When No One Can Hear You Shouting

The Rom Houben story is getting lots of attention. Sadly, the skeptics who see this as another example of the MSM swallowing whole the discredited practice of "facilitated communication" just aren't getting the same coverage. Damned ironic, isn't it. A man who supposedly has been conscious, but unable to be heard for more than 20 years is now the focus of skeptics, scientists and the medical community, and those who challenge the "happy story" of consciousness restored are themselves unable to be heard.

This brings me to my own story of being silenced this past Veteran's Day. The closest "big city daily newspaper", the Anderson (SC) Independent Mail, in its annual efforts to assuage its guilt over not hiring veterans in any substantial numbers, let alone having many (any?) as reporters, editors, etc. goes out of its way to cover any veteran's event within an hour's drive of their offices. It's the usual coverage - every two bit small town local paper does it.

But nobody does it as bad as the AIM. Because the AIM doesn't know the difference between a soldier mounted on a horse and the place where Jesus, according to Christian history, was crucified.

Yes, the AIM, it's reporters and editors, are so fucking ignorant they cannot get these simple facts clear in their apparently anally inserted heads - The Army has Cavalry Units and Divisions, and Jesus died at Calvary. Over and over again, the pinheads at the AIM write stories of veterans who served with the 1st Calvary Division, or the 7th Calvary. News stories, obits, it makes no difference. The pinheads cannot for the life of them understand its CAVALRY.

And they don't want to be corrected, either. I had occasion to criticize the AIM over a policy change about a year ago, and my Letter to the Editor, while it conformed to their petty and arbitrary rules, was never acknowledged or published. So when this recent wave of journalistic nausea swept over the paper around Veteran's Day, with Calvary this and Calvary that, I spoke up, futile as it might be.

First, I twice called the number listed where, at least in theory, the pinhead powers that be at the AIM will listen and correct errors of fact published in their fish wrap. Silly me. My past experience with the AIM's inability to graciously accept tactfully offered criticism was again unacknowledged and ignored.

OK, let's try another tack - the online edition of the AIM, where one can attach comments to news stories.

Well, guess what. That's right. The pinheads at the AIM didn't take kindly to seeing their hard work criticized by a mere customer on their own website. My entire post, attached to an article where they twice referred to a person as having served in the CALVARY during the Vietnam War was scrubbed/removed/flushed down the memory hole.

Wonder why newspapers are dying? Look no further than the Anderson Independent Mail for the answer. Wrapping a fish in the AIM should be considered animal abuse. Placing it in the bottom of the cage of a large bird suffering from diarrhea is the only possible, responsible use for the Anderson (SC) Independent Mail.

From tiny ACORNs mighty oaks will grow

To hear it from the BeckHannityLimbaugh echo chamber, ACORN and all of its employees should be hauled out of their offices, tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail. Or worse.

All this righteous bloviating because in a couple of cities a pair of white bread, right wing "instigative reporters" managed to fool some folks at ACORN into believing they were a pimp and his ho', and were looking for help dodging taxes. And a couple of really dumb fucks at ACORN went along with the Halloween outfits and actually tried to help them.

OK, so some folks at ACORN screwed up. And some folks got fired for their stupidity. And FAUX news got the exclusive story.

And Congress cuts ACORN's funding, and the right wing moans in orgasmic ecstasy.

But what I don't understand is why this broad brush destruction of ACORN isn't practiced on some of our other established institutions when its discovered that a few of their members stray off the reservation.

Like the CHURCH!

Compared to the Catholic Church, ACORN's transgressions weren't even misdemeanors. And the followers of the Pope aren't alone in their financial, societal and sexual transgressions. Every friggin' one of the thousands of invisible cloud being pushing denominations across this country has screwed someone, literally and figuratively, but they go merrily on their way.

If the right wing wants to really put the screws to the groups that are fucking over America, maybe it ought to look at the wealth sheltering asshole at the front of their church. Chances are he/she has stolen more on any given day of worship than ACORN could in a year.

Georgia Pastor Gunned Down by Cops

A 28 year old pastor from Lavonia, GA was shot and killed by county undercover cops as he, apparently scared by the two men rushing his car with guns drawn, attempted to back out of a convenience store parking lot.

The officers claim they identified themselves to the young man, and that they were wearing their badges on a lanyard around their necks. Store surveillance video is silent, and with no audio, one cannot determine what they may have said to Ayers.

But what is clear from the video is that these undercover officers were so aggressive in their actions that they didn't even put their own vehicle in Park. They jumped out of their vehicle, and it is clearly seen continuing to roll away.

And what had Pastor Jonathan Ayers done to deserve being summarily executed on a Toccoa GA street? Had he just robbed the convenience store, or other establishment? Had he committed a hit and run? Had he threatened anyone's life.

No, no and no.

Jonathan Ayers had been seen in the company of a woman who was under observation by the undercover police. The woman had been in the Ayer's vehicle. She had gotten out. She was apparently nowhere near the scene. But because she had been in Pastor Ayers' vehicle, he became a target. Literally, as it turned out.

Jonathan Ayers was gunned down on the streets of Toccoa GA because another person the police had an interest in had been in his car, and gotten out. And for this heinous act, Ayers was rushed by two undercover cops, guns drawn, and because Jonathan Ayers, probably believing he was about to be robbed (he had just withdrawn money from the store's ATM) or carjacked, attempted to flee from what he probably believed was an assault on his person, he continued to back out of the parking place, trying to get to safety.

And for that "crime", he was shot and killed.

Now the cops say Ayers tried to back over one of the officers. Watch the video. The officer is along side the vehicle. Ayers didn't try to back over him. The cop was never in danger of being backed over. (video at www.wneg32.tv)

There is no justification for the use of deadly physical force by these officers. They gunned down Pastor Jonathan Ayers, plain and simple. Any of us, under similiar circumstances, would have done the same thing - try flee from two aggressive men who have approached our vehicle with guns drawn.

Nothing Jonathan Ayers did justifies his execution at the hands of two undercover cops. Everything these cops did cries out for investigation, and justice.

Justice for the memory of Jonathan Ayers, his widow, and the unborn child who will never know their father.

So over the top, it's frightening!

You know the Swift-Boaters shoveled a load of bilge on John Kerry, and J. H. Hatfield's book on the drunken coke head Shrub apparently had as much credence as Arbusto Oil Company, but have any of us ever witnessed the over the top fucking insanity of these 'Birthers"?

The rhetoric of their dentist/lawyer spokeswoman Orly Taitz (anybody seen her birth certificate, cuz I bet it's from Uranus) is just total nutcase chattering, but, like all good right wing nut-jobs, she's got a following, and traction with some folks in the MSM.

I mean, WTF, people are screaming at Reps that are home on break about the cash for clunkers package, and guvmint run medicine, and ignore the millions per minute the Iraq debacle has been.

Jeebus, man, I bought into that Hope shit. Stupid me.

To Protect and Serve?

The recent arrests in western North Carolina of two fire fighters for separate offenses, chronicled here (http://www.wspa.com/spa/news/local/article/father_on_bicycle_shot_at_in_asheville_helmet_saves_his_life/24099/) and here (http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090731/NEWS01/907310333), coupled with the Gates/Crowley episode in Cambridge (is a link to that story really necessary?) and the "jungle monkey" spin-off story, Boston PD's Officer Justin-I am not a racist-Barrett's offensive e-mail (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/30/gates.police.apology/) had me thinking about the post 9/11 world of hero worship as applied to the world of public safety employees.

Then, as if on cue, Ted Rall lets loose with a terrific column -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20090730/cm_ucru/everyonehatesthecops - relating some of his adventures with those who "protect and serve" across our nation.

Sometimes it's better just to not have any heroes.

The Chick Fil A cult - God wants you to have free chicken meals for a year!

Today another new Chick Fil A opens in the upstate of South Cackalackee. I find their menu overpriced, bland and boring, traits shared by their founder. KFC's Harlan Sanders created a persona to push his grub. All S. Truett Cathy has is feigned piety and a huge Baptist following. He pushes his overpriced birds six days a week, letting his faithful drop their bucks in the collection plate on Sunday instead of in his till.

Guthrie's and Zaxby's, as well as tens of thousands of non-franchised small restaurants across the country, do chicken better.

But what really gets me is the circus that springs up around each new Chick Fil A opening. Hundreds of folks, greedy for the meager free offering, (Is this communion for the Chick Fil A believers?) camp out for days, hoping to be one of the lucky ones blessed by the new store's manager or his acolytes with coupons for a year's supply of Chick Fil A's meals. Gourmets these folks are not!

Any day now we'll read of a miraculous healing at a Chick Fil A opening.

The local fish wrap reports that among the pilgrims camping out at the new store were a couple from Florida who apparently travel the country scrounging for free Chick Fil A meals. They celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary at a Chick Fil A opening in Albuquerque NM. They proudly state that their most recent pilgrimage was their 21st opening. I wonder what life was like for them before they found Chick Fil A.

Then there's the two gentlemen from Lexington County SC area, one of whom was on his 6th pilgrimage. Two guys traveling around to chicken restaurant openings, not that there's anything wrong with that. Except that one claims to be a high school principal, and the other a teacher. With folks like these in our public schools, no wonder South Cackalackee's schools are in trouble.

Health care fix too expensive?

Really? More expensive than the war in Iraq? Afghanistan? The War on Drugs? More expensive than all the perks and pleasures of our Senators and Representatives?

And now, in the glow of the 40th Anniversary of man's walking on the moon, there is renewed enthusiasm for further space exploration. Talk is of a mission to Mars.

If you don't think that a Mars Mission will cost, at a minimum, 5 times what national health care is projected, well, I've got some gator infested swamp land on the Atlantic coast of Florida I'll let you have real cheap.

If we can't afford health care for all Americans, we sure as hell can't afford to send somebody to Mars.

Isn't it about time we started getting something tangible back from the thieves, adulterers and liars in Washington DC?

Oh crap, not another friggin' blog!

Oh crap, yeah, it's another friggin' blog. In another time, I'd probably be referred to as a "curmudgeon", ie. a crusty, ill-tempered old man. Except I'm not crusty, and most of the time I'm not particularly ill-tempered, except when I see bad journalism, theocracy and oligarchy, along with other general stupidity. Living in South Cackalackee gives me plenty of that to witness.

I'll be posting comments on all of these things, and more, in the future. If I haven't pissed someone off with my posts, I won't be doing my job.

Sit back and enjoy. This may be fun.