I watched the debate. What a farce. What a waste of time. What an incredible bore. After listening to two full days of what it is Obama had to do to win, and what McCain had to do to win, and whether McCain would attack Obama, and whether Obama would attack McCain, and whether the format favored McCain, and on and on, we finally saw the debate itself. Basically a nothing. I am quite certain that no one’s mind was changed, we did not learn anything new about either candidate, and the election status quo was undisturbed by anything of note. It was so uneventful I didn’t even bother to listen to the comments. I think I can pretty much guess what they will be in general. Pat Buchanan and others of that ilk will think McCain won, but a somewhat larger number will think Obama won. Obama will be seen as having been more Presidential, in the sense of being calm and collected in the face of provocation. Not that there was a whole lot of provocation. Some will take McCain to task for not having been more provocative, and especially for avoiding the reality of his having Palin label Obama as a terrorist and such. On the one hand McCain is having his VP candidate play the role of attack dog (which she seems to delight in), but he passed up the opportunity to confront Obama to his face on the subject (probably out of the fear of backlash as his own record on terrorists is much worse than Obama’s lack of any such record). The first part of the debate, on the economy, I thought Obama did better. The next part, on Foreign Affairs, I thought they were both pretty dismal. McCain still talking in his ridiculous fashion about victory and how he knows what it is like to send troops into battle (I wonder what troops he ever sent into battle), and how he knows how to win (I don’t know what war he claims to have won), and the usual nonsense. He kept insisting that Obama wanted to attack Pakistan when he knows full well Obama never suggested any such thing. In fact, I would bet that McCain would be just as likely, if not more likely, to pursue bin Laden into Pakistan if the opportunity presented itself (even though he insists that Obama’s statement to this effect means he wants to invade Pakistan). But they both have the ridiculous idea that somehow we should send more troops to Afghanistan (which is like pouring human life down the drain for no purpose). I thought McCain was somewhat subdued (for McCain). This is probably due to the criticism he has received about having such a short fuse and such.
The questions were themselves not very provocative. Apparently they had been picked by Brokaw out of thousands that had been submitted. Most of them were pretty obvious and the answers were predictable. Only one of them I thought was genuinely stupid and should not, in my opinion, been allowed. This was towards the end, by an ex military man, and had to do with a hypothetical attack on Israel by Iran (what would they do in the even of such an attack). As there is no reason to suspect that Iran will ever attack Israel, and of course if they did both McCain and Obama would have to say they would help Israel, it was a question that would have been better left ignored. But they agreed that Iran should not be permitted to develop a nuclear bomb (which they may or may not be doing) as this would be apparently the end of the world. Again, there is no reason to suppose that would be the case. The Iranians are not stupid, if they did have a bomb they would not rush out and bomb anyone with it, anymore than any other nuclear power would do. Nor would they just hand it over to terrorists anymore than anyone else would. If Iran is developing a bomb you could hardly blame them. Pakistan has one, India has one, Israel has dozens. I think it might be argued that Iran having one might be a good thing as it would bring about a better balance of power in the Middle East. But generally speaking I think it would be better if they didn’t have a bomb. But then I think everyone would be better off if no one else had one either, including the U.S.
Sarah Palin certainly is a pit bull in lipstick. And like many pit bulls she is vicious and out of control. When you incite your audiences to yell “treason,” and “terrorist,” and “kill him,” I think you are going to far with your hate speech. She seems to revel in it. I suggested previously that she might well be part of the reason McCain would lose the election. I still think so. Either she and McCain are too dumb to realize this, or they really believe this kind of sleaze will work. As it doesn’t seem to be working they probably ought to give it up (but then what else would they have to do with no positive record of any kind). If the third debate shapes up to be no better than this one they should just cancel it and save us from any further waste of time.
LKBIQ:
Whoso neglects learning in his youth,Loses the past and is dead for the future.
Euripides
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
Desperation
Ninety year old woman foreclosed,
shoots self in chest, recovers,
her mortgage is forgiven.
BAJ: Yes, we have lilacs, many. And the lilac bushes on the farm where I spent my summers so many years ago are still there. They must be about 100 years old, and just as fragrant as ever they were.
I wrote a blog last night but my computer ate it before it was published. I still have no idea how this happened. I am not a computer person.
The stock market fell 800 points today before recovering to lose only 370. You can bet those that brought about the rebound found plenty of bargains to go with their 850 billion gift. Look for plenty more of the same. It seems to me this is a fitting climax to the Bush/Cheney nightmare years.
You know they are desperate when Palin and McCain start bringing up old accusations that have already failed to produce results. And when they admit they are trying to change the subject from economics to character assassination you might think even their base would give up. But, no, I doubt McCain/Palin could do anything, I mean anything at all, that would cause their lunatic supporters to question them. The Obama-Ayers connection they are pushing is not going to fly. And when they start on the Reverend Wright they had better look to their own relationships with various Preachers and Witchdoctors. They apparently believe that the voting public believes in magic (you know, things that once were in contact with one another continue to act at a distance. That is, because Obama met Ayers a couple of times, or knew the Reverend Wright they must think and be the same). What makes this even more ridiculous is that Palin’s husband is identified with a group led by a man who stated how much he hated the U.S. and its institutions. And we know Palin must believe in magic because she had a preacher pray to protect her from witchcraft. I’m afraid the jig is up for them, they’re going down, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer pair. The real skinny on both of them is readily available now on the web and it is not pretty. John McCain is an absolute jerk and Palin is simply Dick the Slimy in drag. Anyway, I don’t want a President who says things like “I betcha,” “darn right,” “doggone,” and claims to be Joe Six Pack. I’ve had it with the retarded speech of Bush and I don’t want some cornball “cracker” in the White House (even as VP). If you haven’t noticed I’m an elitist, sort of. I don’t want a President as dumb as I am. I certainly don’t want a Joe Six Pack as President, especially one who winks at me. I prefer lines like “nattering nabobs of negativism” (without the stealing, of course), or “gazing down the fairways of indifference,” or even “he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” I like elegance. I’d like someone who can at least speak in complete and intelligible sentences. But I’m not a true elitist, when I am confronted with Daub of beef, Civet of beef, Ragout, or Braised beef, I say balderdash, they’re all just stews.
The great H. L. Mencken once said: “As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
We already achieved this. I don’t want to see it happen again. It has become obvious that John McCain is not tempermentally suited for the Presidency, as well as going senile, and Palin is far too ignorant and uninformed (to say nothing of just too sleazy). They do make a great pair, however, as both of them are willing to lie in the gutter if that will help them reach their goal. They have dishonored themselves, their party, and the American people. They will soon be merely a footnote to a most unpleasant period of American history.
“Worm or beetle—drought or tempest
--on a farmer’s land may fall,
Each is loaded full o’ruin, but a
mortgage beats ‘em all.
Will Carleton
shoots self in chest, recovers,
her mortgage is forgiven.
BAJ: Yes, we have lilacs, many. And the lilac bushes on the farm where I spent my summers so many years ago are still there. They must be about 100 years old, and just as fragrant as ever they were.
I wrote a blog last night but my computer ate it before it was published. I still have no idea how this happened. I am not a computer person.
The stock market fell 800 points today before recovering to lose only 370. You can bet those that brought about the rebound found plenty of bargains to go with their 850 billion gift. Look for plenty more of the same. It seems to me this is a fitting climax to the Bush/Cheney nightmare years.
You know they are desperate when Palin and McCain start bringing up old accusations that have already failed to produce results. And when they admit they are trying to change the subject from economics to character assassination you might think even their base would give up. But, no, I doubt McCain/Palin could do anything, I mean anything at all, that would cause their lunatic supporters to question them. The Obama-Ayers connection they are pushing is not going to fly. And when they start on the Reverend Wright they had better look to their own relationships with various Preachers and Witchdoctors. They apparently believe that the voting public believes in magic (you know, things that once were in contact with one another continue to act at a distance. That is, because Obama met Ayers a couple of times, or knew the Reverend Wright they must think and be the same). What makes this even more ridiculous is that Palin’s husband is identified with a group led by a man who stated how much he hated the U.S. and its institutions. And we know Palin must believe in magic because she had a preacher pray to protect her from witchcraft. I’m afraid the jig is up for them, they’re going down, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer pair. The real skinny on both of them is readily available now on the web and it is not pretty. John McCain is an absolute jerk and Palin is simply Dick the Slimy in drag. Anyway, I don’t want a President who says things like “I betcha,” “darn right,” “doggone,” and claims to be Joe Six Pack. I’ve had it with the retarded speech of Bush and I don’t want some cornball “cracker” in the White House (even as VP). If you haven’t noticed I’m an elitist, sort of. I don’t want a President as dumb as I am. I certainly don’t want a Joe Six Pack as President, especially one who winks at me. I prefer lines like “nattering nabobs of negativism” (without the stealing, of course), or “gazing down the fairways of indifference,” or even “he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” I like elegance. I’d like someone who can at least speak in complete and intelligible sentences. But I’m not a true elitist, when I am confronted with Daub of beef, Civet of beef, Ragout, or Braised beef, I say balderdash, they’re all just stews.
The great H. L. Mencken once said: “As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
We already achieved this. I don’t want to see it happen again. It has become obvious that John McCain is not tempermentally suited for the Presidency, as well as going senile, and Palin is far too ignorant and uninformed (to say nothing of just too sleazy). They do make a great pair, however, as both of them are willing to lie in the gutter if that will help them reach their goal. They have dishonored themselves, their party, and the American people. They will soon be merely a footnote to a most unpleasant period of American history.
“Worm or beetle—drought or tempest
--on a farmer’s land may fall,
Each is loaded full o’ruin, but a
mortgage beats ‘em all.
Will Carleton
Saturday, October 04, 2008
It's over!
Washington state, fearing
diseases, outlaws pedicures
by dead skin nibbling carp.
I know, I know, it aint’t over til’ the fat lady sings, it ain’t over til’ it’s over, and all that, and I could be premature, but I suspect it’s over. The election, that is. At the moment it appears that if the election were held now Obama would win more than 330 electoral votes to McCain’s 165. It is difficult to see how McCain/Palin can make that up between now and November 4th. This is especially true as both McCain and Palin are being more exposed everyday for the frauds they truly are. Both of them have tax questions pestering them, McCain’s temperamental unsuitability for President is becoming more and more apparent, and Palin is learning that she can’t just “cute” her way to the vice-presidency. It appears that you have to know at least something to be VP and Palin is seriously lacking on that score. So now McCain will go negative, really big time negative, and it is going to be ugly. But I suspect that the uglier it gets the less he will gain by it. Yes, negative ads do seem to work, but probably not in a situation where they are obviously the last gasp of desperation. McCain/Palin will soon be history. It couldn’t happen to a nicer pair.
I have worried for some time whether it would be even theoretically possible for Obama to have any success as President, given the enormity of the task he will face. But it occurred to me today that if he does anything at all it will be a resounding success when compared to where we are now. It may be true there is no bottom line to how bad things can get, but in this particular case I cannot see how they can fail to get better. Bush/Cheney have come as close to destroying the U.S. in every respect as it is probably possible to do. We have no international credibility, our military is exhausted, we are in debt about as far as we can be, unemployment is rampant, millions are without health care, our infrastructure is seriously damaged, our educational system is inadequate, and our people are demoralized. It seems to me we can only go up from here. Obama has the potential to become a truly great President (a potential not even remotely shared by John McCain), but even if he proves to be only mediocre he will still be a hero when compared to what is. I have predicted for a long time that Obama would win in a landslide. I still think so.
Autumn has arrived. It is in the air and can no longer be denied. The dominant color here is green because of the preponderance of evergreens. The Ponderosa pines outside my study window are awesome giants to me, but only children among their own. There are Douglas fir, White fir, Lodgepole, White, and other pines, buck-brush, and other evergreen bushes, all of different shades and hues of this one basic and calming color. But here and there this remarkable expanse is broken up with patches of aspen, birch, alder, and cottonwood. The larch have not yet begun to turn and lose their needles that will soon cover the ground around them with that incredible and unique burnt orange of their spent season. Our countryside cannot rival that of New England, but it is quite beautiful nonetheless. When I look at the deciduous trees we have planted here at Sandhill I can witness autumn in all its splendor. The leaves are an unbelievable and stunning melange of color: bright yellows and fiery reds and shades of orange I am certain could never be artificially duplicated. The leaves fall silently, matting the ground with a kaleidoscope of colors that make your senses reel with pleasure and wonder. Our huge chestnut tree is a mass of yellow and greens fading into yellow. Soon all will appear dead, with bare branches against the snow, just as beautiful in its own way. And of course it is the opposite of death, being the very first beginnings of the life that is inevitably to come. Spring here is lovely also, but fall is my favorite time in spite of the ineffable sadness that always seems to accompany it. It is a time of great happiness as well: back to school, football, homecoming, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the anticipation of Christmas. What other season offers so much? The garden is finished and put away. The harvest is over, hay is in the barns, the squash are safe in the cellar, along with the carrots and beets and parsnips and potatoes. Beans have been canned, pickles made, tomatoes dried, canned, and frozen, sauerkraut begun, and enough firewood cut to last until spring. Now is the time to relax by the fire, read, and reflect upon the joys of life and nature. Paradoxically perhaps, autumn is when I feel the most alive, because it is then I think I understand and feel more in touch with the rhythms and profundity of life and nature. The years I spent in California were always unnatural to me, although of course they were every bit as natural as anywhere else to those who were born and raised there. I was not, and I missed the seasons terribly, especially autumn.
LKBIQ:
Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist.
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata
diseases, outlaws pedicures
by dead skin nibbling carp.
I know, I know, it aint’t over til’ the fat lady sings, it ain’t over til’ it’s over, and all that, and I could be premature, but I suspect it’s over. The election, that is. At the moment it appears that if the election were held now Obama would win more than 330 electoral votes to McCain’s 165. It is difficult to see how McCain/Palin can make that up between now and November 4th. This is especially true as both McCain and Palin are being more exposed everyday for the frauds they truly are. Both of them have tax questions pestering them, McCain’s temperamental unsuitability for President is becoming more and more apparent, and Palin is learning that she can’t just “cute” her way to the vice-presidency. It appears that you have to know at least something to be VP and Palin is seriously lacking on that score. So now McCain will go negative, really big time negative, and it is going to be ugly. But I suspect that the uglier it gets the less he will gain by it. Yes, negative ads do seem to work, but probably not in a situation where they are obviously the last gasp of desperation. McCain/Palin will soon be history. It couldn’t happen to a nicer pair.
I have worried for some time whether it would be even theoretically possible for Obama to have any success as President, given the enormity of the task he will face. But it occurred to me today that if he does anything at all it will be a resounding success when compared to where we are now. It may be true there is no bottom line to how bad things can get, but in this particular case I cannot see how they can fail to get better. Bush/Cheney have come as close to destroying the U.S. in every respect as it is probably possible to do. We have no international credibility, our military is exhausted, we are in debt about as far as we can be, unemployment is rampant, millions are without health care, our infrastructure is seriously damaged, our educational system is inadequate, and our people are demoralized. It seems to me we can only go up from here. Obama has the potential to become a truly great President (a potential not even remotely shared by John McCain), but even if he proves to be only mediocre he will still be a hero when compared to what is. I have predicted for a long time that Obama would win in a landslide. I still think so.
Autumn has arrived. It is in the air and can no longer be denied. The dominant color here is green because of the preponderance of evergreens. The Ponderosa pines outside my study window are awesome giants to me, but only children among their own. There are Douglas fir, White fir, Lodgepole, White, and other pines, buck-brush, and other evergreen bushes, all of different shades and hues of this one basic and calming color. But here and there this remarkable expanse is broken up with patches of aspen, birch, alder, and cottonwood. The larch have not yet begun to turn and lose their needles that will soon cover the ground around them with that incredible and unique burnt orange of their spent season. Our countryside cannot rival that of New England, but it is quite beautiful nonetheless. When I look at the deciduous trees we have planted here at Sandhill I can witness autumn in all its splendor. The leaves are an unbelievable and stunning melange of color: bright yellows and fiery reds and shades of orange I am certain could never be artificially duplicated. The leaves fall silently, matting the ground with a kaleidoscope of colors that make your senses reel with pleasure and wonder. Our huge chestnut tree is a mass of yellow and greens fading into yellow. Soon all will appear dead, with bare branches against the snow, just as beautiful in its own way. And of course it is the opposite of death, being the very first beginnings of the life that is inevitably to come. Spring here is lovely also, but fall is my favorite time in spite of the ineffable sadness that always seems to accompany it. It is a time of great happiness as well: back to school, football, homecoming, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the anticipation of Christmas. What other season offers so much? The garden is finished and put away. The harvest is over, hay is in the barns, the squash are safe in the cellar, along with the carrots and beets and parsnips and potatoes. Beans have been canned, pickles made, tomatoes dried, canned, and frozen, sauerkraut begun, and enough firewood cut to last until spring. Now is the time to relax by the fire, read, and reflect upon the joys of life and nature. Paradoxically perhaps, autumn is when I feel the most alive, because it is then I think I understand and feel more in touch with the rhythms and profundity of life and nature. The years I spent in California were always unnatural to me, although of course they were every bit as natural as anywhere else to those who were born and raised there. I was not, and I missed the seasons terribly, especially autumn.
LKBIQ:
Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist.
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata
Friday, October 03, 2008
Fear merchants score again
Fear merchants score again. Well, it seems to have worked one more time, the fear card, that is. The House passed the revised Bailout (Rescue) Plan. The Bush administration put the fear of whatever into Congress by telling them that if they didn’t pass this bill the world would end, small businesses would fail, people would lose their jobs, and chaos would reign. While it is no doubt true that we have big troubles and some action needed to be taken, the urgency with which the crisis was presented stampeded Congress again into passing a very questionable piece of legislation. Other alternatives were ignored because, as usual, action had to be taken immediately, as with the Patriot Act. Remember that the original request was three and a half pages that basically suggested Paulson could be given complete control over 700 billion dollars, no questions asked, no supervision, no reviews. As it was only three and a half pages even a few Congresspersons could manage to read it. Once the full horror of what was being proposed was clear, Congress then made some changes, and added I don’t know how many pages to the document. When this was voted on it failed, much to everyone’s surprise. It was said that it failed because the American public was so dead set against it and so informed their Congressmen. So, back to the drawing board. A new bill was drafted which, I understand, runs to more than 400 pages. You can be pretty certain that no one read this tome. And, as the element of fear itself didn’t seem to be quite strong enough to insure passage, some of the paid-for Senators were instructed to bribe a sufficient number of Republican Congresspersons to get it done. And so, it was done, with something in the vicinity of another 150 billion dollars of pork. We now have a bill that no one knows whether or not it will even work, for a figure that was admittedly picked at random because they said they “wanted a really big number.” The claim is that this new bill will perhaps even result in a profit for the taxpayers, new regulations are built into the system, and everything is going to be hunky dory. The market responded with only a modest 157 point drop and no one is sure what will happen next. That’s what I call really good government. They couldn’t bother to take a few more days, perhaps even a week or two, to make sense of what it is they were doing. Fear drives their feet, so to speak, but money talks, too. Don’t bet that anything much will change and Wall Street will be 850 billion dollars wealthier.
I think I was far too generous to Sarah Palin last night when I opined how well she had done in the debate. I meant to say she did really well (for Sarah Palin). She was articulate, indeed, virtually non-stop articulate. She didn’t answer the questions (but she announced she wasn’t going to), she told many lies (which is par for the course for her party), and she apparently read some of her responses from note cards. She didn’t faint, vomit, or make any obvious gaffes. Therefore, she did well. Her base, along with Pat Buchanan, thought she was brilliant. She apparently thinks she can wink and smile and cutesy her way into the Vice-presidency. And she announced that once she attains it she is going for even more power than Cheney (the Constitution be damned). She smiled almost constantly, what I take to be kind of an evil smile, the smile Sadie Thompson must have smiled when she knew she had it over the Preacher in Maugham’s great short story, Rain.. Gentleman Joe Biden let her get away with murder, refusing to rise to the bait when she was particularly out of line, although he did correct her when she outright lied. That is what he was advised to do. It worked for him as it seems to be clear that he won the debate, and it also seems clear that many women were turned off by Palin’s performance. I don’t think I’d want a President who would wink at me. Palin knew what she was doing. Unable to answer any real questions, and clearly out of her depth, she resorted to what has worked for her in the past, that down home folksy I’m-just-like-you-all approach, with the winks and smiles, cornball language, and witty remarks. As Gwen Iffil didn’t press her with any follow up questions, or ask her if she really knew anything at all, she got away with it. McCain was very pleased. So pleased he apparently didn’t bother to tell her he was pulling out of Michigan.
out on a spring walk
I notice a wildflower
too precious to pick –
what is, what will never be,
it seems at times, are the same
Fumio Ogoshi
I think I was far too generous to Sarah Palin last night when I opined how well she had done in the debate. I meant to say she did really well (for Sarah Palin). She was articulate, indeed, virtually non-stop articulate. She didn’t answer the questions (but she announced she wasn’t going to), she told many lies (which is par for the course for her party), and she apparently read some of her responses from note cards. She didn’t faint, vomit, or make any obvious gaffes. Therefore, she did well. Her base, along with Pat Buchanan, thought she was brilliant. She apparently thinks she can wink and smile and cutesy her way into the Vice-presidency. And she announced that once she attains it she is going for even more power than Cheney (the Constitution be damned). She smiled almost constantly, what I take to be kind of an evil smile, the smile Sadie Thompson must have smiled when she knew she had it over the Preacher in Maugham’s great short story, Rain.. Gentleman Joe Biden let her get away with murder, refusing to rise to the bait when she was particularly out of line, although he did correct her when she outright lied. That is what he was advised to do. It worked for him as it seems to be clear that he won the debate, and it also seems clear that many women were turned off by Palin’s performance. I don’t think I’d want a President who would wink at me. Palin knew what she was doing. Unable to answer any real questions, and clearly out of her depth, she resorted to what has worked for her in the past, that down home folksy I’m-just-like-you-all approach, with the winks and smiles, cornball language, and witty remarks. As Gwen Iffil didn’t press her with any follow up questions, or ask her if she really knew anything at all, she got away with it. McCain was very pleased. So pleased he apparently didn’t bother to tell her he was pulling out of Michigan.
out on a spring walk
I notice a wildflower
too precious to pick –
what is, what will never be,
it seems at times, are the same
Fumio Ogoshi
Thursday, October 02, 2008
VP debate
I watched the VP debate. In all honesty, and much to my surprise, I thought Sarah Palin did a really fine job. She was articulate, had a great presence, seemed to know what she was talking about, and all in all did very well. That is, she did very well for herself, and because she did well for herself she also did well for the McCain/Palin ticket. Proving that she was not an absolute airhead will be an obvious plus. She was well prepared and knew her lines. However:
I’m not sure how fair the playing field really was. For example, it was announced by several people that she was going to attack (which she did). On the other hand it was suggested to Biden that he should not get upset and should act like a gentleman (he did that). But it does seem to me there is a bit of sexism involved in such an arrangement. I think Biden could have been more aggressive than he was but he did pretty well in defending himself and Obama. And, while Palin did well for herself and the ticket, she didn’t really do anything other than simply promote the same old McCain positions. We have to “win” in Iraq and Afghanistan (whatever on earth that could mean). The Democrats want to wave the white flag of surrender. McCain has a great medical plan, he’s always been a maverick, he’s been against deregulation (the usual blatant lies about McCain’s positions). She failed to give even a single example of how McCain’s plans differ in any meaningful way from Bush’s. In short, it was the same old BS all over again, but she did it pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she is not a complete fool after all. She did absolutely nothing to deny that McCain wants to give billions more in tax breaks to the oil industry, and of course she went on the drill, drill, drill baloney (which will ultimately benefit no one but Alaska residents and oil companies. When she told an out and out lie (which she did several times) Biden was quick to respond, but she remained unfazed. Lying seems to come naturally to members of the Brafia. She went through the McCain BS about when he said the economy was strong he was merely referring to American workers, etc. The usual nonsense. Neither she nor Biden made any gaffes so in that sense I guess it was pretty much of a draw. So were any minds changed? Perhaps. But I doubt that enough were changed to make any appreciable difference.
I must say people are understandably upset and very jittery about the state of our world, especially those with strong positions in the stock market. One of the things that struck me today when discussing this was the ubiquitous statement that “things could be worse.” I wonder, is there a threshold where things could not be worse? How bad do things have to be before they cannot be worse? It seems to me that you can, in general, always argue that things could be worse. You know, if your have the flu, you could have cancer, if you have lost substantial monies in the market, you could have lost everything, if you broke your leg you could have busted both legs, and so on. So how low does it have to go before it cannot get worse? How about when you die? When you die does that represent the worst it can get? How do you know? What if you go to hell? What if you burn in eternal fire? Can it still be worse? I guess in principle it could. It seems to me that saying things could get worse is in the same category as saying you’re sorry. I ran over your children and killed them. I’m sorry. What the hell good does saying you’re sorry do? About the same good as saying things could be worse, I guess.
It seems clear that something must be done to help the economy. I do not think that passing the present bill, which has been made worse than it was by the addition by billions more in pork to appeal to House Republicans is the way to go. Furthermore, I do not believe the world will end if this bill is not passed immediately. There are alternatives that have not even been considered. This is just another example of the administration trying to stampede us into making another bad decision like the Patriot Act. I hope the House will not be panicky enough to vote for this bill tomorrow but I suspect they will. Panic makes people do irrational things even when the panic is artificially induced, and the Bush/Cheney administration has been a master of inducing unnecessary panic. Unfortunately, they are not very good at doing anything about the consequences of their panic machine.
LKBIQ:
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. Mencken
I’m not sure how fair the playing field really was. For example, it was announced by several people that she was going to attack (which she did). On the other hand it was suggested to Biden that he should not get upset and should act like a gentleman (he did that). But it does seem to me there is a bit of sexism involved in such an arrangement. I think Biden could have been more aggressive than he was but he did pretty well in defending himself and Obama. And, while Palin did well for herself and the ticket, she didn’t really do anything other than simply promote the same old McCain positions. We have to “win” in Iraq and Afghanistan (whatever on earth that could mean). The Democrats want to wave the white flag of surrender. McCain has a great medical plan, he’s always been a maverick, he’s been against deregulation (the usual blatant lies about McCain’s positions). She failed to give even a single example of how McCain’s plans differ in any meaningful way from Bush’s. In short, it was the same old BS all over again, but she did it pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she is not a complete fool after all. She did absolutely nothing to deny that McCain wants to give billions more in tax breaks to the oil industry, and of course she went on the drill, drill, drill baloney (which will ultimately benefit no one but Alaska residents and oil companies. When she told an out and out lie (which she did several times) Biden was quick to respond, but she remained unfazed. Lying seems to come naturally to members of the Brafia. She went through the McCain BS about when he said the economy was strong he was merely referring to American workers, etc. The usual nonsense. Neither she nor Biden made any gaffes so in that sense I guess it was pretty much of a draw. So were any minds changed? Perhaps. But I doubt that enough were changed to make any appreciable difference.
I must say people are understandably upset and very jittery about the state of our world, especially those with strong positions in the stock market. One of the things that struck me today when discussing this was the ubiquitous statement that “things could be worse.” I wonder, is there a threshold where things could not be worse? How bad do things have to be before they cannot be worse? It seems to me that you can, in general, always argue that things could be worse. You know, if your have the flu, you could have cancer, if you have lost substantial monies in the market, you could have lost everything, if you broke your leg you could have busted both legs, and so on. So how low does it have to go before it cannot get worse? How about when you die? When you die does that represent the worst it can get? How do you know? What if you go to hell? What if you burn in eternal fire? Can it still be worse? I guess in principle it could. It seems to me that saying things could get worse is in the same category as saying you’re sorry. I ran over your children and killed them. I’m sorry. What the hell good does saying you’re sorry do? About the same good as saying things could be worse, I guess.
It seems clear that something must be done to help the economy. I do not think that passing the present bill, which has been made worse than it was by the addition by billions more in pork to appeal to House Republicans is the way to go. Furthermore, I do not believe the world will end if this bill is not passed immediately. There are alternatives that have not even been considered. This is just another example of the administration trying to stampede us into making another bad decision like the Patriot Act. I hope the House will not be panicky enough to vote for this bill tomorrow but I suspect they will. Panic makes people do irrational things even when the panic is artificially induced, and the Bush/Cheney administration has been a master of inducing unnecessary panic. Unfortunately, they are not very good at doing anything about the consequences of their panic machine.
LKBIQ:
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. Mencken
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Is McCain in the loop?
BAJ: Thanks for the reference. It just confirms what I have always suspected about John McCain. What a jerk!
In an interview today with members of the press, McCain was pressed on, among other things, Sarah Palin, and whether she was helping the ticket. He insisted she was, that she was enormously popular, and that “everyone” liked her. When it was suggested to him that perhaps that was not the case he responded by saying he hadn’t heard that. As the polls have been going down for McCain/Palin, and as part of that is said to be the negative reaction to her, and as quite a few conservatives have been very critical, even suggesting she should drop out of the campaign, what does one make of McCain’s statement? Is he out of the loop? Is it that he does not himself read or watch television, depending upon his staff to clue him in, and they are failing to tell him the truth? Is he simply in a state of complete denial, refusing to believe what is happening? Is he just out of touch with reality? Or does he just assume that the “base” likes her and that is “everyone” as far as he is concerned? I found his statement to be strange indeed.
He also assured his interviewers that he has always been 100% truthful, even insisting that Obama did, in fact, try to start sex education in kindergarten. As he also repeats the lie over and over again that Obama intends to raise everyone’s taxes, and that Palin stopped the bridge to nowhere, can we really believe he is completely honest (as if anyone would believe such a thing in the first place).
Well, as expected, the Senate passed the Bailout bill (now called the “Rescue” or some other euphemism) 74 to 25. This was expected. Now it goes to the House. In the present form it has added something like 150 billion dollars worth of pork, specifically to appeal to House Republicans. So it is actually worse than it was in the beginning. They will try to force the House of accept it because otherwise the world will come to an end (no one will be able to get any credit). This is bad because of course no one has any money anymore so we all have to depend upon credit. I have long maintained that credit card interest is basically the functional equivalent of slavery, the only real difference being that they are not permitted to whip us or otherwise physically abuse us for falling behind. Under the circumstances I suppose there really is not much of an alternative except to pass some kind of bill that will help the credit market. It would be nice if we could make this temporary and try to wean ourselves from this destructive credit system (I doubt there is any possibility of that ever happening). I am old enough to remember when we didn’t have credit cards. Ice cream cones were a nickel, hamburgers a dime, cigarettes, also about a dime, gasoline about twenty cents a gallon, and etc. Somehow we managed to get along. Yeah, yeah, I know, just myths about “the good old days.” There were drawbacks, of course, but bankruptcy was not as common and shopping and consumption were not regarded as ends in themselves. Oh, well, that was long ago. Will the House members give in to the pressure from the White House and Senate, or will they give in to the enormous amount of negative public opinion generated by this gigantic corporate scam? We won’t know until Friday.
The Brafia is so worried about Palin’s lack of knowledge and her potential failure in the coming debate they are already making excuses for her. Gwen Iffil, the moderator, is writing a book about black politicisns so they are crying foul already. Iffil is also a woman but they don’t count that as a plus. Do you think they would object if she was writing a book about female politicians? Rest assured, if Palin is still on her feet and breathing at the end of the 90 minutes it will be counted a runaway victory. “Joe Six Pack for VP” will appear on bumper stickers on every pickup truck in Idaho.
LKBIQ:
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
Groucho Marx
In an interview today with members of the press, McCain was pressed on, among other things, Sarah Palin, and whether she was helping the ticket. He insisted she was, that she was enormously popular, and that “everyone” liked her. When it was suggested to him that perhaps that was not the case he responded by saying he hadn’t heard that. As the polls have been going down for McCain/Palin, and as part of that is said to be the negative reaction to her, and as quite a few conservatives have been very critical, even suggesting she should drop out of the campaign, what does one make of McCain’s statement? Is he out of the loop? Is it that he does not himself read or watch television, depending upon his staff to clue him in, and they are failing to tell him the truth? Is he simply in a state of complete denial, refusing to believe what is happening? Is he just out of touch with reality? Or does he just assume that the “base” likes her and that is “everyone” as far as he is concerned? I found his statement to be strange indeed.
He also assured his interviewers that he has always been 100% truthful, even insisting that Obama did, in fact, try to start sex education in kindergarten. As he also repeats the lie over and over again that Obama intends to raise everyone’s taxes, and that Palin stopped the bridge to nowhere, can we really believe he is completely honest (as if anyone would believe such a thing in the first place).
Well, as expected, the Senate passed the Bailout bill (now called the “Rescue” or some other euphemism) 74 to 25. This was expected. Now it goes to the House. In the present form it has added something like 150 billion dollars worth of pork, specifically to appeal to House Republicans. So it is actually worse than it was in the beginning. They will try to force the House of accept it because otherwise the world will come to an end (no one will be able to get any credit). This is bad because of course no one has any money anymore so we all have to depend upon credit. I have long maintained that credit card interest is basically the functional equivalent of slavery, the only real difference being that they are not permitted to whip us or otherwise physically abuse us for falling behind. Under the circumstances I suppose there really is not much of an alternative except to pass some kind of bill that will help the credit market. It would be nice if we could make this temporary and try to wean ourselves from this destructive credit system (I doubt there is any possibility of that ever happening). I am old enough to remember when we didn’t have credit cards. Ice cream cones were a nickel, hamburgers a dime, cigarettes, also about a dime, gasoline about twenty cents a gallon, and etc. Somehow we managed to get along. Yeah, yeah, I know, just myths about “the good old days.” There were drawbacks, of course, but bankruptcy was not as common and shopping and consumption were not regarded as ends in themselves. Oh, well, that was long ago. Will the House members give in to the pressure from the White House and Senate, or will they give in to the enormous amount of negative public opinion generated by this gigantic corporate scam? We won’t know until Friday.
The Brafia is so worried about Palin’s lack of knowledge and her potential failure in the coming debate they are already making excuses for her. Gwen Iffil, the moderator, is writing a book about black politicisns so they are crying foul already. Iffil is also a woman but they don’t count that as a plus. Do you think they would object if she was writing a book about female politicians? Rest assured, if Palin is still on her feet and breathing at the end of the 90 minutes it will be counted a runaway victory. “Joe Six Pack for VP” will appear on bumper stickers on every pickup truck in Idaho.
LKBIQ:
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
Groucho Marx
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Being President 101
Man dives in ocean,
punches shark in the nose,
saves his rat terrior.
I am not comforted by knowing that Sarah Palin is enrolled in Being President 101. Somehow the idea that someone could cram for the Presidency in a few days does not inspire me with confidence. I don’t care how well Sarah Palin might do in the coming debate with Joe Biden, I will never believe that a crash course in being President is sufficient preparation for that all-important office. It’s not like taking Sociology 101, at least not to me. Somehow McCain seems to think this is some weird combination of My Freshman Year and My Fair Lady. Let’s face it, McCain made an absolutely stupid choice for purely short term political reasons and now he’s faced with having to turn his sow’s ear into a silk purse, with very little time to do it. All of the evidence so far indicates that Palin knows nothing whatsoever about Foreign Policy, virtually nothing about American history, nothing about the Constitution, and not very much in general. She does not believe in the theory of evolution, apparently believes people co-existed with dinosaurs, and that the world is a mere 6000 years of age. I’m sorry but this is totally unacceptable in a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the U.S. I don’t care how much of a fool Dan Quale or Spiro Agnew may have been, I don’t want another one of that ilk (and Sarah is far worse than either of them). Sarah Palin is totally unqualified for such high office and no amount of cramming before her exam is going to make her qualified. I do not mean to be unkind to her, but this is far too important to be allowed. She should get off the ticket before she makes a complete fool of herself, but that appears to be out of the question at this late date. I fear that expectations for her are so low that if she survives 90 minutes at all she will be declared the victor. Rumor has it that she has performed miserably in two practice sessions already and is said to be virtually hopeless. I said from the very beginning she was going to prove an embarrassment and so far she has lived up to that assessment even beyond my expectations. You must give her credit for chutzpah, and perhaps she will perform above expectations, but she will still never be qualified for the office she is running for, short of several years of more study and experience (and even that is very questionable).
I must say I marvel at the way McCain and his supporters can look into the camera and tell such outrageous lies. Sometimes I wonder if they really believe the nonsense they spout. One of them today (I forget just who it was) said that McCain has been calling for more regulation for two years and that Obama has done nothing. This is a lie so outrageous, so contrary to fact, that you have to wonder if the guy is taking some kind of drugs, drinking the poisoned kool-aid, or something. McCain is on tape repeatedly railing against regulation of any kind. But these people do this all the time. It’s as if they live in an alternative world, one in which facts are totally irrelevant. Now, having spent days filling Palin’s head with lies of this kind they are about to send her into the valley of doom. If she survives at all she will be acclaimed a hero, at least to those who idolize her because she is just like them (Joe Six Pack). Is that what you want a heartbeat away from the most powerful position on earth, Joe Six Pack? Not me. No thanks. No way. Never.
It appears that Bill Clinton just cannot praise Obama, although he can lavish praise on McCain and, of course, Hillary. I guess he just cannot stand being dethroned and having to give up his position as leader of the party to this upstart relative newcomer. I think this is a terrible development and I would hope the Democratic Party would quickly put a stop to it. Like my mother always said, if you can’t saying something nice about someone, say nothing at all. But if Hillary couldn’t control Bill I guess no one else can either. He is doing a terrible thing and there is no excuse for it other than just plain ego.
The Palin/Biden debate is shaping up to be the hottest show on television in a very long time. No doubt the viewers will exceed probably even the super bowl. And there will be poor little Sarah, picked on by Joe Biden and all the rest of the male bullies, to say nothing of the MSM. Remember, whatever you say will be used against you. It will all be just plain sexism. Jeez, I wonder what she will wear?
Time has got a little bill—get wise while yet you may,
For the debit side’s increasing in a most alarming way;
The things you had no right to do,
The things you should have done,
They’re all put down; it’s up to you to pay for every one.
So eat, drink and be merry, have a good time if you will,
But God help you when the time comes, and you
Foot the bill.
Robert Service
punches shark in the nose,
saves his rat terrior.
I am not comforted by knowing that Sarah Palin is enrolled in Being President 101. Somehow the idea that someone could cram for the Presidency in a few days does not inspire me with confidence. I don’t care how well Sarah Palin might do in the coming debate with Joe Biden, I will never believe that a crash course in being President is sufficient preparation for that all-important office. It’s not like taking Sociology 101, at least not to me. Somehow McCain seems to think this is some weird combination of My Freshman Year and My Fair Lady. Let’s face it, McCain made an absolutely stupid choice for purely short term political reasons and now he’s faced with having to turn his sow’s ear into a silk purse, with very little time to do it. All of the evidence so far indicates that Palin knows nothing whatsoever about Foreign Policy, virtually nothing about American history, nothing about the Constitution, and not very much in general. She does not believe in the theory of evolution, apparently believes people co-existed with dinosaurs, and that the world is a mere 6000 years of age. I’m sorry but this is totally unacceptable in a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the U.S. I don’t care how much of a fool Dan Quale or Spiro Agnew may have been, I don’t want another one of that ilk (and Sarah is far worse than either of them). Sarah Palin is totally unqualified for such high office and no amount of cramming before her exam is going to make her qualified. I do not mean to be unkind to her, but this is far too important to be allowed. She should get off the ticket before she makes a complete fool of herself, but that appears to be out of the question at this late date. I fear that expectations for her are so low that if she survives 90 minutes at all she will be declared the victor. Rumor has it that she has performed miserably in two practice sessions already and is said to be virtually hopeless. I said from the very beginning she was going to prove an embarrassment and so far she has lived up to that assessment even beyond my expectations. You must give her credit for chutzpah, and perhaps she will perform above expectations, but she will still never be qualified for the office she is running for, short of several years of more study and experience (and even that is very questionable).
I must say I marvel at the way McCain and his supporters can look into the camera and tell such outrageous lies. Sometimes I wonder if they really believe the nonsense they spout. One of them today (I forget just who it was) said that McCain has been calling for more regulation for two years and that Obama has done nothing. This is a lie so outrageous, so contrary to fact, that you have to wonder if the guy is taking some kind of drugs, drinking the poisoned kool-aid, or something. McCain is on tape repeatedly railing against regulation of any kind. But these people do this all the time. It’s as if they live in an alternative world, one in which facts are totally irrelevant. Now, having spent days filling Palin’s head with lies of this kind they are about to send her into the valley of doom. If she survives at all she will be acclaimed a hero, at least to those who idolize her because she is just like them (Joe Six Pack). Is that what you want a heartbeat away from the most powerful position on earth, Joe Six Pack? Not me. No thanks. No way. Never.
It appears that Bill Clinton just cannot praise Obama, although he can lavish praise on McCain and, of course, Hillary. I guess he just cannot stand being dethroned and having to give up his position as leader of the party to this upstart relative newcomer. I think this is a terrible development and I would hope the Democratic Party would quickly put a stop to it. Like my mother always said, if you can’t saying something nice about someone, say nothing at all. But if Hillary couldn’t control Bill I guess no one else can either. He is doing a terrible thing and there is no excuse for it other than just plain ego.
The Palin/Biden debate is shaping up to be the hottest show on television in a very long time. No doubt the viewers will exceed probably even the super bowl. And there will be poor little Sarah, picked on by Joe Biden and all the rest of the male bullies, to say nothing of the MSM. Remember, whatever you say will be used against you. It will all be just plain sexism. Jeez, I wonder what she will wear?
Time has got a little bill—get wise while yet you may,
For the debit side’s increasing in a most alarming way;
The things you had no right to do,
The things you should have done,
They’re all put down; it’s up to you to pay for every one.
So eat, drink and be merry, have a good time if you will,
But God help you when the time comes, and you
Foot the bill.
Robert Service
Monday, September 29, 2008
Grand theft narrowly averted
Grandmother steals car, flees police,
arrested, threatens to sue car owners
for tempting her with neglected keys.
A massive theft of taxpayer money was narrowly averted today when some Congresspersons up for re-election became terrified because their constituents were 25 to 1 against the bailout. Voters spoke and for once someone listened. It seems that the voting public has finally caught on to the Brafia scams that have been going on for the past eight years.
This bailout scheme was probably the grandest scam ever attempted. The Bush/Cheney bunch of gangster tried their usual use of fear and panic to stampede us into giving Paulson complete control of 700 billion dollars all by himself, no supervision, no challenges, no questions to be asked. And we were told that if this was not passed immediately the sky would fall, the sun would fail to rise, and the world would come to an immediate end. But, having gotten away with this kind of fear mongering and panic- making in the past, this time it failed. Some Congresspersons actually read the proposal (after all it was only three and a half pages) and saw just what a complete and utter robbery was being planned. But, of course, everyone agreed that something had to be done immediately if not sooner. So, they tried to piece together a proposal that no one liked but presumably would agree on “for the good of the country.” Democrats promised so many votes and the Brafia did likewise, except when it came down to the real nitty-gritty the Brafia welched. Everyone was shocked, shocked I tell you, when this scam failed. No one liked it but it was the only scam going. Now assuming that the world doesn’t end tomorrow (a Jewish holiday so Congress can’t work), they will meet again on Thursday to try again. As everyone seems to agree that they must do something they will no doubt come up with a revised plan that will probably only rob the taxpayers 80 or 90 percent of what the original called for. Do you think they will forge a plan that will make those who have benefitted so royally for the past eight years actually have to contribute to the solution. Don’t be silly. Remember that when there is big money involved they are all on the take and they are not about to kill the corporate geese that lay the golden eggs.
But first we will have to endure the finger pointing and accusations that will fly from both sides. The Brafia will claim it’s all the Democrats fault, especially Pelosi and Obama, while the Democrats will claim it’s all McCain’s fault (too much time has passed for it to be blamed on Clinton). You might think that McCain would feel a bit sheepish, having announced just prior to the failure that he had negotiated the whole deal and what was going to save the world. But having no shame whatsoever, McCain will now try to claim that it was his efforts that queered the deal. He is dauntless. When Palin publicly stated that she agreed with Obama that we should be able to invade Pakistan if necessary, contrary to what McCain’s position has been, he actually said it didn’t count because she was merely talking to a voter (figure that out if you can).
No matter how you try to spin it, the McCain campaign has been nothing more than a Keystone Cops performance. He shifts his positions by the hour, demonstrates his confusion over virtually every issue that arises, tries to avoid the issues at all costs, shamelessly attacks Obama, and, worst of all, picks Sarah Palin as his running mate (soul-mate as he calls it). She, in turn, has said that she really looks forward to her debate with Biden on Thursday, having demonstrated in her interviews to date that she is a true know-nothing who has become a laughingstock. At least she doesn’t lack confidence. Of course by now the expectations for her are so low that if she actually is still breathing at the end of the 90 minutes they will claim a victory.
It is probably too late for McCain to replace Palin on the ticket. Who could he turn to even if he tried. I can’t imagine there is anyone who is anyone who would volunteer for such a task at this late date. McCain has no choice now except to try to bluff it out, insist that Palin is qualified, a “quick learner” and up to the job. There are apparently a few that actually believe this. I saw a bumper sticker today that said simply “Sarah.” It might as well have said “I am a complete moron.” But that’s the way it goes. Will we survive all this? All appears to be chaos. At least one ultra-conservative writer has suggested that Palin should drop out for the good of the country. I suggest that McCain ought to do the same but, then, he has demonstrated no interest in the country and Palin probably doesn’t even understand what it all means.
LKBIQ:
To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.
Friedrich Nietzsche
arrested, threatens to sue car owners
for tempting her with neglected keys.
A massive theft of taxpayer money was narrowly averted today when some Congresspersons up for re-election became terrified because their constituents were 25 to 1 against the bailout. Voters spoke and for once someone listened. It seems that the voting public has finally caught on to the Brafia scams that have been going on for the past eight years.
This bailout scheme was probably the grandest scam ever attempted. The Bush/Cheney bunch of gangster tried their usual use of fear and panic to stampede us into giving Paulson complete control of 700 billion dollars all by himself, no supervision, no challenges, no questions to be asked. And we were told that if this was not passed immediately the sky would fall, the sun would fail to rise, and the world would come to an immediate end. But, having gotten away with this kind of fear mongering and panic- making in the past, this time it failed. Some Congresspersons actually read the proposal (after all it was only three and a half pages) and saw just what a complete and utter robbery was being planned. But, of course, everyone agreed that something had to be done immediately if not sooner. So, they tried to piece together a proposal that no one liked but presumably would agree on “for the good of the country.” Democrats promised so many votes and the Brafia did likewise, except when it came down to the real nitty-gritty the Brafia welched. Everyone was shocked, shocked I tell you, when this scam failed. No one liked it but it was the only scam going. Now assuming that the world doesn’t end tomorrow (a Jewish holiday so Congress can’t work), they will meet again on Thursday to try again. As everyone seems to agree that they must do something they will no doubt come up with a revised plan that will probably only rob the taxpayers 80 or 90 percent of what the original called for. Do you think they will forge a plan that will make those who have benefitted so royally for the past eight years actually have to contribute to the solution. Don’t be silly. Remember that when there is big money involved they are all on the take and they are not about to kill the corporate geese that lay the golden eggs.
But first we will have to endure the finger pointing and accusations that will fly from both sides. The Brafia will claim it’s all the Democrats fault, especially Pelosi and Obama, while the Democrats will claim it’s all McCain’s fault (too much time has passed for it to be blamed on Clinton). You might think that McCain would feel a bit sheepish, having announced just prior to the failure that he had negotiated the whole deal and what was going to save the world. But having no shame whatsoever, McCain will now try to claim that it was his efforts that queered the deal. He is dauntless. When Palin publicly stated that she agreed with Obama that we should be able to invade Pakistan if necessary, contrary to what McCain’s position has been, he actually said it didn’t count because she was merely talking to a voter (figure that out if you can).
No matter how you try to spin it, the McCain campaign has been nothing more than a Keystone Cops performance. He shifts his positions by the hour, demonstrates his confusion over virtually every issue that arises, tries to avoid the issues at all costs, shamelessly attacks Obama, and, worst of all, picks Sarah Palin as his running mate (soul-mate as he calls it). She, in turn, has said that she really looks forward to her debate with Biden on Thursday, having demonstrated in her interviews to date that she is a true know-nothing who has become a laughingstock. At least she doesn’t lack confidence. Of course by now the expectations for her are so low that if she actually is still breathing at the end of the 90 minutes they will claim a victory.
It is probably too late for McCain to replace Palin on the ticket. Who could he turn to even if he tried. I can’t imagine there is anyone who is anyone who would volunteer for such a task at this late date. McCain has no choice now except to try to bluff it out, insist that Palin is qualified, a “quick learner” and up to the job. There are apparently a few that actually believe this. I saw a bumper sticker today that said simply “Sarah.” It might as well have said “I am a complete moron.” But that’s the way it goes. Will we survive all this? All appears to be chaos. At least one ultra-conservative writer has suggested that Palin should drop out for the good of the country. I suggest that McCain ought to do the same but, then, he has demonstrated no interest in the country and Palin probably doesn’t even understand what it all means.
LKBIQ:
To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Autumn for Empire
Autumn, my favorite time of the year. A time for change as the world slows down for a time, in preparation for the new beginning that inevitably arrives in the spring. Unfortunately, for the neocons dream of empire, there is not going to be a new beginning. America’s century is now coming to a close and the world is not going to be the same from this moment on. Thanks to the incredible incompetence of the Bush/Cheney administration and the lemming-like behavior of our citizens, it is going to be impossible for America to dominate the world as we have for so long. Russia and China have already made it clear that we will no longer be able to control the world economy. We are, to put it bluntly, broke, a serious debtor nation, lacking the means to maintain our position at the top of the world. Our much vaunted military superiority has proven to be not very successful and our troops are weary and exhausted. No matter who becomes President we will have to bring them home, pare down our obscene military budget, and try to pay our debts. We will not be able to rebuild our broken superstruckture for a very long time and there will be little money available for any domestic programs. We are, in short, at the end of our moment in the sun. Our standard of living which has been losing its luster for some time now will decrease even further. We will become simply one nation along with many others, lacking any material or moral superiority, and struggling to survive in a world increasingly leaving us behind. This is the inevitable price for the systematic dumbing down of our citizens. Our sadly neglected educational system, with its disvaluing of learning, knowledge, both scientific and humanitarian, coupled with the devastating effects of our absurd television programming, have turned us into a nation of sheep, following the Judas goat of unfettered capitalism to our demise, a situation of our own making, a fouling of our nest, an act of such irresponsible sloth that would have been inconceivable to our ancestors. Like our current President we are a nation of losers, however much we like to pretend otherwise. We have stood by idly while allowing those in power to emphasize greed and short term profits rather than the national inerest. There seemingly is no national interest anymore, just corporate interests that take precedence over all else. In this system greed has actually become good, “he with the most toys wins,” “shop until you drop,” “just win baby,” and so on. Certainly it must be some kind of cosmic joke that we have been given the ability to reason but not the desire to use it. Thus we are, at this moment in history, beginning to run on empty, and our filling stations are rapidly disappearning. It is, indeed, the American autumn.
The selection of Sarah Palin for VP, and the apparent widespread acceptance of her candidacy is, I believe, a measure of our political degeneration and lack of genuine interest in our affairs of state. Her choice and candidacy are, speaking plainly, pathetic. She is not only totally unqualified for such an office but is, in fact, an embarrassment.This is a woman who doesn’t believe in evolution, believes the earth and everything in it was created only some 6000 years ago, that people existed contemporaneously with dinosaurs, apparently also believes in witches, thinks banning books in libraries is acceptable, abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest, believes she has Foreign Policy credentials because she can see Russia from her house and who knows what all else. This is nothing short of laughable, and yet a substantial portion of the voting public seems to think she is wonderful. To me (and to at least some others) this is not only laughable, it is unbelievable. Yet it is happening. Now, in the 21st century. In a country that pretends to be the leader of the free world it is insane. It is also a lesson in the contempt for the voting public that exists in the corridors of power. If we have any sense of national pride left (which I doubt) her candidacy should not be allowed (curious, in and of itself, that there are no standards for the highest offices in the land). Ironic, isn’t it, that you have to take a test for a driver’s license, or to enter college, or to apply for most jobs, but all you apparently have to do to run for VP is breathe.
The Dylan Thomas lines written for his dying father are just as appropriate for our nation at this moment in time:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The selection of Sarah Palin for VP, and the apparent widespread acceptance of her candidacy is, I believe, a measure of our political degeneration and lack of genuine interest in our affairs of state. Her choice and candidacy are, speaking plainly, pathetic. She is not only totally unqualified for such an office but is, in fact, an embarrassment.This is a woman who doesn’t believe in evolution, believes the earth and everything in it was created only some 6000 years ago, that people existed contemporaneously with dinosaurs, apparently also believes in witches, thinks banning books in libraries is acceptable, abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest, believes she has Foreign Policy credentials because she can see Russia from her house and who knows what all else. This is nothing short of laughable, and yet a substantial portion of the voting public seems to think she is wonderful. To me (and to at least some others) this is not only laughable, it is unbelievable. Yet it is happening. Now, in the 21st century. In a country that pretends to be the leader of the free world it is insane. It is also a lesson in the contempt for the voting public that exists in the corridors of power. If we have any sense of national pride left (which I doubt) her candidacy should not be allowed (curious, in and of itself, that there are no standards for the highest offices in the land). Ironic, isn’t it, that you have to take a test for a driver’s license, or to enter college, or to apply for most jobs, but all you apparently have to do to run for VP is breathe.
The Dylan Thomas lines written for his dying father are just as appropriate for our nation at this moment in time:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Like, who won?
Colorado man hires hit men
to kill mother to finance
breast implants for girlfriend.
I did not blog for the last two nights because we were attending the semi-annual Seattle Library Book Sale. It was not very good for us this time. But as a result of traveling to Seattle, buying books, and lacking sufficient time to consider what was going on I just thought it better to pass. Now, after watching the MSM pundits rehash the affair, and reading about it, I have come to several conclusions:
First, you can learn absolutely nothing of value by listening to the pundits describe what happened. When they interview people it is entirely predictable what they are going to say. If a McCain supporter is asked he/she will claim McCain won and is experienced, knowledgeable about Foreign Affairs, security and so on. If an Obam supporter is interviewed they will say Obama won hands down as he demonstrated his own knowledge of Foreign Affairs and the Economy. This is as predictable as night follows day and is a complete and total waste of time.
It is not quite as easy to determine where any given pundit stands but it is reasonably clear. You know if they are from Fox they will be pro-McCain and anti-Obama. If they are from MSNBC they will most probably be for Obama and anti-McCain. In the case of Chris Matthews you might as well not bother to listen. I have come to the conclusion, having tried to watch Matthews for some time that he is actually not very bright, and he is also egomaniacal to the point where the only thing that matters is what he says. Frankly, I have no interest whatsoever in what Matthews thinks Obama did wrong, although he carried on about it at great length. Matthews is a terrible host, constantly talking over his guests and imposing his own opinions on everything. The only observation he made (which I doubt was unique to him) was that McCain refused to look at Obama the entire time. Some have interpreted this to mean McCain has to turn all rivals into enemies in order to deal with them, others say it is just his strategy, still others suggest guilt. I go along with this latter. I don’t think McCain can look anyone in the eye and say things that he must know are not true. Perhaps guilt is not the right word, shame is probably closer to the truth. He knows he has run a campaign so shameful, so inept, so chaotic and changeable on a day-to-day basis as to be little more than absurd. His pick of Sarah Palin was so ridiculous as to itself expose his shamelessness.
And speaking of such things, I gather there is absolutely nothing McCain/Palin can do, no matter how shameful, incompetent, ridiculous, or dishonest, that will dissuade his supporters from their support. McCain has run a campaign so awful in virtually every respect, so given to flip-flops and reckless gambling, so unprincipled and chaotic as to be laughable. His pick of Palin is the most glaring example of his incompetence, and yet he still has supporters. I find this incredible. I don’t believe there is anything he could do, no matter how awful, that would cause his true believers to doubt him. And of course there is no hope for anyone who could stomach Palin for more than a brief momentary loss of brain functioning. Perhaps McCain’s next ploy will be to bounce Palin and add some other nonentity that will keep attention still longer away from any real issues. I am now pretty certain that McCain is going senile. I do think all of his medical records should be made available. I do not believe McCain/Palin to be viable candidates. By supporting them I think the Brafia has conceded the election to Obama, except perhaps for counting on racial prejudice and various electioneering cheats to somehow pull it off.
Having now considered most everything I could find I have concluded that Obama is somewhat ahead, probably more than is apparent. As far as the economy goes I believe Obama is more likely to handle it well than is McCain, although I am not in favor of the bailout which I am certain will benefit the usual fat cats far more than anyone else. This is true of Obama as well as McCain. But McCain’s position is basically hopeless as he obviously just wants to continue more of the same nonsense about free markets, the very philosophy that brought on this calamity in the first place. McCain faked suspending his campaign, went to Washington where he was both unneeded and unwanted and almost managed to torpedo whatever progress was being made. It was another sort of clever ploy in that whatever happens McCain will now try to take credit for it. If it fails he’ll say he tried to stop it, and if it succeeds he’ll claim he made it happen. The fact of the matter is, he did nothing at all except make a bit of trouble for everyone concerned. Obama is for this bailout, I am not. I see no reason why greed and failure should be rewarded. I believe there are other ways to deal with this massive problem, as do many economists (of course economics is truly a dismal (non) science, so you never know). To award a Nobel Prize for Economics, you might as well award one for witchcraft.
LKBIQ:
We have 2 classes of forecasters: Those who don't know . . . and those who don't know they don't know.- John Kenneth Galbraith
to kill mother to finance
breast implants for girlfriend.
I did not blog for the last two nights because we were attending the semi-annual Seattle Library Book Sale. It was not very good for us this time. But as a result of traveling to Seattle, buying books, and lacking sufficient time to consider what was going on I just thought it better to pass. Now, after watching the MSM pundits rehash the affair, and reading about it, I have come to several conclusions:
First, you can learn absolutely nothing of value by listening to the pundits describe what happened. When they interview people it is entirely predictable what they are going to say. If a McCain supporter is asked he/she will claim McCain won and is experienced, knowledgeable about Foreign Affairs, security and so on. If an Obam supporter is interviewed they will say Obama won hands down as he demonstrated his own knowledge of Foreign Affairs and the Economy. This is as predictable as night follows day and is a complete and total waste of time.
It is not quite as easy to determine where any given pundit stands but it is reasonably clear. You know if they are from Fox they will be pro-McCain and anti-Obama. If they are from MSNBC they will most probably be for Obama and anti-McCain. In the case of Chris Matthews you might as well not bother to listen. I have come to the conclusion, having tried to watch Matthews for some time that he is actually not very bright, and he is also egomaniacal to the point where the only thing that matters is what he says. Frankly, I have no interest whatsoever in what Matthews thinks Obama did wrong, although he carried on about it at great length. Matthews is a terrible host, constantly talking over his guests and imposing his own opinions on everything. The only observation he made (which I doubt was unique to him) was that McCain refused to look at Obama the entire time. Some have interpreted this to mean McCain has to turn all rivals into enemies in order to deal with them, others say it is just his strategy, still others suggest guilt. I go along with this latter. I don’t think McCain can look anyone in the eye and say things that he must know are not true. Perhaps guilt is not the right word, shame is probably closer to the truth. He knows he has run a campaign so shameful, so inept, so chaotic and changeable on a day-to-day basis as to be little more than absurd. His pick of Sarah Palin was so ridiculous as to itself expose his shamelessness.
And speaking of such things, I gather there is absolutely nothing McCain/Palin can do, no matter how shameful, incompetent, ridiculous, or dishonest, that will dissuade his supporters from their support. McCain has run a campaign so awful in virtually every respect, so given to flip-flops and reckless gambling, so unprincipled and chaotic as to be laughable. His pick of Palin is the most glaring example of his incompetence, and yet he still has supporters. I find this incredible. I don’t believe there is anything he could do, no matter how awful, that would cause his true believers to doubt him. And of course there is no hope for anyone who could stomach Palin for more than a brief momentary loss of brain functioning. Perhaps McCain’s next ploy will be to bounce Palin and add some other nonentity that will keep attention still longer away from any real issues. I am now pretty certain that McCain is going senile. I do think all of his medical records should be made available. I do not believe McCain/Palin to be viable candidates. By supporting them I think the Brafia has conceded the election to Obama, except perhaps for counting on racial prejudice and various electioneering cheats to somehow pull it off.
Having now considered most everything I could find I have concluded that Obama is somewhat ahead, probably more than is apparent. As far as the economy goes I believe Obama is more likely to handle it well than is McCain, although I am not in favor of the bailout which I am certain will benefit the usual fat cats far more than anyone else. This is true of Obama as well as McCain. But McCain’s position is basically hopeless as he obviously just wants to continue more of the same nonsense about free markets, the very philosophy that brought on this calamity in the first place. McCain faked suspending his campaign, went to Washington where he was both unneeded and unwanted and almost managed to torpedo whatever progress was being made. It was another sort of clever ploy in that whatever happens McCain will now try to take credit for it. If it fails he’ll say he tried to stop it, and if it succeeds he’ll claim he made it happen. The fact of the matter is, he did nothing at all except make a bit of trouble for everyone concerned. Obama is for this bailout, I am not. I see no reason why greed and failure should be rewarded. I believe there are other ways to deal with this massive problem, as do many economists (of course economics is truly a dismal (non) science, so you never know). To award a Nobel Prize for Economics, you might as well award one for witchcraft.
LKBIQ:
We have 2 classes of forecasters: Those who don't know . . . and those who don't know they don't know.- John Kenneth Galbraith
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
He reads well
Bush read his brief speech off the teleprompter. He read it well, at least in the sense that he didn’t stumble over any words or digress. But it was a sort of zombie-like reading, no animation, no gestures, no emotion, just reading what it said with a kind of dead pan expression. I am by no means convinced that he has any idea what he said, or if he did, if he understood it.
Barney Frank reported that they are making progress and will probably get a bill passed in the next few days, but perhaps not by Friday. He also observed that they did not need McCain there poking his nose in and trying to take credit for something he had little to do with. It’s true, when you think about it. What could McCain possibly add to the discussion. By his own admission he doesn’t understand economics, he was part of the problem in the first place, and his presence in Washington would be irrelevant. But it would give him an excuse to duck out of the debate. Behind in the polls, and slipping farther by the hour, he wants to call a time out. I read somewhere that he wants to postpone the first debate so he can then argue it should replace the VP debate (where they fear Palin will expose herself for the know-nothing she is). I don’t know if this is the strategy or not but it does sound credible. It has now been established that Palin is in fact bringing down the ticket. The videotape that has now surfaced showing her being prayed over to protect her from witches certainly won’t help her much (except maybe with those of her followers who are believers in witchcraft along with the rest of their magic). I think it is fair to say now that the wheels are not coming off the McCain/Palin campaign, they are off. It can only be downhill from now on. Unless, of course, McCain can fly to Washington and convince everyone that he alone solved the financial crisis.
And speaking of the financial crisis. The one issue they don’t seem to be debating, although it has been mentioned by some, is whether this bailout will actually even work. What a calamity it would be if they put up 700 billion dollars (no matter what restrictions are put on it), if it won’t work. But, as no one seems to know whether it will work or not, they will no doubt do it. It’s the American way. When in doubt do it. When in doubt throw money. Of course this only works for purely political problems. So, for example, if there is any doubt about the harmful effects of cigarettes, just go ahead an sell them anyway. If there is any doubt about food irradiation, go ahead and do it. If there is any doubt about the “war” on drugs, continue it. Never exercise caution of good sense when dealing with potential health problems. If you can’t absolutely prove something is harmful then it is perfectly okay to go ahead with it. Americans are really quite mad, you know. How else could one explain the election of George W. Bush, twice! Al Gore was probably the single most qualified person to run for President ever, but he was passed over for an ex drunken ne’er do well who had failed at everything he attempted and was pretty obviously of limited intelligence. Many Americans seem to believe that the more a person is like them (uninformed and not exceptionally bright) the better President they would make. Strange idea, that. They also seem to believe that if a person is highly educated, worldly and sophisticated, they should be avoided at all costs. Poor Adlai Stevenson, he never had a chance.
It’s sort of like the talking dog that went into the bar and announced, “I’m a talking dog. Don’t you have a drink for a talking dog?” The bartender said, “sure, the toilet is just down the hall.” (sorry, I just heard this the other day and it somehow seemed appropros).
LKBIQ:
For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.
H. L. Mencken
Barney Frank reported that they are making progress and will probably get a bill passed in the next few days, but perhaps not by Friday. He also observed that they did not need McCain there poking his nose in and trying to take credit for something he had little to do with. It’s true, when you think about it. What could McCain possibly add to the discussion. By his own admission he doesn’t understand economics, he was part of the problem in the first place, and his presence in Washington would be irrelevant. But it would give him an excuse to duck out of the debate. Behind in the polls, and slipping farther by the hour, he wants to call a time out. I read somewhere that he wants to postpone the first debate so he can then argue it should replace the VP debate (where they fear Palin will expose herself for the know-nothing she is). I don’t know if this is the strategy or not but it does sound credible. It has now been established that Palin is in fact bringing down the ticket. The videotape that has now surfaced showing her being prayed over to protect her from witches certainly won’t help her much (except maybe with those of her followers who are believers in witchcraft along with the rest of their magic). I think it is fair to say now that the wheels are not coming off the McCain/Palin campaign, they are off. It can only be downhill from now on. Unless, of course, McCain can fly to Washington and convince everyone that he alone solved the financial crisis.
And speaking of the financial crisis. The one issue they don’t seem to be debating, although it has been mentioned by some, is whether this bailout will actually even work. What a calamity it would be if they put up 700 billion dollars (no matter what restrictions are put on it), if it won’t work. But, as no one seems to know whether it will work or not, they will no doubt do it. It’s the American way. When in doubt do it. When in doubt throw money. Of course this only works for purely political problems. So, for example, if there is any doubt about the harmful effects of cigarettes, just go ahead an sell them anyway. If there is any doubt about food irradiation, go ahead and do it. If there is any doubt about the “war” on drugs, continue it. Never exercise caution of good sense when dealing with potential health problems. If you can’t absolutely prove something is harmful then it is perfectly okay to go ahead with it. Americans are really quite mad, you know. How else could one explain the election of George W. Bush, twice! Al Gore was probably the single most qualified person to run for President ever, but he was passed over for an ex drunken ne’er do well who had failed at everything he attempted and was pretty obviously of limited intelligence. Many Americans seem to believe that the more a person is like them (uninformed and not exceptionally bright) the better President they would make. Strange idea, that. They also seem to believe that if a person is highly educated, worldly and sophisticated, they should be avoided at all costs. Poor Adlai Stevenson, he never had a chance.
It’s sort of like the talking dog that went into the bar and announced, “I’m a talking dog. Don’t you have a drink for a talking dog?” The bartender said, “sure, the toilet is just down the hall.” (sorry, I just heard this the other day and it somehow seemed appropros).
LKBIQ:
For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.
H. L. Mencken
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Caught in the act
The Paulson bailout plan is far more than what it appears to be. More than a bailout plan (for the very people who got us into this mess), it is a shameless, naked, blatant, ambitious power-grab so monumental as to be absolutely breathtaking. This plan, presented in three and a half pages, spells out in general the powers that are to be given to just one man, Paulson, power to buy and sell 700 billion dollars (that is billion) worth of securities, mortgages, and what have you, entirely at his discretion, and with no oversight (mind you, a recent loan application for a small loan ran to some 25 pages). Here is the real nitty-gritty:
“Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
I find it virtually impossible to believe anyone thought they could get away with this. There is no excuse for it. It is not just the result of a typo or a clerical error or the work of some mindless subordinate. It was clearly written for just one disgraceful purpose. But they tried. The plan obviously was to railroad it through, just like the Patriot Act, by claiming its urgency and planting the seeds of panic so that Congress would just mindlessly sign on as they have done with such things in the past. If they could hurry it through, with no one reading it too carefully, if at all, they would have given themselves absolutely dictatorial power to control 700 billion dollars of public monies. Fortunately, they have not yet got away with it. Some members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have made it clear they will not agree to such powers given to one individual. Of course this is delaying the process that the sponsors of this “plan” insist has to be passed immediately or the sky will fall, a depression will occur, at least a serious recession (as if we are not already in one), and so on. When confronted by opposition, that is, caught in this despicable act, Paulson said that of course there had to be oversight, he knew that, everyone knew that, he just didn’t put it in the plan because he thought it would be presumptious of him to suggest such a thing to Congress. Apparently he thinks that an act that “may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency,” is not presumptious and does not suggest anything to Congress. Jeez, even Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were cleverer that that. This is so outrageous and so transparently a gigantic con that something good may actually come out of it. If we listen to Obama and Bernie Sanders, and others like that, we might actually get some genuine and long-needed reform.
Now that even George Will has announced that McCain is not fit to be President we can comfort ourselves knowing that Sarah Palin is right there to back him up. Now that she has actually met a couple of other Foreign leaders (for chit-chat and photo-ops) we know that she has control of Foreign Policy matters. Can you believe they actually tried to ban anything but photos of these brief meetings. When even the MSM balked at that they begrudgingly allowed one reporter in the room for a few seconds. When asked later how it went Palin apparently said “great.” She also met briefly with Kissinger. He was probably advising her how to stay our of other countries when she becomes a war criminal. This Bush/Cheney administration, along with McCain and others, has to be the most despicable, disgusting, unpatriotic, power-mad bunch of crooks ever to be in office. Thank the Great Mystery that the election is drawing near and we may be rid of these shameless criminals at last.
Tanka
in these high mountains
icy rivers run wildly
nothing contains them
they rage mindlessly
as the hot blood of lovers
Morialekafa
“Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
I find it virtually impossible to believe anyone thought they could get away with this. There is no excuse for it. It is not just the result of a typo or a clerical error or the work of some mindless subordinate. It was clearly written for just one disgraceful purpose. But they tried. The plan obviously was to railroad it through, just like the Patriot Act, by claiming its urgency and planting the seeds of panic so that Congress would just mindlessly sign on as they have done with such things in the past. If they could hurry it through, with no one reading it too carefully, if at all, they would have given themselves absolutely dictatorial power to control 700 billion dollars of public monies. Fortunately, they have not yet got away with it. Some members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have made it clear they will not agree to such powers given to one individual. Of course this is delaying the process that the sponsors of this “plan” insist has to be passed immediately or the sky will fall, a depression will occur, at least a serious recession (as if we are not already in one), and so on. When confronted by opposition, that is, caught in this despicable act, Paulson said that of course there had to be oversight, he knew that, everyone knew that, he just didn’t put it in the plan because he thought it would be presumptious of him to suggest such a thing to Congress. Apparently he thinks that an act that “may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency,” is not presumptious and does not suggest anything to Congress. Jeez, even Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were cleverer that that. This is so outrageous and so transparently a gigantic con that something good may actually come out of it. If we listen to Obama and Bernie Sanders, and others like that, we might actually get some genuine and long-needed reform.
Now that even George Will has announced that McCain is not fit to be President we can comfort ourselves knowing that Sarah Palin is right there to back him up. Now that she has actually met a couple of other Foreign leaders (for chit-chat and photo-ops) we know that she has control of Foreign Policy matters. Can you believe they actually tried to ban anything but photos of these brief meetings. When even the MSM balked at that they begrudgingly allowed one reporter in the room for a few seconds. When asked later how it went Palin apparently said “great.” She also met briefly with Kissinger. He was probably advising her how to stay our of other countries when she becomes a war criminal. This Bush/Cheney administration, along with McCain and others, has to be the most despicable, disgusting, unpatriotic, power-mad bunch of crooks ever to be in office. Thank the Great Mystery that the election is drawing near and we may be rid of these shameless criminals at last.
Tanka
in these high mountains
icy rivers run wildly
nothing contains them
they rage mindlessly
as the hot blood of lovers
Morialekafa
Monday, September 22, 2008
I'll say it again
Jealous boyfriend kills
the cat he thinks she loves
more than him.
I’ll say it once more. It’s not complicated. Many have been saying it in one form or another for many years. Some things are too important to be left to the market. The dangers of unfettered capitalism have been known and pointed out over and over again by a wide variety of philosophers, economists, and others. Karl Polanyi said it quite a while ago in a general and succinct way: land, labor, and money are not true commodities. Land, because it is just another word for the environment, labor, because it”s just another word for human behavior, and money, because it is a purely artificial creation. Thus the Brafia has been promoting the so-called “free market” for years and now its terrible shortcomings have come home to roost. Let’s face it, things like energy, water, air, finances, and medical care, when left to the hands of private enterprise serve only the interest of greedy capitalists, not the interests of the people at large. For a long time now in the U.S. the very mention of socialism has caused heart palpitations and panic among those who were gaming the system so systematically. So now, the financial markets collapsing, we are being offered socialism for the wealthy. Having looted and plundered at will for so long the very scoundrels that brought about this horrendous failure now want the innocent taxpayers to pay for their mistakes. They are not offering to return any of their illicit gains and, indeed, want to put someone in charge of some potentially one trillion dollars with no oversight of any kind. I guess they think that like the Patriot Act they can panic us into falling for this ridiculous scam. The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Turn over all control of money to us with no questions asked. Trust us. They really do believe we are all complete and utter fools (sometimes I think they are right). It appears this tactic might not work for them this time, but nothing is definite as yet.
I am becoming absolutely convinced that either the polls are screwy or a good half of the American public is insane. This Sarah Palin thing is a mystery to me. She is apparently drawing large crowds and generating a great deal of enthusiasm for the Brafia. Why, I cannot fathom. She is a completely unqualified candidate for VP, a know-nothing with little experience and political beliefs somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun, unsettled scandals in the frontier state she heads, and religious beliefs so far-fetched they make the mind reel, but large numbers of people seem to find her a rock star. I guess that must be what the right-wingers believe themselves. This is beyond frightening, it’s downright terrifying.
I think that Sarah Palin, like George W. Bush and many other know-nothings in powerful government positions, represent precisely what happens in a culture that succumbs over time to an insidious anti-intellectualism, where learning and knowledge are no longer regarded as values worth promoting. Indeed, people like Bush actually gloat over their ignorance, they lack curiosity and adopt religious beliefs that no matter how silly allow them to think they know all they ever need to know. The world is created 6000 years ago, Moses parted the sea, an ark was built that contained two of all the creatures on earth, the bible is literally true, and so on. Our schools have been starved for years, thus producing poorly paid teachers who teach children who are basically uninterested in learning and just spend their time mostly in busywork and boredom. Huge numbers drop out before even finishing High School and, in fact, it is possible to complete sixteen and more years of school and still know so little you can barely find your own state on a map. There is no value placed on education here. It is no wonder we are rapidly falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to science, technology, and the humanities. I say this not as merely a disgruntled academician, but as one who fears for the future of my country. This lack of a love of learning, and the active denigration of those who are educated, “pointy-headed intellectuals,” carries with it the seed of our own destruction. Even now, people like Barack Obama, who are highly educated and accomplished persons, are denigrated by being labeled “elitists,” and worse. Stereotypes of the “absent-minded professor,” and “ivory towerists,” and such are commonplace in the U.S. and are not helpful. Professors are thought to be essentially helpless in the face of practical problems, and no matter how knowledgeable they might be, their views are regarded as no better than anyone else’s. A good and healthy democracy can only flourish with a well-educated and informed populace. How far we have strayed from this ideal is shocking in the extreme. We are now continually “dumbed down” in our schools and even moreso by our television industry. To turn this around is going to be extremely difficult, especially if we do not start now.
LKBIQ:
It is only the ignorant who despise education.
Publilius Syrus
the cat he thinks she loves
more than him.
I’ll say it once more. It’s not complicated. Many have been saying it in one form or another for many years. Some things are too important to be left to the market. The dangers of unfettered capitalism have been known and pointed out over and over again by a wide variety of philosophers, economists, and others. Karl Polanyi said it quite a while ago in a general and succinct way: land, labor, and money are not true commodities. Land, because it is just another word for the environment, labor, because it”s just another word for human behavior, and money, because it is a purely artificial creation. Thus the Brafia has been promoting the so-called “free market” for years and now its terrible shortcomings have come home to roost. Let’s face it, things like energy, water, air, finances, and medical care, when left to the hands of private enterprise serve only the interest of greedy capitalists, not the interests of the people at large. For a long time now in the U.S. the very mention of socialism has caused heart palpitations and panic among those who were gaming the system so systematically. So now, the financial markets collapsing, we are being offered socialism for the wealthy. Having looted and plundered at will for so long the very scoundrels that brought about this horrendous failure now want the innocent taxpayers to pay for their mistakes. They are not offering to return any of their illicit gains and, indeed, want to put someone in charge of some potentially one trillion dollars with no oversight of any kind. I guess they think that like the Patriot Act they can panic us into falling for this ridiculous scam. The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Turn over all control of money to us with no questions asked. Trust us. They really do believe we are all complete and utter fools (sometimes I think they are right). It appears this tactic might not work for them this time, but nothing is definite as yet.
I am becoming absolutely convinced that either the polls are screwy or a good half of the American public is insane. This Sarah Palin thing is a mystery to me. She is apparently drawing large crowds and generating a great deal of enthusiasm for the Brafia. Why, I cannot fathom. She is a completely unqualified candidate for VP, a know-nothing with little experience and political beliefs somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun, unsettled scandals in the frontier state she heads, and religious beliefs so far-fetched they make the mind reel, but large numbers of people seem to find her a rock star. I guess that must be what the right-wingers believe themselves. This is beyond frightening, it’s downright terrifying.
I think that Sarah Palin, like George W. Bush and many other know-nothings in powerful government positions, represent precisely what happens in a culture that succumbs over time to an insidious anti-intellectualism, where learning and knowledge are no longer regarded as values worth promoting. Indeed, people like Bush actually gloat over their ignorance, they lack curiosity and adopt religious beliefs that no matter how silly allow them to think they know all they ever need to know. The world is created 6000 years ago, Moses parted the sea, an ark was built that contained two of all the creatures on earth, the bible is literally true, and so on. Our schools have been starved for years, thus producing poorly paid teachers who teach children who are basically uninterested in learning and just spend their time mostly in busywork and boredom. Huge numbers drop out before even finishing High School and, in fact, it is possible to complete sixteen and more years of school and still know so little you can barely find your own state on a map. There is no value placed on education here. It is no wonder we are rapidly falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to science, technology, and the humanities. I say this not as merely a disgruntled academician, but as one who fears for the future of my country. This lack of a love of learning, and the active denigration of those who are educated, “pointy-headed intellectuals,” carries with it the seed of our own destruction. Even now, people like Barack Obama, who are highly educated and accomplished persons, are denigrated by being labeled “elitists,” and worse. Stereotypes of the “absent-minded professor,” and “ivory towerists,” and such are commonplace in the U.S. and are not helpful. Professors are thought to be essentially helpless in the face of practical problems, and no matter how knowledgeable they might be, their views are regarded as no better than anyone else’s. A good and healthy democracy can only flourish with a well-educated and informed populace. How far we have strayed from this ideal is shocking in the extreme. We are now continually “dumbed down” in our schools and even moreso by our television industry. To turn this around is going to be extremely difficult, especially if we do not start now.
LKBIQ:
It is only the ignorant who despise education.
Publilius Syrus
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Why are we doing this?
Illinois woman arrested
for bartending –
in the nude.
“U.S. troops hunting for a militant raided a house and killed seven Iraqis, including three women” (Spokesman Review 9-20-08). If this were a one time occurrence one might assume it was just an innocent mistake. But it isn’t, and in fact we see everyday more reports of the killing of innocent civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why are we doing this? The Iraqis did nothing to us. Certainly their women and children did nothing. The same thing is true of Afghanistan. We see reports now very often about how we have killed innocent civilians, as many as 60 at a time in Afghanistan. Wedding and funeral processions bombed. Homes bombed. People walking down the street gunned down, riding in cars shot, and on and on. Nine men from Saudi Arabia mounted a terrible attack on New York five years ago and we are still killing people by the thousands. Why? What is the point? Basically, even the Taliban did nothing to us (that is, until we invaded their country). Even if it’s true they are hiding and protecting Osama bin Laden (assuming he is still even alive) is that really sufficient reason to go on killing their women and children? So we were looking for a “militant.” What is a militant anyway? Someone who wishes we would get the hell out of his country? And what militant is so important that it justifies killing innocent women and children? We have no business being in Iraq in the first place and committed a war crime when we invaded that country that had done nothing to us. We have no business in Afghanistan either, apart from the questionable hunt for Osama bin Laden, which seems to have been conducted with less than passionate enthusiasm. The Saudi terrorists killed just over 3000 of us. We have now killed more than a hundred times that many, perhaps a thousand times more, perhaps even more than that. And we’re still doing it. Daily.We have now lost more troops than the number of people killed in New York on September 11th. What has it brought us, besides our losses of both troops and money, the former in the thousands, the latter in billions. Now Gates has announced that we have a right to attack in Pakistan. What such “right” do we have. Pakistan is a sovereign nation that has been aiding us in trying to find bin Laden. As they have been unsuccessful does that somehow give us a right to violate their sovereignty? They don’t want us there, just as the Afghans and the Iraqis don’t want us there. We are never going to “conquer” Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and certainly not Iran. Never. It is totally pointless now. It is time to admit it. Time to realize we cannot control the behavior of everyone in the world, no matter how much military hardware we have. And don’t give me any crap about being a loser, or cowardly, or retreating, or unpatriotic, or whatevr. When stark reality is staring you in the face, and the entire world despises what you are doing, it’s time to face that reality and stop blustering and threatening and pretending. We ought to withdraw all our troops, offer the money we are now wasting on them to the countries involved for rebuilding, and allow them to try to rebuild and improve their lives, using their own people and their own labor rather than our cost-plus crooks. Of course we can’t do this now that we have no money. And we have no money thanks to our own crooks of the past eight years who were allowed to plunder at will. The Bush Republican mafia has to be held accountable for the disaster they have brought upon us. Anything short of this will mark us as a pariah nation forever.
There is a great article by Larissa Alexandrovna on at-Largely about the implications of the Bush”bail-out.” Everyone should read it. Things are not always what they appear to be.
McCain’s brain not sane on Spain,
His fallin’ for Palin is failin’ (sorry).
I have been going everyday at 4:00 p.m. to sit outside at Papa Byrd’s Bistro, enjoy a Mexican beer, and observe the passing scene. To my dismay I have learned there is no passing scene here.
LKBIQ:
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
J. K. Rowling
for bartending –
in the nude.
“U.S. troops hunting for a militant raided a house and killed seven Iraqis, including three women” (Spokesman Review 9-20-08). If this were a one time occurrence one might assume it was just an innocent mistake. But it isn’t, and in fact we see everyday more reports of the killing of innocent civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why are we doing this? The Iraqis did nothing to us. Certainly their women and children did nothing. The same thing is true of Afghanistan. We see reports now very often about how we have killed innocent civilians, as many as 60 at a time in Afghanistan. Wedding and funeral processions bombed. Homes bombed. People walking down the street gunned down, riding in cars shot, and on and on. Nine men from Saudi Arabia mounted a terrible attack on New York five years ago and we are still killing people by the thousands. Why? What is the point? Basically, even the Taliban did nothing to us (that is, until we invaded their country). Even if it’s true they are hiding and protecting Osama bin Laden (assuming he is still even alive) is that really sufficient reason to go on killing their women and children? So we were looking for a “militant.” What is a militant anyway? Someone who wishes we would get the hell out of his country? And what militant is so important that it justifies killing innocent women and children? We have no business being in Iraq in the first place and committed a war crime when we invaded that country that had done nothing to us. We have no business in Afghanistan either, apart from the questionable hunt for Osama bin Laden, which seems to have been conducted with less than passionate enthusiasm. The Saudi terrorists killed just over 3000 of us. We have now killed more than a hundred times that many, perhaps a thousand times more, perhaps even more than that. And we’re still doing it. Daily.We have now lost more troops than the number of people killed in New York on September 11th. What has it brought us, besides our losses of both troops and money, the former in the thousands, the latter in billions. Now Gates has announced that we have a right to attack in Pakistan. What such “right” do we have. Pakistan is a sovereign nation that has been aiding us in trying to find bin Laden. As they have been unsuccessful does that somehow give us a right to violate their sovereignty? They don’t want us there, just as the Afghans and the Iraqis don’t want us there. We are never going to “conquer” Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and certainly not Iran. Never. It is totally pointless now. It is time to admit it. Time to realize we cannot control the behavior of everyone in the world, no matter how much military hardware we have. And don’t give me any crap about being a loser, or cowardly, or retreating, or unpatriotic, or whatevr. When stark reality is staring you in the face, and the entire world despises what you are doing, it’s time to face that reality and stop blustering and threatening and pretending. We ought to withdraw all our troops, offer the money we are now wasting on them to the countries involved for rebuilding, and allow them to try to rebuild and improve their lives, using their own people and their own labor rather than our cost-plus crooks. Of course we can’t do this now that we have no money. And we have no money thanks to our own crooks of the past eight years who were allowed to plunder at will. The Bush Republican mafia has to be held accountable for the disaster they have brought upon us. Anything short of this will mark us as a pariah nation forever.
There is a great article by Larissa Alexandrovna on at-Largely about the implications of the Bush”bail-out.” Everyone should read it. Things are not always what they appear to be.
McCain’s brain not sane on Spain,
His fallin’ for Palin is failin’ (sorry).
I have been going everyday at 4:00 p.m. to sit outside at Papa Byrd’s Bistro, enjoy a Mexican beer, and observe the passing scene. To my dismay I have learned there is no passing scene here.
LKBIQ:
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
J. K. Rowling
Friday, September 19, 2008
McCain's brain
TreBarbaric, with 78 foot tall trebuchet,
will defend 1,866 ft record on new
3000 foot gourd firing range.
Either John McCain’s brain has become unwired or he believes the American voting public is even beyond ordinary stupidity. He is trying to blame the horrendous financial meltdown on Barack Obama. Obama, McCain says, has done nothing during his time in the Senate to curb Wall Street and the financial markets. As Obama has been in office for only two years, whereas McCain has been in office for 26 years, this does seem a bit of a stretch. Not only has McCain been there all these years, he has actively promoted the destruction of the very rules, regulations, and laws that would have made the markets safer. He has been, in his own words, “a deregulator.” On the other hand, Obama has spoken out for regulation repeatedly. It is one thing to merely tell lies all the time as both he and Palin do, but even worse is making claims that are so far-fetched they are not even in the realm of possibility. McCain’s financial advisor, Phil Gramm, is one of the most guilty when it comes to all this deregulation and privatization. And while McCain goes on raving about the lobbyists being the problem, most, if not all, of his senior advisors were or are lobbyists, and they are said to be something like 83 lobbyists involved in his campaign. I suppose one might vote out of pity to give McCain his one last wish, the Presidency, as he was a war hero, but he fouled even that up by selecting a VP candidate that is the poster child for the Peter Principle.
And speaking of Sarah Palin, the darling of the “base,” it turns out she is every bit as loony as all the rest. The minister who she claims helped her to become Governor boasts of having exposed and driven away a witch (in Kenya). The church she attends engages in speaking in tongues and the “laying on of hands.” His laying on of hands and praying for her, according to her, is what helped her become Governor. Wheee! As she seems to be every bit as Machiavelian as Cheney, she will no doubt go far in a McCain/Palin administration, which she has already in a slip of the tongue described as a Palin/McCain administration. You can pretty much bet that McCain will never have a moment of peace should she become his VP (in the unlikely and horribly frightening possibility that he should actually win). I have believed from the very beginning that George W. Bush is marginally retarded. I don’t think McCain is, I think he is showing obvious signs of senility. Thus I find the McCain/Palin ticket (or vice versa) to be absolutely terrifying. Neither one of them is qualified to be President.
At one time it is estimated there might have been as many as five billion Passenger Pigeons. Five billion! Within the space of less than 100 years they were extinct. There were so many, people used to kill them by the thousands and feed them to their pigs. In the Kootenai River, burbot (ling cod) were so prevalent they were caught by the wheelbarrow load and fed to the pigs. They are about to be extinct (if not extinct). On Wall Street there used to be billions of dollars, they, too, were fed to the pigs. But not to worry, the taxpayers will furnish more dollars. It’s all part of Intelligent Design.
This is no time for tears. Let us get rid of Bush/Cheney and their Brafia forever. Vote Democratic.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying:
And this fair flower that blooms to-day,
Tomorrow may be dying.
Robert Herrick
will defend 1,866 ft record on new
3000 foot gourd firing range.
Either John McCain’s brain has become unwired or he believes the American voting public is even beyond ordinary stupidity. He is trying to blame the horrendous financial meltdown on Barack Obama. Obama, McCain says, has done nothing during his time in the Senate to curb Wall Street and the financial markets. As Obama has been in office for only two years, whereas McCain has been in office for 26 years, this does seem a bit of a stretch. Not only has McCain been there all these years, he has actively promoted the destruction of the very rules, regulations, and laws that would have made the markets safer. He has been, in his own words, “a deregulator.” On the other hand, Obama has spoken out for regulation repeatedly. It is one thing to merely tell lies all the time as both he and Palin do, but even worse is making claims that are so far-fetched they are not even in the realm of possibility. McCain’s financial advisor, Phil Gramm, is one of the most guilty when it comes to all this deregulation and privatization. And while McCain goes on raving about the lobbyists being the problem, most, if not all, of his senior advisors were or are lobbyists, and they are said to be something like 83 lobbyists involved in his campaign. I suppose one might vote out of pity to give McCain his one last wish, the Presidency, as he was a war hero, but he fouled even that up by selecting a VP candidate that is the poster child for the Peter Principle.
And speaking of Sarah Palin, the darling of the “base,” it turns out she is every bit as loony as all the rest. The minister who she claims helped her to become Governor boasts of having exposed and driven away a witch (in Kenya). The church she attends engages in speaking in tongues and the “laying on of hands.” His laying on of hands and praying for her, according to her, is what helped her become Governor. Wheee! As she seems to be every bit as Machiavelian as Cheney, she will no doubt go far in a McCain/Palin administration, which she has already in a slip of the tongue described as a Palin/McCain administration. You can pretty much bet that McCain will never have a moment of peace should she become his VP (in the unlikely and horribly frightening possibility that he should actually win). I have believed from the very beginning that George W. Bush is marginally retarded. I don’t think McCain is, I think he is showing obvious signs of senility. Thus I find the McCain/Palin ticket (or vice versa) to be absolutely terrifying. Neither one of them is qualified to be President.
At one time it is estimated there might have been as many as five billion Passenger Pigeons. Five billion! Within the space of less than 100 years they were extinct. There were so many, people used to kill them by the thousands and feed them to their pigs. In the Kootenai River, burbot (ling cod) were so prevalent they were caught by the wheelbarrow load and fed to the pigs. They are about to be extinct (if not extinct). On Wall Street there used to be billions of dollars, they, too, were fed to the pigs. But not to worry, the taxpayers will furnish more dollars. It’s all part of Intelligent Design.
This is no time for tears. Let us get rid of Bush/Cheney and their Brafia forever. Vote Democratic.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying:
And this fair flower that blooms to-day,
Tomorrow may be dying.
Robert Herrick
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A brilliant choice?
There are those who have said McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin was brilliant. It energized the base, presumably would appeal to women, and so on. I doubt it was a brilliant choice. Indeed, I think it may well contribute to McCain’s losing the election (it won’t be the only reason but an important reason). I don’t like to say it, and I don’t mean to be cruel, but John McCain is “over the hill,” so to speak. As someone who is actually older than McCain, I believe he is just a shell of his former self. He has become just a sad old man. This is quite evident (to me, at least) in watching him walk and talk and try to engage with problems. He now didn’t seem to know that Spain was a European country and kept talking about South America when Spain was mentioned to him. If this were just as isolated incident one could just attribute it to a misunderstanding or a failure to hear the question, or some such thing. But it is far from an isolated incident. He has repeatedly confused Sunni and Shia, he still speaks of Czechoslovakia (which no longer exists), he doesn’t know the borders of Iran and Iraq, and so on. What I find most pathetic is his railing now about how he knows how to do everything; he knows how to capture bin Laden (but apparently won’t tell us until he is elected), he knows how to win wars, now he claims to know how to fix the economy (which he admittedly doesn’t understand). These are nothing but the mutterings of an old man who believes he knows more than anyone else (presumably because of his age and experience). And he shifts his positions rapidly, depending upon what he thinks people want to hear, like on drilling, tax breaks for the rich, Iraq withdrawal, and so on. He obviously wants to be President so badly he is willing to say anything. What is more frightening is that he obviously doesn’t care what happens after he gets his wish to be President. He is willing to leave us with a completely unqualified replacement, while at the same time insisting he’s putting his country first. I’m sorry to say it, but this is a pathetic performance, just plain pathetic. I’m pretty sure he is in the early stages of senility. He is letting Palin upstage him so that the campaign is turning into the Palin/McCain (she actually said this today. A slip of the tongue? A Freudian slip?) campaign and he doesn’t seem to either grasp this or care (if it will help get him elected). You’ve seen that old saying, “see Paris and die.” I believe McCain’s version has now become “attain the Presidency and die,” with no regard for our future. He has become just a selfish old man who wants to be President and cares little or nothing about anything else. I do not like saying this, even though I am an Obama supporter. I find it truly tragic and very sad and I empathize with him, but there comes a time when you should just admit the truth about yourself and retire to your rocking chair (Senators, and Supreme Court Justices, for some reason, are extremely loathe to do this). Many professions have mandatory retirement ages. I believe we should institute such rules for our politicians. If you are not qualified to be a University Professor or an Administrator beyond a certain age why should you be allowed to continue on as a Senator, even into your nineties? This cannot be in the best interest of the country.
Obama is right when he says “McCain just doesn’t get it.” How many times have you heard people say that about their parents? I’m afraid that is the situation with McCain, it’s true, he just doesn’t get it. He’s too old. Palin doesn’t get it, either. She’s too young and too mindless. It’s a joke ticket. A bad joke.
What I cannot understand is why we let this charade continue. Most everyone (except the lunatic fringe) now is aware that Palin is unqualified. The fact that she herself does not seem to realize this is proof itself that she is not qualified. I wonder if this is not some kind of Brafia death wish, or, more probably just a waiting game until 2012 (after they have destroyed an Obama Presidency).
LKBIQ:
“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil they set out to destroy.”
Christopher Dawson
Obama is right when he says “McCain just doesn’t get it.” How many times have you heard people say that about their parents? I’m afraid that is the situation with McCain, it’s true, he just doesn’t get it. He’s too old. Palin doesn’t get it, either. She’s too young and too mindless. It’s a joke ticket. A bad joke.
What I cannot understand is why we let this charade continue. Most everyone (except the lunatic fringe) now is aware that Palin is unqualified. The fact that she herself does not seem to realize this is proof itself that she is not qualified. I wonder if this is not some kind of Brafia death wish, or, more probably just a waiting game until 2012 (after they have destroyed an Obama Presidency).
LKBIQ:
“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil they set out to destroy.”
Christopher Dawson
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Deliverance?
Young woman bites boyfriend, breaks
picture frame on his face, and attacks
with sword, because dishes not clean enough.
Are we, at last, perhaps seeing the end of our eight year descent into madness? Have McCain and the Brafia finally gone too far even for the American public? Could it be that the events of yesterday and today have finally shocked the media and voters into realizing just how crazy our situation has become? The American people have lived through eight years of the most terrible abuse on record, putting up with one idiotic, illegal, and unconstitutional act after another, too bamboozled by lies and stonewalling to do anything about it. There is little point in reviewing the horrors we have had to put up with, an illegal “war” against the wrong country, torture, profiteering, illegal spying, etc,. etc., etc. The latest outrages against sanity of course being the selection of the unstable John McCain as the Brafia candidate for the Presidency, and the selection of the totally unqualified Sarah Palin as VP. For a while Barack Obama had a sizeable lead over McCain but when he picked Palin they got a bounce and apparently have now caught up with Obama. This is evidence of the madness I am speaking about. But happily (I hope) the last couple of days may have finally exposed the McCain/Palin campaign as the the absurdity it is. When McCain said yesterday, in the face of a 500 plus drop in the Stock Market, the failures of Fannie Mae and her mortgage brother, Lehman, and other big financial institutions, along with any number of banks, that “the basics of our economy are strong,” he may have finally sealed his fate. When you couple this with Palin’s 10 point drop in favorability within just a couple of days it may be the honeymoon with her is over and the handwriting is on the wall. Even the MSM has been exposing Obama/Palin’s lies, along with the chief roviater himself. Obama has produced a six point plan to try to bring our country back to some semblance of normal. McCain has suggested a commission to study the problem. If the combination of McCain’s statement “the economy is basically sound,” along with his pathetic suggestion of a committee, and his thoughtless pick for VP, does not doom his candidacy then we are clearly all mad. McCain obviously has no idea what is going on or what to do about it. His campaign insists he is going to repair things by creating jobs. But of course his idea of creating jobs is to give more tax breaks to corporations and the filthy rich under the stupid and discredited idea that it will somehow trickle down to we peasants.
Bush has lost all credibility some time ago and Cheney is more and more being revealed for the evil monster he is, the Bush/Cheney economic plan (if you can call out and out plunder a plan) has failed in grand style, and even some conservatives have had to admit that Palin was a mistake and is not suitable for the Presidency. Bush/Cheney/McCain have been denying reality for too long and reality has an inevitable way of creeping up on you and destroying your best laid plans. Look for the McCain/Palin poll numbers to start coming down and Obama to look better and better as the election draws nearer. As voters slowly recover from the insanity that has been forced on them for the past eight years, and begin to finally understand the full catastrophe that has been wrought by Bush/Cheney I believe they will finally do the right thing (I am often wrong but I desperately hope I am right about this). I doubt that even racial prejudice can overcome the reality of our current situation. You don’t like a black man? Try a pathological, warmongering liar and his equally lying sidekick. If our country can be rescued from the nightmare years of the Bush/Cheney administration it has to start now. McCain, who is in part responsible for the problem is not about to solve it (unless you have some strange confidence in Phil Gramm).
Tanka:
following
a cherry red
convertible sports car
I notice
the bald spot
Anne Marie Mitchell
picture frame on his face, and attacks
with sword, because dishes not clean enough.
Are we, at last, perhaps seeing the end of our eight year descent into madness? Have McCain and the Brafia finally gone too far even for the American public? Could it be that the events of yesterday and today have finally shocked the media and voters into realizing just how crazy our situation has become? The American people have lived through eight years of the most terrible abuse on record, putting up with one idiotic, illegal, and unconstitutional act after another, too bamboozled by lies and stonewalling to do anything about it. There is little point in reviewing the horrors we have had to put up with, an illegal “war” against the wrong country, torture, profiteering, illegal spying, etc,. etc., etc. The latest outrages against sanity of course being the selection of the unstable John McCain as the Brafia candidate for the Presidency, and the selection of the totally unqualified Sarah Palin as VP. For a while Barack Obama had a sizeable lead over McCain but when he picked Palin they got a bounce and apparently have now caught up with Obama. This is evidence of the madness I am speaking about. But happily (I hope) the last couple of days may have finally exposed the McCain/Palin campaign as the the absurdity it is. When McCain said yesterday, in the face of a 500 plus drop in the Stock Market, the failures of Fannie Mae and her mortgage brother, Lehman, and other big financial institutions, along with any number of banks, that “the basics of our economy are strong,” he may have finally sealed his fate. When you couple this with Palin’s 10 point drop in favorability within just a couple of days it may be the honeymoon with her is over and the handwriting is on the wall. Even the MSM has been exposing Obama/Palin’s lies, along with the chief roviater himself. Obama has produced a six point plan to try to bring our country back to some semblance of normal. McCain has suggested a commission to study the problem. If the combination of McCain’s statement “the economy is basically sound,” along with his pathetic suggestion of a committee, and his thoughtless pick for VP, does not doom his candidacy then we are clearly all mad. McCain obviously has no idea what is going on or what to do about it. His campaign insists he is going to repair things by creating jobs. But of course his idea of creating jobs is to give more tax breaks to corporations and the filthy rich under the stupid and discredited idea that it will somehow trickle down to we peasants.
Bush has lost all credibility some time ago and Cheney is more and more being revealed for the evil monster he is, the Bush/Cheney economic plan (if you can call out and out plunder a plan) has failed in grand style, and even some conservatives have had to admit that Palin was a mistake and is not suitable for the Presidency. Bush/Cheney/McCain have been denying reality for too long and reality has an inevitable way of creeping up on you and destroying your best laid plans. Look for the McCain/Palin poll numbers to start coming down and Obama to look better and better as the election draws nearer. As voters slowly recover from the insanity that has been forced on them for the past eight years, and begin to finally understand the full catastrophe that has been wrought by Bush/Cheney I believe they will finally do the right thing (I am often wrong but I desperately hope I am right about this). I doubt that even racial prejudice can overcome the reality of our current situation. You don’t like a black man? Try a pathological, warmongering liar and his equally lying sidekick. If our country can be rescued from the nightmare years of the Bush/Cheney administration it has to start now. McCain, who is in part responsible for the problem is not about to solve it (unless you have some strange confidence in Phil Gramm).
Tanka:
following
a cherry red
convertible sports car
I notice
the bald spot
Anne Marie Mitchell
Monday, September 15, 2008
Something smells
The McCain/Palin compaign is on the road telling the same lies over and over. This is very strange. it seems to me, given the fact that everyone now knows they are lies: the MSM, the bloggers, the pundits, even Karl Rove. Why do they keep telling these same lies when everyone is aware they are lies? Do they really believe the voting public is really that stupid? Obama raised 66 million dollars last month. His campaign has apparently registered 500,000 new voters. On the McCain side, he has been publicly exposed as a liar and is supposedly even lying about the size of his crowds. Palin has been exposed as another George Bush, firing competent people and replacing them with her High School buddies, stonewalling those trying to investigate troopergate, greedy for earmarks, ignorant of Foreign Affairs, opposed to what most American women desire, and what have you. Not only that, Palin’s complete inexperience in Foreign Policy has been exposed for all to see. Would you not think that by now voters would have become aware of this and acted accordingly? But apparently not, according to the polls McCain/Palin have been gaining on Obama/Biden. Does this make any sense? Not to me. Something smells, and it smells big time. Unless it’s the case that the polls haven’t yet caught up with reality I do not see how this can be. If they do not begin to change pretty soon you can be certain they are being rigged in favor of McCain/Palin.
Of course the big news of the day is the economy. The stock market dropped more than 500 points, the biggest drop since who knows when. Unemployment is at a five year high. Banks are closing. Huge companies are going bankrupt. People are losing their homes in record numbers, and on and on. McCain says the economy is basically sound. When challenged he says the basic economy really consist s of American workers, and anyone who criticizes it is criticizing the American workers. Talk about Alice in Wonderland! But, as I say, the polls say he is gaining on Obama. Something smells. It is perfectly obvious that all of this trouble with the economy (and most everything else you might think of) is the result of the Bush/Cheney failure to regulate anything and thus let the corporate bandits get away with murder. Their mantra of privatization has been a disaster. Of course to these nitwits any regulation suggested at all is socialism and of course socialism is to them the worst thing that could ever happen. Mention socialism and they bring up Cuba and China, never Norway, Sweden, or the Netherlands, where socialistic types seem to be living the good life. Of course we can’t have anything like that, the obscenely wealthy and the corporations might have to pay taxes. If it is not obvious by now what unregulated capitalism does to people I fear there is no hope for the future. When they talk of privatization and deregulation someone should quickly lock them up before they can do any more damage.
McCain and his followers have been making points about how the media is unfairly attacking Palin, yelling sexism at the drop of a hat. They apparently believe that because Palin is a woman she has no need even to be vetted. Olberman and others fell right into this trap today when they started bitching about the fact that Palin has installed a tanning bed in the Governor’s mansion. This really is stretching criticism too far and making it appear to be true that she is being unfairly picked on. Of course she has a tanning bed, everyone in Alaska does tanning. It’s Alaska, remember, the land of the midnight sun, which doesn’t exactly give one an even tan (or even much sunshine). Palin has so many shortcomings wasting time on her tanning bed is just plain silly. No matter how much lipstick they try to spread, or where, she cannot be made to be prepared to be President of the United States. And McCain’s insult to the American public by picking her should make him equally unsuited for the job. But the polls, the polls, the horror…
LKBIQ:
The less their ability, the more their conceit.
Ahad HaAm
Of course the big news of the day is the economy. The stock market dropped more than 500 points, the biggest drop since who knows when. Unemployment is at a five year high. Banks are closing. Huge companies are going bankrupt. People are losing their homes in record numbers, and on and on. McCain says the economy is basically sound. When challenged he says the basic economy really consist s of American workers, and anyone who criticizes it is criticizing the American workers. Talk about Alice in Wonderland! But, as I say, the polls say he is gaining on Obama. Something smells. It is perfectly obvious that all of this trouble with the economy (and most everything else you might think of) is the result of the Bush/Cheney failure to regulate anything and thus let the corporate bandits get away with murder. Their mantra of privatization has been a disaster. Of course to these nitwits any regulation suggested at all is socialism and of course socialism is to them the worst thing that could ever happen. Mention socialism and they bring up Cuba and China, never Norway, Sweden, or the Netherlands, where socialistic types seem to be living the good life. Of course we can’t have anything like that, the obscenely wealthy and the corporations might have to pay taxes. If it is not obvious by now what unregulated capitalism does to people I fear there is no hope for the future. When they talk of privatization and deregulation someone should quickly lock them up before they can do any more damage.
McCain and his followers have been making points about how the media is unfairly attacking Palin, yelling sexism at the drop of a hat. They apparently believe that because Palin is a woman she has no need even to be vetted. Olberman and others fell right into this trap today when they started bitching about the fact that Palin has installed a tanning bed in the Governor’s mansion. This really is stretching criticism too far and making it appear to be true that she is being unfairly picked on. Of course she has a tanning bed, everyone in Alaska does tanning. It’s Alaska, remember, the land of the midnight sun, which doesn’t exactly give one an even tan (or even much sunshine). Palin has so many shortcomings wasting time on her tanning bed is just plain silly. No matter how much lipstick they try to spread, or where, she cannot be made to be prepared to be President of the United States. And McCain’s insult to the American public by picking her should make him equally unsuited for the job. But the polls, the polls, the horror…
LKBIQ:
The less their ability, the more their conceit.
Ahad HaAm
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Road kill, etc.
What I am about to say may well strike some of you (or even all of you) as disgusting (if not worse). But I can’t help it. It’s Sunday.
As you know, roadkill is a problem virtually all over the country. Thousands of deer and other animals perish each year trying to innocently cross our highways. All kinds of animals, deer being very prominent, but animals of all kinds: moose, elk, cows, coyotes, dogs, cats, porcupines, possums, raccoons, skunks, snakes, and who knows what all else. If these bodies are allowed to sit by the roadside and decompose they attract other animals, scavengers, which in turn helps to attract even more road kill. In some places certain kinds of roadkill (deer, moose, elk primarily) are salvaged and the meat is donated to “homes” of various kinds. But this is rare and even when done conscientiously cannot account for even 1% of the problem. There is, of course, the billions (possibly more) insects of all kinds that are destroyed every year by automobiles. Contrast this, if you will, with the behavior of certain monks who carefully sweep the ground in front of them lest they kill a single bug. But I digress.
Because roadkill is such a problem, the state of Oregon has begun a campaign of composting roadkill. Rather than allowing all these various corpses to decompose naturally, thus attracting even more trouble, they have decided to compost them. They have constructed a site enclosed with concrete so nothing can disturb the process. They lay down a layer of dirt and vegetable matter upon which they discard these various bodies that are then covered over with more dirt and vegetable matter. In three months they have valuable compost which they intend to spread along their highways to enhance what they have planted there and thus also enhance the beauty of said highways. At first blush one might think this is a terrific idea, and so it is, except for one fatal flaw, for thousands of pounds of material they only realize a small amount of compost. At least one state that tried this gave it up for just this reason. I have a solution for this dilemna.
Why should we not encourage people to donate their bodies to this fine cause. After all, disposing of yourself can be a problem. Burial, for example. No one these days just gets buried au naturel, that is without being placed in a coffin of some kind, usually metal. And the coffin itself is often enclosed in concrete. I don’t know exactly how this custom came about but I suspect it is a very old idea that has to do with making certain your ghost cannot escape to harm the living. In any case, what good does your body do when it is encased in a metal box and buried under cement? For me, being hyper-claustraphobic, the idea of being boxed up and buried underground is terrifying beyond belief (yeah, I know, you’re dead, but that doesn’t matter to me. How do you know what dead really means). Anyway, because such burial for me is out of the question (my living will deals very carefully with this) I am opting for cremation. Cremation, however, raises still other questions. When you are cremated you apparently leave only a few ashes. While these ashes, if strewn over the mountains or in the oceans, might do a bit of good, it seems like an awful waste. And they clearly don’t do any good encased in an urn and placed on your mantelpiece or kept under the bed. Some cultures just leave their dead exposed on trees or rocks or someplace where various animals and insects can feast (indeed, in some cultures your survivors eat you). This would seem to be much more of a contribution than cremation. Similarly, if you are buried at sea, the fishes and other creatures also get a feast. If you donated your body to composting you would at least be feeding the vegetation and enhancing the beauty of our highways. You would also be helping the problem of not enough compost. I should think environmentalists, in particular, should be interested in this. I do not think that being cryogenetically frozen or having your remains shot into space are very useful alternatives.
Just think, too, of all the money people would save by donating themselves to the composter. Funerals, as we are told often enough these days, are very expensive, running into the thousands of dollars (for fancy caskets, flowers, ministers, and so on). Not only would you save money, you would also save your survivors from all the confusion and problems involved in making the decision as to what to do with you (I know from experience this can be a real problem). There is also the problem, at least in some places, of space to bury all the bodies that accumulate during the course of time. I have heard of cases where people have ended up burying people on top of the already buried. Also, in other areas, there is no suitable burial ground because of ground water, flooding, or whatever. By sensibly offering your body to the composter you would be helping to eliminate all these problems. Just think of it as a community service. You would become a kind of martyr (of course you might not want to give up the 72 virgins who are waiting for you in heaven, or the wings and harp, or whatever). Maybe Congress could strike some kind of medal to be awarded posthumously to your survivors. And think of all the thousands of acres of land, especially in Europe and Asia, that could have been used for productive purposes instead of littered with the corpses of soldiers killed for lies and stupid reasons.
Mind you, while I think this is a great idea, I am not prepared to be the first volunteer. However, if the idea caught on, and other people were doing it, I would consider it (I fear I am a follower of fads rather than an inventor or innovator). I guess when it comes right down to the real nitty-gritty, I’d go along with anything except being buried in a small box in the ground, aaaagh!
“Little white flowers
will never awaken you,
not where the black coach of sorrow
has taken you. Gloomy Sunday.
(Billie Holliday)
As you know, roadkill is a problem virtually all over the country. Thousands of deer and other animals perish each year trying to innocently cross our highways. All kinds of animals, deer being very prominent, but animals of all kinds: moose, elk, cows, coyotes, dogs, cats, porcupines, possums, raccoons, skunks, snakes, and who knows what all else. If these bodies are allowed to sit by the roadside and decompose they attract other animals, scavengers, which in turn helps to attract even more road kill. In some places certain kinds of roadkill (deer, moose, elk primarily) are salvaged and the meat is donated to “homes” of various kinds. But this is rare and even when done conscientiously cannot account for even 1% of the problem. There is, of course, the billions (possibly more) insects of all kinds that are destroyed every year by automobiles. Contrast this, if you will, with the behavior of certain monks who carefully sweep the ground in front of them lest they kill a single bug. But I digress.
Because roadkill is such a problem, the state of Oregon has begun a campaign of composting roadkill. Rather than allowing all these various corpses to decompose naturally, thus attracting even more trouble, they have decided to compost them. They have constructed a site enclosed with concrete so nothing can disturb the process. They lay down a layer of dirt and vegetable matter upon which they discard these various bodies that are then covered over with more dirt and vegetable matter. In three months they have valuable compost which they intend to spread along their highways to enhance what they have planted there and thus also enhance the beauty of said highways. At first blush one might think this is a terrific idea, and so it is, except for one fatal flaw, for thousands of pounds of material they only realize a small amount of compost. At least one state that tried this gave it up for just this reason. I have a solution for this dilemna.
Why should we not encourage people to donate their bodies to this fine cause. After all, disposing of yourself can be a problem. Burial, for example. No one these days just gets buried au naturel, that is without being placed in a coffin of some kind, usually metal. And the coffin itself is often enclosed in concrete. I don’t know exactly how this custom came about but I suspect it is a very old idea that has to do with making certain your ghost cannot escape to harm the living. In any case, what good does your body do when it is encased in a metal box and buried under cement? For me, being hyper-claustraphobic, the idea of being boxed up and buried underground is terrifying beyond belief (yeah, I know, you’re dead, but that doesn’t matter to me. How do you know what dead really means). Anyway, because such burial for me is out of the question (my living will deals very carefully with this) I am opting for cremation. Cremation, however, raises still other questions. When you are cremated you apparently leave only a few ashes. While these ashes, if strewn over the mountains or in the oceans, might do a bit of good, it seems like an awful waste. And they clearly don’t do any good encased in an urn and placed on your mantelpiece or kept under the bed. Some cultures just leave their dead exposed on trees or rocks or someplace where various animals and insects can feast (indeed, in some cultures your survivors eat you). This would seem to be much more of a contribution than cremation. Similarly, if you are buried at sea, the fishes and other creatures also get a feast. If you donated your body to composting you would at least be feeding the vegetation and enhancing the beauty of our highways. You would also be helping the problem of not enough compost. I should think environmentalists, in particular, should be interested in this. I do not think that being cryogenetically frozen or having your remains shot into space are very useful alternatives.
Just think, too, of all the money people would save by donating themselves to the composter. Funerals, as we are told often enough these days, are very expensive, running into the thousands of dollars (for fancy caskets, flowers, ministers, and so on). Not only would you save money, you would also save your survivors from all the confusion and problems involved in making the decision as to what to do with you (I know from experience this can be a real problem). There is also the problem, at least in some places, of space to bury all the bodies that accumulate during the course of time. I have heard of cases where people have ended up burying people on top of the already buried. Also, in other areas, there is no suitable burial ground because of ground water, flooding, or whatever. By sensibly offering your body to the composter you would be helping to eliminate all these problems. Just think of it as a community service. You would become a kind of martyr (of course you might not want to give up the 72 virgins who are waiting for you in heaven, or the wings and harp, or whatever). Maybe Congress could strike some kind of medal to be awarded posthumously to your survivors. And think of all the thousands of acres of land, especially in Europe and Asia, that could have been used for productive purposes instead of littered with the corpses of soldiers killed for lies and stupid reasons.
Mind you, while I think this is a great idea, I am not prepared to be the first volunteer. However, if the idea caught on, and other people were doing it, I would consider it (I fear I am a follower of fads rather than an inventor or innovator). I guess when it comes right down to the real nitty-gritty, I’d go along with anything except being buried in a small box in the ground, aaaagh!
“Little white flowers
will never awaken you,
not where the black coach of sorrow
has taken you. Gloomy Sunday.
(Billie Holliday)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Seven deadly sins
As nothing much, newswise, seems to happen on weekends, especially during football season, my mind often turns to things that puzzle me, although they are more often than not, not very important things (depending, I guess, upon your perspective). For example, today my thoughts have turned to the seven deadly sins (don’t ask me why). In case you may have forgotten the seven deadly sins are said to be: pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth. There is much for idle minds to think about here. Why, for example, are they described as deadly? I suppose it is theoretically possible to die from any one of these, but it does seem unlikely. I should think murder would be much more deadly but for some reason murder is not listed. I think they may have been attempts to include murder under wrath but this seems to me unsatisfactory. I guess you could just consider murder, along with arson and rape, to be crimes rather than deadly sins. But I should think they really are sinful. Apparently way back when, there were eight of these sins. Fornication was among them. I don’t think it is surprising that fornication as a sin didn’t catch on. I guess with real effort you might include murder under wrath, rape under lust, and arson probably also under wrath. This seems to me too much of a stretch. Someone once wanted to include deceit and fear as deadly sins, but this didn’t catch on. It’s kind of hard to think of fear as a sin, but I should think deceit would be a candidate. As I guess I have some personal familiarity with all of these sins, I feel they should be re-examined and quite possibly expanded and elaborate on. Early in 2008 Bishop Gianfranco Girotti listed what he called seven modern social sins: environmental pollution, genetic manipulations, obscene wealth, the infliction of poverty, drug trafficking, morally debatable experiments, and violation of the fundamental rights of human nature. I believe these were published in a Vatican newspaper. They don’t seem to have made much of a splash. Probably, I think, because they have become so commonplace they aren’t considered sins. They are, of course, somewhat problematical. For instance I should think genetic manipulation would clearly fall into the morally debatable experiments category. The infliction of poverty might be clear-cut in some cases but seems to me too complicated if pursued in detail. And as we don’t know what the fundamental rights of human nature are, I should think that a difficult category as well.
I confess I would think deceit (lying) should be considered a sin (I don’t know about deadly). It doesn’t seem to fit under any of the original categories. Of course if lying were considered a sin, and if people were really punished for their sins, everyone would be in big trouble. Perhaps that is why deceit never caught on. Another thing that should probably be included under deadly sins, is jealously. In fact, jealously is probably more likely to be deadly than most of the other so-called deadly sins. I think some may have considered jealousy under the category envy. I do not think this is quite right. Envy, as I understand it, is the powerful desire to have and possess something you don’t have. Jealously is qualitatively different, being the profound fear that you will lose something you do have (love, affection, etc.) to someone else, a rival. I suspect it is easier to control your feelings of envy than it is to control jealousy. If we were to include deceit and jealousy we would have nine (not very deadly) sins. This makes sense to me. But then, I am not very comfortable just considering murder and arson under wrath and rape under lust. What about torture? We would have to put torture under wrath also. That seems to me asking wrath to cover way too much in the way of sinning. But what the hell, as no one nowadays seems to pay any attention to sin, why bother? The idle mind, like idle hands, is the devil’s workshop. I need to stop thinking, like Sarah, and just accept what I am told. Do you believe that Sarah and Calamity John worry about sin?
LKBIQ:
“As nearly all great fortunes in America are made on land stolen while the public’s back is turned---and by people who want money and don’t want to work for it…”
Jimmy Breslin
I confess I would think deceit (lying) should be considered a sin (I don’t know about deadly). It doesn’t seem to fit under any of the original categories. Of course if lying were considered a sin, and if people were really punished for their sins, everyone would be in big trouble. Perhaps that is why deceit never caught on. Another thing that should probably be included under deadly sins, is jealously. In fact, jealously is probably more likely to be deadly than most of the other so-called deadly sins. I think some may have considered jealousy under the category envy. I do not think this is quite right. Envy, as I understand it, is the powerful desire to have and possess something you don’t have. Jealously is qualitatively different, being the profound fear that you will lose something you do have (love, affection, etc.) to someone else, a rival. I suspect it is easier to control your feelings of envy than it is to control jealousy. If we were to include deceit and jealousy we would have nine (not very deadly) sins. This makes sense to me. But then, I am not very comfortable just considering murder and arson under wrath and rape under lust. What about torture? We would have to put torture under wrath also. That seems to me asking wrath to cover way too much in the way of sinning. But what the hell, as no one nowadays seems to pay any attention to sin, why bother? The idle mind, like idle hands, is the devil’s workshop. I need to stop thinking, like Sarah, and just accept what I am told. Do you believe that Sarah and Calamity John worry about sin?
LKBIQ:
“As nearly all great fortunes in America are made on land stolen while the public’s back is turned---and by people who want money and don’t want to work for it…”
Jimmy Breslin
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