Chamblee54

Mary had a little pig, She kept it fat and plastered;
And when the price of pork went up,
She shot the little bastard…
Hey diddle, diddle, the cat took a piddle,
All over the bedside clock.
The little dog laughed to see such fun.
Then died of electric shock.
Mary had a little lamb. Her father shot it dead.
Now it goes to school with her, Between two chunks of bread…
Jack and Jill went up the hill To have a little fun.
Stupid Jill forgot the pill And now they have a son…
Simple Simon met a pie man going to the fair.
Said Simple Simon to the pie man, ‘What have you got there?’
Said the pie man unto Simon, ‘Pies, you dumb ass’…
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings’ horses, And all the kings’ men.
Had scrambled eggs, For breakfast again…
Georgie Porgy pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry.
And when the boys came out to play,
He kissed them too ’cause he was gay.
There was a little girl who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very, very good.
But when she was bad……..
She got a fur coat, jewels, a waterfront condo, and a sports car.
The text today is a repost.
Pictures by Chamblee54. Taken in East Atlanta, November 16, 2008.

Following links on the internet is like paddling a canoe, on a lazy river with lots of tributaries. It is easy to be distracted by this creek or that. Once you are off the main stream, there is no telling where you will wind up. Sometimes you find yourself in a sewage treatment facility. 
Today’s journey starts at Iraq Blog Count. This is an automated list, showing the latest offering from a variety of blogs. Many of these blogs are in Arabic. PG followed a link to Iraqi American Mojo.
The story at IAM is Norwegian killer was influenced by American blogger. The lead sentence is : “It appears the Norwegian mass murderer was influenced by conservative American blogger Robert Spencer , the author of Jihad Watch. “ (IAM did not link to Jihad Watch. ). The link in the first sentence is to a piece by Jeffrey Goldberg.
The first sentence by Mr. Goldberg is “I’m away, and it’s hard to keep up with the news, but it seems as if my arch-nemesis Pamela Geller is in a bit of a pickle because she and her partner-in-Muslim-bashing, Robert Spencer, were favorites of the Norway killer. (Btw, I call her my arch-nemesis, but I’m grateful to her for calling me what I believe to be the best epithet ever , “Jewicidal Jihadi.” Also, “Jihad Jeffro.” All I’ve ever come up with to describe her is “shrieking bigot,” which doesn’t have the same power, or alliterative quality.”
Jihad Watch has a tasteful piece today, titled “New York Times convicts Spencer of guilt for Norway murders.” The NYT piece, “Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.” discusses the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, who is not a nice man. “In the document he posted online, Anders Behring Breivik, who is accused of bombing government buildings and killing scores of young people at a Labor Party camp, showed that he had closely followed the acrimonious American debate over Islam. His manifesto, which denounced Norwegian politicians as failing to defend the country from Islamic influence, quoted Robert Spencer, who operates the Jihad Watch Web site, 64 times, and cited other Western writers who shared his view that Muslim immigrants pose a grave danger to Western culture.”
These days, Islam has replaced Communism as the boogeyman of conservatives. Radio whiners and print posers compete to produce the most inflammatory purple prose. While arguably Mr. Breivik is a sick man, a rebel looking for a cause, it does not look good for the Muslim bashers when an incident like this takes place.
One thing you hear a lot about is Islam influence “terrorism”. Whenever an incident takes place, there are demands that the “moderate Muslims” denounce the terrorism of their coreligionists. Now the shoe is on the other foot.
Back when commie bashing was fashionable, the Soviet Union shot down a plane with American civilians on board. There was widespread denunciation, and calls for war against the evil empire. A few years later, The United States shot down a civilian plane in the Middle East. Those who had denounced the action of the USSR were strangely silent, when it was our guns that shot down a civilian plane.
You are probably wondering how this is going lead to an actress who loves cats. ( The video is probably a fake. ) As the screen shot shows, google decided that a good ad for this performance was “discount tires”. Which still does not tell us how a rampaging Norseman, who reads conservative blogs, has to do with a MBA recipient who loves cats.
The video was posted at Biblical Christianity , a Jesus worship blog that does not appreciate Chamblee54. BC posted a story with the racy title “Blond-haired, blue-eyed conservative Palin-loving Christian terrorist?” The first sentence: “In PR terms, Christmas has come early for the Left/MSM: they have found a terrorist to whom they can attach “far-right” conservatism, fundamentalist Christianity, and the name of Sarah Palin. It’s a propaganda trifecta.” When PG clicked on the link in this sentence, his virus alert came on the screen to announce that a virus attack had been thwarted. When you go trolling surfing on the internet, be sure to have the latest updates installed on your anti virus.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The spell check suggestion for Breivik is Brevity.

You might not care what “the world” thinks of you. But then you ban comments from those who disagree with you. If you were so certain of your wonderful opinions, you would let others who disagree speak. // “Don’t think of it as us breaking up. Think of it as . . . me being happy again.” // Creativity is not is not merely the poem, the watercolor, the song. It is the act of humans describing the great mystery of Life Itself. Creativity is an act of faith, of hope, of love. It is virtuous, revelatory, prophetic. It is our prayer lived out. It is the heart reaching up to the brain; the brain whispering I love you to the heart. It is what enlivens us. – Jan Phillips // Because I’m not a polemicist and I have no desire to out-shout an opponent when I think I’m having a discussion. // “Celebrity is the humiliation of a person deprived of secrets.” // I’ve pissed off three people so I guess my work here is done. OMG, I am such a pain I’m the ass! // “In certain ways writing is a form of prayer.” —Denise Levertov // oh sweetie, you’re the last person that should be calling anything trashy // Sometimes the path seems so easy that you realize late in the journey that you are without a map or a clear destination. // “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” // “I went trough this phase last year where I pretty much ate nothing but kudzu.” //Damn quotations! I’ll have none of them. Instead, I intend to talk about ice cream. // All children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” – Pablo Picasso // “In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Kahlil Gibran (don’t EVEN get me started) // “Truth is the enemy of power, now and always.” – Ed Abbey // “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” ~ Albert Einstein //anything is legal when you don’t get caught // When G-d is in the details, there is the devil to pay. // he was honored by a standing ovation, from the one legged man, with one arm // A nymphomaniac will join thousands of men in a strange sort of brotherhood // “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart // A violent frenzy in a none too cheap hotel He says it’s hazy but I remember it so well // // By honoring your words. You are honored. What’s your tea told you today? // Include a descriptive subject line, or your email will end up in our spam jail. // “If we expect community relationships to be ideal, spiritual, friendly, and enlightened, we are seeking what we can’t even expect of our own minds.” ~ Jack Kornfield // Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet // “You see? The mysteries of the Universe are revealed when you break stuff.” // “A word from Benedict of Nursia: “The first step of humility is to cherish at all times the sense of awe with which we should turn to God.” // “I’m excited for all the stripper money I’m going to make… then we can eat mermaid every night.” // Please, I’m from Brooklyn. I’ve never had good taste. I wear what appeals to me, so I can’t make a mistake or go out of style. Very liberating not to have to worry about that.” Michael Musto // All posts are pre-moderated and must obey the house rules // “In solitude, where we are least alone” ~ Lord Byron // A man who is by himself is in bad company – Eric Hoffer // “I distrust who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” — Susan B. Anthony // And long-known local crackpots, trashcan media, assorted contract-seeking vultures, citizen journos, Joe Blows, MSM, national media, parents, onlookers, snake-oil sales types, very dubious leaders, people who kinda give a shit, you get the point, are all mixed into this civic stew still bubbling steadily along on the cooker. // Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after that // Six Phases of a Project: (1) Enthusiasm (2) Disillusionment (3) Panic (4) Search for the Guilty (5) Punishment of the Innocent (6) Praise and Honors for the Non-Participants // i had to disable my spell check cuz black market terms arent usually reconized… // “Soar, eat ether, see what has never been seen; depart, be lost, but climb.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay // “marxism: wonderful theory, wrong species” e.o. wilson // I love to hike, play soccer, swimming (even though I can’t swim), and also watching movies. // But honey, If I agree with you, then we’ll *both* be wrong. // “Every third thought shall be my grave” — W. Shakespeare, “The Tempest” // Savor vowels, appreciate consonants. –A.G. // Life is not a motivational speech. // Religious Views … sounds of a dish breaking // I promise I won’t hate you if you disagree. // music is the freight train in which g-d travels // G-d respects man when he works, but loves him when he sings // You mustn’t force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex. // ******** appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines: 1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment. 2. Stay on topic. 3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks. 4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement. 5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments. 

PG listened to an online discussion the other day about skepticism. One of the things the talkers were skeptical of is the claims made for “alternative” medicine. The two seemed to think that any treatment, without an insurance claim form, is bogus.
There was an interesting bit of cross current here. The woman, who attends atheist conferences, takes the corporate, conservative line when it comes to medicine. To PG, industrial medicine was the player that needs the attention of a skeptic. He left a comment, and got some predictable replies.
Some say it is all about money . Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
chamblee54 wrote on 07/23/2011 at 05:53 PM I agree that “alternative” medicine needs to be viewed with “skepticism”. However, this does not mean that industrial medicine should be given a free ride. There are cases where non industrial remedies are effective.
An example would be gout. A few years ago, a friend and I had issues with this. I went to a Chinese doctor. He gave me some herbs to make tea from, and told me to avoid certain foods. The gout went away. My friend went to an insurance doctor, and took chemical medicine. He didn’t know before he took the medicine that the gout would get worse before it got better. He had to go in the hospital.
Modern industrial medicine is a technological marvel, and a human disaster. The costs may be the ruin of our economy. When you have a profit driven system. often the needs of the patient take second place.
Another example would be AIDS. We now have wonder drugs that can keep it under control for many people. However, these wonder drugs are horrendously expensive, and have many side effects. There are people who got the bug in the early eighties, used “alternative” treatments, and are still alive today.
I could go on and on, and maybe someone will continue this. I have only seen part of this diavlog, and am looking forward to the rest. Ms. Althouse is always fun to listen to. I read a little bit about the controversy involving Ms. Watson and the elevator barista , and look forward to hearing the rest of this. I might not get much multi tasking done.
Don Zeko wrote on 07/23/2011 at 06:03 PM When these natural remedies are proven to have beneficial effects by multiple peer-reviewed studies, I’ll be happy to compare them to competing “chemical” medicines on a cost-benefit basis. I’m not arguing that there are aren’t serious problems with the pharmaceutical industry and the way that it interacts with the rest of the health care system, but the dysfunction of mainstream medicine hardly proves that we’d be better off with faith-based “natural” alternatives.
chamblee54 wrote on 07/23/2011 at 06:54 PM There is a problem here. The “peers” that do these review studies are a part of the industrial medicine establishment. (Mafia might be too strong a word.) They have a stake in maintaining the hegenomy of profit driven indu$trial medicine. I don’t think these people are going to give “alternative” medicine a fair shake.
apple wrote on 07/23/2011 at 07:02 PM OK, studies are frauds, peer-reviewed journals are a fraud, but believing the unverified claims of someone selling faux (aka alternative) medicine is good. Got it. You should consider becoming an advocate for “intelligent design”.
Don Zeko wrote on 07/23/2011 at 07:28 PM Come on man, this is conspiratorial, non-falsifiable nonsense. You’re writing off everyone that might have a contrary opinion because of tenuous claims of self-interest, while ignoring how the “alternative medicine” community is full of quacks making money hand over fist selling people snake oil.

The facebook friend posted a link, along with a note. for all my psychotherapist colleagues who from time to time take call for each other when another is away. Ellen Bass’ poem exemplifies grace under pressure and how common sense can save the day. The link is to a copyrighted poem. .
It tells the story of a therapist, taking calls for a colleague who is on vacation. A man wants to kill himself. The substi-shrink asks the man to wait until monday, when his regular therapist will be back in town. The man agrees to live.
This reminds PG of a story. It was in a book by Celestine Sibley, about her mentor Ralph McGill. Mr. McGill was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution. At the time, the Constitution was an independently owned competitor to the Atlanta Journal, the afternoon paper.
A reporter for the morning paper found out his wife was fooling around. He got drunk at lunch, and swore he was going to kill his wife’s bf. Mr. McGill got wind of this, and called the man into his office.
The editor had a request for the reporter. Please wait until today’s afternoon paper comes out. This is going to be a good story, and I want the morning paper to cover it. The reporter agreed to the delay. He went home, sobered up, and decided that killing was not a good idea. The reporter got a divorce, another wife, and lived happily ever after.

If you read facebook, you have seen it. The example that spurred PG into action was (name changed to protect the guilty) ” @$#% &#$$ likes Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. ” In the old days, people put a bumper sticker on their vehicle to show off the clever saying they heard. Now, they “like”.
There was an incident on the Joe Pyne show, that may or may not have happened. It relates to this example. Mr. Pyne asked Frank Zappa if his long hair made him a girl. Mr.Z shot back, Does your wooden leg make you a table?
As per wikipedia, bumper stickers did not exist before the bumper. The first BS were attached to the vehicle with wires. A printer in Kansas City MO named Forest P. Gill gets the credit ( or blame) for adding stick on adhesive to pvc, and creating the first modern BS.
When PG was a kid, there was a miniature golf course on Cheshire Bridge Road called Putt Putt. The first bumper sticker that PG saw was from this facility. It said “I play Putt Putt”
Many concepts just don’t work when reduced to a few words. The subtleties of Christian teaching are not well served by “G-d Said it, I believe it, that settles it”.
Moving ahead to modern times, Likeydotnet is in the vanguard of digital slogan distribution. As a public service, this blog is going to post a bunch of these slogans. A few will be left out…one uses the N Word, and a few are just too gross. Anyone who despairs about the standards of taste and decency in America, is squeamish about cuss words, or picky about the third commandment, will be well served by skipping to the pictures. These pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost

No matter what I get on the computer to do, I always end up on Facebook.# I’m telling the truth, but then I smile, and then they think I’m lying.# We have the ice cream truck for the kids, why don’t we have a frozen margarita truck for us adults?# Mom, im 16 now. Can I have a Bra? …No, Justin.# Im a girl but I rather hang out with boys because it is less drama!!!!# “feel my legs!!!” “why…?” “i just shaved :)” # You’ll never find the right person if you don’t let go of the wrong one.# Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.#Sarah and Richie don’t talk they just facebook…….SAD.#Be nice to your kids. They’ll choose your nursing home.#growing your beard during exams to seek extra wisdom. #”Congratulations! You’re the 1,000,000 visitor!” Yeah bullshit. #I know when we ge older that im going to get a call from you telling me ur drunk and to ome and pick you up,and im fine with that(:#”Everyone, CALM down! Everything will be okay!…LOL, j/k! We’re all gonna die…”# Noooo… being a stripper is a very respectable job. LOL jk, you’re a whore.#So, I kinda sorta maybe like you a little more than I had originally planned. #”who u texting” “mum do i have to tell u who i’m texting” “yea, is it your boyfriend” “NO, its the queen”# A penis has a sad life. His hair is a mess, his family is nuts, his neighbour is an asshole, his bestfriend is a pussy and his owner beats him!# PIG PIG PIG!# i wonder if ur liking?# I Like Hip Hop Break dance # no its not you i miss its your company# i like my hair snooki style :) # I’m with you Mag, I love Jesus, my strength and courage to face the day-I trust him with my day always# My Wee Angel# Older Brother: I’m goin to the shops. Me: Can you bring me back something? Older Brother: No. Me: Please. Older Brother: No. Me: Please. Older Brother: No. Me: Please. Older Brother: Maybe. *Comes back later* Me: What did you bring me? Older Brother: Sorry, I forgot. Me: LIAR!!! # you smell : realy :yer Well Nott Realy I Havee Hadd A Showerr# ooo ten most shocking photos who put the surveys there# Girls, you look like a burnt cookie. Unplug the tanning bed and back away slowly.# I Love My Best Friend More Than ANYTHING! (: x # when you like someone but you know you cant have them#i say “hi”, but my heart is screaming “I LOVE YOU!!!” # Why do people leave without even saying goodbye?# If we invite someone to a party, we’d request “the honor of your presence”. If they’re a judge, it’s the presence of Your Honor.# Guy: I love you. Girl: No you don’t, ‘I love you’ are just words. Prove it to me and maybe I will believe you.#Please, #6 Jahre habe ich keinen Alkohol getrunken, nicht geraucht, keinen Sex gehabt, und dann kam ich in die Schule! #Hate’s it when a guy tells you they love you but goes to some other girl.# I keep looking at my phone, hoping to hear it go off. But, I guess I’m the last thing on your mind, huh? :( # okay there is a white house,bluehouse and a red house..who lives in the white house #. cod mw2# I didn’t fall, I attacked the floor. #i have a taste for sushi ^_^# Like if you know any Chain Smoker’s!!# I live for Christ. He is my way, my light, my strength, and my savior :) Who’s with me?# Sometimes your knight in shining armor is just a retard in tin foil# “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!! IT’S SO FLUFFAAAAAY!!”# Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. # A boy gives a girl 10 roses, 9 real and 1 fake. And he says to the girl that he’ll love her, until the last one dies.# When Life Gives You a Bad Romance, show everyone your Poker Face, buy a new Telephone, call Alejandro, and you guys Just Dance!# He came to me one night. Explored my body, licked, sucked, swallowed! When satisfied, he left & I was hurt!!… Fucking mosquito!# Fake hair, fake nails, fake tan, fake boobs… Girl, are you sure you weren’t made in China? # A man asked a genie to make him a billion times smarter than anyman on earth, so the genie turned him into a woman.# You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.# I don’t care if it’s rude to stare, you are hot, so I will stare.# Don’t judge . . . you never know what a person’s story is . . . leave that up to G-d! # Teacher: Billy why are you crying and why did you bring your cat to school? Billy: Because I heard my dad tell my mom “When Billy leaves to school I’m gonna beat that pussy up!”# Jacob: “I kissed bella , then she broke her hand, punching me in the face”# The world can’t end in 2012, I have a yogurt that expires in 2013.# “EVERYONE SHUT THE F*** UP!” *answers phone* “Hi Mommy :)”#Today I bought a packet of salted nuts. On the pack it said “Warning, may contain nuts.” Well I would be pretty disappointed if I opened it up and a sock fell out…* Best ever game as a child: make sure the balloon does not touch the floor.

1
I sing the body electric,
The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them,
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves?
And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do fully as much as the soul?
And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?
2
The love of the body of man or woman balks account,
the body itself balks account,
That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect.

The expression of the face balks account,
But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face,
It is in his limbs and joints also, it is curiously in the joints of his hips and wrists,
It is in his walk, the carriage of his neck, the flex of his waist and knees,
dress does not hide him,
The strong sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth,
To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more,
You linger to see his back, and the back of his neck and shoulder-side.

The sprawl and fulness of babes, the bosoms and heads of women,
the folds of their dress, their style as we pass in the street,
the contour of their shape downwards,
The swimmer naked in the swimming-bath, seen as he swims through
the transparent green-shine, or lies with his face up and rolls
silently to and from the heave of the water,
The bending forward and backward of rowers in row-boats,
the horse-man in his saddle,
Girls, mothers, house-keepers, in all their performances,
The group of laborers seated at noon-time with their open dinner-kettles,
and their wives waiting,
The female soothing a child, the farmer’s daughter in the garden or cow-yard,
The young fellow hosing corn, the sleigh-driver driving his six horses
through the crowd,
The wrestle of wrestlers, two apprentice-boys, quite grown, lusty,
good-natured, native-born, out on the vacant lot at sundown after work,
The coats and caps thrown down, the embrace of love and resistance,
The upper-hold and under-hold, the hair rumpled over and blinding the eyes;
The march of firemen in their own costumes, the play of masculine muscle
through clean-setting trowsers and waist-straps,
The slow return from the fire, the pause when the bell strikes suddenly again,
and the listening on the alert,
The natural, perfect, varied attitudes, the bent head, the curv’d neck
and the counting;
Such-like I love—I loosen myself, pass freely, am at the mother’s breast
with the little child,
Swim with the swimmers, wrestle with wrestlers, march in line
with the firemen, and pause, listen, count.
3
I knew a man, a common farmer, the father of five sons,
And in them the fathers of sons, and in them the fathers of sons.
This man was a wonderful vigor, calmness, beauty of person,
The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his hair and beard,
the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes,
the richness and breadth of his manners,
These I used to go and visit him to see, he was wise also,
He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old, his sons were massive,
clean, bearded, tan-faced, handsome,
They and his daughters loved him, all who saw him loved him,
They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with personal love,
He drank water only, the blood show’d like scarlet
through the clear-brown skin of his face,
He was a frequent gunner and fisher, he sail’d his boat himself,
he had a fine one presented to him by a ship-joiner,
he had fowling-pieces presented to him by men that loved him,
When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to hunt or fish,
you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of the gang,
You would wish long and long to be with him, you would wish to sit by him
in the boat that you and he might touch each other.

4
I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough,
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,
To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly
round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then?
I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea.

There is something in staying close to men and women and looking on them,
and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well,
All things please the soul, but these please the soul well.

5
This is the female form,
A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot,
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction,
I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor,
all falls aside but myself and it,
Books, art, religion, time, the visible and solid earth,
and what was expected of heaven or fear’d of hell, are now consumed,
Mad filaments, ungovernable shoots play out of it,
the response likewise ungovernable,
Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands all diffused,
mine too diffused,
Ebb stung by the flow and flow stung by the ebb, love-flesh swelling
and deliciously aching,
Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous, quivering jelly of love,
white-blow and delirious juice,
Bridegroom night of love working surely and softly into the prostrate dawn,
Undulating into the willing and yielding day,
Lost in the cleave of the clasping and sweet-flesh’d day.

This the nucleus—after the child is born of woman, man is born of woman,
This the bath of birth, this the merge of small and large, and the outlet again.

Be not ashamed women, your privilege encloses the rest,
and is the exit of the rest,
You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul.

The female contains all qualities and tempers them,
She is in her place and moves with perfect balance,
She is all things duly veil’d, she is both passive and active,
She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters.

As I see my soul reflected in Nature,
As I see through a mist, One with inexpressible completeness,
sanity, beauty,
See the bent head and arms folded over the breast, the Female I see.

6
The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place,
He too is all qualities, he is action and power,
The flush of the known universe is in him,
Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well,
The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is utmost
become him well, pride is for him,
The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul,
Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing
to the test of himself,
Whatever the survey, whatever the sea and the sail
he strikes soundings at last only here,
(Where else does he strike soundings except here?)

The man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred,
No matter who it is, it is sacred—is it the meanest one in the laborers’ gang?
Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf?
Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you,
Each has his or her place in the procession.

(All is a procession,
The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)

Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant?
Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight,
and he or she has no right to a sight?
Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float,
and the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts,
For you only, and not for him and her?

7
A man’s body at auction,
(For before the war I often go to the slave-mart and watch the sale,)
I help the auctioneer, the sloven does not half know his business.

Gentlemen look on this wonder,
Whatever the bids of the bidders they cannot be high enough for it,
For it the globe lay preparing quintillions of years without one animal or plant,
For it the revolving cycles truly and steadily roll’d.

In this head the all-baffling brain,
In it and below it the makings of heroes.

Examine these limbs, red, black, or white, they are cunning in tendon and nerve,
They shall be stript that you may see them.

Exquisite senses, life-lit eyes, pluck, volition,
Flakes of breast-muscle, pliant backbone and neck, flesh not flabby,
good-sized arms and legs,
And wonders within there yet.

Within there runs blood,
The same old blood! the same red-running blood!
There swells and jets a heart, there all passions, desires, reachings, aspirations,

(Do you think they are not there because they are not express’d
in parlors and lecture-rooms?)

This is not only one man, this the father of those who shall be fathers
in their turns,
In him the start of populous states and rich republics,
Of him countless immortal lives with countless embodiments and enjoyments.

How do you know who shall come from the offspring of his offspring
through the centuries?
(Who might you find you have come from yourself,
if you could trace back through the centuries?)

8
A woman’s body at auction,
She too is not only herself, she is the teeming mother of mothers,
She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to the mothers.

Have you ever loved the body of a woman?
Have you ever loved the body of a man?
Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations
and times all over the earth?

If anything is sacred the human body is sacred,
And the glory and sweet of a man is the token of manhood untainted,
And in man or woman a clean, strong, firm-fibred body, is more beautiful
than the most beautiful face.

Have you seen the fool that corrupted his own live body?
or the fool that corrupted her own live body?
For they do not conceal themselves, and cannot conceal themselves.

9
O my body! I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women,
nor the likes of the parts of you,
I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the soul,
(and that they are the soul,)
I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems,
and that they are my poems,
Man’s, woman’s, child, youth’s, wife’s, husband’s, mother’s, father’s,
young man’s, young woman’s poems,
Head, neck, hair, ears, drop and tympan of the ears,
Eyes, eye-fringes, iris of the eye, eyebrows, and the waking
or sleeping of the lids,
Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges,
Nose, nostrils of the nose, and the partition,
Cheeks, temples, forehead, chin, throat, back of the neck, neck-slue,
Strong shoulders, manly beard, scapula, hind-shoulders,
and the ample side-round of the chest,
Upper-arm, armpit, elbow-socket, lower-arm, arm-sinews, arm-bones,
Wrist and wrist-joints, hand, palm, knuckles, thumb, forefinger,
finger-joints, finger-nails,
Broad breast-front, curling hair of the breast, breast-bone, breast-side,
Ribs, belly, backbone, joints of the backbone,
Hips, hip-sockets, hip-strength, inward and outward round,
man-balls, man-root,
Strong set of thighs, well carrying the trunk above,
Leg-fibres, knee, knee-pan, upper-leg, under-leg,
Ankles, instep, foot-ball, toes, toe-joints, the heel;
All attitudes, all the shapeliness, all the belongings of my or your body
or of any one’s body, male or female,
The lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean,
The brain in its folds inside the skull-frame,
Sympathies, heart-valves, palate-valves, sexuality, maternity,
Womanhood, and all that is a woman, and the man that comes from woman,
The womb, the teats, nipples, breast-milk, tears, laughter, weeping,
love-looks, love-perturbations and risings,
The voice, articulation, language, whispering, shouting aloud,
Food, drink, pulse, digestion, sweat, sleep, walking, swimming,
Poise on the hips, leaping, reclining, embracing, arm-curving and tightening,
The continual changes of the flex of the mouth, and around the eyes,
The skin, the sunburnt shade, freckles, hair,
The curious sympathy one feels when feeling with the hand
the naked meat of the body,
The circling rivers the breath, and breathing it in and out,
The beauty of the waist, and thence of the hips,
and thence downward toward the knees,
The thin red jellies within you or within me, the bones and the marrow
in the bones,
The exquisite realization of health;

O I say these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul,
O I say now these are the soul!

Text for this adventure is from the Project Gutenberg.
The text was reformatted by Chamblee54.
“I sing the Body Electric” was written by Walt Whitman.
An audio version of this poem is available from Librivox.

As some have noticed, Chamblee54 runs stories about the death penalty. These features generate tons of traffic, which most bloggers enjoy. Today, we will try to collect the links in one place, and give an overview. This story will be written in first person. Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
Yesterday, PG went to Jackson GA to witness the scene outside the prison during an execution. The people opposed to the death penalty were having a vigil. Two that I talked to were rude. The exception was a gray haired lady who arrived with an armload of signs, and cold drinks. (This was July in Georgia. Cold drinks are a sacrament.) The lady thanked me for coming, and asked if I was opposed to the death penalty. There was no sound bite answer.
The short answer is that we should have the death penalty, but use it very, very seldom. I don’t think it is a deterrent. It is more expensive than life imprisonment. (With all those appeals, it is a jobs program for the legal industry.) It is the ultimate in pre meditation.
On the other hand, there are some crimes that make you mad. The recently departed Andrew Grant DeYoung stabbed his fourteen year old sister so many times, the number of knife wounds could not be counted. Many of the wounds had hilt marks. While compiling a big picture look at The Death Penalty In Georgia , I read a few more stories that make you want to get your pitchfork. Perhaps this ultimate penalty is appropriate in some cases.
One problem is telling the difference. I have been writing about executions for roughly three years. I have written about eight executions ( I may have missed one or two.) A couple have been horrendous, and some have been “ordinary”murders. In two cases, the executed did not do the killing, but was guilty because of a legal technicality. One wonders what effect an aggressive District Attorney has in deciding who gets executed, and who gets life in prison.
Capital punishment is strong stuff. It is taking a human life. Our criminal justice system has numerous issues with corruption, political showboating, and overall fairness. One has to wonder whether this Big Government institution is smart enough to use a powerful tool like capital punishment.
Capital punishment is similar to two other “life issues“, abortion and war. I suppose there is someone who is opposed to all three, in all cases, but I have never met this person. All three issues involve a human being, or group of human beings, taking the life of another human being. One answer is to say that ending a life is G-d’s job, and that you should leave it up to her.
If you build a facility for something, you are making it’s use almost certain. (Oversimplified rhetoric alert.) If you have an army, you are going to look for ways to use it. If you have an abortion clinic, then ladies are going to kill their babies. If you have capital punishment, some glory addicted district attorney is going to try to put a knotch on his belt.
There are two controversial death penalty cases in Georgia now. This would be Troy Davis and Carlton Gary. At first, I was convinced of the innocence of Mr. Davis. Four posts later, I am not so sure. There is little doubt Mr. Davis was in the Burger King parking lot the morning of the shooting. The lack of physical evidence is troubling, and the police have not been well behaved.
As for Carlton Gary, there is a good bit of evidence that he was not the silk stocking strangler. However, he is not a nice man. There is dna evidence linking him to a murder in upstate New York. This was a high profile case, and the police were eager to “solve” the crimes. There is a possibility that the real killer is at large.
The method of execution in Georgia is antiseptically called “lethal injection”. I prefer to say poisoned. The state got in trouble recently for importing execution supplies from a dodgy foreign source. The legitimate makers of these drugs are opposed to their use in executions. This is another problem.
Here are the links to features at chamblee 54 on capital punishment.
The Death Penalty In Georgia (This story has a gallery of the men, and woman, under death sentence. It was current in 2009.) Execution Van , Is life scred?, Execution night in Jackson, Enjoy it too much , bone yard , Military Money.
The execution facility in Georgia has a drug problem. They have obtained substances illegally.
They have been busted.
Timothy Woodrow Pruitt and Leeland Mark Braley committed suicide while under death sentence.
Chamblee54 has written about Troy Davis one, two , three, four times.
There is only one feature, so far, on Carlton Gary.
Chamblee54 has covered eight executions. William Earl Lynd , Curtis Osborne , William Mark Mize , Mark McCain , Brandon Rhode, Emmanuel Hammond, Roy Blankenship , Andrew Grant DeYoung.

Ever since he has written about the death penalty in Georgia , PG has wanted to “make the scene” at an execution. The poisoning of Andrew DeYoung was delayed one day. Some wanted to make a video of the procedure, and some did not think this was a good idea. The Department of Corrections delayed the execution for one day to discuss the matter. PG had a previous engagement for Wednesday, but was ready for a road trip on Thursday.
The road trip part was a bit longer than necessary. Google gave PG some bad instructions. After driving around lost, and getting discouraged, PG stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. He had to good fortune to get a young lady who lived in the area, and spoke English as her native tongue. Just get back on 36, go through town, and the prison is right before you get to I 75, you can’t miss it. Soon, PG took a right on Prison Blvd.
The guard gave him a green ribbon of plastic to wear on his wrist … “we have some jewelry for you. It’s cheap. Keep this on while you’re here”. The guard was just as nice as he could be, as were all the state employees on the scene. PG drove down a driveway, and was shown where to park. After a much needed visit to the porto potty, PG walked into a roped off area. One man and four women, all white, were sitting at a picnic table.
The man came over and shook hands with PG. They were having a vigil. When PG mentioned that he wrote a blog, the attitude of the vigil man changed dramatically. There was a table, with a water cooler, where the media was supposed to sit. It was strongly suggested to PG that he go there. The problem was, the guard on duty said that the media had already left, and PG would need to go back in the enclosed area with the vigil people.
PG walked around the enclosed area for a few minutes. A lady pulled up, and came into the area carrying a collection of signs. The lady went over to talk to PG. The lady was a staunch opponent of the death penalty, whereas PG has a more pragmatic view. PG mentioned that this case was not likely to get much sympathy. The lady agreed, but mentioned that the aunt of Mr. DeYoung was sitting at the table. (Since Mr. DeYoung killed his parents, this would make the aunt related to the victims, as well as the guest of honor.) Soon after this, a lady came over and started to give PG dirty looks. Again, it was suggested that PG go sit  at the media table.
Before long, a guard waved PG to a spot outside the ropes. PG had to give up the green plastic ribbon, and wear a yellow plastic ribbon. He was introduced to a lady in a black pantsuit, who worked for the DCOR. The lady gave PG an information package, and told him to stay at the media table.
There were three areas, separated by ropes and distance. The media table, with a compensating water jug, was the place for PG. The anti death penalty crew had a roped off area. There was a third roped off area, for the pro death penalty witnesses. Two fat white women were at that picnic table. Five Corrections Department guards made a fourth group, along with a police dog. With the exception of Mr. DeYoung, a good time was had by all.
It was a good bit before the scheduled seven pm execution, and PG needed a way to pass the time. The information packet was read. The last meal for Mr. DeYoung was pizza, breadsticks, all fruit strawberry preserves, concord grape juice, and vanilla ice cream. A sheet of paper listed the drugs that would be used to terminate Mr. DeYoung. The 36 point type read Pentobarbital, Pancuronium Bromide, Potassim Chloride, and Ativan (sedative).
The information package had a report on inmates under death sentence. The report said that Leeland Braley “died of natural causes in 2010”. Mr. Braley committed suicide.
The time spent at the media table went smoothly, if a bit boring. The front part of the prison complex was green, with a lake behind the vigil area. It was as if it were a gated complex for luxury living. (Actually, it is a gated complex.) The sun went down, the air cooled off, and the crickets got caught up on gossip. At one point, the anti death penalty people got in a circle and held hands. Someone sang a song that sounded like “Amazing Grace”.
After a while, the two pro death penalty ladies left. The lady in the pantsuit walked up to PG, and said that the time of death was 8:04. According to the fishwrapper, his last words were “I’m sorry for everyone I’ve hurt.” The body was loaded into a black van owned by the Butts County Coroner. This van passed PG on I75 on the way back home.
Photography was not allowed at the vigil. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

PG needs a good excuse to go to town these days. Outwrite Books hosted a reading from The Fire in Moonlight: Stories from the Radical Faeries: 1975-2010, which qualifies as a good excuse. The first step was to leave Chamblee early, and hope to get a parking spot. The traffic did not cooperate.
Driving down Peachtree was another exercise in patience. PG turned left onto Sixth, and was surprised to see that the Armory building was still standing. It was assumed that the entire block was part of the high rise holocaust, that  conquered the tight squeeze district. PG proceeded eastward towards Piedmont, arrived at Tenth street, and found a parking spot. It was seven p.m., and the reading did not start for a half hour. It was time to walk around and take pictures.
The first stop was 939 Piedmont. PG’s mother lived there, and the building still stands. Piedmont was full of photo opportunities, until Sixth Street was reached. There was a man walking two dogs, one of whom posed cheerfully. The other dog barked at the camera, and was duly ignored.
At Sixth and Juniper, PG looked over the remains of the Armory. Beside the building was a wooden fence. Behind that fence was the parking lot for Backstreet, in all it’s asphalt glory. If those yellow stripes could talk, the stories they could tell. PG choked up a bit, to think that part of old midtown was still laying down.
It was getting close to Seven Thirty. PG got to the store to do a little socializing before the reading. The host, Franklin Abbott, talked about the book. He said that the southern faeries had gatherings before 1979, when Harry Hay is generally believed to have founded the radical faeries.
A parade of speakers came to the microphone to read from the book. PG found a spot to stand, near the right of the speaker, where he found a good camera angle. With a bit of shifting around, the speaker was blocking some lights on the sidewalk. PG listened to the readers. At one point he felt a tear in his eye. PG realized that he is both heir to, and participant in, a fabulous cultural heritage.
The reading was over much too soon. It was time to walk around the room and collect hugs. As a final moment of the oldtimers night out, PG stopped at the Spur/Conoco/Citgo station on Cheshire Bridge Road to buy gasoline. The gas was twenty cents a gallon cheaper than the stations on Piedmont, near the park. No police were in sight.

Lisa Baron is a big, cavernous piece of work. When she was married to Jimmy Baron , they lived in a McMansion on Osborne Road in Brookhaven. She is currently flogging a book, Life of the Party: A Political Press Tart Bares All. Ms. Baron has a podcast, a twitter account, a youtube account, and no shame. (The youtube account has one subscriber, jimmybaron. )
The Daily Beast has a review of the book, which is handy for copying the trademark quote. “When people find out that I worked for Ralph Reed during the 2000 Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, they always ask the same thing: Was it true Ralph told voters that Senator John McCain fathered a black child?” she writes. “And my answer is always the same, ‘How would I know? I was in a Greenville hotel room giving Ari Fleischer a blow job.”
This competes with the first line of the trashiest book PG ever read, Going Down With Janis, Janis Joplin’s Intimate Story. This is not an exact quote. ” I was naked, stoned blind on heroin, and the girl with her head between my legs, giving me head, was Janis Joplin”.
Lisa Baron is the former spokeslady for Ralph Reed. The medium is the message. Mr. Reed is a professional christian politician, lending expertise to candidates who can afford his services. When the lady, known at the time as Lisa Gimbel, was giving a “Lewinsky” to the spokesman for George W. Bush, Mr. and Mrs. Reed were in the hotel room next door. Mr. Reed has been quoted “I now realize that politics is a noble calling to serve G-d and my fellow man,”…“We’re interested in outlawing all pornographic and indecent communication, which makes it harder for a site to entice children in.”… “What I want to do is to ensure that cyberspace is family friendly and children friendly.”
PG first heard of Lisa Baron when she was writing a weekly column for the SundayPaper. She became notorious on December 11, 2005, with the publication of My big cavernous pit of love. ( This link is for a cached version of this column. The Sunday Paper no longer has archives available. The column we are discussing today is sandwiched between “Sucking the fat out” and “Leaving Atlanta for a bisexual plumber”.) The intro to this seminal piece is “I swear I don’t have a big vagina, but over the Thanksgiving holiday, I told my father-in-law I did. That’s right, I told him right to his face that his daughter-in-law, the woman his beloved first born son chose for a wife comes with a big cavernous pit of love.”

The State of Georgia is planning to poison Andrew Grant DeYoung tonight. Mr. DeYoung was convicted of a triple murder … DeYoung was sentenced to Death in October 1995 in Cobb County. He and a friend, David Michael Haggerty, 28, stabbed to death his parents and little sister ­ Gary Wayne, 42, Kathryn, 41, and Sarah, 14, ­ on July 15, 1993. Mr. DeYoung had no prior criminal record. Mr. Haggerty was sentenced to life in prison in July 1996.
This will be the second execution in Georgia using pentobarbital as a sedative. The manufacturer of the substance, a Danish company Lundbeck , is opposed to the use of it’s product for executions. There were reports that the substance did not work as expected during the execution of Roy Blankenship. A video will be made of the execution of Mr. DeYoung.
There seems to be little doubt that Mr. DeYoung committed the crime. The following is from a PRESS ADVISORY from the Georgia Attorney General.
During the months preceding the crime, DeYoung told his accomplice David Michael Hagerty that he wanted to start a business and hoped to find investors to finance the project. He later confided in Hagerty that he had been unsuccessful in finding financial backing, but that he had another solution. He estimated his parents’ estate to be worth $480,000, and, as Hagerty testified, “he felt that the only means to acquire the money was take his family’s life.” Subsequently, DeYoung told Hagerty that “the murders were going to have to take place,” and the two met to discuss preparations.
DeYoung formulated the plan to murder his parents and two siblings by slashing their throats, and then setting fire to the house. Several days before the planned event, DeYoung drove Hagerty to the DeYoung family’s church in Dunwoody. There they buried two containers — a footlocker and another box — which contained what DeYoung described to Hagerty as evidence which would incriminate him. In preparation for the murders, DeYoung and Hagerty purchased clothing and supplies, including an eleven-inch filet knife and two gasoline containers.
According to the plan, DeYoung and Hagerty traveled on foot to the DeYoung home at 2:00 a.m. on June 14, 1993. On the way, they retrieved boots, gloves and knives from a duffle bag which DeYoung had left in the woods earlier that evening. Both men were armed with knives. They approached the DeYoung home from the rear of the property where they retrieved two containers of gasoline they had left there earlier. When they reached the house, DeYoung took a handgun from his duffle bag and tucked it into his waistband. After he cut the telephone wires, he and Hagerty entered the house. DeYoung went upstairs where his parents and sister were asleep. He instructed Hagerty to go to a downstairs bedroom where his 16-year-old brother Nathan was asleep, and to cut his throat with the filet knife.
DeYoung stabbed his mother repeatedly while she was sleeping in her bedroom upstairs; her screams awakened his father. As he struggled with his father, DeYoung’s sister Sarah came to the doorway of their parents’ bedroom. DeYoung slashed his father to death, and then stabbed and killed Sarah in the hallway. Hagerty heard a commotion upstairs, and changed his mind about killing Nathan.
Nathan testified that he heard stomping and banging noises coming from upstairs, and he heard his sister cry out and call his name. Upon finding that the phone was dead, Nathan escaped through his bedroom window and ran to a neighbor’s house for assistance. Instead of setting fire to the house as they had planned, DeYoung and Hagerty searched the area for Nathan. Nathan returned with a neighbor who was armed with a gun. The neighbor noticed movement in the driveway, and observed a figure clad in black. As the neighbor was about to shoot at the man, he observed that it was Andrew DeYoung, and he called out, “Andy, what did you do?” The neighbor testified that he had no doubt the man he saw was the defendant. Nathan did not see the suspect’s face, but he testified that his “movements and his body size resembled Andy, my brother.”
DeYoung and Hagerty fled from the house in separate directions. Both had discarded their clothing, boots, and weapons along the way. They eventually met up later that morning at Hagerty’s home, where they concocted an alibi. Hagerty observed that DeYoung had injuries to his neck and forehead.
DeYoung drove back to his home at 10:30 a.m., seven hours after the murders. He told police that he had spent most of the night at Hagerty’s home, and he denied any involvement in the crimes. Authorities noted that he was calm and showed no grief over the deaths of his family members. There were scratches and abrasions present on his face, neck, hands and right arm. Hagerty was interviewed by police and gave several statements in which he admitted his participation in the crimes. He also led authorities to the clothing worn by him during the killings, and to the footlocker and box which had been concealed on the church property. These contained DeYoung’s shoulder holster and ammunition pouch and a hand-drawn map depicting the route to the DeYoung home. An arrow on the map pointed to a cul-de-sac where the house was located and was accompanied by the words “Just Do It.” Hagerty also led police to a gun that fit the holster recovered in the footlocker, and a Glock Model 81 military survival knife, which he identified as similar to the knife DeYoung used on the night of the crime. The victims’ wounds were consistent with that knife. DeYoung and Hagerty were arrested on the same day, and charged with the three murders.
The U.S. Court of Appeals issued an opinion on the case. It focuses on the penalty phase of the trial. There seems to be little doubt that Mr. DeYoung was guilty.
“Police arrived and found Gary, Kathryn, and Sarah DeYoung’s bodies. Sarah had scores of stab, cutting, and slash wounds on her neck, back, chest, arms, and hands. The wounds to the back of Sarah’s neck overlapped so much it was impossible to count them. There were at least seventeen wounds on Sarah’s back, several of which had prominent hilt marks. The blood spatter patterns indicated Sarah was on the ground while most injuries were inflicted.
Kathryn DeYoung, like Sarah, had many stab wounds and cuts on her neck, back, and torso. Among them were a seven-inch-long cutting wound on her thigh and a five-inch-deep stab wound on her back that penetrated into her chest and completely severed her aorta. One wound in her neck cut all the way through her trachea and also severed her left carotid artery and left external jugular vein. Kathryn had wounds going across her chest and wrapping around her right side, consistent with being attacked while lying down and rolling away from her attacker.
Gary DeYoung suffered numerous wounds to his face and upper torso. He had a cut over his right eyebrow ridge, a deep stab wound in front of his right ear that fractured his jaw, stab wounds in his upper arm and neck, and numerous stab wounds to his chest. Gary also had two wounds on his right thigh, a six-inch-deep wound on his back, and a large chopping-type wound on his right biceps.”
Mr. DeYoung was 19, and living at home when the murders took place. He was a Burger King manager, and there were reports that he sold marijuana at the restaurant. The court opinion reports : “Dr. Shaffer’s evaluation showed DeYoung had (1) an IQ of about 140, (2) an acute awareness of his intellectual abilities, and (3) no evidence of brain damage. DeYoung told Dr. Shaffer that his father “was of equally superior intellectual ability” and was one of the few people to whom DeYoung could relate, and that DeYoung and his father “competed intellectually.” DeYoung’s parents “were unquestioningly religious, and their unwavering acceptance of church dogma had caused [DeYoung] to seek out and explore as many different philosophies and religions as he could in a search for answers.”
Grandmother Letha DeYoung testified during the penalty phase of the trial. “I have happy memories of Andy. He was always pleasant. He was cooperative. He was friendly. He was willing to talk. He is verbal. Most of those memories are, of course, from before the teens, or early teens. I don’t know what Andy was like in his home after he became involved in Satanism. Satanism does something to a person.
Grandfather Dr. Marvin DeYoung, also testified “Andy has a good mind. He has been raised in a Christian church. He has gone to Christian school, and he has been baptized. And baptism means that that’s G-d’s mark on him. And when G-d marks somebody that means something to G-d, and G-d doesn’t forget that….[M]y plea for Andrew, for the jury, would be that if you give Andrew life in prison rather than death[,] I can see that he can become a real useful servant of G-d . . . .[The penal system] can be changed by somebody like Andrew, if he gives his life to Christ. He can become a real witness for the good news of salvation.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress
UPDATE: Andrew Grant DeYoung was executed Thursday July 21, 2011. Chamblee54 was in the media tent outside the prison. Chamblee54 has written about the death penalty many times.
This  is the most viewed story in Chamblee54 history. Thank you, and please come back.

PG was reading facebook, minding his own business, when he saw something that made his head explode. It started with a post with the splashy title White Liberals Have White Privilege Too! . There is something about online discussions about white privilege that make well meaning people want to type a lot of words into little boxes on the monitor. PG usually avoids such a conversation, as if it were an amway pitch, but made an exception this fateful afternoon.
The seminal article was written in 2007, and mentioned the media controversy of the day. It seemed as though Joe Biden said “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy … I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” Mr. Biden is currently the Vice President, serving under the FMAA.
There was a link to a bit of archaic html called ” Black People Love Us!, which tells the story of Sally and Johnny… “We are well-liked by Black people so we’re psyched (since lots of Black people don’t like lots of White people)!! We thought it’d be cool to honor our exceptional status with a ROCKIN’ domain name and a killer website!!” The fun starts when a facebook paster quoted a letter to BPLU.
“I swear, if one more white person says that they want to touch my hair, I am gonna puck a f*ckin mousetrap in it so their f*ckin hand gets caught in it. anyways… GET WITH THE PROGRAM! Have any of you ever heard of sarcasm? Irony? Satires? Canterbury Tales? Shakespeare’s “As You Like it” and “Much Ado About Nothing?” If some of you would actually get your heads out of your asses for one second and read a f*cking book or get educated, you will see that this website is NOT trying to break down PEOPLE, but break down BARRIERS and erase STEREOTYPES…With much love for Sally and Johnny… A Black University of Michigan Student with nappy-ass hair”.
The resulting visual ruined the day for PG. BUMS should keep his/her pants on, and not burden the world with the sight of  nappy hair on his/her posterior. The same thing goes for an asian, latino, caucasian, native american, or zorlack with this problem.
This is a two part feature. The second part is a repost, which relates to the content of part one. The pictures are from ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.





PG was recently reading a list of rules for writing , when he began to think of a few. A wordpad was opened, and before long 18 suggestions appeared. Many are only marginally about writing.
When you publish a list like this, you are placing a target on your back, with the word hypocrite written above. PG does not claim to take all these suggestions all the time. What follows is a goal to work for, not a script for a situation comedy.
When in doubt, shut up.
A halo is best worn over one ear.
If you want to be forgiven, forgive. If you want to be understood, understand.
There are few situations that cannot be made worse with anger and loud talk.
You have two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk.
A douche is a hygiene appliance. The verb form refers to using this device, for cleaning purposes. Neither the noun nor the verb is appropriate for use as an insult.
A sentence has one period, placed at the end. Do not place a period after every word to make a point. You should find another way to show emphasis.
Not everyone enjoys the sound of your voice as much as you do.
Do not place “ass” between and adjective and the object. “Ass” is a noun that refers to either a donkey or a butt. An adverb is used to modify an adjective, and is placed before the adjective. Using “ass” as a misplaced adverb is improper. This applies to “a$$”as well.
Before you “call out” somebody for “racism”, drape a towel over your mirror.
The third commandment says to not use the word G-d “in vain”. The G word should only be used for worship and respectful discussion. Improper uses include expressing anger, swearing to, selling life insurance, and pledging allegiance to a nationalist symbol.