Chamblee54

PG read Run with the Horsemen. It is an autobiographic account of growing up on a family farm during the depression. It was written by Ferrol Sams. He was an MD in Fayetteville GA, who decided, when he was sixty years old, that he wanted to write.
There is a story about three Russian brothers, named Berrol, Cherrol, and Ferrol. One day, Berrol said “I am going to America, and they will call be Buck”. Cherrol said, “I am going to American, and they will call be Chuck”. Ferrol did not say anything.
RWTH came to PG as a yardsale find. He carried it around for a few weeks, reading when he could. At a Know Talent show in Tennessee, PG read a description of a privy from page 19. He was followed by Dolly Parton. She played a guitar her daddy made from a spam can, and sang “Rocky Top”.
When you are reading a really good book, there is a momentum as you get close to the end. You get wrapped up in the story, and when you get a free minute you want to read more. PG was working as a movie extra when this happened with RWTH. He was in a dark studio, and would step over to read from a red spotlight between shots.
During one of these breaks, PG read the story of how Moo Cow Mullins got his name. It seems the young man took literally the stories about stump breaking cows. When it was his turn, Moo Cow got a five gallon bucket to stand on, and tried to romance a cow. The bovine was not impressed by what Moo Cow had to offer, and dumped a load of feces on his unbuttoned bib overalls. When PG read this, he started to laugh hysterically.
Later, in the holding room, an older gentleman told PG he had seen him reading and laughing. He asked what the book was, and said he thought it was the Bible.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress .

“After all is said and done, a lot more will be said than done.” /// It does not seem to do any good for me to voice my opinion. Nobody listens. Nobody gives a damn. Just as easy to keep my mouth shut. It all pays the same. One of these days, it won’t matter anyway. /// The very worst line in Latin poetry’ was, according to Professor Tyrrell, achieved by Statius when he apostrophised the condition of childlessness as ‘to be avoided by every effort’ (Orbitas omni fugienda nisu). /// Why is it that #OccupyLA can sleep on the lawns of City Hall willingly but legitimately homeless people aren’t afforded the same comfort?… /// “I wouldn’t watch this show if you taped it to a rock and threw it through my window.” /// I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned /// I have often wondered .. Why do some people THINK that they are so much better than me? LORD please KEEP YOUR ARM around my shoulder and your hand over my Mouth! !! /// “Dagara people [in Burkino Faso, West Africa] have made up their minds that they can’t live without elders.They know well enough that in the absence of the elders, the container of cultural wholeness breaks and social chaos arises. Indigenous belief in this is so strong that tribal communities cannot understand how cultures can thrive without elders, the same way that a modern person would have a hard time imagining a life without electricity and running water.” /// After Daylight Savings Time ended, I stopped in to visit my dyslexic friend. He was busy covering his penis with black shoe polish. I said to him, “You idiot! You’re supposed to turn your clock back!” /// young hot thang fuck my bra and gave em brain expect me to love her i could never be a lame attracted to u sexually but u aint my main /// Ignore previous message. /// “Most men employ the first part of life to make the rest miserable.” — Jean de la Bruyère /// The world is divided into two kinds of people: People who show up, and people who are poopyheads. /// “When you’re young, you look at television and think, there’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought.” — Steve Jobs /// “A revolution without cuddling is not a revolution worth having.” ~ Emma Goldman /// Thought for the day: I stand with the 99%! (but I’m still buying a new iPhone!) /// #dontbemadatmebecause you have no friends. Not my problem that you walk out of every single friendship that goes on in your life. /// I thought you should know that there is a scientific law stating that when there is booze, people talk about your dick. /// Oh I forgot to tell you that while you were in the bathroom last night I made friends with a gay man named Rodger from Venezuela and he kissed me cheek and told me I “knew how to shake my thing”. From now on we go to the bathroom as a team. /// I have a busted ear drum from when he honked his horn when we started to have sex on his car in the parking lot… /// Apparently, I kept going on about how i’m going to name my first born Ramen. I think this is a good parenting move. /// CTO: Hey, what are you doing? Female working on office chair with power screwdriver: Trying to prove I don’t need a man. So far, I’m succeeding. CTO: Totally wrong power tool for that. /// Coworker No, no. He is not retarded. He is just a creepy Bastard. /// Drive-through customer: Yeah, I’d like a number 7, and I want those fries hot and fresh. Cashier: Okay, number 7. What did you want to drink? Drive-through customer: Didn’t you hear me? I said I wanted hot and fresh fries! Cashier: Sure, I heard you. Drive-through customer: Well aren’t you going to do anything about it? Cashier: Oh, don’t worry. I pushed the “hot and fresh” button. Drive-through customer: Oh… okay. /// Admin assistant to partner: Enough with the accountant’s version of internet porn. Can’t you google boobies like a normal man instead of governmental auditing standards? /// Flu shots are gross. They have like formaldehyde and crazy shit in them. I was glad I’ve never gotten one when I read about what’s in them. The good part is that your body can start producing web fluid now and you’ll be swinging around the city in no time!

Agent #1: Is that Harry Potter on your notebook? Agent #2: Yeah, I was just writing in it. Agent #1: I read one of the Harry Potter books. It was totally demonic. Agent #2: Really? What was the story about? Agent #1: I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention. ///hmm not sure that is a good thing LOL /// “Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists.” ~ G.K. Chesterton /// @tejucole: A pair of tough dames, Grace and Onobong, dissected each other at a beer parlor in Oworonsoki. Love rivals. /// Love gave her strength RT @tejucole Franca, 59, of Anambra, delivered 6 children,…, but couldn’t deliver D 1.5kg of cocaine in her luggage /// Jesus take the wheel…cause I need to reach in the back & smack these smart ass kids!!~ /// Some men are like alley cats, when they feel like they are not fed enough at home,they go rummaging through the trash! /// The difference between surprise and suspicion is whether the number of eyebrows raised is even or odd. /// If our elbows bent the other way, we could constantly pat ourselves on the back, but we wouldn’t be able to masturbate. Tough call. /// When Marshall Bean left the Army in 1965 after eight years’ service, he inverted his name to escape his creditors. His new driver’s license and Social Security card read Naeb Llahsram. Unfortunately, this fooled the Army, too, which drafted him back again in 1966. It took him more than a year to convince them he’d already served. “All this is his own fault,” an Army spokesman told the Associated Press. “It would not have happened in the first place if he hadn’t spelled his name backwards.” /// 12,000,000 people live here in Tokyo. I know I’m not alone. Others must feel the way I do. /// *An eppy of CSI then sleeps me thinks…Then another long day at the office…Payday better be worth it this week *chuckles* /// Operation See As Many Parts Of The World For Free As Possible is going strong with an early start tomorrow for legs 5 and 6 of 2011… /// In the wake of the death of Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon, a look at the dangers of auto racing: /// Middle Eastern guy with only very slight accent, to his lawyer: So do you think the judge will let me out of the contract? Middle aged white lawyer: Sure. Just say that the interpreter signed the contract without telling you what it said. /// Little girl, leaving theater: But why, daddy!? Father, with heavy Long Island accent: Cuz it was rainin’ meatballs /// Girl #1: Why are you wearing a man’s batman shirt? Girl #2: Because Batman is the best darn superhero in the world. Well, not in the world. That’s Jesus. After Jesus, there’s Batman. /// Accidently said “your going to hurt the baby” when he got forceful with his thrusts. I guess I forgot to mention to him that we are pregnant. /// This inappropriate post strip club text brought to you by Cheetah of Palm Beach and vodka. Blowjob in the champagne room and the clap for the low low price of your paycheck. /// He gave me a hug and said “He doesn’t deserve you, Anna. Your boobs are great, and I’d fuck you anytime. Any. Place.” I need a new ‘gay’ friend. /// I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell /// Onomasticist Elsdon Coles Smith keeps a file on unfortunately named law firms. His list includes Ketcham & Cheatham in New York, Wind & Wind in Chicago, Ruff & Ready in Miami, and Dilly, Dally, Doolittle & Stahl in Akron. Novelist Paul Auster insists he encountered an Irish firm called Argue & Phibbs. /// “My opinion of mankind is founded upon the mournful fact that, so far as I can see, they find within themselves the means of believing in a thousand times as much as there is to believe in, judging by experience.” — Augustus De Morgan /// “What you can do is simply a matter of what you will do.” — The Phantom Toolbooth /// He throws nickels as though they were manhole covers /// toxic chemicals and virus strains grown on living tissue and/or genetically modified in sterile laboratories are in your body now…great /// selah

After publishing a feature about white privilege , PG thought it would be fair to look into black privilege. When you visit Mr. Google, some of his suggestions are black privilege checklist, black privilege furniture, and black privilege fact or fiction. The top result is a feature in American Thinker. “Personally, I have never had a moment of white guilt in my life. Now this is a significant statement given that I am Jewish and from New York. I feel guilty about pretty much everything!”.
NPR has an audio file called Black Male Privilege? . It is downright fascinating.
Prof. LEWIS: I think youve unfortunately identified one of the central issues of black male privilege. So often, black men are used to being under attacked that when it comes to being accountable for the actions we may have, we quickly say, well, I couldnt possibly be doing anything wrong. Look at all the ways in which Im oppressed. Look at all the ways in which Im at the bottom of the barrel. What that does is rob us of an opportunity to actually build stronger community and it robs black men of a chance to actually take hold of the actions that they have so that we can empower the community.
MARTIN: What reaction do you get when you talk to people about this?
Prof. LEWIS: Among black women, in particular, I get a lot of amens and saying, thank for actually exposing this. Among black men, one of the most common ones I get is, well, this seems ridiculous. Its an oxymoron. How could black men be privileged? Its like jumbo shrimp. It doesnt add up. … And they say, you know, what did my black male privilege get me? Im unemployed. … : Initially, my first exposure was actually around the Million Man March. I felt that I was transformed by the Million Man March, and I thought it was one of the most powerful events ever. And I was having a conversation in class with a professor, Dr. Beverly Guy Sheftall, and she said that she couldnt support the Million Man March because it was very patriarchal and it put black men at the center. And I said, well, it doesnt always have to patriarchal. You dont always have to put black men at the center. And if she said, isnt it an amazing privilege to tell someone else what they dont have to take seriously? And that paused me for a moment. And I said, wow. What is it in my past that makes me say I can define what someone else would think of as important? (Here are more thoughts on this subject by Dr. L’Heureux Dumi Lewis )
Times are tough in the US of A. To an unemployed white person it is easy to say, what good has this privilege done me? And isn’t it a form of privilege to label anything you don’t like about someone as being due to privilege? Has privilege become a catch22 for anything you don’t like about a person?
This feature is not a complete recap of the google results for black privilege. There were a couple of white racist sites that are best ignored. Two wrongs do not make a right. Pictures today are from
” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”

PG had heard the phrase “white privilege” a few times, and decided to ask Mr.Google about it. The top choice was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack “This article is now considered a ‘classic’ by anti-racist educators.” It is four pages long, which might not break the attention span.
A document like this is almost impossible to read with an open mind. You are a member of a group, such as a white male like PG. There are a lot of things here which PG agrees with, a few his disagrees with, and a few that are dependent on the reader’s point of view. The sentence that PG felt obliged to copy was ” I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes”. It is as if the attitudes of black people did not matter.
There are more headshakers in this article. In a list of privileges white folks take for granted, number 18 was ” I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race.”. That might have true once, but is not today.
Getting back to White Privilege (and ignoring the White Privilege Conference results), there are lots of people thinking about this subject. The University of Dayton contributes Defining “White Privilege”. In the text, the author mentions starting a site, Whiteprivilege.com. This site is currently under construction. It does give you the opportunity to buy “Privilege Car Insurance”.
A feature, What is white privilege?, compares every person with pale skin to the Palin family. “White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.” This runs counter to line 21 of the Invisible Knapsack list, ” I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. “
PG went looking for answers, and got more questions. He does not deny that being caucasian has advantages in our society. These advantages do not mean that one should lay down quietly and let black people get their revenge. We are all G-d’s children. You should be proud of who you are, without taking advantage of your neighbor. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

This is a double repost of material originally published in October 2009. There is a certain synergy between the two topics. One refers to a video, which is no longer available for viewing. As the white letters on the black screen say, “This video cantains content from NBC Universal, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.” The pictures are from Little Five Points and Oakland Cemetary. Again, there is a certain co dependence between the two subjects.
When you step into the world of Avitable, you never know what to expect. Today, it was a list of things that Avitable wishes he could do. To illustrate, he posted a video of a man singing.
There is a rule in the south about wishing. You are required by law to repeat this saying about wishing whenever the concept is mentioned. You can wish in one hand, and s**t in the other, and see which hand gets full faster.
Looking at the video, PG suspects that was what Shane was doing. The viewer does not know which hand got full faster. It is best if Shane washes his hands.
There have been lots of comparisons of singing and defecation. There used to be scat singers. Playing Frank Sinatra records in a garden makes the roses grow faster.There is a saying about being busy. “I don’t know whether to s**t or go blind”. Stevie Wonder wishes he had tried ex lax.

Atlmalcontent has put a name on something that PG has known about for a long time. He calls it frown syndrome, and says it is because of poor bone structure. PG calls it sad face, and it has had an impact on his life. If PG ever forgets that he has frown syndrome, there is always someone to remind him.
The nutshell is that PG’s face has a default setting that many see as being unhappy. PG does not know why this is, and, if he thinks about it, can make an effort to “put on a happy face”. However, if he is tired or bored, this is probably not going to happen. PG then looks like he just lost his best friend.
The ever helpful Urban Dictionary has a listing for frown syndrome. It is “A cranky little bitch whose a downer no matter what.” Wikipedia does not have an article for frown syndrome.
The suggested Wikipedia alternative that caught PG’s eye was Washlet syndrome. A washlet is a Japanese commode that shoots water up a body cavity, for hygienic purposes. It seems as though some people abuse this device, for pleasure purposes. Whether or not they smile was not discussed. The article…actually a section of a longer article about Japanese toilets…said that washlet syndrome was frowned upon by Japanese society.
Persecution of those with frown syndrome is acceptable in modern culture. Once a person is tagged with the dreaded label “negative attitude”, anything you say or do to this person is all right. Perhaps in a more enlightened society, people with a sad face will not face discrimination.

PG saw the “story” at the top of this feature on facebook. His first reaction was different from the 66,666 people who “liked” the story. Here was a mentally impaired woman, using deadly force, about a parking lot mistake. What kind of society gives this person access to deadly force? What kind of society encourages the “senior” to arm themselves, with lurid daily reminders about the need to kill their neighbor? PG recognizes that the handgun pandora is long out of the box. Our society is sick.
The seminal picture is not text paste friendly. PG wanted to write about this business, but did not want to retype the entire tale. He went to Mr. Google, and asked for “Gun Crazy Lady in Sarasota”. The first page of results should provide plenty of merriment for today’s post. Those who were offended by the first paragraph can come back now. Pictures are from The Library of Congress .
The top result is from the urban myth busters at snopes. They say it is a Legend. Three versions of the story are presented. One of them was published by “Dear Abby” in 1998. Some versions of the story have a racial angle, with black men chased from their vehicle by a white granny.
Traffic Ticket Secrets has a whimsical list of traffic regulations. In Sarasota FL, if you hit a pedestrian you are fined $78.00. In Pensacola FL, It is illegal to roll a barrel on any street, fines go up according to the contents of the barrel. In a statewide Florida law, If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle. Just over the state line in Quitman GA, it is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.
Some adrag called the Herald Tribune has an uplifing story, “High-speed chase followed shooting, robberies.” The alleged actors were driving a Mercedes, with a flat tire in front. They were arrested after a high speed chase.
The inerrant facility known as Wikipedia  adds to the fun with List of unusual deaths. In 1974, “Christine Chubbuck, an American television news reporter, committed suicide during a live broadcast on July 15. Eight minutes into her talk show on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, she shot herself in the head with a revolver.” In another Sarasota story, the person sitting in front of PeeWee Herman was not injured.
Another news processor (with a header ad for the 2012 Lincoln MKX) has a feature called FloriDUH. In keeping with the Sarasota theme, we will only present stories from that fine town. 44yo Michael Wayne Arnold is the “ Sarasota man charged with ‘doctor shopping’ to obtain almost 11,000 pills “In all, he obtained an estimated 10,775 pills of Oxycodone, Dilaudid, Carisoprodol, Morphine, Methadone and Xanax, approximately 879 pills a month,” a sheriff’s news release states. According to the sheriff’s office, Arnold has an extensive criminal history and, at the time of his arrest was out of jail on bond for a DUI charge in May of this year. The sheriff’s office identified Arnold as an unemployed construction worker.”
A fun loving Sarasotan is “33-year old Ryan Michael Leach. He is charged with Exploitation of the Elderly for misappropriating more than $100,000 of his grandmother’s money for personal gain. Leach gained Power of Attorney over his 84-year-old grandmother’s accounts in August 2010. At that time the deductions started to reflect purchases at bars, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, airfare, and recently, a $14,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle … Detectives determined Leach took $102,277 from his grandmother’s accounts, including her checking, savings, a CD and home equity line of credit. The victim, who displays confusion and cognitive impairment, said Leach told her she would be placed in a nursing home if Leach was put in jail.” It is not known if Granny was armed.
Not all of the stories are about crime. Two sets of triples, three sets of twins born in one week at Sarasota Memorial. “Desiree Chubb, the remarkably relaxed mother of the Bradenton triplets, is happy to be taking them off Peco’s hands. She and their father, Dean Garati, have built what they hope is a sleep-inducing secret message into the girls’ bedroom. “We have three letter Z’s on all the walls, and we’re praying they’ll take that as a hint,”

First generation college student and certified teacher. $20,000+ in student loans. 89 elementary schools in my hometown, and I couldn’t find a long-term position! Working outside my field. No healthcare plan, no retirement plan, and I am running short on hope! I AM THE 99%! occupywallst (spell check suggestion:occupational) .org I’m an 66 yr old ex-sailing yacht skipper, ex-gold smith. The yacht sunk and the gold went through the roof. The upper middle class that were my customers is gone. No more income, debt to my landlady, food or rent? I am also the 99%. occupywallst.org I’m 23, married 1 year, just lost my job at a business that had been running for 30 years. We are ok for now, but I live in fear of the future. I am the 99 percent. occupywallst.org I’m 22 going to college for a Fire Science degree. My mom has to work two jobs just to support herself with a bad back. I can’t find work anywhere and the government doesn’t care. I am the 99% I made this sign for us at Occupy Wall Street. I’m a Hell’s Kitchen, NYC born girl who lives in industrial Brooklyn with my husband. We are both artists who largely survive on SSD/pending SSI. These allotments get us by, as we live frugally, but put us in the poverty level. He was born with a physical disability due to a birth trauma, & I’ve been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder. We live in an abandoned coffin factory that has been converted to a livable and affordable housing space for artists, but still fight against the city in housing battles, as they’d love to gentrify the area and price residents out. We are the 99%, and this is what life is like for us. In 2004, I landed a job in a metal plant that produces parts and accessories for Harley Davidson. It put money in my pocket and food in my stomach, but the job required me to endure high temperatures, poor air circulation, and dangerous conditions. In 2008, when the recession first came about, I was constantly getting laid off. I was making half of what I was making before the recession, so I decided to do something else. In 2009, I found a job as a counselor/mentor at a residential treatment facility for disturbed children. I absolutely loved doing the job and enjoyed working with at-risk youth, and reaping the emotional rewards of helping. Shortly after 4 months of working there, I began to observe a lot of injustices occurring within the workplace. Unfair treatment to the employees, long hours with NO breaks, mandatory 16-hour days and constantly understaffing. I put in a two-week notice and got my old job back. I was denied my accrued vacation time from my previous job, even with a two-week notice. Now, I am back to enduring unsanitary and dangerous working conditions. My hands are constantly in pain and my respiratory system is awful. I am 26-years old with no health insurance. I am the 99%. I AM AN UNEMPLOYED PRINTER REPAIRMAN WITH $87,000 IN STUDENT LOANS. I MAKE ENDS MEET BY CLEANING THE BATHROOMS AT RYAN’S STEAK HOUSE. I WAS FORCED TO MOVE BACK INTO MY MOM’S BASEMENT, AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO FEED MY CATS BECAUSE THEY WON’T TAKE FOOD STAMPS FOR CAT FOOD. I AM THE 99%. OCCUPY WALL STREET I will be 24 in exactly 1 month. I moved to a big city in 2009 with bright eyes and a job bartending where I pulled $100+ a night in tips. Shortly after my arrival, the bar went bankrupt and I began working in the adult industry behind the scenes to make ends meet. Even the adult industry was hit hard and with no work in sight, I decided to go back to college to pursue a specialized degree that I love (and that is a growing field with prospects). My degree will put me $60,000 in debt by graduation because I attend one of the top 50 schools for this degree. I was accepted into the #3 in the nation for my degree but decided that 60k in debt was better than $225,000 in debt. Because I made the more frugal choice it will harder for me to get a job in this field. I may not be able to attend much longer due to not having enough credit to get a loan this year. Now that I am 24 I do not qualify for loans given to first time college students. I now live with my mother, sister, her two children and her fiancé who also struggle to make ends meet. Our house is roach infested and mouse infested, but we can’t afford to move despite my mother working 60-80 hours a week and my sisters fiancé working 40 hours a week. We also can’t afford an exterminator either and our landlord won’t pay for one. For the first time in my life I know what hungry is. I use my credit card to buy milk, bread, cheese and lunchmeat for my family. Even when I had a high paying job I was denied health care because I was “overweight” with a pre-existing health condition. I now can no longer afford the gym membership I was using to get to a healthy weight, even though it’s only $10 a month. I do not qualify for food stamps because my household makes too much money yet we live check to check and some weeks can’t afford groceries. I do not qualify for free health benefits because my “condition” is not serious enough despite the fact that I may have cancer. I can’t afford the $250 to get a biopsy done or the $200 for the lab results. I cannot get jobs at fast food places or cleaning offices because I am “too qualified” (yay college) and I cannot get jobs working in my desired field because I have “too little experience.” My old boss calls me telling me that he can make me money in the adult entertainment industry if I ever wanted to be in front of the camera. The prospect of ever doing that job makes me cry at night. I shouldn’t have to give myself away for someone else’s viewing pleasure to live. For now I would rather 100% broke, than give up my integrity. It is only through the wisdom and guidance of my best friend and the hope of starting my own business with him that I have not taken my own life.. I am the 99%. Occupywallstreet.org I worked 45-40 hours a week for 5 years for a 2 degree education Wall St considers frivolous and the government doesn’t value. I’m lucky enough to be taken care of now, but where will I be at the end of degree #3? My fiancee convinced me to go to college, graduated with 2 degrees. 40k student loan. Had job for 5 months before losing it because of “season ending”. Student loans were due the following month. Got married. Husband kicked me out and divorced me after 3 months of marriage, leaving me helpless. Been almost 2 years, current BF works 50 hours a week, we have a 4 month old daughter who is on medicare. We can barely afford to pay rent, buy food and diapers. I am hounded daily by the loan company demanding payment, they do not offer any kind of help to pay off the loan or delaying payments over the lack of job. They do not care that I am unemployed, they want full payment NOW. I live in the Philippines where poverty, unemployment, corruption, and injustice prevails. A man sleeping on the street, or a kid selling flowers along highways in Manila are common sights. Still, my heart breaks every time I see such things, the same way my heart broke when I read your stories. I’m tired of the filthy rich on top of the social triangle who keeps getting richer. I’m tired of politicians stuffing their pockets with money while their countrymen drown in poverty and debt. I’m tired of their greed and selfishness. That damn triangle should be inverted. It’s time for a social revolution. America’s 99%’s fight= the rest of the world’s 99%’s fight (and we are quite a lot). We are the 99%. in my last year of college, an african american woman with a double major and $100 k debt to match. “dream degree” right? too afraid to quit school because of the economy, but cant go on because of chronic depression… last week i had to decide whether to pay my moms electric or have food for the week. i contemplate suicide daily. (with school & a 50+ hour work week, i dont have the time to) land of the what? i am the 99%. I have done awful things to make my mortgage payments…including selling my body. But I am no longer willing to sacrifice my remaining shreds of dignity on the altar of a faceless institution that gave me an ill-advised loan to begin with. Are you guys really THAT greedy? Going to be 22 at the end of the month, not excited for 23. I’ve lost 3 good friends on money issues. Recently! 1 I was trying to help out; now again I find myself broke. I eat a meal a day to save just to spend the rest on bus fare. Makes me feel wrong to sacrifice for the sake of others, especially those I care about. Chances are it stays that way. Sad to be part of the 99% “Workers must Organise” As a member of the British Working Class who is involved in protests against the exploitation working people by the rich, I am absolutely thrilled to see the American workers standing up at last against the parasites who exploit and demean their lives daily.Workers and Trade Unionists in Britain support and applaud your efforts,you are not alone the workers of the world are with you This is only the beginning of my financial troubles. I have constant anxiety that my family will not survive, and all I have gotten for my experience, dedication, and strong work ethic is the promise by corporations that I will get paid less for more work. For many years, I ate beans and rice…I still eat ‘em. Embrace simple food…It makes you stronger!!! I am the 99%. Occupy All The Time. The stories above are from We Are the 99 Percent. This selection is the copy ready text from page 44 and 45. The blog currently has 89 pages. The pictures today are from The Library of Congress .

Herman Cain said in an interview “when they had the lottery, I made myself available. The year that they had the lottery for the draft, they did not draft me because they didn’t get to my number.” This did not add up. If he had a deferment for his work with the Department of the Navy, why would he expose himself to the draft?
PG decided to check out the record. The numbers were surprisingly easy to find. Herman Cain was born December 13, 1945. The lottery webpage says : The lottery drawing held December 1, 1969, determined the order in which men, born from 1944 through 1950, were called to report for induction into the military. The highest lottery number called for this group was 195; all men assigned that lottery number or any lower number, and who were classified 1-A or 1-A-O (available for military service), were called to report for possible induction.
The number for December 13 was 163.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Herman Cain is running for President. Recent polls show him doing very well. Mr. Cain has come to the point in his campaign where the press gets rough. This is an important part of the process. If he cannot handle a few “irrelevant” questions on MSNBC, then what will happen when the opposition party in Congress tries to block your every move?
As PG has mentioned before, he does not like Herman Cain. PG listened to him on the radio, before the Presidential run, and usually had to change the channel within five minutes. In the spirit of fairness, PG will watch the video of an interview with Mr. Cain.
A controversial part of the discussion regards Mr. Cain’s participation, or lack thereof, in the civil rights movement. First he says he was in high school, and if he had been in college he might have participated, Then we learn that he started college ( at Morehouse, near Downtown Atlanta) in 1963. Mr. Cain tries to change the subject to talking about the “failed policies” of the Obama administration.
At 10:51, there was a twitter question: “How can you say that being gay is a choice? Did you choose to be straight?” “It’s a difference of opinion. Next question please.”
At 17:07 comes a question that PG has wondered about:”after avoiding the war in Vietnam, why should you be commander in chief?” After graduation from Morehouse, Mr. Cain took a job with the Department of the Navy as a mathematician. To hear him say it, the draft board said they would prefer him crunching numbers to fighting. He then says that he made himself available to the draft lottery, and his number was not called. (The bs detector is ringing off the wall. Are the lottery numbers from 1968/1969 available online, to compare with Mr. Cain’s birthday? Who is the official with the draft board who gave him this clearance? These claims may be impossible to prove or disprove. It is beyond doubt that Mr. Cain’s lips were moving.) UPDATE: PG checks out the claims.
The issue of military service comes up for every Presidential candidate who was cannon fodder age during ‘Nam. Bill Clinton dodged the issue and got elected. George W. Bush won two elections over Vietnam Veterans. Mr. Cain does get points for knowing this issue would come up.
Mr. O’Donnell has a comeback. He asks why Mr. Cain did not wait to be drafted, but sign up like John Kerry. Mr. Cain:”Well Lawrence, we have a difference of opionion. I would like to move on to talk about how we are going to boost our economy.” He proceeds to promote his 999 plan. PG is not an economist, and has not studied this plan. He suspects that it is a lot of flashy talk with a clever title. It sounds like Fair Tax lite.
HT for this story goes to Andrew Sullivan. He has two links which shed some light on this story. Conor Friedersdorf provides a handy transcript of the Vietnam part of the interview.
O’Donnell: I misread your book and its references to the Navy. I thought you served in the Navy. You’re now telling me you didn’t. Can you explain how you avoided military service during the Vietnam War and during the draft, and why you should be commander in-chief if you did successfully avoid service during the war that came during what would have been your war years? After avoiding the Vietnam War, why should you be commander-in-chief?
Cain: Lawrence, you know, do you stay up nights coming up with the wording of these questions?
O’Donnell: Just thought of that one now when I heard you didn’t serve in the Navy or the military during Vietnam. How did you do that?
Cain: You say, “How did I avoid the Vietnam War?” I wasn’t trying to avoid the Vietnam War! Here’s what happened, Lawrence. I was working in a critical area called exterior ballistics. I worked on something called rocket assisted projectiles for the Department of the Navy. It was my local board in Atlanta, Georgia, that told me, “We would rather have you continue to do that analytical work, to help the Navy, rather than us draft you.” Secondly, when they had the lottery, I made myself available. The year that they had the lottery for the draft, they did not draft me because they didn’t get to my number. So I think that’s a poor choice of words on your part to say that I “avoided” the Vietnam War. I made myself available to my country, and they did not draft me. The rest of the time I was serving my country in a critical role called exterior ballistic analysis. So I am offended with your choice of words in terms of what I was doing during the Vietnam War.
O’Donnell: I am offended on behalf of all the veterans of the Vietnam War who joined, Mr. Cain. The veterans who did not wait to be drafted, like John Kerry, who joined. They didn’t sit there and wait to find out what their draft board was going to do. They had the courage to join, and to go, and to fight that war. What prevented you from joining? And what gives you the feeling, after having made that choice, you should be the commander in chief?
Mr. Friedersdorf is dumbfounded by this exchange. He is a younger man, and probably does not remember the domestic turmoil of the Vietnam war. There was something called Selective Service in those days, which meant you got a letter from Uncle Sam telling you to go in the Army or go to jail. Many of these men went to fight in Vietnam, where we lost 59,000 men. (55,000 more than in Iraq, with an all volunteer force.) Unless, of course, your draft board wanted you to work on exterior ballastic analysis.
The second link is to an email that a reader sent Mr. Sullivan. It is presented below. The pictures  are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
I have to admit being horrified at how horrified people are at Lawrence’s interview with Herman Cain. He treated Mr. Cain far more politely than I or virtually any other African-American I know would have given the circumstances. And the circumstances are these. My father attended the University of Texas roughly during the same time period. UT was desegregated at the time, but he has no fond memories of the school, even though any troubles he experienced there were minor in comparison to others. He would eventually go on to Rice University (where he teaches today) for his PhD as the first Black man ever to attend that institution. His admission was delayed a year because White Alumni sued Rice to prevent his entry. He also had to deal with a Professor in Applied Math who publicly vowed that any Black student who enrolled in his class would start at a “C” and head downward.
Still, as angry as he remains to this day over what relatively little happened to him during his stays at both Texas schools, he still found time to test restaurants, because he knew it was his about him and his future children. He was doing it for me. He also met another student at the time who was also testing restaurants while attending Texas Southern University. Her name was Claudette Smith. I know her today as Mom.
You may argue that Herman Cain had a right not to participate in the Civil Rights Movement, and that may be true. But here’s the problem: he’s holding himself up as an example of, if not the very pinnacle of, the black community. (Just ask him, he’ll be glad to tell you). He has gone so far as to suggest that Black People who do not support him (not give him a fair hearing, mind you, but out-and-out support him) have been brainwashed by the Democratic Party.
May I suggest that my Father and Mother were not brainwashed? May I suggest that they saw with their own eyes who was supporting Civil Rights and who wasn’t; and their allegiance forevermore was aligned with the Democratic party.
And for the record, yes, there were Southern Democrats who voted against the 1965 Civil Rights Act. They long ago switched parties and joined Herman Cain’s party, the Republicans. I’m sure even Mr. Cain remembers Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act, and saying he was delivering the South to the Republicans for the next 40 years. He was wrong. Try 60-70.
The horrific part of the interview which apparently did not catch your eye, was Lawrence’s first asking Mr. Cain if he wanted to back off that “brainwashing” statement. Mr. Cain did not. With him questioning my intelligence as a African-American, I had a right to know where he stood in relation to the community he was questioning I had a right to know what kind of African-American he was, and yes that is something I can judge given the questions Lawrence O’Donnell asked rather haltingly. I had a right to know what he had given to the cause. Because if he had stood with my parents, if he had marched with my parents, then African-Americans as a whole would have shrugged when he called us “brainwashed”. At least, we would have decided, he earned the right.
But he didn’t. He didn’t march. He didn’t sit-in. He didn’t test. He didn’t want to get involved, because frankly, it was probably more important to him to ingratiate himself to his white oppressors. I’m sorry to come off sounding like a member of the Black Panther Party, but we see people like Mr. Cain all the time in the African-American community. The ones who think they’re better than the rest of us, smarter, and the only ones fit to lead, the only ones fit to be heard from.

This is a repost from October 12, 2008. At the time, ACORN was at the center of an election year controversy. In the three years since, it was been caught up in another flap, this one even flakier than the 2008 dustup. This  had a devastating impact on the organization. ACORN filed for bankruptcy on November 2, 2010.
An organization called ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) has been in the news lately. The word is they are registering voters, and not being too choosy who they sign up. Vote early, and vote often. Since a lot of these new voters will presumably vote for BHO, the JSM campaign has made an issue of this. The talking points have gone out, and ACORN is an issue.
This brought back some memories for PG. He used to work, briefly, for one of those community organizations. In 1980, he answered an ad for “Activists”. The job was for a group called Georgia Action, which was connected to ACORN.
The job was going door to door, getting people to sign a petition. The petition called for the Public Service Commission to take action against Georgia Power Company. When the petition was signed, the signer was asked to make a donation. Checks were preferred, since people seldom make checks out for less than five dollars.
PG trained for a couple of days with a senior operator. The word operator is appropriate. The man had a slick routine down, and did not take no for an answer. One lady said she was on chemotherapy, and was strapped for cash. The operator did not bat an eye, but said she could save money on her power bill if she would help Georgia Action.
Back at the office, PG learned that most of what Georgia Action did was “build a base”. They had meetings for Senior Citizens. The worked with neighborhoods to get garbage picked up. They did almost nothing with Georgia Power. The power company was a handy villain to use in fundraising. PG began to be disillusioned, but decided to stick it out.
The first day on his own, he was walking from the bus stop to the office. An acorn fell off a tree, and hit him in the head. PG tried, but never did too well. He called on a Georgia Power employee, who ridiculed what he was doing. His heart was not there, and the money wasn’t that great either. He called it off after a couple of days.
Now, this is just one story, about one of many community organizations. It took place 31 years ago. The petition drives against Georgia Power have not been seen in a while. Is ACORN committing voter fraud on behalf of BHO today? Who knows. The charges by JSM have the feel of noise from a losing candidate. There just might be an organization doing the same thing to register voters for JSM.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

11:58:15PM “who do you serve, who do you protect”. The police arrest infrastructure is lining up on the sidewalks outside Woodruff Park. The crowd is chanting “who do you serve, who do you protect”. The park has been officially closed for 58 minutes. The police assault is believed to be imminent. 11:59:25 PM “whose park our park, whose park our park” “reply to the general welfare” There was an announcement to those with children, and those whose alien status is uncertain, to please move to the sidewalk. There is a division between the people who want to get arrested, and those who are not into that. 12:12:25 AM Commercial break on the live feed from slim jims spicy sticks. A representative from the mayor’s office was talking to reporters, and was shouted down by protesters. 12:19:13 AM The ad on the feed is from blue cross blue shield. “Lets show them lets show them that we are not that we are not leaving leaving” 12:27:28 AM They are having a “general assembly” in “troy davis park”. This means that some lady is screaming at the crowd, and they are repeating what she says back to her. They have decided to re occupy the park, and the Mayor is on the way to address the crowd. The police have not moved in yet, and some say they have backed down. There was an apparent massing of police forces on the fringe of the crowd, and now the police seem to be backing off. 12:37:52 AM The fishwrapper has announced that the mayor is allowing the people to stay. They are going to stay anyway. 12:45:21 AM rairojasii Rai Rojas Not sure if shouting “I am Troy Davis” to hundreds of police about to arrest you is wise. #OccupyAtlanta. #copkiller /// dezlock dezlock Really tempted to make a late night doughnut run to get the cops hopped up on sugar & caffeine before they clean up the park #OccupyAtlanta /// The general assembly is discussing what to say to the mayor when he arrives at the park. This speaker says and crowd repeats format that the meeting is taking gets very tiresome very fast. I hope this is not the way meetings go on from now on. /// “the press is on our ass, be on your best behavior please” 12:50:42 AM GrouchoMarxist Jon D.A. @KasimReed Please let #occupyatlanta stay in Troy Davis park. They are peaceful people, your constituents, your allies. Stand with them. 1:02:45 AM who is taking minutes…it’s important for transparency…I kind of am.. PG went downtown with Uzi Sunday afternoon to see the Occupy Atlanta facility. They found a parking lot on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, and paid two dollars for two hours of parking. The parking meters in Atlanta are notoriously corrupt, and PG was eagar to get back to his vehicle. As it turned out, the car was there, unbooted and unbrokeninto, when they got back. Uzi wondered how the “real” homeless people felt about these hippies moving into the park. PG thought this was a good question. Then the park came into view. PG got a pictures of the camp with the Coca Cola sign in the background. Next was an image with the encampment in front of the GP building. Uzi did not know that the Koch Brothers own GP. PG has mixed feelings about renaming the park for Troy Davis. The Woodruff family has been good for the city. While there is enough doubt about the guilt of Mr. Davis to object to his execution, PG does not want to make a hero out of the man. Learning about an issue will do that for you. 1:22:32 AM Quinnnerd Quinn Edgar Mayor needs to come so I can sleep. #occupyatlanta /// The GA is getting stuck on the issue of whether to ask the mayor whether to rename Woodruff Park as Troy Davis Park. “he will realize that his opinion is secondary””we should be asking the mayor to abolish the death penalty” /// 1:25:11 AM caulkthewagon Robin by Occupy_Boston We will rack up arrest records ten miles long. We don’t fucking care. We have nothing left to lose. /// some say the Boston police are moving in, some say they are backing down /// drewwill Drew @ RT @RTColvin: Wouldn’t it be neat if #OccupyAtlanta was really a @WalkingDead_AMC marketing stunt? #whenwilltheyturnintozombies /// 1:35:31 AM mike check i would like to propose that mayor reed provide better restrooms for this park ///make check i would propose to turn those g-d awful sprinklers off /// 1:37:38 AM the general assembly decides that the mayor is not going to come, and that tonight is a tremendous win for the people of atlanta 1:42:07 AM Occupy_Boston Occupy Boston KEEP TAKING PICTURES. WRITE DOWN BADGE NUMBERS. Occupy Boston Police are going in now #occupyboston 43 seconds ago Occupy Boston Cops are beating Veterans for Peace 42 seconds ago 1:57:03 AM We are being inundated by young good doers. Get them and their money out. Go home! Leave us alone. Change the world from your home. Leave us alone. Get out of New Orleans. Your money helps the machine, not us./// Update The police never moved in. Here is an on the scene report ./// selah

As you may know, Hank Williams Jr. recently expressed himself. If you want to see the original, here is the video. Those are mighty good drugs talking.
The money quote comes at the 1:35 point. The looks on the Fox folks faces are priceless. At the 3:08 point, the lady says that Mr. Williams “used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the President.” To a person on the West Bank, whose land was stolen by Israel to build a settlement, the most hated person in the world is probably Mr. Netanyahu.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress .