Here we are at the start of a long weekend and I just feel terribly lazy tonight. And what do I do when I feel terribly lazy? Why I fisk someone. And who is the easiest person on the planet to fisk? Why Molly Ivins of course.
I had a nice e-mail exchange from Bob in North Dakota. I remember when I fisked an insipid Robert Jenson op-ed and mocked his analogy about Canadians invading North Dakota. I poked some good natured fun at North Dakota and I told Bob I hope he didn't take offense. Bob said no and also said the Canucks weren't likely to try and invade North Dakota because there is just too much military up there. He also agreed that the Nodaks and the Canucks would just get a few cases of Moosehead and have a big ol' party. Somewhere in the exchange he asked me what fisking meant. Well Bob, this fisk is for you.
Let's see what pearls of wisdom Molly has for us this week.
Here we are, playing hawks and doves again on the matter of Iraq - war or no war?
I vote war. Sooner rather than later.
- with particularly peppy exchanges from our more excitable brethren
on the right concerning "appeasement"
Appeasement never works. Remember Neville Chamberlain?
and lack of patriotism on the part of anyone who isn't
ready to nuke Baghdad now.
We're not questioning patriotism, just common sense. Better to nuke them before they nuke us. What will it take Molly? Another 9/11?
Bubba and Joe Bob have a question: "Why don't we git Oh-sama bin first?"
Bubba. Joe Bob. What makes you think we haven't got Oh-sama bin? Heard anything from him lately? He didn't look too good on that last video.
I bring this up because it seems to me that what the right wing is fond
of describing as "the media elites" are so absorbed in their own tong
warfare
Also known as the politics of personal destruction which was perfected by the Dimocratic party. When your only ideas involve seizing money from successful people and giving it to unsuccessful people ya gotta muddy up the waters so no one realizes that all your ideas are nothing but socalist bullshit. I know. Socialist bullshit is redundant.
that they quite forget the American people have a great deal of uncommon
good sense.
Some of us do. The ones who watch Oprah, Jerry Springer, and MSNBC and vote for Dimocrats don't.
Does life in Washington actually resemble an endless
round of Crossfire, or does it just seem that way from the boonies?
For once Molly has stumbled onto the truth. Even a blind squirrel can sometimes find an acorn. Life in Washington does resemble an endless round of Crossfire with the Dimocrat Carvilles and Begalas ranting and raving and saying absolutely nothing. Shut the fuck up!
At last count, we were already involved in military actions in seven
countries, counting Colombia, which is either a different set of
terrorists or a civil war.
Molly conveniently omits the fact that only one of those military actions, Afghanistan, started during the current administration. The other six started during the administration of her buddy, Bubba Clinton.
Seems like that's a lot on our plate now. Under the new Bush
doctrine of "unilaterally determined pre-emptive self-defense,"
we get to go around attacking anyone we want without provocation.
Not so much as a "Remember the Maine!" or a Tonkin Gulf resolution.
Where do you live Molly? Howza 'bout we let 'em nuke your city? Would that be provocation enough? I really don't want that to happen since I think Molly lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area and I know some people there. I would not like to see Rachel and Kim go.
Did anybody ever get to vote on "unilaterally determined pre-emptive
self-defense"?
OK. Let's vote. I vote yes. All in favor of killing them before they kill us raise your hands.
According to published reports, the administration is
also contemplating the use of earth-penetrating nuclear
weapons in Iraq.
Works for me. Saddam, you better hope your bunker is deep enough.
Whatever happened to the no-first-strike policy"?
9/11
Did anyone ever get to vote on that?
Let's vote now. I vote yes.
Has anyone studied the consequences of violating it?
Molly. Before, when we were dealing with the Russians they didn't want to die. Mutually Assured Destruction worked. We're dealing with fanatics. These dudes think they get to go to paradise and get to bang 72 virgins. You can't reason with the bastards. Gathering around a campfire and singing Kumbaya ain't gonna get us anywhere. I don't think you realize that war was declared against this country.
Hard to find a soul in this country who doesn't think that getting rid of Saddam Hussein is a good idea,
Oh, I don't know. Walk on to any college campus. Call up James Zogby, the Arab buttboy apologist. I bet he doesn't think it's a good idea. Remember, Islam is a religion of peace.TM
but there are lots of people wondering why it's up to us to do it,
'Cause we're the only country with the balls and the ability to do it. Jesus, do you think the French would do it? Bwahahahaha!
and also asking, "What happens then?"
The other Arab countries will be falling all over themselves to be our friends or they could be next. Maybe the Saudis would quit sponsoring terrorism. Maybe the Palestinians would quit blowing up. The possiblities are endless. Use your imagination. The Middle East couldn't be any worse than it is right now.
Given our experience with George W. as governor, that's a particularly relevant question.
And what would a Molly Ivins column be without a little Bush bashing? And are we also gonna hear about the neverending 2000 election?
Not that it's on par with a nuclear first strike, but Texas now faces a deficit
of $7 billion and rising.
Molly. We happen to be in a recession. Did ya hear about that? It's been in all the papers.
As governor, Bush inherited a surplus, pushed through
two big tax cuts
And I'll bet the people in Texas are happy about that.
and left virtually nothing in the Rainy Day Fund, so now we're not just
broke but in the hole.
Maybe the Texas gummint might want to think about cutting spending. That's what us common folk do when our income drops. Why can't the gummint?
As witness the case of the charter schools in Texas,
I don't have a clue as to what Molly is talking about here. Maybe someone from Texas can 'splain to me what the charter school thing is. At least in Texas y'all don't have the lowest SAT scores among the states. In Georgia, We're number 50! We're number 50!
the man does have a habit of coming up with not-very-bright ideas and
then wandering off to leave someone else to clean up the mess.
He's no where near as good at that as Jimmy Carter. And Clinton did a great job of destroying our intelligence agencies. But hey, even if we had known 9/11 was coming, we couldn't have prevented it because you politically correct dimwits would not have allowed us to single out men of Middle Eastern descent for extra security because it might hurt their feelings.
Speaking of cleaning up messes, how smart is it to get involved in a war
with no allies?
So the reasoning here is we let Saddam nuke us because we have no allies?
Canada announced Tuesday that it won't support a war.
And this affects us how?
That means, among other things, that we have to pay for
all of it ourselves, unlike the Persian Gulf War.
OK. Let's let some madman nuke us because we can't afford to go to war. Great logic Molly.
Our fiscal house is not in good order now. Bush and Congress
both blew the surplus in record time and will leave us with $742 billion and
rising added to the national debt by the end of the decade.
At least she assigns part of the blame to the Dimocrats.
That's without a war.
OK Let's declare peace. I feel better now.
Joseph Nye argues in his new book, The Paradox of American
Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone, that
anti-Americanism thrives on the perception that we don't give a
rat's behind how the rest of the world feels about anything.
I don't know about y'all, but I don't really give a rat's ass about how the rest of the world feels about anything. They're jealous of us and they hate us. Fuck 'em!
That's the famous "arrogance" for which we get criticized.
Yet still they come, hats in hands, begging us for money and protection.
On that count, a war with Iraq could play right into terrorist hands.
Oh?
It's apparent that our ally Saudi Arabia has a far stronger
connection to Sept. 11 than our enemy Saddam Hussein,
Molly, you need to talk to Maureen Dowd. She thinks we oughta attack Saudi Arabia first. I read it in her column this morning.
so attacking Saddam makes us look like hypocrites willing to sell
out our foreign policy for oil.
Saudi Arabia does not have weapons of mass destruction. Iraq does. Don't ya just wonder what passes for logical thought processes in a liberal's brain?
That we'd also have to kill a whole of lot of innocent Iraqis
War is hell. Better innocent Iraqis than innocent Americans.
(next guy who uses the words "precision
bombing" has to eat them)
Precision bombing. Yum. Yum. How many Afghanis did we kill with our precision bombs? Not too many. Certainly not as many as the hypocritical human rights groups claimed.
should count for more than it probably does with all those hard-nosed
Bush foreign policy advisers who have never seen war.
I have seen war Molly. You haven't. But we both saw 9/11 when 3000 innocent civilians were killed. I'd much rather see an Iraqi civilian die than an American civilian die. War is hell. Tell the Iraqis to overthrow Saddam. We didn't start this war, but as long as we can keep dumbshit liberals like you out of power, we'll finish it.
The ideological struggle over foreign policy - unilateralism vs.
internationalism -
How about survivalism?
is in danger of becoming one of those futile -ism
fights, where people get so engaged in putting down
their opponents that they lose sight of reality.
I often wonder how Molly can successfully put one foot in front of the other. Everytime I read one of her columns I think that she lost sight of reality a few years back. We're talking about taking out a madman who may unleash nukes or biological weapons against us and we have to get the rest of the world's permission to protect ourselves? And we have to listen to wimps like L'il Tommy Daschle and L'il Dickie Gephardt sayin' that we need to negotiate with Saddam Hussein. Molly, you're sounding loonier than Cynthia McKinney fer chrissakes.
We used to give an award for it in the Texas Legislature:
"If He Votes Yes, Then I Vote No."
Molly was in the Texas Legislature????
It's smarter to stick with what works.
Ya mean like what worked in Afghanistan?
Life is not Crossfire
If it were, Carville would have been shot by now.
- there are more than two sides. So is there a better way? Nye thinks
there is.
I await with bated breath.
Since terrorism flourishes in the "failed states," why not
support international efforts to get these wretched places
on their feet?
This sounds like that shit they're talkin' about down in South Africa. 'We're poor because we screwed up our countries. Give us money so our corrupt dictators can screw up our countries even more while they squirrel the money away in their Swiss bank accounts.' Yep. That works.
There was a poll of foreign affairs experts and scholars at the
end of the 20th century, and it found widespread agreement that
the single most effective American foreign policy effort of the century
was the Marshall Plan.
But with the Marshall Plan we were rebuilding developed industrial democracies. We weren't trying to rebuild third world feudal countries living in the Tenth Century.
Seems to me that the lesson of Sept. 11 is that we cannot
afford to ignore what the rest of the world thinks.
No the lesson of Sept.11 is having some pussy president like Bill Clinton bite his lip, feel our pain, promise to hunt down the bastards who blew up our embassies and the Cole and then go get a blowjob by an airhead intern only shows the rest of the world that we're all talk and no action. Overthrowing the Taliban, taking Saddam out and going after any one else who fucks with us will prevent future 9/11's.
Why does she make it so easy?
Well damn! I haven't gotten any referrals from my good buddy Aaron lately and I found out why. He's been going after my real good buddies Kim Dutoit a white African-American, who oddly enough came here from South Africa and Toren Smith whom he called a psychopath for some reason. Since, as usual, he knows nothing about Toren or Kim, he missed the entire point of what they were saying. I've noticed that about Aaron.
I first came across Aaron, when Carl, one of my readers sent me a link of Aaron commenting on an article I was gonna fisk. It was too delicious to pass up seeing Aaron's comments and inserting mine. See, according to Aaron, all of us warbloggers are 'racist motherfuckers'. And if you read what he says about Toren, Toren needs a full-contact "diversity training seminar". I guess Toren's wife, who happens to be Japanese should attend also to see how to deal with people like Aaron.
So the insults passed back and forth. I made a joke about my Netscape 4.7 browser 'performing an illegal operation' and shutting down and Aaron came back with the retort that my sister was my mother (No Dude, she's my cousin) since I live in Georgia and must be an inbred Georgia goober. I got a good blog out of that called Stereotypes. Also, he and his friends said my sister and I must be AOL users. They must have gone to either DC schools or Atlanta schools, since my e-mail address ends in mindspring.com and not aol.com. Hello! What were your SAT scores?
Besides being inbred Georgia goobers we also didn't have any marketable skills. This pissed off my sister, but I thought it was funny. My sister and I grew up in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. My sister, being smarter than I, did well in school and won a four year scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis. She was on the Dean's List every semester but one (I think ... knowing her, it was probably every semester). She graduated with a degree in Computer Science and has been a software engineer since 1964. She's still working and will retire in January. Bet she wishes she had some of those marketable skills Aaron was talking about. By the way, she's a millionaire.
I don't have any marketable skills either. I flunked out of a junior college and joined the Navy and learned electronics. I went to college on the GI Bill and burned out in my junior year. I'm in good company. Stephen Den Beste didn't finish college either. I started working on computers in 1977. The big 'uns. The ones that used to drink water. I started teaching computer repair in 1985. In 1988 I broke my back and moved to software. Since then I have been an instructor/programmer and have written and delivered computer training courses. Four-and-a-half years ago, I became a full time software engineer. Just think how much better I would be with marketable skills.
Nope. I don't know Linux. The programmers at my shop who do, make less than I do. If TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name) wants me to learn Linux, they can pay me to do it. I'll get me some books, take two days off, and learn it. I mean, how hard can it be? Aaron knows it.
And then, in his last slam, since I chided him about not being able to come up with any good insults without using family ancestry or profanity, he called me an asshole (which I am by the way. That's no insult. It's a fact.) and said something about how he couldn't feel sorry for me because I couldn't walk. Well, I can walk with braces and crutches, but I have never expected anyone to fell sorry for me. I got my open water SCUBA certification over the weekend. I can fly an airplane. If the FAA didn't approve of some of the drugs (all legal) that I take, I would have my private pilot's license. Since my accident, I've been to England, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Finland, and Russia. Piss on pity!!!! Does he want me to feel sorry for him because he is an 'uppity-negro'? I don't. I do feel sorry for him for being a bigoted leftist.
When I went back to work after I broke my back, after seeing so many people work the system ('I didn't get the promotion because I was a female.' ' I got kicked out of that account because I was black'), I didn't want anyone to say that the only reason I had a job was because I was disabled. I outworked all my co-workers, and guess what? The raises and promotions came, not because of Diversity(All Hail Diversity!), but because I worked my butt off.
So now we get to talk about that waste of time Earth Summit in South Africa. It's sole purpose is to have the richer countries, like the United States, throw more dollars into that cesspool called the Third World. Stephen Den Beste as usual, has the best analysis. This is nothing more than world socialism. Those that can subsidize those that can't (and won't).
Everywhere socialism has been tried it has failed. And don't throw Sweden at me. In case you haven't noticed, Sweden isn't doing too well. How about that worker's paradise, Cuba? Free medical care. Yeah, as long as you don't get any infections. Of course, people like Aaron probably think that the only reason socialism has never worked is because
I guess this paragraph by Toren is what made Aaron call him a psychopath:
One can only look at the professional whiners, NGO-ticks, worthless EUnuch bureaucrats, aid parasites and other assorted riff-raff gathered in South Africa like a vast glob of idiocy and wish those black market nukes were just a little easier to come by.
Aaron, Aaron, this is nothing but white hyperbole. Ya know, sumpin' like the black hyperbole you black dudes like Charles Barron put forth when he said
"I want to go up to the closest white person and say 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him, just for my mental health,"
It's just a white thing. Charlie want's to slap people, Toren wants to nuke people. More from Charlie
I think everybody knew there that was what we call improvision - oratorial improvision and black hyperbole. And y'all wouldn't understand that 'cause you're uptight and you're gonna take it where it was not intended.
See Aaron. Toren was just using oratorical improvisation and white hyperbole and you're gonna misunderstand it because you're uptight and gonna take it where it was not intended. We discuss this shit at the secret white folks meetings we have. It's a white thing.
But then Toren continues
The sight of pompous liars like Mbeki, who took a stable, relatively peaceful, and prosperous nation and turned it into a economic basket case rotten with crime and paralytic with corruption telling us to clean up our act is sick-making. Yes, there's no more apartheid in South Africa. Except now the blacks there have a lower life expectancy and a reduced per capita income, among other miseries. Don't get me wrong--apartheid had to go, but the reality is that the end result has been a worse life for the average South African black, including a nearly doubled chance of being murdered by members of another tribe.
Well this really pissed Aaron off. He comments:
For a minute there, I was getting him wrong. It almost sounded like he was saying the lives of blacks were better under apartheid.
No, wait, that is what he's saying. Oddly, I got that link to Kim (old boy in the next entry) from Toren's site. Can you figure out what these two have in common?
Well Aaron, you're right, he is saying that the lives of blacks were better under apartheid, and, they were. During apartheid, blacks were immigrating to South Africa, because, even under apartheid, it was a better place to live than anywhere else. But, and here is the dirty little secret: it wasn't apartheid that drew them, but capitialism. Kim, my companion grouch points this out. Nelson Mandela, who was a pragmatist, didn't make too many changes. His successor, Thabo Mbeki, a socialist has already started to destroy the South African economy and, yes, blacks are worse off, because of socialism which never has (except in primitive societies and the Israeli kibbutz) worked, and never will work.
Let's look at another example of socialism in action. Zimbabwe, which used to be a net exporter of food, now is facing famine. Robert Mugabe's socialist experiment has failed. How long will it take until Mbeki and the ANC does the same thing to South Africa? This is not a black/white thing like Aaron would have us believe, but a capitialist/socialist/communist thing. Let's raise the spectre of racism where none exists.
I know Aaron thinks I'm just another white racist bigot, but, I really am upset at the fact that the public education system is failing black students in this country and the NAACP is worrying about the freaking confederate flag. They changed it in Georgia. Now we got some goobers who want to make that an election issue. It wasn't an issue before they changed it. It isn't an issue now that they changed it. There are more important things to worry about.
So what do we do about the 'economic apartheid' (and if that isn't a truckload of bullshit) in the Third World? We ain't gonna fix it by throwing money at it. If the Third World wants our aid, they have to clean up their gummints. Start with democracy. No socialism. No communism. The most important resource of any country is people so we'll help you with education. We'll help you with health care. Quit being in denial over the AIDs epidemic. Quit having so many kids. But don't come to us and say everything is all our fault. It's not. Get up off your asses and do sumpin' about it. We'll help ya. We ain't gonna support ya.
So I really hope I've helped Aaron out here. And another thing, I got a note from another blogger who told me that Aaron's two favorite songs were Lola by the Kinks and Dude looks Like a Lady by Aerosmith. I don't know why that's relevant, but maybe another blogger can let me know.
Bye Aaron.
Arghhh! My back itches. Sunburn from last weekend. Have you ever noticed that the worst itch is a spot just barely out of reach? So you find yourself looking for corners to rub your back across. Ahhhh! Relief. Some of you have significant others. I have cats. Doofus! Ashley! Come here and scratch Dad's back. Yawn. Dammit Doofus, you scratch the furniture. Why not my back? Yawn. Are you speaking to me?
Warning! The following commentary will have lots of adult language. If you are offended by that type of language please leave. I am very pissed off. It's either profanity or my keyboard.
I opened the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation and this article was on the front page. I love living in the South, but at times like these, I kinda wish I were back in Missouri.
Georgia educators can no longer exclaim, "Thank
God for South Carolina."
Which Georgia just passed for worst SAT scores among the states. Jesus H. Christ! Georgia is lower than Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Does anyone wonder now why Jimmy Carter was such a lousy president?
The Palmetto State, long the doormat of SAT
rankings, passed Georgia this year, bringing
finger-pointing and promises of change from
embarrassed state officials in Atlanta. Only the
schools in the District of Columbia scored lower
this year on the college entrance exam.
A shining city on a hill, Washington DC, has the lowest SAT scores in the country, and we expect the Department of Education to fix our schools. Hey buttheads! Why don't you start with the schools in your own fucking city?
Georgia's 50th-place ranking left parents with
another sign that, for all the talk of reform, many
students are struggling.
No shit!
"We have not been preparing our students
adequately because they haven't had access to a
rigorous curriculum and certified instruction,
particularly in math and science," said Cathy
Henson, state school board chairwoman and the
mother of a Walton High School student who will
take the SAT in October. "We have inflated grades
and mediocre work."
Walton High School has the highest SAT scores in the state. It's one of the few schools that is performing well. We'll find out why later.
Georgia's average combined math and verbal score
is 980 this year, the same as last year. The
national average also remained unchanged, at
1,020 out of a possible 1,600.
But I bet the students all have high self esteem. They're real big on teaching that self esteem bullshit in the Georgia schools. I feel real fucking good about myself Miss Jones. That's nice Johnny.
However, South Carolina saw its average jump seven points, to 981. Washington,
D.C., came in 51st, with a score of 953.
953! 953! Dontcha get 600 points just for signing your name?
Georgia scores have risen 32 points in the past decade, and South Carolina's have
gone up 43 points as both states have jockeyed to stay out of the SAT basement.
We're Number 50! I'm so fucking proud!
Georgia School Superintendent Linda Schrenko showed her disappointment
Tuesday when she announced this year's results.
Bet the Republicans were glad she lost in the primary race for governor. The Democrats would have had a lot of fun with that.
"Where the scores started is abysmal. Where we ended is abysmal," said
Schrenko, who leaves office in January. "I'm now fearful we're on the wrong track."
No shit Linda. Congratulations on the excellent job you did while in office. Granted, in Georgia, the state School Superintendent does not have much power and she was outnumbered by Democrats on the state School Board. There's plenty of blame to go around.
The College Board, which administers the test, warns against comparing states
because different numbers of students take the SAT in each state. Georgia, South
Carolina and North Carolina, in which a high percentage of students take the test,
generally have lower scores. States where only the top high school students take
the SAT, like North Dakota, Mississippi and Iowa, are typically among the
highest-scoring.
Mississippi? Mississippi? We were beat out by fucking Mississippi?
Nonetheless, politicians, real estate agents and corporate and community
boosters use SAT scores to sell their wares.
Come to Georgia where the schools really suck.
"When you're at the bottom, it kind of hits you in the face," noted George
Engelhard, an Emory University education studies professor.
Emory University, home of Michael Bellesiles, he of the shoddy research.
The poor showing on the SAT is such a
hot political issue that former state Sen.
Sonny Perdue, the Republican nominee
for governor,
And aren't they glad it isn't Linda Schrenko?
held a Statehouse press
conference less than two hours after the
scores were announced. He blamed the
dismal performance on Gov. Roy
Barnes' recent education reform laws
That obviously haven't done too fucking much.
and Democratic political dominance in
general. Perdue said, "135 years of
one-party rule has failed the children of
this state."
And the NEA (teachers union) hasn't been a big help either. Oh, they're all Democrats? Ya don't say.
Barnes said the low SAT scores could
be blamed on past inaction.
Roy's been governor for four years now. Before him was Zell Miller. Yep. That Zell Miller. And before him was Joe Frank Harris. They were all Democrats.
"You're paying now for what they failed to do
years ago," said the governor,
Democrat governors, Democrat legislatures, and teachers unions working together for mediocrity. Yesterday, number 49. Today number 50. They're your fucking people Roy.
who claims his long-range improvement plan
will bring higher scores.
Long range probably means after he leaves office.
The SAT is seen by some experts as a good indicator of how students will do
during their first year in college.
Georgia students ain't gonna do worth shit! And here comes the bullshit that's gonna send my blood pressure through the roof.
Critics say it is culturally biased and a poor measure of
what students have learned in high school.
Culturally biased! I swear to Christ, everytime I read that I just want to find one of these asshole critics and have them explain to me just what the fuck they mean by culturally biased. What fucking culture are they talking about? American culture? That's the culture we have here. That is the culture we have always had here. The first generation of immigrants brings their language and culture with them from the old country. We then take parts of their culture and their language and integrate it into our culture and language. The second generation becomes Americans. We are all richer for it. It wasn't until this liberal bullshit of multiculturism was introduced that we started seeing enormous breakdowns in American culture. Now it's OK to not learn English. We'll teach you in your own language. Of course, when you get out of school you won't be able to get a job because you can't speak a fucking word of English. Thanks you fucking liberal dickheads for fucking up another person and making me pay to support him because he has no fucking skills.
How about black inner city culture? Here goes that racist bastard bitching about black folks again. No. What I'm bitching about is an anti-achievement mentality in the inner city that says learning to read and write English and succeeding in school is acting white. So do we want the SAT to be written for this culture?
Question 1: Jamal is planning a driveby shooting and has a ten round magazine. He only has 6 bullets in the magazine. How many more bullets does he need to have a full magazine?
Culturally biased? To succeed in this country you have to learn to live in the predominant culture. I'm sorry, but that's how it works. I'm not going off on black folks. I am going off on their leaders, like John 'spitting' Lewis and the NAA fucking CP who think getting the Confederate flag off the grounds of the statehouse in South Carolina is more important than changing the anti-achievement mentality in the inner city. Getting the state flag of Georgia changed was more important than preventing fourteen year old black girls from having babies. Calling George Bush and John Ashcroft racist Nazis was more important than doing something about the crack epidemic in the inner city.
The most important asset of any country is its people. I rail at people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Cynthia McKinney because they preach the tired old gospel of hate whitey and the only reason poor black people are not getting ahead is racism, racism, and racism. The only people they are enriching is themselves. I do not like seeing people in poverty. The solution is not throwing money at the problem. We have thrown $5 trillion at poverty since the Great fucking Society and we still have just as much. The solution to poverty is education, a work ethic, and not having children one cannot afford. In America it is as simple as that. That is American culture. If the SAT's are culturally biased they are biased on an un-American culture.
Several factors play into Georgia's low SAT scores.
And these factors are ... bet they have sumpin to do with Diversity (All Hail Diversity!)
The state has a more diverse group of test takers than many other states.
What did I tell ya? But ... but ... I thought Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) was supposed to be a good thing.
North Carolina has a similar population, a similar number of test takers, and
higher overall scores. But Georgia has a higher percentage of African-American
students taking the test, and they tend to score lower.
And why is that? They're either dumber (I didn't say they were) or there's another reason. Could it perhaps be the anti-achievement mentality of the inner city. Where the fuck is the outrage about this? I'm fucking outraged because we are wasting a whole shitload of people. There are lots of black men in jail because our education system is failing. I'm waiting for the hue and cry from the black community. Oh, right, I forgot. It's racism. It's always fucking racism.
Students generally do better if they come from families in which parents have a
college education. Georgia has one of the lowest college attendance rates in the
country, according to the Board of Regents.
Yeah, because those parents start reading to their children at an early age. Shameeka can't be reading to her babies when she's on crack. Also, these parents make their children study. They go to parent teacher meetings. Kinda hard to do when stoned on crack or tending to the other five rugrats Shameeka had 'cause she couldn't say no. C'mon NAACP, where the fuck is the leadership?
Georgia's curriculum is also a problem. An independent report earlier this year
suggested the state's curriculum is wide but shallow, with teachers expected to
cover many subjects but few in depth.
But the students have real high self esteem.
That shows up in Georgia's college-bound seniors. Those who took four years of
high school math scored 966 on the SAT, according to the College Board.
Nationally, such students scored 1,020.
Probably has sumpin' to do with the student not necessarily having to have the right answer but to feel good about the answer he has.
Henson has a committee working on curriculum revisions, and part of the aim is
to eliminate "equivalent" classes. An example is a class considered the
equivalent of algebra when the state counts a student's credits, but that
isn't algebra.
Equivalent to algebra? What the fuck is that? Who thinks up this shit?
Schrenko says not enough Georgia students take advanced placement tests
and course work, which features college-level courses during high school.
Barnes wants the 2003 Legislature to increase funding for the program.
It's kinda hard for them to take advanced courses when they can't even pass high school courses. And maybe they oughta think about ending social promotion.
But SAT gains don't come quickly.
Especially when the schools and the teachers suck.
South Carolina School Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum said her state began
moving on the SAT four years ago because state leaders, educators and parents
wanted to dig the state out of the basement. The state pays for students to take
practice SATs and kids get after-school primers on reading and math concepts
likely to be on the test.
So they're teaching the test. At least they're teaching sumpin'.
Students also were given an incentive to do well because the state's
lottery-based scholarship is based partly on SAT scores. And South
Carolina developed an annual tournament in which schools compete
in test-taking skills instead of sports.
Stressing academics? What a novel concept.
In addition, Tenenbaum said South Carolina rewrote its curriculum to stress
higher academic standards.
Stressing higher academic standards? Another novel concept.
"You have to count on incremental improvement," Tenenbaum said. "There is not
going to be a big jump at once. There are no gimmicks."
No gimmicks? Ya mean this is gonna involve work and shit like that? Ya mean teachers are gonna have to start doing their jobs and maybe, just maybe, be held accountable? Nawww. Too much fucking work.
There is another article that contrasts two schools: Walton, the school with the highest SAT scores and Carver the school with the lowest scores. Here is the link. Walton is in an upscale suburb of Atlanta. Carver is in the inner city in an area that is being redeveloped. One excerpt about Walton.
Parents expect excellence, said Judy McNeill,
associate principal.
"They're expecting their children will do well,"
McNeill said. "And if they're not, and we call, we
have the parents' support."
And Carver.
Carver has the lowest average SAT score of all public schools in the metro
area: 677 out of a possible 1,600. That's a 10-point gain over last year, when
the school had the lowest average in Georgia.
A former principal said Carver has deteriorated over the years. It has became a
dumping ground for unwanted students, and a school that many students
have fled in recent years. Just 42 seniors earned diplomas last year.
Remember, Carver is in the city of Atlanta that spends over $10,000.00 per pupil. That is not a typo. That is ten fucking thousand dollars per pupil and Atlanta has the worst schools in the entire state.
More on Walton.
At Walton High, administrators, teachers and students talk about the
importance of getting better still.
Walton added two advanced placement courses this year, bringing its total to 23.
Debbie McWilliams, who teaches multivariable calculus, has to prepare herself for
the 15-student class. "They'll ask the 'why,' " she said. "They won't take it at face
value. It's a lot of fun. These kids are eager."
Isn't is amazing that when excellence is expected excellence usually occurs?
Ron Dietel of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and
Student Testing, based in California, said it's unfair to compare schools that serve
students from different backgrounds and make judgments about school quality.
"Two-thirds of student achievement is accounted for by the parents'
socioeconomic status," Dietel said. "That's true in every research study
you conduct. Wealthy, affluent schools almost always have higher
performance."
Yeah, Ron, but it has been proven that poor black kids can learn just as well, especially when challenged and removed from the peer pressure that 'acting white' is bad.
The district plans to pour $40 million into remaking Carver into a state-of-the-art
school with a strong vocational program. The transformation should coincide
with the redevelopment of the Carver Homes public housing project into a
mixed-income neighborhood.
Good luck. But unless attitudes change, the students are challenged and the parents get involved we'll be throwing forty million bucks down the drain.
I'm not a racist bigot. I want to see black children succeed. I want to see the black middle class continue to grow. I don't like paying for prisons. I don't like paying for children in poverty because their mothers are irresponsible and continue to have children they cannot afford. One of the cures is education and another cure is attitude change. Come on John Lewis. Come on NAACP. Lead on this issue. White folks are not the problem. Racism is not the problem. The anti-achievement mentality of the inner city is the problem. Fix it.
Let's see if we can make it back to number 49.
Argghhh! My back itches!
Omigawd! The election was last week and she lost. Can't you let it go? Do you have to kick her while she's down?
Uh ... Truthfully? Yep!
Almost every day since the election, the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation (which, to its credit did everything it could to prevent Ms McPiggy's re-election) has had articles about why 'the cutest little communist in Congress' lost in the primary. They've also had articles about how Bob Barr, shot himself in the foot (sorry couldn't help that. For those of you who do not live in Atlanta, during a fundraiser at a supporter's house, Bob Barr was handed an antique gun which 'just went off' - gotta watch those guns with minds of their own - and blew out a sliding glass door.) and shot holes (sorry again, I just can't help it) in his chances to beat John Lindner in the primary.
The lamestream media all said it was the crossover Republican vote, not to mention the campaign contributions from, in Bill McKinney's words 'JEWS, J-E-W-S'. Billy McKinney, jihad Cindy's father, just happens to be a racist, anti-Semitic BIGOT, B-I-G-O-T. And isn't it delightful that he is in a runoff for his seat in the Georgia House? Maybe we'll be twice blessed. Anyway, back to the lamestream media. They have been talking about the out of state contributions from Jews and AIPAC, a Jewish PAC. Many of the stories fail to mention that the majority of McKinnney's contributions came from out of state Arabs and Arab organizations. There's still another dark secret that the media does not want us to know, which I'll mention later.
But first, let's have a little history lesson. In 1990, during the last gerrymandering redistricting, the Georgia Democrats wanted to set up three minority (code for black) districts. They succeeded. In the 1992 elections Sanford Bishop, John Lewis and Cynthia McKinney were elected to Congress. Unfortunately for the Democrats, they had done such a good job, that there weren't enough Democrats left over for the other eight districts and in a stroke of delicious irony, the other eight districts elected Republicans.
So fast forward to 2002. In this year's gerrymandering redistricting they did a much better job of marginalizing Republicans. Georgia picked up two more seats and in the gerrymandering redistricting, the Dems think they might have made them Demmo seats. We'll see. In Ms Big Mouth's district, they took some of the poorer black areas out of her district and gave them to John Lewis. They also took the Republican areas of Gwinnett County (where my friend Richard lives - the lucky bastard) and made that part of the new district that John Lindner and Bob Barr fought over. Us poor folks in Beautiful Dunwoody were stuck with jihad Cindy. Stone Mountain was added to her district. Stone Mountain, although black, consists of middle class and upwardly mobile black families.
Let's see what happened in the election. Jesse Jackson endorsed Cynthia. Jesse, your day has passed. You have become a caricature of yourself. Someone get a hook and get him off the stage.
Louis Farrakhan came to town. Now I know that got a lot of Republicans and Jews off their butts in Dunwoody.
Let's pause for a public service here. I present to you the Louis Farrakhan African Name Generator. My new name is Raheem.
Back to the election. In this Sunday's AJC, in yet another article about the election, after first mentioning as an aside that the Supreme Court handed Bush the 2000 election ...
Time out! Time out! Time out! Does anyone remember when the rule was facts on the front page and opinion on the editorial page? Now the rule seems to be keep telling lies and eventually the people will believe it. The Supreme Court did not hand Bush the election. They prevented the Florida Supreme Court, made up entirely of Democrats, from letting Algore steal the election. The Supreme Court told Florida to follow its own fricking laws! If there was to be a recount it had to be in every fricking precinct and not in selected precincts as the DemoRats wanted to. Since there was no time to do this, it wasn't done. And to top it off, all the recounts that the Rats wanted were done after the fact and guess what? Bush still won! I AM SO SICK OF THIS!!!!!
... it said that the reason McPiggy and Barr lost was that they were too extremist. Maybe so. But it turns out that even without the crossover vote, Cindy would have lost!!! She even turned off her base that she pandered to. In South DeKalb, where she was always strong, turnout was low. This in spite of the get out the vote buses to take people to the polls. Her outrageous antics and remarks even turned off the liberal Emoroids (the academics at Emory University). And, this is the telling point: The middle class blacks in Stone Mountain went for Majette. These are the people actually living the American dream.
At TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name) the black people I work with are hard working, intelligent, educated and articulate. They, as I do, realize that there is still racism in this country. They also realize that the practitioners of racism are usually dumb yahoos and are irrelevant. My black co-workers, may have got into the door via affirmative action, but they have stayed employed through hard work and dedication. Over the last few years, TCIDNN has had many workforce reductions (layoffs), workforce redeployments (layoffs), and (the current term) skill rebalancings (layoffs). Unlike in the 80's, now the people get cut without regard to race, gender, or sexual orientation. If ya don't do the job, outcha go. Here's your cardboard box. Knock, Knock. Who's there? Not you anymore.
So here's what the lamestream media won't say. To more and more black people, the Cynthia McKinneys, the Al Sharptons, and the Jesse Jacksons no longer speak for them. They don't need government. They're probably starting to feel, as I do, that they pay too much in taxes. These are the people who voted for Denise Majette. And that is what the liberal press does not want us to know. The black middle class is becoming more conservative. Maybe they're not ready to vote Republican, but they may be able to pull the Democratic Party more to the center. McPiggy was too far to the left and she was just too fricking loony!
I'm sure that Denise Majette is still too liberal for me and I will probably vote against her in the general election, but I don't expect her to blame all the problems in this country on white folks. She has promised to represent all the people in her district and I'm willing to believe her.
And now, if Cynthia McKinney will keep her big fat mouth shut until her term expires I will write no more about her.
Fat chance!
This was the big event. My checkout dive. We had to go to a quarry in Alabama. So, I got up early Saturday morning and drove to the quarry in Alabama. It was 130 miles from my home. Got there half an hour early as did just about everyone else. This place was out in the middle of nowhere, but was evidently a popular spot for diving and snorkeling.
To get to the dock, I had to step up on a walkway. Got the first foot up, positioned my crutches and ... Bam! I fell. This isn't good. So I tried again with assistance (a helpful push from behind) and made it.
Got to the dock and unpacked my gear. Got everything ready: my exposure suit on, tank in the BCD (buoyancy control device), regulator in tank, inflator in BCD, air on, second stages checked, weight belt on, BCD on, and mask defogged. Let's go.
Into the water go our jolly band of five students and two instructors. First we work on buoyancy. Some of us descend too fast, others, after descending, got too positive and start to shoot for the surface. Oops. I have my own problems, but as the dive progresses my buoyancy control improves.
We arrive at an underwater platform, and practice mask clears and regulator purges. Also, more buoyancy practice. We have to stay on the platform. To make it a little bit harder, the platform has some gunk on it and slopes slightly, which means students slide.
After mask clears and regulator purges, we swim around the quarry for awhile. More buoyancy practice. Then, it's back to the dock. Dive one is done. Since we didn't go very deep, we didn't use much air, and we can use the same tank for dive two.
Here is where I make my first mistake of the day. ( Falling doesn't count. That's part of my life. Every step is an adventure. ) I take off my exposure suit. I wanted to go get my backpack where I had a couple of bottles of water. So, I took off my suit, put on my braces, and got ready to fetch my water. At that time, Ned, another student, asked if he could bring me anything. Sure, my backpack. He brought it. I sat in the sun and drank my water.
Before suiting up for the second dive, I noticed my shins were pink. Paraplegics have bad circulation below the level of injury, and we can sunburn faster. And, since I have no sensation in my shins, I didn't feel it. At least it was pink and not red. My shoulders and nose were slightly burnt also. Not unusual. My nose always burns. Anyway, time to get back in the water.
Back in the water. We practice ascents and buoyancy control. Off to another underwater platform. We swim past a sunken boat and a sunken car. This is Alabama after all. Now, we take off our masks completely, put them back on, and clear them. No problem. I was certified over twenty years ago so I'm used to taking the mask on and off underwater. Then we practice out of air. One diver signals out of air to his buddy who gives him his spare second stage (spare second stages were not required twenty years ago) and the two of them slowly ascend to the surface. After this we swim around more and go below the thermocline. Brrrr! It's cold down there. We swim back to the dock take the gear off and we're done. Getting me up on the dock is fun. Graham, one of the instructors, gets behind me and pushes me up the ladder and on to the dock, where I flop like a seal and bounce the rest of the way. I try to make seal sounds. Bark! Bark!
Get all the gear off, get my braces on, and head for the adventure of getting from the dock to the gravel walkway. Able to step off without falling. Success! Get up to my car and get ready to head back to Beautiful Dunwoody.
As I leave the quarry, I try to retrace my route back home. I screw up immediately by turning left instead of right. When that road runs out, I make another left and go to the end of that road and realize ... I'm lost. Omigawd! I'm lost in Alabama!
Wait a minute. I'm in Foggy Bottom (real name). I can ask one of the locals for directions. Foggy Bottom consists of one old style gas station with a small store. Think the 1950's version of Quick Trip. I get out of the car to walk inside and about that time someone walks out.
Me: Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to I-20?
Him:(Scratching head) I-20?
Me: How about 431?
A little interlude here for the requisite Alabama joke. The toothbrush was invented in Alabama. How do I know? If it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called the teethbrush. (Rimshot) This next part is true. In Alabama they have dentists with one day false teeth services. I saw a sign offering this in Birmingham. This man, who was very nice by the way, had terrible teeth.
Him: To get to 431, you go back down that road until you come to a lttle bridge. Turn right on that road which will take you over the mountain, and that will run right into 431.
Me: Cool. Thanks.
Him: Oh, one more thing. You'll see a topped out tree right before the bridge.
Me: Thank you sir.
By the way. Real southerners (I'm from Missouri so I don't count) are usually very polite, so when I'm around 'em I try to be too. It's only booger eatin' moh-rons that I'm rude to.
Back down the road I go and looked for the topped out tree. Didn't see it and while looking, I cross the little bridge (and was it little) and missed the turn. Go another half mile and think, was that a little bridge I crossed? Didn't look like much of a bridge, Sho' nuff. It was. Go back to little bridge, turn on the road, and go over the mountain (wasn't much of a mountain either) and get to 431 and drive back to Atlanta. The trip was uneventful. Was tired. Went to bed early.
Get up early Sunday morning and drive back to Alabama. Ned, one of the divers, carried my stuff down for me. Ned, by the way, is from Bosnia, as is his wife. She's already certified and was there yesterday to refresh her skills. They're gonna go on a cruise in October and want to dive. She stayed home today.
Gear up. Graham wants me to put on my BCD in the water. Also, I discovered I can do a frog kick, so I brought my old fins with me today. Bert didn't laugh at them like he has at all my other old equipment. Into the water. Everything on. Let's rock! Today, Bert, the main instructor, wants us to try underwater compass navigation. I'm buddied up with Ned and Graham is right behind us like a shepherd herding his flock. Courtney and the other student (I never got his name) are on their own. We arrive at the dock and see bubbles about 20 yards away. Ooops! They missed. Graham, like a good border collie, goes over and herds them back to us.
Down on the platform we do more remove mask and put back on drills. We also go a little deeper today. It's cold below the thermocline. We come back up and do some controlled ascents. Careful, don't come up too fast. Look up.
We surface and then we do the tired diver tow. The qualification distance is 25 yards. I did it in the pool, just barely. Today we go from one dock to another and I get to tow Graham. Remember, I can only use my arms. I can't do a frog kick when I'm in an almost vertical position. I make it! That's more than 25 yards. It's somewhere between 50 and 75 yards. By now, I'm a very tired diver. Graham tows me back to the dock and we get out. One more dive to go.
Today, I only take the top of my suit off, put on a T-shirt, and put on a hat. I hate hats. I never wear a hat. I wore one today. My hair is not as thick as it used to be. Plus I want to protect my face. Drink lots of water.
Last dive of the day. The final exam. Off we go with some more underwater compass navigation. We all make it. Then we swim around some more. Look there's a truck. I mean a big truck. A big ol' truck trailer sunk in this quarry in Alabama. We find another platform and practice buddy breathing. Ned and I both live. Then we get to do controlled emergency ascents. You're out of air, but still don't ascend too fast. And exhale. If ya don't, your lungs will explode. We all make it with lungs intact. Then, we swim underwater back to the dock. We're all certified!
Even though Bert is giving me an open water certification (I passed all the skills), he's also certifying me HSA-B, which means I should dive with two other buddies. I'm on an honor system.
Get the car all packed up and I'm on my way. I make it to Anniston Alabama and my check engine light comes on. This can't be a good thing. I look at the temperature gauge and It's pegged. This can't be a good thing either. Better pull over to the side of the road, which I do and then Pow! and water spray on my windshield and steam coming from under the hood. I know this really can't be a good thing.
Pop the hood and get out of the car. Look under the hood. Hose from radiator hanging loose. This is really not a good thing. I have two cell phones. One from TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name) and one for myself. For some reason, I have neither with me. I'm right in front of the Seven Seas Super Buffet (all you an eat for $5.95), which is obviously a Chinese restaurant. I'm just getting ready to go in and call AAA, when a nice lady stops and lets me use her cell phone. (I love living in the South!) I call AAA. I could write an entire blog about that conversation. Basically I tell her I'm about one mile north of exit 185 off of I-20, on 431 heading south. It's a gray 1992 BMW 325is. Repeat. Repeat. Yes, on highway 431 heading south. Yes, one mile north of I-20, exit 185. Yes gray BMW. Repeat. Repeat. Even then, they usually get it wrong. Listen. Just look for the bloody Seven Seas Super Buffet (all you can eat for $5.95). The parking lot is packed on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone in Anniston should know where that is.
About this time, Bert and Graham come along. They look under the hood and think they may be able to fix the problem. I don't think so. We look and see that it's the radiator outlet and too much has broken off. (BTW I later found out that this isn't a bug, it's a feature. BMW designed the cooling system to have this piece of the radiator blow if your water pump dies. That way you get to have both the water pump and the radiator replaced) I realize, it's either have the car towed to Atlanta or to Birmingham. I have a good BMW mechanic in Atlanta, so I've decided I'll just do that.
The AAA person said she'd try to expedite and have the tow truck there in less than an hour. Sho' nuff, in about 35 minutes the tow truck shows up and I tell the driver we need to go to Atlanta.
Him: Alanner?
Me: Atlanta.
Him: All the way ta Alanner is gonna cost ya a bit.
Me: (biting the bullet)Yep. But I don't really have a choice unless ya know someone who can replace a BMW radiator on a Sunday afternoon in Anniston Alabama.
Him: Don't reckon ah know no one who ken do that.
So Leon gets the car on his truck and off we go to Alanner. I know his name is Leon because it's written on his shirt. Leon is missing half of his teeth. This is Alabama after all. We start a conversation and since the truck is loud there are a lot of 'do what's'. For those of you who do not speak Southern, when someone doesn't hear you he usually says either 'say what' or 'do what'.
Turns out Leon is a retired over the road truck driver. He started work at eighteen and worked driving big rigs for forty years. For the last four years he's been a tow truck driver. He told me some neat stories about his forty years on the road. He drove rigs to every one of the contiguous 48 states. By the time we got to Alanner, I was calling it Alanna. Couldn't quite lose that last a.
About now you're probably saying, 'You elitist butthead. How dare you make fun of these Alabama good ol' boys.' This is the way it works. Everyone in Georgia makes fun of Alabama. Alabama probably makes fun of Mississippi and Mississippi probably makes fun of Arkansas. Anyway, I wasn't gonna do any politics, but here goes.
I like Leon. Remember the map of the 2000 election? Ya know, the blue and the red? Leon is one of the people in the red. He worked hard for forty years. He's 62 years old and is still working. He is one of the people who has made this country great. He lives in a small town called Cold Water. I'll bet he doesn't have to lock the doors in his house. He grew up on a farm and helped his 'daddy' on the farm until he was eighteen and then got a job as a truck driver. He's hard working, honest, and never took a dime of gummint aid. We need a lot more Leons in this country.
There are lots of Leons in Georgia. Right now whole big bunches of young Leons are enlisting in the Army to fight our war against terror. During Desert Storm, a lot of Leons joined up to serve our country in the military. I met a lot of Leons when I was in the Navy in the late '60's. Leons are very patriotic. They are also very polite with lots of yessirs and yes'ms. Their mommas and daddies slapped the shit out of 'em if they smarted off and back then no one called the cops for child abuse when people were disciplining their children. As a result, children were better behaved. I even met some Leons from Missouri. They were all country boys. I always liked to be around Leons. I still do. What you see is what you get. It's a shame Bill Clinton wasn't a Leon. But then he wouldn't have become President.
Back to the story. We make it to Alanner. He unloads the car at GOC Central in Beautiful Dunwoody. I pay him $278. I thank him. He thanks me. I shake his hand and thank him for the nice stories and he leaves. I feel poorer for the $278 (it's only money), but richer for having met this hardworking son of the South. My friend Wahoo (don't ask...that's another blog) who's from South Carolina and my brother-in-law, also from South Carolina probably have met lots of Leons in their lives. They grew up with 'em and went to school with 'em. Wahoo is still somewhat of a Leon himself. He and Leon would probably go out together for a few beers and swap stories.
So now I'm stuck. I started out this blog with my amazing dive weekend and how nice it is to be certified and I ended up talking about an Alabama redneck. How do I end my tale? I don't have a good ending line like I usually do (or at least try to). How about (if this isn't too sappy) this?
This country will stay great as long as we have Leons.
I was gonna do a recap on the election (Goodbye Cynthia!) and explain that it wasn't just the Republican crossover that did her in, but, I had to actually do some grunt work today. We're doing some reconfiguration on the floor and I had to help relocate some fiber optic cables. All right, I was only moving them from one switch to another and the switches were only two feet apart, but I had to get down on the floor to do it. Had to pull up two floor tiles. Anyone who has worked in a raised floor computer lab knows what I'm talking about. And, if they've been around long enough, they remember pulling big ol' gray bus and tag cables. Not those sissy blue cables they came out with later, but the big ol' gray ones. Back when men were men and computers drank water.
Anyway, I didn't actually pull any fiber. I suckered another guy into helping me. Go help that poor old cripple. Look at him sitting on the floor. All I did was plug in the cables when he handed them to me. But, it's more work than I've done in a while, so I'm beat.
Then I had to activate the new configuration and make sure all the I/O devices came up OK and were accessable from all the systems. Everything worked. Look. No one's looking. It's Friday. Time to sneak out early. Entered all my numbers into SHTS (Stupid Hourly Tracking System) before lunch so I had nothin' keepin' me there.
Went out to the parking lot and looked around very carefully. Had to make sure there wasn't some stupid socialist bastard waiting for me with a gun. (See yeterday's blog) I wasn't worried about myself. I was afraid the stupid putzhead would shoot himself by mistake and I'd have to wait around for the ambulance and I still had stuff to do.
Went by the dive shop and took my final exam. I passed. Had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. Had my picture taken. Tomorrow, I get to drive to Alabama for a checkout dive. Doing two dives tomorrow. I'm doing two more on Sunday. Then, when I go to Roatan next month, I won't have to mess with checkout dives and can just dive for fun.
So this is all for tonight. Got to get up early tomorrow. May write sumpin' Sunday night.
Glug. Glug.
Dammit! What the heck do I have to do to get hate mail? Rachel gets hate mail and she's a lot nicer that I am. Cuter too. It's not like I haven't tried. I know I've offended a bunch of people. I know some people hate what I write, 'cause I've checked my ratings. There are some Hate its. Golly, now I've even got someone who wants to shoot me. He calls it a modest proposal
To take everybody who mistakes common politeness for "political correctness", everybody who actually uses "political correctness" without any trace of irony and especially anybody who is proud to call themselves "politically incorrect" and thinks this is a brave thing to do outside to the nearest wall and shoot them.
Now this guy, on his site, right under his picture, has the phrase Screw you Eric, this is a gun free zone. Talk about irony. How's he gonna take me outside and shoot me? Where's he gonna get the gun? And we have another problem. I don't know how long I can stand up against the wall, being crippled and all. Maybe he can hold me up while the shootin's bein' done.
I thought liberals were against capital punishment. I thought liberals only wanted to kill babies. Don't worry. I'm not talking about abortion. You're not gonna get me into that discussion. I'm talking about infanticide. That's where they see how many angels can dance on the head of a pin by delivering just enough of a live healthy baby so they can collapse his head and suck out the brains and call it 'partial birth' abortion. Sorry bucko, that's infanticide.
It's funny how conservatives are supposed to be so mean spirited but so much hate speech comes spewing from the left. I mean here's a guy who thinks that someone like me, exercising his First Amendment rights and refusing to buckle under the tyranny of stupid political fucking correctness (sorry, have to save my keyboard) should be taken outside to the nearest wall and shot. Tell me who's the fascist here. I guess I should be flattered that an anti-gun nut wants give up his hatred of guns long enough to have me shot. If I've pissed off at least one bedwetting, anti-gun nut liberal, I've done my job for the day.
How about another example. That noted (sarcasm) compassionate (/sarcasm) liberal, Julianne Malveaux, a truly odious person, said of Clarence Thomas "I hope [Thomas’s] wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter, and he dies early, like many black men do, of heart disease. . ." Aren't liberals supposed to be against hate speech? Oh, that's all right as long as they get to judge what constitutes hate speech. Hoping someone dies of heart disease or is taken outside and propped up against a wall and shot is OK if a liberal says it.
And how about that towering intellect of the left, Alec Baldwin? On the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show, during the Clinton Impeachment, Alec Baldwin said We should go to Washington and stone Henry Hyde to death. And then we should go to his house and kill his family. He said it was meant to be humorous. Remember that the next time a liberal bitches about some conservative hate speech. It was meant to be humorous. HaHaHa! Cut it out Alec! You're killin' me. No, Alec, it's a figure of speech. At least Alec didn't want to use a gun. Unlike whassisface who wants to take me out and have me shot for exercising my First Amendment rights.
And how about Charles Barron? Here's another example of leftist humor. And who says liberals don't have a sense of humor?
New York City Councilman Charles Barron said Sunday that he was using "black hyperbole" when he told a Washington, D.C., crowd gathered yesterday to demonstrate for slavery reparations that he wanted to slap white people who didn't sympathize with the cause.
I guess I'd rather be slapped than shot.
"I want to go up to the closest white person and say 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him, just for my mental health," Barron announced as 2,000 to 3,000 reparations supporters looked on.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
As the New York official uttered his incendiary remarks, vendors from the New Black Panther Party, which provided security for the event, hawked T-Shirts that read "Kill Whitey"
You don't understand, they were just joking. Another example of 'black hyperbole'.
and "How did we get to America? Heartless Christian Buyer, Ruthless Jewish seller," the Washington Times reported.
Yeah, but who sold the slaves to the Christian buyers? How 'bout their black brothers on the African coast. Sorry guys, Roots was good TV but bad history. Whites never went inland. They didn't have to. And I don't think the Jews were in the slave trade. Your friends the Arabs were and they still are today.
Asked about his explosive slap-the-nearest-white-person comment, Barron told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg he was only joking, before the interview turned contentious.
Love a black guy with a sense of humor. Like Billy McKinney. 'It's the Jews. J-E-W-S'
The exchange went like this:
MALZBERG: How long have you wanted to slap white people?
Have you had this condition long? Is it contagious? Do you still beat your wife?
BARRON: Well, let me say this to you. It's interesting that they would take that out of my speech.
Since you were talkin' about slappin' white folks we wanted to know more about it.
I think everybody knew there that was what we call improvision - oratorial improvision and black hyperbole.
Some of us call that hate speech. But let's see if Charlie can dig himself deeper.
And y'all wouldn't understand that 'cause you're uptight and you're gonna take it where it was not intended.
But it's not all right for me to say 'Boy it's hot today!" and not even be talking to you and hear 'Don't call me boy!' and I'm a racist honkie motherfucker? Or someone voices a complaint about a niggardly budget and y'all run off and scream racism when niggardly has nothing to do with the 'n' word. (Look, I was politically correct and didn't say the actual word. Does that mean I won't be shot?) Which one of us is uptight?
Everybody at the rally laughed. White stage hands and camera people laughed.
Maybe they were laughing at you and not with you. Or maybe they were afraid that they'd get slapped if they didn't laugh.
When I came off the stage, I shook hands with whites who were there and they congratulated me on a great speech.
On a great hate speech. And, please don't slap me.
No one has taken that serious but you.
Wait a minute! I took it serious. That's two. My sister took it serious. That's three. My friends Michael and Cindy took it serious. That's four and five. I'll bet many of my readers took it serious. Should I forward the e-mail to you Charlie? What's your address? Now it gets good.
MALZBERG: Well, I'm taking it serious because it's presented as serious in the wire story. What in the world is black ...
BARRON: It's not serious. That's not serious. It's black hyperbole. Let's talk about reparations.
MALZBERG: Wait, wait, wait. If you'll be quiet for a second, I'm gonna ask you the question, what in the world is black hyperbole?
Let me interrupt here. Black hyperbole is an euphemism for hate speech.
BARRON: You don't know what a hyperbole is?
hyperbole, n. (fr. Greek, prop., an overshooting, excess, deriv. of hyper over + ballein to throw) Rhet. Extravagant exaggeration of statement; a statement exaggerated fancifully; as for effect
black hyperbole,n. hate speech
MALZBERG: Yeah, I do ...
BARRON: Let me break it down for you ...
MALZBERG: N-n-n-n-n-no, I do but you just ...
BARRON: Let me break down the parts of speech for you.
MALZBERG: You yourself - no, no, no, hold on. Now you're on hold because now you're insulting. Put him on hold because I want to - you said, "You won't understand this because you're white and uptight and blah, blah, blah but black hyperbole." So, yes, I know what hyperbole is. My question to you was: What is - what you said I wouldn't understand because I'm white - black hyperbole?
BARRON: It's a sense of humor. And we take things - we identify humor, they're gross exaggerations. That's a hyperbole. And it's a sense of humor that we have politically that our folk will understand and some other folk will get uptight and take it very seriously.
Like 'kill whitey' and 'death to the bloodsucking Jews'. It's not hate speech. It's black hyperbole. Hey, maybe what Julianne Malveaux said about Clarence Thomas was just black hyperbole. Now I understand. How come they never explained this shit to us white folks before? They jes' be funnin' wit' us.
MALZBERG: So if I made a joke before a white audience that I wanted to - just for my mental health - slap a black person, then I could always claim that that was white hyperbole.
Sounds like a good question to me.
BARRON: No. Because that's not how white people joke around.
How do you know? Have you been to the secret white folks meetings where we discuss this shit?
You're just trying to make a hypothetical to turn this into something it's not.
No, we're just trying to get you to admit that this was hate speech and quit throwing this bogus black hyperbole bullshit at us. If a white person were to say, I'm so sick of this stupid reparations bullshit that I just want to slap the next black person I see, the howls from the black community would be deafening. I wouldn't want to be between Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton and a TV camera. You wouldn't have to shoot me. I'd be trampled to death. And that reminds me. I'm due for another Bitch Slap column and you, Charlie, are gonna be in it. Back to the interview.
MALZBERG: Oh, so black people ...
BARRON: Let's talk about reparations.
MALZBERG: I will. Black people joke around by talking about ...
BARRON: Let's talk about reparations ...
MALZBERG: Wait a minute. Don't tell ...
BARRON: You could put me on hold again if you'd like.
MALZBERG: So you're just going to ...
BARRON: 'Cause I'm not entertaining no more of you wasting my time on black hyperbole you just don't get.
Yeah we white folks sure are dumb. No wonder we don't understand this reparations bullshit.
MALZBERG: Alright. Goodbye, city councilman. Thank you very much. I'm not going to be treated rudely and badgered on my show. (End of Excerpt)
So I think I got all this figgered out now. If a liberal like Alec Baldwin says we should stone an elected official for trying to uphold the Constitution, that must be liberal hyperbole. And the dude who wants to take me outside and have me shot must be using liberal hyperbole also.
I sure as hell hope so.
Hey dude! Have you met my friend Flip? He's a bird.
That's an example of Grouchy Old Cripple hyperbole.
What a great way to start the day! Cynthia McKinney is out! And, with what may be a twofer, her bigoted anti-Semitic daddy, is in a runoff in his reelection bid. Monday night, He was on TV and said sumpin' to the effect, that the reason the election was so close was due to 'Jews, J-E-W-S'. Nice to know Billy can spell.
I voted yesterday morning on the way in to work. The polling place is only about 1/2 mile from my house, and, it is right on the way to work. Didn't even have to make a special detour. And, in a related piece of symbolism, the polling place is a Jewish synagogue. Delicious. I walked in and went to the Democrat table and started filling out my paperwork and noticed that there were considerably more people getting Democrat ballots than Republican. I remarked to the lady sitting next to me, 'Didn't realize there were this many Democrats in Dunwoody.' She replied, 'From your lips to God's ears.'
So, now people are probably wondering what I'll find to write about. When in doubt, I could always write about Cynthia McKinney or fisk a Molly Ivin's column. Barrel. Fish. Gun. Done. Not to worry. There's still plenty to write about. Like today, I'm actually gonna admit I was wrong (at least partially) about sumpin'.
Last Saturday, I ate dinner with my friends Michael and Cindy. We usually wind up discussing politics and they have a nefarious plot to win arguments:
1. Get me drunk.
2. Gang up on me.
They also have an additional advantage, that since they are married, they get considerably more opportunities to practice arguing.
Whenever we get together for dinner, we always wind up drinking three bottles of wine. After that, Michael and I usually have some Grappa (Italian white lightning). Before attacking me, they usually wait until we're almost done with bottle number two. Saturday followed the same game plan.
But before I discuss that, let me tell you another strange thing that always seems to happen when I eat at their house. We usually start with a white wine or champagne with an appetizer, commonly smoked salmon. Then, we have another bottle of wine with the dinner, and finish off with a red wine with cheese. We usually eat the cheese in the den and watch television. This is where the weirdness sets in. Everytime I'm at their house on a Saturday, we stumble upon something beyond the fringe on television. I wrote about one of the programs we watched back on June 24, 2002. It was about transvestites and transgenders. I wonder if Aaron saw it. What was weird, is one of the cross dressers works for TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name). I looked him up in our company directory, but couldn't find him. Must not have been his real name. He did give out some invaluable tips for men in drag. e.g. Pluck your eyebrows. Much easier to paint eyebrows on. I filed that away for future use.
On this particular evening we stumbled on to the Anna Nicole Smith show which is a direct ripoff of the Osbournes. Don't television executives believe in originality? Monkey see. Monkey do. I've only watched about five minutes of the Osbournes and I don't see what the big deal is. Of course, I don't see the appeal of Jerry Springer and the rest of the shows that show us dysfunctional members of the human race. Do people watch this stuff so they can feel superior? Don't know.
We wound up watching the whole show. We could not take our eyes off the spectacle of this overweight bimbo (who was once a Playboy Plamate of the Year) making a fool of herself. Cindy would say 'This is brutal'. And I would respond, 'And yet we continue to watch'. And then they blamed it all on me because we always stumble onto this bullshit while I'm there. I bet they secretly watch programs like this all the time and then when I'm there, blame it on me. At least the program on transgenders and transvestites was funny. Funny? It was hilarious! The Anna Nicole Smith show was just sad. Incredibly sad.
But back to where they ganged up on me.
Awhile back I wrote a piece called Tax the Stupid! where I stated that I was for cigarette taxes, alcohol taxes, drug taxes (legalize and tax), and the lottery. My argument went along the lines that since all these activities were purely voluntary, the taxes were voluntary.
About this time, they decided to cheat. They used logic on me. They pointed out that since I was a libertarian, I should be against all taxes. Well, um, uh, well libertarians agree that there are some functions government should provide and these functions require money, so there has to be some form of taxation. For example, the federal government should provide for a strong military (the best in the world) and should provide for secure borders (not doing a very good job there). I am also a strong believer in the Interstate Highway system. A lot of the stuff the feds try to do could be done much better at the state or local level. Education comes to mind. So it now comes to a discussion of exactly what government at all levels should do and how we should pay for it.
That usually gets us going on the bit from The Life of Brian:
So now what they throw at me, is my real estate tax is a voluntary tax. I don't have to buy a house. I could rent. And, I'll have to admit, they do have a point. But, on the other hand, the government encourages me to buy a house by allowing me to deduct my mortgage interest and my real estate taxes. I'm still not convinced by their arguments.
But what has changed my mind somewhat on cigarette taxes is an argument made by my Companion Grouch, Kim Du Toit. I'm not against taxing cigarettes per se. I still think it's an excellent idea for the poor to pay some of the freight. I firmly believe that most poor people are that way because of lousy decisions like dropping out of school or having children they cannot afford. Another stupid decision is choosing to smoke when it says right on the pack that it's bad for ya. So, I don't mind the tax itself, only the amount of the tax. As Kim points out, in some areas the tax is now so large, that there is a black market for cheap cigarettes. Organized crime can now muscle in on the market of a perfectly legal substance. And once organized crime gets in, we start having turf wars and people get killed. What's next? Outlawing cigarettes?
Whatcha in for?
Smoking.
Smoking?
Smoking.
Bwhahahahahahaha!
I don't think government should be in the business of legislating morality. See, I'm back on firm libertarian ground. I don't think crackheads are crooks. I think they're sick. They don't belong in prison, they belong in treatment centers. And if they can't stay clean, keep 'em locked up in treatment centers. Don't put 'em in prison with mother stabbers and father rapers (with apologies to Arlo Guthrie). Legalize pot and tax it. But not too much. Pot smokers don't belong in prisons or treatment centers. But keep 'em away from all you can eat places. Pot isn't even addictive, unlike cigarettes. And I don't believe this gateway drug bullshit.
So, I admit I'm wrong. I'm not wrong about taxing cigarettes. Go ahead and do it 'cause it's a tax on the stupid. And, yes, I once smoked but quit because I couldn't breathe. I was stupid. I wised up. But don't tax the product so much that you create a class of criminals who don't want to pay the high taxes and will find a cheaper source.
Let the poor smokers puff in peace.
Just keep 'em away from me.
I've got company comin' over tonight for dinner. Afterwards, we're gonna break out guitars and see just how bad we (I) can sound. He's in a band. I should be banned. He plays soft rock. I play mostly accoustic stuff. I do have a Fender Strat that I haven't played in years, so we'll string him up and see how it sounds.
In the meantime, I have a reading assignment. Tomorrow, I'll actually admit I was wrong about sumpin'. See you then
Brian, I'm sorry. Sherry, I'm sorry. Rachel, you're right: lotsa cussin'. Lotsa adult language tonight. And to comment on a 180, Aaron slammed me (altho', not very well) without making any references to my ancestry and without using any profanity. The South Park reference was kinda cute. I will comment on his site and congratulate him for that.
We had a Sommelier Guild tasting tonight. The wines were not all that good. We were tasting wines made from the same grapes from different regions. The four grapes were riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay, and pinot noir. Three white grapes. One red grape. I don't think too much of white wines. Serve 'em cold enough and who cares. The best wine was the 1999 Girardin Pommard. For the uninitiated, that is a pinot noir from Burgundy. Nice wine. $22 a bottle.
My friend Michael asked me if I had heard the latest Cynthia McKinney ad. Nope. She said that Andrew Young endorsed her. Almost true. He did two years ago.
After the tasting I'm driving home and listening to the radio. Royal Marshall, Neal Boortz' (morning talk show host) engineer has a talk show from 9 to 11 at night on WSB, the major Atlanta talk radio station. Lest you think that Royal is a tool of the white man, Neal has a policy that Royal can turn on his microphone and disagree with Neal anytime he feels like it, and he does. Royal has issued an open invitation to both Denise Majette and Cynthia Mckinney to come on his show. Denise accepted. Cynthia did not.
On his show tonight, Royal played a recorded telephone message that was being sent to voters in the 4th Congressional district. The gist of the message was it is illegal to be a Republican and vote in the Democratic primary without proper documentation. What the fuck does that mean?
I got home and looked at the answering machine and saw that there were two messages. Message 1: 'Hi. I'm Robert Redford. In case you hadn't noticed I'm over the hill'. OK I made that last part up, but does anyone really give a fuck what Robert Redford, Alec Baldwin, Rob 'Meathead' Reiner, Susan Sarandon, and the rest of the empty headed Hollywood airheads think about anything? 'Cynthia McKinney really cares about the environment.' Yeah. I'll just fucking bet she does. The only environment she cares about is the congressional environment and she wants to be in it. Thanks Bob. But you're just peddling bullshit and I ain't fucking buying it.
Message 2: 'Attention Republican voters in the 4th Congressional district. (I am not making this up.) It is illegal to vote in the Democratic primary without proper documentation. (What?) There will be election officials on site to check documentation and enforce the law ... yada ... yada ... yada ... blah ... blah ... blah'. I cannot believe what the fuck I am hearing. Is the election this close? Is this an act of desperation? Be still my beating heart.
Dudes. Check any documentation you want. Georgia is an open primary state. I can vote as either a Republican or a Democrat. Tomorrow, I will be a (shudder) Democrat.
No blog tomorrow. I have a friend in town and he's coming over for dinner and then we're breaking out the guitars and jammin' until my fingers get sore, which might be early since I haven't been playing as much as I should. I will post a link to a previous blog for study purposes and we will discuss it and I will actually admit I was wrong about sumpin'. Tune in. This doesn't happen too often.
See ya then.
I'm posting today because we are having a Sommelier Guild of Atlanta function tomorrow night.
What's the Sommelier Guild of Atlanta?
It's a bunch of people in Atlanta who get together once a month for wine tasting. We meet at a restaurant and have a dinner or something light with each flight. Some of the members are in the wine business, like my friend Michael, who is the wine buyer for Greens Beverages (shameless plug) in Atlanta. If any Atlanta bloggers want to get good wine advice, go to the Greens on Buford Highway and ask for Michael Bishop and tell him the cripple sent ya. Trust me, he knows his wine and will do right by ya. I get no compensation for this plug.
OK, what do I want to talk about today? Howza 'bout reparations for slavery and Cynthia McKinney?
I opened up the Saturday Atlanta Urinal and Constipation yesterday morning and I came across this article. For a change, I'm only going to comment on a few things in this article because most of it is bullshit and not worth the time to dignify it by repeating it.
The previous sentence was an inside joke and is understood by anyone who caught a spokeswoman for the Millions (?) For Reparations March on C-Span yesterday. Any time a caller asked a question about why, say, immigrants who came here after slaveryTM should have to pay for reparations, she responded 'I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer. Now that's a debating tactic I never thought of.
GOC, why do you think we oughta abolish the income tax?
Because it is too cumbersome, has too many regulations, and ... Oops, I forgot. I won't dignify that question with an answer.
"This rally is part of an overall strategy to obtain reparations for the black family in America," said (Ron) Parker, 49, a member of the non-profit Institute of the Black World, 21st Century. "We want to bring attention to all the vestiges of slavery in this country and then set up a foundation for alleviating all the problems."
Believe me Ron, we won't forget about slaveryTM because you won't let us! Look, slaveryTM ended almost 140 years ago. Don't you think it's about time you quit whining about it? Hey, in your words during all the Clinton scandals, 'That's old news. Can't we just move on?' I agree, Can't we just move the fuck on? (Sorry, I woulda done the starts with f, but that's an old joke and it's time to just move on) Jesus H. Christ, you'd think you guys have the freaking franchise on slaveryTM. And I got some news for you whining bastards, we've already paid reparations in spades (no pun intended). How many people died in the Civil war to free your whining sorry asses?
On my mother's side of the family, my great-great-grandfather, Charles Gruner, moved here from Germany in 1850. He joined the Union Army in 1860 and fought in the Civil War. There's some of your reparations. On my father's side of the family, my great-great-grandfather William Wilson, and my great-grandfather John Alexander Wilson, and his brother, all fought for the Union Army. (I hope I got this right. If not my sister will be all over me.) So there's some more of your reparations.
Since the advent of the Great fucking Society in the 60's we have poured over 5 trillion dollars down the black hole of poverty programs that haven't worked. I know there are more white people than black people on welfare, but let's just say we gave 1 trillion dollars to subsidize fight poverty in the black community. There's your reparations bucko.
Millions for Reparations was conceived by delegates at the world conference on racism in South Africa last September.
A waste of time. Cynthia McPiggy was there. They passed a resolution against Israel. We chose not to dignify it with an official delegation. So we were not officially represented. Screw you.
Mary Hoover, education chairwoman for the coalition, said most of the rally planning began about two months ago.
"We didn't want to go another year without making a statement," said Hoover, an education professor at Howard University. "We wanted to have this rally this month."
Good for you. No one cares. Shut up. Go home.
She also said they want to extend the reparations debate beyond African-Americans and slavery.
"We want to educate two groups of people, our own African-American community and the wider population," Hoover said. "We also hope this may spark a new movement for Native-American reparations and for reparations for other oppressed groups in this country."
OK Let's do the Indians too. How far back do ya wanna take this shit? I read somewhere that blacks claim they were the real Egyptians and built the Pyramids and all the Egyptian temples. They did a lot of that with Hebrew slaves. So lets have the blacks pay reparations to the Jews.
The call for reparations has ignited emotional debate in African-American circles and angered some nonblacks who believe the demand is unwarranted and divisive. Though proposals vary, most advocates say black Americans should receive some sort of financial compensation for slavery.
They already have. We've spent over 1 trillion dollars in welfare on blacks alone and that's just a conservative estimate. Bet it's a lot more. They have the highest standard of living for blacks on this planet. Even the poorest black person in America has a higher standard of living than a large majority of blacks anywhere else.
Rob Redding, a local radio talk-show host, said he hopes the rally forces Americans to discuss more openly the legacy of slavery.
The disproportionate number of blacks in prison, on welfare and behind in educational systems is directly linked to slavery, Redding said.
OK. Let's take this bullshit apart one by one.
"I really don't want to see African-Americans receive handouts," said Redding, who works for WAOK (AM-1380).
You must be the only one then. Wait a minute! I take that back. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Johnny Cochraon don't either. They want to set up a foundation. Guess who'll get most of the money? Just another shakedown.
"I just want to see African-Americans get closure on this issue."
I do too. Shut up. Go home. Move on.
And now on to Cynthia McPiggy. Ah Rachel thanks for giving her that name. This article was also in yesterday's AJC.
Washington --- Several contributors to Rep. Cynthia McKinney's campaign are among the alleged "enablers of terrorism" named in the $1 trillion lawsuit filed this week by families of some Sept. 11 victims.
Cynthia receiving donations from organizations tied to terrorists? I'm shocked! I'm not saying that she did anything wrong, but don't you think we should have an investigation as to what Cynthia knew about 9/11 and when she knew it?
Among the defendants are:
The lawsuit defendants who contributed to McKinney's campaign could not be reached Friday and did not respond to telephone messages.
But she's their 'strategic choice' for Congress.
Telephone calls on Friday to the McKinney campaign were not returned. The congresswoman faces former DeKalb County State Court Judge Denise Majette in the 4th District Democratic primary Tuesday.
Why not. Maybe we should have an investigation as to what Cynthia knew and when she knew it.
In a televised debate earlier this month, McKinney responded to questions about her donors.
"All of our contributions are legal," she said. "My opponent, on the other
hand, has an awful lot of Republican money going into her coffers."
Republican campaign contributions are illegal? When did they pass that law?
In an earlier interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McKinney had
said, "My relationships with the Arab-American and American Muslim
communities are based on the belief that they, like Americans of all ethnic
and religious backgrounds, are full members of the American family."
Except Jews and white people.
But McKinney campaign coordinator Wendell Muhamad had played down FBI
investigations of some of these same donors. He had said that the agency
historically has hounded minorities and now is targeting Muslims and people
with Arab-sounding names.
Yeah, 'cause that's where the terrorists are. All the hijackers were from Muslim countries and they all had Muslim sounding names. Now if we could just get our airport screeners to realize the obvious and stop hounding little old ladies in wheelchairs. Hey, remember the screener who made the lady drink three bottles of her breast milk because the screener thought it might be explosive? Wonder if she asked the lady, 'Ya want fries with that?'
About one-fourth of the individuals who have contributed to McKinney's
campaigns over the past five years have names that appear to be
Arab-American or Muslim, according to an informal study of Federal
Election Commission records by the Journal- Constitution.
And a big bunch came in on 9/11. What did she know and ... oh , never mind.
Their contributions total $142,950, one-third of the money McKinney
collected from individuals over the last five years, the AJC review indicated.
And whole big bunches (most) of it came from outside her district.
Arab-American leaders call McKinney a longtime supporter.
And I'm so proud to live in her district.
Two more days until the primary. My polling place is less than a mile away. I'll be there when it opens. For the first time in my life, I'm voting for a Democrat and looking forward to doing it. I'm voting for Denise Majette.
It will feel great.
I've been having some fun with my (sarcasm) buddy (/sarcasm) Aaron over at uppity-negro and I'm gonna use our little verbal skirmish to demonstrate stereotypes. I wrote a blog about my experiences in a Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) Awareness workshop. We were taught that all stereotypes, even positive stereotypes were bad. Since I didn't want to have to listen to the bullshit they were peddling any longer than I had to, I didn't point out that good stereotypes can be good. Good stereotypes can be role models. Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) is really designed to give a different name to Affirmative Action, include gays (I'm not homophobic. I don't care about anyone's sexual preferences. Just don't ram your agenda down my throat), and support that bullshit policy known as multiculturism, which I will write about in an upcoming blog.
Anyway in last Wednesday's blog Dive Tables I wrote Well, let's suppose that Aaron wants to go diving. He might not have time to steal a decent computer. Aaron jumped right on that and immediately what jumped into his head was the stereotype that all blacks are thieves. I didn't say that was what I meant (maybe I just thought Aaron was a cheap bastard) but because that's a negative stereotype, that's what Aaron thought I meant. Obviously he needs to go to a Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) Awareness workshop.
What's with this Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) stuff?
Go here.
Anyway, back to stereotyping. I effectively got Aaron to stereotype himself. In Aaron's words' My bad'.
Aaron's also pissed because I won't turn comments on. I do that for two reasons:
I have begged, nay, pleaded many times for people to send me hate mail to no avail. I'm pissed at Aaron 'cause he won't e-mail me. I promise that I will publish any hate mail in its entirety with only the most offensive profanity edited out. I guess Aaron doesn't think he can make any cogent points without commenting on one's ancestry or using disgusting profanity.
Should I also bring up the fact that besides being black skinned, black folks tend to be thin skinned? Must be the 400 years of oppressionTM and slaveryTM thing. Want some examples? Howza 'bout a few years back when a white person described the DC budget as being niggardly? Guys, before running off half-cocked and screaming racism, look the word up. It has absolutely nothing to do with nigger. Another example? Boy, it sure is hot today. Don't call me boy! Dude! I wasn't even talking to you! If I was, I would have said 'It sure is hot today, you asshole!'
But back to stereotypes. I also told Aaron to look some more difficult words up in the dictionary, from which he implied that I thought he was dumb. No, I just thought that due to his sewer mouth he had a limited vocabulary. He commented that he was a linguist. ( I wonder. Is he also a cunning linguist?) Also, since I don't allow comments and he won't e-mail me (I did comment on his site by the way) I made a little joke about how to e-mail, which he rightly took as satire. And Aaron does have three redeeming factors: He uses Linux, he knows who Tom Lehrer is, and can recognize satire. (At least some of the time.)
old times there are not forgotten,
whoppin' slaves and picking cotton,
and waitin' for the Robert E. Lee.
It was never there on time.
From I want to be Back in Dixie by Tom Lehrer
OK. Back to stereotypes. Aaron, in attempting to ridicule me, implied that my sister was my mother. See, I live in Georgia, so I must be some inbred goober. Dude, you're wrong. My sister is my first cousin. My mother is my aunt and my father is my uncle and I do have trouble counting on my toes because I have three on one foot and seven on the other. And, by golly, I keep a whole big buncha stump broke pigs out back on the great patio of Dunwoody. My fav'rite one is Ethel. Here pig. Here pig. C'mon Elmer, ya gotta hold her for me. Ya gotta come up with better insults than that since my white skin is a hell of a lot thicker than your black skin.
Also, since I mentioned I'm using Netscape 4.7 on my home PC, Aaron and some or his buddies jumped on the stereotype that I must also be a computer illiterate goober and my sister/cousin must be also. I really got a huge laugh out of that one. As many of my readers know, I hate Microsoft and I hate Bill Gates. I'm running Windoz 98 (Motto: You should have waited for 2000. This OS sucks worse than 95). It was preloaded on my PC when I bought it. Once again, I have a life outside of computers and am too lazy to dump my apps and install a new OS.
But aren't you and your sister/cousin inbred dumb goobers?
Nope.
My sister/cousin and I were raised in Webster Groves Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Our father/uncle was an alcoholic and lost many jobs, so my mother/aunt went to work full time when I was young. I also didn't get much of an allowance so I mowed lawns, raked leaves, shoveled snow, cleaned gutters, and worked in the school cafeteria. If ya had sumpin' you wanted a kid to do, I'd do it. My sister/cousin did a lot of babysitting. We didn't sit around and whine about being poor and asking for gummint help. We got off our asses and did sumpin' about it. This was before food stamps and the Great starts with f ends with k and has a c and a u in the middle ing Society.
My sister/cousin won a four year scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. She has been a programmer since 1964. Since 1967, she has worked for a company in the San Francisco Bay area. She's married and has one child. She is worth over a million dollars. She did all this without any gummint assistance.
I'm not as smart. The inbreeding was more damaging in my case. Just hate it when brothers marry their sisters. I flunked out of a junior college. Since there was a war going on, rather than getting drafted, and not having the money or connections to run off to England to dodge the draft, like a real redneck we know about, I joined the Navy and learned electronics. I guess I did get some gummint assistance, since when I got out of the Navy, I went back to college on the GI Bill. Being a lazy sort, and not liking to have to work three jobs to afford college, even on the GI Bill, I burned out in my junior year and went to work for TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name). I have worked there for twenty nine years. I have worked in computers since 1977 (Maybe this guy does know sumpin' about computers). I moved to Atlanta in 1985. I taught hardware until 1988 when I broke my back which made me a T12/L1 paraplegic. I didn't do any of this poor old pitiful me crap when it happened. I did sumpin' stupid. I paid for it. Actions have consequences. I didn't even look for anyone to sue. I was told I was never gonna walk again. I said bullshit. They said I was in denial. I said bullshit. I do walk now. Not very well. I have to wear braces and I have to use crutches, but I can still walk. I've had a few health setbacks over the last four years and now am back in a wheelchair around the house, but walk everywhere else.
When I went back to work after my accident, TCIDNN asked what accommodations they needed to make for me. This was before Diversity (All Hail Diversity!). All they had then was Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employment. I told them nothing. Just let me know what you want me to do. I couldn't do hardware anymore so they had me teach a class called Complex Systems Problem Determination and Recovery. That's when I taught myself to be a systems programmer. I have a nice house (worth over $250K), three cars (1992 BMW 325is, 2001 BMW Z3, 1998 Nissan pickup - every inbred Georgia goober has to have a pickup) and I can't mention my salary and net worth 'cause some of my coworkers read this stuff. I did this all without any gummint assistance. It sucked to become a paraplegic, but I didn't whine about it. I got up off my ass (not the easiest thing to do in my condition), outworked my fellow employees (12 hour days and weekends), and got to where I am today.
The inbred goober is a systems programmer. Why he still running Netscape 4.7?
Because Windows is a piece of crap. IE won't even run anymore and its part of the code! I even downloaded the latest release of IE and it won't run. How about Microsoft tech support? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. I don't have the time to reinstall or upgrade, and I haven't gotten around to learning Linux. As I said, I do have a life outside of blogging. I work with computers all day on stuff that works. I work with IBM mainframes large servers, that run z/OS (MVS - IBM's flagship large system operating system. Stays up forever. That's why I hate to have to boot up a PC multiple times a day), z/VM (You can run a shitload of virtual Linux machines under VM. All of a sudden VM has a new life), and Linux. So, I don't really want to come home and spend a whole lotta time working on my PC. So, yeah, I run Netscape 4.7 and I downloaded Netscape 6.2, but it's flakey because of problems with Windoz 98. One of these days I'll either get a new PC or fix my bugs. I'm in no hurry.
And now for another stereotype. I have a lot of fun when I do have to go out in my wheelchair. Being in a wheelchair sucks, but it does present some interesting opportunities. When I sit in my wheelchair, my IQ drops 30 points and I lose my hearing. People talk loudly and slowly when having a conversation with me. Ya see, people in wheel chairs are deaf and stupid. Since, I have a very thick skin, this doesn't really bother me. I spend a lot of time laughing at people. Not in their faces. I laugh inside.
So stereotypes don't really bother me too much. I'm stereotyped all the time. When I was growing up, my mother used to say to me, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.' I guess children are not raised that way any more and that's why people are so overly sensitive and are looking to be offended. Even my friend Cindy will sometimes call me up and apologize for sumpin' she said that she thought offended me. Most of the time I don't even know what she's talking about and when she has to explain I tell her I thought it was a joke (which is true) or didn't realize that what she said was offensive (also true). You gotta work real hard with an insult to really piss me off. If it's a real good and original slam I admire it. Too bad Aaron doesn't have that ability, as most of his just involve calling people names and the names aren't even very original at that. If it's a real bad slam, like Aaron's, I just consider the source.
Right now, I'm just pissed that my sister/cousin married someone else and not me. Damn. She done broke a family tradition.
Guess I'll go outside and see Ethel.
Someone fire up that banjo music from Deliverance.
Recently, I received the following letter.
Dear GOC,
I received an interesting phone call this evening. Fran Millar, I'm sure you've seen the many yard signs in Dunwoody, called me on the phone to solicit my vote. He's a local rep.or senator, whatever, and told me what a wonderful guy he is and why I should vote for him in the Republican primary. Naturally I told him I was planning to be a Democrat for a day and vote against Cynthia McKinney. He understood the sentiment but claims he will represent Dunwoody better than his Republican opponent, primarily because he's from Dunwoody. Further, he said that he impacts my quality of life far more than Cynthia McKinney as he has a large say so on roads, schools, and other local issues. I responded by saying that he was confusing me with facts and that my vote was based on a complete and total hatred for everything Cynthia McKinney stands for. Point well taken he said but she really has little to do with my everyday problems. Anyway, should I vote my conscience(be a Democrat for a day and! vote against Mckinney) or be practical and vote for the guy who impacts my garbage collection, Grady taxes, and road construction issues.
Confused in Dunwoody
Dear Confused in Dunwoody. The simple answer to your question is be a Democrat for a day. I know how hard this will be. I'm actually getting the shakes contemplating voting for a Democrat myself. I mean, it will be as foreign to me as it would for Aaron to say sumpin' nice about a white person. Right now DeKalb County has had to hire a lobbyist at $150,000 a year to represent the county in Washington DC. That's what we pay Cynthia McPiggy to do. But she's too busy supporting African thugs dictators leaders and our Arab enemies friends to worry about us folks back here in her county. I have also noticed an interesting phenomenon. There are Denice Majette (Cynthia's opponent) signs in the same yard as Fran Millar. So ya gotta wonder which way those people are gonna vote.
But isn't crossover voting bad? That's what Gus Cochran thinks. He penned this op-ed in Tuesday's Atlanta Urinal and Constipation. I'm sorry that this is late, but had to take a couple nights off due to dive classes.
Recent reports suggest that some Republicans in the 4th Congressional District may cross over to vote against U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) in the Aug. 20 Democratic primary. I understand why McKinney is anathema to many Republicans and appreciate their frustration after their prior spirited but futile efforts to defeat her with Republican candidates.
At least two Republicans (Confused in Dunwoody and his wife) and one Libertarian (me, the Grouchy Old Cripple) are gonna be votin' for Denise Majette.
But if this crossover strategy works, McKinney won't be the only loser. Nor will 4th District Democrats, robbed of the right to choose their own party standard-bearer, be the sole victims.
Huh? This sounds like a win/win scenario to me. 'Splain it to me.
Crossover voting stabs at the heart of our democratic electoral institutions and wounds the parties that help keep that system ticking.
Actually gerrymandering of the type that has created the 4th Congressional District with 86% Democrats and 14% Republicans stabs at the heart of our democratic electoral institutions. But, I'll let Gus continue.
Political parties are in pretty bad repute.
Smartest thing he's said so far. Both Republicans and Democrats are implementing socialism. It's all a matter of how quickly we want to get there. That's why I'm a Libertarian.
Nowadays many candidates for state and local offices are not mentioning their party affiliation in their campaign literature. Democratic crossovers helped fuel John McCain's energetic challenge to George W. Bush in the Republican presidential primaries in 2000.
Which I don't hear Gus saying is a bad thing.
Our cavalier attitude toward parties, however, is a symptom of a sick electoral system.
And a paucity of good candidates. To my new good buddy Aaron, paucity means shortage. And I didn't mean to imply that you were stupid, only that you don't have much of a vocablulary. Take out all the cusswords and you wouldn't have much to say. As my father once said, 'cursing is the crutch of the conversational cripple'. Next time I comment on your site, I'll say it in words that you'll better understand. I do try to maintain some standards, however low, on my site. That's one reason I don't allow comments. I promise to publish any and all hate mail. I will just delete the more filthy language which seems to make up most of Aaron's writing. But back to Gus.
Poaching in the primaries of the opposing party is unethical.
But I'm just guessin' that it didn't bother Gus too much when all the Democrats crossed over to vote for John McCain
Although we do not register by party, Georgia primaries are in theory
And that's it. Just in theory
closed to members of the opposing party. It is up to party supporters to choose the candidate they believe best represents them. People who dislike their choice can express their displeasure in the general election in November.
Not in the 4th District. 86 to 14 doesn't give the Republicans much of a say.
What really concerns me though are the political ills of crossover voting because the injuries are not inflicted exclusively on the violated party but also on the polity as a whole.
How's that Gus?
By weakening our party system, crossover voting weakens our democratic institutions. It denies choices to all citizens and diminishes popular control of government.
No Gus, what weakens our party system is the virtual one party rule, at the state level, of the Democratic Party here in Georgia. Thanks to computers, the state legislature, controlled by Democrats, and the Governor, a Democrat, were able to draw districts to minimize the Republican Party. And, I realize, in other states, the Republicans have done it to the Democrats. What we need for a strong two party system is a method whereby a bipartisan group draws the districts for equal representation. That's what we need for popular control of government.
Parties have a vital role in a democracy. Without parties to nominate and support candidates, it would be practically impossible to decipher differences among the gaggle of candidates who typically offer for public office. Such incoherent politics would resemble a football game without teams.
Or the system today where the only difference between the parties is how long it will take before we become a socialist welfare state like Europe.
Without party "teams," our politics would also have little continuity. Achieving the cooperation necessary for policy-making across houses of the Legislature and branches of government would be difficult. Voters would have a tough time assessing the credibility of politicians' promises
I don't have any problem assessing the credibility of their promises. If they promise to spend more, they'll keep 'em. If they promise to spend less or cut taxes, they'll break 'em. If their last name is Clinton, don't believe a thing they say. Works every time.
without the continuity of party track records.
That sounds real good in theory Gus but there are three problems:
Lacking clear choices, voters can't impose accountability on their leaders. We can always "kick the bum out," but it's not easy to identify which bum is responsible if our politics lack coherence and continuity.
And our politics do lack coherence and continuity thanks to spin and focus group polling.
Even if we replace individual politicians, how can voters endorse new programs or departures without rival organizations offering meaningful alternatives? Parties should make politics more responsible by giving voters options and linking politicians to the people.
Yeah, it should. Too bad it doesn't.
I'm not too thrilled with our current parties, either.
Me neither. That's why I'm a Libertarian.
But the solution is to reform them
Cut it out! You're killin' me!
or organize new ones,
Good idea. Good luck. The existing parties are too powerful and won't allow it. Name the last successful third party. No, forget about Ross Perot. I mean a successful party.
not to abandon parties altogether.
Now he is right there. And, I'll agree that the two party system is better than what they have in Europe. It's just that the two parties don't stand for much of anything except raiding the treasury to buy votes. And, yes, the Republicans do it too, as evidenced by that atrocity of a farm bill. I'm sick of this romantic bullshit about the family farm. Farming is a business. If y'all can't make money at it, don't come to me to subsidize your failures. Get out of the business and go do sumpin' else to make money. But the Democrats take the cake. Giving money to failed people who drop out of school and have children they can't afford is investing in people. No, you buttheads! It's called subsidizing poverty with my money. Throwing money down that bottomless pit of a failed education system is called investing in education. No it's not. It's throwing money down a bottomless pit of a failed education system. And you're using my money to do it. At least defense spending creates jobs and creates new technology. But the kicker has to be when they talk about letting me keep my own money by not taxing me enough and saying the government can't afford it, that's when I lose it. Listen up! It's not your money! Before you ask for more of my hard earned money (and yes, I consider myself a 'working family'. Wanna have some fun? Ask a Democrat to define how much money a person has to make a year to be one of the evil rich. Don't expect an answer, 'cause you won't get one.), why don't you just try to cut spending? And I mean a real cut. Only a politician would consider limiting the growth of spending in a government program a cut.
In the absence of healthy parties and meaningful party labels, candidates rely more on campaign money, mass media and incumbency to get their names before the public.
Yep. Sounds like what we got today.
Big donors, big media and the big advantages of incumbency offer visibility, but without any accompanying democratic accountability.
Yep. Just like what we got today and McCain Feingold ain't gonna fix it. In fact, it's only gonna make it worse. What a piece of crap. Talk about being out of touch. The only people who wanted campaign finance reform were the politicans and the media. The great unwashed, like us, ya know, the voting public. We didn't care about it, didn't want it and thought it was a waste of time. Howza 'bout doing sumpin' important like catching some terrorists or hiring some competent airport screeners?
Southerners should be especially wary of weakening party politics. The old Solid South was nominally one-party Democratic, but where one party dominates, parties become irrelevant. This "no party" system was a nightmare for all Southerners, white and black.
And that's what we got in Georgia at the state level. The Democrats screwed up ten years ago. They gerrymandered three solidly black congressional districts, and that led to Republicans winning in the other eight districts. So we had three black Democrat representatives and eight white Rebublicans. This time they did a better job. Georgia got another seat this year and the gerrymandering should give that seat to a Democrat. There's also a chance of another seat going Democrat. We'll see in November.
More people than ever feel disconnected from our parties and from our politics.
That's because the only thing politicians really stand for today is getting elected. And they all want to take my money to buy votes to do it.
What is needed is the strong medicine of reform,
Got any ideas? Here's one. Howza 'bout making the politicians actually live up to the oath they take to obey and defend the Constitution? Ya know, that document that says how government is supposed to be run. Howza 'bout for every bill proposed the sponsor of the bill has to cite an article in the Constitution that justifies that bill? That would be some nice medicine of reform. Yeah, lets run the government as the founders visualized. Let's have the great debates of Jefferson and Adams, (Aaron, them be two old white dudes) instead of Lott and Daschle (two clueless white dudes). Let's have the oratory of Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun (two more white dudes for Aaron to bitch about) instead of Gephardt and McKinney (a white dude with no eyebrows and a black chick with no brain). Ahhh, but I'm dreaming of the halcyon days of the early Republic with citizen legislators rather than party hacks. You were saying Gus...
but crossover voting instead simply drives another stake into the heart of the patient.
Die Dracula! Die!
Curse you Van Helsing!
Gus Cochran teaches political science at Agnes Scott College and is the author of "Democracy Heading South: National Politics in the Shadow of Dixie."
Now I understand. Gus is an academic. And at Agnes Scott College no less. Agnes Scott is in Decatur Georgia which is the home of Emory University. As my regular readers know Gus is what? Loyal reader Sherry. Howza 'bout you taking this one?
He's an Emoroid?
That's right, he's an Emoroid. And as we all know, Emoroids are solid Democrats and have voted overwhelming for Cynthia McPiggy, who is now dragging out that tried and true tactic, the race card. Yep. Denise Majette is, in Cynthia McPiggy's own words, a Tomette. Good one Cynthia.
All right, let's discuss what Gus is saying. Crossover bad. That's pretty much it. Didn't have much to support his argument. GOC's opinion. Crossover good. Why? Here's why. In the 4th Congressional District, whoever wins the Democratic primary wins the election. So, if a Republican casts a vote for the Republican candidate it is a wasted vote. Gus' arguments would be more viable if the makeup of the 4th District were 50/50 or even 60/40. In the last election, before redistricting, McPiggy won with around 56% of the vote. With redistricting a whole big bunch of people in Gwinette County, including my friend Richard, the lucky bastard, were moved into the district where either John Lindner or Bob Barr will win the election. But, with an 86/14 matchup, the Republicans are left out. So, the only recourse for a Republican, or in my case, a Libertarian, to have any input into the political process, we will have to vote for the least objectionable Democrat. In this race it's easy. Vote for a candidate who has run a fairly positive campaign and is inclusive, even of white people, or vote for a loony.
So, Confused in Dunwoody, I say once again, crossover. I know it will be hard, but as Wilford Brimley would say, 'It's the right thing to do'.
And maybe if she loses we may hear Cynthia McPiggy say, 'You white racist, Jewish bastards won't have Cynthia McKinney to kick around anymore.
And that would be a good thing
As an after thought, let me explain to my buddy Aaron, that the above was known as a fisk. You take a column written by a clueless person, such as Robert Fisk, hence the name, and you deconstruct it point by point and explain why the person is wrong. The easiest columnist to use this technique on is Molly Ivins. But that is akin to what my real buddy (as opposed to my faux buddy Aaron) Kim Dutoit calls Stand Hunting. As he so aptly puts it, 'It's not hunting, it's slaughter.' Unfortunately, she brings out a real sadistic streak in me and it's all I can do to fisk her no more than once a month. Also, I hope you noticed that I was able to do an entire column without once using the word that starts with f ends with k and has a c and a u in the middle. You oughta try it some time.
That would also be a good thing.
And we'll see it when pigs fly.
Well what do you know. I finished my dive stuff and can actually write a little bit more tonight.
Some people have commented on my language. Actually, my sister and the person who used to share an office with me at TCIDNN (The Company I Dare Not Name) have told me repeatedly to clean up my blogs. The word that bothers them starts with an f, ends with a k, and has a c and a u in the middle. Also all the variants, like mother before starts with an f ends in a k and has a c and a u in the middle followed by er. In fact, my old office mate actually threatened to quit reading my stuff if I continued to use starts with an f, ends with a k, and has a c and a u in the middle. Now shit and bullshit is OK because that is part of the vernacular. Plus, he told me I could use them. In case Aaron is reading, the vernacular is the everyday use of language. The spoken or narrative as opposed to the literary. Oh, wait a minute. He's probably watching Star Trek reruns and commenting on how the black guys are always the ones who get killed.
Now I can write good literary prose when I put my mind to it. I was taught to not use contractions and the pronoun you. For example: When trying to write good prose you don't use contractions and you don't use the pronoun you. The way I was taught to write at Hixson Junior High School and Webster Groves Public High School in Webster Groves, Missouri that sentence would read: When trying to write good prose (actually, they would have had me use 'write prose well')one does not use contractions and one does not use the pronoun you. Spelling and grammar were pounded into our young pliable brains. After the first theme/essay, when I learned what the teacher wanted, I could usually write A papers. Yeah, but no one talks like that. I try to write like people talk. Hence, the gonna's and wanna's. And since I write like people talk, and not just like I talk, but how most people in America talk, some profanity slips in.
I blame profanity entering the vernacular on us baby boomers. The worst word I ever heard either of my parents say as I was growing up was damn, and that was rare and never with God in front of it. I never heard them use shit and I never, ever heard either of them use any racial epithets. Never. And if my sister and I did, we would have been knocked into the middle of next week.
My father told me that cursing was the crutch of the conversational cripple. He also told me that there was a time and a place for it. He worked for the railroad at one time and he told me that when he was at work, he cursed like a sailor. I was in the Navy for four years. I know how sailors curse. My father also told me you don't (Look. Two literary violations!) curse around women and children. So, imagine my shock, when working in a computer room twenty years ago, I heard female operators use language that could cause paint to peel off a wall. And, I found this type of language to become more common. A few years back, I even heard my mother say shit.
So, since we have become so inured to profanity, sometimes I throw it in for shock value. Other times I throw it in because I just can't starts with an f, ends with a k, and has a c and a u in the middle ing help it.
Some of my readers ask me how I can read some of the tripe by people like Robert Jensen (I have since found out he is a hate America firster along the lines of Noam Chomsky) or Molly Ivins (She still has not gotten over her buddy Ann Richards losing to Dubya) without my head exploding. I look on stuff like that as an opportunity. Unfortunately, midway through an incredibly brilliant analysis of the bullshit I'm reading, I occasionally go berserk. Like, f'rinstance, Robert Jensens's use of the words humanity and Palestinians in the same sentence without crimes against and by the.
So when that happens, I can usually destroy my keyboard because I begin to start pounding on it with great force or, I can throw in a safety valve. Hence the other night when Robert Jensen wrote
but because the argument I had made about the humanity of the Palestinians didn't seem to matter to him.
My response was
Humanity of the Palestinians? Hu-starts with an f, ends with a k, and has a c and a u in the middle followed by ing-manity of the Palestinians?
I mean, when I hear something so incredibly outrageous as that, I just totally lose all self control. I will promise to try and do better in the future.
So, if I use starts with an f, ends with a k, and has a c and a u in the middle you'll know that's it's either my keyboard or a dirty word.
Keyboards cost money.
No blog last night because of dive class. No blog Thursday night because of dive class. No blog tonight because of dive tables.
Whadya mean no blog tonight?
I didn't stutter. No blog tonight.
Why?
Dive tables.
What are dive tables?
Dive tables are what you use to determine depth, bottom time and surface time for repetitive dives.
Why?
Because of nitrogen. You do not want to get too much nitrogen in your blood.
Why?
Man you ask a lot of questions. Because too much nitrogen at depth can cause nitrogen narcossis which makes ya dopey. Too much nitrogen in your blood at the surface can cause the bends. So, they've put together dive tables so you can do planning for repetitive dives. I gotta refamiliarize myself with using them. I've also gotta read the last section of the student book for dive class tomorrow night. We get to take two unit tests and probably the final so I want to be ready.
Back to these dive tables. This is the 21st Century. Don't they have, like, computers to do that stuff?
Yep. They do?Then why do you have to learn those stupid dive tables? Why not just use the computer?
Well, let's suppose that Aaron wants to go diving. He might not have time to steal a decent computer. (And let the hate mail begin.) So he, or someone on the boat, will have to consult the dive tables so he won't have any problems.
Aaron? Who he?
Aaron's the guy over at uppity-negro who thinks all of us warbloggers are, in his words, 'racist motherfuckers'. I was talking to my sister last night about his comments and what he called Andrea but when I pointed my Netscape 4.7 browser at his site, it, and I am not making this up, got This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. I know there's a joke in there somewhere. He took exception to some of the things I said about him, mainly that he was a racist. However, I did not call him an MF. He was miffed that I didn't have a comment function on my blog. That's what my e-mail address is for. I would gladly publish anything negative that he may send me. So, if anyone knows Aaron, pass on these instructions.
I'll be back Friday with a Dear Abby letter sent in by Michael and an op-ed about how crossover voting in Georgia's 4th Congressional District, which is Cynthia McPiggy's district, harms the democratic process. Thanks Rachel for that wonderful new name for 'the cutest little communist in Congress'. And I wish I could take credit for the cutest little communist in Congress quote, but I got it from Neal Boortz.
Hey, I thought you weren't gonna blog tonight?
I lied.
One of my readers, Carl, pointed me to a site called uppity-negro. See, I even provided the link. I figgered out Aaron, the owner of the site, either had a sense of humor or an attitude. He's got an attitude all right. Randolph, one of my readers, and a source of information, told me he was a real racist MF and engaged in name calling. I won't even mention what he called Andrea Harris. Who's she? Click on Speenville on my blogroll. Anyway, I was planning on fisking an article in last Tuesday's Chicago Tribune, but as Carl pointed out, Aaron had already put his own racist spin on things. I found out that all warbloggers are racist bastards. No, he called us 'racist motherfuckers'. What a racist butthead. Anyway, to see my take on it here it is.
As you can see from the title of my post, I got sumpin' to say about Cynthia. Just can't get enough of Cynthia. Jesse Jackson was in town yesterday apreachin'. You know the sermon wasn't about abstinence. Anyway, here's the link to the story in today's Atlanta Urinal and Constipation.
Calling Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) a "cutting-edge politician," the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Sunday urged voters to send her back to Washington.
An interesting choice of words by the holy man. Cynthia's father is Billy McKinney, noted racist anti-Semite Georgia state representative, who, on the floor of the Georgia house threatened to 'cut' another member that he was having a debate with. So, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If I thought real hard, maybe I could think up a watermellon metaphor that would piss off Aaron. What am I talking about? Check out this post by Rachel.
"Georgia would do well to see her in office," Jackson told reporters after delivering an hourlong sermon
I bet there were some sore butts in that church.
at Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
Which isn't even in Cynthia's district.
"I appreciate the work of Cynthia McKinney, whether it be work in Africa
Supporting black thugs dictators leaders. As an example, let's step away from the AJC and look at one of Cynthia's statements on Zimbabwe
“To any honest observer, Zimbabwe's sin is that it has taken the position to right a wrong, whose resolution has been too long overdue--to return its land to its people… When we get right down to it, this legislation is nothing more than a formal declaration of United States complicity in a program to maintain white-skin privilege… It is racist and against the interests of the masses of Zimbabweans.” – Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, speaking in opposition to the Zimbabwe Democracy Act, December 5, 2001.
And the results of these policies
“Thousands of veterans of [Zimbabwe’s] liberation war, urged on by [President Mugabe], have occupied more than 1,000 white-owned farms over the past two months. The veterans have shot dead two white farmers and killed four black opposition campaigners. They have also torched farm buildings, including the homes of hundreds of black farm workers. In his televised state of the nation address on the 20th anniversary of independence, Mugabe, 76, said that his government understood the ‘frustrations of the war veterans just as we appreciate the pressures faced by the commercial farmers,’ but fell short of ordering his supporters off the farms. A few hours later Mugabe described white farmers as ‘enemies of the state.’” -- Time Europe, May 1, 2000.
“Here in this hungry land, where the United Nations says six million people -- half the population -- are threatened by famine, the government of President Robert Mugabe has ordered thousands of the country's most productive farmers to stop farming.” – New York Times, August 4, 2002.
The above, courtesy of Scott Koenig at Indepundit. As a result of Mugabe's policies, Zimbabwe has gone from an exporter of food to a country of famine. And this is the kind of thug dictator leader that Cynthia McKinney and Jesse Jackson support. But back to the Reverend J.
or asking tough questions about what we did or did not know about September 11."
We do know that Cynthia received a shitload of contributions on September 11 from Arab organizations and from people with Arab sounding names. What did Cynthia know on September 11?
Jackson said McKinney was right about the attacks being foreseeable. "Now there has been investigations about who knew what and when," he said.
And the results of those investigations? All right, regular readers know what I'm gonna say now. Even if we did know that there was gonna be an attack on September 11, how were we supposed to prevent it? Searching 80 year old ladies in wheelchairs? Searching Al Gore? Searching Ray Charles? The only way to have prevented it was to have singled ... out ... men ... of ... Middle ... Eastern ... descent ... for ... additional ... security ... checks. As I've said over and over again ad infinitum we cannot even do that now. Jesus, our professional ('To professionalize we must federalize' .. L'il Tommy Daschle. And this schmuck wants to be president?) screeners made a woman drink three bottles of her own breast milk because it might be an explosive. These people are so freakin' dumb, they couldn't even work at McDonalds. And they'll all be in a union. And they'll all vote for Democrats. We're doomed! Socialism here we come. Back to Jesse.
In his sermon, Jackson outlined for about 1,100 Ben Hill churchgoers a "National Reclaim Our Youth Crusade" aimed at area students returning to school today.
Returning to the rotten Atlanta public school system. Georgia's schools rank around 47th in the nation and the Atlanta schools are the worst in the state. And the cost is $13000 per pupil. That's 13 with three zeros.
Jackson, who has scheduled stops today at Clayton County's Riverdale High and Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High, wants parents and their children to take stands against drugs, guns and violence.
How about stands on learning to read and write English? 'No no. Dat be actin' white!' How about stands on staying in school and getting an education? 'No. Dat be an Uncle Tom!' How about stands against the rampant illegitimacy in the black community?
And now the perfesser. This op-ed was in the AJC @issue section today. The author was Robert Jensen a professor of journalism at the University of Texas.
I was wearing a pro-Palestinian T-shirt; he was wearing a yarmulke. As we sat at the airport waiting for the same flight, he glanced at my shirt and asked me to turn so he could read the message: "Palestine -- 50 years of dispossession, 1948-1998" a shirt produced during Israel's 50th anniversary.
I still like my idea for a T-shirt: my brother blew up a busload of Jews and is banging 72 virgins and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.
He scowled, and we began talking.
Which makes the guy in the yarmulke a lot nicer than I. I would have looked at the perfesser, realized he was an asshole, and ignored him. I do not like to waste my time talking to booger eatin moh-rons.
I tried to make sure that two fundamental facts were not lost in the discussion: The ethnic cleansing of about 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, driven from their homes by the Israelis during the birth of that nation that year;
Hold on thar perfesser! Most of them dudes left because the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem got on the radio and told the Palestinians to hightail it out of thar until all them Jews wuz killed or driven into the sea. The Palestinians who stayed are now Israeli citizens with full rights and can actually vote and hold office which is sumpin' they cannot do in any Arab nation. And as long as we're talking about ethnic cleansing, what about all the Jews who had all their possesions confiscated and were kicked out of Arab countries? And your second 'fact is...?
and Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, captured during the 1967 war.
All right, he is a professor of journalism, so we know he isn't too bright but maybe we should explain to him how war works. Arabs started a war in 1967. Israel won. Israel conquered territory. It now belongs to Israel. That's the way wars work.
He said Arabs want to destroy Israel, and therefore Israel's attacks on Palestinians are justified.
Sounds like a good argument to me. At least the guy in the yarmulke has his facts straight.
We challenged each other's facts and interpretations.
One has facts, the other has interpretations. We report, you decide.
He invoked God;
I have to say that's a lame argument, but I'm an atheist.
I cited international law.
An even lamer argument.
It was tense, but civil.
Not if I had been there. I don't deal well with booger eatin' moh-rons.
Then he suggested that one solution would be for all the Palestinians to leave and settle in other Arab lands -- the "let them go live with their own kind" answer. Often called "transfer" or the "Sharon plan," it was once considered absurd by all but the most reactionary forces in Israel; now it's increasingly being taken seriously in Israel and the United States.
See, it's all right for Arabs to ethnically cleanse Jews fron their countries and 'let them go live with their own kind'. I used to think that there could be a Palestinian state at one time, but there is so much hatred on the Palestinian side, and they have this annoying habit of blowing up around Jews. Until they learn how to act like civilized human beings, a state is impossible. Move 'em all into Gaza and put a big 'ol fence around it.
On the surface, it seems simple to many: The Gaza Strip and West Bank are relatively small parcels of land -- why fight over them? Why can't Palestinians just resettle in other Arab nations? If their Arab brothers and sisters truly cared, wouldn't they take them in?
Hey! There's a good idea. Why not? Another solution: Give the Palestinians 95% of the West Bank and all of Gaza and East Jerusalem as the capitol. Nope. Arafat walked away from that and started the current wave of terror where ferocious 8 year old Jewish girls are shot in their beds by the big brave Palestinians. The Palestinians want it all. No israel. But dumb liberal bastards like you don't seem to understand that. Oh, here comes a ridiculous analogy.
I offered the man in the airport an analogy. I'm originally from North Dakota, I explained. Let's say that the Canadians swept down into North Dakota after a border dispute and captured territory during a war.
Which is a ridiculous start to any analogy. Break out the beer and the North Dakotans and Canucks would be fast friends in a minute. But, back to the perfesser.
After occupying the land for decades and settling Canadians in the most desirable spots
There ain't no desirable spots in North Dakota.
and taking most of the water, let's imagine the Canadians were to suggest that a solution would be for North Dakotans -- those still living in North Dakota under Canadian military occupation and those in exile or refugees -- to relocate to South Dakota.
So who would want to live in North Dakota anyway. And anyway, the Canucks and the North Dakotans would still be partying and drinking beer. Pass me another beer, eh. OK why does this analogy suck? Many of the Jews had lived in the land for over 3000 years. The Jews that moved into Israel bought the land from Palestinians. The Palestinians who left in 1948 left voluntarily because the Grand Mufti told 'em to. The ones who stayed are Israeli citizens. In this case, Canada was Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. Egypt recognized Israel and got back the Sinai. With your logic, we should give Gaza back to Egypt and the West Bank back to Jordan and let them deal with the Palestinians. Try sumpin' else prof.
I no longer live in North Dakota, but I can say with confidence that the people there would not pack their bags and accept such a "solution." They would resist, as people anywhere would. Some would choose nonviolent strategies, but I suspect a fair number would take up arms.
But even in your fantasy, they would not blow up buses of innocent people. They would not murder little girls in their beds. They would stock up on beer. And they'd move somewhere warm. One of my best friends moved from North Dakota to Atlanta.
The man in the airport glared at me and said, "You're a racist."
Worse than that, he's a college professor. And a professor of journalism to boot. Probably teaches Spin 101.
I don't know what took him from my analogy to that accusation,
Probably 'cause your analogy didn't make a bit of sense.
but it's easy to speculate he was projecting his own racism; his contempt for Palestinians, and Arabs more generally, was palpable.
I have contempt for Arabs and Palestinians and it's not because I'm a racist. It's because they have perverted a religion to justify murdering innocent women, children, and old people. I have contempt for them because of their blinding hatred of Jews. I have contempt for them because they are barbaric, uncivilized and animals. That's not racism. Those are facts. Kim, if you're reading this, swallow your coffee before reading the next paragraph.
I sank into my seat feeling defeated -- not because I thought his arguments were better than mine, but because the argument I had made about the humanity of the Palestinians didn't seem to matter to him.
Humanity of the Palestinians? Hu-fucking-manity of the Palestinians? Does this guy live on the same planet as we do? By this guy's standards Hitler and Stalin must be saints.
My sense of defeat was not about an argument lost, but about the consequences.
And, pray tell, what consequences are those?
Those consequences are clear: So long as Americans ignore these basic issues about justice, U.S. financial, military, and diplomatic support for Israel will continue.
Actually it does have to do with justice. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
And as long as the United States supports Israeli expansion and aggression, there is no hope for an end to the violence.
Just remember who started all the vioence prof. If the Arabs had accepted the 1948 partition, the two sides could be living in peace today. You want to cite international law? It was international law that was used to found Israel. Any Palestinian living in Israel became an Israeli citizen with more rights than they have in any Arab country. Over the past 50 years the Palestinians have had many chances for peace and a Palestinian state. Unfortunately, they only want the destruction of Israel. Until your precious Palestinians learn how to act in a civilized manner and quit killing innocent women and children they only belong caged up like the sick animals they are. So howdya like them apples, perfesser?
As I sat there, I could not escape the knowledge that the burdens of our failures in the United States are borne not by us but by the Palestinians.
Perfesser, they ain't our failures. The Palestinians can take all the credit for their own failures. The Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Golda Meir said, 'There will be no peace until the Palestinians love their children more than they hate the Jews.'
I've been corresponding with Randolph about this and we've talked about the restraint that the Israelis have shown. If the positions were reversed, the Arabs would have wiped Israel off the face of the earth, which is, of course, their eventual goal. Stupid twits like the perfesser are incapable of seeing that basic truth. Anyway, Randolph wrote this:
There's something both inherently brilliant and amazingly pathetic/vile about the Palestinian intifada. When they increased their violence under the presumption of "humiliation" and "occupation" and a "struggle for a state," they systematically insured that the best jobs (only?) available to the Palestinians would be cut off, as Israel began to regulate their flow into Israeli towns. Further increase the violence under the false pretenses, lose more jobs. Lose more jobs, blame Israel for their "humiliation" and abject poverty. It's brilliant in its nefariousness. It is, however, a tired beat and Israel needs to change the tempo. They, the humans turned blood thirsty animals called the "Palestinians," will reap the whirlwind one of these days. Israel will simply say, "F*ck it, that's it" and entire sections of PLO-controlled land, on the scale of land visible from outer space, will be rubble.
I don't think that would happen, altho', quite frankly, after listening to the Palestinian bullshit all these years and seeing the depths to which they have sunk, I don't think I would lose too much sleep over it if it did. After all, they cheered 9/11. I do think that Israel has the Samson scenario. The first war Israel loses will be its last and, if that happens, I think they'll use their nukes and take a few Arabs with 'em. Now, if I were Israel, I would probably tell the Arabs, 'We got nukes pointed at Mecca and Medina. Fuck with us and you'll have to tell people to go someplace else for their Haj.'
But then I'm a racist bastard.
I bet Aaron thinks so too.
Since my sister expects me to blog at least five times a week and I missed Tuesday and Thursday because of SCUBA, I'm blogging today. But before I begin...
Still no hate mail. I know people hate me, 'cause I got 15 people who rated me 'Hate it' on BlogHop. I also know they're not Cynthia McKinney constituents 'cause most of them can't read or write.
Aha GOC! Caught ya! You said you weren't racist, but there ya go claiming Cynthia McKinney voters can't read and right because they're black!
I said no such thing. I say they can't read or write because many of them are products of the Atlanta public school system. Georgia schools rate somewhere around 47th or 48th in the country (Actually 50th). The city of Atlanta schools are the worst in the state in spite of spending over $11,000 per pupil! That is outrageous!
Another thing I thought would piss people off came from Wednesday's blog where I said the Palestinians should 'Tell all Their Troubles To Jesus' and that the father of 11 children who sells soft drinks near a school for $2.50 per day should sell the little T-shirts that Palestinian infants wear that say My mother's breast milk is not affected by the (travel) restrictions. Still no hate mail.
So let me try again. How about the father of 11 children selling T-shirts that say My brother blew up a busload of Jews and is now banging 72 virgins and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. I'll put up the seed money and split the profits with him 50/50.
OK. Now on to poverty. I can solve it. I can solve it in one generation. But first, since liberals are so fond of looking at the 'root cause' of something, let's look at the 'root cause' of poverty. The root cause of poverty is children. Look at all the poverty statistics and the largest group in there is children. Now I have said many times that if you are of moderate intelligence and are not hit by catastrophic disease, drug or alcohol addiction (And I believe that these are diseases and should be treated as such. Drug addicts should go to treatment centers and not to prisons), or some sort of catastrophic accident, there is absolutely no excuse for being poor in this country. All you have to do is follow these three simple rules:
It does not take a village to raise a child. It takes two parents to raise a child. It does not take government to raise a child. It takes two parents to raise a child. It does not take my hard earned money to raise your child. It takes your hard earned money and two parents to raise a child.
OK GOC, I guess what you're saying is they're too darned many children. So you're for abortion right?
Nope. Abortion has nothing to do with it. What I am saying is that any woman who wants any government assistance for her and her children must get sterilized. I'm not talking birth control pills here. I'm talking tubal ligation. There is absolutely no excuse for anyone on government assistance having children. I'll pay for your tubal ligation so I won't have to support your rugrats for the next 18 years.
Aha, you racist bastard! Caught ya! You're talking about blacks again!
Nope. I realize that there are more white people than black people on welfare. I'm advocating this for everyone: white, black, hispanic, asian, whatver. If you want government assistance, you agree to have no more children and to enforce that agreement you go into the hospital and get your tubes tied. No operation, no money.
But GOC, it's their right to have those children.
And it's my right to tell them to support their own children and don't come knocking at my door whining about being poor. Let me quote sumpin' here:
We the people, of the United States of America,
In order to form a more perfect union, establish justice,
ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution,
for the United States of America.
I realize that most people who have been brainwashed indoctrinated educated in our fine government schools over the last twenty years do not recognize the preceeding quote, but it is the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. I see absolutely nothing in there about Aid to Families with Dependent Children. I see nothing in there about the ponzi scheme (that in the private sector would be illegal) known as Social Security. I see nothing in there about Medicare or prescription drugs. And I see absolutely nothing in there about poor people having children and expecting me to support them. I didn't get an education and work my butt off so you could stay home, have kids, and watch Oprah.
I realize this sounds like a fascist solution like forced abortions in China, but this is simply requiring people to take responsibility for their own actions, which is, of course, why it will not be implemented. People can have as many kids as they want. If they starve it's not my problem.
We are approaching a meltdown in this country. Currently, 46% of the people in this country pay absolutely no income tax whatsoever. Every tax reform bill removes even more people from the tax roles. The Democrats, with the acquiesence of the Republicans, are moving toward the goal of having 51% of the people paying no income tax at all. And to top it off, the Democrats are trying to cut payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) for the poor because they didn't get a tax cut last time around. They didn't get an income tax cut because they pay no freaking income tax!
Alexis de Toqueville wrote, The American republic will endure until the politicians find they can bribe the people with their own money. Our politicians are taking this to the next level. They plan on bribing 51% of the people with the money of the other 49%.
It's happening now.
Another night at SCUBA last night. I was certified back in the mid '70's, but the last time I did any diving was in 1987. I had the accident that broke my back in 1988. I decided to go back to diving again because there was gonna be an adaptive diving trip to Bonaire last year. I had signed up for that, but, due to carelessness on my part, I got some bad skin sores on my butt and had to back out. I got an e-mail notice from the dive shop a few weeks back about a trip to the Keys and, since I did want to get recertified, I called the dive shop about coming back. Last night was my second night back in class.
I aced the quiz for the second module and we went over to the pool to do the water portion. I brought my old weight belt in so we could use it to get my buoyancy straight. They've changed the buoyancy rules since I got certified last. I dove with more weight back then. The weight that we used to get my buoyancy right according to the rules was not enough. I'm still diving with three pounds less than I used to.
OK. I'm in the water. Breathe. Check. Take off mask. Check. Leave mask off for one minute while breathing under water. Check. Put mask back on under water. Check. Clear mask. Check. Swim to bottom of the pool. Check. Do slow ascent. Check. This reminds me of the Stephen Wright routine with the diary of an infant. Day 1: Still tired from the move. Day 2: Everyone's talking to me like I'm an idiot. This is all review for me. But, the instructor is just doing his job. My biggest problem is since I have nothing below the knee, limited leg movement below my waist, and limited hip movement, I have to swim with my hands and I have problems staying parallel to the bottom. Thus, weight placement is the key. I have no problems with all the other skills.
Driving home last night I was listening to Royal Marshall on WSB. Royal is Neal Boortz' (the morning talk show host on WSB) engineer. Boortz allows him to cut in anytime with an opinion or comment. WSB has given Royal his own show on nights and weekends. Besides laughing at the incident at a Bob Barr fundraiser where a gun went off while being handed to Barr by another guy, Royal was taking Cynthia McKinnney to task for not appearing on his show on Monday night, where he has an open invitation for local politicians. He had Denise Majette, Cynthia's opponent in the Democratic primary, on last Monday night. He once again issued an open invitation to Miss Big Mouth. He doubts if she will appear. So do I. Oh no! Not another rant about Cynthia McKinney. Can't ya give it a rest? No!
There is a website, goodbyecynthia.com devoted to defeating her in the Democratic primary. Everything you would ever want to know about Cynthia can be found on that site.
I was at Neal Boortz today and picked up these interesting tidbits.
There's more. During Cynthia's 1996 campaign, her Republican challenger was John Mitnick. He was Jewish. Cynthia's father, Billy McKinney made some anti-Semitic remarks about her opponent. Cynthia had to distance herself from those remarks. Neither she nor her father ever apologized.
Carl sent me the following link. So Aaron calls himself an uppity-negro. He could either have a sense of humor or an attitude. Hell, he could even have both. Scroll down a bit and he analyzes an article in the Chicago Tribune by Salim Muwakkil. I saw that article also and was gonna do some work on it. So let's see what we can see. The artice will be in italics. I will preface Aaron's comments with UN and mine with GOC.
The political spillover of Middle East issues into U.S. politics is threatening the political livelihoods of some members of the Congressional Black Caucus
GOC: Mainly the anti-Semites, who seem to be most of them.
and straining relations between black and Jewish Democrats.
GOC: Ya think?
This is a significant political development because blacks and Jews have been traditional political allies and both have been strong pillars of support for the Democratic Party. What's more, Jews were among the strongest supporters of the civil rights movement and remain prominent in the struggle for racial justice.
GOC: I've mentioned before that Jews went down to the South during the 60's and got their heads bashed in along with the blacks during the civil rights marches. So why do blacks hate the Jews so much?
UN: Warbloggers excepted, of course. Other than Condi Rice, they seem to hate the lot of us with an obsessive passion. They're not racist, of course. They just don't like black people.
GOC: Let's see. He left out Colin Powell, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Clarence Thomas, and many others. And I've read a lot of warbloggers. I'm a warblogger. I have detected no dislike of black people. I have detected no racism. I do dislike many black people, however. I dislike the so called black leaders who tell blacks that they cannot get ahead without government. I dislike the black leaders who want to hold blacks to lower standards. I dislike the black leaders who say the SAT is culturally biased. Here is where it is culturally biased. It is biased against the following cultural rules:
GOC: So Aaron, I do hate some black people. I hate those black leaders who have sold out their own race for their own power and enrichment.
The Congressional Black Caucus has been among the strongest supporters of Israel and the fiercest foes of anti-Semitism.
GOC: Not lately.
UN: Not sure those two should be in the same sentence, since the number of idiots equating any criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism seems to be growing daily, but whatever.
GOC: Very good Aaron. I'm not an idiot, but I must point out that most of the most rabid critics of Israel (mainly Muslims and some of our 'intellectuals') just happen to be anti-Semites. I must point out here that anti-Semite has been equated with Jew hating much as African-American has been equated with any black person. Arabs, themselves, are Semites, so how could they be anti-Semites? Well, the Palestinians could, I guess, since they have followed their leaders blindly down the path that has led them to hopelessness and poverty. Over the past 53 years, there have been many opportunities for the Palestinians to live peacefully side by side with the Jews. Unfortunately, the hatred Yassir Arafat and many other Arab leaders feel for the Jews has prevented this. Back to the article.
But increasing cycles of Middle East violence and growing black support for some Palestinian issues have raised tensions between the two constituencies.
UN: There follows some stuff on Hilliard's defeat, none of it new to anyone who's been paying attention in the slightest, then turns to arch-villain Cynthia McKinney and her newly-strained relations with the white folk:
GOC: Arabs supported Hilliard. Jews supported his opponent. Hilliard lost. Another example of World Wide ZionismTM. Aaron, if you lived here in Beautiful Dunwoody, you would know that Cynthia's strained relations with white folks aren't new. They've been strained for quite some time. She just doesn't like white folks. If she were white and I were black, you'd call her a racist.
McKinney, who came to office in 1992 with considerable Jewish support,
GOC: Huh? I missed that. He must be talking about the Jews around Emory University, the Emoroid Jews. I don't think too many Dunwoody Jews voted for her. She hates Jews almost as much as she hates white folks.
since has alienated some members of the Jewish community with her increasing expressions of support for the Palestinians.
GOC: Some members? Howza 'bout most members?
In an April interview on a Berkeley, Calif., radio station, McKinney called for an investigation into whether President Bush might have had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and if some members in his administration had profited from them.
GOC: And in a previous blog, I suggested an investigation as to whether Cynthia had prior knowledge of 9/11 and kept quiet for campaign contributions. She received a big bunch of money from Arabs and Arab groups on 9/11. Also, she has received over 3/4 of her campaign contributions for the current election from Arab organizations and from people with Arab sounding names with most of these contributions coming from outside her district.
While McKinney's behavior has angered some right-wing supporters of Israel,
GOC: Hey Salim! It has angered most people who have any intelligence.
it has energized others with hopes that some legislators can defy the stifling conventional wisdom that has made U.S. foreign policy an embarrassment to the civilized world.
GOC: Listen butthead! We are the most civilized country in the world. We let you assholes practice your religion of peaceTM. We let you publish dumbshit articles like this. And we don't teach our people hatred of other peoples. The Arab culture is a disgrace to the civilized world. How dare a racist dickhead like you lecture us or Israel about civilized behavior. If the roles in the Middle East were reversed you would have killed all the Jews just like the muftis and Ayatollahs of your religion of peaceTM preach every Friday at prayers. You assholes make me want to puke.
A number of Arab progressive groups have signed on to McKinney's
campaign and are doing their best to offset the influence the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee.
GOC: Did I mention that she has received over 3/4 of her campaign contributions from Arab organizations and people with Arab names, most from outside her district? She has also received more from them than Denise Majette has received from AIPAC.
"Pro-Sharon [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon] forces have targeted this African-American Democrat for defeat for her strong stance in favor of both Israel and Palestine," wrote Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun, in the publication's recent edition. He said he backed McKinney's candidacy and called her positions on Israel a "reasonable critique."
GOC: Whoa! What kind of shit has this guy been smokin'? Has he been hangin' out with Israel Shamir and Noam Chomsky. I'll admit I'm not familiar with Tikkun and don't have time to google it tonight, but I'll check on it. If any of you reading this already have some info on Tikkun, please enlighten me.
But in these days of suicide bombings,
GOC: By Arabs. Civilized people do not do that.
full-scale occupation
GOC: When Arabs speak of the 'occupation' they are speaking of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. Remember, the only two Arab countries that recognize Israel are Egypt and Jordan and we pay 'em big bucks to do that. Also, remember, in 1948, Egypt owned Gaza and Jordan owned the West Bank. They lost 'em in a war. Israel won the war. Why should they have to give any of it back? But, Israel offered to give all but 5% of it back. Arafat walked away and started the current wave of terror.
and targeted assassinations,
GOC: Of known terrorists. We'd do the same. We did in Afghanistan. If the PA would arrest 'em and turn 'em over to Israel, they'd give 'em a fair trial and then kill 'em. And Arafat is lucky to be alive. If it weren't for our 'disgrace to civilized nations foreign policy' back when Israel had Arafat cornered in Beirut and we made Israel let him escape, he would be dead. Sharon regrets that. This warblogger does too.
even a reasonable critique can mark a candidate for political death.
GOC: But nothing reasonable ever comes out of Cynthia's mouth. But let's let Aaron back in.
UN: Suppose that comment I made up there could trigger a discussion of whether or not Jews are people of color.
GOC: Jews have never claimed to be people of color, but they have suffered every bit as much as black folks. Besides being universally hated for the last 2000 years, they had this little thing called the Holocaust a few years back. Maybe you heard sumpin' about it. That's why liberal American Jews fought alongside blacks in the 60's for civil rights. And that's why they believe in civil rights for everyone. Unfortunately, most racist progressive black leaders think civil rights laws only apply to blacks. Not to Latinos. Not to Asians. And certainly not to Jews. Don't believe me? Besides Cynthia McKinney we have Jesse 'Hymietown' Jackson, Al 'Crown Heights riots' Sharpton, and Louis 'gutter religion' Farrakhan.
UN: I recommend against it. My contribution to such things is usually laughing myself silly for five minutes straight, regaining my composure, clearing my throat, then laughing myself silly again. Over and over and over. I mean, I'll grant you the Beta Israel, but if we're talking the warblogger crowd, if the motherfuckers were any whiter, they'd be clear.
GOC: So Aaron, all of us motherfucking warbloggers are a bunch of white racists. The only racism I detected here was by you.
And black racism is no better than white racism.
It's still racism.
Survived dive class last night and I'm back and ready to go tonight. I got an interesting e-mail that I will quote here:
There's something both inherently brilliant and amazingly pathetic/vile about the Palestinian intifada. When they increased their violence under the presumption of "humiliation" and "occupation" and a "struggle for a state," they systematically insured that the best jobs (only?) available to the Palestinians would be cut off, as Israel began to regulate their flow into Israeli towns. Further increase the violence under the false pretenses, lose more jobs. Lose more jobs, blame Israel for their "humiliation" and abject poverty. It's brilliant in its nefariousness. It is, however, a tired beat and Israel needs to change the tempo. They, the humans turned blood thirsty animals called the "Palestinians," will reap the whirlwind one of these days. Israel will simply say, "F*ck it, that's it" and entire sections of PLO-controlled land, on the scale of land visible from outer space, will be rubble.
But, the Palestinian leaders, who have no regard for their own followers are counting on the fact that Israel, like the United States, does want to maintain the moral high ground. The useful idiots on the left, on the other hand, seem to somehow find moral equivalence between the Palestinians purposely targeting women and children and Israel inadvertently killing women and children. But maybe, the Palestinian people may someday realize just how badly their leadership has failed them. One of the best and most moving pieces I have ever read along these lines was written by Stephen Den Beste. If there are ever awards given out for blogging this would win one. I wish I could write like this.
So, along those lines, there was an article in yesterday's Atlanta Urinal and Constipation about the problems in the West Bank.
Gaza City, Gaza Strip --- High malnutrition rates indicate a possible humanitarian emergency for Palestinian mothers and children, according to a study released Monday.
More than 9 percent of Palestinians from 6 months to 5 years old suffer
moderate to severe malnutrition, according to the study, commissioned by
Atlanta-based CARE International and the U.S. Agency for International
Development.
And we all know who's fault this is.
American officials have been among those warning Israel that the Palestinians
are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.
Has anyone talked to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, or all the other Palestinian terrorist groups about this? Once they stop the terrorism, peace will return. Doesn't the proliferation of all these different terrorist groups remind you of The Life of Brian?
A statement Monday from the U.S. Embassy in Israel said the study was of the
''highest professional quality'' and that the United States will increase
contributions to agencies working on the ''urgent nutritional and general health
needs'' of Palestinians.
Wonder how much of that money will actually go to the "urgent nutritional and general health needs" of Palestinians?
International agencies and American officials repeatedly have urged Israel to
relax travel restrictions that have crippled the Palestinians' economy and
increased poverty, which researchers said was the main cause for the
malnutrition.
Ya see, most rational people understand something called cause and effect. When Israel relaxes travel restrictions, suicide bombings go up. Once again, if the bombings stop, travel restrictions will be relaxed. I'd really feel sorry for the Palestinians if they were not bringing this upon themselves.
Israel insists that the restrictions are necessary to prevent suicide bombings.
And I agree.
After three suicide bombings in the past week, Israeli troops clamped down on
movement to and from several Palestinian cities.
And the bombings stop. Cause and effect.
Monday's study reported that food wholesalers and retailers face shortages of
such basic products as bananas and milk. The food sellers said the shortages
are caused mainly by the travel restrictions.
Reminds me of a song, 'Tell All Your Troubles To Jesus'. Oh, they're Muslim? Never mind.
In the Ard El Insan health clinic here, where workers seek to ease malnutrition,
counselors encourage breast-feeding.
Tiny T-shirts given to infants read, ''My mother's breast milk is not affected by the
restrictions.''
Isn't that cute! Wonder who has the T-shirt concession?
On Monday, mothers lined up as usual with their listless infants and toddlers.
Two-year-old Mustafa Suseh has rickets, and his 2-month old sister, Manal, is
anemic.
Their mother Muna Suseh, 32, has nine other children, but she says she cannot
afford to buy more than 30 eggs a month.
Then why the fuck does she have 11 children? She couldn't support them in good times.
They eat one meal a day, which often is cabbage and rice, and they split about a
pound of low-quality meat a week. Her husband sells soft drinks near a school to
earn about $2.50 a day.
Maybe he should sell tiny T-shirts instead.
''This is our life. It is because of the restrictions,,'' she said. ''It would be much
better if there were no Intifada [uprising].''
A rare lucid moment. Maybe she should talk to Arafat about that.
Since the start of the conflict, and especially since the commencement of
bombings inside Israel, the more than 100,000 Palestinians who used to work in
Israel have been barred from entering to go to their jobs.
That's 'cause they have this tendency to blow up.
Some international aide agencies say that unemployment among the 3 million
Palestinians exceeds 40 percent.
There are plenty of openings in the martyr industry. People are dying to join up.
I'm sorry (Actually, I'm not), but I cannot feel any sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. If all they wanted was a state, maybe I could, but that has never been what they wanted. What Arafat, and the rest of the Arabs have wanted ever since 1948 was the total destruction of Israel. This Palestinian state bullshit has been a strawman ever since Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza, and the Sinai during the 1967 war. Egypt offered peace and got the Sinai back. Israel offered peace to the Palestinians with the most generous offer the Palestinians will ever get and Arafat launched the latest wave of terror. What many of the Give Peace a Chance crowd in the United States do not realize (I think the Europeans do realize, but they just hate the Jews) is that when the Palestinians speak of the occupied territories they are referring to Palestine and Israel. In the Palestinian schools, there is no Israel in the geopraphy books. The PLO has never revoked the part of their charter, as required by the Oslo agreement, calling for the destruction of Israel. There is a state of war between the Palestinians and Israel. The Palestinians realize this. Even the Give Peace a Chance crowd in Israel is finally beginning to realize it. Stephen Den Beste wrote another time (No, I'm not linking this time. Go read all his stuff. It's good) that the only resolution will be the total defeat of either Israel or the Palestinians. The Palestinian people will have to realize that their leadership has led them to utter ruin and somehow replace them and realize that Israel is here to stay. Israel knows that the first war it loses will be its last. Our job is to prevent outside support of Palestinian terrorist organizations. That is why we must take out Iraq before solving the Palestinian problem. This is what has the Saudis so worried. And well they should be.
Fortunately, until we do take out Iraq, Israel has nothing to worry about, since if Iraq croses the Jordan River to invade Israel (which means that since Israel does not share a border with Iraq, the Iraqi Army will have to cross Jordan first), Bill Clinton will grab a rifle, jump in a ditch and fight and die to protect Israel. If you don't believe that, here is a transcript of Bubba's induction interview with an Israeli Army recruiter.
Say goodnight, Hillary
Goodnight Hillary
I'm not gonna be posting on Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks. I'm jumpin' into the pool and gettin' recertified in SCUBA.
Wait a minute! You're a cripple. How ya gonna do that? Aren't ya afraid of drowning?
Don't have to worry about that. Shit floats.
Har-dee-har-har. Very funny smartass. No really. Aren't ya worried?
Actually, no. I started back last summer and was gonna go on a trip, but got a skin sore on my butt and had to back out.
Yeah, but can cripples do stuff like that?
You'd be surprised. They actually have three levels of certification for handicapped people: HSA1, HSA2, and HSA3. With HSA3, one has to go with two other non-handicapped divers. I think they just pull the person around. But, I'm going for the non-handicapped certification.
You can do that?
Sure. I can swim the required distance and I can float for the required amount of time. See above. The only thing I'm worried about is the diver tow. I have to tow another diver a required distance. My instructor told me he had a complete (no function below the injury) paraplegic who got his regular certification last year and I'm incomplete so I should be able to do it.
But still, aren't ya worried?
Nah! Technically, I'm still certified. Got my certification over 25 years ago. I was gonna go on a trip last year sponsored by Shepherd Center in Atlanta and the dive shop suggested I get recertified, which was a good idea. SCUBA is actually very easy. Just remember two things: Breathe and do not panic.
Breathe? How hard is that to remember?
You'd be surprised. A lot of people have a tendency to hold their breath when under water. And this has caused some people to have their lungs explode when taking a breathe at 30 feet and holding their breath going to the surface.
What about do not panic?
Some people just go buggy underwater. You can run out of air at 100 feet and still have plenty of air to ascend to the surface. Breathe out, and at 50 feet, there is another breath of air in the tank. Just don't panic. And, don't forget to breathe.
I'm really amazed at how much equipment has changed since I last went diving. I took my regulator in to get it rebuilt and the dive shop guy laughed at me. He called it an antique and said he couldn't get parts for it. A second second stage was optional, now it's required. And dive computers? Wow. You still have to learn how to use dive tables to determine dive times and times between dives, but they now have computers that can do all that for you. Technology is wonderful.
I have all my old stuff that no one uses anymore. When I learned 25 years ago, there was a tank harness, a weight belt and a BC (buoyancy compensator). Now, it's all integrated into one unit. With lots of velcro. Instead of a weight belt with big ol' lead weights, there are now multiple pockets with bags of weight pellets. To drop the weight (for an emergency ascent) ya just pull the pockets. Real neat. Real high tech.
So, I hope to be ready for an open water checkout in about four or five weeks. The end of September I'm going down to Roatan for a weeklong dive trip. If I don't get checked out before then, I'll do my checkout there.
More bad news from Israel with the Palestinian animals blowing up more of those ferocious women and children, and then the Palestinian spokesmen accuse the Israelis of practicing genocide on the Palestinians. I just want to slap the shit out of any one of 'em and say, 'Listen putzhead, if the Israelis were practicing genocide on the Palestinians (And that's looking better and better as time goes by. They want to be martyrs? That can be arranged), there would be no Palestinians. Meanwhile, your senseless intifada, has caused the Palestinian economy to tank. There is no work. People have no money. You've really done one hell of a good job for your people haven't you? If anyone is practicing genocide on the Palestinians it's you buttheads!'
But I don't want to talk about depressing things like uncivilized animals who deserve to be caged or shot, I want to share sumpin' sent to me by a friend. The comments after each tidbit are not mine. They are part of the tidbits of information.
Tidbits of information
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
Hardly seems worth it.
If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
Now that's more like it!
The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
O.M.G.!
A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
In my next life, I want to be a pig. I want to be Sally the pig.
A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy.)
I'm still not over the pig.
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
Do not try this at home......maybe at work.
The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping male's head off.
"Honey, I'm home. What the....?!"
The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.
30 minutes...can you imagine??
The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?
Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Something I always wanted to know.
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
Hmmmmmm......
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?
Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
OK, so that would be a good thing....
A cat's urine glows under a black light.
I wonder who was paid to figure that out? (GOC comment:Don't know whom was paid, but I bet it was done with a gummint grant.)
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
I know some people like that.
Starfish have no brains.
I know some people like that too.(GOC comment: Me too. They're called managers.)
Polar bears are left-handed.
If they switch, they'll live a lot longer.
Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
What about that pig??
And with that, I'm off for the evening. Thanks for stopping by. See y'all on Wednesday.
What about that pig??
Why oh why do I have to live in Cynthia McKinney's district? Now I find out via Indepundit that 'the cutest little communist in Congress', my Congresscritter, received $13,850.00 from people with Arab sounding names on 9/11. Hmmmm! Don't you think we may want to have an investigation as to whether Cynthia knew sumpin' about 9/11 and kept quiet so she could profit from campaign contributions? I'm not saying she did anything, but doesn't this seem to be coincidental? So let's have an investigation to find out what Cynthia knew and when she knew it.
But the people at Arab News are really glad that she's in Congress for the good of the downtrodden Palestinians and are irate at her treatment here in the United States. In fact, Frances M. Beal, wrote this article titled Peace and justice forces rally to McKinney. Let's take a look.
AIPAC, the American Israel Political Affairs Committee is tasting blood
Frances didn't say if this was Arab baby blood or not, but we all know what she thinks.
with the defeat of Earl Hilliard in Alabama.
Like Cynthia, another rabid anti-Semite financed by lots of Arab donations.
The US Congressman had enraged the Zionist lobbying group by often voting against legislation that one-sidedly favored Israel and introducing a bill to drop sanctions against Libya and Iraq.
Yet another Arab apologist. Good riddance.
AIPAC is now aiming its big financial and political fangs
And don't them Jewish blood suckers have big teeth?
at Cynthia McKinney from Georgia's 4th congressional district. She faces a primary runoff on August 20th, which for all intents and purposes, determines the general election with an overwhelmingly Democrat constituency. Her stance on a balanced Mid East policy
Balanced? Balanced? She is a raving anti-Semite. She also hates white people.
and her outspoken criticism of the Israeli occupation army has enraged AIPAC and it has arranged for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be poured into her opponent's campaign coffers.
Gotta do sumpin' to counteract all them Arab bucks pourin' in. $13,850 on 9/11 alone.
McKinney's black female opponent is a former Judge who was appointed by Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia democrat who initially appointed this Jonetta come lately to the bench.
Jonetta come lately? I assume that is her version of Johnny come lately, but I don't have a clue as to what she means. She probably doesn't either. She probably thinks she's clever with the Jonetta come lately.
He has joined the AIPAC chorus with an unprecedented assault on Democratic Party colleague McKinney.
Way to go Zell! He is just as embarrassed as the rest of us Georgians. Ol' Zig-Zag Zell, as we called him when he was Governor, has been a pleasant surprise in the Senate. Now if we could just get him to quit supporting Max Cleland in this year's election I'd like him even more.
Thus, AIPAC is joined in this all-sided assault by the local and national apparatus of the Democratic Party because of McKinney's views on peace,
Death to the Jews!
human rights
She hates Jews and white people.
and civil liberties.
Civil rights are only for black folks. Forget about Latinos and other minorities. Also they're dropping support of her because she is a loony and an embarrassment.
The question posed sharply is whether progressives
This is code for black separatism, reparations and anti-Semitism. Don't believe me? Frances is national secretary of the Black Radical Congress.
will permit AIPAC and the Dixiecrats
Frances, there aren't any Dixiecrats anymore. They done hung up their sheets and became racist Republicans.
to foist Israeli policy on voters as the defining issue for the mainly Black district
A little over 50% black. Unfortunately the hard working whites, like us folks here in Dunwoody who pay the taxes, are outnumbered by the blacks and the liberal Emoroids around Emory University.
in the Atlanta suburb McKinney represents. More importantly, will they tolerate AIPAC to further subvert 37 years of struggle to implement the 1965 Voting Rights Act by its use of the discriminatory campaign financing laws to oust an African American woman whose outstanding performance on a peace and justice agenda has earned her the hatred of the racists and the war mongers.
Uh, the last time I checked Denise Majette was also black, so how does this violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act? And as for racists and warmongers, tell me again who killed 3,000 American citizens on 9/11. Tell me who is blowing up Israeli citizens. Tell me who has violated the 1994 Oslo accords. Tell me who walked away from the best deal the Palestinians would ever get and started a terrorist campaign targeting women, children and the elderly. Tell me who entered a house in an Israeli settlement and murdered an eight year old child in her bed. Tell me who cheers the death of civilians. Tell me who just killed five Americans. Tell me who are sick barbarians who deserve to be put in a big ol' cage. Jesus H. Christ Frances this article is one of the biggest pieces of crap I've ever read. Ya got more bullshit comin'? Unfortunately she does.
Months of slanderous assaults
Give me just one example of slander. Just one.
have been directed at this first African American congresswoman from Georgia, including labeling her a "loony"
That ain't slander. She is a loony.
for suggesting that the Bush Administration be investigated for what it may or may not have known and failed to act upon about the tragic events of September 11th.
Here we go again. I'll ask the same question I ask every time some twit like you suggests that 9/11 could have been prevented. Could you please tell me how? The only thing that could have been done to prevent 9/11 was, now read slowly, I'll even put it in bold type single ... out ... people ... of ... Middle ... Eastern ... descent ... for ... additional ... security ... checks. That would be ethnic profiling and you and Cynthia would have screamed to high heaven about that. We can't even do that now when the most likely hijackers will be men of Middle Eastern descent!! And let's investigate Cynthia for receiving $13,850 on 9/11. Maybe she knew sumpin' that could have prevented 9/11 and kept quiet because of campaign contributions.
Even though she has been vindicated by subsequent exposures,
NO!!!! She ... has ... not!!! Give me the proof!!! The only vindication is that the gummint was informed that there might be a terrorist event but not a specific date. That's like saying Cynthia was gonna say sumpin' stupid. We know it's gonna happen, but not sure when. Well, actually every time she opens her big fat mouth so I guess that's a bad example. Anyway, I repeat, we wouldn't have been able to prevent it because of the politically correct ban on ethnic profiling.
the attacks on McKinney's "intemperate remarks" continue unabated.
She finally got sumpin' right. They were intemperate remarks. You don't need the quotes around them.
Black politicians, however, are beginning to feel threatened by outside support of Black stooges and have begun to mobilize on behalf of McKinney, the first African American female elected to the US Congress from Georgia.
She sure does like to emphasize the fact that Cynthia is the first black female elected to Congress from Georgia. So what? I want to see Denise Majette be the second black female elected to Congress from Georgia. And I will vote for her in the Democratic primary. This will be the first time I have ever voted for a Democrat.
The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) unanimously adopted a resolution on June 22nd accusing Zell Miller of "scurrilous comments"
For condemning Cynthia for her intemperate remarks.
and demanded that he repair his relations with the Black community by offering McKinney "the same respect given to other elected leaders in the state of Georgia."
Respect is sumpin' that has to be earned and the only thing loony Cynthia has earned is the scorn of any right thinking person.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on the other hand, has been unrelenting in its attempts to discredit McKinney. "[She] has shown herself to be a fringe lunatic, well outside the congressional mainstream," writes Cynthia Tucker in a typical commentary. She asserts that McKinney is "incapable of aiding any cause," and exhibiting an astonishing level of hypocrisy writes, "The plight of the Palestinians and their desire for an independent homeland is a serious cause deserving of thoughtful, mainstream advocates. Hilliard wasn't one and neither is McKinney."
Now what could possibly be wrong with that? It's the truth. And just in case anyone thinks Cynthia Tucker is racist, guess what? She is a very liberal black woman. You got to be a very loony Democrat for Cynthia Tucker to take out after ya. And I don't think the Palestinians should get a state until they decide to act like civilized human beings.
The problem with Tucker's own "intemperate remarks" is that there are no "thoughtful, mainstream advocates" prepared to take up the defense of Palestinian sovereign rights.
That's because to most "thoughtful mainstream advocates" the Palestinians do not deserve any sovereign rights until they quit acting like rabid dogs. The Palestinians cheered 9/11. The Palestinians intentionally target women, children and the elderly.
But there are others, and they are determined to build a financial and political fight back to protect the outspoken advocate that is not afraid of AIPAC's vilification nor its financial war chests.
And that's why Cynthia gets so much maney from Arabs. Did I say that she got $13,850 on 9/11?
Nevertheless, spirit and courage alone do not win campaigns in the year 2002.
And even if they did, it wouldn't help Cynthia since she has neither.
It takes grassroots organizing combined with financial support - lots and lots of financial support.
So far, more than one third of her campaign contributions have come from Arabs or Arab groups. Probably even more by now. And did I mention that she got $13,850 on 9/11?
A national grassroots campaign to provide Cynthia McKinney with the necessary funds to fend off AIPAC's blood lust
Gotta get that blood in there again. Them Jews is nothin' but bloodsuckin' bastards.
has emerged from coast to coast. Peace and justice
and the American way. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!
forces nationwide are combining with local Black political organizations to draw a line in the sand.
Go ahead, cross it! I dare ya!
Noting, "We must stand by those who stand by us," CAIR-PAC, a Moslem based group has called for its members to "step forward" and donate to McKinney's campaign. "Her victory will also give strength to those other members of Congress
Like Barbara Lee from the Peoples Republic of Berkeley, another communist anti-Semite. And she voted against action in Afghanistan. The only member of the House to do so.
who also want to vote their conscience
Conscience? You think Arafat and his thugs have consciences?
on issues relating to the Middle East" CAIR-PAC concludes. Other Arab American groups are also soliciting their members for financial support for her re-election efforts.
Gotta get as many racist bigots in Congress as we can.
Typical of the peace forces galvanizing support is Just Peace Contacts,
I just googled Just Peace Contacts and got no hits.
which includes many Jewish activists.
Like Noam Chomsky? Don't know if he's in it, but it sounds like sumpin' he'd be a part of. That is, if it even exists. Google can't find it.
They have set an ambitious goal. "Through our networks across the country of Jews, Arabs, Christians and others active in the struggle for Justice in Israel and Palestine,
It all depends on what your meaning of justice in Palestine is. The Arabs' definition is the total annihilation of Israel and all the Jews.
we ought to be able to raise $100,000 by August 1," they say.
Today is August 2. Wonder if they made it? Come on AIPAC! Can ya beat that?
Lastly, a variety of Black websites and free thinkers like The Konformist are also carrying calls for financial assistance as are scores of listserves of racial justice and peace advocates.
Something I've always had trouble understanding. During the struggle for civil rights in the '60's, liberal Jews were right on the frontlines of the struggle. They got beat up in the South for marching with the blacks. So why do blacks hate Jews so much? And, slaveryTMstill exists in Arab and Muslim countries, so why do they love Arabs and Muslims so much?
The irony here is that Hilliard's defeat in Alabama may very well have provided the impetus for Cynthia McKinney to amass the financial means necessary to push back AIPAC's reactionary assault on Black political power in Georgia and on a congressional peace advocate nationwide.
Let's see. We'd be replacing one loony female black Democrat with a sane female black Democrat. Now how does that change black political power in Georgia except for the better?
Currently, Denise Majette is slightly ahead in the polls and Cynthia has gone negative from the get go. See Cynthia Smears Da Judge my Monday post.
Frances M. Beal is a political columnist for the San Francisco Bayview newspaper and national secretary of the Black Radical Congress.
Now why am I not surprised?
At the end of my Tuesday post, I expressed concern that as a result of my office move, my desk might go to the warehouse. Yesterday, I was sick and didn't go to work. I did post yesterday, but I took the lazy way out. I looked for someone to fisk. Fisks are easy. Cut. Paste. Comment. Cut. Paste. Comment. Yesterday Tom Friedman was the lucky recipient of my fisking. Turns out he's as easy as Molly Ivins. Cut. Paste. Comment.
I felt better today so I went into work. I hobbled down into the dungeon to my new office. I work in a 4 story building that is cut into the side of a hill. The main entrance is on the second floor. The first floor is underground on one side. My office is on the side that is open so I have a window. I still call the first floor the dungeon. I got to my new office and my desk, chair, bookshelf, three boxes of books, and PC were all there! I was amazed. Also, my team lead, who is my new officemate, was there, and he was able to move the desk out enough to plug in my power strip and my token ring cable. I was up and operational by 9:00 AM.
I was going through my mail when my manager poked his head in my office. Quick! Flashback to a Dilbert cartoon. Dilbert gets back from a business trip and settles in his cubicle and says, 'Ah, being back in my cubicle is like being back in the security of the womb'. Just then, the boss pokes his head in and says, 'Just thought I'd poke my head in and see how you're doing.' Return to the present.
My boss pokes his head in and says
You've moved.
Don't say it. Don't say it. Running through my mind, 'I can see you got to be a manager because of your superior observational skills.' Instead, I say
Yep. I've moved
Any problems?
Don't say it. Don't say it. Running through my mind, 'Yeah, I'm on the same floor as you. I can't goof off as much anymore.' Instead
Nope. Everything's just fine and dandy.
Maybe he'll go away. It works. He does.
The rest of the morning is taken up by people walking past my office (unlike my old one, this office is on a highly traveled corridor) stopping, looking in, and saying
What are you doing here?
I've moved.
You've moved?
Yep.
So, you work down here now?
Yep.
It was a really productive morning. Somehow, I got through all my mail and was actually able to do some surfing. Gotta know what's goin' on in the blogosphere.
I see the Palestinians just have to continue showing the rest of the world that they are nothing but uncivilized, barbarous animals. And these people deserve a state? Give 'em a state and they will be at war with Israel within six months. Maybe if it were an official war Israel could wipe them off the face of the earth.
Now four Americans have been killed and Bush is furious (at least according to National Proletariat Radio), but he is still talking about peace and a state. If you haven't been over to LGF to see pictures of how the Palestinians feel about killing civilians, go there now. Remember, these are the same people who celebrated after 9/11. Even Jesse Jackson backed out of a meeting with Hamas! But this isn't the first time Palestinians have killed Americans. Anyone remember Leon Klinghoffer? An old man in a wheelchair that Palestinian terrorists pushed off a cruise ship. Those big brave Palestinians.
Now I have a few things we can do to the Palestinians.
I realize that last option is drastic, but Yasser Arafat and his thugs have done to the Palestinians what Hitler did to the Germans and Tojo did to the Japanese. In a post a few months back, Stephen Den Beste, opined that the Palestinians had to be totally defeated like Germany and Japan in World War II. Until then, there can be no talk about any Palestinian statehood. Move 'em all to Gaza and build a big old wall around it. I hope Bush tells King Abdullah of Jordan that there will be no Palestinian state in three years or in twenty years or in one hundred years until the Palestinians start acting like human beings and not like rabid crazed animals.
But these are acts of desperation.
No, an act of desperation for the Palestinians would be renouncing violence, recognizing Israel as a sovereign state, and negotiating in good faith like a normal civilized people. Yasser Arafat walked away from the best deal the Palestinians will ever get. Why? Because his vision of a Palestinian state is from the 'River to the Sea'. He will be satisfied with nothing less and he doesn't care how many Jews or Palestinians die to fulfill his dream.
I see there is a poll over at LGF as to whether we should go in and wipe out Hamas. Sharon is capable of that. We need to concentrate on Iraq.
And let's do it before the November elections.
Hey L'il Dickie Gephardt! Hey L'il Tommy Daschle! Have we got an October surprise for you!
Let's roll!