HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Since when did the innocuous phrase "Happy Holidays" become an attack on Christians? How narrow-minded and self-absorbed to you have to be in order to take offense at that phrase? The last time I looked, there are multiple holidays this time of year: Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. Instead of listing a multiple choice, we just say "Happy Holidays".

I'm getting very tired of the so-called "Christian Right" whining about how they are being persecuted. When it comes to Christmas, let's not forget that the early Christians stole the holiday from the pagans in the first place. Shepards do not abide their flocks in December in the Holy Land. Jesus was probably born in the spring. Our observance of Christmas coincides with the winter solstice, which the pagans celebrate to this day (another holiday).

The pilgrims did not observe Christmas because they thought it too festive and they were very un-festive people, apparently. In fact, penalties were imposed for those who did observe the holiday. So much for "keeping Christ in Christmas". It's a cultural observance as well as a religious one. Our retail world depends on the season for a large part of its annual income. Santa is a secular icon who personifies the season of giving. One does not have to be Christian to observe Christmas.

If you are a Christian, you are free to worship as you please. Nobody is preventing you from your beliefs. We who are not Christians would appreciate the same respect.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

RICHARD PRYOR

I don't mean this to be an obituary column, but I can't let Richard Pryor's passing go without comment. They are calling him a comedian on the news, but he trancended that category. He was nothing short of brilliant and he changed the world of entertainment forever. His electric performances were part therapy, part exorcism of his personal demons. He demonstated the relationship of comedy to tragedy more than anyone since the Greeks. I can't think of anyone else who could take an embarrasing event in his life and make you laugh until you cried. He and I shared a birthday with Woody Allen and Bette Midler and I always felt that I knew him personally. His battle with MS has been lost, but I can always play "Richard Pryor on Sunset Strip" on my DVD player and he will live forever. Thanks, Richard for pointing out that we all are human and make mistakes, but if we can laugh at ourselves we can survive.

JOHN LENNON

It was 25 years ago today John Lennon was murdered by a deranged "fan" (short for fanatic). He was a poet, musician, songwriter, peace activist, artist and the political Beatle. He ranged from profound to profane and people either loved or hated him. His statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus ignited a firestorm of protest among some Christians, even though it was true. His collaboration with and competition with Paul McCartney resulted in some of the best music of the times. He will be remembered as we remember Louis Armstrong or Mozart.

One has to wonder what he would have accomplished if he had lived these past 25 years instead of being shot in the back. We will never hear the music that was still inside him when he died. It is still much too easy for any fruitcake to acquire a handgun and go out and shoot someone. I hope the NRA can sleep at night. Someone may be coming for them.

WATCHING THE TITANIC

I should really be enjoying the self-destruction of the Bush administration, but I can't help thinking that these bozos still have three years left to do great harm to our country. Maybe we should have a Parlimentary system and be able to call for a "vote of confidence" like they do in England and Canada. They throw the bums out and elect someone new. I have no doubt that this adminstration will go down in history as one of the most inept, if not downright corrupt. These people couldn't run a McDonalds, let alone a country. Bush's war has turned on him and is about to devour him and all his little petrol-playmates. In the meantime, the country is going down the tubes. Is there any relief in sight?

Don't look to the Democrats for much help - they don't have a clue either. I have yet to hear one Dem (with the exception of Rep. Murtha) say anything remotely intelligent about anything. Their mantra seems to be "We're not the Republicans". Maybe not, but exactly who are they? What do they stand for? What would they do about Iraq? The economy? New Orleans? Anybody?

I've heard some people say that we need a hero on a white horse to ride in a rescue us. No thanks. If charisma were the answer, Bill Clinton would be on Mount Rushmore. What we need is for more ordinary citizens to rise up and take back the power that has been taken from us by greedy corporations, lobbyists, lawyers and professional politicians. President Eisenhower's advice to keep an eye on the "military-industrial complex" looks like sheer prophesy from here and now. If we took one tenth of the money spent on "defense", we could send every kid to college, rebuild the railroads, feed the hungry, house the homeless and have plenty left over for a big party.

Our entire political system needs a tune-up. We must get big money out of the process before we can hope to have a government that works for us rather than for the highest bidder. We can start by rejecting big money campaigns and voting for write-ins or third party candidates. We should challenge candidates to compete to see who can spend less money on a campaign. Some time should be allotted to candidates on the public airwaves to state their goals and ideas. Until this happens, we will get the best politicians money can buy.

ROSA PARKS

ROSA PARKS

She was a small, quiet black woman. She worked hard as a seamstress all day. All she wanted to do was take a bus home from work on December 1, 1955 in her home town of Montgomery, Alabama. But there was a city ordinance that said she had to give up her seat on the bus if a white person wanted it. A white man asked for her seat and she refused to give it up. She was arrested and a local young preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. took up her cause and started the year-long boycott of the city bus system which changed the rules and blacks no longer had to sit in the back of the bus or let whites take their seats. This began the modern civil rights movement that led to massive changes in the 1960’s.

Today I witnessed George W. Bush praising Rosa Parks on TV. The irony and hypocrisy of this event cannot go by without comment – at least not by me. As a person who has done much to crush dissent in this country, Mr. Bush is not qualified to utter Ms. Parks name. Long after he is gone and forgotten (and that cannot come too soon), her name will be known as one of the brave people who stood up against the bullies like him. Bush is the anti-Rosa Parks: a person born into privilege who has not a shred of compassion for those less fortunate. She had the strength and courage to defy an unjust system.

Rest in peace, Rosa. You did good.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

THE AMERICAN DREAM

I’m a dinosaur. It came to me suddenly as I was thinking about the state of the world and of this country. I’m a throwback to an earlier era, a museum piece, a curiosity. Allow me to explain.

I’m a member of the last generation to expect life to be better than my parents. When I grew up in the 1950’s, we just assumed that the good life would be there for us. Call it the American Dream if you will, but it was always there.

I’m a “war baby”. We came before the baby boom of the post World War II period. The war was well under way and my Dad was in the army when I was born. After the war, my dad worked a number of dead-end factory jobs. We were poor. I didn’t know we were poor, but we were. Then, in 1949, came our salvation. Dad got hired at Oldsmobile in Lansing, Michigan and our lives changed for the better. He apprenticed as a carpenter and became a journeyman, a skilled worker with good pay and benefits, thanks to the UAW.

The United Auto Workers was recognized by General Motors after the sitdown strike of 1937 in a Fisher Body plant in Flint, Michigan. The workers, tired of being mistreated and abused, took over the plant and occupied it for 44 days. Strikers and their supporters were attacked and beaten by police and thugs hired by the corporation. The National Guard was called in to restore order. Eventually, GM capitulated and the modern era of the labor union was born, bringing workers into the middle class and expanding markets for homes, autos and many other consumer goods and services, thus expanding the American economy over the next 50 years. Living wages and benefits were enjoyed by millions of Americans, union and non-union because of the leadership of the labor unions.

After working in a couple of dead-end jobs in the early sixties, I was also hired by General Motors in Lansing, Michigan in 1965. I worked there until my retirement in 1998, among the last generation to work for 30 years for the same employer and to retire with a pension and benefits. Manufacturing jobs are being outsourced and benefits are being eliminated. GM was the largest private (non-government) employer back when they hired me. Today, the largest employer is Wal-Mart, who hires mostly part-time workers to avoid paying benefits and who has proven to be very anti-union for obvious reasons. Young people coming into the non-skilled workforce today are forced to work multiple jobs without benefits just to eke out a living for the families. The American Dream is dead. Labor unions are dying. What happened?

I believe it has to do with empire. Empires need to constantly expand to satisfy their need for cheap labor and natural resources. At some point, the empire becomes too large and unwieldy to manage or it runs out of fuel for its ever-expanding engine. It happened to Rome. It happened to Britain. Now it’s our turn. Colonies are getting very hard to come by these days. You can no longer just plant a flag and declare this place a colony. Now you have to buy the place or invade and occupy. Not many countries are for sale, so we are forced to go the “invade and occupy” route. This is easier said than done.

Apparently, some people don’t like being invaded and occupied. These people are called “insurgents”. They do not understand that we need their resources to expand our economy and to perpetuate our domination of the planet. They don’t realize that God loves America and wants us to rule the world. They don’t appreciate that we pay a huge price through our taxes to support a gigantic war machine larger than anything the world has ever known. We have to pay lobbyists and legislators to insure that our corporations won’t have to be held responsible for their actions and to see that they don’t pay taxes. All this is very expensive and totally dependent on our access to their resources.

So, like all empires, we send our young people over to fight and die “for their country”. We wrap their caskets with flags and talk about their sacrifice and climb in our Lincoln Navigators and drive 1200 miles to look at pretty scenery and exclaim what a great country we live in – except for the damn gasoline prices.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH AMERICA?

The hurricane Katrina fiasco is just the latest in a long line of embarrassments for our country. We used to be the good guys who helped out our enemies after we defeated them in war. Now we can’t even help our own people after a disaster and we are considered to be a predatory warmonger by most of the civilized world. What happened? Where did we go wrong? Is this the country we want?

I have been giving this subject a lot of thought lately. Even though it’s easy to blame G.W. Bush and his gang of thieves for everything (and I do), I believe it goes much deeper than that. Bush & Company is just a symptom of the malicious disease we have contracted. That disease is called corruption. Our political system has been corrupted by money – billions of dollars that should be used for research and for improving our lives are being wasted in the scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours corporate welfare scheme.

No-bid government contracts, the revolving door between corporate and government positions, tax breaks for huge global corporations, and the obscene amounts of money spent on federal elections all point to corruption. Corporations are called in to write laws that are supposed to regulate them (drug companies for Medicare, energy companies for energy bills, etc.). The entire system has failed us and we need to do something to take back our country.

Although I think a Democratic administration would probably be an improvement over the one we have now, that party is also a big part of the problem. This situation did not happen overnight and both parties have been complicit in the scheme. It’s no surprise that unions are dying and that jobs are going offshore along with profits. Try to find a job paying a living wage with benefits without having a higher education. Not everyone can afford college. If a degree is necessary for a decent job then college should be free.

Here’s the irony: the only way out of this mess other than a revolution is for congress to reform itself! I’m not a revolutionary, but the alternative is a long shot to be sure. If we just keep on voting for the same old same old, we will get what we deserve – crooks and liars and thieves and jokers and all eating at the corporate trough.

As voters and citizens, we need to get creative and start by electing people to office who will work to reform the system from the inside. Elections should be limited in time and money spent and corporations should be forbidden from contributing to campaigns. I don’t know the answers, but I’m pretty sure the two major political parties don’t either. That’s why I’m joining the Green Party. Look for a party you can support. If we all boycott the “Repubicrats” maybe we still have time to save our country.

THE BIG SLEAZY

THE BIG SLEAZY

There’s not much I can add to the outrage over the Bush administration’s mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath except to say it was no big surprise. They have exhibited their incompetence on a daily basis since day one. Add to that their complete lack of compassion for anyone not rich and/or white and you have a recipe for disaster.

Despite repeated warnings of impending doom, Mr. Bush ignored the recommendations of  meteorologists and other scientists that the Gulf lowlands were in extreme danger of just this kind of ecological disaster. His repeated refusal to take global warming seriously, his gutting of FEMA and putting it under Homeland Security, the staffing it with political hacks who know nothing about emergencies, all indicate ignorance at best if not malfeasance.

I think the entire Bush family should be taken from their homes by force and locked in the Superdome with no food or water or facilities for 5 days with no electricity, then taken to a Red Cross shelter and be given a tent to live in for a year. That would actually be too good for them, but I am opposed to the death penalty – even for them.

I just hope we all survive until 2008.

WHAT IS TERRORISM?

WHAT IS TERRORISM?

According to Wikipedia, the word "terrorism" is controversial and has many definitions, none of which are universally accepted. According to Walter Laqueur of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "the only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence."

For most of the 20th century, the word was used primarily to describe the attacks of "a clandestine or expatriate organization aiming to coerce an established government by acts of violence against it or its subjects" However, it was always a pejorative term, and its use has broadened considerably since the declaration of the War on terrorism, now covering almost any enemy action perceived as being an immoral use of violence. The word is used exclusively to refer to others. No known group self-identifies as 'terrorist'.

21st century definitions of the word range very widely. They typically involve some subset of the following criteria:

* The motive is political or religious
* The target is civilian
* The objective is to intimidate
* The intimidation is directed at government or society
* The perpetrator is non-governmental
* The act was unlawful

None of these are universally accepted as being either necessary or sufficient.

I submit the following examples for your reflection:

THE AMERICAN INDIAN

As the European invaders spread across the North American continent, a coordinated program of genocide was visited on the people who had been living here for centuries. This included the burning of villages and crops, the deliberate wholesale killing of game animals, especially bison, and the massacre of women and children. Some claim that blankets containing the smallpox virus were given to Indians in order to eliminate the race. (Indians had no natural immunity to the disease.) Was this terrorism? Ask the Indians.

DRESDEN, GERMANY 1945

On the evening of February 13, 1945, an orgy of genocide and barbarism began against a defenseless German city, one of the greatest cultural centers of northern Europe. Within less than 14 hours not only was it reduced to flaming ruins, but an estimated one-third of its inhabitants, possibly as many as a half a million, had perished in what was the worst single event massacre of all time. Dresden had no military significance. Allied US and UK bombers dropped More than 700.000 phosphorus bombs on 1.2 million people. One bomb for every 2 people. The temperature in the center of the city reached 1600 degrees centigrade. More than 260,000 bodies and residues of bodies were counted.. Approximately 500,000 children, women, the elderly, wounded soldiers and the animals of the zoo were slaughtered in one night. Was this terrorism? Ask the Germans.

HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI

The bomb generated an enormous amount of energy in terms of air pressure and heat. In addition, it generated a significant amount of radiation (Gamma ray and neutrons) that subsequently caused devastating human injuries.

The people who saw the bomb often say "We saw another sun in the sky when it exploded." The heat and the light generated by the bomb were far stronger than bombs which they had seen before. When the heat wave reached ground level it burnt all before it including people.
The strong wind generated by the bomb destroyed most of the houses and buildings within a 1.5 miles radius. When the wind reached the mountains, it was reflected and again hit the people in the city center. The wind generated by the bomb caused the most serious damage to the city and people.

The radiation generated by the bomb caused long-term problems to those affected. Many people died within the first few months and many more in subsequent years because of radiation exposure. Some people had genetic problems which sometimes resulted in having malformed babies or being unable to have children.

It is believed that more than 140,000 people died by the end of the year. They were citizens including students, soldiers and Koreans who worked in factories within the city. The total number of people who have died due to the bomb is estimated to be 200,000. Three days later, a similar bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another estimated 700,00 people. Was this terrorism? Ask the Japanese.

OK - WHAT'S THE POINT?

Just this – terrorism, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Let’s call things by their real name. Let’s start by calling the Iraq “war” what it really is – invasion and occupation. Let’s call the events of 9/11 what they really were – mass murder. To call it terrorism is to admit we are terrorized and gives credence to what was basically a criminal act. The people who did it are criminals and like any other criminals, they should be sought out and charged with the crime and prosecuted.

The only other viable alternative is to seek out and assassinate those who were responsible, like Israel did after the Munich Olympic murders in 1972. I do not endorse this method, but have to admit it was more effective than invading a country that had nothing whatsoever to do with September 11. We cannot fight these people with conventional weapons and tactics. Somebody please tell George W. Bush.

Between Iraq and a Hard Place

WHAT NOW?

We have come to the stage in the Iraq situation that took many more years in Vietnam; namely where most people in this country believe invading the country was a mistake and that we should end the occupation. As one who strongly opposed the invasion during the Bush administration’s misinformation campaign to garner public support, I welcome the change. However, it begs the question: How do we dis-entangle ourselves from the mess we created?

We have de-stabilized a county in a very volatile region with civil war being a very likely outcome. The tensions and strife were there, but the repressive regime of Saddam kept the lid on. This is not to condone the methods used to control the population, but simply to say they were effective. Once we relieved the pressure, we became responsible for the outcome. Do we just say to the Iraqi people “Oops! Sorry!” and leave them with the mess? That hardly seems right to me. In the immortal words of Pottery Barn, “You break it, you bought it”.

On the other hand, our continued presence invites even more violence and strife. Iraq has become the focal point for the militant Muslim movement, thanks to our involvement. The longer we are there the worse it will get. The real irony of the situation is that Iraq was relatively free of Muslim extremists and “terrorists” until we took down the Iraqi armed forces, which were very effective in keeping those factions out. We invaded under the pretense that Iraq was a haven for these extremists and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Most of the blame for this mess goes to the Bush gang of course, but let’s not forget all the spineless Democrats who voted to approve the invasion. A very large housecleaning is in order and we should remember this the next time these weasels are up for re-election. Campaign reform is also a necessity if we want to take our country back.

In a just world, Bush, Rummy, Chaney, Rice and company would have to pony up along with their oil buddies at Halliburton to pay for the mess they have made in Iraq. They should all be brought up on criminal charges and put in prison with all the “detainees” at Guantanamo.

IRAQ-GATE?

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RIGHT IS WRONG

There have been recent misguided attempts to move the Democratic Party to the right, apparently to cater to the right-to-life crowd and other extremist fringe groups. This is a really bad idea! Those people already have a party. It’s called Republican – Hello? Do you really think any of those voters will see these attempts as anything other than transparent efforts to get votes? If it weren’t so pathetic it would be funny. The Dems need to move to the left, not the right.

We almost elected a presidential candidate who was said to be the most liberal senator. I have great respect for Mr. Kerry, but let’s face it: he was not the greatest communicator and the party had no message for him to deliver anyway. Despite that, Kerry lost by a slim 51-49 margin. With a better message and a better messenger, we could have taken the White House away from the petrol-terrorists.

If the Democratic Party insists on becoming “GOP Lite”, they may as well quit. To sell out your core values is to reject your entire history and a slap in the face of all the hard-working blue collar people who have invested their lives in trying to make this country a better place for us all. Unless the party leaders recognize this fact and steer the course towards our traditional goals, I’m finding a life jacket and jumping ship. Third party, anyone?

MARCH MEDIA MADNESS

The shameless political exploitation of that poor Florida woman and her family is only the most recent example of how the politicians are feeding the media circus. In an unconstitutional power play to trample the clearly defined line between the judicial and legislative branches of our government, congress has declared that a person’s life and/or death is a matter for them to decide.

They can’t agree on how to fund Social Security or Medicare, how to bring our soldiers back from Iraq, how to solve the energy problem or how to reverse downward spiral of the economy, but somehow this very personal matter comes to the top of the agenda.

Note to Congress: IT’S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!

Note to the corporate media: IT’S NONE OF OUR DAMN BUSINESS!

Time was when the news was provided as a public service from those who were issued licenses to use “the public airwaves”. I vaguely remember hearing somewhere that we, the people owned the airwaves. Whatever happened to that idea?

Here’s what I think the problem is: The big corporate media conglomerations bought up all the little guys. Now a handful of giants own everything, including the FCC. “News” programs have become just another branch of the entertainment industry and must sell products and compete for ratings, just like the sitcoms and the so-called “reality”shows. (If that’s reality, I’ll stick with my hallucinations, thank you).

We share some of the blame. No news is good news and nobody wants to hear that Joe Blow made it home from the office without incident. It’s a fact – murder and mayhem sells newspapers and boosts ratings. Nobody watches NASCAR to see rednecks driving around in circles. They want to see spectacular accidents. I confess a guilty pleasure in watching “World’s Wildest Police Videos” for the sheer joy of seeing some drunk kiss a tree at high speed. We can’t help it. The Romans had nothing on us for spectator sports.

So, here’s my solution: News broadcasts should not be sponsored or rated. That way, there may not be the media stampede to be there first with the most disgusting story. Maybe we wouldn’t have to hear about Michael Jackson or Scott Peterson or Robert Blake or that poor Florida woman every five minutes for weeks and weeks. (I refuse to use that poor woman’s name – we shouldn’t even know it).

There is enough depressing real news out there about things that matter: world politics, war, economy, environment, natural disasters, etc. Can’t we stay out of people’s lives while they struggle with very personal problems?

I repeat: IT’S NONE OF OUR DAMN BUSINESS!

SOCIAL INSECURITY

I must be a socialist. I didn’t know I was one until quite recently. Maybe it was when the Bush administration started cutting veterans benefits. Or maybe it was when they handed the Medicare program to the drug industry and insurance companies. Perhaps it was when they made it harder for people to file for bankruptcy. Now they want to gut the Social Security program. I should have seen this coming.

In this “through the looking glass” black-is-white world of reverse Robin Hood, where stealing from the poor and giving to the rich is standard procedure, nothing should surprise me. How these people can sit there in front of the TV cameras with a straight face and say the outrageous things they are saying is just unbelievable! They must be laughing their asses off like fraternity brothers at a hazing in private. Like the old Soviet Union, they want to erase FDR’s new deal from the history books. It never happened, folks! There never was a time when we cared about those less fortunate or tried to give a hand up to the people at the bottom of the ladder. The ladder has been pulled up to the boys-only tree house of the Bush gang. All others need not apply.

Tax breaks are only for the wealthy and the mega-corporations that line the pockets of those in power. Health care is only for those who can afford it. A good education is only for those who can send their children to private schools. Retirement is only for those who have screwed the shareholders out of their hard-earned money. It’s the good-old-boy club – back with a vengeance. Back to the days of the robber barons and the sweatshops, of unregulated greed and rampant disregard for the people who do the real work and make the money for the corporations who then raid the pension and move offshore, where they pay no taxes but get tax breaks nonetheless.

It just pisses me off! Why are there not people in the streets, demanding some kind of accounting for these injustices? Where are our elected representatives? Who are they representing? Where is the press? Have they been bought out by the powers that be? I’m not one of these paranoid people who see conspiracies behind every tree. I’m not moving to Idaho and stocking up on weapons. I don’t see black helicopters over my house. I’m just a blue-collar union guy who worked in an auto plant for over thirty years and wants to live out my retirement in peace without worrying if my pension or insurance will still be there when I need it. I completed my part of the deal and now it’s time to collect the benefits. What about those just entering the workforce? What will be there for them? I wonder….

Politics and Religion

There’s an old saying that you should never discuss politics or religion. Actually, I find both subjects interesting topics for discussion. But not together. Like meat and dairy in a kosher diet, the two should never be allowed to touch each other.

I come from a vaguely Christian background. I was subjected to endless hours of Sunday school, Bible school, etc. and have a general idea of the religion and its beliefs. I have friends who are Christian, good people who believe and live their lives in accordance. I respect them and their beliefs. I also respect Islam, Buddhism and any other belief system that teaches people to be nice to each other. I just do not share them.

Having said that, I must now address the problem of religious fanatics attempt to impose their beliefs on the rest of us. Whether they are the Taliban, the Vatican or the Christian Coalition, it’s a bad idea . I believe in freedom of religion. I also believe in the freedom FROM religion. Some things should be voluntary.

This country was founded by people escaping persecution by government-sponsored religion. It would be ironic if we ended up right back where we started. If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t marry anyone of your gender. If you think abortion is wrong, don’t get one, but you have no right to tell everyone else what not to do based on your personal beliefs.

So, go to your church or temple or mosque and pray to your god – whatever gets you through the night. Just leave me the hell alone!

Hunter S Thompson

Hunter S Thompson

My introduction to Thompson was through articles in Rolling Stone back in the 70's. A couple of his books were excerpted, including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972", my personal favorite. I had never read anything like it. A mix of fact and the fertile drug-induced imagination of Thompson, the reader never quite knew what was real. I believe this was the desired effect, but that is just a guess on my part. When interviewed, Thompson proved as elusive and confusing as Bob Dylan about his style and substance.

His campaign for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado was also a highlight. Home of Aspen and of Thompson, the "freak" vote almost elected him. Among other platform planks, he suggested changing Aspen's name to "Fat City".

His writing and his personal life were outrageous. He was the inspiration for the "Uncle Duke" character in the Doonesbury comic strip. Although somewhat a shadow of his former self in recent years, he still had the sharp satirical wit whenever discussing politicians. An avowed Nixon-hater, some of his best quotes are about Tricky Dick:

"Richard Nixon has never been one of my favorite people anyway. For years I've regarded his existence as a monument to all the rancid genes and broken chromosones that corrupt the possibilities of the American Dream; he was a foul caricature of himself, a man with no soul, no inner convictions, with the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad. The Nixon I remembered was absolutely humorless; I couldn't imagine him laughing at anything except maybe a paraplegic who wanted to vote Democratic but couldn't quite reach the lever on the voting machine."

However, he compared GWB to Nixon this way:"Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?" "Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him."

For whatever reason, Thompson decided to end his life with a bullet to the brain. Rest in peace, Hunter. We'll not see the likes of you again.

drawing by Den Preston

he's baaaack!

Hi All!

I'm reviving my blog just so I have a place to rant. If nobody reads this, that's OK - I do it for me. The Bushman just returned from his trip to Europe, where he tried to patch things up with the countries who used to be our friends until we told them all to go to hell. My favorite part was where GWB chastised Putin for putting restrictions on the press and withdrawing some civil liberties. That took some balls, since Bush has done exactly the same thing here. The disclosure that a gay porn web site operator was given a White House press pass and allowed to toss softball questions at press conferences was also a hoot. I haven't had so much fun since Nixon dressed the White House guards in those Buckingham Palace uniforms! This is what happens when you combine arrogance with stupidity. Are these people for real? The Iraq occupation is going well. I predict we'll be out of that quagmire in about 20 years, give or take. Now we are threatening Iran. I'm afraid we'll have to outsource that war to Israel.

Sleep well, America