Child Murderer LaPierre Speaks Out

I told you so. The NRA's idea of safe, secure schools is to have more guns in the school. I knew Wayne LaPierre was going to say this. But what else would you expect from a mass murderer? He will not now, nor will he ever, accept responsibility for mad men running around with semi-automatic weapons, even though it is his fascist group which is most responsible for these guns being available to any young, white, fanatic, survivalist, home-schooled, deranged male who wants one. LaPierre is to the NRA what Goebbels was to the Third Reich...the propaganda minster who will bring down a reign of terror on any politician who dares to disagree with him. The gutless, castrated Republicans who sit in Congress won't dare challenge the Reich Minister for fear their heads will be handed to them on a plate. The NRA's power over the legislature and citizenry is all-encompassing; and until someone has the balls to stand up to this tyranny, our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will always be subordinated by the right of gun nuts to buy AK-47s like they were candy bars. Everywhere I go now--the mall, my granddaughter's school, a basketball game, a restaurant--I look around warily, hoping some insane shooter isn't about to pull out an AR-15. Is this the America you want? It's not the one I want. But it IS the America LaPierre dreams of. LaPierre makes millions leading the NRA (Nuts with Rifles Association), but it is blood money. And he will burn in hell for it. Here's what the Reich Minister said today, "In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes—every minute of every day of every month of every year. Part of the problem in protecting schools, he also said, is the designation of gun-free school zones. The zones "tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk," he said. Can you believe this guy?? He wants schools to be "gun-friendly zones." Would you send your kid to such a school?? And he blames the media for gun violence. It is not the media which brings "an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless...and criminal cruelty into our homes"; it is GUNS that do this. Thousands more people die of accidental shootings in the home than burglars who are killed by homeowners during a home invasion. In fact, the instances of home invasions being stopped by a homeowner wielding a gun are so miniscule that they are statistically insignificant. I agree with New York mayor Bloomberg who said, "Their (the NRA's) press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country," said Bloomberg. "Instead of offering solutions to a problem they have helped create, they offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe."

Tennessee Rednecks Propose Arming Teachers

The Reupublican-controlled Tennessee legislature has actually introduced a bill to fund the arming of Tennessee teachers. That's right, these Neanderthals think that the answer to school gun violence is more guns. Can you imagine? The school marm will now solicit bullets instead of apples from her kids. And the children won't be distracted a bit by the loaded .45 in their teacher's desk drawer, right? Come to think of it, no responsible educator would have a loaded, accessible weapon in the classroom; that means he or she, if encountering a mass killer, would have to load his/her weapon...and by then it would be too late. The Tennessee Neanderthals don't understand that a weapon in the classroom is no deterrent to mad man killers. All it would do is turn the classroom into an armed gulag or an Old West saloon. No real learning can take place in such an atmosphere; maybe that's what the Tennessee Neanderthals really want--to keep our children uninformed about science, history and English so they will grow up to elect idiots to the Tennessee legislature.

My Conversation With Gun Nut Regarding Newtown

I've had an ongoing debate with my gun-nut neighbor, and, incredibly, the slaughter of 20 Newtown children has not changed his mind. Here's how it went Saturday morning: ME: "After what just happened you can't possibly object to the ban of assault weapons." GUN NUT: "I can and do. If the government can ban assault weapons, what's next--hand guns?" ME: "The old slippery slope argument, huh? The same logic you right-wingers use to ban gay marriage. If gays can marry, what's next--legalization of bestiality? What does one have to do with the other?" GUN NUT: "The Second Amendment protects my rights to own any gun I want." ME: "The Second Amendment refers to militias, citizen armies, not private citizens. And there were no assault weapons in the 18th century." GUN NUT: "What if someone breaks into my home, and I don't have a gun?" ME: "Statistics show that it is 1000 times more likely that someone in your own family will accidentally kill himself with your gun, than it is that you will kill a home invader. It is also 10,000 times more likely that a deranged or unbalanced person will get a hold of your gun and kill innocent people, than it is that your home will be invaded." GUN NUT: "I don't care what the stats say." ME: "But don't you have any compassion for those poor children who were slaughtered at that school in Connecticut? We've sent men to the moon and invented a polio vaccine. Surely we can protect the most innocent and vulnerable among us." GUN NUT: "Not if it means banning weapons." ME: "So, your right to have an assault weapon is more important than a child's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" GUN NUT: "It's guns that gave us that right." ME: "Huh? What kind of logic is that?" GUN NUT: "Without guns we can't protect ourselves from mad men like the one who shot up that school." ME: "You mean the children should have been armed?" GUN NUT: "No, but the faculty and administration could have been" ME: "Are you insane? That's not civilization, that's the wild west." And so it goes. Gun nuts and the NRA now have the blood of children on their hands. Columbine, Aurora, Portland, Atlanta, Virginia Tech, Milwaukee, Newtown. The bodies are piling up, and there is no end in sight.

Time For Costas Critics To SHUT UP

"Costas should commentate on football games and SHUT UP about gun control." Those were the words of Laura Ingraham, an evil right-wing witch with the soulless eyes of a snake and a viper's heart. She attacked NBC sportscaster Bob Costas for having the temerity to speak up and express his antipathy towards America's gun culture and the ready availability and abundance of guns in this country. But Costas was right...here we go again. The Portland mall shootings a couple days ago were just the latest in a long line of random killings. The response to which has been yawns and shrugs from the right wing. Apparently conservatives are content with this kind of America, where anyone, anyhwere at anytime can be gunned down for no reason. The Portland shooter had an AR-15, a military weapon that is illegal to own. How did he get it? No one seems to know or care. The NRA cares not whit about the victims, and the right wing says these things are going to happen. The problem is they happen over and over. Every week there is news of some random killing. Someone needs to do something, and Costas had the courage to speak up. The GOP is really the party of death. If they don't kill you with gun violence, they will deny you critical health care. If they don't kill you by cutting Medicare and Social Security, they will starve you to death by eliminating food stamps. If you don't die in their electric chairs, they will round you up and deport you. If you didn't die in Iraq, you may not survive Afghanistan. When will one of these shooters hunt down Laura Ingraham...PLEASE!

Another Republican Bites The Dust

Republican Jim DeMint resigned from the Senate today, and I started blowing up balloons, pouring the booze, and breaking out the noisemakers until I realized that he's from South Carolina, where it's as likely he'll be replaced by a Democrat as it is that Rush Limbaugh will join the ACLU. The South Carolina governor, Nikki Hailey, will simply appoint another right-wing extremist who will make us wish for the good old days when DeMint was in the Senate. DeMint resigned to head up the Heritage Foundation, a "right-wing think tank." This oxymoronic term is right up there with jumbo shrimp, Army intelligence, open secret, and Hell's Angels. There is no such thing as a conservative intellectual, and right-wing "think tanks" are nothing more than gatherings of quasi-fascists construing outlandish justifications for making the rich richer and the poor poorer. One Republican nut job, upon hearing of DeMint's resignation, said, "No Senator has fought harder for liberty and freedom than Jim DeMint." Horse manure. DeMint spent his entire time in the Senate fighting against our liberties--to breathe clean air and drink fresh water, to be free of random gun violence, to die with dignity, to have a meager income in old age to be free of starvation, to have women do what they wish with their own bodies, to be free of economic oppression, to be free of unnecessary war, to be free to collectively bargain for better wages, and to have the liberty of speaking freely in public places. DeMint's version of freedom is only this--the freedom of corporations to pollute, to control, to buy politicians and elections, to oppress workers, and pay no taxes while making huge profits. That's not engendering freedom; that's catering to plutocratic self-interest. Good-bye, DeMint...and go fuck yourself.

Over The Cliff And Through The Woods To Grover's House We Go

Just as one evil Republican, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, tried to steal the recent election, another evil Republican--someone named Grover Norquist--is trying to ruin any chance of returning fiscal sanity to the U.S. Who is Grover Norquist? Just a tubby lackey for super-rich conservatives. He is not an elected official; he does not hold any office. He is simply the guy who forces all real office holders (at least Republicans) to pledge to never raise taxes. He came to prominence with the Bushies, and he continues to hold the country hostage. One thing we need to reduce the deficit is tax reform (read: tax the living hell out of millionaires and billionaires). But Grover Norquist is holding that stupid pledge over the heads of House Republicans. If they vote to raise taxes on the rich, Grover promises to bring hellfire and damnation down on their heads (read: no more campaign money from rich right-wing donors). Ironically, if Grover succeeds, he will precipitate his own demise. Like all Republicans, he is blissfully unaware of his own obsolescence. If taxes aren't raised as part of some Obama/House deal, then we are going over the fiscal cliff...which means the Bush tax cuts will expire, and we will all be paying higher taxes. To that I say, "Bring it." I'm willing to pay my fair share as long as the top 2% are paying theirs. And as a bonus, Grover will be an endangered species, just like the other muppet that Republicans hate--Big Bird.

Rasmussen, Rove, and Morris: Bitches of Fox & GOP

As far as anyone can tell, the GOP has not conceded the election. Mitt Romney, instead of fading slowly in the sunset as he should, is whining about the "gifts" with which Obama bribed the electorate. (I am still waiting for my gifts to arrive in the mail.) Mitt is apparaently oblivious to the fact that the financial gifts he was offering his constitutency, the 1%, amounted to billions of dollars in tax breaks. Regardless, the Bain of Mormon just won't go away. But it's the bitches of Fox News: Rasmussen pollsters, Dick Morris and Karl Rove who won't concede that the Democrats got more votes, fair and square. Rove is still counting votes in Ohio. Morris, whose prediction of a Romney landslide wiped out any shred of credibility he had, keeps showing up on O'Reilly's show to tell us how he miscalculated by only a few percentage points. The worst of all are the Rasmussen pollsters who had Romney ahead by 9 points on November 5. Why would anybody pay any attention to these lying, corrupt idiots ever again? They are paid by FOX to lie to the American public. If FOX News insisted the world was flat, Rasmussen would jimmie up some poll which read: 87% of Americans believe the earth is flat. If FOX tried to convince us that pigs can fly, Rove would grow wings. If FOX told us that our mouths are really our assholes, and vice versa, Morris would...well, Morris proved that one already.

Republicans Are Really Darwinists, Not Christians

Ask Republicans what moral code they live by and most likely you'll get a Bible lesson (usually fiction) and verbal allegiance to the Almighty. They will tell you that they strictly follow their Christian precepts. As one elderly Republican acquaintance put it: "I live in a godly way." But Republicans must never read their Bibles because nowhere in it does it say, "Look out for number one," or "I've got mine, and you are on your own," or "Blacks and Muslims are not God's children," or "Social Security is a communist plot," or "Jesus was a gun-carrying, supply-side capitalist." Jesus was a destitute, compassionate, peace-loving whistle-blower...in other words, a liberal. And what the Bible says is that we should love one another (tolerance), that charity towards the least among us is a good thing (welfare), and that the rich man shall not gain the Kingdom of Heaven (tax the hell out of the wealthiest 1%). Point this out to Republicans, and they will likely wave a Bible in your face and declare that these are godless, socialist views. All the while blissfully unaware that they are the real atheists because they subscribe to that godless belief called Darwinism. Conservatives live as social Darwinists; they praise those who thrive in this dog-eat-dog world--the more ruthless and cut-throat one is in capitalist America, the more worthy one is of special status (i.e. the Romans who crucified Jesus). Those who are disadvantaged and need help to compete (student loans, equal pay, Head Start, Affirmative Action) are condemned as weaklings sucking at the state's nipple. Republican/Darwinists believe only the fittest (read richest and most privileged) should survive, and the rest should just die off. (By the way, this philosophy sounds eerily reminiscent of the Third Reich's philosophy.) Darwinist Bill O'Reilly was on TV whining the other night about Obama supporters getting entitlements from the state; he decried the state providing help for those who have less money than he. In the next sentence he decried liberals' desecration of Christianity's holiest day...you know, Christmas, when there is supposed to be goodwill toward men and love for the least among us. Ah, those Republican Darwinists...the hypocrisy makes me laugh.

Good-Bye, Mitt, And Good Riddance

Today I am as a giddy as a school girl on Christmas Eve. It's not just that a decent, fair-minded moderate won four more years in the White House; it's that I'll never again have to listen to the plastic, shallow, rudderless Plutocrat they call Mitt. As malleable as putty, a political chameleon unlike any other, Romney was a peculiar invention of super PAC money and CEO-driven America. Aiming always to please, Mitt cared not whit about anything except his own advancement and self-enrichment. Like a used-car salesman, he said and did anything to please the customers as long as he could make the sale. And when it comes to politics, all his life Mitt has done what the big money has told him to do. Now he's adrift on his own plush island, political career over, never to be heard from again. I should say good riddance and be done with him, but I can't resist a few parting shots: 1) How about that 47% now, Mittster? Looks like they kicked your ass. 2) Due to yesterday's voting results, the House and Senate now have binders full of women. 3) Now that the Grinch has been banished, it looks like all the little kids can keep watching Big Bird on TV. 4) The auto industry is so profitable now, it is sending a limo for you so you can catch your flight to the Caymans or Switzerland to be reunited with your money. 5) Possible jobs for the unemployed Mitt: --Playing Thurston Howell III in a TV revival of "Gilligan's Island." --Producing an off-Broadway play of his life, "The Bain of Mormon." --Offering tax advice for billionaires. --Selling Attachable Dog Carriers for Car Rooftops. Rim shot. O, Mitt, we hardly knew ye.

The Election Comes Down To One Man, And He Is At It Again

You may never have heard of John Husted, but he may well decide who your next president will be. You see, John is a small-minded, right-wing zealot who has a great deal of power in this election's decisive state--Ohio. Whoever wins Ohio wins the presidency, or so say the experts. John knows this, and his evil little brain is busy scheming and devising ways for Republicans to steal the White House. John has become full of himself and refuses to listen to the outrage and recrimination of those who want democracy to be implemented. Like Hitler in Berlin, 1933, John feels he has the power to highjack a country through devious, unscrupulous means, and he has neither a social conscience nor one whit of guilt about cheating an entire population. So, again, a whole nation is at the mercy of a narrow-minded egomaniac with great power. As Ohio's Secretary of State, John can make up and implement any sort of crazy, diabolical voting law he wants. And what he wants is Ohio's Democrats to get so discouraged that they will fail to show up on election day. He has tried to suppress Democratic voters in numerous ways. His latest scam was dreamed up over the weekend. He changed the requirements for submitting provisional ballots on election day. Provisional ballots can be submitted by those who get their identity and registration challenged on election day. Overwhelmingly, these voters will be Democrats. And John now requires that these voters fill out long, confusing, complicated application forms before they will be allowed to cast provisional ballots. John's hope is that these voters will simply give up and go home. I've e-mailed John, and I've called his office, (877) 767-6446, to protest. However, I hung up when I was told I needed to address John with the salutation, "Sig Heil."

Ohio Secretary of State Tries To Steal Election for Romney

Conventional wisdom says whoever wins Ohio wins the presidency. Naturally, then, there is an Ohio Republican trying to steal the presidency. He's Jon Husted, Secretary of State, and he's a master of deviousness and deception. He has purged, for no apparent reason, thousands of voters from the rolls in Cuyahoga County, a reliably Democratic county. He has invited a group called "True The Vote" to monitor polling places in Ohio. True The Vote is a quasi-fascist organization which tries to intimidate and harass minority voters by demanding IDs, questioning their patriotism, threatening them with prison time for voter fraud, and making it harder for blacks to vote than the Jim Crowe laws in the Old South did. Husted has also bought voting machines from a company run by Mitt Romney's son. No conflict of interest there, of course. And Husted has refused to extend early voting hours, even though Ohio polling places have experienced many glitches with machines and there have been long lines throughout the state. In predominantly Democratic areas of the state, voters have waited up to four hours to vote. Many just gave up and left without voting. Discouraging Democrats from voting is the whole point. By tampering with ballots, harassing minorities, and restricting access to Democratic voters, Husted is doing everything he can to get Romney into the White House. This is our democracy in action.

What A Romney Presidency Would Look Like

I know it's a scary thought, but you need to know what's ahead if you vote for Romney: 1) Foreign Policy--In this area Romney would turn over all decisions to John Bolton, Secretary of State. Who is John Bolton? A modern-day Attila the Hun. A neocon who advised W to go to war in Iraq and who stands by that decision to this day. Under Romney we would be at war with Iran within five months. We would be on a wartime budget again, with slimy defense contractors coming out from under their rocks. Say hello to Halliburton again. And you can double the current deficit. The entire Middle East would get involved this time. The nuclear option would be on the table. Think 1962 and Cuban Missile Crisis redux without a cool, smart, deliberate commander-in-chief to keep us out of global thermonuclear war. 2) The Economy--One word: Plutocracy. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. We would return to no-trickle-down policies. The right wing has for decades tried to convince us that tax breaks for the wealthy and for corporations would create more jobs. This is, of course, nonsense. It is just another scam that capitalists perpetrate on the proletariat. The way corporations get rich today is by cutting jobs, not adding jobs. The more tax breaks the plutocrats get, the more they put in their own pockets. They couldn't care less about the middle class. 3) The Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade--Ruth Bader Ginsberg is just barely hanging on, and she is all that stands in the way of the overturn of women's abortion rights. Romney would be forced by his Tea Party backers to appoint a right-wing nutjob to the Court, and Democrats would not have the votes to stop him. Imagine women being unable to get abortions. Imagine employers being able to restrict access to contraceptives. Imagine rape victims being forced to carry to term. We would have a second baby boom--most of them born to poor families. Entitlement programs would be cut. Poverty and homelessness would be rampant. We could have people starving to death in America. 4) The middle class would be gutted--In order to pay for his tax cuts for millionaires, President Romney would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction. Middle class taxpayers would pay an average of $10,000/year more in taxes. Home ownership would lose its appeal. A severe housing market decline begins. The gains made under Obama would be wiped out. The middle class is forced to work harder to keep less of its money and loses the incentive to own a home. 5) America longs for the good old days of the George W. Bush presidency. Don't say I haven't warned you.

Another GOP Rape Expert Surfaces in Indiana

Say what you want about white Republican males running for the Senate, they know more about the science and religion of females getting raped than anyone alive. They must know more, because they keep pontificating about it publicly. They are almost obsessed with the topic. The latest rape expert is Richard Mourdock of Indiana, running for U.S. Senate. He says that rape is God's will. Mourdock is probably referring to an obscure passage from Genesis, "Go forth to be molested and multiply," or possibly this one from The Old Testament, "And it was said unto Abraham, take your women by force so that ye may impregnate them." Using the Bible to justify crimes against whole groups of people who seem to lean towards the Democrats is a savvy political strategy; I am surprised more Republicans have not adopted it. For instance, why hasn't Scott Brown insisted that Elizabeth Warren be stoned to death in a public square for having the temerity to run for public office. He could cite the passage from Leviticus, "Let those harlots who dare to challenge the authority of conservative men be put to death." Come to think of it, why hasn't the NRA declared that shooting liberals should be legalized. After all, didn't Jesus himself unload an AK-47 on union leaders who did business in temples on the Sabbath? And why doesn't Jan Brewer, Republican Governor of Arizona, simply drown illegal aliens; Noah didn't take Mexicans on the Ark. In Missouri Todd Akin just called Claire McCaskill a female dog, and we all know God hates dogs. The voters in Indiana and Missouri, most of whom are acknowledged Biblical scholars, agree with this strategy; they have Akin and Mourdock well ahead in their Senate races. Praise be to Jesus.

Akin Makes Crazy Seem Normal

Just for fun, let's review Todd Akin's Top 10 Extreme Quotes. My comments follow each quote: 10. "[Social Security and Medicare] are enslaving people and destroying people’s lives… Basically we fought a war for slavery already, we don't want that anymore." (1/10/12) YES...those old people who can't afford to live or get healthcare without Social Security and Medicare need to be free of those government chains, so they can starve to death or die of disease. 9. "[Doctors are] giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant." (1/22/08) Huh?? 8. "I think [food stamps are] destructive; putting people in chains to the welfare state is not compassionate and it needs to stop." (6/11/12) Yes poor people need to be free of government handouts so they can starve to death. 7. "One of the things that did distinguish me from some of my colleagues here was the fact that I would support a repeal of the 17th Amendment." (6/11/12) The 17th Amendment provides for direct election of Senators. Todd thinks he was appointed by God. 6. "Our freedom is seriously threatened right now… I hope we will fight the battle with ballots and not bullets, but the Second Amendment is our last ditch of defense." (4/24/12) We need to take up arms against the negro president. 5. "[Claire] had a confidence and was much more ladylike [in 2006], but in the debate on Friday she came out swinging." (9/26/12) Todd thinks broads are meant to be seen not heard. 4. "The Federal Government is destroying things right now. It's paying women to have children out of wedlock. What you pay for, you get more of. That's nuts." (5/25/12) But Todd will not let you have contraceptives or abortions! 3. "The bottom line is you've got a conservative House, you've got a bunch of socialists in the Senate, and you've got a commie President. That's where we are." (4/16/11) And we've got a fascist running for Senate in Missouri. 2. "[Student loans are] the stage three cancer of socialism that is threatening our freedom." (6/2/12) Damn socialists...how dare they try to educate the middle class. 1. "From what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." (8/19/12) The doctor Todd is quoting is Dr. Mengele. Honorable Mention: "I don't believe in [global warming] at all, okay?... I just don't think the evidence is good there from a scientific point of view." (8/1/12) And Todd knows all about science. By the way, did you know the earth is really flat and only 2,000 years old.

Sleazebag Akin Now Selling His Vote For PAC Money

When deciphering the true meaning of politicians' public pronouncements, one must read between the lines. What GOP Troglodyte Todd Akin meant when he said that "Women who are legitimately raped can't have abortions," is women who get raped are asking for it...they deserve what they get...and they are nothing but whores. Well, who's the whore now? Turns out, Akin has done a 180 reversal on earmarks so that he can fill his pockets with conservative PAC money. That's the deal he struck with Jim DeMint. Akin has always been against earmarks, but Toddy suddenly changed his tune when a PAC john came to him waving dollar bills. Toddy spread his legs and told DeMint, "Give it to me hard." Now Akin has no problems with earmarks; thus proving that he is not only stupid, antiquated, and narrow-minded...he is also corrupt. AND HE IS NECK-AND-NECK with Democrat Claire McCaskill in their Missouri Senate race. What is wrong with Missourians? How can they vote for this jerk? He wants to abolish Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, public schools, student loans, and access to contraceptives. He believes all children should be home schooled. He believes the earth is flat, and the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional. He thinks Jesus was a free marketer who walked with dinosaurs and carried AK-47s, barrels loaded. I guess Missourians are too busy fornicating with farm animals and blowing up meth labs to pay attention.

Most Of the "47%" Will Vote For Romney

In yesterday's New York Times, conservative columnist David Brooks claimed Mitt Romney is as obliviously "wealthnocentric" as Thurston Howell III...and for good reason. Speaking to a smoke-filled room of 1 percenters, who buy politicians as if they were lap dancers, Thurston Romney said this, "...47% of the country are people who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to take care of them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it." What is more appalling than the words is Romney's complete lack of awareness of his audience. He was speaking to the very people who receive most of the government handouts. Government giveaways for the wealthy add up to more than $1 trillion each year. Capital gains tax breaks account for 5% of this amount. Regular capital gains are taxed like regular income (35% at the upper bracket), but capital assets held for more than a year are considered long-term capital gains and get taxed at a significantly reduced 15% rate. This is a huge windfall for the investor class, and amounts to a quarter of a trillion dollars in lost tax revenue over five years. Another huge government giveaway is the depletion allowance for big oil companies, the last people on earth who need tax breaks. 15% of their gross income can be deducted right off the top, but the IRS does have its limits. The depletion allowance can be no more than 100% of taxable income...meaning that the government refuses to give big oil companies tax refunds. How courageous! I think it is safe to say that the investor class and the CEOs of big oil companies overwhelmingly vote Republican. So when Romney lashes out at the 47% who depend on government, he is lashing out at his own constituency. When he lambasts the 47% for feeling like victims, he must be referring to plutocrats like himself who feel unfairly picked on by government regulations. And when he refers to those who believe the government should take care of them, he must mean that the government is not doing enough to coddle the rich. Or it just could be, as Republican sympathizer David Brooks puts it, "The comment suggests that [Romney] doesn't know much about the country he inhabits...[and] doesn't know much about the culture of America...The people who receive the disproportionate share of government spending are Republicans." Brooks eviscerates Romney's comment with this, "It's what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other." However, Brooks is off-base when he criticizes Romney for his lazy logic which reinforces the notion that "People who are forced to make it on their own have drive. People who receive benefits have dependency." Here, without his realizing it, Thurston reinforces a truism. The blue-collar, middle-class working stiffs have the drive to make it on their own without the influence or wealth to attain government handouts; the owner class, on the other hand, has a huge dependency on government benefits and has learned that it cannot thrive without them.

Why Do Republicans Care So Much About Zygotes?

Republican idiot Todd Akin aside, why does the GOP want so desperately to deny women access to abortions? The Republicans' public justification, of course, is that they fervently want to protect life in all forms. But this contradicts all their stances on all non-zygote forms of life. Republicans apparently don't care about life in the form of old people; they want to eradicate Social Security and gut Medicare. If the GOP had its way, old people would be dying in our streets of starvation and untreated diseases. Republicans don't care about life in the form of college students; they want to abolish federal student loans. They don't care about kids; they want to cut government lunch programs for needy youngsters. They have no regard for the well-being of women; they want to restrict access to contraceptives which not only prevent the need for abortion but also help regulate women's reproductive organs. Republicans despise brown people of all ethnicities; they want keep them out of the country, prevent them from voting, and make it difficult for them to access public transportation which could be used to make a better life for themselves. And, most callous of all, Republicans have no problem with putting all forms of life in danger with their "Wild West" gun policies. They assiduously protect the rights of maniacs to buy AK-47s, but they could not care less about the rights of the rest of us to "life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness," and a feeling of safety in our own neighborhoods, churches, movie theaters, and schools. In short, Republicans care only about life before it begins. After you are born, you are on your own...and Republicans will make it as hard for you to survive as they possibly can. What sense does this make? Why do Republicans value life, respect life, and protect life only until one comes into existence? It is non-logical, but what would you expect from the party of Todd Akin. Finally, there is this: You would think that with demographics trending towards white people being outnumbered by people of color by 2020, Republicans would be handing out contraceptives on street corners and opening up abortion shops in every town. By forcing women, even rape and incest victims, to carry to term, Republicans are repopulating America with the very people who will eventually vote them out of office. Wealthy white females will always have access to contraceptives and abortions; it is the poor and minorities who will not if Republicans have their way. In a way, Republicans are trying to legislate themselves out of existence. Fine by me.

Parlez vous Tea Party?

While on vacation in a small seaside village in France, my wife and I received news that the Supreme Court had endorsed Obamacare (since when can the Supreme Court rule on Presidential policy?). By "received word," we mean we saw it on French TV, without English translation. Our bilingual concierge confirmed that "validee" meant "okayed." The concierge giggled, and we asked why. "You Americans. Such a big deal over what should be obvious. We French think nothing at all of national health care. Why the...uh...le guerre?" We tried to explain the Tea Party to her. She laughed again. I shame-facedly felt like I was telling her why it was so hard for American troglodytes to accept the fact that the world was not flat. "Ah, oui. Ze barbarians," she said. "I demand my right to die before it is time. I demand my right to have ze financial ruin because I must be in ze hospital for a long time. I demand my right to be, how do you say, excluded because ze illnes is not covered. I demand my right to be sick. I demand my right to be cheated by insurance companies. Haha, your Tea Party is funny. Reminds me of small children with tiny brains who refuse to get along with ze others and do what is best for all. They can't stand to see others benefit or do well; the greater good means nothing to them. They are infantile and greedy. You have many like this, no?" I admitted there were millions and millions of them. So many that it makes one wonder from where they all come. "I am an American expatriate for many reasons," continued the concierge, "and this is one. America is a nation of 'me.' France is a nation of 'us.' Only don't tell this to an American, or they will surely wave a flag in your face and tell you that America is the greatest country in ze world. Even though you hate one another and wish each other ill." "Not all of us are that way," I replied. "We elected a progressive man, a man of color, no less, who seems to have the greater good at heart." "Oui. There are people of goodwill, but they are too civil...and afraid of the loud, rude, violent barbarians. Like here, during ze war. Too many of us were afraid to stand up to the Nazis, and they conquered us. You must fight them." "We do plenty of that. In fact, that's about all that ever gets done in Washington." "We have our differences here, but we are fond of our fellow Francos. You have many who speak of the Bible in America. Doesn't your Bible tell you to love one another and share. Yet you have so few with everything, and so many with so little. I don't understand how your Church and rulers get away with this. If the Bible tells us anything, it tells us that capitalism is evil. The rich man has ze same chance to enter heaven as the elephant to pass through ze needle." She stopped and smiled "C'est la vie...it can be no other way in America, for that is the nature of capitalism. The tiny number of wealthy must own the great number of masses...not everyone can be a king or a CEO, for ze rest must work in ze king's factories, make his bread, shine his shoes, manicure his lawn, collect his trash, bow at his foot. It works no other way. Few receive and many serve. Ze ruling class maintains this order by making scorn of any talk of all receiving and all serving. This is ze talk of ze socialist devil, no?" She smiled and politely excused herself. "You Americans...au revoir; bonne chance."

Facebook: What an Enormous Waste of Time

So now the news comes that Facebook is going public, and its net worth might be valued at $100 billion. Really? How is that possible. How did Mark Zuckerberg turn a vindictive prank against the girfriend who dumped him into a capitalist colossus? Only in America could the airing of our dreary dronings, petty gripes, and existential longings be turned into obscene profits. I am not now on Facebook and hope never to be, even though my publisher thinks it is a good idea. If I posted my daily activities on a public wall it would be called grafitti. On Facebook it is called social networking. My wife is on it, but often complains it is a vast wasteland of detritus. She has tried to explain to me how it works. One post appears on your wall and my wall if you friend one another. So that anything that gets posted by that person appears on your page. But you can always un-friend (I never thought the day would come when "un-friend" would be used as a verb). As she tells me this, my eyes glaze over and my mind goes numb. Which is probably Facebook's intended effect. I resist all urges to scream, "Who gives one flying fuck?" Here's a sample of recents posts: "LMFAO...gotto run, dewing the LKYTS...bak up freo" "hahaha..soo--oo-o KOOL...less parta-ay-ay" "NMBFF...whatta S-L-U-T-E...amazzing GGSA" Defenders of Facebook say that at least we are communicating with one another in writing. I might agree, if only I could understand what was being written. My wife's ex-student posted this: "Morn up MSGF, geting my brew on...stoking for the TON!" I responded with the only modern acronym I know: "TMI." Facebook is beyond all my capacity for comprehension. And I take great pride in my ignorance.

Worst Scandal In Secret Service History? O Ye Of Little Knowledge

When I heard the report on NBC's nightly news the other night, I glanced at my wife. She rolled her eyes, and I just shook my head. Just another example of a so-called journalist who is completely oblivious to historical fact. "They're calling it the worst scandal in the history of the Secret Service," claimed the NBC correspondent.

Who are "they" I wondered.

The correspondent was referring to Secret Service agents who were apparently devoting more time to hookers and coke than they were to protecting President Obama. I didn't catch the correspondent's name; his lack of awareness of history made him eminently forgettable. Still, how could I blame him? If he wasn't taught in school that the Secret Service was complicit in the murder of President Kennedy in 1963, how would he know any better. If the media he serves has ignored the truth for half of a century, how could I expect this poor sap to challenge his masters?

The fact is, though, indulging in hookers and coke pales in comparison to aiding and abetting in the murder of the commander-in-chief.

In Dallas on Novemeber 22, 1963, Emory Roberts, Secret Service agent in charge of the presidential detail, ordered agents off the presidential limousine as the motorcade began, ordered his agents to stand down in Dealey Plaza as shots rang out, and cruelly ordered Jackie Kennedy to remove her arms from around the mortally wounded President's head at Parkland Hospital so that he, Roberts, could see for himself that the President was dead.

William Greer, the Secret Service agent who drove the presidential limousine in the Dallas motorcade, actually brought the car to a complete stop so that the kill shot could be delivered. At the same time he raised his left hand and pointed it at the President as if he were aiming something at him. The Zapruder film shows no gun in Greer's hand, but several witnesses in Dealey Plaza saw a gun in his hand. Standing near the limousine at the time of the shooting, eyewitness Hugh Betzner said he "...observed what appeared to be a nickel-plated revolver in someone's hand in the President's car."

Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman, riding shotgun in the presidential limo, did nothing as the shooting occurred. His sworn duty was to give up his life for the President's, but he did not fling himself over the seat to cover the President. In fact, he did not budge. Films show him looking in the rear view mirror to see whether or not the President had been fatally wounded.

This incidents are suspicious, but you might ask: "What was the motive?" Well, let me give you a few quotes from a book written by a Secret Service agent assigned to President Kennedy in the early 1960s. His name is Abraham Bolden, and he knew all the suspect agents. "Time and again, I overheard [many of the agents with whom I worked] making chilling racist remarks, referring to Kennedy as 'that nigger-lover' whose efforts were screwing up the country," writes Bolden. The following passage is from page 52 of his book The Echo From Dealy Plaza, "Before Dallas, I had voiced my opinion of the President's protection detail to colleagues and superiors...I told anyone who would listen that I didn't believe the agents on the White House detail would act swiftly or appropriately to stop an attempt on the President's life...The senior agents struck me as arrogant...and saw to it that nobody acknowledged the apprehension of any less experienced agents regarding the President's safety...The senior agents' cocksure attitudes governed right up to the moment of Kennedy's death. One of the younger agents riding on the car behind the presidential limousine heard what sounded to him like a rifle shot. He started to jump from the running board to assist the President...but the young agent was called back to the follow-up car by a more senior agent, just as the third and fatal shot tore into the President's skull. The same inspector, Kelley, to whom I had previously complained about the laxity of the Secret Service agents surrounding the President, oversaw the Dallas investigation of Kennedy's assassination. After the assassination, I saw one suspicious action after another on the part of the Secret Service personnel, all of which left me convinced that the Secret Service wanted to present its own carefully orchestrated version of its performance to the Warren Commission...just after the assassination, orders started coming down from my supervisors that hinted at an effort to withhold, or at least to color, the truth." In support of Bolden's claims, Rebecca Lopez recently wrote this on WFAA.com: "On the night before President John F. Kennedy was killed, 10 members of his Secret Service detail were partying at a Fort Worth club called The Cellar...these agents that were out until five in the morning, that were supposed to be guarding the president's suite, bragged to the owner of The Cellar, Pat Kirkwood, that they were out having a few cocktails while they got the Fort Worth Fire Department guarding the presidential suite...the agents left their post at the Texas Hotel to party with waitresses at The Cellar, who served drinks wearing only their underwear."

And finally this from Bolden: "Agents often joked that if someone fired at the President they would jump out of the way and let him be killed." Another Secret Service agent charged with guarding President Kennedy years later admitted that he thought Kennedy was a communist appeaser and a traitor, and that his death was a good thing for the country.

Yes, that coke and hooker ring the Secret Service has going on now is just deplorable. But it's hardly the worst thing this incompetent, corrupt, venal organization has ever done.

Nice Review For My Short Story

What follows is a review of the anthology "Writers On The Wrong Side Of The Road," including my short story therein, "The Barefoot Hero." The review was written by Leigh Lane of "The Cerebral Writer."

"This anthology contains some of the creepiest and unusual stories I’ve read in a long time. While a few of the selections seemed out of place either by caliber or by genre, the best works in this anthology truly set the bar for greatness in speculative fiction. As a whole, I rate Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road at four stars and recommend it as a great addition to any speculative fiction library. Here's the story breakdown:

“The Barefoot Hero” by Timothy Fleming – 5 stars

A man looks back to the past after the tragic death of an old friend.

“The Barefoot Hero” brought tears to my eyes. The story is bittersweet, tragic, and brilliantly written. The characterization is deep and thoughtful, leading to a conclusion that is as painful as it is gratifying. A lovely story.

“Hold Up” by Lucille P. Robinson – 4 stars

A serial rapist gets more than he bargains for at his local Wal-Mart.

This story is thoughtful and well-written. I liked the premise a lot, but would have liked to have read more. The ending was justifiably abrupt, but it did leave the story feeling somehow incomplete. Nonetheless, it's a good, short read.


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“Judgement Day” by Angelika Devlyn – 3.75 stars

A young woman jumps at the chance at revenge after an attack sends her to the hospital with a miscarriage.

This story has some great moments to it, but needs a few kinks smoothed before it might live to its full potential. The premise is very good and the twist fun; however, following the story is frustrating at times because believability of many of the character motivations is shaky in many places. The erotica was well-written.

“For Art’s Sake” by Elizabeth Coldwell – 4.5 stars

A move and career change can be a pain in the rear. . . .

I don’t claim spanking as one of my turn-ons, but I enjoyed this erotic piece all the same. The story is well-written and cohesive and moves to a satisfying ending.

“Simon Seeks” by Nathan L. Yocum – 4.75 stars

A psychic finds his own life on the line when sent on a search for a missing girl.

This story is executed beautifully, offering creative visuals and awesome depth to details other authors might leave mundane. The only disappointing part is the ending, which seems far too abrupt for such an otherwise meticulously laid out story. I wanted to read more.

“The Cenotaph” by Casey Wolf – 4.25 stars

Past and present collide when a camper stumbles upon a long-forgotten memorial.

A thoughtful commentary on perspective and war, this story does a great job at showing the fears and expectations that arise when one considers leaving for war. Some of the shifts are a little jarring, but may be intentional in an attempt to pull the reader into the protagonist’s confused state of mind. Overall, this is a very good story.

“Take Two” by Kit St. Germain – 4.5 stars

An interesting post-apocalyptic future history, this story speculates the effects of religious take-over and genetically modified food.

Very well-written and creative, “Take Two” paints a very interesting future picture, moving at a fast pace and growing in intrigue as the story progresses. The ending is anticlimactic however, offering a good twist, but not executing quite powerfully enough to hit with the five-star punch it could have.

“The Journey” by Megan Johns – 4.5 stars

A housewife on a train ride contemplates her life while eavesdropping on a group of nearby passengers.

“The Journey” cleverly explores human insecurity and interpersonal dynamics, while offering a twist ending that is sure to delight.

“Triona’s Beans” by Casey Wolf and Paivi Kuosmanen – 2 stars

A young girl goes on an intergalactic adventure with little people that look like feathered beans.

I had great difficulty getting through this story, which reads like a very young children’s fantasy. This story does not belong in a dark speculative fiction anthology.

“The Meal” by Mike Brecon – 4 stars

Two couples come together for the taping of a reality television show.

The concept behind this story is great and I enjoyed the writer’s style, although I would have liked to have seen some of the scenes hashed out a little more.

“Seven Deadly Sins” by Karen Coté – 3 stars

A man snaps after his past catchers up with him and unravels his life.

This story is creative, sick, and bleeding with potential. Sadly, the prose needs tightening, as do the structure and story development. As is, the story depends too much on shock value, leaving the reader with flat characters in a tense but static environment.

“The Smile in Her Eyes” by John B Rosenman – 4.75 stars

A man sees what he believes to be the essence of his deceased wife in a teenage girl.

Very well-written and creepy on many subtle fronts, “The Smile in her Eyes” reads like Lolita in The Twilight Zone. Pay attention to every little detail when you read this story or you’ll miss out on its full brilliance.

“Slumfairy” by Tonya R. Moore – 3 stars

Factions fight over the pilot—and therefore the future—of a super-massive space ship.

This story is difficult to follow, with plot holes and vague spots that leave too many questions throughout the work. There is too much going on, too many aliens to keep track of, and not nearly enough time taken to paint a good, cohesive picture of it all.

“A New Leaf” by Megan Johns – 4 stars

A divorce finds solace in her garden after starting over in a new home.

Sweet and well-written, this story would have been even more enjoyable if it had not ended so hastily. Even so, this is a satisfying story.

“Man Slaughter” by Lucille P. Robinson – 5 stars

An alleged murderer recalls each of the deaths she has been accused of while giving her official statement of confession.

The characters and plotline of this story are developed and executed masterfully. The characters are believable and the story creepy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one.

“Pronghorns” by Casey Wolf – 5 stars

A double suicide goes to “Plan B” when initial plans go awry.

“Pronghorns” is a darkly brilliant commentary on life and death. It is well-written, gripping, and has a shockingly profound ending. This is one of those stories that resets the bar.

“Frame of Reference” by Mike Brecon – 4 stars

Story and reality collide in the mind of a young, insecure writer who finds himself unsure how to proceed with a scene.

Any type of artist will appreciate the twist to this quick, fun read.

Malpas by Marion Webb-De Sisto – 2 stars

A woman falls victim to, then in love with, an incubus.

The premise is decent, but the story is thoroughly unpolished. The prose is simplistic, the vast majority of the dialog recaps previous scenes, and the erotic scenes seem forced and filled with unnecessary, moment-jarring dialog. This story is a disappointing end to a very good anthology.

Overall score: Four Stars."

--Leigh Lane