Brent's Polemics

2009-10-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

How to Win the Nobel Peace Prize in One Day

You know what, Joel Stein? The POTUS himself, as well as your article in TIME Magazine, has inspired me today. If Barack Obama can win the Nobel Peace Prize after completing barely nine months in office and accomplishing very little of worldly caliber beforehand, then I ought to be able to win this accolade in just one day's time.

Do you see how that works, Joel? When you deride Sarah Palin for writing her autobiography in "just four months," you expose your hypocrisy. And you invite shame -- not that you care.

Perhaps I'll follow this up with an easy layup:

If, as you imply, Sarah Palin should have devoted more than four months to the writing of her autobiography-worthy life account, then certainly you agree that Barack should have at least written "Dreams From My Father," the account of his quotidian life prior to even becoming a presidential candidate, himself.

2008-03-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hey, look over here!

Hillary Clinton is still in this -- in spirit, anyway. She has way fewer delegates than Barack Obama has, and while it is literally the case that neither is in a position to win enough support to capture the nomination before the Democratic National Committee's national convention in Denver, Colo., she already looks like the bad guy (oh, I mean bad gal -- or do I?). And she will look the same way in Denver no matter how well she fares in contests here on out.

It's almost as if she's lost in a bad Maine joke: She can't get there from here. This is where things get interesting. We now begin to see just how antagonizing an antagonist she'll be by the time August rolls around.

The powers that be in the Democratic National Committee don't like Mrs. Clinton. It seems that way. Doesn't it? They never have, for all we know. But that's neither here nor there. They don't like her right now; that's for certain, and few if any Democrats in power these days even like political rock star incarnate Bill Clinton anymore, either. OK, enough do; I suppose the Clinton campaign wouldn't have anyone to run it if nobody liked them anymore.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is many, many people in high places are upset that Hillary Clinton is still in this. We have no proof. Well, I wouldn't go that far; the most important Kennedys, for instance, back Barack Obama, and we may infer from their actions a not-so-subtle, indirect request on the part of party elders (or wise men or drunks, depending on your sentiments) for Hillary to get out. Think the scene from "The Amityville Horror" where the unseen, evil entity tells the priest to get out of that room upstairs (and sends a regiment of flies to make sure he does so).

Let's just say no smoking gun on this theory has surfaced. But I have my suspicions. And the past couple of 24-hour news cycles have been suspicious indeed. I give you two exhibits, dear reader(s), that encapsulate what the warring factions want us to think. But you get more than what they want you to have: an explanation of what these developments really mean.

Exhibit A: Geraldine Ferraro

Word surfaced this week of seemingly less-than-media-savvy remarks from Geraldine Ferraro, former U.S. congresswoman, 1984 vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket, and heavy-hitting fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton campaign. The words were a heavy hit indeed. Evidently, Ferraro suggested that Obama had achieved his success in this campaign by virtue of his skin color alone, and further suggested that Hillary Clinton, by virtue of being a woman (who knew?), had not achieved the success that the former first lady's achievements warranted.

Geraldine Ferraro is a smart woman. She knows better than to make such gaffes. Let's call a spade a spade (if we still can...): Ferraro is sabotaging the Clinton campaign. This part is easy to figure out:

Does anyone think blacks (i.e., Obama's "corest" of core political bases) will appreciate Ferraro's comments? No, they'll flank ever more steadfastly behind Obama, and with good reason.

And does anyone think Ferraro's comments were some huge revelation to Hillary's supporters (e.g., women who think everyone's against them because they're women)? No, they'll follow Hillary over a cliff, and with characteristic lack of reason.

These dynamics we know. But what has got to be galling to Hillary's campaign is that Ferraro may have said all this in public on purpose -- orchestrating it, no less.

I submit to you, my loyal reader(s), that Ferraro is already on the proverbial commune in Guyana with the rest of the Obama backers, drinking the metaphorical Kool-Aid. For this, she may not be so smart, but we'll leave that well enough alone for now, because here's where the "Geraldine Ferraro is a smart woman" part does come in:

Ferraro damaged Hillary's campaign while pretending to support it. That took not only smarts, but balls (or ovaries, depending on your sentiments). She is now free to leave Hillary's campaign for superficially legitimate reasons and work behind the scenes for "someone else's" campaign. Eventually, she may publicly atone for her sins against political correctness and come out swinging for Obama in a big way.

Masterful.

Exhibit B: Now-former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer

Talk about a convenient distraction. You see, the internecine battle in the Democratic Party, which Obama's failure to deep-six Hillary in Texas and Ohio has wrought, is great for Hillary and horrible for Democrats. Every opportunity for a food fight gets Hillary in the news, where she wants to be and where the DNC doesn't want her.

What is a poor anti-Hillary Democrat leader to do? Leak a sex scandal!

But Republican sex scandals are just so old hat these days. No, no Republican sex scandal would have done the trick (sorry...) this time around. The bloodletting had to be internal, and this sex scandal's villain had to be a Democrat.

Enter Eliot Spitzer, another pawn in the Democrats' civil war. (Remember: Ferraro is no pawn. She's just a woman who made a shrewd move that will make her better...stronger...faster.)

Just as the presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton, that put-upon woman who's put up with so much that she now deserves the presidency if for no other reason than simply being a woman whose husband cheated on her with a zaftig intern, was ramping up for a major offensive, Eliot Spitzer rolled in to (again) spoil her momentum.

You've got to hand it to Eliot. He's the most inept political friend ever, a useful idiot for anyone who might need one.

First, he unwittingly leaves the steaming pile of doggy doo that is driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Hillary's enemies on the left and right pounced on that bumbling piece of legislative excrement, and those of you following the saga know Hillary tried to scoop up the doo at a debate earlier this year, only to leave pieces on the ground.

And now Eliot leaves another steaming pile of doggy doo, one of such grand dimensions that the media can't even pay attention to Hillary, so enamored they are with this pile of doo that spans the political sidewalk's entire width. (Any sex scandal will yield this effect. Try it at home. You'll see.)

As politician, Spitzer seems like a dunce. Democrat elders aren't. And that's why they easily made short work of him, the unwitting political fall guy, when they needed all of us to "look over there" while Hillary wanted us to look at her (nooooooooooo!!!!!!).

Dear reader(s), some of you may hypothesize that Eliot Spitzer is in fact a shrewd foe. If you're right, my hat is off to you, for Spitzer's machinations would then put Ferraro's to shame. Only time will tell. Let me know if Spitzer reemerges, Phoenix-like, from the ashes to spit his jive another day -- say, to serve as Obama's attorney general.

(Next time: How all three campaigns and others have tried to use these developments to their advantage.)

2008-03-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

Because she's female, because he's black

Why is it that we who support neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama must be sexist misogynists or racist bigots? It's their policies (and her character) we disdain, not their gender or skin color. They could be as white as that Albino guitarist from the '70s; it wouldn't make the least bit of difference.

2007-12-13T06:32:00.000-08:00

I am a fundametalist

That's right -- without the "n."

What? What's that? Oh, I'm sorry. Got nothing to say?

Of course you don't.

Led Zeppelin has silenced the naysayers. Cookie Monster metal bands et al., take note:

You've. Been. Owned.

Jimmy Page and friends have just shown y'all why metal has heavy in front of it.

And while you and others have all meandered into your derivative sects and denominations of this genre, I, and the Zeppelin fans who stand with me, remain true to its fundametalist roots.

2007-12-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

Please, please...make it stop

"What we still don't understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender. It was the same at the battle of Tet. You defeated us. We knew it. We thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice that your media was definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefield. We were ready to surrender. You had won."

-General Giap of the North Vietnamese Army, writing in his recently published memoirs

2007-07-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

P90X

These past two weeks I've delved heavily into an insane workout regiment billed as P90X. Up until today, the workouts have generally left me feeling uplifted and with a positive view of the program. But this morning's one-and-a-half-hour yoga workout left me angrier than a junkyard dog. I completed less than half an hour of the routine before shutting off the DVD player in a fit of rage that genuinely scared my wife.

I've heard that yoga has the potential to conjure deep-seated, deeply felt anger in some who practice the exercise. I guess I'm one of those people. Somewhere, deep down, I must be supremely angry about something. I wish I could figure out exactly what that is.

2007-04-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Race Pimps

I have routinely listened to Don Imus' radio program. He does many good things. He is a fair-minded, intelligent host with intelligent guests and listeners. For many years, he has headed multiple charities for children. Just about everyone who is anyone in Washington, D.C., has been a guest of his. Words that have exited their mouths while speaking through Imus' live microphone would surprise many.

These and other facts about Don Imus and his broadcasts make the mass exodus of advertisers and longtime, repeat guests of distinction all the more ridiculous. The reaction is way out of proportion to the offense. But what makes this a true outrage is the people leading the charge: Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two men who are nothing more than shameless shakedown artists, racial pimps whose hypocrisy is self evident to any citizen of this country engaged enough to perform a simple Web search on these scoundrels.

If I were a black man, I would lead the charge to renounce these losers' putative leadership, nothing more than a cover for their cheap public relations machinations. Let's get some genuine black leaders and kick these shysters to curb.

UPDATE: As of 5:30 p.m. EST, Don Imus has lost not only the television simulcast from MSNBC studios of his radio program, but the radio show, too. I wish Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton godspeed on their next vigils at the doorsteps of Def Jam Recordings and other rap producers' headquarters, where powerful people sanction the labeling of black women as "hos" every day of the week.

2007-04-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

A fine mist you've got there

The problem with a trickle-down theory of economics isn't that it's faulty or fails to deliver what it promises. The theory's name itself gives rise to discontent: A mere trickle is hardly comforting.

2007-03-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

Boo-hoo

Just when I start to think it's safe to let my guard down, crap like the following, reported on ESPN.com, reminds me that the dreaded nanny state controlled by willy-nilly weenie "progressives" looms as menacingly as ever:

What do you mean, no booing allowed?

Do we really need a bunch of ultra-leftist, liberal moles with militant feminist tendencies deciding whether you and I can indeed boo and do everything else that makes a jaunt to the weekend sports event the experience it's meant to be?

The degrees of separation are but one or two, at best, between this story and the one about a court in France that avoided convicting a weekly publication of "offending Muslims" with last year's cartoon caricatures of Mohammed. Why? Because they had to go to court in the first place.

Oh, and banks in the United Kingdom have decided to stop displaying piggy banks (scroll down a few paragraphs in the linked article to find the item) because it offends Muslims, whose religion considers pigs to be an impure animal.

I suppose we'll soon be proscribing mid-'90s Quentin Tarrantino movies.

Am I conflating a great many issues here to be provocative? Well, yes. Do I care? Well, no. It's called synthesis, and anyone who sees the thread that connects bans against booing at sports events and bans against anything that offends religious groups understands:

The desire to control and the tendency to be offended come not from a political point of view, but from an emotional one. Emotions can be overwhelming, and because of this, we must not mix them with law and public policy.

2007-02-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

Why they hate

A recent cover story on TIME reads, "Why They Hate Each Other." It's a clever play on the recurring theme of "Why They Hate Us." I send kudos to the copyeditor and ask: Is there anyone these fundamentalist muslim extremists don't hate?

We ought to be asking this question. Our leaders may pander to these extremists' wishes and address their complaints, but I imagine these gestures might do little to change what seems to be a systemic, psychologically ingrained need to hate.

2007-02-06T16:41:00.001-08:00

UPDATE: Arcane 1960s pop music knowledge strikes

Quick: What do Jimmy Page and Gordon Lightfoot have in common?

ANSWER:

"In 1965 Nico covered 'I'm Not Sayin'' which featured a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page playing 12-string acoustic guitar." (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Lightfoot wrote the song. I've listened to the song. It's a good song.

For those wondering -- the same curiosity compelled me to find out for myself -- Nico was the stage name for Christa Päffgen, a German-born European folk singer who, in 1967, collaborated with The Velvet Underground under the management of Andy Warhol, who later made her a Warhol Superstar. Päffgen died in July of 1988, just months shy of her 50th birthday.

2007-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Creativity for creativity's sake

Which came first, unrest or creativity? Better yet, does it matter? Why pursue creativity for creativity's sake, paying for this addiction with perpetual unrest?

2007-02-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

Till survival

Why foment unrest? Observe the unrest that instead springs sans premeditated provocation by the few, and then let the few manage it wisely as humble servants of the many. Allow abstract rights to translate only to a level of creativity that tills survival, and not to the heights that come only at survival's expense.

2007-01-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

"Idiotlogical"

A layman neologist, I coined this term the other day to neatly categorize all dogmatic or ideological thinking, left or right, under the rubric of diversions that do nothing to foster camaraderie among people. If only the idiotlogical sophists would quit their eristic wastes of our time, perhaps we'd all get somewhere without destroying ourselves first.

2007-01-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

Dumb masses

To dumb down the masses, first convince them they're smart and informed.

2007-01-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

108 billion people

This is, roughly, the amount of people who would die if every existing nuclear bomb on planet Earth were to detonate. How do we know? Well, about 27,000 nuclear weapons exist on Earth, and, according to today's Board Statement from The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 50 nuclear bombs in the modern world's arsenal would kill 200 million people.

Concerned, I did some further math, and, fortunately, our prospects are a bit more comforting: Only the Earth's entire population of just over 6 billion -- a number much less than 108 billion -- would die if we were to detonate every nuclear weapon in existence.

Phew.

2006-10-28T08:46:00.003-07:00

Right-wing comedian

William Saletan of the Washington Post managed last weekend not only to codify the crux of our collective outrage over Rush Limbaugh's treatment of Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease symptoms, but of our overall frustration with the radio personality who Keith Olberman properly labels a comedian. From the Oct. 29 edition of that newspaper:

Limbaugh Outfoxed

2006-10-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm voting for The Gap

Campaign season is upon us here in New Hampshire, and Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, defends himself against a number of challengers. I haven't paid much attention to the various political platforms, but the candidates sure do have pretty signs. Their signs dot the roadside just about everywhere motorists could possibly gaze.

Some of the signs are bigger than others, but Governor Lynch seems to have the biggest signs by far. And my wife and I marvel at how effective the superior size of Lynch's signs seems to be in dissuading us from voting for his opponents. We can barely even count the number of times one of his challengers' signs has captured our attention only to lose it to one of Governor Lynch's bigger signs.

The only serious competition Governor Lynch's signage has, in fact, is from the billboards advertising products from well-heeled commerical interests such as automobile manufacturers, trendy clothing outfitters, and others. But Governor Lynch ought to watch out. Those billboards are bigger than his signs, and, typically, a sign for Lynch loses our attention to a sign for, say, The Gap. He just might lose our votes to The Gap too.

2006-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

I friggin' knew this would happen

Earlier this week I wanted to post my prediction on how the conservatives would spin former President Bill Clinton's behavior this past weekend on Fox News. What was my prediction? Conservatives would cast Democrats as being intolerant of press freedom, and the spin, given the political climate and the conservatives' own mainpulation of the news, would be maddening and ironic to Democrats everywhere.

But I'm so damn busy these days; I had to abort the post. And I also figured more than a few Democratic friends of mine would bemoan the prediction and say, "They couldn't possibly do that and get away with it, let alone benefit from such a strategy."

Well, well, well...think again. My prediction was spot-on, and now, as maddening and ironic as it is, Democrats are the ones who'll have to defend, all over cable news for the foreseeable future, their supposed tolerance of a free press:

Ailes: Clinton's Response to Wallace an 'Assault on All Journalists"

Wouldn't it have been nice if, instead, Democrats could have called the Republicans to the carpet on this issue -- especially as we near the midterm elections?

2006-08-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

"Cruise Control" is not Paramount

I'm certainly not the first to blog about Tom Cruise's latest woes, and I'll keep it short. This week Paramount Pictures severed its 14-year-long business relationship with Cruise's production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions. And I predict it won't be long before we realize we never needed this...ahem...passionate Scientology advocate in the first place.

"Cruise Control" seems to be everywhere -- and not just all over Hollywood. Cruise control has, in fact, metastasized into one of those unnecessary things we've unofficially agreed is necessary. Other examples are microwave ovens and, back in the 1970s, shag rug carpeting.

We ask automobile manufacturers to slap cruise control onto just about every single damn vehicle we buy. In fact, who remembers the last time they drove a vehicle sans cruise control installed?

I do.

Circumstances recently found me in light traffic en route to a routine appointment. As I drove the two hours up U.S. Interstate 93 North in a family member's car, the thought of cruise control once -- and only once -- crossed my mind. And a scoff along the following lines accompanied this thought: "For Pete's sake, why the hell would anyone need cruise control?"

Then I glanced across the dashboard and steering wheel. And, to my disbelief, the major automobile manufacturer that made the late-model vehicle I was driving actually allowed this car to leave the assembly line and enter the world of highways without the cruise control option installed. And I had barely noticed.

Cruise control ain't all it's hyped up to be. And once we finally see it's not there, we'll realize we never needed cruise control -- let alone "Cruise Control" -- in the first place.

2006-08-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

Syncopated vomit

This is how I describe the vocalizations of most modern metal bands. Whatever happened to the art of carrying a tune...to...singing? I'll never understand, let alone enjoy (or even appreciate from afar), the indecipherable, guttural regurgitations that masquerade as melodies and have enamored most metal bands since the late 1990s.

2006-08-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Is it winning?

Last year, around April, I ordered a famous roast beef sandwich from one of those restaurants with the words “Famous Roast Beef” appended to the establishment’s name.

The sandwich had lots of sauce. My hands got sticky. A homemade condiment of the barbecue variety trickled down my arm like a flashflood’s ad hoc streams of rain.

“I think my sandwich is winning,” I said to my companion.

We laughed. My friend tried to change the subject. I didn’t want to listen. I couldn’t. I was too busy. This war I was waging against my roast beef sandwich demanded all my mental resources. A quest to conquer a sandwich became my singular purpose.

After spending a few minutes employing futile countermeasures, I stopped eating. Sense coaxed me to set down the enemy, and, despite my best efforts and seemingly superior resources, a messy sandwich, half-eaten and in horrible shape, nevertheless declared victory.

My thoughts turned to the Bush Administration, Iraq, the War on Terror, nutjobs like Iran's Ahmadinejad, other nutjobs like the friendly neighborhood neoconservative, and childhood excursions with my grandfather. I told my friend a story.

During summer visits, Grandpa used to take me on trips to the ice cream shop. He loved to order one scoop of vanilla on a sugar cone. My cone typically had two scoops of my favorite flavor, coffee.

The ice cream, without fail, would cover my hands and arms in a gluey sheen, and my grandpa would ask, “Is it winning?” This was his running joke, the harmless kind that children never understand but adults do. I never made a dent in these treats. My ice cream melted every time. My grandpa knew my cone with its two scoops had a way of getting the best of me.

Are Iraq, Iran, Syria, and just about everyone else in the Middle East getting the best of us? Are we winning the War on Terror? The answers depend on who’s answering, and even the Bush Administration’s many players can’t seem to reach any consensus beyond "stay the course."

Meanwhile, this is no joke, and the questions remain.

The Administration's lot these days is like melting ice cream streaming down their hands and arms. No matter how hard Bush and his team try, they can’t quite lick the problem. What’s worse, they ignore the American people, whose ideas may help. As it tackles a military and diplomatic quagmire that melts ever faster and demands more and more mental resources, this Administration is too busy to listen.

2006-08-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

A bottleneck of mouthwash

The New York Times' editorial page today expressed an old idea (username and password for access to the free online portions of NYT required) in a new, refreshing way. The Times' candor spoke for me, anyway, and, I imagine, managed to communicate a sentiment coursing through many Americans' veins. And that sentiment goes something like this: Stop labeling ordinary, everyday Democratic voters as political operatives of the highest liberal-commie order who would rather capitulate to crazy suicide bombers than uphold our national ideals. Divisive politics no longer cut down our national fabric in the abstract sense; they destroy our nation in the tangible sense. Our five-year-old War on Terror demands cooperation. Now.

The message is obvious to anyone who wants the United States to retain any positive remnants left of its international reputution, and the sentiment that we need to work together in this War on Terror ought to be anything but novel. And, yet, such are the United States' circumstances, forcing us to consider uncomfortable questions and realities: How much more obvious will neoconservatives' meanspirited, downright dangerous political games need to become before the Bush regime finally loses political power? We could argue that they've already lost political power and now merely cling to pure and simple power. What, then, will they do to retain their grip on this baser, raw power? The cynical among us would say we got the light beer version yesterday when air traffic bottlenecked over fears that little Lisa's bottle of Listerine^® might in fact be a bomb.

Terrorists plan attacks on the West every day of the week. They work 24-7. Nobody doubts this, and for all their despicable aims, you've got to admire the irrationality that fuels their tenacity. But we have to wonder. We can be sure our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have cracked countless additional terrorists plots just as nefarious as this week's over the past five years. And we know many of these successful sting operations have matriculated behind the scenes without the attendant hoopla and hype.

We need to decide, as a nation, to put a stop to those who would capitalize on hype and hoopla over national security in the hopes that fear might prolong, in an election year, a monopoly on power in the most powerful superpower on earth.

2006-08-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Dick Cheney: Emphasis on "Dick"

As in, he's just a big dick, but not in the term-of-endearment sense ala "Hey, Big Dick," and surely not as the ego-boosting faux compliment from the prostitute he probably visited at the Watergate Hotel last night.

No, Dick Cheney is a small, small man indeed. While some enjoy the light, airy tunes of Air Supply, others, including Cheney, enjoy bolstering and replenishing what is, apparently, the world's fledgling Aryan Supply.

(Yes, I am aware that perverted Google search term combinations will yield this post. Oh, well.)

2006-08-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

Bad hit

Mirroring the apparent imminent state of Brent's Polemics, the server that records site visits for my blog might be flirting with the benefits of becoming comatose. Just yesterday I noticed that the hit counter's functionality was sporadic. What's more, the accompanying link led to nothing. The situation seems to have changed for the better today. And I do use Firefox. Perhaps Explorer users have experienced no trouble.

But, frankly, the circumstances make no difference; this blog has drawn few hits over the past year, and guess what? I accept the lion's share of blame for causing readership to dwindle. My own festering, growing inattention to Brent's Polemics has led, as logic always predicted, to what seems like irrelevancy.

Lesser men might survey the situation and decide to throw in the towel. Men of inferior constitution might choose to call it a day. Lack of feedback from their kin might cause self-conscious men to doubt their resolve to resurrect a soapbox -- or even deny themselves the right to do so.

And, yet, Brent's Polemics' editor is a greater man. He will never let Brent's Polemics perish, no matter the infrequency of its nevertheless sage relevancy. So I encourage one and all: Continue to visit on occasion. You never know when the decision will reward you with an intriguing post.

2006-07-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

A modern-day Lynyrd Skynyrd song's lyrics go:

"My hair's getting white, my neck's always been red, and my collar's still blue."

Why didn't he just say that his skin's white? Then we'd really have a song on our hands.

2006-07-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Pro Bono

Rock stars make loads of money. We all know this.

We also know the world needs people who make loads of money to do pro bono work for those less fortunate.

So why is it so many have such trouble being pro Bono?

I refer, of course, to U2's Bono. He's just a rock star with loads of money doing pro bono work for the less fortunate. What gives?

Perhaps his detractors think his pro bono work is nothing more, at its core, than pro Bono.

Whatever.

People with loads of money should follow Bono's lead and do the pro bono work this planet needs. Perhaps they could start by contributing meaningful portions of their incomes.

IRS figures indicate that those earning between $100,000 and $200,000 per year contribute, on average, just 3 percent of their incomes to charities. The same holds true for those making $200,000 to $500,000. And those making between $500,000 and $1,000,000 still only contribute, on average, 3 percent of their incomes to charitable causes.

We have to climb all the way to the uber-rich's perch to see those faint glimmers of hope. Many of these people, unlike their merely-kind-of-rich peers, get the idea.

And so what if Gates is pro Gates? Who cares whether Buffet is pro Buffet? It's no secret that Brangelina is pro Brangelina. Can't Bono, a rock star with loads of money, be pro Bono and do pro bono work just like the other famous people out there do with their loads of money?

Bring on the donations and publicity for the less fortunate.

2006-07-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Take time to enjoy who you are

We've all heard it, and often. And for these reasons, the advice goes in one ear and out the other without the attendant thought that provokes reflection. Indeed, the triteness of yet another message encouraging us to think positively sets in motion our minds' tendencies to be dismissive, and we never recognize the reflex that races to place a sage aphorism under the category of "feel-good tripe from some second-rate Stuart Smalley wannabe."

But add the word "already" to the end, and see what happens.

2006-05-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

What a bastard

Am I the only one who thinks Joe Bastardi is a slappingly funny name for AccuWeather's chief hurricane tracker?

Oil sector braces for hurricane season

I just hate those bastards who predict and report the weather. Come to think of it, I can't stand those bastards who make money in the oil industry, either. Those bastards make Joe Bastardi's job all the more necessary than it would be if, say, they weren't being, well, such bastards.

2006-02-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

I bought Bread

What is wrong with me? I bought "Anthology of Bread" last night. I've played the album, in its entirety, twice already. Please. Help. Me.

2006-02-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

Air guitar almost never impresses the ladies

But I do it anyway.

2006-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

The ego has landed

My new Web site is live. Those of you who know my full name can Google me and find the site through trial and error. I refuse to provide my business site's URL here, for my blog, to put it mildly, reflects the less professional side of me.

Yes, you may notice a few stray, minor typos in the copy. I also want to tweak some of the paragraph breaks. And a few more live links and graphics would sure look nifty.

Here's the thing:

Only my Web designer has access to the files right now.

Once she returns from her yoga retreat vacation, we'll fix the bugs and make my site even better. In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to the e-zine list.

2006-01-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, "Patriotism" is not enough

I saw my Patriots do something last night they typically do not do: lose a playoff game.

The season, fraught with injuries, was a great run that ended in anticlimax, and the elusive three-peat in football remains so.

2006-01-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

False start for one-stop blogging

To generate buzz about his company, why has the guy who created a supposedly forward-thinking blog forum fallen prey to old school public relations strategists' advice?

One-stop site offered for bloggers

2006-01-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

Riding with the King

Yesterday the Reverend Jerry Falwell condemned "King Kong" for its thinly veiled attempts to advance the bestiality agenda.

"It began in the '80s with 'Gorillas in the Midst,'" railed Falwell. "And now we see this, a thinly veiled attempt to build support for bestiality, an unnatural act condemned in the Bible. It's a slap in the face to Christians everywhere doing their best to protect their children from sex with animals."

When asked whether he thought the bestiality agenda may, in fact, stretch back to the 1930s, when the original "King Kong" hit theaters, Falwell said, "Actually, you're probably right, because liberals were in power back then, too."

2006-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

Like I said, it's good to be a Patriot

We writers can be a vain bunch. But when Dan Shaughnessy, widely considered one of journalism's best sports writers, recounted in The Boston Globe yesterday's 28-3 victory by the New England Patriots over the Jacksonville Jaguars, well, he wrote the way I write only in my dreams, and my vanity gave way to grateful reverence:

Patriots sail past Jaguars

If you click on this link after Monday, you'll have to purchase the article through an archive service. But here are perhaps the best lines from Shaughnessy's report:

But [the 40-21 loss to the Colts] was in mid-autumn, a couple of football lifetimes ago, back when New England was struggling to get healthy and Belichick was trying to integrate new players into a new system. Those Patriots started the season 4-4, but the team we've seen since Nov. 13 bares a frightening resemblance to the robotic football dynasty that has won three of the last four Super Bowls.

2006-01-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

The Phony Express

It never fails, these days in Washington, to deliver.

2006-01-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

The dumb masses

It's kind of a clever play on words that pretty much sums up the American public. Dontcha think?

2005-12-31T09:07:00.000-08:00

To crumple or to shred? ...'tis the brotherly question

Nine years my junior, Mark, my brother, moved into his new place in September after having to move back to our folks' place following a burglary at his old apartment early this year. We're all happy for his new beginning.

I enjoy spending time with Mark, who possesses a proficiency for dazzling leaps of logic that link seemingly disparate pop culture references with everyday life. It's a blast to hear the stuff coming out of his mouth, and when this stuff mixes with my own twisted brand of comedy, well, "surreal" takes on a whole new meaning. The conversations we share routinely lead to inadvertent, arcane humor that makes us both laugh our asses off.

Mark agrees with me that most people wouldn't understand our jokes. We take snobbish pride in this, and the exclusivity of it all makes these moments all the more satisfying.

A few weeks ago I was driving him home. We had gone to see "Good Night, and Good Luck," a film I thoroughly endorse and recommend. Here's how the conversation, which had nothing to do with the movie, went:

Mark: Dude, I'm trying to clean up my new place. There's sh!t all over the place. But it's so tough. There's so much sh!t. Know what I mean?

Brent: Dude, I totally know what you mean. Seriously man, it's huge.

Mark: Yeah. It's like, I want to take pride in the place. I want it to be, like, my place. But with all the crap around, it's like I'm not in my own place or something.

Brent: Dude, I know. Check it out, man. You need to get a paper shredder, dude. Seriously. I'm telling you. I just got one. It's awesome.

Mark: Dude, why the f#%k do you need one of those? Just crumple stuff up. I just crumple it up.

Brent: Mark, that's what I'm saying. You're having trouble precisely because you have to crumple this stuff up. It's unsatisfying and feels insurmountable. You need the satisfaction that comes from a machine completely tearing up a piece of paper to the point of no return.

Mark: [laughs] Dude, come on. That's stupid. I don't need a paper shredder. In fact, that sounds violent, like that movie with that guy shredding up people. That one with Steve Buscemi in it. What was that movie?

Brent: Yeah, what was that movie again? "Fresno"? Yeah, that was the movie! [laughs] You need a paper shredder, like in that movie "Fresno."

[more laughing]

Mark: No, dude! It's "Fargo"! Now I remember. Geez...that's actually funny, though, 'cuz we're talking about a paper shredder, not a wood chipper cutting up people. So it would be a different movie: "Fresno."

Brent: Yeah, right. Dude, that's funny. Seriously. In fact, that could be a line from some independent film comedy: "Dude, you need a paper shredder, like in that movie 'Fresno.'"

Mark: Perfect. Let's produce and direct it.

Maybe we will.

2005-12-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

It's good to be a Patriot

Courtesy of an Indianapolis Colts loss last weekend, the 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in NFL history since the league began playing the Super Bowl. My football history chops are shaky, so I don't know what happened before then. But I do know that at least one of this season's teams that someone told me was superior to the New England Patriots got their asses handed to them by those very Patriots last weekend.

Sure, Indianapolis may be playing it safe now that the team has more than guaranteed itself a playoff berth, but this is mere conjecture. For all we know, Indianapolis is losing momentum going into the playoffs.

A few things are certain:

The New England Patriots are gaining momentum. Tampa Bay is a tough team. We shut them out. That's a media spin-proof victory. Look for New England vs. Indianapolis in the AFC Championship. I won't predict the outcome, but mark my words: It's gonna happen.

2005-12-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Christ in Christmas

This week a business colleague of mine gave me a call. He was leaving to visit family, and when the awkward moment inevitably came, I fell into the "Happy Holidays" fold, not wanting an encounter of the Bill O'Reilly kind.

My take on it is a clumsy joke that, quite frankly, sounds stupid. Sensing the social anxiety that corporate media had managed to instill in my psyche, my colleague responded with one of the funniest "gotchas" I've yet to hear for this whole "Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas" hogwash.

Brent: "Well, OK then...have a great trip, and if I don't speak with you later this week, Merry Christmas, or Kwanza, or Happy Holidays, or whatever it is you celebrate." [nervous laughter]

Colleague: "You know, I've been struck by this whole debate, too, and I've resolved to ask myself, 'What would Jesus do?' And, seeing that Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, I think he'd say, 'Happy Hanukkah.' So, Happy Hanukkah, Brent." [chuckling]

Brent: [more chuckling] "Hey, that's pretty good. You're right. The Festival of Lights [spoken in mock Adam Sandler fashion]. Well, Happy Hanukkah, [insert colleague's name here]."

This colleague, to the best of my knowledge, is not Jewish. Either way, it's pretty damn funny.

Later I got to thinking a bit more about the whole, stupid debate. I asked myself, "What would Jesus do?" After telling myself he most certainly would not have gone to play for the New York Yankees, it occurred to me that the bloke wouldn't have given a shit about his birthday celebration, either -- and probably would have told anyone who did to bug off and stop buying crap for it.

2005-12-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

In fact...

I follow politics just like everyone else in my microcosm of a blogging community -- i.e., more than Average Joe does. Every once in a while, when I need a political reality check, I like to visit the Annenberg Political Fact Check. And you should, too.

Something has set off my "hey, waitaminute" meter lately. Left-wingers are saying the media have a neoconservative bias.

What?!?

Go to any right-wing site, and you'll see just as many people believing the media have a liberal bias. Which is it? We can't have a dual bias. Last time I checked, this would go against the definition of bias. Come up with another word to describe the situation. I'm game.

Here's the interesting thing:

Each side sees a bias against its cherished beliefs. And everyone keeps watching.

Chris Matthews gets to play more "Hardball." Rush Limbaugh gets to snooker more listeners. Al Franken gets to sell more books. So does Bill O'Reilly, and John Stewart gets to tell more jokes.

Oh, and have you ever watched the commercials on primetime cable news? GM gets to sell more SUVs, too.

Talk about another spike for the "hey, waitaminute" meter. Maybe I'm on to something, and maybe you should put away your liberal or neconservative toys for a minute. It's easier to pay attention, after all, when you're not high on political crack.

The corporate media have no liberal or neoconservative bias; they have a money bias. I imagine intelligent debate based on the facts makes little money. But stuff like intelligent design and deliberately misleading claims of "corrupted intelligence" in the march to war with Iraq certainly do.

Cable news channel junkies love to shout at the villains on the television screen. Most networks (even FOX) air just as many liberals as they do neoconservatives. It's equal opportunity sophistry coming at us from both sides. And each side of the audience sees the opposing viewpoint as an overpowering specter of evil that demands equal opportunity counterargument ASAP. We then blog for these counterarguments with religious zeal, hoping that we might stop this world from going to hell in a handbasket.

The whole situation begs the question: If both sides of the advertised, televised, money-making debate are wrong, then are we not all mistaken, conservatives and liberals alike, for aligning with whichever of the two lies best suits our tastes? I think so. We consign ourselves to a binary debate with increasingly taut polarities. To our true peril, we ignore the living kaleidescope of ideas that might actually improve the human condition.

2005-12-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

What would Johnny Damon Do?

Go to play for the New York Yankees, apparently.

I don't think Jesus would have done this.

2005-12-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

I have seen the world's best ass

Today I saw the best ass ever. You have not seen an ass better than the ass I saw this evening.

Stop right there. You're wrong.

Whatever ass you've seen that you think competes with the one I saw, quite simply, doesn't. I've seen plenty of ass in my day, and tonight's takes the cake.

The ass belongs to an unassuming young lady at the nearby bookstore. An ass so perfect, it surely sends breast men everywhere back to the drawing board, where I am this very moment.

Frankly, I wish I'd never seen this ass this evening, for ignorance is bliss, and ass from this day forward, for me, will never be the same.

2005-11-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

That's sweet

Cheap Trick had a good idea back in the day, but Sweet was always better at Cheap Trick's idea.

2005-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite George Harrison song...

...is "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," which, coincidentally, is not from his 1970 album All Things Must Pass. But I can relate to his lyrics in both visceral and objective ways. That guy was the real deal, and he died too young.

2005-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

My favorite John Lennon song is...

"Cold Turkey." They're playing it on the Comcast music channel, so I now know the song's name. Man, it's an awesome song.

2005-10-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Which side are you on?

The Dark Side likes to call the enlightened the enemy, but who lives in the dark, and who in the light?

2005-10-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Why didn't you just say so?

Today on "Meet The Press" Condi Rice said the U.S. decided after the September 11th attacks not merely to pursue and destroy al Qaeda, but to take a "bolder approach."

Fine, but why didn't you just say so in the first place, Condi? Condi's words reflect this White House's latest spin on the reasons it hopes the "common people" will accept for war with Iraq and whoever else is next. But the majority of us know our exploits in the Middle East are for oil and multinational corporations' profits. The story of Haliburton, after all, is nothing new, but the revelation of Haliburton's actions, almost in real time, is a phenomenon rarely seen on a large scale. We are witnessing the failure of propaganda, and the savvy among us despair over an administration's inability to lead.

Most wars are predicated on fabrications that demonize enemies. The approach typically distracts the masses from recognizing the real roots of war, and powerful nations have built their power by skillfully fooling the world. The trick has always been to be a good liar. The history of war is rife with tales of financial opportunism that made the nations that waged these wars rich, but the history in textbooks has steadfastly turned a blind eye to war's most popular fuel.

The Bush Administration's ham-fisted ways have earned us the official badge of "rogue nation." This label is a testament to a White House's inability to convince beyond our borders. Politicians ought to bullet-proof their messaging before leading our nation into war. A warring nation like ours, if we want to prevail, needs its allies and citizenry drunk on believeable lies, not inferior, transparent mendacity.

2005-10-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

A Meme About Music...

Following is my contribution to the Favorite Songs Meme. Please excuse misspellings, typos, and any possible inaccurate names of songs. I don’t feel like checking my work or doing the research today.

Favorite Beatles song: I’ve been in a “Revolver” kind of mood for the past couple years. “She Said, She Said” and “Love You To” continually vie for top honors.

Favorite solo song by a former Beatle: McCartney: “Hell on Wheels”; Lennon: there’s a really cool one with a scratchy, stop-time guitar in it, but I’ve been searching iTunes and the Web for the past 15 minutes to no avail; Harrison: anything from “All Things Must Pass”; Starr: He wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles, according to Lennon.

Favorite Rolling Stones song: "Gimme Shelter" is pretty damn good, but “Heartbreaker” is my favorite.

Favorite Bob Dylan song: "Tangled up in Blue"

Favorite Pixies song: Never listened to them

Favorite Prince song: "U Sexy Mutha F*cker”…I hope I spelled this one “correctly.”

Favorite Michael Jackson song: “Billy Jean,” and yes, the dude’s a head case.

Favorite Metallica song: I never liked these guys. Sorry.

Favorite Public Enemy song: "Fight the Power”

Favorite Depeche Mode song: Never listened to them enough to know any songs

Favorite Cure song: “Friday I’m in Love”…but I would have preferred to list something by The Cult, like their cover of “Born to be Wild.”

Favorite song that most of your friends haven't heard: Air is a band that plays in a retro-techno style, and the song is an instrumental, “La Femme D’Argent”

Favorite Beastie Boys song: “She’s Crafty”

Favorite Police song: “Next To You”

Favorite Sex Pistols song: "Anarchy in the UK”...the only reason I include this song is because the dude says, "Antichrist," which is pretty cool. I've never really listened to these guys.

Favorite song from a movie: no particular song, but I really like the Moog organ interpretations of Beethoven in “Clockwork Orange” and the compositions in “Heat,” the mid-1990s flick starring both Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro

Favorite Blondie song: "Heart of Glass"

Favorite Genesis song: I’m one of those Peter Gabriel dudes when it comes to Genesis. Phil Collins was and always will be a one-man cheese factory, save for his first solo album, which gave us such gems as “I Don’t Care No More.” As for my favorite Genesis tune, it has to be “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.”

Favorite Led Zeppelin song: I don’t listen to them as much as I used to, but that’s only because I listened to them so damn much all the way through my twenties. Don’t even start with me when it comes to Jimmy Page. As far as I’m concerned, he’s better than Hendrix. I know what you're thinking. He's sloppy. So what? I don't care. Shut up. My favorite Zeppelin song is a three-way tie between the nearly 30-minute-long, live version of “Dazed and Confused” from “The Song Remains the Same” live recording, “The Rover,” and “Achilles Last Stand.” “Ten Years Gone” is a delightful as well.

Favorite INXS song: “What You Need,” but I was never really into them. I liked that song they released during their late-‘90s comeback but forget its name.

Favorite Weird Al song: “Who’s Fat?” because it’s particularly clever, even for Al.

Favorite Pink Floyd song: “Dark Side of the Moon” still towers before us all as one of the ‘70s’ crowning achievements. I can never get enough of “Breathe,” especially the way “Speak to Me” runs into it. This has got to be one of the best-ever album openers.

Favorite cover song: I generally dislike covers, but Seal’s cover of The Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle” is a notable exception. The original ain't too bad, either, but I see The Steve Miller Band didn't make the cut on this list. Criminal.

Favorite dance song: “Night Fever”

Favorite U2 song: “Mysterious Ways”

Favorite disco song: "More than a Woman"

Favorite The Who song: “The Real Me”

Favorite Elton John song: I despise Elton John. I hate every single last one of his songs except for “Funeral for a Friend,” which, inexplicably, kicks ass.

Favorite Clash song: “Rock the Casbah”

Favorite David Bowie song: “Panic In Detroit”...and someone, please tell me. Are Bowie's lyrics in this song chronicling the U.S. auto industry's capitulation to Toyota et al.? Inquiring minds want to know.

Favorite Nirvana song: “Pennyroyal Tea”

Favorite Snoop Dogg song: “Gin and Juice”…Snoop was best with Dre.

Favorite Ice Cube song: "It Was A Good Day"...I agree with the 'Mudge on this one.

Favorite Johnny Cash song: his cover Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”…another rare exception to the general rule that I dislike covers. Who would've thought, listening to the original more than 10 years earlier, that it was such a logical Cash song, too?

Favorite R.E.M. song: I despise R.E.M. with a passion. Yes, I enjoy despising them. I don't like any songs by them. None whatsoever. Do you hear me?

Favorite Elvis song: “Suspicious Minds”…yes, my favorite Elvis tune is one from his ‘70s comeback. Perhaps I am sick? Has my obsession with the '70s crossed the line? Maybe. And I'm lovin' it.

Favorite cheesy-ass country song: I don’t like country songs, and I especially dislike cheesy-ass country songs. This includes even Led Zeppelin’s “Hot Dog,” which still managed to upset me when, as a young lad, I first heard it. Being a huge Zeppelin fan, I found my hatred worrisome. What did it say about my allegiance to Zeppelin? But, even during my formative years, my hatred of cheesy-ass country songs won out over my rabid love for Zeppelin. It just goes to show. Between love, hate and whatever else, the greatest of these is hate.

2005-10-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mind expansion

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, have learned something. Their observation: that a "cannabis-like chemical," injected, promotes the growth of new brain cells.

Read the article, and you might conclude that the guy who wrote it was high; the grammar there "ain't too good." But the news remains. While British Columbia, two full provinces west of Saskatchewan, is the Canadian region best known for contributions to this particular field of "research," these guys in Saskatoon probably know their stuff. To conduct their study, they may have even made a run to BC for "supplies."

Brent's Polemics does not encourage the use of anything unsanctioned, but the substance of which we speak does seem to enhance abstract reasoning abilities. Mind expanding activities may not be so bad for you after all.

2005-10-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
--Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

The message is more important now than ever. We live in "interesting" times indeed.

2005-10-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

No man's land

Folks, I posted twice (read 'em here and here) about the looming $200 billion cost milestone of the Iraq War, but nobody in D.C. listened to me. How do I know? Nothing ran in the news despite how the milestone beautifully coincided with the Sunday morning intelligentsia's television programming.

Why should I be surprised? Nobody important reads this blog, anyway.

And that's the point. Nobody important in the Democratic Party has any useful ideas to save this country, let alone the planet. They're all enablers, and our President's war has now officially entered no man's land.

2005-10-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Are you sure it's wise to fix a war that's already gone $200 billion?

Yes, we're almost at the $200 billion mark. My, how money flies. Check out the ticker in the left-hand margin.

When a car reaches 200,000 miles, its owner faces a decision. The writing is on the wall. The mechanic talks turkey to her. He points out what needs fixing before her car will pass inspection. The prospects, even with repairs, are not good. Her car, after all, has lasted longer than anyone expected, and its days are now numbered.

The news is a blow to her. She's been emotionally attached to her car for a while. She's proud to have driven it so far. She remembers the time she drove it across the country to visit friends in California. People used to compliment her on it. She clings to high hopes for her car despite reality's cold logic, but a momentous odometer reading brings with it an undeniable truth. The dream is over. She and her car must part ways.

Earlier this week I waxed imaginative. I forecasted, tongue firmly in cheek, that Democrats had a "media campaign for the ages" in store to publicize the looming $200 billion cost for the Iraq War and resurrect their party from the abyss. I daydreamed that Democrats, the mechanics who should be giving this war an inspection, would seize the day to talk turkey to a President emotionally attached to a war that used to draw him compliments but now faces grim prospects.

Understand: My post was an exercise in sarcasm. Nobody with half a brain these days actually believes Democrats -- in practice, Republicans Lite -- are planning any kind of meaningful offensive against this war. In fact, any day now, the neoconjobs can expect $50 billion more for their wet dreams of imperialism.

I know the linked article suggests opposition, even within Republican Party ranks, to the extra bread, but we all know how that story goes these days: in Bush's favor.

And the question remains: How many more billions of dollars will this war go before it breaks down for good on the side of a lonely desert road?

2005-10-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Far right, meet the far left

I've long argued that the far right and far left have loads more in common than what the professional sophists who lead our national "debate" want anyone to realize. Along the polarities of the political and religious spectra reside basic tenets that jive with each other. Disagreements have always been in deciding which methodologies to employ to achieve the ends, or utopia, which some might call heaven on earth.

A real-life example of this commonality is coming to fore, and finally. An article that recently ran in The Grist looks at a watershed development: The leader of a major evangelical organization 30 million members strong has begun to advocate "creation care," an idea that anyone who reads the Bible even casually understands is a no-brainer.

Say what you will about the religious far right, and I'll agree with you 90 percent of the time. But powerful leaders of the religious far right are suddenly discovering Biblical arguments that favor responsibile environmental stewardship. Let's just count our blessings -- no pun intended -- and let them run with this one. The issue that has always harbored the most potential for methodological agreement has been environmental policy, and it's heartening to see the beginnings of what could be something big.

2005-10-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

The wheel, she turns

Six years
Comin' on fast

Not sure
How long youth lasts

Father Time
Says I’m runnin’ out of it

Suddenly
I’m lookin' 'round a bit

That great big circle in the sky
She keeps on turnin’

I’m 34, momma
And I haven’t even started livin’

2005-10-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Don't let them call you sissies

I'm about to play devil's advocate and attract a bunch of new enemies.

The History Channel is airing another one of those "Last Days of WWII" installments this morning, and I'm starting to wonder how such a tough people ended up so soft.

In just one battle with Japan, the U.S. sustained 5,000 casualties. We're talking about one battle. Juxtapose this with our excursion in Iraq. Into our third year of the Iraq War, we have sustained around 2,000 deaths.

Cindy Sheehan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you lost your son to George W. Bush's war. You are a grieving mother, and I wish I could do something to take the emotional pain away. I can't.

But listen up, anti-war crowd: We are never going to win this argument by electing Cindy Sheehan our spokesperson. By saying, "Oh my God, it's terrible! More than 2,000 Americans have died in Iraq!" we only make our political enemies laugh at us.

And, frankly, the approach is embarrassing. We come off just like the sissies they like to call us.

Go ahead. Skewer me for not volunteering, myself, to go fight. Your criticism, however accurate and perhaps deserved, would still be a diversion designed to avoid argument with my point.

Oppose this war in Iraq. I am your ally. But we will never convince enough of Red State America to join our side if we continue to cry about the 2,000 American troops who have died since we entered Iraq in 2003. It's a number that has yet to equal even half of the casualties Pacific Theater troops sustained in just one battle of WWII.

Attack this President from the Cindy Sheehan flank, and we do nothing but solidify Red State America's view of us as a bunch of hippy sissies. I'm no sissy, and neither are you. Let's not play into their hands.

2005-10-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Cruisin' for chicks

Hate the game, not the player.

Tom Cruise, at age 43, just recently banged Katie Holmes. How do we know this? According to reports, she's pregnant with his child.

Holmes, 26 years old, is a woman I'd also like to bang. And you know, I'm thinking that riding a Harley with a gorgeous twenty-something woman on the back, holding on to me for dear life, is a damn good idea. Check out the photo.

In fact, I'd probably have her pregnant within six months' time, too -- just like Cruise had Holmes. That's right. Cruise had Holmes, and men everywhere are jealous. We deal. At least most of us do.

2005-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Dude, my war just went $200 billion

I love milestones. We have one coming up. Do you know what it is?

That's right: the Iraq War's $200 billion milestone. It's just around the corner.

No, really. Take a look.

Yeah...that's it...just a little bit to the left...OK...now, scroll down a smidge.

There you go! See? The ticker says we're just a tad shy of $200 billion.

Let's imagine that the trusty, fight-with-teeth-and-nails Democrats we elected to Congress are planning a killer media blitzkrieg as we speak. Our guys' PR guys in Washington, their designated talking heads already warming up in the bullpen, must be all over this one and about to wage a cable news campaign for the ages. Liberals in our nation's capital are surely chomping at the bit, just waiting for the Iraq War Cost Ticker to turn over all those zeroes.

Boy, we sure do have wild imaginations, don't we?

2005-10-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Kind of scary

Someone quoted in the following article says, "It's kind of scary."

Bush's Booze Crisis

I'd say.

2005-10-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

She breathes like the rest

Soft
Like the favorite pillow
Many years old

I squeeze her

Cute
Like the fuzzy little ball
The furry little animal

I caress

Being
Like the human being
In another’s presence

I let loose
Free
From the shackles of cool

I’m hot

On fire with myself
Being myself
Expressing the authentic
Embracing my soul

Someone lets me
Finally

She is small
She is big
She breathes like the rest

I watch her rest

2005-10-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

They remember

Behold my ideas
Hold my soul
Keep me close
I want your touch

Say yes

Music
Makes my ears grin, happy
And my mind smile

With mirth

The Earth
Frolics for her residents
Content and rampant
Scurrying over her mounds and crevices

She menaces
She terraces
They venture forth to the brink
They blink

And they remember

Closeness is the touch
Happiness is the soul
And the idea is from the mind of God

2005-10-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

The lies of thoughts never shared

Thinking on the inside
Never sharing

The ponderings without merit
Threaten to inherit
My groundless disappointments

Manifest

Wanting
Wonting

Never asking
Never basking
In the feeling I crave

She just never gave

And so I bathe
In the lies of thoughts never shared

2005-10-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

The end is near

People say this as if the end isn't here already. It is, in fact, upon us, and has been for a while. What we're seeing and hearing in the media is nothing more than the end game. Yes, it's a game to them. Never mind the implications.

2005-10-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

On the sidewalks adjacent to America

My girlfriend and I visited a local branch of one of the two big and meaty mega-chain bookstores yesterday, and it wasn’t Borders. Exiting her car, we traversed the parking lot and reached the bookstore building. We noticed scores of books in carts on the sidewalk adjacent to the main doorway. We browsed.

Nobody had bought these books for regular prices inside, so these books in carts outside the store yesterday were on sale. Some of the books were stupid, the kind of trash you’d expect to see alongside the grocery store checkout line. But most of the books were downright thought-provoking. Many contributed original thought to old ideas.

I realized why nobody wanted them. They were too deep, too intelligent for Joe Full-Size SUV, his wife, and two point five children. So these books were discounted and outside, and, in these ways, reminded me of homeless people, who have trouble selling themselves in a society that forces us to pimp ourselves to earn our way.

These books in carts on the sidewalk adjacent to the big and meaty mega-chain bookstore’s doorway were the books nobody wants. They had no place to go but outside, where the homeless reside every day in carts on the sidewalks adjacent to America.

2005-10-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Desire’s ration

A pressurized cylinder
Of lust waits

With baited breath for breasts
To envelop the sensitive extremities
And quell the sensitive soul’s insecurities

Warm and moist
The opening waits
And baits

A libido’s contemplation
And masturbation
Widen a confusion
Of frustration and bliss

They coexist

Conversation halts fornication
As if to feed desire its ration
That leaves it hungry for more where none has been

2005-09-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Scarborough's country is hurting

Joe Scarborough, generally understood to be an outspoken right-wing media personality, just tore the entire government, including the White House, a new asshole. Amen.

2005-09-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

Spinning out of control

The nerve of these people.

Today, as I watched cable news, my ears heard the clarion call of insanity at the reigns of our mass communication system. Hurricane Katrina's devastation has shown us all just how urgently we need limited government, according to Joe Neocon's latest spin.

This is no joke, and I am speechless. Some dude -- and I can't remember who or which channel -- said the ineptitude in NOLA is the mother of real-time examples iullustrating how reliance on the federal government is folly.

Last time I checked, the military, the police, the fire department, and all their friends are there for a reason, and they all, just about since time began, have functioned under the federal government's purview. This purview has been a postulate even under the most conservative of conservative administrations.

Do these neocons mean to tell us if only the private sector ran the National Guard, NOLA's survivors would have, well, survived?

It's a disease. It eats away the mind's coginitive ability until nothing remains but the ditto-headed lament, "Government is bad."

2005-09-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

Explicit lyrics come in handy at times like these

Check out the following link:

We told you so

People are pissed. Very pissed.

It's getting ugly out there. And you know what?

It's about f'ing time.

The demon resides

2005-09-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

A demon inside resides
The sadness
The mother’s touch
Both empty
Yet meaning so much

Dark in the light
Anguished respite
It sleeps
Scales shiny and black
Muddy water
Through murky lens
Of the self tortured soul

I watch

The vice grip
Clasps my throat
Tears of loneliness
Tears of fear
Tears of solitude embraced
As solution without place
No place but the cavity of gut
Closed off from the rest
Wanting to share
Not knowing how

Tightness of throat
Hurting
Flesh insufficient to the demon’s bloat
Of melancholy

Calling on the Lord
The Father
To extinguish the misery
Of a mother’s empty placations
The demon resides still
The Lord does not answer
The flesh and the treachery
Must go on

2005-09-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Talking points for the Bush Administration

Mr. President, I would encourage your media relations handlers to participate wholeheartedly in publicizing New Orleans' seemingly intractable predicament. Don't worry about all the television footage. It helps you. Later, when the country does secure the situation, the images and psychological impact of this catastrophe will be useful in rebuilding political support for the Iraq War. Americans will see the capability of our nation to rebuild a devasted area. Citizens will be more apt to place faith in our ability to do likewise in war-ravaged Iraq.

I am such a cynic.

2005-09-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

We face more than a natural catastrophe

Our national security is at risk:

1) Lots of National Guard are already in Iraq.

2) The rest are pretty much in New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Coast.

Our fledglingly recovering economy is in peril:

1) Massive export stoppages (e.g., grain, etc.) threaten agribusiness and farmers alike.

2) The portion of our massive oil consumption we produce ourselves is largely and indefinitely cut off. Spiking fuel prices are already hitting our wallets hard.

3) Food prices, not to mention the price of just about eveything else, will squeeze citizens' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, we face gargantuan trade and federal deficits. These pre-date Hurricane Katrina, as does the War in Iraq, which is about to top the $200 billion price tag.

Yeah, I'd say we're in trouble.

2005-09-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Games and tests

You can try your games with me, but you won't like the way I play.

You can test me, but you won't like my answers.

I've done all that. I'm done with all that.

2005-09-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

It was still a good play on Zeppelin lyrics, but I want to apologize for my last post's excessively humorous tone. The situation in New Orleans has since rendered my words inappropriate.

2005-08-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

When the levee breaks

Thousands got no place to stay.

Images of a decimated New Orleans have forced my jaw to the floor, and it can't get up.

2005-08-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Awesome!

The cost of war in Iraq is quickly approaching the $200 billion mark!

I can't wait!

Yipee!!!!!!

2005-08-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

It all begins and ends with Tull

Paleontologists and anthropologists speak of the disputed "missing link," the species that will one day definitively link the human race to primates. In much the same way, rockologists speak of another missing link, the progenitor that definitively married early rock 'n roll with the heavy metal sound, a style that has since evolved without interruption.

Some point to Black Sabbath. A few say Led Zeppelin. Still others call our attention to Jimi Hendrix or obscure bands of that era.

These people are all wrong.

Some of my readers may recall the common wisdom that assailed Jethro Tull's clinching of a late-'80s Grammy for heavy metal act of the year. And while we can all probably agree that Tull's late-'80s work was anything but heavy metal, it's tough to listen to certain tracks on 1971's Aqualung and disagree that Tull's sound that year may very well be the most compelling missing link connecting earlier rock to the frenetic rapid-fire, staccato peculiar to modern-day heavy metal.

2005-08-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

The hallmark of the softened heart

Like steel, you shut me out today. Little do you know. The one-sided capitulation of my past steels my resolve, and damn the consequences.

The stakes are high. We both want to be right. My feelings are real, and so are yours, but compromise is the hallmark of a softened heart, and irony says our hearts must first harden to soften.

2005-08-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Trust

Call it intuition. Call it instinct. Call it faith. Call it God.

Whatever we call it, every now and again we reach crossroads in our lives when it is the only thing we can trust. To ignore it would assasinate the soul, and we know this. So we change course without the certainty of favorable outcomes. We make the decision despite the risks, for the freedom is worth the danger.

A fork in the road has taunted me for months. I have loitered, pondering and distrusting, but no more. Today I set course and quit my full-time job.

I have chosen a path, and I can't go back. The outcome is uncertain, but I will trust, with all my might, whatever this thing is that guides me, softly yet resolutely, recklessly yet assuredly, from within and from without.

2005-08-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Pat Robertson is a jerk

He has made his statements this week to help the right wing build political support for censoring satellite programming, "not currently under the aegis of the FCC," according to MSNBC's Keith Olberman.

Folks, these people are very tricky. We must remain vigilant.

2005-08-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Incommunicado

Sorry, folks. It looks like I'm just too damn busy to blog these days. I even have a draft half completed of my favorite songs, but it's on hold indefinitely. I'm in the midst of major business ramp-up right now.

2005-08-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

The '70s witnessed the apex of rock's flight

An indelible, intelligent snapshot from the past heralds to this very day on countless stations across our FM dials.

The apogee of rock 'n' roll as fine art ended when the '70s ended. Never again will progeny of this musical form produce something on par. More than 25 years ago the '70s masters bid us farewell, and their progenitors have yet to lay credible claim to the throne. I doubt anyone ever will.

Some readers may doubt I'll ever upload my "Top 10 Songs I'm Digging" post. They're wrong.

Just wait. This weekend, I'll be away. When I get back, get back to where I once belonged, I'll be back in black, back in the saddle again.

2005-08-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

Heavy metal fanfare

Medieval fanfares heralding royalty's arrival were the past's necessarily unplugged versions of heavy metal riffs.

They didn't call Elvis Presley "The King" for nothing.

2005-07-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

The coolest thing that should have happened in the '70s but didn't

Donald Fagen gives Frank Zappa a call. Half of the genius behind Steely Dan asks the Mothers of Invention's inventor to play lead guitar on all studio tracks for the album Pretzel Logic. Mr. Zappa agrees, and I get to play the results on my stereo 30 years later.

2005-07-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

A meme I saw...

Well, Corey said in his rendition on this meme that I would be the least likely to carry the torch and do one myself. Just to prove him wrong, here ya go:

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: Revenge of the Sith

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? I’m all about professional books these days, and I read them piecemeal in the mornings before leaving for work (e.g., “Consulting for Dummies” and a book on creative writing exercises)

3. WHAT WERE YOU DOING JUST MINUTES AGO? Reading Corey’s meme

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? Harper’s Magazine

5. FAVORITE SMELLS? Nag Champa (sp?) incense…hands down, the best incense around

6. FAVORITE FOODS? Marinated, grilled steak with “Annie’s” brand macaroni and cheese

7. FAVORITE SOUNDS? A “happy” woman (heh, heh…figure it out) and any of the myriad ‘70s guitar gods’ recordings that grace my CD collection

8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Seeing blue lights in the rearview mirror

9. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? “I like myself” …and I say it out loud repeatedly before arriving to work…actually, this is a new habit.

10. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? I avoid them like the plague for health and environmental reasons

11.FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? Dylan, Paige

12. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY...I’d quit my day job and work on my business full-time…oh, and I’d DEFINITELY buy a really cool car, like a black two-door, 6-speed BMW M3 with cool after-market rims, Dinan tuning good for 100 more horsepower, a moonroof, leather interior, and a sound system that makes my ‘70s guitar gods recordings sound f’ing awesome.

13. DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Always and very

14. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? No, but I have two pillows, and the second could be construed as a stuffed animal the way I sleep with it.

15. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY? Very cool, especially when they’re scary.

16. Describe YOUR FIRST CAR? A yellow 1975 Mustang II. Yes, kids…this is the one that was basically a Pinto.

17. FAVORITE DRINK? Mudslide on the rocks

18. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD: become my brother’s full-time mentor.

19. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes.

20. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? I wouldn’t do it if I had the opportunity

21. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN: Manchester, NH, Derry, NH, Chester, NH, Milford, NH, Amherst, NH, Allston, MA, Brighton, MA, Brockton, MA, Arlington, MA, Hooksett, NH.

22. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Baseball

23. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU... Corey is a cool guy who reads my blog even when I’m not reading it myself.

24. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? A bunch of stuff destined for the filing cabinet I keep meaning to buy

25. TOILET PAPER/PAPER TOWEL-OVER OR UNDER? Over…and I actually prefer it this way

26 MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL? Night. I start to get into my groove around 9 p.m., and you can usually find me working until 2 a.m. This makes mornings a drag.

27. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE – Sunny side, and broken so that they mix with my pancakes.

28. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX! On my Italian black leather couch with the tunes blaring.

29. FAVORITE PIE? Like Corey, I prefer cake. In fact, my favorite is yellow cake with frosting, but preferably not from Nigeria.

30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WILL SEE THIS WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO DUPLICATE: I’d say Mudge, but he already has.

31. LEAST LIKELY? Shawn…sorry, buddy, but I just don’t see it happening. ;-)

2005-07-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Demons are right and wrong

What haunts you? Who stops by when the past visits?

You probably have a name for them. I call them my inner demons, and they are usually right.

The inner demon seeks justification. He wants recognition for his gripes yet offers no solutions. The inner demon considers being right a worthy end in and of itself.

Our inner demons hold us back. We must evict them. Only then do we stand the chance to achieve what would have made them happy in the first place.

2005-07-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Two Cents in the Mirror

Fight.

Quarrel with all your might. By God, you are right.

My dear, have this argument.

Say what is arrogant. Feel so indignant.

Exit triumphant.

Look in the mirror.

Play that game, you losing winner. Watch your lies; they have grown thinner.

Sinner!

The answer is bought. Two cents are thought. Many reside where one is sought.

None is fathomed, and so we have fought.

2005-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Moderation is best

It is best to exercise moderation, especially when exercising moderation.

2005-07-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

Voicemails die hard

I'm a voicemail packrat. I save them as if they're shiny pieces of tinfoil, digitized keepsakes of my very own.

They seem meaningful. They are.

Yet meanings change, and so do people, and so have I.

She punched my digits into her cell phone three years ago. Like shiny pieces of tinfoil for my heart, her voicemails were gifts from the divine, messages we later lived out together.

And today I erased two old voicemails, two digitized, divine keepsakes. Their memory and lessons they taught have left me ready for meaning greater than any packrat could ever know.

2005-06-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Roving band of idiots

This administration's cognitive deficiencies are crystal clear, and Karl Rove's statements this week demonstrate the extent of neoconservatives' inability to reason.

The only intelligent defense for us is to understand our enemies. Even Robert McNamara said so in last year's documentary, "The Fog of War." Moderation, restraint, preparation for war, actual war, and an understanding of our enemies must all coexist for us to persevere in this war on "terra." Democrats, many of whom have served in the military that their neoconservative chicken hawk colleagues have not, know this, a meta-concept that apparently flummoxes Rove et al.

Partisanship in this country has birthed the very caricature of what we might label "binary thinking." One side is 100 percent correct, and the other side is 100 percent wrong. Common denominators are for sissies. A real man ignores anyone who disagrees with his ideas, which, after all, come not from his own mind but from God's.

Dogma never had it so good.

2005-06-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you, guitar gods

Have I ever told you how much you mean to me?

2005-06-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Freedom doesn't come free

This is what we hear, but I'm beginning to wonder whether it's prosperity for the few that indeed comes free for the wealthy at the expense of the many who pay with their lives for unjust wars.

2005-06-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

"You're Beautiful"

It's a song by Gordon Lightfoot. He's singing to a woman he loves. He's telling her how beautiful she is. He feels blessed that such a beautiful woman loves him.

Say what you will about Gordon Lightfoot. He's a genius, and "You're Beautiful" is my favorite love song. Beautiful women who have entered and exited my life have heard me sing this song, but tonight I sing "You're Beautiful" to the beautiful woman in my mind. This woman is listening, and I imagine that one blessed day she will fall in love with me.

2005-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Are you a Dr. Pepper?

Some of you know I have a penchant for Mr. Daniels' elixir. Yes, that would be Mr. Jack Daniels.

Typically, I mix it with some Coca Cola in a rocks glass filled with ice. This evening, Dr. Pepper has taken Coca Cola's place, and the Doctor's doing a pretty good job of it.

It's heresy, you say? What're ya gonna do, huh? Stop me?

I didn't think so.

2005-06-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Tony Blankley is a hypocrite

Here's a guy who's editorial page editor for The Washington Times. He's a blowhard on "The McLaughlin Group," a show that surely does Jon Stewart proud (not). And he's a sycophant with a curricula vitae that includes a seven-year stint as press secretary for former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

Blankley's only redeeming moment, come to think of it, was when he wrote for George Magazine, the late John F. Kennedy Jr.'s pride and joy. It's a publication that no longer exists, which leaves Blankley bereft of his one respectable professional accomplishment.

Blankley, in case you haven't figured it out, is a right-wing henchman. On "Hardball With Chris Matthews" this evening, Blankley decried the era of gotcha journalism that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein heralded in early 1970s Washington, D.C.

The role of the press in the Watergate scandal, according to Blankley, held President Richard Nixon to a standard higher than those that previous presidents observed and withstood. In this way, acording to Blankley, Nixon was selectively indicted by a media that looked the other way just 10 years earlier when left-wing heroes such as JFK crossed the line. If we are to believe Blankley, crossing the line of ethics has been a commonplace presidential practice stretching back to the infancy of the republic.

Maybe so, but Blankley took advantage of the gotcha climate he despises when he decided to join a right-wing jihad against President Bill Clinton. An entrenched ethos, investigative journalism as defined by the Watergate scandal may not be all the good things its proponents contend, but surely its legacy has been more beneficial than the political hypocrite's.

2005-06-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Deeply flawed arguments

True to form, reaction to the identity of Deep Throat has split cleanly along partisan lines that reach all the way back to the Vietnam War and the coldest days of the Cold War. Last night's edition of CNN's "Paula Zahn NOW" was a case-in-point.

Zahn's guests were President Richard Nixon's former special counsel, Leonard Garment; G. Gordon Liddy; and Howard Kurtz, a media critic for The Washington Post. As expected, Kurtz carried the liberals' torch while Liddy and Garment took turns launching right-wing volleys at the news. Among his many statements, Garment had this to say:

But let me just add this. In my view, in my humble view, the -- Richard Nixon's downfall was inevitable from the time the burglars were caught and a grand jury was impaneled and Earl Silbert and the U.S. attorney's office went to work on that case. Virtually everything that was ever known about Watergate was revealed in the deliberations of the grand jury, witnesses called by the -- produced by the FBI and called by Earl Silbert, so, that the course of history, I think, would not have been changed one bit.

Garment's assertion holds merit. Legal proceedings alone may have unearthed every single nook and cranny of Nixon Presidency wrongdoing imaginable. Garment still misses the point.

Think of impeachment as war without all the cool bombs and stuff. Not only an important check on our government, impeachment is politics, by design, practiced at the most extreme level possible this side of armed conflict.

The Fourth Estate, more than mere window dressing, is frequently the only available ingredient to precipitate political pressure, something both impeachment and war demand. President Bill Clinton faced impeachment at the hand of no less than a jihad whose fuel was right-wing media. Without the "insurrection," putatively liberal, that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein waged outside of and parallel to the legal course of events, Watergate's crimes may never have met their just punishments.

2005-05-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Darth Vader: The people's choice

I have seen "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

Word of mouth all week has said this film is, by far, the best of the prequels and, at least according to a few, on par with "Star Wars." I have to agree, and here is why:

George Lucas needs Darth Vader.

Join me in this grassroots effort to elect Darth Vader winner of the next "People's Choice" award.

2005-05-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

Incommunicado

Obviously, I have not been posting to this blog, my brainchild and, once, my obsession. A new obsession has taken over, one that makes money.

My business is on the verge of success beyond my wildest expectations but in keeping with my wildest dreams. This consumes all my time.

Actually, this is not entirely true. My business only consumes all my time when I'm not at my full-time, deadline-driven job or busy teaching and correcting papers for a college writing course.

This blog will remain on hiatus indefinitely, although my wildest dreams say I'll take what I wrote here and elsewhere and publish a book one of these days. Maybe it will be one of those "never give up" yarns, peppered with humor and politics, chronicling the trials and travails that shaped a successful entrepreneur.

Yeah, I like the sound of that.

2005-03-31T06:54:00.000-08:00

Terri Schiavo is dead

Terri Schiavo just died. I have no idea whether her parents were able to visit her once more before she died. I certainly hope so.

2005-03-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Let them inside

Like many fellow bloggers, I harbor strong, mixed feelings about the Terri Schiavo situation, but let's set aside politics and emotions for the moment. Shall we?

Headline News has just reported that police have denied Terri's parents, the Schindlers, from visiting her hospital room this morning. The parents' "spiritual advisor," meanwhile, says Terri has only hours to live. Surely the doctors would agree. Terri has been without food or water for nearly two weeks now.

Michael Schiavo has final say, I believe, on who gets to be with Terri during her final hours. I disagree with the avenues Terri's parents have taken in their attempts to have her feeding tube reinserted. Michael may very well be bitter about it all.

But this latest report is separate from the notion of Terri's right to live vs. her right to die, a battle that Michael has clearly won. Common decency, which many may argue favored Michael throughout this ordeal, now says he ought to let Terri's flesh and blood be at her side when she dies.