Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
NYC Transit Strike/U.S. invades Panama: 16 years ago today
Good morning all....thanks Mickey for all of the good stuff here today to start our day off. I hope that everyone will take a minute to again look at the Fisk photos that Mickey linked. Sorry about the transit strike. You will have to give us a full report, Mickey. It is snowing here now. It looks nice but not as nice as flowers in the summer time. Tomorrow the days start getting longer, I think it is tomorrow. I’ll be back later. Gotta run......
http://tinyurl.com/d5tjrPosted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/20 at 08:39 AMGood morning Mickey ...and Mudge & Joe, Michael, Hawk and all who find themselves here -
Thanks for the information about the NYC transit strike - it’s a little tricky to get information other than sounding like the 40-ish man on your train and I was interested to know exactly what the union’s issues are.
I’ve missed so much over the last few days I’ve not even been able to catch up! So many interesting stories and, as always, interesting opinions.
I must say that I’m not as well read as many of you here, and even when I don’t have much to contribute I always thoroughly enjoy reading all the articles and opinions and more often than not I find food for much thought.
(so what if it’s not Saturday any more...A teacher I once had in my ‘gifted’ class actually gave us all Mercury one day so we could see a liquid metal in action. ‘Roll it around in the palm of your hands!’, she told us with glee. Even at my young age I just gave it a little nudge in someone else’s palm and passed on the handling of heavy metal.)
James - I’m glad to read of Frank’s recovery.
In my experience with 2 male cats, the food really makes a big difference. Spending more on the food to get low ash and better ingredients makes a world of difference and helps keep down the fur ball puke piles simultaneously.Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 08:54 AMVery touching poem Rosemarie.
I’d like to say it’s lovely, but the macabre reality of the subject matter just doesn’t allow.Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 08:59 AMHi Amelopsis-- I sent Mickey a photos of the recovered Frank, sure that you’ll all enjoy it tomorrow (and Mudge is warned). Yeah, the vet sold me this c/d medicated, specially formulated food, which ironically is dry food, which I always thought made urinary blockage situations worse, if not even caused them. And it’s made with crappy ingredients, not just factory farmed meats but low-quality byproducts and stuff. Ah well, for now I’ll just do what the vet says.
Anyone explain what Bloomberg means when he calls the striking workers ‘cowards’? I just don’t get that one, not “certain” that makes any sense.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 09:07 AMHi RMJ! Grim poem! You need to move to a sunnier clime...it’s cold here, nasty-cold, 50F and rain threatens. Brrr!
Amelopsis! So glad you’re back! I notice no deficiency in your cultural furniture, so I am at a loss as to what you might be talking about.
MZ, a transit strike and all those goofballs trying to get across the bridges and into the tunnels shown on TV...! YIKES! It’s far worse than the daily event. Over 7 million riders tossed onto their own devices.
Your anecdotal 40ish fool is box-stock government issue guy, so I feel little surprise or even outrage at his attitude any more. More like a resigned sense of deja vu, how many times does this have to happen before I finally get really depressed and take a bottle of Tylenol?
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 09:16 AM>yawn< Oh hey, James, didn’t see ya there. Coffee?
>>>And it’s made with crappy ingredients, not just factory farmed meats but low-quality byproducts and stuff.<<<
But the “better” stuff is what caused Frank’s problem...might there be a teensy little hintlet in that, perhaps suggesting an attitude examination?>>>Ah well, for now I’ll just do what the vet says.<<<
There’s a good lad!From last night: MZ, why were you set off by Chris’s silliness re: fags with good taste? The stereotype did not spring ex nihilo from the brows of hate-mongers. What was a nelly-boy to do in our society in a time before women had the vote, or before African-Americans could ride wherever they wanted on buses, except find a niche somewhere other men didn’t want to be? I am, in my gayness, indebted to those men whose very survival was on the line every day they went out in public and swished their ways to work as designers of what-not, decorators of this and that, and other un-butch activities. Drag queens, now, there are some ballsy boys! Dress up as women (never passable, really) and still go into the world and say “Well, Maude and Luther, here I am!”
I do not exaggerate when I say I venerate these men. I owe my life to them. They survived long enough and in great enough numbers to make my choice of an identity an option...not a popular option among the hets, but an option. Re-aim your sensitivities, you lumpenheteros, towards the poisonoousness among you that says “different is bad” and not cultural fripperies like taste.
And so, in conclusion of the morning’s peroration, I say to anyone who says “gays have good taste,” a hearty, “Thanks for noticing! I mean, look at who we sleep with!”
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 09:40 AMI know what you mean, but even the vet is frustrated that the special food for Frank’s condition is made with such cheap ingredients, other than the special formulation and medication.
Someone else from the City just called the strikers ‘morally reprehensible’. I should just shut the radio off and figure out what to do with the day… is all that what you call ‘Spin’?
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 09:47 AM“Morally reprehensible?” Surely you jest! It’Q ly reprehensible to stand up against your employer when it abuses you.
It’s 1885 again, and I don’t like it one tiny little bit. If our National Unwiped Anus in the White House has its way (I reject his claims to manhood and even maleness), the tattered and gaping-holed safety sieve will simply vanish and it will be 1885 in all possible ways.
I hate this, and I don’t know how to fix it.
“Still,” I would stay inside today...enough confusion without random pedestrians on this bleak day for working Americans.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 10:03 AMA random pedestrian? Is that what I’d be? Maybe I’ll go out and harrass Yjlayali or bug the produce guy insisting that his potatoes are really cabbages… by which I mean I’ll be emailing you in awhile.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 10:15 AMNow James, really, how can a random guy like you protest being called random? >nudge<
Side note...back in the days when college was an appealing thought to me, I planned to be a pomologist (a fruit scientist, even in my youth I had a sense of the absurd), focusing on apples (the single most interesting fruit in human history). But my mother suggested I focus on maximizing the utility of the cultivars we depend on by working on a way to make potatoes and cauliflower or broccoli grow on the same plant. I’ve always fancied this notion. I adore all veggies cruciferous, faithless to the gout diet’s strictures, and have learned slowly and reluctantly that taters are more than just fried ketchup-delivery systems. At this stage of my life, I’d like to see Brussels sprouts as the fruiting bodies of a potato vine. Add cheese and ground up dead something, and there’s a wonderful bubble-and-squeak!
No, I am NOT ‘high”...sprouts are delicious!
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 10:38 AM>>>Maybe I’ll go out and harrass Yjlayali<<<
...? “I lay aljy?” What please is “Yjlayali?”
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 10:45 AMI might be misspelling her name… it’s a Hunger reference, as was the potatoes/cabbages thing; I told you I’m overly fixated on it. More soon…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 10:53 AMhey everyone. might not get back on today. but these two things are of note and about 3 minutes each.
http://tinyurl.com/9odb4 - a little poem
http://tinyurl.com/chycj - a little film
Posted by michael on from scotland 12/20 at 11:06 AMMichael, hello and happy Solstice tomorrow!
James, I entered the three-bean-salad word in Google and it said, “Huh?” Gave me a lot of Malayali sites...including the harvest festival of Onam in Kerala:
“Onam is the most important harvest festival of Kerala and is an attraction for thousands of people within and outside the state. Ranging from four days to ten days, all the activities during this season are centered around worshipping, music, dances, sports, boat races and good food. It is celebrated in the Malayalam month Chingam (ending of August and beginning of September).”
Since my mind is in the gutter and I rarely think with the big head, I was comletely arrested by the idea of a festival of Onan, and only very slightly disappointed at the description of Onam antics.
http://tinyurl.com/88l7hWe’re missing a “great” opportunity to celebrate a lot more by not incorporating the Hindu sacred calendar in our celebrations!
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 11:20 AMAddictive.
THE ANNUAL SMACK THE PENGUIN GAME IS BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
1.Click on the link below.2. Click once on the snowman to activate the penguin
3. Click again on the snowman to hit the penguin as he descends from the cliff.
Click here: http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 11:24 AMHello Expendables. Wow, things are moving so quickly here these days and it’s a challenge to keep up. For now, I will reply to Mudge. I was not aware that nelly-boys did not object to stereotypes...as long as they’re positive. My bad (as those wacky kids say today).
Here’s my peace offering: http://cuteoverload.com.
Now, let me go smack a penguin…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 11:26 AMMudge, I sent that poor penguin over 207 (whatever) on the fly but bounced him more that 267. You?
Btw, here’s an example of the NY media on the strike: http://tinyurl.com/dq3wj
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 11:55 AMHaha! I rendered a penguin clear of 306 (some bouncing and sliding involved - but no foreign refuelling stops)
Addictive is right. And brussel sprouts ARE delicious!
Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 12:08 PMAmelopsis: You brought out my competitive side. I notched 308.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 12:16 PMAmelopsis, I knew you were a sensible addition to the crew. I roasted sprouts in olive oil and salt with apples and toasted pecans for supper last night.
MZ, 336. >nyah<
Writer’s group tonight, I must forego the afternoon pleasures of chat and get on with my exercise for the group. TTFN, all, see you around 7pm CST.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/20 at 12:27 PMMudge, your broad, flexible outlook is more than generous in re: yesterday’s oh so intelligent postings on my part. My only defence is that I was too tired for my brain to function rationally (not that it usually does!) Apologies if I offended anyone.
Lumpenheteros? I wasn’t aware you’d seen a picture of me!
The penguin game ... oh, I can feel hours slipping away.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 12:28 PMPS 316.3
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 12:30 PMMudge, for crying out loud-- Ylajali (so-called correct spelling) is the name that the narrator of Hunger invents for his love-or-whatever interest… you keep interrupting me before I email you about it. Unless you want to suggest it for an Expendable reading group selection. Which isn’t so far-fetched, given our hosts Bukowski fixation, and what I was going to say was that Hunger has often felt like an earlier albeit far different in many ways version of Factotum. From Hamsun to Hindu Onanism, great.
Why are they called Brussel sprouts? They’re not sprouted, right?
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 12:33 PMBTW here’s my peace offering:
http://www.howstrange.com/gallery/image79.html
Brussels sprouts were called so because they sprout from the ground, which of course distinguishes them from most other vegetables. Surprising but true! (Where Brussels comes in I’ve no idea, but then vegetable marketing ideas possibly date back to days when Brussels was very chic. Possibly)
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 12:40 PM323.5 shit I need more willpower
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 12:42 PMI posted Smack the Penguin at my blog last year, and promptly lost a full week to it. Then I discovered a site that put the penguin on the Moon, where players could smack him several miles at a whack.
That’s when I gave it up, cold turkey.
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/20 at 12:48 PMAnyone up for explaining Jerusalem Artichokes?
(I now have a knack for getting the little pinguin face down at 200 exactly)
Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 12:52 PMMickey: while it’s a drag to lose income to the strike, I hope you find ways to enjoy your time off. I’m one of those people who values free time over money, so long as my bases are covered. I find myself, in the middle of the winter dog days, praying for five feet of snow on a Sunday night, forcing me to blog, read and write to my heart’s content.
My mother calls it lazy.
And I don’t mean to invalidate the serious nature of what’s going on in NYC. I know that most of the transit workers can’t afford to go without pay, even for a day. I hope they’re able to squeeze Bloomberg’s balls for as long as it takes. And I hope this is just the first shot in a renewed labor struggle—it’s time for the pendulum to swing hard in the other direction for a change.
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/20 at 12:53 PMAmelopsis: welcome back!
Sorry, I have no data to offer on Jerusalem Artichokes. I would, however, like to steam a couple for lunch today—assuming they’re anything like the California artichokes on which I thrived during my formative years.
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/20 at 12:56 PMHawk, I’m with you...and it’s my older sister who calls it lazy,
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 01:02 PMNo, no, no! Time off in which to idle is NOT lazy. It is inspiration time, thought time, recharging the batteries time, waiting for the great idea time ... anything you like. Of course you may have your feet on the mantlepiece and your eyes closed, but isn’t that how ideas are arrived at?
As Walt Whitman said, I loaf and invite my soul.
Enjoy inviting your souls, guys!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 01:09 PMPS Teachers at my school are moving towards strike action now. It should happen part way through next term. Unsurprisingly (I only found out recently), Blair hasn’t repealed the anti union legislation of the Thatcher years, so making a strike legal takes a lot of time and effort.
And our head has the nerve to say a strike “wouldn’t be legal under any circumstances”!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 01:11 PMThanks, Chris…
It’s not like I’m having bad day. This is a bad day:
http://tinyurl.com/5zwz6
(Thanks to Jim)Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 01:12 PMJerusalem artichokes are weird little things that look much like mini celeriac, or little lumpy potatoes.
I don’t know why they are Jerusalem or Artichoke. I also know they’re full of some useful nutrient which I cannot remember at the moment.
Full of information today, and a lack of it “too”. Good thing I’m not driving a crane truck!Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 01:34 PMKey words-- so long as my bases are covered. I don’t care if the strike’s still on and it’s 20 degrees out, I’m riding over that bridge to the office. Unless you know a way I can earn a living smacking penguins or assisting bunnies to die with dignity, such as it is.
What if you take brussels sprouts seeds and soak them in water and sprout them? Brussels sprouts sprouts? Sprouted Brussels sprouts? When I was really young, I hated the way they tasted so badly that I’d either feed them to the dog or put them down the radiator in the wall. For years I feared there was a whole garden growing within the walls and eventually my parents would realize why and I’d get in such trouble.
Shouldn’t we comment more about Panama? What’s happened? Where is it now?
Oh yeah-- http://tinyurl.com/8jk4
Sorry, Helga.Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 01:37 PMYes - Panama…
a quick look at what’s online at the library of congress ends with:
Data as of December 1987
Apparently Congress is unaware of any recent developments.
My current knowledge of Panama is limited to the current quandry of an island which has housed a prison for many years. It’s planned for closure but the local national park rangers want it to remain because it scares away poachers knowing there are armed guards. Apparently there’s little hope for the island unless either the prison remains, or international groups raise lots of cash to keep the place intact & protected.
Interesting story but unfortunately not entirely relevant to the anniversary events.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 01:54 PMThe prison-island wasn’t affected by the events of the piece in the link I posted, Amelopsis? ...oh nevermind.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 02:02 PMThe Panamanian prison island was unaffected by the squeeze of the original prison island despite it’s hefty girth.
I neglected to mention that the prison island is home to a number of unique species. (isn’t everywhere home to unique species?)
Posted by Amelopsis on from Snowy Canada 12/20 at 02:19 PMCloser to home for you:
http://tinyurl.com/9j9g
http://tinyurl.com/3y7y6It’s too bad that site’s not updated anymore. Or maybe it’s for the best.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 02:34 PMNoriega is a textbook example of ally-turned-enemy. Surely all these despots (Marcos, Suharto, Pinochet, Hussein, etc.) must realize on some level that they are sealing their own fate when they align themselves with America. I guess it’s a cost-benefit thing. You can get a decade or more of iron-fisted rule in return for eventually ending up in an U.S. prison.
If you haven’t seen Panama Deception, it’s worth renting.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 02:35 PMHi All....Mickey, “Operation Just Cause we feel like it”, what a great description. There seems to be a lot of “cause we feel like it” going on these days. Maybe this should be a national holiday, or a day of remembrance, the day that the USA used WMD’s against one of its neighbors. It is interesting to check and see how the textbooks in schools cover this.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/20 at 02:43 PMWhere did you see it? I looked on Blockbuster, not there. But it’s on Netflix, which I’m not part of; usually just borrow movies.
Kim’s?
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 02:45 PMThanks, RMJ. Perhaps someone out there lurking is in school and can share what they have learned about the Panama invasion.
James: I saw the movie in the theater when it came out. Try the link I gave in the original post.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 02:52 PMYeah, they sell it online. I wish my local shop had more stuff like this. Sometime…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 02:59 PMIf enough customers request it, maybe your local, uh, DVD shop (no more video stores, huh?) will order a copy to rent.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 03:05 PMI just heard old Mayor Koch on the radio. He said: “The illegal strikers are trying to do what the terrorists couldn’t do: bring this city to its knees.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 03:58 PMOh shit, that worthless bastard. It’s always the same - some pinko / commie / idle / lefty / malingerer wanting something for nothing ... like a living wage or fair treatment.
It comes from the same school of thought which maintains tramps all have million dollar incomes & helicopters, and immigrants come over to the UK or US because they get it so easy.
It’s a disgrace to link public transport workers with terrorists. I’m sure most of them have never been near Langley
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 04:00 PMJames #23: Fast before I go to the group (exercise was “what would your favorite color say” oh jeez gimme a break) I was being elliptically humorous, which evidently failed to some across. Try to be funny on the fly, that’s the risk one runs.
Hunger would make an excellent book choice. I vote yea.
Comparing Bukowski to Hamsun is like comparing Charles Schulz to Caravaggio. Shame!
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 12/20 at 04:30 PMI join Rosemarie: Good morning, all, and thanks, Mickey - for the good stuff you provide not only today but each and every day. Texts, links, graphics - your blog and the comment threads attached thereto really make my day(s)!
Oh, and thanks for standing with the unions even if the MTA strike inconveniences you, and thanks for reminding your readers of what happened decades or even centuries ago.
While it is snowing in Vermont, we’ll have another very hot summer day in Daylesford, Australia where it is 8:30 am on a Wednesday morning: 90 F or so.Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/20 at 04:31 PMOh, and re Robert Fisk: I really enjoy his latest book: ‘The Great War on Civilisation.’ I might have mentioned yesterday that I started reading it - my memory does not serve so well these days ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/20 at 04:33 PM‘And so, in conclusion of the morning’s peroration, I say to anyone who says “gays have good taste,” a hearty, “Thanks for noticing! I mean, look at who we sleep with!” ‘
thanks for making me laugh, Mudge! Have just passed this comment to two gay men - they might find it funny as well!
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/20 at 04:41 PMHello Helga…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 04:49 PMAnd no need to say ‘sorry’, James! Very funny link re Australia ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/20 at 05:03 PMHello, Mickey!
And re Panama: is ‘The Tailor of Panama’ worth hiring? Geoffrey Rush is one of my favourite (Australian) actors.
OT: here is a glowing review of ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ - and fully justified as well:
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1532953.htmPosted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/20 at 05:10 PMYeah, I love Geoffrey Rush. It may sound sad, but I’ve been showing Pirates of the Carribbean at school, and he is bloody good in it. Fantastic flick, that one. I missed it when it came out, but it’s great popcorn - nice & daft with plenty of good one liners.
BTW, sorry to sound behind the times, but what’s all the Panama talk?
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 05:34 PMHi Everyone - Can’t do all the names - Amelopsis, great to see you back. You seem bright, well-read and articulate to me, my friend. Never sell yourself short… ever.
You know, I’ve been angry for the last few days. I just keep seeing those polar bears swimming… I hear about the unions destroying The City, I watch as idiots are named Person of the Year, I listen as more quackery passes for truth over “the public airways.”
Jesus, I’m angry.Why is it that the filth always seems to rise to the top...? Why has the world been controlled, for millennia, by fucking greedy, murderous psychopaths? Why is it that honesty and generosity, thoughtfulness and compassion are almost illegalized?
Dammit, I’m angry.I’m sometimes sick of all the blab, especially my own, and yet I don’t know what to do… I just don’t know what to do. I feel like a eunuch trapped forever in a Harem.
Sorry - I’ll go have some lunch…
Posted by joe on from Everywhere 12/20 at 05:38 PMJoe, I reckon that’s the best kind of frustration. Reasoned, passionate and aimed against the right walls of bullshit. We have so much that limits us - for one thing, the disbelief that all this abuse and deceit can proliferate for so long in an open forum, where there should be space for honest people to come along and pose their questions, air their concerns.
The biggest irritation I feel is the myth about the “Liberal media” etc etc - I just want to slap them with a kipper. (footnote to people well up on vegetarian affairs - what veggie is best suited to this purpose if using a kipper is against your views?).
When I was finishing a long piece of writing a while ago I made a point of checking up on the dribblings from the padded cells of Michelle Makin, Anne Lander etc. Their bilious raving is too stupid to be offensive, but too biased and vitriolic to ever be considered the honest view of sane, informed people. Sleazy cop out cash in journalism of the most noxious kind.
It’s especially foul when those people are touted as being “intellectual” because they did this or that which requires brains. Fucking weird, eh? Shouldn’t there be a space for brain surgeons or whatever far better qualified people to shout the exact opposite? Another niggle, but it serves to energise when the sap is low & writing is a difficult tunnel without much light.
However, this is a good example of the spin of the right - to find people who fit into particular categories in order to attack the concerns of a set group of people. Michelle Makin in particular talks most heinously about immigration & uses her own background as a grounds to legitimise a terribly prejudiced view, rather like a Catholic Irish person being used to decry any legitimacy for Sinn Fein. Isn’t there something in The Inferno about these particular swine? There ought to be, if not.
I used to find this kind of pigswill most frustrating, and a while ago it would have made me want to grab someone and shake them. Now, I just see it as ammunition in the War on Bullshit.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 05:55 PMShit, I didn’t mean Anne Lander, did I? I meant Anne Coulter. Whoops! Another post filled with accuracy and reason. Ah bollocks.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 05:57 PMMy memory’s frazzled & fucked at this time of term. So who’s Anne Lander?
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 05:57 PMJoe: I second Chris’ reply: I reckon that’s the best kind of frustration. Reasoned, passionate and aimed against the right walls of bullshit.
Chris: I think Ann Landers was an advice columnist. Her sister was Dear Abbie. I always loved Pirates. As for Panama, check out my original post today.
Helga: Don’t know the movie oyu mention.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 06:05 PMHi again everyone....
Chris, thanks for asking about Panama. Today is the anniversary of the day that the USA used WMD’s on its neighbor, Panama. Estimates are as high as 5000 innocent, unarmed civilians were slaughtered in the unprovoked attack. Don’t apologize for not knowing about it. Most in the USA don’t know about it....convenient memory syndrome, I call it.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/20 at 06:12 PMHere’s some background on Panama, via Chomsky: http://tinyurl.com/7fco3
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 06:14 PMThanks, Mickey. It’s sometimes bizarre to write about America because a lot of these cultural terms & people I’m dimly aware of can start intertwining - I guess the two Annes have little in common!
Panama & Noreiga (sic?)? The guy stopped being a US asset so he gets taken out - ah, that’s such hypocrisy. It does, however, bring to mind a brilliant joke. Anyone read The Onion’s “Our Dumb Century”? One of the news pages for the 1970s has a small byline saying something like: “Countries toppled by CIA this week” followed by a list of likely candidates. Shit!
BTW, check out some of the Reagan sites. The amount of bullshit harks back to James’ frustration - but then, it’s so damn dumb not taking the piss is impossible. Funnily enough, all of them ask for money. Hey, the gipper!
Again, I’d try & offer this as some kind of perverse inspiration. If the grind of writing (or whatever form of resistence you favour) gets to you, spend ten minutes choking on the opulence of bullshit in these places, all the bitter shoddy lies about “the glinting lamp of freedom guiding our hand” and similar such empty toss. It really is energy in deceit form.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 06:16 PMThanks RMJ & Mickey. This type of thing is what I love about the net - you can get the straight story without drowning in the torrential nonsense of the regular media.
I suppose internet regulation will be a goal of a new administration of terror in the near future. Oops! Sorry, don’t mean to give anyone bad dreams tonight ... but any thoughts on that, folks?
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 06:18 PMMy brother just missed the holiday joy in Panama. He was a radio operator in the 82nd Airborne and was posted to Ecuador just before the invasion. He would have jumped in with them otherwise. I’m sure at the time he was a bit disappointed. He’s a bit more circumspect now.
Now why did they need a radio operator in the highlands of Ecuador. I wonder what “national” interest was being served way out there? Hmmm…
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/20 at 06:22 PMGiven this is the 14th anniversary of Panama, can I suggest playing a track I (drunkenly) played on a loop during footage of the Reagan funeral vigil? South Park’s “Suck My Balls.” If you have a copy, please - get a picture of Reagan & play the song. Apt? You betcha!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 06:23 PMCart, I dunno but the communications people get some scary gigs. For instance, my friend Kath’s brother was in the Royal Engineers in the 90s & one of the first people into Bosnia to set up the comms. What he saw there, well, who knows? I do know Kath said he came back a different person, not surprising.
Glad your brother’s more circumspect now, Cart. It’s such a tragedy it’s often the young (who should be guided & not flooded!) that get sent into the shitty fray. Necessary for the war machine too, I guess.
A friend of mine from school is in the British Territorial Army. He wanted to get in the normal army but failed the three tries you’re allowed. Now he’s been doing it for about six years and guess what? He tried for, & got, his captaincy.
####! Now he can be sent into the front lines (after a year of staggered training). Now, this is an intelligent & nice man; although clearly lacking some developments. I have reasoned with him until I’m blue in the face and ... he just wants to do it.
People, can’t we organise some kind of harmless camping trip with rifles for military wannabes? Strictly no killing, militias or teary eyed devotionals about the “good wars.” Just give them a bag to shit in, blanks and a tasteless hat. Maybe a wooden bayonet? I dunno. Any thoughts?
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 06:28 PMJoe: the frustration you feel is the reason I think sites like MickeyZ’s here (and very few others) are a great place to come and visit.
It often appears to me that if one lives in the midst of a metropolitan city (Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Montreal, etc.) its’s not so difficult to find actual places where like minded people congregate, but in the suburbs & beyond, it can feel like you’re alone in your vision of what a sane world would be; anyplace like a coffee shop is either strictly functional, or panders to the very crowds who are a large part of the frustration.
It’s a morally sound frustration, but coming here to find sanity and concious expression is what keeps me from getting angry about the state of the world quite as often. Well, I suppose that truly I’m almost always angry about it, but not to the point of it becoming an issue of depression.
Chin up!
Chris: Instead of a kipper, I’d use a soggy salted slice of eggplant.
Posted by Amelopsis on from snowy canada 12/20 at 06:34 PMAmelopsis, I have made a mental note of your sage suggestion and, if I try it, will post back with reports on required adjustments in windage, elevation, whirl factor etc.
I agree wholeheartedly about the need to find your ration of sanity, wherever it is. Here is an excellent place; one thing I especially like is the lack of a hardline ideological push. A lot of places (where I live there are plenty of politicos, but they reason that if you oppose certain things then you must be in favour of certain others - not necessarily!) do lack a political buzz.
One town I lived in had no visible politics apart from the risible; you had to find the right people so as not to feel like an alien. The first two months there were hard, I felt very adrift from my natural sphere. Of course this is trying when you want to talk politics!
For example, one guy said the silliest thing I ever heard about The Sun newspaper: “if it wasn’t true, they wouldn’t print it!” He was unfortunately all too common in that view, but had a rare - in fact, unique in my experience - quality - he was a Thatcherite with a good sense of humour.
Anomalies make life more interesting, I guess, but I do remember all the hard line, poorly reasoned views made me feel like I was drowning at times. Hum! So all power to everyone here for leaving their hoofprints on various issues!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 06:42 PMJust have a second here getting in the midst of all this, then must ride my bike from my place in midtown Manhattan to my mom’s place in Queens… Check this out everyone for such things:
http://www.transalt.org/bikethestrike/
I wouldn’t be here, in MZ’s livning room if I hadn’t met him indirectly through TA… speaking of which, of being here, regarding the issue of sites like this being of such value to those in remote locations and it being easier to find such community in person, I’ll point out that I literally live blocks from the center of the planet, i.e. Times Square… and yet spend more time socializing here than just about anywhere.
Which is either a statment on how awesome the Expendables are, or how out of touch I am with my immdediate environment. Or somewhere in between, which then brings me to Amelopsis’ mention of how unknowledgeable she is-- I feel the same way, about myself, I mean. It took me months of lurking before I began to type here much, and so I wonder where your seeming insecurity stems from, and how best for any of us faced with our own to deal with it all… this place is a start, I know.
Off now, wish me luck against the random craziness in the streets here!
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 07:33 PMJames, Amelopsis, you are both wise folk in my way of seeing things. However, it may help (in re confidence etc) to remember Robert Plant talking about the early days of Led Zepplin -
“A lot of the time we were loud, confident & wrong, but ...”
Nothing wrong with contemplating the ifs - people can only disagree. & here’s a point on debate from John Stuart Mill (one of the few things I remember from philosophy classes) - you can’t lose an argument. Because:
a) you have to prepare your own case, so you learn more about your side - ditto, anyone else must do the same
b) if you’re proven wrong, you learn
c) if you’re right, you’re vindicated & someone else learns.
Woof, hefty shit for 12.30 on a Mancunian evening, perhaps. Still, there it is. Speaking personally, I’m much happier for you & folk like you stating your mind & speaking your truth. From what I’ve seen here in the oo, must be five days since I’ve been Expendable? Well, I see that people share ideas & knowledge, & that to me shows everyone wants to find something new & hear some different perspectives. Fair nuff!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 07:41 PMBTW, is it easy to socialise in New York? Never been there, so dunno. I’ve heard very mixed reports , but only one that was fully negative (a pal just found it too damn busy - I guess he took the wrong holiday!) & many that have been hugely enthusiastic, but then, none of these impressions have been from folk who lived here / there (hey, I’m getting confused about where I live - not a good sign. Good job I’m at home right now, or I could be lost!)
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 07:43 PMRMJ, just read your Panama poem - very moving & excellently written. Fair play to you.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 07:45 PMYou can watch panama deception online because this site has it and lots of other videos just scroll down or if you don’t want to scroll down just push control-f and type in panama in the find what box then click find next: http://tinyurl.com/eye5n
Posted by tm on from in a grove 12/20 at 07:51 PMChris you need to stop putting up interesting posts just when I need to be running out the door! Well hey Robert Plant also said: ‘lots of people talking, few of them know, the soul of a woman was cre-ated below...!!!’ Glad that there’s Amelopsis and RMJ to prove him wrong… now if I can only find someone in the real world to do so-- um, not that this isn’t the real world here, you get the idea. I don’t even know what to say about socializing in New York right now…
For anyone who was unable to view the Frank the Auto-Free Kitty video before, here’s the restored link:
http://tinyurl.com/cjk82Prepare to fall in love all over again!
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/20 at 07:51 PMJames, you’re right that not every Led Zep lyric contains the soundest of reasoning (Black Dog, right?). But this was from an interview a long time after Bonzo’s death, & you can’t deny they got something very right (although maybe not gender matters), & in any case it’s a sound enough principle if people want to make their stand.
Enjoy New York, please buy me an ice cream.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 07:54 PMPS following the ice cream suggestion -
speaking as an occasionaly armchair tourist & regular glutton, can anyone tell me the widest selection of ice cream flavours available in the Apple under one roof? My sister was there earlier this year, & raved about the variety. I forget how many, but speaking as a cuisine impoverished Brit it sounded like very heaven.
This may sound like irrelevent shit, but we shouldn’t forget the importance of pampering the outer self after all the nourishing of the inner brain cells has been done, transcendence completed etc
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:00 PM#### it, we’re getting near the ton postings wise (ton - English slang for 100, if that not known overseas) & at present it’s largely me. So:
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:01 PM“My old man’s a dustman”
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:02 PM“He wears a dustman’s hat”
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:03 PM“He wears cor blimey trousers”
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:04 PM“And he lives in a council flat.”
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:04 PMSo, if New York has been delayed & slowed down due to totally sound & cool strike action / people squeezing the mayor’s balls (although I expect he pays skillful, silky masseurs for that), at least the blogging hasn’t been neglected.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:06 PMHello everyone. TM, thanks for the movie link. I urge everyone to check out Panama Decpetion.
James, Chris, Amelopsis, et. al.: I truly appreciate your input here and sincerely hope evryone feels comfortable posting. It’s not a contest and no one, I hope, is being judged. We can talk about the Herman Munster as easily as Herman Hesse...with just as much enthusiasm. We’re all learning here every day and each of us take a turn sticking our “foot” in our mouth. I look forward to more lurkers taking the plunge soon.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 08:07 PMBTW, the above lyric is a George Formby song. If you don’t know him (good for you, in a way) he can be oddly diverting on occasion, but you need the right mood.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:07 PMRe post 84 - Mickey your sagacious words are assuredly not a George Formby lyric, & I applaud your sound and kind words. More people should post because I, for one, like getting more info, opinions, feedback, suggestions, links, thinks, directions, equations, reactions, inactions (oxymoron? You decide, folks!) & out & out screeds for reason.
This is why I love politics. Next to some acts, it’s very, very hard to make less sense. Especially as in the face of the Bush administration (which resembles a malevolvent Bugs Bunny holding a chain gun more & more every day). So I heartily hope to see more people adding their two penneth in. Although, given the likely economic trend if the current farce gets elected again, two pence will be worth about $800 by my calculator.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:13 PMChris #67: “People, can’t we organise some kind of harmless camping trip with rifles for military wannabes?”
Yup, It’s called Paintball. Folks can have at each other all day and go home PTSD free. Though I must say there is a minor risk of SNSS. (That’s Swollen Nut Sack Syndrome) An errant shot in the Brussel Sprouts with a paintball on a cold day can change your attitude toward violence somewhat. A small price to pay for enlightenment.
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/20 at 08:14 PMAh well, Cart, there you have solved two mysteries:
1) What do military types sane enough not to want real combat get up to? & I have heard those paintballs sting like the bejeesus (they leave marks like solid hits from a squash ball, apparently) so yes, a testicular avoidance strategy would be well advised if anyone did this. Personally, I can waste time & money in far more productive / slovely ways, so #### that. But if anyone wants the weird glory kudos of the kill, far better they snooter accountants with garish orange splatter.
2) The etymology of Brussels Sprouts. Clearly there is some (beneath the waist) glandular comparison. Maybe the first guy to coin that term had unfortunately green knadgers (due to some mistaken Romanticism trip round the dark alleyways where he contracted venereal disease, lost a leg & wrote some striking poetry) & a pubic map that resembles Belgium. Stranger things have happened!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/20 at 08:27 PMHi Again, everyone -
And thanks, Mickey, Amelopsis, Chris - for your thoughtful notes…Just watched an episode of Democracy Now.
The entire show featured Harold Wilson, a black guy who was convicted of murder, in Pennsylvania, and spent 17 years in prison, most of that time on death row. He was sentenced to be executed three times because he was convicted of murdering three people…He spent a lot of time in solitary confinement because, as a regular practice, the guards would turn off the heat in the cells, and open vents which let in the outside air. Wilson used to plug up the vents, which was an “act of disobediance,” for which one received 30 days in solitary.
In 1999, his death sentence was overturned, because of ineffective counsel. That “ineffective counsel, his defense attorney,
has since become a judge.They kept him on death row, even after this, however, just to torment him.
Finally, some DNA evidence completely exonerated him, and he got out of prison last month.After 17 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, they tossed him out at 9:30 at night, onto a lonely county road, with a black plastic bag of clothes, 65 cents, and a ( Philly? ) subway token…
OK, now I’m angry again…
Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/20 at 09:44 PMHi Joe…
Those wishing to join Joe in Angerland, can read the DN transcript here: http://tinyurl.com/b6vsh.
I’m heading off to sleep soon. Who knows if I’ll be able to get into Manhattan tomorrow?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/20 at 10:00 PMGoodnight & Good Luck, Mickey -
Hope you can make it into town, tomorrow…OK, a change of mood:
For you late stayer-uppers -The 2005 Darwin Award Winners:
(Warning - long post ahead)
(The late) John Pernicky and his friend, (the late) Sal Hawkins, of the great state of Washington, decided to attend a local Metallica concert at the George Washington amphitheater. Having no tickets (but having had 18 beers between them), they thought it would be easy to “hop” over the nine foot fence and sneak into the show. They pulled their pickup truck over to the fence and the plan was for Mr. Pernicky, who was 100 pounds heavier than Mr. Hawkins, to hop the fence and then assist his friend over. Unfortunately for (the late) Mr. Pernicky, there was a 30-foot drop on the other side of the fence. Having heaved himself over, he found himself crashing through a tree. His fall was abruptly halted (and broken, along with his arm) by a large branch that snagged him by his shorts. Dangling from the tree with a
broken arm, he looked down and saw some bushes below him. Possibly figuring the bushes would break his fall, he removed his pocket knife and proceeded to cut away his shorts to free himself from the tree. Finally free, Mr. Pernicky crashed into holly bushes. The sharp leaves scratched his ENTIRE body and now, without the protection of his shorts, a holly branch penetrated his rectum. To make matters worse, upon landing, his pocket knife penetrated his thigh. Hawkins, seeing his friend in considerable pain, threw him a rope and tried to pull him to safety by tying the rope to the pickup truck and slowly
driving away. However, in his drunken haste, he put the truck into reverse and crashed through the fence landing on his friend and killing him. Police arrived to find the crashed pickup with its driver thrown 100 feet from the truck and dead at the scene from massive internal injuries. Upon moving the truck, they found John under it, half-naked, scratches on his body, a holly stick in his rectum, a knife in his thigh, and his shorts dangling from a tree branch 25 feet in the air.Congratulations gentlemen. You win.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/20 at 10:41 PMJoe, are you sure they weren’t the 2005 Intelligent Design Award Winners?
Your post got me thinking of ID, then Creationism, then a born again moron I worked with who didn’t believe that prehistoric fossils existed. When I assured him that scientists have been discovering and studying them for some time, he didn’t believe me. He was quite surprised to learn about museum exhibits and paleontology. The local university that sent him into the world apparently failed to make any impression. That or his fundamentalist mind wipe cleared it away. Yikes.
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/20 at 11:50 PMNot staying up late, but came to say good night. My friend Bruce, with whom I go to the writer’s group every Tuesday, wanted to go see Brokeback Mountain and his wife didn’t want to, too sad for her. So I went again.
I’m still tired from crying.
James, wasn’t there something you werre going to send me re:Hunger? Did my comparison of hunger’s personification and harvest’s personification, then linking it all to masturbation (which is kinda what Hamsun’s prose reminds me of, nice if the real thing ain’t available), just put you off?
Anyway, flights of angels and all that to each. You each make a huge contribution to my perosnal sense of being in good company on Planet Earth.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 12/20 at 11:50 PMHow To Wrap A Gift
(With Help From Your Furry Friend...)
1. Clear large space on table for wrapping present.2. Go to wardrobe and collect bag from wardrobe.
3. Open door and remove cat from wardrobe.
4. Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.
5. Go back and remove cat from cupboard.
6. Go to drawer and collect transparent sticky tape,
ribbons, scissors, labels, etc.7. Lay out presents and wrapping materials on table
to enable wrapping strategy to be formed.8. Go back to drawer to get string.
Remove cat that has been in the drawer
since last visit and collect string.9. Reopen drawer and re-remove cat.
10. Remove present from bag.
11. Remove cat from bag.12. Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace present.
13. Lay out paper to enable cutting to size.
14. Try to smooth out paper, realize cat is underneath and remove cat.
15. Cut the paper to size, trying to keep the cutting line straight.
16. Throw away first sheet as cat tried to chase the scissors and tore paper.17. Cut second sheet of paper to size by putting cat
in the bag the present came out of.18. Place present on cut to size paper.
19. Lift up edges of paper to seal in present.
wonder why edges now don’t reach
and realize cat is between present and paper.
Remove cat and retry.20. Place object on paper to hold in place
while cutting transparent sticky tape.
21. Spend next 20 minutes carefully trying to remove
transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail scissors.22. Seal paper down with transparent sticky tape,
making corners as neat as possible.23. Look for roll of ribbon, chase cat down hall in order to retrieve ribbon.
24. Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two directional turn.
25. Re-roll ribbon and remove paper that is now torn
due to cat’s enthusiasm to chase ribbon end.
26. Repeat steps 13 - 20 until down to last sheet of paper.27. Decide to skip steps 13- 17 in order to save time
and reduce risk of loosing last sheet of paper by retrieving
old cardboard box that you know is right size for sheet of paper.28. Put present in box and tie down with string.
29. Remove string, open box and remove cat.
30. Put all packing materials in bag with present
and head for lockable room.
31. Once inside room, lock door and start to re-lay out packing materials.32. Remove cat from box, unlock door, put cat outside door,
close door and re-lock.33. Repeat previous step as often as necessary
until you can hear the cries from the cat outside the door.34. Lay out last sheet of paper.
(I know this is difficult in the small area of the bathroom, but try your best.)35. Realize that cat has already gotten to the paper.
Unlock door, go out and hunt through various cupboards
looking for sheets of last year’s paper,
until you remember that you haven’t got any left due
to cat’s help with wrapping last year.
36. Retire back to room, lock door and sit on toilet while trying to work out how to make a torn sheet of paper look halfway presentable.37. Seal box, wrap with paper and start repairs by very carefully sealing down tears with transparent sticky tape. Now tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide worst affected areas.
38. Label, then sit back and admire your handiwork, congratulating yourself on making good of a bad job.
39. Unlock door and go to kitchen to make a drink and feed the cat.
40. Spend the next 15 minutes looking for cat
before coming to obvious conclusion…
41. Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat.42. Retrieve all thrown away sheets of wrapping paper, feed the cat and retire to room for last attempt, making certain you are alone
and the door is locked.43. Find least torn and wrinkled sheets of paper along with the ones that the pattern matches closest.
44. Vainly try and wrap present in patchwork paper.
Tie with the now tattered ribbon and decorate with the now limp bows. Label and put present in bag for fear of anyone seeing this disaster.45. At time of handing over present, smile sweetly
at the receiver’s face as they try to hide their contempt
at being handed such a badly wrapped present.
46. Swear to yourself that next year
you will get the store to wrap the darn thing for you!Posted by Mudge on from Austin 12/21 at 12:32 AMAnd a judge orders the TWU to pay $1 mil a day in fines ntil they’re back to work.
1885. Robber barons. Complaisant, do-nothing Congress. Vile, vile executive officer. Beam me up, Scotty.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 12/21 at 12:36 AMMudge -
Your responses to this film sure make me want to see it…
Oh, and by the way, your presence on this strange, out of the way planet is certainly a big plus for the rest of us. Sleep well, our friend.Cart -
Recently I read a piece, which I’m unfortunately unable to find, about what many right-wing “Christians” believe.
It was terrifying.I did find, however, a fascinating piece by a guy named Joe Bageant, who often posts at Dissident Voice, and at CounterPunch. Generally great stuff.
He lives in a tiny, red-neck burg in Virginia, and writes with a constantly broiling anger… I like the guy a lot.
Anyway - he recently wrote a piece about
the ultra Christian-Right “Left Behind” books…
A brief excerpt:
“...tens of millions of American fundamentalists, despite their claims otherwise, read and absorb the all-time best selling Left Behind book series as prophesy and fact. How could they possibly not after being conditioned all their lives to accept the End Times as the ultimate reality? We are talking about a group of Americans 20% of whose children graduate from high school identifying H2O as a cable channel. Children who, like their parents and grandparents, come from that roughly half of all Americans who can approximately read, but are dysfunctionally literate to the extent they cannot grasp any textual abstraction or overall thematic content.”It’s a fine read…
Another Bageant piece, this one more specifically about his home town:
Yikes, is right!
Have a good night / morning, Cart…
Thanks much for your note.Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/21 at 12:43 AMPS - Cart, check out the quote atop the second essay…
Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/21 at 12:46 AMJoe, I share your appreciation for Bageant. I discovered him a few months ago and quickly read everything I could find. Winchester, VA is probably two hours from me; close enough to be a bedroom community for DC, yet light years away. Anyone who wants to try and wrap his head around our bizarre country needs to read Bageant.
Hell, I wish so called education gave folks some backsass! These days it’s just the opposite. I knew I should have invested heavily in drool cups.
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/21 at 02:03 AMAw, jeez…
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/21 at 02:04 AMIf Mudge had only done the dishonorable thing, I wouldn’t of had to do this...and we’d be near 150!
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 12/21 at 02:06 AMMudge, I’ve been all kinds of disorganized btn feline and transit issues… maybe by the time you read this in the morning you’ll have received my email about Hamsun/Hunger thoughts.
But tell me once and for all-- do you like cats, or not. If not, you sure seem to understand them better than many who do like them… much appreciated either way!
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/21 at 02:49 AMMr. Mudge -
Somehow, I missed your cat wrap rap… outstanding work and, as James points out, more insightful than what we might ‘hear’ from a cat-admirer.And, regarding post 95 - imagine the judiciary and Hisshonna Blumberg speaking as though they were attempting to protect the public good…
Of course, I carry an especially dark cloud in my heart for Mr. Mayor.He entered the office and glanced about at, among other sights, the South Bronx, Bed-Stuy, Harlem, the lower East Side, Jamaica, and a multitude of impoverished, violence filled, drug-addicted, slum-Lorded, roach-infested, rat-bitten neighborhoods all over the city -
and decided to ban cigarette smoking in all restaurants and bars.Cart -
It’s cool to see we’re on the same wavelength, here.
That “backsass” quote makes me crazy…
He’s declaring that we’re all children, that he represents the “adult-class,” and that we need to mind our manners, our elders, our betters…It makes me feel the way I imagine a black man must feel when he’s called boy, or ni----
Great gabbing with you, my friend.
See ya soon…Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/21 at 04:00 AM
Next entry: Let me be the first to wish Bill O'Reilly a Happy Winter Solstice
Previous entry: Have Yourself a Merry I.F. Stone Day
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
