Put Yourself to Bedlam

Sarah Palin and John McCain are Minions of the New World Order

Main Entry:

min·ion

Pronunciation:

\ˈmin-yən\

Function:

noun

1 : a servile dependent, follower, or underling 2 : one highly favored : idol 3 : a subordinate or petty official

It's sickening. This country is clearly doped up on Thorazine. I received this email today that puts things in perspective. I have not checked the accuracy of the facts, but many of them are well known. If anyone reading this can rebut any part of the following, I promise to print the corrections.

"I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School you are unstable. Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 2 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian. If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now." (source unavailable)

This campaign is over the top. Ever since 9/11 the GOP has been getting away with murder - literally and figuratively.

WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA!
XXKHT

This should be on all the major networks!

See more Gina Gershon videos at Funny or Die

Why Didn't McCain Choose Ann Coulter As His Running Mate?

He may as well have. They're both big mouthed prostitutes for the GOP.

She makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
XXKHT

Read how she's bitten every hand extended to her (maybe she thought she could get $250!)

WHATEVER!

Uncharacteristically for me, I've managed to completely ignore the debates and the political "process" these past few eventful weeks. I'm becoming more and more anarchistic in my thinking and this morning I remembered this fun video/song that expresses how I'm feeling about it.

Yeah, HUH?!
XXKHT

Supplemental Edition

Probably this is old news for those of you with the more common propaganda machines running....

It was with revulsion that I read tonight about the navy battleships that have been built from the "scrap" steel of the WTC buildings. Actually, I found out from one of my favorite web features: Yahoo Week in Photos* and I am horrified.

For those of us who believe that the events of 9/11 were likely orchestrated by the current presidential administration (and friends), it is an additional slap in the face with a follow up, "Neener neener! We melted the evidence and made it into more war-making machines...and you won't believe how much we got for the steel?!" assault.

Wasn't that stuff supposed to be buried somewhere in? Where's it supposed to be buried again?

In fact, always one to run to check the facts, "Where 9/11 debris" is fairly un-googleable. Not a single basic reference to any NYTimes articles - mostly it says the debris first went to - appropriately enough - "Fresh Kills" landfill on Staten Island (but then, "The debris was later removed into various locations, including museums and steel mills." Additionally, we have the extreme one side of the fencers (both sides) who have lots to say on the matter, but under the circumstances, cannot be considered reliable.

It's sickening.
XXKHT

*good luck finding the actual photo because apparently Yahoo Week in Photos no likey linkey

Zeitgeist Part 2 - Question 9/11

Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads."

As if we didn't have enough to worry about...

For whatever reason, scientists are just beginning to consider studying the long term impacts of the trace pharmaceuticals found in our drinking water.

Apparently it gets there via our urine which carries the unused portions of our collective drug use back into the  drinking water after it's been "cleansed" and deemed suitable for public consumption. Makes you thirsty, huh?

Of course the Pharm companies are insisting that the "trace" amounts aren't harmful, yet no studies have been made of the long term effects of micro-dosages and so they can't possibly know that.

The drugs found range from antibiotics, athsma meds, anti-inflammatories, heart medicines, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers, tranquilizers, sex hormones and even steroids (the kind the meatheads use to juice). Apparently, the increased use of pharms on animals has compounded the problem.

Bottled water has no standards and is often just bottled tap and traditional home filtration systems aren't effective. Reverse osmosis appears to work but also creates three times as much waste water as it cleanses.

Major cities appear to be the most susceptible, including the Washington DC metropolitan area which was found to have (at least) six pharmaceuticals. The Federal Government currently has no set of standards for limits on drugs in our drinking water. How's THAT for deregulation?!

Hey Washington?! Ever hear the old adage, don't shit in your own nest?

Farging Bastages...
no kisses KHT
AP Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water

B'days: Osama Bin Laden (50); Chuck "Another Fist Behind His Chin" Norris (67)

"I'm not an economist, but...." ~Me

This morning's Yahoo Top Stories headlines read:

Economy Slows to Near Crawl*

followed by:

Bush: US is Not Headed Into Recession*

Maybe it's just me, but those two appear to contradict one another.

When headlines clash, one is forced to consider the details and to follow up with their own experience to arrive at what one hopes is a logical conclusion (or) as I like to say, the truth that is buried in there somewhere. Let's do that here.

We'll start with the claims within the articles...

Excerpts from Article #1 by AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa state:

WASHINGTON - The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly...

Builders slashed spending on housing projects by a whopping 25.2 percent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, the biggest cut in 26 years...

...the Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance benefits rose by 19,000 to 373,000 last week, more evidence that the general economic sluggishness is spilling over into the job market.

With inflation rising as the economy slows, fears are increasing that the country may be headed for a bout of stagflation. That's a scenario the country hasn't experienced since the 1970s.

and then it says...

Oil prices have reach [sic] new record highs, galloping past $100 a barrel in recent days. High energy prices can spread inflation by boosting the costs of a wide variety of other goods and services and can put a further damper on overall economic growth by crimping consumer spending.

but wait, it says there's hope:

There was a bright spot in the report, however. Sales of U.S. goods and services to other countries grew at a 4.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter, better than previously estimated. U.S. exports have been helped by the declining value of the U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. goods less expensive on foreign markets. The U.S dollar dipped to another record low on Thursday in Europe.

So, we can gather from this report that jobs are down, fuel is at an astronomical high, the dollar is at an all time low. This report also included some figures with decimal points about percentages not meeting expectations etc. etc. Generally, all bad looking news, but then, I'm no economist.

Apparently, neither is our defacto commander in chief. Let's examine what he has to say about it in an article by White House correspondent Terrance Hunt (#2):

                        WASHINGTON - President Bush said Thursday the country is not recession-bound and, despite expressing concern about slowing economic growth, rejected for now any additional stimulus efforts. "We acted robustly," he said...

..."We'll see the effects of this pro-growth package," Bush told reporters at a White House news conference, acknowledging that some lawmakers already are talking about a second stimulus package. "Why don't we let stimulus package 1, which seemed like a good idea at the time, have a chance to kick in?"...

On one issue particularly worrisome to American consumers, there are indications that paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline is not out of the question once the summer driving season arrives. Asked about that, Bush said "That's interesting. I hadn't heard that. ... I know it's high now."

Bush also telegraphed optimism about the U.S. dollar, which has been declining in value.

"I believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place for us to ... grow and continue growing, more robustly hopefully than we're growing now," he said. "So we're still for a strong dollar."

Well alright then...he's for a strong dollar. Good to know. And if the president isn't worried about the economy, why should the rest of us worry? I mean, if anybody knows what's really going on, we should assume it's him, right? I mean, he has advisors and stuff; we assume he doesn't have to play the news games that we're doing here in an effort to divine the truth somewhere in the mix - he's got REAL information - not dependent on conglomerated news sources.

So, phew! The president is ok, with the economy, despite the reportings of Ms. Aversa and those hysterical hordes of economists. Plus, his personal economic situation doesn't seem to be suffering much...So what is he worried about? What keeps our commander in chief up at night?  Look! It's right here in the same article that is headlined about Bush's opinion of the state of our economy...

Bush also used his news conference to press Congress to give telecommunications companies legal immunity for helping the government eavesdrop after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He continued a near-daily effort to prod lawmakers into passing his version of a law to make it easier for the government to conduct domestic eavesdropping on suspected terrorists' phone calls and e-mails. He says the country is in more danger now that a temporary surveillance law has expired.

Bush said the companies helped the government after being told "that their assistance was legal and vital to national security." "Allowing these lawsuits to proceed would be unfair," he said.

Oh good, he's got the best interest of the telecommunications companies in the front of his radar. What else?

Bush criticized the Democratic presidential candidates over their attempts to disassociate themselves from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a free-trade pact between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Bush said the deal is contributing to more and better-paying jobs for Americans.

Oh great! NAFTA! More and better paying jobs....that doesn't seem to mesh up with the increase in unemployment insurance claims, but whatever..I am sure he knows what he's talking about. I'm for more and better paying jobs, that's for sure.

In a last spasm of irony, Bush says he's not interested in sitting down at a table with "a tyrant like Raul Castro" because it lends him credibility. He goes on to say,

I'm Raul Castro (is) "nothing more than an extension of what my father his brother did, which is ruin an country island and eventually the planet."

Here's the economy from my house:

Two uninsured, unemployed occupants,splitting $1000 per month rent. Average heating bill $200 (2 bedroom unit). Job market is offering an average $8-10 per hour, even for skilled administrative work for which there are easily 100 applicants per position (I've inquired). College tuition in Vermont $8,771 per year with no guarantee that at the end of the line there'll be a job waiting (who do you think constitutes the majority of those 100 applicants, hmmm?) Decent bread (not white sandwich) is $4-5 per loaf and milk is $4+ a gallon (in a dairy state!). Organic local green cabbage is  $1.15 per pound making a medium sized head cost over $5. Yesterday while driving around, I noticed gas prices for regular unleaded were between $3.17 and $3.33 for regular unleaded. That's gotta pinch the commuters, especially since Vermont has little to no public transportation and jobs are spread out across the state.

Looks pretty grim. I wonder, if Bush isn't worried now, what is it going to take?

Ready for suggestions,
XXKHT

*excerpts reprinted without permission. Please follow the hyperlinks for the full text versions.

“Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted..."

...He's making sure you're fully absorbed."*

I don't have television. I generally don't read the national newspapers. As such, it's safe to say that most of the "news" I do read is on the Internet, and like all news sources, one must learn to take things with a grain of salt.

Now, more than ever, the  integrity of a source is not something one can take for granted. The newspaper giants - once proud and powerful enough to take down a crooked presidency - can no longer be relied upon to live up to the journalistic equivalent of the Hippocratic oath, though maybe a hypocritical one.

My approach is to read as much as I can of what's out there, and divine the truth somewhere in the middle. I look for patterns and inconsistencies; double checking the "facts" for myself, before jumping on the witchhunt/bandwagon etc.

Believe it or not, this attitude started long ago with food not politics. I remember as a kid, hearing that peanut butter causes cancer. The news came along at a time when I was just coming to realize how many things allegedly caused cancer, as I noticed they seemed to change weekly. Does everything cause cancer my child self wondered?

I noticed that despite biblical protestations to the contrary, science revealed that bread was all we needed; this was followed by a proclamation that carbs are the enemy. We've been told since childhood that citrus is THE source for vitamin C only to later find in the ever present fine print, that broccoli is even better. Beef is a necessary source of iron but speaking of broccoli....We NEED eight glasses of water a day, but just the other day I heard an argument that this kind of forced drinking can actually cause harm.

These wild vacillations of information bred a healthy suspicion of information at an early age. I learned that the  only reliable thing about the sources was that they would dramatically change their position sooner or later. I learned that the sources sources were the real information you had to look for. Who funded the study was more important than the data itself. As such, I had no choice but to learned only to trust my instincts. (Ok, and Julia Child).

Well, it has come to that same place with politics. I realize it has been this way forever, but I grew up with certain ideas about the righteousness of political coverage. I was actually sitting on a curb on Pennsylvania Ave when Nixon resigned because the powerful Washington Post exposed his corruption. At 8 years old, the event left a potent impression. But these days, everything tastes of propaganda, and to nearly comical effect. Comical that is, if you have a death wish.

Which brings us to the following article from the Associated Piss, which I am regarding with great suspicion:

"Ex-lawmaker charged in terror conspiracy"

WASHINGTON - A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader and mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks*

After the irresistible headline, the first thing I noticed was the photo which appears to be from this guy's high school yearbook. A fresh faced boy, not a Reagan era republican senator, peers at you smiling geekily as the headlines announce he's been indicted as a lobbyist for terrorists...and darn it! those terrorists are tricky and can fool even little Markie Siljander. Who's next? What's to be done about it?!

The entire thing stinks of a cover up. Citizens are becoming curiouser and curiouser about the "irrelevant" money trail related to the incidents leading up to and after September 11, 2001 and out of the blue we have senator-boy who was paid in laundered money from the government through a charity that supported Bin Laden himself. WHAT?!

I read somewhere that reading the news causes cancer.

XXKHT

*Chuck Palahniuk quotes (American freelance Journalist, Satirist and Novelist. b.1961)

Out of the Mouths of Babes In Toyland...

Non Sequitur is quickly becoming my favorite comic strip...

Still sitting here; paralyzed by procrastination...

XXKHT

“The misogyny that shapes every aspect of our civilization is the institutionalized form of male fear and hatred of what they have denied and therefore cannot know, cannot share: that wild country, the being of women.” --Ursula LaGuin

 

                                                                                     

Vigilantes kill 40 women in Iraq's south 

BAGHDAD - Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against "violating Islamic teachings," the police chief said Sunday.

"The women of Basra are being horrifically murdered and then dumped in the garbage with notes saying they were killed for un-Islamic behavior..."

"In September, the headless bodies of a woman and her 6-year-old son were among those found..."

Last night, I followed this excerpt with the outraged viscera reading this evoked from my soul.

Leaving it here all night plagued me; not because I was afraid of retribution for what I said about Muhammad, or the various threats I made to these hideous monsters, but because I realized I'd stooped to their level.

At that moment, I was willing to do to them  (or much worse) what they are doing to the innocent women in their society, whose only crime is being born into the wrong religious sector with a shred of individuality and will of their own.

I won't pretend I don't feel hatred for the retarded freaks who destroyed the innocents. Removing my insults to their idols wasn't a concession to them, but rather an acquiescence to myself; an affirmation of my peaceful creed.

Crazy world we live in.

KHT

"Just as a man's denominational orientation is the result of   upbringing, and only the religious need as such slumbers in his   soul, the political opinion of the masses represents nothing   but the final result of an incredibly tenacious and thorough   manipulation of their mind and soul."
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)