Innocence Of Mormons
There has been violence in Egypt and Libya recently. The purported cause of this violence is a movie about Islam. The trailer for this film is embedded. PG could not watch more than two minutes of this dreadful excuse for entertainment.
It is doubtful than many people in the attacking mobs have seen the film. Their religious leaders were told about the flick, and then fired up the masses to fight. There is no telling what those mobs were told. It is probably more inflammatory in Arabic than English.
Before the attacks, there were reports of unrest in Cairo. The embassy tried to do what diplomats do, and calm things down. They issued a statement “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims—as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. … Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”
POTUS wannabe Mitt Romney is eager to score political points with this mess. “It’s a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values,” Romney told reporters. “It’s never too early for the U.S. government to condemn attacks on Americans and defend our values. … “
This blog will leave the debates over religion to Jesus and Mo. The debate over foreign policy and politics is handed over to the vidiocracy, both mainstream and shallow creek. This post is about values.
The movie in question is made by “52-year-old Israeli-American Islamophobe in Southern California named Sam Bacile. It is being promoted by Florida preacher Terry Jones, who enjoyed his fifteen minutes for threatening to burn a Quaran. This post is not about their religion, or politics, but about entertainment values, or lack of same.
To put it as charitably as possible, the trailer is terrible. The part that PG saw would be laughed out of any cineplex in America. This is not what people watch to enjoy themselves.
Americans make noise about politics and religion, but what people really believe in is being entertained. That is the where the values of America lie. The POTUS wannabe said “Innocence of Muslims” is typical of American values. This sends a clear message that Willard Mitt Romney is a pandering idiot, with no idea of the entertainment values of mainstream America.
Pictures are by The Library of Congress.
Nine Eleven Story
This is my 911 story. I repeat it every year at this time. Pictures today are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
I was at work, and someone called out that someone had run a plane into the World Trade Center. I didn’t think much of it, until I heard that the second tower had been hit, then the Pentagon, then the towers collapsed, then a plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
I focused on my job most of the day. There was always a lot of melodrama at that facility, and concentrating on my production duties helped to keep me saner. This was roughly the halfway point of my seven year tenure at this place.
One of the other workers was a bully for Jesus. He was a hateful loudmouth. After the extent of the damage became known, he shouted “They are doing this for Allah,” and prayed at his desk. The spectacle of the BFJ praying made me want to puke.
I became alienated from Jesus during these years. Once, I had once been tolerant of Christians and Jesus, as one would be with an eccentric relative. I began to loath the entire affair. I hear of others who found comfort in religion during this difficult time. That option simply was not available for me.
Copy Someone’s Status Word For Word
PG was suffering a bout of writer’s tackle. He had a post about G-d and the Democratic convention, but that involves both politics and religion. A couple of paragraphs should knock it out. Then the important topic can be addressed.
Here is the Christian Science Monitor. Two cents just won’t buy what it used to.
“For your undecided voter in Nevada, North Carolina, in Florida, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania – those key swing states, yeah, of course G-d matters,” says Davis Houck, a communications professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee. “And that’s why Obama basically said, ‘You better put that back in – we can’t be seen as the party taking G-d out of the platform.’
Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz
Support for Mr. Obama among religious voters was high in several key states in 2008 and could be key again in 2012. “In an election as close as this one will be, we can’t ignore something as central to most Americans as faith,” Democratic political consultant Eric Sapp wrote on Huffington Post in June.”
Just for the sake of comparison, lets look at Exodus 20:7, better known as the Third Commandment. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy G-d in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
PG thinks this is about the proper use of a sacred name. Including the G word into a political document, to influence the “undecided voter” in a “key swing state,” is not a proper use for a sacred name.
Now, putting politics and religion in the rear view mirror, where they belong, it is time to talk about facebook. The fundamental facebook deed is posting a “status”. This is a curious word for this act, but that’s what people call it.
PG was staring at the screen, battling sloth and negative attitude, and checked in on facebook. Someone wrote “One day I want to copy someone’s status word for word and see if they notice.” PG pasted it to his wall. A cousin in Connecticut clicked like, A friend commented “How do we know you didn’t just do that?” Another person wrote “One day I want someone to copy my status word for word and see if I notice.” Several people pasted that onto the wall. Good times.
Part of left click land is the option to googlize the phrase you have highlighted. For “One day I want to copy someone’s status word for word and see if they notice,” there are 2.9 million results. The top result was by Know your meme.
“Sometimes I Just Want To Copy Someone Else’s Status, Word For Word, And See If They Notice” is a copypasta that virally spread through Twitter and Facebook in late August 2010. The humorous, self-referential text inspired over 1,500 replicate instances of the identical sentence in less than 12 hours. Due to its self-referential nature (i.e., a tweet on the subject of tweeting), it can be seen as an example of meta-discussion.
The earliest known instance of the copypasta tweet was posted by Twitter user @BtoColorado August 18, 2010. On August 24th, Twitter user @DazWolf retweeted the message. It largely went unnoticed. On August 26th, @tim_waters, from Leeds, UK, retweeted the same message at 10:42 a.m. (EST). (Spell Check suggestion for retweeted: regretted) Water’s tweet brought the copypasta into spotlight in the United Kingdom. The trend continued to spread through Facebook status updates.
At 10:52 a.m. (EST), @elspethjane of New York City tweeted the message to her 3,100 followers, quickly picking up coverage from several internet culture blogs like Huffington Post, Urlesque, and TechCrunch among others. The meme was also cited as an example in the article “What Defines a Meme?” published in May 2011 issue of Smithsonian Magazine.”
If you ask Mr. Google for results on the phrase “copy my status”, the top result is a yahoo forum. The question is How do I cut copy and paste into my status on facebook.? This thread was started by terry v (A Top Contributor is someone who is knowledgeable in a particular category.) “I can not do this”.
There is a facebook community, One day i wanna copy someones status word for word and see if they notice. It is liked sixteen times. The only posting is from a spamspinner … “A few guru marketing friends have released a product teaching people how to make money on Facebook.”
There is a Christian website, People I Want to Punch in the Throat On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the winner was “People Who Post Annoying Things on Facebook.” Unsubscribing is just as effective as resorting to violence. This person did have an amusing commentary on the putrid concept of reposting popular slogans.
There are a lot of annoying posts on Facebook. Let’s see if I can cover the basics: 1. Anything to do with vomit and/or diarrhea. WTH? Who shares this stuff? Why did you think we needed to know this? At least it’s usually it’s kid-centered – I can handle that a lot better than I can hearing about YOUR diarrhea! “Guess who woke up early from his nap and spread his poo poo all over the wall? Uh oh. Silly, King! I’ll post pictures later! ;)”
3. Challenges to repost stuff. You know those ones. They’re about moms, husbands, brothers, sisters special needs kids, cancer survivors, idiots, etc. My mom is the best mom, blah, blah, blah if you love your mom repost this. My kids are the best kids in the world, blah, blah, blah, repost if you agree.
There’s always that one that says something like “let’s see who reposts this” like it’s some kind of gauntlet they’ve thrown down. Psht! If you know me at all, you’ll know a challenge is the worst way to motivate me. I live to break chain letters and this is just another stupid chain letter.
5. People who announce they’re leaving FB. Have you seen any of these? I’d never seen one until a few weeks ago. Now I’ve seen a couple more. They say something like, Life has become too busy and I can’t keep up with Facebook so I’ve decided to leave. Farewell friends and keep in touch!
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with this info. Am I supposed to beg them to stay? “No, Joanne, please don’t leave, I love reading your creepy foreplay posts!” Am I supposed to post less so they have less to read on Facebook and then won’t feel so overwhelmed? And what’s with the “keep in touch?” I keep in touch through Facebook, I don’t even know your phone number and I’m never gonna write you a damn letter – so you’re right, I guess this is farewell!
8. Boring posts. These are some actual posts over the last several weeks: … Before you think I’m all high and mighty and NEVER post anything boring and/or annoying on Facebook, I’ll have you know, 2 of the above posts are mine. I’m just as boring as the next guy.
As you can see, this has been edited. This post is going to be too long as it is. Only posts which annoy or amuse PG were included. Perhaps the worst are the challenges to repost. Yes, cancer is terrible, but reposting a dreary status will not make the metastasizing cease and desist.
When PG finished this post, he decided to go to the grocery store. Friday afternoons there can be intense, and it is best to go before the crowds hit. When he turned onto Clairmont Road, there was a red car dangerously close to his bumper. The Lexus swerved into the left lane to pass, with the white male driver talking on his phone. It quickly cut back in front of PG, then slowed down for a red light. The license plate said Cobb.
The pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. This was written like Cory Doctorow.
Ronald Reagan And The C.I.A.
While researching a post about Molly Ivins, PG stumbled onto a lovely site called Booknotes. ( Auto start warning. Nobody is perfect.) This site enables authors promoting their latest books. It seems to have gone out of business in December 2004, but the interviews are still available. PG likes to listen to “stuff” while he edits pictures, and Booknotes appears to be a treasure chest.
The multi tasking soundtrack last night was a chat with Hendrik Hertzberg, who is familiar to readers of The New Yorker. BTW, the majority of TNY readers live west of the Hudson River. Supposedly, the biggest number of readers is in California.
In 1965, Mr. Hertzberg was about to get drafted. At the time, this meant a one way ticket to Vietnam. Young men looked for alternatives to this, some of which were legal and moral. Mr. Hertzberg heard about an organization called the National Student Association. “And so I went to work after college for the National Student Association for a year. And it wasn`t just because the National Student Association was a wonderful cause that advanced liberal ideas and fought communism abroad and all of that sort of thing. Later, we learned that it was a CIA front, but I didn`t know that. What I did know was that if you worked for the National Student Association, you didn`t get drafted, that — it wasn`t exactly that you were deferred, but anyway, nobody got drafted while working for the National Student Association, so it was a way to have a year without worrying about getting drafted.”
The National Student Association has a facebook page, which one person likes. “The 1967 revelation of NSA’s ties to the Central Intelligence Agency sparked a national scandal, but did not measurably damage NSA.”
The CIA was involved in all sorts of things in those days. ( It still is today.) One of the fronts was Radio Free Europe. When PG was a kid, the cartoon shows had a commercial for Radio Free Europe. (It was different from the one embedded here.) These fund raising commercials were part of the scam. These commercials netted around $50k a year, out of a total budget of several million dollars. ( source )
Soon after the war stories, the conversation turns to religion/tribal allegiance. LAMB: Explain this. “The Nuremberg laws would say I`m Jewish. The Law of Return would say I`m not.” HERTZBERG: Well, according to the Nuremberg laws, if you have a — if you had a Jewish father, the Nazi classification, you were a Jew. But the Law of Return, where — what entitles you to citizenship, automatic citizenship in Israel, you`ve got to have to have a Jewish mother. So I`m Jewish one way, I`m not Jewish the other way. I guess I feel sort of 51 percent Jewish because my name, Hertzberg, sounds Jewish, and therefore, people respond to me, often assume that I`m … 100 percent Jewish.”
This conversation was in 2004, when BHO was a little known Senator. Today, BHO, who had a white mother, is routinely considered black. If you go by the laws of the Nazis, BHO is black. If you go by the laws of Israel, BHO is white.
Mr. Hertzberg took a break from journalism to write speeches for President Jimmy Carter. Mr. Hertzberg is a member of the Judson Wellover Society. HERTZBERG: Judson Wellover was the very first White House speech writer. Not the first person to write speeches, ghost write speeches for a president — that would probably be Alexander Hamilton for George Washington — but the first person who was ever hired just to write speeches in the White House was Judson Wellover. He was hired by Warren G. Harding, and he — it was such a matter — it was such a shameful thing to have somebody writing — hired to write speeches that they hid his salary in the budget of the White House garage. And when we started, when Bill Safire and I started the Judson — the society of sort of a marching and chatter society or dinner — we have a dinner every couple of years of White House speech writers from all administrations, we named it after Judson Wellover.
Warren Harding is credited/blamed for coining the phrase “founding fathers”. Was Mr. Wellover involved? Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. The spell check suggestion for Hertzberg is Herbert. This is a repost.
Mollie’s Rant
There is an amazing rant about abortion on bloggingheads.tv. The ranter is Mollie Ziegler Hemingway. Making exasperated faces is the host, Sarah Posner.
The rant that inspired this feature is thirty three minutes into the discussion. Out of a masochistic sense of fairness, PG decided to listen to the entire discussion, before writing this post. He got two minutes and thirteen seconds in before stopping to cop a quote. MZH said that a good way to help connect with someone, is if you see that they care about something very deeply. PG has had the opposite experience. When he is the target of an emotional volcano, it tends to scare and alienate him. It is not what you say, it is the way you say it. This is important to consider when you get to Mollie’s rant.
This is a common feeling among believers. The idea is that the more you show how much you believe something, the more persuasive you are at converting people to that belief. It has been PG’s experience that these evangelizing believers will say things that they agree with, while not addressing the concerns of the listener. The person who is being preached to is often bewildered by the display of rhetoric, and becomes more convinced of previously held opinions. It is not what you say, it is how you say it.
PG is a bloggingheads.tv fan, and occasional commenter. He even got an email, from a producer, asking him not to post “artistic” screen shots of programs. (Here are some of the pictures: one, two, three.) The normal procedure is to listen to the talkers while working on other projects. The problem is when someone makes an amazing comment, and PG feels the need to make a link to it. Multi tasking has it’s limits, and productivity suffers. One such moment was when MZH said it doesn’t matter whether YOU think that’s an abortion drug what matters it’s whether WE think that’s an abortion drug. Apparently, MZH thinks this helps her connect with SP.
Twenty six minutes in, the ladies begin to discuss the idiotic comment by Todd Akin. This is a prelude to the rant to follow. MZH makes a comment that includes the phrase “consistent pro lifers”.
Lets take a minute to consider the phrase “consistent pro lifers”. In the military, a lifer is someone who makes his career in the service. It is not always a compliment. The job of the military is to fight wars, which means they kill people. This is not something that a person who is “pro life” should be supporting.
This is a huge inconsistency for “consistent pro lifers”. Very, very few people are consistently pro life. The four main life issues are war, abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. Many of the Christian anti abortion people are enthusiastic supporters of killing Muslim women and children. We are killing them over there, so they won’t come over here and kill us.
The SP-MZH chat was recorded August 28. The night before, the Republican Convention was entertained by a bit of Methodist methhead method acting by Clint Eastwood. The crowd cheered lustily. No one seemed concerned about Mr. Eastwood’s performance as the fetus father in at least two abortions. Is “consistent pro lifer” an oxymoron?
The fun really starts at the thirty three minute mark. MZH has been talking about how being mean to Todd Akin is good for the pro choice cause. She then shifts gears, and starts to talk about BHO. It seems like BHO opposed an anti abortion bill when he was an Illinois state senator. To MZH, this makes BHO a radical baby killer. To MZH, this, position taken as a state senator years ago, makes BHO just as radical as a man who says that rape affects conception.
MZH goes on to whine about the media. This is a sure sign that she cannot make a logical case for her beliefs. When your message fails, you bash the other messenger. All the time, MZH gets more and more worked up. SP shakes her head so much you worry about her earpiece falling out.
At the thirty five thirty five mark, MZH lets out the republican rhetoric rascal that lurks in her consistently pro life soul. When SP tried to calm down MZH, and inject a note of reason into the debate, MZH started to scream about gay marriage. This is how things work. Gay marriage is a great distraction. When reason fails, you start to toss red herrings onto the trail.
After a while, PG began to think that he has had enough fun with this discussion. It is time to wrap up, go outside, and get a life. At this point, MZH says another jaw dropper. Arguing from the extremes is not a really helpful thing.
The ladies did have a moment of agreement to end the discussion. MZH said women are more than their vaginas, and SP said good night Chet. It is tough to hold hands and sing Kum Bah Yah on skype. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Dirty Harry Does Dragoncon
As you may know, Clinton Eastwood Jr. gave a speech at the Republican National Convention last night. What you hear about it depends on who you listen to. Some think he was great. The Tampa crowd was highly entertained. Others think it was a joke.
Of all the many twitterwits to comment today, Chris Rock came closest to the truth. @chrisrockoz Clint Eastwood on the phone with Obama now: “It all went according to plan,sir.” The truth is, you have to wonder what people were thinking.
The last night of the convention is supposed to be a showcase for the candidate. You want people talking about the candidate Friday morning. Instead, you have people talking about the “artistic” performance by Dirty Harry.
For a party that claims to be Conservative Christian, it was a strange event. You have to wonder just how smart some of those cheering masses were. Much has been made of the multiple marriages, and illegitimate children, that CE has sponsored. (There is no middle name.) “Eastwood entered a relationship with actress Sondra Locke in 1975. They lived together for fourteen years, despite the fact that Locke remained married (in name only) to her gay husband, Gordon Anderson. Locke had two abortions and a tubal ligation within the first four years of the relationship.”
The first few minutes of the speech were pretty normal. The people making rude comments about his hair were going to vote democratic anyway. At about the 3:28 mark, he started talking to an empty bar stool. We were supposed to pretend that BHO was sitting in that stool.
At the 4:46 mark, it got a little bit weird. Transcript courtesy of Fox News. “I know you were against the war in Iraq, and that’s okay. But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean — you thought that was something worth doing. We didn’t check with the Russians to see how did it — they did there for 10 years.”
It is true that BHO has escalated the war in Afghanistan. It is true that BHO has escalated the drone strikes into neutral countries. It is true that BHO is killing women and children, at the funerals of the women and children he killed in yesterday’s roboplane strike. It is also true that George W. Bush started the war in Afghanistan. It is highly unlikely that W asked the Russians for advice before he invaded Afghanistan. Considering the number of heroin addicts in Russia today, it is possible that the Russians would have urged caution.
“But we did it, and it is something to be thought about, and I think that, when we get to maybe — I think you’ve mentioned something about having a target date for bringing everybody home. You gave that target date, and I think Mr. Romney asked the only sensible question, you know, he says, “Why are you giving the date out now? Why don’t you just bring them home tomorrow morning?'”
During his big speech Thursday night, WMR did not mention the war in Afghanistan. A site called 2012 Republican Candidates has this to say about WMR and Afghanistan.
While Gov. Romney believes that the continued presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan should ultimately be decided by the military’s top brass, he cautions that the country should not be making similar commitments in the future. He also stressed that the bulk of the security obligation must lie with the Afghanis themselves. Gov. Romney indicated in an interview with ABC on July 29, 2012, that while he is supportive of President Barack Obama’s Sept 2014 troops withdrawal deadline, he disagrees with the plan to order 23,000 troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 30. However, he admits that his position could change depending on the counsel of military commanders, while leaving open the possibility of keeping combat troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 should conditions change.
The next bit was just a wee bit obscene. CE was talking to the bar stool. “So anyway, we’re going to have — we’re going to have to have a little chat about that. And then, I just wondered, all these promises — I wondered about when the — what do you want me to tell Romney? I can’t tell him to do that. I can’t tell him to do that to himself.”
The crowd roaring it’s approval thinks they are Christian conservatives. They want to improve the moral standards of America. To further this end, they laughed at an elderly actor making a reference to telling someone to f*** himself. There were thousands of children explaining that joke to their parents.
With the spectacle of a tough guy actor performing an absurdist skit on national tv, the jokes write themselves. Twitter nation has responded, it all its 140 character glory.
@ConanOBrien I know what it was like for Clint Eastwood. In my career, I’ve talked to more than a few “empty chairs.”
@WendellPierce Clint Eastwood’s presentation not funny to me today. The image of the empty chair with the President being talked down to was offensive.
@kirstiealley I just saw Clint Eastwood’s speech and I LOVED it!! Funny as hell & on point!!..& I’m a Democrat..US media is SO biased in favor of Dems
@BorowitzReport: A new poll reveals that Romney trails Clint Eastwood’s empty chair.
@Its_Death Clint Eastwood is used to talking to inanimate objects. He’s acted with Kevin Costner.
@NolteNC Hey media – do you think mocking Clint Eastwood will make America hate you less?
@DCdebbiev Lay off of Clint Eastwood, why dontcha! Talkin to an empty chair was how Cheney ruled the White House.
@BarackObama This seat’s taken. http://OFA.BO/c2gbfi , pic.twitter.com/jgGZTb02
@MrWordsWorth RNC brings out Clint Eastwood. DNC makes frantic call to Betty White.
@bobcesca_go Last night an awkward Republican delivered a weird speech filled with bizarre, fantastical remarks. He was preceded by Clint Eastwood.
@jtLOL Clint Eastwood is awesome. Liberals have no sense of humor about themselves, or about Obama. Even the ones who say they’re comedians.
The pictures for this expose were taken at last year’s dragoncon parade. This was the last time PG will ever attend that event. The sidewalks were five times too crowded for comfort. The pictures taken last year, and in 2009, are of the standard fantasy character costumes. They did not change much from 2009 to 2011. If you are a total masochist who likes science fiction costumes. be on Peachtree Street tomorrow morning. When you are done, you can go to black gay pride, the Chik fil A college football party, a NASCAR race, the Dickhater book festival, or a traffic jam. All of those events display a firmer grip on reality than that displayed in Tampa FL thursday night.
Writer’s Tackle
A facebook friend was fixing to break down and get a cell phone. Sometimes it seems like you are the last holdout, but there are plenty of folks without. There are still people renting a land line from the phone company, and that has been over for thirty plus years.
PG is still a smart phone holdout. He is happy with his stupid, twelve button device. When you can prepay for a smart phone by the month, then maybe it will happen. Until then, PG is a neo luddite.
For the sake of recycling text on a day with writers tackle, here is the reply: I am a tracfone fan. I got one at a yard sale, but they are cheap enough to buy new. I buy the time card at a store. The time lasts for three months, and then you get more. You don’t need that many minutes if it is just for emergency use. I might pay five dollars a month for my cell phone. If you are going to keep it, you can buy a card which gives you double minutes as long as you have a tracfone. For twenty dollars, this is a good investment. For people that never know what to get you for christmas, a time card is a great present. ~~~
The outdoor office thing is moving along. There were some paving stones in the back, which have been fashioned into a walkway to the office entrance. The good news/bad news is a hurricane going ashore south of here. This is supposed to bring a bunch of rain to Georgia. When you have a shaky source of drinking water, rain is always appreciated. Using the outdoor office can wait.
The other option was the front porch. After looking high and low through the house, PG was about to give up, until he looked in one more spot and found his mother’s old sewing table. It is now is use on the front parch, and the wifi reception is *good*. Wifi may trump feng shui after all.~~~
Which is the best phrase, writer’s block or writers tackle” The traditional saying is writer’s block, meaning that you are blocked from thinking of anything to say. However, if you take the football paradigm, then it has a different look. A tackle is something that stops you. A block is what prevents a tackler from stopping you. In that case, a block would be something that sets you free to get a first down, and a tackle stops you behind the line of scrimmage. ~~~
There is a dandy website, Musings On Iraq. The offering today is How Operation Desert Fox Finished Off Iraq’s WMD Programs.
ODF was a four day bombing procedure in December 1998. It was probably motivated, at least in part, by the desire of Bill Clinton to divert attention from the impeachment proceedings. Apparently, it did a lot of damage to the WMD program in Iraq, or what was left of it.
Operation Desert Fox was widely derided for years, but turned out to have a far larger impact upon Iraq than most critics believed. Only lasting four days, many analysts doubted that it could have much affect upon Saddam Hussein. After all, he was still in power, and many thought that with inspectors no longer in the country, Iraq would restart its weapons programs. As it turned out, Iraq had destroyed most of its WMD stockpiles, and was largely trying to hide the extent of its programs from the outside world by 1998. Desert Fox convinced the regime that the U.S. was intent on maintaining sanctions to contain the government, and there was no way for it to rebuild its WMD effort as a result. Those operations ended, with only some small-scale work on toxins for assassinations left. This was not known until after 2003 however when Saddam was overthrown, and outside experts were able to go through all of Iraq’s documents, and interview its personnel. Even though Desert Fox was very limited in scope, it came at just the right time in the history of the Saddam regime to put an end to its weapons of mass destruction.
In 1998, Saddam Hussein was playing both ends against the middle. He wanted Iran to think that there were WMD, and for the rest of the world to think otherwise. This strategy played into the hands of those who wanted to invade Iraq.
The truth is that WMD were the excuse for the war, not the reason. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was quoted as saying “The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason.” When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, there was no search for issues to satisfy U.S. government bureaucracy.
Today, the talk is of an attack on Iran, to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon. The situation with the Palestinians is the need for distraction. What does Operation Desert Fox say about the wisdom of an attack on Iran? “General Anthony Zinni (commander of Desert Fox) was much more positive about the campaign he had just commanded. The General knew that any military strike could only have limited impact upon the WMD program. Since some precursors, agents, and weapons could be made in small rooms, there was no way to eliminate those elements.”
Bless His Heart
Willard Mitt Romney has gone too far this time. The American Thinker tells the story.
“Speaking at LeClaire Manufacturing in Bettendorf, Iowa yesterday, Governor Romney delivered the ultimate Southernese insult to his opponent. (Video link here.) “It is free men and women that drive our economy. Freedom is what makes America work. And President Obama, bless his heart, has tried to substitute government for free people-and it has not worked, and it will never work.”
American Thinker is impressed by the use of BHH by WMR. It is probably written by a clueless yankee. Which is what WMR is, in addition to being an amoral chameleon. For a yankee politician to say bless his heart is simply not appropriate.
The sad truth is that so many southerners despise BHO that it will get little attention. This election is going to be dirty, dirty, dirty. When it comes to gutter politics, there is nothing like a republican. WMR has shown that he will say absolutely anything to get elected. Still, if you are going to use an unfamiliar phrase, you should do it properly.
Bless his heart is derived from bless her heart. It is a genteel expression. The proper use is to refer to the target, say BHH, and then make an unflattering comment about this person. This is best done in a civilized conversation. An example would be “Aunt Martha, bless her heart, thinks she is losing weight, but is still big as a cow”. The spoken commas are important.
By contrast, WMR was making an arm waving stump speech. He spit out the words as though they were rotten meat. This is how a yankee politician uses a genteel southern expression.
Southerners are used to it. It is like people who use y’all in the singular form. As any southerner knows, y’all is the only acceptable second person plural in the english language. It is superior to youse guys, or whatever abomination they employ in New Jersey.
Since he was in Iowa, it is unlikely that WMR had the southern vote in mind when he made that speech. Indeed, the south is solidly red state, as well as red neck. WMR is assured of the electoral votes in Georgia. The electoral college has stolen the vote from the people of Georgia again.
Politicians have been pandering to voters since the photo op was invented. If poorly done, it can have a devastating effect. Here is one story.
A story from McGovern’s campaign for presidency: in an effort to attract Jewish vote in a part of NY city with a large percentage of observant Jews among the “registered voters”, he apparently went to a kosher eatery where, in presence of a crowd of regular patrons, reporters & photographers (don’t know whether there were TV cameras or not) he asked for a “kosher hot-dog and a glass of milk”. His handlers probably told him that observant Jews eat kosher meat; I am sure that he was hoping to impress the target audience with his “wholesome” habits. Unfortunately, little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
This was a comment to another story. “I’m sort of staring at the meat display, lots of salamis and sausages, and then various hams. And the hams’ price signs have all been tagged with festive PERFECT FOR CHANUKAH banners.”
Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Mack The Knife Is Going To Take It
The second day of the backyard office project is a work in progress. The afternoon session was not as groovy as the first time. The bugs are hungrier, and the wi fi connection went out a couple of times. The front porch has a roof and concrete floor, and is closer to the router. While the ambiance of working in the back yard is greater, wifi reception may prove to be the deciding factor.
There is a story at the Daily Beast this morning, The Long, Strange U-Turn of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. It seems that Dee Snider’s makeup went gooey over VPOTUS wannabe Paul Ryan using the Twisted Sister song, “We’re not going to take it”.
A public statement was made: “I emphatically denounce Paul Ryan’s use of my band Twisted Sister’s song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ in any capacity.There is almost nothing he stands for that I agree with—except the use of P90X.” Mr. Ryan’s string pullers knew they were whipped, and issued their own statement: “We’re not gonna play it anymore.”
The smart people in wingnut land are busy this week, trying to pull Todd Akin’s foot out of his mouth. Questions about why legitimate rape is any sillier a concept than just war have gone unanswered.
WNGTI has a twisted history. When it *came out*, it was so revolutionary that Tipper Gore denounced it in the Senate. Soon, it began to be the background sound in commercials. The Daily Beast notes: “No ad, however, rivals the most bizarre commercial to use the song: A 2007 spot for Yaz birth control. A perky chorus of women sings about how they’re not going to take the uncomfortable symptoms of old birth-control pills, and are opting for Yaz instead. “ There is no word on whether Catholic employee insurance would pay for Yaz.
Politicians have long used rocknroll to fire up crowds. When Bill Clinton spoke at the CNN center in 1992, the song was “Twist and Shout”. If the walls of the oval office could sing, that would be their song.
In 2010, Karen Handel paid $93,000 to facilitate an appearance by Sarah Palin. The theme music for that event was “We’re not going to take it.” After the speeches, the song was played over, and over, and over. A week later, Ms. Handel lost the runoff.
Dee Snider is not the rebel he used to be. The video embedded here shows thinning hair, and much less makeup. His tweets show that he is not totally gone establishment. @deesnider Did I mention how great it is to see my grandkids again? We miss @tweetjesse and his family so much! #heavymetalgrandpa @deesnider In West Hollywood in search of perfect leather officers cap for outfit on #HollistonTV. Cool reception at gay leather shop. #whatamiwood?
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
This was written like William Gibson.
Coat Of Many Colors
Someone on facebook said that it is a shame Molly Ivins is not around to comment on the weird goings on. Yes, Ms. Ivins has gone to that BarBQ in the sky, but we still have Margaret and Helen. They are still blogging up a storm, even if it is someone’s grandson that does the writing. The small print they use is evidence that a youngun did it. What old person can read type that small?
PG knows about cntr + +, and decided to visit. There was a dandy post, Two Wrongs Make a Right Wing Republican Ticket. Here are a few quotes, and then we will explain what this has to do with Dolly Parton forty years ago. Lets hope that the wig in that video has been replaced.
HELEN: That Obama even ran as a black man and wouldn’t you know it – he’s still a black man. Romney is a white guy. Which is probably why so many people in the Tea Party are so excited about the Romney/Ryan ticket – neither are black. I’m sorry, Margaret. That was low… even for me. Obama’s color has nothing to do with it. He’s black. So what. In contrast to Obama, Romney is a man of many colors. Nope. He’s just a white guy.
What I meant to say is that Romney is white but he has a coat of many colors. No, that’s not right either. That was Donny Osmond. Margaret, what is that expression about a horse of many colors? You know. The one that means you can’t trust Romney any farther than you can throw him?
I can’t think of the expression right now, but what I am trying to say is that you can’t throw Romney very far. He’s too rooted to his principles and an unwavering commitment to his beliefs. Like the way he was pro-choice and now is not because it would prevent him from being a Republican president. And how he believed that government-controlled healthcare was needed and now it isn’t because it would prevent him from being a Republican president. And how he was proud of his record at Bain Capital but only the good stuff. If anything bad happened it was on a day when he called in sick…
Two faced! That’s what I meant to say. It had nothing to do with the color of his face or his coat at all. And I am not even sure why I was thinking about a horse. … Now I know why I was thinking about a horse. Paul Ryan is a horse’s ass. If you are a woman under the age of 39, you might want to trust me on this one. Never vote for a horse’s ass. I mean it. Really.
MARGARET: If I recall, Helen, you were under the age of 39 for about 59 years. Howard says that the expression about a horse changing its colors is a racing term and you should just stick to what you know. I’m not sure about this Ryan fellow, but Howard sure likes him. Of course, Howard’s a numbers guy too. The last thing I need is another budget in my life. I haven’t had a new coat in 40 years much less a coat of many colors.
When PG saw this, he thought about the song, “Coat of many colors”. The b side was by Porter Wagoner, “Coat of many sequins”. COMC is about a woman who is too poor to buy her little girl a coat at the store, so she makes a quilt. The other kids make fun of her, but little Dolly knows that the coat is really made of love. Mitt Romney never had a coat of many colors.
The song talks about a story in the Bible. PG had heard about the story, but didn’t remember the details. He must have been daydreaming in Sunday School when that story was taught. With the help of google, Genesis 37 appears, as if by magic. Pass the popcorn.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Ok, hold on for a minute. Israel had at least two wives. The Biblical definition of marriage must be between a man and two women.
The story gets a bit weird here. Joseph has this dream, where he becomes the boss hog brother. The other brothers decide something needs to be done, that Joseph needs to die. Reuben tries to help Joseph, and has a plan to save him. Joseph is stripped of the coat of many colors, and placed in a pit, with no water. Before Reuben can sneak Joseph out of the pit, a camel caravan comes by. Twenty pieces of silver change hands, and Joseph is sold into slavery. The brothers decide to pull a cover up, and make it look like Joseph was dead. Reuben made another sandwich.
31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
What a story. Bigamy, slavery, and a dishonored father. Some people call that “The word of G-d”. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This was written like James Joyce.
Labelism
Chamblee54 had a post recently about conservatives and liberals. A lot of people see things in those terms. There are other pigeon holes that people get stuffed into. Not only politics, but religion, fashion, and sexual activity are classified, usually by someone who disapproves. Maybe the true religion of our culture is Labelism.
A trip to google city had lots of results. The top result (possibly paid for) is a company called Labelism. You can create personalized labels, usually for an alcohol product. “Welcome to Labelism. The personalised Wine, Whisky, Champagne and Beer gift service where you become the designer & create your own label.”
The always helpful Urban Dictionary calls labelism “The act of judging people by the labels of their clothes. Here are a few examples of labelism: 1(in Abercrombie): I’m so classy. 2 (in Hollister): Me, too. 3 (in American Eagle): Don’t forget me. 1: We all rock! 4 (in Aeropostale): Hey, I’m classy, too! 1: You wish, you wannabe! 2: Yeah, Loser! 5 (in Wal-Mart clothes): I’m pretty classy myself. 1: Eww Get away! You’re poor! 2,3, and 4: Gross! White Trash! Nasty! 5: Whatever, you label whores!”
Ablogspot facility called Quadrilateral Thoughts gets a bit closer to the original concept of this post. “labelism: The tendency to skew diverse particular ideas, events, people, and so forth by grouping them under overly generalized labels in the service of argument.” A few examples are given. “All these statements are logically fallacious, even though they are the stuff of common rhetoric. They take diverse realia and oversimplify them because the human mind has difficulty processing complexity.”
A playground called Young Americans for Liberty comes out as an Anti-Labelist. “If we refuse to be objective in this way, but rather use smear terms and labels, then it is no surprise that more anti-labelites are produced. We become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.”
Labelism dot org is another take. “Labelism- There Must Be For There To Be/Create Create/ Leaving Assupmtion To The Act/Support Support/ Do Good To Be Good/ Look Passed Word Act-RE-Reality=Option/True”
In 2008, MacKenzie Kern was bothered by people labelling each other. “For Stroudsburg Middle School seventh-grader MacKenzie Kern and others her age, words, particularly labels, can harm the emotionally vulnerable. Someone wearing black clothes and dressing in dark makeup is a “goth.” Someone wearing brand name clothes such as American Eagle or Aeropostale is a “prep.” Someone wearing bright, flamboyant colors is a “scene.” And then there are the “skaters,” who ride skateboards, the “jocks,” or athletes, the “nerds” and the “emos,” or emotionally troubled.”
“You’re stereotyping people just because they dress, act or look a certain way or listen to certain kinds of music,” says Kern, who has been called a “hippie” for wearing a T-shirt with a peace symbol. “People have labeled me and I’ve labeled others, which is something I’m not proud of.”
That’s why Kern has taken a stand against “labelism” and is trying to convince others her age to do the same. Every day since March 27, she has worn a white belt around her waist in school and out in public. From one end of that belt to the other are signatures, almost all of which have been put there by children ages 12 to 16 who support her stance. “I feel it’s important to focus mainly on kids in my age group,” she says. “If this generation of kids can set an example by stopping labelism, then maybe future generations can do the same. So far, I have only one signature from an adult, a teacher who told me she believes in what I’m doing and said she’s glad I’m doing it.”
At one point, Kern had 105 signatures on her belt. But for each person who agrees with ending labelism, there’s one or more who say Kern is wasting her time. “I’ve had both students and teachers tell me I’ll never really change anything because most people will go on labeling,” she says. “I’ve even had students who signed my belt tell me they want their signatures removed because they changed their minds. So, I scrubbed off five signatures, which took me back down to 100.” But that won’t stop Kern from trying to raise awareness among others her age.
This post was a good idea that turned out to be boring. The spell check suggestion for labelism is Isabella. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
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