It;'s the end of the world as we know it
This is the way Fark reported it:
Steve Hung to hook up with Billy Ray Cyrus for remake of "Achy BreakyHeart." Scientists fears collision of two self-parody media footnotescould create black hole of suckage so strong it could destroy theuniverse.
And Now a Word About the Ten Commandments
Moses, looking exactly like Charleton Heston, descended from the mountain with the tablets in hand. The throng awaited his news with bated breath.
"I have good news and bad news," he said.
"The good news is that I got him down to 10. The bad news is that the adultery thingy is still one of 'em."
Good things come to those who wait....
... and the wait is about over.
What neo-cons don't understand about the vast majority of moderates and liberals in America is that they really don't care to engage in name-calling, back-biting and the rigors of mindless patriotism. They are interested in results.
Most just hang back and let things happen. And it's happening with the war in Iraq. While this is being written before President Bush's speech tonight, the speech doesn't matter. The majority of Americans are sick unto death of the war and where it has been heading for months.
One way or another, we're going to get out of that hell-hole and soon. The American people have said what they thought the timetable ought to be in Iraq and the day after tomorrow is not soon enough to get out as far as most are concerned.
As more troops come home and tell their stories of chaos and disintegrating moral, the polls are going to be even more anti-Bush and anti-war. We are still a nation of reasonable people and the war in Iraq is as unreasonable as the one in Vietnam.
What an absolute mess. The president has no plan and instead of defetaing terrorism in Iraq, it has become a breeding ground for terrorists. Could it be any worse?
But it will soon be over and our good men and women who have served so faithfully will soon be home because good things come to those who wait.
It is so hot....
I saw two squirrels in the park packing their nuts in ice.
Don Surber fanned himself with a copy of the 10 commandments.
They were mopping sock monkey sweat out of Tamarack.
Don Blankenship actually wore white and shared a cold one with Joe Manchin.
Hoppy Kerchivcal did his radio talk show in the nude.
Raging Red added ice to her vodka.
Congress added an amendment to the flag-desecration amendment saying it's OK to freeze a flag and wrap your privates in it.
...please add your own
Word Up to Don Blankenship
You remind me of a man.
What Man?
The man with the power.
What power?
The power of who do.
Who do? Do what?
Remind me of a man
What man?
The man with the power.
...
What do these Republican senators have in common?
And what don't they have in common with Senator Byrd?
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)Robert Bennett (R-UT)Christopher Bond (R-MO)Jim Bunning (R-KY)Conrad Burns (R-MT)Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)Thad Cochran (R-MS)Kent Conrad (D-ND)John Cornyn (R-TX)Michael Crapo (R-ID)Michael Enzi (R-WY)Chuck Grassley (R-IA)Judd Gregg (R-NH)Orrin Hatch (R-UT)Trent Lott (R-MS)Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)Richard Shelby (R-AL)John Sununu (R-NH)Craig Thomas (R-WY)George Voinovich (R-OH)
Today's lesson for those who want to condemn Senator Byrd for something he did in his youth
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
Jim Tweel: What America is all about
Jim Tweel, Huntington restaurateur, died yesterday. He was 89. Here's a column I wrote about him and his establishment a couple of years ago:
Jim Tweel is what America is all about. When I get cynical about the way things are, I often think of Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House and I am recharged.
The downtown Huntington restaurant has been in the same location for 65 years. And the man who started it is expected to be present Saturday when folks who love Jim, his wife, Sally, and their “store,” as Jim calls it, gather to celebrate what is most certainly one of the greatest success stories in these parts.
It will be more than a celebration of longevity. It will be a celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I can recall eating spaghetti at Jim’s when I was about four years old with Uncle Wendell Stapleton who would drive all the way from Ashland, Ky., just to eat the delicacy.
Later, as a summer intern at WSAZ-TV, I’d join Bos Johnson, Frank Thompson, the late Jim Martin and the late Bill Stewart for lunch following the noon news.
When I went to work for a Huntington newspaper (What was its name again? I can’t recall) I suspect I ate lunch at least three times a week at Jim’s over 32 years. Spaghetti, fish sandwiches, cheeseburgers made with Heiner’s white bread, ham salad sandwiches and iced tea. Those were the staples. Jim was always there to greet his customers dressed in a starched white custom made French-cuffed shirt and tie that cost more than my entire wardrobe.
If you’re looking for a Horatio Alger story, it’s Jim Tweel. As a kid and the son of immigrants from the Kfier region of Lebanon, he hawked newspapers on Fourth Avenue in front of the very building where later he would establish his restaurant. In the early years, he’d work from daylight till dark in his store then don a suit and tie and play bass for a local dance band. When did he sleep? He once told me he didn’t recall sleeping much back then.
During the years of white-only restaurants, Jim’s was never white-only. Jim’s sidekick in the venture for most of those years was “Bunny” Gray who managed the cooks and waitresses at Jim’s and was perhaps the finest African-American male role model I’ve ever known. His late wife, Marion, aka “Bunche,” was a civil rights firebrand, but Bunny worked quietly behind the scenes for the cause. Bunny and Bunche made quite a pair and advanced civil rights in Huntington far more than most realize.
The Tweel’s contributions to the performing arts in Huntington are legendary and their quiet benevolence is perhaps unmatched. Jim has never forgotten that simple but overriding American tenet: To whom much is given, much is expected.
Until recently, Jim showed up part of every day at his store to greet old friends. Now, however, he only shows up for special occasions and Saturday looks like one of those. His daughter, Jimmy Carder, now runs the restaurant. Except for a few minor changes to the menu, nothing has changed, nor should it.
Even after 65 years, Jim’s is perfect just the way it is.
Don Surber says in his blog:
After 30 years, I changed my party registration to Republican in 2002. Partly because West Virginia needs a stronger Republican Party to reintroduce a two-party system. Partly because the party has lost its mind.
Appointing Dr. Howard Dean as its chief yahoo is a sign that it is about to hit rock bottom. In San Francisco, Dean let loose on anyone who dares to disagree:
Republicans are "a pretty monolithic party. They all behave the same. They all look the same. It's pretty much a white Christian party."
Hmm. Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Alberto Gonzales, Carlos Gutierrez, Elaine Chao, Norman Mineta and Alphonso Jackson might disagree. Rod Paige rose from the segregated schools of Mississippi to become secretary of education.
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I am reminded of what the old chief said in "Little Big Man."
"Ah, yes, the black white man. Not quite as ugly but just as crazy."
FOURTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM
Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine, a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is titled "Fascism Anyone?," and appears in Free Inquiry’s Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
The 14 characteristics are:
1.. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2.. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights – Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to ‘look the other way’ of even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3.. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe; racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists; terrorists, etc.
4.. Supremacy of the Military – Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5.. Rampant Sexism – The government if fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6.. Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.
7.. Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivation tool by the government over the masses.
8.. Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
9.. Corporate Power is Protected – The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders in power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10.. Labor Power is Suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely or are severely suppressed.
11.. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12.. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses, and even forego civil liberties, in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13.. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions, and who use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability.
14.. Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against (or even the assassination of) the opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries.
