Dick Cheney Dangerous, Not "Delusional"

People keep saying he's "delusional." I don't think so.

According to the Neoconservative philosophy, lying to the populace is necessary in order to get them to go along with the designs of those in power, who supposedly know better than the people they govern (doesn't sound very American, does it). Even George Bush let on about this: Remember he said that if you keep telling the people the same thing (i.e., lie) over and over, they will eventually come to believe it. Apparently it worked. After lying to the people about a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11, some people still believe it to this day. (And George Bush and Dick Cheney--especially--keep saying it, even after Bush himself admitted it wasn't so.) [SEE POST ABOVE.]

To say that Cheney is "delusional" I think lets him off the hook. He's not mentally ill. He's a contemptible lying elitist anti-democratic bastard who thinks everyone and everything is beneath him*. And he's done nothing but wreak bloody havoc on our country. He's not delusional, he's downright dangerous.

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*including, judging by his own draft dodging during Vietnam, military service, which is perhaps why he has no qualms about sacrificing our soldiers in endless misadventures abroad. "I had other priorities in the '60s than military service." And who didn't--and still doesn't--have other priorities than to be cannon fodder in a senseless war?

On Hating Gays

I thought this was excellent.

"Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy" Petering Out (Thank God)

From today's NYT ("As Clinton Runs, Some Old Foes Stay on Sideline") By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK:

Back when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was first lady, no one better embodied what she once called the “vast right-wing conspiracy” than Richard Mellon Scaife.

Mr. Scaife, reclusive heir to the Mellon banking fortune, spent more than $2 million investigating and publicizing accusations about the supposed involvement of Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton in corrupt land deals, sexual affairs, drug running and murder. But now, as Mrs. Clinton is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mr. Scaife’s checkbook is staying in his pocket.

Christopher Ruddy, who once worked full-time for Mr. Scaife investigating the Clintons and now runs a conservative online publication he co-owns with Mr. Scaife, said, “Both of us have had a rethinking.”

“Clinton wasn’t such a bad president,” Mr. Ruddy said. “In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways, and Dick feels that way today.” . . .

I guess six years of George Bush can change the perspective of even the crustiest of right-wingers.

Movie Nite

B. and I watched "Gone With the Wind." He'd never seen it and I hadn't seen it since I saw it for the first and only time at FSU. It's a classic movie. Watch it, if you haven't already. It's a powerful love story that has a lot to it.

It's a long movie, the longest I've ever seen (it even has an intermission and entr'acte, not to mention an overture). The CD contained the first part on one side and the second part on the other.

I never read the novel by Margaret Mitchell, upon which the movie was based. Some people dislike this book, claiming that it glorifies slavery. I didn't find that to be the case in the movie.

Perhaps the idea that masters and slaves had affectionate emotional bonds offends some people's modern political sensibilities. But I'm sure it's true that masters and slaves did have such bonds (look at Thomas Jefferson, for example, or watch "Rome"). At any rate, it's a very complicated issue and one, I think, not easily reducible to an oppressor/oppressed paradigm in which the only operative emotions are negative and destructive.

Drumbeat for War with Iran

My how those slides showing Iranian weapons found in Iraq look a lot like the phony presentation Colin Powell made at the U.N. before the U.S. invaded.

The Homosexual Agenda - A Fantasy

I've begun posting this novel to its own blog. No fancy formatting. I'll have to go back later and add the italics. I decided to post it on a blog rather than a website -- it's easier for me.

By the way, I finished this piece a while back, before people even started talking about "freedom from religion." I'm reading through it one more time before posting it (but, as I've noticed while reading it online, I'm still not catching some mistakes). By the way, three asterisks (or daggers) denote subsection divisions, not omitted material.

"Deadliest Bomb in Iraq Is Made by Iran, U.S. Says"

(New York Times headline)

So what's the point? Shit happens when you invade another country.

Update: From Editor & Publisher (via Hullabaloo):

Today, in contrast to the Times' report, Dafna Linzer in The Washington Post simply notes, "Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said serial numbers and markings on some explosives used in Iraq indicate that the material came from Iran, but he offered no evidence."

"Is South Beach Growing Up?"

Restaurant review from the New York Times.

Bad Movie Nite

Running With Scissors

A "Special Place in Hell" for Ralph Nader

Running again?

I LOVE THE BLOGGERS

Bloggers helped me a lot when, to my horror, I watched as the mainstream media went about trashing Al Gore during the 2000 election cycle. I could hardly believe what I was reading and watching on TV.

I blame Al Gore's loss of the presidency on the MSM. Journalists had stopped doing their traditional job, which is to report. Instead, they were ganging up en masse on the Democratic candidate, weaving Republican talking points into their reportage (which Gore himself objected to). Till then, I'd always had at least a modicum of faith in the MSM.

(Nevertheless, Al Gore went to win the popular election. Now he's going to get an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize, while George Bush is going down on record as the worst president in U.S. history.)

Something really wrong has happened in journalism: A widespread dereliction of journalists' responsibility to the public. "The Daily Howler" helped me understand that. And also "Media Whores Online" (which unfortunately no longer exists).

It's great to see people writing here with a conscience ("moral clarity"* ?) and a desire to get to the heart of matters. I think that's exactly what the founders had in mind when they preserved "the freedom of speech, or of the press" in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

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* A Neoconservative term of art.

Bad Movie Nite

Adam and Steve

Marty Kaplan, at Huffington Post

Very good story, about the founding fathers, etc. (Pls. see "Cheney Delusional?" below.)

Is it so unreasonable to wonder whether the charter [the Founders] wrote more than two centuries ago isn't insurance enough against the madmen who now rule us?

Cheney "Delusional"? (Updated)

I don't think so. Lying to and otherwise deceiving the public as a means to achieve a government's goals are explicitly contained in the Neoconservative philosophy, which dates back to the German-born Jewish political philosopher Leo Strauss (1899-1973).

From Wikipedia:

Critics of Strauss also accuse him of elitism and anti-democratic sentiment. Shadia Drury, author of 1999's Leo Strauss and the American Right, argues that Strauss taught different things to different students, and inculcated an elitist strain in American political leaders that is linked to imperialist militarism and Christian fundamentalism. Drury accuses Strauss of teaching that "perpetual deception of the citizens by those in power is critical because they need to be led, and they need strong rulers to tell them what's good for them." Drury adds, "The Weimar Republic was his model of liberal democracy... liberalism in Weimar, in Strauss's view, led ultimately to the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews." [Emphasis mine.]

Sounds like Strauss turned out to be on the same side of the coin as the Nazis, and now his anti-democratic, un-American thinking has crept into the highest levels of our current government.

Having lived under despots themselves, our founding fathers were naturally opposed to any form of despotism or tyranny. In conceiving the U.S. government and embodying it in the Constitution, they didn't create a kingdom but a democracy, with an executive branch sharing power with the legislature and the judiciary. That's the form of government we were given, and it has served us well for many generations. I have no doubt in my mind that the founding fathers would find utterly repugnant -- and inimical to their democratic values -- the lying would-be tyrants who presently occupy the executive branch of government. Fortunately for us, and thanks to the founding fathers, they will be out soon enough. (That they got into office in the first place is a fluke, and one reason why I'm for abolishing the Electoral College through an amendment to the Constitution. Whoever wins the popular vote should become president.)

More on Global Warming and Evangelicals

Via Concord Monitor (?) via Digby at Hullabaloo:

Hardison, a parent of seven in Federal Way, Wash., a southern suburb of Seattle, has himself roiled the global-warming waters. It happened early this month when he learned that one of his daughters would be watching An Inconvenient Truth in her seventh-grade science class.

"No you will not teach or show that propagandist Al Gore video to my child, blaming our nation - the greatest nation ever to exist on this planet - for global warming," Hardison wrote in an e-mail to the Federal Way School Board. The computer consultant is an evangelical Christian who says he believes that a warming planet is "one of the signs" of Jesus Christ's imminent return for Judgment Day.

I knew it.

James Wolcott on "Little Miss Sunshine"

"Little Miss Sunblock"

P.S. to "Health Insurance" Post Below

"How Can a $124.8 Million a Year CEO Make Health Care More Affordable?"

Read the story. There's also a Wikipedia entry on the insurance company in question.

And here's another goody.

"Washington Wakes Up to Global Warming"

Title of an AP story I found today in Salon. Glad to know something may be done about it before South Florida disappears into the drink.

This sentence struck me:

There is still plenty of opposition to action on global warming in both the evangelical and business communities, but the tide is clearly turning.

Anyone who doesn't believe that global warming is real and is being caused by CO2 emissions (and is thus reversible) should go watch "An Inconvenient Truth." This isn't a political debate. What are the evangelicals waiting around for?

Well, at least some of them aren't waiting around. I did some research and found this February 8, 2006 NY Times story ("Evangelical Leaders Join Global Warming Initiative"):

Despite opposition from some of their colleagues, 86 evangelical Christian leaders have decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors."

Among signers of the statement, which will be released in Washington on Wednesday, are the presidents of 39 evangelical colleges, leaders of aid groups and churches, like the Salvation Army, and pastors of megachurches, including Rick Warren, author of the best seller "The Purpose-Driven Life."

"For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority," the statement said. "Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough."

The statement calls for federal legislation that would require reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through "cost-effective, market-based mechanisms" — a phrase lifted from a Senate resolution last year and one that could appeal to evangelicals, who tend to be pro-business. The statement, to be announced in Washington, is only the first stage of an "Evangelical Climate Initiative" including television and radio spots in states with influential legislators, informational campaigns in churches, and educational events at Christian colleges. . . .

Good for them. It's about time they found a cause worthier than gay-bashing.

Quote of the Day, from FDR -- "I welcome their hatred"

Via Paul Krugman:

For the fact is that F.D.R. faced fierce opposition as he created the institutions — Social Security, unemployment insurance, more progressive taxation and beyond — that helped alleviate inequality. And he didn’t shy away from confrontation.

“We had to struggle,” he declared in 1936, “with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. ... Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred.”

Patriotism

You can be a good patriot and not agree with George Bush.

Patriotism was drummed into me ever since I can remember. My ancestors fought in the American Revolution; one of them was a captain. I was always taught to honor my ancestors' sacrifice.

George Bush crosses the line when he accuses people who don't agree with him of being traitors. Just where is he coming from, exactly? His whole family is highly suspect when it comes to their patriotism. His grandfather bankrolled the Nazis. (Check this out, "How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power," from the Guardian.) What kind of patriots are the Bushes anyway, and who is George Bush to impugn the patriotism of other Americans? He comes from a family of war profiteers, or much worse -- the Nazis exterminated millions of innocent people.

George Bush went out of his way to avoid military service to this country and is now responsible for killing over 3,000 of our soldiers in an unnecessary war in Iraq, waged on lies.

He has countenanced an obscene spate of war profiteering, while depriving our soldiers of basic equipment needed for their own survival in combat.

What kind of a patriot is George Bush? Look at his background -- the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Health Insurance

I'm glad I have it. It's very good where I work. I consider myself lucky.

I think though, on the whole, that private insurance companies ultimately cannot afford to provide universal health care.

Each insurance company has an enormous bureaucracy and a CEO making an obscene salary. Unless these companies go out of their way to exclude people who really need health care, they don't make a profit. They've each got to pay for their bureaucracy and their CEO, and then have money left over to pay dividends to shareholders. And they're all in competition to pay the fattest dividends.

Wouldn't it be better to have a system in which profit wasn't a motive when it comes to your health?

My father was in the insurance business. I had a personal, guided tour of Lloyd's of London way back when. (I was impressed. I saw that bell they ring when a big ship goes down.) I think insurance is brilliant. But I just don't think private insurance is able to handle the demands of a nation's health care. It's too expensive to be profitable.

Bush's Bad Foreign Policy

I'm no expert on foreign policy, but (as I've said before), I always thought Theodore Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick" was pretty wise. Then you have George Bush and the "Axis of Evil". Or: How to inflame your enemies and make them more inimical. Thank you, George Bush, for making the world a more dangerous place in which to live.

Here's some advice.

Boston Butt

Roast, that is. (It's pork.) They were on sale yesterday at Publix and I bought one, but didn't know how to cook it. Did some sleuthing on the Internet and ended up cooking it in the crockpot. Came out great. After being coated with spices (chili powder, garlic powder, celery salt and black pepper), it cooked in a liquid of equal parts of red wine, soy sauce and black coffee (!), to make one cup. Nice, rich jus. Very simple. I cooked it for 11 hours on the "Keep Warm" setting.

TGIF!

Re: the mess in Iraq, this seems sensible. From Steve Soto at The Left Coaster ("Is There Hope For Iraq?"):

But we do see progress here at home, when someone like right-wing pundit Charles Krauthammer now supports a sensible redeployment outside of Baghdad, which meshes with what John Murtha has been talking about for over a year.

(I first read about it on Andrew Sullivan's blog; I don't read Charles Krauthammer.) Krauthammer writes:

Right now there are only three policies on the table: (1) the surge, which a majority of Congress opposes, (2) the status quo, which everybody opposes, and (3) the abandonment of Iraq, which appears to be the default Democratic alternative.

What is missing is a fourth alternative, both as a threat to Maliki and as an actual fallback if the surge fails. The Pentagon should be working on a sustainable Plan B whose major element would be not so much a drawdown of troops as a drawdown of risk to our troops. If we had zero American casualties a day, there would be as little need to withdraw from Iraq as there is to withdraw from the Balkans.

We need to find a redeployment strategy that maintains as much latent American strength as possible, but with minimal exposure. We say to Maliki: Let us down, and we dismantle the Green Zone, leave Baghdad and let you fend for yourself; we keep the airport and certain strategic bases in the area; we redeploy most of our forces to Kurdistan; we maintain a significant presence in Anbar province, where we are having success in our one-front war against al-Qaeda and the Baathists. Then we watch. You can have your Baghdad civil war without us. We will be around to pick up the pieces as best we can.

This is not a great option, but fallbacks never are. It does have the virtue of being better than all the others, if the surge fails. It has the additional virtue of increasing the chances that the surge will succeed.

[Emphasis mine.] Sounds like some Right Wingers are becoming a little squeamish about all that blood on their hands. Also sounds like the surge isn't necessary to begin with and we should have followed Murtha's (Democrat) plan, which as I recall was roundly rejected by the Right Wing at the time it was proposed.

Almost TGIF

I have to say I'm not really for the "surge." I was against this war since before it started, believing it to be immoral in its conception. And it certainly has been immoral in practically every aspect of its execution -- from the killing and maiming to the torture to the destruction of the Iraqis' quality of life to the fomenting of even more hostility against the U.S. to the profiteering and corruption on the part of Bush's political cronies. So I'm certainly not in favor of anything that keeps this monster alive. I say get out. And from what I've read and seen on the news lately, this surge plan is a just another shitty idea. So what's new.

B. and I went out to a local beer bar (Jamboree) on Monday night -- we both had the day off. We hadn't been to a gay bar since our vacation in San Francisco (the week of Labor Day.) We even ran into a buddy from our old watering hole that closed down last year. Mind you, this bar is twice as far from home as our former hang-out was, but at least some of the construction on Biscayne Blvd. has been completed, making the trip to and from easier.

Sunday Night

Have tomorrow off for Martin Luther King Day. Excellent. B. has his usual Monday off.

Rented some movies tonite. While de gustibus non est disputandum, we thought "The Illusionist" was very good. "Snakes on a Plane" was horrible -- we couldn't even bear to watch the whole thing. Really stupid. "Flightplan" (with Jody Foster) was pretty bad. (We liked "Panic Room.") We'll have to watch "The Illusionist" again tomorrow since I was in the middle of making Gaston Beef Stew (for tomorrow) when B. put it on. One of his customers tonight had recommended the movie.

Was at the gym tonight. Also good. There's hardly anyone there on Sundays.

Regarding the "surge," this doesn't sound good (didn't read the whole thing). Of course the surge wouldn't be deemed necessary if we hadn't invaded Iraq in the first place and created such a volatile situation there. Better to have let Saddam Hussein remain in power than to open up this Pandora's Box. Bush, Cheney, Lieberman et al. still insist on linking 9/11 to Iraq as justification for this misadventure. Well, as I've emphasized before, Bush has killed more Americans in Iraq than died on U.S. soil on 9/11, and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

While I didn't watch "60 Minutes" (with Scott Pelley interviewing George Bush), here's this via Americablog, Bush lying about lying:

"You know better than I do that many Americans feel that your administration has not been straight with the country, has not been honest. To those people you say what?" Pelley asks.

"On what issue?" the president replies. "Like the weapons of mass destruction?"

"No weapons of mass destruction," Pelley says.

"Yeah," Bush says.

"No credible connection between 9/11 and Iraq," Pelley says.

“Yeah,” the president replies.

“The Office of Management and Budget said this war would cost somewhere between $50 billion and $60 billion and now we're over 400,” Pelley says.

“I gotcha. I gotcha. I gotcha,” Bush replies.

“The perception, Sir, more than any one of those points, is that the administration has not been straight with…,” Pelley says.

“Well, I strongly disagree with that, of course,” Bush says. “So I strongly reject that this administration hasn’t been straight with the American people. The minute we found out they didn’t have weapons of mass destruction, I was the first to say so.”

Anyway, Saddam Hussein may now be dead, but Osama bin Laden -- Enemy No. 1 -- is still on the loose and recruiting ever more "killers" (as Bush likes to say) to his cause. Great job, George. You're really smart.

I was raised on James Bond movies and "Mission: Impossible" (the TV show). How much smarter it seems, and more practical even, to go after the bad guys (the real ones, that is) from behind the scenes, one-on-one, without resorting to war, much less never-ending war. I've always thought that if the Bushies hadn't been so preoccupied with Iraq from the moment they got into power (and before), the 9/11 attacks could have been averted. But enough looking back -- on with the surge!

More on the "Surge"

From The Left Coaster. I agree.

DSL is Down (Bummer)

Early Sunday a.m. (offline)

DSL connection is down (light is blinking on the modem). It went down while I was reading the NYT Sunday headlines. Called India (as instructed by Wizard) but their trouble-shooting was getting rather too involved and I was getting tired. Will call again tomorrow if it's still not working. It's getting late and I've gotta go to bed.

Had a weird call today from a lady who said she (or her son) was getting calls (hang-up calls?) from my telephone number. She specifically mentioned a call from this number at 12:20 p.m. today (Saturday, actually), before either B. or I had gotten out of bed. I told her it wasn't me and hung up. Maybe she had the telephone company put a monitor on my line, and that's why the DSL isn't working. I'm such a paranoid. Maybe it's George Bush's doing, with all the domestic spying going on (and increasing).

This isn't the first time the DSL has malfunctioned like this. I'm just hoping it'll be OK in the morning. (Getting the DSL set up here at the beginning took about a month! As I recall, it was a problem with their line.)

[Later Sunday: DSL working again!]

TGIF!

But I'm on call tomorrow so it's not so joyous. Cheers anyway.

I found this interesting. Lately I've watched a couple of shows on the plague. The plague spread most rapidly among the urban poor, who lived in squalid conditions. Before science discovered that microbes cause the plague, the conventional wisdom (in England at least) was that poor people were poor because they were out of favor with God, and that their wretched, "ungodly" lifestyle brought the plague upon them. The plague wasn't considered a problem for society but rather fit into God's "plan." They were only getting what they deserved. Sound familiar?

Perhaps if society operated from the premise that God doesn't exist, then progress (against disease, for example) could proceed more rapidly, much to society's benefit. Just a thought. (And I'm not a flaming atheist.)

Bush's Speech on the "Surge" in Iraq

I caught part of it on TV and read the whole thing. All I have to say is, good luck!

Ah, Domestic Life, Hearth and Home

New microwave oven on its new stand. To christen it, I heated up some collards and they came out great (the oven figured out the cooking time by its sensor--this is all new to me). Meanwhile I'd mistakenly bought this humongous oven on the Internet which didn't fit (at right, next to the old one). If I can't sell it at work or somewhere, I'll ship it back.

Here's Lucy tonite, lapping her water.

Decided to Put Something in My Profile (see "About Me" at Right)

Not a whole lot about me but that's enough for now.

I'm about ready to get back to the novel publishing business, which would mean doing less of this. I figure that's OK, since not many people read this anyway. It's not like I would have to hire a guest blogger while I was off tending to the other stuff, right?

I do this because I enjoy it and I think it help keeps me in practice. I never liked writing in diaries, but this is fun. (I kept a diary once and my brother would go to great lengths to snoop in it.) Besides, my life is not that interesting that I feel compelled to write about it on a daily basis. Here I like to share other people's insightful observations and then perhaps put my own two cents in.

P.S. I would think the Blogger spell checker would contain the word "blogger" but it doesn't.

Krugman on Monday

A good one. An excerpt:

The only real question about the planned “surge” in Iraq — which is better described as a Vietnam-style escalation — is whether its proponents are cynical or delusional.

Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, thinks they’re cynical. He recently told The Washington Post that administration officials are simply running out the clock, so that the next president will be “the guy landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof.”

Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for his research on irrationality in decision-making, thinks they’re delusional. Mr. Kahneman and Jonathan Renshon recently argued in Foreign Policy magazine that the administration’s unwillingness to face reality in Iraq reflects a basic human aversion to cutting one’s losses — the same instinct that makes gamblers stay at the table, hoping to break even.

Of course, such gambling is easier when the lives at stake are those of other people’s children.

Well, we don’t have to settle the question. Either way, what’s clear is the enormous price our nation is paying for President Bush’s character flaws.

This Is Rich, Eh?

"Bush Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Finds"

What A Mess

What a nightmare. How many more people will die before this thing is over? Of course it should never have been started to begin with.

The commanders have acknowledged privately that the new Bush plan is almost certain to represent a last-chance option for persuading Americans that it is worth persisting with the heavy burdens of the war, with more than 3,000 American troops dead and overall costs that are nearing $450 billion.

There has to have been a better way for the oil companies to get the oil, without Bush starting a grudge match in Iraq. I'm now convinced that this is all about making Iraq safe for the oil companies. See this via Chris at Americablog:

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said.

Oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers, is state controlled.

Opponents say Iraq, where oil accounts for 95 per cent of the economy, is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty.

Amen

"The Democratic majority in Congress has a moral responsibility to address all these issues: fixing the profound flaws in the military tribunals act, restoring the rule of law over Mr. Bush’s rogue intelligence operations and restoring the balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch. So far, key Democrats, including Mr. Leahy and Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, chairman of a new subcommittee on human rights, have said these issues are high priorities for them.

"We would lend such efforts our enthusiastic backing and hope Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin and other Democratic leaders are not swayed by the absurd notion circulating in Washington that the Democrats should now 'look ahead' rather than use their new majority to right the dangerous wrongs of the last six years of Mr. Bush’s one-party rule.

"This is a false choice. Dealing with these issues is not about the past. The administration’s assault on some of the nation’s founding principles continues unabated. If the Democrats were to shirk their responsibility to stop it, that would make them no better than the Republicans who formed and enabled these policies in the first place."

From an editorial in today's New York Times. It also mentions Bush's newly asserted power to open our mail without a warrant. What next? They're already tapping our phones and monitoring our online activities. Why do Bush and Cheney continuously flout the U.S. Constitution, with its unambiguous checks on executive power? Because they can get away with it?

We have a government of laws, not of men. That's pretty much what the U.S. is all about. Nixon said that "when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal."* Bush and Cheney have reasserted it. Yet it's not what the Constitution says or implies. People with dictatorial tendencies ought not be occupying the U.S. presidency.

From BuzzFlash.com (October 29, 2002):

If Only I Were A Dictator, by George W. Bush

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Yes, George W. Bush has stated he'd prefer to be a dictator at least three times, according to BuzzFlash.com:

* * *

"You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier." Describing what it's like to be governor of Texas. (Governing Magazine 7/98)

-- From Paul Begala's "Is Our Children Learning?"

"I told all four that there are going to be some times where we don't agree with each other, but that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator," Bush joked.

-- CNN.com, December 18, 2000

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it, " [Bush] said.

-- Business Week, July 30, 2001

By the way, here's the text of the Fourth Amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Here's a definition of "unreasonable search and seizure" from The Free Dictionary by Farlex:

unreasonable search and seizure n. search of an individual or his/her premises (including an automobile) and/or seizure of evidence found in such a search by a law enforcement officer without a search warrant and without "probable cause" to believe evidence of a crime is present. Such a search and/or seizure is unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment (applied to the states by the 14th Amendment), and evidence obtained thereby may not be introduced in court.

Furthermore, "the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 prescribes procedures for requesting judicial authorization for electronic surveillance and physical search of persons engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power." (from the Federation of American Scientists website)

_____________________________

*I can understand this desperate argument considering the situation in which Nixon found himself, but Bush and Cheney seem to be doing it out of sheer defiance and in contempt of our society's constitutionally-ensured freedoms.

* * *

Now THIS should be interesting.

I love this...

This here from Hullabaloo. "100 Hours To Turn America Into San Francisco." It's hardly a bad idea. (Follow the link from the post.)

Why does the Right Wing hate San Francisco? Could it be . . . the GAYS??

VOILA!

Took a lot longer to put together than I thought it would (like 4 hours), but it's done. (Thank goodness I had the electric drill to screw in all the screws, even though I had to keep switching out the two power packs off the charger since they don't keep a charge like they used to.) The cart replaces this, an old Salton hot cart that belonged to my mother. Time to get rid of it (Mom's been dead over 20 years.) The new, white microwave should be arriving soon.

TGIF!

Cats on the bed. They really don't like each other that much so I had to get this shot.

Had a full week. Glad it's over! Was rough on B. and I felt the pain.

Back to the gym tonight. My attendance had been spotty during the holidays. I'm exhausted but that's good. I sleep better and generally feel better when I go. Maybe I'll even try to get back on the bicycle. The bike trails around here are fantastic (FIU, Enchanted Forest, Arch Creek Park (which ends up at the Dairy Queen)).

Got some new glasses yesterday, rimless ones (progressive bifocals, of course). Took me a day to get used to them. Now I love them. I was happy with the Armani glasses B. bought me 2 years ago but my eyesight had further deteriorated. I had money left over in my flex spending account which helped cover the cost.

Today a piece of furniture arrived unassembled in a box, a cabinet for the kitchen. I'll put it together tomorrow. (I figure it'll take me 1 1/2 to 2 hours. My screwdriver/drill is charging as we speak.) It's got loads of storage (shelves behind a glass door on one side and 3 deep drawers on the other). The microwave will go on top. Plus it's on casters. A new microwave should also be arriving soon. We currently have a big, God-knows-how-old Litton microwave that works well but doesn't have a revolving tray. I'd sworn not to get a new one till it broke, but B. humiliated me into getting us a new one. I found it through Consumer Reports Online. It's a good one and should make us happy.

Another Bad Movie We Rented (Tonight)

"My Super Ex-Girlfriend." What an inane screenplay. It was almost too painful to watch. I'm not a big Uma Thurman fan, but I really felt embarrassed for her.

Whenever I watch this kind of crap, it always inspires me to get back to work on my own creative stuff. I've written a few novels and am in the process of buffing them up. Now that the holidays are over (that last month of the year is always a killer), I think it's time to revisit "The Homosexual Agenda; A Fantasy."

Tonight while B. and I were out renting movies and running other errands, we heard Mike Malloy on the radio (WINZ 940 AM) mentioning that he was back on the air in Miami. He also thanked his Miami listeners for their enthusiastic emails upon his return to the air. Mike Malloy is as straight as an arrow but has always stood up for gays against the Republican Party's campaign to persecute them for political gain.

Happy New Year!

Tonight when I was returning those movies to Blockbuster, I heard Mike Malloy back on WINZ 940 AM (Miami's Air America affiliate). Glad he's back. I believe his new show comes via satellite now.

I steeled myself to watch the "snuff video" of Saddam Hussein, taken with a cell phone. Not a lot to see, and just as well. I hope George Bush is happy now that his bogeyman is gone. I have to say I was rather touched by this account from Saddam's U.S. Army (?) nurse, as reported in The Guardian.

Thank God the Year is Over

George Bush Has Killed More Americans Than Al-Qaeda Did on 9/11

And that's in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. For the particulars, see:

"U.S. Deaths in Iraq Exceed 9/11 Count"

Another Quote of the Day

(Keeping it brief today.)

"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."

--Thomas Gray (1742)

Quote of the Day

" Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. "

--Bertrand Russell

Merry Christmas -- Something From Hullabaloo

And Then What Happened...? [my comments below]

by digby

Via Steve Gilliard I see that some conservative evangelicals have decided to deal with all the closeted homosexuality in their clergy by starting a homo-rehab program:

Recent gay-sex scandals involving evangelical pastors have prompted much soul-searching among conservative Christian leaders.

No one has proposed rethinking the theology that homosexuality is a sin. Instead, there's a growing consensus that the church must do a better job of helping pastors resist all immoral desires, such as a lust for pornography, an addiction to drugs or a lifelong same-sex attraction.

Seminary professors, Christian counselors and veteran clergy say the best way to help pastors fight temptation is to get them talking -- even about their most shameful secrets. They don't want a sordid tell-all from the pulpit each Sunday. But they would like pastors to bare their weaknesses and admit their lapses before a small group of "accountability partners" -- friends committed to listen with empathy, then rebuke or advise as needed.

J. Edgar Hoover liked to keep tabs on all the gays too. And then he owned them.

The thing I don't get about this is that these people are absolutely sure that homosexuality is a choice. But evangelical pastors are obviously not "choosing" to have a hidden gay life. They believe it's sinful and they hate themselves for it. They, of all people, would not "choose" such a thing. It must be such a strong, fundamental question of identity that they are unable to resist it. (Either that or they're just fast-talking religion hustlers who are completely full of shit. There are probably some of both.)

But there is actually some good news in this, I think. Under these peoples' belief system, being gay is one of the worst sins around. Yet they are carving out a moral exception for gay preachers -- the men who are supposed to set the standards and lead the people. Would they allow murderers to keep preaching? Thieves?

It seems to me that they are slowly but surely coming to realize that homosexuality knows no bounds, even among evangelical preachers, Catholic priests and other religious leaders who can't practice what they preach. If so, it's a good step in the right direction, no matter how small. Maybe if some of these people actually have to hear the stories of torment among their own small, elite group they'll get some empathy --- something Jesus Christ thought very highly of, if I'm not mistaken.

-------------------------------------------

I don't know. Evangelicals think God made everyone in His own, heterosexual image. With everyone being straight from the get-go (conception?), one would have to "choose" to live life as a homosexual or to engage in homosexual acts, and it's the Devil that makes people choose it. I don't see that the hard-line evangelicals would ever find homosexuality acceptable unless Christ Himself were to return to Earth and tell them to leave the homos alone (and, before He left Earth, Christ Himself never uttered a word about homosexuality that was actually recorded in the Bible--I guess Christ didn't consider it a problem). But these "Christians" don't look to the teachings of Christ in their relentless crusade against homosexuals.

They'll cut their wayward pastors some slack by putting the blame on the prevailing permissive American culture, which, they insist, has so woefully deviated from that of our Founding Fathers (who, they will always deny, explicitly separated religion from the governance of the country).

If these people believe dinosaurs lived 6,000 years ago (vs. 200 million), I doubt you could convince them there's anything like a gay gene. Science doesn't matter to these geeks. The Bible is all they need. You'll never convince them they need anything more, or that God gave people minds with which to think. To think is to doubt the Biblical word of God. Ignorance is bliss.

True or False?

In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl. Let sit for one hour, then flush clean.

To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle.

The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

(Answers here. See below.)

Hoaxes and Urban Legends

Rumors fly here on the Internet, often involving the food we eat and the products we use. "Don't believe everything you read," I tell people. And if something sounds fantastic or too terrible to be true, most likely it is. You can always check out rumors at Snopes.

Tonight I came across the following while reading "Cliff's Corner" on Americablog:

Hopefully I have brought a bit of laughter and passion to some of you, while to others, I'm sure this column elicits a similar bodily reaction to that of un-referigerated [sic] Taco Bell meat.

Aside from being poorly written and puerile (which is why I normally don't read the column), the passage also (not surprisingly) perpetuates a hoax about Taco Bell meat. You can find out more about it here.

We have plenty to worry about with George Bush wreaking havoc at home and abroad. Why sweat the false stuff.

Al Qaeda Flourishes with George Bush in Power

Telling, from the New Yorker article, in case you haven't read it:

Just before the 2004 American elections, Kilcullen was doing intelligence work for the Australian government, sifting through Osama bin Laden’s public statements, including transcripts of a video that offered a list of grievances against America: Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, global warming. The last item brought Kilcullen up short. “I thought, Hang on! What kind of jihadist are you?” he recalled. The odd inclusion of environmentalist rhetoric, he said, made clear that “this wasn’t a list of genuine grievances. This was an Al Qaeda information strategy.” Ron Suskind, in his book “The One Percent Doctrine,” claims that analysts at the C.I.A. watched a similar video, released in 2004, and concluded that “bin Laden’s message was clearly designed to assist the President’s reëlection.” Bin Laden shrewdly created an implicit association between Al Qaeda and the Democratic Party, for he had come to feel that Bush’s strategy in the war on terror was sustaining his own global importance.

Al Qaeda thrives on George; George thrives on Al Qaeda. Two sides of the same coin. No wonder George never nailed Osama when he had the opportunity.

Meanwhile almost 3000 American soldiers have died in Iraq, which had nothing to do with Al Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

War on Terror: "Knowing the Enemy"

From this article in the Dec. 18 New Yorker:

Since September 11th, the government’s traditional approach to national security has proved inadequate in one area after another. The intelligence agencies habitually rely on satellites and spies, when most of the information that matters now, as Kilcullen pointed out, is “open source”—available to anyone with an Internet connection. Traditional diplomacy, with its emphasis on treaties and geopolitical debates, is less relevant than the ability to understand and influence foreign populations—not in their councils of state but in their villages and slums. And future enemies are unlikely to confront the world’s overwhelming military power with conventional warfare; technology-assisted insurgency is proving far more effective. At the highest levels of Western governments, the failure of traditional approaches to counter the jihadist threat has had a paralyzing effect. “I sense we’ve lost the ability to think strategically,” Field Marshal Sir Peter Inge, the former chief of the British armed forces, has said of his government. He could have been describing the White House and the Pentagon.

Kilcullen’s strategic mind, by contrast, seems remarkably febrile. I could call him at the office or at home at any hour of the night and he’d be jotting down ideas in one of his little black notebooks, ready to think out loud. Kilcullen, Crumpton, and their colleagues are desperately trying to develop a lasting new strategy that, in Kilcullen’s words, would be neither Republican nor Democratic. Bruce Hoffman said, “We’re talking about a profound shift in mind-set and attitude”—not to mention a drastic change in budgetary and bureaucratic priorities. “And that may not be achievable until there’s a change in Administration.” Kilcullen is now in charge of writing a new counterinsurgency manual for the civilian government, and early this month he briefed Condoleezza Rice on his findings in Afghanistan. But his ideas have yet to penetrate the fortress that is the Bush White House. Hoffman said, “Isn’t it ironic that an Australian is spearheading this shift, together with a former covert operator? It shows that it’s almost too revolutionary for the places where it should be discussed—the Pentagon, the National Security Council.” At a moment when the Bush Administration has run out of ideas and lost control, it could turn away from its “war on terror” and follow a different path—one that is right under its nose.

Sugars R.I.P.

Tonight while I was napping, I got a call from an old friend. We'd met years ago at Sugars when it was located on Biscayne Blvd. (U.S. 1) just north of 135th Street. After Hurricane Andrew, the bar relocated to W. Dixie Highway a few blocks north of 163rd Street. (Its previous spot on Biscayne is now occupied by the parking lot of a new BankUnited. My, how this neighborhood has changed.) A little over a year ago, the bar on W. Dixie closed and has remained empty ever since.

I'd been a regular Sugars customer for years, as had my friend, though he moved to Atlanta about 10 years ago. Still he would pop in at Sugars on his trips down. Now there's no place to go around here -- no gay bar, at least. So I don't go anywhere now. This has taken some getting used to, and I still can't say I'm used to it. I miss my old Happy Hour compadres. (Fortunately some of them made it to the party, along with the former manager, who's now retired.)

Tonight it would have been nice to meet my old friend at Sugars for a drink, but by the time I called him back, he was already on South Beach, alas.

Christmas is Coming

I love these things from Harry & David.

War (Continued)

Having grown up in the Viet Nam era and, as cannon fodder, survived (see past post), I think the war in Iraq is a hideous mistake and have thought so from the start. You don't go to war unless somebody attacks you (or threatens to).* And then you go after those guys, not somebody else. (Whatever happened to "Speak softly and carry a big stick" anyway?)

I think this administration has given democracy a black eye. You don't try to impose democracy on other countries. Rather, you set a good example and others will follow. Lately, we've set a very bad example. And with the way this administration has curtailed our own freedoms and resorted to torture, what really is there to emulate? We've become less of a democracy than we were before. Now we've become the devil.

From Poputonian at Hullaballoo (speech made to the UN Security Council by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin before the invasion of Iraq), with Poputonian's comments:

Therefore, I would like solemnly to address a question to this body, and it's the very same question being asked by people all over the world. Why should we now engage in war with Iraq? And I would also like to ask, why smash the instruments that have just proven their effectiveness? Why choose division when our unity and our resolve are leading Iraq to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction? Why should we wish to proceed by force at any price when we can succeed peacefully?

War is always an acknowledgment of failure. Let us not resign ourselves to the irreparable. Before making our choice, let us weigh the consequences. Let us measure the effects of our decision. And it's clear to all in Iraq, we are resolutely moving toward completely eliminating programs of weapons of mass destruction. The method that we have chosen worked.

De Villepin then detailed the positive results coming in from the inspection reports and talked of the success of other pressures being brought to bear on Iraq. He continued:

What conclusions can we draw? That Iraq, according to the very terms used by the inspectors, represents less of a danger to the world than it did in 1991, that we can achieve our objective of effectively disarming that country. Let us keep the pressure on Baghdad.

The adoption of Resolution 1441, the assumption of converging positions by the vast majority of the world's nations, diplomatic action by the Organization of African Unity, the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the non-aligned movement, all of these common efforts are bearing fruit.
...
Let us be clear-sighted. We are defining a method to resolve crisis. We are choosing how to define the world we want our children to live in.

These crises have many roots. They are political, religious, economic. Their origins lie deep in the turmoil of history.
…
There may be some who believe that these problems can be resolved by force, thereby creating a new order. But this is not what [we] believe. On the contrary, we believe that the use of force can arouse resentment and hatred, fuel a clash of identities and of cultures, something that our generation has a prime responsibility to avoid.
…
To those who believe that war would be the quickest way of disarming Iraq, I can reply that it will drive wedges and create wounds that will be long in healing. And how many victims will it cause? How many families will grieve?
…
We do not subscribe to what may be the other objectives of a war. Is it a matter of regime change in Baghdad? No one underestimates the cruelty of this dictatorship or the need to do everything possible to promote human rights. But this is not the objective of Resolution 1441. And force is certainly not the best way of bringing about democracy. Here and elsewhere it would encourage dangerous instability.
…
Is it a matter of fighting terrorism? War would only increase it and we would then be faced with a new wave of violence.
…
Is it finally a matter of recasting the political landscape of the Middle East? In that case, we run the risk of exacerbating tensions in a region already marked by great instability. Not to mention that in Iraq itself, the large number of communities and religions already represents a danger of a potential break-up.
…
We all have the same demands. We want more security and more democracy. But there is another logic other than the logic of force. There is another path. There are other solutions. We understand the profound sense of insecurity with which the American people have been living since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The entire world shared the sorrow of New York and of America struck in the heart. And I say this in the name of our friendship for the American people, in the name of our common values: freedom; justice; tolerance.
…
But there is nothing today to indicate a link between the Iraqi regime and al Qaeda. And will the world be a safer place after a military intervention in Iraq? I want to tell you what my country's conviction is: It will not.

We all know that when it comes to foreign policy George Bush is dumber than a box of hammers, so where did the ideological idea come from that led to this war, and who is the architect of the public relations fraud that sold it to the American sheeple? The answer is that it came from the Republican party, and the PR architect was none other than Karl Rove. Less than one year ago, he was gloating about the the success of the grandiose scheme . . . .

________________________
* People who start wars are bad. That's "morally clear" to me.

I Thought This Was A Classic

From Steve Gilliard. As someone commented (and it's hard to make out on this version of the photo), what the hell is George W. Bush wearing on his feet?

Party Update (Party Over)

Wow, the sun is coming up already.

People came early and stayed late. I didn't start really relaxing till they left, which was between 2 and 3. (They started arriving at 8.) I thought it amazing that no one in the building complained about the noise, and there was a lot of it. I guess the walls and floors in this old building are thick.

I had a few perishable things to wrap up and put in the refrigerator and ran the dishwasher. B. did some tidying up. Not that much more to do vis-a-vis clean-up.

My only regret is that the pre-party cleaning contingent (God bless them, but it wasn't me) left two bottles of Febreze standing against one wall in the living room and I hadn't caught it. I'd been too busy. "My bad."

Party was very successful, according to the feedback from the attendees (attenders, really).

I over-bought almost everything but better that than under-buying and people going without, or them having to run to the store for booze or ice or whatever, or just leaving.

Wow, it's almost daytime. Gotta think about going to bed. Been hitting the Absolut Peppar for a few Bloody Marys, which I normally don't drink unless there's vodka in the house. Well, we'll be in liquor and beer for days, not to mention lasagne (delicious, which a guest volunteered to bring) and turkey breast. Almost all of the wild Florida shrimp was consumed. Got a lot of compliments on that. B. doesn't eat seafood except for canned tuna -- I'd bought the shrimp for the guests. I also made a mean crab spread which I got compliments on. (Consisting of really good canned crabmeat, capers, mayonnaise and cayenne pepper.)

Enough already. It's getting way bright out the window.

Party Planning Report

If anybody needs a party planner, I charge $1,000 an hour plus health insurance.

Ticking off items on to-do list for B's party tomorrow night is proceeding according to schedule. Tonite after an extended, reinvigorating nap (which I figured would be more valuable than going to the gym), I did some more shopping, finished painting in the guest bathroom, and boiled the shrimp. Shrimp taste great (I ate only one). They're huge, wild, from Florida and taste sweet as lobster. They really don't need any sauce at all, though I'll be making a cocktail sauce and a mayonnaise sauce with dill relish.

The only things left to do are, basically, roast the turkey breast and buy the beer and ice and the remaining fresh groceries. Thankfully B. is off tomorrow and will be a great help. Plus we have to do some tidying up and decorating and stage everything.

Whenever I paint in this apartment, I see how poor the previous paint jobs have been. It always pisses me off. I end up having to sand like crazy or strip the old paint. Fortunately I bought an electric sander and am pretty adept at stripping (although maybe I've seen better says, but WHO CARES?). :-)

I Revise My Posts Often

So in case you're interested (and most people aren't), you might find something new if you revisit an older post.

More Bert Monroy

Photoshop Seminar Attracts 750 to Broward Convention Center

Attended a Photoshop seminar today conducted by Bert Monroy, an original Photoshop "guru" and creative artist who uses Photoshop (and Illustrator) to create works of art that look like photographs, only more real ("hyperreal"?). He currently lives, works and teaches in Oakland, CA. It was amazing to behold his fluid command of some of Photoshop's most mind-bending features. He's been using Photoshop since before it was even called Photoshop.

Was good for me to get out of town (to Ft. Lauderdale) for the day and get my mind off planning for B's party this Saturday night. That has been an all-consuming enterprise these past few weeks. Plus it was good just to get away from work for a day and be stimulated by something really different. Am tired, though. It was a long session, plus I got up early (for me) to take the bus to Broward -- didn't feel like driving. The ride home took
f o r e v e r. Time to chill.

George W. Bush's Problem

He never developed an intellect that was commensurate with his family's much vaunted standing, and in his weakness let himself be shanghaied by the Christianists. Nowadays, true to form, he remains a clueless patsy for power-hungry ideologues with truly bad ideas.

Do check out the link from the Guardian. It seems this family will do anything for a buck. Not exactly what you would call "patriotic."

Here's another tidbit, from "'Dynasty of Death'--Historical Perspective on the Bush Family," by Schuyler Ebbets:

There is no historic parallel that can be drawn, nothing compares with the accomplishments of the Bush family. No dictator or tyrant can equal the suffering and destruction they have wrought on humanity, as they are not mere tyrants themselves, but the makers and breakers of tyrants, the organizers and profiteers of war and death. They are not alone and solely responsible for creating the present day military industrial complex, however since 1915 the Bush family has been directly involved in World War One and Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, numerous CIA secret wars, the Gulf War, and now a “Never Ending War”. The past four generations of this one family have had a hand in promoting and profiting from most of major wars that America has waged since the beginning of the industrialized age.

The nightmare for the world began in 1915, with the establishment of an unholy partnership between the U.S. Government and the ‘War Industries Board', for-runner of America's present day 'military-industrial complex'. Some of those seated on the board of directors were Samuel P. Bush, great grandfather of George W. bush, and so-called chief of Ordnance for the Small Arms and Ammunition Section, Wall Street banker Clarence Dillon, Samuel Pryor, executive committee chairman of Remington Arms, and Bernard Baruch, who, as head of the War Industries Board profited in excess of $200,000,000.

War (Continued)

I was all for the invasion of Afghanistan -- to apprehend, and bring to justice, Osama bin Laden, who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. The Taliban government was sponsoring him. Did they plan on attacking Miami next?

The invasion of Iraq, on the other hand, was totally uncalled for. Iraq was no threat to the U.S. That much was thoroughly documented, although perhaps you wouldn't have thought so if you relied on the "mainstream media" for your information. As odious as Saddam Hussein was, given his past bad behavior, there was no compelling reason to invade Iraq. And now, having invaded Iraq and upset the apple cart (to put it mildly), we've created a new haven for the very sort of terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

The neoconservatives had been pushing for an invasion of Iraq for years, largely in the interests of Israel. (As if the U.S. has never done enough for Israel.) They just had to find a stooge like George Bush to effectuate their plans. And now, in the wake of the disaster in Iraq, the neoconservatives are repudiating Bush, knowing full well they've helped to destroy the U.S.'s reputation in the world.

Meanwhile people are dying by the thousands, including our soldiers. I would like to think there'll be a special circle in hell for the neoconservatives.

(To be continued)

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Found this shot on the Internet. The street descends from Russian Hill, one of the steepest in the city. On last visit to SF, we trekked up the hill along Powell Street from Ghirardelli Square. I had to stop and rest every 10 seconds or so, it was so steep.

There are switchbacks for the cars and steps for the people. Coit Tower would be upper left atop Telegraph Hill. You can see Lombard Street ascending it.

War (Continued)

I was spending a year in Germany as a Rotary Club exchange student when I turned 19 and became eligible for the draft. I don't remember when the lottery drawing took place [UPDATE: it was in February], but I remember learning about it from a newspaper clipping my mother sent me from home. Here's how the lottery worked:

The days of the year, from 1 to 366, were written on slips of paper and the slips were placed in plastic capsules. The capsules were mixed in a shoebox and then dumped into a deep glass jar. Capsules were drawn from the jar one at a time. *

The first capsule drawn was assigned the number one, and so on. The kids having the first 50 or so numbers could pretty much count on being drafted and sent to Viet Nam. (If you were in college, you were allowed only to complete your current semester of study before reporting for enlistment.)

By the time the lottery was conducted for my birth year, I'd already made up my mind not to return to the U.S. if my draft number was low. Yet as it turned out, my number was 363 -- about as high as you could get. No chance I would be drafted. I could go home to my family in peace.

(To be continued)

___________________
* Wikipedia

War (Continued)

While President Bush was in Viet Nam this past week, he said "that the lesson of [the Viet Nam War] was that the U.S. needs to stay in Iraq and 'win' this time." * I can only wonder what his Vietnamese hosts thought about that. The fact that he said it while visiting Viet Nam speaks volumes about how fundamentally thoughtless, how clueless, how reckless in his judgment he is. This self-proclaimed "war president" is a buffoon. It would be funny if people weren't dying.

Tragically, the lesson of Viet Nam fell on deaf ears. You don't send soldiers to die in a quagmire. And in Bush's case, it's a quagmire of his own making. I would like to think, riffing on Christian mythology, there'll be special circle in hell for George W. Bush.

(To be continued)

_____________
*E & P

War

You get to be skeptical about war when you're potential cannon fodder. (At least I did.) I literally grew up with the Viet Nam War -- that's how long it lasted. And the older I got, the closer I came to being drafted.

I don't recall ever knowing anyone who served in the Viet Nam War, much less anyone who was killed in it (and 57,690 U.S. soldiers ended up dying). The war was not being fought by people from Coral Gables. The kids in Coral Gables went to college and got deferments from the draft. When those deferments were up, they went to grad school and got more deferments. That was my plan, too. While I didn't even have a high school education (yet), I figured it would be smart not to get involved in that never-ending conflict -- certainly my untimely death was not going to change things. I was acquainted with the Domino Theory, but I didn't care. The politicians in Washington could have their war without me.

As I approached the age for being drafted (19), the lottery was in place.

TO BE CONTINUED

"History of Sex"

Watched it tonite on The History Channel. I've always been fascinated about Chinese foot-binding, which the series addresses. Amazing to what lengths people will go to be fashionable and sexy. (Reminds me a bit of "Dr. 90102." )

Foot-binding went on for centuries and basically hobbled the woman.

From among many articles out there (reference notes omitted):

"The process of foot binding started for the young girls anywhere from the age of four to six. It was done so early in her life so that the arch did not have much time to develop. The mother . . . was the one to bind the feet, and usually started the process late in the fall or winter, so the foot would be numb and the pain would not be as severe. The daughters' feet would first be soaked in warm water or animal blood and herbs. The special potion that was used for this caused any dead flesh to fall off. She would have her toe nails cut as short as possible therefore not allowing them to grow into the foot. After she received a foot massage, the four smallest toes on each foot were broken. This was not even the worst of the pain. The mother soaked silk or cotton bandages in the same liquid the girl's feet were soaked in. The bandages, which were ten feet long and two inches wide, were wrapped around the smallest toes and pulled tightly to the heel. Every two days, the binding was removed and rebound. This part of the process went on for two years. By this time her feet were three to four inches long. To assure the feet staying small, the ritual continued for at least ten more years."

News Flash: San Francisco is Gayest U.S. City

Doh! Who'da thunk it?! From Advocate Online:

A study that shows the percentage of people in the nation's largest cities identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual lists San Francisco on top with 15.4%, with Seattle coming in second with 12.9%. Atlanta was third with 12.8%, and Minneapolis fourth with 12.5%. Four of the top 10 cities were in California, while all but Boston and Atlanta were west of the Mississippi River.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, used census and other federal information to estimate the numbers.

The census data on same-sex couple households showed that between 2000 and 2005 the number reported increased by 30%. New Hampshire had the largest jump in same-sex couples, with 106% over the five years studied, with heartland states like Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, and Iowa also showing substantially increased numbers.

The findings do not show a sharp increase in the number of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in general. Instead, the study suggests, people are more willing to disclose their sexual orientation in government surveys.

More facts from Wikipedia:

San Francisco is a minority-majority city as non-Hispanic Whites make up less than 44% of the population. Asian Americans, principally Chinese, comprise nearly 31% of the population. Hispanics of any race make up just over 14% of the population. At less than 8% of the population, San Francisco has a lower concentration of African Americans than the United States as a whole. Few of San Francisco's residents have lived there their whole lives. Only 35% of its residents were born in California; 39% were born outside the United States.

San Francisco has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area. Gay men outnumber lesbians; it has been estimated that one in five males over the age of 15 is gay.

(The "City and County of San Francisco" occupies the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and measures approximately 7 by 7 miles, with a population of 739,426. By comparison, the City of Miami is slightly smaller in land (i.e., not including water) area and contains an estimated 379,724 inhabitants. With five boroughs (or counties), New York City has a population of over 8 million within an area of 321 square miles, making it the most densely populated major city in North America (with Manhattan being the most densely populated county in the U.S.). San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the U.S. [mostly from Wikipedia] [photo of Coit Tower courtesy of me])

"Belly Fat" More Than "Unsightly"

Caught this story on CBS News tonite, "Slowing Down Men's Biological Clocks."

"A lot of people think as they get older that there is erectile dysfunction. But there's more than just that," [Dr. Harry] Fisch says. "There's excessive weight gain, tiredness."

One of the factors determining the pace of the ticking is testosterone.

"Testosterone is the major male hormone," says Dr. Peter Schlegel of Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York.

That hormone helps regulate mood, sex drive, fertility and muscle mass. And over time, it drops — at the rate of about one percent per year after age 40.

After age 60, roughly 20 percent of men are testosterone-deficient.

"One of the problems that occurs as men get older is they convert more testosterone to female hormones or estrogens," Schlegel says.

That's right. The structure of testosterone is remarkably similar to the structure of estrogen. With just one enzyme, the body can convert this male hormone into a female hormone — and body fat speeds up the process. So a bigger belly may mean lower testosterone.

* * *

"The obvious answer [to how to keep testosterone levels normal, naturally] is that size really does matter — that is, the size of the belly," Fisch said. "The easiest thing you can do to keep your biological clock from ticking too fast is losing the weight around the belly."

Note to me: Watch belly!

The Midterm Elections

I'm still a bit shell-shocked, but now that the stinking haze of battle has lifted, the view from the foxhole looks hopeful.

As much as I try to brace myself against the onslaught of Republican gay-bashing that always happens around election time, I can't help but take it personally. Gays are a threat to no one but themselves, i.e., when they hide in the closet and cowardly suck up to their oppressors: the Republicans who hate them and would just as soon they didn't exist. (I learned that lesson during the "Silence = Death" era of Ronald Reagan, and things haven't changed much since then, if not in some respects gotten worse.) I have no special place in my heart for self-loathing, Republican gays. As I've watched Rep. Mark Foley and the Rev. Ted Haggard crash and burn, I'm glad to see they're finally starting to get their comeuppance. I look forward to more of these outings. Those clandestine forays out of the closet can get you into a heap of trouble, especially if you're a professional gay-basher by day. "Oh what a tangled web we weave . . . ."

And, on that topic, here's an interesting tidbit from The Jewish Week via Americablog:

Then, as if things could not get worse, there was the disgrace of [religious right leader Rev. Louis] Sheldon’s own friend and colleague, Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado mega-church leader and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an even bigger pillar of Republican support on the Christian right. Sheldon disclosed that he and “a lot” of others knew about Haggard’s homosexuality “for awhile ... but we weren’t sure just how to deal with it.”

Months before a male prostitute publicly revealed Haggard’s secret relationship with him, and the reverend’s drug use as well, “Ted and I had a discussion,” explained Sheldon, who said Haggard gave him a telltale signal then: “He said homosexuality is genetic. I said, no it isn’t. But I just knew he was covering up. They need to say that.”

Yeah, if it were ever to come out that homosexuality has nothing to do with Satan, these guys would be out of a job. (But wait. Isn't that what genetic researchers have been saying of late????)

The last I read, Haggard will be undergoing a spiritual "restoration."

"I see success approximately 50 percent of the time," said H.B. London, vice president for church and clergy at Focus on the Family, the conservative Christian ministry in Colorado Springs. "Guys just wear out and they can no longer subject themselves to the process."

Those who fail "end up selling cars or shoes or something, and being miserable and angry the rest of their lives," London said.

* * *

"I'm sure there will be those who lay their hands on Pastor Haggard as an act of faith, calling on the act of God to restore and heal," he said. "The prayer can be therapeutic, the laying on of hands can be ceremonial."

Harrumph. The process Haggard has subjected himself to can take five years. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So it appears America has regained its senses. I must say I never lost mine. Then again, I tend to watch the Republicans closely, since so much of what they say and do (or, in some cases, don't say and don't do) can affect the lives (or bring about the deaths) of gays. And mostly they're against us. I have to forgive my fellow Americans for not being quite so vigilant, but maybe they should have seen it coming. The current Republican administration rises to power under a cloud, against the will of the voters. Rather than humble himself, George Bush believes that he, like Moses, has been sent by God to lead the people. And it only goes downhill from there. Need I go on...

At last we have some checks against this self-styled divine rule of kings.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On an entirely different note, made a great batch of lasagne today. Started last nite, making the sauce.

"Playing For The Long Term"

Read this post from "The Left Coaster".

Election Nite - Who Can Sleep?!

Don't mean to sound greedy, but hope to wake up tomorrow to hear the Dems have won (without resorting to dirty tricks, mind you) control of both houses of Congress. Right now, Senate races in Virginia, Missouri and Montana are too close to call, but Dems are leading and they need to win all three to take control of the Senate. It's already a given that they'll take over the House. God bless Nancy Pelosi from the great city of San Francisco -- our new House leader!

Busy day: voting, work, doctor's appointment, election party. Tired!

What You Won't See in "Marie Antoinette"

"The perfumer was shocked by his first visit to the palace for some of the reasons it must also have shocked Marie Antoinette, who had grown up in a court and a family where impeccable hygiene was an article of faith. Not only did courtiers at Versailles look embalmed behind their masks of white powder and rouge but the many who bathed only once a year smelled like corpses. The filthy halls and courtyards stank of the excrement from humans and pets; dead cats floated in stagnant water; and a butcher plied his trade—gutting and roasting pigs—at the entrance to the ministers’ wing."

--JUDITH THURMAN, "DRESSED FOR EXCESS; Marie Antoinette, out of the closet," The New Yorker, Sept. 25, 2006

(In case you're interested, there's a bunch of Marie Antoinette portraits here. And although Halloween's over, some of you might be interested in this. There's always next year!)

Watch a Great Video

[Freedom]

from Tristero at Hullabaloo

After all, no matter how sensationalized the reports and how deep the sin, it is Christ – not Ted Haggard – who is the head of this Church. [from an editorial in The Christian Post]

If that is so, that "Christ is the head of this Church," then Christ has just sent his Church - through the travails of Ted Haggard - an unequivocal message to stop bashing and obsessing over gays. And stop forcing them to hide in closets.

Since Haggard before his fall was consumed with making marriage for certain Americans constitutionally illegal, Christ now is telling evangelicals to behave with mercy and grace towards gays, to stop obsessing over the gender of two people who love each other, but to accept them, to love them.

And if I were a member of "this Church," I'd very much attend to this message Christ has sent our way.

[Read more at Hullabaloo]

Quiet Day at Home

So glad last week is over. Yesterday was a pisser at work.

Last night I made chicken and dumplings for today's lunch. B. loved it. He's off at work now. I also served the kale, which B. refused to eat. He likes the collards, though. Right now I'm making some black-eyed peas with smoked ham hocks.

Last night B. brought home some beautiful orchids, which I put in a water pitcher (q.v.).

I had planned on going to the gym after yesterday's nap, but I didn't wake up till 9:30. I'd set the alarm for 8:45 but the time was on a.m., not p.m. I considered this an "Act of God" and headed off to the store. I really do like going to the gym on Friday nights, however, since the place is practically empty (which is not to say that I like going to the gym).

Will amuse myself a bit further online and then go take a nap. Looks like a storm is brewing outside.

Windy Out

The grey horizontal stripe in the middle of the picture is the roof of the indoor marina next door. Above it to the left, Arch Creek, with Bal Harbour in the distance. In the foreground is the pool deck.

Bougainvillea Down

The wind has been wreaking havoc with the bougainvilleas. (That's why we went out and bought the plastic pots.)

Quote of the Day

"If I wanted money, I would have blackmailed him," Jones said. Evangelicals across America probably wish he had.

--Lauren Sandler, Salon's War Room, quoting homosexual escort Mike Jones

Thursday Nite

One more day till the weekend. Yippee!

This morning, as I was standing at the corner getting ready to cross the street to my bus stop, I noticed something crunching beneath my shoes. I looked down and it was a cigar, or cigars, burned at the tips, arranged in an arc at the edge of the sidewalk. In the grass beyond lay a red and black cloth upon which had been arranged a little tableau of burning red and black candles, sliced fruit, cowrie shells, and what not. It was really quite attractive. Had kind of a gay sensibility to it. B. just told me that today was el dia de los muertos (the Day of the Dead). So we had a little voodoo offering going on at the intersection. That was a first.

Tonite I made kale. I'd never made it before (or eaten it, as far as I know). I must say, I prefer collard greens but they didn't have any at the store.

Going to go watch "Queer as Folk" on Logo. Nite!

Quiet Night (Continued)

(Eating some of that sauerbraten right now, cold. And finishing off the ginger snaps.)

Since I moved in here over 4 years ago, I'd never had a trick-or-treater knock on my door. (The first year, I bought candy.) Last night I had a bunch of them but no candy, so I put ginger snaps in plastic bags and handed them out. Plus B. had a few snack cakes lying around.

Back to the other topic. Nowadays the Republicans will do anything -- anything, no matter how vile and depraved -- to win elections and hold power. It's all about winning -- and playing a dirty game. Since most Americans are basically Democratic in their thinking, the only way Republicans can win is by spreading lies and distortions about the opposition, lying about their own agenda (since the voters otherwise wouldn't approve, e.g., starting needless wars and privatizing everything to enrich themselves and their cronies to the detriment and at the expense of the public), scaring the voters, and subverting the democratic process by tampering with elections. (And of course the Supreme Court helped in one instance.)

As much as today's Republicans lack in principles and scruples, they also lack in ideas. And the mantle of morality in which they cloak themselves is but a thin veil for the hatred and hypocrisy that in essence define them. I just hope the voters will stop being fooled. And we've got to get rid of those paperless voting machines, too.

Time to chill.

Quiet Night at Home

(Hmmmm. I began to type this title and it popped up. I must have used it in the former blog.)

I was going to go to the gym tonite but decided to stay home. B. is at work but has tomorrow night off. It's been hectic around here and also at work. I'm tired. Can make up the gym visit. I haven't been on the blog since Saturday.

Last night I came home and began finishing off a sauerbraten that had been marinating since last Thursday night. I hadn't made this dish in a while. I came to love it years ago while I was an exchange student in Germany. Before then, I don't believe I'd ever had it. At least in the region of Germany where I spent most of the year (Westphalia), this dish was made for special occasions -- I think I first had it at Christmas dinner.

I had run out of juniper berries (for the marinade) a while back and, as expected, the local Publix didn't have them. Rather than make an almost impossible mid-week run to Laurenzo's or Epicure Market, I decided to go with pickling spice, as called for in a recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook. (I'd also gathered up a few recipes from the Web to consult.) The pickling spice did a serviceable job, but I prefer the flavor imparted by the juniper berries and will stick to using those from now on.

Yesterday I also prepared a sauteed cabbage side dish from The Joy of Cooking, along with potato dumplings -- from a box. Both turned out excellent. I'd been afraid to subject finicky B. to the traditional German sweet-and-sour cabbage (which I love) and go with the sauteed cabbage, since I'd made it before and he liked it. This is a rather simple affair -- a grated head of cabbage sauteed in bacon drippings with onion or garlic (I used both) and then baked in the oven with a cup of sour cream. (I also drizzled some vinegar in it.) The last thing I made was the gravy from the meat marinade, thickening it with the usual ginger snaps. Came out great but everything took several hours, including cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Hence, I'm taking the night off.

Changing the subject. What about all the flap over John Kerry's maliciously misconstrued joke! I'd like to see George Bush come out and apologize for causing the deaths of 2,800 U.S. soldiers and who knows how many Iraqi citizens. (More anon -- have to run to the store.)