The Naked Axiom

A RWNJ's Guide on How to Argue with Liberals on Twitter

2011-02-19T14:50:00.007-05:00

It can be hard to remember all of the important elements involved in arguing with a liberal, but here is a handy checklist to make sure you've included all of the pieces essential to maintaining the purity of the RWNJ brand.

Whatever FOX says, you say. When in doubt, watch Glenn Beck.
Incorporate the #fox, #glennbeck or #tcot hashtag in every tweet, because by calling forth other RWNJs to also attack your opponent, you'll never have to give a real answer for anything.
If a liberal asks you to provide a source for any claim you have made to prove it is a fact, always respond: "Do your own research!!" or "I'm not going to do your research for you." That way, you don't have to do any research.
If you feel you must send them a source link, make sure it is only a link from a right-wing blog or op-ed piece. It doesn't matter if you've read it.
It is also helpful to have a ready list of links on-hand that are completely unrelated to the topic of discussion to flood your opponent's @replies with. Again, it doesn't matter if you've read them.
If you're unsure about how to start a tweet, try "Why don't you ask Obama/Reid/Pelosi why..." That should get your creative juices flowing.
All of your tweets (whether you are in a debate or not) should contain at least one insulting name for liberals. Libtard is a favorite, but it is getting a bit less effective from constant overuse. I suggest the more modern twist, Libturd.
Stay away from facts. Facts are only opinions reinforced by truth.
Never answer a question. The best way to counter the left's expectation for meaningful dialogue is to ask them an unrelated question in return, such as "Why do you like to kill unborn babies?"
Make sure each of your tweets is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. After all, you wouldn't want anyone to be able to accuse you of being one of the "intellectual elite".
Each of your tweets should include one of the RWNJ signature terms - commie, Marxist, socialist, or Nazi. You may use them interchangeably to keep things fresh. To keep up on the latest trend, trying using "Caliphate" or "sharia law".
Mention Soros.
Sprinkle the terms "Patriot," "Constitution," "liberty" and "freedom" here and there to constantly remind others that you're a real American, even when you're not acting like one.

What's most important to remember is that as a RWNJ, you have an image to uphold and a duty to build yourself up by putting others down. For freedom.

How is the AZ Immigration Law Racist?

2010-06-01T00:43:00.026-04:00

With all the discussion over the new and controversial Arizona Immigration Bill, and multiple requests from at least one demanding and, I suspect, mentally unstable troll on Twitter, I have decided to put some time into answering the question, "How is the Arizona Immigration Law racist?" because it cannot be answered in 160 characters or less.

It's true that the Arizona Legislature has amended the law (after a public outcry) with a specific rule that racial profiling is not permitted as a way to single out people to target with this law, and as we all know, because it says racial profiling is not allowed, no one will do it, right? Because, that would be unheard of. LOL! But...for the sake of argument, let's make the assumption here that all law officers in Arizona are above reproach and would never cross the line in some sort of megalomaniacal exhibition.

So, "racial stereotyping" is forbidden in the text, it's true; but class-based stereotyping with racial connotations is apparently permitted and even encouraged. How, you ask?

As part of the immigration bill, a police officer responding to city ordinance violations would be required to determine the immigration status of an individual they have reasonable suspicion of being an undocumented immigrant. How does that translate into racial stereotyping against Hispanics?

Well, in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 50% of Arizonans living below the poverty line were Hispanic, which is the highest percentage of any race living below the poverty line in Arizona.

An email from one of the activists who helped draft and modify the law (Kris Kobach) clarifies: "Police are able to use violations of property codes (i.e., cars on blocks in the yard) or rental codes (too many occupants of a rental accommodation) to initiate queries" into someone's immigration status.

So, a poor person (and don't forget, most of the poor people in Arizona are Hispanic) that must work on their own car at home because they cannot afford to pay, often outrageous, garage fees is at risk, and a family who cannot afford the rent on a large apartment or home for their large family is also at risk if they have, say, many children sharing a bedroom.

Also, the law states that an officer has reasonable suspicion to check the immigration status of anyone "soliciting work in a public place" (§ 5(C), page 5) such as in front of a Home Depot, where the majority of day workers seeking day labor jobs are Latino.

It also "authorizes (§ 6(A), page 6 7) law enforcement officers to arrest an individual without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe the individual has committed any public offense that makes him/her removable from the U.S." ...you know, such as, being in the U.S. illegally.

So, who takes credit in drafting the language of the AZ Immigration law? Click on the links for more information.

Kris Kobach - A birther who's running for Kansas Secretary of State. He’s also an attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of an anti-immigration group called FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
John Tanton - Founded FAIR in 1979 and is still listed as a member of their board of directors. In 1986, Tanton wrote this, “To govern is to populate. Will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile? As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night or will there be an explosion?”
The Pioneer Fund - Funders of FAIR and is self-described as based “in the Darwinian-Galtonian evolutionary tradition and eugenics movement.” For the last 70 years, the Pioneer Fund has funded controversial research about race and intelligence, essentially aimed at proving the racial superiority of white people. The group’s original mandate was to promote the genes of those “deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution.”

Now, let's spend a little time on Russell Pearce, the Arizona state Senator who sponsored the immigration bill.

Alleged wife beater - In divorce papers, his wife, LuAnn had claimed that he has a violent temper and had hit and shoved her, including an incident in which he grabbed her by the throat and threw her down to the floor.
Tea party supporter. 'nuf said.

Sure, those two things make him a jerk, but does that mean he's a racist? No, but the things below might.

Friend to J.T. Ready, an AZ state precinct committeeman who just happens to be an exposed Neo Nazi (he's the one holding the image of Hitler).
Pearce is the author of HB 2631, which amends current AZ marriage law to require that a prospective bride and groom provide both their social security numbers and proof of citizenship before a marriage license is issued. So, only American citizens can wed American citizens. If your boyfriend or girlfriend has a greencard, you can forget about getting married in Arizona.
In October 2006, Pearce forwarded an email from National Alliance, a white separatist group, to a group of supporters. The email titled "Who Rules America? The Alien Grip on Our News and Entertainment Media Must Be Broken," which criticized black and white intermixing, Jews in the media for promoting multiculturalism and racial equality, for depicting "any racially conscious White Person" as a bigot, and for presenting the Holocaust as fact.
He has declared his intention to place a referendum on the November ballot that would prohibit AZ hospitals from issuing birth certificates to children born of illegal parents. So, I guess as a tea party supporter, he loves the Constitution, except for the parts that he doesn't love...like the 14th amendment.

Even though many Americans claim to be in favor of the AZ immigration law, most of them have not read any version of the bill. Many supporters are also largely unaware of what the law is regarding checking the status of illegals, which according to Federal & state laws, already allows law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of someone who is placed under arrest.

In addition, they may not understand the lengths to which this bill's authors have gone to hide their intentions within the legalese of the bill's text; intentions, which based upon the authors' previous records of anti-immigrant rhetoric, are suspect at best.

Pathos

2010-05-25T23:48:00.002-04:00

Distorted candor
tumbles freely;
Words of discord
trials of peace.
Disjointed all
from one another,
heaving sobs
of their disgrace.
Swept in depths
of haughty rhythms,
Melodious is
one's own deceit.
Entrenched in life
that's unrequited;
Heaven's jest,
the soul's defeat.

Dear GOP, #tcot and "mob" morons,

2009-10-18T20:33:00.004-04:00

I picked out this special song just for you.

Due to budget cutbacks...

2009-05-01T08:41:00.008-04:00

...the light at the end of the tunnel will be out.

Here's a b-day shoutout to the Illuminati, born on this day in 1776... ♫ (It's your birthday) so let's party and have some fun. (It's your birthday) ♫
Is Facebook an Illuminati plot? Uh oh, I hope they're not keeping a secret file of my Superpokes!
Another good reason to par-tay...it's Beltane!
The dark secret at Antarctica's Blood Falls. I've just added it to my list of places to visit before I die.
Here's something cool and scary that I'm also going to have to partake in at some point. Eek! It's the crocostimpy!!
The world's largest pool. I think its more of a mini ocean.
Sonar causes rock-concert effect in dolphins. That's what they get for buying seats right next to the speakers.
Danny Gans and his "latest" vanishing act. What? Too soon?
Tree #3. The Larch.
Tomorrow, May 2nd, is free comic book day!! Yay! I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

"Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down? We do, We do. Who keeps Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martians under wraps? We do, we do."

-The Stonecutters Song, The Simpsons

Why a little "pork" can be good for everyone.

2009-04-16T10:51:00.011-04:00

While on Twitter this morning (Follow me on Twitter), after tweeting about the hilarious 'homotoned' neocon movement naming trend (asking us to 'tea bag' Obama and NOM's unfortunately named, 2M4M initiative), I made a comment about Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her inability to understand that the tea party movement is not really grassroots, but 'astroturf' or a fake grassroots movement. I was immediately replied to by someone who doesn't normally follow me. Below is an excerpt of the ensuing conversation.

NAKEDAXIOM: Will somebody PLEASE explain this to Elisabeth #Hasselbeck? The '#teabagging' is not a #grassroots movement! http://bit.ly/1tE9kM
BANAIAH: @NakedAxiom Using #teabagging is a funny snark but silly. If is not a #grassroots movement then what is? It certainly wasn't #astroturf.
NAKEDAXIOM: @banaiah when its backed by groups like #Freedomworks, it's certainly not #grassroots; its a coerced movement by lobbyists, or #astroturf.
BANAIAH: @NakedAxiom #freedomworks as well as #Newt in fact did get involved. But the movement started long before their involvement. (followup tweet) But the to a larger point. Who cares? Are people genuinely upset about taxes? About big Gov't? Hell yes! #tcot #teaparty
NAKEDAXIOM: @banaiah I care. #Taxes are necessary to pay for our country's #infrastructure. Explain how we do that, without them.
BANAIAH: @NakedAxiom I reject your premise that I want no taxes. They are not to fund each and every politicians pet project. #tcot #teaparty

Let me ask you something. If you are paying taxes to your government for the upkeep of your country (which most of us are), wouldn't you expect your representatives in that government to have a say in how your tax money was spent? And don't you think that those representatives should then work hard to get some of YOUR tax money back into YOUR community to pay for the upkeep and improvement of YOUR community? I do. That's why I voted for them, and now, that's their job. As a matter of fact, I would be pretty pissed if they just sat back and let all my tax money to go to other states. So I told him that. Here is his response:

BANAIAH: @NakedAxiom Even if its wasteful nor the role of the federal gov't? Do you believe that to be fair? #tcot

Of coure, I certainly don't want to pay for any bridges to nowhere...who would? But, I do understand the need in the government to include projects like a highspeed rail system between LA and Las Vegas, volcano research in Yellowstone (you know, the supervolcano underneath it...oh, you don't? Here's some info.), and pig odor elimination research in Iowa for the people of those communities, and when it comes to the volcano research - for all of us.

With oversight and good system of checks and balances, a little pork can be good for everyone.

It’s World Water Day!

2009-03-23T11:07:00.001-04:00

No wonder I‘m so thirsty.

Environmentalists slam World Water Forum as a “trade show.”
America’s water crisis and what we can do to quench it.
Tainted water still burdens small town after Salmonella breakout.
Here’s the solution! Dehydrated water. Wait…what?!!
Sen. Diane Feinstein believes that solar energy will destroy the Mohave Desert.
Time-Lapse pictures show the speed of our changing climate and its effects on the Earth's northern landscape.
The Cornucopia Institute charts major corporate ownership and involvement in the organic food sector .
The U.S goes to pot… More here about the new administration’s vow to cease prosecution of medicinal marijuana dispensaries.
Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 4 times.
Senator Gregg and the Princes Of Anarchy say the Obama budget will “bankrupt the nation“.
24 GOP neo-cons approve of legislation extending worst aspects of reviled Patriot Acts.
Texas school board will challenge the teaching of evolution in schools. I’m pretty sure science classes in TX will end up like this.
The top 10 aphrodisiac foods. I know what I’m having for dinner.
UFO trails plane in Tonga.
America's top ten most infamous haunted places. Personally, I’ve always had an issue with #7 being on the list.

“Water flows uphill towards money.”~Anonymous, saying in the American West, quoted by Ivan Doig in Marc Reisner, Cadillac Desert, 1986

Glenn Beck. Please, grow a pair.

2009-03-16T10:17:00.009-04:00

If I have to watch Glenn Beck cry one more time, I may grow volatile. Look at this clip from the opening of one of his recent shows.

Why is this guy on television? I really want to know. Beck has had a rough life and seems to have come out of it with some severe emotional problems. He cries, a lot. He nearly cried about Sarah Palin; not for the reasons I did, but because he feels like she's "his kind of leader".

As some have said, in these moments, Beck seems more like a cult leader than a commentator. Through his show, he is influencing many, many people who haven't realized what's wrong with the FOX News Network, and have also had hard lives and may be a little unstable themselves. I'm slightly afraid of that.

His performance in the above clip was so over the top that I actually found myself growing angry watching him. I contemplated driving to his house and stomping on his feet.

Just like on his show, Beck's 9/12 project website states, "We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again."

Well, guess what, Glenn. I do not want to feel like I did on September 12th, 2001. I don't know anyone with any sense who does. As a matter of fact, everyone I know wants to go back to feeling like we did on September 10th.

Do us all a favor and work on that one, will ya? Oh, and if you can - without the crying.

Of fathers, sisters, laundry lists and superfluous excuses

2009-03-12T12:41:00.004-04:00

After having more than a year pass between posts, here I am. So much has happened that I could hardly fit everything in here so, I'll just touch on some of the more meaningful things.

My dad's cancer came back. This was the 2nd time. The 1st time, it creeped out from one of his tonsils and proceeded to wrap itself around his vocal chords. Tough for a guy who's a singer (not to mention, as a guitar player, the severe arthritis he has in his hands). After intense radiation on his throat, he went into remission and was cancer free for 5 years. Then it came back in his other tonsil but, they were able to get all of that out. Whew.
In May, my grandfather, a retired Canon and historian of the Episcopal church passed away. He was also our family historian. I am now left to the task of continuing that tradition, and have begun to research our genealogy where he left off. I am discovering that ancestry.com, although pricey, is a great resource.
Palin. Blech. Shudder.
I got laid off from two jobs in 6 weeks. One I had for more than two years. FU Bush. I kind of feel like he's sitting around now, singing the Bartender song (Rehab) about all of us right now. "she"= America; "her f 'cking car"= our future.
I campaigned for the first time this election. My nine year old, my husband and I stood on a major street corner in our hometown with a group of people I could only call "Obamasized" (racially, ethnically, socially, financially diverse) and waved at cars, held up signs and shouted his name. On three other corners, stood the McCain/Palin supporters. It was amazing how alike they all looked - over 45 and white, white, white as far as the eye could see. It was nearly blinding. That said it all to us...and to most of America. Thank you for that. I finally believe that the American dream is a real possibility for everyone in this country.
My step-brother almost made the Olympics but, personally I think he f'd it up for himself when he lied his ass off in a NY Times article to give himself a "better back story". Karma is a total bitch, and I guess "Christian" doesn't always mean honest.
My other step-brother joined the Navy, and then got married to some girl he had known for two months. Yikes.
The holidays were awesome.
Two weeks after the new year, my dad had a major stroke. He was alone in his house in St. Pete when it happened, and he laid on the floor, unconscious, for three days before my uncle came home and found him (they're roommates). He had pneumonia and a serious blood infection when they got him to the hospital; also he was paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak. I have spent the last two months getting him treatment, dealing with his bills, medical issues, and personal issues. Its amazing how much I didn't know about my dad, but found out when it was suddenly my responsibility to take care of everything for him. I'm not sure I wanted to know everything I found out but, it is what it is.
One good thing that came from all of this with my dad is that I was finally able to track down my 16 yr old half sister for the first time ever. Dad had been paying child support (off and on) for her but had never had any desire to have any contact with her. I was grown and off at college when the girl he was dating got pregnant. She wanted to get married, he didn't so, she left. I have always wanted to know about my sister (seeing as I have really been an only child my whole life; even my step brothers didn't come along until I was grown.) Dad would never tell me anything about her. He always acted like he didn't know any info, which I knew was BS but, I try not to judge people for the choices they make. You can't fault a pig for having a shorter neck than a giraffe, and some people are just pigs. Don't get me wrong, I adore my dad but, his choices in life don't always match what I would have done, and sometimes, it bothers me. Anyway, I found her mother's name and city when I was going through his stuff, looking for records I needed. I Googled her and found she had a Facebook page. I contacted her and she was thrilled for her daughter and I to meet. We have been talking over Facebook and via text so far. I am taking it slow with her. But, she is beautiful, and talented, and intelligent, and sweet, and totally open to a sister relationship with me so, I am very excited. I was also able to give her a picture of her dad for the first time in her life. I guess sometimes good things can come from bad situations.

So, that's the big round up for now. I am still busy busy with work (more on that in a bit), but personally, that's the big picture of where I am. I'm tired but, I still have seven things to do today.

Success for the Pillsbury Mound Protest!!!

2007-02-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

Below is the response we received from the South Florida Museum, after many people called and sent emails protesting the sale and destruction of the ancient Pillsbury Mound in South Florida. Thank you to everyone who took the time to make a call or compose an email! It is a testament to what we can accomplish together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please be assured that, contrary to what you may have read in the newspapers or on the Internet, we will permit NO desecration of the Pillsbury Mound, nor will we relinquish ownership of it for any purpose other than long-term preservation by a qualified agency or organization.

Alan P. Haines
Associate Director
South Florida Museum
201 10th Street West,
PO Box 9265
Bradenton, Florida 34206
PH: 941-746-4131, Ext. 34
Fax: 941-747-2556 Corporate

Partners: Bright House Networks, Bay News 9, CPA Associates, Conquistador Historical Foundation, Inc., First Priority Bank, Freedom Bank, The Herald, M&I Bank, Manatee-Memorial Hospital, Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota, Mike Carter Construction, Northern Trust Bank Of Florida

An Absolute Disgrace!!

2007-02-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

The prehistoric Native American Pilsbury Mound is being sold for $200'000 by the South Florida Museum because it doesn't fit their "mission", allowing the site to be legally developed. Contact details for the SFM can be found here, I encourage everyone to protest.

Nothing really...

2007-01-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

Here I am, with my terrified son, in Wekiwa Springs.

beginnings and endings

2007-01-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

Happy new year, everyone.

So strange how death seems to be floating around lately. 5 days before Christmas, my aunt died, unexpectedly, in her sleep. She was a truly wonderful person and she will be missed.

Also, I just found out that one of my old MTSU college roommates died. Jennifer Ranish. She passed away from ovarian cancer about 6 weeks after she was diagnosed, at the age of 29. She died in February of 2003. I'm so sad that I didn't find out about it until now.

Jennifer was cheap. Jennifer was a pain in the ass. Jennifer was my friend. Together, we listened to "Once" by Pearl Jam, over & over, until we got the words right...then we sang them at the top of our lungs. We also camped out overnight for tickets when Pearl Jam played MTSU. We came up with hilarious skits about squirrels and girl scout cookie farms. She dated my best friend. She delivered some of the best cut-downs ever dished out by anyone. She moved to Florida with me when I went. We dreamed of making movies and tv shows together and, even though, I hadn't seen her since she moved back to Tennessee from Florida in '95 (when she and Randy broke up), I still thought about her a lot.

Now, when it seems like everything is falling into place for me...I find out that everything has stopped for her, at least here. I wish things had been different. I wish I had known she was sick. I wish I could have been there for her.

But, hindsight is always 20/20. We always think we have unimited time to reconnect with someone from the past, unlimted chances to ask them the questions we wanted the answers to, unlimited chances to say - thanks for being a friend. But, we don't.

So, this movie I'm doing will be dedicated to her. She was in the car on the Spring Break trip to Florida, when we came up with the idea. It's all I've got to offer her. She should have been here, too.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
-- Pink Floyd, 'Time'

For Nancy

2006-12-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

'TIS past: dear venerable shade, farewel!
Thy blameless life thy peaceful death shall tell.
Clear to the last thy setting orb has run;
Pure, bright, and healthy like a frosty sun:

extraction from "On the Death of Mrs. Jennings." by Anna Lætitia Barbauld (1743 - 1825)

Sigh...

2006-12-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

Damn technology

2006-12-08T13:07:00.000-05:00

So, my laptop crashed with all of my pictures and music on it. Now, it is at the computer hospital with the Geek Squad doctors, in the middle of an attempted data recovery surgery that might not work (so I've been told).

All of my pictures from Vegas are on it. All of them. Damn it.

But, other than that, things are moving...

I've gotten a director for my latest script. Stan Dragoti, who directed Love at First Bite, The Man with One Red Shoe, and Mr. Mom, among other films, has taken on the challenge of working with me and my writer's ego, lol.

We are currently working on the second draft of the script and should have everything completed by the end of December.

Actor Patrick Warburton (Puddy on Seinfeld and the voice of Brock Samson on Adult Swim's The Veture Bros.) - whom we'd love to play the lead role - has read the script and his manager
says he's excited about it so, I hope that works out, too.

Check out the myspace pages I have for the company and the film:
myspace.com/realitygroupinc
myspace.com/kingreturnsmovie

Leave me a comment or send me a message. I'd love to hear from you!

I really can't believe it.

2006-10-25T16:28:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. I have been visibly absent from my blog. I have a good excuse.

I just finished writing a feature film comedy script that already has a great chance of being made. The $$ people are promising my funds by the end of November, Stan Dragoti - director of Mr. Mom, among other things, is considering signing on to direct, a major distribution company wants to distribute, the agent of the actor we want for the lead is interested and has accepted the script...all in 2 months.

Amazing. That's the update.

Also, I have pictures from a location scouting trip to las Vegas to post - which I will do in the next couple of days. I will not, however, be posting any pics of my night at Studio 54.

That would be wrong. Very, very wrong.

Look for more updates to this amazing story soon.

Welcome to my agnostic soap box.

2006-08-03T23:55:00.000-04:00

To the asshole who told me I was going to hell bcs I'm not a christian.

Dear judgemental ass,

Just bcs your church told you that God is an old man with a long white beard, sitting on a throne with another guy wearing a crown of thorns on his head seated at his right, doesn't make it so.

And just bcs they told you that some book, written by men and changed over and over by other men to make it fit their beliefs and to help them gain power and wealth, is the word of God, doesn't make it so.

And just bcs they told you that if you didn't close your mind to all other possibilities and stop thinking, learning and growing, that your non-physical form would, somehow after death, will be trapped in a firey pit, where it will be tortured with physical pain for all of eternity, while a little red man with horns and a pitchfork pokes you in the butt, doesn't make it so.

So...good luck with that.

Go Deism*.

*deism
n : the form of theological rationalism that believes in God on the basis of reason without reference to revelation

My Increasing Doubt...

2006-04-08T11:00:00.001-04:00

Although, its obvious that I do not like nor trust the Bush administration, I am not ususally much of a conspiracy theorist but, uummm.....damn.....look at this.

CLICK HERE

A little bit of research showed me that this might not be so far fetched. Scary.

Welcome to the Program, America!!

2006-03-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

Well, a metaphorical "good morning" to you, America! Glad you could wake up and join us.

With an ever-widening glee, I saw Bush's latest numbers this morning. According to an AP-Ipsos poll, it seems that more and more Americans, both liberal and conservative alike, disapprove of his performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism. On the personal side. Americans that consider Bush likable, honest, strong and dependable are far fewer than just after his re-election campaign.

Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq - the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a jump of 6-points since February.

By comparison, President Bill Clinton had a public approval rating in the mid 60s at this stage of his second term in office. Richard Nixon, who was increasingly tangled up in the Watergate scandal, was in the high 20s in early 1974. Bush currently sits at 30%.

What I want to know is...What took so long and what are we going to do about it?!

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! IMPEACH BUSH!

A Question to Guys on the Street

2006-03-08T00:22:00.001-05:00

Let me set the scene for you.

It's 80 degrees outside. I'm riding in my car with the windows down. I stop at a red light (because I do not need another ticket...but that's another story entirely!) and standing on the corner are a couple of guys who look like they are on their lunch break from the construction site up the street. They are filthly, covered with dirt and concrete dust, and obviously not too concerned about the odor waifting in my general direction.

Then, I hear this: "Hey baby! [insert annoyingly, gross smooching sounds here] Wanna get with me?"

Now...what I want to know is - why? Did they think I was going to pull my car over to the side of the road, get out and say "Yes, you big, hulking group of nasty sex monkeys! Right here, right now on the hood of my car!"......?! I mean, come on.

Now, I understand that stupidity runs rampant in the world and as I recently reminded myself and a couple of other people, the "average" IQ of the "average" American falls between 85 & 110 and 85 is borderline retarded. I'm not sure what the IQs of those silver-tongued romeos are but, I can pretty much guarantee they're not getting any invites to appear on Jeapordy.

Happy Fun-Shine Purr Boy

2006-02-28T22:52:00.000-05:00

Someone ran over my favorite cat. I'm pretty pissed off about it.

His name was Rick (after the character from Magnum PI) but, we called him Happy Fun-Shine Purr Boy because when you touched him, he was already purring. The damned, sweetest cat I ever had.

People suck.

The strangest thing is, I have cried more about that cat than I have about people, in my life, who have died. I wonder why that is. Maybe its because animals trust us and love us unconditionally and when they go, a little bit of that goes with them. I don't know. I'm not really feeling very existential; just - as I said - pissed.

Power Places

2006-02-04T15:04:00.000-05:00

This is Spirit Pond at sunrise. It is in the small Spiritualist community of Cassadaga, Florida about 30 minutes from my house. Today I sat by the water's edge and...well, just sat...and breathed. Spirit Pond is one of my power places. From it, I receive calming serenity.

We all have power places; places where we feel the most energized, focused, and empowered. Some we may seek out; others are stumbled on by accident.

One of my accidentals is off the Blue Ridge Parkway, just outside of Ashville, North Carolina, near the Cradle of Forestry. Swift, rocky brooks babble down the mountainsides into the valleys and feed one of the most beautiful waterfalls on this planet. When I experience that rush of thunderous sound, I gain strength.

We all go through life seeking power but, most of us seek the wrong kinds and from the wrong places. We seek it in the controlling of others or the money we make or the positions we hold or the titles we're given. We drain others of theirs to uplift our own, like energy vampires. This results in faux, not genuine power. Faux power doesn't last and as a result we are driven to search for more. It is a constant, selfish, negative circle.

Alternatively, nature has all the genuine power you will ever need. It supplies us with a never-ending flow of positive energy. Don't believe me? Climb a mountain, stand at the top and just breathe. It will forever change you.

Everyone has power places. What are yours? If you haven't found them yet, seek them out in nature and enjoy the journey.

The Artisanally Common Brilliance of Vonnegut...

2006-01-28T16:35:00.000-05:00

An extract from Kurt Vonnegut's A Man Without a Country: A Memoir of Life in George W. Bush's America...

...enough said.

"Do unto others what you would have them do unto you." A lot of people think Jesus said that, because it is so much the sort of thing Jesus liked to say. But it was actually said by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, five hundred years before there was that greatest and most humane of human beings, named Jesus Christ.

The Chinese also gave us, via Marco Polo, pasta and the formula for gunpowder. The Chinese were so dumb they only used gunpowder for fireworks. And everybody was so dumb back then that nobody in either hemisphere even knew that there was another one.

We've sure come a long way since then. Sometimes I wish we hadn't. I hate H-bombs and the Jerry Springer Show.

But back to people like Confucius and Jesus and my son the doctor, Mark, each of whom have said in their own way how we could behave more humanely and maybe make the world a less painful place. One of my favourite humans is Eugene Debs, from Terre Haute in my native state of Indiana.

Get a load of this. Eugene Debs, who died back in 1926, when I was not yet four, ran five times as the Socialist party candidate for president, winning 900,000 votes, almost 6 percent of the popular vote, in 1912, if you can imagine such a ballot. He had this to say while campaigning:

"As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.
"As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it.
"As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

Doesn't anything socialistic make you want to throw up? Like great public schools, or health insurance for all?

When you get out of bed each morning, with the roosters crowing, wouldn't you like to say. "As long as there is a lower class, I am in it. As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

How about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes?

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
And so on.

Not exactly planks in a Republican platform. Not exactly George W Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld stuff.

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.

"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon?

Give me a break!

It so happens that idealism enough for anyone is not made of perfumed pink clouds. It is the law! It is the US Constitution.

But I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened instead is that it was taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'état imaginable.

I was once asked if I had any ideas for a really scary reality TV show. I have one reality show that would really make your hair stand on end: "C-Students from Yale".

George W Bush has gathered around him upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka Christians, and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or PPs, the medical term for smart, personable people who have no consciences.

To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable diagnosis, like saying he or she has appendicitis or athlete's foot. The classic medical text on PPs is The Mask of Sanity by Dr Hervey Cleckley, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia, published in 1941. Read it!

Some people are born deaf, some are born blind or whatever, and this book is about congenitally defective human beings of a sort that is making this whole country and many other parts of the planet go completely haywire nowadays. These were people born without consciences, and suddenly they are taking charge of everything.

PPs are presentable, they know full well the suffering their actions may cause others, but they do not care. They cannot care because they are nuts. They have a screw loose!

And what syndrome better describes so many executives at Enron and WorldCom and on and on, who have enriched themselves while ruining their employees and investors and country and who still feel as pure as the driven snow, no matter what anybody may say to or about them? And they are waging a war that is making billionaires out of millionaires, and trillionaires out of billionaires, and they own television, and they bankroll George Bush, and not because he's against gay marriage.

So many of these heartless PPs now hold big jobs in our federal government, as though they were leaders instead of sick. They have taken charge. They have taken charge of communications and the schools, so we might as well be Poland under occupation.

They might have felt that taking our country into an endless war was simply something decisive to do. What has allowed so many PPs to rise so high in corporations, and now in government, is that they are so decisive. They are going to do something every fuckin' day and they are not afraid. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they don't give a fuck what happens next. Simply can't. Do this! Do that! Mobilise the reserves! Privatise the public schools! Attack Iraq! Cut health care! Tap everybody's telephone! Cut taxes on the rich! Build a trillion-dollar missile shield! Fuck habeas corpus and the Sierra Club and In

These Times, and kiss my ass!

There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: only nut cases want to be president. This was true even in high school. Only clearly disturbed people ran for class president.

The title of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is a parody of the title of Ray Bradbury's great science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451. Four hundred and fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit is the combustion point, incidentally, of paper, of which books are composed. The hero of Bradbury's novel is a municipal worker whose job is burning books.

While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

And still on the subject of books: our daily news sources, newspapers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books do we learn what's really going on.

I will cite an example: House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, published in early 2004, that humiliating, shameful, blood-soaked year.

In case you haven't noticed, as the result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African-Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest of the world as proud, grinning, jut-jawed, pitiless war-lovers with appallingly powerful weaponry - who stand unopposed.

In case you haven't noticed, we are now as feared and hated all over the world as Nazis once were.

And with good reason.

In case you haven't noticed, our unelected leaders have dehumanised millions and millions of human beings simply because of their religion and race. We wound 'em and kill 'em and torture 'em and imprison 'em all we want.

Piece of cake.

In case you haven't noticed, we also dehumanised our own soldiers, not because of their religion or race, but because of their low social class.

Send 'em anywhere. Make 'em do anything.

Piece of cake.

The O'Reilly Factor.

So I am a man without a country, except for the librarians and a Chicago paper called In These Times.

Before we attacked Iraq, the majestic New York Times guaranteed there were weapons of mass destruction there.

Albert Einstein and Mark Twain gave up on the human race at the end of their lives, even though Twain hadn't even seen the first world war. War is now a form of TV entertainment, and what made the first world war so particularly entertaining were two American inventions, barbed wire and the machine gun.

Shrapnel was invented by an Englishman of the same name. Don't you wish you could have something named after you?

Like my distinct betters Einstein and Twain, I now give up on people, too. I am a veteran of the second world war and I have to say this is not the first time I have surrendered to a pitiless war machine.

My last words? "Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse."

Napalm came from Harvard. Veritas

Our president is a Christian? So was Adolf Hitler. What can be said to our young people, now that psychopathic personalities, which is to say persons without consciences, without senses of pity or shame, have taken all the money in the treasuries of our government and corporations, and made it all their own?

© 2005 Kurt Vonnegut Extracted from A Man Without a Country: A Memoir of Life in George W Bush's America, to be published by Bloomsbury on February 6