GOP candidates ignore what really happened in S.C. church massacre

A large group of peaceful black people at a church service in in Charleston were shot dead by a white maniac. Now, let us delve into the twisted mind of GOP "leaders".

For starters, this is the lede to an AP story today:

Republican presidential contenders are condemning the deadly shootings in South Carolina as an attack on faith, as they court religious activists in Washington.

If you don't understand how wildly off-base this viewpoint is, read this story at Think Progress. It'll help you sort it out.

And these people are running for president. America has become a cartoon -- and don't think Europe isn't watching these antics with horror and disappointment. We ain't what we used to be. That's for sure. It's all up to young people now. Change the world, kids, or there won't be a world for your children.

Still here

(Sorry I haven't posted lately. It's the craziness of moving -- a process that is taking forever. For today, all I've got is one mini-post. Here you go.)

The other night on the local news, a particularly dimwitted female anchor was reporting on the earthquake in Nepal. She said there had been an "avwalanche" which was caused by an "earthcake". The woman can't even read words, never mind understand them.

The next story was about Chipotle's new and highly idiotic move to ban GMO ingredients. Kids, everything, including you, is the result of GMOs. It's how evolution happens. There's no danger in eating this stuff. Yes, it's been genetically modified but that has absolutely no bearing on you. You're eating it, not getting genetic pointers from it. Anyway, this same anchor read the GMO story and then said, "That's so great! Because I love Chipotle's and now it's going to be even healthier".

Seriously, I know it's the local news but in this case "local" means NYC. I can remember when the the city's local news anchors were smart and well-informed -- which only means that I'm really, really old.

I'll always return to this blog and I'm sure there will be future periods when I blog like mad. However, that time is not now. Hang in.

Congress must act now

As Congress twiddles its thumbs and strikes out at the president on a daily basis, it ignores the elephant in the room. Not once has a congressperson even mentioned a critical issue facing an important sector of the population -- American men who wear nail polish.

Yes, I'm talking about the fact that a man's manicure is ruined when he is forced to open and close a pants zipper all day long. No matter how many layers of polish a man wears, there's only so much abuse the finished surface can stand before a crack appears. And of course, at that point the manicure is ruined.

Men need bulletproof nail polish and they need it now. But has this issue even come up in open session in either house of congress? I've checked the records and I can tell you unequivocally that men's nail polish has never been mentioned in open session. This is a sin.

How long must American men suffer before they are granted relief? I regularly see grown men crying in public bathrooms as they look at their nails after zipping up. I tell you, it is the saddest sight in the world -- especially when you consider that no one in power cares.

Congress must take action immediately. Please, I beg of you, call or write your congressperson today and demand action. Men have suffered enough.

Seriously out of whack

I become nauseous when I hear the salaries that baseball players earn. Mind you, when a guy that I like gets his five or ten million, a small part of me is happy for him. But the nausea remains. No one should have a twenty-million-dollar annual salary. No one.

Yesterday, the draft (scrap paper, nothing more) of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" sold for two million dollars. For scrap paper? People pay many millions of dollars to own things in our world today. The .01% buy apartments in Manhattan for upwards of sixty million dollars. Handbags can cost many thousands of dollars. And politicians earn more than 100,000 dollars for a talk. What's wrong with this picture?

This is not okay, especially in light of the fact that you can buy scads of items at Amazon for dirt-cheap. I bought sunglasses at the big A the other day. They're really nice sunglasses -- and they cost $2.13. Delivered to my house, the total cost was five dollars.  Did I mention that they're nice? Someone (probably many "someones") gave their life's blood to make those two-dollar sunglasses. You don't produce something that cheaply without harming lots of people.

And who's to blame for this insane divide in prices? Us. It's people who set prices by their willingness to buy. What is the stock market but a gambling house where the rubes set the price of the items? Yes, the stock market is sky-high. But why? Because people are willing to pay that much (just as it's people who are willing to pay millions for sports stars to join their team). Purchasers blithely say, "It's worth that much to me," and hand over the money.

Prices rise and rise, except for the dirt-cheap stuff. And it's only the little people who are harmed. Trickle-down is real, but it's pain that trickles down, not money. The latter moves upward.

Lest we end with nausea alone, let's consider the phrase "out of whack". (Just to lift our spirits.) Where did the phrase come from? It seems that "in fine whack" was a phrase used in the late 19th century. It implied that something was in fine form. Though no one can truly track the reverse phrase, it makes sense that when something wasn't in fine form, it was referred to as being "out of whack". So there you go.

Bruni nails it again

This isn't the first time I'm directing readers to a column by Frank Bruni in the NY Times. There's a reason for this -- the man is prescient and clear. Today's offering is called "America the Shrunken". Here's an excerpt:

More and more I get the sense that we’ve lost it, and by “it” I mean the optimism that was always the lifeblood of this luminous experiment, the ambition that has been its foundation, the swagger that made us so envied and emulated and reviled.

We’re walking small. And that shift in our gait and our gumption has been palpable for many years, during an unusually sustained period of frustration that has the feel of something more than a temporary dive: a turned corner, the downward arc of a diminished enterprise.

It's not good news, but it's real and true and we'd best pay attention. We're on a slide and we're going down fast. Maybe we should do something about it before it's too late. 

Nah, let's just go shopping. Maybe pick up some donuts, or something.

NSA is a complete nightmare

I came across this in Spiegel today:

The NSA's TAO hacking unit is considered to be the intelligence agency's top secret weapon. It maintains its own covert network, infiltrates computers around the world and even intercepts shipping deliveries to plant back doors in electronics ordered by those it is targeting.

Do you feel safer now? I sure do.

Want to get your dander up?

PZ directed his readers to this post today. I suggest everyone read it. It's the unvarnished truth -- and you don't see much of that anymore.

Kerry's little Syria chat

I found it difficult to watch John Kerry emote yesterday on the subject of Syria.

The whole bit stank. See, you can't assume the high ground when you're not standing on it. His words could just as easily apply to things the US has done repeatedly:

"What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality. Let me be clear. The indiscriminate torture of random suspects, the launching of a pre-emptive war against the wrong country, the use of drones to attack people who may or may not be terrorists, and the consequent drone attacks on those who come to help the afflicted after such drone attacks, indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by waterboarding, drone attack chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable."

Sorry, John. The US doesn't get to talk like that anymore. Tell you what, why don't you just go sit in a back room and listen in on some American conversations? Maybe it's best to let, you know, the other countries handle this one.

America's decline has real-life consequences. The US no longer has the right to pontificate to other countries. So get off the high horse, John. You can't ride it anymore.

U.S. needs a name change

Now that the United States is anything but united, we need a different name for our country. Besides, that old monicker was created before the country was transformed into a paramilitary, terrist-fighting, citizen-surveilling, mass-torturing, black-uniform-wearing, corporate bully.

I suggest the name "United States" be changed to "Fear, Inc." Let's roll with the times and celebrate who we really are.

On the other hand, I'm willing to consider other good, appropriate names. Any suggestions?

Pvt. Manning's trial a secrecy primer

The government's treatment of Bradley Manning, the man who passed its secrets to Wikileaks, has been appalling since day one. His trial continues this tradition.

“I am very sympathetic, as any reasonable person would be, to the fact that there are issues in a military court that should be kept secret, but that is not what we are talking about here,” Mr. Pilkington said. “This is kindergarten stuff, with restrictions on very basic documents like dockets and orders.” 

Reporters can't report on the trial because of all the insane restrictions. For instance, the judge will read a long document aloud in a very speedy manner -- and then won't issue the document to the reporters. But it's public, it was read aloud in court. Doesn't matter. They're doing everything they can to make this trial difficult to cover.

Remember when Obama said his administration would be the most transparent in history? Yeah, transparent like Putin's government. Obama has carried forward the worst aspects of the Bush administration. Never forget this.

Game on

It wasn't clear until now.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration believes it could technically use military force to kill an American on U.S. soil in an "extraordinary circumstance" but has "no intention of doing so," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter disclosed Tuesday.

Make a note of the date. We just switched from a system that has a president -- to one that has a king. I wonder anyone will notice, what with the news about Rhoda, and all.

Signs of the downfall

Saw this in the news. It's about Jindal's Louisiana:

Hundreds of people on their death beds who can't afford private insurance would have to go without end-of-life care in their homes this year if Louisiana goes through with Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to shutter the state's Medicaid hospice program in February.

When you don't care for your young, sick and elderly, you no longer belong to a civilization, a society. You are merely individuals, fending for yourselves. This is how the end comes.

American TV: the classy channels

I happened to glance at the TV listings. Oy. And I'm not talking Fox here. These are the "classy" channels. Let's see what's on.

Let's check the Arts and Entertainment network first. Oh, look. They're showing Flipping Vegas, followed by two hours of Shipping Wars. That sounds very artistic and entertaining.

The History Channel may have even better fare. They've got a show about Nostradamus followed by a full day of disaster fare. Yay! The end of the world -- and it's historic.

Maybe there's something better on Bravo. Such a great name for a network. They must have the real classy stuff. Let's see. Ah, they've got a full day of The Real Housewives of Who The Hell Cares Where. Must-see TV!

Let's move on to NatGeo. Now this is a name we know and trust. I mean, it's National Geographic. I'm sure they'll have some classy fare. Let's take a peek. Oh, boy! They've got a full day of Alaska State Troopers! Whoopee!

Okay, this next one surely offers high-quality fare. It's The Discovery Channel, after all. Let's see what we can discover there. Oooooh, look! Amish Mafia and Moonshiners! For hours and hours!

Okay, I'm starting to get upset. But there's one more classy channel to check out: The Learning Channel. Well, that's got to be terrific. Oh, it seems they're showing many, many hours of Undercover Boss. Am I learning now?

And this is the cream of the crop. Welcome to American TV. Sigh.

Also too: The names of the stations I've mentioned are Newspeak, just like the Clear Skies Act, No Child Left Behind and the latest one: Right to Work. It's all Pleather. Ah, America! Of thee I sing.

Goodness gracious

I have been out among the people -- and I return with a heavy heart. People, people, people. Have I taught you nothing?

I actually saw people take a paper towel and fold it without squaring the corners! I know you don't believe me but it's true. These paper towels were folded so cavalierly, so dismissively, that their corners were sticking out all over the place!

Perhaps worse, some people purchased rectangular paper towels instead of square ones! You cannot make a perfect square with a rectangular paper towel. You just can't. For this reason, sensible Americans don't buy those brands.

People, you must take more care with your daily doings. If you don't square the corners when you fold a paper towel, how can you expect other people to do it properly? This is the first step on the road to ruin. The moral slide that begins with a badly folded paper towel advances swiftly to tags sticking out the backs of shirts. America's reputation is already strained. Don't add to it!

Gotta go out today. So all you get is this foolish post, at least for now. I know this hurts you. Try to hang on.

The American decline continues

Lately, it's been hard to find the energy to write posts. In part, this is because I'm still not manic. (Where are ya, mania?! Come back to me!!!) But it's more than that. It's the dullness of American life.

I don't care where Petraeus stuck his weenie. (My only take on this topic is horror that any woman had sex with this lizard. Ugh.) Nor do I care that some general took his shirt off. Do you realize how stupid we look to Europeans as we focus on this junior-high nonsense? Sex isn't a big deal. But try telling an American that.

And all this talk about the imminent "fiscal cliff" is brain-dead tripe. Krugman noted this morning that the language needs to change. It's the upcoming "austerity bomb" that's a threat, not the nonexistent cliff. But the media are nitwits and they pass along any story that seems "official". And to them, the fiscal cliff is super-official. How can we ever fight our way out of nonsensical news cycles if the media is unwilling to grow up and notice reality?

It's all so depressing. And the idea that our newly re-elected drone-killer president believes all this idiocy means he might as well be a Republican. He is going to wreck the economy for good if he falls into the Merkel trap -- and he's going to. He has surrounded himself with economic failures, and shows no sign of changing course.

It's insane, depressing and deadening. Welcome to 21st Century America. Down the tubes, baby. That's where we're going.

DUI Americans and the election

DUI (Distracted, Undisciplined, Ignorant) Americans have been handed their candidate slate for the upcoming election. Obama/Biden v. Romney/Ryan. It will be interesting to see which party DUI Americans vote for.

Will it be the evil, empty suit and his incoherent financial henchman? Or will DUI Americans stick with their Nobel Prize-winning drone-killer president? The choice is stark.

For some time, I've been saying that we reached the tipping point and danced past it. Americans are now too ignorant to vote, essentially. Will they vote for Romney/Ryan, who will destroy the New Deal and steal America's money while paying little or no attention to the overwhelming problems facing humanity (climate change, almost-empty aquifers, income inequality, timid journalism, etc.)?

Or will they stick with Obama and face four more years where he gives the farm away without getting a thing in return? Let's not forget that he's committed to cutting one trillion dollars from the federal budget in the coming years. That will mean less money for local governments in a time of great financial crisis: cuts in policing, trash collection, fire-fighting, health benefits, etc.

What will DUI Americans do at this critical juncture in time? I think it hardly matters. We've passed the tipping point and we're tumbling downhill at a breakneck pace -- and this will continue no matter who's elected. This is quite a country we've got here.

Afternoon delight

As I enjoyed the sacrament of espresso this afternoon, I watched last night's CNN coverage of the Mars landing. I may not have stayed up late to watch it, but at least I set the DVR.

It was great. Being the perfect audience, I was nervous about the landing. Didn't matter that I knew things would work out; I just get caught up in the drama. It was so exciting. Everything not only went perfectly, but did so immediately. It was like boom, boom, boom. They got confirmation at every stage of the descent and within a very short time, had photos from the surface to prove it. It was stupendous.

The best part was seeing the faces of the NASA scientists as they learned the mission was a success. They seem to be a very huggable bunch. I always think this when I watch landings. (They also seem like hippies; just saying.) Seeing them cheer as the first results came in was inspiring. This is what real science looks like. I'm so glad I recorded it.

But afterward, I couldn't help but wonder. Is this incredible Mars landing the swan song of a formerly smart, technological society? Will this be like our moon landing, an event never to be repeated? The future of space exploration seems dim, given our financial reality and the dimwitted people we elect as legislators.

Sad but true: I can't imagine our current know-nothing society producing a similar or greater technological feat in the future. We aren't even educating our children anymore and we've placed extreme financial barriers -- like a protective moat -- around higher education. For most young people, it's no longer possible to go to college. This is not only insanity, it is national suicide. Where is the next generation of well-educated Americans supposed to come from?

But if the Mars landing was our swan song, at least it was lovely.

The most vapid couple in America

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California couple has passed the halfway mark in their quest to visit Disneyland every day this year.

And on this July 4th, to thee we sing. America, your vapidity precedes you. Now go get drunk and eat. USA! USA! Meh.

This moment in America

I admire rational bloggers who write on a daily basis about the times we're living through. I can only do that occasionally. There is so little sense in American life right now. My question is always, "How can I pick one thing to rail against?" I can't because everything is so stupid in our country.

I write regularly about the Roman Catholic church not because it's so evil -- which it is -- but because it has chosen to attack me and every other gay person in the world. It's like when your country is bombed: you have to fight back. But other than this one defense measure, I can't write about society very often. It's just too damned stupid.

Here's a task for you: think of a person who is fighting for world peace. Go ahead, I'll give you a moment... Can't come up with one, can you? That's because no one is doing this. How weird is that? Nor is any candidate running for office on a platform of truth. We don't do truth in this country anymore. Instead, we've opted to accept anything that is flung at us, as long as we can keep on eating all the donuts we want.

Just look at the nonsense that surrounds us. There are people fighting for (and passing) laws against Sharia -- which doesn't exist in this country except in the hearts of the Christian American Taliban who are the very people pushing for these amendments. Or listen to the fools who say you can't have gay marriage because it -- duh -- somehow magically affects the "sanctity" of straight marriage. When there is no logic in an argument, there is no way to refute it. These people can't think.

Americans don't have real choices anymore. Shall we choose the empty suit for our next president so he can give all our money away to his friends? Or should we stick with the Nobel Prize-winning torturer/murderer/drone killer president that we have? These are the sorts of wooden choices available to Americans-- and none leads to the exit. We're stuck here.

These are scary, awful times. People can't tell right from wrong and half of all Americans believe a sky god created humans within the last 10,000 years. Without evolution! How can you work with a populace like that?

That's why I can't see blogging on a daily basis about serious issues. To me, it would be like beating my head against a brick wall, daily. Instead, I spend my time writing subversive fiction. I want to affect this stupid world of ours and I think writing is my way to do this. Without the ability to write novels, I'd give up.

We all have to do something to fight the coming Dark Ages. Because make no mistake about it, that's what we're heading into. So what are you doing to make this a more sensible world?

What is wrong with the media?

I see so much off-the-wall wording in media stories. It's all over the place:

Romney trumpets rush of conservative endorsements . . .

Obama touts whatever . . .

Seriously, what's wrong with these people? They can't just write a clear and factual news item. Instead, they jam every story into one of their pre-fab molds that are designed to make politics into a game. It's not only stupid, it's destructive.

An emboldened Obama . . .

A volley of words from . . .

Gingrich soldiers on . . .

I mean really. They're myth-making. Their goal is not to report anything; it's to create waves, wonderful waves that will bring the papers and TV stations more business. Talk about ulterior motives. They're playing games with the lifeblood of our country and they don't give a damn. It's sickening.

And the following actual headline is no better:

April leap or May slog, Romney on pace to GOP nod

Oy. I think this means the headline writers have fallen off a cliff.