The Daily Diatribe

The big 900.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:05:00 +0000

900th entry using Blogger, wee! So Hillary threw in with Obama officially today and now the pundits are trying to figure out what she will do next. VP? Majority Leader in the Senate? Who knows? One thing is for certain, everyone is talking about why she lost. Change is what everyone ends up with as an answer and I have to agree. Two months ago I would not have had enough faith to believe that Obama was gonna make it all the way. Old school political brawling appeared to have its way and the pastor scandal coupled with her wildcat fanaticism seemed to have Obama on the ropes. Thankfully there may be a conscience in the American populace. I think that it will be very hard for McCain to topple Obama. I also think that Obama will not fix the mess once he gets in, but at least the tone will have changed. That alone will restore much of the world's faith in us and our way of doing things.

It's a long way 'til November and I am sure that there will be many shocks and surprises along the way. However, it will take a cataclysm to derail Obama. The "hijacking" incident yesterday is a great indicator of what we have in store. He sent the press corps up in a plane without him and made no apologies. It was a renegade move that said fuck protocol and put his wish for seclusion with Clinton before the interests of the mainstream media. Kudos. No pandering or bullshit. I cannot think of a better way for him to kick off his campaign. When was the last time we saw something like that that was not an act of outright malice? Bush has fucked with the press plenty, and the rest of us for that matter, by lying and cheating. Good things are in store.

If I had a moment to dream . . . I would see us all a year from now. Iraq will be almost devoid of US troops and negotiations would be underway for a possible Mideast peace agreement. The economy would be bad, but not in free fall. And we will all be watching the Bush trial on TV. Treason, high crimes against humanity and a host of other charges. Ah, it feels good to dream again, doesn't it? Ciao.

The Big Day.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:01:00 +0000

Later today we'll have a better sense of things . . . Ciao!

Red Bull-shit.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:31:00 +0000

A year ago I was an energy drink junkie. RockStar was my favorite and I would go through 1 or 2 a day. Then I started feeling like shit when I got done with one and figured I building an immunity - like I do with everything! - so I would do 2 at a time and ride the snake. Eventually they stopped working and made me feel just fucking awful. I weaned myself off of them by changing to a local energy drink that is 100% Organic and made by VISO in North Portland. I drink maybe two a week and only need half of one for a pick-me-up. For the past few years younger people at the bars and at shows have had the obligatory Red Bull before they start binge drinking and then another to keep the pace. It is legal cocaine you can get 24/7 at 7-11. Now the tweens and teens are turned on and that has the "experts" worried.

Many kids are displaying risky behavior and even winding up in ERs with heart palpitations. Some schools are trying to ban the drinks form their campuses altogether. I know these beverages are awful. They taste like shit and create a mild coke high with a sugar rush hangover. Plus they are so loaded with sugar that they pack on the pounds, a few of which I am still carrying around with me. However, I am a chain smoking, beer swilling Midwestern boy and I have done my share of stimulants over the years. Energy drinks are pretty fucking tame in the grand scheme, but there is a danger. The danger is our current social climate and the general change that America has undergone in the Internet age.

When I was in high school we did drugs, drank and engaged in "risky" behavior. But, we KNEW it was risky, illegal and potentially dangerous. I was in a bad car crash that ended my experiments with psychedelics. There was not all encompassing youth marketing targeted at addicting us to anything beyond cigarettes and booze. Now caffeine and ephedrine are in most anything a 10 year old can buy at the corner store. There is no sense that this shit can be really bad for you. Drinking 5 Red Bulls is not viewed as "risky" and is not illegal. It can stop your heart, but the general conception is not ingrained into young minds. They are soft drinks to kids and if they do pose a health risk then you should be 18 to buy one. Until they do regulate it the "experts" need to shut up and let kids experiment. If a kid drinks enough of these to kill themselves or jumps off an overpass high on Red Bull you have to wonder how bright they were to begin with.

And finally: outlaw smokes, booze and energy drinks of they are so dangerous, otherwise the public needs to shut the fuck up and make up their own minds. Ciao.

Hope.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:30:00 +0000

I just read the latest reports about Clinton's intentions and I must admit that they are hopeful. She sent out an email early this morning (Thur) saying that she would support Obama no matter what and sought unity in the party. Finally. My great hope is that we actually see that happen. There is a lot of scuttlebutt about her potential for the VP slot. I guess that will be the next big question left to answer. All I know is that I can go to sleep tonight and feel a modicum of hope for this nation. Much better than I expected this phase of the election to end up. It is late and I am wiped. Ciao.

OBAMA!

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

Despite Hillary's best efforts Obama got the number of delegates needed tonight to clinch the nomination. Clinton congratulated Obama, but said she was not making any decisions tonight. By the end of the week the speculation should be over, she will either disappear back to the Senate or will try and wrangle the VP slot. The mainstream media has thankfully repeated ad infintum that Obama has broken the political color barrier and is making history. The avalanche of coverage should make it nigh impossible for Clinton to try and stage a coup at the convention. McCain also stepped in and congratulated Obama and then attacked his lack of experience. Insane McCain also said that he was the holder of "right change" whereas I guess Obama in McCain's failing mind just has . . . loose change? Who the fuck knows, the guy is a fossil.

At any rate, Obama will have a little grace period for a couple of days. The historical significance thing will be hot for a while and then it will be back to the dirty game that is presidential politics. Let's assume that Hillary will not rise up from the lake and kill us in our sleep and take a look at the Obama vs McCain scenario. The most important thing is demography. Young voters who hate old white rich people will be a boon for Obama. Conversely, rich and middle class white people who still peer out their curtains and call the neighbors when a brown person drives down their cul de sac will side with McCain regardless of their politics. Dumb patriots will be for McCain and young college kids will be for Obama. There's the blatant white/black schism with no political substance and then the same democrat/republican divide.

Those are easy. The rest of the nation falls into a category defined by another simple question: How do you feel about GW Bush? There are very few Bush supporters left and most of them are covered by the above categories. Those who remain and will go with McCain have to be torn. Many probably think that we need a military guy in there and may even think invading Iran is tolerable. Those who HATE Bush have an easy choice, but the gray area is where the election's outcome lies. Obama and McCain have to fight for those who are not racists or war hawks. Those who might question 9-11 but are not conspiracy theorists. One such voter is a dear friend of mine. He is leery of Obama because his proposed tax policies would hurt him. But, he hates Bush. Politically he is both liberal and conservative and has his personal interests mixed up in both candidates. He has to be won over and that is now Obama's job. It's good to have him there to take that challenge on. There may be hope yet, Ciao.

Is it over!?!

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:42:00 +0000

Hillary may quit . . . too good to be true? Hopefully an answer tomorrow. Still in vacation mode, yet exhausted. Ciao.

Insanity.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:51:00 +0000

Clinton wins Puerto Rico. New scenarios, new thrills and chills! More bullshit designed to set up the Dems for failure in November. Ciao.

Semantics.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:20:00 +0000

The Democratic Committee assigned to decide what to do about Michigan and Florida met today and came to a conclusion. Both states will be seated and all of their delegates will be counted . . . as 1/2 of a vote. So the 50% rule stands. The states are being punished for holding early elections and Obama is shut out of Michigan. I think it is good that the Dems are trying to keep these two important general election states in the fold, but Obama is getting the fucking shaft. He followed the rules and Hillary stacked the deck. It is apparent, it is obvious. Will it affect the selction process? That remains to be seen. The fact that they are saying that Obama gets nothing in Michigan tells me that this whole process is a sham. Why should Hillary and Michigan be rewarded with delegates for breaking procedure? This election, like the past two, is in danger of being an exercise in semantics and not a demonstration of the democratic process. It's become such a mixed bag and so exasperating that we the people get tired of the bullshit and then just accept whatever we end up with. Maybe that's the point. Ciao.

Land of Delusion.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:25:00 +0000

Just looking around over the past few days here on the East Coast I have noticed just how fucked we are economically. A few minutes ago I saw the most bizarre car commercial I have ever seen. It was local - and I am in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY - and the lot owner gave a weird speech. I'll try to reproduce it: "Right now I feel that it is time for all of us to think about the future. It is a time to look at things differently, with gas prices at $4 and soon to be $5 I have never been gladder to be a Hyundai dealer."[sic] He went on to almost beg people to CONSIDER buying a new car. Not you typical car ad. It was desperate, yet self aware. He knows that people have buying a new car last on their to do list and that his own livelihood is threatened by the economic climate.

Then on the drive today through the countryside I saw four different adults, obviously out of shape, riding their bikes along the shoulder of the state highways. Out here everything is spread out, not driving would be so fucking hard. A trip to the grocery store is 20 miles, kids to school - another 15 the other way, etc. These people dragged their old ten speeds out of the garage and were pedalling their asses in the hit sun and looked awful doing it. No cash for gas. In urban areas public transport and bike friendly streets make the switch easy and quick compared to what these people have to go through. I also have to remember that most places in the US are more like this and less like Portland.

Another great debacle is the housing market. Here in the US the "experts" are using every trick in the book to try and make things seem a bit better than worse. Minuscule statistics aimed to boost consumer confidence are voiced over other "experts" who say that we are not quite in a full blown recession. No, we are closer to Depression era statistics, which European reports are not afraid to print. That's right, slow sales, devaluation and lender's lack of liquidity all combine to give us a worse housing market than the 1930's. Yet, we have our diversions and personal concerns that keep us from doing anything about the grand scheme. If there was ever a time for the big picture it is now, personal concerns are delusion in this landscape, this morass. Ciao.

"Give us the Juice and we''ll let you live."

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:02:00 +0000

Here in New York state all regular unleaded is over $4 a gallon. The unthinkable is now reality. Many older gas stations are running into trouble because their machines only go to $3.99 per gallon and $99.99 total. It is expensive to replace the machines so many small timers are facing logistical nightmares or the prospect of closing down due to the cost involved with upgrading. Just another facet of this fuel nightmare the world is facing. One thing that has really been bothering me are the Dodge commercials that "guarantee" 3 years worth of gas at $3 a gallon with each new car it sells. Sounds like a great deal when you look at prices right now, but what if the market cycles and gas goes below $3? Does the corporate world know for certain that $3+ prices are here to stay? It just strikes me as either fatalistic or conspiratory. Theoretically no one can "know" what the price of anything will be over that span of time, unless they have been told.

Some resourceful thieves have established a new method for stealing gas. They are drilling out gas tanks and draining them. By the end of the year we will face more and more of these Mad Max renegades, stealing the precious juice. I bet Mel Gibson is working on that script right now. And speaking of creepy dudes of whose motives you are uncertain of, I stopped at a rest stop in a National Park and 1 minute later I heard the door open while I was taking a dump. The person just stood in the bathroom, no movement, no bathroom sounds. I got out of the stall and a middle aged bald dude gave me the "fuck me" eyes. What the fuck? I makes me so furious to have my personal space and self put into that kind of position. I was angry as hell. His lifestyle is his business, but to do that in a public restroom is crossing the line. It is that out of bounds mentality that leads to rape. Fucking creepy.

As things decay economically it is inevitable that the moral decay will spiral out of control as well. Our current state of affairs has been arrived at after almost eight years of broken expectations, broken promises and the utter disregard for what used to be the rules of the game. Now that even the artiface of authenticity has been abandoned it leaves us as a nation without a rudder, a place where confusion and desperation have replaced the vague hope and expectations that guided my formative years. No matter how bad shit was in my world I had a basic faith that the system worked. Without that it is hard to retain civility and sanity. That is where we are, a place where a working class dad steals gas with a power drill and his office manager neighbor cruises parks for blow jobs. Ciao.

Go Team!

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:38:00 +0000

This fucking picture displays the same lack of grace that Bush exudes in his official Presidential portrait. As Bush spent the day comparing the Iraq War to WW2 with graduating cadets in Colorado Springs I spent the day tramping around DC. I was again struck by the dichotomies that define our nation's capital. The reflecting pool that lies between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial was a cess pit between two architectural marvels. Ducks were drinking stagnant water and eating from the swarms of insects on the green water's surface. The tourists were the same as yesterday, the suburban kids were the worst. I guess that it makes sense that our capital is just as conflicted as our nation.

The same goes for Scott McClellan. The former White House spokesman has taken a lot of heat for his "tell all" book. His former employer and colleagues are dumbfounded by his sudden change of heart, but maybe he is part opportunist and part man of conscience. From everything I've read and heard McClellan got to work on his book as soon as he got out of the job. My guess is that he is much like anyone else who has been given a prestigious position. He was a faithful Republican who had a chance to be the President's voice to the media. He did what he was told and bit his tongue when he had to say shit he disagreed with or knew were lies. I would lump him into the Colin Powell category of former Bush employees. I think Powell was a good person who felt compelled to do what he was told even when he knew it was wrong. McClellan was probably also compelled to write the book due to the probable treatment he endured being a Bush acolyte. It could not have been pleasant.

And he's making a buck off of his unique experience. Hey, that's the fucking American way! The unforgivable transgressions of the Bush Presidency will take years to unfold in total. We will never know exactly what he has done and who he had do it. The more people who come out against him the better. It's hard to trust liars, but all people have the innate capacity for conscience at some level. When we have our president telling kids who are willing to die for his war that it is as noble as WW2 we need as much outrage and dissidence as possible, no matter what the source. Ciao.

Ready for Change?

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:55:00 +0000

An interesting day in here in DC. The mixture of opulence and squalor is remarkable. It feels like a fiefdom where the lords live in a castle while the servants live in shacks around the perimeter. Even at the Mall the dichotomy was telling. The monuments and museums were fabulous, while the great green field was brown and torn up from events held there. For some reason I thought that DC would be transcendent, an ideal of America preserved for show. Instead it feels like any other city with the same problems, only magnified. Maybe it was different before Bush was elected. One thing that we have encountered right away is the new surge in public transportation ridership. Many in the metro area have abandoned their cars for the trains and buses due to high gas prices and I am among them because parking in the city sucks.

It's a change that is beginning to sweep America. Less diving. Perhaps it always takes a shock to the system to get people to change. Now that the shock has come people are adapting. It is a great thing. I hate buses due to my Midwestern childhood spent on them, but trains are cool. They are fast, have a fixed route and are almost always on time. Reduction of greenhouse gases is something that we have been wrestling with for decades and perhaps making gas prohibitive will start a trend to a new approach towards personal transport in this nation. It is a painful way to turn the tide and it is certain that more painful adjustments are going to occur as the economy bottoms out. The worse it gets the more chance we do have for change. That is why I have a renewed hope that Obama will pull it off.

I think we may be there. But there is so much that must be transformed beyond the daily habits of daily life. Today in the museums the kids from foreign lands and the minority - by the way, this term has to go - kids were inquisitive and well behaved. The white American kids were fucking awful. Snotty, rude and stupid. The sad thing is that they had relatively rich parents and will step into the upper reaches of the social structure once they come of age. Just like GW. If there was a way to disenfranchise that class and level the playing field economic collapse may be it. The rest will have natural resources to draw upon and without their cash they would fall to the back of the line where they belong. Change is good. Ciao.

The power of nature.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:26:00 +0000

On Sunday night I flew 30,000ft above the Earth and about 200 miles in front of the tornadoes that hit the Midwest. Then I got to feel the storm on the ground in Mid-Missouri 2 hours later. I have never seen a line of storm clouds and lightening like it. Not until today (Monday) did I know about the destruction on the ground. It makes all of our quibblings seem like the quibblings they are. The destruction in China, Myanmar and all the other disasters of the past four years shows that our endeavors are minute in the face of nature and perhaps we should focus on resolving our petty desires, enjoy the life that we have the privilege of living and be at peace if disaster beyond our control hits. Ciao.

Non Sequitur.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:47:00 +0000

I just read the following sentence and cannot make much sense out of it, see what you think: "“We’re going to have to change the system by which we pick the nominees, I believe, and we are with the system we have now.”" Hmm. I get what Hillary is going for, but it don't make a whole lot of sense in strictly logical terms. There has been a lot of talk about how exhausted she is and the pressure she is under, but doesn't that too work against her? The above quote was taken from a speech she gave today in which she made her tired claim that she is entitled to the nomination. Citing her performance in key states that determine general elections and her unsubstantiated claim that she has more of the popular vote once again Hillary stamped her feet and said "gimme, gimme, gimme" to the crowd. It is pathetic. Now that the super delegates are bailing on her she now repudiates the entire nomination process.

Change the rules, they are unfair because they work against me. Her mentality is very much the same as our current president's seeming insatiable need to redefine, re legislate and configure the system to his own personal needs and ambitions. Fuck Hillary and fuck the Clintons in general. Her gaff yesterday should be the end of her run, but she's still out there flogging the horse. Her behavior is at least neurotic and at most psychotic. In either case there is no fucking way that she should be allowed to be the nominee and no way in hell she should be given the keys to the presidency.

Enough about that. Beer is flowing and I am ready to relax. Ciao.

Regardless.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Regardless of what Hillary meant today . . . thank god. Maybe we can move forward with Obama and get on with the potential for a better America. Ciao.

A past blast.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:51:00 +0000

A diatribe from exactly five years ago today . . . Enjoy!

"5/22/03

A bomb was detonated at Yale University yesterday[sic] and as of right now they are not sure whether or not it was a 'friendly' bomb or a terrorist plot. It's funny how they report these things and how we define our terms in this post 9-11 world of ours. We hope that this act of destruction was perpetrated by an American lunatic rather than a Muslim one. Meanwhile, many are questioning the validity of our terror alert system. Just like I said yesterday, there's nothing we can do about it, so fuck it and several experts on CNN this evening said the same thing sans the expletives.

There must be a lot of disgruntled students out there. The past couple of weeks we have seen two attacks on US campuses which makes me glad that my academic career is over. Academia is not the only area of our domestic front that is in trouble. The head of the EPA stepped down today and who can blame her. Bush has destroyed the momentum that the environmental movement gained under Clinton and Gore's careful guidance. Bush has approved legislation that encourages deforestation, oil drilling in national parks and the allowance of Midwestern powerplants to operate without pollution control devices. Anyone who thinks that the administration is going to bring electric cars and solar powerplants into our lives is fucking stupid.

I cannot understand how the American people can be so stupid. Maybe after a certain point, after college, most middle-class Americans submit to the grind and turn their minds off the moment they get home from work. It seems that we are all the victims of our own tunnel vision. All of the things mentioned above are the product of selfishness. Pissed-off students are too concerned about their grades, big business is too concerned with the bottom line to try and help the environment and our politicians are too self-absorbed with reelection to do the right thing for this nation and its citizens. It all seems so fucking hopeless and it probably is . . ."

I spy.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:52:00 +0000

You know, some days I just wish I had put down the paper or skipped the online news. I am reading an article about China, specifically the city of Shenzhen. It is a city that the Chinese government created 30 years ago to try out it's capitalist experiment. It is now a thriving megalopolis of 13 million and one of the richest cities on earth. It is also host to a new experiment - the first fully integrated cyber-police state. There are over 2 million cameras covering the city. They are linked to police stations and the Communist Party has a direct feed. Instant observation of the city's population at the touch of a button. London and Manhattan are on their way as well, but not nearly to the same degree as Shenzhen. The potent combination of monolithic government controlling raw capitalist endeavor that I warned of a decade ago is really beginning to take shape and show it's teeth.

Here's some of the other fun aspects of this development. The US had pumped millions of dollars into this project. They have sent technology, specialists and information to China so that the Chinese can work the kinks out and then send it back to us all ready to go. It would be too hard to implement such a massive system of population control here in the land of the free, what with our constitutional freedoms and all. So once the Chinese get it streamlined and neatly packaged we will watch as Washington prepares to watch all of us. Along with the cameras the Communist Party has issued national IDs (embedded with an ID chip) which are mandatory for all transactions and travel and a centralized database that will eventually make every corner of China a mouse click away from government officials.

Gee, maybe that is why our national ID got pushed back to 2012 . . . They needed more time for China to do the R & D and get it packed up for us. You know all those street shots done without our permission by Google Earth last year? Well, they have to get their research done and all of the photos taken before they can decide where to mount all of these secret cameras. Did I mention they are disguised to look like street lamps, smoke detectors . . . you get the idea. So, the future of the civilized world will be Foucault's Panopticon. A prison planet where we are all tracked and every movement is recorded and observed. Fuck. Ciao.

The race card - part 1,437.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:24:00 +0000

Tonight when I got homr from work I laid down and began to nap with some CNN susidiary channel on, maybe CNN4 or some other bullshit. They were doing a call in show and callers were asked to spout off about their favorite Democrat. Most of them were Clinton supporters who denounced Obama as a charlatan and pledged to throw their vote down the fucking toilet by voting for McCain. What the fuck? These people were all pissed off women. I know that there are a lot of middle aged women out there who are mad as hell and want their fantasy to come true. I'm all for a woman president. I am not for a crazy, power hungry, self-serving bitch that is just as divisive as Bush. These rabid middle American matrons need to settle the fuck down and try and be rational, but it is a full moon . . .

One woman was particularly awful. You could hear the word "nigger" poised on her lips. This is the thing I have been wondering about. When will we see the racist heart of America open up and let all the hate out. You heard it in her voice and the commentator asked her if she had voted for another black candidate in her local election and she said that that man was an "awful liar, just like Obama." Wow. And all of this on national television. I was stunned. After today's voting the results were again split. Kentucky proved that they are dumbshits who would rather throw it away on McCain rather that support Obama's eventual candidacy. Here in my state of Oregon we went for Obama and I have not heard yet, but I bet we'll have a very low exit poll percentage of idiots willing to vote for McCain if they cast their ballot for Hillary (11%).

The racist reflex exists all over this nation. It is stronger in the heartland and the south. Hillary's switch from an educated and experienced elite to a bourbon swilling hillbilly boy toy panders to the racist reflex. "That MAN," says it all. It's not just that he is indeed a man, he is a black man and that is just too much for many Americans to take. Yet, I think there is a majority of us who have tempered the reflex through accumulated knowledge and experience. Obama has the best chance of being elected and no matter what the polls say Democrats have plenty of time to mull it over and vote for him rather than Insane McCain. The guy has aid he'll invade Iran for fuck's sake? Are the crazy bitches really that crazy? I hope not. Ciao.

It's a fucking book.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:47:00 +0000

Iraq's high rolling Sunnis want to see the US soldier that used the Quran for target practice punished more severely. Powerful Sunni leaders think that the soldier has been let off easy and deserves some sort of physical attack for his actions. He shot at a fucking book, it's not like he raped someone or pulled a Blackwater style killing spree in the middle of a town square, he shot at a book. It's funny. With all of the awful actions taken by US soldiers against Iraqi civilians this incident has suddenly become the biggest affront to the Iraqi culture this year. Of course the media has blown it out of proportion and human beings love raging indignation in the face of a perceived insult of their religious beliefs. That is what is truly at issue - our stupid faith and slavish devotion to made up shit.

It is a time worn theme with me, but I cannot help but go back to it: we made all this shit up! God, all the religions and every cultural difference that breeds hate and violence is ultimately a human construct. Therefore it is subject to change, it can be changed at will for it was created at will. Instead of cuddling up to that basic concept we have powerful leaders in Iraq ready to behead an idiot who shot up their good book. It is ridiculous, infantile and horrifying. Yet, we kill each other every day for ideas that have direct bearing upon our human interconnectedness. Abstract beings that we cannot know direct our existence and that drives me absolutely insane. We should be focused on the real sources of human misery that we can see right in front of us. There is more than enough of that to keep us busy without throwing this kind of bullshit in on top of it.

Just look around at all of the awful deeds done in the name of an abstract concept and you realize that they should serve as what they were designed for - metaphors to explain the world in which we are inextricably situated. Turning metaphor into reality is dangerous, psychopaths and sociopaths do it all the time, blurring the line between fantasy and realiy with catastrophic results. It is no different than making GOD real or an idea worth killing for. It is worth killing to get people the food and care they need and you don't need a concept to back you up. It is just the humane thing to do. Ciao.

Summer fun!

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Down in California last week the American summer tragedy season began as a carnival ride broke down and injured over twenty kids. Let the fun begin! It is not uniquely American, other nations have equally idiotic paeans to human frivolity and distraction, yet the American travelling carnival is very symbolic of our nation. The trucks pull into town bellowing smoke and finding a haven for some of the lowest of the low - carnival lifers. The kind of folk who prefer the open road and the smell of diesel spewing from rides made in the 1960's. The kind of folk who probably have a warrant out for their arrest in a few states and like to get high and have a drink before the kiddies show up for "magic" time.

The fine line separating the carnival and the communities that flock to them is a relative stability of lifestyle if not a real difference in mentality. I used to be dragged to these things as a kid in rural Missouri and they are a celebration of everything mediocre about America. Expensive tickets for shitty/dangerous rides and drug paraphernalia disguised as prizes if you manage to win one of the games - roach clip with a feather = fun hair accessory! Ah, the sugary drinks and dirty water hot dogs, parents dragging toddlers through dirt and pools of vomit and gasoline - ah, the sweet memories!

Whenever one of these rides breaks I have only one hope: That enough people get hurt so they shut these fucking travelling nightmares down. It is NOT a mandatory right of passage for every lower middle class kid in America. We CAN live without them. And, what do you expect from Gus the drunk who is charge of a machine that is capable of rending your child limb from limb? Ciao.

The world today.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:04:00 +0000

Just got done reading a few stories about Myanmar and how the aid is not getting to the people. What little that has made it there has been hijacked by the Junta and replaced with sodden shit from their military warehouses. A few people have been brave enough to talk to international journalists and they are quick to let them know (under the assurance of anonymity) that there has been little to no effort to help people in the most devastated regions. One Junta official met with a US Admiral and said that things are under control and that the people in the affected regions were planting their crops and returning to normal life. A pretty staggering disconnect, but one we have grown accustomed to in this world we inhabit. The Junta is happy to see the population die, it reduces the possibility of revolution and further beats down those who manage to survive. Their will is broken.

The amount of aid originally pledged by the US was over 30 million, a low number, or so I thought at the time. Now it has dropped to 16 million and most of that will not be delivered because of the Junta's unwillingness to accept it. So even our empty gesture seems pathetic in the face of such a strategy. I pose the following line of thought: When we invaded Iraq the population was industrious, had an infrastructure not unlike our own and had no immediate threat of widespread misery and death on its doorstep. Yet, we invaded under the guise of helping "free" them from tyranny and disarming a madman who could destroy the entire planet on a whim. All fantasy, we went in and it is now a war torn third world nation.

In Myanmar we have a population that IS facing destruction and death under tyrannical rule. Yet we politely park offshore and wring our hands about these awful dictators who will not LET us help them save their own people, pledging the kind of cash for aid that would not fuel all the tanks in Iraq for more than a couple of weeks. Hard to make sense of it, but I guess we are also a nation that has had its will beaten out of us. Otherwise we would not sit around blogging about it and wringing our hands wondering how we can fill the tank to get to work. Ciao.

Communication.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:46:00 +0000

It is interesting. Today McCain criticized Obama for wanting to talk to Iran and Hamas. That would weaken us, it would lead to disaster. Obama called McCain's approach a continuation of the failed policies that the Bush administration has subjected America to for eight years. God forbid that we actually reach out to those in opposition to us and attempt to communicate, that is just fucking crazy. So why not refuse to negotiate and secretly concoct plans to utilize military and terrorist tactics against the terrorists. Now THAT sounds sensible. The insanity is in full bloom. Watching McCain calmly describe how he will keep America safe by sending it's people to die for a vague sense of threat should be enough to seal his fate in November. If he wins we deserve everything we get.

McCain is the greedy Croatian neighbor. In Zagreb a group of apartment dwellers got together and decided to break into an apartment owned by an old woman. They decided that they should have it and rather than take a legal recourse to discuss the situation or talk to her directly they broke in to discover her dead body. She had died in 1973. She died when apartments were state owned and the world was a much different place. Authorities say that her windows had been open, perhaps why no one smelled anything. She was mummified and her neighbors, after calling the police, stated that they should get to divide up the apartment since it was owned by no one. Both stories pulled from today's news.

The world is that apartment and old woman. America is the greedy neighbors. As of right now that is. If we elect McCain we are gonna keep raiding for no justifiable reason for no real gain. It is very simple and very moral to understand this. We need to talk with the world and engage it. We are failing as a nation and the best way to recover is to reach out. Ciao.

Thank you Mr. Edwards!

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Before I launch into my political screed I would like to take a moment to talk about the death of Megan Meier, the 13 year old Missouri girl who killed herself due to myspace harassment by an ex-friend and that friend's insane family. The mother is going to court and could face 5 years in jail. The awful actions undertaken by these inbred idiots - the type I know all too well - looked as if they would go unpunished, we don't yet have laws designed to specifically address them. Yet, the lawyers and prosecutors in L.A. managed to use laws designed to punish hackers to get a solid case built. For once the system appears to have the fluidity and conscience needed to maintain civil society. Kudos to them and shame on Missouri prosecutors who said they couldn't build a case. Dumbshits.

Now to more good news. Edwards has pledged his support to Obama. That means that a large chunk of his delegates will go to Obama and perhaps end this insanity. Edwards' endorsement was eloquent, inspiring and gives me great hope that Obama has this thing locked down. Clinton has vowed to soldier on despite the fact that she trails in all categories and is running her campaign on a deficit budget. Do we really want another strident egoist with no economic savvy running the show? Another huge boost for Obama's chances in the General Election was McCain's announcement for a withdrawal from Iraq by 2013. Wow, he'll be dead before that happens and that is probably why he chose a time so far out on the calendar.

Bush has also helped out by making an insane historical reference. He said that talking with terrorist groups - like Hamas - is the same as the British appeasement of the Nazis in 1939. He is in Israel right now working on a peace initiative that is so secret that no one even knows what the fuck it about. But, by God, never talk to the opposing side or even let the public know what the hell in going on. It is all to the good for Obama. The more insane and destructive Bush appears the less of a chance McCain is going to have convincing swing voters that HE isn't insane with is own no-negotiation-keeping-the-war-going agenda. Good to be back - Ciao.

Nada.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:39:00 +0000

That's it . . . long assed day, something tomorrow - perhaps. Ciao.

More fuel.

noreply@blogger.com (TAL) — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:37:00 +0000

Note: For the next few days I will probably not be blogging due to an insane schedule. Reheats and Lao Tzu 'til Thursday!

Tomorrow West Virginia will cast its ballots and more than likely Hillary is going to carry the state. To stave off any more of her ridiculous claims to the nomination super delegates rallied behind Obama and put him ahead in the count. He now has four more of the ethereal super delegates than she does. You can be sure that it will not stop her from claiming a right to take the race all the way to the convention. They have an insane hope that if they fight tooth and nail that they may be able to scrape together enough of the popular vote to create a sense of legitimacy. The pundits are keeping the fires alive by conjecturing about the possibility of a Clinton coup at the convention. All of these people are fucking insane. The super delegates who have joined with Obama are desperately trying to stave off a disaster in November.

Clinton is a tyrant. If she does manage to claw the nomination away from Obama she will have blood on her fangs and will be a cartoon character ripe for the picking by the McCain camp. Logic precludes any chance of her actually defeating McCain because they are both the same. No matter which of them wins a huge machinery will whirl into place propelled by an agenda generated by shadow forces much the same, if not the same, as the ones that have driven the Bush machine to drive America into the shit filled slog that has become America. It is hard to imagine an election without Obama at this point. But it could happen. He is no saint and is subject to the same dirt and tactics utilized by every politician in search of power. But he is not an old player of the game and there would be an instant change of tone that is impossible to get with the other two.

If Obama does get pushed aside we all might as well climb on the FEMA trains and head to the camps they have set up for dissidents. We will remain a country at war and a country racing to eliminate the very class that has come to define America. With no political hope or economic hope we will no longer be America. Sure, it's always been a rigged game, but now the forces are not playing geopolitical chess alone, they are trying to destroy us economically and suck our spirit dry. Ciao.