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A Man In Transition

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Helen Thomas, Lynne Stewart, a vat of anchovies and me ... indeed!
-Glenn Reynolds

A Dozen Thoughts

I haven't blogged in a while ... so here's a post to make up for lost time ... feel free to comment on all or any part of it ... but remember to register first.

I am really sad about the passing of Pat Morita.  The funny thing is that he never really seemed to age.  I mean, from the time he was Arnold in Happy Days to Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movies to his work that's still coming out (three movies due out in 2006!), he alwys seemed about the same.  And he made those Karate Kid movies ... he made you believe that the little guy could win. 

I am still sorry that Daniel Champion is gone.  It's simply not right.

When I saw that Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) pled guilty to bribery charges, my first inclination was that he should serve every day of the ten year maximum ... then I thought of his incredible contribution to his country as a public official over many years and a war hero before that and that ten years might well be a life sentence for someone his age ... and then I thought that here was a congressman ... a rich man that betrayed the trust of the people of this country for a few more bucks and things ... like persian rugs and other luxuries that neither he nor his family really needed ... a man who, ajust a few months ago looked right into the camera and lied about his bribe taking ... and yea, I think that he should serve each and every day of the ten year maximum.  If any group of people can be influenced away from this type of criminal activity through the imposition of a stern sentence, it is our legislators.  Ten years ... both for the example that it sets and because the greedy bastard deserves it.

I think that ads by special interest groups both for and against Supreme Court nominees are, somehow, fundamentally wrong.  I saw an anti-Alito one yesterday that suggested that he favored or approved of strip-searching 10 year old girls, a suggestion that twists the truth so much as to be practically dishonest.  I saw one that was pro-Alito that bothered me almost as much.  The bottom line is that we elect Senators who are supposed to have the brains, character and judgment to make a reasoned decision about whether to approve a nominee or not.  Haranguing them from the sidelines with public Move-On style campaigns that, at best, give incomplete information and, at worst, are dishonest smear campaigns strikes me as a further step in the direction of making American politics more about satisfying the gibbering, uninformed, partisan hordes on both sides and a step away from the sort of reasoned and honest discussion and debate that we have a right to expect from our Senate.

At the end of the day, Sam Alito will be confirmed and it will not be all that close.  As I said before, Democrats might really, really regret not getting behind Harriet Myers with everything that they had.

Sitting at a bar last night, waiting for the downpour to stop, I met someone who hated George W. Bush.  Didn't just disagree with his policies, didn't just dislike him ... HATED him as someone might have hated Pol Pot or Saddam.  I tried to find out why she hated him but she really couldn't say.  I mean, she thought that he is dumb, but I don't think that she hated all dumb people.  I do know that, consciously or unconsciously she was actually clawing at the bar when talking about him.  I bought her a drink to try to make up for upsetting her so.  It was just sad.

Shimon Peres has come out in support of Ariel Sharon.  Peres is the former head of the left wing Labor party and Sharon is the former head of the right wing Likud party.  This would have seemed entirely impossible just a couple of years ago.  For those who don't follow Israeli politics, try to imagine Ted Kennedy coming out in enthusiastic support of George W. Bush.

The day that Ted Rall drops dead the world will be a markedly better place. 

On a brighter note, today Hope has entered the world.  Yay, Hope!

Every now and again good things happen to good people.  As they should.

This is a car that I recently saw in San Francisco (click on picture to enlarge).  OK, I know that the bumper stickers are a bit hard to read.  Here is what some of them say:

RODEOS: WHERE COWARDS TORTURE DOMESTIC ANIMALS
TOWARDS ANIMALS, HUMANS ARE NAZIS (it's not a moonbatmobile without a Nazi reference)
HUNTERS ARE TERRORISTS! (Of course, actual terrorists are probably "Minutemen")
HORSES ARE NOT FOR RIDING!  FREEDOM TO HORSES! (This message brought to you by the American Mountain Lion Society)
ABOLISH SLAVERY, BOYCOTT THE CIRCUS
BREEDERS ARE PIMPS (OK, so rodeo cowboys are cowards, hunters are terrorists, circus folk are slavers, breeders are pimps and humans are Nazis ... got it)
and, of course::
ASHAMED TO BE AN AMERICAN

I'm willing to throw in five bucks toward's this person's one way ticket to somewhere where he or she doesn't have to be so ashamed.  Who's with me?

And finally, I missed last Friday's Friday poetry, so here's one for the birthday girl:

The New-born Baby's Song

When I was twenty inches long,
I could not hear the thrush's song;
The radiance of the morning skies
Was most displeasing to my eyes.

For loving looks, caressing words,
I cared no more than sun or birds;
But I could bite my mother's breast,
And that made up for all the rest.

Barry Cornwall

Posted by: Jheka at November 30, 2005 15:49 | link | comments (2) |
poetry, photos, schmucks, politics, leftist idiocy, general idiocy, mensches, what s going right, rightist idiocy, miscellaneous musings

Today is a Very, Very Special Day

Someone very special is making an appearance.  You can go say hello here.

Posted by: Jheka at November 30, 2005 09:50 | link | comments |
what s going right

Random Sunday Night Art

Time to look at some of what's beautiful in the world.  This is a 1934 painting by Polish-American artist Tamara De Lempicka entitled "Dormeuse (Kizette Sleeping)" ... it is in a private collection:

Posted by: Jheka at November 20, 2005 21:23 | link | comments (2) |
art

Who's At Ground Zero?

These guys are ... and I watched them shout their anti-American conspiracy theories as hundreds of Americans looked on ... is there another nation where this would be permitted?  Should it be permitted here?



A closer look at these guys ... don't they kinda look like the people who hijacked the planes in the first place?



Those papers they're holding?  The scripts.

Posted by: Jheka at November 20, 2005 08:53 | link | comments (44) |
the war against islamism, schmucks, general idiocy

If Mickey Rourke and Woody Allen Conspired to Write a Personal Ad

It mind wind up looking something like this.

Yikes!  Who would answer this?

Posted by: Jheka at November 19, 2005 13:37 | link | comments (8) |
humor, miscellaneous musings

We Should Have Started With Saudi Arabia

Many of President Bush's most vocal critics say that Saudi Arabia, and not Iraq or even Afghanistan, was the place to start fighting the War on Terror, if we were really serious about fighting against psychotic Islamic extremism.  In trutgh, I do not really disagree with them.  The difference is that when I said the same thing, I actually meant it. 

Here is exhibit 5,698 on why Saudi Arabia has to be dealt with, sooner or later:

A Saudi high-school chemistry teacher accused of discussing religion with his students has been sentenced to 750 lashes and 40 months in prison for blasphemy, officials said Thursday.

The court ruling was condemned by human rights activists, who said Mohammed Salamah al-Harbi was being imprisoned for having an "open discussion" with students.

Al-Harbi was convicted of questioning and ridiculing Islam, discussing the Bible and defending Jews, judicial officials said Thursday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Prosecutors acted after a complaint by students and al-Harbi's fellow teachers, officials said. The court in the northern province of al-Qassim heard the case Saturday in a six-hour trial.

. . .

Seven hundred and fifty lashes.  Think about that next time you're out blithely "defending Jews" and "discussing the Bible." 

Riyadh delenda est.

Posted by: Jheka at November 18, 2005 16:31 | link | comments (2) |
the war against islamism, schmucks, general idiocy

Friday Poetry, Damn It!

I'm swamped but I promised you guys Friday poetry and Friday poetry you shall have, or my name isn't Jacques Chirac ... wait a minute ...

In any event, here's a poem by late 16th Century, early 17th Century poet John Donne on a subject that some of our readers know a fair bit about (just kidding ... kinda):

Self-Love

 He that cannot choose but love,
And strives against it still,
Never shall my fancy move,
For he loves 'gainst his will;
Nor he which is all his own,
And can at pleasure choose,
When I am caught he can be gone,
And when he list refuse.
Nor he that loves none but fair,
For such by all are sought;
Nor he that can for foul ones care,
For his judgement then is nought;
Nor he that hath wit, for he
Will make me his jest or slave;
Nor a fool, for when others...,
He can neither....;
Nor he that still his Mistress pays,
For she is thralled therefore;
Nor he that pays not, for he says
Within She's worth no more.
Is there then no kind of men
Whom I may freely prove?
I will vent that humour then
In mine own self-love.

John Donne

Posted by: Jheka at November 18, 2005 16:12 | link | comments (5) |
poetry

The Results Are In - Ronald Reagan Is The Greatest American

At least that's the verdict from TDB readers and, curiously enough, it matches the ultimate result of the Discovery Channel poll that inspired our little poll.  Here is what the final tally looks like:

Selection   Thomas Paine  11 votes Dwight Eisenhower  23 votes Patrick Henry  9 votes Theodore Roosevelt  33 votes Benjamin Franklin  25 votes The Wright Brothers  25 votes Thomas Jefferson  32 votes Ronald Reagan  66 votes Alexander Hamilton  11 votes Alexander Graham Bell  6 votes Abraham Lincoln  55 votes George Washington  58 votes James Madison  8 votes Thomas Edison  9 votes Lewis & Clark  4 votes Andrew Jackson  5 votes George Washington Carver  4 votes Martin Luther King, Jr.  23 votes Harry Truman  23 votes John Adams  12 votes

I'd be curious to see what this poll looks like in 20 or 100 years.  Certainly, Lincoln and Washington will remain near the top but I wonder how history will treat Reagan and whether any of the people who are currently part of the American leadership or part of the cultural landscape will break into a future top-20.  You can see the preliminary poll results right here.

Posted by: Jheka at November 15, 2005 11:48 | link | comments (4) |
miscellaneous musings

How Much is Too Much?

Silvia Johnson did terrible things.  She gave drugs ... serious, damaging drugs, to children.  She apparently committed what, in most states, would be classified as statutory rape.  She is, unquestionably, a bad mother and a damaged human being who put the lives of children at risk (as recently as the day before her sentencing) in order to boost her own fragile ego. 

All that said, does she really deserve thirty years in prison?  Murderers who kill people with malice aforethought towards their victims and society often don't get thirty years.  Millionaire CEOs who, because of personal greed, damage and ruin the lives of thousands of American families and hurt the national economy don't get sentenced to thirty years.  Serial rapists and sexual predators who commit their crimes against unwilling terrified victims at gunpoint don't spend thirty years behind bars.  Is it really appropriate that Silvia Johnson, who is, apparently, a mentally damaged and morally reckless narcissist but who does not appear to be malicious, cruel or wilfully dangerous, should potentially spend the next thirty years in prison?  I do not think that it is.  I believe that this woman deserves to be in prison for some period of time (perhaps 5 years) and certainly belongs in a mental hospital.  I believe that she should permanently lose custody of her child, be prevented from having any more children and be prohibited from being around children, period.  However, putting her in prison for thirty years for acting on an apparent psychological defect seems, to me, to be an unproductive act of unwarranted cruelty on the part of society.

What do you think?

Posted by: Jheka at November 15, 2005 08:29 | link | comments (7) |
miscellaneous musings

The Very Best of Craigslist

I haven't posted in a while, so here is something funny to get us going.  A few years ago there was a hilarious anonymous writer who used to post on Craigslist's "Missed Connections" section in San Francisco ... two of his (many) "you were the blonde" posts were saved by the Craigslist folks.  Here they are:

The Blonde Driving in Colma

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Reply to: anon-754992@craigslist.org
Date: Thu Mar 1 01:28:33 2001


You were the blonde who was driving slowly in that long line of cars in Colma yesterday. It was only 1pm, but your lights were on. Actually all the cars in front of you and behind you had their lights on as well, so I guess you all must have just come out of tunnel or something. I was the guy who drove past you in the 1974 Ford Pinto with the personalized license plate that read NO BRAIN. It was actually supposed to read NOV RAIN, meaning ?November Rain? for that way cool Guns 'N Roses song that came out a few years back, but I had a really bad head cold the day I went to the DMV and I guess NOV RAIN sounded like NO BRAIN. Idiots. Anyway, as I said, your lights were on so I gave you the old flick of the lights. I figured you might not have seen that through your dark veil (cool fashion statement), so I pulled a U-ey and drove up alongside you and gave you the universal ?roll down your window? hand gesture, which with the proliferation of electric windows doesn?t really make sense anymore, and you rolled down your window and I yelled ?your lights are on.? You yelled back ?Stu Pididiot? and rolled your window back up. My name indeed is Stuart Pididiot. But the last name isn't hyphenated. The way you said it, it sounded like Stu Pid-Idiot. Also the "t" at the end should be silent. It?s French. Where do we know each other from? If you?re single, would you like to meet for coffee sometime?

The Blonde at the Laundromat

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Reply to: anon-1511911@craigslist.org
Date: Wed Aug 8 09:46:00 2001


You were the sexy blonde at the laundromat on Polk and Filbert last night. I was the guy who was folding other people’s laundry into various origami shapes. I call it laundrogami. This serves multiple purposes, most of which make no sense, so I’ll only mention the ones that do. First and foremost, it’s nice to come back to laundromat and find your freshly dried clothes folded neatly by a stranger. It’s even nicer to come back to find your favorite t-shirt folded in the shape of a swan (even if that one does require a few staples), or your underwear folded in the shape of the Spanish Armada. A red bra? Bam. Golden Gate Bridge. Don’t even need to fold those; I just create a tiny toll plaza on one side out of one of those tiny fifty-cent detergent boxes and add cars (regular M&M’s....peanut M&M’s for SUV’s). Apparently not realizing their significance, you ate several of my cars, like some modern day laundromat Godzilla. Anyway, you left for a while as your clothes were drying. I’d love to know what you thought of the sock panda. Coffee?


Hmmm ... more?  OK ... two more Craigslist hits, because I like you guys:

Increasingly attractive woman - m4w - 27

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Reply to: anon-108415870@craigslist.org
Date: Wed Nov 02 13:02:07 2005


Dear increasingly attractive woman:

I came very close to making a pass at you today. While I have not been attracted to you for the majority of time I've known you, I find myself desiring you more and more the longer I go without any sex or female companionship. Your annoying habits are easier to ignore, your odd features seem to blur, and your shitty attitude more closely matches my air of pathetic desparation.

Let's face it: neither one of us is really a catch right now. "Nearby" and "available" are really the only qualities we have to offer anyone, so why not just admit it and give in to the first guy who comes along- me. I assure you, my darling, right now I am halfway seething with mildly erotic desire for you. I fantasize about taking you in my arms, pulling your body close to mine, and whispering in your ear, "You'll do for now." Think of the hours upon hours of vaguely satisfying sexual activities we could engage in! Think of the amazing substances we'll ingest in a failed attempt to drive off feelings of dissapointment and resignation! Think of all the magnificently sexy people we'll imagine we're with! (full disclosure: I'll be thinking about some of your friends) I honestly believe it could be the greatest relationship either one of us has ever settled for.

Though I missed my chance with you today, I am certain we will be together someday, my momentarily acceptable love bunny. Probably when I'm drunk.

Dear Neighbors: I HATE your Chihuahua

---

Reply to: anon-106557572@craigslist.org
Date: Tue Oct 25 10:18:03 2005


I hate to tell you this because as far as I'm concerned, you guys are the PERFECT NEIGHBORS.

Seriously.

I never hear a peep out of you! You're private, you keep to yourselves, yet you're both still friendly and willing to offer a wave and a smile. You never complain. You take great care of your house and yard. You guys are THE BEST! I love you. I really do.

But I really... really... really... HATE YOUR CHIHUAHUA.

Your Chihuahua barks constantly, all day long.

BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK!

I can't use (bark bark) my computer for very (bark bark) long because my office is (bark bark) on the (bark bark) same side of (bark bark) the house as (bark bark) the room in which (bark bark) you keep (bark bark) your Chihuahua, so (bark bark) the entire time (bark bark) I'm trying (bark bark) to type (bark bark) I get (bark bark) to hear (bark bark) your dog (bark bark) letting his (bark bark) displeasure (bark bark) be known (bark bark).

I can't (bark bark) turn the TV up (bark bark) loud enough (bark bark) to (bark bark) drowned out (bark bark) the noise (bark bark) because it leaves (bark bark) me with a splitting (BARK BARK!) headache and ringing ears. (bark bark)

I can't do ANYTHING in my own house without having to listen to;

BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause*
BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK!

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not an angry, anal retentive, complain-y, intolerant type of person. I have dogs too! I know how dogs can be and I understand that when you get a new dog, there's sometimes a period of adjustment.

But it's been THREE WEEKS. For the love of GOD- ADJUST ALREADY!!!

Please (bark bark) please (bark bark) please (bark bark) do something about(bark bark) your dog. (bark bark) I'm BEGGING you. (bark bark) I'm LOSING my fucking mind (bark bark) listing to it (bark bark) all day long (bark bark) for what (bark bark) seems like (bark bark) an endless (bark bark) eternal (bark bark) Hell.

I hear him when I'm making coffee, I hear him when I'm checking email, I hear him when I'm on the toilet, I hear him when I'm trying to watch tv, I hear him even if the volume is on high.

I'm starting to twitch each morning when I wake up because I know as soon as I open my bedroom door, I'll be greeted with;

BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK! *pause* BARK BARK!

I'm grinding my teeth during the day (my dentist says I've lost some enamel) and I've developed headaches that last for hours, all thanks to your Chihuahua who I'm SURE is a lovely dog when he has all the attention that shivery, neurotic little Chihuahuas are known for needing.

It's just that you aren't there (bark bark) to give him (bark bark) the kind of attention (bark bark) necessary (bark bark) in order (bark bark) to keep (bark bark) him from developing (bark bark) obsessive (bark bark) compulsive (bark bark) barking (bark bark) syndrome (bark bark).

There's a Petsmart just down the street- please buy him some chew toys to keep him busy during the day. Hire a trainer. Get some tranquilizers from the vet. Call Dr. Dog.


Do whatever you have to do.

JUST SHUT HIM UP!

Posted by: Jheka at November 09, 2005 17:53 | link | comments (5) |
humor

Cindy Sheehan For President

I absolutely cannot tell you just how much I support this idea.  Seriously, run, Cindy run!

Sheehan/Kucinich '08!

Posted by: Jheka at November 01, 2005 11:53 | link | comments (1) |
the war against islamism, schmucks, iraq, politics, leftist idiocy, humor

Happy Birthday To Me!

That is all.

Posted by: Jheka at November 01, 2005 00:56 | link | comments (9) |
miscellaneous musings