Down Low

W. B. hanging with his homies in Crawford.

Liner Notes...

The last few music purchases:
"We Started Nothing" - The Tings Tings
"It's Not Me, It's You" - Lily Allen
"Rain Dogs" - Tom Waits
"Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
"The Best of Steel Pulse" - "
"Far" - Regina Spektor
"Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford" - Everlast
"The E-N-D" - Black Eyed Peas
"Immortalized" - The String Quartet Tribute to Evanescence
"Big" - Macy Gray
"Baduizm" - Erykah Badu

"Cup of Tea, Dear?"

Patriots or Racist Rednecks? I guess it depends on where you stand on the issue of socialism and the notion that the government Juggernaut is out of control. It also has a lot to do with preaching about what free speech is versus free speech itself.

Individuals should decide for themselves what they believe.

One of the greatest lines I've ever heard about American identity and why we believe as we do came from this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC9X5moico4

"It's not because we're better than everybody else, it's because we are everybody else."

By serendipity, I came across this site - http://dallasteaparty.org/principles/

These core principles are as follows:

Limited Government – As our Founding Fathers recognized, restraint of government is necessary to protect the liberties of the people.
Fiscal Responsibility – Government at all levels must learn to live within its means. To saddle future generations with the crushing burden of our excess spending is unconscionable.
Personal Responsibility – Liberty is unsustainable without responsibility. Each citizen must take responsibility for the consequences of his or her own actions while respecting the rights and dignity of others.
The Rule of Law – Consistent, independent and uniform application of the law is critical to a free and prosperous society.
National Sovereignty – We must maintain a strong national defense, effective security for our borders, and sole control over our land and our laws.
What we won’t stand for:
Personal Attacks – We’re debating positions and policies, not demonizing people or groups.
Unfounded Rumors – The easily verifiable facts are bad enough. Don’t weaken our position by stretching the truth.

And now the DHS says that people like me are a potential threat. Why? I'm a veteran. I lean Libertarian. I believe our borders are called borders for a reason.

I'm mad as hell.

Confucius say...

This particular observation struck me:
"A Man with clever words and an ingratiating appearance is seldom a man of humanity."
'Nuff said

It was 20 years ago today...

This image is burned was burned into my head. the 4th of June, 1989.

I was in Panama wearing a uniform. We were braced for immanent conflict (title of this blog).

That was what I volunteered to do.

Others have shit thrust upon them.

Remember this guy? Yeah. The guy with the briefcase that stopped a convoy of Chinese tanks on their way to Tienanmen Square.

He was fed up. A regular guy who got up that morning, brushed his teeth and whistled on his way to work. Then he found out all hell was breaking loose and did the unthinkable - he put his life on the line in an act of Gandhian non-violence against a veritable juggernaut.

In a nod to the late chairman, he disappeared without a trace. The identity and whereabouts of "Tank Man" are unknown. One editorialist in 1989 called him the "bravest sonavabitch in the world."

I salute this volunteer in the war against tyranny. His small frame towers over the many.

They Didn't Get To Go

They didn't get any burgers and beer this past weekend. Summer has not officially begun.
No beach parties to talk about. No hangovers to regret. No opening the top trouser buttons.
No regrets.
Just because the weekend is over and summer has begun, don't forget those who make it all possible.
Really. This is everything. Those rifles are the things that stand between what we are and the dust heap. They are the best of us.

It's Time

More than sycophantic lip service is required here. Go ahead. Give it a try.

The Teleprompter

Kim Whips Out His Dong

Now that is an impressive Dong.

The North Korean Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles which, if true, could reach Alaska or Hawaii.

This satellite photograph, taken this week by the Institute for Science and International Security, shows Kim Jong-il's Dong at the Musudan-ri launch site in northeastern North Korea.

The "rocket" is slated for launch sometime in April. This waiting period clearly exceeds 4 out of 5 doctors recommendation that erections should not exceed 4 hours. Clearly, a "Kim's Gone Wild" video will soon be in the offering.

The White House is monitoring the situation but an unnamed source said that the size of the missile was not very impressive. "You know what they say - once you go SAC..."

Getting in Touch with your Inner Bolshevik

“There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses,” Mr. Obama said during an appearance in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. “Now’s not that time. And that’s a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them.”






He said it.

He really did.

There is a time to make a profit, but time is not now.



We've come a long way from the expression - "The business of America is business."


I have had a problem since day one - Bolshevik wanna-be. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know - community organizer. Just like the 1917 Revolution. This may sound extreme to some but then again, the majority of Americans seem pleased that we've nationalized our financial system. Whiffs of Hugo Chavez.

Punish the bourgeoisie. I'm sorry. Unfamiliar with the term. Let me help you. The bourgeoisie are members of the upper or merchant class, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth. It is the class owning the means for producing wealth.

The bourgeoisie is the social class which obtains income from ownership or trade in capital assets, or from commercial activities such as the buying and selling of commodities, wares, and services.

Ah, the clarion bell of class warfare was struck many moons ago, but now it tolls here. The Democrats have been bobbling the clapper for a long time but have only recently banged the shit outta that bell. Whooda thought Castro could get the last laugh?

I mean, really people. When you want a job, do you go to the "noble" homeless guy and give him an application? How about the "noble" welfare mother raising her "fatherless" kids? No you do not. You go to the capitalist who put his or her money on the line and pays out the ass in salary and other government-mandated costs just for the privileged of supporting your lazy, non-productive ass. I mean that in the kindest and gentlest way. Really, I do, you hyper-sensitive dipshit. Get over it. That is why it is called work.

Now Wikipedia describes the relationship thusly - "Marxism sees the proletariat (wage laborers) and bourgeoisie as directly waging an ongoing class struggle, in that capitalists workers and workers try to resist exploitation. This exploitation takes place as follows: the workers, who own no means of production of their own, must seek employment in order to make a living. They get hired by a capitalist and work for him, producing some sort of goods or services. These goods or services then become the property of the capitalist, who sells them and gets a certain amount of money in exchange. Part of this money is used to pay workers' wages, another part is used to pay production costs, and a third part is kept by the capitalist in the form of profit (or surplus value in Marxist terms). Thus the capitalist can earn money by selling the surplus (profit) from the work of his employees without actually doing any work, or in excess of his own work. Marxists argue that new wealth is created through work; therefore, if someone gains wealth that he did not work for, then someone else works and does not receive the full wealth created by his work. In other words, that "someone else" is exploited. In this way, the capitalist might turn a large profit by exploiting workers."

Sounds like a DNC meeting. You see, in communist parlance, everybody is created equal. However, some are more equal than others (party members and their favored lackeys).

This is why a tax cheat becomes head of the Treasury. The chief law enforcement officer thought it was okay for Bill Clinton to pardon terrorist bombers and, the aptly-named, Mr. Rich. What is it about tax cheats that produce nothing the Dems love so much but let a producer "exploit" somebody. Off with his head.
It now appears that the socialism that I have feared has indeed arrived. The irony of all of this is that Sweden, that socialist paradise, has a lower corporate tax rate than the United States. It is also good to note that governmental interference (read social experiment) in the mortgage market was the tipping point for all of this shit-mess we're in right now.
So all of you stupid bastards with your heads buried in the sand, remember that this particular position leaves your ass exposed.
In the immortal words of a PIL song - "This is what you want. This is what you get."

Seal It With a Kiss

Why does it seem that the media is sooooo surprised that President Obama did his commander-in-chief deal and paid his respects at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery? Why is that? Do they know something we don't? Do they presume facts into evidence by sheer virtue of his being a Democrat?
Sure they do.
Figure out why for yourself.

I also realized this - the new prez does not need his own "Monica Lewinsky." He has the press.

LIVE FROM PYONGYANG... THE IMMACULATE PERCEPTION

Well, that was interesting. The Coronation went swell. Helluva speech. Too bad the old preacher had to play the stick it in the eye game at the end of whole thing. White. Do what is right. Hmmmm. How did the black guy get elected? Hmmmm.

I was moved by the newly-sworn in president's words. He began graciously by thanking President Bush. He spoke about the troops. Like that. Spoke about how his dad probably wouldn't have been seated in a D.C. eatery a few decades back. Touching stuff. Liked it lots. He said that all Americans need to do their part and take personal responsibility. Great start.

Aretha. Bueno. The quartet was excellent. Wow. What an event. I was a little uncomfortable by the first preacher. He made a mistake by calling Obama's father an immigrant. I thought he was here as a student. Maybe I'm wrong about that. Then the old guy - who undoubtedly had to deal with a lot of undeserved shit in his lifetime - said that white should do right. Black, brown, yellow and red. All good to go. But white... That was a disappointment to an otherwise American celebration. I guess I should feel un-included now.

Was it like North Korea out there? Wow. Or even the opening of the Beijing Olympics with that sea of flogs. But this is what the cult of personality brings to the table. If it makes people grit their teeth and get down to business, I'll survive.

I love the fact that the rest of the world digs it so much. If they didn't, too bad, but they really dig it. The "promise" of America fulfilled. Okay. I'll buy that. The historical significance is not to overlooked. It actually made me feel rather proud that despite some tragic history, a black guy with the middle name of Hussein was just given the oath of office. Oh yeah, Michelle's dress was designed by a Cubana. I'm just sayin. Kinda cool, no? It is just too damned bad that the guy is a socialist. Well, not for him. For us. God help us.

Whatever. The world will be cured by image alone. Can't wait.