Cranky Bastard

LRB letters from Vol. 21 No. 5: "By happy chance, I can refer him to a recent 'outing', conducted by Alexander Cockburn in the tabloid New York Press of the first week of February: 'Many's the time male friends have had to push Hitchens's mouth, fragrant with martinis, away, as, amid the welcomes and goodbyes, he seeks their cheek or lips.' Some good critics regard this as one of Cockburn's more polished pieces, especially dealing as it does with the absolute and inflexible requirement never to rat on an old pal. I offer it, though, as an example of a badge of supposed shame that one may wear with pride."

I have often felt a bit regretful of adding bisexual to my listing of apt adjectives describing Hitchy-Poo. I knew that a real journo would never put such trifle hearsay in a piece without confirmation. But, let's face it. I am not a real journo, and I love the flaws as much as I revel in the intellect. No, I did not just say that bi-sexuality was a flaw. But for a man of this age and rank, indecision is akin to flaw.

For the four or five of you who log in to read this on occasion, I thought I would cover a topic you might have noticed. I love commas. They are cute. And though not an endangered species, I feel they need to be used more often. And with this love comes a hate. The colon and semi-colon. They are just so haughty with that upper dot and all. It is too much, really. I love my little subterranean punctuation. It is as unpretentious as the period, yet ever more versatile. So as you read and find error in their absence, just know that it is out of an abundance of love that I list, pause, and separate with my cute little comma.

Honor gays in textbooks? Calif. considers - Education - MSNBC.com: "The bill would require California's social science textbooks to include the contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people to the state and nation's history. California is the United States' largest buyer of textbooks, with annual spending topping $400 million.
The measure passed Thursday 22-15, with no Republican votes. It heads to the Assembly, where opponents vowed another fight.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Sheila Kuehl, the state's first openly gay legislator, also would bar textbooks and other instructional material that portrayed gays in a negative light."

Being slight in stature, I am surprised and offended that they are focused on sexuality and not "little people". It is rarely noted that Napoleon was of my ilk. "Little's" contribution to history cannot and should not be ignored. Rise up, I say, to other dwarfs, pigmy's, elves, and midgets. They may not be able to tell, but we must rise up!
(These things must be ridiculed. Otherwise, we might actually take these idiots in Sacramento seriously, which would indeed be wrong.)

Blind Eye to Culture of Abuse - Los Angeles Times: "Some who fled the community in recent years are coming forward to tell investigators harrowing tales of repression and abuse inflicted behind a facade of pious devotion to faith and family:
-Brent Jeffs reported being sodomized repeatedly at age 5 by the principal of his school, an uncle who would later become religious leader of the community, current fugitive Warren Jeffs.
-Sara Hammon said her father, a prominent religious leader with 19 wives, routinely molested her, even sliding his hand up her dress while on his deathbed.
-More than 400 boys, some as young as 13, have been thrown out of town for church infractions such as wearing short-sleeved shirts or talking to girls. Some, referred to locally as 'Lost Boys,' were dumped along the road with only the clothes they were wearing, and banned from contact with their families. Many of the displaced boys recently filed suit in state court against the church.
Despite years of such stories and allegations, public agencies on both sides of the state line have failed to act or been slow to intervene."

Law enforcement has been abiding by an unnatural respect for religion for far too long. Depravity can happen in almost any setting and should be stopped, specifically when it is involving children. What happens between consenting adults is another matter, but this is beyond the pale. The irony is that similar law enforcement officials have been enforcing age-old laws against homosexuals, read: consenting adults, but won't jump in to help helpless children for decades. The mea culpa noted in this article may not be enough. There should probably be an investigation into the environment that caused the "blind eye".

BREITBART.COM - Internet regulator rejects .xxx domain for adult sites: "The United States last year asked ICANN to postpone the new top-level domain, citing an 'unprecedented' level of protests, including some 6,000 letters and e-mails."

Gee, I wonder who emailed them...

BREITBART.COM - Greek Orthodox church slams Da Vinci Code: "'Quite apart from the fact that the book attacks Christ, it also attacks the church, directly accusing it of lying and deceiving the faithful.' "

The Church thought that was okay when the priests were merely raping kids, why not about whether Jesus had sex. He was a man after all.

BREITBART.COM - Bush Doesn't Confirm NSA Data Collection: "'Our intelligence activities strictly target al-Qaida and their known affiliates,' Bush said. 'We are not mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans.' "

What he doesn't seem to understand or care about is that is is not about whether they do, but rather that they can.

ABC News: Officer Disciplined in Kennedy Crash: "'I would say within law enforcement that there is probably � concern that consideration was given a member of Congress that would not be afforded a normal citizen on the street,' said Lou Cannon, president of the Fraternal Order of Police for the District of Columbia.
McGaffin would not elaborate on the disciplinary actions, but he did say 'significant administrative and personnel corrective action has been taken.' Other officers may be disciplined. No one has been fired at this point."

Another report I read said reassigned. Neither of those words really mean much. He could have been disciplined by being told he should have made it appear better and reassigned to the next block for all the public knows. I actually don't mind that the wealthy and powerful get special treatment, because that is just another incentive for all of us to try and get wealthy and powerful. This case, however, is rough to take, because DUI's are the life blood of so many city coffers and it takes a great deal of money and time for many DUI offenders to handle. I am not really taking up for those that break the law, but just feel that this should have been treated like any other DUI and that the point should be more clearly taken by the Capitol Police.

New York Daily News - Home - CIA boss Goss is cooked: "WASHINGTON - CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigned yesterday amid allegations that he and a top aide may have attended Watergate poker parties where bribes and prostitutes were provided to a corrupt congressman.
Kyle (Dusty) Foggo, the No. 3 official at the CIA, could soon be indicted in a widening FBI investigation of the parties thrown by defense contractor Brent Wilkes, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randall (Duke) Cunningham, law enforcement sources said.
A CIA spokeswoman said Foggo went to the lavish weekly hospitality-suite parties at the Watergate and Westin Grand hotels but 'just for poker.'"

Putting this in the appropriate context...Advisor to the President goes to parties where there are prostitutes but doesn't partake of their services. Uhh. Are we supposed to believe that? Why would anyone, even a councilman of a town of twenty, risk hanging out where there are prostitutes unless he were to at least get a little of what they were offering.
So in a two day period, the two major parties are asking the public to believe that a Kennedy did not drink and drive and that a man said no to prostitutes. While America may be dumbing down, we haven't gone that far yet.

Rep. Kennedy Acknowledges Drug Problem - New York Times: "Although Representative Kennedy said Friday that he could not remember the crash, he issued a statement on Thursday night explaining it.
In the earlier statement, Mr. Kennedy said he was apparently disoriented at the time of the accident because he had been taking Ambien, a sleeping pill, and another medication, Phenergan, for treatment of a stomach disorder. Mr. Kennedy noted that Phenergan can 'cause drowsiness and sedation.' He did not specify the pain medication to which he said he had been addicted."

I have a suggestion. www.wherearethekennedys.com This would be a website that documents the whereabouts of the Kennedy clan at all times for the protection of the American public. This way we can check to see if a Kennedy will be flying over or driving in the same city. We can plan around the Kennedy's. "Safety and Security for the American People"

AP Wire 05/06/2006 Brother Derek, 19 other colts vie in Kentucky Derby: "There's plenty of speed in the race - Sinister Minister, Sharp Humor and Keyed Entry love the lead and should be at the front in the opening quarter mile."

Who cares about Brother Derek when there is a competitor named Sinister Minister? I mean really. In choosing a race winner since childhood, the only thing that has ever really mattered was the name. The same holds true lo' these many years later. I have only been right a couple of times, but I am sure that is true of those that study those numbers for weeks before the two-minute race.