Chamblee54

Democracy Now has a story today about American techno murder. The short version: “Late last month, a group of Pakistanis met in Islamabad to discuss the impact of U.S. drone strikes in their communities. One of the attendees was a boy named Tariq Aziz, who had volunteered to learn photography to begin documenting drone strikes near his home. Within 72 hours of the meeting, Tariq Aziz himself was killed in a U.S. drone strike. He was 16 years old. His 12-year-old cousin was also killed.” (The late Mr. Aziz is probably no relation to the former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, who is also named Tariq Aziz.)
The undeclared war against neutral Pakistan has gone on for some time now. Since we are technically not at war with Pakistan, we cannot deploy ground troops. The chore of murdering those who have been labeled “terrorists” has been assigned to unmanned vehicles, known as “drones”. No American pilot is at risk in these planes. Given the state of anti aircraft defenses in Pakistan, it is arguable that a manned aircraft would face very little risk.
There is something … unfair … about the wealthiest, most technically advanced nation on the planet killing illiterate peasants on the other side of the planet by remote control. It makes dumping napalm out of a B52 look dignified. It is not an even contest. The fact is that many of the admitted militants are leftovers from the American struggle against the Soviet Union. We created these armies, and now that they no longer suit our purposes, we try to kill them.
Drone strikes are also extremely expensive. The jet fuel, the high tech “smart bombs”, and the spare parts for the drones cost a bunch of money. At a time when the USA is broke, and politicians are clamoring to cut spending, it just does not make sense to spend megabucks murdering Muslims.
A few comments were made about drones on June 29, 2011. The story is : JOHN BRENNAN, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR COUNTERTERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY, DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ON AL QAIDA. Mr. Brennan’s lips were moving when he said “In fact, I can say that the types of operations that the U.S. has been involved in, and within the counterterrorism realm, that nearly, for the past year, there hasn’t been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities we’ve been able to develop.”
Others disagree. There is also the matter of people snitching on people they have a dispute with. Once the US “intelligence” gets the word that someone is a “militant”, there is no way to confirm this. The word of the snitch is taken without question. Which brings us back to the case of Tariq Aziz. Was he targeted for death? He had volunteered to work on documenting the damage from drone strikes. Could he have been labeled a militant, and murdered on purpose? Or was it a “terrible mistake”? Or, maybe his twelve year old cousin, Waheed Khan, was the target of the raid.
PRATAP CHATTERJEE: Exactly, Juan. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism , where I work, has created a database of everybody that has been killed since these drone strikes began a number of years ago under Bush. Eighty-five percent of them have taken place under Barack Obama. And we have used the most conservative counting methodology that we can. We only record a death if it is confirmed by multiple sources. So if it’s reported by AP and then re-reported by the New York Times, we don’t count it. It has to be reported by multiple sources. And using that methodology, we have counted over 2,300 people that have been killed, and as many as 3,000. And when we have found an individual below the age of 18—a child, in other words—we have identified them separately. And we have documented at least 175 children, together with the number of women that have been killed in these strikes, that have been casualties of this secret war in Afghanistan. So, Waheed Khan, age 12, and Tariq Aziz, age 16, were the 174th and 175th documented child casualties in this war.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

This is a repost of a repost . It is about life after death and belief. Originally, the comment was going to be about gaining life after death through belief in Jesus, but the comment was over the 22 word limit. To get to the limit, the reference to Jesus was taken out. Did this substantially alter the meaning of the statement? Is it the matter of belief that counts, or does it have to be a specific belief about Jesus? And why should this matter to living people ?
PG feels the pain that Jesus has caused him on a daily basis. He is not likely to change his mind about this religion, no matter how many people talk about it. It is unlikely that very many Jesus worshipers have changed their mind either…questioning your beliefs is the opposite of “faith”, and many are scared of going to hell if they have the wrong opinions. Somehow, this is not how PG wants to live.
PG left a comment at TwentyTwoWords in August, and thought about it later. Today, after he got back from the river, he set out to find the thread. Looking for a comment at a popular blog can be an act of faith, with no guarantee of results. PG was lucky, and found his comment fairly quickly.
Twenty Two Words is a regular stop for PG. The idea is to say what you need to say in 22 words or less. The owner of the blog does not enforce this rule, and few commenters practice it.
The opening serve of this thread was “Do difficult times make you more or less empathetic? For me the answer is both. Some struggles I’ve faced make me more understanding of others. But sometimes I feel like: “I got over it; why can’t you?” (36 words). The comments took on the colors of Jesus Worship, which is to be expected at TwentyTwoWords.
The first Chamblee54 entry was comment number 7. “I feel that way about life after death obsessed Jesus Worshipers. Is there an etymological link between arrogant and air head?”
Christen replied “Speaking of life after death, I’m just starting Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven and very convinced on the importance of being much more focused on our life after death. What did you mean by that, Chamblee?”
chamblee54 says: “I feel the emphasis placed on life after death is mistaken. I disagree with the Jesus worship beliefs on life after death.”
christen says: “Thanks for the reply, chamblee. I think I’m either inexperienced in “the emphasis placed on life after death” debate/issue (?) and “Jesus worship beliefs” or just don’t understand what you’re saying. Either way, I know I can’t wait to be in that place with that person !”
At this point, PG saw the dialog spinning off topic. This was his fault, to a degree, and he felt a responsibility to bring it back into line. The suspicion was that Christen was a Jesus Worshiper, who had never questioned a set of beliefs handed to her. A key portion of this was the life after death issue, which to PG is a fundamental flaw with Jesus Worship Religion. ( PG disagrees with the concept of attaining life after death through holding certain beliefs about Jesus. PG also disagrees with the emphasis place on life after death in Jesus Worship. People need to get a life.)
The answer PG came up with was “This is starting to get off topic. I suspect you have never questioned the concept of acquiring life after death through beliefs.” That clocks in at precisely 22 words. The original comment was about acquiring life after death through belief in Jesus.
To bring the comment under the 22 word limit, PG decided to eliminate the reference to Jesus. And there was a realization that the fundamental meaning of the comment was not changed. If the status of one’s soul, post mortem, can be changed by a belief during life…a highly suspect concept to PG…does it really matter what the belief is?

This is a repost This is too funny – I still have tears in my eyes! Finally, a chain letter that I don’t mind forwarding. It’s funny (don’t break chain)
A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done. The monsignor replied, ‘When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.’
So next Sunday he took the monsignor’s advice. At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeded to talk up a storm. Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:
1) Sip the vodka, don’t gulp. 2) There are 10 commandments, not 12. 3) There are 12 disciples, not 10. 4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated. 5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass. 6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C. 7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook. 8 ) David slew Goliath; he did not kick the shit out of him. 9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don’t say he was stoned off his ass. 10)We do not refer to the cross as the ‘Big T.’ 11)When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, ‘Take this and eat it for it is my body.’He did not say ‘Eat me’. 12)The Virgin Mary is not called ‘Mary with the Cherry. 13)The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God.. 14) There will be a taffy pulling contest at St. Peter’s, not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy’s.
The Origination of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on. The one who breaks the chain will have bad luck. Do not keep this letter. Do not send money just forward it to five of your friends to whom you wish good luck and a great laugh..You will see that something good happens to you four days from now if the chain is not broken….

This is a repost . These quotes about journalism are courtesy of Wikipedia . Pictures are from The Library of Congress // ” Journalism largely consists in saying “Lord Jones Dead” to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.— G. K. Chesterton, The Wisdom of Father Brown // It’s all storytelling, you know. That’s what journalism is all about.— Tom Brokaw // Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read.— Frank Zappa, in Linda Botts, Loose Talk// Journalism is literature in a hurry.— Matthew Arnold // Knowing what goes on in the world by reading a newspaper is like telling time using the second hand of a watch.– Unknown //Journalism consists in buying white paper at two cents a pound and selling it at ten cents a pound.— Charles Anderson Dana // Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war; you go into battle not when you are ready but when action offers itself.— Norman Mailer, The Presidential Papers // War correspondents … see a great deal of the world. Our obligation is to pass it on to others.— Margaret Bourke-White // Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.— John Hersey // Life is bad fiction — Unknown // A journalist is stimulated by a deadline; he writes worse when he has time.— Karl Kraus // News is what a chap who doesn’t care much about anything wants to read. And it’s only news until he’s read it. After that it’s dead. — Evelyn Waugh, 1938 // When journalese was at its rifest the Ministry of Health was established – possibly a coincidence. — John Galsworthy, 1924 // Never forget that if you don’t hit a newspaper reader between the eyes with your first sentence, there is no need of writing a second one. — Arthur Brisbane, c. 1900 // A reporter is always concerned with tomorrow. There’s nothing tangible of yesterday. All I can say I’ve done is agitate the air ten or fifteen minutes and then boom – it’s gone. — Edward R. Murrow, December 31, 1955 // Journalists say a thing that they know isn’t true, in the hope that if they keep saying it long enough it will be true. — Arnold Bennett, 1918//A newspaper is known by the columnists it keeps. — Irvin S. Cobb // In the real world, the right thing never happens at the right place and at the right time. It is the job of journalists and historians to make it appear that it has. — Mark Twain // Exaggeration of every kind is as essential to journalism as it is to dramatic art, for the object of journalism is to make events go as far as possible. Thus it is that all journalists are, in the very nature of their calling, alarmists; and this is their way if giving interest to what they write. Herein they are like little dogs, if anything stirs, they immediately set up a shrill bark.— Arthur Schopenhauer // Editor: a person employed by a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed. — Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary of Epigrams (1914) // For most of the history of American journalism, the independence and high quality of the American press have been tied … to the commercial spirit and the need to offer his money’s worth to a purchaser in the open market. — Daniel J. Boorstin // So much for Objective Journalism. Don’t bother to look for it here—not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms. — Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 // Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe. — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Charles Yancey, January 6, 1816 // In Czechoslovakia there is no such thing as freedom of the press. In the United States there is no such thing as freedom from the press. — Martina Navratilova // The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. — George Mason, principal author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) // Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all. It is not a figure of speech, or a witty saying; it is a literal fact, – very momentous to us in these times. — Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-worship, and the Heroic in History (1859) // There is simply no telling in advance which of us will stumble upon true news and valuable thought. The dirty secret of our business is that we are not, after all, journalists, only scavengers. — The New York Times, Editorial (1981) // If somebody came from Mars to America and went around for months or years, and then you asked them who has the best jobs, they would say the journalists, because the journalists get to make momentary entries into people’s lives when they are interesting, and get out when they cease to be interesting. — Bob Woodward, 2003 // In America the president reigns for four years, and journalism governs forever and ever.— Oscar Wilde // Journalists are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization. — George Bernard Shaw // Provided I do not write about the government, religion, politics, morals, people in power, official institutions, the Opera, the other theatres, or about anybody attached to anything, I am free to print anything, subject to the inspection of two or three censors. — Pierre Beaumarchais // They kill good trees to put out bad newspapers. — James G. Watt // I look forward to these confrontations with the press to kind of balance up the nice and pleasant things that come to me as President. — Jimmy Carter // To tell the truth you have to write fiction. — Unknown // Journalists do not live by words alone, although sometimes they have to eat them. — Adlai Stevenson III // If a newspaper prints a sex crime, it’s smut, but when the New York Times prints it, it’s a sociological study. — Adolph S. Ochs // If Christ came back to earth now he would not attack the high priests, but the low journalists. — Søren Kierkegaard // I don’t so much mind that newspapers are dying — it’s watching them commit suicide that pisses me off. — Molly Ivins // In the spider-web of facts, many a truth is strangled. — Paul Eldridge // selah

PG wanted to read up on the Herman Cain scandal. Redstate quotes an NRA official as saying that “nearly all of them had heard rumors about “Herman’s got women issues”. They go into great detail, which should be cause for merriment for the BHO reelection campaign. But that is not why this post is going up. Chamblee54 just puts up text to go between the pictures anyway. These pictures today are from The Library of Congress .
The Field Negro is a Jamaican attorney in Killadelphia. Sometimes he is amusing, and sometimes he makes you mad. PG thought he would have some insights into Mr. Cain. Field says that if it was a “sister”, then this would be no big deal, but that it is probably white women, which is another ballgame. That is not the reason for this post.
These dog stories keep getting in the way. It seems like somebody , somewhere, said that Herman hit on a lady at a radio station. The talent at this Iowa station is Steve Deace, whose slogan is “Fear God. Tell the Truth. Make Money.” Mr. Deace issued a statement.
“No one affiliated with our radio program has anything else to say about Herman Cain’s awkward and inappropriate comments made to our staff referenced in a recent Politico story beyond what we have already said. Sadly, those comments are no more inappropriate and awkward than Mr. Cain’s multiple positions on the sanctity of human life, his support of the TARP, his not knowing China already has nuclear weapons, and his refusal to defend marriage. The fact that someone so uninformed and morally inconsistent has made it this far in a crucial Republican presidential primary, only to finally be vetted by his personal life, is an example of why so many Americans have lost faith in the system. Instead of debating issues we debate cults of personality. This sort of personality-driven politics helped Obama get elected four years ago, and look how well that turned out”
The featured story today is something Field talks about. It seems as though some people like to have an obese person sit on them, until they cannot breathe. This custom is known as “squashing”. This is what most of these videos are about. Field has a link, to the same video with a movie ad.
The second half of today’s feature is comments about squashing. /// u so nasty field negro thats where ur mind is most of the time which is why u let buceta breaf banks post on ur ite muah muah muah muah muah muah muah this is the funniest shyt ever mane! that fat chick is a sicko she prolly sits on baby chicks too jess like those other nasty animal squashing videos u into some kinky shyt nucka! /// she prolly likes sitting on weak ultra pale wite guy nerds who have a power fetish what a disgusting sow! /// Field, didn’t you post about a fat lady who murdered her boyfriend by sitting on him in bed and got off without a sentence? It seems her black boyfriend was messing around on her and it really pissed her off. For the life of me, I don’t know why any man would want a big fat women who weighs so much she could kill him by sitting on him. These fat women are dangerous. These women ought to be registered as lethal weapons. /// you’re a garbage human being and there is no reason you need to be on this planet /// I want to be in that guy’s place ))) /// i have the wierdest boner…. /// Is he died? XD /// This is huge in England. what is she talking about /// When she sat on him it reminded me of the house falling on the Witch in Wizard of Oz /// “That damn woman is to damn big for her not to have some damn clothes on”!! “Uhhhhh”!!! “Just nasty looking all of that fat I know she stank”!! “Keep your damn clothes on”!! “DISGUSSING”!! :(( /// I know the Jersey Shore cast likes to “smush” but I don’t think this is what they had in mind. They should send Massive Mocha to Zuccotti Park.
Before we return to the pictures, there is another dog story. This one is from * pajamas media *. Adding to the ongoing Herman Cain sexual harassment controversy, two sources have now confirmed to PJ Media that a female employee of the National Restaurant Association told associates she had been brought by Mr. Cain to his Crystal City, Virginia residence where she alleged “he had taken advantage of me.” Both sources claim to be politically conservative. … The name of the woman — who was in her early twenties at the time of the alleged incident — has been confirmed by PJ Media. We have chosen not to reveal her identity for reasons of discretion. … According to the female source, Mr. Cain and the woman had been with a large group for a long evening of food and drink at the Ciao Baby Cucina, a restaurant near NRA headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. This was a normal routine, as the trade association worked with the food and beverage industry. Afterwards, Mr. Cain allegedly took the woman by taxi to his apartment, where she spent the night and woke up.

PG was not inclined to discuss the sexual harassment claims against Herman Cain. But then he read a report from Fox News. There was a typo in the piece that simply cannot be ignored.
“Sullivan also noted that backers of Mitt Romney’s campaign are coonected to the National Restaurant Association, though the Romney campaign responded simply that any suggestion it pushed the Cain story is “not true.”
Coon is sometimes used to describe African Americans. It is not a compliment.
Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”

The legend is that Ernest Hemingway started the fad for six word stories. “For sale, baby shoes, never worn”. After he shotgunned his way to eternity, the idea kicked around for a while. Then twitter emerged in it’s 141 character glory, and someone started #6wordstory. Maybe one of them uses 141 characters. Here is a selection of these 6ws. PG may write one, or even five, just so he can say he is a trendy kind of guy. After copying and formatting these selections, we realize that Hemingway did it better than 98% of the tweeters. Pictures for this waste of bandwidth are from The Library of Congress // poetry doze you stick to prose // his name is rumplestiltskin! THE END // Austin is Gorgeous. End of Story. // time to bang out this // She was lost, looking for light. // You See What Had Happend Was… // and this weave saved my life // RTD finally leaves, fandom finally rejoices. // Right here could be the key, // spilt drink, bag hooked, hit face // Regina, you’re wearing sweatpants. It’s Monday. // once apon a time the end // I died. He lived. She smiled. // uhh , see what had happened was … // Jordan Witzigreuter is perfect go away // walk a mile in my shoes … // love begins and ends with you….” // Love hurts. Choose Vodka or Henny // I came. I saw. I conquered. // they met, they married, they died. // I just got some great head! // I try, I hurt, I need! // she foolishly fell for the “player” // The haters will always hate, jealous. // my life is gonna be legendary. // Six chambers. One bullet. Favorable odds. // There was a frog, it died // Kameron has one nice trumpet. Bye. // Belly fat killed the cats owner // But you are never wrong, Sherlock. // Darth Vader murió siendo Anakin Skywalker. :) // I Got So Drunk Last Night // He tried his best. Failed anyway. // The cow jumped over the moon. // “She doesn’t remember me. Yet.” // They lived happily ever after. Not. // Music runs rampant through my veins // Together, Forever, Through whatever, Whenever”” // “Then Buffy staked Edward. The End.” // Remember the American dream of possiblities // I’ve never been to Mount Vesuvius // “Who’re you?” “I used to know.” // Hockey’s half mental, half being mental. // “Common Sense, is not Common tho” // Affection. Erection. No protection. Inspection. Infection. // ugly girls are addicted to photoshop. // well, see what happened was i…. // Kameron has one nice trumpet. Bye. // cow, lives on moon, dies tragically. // she licked.i cummed.the end. // tried, failed, tried something else, succeeded.” // Head and shoulders saved my life. // drop the panties and bend over. // i couldnt think of anything else! // he inserted it, then she farted // Remember clean air and clean water // One Day You Disappeared The End // There was this onetime in bandcamp” // they hated eachother, now their friends. // i like food more than you. // dear homework, nobody likes you. Thankyou. // Guess our mascot, win a prize! // Hakuna Matata,what a wonderful phrase // And then @RomeoMiller proposed to me. // Old classmates. One night stand. Strangers. // She was ugly. She became Beautiful. // i kiss straight guys always, always // Political unity ends in international disaster. // Niall James Horan is simply beautiful. // best friend is a male // And they lived happily ever after! // i banged harry, it was hottttttttt // You are smarter than a chimp // Yes I’ve changed. Pain changes people! // get knocked down, get back up // The rain made hearts into livers. // Ghosts broke mom’s crystal bud vase // Hearts hear truth better than ears // you know i got the burner. // This was more entertaining than Twilight. // You wanna be high for this. // That Baby Don’t Look Like Me!! // They kissed, died, woke up, killed // The gun smoldered. He walked away. // I’m more popular than you are // when i have food, I’m happy. // I’m done. you can have him. // took a dump, no paper, nightmare. //  Mariah Yeater’s a hoe…..The end. // I hate trending topics about Bieber. // cool story bro, tell it again // “He lied + she believed = trust issues . // Got To Get Back To Hogwarts. // real friends turn into fake friends // i discovered Nutella. best day ever. // bring me food, then i’m happy // Cool Story Bro, I Don’t Care. // soo , you giving head or what ? // Then Bella killed herself. The end. // Your mother should have swallowed you // I came, I smashed, I left…. // You’re Born…You Die…The End // “A BIRD was once THE WORD” // I was married for 72 days. // Oh my God! You killed Kenny! // that baby dont look like me // give me head not a headache // While editing these 6wss, PG decided to move the mouse to his left hand. While doing this, he knocked over a cup of coffee.This is a message to keep the mouse on the right side of the desk. // Carl Hiassen says that selling a story to the movies is like sending a child to the Charles Manson day care center. // Two brothers, ties, and a whale // Chicago Is So Two Years Ago. // The Black Person Always Dies First // Nineteen years later, all was well. // the cat went swimming but drowned. // I smoked a joint, I’m stoned // drop out of school, train pokemon. // is that wart or rice crispie // Wow seriously please go kill yourself. // Exposition, conflict, action, climax, dénouement… // One. direction. bed. now. forever. happy. // I wish I could count – // My brother killed all my clan. // and he ate the entire penguin // HistoryNeedsYou Sir James Pennyman // “Would you like fries with that?”-// Never too early to be drunk // WHY MUST I CHASE THE CAT!???! // Failed a test. Having a drink. // He smashed raw, then pissed flames.. // Named my pipe “Lucky.” It broke. // Two tickets, to the gun show! // Alex sold lemonade to beat cancer. // I blacked out at Arbys again. // You do you, I do me // selah.

There idea of a holiday party is coke and lots of cupcakes…..somebody’s gonna puke and colorful it will be! (fb) /// It has come to my attention that everyone except for me hates candy corn. If you encounter any candy corn, please send it to me. SEND ME YOUR CANDY CORN. (fb) /// A Jewish sailor was shipwrecked on a desert island and the first thing he did was build two synagogues. Years later when he was rescued people were bewildered and asked him why he built two synagogues, to which he replied: “Oh that other one… I would NEVER go there!” /// “Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the barbarians.” – Urban II /// My “Week Of Not Checking Into OK Cupid So I Don’t Hook Up With Another Fat Chick” lasted four hours. On the plus side, she was the smallest one yet. (tln) /// So he was supposed to be helping me with my math but instead we ended up drinking coconut rum in his basement and having sex. I think my mom was right, getting a tutor will be good for me. Relieves the stress. (tln) /// He threw up, and left his credit card next to the puddle. He kept on saying he wanted to pay for the damages. (tln) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE : You can’t date food (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE your female friend who told you your bf was no good is with him now (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE: Yue b3 textn lik diz :( (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE – Nobody likes you. (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE ; These No Good Niqqa’s ! (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE: Earth Men are Boring and you’re waiting for the right tentacle monster to sweep you off your feet and simultaneously (tw) /// Reasons youre single – cuz your such a hoe that when you die they gonna have to burry you in a’ Y’ shaped coffin. R-T if you get it. (tw) /// Lindsay Lohan’s line of coke #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage (tw) /// I use to fight everyday to prove I wasn’t a stereotype. Now I just think you’re a douchenozzle if you see me as one. #dowhatIwant (fb) /// One never truly finishes an essay, but yet we publish them anyway. (Aph) /// Ambition is the cancer of happiness. (Aph) /// We’re all victims of someone’s beliefs, namely our own. (Aph) /// I don’t want to be associated with any academic discipline that allows people like me to be members of it. (Aph) /// Man is the only beast that tries to deny his beastliness. (Aph) /// Marketing: it gets people to buy new things that look used and used things that look new. (Aph) ///this bartender needs to lay off the meth but damn thats a strong drink (fb) /// I think some people wasted to much money on Philosophy classes. (fb) /// “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”-John Milton, Paradise Lost (fb) /// “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.” – Richard Feynman (fb) /// Trick or treaters just rang our doorbell Give them the moldy beer cans, we need to get rid of those (tln) /// Blow job bear ended up in my bed last night. She didn’t live up to her costume. (tln) /// He gave up on mugging us when Dave wouldn’t stop laughing. He was wiggling his finger at the knife and making baby noises and giggling. The guy just walked away. (tln) /// I feel like I just tasted lung cancer. (tln) /// Automated bus service announcement, in loud cheerful voice: Thank you for riding the MTA! Bus driver, grumbling: They don’t really mean it… (ony) /// Administrative assistant: I just wanted to touch bases with you before I touch base with you later. (ony) /// Boss: We used to have this character come over to clean out our septic tank and he would be eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the same time. Coworker, pushing lunch plate away: I guess I’m through with this. (ony) /// who was wearing the fake mustache? I just found one in my cleavage (tln) /// You tried to initiate “Occupy McDonald’s” when the cashier didn’t give you enough ketchup. (tln) /// “If you think you understand it, that is surely a sign that you don’t” (fb) /// #thingslongerthankimsmarriage The time a black person gets to live in a horror film. (tw) /// #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage The line of trick or treaters outside Casey Anthony’s house. (tw) /// #thingslongerthankimsmarriage ………. Do you want me tweet about that?? (tw) /// #thingslongerthankimsmarriage needs to stop trending… only thing shes done for society is let a mediocre sextape get leeked.. (tw) /// #thingslongerthankimsmarriage LeBron’s lonely ring finger! (tw) /// My first ride without training wheels on my bike #thingslongerthankimsmarriage (tw) /// Passwords must be at least ten characters long, contain both upper- and lower-case letters, contain at least one numeral, and must contain non-alphanumeric characters. Passwords must be changed every sixty days. TRANSLATION: We’d really just rather you forget your password each time you try to log in. (fb) /// “The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life.” – George Carlin fb Procrastination is underrated. (fb) /// my goal was to make out with as many people dressed as batman as possible. I have my priorities. (tln) /// I thought of you this morning when I woke up in a bed with a girl wrapped in duct tape dressed as a coors light can. (tln) /// halloween is the only time that anne boleyn, the joker, a cowgirl, and a mexican man complete with sombrero and poncho can all hit the same blunt (tln) /// My goal tonight is to get arrested because what cop can say they have ever arrested a giant sperm before. God I love halloween (tln) /// WARNING!!!! some photos will be offensive. If you do not have a sense of political correctness or silliness, or lack the potential to poke fun at the USA, gender or cultural icons, these photos are not for you!! (fb) /// “A good conscience is a continual Christmas.” — Ben Franklin (fucl) /// Newton was born the year that Galileo died. (fucl) /// Cole Porter’s summer home was called No Trespassing. (fucl) /// The #thingsonmymind could probably get me locked up. (tw) /// I often thought of killing myself but then I wanted lunch. – Paula Fox (tw) /// All my thoughts are second thoughts. – Aldous Huxley (tw) /// REASONS YOURE SINGLE GOD HATES YOU (tw) /// if women also participated in #NoShaveNovember there would be a huge drop in November pregnancies. (tw) /// The cheapest is rarely the least expensive. (Aph) /// Amassing an easy fortune often becomes a great misfortune. (Aph) /// Reality wears many different masks. (Aph) /// The trouble with reality is that it doesn’t seem all that real. (Aph)/// When all else fails, wax epistemic. (Aph) ///“The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic and carrying innumerable passengers. … It seems safe to say that such ideas are wholly visionary.” — Harvard College Observatory astronomer William Henry Pickering, 1908 (fucl) /// Not everyone agrees with me. I don’t know why but not everyone agrees with me. Eventually they will.” –Michele Bachmann /// I think there’s a fine line between being a slut and being classy. I walk in between that line. /// Yikes! Should I alert our neighbors? (fb) /// Men are like the letter Q, and they are all zeros with a small tail to it ! (fb) /// “You are lame and having sex with you is like going to the dentist, sit back, relax, and you won’t feel a thing” (fb) /// NOTE: The incorrect spelling was done intentionally as a means of better expressing the message. (fb) when someone’s talking too much, ask them, “is my pants zipper down?” when they say no, tell them, “then why is your mouth open?” (fb) /// Man: Hey baby, what’s your sign? Woman: Do not enter. (fb) /// “I long ago realized that if everybody likes you, you’re really not even close to maximizing your true Heartless Bitch potential.” (fb) /// “The law makes the silliest damned fuss about death. People die by the thousands every day; but simply because someone has had the energy and enterprise to assist old D’Courtney to his demise, the law insists upon turning him into an enemy of the people. I think it’s idiotic, but please don’t quote me.” Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man (fb) /// These visits to alternative reality are from a variety of sources. Included are Facebook (fb), twitter (tw), Futility Closet (fucl), All Aphorisms, All The Time  (Aph), Texts From Last Night (tln) , and Overheard in New York, (ony). /// selah.

There are sayings you hear when growing up, and they won’t go away. Then you get older, and you realize they were true.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right”. This is a handy argument tactic. When someone complains about something, the easiest remedy is to complain about them. It seldom helps solve the problem.
“You shouldn’t discuss politics or religion at work”. This is why sports are so popular to talk about, except during football season.
“If you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all”.
Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

It has been said that PG has too much time on his hands. This is not always meant as a compliment. Yesterday was the last day of a campaign to clean out the camera shots folder. 566 pictures from the Little Five Points Halloween Parade stood in the way. After a while, the last picture was processed. In the background was a series of podcasts. In the spirit of the holiday, PG was dressed as a human.
The ear tickling was found at Booknotes. Authors promoting new product came to a show, on C-Span, between April 1989 and December 2004. The show was hosted by Brian Lamb. When you click on the links, they will start to play automatically. The sound usually needs to be turned up. A transcript is supplied, which makes a blogger’s life much easier. The authors are twenty years younger than today, which is usually a good thing.
Michael Howard had a book, “The First World War”. This conflict has always fascinated PG. It is little thought of today, in the United States, even though it created the conditions for many of today’s problems. It was incredibly bloody. Germany lost 1.8 million men, France lost 1.4 million men (out of a population of 30 million), England lost .74 million men, and the USA lost .11 million men. (“Then in the summer of 1918, in late sort of May and June, the Germans were attacking so strongly, so successfully, that it looked as if the whole line was going to break. And the Americans then did start putting in their troops. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the great — the — the great battle of the Big One, your 1st Division. And then increasing number of troops until when the war ended in November, 1918, there were then two full American divisions, with a lot coming up behind. And that was when they had their casualties. It doesn`t look as if they had very many, but if you consider that those casualties they suffered were all suffered within about six weeks, you realize how much they were actually not only involved in the fighting but … getting mown down by German machine guns.”)
Almost no one today knows why this gruesome war was fought. Mr. Howard has a short version. “LAMB: Well, go back to the very beginning. And you point out Archduke Franz Ferdinand. HOWARD: Yes. LAMB: Who was he, and why is he always the object of where the war started? HOWARD: Well, he was the heir to the throne of the Habsburg empire — Austria-Hungary — which was one of the great powers. And he was assassinated by a terrorist. It was a nationalist terrorist from — basically, from Serbia. And he was backed by — covertly by the Serbian army and possibly by the Serbian government. LAMB: You say he was 19 years old, the assassin? HOWARD: About that. I think he was 17, actually. I don`t quite know. But he was a typical young, idealistic terrorist who wanted to see Serbia free from the dominance of the Austrian empire. The Austrian empire was multi-national. It prided itself on having about 12 different nationalities under the imperial rule. Just — some of them were Serbs. Just outside the Austrian empire, there was an aggressive, ambitious Serbia that wanted to sort of have all the Serbs under its command in Belgrade. And it`s — including a number of them who were in Austria. Now, when this terrorist assassinated the heir to the throne, this created a shock comparable, in its way, to 9/11 here. It was regarded as something so outrageous, so abominable, that some kind of revenge had got to be taken. And for the Austrians, this seemed the moment to crush the Serbs for good. There was a general feeling throughout the Austrian empire that We`ve got to finish with these people. They`re bad guys. And they knew, however, that if they did declare war on — on Serbia, Serbia had a patron, who was Russia, and Russia would try to deter the Austrians from attacking Serbia. And if they went through with it, then the Russians were likely to declare war on Austria. The Austrians would have been deterred from attacking Serbia because of this if they did not have the Germans behind them. And they therefore turned to the Germans and said, If we get involved with a war in Russia, will you back us? And the Germans said, Yes, we will. And then one thing led to another. The Austrians did declare war on Serbia. The Russians then did declare war on Austria. The Germans then did declare war on Russia. And Russia`s ally, France, declared war on Germany. It was one of these awful (UNINTELLIGIBLE) escalation. Something which looked sort of fairly small and fairly local escalated into a — not simply a European war but because the British came in, it then became a world war fought all over the globe.”
After the millions of men died, what had been accomplished? LAMB: Who got what they wanted out of all of this? HOWARD: That`s a jolly good question, nobody really.
Charles Fecher edited “The Diary of H.L. Mencken”. Henry Louis Mencken was a writer and editor, who was much beloved by the smart people of his day. He is little known today.
The diary is rather controversial. Mr. Mencken is shown to be an anti semite and a racist. “It is impossible to talk about anything resembling discretion or judgment in a colored woman. They are all essentially childlike, and even hard experience does not teach them anything.” Mr. Mencken was a bitter opponent of Franklin D. Roosevelt, maintaining that the New Deal violated every aspect of the Constitution exept for the prohibition of quartering troops in private residences.

At the bottom of the page, the viewer is directed to other shows “YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:” This led PG to a chat with Murry Kempton. Mr. Kempton was, before his death in 1997, a New York journalist. He was much loved by the people who write New Yorker magazine, and inform people west of the Hudson River about such things. Mr. Kempton tells about Paul Robeson, Malcolm X (Mr. Malcolm), Richard Nixon, and a few others.
Eric Rauchway wrote “Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America.” This incident has been discussed at Chamblee54. The shooting of William McKinley has been largely forgotten, but propelled Theodore Roosevelt into the White House. Mr. Roosevelt ran as a third party candidate in 1912. (This made certain the victory of Woodrow Wilson. Within a year, the Federal Reserve Bank was established. A few years later, America entered World War One.)
Before a speech, Mr. Roosevelt was shot in the chest. The text of his speech deflected the bullet, and he made the speech anyway. “Well, the bullet went through his speech, as I say, which is in his breast pocket and hit him in the fleshy part of the chest, it appears, and he kind of looked down at himself, and he didn’t think that there was any arterial blood coming out, and he coughed, which he said, you know, he remembered from being a soldier that was one way to tell if there was internal bleeding. He didn’t cough up any blood, and so he said to himself, well, I can go on and do this. Now, this was a considerable risk. I mean, whatever precautions he took, to go walking around with a bullet in your chest is never a good idea. But he thought it was worth the risk to achieve this political end of giving this important speech.”
After McKinley died, there was a controversy about the competence of the Doctor’s who treated him. There was one more matter. “LAMB: Didn`t you say there was a dispute over what happened to his stomach? RAUCHWAY: Yes. When I was looking into the book, I talked to a Buffalo doctor, a pathologist, who said, Well, you know, when I was doing my residency here, there was a story going around that his stomach was on display and that you could see the bullet hole in the back of the stomach, but I never saw it, he said. And apparently, nobody has, either. But it`s part of Buffalo lore.
Martin Marty wrote a book about Martin Luther. This is the one interview that PG found boring, and did not finish. There is one good quote about Mr. Luther in his older years. “But the Reformation didn`t go the way he wanted it to. He really was sour on Wittenberg. He didn`t even like to go back to it. He thought that Germany would have moral reform that it didn`t have. He thought that everybody would come flocking to his catechism, and he had to have the police, I guess you`d say, enforce that. So he was a very disappointed person, frustrated that the Jews didn`t convert. He thought they`re all going to convert when you get — he read the Hebrew scriptures as the Christian Bible. And so when Jesus comes along, that`s just fulfilling that. So why wouldn`t the Jews all come running? And well, it must be the rabbis who are holding (ph) them. So he spewed out terribly anti-Semitic things … The empire is breaking up. You`re facing the issue of the Turk, the Muslim. He calls them Mohammaten (ph). Somebody said they — the Turk is Luther`s luck. He wouldn`t have been alive if it weren`t for the threat of the Turk along the way. He read the Quran — bad paraphrase, but he at least knew what was there. And sometimes he sounded friendlier to the Turk than he did to the pope. In his last years, too, the pope had become for him the anti-Christ. And the language that people then used — there`s a whole volume of exchange between Luther and Thomas More, whom we think of as a cool humanist, “The Man for All Seasons. The language they use is — we couldn`t use it on this program or anywhere else. That`s just how it was. And that shows up mainly in his late years.”
Winston Groom became famous as the author of Forrest Gump. He is also a military historian, and wrote a book about the Battle of Ypres (pronounced EEP), A Storm In Flanders. The book is about one of the battles in World War One. There is a military cemetery at Ypres, and a monument to 80,000 British soldiers who died, but did not have enough matter left to bury. Of course, the conversation gets back to Forrest Gump before long. “LAMB: And what did it do to change your life? GROOM: Well, I — I’ve been able to upgrade my brand of toilet paper”.
James Tobin wrote Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness to World War II. (Ernie Pyle and Gomer Pyle are not related.) Ernie Pyle was a war correspondent in World War II. Mr. Pyle wrote about what the war was like for the men in the trenches. As the European war wound down, Mr. Pyle was burned out, and returned to the United States. He was persuaded to go cover the war in the Pacific. On April 18, 1945, on Okinawa, this proved fatal.
The last chat that PG listened to was with David Crosby , who usually has something to say.( Chamblee54 has discussed Mr. Crosby.) This interview was produced May 28,2000. Mr. Crosby talks about the need for campaign financing reform, and how tough it is to make people think that their vote counts. In a few months, PG would have a similar conversation with a friend, who thought it was important to vote for Al Gore. PG was unimpressed with Mr. Gore, and not scared by Mr. Bush. I doubt that PG, or Mr. Crosby, could have foreseen the way that election was going to turn out, or the disastrous consequences for humanity.

PG found a picture on Facebook. It was a satire of We are the 99 percent. The cutie pie man is holding up a hand written sign. The sign says “I am a child of the omnipotent everything. I represent a unique and luminous aspect of the shimmering entirety known as ALL THAT IS. I am responsible for and to all the other facets of creation who are experimenting with “Being”. The ides of “us” or “them” is meaningless to me. As I lift up my fellow creatures, I ascend. As I ascend, we are all together uplifted. I have the same creative and destructive power as every immaculate partide of the ecstatically united whole. I AM THE 100%.”
When you click on the picture, you go to the original post. If you look in the comments, you get a Link to some music. . The man is a musician, with product to sell. There is nothing wrong with this. Lots of people have product to sell, and if people don’t know about it, they will not enjoy it.
PG posted this link on facebook, and noted the marketing connection. It was said that this was a BUZZKILL, and that he was “raining on the parade”.(The spell check suggestion for BUZZKILL is BUGZILLA) PG responded with this comment: “The music is pleasant to listen to. He has a right to market it. I did not intend to “rain on the parade” with my comment. I think the satire of the 99% movement was rather tacky, and the message is a lot of nonsense. However, the music that he is promoting in this manner is fun to listen. Sometimes the end justifies the means.”
We live in a time when everyone is shouting. When everyone is shouting, no one is heard. If Mr. Brinkley wants to further his career as a performer, that is his right. ( We were going to say privilege, but that is an insult these days. Semantics can be funny.) The seminal post has 660 comments as this is written, and will no doubt hit the magic 666 soon.
Whether or not Mr. Brinkley agrees with the comment in the picture is beside the point. It would be nice if he is sincere, and really *believes. (One of the songs, “Not Hiding Now”, explores this dilemma.) You can still see his product here , there, and here again. Pictures are from The Library of Congress .

As you may have noticed, PG likes to take pictures, and then warp them. (He has been looking for a term to describe this, and is going to try photowarping.) A week ago, he noticed that he had fallen behind on this, took an inventory, and saw that he had 1453 pictures in the warp line. After a week of intensive labor, this number is down to 613.
As this is written, it is 1:30 am, on the last Sunday of October. This is probably the heaviest party night of the year. PG did know of a party, but it would mean driving fifteen miles and paying twenty dollars. This cover charge includes an open bar. PG is a retired drunk, and does not relish paying for other peoples legal drugs. Sometimes, the best way to enjoy life is to warp pictures, and listen to entertainment on the internet.
The first round of eartickling was an episode of bloggingheadstv. This feature is a discussion of life in Russia. Those of a certain age remember when Russia was the baddest boogieman to haunt the planet. Today, some things are different, and some are the same. A certain amount of dissent is permitted on the internet. The television outlets are kept under control.
In the early nineties, PG talked to a lady from Soviet Georgia. She said something that makes more sense the more you think about it. “In our country, the government and the secret police run everything. In this country, the banks and the computers run everything.”
The main audio event tonight was a seven part video series by Og Mandino. The series was captured in 1990, six years before the death of Og Mandino. (Og is short for Augustine.) It is his basic motivational speech.
PG first heard of Og Mandino when PG was working at Redo Blue. A co worker, who we will call Freddie, carried a book by Og Mandino for his first year at Redo Blue. Freddie was a fan of motivational authors. Freddie was also the laziest person PG has ever shared a payroll with. PG has not kept up with Freddie. To be fair,  that there is a chance Freddie is doing well these days.
In the years after that, PG heard the praises of Og Mandino sung by Neal Boortz. In spite of this, PG was curious about the message of Og Mandino. When PG has the misfortune to be exposed to motivational speakers, he tries to learn one or two things from the entertainer. PG does not consider this type of message to be entertaining, in contrast to many in our culture.
PG was not impressed by Og Mandino. PG felt like someone had been trying to manipulate him. There was one moment of irony. One of the concepts that Mr. Mandino espouses is that you are not doing anything by yourself. You must be willing to say, ” I need help”. When PG heard Og Mandino say “I need help”, a picture of a drag queen named Mary Edith Pitts was on the screen.
Another thing that Og Mandino says is that you should read. PG agrees with this … moreover, PG reads. Only difference between PG and Og Mandino is in the choice of reading material. The entertainer says you should go to the library, and find more motivational writers. Right now, PG is reading a ghost written autobiography of Bing Crosby. It is tons of fun to read, and has no motivational value at all.
The last speaker on the hit parade tonight makes the same point. Kurt Vonnegut appeared on a taped episode of the Charlie Rose show. (The archives of the Charlie Rose show are available for listening.) Mr. Vonnegut talks about making your soul grow by writing short stories and poems. Whether this is the same success that Mr. Mandino talks about is in the eye of the beholder.