Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

Meanwhile, back in the real world, this story, and thousands of others like it, are regularly ignored. While we routinely focus on fashion choices of our candidates wives, the slaughter of our fellow citizens, chiefly in our poorest communities, continues unabated. It’s a marginal issue, at best, in the current campaign.

The brutality and bloodiness of our society is one of our primary failures as a nation and a people. There is no end in sight. Education policy, narcotics policy, law enforcement policy and economic policy are all relevant to any real strategy towards ending the ongoing massacre and should be reexamined in that light.

Will we ever stop waking up to stories like this?

In Chester Thursday evening, two mothers and their daughters, coming back from picking up dinner, heard gunfire around them and ducked. It did no good: Soon the backseat was filled with blood as the 4-year-old bled from a wound to the head, the 3-year-old from one in the leg.

Two hours later, about 9:30 p.m. in Camden, a young mother realized something was wrong when her talkative 2-year-old suddenly stopped babbling. She looked over to see the toddler slouched in her car seat, a bullet in her brain.

Not with the current lack of serious focus on this issue. No.

I’d dare say no. Ug.

I got home from work pretty late last night and mindlessly playing video games when something startling came on the TV. A 60 second Swiftvets ad. Yikes. Granted, it was a UHF news broadcast, but that’s still must be pretty expensive. We’re not talking some small town in Ohio here. Philadelphia is the country’s fourth largest media market so my uninformed guess is that, even on a Friday night on UHF, somebody is paying out the ass for this.

I would have thought that the complete destruction of the truthfulness of their claims would have made most of that group’s members really question whether or not they wanted to continue. Guess not. I don’t think it matters, they are such a known quantity and so dirty that, at this point, nobody with even a quarter of a brain is going be swayed.

By the way, it was the ad going after his Senate testimony in 1971. Since everything he said is taken out of context, I’ve put the entire transcript in the extended entry. If you have never read it before, it’s really quite potent, and I recommend you read it in full. His statement follows many threads and makes many arguments, the most relevent of which is that that, out of the tragidy of a misguided and poorly planned war, America could turn the corner towards a more moral and rational course where. His very obvious desire was that none of the soldier’s sacrifices would be in vain.

Here’s his closing statement, for those too lazy to go to the extended entry and read the whole thing:

We wish that a merciful God could wipe away our own memories of that service as easily as this administration has wiped their memories of us. But all that they have done and all that they can do by this denial is to make more clear than ever our own determination to undertake one last mission, to search out and destroy the last vestige of this barbarous war, to pacify our own hearts, to conquer the hate and the fear that have driven this country these last 10 years and more and so when, in 30 years from now, our brothers go down the street without a leg, without an arm or a face, and small boys ask why, we will be able to say “Vietnam” and not mean a desert, not a filthy obscene memory but mean instead the place where America finally turned and where soldiers like us helped it in the turning.
Read the rest of this entry »

He still seems to be the latter part of “Dead or Alive”. I’m going to cheat a little here and repost part of something I wrote a few weeks ago (link). It’s not very good, but some of the questions are worth repeating.

• On February 23, 1998 Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States of America. Was our love of freedom one of his reasons? It’s pretty easy to google this one, so I won’t give away the answer.
• Does the Bush administration know the answer to the previous question? Only they can answer that of course. Personally, I’m not convinced. If they do, should they discuss it with the American people in the clearest possible terms and leave the catchy rhetoric to the campaign trail?
• Does knowledge of the motivations of your enemy and use of that knowledge help you fight them? Honestly, I don’t know. History suggests that it surely does.

Now that Osama bin Laden has reappeared and made a statement, what sort of analysis is going to take place? Will it be calm, clear, rational and results oriented, or will it be overblown hype? A political football? You know the answer.

I’m not watching TV. Have the pundits started calling this bad news for Kerry yet? Have the right wing blather-bots started calling it OBL’s Endorsement of Kerry? Wait. I bet I know the answer.

Sometimes you see a sentence so perfect that you just have to steal it.

“And yet, how fitting is it that Bush ended his Quixotic quest for Pa.’s 21 electoral votes in a pumpkin patch in Bucks County, waiting for a victory about as likely the Great Pumpkin’s arrival Sunday night.” - Will Bunch

I wonder if John Kerry has any support in Wisconsin? (Via Counterspin Central)

My chubby cat hasn’t been in the mood for pictures of late, so here are some pictures that have been up on the site before. I hope I’m not violating some grand and sacred principal of this annoying cat thing.



By the way, It’s come to my attention that a local bulldog is throwing her support behind John Kerry. Here’s the bulldog in question.

That picture is too much - the dog is cute enough on her own without the party hat - good lord - overload. I showed it to my wife, whose one great desire in life is to have a bulldog of her own, and I fear that, as a result, I may soon be walking around after a puppy in the wee hours of the morning.

This could be going through your head every night as you go to sleep until 2009. Don’t let that happen. (Takes a bit to load)

What a crappy post (just below this one). I’ll get better. I promise.

In my mind, this is the most important blog post you probably haven’t read. If you are not a Salon subscriber, you will need to watch an ad or subscribe. Watch the ad or subscribe, either way, read it.

The idea that Americans of the Midwest and South are somehow more “American” than the rest of us, is one that has intrigued and disturbed me for a great while. I can recall, as a child, watching the spectacle of Dan Rather, on the CBS Evening News, donning his checkered shirt and denim jeans to interview a group of these “real Americans” for some reason or another. I surely can’t recall. I’d venture to guess that every major and minor news program broadcasts, at least a few, significant pieces each year, on the great people of the heartland and their “real” American values, “real” American lifestyle and “real” American work ethic.

Don’t get me wrong here. That’s great. We should celebrate Americans, regardless of who they are or where they live or what their story is. We should be excited about our countrypeople.

Here’s the root of my problem. As I’ve stated over and over on this blog, my neighborhood is a cemetery. The people buried in my neighborhood, died fighting for their country’s independence or died as prisoners of war in that revolution. From my roof, I can very nearly see the building where America declared its independence and where its constitution was written. I walk by that building on a regular basis, doing regular errands or going to the movies or whatever. Does that make me more American than somebody from Kansas? Of course not. It is what it is.

I live in a rowhouse, on a block of rowhouses, in a city of rowhouses. Like most of my neighbors, I only occupy a small portion of my rowhouse, as most of the houses were divided into apartments long ago. A typical block in this part of my city has somewhere between 200 and 500 residents, and sometimes as many as several thousand. Each block is about a tenth of a mile long and not too many feet wide. Does living in this close of a proximity to so many people make me less of an American than an Iowa resident who lives miles from his nearest neighbor? Does it make me more of an American than him? Does it somehow corrupt my values? Of course not. It is what it is.

To the best of my understanding, my ancestors settled in Kensington long before it was a part of Philadelphia and long before there was a United States of America. Does that matter? Does that mean anything or add anything, in real terms, to me or to my value as a citizen? Does it take anything away? Of course not. It is what it is.

At a bare minimum, I work ten hours a day, and during the winter months, I never see my home by daylight, save for weekends. I take 10 vacation days a year, along with 3 paid sick/personal days. Is there something wrong with my work ethic? Is it somehow un-American? Am I working hard enough to qualify as a full voter? A great many people in my part of the country put my work hours to shame. They work some 70 to 90 hours a week. Is their work ethic good enough? Are they “real” Americans?

Anyway. Here’s a taste of Gary Gregg’s National Review article that got me so pissed off and which is ripped so nicely in Salon:

Take a look at the results of the 2000 election and it becomes radically clear that the electoral college that produced the Bush victory is having an important and salutary impact on our political system. Its the electoral college that keeps the values of traditional America relevant in the 21st century and the electoral college that helps rural America balance the immense cultural, economic, and social power of urban centers.

In 2000, Al Gore won the vote in major cities 71 percent to 26 percent for George Bush. Alternatively, Bush won rural communities 59 percent to 37 percent. These are very large margins showing a drastic difference in the geographic centers of the divided electorate.

That narrow band he’s referring to is, of course, the majority of Americans.

That’s George W. Bush’s take on the Al Qaqaa scandal. Holy shit is about the only logical reply to that. I haven’t written a thing on this, as I just can’t get my head wrapped around it.

Just about everybody with half a brain knew that the planning of the Iraq war was fucked up beyond all belief and reason, long ago. The Al Qaqaa revelations aren’t even all that surprising. Actually that’s the scary part right? That most of us probably didn’t even flinch when we heard it, is pretty indicative of the whole steaming sack of shit, otherwise known as Operation Iraqi Freedom. We’ve known, or suspected, for some time that the administration put a higher priority on securing oil fields than on weapons sites.

Now we get to witness the the President, his surrogates and his media whores, blame everybody and everything, other than Bush and his cabinet and his war planners. We get to see them try to deny plain facts and behave as if some great offense has occurred. The offense? Fucking up Iraq in every way conceivable? No. Pointing out just one of the multitude of mistakes in an ongoing disaster. That’s the problem.

Again. Holy Shit.

Funny, I feel the same way about him.

The picture was produced by Bob Harris from this
movie.

“Now 1918 is just the score of a close football game” - Quoting from memory.

Now try to imagine the odd scenarios that could lead to such a score. 19-18. How many combination of missed extra points, safeties, and two point conversions can you think of? Has that score ever happened? I think the headlines the next morning would be quite peculiar indeed.

The last time that there was a total eclipse of the moon, I was getting married. Good times. Good times indeed.

Some random thoughts…

On my bus ride home from work tonight, a gentleman of about 80 or so got on the bus, three blocks before my stop, and started to shout the same slogan over and over again.

“Every Democrat votes and we win! Every Democrat votes and we win!”

Amen brother. Enthusiasm is through the roof. I’ve seen many elections in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Through the roof and on to Mars. We’re going to win!

…

Despite my own desires, my posts have been pretty sporadic of late. To my one lonely reader….I’m so sorry. Transitioning from jury duty, back to real life has been more difficult than I expected, and I’ve had a hard time thinking about politics, or really much of anything. I’ll try to explain later.

Enough…Goodnight.

“Finally, why isn’t the president talking more about the mission to Mars?” - From The Note

John Michael Perzel is going to retain his seat in this election cycle. John Michael Perzel is going to retain his position as Pennsylvania ‘s Speaker of the House. There is nothing we can do about that. Not now. Sadly, it’s too late. According to this article, John Perzel accused his opponent, in this cycle, of being a communist. It’s 2004, not 1959, right? Whatever.

I’ll admit, that when he was elevated to his current position, that I was sort of pleased that the Pennsylvania Speaker of the House was a Philadelphian. I am a very proud Philadelphian after all. Clout or whatever…blah blah blah.

No more. Hell no! I’m disgusted that this man represents any part of my great city, my great commonwealth. That this man has any influence over the lives of the great people of my city is reprehensible. I will work for his defeat and I will do what I can to interest some of the more influential bloggers, both liberal and conservative, to join me in that cause. Let notice be served. John Perzel’s days are numbered.

In order for the United States of America to achieve the greatness that its people so deserve, men like John Perzel should never ever be blessed with their vote. They should never suffer his representation. They should never endure leaders so poor. This man is beneath contempt.

No Philadelphian, no elected official should ever utter these words:

“The Kerry campaign needs to come out with humongous numbers here in Philadelphia. It’s important for me to keep that number down.”

I could give a shit about party affiliation. This has nothing to do with whom I may want to be my next President. Suppressing any voter, any voice, is unforgivable. This man and his sentiments are more than a few notches beneath disgusting.

How many patriots are buried in the streets, cemeteries and parks of our great city? How many died to stop people like John Perzel from achieving power and exercising their foul will on their fellow citizens?

When the elected leaders of a political party begin to publicly discuss artificially deflating voter turnout, where does that leave our democracy? When the administration fails to learn from its recent history of failure and advocates denying detainees Geneva Convention status, where does that leave the moral authority of our nation?

In the toilet I say.

“The Kerry campaign needs to come out with humongous numbers here in Philadelphia. It’s important for me to keep that number down.”

-Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel

Go read the whole story at Campaign Extra.

From the New York Times:

A new legal opinion by the Bush administration has concluded for the first time that some non-Iraqi prisoners captured by American forces in Iraq are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions, administration officials said Monday.

They said the opinion would essentially allow the military and the C.I.A. to treat at least a small number of non-Iraqi prisoners captured in Iraq in the same way as members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban captured in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere, for whom the United States has maintained that the Geneva Conventions do not apply.

Ug.

Sorry. I can’t resist. It is my home town after all.



By the way, that building you see in the background is City Hall. It’s the largest municipal government structure on the face of the planet Earth (really). Its size can only be matched by its ugliness. To know it is to love it as they say.