Breast Bombs! I Think I'll Travel By Boat

Blog post here, original story here.

Episode 11 3/26/2010 audio

Ogre-oid: Texas (still)

Mere hours before Hank Skinner was scheduled to be murdered by the government of Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay so they can consider his case.  The court is considering whether this man has a right to have DNA evidence examined (evidence he believes will prove his innocence).  Apparently Texas is so hot on killing people they don't want to make absolutely sure the person deserves the sentence.  Not that the death penalty does any good in any way, it's just that if there may be evidence that can prove someone did not commit a crime it seems they should have a right for that evidence to be examined.  Now whether this emerges as an even larger Ogre-oid (as it did in Alaska) will have to be seen. 

M.O. pod Episode 10 at Vimeo

Modus Operandi Podcast episode 10 3/23/2010 from alan evil on Vimeo.

Ogre-oid: Post Health Bill Threats from Palin, Teabaggers

I think this graph from Sarah Palin's PAC website says it all.  She "targets" the "enemy" by placing "gun sites" over their homes.  Yep.

Apparently the threats and actual actions are not only being aimed at opposition politicians but members of their families as well.  Good call, right wingers.  It's about time for the jack booted thugs.

Ogre-oid: States Close Rest Stops for Lack of Money

"Trickle down economics" appears to be working... that is if you're driving on the Interstate in Virginia (which is beginning to reopen some), Vermont, Main, Arizona, and Louisiana and you have to take a piss and the "down" that is being "trickled" is your leg.  Meanwhile we are spending billions of dollars a week to maintain military bases around the world and fight two stupid wars started by drooling idiots while denying we're playing empire and almost no one is insisting we tax the fucking ultra-megas to stop the decay of our homeland.

It Sucks Sometimes To Be From Kentucky

Ogre-oid: The Ever Evolving Police State of America

Sharon Ramage, a 57-year-old grandmother with no criminal record, was ironing clothes when the police assault on her home began shortly after nightfall on June 21, 2007.

Backed by a helicopter and a $300,000 armored vehicle, 35 members of the Louisville Metro SWAT team stormed her Okolona property, detonated a deafening “flash bang” device, smashed in her rear door, put her on the floor, bound her wrists with flex cuffs and held her at gunpoint while detectives searched the home.


Police were looking for evidence against her 32-year-old son, Michael Ramage, who was under investigation after dropping off film at a Wal-Mart store showing him and his two sons naked. But the search uncovered no evidence, and charges against Ramage for using a minor in a sexual performance eventually were dismissed.
more

Buried Lead:  The search was for evidence in a sex crime (and in the end the pictures that started this botched investigation were completely innocent, thanks "employee at a color-film processing company in Atlanta" snitch).  Think about that for a minute.  What could have been done by a couple of detectives with a warrant acting politely was done at huge cost (a helicopter costs around $5000/hr to keep in the air), massive damage, and by terrorizing an innocent woman.  Why?  Because they can.  Because we empower these thugs to act like this. 

Why do cops pull people over at random (or after being profiled like my brother and I who were pulled over and searched on separate occasions because we were white in the black part of town) and search them despite the fact the Supreme Court and all lower courts have said they can't?  It's because they know that only one in a thousand people can afford to sue the police for doing it.  So they keep doing it.  They didn't arrest me so unless I have a recording of the situation all I can do is accept that I was stopped, questioned, and searched without cause.  And if I did have a recording?  I might win a small settlement against the police department and the two cops would keep on doing it.  Why do cops get to shoot fleeing suspects in the back and get away with no punishment other than a few months off with pay?  Because we allow them to police themselves and, as always, the shooting turns out to be "justified."  Shoot a black man in New York 50 times, get off free, if you're a cop.  Who is watching the watchers?  Noone.  It takes an individual bringing suit at great cost in both time and money with no guarantee the legal system will work.  Most of us can't afford to take a couple of years off from our life to pursue these bastards and in the end it is very rare for a cop to lose his or her job for being a thug, murderer, or worse.  Nope, we just let them keep fucking with us because we're supposed to respect them, even when they're total assholes and idiots.

Louisville Metro Police Department's armored vehicles used to be parked in plain view but have since been moved (I feel like a fool for not photographing them at the time, they were quite scary).  Not only do they have humvees and armored transport trucks, there is at least one Bradley in the mix.  These are military assault vehicles, painted matte black and missing the mounted automatic weapons (for now).  A few years ago when the police occupied Broadway Avenue here in Louisville to keep the blacks from partying during Derby they were dressed in fatigues with combat boots and carried shotguns and rifles at the intersections.  We are slowly but surely turning our police forces into paramilitary forces.  That is a really bad idea and it is how the powerful are circumventing the law preventing deployment of armed soldiers in the U.S. (though they began to chip away at the basis of that law in post Katrina New Orleans).

Welcome to America, land of "shoot first, ask questions later."

Ogre-oid: Republicans Blame Democrats for Teabagger Epithets

Just to bring you up to date, at a recent gathering of the lunatic right (i.e. the Republican non-ultramega "base") to protest health care reform the crowd chanted "nigger" at Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) as he went from building to building and an elderly man shouted, "Barney, you faggot" at Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to laughter from the rest of the crowd.  Civilized Americans would be appalled at this behavior (which I believe reveals more about the true reason for teabagger anger than any bills in Congress) but Republicans' reaction to it can be summed up in muted at best or completely nutjob like Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) who blamed it on (wait for it)  the Democrats and their "totalitarian tactics" like majority rule by our elected representatives.

"When you use totalitarian tactics, people begin to act crazy. And I think, y'know there's people that have every right to say what they want. If they want to smear someone they can do it. It's not appropriate. and I think I would stop short of characterizing the 20,000 people who were protesting that all of them were doing that."

It must be fun living through the looking glass where everything is the opposite of reality.  A universe where this utterly flawed reform bill contains "Death Panels," forces us to euthanize Grandma, eliminates Medicare (a program the Republicans suddenly want to protect fiercely after trying to kill it since it was first suggested), and will put America so deeply in debt we won't be able to keep the lights on (as opposed to the huge savings the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says it will deliver over the course of the next decade.  A universe where fascism and communism are the same thing.  A universe where a parliamentary procedure they used to ram through Bush's tax cuts which have nearly bankrupted the country (and when added to the price tag for his insane foreign wars they may very well have bankrupted us, we just haven't filed for Chapter 11 yet) is suddenly "exotic" and like nothing that has ever been done before in history. 

When the revolution comes I want to be one of the ones lining these SOBs up against the wall.  They've destroyed this country and will not stop until slavery and indentured servitude is the most common state of the lower classes.  If you vote Republican, FUCK YOU.

Dave-oids

Because he is too lame to even try to post to the blog, Dave has sent me a couple of ogre-oids via e-mail, proving once again that copy & paste is a difficult concept for some people and trial and error are terrifying for others.

Ogre-oid: Air guns.  today's C-J front page reports that an 11 yr old was fatally wounded when his sibling shot a BB gun at him not knowing the gun was loaded.  at least he wasn't smoking pot.

Ogre-oid: The internet.  internet fraud doubled in 2009 from 2008.  how's that for improved communication.

To the first I would note that the mafia murders in Mexico are being blamed on pot rather than drug prohibition in general.  I heard someone today point out that noone ever called Al Capone's crimes "alcohol crimes" but the same organized crime scenario today becomes "drug crime."

To the second, of course internet fraud doubled.  The number of internet users doubled, and monitoring and enforcement have increased.  Fraud is human nature.  Being smart enough to not be defrauded is not, see the election of George W. Bush.

Jon Stewart on Glenn Beck

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Go See Dave's Play!

Anything Galileo

A festival of New 10-minute Plays

The first ever 10-minute play national competition takes place at Bellarmine University. The result will be the production of the best 6 to 8 short plays chosen by a group of elite theater faculty and enthusiasts. From those presented, the audience will vote on their favorite, which will become the winner of our first ever 10-minute playwriting competition.

March 19, 20, & 21 @ 8pm

Blackbox Theater

Bellarmine University
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
502.452.8431

General Admission $8.00

Students $5.00

Reservations/Information: theatreseason@bellarmine.edu

Daily Show Lesson: What if "People" Acted Like Corporations?

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Ogre-oid: Justice Clarence Thomas's Wife Joins Teabaggers

As Virginia Thomas tells it in her soft-spoken, Midwestern cadence, the story of her involvement in the "tea party" movement is the tale of an average citizen in action.


"I am an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Neb., who just may have the chance to preserve liberty along with you and other people like you," she said at a recent panel discussion with tea party leaders in Washington. Thomas went on to count herself among those energized into action by President Obama's "hard-left agenda."


But Thomas is no ordinary activist.


She is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and she has launched a tea-party-linked group that could test the traditional notions of political impartiality for the court...

...Her biography notes that Thomas is a fan of Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, author of Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America.


"She is intrigued by Glenn Beck and listening carefully," the bio says.  read complete article

 It leaves me gasping like a fish that finds itself suddenly on the shore.  I knew Justice Thomas was a moron but couldn't his wife wait until he retired to become an open supporter of these America haters?  She even uses the idea of  "what made America great" to define these bigots, assholes, idiots, and fascists.  Is that really "what made America great?"  It wasn't tolerance, unions, regulation of industry and finance, reluctance to enter wars, free thinking, and individual freedom?  It wasn't outlawing and abhorring torture?  What made America great was semi-literate hate mongers with no proof of their allegations, just belief?  Fuck that America.

Anti-Ogre-oid? Orly Taitz Fines Upheld

Appeals court upholds $20,000 in fines against birther madwoman Orly Taitz. me talk big noise

Ogre-oid: Republican Health Reform Lies

Dave doesn't agree with me that there is a large slice of Americans that listen to the authority figures they have been taught to believe which explains why the Republicans can lie about health reform in every aspect and their followers will believe them.  When you ask Americans about each individual aspect of the healthcare bills now before Congress they agree with all of them, but when you ask them what they think about reform they are marginally against it.  I blame the liars and Dave blames those that listen to the lies. 

M.O. pod Episode 9 at Vimeo

Modus Operandi episode 9 3/12/2010 from alan evil on Vimeo.

Episode 9 available soon

Vimeo is processing the video but it should be here soon.  I must go to bed.  The video will be embedded here tomorrow.

Cheers,
Alan

Texas Textbook Solution

Why Does Most Information About Cost Increases Look Skewed Like This?

An Old Ogre-oid: Judge Denies Interracial Marriage in Louisiana

Yay!  It's post racial America!!!

Ogre-oid: The Supreme Court

Chief Justice Roberts (makes my mouth fill with bile to type it) does not believe the Justices should remain silent during the State of the Union.  He also feels he needs to lie about the situation to law students:

"The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court -- according to the requirements of protocol -- has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."

Roberts was engaging in political hyperbole, plain and simple, and he must surely know it. Given today's low standards of civility, he's lucky some student didn't yell out, "You lie!"

One need only look at this 47-second video clip from YouTube to see that, in truth, Democrats in the chamber stood and calmly applauded the president's deferential remarks, but there was no "cheering and hollering," as Roberts falsely exaggerated down South. Indeed, the only noisemaking beyond modulated applause was, in fact, discernible grumbling from Republicans. 

Roberts is also opposed to the separation of church and state, affirmative action, whistleblower protection, is for letting cops search you automobile without cause, forcing judges to sentence according to guidelines, is against protecting endangered species, and so much more.

 Justice Samuel Alito does not understand why non-Christians might object to an enormous cross on public land or why non-Christian veterans might feel the monument excludes them.

"The cross doesn't honor non-Christians who fought in the war?" Scalia asks, stunned.

"A cross is the predominant symbol of Christianity, and it signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins," replies Eliasberg, whose father and grandfather are both Jewish war veterans.

"It's erected as a war memorial!" replies Scalia. "I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead. The cross is the most common symbol of … of … of the resting place of the dead."

Eliasberg dares to correct him: "The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of Christians. I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew."

"I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead the cross honors are the Christian war dead," thunders Scalia. "I think that's an outrageous conclusion!"

Far less outrageous is the conclusion that religious symbols are not religious.

Alito's track record is generally horrible and recently he mouthed "not true" when Obama criticized their finding in the Citizen's United case, breaking a protocol that has been observed since the founding of this country.



Justice Anthony Kennedy sucks just for being a Reagan Republican ideologue who does not have a sound understanding of the separation of powers, supports guns, guns, guns, believes we (meaning the government) can not be held responsible for abuses in privately owned prisons (which should not exist at all but that's another diatribe), pro death penalty despite lack of evidence, supports giving public money to parochial schools, and is opposed to rape victims being able to sue their attackers.  Though generally conservative he has come down on the right (as in "correct") side occasionally.

Justice Clarence Thomas is not only a twisted right wing ideologue, he's also kind of a nasty man.

Justice Stephen Breyer is too moderate to help create a balance between right and left on the court.  It is currently weighted var to the right.

Justice John Paul Stephens continues to surprise.  Nominated by President Ford he has been a generally left leaning moderate during his long career. 

Justice Ruth Bader Guinsburg is perhaps my favorite of the current justices.  She, as gloated over by the loathsome Jim Bunning, may very well die in the next few years.

Ogre-oid: Texas

Bill Moyers: "Why is Too Much not Enough?"

[...]  Look at the health care industry saying to hell with consumers and then hiking premiums -- by as much as 39% in the case of Anthem Blue Cross in California. According to congressional investigators, over a two-year period Anthem's parent company WellPoint spent more than $27 million dollars for executive retreats at luxury resorts. And in 2008, WellPoint paid 39 of its executives more than a million dollars each. Profit before patients.

This week, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry's lobby, announced they'd be spending more than a million dollars on new television ads justifying their costs.

Speaking at their annual policy meeting in Washington -- and without a trace of irony -- AHIP's president and CEO Karen Ignagni declared, "The current debate about rising premiums has demonstrated that, in fact, we have a health care cost crisis in this country. Unfortunately, the path that has been followed is one of vilification rather than problem solving."

Beg pardon? You're lamenting a health care cost crisis and raising your premiums? Isn't that like the guy complaining there's an obesity epidemic in America while ordering a double Big Mac with extra fries?  more

Ted Rall on the Hurt Locker

[...] The trouble with "The Hurt Locker" is that it, like too many other American war films, whitewashes history.
In this film neither the EOD unit at the center of the film or soldiers belonging to other units ever make a mistake that kills or seriously injures an Iraqi civilian. You keep waiting for it to happen, and you'd almost be OK with that one stray shot. Like the camera that put the audience behind the killer's mask in "Halloween," Bigelow has created a claustrophobic, soldier's-eye view ominous with paranoia, all too justifiable. It's hot and dusty. Everyone's dog-tired. You can almost taste the stress. Her camera jumps from one potential threat to another: is that garbage on the side of the road just litter? Why is that guy on the roof of the building across the street staring so intently?  more

Hopefully Dave, who is much more the film buff than I and who has strong opinions about this movie and the Oscar's in general, will expand upon this in the comments.

Pelosi's Pledge Would Make You Laugh But for Crying

The Pelosi Pledge: Change you can’t even believe

By Ken Silverstein

“The American people(1) voted to restore integrity(2) and honesty(3) in Washington, D.C.,(4) and the Democrats(5) intend to lead the most honest(6), most open(7) and most ethical(8) Congress(9) in history(10).” Nancy Pelosi, November 7, 2006

1. “Rep. Peter Visclosky (Ind.) is under investigation by the Justice Department for his ties to the PMA Group, a now-shuttered lobbying shop that focused on winning defense industry projects and was a top source of campaign cash for senior appropriators.”
2. “U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson’s rundown Sacramento house, which became the scourge of the neighborhood and a sore point with an investor who thought he had bought it out of foreclosure, has drawn the interest of a House ethics panel.”
3. “[Rep.] Waters and her husband have both held financial stakes in the bank. Until recently, her husband was a director. At the same time, Ms. Waters has publicly boosted OneUnited’s executives and criticized its government regulators during congressional hearings. Last fall, she helped secure the bank a meeting with Treasury officials.”  more

Ogre-oid: Fred Phelps

The Supreme Court has decided to review the case against "Pastor" Fred Phelps, the lunatic preacher responsible for the ugly, hateful, and completely un-Christlike protests at military funerals.  The $5 million verdict was overturned by an appeals court.

I must admit to being torn on this one.  As you can see from the picture above, these people are full of hate and anger and their signs and chants are offensive on every level except that of the lunatic right wing Xtian fringe.  Even so, these worthless pieces of shit are entitled to free speech of some kind.  But should that free speech include disrupting a private service?  Should someone be allowed to cause severe emotional damage to grieving relatives?  Difficult questions, obviously, or this wouldn't have made it to the Supreme Court.

One thing I am not torn about is that Fred Phelps is a horrible man who deserves a long and painful death.  He and the people that support him are a waste of carbon.  When they die no one will protest because the people they have actually harmed (as opposed to the invented harm of homosexuality against them) are better people than they.  And as is always true with these people, Fred Phelps is obviously a closeted fag (see picture below).  Self hate is the ugliest type of hate, especially when it is aimed at the rest of the world.

"You can't preach the Bible without preaching hatred."

"God doesn't hate them because they're fags; they're fags because God hates them."

Euphemisms displayed by Stephen Colbert

The Word - Define & Conquer

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Ogre-oid: Liz Cheney's List

[...]  Liz Cheney is not ignorant, and neither are the other co-chairs of her group, advocate Debra Burlingame and pundit William Kristol, who writes a monthly column for The Post. Presumably they know that "the American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at least as old as John Adams' representation of the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre" -- in other words, older than the nation itself.  more

Palin Admits to Using Canadian Health Care System

Seriously, folks. You just can't make this shit up.

M.O. pod Episode 8 at Vimeo

Modus Operandi Podcast episode 8 3/4/2010 from alan evil on Vimeo.

Me Talk Big Noise: Does This "Family Values" Republican Look Gay To You?

Me Talk Big Noise: Does This "Family Values" Republican Look Gay To You?

The GOP Health Care Plan

Whenever I've managed to draw out a "conservative" on health care I always say to them, "So you believe a poor person should die early, slowly, and painfully?"  That is the end result of profit driven healthcare:  around half of people will be priced out of healthcare eventually so they will not be able to afford regular checkups, etc. and so they will die early, they will experience a lot of pain, and their death will have been preventable.  And on top of that they will be bankrupted during the process of dying unnecessarily so their children will inherit nothing and therefore will most likely remain in poverty.  Thanks Republicans.  Thank you right in the ass.

I Want You

Episode 7 Finally Available

Modus Operandi Podcast episode 7 2/26/2010 from alan evil on Vimeo.

Due to some technical snafus at Vimeo and delays from studio movement, last week's podcast is only just now available. Episode 8 is in the can awaiting editing.

Ogre-oid: Rep. Trent Franks "Abortion Worse Than Slavery"

Continuing proof that Republicans are stupid, deaf, and unfortunately unable to keep their idiot mouths shut, Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) once again proves the GOP is generally made up of wealthy, white, racists:

According to Franks in an interview with video blogger Mike Stark of StarkReports.com on Friday, “far more of the African American community is being devastated by the (legal abortion) policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery.” more

Ogre-oid: The Creeping Police State and Police Ignorance (or Ignoring) of the Law.

I have been stopped and questioned for being white in a black neighborhood ("Your vehicle isn't registered with us," said the cop).  That's unconstitutional.  My brother was stopped and his vehicle searched for the same reason.  Utterly illegal.  I've been ordered by a cop to stop taking pictures on a public street, an activity completely protected under law.  Cops ignore the law most of the time and apply what they believe to be the law the rest of the time, even if the Supreme Court told them not to do that merely weeks before (in the case of my brother's truck being searched).  They know few people can afford to prosecute them so they don't care.  They also know that despite being clearly in the wrong the police force and their union will send every lawyer they have to protect their worthless asses while some poor working stiff who has been delayed for a half an hour while dogs are run through their car can't afford the charge for calling an attorney, much less hire a team to go after the pigs.

A perfect example of the never ending flouting of the law here in Kentucky by our particular brand of uniformed thugs is the way cops drive.  Since I moved to Kentucky in 2000 I have never seen a cop driving the speed limit unless they are caught in traffic or preparing to stop.  On the interstate they are generally driving between fifteen and twenty miles an hour over the speed limit in all conditions.  "Serve and Obey," huh? 

All is not lost, however.  The internets allows people to organize the evidence and this site (thanks, John) has a startlingly large collection of stories about police and security guard abuse of photographers.  I say know your rights and be sure you know how to turn on the voice recorder on your phone.

Ogre-oid: Governments Cutting Aid to the Poor Rather Than Tax the Rich

The recent cuts in Kentucky's higher education budget made our list of ogre-oids a couple of shows ago.  It would appear this is budget time for most states so I've been hearing more and more about harsh budget cuts by states to the services that help the poor.  The consistent reaction by officials to this is, "Times are hard.  What else can we do?"  The answer is, "Raise taxes on wealthy people."  But apparently that option is "off the table." 

Here are some examples of funding cuts in state programs which have no effect on the wealthy and could be avoided if taxes were increased on the wealthy:

Cuts in public transit in Louisville.  The eliminated lines are mostly in poorer areas where residents already have a hard time getting to and from work, especially late night work which is readily available to the lowest paid.  "Service reductions" almost assuredly means the last bus will run at 9p.m. (way too early) instead of 11p.m. (still way too early).

Child welfare funding slashed in Oklahoma.  First up on the chopping block:  The Children.  They are the most vulnerable and have no voice in politics.  Fuck the little crumb snatchers.

L.A. to lay off teachers.   "The Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to notify 5,200 teachers and workers that they could be laid off in order to cut costs as the district grapples with a $640 million budget deficit."  Please note that the wealthy's children do not attend public schools, generally.
 
California continues cuts for developmentally disabled.  I mean, seriously.  You couldn't tax some rich people to help these other people?  Really?

New Jersey Transit to cut jobs and salaries.  Buried in the story, this quote from Executive Director James Weinstein:  “Unfortunately, fare and service changes will have to be a part of New Jersey Transit’s overall response to this financial crisis. I know this will be painful for our customers.”  In other words, "We're going to stick it to the employees and customers rather than drawing on the wealth of our richest citizens."

This goes on and on.  Severe cuts to higher education in almost every state, this in a nation which has pathetic high school education.  If you want at least a middle class job you have to spend a minimum of four years in college.  Cuts to food stamps and medicare.  Cuts to V.A. hospitals and most other services for veterans.  Or, as usually happens, states have frozen hiring so the already overworked and underpaid employees dealing with public housing, homeless shelters, food aid, housing assistance, job training, etc. carry an even heavier work load with no help of the burden easing or becoming bearable.  Meanwhile taxes on the wealthy and on mega-corporations (the ultra-megas) are reduced to "attract" them to the area.  I say, if you're not willing to help support your community, get the fuck out of my country. 

Evolution of Americans