A Guest Column from Carl in PA

Carl in PA has offered this post for use on the Real Deal. It is much appreciated, as Murph and I are bogged down with various things at the moment. Please, anyone who wishes to offer a full length post, do so. With the world soon to change beyond comprehension, time is of the essence. We also need to hear different takes on things. So, if you have something to say, I would suggest doing it quickly. This gig could end any day now! Enjoy.



Get Some Fu*#ing Perspective

OK, once again, the Madness of King George has revealed itself in another
spout of disingenuous drivel, expressing his concern for high fuel prices and
his promise to investigate any price manipulation. Aw, come on ...

Are the markets manipulated? Of course they are - this is the oil business
we're talking about - they are manipulated by definition! In actuality, all markets
are - supply and demand drives prices, and astute businessmen always work
to make one, the other or both work to their advantage.

Now don't take me as being a defender or apologist for the oil companies. They
are malignantly powerful and have been at least part of the driving force behind
pretty much every ugly war for the last 100 years.

So gas is between 3 and 4 dollars a gallon now, and last weekend there was
a time you couldn't even get it in my podunk little Pennsylvania town. They said
it was because the refineries were switching over from an MTBE blend to an
ethanol blend. Seriously, I don't buy it. But so what ...

But lets pull back for a minute and take a long hard look at things ...

Did you ever really think long and hard what it takes to get gas into your tank?
Some company has to travel to some remote god-forsaken baked, frozen or
submerged corner of the world, frequently inhabited by suspicious and hostile
locals (assuming that the piece of real estate in question is habitable at all),
hauling a lot of cumbersome, expensive equipment. They then have to spend
considerable time and effort drilling holes in the ground, simultaneously keeping
polar bears, poisonous reptiles, enormous scorpions, seawater or the aforementioned
hostile locals at bay. Chances are they won't find anything in these holes.

Assuming they get lucky and they do, they then have to haul in additional
cumbersome and expensive equipment, often having to build a transportation
system to do so (and yes, maybe trashing the local ecology in the process).
At this point the polar bears and snakes may have lost interest, but some of
the formerly local hostile natives now see an opportunity to cash in, so the
usual rounds of mordidas need to be dealt with (it's amazing how quickly a
taxing bureaucracy can materialize out of thin air in a region that formerly
didn't even have rudimentary mail service).

Now, this black toxic gunk needs to get transported someplace, frequently
a multi-billion dollar shipping facility, where it is loaded onto a multi-billion
dollar ship the size of Luxembourg, which then plies its way across one or more
oceans - oh, and by the way, the mileage on those babies is something
under one foot per gallon of fuel.

Some days or weeks later it ends up at another multi-billion dollar refining
center, where it is turned into gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants, napalm and starter
fluid for your charcoal grill.

From the refinery it is piped to distribution centers (both expensive to build
and maintain). From there it is trucked to a convenience store where Rajiv
or Akbar will sell you a gallon for about $3, his profit on that gallon may be
about 8 cents.

OK - so after all this, for $3, you get a substance that will propel your
4000-pound vehicle, containing your sorry ass, as well as that of your
naggy fat wife and your litter of whiny brats, approximately 20 miles, back
and forth to the mall (or worse Walmart) so you can waste your money
buying loads of essentially worthless crap, much of it cheap plastic stuff
made in China, made from (of course) oil.

All for less than the price of a happy meal.

THREE DOLLARS ?!?!?. Now consider all of this above and tell me still
that gas is expensive. What does a gallon of Coca-Cola cost? Probably
more than twice that - all they do is filter water, pump in some CO2, add
sugar, flavor and color, and truck it to the same convenience store where
you complained about the price of gas. Rajiv makes a lot more on the
Big Gulp he sells you than he does on the gas. You don't bitch at Rajiv
about the price of Coca-Cola.

OK - so what's the difference? Purchase of the Big Gulp is discretionary
(unless you've just wandered out of the desert where you've been for three
or four days and it's the first potable substance you've seen in 24 hours -
a situation, believe it or not, I have been in).

With our current life styles, purchase of gasoline (or heating oil, or natural
gas to heat and cook with) is much less discretionary. We've gotten so
accustomed to having energy that was almost free, when you consider it
as a percentage of your total budget, (making exception for the poor and
elderly living on fixed income and not enough of it) that we've built an entire
economy and lifestyle around it (I could rant on that for hours - but Kunstler
is much better at that than I am).

So - the price of gas and oil goes up - this is alarming to us, since all of
a sudden it's taking a bigger chunk of our budget, and we don't know how
to, or as of yet are unwilling, to make the adjustments necessary to use
less of it.

And of course, we look for whose fault it is. Of course, we demonize the
oil companies (who are eminently demonizable). We demonize the Iranians
(who are headed up at this moment by someone who is at least as much
of a nutcase as our own leader). We demonize the terrorists (who really
love it when we demonize them, 'cause they know they're making an impact).

And in the back of the collective anger, it is finally beginning to sink in - that
what people have been ridiculing me about for a few years now - they are
starting to realize I was right (well, actually a big "we" - this is old news to
a lot of you reading this) - you can see the shadows of fear creeping into their
faces - they are, one by one, more and more, faster and faster, coming to
realize that we are running the f*ck out of oil, and most of what is left is in
places where the locals hate our guts.

Oh, and throw in the whole China-India-Russia thing ...

So stop bitching about the price of gas - pull back and get some perspective,
because getting mad about that will just distract you form seeing the big
picture, and if it doesn't scare the shit out of you, let me know what your
doctor is prescribing so I can get some.

Carl in PA

Thanks, Carl. I greatly appreciate it.

Cyclone

What Is Success? Continued

This is a continuation of Monday's post, prompted by a question from Ely. Thanks again, Ely.

Good Days and Bad Days

As I have lived my life, I have come to believe that one should cherish the good days that we encounter. As I view it, they are few and far between. In fact, looking back over my 50 years on this earth, I can think of only about a dozen days which I would consider "really good days." And that's not too bad, in my view. In the current world, it is difficult to ignore the bad and see only the good. At least it is for one who is hard wired like I am. You know, the kind of day that you will remember for the rest of your life. Sure, there are a lot more days when something good happens, or maybe a few good things. But, those don't count, at least not to me. I'm talking about days where every waking moment was simply special. Now, for those who I mentioned who choose to remain in the box, I'm sure that their good days likely outnumber the bad ones. I'm sure that they must believe that I am a miserable creature, limiting my perspective to such a small dose of goodness. But, I wonder if they can really enjoy, remember and appreciate the truly good days that I speak of, in the same way that I remember them? I honestly don't know the answer to that, and clearly never will.

Ely's story, about his friend who recently passed away, reminded me of one of the truly good days that I remember. I will not bore you with all 12 of my good days, but I feel compelled to tell you about this one. This event occurred some seven or eight years ago.

My wife, daughter and I were to meet our best friends at a small lake where my best friend’s father owns a trailer. We do this a couple of times a year. Build a campfire, have burgers, brats and dogs on the grill and just hang out. For some reason that now escapes me, our friends could not make it, but we trudged on to spend time with his parents. The lake contains very few fish, but we fish anyway in hopes of catching one of the dozen or fish that somehow survive the "catch and release" program. I had known for some time that my friend was in desperate need of some new paddles for his canoe and johnboat, so I purchased a couple and gave them to him as a gift. He was shocked, and grateful.

We were set, turned on the trolling motor and headed across the lake to the "hot spot," where we knew that at least one of the fish hung out. We told stories and laughed a lot as we casted until our arms were ready to fall off, without, of course, even getting a strike. Not an unusual occurrence at this lake. But, we weren’t there to catch dinner, but to talk and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Darkness was setting in and it was nearing dinner time, so we decided to head back to the trailer to begin the evening festivities of burgers, a campfire and chat. We had gone no more than 20 feet when the trolling motor died, so we were forced to paddle back across the lake. I looked down for the new oars, and they were no where to be seen. I asked my friend's father (also one of my closest friends) where the oars were, and he said "back at the trailer." I mentioned that I had spent good money on these oars and that they really weren’t going to do us much good sitting on the shore across the lake, and we began laughing. The next thing I know, my friend puts his fishing pole in the water and begins paddling like mad. Amazingly, we began moving. I was laughing, put my pole in as well and we were paddling our little hearts out. We probably topped out at 1 mile per hour, but hey, we were moving. At some point, I burst out in laughter and had tears rolling down my face. New oars sitting on the dock, and here we are paddling with fishing poles the diameter of an eighth of an inch. At some point during the journey, he scolded me, saying, "I’m doing all the work here, you are not even paddling." That simply brought more laughter and tears.

When we finally returned to the dock, our families told us that they could hear us cackling with laughter all the way across the lake. They were wondering if our mental elevators had finally reached the basement and weren't coming back up.

I tell this, knowing full well that it was probably one of those "you had to be there to really appreciate it" stories. But, Ely telling of his friend who recently passed away, made me think of it. My friend is getting up there in years, and who knows how many opportunities we will have to "fish" together again. He and his son are perhaps the finest people I know, and I will cherish that day and evening until the day I die. It was a small moment in time, but absolutely a good day.

Friends

I mentioned that I could count my "true friends" on one hand or at most a hand and a half. And you know? I don’t mind that. I am often preoccupied with things flying around in my head, and appear aloof to many people. I honestly don’t put a lot of emphasis on making friends, probably a fault of mine. For that reason, many people, some of whom I have known for many years, think that I don’t like them. This is not true, but that is the impression that is left with them. I can’t help how other people perceive me. Well, I could, I guess, but I honestly don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it. I am who I am, and one can accept it or not. I do not expect people to change themselves to make me feel better, and if they are waiting for me to change for their sake, they will be disappointed. I try to be polite to all, but beyond that, it is what it is.

I say this leading up to another thing that Ely said, about this collection of people who have gravitated to the Real Deal. I have no idea how this has happened. I have done zero advertising for this web site, have not spent one dime promoting it, yet a whole lot of people have found their way here. I have had people with their own web sites write and ask me how I have managed this, many saying that they might get 10 people per week at their sites. Unfortunately, I have no answer for them. I honestly do not know how you all found this place, but somehow you have, and we have stuck together. This leads to my point.

There are literally millions of sites out there, so many places to receive information and make comments. I know that a handful of you have come here from Alternet, though there aren’t that many. I also don’t recall, more than a time or two, ever mentioning this site on Alternet. I remember telling Stoney about it way back when, and maybe another person or two in personal comments, or as personal as they can be in a place like that. Yet somehow we have come together as one in cyberspace, a place called the Real Deal. Some have come and gone, but for the most part people who have arrived here have stayed through the long haul. I simply write what I feel, and am wrong as much as I am right. Yet we hang together.

It has been interesting for me to learn about each of you who email me personally and those of you who choose to make comments on the blog. There are a much larger percentage of people who read what is written but never leave a comment. Some of you who do not comment write me personal emails. This is much like talk radio, where the vast majority of people listen but never consider making a phone call to the show. In fact, the numbers of just such people are staggering. I still do not believe the number of people who visit here, on a near daily basis. Most never appear on the blog, but I feel like I know the ones who either do comment or send me information through email. Many of the things that I am sent I am already aware of, but some I am not. Let it be known, all of the things that you guys send me are appreciated. It keeps me on my toes and alerts me to things that are written in other places, things that without you I would not know about. Now to friends, which I believe was the point of all of this before I began some inane babble.

There is no doubt that what Ely said about all of us is true. If we were somehow a community, living in close proximity to one another, I’m sure that we would get along splendidly. Our views of the world are remarkably similar, and I find it astounding that we have somehow found each other on the internet. Some power beyond my comprehension has allowed this to occur. I have no doubt about that; something, for some reason, has brought us together. I can proudly say that, should we all meet someday, somewhere, I would need more than a hand or a hand and a half with which to count my friends.

What Is Success?

Combined with a few things from Monday's post, that, my friends, is success. Success for all of us. My hope is, that someday soon, we will find a way to meet one another, and figure out a way to survive whatever the world brings us, together.

Cyclone



"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement—retiring—in the process of retiring, meaning they’re very smart, active, capable people who are retirement age and are retiring."

George W. Boosh; Alexandria, Virginia; February 12, 2003
(naw, money and a name can't get a blithering idiot in and out of Yale & Harvard in good standing)

What Is Success?

Ely brought up something that I believe needs to be addressed by all of us, at least individually. Probably collectively at some point too, but I’m afraid that we are much too far along in our self-imposed doom for that to occur. The collective part, that is. So, we are left to ponder what success is as individuals.

I don’t know how we have done it, but somehow we have collected a special group of people here. A group that truly cares about each other, cares about America, (screw you Boosh, we are NOT unpatriotic simply because we believe that you are a cancerous mole on the ‘arse of the world and don’t mind saying so) and care about the future of this place which you have chosen to systematically destroy. We may not all agree on what success is, but I want to throw my two cents worth in. This will be in more than one part since, as usual, I have a lot to say. Thanks, Ely, for throwing this topic out there. It is important, I think.

Success

I am undoubtedly in the minority in my view of success. Unlike nearly everyone I know, I don’t give a damn about money. Never have. That can be a good thing, but can also have its downside. It is good in the sense that it is one area of my life in which I can eliminate what seems to be a major stressor for most Americans, the chase of the almighty dollar. I just don’t care about it. As long as I can have food, a warm (or cool) place to live in, and a way to get around when I need to, I am satisfied with that aspect of my life. I do not need a $250,000 house and the mortgage that goes with it, nor a new Escalade or Cadillac. What I need is a house that has enough room in it for my family, a computer, a few guitars and the dogs. Automobile wise, I need a car that starts every day, gets me where I am going, and has a working air conditioner. (a must) Really, pretty simple things for me to achieve, but I may have been lucky. I know full well that many people, in fact a whole lot of people, struggle to achieve the rather simple above mentioned lifestyle. And that is simply wrong, while we are spending billions of dollars blowing up the world. But, I digress.

The above can be bad in another sense. When one must share life with so many people who believe success is measured by where one lives, the type of cars they own, the amount of money in the bank, one with my views can be scoffed at pretty easily. If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a million times; “Why has he not reached his potential?” I know that my views frustrate those closest to me, but like I said, I’m way in the minority here. The conditioning that Big Business, Hollywood, Politicians and many other entities have managed to implant in Americans brains, has been effective, to say the least. Those things, along with societal pressures to “make it big,” are difficult for most to fend off. Virtually everyone either has gotten or will get into the game of “one-upsmanship” with their neighbors and friends at some point. This has never happened to me nor bothered me; I chose immediately after high school not to play the game. Some people reach "my view" later in life; perhaps after "making it" and losing it like so many have, or are in many cases, still chasing it. I cannot fault them for that; it is just not my style. I believe that in the end, they will be disappointed, but I could be wrong. It seems to me that once one is caught up in that vicious cycle of needing more, more, more, now, now, now, it is a very difficult if not impossible lifestyle to get out of. I also believe that this has contributed as much as anything to how we, as a nation, have gotten to where we are today. I know that when the inevitable crash occurs, there are a whole lot of people who will fall a lot farther than I will. I feel bad for them, but also think that they should have paid a bit more attention. They will not deal with it nearly as well as I will, because they do not see it coming. But, we all make our choices.

Happiness

I think when one talks of success, they must also consider happiness. That is where my views and lifestyle fail me, fail me miserably. I see many people who are happy; they look at the bright side of everything that occurs. I admire them, and truly wish that I could be like them. You know, the glass half-full, half empty thing. I tend to fall in the 3/4 empty category, which is not a pleasant place to live. I am not a terribly happy person, and honestly cannot imagine anything in today’s world that could change enough to make me perpetually happy. But, I have paid attention, and that is the price you pay for doing so. If one chooses to live in a small box and ignore the larger picture, they can go through life quite happy. I envy them to a great degree; they seem to be the most pleasant people that I know. But that is just not me. I’m probably not viewed by most as pleasant, happy or even particularly likeable. I call it like I see it, and many are put off by that. But, in my view, this world is a cesspool, and I cannot ignore that, or let it go without comment. It’s just not the way I am wired. I don’t know if I am the way I am because of the things I have done in my professional life, or if I came out of the womb this way. I don’t guess it really matters, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time, or even one second, trying to figure it out. I want to be clear, when I say "the world is a cesspool," I’m not speaking of people individually. I’m talking about the leaders of this place we call the world. They are a collection of power mongering, money grubbing, terroristic misfits who essentially bullied their way to power. It’s a good deal if you are their friend, but it sucks for the rest of us. Or, in the case of George W. Boosh, he simply had it land in his lap. His power came from being one of the many born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he has never given up sucking on it. I do not envy people like him, and am thankful for that. Boosh is a rare breed, one who somehow rose to lead the free world. Unfortunately, he could not finish a Harry Potter novel. The concentration power is just not there, you know. Funny how life works, isn’t it?

Peace, the Inner Kind

Aside from happiness, I believe that there is something more important that one must seek to be successful. That is inner peace. How one achieves inner peace is an individual thing, but I guess I am talking about a spiritual peace. Or, a peace with nature and with the physical space in which we live. Collectively, I think it is obvious that we as a people have failed miserably at this. While many of us respect the earth, we as a whole have abused the beautiful world which was given to us. Much of this abuse is due to the above mentioned chase for success, or more accurately, the chase for the almighty dollar. Other reasons are a direct result of our misguided leadership.

My road to inner peace has been a struggle. I had it for quite some time, then had it snatched from me. During this period of my life I was like a lost puppy in the rain, miserable beyond my wildest imagination. It took a long time to get that "peace" back, in fact I still am not back to where I once was. But, I appreciate what peace I do have all the more now. It is what I strive for, my personal "almighty dollar," if you will. Believe me, it would be a lot simpler to gain dollars than inner peace, but I somehow think that the reward would not be as special or comforting. I also believe that without this, one will not survive the upcoming events. We each have to be able to rely on someone or something, and that reliance cannot be on any fellow man. I say this for a couple of reasons. One, although I have thousands of acquaintances, I can count on a hand and a half the people who I would consider true friends. Maybe even one hand, I’m not sure. One thing that I am sure of, however, is that when the economy collapses or WWIII begins, each individual had better have a place to go deep inside themselves to find some peace. There will certainly be no peace in the outside world, not should you eventually summon the courage to open your eyes. But again, finding inner peace is an individual process, and cannot be pushed on you or shoved down your throat. If that occurs, it is not real. No one can tell you how to do it; it is a never ending journey inside of yourself. Just like the Real Deal and life itself, it is not pain free.

To be continued………………………

Cyclone



“I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.”

George W. Boosh; Washington, D.C.; May 25, 2004

Cyclone Update

Hey guys and gals. I just wanted to let you all know what is going on with me at present, and give a mini update on something. This is one of the few opportunities that I have to do so, as unforeseen events have entered my life. Unfortunately, due to the setup of this blog, it has to go above my Belgian friend's as of yet unanswered question. So, after reading this, you can go back to the business at hand.

First, I don't know how many baseball fans we have here, so I'll do a short explanation. As many of you know, I formerly umpired professional baseball and currently work college baseball. The Minor League Umpires are on strike, in fact have been on strike since spring training began. I was contacted by the AAA International League and the AAA Pacific Coast League to umpire in their leagues until the strike is settled, and am currently working in the International League. Whether or not I will become involved with the Pacific Coast League is still up in the air. This has created a scheduling nightmare, and disrupted any semblance of organization that I had. Attempting to get the college games that I was already assigned to work covered, plus work through scheduling the professional games has put me, and the leagues, in total scramble mode. These are large money operations, the games must be played or fans will be lost by the droves. At the moment, this leaves little time for the Real Deal, and for that I apologize. Once everything settles a bit I should be able to return to a more normal posting schedule. Until then, you guys have proven more than capable of carrying on without me.

The Economy

Also, I received some news yesterday from a highly reliable source that the economic implosion we have been talking about for some time is near fruition. I am told that making it to the end of June without a huge negative economic event is highly doubtful. The end of May is iffy. Hopefully, you have made some preparations already; I know that many of you have. For those who haven't, do not delay. Make certain you have food and water on hand. As no one knows what this will look like on the backside, in my view, you cannot have too many stockpiled supplies.

It appears to be 75/25 that the day many have dreaded and others have relished is very, very near. Again, do not believe any of the numbers that are bandied about by Booshco and the Fed, they are simply made up. The house of cards is soon to tumble. I would suggest keeping your eye on the prices of oil and gold over the next week or two. It may well give some reasonable indication as to where we are headed. Finally, get prepared for the worst. It could well happen overnight. I believe that the only question left is whether or not Boosh will nuke Iran before we crash. If we invade Iran, either through nuclear or conventional means, you will know that we have reached the end.

I'll be back as soon as I can get things organized, or will figure out a way to post something should I get news of an immediate impending crisis. Thanks, as always, to Murph for taking good care of things in my absence.

Now, back to my Belgian friend's puzzle. For the record, I do not know who he is referring to in his question. I have not had time to think much about it, but doubt that I would get it right even if I did. I do think that Missouri may be a key hint, however. Until then,

Cyclone

Who Am I? The First Installment

Let’s play a game and have some fun during these dark times.

I am going to write a narrative based on two real political figures, and the assignment for you guys is to identify who they are. The first one to correctly identify the players will win the Grand Prize. I don’t know what the prize is, but I can assure you that it will have little to no monetary value. The satisfaction will lie in being able to proudly carry the moniker, Winner of the first installment of “Cyclone’s Who Am I” award. I will be as careful as possible to not make it obvious who these people are, so some things in quotation marks may be changed to a degree. I will not change the meaning of what was conveyed. As I have never tried anything like this before, I am going to keep it very short. I’m unsure how much information to divulge during Part 1, so we’ll see if it is enough. Warning: there may be a trick or two involved, so be creative in your thinking. Just consider it a pop quiz. Here we go.

Who Am I

We once had a President who had dreams for helping create a peaceful world. His idea was to spread democracy across the globe. He, like all Presidents, wanted a very strong national defense. He considered himself a moral man, and supported Democratic Leaders around the world. His theory was that we should be strong in all elements, military and otherwise. His position was that we should have a country so strong that we would never have to prove to the world that we were strong.

Unfortunately, with the partisan political situation that existed at the time, he had an adversary from the other party. He delighted in opposing every policy that the President endorsed. At one point, this adversary said the following: (again, although in quotations, this is paraphrased to a degree)

“The notion that we can impose liberalization and democratization on other countries is absurd. It is impossible to implement the idea of the belief that it is possible to democratize governments anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. Democracy depends on complex social, cultural, and economic conditions….and take decades if not centuries.” He then praised “traditional authoritarian dictatorships in Chile, the Philippines and Nicaragua, among others. He later went to Chile and Argentina to assure their leaders that our President would no longer intrude on their internal human rights issues, and that they could operate without fear of interference from the American government.

Okay, that’s all you get. Just post your answers in the normal fashion. You can answer as many times as you wish. The first one who posts the correct answer gets the Prize. Should no one correctly identify the two people involved, I will give further information until someone does. Then, I will do a piece on why I thought of this, and go much more in depth as to why this is important. Good luck.

Cyclone

Sad State of America

I am preparing a post with a little different take, but it is not ready yet. So, I am going to throw this in, given the events of 4/6/06.

I was traveling yesterday when I received a phone call from an investigator who told me that Boosh, through Cheney, had authorized Scooter Libby to virtually eliminate Valerie Plame, ruining her life along with the life of her husband, Joseph Wilson. For that to be true, of course, you must believe what Scooter Libby told the Grand Jury, and I know of no reason to doubt this information. I was listening to CNN on my satellite radio, and kept switching it back and forth from there to MSNBC and heard nothing on the subject for about 2 hours. Then they both jumped on the story, and carried it most of the rest of the day. I was not terribly surprised by this news, but found something else that “kinda sorta” ties into all of this. Bear with me, please.

When I first got in the car, I heard the tail end of a conversation with a Senator discussing the immigration deal that they were allegedly about to cut on the floor of the Senate. Unfortunately, as I picked up the interview late, I did not pick up on which Senator it was. I did not recognize his voice. I found what he said astonishing, but it reflects on the apathy which has infected the American populace. I can’t quote him directly, but can summarize what he had to say.

He essentially said that the main reason that the Senate decided to move was because of the mass demonstrations of the Hispanic community, demonstrations occuring in the streets of America. It is clear that they have a true mission, that they care deeply about this issue, and that the Senate needed to do their best to create a compromise that would satisfy all.

For the most part, this is BS. We all know that. Satisfy all? Hardly. They are satisfying the big business lobby, and defying the will of the American people. They are ignoring our will, plus ignoring the will of the people who have been working hard through legal means to enter this country. All polls overwhelmingly show that we want secure borders, and this mish mash of proposed legislation doesn’t even address that issue. But, that’s not really what I want to talk about.

What interested me about what this unidentified Senator had to say was the part about the demonstrations having an effect on the actions of the Senate. I have said before that we should have 50 million people with their butt’s planted on Pennsylvania Avenue until the entire cast of Booshco are run out of town and placed back under a rock or in Gitmo. Wherever, I don't care. Just get them gone and off of my television set and out of my face. If it took a month, so be it. If it took some people going to jail, so be it. How many can they possibly lock up? Of course, for that to occur, it would require said Americans to get off of said butt’s and do something, which (by the way) will not happen. It won’t happen because we are a comatose society, and believe it when we are told that things are just peachy. I doubt that the average American sees the significance of what was revealed yesterday about Boosh himself authorizing the Plame leak. But, we can learn something here.

The Hispanic community reminded us of something that occurred during the Viet Nam War. They reminded us that civil disobedience can have an impact on what happens
in Washington. When you think about it, the numbers of Hispanics involved were not all that large. But they were certainly much larger than anything that 300 million Americans have been able to piece together so far during various "protests."
I doubt that we have the collective will to get 100,000 people to attend an organized rally, much less the estimated 500,000 Hispanics that rallied across the nation. And that, my friends, is a sad state of affairs.

I am not a fool, and don’t believe for a second that if the exact same number of American citizens did what the Hispanic community managed to accomplish, that the attention of the US Senate would be garnered. I say this for a couple of reasons. One, the percentage of Americans versus the percentage of Hispanics in this
country is tilted heavily to the side of the Americans. So, we would need a whole lot more people. Two, the Senate, those who were elected to represent American citizens, have determined that Americans are way down on the food chain in contrast to the Hispanic community and others, regardless of whether they are here legally or illegally. American public opinion is virtually ignored, evidenced by
the lack of action taken despite the clear opposition to the war in Iraq. This also
will hold true with the upcoming nuke battles in Iran, Syria and wherever else the idiot stick decides to stick his nose. This is all assuming, of course, that we can prop the economy up long enough to act in other areas, but that's a different animal. So, back to the point at hand. The numbers of Americans involved would need to be much, much larger to have any impact.

But it could be done, if the collective will of the American people reached the point which most of the rest of the world has already reached. To the point of saying that we’ve had enough of an outlaw regime, one operating without any apparent oversight, one that has turned our country into nothing other than a dictatorship. To the point where we the people say that we are not going to take it any more. For that to happen, a massive demonstration needs to occur in Washington D.C., a demonstration that will not be turned back nor deterred regardless of the reaction of those in power to such an event. Sadly, it won’thappen.

Maybe the Hispanics are correct. They seem to care a hell of a lot more about what is happening in this country than the American people do, and are clearly able to organize and act in what they feel is their best interest. And, they managed to do it in a short time and in an effective fashion. Maybe we should just turn this country over to them, be they legal immigrants or illegal workers. Until we show ourselves and the world that we care as much about this place as they do, we have no right to question their actions when it comes to flying Mexican flags, speaking Spanish, or whatever agenda they propose. We just don’t have the gumption to stand up for anything anymore. Quite frankly, we get what we deserve, and this is a microcosm of what we have created for ourselves. Created by slumbering through our lives while allowing those in power to have the unfettered ability to destroy what once was America.

One unknown Senator, one line that may or may not be true. I think that his comment is probably not true; he is more likely pointing out the demonstrations as an excuse for the reprehensible actions of the Senate. But, at the very least, it should act as a wake up call to every apathetic American, showing what could be done if the numbers demonstrating were 50 Million Americans instead of 500,000 Hispanics. Unfortunately, it won't happen and it is likely way too late anyway. But, to go down without a fight, without even a whimper, makes me ashamed to be an American. So, I leave you with a question.

How much longer are we going to take this?

Cyclone


“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”

George W. Boosh; La Crosse, Wisconsin; October 18, 2000

Here Come The Nukes

Desperate men will do desperate things. How many times have you read that on this site? Well, you are about to read it again.

These have become desperate times. You may have noticed that Iran has test fired a couple of new missiles over the last couple of days. The Iranians have stated that these new weapons have the capability to avoid radar, and have not so subtly implied that they can strap nuclear weapons to them should such action become necessary. These weapons also carry more than one payload, apparently a minimum of three, and are designed to blow submarines out of the water. Why now, you ask? Is this an attempt to fuel the fire of the Boosh machine, forcing the Boosh hand? As it turns out, no. There is a bit more to it than that.

You see, Boosh has signed another one of those special letters that no one had ever heard of before he made it a regular occurrence in the White House. You know, the letters where Boosh gives himself written permission before the fact to do whatever he damn well pleases, without the okay from Congress, the American people or his mother, Barbara. Very similar to the one that he wrote allowing himself to wiretap American citizens, and the one that allows him to ignore the new laws that Congress passed to try to recreate some checks and balances to counter the power of the Potentate. No, this time it’s different, very different.

The Iranians are testing these weapons because they are getting ready to need to use them. On us, Israel, and anyone else whom they feel threatened by. They are going to need to use them because of the new Boosh letter. This one gives him the power to attack Iran whenever he wants to, and nukes are not off the table. In fact, nukes are the main course of the meal, and are the most likely the weapon of choice to use in this madman’s newest self fueled confrontation. Boosh has at his disposal some new toys, and the time to open them has arrived.

As I have said many times before, we do not have the manpower to invade Iran. That is, not by using any conventional methods. Iran has seen what happened to its neighbors in Iraq, and is saying “no thank you” to the Booshies. They are telling Boosh not to “bring Democracy” to their country. The difference is, they are a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more prepared for us than Saddam Hussein was, and they have a lot bigger balls. Unlike Hussein, their threats are not idle. So, in the view of a Boosh, it’s time to open the toy box.

In it, you will find the newest and baddest weapon to date, the “bunker buster nuke.” You remember seeing “bunker busters” blowing up in the caves in the Afghan desert. You know, back when we were allegedly hunting for Osama bin Laden. They penetrate deep, have a slight delay, then blow the hell out of whatever is down there. They blow up some stuff on top of the ground too, but what’s a little unexpected above ground chaos when you’re chasing oil? Nothing, I guess, until you attach nuclear weapons to the bunker buster technology. Then the above ground action gets a little dicey. Think the Muslim world hates us now? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. In fact, it will piss off everybody in the world, including our “allies,” or people who we claim as allies.

George W. Boosh is an anti-social misfit who happened to fall into the position of being the President of the United States. Like all people with anti-social personality disorder, his mentality goes something like this. “If we’re going down, we’re going to take all of you evil people that we can with us.” And we’re going down, not if but when. During my years in the Death Penalty business, I encountered many diagnosed anti-social individuals. Boosh fits the mold to a T. Sad, pathetic losers, the entire lot of them. But, unlike Boosh, my clients were not the leaders of the free world.

All reports that I have gained access to point to the fact that Boosh is going to do it. The plans have been drawn up, he merely needs to nod his head and give the order. He must do it quickly, before the economy collapses. Kind of a last ditch effort to save this place. Unfortunately, it will not work. There is no miracle save left; we’ve used up all of our chips.

The only alternative is to ask Israel to fire instead, something that they would be more than happy to do. But, in the long run, that presents problems for Israel and does not change the end result. Iran will fire on anyone within their reach during the aftermath, and that includes Israel. Iran’s range capability with the recently test fired weapons is about 1000 miles. We would then have to come to Israel’s defense, likely all by ourselves. The world will be horrified, not wanting to do anything but watch the terror from afar, hoping that there is something left when the dust settles. If they are attacked, Iran has said that they will arm every terrorist organization that they can reach, recreating what goes on daily in Baghdad in every major city around the world, including cities here in the USA. Make no mistake about it, they will do so in a heartbeat.

Welcome to WWIII. If you are an anti-social type, you’ll enjoy the fireworks before the Great Depression. If you are sane, you will shudder at the thought.

Cyclone


“I’m also not very analytical. You know, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things.”

George W. Boosh; Aboard Air Force One; June 4, 2003