre-pubescent Holden Caulfield. What's mom going to do if Patriotic Patrick figures out who the (real) phonies are?

But our concern for Patriot Pat must not stop there. To be brutally honest, & to pick at the scabs of a child already scarred for life, it sounds as if our young Patriot's mother is turning him into a, a (This is a very difficult accusation. We're reallyalmost conflicted about picking on this sad case.) a homosexual. There! (No reference to PP's father in the quick skim we did. And we all know what that means: Skinny jeans!)
PP: We are hoping to do this again in the future. We are working on another coloring book about the Constitution. We are trying to make it easy to for kids to understand. I don’t know what I want to be yet. sorry. I thought I wanted to be a teacher at one time, but I also like video games and might want to help make them or test them. I like to cook too. I might want to be a chef one day and Mom says I am good at it. She says I have lots of time to decide.
Now Patrick, Mama's Little Man never has to leave home, or grow up, or learn about icky girls. You can just stay here & cook for Mama & draw her your nice little pictures & play your Left Behind game as long as you want, dear.

Hey, we conflated Holden Caulfield & Norman Bates! Just take our advice: Don't stop at the Patriot Motel on the old farm road.

To end on a positive note, & drag another obvious lit ref in, there's always a chance that "PP" will grow up. Oh, &, um, maybe write the 21st century version of A Confederacy of Dunces. A Dunce of Confederates, he could call it.

Beck Blazes Trail W/ New-Fangled
"Drudge-Style Website" Dealie!

Is Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller a bit too "brainy" for you? You may want to give your thinker a rest at THEBLAZE. You may also be interested if you like the Caller just fine, but wish for a tiny bit more Glenn Beck coverage therein.

To whet the appetite, an item from THEBLAZE's The Wire, in its entirety.
If a source for AP items & photos (or not-photos, above) beside The DC has been your secret dream & hidden desire, you may now die a happy person, & please do us all a favor by doing just that.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Free Speech Has A Price ...

... typing. We're not willing to pay it, especially when these people (who will be paying soon enough) can shoot themselves in the feet while their feet are in their mouths.Disclaimer & evasion of responsibility: No, we haven't watched yet: The crushing pressure of the 24-hr. news cycle (or period) forces us to publish sight unseen, but we've assumed that NewLeftMedia have edited judiciously & presented all of it out-of-context for added amusement.

ADDITION: We were kidding, The Daily Caller isn't. Dirty libs lied to get people to make fools of themselves.

Gawd Bless America & Her Flag
Or We'll Break Your Legs

From the Liberal Bible:
Credit: Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times
Why do these horrible people hate our country so that they would put our flag where they make their doody, & then stomp all over it? How will this despicable liberal hatred for all that is wholesome & pure restore America?

Pity Pick-A-Nick

Hitchens, also.

MOMENTS LATER: Oh, fucking shit, if the video of the mindless dead doesn't play, click the Hitchens link, maybe it'll work at Slate. Though the best suggestion may be not to bother w/ anything at all. Lying down in a darkened room w/ a cold compress over the eyes for a few mins. may help. Think we'll try that right now.

EVEN LATER: Slowly-loading Slate video also posted w/ Weigel's Heart o' Darkness expedition, as he does the field work (leaving the interpretation & musing to Hitchens) w/ the Restorers of Honor themselves:
"[Beck] teaches so much," said Tracy Henchman, who flew to Washington from Florida with her husband, Mark. They're eating some of the pulled pork provided by FreedomWorks to attendees of the pre-rally. "He's the only one of these hosts who doesn't just bitch, but gives you solutions. He teaches us what will happen after bills are passed. I always knew that Congress was passing bills, but I didn't know what was in them!"
Hey, us too! And we're tired of hearing & seeing that fake American President! Equal time!!
"I love Ronald Reagan," said Tracy. "He was what a real American president should be. They should play his speeches all the time, not Obama's speeches. At least they should play them side by side."

Wanna Buy A Date?
'Cause We Be Pimpin'!

Too fugging lazy & decadent to copy & paste our newest Whiskey Fire critique of reactionary/loon Donald Douglas's take on Orange County as viewed by The NYT.

How Could Anyone Possibly Care?

Are we to assume the Emmies©® occurred yesterday?

(Intensive research indicates so.)

Simple country folk that we are, we had no idea.

Ford Wagon Graveyard

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Annals Of Misanthropy

Alright, two items today (& just barely) to compensate for none Saturday.

Socializing is killing us, & we're too pooped to pop. (Or not. Good eatin', to excess.)

A reminder of what lives among us.
Rockabilly, corporate drone in wknd. drag. Lights on in your heads, it's 2010!
Left to Right: Unknown, but brought decent brew; Obnoxious, annoying, generally disliked (Who invited him?); Dull; & (again) "Ladies, it's 2010. Really."
Disclaimer (of sorts): We know none of the above. Not that we wouldn't type it as it is about those we do know. We've been introduced to the dude below, who dresses like & may well be a ++ironic 90042 hipster twice now, & do remember his name begins w/ a "D." As to those w/ their backs wisely turned to the camera, the less said the better.
Freakin' sausage party, also.
Another panorama of dull. One can barely go anywhere w/o this sort of thing staring back at one. Even worse: The fucking ocean.
Just one raw nerve, aren't we? And no damn wonder, as no one is safe from anything anymore, anywhere.
Drumming up business. It's looking up!

TITLE CORRECTED (30 August 2010 @ 1307): Not just dames. Sorry. (Told you we were exhausted.)

People ...
People Who ...

This reporter has spent entirely too much time of late socializing (Weds., yesterday, & more today; three events in five days.)

Why is Your Awful Species® dedicated to boring us limp or irritating us raw on our inevitable course toward death?

Friday, August 27, 2010

"It Is The Sheriff's Deputy's Job
To Be Afraid"

Triple murder in former stomping grounds WeHo (Glad we're in a nicer neighborhood now.) led us to crime rates, & a quote worth quoting:
The Sheriff's Department relies on information provided by inhabitants. "If you see something suspicious, call it in," he said. "Don't be afraid. That's our job. We need everybody's help."
Statistical massage:
Methodology used in tabulating crime rates could present a misleading picture because crimes are calculated by occurrence per 10,000 residents.  An artificially low number of city inhabitants in the divisor produces a higher rate, making Weho appear more crime-dense than it really is.

West Hollywood's population is about 36,000, but with a daytime population boost of about 30,000 office workers on weekdays and 35,000 to 40,000 nightlife patrons replacing those daytime employees, the number of people present within the city's borders stays consistent at about 70,000, not counting special events, protests, tourists or the weekend club scene on Sunset Boulevard.

For some events and marches, the numbers can swell into the hundreds of thousands.
No wonder WeHo's a madhouse. 70,000 weasels (half of them wage-slavin' squares, replaced by a night shift of suburban scumbag/wknd. hippie types) stuffed into 1.9 miles2, twice the announced residents. Not to mention the steady stream of Angelenos on all the surface streets, the residents of WeHo's neighbor to the west, Beverly Hills, having some time ago successfully NIMBY'd a freeway for the area.

Which leads to the other amusing massage:
West Hollywood made no improvements in auto theft, which is also attributable to the city's character, in Smith's estimation. "Most of our community is pretty well off and the bad guys look for nice cars," he said. "Some of them are experts from car theft rings. They can steal a car in 10 seconds."

Smith explained that a strong sheriff's presence cannot always prevent such thieves because of the city's prevalence of underground parking structures, which are out of the view of patrolling deputies.
Here the schadenfreude is piled high & deep, as it is these same can't-be-seen-from-the-street garages, missing a wall, that will collapse in the next seismic event big enough to cause that sort of thing.
Ha ha. You suck & your life is shit.

What The Party People Eat

Grotesque preserved human hand is a popular item.
Gesticulating wildly often causes others to flee the immediate vicinity.
The Naked Bar-B-Q.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

This Is What We Like To Read

Even the short run looks gloomy, and the slightly longer run -- the next twenty to thirty years -- could be a turning point in human history.
Not that every moment isn't, maybe, a turning point, depending. And not that the rest of the article, snappy third paragraph aside, isn't (as far as could be determined by a cursory scan) a litany of hippie-dippie verdancy; there is some (not enough) litanizing of what's going wrong w/ everything, & we always like that.
[A Swede named Rockstrom] and his colleagues have worked out the biophysical conditions that allowed human beings to appear and then prosper on the planet -- the safe operating conditions for humanity. They have quantified nine interlinked planetary conditions and their boundaries, which include climate change, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss and other eco-indicators necessary for human survival and civilized development. Three of these boundaries have already been overstepped because of growing global reliance on fossil fuels, industrialized forms of agriculture, and overuse of natural resources. The world economy is fast approaching almost all of the other boundaries.

Rockstrom and his colleagues' work and analysis deserves the widest possible attention -- yet few public figures in the US seem to have heard of him.
America does not want to be alarmed by facts, but by scary boogie men. Always helps to keep that in mind.

Ripped from the headlines:
[M]any firsthand observers [...] have amply documented the country's horrifying amount of air, water and soil pollution. Anyone who has visited China in recent years can view the air pollution, dirty rivers, incredible traffic jams, and endless urbanization for themselves.
OK, no hope there then. Anywhere, really. Certainly none here.
Public opinion is in our favor. There is a climate majority. Nearly 75% of Americans tell pollsters that they believe the earth's temperature is warming and that human behavior is responsible. Solid majorities think the nation needs a fundamental overhaul of its energy policies and expect oil to be replaced as a major source of fuel with 25 years. Yet, our political system seems unable to act and our president unable to lead.
Please remind us of the last time the system acted in favor of something that needed action. (Tax cuts & wars excepted, of course.) Cynic that we are, we imagine a Bradley effect: 75% of those polled are all for action, but a different tune will be warbled or screeched if any cutbacks or contractions are necessary, whether in gated communities or urban tenements.
What do we need to do as Americans? Tom Friedman thinks we need a Green Tea Party -- and perhaps that would help.
Not terribly fair to mock the typist, as he does weasel around it, but isn't mentioning Friedman a violation of one of those irksome Intertubular discourse things; that is, quoting him w/o identifying him as the Mustache of Understanding or the Great Friend of the Taxi Driver is an automatic disqualification? Picayune bull aside, imagining a Green Tea Party is pretty damn funny. Is there not a "Green" Party, which should be winning elections if any of the sheep gave a flying fuck at a rolling dough-nut about much beyond their next dough-nut?

Outside World: Partly Cloudy

Guess the purpose of the edifice in the mid-ground.
Hot rails to somewhere.

The Perpetual Nap Of Indifference

Early analysis of the blog-o-sphere following a day's non-analysis of it would indicate that everyone remains full of shit, & we all continue to die. Surprised? (Nauseated is more like it.)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

Crap Slate Would Have You Believe You Should Know Now

Whatever the source (It's all shit anyway, why differentiate?) these 12 items are semi-indicative of something (Oh, yeah, the zeitgeist.) & we're perfectly satisfied to copy & paste them w/o further comment. No, not the most ringing endorsement.
  1. Political Veterans Poised to Win Tomorrow's Primaries
    It was supposed to be the year of anti-incumbent outrage, but in Arizona and Florida, long-time politicians - including Sen. John McCain - are beating upstarts, even the independently wealthy ones.
    Read original story in The Washington Post | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  2. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Will Be a "Virtual Third Party" In Mid-Terms
    The group plans to spend at least $75 million getting candidates who are "supportive of free enterprise" elected.
    Read original story in The Associated Press | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  3. Tiger and Elin Officially Divorced
    The ex-couple says their family's privacy is a "principal concern." TMZ says it has all the details on the divorce settlement.
    Read original story in TMZ | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  4. Anti-Islam Tensions Flare Over Mosque Controversy
    As anti-Islam sentiment crops up across the United States, analysts say that the backlash against the proposed Islamic community center has created "an absolute propaganda coup" for al-Qaida.
    Read original story in Wall Street Journal | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  5. A Home May Never Be a Good Investment Again
    Americans think "it's a law of nature" that real estate appreciates in value. It's not.
    Read original story in The New York Times | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  6. Philippine Hostage Situation Ends in Violence
    An 11-hour hostage situation came to a close on Monday after Philippine police charged a bus that had been hijacked by a former cop in downtown Manila. Six people--not including the gunman--have been reported dead.
    Read original story in CNN CNN | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  7. We Knew It Was Safe to Leave Iraq When the Porn Came Out
    A reporter for the Associated Press argues that the presence of porn on Baghdad's streets says a lot about the security situation in Iraq.
    Read original story in The Associated Press | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  8. "The Situation" Will Make $5 Million This Year
    It's not just the Jersey Shore contract - Mike Sorriento and his abs are raking in the cash with endorsement deals for Vitamin Water, Reebok, a clothing line, and a new vodka brand. Then there's the book deal.
    Read original story in The Hollywood Reporter | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  9. School-Supply Lists Grow As State Budgets Shrink
    Cash-starved schools are asking kids to supply their own classroom with everything from construction paper to toilet paper.
    Read original story in The New York Times | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  10. China's 60-Mile Traffic Jam Could Last a Month
    But right now, it's only in day nine.
    Read original story in Global Times | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  11. Colleges Work Harder Than Ever to Pry Parents Away from Students
    As helicopter parents give way to "velcro parents," universities have to get more explicit about when it's time to leave your 18-year-old alone.
    Read original story in The New York Times | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
  12. Justice Department Hiring Ebonics Experts
    If you're fluent in "Black English," there may be a job for you at the Drug Enforcement Agency.
    Read original story in The Smoking Gun | Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
Alright, one declaration, one question, about item 5. You people are soooo fucking dumb. How stupid can you be? What the hell's your problem? You're never going to wise up, are you? Ad nauseam.

Fearless, Fighting, Foul-Mouthed! UPDATED W/ "Working" Link!

Wonder Warthog (Yes, the Hog of Steel!) goes on welfare, from 37 yrs. ago.

UPDATE (2005, 23 August 2010): Huh. Screwed by someone we know in meatspace. Here's the orig.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

TheThrills Never Stop

SoCal Living at its finest/dullest:
Breaking in a new grill.
Moonlight on Garvanza
Venus over Highland Park

Hey Bob A Ree Bob

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Related Videos

From Balloon Juice.

From secs. of "research."

BUSTED! (UP-DATED)

"ESPN Personality" Jay Mariotti arrested in Venice on domestic disturbance charge involving his girlfriend, held on US$50,000.00 bail.

UPDATE (Mere mins. later.): The AP says somemone went his bail just before noon.

Friday, August 20, 2010

No Escaping "Eeeeww"

We Break It Here First

The New York Times
Fri, August 20, 2010 -- 8:22 PM ET
-----
Blackwater Reaches $42 Million Settlement With U.S. Over Export Violations

The private security company formerly called Blackwater Worldwide, long plagued by accusations of impropriety, has reached an agreement with the State Department for the company to pay $42 million in fines for hundreds of violations of United States export control regulations.
Read More


Heh, indeed: Not even a mention of the outfit's present name. That worked out well.

Born Under A Bad Sign

Franklin Graham explains it all for you on CNN, via TPM:
"I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name."
We're sure the President appreciates the cogent advice concerning his problem. (Just one?) If we all put our heads together & think very, very hard, we may figure out Graham's problem. First we'll have to understand all of it (Our emphases.):
"Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed and he has renounced Islam and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done, I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said."
Did he just not-say what we think he did? Hold onto your hats, maybe even get the flotation devices ready, there's more.
Graham further explained: "The confusion is, is because his father was a Muslim, he was born a Muslim. The Islamic world sees the president as one of theirs. That's why Gaddafi calls him 'my son.' They see him as a Muslim. But of course the President says he is a Christian, and we just have to accept it as that."

King noted that Graham and his father have met Obama, and prayed with him. With this context, King asked, does Graham believe Obama when he says he is a Christian?

"Well, you know, you can be born a Muslim, you can be born a Jew, but you can't be born a Christian," said Graham. "The only way you can become a Christian is by confessing your sins to God, asking his forgiveness, and by receiving Jesus Christ by faith into your heart, that Christ died for your sins, shed his blood on Calvary's Cross, and that God raised him to life. If you're willing to accept that and believe that, and let Jesus Christ be the lord of your life, God will forgive your sins, he will heal your heart, and that's the only way you can become a Christian. And so if the President has done that, then I would say he's a Christian, if that's what he has done."
There he goes again.

So, Taitz-style geographic birtherism having been back-burnered for the moment (Until 2012; expect many a state to have passed Presidential show-us-your-papers laws by then.) we're now to be subjected to religio-birtherism? Much better: You just try to prove what's in the Presidential heart.

And now that we know one "can be born" a Jew or a Musselman, that whole free will thing the eggheads have been struggling w/ has cleared right up. At least as far as Christians. Too bad for other, pre-destined suckers. (May we add, not nearly enough is being done to irk & alienate Hindus. There are hundreds & hundreds of millions of them, they're swarthy, & were the usual suspects to piss them off enough that a few of them looked at these United Snakes sideways, there'd be wonderful opportunities for Graham to practice his disaster Christianity on them after the smoke cleared.)

Also, please do not piss on our leg & tell us there are no racial (Putting it mildly.) aspects to all this.
The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother.
Is Graham getting this from the New Revised Klan version of the good book? (Always loved that one: ALL OTHER BOOKS ARE BAD!)

Telebision, however, is good.
Here too.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Monthly (August: Bitch, Moan, &c.) Approx. 4m. 38s. Hate

They tried to kill music, but it killed two of them.

That's grim. Never really thought of it that way before.

Idle Question

Why are the Colorado Rockies wearing Khalid Sheik Mohammad's initials on their uniforms?

Synchronicity: Even as we were copping the picture of a Rocky (Rockie?) sporting "KSM", Vin Scully advised us: Keli Scott McGregor.

Sad to hear it, & for once, absolutely no offense intended.

(Not, of course, that we didn't know it wasn't the sadly more-widely known KSM. How about "Nothing personal?")

Jargon Up-Date

Anglo-Saxon English: 5,480,000

Latinate English: 1,630,000

Them & Us

The Six-Figure Fish Tank

Apparently not all of us are in economic pain.

The New Post-Meaning,
From One Senior Official

Maybe not this year.
Thu, August 19, 2010 -- 9:09 PM ET

Israel Assuaged On Iran Threat, U.S. Officials Say

The Obama administration, citing evidence of continued troubles inside Iran's nuclear program, has persuaded Israel that it would take roughly a year -- and perhaps longer -- for Iran to complete what one senior official called a "dash" for a nuclear weapon, according to American officials.

White House officials said they believe the assessment has dimmed the prospect that Israel would pre-emptively strike against the country's nuclear facilities within the next year, as Israeli officials have suggested in thinly veiled threats.
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na
We'll give you that it's merely a "breaking news alert," but the head hurts at the implications. (Actually, merely figuring what the implications are, both political & nuclear winter, seems like a big damn chore. Back to meaninglessness we can dig; baseball on the telly.)

Signage

Sputnik (left) Sun-Bleached Wasteland (right)

Broken News Alert
The New York Times

Thu, August 19, 2010 -- 12:52 PM ET

Roger Clemens Will Be Indicted for Perjury, People Briefed on Case Say

Federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to two people briefed on the matter. An announcement is expected in the near future.

The indictment will come nearly two and half years after Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified under oath at a 2008 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, directly contradicting each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances.
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na
Who can we believe?

Also: Odd that the paper of record didn't think it necessary to identify this Roger Clemens(?) beyond his name.

Early A.M. Nostalgia For "The Witch"

The Bastard Four linked some gawd-awful (but entirely on topic) crap by a band called China Crisis, reminding us of Chinas Comidas, for whom we searched. Saw 'em at the Hong Kong Cafe once, don't remember their doing this one.V. O.:Note to de yout': If they ain't got a guitar or saxophone, they ain't worth a listen!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Horns Of A Dilemma
Torn Between Two Lovers
Surfeit Of Riches

One of the troubles of living in The Big City (or even Los Angeles) other than the tide of humanity that washes everywhere (Yet everything is still filthy. Huh.) is that, among the near-infinite cultural & entertainment options offered, conflicts can arise. We're confronted w/ one this Sunday, when the Sunset Junction ("Stop Fire-Bombing The Fags") Street Fair or whatever the hell its official name is will present Lee "Scratch" Perry around 2000, while an event of interest will be held in Venice around 1400.

Venetian action:
"The 14th amendment guarantees equal protection under law and properly interpreted it guarantees women the right to be top-free where men are allowed to be top-free," they say. "Unfortunately, some jurisdictions do not recognize that right, and there is a less stringent test in the courts (called intermediate scrutiny) for gender based differential treatment than for e.g., racial classifications (which are analyzed under what's called strict scrutiny)."

In the state of New York, it is legal to go topless, thanks to a 1992 state court decision. So in 2005, a woman decided to put that to a test in New York City and was arrested. She cited the law to the arresting officers, but she was still taken into custody for 12 hours. She sued and got $29,000 out of it.

This weekend's protest will happen on Sunday and will start at Ocean Front Walk and Navy Street at 2 p.m. August was chosen because of Women Equality Day on Aug. 26. The day commemorates the passage of women’s right to vote on Aug. 26, 1920.
A picture of the 2008 event. Locals in the know will recognize the hideous Karen Centerfold on the right, which is reason enough not to go.
Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist
So we'll be making a personal appearance at the Sanborn stage this Sunday. See you there! (Sorry, no autographs.)

The Deciderer

TPMDC reports:
Republicans for weeks have been surfacing left and right to condemn the proposed Islamic center two blocks from the site of Ground Zero in New York City, but one GOPer stayed quiet. As the "mosque" debate boiled over this weekend the big question was whether George W. Bush was going to weigh in.

TPM asked, and the response from his spokesman today was simple:

"President Bush has no comment."

[...]

But now, he's staying out of the fray. So are many of his top deputies. We tried to check in with other Bush-era aides who were tasked with Muslim outreach.

Assistants for Karen Hughes and Condoleezza Rice declined to comment. We've also requested interviews with several other prominent Bush administration aides, including Colin Powell and James Glassman.

Hump Day Post

Crummy, huh?
Read the entire mess. Featuring our new hero, America Smasher!
Try FedExing it, big guy.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Newt Gingrich: Sick, Sad, & Old Fuck Whose Missis Has Some Serious Fucking Daddy Issues

Whenever we encounter a shot of Newt ("Pooty-poot-poot") Gingrich & his most recent bride (Not at all necessarily his last, if you know what we mean.)
Why, then, is it not "Newt&Callista.org?" Huh? Why?
we like to remind all & sundry how she presented herself before the two were married (for which, of course, Newt had to convert, the filthy hypocrite) & how she's been remade. 2005 or 2006:
Is your skin crawling yet? Ours has already crawled out the door & thrown itself on the freeway.
More recently:
When they decided which frozen expression would be painted on Callista's face for the remainder of the "marriage," at least they didn't go w/ this look w/ the raccoon eyes. She must have been transitioning from home-wrecker to respectable Catholic when this was taken, 7 December 2008.
Many Freudian interpretations from this shot alone. Note prominently displayed wedding/engagement rings.
We must speculate as to how many times the current Mrs. G. (If the marriage is even legitimate. How much did it cost for the Pope to approve it?) had to flash her thong at Newt, Monica Lewinsky-style, before he grunted & moved toward her, or if, as one might well suspect, considering his "marriage" record, he is a sexual predator who was on her like white on rice? And note the Rielle Hunter/John Edwards similarity. "Can I take your picture, you big handsome lump of flab?"

We also wonder if Newt & Callista are fantasizing about being the new Catholic King & Queen of America, as described below.

Photos stolen from previous Just Another Blog™ items. If you despise Gingrich as much as you should, you'll want to get your two-minute hate on here & here. How little things change in a yr.

No King But Jesus. Or The Pope.
Or Maybe Hitler. (UPDATED)

Courtesy commentator Whale Chowder (Nice nym., W.C. Now we're hungry.) leaving notes at S,N!, we give you:See? Just like the rest of the universe. Nothing to worry about. If our Catholic King has been well-bred, he & all his royal descendants will likewise be virtuous. It's always worked that way before.

Will this startling display of pre-Enlightenment feudalism get non-Catholic religio-fascists a little nervous, as the first sentence of the title indicates? We're in favor of any & all religious warfare, as long as it's the religious killing each other.

All you can stand from this colossal ninny.

Video also posted at Whiskey Fire, w/ different typing.

UPDATE (0017, 18 August 2010): Sissy boy Michael Voris, S.T.B., can't take the heat, & has made his call to overthrow the gov't. & put a Catholic King in charge "private." Let's see how long his response to the response stays up.

Suckers

You can't lose something that exists only on paper, fools. Yet EK is having a fit.

Dean Baker: 'We’ve lost about $6 trillion in housing wealth, and I expect we will lose more.'

It's what happens when you buy into capitalism w/ less than, say, $500 million. Someone buys you & you're history. Fucking sheep. See you under the freeway.

Jazz Dump

Samples/examples here. Wail, cats!

The Right To Hibernate

That About Which We Could Not Possibly Care Any Fucking Less

Blagojevich (mis)trial & verdict.

What.

Fucking.

Everrrrrrrr.

Melting

Looks as if we've used the title twice previously, once as above, once followed by an ellipse. Clever, aren't we?

The point being that we felt a bit humid on waking, &, on checking, we find that the heat wave expected last wknd. has finally shown up. 90 or 91, depending. We'll be in the cee-ment pond until sundown.

To Single Any Of You Out Would Be
A BIG Mistake

We wonder why all three of the Creams are still kicking. Trio = smaller pool of potential morbidity? Gotta be more than that. The Beatles, The Who, even The Ramones, of a later generation. All rockin' aggregations now half-dead.

(How an FM DJ sounds at 55+: "Now, dig some Cream, w/ an oldie-but-a-goodie, 'N.S.U.' Take it away, boys ...")Live music: Always better recorded for later enjoyment in the solitude of one's bunker.

Free Market Fuckwads

We're quite certain that this sort of thing doesn't happen very often. Never, even. A horrible mistake. Must have been the accountant's fault that no overtime was paid. Don't you think? Because in a truly free market, the workers would have been free to, you know, get a better job. Lazy bastards. Gotta work 'em to get your money's worth.
The owners of four Los Angeles car washes were each sentenced to a year in jail and are expected to have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages after pleading no contest to half a dozen criminal counts, authorities said Monday.

Benny and Nissan Pirian were charged by the city attorney's office in 2009 with 172 counts of violating criminal and labor laws for their treatment of workers. The original criminal complaint named four of their car wash businesses, including Celebrity Car Wash Inc. of Hollywood, Five Star Car Wash Inc. of Northridge, and Hollywood Car Wash Inc. and Vermont Hand Wash Inc. of Los Feliz.

[...]

The city attorney's office noted that the court also issued a protective order prohibiting the Pirians from attempting to intimidate witnesses or victims involved in the investigation.

Witnesses in the case testified that a vast majority of the workers at the car washes were required to arrive at least 15 minutes before their shift, and to stay half an hour after closing. None of the workers were paid overtime and were discouraged from taking rest breaks or were denied breaks entirely, even during times of extreme heat.

The workers were paid a flat rate of $35 to $40 a day in violation of minimum-wage laws, according to the deputy city attorneys who tried the case, Julia Figueira-McDonough, Andrew Wong and Akili Nickson. Some worked for tips alone.
Ah, it's that socialist/fascist/Communist/Islamic minimum-wage law, tying the hands of honest businessmen, keeping teens from getting jobs, & spoiling our moral fiber, if we've read or heard anything at all from the feudal elements of this pig society.

We know where the Celebrity Car Wash is.

Get on down there & get some jihad going on those two motherfuckers. They close at 1800; it's dark by 2000. What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch ...

Did we mention this? It's the ceiling in our shower.
It came from above.
Also, a leak over the toilet.

The King Is Dead, &c.

He isn't getting out from under that.
Elvis, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories.

Teabag types at their gawd's grave.
The audio tour must be included in the admission.
Not entirely fair; The Pelvis is big on the other side of the Pacific as well.
In the Philippines.
And South Korea. This photo taken on July 18, 2010 shows South Korean Lee Jong-Jin, who sold two apartments to build his own memorial hall, posing with his collection at the "Follow That Dream" hall for Elvis Presley in Paju, north of Seoul. More than 30 years after the untimely death of Elvis Presley, devotees worldwide are still paying fervent tribute to the King of Rock 'n Roll. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)
We've thought for some time that Elvis worship would follow Mormonism & Scientology as the third Great American Foisting of religion on the drooling superstitious masses.Another step closer:
The author claimed that it all began the night the King was born -- Jan. 8, 1935 -- when a strange, unidentified blue light reportedly hovered in the night skies above Elvis' childhood home in Tupelo, Miss.

"The light was seen by the doctor who delivered him and by Elvis' father, who later told Elvis all about it," alleged Luckman.
Waste a few more precious moments of your existence w/ our thirtieth anniversary take on Elvis's end.