Blast From the Past - Rudeness From 1994:
As the Rude Pundit is in Red State America visiting with the Rude Family, he's decided to do something a little different for the next couple of days. To wit:
Back in the early 1990s, the Rude Pundit, in his pre-bloggy life, ran a weekly radio broadcast in Tennessee called Radio Free Theatre. A mixture of politics, plays, and interviews, it was free-form, fuckin' fun, and a cult favorite for fans of the station (shout-out to the Knox Vegas homeez). Once a month, the Rude Pundit would feature a take-off on everyone's favorite porcine bloviator called The Rich Flemball Show. The premise was this: Rich Flemball would read monologues, written by the Rude Pundit, and then take calls, occasionally abusing and threatening to rape his board operator, Lumbago. Some of the calls were set-ups and some were real people obviously projecting their deep hatred for the real ball of phlegm, Rush Limbaugh, onto our Flemball.
So for a few days here, the Rude Pundit is going to post a couple of these monologues. "Why?" you may ask, and perhaps you should. Well, shit, the Rude Pundit could use a little time to re-boot from the steady drumbeat of Iraqi death and Bush administration corruption. And also to remember just how long the conservative right has been vile and depraved. And as a service to the young people reading ('cause, really, it's all about the children): don't listen to those fuckers who have given up and say that you get more conservative when you get older. Bullshit. You gotta keep stokin' that fire. It won't die as long as you're payin' attention.
First up is a little thing from when General Raoul Cedras took over Haiti in a military coup back in 1991. Bill Clinton decided that the U.S. military oughta be involved in restoring the country to its democratically-elected government. Clinton's reasoning was a secure Haiti was important to American security, and, of course, because it was Clinton, the right wing angrily denounced the action. Oh, how innocent we were then...
Here's what Rich Flemball had to say about it (and it helps if you can force yourself to think about Limbaugh's voice when that fat fuck was really fat):
It's time for a Haiti update.
That's right folks. We're only a few short days from the date General Raoul Cedras agreed to give up power and allow President Jean-Bertrand Artistide back in power in Haiti. So far the only US military deaths have been attributed to suicide. As listeners to this show may realize, I have definite problems with this so-called peacekeeping mission to Haiti, which is really an invasion and occupation by the United Nations. Now, you do-gooders might whine and complain, "But, Rich, is it not our responsibility to support democracy and overcome tryranny wherever it happens? Why do the conservatives, who were so gung-ho for other military actions against dictators under George Bush, now decry supporting this President when he takes a stand for the freedoms of people living in this hemisphere?" Well, boo-hoo-hoo.
The differences here are obvious. In the good old days, we were fighting communism because . . . well . . . because they were communists -- yeah -- and we didn't like communists. Hell, we still don't like communists. No, sir. Except when they send us lots of money, like China. But, yeah, communists are anti-American, and will destroy the American way of life, except, you know, for China, which makes our big companies a bundle of money. Which is good for America. Yeah, that's right. Chinese communism is good for America, but communism anywhere else is bad, it's wrong. Unless we can make money. Other than that -- no, we don't like communists. Because . . . they are . . .uh . . . communists.
Lumbago, what the hell am I talking about? (Pause) Oh, yeah, Haiti.
I'll tell you why we shouldn't be in Haiti. Because of all that voodoo down there. It's just crawling with Satan-loving doll-piercing darkies who don't care one whit for what Uncle Sam might be doing for them. You know those two suicides? Voodoo. Pure and simple. Do you doubt me? I have seen voodoo rituals for myself, and I have re-enacted them in my luxurious condo in the Dominican Republic, right next door to Haiti.
I had a party once with Dan Quayle, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Pat Robertson, and Mary Matalin, and Quayle, he made a joke about all the Indians in the next country. And all of us just laughed. And he gave that great dopey look he gets when he's kidding around and said, "You mean this isn't India?" And we all laughed more and more. And he just snickered and said, "Well, I can never tell the difference between anyone whose skin isn't white." Which, when you think about it, makes him color blind, and isn't that how we want our politicians.
And Jeanne Kirkpatrick said, "Rich, have you ever seen a voodoo ritual?"
And I said, "Of course I have, Jeanne."
Then Mary Matalin dared me to re-create it right there and then. So I asked them all, "Are you willing to go into the dark side of your souls," and Pat Robertson actually smiled and agreed.
So the first thing we did was -- well, we all got pantsless. Lemme demonstrate. Here we go. Me, Dan, Pat, Mary and Jean. (Sound of Flemball as he takes off his pants.) There. I'm pantsless.
And we all danced around the fire. Well, I didn't want to start a fire, so I just lit up the barbecue pit. And we went out onto the patio and danced pantsless around the light of the coal, yelling, "Boolah-boolah-boolah," which isn't exactly what the real worshippers say, but, hell, it all sounds like "Boolah-boolah-boolah" to me. And we beat on pots and pans to make the ungodly rhythms of the Devil. Hey, Lumbago, beat on something for me. (Lumbago starts a beat) So then it was time for the chicken sacrifce, but I didn't have a live chicken, so I just took some chicken pieces out of the refrigerator and we rubbed them all over ourselves, yelling, "Boolah-boolah-boolah" to each other. "Boolah-boolah-boolah, Dan" "Boolah-boolah-boolah, Reverend Pat."
And to make it more authentic, we needed chicken blood, but we didn't have anything but barbecue sauce so we all got bowls of barbecue sauce and dipped the chicken parts in and rubbed them all over each other, getting all sticky and sweaty, yelling, "Boolah-boolah-boolah" under the tropical night sky. And it may not have been real voodoo, but when we finally grilled that chicken, it tasted better than any grilled chicked we had ever had.
It was something magical, as if pagan gods had said "We bless the barbecue of Flemball." You should see what Mary Matalin can do with a chicken leg. And when we all laid down on the lawn, naked, sticky, with chicken bones all around us, Reverend Pat said a soft prayer to be forgiven for dwelling in evil ways just before he licked the sauce off Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
We never spoke again about that evening.
So I know the temptations and power of voodoo first hand. It should not be messed with. There are powers beyond our control, even beyond the control of me, Rich Flemball.
President Clinton, bring our boys home.
And that's our Haiti update. We'll be right back.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Loose Ends (and Not David Brooks's, Post-Raping):
The Rude Pundit is gettin' ready to head into the wilds of Red State America for the next coupla weeks. In fact, one of his stops on his sojourn will be the New Orleans area, where he'll visit old friends and their washed-away homes and businesses. So the Rude Pundit will report on New Orleans, as well as a follow-up to his post on Slidell.
Prior to that, there'll still be daily posts, including a few surprise blasts from the distant past (way before this blog existed). More on that on Monday.
Then, of course, a new year, Alito-palooza (and its non-stop fun with fetuses), as well as the possibility of a reign of doom for the Bush administration as Iraq inevitably and horribly falls apart and the spying hearings take off, destined for cover-up city. (A quick "by the way" on the domestic surveillance thing: something is either legal or illegal, however Johnny Yoo wants to fudge it. It doesn't matter if every fuckin' member of Congress secretly said, "Okey-dokey" when briefed on the NSA's program; it doesn't matter if Bill Clinton did it and got away with it - although, you know, he didn't do it. If it's illegal, and you get caught, well, shit, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.)
About The Year of Living Rudely CD:
If you've gotten your copy of The Year of Living Rudely CD, click on back to the CDBaby page for the disc and post a review. God'll love you for it. If you don't, the baby Jesus will cry. You don't want that little bastard to cry, do you?
If you haven't bought it, what the fuck are you waiting for? Hey, Christmas may be nearly here, but Hanukkah is just gettin' its mojo goin'. What Jew wouldn't want to hear George W. Bush fuck a squirrel monkey? Or hear Dick Cheney read a Christmas story to Iraqi children? It's a mitzvah.
And that's not to mention the oh-so-coyly buried bonus at the end of the CD, after the reading of the credits.
More on the Citizen's Contract:
In a fascinating, hilarious, and bizarre way, the Rude Pundit's Loyal Citizen's Contract With the American Government has taken on a little life o' its own. Over at The Stashman, Stash has taken it upon his bloggy self to work up a PDF version of it, makin' it look all official and shit, suitable for printing and use as wrapping paper for a copy of the abovementioned CD.
Rude Interview Available Online:
The Rude Pundit did an interview with the Good Show on KTCU in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this past Sunday. The entire show is available in MP3 form. The Rude Pundit is on during the first hour.
That oughta be it - tied in a big fuckin' box with a big fuckin' bow and giant fuckin' card that says, "Peace on Earth, you know?" Back Monday from Red State America.
The Rude Pundit is gettin' ready to head into the wilds of Red State America for the next coupla weeks. In fact, one of his stops on his sojourn will be the New Orleans area, where he'll visit old friends and their washed-away homes and businesses. So the Rude Pundit will report on New Orleans, as well as a follow-up to his post on Slidell.
Prior to that, there'll still be daily posts, including a few surprise blasts from the distant past (way before this blog existed). More on that on Monday.
Then, of course, a new year, Alito-palooza (and its non-stop fun with fetuses), as well as the possibility of a reign of doom for the Bush administration as Iraq inevitably and horribly falls apart and the spying hearings take off, destined for cover-up city. (A quick "by the way" on the domestic surveillance thing: something is either legal or illegal, however Johnny Yoo wants to fudge it. It doesn't matter if every fuckin' member of Congress secretly said, "Okey-dokey" when briefed on the NSA's program; it doesn't matter if Bill Clinton did it and got away with it - although, you know, he didn't do it. If it's illegal, and you get caught, well, shit, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.)
About The Year of Living Rudely CD:
If you've gotten your copy of The Year of Living Rudely CD, click on back to the CDBaby page for the disc and post a review. God'll love you for it. If you don't, the baby Jesus will cry. You don't want that little bastard to cry, do you?
If you haven't bought it, what the fuck are you waiting for? Hey, Christmas may be nearly here, but Hanukkah is just gettin' its mojo goin'. What Jew wouldn't want to hear George W. Bush fuck a squirrel monkey? Or hear Dick Cheney read a Christmas story to Iraqi children? It's a mitzvah.
And that's not to mention the oh-so-coyly buried bonus at the end of the CD, after the reading of the credits.
More on the Citizen's Contract:
In a fascinating, hilarious, and bizarre way, the Rude Pundit's Loyal Citizen's Contract With the American Government has taken on a little life o' its own. Over at The Stashman, Stash has taken it upon his bloggy self to work up a PDF version of it, makin' it look all official and shit, suitable for printing and use as wrapping paper for a copy of the abovementioned CD.
Rude Interview Available Online:
The Rude Pundit did an interview with the Good Show on KTCU in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this past Sunday. The entire show is available in MP3 form. The Rude Pundit is on during the first hour.
That oughta be it - tied in a big fuckin' box with a big fuckin' bow and giant fuckin' card that says, "Peace on Earth, you know?" Back Monday from Red State America.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Rape David Brooks To Save America:
Let us say, and why not, that you're David Brooks, New York Times conservative columnist and desperate apologist for the Bush administration. Let us say, and, indeed, why not, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney decided that the only way to prevent another terrorist attack was to have you raped. So Bush and Cheney went to Alberto Gonzales, who consulted John Yoo, who said, "If the Commander-in-Chief, in a time of war, having been given authorization by the Congress to do what it takes to win the war on terror, decides he needs have David Brooks raped as a tactic to win that war, then the President has the inherent power to so order the raping."
Thus, having been approved by his AG, whose initials are, conveniently for the President, "AG," Bush orders that you be raped by the NSA. Now, you, David Brooks, cannot be informed that such an order has taken place. And while members of Congress have been briefed on the matter, with a couple lodging concerns about the legality of raping David Brooks, the rape has been ordered. So, one day, without warning, some men in black grab you, drag you into a van, gag you, pull down your Armani slacks and boxers, and fuck your asshole raw while driving around New York City until, their duty being done, they dump you in front of the Times building. Let's say, and why not, that this begins to happen repeatedly, these kidnappings and rapes, that you, David Brooks, are gangbanged, force fisted, and turned into a jizz bucket.
Let's say you learn that a secret order, approved by the President and re-authorized every 45 days, claims that raping you is necessary for national security, that it has stopped terrorist attacks, although it's a secret how and why and what and where, that your constant, boggling, sore-inducing rapes have got those terrorists on the run. Indeed, once it's leaked to the press that an executive order calls for you, David Brooks, to be raped repeatedly, the President stands before the world and says not only has he signed off on the rapes, but that he will continue to do so in the future for raping David Brooks makes Americans safer. And, the President adds, he can assure the public that he is safeguarding David Brooks's civil liberties while ordering his ongoing raping.
Now, if you were you being raped, and not David Brooks, you may want to know why your unending string of rapes are necessary. You may want to know if it's possible that terrorist attacks could be averted without raping you. You may wonder if other possible approaches were pursued besides your rape. You might say that it's at the very least legally sketchy for a President to circumvent the law by secretly ordering your rape. You might question the motives of those doing the raping, especially since, despite assurances to the contrary, it turns out that your rapes have been "inadvertently" videotaped and watched by members of the NSA. You may think, "Why must my asshole suffer for the nation? Why must I be made to swallow so much spy cum? Why, oh, sweet Jesus, is there no other way than raping me?" But that'd be if you were you, and not David Brooks.
For if you were David Brooks, you'd accept your rapings as a necessary part of the war on terror. You'd simply nod, gladly being raped repeatedly, wondering when you can be raped again for the good of America, keeping your asshole lubricated so that you can be more easily raped when the President deems it necessary. You'd trust the Bush administration and the NSA to rape you safely, making sure you get no diseases or excessive anal tearing. And, if you were David Brooks, you'd use your bully pulpit, your space in the New York Times, the newspaper of record, to praise your raping and question the motives of those who think raping you is a bad idea, that you believe the President when he says that raping you is the only way to get the job done.
Which is essentially what David Brooks did today in his holy-fuck-he's-insane column, where he asks you to play President Bush and face the decisions he faced after 9/11, as well as the "effect on your psychology" of continued briefings of terrorist threats (one assumes, Brooks is asking "you" to go slightly bugfuck paranoid, which is always a good way to make policy). After a long-ass scenario of options "you" as President have, Brooks says that "you" decide to shortcut around the FISA court to spy on Americans. And, Brooks concludes, because the NSA's domestic surveillance program has been revealed, we should "Face the fact that the odds of an attack on America just went up." Man, Donald Rumsfeld couldn't have put it more crazily.
But that's David Brooks - proudly bending over for the good of the White House.
(If you don't have Times Select or access to Lexis-Nexis, don't worry: the one preview line says everything relevant in the column.)
Let us say, and why not, that you're David Brooks, New York Times conservative columnist and desperate apologist for the Bush administration. Let us say, and, indeed, why not, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney decided that the only way to prevent another terrorist attack was to have you raped. So Bush and Cheney went to Alberto Gonzales, who consulted John Yoo, who said, "If the Commander-in-Chief, in a time of war, having been given authorization by the Congress to do what it takes to win the war on terror, decides he needs have David Brooks raped as a tactic to win that war, then the President has the inherent power to so order the raping."
Thus, having been approved by his AG, whose initials are, conveniently for the President, "AG," Bush orders that you be raped by the NSA. Now, you, David Brooks, cannot be informed that such an order has taken place. And while members of Congress have been briefed on the matter, with a couple lodging concerns about the legality of raping David Brooks, the rape has been ordered. So, one day, without warning, some men in black grab you, drag you into a van, gag you, pull down your Armani slacks and boxers, and fuck your asshole raw while driving around New York City until, their duty being done, they dump you in front of the Times building. Let's say, and why not, that this begins to happen repeatedly, these kidnappings and rapes, that you, David Brooks, are gangbanged, force fisted, and turned into a jizz bucket.
Let's say you learn that a secret order, approved by the President and re-authorized every 45 days, claims that raping you is necessary for national security, that it has stopped terrorist attacks, although it's a secret how and why and what and where, that your constant, boggling, sore-inducing rapes have got those terrorists on the run. Indeed, once it's leaked to the press that an executive order calls for you, David Brooks, to be raped repeatedly, the President stands before the world and says not only has he signed off on the rapes, but that he will continue to do so in the future for raping David Brooks makes Americans safer. And, the President adds, he can assure the public that he is safeguarding David Brooks's civil liberties while ordering his ongoing raping.
Now, if you were you being raped, and not David Brooks, you may want to know why your unending string of rapes are necessary. You may want to know if it's possible that terrorist attacks could be averted without raping you. You may wonder if other possible approaches were pursued besides your rape. You might say that it's at the very least legally sketchy for a President to circumvent the law by secretly ordering your rape. You might question the motives of those doing the raping, especially since, despite assurances to the contrary, it turns out that your rapes have been "inadvertently" videotaped and watched by members of the NSA. You may think, "Why must my asshole suffer for the nation? Why must I be made to swallow so much spy cum? Why, oh, sweet Jesus, is there no other way than raping me?" But that'd be if you were you, and not David Brooks.
For if you were David Brooks, you'd accept your rapings as a necessary part of the war on terror. You'd simply nod, gladly being raped repeatedly, wondering when you can be raped again for the good of America, keeping your asshole lubricated so that you can be more easily raped when the President deems it necessary. You'd trust the Bush administration and the NSA to rape you safely, making sure you get no diseases or excessive anal tearing. And, if you were David Brooks, you'd use your bully pulpit, your space in the New York Times, the newspaper of record, to praise your raping and question the motives of those who think raping you is a bad idea, that you believe the President when he says that raping you is the only way to get the job done.
Which is essentially what David Brooks did today in his holy-fuck-he's-insane column, where he asks you to play President Bush and face the decisions he faced after 9/11, as well as the "effect on your psychology" of continued briefings of terrorist threats (one assumes, Brooks is asking "you" to go slightly bugfuck paranoid, which is always a good way to make policy). After a long-ass scenario of options "you" as President have, Brooks says that "you" decide to shortcut around the FISA court to spy on Americans. And, Brooks concludes, because the NSA's domestic surveillance program has been revealed, we should "Face the fact that the odds of an attack on America just went up." Man, Donald Rumsfeld couldn't have put it more crazily.
But that's David Brooks - proudly bending over for the good of the White House.
(If you don't have Times Select or access to Lexis-Nexis, don't worry: the one preview line says everything relevant in the column.)
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Bad Days For Churchy:
Yesterday was a bad day for Churchy. Churchy been havin' a good run, 'cause Churchy's had it together for so long, fightin' fer that "under God" in that Pledge, fightin' against them acty-vist judgies, threatenin' to boycott Target stores over "Happy Holidays" despite the fact that Target lets its Churchy-lovin' pharmy-cysts send whores lookin' fer day-after pills off to the drug stores of Gomorrah. Yeah, man, Churchy and Churchy's own chosen one, the Presy-dent of United States, have been havin' theyselves some fun on our dime. And maybe Churchy's Cadillac of Christ's Love is just hittin' a few bumps in that highway to sal-fuckin'-vation, man, that long road to rapture and the lovin' open arms o' Jesus waitin' to caress the sin out o' Churchy's sore body. But Churchy's havin' a bad day or two, poor Churchy.
Churchy fought, so hard, to get that Intelligent Design rammed through to the science curriculum of public schools of little ol' Dover, PA (new motto: "Please, everyone, leave us alone"). But one of them acty-vist judgies wouldn't hear nothin' 'bout no intelligent design. Said judgie, "Both Defendants and many of the leading proponents of ID make a bedrock assumption which is utterly false. Their presupposition is that evolutionary theory is antithetical to a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to religion in general. Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs’ scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator."
Judgie went on, "Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board’s decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial. The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources."
Or, in other words, "Hey, Churchy, shove yer pandas up yer lyin' asses, and stop wastin' everyone's time with yer Churchy bullshit. Yeah, you heard it, Churchy, quit fuckin' around with the tax dollars so maybe we can buy some new textbooks, ones that have a big goddamn monkey fuckin' the shit out of the ass of a white-bearded, robed old man. But, don't worry, Churchy: that old man can take care of hisself. He don't need Churchy tryin' to get his back."
And then, today, Churchy had to watch on the TV the sight of Elton John gettin' all civilly united to his boyfriend of a dozen years in England today. Yeah, all over the UK, queers are unitin' up: Irish cocksmokers, Scottish muffdivers, Welsh leather queens, and British lipstick femmes are all hookin' up with their significant others 'cause, see, it's legal there now. Oh, British Churchy is in an uproar, havin' a tizzy, but that sad thing about the UK is that no one gives a high holy rat fuck about Churchy there. Instead, over here, everyone's watchin' the TV, the CNN, the MSNBC, even the Fox "News," seein' the sight of a pair of gay men happy and gettin' all these rights. God, Churchy must think, how the sight must infect the eyes, must shame the soul, must make the children cry. 'Cause Churchy don't want anyone to be happy unless they're thinkin' about Churchy.
Man, this must be causin' some of those night sweats fer Churchy, bringin' up memories of all the times it's been stymied on its agenda in the past, the Massachusetts legislature, the Edwards v. Aguillard decision, all that shit that seemed so long ago, before Churchy proclaimed that the United States is owned by Churchy, motherfuckers, now bow down and pray 'cause Churchy says ya got to, got to, got to, kneel down to Churchy.
The Rude Pundit wants to rejoice, man, wants to dance a little happy jig over Churchy's prone body, wants to say, "Yo, Churchy, things keep goin' like this, and you can say 'Merry Fuckin' Suck-Christ's-Dickmas' as much as you want." But the Rude Pundit can't. 'Cause, see, he's looked into Churchy's spinnin' eyeballs, he's seen the insanity that dwells inside Churchy, heard them talk about they'll just come up with a new strategy, a new way to hate, and he knows that Churchy may be down, but Churchy's a resilient motherfucker. It may take a day, perhaps three, but Churchy will rise again.
About the Citizen's Contract:
Yesterday, the Rude Pundit proposed a Loyal Citizen's Contract With the American Government. Several rude readers have asked to send it around to non-readers. The Rude Pundit says to let the contract fly outside of Left Blogsylvania. Send it freely. And you didn't need "permission" in the first place.
Yesterday was a bad day for Churchy. Churchy been havin' a good run, 'cause Churchy's had it together for so long, fightin' fer that "under God" in that Pledge, fightin' against them acty-vist judgies, threatenin' to boycott Target stores over "Happy Holidays" despite the fact that Target lets its Churchy-lovin' pharmy-cysts send whores lookin' fer day-after pills off to the drug stores of Gomorrah. Yeah, man, Churchy and Churchy's own chosen one, the Presy-dent of United States, have been havin' theyselves some fun on our dime. And maybe Churchy's Cadillac of Christ's Love is just hittin' a few bumps in that highway to sal-fuckin'-vation, man, that long road to rapture and the lovin' open arms o' Jesus waitin' to caress the sin out o' Churchy's sore body. But Churchy's havin' a bad day or two, poor Churchy.
Churchy fought, so hard, to get that Intelligent Design rammed through to the science curriculum of public schools of little ol' Dover, PA (new motto: "Please, everyone, leave us alone"). But one of them acty-vist judgies wouldn't hear nothin' 'bout no intelligent design. Said judgie, "Both Defendants and many of the leading proponents of ID make a bedrock assumption which is utterly false. Their presupposition is that evolutionary theory is antithetical to a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to religion in general. Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs’ scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator."
Judgie went on, "Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board’s decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial. The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources."
Or, in other words, "Hey, Churchy, shove yer pandas up yer lyin' asses, and stop wastin' everyone's time with yer Churchy bullshit. Yeah, you heard it, Churchy, quit fuckin' around with the tax dollars so maybe we can buy some new textbooks, ones that have a big goddamn monkey fuckin' the shit out of the ass of a white-bearded, robed old man. But, don't worry, Churchy: that old man can take care of hisself. He don't need Churchy tryin' to get his back."
And then, today, Churchy had to watch on the TV the sight of Elton John gettin' all civilly united to his boyfriend of a dozen years in England today. Yeah, all over the UK, queers are unitin' up: Irish cocksmokers, Scottish muffdivers, Welsh leather queens, and British lipstick femmes are all hookin' up with their significant others 'cause, see, it's legal there now. Oh, British Churchy is in an uproar, havin' a tizzy, but that sad thing about the UK is that no one gives a high holy rat fuck about Churchy there. Instead, over here, everyone's watchin' the TV, the CNN, the MSNBC, even the Fox "News," seein' the sight of a pair of gay men happy and gettin' all these rights. God, Churchy must think, how the sight must infect the eyes, must shame the soul, must make the children cry. 'Cause Churchy don't want anyone to be happy unless they're thinkin' about Churchy.
Man, this must be causin' some of those night sweats fer Churchy, bringin' up memories of all the times it's been stymied on its agenda in the past, the Massachusetts legislature, the Edwards v. Aguillard decision, all that shit that seemed so long ago, before Churchy proclaimed that the United States is owned by Churchy, motherfuckers, now bow down and pray 'cause Churchy says ya got to, got to, got to, kneel down to Churchy.
The Rude Pundit wants to rejoice, man, wants to dance a little happy jig over Churchy's prone body, wants to say, "Yo, Churchy, things keep goin' like this, and you can say 'Merry Fuckin' Suck-Christ's-Dickmas' as much as you want." But the Rude Pundit can't. 'Cause, see, he's looked into Churchy's spinnin' eyeballs, he's seen the insanity that dwells inside Churchy, heard them talk about they'll just come up with a new strategy, a new way to hate, and he knows that Churchy may be down, but Churchy's a resilient motherfucker. It may take a day, perhaps three, but Churchy will rise again.
About the Citizen's Contract:
Yesterday, the Rude Pundit proposed a Loyal Citizen's Contract With the American Government. Several rude readers have asked to send it around to non-readers. The Rude Pundit says to let the contract fly outside of Left Blogsylvania. Send it freely. And you didn't need "permission" in the first place.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The Loyal Citizen's Contract With the American Government:
Considering the responses of Bill Kristol, the Wall Street Journal, and others to President Bush’s affirmation of warrantless domestic spying by the NSA, perhaps it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff in this America. The Rude Pundit believes a new "contract" of sorts is needed between the government and the American people. Howzabout this:
"I (the undersigned) believe President George W. Bush when he says that the United States of America is fighting a 'new kind of enemy' that requires 'new thinking' about how to wage war. Therefore, as a loyal citizen of President Bush’s United States, my signature below indicates my agreement to the following:
"1. I believe wholeheartedly in the Patriot Act as initially passed by Congress in 2001, as well as the provisions of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act. Therefore, I grant the FBI access to:
"a. my library records, so it may determine if I am reading material that might designate me an enemy of the nation;
"b. my financial records, including credit reports, so it may determine if I am contributing monetarily to any governmentally proscribed activities or organizations;
"c. my medical records, so it may determine if my prescriptions, injuries, or other conditions are indicative of terrorist activity on my part;
"d. any and all other personal records including, but not limited to, my store purchases, my school records, my web browsing history, and anything else determined as a 'tangible thing' necessary to engage in a secret investigation of me.
"I agree that I do not need to be notified if my records have come under scrutiny by the FBI, and, furthermore, I agree that no warrant is needed for the FBI to engage in this examination of my personal records. Additionally, I agree that the FBI should be allowed to monitor any groups it believes may be linked to what it determines to be terrorist activity.
"2. I believe that the President of the United States has the power to mitigate or set aside any and all laws passed by the Congress and that he has such power granted to him by his status as Commander-in-Chief in the Constitution as well as the 2001 Authorization of Military Force, passed by the Congress, which states that the President can use 'all necessary and appropriate force' in prosecution of the war. Therefore, I grant the United States government the following powers:
"a. that the National Security Agency, under the direction of the President, may tap my phone lines and intercept my e-mail without warrant or FISA oversight;
"b. that the President may hold me or other detainees without access to the legal system for a period of time determined by the President or his agents;
"c. that the President may authorize physical force against me or other individual detainees in order to gain intelligence and that he may define whether such physical force may be called 'torture':
"d. that the President may set aside any and all laws he sees as hindering the gathering of intelligence and prevention of terrorist acts for a period as time determined by the President, including, but not limited to, rights to political protest.
"I agree that the Judicial and Legislative branches should be allowed no oversight of these activities, and that such oversight merely emboldens the terrorists. I also agree that virtually all of these activities may be conducted in complete secrecy and that revelation of these activities amounts to treasonous behavior on the part of those who reveal these activities to the press and the citizenry.
"3. Finally, this document is my statement that I believe the President of the United States and the entire executive branch, as well as all departments and agencies involved, as well as all of their personnel, will treat these powers I have granted them with utmost respect. I believe that these powers will not be abused, nor will any of the information I have given them permission to examine be misinterpreted. However, should such abuse or misinterpretation occur, I agree that such actions are mere errors and no one should be subject to investigation, arrest, or employment action as a result.
"My consent freely given,
"(Your signature)"
C'mon, Michelle Malkin, Byron York, John Hinderaker, and all the rest of you good Bush lovers. Sign on up. Send it in to the White House. Let 'em know that you have nothing to hide. Or nothing you don't care about sharing.
Considering the responses of Bill Kristol, the Wall Street Journal, and others to President Bush’s affirmation of warrantless domestic spying by the NSA, perhaps it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff in this America. The Rude Pundit believes a new "contract" of sorts is needed between the government and the American people. Howzabout this:
"I (the undersigned) believe President George W. Bush when he says that the United States of America is fighting a 'new kind of enemy' that requires 'new thinking' about how to wage war. Therefore, as a loyal citizen of President Bush’s United States, my signature below indicates my agreement to the following:
"1. I believe wholeheartedly in the Patriot Act as initially passed by Congress in 2001, as well as the provisions of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act. Therefore, I grant the FBI access to:
"a. my library records, so it may determine if I am reading material that might designate me an enemy of the nation;
"b. my financial records, including credit reports, so it may determine if I am contributing monetarily to any governmentally proscribed activities or organizations;
"c. my medical records, so it may determine if my prescriptions, injuries, or other conditions are indicative of terrorist activity on my part;
"d. any and all other personal records including, but not limited to, my store purchases, my school records, my web browsing history, and anything else determined as a 'tangible thing' necessary to engage in a secret investigation of me.
"I agree that I do not need to be notified if my records have come under scrutiny by the FBI, and, furthermore, I agree that no warrant is needed for the FBI to engage in this examination of my personal records. Additionally, I agree that the FBI should be allowed to monitor any groups it believes may be linked to what it determines to be terrorist activity.
"2. I believe that the President of the United States has the power to mitigate or set aside any and all laws passed by the Congress and that he has such power granted to him by his status as Commander-in-Chief in the Constitution as well as the 2001 Authorization of Military Force, passed by the Congress, which states that the President can use 'all necessary and appropriate force' in prosecution of the war. Therefore, I grant the United States government the following powers:
"a. that the National Security Agency, under the direction of the President, may tap my phone lines and intercept my e-mail without warrant or FISA oversight;
"b. that the President may hold me or other detainees without access to the legal system for a period of time determined by the President or his agents;
"c. that the President may authorize physical force against me or other individual detainees in order to gain intelligence and that he may define whether such physical force may be called 'torture':
"d. that the President may set aside any and all laws he sees as hindering the gathering of intelligence and prevention of terrorist acts for a period as time determined by the President, including, but not limited to, rights to political protest.
"I agree that the Judicial and Legislative branches should be allowed no oversight of these activities, and that such oversight merely emboldens the terrorists. I also agree that virtually all of these activities may be conducted in complete secrecy and that revelation of these activities amounts to treasonous behavior on the part of those who reveal these activities to the press and the citizenry.
"3. Finally, this document is my statement that I believe the President of the United States and the entire executive branch, as well as all departments and agencies involved, as well as all of their personnel, will treat these powers I have granted them with utmost respect. I believe that these powers will not be abused, nor will any of the information I have given them permission to examine be misinterpreted. However, should such abuse or misinterpretation occur, I agree that such actions are mere errors and no one should be subject to investigation, arrest, or employment action as a result.
"My consent freely given,
"(Your signature)"
C'mon, Michelle Malkin, Byron York, John Hinderaker, and all the rest of you good Bush lovers. Sign on up. Send it in to the White House. Let 'em know that you have nothing to hide. Or nothing you don't care about sharing.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Live Vodka Shot Bloggin' of the President's Press Conference:
Back in the day, the Rude Pundit used to muse that Bill Clinton would have held a press conference in 1997 or so where he said, "Yeah, I fucked her. And then I turned her over and I fucked her again. And then I called my old friend, Vernon Jordan, and I said, 'Vern, I got the finest piece of intern ass bobbin' on my crank right now.' And then Vernon came over and he fucked her. Then we both fucked her at the same time, high-fivin' each other over her back. And I said, 'You know, Vern, you're gonna have to give her a job when we're all done.' Then we had a big ol' laugh as we sprayed jizz all over her pretty blue dress. Good times. Good times." At least then, you know, we could have just had it out, threw down for our culture war, and clogged the Potomac with the dead, instead of the aching, eternal investigations that degraded us all.
So, hey, man, props to George W. Bush for steppin' out on Saturday to say, "Fuck you. I spied. I'm gonna keep spyin' on ya. And you can't stop me." And now we have the post-Sunday Iraq lookee-here-at-my-big-honest-face talk end o' the year press conference.
The Rude Pundit broke out the morning vodka, turned on his CNN, put his trusty laptop on his lap, took a bracin' shot, and wrote along to the President's halting screeches of agony:
10:32 - Here he comes, walkin' like he just finished a really awesome shit where he wiped his ass with the Constit- Wait - is that powder on the corner of his nose? No - probably toothpaste. Or reflections from the Rude Pundit's Christmas tree of doom.
10:33 - He's just twitchin', wincin', suckin' his teeth. Why does he not have any control of his face? It's like watching one of those rubber monster faces you put over your fingers in the hands of a spastic three-year old.
10:34 - We're two minutes in and he's mentioned 9/11 twice.
10:35 - If the terrorists declared war and we declared war, then when we capture them, aren't they prisoners of war?
10:36 - Talking about the domestic surveillance program outside of any legal precedent, Bush says, "This program is reviewed (by me to make sure I'm working inside whatever horribly tortured definition of "legal" Alberto Gonzales has raped out of the Constitution today) every 45 days." (Parenthetical added)
10:37 - 9/11 mentions #3 and #4.
Man, he talks about the Patriot Act like someone took his wubbie away. He's coming unhinged quickly, early, here, saying, "We cannot afford a single day without the Patriot Act."
10:38 - 9/11 mentions #5 and #6.
10:42 - He's going bonkers about Alito, demanding an up or down vote. So he has use for the Congress when they break out the rubber stamp.
10:44 - Asked about the leak of the domestic spying program, Bush goes nutzoid, paranoid, like "terr'ists" is under the podium, ready to smack his nutsack at a moment's notice. Says, "The fact that we're discussing this program is hurting the country." However, "If I were you I'd be asking me these questions," but revealing the program? "It's a shameful act."
10:45 - He mixed up Saddam and Osama, and, hey, 9/11 mention #7.
10:46 - Bush says his legal authority to spy is from the Constitution and authorization of force against Congress. He keeps talkin' that he took an oath to protect the citizens of the country. But that ain't true. He took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." People come and go, motherfucker, but the nation remains.
10:48 - He totally lost control of his limbs when dissing the Senate (after not getting a laugh on the difficulty of dealing with legislative bodies in reference to Iraq). "Is this thing on?" would have been less embarassing.
10:49 - He's going insane trying to justify the Iraq war using the election. Okay, getting bored. Vodka not kickin' in. Gonna try to remember the lyrics to Christmas songs for a-wassailin' later. "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head...falalala lala la laaaa."
10:53 - Why is he licking the inside of his mouth? Did this become a Jane Goodall special?
10:54 - Bush says, "An open debate about law would tell the enemy this is what we're doing." Cool. So terrorism prevents open debate. Good thing they're not winning. And, in another great "fuck you" on recording domestic phone calls, Bush says, "We will monitor those calls if we need to."
10:55 - What the fuck's wrong with his jaw? Is it really horrible TMJ or what the fuck ever? Or is it demon coke?
11:00ish - Bush praises the process in Iraq by breaking out that vicious sense of irony he's so well-known for, saying, "Democracies don't go to war; democracies are peaceful countries."
11:02 - Talking to Iraqi ex-pats who visited him in the Oval Office after voting, and who demanded the head of Saddam Hussein instead of a trial, Bush says that he told them that it's important to follow the rule of law, that the legal process is what distinguishes Iraq now from tyranny. Man, can this motherfucker lay down the sarcasm or what?
11:05 - Bush says that "NASA" is monitoring the surveillance program.
11:07 - Let's see if I can remember the words to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - "God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing pass this way, remember Christ our savior was born on Christmas day...falalala lala la laaa.
11:09 - In as brave a statement as Bush is likely to make today, he says, "We shouldn't accept nuclear weapons."
11:10 - Ooh, ooh, let's try "Good King Wenceslas" -- "Good King Wensceslas ... falalala lala la laaa." Fuck King Wenceslas.
11:11 - Reporter Peter just pissed off the President by saying that Bush was asserting "unchecked power." Bush nearly jumps over the podium at him, saying, "I disagree with your...it's not unchecked power." He won't let Peter talk; ooh, he's mad now. Bush says that his oath of office is a check, which is not unlike saying that a marriage vow prevents all adultery. And he says that he briefs Congress all the time. As if tellin' 'em what's up is equal to a check on power.
11:12 - Reporter John just tried to give Bush good head by asking him about goals for the new year. It's a softball, man, but Bush just got thrown off his game by Peter. Finally, he gets around to his laundry list and learns to enjoy the slobbity bobbity from John. Until John asks him about the possibility of troops comin' home, then the hummer is over. Bush says, "Nice try. End of your try." What a pissy lil' man our Bush is.
11:17 - Why does he keep thumping the podium? If you can't make a point without banging shit, then why make it at all? Either that or get old school and use a shoe.
11:19 - He's freaking out about the Patriot Act not passing. He's throwing a hissy fit. Someone drag out Bar so he can suckle his mommy's saggy teat.
11:23 - Motherfucker knows how to milk a laugh. But when asked about what plots have been disrupted by domestic surveillance, he won't tell. Says it's secret. Says it'll help the terr'ists. So let's get this straight: the spying's secret. The results are secret. We could have secret places where we bury people alive, but if Bush says it'd hurt the war, we'll never know about it. Fine, fine nation we've become.
11:24 - Boo-yah - 9/11 mention #8 - with crazy ass phone hand gesture.
11:25 - Bush says he hopes we can "feel my passion" about the Patriot Act. Yeah, that Patriot Act is a helluva lay, it'll please ya, tease ya, and make you beg for more. Who wouldn't feel the passion?
11:26 - Could someone ask him why there were no non-domestic-based terrorist attacks on the U.S. until 1993? And none again until 2001? Were we just lucky? Or were the current laws, like, workin'?
11:30ish - And we're done. And only half a bottle gone.
Bush constantly repeated "I understand" or "I fully understand," which is his way of saying, "I don't give a fuck what you have to say." But, shit, at least the year is over for him.
Back in the day, the Rude Pundit used to muse that Bill Clinton would have held a press conference in 1997 or so where he said, "Yeah, I fucked her. And then I turned her over and I fucked her again. And then I called my old friend, Vernon Jordan, and I said, 'Vern, I got the finest piece of intern ass bobbin' on my crank right now.' And then Vernon came over and he fucked her. Then we both fucked her at the same time, high-fivin' each other over her back. And I said, 'You know, Vern, you're gonna have to give her a job when we're all done.' Then we had a big ol' laugh as we sprayed jizz all over her pretty blue dress. Good times. Good times." At least then, you know, we could have just had it out, threw down for our culture war, and clogged the Potomac with the dead, instead of the aching, eternal investigations that degraded us all.
So, hey, man, props to George W. Bush for steppin' out on Saturday to say, "Fuck you. I spied. I'm gonna keep spyin' on ya. And you can't stop me." And now we have the post-Sunday Iraq lookee-here-at-my-big-honest-face talk end o' the year press conference.
The Rude Pundit broke out the morning vodka, turned on his CNN, put his trusty laptop on his lap, took a bracin' shot, and wrote along to the President's halting screeches of agony:
10:32 - Here he comes, walkin' like he just finished a really awesome shit where he wiped his ass with the Constit- Wait - is that powder on the corner of his nose? No - probably toothpaste. Or reflections from the Rude Pundit's Christmas tree of doom.
10:33 - He's just twitchin', wincin', suckin' his teeth. Why does he not have any control of his face? It's like watching one of those rubber monster faces you put over your fingers in the hands of a spastic three-year old.
10:34 - We're two minutes in and he's mentioned 9/11 twice.
10:35 - If the terrorists declared war and we declared war, then when we capture them, aren't they prisoners of war?
10:36 - Talking about the domestic surveillance program outside of any legal precedent, Bush says, "This program is reviewed (by me to make sure I'm working inside whatever horribly tortured definition of "legal" Alberto Gonzales has raped out of the Constitution today) every 45 days." (Parenthetical added)
10:37 - 9/11 mentions #3 and #4.
Man, he talks about the Patriot Act like someone took his wubbie away. He's coming unhinged quickly, early, here, saying, "We cannot afford a single day without the Patriot Act."
10:38 - 9/11 mentions #5 and #6.
10:42 - He's going bonkers about Alito, demanding an up or down vote. So he has use for the Congress when they break out the rubber stamp.
10:44 - Asked about the leak of the domestic spying program, Bush goes nutzoid, paranoid, like "terr'ists" is under the podium, ready to smack his nutsack at a moment's notice. Says, "The fact that we're discussing this program is hurting the country." However, "If I were you I'd be asking me these questions," but revealing the program? "It's a shameful act."
10:45 - He mixed up Saddam and Osama, and, hey, 9/11 mention #7.
10:46 - Bush says his legal authority to spy is from the Constitution and authorization of force against Congress. He keeps talkin' that he took an oath to protect the citizens of the country. But that ain't true. He took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." People come and go, motherfucker, but the nation remains.
10:48 - He totally lost control of his limbs when dissing the Senate (after not getting a laugh on the difficulty of dealing with legislative bodies in reference to Iraq). "Is this thing on?" would have been less embarassing.
10:49 - He's going insane trying to justify the Iraq war using the election. Okay, getting bored. Vodka not kickin' in. Gonna try to remember the lyrics to Christmas songs for a-wassailin' later. "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head...falalala lala la laaaa."
10:53 - Why is he licking the inside of his mouth? Did this become a Jane Goodall special?
10:54 - Bush says, "An open debate about law would tell the enemy this is what we're doing." Cool. So terrorism prevents open debate. Good thing they're not winning. And, in another great "fuck you" on recording domestic phone calls, Bush says, "We will monitor those calls if we need to."
10:55 - What the fuck's wrong with his jaw? Is it really horrible TMJ or what the fuck ever? Or is it demon coke?
11:00ish - Bush praises the process in Iraq by breaking out that vicious sense of irony he's so well-known for, saying, "Democracies don't go to war; democracies are peaceful countries."
11:02 - Talking to Iraqi ex-pats who visited him in the Oval Office after voting, and who demanded the head of Saddam Hussein instead of a trial, Bush says that he told them that it's important to follow the rule of law, that the legal process is what distinguishes Iraq now from tyranny. Man, can this motherfucker lay down the sarcasm or what?
11:05 - Bush says that "NASA" is monitoring the surveillance program.
11:07 - Let's see if I can remember the words to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - "God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing pass this way, remember Christ our savior was born on Christmas day...falalala lala la laaa.
11:09 - In as brave a statement as Bush is likely to make today, he says, "We shouldn't accept nuclear weapons."
11:10 - Ooh, ooh, let's try "Good King Wenceslas" -- "Good King Wensceslas ... falalala lala la laaa." Fuck King Wenceslas.
11:11 - Reporter Peter just pissed off the President by saying that Bush was asserting "unchecked power." Bush nearly jumps over the podium at him, saying, "I disagree with your...it's not unchecked power." He won't let Peter talk; ooh, he's mad now. Bush says that his oath of office is a check, which is not unlike saying that a marriage vow prevents all adultery. And he says that he briefs Congress all the time. As if tellin' 'em what's up is equal to a check on power.
11:12 - Reporter John just tried to give Bush good head by asking him about goals for the new year. It's a softball, man, but Bush just got thrown off his game by Peter. Finally, he gets around to his laundry list and learns to enjoy the slobbity bobbity from John. Until John asks him about the possibility of troops comin' home, then the hummer is over. Bush says, "Nice try. End of your try." What a pissy lil' man our Bush is.
11:17 - Why does he keep thumping the podium? If you can't make a point without banging shit, then why make it at all? Either that or get old school and use a shoe.
11:19 - He's freaking out about the Patriot Act not passing. He's throwing a hissy fit. Someone drag out Bar so he can suckle his mommy's saggy teat.
11:23 - Motherfucker knows how to milk a laugh. But when asked about what plots have been disrupted by domestic surveillance, he won't tell. Says it's secret. Says it'll help the terr'ists. So let's get this straight: the spying's secret. The results are secret. We could have secret places where we bury people alive, but if Bush says it'd hurt the war, we'll never know about it. Fine, fine nation we've become.
11:24 - Boo-yah - 9/11 mention #8 - with crazy ass phone hand gesture.
11:25 - Bush says he hopes we can "feel my passion" about the Patriot Act. Yeah, that Patriot Act is a helluva lay, it'll please ya, tease ya, and make you beg for more. Who wouldn't feel the passion?
11:26 - Could someone ask him why there were no non-domestic-based terrorist attacks on the U.S. until 1993? And none again until 2001? Were we just lucky? Or were the current laws, like, workin'?
11:30ish - And we're done. And only half a bottle gone.
Bush constantly repeated "I understand" or "I fully understand," which is his way of saying, "I don't give a fuck what you have to say." But, shit, at least the year is over for him.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Rude Pundit On the Radio Again (in Texas):
This time on "The Good Show" on Fort Worth's KTCU-FM, 88.7 on yer dials at 10:45 p.m. EST (9:45 in DFW) tonight, after the Bush Iraq fluffjob. It's available over the Internet at the KTCU website. In addition to talkin' about havin' a Merry Christmas, the hosts'll be playin' an edited version of a cut from The Year of Living Rudely, which oughta be fun for other reasons. Especially since this is Texas Christian University's radio station.
Listen in to enjoy live rudeness.
This time on "The Good Show" on Fort Worth's KTCU-FM, 88.7 on yer dials at 10:45 p.m. EST (9:45 in DFW) tonight, after the Bush Iraq fluffjob. It's available over the Internet at the KTCU website. In addition to talkin' about havin' a Merry Christmas, the hosts'll be playin' an edited version of a cut from The Year of Living Rudely, which oughta be fun for other reasons. Especially since this is Texas Christian University's radio station.
Listen in to enjoy live rudeness.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Shorter Bush Saturday Address:
Here's Bush's vicious radio talk today, where he mentioned 9/11 about nine times, in haiku form:
L'etat c'est moi, 'kay?
Once you accept that, you fucks,
We'll all get along.
Here's Bush's vicious radio talk today, where he mentioned 9/11 about nine times, in haiku form:
L'etat c'est moi, 'kay?
Once you accept that, you fucks,
We'll all get along.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Do We Have To Wait Until Bush Purges 20 Million of Us Before We Can Say He's Like Stalin?:
Sometimes, man, it's easy to understand why people just go on with their lives if they're in countries led by a dictator. 'Cause, see, ya got different types of dictators: ya got yer blatantly greedy, "fuck everyone's poverty and hunger as long as my fat belly is full and my big ass is on a gold pillow"-type, like yer House of Saud; ya got yer crazy, seein' shit, killin' everyone in sight, paranoid dictators, like yer Stalins, yer Kim Jong-Ils; ya got yer "as long as you don't fuck with me, we're cool" dictators, like yer Saddam Husseins; and, the most insidious kind, the dictators who pretend they're not dictators, that everything they do is good and right for the majority of the people in the nation, and, really, where do ya wanna start? Mao? No category is hard and fast, for qualities of one kind certainly bleed into the others (and, hey, this ain't a fuckin' textbook here). Besides, every dictator has his or her brutal fetishes, like rape rooms, testicle torture, or scalp-collectin', that inflict themselves on the occasional innocent. But, for the majority of a population, in the majority of dictatorships, it's just easier to live your life and hope that you never run over the dictator's son's pet goat or some such shit.
'Cause, like, if you're a citizen in a dictatorship, you can belong to one of a few categories: inner circle, by connection, family, or ethnicity, where the bounty of the dictator is shared with you as long as you keep said dictator happy; enemy group, by politics, ethnicity, or region, in which case you will be fucked with, beaten, and your daughter raped in front of you on a regular basis until you're disappeared, imprisoned, or cleansed; or average person-in-the-street, the men and women who each day walk past the posters of Glorious Leader, listen to the Leader's speeches, work their jobs, fuck their spouses and/or lovers, raise their kids, watch their TVs, and feel a little exhausted and cranky all the time without wanting to admit why. Think of life in a Soviet bloc country back in the day. And average person-in-the-street has to make a decision: to seek to rebel, overthrow that dictator, and try to make a change in the nation (thus turning into a purgeable enemy of the state, you know), or take the safe, easy way out and live that average person life. And who could blame you?
In America, we pretend, god, how we pretend, that we're not drifting precipitously into dictatorship, despite a government that clearly behaves as if it has the powers of such tyranny. How else do you explain the Bush administration's blatant violation of criminal law in the President's authorization of spying by the NSA on perhaps thousands of American citizens, a story the "liberal" New York Times sat on for a year at the behest of the White House? Combined with the revelation of the Pentagon database of "potential threats" to the nation that includes war protesters, and you've got some good ol' Soviet-style paranoia going on. If the government feels it has to monitor and/or control the speech and gatherings of its citizens, well, shit, may as well break out the ball vices, put up the posters of Bush standing on top of the corpses of traitors, and call it totalitarianism.
But the occasional good work is a nice distraction from the excesses of a dictatorship. It's what makes it easier for that average citizen to sit back and be an object, acted upon, instead of a subject with that awful agency that forces one to act. Stalin knew that if he built a mighty dam, many people in the nation would overlook the death and misery he had wrought as his press praised him endlessly for his vision in making that mighty dam. So it is that the White House announced the request for an additional $1.5 billion to help reconstruct the levees in New Orleans (which takes care of an effect, but not the disease of environmental degradation).
And anyone who thinks that Bush actually "gave in" to John McCain on the torture amenement is either an idiot or an idolater (and, really, it's hard to tell one from the other these days). We know, from funding for African AIDS programs to the use of poor people and the military as props, that Bush doesn't give a shit what he agrees to, what oaths he vows, what promises he makes: he's gonna do what he wants. Alberto Gonzales has already figured out a way around the McCain amendment, to be sure. And we'll find out about that in another couple of years. The agreement, like the promise to fund the levees, is hocus-pocus, sleight of hand, so you can't see the real fakery of the magic. It's like Stalin promising defectors that nothing would happen if they returned back home. Oh, what glorious bloodletting occurred because of that lie. Oh, how nice and peaceful that lie sounded.
The failure of most Democrats to capitalize on these makes it seem like when Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton show up on some Sunday talk show, it's only because the powers-that-be allow them to speak. It's why when something happens like Russ Feingold getting some nutzoid, paranoid right wing Senators to go along with him on a possible filibuster of the Patriot Act, it is an extraordinary act of courage, when it should only be common sense.
But dictatorships, even demi-dictatorships masked as democracies, don't operate under such convenient notions like "common sense" or "laws." And while the ghost of Hitler, which always haunts these kinds of writings, hasn't been dragged out yet here, let's end by saying this: for the dictatorship, there is only the will to power, and whatever manipulations and machinations it takes, that power will be maintained and the dictator will get whatever the dictator wants.
(By the way, the Rude Pundit is not naive enough to think that spying on Americans hasn't occurred in the past, but, shit, at least COINTELPRO was part of the FBI.)
Sometimes, man, it's easy to understand why people just go on with their lives if they're in countries led by a dictator. 'Cause, see, ya got different types of dictators: ya got yer blatantly greedy, "fuck everyone's poverty and hunger as long as my fat belly is full and my big ass is on a gold pillow"-type, like yer House of Saud; ya got yer crazy, seein' shit, killin' everyone in sight, paranoid dictators, like yer Stalins, yer Kim Jong-Ils; ya got yer "as long as you don't fuck with me, we're cool" dictators, like yer Saddam Husseins; and, the most insidious kind, the dictators who pretend they're not dictators, that everything they do is good and right for the majority of the people in the nation, and, really, where do ya wanna start? Mao? No category is hard and fast, for qualities of one kind certainly bleed into the others (and, hey, this ain't a fuckin' textbook here). Besides, every dictator has his or her brutal fetishes, like rape rooms, testicle torture, or scalp-collectin', that inflict themselves on the occasional innocent. But, for the majority of a population, in the majority of dictatorships, it's just easier to live your life and hope that you never run over the dictator's son's pet goat or some such shit.
'Cause, like, if you're a citizen in a dictatorship, you can belong to one of a few categories: inner circle, by connection, family, or ethnicity, where the bounty of the dictator is shared with you as long as you keep said dictator happy; enemy group, by politics, ethnicity, or region, in which case you will be fucked with, beaten, and your daughter raped in front of you on a regular basis until you're disappeared, imprisoned, or cleansed; or average person-in-the-street, the men and women who each day walk past the posters of Glorious Leader, listen to the Leader's speeches, work their jobs, fuck their spouses and/or lovers, raise their kids, watch their TVs, and feel a little exhausted and cranky all the time without wanting to admit why. Think of life in a Soviet bloc country back in the day. And average person-in-the-street has to make a decision: to seek to rebel, overthrow that dictator, and try to make a change in the nation (thus turning into a purgeable enemy of the state, you know), or take the safe, easy way out and live that average person life. And who could blame you?
In America, we pretend, god, how we pretend, that we're not drifting precipitously into dictatorship, despite a government that clearly behaves as if it has the powers of such tyranny. How else do you explain the Bush administration's blatant violation of criminal law in the President's authorization of spying by the NSA on perhaps thousands of American citizens, a story the "liberal" New York Times sat on for a year at the behest of the White House? Combined with the revelation of the Pentagon database of "potential threats" to the nation that includes war protesters, and you've got some good ol' Soviet-style paranoia going on. If the government feels it has to monitor and/or control the speech and gatherings of its citizens, well, shit, may as well break out the ball vices, put up the posters of Bush standing on top of the corpses of traitors, and call it totalitarianism.
But the occasional good work is a nice distraction from the excesses of a dictatorship. It's what makes it easier for that average citizen to sit back and be an object, acted upon, instead of a subject with that awful agency that forces one to act. Stalin knew that if he built a mighty dam, many people in the nation would overlook the death and misery he had wrought as his press praised him endlessly for his vision in making that mighty dam. So it is that the White House announced the request for an additional $1.5 billion to help reconstruct the levees in New Orleans (which takes care of an effect, but not the disease of environmental degradation).
And anyone who thinks that Bush actually "gave in" to John McCain on the torture amenement is either an idiot or an idolater (and, really, it's hard to tell one from the other these days). We know, from funding for African AIDS programs to the use of poor people and the military as props, that Bush doesn't give a shit what he agrees to, what oaths he vows, what promises he makes: he's gonna do what he wants. Alberto Gonzales has already figured out a way around the McCain amendment, to be sure. And we'll find out about that in another couple of years. The agreement, like the promise to fund the levees, is hocus-pocus, sleight of hand, so you can't see the real fakery of the magic. It's like Stalin promising defectors that nothing would happen if they returned back home. Oh, what glorious bloodletting occurred because of that lie. Oh, how nice and peaceful that lie sounded.
The failure of most Democrats to capitalize on these makes it seem like when Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton show up on some Sunday talk show, it's only because the powers-that-be allow them to speak. It's why when something happens like Russ Feingold getting some nutzoid, paranoid right wing Senators to go along with him on a possible filibuster of the Patriot Act, it is an extraordinary act of courage, when it should only be common sense.
But dictatorships, even demi-dictatorships masked as democracies, don't operate under such convenient notions like "common sense" or "laws." And while the ghost of Hitler, which always haunts these kinds of writings, hasn't been dragged out yet here, let's end by saying this: for the dictatorship, there is only the will to power, and whatever manipulations and machinations it takes, that power will be maintained and the dictator will get whatever the dictator wants.
(By the way, the Rude Pundit is not naive enough to think that spying on Americans hasn't occurred in the past, but, shit, at least COINTELPRO was part of the FBI.)
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Bush Took Responsibility For Jackshit:
In talking about his latest round of oh-shit-my-approval-ratings-are-dangling-lower-than-Bob-Novak's-dropped-nutsack speeches, the mainstream media has focused on the idea that George Bush "took responsibility" for something or other. The ABC headline is "Bush Takes Blame For Iraq Invasion, Intel." The Reuters headline says, "Bush takes blame for Iraq war on bad intelligence." All over the news, you could see or hear about Bush's amazing, magnanimous gesture of responsibility, as if he stood before the crowds and said, "Hey, I fucked up. Sorry about all the death and destruction because of my fuck up." But, of course, he did nothing of the kind.
Here's what Bush said: "[I]t is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As President, I'm responsible for the decision to go into Iraq -- and I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities." At least it's good to know that Bush remembers that he's the one who had to say the words "Invade Iraq" before it would happen. Fuck him. Bush did not take one bit of responsibility for the bad intelligence. It's like saying, "I'm responsible for the decision to break that lamp, and I'm responsible for getting the Elmer's to put it back together," but you know what? You didn't say you broke the fuckin' lamp.
Oh, and, by the way, the newspapers and news nets need to break out the Thesaurus, 'cause Bush sure as shit didn't mean "blame" when he said "responsibility." "Blame" implies error. There was no hint of making an error in anything he spoke. In fact, Bush never mentioned "error," "mistake," "wrong," or "blame" in any reference to himself or his administration. And he certainly did not even attempt to take responsibility for the "faulty" intelligence; all he said was, "All my bitches at the U.N. thought the shit was real, too, yo."
Indeed, the only time he'll say something is wrong is when it's no longer up for argument. In his interview yesterday with Fox "News" anchor Brit "Behold My Permanent Scowl of Sonorous Objectivity" Hume, Bush was asked about admitted bribe-taker, former Representative and now contestant for "Ugliest Jailhouse Bottom in the California Penal System" Duke Cunningham, and the President said, "I feel Duke Cunningham was wrong and should be punished for what he did. And I think anybody who does what he did should be punished, Republican or Democrat." To which one can only thank fucking God that the President of the United States is so in touch with reality that he believes a confessed felon is "wrong" and "should be punished." (After which Bush offered support to Tom DeLay, who has more or less admitted laundering money.)
The pattern in the last week, in all his appearances, in all his interviews has been this: to present the image of someone who looks like he's approximating contrition. Like going to confession and saying what your friends did so you can be blessed by their absolution, Bush kept saying, again and again, pretty much nothing about his culpability, except in some vague way that, well, shit, since he's sittin' in the chair at the Oval Office, one assumes he must have something to do with what goes on around him. An example of this would be in his interview with NBC's Brian Williams, when he said, "[T]o the extent that the federal government was ineffective, I'm responsible." Again, it's nice to know he realizes that he's the head of the federal government and it can't not be his responsibility.
See, language to the Bush administration is merely the lubricant on the dildo they wish to shove up the ass of the citizenry. They read the polls - they know that ass is achin', just achin' fer some sweet lovin', somethin' hard they can feel all the way from the prostate to the uvula. And the White House sure ain't prepared to go all the way with the tender honesty of cock-in-ass humpin', but it'll bring out the ten-inch strap-on to pleasure that pucker and maybe shut up the people for a while. They can't shove it in raw - the pain and tearing would make the citizenry balk, so they gotta lube that tube, man, they gotta make it seem like it's somethin' real, not just a substitute dick, not just fakery that does the trick.
(For a similar take on Bush's empty words, see the Moderate Voice.)
In talking about his latest round of oh-shit-my-approval-ratings-are-dangling-lower-than-Bob-Novak's-dropped-nutsack speeches, the mainstream media has focused on the idea that George Bush "took responsibility" for something or other. The ABC headline is "Bush Takes Blame For Iraq Invasion, Intel." The Reuters headline says, "Bush takes blame for Iraq war on bad intelligence." All over the news, you could see or hear about Bush's amazing, magnanimous gesture of responsibility, as if he stood before the crowds and said, "Hey, I fucked up. Sorry about all the death and destruction because of my fuck up." But, of course, he did nothing of the kind.
Here's what Bush said: "[I]t is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As President, I'm responsible for the decision to go into Iraq -- and I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities." At least it's good to know that Bush remembers that he's the one who had to say the words "Invade Iraq" before it would happen. Fuck him. Bush did not take one bit of responsibility for the bad intelligence. It's like saying, "I'm responsible for the decision to break that lamp, and I'm responsible for getting the Elmer's to put it back together," but you know what? You didn't say you broke the fuckin' lamp.
Oh, and, by the way, the newspapers and news nets need to break out the Thesaurus, 'cause Bush sure as shit didn't mean "blame" when he said "responsibility." "Blame" implies error. There was no hint of making an error in anything he spoke. In fact, Bush never mentioned "error," "mistake," "wrong," or "blame" in any reference to himself or his administration. And he certainly did not even attempt to take responsibility for the "faulty" intelligence; all he said was, "All my bitches at the U.N. thought the shit was real, too, yo."
Indeed, the only time he'll say something is wrong is when it's no longer up for argument. In his interview yesterday with Fox "News" anchor Brit "Behold My Permanent Scowl of Sonorous Objectivity" Hume, Bush was asked about admitted bribe-taker, former Representative and now contestant for "Ugliest Jailhouse Bottom in the California Penal System" Duke Cunningham, and the President said, "I feel Duke Cunningham was wrong and should be punished for what he did. And I think anybody who does what he did should be punished, Republican or Democrat." To which one can only thank fucking God that the President of the United States is so in touch with reality that he believes a confessed felon is "wrong" and "should be punished." (After which Bush offered support to Tom DeLay, who has more or less admitted laundering money.)
The pattern in the last week, in all his appearances, in all his interviews has been this: to present the image of someone who looks like he's approximating contrition. Like going to confession and saying what your friends did so you can be blessed by their absolution, Bush kept saying, again and again, pretty much nothing about his culpability, except in some vague way that, well, shit, since he's sittin' in the chair at the Oval Office, one assumes he must have something to do with what goes on around him. An example of this would be in his interview with NBC's Brian Williams, when he said, "[T]o the extent that the federal government was ineffective, I'm responsible." Again, it's nice to know he realizes that he's the head of the federal government and it can't not be his responsibility.
See, language to the Bush administration is merely the lubricant on the dildo they wish to shove up the ass of the citizenry. They read the polls - they know that ass is achin', just achin' fer some sweet lovin', somethin' hard they can feel all the way from the prostate to the uvula. And the White House sure ain't prepared to go all the way with the tender honesty of cock-in-ass humpin', but it'll bring out the ten-inch strap-on to pleasure that pucker and maybe shut up the people for a while. They can't shove it in raw - the pain and tearing would make the citizenry balk, so they gotta lube that tube, man, they gotta make it seem like it's somethin' real, not just a substitute dick, not just fakery that does the trick.
(For a similar take on Bush's empty words, see the Moderate Voice.)
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Conversations With George: "I'm Talking To You; You're a Person":
Having a conversation with President George Bush is not unakin to trying to change the subject with a jailhouse gangleader so he won't rape you. You can say anything you like, you can offer anything you like, you can bring up any subject, you can talk about the goddamn weather, but no matter what you say, Tattoo Johnny Manchowder is gonna fuck you. You could have asked Johnny what he did to get in the joint; Johnny'll fuck you. You could have asked Johnny where he grew up; Johnny'll fuck you. You could tell Johnny you don't like getting fucked; Johnny'll fuck you. And while you're being fucked, don't even try to talk, 'cause Johnny'll just fuck you harder, fuck you so hard that you think he's tryin' to get you to blow him backwards.
So when Bush sat down to be interviewed by NBC's Brian Williams, Williams may as well have said, "You know what, Mr. President? It doesn't matter what I have to say. All that matters is how hard you fuck my ass" before dropping his pants and holding his bated breath. 'Cause, see, an "interview" or a "conversation" implies some equality between subject and questioner, some mutual respect that, if asked a question, the subject will answer that question. Not with George W. Bush, though. Williams asked Bush about his morning intelligence brief and Bush quickly veered into "Listen, there's an enemy that wants to attack us. And I vowed after September 11th that I wouldn't rest."
And so the "interview" went, with Williams asking to comment on those who say Bush only listens to a small circle of advisors, and Bush responding, "I'll tell you one thing I firmly believe in: I think I believe liberty is universal. freedom is the deep desire of every human being and that a country with influence like ours ought to do things to free people." When Williams asked Bush about Teddy Roosevelt, who the President had said he admired, Bush answered by talking about Abraham Lincoln. Eventually, he did answer some questions about Katrina, but by that point the Rude Pundit's eyes had glazed over and he wanted the sweet relief of vodka shots and an iPod with the new My Morning Jacket playing on it.
Also, in his third speech of four on how wonderful Iraq is except for all that war, Bush "surprised" everyone by taking questions from the Philadelphia World Affairs Council. Yeah, it was suprising that on the day that news cameras from NBC were following him for the whole day that he'd go "off script" and talk to real people. And, oh, what talking. When Faeze Woodville, an Iranian-American, asked Bush why his administration kept linking 9/11 and Iraq, Bush turned into a skipping jukebox of rhetoric, hitting every line in his repertoire: " 9/11 changed my look on foreign policy. I mean, it said that oceans no longer protect us, that we can't take threats for granted; that if we see a threat, we've got to deal with it. It doesn't have to be militarily, necessarily, but we got to deal with it. We can't -- can't just hope for the best anymore." It's as if all of U.S. foreign policy before Bush was one uninterrupted stint of ocean worship while crossing our fingers, hoping that we were lucky enough to have the wind keep the mean enemy sailboats from blowin' ashore.
Woodville was not impressed. "He didn't answer it. I didn't expect that he would," she said. Well, it's nice to know someone had their expectations met.
Having a conversation with President George Bush is not unakin to trying to change the subject with a jailhouse gangleader so he won't rape you. You can say anything you like, you can offer anything you like, you can bring up any subject, you can talk about the goddamn weather, but no matter what you say, Tattoo Johnny Manchowder is gonna fuck you. You could have asked Johnny what he did to get in the joint; Johnny'll fuck you. You could have asked Johnny where he grew up; Johnny'll fuck you. You could tell Johnny you don't like getting fucked; Johnny'll fuck you. And while you're being fucked, don't even try to talk, 'cause Johnny'll just fuck you harder, fuck you so hard that you think he's tryin' to get you to blow him backwards.
So when Bush sat down to be interviewed by NBC's Brian Williams, Williams may as well have said, "You know what, Mr. President? It doesn't matter what I have to say. All that matters is how hard you fuck my ass" before dropping his pants and holding his bated breath. 'Cause, see, an "interview" or a "conversation" implies some equality between subject and questioner, some mutual respect that, if asked a question, the subject will answer that question. Not with George W. Bush, though. Williams asked Bush about his morning intelligence brief and Bush quickly veered into "Listen, there's an enemy that wants to attack us. And I vowed after September 11th that I wouldn't rest."
And so the "interview" went, with Williams asking to comment on those who say Bush only listens to a small circle of advisors, and Bush responding, "I'll tell you one thing I firmly believe in: I think I believe liberty is universal. freedom is the deep desire of every human being and that a country with influence like ours ought to do things to free people." When Williams asked Bush about Teddy Roosevelt, who the President had said he admired, Bush answered by talking about Abraham Lincoln. Eventually, he did answer some questions about Katrina, but by that point the Rude Pundit's eyes had glazed over and he wanted the sweet relief of vodka shots and an iPod with the new My Morning Jacket playing on it.
Also, in his third speech of four on how wonderful Iraq is except for all that war, Bush "surprised" everyone by taking questions from the Philadelphia World Affairs Council. Yeah, it was suprising that on the day that news cameras from NBC were following him for the whole day that he'd go "off script" and talk to real people. And, oh, what talking. When Faeze Woodville, an Iranian-American, asked Bush why his administration kept linking 9/11 and Iraq, Bush turned into a skipping jukebox of rhetoric, hitting every line in his repertoire: " 9/11 changed my look on foreign policy. I mean, it said that oceans no longer protect us, that we can't take threats for granted; that if we see a threat, we've got to deal with it. It doesn't have to be militarily, necessarily, but we got to deal with it. We can't -- can't just hope for the best anymore." It's as if all of U.S. foreign policy before Bush was one uninterrupted stint of ocean worship while crossing our fingers, hoping that we were lucky enough to have the wind keep the mean enemy sailboats from blowin' ashore.
Woodville was not impressed. "He didn't answer it. I didn't expect that he would," she said. Well, it's nice to know someone had their expectations met.
Fun With Bill O'Reilly (And You Can Play, Too):
Hey, gang, let's have some fun with Bill O'Reilly. You can do just like the Rude Pundit and send Mr. Grumpyface-Where's-My-Sticky-Baby-Jesus a letter like the one below that the Rude Pundit mailed today:
Bill O'Reilly
The O'Reilly Factor
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Dear Bill,
The stamp I used on the envelope is the Madonna and Child 37 cent United States Postal Service stamp I bought at my local post office, and they were happy to sell it to me.
I include one stuck to the bottom of the letter in case your interns throw out the envelope. I'd have decorated it with elephant dung and photos of vaginas, but I figured it might prompt you to start a movement against stamp desecration.
Kisses,
The Rude Pundit
Feel free to use the above text or one of your own as you show Bill O'Reilly we all got that holiday - er - Christmas spirit.
Hey, gang, let's have some fun with Bill O'Reilly. You can do just like the Rude Pundit and send Mr. Grumpyface-Where's-My-Sticky-Baby-Jesus a letter like the one below that the Rude Pundit mailed today:
Bill O'Reilly
The O'Reilly Factor
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Dear Bill,
The stamp I used on the envelope is the Madonna and Child 37 cent United States Postal Service stamp I bought at my local post office, and they were happy to sell it to me.
I include one stuck to the bottom of the letter in case your interns throw out the envelope. I'd have decorated it with elephant dung and photos of vaginas, but I figured it might prompt you to start a movement against stamp desecration.
Kisses,
The Rude Pundit
Feel free to use the above text or one of your own as you show Bill O'Reilly we all got that holiday - er - Christmas spirit.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
On the Dead and Dying, Part 2: Arnold's Choice:
Man, the Rude Pundit wants Arnold Schwarzenegger to be in charge of all decisions of life or death. He wants that deep thinkin' demi-Nazi to walk from cell to cell at San Quentin and mark a chalk X outside each door. Because Arnold Schwarzenegger is just who we all want tellin' us who should live or die, who deserves mercy and who deserves death. Goddamn, what an easy world it'll be havin' Arnold Schwarzenegger make all those decisions.
Fuck, let's not limit Arnold Schwarzenegger to the executable on death row; send Arnold Schwarzenegger into hospitals so he can give the thumbs up or thumbs down to each person on life support. The Rude Pundit wants us to entrust Arnold Schwarzenegger with that shit. Let's not stop with amendin' the Constitution so Arnold can lead us all. The Rude Pundit wants Arnold Schwarzenegger on the left hand of God, Jesus, Allah, who the fuck ever, sayin' to that big ass deity where to toss lightnin', where to unleash a plague, where to make the waters rise, and where to make the land dry out.
'Cause no one knows how to judge the worth of a soul like Arnold Schwarzenegger, man. No one could tell whether or not someone's more valuable dead than alive, no one can say how many lives will be saved if Stanley "Tookie" Williams had been allowed to live, no one is full of unbiased, apolitical consideration more than Arnold Fuckin' Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Fuckin' Schwarzenegger? Ya gotta be fuckin' kiddin'. Who's been indirectly responsible for more violence since the early 1980s, Tookie or the Terminator? Tough question, no?
For, if nothing else, the Williams case has laid clear the absurdity of the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you spend your life acting like an amoral, gun-firing buffoon, why should anyone expect you to act differently as the governor? That would require an act of clemency by the voting public, that might require you to say you wanted to redeem yourself for your past sins.
Meanwhile, last night, the Rude Pundit flipped between CNN and Fox "News" to watch coverage of the execution of Stanley Williams. CNN went with the more intellectually stimulating CNN International (motto: Other countries are smarter than the United States, and we prove it every day) for its reporting, and Fox went with the usual Murdoch spooge buckets.
A couple of brief observations: whoever the pro-death penalty guy on CNNi was, he was one creepy motherfucker, speaking in perfectly even tones about the need for "justice," and apocalyptically quoting the Bible. When confronted by the anchor (possibly Todd Benjamin) with the notion of turning the other cheek, creepy pro-death guy calmly short circuited as he tried to shoehorn that bromide into his kill 'em all mentality. Then he took out a cute little lamb and ate it alive. Truly stunning TV for 3 a.m.
Fox "News" took every opportunity, which meant every time someone opened his or her mouth, to talk about Williams' murder conviction, the victims' families, or the Crips. Fox had a reporter witnessing the execution. He was roughly the tenth media witness to speak, and the first to say that Williams had stared at the media section as if trying to "intimidate" them. Fox stuck to the script, man, of Tookie the monster, as if to grant clemency meant that Williams would be set free to rape white children, not simply live out his life in prison without parole.
And the most disheartening thing of all was how little was mentioned, in the cruel march to the death chamber, of how the ex-wife of one of Williams' alleged victims, Albert Owens (whose family is entirely fucked-up in conflict over the execution), called for support of Williams' efforts to redeem himself for his gang-building past: "I, Linda Owens want to build upon Mr. Williams' peace initiative. I invite Mr. Williams to join me in sending a message to all communities that we should all unite in peace. This position of peace would honor my husband's memory and Mr. Williams work."
A call for peace to honor the dead? What fuckin' country does Linda Owens think she's living in? Not in George Bush's America, where more must die in Iraq to make sure the dead are honored. And certainly not in Arnold Schwarzenegger's California.
Man, the Rude Pundit wants Arnold Schwarzenegger to be in charge of all decisions of life or death. He wants that deep thinkin' demi-Nazi to walk from cell to cell at San Quentin and mark a chalk X outside each door. Because Arnold Schwarzenegger is just who we all want tellin' us who should live or die, who deserves mercy and who deserves death. Goddamn, what an easy world it'll be havin' Arnold Schwarzenegger make all those decisions.
Fuck, let's not limit Arnold Schwarzenegger to the executable on death row; send Arnold Schwarzenegger into hospitals so he can give the thumbs up or thumbs down to each person on life support. The Rude Pundit wants us to entrust Arnold Schwarzenegger with that shit. Let's not stop with amendin' the Constitution so Arnold can lead us all. The Rude Pundit wants Arnold Schwarzenegger on the left hand of God, Jesus, Allah, who the fuck ever, sayin' to that big ass deity where to toss lightnin', where to unleash a plague, where to make the waters rise, and where to make the land dry out.
'Cause no one knows how to judge the worth of a soul like Arnold Schwarzenegger, man. No one could tell whether or not someone's more valuable dead than alive, no one can say how many lives will be saved if Stanley "Tookie" Williams had been allowed to live, no one is full of unbiased, apolitical consideration more than Arnold Fuckin' Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Fuckin' Schwarzenegger? Ya gotta be fuckin' kiddin'. Who's been indirectly responsible for more violence since the early 1980s, Tookie or the Terminator? Tough question, no?
For, if nothing else, the Williams case has laid clear the absurdity of the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you spend your life acting like an amoral, gun-firing buffoon, why should anyone expect you to act differently as the governor? That would require an act of clemency by the voting public, that might require you to say you wanted to redeem yourself for your past sins.
Meanwhile, last night, the Rude Pundit flipped between CNN and Fox "News" to watch coverage of the execution of Stanley Williams. CNN went with the more intellectually stimulating CNN International (motto: Other countries are smarter than the United States, and we prove it every day) for its reporting, and Fox went with the usual Murdoch spooge buckets.
A couple of brief observations: whoever the pro-death penalty guy on CNNi was, he was one creepy motherfucker, speaking in perfectly even tones about the need for "justice," and apocalyptically quoting the Bible. When confronted by the anchor (possibly Todd Benjamin) with the notion of turning the other cheek, creepy pro-death guy calmly short circuited as he tried to shoehorn that bromide into his kill 'em all mentality. Then he took out a cute little lamb and ate it alive. Truly stunning TV for 3 a.m.
Fox "News" took every opportunity, which meant every time someone opened his or her mouth, to talk about Williams' murder conviction, the victims' families, or the Crips. Fox had a reporter witnessing the execution. He was roughly the tenth media witness to speak, and the first to say that Williams had stared at the media section as if trying to "intimidate" them. Fox stuck to the script, man, of Tookie the monster, as if to grant clemency meant that Williams would be set free to rape white children, not simply live out his life in prison without parole.
And the most disheartening thing of all was how little was mentioned, in the cruel march to the death chamber, of how the ex-wife of one of Williams' alleged victims, Albert Owens (whose family is entirely fucked-up in conflict over the execution), called for support of Williams' efforts to redeem himself for his gang-building past: "I, Linda Owens want to build upon Mr. Williams' peace initiative. I invite Mr. Williams to join me in sending a message to all communities that we should all unite in peace. This position of peace would honor my husband's memory and Mr. Williams work."
A call for peace to honor the dead? What fuckin' country does Linda Owens think she's living in? Not in George Bush's America, where more must die in Iraq to make sure the dead are honored. And certainly not in Arnold Schwarzenegger's California.
Monday, December 12, 2005
The Year of Living Rudely Available Again:
The Rude Pundit's CD, The Year of Living Rudely, is now available again at CDBaby.com.
The Rude Pundit's CD, The Year of Living Rudely, is now available again at CDBaby.com.
On the Dead and Dying, Part 1: Richard Pryor:
Just watch Richard Pryor, Live in Concert. Just watch it. If you haven't seen it, it'll make you understand why everyone is giving a damn that Richard Pryor died this weekend. If you only know the Pryor from his bullshit second banana collaborations with Gene Wilder, then you don't know shit about what Richard Pryor meant.
Pryor centered the American black experience, both urban and rural, on the stage in a way that was staggeringly, liberatingly profane. He embraced the linguistic freedom that Lenny Bruce paid for with his life and moved a kind of Afrocentric humor to the mainstream in a way that Redd Foxx and Dick Gregory could not. He was dangerous and popular, and thus he had to be commodified and defanged by being embraced by the very white culture he belittled. He was obscene not only because that's the background he came from, filled with whorehouses, drunks, and drug addicts, with his own experience doing working class jobs and in the military. But he lived a goddamn life before hitting the stage, and the life that he witnessed was far more obscene than the words "motherfucker," "pussy," and "nigger" could ever be.
The life of the black American was one of constantly trying to represent oneself against the bullshit definitions that white America created, according to Pryor. Sure, Pryor did the old shtick of the differences between whites and blacks, but it wasn't about the foods they eat or how their parents talk. It was how white people curse or drink or drop acid or gamble. But as often as Pryor did those kinds of jokes, he also portrayed a black America that was absent of the physical presence of white people, although, no matter what, they were always there, in the Mudbone routines, in all his work, haunting the background, because there wouldn't be "niggers" without white people.
Sure, he opened lots of doors for black comics and actors through his films and TV work, but the stand-up Pryor of the early 1970s remains a thrilling performer, a physical comic willing to throw his body across the stage as he acted out his stories. And he was someone who seemed like a threat. And there's very few people who can hold a knife to your throat and make you laugh while you feel the tip start to cut your jugular.
Here he is in 1972 on the riots in Watts: "Up until the point that we had a riot, everybody said, 'Those niggers are all right, they’re doing fine.' Then, when we had a riot, the White man said, 'Something’s wrong, 'cause these suckers are burning down my store. Now, I've got to give these niggers something. I thought they were happy.'"
Here he is on the word "nigger": "I think niggers are the best of people that were slaves. That's how they got to be niggers. 'Cause they stole the cream of the crop from Africa and brought them over here. And God, as they say, works in mysterious ways. So he made everybody 'cause we'd be arguing over in Africa about the Watusi, Matusi, etcetera, in different languages. You know? So he brought us all over here: the best, the kings, the queens, the princesses and the princes. Shit, and put us all together and called us one tribe and called us 'Niggers.'"
Here he is on his teenage years in Peoria, Illinois: "Oh, they'd arrest me you know; especially at night, they'd have to have a curfew, right. Niggers had to be home by eleven, Negroes twelve. And you'd be trying to get home. And always they'd catch you out in front of a store or something 'cause you'd be taking short cuts right. The cops: 'Put your hands up, Black boy!' You know you panic. 'All right don’t move. Put your hands against the wall.' There ain't no wall. 'Find one then. Put the hand scuffs on him, Fred.' And they'd put the handcuffs on me. Right. And I was really skinny, right? And they'd slip off and shit. And the dude get mad: 'All right, put them on his ankles or his ass or something.' They'd handcuff my thighs right, hop me to the car and call my father about four in the morning. 'Mr. Pryor. We have your son down here at headquarters, what about him?'
"'Fuck him.'
"My mother would have to beg him to come get to out. 'Please Buckie go get him.'
"'Fuck that nigger. Shit, I told him be home at eleven o'clock and I meant eleven. Goddamn, every time I turn around, that nigger's in jail. I’m tired of getting him out.'
"And I'd be praying he'd have a heart attack before he'd get there. Cause, he'd put some shit on me, right? 'Uhm hmm, I’m gonna get your ass out, cause you know I’m gonna tear your ass up. How much is it man? Twelve dollars. Yeah I'm going to pay it. You know I’m going to kick your ass. You can believe that shit.'
"And my mother would be crying, 'It hurts me more than it hurts you.'
"I’d say, 'Yeah, so let him beat your ass.'"
And, finally, here he is in full-on "fuck you" mode: "Once you get a job, nigger be respectful. You know this is the age of Aquarius, shit. Man, get a job. What in the fuck are you talking about? I went down, man, I ain’t bullshitin’, baby. I went down to the unemployment bureau. Ya dig? I just got out the joint, you know what I mean. I’m in the joint. I go to the unemployment bureau, the bitch telling me 'What’s your occupation.'
"I said, 'Pressing licensing plates.' Now where are you going to find a job for a nigger out here pressing licensing plates? And I'm a licensing-plate-presser, motherfucker. You dig. The old bitch got her tier and shit up there. Old ugly white hoe with crinkles and shit. Bitch got funky with me. I said, 'Well, fuck your job, bitch. Kiss my ass and your mamma’s too.'"
Just watch Richard Pryor, Live in Concert. Just watch it. If you haven't seen it, it'll make you understand why everyone is giving a damn that Richard Pryor died this weekend. If you only know the Pryor from his bullshit second banana collaborations with Gene Wilder, then you don't know shit about what Richard Pryor meant.
Pryor centered the American black experience, both urban and rural, on the stage in a way that was staggeringly, liberatingly profane. He embraced the linguistic freedom that Lenny Bruce paid for with his life and moved a kind of Afrocentric humor to the mainstream in a way that Redd Foxx and Dick Gregory could not. He was dangerous and popular, and thus he had to be commodified and defanged by being embraced by the very white culture he belittled. He was obscene not only because that's the background he came from, filled with whorehouses, drunks, and drug addicts, with his own experience doing working class jobs and in the military. But he lived a goddamn life before hitting the stage, and the life that he witnessed was far more obscene than the words "motherfucker," "pussy," and "nigger" could ever be.
The life of the black American was one of constantly trying to represent oneself against the bullshit definitions that white America created, according to Pryor. Sure, Pryor did the old shtick of the differences between whites and blacks, but it wasn't about the foods they eat or how their parents talk. It was how white people curse or drink or drop acid or gamble. But as often as Pryor did those kinds of jokes, he also portrayed a black America that was absent of the physical presence of white people, although, no matter what, they were always there, in the Mudbone routines, in all his work, haunting the background, because there wouldn't be "niggers" without white people.
Sure, he opened lots of doors for black comics and actors through his films and TV work, but the stand-up Pryor of the early 1970s remains a thrilling performer, a physical comic willing to throw his body across the stage as he acted out his stories. And he was someone who seemed like a threat. And there's very few people who can hold a knife to your throat and make you laugh while you feel the tip start to cut your jugular.
Here he is in 1972 on the riots in Watts: "Up until the point that we had a riot, everybody said, 'Those niggers are all right, they’re doing fine.' Then, when we had a riot, the White man said, 'Something’s wrong, 'cause these suckers are burning down my store. Now, I've got to give these niggers something. I thought they were happy.'"
Here he is on the word "nigger": "I think niggers are the best of people that were slaves. That's how they got to be niggers. 'Cause they stole the cream of the crop from Africa and brought them over here. And God, as they say, works in mysterious ways. So he made everybody 'cause we'd be arguing over in Africa about the Watusi, Matusi, etcetera, in different languages. You know? So he brought us all over here: the best, the kings, the queens, the princesses and the princes. Shit, and put us all together and called us one tribe and called us 'Niggers.'"
Here he is on his teenage years in Peoria, Illinois: "Oh, they'd arrest me you know; especially at night, they'd have to have a curfew, right. Niggers had to be home by eleven, Negroes twelve. And you'd be trying to get home. And always they'd catch you out in front of a store or something 'cause you'd be taking short cuts right. The cops: 'Put your hands up, Black boy!' You know you panic. 'All right don’t move. Put your hands against the wall.' There ain't no wall. 'Find one then. Put the hand scuffs on him, Fred.' And they'd put the handcuffs on me. Right. And I was really skinny, right? And they'd slip off and shit. And the dude get mad: 'All right, put them on his ankles or his ass or something.' They'd handcuff my thighs right, hop me to the car and call my father about four in the morning. 'Mr. Pryor. We have your son down here at headquarters, what about him?'
"'Fuck him.'
"My mother would have to beg him to come get to out. 'Please Buckie go get him.'
"'Fuck that nigger. Shit, I told him be home at eleven o'clock and I meant eleven. Goddamn, every time I turn around, that nigger's in jail. I’m tired of getting him out.'
"And I'd be praying he'd have a heart attack before he'd get there. Cause, he'd put some shit on me, right? 'Uhm hmm, I’m gonna get your ass out, cause you know I’m gonna tear your ass up. How much is it man? Twelve dollars. Yeah I'm going to pay it. You know I’m going to kick your ass. You can believe that shit.'
"And my mother would be crying, 'It hurts me more than it hurts you.'
"I’d say, 'Yeah, so let him beat your ass.'"
And, finally, here he is in full-on "fuck you" mode: "Once you get a job, nigger be respectful. You know this is the age of Aquarius, shit. Man, get a job. What in the fuck are you talking about? I went down, man, I ain’t bullshitin’, baby. I went down to the unemployment bureau. Ya dig? I just got out the joint, you know what I mean. I’m in the joint. I go to the unemployment bureau, the bitch telling me 'What’s your occupation.'
"I said, 'Pressing licensing plates.' Now where are you going to find a job for a nigger out here pressing licensing plates? And I'm a licensing-plate-presser, motherfucker. You dig. The old bitch got her tier and shit up there. Old ugly white hoe with crinkles and shit. Bitch got funky with me. I said, 'Well, fuck your job, bitch. Kiss my ass and your mamma’s too.'"
Friday, December 09, 2005
Update to the Update of the Earlier Post:
In a stunning display of adherence to accuracy, Bill O'Reilly's website has updated its link to the Candles Museum in order to reflect the actual URL. Thus, Bill O'Reilly and/or his people have accepted the Rude Pundit's kind holiday gift.
No longer will the ghosts of the child victims of Joseph Mengele be forced to haunt O'Reilly manor. But, oh, how the Rude Pundit still wants to hear the echoing howls and horrible rubbing sounds of a live mike making rough trade of O'Reilly's anus.
(Again, thanks to rude reader Alan, who, really, and, c'mon, needs to be looking at more internet porn, unless he's jackin' off to O'Reilly's site, which is both disturbing and titillating.)
In a stunning display of adherence to accuracy, Bill O'Reilly's website has updated its link to the Candles Museum in order to reflect the actual URL. Thus, Bill O'Reilly and/or his people have accepted the Rude Pundit's kind holiday gift.
No longer will the ghosts of the child victims of Joseph Mengele be forced to haunt O'Reilly manor. But, oh, how the Rude Pundit still wants to hear the echoing howls and horrible rubbing sounds of a live mike making rough trade of O'Reilly's anus.
(Again, thanks to rude reader Alan, who, really, and, c'mon, needs to be looking at more internet porn, unless he's jackin' off to O'Reilly's site, which is both disturbing and titillating.)
Update: The Rude Pundit's Holiday Gift To Bill O'Reilly:
Hey, O'Reilly's webmaster - if Bill is supposed to care so fuckin' much for his charities, update the link to the Candles Museum to: http://www.candlesholocaustmuseum.org. That way, while O'Reilly thumps his shoe on his desk about Christmas, he can look like he vaguely gives a shit about non-Christians.
(Thanks for finding the link to rude reader Alan, who obviously has too much time on his hands.)
Hey, O'Reilly's webmaster - if Bill is supposed to care so fuckin' much for his charities, update the link to the Candles Museum to: http://www.candlesholocaustmuseum.org. That way, while O'Reilly thumps his shoe on his desk about Christmas, he can look like he vaguely gives a shit about non-Christians.
(Thanks for finding the link to rude reader Alan, who obviously has too much time on his hands.)
Why Bill O'Reilly Ought To Be Sodomized With a Microphone, Part 1487:
Fuck the Christmas bullshit. No one really gives a happy monkey fuck about the whole "controversy" over the de-Christmas-ing of Christmas except crazed shut-ins who actually contribute money to keep James Dobson's combover sticky. Or Dobson himself, as well as the myriad Christian scam organizations who need to come up with new ways to sucker idiots into givin' up the bonus check so Donald Wildmon can do the work of the lord of rhetoric. Or Bill O'Reilly, who's ridin' this wave of hot air like a Joe McCarthy balloon to higher ratings and more sales of his "books." And it's forced O'Reilly to pen utter pig crap like his "'Twas the Night Before Solstice," which you should read if only to see what passes for satire on the knuckleheaded right.
No, see, O'Reilly needs the sweet sphincter probing because, on his Fox "News" program, O'Reilly viciously attacked the American Civil Liberties Union last night, saying, "[T]he ACLU leadership are traitors." O'Reilly went after the ACLU for its opposition to the Patriot Act, its taking on of NAMBLA as a client, and, well, hell, its opposition to Christmas displays, 'cause we can never escape the savage grin of the jolly fat man (Santa, not McCarthy, although, shit, that works, too). Yeah, those civil libertarians are evil fuckers, you know. But, says O'Reilly, who is never short of vain attempts to seem balanced, "[T]hat's solely my opinion. Legally, the ACLU has a right to exist, but you have a right to object to it." And, should the day ever come, guess who would be there defending your right to object to the ACLU because it believes in principles and not people? Oh, fuck, irony hurts our brains.
By the way, you can still get from the O'Reilly Christmas Store (motto: "We Will Fuck You in Your Kwanzaa Basket With a Menorah") a tin with soft mint puffs, a great idea for everyone, the site says, "on your holiday gift list." It's the only specifically holiday-connected gift in the entire "store." Perhaps if O'Reilly only sold it for Christmas, that'd just be way too limiting.
By the way, in time for this festive Chanukah season, which O'Reilly refuses to agitate for, the only broken link on his charities page is for the Candles Museum, dedicated to children of the Holocaust. It was gutted by a fire in 2003, an unsolved hate crime no doubt committed by someone for whom "ACLU" and "anti-Christmas" means "Hymie Jewberg and his strange little beanie." Someone who maybe only needed a little nudge from Timothy McVeigh-lovin' asshole to full on arsonist. The Rude Pundit's not callin' O'Reilly "a hate-filled bucket of acidy goo which dissolves any sense of goodness or decency in order to leave nothing but the stinging shit odor of his own putrefaction."
But he isn't not callin' O'Reilly that, either.
Fuck the Christmas bullshit. No one really gives a happy monkey fuck about the whole "controversy" over the de-Christmas-ing of Christmas except crazed shut-ins who actually contribute money to keep James Dobson's combover sticky. Or Dobson himself, as well as the myriad Christian scam organizations who need to come up with new ways to sucker idiots into givin' up the bonus check so Donald Wildmon can do the work of the lord of rhetoric. Or Bill O'Reilly, who's ridin' this wave of hot air like a Joe McCarthy balloon to higher ratings and more sales of his "books." And it's forced O'Reilly to pen utter pig crap like his "'Twas the Night Before Solstice," which you should read if only to see what passes for satire on the knuckleheaded right.
No, see, O'Reilly needs the sweet sphincter probing because, on his Fox "News" program, O'Reilly viciously attacked the American Civil Liberties Union last night, saying, "[T]he ACLU leadership are traitors." O'Reilly went after the ACLU for its opposition to the Patriot Act, its taking on of NAMBLA as a client, and, well, hell, its opposition to Christmas displays, 'cause we can never escape the savage grin of the jolly fat man (Santa, not McCarthy, although, shit, that works, too). Yeah, those civil libertarians are evil fuckers, you know. But, says O'Reilly, who is never short of vain attempts to seem balanced, "[T]hat's solely my opinion. Legally, the ACLU has a right to exist, but you have a right to object to it." And, should the day ever come, guess who would be there defending your right to object to the ACLU because it believes in principles and not people? Oh, fuck, irony hurts our brains.
By the way, you can still get from the O'Reilly Christmas Store (motto: "We Will Fuck You in Your Kwanzaa Basket With a Menorah") a tin with soft mint puffs, a great idea for everyone, the site says, "on your holiday gift list." It's the only specifically holiday-connected gift in the entire "store." Perhaps if O'Reilly only sold it for Christmas, that'd just be way too limiting.
By the way, in time for this festive Chanukah season, which O'Reilly refuses to agitate for, the only broken link on his charities page is for the Candles Museum, dedicated to children of the Holocaust. It was gutted by a fire in 2003, an unsolved hate crime no doubt committed by someone for whom "ACLU" and "anti-Christmas" means "Hymie Jewberg and his strange little beanie." Someone who maybe only needed a little nudge from Timothy McVeigh-lovin' asshole to full on arsonist. The Rude Pundit's not callin' O'Reilly "a hate-filled bucket of acidy goo which dissolves any sense of goodness or decency in order to leave nothing but the stinging shit odor of his own putrefaction."
But he isn't not callin' O'Reilly that, either.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Harold Pinter Kicks More Ass With Esophageal Cancer Than Bill O'Reilly On Steroids:
In Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party, two mysterious men show up at a boarding house, seeking Stanley, one of the boarders. In the course of an unrelenting interrogation with an essentially imprisoned Stanley, the men slowly destroy his sense of place, self, and logic. The play ends with the men taking Stanley away to meet "Monty," a presumptive torturer who will get the information they seek. What's frightening about the 1958 play is that we never know who the men are, who they work for, or what they want from Stanley. But it's something. And they're gonna get it.
So when Pinter lashed out at the Bush and Blair administrations in his Nobel Prize award lecture, it was with the rage of a man whose life and work has been about looking at a kind of human darkness in the face whose feet few of us would have the balls to glance at. Check it out:
"What has happened to our moral sensibility? Did we ever have any? What do these words mean? Do they refer to a term very rarely employed these days – conscience? A conscience to do not only with our own acts but to do with our shared responsibility in the acts of others? Is all this dead? Look at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of people detained without charge for over three years, with no legal representation or due process, technically detained forever. This totally illegitimate structure is maintained in defiance of the Geneva Convention. It is not only tolerated but hardly thought about by what's called the 'international community'. This criminal outrage is being committed by a country, which declares itself to be 'the leader of the free world'. Do we think about the inhabitants of Guantanamo Bay? What does the media say about them? They pop up occasionally – a small item on page six. They have been consigned to a no man's land from which indeed they may never return. At present many are on hunger strike, being force-fed, including British residents. No niceties in these force-feeding procedures. No sedative or anaesthetic. Just a tube stuck up your nose and into your throat. You vomit blood. This is torture. What has the British Foreign Secretary said about this? Nothing. What has the British Prime Minister said about this? Nothing. Why not? Because the United States has said: to criticise our conduct in Guantanamo Bay constitutes an unfriendly act. You're either with us or against us. So Blair shuts up.
"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort – all other justifications having failed to justify themselves – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.
"We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.
"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.
"Death in this context is irrelevant. Both Bush and Blair place death well away on the back burner. At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraq insurgency began. These people are of no moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank. They are not even recorded as being dead. 'We don't do body counts,' said the American general Tommy Franks.
"Early in the invasion there was a photograph published on the front page of British newspapers of Tony Blair kissing the cheek of a little Iraqi boy. 'A grateful child,' said the caption. A few days later there was a story and photograph, on an inside page, of another four-year-old boy with no arms. His family had been blown up by a missile. He was the only survivor. 'When do I get my arms back?' he asked. The story was dropped. Well, Tony Blair wasn't holding him in his arms, nor the body of any other mutilated child, nor the body of any bloody corpse. Blood is dirty. It dirties your shirt and tie when you're making a sincere speech on television.
"The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves."
Pinter even writes a speech for Bush: "I propose the following short address which he can make on television to the nation. I see him grave, hair carefully combed, serious, winning, sincere, often beguiling, sometimes employing a wry smile, curiously attractive, a man's man.
"'God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it.'"
In Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party, two mysterious men show up at a boarding house, seeking Stanley, one of the boarders. In the course of an unrelenting interrogation with an essentially imprisoned Stanley, the men slowly destroy his sense of place, self, and logic. The play ends with the men taking Stanley away to meet "Monty," a presumptive torturer who will get the information they seek. What's frightening about the 1958 play is that we never know who the men are, who they work for, or what they want from Stanley. But it's something. And they're gonna get it.
So when Pinter lashed out at the Bush and Blair administrations in his Nobel Prize award lecture, it was with the rage of a man whose life and work has been about looking at a kind of human darkness in the face whose feet few of us would have the balls to glance at. Check it out:
"What has happened to our moral sensibility? Did we ever have any? What do these words mean? Do they refer to a term very rarely employed these days – conscience? A conscience to do not only with our own acts but to do with our shared responsibility in the acts of others? Is all this dead? Look at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of people detained without charge for over three years, with no legal representation or due process, technically detained forever. This totally illegitimate structure is maintained in defiance of the Geneva Convention. It is not only tolerated but hardly thought about by what's called the 'international community'. This criminal outrage is being committed by a country, which declares itself to be 'the leader of the free world'. Do we think about the inhabitants of Guantanamo Bay? What does the media say about them? They pop up occasionally – a small item on page six. They have been consigned to a no man's land from which indeed they may never return. At present many are on hunger strike, being force-fed, including British residents. No niceties in these force-feeding procedures. No sedative or anaesthetic. Just a tube stuck up your nose and into your throat. You vomit blood. This is torture. What has the British Foreign Secretary said about this? Nothing. What has the British Prime Minister said about this? Nothing. Why not? Because the United States has said: to criticise our conduct in Guantanamo Bay constitutes an unfriendly act. You're either with us or against us. So Blair shuts up.
"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort – all other justifications having failed to justify themselves – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.
"We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.
"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.
"Death in this context is irrelevant. Both Bush and Blair place death well away on the back burner. At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraq insurgency began. These people are of no moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank. They are not even recorded as being dead. 'We don't do body counts,' said the American general Tommy Franks.
"Early in the invasion there was a photograph published on the front page of British newspapers of Tony Blair kissing the cheek of a little Iraqi boy. 'A grateful child,' said the caption. A few days later there was a story and photograph, on an inside page, of another four-year-old boy with no arms. His family had been blown up by a missile. He was the only survivor. 'When do I get my arms back?' he asked. The story was dropped. Well, Tony Blair wasn't holding him in his arms, nor the body of any other mutilated child, nor the body of any bloody corpse. Blood is dirty. It dirties your shirt and tie when you're making a sincere speech on television.
"The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves."
Pinter even writes a speech for Bush: "I propose the following short address which he can make on television to the nation. I see him grave, hair carefully combed, serious, winning, sincere, often beguiling, sometimes employing a wry smile, curiously attractive, a man's man.
"'God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it.'"
Rude Pundit CD On Sale Now:
The Year of Living Rudely, an audio version of this past summer's live show, as well as a bunch of new material, is now on sale at CDBaby.com.
Much, much more on this later.
The Year of Living Rudely, an audio version of this past summer's live show, as well as a bunch of new material, is now on sale at CDBaby.com.
Much, much more on this later.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Gettin' High Off the Fumes of Bullshit:
Man, if bullshit was Prozac, what a chill nation this'd be. Sure, there'd be precipitously more suicides, maybe a smilin' serial killer or two, but mostly, it'd be chill America. 'Cause whenever the President speaks, the wafting scent of bullshit that emanates out of his mouth oughta have more of a purpose than stinkin' up the joint and fillin' the ozone with methane. Otherwise, why the fuck does he talk at all?
Take Bush's speech on Monday about the economy. Bush was massaging the rhetoric like a man whore puttin' pressure on an old moneybag's prostate. Talkin' to the "people" at a John Deere plant (get it? It's for the workin' people, like Bush) in Kernersville, North Carolina, the President bizarrely listed all the horrible things that have happened on his watch: "In the past five years, our economy has endured a stock market collapse, a recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, high energy costs, and devastating natural disasters." Now, a humble man might bow to the forces, economic and natural, that have brought about such nightmares. A wise man might take some responsibility. A smart man might not have mentioned them at all.
Bush, though? Well, see, all that shit happened despite his best efforts, you stupid, ungrateful fucks: "These were all shocks to our economy, which I felt required decisive action. I believe that economy grows when people are allowed to keep more of their own money, to be able to save and to spend." See the economic genius at work there? If people can save and spend their own money, then corporate scandals won't happen and God'll be so goddamn happy that he won't send hurricanes to fuck with the overtaxed citizenry of the South. Oh, and, hey, thanks for the "decisive action" there on Katrina and Enron.
By the end, after a laundry list of shit promises that'll never happen or will happen in a way that dicks over the majority of the workers at that John Deere plant, the speech reached a point of embarassment of praise of the mythical American worker: "You know, the great thing about our history when you look at it is the American people have always proved the pessimists wrong. At the start of a hopeful new century, the American worker is the most productive worker that human history has ever known." Then, the money quote, the one that says, "Hey, it's shitty now, but we're not gonna acknowledge it": "[T]he best days are yet to come for the American economy." Which is not unlike saying to a group of rape victims, "There will come a time when you're not raped. We'll call those the 'salad days.'"
The regional press was not, let's say, impressed. The lead editorial from today's Winston-Salem Journal (which has the same initials as the Wall Street Journal, but is significantly less evil) about the Bush visit is titled "Walk the Walk." The Journal comments, "[Bush] painted his administration as one that's fiscally conservative, when its reckless spending has been anything but. He noted encouraging economic figures released last month, but those figures hardly offset all the manufacturing jobs that have been lost - especially since the jobs being created often pay less than those lost." However, the speech was, typically, a set-up, a little play for the cameras: "[T]he president spoke to an invitation-only crowd at the plant Monday, so nobody was questioning him, at least publicly."
And the Greensboro News-Record dared to fact check the shiny, happy numbers Bush touted. In the speech, Bush, in one of those festive misspeaks that make him so much fun to hear and read, said, "Today, one of every 12 jobs in North Carolina is exported by -- is supported by exports. In other words, one in 12 of the people who work in this state do so because they're selling a product overseas." However, Marta Hummel notes, "Since Bush took office, the state has lost 172,000 manufacturing jobs, many in the Piedmont Triad" (the region of the John Deere plant).
So perhaps it was fitting that Bush chose to make his economic speech at a factory that makes machines that spread manure. Poetic, if you think about it. For we're wallowin' neck deep in it now.
Man, if bullshit was Prozac, what a chill nation this'd be. Sure, there'd be precipitously more suicides, maybe a smilin' serial killer or two, but mostly, it'd be chill America. 'Cause whenever the President speaks, the wafting scent of bullshit that emanates out of his mouth oughta have more of a purpose than stinkin' up the joint and fillin' the ozone with methane. Otherwise, why the fuck does he talk at all?
Take Bush's speech on Monday about the economy. Bush was massaging the rhetoric like a man whore puttin' pressure on an old moneybag's prostate. Talkin' to the "people" at a John Deere plant (get it? It's for the workin' people, like Bush) in Kernersville, North Carolina, the President bizarrely listed all the horrible things that have happened on his watch: "In the past five years, our economy has endured a stock market collapse, a recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, high energy costs, and devastating natural disasters." Now, a humble man might bow to the forces, economic and natural, that have brought about such nightmares. A wise man might take some responsibility. A smart man might not have mentioned them at all.
Bush, though? Well, see, all that shit happened despite his best efforts, you stupid, ungrateful fucks: "These were all shocks to our economy, which I felt required decisive action. I believe that economy grows when people are allowed to keep more of their own money, to be able to save and to spend." See the economic genius at work there? If people can save and spend their own money, then corporate scandals won't happen and God'll be so goddamn happy that he won't send hurricanes to fuck with the overtaxed citizenry of the South. Oh, and, hey, thanks for the "decisive action" there on Katrina and Enron.
By the end, after a laundry list of shit promises that'll never happen or will happen in a way that dicks over the majority of the workers at that John Deere plant, the speech reached a point of embarassment of praise of the mythical American worker: "You know, the great thing about our history when you look at it is the American people have always proved the pessimists wrong. At the start of a hopeful new century, the American worker is the most productive worker that human history has ever known." Then, the money quote, the one that says, "Hey, it's shitty now, but we're not gonna acknowledge it": "[T]he best days are yet to come for the American economy." Which is not unlike saying to a group of rape victims, "There will come a time when you're not raped. We'll call those the 'salad days.'"
The regional press was not, let's say, impressed. The lead editorial from today's Winston-Salem Journal (which has the same initials as the Wall Street Journal, but is significantly less evil) about the Bush visit is titled "Walk the Walk." The Journal comments, "[Bush] painted his administration as one that's fiscally conservative, when its reckless spending has been anything but. He noted encouraging economic figures released last month, but those figures hardly offset all the manufacturing jobs that have been lost - especially since the jobs being created often pay less than those lost." However, the speech was, typically, a set-up, a little play for the cameras: "[T]he president spoke to an invitation-only crowd at the plant Monday, so nobody was questioning him, at least publicly."
And the Greensboro News-Record dared to fact check the shiny, happy numbers Bush touted. In the speech, Bush, in one of those festive misspeaks that make him so much fun to hear and read, said, "Today, one of every 12 jobs in North Carolina is exported by -- is supported by exports. In other words, one in 12 of the people who work in this state do so because they're selling a product overseas." However, Marta Hummel notes, "Since Bush took office, the state has lost 172,000 manufacturing jobs, many in the Piedmont Triad" (the region of the John Deere plant).
So perhaps it was fitting that Bush chose to make his economic speech at a factory that makes machines that spread manure. Poetic, if you think about it. For we're wallowin' neck deep in it now.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Rice To Europe: The Bush Administration Is Revolutionizing the World of Law:
In her remarks over the last couple of days about the United States's "alleged" practice of extraordinary renditions of terror suspects to friendly nations of torturers and the "alleged" secret prison facilities run by the CIA, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said nothing of factual import. She has engaged in the typical non-denial denials that are actually affirmations, the usual kinds of contortions that make lesbian gang bang porn stars look positively relaxed while getting double-dildoed; she actually said, "I wouldn't comment because whether or not we engage in certain activities is a matter of classification because they're intelligence activities, so it wouldn't matter what the answer is; I wouldn't comment."
However, ideologically, what Rice said was the rhetorical equivalent of lifting her skirt and declaring, "Fuck you, you pissants, we're motherfuckin' revolutionaries here. Now lick my cunt hard, and I better feel it all the way to the ermine-lined toes of my Ferragamo Baraks."
For surely, what Rice declared is a stunning refutation of centuries of Western legal precedent: "The captured terrorists of the 21st century do not fit easily into traditional systems of criminal or military justice, which were designed for different needs. We have to adapt." Throughout her speech yesterday, Rice kept insisting that the United States follows its own and the laws of other countries. Yet, at the same time, she could say, "[T]his war on terrorism challenges traditional norms and precedents of previous conflicts." Get it? The United States "complies with its Constitution, its laws, and its treaty obligations" but at the same time we're trying to create new systems of laws and treaties we can bully everyone to agreeing on so that we can still say that we "comply" with laws and treaties. The Magna Carta is so quaint. Yeah, it can stand up to everything but Islamic terrorists. Good thing they haven't defeated Western civilization, you know.
Then Rice, who is small but savage, like a rabid mongoose, implicitly threatened the "democracies" of Europe if they dared to keep fucking with her on these points: "Some governments choose to cooperate with the United States in intelligence, law enforcement, or military matters. That cooperation is a two-way street. We share intelligence that has helped protect European countries from attack, helping save European lives. It is up to those governments and their citizens to decide if they wish to work with us to prevent terrorist attacks against their own country or other countries, and decide how much sensitive information they can make public. They have a sovereign right to make that choice." Or, to put it simply, "Hey, Froggy, Krauthead, and Wop, you really wanna fuck with us?"
Rice concluded those remarks with "[B]efore the next attack, we should all consider the hard choices that democratic governments must face. And we can all best meet this danger if we work together." And if, perhaps, this was two years ago, Europe would have cowered under Rice's mighty buck teeth of justice. But it ain't. Now, thanks to Rice and her White House, facing the United States is like facing off against a pissed off rhino that's been shot with half a dozen tranquilizer darts. It staggers, falls, gets up, charges at you for a moment or two, but you know if you dodge enough, it's gonna collapse soon. So many Europeans kinda don't give a fuck what Rice has to say.
In Der Spiegel (whose catalog features fine linens for a keen sale price), Charles Hawley writes that, for Europeans, even worse than the rendering of suspects to countries that torture "is that the CIA has apparently repeatedly used air bases and airports across the continent for refuelling stops or transfer points," and, along with the secret detention facilities in Poland and Romania, "the US, once again, is losing the European popularity contest." Then Hawley lists all the possible violations of international law by the United States, country by country.
Rice continues to bend the line of rational thought to the breaking point, with statements like "The United States does not condone torture," followed by a caveat of how the gathering of intelligence is "the absolute key" to "winning" the "war" on "terror." Then, in a joint meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the sexual tension reached such a fevered pitch that the two of them retired to Merkel's office to argue over who was going to be the butch and who the femme. It was a negotiation as heated as any arms treaty and ended with Merkel licking Rice's boots after the Secretary of State used Merkel's swagger stick to fuck the Chancellor to world-dominating ecstasy.
Meanwhile, over in Bucharest, the opposition party, the Social Democrats, have called for a parliamentary investigation of the possible CIA prison facility in Romania; in Milan, court documents show that the CIA intentionally misled Italian authorities about its kidnapping of a Muslim cleric from that fashionable city; in Iraq, Bulgaria and the Ukraine are withdrawing their forces, no longer willing to be part of the coalition; and back in Germany, Condi Rice apologized for the CIA's detention and torture of the wrong man, a German who had the wrong name at the wrong time.
Yes, it's gonna be fun at the legal revolution. And the thing about revolutionaries is how they force everyone to pick sides for and against the very ideas being pushed forth. It's rare that a revolution works in isolation, but welcome to the United States under George W. Bush, a fecund petri dish of new legal ideas just dying to evolve into laws.
In her remarks over the last couple of days about the United States's "alleged" practice of extraordinary renditions of terror suspects to friendly nations of torturers and the "alleged" secret prison facilities run by the CIA, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said nothing of factual import. She has engaged in the typical non-denial denials that are actually affirmations, the usual kinds of contortions that make lesbian gang bang porn stars look positively relaxed while getting double-dildoed; she actually said, "I wouldn't comment because whether or not we engage in certain activities is a matter of classification because they're intelligence activities, so it wouldn't matter what the answer is; I wouldn't comment."
However, ideologically, what Rice said was the rhetorical equivalent of lifting her skirt and declaring, "Fuck you, you pissants, we're motherfuckin' revolutionaries here. Now lick my cunt hard, and I better feel it all the way to the ermine-lined toes of my Ferragamo Baraks."
For surely, what Rice declared is a stunning refutation of centuries of Western legal precedent: "The captured terrorists of the 21st century do not fit easily into traditional systems of criminal or military justice, which were designed for different needs. We have to adapt." Throughout her speech yesterday, Rice kept insisting that the United States follows its own and the laws of other countries. Yet, at the same time, she could say, "[T]his war on terrorism challenges traditional norms and precedents of previous conflicts." Get it? The United States "complies with its Constitution, its laws, and its treaty obligations" but at the same time we're trying to create new systems of laws and treaties we can bully everyone to agreeing on so that we can still say that we "comply" with laws and treaties. The Magna Carta is so quaint. Yeah, it can stand up to everything but Islamic terrorists. Good thing they haven't defeated Western civilization, you know.
Then Rice, who is small but savage, like a rabid mongoose, implicitly threatened the "democracies" of Europe if they dared to keep fucking with her on these points: "Some governments choose to cooperate with the United States in intelligence, law enforcement, or military matters. That cooperation is a two-way street. We share intelligence that has helped protect European countries from attack, helping save European lives. It is up to those governments and their citizens to decide if they wish to work with us to prevent terrorist attacks against their own country or other countries, and decide how much sensitive information they can make public. They have a sovereign right to make that choice." Or, to put it simply, "Hey, Froggy, Krauthead, and Wop, you really wanna fuck with us?"
Rice concluded those remarks with "[B]efore the next attack, we should all consider the hard choices that democratic governments must face. And we can all best meet this danger if we work together." And if, perhaps, this was two years ago, Europe would have cowered under Rice's mighty buck teeth of justice. But it ain't. Now, thanks to Rice and her White House, facing the United States is like facing off against a pissed off rhino that's been shot with half a dozen tranquilizer darts. It staggers, falls, gets up, charges at you for a moment or two, but you know if you dodge enough, it's gonna collapse soon. So many Europeans kinda don't give a fuck what Rice has to say.
In Der Spiegel (whose catalog features fine linens for a keen sale price), Charles Hawley writes that, for Europeans, even worse than the rendering of suspects to countries that torture "is that the CIA has apparently repeatedly used air bases and airports across the continent for refuelling stops or transfer points," and, along with the secret detention facilities in Poland and Romania, "the US, once again, is losing the European popularity contest." Then Hawley lists all the possible violations of international law by the United States, country by country.
Rice continues to bend the line of rational thought to the breaking point, with statements like "The United States does not condone torture," followed by a caveat of how the gathering of intelligence is "the absolute key" to "winning" the "war" on "terror." Then, in a joint meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the sexual tension reached such a fevered pitch that the two of them retired to Merkel's office to argue over who was going to be the butch and who the femme. It was a negotiation as heated as any arms treaty and ended with Merkel licking Rice's boots after the Secretary of State used Merkel's swagger stick to fuck the Chancellor to world-dominating ecstasy.
Meanwhile, over in Bucharest, the opposition party, the Social Democrats, have called for a parliamentary investigation of the possible CIA prison facility in Romania; in Milan, court documents show that the CIA intentionally misled Italian authorities about its kidnapping of a Muslim cleric from that fashionable city; in Iraq, Bulgaria and the Ukraine are withdrawing their forces, no longer willing to be part of the coalition; and back in Germany, Condi Rice apologized for the CIA's detention and torture of the wrong man, a German who had the wrong name at the wrong time.
Yes, it's gonna be fun at the legal revolution. And the thing about revolutionaries is how they force everyone to pick sides for and against the very ideas being pushed forth. It's rare that a revolution works in isolation, but welcome to the United States under George W. Bush, a fecund petri dish of new legal ideas just dying to evolve into laws.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Samuel Alito Is a Pussy:
It's sad, really, what politics does to a man. Here he was, big-balled Sam Alito, tough U.S. Attorney who went after the fuckin' New Jersey mob - the fuckin' Genoveses, man - and who took apart corruption against HUD in Camden and the Jersey City school district back in the 1980s. When he was nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 1990, he was introduced and praised by Frank Lautenberg and Bill Bradley, both, of course, Democrats. His hearing was a cakewalk, man, with Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter falling all over each other for the chance to tell Alito how awesome he was. All of this will be brought up, of course, in the next few weeks as we approach Alito's hearing to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. But all that really matters is what the man has shown in the weeks since his nomination to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, and what he's shown is that he's a pussy.
For what else can you call a man who is trying to run away from everything he's said or done on abortion rights and access? Every opportunity that Samuel Alito was given to comment or rule on involving abortion, he attempted to restrict access to or express his dismay with Roe v. Wade. He said, back in 1985, that the federal government should help states "chip away" at Roe. In his job application to be Deputy Assistant Attorney General, he volunteered, without prompting on the issue, that he believed that "the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion." And, of course, in 1991, he dissented from the majority opinion on Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, saying that a woman should be forced to tell her possibly raping, abusive husband that she wants an abortion.
So the man has said he wants to limit Roe, doesn't think it's constitutional, and, when he was in a position to do so, actually advocated a specific limitation. You'd think a man with that kind of trail would just stand up and say, "You know what? Fuck it. You'd have to be an idiot not to realize that I'll vote to overturn Roe if given the power to do so. Now, fuck with me." At least then we could just have it out. At least then we'd be spared the pathetic whines of Alito, as related by Arlen Specter: "He said that his personal feelings would not be a factor in his judicial decision...With respect to his personal views on a woman's right to choose, he says that that is not a matter to be considered in the deliberation on a constitutional issue of a woman's right to choose. The judicial role is entirely different."
Now, you may argue that Alito has, in fact, expressed his views on the constitutional issues when he said that the right to an abortion is not guaranteed by the Constitution. You might in fact argue that in Casey, Alito clearly stated that severe limitations on Roe were, in fact, constitutional. But that would mean that you are caught in the tautological vortex of the pussy, where one can say that, despite everything one has said and done, one won't do what one has said or done before and, oh, by the way, please put one in the position where what one does becomes the law of the land so that it justifies everything that one has said and done in the past.
In other words, if Samuel Alito doesn't want to overturn Roe, he's been living a lie. Which is what makes Alito a pussy even more. Here's something from Alito's 1990 questionnaire: "The American Bar Association's Commentary to its Code of Judicial Conduct states that it is inappropriate for a judge to hold membership in any organization that invidiously discriminates on the basis of race, sex, or religion. Do you currently belong, or have you belonged, to any organization which discriminates -- through either formal membership requirements or the practical implementation of membership policies? If so, list, with dates of membership. What have you done to try to change these policies?" Alito answered, "I have never belonged to any such organization."
Which would be true, except for the fact that Alito did belong to such an organization, the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group that "at first openly opposed full coeducation and the representative inclusion of minorities at Princeton, and then when those became 'settled issues,' continued its opposition to the mere presence of women and minorities at Princeton through tactics ranging from code words to open harassment." Which would seem to reveal that Alito, well, fuck, lied on that questionnaire. But Alito said he had "no recollection" of his involvement with CAP, even though he belonged to it just five years before (and mentioned it on that job application in 1985).
But, shit, Alito's got the all-time great pussy excuse. He told Dianne Feinstein about his Meese-era job app, "I was an advocate seeking a job, it was a political job and that was 1985." Fuckin' great - Eddie Haskell's been nominated to the Supreme Court. Goddamn, it ain't that different than saying, "I was stoned, she was passed out, and this was before date rape laws" or "I was just following orders when I carpet-bombed that village of innocent civilians." Yeah, it may be true, but doesn't it say something about the person willing to make that kind of excuse for his behavior?
That's Sam Alito, though, all over. Someone who'll now say or do anything to get on the Supreme Court, hunched over and cowering in the ditch rather than standing up and saying what he believes - fuck, what we know he believes. Lies and hypocrisy ought to become main reasons why the Alito nomination should be voted down. For most Republicans, though, it'll just make him one of the gang.
It's sad, really, what politics does to a man. Here he was, big-balled Sam Alito, tough U.S. Attorney who went after the fuckin' New Jersey mob - the fuckin' Genoveses, man - and who took apart corruption against HUD in Camden and the Jersey City school district back in the 1980s. When he was nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 1990, he was introduced and praised by Frank Lautenberg and Bill Bradley, both, of course, Democrats. His hearing was a cakewalk, man, with Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter falling all over each other for the chance to tell Alito how awesome he was. All of this will be brought up, of course, in the next few weeks as we approach Alito's hearing to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. But all that really matters is what the man has shown in the weeks since his nomination to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, and what he's shown is that he's a pussy.
For what else can you call a man who is trying to run away from everything he's said or done on abortion rights and access? Every opportunity that Samuel Alito was given to comment or rule on involving abortion, he attempted to restrict access to or express his dismay with Roe v. Wade. He said, back in 1985, that the federal government should help states "chip away" at Roe. In his job application to be Deputy Assistant Attorney General, he volunteered, without prompting on the issue, that he believed that "the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion." And, of course, in 1991, he dissented from the majority opinion on Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, saying that a woman should be forced to tell her possibly raping, abusive husband that she wants an abortion.
So the man has said he wants to limit Roe, doesn't think it's constitutional, and, when he was in a position to do so, actually advocated a specific limitation. You'd think a man with that kind of trail would just stand up and say, "You know what? Fuck it. You'd have to be an idiot not to realize that I'll vote to overturn Roe if given the power to do so. Now, fuck with me." At least then we could just have it out. At least then we'd be spared the pathetic whines of Alito, as related by Arlen Specter: "He said that his personal feelings would not be a factor in his judicial decision...With respect to his personal views on a woman's right to choose, he says that that is not a matter to be considered in the deliberation on a constitutional issue of a woman's right to choose. The judicial role is entirely different."
Now, you may argue that Alito has, in fact, expressed his views on the constitutional issues when he said that the right to an abortion is not guaranteed by the Constitution. You might in fact argue that in Casey, Alito clearly stated that severe limitations on Roe were, in fact, constitutional. But that would mean that you are caught in the tautological vortex of the pussy, where one can say that, despite everything one has said and done, one won't do what one has said or done before and, oh, by the way, please put one in the position where what one does becomes the law of the land so that it justifies everything that one has said and done in the past.
In other words, if Samuel Alito doesn't want to overturn Roe, he's been living a lie. Which is what makes Alito a pussy even more. Here's something from Alito's 1990 questionnaire: "The American Bar Association's Commentary to its Code of Judicial Conduct states that it is inappropriate for a judge to hold membership in any organization that invidiously discriminates on the basis of race, sex, or religion. Do you currently belong, or have you belonged, to any organization which discriminates -- through either formal membership requirements or the practical implementation of membership policies? If so, list, with dates of membership. What have you done to try to change these policies?" Alito answered, "I have never belonged to any such organization."
Which would be true, except for the fact that Alito did belong to such an organization, the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group that "at first openly opposed full coeducation and the representative inclusion of minorities at Princeton, and then when those became 'settled issues,' continued its opposition to the mere presence of women and minorities at Princeton through tactics ranging from code words to open harassment." Which would seem to reveal that Alito, well, fuck, lied on that questionnaire. But Alito said he had "no recollection" of his involvement with CAP, even though he belonged to it just five years before (and mentioned it on that job application in 1985).
But, shit, Alito's got the all-time great pussy excuse. He told Dianne Feinstein about his Meese-era job app, "I was an advocate seeking a job, it was a political job and that was 1985." Fuckin' great - Eddie Haskell's been nominated to the Supreme Court. Goddamn, it ain't that different than saying, "I was stoned, she was passed out, and this was before date rape laws" or "I was just following orders when I carpet-bombed that village of innocent civilians." Yeah, it may be true, but doesn't it say something about the person willing to make that kind of excuse for his behavior?
That's Sam Alito, though, all over. Someone who'll now say or do anything to get on the Supreme Court, hunched over and cowering in the ditch rather than standing up and saying what he believes - fuck, what we know he believes. Lies and hypocrisy ought to become main reasons why the Alito nomination should be voted down. For most Republicans, though, it'll just make him one of the gang.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Rah:
Well, that was fun. Thanks to Lex Kuhne, The Brian Farrar Show, and WAAM Ann Arbor for hosting an hour with the Rude Pundit (bleep-free, motherfuckers). Thanks to the callers from Colorado, Michigan, and, ya gotta be shittin' me, Spain.
Now ready to drink away the rest of Saturday to get rid of the image of Bill O'Reilly giving a tongue bath to William Donohue.
Well, that was fun. Thanks to Lex Kuhne, The Brian Farrar Show, and WAAM Ann Arbor for hosting an hour with the Rude Pundit (bleep-free, motherfuckers). Thanks to the callers from Colorado, Michigan, and, ya gotta be shittin' me, Spain.
Now ready to drink away the rest of Saturday to get rid of the image of Bill O'Reilly giving a tongue bath to William Donohue.
Not So Live:
The "Listen Live" button on the WAAM website means that four programs on the Ann Arbor station are broadcast live. None of those programs is the Brian Farrar Show, where the Rude Pundit will be appearing in mere moments.
All apologies to those who fantasized about listening beyond the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. Instead, call your local stations and tell 'em to book the Rude Pundit.
The "Listen Live" button on the WAAM website means that four programs on the Ann Arbor station are broadcast live. None of those programs is the Brian Farrar Show, where the Rude Pundit will be appearing in mere moments.
All apologies to those who fantasized about listening beyond the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. Instead, call your local stations and tell 'em to book the Rude Pundit.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Radio Rudeness:
The Rude Pundit will appear on Ann Arbor's Talk Radio 1600 WAAM tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. EST. He'll be speaking with host Lex Kuhne, who's subbing for the usual host of The Brian Farrar Show.
The Rude Pundit will be talking about rude shit, as well as his upcoming CD, The Year of Living Rudely, which will be released next week. (More on that Monday.) Internet listening is encouraged - and if you live in the Ann Arbor area, give a call.
Hey, radio and press-y types, the Rude Pundit is available for interviews to promote the CD and talk about the depraved evil that leads this festive nation. Zap him an e-mail that's not about Paris and Nicole to: rudepundit@yahoo.com.
The Rude Pundit will appear on Ann Arbor's Talk Radio 1600 WAAM tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. EST. He'll be speaking with host Lex Kuhne, who's subbing for the usual host of The Brian Farrar Show.
The Rude Pundit will be talking about rude shit, as well as his upcoming CD, The Year of Living Rudely, which will be released next week. (More on that Monday.) Internet listening is encouraged - and if you live in the Ann Arbor area, give a call.
Hey, radio and press-y types, the Rude Pundit is available for interviews to promote the CD and talk about the depraved evil that leads this festive nation. Zap him an e-mail that's not about Paris and Nicole to: rudepundit@yahoo.com.
How Thirty Miles Can Seem Like a Million:
Let us say, and why not, that the President of the United States said what he meant and meant what he said on Wednesday over at the Naval Academy when he offered, "A time of war is a time of sacrifice... we honor the memory of every fallen soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman, and Marine." Let's just say for the sake of argument that George W. Bush and his administration actually believed this, that they just didn't titter to themselves at how easy it is to fool the rubes. No, let's stop our cynicism for just a moment and buy the line.
If you wanted the citizens of the country to believe you, then, why, why, why the fuck, at the exact same time the President is talking about death, destruction, and sacrifice in Iraq, would you have Laura Bush leading reporters around the White House for a tour of the expensive, exquisite, and utterly useless decorations there? No, really, and, c'mon, George's speech started at 9:45 a.m. and ended at 10:28 a.m. Laura's "preview" started at 9:58 a.m. and ended at 10:07 a.m. They were thirty miles or so apart in distance. But their voices, oh, their conjoined voices, spoke volumes.
That means that at roughly the point in his speech when the President said, "The terrorists in Iraq share the same ideology as the terrorists who struck the United States on September the 11th. Those terrorists share the same ideology with those who blew up commuters in London and Madrid, murdered tourists in Bali, workers in Riyadh, and guests at a wedding in Amman, Jordan. Just last week, they massacred Iraqi children and their parents at a toy give-away outside an Iraqi hospital," the First Lady was, shit you not, complimenting White House pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois for his gingerbread house (and, truth be told, it is one impressive fucker of a cookie).
It means that when Bush was lying about Iraqi forces leading the assault on Tal-Afar, the First Lady, immaculately dressed and coiffed, told reporters about the food and decorations, "So in a minute all of you are going to get to taste all of [chef]Cris's foods. But I wanted to point out the way we decorated in here with the pears -- the pear collars on the cache-pots and the pink tulips. Everything, again, is fresh and real."
When he was talking about dead soldiers and dreams of victory that'll involve "sacrifice," Laura was describing the art on the White House Christmas card, adding, "Barney and Beazley and our kitty made an appearance on the card"
Let's not belabor a point here - that the very idea of gloating over decorating the White House in a time of war is kinda stomach-churning. But, shit, everyone loves royalty and all its pretty accessories. No, this is about the timing of the two events. It says, in a very clear way, that the Bush White House is divorced from reality, that it's all a fantasy, from the gingerbread White House to the number of Iraqi forces, all one continuum of fantasy and disconnect from any reality.
And the reality was, to be sure, awful, as four more American soldiers and untold numbers of Iraqis died on the same day as Bush was telling us to sacrifice, on the same day that Laura was talking about "the magnificent tree that we have in the Blue Room that's covered with lilies this year." Those lilies may as well have been plucked from the graves of all 2100 American soldiers. It'd make a mighty impressive show on that Christmas tree.
Let us say, and why not, that the President of the United States said what he meant and meant what he said on Wednesday over at the Naval Academy when he offered, "A time of war is a time of sacrifice... we honor the memory of every fallen soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman, and Marine." Let's just say for the sake of argument that George W. Bush and his administration actually believed this, that they just didn't titter to themselves at how easy it is to fool the rubes. No, let's stop our cynicism for just a moment and buy the line.
If you wanted the citizens of the country to believe you, then, why, why, why the fuck, at the exact same time the President is talking about death, destruction, and sacrifice in Iraq, would you have Laura Bush leading reporters around the White House for a tour of the expensive, exquisite, and utterly useless decorations there? No, really, and, c'mon, George's speech started at 9:45 a.m. and ended at 10:28 a.m. Laura's "preview" started at 9:58 a.m. and ended at 10:07 a.m. They were thirty miles or so apart in distance. But their voices, oh, their conjoined voices, spoke volumes.
That means that at roughly the point in his speech when the President said, "The terrorists in Iraq share the same ideology as the terrorists who struck the United States on September the 11th. Those terrorists share the same ideology with those who blew up commuters in London and Madrid, murdered tourists in Bali, workers in Riyadh, and guests at a wedding in Amman, Jordan. Just last week, they massacred Iraqi children and their parents at a toy give-away outside an Iraqi hospital," the First Lady was, shit you not, complimenting White House pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois for his gingerbread house (and, truth be told, it is one impressive fucker of a cookie).
It means that when Bush was lying about Iraqi forces leading the assault on Tal-Afar, the First Lady, immaculately dressed and coiffed, told reporters about the food and decorations, "So in a minute all of you are going to get to taste all of [chef]Cris's foods. But I wanted to point out the way we decorated in here with the pears -- the pear collars on the cache-pots and the pink tulips. Everything, again, is fresh and real."
When he was talking about dead soldiers and dreams of victory that'll involve "sacrifice," Laura was describing the art on the White House Christmas card, adding, "Barney and Beazley and our kitty made an appearance on the card"
Let's not belabor a point here - that the very idea of gloating over decorating the White House in a time of war is kinda stomach-churning. But, shit, everyone loves royalty and all its pretty accessories. No, this is about the timing of the two events. It says, in a very clear way, that the Bush White House is divorced from reality, that it's all a fantasy, from the gingerbread White House to the number of Iraqi forces, all one continuum of fantasy and disconnect from any reality.
And the reality was, to be sure, awful, as four more American soldiers and untold numbers of Iraqis died on the same day as Bush was telling us to sacrifice, on the same day that Laura was talking about "the magnificent tree that we have in the Blue Room that's covered with lilies this year." Those lilies may as well have been plucked from the graves of all 2100 American soldiers. It'd make a mighty impressive show on that Christmas tree.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Why David Brooks Needs To Be Forced To Live In a Winnebago on a Wal-Mart Parking Lot:
The conservative columnists at the New York Times span the intellectual spectrum from John Tierney's outright fucktardery to David Brooks's flailing faux rationalism. Tierney is easily dismissed as an idiot - he spent an entire column last month on a "humorous" look at how men and women pack clothes for travel (no, really - be glad you don't have Times Select so you're not subjected to this toilet-level waste) because, you know, there's so little else to write about in the political world.
But Brooks is worth special note for his bizarre, pathetic efforts at cheerleading for the Bush administration. It's sad, really. Reading Brooks, you get nothing so much as the image of a weary old hooker trying to give her fat nude john a hard-on so they can just get it over with. When the best he can manage in his November 20 column, "The Importance of Staying With Iraq," is a lame "[A]lmost all the experts believe that after 18 months of incompetence, the U.S. is getting its act together," you know that Brooks has become a whipped cur, cowering whenever his master calls, unwilling to even remove his tail from between his legs.
Today, Brooks once again attempts a cock fluffing for George Bush and his mighty war. In "The Age of Skepticism," Brooks notes that the American public has become tired and, well, skeptical about the White House's ability to do a goddamn thing about, well, shit, anything: "The chief cultural effect of the Iraq war is that we are now entering a period of skepticism. Many Americans are going to be skeptical that their government can know enough to accomplish large tasks or be competent enough to execute ambitious policies. More people are going to be skeptical of plans to mold reality according to our designs or to solve the deep problems that are rooted in history and culture. They are going to be skeptical of our ability to engage with or understand faraway societies in the Middle East or Africa or elsewhere."
Other things that Brooks cites as results of the growing "skepticism" in America are that "Already the resolve to rebuild New Orleans and seize the post-Katrina moment has dissipated. The bipartisan desire to do something ambitious about energy policy is going nowhere. Even the problem of Darfur evokes little more than sad sighs and shrugs." Brooks tries, desperately, like a mad leprechaun trying to keep his gold in his pot, to make sure that Democrats share blame, citing the single poll where a majority of those questioned said that "criticism of the war" affects morale.
But it's a miserable failure of an argument, for every situation that Brooks mentions is directly traceable to the incompetence, lies, and inaction of the Republicans who are, as we know, we know, fuck, we know, in nearly complete power over everything in DC. If a bipartisan desire or a resolve to rebuild has gone away, then Republicans are reponsible for the breeze shifting. Earlier in the column Brooks says, "There has been a sharp decline in support for the United Nations. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people who say the U.S. should mind its own business when it comes to world affairs. Isolationist sentiment is about where it was just after Vietnam." And he seems to not connect to the reality here: conservatives made the UN into a target. Just as they made skepticism of the government's motives during the Clinton administration a major rhetorical goal. As the Rude Pundit's said before, reap what you sow, motherfuckers, reap what you sow.
So Brooks, in a flourish of sycophantic fervor that'd make Sean Hannity's jaw ache if he tried to attempt it, says that the solution is to win in Iraq: "What's at stake in Iraq is not only the future of that country, but the future of American self-confidence. We may have to endure a cycle of skepticism before we can enjoy another cycle of hope." See? Get it? We gotta stay the course so it can buck us up, little cowpokes. 'Cause, like, nothin' will say hope and sunshine like the constant parade of corpses, the scrolling mount of the body county on yer Fox "News," and an Iraq free to be an Islamic theocracy.
The conservative columnists at the New York Times span the intellectual spectrum from John Tierney's outright fucktardery to David Brooks's flailing faux rationalism. Tierney is easily dismissed as an idiot - he spent an entire column last month on a "humorous" look at how men and women pack clothes for travel (no, really - be glad you don't have Times Select so you're not subjected to this toilet-level waste) because, you know, there's so little else to write about in the political world.
But Brooks is worth special note for his bizarre, pathetic efforts at cheerleading for the Bush administration. It's sad, really. Reading Brooks, you get nothing so much as the image of a weary old hooker trying to give her fat nude john a hard-on so they can just get it over with. When the best he can manage in his November 20 column, "The Importance of Staying With Iraq," is a lame "[A]lmost all the experts believe that after 18 months of incompetence, the U.S. is getting its act together," you know that Brooks has become a whipped cur, cowering whenever his master calls, unwilling to even remove his tail from between his legs.
Today, Brooks once again attempts a cock fluffing for George Bush and his mighty war. In "The Age of Skepticism," Brooks notes that the American public has become tired and, well, skeptical about the White House's ability to do a goddamn thing about, well, shit, anything: "The chief cultural effect of the Iraq war is that we are now entering a period of skepticism. Many Americans are going to be skeptical that their government can know enough to accomplish large tasks or be competent enough to execute ambitious policies. More people are going to be skeptical of plans to mold reality according to our designs or to solve the deep problems that are rooted in history and culture. They are going to be skeptical of our ability to engage with or understand faraway societies in the Middle East or Africa or elsewhere."
Other things that Brooks cites as results of the growing "skepticism" in America are that "Already the resolve to rebuild New Orleans and seize the post-Katrina moment has dissipated. The bipartisan desire to do something ambitious about energy policy is going nowhere. Even the problem of Darfur evokes little more than sad sighs and shrugs." Brooks tries, desperately, like a mad leprechaun trying to keep his gold in his pot, to make sure that Democrats share blame, citing the single poll where a majority of those questioned said that "criticism of the war" affects morale.
But it's a miserable failure of an argument, for every situation that Brooks mentions is directly traceable to the incompetence, lies, and inaction of the Republicans who are, as we know, we know, fuck, we know, in nearly complete power over everything in DC. If a bipartisan desire or a resolve to rebuild has gone away, then Republicans are reponsible for the breeze shifting. Earlier in the column Brooks says, "There has been a sharp decline in support for the United Nations. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people who say the U.S. should mind its own business when it comes to world affairs. Isolationist sentiment is about where it was just after Vietnam." And he seems to not connect to the reality here: conservatives made the UN into a target. Just as they made skepticism of the government's motives during the Clinton administration a major rhetorical goal. As the Rude Pundit's said before, reap what you sow, motherfuckers, reap what you sow.
So Brooks, in a flourish of sycophantic fervor that'd make Sean Hannity's jaw ache if he tried to attempt it, says that the solution is to win in Iraq: "What's at stake in Iraq is not only the future of that country, but the future of American self-confidence. We may have to endure a cycle of skepticism before we can enjoy another cycle of hope." See? Get it? We gotta stay the course so it can buck us up, little cowpokes. 'Cause, like, nothin' will say hope and sunshine like the constant parade of corpses, the scrolling mount of the body county on yer Fox "News," and an Iraq free to be an Islamic theocracy.
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