Ho, ho, humbug!

Happy Holidaze to all:

I've been working up to my Christmas letter for this year, by fits and starts.

I started some things but found out they didn't fit.

Such as:

Imagine, you find yourself in a place where magical, non-union elves toil ceaselessly for12 months a year, just to satisfy the egomaniacal, self-aggrandizing, paternalistic impulses of an overweight and jolly (but he's crying inside) workaholic who spends HIS time keeping tabs on billions of little children, violating their Constitutional rights as casually as he flogs his overburdened and underfed (you don't think they're tiny just because of some genetic malfunction, do you? C'mon, how long you been out of school? Wake up and smell the balsam!) beasts of burden the endangered North Slope caribou. Hell, I suppose we should be grateful that at least a certain "outdoorswoman" hasn't just whacked 'em with her Bushmaster, from a low-flying helicopter. "He know's if you are sleeping, he knows if you're awake; he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"? Our children is already having enough trouble learning without they gotta worry about bein' spied on by "Big Father Christmas", this affront to our 4th amendment rights...Yeah, that wasn't going to end well.

Then I was thinking about the movie "A Christimas Story", a perennial favorite since shortly after it tanked in the theaters back in 1983 and caused the recession that began in 1982. The movie has nearly everything a good ol' redblooded american--like, well, somebody besides me—would like.

Anyway, it's a great storyline. Young boy gets his ass kicked by bullies on a regular basis, has a crazy dad and ditz for a mom. The only objet d'art in the house is a lamp that's shaped like a lady's nylon clad leg (it sorta reminds me of the Guinness logo--I can't imagine why). The kid's only friends are even bigger looozerz than him and his little brother is headed for a bad end. With alla this stuff going on, the only thing our hero, Ralphie (it'll have to be "Rafe" in the remake) can get his head wrapped around is that he wants, no he craves and he GOTZ to have, a genuine Red Ryder BB gun to make him a MAN! Yowsuh!! Well, I ask you, is that lame or is that like just plain "teh HALT"? I mean , fer cryin out loud, a BB GUN. Nah, what this kid should be finding under the Christmas Tree is a .50 Cal. Barrett MRAD with the BORS integrated optics and ballistic computer. With that puppy he can take out Scut Farkas and his toady, Grover Dill--if they will simply stand in line-- with one well placed shot...hmmm, there seems to be some sort of a "trend" here.

Okay, so, once more into the breach.

Rudolph the rednosed reindeer was pretty much "the black elk" of his family. He never got invited to play the other reindeers' games. He performed beneath expectations in his lessons for “Spreading Christmas Cheer”, rooftop landings and “in flight incontinence”. An early and devastating “jones” for the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) -- the one with the white-spotted red cap that garden gnomes like to sit on* made him prone to flights of fancy. He had a honkin' schnozzola and looked like ye compleat dork whenever he got put in harness. Rudolph was pretty much reduced to being the butt of jokes (among them, a sign slapped on his withers that said, "Quirt me! ") by the varsity reindeer and hauling carts full of crap from one workshop to another while listening to the chief elf give him grief. It wasn't that he was lazy or stupid, it was more about being an "out", in a world of "ins"--hey, that's the way the snowman melts!

So, along comes Christmas Eve, a Christmas Eve like all the others when the A-Team goes out and hauls the swag for the fat man and then gets to spend the next month at an all inclusive stable in Southern Cali, lollin’ on the beach, chasin' the does, lappin’ up the cerveza and hangin' with the Claus.

But, this particular Christmas Eve was different. It was stormin' and foggy, visibilty was zero and the Santageeze was frettin' cuz he had signed some contracts with "performance guarantees" and it looked like he was gonna lose his shirt.

Rudolph was mopin' around his crib, playing with his Xb0x (“Wolf Whacker—The Reindeers’ Revenge) when all of a sudden the door flew open and the Boss stormed in. He said, "Rudolph, I'm told you can navigate in this crap--is that the straight skinny?". "Well," said Rudolph, "I might be able to, what's in it for me?". Claus thought about it for a moment and said. "Get me through this delivery situation and you can go on the "retreat" with the rest of the guys.". Rudolph pressed his advantage and said, "Okay--and I want you to fly in that hot little doe that was Bambi's BFF friend before he got whacked by that poacher.". "Done and done" said his Crimson Corpulence, "Now c’mon, son—lets fly!". As the bewhiskered one ran out to the sleigh, Rudolph took out his new I-Phone, looked it right in its touchpad, and said, "Your battery AND that navaids app, better last, or we're toast, hombre!"…

I think next year I'm gonna have to get the Coen Brothers to help me out; this storyizin' is hard work!

Hey, who likes cheesecake? Yeah, me too, here's a couplea recipes (sort of).

Chocolate cheesecake:
Crust :

6 oz Graham Crackers
4 oz Chocolate morsels or shaved chocolate
½ tsp Cinnamon
2 Tsp Butter (melted)
Break crackers into small pieces, place in bowl of food processor. Add chocolate morsels, sugar and melted butter. Pulse all ingredients in food processor until the mixture is like coarse, damp sand. Pat into even thickness in 9" springform or other pan (On pan substituions, you do the math, it's not my strong suit). Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, remove and set aside.

Filling:

1 ½ lbs Cream Cheese
¼ pt Heavy Cream
6 oz Good quality chocolate
3 ea Eggs
½ cup Sugar
2 oz GOOD Rum (dark or blonde)**
1 tsp Allspice

Pour cream into heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat until near boiling. Add chocolate (shaved or grated) to hot cream, stirring until smooth consistency is reached.

Put one pound of the cream cheese in bowl of food processor, pour hot cream/chocolate mixture over cheese and pulse until smooth consistency is reached, add remaining ½ pound of cream cheese and then three eggs, one at a time, along with rum and allspice. Allow food processor to run until all ingredients are well and uniformly mixed.
Pour cheesecake mixture into pan with pre-baked shell, pick up pan and tap on counter to level mixture (it should be fairly stiff, but not such that it won’t self level this way) and place in 350 degree oven. Bake until instant reading thermomter reaches 160 degrees (eggs will be cooked at that point). Depending on how “stiff” you like your cheesecake you may want to bake it for about 15 minutes longer. I find that it usually sets up pretty nicely if it is refrigerated for several hours.

Pumpkin Cheese cake:

I use the same chocolate crust for this. Chocolate and pumpkin are like chocolate and peanut better—only more betterer.

Filling:

1 ½ lbs Cream Cheese
¼ pt Heavy Cream
1 can Solid pack pumpkin (not that sweetened “pie filling” glop)
3 ea Eggs
2 Tbs Rum (as for chocolate cheesecake recipe)
1  tsp Pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, I think)
¾ cup Sugar

As for chocolate cheesecake, heat cream in heavy bottomed saucepan, add pumpkin, stir to thoroughly combine ingredients. Use same steps, as for chocolate cheesecake mixture, to combine and blend remaining ingredients into a smooth and even consistency.

As for the chocolate cheesecake, bake in 350 degree oven and, again, insure internal temperature of at least 160 degrees is reached before removing from oven.

Either of these cheesecakes is enhanced by serving with a hard sauce, raspberry for the chocolate and fig or fig and chocolate for the pumpkin.

* Hat tip to Mr. Michael Heath for his research and publication of this information.
** Rum may be omitted. If it is omitted, use at least one teaspoon of vanilla in its place. If you decide not to use the rum (Flor de Cana, 7 Year Old is an excellent choice) buy it anyway and send it to me—no, better idea, send me $35 and I’ll buy it myself. See, it’s win/win!!

The real news for this past year is that it was great to see many friends and relatives at family events and while visiting their homes. As for MY home; Tim Anderson asked me in a recent e-mail if I had before/after photos of the house. I replied that I only had before/during photos as I have not yet reached the “after”—and I’m not sure I ever will, c’est la construction.

I’m pretty happy, and I hope all of you are as well. Life has some ups and downs, the trick is to ride them both out and remain on as even a keel as possible—something I hope to learn to do sometime soon! I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a stupendous 2011.

Peace and Love, from your favorite dope.

Terry

Well, I'm up early, absurdly early, so I have a few minutes to ruminate and what I want to ruminate about today is teh GAY. I can't imagine what it's like to be gay, any more than I can imagine what it's like to black. I have a number of friends who are gay and "out", I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are not "out", although they are not exactly "closeted", either. I have, to my knowledge, no openly gay relatives; then again, I don't spend a lot of time with my relatives as the nearest of them live about 500 miles away and most live a good deal farther away than that. I was born in 1949 when Jim Crow was the law of the land in the South (and, in practice, in many northern states as well). Black americans were presumed to be inferior and expected to be subservient and respectful of their "betters". People may well argue that this is not the case, they are wrong. When I was in school, at a catholic school with a very low "tuition" (about $12 a year when I was in grade school) there were few if any blacks in our student body--despite the fact that there were many blacks living within walking or busing distance. The church I attended had few black attendees, I don't know if there were any blacks who were parishoners. When I worked at one of several jobs I held as a teenager I worked with whites, almost exclusively. The only blacks I worked with were, in all but one instance, lower on the totem pole than I was--even if I was a new hire. Bigotry and prejudice were common and unremarkable amongst my classmates, my co-workers, my superiors, teachers, public officials and even my own family. I was made aware of my own bigotry when, while riding a public bus, I told a racist joke to some of my companions. They didn't laugh and I turned around to find a large, angry black woman looking sternly at me. She said, "Your mother would be ashamed of you for telling that story.". That was it, she turned away. I felt terrible, initially for being chastised and then, later, for having said what I had said. That incident took place just about 50 years ago and I've been working on acceptance, true acceptance of "the other"--to the point where there is no, "the other", ever since. Gays, or "queers", "homos", "fags" as we called them when I was younger, have had on the one hand, an easier time of "passing" than blacks--so long as they lived in denial of their desire to be genuinely who they are; on the other hand, they are still viewed by many people to be sick, aberrant, immoral or inferior. Gay bashing, literally, was a rite of passage for some jocks when I was in school, as was picking fights with the jewboys down at Central HS (oddly those same heroes rarely went down to the ghetto to look for trouble). Like blacks, gays have contributed much to our society. In the arts and sciences, public service, private business and education many inventions, innovations and improvements in processes have been the work of gay men and women. Like blacks they have often had their contributions downplayed or even ignored. When they have been recognized for their achievements they have often been unable to act as role models for other gays, without there being a backlash from the bigots and they have, in many cases, been subjected to verbal insults and physical threats simply because of their being gay. There is a tendency among us humans to look for a scapegoat, someone to bear the blame for the ills of our society. Down through the years it's been the easily identifiable "other"; the one with the funny name, odd speech patterns, strange customs, "wrong" faith or different skin color. Gays have had to deal with all of this; they have also had to deal with being misunderstood and hated for their sexual orientation--and, when being "out" for that alone. The RCC, many fundamentalist christians and muslims that preach a message of love and tolerance are intolerant, to the extreme of killing in the name of GOD, of those who are openly gay. The same is true of some governments that purport themselves to be inclusive. I am not gay, I'm fairly certain I would not enjoy having sex with a man. That I am not gay and don't think I would enjoy having sex with a man does not mean that I think someone who is gay and enjoys having sex with someone of the same sex is wrong. Consensual sexual relations between two willing adults is fine with me. So is a living arrangement, including a marriage (or a civil union--with exactly the same legal underpinnings) between two willing adults. I don't care what people do when they are in private or public as long as what they are doing is not a violation of the law for one group while it is acceptable for another. The whole DADT thing is, in a nutshell, bullshit; if you can fight and die for your country what difference does it make what you do on your downtime? I've been propositioned, sometimes rather forcefully, by gay men and my thoughts were "Man, what an asshole!" not, "Oh, noes, icky buttseks!". As a gay acquaintance once said when I asked him why the other guy just didn't get that I wasn't gay", "He doesn't care, to him, you're just a piece of meat." . In other words, he was just dealing with me the way a lot of guys deal with women--he didn't care about anything but his own wants. I got it. This piece is not intended to sway those who are afraid of, and therefor hate, gay people. They need professional help. If it makes those who already "tolerate" teh GAY move a little more in the direction of genuine acceptance, that would be a good thing.

Another, "What, me Racist?", kinda moment for Teabaggism

This story (http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/local_news_articles/20100915/Naches-Tea-Partier-defends-float-deamed-%22racist%22) watch the video was one I originally read about over at our stalwart commander Jesus' General's blog but I just thought it belonged here. I posted the rather lengthy, spittle-flecked diatribe (but no 'backy juice stains, momma!) at ScienceBlogs after sending the note to Massa Groening. _______________________________________________________________________ Excerpt of original post at JG: I sent Mr. Groenig a note (which follows) in an e-mail. He has not had time to answer, as yet. "Kirk: It’s terrible that the Organs of the Security State came and shut down your tribute to MurKKKin values and beat you and your fellow parade goers before throwing you into the oubliette of picked on, upstanding KKKristians whose only REAL crime is not that they exercised their 1st Amendment rights to portray their abject ignorance and racist hatred--no, no, that's the Teabaggist Way--their only crime is really more of a dress code violation. Nobody in the video (or at least the 40 or seconds that I watched) was wearing a pointy hood or a "Backwoods Burqa"... no style, my man, no style at all. Oh, wait! I just heard that the Obamagoons DIDN'T attack the parade ala Bull Connors and the Selma police. Damn, ain't that a bitch, here you go to alla that trouble to try to be a martyr and the MAN just ignores your ass. What's a bigot to do? Oh, noes, according to a wire story out of Yakima, WA, which I saw in the Boston Herald (a liebral piece of crap rag, if ever saw one) you said, "'"It’s ridiculous when people say it is racism. I reject any of that,". Of course it's not racism, anymore than slavery in this country was anything but a jobs training program for those poor, iggerant darkies. Keep it up, dude, you and your fellow patriotesticles are showing the way to better gummint and, as a byproduct, closing the gulf of misunderestimating the genuine rage over nonexistent or manufactured problems that your corporate overlords have directed you to protest against. Hey, I notice Hanford ain't but a tactical nuke blast zone or so away from Naches (I admit I thought it was "Nachos" at first and couldn't figure out how them Obamexicans had got all the way up there), you're not drinking the local water are you? Just wondering." And, because I DO learn from reading the comments here (well some of them, anyway) I had to tack this on. "General, Sir: Per Kirk's (did you know, Sir, that "Kirk" is a germanic name based on the word for "church". Hmmm, y'know who also had a German name? Yep, Adolph Hitler) Facebook page, he's got something called "safemoneyguy.com." that he prolly makes a lotta money at." Additional diatribble from ScienceBlogs: Michael Heath: Are you auditing a 5 or 600 level "Snark" course. Your knowledge and scholarship are still showing but the invectiveindex, while still on the civil side of the "fuckyouasshat,shutcherpiehole!" red line it is trending up and the slope is getting steeper. Good show, my man, good show! Mr. James Hanley. You seem to keep better tabs on the "Internets" award program than other people here. Has Michael Heath ever won one? Cuz, if he has I should get a piece of it--and if he hasn't, he should win one or, maybe 11, and I should get at least one whole one for guiding him into snarkitude. Fuck getting those neo-nancyboys laid--I haven't met a woman (including the three that threw me out of their houses) that I dislike enough to wish that on them. Well, I mean there are Mickey Malkin, Little Offend Annie Coulter, Lowrent Ingram, Dr. Loudrant Schittslinger, Phulla Shitfly and the rest of the FauxNews Babes and the GOP's Batshit KKKrazzee Female AuxiliaryShit, but: A: I gotta pretty strong feeling they wouldn't take one for the "Heimmannschaft" (there are other german words for "team", but this one was too unintentionally risque to pass up). B: Neo-nazis, even AryanZona neo-nazis--bloody hell, even ILLINOIS neo-nazis!! have some standards about who they'll have sex with. Oneathesedays, I gotta getta life. _________________________________________________________________________ Groening IS a racist--perhaps unconciously, but a racist, none the less--and a typical Teadouchebag. I'm not a democrat so I don't gotta wail and gnash my teeth too much about their complacency, stupidity or moral cowardice in this situation or the hundreds of others like it that have played out since the inmates took over the asylum that is the RNC. It is certainly apparent, if it wasn't before, that governance is not the goal of the GOP; the goal is to win an election, any election, at any cost.

Special needs, special people

I spent a large part of yesterday afternoon, at a "backyard barbecue for the families of special needs children. At around 2:30, after I had been coaxing smiles out of kids--kids whose entire thought process is a complete mystery to me--so we could have some photos for the folks, we took a group photo. Fifty or so Special Needs kids and about an equal number of siblings and parents. I'm on a stepladder yelling that they all need to "LOOK AT ME!". I shot maybe 20 frames. Initial inspection tells me I got a few good ones. Several of the organizers and volunteers said they were quite surprised at my being able to get the majority of the Specials to even face me, never mind smile, or give me "thumbs up". I was not. Those kids, for all of their difficulties in communicating, functioning at a level deemed "societally" acceptable, learning or even, in some cases, feeding themselves are reachable and teachable. I wish I could use one of those photos, take it to some of the other "group" shoots I do and show it the people that are pissing and moaning about having to spend a moment or two getting the photo done for whatever purpose. Show them the picture. Tell them that those kids, stranded somewhere that I can't go, are doing better than they are at this. Not to shame them, but to make it plain that there is such a gulf between those of us blessed with "normalcy" and these special people--and it's a gulf across which they can, in most cases, only gaze, if they even notice it. We can cross it, even if they don't see us or hear us--they know we're there. They CAN feel love. I can't use any of those photos, issues of privacy and my own sense of fairness prohibit that. The other thing about the event was that it was held at the estate (and I do mean estate) of the local political kingpin's family. They are old school Republicans and I saw them as humans, something I was not prepared for. They didn't merely open the gates and provide some space. They worked the event and spent time with kids, parents, staff and volunteers. I'm fairly certain that the assemblyman knows my politics and I very definitely know his. But, he and I share the notion that it's not just about controlling costs, it's about serving those who need help.

John DeNugent--Racist without a clue.

I decided to just cut'n'paste another piece of my own from elsewhere because although it's parody I think most individuals with a brain will understand that, and will also understand that I actually am not a racist. I do however concede that some readers and unwelcome commenters here seem unable to grasp the concept so I just felt it necessary to state this upfront. Before we get to my autoplaigarized work, I need to tell those who don't know about this fella, John DeNugent, a little background. He has been a white nationalist for at least 25 years. Stormfront used to "heart" him big time for his Aryammering. He don't like him some ("all" would probably be a fair statement) juden and "mud people". He does go on about how countries like France are being, well, fucked out of existence the darkones. He's a loon and so of course, some folks like him for president! The following was originally a comment on this thread: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/09/de_nugent_continues_his_idiocy.php#comments over at ScienceBlogs. Dear Mr. deNugentodemento: The democommie family traces its proud lineage back to William the Conquerors little known adopted halfstep-brother, Baldric the used longboat salesman (a hint for longboat buyers, don't pay any attention to that prat who's keening about the beautiful new, 100% irish linen sails, or the nifty little "cap'ns sauna" on the fantail. Look at the tholepins and you'll know just how many laps around the Baltic this puppy's run!). The family tree, rather gracelessly referred to as a "weed, a weed what needs rootin' out, guvnor!" by some detractors, includes many branches, some burls, a few gauls (or galls?) and beautiful blonde leaves--but with very dark roots. We are of all three Irish colors, green, orange and black. There's a couple of welshmen and at least one alsatian in the mix (a nice granny lady, not the horrible guard dog of so many WWII Stalag films) so we are, generally, of pure british stock. However, careful and wishful genetical research leads me to the inescapable (as well, unprovable) conclusion that at least one of my forebears was a Kenyalizardofascist--quite possible Obama's father's great-great to the nth reptilodaddy. Me and Obama aren't just homies, dudes, we're brothers! And, since the presidency will now be an hereditary post--I could be next in line!! Dude if you think those muslimofascistkenyalizardo people are a bitch to deal with, wait until you have me, a pudgy, KKKrackerKKKrazee (just not racist)-- whiter than the insides of an Aroostook County spud--telling my fellow Murkyones that it's not just okay to messugahnasty with all hues and colors, but their patriotical duty, as well, too. Bring it on, you albionalbinoasshole git! Posted by: democommie | September 12, 2010 8:29 AM BTW, I love GAY people AND your general run-o-the-mill religionist or atheist a whole lot more than I like gunnutz--and in pretty much the same way that I love my brothers and sisters. That is to say that though I may disagree with things they do and say, I heartily support their right to do and say them--as well as their practice of doing so--as long as it is legaln(assuming "legal" to mean "constitutional") and ethical.

From me to you.

Happy Labor Day. I wonder if the Reichtards understand the meaning of the holiday. They like to shout that "Freedom isn't free", but I wonder if they know that they have commies like Samuel Gompers and the rest of that commie cabal that formed the first labor unions in this country to thank--for getting them the day off.

The new Selma

At some time over this past weekend (8-28/10--8/29/10) heavy construction equipment which was parked on the proposed site of an Islamic Center (not just a "mosque" as it seems to have been characterized by opponents with the full compliance of the SCLM) in Murfreesboro, TN was doused with an "accelerant" and at least one vehicle burned. Google Maps says that from 51 Park Place (not Hallowed'n'Holy Ground Zero--H'n'HGZ), Borough of Manhattan, NYC, USA!USA!!USA!!! Zip Code 11llty1!, is 886.03+/- from Murfreesboro, TN. So, it seems that while we may not know how far away from H'n'HGZ a MOSQUE has to be in order to not OFFEND the sensibilities of KKKristian MerKKKa we do know that a bit under 900 Googlemapped miles is just not enough. I am beginning to wonder if Memphis, Egypt UAR is far enough away from Memphis, TN or if Mecca and Medina (both in Saudi Arabia) are far enough away from their namesakes in CA, NY and Ohio to not cause offense--those filthy ayrabs want to steal our country--they already done stolet the names of our cities. Oh, shit, I almost forgot about Cairo, IL ('sides they pronounce it KayRo down there). It's just too much to expect that the poor, persecuted WhiteMerKKKans will not rise up and cast off their chains of bondage, rout the infidel and carry this Holy Crusade to the very gates of--oops, 'scuse me, I was speaking raytorikly. Anyhow. I just think that it is a very good idea and a civic duty to remind the folks who see the Mooslims as the OTHER (and an other that has a big shiny sword, a big hooked nose and a few "dirty" bombs secreted about his person and in his hollowed out Koran) that they are carrying forward the good work done by the likes of Bull Connor and those brave citizens and auxiliary members of the KKK who "terminated with extreme prejudice" those three commiejewoutsideagitatin' n*****lovers before they could ruin a century of amicable, separate but equal (har, har) law for blacks and real people./s Seriously, I am at the point where when people say "those people" I gotta ask them if they slept through history class or their own pre-1964 life. That we, a nation (supposedly) of laws, should think that others, with whom we do NOT share common religious beliefs, should be deprived of the freedom to practice theirs is morally reprehensible--as well as the fact that it stands the first amendment on its head. One more thing to note. This guy: http://www.nndb.com/people/936/000031843/ is listed as being a Roman Catholic. His occupation is "terrorist". He blew up a building filled with, afaia, 168 people who were NOT muslims. I guess that's why it's OKAY to have a statue of guess who? "On a corner adjacent to the memorial is a sculpture of Jesus weeping erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church. St. Joseph's, one of the first brick and mortar churches in the city, was almost completely destroyed by the blast. The statue is not part of the memorial itself but is popular with visitors nonetheless." But is JESUS weeping for all those killed by Timmy or is he weeping for Timmy, himself?

If it's your own work, is it still "cut'n'pasted"?

Happy Saturday, Dear readers: I been spending way too much time arguing with GODbot boneheads, but the following comment to a gent who signs as "oitotheworld23" (and people think I have a weird handle?) is representative of what's in this comment thread: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/08/terrible_arguments_against_pro.php over at SciencBlogs. Have a great weekend. @ comment 117 Dear OinkyoinkRevelations3:5-16: Well, when you put it that way... Scuse me for being rude, asshole. The problem with GODbots like you is that you make a special pleading, based on YOUR particular idea of what YOUR sects superstitious belief in an invisible SkyDaddy wants the world to be like. You might take a look at any law, ordinance passed or ruling handed from ANY U.S. legislative body or court* and see if you can find a phrase, "Wherefore, it being the WILL OF GOD...". I'd wait for you to do some research, but research seems not to be your forte. The result of your search would be fruitless. The reason for that search being fruitless is that the U.S. Constitution prohibits such nonsense in fairly clear language. Not that you'd agree with it, but I am not seeking your agreement. One of the things that fairly clearly illustrates the lack of critical thinking in the minds of dolts like you is that your GOD is on the one hand the "GOD Of The 3 O's"** who can AND will make the world in whatever image he deems appropriate (reserving the right to capriciously change his own "perfection" at times and places of his choosing) and YET you insist that he needs YOUR help in getting it right! Talk about hubris. Man if there was such a place as hell, being ruled by a being known as Satan (or any of his other labels), based on the way you and folks like you disrespect the wisdom of your GOD's actions, I'd suggest you all get your coffins with air conditioning and make sure they're fireproof. You don't like teh GAY? I got no problem with that. I heartily dislike KKKristian assholes like you. I would prefer not to hear, see or read about you and your ilk's nonsensical bleating on such subjects as gay marriage, the imminent demise of western culture via gay marriage, abortion, duckass haircuts***, engineer boots with metal cleats****, pegged trousers*****, halter tops, women's suffrage, etc., ad nauseam. So, as you can see (or, quite possibly, you can't) we all got us some differences of OPINION with each other. My differences with you do not make it legal for me to discriminate against you and deprive you of your right to be a clueless moron on the subject of other peoples' rights, under the U.S. Constitution. I realize that you have a hard time understanding this line of thought--your previous comments have made that fact abundantly clear. I DO sincerely hope that you live your life according to whatever marching orders you are given by your minister, priest or whatever middle manager your faith employs to bullshit the rank and file into submissiveness. I also sincerely hope that you stay the hell out of meddling in other peoples' lives (a forlorn hope, I'm fairly sure) and confine your attempts at eradicating "sin" to your own dark and twisted psyche. If I thought for a second that saying, "Fuck you, your church AND your precious GOD!" would make you go away and quit wasting the time of those who read your idiotic, logically fallacious and hatefully sanctimonious comments--while you, in the best tradition of "True Bleevers(TM)" refuse to actually, y'know, educate yourself instead of regurgitating the "received wisdom" spewed from the pulpits of your churches, the pages of your "newspapers" and the pieholes of Rush, Sean, the FauxNewsTeam and the rest of the reichwing disinformation apparatus. I suspect, however, that saying, "Fuck you, your church AND your precious GOD" will only further energize that fevered little brain of yours--so I won't say that. Since you did call me a "bigot" already (although I think you are not clear on the meaning of the word) I guess I should say, "Go fuck yourself!"--although I have to admit that saying it like this robs it of most of its immediacy and makes it less pungent and smackalicious. But, hey, if you're gonna be called a sinner, you may as well do the sinnin'. What is it that they used to say in my church? Oh, yeah, "Ite in pace", in english (the original language of the Wholly Babble) "Go in peace". Well, I certainly hope you'll go, in peace or not, just fuck off, m'kay? * Any, that is that has not been or will not be judged unconstitutional. ** Those "3 O's" = Omnniscient, Ompnipotent amd Omnipresent. Personally I subscribe to the theory of the "GOD Of The Three I's", the "Three I's" = Inscrutable, Invisible and Imaginary. ***,****,***** Okay, those three were only part of the dress code at MY Cath-O-Lick HS--eventually they got us all in to uni's. There were other rules about conduct that were equally nonsensical, but I digress--MAN, do I digress! Posted by: democommie | August 7, 2010 9:06 AM

Good Morning: I was trying to decide on what to write about, there is just SO much that is fucked up and so little that I can do about most of it. I spend a fair amount of time at "Dispatches From The Culture Wars", Ed Brayton's site at ScienceBlogs and there's been a thread running for two days under the headline, "Sign at NOM Rally; "Kill the Gays". In that thread a number of bright, articulate, humorous and well read commenters have said their piece--I have also contributed.--and then, of course, the usual "defe nders of the faith" and an assortment of fuckwadtrolls have put forth their arguments, some coherently and some in the "Crayon on butcher paper" style of debate. It's a long thread, but it has some great stuff. This one, from earlier this morning, is as close as I get to the "polite discourse" of behavio, which I find so sadly lacking in our fucking culture.

(@ comment 253)

James Hanley:

This is from Wiki:

"Intellectual dishonesty is dishonesty in performing intellectual activities like thought or communication. Examples are: the advocacy of a position which the advocate knows or believes to be false or misleading the conscious omission of aspects of the truth known or believed to be relevant in the particular context. Rhetoric may be used to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence.[1] If a person is aware of the evidence and agrees with the conclusion it portends, yet advocates a contradictory view, they commit intellectual dishonesty. If the person is unaware of the evidence, their position is ignorance, even if in agreement with the scientific conclusion. If the person is knowingly aware that there may be additional evidence but purposefully fails to check, and then acts as though the position is confirmed, this is also intellectual dishonesty. The terms intellectually dishonest and intellectual dishonesty are often used as rhetorical devices in a debate; the label invariably frames an opponent in a negative light. The phrase is also frequently used by orators when a debate foe or audience reaches a conclusion varying from the speaker's on a given subject. This appears mostly in debates or discussions of speculative, non-scientific issues, such as morality or policy." Not that Wiki is the most authoritative source, but I think it's close enough for what I think of Christian Cynic's style of debate on issues re: christianity. That I see it in that light certainly doesn't mean I'm correct, but it is, as is your opinion of the man, one I see buttressed by his words in the comment threads. I will also note that Christian Cynic does not spend a lot of time on the comment threads unless the issue in the thread is christianity. I defer to others (occassionally;)) in the face of superior knowledge. When it comes to factually deficient, woo based nonsense--whether it's flat earth theory, ID, other religious based foolishness or religions themselves I am firmly in favor of people holding whatever views they like (while I am NOT interested in reading/hearing them, generally). What I will never be in favor of is having arguments from those defending such things allowed the advantage of not having to admit that NONE of their precious religions (or those religions tenets, laws and practices) are justified by anything other than their own dogged belief in a supernatural agent--on (or more) who is invisible, unknowable and, apparently, irrationally capricious. I think that the majority of the non-trolls here understand that Mosaic Law was probably of some, or a great deal of, importance, in a time, the "Bronze Age", when rough justice and arbitrary rulemaking by those in power might well make the difference between a society thriving or dying out. That is no longer the case. When people like heddle and Christian Cynic defend the Wholly Babble as a masterwork by an omniscient GOD, while simultaneously saying that, of course "reasonable" christians don't follow the admonitions of The Book of Leviticus it rings hollow. Science is, and must be falsifiable; religious faith is not and cannot be falsifiable. To allow those whose arguments are "faith based" to act as if they are based in fact is unfairly advantageous to them. Most commenters here would laugh and point their fingers at anyone whose sole "evidence" rebutting the theory of AGW, the germ theory of disease, theoretical nuclear physics or any of a host of other real world fact based "theories" was that "GODDIDIT"--and we can't, by our nature, know his mind. This is exactly as it should be. I have no complaint with heddle, Christian Cynic or even the more than slightly deranged mroberts and his ilk holding onto and cherishing any beliefs that do not threaten me or the rest of society in their application. I have a huge problem with such beliefs when they are used to justify the withholding of rights from or the persecution or exclusion of other members of our society. I don't cut Republicans or Democrats slack when they say that folks like Sarah Palin or Charlie Rangel are outliers and, anyway, they would never act on any of their idiotic sociopathic ideas. When christians, other religious types or, indeed, unbelievers don't denounce the douchebags in their midst--particularly when said douchebags are well funded and have the tacit support of media or governing bodies they are being -best co-opted and, at worse, accessories to the acts of those douchebags.

Posted by: democommie August 1, 2010 10:11 AM

And that, folks, is the way I genuinely feel about those who stand mute in their churches or political meetings (at any level) and do not question or disagree with the elements of their congregation or caucus that are hateful, wrongheaded, deliberately indignorant "true believers". If there was a GOD, I would pray that he educate, elevate OR eliminate his most credulous followers--and the lying sacks of shit that egg them on. '

Is there a stronger word than irony?

I was talking to someone yesterday afternoon, someone who had a lot of teabaggerist rage against the Obamachine. He was a veteran, as am I; he remembers when the USofA was a "REAL" country and he hates the way money is wasted by the idiots in Washington and how we can't just "walk into any country with our heads held high" (because we can't kick everybody's ass, all the time?). It was not a lot of fun to listen to as it was a.) somewhat unhinged ranting and b.) devoid of any substantive argument. Nothing but Rushboist talking points and credulous boobery of a very low order. I try to be polite in these situations--particularly when I'm standing in someone's dooryard trying to get a piece of information. However, when I have some snopesian derelict, living in a singlewide that, quite honestly, is NOT suitable for human habitation--unless, perhaps, the resident's last home was one of the Rio Favellas--telling me that my country has "lost its way", the Iron-O-Master just gets fuckin' smoked, knowudimean? It is a fact of life that each and every generation sees that preceding it as too dumb to grasp the obvious and the one succeeding it as lazy, shiftless, disrespectful and incapable of changing those qualities in themselves. I certainly have to cop to some of those thoughts when I look at the world around me but WTF? Barack Obama, warts and all--and he seems to have a new one every day--is, after 2-1/2 years in office looking like a genuine leader. I disagree with many of the things he's done and am quite pissed off about a number of things I wish he WOULD do and that he hasn't. The notion, however that the country is in a death spiral because of his mistakes/crimes against teabagmanity or any of the other bullshit that I hear from the deliberately uneducated fools or, frankly, flat out lying bastards who simply hate that they didn't win--and a BLACK man did, is just that, bullshit. I proposed, in a moment of lighthearted cynicism (now THAT'S an oxymoron) some years back, that we should have a third party. That party, the "Thin The Herd Party" would be made up of really, truly, serious, dedicated, no nonsense, rock ribbed pragmatarians--like me--who would adopt as their one and only campaign plank, the following: "That each of us should--to the desired and necessary end of providing for a civil, educated, intelligent and reasoned discourse between genuinely committed and concerned individuals on the MERITS of prospective policy, procedures, appointed officials and politicians to both represent and legislate in we, the peoples' best interest--strive to eradicate, at a rate of one per party member, per week, those useless idiots who clog up the machinery of polity and impede a just and hardworking populace from achieving true freedom, fraternity and eqaulity." As you might imagine, this platform would be opposed--by those same useless bastards that we seek to extirpate throughout their range. I knew that the process would be quite painful for some of us, pitting brother against brother, sons against fathers, daughters against mothers, cousins agains...well, you get the picture. I must admit however that I was a bit unnerved when the friend to whom I suggested my brilliant plan, looked at me and said, "What if you're someone else's USELESS bastard.". So, okay, it needs work....

Travellin' man

I've been visiting my brother in Colorado this week. It's always nice to spend time with him and his family. He's a considerate and generous host (I belong to the "skipped sibling" group in that situation). I arrived on monday afternoon and we spent the afternoon and evening shooting the shit and relaxing. Tuesday we took care of a few chores and then a couple of my other siblings arrived and it got much louder (these two make me look like a monk who's taken a vow of silence). Wednesday we did some more chores and then drove down to Littleton, about 40 miles of bad traffic from Longmont, to partake in a short wedding rehearsal and a longer rehearsal dinner. We got back to my brother's house at about 10:00 PM and there were more siblings and in-laws there. Everybody else sat around yakking for a while but I was feeling out of sorts and decided to go to bed. About fifteen minutes after I got in bed I was offering obeisance to the circular file and then the porcelain god. First time I've puked since my thirties, but my belly was trying to make up for lost time. Food poisoning, for the second time, at a family wedding. Last time I wound up in the hospital--the night before my goddaughter's wedding--and missed everything. That was not an option this time as I was the photographer of record. Thank the universe for immodium and GatorAde. The wedding was wonderful--two nice kids getting married, tons of screaming little ones, lots of nice adults, a notable absence of fuckheads and assholes. I was feeling pretty crappy but it all worked out. Lots of fun, some great photos and family time with everybody. Yesterday was a 65th b'day party for my sister, Fran. That was majorly fun, too, as my sister Pat is the MC (Mistress of Ceremonies) and that girl likes to engineer the fun. I woke up this morning feeling a bit better and spent a lot of the day burning a bunch of CD's and DVD's for all the sibs and other interested parties. Then I took a short ride up to Estes Park, looked at the mountains, watched a variety of ground squirrels and chipmunks scamperingf around--while thinking truly evil thoughts about them and their treerat brethren and came back to my brother's place. Another smaller gathering just got going here (only 25 people) and I gotta go mingle--more later... The photos of the pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding festivities were a hit with all parties concerned, which makes me very happy. These family functions are always "pig out" events but, due to my recent technicolor yawn experience I looked at each piece of food before I put it on my plate, thinking all the while, HWJFIHHTWTCBU? (How Would Jesus Feel If He Had To Watch This Come Back Up?)--rimshot! Hey, I'll be here all week, try the veal--but make damned sure it's been cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, capice?

The reading list

I have been reading myself to sleep for years and I also have books stashed all over the house and in my car for those moments that I don't have something else requiring attention. My current reading list includes the following: "The Eighth Dwarf " by the late Ross Thomas. I recently finished his "Cast a Yellow Shadow". His stuff is fun to read; interesting characters and semi-believable plots. "Pretty Boy Floyd" by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Just started it, but it already feels like McMurtry. One of my favorites by him is "Roads--Driving America's Great Highways". "Emperor Of The Air" by Ethan Canin. It's too early to say what I think about it. "Comfort Me With Apples" by Ruth Reichl. I used to read Ruth's stuff when she was at Gourmet magazine and always enjoyed it. The book is the literaru equivalent of comfort food. "Hardcore Troubador--The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle" by Lauren St. John. Talk about suffering for your art! "The China Lover" by Ian Buruma. An historical fiction about a Japanese woman's life from being born in Manchuko in the 1930's through the turbulence of WWII and the postwar period in both Japan and the U.S. There are several other books that have disappeared for the moment, buried under a pile of the detritus of construction. I'll find them when I sweep! Nothing I read is particularly literary, but then I enjoy conversation more than any other activity so conversational books are fine with me.

The world, as small as it has become, is far too big to paint.

I've been trying to keep up with things and it's a losing battle. It seems as if I can't spend enough time working, playing, drinking and blogging to get everything done. Well, the working and playing I can live withuot but the drinking and blogging are IMPORTANT. It seems that some folks (Aaron Kinney, you asshole) don't really understand that their opinions, to which they are most certainly entitled are not the great, fundamental truths that the rest of us live by. Aaron fancies himself to be some sort of rugged individualist who knows how the world should really be run. In that regard he is no different than I am. Where our paths diverge is in our method for illuminating those truths for the rest of mankind. I do so on my blog, in posts, and on other blogs in comments. In the event that the blog's author disagrees with me I will either argue with him civilly, or make fun of him. When said blogowner has made it plain that he will simply delete my comments, I stop leaving comments on that blog. Aaron, whose blog I had never visited prior to this evening, has decided that he will continue to put comments here--comments which I will delete as quickly as I see them. There are a few other folks who think like Aaron and their comments are also deleted as soon as I see them. I don't go to their blogs, though, because I have no desire to drive up their stats. I think in Aaron's case I will make an exception. Now, Aaron may actually give a fuck what his readers see on his blog--I, with my few loyal readers, don't really worry too much about that sort of thing. This isn't really what I thought my next post was going to be about, but, wtf, blogs are life in electrons.

You want someathis?

The "Super Majority" never existed. Okay, we got that out of the way. I have been busy. What with working on my house, doing some pro bono stuff, taking a class (okay, it's only 5 hours on saturday, but it's SCHOOL!) and banging heads with idiots on various blogs, I been bizzzzy. Now the GOP is saying that if the dems cave on everything they will be "bi-partisan" and work together with them to fuck us some more. I am sick to death of the democratic leadership not being able to understand that they can either play the game the reptilicans play or go home at half-time and watch the rest of the game on the teevee. The "loyal opposition" (boy, is that an oxymoron) has demonstrated that they have zero interest in doing anything that won't benefit the people who own the HMO's, insurance companies and Big Pharma. Meantime they have managed to morph the failure of Bushco into Obama's problem. I used to blame this on the pols, but I can see that it's got at least as much to do with the idiots who watch and listen to the talking heads and form their uncritical opinions from the sound bites they get from those folks. I talk to a lot of people who tell me that they don't want to do politics because it's too nasty. Well, fuck that. Yes, it is nasty, but it won't get less nasty because you don't participate. The gunnutz like to make a big deal about how the German people were unable to resist Hitler because he took their gunz away. The reality is this: Hitler took the guns away in 1938, from SOME of the people (jews). The German citizens gave away their rights to self-determination when they failed to resist Hitler's criminal manipulation of the electoral process--between 1929 and 1933. If you don't fight you still lose when the reactionaries take over the government. Be loud and impolite, the GOP has shown that it's a good strategy. BTW, there's apparently a push on by the NRA and it's sturmabteilung to make sure that Starbucks welcomes gun toting latte drinkers into its shops. I think their coffee sucks anyway, but if I liked it I would be in favor of not buying it to see if their support of the rights of a vocal, petulant minority will supercede their desire to make a profit. the gunnutz say a boycott would never work. Maybe, maybe not, I'm not going to be one of their customers.