Hahahahaha, I laughed out loud when I saw this! And you're gonna heehaw uncontrollably about it too!
You know why? Because it's funny. That's why.
Right-wing hate website Free Republic is interesting to monitor. You wouldn't believe some of the crap the terrorists on that site spew.
Like just now, when they posted in regards to Bob Barr's efforts to appear on the presidential ballot. Regarding this story, one of the Freepers (as they call themselves) cried:
"Anybody working with the Commie ACLU should not be allowed to run for office in America, just like Communists are barred."
Ooh, an Allowed Cloud!
Isn't that just the funniest thing you've ever heard?
Hey dummy, communists aren't barred from running for office in America. In fact, the Communist Party fielded a presidential candidate at least into the '80s.
At least get your facts straight, Freepers. That way, people won't mistake you for fools. Wait a minute, Freepers are fools. Never mind.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Freeper cites nonexistent Allowed Cloud (more Freeper Madness)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
2 mustard gas leaks in less than 2 weeks
Less than 2 weeks ago, dangerous mustard gas leaked at an Army depot in Richmond, Kentucky.
And now it's happened again - at the exact same depot.
These leaks follow 2 leaks of sarin - a far deadlier chemical weapon - late last year and early this year.
Kentucky needs to evict this chemical weapons stockpile pronto. If there's a sarin disaster, Kentuckians are going to start asking why chemical weapons are being stored in their state.
(Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYmnRjXCHwFNYyig9mzQ-cTkfajwD92D1JR86)
Voter arrested for...well, trying to vote
The cheating by right-wing election officials seems to be in full bloom even months before the November election.
Back in February, when Missouri had its presidential primary, a voter in Independence, Missouri, tried to vote. That's why we call them voters, you see. It's because they vote. At least they try to.
The voter carried a proper ID issued by the election board, in keeping with Missouri law. It might not have been enough identification to please extremists who are always crying about vote fraud where none exists, but it was legally valid. Missouri had passed a much more rigid voter ID law, but it was ruled unconstitutional before that election.
When the voter presented his ID - which was not his driver's license, but was legally valid - the election judge thundered, "Look! Show me your driver's license or you don't vote!"
In response to the election judge's unlawful attempt to limit voting only to those who can afford a car, the voter did eventually present his license - but warned the judge he was filing a complaint with the election board over this illegal intimidation.
When asked about the complaint months later, the election board simply claimed the complaint had been "lost."
Yesterday, when Missouri had primaries for other offices, the saga of right-wing intimidation continued. The voter had previously spoken with an election board member, who had assured him that driver's licenses weren't necessary to vote, and that voters may instead present another official ID, utility bill, or bank statement. The voter was advised to call the election board if the judges didn't let him vote.
When he tried voting yesterday, the judges were again hostile - even when the voter showed them the list of voter ID requirements from the Missouri Secretary of State's website. He politely invited one of the judges to call the election board.
Soon the voter was confronted by the same election judge who had caused trouble back in February. The judge gave the voter a chest bump like that of a baseball team manager fighting with an umpire.
As the voter tried calling the election board on a cell phone, the cops arrived. Two officers grabbed the voter and his son and escorted them outside. Four other cops arrived in their cruisers.
The police threatened to arrest the voter and his son for trying to vote. When the voter failed to leave, he was cuffed and stuffed (as Rosco would say). He was taken to jail and released hours later. The popo threatened to file 6 counts of disorderly conduct because there were 6 election judges.
After being released, the voter went to the election board's office. An election board member offered to let him cast his ballot there - but how would he know if his vote even counted? If he had voted back at the precinct like he attempted to do in the first place, election officials wouldn't know which vote was his to throw away.
So let's sum up yesterday's events: A voter tried voting, the election judges argued with him about an ID that was perfectly legit, and the voter was arrested.
And I can guarantee you this is the sort of bullshit we have to look forward to in November. I think this year is going to make the stiff voting machine buttons, lost ballots, and right-wingers' illegal electioneering from 2004 look like nothing in comparison. You know why? Because they were allowed to get away with so much last time.
(Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/6/9488/29311/996/563441)
School system ignores opt-out law (sigh)
Much as a public school system in Massachusetts implemented mandatory uniforms despite it being against state law, one in California is now doing something quite similar.
In Needles, California, the so-called public school system has implemented a mandatory uniform policy - requiring shirts of a specific style and color that feature the school logo. Parents are required to buy the uniforms from a specific vendor.
A big problem with that: California law says public schools must allow students to opt out of uniform requirements. You don't even have to give a reason to opt out. Out you simply opt. This issue has long been settled in that state, following the Long Beach case. (That's not to mention the fact that Tinker v. Des Moines declared uniforms in public schools unconstitutional nationwide.)
So the Needles school district decreed that you can opt out - but only by wearing uniforms without the logo.
Are they fucking serious?
Is that really what the school system calls complying with state law?
I'm not even linking to the Mohave Daily News article about this event, because it chooses to parrot discredited U.S. Department of Education propaganda that encourages uniforms. Much as with the new Rockefeller drug laws, dissenting views seem to be no longer tolerated in any newspaper marketed in afflicted areas. The truth is never to be told.
And so, another Nazi school district lands on the lawsuit block.
Poor people barred from registering to vote
If you want to talk about electoral corruption, it doesn't get much worse than this.
In Bristol, Virginia, housing officials illegally barred a voter registration drive in a public housing complex. The drive was led by the Obama campaign and was like registration drives affiliated with other candidates in other areas. The drive wasn't illegal; indeed it was protected by federal law.
The city's housing director came up with contradictory excuses for quashing the drive. First he charged that the campaign workers were breaking federal law. But there is no such law. Then he claimed that signs in the development forbid soliciting. That too is a falsehood. Besides that, soliciting regulations usually don't cover voter drives.
An editorial on the Bristol Herald Courier's website suggests the housing director's stance might be politically motivated: "One has to wonder if housing officials would have been quite so quick to eject volunteers working for Republican candidate John McCain ... Perhaps someone at the housing authority doesn't like Obama and doesn't relish the idea of a few more Obama voters taking part in the November election."
Surely that's true, but the fact is, there's a lot of people in high places who just don't like poor people voting. That's the reason Kentucky launched a selective crackdown on voter carpools.
After the electoral butchery in Kentucky paid generous dividends for the lunatic Right, why wouldn't the Nazis try suppressing turnout among the poor everywhere else too?
(Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/6/112151/9121/929/563500;
http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/opinion/editorials/article/political_speech_in_public_housing/12104)
Phill Kline loses primary
But since it's Kansas, county Republican committees get to appoint county officials directly when a vacancy occurs - and they appointed Kline as Johnson County DA.
Then it turned out that Kline didn't even live in Johnson County - despite this being one of the requirements for the job. Under state law, if a county official doesn't live in the county they claim to live in, they have to resign or be removed. But the Republican machine is so corrupt that they didn't remove him, despite being required to do so.
Maybe the machine didn't remove him - but now voters have. In yesterday's Republican primary, Phill Kline was soundly defeated by a political newcomer. I guess even the Republicans finally started realizing Kline was an embarrassing political liability, so they said, "See ya, Phill."
The man who defeated Kline was a prosecutor who Kline fired for political reasons when he took the DA reins.
(Source: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/elections/story/735933.html)
"Ernie? I'm bald!"
Man, Bert and Ernie sure do rule!
They're part of the 'Sesame Street' kick-ass crew, you see.
Some of you who read my newsletters years ago know that Bert & Ernie's Garage is where you can buy gas for only 10 cents a gallon. But how does one half of the Dynamic Duo fare in the barbering business?
Hilariously, that's how:
What else could prompt innocent Bert to call someone a "ding-a-ling"?
It's especially funny when Bert says, "And I like my hair long, Ernie." Man, that Bert's a real hippie!
After Bert emerges from Ernie's barber chair a total chrome dome, Ernie assures, "Remember, it will grow back again." Unless of course you're a piece of foam rubber. Amazing how Children's Television Workshop ruined a perfectly good Bert puppet to film this skit!
Who in their right mind would ruin Bert?
That sketch was made back when Ernie, Bert, and 'Sesame Street' itself were much edgier. Now the ol' Ses is a world of cutesy. Let's bring back edgy 'Sesame Street' skits!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Candidate's son makes total ass of himself
The conservative intelligentsia (as it were) instills such poor discipline on its own spoiled children that they end up getting humiliated beyond all hope.
Bob Schaffer is the Republicans' right-wing candidate for U.S. Senate from Colorado. His 19-year-old son is a student at the University of Dayton. Now it's been revealed that Schaffer's son posted a totally idiotic, embarrassing webpage.
The website reportedly featured a photo of a waving Obama emblazoned with the words, "High Five, Who's Gay," and a picture of the Pyramids with the words, "Slavery Gets Shit Done."
The website isn't illegal - but it's stupid. Does anyone actually think it's funny? I have a good sense of humor, but I just think it's dumb (as well as trite). And this incident is embarrassing in the extreme to Schaffer's candidacy.
The University of Dayton, which is a private institution, is considering reprimanding the student over this humiliating display of stupidity.
What's really funny is that this embarrassing spectacle had to happen during a crucial point in Bob Schaffer's Senate campaign. Life doesn't get any sweeter than this!
(Source: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/05/ddn080508studentweb.html)
Maniac fakes press credentials, disrupts Obama speech
Hahahahaha, what a weirdo!
During an Obama town hall meeting today in Berea, Ohio, some clod with fake press credentials made a complete jackass of himself. As the addled maniac photographed the event, he kept shouting that Obama had failed to call for the audience to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Finally, Obama invited the heckler to lead the audience in the Pledge - which he did.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, Obama said to the man, "Thank you, sir, appreciate it."
The humiliated heckler was allowed to stay at the event - which is more than what Bush would have allowed.
This guy was attacking Obama because the event didn't start off with the Pledge of Allegiance? How many political rallies or candidate meetings like this feature the Pledge? I sure don't remember the Pledge of Allegiance being uttered at the Bush rally in my area in 2000 that went awry.
Sounds to me like the heckling was a Freeper-style attack that went horribly amiss.
Anyone know if that GOP operative from West Virginia who kept staging attacks against himself happened to be in Ohio today?
(Source: AP)
Bush ordered forgery of Iraq letter
Just this story alone would be cause for impeachment, so when we can get the ball rolling?
'The Way Of The World', a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, claims that Bush ordered the CIA to forge a handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein. This forgery, which was backdated to 2001, was designed to falsely link Saddam with Al-Qaeda as an excuse for the Iraq War.
Suskind also says Bush had information from intelligence officials that said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - and that Bush ignored this information. Gee, there's a surprise. It was clear Bush knew Saddam had no WMD's, but he just didn't give a shit.
The forged letter had been reported for years - but the media acted as if it was real. London's Sunday Telegraph reported on the letter back in 2003, claiming in an influential article that it proved that a 9/11 terrorist was trained by Saddam.
Now that we know the letter is a hoax, will the Telegraph kindly retract that article?
If the media catches on to what Bush did this time, Bush could be in trouble. BIG trouble! Not like I expect the media to catch on, because it never does. It's illegal for the White House to use the CIA to drum up support for wars - let alone forge a letter.
It goes back to the same old story: Bush wanted a war, so he got one - by lying to build support for it.
Evidence for impeachment isn't a problem. Political will is the problem.
Maybe Congress will just pass retroactive immunity for all of Bush's lawbreaking, like it did for the phone industry's involvement in the wiretap scandal.
(Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12308.html)
Democrats want D.C. gun laws relaxed
I guess the Republicans and the Democrats really are two distinct parties after all: The Democrats want the District of Columbia's gun laws relaxed, while the Republicans are for the most part sitting on their glutei maximi.
Incidentally, this is good work on the Democrats' part. I also think this (along with the Bush regime's support of D.C.'s rigid gun laws) shows how much easier it is for the Republicans to lapse into Allowed Cloud mode now that they at least have more power than they did 15 years ago.
A Democratic bill in the House would effectively end D.C.'s handgun control laws, in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that such laws are unconstitutional. It has 48 Democratic cosponsors. Many folks had long believed that these laws were unconstitutional - but the Republicans never erased these laws in the many years that they controlled Congress from 1995 through 2006.
I'm all for local autonomy, and I'll be the first to say D.C. should be given statehood. But the Constitution's safeguards of individual rights take priority - regardless of whether you're in D.C. or one of the 50 states. That's what the concept of inalienable rights means. You can't have a law that's unconstitutional. And D.C. and the 50 states shouldn't be able to avoid remedying such unconstitutional laws after they were ruled as such.
At least the Democrats are backing bills to support gun rights. Everyone acts like it's a Republican issue, but I for one damn sure don't want to see the Second Amendment trampled - much as I don't want the First Amendment trampled either.
(Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402260.html)
Where Bush goes, trouble grows
Today, Bush got a very negative reception on his visit to South Korea. Over 20,000 demonstrators protested the Decider's presence.
The South Korean government's reaction towards the demonstrators was about the same as the Bush regime's would've been if such a large group protested: Authorities unleashed water cannons and hoses against the protesters. (The water cannons were actually ink cannons: The water reportedly contained some sort of marking so the dissidents could be identified later.)
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (pictured here with Bush) is a Far Right conservative and a strong Bush ally. He took power early this year following another election influenced by the American media, which is always eager to export Bushism (as it has in Canada, Italy, France, and so on). Lee is an unpopular authoritarian who has limited public assemblies, threatened to "get rid of" labor unions, and restricted movement of the citizenry.
In essence, he's the Bush of South Korea.
As an example of Lee Myung-bak's authoritarian rule, his administration detained participants in another event for holding an "illegal rally." What a pro-freedom phrase! (More sarcasm, folks!) This rally followed Lee's efforts to import more American beef. Importing American beef raised concerns in South Korea because the U.S. government had begun suing any farmer who stepped up testing of their cattle for mad cow disease.
It's unclear why the Bush regime sued farmers who were interested in ensuring safe beef, but the lawsuits led people in other countries to lose faith in American beef - which is something America can't afford. But Bush doesn't care.
One of the main goals of Bush's latest South Korean visit is to promote free trade - which is something else that's been a proven loser for Americans.
If something is bad for the country, count on Bush to support it.
(Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j3b6xoPSXQAc5AoJwqPQit9OtitgD92C59SG0;
http://news.sg.msn.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1423679)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Republicans' "permanent majority" ends
After the 2004 "election", the GOP liked to gloat that they had a "permanent majority."
Thankfully, those days of shit-eating smirks seem to be over - at least for now. Starting in 2005, there's been a steady drop in the number of voters who register as Republicans. This drop is accompanied by an increase in Democrats - and, more strikingly, in independents and third party voters.
I know there tends to be a calm before the storm once every few years in American politics, but this time the trend has held for 3 years.
(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/us/politics/05flip.html)
Another school ignores Constitution
How fascist can you get?
This time, the trouble spot is East High School in Pueblo, Colorado. And the issue of course is The Big U (despite it being a public school).
A senior at the school summed up uniforms quite well: "I think it's pretty stupid."
The other public high schools in Pueblo are expected to follow East High's "lead" within the next couple years. I guess the Pueblo school system likes getting sued. I guarantee you I'd sue. Guaran-fucking-tee it!
(Source: http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=8787171)
Disabled man loses home over parking ticket
Welcome to BushAmerica - the meanest society in the world.
A few years ago, a Milwaukee man got a $50 parking ticket. He forgot about paying it because of his own health problems and the death of his father. The man (who was once a Democratic candidate for the Wisconsin legislature) is now 62 and has been disabled since 2001 by painful degenerative diseases, chronic respiratory illness, diabetes, and other conditions. His disability left him financially ruined.
But now the city has suddenly remembered that old parking fine. So they've decided to foreclose on his house.
Foreclosing on his house because of a $50 parking citation?
What caused the parking fine in the first place? It's because he parked the car with no plates in his own driveway. He couldn't get the plates renewed until he had the money to fix the radiator.
You read that right: He's losing his house because of a $50 fine for parking his car on his own driveway.
And Bill O'Reilly complains about having it rough?
The only reason he was even caught for the parking "offense" was that his brother was mad at him and ratted him out.
Heavy-handed government actions against people who are in no position to fight are how societies end. For too long, laws have been written to favor the powerful. Now, for all you used to hear about America someday becoming a corporatist command state, it's happened.
(Source: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=779234)
Obama leads among working poor
I get the feeling that if McCain wins the election, this will be another one (like almost all other GOP presidential wins in my lifetime) in which affluent suburbs provided the entire margin of victory.
A new poll by the Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University says that Obama is leading McCain by a 2-to-1 margin among low-wage workers.
The Democrat's appeal cuts across racial lines - thus rendering right-wing bloggers' use of the race card a smoldering ruin. Among low-income whites, Obama holds a commanding double-digit lead - which doesn't offset his overpowering leads among low-income blacks and Hispanics.
The survey also shows that the working poor find Obama to be the major party candidate who most shares their values.
The most important point is that this also makes the wingnutosphere look even more foolish than it already does when it tries claiming Republicans are the working-class party. Right-wing blogs and commentators expect people to follow their bovine bullshit unquestioningly, but this - along with Bill O'Reilly's idiotic complaint about having to pay more taxes because he's rich - should pretty much blow that claim out of the wa.
(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080804/pl_nm/usa_politics_poll_workers_dc)
Bill O'Reilly the crybaby
A few days ago, O'Reilly - who keeps calling himself a working-class champion - wrote a commentary that appeared in the right-wing Washington Times complaining about rich guys like himself having it too hard in life. I swear I am not making this up.
O'Reilly once authored a book titled 'Who's Looking Out For You?', in which he tried to pass himself off as a voice of the common person. But now his phony claims to populism have fallen to rack and ruin with his latest piece, in which he gripes about being in the top 1% income group. "I am part of the 1 percent of Americans that paid an astounding 40 percent of all federal income tax in 2006," he says.
O'Reilly cries that if Obama is elected President, he'll "take from the rich and give to the not-so-rich" by raising taxes on the very wealthy. He further complains that Obama and congressional Democrats will fund things like child care for poor families.
Is that the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHmbulance I hear?
So much for (to borrow O'Reilly's book title) looking out for you, huh? O'Reilly is looking out only for the very rich such as his goofy self.
He grumbles that if Obama wins, he will take tax dollars of "me and other rich folks" to fund programs for people "who are too lazy to hold a job." Oh, you mean like that Republican contributor in Kentucky who got hired for a state patronage job and refused to answer phones so they just paid him to do nothing? What, that's not what O'Reilly meant?
Excuse me, Bill, for only working 60 hours a week (following years of health problems). Maybe if I'd work 100 hours instead, I might suddenly be able to live a life of caviar and bon-bons like O'Reilly here.
Only in BushAmerica can millionaires like Bill O'Reilly expect to be taken seriously while snuggling up in their mansions and pounding out psychotic rants about big, mean poor people having it too easy and taking their money.
You're a fucking BABY, Bill! Waaaaah waaaaah waaaaah!
Do you need you diaper changed, Bill? Or does the widdle baby want his rattle?
(Source: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/top10/347)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
FBI seizes library computers without a warrant
It's not easy being a library these days.
The public library in Frederick, Maryland, has found itself the target of several FBI actions in recent years. Usually the FBI comes along with a court order demanding records.
But this time, the FBI seized the library's public computers without any court order or warrant (despite being required by law to obtain one).
Who knows what this is about? Maybe it is about a serious case, but I doubt it. Even if it was, it still wouldn't make a warrantless seizure legal. The seizure of the computers probably came about because some right-wing exurbanite looked over someone's shoulder while they were on the computer and saw a rilly, rilly bad word like 'naked'.
(Source: http://wtopnews.com/?nid=598&sid=1452848)
Experienced workers take entry level jobs
According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate among teenagers who are old enough to work has soared from 15.3% just a year ago to 20.3% - the worst numbers in over 60 years.
That's right, 20.3%.
Now why would that be? It's because entry level jobs that teenagers once took are now instead being taken by experienced workers who lost the much better jobs they once had.
People who are 45 and had factory or office jobs for decades are now being forced to fill fast-food positions. In the "war is peace" world of BushAmerica, that's called an economic boom. But in the reality-based community, it's called not just a disaster but the near-death of society.
What's the point in even going to college when the only jobs out there are entry level? Hell, what's the point in even finishing high school - unless it's to fill up your diary with entries about who put what in the toilet?
(Source: http://www.startribune.com/business/26210764.html)
If Dukakis woulda won
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/08/03/president_duke
The article was written with the input of the legend himself.
One thing is for certain: By 1992 in real life, I and other Dukakis supporters were saying, "We told you so." America really paid the price when it let Mad Dog Bush in the Oval Office.
It's really sad that real life didn't turn out like this beautiful narrative. The article really shows you what could've been. It literally made a tear well up in my eye.
As Dukakis himself said of the '88 election, "If I'd have beaten the old man, we'd have never had this kid and this stupid war and all."
Back-to-school redundant?
It's August! So if you live in Kentucky, your kids are probably back in school already!
But I'm wondering about something, and this applies to families all over America: Has back-to-school become a redundant concept? How can you go back to something when you haven't really left it?
I don't mean just in areas plagued by a year-round calendar. Although the family is supposed to be a basic building block of society, school has much more influence than the family in modern America.
Especially in more conservative locales, school is often not a benign influence. Rather, school exploits and indoctrinates - instead of teaching and guiding. When today's young people - on half of the days the year - spend more waking hours under school authority than at home or under their own self-rule, school provides the bulk of life's influences. This is true of public and private schools alike.
Exploitation occupies a space close to the heart of the modern American education system's agenda. Schools today train our children to become cheap, docile labor and carry on a right-wing political legacy. Basic civics have fallen by the wayside in many school districts. Schools no longer teach how to be independent, creative, and responsible. Instead they teach how to be good spokes in the corporatist wheel.
This abuse (which borders on child trafficking) has become almost a part of pop culture. Now schools are just expected to be a flabby limb of Corporate America, as people have become too accustomed to it to question it.
Not only are all school activities centered on this ideology. Now it's also expected that home activities are centered on school. Nothing is to exist outside the school's framework.
And if some of us get left behind because schools teach an ideology instead of teaching us, tough. Instead of schools taking the blame, we end up taking the blame. We get called lazy, insane, mentally challenged, you name it. When we realize we've had a shitty education, we get told that it's shitty only because we failed to make the most of it.
According to the school system, it goes like this: If something works out for us in life, it's because of our school. If something doesn't, it's because of us. It's a "heads, I win; tails, you lose" situation.
Most Americans my age or younger probably find school to be a much bigger influence in their lives than their family.
I feel as if I've broken this vicious cycle. So join me in helping to shatter this cycle of misery some more. Keep a close eye on what your kids are being taught in school. Make sure their individuality is respected and that they have the opportunity to let their interests play a role in their education.
Our young people are - well, people. Not property.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Australian government endorses drugging kids
For the first time, the government has decreed that Ritalin (methylphenidate) and other drugs should be a "first-line treatment" for ADHD. The government recommended against exercise and better food.
What fucklog thought this one up?
Much of the world is turning against Ritalin, as adverse affects (even death) result from the drug. It's astonishing that any government would start recommending Ritalin now.
But Australian parents and experts are criticizing the government's new guidelines, citing the drug company influence behind the new rules.
(Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24005350-421,00.html)
Big bubbles, no troubles!
When this brand of bubble gum was introduced in 1979, gum connoisseurs far and wide feared its looming dominance. That's because its selling point was that it wasn't supposed to stick to your face when you blew bubbles - thereby defeating the whole purpose of bubbling.
But bubbling partisans quickly found the Gum Fighter to be a charismatic advertising icon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r270ZGet0ck
Through the early '80s, the Gum Fighter was a beloved legend on American TV screens. The big, tough cowboy who appeared in Hubba Bubba's Wild West-themed commercials was played by Don Collier (born 1928, the same year modern bubble gum was invented).
And he bubbled.
The 1981 commersh linked to above (one of many featuring the Gum Fighter) features an Alice Cooper look-alike in a chew-off against the ad's hero. The Gum Fighter also has an elderly sidekick, who was played by the late Dub Taylor, a legendary character actor.
While many of the ads featured the Gum Fighter dancing side-to-side while surrounded by admiring townsfolk, this one ends with him uttering Hubba Bubba's slogan and emitting a jolly laugh - as if he's the first person to figure out that 'bubbles' rhymes with 'troubles'.
Hubba Bubba misappeared from American store shelves for quite a few years, but it's made a return. The commercials, however, seem to be gone for good. Don Collier is going on 80, and he still makes coffee commercials - but he hasn't been seen in gum ads in decades.
So probably the only way you'll get to see Gum Fighter commershes is when people go on YouPube and post some from old videotapes they recorded. The master copies were probably long ago chopped up, pulped, and made into compost for something like Bush's ranch.
That Gum Fighter was a character who really had his poop in a group!
Bill bans dangerous chemicals in toys
Congress has finally passed a new bill to prohibit lead (except for trace amounts) in toys, following recalls of dangerous, chemical-laden toys that have plagued the industry. The bill also cracks down on phthalates that have long been banned in other countries and have been linked to health problems.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has such strong public support that it passed the House 424 to 1 and passed the Senate 89 to 3.
Who were the only lawmakers to vote against it? Well, the bill's only congressional opponents are Republicans, of course. In the Senate, the only 3 opponents are (ahem, ahem, ahem) Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, and Jon Kyl. The only House opponent is...Ron Paul.
The Bush regime has also blasted the bill, but Bush can't very well veto it, because Congress would then quite properly override his veto.
The real story may be that it took until 2008 to do anything about chemicals in toys. Congress deemed cutting off aid to the poor so urgent that it did that way back in 1996. But it took another 12 years to make sure our children have safer toys.
Now the obstructionism by the madcap Kyl/DeMint/Coburn contingent has finally been overcome!
(Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hk2PsdpRbmKmS0Wm45tU1HU5DSawD9295RV00)
Why killers go free
Ever wonder why murderers, serial rapists, and child molesters walk free after serving only a few months?
Well, here's why.
The system has to make room for the people who continue to receive life sentences for drug offenses under the feds' draconian mandatory sentencing rules.
A Cincinnati man was just sentenced to life in federal prison for drugs under these mandatory sentencing guidelines. He's only 29. For the next 50 years, he's going to be taking up prison space that could be used for violent criminals instead. Violent thugs will be freed to make room for him.
And this man's life is basically over at 29 now. Yes, 29. He's in prison for life - while murderers walk free. Do you really think that's fair?
The botched War on Drugs is actually the best friend of society's most feared criminals.
(Source: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080802/NEWS0107/808020358)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Party time for the privileged
This entry is more observational than event-driven, but the message has to be said every now and then.
On an increasing basis, it seems you can't go a day without hearing some bigot who will never be poor themselves gripe about the poor having it too easy. As folks like you and me slog through each day serving a privileged few who don't appreciate our work, those we serve are chowing down on the finest meals and driving the fanciest cars. Life for the spoiled is a party that never ends.
Upper-echelon classist bigots think it's their birthright to have an activist government serving their desires - at the expense of everyone else. They rarely dirty their hands with real work, but if we spend 80 hours a week washing their dishes, it's never enough to please them.
While countless working-class Americans are losing access to life-saving medical care, spoiled class-baiters diaper themselves with cosmetic surgery and the most expensive jewelry. Much of their opulent lifestyle is paid for with government handouts funded by hard-working taxpayers like us - like the deluxe SUV tax break of mid-decade. Somehow I don't think this is what the Founding Fathers and Mothers of this country had in mind.
I guess nobody ever taught those who choose to build their fortune off of our hard work (and who think we have it easy) any self-control. Thirty years ago, if someone happened to be financially better off than most of their fellow Americans, they were much more likely to have some humility and decency about it. Now they're more likely to flaunt their wealth - and blame the poor for circumstances they were born into.
Also 30 years ago, the poor were less likely to be made to feel ashamed of being poor. If you were poor or working-class, there was a stronger sense of identity in those days.
So we need to call out the spoiled babies on their handout culture. And we need to call them out right to their faces the next time they start their ravings.
Comcast found guilty of 'Net neutrality violations
Guil-ty! Guil-ty! Guil-ty!
That's what Comcast is, and now it's time for the FCC to crush the cable and Internet giant like a Dr Pepper can.
Today the FCC found Comcast guilty of violating 'Net neutrality regulations when it illegally throttled traffic on peer-to-peer networks. Comcast was ordered to cease its unlawful activity and tell the FCC the full extent of its traffic management practices.
What Comcast did was little different from eavesdropping, when you think about it. If an Internet provider can tell that customers are using peer-to-peer networks, that's a form of spying.
While both Democrats on the commission supported sanctions against Comcast, 2 of the 3 Republicans voted in Comcast's favor. Naturally, Republicans in Congress are throwing an absolute shitfit about the FCC finding Comcast guilty, accusing the FCC of overstepping its authority.
So where were the great Republican knights in shining armor when Tantrum 95.7 got raided? How come they never complained about the FCC overstepping its authority then?
For its part, Comcast still insists the FCC has no authority over them.
(Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government/Comcast-Guilty-of-Net-Neutrality-Violations)
Jury duty looms
Wow! Jury duty! I got called in for Campbell County jury duty!
It doesn't begin until September, but depending on whether I get wrapped up in a big, exciting trial, I might not have time to work on this blog as much as I'd like to. Just an advance warning!
This isn't an entirely new experience, because I got called in for jury duty once before. It was 13 years ago, just before the celebrated NKU trespassing arrest. (That arrest may yet disqualify me from my upcoming duty - even though I wasn't convicted, because I was innocent.) But I never actually served as a juror. I was about to be on the jury for a criminal trial, but they made a plea deal during the recess.
Since this is Campbell County, I expect the criminal docket to be mighty full, because Campbell County ain't known for too many things being legal. So I guess the county needs jurors. (Maybe this is why the length of jury service in Campbell County is 2 months instead of one month, which seems to be the default length of service elsewhere in Kentucky.)
And I'll make a few dollars too. I'm self-employed, so I guess I could just delay my usual jobs.
Aaaaah! Just think! Jury duty! Where else can a law expert like me find so much entertainment?
State says electric cars aren't really cars
If you want to hear some bureaucratic doublespeak tailor-made to appease Big Oil, it doesn't get any more incongruous than this.
Not long ago, a Massachusetts fellow buyed an electric car. The car is fully roadworthy and produces almost zero emissions.
But now the state's Registry of Motor Vehicles has decided to revoke the registrations of this and other electric vehicles. The excuse? The bureau says electric cars aren't really cars. Because they don't use petroleum, you see.
And because they're not officially cars (and aren't bikes either), they're not allowed on roads. (Ooh, an Allowed Cloud!)
Gee, something tells me that when roads were first invented, you didn't need a gas-guzzling car to use them.
Why is the Registry of Motor Vehicles hounding owners of electric cars? Follow the money. Oil companies practically write the laws. It's as simple as that.
Police have even threatened to arrest drivers of these electric vehicles.
Something else like this happened not long ago in North Carolina. The owner of a car powered by vegetable oil was raided by state agents who accused him of dodging (ppphh!) gas taxes.
How can you dodge a tax when you don't even owe it? If you buy no gas, why would you pay a gas tax? Should a nonsmoker be hauled into court for not paying cigarette taxes? Should a teetotaler be charged for not paying alcohol taxes? If Mike Huckabee had won the election, would he be able to sue a person who lacks a digestive system because they wouldn't be paying taxes on food under his UnfairTax?
Should I be jailed for not paying gas taxes because I get around on the Peace Bike?
I guess if the government can say ketchup is a vegetable, it can say cars aren't cars.
(Source: http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/business_news/x380000543/Pulling-the-plug-State-says-electric-car-is-illegal)
Wal-Mart loses its shit over election
And with Wal-Mart fearing it won't get its way in the upcoming election, the retail chain is utterly losing its cool.
Wal-Mart is marshaling its store managers and department supervisors all over America to warn workers about those big, mean Democrats. Wal-Mart is worried that the Democrats will change federal law to make it easier for workers to (gasp!) unionize.
They're trying to brainwash workers into thinking being able to unionize is a bad thing? I know this is the same store chain that forces new employees to watch an anti-union propaganda film, but this latest story proves just how out of touch Wal-Mart is.
Lately, thousands of Wal-Mart department heads and managers have been required to attend mandatory meetings where the corporate big shots attack unions and the Democrats. The meetings do nothing short of tell people how to vote.
Workers have a human right to organize. Wal-Mart has no right to block employees from forming a union. In fact, it's illegal under federal law to fire someone for trying to unionize. But Wal-Mart does it anyway: The company just got busted for firing a pro-union employee in Arizona and trying to freeze pay raises of other pro-union workers.
In fact, it's also illegal for corporations to tell hourly employees (such as the department heads) which political candidates they should vote for. To put it bluntly, Wal-Mart is breaking this law too.
I'd like to see a law barring corporations from forcing employees to attend mandatory anti-union briefings. Company big shots may spew all the anti-worker propaganda they desire, but they have no right to a captive audience.
(Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755649066303381.html)
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