The Future of America is at Stake

Yes, I realize how long it has been since I have shared my thoughts with the interwebs. It's hard to believe that it has been SEVEN years. I can stay silent no longer. We are on the cusp of a political crisis of astronomical proportions. Tomorrow all Americans will be asked to make a choice between two very unequal alternatives. The Republican party has made no secret of their plans should regain control of the US Senate. They want to cut Social Security and Medicare, force a nationwide ban on abortion for ANY reason, and end marriage equality. They scream about inflation being at record highs without telling you that corporate profits are also setting records. Coincidence? I think not. That, by the way, is from the so-called “moderate” Republicans. The MAGA wing of the party wants to move straight to full-on Christian Nationalism. You too can become a second-class (dare I say 3/5 of a?) citizen if you are anything other than a Christian white male. An entire generation of Americans went to war to stop this kind of madness. How is it that we are even having this discussion in the America of 2022?

Speaking of veterans, Republicans want to cut their benefits as well. They also voted against capping the price of insulin, price gouging, a ban on military-grade weapons in the hands of civilians, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. 147 Republican members of Congress voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election! The Boston Globe Editorial staff stated the following, “This iteration of the Republican Party — with its open disdain for American elections, allegiance with far-right autocratic movements, and cavalier attitude toward political violence — is one of the most dangerous political movements in the world today. That, of course, does not mean that its members hold the most abhorrent views or that they would establish the most repressive government by any means. But it’s to say that the Republican Party is actively fanning the flames of the global war on democracy, and that will only get worse if it does so while controlling the levers of the most powerful government in the world.”

I believe, without hyperbole, that this is probably the most important mid-term election in this nation's history. There are so many more freedoms that could go away if the Republicans get control of Congress. That's only on a national level. Every state has candidates or ballot initiatives that could set America back decades. Governor's offices and state legislatures are just as much at risk. If you want to protect Americans from the depredations of the Republican party, there is one easy way to do it. Get off your asses and vote! If seniors vote for candidates that support Social Security and Medicare, the LGBTQ+ community votes for candidates that support their right to marry, women vote for candidates that support their right to bodily autonomy, and all the other GOP targets vote for candidates that would rather build than destroy, we can guarantee our rights from this day forward.

Apples, Oranges, and Gun Violence in America

Its a Saturday night special 

Got a barrel that's blue and cold 

Ain't no good for nothin' 

But put a man six feet in a hole

-      Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Saturday Night Special”

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

-      Second Amendment, United States Constitution

Fetish: Any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion.

-      Dictionary.com

The USA has a problem that it refuses to admit is a problem. Gun violence in this nation of ours has reached epidemic proportions. Movie theaters and office buildings have become free-fire zones while the NRA and gun manufacturers not only sit back, playing Nero while America burns, but add fuel to the fire by fighting against anyone that dares disagree with them. One of the latest arguments I’ve seen buzzing around the Interwebs tries to compare gun ownership with car ownership. I’ve used this argument myself to advocate for mandatory registration, training, and liability insurance for gun owners similar to what I have to have on my car to legally operate it. I will use this apples-to-oranges argument no longer thanks to the following irrefutable fact:

Motor vehicles, used as the manufacturer intended, transport people and cargo. Handguns and assault weapons, used as the manufacturer intended, kill people.

You can try to compare guns to any other item in human experience. The only comparison I have seen where lethality is the intended purpose is the Ebola virus. American culture has always had an unhealthy fascination with guns and gun violence. We are surrounded by this violence in our media every day. Games, television, movies, and music all extol the virtues of gunplay. Show a bullet going through three heads in a row (I’m talking to you, Deadpool), get an R rating, show two people having sex, here’s your X. If that isn’t a sign of a thoroughly fucked up culture, I don’t know what is.

The NRA would like you to believe that the answer to gun violence is more guns. Let’s go back to our Ebola comparison. The answer to the spread of Ebola is NOT more Ebola. The answer is vaccination and curative medicine. More guns is simply not a viable solution to gun violence. Not only do I want to not have to worry about some disaffected idiot with a gun and a grudge when I go out in public, I also don’t want to have to worry about a passer-by thinking he or she is Dirty-bloody-Harry and shooting back!

Gun fetishists (see definition above) almost always rush to the 2^nd Amendment as defense of their choice. In doing so, almost all dive right past the “well-regulated Militia” part of the sentence straight to the “shall not be infringed” clause. The writers and signatories to the Constitution did not intend the current free-fire zone that America is becoming. They were working from their own recent experience of standing up to a government that did not allow a voice to the governed being deposed by bands of home-grown militia members with the guts to stand up to one of the best professional armies of the day. They were talking about muzzle-loading black powder muskets and rifles. It is my firm belief that, as with much of American culture and politics of today, those who wrote our Constitution would be appalled by how their words have been interpreted, especially in relation to the advances in people-killing technology.

This is the point in my rant where the Constant Reader of this inconstant blog would normally get my wise and well-thought (snicker) answer to the problem at hand. I don’t have one. I do know that just as more Ebola isn’t the answer to the spread of Ebola, more guns is not the answer to the spread of gun violence in America. The answer is probably going to be comprised of many different initiatives. Common sense would dictate that one of those initiatives would have to be the reduction in the number of guns on the street. All that I know right now is that the status quo of gun violence in America is no longer acceptable.

Yumminess!!!

As the Constant Reader may well recall, I'm pretty proud of my prowess in the kitchen (among other places). My darling wife, The Lovely and Talented Cathy! (tm) mentioned that one of the folks she follows on Twitter was craving a good Italian-style tomato sauce. Since the sauce I use for spaghetti and lasagna was my first concoction and is still one of my favorite recipes, Cathy thought it would be a good idea to blog the recipe and share it. Without further ado, here it is!

Mark’s Drunken Red Sauce

1 pound ground beef

1 pound bulk Italian sausage (hot or sweet, to taste)

3 large cans tomato sauce

2-3 small cans tomato paste

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 large red onion, chopped

1 750 ml bottle Chianti or San Genovese wine

4 bay leaves

Italian Seasoning (to taste)

2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)

As with any recipe, get the best quality ingredients you can for best results. In a large stockpot, mix tomato sauce and paste over medium heat.Feel free to substitute chopped tomatoes for sauce on a one-for-one basis, but use at least one can of sauce. In a large skillet, brown and crumble the ground beef, drain VERY well and add to sauce with the garlic. Brown and crumble sausage, drain VERY well and add to sauce with the entire bottle of wine. Heat oil in skillet and sweat (do not brown) onion and mushrooms until mushrooms are cooked and onion is translucent. Add contents of skillet, juices and all, to the sauce. Stir in Italian seasoning and bay leaves and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. The longer the sauce simmers, the better the flavor of the final product. If possible, place stockpot in refrigerator overnight and remove any fat that has hardened on top before heating or using. Makes enough sauce to feed an entire herd or enough for 2 lasagnas and leftovers for 3 or 4 for spaghetti. Buon Appetito!  

There it is! The foundation of most of my Italian style cooking. Not "authentic Italian" by any stretch, but mega-yummy! Enjoy!

Election Eve

Can you believe that's it has already been four years since we made history? Yes, it is time to elect a President again. The Constant Reader is well aware of where I stand on the election, but those of you that are recent visitors need a clue.



That should do it. The list of reasons is as long as both my arms, but someone has once again put it into words that put my poor efforts to shame.

What does it say about us when we are simultaneously pro-life and pro AK-47's? What does it say about us when God's will would allow a rapist to ask for shared custody and child support payments? What does it say about us when a black guy's in charge and we say things like "it's time to take America back"? What does it say about us when we think the institution of marriage is threatened by gay people who love each other, but not by idiotic game shows like "The Bachelor"? What does it say about us when we export democracy with Hellfire missiles, then restrict the right to vote here? What does it say about us when we build nuclear submarines to defend against exploding vests? What does it say about us when we think a guy who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, keeps his money offshore, stubs his toe and says "H-E-double hockey sticks" and wears magical underwear can feel our pain? What does it say about us when we demand less government and more FEMA? What does it say about us when we completely forgot the colossal shit storm we were in four years ago?

The answer, my friends, is not blowing in the wind.

The answer is, "We are fucking crazy." - Chuck Lorre, Producer, "Big Bang Theory"

In addition to that, I think that the Republican party is moving closer and closer to being nothing more than a tool of corporate interests. With the continued assault on personal liberty and deregulation of business, it's only a matter of time before corporations have more rights than citizens. Corporations are NOT people. Anyone that would grant a corporation the same rights as a citizen will NEVER get a vote from me. 

The divisiveness of American politics has long been a sore subject with me. The art of compromise appears to be dead. That being said, I am forced to decide between two extremes. If presented with a choice between a candidate that thinks that the rich and corporations have it too hard in this nation and one that thinks that the PEOPLE are the ones that need the breaks, I'll side with the people every time. That candidate is President Obama. I fear for the fate of America under a Romney administration. If you prefer HUMAN rights over corporate rights, you should as well.

If It Was Up To ME...

This is another of those entries that started as a political discussion between family members. My family runs the political gamut from progressives like The Amazing and Talented Cathy and I to staunch conservatives with libertarians and everything else in the mix. My wife's uncle Dave asked several of us a VERY juicy question: "If you were going to be president what would be your 4 goals on your agenda platform?" I just LOVE questions like this!  My first four planks on "The Amused Geek For President" platform are...

1. Flat tax. Everyone in America pays the same percentage of their entire income in income tax. No deductions, except possibly mortgage interest. No mile-long tax forms. No special rates for capital gains, estates or anything else. Nobody's rate changes unless EVERYBODY'S rate changes. There is absolutely NO reason why I should have to pay 30% in taxes while some rich boy only pays 14% (and over-paid, at that!).

2. Secularize government. This country was founded on the ability of every citizen to follow a god or not without interference from government. That appears to have been forgotten. Freedom of religion should also include freedom FROM religion. Any law that favors one set of religious beliefs over another has no business on the books. This is especially true of personal conduct laws. If no one is being harmed, people should be free to do their own thing.

3. National Service. Require every American to perform two years of government service. Military, Americorps, Peace Corps or something tailored for a specific disability. If you don't perform your 2 years, you don't ever qualify for welfare and cannot be hired by the government, even to elected positions. If you want to get extreme, even restrict the right to vote until your 2 years are completed satisfactorily. This has the added benefit of instilling a sense of ownership in this country.

4. Guest Worker Program. While the debate rages about illegal immigration, the jobs that these folks people fill are going undone because they don't pay enough or require harder work than most Americans are willing to do. Allow for some sort of program that will let Mexican citizens cross legally, but as guest workers to pick the produce, bus the tables and so on. Quit criminalizing the same sort of "make a better life" spirit that formed this country in the first place.

These are just a start, but I think they're a good start. What would be on YOUR platform?

Chicken, Crow or Fox?

There has been a medium-grade shitstorm in the media lately. HUGE surprise, I know. This current cesspool swirls around a fast-food chain known as Chick-fil-A (CFA). CFA is a $4 billion/year company run by the very devout Cathy family of Atlanta, GA. These folks are one of two major retail outlets that are closed on Sundays that I am aware of, the other being furniture store RC Willey. According to the biography of company president Dan Cathy, as displayed on the company's website, CFA's corporate purpose is: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

Makes it sound like god wants you have that 16 grams of fat and 1400 milligrams of sodium in a 440 calorie sandwich, don't it? Selling fast food and buying into the god fantasy are no big deal, but it turns out that the Cathy family doesn't exactly want to keep their beliefs to themselves. Mr. Cathy appeared on a GA radio show and made the following statement:

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'" Cathy said. "I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about." 

Please forget for a moment the prideful, arrogant attitude inherent in that statement. Or not. The fact that Mr. Cathy truly believes that his version of god can dictate to ANYONE the definition of ANYTHING is ludicrous. Cue the shitstorm. Those of us that support marriage equality are cheesed that the president of a major American company would behave like that in public. Are we not in the 21st century, rather than the 19th? Have we not progressed beyond such xenophobia? Did you not get that memo, Mr. Cathy?

The plot thickens when you find out that the officers of CFA are also the officers of the WinShape Foundation. CFA gives millions to WinShape. WinShape gives millions to groups like Focus on the Family to help in their crusades against abortion and marriage equality. Supporters of the LGBT population started calling for boycotts and the conservative media cried foul!

In an interview with Fixed Noise, no less a literary light than the former half-governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, leapt to the defense of CFA. She said, "Well, that calling for the boycott is a real -- has a chilling effect on our 1st Amendment rights".  Liberal politicians are inviting CFA to stay away from their locales and social media is raging with the debate. The Constant Reader knows how I stand on the issue. For a refresher just look here or here. You also know I can smell a rat a mile away, and that's just what I smell here.

While the Net and the media burned with debate, CFA held their annual "Appreciation Day". It appears to be a promotion where you can get free product if you dress like a cow (the company mascot), and other prizes are given away. With all this free publicity swirling around, guess who reported "world record" sales on that day? Survey SAYS... Chick-fil-A!

That brings me to the title of this missive. Did Dan Cathy show his ass by insisting that his god has the undisputed right to define marriage? Absolutely! Will he be forced to eat crow one day when this nation comes to its' senses on equality for all? I sincerely hope so. Did CFA make a metric butt-load of money over the past week thanks to a shitstorm of free publicity? Damn right. Crazy like a fox.

The Force IS With Us!

I had the opportunity to play in the most recent beta-test of Bioware's latest entry in the online game race, Star Wars: The Old Republic (AKA SW:TOR). I consider myself a casual gamer and have had experience with both Everquest and World of Warcraft. I have been eagerly anticipating this game and this past weekend did nothing to diminish that. I can honestly say that I haven't been this jazzed about a game since I first played Civilization (yes, Civ 1) many years ago.

From the first loading screen, this game pulls no punches. It is all about the struggle of Good vs. Evil. Most games have good guys and bad guys, but the bad guys are only bad to their opposition. Other than cosmetics, the Alliance and the Horde in Warcraft are pretty much the same. In SW:TOR, everything you do has the potential to move your character closer to light or darkness. Whether your budding Jedi is forgiving enemies or trying to find peaceful solutions or your up and coming Sith is executing prisoners or activating the shock collar on their slave (you read that right), you are frequently given options to embrace either the Light or Dark sides of the Force. There is FINALLY a game that actually encourages players to make the choice to be either a saint or a demon.

This is also a beautiful game. The Jedi starting world of Tython is green and peaceful except where the dreaded Flesh Raiders have become a blot on the landscape. The Sith starting world is the bleak and desolate Korriban. While Tython looks like the kind of place where you might want to hold a picnic, Korriban looks like you just know that you are going to get sand in that one spot in your armor where it will cause a nasty rash. The Senate Tower on Coruscant really looks as big and imposing as the movie version. It just looks shiny!

The game-play I experienced was just as impressive. Was it kind of linear? Yes, but every quest was made me feel like what I was doing mattered. Trying to get to a cache of Dark knowledge before it gets out, striving to become the favored acolyte and earn the right to become the apprentice to a Darth or trying to recover a stolen city-killer bomb made every quest feel like I was directly involved in the story. This game is intensely story-driven and all the parts I experienced felt like I really was a character in the saga. While there we some "get quantity X of item Y" quests, they were all worked in to the story and all made sense.

The voice acting is superb. That's especially important in this game because all of your quests and important NPC encounters are fully voiced and your responses are also voiced. I had my doubts about how this would work, but this past weekend put those to rest. I found myself looking forward to the next decision point or quest turn-in. This is a vast difference from any other online games I've played and it worked seamlessly for me.

Now for the disclaimers: I only got about 20 hours of play in over the weekend (Drat that pesky need to earn a living!) so I didn't get as deep into the game as I would have liked. I played three different classes (Sith warrior, Jedi consular and Republic trooper) to a maximum level of 12. I never made it to my own spaceship and I only played in one group mission (called "flashpoints"). That being said, I think that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be taking up a great deal of my free time for some time to come.

The Amused Geek rating: 5 out of 5 lightsabers, all red!

My Take on Newt's NEW Contract...

One of my Facebook friends posted a link to a video with a pretty huge claim “This is THE man that knows how to put America back on a path to growth and prosperity.”, he said. He also said that he would really like to know if anyone disagreed, and why. It turns out that the video was Newt Gingrich presenting his “21st Century Contract with America”. It's a long list, but here it is. I will quote Mr. Gingrich's proposals directly from his website.

1. Repeal Obamacare and pass a replacement that saves lives and money by empowering patients and doctors, not bureaucrats and politicians.

This appears to nothing more than leaving the heath insurance companies in charge of medical care in America and make it easier for them to do so. It also does nothing to help the millions of working poor that cannot afford any kind of health insurance even if deducted from their income tax. I think that the meager health care reform that made it through Congress didn't go nearly far enough. I support single-payer health care, the so-called “Medicare Part E (as in Everyone)” Health insurance companies spend 12.5-30% of premiums on administration costs and profits. Medicare? A paltry 3-5.5%. There's where you eliminate waste.

2. Return to robust job creation with a bold set of tax cuts and regulatory reforms that will free American entrepreneurs to invest and hire, as well as by reforming the Federal Reserve and creating a training requirement for extended federal unemployment benefits to encourage work and improve the quality of our workforce.

In this clause, Gingrich wants to replace the National Labor Relations Board, repeal Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley (passed by Congress to combat corporate corruption) and lower corporate taxes even further as well as abolishing the Estate Tax. He also wants to mandate job training programs for extended unemployment qualification, but thinks that “This program should be delegated to the 50 states so each can experiment with the best way to use unemployment compensation as a job training program.” Can you say, “unfunded mandate”? He also wants to reform the Federal Reserve, blaming them for the mortgage crisis when it was in fact greedy and unregulated mortgage lenders packaging and selling junk mortgages that sent the market spiraling out of control. This is nothing more than a naked attempt to give the mega-corporations even more freedom to profit at the expense of American workers.

3. Unleash America’s full energy production potential in oil, natural gas, coal, biofuels, wind, nuclear oil shale and more, creating jobs, stimulating a sustainable manufacturing boom, lowering gasoline and other energy prices, increasing government revenues, strengthening the dollar, and bolstering national security.

This is nothing more than “Drill baby, drill!” without giving a damn about the land, water or air that the oil, natural gas or coal lies beneath. The American bio fuels industry is hopelessly married to corn even after scientists have proven that you can get FIVE times more energy from switchgrass. Gotta keep those corn farmers happy. Nuclear energy is only going to work if folks want a potential Fukushima reactor in their area. Oil shale is still a non-renewable resource. When it's gone, it's gone for good. This clause of the contract also calls for the replacement of the EPA with something less “anti-job”. The EPA isn't there to protect jobs, it's there to protect the environment from those who would destroy it for profit. One could add that I am unaware of anything called “nuclear oil shale”, but that would be petty.

4. Save Medicare and Social Security by giving Americans more choices and tools to live longer, healthier lives with greater financial independence.

Privatize Medicare and Social Security? Again? Place American retirement funds in the hands of “the free market”? Do the names Enron and Tyco ring a bell? How about the current market volatility that has caused massive swings in not just American, but world markets? Do you really want to trust the same fine people that gave you the mortgage crisis? Count me out.

5. Balance the federal budget by freeing job-creators to grow the economy, reforming entitlements, and implementing productivity improvement systems, such as Lean Six Sigma, to eliminate waste and fraud. Pass a balanced budget amendment to keep it balanced.

I actually agree that we need to balance the federal budget. Instead of doing it on the backs of the lower 99%, lets let the top 1% do the patriotic thing and pay their fair share of taxes. Let's implement productivity improvement systems, but start with the biggest discretionary spenders in the budget first. That would be Defense for those keeping score. Then we can go to Medicare and Social Security. The problem that I have with most of the “balanced budget” proposals that I have heard is that they demand that the government never spend more than it has, even for disaster relief. Everyone from families to businesses to the government has to sometimes spend money not on hand. If you do so unwisely, like starting two wars at the same time you cut taxes, you are going to run into debt issues. Remember, we had a budget surplus when President Clinton left office.

6. Control the border by January 1, 2014 and establish English as the official language of government; reform the legal visa system, and make it much easier to deport criminals and gang members while making it easier for law abiding visitors to come to the US.

As I recall, the United States has TWO borders and and three seacoasts. I have to assume that Gingrich is talking about the US/Mexico border. America's immigration system is broken. I don't know how to fix it. Newt talks about what needs to happen, but says not one concrete word about how to do it. Since 2005, the Republican solution for control of the Mexican border is a series of walls and fences blocking nearly 2,000 miles of border. Wasn't it President Reagan that said, "Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”? Why are Republicans so hot to build their own walls? As far as English-only laws go, what happens to the vast number of legal immigrants and citizens that speak the language poorly or not at all? English-only would effectively disenfranchise the citizens and deprive the legal immigrants of government services. Please remember that we are now and always have been a nation of immigrants.

7. Revitalize our national security system to meet 21st century threats by restructuring and adequately funding our security agencies to function within a grand strategy for victory over those who seek to kill us or to limit American freedom.

Let's cut everything else but spend more on Defense? Wrong again, Newt! Let's run the Defense Department through the “productivity improvement systems” you mention in clause 5, find a way to pay our brave men and women in uniform a decent wage, fully fund the VA care that they deserve and re-tool our military to adapt to the current world situation. The days of standing armies slugging it out toe-to-toe are over. Modern war is guerrilla tactics, armed militias (Libya, anyone?) and small-unit actions. Less General Patton and more Seal Team 6.

8. Maximize the speed and impact of medical breakthroughs by removing unnecessary obstacles that block new treatments from reaching patients and emphasizing research spending toward urgent national priorities, like brain science with its impact on Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s, mental health and other conditions that knowledge of the brain will help solve.

This from the same party that blocked the single most promising avenue of research into multitudes of medical conditions? I speak of stem-cell research, of course. Do I support new avenues of research? Hell, yes! Would I support a virtual gutting of the FDA to do so? Hell, no! I am a diabetic. I used to take a particular drug to help control my diabetes. It turns out that the drug's manufacturer wasn't quite forthcoming on ALL the studies to the FDA, and some of those studies found that the drug increased risks of heart failure, stroke and death. The reports were so strong that my doctor pulled me off the drug immediately. I am talking about Avandia. Without the FDA, these studies might never have been discovered and I might still be taking a dangerous drug. I'll keep the FDA and its' regulations, thanks.

9. Restore the proper role of the judicial branch by using the clearly delineated powers available to the president and Congress to correct, limit, or replace judges who violate the Constitution.

There is a reason why Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life. It's because if a Justice can be removed as a result of an unpopular ruling, said Justice would be tempted to frame their decisions in the light of whatever ideology happened to be in power at the time. The Supreme Court is supposed to disagree with the Legislative and Executive branches when they are wrong. That's what they are there for. Tampering with that would unravel the entire “checks and balances” required by the Constitution.

10. Enforce the Tenth Amendment by starting an orderly transfer of power and responsibility from the federal government back “to the states, respectively, or to the people,” as the Constitution requires. Over the next year, state and local officials and citizens will be asked to identify the areas which can be transferred back home.

Let the states decide? We've tried that before as well. Remember the Civil War? That started as a debate over whether the states or the federal government should decide which human beings were people and which were property. We had the same problem with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Some states just didn't want to apply the law fairly, if at all. If a nationwide program is going to be administered fairly to all Americans, it cannot be left up to the states to decide how to administer it. This makes as little sense as letting the various state National Guards handle national defense. If you want all Americans to be treated equally, federal authority is necessary.

Anyone that wants to know why I disagree with this political platform should now understand. If left in the hands of a corporate America that has steadfastly refused to police itself and is interested in nothing more than naked greed, average Americans will be driven farther into economic serfdom than they already are. Mr. Gingrich's first contract didn't work. I fail to see how his second one is any better.

Eric Cantor - Heartless Bastard

Just when I thought that Congressional bullshit couldn't get any stupider, House Majority Leader Cantor (R-VA) has lowered the bar yet again. Not content with his part in attempts to gut the American safety net for the poor and disadvantaged, striving to make the country a better place for the wealthy and corporate interests, this sorry excuse for an imitation human being has shocked even The Amused Geek.

Even the most vehement small government proponents can agree that one of the things that government should do is to provide disaster relief. Whether hurricane, earthquake, flood or man-made cataclysm the federal government is expected to step in to save lives, continue essential services and offer help to rebuild.  This is something that civilized governments do.

This is too much government for Cantor. Joplin, MO was struck by what the nerds call an  EF5 multiple-vortex tornado last May. In Amused Geek-speak, Joplin was bent over by nature, used violently and left in the road. Over 150 people lost their lives, over $2 billion in property was destroyed and it made the top 10 list of deadliest tornadoes in US history. Any human that gives half a rat's ass for their fellow humans would start looking for what they can do to help. Cantor showed up on "Face the Nation" and proclaimed that any money spent on disaster relief would have to be offset by budget cuts! Mr. Cantor, your programmers need to flush your memory cache.

Last week, with Hurricane Irene taking aim at the east coast, an earthquake struck where earthquakes don't normally strike, in the state of Virginia. The 5.8 quake, mild by California standards, caused some minor damage and rattled nerves from DC to Chicago.  Heartless Eric took the opportunity to remind everyone that he wouldn't approve disaster funds without budget cuts. This came AFTER the epicenter of the quake was announced to be in Mineral, VA. The fine folks of the Mineral area could rest easy, knowing that FEMA would come to the rescue if needed save one small point. Mineral, VA resides in the 7th Congressional district and is represented by (wait for it...) Eric Cantor. He was publicly turning his back on his OWN DAMNED DISTRICT!!!

I would normally ask if Eric was dropped on his head as a child but I know folks that suffered childhood head trauma that have grown up to be kind, caring and all-around wonderful people.  Perhaps Eric Cantor is the world's only surviving heart donor. Mr. Cantor, have you been kowtowing to your Corporate Masters for so long that you've forgotten who votes for you?  Are you just another Republican that believes that the wealthiest 2% of Americans are somehow more deserving than the rest of us?

I have said it before and I will say it again. If you make less than $250K a year and you vote Republican or even Tea Party, you are supporting a candidate that is NOT working for you. The masks of humanity are slipping. Cantor has spoken of "class warfare". Folks, the war has been on since I can remember and the rich are WINNING!!! Eric Cantor is just the latest and most blatant example of that. If there is any justice left in the world, someone will run against Cantor in 2012. They should play the footage of Cantor demanding his quid pro quo before he stoops to help those that elected him at EVERY opportunity. Then we can get this heartless bastard out of Washington and out of our hair.

Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it...

George Santayana's quote was just barely selected as the title for today. The other candidate was,"Did we learn NOTHING from Hebert Hoover?" Average Americans are out-of-work, losing their homes, unable to afford health care and falling deeper into that hole on a daily basis.  America's corporate overlords, on the other hand, are posting massive profits and setting records for earnings. Apple, America's second most valuable corporate overlord, recently had more cash on hand than the U.S. Government!

Against this backdrop, our government once again broke out its' fiddle and chose to use the economy as kindling for a partisan pyre.  Seventy-eight times since 1960, Congress raised the debt limit without trying to run America into a bridge abutment. This time, thanks to the Republican's stated goal of making Obama a one-term President, the rules changed.  This wouldn't have been a problem if the Democrats had grown a set of balls and not caved in, as usual.

The problem is simple, even if the solutions aren't.  The Republicans are unwilling to consider any legislation that causes the rich to pay even a single dollar more in taxes, even though they pay less in taxes now that at any time in recent history.  At the same time, they want to cut government spending at a time when the economy for real Americans needs stimulation the most.  The Democrats want to make the economic landscape more friendly to the middle and lower classes, but lack the spine to stand up to their Republican opposition. President Obama tries to "be the adult in the room", but doesn't show the strength or inclination to call the GOP bluff. That leaves us with a government that makes Charlie Sheen look like the epitome of wisdom and coherent thought.

The future bodes no better. The recent Republican debate gave us the number of candidates that would support a measure that coupled spending cuts with tax increases at a 10-to-1 ratio. None. Michelle Bachmann comes off as ill-informed at best and bat-shit crazy at worst.  Mitt Romney can't shake his past liberalism in Massachusetts and Rick Perry is trying to run for the presidency of a nation he wants to secede from. In normal times, Democrats should be looking forward to another term in the White House, but our President is looking more and more like a spineless weakling on a daily basis.

That brings us back to my alternate title. I hear lots of talk about "double-dip recession", but I think we may be on the brink of a depression. The last time we were here, the capital-D Depression that all economic crises are measured against, Herbert Hoover decided to keep taxes on the rich low and drastically cut government spending. This resulted in the biggest economic collapse in history, marked by so-called "Hoovervilles" where the poor huddled for survival, which lasted until the election of Franklin Roosevelt. FDR opened the federal purse strings and put people back to work. While most people believe that WWII ended the Great Depression, most of the groundwork had already been done.

Does the government spend a lot of money on stupid shit? Yes. Hell, we just spent (and continue to spend) trillions of dollars and too many American lives on wars that were never necessary. The economy will not improve until the majority of struggling Americans have money to spend. America's corporate overlords have had ample opportunity to step up to the plate and have not.  If the private sector can not or will not end this soon-to-be second Great Depression then the public sector must.

Scope or Grope

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

This pearl of eternal wisdom from one of America's founding fathers has been much in my mind of late.  I have often spoken out against the tyranny inflicted upon our citizenry by our government in the name of protecting us from terrorism. Ever since the attacks of 9/11, the reaction of the American government has been to toss the Constitution out the window and subject Americans to a seemingly endless intrusion into our daily lives and a steady erosion of our rights.  Even a change of party control of the White House and Congress hasn't slowed this nonsense.  Nowhere is this assault more overt than at America's airports.

In an effort to gain a measure of security, air travelers have gradually had to surrender their freedoms as well as their dignity.  At first the requirements were tame.  Have your carry-on x-rayed, be ready to get the electronics out for a visual.  If you want to see a TSA line slow to a halt, travel with my beloved wife, the Lovely and Talented Cathy.  The collection of electronic devices she travels with would boggle the mind.  Then some moron tried to light his shoes up.  This is where things got silly.  Now all air travelers had to take off their shoes to have them x-rayed.  It still amazes me that the vast majority of passengers just stood for it.  That was bad enough, but everything changed when the next sphinctroid decided to hide explosives in his shorts.

This brings us to the sad state we are in today.  Anyone that wants to fly out of a major airport in America has two choices if the want to get on their airplane. The first option is to be subjected to a "full-body scanner". An x-ray machine that sees through your clothes and lets a "remote operator" see an image of your naked body.  I really don't give a husky fuck how remote the operator is.  If I wanted to pose for porn, I'd put it on the net and find a way to get paid for it.  The second option is even worse. If you choose not to be "scoped", you have to submit to an "enhanced pat-down", which is TSA-speak for "touch every place that an explosive could be hidden" and if you think that your breasts, crotch or ass are off-limits you WILL get an unpleasant surprise.  If a police officer did this without a warrant or witnessing a crime, they would be up on charges!

My question is this: When did wanting to travel by air become a criminal act?  When did possession of an airline ticket become probable cause?  The 4th amendment to the Constitution is a very clear statement.  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."  Why hasn't someone sued over this? 

Some people are muttering on the Internet about an "opt-out" day on the day before Thanksgiving.  The head of the TSA is pleading with travelers to submit to the scope rather than slow the lines down and opt for the grope.  He wants people to not "tie up people who want to go home and see their loved ones".  If I was flying this holiday, I would absolutely opt-out.  If that is what it takes for the government to wake up and start following the Constitution again, so be it.

Immigration Consternation

I got an email today from a family member that shall remain nameless (you know who you are) that got my hackles up. It was one of those "tea party" racist anti-illegal immigration screeds that would be right at home in the state of Error-zona. I'll spare the Faithful Reader some of the gory details, but a couple of salient points spring instantly to mind. This email called for all immigrants to:


"Get a sponsor"

"Get a job"

"Live by OUR rules" (emphasis theirs)

And the clincher...

"Learn the language like immigrants have in the past"

Forgive me if I seem out of touch, but doesn't that make every white person in this country the descendant of an illegal immigrant? If history is anywhere near correct, the first white people in America had no sponsorship, the native population had no employment for them (and was ignorant of the concept...), needed assistance from the native population and forced THEIR language and customs on the natives that weren't killed outright. Don't even get me started on the other ethnic groups that came to this country, willingly or not, since then.

The only other logical position that comes to mind is even less flattering. Since the "Europeans" (France, England, Spain) stole this land from its' native-born population, perhaps the "logic" being used is more of a "we stole it first, so stay the fuck out" mentality. What these "tea party" chowderheads tend to forget is that EVERYONE in America is descended from immigrants. Save for the Native Americans, everybody in America is the progeny of someone that came to these shores looking for opportunity or was dragged here in chains by those exploiting opportunity. Everyone in America is an immigrant, most of us are descendants of those who made their own legal sanction.

One of America's greatest strengths is the diversity of her population. This nation was built and has been maintained by people that WANT to be here. The mingling of cultures and customs has kept our nation lively and interesting for over 200 years. While I agree that immigrants should be legal, the culprit is an overly restrictive immigration policy, not the folks trying to find a better life. As some of my hip-hop acquaintances say, "Don't hate the playa, hate the game." Seems extremely fitting in this case...

Interesting Times

There is a Chinese curse that supposedly goes, "May you live in interesting times". Life since I last filled this space has been that kind of interesting, for damned sure. First came the night that my darling Cathy wound up in the ER after a series of events that ended up with her suffering a concussion so severe that she had a grand-mal seizure. Headaches and dizzy spells persist to this day.

That would have been enough for most folk. As those of you that know me are aware, I am NOT most folk... Next, one of our dogs backed up. Shasta, our 3 year old yellow Lab, suddenly quit eating, started vomiting and got lethargic. Since one of her nicknames is Kangagogo (equal parts kangaroo, gopher and goat), we knew that the next stop was the vet. $2,700 later we had a small plastic bag of hard, smelly, unidentifiable "stuff", Shasta had a lovely new scar and I began to wonder what was next.

I didn't have to wait long. The morning of Shasta's surgery, I went out to my truck and it wouldn't start. After replacing the battery, a week later I took it in for an oil change and got asked, "Do you know that your water pump is leaking?" Then it was new brakes (all 4 wheels). Have I mentioned that it has been an expensive time as well?

Things have calmed down somewhat. There's been good stuff, as well. Managed to spend time with all the family over the winter holidays. Got my world rocked by Avatar. I had a wonderful experience auditioning to become the new Public Address Announcer for the Sacramento Rivercats (our local AAA baseball team). While I didn't make the final audition, the initial callback was a blast! Being in that booth with a microphone in my hand was such a rush! Cathy and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary later this month, and that's a serious milestone given my history as a serial monogamist. My beloved continues to amaze and inspire me in ways I never dreamed possible.

Well, that pretty much brings my life up to date. Lots to look forward to in the coming months, and I hope to resume commentary on whatever leaves tracks on my brain. Stay shiny!

The Dragon is Winning

I had occasion to visit my local Emergency Department last night. Everyone is recovering, thanks. While there, I saw a large percentage of the patients treated were there due to conditions that were better suited to an office visit to the family Doctor. Too many of our people are unable to acquire health insurance and are relying on already overloaded Emergency Departments. Part of why President Obama got elected was his willingness to be our knight to fight the dragon that is the American Health Insurance Industry. Unfortunately for us, the Legislative Branch is outfitting our knight with tissue-paper armor and a foam rubber lance.

The news over the last few days has been full of the "compromise" on health care reform. The idea of a true "public option", already mortally wounded, was euthanized for a relative mess of pottage. At least the House passed a bill that had a "sorta kinda" public option and increased competition. The Senate, under the gutless and spineless leadership of Harry Reid, sacrificed American health care reform on the altar of the pimps that are the health insurance companies that have been turning our health care system into a series of exorbitantly priced whores and the American people into the "johns" that are overpaying to be serviced or being forced to do without. The problem is that nobody ever died from not getting laid. People are dying every day from insufficient health care.

Senator Reid has been so preoccupied with placating the conservative members of his own party, the so-called "Blue Dogs", that he has squandered the hard-won mandate of the people. The solution is simple, Senator. You need to grow a set, sit these dipsticks down in your office and explain certain facts to them.

FACT: Most of the American people, according to multiple polls, want a robust public option and the competition that will result.

FACT: The only people that will actually benefit from the current bastard child that is the "compromise" will be the health insurance companies. Not only will people be mandated to buy their overpriced products under penalty of law, but the highest-risk segment of the population (those 55-65 that will eventually be covered by the limited Medicare expansion) will no longer be their responsibility.

FACT: You are now part of the Senate majority. If you want to continue to get your prestigious committee assignments, the nice offices and all the other trappings of being in that majority, you have to do one thing occasionally. That thing is to sit down, shut up and support the party that got you elected when it needs you.

In a perfect world, that would have happened already. Senator Reid's spine, having the consistency of a soggy graham cracker, precludes this scenario. Why is America the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee health care to ALL of its' citizens? Until and unless our elected officials start listening to the voters instead of their corporate contributor$ we will never get the government of the people, by the people and for the people that we have been promised for so long. Write, call or e-mail your Senators and Representatives and demand the health care you deserve. Tell 'em The Amused Geek sent ya.

Eyes on the Prize...

This morning, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After making a very modest acceptance speech, the President announced that he would donate the accompanying cash prize ($1.4 million… chump change it ain’t) to charity. Among the expected partisan shit-storm surrounding this great honor, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was quoted as saying, “What has President Obama actually accomplished?” Even a staunch conservative named Pat Buchanan called Steele's comments "a Kanye West moment". Let me spell some of it out for ya, Mickey…

First and foremost, Obama ended the eight year era of “cowboy diplomacy” and unilateralism that was propagated by the Bush administration. Instead of “Yee-haw, I’m goin’ in… Cover me!” President Obama relied more on “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Wasn’t that quote attributed to one of the other sitting U.S. Presidents to win the Peace Prize? Teddy Roosevelt, I believe it was. Rather than “stay the course no matter what changes” our President engages other nations, friend and foe, to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Didn’t we have a sitting President that won the Peace Prize for that, too? If you answered Woodrow Wilson, you win today’s no-prize!

Then there’s the whole issue of climate change. Instead of ignorance, denial, repudiation, lies and outright stupidity towards the whole concept of man-made climate change, Obama has acknowledged that this is one of the most important and difficult issues we face as a planet today and has started us down the long road of moving to cleaner and more renewable energy sources. That’s more that any President before Obama has been able to accomplish. Didn’t we have a former Vice-President that got the Peace Prize for his work battling climate change? Al Gore, wasn’t it?

Finally we come to the vast improvement in the world’s view of America. Instead of rampaging through situations trying to hammer every problem into the administration’s image, our diplomatic corps is trying, at the direction of the President, to find peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts. Using the carrot and keeping the stick in reserve. Didn’t we have a former President that won the Peace Prize for helping do just that? President Carter, as I recall. I haven’t even started on nuclear non-proliferation. Hell, Bush couldn’t even pronounce it! Have I also mentioned working tirelessly to undo the clusterfuck that was left by Mr. Bush and his administration?

Does President Obama have a long record of successful conclusions? Not yet. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century." Some of us feel that, while a bit premature, that if President Obama’s reach does not exceed his grasp, he could wind up wining this august prize again. Chairman Steele, stick to being the poorly trained lapdog to the intellectually deficient and the morally bankrupt. It is, after all, what you do best.

Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!

Fox commentator Glenn Beck has been bloviating for what seems like forever about his precious "9.12 project". Now, in fairness, the 9.12 project website has a disclaimer distancing itself from "the Glenn Beck Program, Glenn Beck, or any radio station, Cable TV Network, etc. ". A little farther down the page you will find a small shrine called the Glenn Beck Feed, however. For those who have better things to do than listen to the lies and innuendo that these neocon nit-wits spew, the stated goal of this gaggle's website is to be "a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country." Some of them marched in Washington, DC over the weekend. I noticed some disturbing trends...

First was the size of the crowd. I've heard claims of upwards of 500,000 by Beck and the Fox bozos. Judging by the authenticated pictures I've seen, that number is off by an order of magnitude (Lop off a zero for you non-math geeks).

Second was the obvious level of hatred in the crowd. I don't think Ive ever seen a group of people more riled by fear and outright ignorance. Even at the height of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I didn't see people espousing violence against any American, even (or especially!) Muslim-Americans. I'm willing to bet the Secret Service will be putting in a lot of overtime just based on some of the signs I saw on the news.

Third, and scariest of all, was the make-up of the crowd. I have yet to see a picture, ANY picture, of a single person of color attending this hoe-down. No black, brown, yellow or red faces whatsoever. Just an unbroken stream of white, most of them looking to be in need of a bit of health care. One person (and hats off to them) even went so far as to dub this the "Great White Waddle". I'm old enough (barely) to remember (from TV) the racial struggles in this country in the 1960's. The last time I saw a crowd this white being this angry at a black man there were hoods involved.

All of this got my brain running on its' hamster wheel. These people don't want government-run health care but are unwilling to give up their Veteran's and Medicare benefits, think that they have "lost control of 'their' country" just because America elected a black President and think that social justice equals socialism. I think it is high time for these crackers to form their own country. Let's call it "Cracker Nation", a nation built on fear, ignorance, hatred and deceit.

Think about it... a place where all these people that are afraid of people that are different from them can go and be out of our hair. Fixed Noise can be their Ministry of Dis-information, Lou Dobbs for Immigration Minister and of course: Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!

All kidding aside, this wave of scared white people scares me more than almost anything that came out of the Bush administration. Frightened people in large groups worry me, and when people like Beck, Dobbs, O'Reilly and Limbaugh use those fears to agitate scared people it amounts to nothing more than incitement to riot, pure and simple. Wait a minute... plying on fears and ancient hatreds... those tactics sound familiar... THAT'S IT!!! The same tactics Osama binLaden used to incite the 9/11 attacks!

And so we have come full circle. Amazing, isn't it. I think Sinclair Lewis said it best. "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Two excellent reasons to be wary of excessive patriotism and religion, don't you think? And if you don't think, why are you reading this?

Students and Technology

The Constant Reader knows of the high esteem in which I hold my beloved wife, the Lovely and Talented Cathy. Her latest project is another stunningly wonderful idea. She has started podcasting and a new website, Student Tech. This podcast covers all the nifty technological goodies she has found helpful in her quest for her doctoral degree. It also shares ways to save money and blow off steam with low-cost fun, since keeping your sanity is just as important as gaining an education.

In addition to learning all kinds of stuff, you will also get to hear the beautiful voice of the woman that is the light of my life. Check out Student Tech and tell her The Amused Geek sent you!

The Lion Sleeps

America lost perhaps its' greatest liberal champion last night. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy lost his battle with brain cancer. This man, born to wealth and privilege, never ceased to battle for the rights of those less fortunate. Kennedy spent more that 47 years in the U.S. Senate and left his stamp on every major civil rights and anti-poverty legislation presented to that body. He will be missed.

It seems ironic to me that the darkest day of his career may have done more than anything else to extend Senator Kennedy's life. His brothers, John and Robert, came to early ends in possesion or pursuit of the nation's highest office. Ted could have easily become President had it not been for the tragic "Chappaquiddick" incident. He remained in the Senate and probably did more good for the disabled, poor and under-privleged over his long Senatorial career than he ever could have in a four to eight year Presidency.

Your labors are done, old lion. Rest well.

Tyranny of the Wingnuts

In the days since I've last updated this missive, a disturbing trend has come to the fore. People (and I use that term loosely in this case) staring at the President's birth certificate still claiming that he's not a citizen, Medicare recipients railing against "government run health care" and the right-wing screaming meemies (This means YOU and your kind, Plush Windbag!) spewing talking points that are intellectually bankrupt and morally reprehensible.


It seems like the airwaves are filled with people shouting bullshit at the top of their lungs under the impression that volume can replace truth. On the news recently I saw elderly person after elderly person crying about how a public insurance option would mean that old people would have to die rather than get the health care they deserve. Do you honestly think that a country that specially designed a government-run single-payer healthcare system JUST for the elderly would make these same people end their lives due to a lack of healthcare? What color is the sky in your world? You sure don't live here! By the way, all of you who are screaming that America doesn't have a government-run single-payer healthcare system just for the elderly, it is called Medicare.


This mess is so pervasive that there is even a name for it. They are called "astroturf movements" because they claim to be coming from the "grass roots" but are fake. The Republican party is behaving like it believes that this is what the people want. Take that lying and barely literate village-idiot-of-the-tundra (could Dubya and she be related? Scary!), Sarah Palin. She is blathering on about how the Obama healthcare plan would create panels that would decide whether a citizen would live or die when, if Palin had the intelligence and integrity to read the actual bill, she would know that what is being offered is voluntary end-of-life counseling to the terminally ill. Palin, you lying guttersnipe, you have no room to chastise the press for "makin' stuff up"! Senator McCain, your selection of this moron didn't kill your campaign, but it did put it out of our misery.


The Constant Reader will know that I am a recent but devoted convert to liberalism and social justice, and I want to ask a favor. Please write, call, email or send a carrier pigeon to your Senator and your Congresscritter telling them that you want healthcare reform WITH a public option, and tell them that The Amused Geek sent you. I especially want you to write if you have the ill-fortune to live in a Congressional district represented by a Republican. I don't have much of a following, but perhaps we can make the Geek voice heard!

Grim Reaper Working Overtime

Is death just in the air, or what? In the last seven days we've lost Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays died today. On top of that, Walter Cronkite is reported to be gravely ill. Seems to be a bad week to be famous.

I normally wouldn't comment about this, but I am amazingly most moved by the sudden death of Billy Mays. One of my recent guilty pleasures has been the show Pitchmen on Discovery. It's the story of Mays and Anthony Sullivan and how they find and pitch products. High-brow television it ain't, but it was fun and I'll be sorry to see it go. For all his bluster in public, watching him on TV turned him into a real person. I guess you can't ask for more from putting yourself in the public eye like that.