Just a Thought: A Stagnant Truth.

How far does loyalty and American Patriotism take you when a young, supposedly heterosexual soldier is ordered to rape (FUCK) anally abuse teenage boys?  Forget whether the acts were performed in front of family members, or not. It’s the very act that matters.

Just following orders! (?) Foul, evil, conniving, self-righteous.  Humans enjoy nothing more than the act of harming other humans

Does it take this sick behavior to finally stop you in your tracks to say, “this, my entire way of life, has been a vast red-white-blue lie.”?  Does it?  Even a little bit? No wonder more and more of our soldiers and hurting. There are secrets to keep, they bought into the lie, too.

Yes, by all means, let’s offer a free ride and safe passage to George Bush and Dick Cheney, but do everything possible to draw-and-quarter the likes of Edward Snowden for drawing attention to their crimes, and others.

All humans are truly pathetic, dangerous creatures. We’d rather harm others who suffered as we have, than to banish that suffering and those who ordered it in the first place.

I am sick.

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September 11, 2014

Twitter/NYPost
h/t: JMG

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Just a Thought: Training

You're never too young to learn to live

in a Police State.

More later.
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Just a Thought: Gaza

Does anyone know when they will begin construction on

the Gaza Wing of the Holocaust Museum in Washington?

h/t Fearguth

Lawsuit Against Bush Administration Moves Forward

Wow!  Just, WOW! I’ve heard rumors about this story for a while, but this is

the first I’ve seen it in print and that it appears to be of substance.  I can only say - “IF ONLY” this were to come to pass, at least some vindication for others around the globe who’ve been discussing these events and dates for years. The story:

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, who is defending the six Bush Administration officials, responded to the lawsuit by requesting that the case be dismissed. The Bush tribe is claiming that the planning of the war occurred within the scope of their employment and therefore they have immunity.
Rather than dismissing the case, the Judge asked for additional information. So Mr. Comar filed a 2nd amended complaint back in June. The amended complaint provides more details about the planning of the Iraq war and when it started.
Comar essentially made two points to the court.
The first argument he made was something called judicial estoppel. It prevents a party from taking a position in a case which is contrary to a position they have taken in earlier legal proceedings. In this case, Comar used the Nuremburg Trials as an example.
The Nuremburg Trials, which the United States views as legitimate, held Nazi leaders accountable for their acts of aggression. Comar held that judicial estoppel dictates the Bush Administration and DOJ can’t argue that leaders aren’t accountable for acts of aggression because it runs contrary to the US’s position at Nuremburg.
The second point that was made referred to the Augusto Pinochet trial. In 1999, British Lawyers determined that Pinochet did not have immunity for certain acts he committed while in office such as torture and other violations of international law. These Brits held that Pinochet was not immune because Chile had signed the convention against torture.
Comar’s evidence, shows the Bush/Cheney team started planning the invasion of Iraq as far back as 1997. The amended complaint also explains that the war was motivated by personal enrichment and the war was a “crime of aggression.” and - In light of the treaties and charters that the United States has signed, Comar stated that the defence can’t now claim that acts of aggression are above a leader’s authority. In this case, the Bush Administration.

Read the rest HERE.

Could there finally be justice done in this case? Or, will whoever is president when the case is decided pardon the lot of them.

So far, this story has been successfully swept under the collective media’s rug. Let’s see what happens from here.

No pictures of the vermin until they're in Orange Jumpsuits, sitting in the dock at the Hague.

And so it goes.

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Bye Archie. Ya Done Good.

It is very strange - a world without Archie - but the way he's going out is totally in character.  With dignity, courage, and class.

And so it goes.
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Using Windows XP & Internet Explorer? Stop!!!

28, April, 2014.  The federal government today urged Americans to suspend usage of Internet Explorer. 

The U.S. and UK governments on Monday advised computer users to consider using alternatives to Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer browser until the company fixes a security flaw that hackers used to launch attacks. The Internet Explorer bug, disclosed over the weekend, is the first high-profile computer threat to emerge since Microsoft stopped providing security updates for Windows XP earlier this month. That means PCs running the 13-year-old operating system will remain unprotected, even after Microsoft releases updates to defend against it.The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team said in an advisory released on Monday that the vulnerability in versions 6 to 11 of Internet Explorer could lead to "the complete compromise" of an affected system.

Try Firefox or Chrome instead.  Both are free and both are faster than IE. Always have been. The bigger plus is that you will be safer than you would be otherwise.

More later.

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Halloween: "Happy Priest" Old is New Again

See this ad and read it carefully (click to embiggen):

Now don't be offended.  Truth is truth and you can't have opinions about truth. A few years ago there was one offered far more graphic than this one.

OK, truth be told; once upon a time when I was a young'un growing up Gay (and Catlick) in New Orleans, once upon a time at Mardi Gras I costumed as a Pregnant Nun on Roller Skates.  The costume in the ad doesn't have that much imagination. I dreamt up the idea at age 16! Evil boy!  Well, I am left-handed, after all - and we know what that means. You don't?  Go ask an old nun.

After all, nuns were the Islamic terrorists of their day.   If you went to Catholic school you know I speak the truth.  Of course, I do...

Predictably, ol' Bill Donahue - of the Catholic League (a league of one, BTW) is foaming at the mouth over this 'outrage' - in an attempt to martyr himself for all those victims of religious abuse both past and present.

It is what it is.

I wish I was well enough to work Sea Witch this weekend. I'd give some folks heart failure.

h/t: JMG

More later.
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1100 Diagnosed with WTC-Related Cancer. Why, Thank You and FUCK YOU!!!

I'd like to say a few words here, if you don't mind.  FUCK YOU, RUDOLPH GIULIANI (Mayor of 9/11),  FUCK YOU CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN (Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (from 2001 to 2003 in THE CABINET OF GEORGE W. BUSH.) Well, aren't we totally fucking surprised?  Not. 
And a gigantic FUCK YOU TO GEORGE W. BUSH (initiating the coverup in the first place. "No toxins in the air!"  Indeed.  They should die in a fire.  Now this from Yahoo News:

More than 1,000 people who have lived or worked near ground zero, including first responders, have been diagnosed with a cancer related to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, health officials say.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1,140 people have been certified with a WTC-related cancer. And that number is expected to grow, the Daily News reports.
"There are more cases out there, because we just know of the people in our government-funded medical programs, not those who have been treated by their private doctors,”  Dr. Jim Melius, chairman of the WTC Responder Medical Program, told the newspaper. “Because of the carcinogens in the air at ground zero, people who were exposed are vulnerable. And with cancer, there is a delay.”
Tina Engel, an oncology nurse at North Shore Hospital’s WTC clinic in Queens, told the paper she identified 12 new cases in the last two months and has another 25 patients whose diagnostic test results are pending.
“The good news is that with new federal funding, I get what I need when I need it for our patients," Engel said. "Their biopsies and scans are turned around in a week. Cancer trumps everything.”
As many as 65,000 people, including first responders, became sick from 9/11 exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A Mount Sinai Medical Center study cited by the Daily News found a 15 percent higher cancer rate among first responders than among people who were not exposed to the toxic air.
Marty Cervellion, a 63-year-old city engineer who spent more than two months at ground zero following the attacks, developed gastroesophageal cancer in 2011.
“It was always in the back of everyone’s mind we were in jeopardy given the contamination down there, but the entire world was calling on you," he told the Daily News. "It felt so good to serve, there was no wanting to escape."

Anyone with half a brain (George W. Bush excluded) knew there was no way the air was free of toxic chemicals at the site.  It was only a matter of time before the truth would surface.  Not that the three above care much. Only the Mayor of 9/11 may show his face, but I doubt it. The other two are far away from the spotlight.  And that's as it should be.  Wonder if the media will pick up on this and hunt them down.  Especially Whitman who emphatically denied the rumors of toxins at the site or anywhere in the area.  They ought to be in prison.

And so it goes.
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Largest Mass Murder of GLBT People in HIstory: 40 years ago.

This  horrific event in our history may be unknown to you, but story continues to haunt many, including Troy Perry the founder of the Metropolitan Community Churches. (click the plaque image to embiggen.) As usual in those day, as now, there was little press coverage and many families of the deceased refused to claim the bodies.  Unfortunately, some things haven't changed, even 40 years on.  The perpetrator(s) were never found. Sad, that.

On June 24th, 1973 a popular gay bar, The Upstairs Lounge, was brimming with patrons even though it was a Sunday. It was the last day of Pride week. A Time Magazine article described the bar as a,

 “safe haven for gays in 1973. Every Sunday night from 5pm to 7pm, the second-floor bar held its weekly “beer bust”—all you can drink drafts for $1. It was a refuge where patrons could laugh, love, and even worship without fear. The Metropolitan Community Church, the only denomination at the time that welcomed gays and lesbians, often held services in the bar’s back-room theater.”

On that night one man, Luther Boggs, ran down the stairs to answer the doorbell. What he did not know was the man at the door had doused the steps in lighter fluid and set it alight. The next 20 minutes were complete chaos; 35 quickly made it to safety, 15 got out injured but alive, 29 died immediately in the fire, and 3 died later due to injuries.

The Upstairs Lounge was on the second floor of a three-story building, and was only two blocks away from the fire station.  Firefighters were slowed down by stalled vehicles in the street and crowds of drunken bar goers. By the time the first responders arrived on scene, flames were shooting from the building.

The story of the Upstairs Lounge Fire from the Times Picayune. 

I tried posting this yesterday, but the damned links wouldn't cooperate.  Better late than never.

And so it goes.
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The Value of Silence

David really nails this one. I think it's what I've been feeling since the bombings.
 David Sirota:

Can you hear yourself think? Can you manage more than bursts of confusion and anger? Can you feel your own humanity anymore? I'll admit it — I've had trouble this week, too. After an explosion like the one in Boston, it is indeed hard to hear one's own internal monologue, much less meditate on such horrific events. Polluting that sacred quiet of the mind is both the haunting boom of the bombs themselves and even worse, the noisy coda that we've become so accustomed to.
Sensory overload, of course, is the deafening effect of the Catastrophe Aftermath — one of the last unifying and consistent rituals in our atomized nation. Yes, regardless of whether the tragedy is a school shooting or a terrorist attack, the epilogues of these now-constant mass casualty events have become prepackaged productions that seem less like reality than scripted television dramas.
You know how it goes. Cable outlets blare breaking news chyrons. Twitter explodes with declarations that we are "all from (insert city name) today." Websites post videos of viscera and other disaster porn. Pundits wildly speculate about perpetrators. The president promises justice. Law enforcement press conferences review body counts. Municipal officials insist the community will "stand united." Funerals commence. A media icon says something outrageous. Other media carnival barkers then react to the bombast. Ultimately, the whole episode becomes another excuse to limit civil liberties and is forgotten by all but those personally affected.

Go and read the rest HERE.  You may feel better, as I do now.

And so it goes.

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Gun Bill Disaster: Small Comfort

I am happy, proud in fact, to tell you that the 2 Senators from Delaware voted FOR the il-fated background check bill that went down in flames thanks to 46 scum-sucking, bottom-dwelling, NRA bitches senators. (lower case is all they merit.) And, looking at the names of the 46, I was not surprised at all. Even the testimony of Gabby Giffords couldn't thaw their cold hearts.

It is little comfort to be faced with the reality that almost half elected to the Senate care more about the NRA than their constituents. At least Tom Carper can hold his head up on this one.  Chris Coons is a gem and we knew he would be on the right side of this issue.

There was much sadness at the outcome, but some rejoicing at the restaurant today, too.  Many of the staff are hunters as well as fishermen, and they were as unhappy as I by the outcome, but glad that the First State Senators did the right thing.

If you are a resident of Delaware, please take a minute to call or email both Senators and thank them for their vote.

And so it goes.
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Teabagistan. Wingnuttia, the Dodo, and a Geek

What is all this? I spend a day in bed resting my voice, heart and soul and wake up to more crazy than you can shake a stick at, though I would like to give that a try.

Wingnuttia & Teabagistan have already decided that the nasty Muslims (with Obama as leader, of course) are responsible for Boston bombs, even though the investigation had turned up nothing overnight.  The sooner they go the way of the Dodo, the better off we'll all be.

The bombers planned to maximize the damage to the lower body by stuffing bits of ugly and sharp things into pressure cookers.  And they were successful to a point. The ongoing investigation is offering more clues as to why this happened.

Note: I will postpone the purchase of a pressure cooker for the time being, since that kitchen marvel is now linked to the bombings and resulting carnage.  Is there any innocence left in the world? I am not making light of this news, believe me. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that a warped mind would take such a useful device and use it for such destructive purposes.

I was out of bed only minutes when the phone rang. It was Eddie (co-worker & computer geek) asking if he could drop by and pick up my desktop to clean it up and restore Windows 7 and MS Office.  I will likely lose most programs and all files I couldn't save to disc beforehand.  That's OK.  I've lost more important things in the past, so this is nothing in comparison.

Having spent Tuesday indoors and mostly in bed, I had to make a run to the grocery store before Eddie arrived. I was still unable to talk, not sure of my balance, but I headed out and was back home within an hour. Aside from the necessities I stocked up for Cara-Cara oranges, red grapefruit, bananas, and a mini watermelon. So, me has a craving.

 Eddie arrived a shortly thereafter. He unplugged all cables from the CPU and took it with him saying he may have it back to me by tomorrow evening.  In the meantime I am using the laptop connected to the network and gradually building up my cache of fave sites and blogs and tapping into the advertising websites I have to update for the restaurant. I'm glad I bought the laptop when I did for the very low price  because had I not done so, I'd be left high and dry for these past few days.

Still congested and unable to talk much, but I think I've crossed over to the healing side of this cold/allergy thing, and just in time to return to work tomorrow.

And so it goes.
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MIA & Boston

Laid low by a tree pollen/head cold  combo since Saturday evening, I've been missing in action ever since.
Made it through a busy Sunday and was making another valiant effort the last 2 hours of my shift yesterday - rapidly losing my voice in the process - when news of the explosions at the Boston marathon hit all TV screens at once.

For those 2 hours everyone was riveted trying to figure out who would do such a thing.  It didn't take long for many theories to surface. Local or foreign, none were excluded. Of course a cry went up when the first person snagged by police was a Saudi student studying in Boston.  Racial profiling, anyone?

As my voice faded away I sat at the bar after my shift and sipped a hot Jameson's toddy prepared by Linda, the GM. The concoction soothed my throat but had no effect on the ability to speak without croaking sounds.

The speculation continued by all of us as well as the media on the scene. Reading the captioning I noticed there was never a mention of this being planned and executed by a home-grown American person or group. American media still refuse to call local acts of terrorism, just that.  Acts committed by American terrorists. Seems we have a short collective memory for things like the Oklahoma City and Atlanta bombings.

I finished the toddy and tired of the same endless tape loop, I walked home in silence feeling empty and tired; wondering what sort of mind could imagine doing such a horrible thing and why it was always directed against innocent people. It was a very early-to-bed night; I felt feverish and chilled.

No one - or group - has claimed this evil. I woke this morning to news that many of the injured had lost limbs, both spectators and runners alike. Irony?  Maybe. This news made me feel no better as I remain without voice.

Grateful for the day off I will sip green tea with honey and lemon, down a few bowls of soup, read in bed all day, and fall asleep if it comes to me. It appears this thing has relocated to my chest, because it feels like a giant bird is crushing me.   Low energy and kind of weak.

I am on the laptop for now.  It seems the desktop has given up the ghost and I am too tired to call Eddie again for help. Whatever! It is what it is.  May be time for a new computer.

And so it goes.
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