The summer doldrums have arrived. The heat has creeped into the triple digits here on the southern plains and the air can best be described as molten.
Hunkering down in a darkened apartment with the air conditioner going full bore while watching episodes of "Ghost Hunters" play endlessly on cable seems perfectly sensible. Indeed, the less movement the better. Sip gently and slowly at the gin and tonic and pray to God that the can of Glade air freshner covers up the stench of that Oliva Series G robusto before the wife gets home.
Everything seems to have settled into slow motion. The basketball playoffs ended badly. Despite promises to the contrary no charges have been filed in the murder of Carina Saunders. Alina Fitzpatrick's death appears to be as much of a mystery now as it did last November. There is no word as to when the trial, or trials will begin in the Kelsey Bransby killing. Jerry Sandusky is being serenaded nightly in a Pennsylvania lockup by fellow inmates. In Norway, Anders Breivik is still as crazy as a bed bug on acid.
The only real action at this moment comes from the pollsters who are parsing percentages on the presidential race. In their unending desire to predict how the election will come out they continue to spew numbers left and right.
According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll Barak Obama's slim lead over Mitt Romney has remained fairly steady. Right now it stands at 47% to 44%.
The break down of the numbers really show no surprises, well almost none. Obama leads among African Americans 92% to 1%. Among women his lead is 52% to 39% and in the Latino community it is 66% to 26%. He also leads in the contest among independents 40% to 36%.
Romney has a commanding lead among the Tea Party mob 94% to 1%. Also, and you knew this was coming, white voters prefer him to Obama 52% to 38%. He also leads in three other categories that all start with the word "white", but why beat a dead horse. By now we all get it. The same people who say George Zimmerman is innocent aren't going to vote for the president.
Where it gets dicey for the Mittster is in some of the swing states. The poll shows that in Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, Romney trails Obama 50% to 42%.
In those same states 18% of voters think Romney's business experience is a positive, but 33% consider it a negative. MSNBC's report speculates this is because Romney has "yet to define himself" and credits Obama's attack ads. It could also be that in many of those locales voters understand that they are just the sort of people Bain Capital loved to layoff when they swallowed up various enterprises, gutted them, then walked away with millions in profits.
Finally there is this double edged sword. 58% of all Romney supporters say they are voting against Obama rather than for Romney. In other words, we don't necessarily think the guy is qualified, we just hate Obama so much we're willing to vote for anyone other than him. Although it is probably a stat that doesn't do much for Mitt's ego, he'll take it every day of the week. Any port in a storm and all that.
The election is still a long way off. Romney hasn't even hinted at his choice of a running mate, although it is obvious casting calls have been made. Many are reading for the part, but only one can be chosen.
Ultimately we are a fast food society that is subject to swooning over the newest version of pizza and the latest concoction at the local Subway sandwich shop. What happens right now, short of some sort of a complete mental breakdown on either candidate's part, will mean very little come November.
No, it won't be decided until after the conventions and the leaves begin to turn in October.
For now there is nothing to do, but lazily gaze at the poll numbers and wonder what sort of monster electric bill will be in the mail next month.
Keep the blinds closed and stay out of the heat. Save your strength for the hysteria that is out there on the horizon like a blooming, billowing, thunder head.
For now anyway, reflection is the watch word. Inaction should be the calling.
6-27-12
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Republican Party Goes Schizo and Pass the Cerveza
The republicans have a problem when it comes to immigration in general and they really have a problem when it comes to illegal immigration.
Huge numbers of them, that would be the blue collar, hourly wage earners, who have caved into their xenophobic instincts, are driven into raving fits when it comes to the vast Hispanic population. They don't even need to see an illegal immigrant to be pushed over the edge. Resentment and anger bubble to the surface every time they stop at an ATM machine and have to choose between a screen in Spanish, or English. They rant about jobs being stolen and a whole culture being swallowed up by foreigners. Their perception is that Latinos don't want to become Americans, they want to be Mexicans, or Hondurans, or Costa Ricans living in America. They see these people fleeing failed governments and economies, but then trying to impose many of the same bankrupt ideals here.
The republican establishment desperately needs this angry crowd at the polls in November. Without them they are staring down the shot gun barrel of an Obama second term.
Unfortunately, though they'll never admit it in public, or will at least dance around it, these same movers and shakers in the party--the business owners, the industrialists, the restaurateurs, the corporate farmers all want and need as many illegal immigrants as they can lay their hands on. If you own a construction company it is a hell of a lot cheaper to operate with immigrant labor than it is with home grown talent. Not only do you not have to pay them as much, but things like insurance and medical liability become non factors. In most instances you no longer have to worry about a union and if your accountant is good enough and you don't mind cutting a few legal corners you can even pay them under the table. At that point you don't have to worry about the feds getting involved in your life. Well, at least not until you get caught.
And if you are a consumer this all slides down to you. Think how much that western omelet and home fries would run you if the guys in the kitchen hadn't just climbed out of the windowless van from Vera Cruz. Picture the cost of that new roof if the company actually employed native tradesmen, rather than those hombres from Guatemala.
Yes, as a party the republicans are completely schizo on the issue of what to do with illegal immigrants.
That is why, other than one dude from Texas, they really didn't go into a frothing fit when the Supreme Court struck down large parts of Arizona's illegal immigration legislation today.
Curiously, the court left alone the part that says a police officer stopping someone is required to make efforts to verify that person's immigration status with the Feds. In most parts of the world this would be known as profiling. Somehow I doubt if an Arizona cop stops me outside of Tempe he, or she will try to make sure I'm not an illegal from Canada.
They did strike down the state requirement that all immigrants must register with the feds. And, in order not to take that profiling thing too far, the supremes declared it unconstitutional for state and local police to arrest people without a warrant even if the officer has probable cause to believe a person is illegal. In other words they can't run you in just because you speak Spanish, but not English.
They also struck down the statute--and this is my favorite because it is so perfectly republican--that makes it a crime for an illegal to either work, or seek work. Yes, lets not limit the labor pool here. After all, those heads of lettuce must be harvested at just the right moment.
The republican hierarchy is on a very thin rope here. They have to keep the lid on their lynch mobs when it comes to things like illegal immigration. Racism as an ideal is a fine thing, but you can't let it cut into the bottom line. Profits, after all, are everything.
The big boys have grown addicted to the tea party types. Watching them try to work with them is like watching a complete dipsomaniac trying turn away from the bar after one drink.
The lesson they are learning is simple: You can't live without them and sometimes you just can't make them shut up.
Cerveza por favor!
6-25-12
Huge numbers of them, that would be the blue collar, hourly wage earners, who have caved into their xenophobic instincts, are driven into raving fits when it comes to the vast Hispanic population. They don't even need to see an illegal immigrant to be pushed over the edge. Resentment and anger bubble to the surface every time they stop at an ATM machine and have to choose between a screen in Spanish, or English. They rant about jobs being stolen and a whole culture being swallowed up by foreigners. Their perception is that Latinos don't want to become Americans, they want to be Mexicans, or Hondurans, or Costa Ricans living in America. They see these people fleeing failed governments and economies, but then trying to impose many of the same bankrupt ideals here.
The republican establishment desperately needs this angry crowd at the polls in November. Without them they are staring down the shot gun barrel of an Obama second term.
Unfortunately, though they'll never admit it in public, or will at least dance around it, these same movers and shakers in the party--the business owners, the industrialists, the restaurateurs, the corporate farmers all want and need as many illegal immigrants as they can lay their hands on. If you own a construction company it is a hell of a lot cheaper to operate with immigrant labor than it is with home grown talent. Not only do you not have to pay them as much, but things like insurance and medical liability become non factors. In most instances you no longer have to worry about a union and if your accountant is good enough and you don't mind cutting a few legal corners you can even pay them under the table. At that point you don't have to worry about the feds getting involved in your life. Well, at least not until you get caught.
And if you are a consumer this all slides down to you. Think how much that western omelet and home fries would run you if the guys in the kitchen hadn't just climbed out of the windowless van from Vera Cruz. Picture the cost of that new roof if the company actually employed native tradesmen, rather than those hombres from Guatemala.
Yes, as a party the republicans are completely schizo on the issue of what to do with illegal immigrants.
That is why, other than one dude from Texas, they really didn't go into a frothing fit when the Supreme Court struck down large parts of Arizona's illegal immigration legislation today.
Curiously, the court left alone the part that says a police officer stopping someone is required to make efforts to verify that person's immigration status with the Feds. In most parts of the world this would be known as profiling. Somehow I doubt if an Arizona cop stops me outside of Tempe he, or she will try to make sure I'm not an illegal from Canada.
They did strike down the state requirement that all immigrants must register with the feds. And, in order not to take that profiling thing too far, the supremes declared it unconstitutional for state and local police to arrest people without a warrant even if the officer has probable cause to believe a person is illegal. In other words they can't run you in just because you speak Spanish, but not English.
They also struck down the statute--and this is my favorite because it is so perfectly republican--that makes it a crime for an illegal to either work, or seek work. Yes, lets not limit the labor pool here. After all, those heads of lettuce must be harvested at just the right moment.
The republican hierarchy is on a very thin rope here. They have to keep the lid on their lynch mobs when it comes to things like illegal immigration. Racism as an ideal is a fine thing, but you can't let it cut into the bottom line. Profits, after all, are everything.
The big boys have grown addicted to the tea party types. Watching them try to work with them is like watching a complete dipsomaniac trying turn away from the bar after one drink.
The lesson they are learning is simple: You can't live without them and sometimes you just can't make them shut up.
Cerveza por favor!
6-25-12
Saturday, June 23, 2012
The Bell Tolls for the Tickle Monster
In a moment of desperate fantasy last night, Joe Amendola, the defense attorney for Jerry Sandusky, asked Judge John Cleland to release his client to house arrest pending his appeal. Cleland petty much treated that proposal the same way he'd treat a fly settling on his forearm. Shortly there after, the former Penn State defensive coordinator and founder of The Second Mile Foundation was led away in handcuffs as a large crowd cheered.
It doesn't get any more appalling than this.
Sandusky set up the foundation in order to "help" at risk boys, many of whom had no idea what life with a father was like. He then systematically sodomized more than just a handful of them, traumatizing them beyond any one's capacity to understand. Scars will remain for entire lives. Therapists will be assured of constant work for years.
The final outrage in all this was that Sandusky's youngest adopted son, Matt came forward through his attorneys this week and accused his father of sexually abusing him also. Up until that moment Sandusky had every intention of testifying on his own behalf. When the prosecution let Amendola and the rest of the defense team know what would happen if he did, they quickly folded their cards. One can only imagine what went through Mr. Amendola's mind at that moment. The testimony all ready presented was damning enough, now here was his client's own son ready and willing to send his father away for the rest of his unnatural life. I suppose the only thing he could do at that point was start planning the appeal and begin praying that his client's checks don't start to bounce.
God only knows what Dorothy Sandusky's state of mind is at this point. The poor woman claimed until the very end she didn't believe her husband was capable of such behavior. Now she is faced with the fact the man she loves is going away forever, convicted of perhaps the most heinous of crimes and her own son is saying he is one of his victims.
Sentencing is scheduled in September. NBC is reporting the minimum Sandusky faces is 60 years. When you're 68 like Sandusky, that is known as throwing away the key.
Unfortunately, or not, this isn't over yet. Not only is Sandusky headed to a correctional facility, but others might be joining him soon. Perjury charges are being leveled at former athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz. They stand accused of lying to a grand jury about what they knew of Sandusky's lifestyle and tastes. Former Penn St. president, Graham Spanier, who was fired in November is under investigation also.
What were any of them, Joe Paterno included, thinking? Were they in such denial that they couldn't accept the growing body of evidence? Were they convinced they had to keep quiet so that the reputation of the university and its football program would remain as pure as heaven on earth? Or, did they just not give a shit?
Whatever the answer to those questions Penn State University now knows it is going to be paying out big bucks to all sorts of young men. The school issued a statement saying it is seeking to "fairly compensate the victims" and asked them to help, "facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct." In other words, it isn't a matter of whether the school is going to pay the victims, it is a matter of how much they are going to pay. Look for long and contentious negotiations to begin shortly. There is blood in the water and the feeding frenzy is about to start.
Meanwhile the man who described himself as the tickle monster to one of his accusers has been remanded to the sheriff's department. His attorney is going to argue that pre trial publicity tainted the jury pool beyond redemption and prevented any sort of fair hearing of the evidence. He will be trying to slay windmills.
Jerry Sandusky is gone. He is never going to see the light of day again.
The only question remaining is why didn't it happen sooner? There probably won't be a real answer to that, just more excuses.
However, as proven by that mob cheering Jerry Sandusky's incarceration, everyone who has witnessed this grotesque debacle is tired of excuses. As we all should be. More heads will roll. Bet on it.
6-23-12
It doesn't get any more appalling than this.
Sandusky set up the foundation in order to "help" at risk boys, many of whom had no idea what life with a father was like. He then systematically sodomized more than just a handful of them, traumatizing them beyond any one's capacity to understand. Scars will remain for entire lives. Therapists will be assured of constant work for years.
The final outrage in all this was that Sandusky's youngest adopted son, Matt came forward through his attorneys this week and accused his father of sexually abusing him also. Up until that moment Sandusky had every intention of testifying on his own behalf. When the prosecution let Amendola and the rest of the defense team know what would happen if he did, they quickly folded their cards. One can only imagine what went through Mr. Amendola's mind at that moment. The testimony all ready presented was damning enough, now here was his client's own son ready and willing to send his father away for the rest of his unnatural life. I suppose the only thing he could do at that point was start planning the appeal and begin praying that his client's checks don't start to bounce.
God only knows what Dorothy Sandusky's state of mind is at this point. The poor woman claimed until the very end she didn't believe her husband was capable of such behavior. Now she is faced with the fact the man she loves is going away forever, convicted of perhaps the most heinous of crimes and her own son is saying he is one of his victims.
Sentencing is scheduled in September. NBC is reporting the minimum Sandusky faces is 60 years. When you're 68 like Sandusky, that is known as throwing away the key.
Unfortunately, or not, this isn't over yet. Not only is Sandusky headed to a correctional facility, but others might be joining him soon. Perjury charges are being leveled at former athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz. They stand accused of lying to a grand jury about what they knew of Sandusky's lifestyle and tastes. Former Penn St. president, Graham Spanier, who was fired in November is under investigation also.
What were any of them, Joe Paterno included, thinking? Were they in such denial that they couldn't accept the growing body of evidence? Were they convinced they had to keep quiet so that the reputation of the university and its football program would remain as pure as heaven on earth? Or, did they just not give a shit?
Whatever the answer to those questions Penn State University now knows it is going to be paying out big bucks to all sorts of young men. The school issued a statement saying it is seeking to "fairly compensate the victims" and asked them to help, "facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct." In other words, it isn't a matter of whether the school is going to pay the victims, it is a matter of how much they are going to pay. Look for long and contentious negotiations to begin shortly. There is blood in the water and the feeding frenzy is about to start.
Meanwhile the man who described himself as the tickle monster to one of his accusers has been remanded to the sheriff's department. His attorney is going to argue that pre trial publicity tainted the jury pool beyond redemption and prevented any sort of fair hearing of the evidence. He will be trying to slay windmills.
Jerry Sandusky is gone. He is never going to see the light of day again.
The only question remaining is why didn't it happen sooner? There probably won't be a real answer to that, just more excuses.
However, as proven by that mob cheering Jerry Sandusky's incarceration, everyone who has witnessed this grotesque debacle is tired of excuses. As we all should be. More heads will roll. Bet on it.
6-23-12
Thursday, June 21, 2012
George Zimmerman on Tape
The defense team of George Zimmerman has just released a police video of him trying to explain what happened the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman, of course, claimed then and now the whole thing was a case of self defense. That he was viciously attacked by the unarmed Martin and that under the Florida stand your ground statutes he was completely justified in shooting him.
As always it depends on who you believe, or rather what you believe when it comes to reading the transcript of Zimmerman's account of the affair.
He says that as he was driving by that night he saw Martin, "leisurely looking" at a residence that had recently been burglarized. According to Zimmerman since it was raining he didn't understand why Martin wasn't rushing home. In his words, "I just felt like something was off about him." To put it another way, here was a black kid, hoodie up wandering at his own pace through a neighborhood that he didn't look like he belonged in. One that had suffered a string a recent break ins.
That is when things got complicated. According to Zimmerman he lost sight of Martin, drove around the block, got out to give the police an address and then was confronted by a particularly aggressive young black man.
He said to me, "Yo, you got a problem?" I said to him, "No, I don't have a problem, man."
In his words, "I reached into my pocket and I was looking for my phone and he punched me in the nose. And I fell backward, to the side, somehow I ended up on my back. He ended up on top of me and he just kept punching my face and head."
Zimmerman says that when Martin saw his gun he told him, a bit melodramatically, "You're going to die tonight."
"I just pinched his arm, grabbed my gun, I aimed it at him and fired one shot." After shooting the seventeen year old in the chest Zimmerman told police Martin said, "You got me here. You got me, you got it, something like that."
Zimmerman claims he was screaming for help while all this was occurring, but no one came to his aid.
Every poll taken in regard to the incident has shown that the majority of white people who read the MSNBC report and or actually take the time to watch the video, will believe George Zimmerman. The majority of black people will think it is all so much bull shit.
Here is what we know according to the police tapes of the conversations with Mr. Zimmerman that night. He refers to Martin and those who look like him as "punks" and complains that, "they always get away." He tells the police that Martin is running. The dispatcher, stunned and concerned asks him "are you following him." When Zimmerman tells him yes he is advised, "we don't need you to do that."
We also know that two separate audio experts analyzed the screams for help recorded over a neighbor's phone. Both concluded that it was not George Zimmerman's voice.
Beyond that, what Zimmerman didn't know was that Martin was on the phone himself that night, talking to a girl friend. He was complaining that some stranger was following him. She told Martin he should run and he responded that he was going to start walking faster.
There is no evidence that Zimmerman ever identified himself to Martin.
Much has been made in the conservative media about traces of marijuana found in Martin's blood stream that night. They have studiously avoided mentioning that Zimmerman also tested positive for a drug. It was the prescription med, Restoril which is used to ease insomnia and anxiety. As with every drug there has to be a listing of possible side effects. With, Restoril it goes like this, "rare side effects include back aches, hallucinations, memory loss, mental or mood problems such as anxiety, agitation, aggression and unusual behavior."
Finally we know Zimmerman and his family is a little fast and loose with the truth, at least when it comes to money. They played the indigent while concealing well over one hundred grand from the court, shuffling it back and forth between different accounts to avoid detection.
Unfortunately the only two people who know what really happened that night are George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. Martin can't speak for himself. What a jury is going to have to decide is whether the evidence supports, or contradicts George Zimmerman's version of the events.
No matter what the outcome the ugly fact remains that George Zimmerman's actions, his feeling that "something was off with him," his assumption that Trayvon Martin was a "punk," triggered the entire tragedy.
And make no mistake, it is a tragedy and, sadly, a uniquely American one.
We just can't get beyond it. I'm not sure we ever will.
6-21-12
Zimmerman, of course, claimed then and now the whole thing was a case of self defense. That he was viciously attacked by the unarmed Martin and that under the Florida stand your ground statutes he was completely justified in shooting him.
As always it depends on who you believe, or rather what you believe when it comes to reading the transcript of Zimmerman's account of the affair.
He says that as he was driving by that night he saw Martin, "leisurely looking" at a residence that had recently been burglarized. According to Zimmerman since it was raining he didn't understand why Martin wasn't rushing home. In his words, "I just felt like something was off about him." To put it another way, here was a black kid, hoodie up wandering at his own pace through a neighborhood that he didn't look like he belonged in. One that had suffered a string a recent break ins.
That is when things got complicated. According to Zimmerman he lost sight of Martin, drove around the block, got out to give the police an address and then was confronted by a particularly aggressive young black man.
He said to me, "Yo, you got a problem?" I said to him, "No, I don't have a problem, man."
In his words, "I reached into my pocket and I was looking for my phone and he punched me in the nose. And I fell backward, to the side, somehow I ended up on my back. He ended up on top of me and he just kept punching my face and head."
Zimmerman says that when Martin saw his gun he told him, a bit melodramatically, "You're going to die tonight."
"I just pinched his arm, grabbed my gun, I aimed it at him and fired one shot." After shooting the seventeen year old in the chest Zimmerman told police Martin said, "You got me here. You got me, you got it, something like that."
Zimmerman claims he was screaming for help while all this was occurring, but no one came to his aid.
Every poll taken in regard to the incident has shown that the majority of white people who read the MSNBC report and or actually take the time to watch the video, will believe George Zimmerman. The majority of black people will think it is all so much bull shit.
Here is what we know according to the police tapes of the conversations with Mr. Zimmerman that night. He refers to Martin and those who look like him as "punks" and complains that, "they always get away." He tells the police that Martin is running. The dispatcher, stunned and concerned asks him "are you following him." When Zimmerman tells him yes he is advised, "we don't need you to do that."
We also know that two separate audio experts analyzed the screams for help recorded over a neighbor's phone. Both concluded that it was not George Zimmerman's voice.
Beyond that, what Zimmerman didn't know was that Martin was on the phone himself that night, talking to a girl friend. He was complaining that some stranger was following him. She told Martin he should run and he responded that he was going to start walking faster.
There is no evidence that Zimmerman ever identified himself to Martin.
Much has been made in the conservative media about traces of marijuana found in Martin's blood stream that night. They have studiously avoided mentioning that Zimmerman also tested positive for a drug. It was the prescription med, Restoril which is used to ease insomnia and anxiety. As with every drug there has to be a listing of possible side effects. With, Restoril it goes like this, "rare side effects include back aches, hallucinations, memory loss, mental or mood problems such as anxiety, agitation, aggression and unusual behavior."
Finally we know Zimmerman and his family is a little fast and loose with the truth, at least when it comes to money. They played the indigent while concealing well over one hundred grand from the court, shuffling it back and forth between different accounts to avoid detection.
Unfortunately the only two people who know what really happened that night are George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. Martin can't speak for himself. What a jury is going to have to decide is whether the evidence supports, or contradicts George Zimmerman's version of the events.
No matter what the outcome the ugly fact remains that George Zimmerman's actions, his feeling that "something was off with him," his assumption that Trayvon Martin was a "punk," triggered the entire tragedy.
And make no mistake, it is a tragedy and, sadly, a uniquely American one.
We just can't get beyond it. I'm not sure we ever will.
6-21-12
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Awash in a Sea of Red
The Oklahoma primaries are a week from today and for the most part democrats have decided to not waste their time and money by running for office. Indeed in this the reddest of red states the entire local government is in the hands of a pack of baying right wing wolves. They are creatures so perfectly convinced of their righteousness and patriotism that when challenged on any issue their faces swell, veins bulge, and drool forms at the corners of their mouths. They begin to bellow and thump their chests and use terms like "liberal pansies", "communist traitors," and "filthy socialists."
When people see this phenomenon in person for the first time many come to the conclusion that spontaneous human combustion is not only a possibility, but a probability.
I don't have the stats in front of me, but even a casual glance at state legislative races show that republicans are falling all over themselves trying to get into office while democratic challengers are few and far between. Who can blame them really? Being a democrat in Oklahoma right now is rather like being an escapee from a leper colony.
The only entertainment value in this round of state elections is the odd sight watching republicans attack each other. They spend much of their time claiming to be the most conservative of conservatives. They attempt to paint their fellow GOP candidates as somehow too far left. They go off on riffs about how they hate Barak Obama more than every other person in the world. They promise to turn back the socialist tide of universal health care. They are a bit vague on how a state representative from say Guymon can do that, but hey, to a true believer the message, not the means is everything.
Seeing all this hysteria is to understand how some monstrous little cretin like Adolph Hitler took control in Germany and the ayatollahs grabbed power Iran. It is politics as a religious movement. It is a wave of arch conservative evangelism that before television was confined to musty smelling tents in the hills of Pushmataha County. It is a great leap back into a fictional time. It is a revision of all history so Orwellian in nature that it simply takes the breath away.
Suddenly all the founding fathers were evangelicals who based this country solely on the bible. The Great Depression would have ended sooner if FDR had just left things alone. In fact and this was years ago, the local daily paper ran a political cartoon blaming Roosevelt for starting the second world war. Later on down the road Bill and Hillary personally killed Vince Foster. John Kerry didn't deserve his medals. Now the president is foreign born and yes, yes, we know the great recession started under Bush, but just let us run things again and we'll fix it.
They are white and are watching their race become a minority. Anger and hatred are their mediums. And in Oklahoma they are in absolute control.
So why exactly will I take the time to show up at the polls next Tuesday when my choices are severely limited? Indeed, why even go in November, when my ballot cast for Barak Obama will mean nothing thanks to the electoral college?
Maybe it is that tiny bit of Rhett Butler in me. That part that says to Scarlet O'Hara something along the lines of, "I don't join lost causes until they are really lost." That might be it.
The truth is probably closer to this: I just want the vicious sons of bitches to know it isn't unanimous in this state. At least not yet. At least not as long as I'm here.
Morior Invictus.
6-19-12
When people see this phenomenon in person for the first time many come to the conclusion that spontaneous human combustion is not only a possibility, but a probability.
I don't have the stats in front of me, but even a casual glance at state legislative races show that republicans are falling all over themselves trying to get into office while democratic challengers are few and far between. Who can blame them really? Being a democrat in Oklahoma right now is rather like being an escapee from a leper colony.
The only entertainment value in this round of state elections is the odd sight watching republicans attack each other. They spend much of their time claiming to be the most conservative of conservatives. They attempt to paint their fellow GOP candidates as somehow too far left. They go off on riffs about how they hate Barak Obama more than every other person in the world. They promise to turn back the socialist tide of universal health care. They are a bit vague on how a state representative from say Guymon can do that, but hey, to a true believer the message, not the means is everything.
Seeing all this hysteria is to understand how some monstrous little cretin like Adolph Hitler took control in Germany and the ayatollahs grabbed power Iran. It is politics as a religious movement. It is a wave of arch conservative evangelism that before television was confined to musty smelling tents in the hills of Pushmataha County. It is a great leap back into a fictional time. It is a revision of all history so Orwellian in nature that it simply takes the breath away.
Suddenly all the founding fathers were evangelicals who based this country solely on the bible. The Great Depression would have ended sooner if FDR had just left things alone. In fact and this was years ago, the local daily paper ran a political cartoon blaming Roosevelt for starting the second world war. Later on down the road Bill and Hillary personally killed Vince Foster. John Kerry didn't deserve his medals. Now the president is foreign born and yes, yes, we know the great recession started under Bush, but just let us run things again and we'll fix it.
They are white and are watching their race become a minority. Anger and hatred are their mediums. And in Oklahoma they are in absolute control.
So why exactly will I take the time to show up at the polls next Tuesday when my choices are severely limited? Indeed, why even go in November, when my ballot cast for Barak Obama will mean nothing thanks to the electoral college?
Maybe it is that tiny bit of Rhett Butler in me. That part that says to Scarlet O'Hara something along the lines of, "I don't join lost causes until they are really lost." That might be it.
The truth is probably closer to this: I just want the vicious sons of bitches to know it isn't unanimous in this state. At least not yet. At least not as long as I'm here.
Morior Invictus.
6-19-12
Monday, June 18, 2012
Is This The End of Passionate Jerry?
"I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of young people."
Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State defensive coordinator, Second Mile Foundation head and accused pedophile.
Passionate is probably a word Mr. Sandusky should have avoided. Of course he should have avoided many things over the last fifteen years or so, but a growing body of evidence is starting to indicate he didn't.
The latest blow to the defense came when the court allowed an un-aired portion of the interview between Sandusky and Bob Costas to be heard by the jury. Why NBC chose to edit the exchange out of the original broadcast is unclear. It shows Costas, who may, or may not be Katy Couric's long lost twin, grilling Sandusky about his involvement with at risk youth.
Sandusky opened himself to the question by saying, among other things his actions with certain youth may have been "misinterpreted." He went on to say, "I worked very hard to connect with them, to make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives."
Then Costas came with this, according to MSNBC, "But isn't what you're describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds if not thousands of young boys you came in contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come. So it is entirely possible that you helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of boys B, C, D, and E. Isn't that possible?"
I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm innocent of grotesque charges such of these my personal response would have been something like, "It isn't possible, because I didn't molest, or abuse anyone." End of story.
According to the transcript Jerry Sandusky said this: "Well you might think that. I don't know. In terms--of my relationship with so many young people. I would--I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people would come forward and say that my methods and what I've done for them made a very positive impact on them. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have--hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."
NBC news analyst, Wes Oliver is quoted as saying, "A reasonable interpretation of that statement is that he did in fact have sexual contact with these young men he supposedly helped."
You think, Wes?
Sandusky's attorney is all ready trotting out a personality disorder theory to try to explain away the bizarre letters Sandusky wrote to some of the victims over the years. He even hinted that the condition, Histrionic Personality Disorder is the cause behind some of the old coach's behavior. Symptoms include, desperately seeking the approval of others and overly dramatic and inappropriate conduct to get attention.
I'm sorry, but the average lay person is going to consider that argument prima facie bullshit. The, "its all a scam for money," line seems more reasonable by a few degrees than that one.
At this point one has to wonder what is going through the minds of Sandusky's family. He has been married to the same woman since 1966 and has six adopted children. If they truly didn't know anything there must be a gnawing sense of horror and repulsion. You can deny things in your heart and mind only so long before the sheer weight of the evidence causes a complete collapse of everything you've always believed.
Of course it maybe that the sheer horror is so great that everything has just shut down for them. Indeed, in his last days Penn State head coach Joe Paterno appeared more befuddled than anything else. Right up to the end he seemed completely unable to understand the gravity of what was happening to not just Sandusky, but himself and his beloved university.
This is all ugly in the extreme. Defense attorney, Joe Amendola has to be plotting out plans for an appeal all ready. The trial certainly isn't going his client's way and he is bound to know it.
No, for Jerrry Sandusky the writing looks to be on the wall.
Barring some rogue juror, he is done.
6-18-12
Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State defensive coordinator, Second Mile Foundation head and accused pedophile.
Passionate is probably a word Mr. Sandusky should have avoided. Of course he should have avoided many things over the last fifteen years or so, but a growing body of evidence is starting to indicate he didn't.
The latest blow to the defense came when the court allowed an un-aired portion of the interview between Sandusky and Bob Costas to be heard by the jury. Why NBC chose to edit the exchange out of the original broadcast is unclear. It shows Costas, who may, or may not be Katy Couric's long lost twin, grilling Sandusky about his involvement with at risk youth.
Sandusky opened himself to the question by saying, among other things his actions with certain youth may have been "misinterpreted." He went on to say, "I worked very hard to connect with them, to make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives."
Then Costas came with this, according to MSNBC, "But isn't what you're describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds if not thousands of young boys you came in contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come. So it is entirely possible that you helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of boys B, C, D, and E. Isn't that possible?"
I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm innocent of grotesque charges such of these my personal response would have been something like, "It isn't possible, because I didn't molest, or abuse anyone." End of story.
According to the transcript Jerry Sandusky said this: "Well you might think that. I don't know. In terms--of my relationship with so many young people. I would--I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people would come forward and say that my methods and what I've done for them made a very positive impact on them. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have--hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."
NBC news analyst, Wes Oliver is quoted as saying, "A reasonable interpretation of that statement is that he did in fact have sexual contact with these young men he supposedly helped."
You think, Wes?
Sandusky's attorney is all ready trotting out a personality disorder theory to try to explain away the bizarre letters Sandusky wrote to some of the victims over the years. He even hinted that the condition, Histrionic Personality Disorder is the cause behind some of the old coach's behavior. Symptoms include, desperately seeking the approval of others and overly dramatic and inappropriate conduct to get attention.
I'm sorry, but the average lay person is going to consider that argument prima facie bullshit. The, "its all a scam for money," line seems more reasonable by a few degrees than that one.
At this point one has to wonder what is going through the minds of Sandusky's family. He has been married to the same woman since 1966 and has six adopted children. If they truly didn't know anything there must be a gnawing sense of horror and repulsion. You can deny things in your heart and mind only so long before the sheer weight of the evidence causes a complete collapse of everything you've always believed.
Of course it maybe that the sheer horror is so great that everything has just shut down for them. Indeed, in his last days Penn State head coach Joe Paterno appeared more befuddled than anything else. Right up to the end he seemed completely unable to understand the gravity of what was happening to not just Sandusky, but himself and his beloved university.
This is all ugly in the extreme. Defense attorney, Joe Amendola has to be plotting out plans for an appeal all ready. The trial certainly isn't going his client's way and he is bound to know it.
No, for Jerrry Sandusky the writing looks to be on the wall.
Barring some rogue juror, he is done.
6-18-12
Friday, June 15, 2012
Sheldon Doubles Down, The Tickle Monster and More
Sheldon Adelson says, "...redistribution of wealth is the path to more socialism and to more of the government controlling people's lives." What he didn't say was that he has a redistribution of wealth plan himself. He and his pals want it all. He would prefer that we not argue with him about this. He also expects us to like struggling to pay the electric bill and being driven into bankruptcy because our health insurance dropped us at the first sign of real trouble.
Hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Sheldon is also busy trying to buy the big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. Initially he bet on the wrong horse, pouring $20 million into a pro Gingrich super pac. Now he is trying to make amends. Recently he gave $10 million to the pro Romney super pac "Restore Our Future." There are wild rumors that he is willing to spend upwards of $100 million to assure himself a large chunk of Romney's ass once he wins the election. These are stunning figures, but then he is worth $24 billion with more coming in every day from casinos in Vegas and Macau.
Those less polite than myself would call this outright bribery and honestly, even as I try to remain civil I keep picturing the last scene of the movie Quo Vadis. As the camera pulls back the Praetorian Guard is selling the Emperorship of Rome to the highest bidder.
Republican Senator John McCain is not comfortable with all this spending either. McCain was quoted as saying on PBS News Hour, "Much of Mr. Adelson's profits come from his casinos in Macau. Maybe in a round about way foreign money is coming into American political campaigns." He went on to say, "That is a great deal of money and we need to go back to the realization that Teddy Roosevelt had, that we have to limit the flow of money and that corporations are not people."
For those with a short memory, or little taste for politics in a speech at the Iowa state fair last year Mitt Romney said, "corporations are people, my friend."
Of course the Raging Right has never had much use for McCain. They would have preferred the brain dead Sarah Palin to him. Besides, he is the guy who lost to Barak Obama. It is a sin so terrible that he will forever have to walk the streets of Washington ringing a bell while calling out, "unclean, unclean!"
It has been a strange and grotesque seven days. Locally there is more than a little speculation that the shooting death of Kelsey Bransby was simply a tragic and stupid accident. There seems to be no movement toward a trial of those suspected of the brutal murder of Carina Saunders. Both police and press are completely mum regarding the death of Alina Fitzpatrick.
Up in Centre County Pennsylvania the trial of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky continues. Yesterday a witness described more disturbing encounters with the old coach who liked to call himself, "the tickle monster." That revelation sent the needle of the Captain Howdy Creepy Meter right to the top, not that other emerging details haven't all ready.
Yes, it may be a good time to kick back with a few Samuel Adams' and a steak cooked just a shade less than medium rare. The feeling is that it is going to be a summer of turmoil. That awful carnival known as the George Zimmerman trial will be rolling into town and the presidential campaign will be heating up. It is highly likely more cannibal zombies will wander the streets eating the homeless, especially during the republican convention.
In the end it appears the Latin phrase, "semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat," explains it all.
Now for that beer.
6-15-12
Hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Sheldon is also busy trying to buy the big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. Initially he bet on the wrong horse, pouring $20 million into a pro Gingrich super pac. Now he is trying to make amends. Recently he gave $10 million to the pro Romney super pac "Restore Our Future." There are wild rumors that he is willing to spend upwards of $100 million to assure himself a large chunk of Romney's ass once he wins the election. These are stunning figures, but then he is worth $24 billion with more coming in every day from casinos in Vegas and Macau.
Those less polite than myself would call this outright bribery and honestly, even as I try to remain civil I keep picturing the last scene of the movie Quo Vadis. As the camera pulls back the Praetorian Guard is selling the Emperorship of Rome to the highest bidder.
Republican Senator John McCain is not comfortable with all this spending either. McCain was quoted as saying on PBS News Hour, "Much of Mr. Adelson's profits come from his casinos in Macau. Maybe in a round about way foreign money is coming into American political campaigns." He went on to say, "That is a great deal of money and we need to go back to the realization that Teddy Roosevelt had, that we have to limit the flow of money and that corporations are not people."
For those with a short memory, or little taste for politics in a speech at the Iowa state fair last year Mitt Romney said, "corporations are people, my friend."
Of course the Raging Right has never had much use for McCain. They would have preferred the brain dead Sarah Palin to him. Besides, he is the guy who lost to Barak Obama. It is a sin so terrible that he will forever have to walk the streets of Washington ringing a bell while calling out, "unclean, unclean!"
It has been a strange and grotesque seven days. Locally there is more than a little speculation that the shooting death of Kelsey Bransby was simply a tragic and stupid accident. There seems to be no movement toward a trial of those suspected of the brutal murder of Carina Saunders. Both police and press are completely mum regarding the death of Alina Fitzpatrick.
Up in Centre County Pennsylvania the trial of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky continues. Yesterday a witness described more disturbing encounters with the old coach who liked to call himself, "the tickle monster." That revelation sent the needle of the Captain Howdy Creepy Meter right to the top, not that other emerging details haven't all ready.
Yes, it may be a good time to kick back with a few Samuel Adams' and a steak cooked just a shade less than medium rare. The feeling is that it is going to be a summer of turmoil. That awful carnival known as the George Zimmerman trial will be rolling into town and the presidential campaign will be heating up. It is highly likely more cannibal zombies will wander the streets eating the homeless, especially during the republican convention.
In the end it appears the Latin phrase, "semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat," explains it all.
Now for that beer.
6-15-12
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