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| At least no one lit the brown paper bag.... |
| 06.30.05 (3:37 pm) [edit] |
Good afternoon Boys and Girls!There are reasons for everything. Right? Even though things happen for reasons we can't even fathom half the time, we're supposed to accept them happening unquestioningly. Or, if we do question them and we don't receive answers that are either complete enough or satisfying enough to us - and there's nothing we can see to do about it - we're just supposed to go merrily on our way, always looking toward tomorrow and gleefully (in order to stay sane) act as though it's just fine and dandy that we've come away empty-handed in the answer department. This problem, which is fairly universal, is the basis of faith for many ultra-religious folks. They simply get tired of not getting satisfactory answers to their questions, so they get themselves the pat answer to everything unanswerable. Have something bothering you that you can't handle? Get the ultimate panacea! Or, changing the subject... I had an acquaintance who was a therapist; a psychologist. In conversation I suggested that I was worried that too many prescriptions for this whole new family of anti-depressants were being handed out, too easily, and often with too little information being provided to the patient with regards to how the drugs will (or could) affect them long term - as well as the side effects that they should expect to deal with. I know that this is at least partially true. Now, I didn't make this up, and I didn't say it with any more conviction than one can have from gleaning the information they have from their own life experiences and from what information is widely available to we lay-people... (Although I must say, there is tons of information out there - some of it, even here on the web! (shock!) and I had reason to be fairly sure of some of it.) After all, it's not like I'm the first person to express such concerns, and let's face it, if they (la drug companies) had it "right" they wouldn't be coming our with new formulations every two minutes that either don't have this side effect or that; or don't cause suicide quite as often; - or whatever! I mean really, the formula for basic aspirin has remained the same for generations! Plus, none of these drugs that I'm talking about have been on the market long enough that anyone really has a clear idea about what the long-term use is going to do to the individuals who take them ten or twenty, or thirty years later, or for that matter, what the ramifications for society as whole might be... However, turns out you shouldn't offer an opinion to people who know more than you do about something lest it come off as being offensive... Oops! You especially don't refer to them as... (I'm cringing at my own stupidity here, and swearing on my... on someone's grave, that I was just being light and kidding around when I said it...) um... happy pills. Should you do something that foolish, you'll get a terse reply that not one of the pills in question has the effect of making someone "happy", and that the offensive and cavalier use of such a derogatory term obviously proves that whoever would stoop to such language does not recognize or appreciate the horrid difficulties some of the people who take these drugs deal with on an everyday basis. It was then, having stepped in it, I started to look for a Kleenex to wipe the poop off my shoe. (Though lately, just about everything I do seems to offend someone, so what the heck!) Be exceptionally good to everyone! That's an order! |
| Days, weeks, months, years |
| 06.28.05 (7:09 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls! surrogate here. Over the fourth of July weekend, I'll be seeing a friend I used to spend an awful lot of time with. I'm sure we'll have lots of things to talk and reminisce about. We were actually engaged to sisters, though he and my ex's sister never ended up tying the knot. For years, in fact, there seemed to be a rift between us because he felt that when he and my ex sister-in-law broke up, I wasn't as supportive of what he was going through as I might have been. And, considering we'd already been close friends for years at that point, and considering that, in fact I did sort of distance myself from the situation; he was right. Looking back on it, all I really remember, it being over twenty-five years ago now, was that I feared a soap opera developing, and I was afraid of being seen as taking sides. With my own marriage and kids possibly in the balance, (since it was, after all, my wife's sister) I didn't think I could afford to be seen as partial one way or the other, and certainly not in my friend's corner if I wanted a peaceful life with my ex's side of the family, always, as it turned out, a losing battle. In retrospect, I should have made a hell of a lot more effort to at least be there for him than I did. It was a lousy thing to, in essence, cut him off, for expedience' sake. As I age a bit, I'm constantly faced with things from my past that I wish I'd handled differently. Oh, there have been a few horrible things along the way that I SHOULD feel bad about, but those are few and far between. I'm talking about situations that, as they arose, I gave great thought to and tried my best to handle correctly, that still end up looking like boneheaded miscalculations with the perspective of hindsight; something I write about a lot in other venues. Funny, It doesn't embarrass me to admit the mistakes at all, perhaps because I don't have to get specific about them to talk about them generally, and I'm assuming that we all eventually come to this point in our lives... perhaps more than once. But who knows!? I have no real desire to be "young again" or even any younger than I am. Hell, most of the time I don't feel much different than I did when I was eighteen - but I truly do feel like I'm at least a little smarter now, and certainly not as naive. So. Sometimes I ask myself; do I feel this way (a tad bit wiser) because of the mistakes I've made and may have learned from? - or in spite of them? -Or, is it just age itself that makes me think I'm any smarter at all, and is that feeling simply another cruel trick of life that's nothing more than the earliest signs of dementia, or Alzheimer's or worse, the vestiges of a life at least partially wasted? Hope not! Be good to everyone. Thanks to Jennjr for this link. Please pass it on. http://www.afsc.org/iraq/movi... |
| Never judge a travel trailer by it's cover... instead, check the seat covers. |
| 06.26.05 (12:17 pm) [edit] |
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Good afternoon Boys and Girls! Sunday afternoon here in the Midwest and all is well. There are some pork something-or-others in the oven that smell great; the sun is out; and it's not nearly as hot as yesterday, so I'm not quite sticking to the seat as I type... - a good thing, because I look so silly walking around with the chair attached to my backside. I've been looking for an inexpensive travel trailer and this morning I thought I might have stumbled onto what I was after... and perhaps I still have as long as I decide I don't mind doing some serious redecorating prior to ever taking the thing on any longer of a trip than back to the house to take care of that very work. Saw it sitting there by the side of the road with price tag proudly displayed on faded fluorescent poster board; telling me it had been for sale at least long enough for the fade to have taken place. My heart fluttered. It was - it IS - in SUCH nice shape. I mean, one glance and I'm doing the "Wait a minute... NO WAYYYY! COOL!" thing as I pulled off the road onto the shoulder to check it out. Hmmm... no bumps or obvious bruises. Kicked the tires... (Who knows why...) -looked at the visible mechanical features and still was taken aback trying to imagine why someone would be giving this thing away. Even the paint and graphics were in good shape. What gives? I tried the door. Open. Cool! Opened it and immediately knew why it hadn't sold. First, let me say it was in as good a shape on the inside as it was on the outside. Clean, neat as a pin, and.... (gulp) It was OBVIOUSLY owned by a proudly Gay man. Now, people, far be it from me to start down this path, and perhaps I'm wrong here, but, well, I'm not, and I'm not judging anyone here. Okay? I'm just telling you what I saw. EVERYTHING that wasn't "done" (originally and from the factory, I'd guess)in that late seventies particle board and veneer stuff(in that dark cheap paneling tone that just about every travel trailer or RV I've ever seen from that era seems to be finished with) was either super-bright pink (curtains, bedding, seat covers - including the driver's and passenger's seats up front; oh and the toilet-seat cover) or if it was a "non-fabric" surface, was festooned with every type of rainbow sticker and applique that marketers have seen fit to produce and sell, well, where ever they sell the stuff. And, I'm sorry, but I laughed out loud. It was soooo over the top. I could just imagine the dozens of other people who'd probably stopped to look at the thing before me, as excited as I was when they'd done the "eyebrow furrow of disbelief" upon seeing the price, and pulling over.... and then every single one of them rushing away in various forms of shock. I mean I have gay friends, and unless I don't know them as well as I think I do, not ONE of them would be caught dead in this thing... this thing is Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole-character gay. So, I've left a message with the guy, who's voice mail voice also feeds into the stereotype, in hopes to find out more about it, and to ask what type of adhesive remover he'd suggest for a week-long rainbow removal project if I buy it... and whether he'll sell it for ten percent less than he's asking.
...be good to everyone. |
| think corn cob pipes, tattered hats, and shotguns... |
| 06.24.05 (5:12 pm) [edit] |
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Good late-afternoon everyone! Friday. Hot. Tired. Brain freeze. How is that possible? I want to write about what Karl Rove said the other night but I'm too annoyed to do much more than say that I wasn't surprised, or even offended. When a slimy lying scorpion of a human being makes fun of other people for not being slimy enough, there's really no reason to take offense, even if what they are saying isn't so. ................................... "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Karl Rove ................................... Paraphrased: after 9-11 conservatives got ready for war while liberals wanted to put up wanted posters and call Dr. Phil for his take on the matter. The truth is that conservatives did want war, no matter if the main thrust of their war would have nothing to do with the capture of the parties involved in the attack.... old news - sorry. But there is another side to what Rove implied; he complained that liberals wanted to "understand" our attackers, as though that's bad thing. In no way am I justifying the attacks, but people don't just do that sort of shit because they "hate our freedom." Perhaps if we were a tad more sensitive to WHY people get pissed at this country, and didn't walk around being so friggen' proud of our ability to force our will anywhere in the world, and at any time, maybe we wouldn't be so reviled by some of the same folks who, in years passed, thought of us a benevolent benefactors. I mean really, you think anyone in the Taliban would have attacked the twin towers if we were minding our own business to a far greater degree? NO! Now I know those of you out there who have trouble with subtleties may think I'm suggesting that we "deserved" to be hit, and I certainly am not. But damn it, our response to this attack has been so calculatingly misguided and over the top, that who's to say we won't "deserve" the next one? -or the one after that. It may not come till the children of the people we are now killing have grown into a bunch of U.S. hating "legacy bombers" - which people like Karl Rove are gleefully creating many of in the generations to come. Some of them will be smart too. Maybe even a few nuclear physicists - and brilliant young people who think biological weapons are just the ticket to use on old enemies who treated their parents as nothing more than scorpion food. Mr. Hatfield? Meet Mr McCoy. And one more thing... Conservatives prepared for war how exactly? By buying stock in defense contractors' companies and then making sure that most of the really good contracts were given out without bidding to those same contractors? By lying to the poor recruits about what their roles would be in the military and how they'd be cared for both while overseas and when they get back home? By giving a big'ole tax cut to the very richest of people - the first one during war in the history of the country? (Hell, probably the world...) By equating questioning their policies in any way, shape, or form with being "unpatriotic?" Please. Gee thanks Karl! - George! We'll all be so much safer after you've guys have worked your magic. Sorry for sounding cynical. Maybe I'm just tired... or maybe Karl Rove is indeed a super intelligent form of pond scum. (I must be tired, I'm calling people names!) Be good to everyone. |
| Backyard Baseball |
| 06.22.05 (7:50 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls. I was "tagged" to write five things I miss from my childhood. I'm not sure I miss much, though I have a lot of fond memories. I think I'll just write a little about one that pops into my head frequently. When I was eight or nine years old, back in...(he covers mouth and mumbles...) our back yard was "the stadium" for our neighborhood's two-man-team "pitcher's-out-for-first" baseball league. It was organized (by us), competitive, and more fun than you can imagine. We made schedules, kept statistics and charted each inning. It seems to me that most "seasons" were about two weeks long. Sometimes there would be a dozen kids back there in this tiny yard, though the way we set it up, only four kids could play at a time. The rest - members of other teams - were there to "scout" for their next battle against one of the two teams playing - or that was what we told ourselves. It was a blast. We were already too big to be able to keep from easily hitting the ball over the fence in the small yard and it had started to become an annoyance for the two neighbors behind us that we were constantly climbing the fence to retrieve balls. My Dad came up with this rule: If you hit the fence in the air; it was a home run. If, however, you hit the ball OVER the fence; it was three outs (or whatever number you had left in that half inning) plus you lost any and all runs you'd scored that inning! We hated it at first, since everyone wants to hit the ball as hard as you can. Quickly, though, it taught us to hit line drives and control where we hit the ball, which served many of us well for years to come playing in games at full sized diamonds, plus it made the scores of the games really close. In the back yard, first base was a Japanese Plum tree, second was the end of an old wooden spool from the telephone company that my dad had painted like a target and propped at a slight angle against the back fence to serve as a pitch-back (for that purpose he'd bought some cool rubber balls the size and weight of a baseball... HOURS I spent throwing at that target!), and third base was the one of the angled supports of the Dark green swing-set that my sister would usually be playing on while we did the serious business of pretending to be Al Kaline, or Norm Cash, or my favorite, Bill Freehan. Home plate was in front of the base of a Pear tree that bore so much fruit that by September, when we'd rush home from school to play a while before dinner, we'd have to spend at least five or ten valuable minutes fighting off the bees picking up the over-ripe fallen pears before we started, or when we stepped on them they'd turn the area as slippery as the ice from the rink that would follow, in a few months. The pear tree also served as "the bleachers" while the picnic table, off to the side, was "the box seats." It wouldn't be unusual for four or five kids to be sitting in that tree, good-naturedly taunting the active players - and not infrequently catching foul balls right in their perches; then nonchalantly tossing them back to the pitcher/infielder/first-b aseman. Our bat-rack was the hurricane fence off to the right; the batting teams' gloves were hung on nails pounded into the end of the picnic table's top, and.... my Dad put up lights! "I beat that throw!" "No way. You're out!" "Aw man! That stinks." (The pitcher was the ump too!) Be good to everyone! |
| Just a little story... |
| 06.21.05 (7:34 am) [edit] |
|
Good morning Boys and Girls! surrogate here with a little story. Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a young prince who didn't like to learn, didn't like to read and whose life wasn't going as he'd planned it. "I'm going to be a great man." he'd say to himself every morning as he looked in the mirror and smiled. While his friends were at school, and in war, and later, in trades and professions they'd learned by working hard, the prince seemed to stumble at every turn, failing miserably at everything he tried. And though the defeats took their toll in ways that were not especially healthy for the young prince, his response to the setbacks was admirable. He'd look in the mirror every morning and say to himself, "I'm going to be a great man." And he'd smile, sure it was so. Sometimes, when he was by himself, he thought that maybe he should read about things, to learn about the world and its history, but he still didn't like to read, it was so boring. So instead, he made friends who promised to do his thinking for him; friends who promised to help him become a great man. This worked well! He let his friends tell him what he should care about and which side of an issue he should take. This was quite a relief to the young prince and because of it, soon he was able to do things that many people would have been horribly ashamed of, but because his friends had assured him that these were things great men did, he was able to do them over and over and over again, and with a smile! His friends knew that by helping the prince get what he wanted, eventually, surely they would get what they wanted! And so they too smiled and slapped his back and told him that indeed, he was getting closer every day to becoming what he'd always wanted to be. Someday soon, they said, someday very soon, he would be great. Soon he was able to do and say ANYTHING whether or not it was so; as long as it sounded like something, to his ears anyway, that a great man might say. In fact, that was how it was decided WHAT he would say about something. There was only one problem with this sort of thing, which was, because he really didn't care about anything - and only that what he said about it sounded like something a great man would have to say about it - sometimes he would garble his words and sound silly and foolish. His friends told him not to worry about it. They'd make sure that only people who wanted him to become great would be allowed to talk to him or ask him questions. As long as he only talked to people who loved him, it didn't matter what he said anyway; they just loved being around him! And so, he was happy again! Soon everything he did, whether right or wrong, (which by now was all the same to him) he did so brazenly and without remorse that indeed some of the simpler people started to think, just as his friends had told him would happen, that only a great man could do such things and smile afterward! And those people decided that he should be king. And so it it came to be. Once king, he depended even more on his friends because he still didn't like hard work. He complained about it even to his subjects. So, his friends governed, and they used the same principles that had gotten them all there in the first place! As far as they were concerned, those principles were working just fine and dandy! The way it worked was simple too! They'd decide what they wanted to do, and then they'd just do it! it was fun! If information that one of the things they had planned wouldn't be too good, they'd tell people that whoever had provided the information was vile! - Or sometimes, they'd just ignore the information, which meant the information did not exist! See? Fun! This worked so well, that even when things were not going well at all, the king was still able to smile every morning when he looked in the mirror and say, "I am now a great man. I am now a great man. I am now a great man." Sometimes he would try to look very serious when he said it, and he'd try out different expressions to see which one made him look the most great. He thought that when he furrowed his brow just right, he looked about as serious as a real great man might, and when he got it just so, he called his wife into the bathroom to show her. She smiled too. One thing bothered him though. The king had always told his friends that the most important thing about being a great man was because if you were truly great, you got to lead an army into war and squash and kill things. Well, not the King himself, of course. HE sure wasn't going into any battles, but surely but some of his more trusting subjects could be sacrificed. He asked his friends to help make it so. And so they did. The war only lasted a couple of weeks though and when he was sure it was over, the King stood on a great Battleship, set his jaw and furrowed his brow, trying out that face from the bathroom his wife had liked so much. Then, wearing a fierce battle jacket to show how brave he was to have sent his subjects into the fray, he proclaimed a mighty victory, as any great man would. The end. Be good to everyone... Contact us at justplainoldjesus@gmail.com |
| Got a call... |
| 06.20.05 (6:03 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls! Hadn't heard from Jesus in three weeks. Turns out he was invited on a cruise up through whatever that passage is up in Alaska, and he couldn't stop telling me how pretty it was. Walked on a Glacier and Went to Kodiak Island to see the bears. Said it was just an incredible trip. So he finally gets done telling me all about it and I asked him if he was staying out West for a while or what? He said, that no, he had to come back this way for a couple of of days and then wants to head down to Guantanamo Bay to check out the prison situation. He said that he talked to a couple of released prisoners and they assured him that conditions there and methods being used to get information out of the people being held there are at least as bad as what's been being bandied about in news reports. I asked him if there is ever a time when the ends justify the means, and if so, wasn't this one of those times? - although I didn't ask it in those words exactly. What I asked was this: "Jesus, what if those people they have down there are really all terrorists, or at least terrorist sympathizers? If they are, don't we have to do anything we can to figure out what they know so we can stop future attacks?" He chuckled a little bit at my question. "surrogate," he said, "first of all, anything these people might know is moot. What you have to remember, is that when you treat people in a manner that is less than loving and humane, even if they themselves don't retaliate, or even if the people they're associated with don't retaliate, what happens is that OTHER people, who may not have even been part of whatever the initial beef was that caused all this crap, will be outraged, and they and their children and their childrens' children will start to hate your country for, what in their minds, are damn legitimate reasons." "So then," I started to reply, but he cut me off. "Wait. Let me finish. See what people don't understand, is that when I said - as so many others throughout history have also said - that we should love each other... and even our enemies, it wasn't rhetorical. It was, in fact, the soundest defense policy ever conceived for any nation on earth smart enough to figure out that they could save a whole lot of manpower, armaments, and hell, stress even - and for sure a whole lot of lives - if they'd just quit treating other people like they were grains of sand, instead of human beings." "But, Jesus...?" He wasn't done. "Remember when you were a kid? Who did EVERYONE want to beat up? And I mean everyone." "Um... the bully?" "Exactly." "Oh..." I said. "So you mean...?" "I mean, that if this nation learned to turn the other cheek a little, you'd be a safer country by FAR.' "But Jesus, how do you...?" He cut me off again. (He can be a little rude when he's on a roll.) "How can you do this? Easy. Three things. Quit thinking the world is your pantry. You want something? Fine. Buy it or trade for it. If someone doesn't want to do business with you? That's THEIR right. Figure out another way to get what you need or, better yet, figure out another way to do whatever it is you're trying to do so that you don't need whatever it was any more, anyway. Second. Walk gently when you are in other peoples' homes. I keep wondering how Americans would like it if another country treated you folks they way you act when your armed forces are in another country. Ever hear of the concept of being a guest? Or, in too many cases with you guys, uninvited guests? With guns? Please. Third, and most importantly. Learn some humility. Quit thinking that just because you're a big rich country, that somehow you're more important than anyone else. If you want to help people, which is a wonderful thing, do it because you can; not so that later you'll get some big payoff. ...like.. well for example, I hate the term "emerging nations." "Why?" "Well, It sort of implies that until a country is ready to trade with you and Europe in some substantial way, that they aren't even worth squashing under your big'ole greedy feet." "Geez," I said. "Bein' a little harsh aren't you?" "I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes that's my job. Hell surrogate, all I'm saying is what you say at the end of every post you write." "Huh? Be Good to everyone?" "Yes. Exactly. Be good to everyone. It really IS just that simple. If your foreign policy was based on that simple phrase, hell, you'd never be attacked again by anyone. What would be the point? Oh, yeah," and he laughed out loud as he said this. "I forgot... They hate you for your freedom. Hah! Oh man. Hey surrogate, I've gotta go." he said. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Oh, and surrogate?" "Yes?" "You know...." "Yeah. I know. I'll try." I hung up the phone. Be good to everyone. (It just makes sense.) |
| Poor Kid. |
| 06.18.05 (4:59 pm) [edit] |
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Folks, I'm a member of the Progressive Blog Alliance. I cross post some of the more serious things I write there. Every now and again someone there has something to say that it would simply be silly of me to try to improve on. (If nothing else, I know my limitations.) Terrance is a sincere, good hearted guy who does a good job looking out for his fellow Gay folks. If you have time, please read Terrance's Blog posting http://pbahq.smartcampaigns.c... and then either follow a few of the links he has there, or at least read this one below. http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=7428306" title="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=7428306" target="_blank"http://blog.myspace.com/index... Oh, and anyone out there with big readership who would like to spread the word on this one, feel free to link to Terrance's blog. (Bear? Alms? Lynne? Red?) Be good to everyone. |
| Even the Wicked Witch of the West's theme would have been less annoying. |
| 06.18.05 (4:00 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls! It's early! surrogate here with heavy eyelids. I set an alarm on my cellphone the other day for 4:45 a.m. because I had to get up that early the next morning. This morning, however, was the fourth morning in a row that I've been awoken at the same time, because, until just now, I'd done these things, in order, each of the last THREE mornings, on none of which, by the way, did I NEED to be up at all before my usual time to rise which is about 6:00...and at which time I wake up on my own, without having my day started by a Sousa march, scored for marching band but taken up three octaves so that there is absolutely no way one might be able to either ignore it, or get back to sleep after having heard it, interrupting, what may have been, up to that point, a extremely pleasant dream. (Which is why you chose it as your "there is no friggen way anyone could sleep through this noise" ring tone from the preprogramed and included internal "playlist" for the alarm feature of your cell phone in the first place.) (1.) hear piercing electronic beep version of full brass and drum sections playing "the Stars and Stripes forever.' (2.) Curse. Ignore phone. Cover head with pillow. (3.) Three seconds later curse again as awareness hits that, "oh shit, I forgot to turn off that damned alarm on my phone last night before I went to bed. I'd better get up and do it right now (before it wakes up people in Australia.) (4.) You do turn off alarm but pressure on your bladder (that you hadn't noticed till you got up) makes you decide you'll run to the john a second and fiddle with the little internal scheduling thingy to make sure the alarm feature itself is turned off when you're done in the bathroom. Man, coffee sounds good. mmm. Wonder if I got any email? Oh cool, a funny comment on my blog. Hah! Man. I'm hungry, then I'd better get to it...... (5.) Start process again tomorrow.. Oh well, I was going to write a piece on racism, but I spotted this on Big Pun's blog and I stole it (without permission, by the way) since I think it sums it up pretty nicely anyway. "On racism... "People say, 'I think we should love all people, whether they be black, white, purple or green. Wait a minute... Purple or green? You gotta draw the line somewhere. TO HELL WITH PURPLE PEOPLE! Unless they're choking, then for the love of god help them." Oh boy. Just my luck, they'll find a tribe of purple people somewhere who'd never seen any other folks before, and, once blog savvy, (six days after introducing them to television) one of them will come across this post, and I'll have offended them. Sorry purple people. I was just kidding. Be good to everyone.... yes... (even purple people.) |
| One more go'round for Terri... |
| 06.16.05 (2:21 pm) [edit] |
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Good afternoon boys and girls. surrogate here, chomping at the bit. I'll make this short - if not sweet. Without revisiting the whole Terri Shaivo situation in depth, this last week, tests done on Mrs. Schaivo's brain conclusively showed that she would never have come out of the coma she was in - as well as showing that she'd never been abused before the incident that proceeded her coma... at least to an extent that would have caused the situation (and would have showed up in the the testing), as had been claimed by those who felt she needed to be kept alive indefinitely. The items on the constantly changing list of reasons they used to push their viewpoint, in the time honored tradition of folks who lack real integrity, (whereby they add to and/or change the supposed reasons that they should get their way as they dream them up) were generally focused on their belief that (a) it was all her husband's fault in the first place, and later (b) even if it wasn't, now he was just out for money. To this end they claimed that Terri's death would be murder. This goof-ball priest, who's rhetoric on the subject (for the other side) makes mine look tame by a mile, has now decided that in the wake of his claims that one fine morning in the not too distant future, she might very well might wake up wanting to play bridge or go bun-gee jumping, has decided, rather than accepting the findings and moving on to, what? -oh I don't know... maybe helping those who are help-able? -he's continuing to harp on the "murder" claim. And without knowing exactly how to respond, I can tell you that it makes me sick. Last night I was talking to a friend about violence in general and violence against women in particular. To my mind, murder is about as violent an act as one person can perform on another - and to accuse someone of it, knowing full well that you're doing so for no other reason that to create violent feelings within the hearts of those who, like you, are nuts, is a crime. I'd like to see this guy locked up for slander, inciting riots and on general principles just to get him the hell off the streets - and out of any sort of religious leadership role, where his voice, like so many others of his ilk, is especially poisonous. http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=" title="http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=" target="_blank"http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewC...%3E%3E%3ECulture%3E%3E%3E archive%3E%3E%3E200506%3E %3E%3ECUL20050615d.html Read this article about him if you like. ...Be good to everyone. |
| Are you friggen' kidding me? |
| 06.14.05 (6:03 pm) [edit] |
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Good evening all. surrogate here. In the last two days I've heard four or five truly disturbing micro-news items that I really don't want to enumerate because doing so will simply depress the hell out of me - and anyone else with a conscience; but... There are some groups in this country that must be made up of either truly stupid; or completely evil people. Or maybe... well, can you be both? For my own sanity's sake, I'll say no. Some idiotic fundamentalist preacher is going around shouting and stirring up his "flock" (as well as a few like-minded dolts with the prefix "Rev." in front of their name) pushing forward a cute little suggestion that Gay people ought to have to wear a visible sign of some sort to "warn" people that they're gay. Do I even need to address this? Hello? Adolph? 1938? There is a congressman - one of OUR AMERICAN congressmen - who has introduced a bill to make it mandatory to inform the police of anyone you know that has used, procured, sold or possessed any sort of illegal drug within twenty-four hours of finding out the information if (and this part I'm not real clear on...) there is a child sharing a residence with the offender. Failure to do so would result in a minimum mandatory two year prison sentence, with a maximum of ten years AND there is a huge fine attached to the prison sentence. Finally! A way I can get back at that neighbor I hated fifteen years ago! Or maybe a mechanic who overcharged me! Or a teacher who gave me a low grade back in Junior High who I still hold responsible for my not having gotten into some college.... Or... Or... (Can you imagine? And we pay this jerk's salary?) There is a new crop of flag burning laws being bandied about with various stiff penalties attached to each version. Let me paraphrase philosoraptor: ( http://philosoraptor.blogspot... ) I never wanted to burn a flag; hell, never even thought about it. In fact I'm pretty sure that about the only thing that would ever drive me headlong into a full-out let's-get-some-gasoline flag-burning frenzy - is a law against it. There are a couple of more items I should address, but... it's all too much. Oh... go to Kurt's blog and sign the letter to President Bush...please. (pretty please!) http://kurtmaddox.tblog.com/ ...Be good to everyone. |
| So what the hell pentameter is this? |
| 06.12.05 (1:25 pm) [edit] |
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Good afternoon Boys and Girls! surrogate here, Happy Sunday afternoon. With apologies to Bawdy for taking so long to get to this. We decided to have a "Fun With Poetry" deal, and then, of course, he hopped right on it and I.... well, here's my lame attempt. Adams and Jefferson, Franklin and Paine had differing views on most things; but what they agreed on, matters much more They'd not suffer the folly - of Kings No self righteous bullies would EVER rule here - so faith, from the state, was kept "split." Thank goodness; it's freed us for two hundred years - but-some zealots don't like it one bit. (Look) If mystical powers are your cup of tea Fine! - But THEY preferred reason! - and for us to accept scary folks gaining power is akin to us accepting treason. On REASON and LAW, this country was built - and those who say otherwise LIE! If we go along - just smile and nod The U.S. as we know it, will die. It's heading that way; were getting there fast. They've already started a five pronged attack! Choice and Gay Rights, and freedom of speech... A White House B.J - enough to impeach? Lies to justify HORRIBLE actions, - and murdered civilians? - "a minor infraction..." This Patriot Act was enacted too fast; - now privacy rights have eroded. Thousands of pages - all composed in just days? Right after the towers exploded? All that support for an emergency bill? -Not ONE of the senators read it. They accepted - in panic - a need for such laws. In a hunger for calm; they were fed it. (So.) When Jefferson wrote, so long ago, the words on which this land is founded; - don't you think he, and the rest of his peers - by our actions - would all be astounded! I think they'd be turning - hard - in their graves; the rest, that they earned, interupted. 'Cuz the folks we've entrusted to care for this land? They'd say; " These guys are corrupt(ed!)" Why the very idea of "Might making Right" Would upset all these great men completely. So now it's high time that we honor these men though, these days, we must do so... discretely! ...Be good to everyone. |
| A presidential speech some would like to hear... and then one I'd like to hear. |
| 06.09.05 (11:47 pm) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls. surrogate here. Our own good goins007 (a fellow blogger on tblog - my home site) posted a fake tongue-in-cheek presidential speech that evidently has been making its way around cyberspace. The premise is that it's a speech we'd LIKE to hear a President of the United States make (ANY president of the United States)... and soon. It's cute and worth reading for a number of reasons. http://goins007.tblog.com/ (I think it's his May 18th post) There are two main points. One is that, when made, the speech would be announcing that the war is officially over for the U.S. and that all the troops are about to be brought home mainly because congress has decided that enough money has been spent on the silly fiasco, and it's... well, it's just enough, already. I love it. Then the speech changes tone; pointing out that there are those countries that supported us in our efforts over there and that there were those that didn't - and that those who didn't would now be now on our everlovin' shit list as far as receiving any further aid from the good ol' U.S. Treasury. Further there are (admittedly mocking) mild threats included against Canada and Mexico if they don't shape up and tow the line... Which, frankly, is the kind of attitude that got us into the friggen' war in the first place. Many people in this country, and specifically in this administration seem to think that: (a) since we're a wealthy country, and those of us who were, were born here, that somehow it's a given that we each deserve all this country has and is - to the exclusion of the rest of humanity - and screw the rest of the planet... (b) if we want a situation handled in a certain manner, since we're the most powerful nation on earth, that we have the right to dictate how other countries used their resources (sic. military forces)... (c) we (the U.S.) can do know wrong (and when we do... see point (c).) (d) giving aid to countries obligates them to see things our way because... well, see (c) again. Maybe it's just because I can't stand the "If your not with us, you're against us..." attitude, but man, the rest of the speech just rubbed me the wrong way Look. I love this country. But, damn it, I love my kids too and when they did something wrong, I didn't let it go on. Didn't mean I didn't love'em. What it meant is that I loved 'em so much that I was willing to take the heat of them being upset with me for scolding them... which, naturally from time to time, they were. No one like to be brought up short. But... We are the (current) parents of this country. We are the parents of our own government. As parents, we have a responsibility to keep our government in line when it screws up. Let's get THIS on our report card: • plays nicely with others • cooperative • listens well Here's the speech I'd like to hear: "Folks, we're bringing our troops home. We are a great country and we've got too much to do to be diddling with other countrys' internal workings- at least with our military. After all, It's not what our military is for, and not what the people who serve there signed up for. - Frankly, we need'em ready at home. Maybe we'll use some of them for border patrol, or to check cargo ships that come into our ports... we'll figure it out. - We will, however, continue to work with governments and citizens all over the world where people suffer under ruthless leaders; we just won't attack anyone any more. Certainly if we're creative, we can find better ways to help those countries that need our help. As far as those countries that supported us in this effort? Thanks. Those countries that didn't? Oh well. Perhaps we should have listened to some of the REASONS you didn't support this war. Next time... Well, there won't be a next time... not like this, anyway. If you can read this, thank everyone throughout history who helped the English language evolve into such a practical way to communicate, and to all the teachers and parents out there who have taught their children to read. As to all you brave men and women who have been fighting this war longer than you were told you'd have to, with less than the finest equipment we could have provided you, and, sadly, for reasons that bore little resemblance to the truth? I, on behalf of a grateful nation, apologize. As President, I swear we'll make it up to you as best we can; with jobs that pay well, health care that's affordable, schools that are funded properly and Veteran's hospitals that are revitalized and well equipped and staffed....and finally with economic policies that are at least intended to be fair to all Americans. God bless you all, and God bless America." ...Be good to everyone |
| Memories doing jumping-jacks |
| 06.08.05 (9:13 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls. surrogate here. There are days and there are days. Today is one of those days where I'm having trouble staying "up." I know some of the reasons, and have a pretty good idea about the others, but it isn't fun. I'm sure everyone goes through something similar from time to time, or at least many of us do. (I've never trusted anyone who's happy all the time.) But... we DO go on, don't we? "Keep on keepin' on," we used to say, back in my hippie days. Sometimes snippets from our past(s) start jumping up and down in front of our eyes, screaming at us, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK! REMEMBER? HAH HAH! YOU CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT ME! YOU CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT ME! NAH NAH..." And the problem is, while they're jumping around, our ability to see where we're going is obscured - dangerously. When this happens, about all we can do is try to push the little bastards out of the way. Except, I'm pretty sure they work out about four hours a day - meaning they can be persistent little pricks - so you can't kill'em; they won't die! And sometimes when we've done it for a few hours; or days; or years... We just plain get tired. Well - I do, anyway. Be good to everyone. |
| Supreme Court decision on medical pot use |
| 06.06.05 (2:16 pm) [edit] |
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Hey everyone. What about this? http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap /20050606/ap_on_go_su_co/ scotus_medical_marijuana" title="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap /20050606/ap_on_go_su_co/ scotus_medical_marijuana" target="_blank"http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm... I feel for the people who need it. |
| Killing Civilians vs. B.J.'s... Which is worse? Hmmm... Tough call. |
| 06.05.05 (1:59 pm) [edit] |
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Good afternoon Boys and Girls... surrogate here, musing... Been thinking about double standards... Let's see. We've got a president who has either done the following things, or been accused of them and has either (a) not come close to proving they aren't so, or (b) has ignored questions about them entirely. • Gone A.W.O.L. from the military... • Started his first business with funds from the Bin Ladens... • Paid for an abortion for his own girlfriend (But he wants to deny reproductive rights for everyone else)... • Did lots of drugs including cocaine (which is fine except that he has no compassion for OTHER people who have exhibited the same behavior)... • Covered up steroid use by his employees (which some have said he supplied)... • Insisted that memos regarding death row inmates he was about to kill be no more than a page long (He killed 157 while Governor... more than any other Governor in seventy years)... • Set and enforced an economic policy that has resulted in the largest deficit ever owed by any entity, public or private, in the history of the world... • Made a decision to ignore any information that might have led to a different conclusion and attacked the sovereign nation of Iraq for reasons he KNEW to be false, that has, as the war drags on, killed at least 50,000 civilians and sixteen hundred American soldiers... • Continued to foster closer (almost incestuous) relations with Saudi Arabia than any other President in history; a country ruled by a tyrannical Royal family so ruthless that they show mercy to their subjects in just about the same manner Saddam did his people... • Virtually ignores the problem of North Korea, leaving it to other countries to deal with that scary country (even though they are a greater risk to world peace than Saddam ever was in his wildest dreams)... • Supports restricted freedom for Americans even within our borders while ignoring any suggestions to stem the tide of illegal immigration that might show how vulnerable our borders really are... • Allows millions upon millions of cargo containers to enter our ports without being even minimally checked. • Considers the unborn far more important than the..uh, born, and uses voodoo-like religious beliefs to justify his actions. • Will veto a bill to allow government funding of research that harvest stem cells from embryos even though the wasted embryos will be flushed or tossed over 99% of the time if they're not used for that purpose... • Him talk bad... no use language very wellness... (okay, so this one is just for fun)... I could go on another page or two. Let's see if I get this. And Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied about a blow-job. Nixon was forced to resign (and easily would have been impeached) because he help orchestrate the cover-up of a bungled plan to bug the Democrats' Presidential Election Campaign Headquarters along with a couple of ancillary crimes... Can't we at least start a friggen' inquiry into this guy Bush's overall conduct? Isn't there a "General Principals" clause? Hey, Ken Star. I don't like you, but.. you busy? We got a live one. Be good to everyone. |
| Uncle Larry |
| 06.02.05 (8:15 pm) [edit] |
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Good evening. surrogate here. When I was first married, I was a very busy guy. I ran a little business that took up my days and some weekends. A year or so into my marriage, an opportunity came up, and I bought a little carry-out pizza joint near our house, which meant I was busy most nights too. My Aunt and Uncle invited my wife and me to dinner one night, and I made arrangements to take the night off to go. I don't remember why, but, for some reason, the arrangements I'd made fell through and we had to cancel, pretty close to the last minute. I called my Uncle to explain and he told me he understood, and why didn't we make it the same night the following week. I agreed and went back to work. I don't even know if I told my wife about the rescheduled plans - in fact I'm sure I didn't, because she would have reminded me. We had a baby by then and she was busy too, but I'm sure she would have reminded me, so I must not have told her. I completely forgot about it. The next week came, and on the night we were to have gone to dinner, at around eight-thirty, I received a call at the restaurant from my Uncle, oblivious till I heard his voice. He was annoyed and hurt, and told me, in no uncertain terms, that it wouldn't happen again. And it never did. I'd pretty much ruined the relationship between us and it would be many years before we'd be in their home again. Uncle Larry was a fixture around our house when I was growing up. He and my Dad were close for many years, though they were related only by marriage - they'd married sisters. We'd play ping-pong and basketball, and tons of touch football. For a few years, he and my Dad played golf together, but Larry gave up the game at some point; probably when he became a father, though I can't remember for sure. When I was young, Larry was in medical school and along with some other students ran a lab near the university. They were doing some sort of hearing testing on cats and monkeys and at the time I had a vague understanding of what they were trying to accomplish. I know that animal testing sounds horrible in today's climate, but at the time it was fascinating to me and my sister and all our cousins seeing all those animals, always missing one ear, but other than that seemingly quite content. And we did get to see them once in a while. Sometimes my Dad would take us to visit him there at the lab. We loved it! All that scientific equipment - and the soundproof room! Plus, even there, we'd always end up having a touch football game out in the parking lot with Larry quarterbacking one team, and my dad, the other. Great fun. The lab went through cats though. No denying it - and because of the sheer number of them constantly being cycled through the place, Larry learned to neuter the males. Eventually, this ancillary skill became useful to our entire extended family who, between us, always had a bunch of cats. The rule that evolved seemed to be that as long as whoever owned the kitty was willing to make the trip to the lab and was also willing to help out by holding it down while the gas put them out for the procedure, Larry would dutifully "fix" them too. (I can still remember grabbing my crotch in sympathetic horror the first time I watched the operation being performed on one of my own family's pets.) Then, I think in 1973, Nixon cut a whole bunch of funding for scientific research and poof! After many years on the project, and, if I remember correctly, less than a year from its scheduled end, everyone associated with the lab, all of whom were counting on the data they were so close to having finished collecting (to use for their doctoral theses) was left out in the cold, with nothing to show for their efforts except a bunch of one eared cats and monkeys. Because of the nature of the information they were trying to glean, without the final results, they were unable to draw any useful conclusions. It was a major setback and a waste. Always persistent, Larry finally did become an audiologist and along with my Aunt, raised three wonderful kids. They loved each other for over forty years. I know I missed out on a lot over the years because of my silly misplaced ambition and thoughtlessness over that dumb bit of careless treatment I showed the both of them. Oh well... Just another in a long line of regretful "what ifs." He was a good man and he died today. Be good to everyone. |
| Love means never having to say - (Censored by tblog) |
| 06.02.05 (8:44 am) [edit] |
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Good morning Boys and Girls! Jesus reporting this morning from sunny California! Came out to visit a couple of old friends and then, lo and behold, while I was here, out pops this news story about this old fella who was the secret "Deep Throat" source for Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Oh, no. Wait. They played'em in the movie. (Just kidding...) I'm writing this morning because last night, after dinner, the old couple I came to visit went for their evening walk and I'd asked if I could use the computer to check my email, and write a little. Believe it or not, I get LOTS of emails, and sometimes I get too far behind in reading and responding. Remember I have to spend a whole lot of energy these days reminding people about what I think is REALLY important, because so many silly folks have decided to corrupt my messages for political purposes. So, it's a strain sometimes. Anyway, I came across a link someone sent me almost two months ago that I hadn't checked out yet, and when I did, I was so relived! Check this out! http://www.alternet.org/story... I'm not so sure about the heaven stuff, but man, he gets a lot closer to what I've been trying to stress for two thousand years than these latter day inquisitors we have poisoning the brains of so many people who claim that I'm "coming back" to claim the earth, and all that silliness. Or, that Dad really created the world in seven actual days... oy. (Remember, Paul for one, was a convert... and for goodness sake, we've all been around ex-smokers or ex-druggies, or ex-something-or-others who are trying soooo hard to be good that they go a little crazy the other way. We know how over-the-top they can get!) Oh boy... I could go on for days. Just love one another. Love your enemies. Love Dad.... How do you love your enemies? Well. It's hard. But the first thing is: You don't kill them. And if you claim to love Dad, or me, please don't equivocate on that point. I didn't. Period. (Power always thinks...that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws. – John Adams) That's enough for now. Heck, you get those things taken care of on this planet and watch how fast it becomes the heaven everyone is so hopeful about! Be good to everyone! Email me at justplainoldjesus@gmail.com |
| Smile! Everybody Loves Deep Throat!. |
| 06.01.05 (1:33 pm) [edit] |
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Good afternoon Boys and Girls! surrogate reporting from... well, the basement, actually. Pretty neat that the guy who was Deep Throat from the Watergate scandal has allowed his name to come out. Poor old fella, evidently, he's not doing well, but he, along with some other brave people, really made a difference in the history of this country by having the stones to blow the whistle on what, as it's turned out, was a huge conspiracy. - And all because someone thought that making a mistake was an unforgivable sin, so instead of coming clean, poor old Dick Nixon - along with his minions - tried to cover up the screw up. Bit him in the proverbial behind huh? And look what it did to the country. Millions of people lost faith in the way our government operated. And, millions more, apologists for the events and the President, took the other side and decided that when and if they got into power again and when and if they screwed up again, they'd do a far more efficient job of keeping the citizenry in the dark. So, this time, when caught in lies so heinous that if the president was a Democrat and the House and Senate were Republican controlled, they'd be impeaching him so fast our collective heads would spin, they've taken a far more sensible approach. They don't defend, they don't deny and they don't explain. They just (well, I call it this...) Cheney us. They act as if we're in the wrong to even question them!.. And, it's damn smart. It's sure working! I'm pretty sure that if and when video tapes come out that show George W. and crew making jokes about how much fun they're gonna have having a little war in Iraq, that they wouldn't even bother trying to say the tapes were phony! Nope. Instead, they'll just leak a story that Madonna makes a habit of f*cking old defrocked priests... and call their buddies at G.E. and Westinghouse, and Sinclair, and Fox - and all the rest in the "liberal media" - and suggest that the Madonna story has more legs than "that silly videotape." "Plus" they'll whisper, "we heard that Madonna knows Michael Jackson PERSONALLY!" How about lie detector tests, Mr President? You be willing to take one? Hah! Sorry... this sort of jumps around... Hopefully the leaps and the reasoning I used to make'em are obvious enough. Be good to everyone! |
Cost of the War in Iraq
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