The Big Lie is now American

by Rich Miles

I keep making the mistake of thinking the Republicans have been as big assholes as they possibly can be about health care (or anything and everything else), and then they do something like THIS stupid shit, and I'm once again proven wrong, and see that they really can sink below the bottom.

This article, and numerous others recently, are getting to the nitty-gritty of the repug method for spreading manure - just repeat the lie over and over and over again, regardless of any relation or lack thereof to the truth - and that's a semi-good thing, I guess. A few people are "getting it" that didn't before.

But the gist of the lie, that Pres. Obama is proposing a law that would force old people into euthanasia, is just so ludicrous, so incredible, so over the top, that I can't imagine anyone believing it.

But apparently some do. Apparently.

You should read the comments attached to this and other articles on the topic of repug perfidy. It shows why repugs think they can get away with this kind of unbelievable lying. Because the repugs who write the comments, and the moronic and indeed evil ideas they espouse, are taking up the majority of space in most blogs, and would lead the casual and uninformed (and BIASED) reader to believe that the repug point of view is the majority view.

(Which brings me to point out the fact that there have been numerous headlines in print and online lately, mentioning the fact that Pres. Obama's approval ratings are in decline. What they DON'T mention is that his numbers are STILL higher than Bush's ever were, except for the period immediately after 9/11, and are STILL well over 50%. The majority of Americans actually rather like Obama and his policies. Wonder what's in it for these publications to present the president in decline like this? They never did it to Bush, at least as far as I can remember. In fact, quite the opposite. If Bush's numbers went up a tenth of a percent, the headlines would often trumpet it to the skies, even though they were still below 50%.)

So anyway - I guess we let the insane repugs go on being insane, as if there were anything we could do to alter it. The only thing I can think of to do here is to write more comments on these posts. That will at least alter the appearance of where the majority lies. If you have any better ideas, please post them in the comments of this post.

Mandatory euthanasia. Pah!!!

One more Xtian scumbag does little girls

Ya know, I'm beginning to espouse the idea that those who call themselves Xtian honchos should all just be rounded up and thrown into cells with each other so they can have sex with each other and leave the rest of us the hell out of it.

A guy named Bernie Lazar Hoffman, known publicly as Tony Alamo, was convicted - convicted, mind you, not just arrested or indicted - on charges of transporting girls as young as 9 across state lines for sexual purposes. In addition to guilt for the sexual activities, he was also convicted under the century-old Mann Act for the crossing of state lines for this purpose.

Hoffman-Alamo was known as a preacher who had helped numerous adults recover from various social and emotional collapses, and had created a multi-million dollar empire on the back of this reputation.

Why do these bastards so often fuck little girls? Or boys? Why can't they just content themselves with adults? There must be enough stupid adults to get them off. Right?

As he was being led into the courthouse, he shouted to the waiting crowd, "I'm just another one of the prophets that went to jail for the Gospel."

Could someone write to me and tell me where fucking little girls is found in the Gospel?

I hope this fuckin' Shorteyes ends up dead in prison. I hate to say that about another human being. But I'm not sure this guy IS another human being.

D'You Know What That Fool Has Done??

by Rich Miles

This is my 100th post in 4 1/2 years of posting. Of course, that's nothing compared to the 817 posts in a mere 2 1/2 years of my friend Yellow Dog, but it feels like a milestone to me. Esp. considering that I posted virtually not at all for almost a year and a half due to illness.

Anyway, to the matter at hand:

Oh. My. God.

Gov. Steve Beshear (D-KY) is up for re-election a mere 17 months from now (my, how time flies), and guess what he's done?

I mean really, think up the most outrageous thing you can imagine, and then multiply by 100.

Give up? OK, I'll tell you.

He's switched running mates. But not just that, he's selected for his Lootenant Goobner a guy who is geographically challenged - a man who can't lose in Louisville, and who can't win anywhere else in Kentucky.

Yep, you guessed it - he's selected Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson as his running mate.

(Update: It's 29 months till the election in 2011, not 17 - which brings up a whole bunch more questions about this move - like why is Beshear dumping Mongiardo so soon. I have an answer, but I'd sure like to hear what Beshear's answer is.)

Now, never mind for a minute why Beshear chose Jerry. Let's ask ourselves why Jerry accepted.

Jerry Abramson has been Mayor in Louisville for about a hunnert years. He's run for the office I think 5 times, and is known in Louisville as Mayor-for-Life Abramson. He has not, to my knowledge, ever lost an election for any office, cuz he's pretty much only run for one office. He is as well thought of in Louisville as any politician in the country is in his home constituency.

But he is virtually UNKNOWN, in the parts of the state where he's not roundly hated, outside of Jefferson County. And that's why he's not really a good choice for statewide office.

So why would he accept a Lt.-gov. bid at this stage in his life? After 20 years in office, he probably will qualify for a full pension as mayor by the end of his term. In any case, due to his low profile outside of Louisville in the rest of the state, he's probably going to taste his first defeat for political office in this race.

And for that, I feel sorry for him. I know Jerry - interviewed him a couple times on my radio program back in the 90's. He's a smart guy, and until this debacle, I would have called him the consummate municipal politician.

But I just can't imagine, other than a need for a wider power base for some damn reason or another, why at this time of his life he would want to put himself in the path of this political truck. Beshear is poorly regarded throughout the state, in addition to being the textbook definition of a Blue Dog Democrat. And Jerry is not. Neither poorly regarded, nor a Blue Dog.

But in any case, it's very difficult not to view this as anything other than Beshear blowing himself up.

I mean, I don't like Dan Mongiardo - he's such a blue dog he's practically a Republican, and in general he's one of the most obvious liars it's ever been my misfortune to observe in public life. But he's already there - he's the Lite-gov, and Jerry is not, so why change him? It's a pretty much useless job, after all. Unless Beshear and everyone in Democratic party circles are trying to make this look like an optimistic move, on the assumption that Dan is going to win the Senator's race against Little Jimmy Bunning. I mean, he may win, but he may not, in fact probably won't since Jack Conway probably will, and to put the cart that far before the horse is a bit unseemly.

At any rate, it seems a rather hamfisted way to go about this entire campaign. But then, isn't that what we've come to expect from our Democrats in Kentucky?

Socialized bullshit

by Rich Miles

Yellow Dog's post today, generally on the topic of socialized medicine, put me in mind again of a public encounter I had a week or so ago.

I was in the Rite-Aid on Midland Trail, picking up a prescription (that, coincidentally, costs me $60 a month, even WITH insurance), and in the interest of being sociable, asked an older gentleman who was in the store how he was doing.

His reply, testy in the extreme, was that he might have been all right, were it not for Obama and his socialized medicine.

I, having a lifelong inability to keep my effin' mouth shut, said, "What the hell are you talking about? Do you use Medicare? What the hell you think Medicare is but socialized medicine?"

The old man said something rude, and left the store.

So anyway, here's the thing: most of the people who use the expression "socialized medicine" haven't the first fuckin' clue what that expression means! They think that anything with the word "socialized" in it refers to something communistic. Something the Soviets would have thought up, or perhaps did think up, back in the 50's or 60's.

Not that that would have made it a bad thing in any case. Some of that Soviet stuff worked pretty well.

But I'm gettin' pretty tired of listening to the right-wing fearmongers trying to drag us back into the 50's "Communists scare me" bullshit about healthcare.

How much fear can these fuckers mong? If that's the right word, and it's probably not.

We're supposed to be afraid of damn near everything. So the bad guys in our government can keep control over us. And most of them are Republicans.

You wanna be afraid of something? Be afraid of Republicans. And don't ever stop.

Let's go living in the past

by Rich Miles

Remember back before the election of 08, when I was saying that I thought Bush was going to try to trump up some reason to stay in office beyond 1/20/09? Remember I said I thought one of the reasons (if you can call them "reasons") why Bush et al. would do this was that they couldn't possibly allow a new, probably Democratic, administration to get their hands on all the evidence of malfeasance, misfeasance, and just all-around fucking up that were going to be lying around for the taking after a new president took office?

Well, I was wrong. The Bushies were so very stupid that they didn't even clear their desks properly before they left town, but leave town they did, as scheduled. And as you will know, Preznit Obama has resisted every opportunity to pursue, or even suggest he MIGHT pursue, the criminals of the Bush administration for various reasons, ranging from a desire not to appear vengeful in victory, to "political reasons" probably having much to do with not wanting to stir up the hornet's nest that is the Republican Party Hate Machine.

BUT!!!! (and you knew there was going to be a "but") events are overtaking the Obama administration, in such a way that there might not be any way to avoid going after all the miscreants - and I mean ALL of them, including the Big Kahuna and his sidekick Cheney-chan (Perhaps most especially Cheney).

And the hornet's nest bedamned.

So much new evidence is surfacing that Bush, Cheney, and most of their minions were in it up to their eyeballs that Obama is going to have the devil's own time soon in denying that crimes were committed and must be punished.

I confess to wondering what it REALLY is that's keeping Obama off Bush's case - is Obama afraid that, if Bush-Cheney bite the big one, some of his guys will get caught up in the hurricane?
Because the excuses he's given so far don't wash: It will make America look bad? Nah. Clearing up the mess that was Bush-Cheney will actually make America look BETTER worldwide.

Americans don't want it? No, strike 2. Americans, or at least the 60% or so who will work hardest to re-elect Obama in 2012, want it desperately. And of the rest of us, there are an accountable percentage who want it simply because it represents justice for America.

Do not tell us, Mr. President, that we don't want this. Because an awful lot of us DO want it - we want to see George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, mass murderers, in prison. Or worse. We want to see that awfully badly.

Don't make the mistake so many politicians make. LISTEN to your constituents. We are talking to you. We are telling you what we want.

Don't ignore us. We get real cranky around election time when we're ignored.

Ummm...thanks, but no thanks

by Rich Miles

Remember the old joke about the lottery drawing: first prize, a week's vacation in Scranton. Second prize, a TWO weeks' vacation in Scranton?

I think I may have discovered the political equivalent of that joke.

Sarah Palin, she should only go to the smallest of the Aleutians and STFU, has now promised - or perhaps threatened is the right word - to stump for Democrats (as long as they're the right KIND of Democrats) in upcoming election years.

First prize, a campaign appearance by Sarah Palin. Second prize, TWO campaign appearances by Sarah Palin.

I can't imagine even the deepest royal-blue Blue Dog asking for this boon to be granted him or her.

I mean, is there no one on the national political scene, of either party, who is willing to say to this woman, "Sarah, sweetheart, baby, darling - who the fuck ASKED you? Sit down and shut UP!"

I'll just close this with a final vow: I will not vote for ANY Democratic candidate who has this moron campaign for him or her. This might even be enough to get me to vote for the repug opponent.

Naaaahhhh....but you get my point.

John Barker Gray R.I.P.

by Rich Miles

Not very many of you will have even heard of my friend John Barker Gray. He was not a celebrity even in his own circle of friends, but he was - though I think he would have denied this - a very good friend. Not because of what he did, or what he gave to people, but because of who he was, and what he gave of himself. He never had much in the way of wealth, and toward the end of his life, had virtually nothing - lived with his elderly mom, had little money, etc., etc., but nonetheless if you went out to lunch with him, he always tried to grab the check. Sometimes I'd even let him get it.

John was a former actor, but never really worked at it much. He was, by his own admission, one who liked the trappings of the theater more than the actual work of it. So he hung out with actors, rather than worked with them.

And a few weeks ago, he told me that all he had ever wanted was someone to love him, someone to spend time with and care for. He never had that, as far as I knew. He was always alone, though he had lots of friends.

John requested that he not have a viewing or a funeral. He's going to be cremated, and we will have a memorial service at a later date.

I think John would have been surprised at how many people will note his passing. He never had a lover, but he had quite a few friends, as far as I could tell. At the memorial service, we'll see how many.

Rest in peace, Johnny me boy. Whether you think so or not, you will be missed. You will be sorely missed.

John Barker Gray was 57 years old. I think. Or maybe he was 56. We hardly ever talked about it.

Your friend,
Rich

Iranian Clerics: God is wrong

by Rich Miles

Now this is news: large numbers of Iranian clerics have gone against the status quo, and have declared that the Ayatollah Khamenei and the Guardian Council, the government organization that regulates elections are...simply...wrong.

Think about this for a minute: Khamenei is the Iranian equivalent of the Pope. He is considered infallible, and to even question his decisions and pronouncements is blasphemy, literally. It can get you jailed, or even executed.

But now, over a month after the Iranian election, and over a week after Khamenei made his pronouncement that it's all over, nothing to see here, the election is final and Ahmadinejad is the winner, no discussion or further examination - a large group of lower-level Iranian clergymen are questioning - questioning!!! - the Ayatollah's decision, and indeed disputing it, saying that the evidence is there that says the election was rigged.

Now, consider this for a moment: Iranian clergymen (there are no clergywomen, at least none whose opinions are this important in Iran) are doubting their god-on-earth.

Could this be the beginning of the end of the Islamic Revolution?

But more to the point, could this be the beginning of the end of infallibility cults in religions all across the globe? The pope, the Dalai Lama (a good infallibility figure, but still...), the wingnut leaders in America, etc., etc. Could we start viewing these people as just people, just like us, instead of godheads in earth?

We could only be so lucky.

Regardless of your own religiosity quotient, have you ever thought about what the world would be like without gods? Have you ever imagined what we as the human race could do with all the resources that are diverted to religious causes, if we only had them to distribute to the truly needy all across the globe?

"Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky.
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one."
- John Lennon

Almost 30 years after his death at the hands of a murderous madman, could it be that John Lennon's dream is starting, on a very small scale, to come true?

I know, pie in the sky, dreaming, crazy nuts, etc. etc.

But I'm not the only one.