From Russ Feingold:
A Republican Senator is trying to derail my campaign finance disclosure bill, and I need your help to figure out who it is.
http://ga1.org/ct/r1euNo71yjWP/
My legislation, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S. 223), requires Senate campaigns to submit campaign finance reports electronically. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? House campaigns, political parties, Presidential campaigns, and even 527's already file their reports online - but that's not the case in the Senate.
The Senate has exempted themselves from this requirement and is only required to file paper reports. The public's ability to review these reports in a timely manner is substantially curtailed by these antiquated paper filings. Not only that, it costs taxpayers over $250,000 per year to have these reports scanned and made available online at a much later date.
When Senator Feinstein and I sought to pass this legislation by unanimous consent, an objection was voiced on the floor "on behalf of a Republican senator." Senators are within their rights to object to a bill coming to the floor of the Senate, but the objecting senator has not been named, and no one has spoken to me about any objection they may have to this legislation.
The use of these so-called "secret holds" has rightly come under attack in recent years, and I need your help to try and determine who may be delaying this common sense reform measure.
If you are represented by a Republican senator, please contact them and ask if they're holding up my Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. You can get contact info for your senators here: http://ga1.org/ct/r1euNo71yjWP/
If you live in a state with two Democratic senators, consider forwarding this email to your friends in states that aren't so lucky.
If you learn of anything that may be useful in helping me identify the "Secret Hold Senator," email me at russ@progressivepatriotsfund.com.
I have no intention of dropping this issue and I appreciate your help in keeping the pressure on to try and identify this anonymous objector.
Sincerely,
Russ Feingold
United States Senator
Honorary Chair, Progressive Patriots Fund
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
You Reap What They Sow.
"When you sleep with someone, you're sleeping with everyone they've ever slept with and everyone they've ever slept with and so on..."
It's true in regards to sex and, as an analogy, it's true in regards to professional and public reputations.
I got a reminder of that, recently, courtesy of a decision made by a company I've contracted with to provide services in regards to the Melhi Ink store. They decided to migrate their in-house affiliate program to a 3rd party. I'd parted ways with that 3rd party, many years ago,vowing never to do business with them, again, despite the fact that I'd cashed a lot of checks from them. As much as I love money -- and I DO love money --some things are just more important.
This 3rd party is structured to favor large "incentive publishers," which, from the perspective of a merchant or another affiliate publisher, is a parasite that bleeds merchants dry while snaking commissions from other affiliate publishers and often diverting traffic. These programs are the lowest of the low... the bottom feeders on the underbelly of affiliate marketing. I will not be associated with them, directly and... going back to that safe-sex adage, above... I CANNOT associate with them, even by proxy or their poison spreads through me to the other people and projects I'm associated with.
I'm politically active. I've supported candidates, volunteered on their campaigns, I'm active in my local party, I've run for office, myself and may run again someday. I sit on an important civic committee and am helping to draft a new cooperative corporation that will set policy and shape the economic future of my county for many generations beyond my meager lifespan. I'm looking at starting a large, national-scale online business with a business partner who is a good friend and is also an honest and ethical man with a solid reputation. He has other projects and businesses of his own to protect. The potential damage from a simple business decision, made by a service provider I use for a small sideline project I barely have time for goes far beyond just linking my own reputation and brand to shady operations.
So, I lent my voice to the chorus of other concerned shopkeepers and designers who use this service and lacking an immediate answer to this concern, I began to search for alternative POD service providers. I found an excellent service for apparel, with a small but expanding gifts line and my designs will be available through that service, soon. I also found an excellent outlet for greeting cards and may make some of my designs available through that service, later in the year.
I lacked only a provider for bumperstickers, mugs and pinback badges when an answer came. After considering all of the information about incentive programs and our concerns about the damage associating with them, directly or by proxy would do to our names, brands & bottom lines as well as to the service provider's reputation and bottom line, the company determined that they will NOT accept incentive publishers into their affiliate program. So, I CAN continue to use this company, and will continue to use them, while also making my designs available through a wider selection of services.
While I'm very pleased with this service provider's decision, either way, the crisis would have been averted because I know that my personal, professional, political and public reputation is built not only on my own actions but also on the reputations of those with whom I choose to associate, which is built on their actions and their associations and so on.
It's a simple concept... most of us begin to grasp it and learn to implement it in our lives in pre-school when we refuse to play with the boogar eater lest we be likewise ostracized as boogar eaters by association. It's a shame so many of our current political leaders fail to grasp it in even the smallest measure.
It's true in regards to sex and, as an analogy, it's true in regards to professional and public reputations.
I got a reminder of that, recently, courtesy of a decision made by a company I've contracted with to provide services in regards to the Melhi Ink store. They decided to migrate their in-house affiliate program to a 3rd party. I'd parted ways with that 3rd party, many years ago,vowing never to do business with them, again, despite the fact that I'd cashed a lot of checks from them. As much as I love money -- and I DO love money --some things are just more important.
This 3rd party is structured to favor large "incentive publishers," which, from the perspective of a merchant or another affiliate publisher, is a parasite that bleeds merchants dry while snaking commissions from other affiliate publishers and often diverting traffic. These programs are the lowest of the low... the bottom feeders on the underbelly of affiliate marketing. I will not be associated with them, directly and... going back to that safe-sex adage, above... I CANNOT associate with them, even by proxy or their poison spreads through me to the other people and projects I'm associated with.
I'm politically active. I've supported candidates, volunteered on their campaigns, I'm active in my local party, I've run for office, myself and may run again someday. I sit on an important civic committee and am helping to draft a new cooperative corporation that will set policy and shape the economic future of my county for many generations beyond my meager lifespan. I'm looking at starting a large, national-scale online business with a business partner who is a good friend and is also an honest and ethical man with a solid reputation. He has other projects and businesses of his own to protect. The potential damage from a simple business decision, made by a service provider I use for a small sideline project I barely have time for goes far beyond just linking my own reputation and brand to shady operations.
So, I lent my voice to the chorus of other concerned shopkeepers and designers who use this service and lacking an immediate answer to this concern, I began to search for alternative POD service providers. I found an excellent service for apparel, with a small but expanding gifts line and my designs will be available through that service, soon. I also found an excellent outlet for greeting cards and may make some of my designs available through that service, later in the year.
I lacked only a provider for bumperstickers, mugs and pinback badges when an answer came. After considering all of the information about incentive programs and our concerns about the damage associating with them, directly or by proxy would do to our names, brands & bottom lines as well as to the service provider's reputation and bottom line, the company determined that they will NOT accept incentive publishers into their affiliate program. So, I CAN continue to use this company, and will continue to use them, while also making my designs available through a wider selection of services.
While I'm very pleased with this service provider's decision, either way, the crisis would have been averted because I know that my personal, professional, political and public reputation is built not only on my own actions but also on the reputations of those with whom I choose to associate, which is built on their actions and their associations and so on.
It's a simple concept... most of us begin to grasp it and learn to implement it in our lives in pre-school when we refuse to play with the boogar eater lest we be likewise ostracized as boogar eaters by association. It's a shame so many of our current political leaders fail to grasp it in even the smallest measure.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Million Blogs For Peace Assignment
First Tuesday Topic -- One Million Blogs for Peace:
Think back four years ago, to when you first heard that the Iraq War had started. Were you for or against the war at the time?
If you were for it, what has changed your mind over the last four years? If you were against it, why were you against it?
I was firmly and steadfastly against it.
I knew the WMD claim was bogus -- anyone who'd paid attention from the first gulf war on, should have known that.
I didn't want our focus and resources shifted from Osama bin Ladin and Al Queda... certainly not to the extent that so many of my fellow Americans were duped into forgetting that it was Osama and not Sadam who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks!
Any idiot (except, apparantly, the idiots in the Bush adminionstration) could have forseen that destabilizing Iraq would lead to civil war, while at the same time laying open Iraq's once secure borders to terrorists, creating new breeding and training grounds for them.
I knew we had no justification for the invasion, I knew we were being lied to and I knew we had no hope of achieving a victory that was never defined.
...And I am not giddy to be proven right, as the few remaining Bush supporters accuse. To the contrary, every moment of every day since we invaded, I have ached to the pit of my soul with the desperate longing to be proven wrong.
Think back four years ago, to when you first heard that the Iraq War had started. Were you for or against the war at the time?
If you were for it, what has changed your mind over the last four years? If you were against it, why were you against it?
I was firmly and steadfastly against it.
I knew the WMD claim was bogus -- anyone who'd paid attention from the first gulf war on, should have known that.
I didn't want our focus and resources shifted from Osama bin Ladin and Al Queda... certainly not to the extent that so many of my fellow Americans were duped into forgetting that it was Osama and not Sadam who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks!
Any idiot (except, apparantly, the idiots in the Bush adminionstration) could have forseen that destabilizing Iraq would lead to civil war, while at the same time laying open Iraq's once secure borders to terrorists, creating new breeding and training grounds for them.
I knew we had no justification for the invasion, I knew we were being lied to and I knew we had no hope of achieving a victory that was never defined.
...And I am not giddy to be proven right, as the few remaining Bush supporters accuse. To the contrary, every moment of every day since we invaded, I have ached to the pit of my soul with the desperate longing to be proven wrong.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Quick Brag
The Melhi Ink Peace Ribbon (in eco-green) was featured, favorably, on the environmental blog Living Gaia, today.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Steam Vent
"Stay the course"
We cannot achieve goals, objectives or victory if we have not defined goals, objectives and victory. We've set no course to stay.
"We can't just leave Iraq"
Then sell it to the highest bidder and treat it like any other real estate sale... we move out as the new owners move in. As I understand it, there are several interested parties in the region.
"Cut and Run"
Cut our losses.
"It's important that we rebuild Iraq"
It's important that we rebuild our own gulf coast and World Trade Center buildings. In regards to the latter, stop with the "it has to be a tribute to the tragedy" crap -- stop celebrating that we were attacked and start celebrating that we are a tenacious people who pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and keep living. You're showing those terrorists that we can be stopped in our tracks just that easily -- and the reality is that, except for those of you *cough*Pataki*cough* who've inserted yourselves in the rebuilding process and prevented it from going forward, we can't. How dare you? How F*cking dare you!!!!!
North American Union:
To everyone pushing this turd through: F*ck you. F*ck you sideways, backwards, upside down and inside out, but F*ck you!! NEVER have the f*cking audacity to question my patriotism, my concerns about our nation's security or my willingness to put my back into my living again you soft-handed, ignorant, anti-American, mouth breathing jacktards.
Guest Worker Program:
It's called a "work visa." If illegal immigrants were taking advantage of that program, they wouldn't be illegal immigrants. ...But those of you pushing for this know that, so what you're really trying to do is lay our borders wide open to anyone who wants to wander across to take jobs we Americans supposedly don't want, but which we DO and do quite damned well, thank you very much, in parts of the country that will still hire us to do those jobs or contract the companies we form to provide those services. Open the borders to anyone but natural and naturalized citizens, that is -- to re-enter our own country, we now have to have passports and be papered up to our eyeballs to prove we're who we say we are or we'll be barred from re-entry. F*ck you, right along with the NAU crowd.
We cannot achieve goals, objectives or victory if we have not defined goals, objectives and victory. We've set no course to stay.
"We can't just leave Iraq"
Then sell it to the highest bidder and treat it like any other real estate sale... we move out as the new owners move in. As I understand it, there are several interested parties in the region.
"Cut and Run"
Cut our losses.
"It's important that we rebuild Iraq"
It's important that we rebuild our own gulf coast and World Trade Center buildings. In regards to the latter, stop with the "it has to be a tribute to the tragedy" crap -- stop celebrating that we were attacked and start celebrating that we are a tenacious people who pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and keep living. You're showing those terrorists that we can be stopped in our tracks just that easily -- and the reality is that, except for those of you *cough*Pataki*cough* who've inserted yourselves in the rebuilding process and prevented it from going forward, we can't. How dare you? How F*cking dare you!!!!!
North American Union:
To everyone pushing this turd through: F*ck you. F*ck you sideways, backwards, upside down and inside out, but F*ck you!! NEVER have the f*cking audacity to question my patriotism, my concerns about our nation's security or my willingness to put my back into my living again you soft-handed, ignorant, anti-American, mouth breathing jacktards.
Guest Worker Program:
It's called a "work visa." If illegal immigrants were taking advantage of that program, they wouldn't be illegal immigrants. ...But those of you pushing for this know that, so what you're really trying to do is lay our borders wide open to anyone who wants to wander across to take jobs we Americans supposedly don't want, but which we DO and do quite damned well, thank you very much, in parts of the country that will still hire us to do those jobs or contract the companies we form to provide those services. Open the borders to anyone but natural and naturalized citizens, that is -- to re-enter our own country, we now have to have passports and be papered up to our eyeballs to prove we're who we say we are or we'll be barred from re-entry. F*ck you, right along with the NAU crowd.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Fields of Presidential Dreams
Election 2008
Of note:
We have our first casualty in the race! As of Feb 23, Tom Vilsack, the second Democrat to declare official intent in the 2008 Presidential race, became the first official candidate of either party to drop out of the
race.
This is the current lineup of 2008 Presidential hopefuls (so far as I'm aware, from my own ongoing research) in both major parties:
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DEMOCRATS:
Officially announced (at least remotely viable) candidates:
• Illinois Sen. Barack Obama ( Feb. 10, 2007)
• Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Jan. 31, 2007)
• Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd ( Jan. 11, 2007)
• Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (Dec. 28, 2006)
• Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Dec. 12, 2006)
• Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel (April 17, 2006)
Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (Jan. 20, 2007)
• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (Jan. 21, 2007)
Widely speculated:
• Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
• Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas
• Former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee
Grassroots Draft Push efforts:
• U.S. Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan
• Environmental Atty & talk radio host Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer
Less widely speculated:
• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
• Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell
• U.S. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska
• Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen
Not remotely viable official candidates:
• Laura Davis-Aaron (Tennesse) (FEC)
• Carlos Alvarez (NC) (FEC)
• Warren R. Ashe (Virginia) (FEC) Famous for faux-resume
• George Ballard (Pennsylvania) (FEC) Says he, not Barack, is the African American candidate America is ready for
• Emperor Caesar (Florida) (FEC)
• Randy Crow (NC) (FEC) Raving conspiracy theorist lunatic & openly anti-semetic end-times freak
• Richard Flynn (Arizona) (FEC)
• Michael K. Forrester (Colorado) (FEC) Single issue (repeal "No child left behind act) platform
• Danny M. "Dan" Francis (New York) (Exploratory) Former Marine, teacher & Vietnam vet
• Edward Gittelson (New York) (FEC)
• Amanda Hardy (DC) (FEC)
• Michael Hayes (Maryland) (FEC)
• Alfonzo Jones (California) (FEC) Fourth time's the charm?
• John Joseph Kennedy (Georgia) (FEC) Thinks he's on an anti-Bush mission from God
• Karen Keville (I've found no additional info, yet.)
• Karl E. Krueger (South Dakota) (FEC) Long haul trucker & Vietnam vet. Energy independence platform
• John Mason (NC) (FEC)
• Sherry Meadows (Texas) (FEC)
• Lee Mercer (Texas) (FEC)
• Sal Mohamed (Iowa) (FEC) Campaigns by wearing a sandwich board. Not U.S. born, so can't legally run.
• Oloveuse O. "Ole" Savior (Minnesota) (FEC) Weird artist/poet. Big fan of tv's X-Files and the biblical book of Revelations. Anti-nuke.
• Charles Vick (Tennessee) (FEC)
• Tony Vintinner (Texas) (FEC)
• Rubin Young (Florida) (FEC)
Official Drop Outs:
• Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack
Officially not running:
• Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (Oct. 12, 2006)
• Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (Nov. 11, 2006)
• Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (Dec. 2, 2006)
• Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (Dec. 15, 2006)
• Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (Jan. 24, 2007)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REPUBLICANS:
Officially announced candidacies:
• Attorney John H. Cox of Illinois (March 9, 2006)
• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Feb. 13, 2007)
• Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (Jan. 20, 2007)
Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (Jan. 29, 2007)
• Texas Rep. Ron Paul
• Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani
• Arizona Sen. John McCain (Nov. 16, 2006)
• Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson (Dec. 13, 2006)
• Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III ( Jan. 9, 2007)
• California Rep. Duncan Hunter (Jan. 12, 2007)
• Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo (Jan. 16, 2007)
Widely speculated:
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia
• Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel
• Former New York Gov. George E. Pataki
Officially not running:
• Former Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist (Nov. 29, 2006)
Of note:
We have our first casualty in the race! As of Feb 23, Tom Vilsack, the second Democrat to declare official intent in the 2008 Presidential race, became the first official candidate of either party to drop out of the
race.
This is the current lineup of 2008 Presidential hopefuls (so far as I'm aware, from my own ongoing research) in both major parties:
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DEMOCRATS:
Officially announced (at least remotely viable) candidates:
• Illinois Sen. Barack Obama ( Feb. 10, 2007)
• Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Jan. 31, 2007)
• Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd ( Jan. 11, 2007)
• Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (Dec. 28, 2006)
• Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Dec. 12, 2006)
• Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel (April 17, 2006)
Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (Jan. 20, 2007)
• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (Jan. 21, 2007)
Widely speculated:
• Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
• Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas
• Former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee
Grassroots Draft Push efforts:
• U.S. Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan
• Environmental Atty & talk radio host Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer
Less widely speculated:
• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
• Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell
• U.S. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska
• Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen
Not remotely viable official candidates:
• Laura Davis-Aaron (Tennesse) (FEC)
• Carlos Alvarez (NC) (FEC)
• Warren R. Ashe (Virginia) (FEC) Famous for faux-resume
• George Ballard (Pennsylvania) (FEC) Says he, not Barack, is the African American candidate America is ready for
• Emperor Caesar (Florida) (FEC)
• Randy Crow (NC) (FEC) Raving conspiracy theorist lunatic & openly anti-semetic end-times freak
• Richard Flynn (Arizona) (FEC)
• Michael K. Forrester (Colorado) (FEC) Single issue (repeal "No child left behind act) platform
• Danny M. "Dan" Francis (New York) (Exploratory) Former Marine, teacher & Vietnam vet
• Edward Gittelson (New York) (FEC)
• Amanda Hardy (DC) (FEC)
• Michael Hayes (Maryland) (FEC)
• Alfonzo Jones (California) (FEC) Fourth time's the charm?
• John Joseph Kennedy (Georgia) (FEC) Thinks he's on an anti-Bush mission from God
• Karen Keville (I've found no additional info, yet.)
• Karl E. Krueger (South Dakota) (FEC) Long haul trucker & Vietnam vet. Energy independence platform
• John Mason (NC) (FEC)
• Sherry Meadows (Texas) (FEC)
• Lee Mercer (Texas) (FEC)
• Sal Mohamed (Iowa) (FEC) Campaigns by wearing a sandwich board. Not U.S. born, so can't legally run.
• Oloveuse O. "Ole" Savior (Minnesota) (FEC) Weird artist/poet. Big fan of tv's X-Files and the biblical book of Revelations. Anti-nuke.
• Charles Vick (Tennessee) (FEC)
• Tony Vintinner (Texas) (FEC)
• Rubin Young (Florida) (FEC)
Official Drop Outs:
• Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack
- - Announced candidacy Nov. 30, 2006
- Dropped out Feb. 23, 2007
Officially not running:
• Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (Oct. 12, 2006)
• Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (Nov. 11, 2006)
• Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (Dec. 2, 2006)
• Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (Dec. 15, 2006)
• Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (Jan. 24, 2007)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REPUBLICANS:
Officially announced candidacies:
• Attorney John H. Cox of Illinois (March 9, 2006)
• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Feb. 13, 2007)
• Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (Jan. 20, 2007)
Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (Jan. 29, 2007)
• Texas Rep. Ron Paul
- Filed papers with state authorities in Texas on Jan. 11, 2007
- Has not yet filed with the Federal Election Commission
• Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani
- Established exploratory committee Nov. 20
- Numerous public statements that he's running
- No official announcement, yet.
• Arizona Sen. John McCain (Nov. 16, 2006)
• Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson (Dec. 13, 2006)
• Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III ( Jan. 9, 2007)
• California Rep. Duncan Hunter (Jan. 12, 2007)
• Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo (Jan. 16, 2007)
Widely speculated:
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia
• Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel
• Former New York Gov. George E. Pataki
Officially not running:
• Former Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist (Nov. 29, 2006)
Monday, February 19, 2007
One Million Blogs for Peace
The Melhi Ink blog has joined the One Million Blogs for Peace project.
If you have a blog and you're willing to (or already do) use your blog to further the cause of ending the Iraq war and bringing our sons & daughters, sisters & brothers, mothers & fathers home safely, you should sign up your blog to participate in the project.
Important Reminder:
March 19 marks the four year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war and March 20th marks the beginning of our fifth year at war in Iraq. Events will be taking place around the country over those two days. If you're interested in attending an event, it's time to start making any necessary schedule/travel plans.
If you have a blog and you're willing to (or already do) use your blog to further the cause of ending the Iraq war and bringing our sons & daughters, sisters & brothers, mothers & fathers home safely, you should sign up your blog to participate in the project.
Important Reminder:
March 19 marks the four year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war and March 20th marks the beginning of our fifth year at war in Iraq. Events will be taking place around the country over those two days. If you're interested in attending an event, it's time to start making any necessary schedule/travel plans.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
New Anti-war/Bush Inkware
For those of you who enjoy checking out the latest additions in my Melhi Ink store:
The Melhi Ink store proudly introduces to its political line, a new anti-war/bush, pro-peace demonstration slogan that is reminiscent of the popular Vietnam War protest rally chant, "Hey, Hey, LBJ -- How many kids have you killed today?"
I invite you to click on the above links to see the designs on various merchandise and to offer your feedback on my product selections and design work!
If you currently have a website or blog on which you'd like to mention and link to either of these designs and your web/blog host also allows affiliate advertising, please remember to sign up for a CafePress affiliate account and tack a question mark and your affiliate PID onto the end of the URL before linking, so that you'll earn 20% commission from any purchases resulting from clicks on your referral link. :)
As always, I'm grateful for your interest!
Mel.
The Melhi Ink store proudly introduces to its political line, a new anti-war/bush, pro-peace demonstration slogan that is reminiscent of the popular Vietnam War protest rally chant, "Hey, Hey, LBJ -- How many kids have you killed today?"
 Just as the LBJ slogan referred to both the war and the Johnson administration's failure to address deadly domestic problems of that era, the Melhi Ink "Screw W" slogan is intended to refer to much more than just the casualties in the Iraq war, but also to deaths attributable to: the mishandling of the Katrina disaster, the gutting of MSHA safety regulations by Bush appointees with corporate interests in the mining industry, un/underemployment, budget cuts that led to the downsizing of police and firefighting forces across the nation, un/underemployment, lack of decent health insurance, etc., etc., etc. |
 I've also added a beastly new goat-lord design to the Pop Culture Shack line. He's the result of an exercise to increase my mouse accuracy with the lasso tool... the inspiration came from the light/shadow on the ram's horn he's almost entirely crafted from and the lines on a Grand-Am I saw in traffic. |
I invite you to click on the above links to see the designs on various merchandise and to offer your feedback on my product selections and design work!
If you currently have a website or blog on which you'd like to mention and link to either of these designs and your web/blog host also allows affiliate advertising, please remember to sign up for a CafePress affiliate account and tack a question mark and your affiliate PID onto the end of the URL before linking, so that you'll earn 20% commission from any purchases resulting from clicks on your referral link. :)
As always, I'm grateful for your interest!
Mel.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Totally to say "I told you so!"
Can I call 'em or can I call 'em? In my eight part series on same-gendered marriage, I warned that precedent set in the banning of these marriages would lead to this...
Read the Kings5/AP News Report
MPIA, Wash. - An initiative filed by proponents of same-sex marriage would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriage annulled.
Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage.
Under the initiative, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children in order to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their marriage would be subject to annulment.
All other marriages would be defined as "unrecognized" and people in those marriages would be ineligible to receive any marriage benefits.
“For many years, social conservatives have claimed that marriage exists solely for the purpose of procreation ... The time has come for these conservatives to be dosed with their own medicine," said WA-DOMA organizer Gregory Gadow in a printed statement. “If same-sex couples should be barred from marriage because they can not have children together, it follows that all couples who cannot or will not have children together should equally be barred from marriage."
Supporters must gather more than 224,000 valid signatures by July 6 to put the initiative on the November ballot.
Opponents say the measure is another attack on traditional marriage, but supporters say the move is needed to have a discussion on the high court ruling.
Hey, I tried to warn you...
Read the Kings5/AP News Report
MPIA, Wash. - An initiative filed by proponents of same-sex marriage would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriage annulled.
Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage.
Under the initiative, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children in order to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their marriage would be subject to annulment.
All other marriages would be defined as "unrecognized" and people in those marriages would be ineligible to receive any marriage benefits.
“For many years, social conservatives have claimed that marriage exists solely for the purpose of procreation ... The time has come for these conservatives to be dosed with their own medicine," said WA-DOMA organizer Gregory Gadow in a printed statement. “If same-sex couples should be barred from marriage because they can not have children together, it follows that all couples who cannot or will not have children together should equally be barred from marriage."
Supporters must gather more than 224,000 valid signatures by July 6 to put the initiative on the November ballot.
Opponents say the measure is another attack on traditional marriage, but supporters say the move is needed to have a discussion on the high court ruling.
Hey, I tried to warn you...
Monday, February 05, 2007
Taking It Up The Budget
Once again, Bush's budget gives the American people an intimate look at how Bush feels about us...
If we're obscenely wealthy, he's on his knees pleasuring us with permanent tax cuts.
If we're middle to upper middle class, whether we're traditionally employed or self employed, he's made sure that more of us than ever before will be bent over by the alternative minimum tax that was created to make sure the afore mentioned wealthy pay taxes, at all.
If we're working class and have health insurance through our employers, we're bent over with Bush's greedy fist poised to plunge deep into our burden rate to tax our employer's contribution to our health insurance as income.
If we're poor or elderly, we'll be taking it particularly hard up the budget. The doctors who treat us will have ceilings placed on their incomes -- which will likely discourage many of them from treating us at all.
To recap:
1. Our most wealthy get permanent tax cuts.
2. Millions more of our middle class will be paying higher "alternative minimum tax" rates.
3. Our working class gets a NEW TAX
4. Doctors will be penalized, through salary regulation, for treating our poor and elderly.
And who is the real winner in Bush's budget? Not America. Not Americans. Not American families. Not American soldiers or veterans. Not American seniors or children. Not American workers. Not the American Gulf coast. No. The winners are Iraq and the Iraqi people. For them, we have billions, pulled from the pockets of the people who can least afford and have to work the hardest to foot the bill.
If we're obscenely wealthy, he's on his knees pleasuring us with permanent tax cuts.
If we're middle to upper middle class, whether we're traditionally employed or self employed, he's made sure that more of us than ever before will be bent over by the alternative minimum tax that was created to make sure the afore mentioned wealthy pay taxes, at all.
If we're working class and have health insurance through our employers, we're bent over with Bush's greedy fist poised to plunge deep into our burden rate to tax our employer's contribution to our health insurance as income.
If we're poor or elderly, we'll be taking it particularly hard up the budget. The doctors who treat us will have ceilings placed on their incomes -- which will likely discourage many of them from treating us at all.
To recap:
1. Our most wealthy get permanent tax cuts.
2. Millions more of our middle class will be paying higher "alternative minimum tax" rates.
3. Our working class gets a NEW TAX
4. Doctors will be penalized, through salary regulation, for treating our poor and elderly.
And who is the real winner in Bush's budget? Not America. Not Americans. Not American families. Not American soldiers or veterans. Not American seniors or children. Not American workers. Not the American Gulf coast. No. The winners are Iraq and the Iraqi people. For them, we have billions, pulled from the pockets of the people who can least afford and have to work the hardest to foot the bill.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Let Them Eat Johnny Cakes!
Remember that vile, vicious, vindictive, strictly partisan thing the Republicans moaned and bellyached about Democrats doing to a handful of Bush's Judicial nominees? That thing no God fearing, patriotic American Senator would stoop to? Yeah... that's the thing: FILIBUSTERING.
Steady dear reader, gazing upon that word can no longer corrupt you. Apparantly, filibustering is no longer an indication that Senators are in Satan's employ and Republican Senators are piling on the filibuster bandwagon faster than flies flocking to a ripe corpse!
No, no, no... they're not taking a stand against a laughably unqualfied or frighteningly extremist judicial nominee... if Bush says he's known a nominee for at least 10 years, that's still good enough for them.
They're taking a stand against the nation's hard working poor. (Who are only slightly less a plague on society than those lazy bastards who can't find a job.)
Not only are they filibustering what, if it passes, will be the first minimum wage increase in a decade, they've successfully defeated the House's clean and simple version of the bill. ...And they're making sure that if the Minimum Wage Act passes, 121 pork barrel ammendments, some of which will provide even more tax breaks for large corporations, will pass right along with it.
I'll wait while you savor the warm fuzzy it gives you to know that, as a member of the working class, you'll get to work harder than ever to keep less than ever so you can bear the lion's share of the nation's rapidly growing expenses.
Ok, now that you're all warm and squishy, inside (your mouth, where you've no doubt just vomited...)
Click Here to find out who your Senators are, if you don't know already. Then, dial (202) 224-3121 to ask for your Senator's office. Let your Senators know that they are in Washington to represent YOU and that YOU want them to vote in favor of passing the CLEAN VERSION of the minimum wage act!
Steady dear reader, gazing upon that word can no longer corrupt you. Apparantly, filibustering is no longer an indication that Senators are in Satan's employ and Republican Senators are piling on the filibuster bandwagon faster than flies flocking to a ripe corpse!
No, no, no... they're not taking a stand against a laughably unqualfied or frighteningly extremist judicial nominee... if Bush says he's known a nominee for at least 10 years, that's still good enough for them.
They're taking a stand against the nation's hard working poor. (Who are only slightly less a plague on society than those lazy bastards who can't find a job.)
Not only are they filibustering what, if it passes, will be the first minimum wage increase in a decade, they've successfully defeated the House's clean and simple version of the bill. ...And they're making sure that if the Minimum Wage Act passes, 121 pork barrel ammendments, some of which will provide even more tax breaks for large corporations, will pass right along with it.
I'll wait while you savor the warm fuzzy it gives you to know that, as a member of the working class, you'll get to work harder than ever to keep less than ever so you can bear the lion's share of the nation's rapidly growing expenses.
Ok, now that you're all warm and squishy, inside (your mouth, where you've no doubt just vomited...)
Click Here to find out who your Senators are, if you don't know already. Then, dial (202) 224-3121 to ask for your Senator's office. Let your Senators know that they are in Washington to represent YOU and that YOU want them to vote in favor of passing the CLEAN VERSION of the minimum wage act!
Accolades!
For the moment, at least, my Melhi Ink store is ranked the number one 2008-election Political Gear shop on top08gear.com!
:)
:)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Carrot Top Has Lock on Ginger Write-in Vote.
AP Headline: No lock on black voters for Obama
Washington Post Headline: Can Hillary Count on Women?
Author Linda Hirshman discusses why New York senator cannot rely on women's votes alone in '08.
Similarly pointless headlines, soundbytes, speculation and stories abound...
ENOUGH already!!!!!! We get it! It didn't escape anyone's notice.
Barack has a permanent tan and Hillary has a vagina.
Big friggin' whoop!
This isn't news and it has nothing to do with electing or not electing either of them as our next President -- as should be pretty damned evident considering that the current adminionstration is headed up by a Dick and a Bush.
Speculation as to whether all blacks will vote for Barack or all women will vote for Hillary? Insulting. Beyond insulting.... and, frankly, moot. There is no target market for this non-information!!
Here's a newsflash, for those of you in the right wing media who don't get out and mingle with us real people much:
This is 2007. The remaining handful of slobbering neanderthal f*cktards who still give even a fraction of a whit about a candidate's gender or race wouldn't vote for either Barack or Hillary, regardless of their race or gender, because they're something far more sinister. They're Democrats.
Washington Post Headline: Can Hillary Count on Women?
Author Linda Hirshman discusses why New York senator cannot rely on women's votes alone in '08.
Similarly pointless headlines, soundbytes, speculation and stories abound...
ENOUGH already!!!!!! We get it! It didn't escape anyone's notice.
Barack has a permanent tan and Hillary has a vagina.
Big friggin' whoop!
This isn't news and it has nothing to do with electing or not electing either of them as our next President -- as should be pretty damned evident considering that the current adminionstration is headed up by a Dick and a Bush.
Speculation as to whether all blacks will vote for Barack or all women will vote for Hillary? Insulting. Beyond insulting.... and, frankly, moot. There is no target market for this non-information!!
Here's a newsflash, for those of you in the right wing media who don't get out and mingle with us real people much:
This is 2007. The remaining handful of slobbering neanderthal f*cktards who still give even a fraction of a whit about a candidate's gender or race wouldn't vote for either Barack or Hillary, regardless of their race or gender, because they're something far more sinister. They're Democrats.
Open letter...
Dear Democratic Senate Majority,
Stop wasting time and our hard earned tax dollars on non-binding resolutions. We sent you to Washington to weild our voices, pass binding resolutions and enact real pieces of legislation, not to busy yourselves sculpting do-nothing machines from empty words.
Stop lollygagging around on our dime and get to work -- real work! ...Or we'll be more than happy to field candidates who will, when next you're up for re-election.
Stop wasting time and our hard earned tax dollars on non-binding resolutions. We sent you to Washington to weild our voices, pass binding resolutions and enact real pieces of legislation, not to busy yourselves sculpting do-nothing machines from empty words.
Stop lollygagging around on our dime and get to work -- real work! ...Or we'll be more than happy to field candidates who will, when next you're up for re-election.
The real McCain
Before you consider voting for him, get to know him! McCain, in his own words...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI
Sunday, January 28, 2007
AP headline: Lieberman may back Republican in 2008
A. Bush-lite is open to supporting a Republican? Big Friggin' Duh!
B. Does the Ap really think anyone's so interested in who Lieberman endorses that it's necessary to report on it before he's even chosen someone to endorse??
A. Bush-lite is open to supporting a Republican? Big Friggin' Duh!
B. Does the Ap really think anyone's so interested in who Lieberman endorses that it's necessary to report on it before he's even chosen someone to endorse??
Drag Him Forward (part 3)
The remainder of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations discuss what Iraq, we and the rest of the world can do. I won't go through them recommendation by recommendation because they don't discuss what MUST happen.
Here are my recommendations:
1. We MUST butt out. We've done enough damage and our continued presence only delays what MUST transpire for Iraq to become a strong and stable sovereign nation, once again. (This is not bloody likely to happen.) We must also make it very clear WHY we are leaving, so there is no misperception that we are "cutting and running" on a mess we're too lazy to clean up after ourselves... and this won't be easy, if it's possible at all, given the ways in which the right wing media and the Bush adminionstration have purposely politicized this war to villify any American who doesn't fall into lockstep.
A. Shift our focus and resources from rebuilding Iraq to rebuilding our own gulf coast.
B. Take our "war on terror" to the people who ACTUALLY orchestrated the attacks of 9/11/01 -- Osama bin Ladin and his growing Al Queda organization.
2. The rest of the world also MUST butt out -- completely. (Not any likelier to happen than our butting out.) Isolate Iraq -- let them sort it out on their own.
3. Iraq MUST have its civil war, especially since WE waged their revolution for them. It's important that they win their own independence -- that's why they're fighting US for it, now and why we'd be doing the same, if the situations were reversed.
4. After their civil war has ended, Iraqis MUST determine what their new Iraq will be and how it will be structured and set about to the task of building it.
5. We and the rest of the world MUST accept whatever they come up with... even if they choose a form of government we detest. It's THEIR country -- not ours.
This concludes my series on the Iraq Study Group Report.
Here are my recommendations:
1. We MUST butt out. We've done enough damage and our continued presence only delays what MUST transpire for Iraq to become a strong and stable sovereign nation, once again. (This is not bloody likely to happen.) We must also make it very clear WHY we are leaving, so there is no misperception that we are "cutting and running" on a mess we're too lazy to clean up after ourselves... and this won't be easy, if it's possible at all, given the ways in which the right wing media and the Bush adminionstration have purposely politicized this war to villify any American who doesn't fall into lockstep.
A. Shift our focus and resources from rebuilding Iraq to rebuilding our own gulf coast.
B. Take our "war on terror" to the people who ACTUALLY orchestrated the attacks of 9/11/01 -- Osama bin Ladin and his growing Al Queda organization.
2. The rest of the world also MUST butt out -- completely. (Not any likelier to happen than our butting out.) Isolate Iraq -- let them sort it out on their own.
3. Iraq MUST have its civil war, especially since WE waged their revolution for them. It's important that they win their own independence -- that's why they're fighting US for it, now and why we'd be doing the same, if the situations were reversed.
4. After their civil war has ended, Iraqis MUST determine what their new Iraq will be and how it will be structured and set about to the task of building it.
5. We and the rest of the world MUST accept whatever they come up with... even if they choose a form of government we detest. It's THEIR country -- not ours.
This concludes my series on the Iraq Study Group Report.
Sunshine 3
HR 5 -- PASSED -- College Student Relief
Democrats:
Aye: 232
No: 0
MIA: 1 (Obey)
Republicans:
Aye: 124
No: 71
MIA: 7
HR 6 -- PASSED -- Creating Long Term Energy Alternatives
Democrats:
Aye: 228
No: 4 (Barrow, Boren, Lampson, Marshall)
MIA: 1 (Cooper)
Republicans:
Aye: 36
No: 159
MIA: 7
How did YOUR Representative in Congress vote on these and other important pieces of legislation?
Democrats:
Aye: 232
No: 0
MIA: 1 (Obey)
Republicans:
Aye: 124
No: 71
MIA: 7
HR 6 -- PASSED -- Creating Long Term Energy Alternatives
Democrats:
Aye: 228
No: 4 (Barrow, Boren, Lampson, Marshall)
MIA: 1 (Cooper)Republicans:
Aye: 36
No: 159
MIA: 7
How did YOUR Representative in Congress vote on these and other important pieces of legislation?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Anti-Val
In my ongoing duty as an evil liberal destroyer of all that is sweet and snuggly, I decided to enter a couple of designs in this year's anti-Valentines contest on CafePress. These are the Melhi Ink store's entries... enjoy!
Beware Love (Valentine skull & crossbones)
and
"Can't we just be strangers with benefits?"
Beware Love (Valentine skull & crossbones)
and
"Can't we just be strangers with benefits?"
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Sunshine 2
HR3 -PASSED- Stem Cell Research:
Democrats:
Aye: 216
No: 16
MIA: 1 (Bishop-GA)
Republicans:
Aye: 37
No: 158
MIA: 7 (Buyer, Gilchrest, Hastert, G Miller, Norwood, Radanovich,
Westmoreland)
(Note: Johnson(R)IL-15 voted No)
HR4 -PASSED- Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation
Democrats:
Aye: 231
No: 0
MIA: 2 (Levin, Loebsack)
Republicans:
Aye: 24
No: 170
MIA: 8 (Buyer, Gillmore, Hastert, Kirk, McHue, G Miller, Norwood, Radanovich)
Democrats:
Aye: 216
No: 16
MIA: 1 (Bishop-GA)
Republicans:
Aye: 37
No: 158
MIA: 7 (Buyer, Gilchrest, Hastert, G Miller, Norwood, Radanovich,
Westmoreland)
(Note: Johnson(R)IL-15 voted No)
HR4 -PASSED- Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation
Democrats:
Aye: 231
No: 0
MIA: 2 (Levin, Loebsack)
Republicans:
Aye: 24
No: 170
MIA: 8 (Buyer, Gillmore, Hastert, Kirk, McHue, G Miller, Norwood, Radanovich)
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Let the Sun Shine In
The 110th Congress. You voted 'em in, now keep track of them!
For more info see: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/index.asp
H.R. 1 - Implementing the 9/11Commission Recommendations Act -
Democrats:
Aye: 231
No: 0
MIA: 2 (Moran-VA, Ortiz-TX)
Republicans:
Aye: 68
No: 128
MIA: 6 (Buyer, Gillmor, Knollenberg, Marchant, Moran-KS, Norwood)
PASSED
H.R. 2 - Minimum Wage Act -
Democrats:
Aye: 233 v
No: 0
MIA: 0
Republicans:
Aye: 82
No: 116
MIA: 4 (Buyer, Knollenberg, Miller, Norwood)
PASSED
For more info see: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/index.asp
H.R. 1 - Implementing the 9/11Commission Recommendations Act -
Democrats:
Aye: 231
No: 0
MIA: 2 (Moran-VA, Ortiz-TX)
Republicans:
Aye: 68
No: 128
MIA: 6 (Buyer, Gillmor, Knollenberg, Marchant, Moran-KS, Norwood)
PASSED
H.R. 2 - Minimum Wage Act -
Democrats:
Aye: 233 v
No: 0
MIA: 0
Republicans:
Aye: 82
No: 116
MIA: 4 (Buyer, Knollenberg, Miller, Norwood)
PASSED
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Getting back to normal.
The new Democrat controlled Congress has convened. It's a little premature to be feeling even a hint of relief, but... at least now there's a chance.
In other news...
Bush tacked one of his infamous signing statements onto yet another bill. This time, it's a postal reform bill that, among other things, says Uncle Sam can't snoop through your private mail. The signing statement pretty much amounts to "Oh yeah, just watch me."
AND
America's number one enemy and chief instigator of the loony left-wing media conspiracy, CNN, ran a trailer for a piece about Osama bin Ladin, which captioned footage of the hardly-worth-troubling-Bush's-thoughts terrorist leader with "Where's Obama?"
Presenter Wolf Blitzer, believed by some to be Satan's he-bitch, issued a formal appology to Senator Barack Obama, saying later of the oopsie "We had a very bad typographical error... We certainly deeply regret the error."
It's a shame someone hasn't developed a technology that could be afforded on a media cable giant's budget that would allow them to edit and record such things ahead of time, instead of making them up on the fly, so that news outlets could have their captions glanced over by a proofreader who has a vague awareness of the fair and balanced Obama name game media blitz of the last few weeks and can tell an "s" from a "b."
Typographical error? BZZZZZZZT -- try again, CNN. Granted, I don't have a PhD in typing, but I do know my way around a keyboard. I got my first typewriter when I was 6 and officially learned how to touch-type at 12. I type too fast for regular keyboards and, to avoid multiple keyboard replacements per year, while slowing my speed enough for the computer to keep up with me, I have to use an allegedly "indestructible" jelly board (fondly referred to as "the medicine board." If you've tried to use one, you know why.) I type very fast, I type a lot and while I'm usually pretty accurate, thanks to the medicine board slowing me down to what is, for me, an unnatural, finger-tying speed, I do make all of the common typos... usually several times each in a single blog entry, as you've no doubt noticed, by now.
So let's examine the many common typos, shall we?
B is neither adjacent nor mirrored to "s" on the keyboard. B isn't typed with the same finger as s -- on either hand B doesn't appear when the strike finger lingers too long the s key. S doesn't require pulling the strike finger from its home key and stretching to strike a non-adjacent position as b does. The word "Obama"does not result from typing the letters in "Osama" out of order. "B" isn't a common aurally induced "brain fart" substitution for "s" (as "ing" is for "ink") and it isn't a common visually induced "brain fart" substitution (as d,g,p or q would be for b.) Etc. Etc. Etc.
Not a typo and nobody who viewed the piece in production noticed it until everybody who viewed it on television noticed it? If I didn't know better, I'd say that either the left wing media is turning on its own... or... nooooo... it's almost too absurd to think... could it be? THERE IS NO FRIGGIN' LEFT WING MEDIA AND NEVER WAS.
Yep, things are getting back to normal, quickly... just not the particular brand of "normal" I was hoping for. *long, heavy sigh*
In other news...
Bush tacked one of his infamous signing statements onto yet another bill. This time, it's a postal reform bill that, among other things, says Uncle Sam can't snoop through your private mail. The signing statement pretty much amounts to "Oh yeah, just watch me."
AND
America's number one enemy and chief instigator of the loony left-wing media conspiracy, CNN, ran a trailer for a piece about Osama bin Ladin, which captioned footage of the hardly-worth-troubling-Bush's-thoughts terrorist leader with "Where's Obama?"
Presenter Wolf Blitzer, believed by some to be Satan's he-bitch, issued a formal appology to Senator Barack Obama, saying later of the oopsie "We had a very bad typographical error... We certainly deeply regret the error."
It's a shame someone hasn't developed a technology that could be afforded on a media cable giant's budget that would allow them to edit and record such things ahead of time, instead of making them up on the fly, so that news outlets could have their captions glanced over by a proofreader who has a vague awareness of the fair and balanced Obama name game media blitz of the last few weeks and can tell an "s" from a "b."
Typographical error? BZZZZZZZT -- try again, CNN. Granted, I don't have a PhD in typing, but I do know my way around a keyboard. I got my first typewriter when I was 6 and officially learned how to touch-type at 12. I type too fast for regular keyboards and, to avoid multiple keyboard replacements per year, while slowing my speed enough for the computer to keep up with me, I have to use an allegedly "indestructible" jelly board (fondly referred to as "the medicine board." If you've tried to use one, you know why.) I type very fast, I type a lot and while I'm usually pretty accurate, thanks to the medicine board slowing me down to what is, for me, an unnatural, finger-tying speed, I do make all of the common typos... usually several times each in a single blog entry, as you've no doubt noticed, by now.
So let's examine the many common typos, shall we?
B is neither adjacent nor mirrored to "s" on the keyboard. B isn't typed with the same finger as s -- on either hand B doesn't appear when the strike finger lingers too long the s key. S doesn't require pulling the strike finger from its home key and stretching to strike a non-adjacent position as b does. The word "Obama"does not result from typing the letters in "Osama" out of order. "B" isn't a common aurally induced "brain fart" substitution for "s" (as "ing" is for "ink") and it isn't a common visually induced "brain fart" substitution (as d,g,p or q would be for b.) Etc. Etc. Etc.
Not a typo and nobody who viewed the piece in production noticed it until everybody who viewed it on television noticed it? If I didn't know better, I'd say that either the left wing media is turning on its own... or... nooooo... it's almost too absurd to think... could it be? THERE IS NO FRIGGIN' LEFT WING MEDIA AND NEVER WAS.
Yep, things are getting back to normal, quickly... just not the particular brand of "normal" I was hoping for. *long, heavy sigh*
Monday, December 25, 2006
Recommended Reading...
Huge thanks to the author of this must-read rant on the imaginary war on Christmas: http://www.fuckchristmas.org/ for saving me the trouble of typing and posting it. It's worded almost identical to how I'd word it -- maybe a few more F-bombs (maybe not.)
Give it a read.
Give it a read.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Drag Him Forward (Part 2)
Recommendations 9 through 17 continue to discuss successfully dealing with Iran and Syria as well as resolving all of the existing conflicts in the region. We're going to skip ahead at the same speed the study group sped through these many issues.
R18 -- Shift resources from Iraq to Afghanistan
Where have I heard this before? Hmmm.... oh yeah, out of just about every Democrat's mouth immediately prior to being accused of aiding the terrorists, loving Sadam, hating America and being traitors. Hell, we didn't want the resources or focus shifted away from the hunt for Osama in the first place. But I digress. Good luck selling this one to the Bush adminionstration, boys -- George W. Christ has already made it clear that he doesn't spend any time worrying about Osama -- apparantly he thinks we're better off with Osama still on the loose rather than brought to justice for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
R19 -- Bush should set milestones, keep in touch with the Iraqi gov't monitor and encourage their progress in reaching those milestones and keep the Iraqi and American people fully informed as to that progress.
Again... good luck selling them on this one, boys! We've been waiting three years for clearly defined objectives in OUR effort and frankly, we're lucky this cloak-and-dagger adminionstration has let is in on the fact that we even went to war.
R20 -- If the Iraqi gov't shows that it's trying to make progress toward achieving the objectives set forth for them, we'll continue "training, assistance, and support for
Iraq’s security forces, and to continue political, military, and economic support for the Iraqi government" if they do, we can begin to reduce our military or civilian presence in Iraq.
...or could if we weren't going to continue doing all those things for them.
R21 -- If they don't become more capable, we should reduce our military and civilian presence
...but, as stated above, we can do that only if they DO bcome more capable. So, in a nutshell, we're staying either way.
R22 -- The President should state that we don't want to establish permanent military bases in Iraq, unless the Iraqui government we helped install and who are currently relying on us for just about everything ask us to establish them.
I'm not going to be the only one who reads this one this way. I wonder why they didn't suggest that we enact legislation preventing this or any other administration and this or any future Congress from ever establishing permanent US bases in Iraq, EVEN if we're asked.
R23 -- "The President should restate that the United States does not seek to control Iraq’s oil."
...And then we should make it clear that we won't purchase, trade for or accept by any other means so much as one drop of it... and then we should begin, in earnest, to develop and switch completely over to technologies that will send fossil fuels the way of the dinosaurs they're made from. This will successfully eliminate any concerns that we have any interest, whatsoever, in that finite commodity. (But, we won't.)
R24 -- Some of the dates we set for achieving milestones in Iraq are unrealistic, so rather than go back and edit this report to suggest more realistic dates, we're adding this recommendation to say that those dates are unrealistic and suggest a different deadline by which Iraq should meet those objectives.
Seriously, that's what recommendation 24 is!! Go read the report for yourself.
R25 -- Oh and the milstones we listed earlier were a good start, but we thought of some more and rather than go back and edit that section...
The next set of recommendations addresses steps the study group believes Iraq needs to take to accomplish political reconciliation, so I'll stop here and pick there, next time.
R18 -- Shift resources from Iraq to Afghanistan
Where have I heard this before? Hmmm.... oh yeah, out of just about every Democrat's mouth immediately prior to being accused of aiding the terrorists, loving Sadam, hating America and being traitors. Hell, we didn't want the resources or focus shifted away from the hunt for Osama in the first place. But I digress. Good luck selling this one to the Bush adminionstration, boys -- George W. Christ has already made it clear that he doesn't spend any time worrying about Osama -- apparantly he thinks we're better off with Osama still on the loose rather than brought to justice for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
R19 -- Bush should set milestones, keep in touch with the Iraqi gov't monitor and encourage their progress in reaching those milestones and keep the Iraqi and American people fully informed as to that progress.
Again... good luck selling them on this one, boys! We've been waiting three years for clearly defined objectives in OUR effort and frankly, we're lucky this cloak-and-dagger adminionstration has let is in on the fact that we even went to war.
R20 -- If the Iraqi gov't shows that it's trying to make progress toward achieving the objectives set forth for them, we'll continue "training, assistance, and support for
Iraq’s security forces, and to continue political, military, and economic support for the Iraqi government" if they do, we can begin to reduce our military or civilian presence in Iraq.
...or could if we weren't going to continue doing all those things for them.
R21 -- If they don't become more capable, we should reduce our military and civilian presence
...but, as stated above, we can do that only if they DO bcome more capable. So, in a nutshell, we're staying either way.
R22 -- The President should state that we don't want to establish permanent military bases in Iraq, unless the Iraqui government we helped install and who are currently relying on us for just about everything ask us to establish them.
I'm not going to be the only one who reads this one this way. I wonder why they didn't suggest that we enact legislation preventing this or any other administration and this or any future Congress from ever establishing permanent US bases in Iraq, EVEN if we're asked.
R23 -- "The President should restate that the United States does not seek to control Iraq’s oil."
...And then we should make it clear that we won't purchase, trade for or accept by any other means so much as one drop of it... and then we should begin, in earnest, to develop and switch completely over to technologies that will send fossil fuels the way of the dinosaurs they're made from. This will successfully eliminate any concerns that we have any interest, whatsoever, in that finite commodity. (But, we won't.)
R24 -- Some of the dates we set for achieving milestones in Iraq are unrealistic, so rather than go back and edit this report to suggest more realistic dates, we're adding this recommendation to say that those dates are unrealistic and suggest a different deadline by which Iraq should meet those objectives.
Seriously, that's what recommendation 24 is!! Go read the report for yourself.
R25 -- Oh and the milstones we listed earlier were a good start, but we thought of some more and rather than go back and edit that section...
The next set of recommendations addresses steps the study group believes Iraq needs to take to accomplish political reconciliation, so I'll stop here and pick there, next time.
Io Saturnalia!
Today (Dec. 17) marks the beginning of the week long Saturnalia. So, in the spirit of fine, old-fashioned December holiday spirit, let me extend you a most joyous and heartfelt traditional Saturnalia greeting:
Io Saturnalia! Cast off your toga!!
Io Saturnalia! Cast off your toga!!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Drag Him Forward (Part 1)
Well, mighty Melhicans, I've finally had a chance to read the Iraq Study Group Report and it's time to rip that sucker apart, piece by piece. Unfortunately, as much as I'd desperately love to, I don't have access to any actual White House security cam footage to entertain you with video of the Prez doing just that amid what was surely the biggest tantrum ever thrown in the White House.
Before I get into the 79 recommendations (btw, this will have to be a multi-part series hobbled together as I can snag a moment of free time here and there) I want to share with you my knee jerk reaction to the overall document. Like most of you, I saw a LOT of media coverage of the report prior to getting a chance to read it, myself.
Considering the unanimous media opinion that it was a hard hitting, straight shooting, no holds barred, blunt-object-whack at the Prez, I was expecting it to be one of the (if not THE) most scathing indictment of the President, by anyone, to date. Perhaps my expectations colored my reaction, but I was sorely disappointed. The (to my eye) blatantly purposeful use of passive voice to soft peddle the critique and spoon feed it to the adminionstration made me want to gag. The time for molly coddling this President has long since passed and should never have existed. He's a grown man and sitting President, for criminy sake, not a cranky child who's fretting in public and needs to be gently reminded of his surroundings and manners! Now... on to the recommendations...
R1: Implement the new diplomatic offensive before Jan. 31 of this year
Whether you think implementing it, at all, is good strategy, you have to admit that this recommendation beats the hell out of having Bush show up in Iraq in a Santa suit, dragging an open (but unused) parachute behind him, for a photo-op with the troops.
R2-iii: Secure Iraq's borders
Before this report launches into the group's recommendations, it discusses the many problems with the President's handling of the war, including the rapid decline of support among Americans and the need to turn that red, white and blue frown upside down. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that spending our hard earned tax dollars and indebting ourselves even more severely to foreign crowns to secure Iraq's borders -- which were secure until we laid them open, while leaving our own borders wide open and unprotected might not be conducive to bolstering public support for Bushie's Botched Folly.
R3: Get the Iraqis, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference together in the same room to discuss coming together to suppot the newly installed Iraqi government that most of them are already trying very hard (and succeeding) to undermine.
Ohhh Kay. Um... if this sounds like a trick to ME... Seriously, while the opposite is normally true, this may be the ONE and ONLY meeting of foreign leaders & diplomats that Bush would HAVE to attend, in person, for anyone to show up.
R4: Establish an Iraq International Support Group
I don't really have a comment on this one, mainly because I just don't see it happening regardless of whether it would be a good or a bad thing. I just wish I'd been there to witness Georgie's reaction when he read this one, because you KNOW what HE thought this meant!! (I feel sorry for the people who have to explain these things to him -- the desire to eff with his mind must be overwhleming.)
R5: "The Support Group should consist of Iraq and all the states bordering Iraq, including Iran and Syria; the key regional states, including Egypt and the Gulf States; the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; the European Union; and, of course, Iraq itself Other countries—for instance, Germany, Japan and South Korea..."
Take a moment. Re-read the list of nations in the recommendation... really read it... now just ponder on the realities involved in this recommendation for a moment. (I'll wait.) OK, NOW you know why I don't see this support group thing coming together anytime soon. It would be nice if it could come together and could succeed, but... going back to what we're sure Bush thought was meant by "support group," the world isn't a warm fuzzy waiting for an excuse to happen... it's somewhat more complicated than that and some of those complications run pretty damned deep. Our blatant and arrogant lack of respect for those complications is part of what got us into this mess in the first place... it sure as Hell isn't going to get us out of it.
R6: The Secretary of State or the President should lead the U.S.'s diplomatic offensive effort
Whoa... hold up a minute! I thought this report rather established that their leadership is what led us so far down the path to chaos and that these two couldn't lead a snipe hunt expedition (aka "the search for WMDs) without screwing it up, much less anything of international importance.
R7: The UN Secretary General should designate a special envoy to carry out his work in regards to the diplomatic offensive.
Hey, now here's an idea! Maybe we could appoint a special envoy to lead the US effort, made up of people who have at least half a clue what they're doing, instead of putting Condi and/or Bush in charge.
R8: "...develop specific approaches to neighboring countries that take into account the interests, perspectives, and potential contributions..." "The Study Group recognizes that U.S. relationships with Iran and Syria involve difficult issues that must be resolved. Diplomatic talks should be extensive and substantive, and they will require a balancing of interests. The United States has diplomatic, economic, and military disincentives available in approaches to both Iran and Syria. However, the United States should also consider incentives to try to engage them constructively, much as it did successfully with Libya."
If bribing them doesn't win their support, we can always go back to the old standby of punishing those nations who don't see things our way. I'm being snide because I'm a realist. The talks would not consist of balancing interests or bringing these nations to the table, as equals, to fascilitate a cooperative effort toward devising strategies and solutions and a course of action that is equitable to all. It would involve bringing them to our table, as nations of the free world WE lead and selling the strategies, solutions and course of action we devised without their input and fully intend to implement with or without their participation, cooperation or support.
--o--
I'll save the other recommendations for future installments, to be posted as I find the time and inclination.
Lest I've made it seem as though I believe otherwise, let me very clear: We DO need a new plan. That's not an opinion, it's a fact.
I'm not sure if this is the plan we need or not -- but I can say with full confidence that it's a damned sight better than the plan we've been working with, to date. (Which seems to consist, primarily, of pretending there's a plan.)
What I want done, TODAY, is for the Bush adminionstration to define "victory" in regards to Iraq by spelling out, clearly, the specific objectives that must be achieved for us to declare "victory" and exactly how we will measure whether those objectives have been achieved. We're paying for this mess -- with what will be multiple generations of our tax dollars, with the ceding of power to foreign debtors, with the lives and limbs of our sons and daughters serving in Iraq, etc. We can't even begin to hope to devise any workable strategy, either on our own or in concert with the other nations of the world, until that question is answered.
THAT is the first reality that must be dealt with -- until it is, we're just talking about stepping forward on a treadmill.
Before I get into the 79 recommendations (btw, this will have to be a multi-part series hobbled together as I can snag a moment of free time here and there) I want to share with you my knee jerk reaction to the overall document. Like most of you, I saw a LOT of media coverage of the report prior to getting a chance to read it, myself.
Considering the unanimous media opinion that it was a hard hitting, straight shooting, no holds barred, blunt-object-whack at the Prez, I was expecting it to be one of the (if not THE) most scathing indictment of the President, by anyone, to date. Perhaps my expectations colored my reaction, but I was sorely disappointed. The (to my eye) blatantly purposeful use of passive voice to soft peddle the critique and spoon feed it to the adminionstration made me want to gag. The time for molly coddling this President has long since passed and should never have existed. He's a grown man and sitting President, for criminy sake, not a cranky child who's fretting in public and needs to be gently reminded of his surroundings and manners! Now... on to the recommendations...
R1: Implement the new diplomatic offensive before Jan. 31 of this year
Whether you think implementing it, at all, is good strategy, you have to admit that this recommendation beats the hell out of having Bush show up in Iraq in a Santa suit, dragging an open (but unused) parachute behind him, for a photo-op with the troops.
R2-iii: Secure Iraq's borders
Before this report launches into the group's recommendations, it discusses the many problems with the President's handling of the war, including the rapid decline of support among Americans and the need to turn that red, white and blue frown upside down. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that spending our hard earned tax dollars and indebting ourselves even more severely to foreign crowns to secure Iraq's borders -- which were secure until we laid them open, while leaving our own borders wide open and unprotected might not be conducive to bolstering public support for Bushie's Botched Folly.
R3: Get the Iraqis, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference together in the same room to discuss coming together to suppot the newly installed Iraqi government that most of them are already trying very hard (and succeeding) to undermine.
Ohhh Kay. Um... if this sounds like a trick to ME... Seriously, while the opposite is normally true, this may be the ONE and ONLY meeting of foreign leaders & diplomats that Bush would HAVE to attend, in person, for anyone to show up.
R4: Establish an Iraq International Support Group
I don't really have a comment on this one, mainly because I just don't see it happening regardless of whether it would be a good or a bad thing. I just wish I'd been there to witness Georgie's reaction when he read this one, because you KNOW what HE thought this meant!! (I feel sorry for the people who have to explain these things to him -- the desire to eff with his mind must be overwhleming.)
R5: "The Support Group should consist of Iraq and all the states bordering Iraq, including Iran and Syria; the key regional states, including Egypt and the Gulf States; the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; the European Union; and, of course, Iraq itself Other countries—for instance, Germany, Japan and South Korea..."
Take a moment. Re-read the list of nations in the recommendation... really read it... now just ponder on the realities involved in this recommendation for a moment. (I'll wait.) OK, NOW you know why I don't see this support group thing coming together anytime soon. It would be nice if it could come together and could succeed, but... going back to what we're sure Bush thought was meant by "support group," the world isn't a warm fuzzy waiting for an excuse to happen... it's somewhat more complicated than that and some of those complications run pretty damned deep. Our blatant and arrogant lack of respect for those complications is part of what got us into this mess in the first place... it sure as Hell isn't going to get us out of it.
R6: The Secretary of State or the President should lead the U.S.'s diplomatic offensive effort
Whoa... hold up a minute! I thought this report rather established that their leadership is what led us so far down the path to chaos and that these two couldn't lead a snipe hunt expedition (aka "the search for WMDs) without screwing it up, much less anything of international importance.
R7: The UN Secretary General should designate a special envoy to carry out his work in regards to the diplomatic offensive.
Hey, now here's an idea! Maybe we could appoint a special envoy to lead the US effort, made up of people who have at least half a clue what they're doing, instead of putting Condi and/or Bush in charge.
R8: "...develop specific approaches to neighboring countries that take into account the interests, perspectives, and potential contributions..." "The Study Group recognizes that U.S. relationships with Iran and Syria involve difficult issues that must be resolved. Diplomatic talks should be extensive and substantive, and they will require a balancing of interests. The United States has diplomatic, economic, and military disincentives available in approaches to both Iran and Syria. However, the United States should also consider incentives to try to engage them constructively, much as it did successfully with Libya."
If bribing them doesn't win their support, we can always go back to the old standby of punishing those nations who don't see things our way. I'm being snide because I'm a realist. The talks would not consist of balancing interests or bringing these nations to the table, as equals, to fascilitate a cooperative effort toward devising strategies and solutions and a course of action that is equitable to all. It would involve bringing them to our table, as nations of the free world WE lead and selling the strategies, solutions and course of action we devised without their input and fully intend to implement with or without their participation, cooperation or support.
--o--
I'll save the other recommendations for future installments, to be posted as I find the time and inclination.
Lest I've made it seem as though I believe otherwise, let me very clear: We DO need a new plan. That's not an opinion, it's a fact.
I'm not sure if this is the plan we need or not -- but I can say with full confidence that it's a damned sight better than the plan we've been working with, to date. (Which seems to consist, primarily, of pretending there's a plan.)
What I want done, TODAY, is for the Bush adminionstration to define "victory" in regards to Iraq by spelling out, clearly, the specific objectives that must be achieved for us to declare "victory" and exactly how we will measure whether those objectives have been achieved. We're paying for this mess -- with what will be multiple generations of our tax dollars, with the ceding of power to foreign debtors, with the lives and limbs of our sons and daughters serving in Iraq, etc. We can't even begin to hope to devise any workable strategy, either on our own or in concert with the other nations of the world, until that question is answered.
THAT is the first reality that must be dealt with -- until it is, we're just talking about stepping forward on a treadmill.
Friday, December 08, 2006
A Few Seconds...
Today, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical monolith that charges nearly $1,000 for a 30 day supply of one of its HIV/AIDS medications, is donating $1 to the National AIDS Fund for each person who simply visits their website and "virtually lights a candle."
Please, please take a few seconds to light a candle:
www.lighttounite.org
(Thank you to Joe Serra for passing this on to me. After you've lit a candle, please pass this on to another.)
Please, please take a few seconds to light a candle:
www.lighttounite.org
(Thank you to Joe Serra for passing this on to me. After you've lit a candle, please pass this on to another.)
Monday, December 04, 2006
Cut 'n Rummy
Seems ole Rummy had a few suggestions for God W. Bush about the war in Iraq before cutting and running from a position no longer to be rubber stamped. Most of his suggestions sound a lot like the suggestions Democrats have been shredded for by our old chum Rummy, the George W. Christ adminionstration and the parrots chattering away in the Murdoch echo chamber.
But, one suggestion really caught my attention. Rummy suggested that it might help to put a spin on the war that would lower our expectations. No, seriously, this was one of his suggestions -- I think the idea is that if there's not SUCH a stark dichotomy between the reality and the propoganda, we won't be as apt to notice that it's going as badly as it is. Like if I tell you the gunshot wound I'm about to inflict on you is going to hurt like hell, you won't notice the pain nearly as much as if I'd said "this won't hurt a bit."
There's just one little flaw* in this plan -- it would be impossible to lower our expectations... a lot of us, whose patriotism was called into question for it, expected exactly what has transpired since before the invasion offically began. ...And, for the record: nobody wishes more desperately than we do that we'd been proven wrong.
*The countless other flaws in this plan are not so little.)
But, one suggestion really caught my attention. Rummy suggested that it might help to put a spin on the war that would lower our expectations. No, seriously, this was one of his suggestions -- I think the idea is that if there's not SUCH a stark dichotomy between the reality and the propoganda, we won't be as apt to notice that it's going as badly as it is. Like if I tell you the gunshot wound I'm about to inflict on you is going to hurt like hell, you won't notice the pain nearly as much as if I'd said "this won't hurt a bit."
There's just one little flaw* in this plan -- it would be impossible to lower our expectations... a lot of us, whose patriotism was called into question for it, expected exactly what has transpired since before the invasion offically began. ...And, for the record: nobody wishes more desperately than we do that we'd been proven wrong.
*The countless other flaws in this plan are not so little.)
Friday, December 01, 2006
In True Democrat Fashion...
Get your snark on at Melhi Ink: The Store
Snap, Crackle & BURN! -- The perfect gift for guys who wear pink & girls who don't, guys who wear eyeliner, girls with mohawks, guys who wear girl jeans, girls who wear guy jeans, punks, goths, emos, skaters, hipsters, head bangers, rockers, Poindexters, metros.... and anyone else who deals with Neander-Jethroes on a regular basis!)
Bawdy Mistletoe -- Still holding the Mistletoe high over your head, hoping for a quick platonic smooch? Live a little! Wear your Mistletoe low, this season and have some REAL fun!
REMEMBER: Don't repost or e-mail to pals 'til you sign up for a CafePress affiliate account and tack your PID onto the URLs -- if your repost or forward results in any sales, you'll snake 20% of the total! How friggin' sweet is that?
Republican Pledge of Allegiance
Republican Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegience
To the flag
Of the united States of america
Fifty nation states
Under God
Individual
With liberty and justice
As each sees fit
I pledge allegience
To the flag
Of the united States of america
Fifty nation states
Under God
Individual
With liberty and justice
As each sees fit
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Neo-lexi-con
The Neo-Lexi-Con
(Neo-con to American Translations)
(Neo-con to American Translations)
- Alternative Energy Development
- Looking for new places to drill for oil
- America First
- Reference to America's position on the list of nations to destroy
- America Hater
- Anyone who demonstrates a stubborn patriotic loyalty to the outdated America that was shaped by our ignorant liberal forefathers and impedes its destruction to make way for the new, authoritarian America being shaped by our glorious Neo-con masters
- Constitutional Rights
- Refers solely to the 2nd ammendment
- Diplomacy
- Tactic employed only when the military of a nation hoarding our oil is well armed and capable of launching a full on counter offensive.
- Exporting Democracy
- Drilling for oil in the same old places, but under new (neo-con) management.
- Holy Land
- Where those godless bastards are hoarding our oil
- Hypothetical
- Slang term referring to something that's already underway or has already transpired
- Stay the course
- We haven't secured the oil, yet
- Support the troops (as an edict to others)
- Don't question the war or it's off to Gitmo with you
- Support the troops (as a pledge or boast)
- Underdeploy, under equip and then blame the troops while cutting their family and veterans benefits. (Note: can also used as slang for "photo op" with persons attired in what appears to be military garb, whether actual military personnel or not.)
- Terrorist or Terrorist Sympathiser
- 1. Those bastards hoarding our oil
2. Any American who disagrees with or questions the neo-con agenda
3. Any American belonging to an opposing political party - War on Terror
- Tactic employed only when multiple UN inspections have proven that the military of a nation hoarding our oil is virutally unarmed and incapable of mounting any semblence of a defense.
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Euphamism for "our oil"
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Don We Now Our Body Armour
Earlier this evening, while I was away at work, my hubby was checking out the local community access channel on cable to get the correct start time for this evening's local Christmas parade. In the background, was the audio feed from CNN and the topic of discussion was the *cough* war on Christmas. *cough* An unseen right wing pundit commented on Wal-mart's return to the use of "Merry Christmas" in its promotional materials, both within the store and without saying, essentially "Sales were down last year, so they went back to what worked."
A few moments ago, as hubby was perusing the blogsphere, he laughed out loud as he read this headline: "WalMart Faces First Holiday Slump In a Decade."
I guess next year, they'll go back to "Happy Holidays" -- if their stockholders are willing to risk keeping that much religous connotation. Because, obviously, the problem lies in the semantics and not in this wretched big box neo-conomy.
A few moments ago, as hubby was perusing the blogsphere, he laughed out loud as he read this headline: "WalMart Faces First Holiday Slump In a Decade."
I guess next year, they'll go back to "Happy Holidays" -- if their stockholders are willing to risk keeping that much religous connotation. Because, obviously, the problem lies in the semantics and not in this wretched big box neo-conomy.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Fiddler on the Bicycle
The situation in Iraq is devolving by the minute... kidnappings, mass killings, burning people alive in the streets...
...And where's Georgie? Is he in the war room? Is he at the Pentagon consulting with the generals? Is he hard at work in the Oval Office? No. He's off playing in his mountain biker costume.
We needed to win a much larger Congressional majority than we did. It's going to be a LONG two years.
Meanwhile, in other news...
In a misguided attempt to solve the problem of wars being fought primarily by the sons and daughters of the poor, Congressman Charles Rangel is, once again, pushing to reinstate the draft. He believes that if Congressmen in the House and Senate would be sending their own children or the children of those constituents who can afford to donate to their campaigns, they'd think twice before voting to take the country to war.
Sounds reasonable enough, but the roster of Vietnam-war draft dodging Chickenhawks currently in charge, proves that even with the draft, Iraq would still be a rich man's score to settle and a poor man's war to fight. The wealthy will always be able to afford and the powerful will always be able to pull strings to ensure that the poor and powerless shoulder the burdens and bear the sacrifices of battle.
Hey, I have a novel idea: I propose no vacations, days off or even leisure time for anyone in the Senate, House, Executive Branch, key administration appointments, cabinet positions or the Pentagon whenever the nation is at war. No parties, galas, roasts, fun photo ops, holiday celebrations, mountain biking excursions, fishing trips, golf outings, telecommuting from the ranch or Camp David or Kennebunkport, fiddling on rooftops, etc. It would be a miniscule sacrifice compared to that made by our troops and their families, but it would be a good symbolic start.
...And where's Georgie? Is he in the war room? Is he at the Pentagon consulting with the generals? Is he hard at work in the Oval Office? No. He's off playing in his mountain biker costume.
We needed to win a much larger Congressional majority than we did. It's going to be a LONG two years.
Meanwhile, in other news...
In a misguided attempt to solve the problem of wars being fought primarily by the sons and daughters of the poor, Congressman Charles Rangel is, once again, pushing to reinstate the draft. He believes that if Congressmen in the House and Senate would be sending their own children or the children of those constituents who can afford to donate to their campaigns, they'd think twice before voting to take the country to war. Sounds reasonable enough, but the roster of Vietnam-war draft dodging Chickenhawks currently in charge, proves that even with the draft, Iraq would still be a rich man's score to settle and a poor man's war to fight. The wealthy will always be able to afford and the powerful will always be able to pull strings to ensure that the poor and powerless shoulder the burdens and bear the sacrifices of battle.
Hey, I have a novel idea: I propose no vacations, days off or even leisure time for anyone in the Senate, House, Executive Branch, key administration appointments, cabinet positions or the Pentagon whenever the nation is at war. No parties, galas, roasts, fun photo ops, holiday celebrations, mountain biking excursions, fishing trips, golf outings, telecommuting from the ranch or Camp David or Kennebunkport, fiddling on rooftops, etc. It would be a miniscule sacrifice compared to that made by our troops and their families, but it would be a good symbolic start.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Me (song parody)
Me
alternate lyrics by Melhi (8-9-06)
to She by Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day
She...
She teaches science
A constant fight to penetrate our absent minds
You've set your designs -- to kill her science
With your book and hide the bones
I don't care, I'll keep ignoring, doesn't matter who
She can't reach me.
Guaranteed the same holds true for you!
School bell rings, I ain't learned a thing
I'll learn the same sh*t from you!
She
She's been forced out
Now you pound her desk to sell your point of view
Wa-king up my mind
You've smashed her science
Through the thickness of my skull
I just woke up and the world makes sense now, thanks to you!
I've been acting like a total fool without a clue!
Scream at me, testify and preach
My mind's been freed by the truth!
AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!
I just woke up and the world makes sense now, thanks to you!
You must think that I'm a total fool without a clue!
Scream at me, but I'm out of reach
Won't make believe, just for you!
alternate lyrics by Melhi (8-9-06)
to She by Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day
She...
She teaches science
A constant fight to penetrate our absent minds
You've set your designs -- to kill her science
With your book and hide the bones
I don't care, I'll keep ignoring, doesn't matter who
She can't reach me.
Guaranteed the same holds true for you!
School bell rings, I ain't learned a thing
I'll learn the same sh*t from you!
She
She's been forced out
Now you pound her desk to sell your point of view
Wa-king up my mind
You've smashed her science
Through the thickness of my skull
I just woke up and the world makes sense now, thanks to you!
I've been acting like a total fool without a clue!
Scream at me, testify and preach
My mind's been freed by the truth!
AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!
I just woke up and the world makes sense now, thanks to you!
You must think that I'm a total fool without a clue!
Scream at me, but I'm out of reach
Won't make believe, just for you!
Off topic...
A human at Blogger seems to have confirmed, with but a glance at my blog, what decades of advances in DNA testing and countless scientists have not yet been able to prove, conclusively -- and what no neander-con would believe even with firm scientific proof -- that I'm a human. :)
I've also switched over to the new beta Blogger, so if anything looks funky, it's them, not me. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Soooo... expect me to start running my mouth through my keyboard again, after the holiday weekend!
Happy Turkey Day, everyone... Gobble Gobble HICcup! (some of you fellow punk fans might get that.)
I've also switched over to the new beta Blogger, so if anything looks funky, it's them, not me. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Soooo... expect me to start running my mouth through my keyboard again, after the holiday weekend!
Happy Turkey Day, everyone... Gobble Gobble HICcup! (some of you fellow punk fans might get that.)
Monday, November 20, 2006
Restored...
I managed to recover and republish, under the original posting date, all of the 8 part series on Gay Marriage, plus the table of contents for that series. Unfortunately, since this series was restored from my own backup files and not from Draft Status, all of the old comments are lost and links anyone might still have up to the old series will have to have _31 (underscore three one) added just before .html (dot html) to work.
You'll find the series in the January 2006 archives.... linked in the right hand column on this page.
Thank you for your patience,
Melhi
You'll find the series in the January 2006 archives.... linked in the right hand column on this page.
Thank you for your patience,
Melhi
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Why I Like Dick
Dick Durbin has been impressing the hell out of me these last few years. I'm fortunate to have him representing me in the Senate, I was honored to meet him and have a few moments to speak with him, over the summer and I'm absolutely thrilled that he'll be our new Majority Whip. Every time he talks, I want to thank him for something he said that accurately echoed something I've been thinking or saying. I'd like to thank him for everything he said that was quoted in this article:
http://www.lincolncourier.com/story.asp?SID=3789&SEC=8
I couldn't have said it better, myself. Thank you, Mr. Durbin.
http://www.lincolncourier.com/story.asp?SID=3789&SEC=8
I couldn't have said it better, myself. Thank you, Mr. Durbin.
Sick Jokes
Ok, I'll admit it. As sick and twisted as it may be, I've gotten a lot of comedic mileage out of Bush's even more sick and twisted hiring practices and various sick and twisted Republican missteps, scandals, oopsies, behaviors, etc. Shame on me. Shame, shame, shame.
I shared some of my "Cheney shot an old guy in the face" and "brownie points" humor, online. But, most of my little monologues, one-liners and barbed quips are delivered in traditionally Democrat fashion: orally and in person to willing recipients who enjoy the experience even if they're reluctant to admit their enjoyment to the whole world. ;)
I'm sure that if I wasn't evil incarnate, I would be particularly ashamed of the many, many, many laughs I got out of the Foley scandal.... even some of my tamer ones are certain to have doomed me to an eternity in Hell:
"Thanks to the Bush administration, the petroleum industry is reporting record profits... and say what you will about Foley, but you have to give the guy credit for single-handedly doing the same for the petroleum jelly industry."
"I don't know why everyone's acting so surprised, Foley was always very open about it. He'd routinely arrive late to the House floor and excuse himself with 'Sorry, I was getting a little behind this afternoon.'"
"You can't really blame Foley. After Bush got in office and the Republican party had control over all three branches of government, Foley had so many requests for job recommendations coming in from pages, he had to find some way to determine which deserved to get ahead and which didn't. So, he decided to follow President Bush's lead and give it to those who proved to him they sucked the most."
...In other news:
President Bush has appointed Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs. As deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, Dr. Keroack will oversee that department's $283 billion dollar budget and our federal teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs. This appointment does not require Congressional approval and the doctor is expected to assume the position in the next few weeks. Dr. Keroack is currently the medical director for the Dorchester, Mass. based non-profit Christian organization, A Woman's Concern and is a strong and active opponent of pre-marital sex, abortion and the use of contraceptives.
I shared some of my "Cheney shot an old guy in the face" and "brownie points" humor, online. But, most of my little monologues, one-liners and barbed quips are delivered in traditionally Democrat fashion: orally and in person to willing recipients who enjoy the experience even if they're reluctant to admit their enjoyment to the whole world. ;)
I'm sure that if I wasn't evil incarnate, I would be particularly ashamed of the many, many, many laughs I got out of the Foley scandal.... even some of my tamer ones are certain to have doomed me to an eternity in Hell:
"Thanks to the Bush administration, the petroleum industry is reporting record profits... and say what you will about Foley, but you have to give the guy credit for single-handedly doing the same for the petroleum jelly industry."
"I don't know why everyone's acting so surprised, Foley was always very open about it. He'd routinely arrive late to the House floor and excuse himself with 'Sorry, I was getting a little behind this afternoon.'"
"You can't really blame Foley. After Bush got in office and the Republican party had control over all three branches of government, Foley had so many requests for job recommendations coming in from pages, he had to find some way to determine which deserved to get ahead and which didn't. So, he decided to follow President Bush's lead and give it to those who proved to him they sucked the most."
...In other news:
President Bush has appointed Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs. As deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, Dr. Keroack will oversee that department's $283 billion dollar budget and our federal teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs. This appointment does not require Congressional approval and the doctor is expected to assume the position in the next few weeks. Dr. Keroack is currently the medical director for the Dorchester, Mass. based non-profit Christian organization, A Woman's Concern and is a strong and active opponent of pre-marital sex, abortion and the use of contraceptives.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Breaking the Partisan Ice on Iraq...
Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada)"...the first order of business, when Democrats formally take over in January will be to reinvigorate Congressional scrutiny of the executive branch, with a focus on Iraq...let's find out what's going on with the war in Iraq..."
Hmmm... I hear water-boarding is a good way to get information out of people who don't like sharing it.
Hmmm... I hear water-boarding is a good way to get information out of people who don't like sharing it.
Correction...
AP headline: "Democrats now look to sustain majority"
Correction: Democrats now begin working toward earning an even greater majority.
Nov. 7th didn't herald the end of the mission, but the beginning.
Correction: Democrats now begin working toward earning an even greater majority.
Nov. 7th didn't herald the end of the mission, but the beginning.
Friday, November 10, 2006
New-vember Inkware
Latest additions to the Melhi Ink Store:
Back by Popular Demand:
God Hates Bigots -
Amanda -
God Made Amanda & Eve, too!
Steve -
If God Didn't Make Steve, Who Did?
New Political Swag:
President Pelosi? -
She's just a microwaved pretzel away from the oval office!
Bush Fatigue -
Just like Clinton Fatigue, but real!
Right's Worst Nightmare -
Nancy Pelosi for President '08
New Pop Culture Swag:
For the Ultimate Sinner --
If I had a dollar for every sin I'm going to H*ll for, I could buy my way into Heaven
Step Up or Step Off --
Back by Popular Demand:
God Hates Bigots -
Amanda -
God Made Amanda & Eve, too!
Steve -
If God Didn't Make Steve, Who Did?
New Political Swag:
President Pelosi? -
She's just a microwaved pretzel away from the oval office!
Bush Fatigue -
Just like Clinton Fatigue, but real!
Right's Worst Nightmare -
Nancy Pelosi for President '08
New Pop Culture Swag:
For the Ultimate Sinner --
If I had a dollar for every sin I'm going to H*ll for, I could buy my way into Heaven
Step Up or Step Off --
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Payback's a Bitch!
It's in all the headlines, news segment introes and e-mail subject lines. But it's not true.
We did NOT wake up to a Democrat Congress, today.
We woke up to a pink-slip toting Republican Congress scorned. Think the last few years have been rough? Wait 'til you get a load of the next two months, baby.
Hell hath no fury...
We did NOT wake up to a Democrat Congress, today.
We woke up to a pink-slip toting Republican Congress scorned. Think the last few years have been rough? Wait 'til you get a load of the next two months, baby.
Hell hath no fury...
Put it on, Nancy... put it all on!
Nancy Pelosi said today, "Democrats aren't about getting even... impeachment is off the table."
Impeachment is about determining whether laws were broken and holding someone accountable if they were. It's as much about "getting even" as putting alleged murderers, rapists and thieves on trial to determine their guilt or innocence in those crimes and to prescribe sentencing if they are found guilty or clear their names if they are found innocent.
Impeachment isn't a political bargaining chip -- it should never be "off the table" unless there's nothing to merit articles of impeachment and it should never be on the table unless the President puts it there with his conduct.
Put impeachment back on the table, Nancy. You're not the busboy, here.
Impeachment is about determining whether laws were broken and holding someone accountable if they were. It's as much about "getting even" as putting alleged murderers, rapists and thieves on trial to determine their guilt or innocence in those crimes and to prescribe sentencing if they are found guilty or clear their names if they are found innocent.
Impeachment isn't a political bargaining chip -- it should never be "off the table" unless there's nothing to merit articles of impeachment and it should never be on the table unless the President puts it there with his conduct.Put impeachment back on the table, Nancy. You're not the busboy, here.
In True Chickenhawk Form...
Why the cut-n-run, Donny, ole chap? Don't have the cajones to do the job unless you have a rubber stamp? We expected you wouldn't. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, buddy -- wouldn't want you to get a boo-boo.
We sent them a message...
The Republican Congress and the Bush Administration sent us a very clear, very firm message after the '02 election -- "We're going to do what we want." They've repeated that message, over and over and over, every day since.
Yesterday, we raised our voices to respond and our response was very simple: "No. This is OUR country, you work for US and you're going to do what WE want."
That they're scrambling, today, to determine whether our collective panties were in a knot, yesterday, over Iraq, scandals, corruption, stem cell research, etc., only proves that their eyes and ears have been and remain stubbornly closed to us. We didn't mumble.
Yesterday, we raised our voices to respond and our response was very simple: "No. This is OUR country, you work for US and you're going to do what WE want."
That they're scrambling, today, to determine whether our collective panties were in a knot, yesterday, over Iraq, scandals, corruption, stem cell research, etc., only proves that their eyes and ears have been and remain stubbornly closed to us. We didn't mumble.
Let's Get Ready to Rummmmmbbblllllleee!
The close of the 06 midterm election marks the official start of the 08 Presidental campaign and folks, we're in for a treat -- a free-for-all such as hasn't been seen since the final days of the Calvin Coolidge administration!
No President begging for four more years. No sitting Veep shilling for a promotion. It's anybody's game and everybody who's anybody seems to be game to take a shot at the big prize!
Fasten your seatbelt kiddies -- it's going to be a thrill ride!
(For those dying to know, I got 40% in a district where the numbers indicated that anything over 18% would be a good showing. :) )
No President begging for four more years. No sitting Veep shilling for a promotion. It's anybody's game and everybody who's anybody seems to be game to take a shot at the big prize!
Fasten your seatbelt kiddies -- it's going to be a thrill ride!
(For those dying to know, I got 40% in a district where the numbers indicated that anything over 18% would be a good showing. :) )
Monday, November 06, 2006
Bush's Economic Plan (song parody)
Brand new, just finished today! Enjoy!
Bush's Economic Plan
by Melhi
To the tune of "Winter Wonderland"
Where's the dream, we were livin'
Life was good, under Clinton
We slave to survive, we're hungry tonight
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Gone away, is the surplus
Here to stay, debt that plagues us
He strings us along, and tells us it's strong
Trust in Bush's economic plan
In the desert, he just blew it all and
He outsourced our jobs, the buck is down
He's made sure the wealthy will pay no tax
Oh, we could use some jobs right here and now!
Wealthy pals how they've prospered - Arab sheiks, oil mobsters
Too broke to erase, the mess that they've made
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Foreign lenders, oh how much we owe them
America's in hock to foreign crowns
At the rate our foreign debt is growing
Impossible to ever pay it down!
Mexico's masses spilling
Through the fence no one's building
They'll work for less pay, so they get to stay
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Bush's Economic Plan
by Melhi
To the tune of "Winter Wonderland"
Where's the dream, we were livin'
Life was good, under Clinton
We slave to survive, we're hungry tonight
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Gone away, is the surplus
Here to stay, debt that plagues us
He strings us along, and tells us it's strong
Trust in Bush's economic plan
In the desert, he just blew it all and
He outsourced our jobs, the buck is down
He's made sure the wealthy will pay no tax
Oh, we could use some jobs right here and now!
Wealthy pals how they've prospered - Arab sheiks, oil mobsters
Too broke to erase, the mess that they've made
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Foreign lenders, oh how much we owe them
America's in hock to foreign crowns
At the rate our foreign debt is growing
Impossible to ever pay it down!
Mexico's masses spilling
Through the fence no one's building
They'll work for less pay, so they get to stay
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Thanks to Bush's economic plan
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Coming Back...
Melhi Ink Blog is in the process of returning from hiatus.
While many of the archived articles were lost to deletions and cannot be restored, articles shelved in draft status or successsfully backed up to remote storage will be restored to public view as time allows.
Meanwhile, if you haven't voted already, set time aside in your schedule to vote on Tuesday. I don't have to tell you what's at stake -- you're living it.
While many of the archived articles were lost to deletions and cannot be restored, articles shelved in draft status or successsfully backed up to remote storage will be restored to public view as time allows.
Meanwhile, if you haven't voted already, set time aside in your schedule to vote on Tuesday. I don't have to tell you what's at stake -- you're living it.
See Dick? RUN!!!!!!!
In a last minute effort to frighten Republican-regime-weary voters into remaining locked in their homes and safely away from the polls, Vice President Dick Cheney has announced that he will embark on a hunting trip on election day. Full Story Here
(Nice try, Dick -- but a lot of us have already voted.)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
It Has To Be Said...
(Technically, I'm still on hiatus, but this couldn't wait...)
Bush Fatigue -- just like Clinton Fatigue, only real.
(See y'all in a couple of weeks.)
Bush Fatigue -- just like Clinton Fatigue, only real.
(See y'all in a couple of weeks.)
Monday, September 11, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
Latest Inkware
New Inkware from Melhi Ink
-- August 2006 --
Pickin' On Pluto!
Unlike the former planet, itself, Pluto swag is Hot! Hot!! Hot!!! ...And the Melhi Ink Pluto Store has the funniest Pluto shirts and bumper stickers in the solar system!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1770747
What else is new, this month?
New political Inkware in the storefront:
Sweet Donkeys!
Show your Democrat pride with our sweet little Democrat Donkey (and just the donkey!) available on a variety of kick ass gear!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1748235
Any Democrat For President '08!
The "Any Democrat" 2008 Presidential campaign bumper sticker in our "Pick Your Donkey" section was so well received that we've added a whole section of "Any Democrat" swag -- stickers, buttons, t-shirts & more!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1747743
Pick Your Donkey '08
2008 Presidential campaign bumper stickers (24 candidates to choose from, plus "Pick Your Donkey" and "Any Democrat" for yellow-dogs and undecideds.)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1739508
"Rich Man's Score -- Poor Man's War"
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1724374
New non-political Inkware in our Miscellaneous Boutique section:
Fly the unfriendly skies with our "Don't Snake My..." snake!
"Don't Snake My Window Seat" (Thanks to New Line Cinema for licensing CP shopkeepers to create & sell official Snakes On A Plane merch!)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1725827
Your mom wants to buy these shirts!
"Your Mom is Emo," "Your Mom Ollies" etc... (6 to choose from)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1720125
-- August 2006 --
Pickin' On Pluto!
Unlike the former planet, itself, Pluto swag is Hot! Hot!! Hot!!! ...And the Melhi Ink Pluto Store has the funniest Pluto shirts and bumper stickers in the solar system!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1770747
What else is new, this month?
New political Inkware in the storefront:
Sweet Donkeys!
Show your Democrat pride with our sweet little Democrat Donkey (and just the donkey!) available on a variety of kick ass gear!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1748235
Any Democrat For President '08!
The "Any Democrat" 2008 Presidential campaign bumper sticker in our "Pick Your Donkey" section was so well received that we've added a whole section of "Any Democrat" swag -- stickers, buttons, t-shirts & more!
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1747743
Pick Your Donkey '08
2008 Presidential campaign bumper stickers (24 candidates to choose from, plus "Pick Your Donkey" and "Any Democrat" for yellow-dogs and undecideds.)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1739508
"Rich Man's Score -- Poor Man's War"
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1724374
New non-political Inkware in our Miscellaneous Boutique section:
Fly the unfriendly skies with our "Don't Snake My..." snake!
"Don't Snake My Window Seat" (Thanks to New Line Cinema for licensing CP shopkeepers to create & sell official Snakes On A Plane merch!)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1725827
Your mom wants to buy these shirts!
"Your Mom is Emo," "Your Mom Ollies" etc... (6 to choose from)
http://www.cafepress.com/melhi/1720125
Saturday, July 29, 2006
EV Coming to Market!
I spoke too soon -- it seems there has been someone working to bring an electric car back to market, with longer range and lighter batteries. Tesla Motors is in the process of bringing their all electric Roadster to market.
The Tesla Motors Roadster seats only two, but will feature lithium-ion batteries and boast an amazing per-charge range of 250 miles! (...And this is no hippy-dippy "ugly bug" alternative fuel vehicle, it's a sports car -- click on the link above and see for yourself!)
The Tesla Motors Roadster seats only two, but will feature lithium-ion batteries and boast an amazing per-charge range of 250 miles! (...And this is no hippy-dippy "ugly bug" alternative fuel vehicle, it's a sports car -- click on the link above and see for yourself!)
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Cheaper Than a Border Fence
There's more than one way to prevent Pedro from crossing the border to get our jobs!
Click Here For Full Story
*heavy, heavy sigh*
Click Here For Full Story
(excerpt)
Belden to build $30M Mexican plant, close two U.S. plants
St. Louis Business Journal - 10:34 AM CDT Monday
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
Belden CDT Inc. said Monday that it plans to invest about $30 million to build a new Mexican manufacturing plant and outsource the operations of two U.S. plants. The plan is expected to save Belden $12 million annually.
*heavy, heavy sigh*
Friday, June 02, 2006
New Ink Swag.
Sorry for my recent and continued lack of new blog entries -- busy, busy, busy... and, with the campaign, I'm bound to get a lot busier.
For those of you who enjoy taking a look the latest swag in the Melhi Ink store, I have added a couple of new slogans in the Texicalizona (border fence) section ("The Great Wall of Texicalizona -- If we build it they will stop coming" and "The Great Wall of Texicalizona -- America's BIGGEST tourist attraction." Also, by popular demand, I've added two new versions of the peace ribbon to the Peace Ribbon section -- Conservative Red and Patriotic (red, white & blue.)
For those of you who enjoy taking a look the latest swag in the Melhi Ink store, I have added a couple of new slogans in the Texicalizona (border fence) section ("The Great Wall of Texicalizona -- If we build it they will stop coming" and "The Great Wall of Texicalizona -- America's BIGGEST tourist attraction." Also, by popular demand, I've added two new versions of the peace ribbon to the Peace Ribbon section -- Conservative Red and Patriotic (red, white & blue.)
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Smithereens (Song Parody)
"Smithereens"
Written by Melhi, April 12, 2005
To the tune of "Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots
(Note: listening to Fuzz Farm's wonderful cover version of the original song, as you read my parody lyrics, will not take you away from this page.)
Won't try their crude alternatives
No sub for Devil's Ale
Too addicted now to break its ho-old
Fix or food? We won't eat
Sacrifice the air we breathe
Kill and die, lie and cheat
Blow it all to smithereens!
Can't fight complete dependency
Pumped up, we've found our grail
Unholy chalice carved in bone
Slaves in our master's liege, we are
So hooked we can't survive
Without the buzz that it provi-ides
We'll destroy all we see
Just to get it on the cheap
Pay the price, ever steep
Got to feed our endless need
We crave the junk... though we curse the price
We'll pay the price... yes we will
Helpless and tremb-l-ing, we are
Strung out and unrefined
Can't quench a thirst that won't subsi-ide
Killing you, killing me
Earth's revealed her swollen teats
Greedy swine, on our knees
Suck-l-ing her gasoline
Written by Melhi, April 12, 2005
To the tune of "Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots
(Note: listening to Fuzz Farm's wonderful cover version of the original song, as you read my parody lyrics, will not take you away from this page.)
Won't try their crude alternatives
No sub for Devil's Ale
Too addicted now to break its ho-old
Fix or food? We won't eat
Sacrifice the air we breathe
Kill and die, lie and cheat
Blow it all to smithereens!
Can't fight complete dependency
Pumped up, we've found our grail
Unholy chalice carved in bone
Slaves in our master's liege, we are
So hooked we can't survive
Without the buzz that it provi-ides
We'll destroy all we see
Just to get it on the cheap
Pay the price, ever steep
Got to feed our endless need
We crave the junk... though we curse the price
We'll pay the price... yes we will
Helpless and tremb-l-ing, we are
Strung out and unrefined
Can't quench a thirst that won't subsi-ide
Killing you, killing me
Earth's revealed her swollen teats
Greedy swine, on our knees
Suck-l-ing her gasoline
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Even Teflon Wears Out, Eventually
DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 11, 6:59 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter. (read full article)
Well... isn't that convenient?
In other news...
Laura Bush, whose job approval rating is 61% (despite having no elected or appointed or even PAID position in the administration, to be rated on) does not believe the polls in regards to her husband's 29% (and dropping) job approval rating. She reports, as evidence that her husband is still wildly popular, that at all of the events she attends, the pro-Bush Republicans allowed into those events come up to her to praise her husband by repeating her husband's "stay the course" catch phrase. (We at Melhi Ink are looking forward to the interview where Laura reveals that she's certain she's the prettiest girl in the world and cites as evidence her mother's assurances.)
Curiously, though, Laura Bush will be acting as an unpaid emissary -- appearing at Republican fund raisers and other Republican political events in the stead of her husband (and/or Vice President Dick Cheney) whose low approval and high disapproval ratings (which Laura doesn't believe exist) would only hurt Republican causes and candidates with consituents (whom Laura believes adores her husband and everyone associated with him.)
Thu May 11, 6:59 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter. (read full article)
Well... isn't that convenient?
In other news...
Laura Bush, whose job approval rating is 61% (despite having no elected or appointed or even PAID position in the administration, to be rated on) does not believe the polls in regards to her husband's 29% (and dropping) job approval rating. She reports, as evidence that her husband is still wildly popular, that at all of the events she attends, the pro-Bush Republicans allowed into those events come up to her to praise her husband by repeating her husband's "stay the course" catch phrase. (We at Melhi Ink are looking forward to the interview where Laura reveals that she's certain she's the prettiest girl in the world and cites as evidence her mother's assurances.)
Curiously, though, Laura Bush will be acting as an unpaid emissary -- appearing at Republican fund raisers and other Republican political events in the stead of her husband (and/or Vice President Dick Cheney) whose low approval and high disapproval ratings (which Laura doesn't believe exist) would only hurt Republican causes and candidates with consituents (whom Laura believes adores her husband and everyone associated with him.)
Friday, May 12, 2006
Millions Trapped in U.S. Data Mine!
CNN asked us, today, if we mind the NSA keeping track of our phone records.
Yes, I mind if the government keeps track of my phone records!
I love my country, I'm not acquainted with or in any way associated with anyone who does not. It is a waste of the taxpayers' money and of our nation's intelligence resources, not only to keep track of how often I phone to get the correct local time and temperature or the frequency and length of my phone conversations with my mother, but to track the similarly useless and mundane information that can be found in the phone records of my friends, family and neighbors, who are good, hard working, patriotic Americans, all!
This is a gross and dangerous misdirection of money, energies and resources that would (and SHOULD) be far better spent gathering, compiling and analyzing intelligence data that is actually useful to the sole and specific purpose of keeping Americans safe from further acts of terrorism!
Yes, I mind if the government keeps track of my phone records!
I love my country, I'm not acquainted with or in any way associated with anyone who does not. It is a waste of the taxpayers' money and of our nation's intelligence resources, not only to keep track of how often I phone to get the correct local time and temperature or the frequency and length of my phone conversations with my mother, but to track the similarly useless and mundane information that can be found in the phone records of my friends, family and neighbors, who are good, hard working, patriotic Americans, all!
This is a gross and dangerous misdirection of money, energies and resources that would (and SHOULD) be far better spent gathering, compiling and analyzing intelligence data that is actually useful to the sole and specific purpose of keeping Americans safe from further acts of terrorism!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Hydrogen Cars and Free Beer Tomorrow!
| Natural Gas -- Natural gas is an American resource. One in five new public transit vehicles is a natural gas vehicle. Natural gas vehicles are available in two versions. Dedicated vehicles use only natural gas. Bi-fuel have two fueling ports to allow fueling with either natural gas or traditional fuels. Dedicated vehicles are the more efficient option, because the engines are optimized for natural gas. Considerations: Shorter range than traditional fuel vehicles. Requires special certification for operation. Vehicles cost up to $6,000 more than comparable traditional fuel vehicles. Fuel savings depend on local price of natural gas. Cons: Public fueling stations and lighter weight personal & commercial vehicles are not widely available to consumers. Consumers with access to public natural gas fueling stations can, however, buy kits to retrofit traditional fuel vehicles for natural gas at a cost of around $4,000. The extraction process is already damaging ecosystems across all of North America. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, natural gas prices have climbed in recent years due to the slowing of imported natural gas from Canada and the failure of domestic production to keep up with current demands, the need for foreign sources is already creating some of the same international conflicts that exist over our need for foreign oil -- most notably creating tensions with China.. Just as we've already reached peak production with oil, we're expected to reach peak production with natural gas in 2020, at the latest. We will soon face the same crisis with natural gas that we currently face with crude oil. In development: Natural Gas / Hydrogen blends. |
| EVs (Electric Vehicles) EVs run solely on electricity, stored in onboard batteries. You recharge these vehicles at home, overnight. A small amount of additional charge may be obtained through solar panels built onto the vehicle's roof and/or spoiler and from the braking system. EVs are not a new technology. EVs were on the road and quite popular with consumers dating back to the late 1800s. Considerations: Lower speeds and shorter range than traditional fuel vehicles make these vehicles better suited to in-town driving by low mileage drivers. Recharge time is measured in hours compared to the mere minutes it takes to refuel a traditional fuel vehicle. Batteries add weight and bulk to the vehicle, affecting performance and cargo/passenger space. Consumers can purchase kits to convert traditional fuel cars to EV. Converting your vehicle would cost around $10,000. It is also worth noting that owners of 2004 or newer Toyota Prius hybrids can purchase kits for a mere $45 that will allow them to enable the "EV-only mode" (aka "stealth mode") feature that is available on all European models but is, for some unknown reason, disabled on all U.S. models and left unmentioned in U.S. user manuals. Cons: Manufacturers pulled EVs from the market as California's Zero Emmissions laws were weakened. Toyota was the last to cease production in 2003. Some of these manufacturers began purchasing EVs back on the secondary market specifically to shred them, so that EVs would no longer available to consumers, even on the secondary market. A few EV owners have kept their vehicles and still drive them, but parts and qualified service can be difficult or even impossible to find, so many of these owners have formed and joined EV enthusiasts groups, where members help one another find or even make replacement parts. "Fuel" savings for those few fortunate enough to own an EV are dependent on the price paid for the electricity to recharge these vehicles.. Off-grid consumers already generating a sufficient surplus to maintain charge on an EV would enjoy the maximum savings, but these consumers are also less likely to live in areas where the range & speeds of an EV would serve their needs. Generally, the older the batteries the less land-fill friendly they are. In development: Lighter weight, more efficient batteries for increased speed and range, but no developer has currently set a goal for bringing any EV, improved or otherwise, back to the U.S. market. For EVs to return to market, strong zero emissions and/or alternative fuel laws will have to be passed and protected from those who seek to weaken such laws for their own financial gain in the oil industry. |
| Ethanol - Ethanol is produced from plants and can be produced domestically. Currently, there are no Ethanol-only (E100) vehicles on the market. Flex-fuel vehicles that use E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gas) and public E85 fueling stations have only limited availability to consumers and are found primarily in the midwest. Flex fuel vehicles reduce, but do not eliminate dependence on fossil fuels. E85 prices are similar to gasoline prices. E85 vehicles are similar in price to traditional-fuel vehicles. E85 emmissions are substantially cleaner than tradional fuel emissions. Cons: Because Ethanol is available only in Ethanol/gas blends, it does not eliminate the use of fossil fuels to meet transportation needs. There is currently an attempt from the political right-wing to spin Ethanol into a more expensive and difficult to produce resource than it has proven to be during its time on the market. |
| Hydrogen - This is not new technology. Hydrogen cars have been in development and trotted out by the media as the definitive "coming soon!" solution for decades, but much like the joke implied on those "free beer tomorrow" novelty signs, "soon" never means "now." Considerations: There are currently two distinctly different types of hydrogen vehicles in development. One uses hydrogen as fuel and uses an internal combustion engine. The other is a hydrogen electric that uses hydrogen fuel cells (batteries.) Either has the potential to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels to meet our transportation needs. Cons: There are currently no hydrogen powered vehicles or public fueling stations, available to consumers. While several hydrogen vehicles exist in development and hydrogen is once again being hailed as the solution we'll soon be switching to, there is, in fact, no serious, concerted effort on anyone's part to bring hydrogen vehicles to market. Without that effort, hydrogen is nothing more than a useless talking point. |
| Bio-Diesel - This diesel fuel is manufactured largely from plant oils, but can also be manufactured from animal fats, it can be produced domestically and requires the same diesel engines currently fueled with petro-diesel. Running your vehicle on pure (B100) bio-diesel would reduce emissions 90% compared to running the same vehicle on pure (B0) petro-diesel. Considerations: Consumers can purchase equipment to produce B100 bio-diesel fuel at home or can purchase larger systems to allow them to operate as B100 suppliers. Consumers in sufficiently warm climates, can also convert some diesel vehicles to run on new/used cooking oil (used cooking oil can often be obtained at no cost from restaurants, but must be well filtered prior to use.) These conversion kits include a second fuel tank, switch and heating system, which help prevent solidified (cold) cooking oil from clogging the fuel system and engine. Kits are available for several diesel vehicles and cost around $500 (labor not included,) but may require the additional purchase and installation of a Bosch fuel pump for compatibility. Diesel engines, excepting those with rubber seals that are easily corroded by cooking oil, are compatible with cooking oil because diesel engines were originally invented & designed to run on peanut oil and have changed very little over the years. Cons: While B-100 does exist, its availability to consumers who do not produce it themselves or buy from a private producer is extremely limited. The government has been dragging its heels on the approval of B-100 or any petro-bio blends higher than B20, citing "more experience with B20 & lower blends" as an excuse to maintain our dependency on fossil fuels. (Note: they have more experience with fossil fuels than they do ANY alternative, so this same excuse can be used to keep any real solution off the market!!) Thus, petro-diesel is usually mixed with bio-diesel and made available in B20 (or less) blends. Petro-bio blends may contain as little as 5% bio-diesel and still be labelled "bio-diesel." at the pump. Bio-diesel consumers whose intent is to eliminate their use of fossil fuels should be aware that it is highly unlikely they're pumping pure B100 bio-diesel at public fuel stations. |
| Compressed Air - Compressed air vehicles are currently in development in France & Spain. Click here for more info. This is not a new technology, but a new, still-patented, application of the technology with several improvements as research and development have progressed. These vehicles run solely on compressed air -- recharge times are expected to vary from a few minutes at public rapid-recharge stations to four to six hours when charged at home with the electricity-powered compressors that are built into the engine. Some additional recharging is obtained from the air-recovery braking system. . If these vehicles come to market in the U.S., the factories will function as domestic vehicle & parts manufacturing, service, retail sales and public refueling facilities -- giving the added benefit of jobs creation. They also hope to place rapid-recharge stations at regular gas stations to increase the vehicles' daily driving range and make them a viable alternative for a broader consumer market. Considerations: Slower top speeds and shorter range than traditional fuel vehicles, so the overall concerns are currently similar to those of the EVs, but with shorter recharge times and without the noiseless operation of an EV. As development continues, it is hoped that both speed and range will be increased while recharge is decreased. It is planned that consumers may choose to pay extra for "hybrid" models that are also fitted with back-up traditional fueling options, to increase range & speed. The price will be based on the Euro, but the cost for a family-model that will seat 7 and be suitable for car-pooling, as well (similar to a mini van) is expected be around $12,000 (base model) at the dollar's current value against the Euro. Cons: Not yet available to consumers. This new application of compressed air technology still in the development stage. While some franchise licenses have already been sold to potential U.S. manufacturers of these vehicles, no definitive date has been set for bringing air cars into production in any market. The developers are currently seeking investors to continue research and development toward reaching the goal of international mass production.. In Development: Increased speed & range. Decreased recharge time. Non transportation applications of the technology. Large scale public transportation systems. |
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Blame Pedro First...
Time for a dose of reality.
You know all those menial labor jobs we lazy Americans don't want to do?
Guess what! It's not that we don't want to do them, it's that we want paid a fair wage for doing them. We aren't competing for those jobs because we can't compete for those jobs against people who do those jobs for slave-labor wages paid under the table or worse, who aren't holding jobs, but are themselves held in debt bondage (also known as "indentured servitude" or "slavery.")
It is estimated, by some sources, that on average, an illegal Latino immigrant (the only group of illegal immigrants anyone seems aware of, but FAR from the only group) who's been in the country less than 10 years, earns an average of just 38% of what an American worker would earn. It's actually even less than that when you factor in the burden rate an employer avoids by illegally paying "undocumented wages."
The fact is, American citizens are better off going on welfare and spending those 40+ hours each week with their families than breaking their backs working for the wages some illegal immigrants are working for. It's not that the manual labor segment of the working (or should-be-working) class doesn't want to work, it's that the incentive to work, which wasn't necessarily all that great to begin with in the manual/menial labor sectors, has been stripped away by employers who, more than a century after the abolition of slavery, are still arguing that the U.S. economy can't survive without slaves. Except for some of the gang at Enron, who had absolutely no problem saying it straight out, these employers have adopted more politically correct language, they call it "cheap labor," but it's the same old argument.
Suddenly, the nation is all abuzz about the problem of illegal immigration and how to solve it. There are several proposed solutions, both from politicians and from regular, everyday citizens. Let's examine a few of these bright ideas, shall we?
1. Eliminate public aid -- The idea, here, is that Americans should be cut loose from the government purse strings by abolishing all public aid programs. The idea is that this would force the welfare class into the workforce and force them to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs in the manual labor sector.
What this plan would accomplish is more than just forcing welfare recipients into an even deeper level of poverty within the workforce -- because everyone working or seeking work in the manual and menial trades, not just those who had previously been on welfare, would be forced into competition for jobs.
If I'm competing with people who can usually expect to be paid two dollars an hour, I have to bid lower to get the job. Let's say I offer to do a 40 hr./wk job for a buck-fifty an hour and I get the job. Score one for the displaced American worker, right? Wrong.
At the rate I bid, I'll be working a full time job to gross just $60/wk. -- based on a 52 week work year, that's just $260/mo. or $3,120 per year. Even before deductions are taken out, my yearly earnings won't cover my mortgage payments for a full quarter... much less cover utilities, property taxes, property insurance, groceries, gasoline, automobile insurance & maintainence and any bare-necessity health care expenses that might spring up in my family of six, during the year.
But, let's say I'm not a homeowner. Let's say I'm a renter who's never more than barely scraped by and I've got my family of six crammed into a low-end two bedroom, 1 bath unit. On my new income, I won't be able to cover the $600 or more per month rent payment any better than I could have on nothing and I won't be the only one in this (sinking) boat.
As a result of the decreased standard of living in this class, those who make their livings renting or selling goods and services to this segment of the workforce would be forced to lower rents/prices. In the case of landlords, few, if any, could lower rents into the necesssary price range and still cover expenses, much less continue to make a living.
Thanks to the ripple (or, if you prefer, "trickle up") effect, this plan would effectively lower the overall standard of living for all but the wealthy in the United States and conditions would worsen until they were similar to those that drove the illegal immigrants from their homes, in search of opportunity, in the first place.
If you're worried about America becoming Mexico -- stop thinking language and start thinking ecomony.
2. Felony Immigration -- The idea, here, is to make illegal immigration a felony and to be very aggressive about rounding up all of the illegal immigrants in this country and enforcing the immigration laws.
I'm the first to point out that we may as well not have laws on the books if we're not going to enforce them. Had we enforced the existing laws, all along, this wouldn't be a hot button issue. But, because we haven't enforced these laws, all along, this plan has some serious flaws.
We didn't have the resources to evacuate thousands of our own poor from New Orleans in advance of Katrina, but suddenly, we have the resources and manpower necessary to find, take into custody and transport millions of illegal immigrants, scattered across our nation and trying not to be found, back to their various home countries? Of course we don't.
So, maybe I'm mistaken. We're talking felonies, here, right? Maybe the plan isn't to deport them after we smoke them out of their hidey holes, but to stuff these millions of people into our already overcrowded prisons, where you and I can foot the bill for their room, board and healthcare for ten to twenty.
This plan has no substance, because it isn't workable in the real world, with our limited resources. The people who have proposed this plan are smart, well informed people -- they knew before they proposed it that it's unworkable. They also know it plays well to the emotions of those intentionally uninformed people who are fired up over this issue, but trust others to do their thinking for them. This is just another empty talking point for politicians to shout from the stumps from now until November. Sadly, the real plan (winning votes) behind their proposal will probably be quite successful.
3. Guest workers -- The idea behind this plan is basically to pander to pro-slavery employers who don't want to share the profits with the people who break their backs creating the profits because it's easier to exploit people who are afraid of being rounded up and deported. This is the unwritten law we've been living by, all along -- if it was working, we wouldn't be discussing this issue. The goal here isn't to fix the problem, it's to block us, through legislation, from solving the problem.
This is just legitimizing the exploitation and enslavement of undocumented workers - or, if you prefer analogies, it's like passing a law to allow "selective population control" in the park, between dusk and dawn, so the town can say it no longer has a "serial killer" murdering blondes in the park, at night.
4. Path to legitimacy. -- The idea, here, is that a percentage of undocumented workers will desire the benefits of legal citizenship and will shift to the legitimate workforce. Once shifted, they're less easily exploited and instead of forcing you and I to compete with them at their slave-wage level, they'll start competing with us at our legitimate-wage level. In theory, that's a really great plan and I'd love to get behind this one.
Unfortunately, the plan, while well intentioned, is short sighted and naive. Those who make the shift won't be duking it out with us for those jobs. They'll be as cut out of competition for those jobs as we are because new, easily exploited undocumented workers will continue to replace them, in the workforce. No "documented" worker, whether natural born citizen or naturalized citizen, will be in the running for those jobs.
Hey, I have a novel idea! Let's try enforcing existing labor, wage and anti-slavory laws so it's NOT so simple for employers to exploit immigrant workers and cut natural born & naturalized citizens out of the workforce!
Slavery is already illegal. We banned it with the 13th ammendment of our constitution. It's not illegal to BE a slave. It's illegal to buy, sell, trade or own them. So, instead of rounding up the slaves and flogging them for being slaves, shouldn't we be going after the employers who hold "undocumented workers" in so-called "debt bondage?"
Paying workers "undocumented wages," paying less than the minimum wage, failure to match social security contributions and failure to pay workman's comp are already illegal. The local grocery store would NEVER get by with paying natural born U.S. citizens less than minimum wage, in cash, under the table. So, why are some employers given a pass when they do the same with undocumented workers? Hmm?
Hiring "undocumented workers" is illegal. Period. It doesn't matter what an employer pays them, how an employer pays them or why an employer hired them or even whether you or I like that this is the law. It does matter whether the law is enforced on more than just the occasional prominent household's hiring of a single undocumented babysitter or handyman. There are MILLIONS of undocumented workers -- and that they're called undocumented workers means each of them works SOMEwhere, which means SOMEone hired them.
Now, about our vanishing manufacturing industry and those overseas sweatshops....
You know all those menial labor jobs we lazy Americans don't want to do?
Guess what! It's not that we don't want to do them, it's that we want paid a fair wage for doing them. We aren't competing for those jobs because we can't compete for those jobs against people who do those jobs for slave-labor wages paid under the table or worse, who aren't holding jobs, but are themselves held in debt bondage (also known as "indentured servitude" or "slavery.")
It is estimated, by some sources, that on average, an illegal Latino immigrant (the only group of illegal immigrants anyone seems aware of, but FAR from the only group) who's been in the country less than 10 years, earns an average of just 38% of what an American worker would earn. It's actually even less than that when you factor in the burden rate an employer avoids by illegally paying "undocumented wages."The fact is, American citizens are better off going on welfare and spending those 40+ hours each week with their families than breaking their backs working for the wages some illegal immigrants are working for. It's not that the manual labor segment of the working (or should-be-working) class doesn't want to work, it's that the incentive to work, which wasn't necessarily all that great to begin with in the manual/menial labor sectors, has been stripped away by employers who, more than a century after the abolition of slavery, are still arguing that the U.S. economy can't survive without slaves. Except for some of the gang at Enron, who had absolutely no problem saying it straight out, these employers have adopted more politically correct language, they call it "cheap labor," but it's the same old argument.
Suddenly, the nation is all abuzz about the problem of illegal immigration and how to solve it. There are several proposed solutions, both from politicians and from regular, everyday citizens. Let's examine a few of these bright ideas, shall we?
1. Eliminate public aid -- The idea, here, is that Americans should be cut loose from the government purse strings by abolishing all public aid programs. The idea is that this would force the welfare class into the workforce and force them to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs in the manual labor sector.
What this plan would accomplish is more than just forcing welfare recipients into an even deeper level of poverty within the workforce -- because everyone working or seeking work in the manual and menial trades, not just those who had previously been on welfare, would be forced into competition for jobs.
If I'm competing with people who can usually expect to be paid two dollars an hour, I have to bid lower to get the job. Let's say I offer to do a 40 hr./wk job for a buck-fifty an hour and I get the job. Score one for the displaced American worker, right? Wrong.
At the rate I bid, I'll be working a full time job to gross just $60/wk. -- based on a 52 week work year, that's just $260/mo. or $3,120 per year. Even before deductions are taken out, my yearly earnings won't cover my mortgage payments for a full quarter... much less cover utilities, property taxes, property insurance, groceries, gasoline, automobile insurance & maintainence and any bare-necessity health care expenses that might spring up in my family of six, during the year.
But, let's say I'm not a homeowner. Let's say I'm a renter who's never more than barely scraped by and I've got my family of six crammed into a low-end two bedroom, 1 bath unit. On my new income, I won't be able to cover the $600 or more per month rent payment any better than I could have on nothing and I won't be the only one in this (sinking) boat.
As a result of the decreased standard of living in this class, those who make their livings renting or selling goods and services to this segment of the workforce would be forced to lower rents/prices. In the case of landlords, few, if any, could lower rents into the necesssary price range and still cover expenses, much less continue to make a living.
Thanks to the ripple (or, if you prefer, "trickle up") effect, this plan would effectively lower the overall standard of living for all but the wealthy in the United States and conditions would worsen until they were similar to those that drove the illegal immigrants from their homes, in search of opportunity, in the first place.
If you're worried about America becoming Mexico -- stop thinking language and start thinking ecomony.
2. Felony Immigration -- The idea, here, is to make illegal immigration a felony and to be very aggressive about rounding up all of the illegal immigrants in this country and enforcing the immigration laws.
I'm the first to point out that we may as well not have laws on the books if we're not going to enforce them. Had we enforced the existing laws, all along, this wouldn't be a hot button issue. But, because we haven't enforced these laws, all along, this plan has some serious flaws.
We didn't have the resources to evacuate thousands of our own poor from New Orleans in advance of Katrina, but suddenly, we have the resources and manpower necessary to find, take into custody and transport millions of illegal immigrants, scattered across our nation and trying not to be found, back to their various home countries? Of course we don't.
So, maybe I'm mistaken. We're talking felonies, here, right? Maybe the plan isn't to deport them after we smoke them out of their hidey holes, but to stuff these millions of people into our already overcrowded prisons, where you and I can foot the bill for their room, board and healthcare for ten to twenty.
This plan has no substance, because it isn't workable in the real world, with our limited resources. The people who have proposed this plan are smart, well informed people -- they knew before they proposed it that it's unworkable. They also know it plays well to the emotions of those intentionally uninformed people who are fired up over this issue, but trust others to do their thinking for them. This is just another empty talking point for politicians to shout from the stumps from now until November. Sadly, the real plan (winning votes) behind their proposal will probably be quite successful.
3. Guest workers -- The idea behind this plan is basically to pander to pro-slavery employers who don't want to share the profits with the people who break their backs creating the profits because it's easier to exploit people who are afraid of being rounded up and deported. This is the unwritten law we've been living by, all along -- if it was working, we wouldn't be discussing this issue. The goal here isn't to fix the problem, it's to block us, through legislation, from solving the problem.
This is just legitimizing the exploitation and enslavement of undocumented workers - or, if you prefer analogies, it's like passing a law to allow "selective population control" in the park, between dusk and dawn, so the town can say it no longer has a "serial killer" murdering blondes in the park, at night.
4. Path to legitimacy. -- The idea, here, is that a percentage of undocumented workers will desire the benefits of legal citizenship and will shift to the legitimate workforce. Once shifted, they're less easily exploited and instead of forcing you and I to compete with them at their slave-wage level, they'll start competing with us at our legitimate-wage level. In theory, that's a really great plan and I'd love to get behind this one.
Unfortunately, the plan, while well intentioned, is short sighted and naive. Those who make the shift won't be duking it out with us for those jobs. They'll be as cut out of competition for those jobs as we are because new, easily exploited undocumented workers will continue to replace them, in the workforce. No "documented" worker, whether natural born citizen or naturalized citizen, will be in the running for those jobs.
Hey, I have a novel idea! Let's try enforcing existing labor, wage and anti-slavory laws so it's NOT so simple for employers to exploit immigrant workers and cut natural born & naturalized citizens out of the workforce!Slavery is already illegal. We banned it with the 13th ammendment of our constitution. It's not illegal to BE a slave. It's illegal to buy, sell, trade or own them. So, instead of rounding up the slaves and flogging them for being slaves, shouldn't we be going after the employers who hold "undocumented workers" in so-called "debt bondage?"
Paying workers "undocumented wages," paying less than the minimum wage, failure to match social security contributions and failure to pay workman's comp are already illegal. The local grocery store would NEVER get by with paying natural born U.S. citizens less than minimum wage, in cash, under the table. So, why are some employers given a pass when they do the same with undocumented workers? Hmm?
Hiring "undocumented workers" is illegal. Period. It doesn't matter what an employer pays them, how an employer pays them or why an employer hired them or even whether you or I like that this is the law. It does matter whether the law is enforced on more than just the occasional prominent household's hiring of a single undocumented babysitter or handyman. There are MILLIONS of undocumented workers -- and that they're called undocumented workers means each of them works SOMEwhere, which means SOMEone hired them.
Now, about our vanishing manufacturing industry and those overseas sweatshops....
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