Truth and Illusion

Tucson, Arizona. Religious leaders met recently with Congresswoman Giffords in her Tucson office to encourage her to try introduce sane legislation regarding the border and our immigration situation. Not surprisingly, having IQ’s exceeding that of a cinder block, the leaders oppose a 700 mile wall approved by the Bush Administration, well aware that a wall is merely something dug under, climbed over, or gone around, save perhaps, as our Congresswoman has noted, in specific urban concentrations where a well constructed wall might make some sense, but even then, one has to pay attention to what happens under the ground.

Like schizophrenics, we live in fantasy. The war on drugs is as much of a lie as prohibition. Congress passes the law and then heads to the speakeasy. Who is fooling whom on the border and immigration? Kooks want to torture those that come across by denying them access to medical treatment (Graf). Think that one out systemically. Our economy has organized dependence on this labor, and we pretend it hasn’t. We "pretend" those who have been working, earning wages, paying taxes, and living here for years are "criminals" and that we will be better off if we deport them (Pierce). Some of us grow so paranoid we think Muslims will take over Congress (Goode).

Our federal courts are so swamped that actual prosecution of border offenses is limited to crossers with prior convictions or engaged in serious drug trafficking. Otherwise, the case is dismissed. They cannot handle the load. To get serious about this, we are going to hire how many judges and attorneys? Well, at least we have lots of extra space in our prisons to handle those we catch.

Speaking of all the extra space we have in our prison system, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a set of folks prospering most heartily over our country’s obsession with throwing kids in jail for smoking marijuana, has been found guilty of discrimination IN FAVOR of Hispanics at the Florence facility. Of course, those managing the place certainly aren’t adopting practices associated with the inmate population, which has what demographics?

Your humble blogger was deeply wounded Thursday night when I checked the news and learned of the Rodeo parade catastrophe. Suddenly the bulb went off, and I felt sick. We were warned this would happen, and not subtly. Last year in almost the same location almost the exact same thing happened and hurt the very Mayor himself and wacked his wife temporarily unconscious and then loopy for several weeks. What happened last year was more scary and worse than the press reported. In my world, that was the universe trying to tell the community we had an issue. Whether we noticed or not, as far as I know none of us did anything.

No one can credibly point a finger at anyone on this one. Shame on all of us. What we are now going to do (get our shit together around safety) we should have done when the Mayor was almost killed, before a five year old got trampled to death.

Finally, Oscars are tomorrow, and Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is nominated for several, including "best song." There is speculation he could take the stage and announce something. Hmmm.

There was a song in that film?

Sunday Potpourri

Well, top Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada has declared Iraq the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of the country, worse than Vietnam. According to Retired General William Odom, it was also the worst strategic disaster in the history of the country. Anyone going for worst fiscal disaster in the history of the country? I can almost feel Cheney's hand taking the cash from my wallet.

McCain continues to disgust, now telling folks in South Carolina that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. To think I used to like this guy. Polls are showing Guiliani significantly stronger, but I don’t see how he can pull off the primary. Strong general election contender, yes, but how does he get GOP primary nod given terrible scores in the kook stuff like gay rights, gun control, abortion, etc.? I don’t get it. Then, of course, there’s the girlfriend stuff with the wife downstairs. Does anyone think Rudy can actually do this?

Won’t link to anything, but as Mitt gets more serious, so do the rumblings. This collision should be interesting.

Senator Kyl and Congresswoman Giffords are visiting the Middle East, and the comments posted after the article are to be read at one's own risk. Geez.

Was working on Something Else today, and came to the part about the meth heads and decided to throw Attack of the Killer Tomatoes into the machine. What a scream. In the current context, the movie is positively hilarious. I’ll never forget the first time I watched it. The giant tomato with the ear muffins to protect it from the “Puberty Love” song just about killed me and has altered my psychological profile. Oh, God, and then there’s the part where the guy slams the other guy’s head into the sidewalk, and that parachute! Haaagh Huwaaaagh!!

Turning to the truly important, Britney has shaved her head and then went to get a tattoo. Someone needs to change her meds or do something before she pulls an Anne Nichol. This woman is on a collision course with death, or even worse, Scientology.

Gunfight at a Certain Corral

Incredibly, the shoot out actually did occur at almost exactly high noon. I faced not one assassin, but two, and they drew their pistols and shot. My carefully crafted conversation, designed to deflect bullets away from fatal blows, worked. Although pretty shot up and wounded, I could return fire and did, hitting the first assassin almost center shot and two good rounds into the other. We all fell to the ground bleeding.

But, alas, I did survive and remain among the employed and insured, at least for today. The assassins crawled off, perhaps mortally wounded, perhaps not. As far as I know they are still alive. In reality, these things can take time. I really think I got them, especially the first one. Time will tell. What remains unknown is whether these two had external backing. One thing is for sure. The assassins are not thinking tonight what they were thinking last night about your humble blogger.

What a day.

I promise, Sirocco, the whole thing is coming, and it really is something else.

Historical Marker--Take Three

OK. The water around your humble blogger is very red now. Things might be happening a little quicker than planned (June). An assassin is on a mission to take me out, and tomorrow he will (according to everyone) take his shot. This takes some courage. He might decide to wait.

Well, "Something Else" is not ready. I need a couple more months, but the first review was very good. If you haven't the slightest idea what I'm talking about, that's ok. Let's just say I'm working on a book of a certain kind.

A lot of you are in it.

If fired tomorrow, it will be a career first. I'll live. This is primarily the result of physics. I don't even take it personally and knew it was coming.

When I am no longer employed with the current employer and shift to what's next (yes, my cheese has been moved enough that notion of new cheese is not new) anonymity becomes unnecessary. Will keep x4mr, but I will update my profile to include my real name.

Regarding 2008, Giffords Gets It

I was not able to attend the event our Congresswoman hosted yesterday on Tucson's north side that was open to the public. Anyone know how it went? Did everyone just smile and clap? Did someone get hot and bothered and really let her have it about something? Did anyone show up?

I am equally disappointed that I missed Framer on the radio yesterday, so I still don't know who he is, although our local press has his cell phone number.

I did receive our Congresswoman's letter to her supporters where she does not hesitate to note the saying that You are not really elected until you are re-elected. While there are exceptions to this wisdom (Grijalva in CD7), her slot in CD 8 is most certainly not one of them. She then states, very correctly, her belief that the 2008 election will be "much harder" than the last one.

Fundraising rhetoric in a letter to supporters or not, the words are true. The GOP had a complete meltdown in this race last time. I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that funds sent Grijalva's way are unnecessary, but a unified Democratic Party will hopefully understand that CD 8 is far more challenging terrain requiring more funds, more grassroots effort, and greater support. The GOP is not going to waste ammo on CD 7. The cross hairs and little red dots are lining up on its neighbor to the east.

Ray Carroll? Tim Bee? Mike Hellon is busy. In addition to the difficult Presidential race, one would speculate the GOP will devote some energy to reversing its 2006 LD 26 humiliation. They will prioritize what they do, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that CD 8 is seen as ripe, a target worthy of considerable investment and a knock down, drag out effort. She's vulnerable, and she gets it.

I'm not the least bit shy about asserting that I think George W. Bush is far above and away the WORST president in the history of this country in terms of overall damage to both the country and the planet. Instead of listening to me, I highly recommend the following Nation Article that offers an excellent read on the subject.

Also, the US Mint is taking another shot at a dollar coin, but once again, these people just don't get that the way to make this happen is to STOP PRINTING THE PAPER BILLS. We are blowing hundreds of millions of dollars a year being stupid about our currency. This is one issue, where if I were the despot in charge, I would pull a Cheney and say, "To hell with what anyone thinks, we're scrapping the penny, the nickel, and the dollar bill, and the $BILLION+ dollars per year that this will save will go into programs fortifying our education system, particularly towards programs promoting math and science."

By the way, can anyone explain to me why an AP article about the new dollar coin features a completely unexplained photograph of Mitt Romney looking very presidential?

Dying Young

(Silvia Plath image) Well, for reasons we will perhaps never know, some people just don't seem to be meant to last very long on the planet. At the ripe age of 39, Anne Nicole Smith has died. There are many more than I can list. Jim Morrison. James Dean. Marilyn Monroe. Jayne Mansfield. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Holly. River Phoenix. Kurt Cobain. Brandon Lee. Patsy Cline. Jessica Savitch. Sylvia Plath. Karen Carpenter. John Belushi. Chris Farley. Andy Kaufman. Mozart. Chopin. Gershwin. Van Gogh. Roberto Clemente. Charlotte Bronte. Chris Penn. John Lennon. Janis Joplin. Jimi Hendrix.


(Anne Nicole Smith. The uncensored photo is easily found at google). Elvis lasted longer than he probably should have, but went out in a similar fashion. Then we have the ultra famous John Kennedy Jr. and, of course, Princess Diana.

Drugs, plane crashes, car crashes, and suicide seem to be the dominant causes.

Another individual, Jesus Christ, chose not to stick around too long either, and certain folks have very strong feelings about what that was all about. I would speculate that an early death just about captures all that Ms. Smith and Christ had in common.

(James Dean) The cigar shop can lead to interesting opinions, and heard a good one about the identity of the father of now famous baby that is worth how much money? Well, you heard it here first. The father is her son. That's right. Anne Nicole Smith had the baby with her own son, the one that died at 20.

This sort of thing also has its Buddhist version, Chogyam Trungpa, a clearly remarkable man, who managed to have a child with a celibate nun while himself under a vow of celibacy. What I find more remarkable is that the man managed to attain enlightenment or some version of it while being constantly shitfaced. The guy was a flaming alcoholic and died of it in 1987 at the age of 47. Well, these folks get to come back. His reincarnation, Choseng Trungpa, was born in 1989, my understanding with a fresh, reincarnated liver, and I am curious when he will start drinking again.

God's "Completely Fraudulent" Friend

Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, has produced a film, Friends of God which follows the world of the evangelical movement. I don't get HBO, but I've heard about the film, and from the New York Times review:

"You know all the surveys say that evangelicals have the best sex life of any other group," Mr. Haggard waggishly told a documentary filmmaker a few months before his secret came out. On "Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi," which will be shown tonight on HBO, Mr. Haggard coaxes a member of his congregation to say how often he has sex with his wife ("Every day. Twice a day.") and how often she climaxes ("Every time").

You could almost see the wrathful lightning bolt striking down from the heavens.

No kidding. Shakespeare's "Me thinks thou dost protest too much" contains a world of wisdom on the human condition. Happily satisfied men with satisfied lovers feel no compulsion to discuss it. The documentary was filmed before Haggard's three year homosexual love affair with former male escort Mike Jones was exposed.

Well, other than the betrayal of his wife and the fact that he goes around the country condemning people for behavior he himself practices, who cares? I don't care if the man is intimate with cows.

I posted here in reference to the Foley fiasco about an inverse relationship between self-righteousness and actual behavior.

Well, unfortunately, instead of coming clean and establishing integrity with the world, the man has chosen the dark side. Unlike some, he and apparently the folks around him, lack the intellect to see what is blatantly obvious to just about all of the rest of us. In The Denver Post we are now being told that Haggard is "completely heterosexual."

What?

For language efficiency, please permit me two acronyms:

CHET: A man who actually is "completely heterosexual"
GSA: Gay sexual activity between two men

Yea, I know, not that simple, but close enough for purposes here.

Some obvious observations about CHET's. First of all, CHET's do not consider GSA as something to do. They do not "wonder about it" as an option to actually consider. For a CHET to wake up one morning and say, "I might engage in GSA one of these days" is no less ridiculous than arising and saying, "Hmmm, maybe I'll hold a torch to my left eye and boil the vitriolic fluid until it explodes."

In fact, CHET's find the idea of engaging in GSA so unappealing that approaching them and seriously suggesting it is inherently dangerous and should not be considered intelligent behavior.

Sparing the reader any lengthy psychological presentation, let's just say that there are stages involved with significant acts. Is it interesting? Does one desire it? Is it compelling? Is it possible? Is it just fun in fantasy or does it warrant real action? Where are opportunities? How to make it happen? Start talking about it in the right circles. One has to progress through all of these, and there has to be sufficient energy for it to progress.

How far down the path do you go when considering exploding your left eye with a blowtorch?

The fact is that you never even considered considering this. WHICH IS EXACTLY MY POINT!! A CHET never even considers considering it.

Haggard went through all of the stages and then fully engaged in the behavior for several years. He would not have done it if it did not appeal to him. He is lying to everyone, and perhaps even himself. It is not black and white. There is a spectrum, and Haggard is no where near the territory where "completely heterosexual" would make sense. I have no clue (nor care) if the guy is attracted to women, but there is no question he is attracted to men.

He is lying.