Burnout

There hasn't been much here lately, and I can't say with any confidence that there's likely to be much here in the near future either. It's not a matter of my having been busy; I'm neither more nor less busy than usual. It's more a matter of not having anything to say that I haven't already said over and over again for the past, what, six or seven years. I think I'm pretty much burned out.

The country in which I live has launched yet another war against Muslims, motivated by more or less equal parts oil lust, fealty to the Israel lobby, fealty to the "defense" contracting lobby (lots of overlap with these last two), and the bloodlust of our current Nobel peace laureate president. Clinton is the last president of whom I said "it can't get any worse." What a stupid thing for me to have said. Dubya emphatically demonstrated that yes, it can get worse, and O'Bomber has certainly shown that it can get a lot worse yet ... and who knows what's next? Chucklebee? The Mittster? Barack 2.0? The one thing I'm fairly confident about is that it will indeed get worse.

Yeah, well, anyway ... I've toyed with the notion of dumping the blog, but that's silly, too ... in a week or two I'd just experience a resurgence of "piss and vinegar," as my old father used to say, and I'd have to start another one. And if there's anything the world doesn't need, it's a new blog. So I'll stand by and wait for the return of inspiration. Or whatever it is that makes me write posts; "inspiration" sounds a little grand. "Motivation" is probably more like it.

Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!

Heads are rolling at "National Public Radio" (more aptly, Nationalist Corporatist Radio) because some of the Best & Brightest got caught on sting-camera, suggesting that the Tea Party does not lack representation from the racist and know-nothing communities:

The resignation comes at a dicey time for NPR. On Tuesday, a video featuring former NPR executive Ron Schiller (no relation) came to light. In the video, the work of conservative activist James O'Keefe, Schiller is heard demeaning tea party supporters as racists and "gun-toting" Christian fundamentalists who had "hijacked" the Republican Party. Schiller also said that NPR would be "better off in the long run" without federal support.

Vivian Schiller had already taken significant heat for NPR's dismissal of commentator Juan Williams last fall, after Williams confessed to apprehension when seeing Muslims on airplanes. Williams' ouster became a cause célèbre for conservatives — and helped spark the O'Keefe project. NPR's top news executive, Ellen Weiss, resigned in January as a result.

Well, this seems to call for fair, one-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand sort of commentary, so here goes. On the one hand, whoever says the Tea Party includes among its supporters a fair number of racists, toters of guns, and fundamentalists (suitably defined, I suppose) is speaking the truth. Such a statement has all the usual shortcomings of any generalization, and certainly does not apply to every individual Partier, but there it is.

On the other hand, it is delicious to see a few high-ranking smugistas at NPR fall afoul of the unanimously-accepted American Law of the Gaffe: some things simply cannot be said, and truth is no defense. Live by the sword of prissiness, die by the same. Gotcha!

The Rule of Law, and Other Fables

I draw your attention to Mr. William Grigg's latest:

What would happen if tax victims, rather than tax-feeders, were to go on strike?
If Madison -- or the capital city of any of Leviathan's other 49 regional administrative units -- were over-run by thousands of productive people who decided that they would no longer consent to be plundered on behalf of unionized government employees, would their revolt be promoted by sympathetic media outlets, and supported by the president and his political machine?

Would self-described populist cable pundit Ed Schultz be there in person to confer an on-camera benediction to the rebels, describing them as people standing in "solidarity to fight for the middle class"? Would the state governor display restraint and forebearance in dealing with a malodorous mob that laid siege to the capitol for a week, if the throng were composed of people who withheld their taxes, rather government employees withholding their tax-subsidized services (such as they are)?

If this were to happen anywhere in the soyuz, every element of the Regime's punitive apparatus would be mobilized to put down the rebellion, hard and fast. Riot police and National Guard units would be deployed to beat and round up the rebels. I suspect that serious consideration would be made to the use of Predator drones to target those identified as "ringleaders" of the uprising.

You say that would never happen here? Hearken to the writings of that star-spangled, red-white-and-blue military hero, General George S. Patton, at the time a mere major, concerned with dealing with the "Bonus Army" in Washington between the world wars:

Patton was enthusiastic about the domestic applications of chemical warfare: "The use of gas is paramount…. While tear gas is effective, it should be backed up with vomiting gas.... Although white phosphorous is incendiary, it is useful in forming a screen for the attack of barricades and defended houses."

“Warn newspapers, theaters, and churches that if they encourage the mob, they are guilty of aiding them and that their leaders will be held personally accountable," Patton continued. "Freedom of the press cannot be construed as `license to encourage’ the armed enemies of the United States of America. An armed mob resisting federal troops is an armed enemy. To aid an enemy is TREASON. This may not be the `law,’ but it is fact. When blood starts running, the law stops.”

Yes, constitutions are all well and good, but it's vital to remember that, when push comes to shove, the people with the guns do what the hell they want to the people without them. Keep that in mind, next time you're watching the History Channel show us all the amazing new weapons that The Troops™ have. You may have your chance to see them -- from the business end -- all too soon.

Roofing Project

So, the mutant leftover chicken pox virus from my youth has staged an insurrection, and I have the shingles. And man, do I look gross ... more so than usual, even. Right-side forehead's all uglied up, and my right eye is about half closed.

Shouldn't complain, I know, because I've had no severe pain or other big side problems with it, so far at least. Sure looking forward to it resolving itself, though. Probably in three to four weeks. We shall see.

It Doesn't Do to Get All Excited

Remember week-before-last, when we were breathlessly informed that some new "tea party" members of the US House had overturned the current order of things by blocking one version of the extension of the so-called "PATRIOT Act?"

As you can see, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Your supervisors are not going to remove the boot from your neck. Nothing of any real significance is ever going to change at the mythical "ballot box." Your supervisors occasionally use the ballot box as a form for something they want to change; it is sometimes useful in tightening our handcuffs. Forget, though, about votin' the cuffs off. Not happening.

Harry What?

I live in Allen County, Indiana, which is dominated by the city of Fort Wayne. In this county, there aren't many growth industries these days. After beef 'n' tallow chain restaurants, payday lenders, pawn shops, military recruiting offices, and deserted strip malls, there isn't much jumpin' ... except -- how could I forget? -- government. Oh yes, there's always a need for more government, and more government needs more space. And the City-County building downtown isn't nearly large or grand enough any more, and besides, somebody well-connected just happened to own another vacant white-elephant building downtown. So, of course, the city paid top dollar, plated the place with gold and encrusted it with gems, and now ... it needs a name.

So they went to The People, and did a little internet give-us-your-input deal. And I appreciate their doing so; I had about ten solid minutes of Friday-night hilarity a few weeks ago, that being how long it took "Big Dick Black" to get himself blocked by our high-minded supervisors. (Yes, I'm completely irresponsible, but I gots to have me a little fun somehow.) And the runaway winner, according to the Voice of the People, was "Harry Baals Government Center."

(For my non-local readers, Fort Wayne once had a mayor named Harry Baals. No, really, it's true.)

Well, needless to say, our supervisors aren't about to name the new gummint sandbox after Harry Baals. The People have spoken, but now The People can just dummy up and listen while their supervisors 'splain how it's gonna be.

I don't know what name the recently-acquired hog trough will sport. Actually, it would be most appropriate to sell the naming rights to the highest acceptable bidder. I'm thinking Citibank would be a natural. Then we could have a Citibank Citihall. Nice and corporate, don't you think?