Exceive

The Rude Pundit
“Talking about peace and economic justice at Coretta Scott King’s funeral is as natural as talking about, say, Catholicism at the Pope’s.”

That’s not rude at all.

The technical logical problem with the “let it get bad enough that the sheep grow canines” idea isn’t that the sheep won’t grow canines for a long time. That’s just the practical problem, and the history of Germany, Russia, Iran, … suggest it is a real big one.

The logical problem is the same fallacy the Creationists like to use: evolution doesn’t answer this question (well, not until you read the part where it does) therefore YHWH created the universe 6000 years ago. The neocons are imploding, therefore the Democrats are going to win. There are many third ways, many of them quite ugly.

If Democrats keep doing the Republican-Lite thing, the other options include the grownups reclaiming the Republican party or a third party emerging. Or, particularly if people catch on to exactly how easy it is to steal an election when you own the computerized ballot boxes, we could end up with a revolution (a real one with destruction of political order and infrastructure, resulting in the ascendancy of violent extremists and thus many bad things, not a liberation of an already well-functioning political order and infrastructure from outside interference, like we had in 1776) or a USSR-type collapse.

I will not be entirely surprised if we go the way of the USSR before 2015, for the same reasons: massive corruption and arrogant ideology unchecked by effective political opposition, resulting in military overreach, economic collapse, and a complete rejection of the national mythology. I think we can, and probably will, pull it together, but by “probably” I mean “better than 50/50 chance” not “almost certainly.”

It isn’t always darkest before the dawn. Sometimes it is darkest before the clowns eat your brain.

My wife and I have a costume shop.

The Halloween after 9/11 (well, actually a few days before) a TV station sent a reporter and camera to do a story on patriotic costumes.
Reporter interviewed us, asked if there had been a surge in demand for patriotic theme costumes. Nope. A few extra fire fighters, but nothing else. Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty hadn’t even gone out, and other years we’d had one or two of each go out. Asked about any 9/11 theme costumes. A couple of calls asking about (but not requesting) Bin Laden masks, which we refuse to carry. At the reporter’s suggestion, we called some of our mask suppliers - they weren’t making any, so we couldn’t sell them if we wanted to.
Reporter interviewed three couples who came in. All the interviews went pretty much the same. Looking for patriotic costume? No. Is that because you thought they’d be sold out? No. Is that because you are afraid it would be laughed at? No, just didn’t think of it. Are you going to now? No.
So, of course, the story was all about how patriotic costumes were the in thing this year and lots of people were renting and buying them. It was obvious the story had already been mostly written and the point of the exercise was to get some video and sound, not to find out what was happening.

We didn’t complain. Free advertising, and they used the bit where my wife said we refused to deal with Bin Laden masks or terrorist costumes because we are about fun, not hate. Which was important to us.

I am happy about the elections, but it is a happiness akin to what I would feel about my wife buying me a Ferrari for Christmas using our joint credit card. And I have yet to look under the hood to see whether the engine is internal combustion or hamster wheel.

Remember, they had elections when Saddam was in power, too.

By the way, where’s Osama? Cool as elections in Iraq are, Osama in a jail cell would be even cooler.

Researchers at MIT have completed a vital and timely study: On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets:
An Empirical Study

Certain people need to know this important information. My brother Steve in particular.

Just plain stunning.

Pandagon: I’ll pick up my chicken wing at the back door, Massa George

scout prime: Black Bodies Remain Still…..

They are calling off the search, even though they know where are still bodies in a lot of buildings. Black and poor.

A common right-wing line lately is “at least we aren’t cutting off people’s heads”. Well, here there should be heads rolling. Not literaly, but when the dishonor is this severe and nobody is likely to be so much as reprimanded, something is very very wrong.

I’m ready to split this thing into two blogs. This is just too ugly to go with the art and life sections. But it has to be here.

Yesterday, I almost bought a copy of Mad magazine.

But I didn’t.

Satire is dead.

Freedom Walk, Register with the DoD. Ask for permission to celebrate freedom and thank those who serve in the military. This is not registration in the usual “getting organized, estimating attendance, where should we send the junk mail for next year” sense, this is presenting your papers and asking permission.

However, if you subscribe to a pre-9/11 notion of freedom, you might prefer to walk without asking permission. Maybe you and some friends could walk through a park dedicated to those who serve in the military - I doubt there is a town in the USA that doesn’t have one. And you might find a veteran to thank in such a place. Thank him or her for the fact that you can express yourself by taking a walk without asking permission, without having your background checked. It’s what we used to call “freedom”.

Not photoshopped.
bushhell.jpg (JPEG Image, 585x354 pixels)

Horatio at Dodecahedron pointed it out: we expect Muslims to denounce their terrorists, we should do the same.

It is slighly hard for me to do so, but only because it is so obvious and I am afraid that to expand on “this is just plain wrong” might dilute the message.

Eric Rudolph is a murderer, a terrorist. He does not serve Christ no matter what he thinks. Duh. Peace and justice are not served by murder.

There is nothing more for me to say.