Monthly Archives: June 2024

Card Carrying Members of the ACLU

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The first thing I did after last November’s election — after taking my
staff out for stiff drinks at the bar down the block, that is — was to
write out a check to the American Civil Liberties Union. This wasn’t a

radical act; I’d been a card-carrying member for years. It’s the least
a journalist can do.  [read more]

– C.J. Janovy

Janovy’s thoughtful piece this week reveals an interesting concern from Dick Kurtenbach, the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri.  Kurtenbach is happy with the huge increase in ACLU membership since the flying monkey-boys took over Washington and passed the so-called patriot act, but he is also concerned.  Speaking of the 150,000 member increase since September 11, 2024, Kurtenbach says, "There’s an opportunity here, but also a great challenge, I think, to
make sure that this burgeoning support buys into an ACLU agenda that is
broader than fear of government in the context of the war on terrorism."

Veterans Health Care

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For months the Democrats have been trying to pass reasonable legislation that will provide decent health care for US veterans.  The numbers were based on the best information available.  Meanwhile, the lying sack of shit in the White House continued to deny that anyone in uniform was really getting hurt.  The mission, after all, was accomplished when ape-face showed off his nut sack during the aircraft carrier photo-op.

Well, push came to shove, veterans brought their concerns to congress, and surprise!  Based on new data now available, the Republicans have decided to support an emergency budget increase.  Here’s what the Washington Post reported yesterday…

The Bush administration disclosed yesterday that it had vastly
underestimated the number of service personnel returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan seeking medical treatment from the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and warned that the health care programs will be short at
least $2.6 billion next year unless Congress approves additional funds.

Veterans
Affairs budget documents projected that 23,553 veterans would return
this year from Iraq and Afghanistan and seek medical treatment.
However, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson told a Senate
committee that the number has been revised upward to 103,000 for the
fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. He said the original estimates were
based on outdated assumptions from 2024.

The Post reports today that Democrats have been reluctant to give the republicans credit for surfacing this as an issue:

The Senate vote yesterday was on a bill sponsored by Sen. Rick
Santorum (R-Pa.), who had opposed a past Democratic amendment to raise
VA spending. He was given the honor of becoming lead sponsor because he
faces one of the toughest reelection fights next year among incumbent
Republicans.

Senate Democratic leader Harry M. Reid
(Nev.), who is orchestrating the party’s campaign efforts, refused to
give Santorum a free ride, noting that on three previous occasions,
"Senate Republicans, including the lead sponsor [Santorum] . . . voted
no. No to additional funding for our veterans. No to giving them the
quality health care they have earned. No to keeping our nation’s
commitments to those who have served."

Meanwhile, the chimp in the White house, Mister "Bring it awn," has not been heard from since his pitiful speech at Fort Bragg.  Word has it he’s in hiding from the war crimes tribunal.  What a chicken-shit bully.


Kitten Wars

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Winning kittens are generally furry and vulnerable.  Losing kittens have less hair, bigger ears, and challenging faces.  That’s how I read it.

Stole-a-joke

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Okay… I already cut and pasted this into email and sent it around some.  No reason not to lift it straight into the blog, it being so scientific and all… thanx for the laffs to sweet Betsy D. Vine

GV
Berkeley just announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet
known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium".

Governmentium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy
neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass
of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons,
which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called
peons.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes
Administratium, an element which radiates just as much energy, since it
has half as many peons, but twice as many morons.

Since
Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. It can be detected,
however, as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.
A reaction that normally takes one minute or less will require a week
or more if contaminated by any Governmentium.

The half-life of
Governmentium is 4 years. It does not, however, decay, but instead
undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons
and deputy neutron exchange places. In fact, Governmentium’s mass will
actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more
morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. The characteristic of
moron-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is
formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is called "Critical Morass".

The Internets… a contest

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"The Net grew like a weed between the cracks in the monolithic
steel-and-glass empire of traditional commerce. It was technically
obscure, impenetrable, populated by geeks and wizards, loners, misfits.
When I started using the Internet, nobody gave a damn about it outside
of a few big universities and the military-industrial complex they
served. In fact, if you were outside that favored circle, you couldn’t
even log on. The idea that the Internet would someday constitute the
world’s largest marketplace would have been laughable if anyone was
entertaining such delusions back then…"

Okay boys and girls…  who said it and when did they say it and where?

Virodhi Himsa

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We have flowers.  We have grasses.  We have forbs.  We have fruits and vegetables.  We have trees.  We have birds and mammals, reptiles and amphibians.  In the nearby lakes and streams and rivers we have all kinds of fresh water fish.  But what we have most is bugs.

Right now I am looking for a bug fix, something to get rid of the zillions of little red crawly guys that have established themselves around the foundation of the house. They’re driving me bug-house!  It might be that they’re the juvenile form of the box-elder bug.

Permethrin may be the true way to detachment from all box-elder related concerns.   And if I can help these little fellow creatures along the path of rebirth perhaps that is the highest way.