America is startin’ to really stink

•-> Wall St. gets bailed out with tax payer money, then uses that money to lobby against reforms designed to prevent Wall St from wrecking the economy again, then they somehow get Swine Flu vaccine ahead of everyone who really needs it., and in case you were wondering, nothings been done about ‘too big to fail’.

‘Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to investigate why the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approved the distribution of the H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms at a time when the vaccine is unavailable to most Americans. Recent news reports indicate 13 companies, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Time Warner, have been cleared to receive the vaccine.’

millions & billions for elections, but there’s no money

•-> Mayor Bloomberg of New York city spent upwards of 100 million dollars for his re-election campaign, and if you include his last two terms as Mayor, he has spent around 1/4 BILLION dollars to get elected.

•-> The nonpartisan organization Center for Responsive Politics  estimated the election cycle  for the White House and Congress at a total of $5.3 Billion ending Fall  2008.

Now, throw in lobbying costs by the vested interests abounding and you get a sizable chunk ‘o’ change, yet, there’s no money for things like health care reform, helping the social security coffers, medicare etc.

It seems there’s always money for wars and deeeeeep pockets for defense spending which certainly in some cases like responding to the September 11th attack, is beyond argument. What do we really need to defend America, to carry out military affairs deemed necessary by our elected officials? How much capacity, and how many times do we need to be able to kill people? It’s an age old debate, the same one mentioned by President Eisenhower in his ‘beware the military industrial complex’ speech.

Halloweeeeeeeeenie: what year is this again ?

•-> sometimes I read a story and think it’s the ‘dark ages’ all over again,..demonized, cursed candy?………………………….. what year is this again ?

Wearing skeleton suits, dressing up as vampires, witches or goblins or slapping on fake blood is not far removed from communing with the Devil, according to the Spain’s bishops. However, the bishop with Vatican backing, have reserved their venom for the millions of parents who allowed their children to celebrate this “pagan” festival.

•-> Not to be outdone, back in the old US of A:

Christian Broadcasting Network Warns Against ‘Demonic’ Halloween Candy
Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network posted a blog by Kimberly Daniels recently that warns Christians to forgo celebrating Halloween because of its evilness. Daniels specifically calls out candy as a source of soul-molestation:

“During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.”

Obviously, we shouldn’t be buying Halloween candy, but what about getting it by trick-or-treating? “Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.”

Don’t know about you, but the pumpkin isn’t the thing that scares me the most.

TRICK or TREAT

Trio from the crazed world…..

•-> Honor Thy TeaBaggers:

Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) today introduced — along with 75 other Republicans — a resolution to officially commemorate the 9/12 taxpayer march on Washington. Other sponsors of H.R. 870 include Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa.), and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the party’s whip. As if they have all the time in the world and nothing better to offer legislation wise. Interesting and ironic these folks in the image at the right  chose  to dress up as Native Americans too make their  TeaBagging ‘point’.

•->Strict SCOTUS  constuctionist/segregationalist?

In an appearance at the University of Arizona College of Law, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that if he were on the court in 1954, he would have dissented in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that ended school segregation based on race.

•-> ..and finally, a ‘hard’  bargain for world series tix

seems like a young lady in Philly wanted tix so desperately  that she was advertising for an equitable trade of tix for flesh, hers….. Oh Yeah… PLAY BALL !!

Cheneys Inc. … fools walk in

•-> The old V.P. is getting some fraud ‘rightwing’ awards from the neo-con crowd of forever war. ‘Scooter’ ‘fallguy’ Libby was also given an award.  Extra cash was no doubt handed out and a good time bitchin’ about Obama was had by all. One has to wonder if both  DICK and daughter Liz remember whose policy it was to go into Afghanistan and never win, or find a suitable solution, or even ‘get’ Bin Laden. Now Cheneys Inc. complain that Obama hasn’t fixed in 9 months what it took Bush and Cheney near 8 years to create. The more Cheneys Inc. spew hysterical propaganda and lies, the more they will be exposed by facts and the video record of the Bush/Cheney years of malfeasance,  negligence and crimes against America. The all too obvious attempt to revise recent history is an affront to all of us.

Saw this lil blurb was posted on a blog by: B. Bear, damn funny and accurate !!

“Cheney is the old, cranky, man who falls asleep with a cigarette, sets his own house on fire, manages to escape, then blocks the fire hydrant, sicks his attack dogs on the fire fighters, and stands across the street complaining about how the fire is being fought. Later we find out he owns the fire truck and gets paid for each fire.”

It’s……… ‘the Jews’

•->   you just have to wonder if some Republicans in the south are just plain stupid…

It wasn’t too long ago that the Republican state senator who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s re-election bid called Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as “that Jew” at a Pulaski County GOP meeting last week. “I don’t speak with a TelePrompTer, and if I had, that reference would have never made it in there,” Sen. Kim Hendren.

Two South Carolina County Republican Party chairmen stepped up to rebut criticism of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in a newspaper editorial Sunday. But their defense of the senator might be overshadowed by their use of an anti-Semitic stereotype to praise him.

After a Democratic state senator wrote in The State that DeMint didn’t bring enough money back home, Bamberg County GOP Chairman Edwin Merwin and Orangeburg County GOP Chairman James Ulmer responded that he was just looking after the nation’s pennies — like a Jew would.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/gopers-demint-like-a-jew_n_326295.html

another reason why I hate religion

•-> Saw this grotesque and repugnant story in an article, it’s unbelievable!

“EKET, Nigeria — The nine-year-old boy lay on a bloodstained hospital sheet crawling with ants, staring blindly at the wall.

His family pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his throat as an exorcism. It spilled as he struggled, burning away his face and eyes. The emaciated boy barely had strength left to whisper the name of the church that had denounced him – Mount Zion Lighthouse.

A month later, he died.

Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of “witch children” reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

“It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity,” said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.”

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/18/african-children-denounce_n_324943.html

Up, Up & Away with ‘Balloon Boy’

•-> Once again the collective media consciousness  became fixated on a story that ended up being anything but a story. I’m glad the kid was alright, but this quickly became a ’stop the world’ media event, the only thing that would have made it ‘better’ was if the kid had been a young blond girl. It’s about time that we stop the revolting fixation on the Anna Nicole Smiths, Jon & Kate, Octomom and the rest.

In case the various TV media missed it, there is still an economic collapse, people out of work struggling to keep their homes, health care reform, Iraq, Afghanistan, weird right wing lemmings that migrate into a frenzy every time Pres. Obama’s name is mentioned as well as other semi-important matters.

This story represents what the American media is becoming, unreasoned voyeurism, hoping to catch the eventual car crash.

10/19: update:

this is now being investigated by police as a fraud and charges may be filed.

Coltrane & Ellington

•-> Coltrane & Ellington

Inspired, timeless, overflowing with soul, blues and pure joy…..no matter what’s happening in my world, this will always ease my pain….

If you’ve never heard it go out and get it ASAP.

Phillies Win

•-> Bye Bye Colorado, …….. next…….. the Dodgers