Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion

The New York Liberal blog has taken note of a fun protest scheduled for April 29th in New York City that seems to be suffering from the progressive malady of compulsive inclusion of every issue known to the Nation Magazine in a single demonstration.

This March for Peace, Justice and Democracy has been organized by a cornucopia of progressive political groups, and it looks it. The March attempts to end:

I’m not sure how accurate this is, but this morning after I cooked breakfast (chicken marsala [not the average breakfast]) my dad got onto me about the fact that I’d bought some styrofoam cups a while back.

When I’d bought them, I checked them to make sure I could recycle them. In fact, I have one of those little white bastards right next to me now and it has a triangle made from three arrows and a little 6 right in the middle. Last I checked, that was a mark put on things that you could recycle. Now I am one of those people who likes styrofoam cups. It has a nice texture, it won’t slip out of my hand as easy when it gets wet from condensation, it keeps my drink cool or warm for a long, long time compared to glass or plastic, and from the markings, you can recycle them.

Apparently, that’s not the case as told to me by my dad, who has dealt with the recycling company that the city contracts to. From what he told me; the company won’t take plastic sacks, styrofoam cups, or cardboard. This seemed stupid to me, after all, isn’t the point of recycling to recycle those things with that little triangle on them?

The recycling company is more than happy to take aluminum and plastic. I had to wonder why, but then I thought; aren’t those the most profitable things to recycle? I can’t help but think that is the only reason why this company would take some materials and not others. Am I alone in this theory?

If this is the case, I can only shake my head and think: well, this is Oklahoma I live in. I still have yet to hear a policy enacted by the local government that makes sense to me. Maybe I’m just too liberal?

~ Damen

P.S. This is my first diary post.

Senator John McCain is running hard to earn the affection of radicals among the religious right. He’s giving Jerry Falwell, of all people, a big kiss on the cheek, and agreeing to give a speech friendly to religious radicals at Liberty University.

John McCain says that he wants Christian fundamentalists who oppose the teaching of evolution and favor mixing church and state to have a major role to play in Republican politics. McCain is now working in coordination with Jerry Falwell, to help Falwell advance his agenda. “We agreed to move forward,”, said McCain.

Thanks to Paul Krugman at the New York Times for bringing this story to light, but thanks for nothing to the New York Times for placing that article in a “select” category of news that readers have to pay a special cover charge to see. The New York Times - all the news that’s fit for people with money.

Oi. It’s very personal, but when a man is challenged by his wife, what’s he supposed to do? Go put on a pair of bunny slippers and give up?

Heck no. Tonight, my wife has been reading some of what I write on Irregular Times, and she has let me know that she thinks I’m being too crabby.

She wants me to let you know that I don’t know everything, and that I’m not right all the time, and that I don’t have the answer for everything, and that I don’t always know what the truth is.

Why don’t you write that on one of your blogs, smart aleck? she said to me. I’ll bet that will get a couple of comments.

Anyone care to prove her right?

Even irregular husbands get nagged.

Oh, how very banal of me.

Thanks to Frank Mullen for forwarding to us his copy of a letter sent to him by the staff of Barack Obama on behalf of the United States Senator. In this letter, Barack Obama tries to explain why he has defended George W. Bush, and refused to help Senator Russell Feingold advance a resolution of censure.

Obama’s letter boils down to these two points:

1. President Bush broke the law:

“No president should be allowed to knowingly and willing flout our laws, and I believe the President exceeded his authority with his domestic wiretapping program. The justifications offered – that the president possesses inherent presidential authority under Article II, or was granted that authority in the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force — seem to contradict prior precedent and our constitutional design.”

2. I’m not going to do anything about it, even though the Senate has the authority to legally try the President for his crimes, and censure him or remove him from office.

“Ultimately, this debate must be resolved by the courts.”

Senator Obama, I’m going to put this in plain words so that no one can mistake my meaning: You are being a coward.

It is not the place of the courts to decide whether President George W. Bush broke the law. The Constitution of the United States is very clear on this matter. It is the power of the Senate to put the President on trial for high crimes.

But the thing is, Senator Obama, Russ Feingold isn’t even proposing putting George W. Bush on trial. He’s only calling for a censure. A censure doesn’t require a trial, or a finding by the courts. The Senate has the power to censure the President whenver it finds that the President has behaved in a grossly inappropriate manner.

You know this, Senator Obama, but you refuse to act. Shame on you.

Stop being a coward, Senator Obama. Co-sponsor the resolution by Russ Feingold to censure George W. Bush.

Yesterday, Senator John McCain was giving a political speech in front of the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department, when he blasted American workers as lazy, ungrateful people incapable of doing a good day’s work

Senator McCain said it was necessary for farmers to employ illegal aliens because American workers are too lazy and wimpy. McCain thought that he was being clever when he rhetorically offered to pay anyone in the audience 50 dollars an hour to pick lettuce.

McCain was surprised when members of the audience took him up on the offer, saying they’d be happy to work for that kind of pay. McCain then pulled back and refused to honor the deal, saying that American workers just can’t hack it. “You can’t do it, my friends,” he said to the audience.

Jeez, what a jerk. We’re supposed to support John McCain for President when he runs around insulting American workers like that? What’s next? Is he going to call American mothers a bunch of stupid whores?

Keep it up, Senator McCain. Soon, no one will have to bother campaigning against you.

Yesterday was an interesting day, to be sure. I woke up around down to the sounds of rain falling. Not much, but we’re finally starting to get some. After a while, I went back to sleep and woke up a couple hours later and the wind was howling. This was something of a shocker, even for someone who’s used to high winds.

My dad and I went for a ride to the lake and the wind had kicked up so much dust that the horizon was a dark brown. I couldn’t see across the lake clearly, the shore on the other side was hidden behind the sand. A power plant about 5 or 7 miles away which was usually clearly visible was little more than a tan outline. The wind blew so hard that I’m still rubbing sand out of my eyes.

Before the forums went down, a topic was posted about discussing the strange weather we’re having. this aptly belongs in that thread. This is what happens during global warming: not only do we have a bad drought but high winds will turn my town into something that is darkly reminiscent of the Great Dust Bowl. The winds will blow away the topsoil and render the ground infertile.

Before I was concerned, but now I’m worried.

~Damen

This conversation between reporters covering the White House and Scott McClellan was released on October 2, 2003. It details White House spokesman Scott McClellan getting testy about people asking questions about anything other than whether someone in the White House leaked classified documents. McClellan called the accusations that anyone in the White House leaked classified information “unsubstatiated” and a “disservice”.

McClellan whined about people trying to change the subject away from whether anyone in the White House leaked classified information. He said that was “moving the goalposts”. Well, how come Scott McClellan and the White House aren’t standing by those goalposts now?

“Look, we recognize that, certainly, there are people who have made some unsubstantiated accusations of the White House leaking classified information. More recently they have been forced to back away from those unsubstantiated accusations. Now you see what happens here in Washington, D.C. Some have, all of a sudden, decided to move the goalpost and sensationalize this issue for a political — for partisan political gain. We recognize –

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, there are some people that are making unsubstantiated allegations and unsubstantiated rumors about the White House leaking classified information. And some of those people have been forced to back away from that, and then all of a sudden they move the goalpost and focus on another issue that’s not the subject of the investigation. “

This comes through Our Tomorrow:

Testifying before Congress, United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to rule out the possibility that the government is spying on Americans by listening in on telephone calls within the United States… between one American citizen and another American citizen… even if they aren’t suspected of breaking the law… without any search warrant.

Here’s my zen koan for the day then:

What is the sound of the President ripping the constitution to shreds?

(hint: It’s the same sound made by one hand clapping)

So, now we hear that George W. Bush regards Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a new Adolf Hitler. Is my imagination failing me, or wasn’t Saddam Hussein supposed to be our generation’s new Adolf Hitler?

Or was it Osama Bin Laden? Or Milosevic? Or Manuel Noriega? Or Moammar Quadaffi?

Damn, it’s hard to keep track of all these new Hitlers we have to keep defeating. You kick one Hitler in the head, and another one pops up in another country, just in time for another war.

Has Bill O’Reilly proclaimed Barabara Streisand the new Hitler yet?

It’s getting to be like a fashion, this new Hitler thing: Oooh, darling! Have you seen this year’s new Hitler? It’s simply divine!

Of course, here at home in America, we don’t need a new Hitler to go around bashing gays and foreigners, in good old Nazi style.

Ah, me. So, who is the new Goebbels? How about a new Mussolini? Has George W. Bush picked out a new Idi Amin?

Two quotes from James Madison on the relationship between national defense (read homeland security) and tyranny:

“”The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.”

“If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”

If James Madison saw this clear pattern in history hundreds of years ago, then how can we in the 21st century fail to see its effects around us in the present? In matters of democracy and liberty, it seems that many Americans have not learned from the wisdom of past generations.

Gerard Reve, one of the greatest Dutch writers died last week. He was catholic and gay.

“But the bible is against this” a journalist once told him, “If you reason that way, you have to be against women’s voting rights and start burning witches again… the bible is can hold up to criticism, but it can’t hold up to the heresy of literalism.”

 

 

Rounding out our Irregular Times series of satirical renditions of the power of pride bumper sticker, I have these two, added to the Irregular Goods shop just today.

Many people have thoroughly documented the many ways in which the Iraq War was justified with lies. People have demanded a more honest approach in the future.

In that spirit, I offer these as a first draft at what honest pro-war bumper stickers might look like.

Power of Torture Bumper Sticker

Power of Lies Bumper Sticker

Do you think that the pro-war bunch will be willing to put these on the backs of their cars and trucks?

Everybody sing together now: Yes, I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m… uh… secure!

My wife and I just got done wrangling through my family’s tax forms, and I have to say that, on the whole, I feel better for having done it - although I put it off for three months. I hate doing the paperwork, but I really enjoy the feeling of actually paying the taxes. That’s saying a lot for me, because, as a self-employed person, I haven’t gotten a return for years. I usually have to write a pretty big check.

I don’t like where all of that tax money goes to. I don’t like that a lot of my money goes war, or to right wing churches that the Bush White House gives big grants to so that they can tell drug addicts that all they need to do to get better is to accept Jesus as lord and savior.

But, the democratic process is about me at least getting a shot at affecting where my tax money goes to. Think paying taxes is rough in America? Please consider how it would feel paying taxes in a dictatorship, where the government wouldn’t tell you a thing about how it was spent, and wouldn’t give you any input into how it should be spent.

I like the idea of all us citizens coming together and chipping in what we can in order to keep our communities, our regions, and our nation in good running order. Right now, much of America is not in good running order, but we do have the opportunity to make run well - if we care enough to heed the call of the duties citizenship.

If you think that America’s going to work well just if you go to work, pay your taxes, and mind your own business, you’re missing the point. Taxes are only half the dues we citizens must pay in order for our democracy to function. The most important contributions we have to give to America come from our hearts and minds.

Don’t be a chump. Make paying your taxes worth it. You wouldn’t buy a television set and then never bother to turn it on, would you? Neither should you pay taxes and then pay no attention to what your government is really using that tax money for. Make damn sure you’re getting your money’s worth of democracy, liberty, learning and community - and if you don’t think the government’s holding up its part of the bargain in some way, then do something about it.

A democracy is one immense customer service desk, but you’ve got to step up in order to get your due.

I just finished listening to a radio segment about Salvia Divinorum, an herb from the sage family that is legal to procure and that is apparently hallucinogenic in nature. I’ve never taken it, but am very curious.

Has anyone here taken Salvia Divinorum, or does anyone here know someone who has? I’d be really interested to hear about your experiences with the herb, and to read your recommendations regarding it.

Thanks.

I am a 23 year old US Marine Corp vet, I served four years of my life to try and give somthing back to a country that has given me so much. I watch and I listen as people slander this great nation, watch as they bad mouth our commander and chief, listen as they protest against war. I have also watched as my fellow Marines were injured and killed, I have read how America became the greatest country in the world through war and hardship, how Americans fought to the death just to live free, and through many deaths a country was born, NOT BY PROTESTING AGAINST THE WAR, NOT BY RIOTING, NOT BY MARCHES, BUT BY THE LIVES OF MEN WHO DIED JUST SO THAT YOU CAN SIT HERE TODAY AND SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT ABOUT THIS COUNTRY AND NOT GET SHOT. I pray every day for all those who have no clue what freedom really is.

There are two pieces of news from the 2006 campaign world this morning that lead me to wonder about a basic tenet of commonly-accepted political philosophy: Negative campaigning is a bad, bad thing.

In California, candidate for Governor Steve Westly has launched a petition drive urging all the Democratic candidates not to run negative campaigns. Then, in Georgia, Democratic candidates for governor Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor have sent letters to the independent organization Georgians for Truth, urging the organization not to run negative advertisements against Republican governor Sonny Perdue.

Why?

What the heck is so wrong with pointing out what’s wrong with another politician’s political agenda?

I worry that Democrats have overreacted to the 2004 Swiftboat Veterans for Truth campaign. They’ve forgotten that the problem with the SwiftBoats’ advertisements is not that they were negative, but that they were purposefully deceptive.

Deceptive advertising and negative advertising should be considered separately. After all, it’s quite possible for positive political ads to be deceptive. Running advertisements that point out the negative characteristics of another candidate’s political agenda is not necessarily deceptive at all. In fact, it’s often dishonest not to talk about something negative that’s going on.

The national Democratic Party leadership right now is pushing Democratic candidates for Congress to not talk about impeaching George W. Bush for his crimes. That keeps the tone of the campaigns positive, but does it best serve the American people to avoid talking about how the President of the United States is violating the law?

I say that we need more negative advertising, not less of it.

Alright for those misunderstood by my post let me clarify, first off i am not attacking this web site, I have made it a goal of mine to hear both sides of the story i am not democrat nor republican i am American, I will be more specific on your topics,
1. Slander,
a. Law, Oral communication of false statements injurious to a person’s reputation.
b. A false and malicious statement or report about someone.
yet you sell a bumber sticker that says someone in texas is missing a village idot, hmmm i guess webster was wrong? I dont hear Bush calling people idots? also thats bad mouthing in case you didnt know.

2.protesting against war is like booing your own footbal team, it just dosent make any sense, sure we all disagree on things but you know what if you were president and you had to make descions that would piss people off, i bet youd quit after the first week. Protesting against war is wrong because we as a nation need to support are president, regardless if its difrrent from our opinions. America elected him not you.

3.WHO’S RIOTING! obviously you belive everything the tv says! i stood on my base at 8th and I in washington D.C. dodging bricks being hurled over at us by thousands of anti-war protesters, if you dont belive me go to http://www.mbw.usmc.mil/passinreview/marpir.pdf and look at the picture on the bottom, i was cursed at and spit at, but wait ohh i didnt become a hippy i joined the US Marines to kick some ass! i still support war! OOO-RAH!

4. when i mean shot im saying if you were in russia and u said the things most anti-war people are saying, pal there wouldnt be no little chat group you could discuss it at, you would be shot in the town square. why do u think we went after saddam? for crap like that he tortured hes own brother for not supporting him, and thats what i mean you have no idea how good we have it yeah things dont go our way sure we disagree but we live and that is freedom, freedom of speech is to say what you want with out being killed, not to publicly slander others. AND IN CLOSING WHEN I SAY YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT FREEDOM IS, THAT MEANS YOU HAVE NEVER SERVED YOUR COUNTRY IT IS MY OPINION…..OPINION! THAT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TRUE FREEDOM IS WE ARE SLAVES TO TELEVISION AND MATERIAL THINGS, I THINK THE ONES WHO TRULY KNOW WHAT FREEDOM IS ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE DIED FOR WHAT THEY BELIVED IN NO MATTER WHAT THAT WAS.

Well I see my post has definatly raised some eyebrows, alright here we go my last and final attempt to at least get you to agree to disagree.

1. I was there at Marine Barracks when this happend, and there was trash, cans, bottles thrown every where directed at the base and the brick that was thrown was taken out of a wall around the barracks, belive it or not but i was there im not trying to say your wrong and yes majority of anti-war marches, rallies are peaceful, and the old people you see is the members of the local VFW, they formed a line all the way around the base facing the crowd in between the cones. Look I saw it happen i walked along the sidewalk to get back to my car and I was spit at not on but at, and yes people on both sides do dumb things. It only takes one person to ruin it for everyone else. And Im sorry if you think the slogan “peace is patriotic” is true well honestly I dont know which side your on because we did not win wars by sitting on our ass.
The definition of Patriotic: Feeling, expressing, or inspired by love for one’s country. hmmmmm sounds like to be patriotic is to love your country, maybe even support it? You know what i find truly amazing when 9/11 hit man every one was flying flags and wearing t-shirts with the flag on it saying kick some ass! but wait no no now we are trying to prevent terrorist from getting the upper hand and people say we are wrong or war is not helping America! NOT HELPING!? Notice we have not been invaded by an army since pearl harbor, you know why we havnt because people like George W. Bush is trying to put a stop to terrorism before we have another 9/11 what the hell do you really think Osama if he is still alive or the Mazzari guy are sitting around going well we tried. hell no there just waiting till the time is right. I swear to God I hope your alive if this countries ever invaded youll be kissin Marines boots and thanking them like The REAL AMERICANS today do! good for nothing ungratefull sons of bitches. A Man dies so you can rally and all you can do is say “peace man” “peace is patriotic” you make me sick. OH and to die is to be FREE! yes the ones that died no what freedom is because they gave the ultimate sacrifice the ultimate gift to you, to you so you could rally or do whatever you hippies do oh yeah heres the definition of hippie:
A person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles. HIPPIES!

This is a story I wrote not too long ago for another website. I had made a flippant remark that, when it comes to abortion, this one member of that site had said that he’s against it because a fertilized embryo will become a fully-formed human and therefor to him humans are alive from the time of conception. I has responded with “Saplings will become trees, but that doesn’t stop me from mowing over them. He asked if I were equating trees with humans and I corrected him by saying “No, I’m equating sapplings with a fetus.” He responded by saying “Okay, well, that’s the same thing, as far as I’m concerned.”

The story that follows expands on that line of reasoning.

—

Bob Smith and the Tree Huggers

One bright and sunny weekend Bob Smith was getting some much needed yardwork done. As he was pushing his mower across the grass, a blond man with a beard and wearing a tie-dye T-shirt stopped in front of Bob Smith’s house.
“STOP!” the blond man yelled; “Turn off that mower!”
Bob was curious, so he did as the man said. Now that he could hear over the engine, he inquired; “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you see it?” the man asked and pointed to a patch of ground a few feet in front of the mower.
“See what?” All that he could see was grass.
“That tree you’re about to murder!”
Bob Smith peers long and hard at the patch of ground, but he can not see a tree. He is starting to become convinced that this fellow is a loon; “Buddy, there is no tree there.”
The blond man walked over to the patch of earth, pointing as he went and leaned down until his finger was touching a plant barely a half inch high but visible through the grass; “This tree!” he shouted.
Bob Smith, now looking on in disbelief, turned and glanced at his cherry tree. The plant this man (who Bob was now thinking of as a “Hippie”) was an offshoot of the main cherry tree. He had mowed over many of those saplings before because if he didn’t they would take over his yard and kill off his flower beds.
“That’s not a tree,” he says, “It’s just a sapling. That’s a tree,” He jerked his thumb towards the cherry tree a few feet away.
“It makes no difference,” the hippie said sternly, “A tree is a tree from the moment it sprouts.”
Bob Smith was now tired of this conversation and started up the lawnmower once again, “It’s not a tree, it’s a sapling and I don’t have the time or money required to tend to another tree,” and proceeded to run the lawnmower over the sapling, chopping it in half. The hippie gaped at Bob and said “You wait, we’ll put a stop to this!”

The weekend after next, Bob Smith was pulling his lawnmower out of the garage when he saw a group of people sitting on his lawn and holding signs with sayings like “Lawn Care is MURDER!” and “What about the saplings?!” on them.
“What’s going on here?” Bob Smith asked as he approached the group.
“We’re going to stop you from killing this tree,” the blond hippie from two weeks ago told him. He was wearing a handcuff around his wrist and the other end was laying over another cherry tree sapling.
“This is ridiculous,” Bob said and went back inside to call the police and have this group of people dispersed.
“No, this is serious,” A woman wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of a sprout and a leaf and with ‘Let Me Live’ written across her chest; “We’re stopping a murder!”
An hour later, the police arrived and the crowd was forced off Bob Smith’s lawn. The next day, a Sunday, there was a knock on Bob Smith’s door. When he opened it to see who was there, a television camera and a microphone were forced into his face and cameras started flashing so much he was nearly blinded.
“Mr. Smith!” a female voice called out, “How does it feel to commit a murder?”
“Are you going to kill any more trees today?” a male voice called as a second camera was shoved through the doorway. Bob forced the door shut as more and more cameras and microphones were thrust at him. After another call to the police, and another hour of yelling, the reporters were made to leave. That night as he was watching the 6:00 news, Bob was shocked to see his face featured on Weasel News (We Lie, You Believe) with the words ‘Lawncare or Murder?’ under his picture.
“This crime must end!” the Hippie was yelling into a microphone from what looked to be in Bob’s own neighborhood. “How many more trees will cut down before they even have a chance to grow up and know life?”
After the story gained mass attention, more and more hippies started writing their congressmen demanding something be done. There was such a flood of letters that, even though it was being done by only a minority of people, that small group was so vocal that finally a ban on lawncare was enacted to stop the murder of innocent trees.

Five years later, Bob Smith’s lawnmower was rusting in his garage and his yard was now over run by cherry trees. They had choked out his other flowers and turned his once presentable lawn into a grove so thick it was difficult to get to his car. Because the law passed required him to not only allow the trees to grow, he was made to care for them and was now running into debt from the cost of water and fertilizer. Other people were in the same boat as Bob Smith, trees, weeds, and vines choked yards and the roots were destroying roads and sidewalks. Baseball, football, golf, and soccer games were soon abandoned because it was against the law to cut down trees.

But at least the hippies were happy.