15th JANUARY 2006

Senator Evan Bayh graduated with honors in business economics from Indiana University and received his law degree from the University of Virginia. After clerking for a federal court judge and entering private law practice, he was elected Indiana's Secretary of State. Bayh serves on five Senate committees -- including the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence -- but he can't pronounce "nuclear?" Heard it with mine own ears, today, [m]uttered to the camera.

Are we really supposed to believe that [so-called] "democrats" afraid to say "noo-klee-ar" will somehow find the courage to defend the Constitution? My favorites are those who try to say the word so quickly it's glaringly obvious they're hoping no one will notice they said "nookyuluhr" rather than "noo klee ar." And those who grimace, ever so slightly, as the abomination passes their lips. They know exactly what they're doing. And so do I...Rb [who now considers this issue a litmus test.]

14th JANUARY 2006

Exactly what in God's name is going on in the heads of people who say "nookyuluhr" -- in public! Is there a media whore in this country who has the audacity to pronounce the word correctly? [And, when's Chia going to start selling "Brush in a Box" -- for those who wish to spend their weekends "in the Crawfords of their minds."] I swear, from this day forward, when people say that to my face I'm going to gently place one of their hands on my throat, sign into the palm of the other hand, and, enunciating broadly, say, "noo klee ar...repeat after me, Helen. Noo klee ar."   Rb [who has a sneaking suspicion this won't be nearly as much fun as responding directly to the zippers of men who speak to my breasts.]

10th JANUARY 2006   through  13th JANUARY 2006

SERENITY, NOW!
Rb

9th JANUARY 2006

What's annoying is that there aren't more moments like these [even from Dean]:

blitzer: Should Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, who's now pleaded guilty to bribery charges among other charges, a Republican lobbyist in Washington — should the Democrats who took money from him give that money to charity or give it back?

DEAN: There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff. Not one. Not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican, every person under investigation is a Republican, every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal. There is no evidence that Jack Abramoff ever gave any Democrat any money, and we've looked through all those FEC reports to make sure that's true.

I've seen no evidence that democrats have become embroiled in this scandal, either, yet keep reading and hearing that it involves "many republicans and a few democrats." Here's Dances with Wolves in Sheep's Clothing playing Custer's Six Degrees:

blitzer:  But through various Abramoff-related organizations, and outfits, a bunch of Democrats did take money that presumably originated with Jack Abramoff. What about Senator, what about, what about, what about Senator Byron Dorgan? [You really should click and watch, at the url, above.]

DEAN:  Senator Byron Dorgan and some others took money from Indian tribes. They're not agents of Jack Abramoff. There's no evidence that I've seen that Jack Abramoff directed any contributions to Democrats. I know the Republican National Committee would like to get the Democrats involved in this. They're scared. They should be scared. They haven't told the truth, and they have misled the American people, and now it appears they're stealing from Indian tribes. The Democrats are not involved in this.

Annoying, here, is that blitzer's assertion, question, and inference were undoubtedly quite "innocent" rather than calculated, and similar assumptions are surely legion. Certainly abramoff, himself, believes he is [or was] the "steward" of the tribes he manipulated [and from whom he embezzled (to keep them from blowing millions on firewater. Because, they are a simple people, and do not understand our ways)].

Dean's calm reliance upon the facts of this matter should soon have every channel in the nation re-re-re-re-re-running "the Dean scream." Seems like only yesterday The Powers That Be noticed he was a straight talker, and quickly replaced him [with our acquiescence, and] with Colluding Kerry [who never intended to win]. Dean screamed with crowds. He screamed alone! The pundits howled. Their skills were honed! Ah, yes. I remember it well...

FYI:  The most annoying people in America are those who talk about "the next election." Apparently we're supposed to be excited that diebold and/or the supreme[ly sad excuse for a] court might vote for democrats, at some point [to break up the monotony?]...Rb

8th JANUARY 2006

Now, I ask you...which is more annoying:

Most Marines killed in Iraq could have been saved by body armor. A secret Pentagon study found that as many as 80 percent of Marines killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. For the first time, the study by the military's medical examiner shows the cost in lives from inadequate armor, even as the Pentagon continues to publicly defend its protection of the troops.  **

1.  That the State gives but lip-service to its "support" for the troops?
2.  That we, the people give but ribbon-service to our "support" for the troops?  or
3.  That there are still troops naive enough to believe the State and we, the people care what happens to them after they've outlived their usefulness [and started costing us money and/or sleep]...Rb

7th JANUARY 2006

Being far too cynical and jaded to succumb to true "annoyance," having to look for reason to be annoyed on a daily basis [for the sake of this blog] can be a chore. Didn't think I had it in me, today. Because, in the end, I really don't care...but this was just too easy:

Lawmakers Call on Iraq to Shape Up. A bipartisan congressional delegation that included Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) had a blunt assessment for Iraq's political leaders: Shape up, or America will ship out.

We Americans never listen to ourselves, do we. And we have no shame. A most dangerous combination. Yet, we continue and are content to blather, shamelessly [and endlessly].

The U.S. commitment to Iraq is becoming a tougher sell back home, said the four lawmakers, and unless Iraqis start showing signs of progress by creating a broad-based government and security forces that incorporate all of Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups, Americans will lose patience, they said.

Oh. My. God. We, the people allow bush et cie [of which our Congress proved a spineless subsidiary] to send our military on a bloody fool's errand; and, we, the people [by proxy] illegally and unConstitutionally assault a sovereign nation, becoming responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 human beings [among other war crimes]; and, we, the people did not prevent and still do not stop the pillaging, plundering, looting, depleted-uraniuming, carpet-bombing, cluster-fucking, napalming, phosphoring, gitmoing, renditioning, torturing, embargoing, land-mining, check-pointing, and/or otherwise inconveniencing of whomever we damn well please. We, the people send the adolescent Godzilla on a rampage through the Cradle of Civilization...but now this movie is getting boring [and it is way lame. Like anybody's gonna believe we couldn't kick Iraqi ass, or that a bunch of ragheads could make enough bombs to kill that many American soldiers, or that our government treats veterans that way, or any of the anti-American crap they were showing. Get real (the trailer for "No, Wait, We Meant Iran!" looks good, though)].

Is it any wonder the rest of the world is anxiously yet patiently and most assuredly making popcorn...Rb  [who thinks "Shape Up or America Ships Out" has the potential to become an Iraqi classic (much like our own "Br'er Rabbit & the Briar Patch").]

6th JANUARY 2006

Nobel Laureate Stiglitz and Harvard budget expert Bilmes plan to present a paper estimating the cost of the Iraq War at between $1-2 trillion, far higher than earlier estimates of $100-200 billion.

Now, that's a shame. And quite the surprise, too. Who knew a bunch of MBAs could get this country running like a South Florida Moving & Storage company. [As someone far, far wiser than I once said, "a not-so-dry drunk and delusional Yale legacy graduate with the keys to the Treasury and an entire military at his disposal is like a fish with a bicycle." Or words to that effect...]

The Internal Revenue Service collected information on the political affiliations of taxpayers. Officials acknowledged party affiliation was routinely collected. "We have never used this information," said an IRS spokesman. "There are strict laws that forbid it."

No, really, I swear. These aren't from the Onion [nor WhiteHouse.org].

The classical definition of tragedy is greatness brought low by some fundamental flaw in one's character. We have preached self-determination but objected when others sought to practice it. We proclaimed the virtues of economic freedom even as we sought to impose economic control. We claim to champion free trade but bow repeatedly to calls for protectionism from special interests. Secretary of State Dean Acheson's post-WW II mantra: We are willing to help people who believe the way we do continue to live the way they want to live.

Y'can't make this stuff up! Hope we can one day live it down.
[A girl can dream, can't she?]

In its push to hold Texiero out as an example to those in today's military (to dissuade them from walking away from unnecessary wars), the Marine Corps is breaking every law on the books. In an effort to make an example of Jerry the Marine Corps launch[ed] a smear campaign of character assassination. Camp LeJuene's spokeswoman illegally released confidential data taken from the Marine Corporal's personnel file.

Typically annoying bullshit from radical left-wing socialist liberal-media mouthpieces. If government or the military does it, it isn't illegal. And if [so-called] "Marine Corporal" Jerry Texiero's got nothin' t'hide, he's got nothin' t'worry about. This is America...

"Our government is looking for a guy who may have a mundane Anglo name, who pays tens of thousands of dollars every year in taxes, has never been arrested or even late on a credit card payment, and cries after the first two notes of the national anthem? Oh, wait. This guy they are looking for? Did he write books critical of the Bush administration, too?" I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year. I will never be told the official reason. No one is.

How can one read the above and not become incensed. How does one consider such travesties, knowing they are now as common as...well...we commoners, and not despair for the newly "Sovietized" America. The USSA.

I read of this outrageously unConstitutional encroachment and I bleed for this man. Until he continues...

I suppose I should think of it as a minor sacrifice to help keep my country
safe. Not being able to print out boarding passes in advance and having to
get to the airport three hours early for every flight is hardly an imposition compared to what Americans are enduring in Iraq.

And people think I'm annoying! Suddenly, I feel nothing but indifference. He gets on the plane, he doesn't get on the plane; he's given the wand, he's given an anal probe; his book tour is a rousing success, his book tour is a non-event. It's all about as important to me now as who's going to win Survivor or American Idol. Cold? Compared to having one's first thought be of "what Americans are enduring in Iraq?" Seriously. What Americans are enduring in Iraq!? Oh, right. We don't do "imposition counts," either.

When you think about it -- in all good conscience -- do we really want our "Constitutional Rights" to be any different than the Iraqis' "Constitutional Rights?" After all, both their "Constitution" and their "Rights" are our "gift" [as we never fail to remind them (the horse we rode in on, and anyone else who'll listen)]. If the abridged and appended version was good enough for them...so good, in fact, that, when we decide it's time to take off their training wheels, we want to start giving everyone else a ride...surely it's good enough for us. Otherwise, we'd be the spoiled brat whose parents make their servants' kids come to his birthday party, then let him eat the cake all by himself while the poor servants' kids watch. We don't want to be that kid! There's a reason only his parents' servants' kids will come to his parties...

As an Xtreme Pacifist with a headful [earful, and belly full] of the American Constitution, once we, the sheeple gratefully accepted the TSA there was every reason to assume I'd be considered even more dangerous than a vegetarian Quaker. I've never attempted to board a plane, since. Inconvenient? Yes. But I'd rather try to fall asleep with white lines running vertically across my inner eyelids than with memories of myself as "Orwellianly obedient" running roughshod through my cranium [and crushing my soul].

Besides. Long drives give me plenty of time to thank God I'm child-free. No Mini-Mes to brainwash in the classroom nor taser in the principal's office. No worry that my daughters, or their daughters, might face back-alley abortions. Neither sons nor grandsons will be hoisted or hoist others on our masters' own petards. I don't have a horse in this race. And that knowledge keeps me sane as the times get "interesting."  Rb  -- whose cat may never call 911 in an emergency, but neither will she ever rat me out under duress [and she's been spayed (even though we're pretty sure she's a lesbian). Don't need to worry about her children's future, either.]

5th JANUARY 2006

Put the "Christ" back in "Christian[s]!"
Rb

4th JANUARY 2006

Okay, it's about the friends and families of "the" West Virginia miners, and the media whores who do their best to assure that we, the people remain transfixed and sufficiently immobilized...

Being trapped in a mine and slowly suffocating is not the way I'd like to die. Wouldn't want to be standing above-ground knowing my loved ones were trapped and slowly suffocating, either. But, life is life [and death is death], and few of us manage to choreograph our  --  or anyone else's  --  dismounts. That's simply What Is, and e'er will be.

So, the miners were trapped, and it wasn't a movie. No one knew what would happen. Eventually, after an agonizing wait, one body was found. When rescue workers managed to find the rest of the miners, under God-only-knows what conditions and circumstances, those below-ground communicated with those above-ground, and that communication was misunderstood. The families were told that 12 miners had been found alive, and they were understandably overjoyed. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later the families learned that only one miner had been found alive, and everyone was devastated.

Devastated and enraged, to be more precise. And upon whom did they turn their rage? Why, the rescue workers who'd misunderstood the original message sent from the mine. Who else!

Oh, I'm annoyed, alright. Saddened, but annoyed, nonetheless. Most of the people I saw interviewed spoke first and most proudly of their strong community...based upon their love of country, built around their love of God. The kind of talk I never hear straight out of the gate from anyone but bush supporters...

Don't I recall hearing, during the last televised mine disaster, that bush had rendered mine safety regulations quaint?

"Many of the withdrawn proposals are critical for coal, hardrock, and quarry miners. A number of the proposed rules and regulations had been worked on for years before they were tossed out by the Bush appointees."  *

"Hundreds of safety violations alleged at mine
Unusually high injury rate also recorded at Sago Mine"  **

"Bush Administration Rolling Back Mine Safety Regulations" CNN  ***

And that's just the first three articles on the first page of the first google. Imagine how much information might be gleaned from a cursory reading of the first few thousand pages google returned. Perhaps even [had one a large staff] a second search, using different keywords and another search engine. How many miners and family members would rather have a beer with dubya than think about how "his" policies have affected their lives.

Most being interviewed, now, speak as though their loved ones died not because mining corporations' political contributions finally paid off, but because of the miscommunication between rescue workers! Many are out for blood. They're demanding "justice." And the media whores are not only giving this play, but encouragement.

The most annoyingly annoying bit, however, is that this is naught but a micro of the macro. I'll give 'em one thing, though -- at least these particular "avengers" knew the miners who died. Unlike the millions of "patriotic, Godly, and grief-stricken" Americans who approve/d killing entire countries full of similarly living, breathing human beings, because fewer than three thousand people  --  people we'd never met [many of whom were "foreigners" and, no doubt, "illegal immigrants" who, had they survived, we "real Americans" would have wanted deported (if not gitmoed)]; people who lived and worked in a city most Americans have never even visited  --  died on September 11th. A date which held no significance for most Americans until we could claim it as our own.

"I silently wept at the 11 September commemoration here. The right words on New York have all been said. But last week was also another anniversary – the US-led overthrow [which term is used, here, as a quaint euphemism for "the US-led assassination" (Rb)] of Salvador Allende in Chile. The subsequent dictatorship killed, dare I say it, rather more people than died on September 11."

The most sadly sad bit is that we seem determined [and therefore destined] to remain our own worst enemy. The Powers That [We Let] Be have us convinced that to revisit history is to rewrite it...Rb

3rd JANUARY 2006

It annoys me that, on the whole, Americans believe we should look anywhere but here and at everyone but ourselves for the source of our problems. Can you tell that I'm over us? All of us?

As the Persians would say, "for as long as I've known myself," America has been the [armed and dangerous] sixteen-year-old, testosterone-crazed boy making it impossible for the adults to have a decent conversation. His parents [we, the people] positively beam as he wreaks havoc, and, rather than attempt to rein him in, we remark upon his "creativity" [see how special he is? A less gifted child would never have attempted to literally give your children "something to cry about"], and demand that our son be acknowledged as "the greatest son in the history of sons!" We extract admissions from friends and strangers, alike, that they wish our son had been their son, that their sons are but poor imitations of our son, and that, if but given the opportunity, they'd gladly trade all of their sons for our son. In a heartbeat. Wouldn't think twice, wouldn't look back.

Friends and acquaintances smile and nod, politely [and make their excuses, early]. They know, from years of gentle attempts, that there's no talking to us. We, the people, are guaranteed to cause violent scenes should we hear anything less than Xtreme Flattery, regarding anyone in our family. But we must hear something. So! Make it pretty and make it quick. Or our son...the most clever, handsome, talented, admired, and beloved son the world has ever known...will hurt you. In ways you've never dreamed...

This is a fairly close approximation [if not verbatim transcription] of the words spoken, through heaving sobs, by the grief-stricken mother of one of the first American soldiers to die in Iraq: "Everyone loved him. He was the nicest, kindest, most caring person. He never hurt a fly. He was a practical joker and always made everybody laugh."  [Here, she is overcome, and the rest she screams, in agony.]  "All he ever wanted to do was grow up and be a sniper. That's all he ever wanted! It was his dream since he was a little boy. We were so proud of him...so proud of him...and now those heathens have killed him! They took him away from us! He didn't deserve this!"

All he ever wanted to do was grow up and be a sniper. All this nice, kind, caring, wouldn't hurt a fly practical joker ever wanted to do was grow up to be a sniper. And, while innocently living the dream, a morally depraved bunch of godless, ignorant heathens took that dream away, not only from this beautiful and sensitive boy, but from his bereaved mother -- who will never know the...what. The rat-tat-tat of little snipers? Who are we?

There are those who insist that a mother who's lost a child is immediately imbued with "moral authority." Where are the Americans who will insist that we question our grieving mothers for as long as they send their children to make other mothers grieve? Where are those who wonder what kind of boy dreams of growing up to become a sniper? What kind of country and culture engenders, nourishes, and then applauds such "dreams" in their children? Who are we? More importantly, is there any hope that we might become someone else? Pronto?

There's no more time for gentle prods and subtle hints, my fellow Americans. We're allowing...no. We're encouraging our Damienesque rug-rat to terrorize and destroy the global village, but, apparently, we think he's just the cutest thing [and anyone who disagrees is jealous].

We, the people need to become responsible parents. Immediately, if not sooner. We're not doing our kid any favors [and the rest of the world shouldn't suffer for our outrageously bad parenting]. This kid needs boundaries, and he needs them, now. It's time to take away his car and his video games -- and, for God's sake, his weapons and his chemistry set -- and the television has got to come out of his room. Let him earn his privileges. He's going back to school, he's being assigned chores, he's getting a curfew, and he is not hanging around with that crowd, any more.

Nothing will change until we, the people admit that our child is a bully and a thief prone to tantrums and brutality. Yes, he was a good baby. You don't know what happened to him? We the people happened to him! Kids are like dogs. There's no such thing as a bad dog, the problem is bad dog owners. We can continue to shrug our shoulders, furrow our brows, and pretend that he was "born this way." But he is no more than a reflection of us.

America is the child. We, the people are the parents. And we have got to stop pretending that our little angel is being bullied, that stealing cars was "just a phase," that the girl "cried rape" because he resisted her advances, and that the nuclear bomb he keeps in his closet is a science project...tick-tock...tick-tock...tick-tock...Rb

2nd JANUARY 2006

All day, the ubiquitous and inescapable "for the children" nonsense drove me batty. That we buy our own bullshit is more annoying [and constant] than anything else we humans do. Few things feel better than wallowing in our alleged "goodness." And, once we've wallowed, we pat ourselves on the back and insist our work is done. So, please...allow me a moment of honesty:

We don't give a shit about "the children," all protestation to the contrary. We don't care what kind of debt they'll be shouldering; we don't care if they've no clean air, potable water, or healthy food; we don't care if their land is devoid of greenery and covered with depleted uranium; we don't care if they're thrown back into the dark ages because fossil fuels are gone and renewable energy technologies were never implemented. We simply tell each other that "the children" will be smarter than we were [this will be genetic, of course, since we aren't interested in educating them], and they will find solutions to problems we've created but have absolutely no intention of correcting if it means cutting back on the luxuries we now deem necessities. Given a choice between "the children" [and "the future"] or yet another trip to the mall, most Americans ["liberal" and "conservative"] will and do choose the mall, every time.

We might also do well to apply a bit of honest consideration to these questions:

"For the children?" At what age is it okay to stop caring about other beings? Are we beholden only until they've passed the cute stage? Do we understand that "the children" grow up to be the people we wish would "drop dead?" The people who join churches and political parties we don't like, cut in front of us in lines, drive in ways which piss us off, and/or choose lifestyles of which we don't approve [etc.]? What's the expiration date for compassion? When are we morally off the hook [and were we born off our rockers]?

"I read all this and look up at the pictures on my desk, next to the computer - pictures of my grandchildren. I see the future looking back at me from those photographs and I say, 'Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do.' And then I am stopped short by the thought: 'That's not right. We do know what we are doing. We are stealing their future. Betraying their trust. Despoiling their world.'"  Bill Moyers **

Until we cut the crap, "the children" [and we] are screwed...Rb

1st JANUARY 2006

Is there anything more annoying on God's polluted earth than a bunch of self-important Americans pontificating about "what should happen in Iraq." Who the hell do we think we are? Oh, right...I keep forgetting. We think we're Americans. Even so-called "liberals" speak of the Iraqi people as though they're our pets [and insist we must be responsible pet-owners]. "You break it, you bought it." Patronizing, much? Indeed, the smartest move the Iraqis could make would be to keep the bull in the china shop while they're sweeping up shards, replacing lost inventory, and otherwise preparing for a return to normalcy. But how do we get these ignorant ragheads to understand that even American livestock have a better understanding of their needs than they? Aye, there's the rub.

I cringe and beg collective forgiveness every time we start talking about how "we got rid of Saddam, now the Iraqis need to start learning how to take care of themselves." We armed our football team for a home invasion, sent them in to trash the place, and now we look at the frightened occupants huddling in a corner, survey the damage, and ask, with contempt [as we clear a few bodies to create a path toward the exit], "how can you people live like this?!" If we Americans were a person, even Mr. Rogers wouldn't want to be our neighbor...Rb