Southern Poverty Lie Center

Well, okay.  That might be a little harsh I suppose but I couldn't think of another word that sounded close to law.  They might not lie with the intent to create harm but they are stretching the truth to exaggerate for what is an otherwise good cause.  They clearly get carried away with their open hatred of people that don't agree with them.  I was checking out their website a few weeks back when I saw this headline:  SPLC Intelligence Report: Cadre of Hard-Core Activists Fueling Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate.  The thrust of the story was that Rush Limbaugh and Fox News were causing an increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes.  Me, being the skeptic I am, did some digging and found out that their claims don't really match FBI and Department of Justice statistics.  Of course the DoJ has their own touchy feelie take on hate crimes but even they admit it's difficult to track the trends.  The FBI report for 2009, the last year available shows Islamic victims make up 8.4% of the targets.  Jews? 71.9.

It's fine to have a cause but you loose a lot of credibility when you just make something up to scare or influence people that are unfamiliar with the subject.  That goes for you too Michelle Bachman and your claim that HPV causes mental retardation, despite no scientific proof.  (Equal time for right and left wing loons).

A Brief Catch-up

Some things going on lately.  An old acquaintance was killed a few days back in a motorcycle accident.  He was around when I first got my Vmax in '97.  We used to ride together quite a lot in Gallup New Mexico.  He was one of those Harley or nothing guys.  I'll give him credit though, he rode as much as I do.  Over time we went our separate ways and crossed paths occasionally, the last time he was actually a huge ass towards me.  I know generally I have it coming but this particular time I didn't.  I don't hold any hard feelings and I actually prefer that he was still around.  He was always kind of right on the edge of obnoxious jerk and decent guy.

I probably shouldn't have led with such a downer but at least it's out of the way.  Now on to the good news.  We bought a house at the beginning of this month (August 26th actually).  It's great to not be renting, there is finally a sense of permanence.  I'm looking forward to hanging my Frazetta posters, Lisa on the other hand is not.  The dogs love the back yard, there was a bobcat spotted in the neighborhood and we have a giant buck eating the neighbors' flowers every night, life is pretty swell.

I'm going to go back to posting here as much as possible.  Twitter and Facebook kind of drew me away but then I realized that all I was doing was spamming friends with stupid articles that I thought were interesting but no one else cared about.  Sometimes Twitter makes me an asshole too.  Yeah, sure, blame Twitter for that one. 

A Metaphor For Life

The other day I was standing in the garage when a little girl came barreling down the sidewalk. Her pink bike was trailing streamers off the handle bars and she was standing bent over locked in full Lance Armstrong mode. She was traveling so fast I barely caught a glimpse of her and her blond locks flying free in the wind. I turned back around to whatever it was I was doing and a second later I hear a shrill whiny voice screaming "Ashley, come back. We have to wait for my Mom! Ashley, Ashley, Ashley!" There stood a little girl who clearly didn't understand that Ashley either was too far away to hear, or more likely didn't give a flying fuck whether she was with little Miss Prissy Pants' Mom or not. She had a hill to fly down and some over-regulated sheep girl and her Overlord keeper weren't getting in Ashley's way. I felt a moment of what it was like to be a child and hoped the little girl carried that rebellious, thrill-seeking side with her the rest of her life. I also hoped she didn't get hit at the intersection of the next street.

Bin Laden Is One Dead Son Of A Bitch

This one is worth noting. It feels like things have changed a little. While most news organizations talk about him as a mostly symbolic leader of Al Qaeda, it still feels more significant then that. Even though there has been this sense for awhile now it really seems that Al Qaeda is broken. It's easy to look back with 20/20 hindsight, however Osama thought we were weak but if you think about it, if he had any sense he was probably regretting 9/11 everyday since the day it happened.



I think it's interesting that there's so much hand wringing over the release of the death photos of UBL. I just got done reading Public Enemies and the book is full of photos the newspapers published of the bullet riddled corpses of Bonnie, Clyde and John Dillinger. Hell, they sent Jesse James's cadaver on a tour of the country after his death. I think the country is about ready for justice old west style.

Clyde and Bonnie, dead as shit

Sorry for the awkwardly worded post, I'm way out of practice and can't seem to form coherent thoughts.

Is This The Best You've Got?

You're really not trying.

FROM THE DESK OF:MR. SANUSI LAMIDODIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCEFOREIGN OPERATIONS.Swift Code: BPH KPL PK,A/C#: 329606=101244=169=678 FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT ATTENTION: YOUR OVER DUE INHERITANCE FUND THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU THAT YOUR OVER DUE INHERITANCE FUND HAS BEEN GAZZETED AND AWAITING RELEASE, VIA ATM VISA CARD TO YOU BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE FOR FOREIGN OVER DUE FUND PAYMENT.

MEANWHILE,A WOMAN CAME TO MY OFFICE FEW DAYS AGO WITH A LETTER, CLAIMINGTO BE YOUR TRUE REPRESENTATIVE. HERE ARE HER INFORMATIONS:NAME: JANET WHITEBANK NAME: CITI BANKBANK ADDRESS:ARIZONA,USA. ACCOUNT Number: 6503809428

PLEASE,DO RECONFIRM TO THIS OFFICE ,AS A MATTER OF URGENCY IF THIS WOMAN IS FROM YOU SO THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING INTO THE WRONG ACCOUNT NAME. THE RESERVE BANK GOVERNOR,EXECUTIVE, BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE SENATE COMMITTEE FOR FOREIGN OVERDUE INHERITTANCE FUND HAVE APPROVED AND ACCREDITED THIS REPUTABLE BANK WITH THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE / FOREIGN OPERATIONS,TO HANDLE AND RELEASE ALL FOREIGN INHERITTANCE FUNDS THIS FIRST PAYMENT BATCH OF THE YEAR.

HOWEVER,WE SHALL PROCEED TO ISSUE ALL PAYMENTS DETAILS TO THE SAID MRS.WHITE, IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN THE NEXT SEVEN WORKING DAYS FROM TODAY.

CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE.BEST REGARDS, MR. SANUSI LAMIDODIRECTOR, ALL BANK GOVERNOR CC: BOARD OF DIRECTORS EMAIL: mddhabbmdd210_at_gmail.com

From an email I received today.

Remember when I used to post here? Me too. Soon again, I hope.

Rush At Redrocks Pt II

Last night was incredible. I haven't been to a concert in ages. About the only place I'll go anymore is Red Rocks. It's the only place that seems to be worth the hassle. Last night was the first time I've been to Red Rocks when it hasn't rained.

I got excited right off the bat. Where I parked required me to pass the parking area for the tour buses. There were four big identical RVs, one with a motorcycle trailer, ramp down and Neil Peart's brand of choice, a BMW sitting next to it. I took a picture with my cell phone.

The show opened with an amusing little film but all I really cared about was the music. I kind of make a big deal out of waiting 30 years to see Rush. It's partially a joke, obviously I could have seen them sometime in between the age of 15 and now. But even though it's a joke it felt like a huge deal to me. Here is a band that I've known and loved for the better part of 40 years and I'm finally going to get to see them playing all the songs I love live.

The set list (courtesy of Westword - also a review with good photos)

RUSH - SETLIST
Red Rocks Amphitheatre - 08.16.10

1. The Spirit Of Radio
2. Time Stand Still
3. Presto
4. Stick It Out
5. Workin' Them Angels
6. Leave That Thing Alone
7. Faithless
8. I Was Brought Up to Believe
9. Freewill
10. Marathon
11. Subdivisions

SET TWO

12. Tom Sawyer
13. Red Barchetta
14. YYZ
15. Limelight
16. The Camera Eye
17. Witch Hunt
18. Vital Signs
19. Caravan
20. Drum Solo
21. Closer To The Heart
22. 2112 Part I: Overture
23. 2112 Part II: The Temples Of Syrinx
24. Far Cry

ENCORE

25. LaVilla Strangiato
26. Working Man

For reasons that are hard to explain, it was as close to a spiritual moment as I've ever had at a concert. I looked out at the crowd and saw people singing along with the newer songs from more recent albums. I was amongst my people.

Am I Wishy Washy?

I think the Republicans are starting to make a come back into the halls of power. It's a little hard to say. Maybe I'm just paying more attention recently. The reason I say this is because they are starting to get on my nerves a lot more lately. We really do have a short attention span don't? Last month it was immigration, this month it's that Goddamn mosque. Don't get me wrong, the Democrats are still my number one enemy as far as political parties go but as conservative as I am, I find that whoever is the loudest complainer at the moment is the one that bugs me the most. It's kind of like Atheists vs Christians to me. The loud ones are the most annoying. The same with gay marriage. I was thinking about this the other day and unless I'm missing something I'm now for polygamy too. I have to be consistent, and if I believe that interracial marriage and same sex marriage aren't harmful to society (which I really don't) then marriage between three or more consenting adults is okay to right? Maybe my logic is flawed.

I think my take on the "GZ Mosque" (again for the short attention spanned among us) is best summed up in this article in the National Review Online - A Very Long Post On Cordoba House and an op ed by Cato Institute's Gene Healy in the Washington Examiner - 'Mosque' debate is a red herring. That last one really speaks to me. There for awhile I was really excited when people started talking about the deficit and things that mattered. The common folk were (and still are) riled up but that got turned into and argument about Tea Parties being racist, what the...how did that happen? Is it a grand conspiracy to minimize important issues or is it news channels just trying to grab more ratings be sensationalizing everything.

Oh my beautiful country, our beautiful country. Can't we just stay focused.