Rust Never Sleeps

I woke up this morning like a six year old on Christmas morning...well...maybe not like a six year old. Killer and I went out last night and it was a little rough getting out of bed.

Anyway, we now have an indictment in the CIA Leak scandal followed by Libby's resignation. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'm elated that the unethical underpinnings of the current administration are being brought to light. I believe that today's events are only the tip of the iceberg. We're going to be seeing more of this in the future. I'm convinced that Idiot and his band of cronies are up to no-good and in the coming weeks and months we're going to find out how little respect this administration has for the people it supposedly serves and the office it holds. It's just a game for them and we are the unwilling pawns.

Which brings me back to why my feelings are mixed. I'm also sad that this is what it has come down to. I mean, think about it. Months ago, both Libby and Rove lied to Idiot. That's pathetic in my own humble opinion. Idiot's own underlings have so little respect for him that they were willing to lie to his face. It's a shame that we don't have a real leader guiding our country and we have no one to blame but the "Reds".

Then again, perhaps this will serve as motivation for some big changes to occur during the mid-term elections.

Thank you Santa Fitzgerald.

The Idiot's New Supreme Court Robe

Have you read the article in the NY Times about Harriet Miers? [Link above, registration required, it's worth it]

Basically, Idiot's wet paper bag of a Supreme Court Justice nominee, Harriet E. Miers' homework is incomplete. The article opens with the following:

"The Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers suffered another setback on Wednesday when the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked her to resubmit parts of her judicial questionnaire, saying various members had found her responses "inadequate," "insufficient" and "insulting.""

I last got an "F" accompanied with those same comments, minus "insulting", when I was in the 7th Grade. For the record, I wasn't then, nor have ever been, considered as a candidate for a Supreme Court Justice. It seems to me that Idiot was left to his own on this one, as Rove and Cheney are busy dodging the CIA scandal.

The article goes on to say, "Veteran senators and aides said they could not recall another occasion when the committee had sent back a nominee's answers to a questionnaire because they were incomplete".

The role of a Supreme Court Justice is a very important one within our system of government. By nominating a hack like Miers to this position, Idiot is essentially demonstrating his disdain for what our government is. Not only is Miers an insult to Sandra Day O’Conner, she’s an insult to all of us.

This nomination (the nominator and nominee) embodies the very essence of the word "incompetent". Isn't incompetence an offense for which Idiot could be removed from office?

Let’s get this ass-clown out of the White House and back to the little hole he crawled out of.

"The Chronicles of Numbskullia: The Monarchy, The Idiot, and The Agenda" or "Springtime For Idiot"

Sitting here, looking out my window at that phallic symbol of our nation's capitol, the Washington Monument, I muse to myself that proximity of it to the White House must somehow, (psychically? gravitationally? I don't know...) cause the current inhabitants to behave as they do, like a bunch of dickheads.

This whole morass with the Miers nomination features the same players, in their usual roles (kind of like Hollywood, right?) pulling the same kind of crap as they have for too many years.

This one comes off with a classic Hollywood cloak and dagger, Nazi theme:

First, there’s “Idiot”, a cross between Alfred E. Newman and Mel Brooks’ version of “Der Fuhrer”, making yet another bad choice in the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Don’t blame him, though. The real culprit is none other than his old man. Idiot is nothing more than a front for his father, the financier and head of the Third Reich.

Dick Cheney is the Fuhrer’s right-hand-man. Head of the SS. Behind the scenes, his manipulations are not actually witnessed, but their effects are prominent and far-reaching. Maybe he’s actually a transplant of the Wizard from the Wizard of Oz. (Hmmm…another nice twist.)

Karl Rove, of course, operates like some sinister Gestapo agent, secretly assuring political allies that the Fuhrer has their best interests in-hand, and probably cooking up all manner of schemes in his lab of torture and horrors.

Then, in a brilliant Hollywood twist, we have Miers, who has the same exact diabolical makeup as Star War’s Palpatine – she looks like him too. Cloaked in the sweetness of religion and tolerance for alternative relationships, she bides her time waiting for the right moment to seize her dominion and have us all living in some sort of puritanical hypocrisy.

Finally, we have the typical supporting players in the form of Congress: bumbling fools, “yes” men, and wind bags for comic relief. This includes both sides of “the aisle”.

The Republicans are the dark humor. They stomp around like they actually matter to the administration, all puffed up and full of bravado. A “we’re going to get to the bottom of this”, kind of mentality. Rather absurd individuals in general.

(Tom Delay is going to come up in another post. No room for it here).

Just watch Lindsey Graham (Rep. S.C.) sometime. My feelings of disdain for this little weasel began years ago during the Clinton-Lewinsky saga. He’s a pompus, self-rightous jackass trying forever to somehow get over the fact his parents gave him a girl’s name. (Four Terms! What is wrong with the people of South Carolina?) He certainly knows the game, though. During the Roberts’ hearings and now the Miers’ hearings, he repeats the same line, “let’s wait until we’re in the hearings and be fair about it”. If you don’t know, that’s slick speak for, “we still haven’t figured out how we’re going to push this one through and hopefully we’ll be able to figure it out by the time we’re in front of the cameras at the hearing”. (I especially hate that “nelly twang” he speaks with.)

Well, pay attention. One thing similar about both of these nominees, which Killer pointed out to me, is neither of them have significant time serving “as Judges”. Think about that! Miers has no experience as a judge and Roberts only served as a judge for about 2 years. So basically the Cheney/Rove plan is to populate the Supreme Court with a bunch of lawyers. That’s a concept that chills me to the bone. (Barbados, here I come.)

The Democrats are the slap-stick humor. They basically run around scared because they are a minority. Safety in numbers, and most of them don’t feel like they have enough of them, so they’ve developed a sort of inferiority complex. How they let Roberts cake-walk his way to Chief Justice, without so much as a whimper is beyond me. No One. Not one person even dared to bring up Roberts lack of experience. The DNC called me and asked me donate money to help defeat the Roberts nomination. Based not on the results, but the lack of a cohesive strategy, I’d have been pissed off if I had. It’s clear to me that this group has lost their balls and are in a complete state of disarray. How, with the continuous stream of ammunition that the current administration has fed them with, have they not managed to seal the coffin on the up-coming mid-term elections?

Oh, and let’s not forget the Media (note that I do not refer to them as journalists). The Media is the great propaganda machine of “Der Fuhrer’s” empire through their own self-inflicted handicaps which arise out of their mantra: “We’re Entertainment, not News”.

I can see Wolf Blitzer and crew punching their timecards as they arrive at CNN this morning, a note taped up beside the timecard puncher, “NOTICE: All reporting must slant more to the Right today since Ratings Research indicates CNN’s audience has a more Conservative make-up on Thursdays. P.S. Keep Scaring Our Viewers – Fear keeps them Tuned-In”.

I re-read the above and I chuckle to myself. But I really don’t think I should be laughing. There is an agenda in play here and I don’t hear anyone bringing it up. So I will.

The current administration realizes that the current Fuhrer has become a lame duck. Being very slick strategists, they knew from the beginning that it was only a matter of time before the American public realized what a fool he was and support for him would wane. So, how best to minimize the long-term effects and maximize the ability of the conservative machine to remain in-power or not far from it?

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It’s 2002, and Karl and Dick are sitting in some shadow darkened room discussing their course of action:

DICK
Karl, we have to keep our eyes on the ball. We have two important goals here. Keep the conservative agenda as America’s agenda and keep the Bush family’s Monarchy alive. Jeb is getting ready.

KARL
No problem, Dick. We’ll make sure we have our cronies in key positions so that should we end up with a liberal administration after this one, we can still fight from within.

Let me be clear, I think I’ve totally got the “vote counting” program locked and loaded. But just in case, we can execute on this program as a failsafe.

Now the public, both sides, will probably have a problem with some of our appointments, but I think we can whitewash a bunch of this so we don’t alienate too many of our supporters. On the other hand, fuck ‘em. We have the power and can smugly tell them “this is how it is”. Most conservatives are stupid people anyway. Mostly rednecks. They’ll come back again. Just like the sheep they tend to. The Dems, while the most educated of them, just seem to wander around lost.

And this will play perfectly into Jeb and the monarchy. We win on two sides. The cronies that we appoint to key positions will be forever indebted to the monarchy, and the cronies that we make happy by appointing people “friendly” to their causes will be sure to give Jeb the support he needs to take-over in 2008 or 2012, depending on if the “vote counting” program is as effective as it has been in the past two elections. It’s a win-win on all sides.

DICK
Karl, get your hand off of my knee. I’ve spoken with you about that before.

(Karl, frustrated by the reproach, removes his hand)

Anyway, sounds like a good plan. You identify the key slots with the appropriate people and I’ll program Idiot.

Oh, and one other thing, stop leaving a pubic hair on my toilet seat when you use my executive washroom. You think I can’t tell that you do it on purpose? It’s a sick, passively sexual endeavor and you need to keep it in check.

(Dick stands and walks to the door, mumbling under his breath)

Sick bastard. Now I’ve got to figure out how to stop bleeding money to those lazy storm victims.

KARL
(Recovered from the admonishment. Saluting and clicking his back heels.)

Zieg Heil!
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Far fetched? Maybe you’re thinking, “Dave, too many Oliver Stone films, dude”. Maybe, but I think the current administration’s actions of late speak much louder than my words.

If the current minority has any hope of bringing any sort of “human agenda” before the sheep herders and getting them to embrace it, then they, we, need to get it together. We need a sound, cohesive strategy that, like any good marketing campaign, is able to expose the inadequacies of the current administration’s agenda and demonstrate why ours is better for Americans - through facts, not namby pamby esoteric philosophies. That strategy also needs a face, and that face is definitely not John Kerry’s. This person needs to have a personality that can transcend generations, races, sexes, and spiritual beliefs.

I’d like to say it could be Hillary, but as Killer keeps pointing out, she seems to be a magnet for hatred. I don’t completely understand it, but I think it’s valid, nonetheless.

John Edwards? Hmmmm…

Fandom, Sports, The Baltimore Ravens, etc.

I'm a huge sports fan. My screen name on several sites reflects the inane passion I have for my teams. I've been an athlete since I was a small boy. My father was a non-professional athlete (won state titles, etc.), my mother was competitive, and I began playing a variety of sports at a very young age and continued through college. I still surf today, though not competitively, it's something that I enjoy on a spiritual level (as stupid as that sounds).

Having been an athletic competitor, there's an empathy that can heighten your emotions when watching your favorite teams and players. Sometimes you're drawn back to memories of being so exhausted after executing a great play that you wanted to puke (see: http://squishylegumes.blogspot.com) on the field, but you couldn't because you still needed to execute on the next play, so you sucked it up. So, you can relate to what these amazing specimens can do when most of us would give-up. I especially love to see a running back get those extra yards through sheer determination. Giving that extra burst of energy, which had long ago been depleted, to break an extra tackle and get that extra inch. Pachino in "Any Given Sunday": "You gotta want that inch. You gotta need that Inch!"

Anyway, I'm a huge fan. I love The Terps (where I went to college). I love The Orioles (I grew up in Baltimore). I love The Raven's (I could tell that the organization had something from the beginning. [I was actually glad when the asshole of all assholes (yeah, even "idiot"), Robert Irsay, in a cowardly manner, extracted The Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. No exaggeration. His inability to be a good owner is why his team (now his son's) has still failed to win a Super Bowl. Even with, a god among quarterbacks, Peyton Manning! The Colts' organization has failed to win an NFL Championship since Super Bowl V in 1971, and I've enjoyed every minute of it as an indictment of their pussy-assed owner. The Irsay's couldn't beat a wet paper bag. Chumps.]

What is the point of all this? It's this. Last Sunday, The Baltimore Raven's suffered what is possibly their most humiliating defeat in the Baltimore Raven's organizational history. What disturbs me most about this is the Raven's bashing that is going on right now in the press. This is a team that in the 2000 season, brought the dying City Of Baltimore it's first Super Bowl since 1971 with The Colts!

Brian Billick is the head coach that masterminded that feat. Ray Lewis was the core of a defensive arsenal that every other team in the league feared. I could go on-and-on about the current personnel that had a hand in that victorious season. This is an organization that "get's it". From the top-down, renegades who have (pretty much) consistantly defied the old-school rules of football and forged a formidable presence. One early season melt-down (the first 4 games) does not an Irsay-led-team make. There are going to be bumps in the road. You can either put your hands on the inside roof of the car and wet your pants, or you can act like, say, Brian Billick. Calmly assess the situation, and figure out how to go forward. One loss, four losses, "X" number of "away game" losses do not an "Irsay" make. I stand by "my boys". They'll get it right. Patience.

I was in a short film once (don't ask), and one of the characters remarked, "patience is a virtue". Another character quickly chimed in, "patience is a virgin". Though the double entendre' is obvious, the more benign one rings true in this case. We (sports fans) are so hell-bent on the concept that our sports teams need to establish themselves as dynasties and dominate their respective sports in the form of multiple, consecutive victories and championships, that we lose sight of the fact that in professional (and amateur) sports, the level of competition is so great, that the margin between greatness and average is measured in thousandths of a point. The Raven's played some brilliant football in their horrible loss to The Detroit Lions on Sunday. They did some wonderful things from running the ball, to Anthony Wright's improvements, to the defense holding the goal line for five downs! These are the positive things Raven's fans should be clinging to. Not the finger pointing, that is so much the "modus operandi" of little pussies in business, politics, and journalism.

Finger pointing is all about "I told you so," and pushing forward agendas, neither of which have much of a place in sports. Sports are about teams and performance. Believing. When you look at the reporters this week (or any week) that are covering a story about a "loss", they are pushing forward sentiments that have nothing to do with sports and everything to do with keeping their viewers/readership in an agitated state that will keep them coming back for more. Therefore, by my logic, they are not "sports reporters". They are merely commercials for their own columns, shows, etc. Which would suggest that they are all calculated opinion and no substance.

Let's do a big shout-out to The Baltimore Sun and reporter Rob Hiaasen. "Rob, you ignorant slut". The Sun should be ashamed, more-so than the Raven's and their un-sportsmanlike penalties during Sunday's loss, for even considering publishing his vapid article, "Ravens blew the chance to set record". To call it anything other than "me too" journalism would be ludricus. In fact, calling it journalism is insulting to the "National Enquirer". Maybe you should consider going back to writing for "Highlights For Children".

To the rest of "you finger pointers", you're either:

A. A washed-up bitter athlete
B. Some geek who finally "gets to have a voice"
C. Some bitch that always need to be "right"

Fuck off. Leave writing about sports to those that actually understand competition and what it means to be a fan, and keep your pathetic, non-empathetic, cute remarks to yourselves. Dumb-asses.

An Honest "To God" Frag #1

It's 4:14 AM, and I've been listening to "Mr. Brightside", a song by the Killers (complete lyrics folowing) over-and-over for about an hour now.

"I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine"

Killer [my killer - (see previous)] is in the next room, asleep now, and for some reason I woke up about two hours ago with this tune is stuck in my head. I don't think the song has anything to do with her. As I sit here listening to the song over-and-over it seems to be speaking about multiple things that have been my past and current experiences. I remember the first love of my life in bed with one of my college roommates. Friends I cared about that are not in my life anymore. My parents. Splitting up things with an "Ex". The sense of emptness that we all can relate to in regards to lives that have touched us and no longer do.

"Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all"

I've been blocked for the last couple of weeks. It fuckin' ticks me off when I go through these things. I haven't been able to create. My passion has been absent without cause. Or has it...? You know, you try and figure these things out, but as a creative, it just tends to suck you back into it. So, for my own sanity, I'm going to just chalk it up to E=MC squared (ever try to do superscript in html? Why bother...). If that seems vague, check an awesome Op-Ed piece I read this morning in the NY Times by Brian Greene, "That Famous Equation and You": http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/opinion/30greene.html?pagewanted=3&incamp=article_popular

"It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss"

Killer ("Uncle ___'s girl",as my niece and two nephew's refer to her...they're 2, 3, & 1 years old) has captured my heart. It wasn't available. She took it. And I haven't looked back since. We had an awesome day. Killer and her best friend, "Ass Kicker" (I mean that in the most awesome way...honest) took me to an art festival outside of DC. A friend of our's band, "Soul Method", was playing and they rocked. We had lunch, watched the Terps kick the shit out of UVA (FEAR THE TURTLE!!!), and partied. Yes, we partied. Killer knows how to do it up. I know how to do it up. She's the first chick I've met in a long time that can hang with me. In fact, at times, I've struggled to keep up with her. That is a First. Then Killer and I went to dinner and just had an amazing time together. The rest of the the world just didn't exist, and it was perfect.

(Even though I'm going to keep quoting "Mr. Brightside" I had to take iTunes off of "repeat" and just now, "Sweet Soul Sister", by The Cult, came on...that just about sums up how I feel about Killer.) Anyway, to keep it relatively short, she IS my muse. No Doubt. (JFC...this is starting to sound like a blog sponsored by the labels.)

"Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking a drag"

Actually, I happen to "think" there is a God. I may be repeating myself...in fact I know I am. But, I do. I also believe that that ass clown in the White House is more challenged than I previously thought (as if that's possible). In fact, what the fuck are his minions (staff, supporters, voters, zombies) thinking? Intelligent what? Intelligent Design? "Let's see. How can I help fuck up everything more than I already have?...Hmmmm...Oh, I got it...I'll support rendering students in the educational system, as moronic as my own mother! Yes!" Ron had Nancy and Idiot has his mother. Marvelous. No wonder I've been clogged.

"Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his-chest"

[OMG!!! It's now 5:50 AM ET, and I'm sitting here lost in though and music playing through my headphones. All of a sudden I feel something grabbing my shoulders. I practically have a cardiac, "'Lizabeth? I'm comin' ta see ya". (Ok, I just dated myself with that one...if you even get it you young punks! :-) Guess what? Did I mention that I'm the luckiest guy on earth?!?! The hand that almost caused me to soil my shorts...sorry Bob Dole, no company here...was, in fact, Killer!!!! How appropriate...cause she was "buck nekked"...Damn!!! That girl is soooooo fine!!!...Intellectually and aestitcally...LL Cool J just came on my iTunes mix with "Phenomenon" and the chicks in the background are cooing over-and-over, "Go ahead daddy...go ahead daddy"...heh heh heh]

"Fellow morons, let's bury our head's in the sand, and not entertain, but embrace the idea that the creation of our universe, galaxy, solar system, planet, and pea brains is the result of pre-destined evolution." WTF!! Who among you voted for that jackass?!?!?!

("Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd just came on...ROTFLMFAO!!!)

Ok. I can see furry dudes in trees looking at each other as a volcano erupts and grunting to each other, "Hmmm...god of ground not happy", but NOW? How can anyone propose that we turn a blind eye to factual data and merge reality with myth? "Oh, it's not a myth?" Check out Joseph Campbell's "Hero...". Just take a look at "story telling" across cultures and religions and tell me that there aren't major themes that call into question the validity of fundamentalist religious texts. Note the keywords "question" and "fundamentalist" I'm not afraid to question the very beliefs that I've held since before I can remember. Gee, I could actually be wrong about Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. Honestly, I still think the jury is still out on both of them. I can say what I "think". I wasn't there and there is an element that science doesn't address, so therefore, it's what "I think". But if you "can't" question it, then you're lying to yourself. Sir Thomas Moore. The deal is this, let's keep what "the data" says as fact. If you want to adjust it so that it conforms with your "reality", then go for it. But don't shove it down everybody else's kid's throats! Live on Fantasy Island. See if I, or anyobdy else gives a fuck. Just stay out of mine.

"And I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside"

Well, it's 6:19, my view has the Sun beginning to rise over the Washington Monument ( yes, my true identiy is the wonderfully vapid, Laura Bush). I tucked Killer back into bed...nekked...my mix has shifted to the BeeGees' "More Than A Woman" and I'm starting to feel my freak coming on. Look out, Killer...

"I never...
I never...
I never...
I never..."

Oh, trust me. I have. I've been into these guys for a while now. Check 'em out on iTunes or: http://www.islandrecords.com/thekillers/site/home.las

Another song, altogether: KarmaComa...JahMakeYa and Roma...KarmaComa...


"Mr Brightside"

By the KILLERS

I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking a drag
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his-chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, letting me go

And I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking a drag
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his-chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, letting me go

Cause I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

I never...
I never...
I never...
I never...