Of Mice and Men

Cindy Sheehan, the mousey suburban housewife, whose son gave his life for his country, is still being exploited by hippie peaceniks. Wednesday, she went to jail for those people, who coerced her into blocking the gate outside the White House. They had already convinced her to move to the People's Republic of Berkeley, and on Wednesday they sacrificed her to the cause again. She is a pathetic figure, who is becoming a caricature, and the poster girl for futility. Let her go home to mourn, Peace Nazis.

Please take note that, although some lost in close elections, NO Republican has pig-squealed like Al Gore, John Kerry and the Democrats did in 2000 and 2004. No hanging chads, no voting machine tampering, no confusing ballots, no voter intimidation, no racial discrimination, and no unfairness claimed by Republicans. Now, that's class.

Art?

From News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd:

"Simon Pope's 'Gallery of Space Recall' exhibit at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Wales, in October is a startingly empty room, with patrons called upon to supply the art by imagining another art show they have seen, so that, wrote Pope, the two exhibits 'exist at two locations simultaneously, both here and there.' (Pope wrote that the exhibit suggested the brain-injury disorder 'reduplicative paramnesia,' in which the person has a delusional belief that something exists at two places at once.)"

AS SEEN ON TV

The best thing that Robert Gates, the new Defense Secretary, could do would be to send about 100,000 Marines into Iraq and wipe out the insurrection. The only thing bullies [and terrorists] understand is force, and now is the time.

Smoking is unhealthy. So are alcohol, fast food, overeating, and overexertion, etc. Before you vote to punish smokers, . . . think about how you'd like an outrageous increase in the cost of one of your addictive behaviors.

Vote Wisely

The following is an excerpt from Patrick Henry's speech to the Virginia Convention on March 23, l775:

Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price af 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!

Death and Arrogance

Well, it finally happened. A man's body was found in a McDonald's parking lot in Davis, CA on Tuesday morning. There were no obvious signs of trauma. The police are investigating the possibility of homicide by trans fat (or global warming, or secondhand smoke).

While I'm waiting for the the results of the election to learn whether or not I will be put to the sword, I'll take a few moments to criticize the elitist Sacramento Bee. My displeasure with the paper began a few months ago when they published an editorial which included the racist statement that a black defendant could not get a fair trial from an all-white jury. In a letter to the editor I asked for an apology, in vain.

Since then, I have learned that all letters of complaint receive the same cavalier treatment. Sure, they publish them, but then they slap the writers in the face.

Most letters complain about pictures or the political cartons of the Bee's controversial artist. People write to the editor saying they don't want to see anything like that again. In response, right next to the letter of complaint, the Bee reprints the offending item.

My e-mail to the Bee ombudsman drew the response that they reprinted the item so that the readers could see the object of the complaint, and to reinforce their opinion that it was appropriate to publish it. This has happened several times, so one can only conclude -- "Don't bother to complain, because the Bee is always right, and we will insult you until you stop expressing your stupid opinion."