The Golden Apple Of Victory, Up For Grabs. No Takers.

Constituent feedback to Congress is running 10 to 1 against a taxpayer bailout of financial institutions that hold portfolios of toxic, illiquid, mortgage backed securities. This sentiment runs across party lines, regardless of demographics. The populace is sick of big money corporate welfare for greedy, thieving bankers.

The Congress is once again acting in concert with the Bush administration and its Wall Street patrons to pony up hundreds of billions of taxpayer obligation to feed the fire of a financial system already going down in flames. Both candidates for President stand by non committally.

Either candidate could easily assure themselves victory by taking up the cause of the American people on this matter. Neither will do so.

This tells you all you need to know about the kind of government we will get next year.

Senator Bill Shelby of Alabama. The New Davey Crockett?

A small group of conservative Republicans is blocking the passage of the 700 billion toxic bond bailout bill in Congress. These guys are a small minority and normally they would not be able to stop a bill like this with such strong support on both sides of the aisle and also within the Executive branch.

The rub is that voter support is probably 10 to 1 with the dissidents. Congress knows they run the risk of creating an "Alamo" scenario, with the passage of this bill. With elections coming up, this makes Congressional incumbents running for re-election very uneasy.

One of the ring leaders of this group is Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. I probably have never agreed with him on any issue before and may never again. Doesn't matter. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Politically conservative Ministers all over the country, who are supporters of the Alliance Defense Fund, will openly endorse the McCain/Palin Presidential ticket from the pulpit, this Sunday. They hope to provoke a court battle with the IRS over the right of religion to endorse voting choices to their congregants and maintain tax exempt status.

I think this is a good idea. America needs to understand the threat to it's secular freedoms, posed by racist, sexist, xenophobic, war mongering, fundamentalist religion, deeply rooted in primitive superstition, black dirt ignorance and heretic persecuting, blood lust. The current rules make it possible for fundamentalist religion to maintain plausible deniability, when their members vote as a block, to deny the rest of us our basic human rights.

Separation of church and state cannot be legislated or enforced. It only works when the people understand it's value. That understanding only comes with direct threats upon their freedom, by the slavering flat Worlders and tongue borers of reactionary Christianity.

Hopes for Bailout Fading

There is some doubt that a derivative bond bailout package, of the kind demanded by Paulson, Bernanke and Bush will be agreed upon by Congress. This is the best news I have heard in months. If such a bill is torpedoed, it will be thanks to a group of Republican Congressmen responding to overwhelmingly negative feedback from their constituents.

It could be, that Representative government is not dead in this country. I could easily embrace many of the conservative ideals of the Republicans. I just wish they would quit trying to turn the country into some sort of militarily enforced, corporate backed, holy roller theocracy, institutionalize racism and sexism and offer up high functioning morons, like George Bush, for the highest offices in the land.

I guess it's really true that nobody ever gets everything they want.

Banking Giant, Washington Mutual goes Bust

JP Morgan has taken over the depositors accounts of WAMU, after the bank was seized by the FDIC, today. The Government is saying this won't cost any money. This is a blatant lie. If WAMU had not incurred huge losses, they would still be operating. You can also be assured, that over the last year, as it has been failing, the bankers have been stealing as much as possible, knowing the golden goose was dying.

The FDIC is guaranteeing just under 200 billion in deposits. Nobody knows how much the FDIC will have to reimburse in losses. The minimum will be the amount that WAMU has projected in losses. That would be about 30 billion. Using my rule of thumb, it will be at least 2-3 times that much. This will more than wipe out the FDIC's remaining reserve funds.

The FDIC will soon be asking for at least another 125-175 billion of taxpayer money to recapitalize their reserve. What a bunch of hapless goons.

We Just Wanted To Chose A Really, Really Large Number

Some people believe that if we just give Hank and Ben enough money, they can get things in the economy "back to normal".

The problem with this, is that "normal", is where we engage in huge deficit spending, year after year, and everybody pretends the money is good. Don't look now but I don't think we are ever going to get back to normal again.

People need to recognize that reducing the monetary policy of the United States Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank to the level of moronic Nigerian spam, may not portend a quick resolution of the current financial crisis.

Every Morning At The Congress, You Could See Him Arrive

Big John is going to Washington. The Congress is unable to reach a compromise on the toxic loan purchase bill without him. He will shut down his campaign. No appearances. No commercials. No debates. I wonder what he thinks he can do, besides posture in a manly and senior Senatorial way for the Washington press corps, as a bill is hammered out by those in the committee actually involved. As far as I know, up until now he wasn't even in favor of bailing out the financial institutions that held big packages of derivative based securities. Which, by the way, I agreed with him on. If he was going there to stop the whole process and save the taxpayers from incurring a couple trillion of unnecessary debt, I would be cheering him on.

Big John is running scared. He knows he will be of no help. His history is that of an extreme deregulator and he was instrumental in passing laws that made it possible to market high risk loans to unqualified individuals. He supported the dismantling of the regulatory authorities that would have made it impossible to market derivative based securities as gilt edged financial instruments. He himself has stated repeatedly, that he really doesn't know much or understand what he does know, about the economy. This guy graduated fourth from the bottom of his college class. He doesn't even handle money at home. His wife takes care of that.

Big bad John understands polls, though. Even the stupidest politicians do. He is lagging at the polls and one of the areas he's lagging the worst , is on handling of the economy. Campaigning has been doing him no good. Debating is not his strong point. The commercials on TV aren't working. They just remind the voters that he is old and desperately ill. He's got to do something and right away. Maybe going to Washington and controlling the press and public access, while making strictly scripted appearances, between doctor visits, will do the trick.

Have you looked at the guy lately? The cancer rotted left side of his face is developing hard, lumpy, vertical ridges with deep crevices between them. His left eye is sunken and drippy, while his right eye is protruding and glassy. His skin is pale, waxy and opaque. I've seen people looking a lot better than him, not make it through the night.

And with all his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a banker yelled out " There's a light up above!"
And all the bankers scrambled from a would-be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save, Big John

Big John, Big Bad John.

Read This and Weep, Mate!

Maybe I'm just paranoid but this article in the Army Times, scares the shit out of me.

Click the link on the title to read it.

Me and Michelle Malkin are Solid

I find myself in agreement with the most reactionary of conservative thinkers. They are the only ones with the balls to suggest that the economic bailout plan being touted by George Bush, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke is a piece of crap. I'm not embarrassed. I'm not going to lie to myself and others and go along with the plan. I'm right and so are the wingers. What is, is.

Wall Street never did any due diligence concerning the long term viability of offering low interest, no down payment loans to a population who were broke. Who had long spent more than they earned, to support a lifestyle they could not afford. Who's income had long been declining, in real terms. The only basis for these loans, was that the homes the loans were collateralized with, continued to increase in value. In the case of higher interest, credit card debt, there wasn't even that. Real estate stopped its rapid increase in value. We have seen how this has worked out for them. Bush's much vaunted "ownership" society, has turned into something else.

You make a bad investment, you take your losses. That is the way Capitalism works. Social Darwinism at your service. Before that happens, the Wall Streeters have one last trick to try. Sell the bad debt to the taxpayers. Scare them with the prospect that their meager savings are in danger. That their bad jobs for shitty wages will disappear. That a new Great Depression is right around the corner. It's worked before. What do they have to lose?

Don't worry about the level of the national debt, already hugely bloated by the cost of tax cuts for the rich, multiple unilateral wars of aggression and four decades of ever increasing trade and budget deficits that have eroded international confidence in the dollar and spurred rapidly accelerating inflation. Like junkies, unable to look beyond the next, all important fix, Wall Street just wants to eliminate the nausea and fear that plague them now. Tomorrow is another day.

These guys are not good Americans. They do not have anyone's best interests at heart, except their own. They do not believe this will "turn the economy around" or that "the fundamentals remain strong". They just want out, with their money, now. Then they will be on the next plane out. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a sucker.

A 9/11 Moment

What is happening this weekend, in response to the economic crisis, is what the Middle Eastern unilateral wars of aggression were to the 9/11 attacks. That is to say, it is an ill considered plan, formulated by a small group of partisans, whose concerns do not coincide with the American people, rammed through a weak and ineffectual Congressional leadership. It will soon become apparent that this resolution trust rescue of Wall Street is nothing more than a ruinously expensive corporate welfare program, with no benefits for the average taxpayer. By that time it will be to late. The deal will be done. The system will be up and running and spewing out money.

Fool me once.

Foreign Food Lottery

Thousands of Chinese babies are in renal failure and will probably die, due to tainted baby milk. Are you leery of food products from foreign countries? What criteria do you use to accept or reject a specific product or anything an individual country may produce?

I never assume that ingredient labels from foreign countries are remotely correct. I think twice before buying foreign food products. Once I have tried something and it tastes good and I don't get sick or die, I'm a lot less apprehensive about buying it again.

I also have to admit that my judgements concerning the wholesomeness of foreign consumables is entirely intuitive. I have never been to any of these countries. I have no idea if there is any oversight as to growing conditions, processing or packing. I just make arbitrary judgements, pull'em right out of my ass.

I never buy any processed food from China but I'll buy fresh fruit, garlic and shallots. I'll buy pretty much anything but frozen food from most of the countries of Indochine, same with the PI. I'll buy from Turkey, Armenia or Sri Lanka but nothing from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. All the North African countries that border the Med are OK with me, except Egypt. I have recently stopped buying anything from South Africa, I never used to worry about anything from there. Is this racist? Maybe, but I'm not changing my mind. I don't worry about anything from the Western Hemisphere but if I have a choice of the same product from different countries I will chose Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru or Paraguay over Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador or Venezuela.

I can see where my arbitrary preferences are probably prejudicial. I have no Idea if there is any validity to them. I will probably change some of my preferences as I am exposed to new information, some of it valid, some of it probably not. What's a smart shopper to do?

Fundo Fascists Love Nature Too

I love how the Fundo fuckface crowd call themselves "sportsman". I had an old high school classmate recount to me, the adventure of a canned, "wildboar" hunt. After a walk through the woods, with plenty of camaraderie and anticipation, they reached a clearing, cunningly fenced behind the camouflage of natural vegetation. At one end, gamekeepers released caged boars, at the other, the sportsmen began blasting away. I heard recently that this guy had bypass surgery. I hope it hurt.

The ocean off of SoCal used to be one of the wonders of the World. Huge shoals of sardines, that stretched as far as the eye could see. Blue fin tuna, that were a thousand pounds and more. Groupers almost as big. Huge migrations of cetaceans came through and lingered long for the rich feeding. Dense Kelp forests that were the basis of whole ecosystems. It's all gone now. The entire channel is more or less a huge dump for sewage, urban run off and industrial waste. No kelp. Little diversity of life. What fish you catch, often have congenital defects. Fuckin' lovely.

It's not enough for the manly sportsman, though. When their hooks get snagged or the line tangles, they just cut it loose. It's not unusual to see a sea lion or sea gull dead from horrible maiming injuries due to hooks and line.

The behavior that really shows sportsman for what they are, is their treatment of animals at the top of various food chains. They see these animals as competition for the prey animals that they themselves seek and show them no mercy. They shoot dolphins, seals and sharks, whenever they can and just leave them to die.

When I was a boy, there were no pelicans in So Cal. All the DDT in the channel made their eggshells thin and unhatchable. They banned DDT and the pelicans made a slow recovery. They are amazing birds, awkward on land, adroit in the water and gracefully aerobatic. They are often friendly and shameless beggars. Fisherman hate them because they scoop up small fish out of the surf zone. They will shoot them, stab them, whatever they can. This week, some fisherman has been luring pelicans up to his boat close ashore, probably with small fish. He has been snapping their wings backward. They drag themselves up on the beach, to die.

What a bunch of manly sportsmen.

Bad Deal

George Bush is retarded. He is also a drunken, coke snorting, buffoon. Name me even one thing he did right. In terms of debt incurred by the American people, he is the most expensive President ever. First, you have a trillion dollars incurred because of ill advised tax cuts, virtually all of which went to the very wealthiest among us. Next add 2 trillion for unilateral foreign wars of aggression, which got us nothing but World wide derision. Finally, as a grand finale, throw in a couple of trillion in Wall Street bail outs, once again, to the richest.

That's a minimum of 5 trillion dollars that this useless little cocksucker has cost us. What is that, for every man, woman and child among us? It's big. Maybe twenty thousand?

He hasn't been worth it. You know what? The money isn't even the biggest part of why.

The Banks Got Well Today

They are setting up a resolution trust corporation to buy bad paper from banks at par. The taxpayer will foot the bill. The resolution trust will, in turn unload the paper to the highest bidder, likely at pennies on the dollar.

This "bad" paper will be worth 20 cents on the dollar, maybe even more. The banks that sold it know exactly what it is worth. Who will buy it from the government? The same banks that sold it. At 2 cents on the dollar or less. They will make a one thousand percent profit, at least. They deserve it. They are taking the risk. That's what Capitalism is all about. Just ask Hank Paulson and his boss, George W. Bush. This is the kind of naked piracy that makes their nasty, little penises hard, late at night, when they have their most secret thoughts.

Bend over American tax payers! You are getting what's coming to you. Oh Baaby!

It's a Disgrace

It's going to be a huge day on Wall Street. Not because of any positive underlying fundamentals in the economy. It's going to be huge because Hank Paulson is opening up the floodgates of free government money to his cronies at Goldman and all the other bloodsucker Shylocks that parasite off the decent, hardworking American public.

This is a caricature of the free market system that America was built on. It's a disgrace. I am ashamed to be an American.

Rednecks, Racists, Crackheads. Sarey's Shock Troops.

It's easy to think of the Republican Party, as the party of privilege. The party of country clubs, family money, prep schools, private colleges and sinecured careers. You can kind of make the argument work with Bush and McCain, if you really stretch it. It doesn't work with Sarah Palin though and she's the one the base loves. So what's going on? How does this work?

The Republican party has undergone a sea change. The leadership of the educated, intellectual, fiscally conservative wing of the Republican Party, whether in the rock ribbed, Ivy League, North East corridor, the effete Hoover institute crowd out West, The hard headed industrialists, coming out of Case Western in Cleveland or Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh are gone. What you have left are the white, low class, illiterate, baggy pants, gangsterboy and proud of it types. They like to shoot up various CNS depressants, smoke crank or crack. They raise pit bulls, fighting cocks or anything else that can bleed and die in late night, blood sports. They like their women to be stoned out of their minds and under sixteen years old. They like to work government jobs, for the security, paychecks and pensions. They like to beat their chests in displays of false patriotism. They may occasionally clean up on Sunday and handle a few snakes, maybe even repent their sins. It doesn't change the abomination of what they are. It does not change the intellectual void of what they are not.

The reason that the World community has a problem with Islamicists, has nothing to do with religion. It is with a culture of deliberate ignorance, brutality, the subjugation of women and children, and a deep, bred to the bone xenophobia, of anyone who won't believe and act exactly like they do. The American, fundo fascist, Right wing extremists are exactly the same. What is the point of fighting international Islamic terrorists abroad, when we have our own brand of violent, hate filled, xenophobic scum, here at home.

The rest of us are working to promote a civil society that is just that, civil. We want a prosperous, peaceful, tolerant, industrious society. A place where people can achieve and be what they want, without forcing their own beliefs and behaviors on others. To the "new" Republicans, we're all hippies, fags, niggers and foreigners, to be scorned, terrorized, dragged behind a pick up, strung up on a barbed wire fence, in the dead of a freezing winter night, lynched, raped, driven out of town, houses burned behind us.

Welcome to the new American dream. Don't forget to wear your fucking flag pin.

Can I Haz Bailout?

What will the establishment of a Trust Resolution Commission like entity, to dispose of illiquid securitized debt held by the corporate financial sector accomplish. Will it lesson the debt written off? Will it decrease the burden of debt assumed by the taxpayer? Will it stabilize the equities markets? The answer to each of these questions is no. So what will it do?

It will provide a way to get these bank failures out of the headlines. It will routinize the process and move this huge transfer of debt from Corporate America, onto the taxpayer's back, out of the headlines. This is all the Wall Street thieves and gangsters ask. Is that too much? Absolutely not. They have feelings too. This constant scrutiny and criticism in the public forum, is grossly unfair. Let these guys take their billions of dollars worth of golden parachutes and get on with their lives. That's all they are asking.

For God's sake, have you no shame? Bad, bad taxpayers. Back off!

Fire Cox?

McCain wants to fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC, because he didn't head off the current economic crisis. There are a lot of reasons to denigrate Cox. He was the Congressman for the district next to mine for a couple of decades. He's either as dumb as a fence post or willing to do exactly what Republican political leaders ask of him. I don't know which, he doesn't come over to my house for dinner. It doesn't matter. It's the same result.

The whole point of his appointment was so that there would never be any oversight of Wall Street. If you want to fire him, you have to fire all of the Republican appointed lackeys whose job 1 is to aid and abet the corporate thieves and gangsters.

The Horse Is Out Of The Barn

I am amused how politicians and pundits on the economy are looking for people to blame for the current crisis on one hand while pinning their hopes on "white knights", who will save them. Also, like a desperate stage IV cancer patient, they believe that if they can just find the right cure, they can reverse the irreparable damage caused by decades of abuse.

There is no "fix". Losses have been accrued. You can write them off the books or not. The money is still gone. If the government bails you out and makes your loss good, then the government takes the loss. It's still a loss. Increasing regulation and oversight is fine but it won't bring back the losses already incurred.

The Dow is soaring this afternoon, because of reports that Hank "I used to run an investment bank" Paulson is going to set up an RTC like organization to dispose of defaulted bonds. Why? A loss is still a loss. What is really driving the rally is the hope that the government will bail the banking sector out and let the taxpayer take the losses. With Hank Paulson running things, that's exactly what might happen.

So, who would you rather see go broke? Your bank or your government? I don't even really see a difference. The end result is the same.

Hitler Gets A Margin Call

I've been holding a pretty large(for me)position in gold, for the last few months. I could have cashed in a couple of times, for a profit that was more than I ever made in a year. I didn't and gold crashed and I incurred losses larger than my previous paper profits. I am well again but will not sell. There is no place else to put the money, right now.

It's been good training, losing huge amounts of money. Day after day. Investors need discipline. If you are a gold bug, hit the title link, I think it's hilarious. For a gold investor, it's also serious stuff.

Being a gold bug is like being Sidney Greenstreet, in "The Maltese Falcon". You may never profit from the the quest but what better adventure could an old, fat, man hope for.

Big Balls in Cow Town

This will not mean much outside of the Western megalopolis but it's breaking news here. Richard Riordan, conservative Republican mayor of LA, during the turbulent '90s, is announcing his support of Barack Obama for President. Riordan is a member of and influential with, the big donor, old money, social elite of Southern California. This will not be so much a boost to Obama but rather a loss of legitimacy for the McCain candidacy among the moneyed, fiscally conservative class in SoCal.

The social register types in SoCal tend to be miles more progressive on social issues than what you find in most areas. They are notably pro choice and gay friendly. It is not likely they have fallen under the spell of 'hivehead Sarey Paleface and her tongue talking, meth spiking, little brood of offal-spring.

The other thing notable about this endorsement, is that Riordan won election twice, because of heavy Hispanic support. They voted for him because of his staunch Catholicism and alliance with the Church, as much as for his unqualified support of high quality education and keeping of the peace, even in the poorest Fort Apache, areas. Anything that helps Obama with the Hispanic vote in SoCal, could have real significance. There continues to be a strong antipathy between the African American and Hispanic communities here, where they share many of the same, previously all black, ghettos. Riordan is also popular with the middle class to upscale suburban denizens of the vast San Fernando Valley, by virtue of his quick response and unwavering aid to them, during the Northridge quake, a natural disaster that rivaled Katrina, in it's devastation and displacement of the populace there.

California won't win you the Presidency but it's a damn big step stool to stand on.

I'm Not Wrong

Look at the charts of composite stock indices. We are at a crux. We are either at the furthest downward end of a classic double bottom, from which the markets and ergo the economy will robustly rebound or the drop off point for a major long term bear market.

I'm betting long term bear market. There is nothing robust about World economics right now. I hope I'm wrong. I'm at the doorstep of old age. A new depression will not benefit me in any way.

I'm not wrong.

Big Wheels Keep On Turnin'

Washington Mutual has put itself up for sale. It is a bank that gained a huge consumer base during the Savings and Loan debacle, by taking over several failed Thrifts. They have a lot of branches where I live. I had an account there for a while because they offered free checking, which was not common at that time. Along with the check book, they were eager to issue you a credit card that had generous cash advance provisions, at interest rates that were about the same as you would pay a six for five payday loan shark, in the old days, before Ronald Reagan "deregulated" banking.

This bank is dead meat. The stock is already worthless. Management is assuaging the concerns of stockholders, by seeking buyers, while they steal what odds and ends are left in the cash drawer. This week or next they will fall into the hands of the FDIC. This bank has a lot of depositors. It's failure will go a long way towards depleting the remaining reserves the FDIC holds. It's only money, the government can print all it wants. Compared to the 85 billion dollar bail out of AIG, this will seem like a reasonable amount.

Iran Does Not Supply Weapons To Iraq

Iran cannot compete with the US when it comes to volume, price or quality, in arms sold to Iraq. In the last 4 years, the US has brokered shipments of more than a million small arms and hundreds of tons of ammunition into Iraq. Since most of these go into the hands of civilian militias, there is little control over where the weapons end up. There are plenty of good, serviceable, well maintained weapons among the national security forces of our Eastern European allies. They are eager to sell off Soviet era armaments and rearm with newer, more advanced designs. Some of these countries are ramping up their domestic arms industries and can supply Iraq with good quality, new weapons. All use standard Soviet ammunition types, which are proven effective and universally available.

The US has lots of old M16s but nobody wants those. They're pieces of shit. They break, bend, foul and jam. The bullets are small and not very powerful. What a shame. Be nice if somebody could get some use out of them and we could get some money for them.

Anyway, it's been a good deal for everyone. Iran doesn't have that kind of weapons production capacity and they have other obligations. The Iraqis love guns of all kinds, up to and including portable missile launchers. They are not shy about using them. The Sunnis and Kurds are warrior peoples, they love to fight. The Shiites are learning.

What does it matter that we are providing most of the arms to both sides of the Iraqi civil war? They would be fighting anyway and we are just expediting things. We only want the best for them, not like the Iranians or Russians, who just want to exploit their oil wealth and use them as a base for Middle Eastern imperialism.

Economic Fundamentals Strong

John McCain says US economic fundamentals are strong. I'm not arguing but I'm just not seeing it. I really wish he'd share his insights with the rest of us. I for one, am getting pretty worried.

Johnny, please enumerate for us these strong fundamentals of the American economy and how you see yourself facilitating an economic rally in this country. If you can convince me that good times are ahead, I'll vote for you. I don't care if you're a crook. I don't care if you're going to help the rich steal most of it. I don't care if you stay in Iraq for a hundred years. I don't care who you want for Vice President. Like Nixon said, I just want to be assured a pair of comfortable shoes and a warm place to sleep. Couple of hot meals would be good to.

What A Wonderful Thing That Was.

The US government has agreed to bail out insurer AIG, to the tune of 85 billion dollars. Unbelievable. This doesn't help anybody. It doesn't solve anything. It dilutes shareholder value and debases the currency. In the end, it makes the problem worse and only delays the final reckoning and meltdown of our economy.

At some point in the past, it might have been possible for the US Treasury and maybe even the Federal Reserve, to have shepherded their resources and survived this crisis. They might have been of help in lending whatever institutions that come into our markets with banking services after the meltdown, some continuity and legitimacy. They might even have salvaged some of the value of our currency. It seems unlikely now.

On the bright side, there is something to be said for delay. Everything functioned normally today and every indication is that it will also, tomorrow. Soon enough, I think we will all realize what a wonderful thing that was.

Maybe this is the beginning of some kind of 12 step economic program for the whole country. Easy Does It. One Step At A Time. Naw. It's more like the old barkeep who won't 86 all his customers who are drinking on the cuff, because if he did, there would be no customers left.

Whatever it is, it hasn't happened yet.

Trade deficit, up. Budget deficit, way up. National debt, way,way up. GDP, adjusted for the government's lies about inflation, way down. Tax revenue, way down. Corporate profits, way down. It's true the major American Stock Indexes are down but nothing like one would expect and they are, for the time being, stabilized.

There are stories about price gouging and shortages of gasoline, regionally, around America with prices as high as $5.50 a gallon reported, even though crude oil is falling below $100 dollars a barrel. The upward price spiral of food commodities broke, a couple of months ago and prices continue to fall. How then, can a new round of consumer price increases at grocery stores and restaurants, as much as 30% on most items, occurring now, be explained.

A decade ago, when the Euro was introduced, it was at parity with the US Dollar. The Dollar slowly decreased in value, until you needed 1.7 Dollars to buy a Euro. Despite the rapidly increasing US monetary supply, the insolvency of our banking system and the willingness of our Treasury to print money ever more rapidly, the Dollar has reversed its slide in value against the Euro and is currently at 1.4 per Euro and falling. How and why is this happening? There is no rational explanation.

Last week FANNIE and FREDDIE were nationalized. It is said they are poorly run. How will the government do a better job running them? By using the same cost saving techniques and decision making skills they use to run the Pentagon and the Post Office? God help us. This is the perfect setup for the biggest wholesale theft of taxpayer money in American history.

Lehman will fail or be sold this week. Next week perhaps Merrill Lynch and/or Washington Mutual. The Treasury keeps saying that the failure of our premier financial institutions will not cost the tax payers much, they continue to be wrong and they continue to pay. The tax payers will have to recapitalize the FDIC soon. It's the cheapest deal they will see, all year.

The average American continues on, as if it is business as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. What, exactly, would have to happen for them to take notice and demand accountability of those with whom they have entrusted so much, in both the public and private sectors. I don't have a clue. Whatever it is, it hasn't happened yet.

So They Say

What if instead of having two bubbly precocious daughters, that obviously function several years above their grade level, Michelle Obama had five children aged 19 years to new born. What if the oldest was a boy who is troubled. A 3 year history of intravenous drug use, vandalism, theft, receiving and sale of stolen property. A boy that had to be sent out of State, during his last year of high school, to avoid bad publicity and is in the process of being shipped off to the Army. What if the second child was a girl, with the same proclivity toward substance abuse and delinquency, as her older brother. What if she had gotten pregnant during her junior year in high school. What if her mother's solution to the problem, was to marry the girl off to the father of the child, a local, unemployed, high school dropout, gang banger and petty criminal. What if Michelle Obama proudly presented these children, dressed up like a $20 street whore, on the stroll, with heavy garish make-up, big beehive hair do, and shiny, knee high leather boots, featuring come-fuck-me heels. It wouldn't have worked out too well for Michelle Obama, had she presented herself this way.

This is exactly what Sarah Palin did. In return, the fundo fascists rolled out the red carpet for her. They call her a hero and roll model for white, Christian, womanhood. I wonder how they would have welcomed an honest, hard working, African American mother, like Michelle Obama, under the same circumstances.

What it comes down to, is the same racist sentiment that I hear over and over again from members of the White, Christian, fundamentalist movement. When all the arguments are over. When there are no other objections left. When all of the lies are corrected. The one true reason for their political choice surfaces, again and again.

"I'll never vote for a fuckin' nigger."

Why don't they just tell the truth, in the first place. Cut the confusion. Make it simple. So that everybody knows what's going on.

Like McCain Says, "Racists have to Vote for Somebody"

I think it's pretty funny. The fundo fascists are all bent out of shape because Oprah won't have Sarey Paleface on her show. They think this is an example of racism. As if we live in a post racial society. We live in a post segregation society and even that's debatable. Racism is really just about the only thing the Republicans have going for them this election cycle. Racism is the only reason middle and working class whites in States where racism is still strong, vote Republican. Racism is a major component in the popularity of fundamentalist Christianity, where all those so called "values voters" are spawned. Sarey Paleface's Alaska is one of the most racist States in the Union. People don't normally recognize this because almost no African Americans or Hispanics live there. They are not welcome there. You want to know about racism in Alaska, just ask the Native American population.

Oprah has no obligation to invite unregenerate racists on her show. I guess she could if she wanted to. Her format is more positive and uplifting. Racists really don't fit in with what she's trying to do. If racists want to go on women's TV talk shows, to be exposed, they should try the View. McCain went on there the other day and they had a lot of fun. I'm sure they would like to have Sarey on. They could ask her about her "So, Sambo beat the bitch." statement, to her political cronies, at breakfast, following the concession of Hillary Clinton, during the primaries. They could ask her about her common use of the term "Muckluks" or just plain old "fucking Eskimos" to refer to the members of the aboriginal population of her State.

One of the best recent examples of racism on the Right, was observed at The Values Voters Forum this week in Washington, DC. This event was sponsered by the odious, James Dobson and his Focus on the Family organization. They were selling boxes of "Obama's Waffle Mix". The picture on the box was of a grinning, buck toothed, big lipped caracature of Barak Obama, dressed in traditional Islamic robes, in the style of Aunt Gemima or Uncle Ben. The attendees thought this was hillarious and were buying them up by the case lots, to take home to friends and family.

Sarey Meets the Press

I tell ya. After watching the interview segments with Sarey Paleface, I think I could probably live with her. She understands nothing about economics and government at only about the level of a C student after taking bonehead high school Civics. Probably good enough. Foreign affairs, not even a clue. So what, America would be better off without any foreign affairs. She could learn enough, quick enough, to get by. She's not a retard like Bush or senile like McCain. She's definitely not a war monger. She's no reformer. She admits she supports as much pork as she can get for her constituents, what politician doesn't. She doesn't get all wacky about gays. She's way to the left of me on gun control.

She's pro life, so fuckin' what. She doesn't get all Phyllis Schlaffley/James Dobson mouth foamy about it. She didn't let on she was knocked with the Mongolian imbecile, until the seventh month. You know she thought long and hard about that one. This is a woman that makes up her mind and then prays. She's no church lady. If she's what it takes to ring the fundo's bell, so be it. I understand their position. Even though they have had lip service from Republican Presidents, every one of their First Ladies has been pro choice, since Mamie "I'm too drunk to even stand up" Eisenhower. That's got to be humiliating.

There is no guarantee that Roe will ever be overturned. There might be a few States that would severely limit abortion, if it were. Good, it'll give the Indian reservations a revenue stream to suppliment the casinos. They can offer combo junkets, free abortion with every six hours of slot play. It'll be huge in South Dakota. The bikers at Sturgis will love it. They can bus the farm girls in. They'll have one last fling with a real biker, maybe even make a little money, before they hook the suction up. Whoa Baaaby!!! I know some of the big time racist states down South, shipped all their Indians to Oklahoma. That's all right. Planned Parenthood will get the girls to Maryland, Florida, Texas, which ever is closest and back home by dinner time. States with heavy church going populations are not majority pro life. Hell, most Republicans aren't pro life, they go along to keep the snake handlers on board but sing a different tune at the ballot box. Nothing in it for them. Once it's banned, the Rollers are gone. Most of them are natural Democrats. Food Stamps, ADC, conjugal visits with Earl, on the weekends, up at the Penn. The whole Donkey package.

The only real problem with Sarey, is the same as with Bush. In '00, I didn't think he would get elected but thought, what the Hey, how bad could he be? Coke snorting, hard drinking, dumb as an ox, frat boy. How much trouble could he cause? Man was I wrong. He has been the worst President we ever had. He fucked this country up. This 'hivehead cracker bitch could be exactly the same. Best not take chances.

It could be fun having Beehive Sarah and her family living at Blair House. They might even be more comfortable setting up in a couple of those FEMA trailers, out on the South Lawn. Let's hope it never comes to that.

Bristol Starts a Family of Her Own.

Adolescence can be a troubling time, especially for innocent young girls. So many unsettling changes. So many tempting choices. What's a girl to do?

It's all right. God has a way of taking care of things. Bristol is pregnant. God has given her the most wonderful and natural focus for the rest of her life. He has also given her a handsome, young husband to share her life with. Sure, times might be a little tough, in the beginning but that's the way with all good things. What's important is that all of the uncertainties and distractions of youth are swept away, by the challenges, responsibilities and promises of adult life. Adulthood comes earlier to some, than to others but can anyone really say this is a bad thing? If it hadn't been for Levi and the baby, who knows what terrible things might have happened. She is so lucky to have wonderful, loving parents, that have helped God's plan for her come to pass.

God bless you, Bristol. I'm sure you and your little family have wonderful long lives ahead of you, together always.

Track Palin and the Army

One thing that gets discussed endlessly in boot camp, by the recruits, is why they joined. One thing that becomes clear right away, is that very few, if any, young men join because of great patriotism. Most are joining to escape something. Bad home life, bad drugs, bad marriage, bad job, lack of viable alternatives, pretty much sums it up. There are always a few nice boys, from good homes, with good lives, just looking for an adventure and that's alright too.

It's true that you can get killed in the military or seriously injured but the fact is, most people make it through OK. There is a lot of speculation that the military will mess up your head. It's just not true. The truth is, a fair number of people that enlist, are already pretty messed up or on the way there and the military can't help you with that.

What the military gives you is a break from your old life. It can be a fresh start. It offers new perspectives. You probably will get to travel far and meet interesting new people. You get a lot of time and I mean a lot, to think about what you really want out of life and what you want to do next.

I don't know why Track Palin joined the Army. I can pretty much guarantee you that he is not just a patriotic young man with a great desire to fight for his country. Maybe he's just looking for adventure and change of pace. Maybe he needs a break from the Palin family and Wasilla, Alaska. Whatever.

The Army probably won't hurt him. I doubt if he signed up for more than a couple of years. If he likes it and the Army likes him, he can always stay longer. When he gets out, he can use the GI Bill to go to college. He probably will have a better idea about what he wants to do or at least, what he doesn't want to do, when he gets out. It's not that bad a deal. Others have done it and been grateful for the opportunity.

Good Luck, Track.

Buying Wolf Tickets? They Ain't Free. Everything Costs Money. More Money.

There is only one winner on Wall Street today, long the Dollar. Cash is king today. Give me a fuckin' break.

When I was in High School, ten bucks would get you a 1,000 miles, driven in the biggest gas guzzler ever produced in Detroit. It would get you an evening at the Whiskey a Go Go, listening to the Doors and rubbing elbows with the hipster elite. It would get you a room at the Hyatt House on the Strip. It would get you a generous lid of weed. It would get you all you could eat, for a long weekend, at Tiny Naylor's, at Sunset and La Brea. Some people liked the Haight better than the Strip. Peace, love, brotherhood and understanding. You didn't need any of that for the Strip, just money to spend. They never cared what kind of a person you were. Like Disneyland. What a deal. I'm dead serious.

So, what are we talking about here. 50 bucks, for an experience that an old man remembers as he wheezes his last, alone, in some urine soaked, nursing home crib, more than a half century later. Best money I ever spent. What'll that 50 get you today? This is a lesson in long term, macro economics, baby.

Long the Dollar? Not me.

McCain Would Ride On Bush's Shoulders But His Limbs Don't Have Sufficient Range Of Motion

We don't hear about Iraq anymore. We haven't heard about it for months. It's still there. It still costs us a billion a day. The earliest our troops will be coming home will be sometime after the 2012 Presidential elections and even then it is doubtful. The puppet Maliki talks tough about independence but cannot stand without us. We pay the Sunni warriors $300 a month each, to be our friends. The Shiite majority hate us and champ at the bit to resume the Civil War. They are restrained by the reality of Hellfire missiles and precision artillery fire, in the close quarters of their densely packed, urban enclaves.

The Navy and Air force have been looted. Of leadership. Personnel. Ordinance. Funds. All poured into the desert shit hole. The Army is focused to a razors edge on the war in Iraq. Soldiers worn down. Materiel eaten away by years of constant exposure to abrasive dust. Every dollar not spent on the actual conflict, cut from the budget. No replacement of vital assets, reaching the end of projected usefulness, is possible.

Even Petraeus told Bush, if he continued on in Iraq, there would be nothing left to counter any additional threat that emerged and that was apparent in last months lightning war in Georgia and the humiliating defeat experienced there.

Bush leaves this country an empty husk. Militarily broken and impotent. Financially ruined. Populace out of work and demoralized. Hiding behind the walls of the border fence, guarded by the comic opera Department of Homeland Security. Our leaders objects of derision at home and abroad. Our court system corrupt. Our civil rights abrogated.

We are spared the face rotted, senile, stiff armed spectacle of McCain, who wants to continue on in this Republican Dance Macabre. He has abdicated his campaign, in favor of his comely young running mate, a woman he accuses us of referring to as a pig in lipstick. I would never use that term but one a good bit more intimately descriptive.

McCain does remind me of a pig but not one in lipstick. His china white skin. His lumpy, heavily jowled visage. His pink, pointy ears. His plump pumping little hams. His willingness to feed at whatever foul trough is nearest and more fragrantly enticing. His cannibalistic sensibilities. He claims to love and serve America, when in truth he loves only the lifetime of unsavory diversion it has offered him.

How low we have fallen. How far there is yet to go. What despair is ours, my brothers and sisters.

When this ordeal is finally over, I hope to gather with you all. Perhaps for a savory brunch. Afterwards, over coffee, I hope to be able to turn to you and say the phrase we all will have been waiting to hear.

"So, Sambo beat the Bitch."

Money, Money, Money!!!

One of the problems, over the last year or so, is that a lot of speculative investment vehicles, that money managers use to make money for their clients, have been unavailable. The World's stock markets have been tanking. Securities have become poisoned. Real estate is not a good bet.

At some point, the wise guys focused on commodities, as a market where prices were steadily rising. Commodities proved one of the most lucrative vehicles ever, for speculators. You can buy on margin, which allows you to leverage your investment. To invest, you either have to tie up the actual commodities or control the futures. This takes significant amounts of the commodity, off the market, which drives the price up even more. Over the last year, at some point, almost all the commodities went parabolic, price wise. The smart speculators sold out somewhere in the parabolic phase. Prices eventually got to the point where the people that actually consume the commodity either could not or would not buy them. At this point, the game was over and the remaining speculators dumped these various substances back on the market. This created a glut and the prices plummeted. Cereal grains, fertilizer, base and precious metals, energy, all have now gone through this cycle and the glut of excess still keeps their prices artificially low. People are still consuming commodities. Eventually the excess will be used up and they will resume a stately increase in price as demand increases, for most of them, relative to supply. At that point, probably, the speculators will return, to play their game again.

What are the speculators into now? Honestly, there isn't much left but these are smart boys and endlessly inventive. The answer is, the US Dollar. The Dollar has taken a tremendous beating over the last several years. It has lost much of its value against the other major World currencies. It has now begun to rebound in value. Speculators "buying up" Dollars helps to increase the rapidity and amount of this rebound. It is still, after all, the major currency used for World commerce. There are many ways to leverage money, so that if its value increases, your profit is disproportionately greater. There are many types of US Dollar denominated bonds. Some sell at a discount. Some pay good interest. This, combined with the present, rapidly increasing value of the Dollar, make for windfall profits. The US government is aiding and abetting the Ponzi scheme, by bailing out the issuers and insurers of many of these bonds, so that they can continue to pay the interest, even if the institutions themselves fail. The government sometimes does this even when it has no real or implied obligation to do so. Ironically, they do this by selling more bonds, to get the bail out money, making the game even bigger and more profitable for the speculators. This won't go on forever or even probably very long. The bigger the theft, the shorter the duration, is the general rule of Ponzi.

When the presently inflating Dollar bubble bursts, it's going to take out all of the remaining private banking structure, the Federal Reserve Bank and the US Treasury. The Dollar may not end up totally worthless but maybe nearly as good as. Whether the US government itself can survive an episode like this, is a question that needs to be considered. It would, at the very least, be much diminished.

What will they do then, the smart boys?

I'm sure they'll think of something.

Eat Their Fuckin' Words

There is one aspect of the Republican ticket this election cycle, that I am pleased with. They have chosen a woman for the ticket. Since they have let her say virtually nothing unscripted, we don't know what this means as far as the issues go. Time will tell. The fact that they have chosen a woman, a quarter century after the Democrats did so, proves that change is seeping, ever so slowly, into their camp. Not only have they chosen a woman for one of the top two spots but a premenopausal woman with several children.

No one in their camp is suggesting that she should be staying at home with the children. Nobody is suggesting that she should subordinate herself to the desires of her husband. Nobody is saying she is not prepared by God for participation in the affairs of the nation and the World. While they still make these statements about women, generally, they have been silent about the case of Sarah Palin. This is a huge change, from men who still do not allow women leadership roles in their families, businesses or churches.

If nothing else comes out of the Palin nomination, I hope that it spurs other women to come forward and participate in prominent roles at the very top of leadership in the secular and religious life in America. If women were running the government, fewer children would go to bed hungry, in crime plagued neighborhoods, without equal educational opportunities. If women were running the Catholic church, fewer children would be sodomized by priests and most priests would not be homosexual pedophiles.

Maybe, after this, James Dobson and his mealy mouthed brethren, will keep their pie holes shut about the proper place of women in society.

Bible Thump: Redux

We need to be on the same page here. I'm not trying to teach anybody about their religion, just getting a few terms defined for the purposes of this post.

The term Pentecost, in modern fundamentalist religion in America, refers to the spiritual awakening and gifts that the individual receives when "born again" or baptized in the holy spirit, often during a spastic episode followed by a refractory trance. The gifts can be manifested in many ways. Most commonly, the individual speaks in tongues. Sometimes the gift of healing is imparted. Less often, the gift of foresight or prophesy is bestowed. There are no real limits to the gifts possible. It is important in the Pentecostal faith, that the true Christian undergoes a traumatic spiritual rebirth, rather than simply believing in God and learning about the faith through membership and participation, in the Christian community. There are many controversies about the beginnings of Pentecostal religion. Some believe it began as early as the late Eighteenth Century in Appalachia. Some believe it sprang out of a Bible study group at Bethel Bible College, in the late Nineteenth Century. Many in my area, insist it started in a storefront church in Los Angeles in 1901. In any case, by early in the Twentieth Century, there existed around America, a small and growing number of churches that were Pentecostal in nature, in that they shared this concept of an epiphaneous spiritual awakening, as a requirement for true Christian faith. This was a departure from most Christian sects, at the time.

This concept of spiritual awakening, proved very attractive. Very soon, congregations of many Christian Churches adopted it into their practice of Christianity. Just as the genetic structure of a retrovirus becomes a permanent part of its hosts DNA, the longed for spiritual awakening became part of established churches. These hybrid churches were dubbed "Charismatic".

The last term we need to get straight is Fundamentalism. This is the belief in the absolute, literal veracity of Holy Scripture, New Testament and Old, as the revealed word of God, despite minor inconsistencies due to errors in translation, transcription or interpretation down through the centuries.

All Pentecostal churches are Fundamentalist. Not all Charismatic Churches are Fundamentalist and not all Fundamentalist churches are Charismatic.

Now, let's go back to the origins of the Pentacostal Church. In the beginning, all Pentacostal churches shared another common trait. All were Pacifist. This goes right back to the issue of speaking in tongues and the belief that in the end of days, God would reveal himself to all men and all men would understand each other literally and spiritually. There would be no violence, killing or war from that time forward. The United States government, not infrequently engaged in wars, had real problems with pacifist churches. As long as the members of these churches paid their taxes and were willing to send their young men off to perform non combatant duties, they grudgingly accepted this. This was not always the case and many young men of Pentecostal faith spent time in Federal prison. There was also social ostracism and peer pressure put upon Pentecostals by the general population. Being a young faith and still relatively plastic in their beliefs, pacifism quickly became a matter of individual preference and soon after World War I, a negligible practice. Another early belief among Pentecostals was an adherence to feminist principals. On the West Coast, the majority of the early Pentecostals were women and many of these were not only congregational leaders but doctrinal authorities, clergy and evangelists. Over time, women were pushed back into more traditional roles, that did not involve leadership or doctrinal authority. Just as Pentecostal beliefs were adopted by pre existing denominations, so were they influenced into reversing some of their early, important, progressive stances, when they became unfashionable.

Now, one last delving into the not so far past history of the American Pentecostal movement. Within this church that spawned such World renowned feminist leaders as Aimee Semple McPherson and Kathryn Kuhlman, there existed thousands of mature, feminine, church leaders, that believed in communal pacifism and miraculous healing. It was common for them to minister to young girls, in time of personal crisis, that men did not understand. If the girl was found to be blameless or the circumstances warranted, she could be healed, made whole again and the "problem" would be made to vanish, leaving her to go on with her life in Christ. Indeed, this experience was not uncommonly the catalyst for the girls subsequent Baptism in the Spirit and the beginning of her lifelong personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm not saying these feminist heroes of the Pentecostal faith are all gone now but they are, at the very least, driven far underground. I'm not saying that religion should be anything that you want it to be but if God takes the time to speak to you, listen. If God chooses to speak to the ladies about different things than you, maybe it's none of your fucking business.

Liquor in the Front, Poker in the Rear, Free Lunch for Regular Patrons Only

More and more, out in the fundo bloggy sphere, you hear justification of and even congratulations to, Sarey Paleface, for not exposing herself to the evil machinations of the MSM. After all, few of them are real Americans. None are Pentecostal. The Catholic ones should all be denied Communion and excommunicated. A few of the Jews are right thinking but only on Middle Eastern issues, otherwise they get all bleeding heart. The men are all pansies and the women are all filthy, baby aborting, whores, except for Helen Thomas, a demon from Hell, who even the Devil himself would never fornicate with. In interactions with the press, Republicans are made to look like racist, sexist, elitist tools of the entrenched power structure. Everyone knows that nothing could be further from the truth. It was bad enough in the old days, when the news media was controlled by godless commies. Now they are all secular humanists and take their orders from the Dark Prince himself.

It is increasingly accepted by Conservibloggies, that all Republican candidates and office holders should attend only speaking engagements, attendance at which, is tightly controlled by the party and limited by venue to military reservations and private men's clubs. That is what Bush/Cheney have done, since their first election and it has only furthered the cause.

I'm sure that on special occasions, to assuage the public, Republican politicians could field questions from a select panel of carefully screened and coached cable news personalities, as long as the questions were submitted well before hand and the inappropriate ones stricken. Of course, there would have to be a tape delay for editorial purposes. Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, would probably be acceptable. Katey Couric would even be OK, to cover the feminine angle, if she would submit to a lobotomy or even just several hundred milligrams of Thorazine, administered shortly before the taping.

Eventually, it would be better if elections were held on the party platforms only and the names of the actual electees were announced afterward. Since only one party truly reflects the thoughts and best interests of the American people, the nasty, divisive, bipartisan system could be dispensed with as well. Many of our fine democratic allies do exactly this and it works out very well for them. We even train our allies to do this, at "The School of the Americas", an American Army facility at Fort Benning. We cover everything needed for the nurturing of true democracy, from the organization of the first covert death squads to the proper application of lime on the last mass graves. Why shouldn't we practice what we preach?

Unspoken Agendas

Outwardly. the Republican National Convention, this week, was very boring to watch. While the various speakers infused their text with their own personalities, the real content was exactly the same. The same old conservative buzz words and phrases were all there. We heard the same exhortations to "Victory" in pursuit of the foreign wars of aggression. We heard about fiscal restraint in government. We heard about preserving cherished family values. Behind the podium the huge American flag rippled bravely, because we all know that only the Republican party embraces true love of country and patriotism and everyone else is at best misguided and most of the opposition leadership are, in fact, subversives who want nothing more than to destroy our country and way of life.

They never really said that though. They didn't really dwell on why we have the wars. They didn't really define what family values are and what it entails to live by them. They didn't outline how the Bush administration and Reagan administration fostered family values, fiscal conservatism and patriotism or how exactly the Clinton and Carter administrations did not. They talked about fighting corruption in government without pointing out that both Democrat and Republican Administrations are at least equally corrupt and that the same leaders who rail against the status quo, fiercely support it once in office.

I awaited, with interest, the speech by the Republican Vice Presidential selection. This person was picked almost solely on the basis that she supports the fundamentalist Christian political agenda. I thought perhaps here was the point where the goals and beliefs of these people would be laid out for us non believers. Outlawing abortion, when, where, how and what. Incorporating Christian beliefs in creationism, sexual mores, religion and ethnocentric xenophobia into the curriculum of public education. Recognition that America is a Judeo-Christian society by definition and any move toward secularism and inclusion of minority rights is seditious.

It never came. It never is going to come. The actual policies that would need to be implemented to bring about the kind of society that these people seek, do not have the kind of support necessary for their general acceptance and implementation and the fact is, there is no bar to the fundo community presently, from living exactly the way they want. There is only the opportunity for dissenters to live as they choose, as well, without impinging on the rights of others and that really doesn't play well.

Advance to the Rear

I want all of you to take a look at the culture wars raging in this country. Look at what the fights are about. Then look at how the people that are fighting the wars live their lives. It is in the way we all live our lives that tell us who is winning the wars. Who is running the country, while it makes a difference, is not a big factor in who will be victorious.

The conservative agenda is, without exception, the high ground. The supposed societal norm. Main stream. Easy to defend. It does not require advancement, only maintenance. When examined closely, the issues turn out to be rallying cries for a culture in decline and retreat. Most people still revere the traditional family unit but fewer come from them or live within them than ever. Most people call themselves Christians but fewer are involved actively in organized religion than ever. Women do not stay home, keeping house and raising children. It's not just that they cannot afford to, most do not want to. The suppression of women's reproductive rights, a cornerstone of repressive societies, World wide, is in retreat. Bringing back the veil, stoning, clitorectomy and honor killing will not help to restore it, neither will banning abortion in this country. Denying science and saying the World is six thousand years old is an inadequate strategy to marshal the forces of traditional values. Home schooling is an admission that the mainstream has passed you by, not a method by which you push your lifestyle and philosophy into the mainstream of current culture.

Mainstream culture is like the impeccable Brooks Brothers ensemble that the business executive or equities trader wears to work. It is quickly shed at the end of the day, when the working couple, gay or straight, repair to their suburban lair with their carefully planned 1.4 children. At that point, the straight clothes come off, the tattoos are exposed, the hip hop plays, a big doobee gets rolled and nobody chows down on roast beef, mashed potatoes and Mom's apple pie.

The "liberal agenda" keeps advancing because it's the way people really live. People would rather live according to personal preference than tradition. They would rather pick their friends from the total pool of who is available than who they were raised to believe was acceptable. They would rather believe what makes sense than cultural and religious dogma.

Look at the upcoming elections, during which we will choose the leaders of our country. Look at how they really live, when they are not pontificating for the cameras of the news media. The gay ones aren't mostly liberal. The straight, monogamous ones aren't mostly conservative. Most of them enjoy rolling that first big doobee at the end of a long day, no matter what side of the fence they have been straddling. I don't really care who wins or loses the elections. It doesn't make a bit of difference in the long run. Americans themselves build the families and institutions of the nation by the very act of working and living in them. The changes that come will be made the same way. Consensus at the ballot box only reflect, in the end, consensus on the living room couch.

OFF LIMITS

My favorite rejoinder by the fundo fuckwads, this news cycle, is how the candidate's personal, family lives, should be "private". I remember a certain mild mannered, Chief Executive, 30 years ago, from Georgia, that this certainly was not true of. Republicans constantly criticized, satirized, belittled and demonized his family members. This was not only the case with his mousy wife and timid little daughter but went on to include his adult children, his aged mother, his working class brother and an evangelist cousin. None of them were sex perverts, criminals, or any type of miscreants, just small town eccentrics from peanut country. The cruel, unceasing harassment continued through the campaign and for his entire term in office. When, during the next campaign, this good man was struggling with the collapse of Iran and the hostage crisis that followed, the Reagan campaign aided and abetted the foreign perpetrators, with treasonable intent, colluding with them to continue the situation until the electoral defeat and end of this President's term, with the hostages being released the very next day. The Reagan administration that followed, continued to collude with the Ayatollah run regime of Iran, after taking office, setting up Iran Contra, to both aid Iran and fund illegal, covert war in Central America. Many of the Reagan administration operatives involved, went on and currently play major roles in the fraudulent "Global War on Terror". The current Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA are only two. There are many more. They all should have been stood up against a wall and shot. The fuckin' Gipper first. Ollie North second.

John McCain, the current Republican candidate for President, is the political protege of Jim Hensley, father of Cindy McCain. Hensley was a "button man", turned lieutenant, of Kemper Marley, the prohibition era, Arizona boss of the Lanskey/Bronfman liquor smuggling and distribution organization. After prohibition, the Lanskey/Bronfman organization continued to control a large portion of the legal liquor business in America, as well as substantial portions of Las Vegas gambling, horse racing revenues and professional sports team venue merchandising and refreshment concessions. The polite fiction, that Jim Hensley scraped together $10,000 to buy into his beer distribution business and built it up through honest toil, is laughable. It is a business, even today, that maintains itself through, coercion, restraint of trade and selective violence.

Even the most cruel enterprises have their charitable side. From the very beginning, the Lanskey/Bronfman mob were supportive of the Zionist cause, providing money, arms, munitions and "technical" assistance to the State of Israel, whenever they could. Whatever influence they acquired within the American government was offered, as well. It is here that we see the strong foundations of John McCain's neocon support for America's intervention in the Middle East. Dimwitted American sheeple, follow the neocon drummers to their deaths in the unilateral foreign wars of aggression there, without uttering a single plaintive Baa.

Don't look too close America, you might see somethin'. Just vote the way they tell ya.

Drink Up, Mr President!

President George W. Bush will not be in attendance at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. I do not know when the last time a serving President missed a convention. Maybe never. Surely not in a long while.

The word is, that he is drunk and has been for weeks. Pictures and anecdotal reports from the recent Beijing Olympics, with wife Laura and daughter Barbara looking away in disgust, seem to bear this out. It's an Emperor's new clothes situation. The only person there with stones enough to point it out was his nemesis, the current President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. I guess after a couple of assassination attempts, what more can they do to you?

I'm perfectly happy to let GW stay drunk for the last 5 months of his Presidency. If he had drunk a lot more, earlier, the country would be in a lot better shape, today.

Drink up, Mr President. The White House has plenty of booze on hand and you don't have that much time left! Down in Texas, they write and sing a lot of songs about old drunks, because of the kind of men they used to be. That's never going to be the case with you. You're a better man now, dead drunk, lying in a pool of foul vomit, than on any other day of your life. Nobody wants you, needs you or cares about you. Drunk or sober. Dead or alive. Now or ever. Drink up, Mr President. What else is there?

It's Why God Makes the Juices Flow

So, what is the deal with Sarah Palin? She has been out of the box now 4 days. The first 2 days, she went around with McCain giving a little puff coronation speech. Since then, nothing, except a constant stream of media information and disinformation. Monday, she didn't make one personal appearance. Not today either. This is not exactly a campaign blitz. Not once, in the 4 days since McCain rolled her out, has she answered a single question from the press. Not once, has she definitively given her position on a major issue. We know, from interviews with those who have known her all their lives, that she is no shrinking violet.

The fundo fascists continue to gush because they believe that Palin belongs to them. Lefties are frustrated, because they don't know enough about her, to launch well considered attacks. People in the middle just wonder what all the excitement is about. For now, Sarah can continue to be coy but some time in the next 60 days, before the general election, she is going to have to address the issues that the fundos care about, specifically. She is going to have to state whether or not she wants to outlaw abortion. Where, when, which type, under what conditions. She is going to have to address premarital sex, sex education and contraception. She is going to have to talk about what should and should not be taught, in science classes, in public schools. She is going to have to address a woman's proper place in society. These are the social issues that the fundos care about and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, as well. They know that Bush/Cheney/Rove were just jerking them off. They don't like McCain, even as well as Bush. They need to know that McCain is delivering the real thing and not just some big as a bucket round heel, that can shoot straight, knows how to cube up a moose and raises her daughters to be the same. I don't see anything wrong with these things but the Reverend Doctor James Dobson does. He is the audience that Sarah has to play to, or it is all for nothing.

As long as Sarah stays silent, the media and the left wing propaganda machine will continue to define her with the selective presentation of what they can dig up in her past. A waiting game, on her part, is not a good strategy. 60 days is a lot of time for her adversaries to dig.

Sarah is a woman who has clearly lived life to it's fullest and who defines for herself that life and not the other way around. She has chosen to step out onto the World stage, she was not forced. Sing your song for us, Sarah. Dance your dance. You've never been afraid of a little friction before. It's why we have erectile tissue. It's why God makes the juices flow.

The Plot Thickens as Does a Young Girl's Waist

Once again, I am blown away by the strength of character and independent spirit shown by the GOP's new VP pick Sarah Palin and her family. They released a statement this morning that 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is 5 months pregnant, plans to keep the baby and marry the father.

The most impressive aspect of this announcement is they emphasize that it is Bristol's decision to keep the baby and that they completely support this decision. This is a young girl, whose parents have no doubt been the primary influence on her personal development to this point. Her decision to keep the baby is, therefore, not surprising and even the expected one. The fact that they let it be her decision and emphasized this point, is none the less an impressive testament to their character. This point is driven home by the fact that they are also accepting her decision to marry the father of the child. I don't know who the boy is or anything about him and it's really not important that I do. What is important is that this is another independent decision on Bristol's part, that they have decided to respect. Unlike the decision to keep the baby, I'm sure this decision was far harder to accept. Marriage and a family at seventeen years of age is a momentous decision and one which profoundly affects the course that the life of a young person takes. I'm sure the Palin's have many hopes and dreams for their children and that few of them include marriage and a baby at seventeen. This is a bitter pill for any parents to swallow and I'm sure it is no less for them. The Palin's have experienced, very publicly, a momentous week, the events of which are bittersweet, at best.

At a time like this, I am struck with the dichotomies presented by American culture. The Republicans have, once again, chosen from among the most odious, corrupt, divisive and inappropriate of their number, which includes virtually all of their leadership, to pick a Presidential candidate. That person, in turn, has chosen one of the most interesting and inspirational Americans in recent history, to share the ticket with. On the one hand I am repulsed and on the other stirred.

God bless you Todd and Sarah Palin and all of your children and grandchildren to come. May you meet all the upcoming challenges in your life with the same courage and character that you have shown in this past week. Americans everywhere are honored and privileged to have shared this week with you.

Twin Cities Skunk Hole

About a third of delegates to the RNC this year are millionaires. Most are at least far more affluent than the average American. I bet the same is true of the delegates to last weeks DNC in Denver. The real difference is the solidarity among the staunchest and most active supporters of the RNC.

The Republicans at the core of the Party today are strong, determined and unashamed. The Global War on Terror is falling apart, exposed as a sham. The American economy is crumbling, with huge trade imbalances continuing even though we are the largest debtor nation in the history of the World. American society is changing rapidly and radically away from the Wonder bread and baloney sandwich era, with church on Sunday and a social structure where people knew their places. Still, they have no regrets. They do not blame their leaders. They do not blame themselves. They made the decisions they thought they should. They tried as hard as they could. They spared no expense. Sometimes things just don't work out.

When you're beat, winning isn't important anymore. You want to keep your head up. Stay in the game. Learn from your mistakes and start over again. No point in a victory celebration though. That would be the same as advertising defeat. There have been victories enough in the past and plenty of celebrations. There will be more in the future. Now is not the time.

The festivities at the RNC have been cancelled this year. The attendance will be sparse. The candidates don't matter. It will be the most important convention in a generation. They will see who is with them. They will reaffirm what they are all about. They can begin to plan for the future and correct past mistakes. Identifying the scapegoats for sacrifice, organizing the thugs in a beer hall, printing fliers and building bombs in a basement after midnight, you've got to start at the beginning. The first steps are the most important.

Sandpoint Blank

John McCain is a lot smarter than 43 but that just means he is not a retard. His policy positions are a lot more reasoned but that just means he's not a fascist. He graduated from Annapolis, albeit 4th from the bottom of his class. Both his father and grandfather were 4 star shitheads and he spent 6 years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. This is pretty much the gold standard for a naval aviation officer of his generation and still they kicked him to the curb. You have to conclude that he must have had some pretty severe deficits, career-wise. As a politician, he has been exceedingly corrupt and totally insincere, a toady to the wealthy and their lobbiests. This means he has finally found his niche.

What can you say about a guy like this running for President? Well, we've had worse. Usually.

He picked his running mate this week. You've got to admit, she's a Duesy.

The fundo fascists embraced Sarah Palin, the Governess of Alaska wholeheartedly, from the first minute. They're not usually big feminists, so I really wasn't prepared to like her much. So far, even though I would never vote for a McCain/Anybody ticket, unless I knew the melanoma was back big, black and metastatic, she doesn't seem all that bad.

She's probably the smartest Republican on a national ticket since Nixon. Her degree of mental stability may be above normal. We haven't seen that, since Ike.

She was born in Sandpoint, Idaho but when she was born, everyone there was not a member of an Adamic Aryan Militia. That means we should probably watch her pretty close but she may not be a skinhead mama awaiting the post apocalyptic ascendancy of the White Race.

In high school, she was an aggressive player on and the prayer leader of, the girls basketball team. At my high school, that would have made her a lesbian. Kinky. She has a degree from the University of Idaho and didn't major in Home Economics. She participated in beauty contests and trained for a career as a television news reader, for a woman in conservative politics, this elevates her to the status of intellectual.

Her domestic life seems to be exemplary. She remains married to and has five children with her high school sweetheart. Good for her. Her husband is a native Alaskan, works part time as commercial fisherman and part time in the oil fields. He is ruggedly handsome, plays a good game of hockey and regularly wins long distance snow mobile races. This is roughly the Alaskan equivalent of being Michael Jordan. Neither she, her husband nor any of their children are hopeless alcoholics or habitual solvent sniffers. This is so rare, even among the most refined of Alaskan Society, as to be almost without precedent. There is a rumor going around that her youngest son is really the child of her daughter. Do they really think to use this against her? If true, I can't think of a more selfless, loving, generous act, of a mother for her daughter. If it wasn't for Snuffy McCain, I might vote for her on that basis alone.

The Anchorage area, where she lives, is becoming pretty suburban but is not far removed from the recent pioneering past. She might have some attitudes about conservation, pollution, mineral extraction and ecological preservation that seem pretty loose to those in the lower 48 but they're mainstream for Alaska. Likewise her attitudes on social issues. They probably aren't quite ready for Gay marriage up there but I understand they provide full rights and benefits for domestic partnership. She makes a point of being "pro life" but I haven't ever seen a quote where she says she wants to outlaw abortion. Her statements seem to be made as personal beliefs. Who cannot respect that? Alaska is a very diverse society, perhaps not in the same way as some other parts of the country but individual rights and personal philosophies are highly prized there and the population goes heavily armed, more or less all the time. If you want to live long in Alaska, you'd best tread lightly on the personal prerogatives of others. That's the main component of "Right to Life", in Alaska.

The political process, where ever it takes place, usually ends up bringing a certain amount of control and conformity to those governed. It's not easy being a politician in Alaska. The rules are different there. The opportunities for politicians to steal from the federal government and the kickbacks from corporate exploiters are huge but the citizens demand that the proceeds be divided up and shared out to each. That must be devastating for the politicians. I hope Sarah can hit the ground running, the learning curve in a national campaign, sharing the ticket with someone like John McCain, will be parabolic.

Whether or not she is able to benefit the campaign of John McCain is yet to be seen. While to do so would not be difficult, if she does not, it will certainly not reflect badly on her abilities. It's late to be entering the game and the team for which she has been picked is lacking in strength, skill, style and advantage.

One last thing. A lot is being made about her not having enough experience to be Vice President. Total bullshit. Anyone with any experience should be disqualified from holding public office. Professional politicians have brought our country to ruin and our population to discord. In a democracy, those issues which cannot be decided by plebiscite should be debated by legislative bodies, the members of which, are decided by the drawing of lots. I'm sure you'd get the occasional pain in the ass but nothing like we have now.

After God Flushes the Gulf, It's Always Polite to Light A Match

Gustav is expected to attain category 5 status Sunday, then head in, feet wet onto the Gulf coast, possibly at New Orleans. After Katrina, the Corps of Engineers offered its honest assessment, that it was probably not possible to stabilize the city against further large storms and that such storms were inevitable. Their opinion was backed up by almost everyone, in both the meteorological and engineering communities.

I've written about the Bush administration's response, at some length. I won't bore you with it again, except to remind you that just last week, Cheetah was boasting about the 125 billion in Federal funds he had funneled into the area, to rebuild. Don't worry, the money wasn't wasted. Most has gone directly into the pockets of his rich developer friends and they wouldn't spend it on anything as wasteful as rebuilding New Orleans.

What's going on in the Mississippi Delta shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Sea levels are rising. This is especially apparent in delta regions, when tidal surges and runoff from torrential rains combine to cause flooding, during tropical cyclone storms. These delta regions will deteriorate into groups of ever smaller, low lying islands, eventually vanishing completely, becoming part of the river's outlet, through the continental shelf. We have seen this process begin not only on the Mississippi but also in Bangladesh and Burma's Irrawaddy, both of which are also doomed. Bush doesn't believe in any of this stuff. Why would he? He believes the Earth is flat, six thousand years old and that cocaine is brought down by Angels from God, in white robes and given to country club bathroom attendants, on weekend afternoons, who then sell it to him. It's OK, for his purposes, these things and many others, just as improbable, all are functionally true.

It is drolly ironic, that the third anniversary of Katrina and the Republican National Convention are coinciding with the advent of the next big storm to hit the Delta. The few still planning on attending the Convention, are grasping at straws, trying to save themselves, which is exactly what the few still left in New Orleans, next week, may be doing. McStain is considering postponing the Convention but will it really be better to have it after the storm has wreaked its havoc, than during? Another idea that he has, is to deliver his acceptance speech inside the storm zone, to demonstrate his courage and resolve. Now there is a fine idea.

Personally, I hope the storm misses New Orleans and hits a less developed and low lying area of the Gulf Coast. I hope the Republican National Convention goes well. I hope the Angels bring down an especially fine bag of dope to George Bush's restroom attendant this weekend. The Republicans can use all the good luck they can get and Bush can use all the good dope.

I Didn't Even Notice Hillary Was Bleeding, Long Live The Queen

The pundits are saying that the third day of the Democratic convention was anti climactic. I don't know what they are talking about. I thought it was one of the greatest exhibitions of political knife fighting I have ever witnessed.

Hillary Clinton, in return for her promise of unqualified support for Barak Obama, extracted a promise from the DNC that her name would be placed in nomination for the Presidency and that a roll call vote would follow. She would then be able to show the convention and the World, how close she had come to a primary victory, especially with Florida and Michigan voting all their delegates.

Her hopes were dashed. It quickly became apparent that Nancy Pelosi had stacked the deck against her. One by one the States voted with most of Clinton's delegates having been suborned by their State's party leaders into casting their votes for Obama. The party leaders of California, with the largest block of votes committed to Clinton holding solidarity, simply passed, rather than give Hillary their votes. Hillary had to quickly maneuver to halt the vote and personally call for acceptance of Obama into candidacy by acclamation. From the Cheshire cat grins on the faces of every major elected official in the State of New York, who surrounded her, as she was personally made to call for this acclamation, in the midst of her home delegation, on the convention floor and the same big grin on the face of Nancy Pelosi, who summarily took over the podium during the event, it was evident things had gone exactly as they had planned, from the beginning.

Hillary Clinton likes to think she is tough, when in truth, she simply has no regard for others or respect for the political process. People are fooled by Nancy Pelosi's brittle seeming affect. It wasn't a case of people commenting how natural Hillary looked at her funeral, they didn't even know she was dead, until it was time to lower her into the cold ground of a pauper's grave. Nancy kept smiling and daintily tossed in the first handful of dirt . You got to love and admire a politician with that kind of a skill set. I hope her tenure as Speaker of the House is long but either way, it will be colorful. She has a style all her own.

It was a good day today.

Who's on First. I'm Skeptical at Home.

American equity markets have been losers for the last year. They haven't lost that much though. All the major averages are still following trend lines, established when modern markets exploded into the 1973 mega bull. That bull is still in place. There have been times when markets did much better than the overall trend and some heart stopping corrections but for thirty five years the trend has been strongly and profitably up, without exception. Investors who bought and held made money. A lot of money. Warren Buffett money. As long as they picked stocks that weren't total dogs.

Markets are now poised to test the support offered by the long term trend, as they have in 1981, 1987 and as recently as 2002. This support should begin to move the markets strongly higher, as they have since the beginning of the mega bull. If the markets do not move higher, the support will soon be noticeably breached, due to the rising trend line. If this happens, the markets can suffer profound, long term stagnation but more likely first, deep reversal.

I'm not a technical analyst. There are guys that do that for a living and they understand all the nuances. There are also limits to what technical analysis of past trends can tell you about the future. Markets will do what they will do.

The thing that concerns me is that markets have not experienced a sharp, swift "crash", that stabilized and began a process of bottoming and recovery, that has been the pattern for the last thirty five years, when the mega trend was challenged. We have, for the last year been in a period of slow, stagnating deterioration, with lower highs and lower lows. Additionally, there are no emerging sectors of the economy that promise to offer future increased employment and economic revitalization. The economy is being buoyed only by huge deficit spending, on the part of the Federal government. Much, if not most, of this spending continues to quickly cycle out of the country via the negative trade balance, leaving the country continually short of operating expenses. Many, including some highly placed economic experts, now apparently believe that uncontrolled deficit spending, increases in the money supply and the corresponding debt it creates, can go on indefinitely. They believe that since the US Dollar is the major currency of international exchange in the World, our economy is too big to fail. They believe that printing money, can substitute for a real GDP and the rest of the World will go along. They may be right.

I'm skeptical.

Requiem For Some Heavyweights Or Maybe They're Just Big Sacks Of Shit

The Clintons are doing an especially nice job of pretending that they like Barak. Why wouldn't they? They always do a nice job of pretending they like each other. Nobody believes that either.

After the convention, unless there is something in it for them and I don't believe there is, you won't see them on the campaign trail again this cycle. It's true that the DNC has been very, very good to a certain little family from Arkansas. Bill wouldn't have made that one hundred million since he left office without them. Hillary's Senate seat was a total gift. Chelsea got to go to Stanford and has a bright future ahead of her. These things are all in the past. It's now a case of what have you done for me lately. I don't see Barak as being that generous towards them, do you?

Bill's days of being the elder statesman of the Party are over. Hillary won't be back in four or eight years, no matter who is the next President. She's never going to be let into the Senate leadership. She will get some good committee appointments but not chairmanships. She may well become the Bella Abzug of her generation. WHOPPEE! Or maybe not. Bella was smart, as well as ruthless and mean.

Chelsea seems like a nice young woman. I wish her luck. Truly.

Democratic Convention Violence Report - Half Way Point

The Democratic Party Convention is half over. As far as I can tell, there have been a few small groups of organized anti war protesters arrested in Denver but not near the Convention venue, for supposedly blocking pedestrian traffic. The only violence occurred on the part of the arresting officers, who outnumbered the protesters by a factor of several times and used tear gas and pepper spray on them. The local cops got 50 million from the Feds to pay for heightened security during the convention. They aren't going to give any of it back. They have to have something to show for their efforts and only four days to come up with it. What a waste of money.

Camera men with Michelle Malkin and a Truther radio personality I've never heard of, named Alex Jones, belly bumped each other pugnaciously outside the Denver Mint yesterday. There was apparently a protest of some sort going on there but nobody was paying any attention to that. I saw some video of it on one of the Fundo sites. It looked like a couple of long haired members of the crowd pushed them apart and broke it up, probably while under the influence of the devil weed. No tear gas, pepper spray or arrests there, at least on the video I saw. I really admire Michelle. That whole, spunky, Subic City bargirl, LBFM take, on crusading Republican womanhood she does, is really a refreshing new twist on the genre. Whoever is paying her fine is getting his moneys worth. I frequently am inspired to leave witty comments on her site but she never enables new commenters. Probably just as well. Ann Coulter's cruel, Nazi dominatrix shtick, pales in comparison.

The Secret Service foiled a possible assassination attempt on Barak Obama, arresting three young, white racist men with high powered rifles and methamphetamine in their possession. I doubt these guys are actually on the payroll of the RNC, probably just kindred spirits. I doubt they were ever really much of a threat but you could have said the same for several young men in the past, who had some success.

Randall Terry and a small group of his supporters insisted on being arrested, during a sit down strike and will spend the night in jail, after refusing to pay a token bail. Once again, no tear gas or pepper spray needed. Good Luck Randall! Sing a chorus of "We Shall Overcome" for me. Don't allow your dreams for the preborn to be stillborn.

Maybe the bomb throwers will come out tomorrow. One can only hope.

Long John Silvers Seafood Shoppe

When I was in the Navy, most of my friends were E-5 and below. All of them were on their first enlistment. Anybody that had re-uped or extended was, by definition, a lifer, and while I might socialize with them, would never take them into my confidence. Sailors that have so little time in grade and service make almost no money. The married guys, with children, made a lot more than I. That's the way the Nav works. Still, compared to non sailors, they made nothing. Their families suffered.

I'm not trying to pretend these guys were any kind of martyrs. These were young guys. They smoked. They spent a lot of time and money on drugs, liquor, gambling and women. The wife either worked or made do with what was left after her husband's vices were paid for and not many of them worked. It was the middle late Seventies, times were tough for everybody and especially for junior enlisted in the Navy and their families.

Even as tight as money was, most guys felt like a jerk, if they didn't take the family out to dinner, off base, at least every month or two. They couldn't afford a "real" restaurant, even IHOP gets pricey, when you're feeding four or five. A burger place wasn't "really" going out to eat. One of the places they ended up going to a lot was Long John Silvers Seafood. It was cheap. It wasn't burgers or pizza. It was always real popular with the Navy crowd.

Sometimes I like to go to Long John Silvers, even today. I don't think they have built many new ones recently or remodeled the old ones. They look, operate and have the same menu that they always did. They're beat up and shopworn but that's OK. The food is amazingly greasy. It's guaranteed to give you the shits. It always was. I don't care.

I can go in there and for under five bucks get a basket meal with fish, chips, fritters and a drink. They let you pump all the tarter sauce, cocktail sauce and ketchup you want, into little paper containers. They have Malt vinegar. I usually go alone, my wife doesn't like it. I guess she ate at better places in the seventies. No nostalgia there for her. As long as I don't sit near a window, where I might see my reflection, I can pretend it's 1976 and I'm 25 again, with endless possibilities ahead of me. I hope they don't remodel the one near my house. It wouldn't be the same.

I always ring the little ship's bell a couple times on the way out, in appreciation of the experience. Maybe they think it's for the food. Naw!

Your Political Science Lesson For Today

People don't understand the classical definitions of the four different types of people, politically, in any human society. Let's have a quickie refresher, so that you can determine which one you are. You may be surprised!

1) Radicals want rapid fundamental change, by whatever means necessary. These guys are usually having bad lives. They are discriminated against. They are excluded from the main stream of the life of their society. Their families are often not getting enough to eat. Oh, remember those dirty, long haired guys in the sixties? They weren't really radicals. Remember the Black Panthers? They were. Lenin and Trotsky were radicals. Stalin was not.

2)Liberals think that society has been changing for the better and want to see more of the same type of changes occur. These people are doing better than they used to be and look forward to doing better yet. America is an innately liberal society. Most people living in America are very liberal. They don't see this because they often are most interested in the changes occurring in a specific area of society, that benefit them, different or even contradictory to changes that other, also liberal groups are interested in. Evangelical Christians are among of the most liberal of groups, much more than secular humanists, who really may not want much change at all.

3)Conservatives want things to stay the same. This group is composed differently than most people think. The largest group of conservative in America today are union members with good pay, comprehensive benefits and strong collective bargaining. Public employees are members of this category and probably the most conservative segment of American society. The police and military are doubly conservative because they both enforce the status quo for a living and depend upon it for their own continuity of life. Small business people who buy existing franchises or who did not build up their business themselves also fit here. Entrepreneurs do not. The truly idle rich, who are too lazy or stupid to use their capital to profit from changing conditions fall in to this group but it's a very small percentage. Not even Paris Hilton or George Bush would fit in here.

4) Reactionaries want to return to a supposedly better time in the past. It's difficult to give examples of true reactionaries. Hypothetically, anyone who's situation used to be better and who would like to return to that time, would qualify. I guess one could argue that fundamentalist Mormon groups that practice polygamy and are extremely patriarchal would qualify. Old time silent movie stars, who hoped that talkies were only a passing fancy were reactionary. Where reactionary thought is concerned, it's difficult to tell where political philosophy ends and psychosis begins.