Ann Coulter number 2
Thursday, June 23, 2005
So I have a resentment of the Conservatives in this country and the way it shapes America.
You know,
Conservatives Beware I have a list of the major jerks and morons an idiots that I really can't stand. They drive me completely nuts and even on my meds they make me want to slip back into psychosis and scream on top of my lungs. These are the top 5 major conservative windbags and assholes or dumbasses that I can live without.
Top 5 Assholes of my list of Major Public jerks that people can get rid of by ignoring them.
ASSHOLE NUMBER 5.Fred Phelps (born November 13, 1929) is the controversial leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, an alleged cult, in Topeka, Kansas, United States, which is notorious for its web sites godhatesfags.com and godhatesamerica.com. Gay rights activists, as well both mainstream and fundamentalist Christians, have denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech. The church is located in the basement of his home, which is the center of a block-wide fenced compound, the other houses in which are occupied by nine of his thirteen children.
In 1994, a reporter working for Stauffer Communications, Inc., filed a lawsuit about ownership of a book he had been researching for them, which details the life and activities of Phelps. Because the text of the book was entered as Exhibit A, the text entered into public domain. A link to one source of the text of this book is included below.
The distributed text describes Phelps as a ferocious child-abuser and wife-beater and proposes that he was instrumental in the death of his eldest son's first wife. Most of these claims are endorsed by two of Phelps' sons and one of his daughters, but are denied by their other siblings, who are not estranged from Phelps.
More recently, Phelps was the subject of nationwide controversy when his family proposed, in a referendum, the removal of workplace protection for homosexuals in Topeka. The measure was defeated, 53 percent to 47 percent. Also in 2005, Phelps's granddaughter, Jael, was an unsuccessful candidate for Topeka's City Council
Number 4. William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10, 1949) is the host of a popular American cable television opinion program, The O'Reilly Factor on the FOX News Channel. O'Reilly also hosts a radio program syndicated by Westwood One called The Radio Factor and has authored five best-selling books, one of which is a novel. Recently, he has voiced concern about what he sees as the harmful influence of gangsta rap on children, the high level of mismanagement of charity funds for September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks victims and the liberal bias of The New York Times along with many other mainstream media outlets.
Traditionally conservative views
Supports harsher prosecution for hard drug dealers
Supports strict enforcement of immigration law by placing the National Guard on the U.S.-Mexico border
Feels that the mainstream media (such as network news, The New York Times and The Washington Post) has an extreme secular and liberal bias and is intent on undermining the authority of the Bush administration as well as the U.S. military.
Supports 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, while skeptical of the Bush Administration's handling of the occupation and lack of WMD evidence
Opposes the ACLU and frequently criticizes the organization in broadcasts
Supports subjecting violent criminals "to life in prison without parole in a federal work camp [...] in effect a gulag [...] to labor eight hours a day, six days a week in the harsh climate," because he believes that the death penalty is not harsh enough punishment [11] (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23246)
Supports prohibition of late-term abortion
Believes that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by a far-left, secular-progressive agenda.
Opposes court decisions holding that people have the right to enter into same-sex marriages, and has called the issue "crazy gay marriage insanity" [12] (http://mediamatters.org/items/200504150005)
Believes gays and lesbians should stay closeted about their sexual orientation, especially those in position to influence children, though he says that he does not feel there is anything wrong with them as individuals.
Opposes publicly funded medicine beyond what he considers a necessary "safety net"
Opposes federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, though believes research done in the private sector could be "promising"
Supports what he calls "coerced interrogation," at Guantanamo Bay, which he agrees some people would characterize "torture," as he believes it saves the lives of others [13] (http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/18.html#a3501)
Opposes public secularization.
Feels that Intelligent Design, a controversial offshoot of religious creationism, deserves at least a minor place in public education.
Has called on prosecutors to seek the death penalty for a suspected killer [14
Number 3. Tucker Carlson: The Bowtie Nazi Douche bag on CNN Crossfire. Carlson has stated that while he votes, and cares deeply about conservative ideas, he does not care about the success or failure of any political party. This partisan ambivalence has been a cause of friction between him and Republican political figures and movement conservatives. In 1999, during the 2000 Republican Presidential primary race, Carlson interviewed then-Governor George W. Bush for Talk Magazine. Carlson reported that Bush mocked soon-to-be-executed Texas death-row inmate Karla Faye Tucker and "cursed like a sailor." Bush's communications director Karen Hughes publicly disputed this claim.
While vocalizing conservative views, Carlson has not hesitated periodically to level criticism at fellow conservatives. Carlson has been a harsh critic of conservative activist Grover Norquist, for instance, calling Norquist a "mean-spirited, humorless, dishonest little creep ... an embarrassing anomaly, the leering, drunken uncle everyone else wishes would stay home...[he] is repulsive, granted, but there aren't nearly enough of him to start a purge trial."[1] (http://slate.msn.com/id/3654/entry/23930)
Carlson also has said that he is not "particularly anti-[illegal]drug," and that, while he reluctantly supported the Iraq War at the outset, he reversed his position after traveling to Baghdad to report for Esquire. Upon his return, he expressed his disgust with the war and his shame with himself for supporting it earlier. "I think it's a total nightmare and disaster, and I'm ashamed that I went against my own instincts in supporting it," he said. "I want things to work out, but I'm enraged by it, actually."
[edit]
Criticism
Tucker receives similar criticism from conservatives that Alan Colmes receives from liberals. Tucker is also viewed as milquetoast, a weak ineffective counter to his show's liberal counterparts. He's also critized as boring, having no inside information or intellectual rigor.
Critics point to his lack of response to Jon Stewart's attack (see below) as evidence of his inability to effectively argue. Additional criticism was bestowed on him when he incorrectly predicted in the Washington Post, a Kerry victory in the 2004 President Election.
[edit]
Notable Crossfire moments
In July 2003, after Senator Hillary Clinton's book Living History was published, Carlson doubted the potential popularity of the book and declared during a broadcast that if it sold more than one million copies he "Will in fact eat my shoes because I'm a man of my word." When her book eventually passed the millionth copy sales mark, Clinton made a surprise appearance on the show in which she brought Carlson a chocolate cake designed like a shoe.
In October, 2004, Carlson and liberal co-host Paul Begala were engaged in an unusually confrontational episode of Crossfire with comedian and television talk show host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, which was widely circulated through the Internet and commented on throughout the media. Although Stewart was ostensibly scheduled to promote his best-selling comedy book, America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, Stewart spent the entire episode seriously criticizing the premise of shows such as Crossfire, arguing that they are "hurting America." In a memorable verbal exchange of that episode, after instructing Stewart to "be funny," Carlson remarked:
"I do think you're more fun on your show."
to which Stewart responded:
"You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."
For his part, Carlson said after the broadcast and during the ensuing media frenzy that while he agreed with some of Stewart's comments, Stewart is "the most sanctimonious comedian I've ever met," and that Stewart "needs to recognize where Crossfire is on the media food chain."
Carlson's last day on Crossfire was January 6, 2005. CNN CEO Jonathan Klein commented to the Associated Press, "I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp." It has been speculated that the Stewart episode was important in his decision to cancel the show and to not renew Carlson's contract, but Klein has said that decision was actually made six months earlier, in April. It also has been speculated that Carlson failed to meet CNN's ratings expectations when he guest-hosted NewsNight with Aaron Brown for a week towards the end of his contract.
Number 2. Ann Hart Coulter (born in New Canaan, Connecticut, December 8, 1961) is a controversial bestselling conservative American author and constitutional attorney.
She is a commentator with a reputation for strong criticism of social and political liberalism. Her comments and writing tend to be provocative and attract much controversy.
Coulter is the author of four political commentary books, all of which have been on the New York Times bestseller list:
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton (1998)
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right (2002)
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism (2003)
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) (2004)
Coulter is also a legal correspondent for the magazine Human Events. She writes a syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate which is carried by or linked to by many influential conservative websites, including Frontpagemag.com.
Coulter was the subject of a TIME magazine cover story in April 2005, and has made frequent guest appearances on national television and syndicated radio programs. She has appeared on a large number of topical talk shows, including Hannity and Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, American Morning with Paula Zahn, Crossfire, The Today Show, Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She is also a public speaker
Number 1 Jerry Fallwell & Tom DeLay its hard to chose they are both two good to be number one so its a tie. Jerry Falwell,The Anti-Defamation League and its leader Abraham Foxman have expressed strong support for Jerry Falwell and his staunch pro-Israel stand, referred to sometimes as "Christian Zionism." Falwell has repeatedly denounced public schools and secular education in general, calling them breeding grounds for atheism, secularism, and humanism, which he claims are in contradiction with Christian morality. He advocates that the United States abolish its public education system, replacing it with a school voucher system that allows parents to send their children to either public or private schools. Jerry Falwell wrote in America Can Be Saved that "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them." [5] (http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm)
Falwell supported President Bush's Faith Based Initiative, but had strong reservations concerning where the funding would go and the restrictions placed on churches. "My problem is where it might go under his successors... I would not want to put any of the Jerry Falwell Ministries in a position where we might be subservient to a future Bill Clinton, God forbid... It also concerns me that once the pork barrel is filled, suddenly the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah Witnesses, the various and many denominations and religious groups--and I don’t say those words in a pejorative way--begin applying for money--and I don’t see how any can be turned down because of their radical and unpopular views. I don’t know where that would take us." [6] (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html)In February of 1999, an article in Falwell's National Liberty Journal suggested that a Teletubbies character, Tinky Winky, could be a hidden homosexual symbol, because the character was purple (which he claimed was a color symbolic of homosexuality), had a triangle on his head and carried a handbag.
Tom Delay
After serving as Whip for eight years, DeLay was elected Majority Leader upon the retirement of Dick Armey in 2002. His tenure as Majority Leader has been marked by strong Republican party discipline in close votes, and the use of parliamentary political techniques to preserve his party's control of the House. DeLay has also been known to "primary" Republicans who resist his votes (threatening to endorse and support a Republican primary challenge to the disobedient Representative), and, like many of his predecessors in Congress, uses promises of future committee chairmanships to bargain for support among the rank and file members of the party.
Employing a method known as "catch and release," DeLay has allowed centrist or moderate conservative Republicans to take turns voting against controversial bills. If a Congressman says a bill is unpopular in his district, DeLay will only make him vote for it if his vote is necessary for passage; if his vote is not needed, he or she will be allowed to vote against the party without reprisal. In the 108th Congress, a preliminary Medicare vote passed 216-215, a vote on Head Start passed 217-216, a vote on school vouchers for Washington, DC passed 209-208, and "Fast track," aka "trade promotion authority," passed by one vote as well. Some see these close votes as indicative of DeLay's strategy to enable the minimum number of Republicans to vote in favor of these bills. Both political supporters and opponents have remarked on DeLay's ability to sway the votes of his party. DeLay is also noted for involving lobbyists in the process of passing House bills. Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, authors of Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America and Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush also authored a critical biography of DeLay which quotes a lobbyist as saying, "I've had members pull me aside and ask me to talk to another member of Congress about a bill or amendment, but I've never been asked to work on a bill - at least like they are asking us to whip bills now." (The Hammer, 93) Like many successful incumbents, DeLay's ability to raise money gives him additional influence. Two-thirds of the way through the 2004 election cycle, DeLay raised $2.28 million compared to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's $1.68 million. Partly as a result of Tom DeLay's management abilities, the House Republican caucus under him has displayed unprecedented, sustained party cohesion. In 2001 DeLay defied the president when he refused to extend Bush's tax cuts to people making between $10,500 and $26,625 a year; when reporters asked DeLay about what he would do about the low-income tax cuts DeLay simply stated it "ain't going to happen." When Ari Fleischer reiterated the president's desire for a low-income tax cut, DeLay retorted "the last time I checked they [the executive branch] don't have a vote." [3] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/11/politics/11BUSH.html?ex=1114142400&en=83615c7410ce8b25&ei=5070&pagewanted=all&position=) DeLay even defied Bush on the badly wanted energy bill. DeLay refused to support a version of the energy bill that did not retroactively protect the makers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits. (Ibid) On economic policy, DeLay is rated a 95 out of 100 by the anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform, and 95 to 100 by the United States Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby. On environmental policy, he earned ratings of 0 from the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters. He has been a fervent critic of the EPA, which he has called the "Gestapo of government"[4] (http://www.cnn.com/EARTH/9512/congress_enviro/). DeLay has also sided with business owners over labor unions and is against gun control. DeLay blames Senate Democrats and what he dubbed "BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) environmentalists" for blocking legislative solutions to problems such as the 2003 North America blackout. [5] (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030818-122326-3716r.htm) His Christian conservative viewpoint led him to vote 100% in line with the views of the National Right-to-Life Committee and 0% with the National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League. In foreign policy, DeLay has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel, saying, "The Republican leadership, especially that leadership in the House, has made pro-Israel policy a fundamental component of our foreign policy agenda and it drives the Democrat leadership crazy--because they just can't figure out why we do it!" [6] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5822374/) On a 2003 trip to Israel, DeLay toured the nation and addressed members of the Knesset. His opposition to land concessions is so strong that the right-wing National Union Party deputy Aryeh Eldad remarked, "as I shook his hand, I told Tom DeLay that until I heard him speak, I thought I was farthest to the right in the Knesset." [7] (http://archives.lists.indymedia.org/imc-houston/2003-July/007223.html) Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said "The Likud is nothing compared to this guy." (The Hammer, 236)
[edit]
Controversies and accusations
[edit]
DeLay and Terri Schiavo
DeLay also made headlines for his role in the Terri Schiavo controversy. On Palm Sunday weekend in March 2005, several days after the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube was disconnected for the third time, DeLay and other House Republicans met in emergency session to pass a bill allowing Schiavo's parents to petition the removal of the feeding tube to a federal judge. DeLay called the removal of the feeding tube "an act of barbarism." He also said, in reference to the Supreme Court judges who had refused to hear the case when Schiavo's parents appealed the tube removal, that "there will come a time for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior." DeLay publicly apologized for the remark after being accused of threatening the Supreme Court. DeLay also faced charges of hypocrisy from his critics when the Los Angeles Times revealed that he had consented to ending the life support for his own father, who was in a comatose state because of a debilitating accident in 1988. [8] (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/27/MNGTRBVFV01.DTL)
So this is just a few of the top 5 major pain or thorns on my side in the right that I can do with out. I hope that I can think of others but for now I have to get ready.
Conservatives Beware I have a list of the major jerks and morons an idiots that I really can't stand. They drive me completely nuts and even on my meds they make me want to slip back into psychosis and scream on top of my lungs. These are the top 5 major conservative windbags and assholes or dumbasses that I can live without.
Top 5 Assholes of my list of Major Public jerks that people can get rid of by ignoring them.
ASSHOLE NUMBER 5.Fred Phelps (born November 13, 1929) is the controversial leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, an alleged cult, in Topeka, Kansas, United States, which is notorious for its web sites godhatesfags.com and godhatesamerica.com. Gay rights activists, as well both mainstream and fundamentalist Christians, have denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech. The church is located in the basement of his home, which is the center of a block-wide fenced compound, the other houses in which are occupied by nine of his thirteen children.
In 1994, a reporter working for Stauffer Communications, Inc., filed a lawsuit about ownership of a book he had been researching for them, which details the life and activities of Phelps. Because the text of the book was entered as Exhibit A, the text entered into public domain. A link to one source of the text of this book is included below.
The distributed text describes Phelps as a ferocious child-abuser and wife-beater and proposes that he was instrumental in the death of his eldest son's first wife. Most of these claims are endorsed by two of Phelps' sons and one of his daughters, but are denied by their other siblings, who are not estranged from Phelps.
More recently, Phelps was the subject of nationwide controversy when his family proposed, in a referendum, the removal of workplace protection for homosexuals in Topeka. The measure was defeated, 53 percent to 47 percent. Also in 2005, Phelps's granddaughter, Jael, was an unsuccessful candidate for Topeka's City Council
Number 4. William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10, 1949) is the host of a popular American cable television opinion program, The O'Reilly Factor on the FOX News Channel. O'Reilly also hosts a radio program syndicated by Westwood One called The Radio Factor and has authored five best-selling books, one of which is a novel. Recently, he has voiced concern about what he sees as the harmful influence of gangsta rap on children, the high level of mismanagement of charity funds for September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks victims and the liberal bias of The New York Times along with many other mainstream media outlets.
Traditionally conservative views
Supports harsher prosecution for hard drug dealers
Supports strict enforcement of immigration law by placing the National Guard on the U.S.-Mexico border
Feels that the mainstream media (such as network news, The New York Times and The Washington Post) has an extreme secular and liberal bias and is intent on undermining the authority of the Bush administration as well as the U.S. military.
Supports 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, while skeptical of the Bush Administration's handling of the occupation and lack of WMD evidence
Opposes the ACLU and frequently criticizes the organization in broadcasts
Supports subjecting violent criminals "to life in prison without parole in a federal work camp [...] in effect a gulag [...] to labor eight hours a day, six days a week in the harsh climate," because he believes that the death penalty is not harsh enough punishment [11] (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23246)
Supports prohibition of late-term abortion
Believes that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by a far-left, secular-progressive agenda.
Opposes court decisions holding that people have the right to enter into same-sex marriages, and has called the issue "crazy gay marriage insanity" [12] (http://mediamatters.org/items/200504150005)
Believes gays and lesbians should stay closeted about their sexual orientation, especially those in position to influence children, though he says that he does not feel there is anything wrong with them as individuals.
Opposes publicly funded medicine beyond what he considers a necessary "safety net"
Opposes federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, though believes research done in the private sector could be "promising"
Supports what he calls "coerced interrogation," at Guantanamo Bay, which he agrees some people would characterize "torture," as he believes it saves the lives of others [13] (http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/18.html#a3501)
Opposes public secularization.
Feels that Intelligent Design, a controversial offshoot of religious creationism, deserves at least a minor place in public education.
Has called on prosecutors to seek the death penalty for a suspected killer [14
Number 3. Tucker Carlson: The Bowtie Nazi Douche bag on CNN Crossfire. Carlson has stated that while he votes, and cares deeply about conservative ideas, he does not care about the success or failure of any political party. This partisan ambivalence has been a cause of friction between him and Republican political figures and movement conservatives. In 1999, during the 2000 Republican Presidential primary race, Carlson interviewed then-Governor George W. Bush for Talk Magazine. Carlson reported that Bush mocked soon-to-be-executed Texas death-row inmate Karla Faye Tucker and "cursed like a sailor." Bush's communications director Karen Hughes publicly disputed this claim.
While vocalizing conservative views, Carlson has not hesitated periodically to level criticism at fellow conservatives. Carlson has been a harsh critic of conservative activist Grover Norquist, for instance, calling Norquist a "mean-spirited, humorless, dishonest little creep ... an embarrassing anomaly, the leering, drunken uncle everyone else wishes would stay home...[he] is repulsive, granted, but there aren't nearly enough of him to start a purge trial."[1] (http://slate.msn.com/id/3654/entry/23930)
Carlson also has said that he is not "particularly anti-[illegal]drug," and that, while he reluctantly supported the Iraq War at the outset, he reversed his position after traveling to Baghdad to report for Esquire. Upon his return, he expressed his disgust with the war and his shame with himself for supporting it earlier. "I think it's a total nightmare and disaster, and I'm ashamed that I went against my own instincts in supporting it," he said. "I want things to work out, but I'm enraged by it, actually."
[edit]
Criticism
Tucker receives similar criticism from conservatives that Alan Colmes receives from liberals. Tucker is also viewed as milquetoast, a weak ineffective counter to his show's liberal counterparts. He's also critized as boring, having no inside information or intellectual rigor.
Critics point to his lack of response to Jon Stewart's attack (see below) as evidence of his inability to effectively argue. Additional criticism was bestowed on him when he incorrectly predicted in the Washington Post, a Kerry victory in the 2004 President Election.
[edit]
Notable Crossfire moments
In July 2003, after Senator Hillary Clinton's book Living History was published, Carlson doubted the potential popularity of the book and declared during a broadcast that if it sold more than one million copies he "Will in fact eat my shoes because I'm a man of my word." When her book eventually passed the millionth copy sales mark, Clinton made a surprise appearance on the show in which she brought Carlson a chocolate cake designed like a shoe.
In October, 2004, Carlson and liberal co-host Paul Begala were engaged in an unusually confrontational episode of Crossfire with comedian and television talk show host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, which was widely circulated through the Internet and commented on throughout the media. Although Stewart was ostensibly scheduled to promote his best-selling comedy book, America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, Stewart spent the entire episode seriously criticizing the premise of shows such as Crossfire, arguing that they are "hurting America." In a memorable verbal exchange of that episode, after instructing Stewart to "be funny," Carlson remarked:
"I do think you're more fun on your show."
to which Stewart responded:
"You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."
For his part, Carlson said after the broadcast and during the ensuing media frenzy that while he agreed with some of Stewart's comments, Stewart is "the most sanctimonious comedian I've ever met," and that Stewart "needs to recognize where Crossfire is on the media food chain."
Carlson's last day on Crossfire was January 6, 2005. CNN CEO Jonathan Klein commented to the Associated Press, "I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp." It has been speculated that the Stewart episode was important in his decision to cancel the show and to not renew Carlson's contract, but Klein has said that decision was actually made six months earlier, in April. It also has been speculated that Carlson failed to meet CNN's ratings expectations when he guest-hosted NewsNight with Aaron Brown for a week towards the end of his contract.
Number 2. Ann Hart Coulter (born in New Canaan, Connecticut, December 8, 1961) is a controversial bestselling conservative American author and constitutional attorney.
She is a commentator with a reputation for strong criticism of social and political liberalism. Her comments and writing tend to be provocative and attract much controversy.
Coulter is the author of four political commentary books, all of which have been on the New York Times bestseller list:
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton (1998)
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right (2002)
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism (2003)
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) (2004)
Coulter is also a legal correspondent for the magazine Human Events. She writes a syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate which is carried by or linked to by many influential conservative websites, including Frontpagemag.com.
Coulter was the subject of a TIME magazine cover story in April 2005, and has made frequent guest appearances on national television and syndicated radio programs. She has appeared on a large number of topical talk shows, including Hannity and Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, American Morning with Paula Zahn, Crossfire, The Today Show, Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She is also a public speaker
Number 1 Jerry Fallwell & Tom DeLay its hard to chose they are both two good to be number one so its a tie. Jerry Falwell,The Anti-Defamation League and its leader Abraham Foxman have expressed strong support for Jerry Falwell and his staunch pro-Israel stand, referred to sometimes as "Christian Zionism." Falwell has repeatedly denounced public schools and secular education in general, calling them breeding grounds for atheism, secularism, and humanism, which he claims are in contradiction with Christian morality. He advocates that the United States abolish its public education system, replacing it with a school voucher system that allows parents to send their children to either public or private schools. Jerry Falwell wrote in America Can Be Saved that "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them." [5] (http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm)
Falwell supported President Bush's Faith Based Initiative, but had strong reservations concerning where the funding would go and the restrictions placed on churches. "My problem is where it might go under his successors... I would not want to put any of the Jerry Falwell Ministries in a position where we might be subservient to a future Bill Clinton, God forbid... It also concerns me that once the pork barrel is filled, suddenly the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah Witnesses, the various and many denominations and religious groups--and I don’t say those words in a pejorative way--begin applying for money--and I don’t see how any can be turned down because of their radical and unpopular views. I don’t know where that would take us." [6] (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html)In February of 1999, an article in Falwell's National Liberty Journal suggested that a Teletubbies character, Tinky Winky, could be a hidden homosexual symbol, because the character was purple (which he claimed was a color symbolic of homosexuality), had a triangle on his head and carried a handbag.
Tom Delay
After serving as Whip for eight years, DeLay was elected Majority Leader upon the retirement of Dick Armey in 2002. His tenure as Majority Leader has been marked by strong Republican party discipline in close votes, and the use of parliamentary political techniques to preserve his party's control of the House. DeLay has also been known to "primary" Republicans who resist his votes (threatening to endorse and support a Republican primary challenge to the disobedient Representative), and, like many of his predecessors in Congress, uses promises of future committee chairmanships to bargain for support among the rank and file members of the party.
Employing a method known as "catch and release," DeLay has allowed centrist or moderate conservative Republicans to take turns voting against controversial bills. If a Congressman says a bill is unpopular in his district, DeLay will only make him vote for it if his vote is necessary for passage; if his vote is not needed, he or she will be allowed to vote against the party without reprisal. In the 108th Congress, a preliminary Medicare vote passed 216-215, a vote on Head Start passed 217-216, a vote on school vouchers for Washington, DC passed 209-208, and "Fast track," aka "trade promotion authority," passed by one vote as well. Some see these close votes as indicative of DeLay's strategy to enable the minimum number of Republicans to vote in favor of these bills. Both political supporters and opponents have remarked on DeLay's ability to sway the votes of his party. DeLay is also noted for involving lobbyists in the process of passing House bills. Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, authors of Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America and Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush also authored a critical biography of DeLay which quotes a lobbyist as saying, "I've had members pull me aside and ask me to talk to another member of Congress about a bill or amendment, but I've never been asked to work on a bill - at least like they are asking us to whip bills now." (The Hammer, 93) Like many successful incumbents, DeLay's ability to raise money gives him additional influence. Two-thirds of the way through the 2004 election cycle, DeLay raised $2.28 million compared to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's $1.68 million. Partly as a result of Tom DeLay's management abilities, the House Republican caucus under him has displayed unprecedented, sustained party cohesion. In 2001 DeLay defied the president when he refused to extend Bush's tax cuts to people making between $10,500 and $26,625 a year; when reporters asked DeLay about what he would do about the low-income tax cuts DeLay simply stated it "ain't going to happen." When Ari Fleischer reiterated the president's desire for a low-income tax cut, DeLay retorted "the last time I checked they [the executive branch] don't have a vote." [3] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/11/politics/11BUSH.html?ex=1114142400&en=83615c7410ce8b25&ei=5070&pagewanted=all&position=) DeLay even defied Bush on the badly wanted energy bill. DeLay refused to support a version of the energy bill that did not retroactively protect the makers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits. (Ibid) On economic policy, DeLay is rated a 95 out of 100 by the anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform, and 95 to 100 by the United States Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby. On environmental policy, he earned ratings of 0 from the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters. He has been a fervent critic of the EPA, which he has called the "Gestapo of government"[4] (http://www.cnn.com/EARTH/9512/congress_enviro/). DeLay has also sided with business owners over labor unions and is against gun control. DeLay blames Senate Democrats and what he dubbed "BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) environmentalists" for blocking legislative solutions to problems such as the 2003 North America blackout. [5] (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030818-122326-3716r.htm) His Christian conservative viewpoint led him to vote 100% in line with the views of the National Right-to-Life Committee and 0% with the National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League. In foreign policy, DeLay has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel, saying, "The Republican leadership, especially that leadership in the House, has made pro-Israel policy a fundamental component of our foreign policy agenda and it drives the Democrat leadership crazy--because they just can't figure out why we do it!" [6] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5822374/) On a 2003 trip to Israel, DeLay toured the nation and addressed members of the Knesset. His opposition to land concessions is so strong that the right-wing National Union Party deputy Aryeh Eldad remarked, "as I shook his hand, I told Tom DeLay that until I heard him speak, I thought I was farthest to the right in the Knesset." [7] (http://archives.lists.indymedia.org/imc-houston/2003-July/007223.html) Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said "The Likud is nothing compared to this guy." (The Hammer, 236)
[edit]
Controversies and accusations
[edit]
DeLay and Terri Schiavo
DeLay also made headlines for his role in the Terri Schiavo controversy. On Palm Sunday weekend in March 2005, several days after the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube was disconnected for the third time, DeLay and other House Republicans met in emergency session to pass a bill allowing Schiavo's parents to petition the removal of the feeding tube to a federal judge. DeLay called the removal of the feeding tube "an act of barbarism." He also said, in reference to the Supreme Court judges who had refused to hear the case when Schiavo's parents appealed the tube removal, that "there will come a time for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior." DeLay publicly apologized for the remark after being accused of threatening the Supreme Court. DeLay also faced charges of hypocrisy from his critics when the Los Angeles Times revealed that he had consented to ending the life support for his own father, who was in a comatose state because of a debilitating accident in 1988. [8] (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/27/MNGTRBVFV01.DTL)
So this is just a few of the top 5 major pain or thorns on my side in the right that I can do with out. I hope that I can think of others but for now I have to get ready.
My alergies are kicking my butt & and a rant of Helios 411 Westhiemer
I hate alergies. I think they are the worse plague man has endured through the ages. I mean why did God create them. Right now my entire nose feels like its running quicker and faster than the Colorado River. I know a lot of people are alergic to a lot of stuff, dust, sun, pollen,weeds and mold. I am just alergic to everything when the summer time comes around. I remember when I was at St. Pauls I rarely had alergy fits. But now that I am back in Houston it happens more often. I think my alergies are driving me nuts. They keep on advertising medicines that are suppose to help but I don't think most of them work. Cause well, I still have my alergies and they tend to fight back with a vengence.
I am going to figure it out, eventually I will find a cure to attack all those pesky alergic bugs.
OK ENOUGH ABOUT ALERGIES.
LAST NIGHT WAS TRUELY A TERRIBLE NIGHT! YES I know i was typing in all caps. Last night I went back even though part of me wanted to go, I had to put up with terrible poetry and terrible bartendingship. I went with Andrew to Helios. The bar was a total disappointment, and let alone a total let down. First the bartender didn't use any of her glassware to serve drinks and served alcohol in plastic cups. Sure if you are pouring cheap beer like Shiner you can do that, but if you are ordering a Tquillia Sunrise, use a freaking glass. Or when you are pouring a Harp or Bass you should use a glass. A good Harp is better served with a glass not plastic. Plus the bartender didn't know how to make simple drinks and I seemed to be running the bar as if it was my own. I could of done it myself.
What totally frustrated me, is the prices are so outrageous at that hell hole, I felt like either you would walk in being ripped off or welcomed and I felt neither. I waited in line to read and out of the clear blue Mr David Lejueune is reading before me so he could go to bed. Well so of course I politely waited again but here is what I found upsetting,he was still there when it was my turn to read. I mean I was the second to last one to read and it was 10:30 and he said he was going to bed. Go figure. Well I am sorry, David is a good friend but cutting in line so you can go to bed and then staying for the set is just rude. I figured I could come up with the same line. I have to take my medicine so I want to be up next. That means I can take my medicine whenever and then wait and fart around.
Oh well I am sorry poets at the place aren't the same any more. They have lost all aspects of why the place seems cool anymore. Its like the place has been and even when I was in psychosis thinking the place was cool but its a dump its a real shit hole. I remember when they had cool bartenders and even cooler host. But now the hosts are lame and the bartenders don't know there own drinks. Its just sad. For crying out loud Mariana, (owner) you have let the place gone down hill. I am thinking if I was a regular again, I would demand changes and I would see that there were changes in bringing the place as cool as it once was. Maybe I have been medicated to think that the place is different but it hurts me so much to see a place gone to waste. I know now why I haven't gone back, I know it wasn't just because of the heavy pot or the wasted teenagers, but it was because the place was wasted place or time. No one cool ever goes there any more. Helios or Mauselium has truely been an angry place for me. Bring back cool bartenders, great shows great poets even outrageous things but now the place is a place for the leftist elitist. I know that sounds like a contractidiction but damn this place has truely been a place where people can't even think or express there own moral thoughts any more without worrying about bein censored. Angry of the place! Yes I have loved a place that is no longer in my heart. My heart has been torn because people don't know how to run the place any more. What brings me back,is slowly making me want to stay home and watch t.v. or go to another dive. This place is not a home as it used to be. Its a sad sad place. Delusioned by the thoughts that poets once stood to bring there rights of expressionism.The thoughts that teenagers eager for there first beer, are now dashed into self loathing. Now we are left with pompus elitism who think poetry is just for cool people. Whatever happend to our poets, what ever happend to our bartenders, what ever happend to our host. What ever happend to our barbacks who were sarcastic with one another. The whole place has changed. From good to worse.
I am going to figure it out, eventually I will find a cure to attack all those pesky alergic bugs.
OK ENOUGH ABOUT ALERGIES.
LAST NIGHT WAS TRUELY A TERRIBLE NIGHT! YES I know i was typing in all caps. Last night I went back even though part of me wanted to go, I had to put up with terrible poetry and terrible bartendingship. I went with Andrew to Helios. The bar was a total disappointment, and let alone a total let down. First the bartender didn't use any of her glassware to serve drinks and served alcohol in plastic cups. Sure if you are pouring cheap beer like Shiner you can do that, but if you are ordering a Tquillia Sunrise, use a freaking glass. Or when you are pouring a Harp or Bass you should use a glass. A good Harp is better served with a glass not plastic. Plus the bartender didn't know how to make simple drinks and I seemed to be running the bar as if it was my own. I could of done it myself.
What totally frustrated me, is the prices are so outrageous at that hell hole, I felt like either you would walk in being ripped off or welcomed and I felt neither. I waited in line to read and out of the clear blue Mr David Lejueune is reading before me so he could go to bed. Well so of course I politely waited again but here is what I found upsetting,he was still there when it was my turn to read. I mean I was the second to last one to read and it was 10:30 and he said he was going to bed. Go figure. Well I am sorry, David is a good friend but cutting in line so you can go to bed and then staying for the set is just rude. I figured I could come up with the same line. I have to take my medicine so I want to be up next. That means I can take my medicine whenever and then wait and fart around.
Oh well I am sorry poets at the place aren't the same any more. They have lost all aspects of why the place seems cool anymore. Its like the place has been and even when I was in psychosis thinking the place was cool but its a dump its a real shit hole. I remember when they had cool bartenders and even cooler host. But now the hosts are lame and the bartenders don't know there own drinks. Its just sad. For crying out loud Mariana, (owner) you have let the place gone down hill. I am thinking if I was a regular again, I would demand changes and I would see that there were changes in bringing the place as cool as it once was. Maybe I have been medicated to think that the place is different but it hurts me so much to see a place gone to waste. I know now why I haven't gone back, I know it wasn't just because of the heavy pot or the wasted teenagers, but it was because the place was wasted place or time. No one cool ever goes there any more. Helios or Mauselium has truely been an angry place for me. Bring back cool bartenders, great shows great poets even outrageous things but now the place is a place for the leftist elitist. I know that sounds like a contractidiction but damn this place has truely been a place where people can't even think or express there own moral thoughts any more without worrying about bein censored. Angry of the place! Yes I have loved a place that is no longer in my heart. My heart has been torn because people don't know how to run the place any more. What brings me back,is slowly making me want to stay home and watch t.v. or go to another dive. This place is not a home as it used to be. Its a sad sad place. Delusioned by the thoughts that poets once stood to bring there rights of expressionism.The thoughts that teenagers eager for there first beer, are now dashed into self loathing. Now we are left with pompus elitism who think poetry is just for cool people. Whatever happend to our poets, what ever happend to our bartenders, what ever happend to our host. What ever happend to our barbacks who were sarcastic with one another. The whole place has changed. From good to worse.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Where is Gloria Steinim when you need her
OK, So this seems very sexist ok extremely sexist but I found this at the golf course near Beau Rivage Estates Country Club in Beau Rivage Miss
Check out Sara Photo
This picture was submitted by the nice lady from D.C. miss Sara Mattingly. Thanks Sara even we thought it was too funny to pass up
Some how we take great pride in our country even if we get confused with the buildings. Sure there both white and politician work there. But damn its not even the friggen White House.
The Practicality of this sign is endless
Some how I see this sign is practical. I don't know why though but I just find it really practical.
Why You Should Never Go To The Woods Alone
You know the woods were scary because of the Big Bad Wolf but now, that you are warned there is a rapist in the woods well you should just get out the woods in the first place.
Born to be Wild
When these guys are on the street in the Richmond Strip, you better run better yet you better laugh
So many freaking emotions are piled high
Wow! I got the conclusion done with my book. I have been working so hard on keeping my book so well preserved and well kept in writing that I have totally lost track of how long I have been working on. So its done. I feel happy I feel a bit disappointed I just don't know how to feel. I mean what a relief to get the final chapter of my book out of my chest. I am so releaved its like a weight off my shoulder.
I am in a pretty good mood right now keeping myself in high spirits and not going to do anything to jinx it. I know I am going to possibly be feeling the terriblness later but for now I am excited. Its such a rush for finishing a hard working task as my book. I finshed my first book before I turned 25 woohoo. I am so excited. I am thinking I am going to do some more changes later on but for now I am leaving as is.
My muscles still feel funny, but now I feel rejoyful. What I think is funny is when I was a senior, the same week we had to write our graduation speech, we had to write a list of things of things we wanted to do before we turned 25. One of the things on my list was finish a novel and well I did that.
Top 15 things I want to do before turning 25 that I would like to do. some I have accomplished.
15) Join a Student Activist group
14) Visit Death Row to talk with immates
13) Be on the radio
12) Be in a student organized protest.
11) Write a novel
10) have a steady girlfriend
9) Read War & Peace
8) Get some of my work published
7) Have a beer at a hole in the wall bar
6) Sing Karoake
5) See the Red Sox win the World Series.
4) Go to Europe again
3) Backpack through Canada
2) Write a play
1) Win an Award
These are just a few things I wanted to do and what I have done before turning 25.
So far the novel is a greatest accomplish I have been pretty happy.
\
So whats next for my agenda of doing things before I turn 25. I think I am going to scale a mountain or go on a farm. Either way it will be just another cake walk. I am pretty happy for today. I have a few things that I have done since I accomplished my book and now I am set to begin something new. I think starting next week I will work on a new book. Yea get my brain energize.
You know today was one of those days where I felt like I could do the Happy Dance and no one would stop me. Hehe I like the happy dance it always puts me in a better mood. By god am I so bored. Hehe. I called to see if Bjorn wanted to go out but once again I got his stupid voice mail. I hate those things. I mean they are such a pain in the ass and I hate the way my voice sounds on them. But I am going to see if Amy wants to celebrate with me. I am just so excited I finished my book. I am tired but happy. Happy Dance time. Hehe
I am right now listening to a midi version of Fat Boy Slim's Praise You. Its pretty good. Its helping me with my happy dance.
My feet are asleep and I am going to start my happy dance.
I am in a pretty good mood right now keeping myself in high spirits and not going to do anything to jinx it. I know I am going to possibly be feeling the terriblness later but for now I am excited. Its such a rush for finishing a hard working task as my book. I finshed my first book before I turned 25 woohoo. I am so excited. I am thinking I am going to do some more changes later on but for now I am leaving as is.
My muscles still feel funny, but now I feel rejoyful. What I think is funny is when I was a senior, the same week we had to write our graduation speech, we had to write a list of things of things we wanted to do before we turned 25. One of the things on my list was finish a novel and well I did that.
Top 15 things I want to do before turning 25 that I would like to do. some I have accomplished.
15) Join a Student Activist group
14) Visit Death Row to talk with immates
13) Be on the radio
12) Be in a student organized protest.
11) Write a novel
10) have a steady girlfriend
9) Read War & Peace
8) Get some of my work published
7) Have a beer at a hole in the wall bar
6) Sing Karoake
5) See the Red Sox win the World Series.
4) Go to Europe again
3) Backpack through Canada
2) Write a play
1) Win an Award
These are just a few things I wanted to do and what I have done before turning 25.
So far the novel is a greatest accomplish I have been pretty happy.
\
So whats next for my agenda of doing things before I turn 25. I think I am going to scale a mountain or go on a farm. Either way it will be just another cake walk. I am pretty happy for today. I have a few things that I have done since I accomplished my book and now I am set to begin something new. I think starting next week I will work on a new book. Yea get my brain energize.
You know today was one of those days where I felt like I could do the Happy Dance and no one would stop me. Hehe I like the happy dance it always puts me in a better mood. By god am I so bored. Hehe. I called to see if Bjorn wanted to go out but once again I got his stupid voice mail. I hate those things. I mean they are such a pain in the ass and I hate the way my voice sounds on them. But I am going to see if Amy wants to celebrate with me. I am just so excited I finished my book. I am tired but happy. Happy Dance time. Hehe
I am right now listening to a midi version of Fat Boy Slim's Praise You. Its pretty good. Its helping me with my happy dance.
My feet are asleep and I am going to start my happy dance.
Damn General Electric Contract
Sure, General Electric paid more money but they chose Obi Wan instead.
America's Least Wanted
Tonight on a Special episode of Cops Steve Urkels gets arrested for murdering Carl Winslow.
I knew Elmo went to far with that Tickle Me Elmo
Why I have loved the Muppets and Seasme Street for so long but never thought of Grover and Elmo as being gay.
As Featured on Guns and Ammo.com
I saw this in a gun magazine and I knew I wanted to be the first on my block with one. First the post office then well you get the picture. No more postage due.
College Libraries are always cool even there study areas are different.
Seriously folks, when your designing a library study cubicle think before setting the design. I mean come on ZEIG HEIL . i took this at the college library at Unnamed University in Houston that is near the medical center and was founded by a guy named William Marsh something. I thought it was too funny that I had to post it.
I saw the sign in Covington and was like what the Hell
True the sign never lies, but damn aren't we a tad cruel.just a little aren't we
True I can't drive but appartently neither do the drivers for Clements Truck Rentals
What a total dumbass
I had a revelation last night while sleeping
I want to start a band. Yea a blues band. I had a great time singing old school blues at a country western. It will be a band that feature great blues and soul music. The blues are great part of Americana. I liked soulful Blues. I want to create the Blues Brothers experience but at here in Houston. Only if I had a few people can play or at least jam the blues that I want to play. I am thinking if I have a band we will dress like the Blues Brothers on Vacation. Straw fedoras and sunglasses with hawaiian shirts and either sandals or boat shoes. I am thinking we would be better than the Blues Brothers but not be an imitation. Yea! I am thinking of what we would call it the Beachwood Classic Showband. BCS for short. That would be cool, classic blues and some great soul music like Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and Sam & Dean. Yea that sounds like a great dream.
Well, today I am planning on finishing my book today. I have been putting it off for the last time. I did listen to some new cds today, I didn't purchase them, I borrowed them and well. I listened to the new Billy Corgan cd.Well I like Smashing Pumpkins and I like Billy but somehow this was a near miss in my list of what I would by myself. He still bitches and whines like he typically did when he was front man for Pumpkins. Its has a great few songs but the rest of the album is a total waste. I figured, I was waiting Melissa Auf De Maur to show up in the album. Oh well the cd was a good listen to but I would pay at least 7 bucks for it rather than what the store was selling it for 16.00 but thats just me.
I have a few things that I have done today to finish, like my book and answer a few complex equations but I can wait till I am finished with them. I am tired and my muscles ache I just feel real sluggish. I hate feeling so achy in the morning especially when I have been so tired the last few nights.
Well alright, nothing exciting has happend I am going to start writing the last page. I'll write more later.
Well, today I am planning on finishing my book today. I have been putting it off for the last time. I did listen to some new cds today, I didn't purchase them, I borrowed them and well. I listened to the new Billy Corgan cd.Well I like Smashing Pumpkins and I like Billy but somehow this was a near miss in my list of what I would by myself. He still bitches and whines like he typically did when he was front man for Pumpkins. Its has a great few songs but the rest of the album is a total waste. I figured, I was waiting Melissa Auf De Maur to show up in the album. Oh well the cd was a good listen to but I would pay at least 7 bucks for it rather than what the store was selling it for 16.00 but thats just me.
I have a few things that I have done today to finish, like my book and answer a few complex equations but I can wait till I am finished with them. I am tired and my muscles ache I just feel real sluggish. I hate feeling so achy in the morning especially when I have been so tired the last few nights.
Well alright, nothing exciting has happend I am going to start writing the last page. I'll write more later.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Tell Me Mister Know It All
Among the rather large number of things I don’t understand, one looms larger than the others today. Allow me to address it first with a simple question:
Are there quantifiable traits that go into making an excellent bar owner?
Seriously. Are there? And if there are, what might they be? In all likelihood the traits are numerous, and probably differ greatly depending upon who is answering the question. There is one, though, that, in my somewhat expert opinion, should never be exhibited by any bar owner.
He or she must not be a know-it-all.
Entering into a new business arrangement believing that you are smarter than everyone else spells doom. Know-it-alls don’t listen, they don’t watch, they don’t study, or ponder, or mull. Why? Because they already know it all.
It’s a prime example of bad thinking. It’s the sort of thinking that lead Roseanne Barr to believe she could render a splendid version of the National Anthem. It’s the sort of thinking that infected George Lucas just before he decided that Jar-Jar Binks would lend Episode I that special touch of whimsy. It is, in fact, the sort of thinking that lead to, among other things, New Coke, the Chrysler K-Car, Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, social Darwinism, and Mr. and Mrs. Hilton’s decision to leave the rubbers in the drawer the night they conceived Paris.
Bar owning is serious business. Many owners fail to grasp this most rigid of facts, and it’s especially problematic when talking about buying an already-thriving establishment.
Which brings me, at long last, to my main point.
I have watched the purchase and subsequent downfall of several terrific bars over the last few years. These places were fully-fledged members of their neighborhoods, each with a scads of regulars, and robust weekend and “theme” night crowds. They were, in short, thriving concerns. Then, for a variety of reasons, their owners decided to sell, and each buyer seemed dumber than the next—guys who couldn’t pour water out of a boot with instructions printed on the heel.
One in particular stands out, though I’ll avoid using either its old or new name. The place was pretty much all you could want in a neighborhood tavern. The cocktail waitresses remembered your name and your usual drink, and the bartenders were total pros—long-time service people who knew when to float a free round to regulars, knew their names, and the names of their kids. For food, it offered an array of standard bar fare—nachos and the like—in addition to a compliment of yummy Greek dishes. The coolest thing, however, was that the cook was an actual chef, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and so each day there was a special menu of stuff you almost never see in a local pub—cold blueberry bisque, spicy New Orleans gumbo, escargot in garlic butter, etc. The atmosphere of the place changed according to the time of day. Around lunchtime it attracted business people, then a late-afternoon gaggle of elderly stool-flies. A family contingent moved in for dinner, only to be replaced in the later part of the evening by a college crowd, for whom it was walking distance from campus housing. Every Wednesday was Ladies Night. Atypically, more women showed than men. Tuesdays and Saturdays, they had karaoke, and you felt embarrassed for fewer people than is usually the case. They showed sports on TV, but you couldn’t really call it a sports bar. Two pool tables lurked in the back room, host to a league night on Thursdays. You could smoke anywhere you wanted, strike up a conversation with all sorts of different people, get full, get loaded, and have a righteous ol’ time generally.
Then the owners, tired some said of their hectic lives, found a buyer and got out of the business. It happened over night.
A waitress said to me, “See that guy over there in the Aloha shirt? He’s the new owner.” As a regular, I was curious, and so went over and introduced myself. In return I got a limp handshake, and a snotty attitude. The guy didn’t give a shit, he was meeting one of his regular customers. Many of the other habitués complained of the same treatment.
And it got worse in a hurry.
First, he changed the menu. Said it cost too much to keep it supplied. Then he changed the beer selection, which had previously featured beverages from all over the world, to a bland assortment of watery American drool—he had made promotional deals with the distributors, you see. Right on the heels of that, he decreed that no waitress or bartender was to hand out free drinks. If they wanted to buy a customer a shot from their tips, that was fine, but freebies were right out. As a follow-up, he ruled that boyfriends and girlfriends of the staff were persona non grata when the staff was on duty. Over the next few weeks he cancelled the karaoke nights because he didn’t like them, he fired the chef for refusing to reuse yesterday’s fry oil, and he canned all but one of the waitresses and bartenders—all the good ones, of course. The one he kept was rude and lazy, but adhered to the new rules with malevolent gusto. He redecorated, removing the pictures of happy customers and other homey touches, replacing them with sports team and distillery neon. It had been his life-long wish, it was said, to own a real sports bar. He topped off the remodel with the installation of several plasma screen TVs, which he paid for by raising drink prices by a dollar each.
The long-time customers, some of whom had been drinking there for twenty years, were peeved and bolted in droves. The family diners found other destinations because the food now sucked. The college kids stopped coming because the place had lost its eclectic charm. Soon, all the owner had left were the stool-flies, guys who can nurse a single glass of beer for three hours, and always tip a quarter, never less never more.
He lost money by the bucketful.
I stopped by a few weeks ago, just because I was in the area and wanted a quick shot and a beer before work. I was the only customer in the place. The bartender, a surly kid with too many facial piercings, told me it’s always like this. I smiled, drank my booze, and left.
The new owner is a fool. Beyond that, he’s a know-it-all. He looked at a thriving business, thought he could make it better, and instead murdered it.
What a stooge.
Many of us drunkards want to be bar owners. When you decide to make the move, do it wisely.
I thought of a conclusion.
You know this reality is kind of true. I would be weird. I am still trying to solve the last chapter of my book. Like every work I have written I am scared to write a conclusion. A conclusion is always an end. An end is a means that I have to start a new beginning. Well what brought me to the subject of an end was my thoughts of the Great American writer, Walker Percy. When I went to the Wedding of Chip & Kerry I talked with Mrs.Percy and told her I am a writer and still working on the conclusion. She brought me a subject that her husband had a hard time finishing the ending of the Moviegoer. I know that doesn't sound right but I am just worried that I am able to finished and I won't be able to conclude it the right way or the way I wanted to start it off.
I guess writing will help me solve the solution.
I guess writing will help me solve the solution.
Damn You Tony Orlando and the your freaking Yellow Ribbon
This blog is comes from Miss Canada.
Tie a yellow ribbon 'round your SUV
It started with yellow ribbons. Yellow ribbons from the old folk song, dating all the way back to 1981, showing support for the US troops abroad. Yeah, we all thought it was an older tradition than that (see essays here and here) -- some suggest dating back to the civil war. It turns out that the practice of tying a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree really only exploded with the Scud missiles during the first Gulf Storm.If only it stopped with yellow ribbons. At one time it was a nice gesture -- a show of solidarity, support, faithfulness. Now Americans are ribbon-crazy. Next it was the AIDS awareness red ribbon. The pink breast cancer awareness ribbon. You want a list? There are millions! Black; Black and Blue; Black and Pink; Blue (Dark); Blue (Light); Blue and Yellow; Brown; Burgundy... Wait a minute, I'm not even out of the B's yet? Luckily there are kind souls willing to help us match our colour to a cause, and even sell us the ribbons to go with it -- See here.Now, I don't want to seem unpatriotic or uncharitable. I support all sorts of good things -- just not by wearing ribbons. Or by wearing pins that look like ribbons. Or even by (my favourite) slapping a magnetic ribbon onto my vehicle.Let's think about it: We put ribbons on our cars to tell the world that we support our troops. Our troops are in Iraq. They are fighting for oil. To fuel our gas-guzzling, irresponsible SUVs. Whereupon we paste ribbons to tell the world that we support our...
Tie a yellow ribbon 'round your SUV
It started with yellow ribbons. Yellow ribbons from the old folk song, dating all the way back to 1981, showing support for the US troops abroad. Yeah, we all thought it was an older tradition than that (see essays here and here) -- some suggest dating back to the civil war. It turns out that the practice of tying a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree really only exploded with the Scud missiles during the first Gulf Storm.If only it stopped with yellow ribbons. At one time it was a nice gesture -- a show of solidarity, support, faithfulness. Now Americans are ribbon-crazy. Next it was the AIDS awareness red ribbon. The pink breast cancer awareness ribbon. You want a list? There are millions! Black; Black and Blue; Black and Pink; Blue (Dark); Blue (Light); Blue and Yellow; Brown; Burgundy... Wait a minute, I'm not even out of the B's yet? Luckily there are kind souls willing to help us match our colour to a cause, and even sell us the ribbons to go with it -- See here.Now, I don't want to seem unpatriotic or uncharitable. I support all sorts of good things -- just not by wearing ribbons. Or by wearing pins that look like ribbons. Or even by (my favourite) slapping a magnetic ribbon onto my vehicle.Let's think about it: We put ribbons on our cars to tell the world that we support our troops. Our troops are in Iraq. They are fighting for oil. To fuel our gas-guzzling, irresponsible SUVs. Whereupon we paste ribbons to tell the world that we support our...
Jack & Me, and a perfect apartment for me
I tend to complain and today was a day I thought I wouldn't complain but I just feel hot and sticky. The weather itself is no fun. I am again stuck at home writing. Which of course can be a great thing. I spent most of my day at home pondering what could I do to cheer myself up. I have after all nearly finished reviewing an edited my novel. I am thinking of Jack Kerouac today. I mean, Me and Mister Kerouac have a lot of similarities and brings me to the point that I believe that I am his reinarcnate.
Here are a few similarities. Both of were raised with French Canadian Mothers and American fathers. Both were ackward as children that people found to be wierd. He tried many careers before settling into writing, like I have. He had a strange set of friends, like I do. He dropped out of Columbia, I dropped out of Ottawa. Both of us are left handed. He loved to explore new parts of America, I love visiting backwoods of areas. Both of us have trusty best friends that inspire us to write about them, he had Neal Cassidy I have Michael. Both of us have our mothers confidence to continue writing. Both of our fathers have a great sense of humor. Both are proud of there sons. Both of us, tried out for some sort of sport and failed to do something and quit, he played Football & I wrestled.
Jack was a drunk, I am a drunk. So you see there are a lot more possiblities that I can compare myself to Kerouac. But those are just a few I could think of on the spot. I was thinking of that when I went to Barnes and Nobles and found a cool post card of him and his cat. I figured it would be kind of cool to get a cat just like that. If I ever get a cat, I would get two, one named Ginsberg and the other Kerouac. Named after my two favorite beat poets.
I can imagine myself living in a small apartment with two cats in the city. Writing or at least having papers filling the rooms with poetry and articles that I deem somewhat subjectable or unsubjectable. Its just a dream I have. Of course, my dream is to get out of Houston and live in Montreal where its cooler or maybe even New York. Have a place where I can sit on my lap top and write. Ah that sounds like an ideal place to live a nice studio filled with manuscripts and papers of notes for my latest books. Bookshelves full of books of poetry and generation X stuff like Nick Hornsby and MTV Generation stuff. Records on the floor. I know it would look like a disaster but heck it would be my personal place. I would get a housekeeper to clean every 2 weeks. I would do the laundry in the basement or have my own washing machine. I was thinking a place like Patrice has,but in a str8 neighborhood. Close to everything to walk around at night. A place I can walk or ride my bike around the city. Ahh my dream apartment. I would have furnature from IKEA and stuff from home.
I can dream can't I. I know that this dream is far ahead of myself and I know I am not ready to move out on my own yet but I am slowly thinking about it. I am still trying to think what I am going to do next, like am I going to like living in Montreal or will I live in Montreal, or would I like to live in Montreal. I am saying I am going there for vacation its not like I am looking for work and staying there for a long ass time. Its a vacation.
I also want to go to Ottawa while I am there. To visit and sight see. Maybe have lunch at Minglewoods. Just explore the city. Or I may relax and take it easy. A lot too think about while waiting. I have to first figure out where to stay and when I can stay and for how long? Pretty much a lot to think about. I just want to get out of Houston soon the heat is driving me nuts.
My birthday is coming up and I am thinking I am going to be old.25 woohoo a mile stone. A quarter of a century. Yea, I am now officially going to be in my mid twenties. I am also one of those lables now. 20 somethings. YUCK. Well I can't wait to be 25. Yea, I have some fall back ideas, I mean sure 24 is great but 25 I am practically 30 but hell I am going to be happy. I am still not married, don't have a kid yet. So things are going good for me. Going to celebrate it in New Orleans, hopefully I am going to be able to go visit the quarter. I want to go to Pat O's and drink a Hurricane or two.
I also want to go to Preservation Hall to listen to some good jazz. I am thinking of all the stuff I want to do while there.
Well I am going to write more later.
Here are a few similarities. Both of were raised with French Canadian Mothers and American fathers. Both were ackward as children that people found to be wierd. He tried many careers before settling into writing, like I have. He had a strange set of friends, like I do. He dropped out of Columbia, I dropped out of Ottawa. Both of us are left handed. He loved to explore new parts of America, I love visiting backwoods of areas. Both of us have trusty best friends that inspire us to write about them, he had Neal Cassidy I have Michael. Both of us have our mothers confidence to continue writing. Both of our fathers have a great sense of humor. Both are proud of there sons. Both of us, tried out for some sort of sport and failed to do something and quit, he played Football & I wrestled.
Jack was a drunk, I am a drunk. So you see there are a lot more possiblities that I can compare myself to Kerouac. But those are just a few I could think of on the spot. I was thinking of that when I went to Barnes and Nobles and found a cool post card of him and his cat. I figured it would be kind of cool to get a cat just like that. If I ever get a cat, I would get two, one named Ginsberg and the other Kerouac. Named after my two favorite beat poets.
I can imagine myself living in a small apartment with two cats in the city. Writing or at least having papers filling the rooms with poetry and articles that I deem somewhat subjectable or unsubjectable. Its just a dream I have. Of course, my dream is to get out of Houston and live in Montreal where its cooler or maybe even New York. Have a place where I can sit on my lap top and write. Ah that sounds like an ideal place to live a nice studio filled with manuscripts and papers of notes for my latest books. Bookshelves full of books of poetry and generation X stuff like Nick Hornsby and MTV Generation stuff. Records on the floor. I know it would look like a disaster but heck it would be my personal place. I would get a housekeeper to clean every 2 weeks. I would do the laundry in the basement or have my own washing machine. I was thinking a place like Patrice has,but in a str8 neighborhood. Close to everything to walk around at night. A place I can walk or ride my bike around the city. Ahh my dream apartment. I would have furnature from IKEA and stuff from home.
I can dream can't I. I know that this dream is far ahead of myself and I know I am not ready to move out on my own yet but I am slowly thinking about it. I am still trying to think what I am going to do next, like am I going to like living in Montreal or will I live in Montreal, or would I like to live in Montreal. I am saying I am going there for vacation its not like I am looking for work and staying there for a long ass time. Its a vacation.
I also want to go to Ottawa while I am there. To visit and sight see. Maybe have lunch at Minglewoods. Just explore the city. Or I may relax and take it easy. A lot too think about while waiting. I have to first figure out where to stay and when I can stay and for how long? Pretty much a lot to think about. I just want to get out of Houston soon the heat is driving me nuts.
My birthday is coming up and I am thinking I am going to be old.25 woohoo a mile stone. A quarter of a century. Yea, I am now officially going to be in my mid twenties. I am also one of those lables now. 20 somethings. YUCK. Well I can't wait to be 25. Yea, I have some fall back ideas, I mean sure 24 is great but 25 I am practically 30 but hell I am going to be happy. I am still not married, don't have a kid yet. So things are going good for me. Going to celebrate it in New Orleans, hopefully I am going to be able to go visit the quarter. I want to go to Pat O's and drink a Hurricane or two.
I also want to go to Preservation Hall to listen to some good jazz. I am thinking of all the stuff I want to do while there.
Well I am going to write more later.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
A boring Sunday
This has truely been a boring sunday.
I mean you know Sundays have always been boring. I know I don't do much on Sundays, I am usually sick but today I have a headache and I have a terrible pain in the legs and arms. My muscles feel weak. The weather isn't much help either. Today is Father's day and well I am stuck inside again. The whole thing with Amy is still worse off then before. It seems like this fight will last another day. So why fight it right.
Today, I am planning on staying home and relaxing at home and watch a dvd. I am thinking of watching either Superman or try to sleep. Well I finished earlier this weekend watching The Prisoner the entire series. That to me was pretty cool. I liked that show, it was a great series, and to think they don't make good shows like that anymore. Patrick McGoohan is a terrific actor. He played King Longshanks in Braveheart. I am thinking I am going to buy the series or at least order it from Barnes & Nobles and use the money I save from the house cleaning to buy it.
Well, I don't know what to do today. Infact, I don't know what to do tommorow either. Hell, it kind of sucks when Ihave no plans. I used to have plans. Now I just feel like they are all tossed up in the air. Last night, I went out to eat with my parents and I tried to see Amy before getting in a wreck which nearly killed me. So I have a swollen arm. That sucks. So I have a swollen arm and a terrible headache.
My eyes are so droopy that I feel like I am going to hit the keyboard falling asleep,but I also know that once I hit the pillow I won't sleep.
Nothing is on t.v. and I am bored. :-(. I am hungry too. I am going to raid the refrigrator. See what can I. Hopefully there are some hotpockets left or some meat balls. At least that will fill me up. Hmm! I did the tacky room added some pictures on my wall. I think I am going to ask mom to take me to Barnes and Nobles so I can pick up some post cards of pictures of comedians to put on my wall. Hopefully she says yes. i really need to get out of the house. My feet are killing me. Hmm. I hate lupus. I just wish I knew what to do.:-( AH I GOT AN IDEA!
NAH!
Well I will write more later.
I mean you know Sundays have always been boring. I know I don't do much on Sundays, I am usually sick but today I have a headache and I have a terrible pain in the legs and arms. My muscles feel weak. The weather isn't much help either. Today is Father's day and well I am stuck inside again. The whole thing with Amy is still worse off then before. It seems like this fight will last another day. So why fight it right.
Today, I am planning on staying home and relaxing at home and watch a dvd. I am thinking of watching either Superman or try to sleep. Well I finished earlier this weekend watching The Prisoner the entire series. That to me was pretty cool. I liked that show, it was a great series, and to think they don't make good shows like that anymore. Patrick McGoohan is a terrific actor. He played King Longshanks in Braveheart. I am thinking I am going to buy the series or at least order it from Barnes & Nobles and use the money I save from the house cleaning to buy it.
Well, I don't know what to do today. Infact, I don't know what to do tommorow either. Hell, it kind of sucks when Ihave no plans. I used to have plans. Now I just feel like they are all tossed up in the air. Last night, I went out to eat with my parents and I tried to see Amy before getting in a wreck which nearly killed me. So I have a swollen arm. That sucks. So I have a swollen arm and a terrible headache.
My eyes are so droopy that I feel like I am going to hit the keyboard falling asleep,but I also know that once I hit the pillow I won't sleep.
Nothing is on t.v. and I am bored. :-(. I am hungry too. I am going to raid the refrigrator. See what can I. Hopefully there are some hotpockets left or some meat balls. At least that will fill me up. Hmm! I did the tacky room added some pictures on my wall. I think I am going to ask mom to take me to Barnes and Nobles so I can pick up some post cards of pictures of comedians to put on my wall. Hopefully she says yes. i really need to get out of the house. My feet are killing me. Hmm. I hate lupus. I just wish I knew what to do.:-( AH I GOT AN IDEA!
NAH!
Well I will write more later.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
So Dick Durbin hates the Military.So Freaking What.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is a good man and I understand what he really meant by comparing the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo to Stalin, Hitler, and Paul Pot. He wasn’t bashing the troops, but the government policy of torture. And no, the torture policy of the US isn’t equal to the three regimes Durbin mentioned, but any torture is bad no matter who does it and to what extent. The German Nazis torturing Jews is torture, but so is US policy of allowing prisoners to defecate on themselves and to attack them with dogs. There’s also a difference between “comparing” and “equating”. Equating is like saying 3=3. Comparing is like saying 3 and 5 are both prime numbers, odd numbers, and less than 6. So Durbin was comparing, not equating. Also, Durbin wasn’t blaming the troops or blaming the US, but bush and the government policy. The guards at the prison were just using tactics given to them by the bushies to soften up and torture the prisoners for some reason I don’t know. So Durbin was actually “blaming the government”. Hmmmmm that sounds like what a conservative would do. But the conservatives now own all four branches of the government, so they fuck their own platform. I think bush and the ‘cans are the ones who really hate the troops; they send them to die in a war that was fought because of a lie.
I can talk about torture and moral relativism until the cows come home, but let me say one final thing about Durbin: HE SAID NOTHING WRONG. Why don’t we talk about all the ‘cans comparing liberals to Stalinists and Nazis. Rush limbaugh, the vulgar pigboy keeps calling feminists “feminazis” just for wanting equal pay and opportunities. And look what I found on his limbaugh’s quote page at his website today:
“Since the fall of the Soviet empire, the new home of socialists and quasi-communists is the environmental movement.”
Whoa whoa whoa, is limbaugh-the-hut morally “equating” Stalin, Castro, Lenin, Mao, Krushchev, Kim Jong Ill, and Paul Pot to environmentalists who keep our air, water, and land clean? Or is he “comparing”? Heh heh
I can talk about torture and moral relativism until the cows come home, but let me say one final thing about Durbin: HE SAID NOTHING WRONG. Why don’t we talk about all the ‘cans comparing liberals to Stalinists and Nazis. Rush limbaugh, the vulgar pigboy keeps calling feminists “feminazis” just for wanting equal pay and opportunities. And look what I found on his limbaugh’s quote page at his website today:
“Since the fall of the Soviet empire, the new home of socialists and quasi-communists is the environmental movement.”
Whoa whoa whoa, is limbaugh-the-hut morally “equating” Stalin, Castro, Lenin, Mao, Krushchev, Kim Jong Ill, and Paul Pot to environmentalists who keep our air, water, and land clean? Or is he “comparing”? Heh heh
Well! :-)
I figured I had a wonderful morning except I had a fight with Amy. I am still trying hard to figure out what I did wrong. Well I think I did a few things wrong like I had see Lise. The terrible witch of an ex. I also compaired Amy to Lise. Which was a terrible mistake,in my own part. I also did a few things I shouldn't do I had a pint of Smithwicks and a glass of water. I should of gotten a coke or something. I was so angry seeing Lise and Leslie that I took it out on Amy. So we are pretty much in non speaking terms for today. I also talked with these other ladies at the other end of the table, just talking with them. She said it was ok that I talked with them, but I can tell with her body language it was like No. I am so confused.
My heart feels funny after this fight, I know I have done a lot to hurt our relationship and I am trying to figure out what to do to fix it. I know I am in the dog house and the only way out is to fix it without sounding like I am fake.
Emotions are killing me, I have hard to figure out, part of me is sad, part of me is releaved. I don't know how to feel. I did to much or I did to little. I know I shouldn't let my emotions carry me and I shouldn't leash it out on the women I love. I did that before and that is why I was single for so long. I keep all my emotions inside and attack on people. I do that with every1 even my parents.
Well, ok aside from the fight I had a good morning I woke up and I started moving really funny I guess I had my head full with emotions. Well, can't figure out what to do, whether I should call her or should I let her call me.
The weather outside is hot and sticky and I am staying inside. It couldn't be much worse then it is now. I am staying in and going to grab my clothes out the dryer and fold them. Then I am going to shower and look nice to go stay in with my parents.
Well today Tulane is in the College World Series so I am going to watch the game with Dad. Pretty boring day. I am so torn between staying at home and feeling sad or going out. I think I am going to shower and shave.
I need to cheer myself up.
My heart feels funny after this fight, I know I have done a lot to hurt our relationship and I am trying to figure out what to do to fix it. I know I am in the dog house and the only way out is to fix it without sounding like I am fake.
Emotions are killing me, I have hard to figure out, part of me is sad, part of me is releaved. I don't know how to feel. I did to much or I did to little. I know I shouldn't let my emotions carry me and I shouldn't leash it out on the women I love. I did that before and that is why I was single for so long. I keep all my emotions inside and attack on people. I do that with every1 even my parents.
Well, ok aside from the fight I had a good morning I woke up and I started moving really funny I guess I had my head full with emotions. Well, can't figure out what to do, whether I should call her or should I let her call me.
The weather outside is hot and sticky and I am staying inside. It couldn't be much worse then it is now. I am staying in and going to grab my clothes out the dryer and fold them. Then I am going to shower and look nice to go stay in with my parents.
Well today Tulane is in the College World Series so I am going to watch the game with Dad. Pretty boring day. I am so torn between staying at home and feeling sad or going out. I think I am going to shower and shave.
I need to cheer myself up.
Friday, June 17, 2005
What a long day
I can't believe my day has been so boring. I spent half of the day either at home writing or cleaning or doing laundry or at the gallery waiting to go home. My muscles were killing me earlier but now they feel fine.
I am trying to figure out what I am going to do tonight. If I am going to see Amy or if I am staying home. Its hot outside and yet I feel hot inside. I feel as if I live in the freaking desert. What the hell. Am I really in the Sahara or what.
I think, that today has been a really boring day. I was also at Nancy's for 30 minutes and then it was at the Gallery for the rest of the day. I worked on set up an invoice software which took forever and then I went upstairs to talk with Bob. I was so bored that I felt like I was going to fall asleep.
I am trying to figure out what I am going to do tonight. If I am going to see Amy or if I am staying home. Its hot outside and yet I feel hot inside. I feel as if I live in the freaking desert. What the hell. Am I really in the Sahara or what.
I think, that today has been a really boring day. I was also at Nancy's for 30 minutes and then it was at the Gallery for the rest of the day. I worked on set up an invoice software which took forever and then I went upstairs to talk with Bob. I was so bored that I felt like I was going to fall asleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)