Had Enough Of Your Country Being Denigrated By Illegal Immigrants?

I think, at least this week, that I have reached absolute threshold with regard to my country being smashed and trashed by ILLEGAL MEXICANS and, on the other hand, having overeducated, guilty white people look the other way whilst the true thrust and goal of these MEXICANS becomes clearer and clearer: "reconquista" and nothing else.

The photographs in this post couldn't make it any clearer.

I'll start with the story from WorldNetDaily:

Backers of illegal immigration at a rally near Los Angeles took down an American flag at a U.S. post office, stamped on it and replaced it with a Mexican flag as police looked on, according to witnesses and a video of the event.

Police officers in Maywood, Calif., Saturday eventually came to the pole to remove the flag but had bottles and rocks thrown at them, a radio listener named Sandra reported to the Terry Anderson show, heard on KRLA in Los Angeles.

Further:

The opposition, she said, began to get louder, and then "we watched as they took the American flag off of the flag pole and stepped on it on the ground at the United States post office and mounted a Mexican flag, and up it went."

At this point , she said, "the police did nothing."

"Finally, they went over to take it down, and they had bottles and rocks thrown at them," she said. "They did not attempt to arrest anyone. They were unable to take it down because they cut the wrong line so the flag remained there for the rest of the day."

Sandra said that as police officers watched, another woman was beaten, as well as an
elderly man, noting the counter-protesters "tend to pick on the weaker targets."

"I believe that all Americans need to know about this and need to see that Mexican flag hanging at an American post office," she wrote to Anderson. "We are being invaded and the American people need to wake up!"

Blogger Bridget Johnson, who also was at the event, said that along with Maywood's flouting of immigration law, as a "sanctuary city," it has disbanded its police department's traffic unit so illegals without driver's licenses won't be fearful of getting their cars towed.

Maywood is the wonderful "sanctuary city" in Fornicalia on which I previously posted in "It's Not Just Maywood, It's the Logical Extension."

I also posted about the continuing lack of respect shown to our country by illegal immigrants in "Showing Respect To The Country One Wishes To Embrace."

Haven't you had enough of this? Aren't you tired of the disrespect shown to our country and the flaunting of our laws condoned by government? Quite frankly, I've had enough!

First: the Maywood police officers are nothing more than a pack of craven COWARDS. That they stood by and watched as our American flag was trampled, on federal US property, in their city, and replaced with a fucking MEXICAN FLAG is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. That not even ONE officer dared to get off his ass and make even one arrest is, well, astonishing. Clearly, there isn't one set of testicles amidst the entire mass of gutless, quivering pussies.

Second: that this didn't make page one above the fold in ANY Fornicalia newspaper says it all.

How much longer are we going to tolerate this bullshit? How much longer are we going to let the Mexican government and illegal MEXICANS dictate how we enforce our laws?

The cops were pussies but I know what motivated them: none wanted to see their face or have their name plastered on the Defeatist, Elitist Media for being sufficiently JUDGMENTAL and having the COURAGE to do what is RIGHT, because they have been pounded, day after day, with the concept of MEXICAN GOOD, WHITE MAN BAD.

This isn't just about flaunting our laws, this is about MEXICANS ATTEMPTING TO RETAKE THIS COUNTRY.

And I repeat: if this shit occurs in Fornicalia, it's coming soon to a community near YOU.

America: wake the hell up! So far you're making a wonderful DOORMAT.

BZ

Propaganda And Balkanization

Doesn't it seem to you that Life in America is simply getting more and more insane? Right is wrong, and wrong is right.

And it's all about, as I've written regarding terrorism and Islamists, propaganda. And the propaganda flows and flows and flows from the Left.

To wit:

"Gender Variance." And how important it is in the lives of average elementary school kids. And how a private school in Oakland, Fornicalia is "throwing out gender boundaries."

What?

Park Day's gender-neutral metamorphosis happened over the past few years, as applications trickled in for kindergartners who didn't fit on either side of the gender line. One girl enrolled as a boy, and there were other children who didn't dress or act in gender-typical ways. Last year the school hired a consultant to help the staff accommodate these new students.

Yes. You read that correctly. And the stupidity just keeps on keepin' on.

First, we had to make schools safer for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trandgender) students.

Then, yesterday, Fornicalia Gov. Arnold signed off on SB 1441, a bill that would require all businesses and groups receiving state funding -- even if it's a state grant for a student -- to condone homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality. There is no exception for faith-based organizations or business owners with sincerely held religious convictions.

As WorldNetDaily observed:

"This isn't even a veiled attempt at subtly advancing the radical homosexual agenda," said Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute. "SB1441 is an outright, blatant assault on religious freedom in California."

Her group's analysis of the legislation concluded it will prevent parochial schools such as private, Christian, Catholic, Mormon and other religious institutions from getting financial assistance for students if they maintain a code of conduct that does not endorse such behavior. Whether that behavior is approved by their religious beliefs is, at this point, irrelevant, the analysis showed.

The CRI hit the nail on the head when it said: "Equating sexual preference with the immutable characteristics of age, national origin or race will result in other variable behaviors being added to the list of invariable classes rightfully protected."

BUT IT ONLY GETS BETTER:

From the Capitol Resources Institute regarding pending bills Fornicalia bills:

AB 1056 – Tolerance Training in Schools – Assemblymember Chu
Position: Oppose Analysis: AB 1056 would require the State Board of Education to integrate tolerance instruction into language arts and social science curriculum. This bill would start with a pilot program for Los Angeles County only, with the intention of broadening these requirements to all counties.

But there's more:

"CRI opposes expanding tolerance training in public schools because it is used as a vehicle to indoctrinate children to accept things like homosexuality. Tolerance education turns into an indoctrination session where children are expected to embrace only one view of morality – regardless of what their parents say or their religious beliefs dictate. There is a big difference between teaching children that violence is never acceptable, and punishing specific instances of violence, and teaching children that they must submit to notions that homosexuality is normal, acceptable, and should even be celebrated. Status: Senate Education Committee

Did you understand the true implication of Fornicalia "Assemblymember" Chu's proposal?

It means the complete rewriting of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE to conform to government-mandated social engineering policies.

tol‧er‧ance [tol-er-uhns] – noun
1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.
4. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance: My tolerance of noise is limited.

ad‧vo‧ca‧cy [ad-vuh-kuh-see] – noun, plural: -cies.
the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal: He was known for his advocacy of states' rights.

AB 1056 would remake tolerance, which is a passive act of acceptance, into the realm of advocacy, which is an active espousal of an issue. Do what I call the "logical extension:" if one were not to be actively advocating LGBT issues, that would then be intolerance.

Then, we had to make sure that the definition of "tolerance" is changed from "acceptance" to "active advocation" regarding LGBT issues.

Whosoever has command of the language has a stranglehold on propaganda. You see now, of course, my link.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld knows the huge importance of propaganda: "The enemy in the war on terror is smart and takes every opportunity to manipulate the media and demoralize public opinion," Rumsfeld said at a VFW convention on Monday.

The same is correct with Leftist thinking.

What has this to do with "balkanization?"

What would you do, what are you doing with your children in school? Would you or are you subjecting them to this kind of mindwashing propaganda? Or are you or will you decide to place your children into a well-researched private school?

With the Left pushing farther in that direction and managing to elbow their various agendas into public schools, that will only result in more parents standing up to this force by pulling their students from public schools and creating larger pockets of privately-educated or home-schooled students separate from what will be considered "the norm."

In the meantime, the propaganda from Islamists continues to cut -- as does the propaganda from the Left, enabled by US government elements.

Beware nation: what starts in Fornicalia soon comes calling in your state.

"If you're a Christian, it's got to be alarming. If you are not a Christian, it's got to be alarming. Because what comes next?"

What, indeed?

BZ

et tu, Deadwood?

One of the most profane, outrageous, challenging and wonderful series has concluded its third season ("Tell Him Something Pretty") and, with that, exited not with a bang but with a whimper. Deadwood has allegedly met its maker and, with that, like the series Rome, HBO is managing to shoot itself squarely in the foot.

Rome, a spectacular production, was a one-season wonder. Cause of mortem? Expensive to produce in Italy. Deadwood has run its course after season three. Cause of mortem? No one is saying precisely. Expense? The big clues came when contracts following the third season were not renewed.

Many people despise Deadwood; I know that from personal experience. I know people that actually excoriate me for watching the series. Some said they couldn't watch an entire episode.

Granted, Deadwood is not for the faint of heart or those unaccustomed to foul (sometimes that is being kind) language. On the other hand, in no other series or, for that matter, in a film have I ever heard such an incredibly lilting, flowing, flowery usage of the English language -- I would go so far as to even make a passing reference to the flow of Shakespeare. You either know of what I am writing or you do not.

The acting was simply stellar. The sets were unsurpassed and the verisimilitude amazing.

There is one faint glimmer:

The third season of the HBO western, which begins Sunday, will still be its last full season on the air. But the network and series creator David Milch have reached an agreement to extend the show's life through a pair of two-hour movies that will end the show's run, the showbiz trade papers report.

"I am thrilled that we were able to figure out a way to continue," Milch says in a statement. "No one was ready to let go of the show, and I'm really glad we've found a way to proceed that works creatively."

As it turns out, money was an issue as one episode of Deadwood took as long as 16 days to shoot, about twice the length of most TV dramas, and cost as much as $5 million apiece, trade papers indicated. The one season of Rome ran roughly $100 million, it is alleged.

Deadwood clearly isn't everyone's cup of tea. But I shall miss those horribly venal, dirty, tempestuous, corrupt and occasionally spirited characters whose humanity managed to show through the grime and filth.

Excellent interviews with producer and creator David Milch are here and here.

FARNUM: "I can't engage him in further conversation! When I hear his voice I see the inside of his skull. Phantoms grin out at me leaking gruesome goo." SWEARENGEN: "Slide this under his door then."

ADAMS: "When he ain't lying Al's the most honorable man you'll meet."

Goodbye to Deadwood. And with the deaths of Rome and soon The Sopranos -- whither HBO?

BZ

The Logical Conclusion

Get ready.

BZ

It's Five Years Off -- Trust Me

The deals were made in unison. Some were obvious, some were not. Some were made by professionals, some were not. All ranks chimed in. The intelligence experts, the not-so-expert, the heretics, the loons, the Left and the Right.

All said this:

Iran will not become a nuclear power or have workable reactors in, at a minimum, five to ten years. Solid.

Iran first said: we only want nuclear power to create energy. Iran now says: we want nuclear power to build atomic warheads.

Hello? This just in:

Four days after sending back a rebellious but politely-couched answer to the West's 'stick and carrot' approach, and five days before the expiration of the UN's ultimatum to halt uranium enrichment, Tehran poured fuel on the fire regarding the issue of its nuclear development with the completion of a heavy water plant.

An official source announced the completion of the heavy water plant on Saturday. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the plant later the same day and issued a relevant statement.

From Reuters:

"No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities," Ahmadinejad said in his speech to inaugurate the heavy water project.

The Arak project, once complete, will produce plutonium as a by-product that could be used to make atomic warheads. But the reactor that will produce this is still being built.

Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to master technology to produce nuclear weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, insists it only wants to produce electricity.

"Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime," Ahmadinejad said, using Iran's term for its arch-enemy Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognize.

Once again I reiterate: like a nice football move, a quick feint from a great running back, the world took the bait and looked to Hezbollah whilst Iran made good on its promise to become a nuclear regime.

The political shakeout:

The United States has warned of swift action on sanctions. Britain, Germany and France have been less conclusive in public. But Russia and China, both trade partners of Iran, have been unwilling and could veto sanctions in the Security Council.

But let us not forget that France supplied some nuclear componentry to Iran. Russia and China? They couldn't care less for the world opinion as long as they get their requisite share of Iranian petroleum.

And we're worried about World Opinion?

I once wrote this about two years ago: when any nation says it isn't about the oil, well, it's about the oil.

Us too.

I can only hope I perceive the smell of cruise missile propellant and hear the metal clank of guided bombs affixed under the wings of attack fighters.

Israel and the US: do you hear me?

BZ

It's A Service Industry, Dammit, And I'm The Customer

This is absolutely unacceptable, and I would have been one of the persons leading the riot, even despite the fact that there were federal regulations in play. You simply don't treat customers like this; hell you don't treat any people like this:

25 August 2006
EXCLUSIVE: TRAPPED ON
FLIGHT 63
By Vanessa Allen

POLICE boarded a jumbo jet yesterday amid fears furious passengers would riot after being stuck in their seats for seven hours.

The 352 travellers were kept cooped inside Virgin Atlantic Flight 63 on the ground after a technical problem.

Take-off was finally aborted as the Boeing 747 taxied up the runway with a car driving alongside frantically signalling that the jet had an over-inflated tyre.

Passenger Philip Robinson said: "You could feel the plane going bump, bump. God knows what could have happened if it had tried to take off.

But that wasn't enough. There was more to the story:

Businessman Mr Robinson, 53, of Maidenhead, Berks, said: "It was appalling. No one apologised or knew what was happening.

"Because of security we couldn't take drinks on board and were only given two glasses of water. No one even had any food."

Something like that is simply unforgiveable. Because of issues involving my elderly father, I am much more sensitive to the needs of older persons these days. No food? Two glasses of water in SEVEN HOURS?

Absolutely unforgiveable.

I am much less tolerant of poor customer service these days and I will walk out of an establishment with no explanation or loudly voice my opinion as a result.

I recently visited a Target store and had an employee tell me in a perky little voice: "No, sorry, we don't take Visa anymore!"

"You must be kidding me, I just stopped here last week and you took Visa? When did this change?"

"Oh last week, you must have just missed it!"

In the meantime I watched other customers at adjacent checkout stands process their purchases with plastic, including Visa. I left everything stacked on the belt and went to the admin office. Enroute I heard the clerk say: "Geez, I was just kidding! Lighten up!"

I found the Manager and loudly proclaimed what her idiot checker had said. "Lighten the fuck up," I yelled, "is what she says to me after refusing to process the means for a purchase in your store. Now, can you tell what part of that scenario makes any sense to you, as Manager of this store? We have a symbiotic relationship here and it's very simple. You're the store and you have items I wish to purchase. She's the clerk and processes the transaction. You are to provide goods and services to me. If you can't do it, I'll find another store to conduct my business. Her job, as clerk, is to process the situation as efficiently as possible.

"I'm not here to chat, make small talk, waste time or, for Christ's sake, get lied to. Here's what you can expect: a letter to the (city I was in) Better Business Bureau with a cc to your regional manager and a cc to the Target CEO and a copy to your parent company." This equally stupid Manager began to make excuses for her clerk. I turned and left.

I sent all those letters. I received a letter back from the local BBB, and, one month later, from Target management indicating that clerk had been fired. I also received a Gift Certificate for $100.

Did I feel guilty or "bad." Quite the opposite. I was pleased someone had some spine.

I'M THE CUSTOMER. I CAN TAKE MY MONEY ANY PLACE I CHOOSE.

AND I VOTE WITH MY FEET AND MY KEYBOARD.

BZ

Why Mommy, Why??

Just why is Mommy a Democrat?

• Because Democrats make sure we are always safe, just like Mommy does!
• Because Democrats make sure children can go to school, just like Mommy does!

As the book indicates:

Why Mommy is a Democrat brings to life the core values of the Democratic party in ways that young children will easily understand and thoroughly enjoy. Using plain and non-judgmental language, along with warm and whimsical illustrations, this colorful 28-page paperback depicts the Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance, peace, and concern for the well-being of others. It's a great way for parents to gently communicate their commitment to these principles and explain their support for the party.

-- Because Democrats make sure we all share our toys, just like Mommy does!
And not only do Mommy and the Dems socialize our toys, they want to socialize
our jobs, our vacations, increase our taxes, socialize our businesses, our work hours and our health care!

Because Democrats make sure that no one has guns and can defend themselves, just like Mommy does! Guns are bad, guns mean more gunracks, more Rednecks, more NASCAR!


Because Democrats make sure that bums and the mentally deranged are free to urinate, defecate and camp anywhere they wish, harrass anyone they want, drink freely, acquire injectables handily and get paid doing it -- just like Mommy does!



Ah, the Democrats -- I can learn to love them because they predicate their acts solely upon emotions and never let facts and reality get in the way of their feelings -- just like a good Democratic Mommy does!

Oh no! I can't get the book at Amazon!

BZ

Nothing Serious This Day

Sorry, I'm out of the capacity to embrace anything negative today. How about a smattering of levity?

During a test at a Catholic elementary school, children provided the actual following answers to various questions about the Old and New Testaments. These answers have not been changed, spelling included.

1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS, GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.

2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK. NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS.

3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT.

4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS.

5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH.

6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES.

7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS.

8. THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT. AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT CYANIDE TO GET THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTS WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT THE APPLE.

10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT ADULTERY.

11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA. THEN JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THE BATTLE OF GERITOL.

12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.

13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.

14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES.

15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE SANG THE MAGNACARTA.

16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.

17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE CONTRAPTION.

18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.

19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.

20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.

21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE 12 DECIBELS.

22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.

23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A TAXIMAN.

24. ST. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE.

25. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED MONOTONY.

________________________


Have a great day!

BZ

Victory?

Many people have posed the question to our President and to the nation:

What does victory in Iraq and against Militant Islam and Islamists look like?

I would answer simply:

• We are victorious when there is no mushroom cloud over any of our cities;
• We are victorious when our domestic shores are not soiled with Homicide Bombers;
• We are victorious when we can still go to work, take our children to school, pick up the dry cleaning, visit our friends, fly our skies and drive our roads without fear of CBN events;
• We are victorious when we keep our Home Land safe.

That is what victory looks like to me.

Is victory close? Is victory here? Is victory now?

No.

Victory will be an ongoing prize, a continuing goal, and shall take literally years and years and years.

Ladies and gentlemen, in this country we have to win each and every time Islamists make a foray into the heart of our nation. We have to win every time.

With certain devices, they only have to win once.

BZ

Patrick Buchanan: Another Nutjob?

Patrick Buchanan has come out with another book similar in nature to his Death of the West (where he cites four dangers for the US: declining birth rates; uncontrolled immigration of peoples of "different colors, creed, and cultures"; a rise of "anti-Western" culture antithetical to established religious, cultural, and moral norms; and a "defection of ruling elites" to the idea of world government), and it is called State of Emergency.

In it, Buchanan indicates that he believes there is an actual “Aztlan Plot” for “La Reconquista,” the recapture of the lands lost by Mexico in the Texas War of Independence and Mexican-American War.

And I am with him on that point because, as I have previously indicated in any number of previous posts regarding illegal immigration, the La Voz de Aztlan website clearly spells out the theory of reconquista.

In a recent Time magazine article, Buchanan said:

I'm predicting that America will no longer be one nation but more like the Roman Empire--a conglomerate of races and cultures held together by a regime. The country I grew up in was culturally united, even if it was racially divided. We spoke the same language, had the same faith, laughed at the same comedians. We were one nationality. We're ceasing to be that when you have hundreds of thousands of people who want to retain their own culture, their own language, their own loyalty. What do we have in common that makes us fellow Americans? Is it simply citizenship? Or is it blood, soil, history and heroes?

Buchanan believes a state of emergency does in fact exist and it is not coming, it is here:

If we do not get control of our borders and stop this greatest invasion in history, I see the dissolution of the U.S. and the loss of the American Southwest--culturally and linguistically, not politically--to Mexico. It could become a part of Mexico in the way that Kosovo is now a part of Albania.

Are the stakes that high?

I believe they are. I believe that the Balkanization of America can happen and that the quality of life as we know it will most definitely be affected -- and not in any positive way.

I believe in an attack on all fronts, Left and Right. First, close the borders completely as best one can. Second, keep it closed for at least a year and analyze that impact. Three, rewrite the immigration laws and streamline the process to the point where it doesn't take years to naturalize, once the borders are reopened. Third, during the closing of the border, enforce laws on the books, enforce the immigration laws, deport, and arrest those who traffic in illegal immigrants and those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Again, blunt: Republicans like the free work; Democrats like the free votes.

We need to rid ourselves of both; it corrupts us as a nation.

BZ

Reflection On Sunday

The Pope is correct: one should not work too hard:

"We have to guard ourselves, the saint observed, from the dangers of excessive activity, regardless of the office one holds, because too many concerns can often lead to hardness of heart," the pope said.

I can recall being told some years ago by an older supervisor: "Don't kill yourself for this job, son; when you go to the gates of St. Peter the first thing you won't say: 'Gosh, I wish I'd worked harder at my job.' "

Where does your job fit in with your overall scheme of life?

I find that, as the years wear on, work means much less to me than it did at the beginning of my career. We all change with age and our Life priorities become rearranged; I submit that is only normal for the course.

I was always the first one to work overtime, to volunteer for tasks, to take the special assignement. Because I live in the snow I spent many thousands of dollars more for special vehicles able to vanquish the snow, specifically so I could come to work. I always had to have the biggest 4X4 Ford F-150 pickup, the 4X4 Isuzu Trooper, the 4X4 Tracker, the AWD Subaru.

Now, my next vehicle will likely be a Honda Civic or Accord EX, optioned-out, with automatic. If I get stuck in the snow and can't come to work, oh well. So be it. That'll be more reading I'll get done, perhaps another blog post if I still have electricity, more time watching the miracle of nature in the myriad flakes of snow.

My priorities have changed and work, I freely admit, is no longer a priority for me. I doubt any of my superiors read my blog but if they do, oh well. You are no longer a priority. I got over it; you will too some day (if, silently, you haven't already placed your mind in that frame).

My family is now my priority. My fiance is my priority. My ailing father is my priority. Being with family and experiencing adventures with my fiance is my priority.

I'm within ten years of retirement. I'm over 50 and many of my perspectives have changed. Some have simply become stronger and more concrete: my feelings about right and wrong, my interest in politics. My interest in the survival of my country and our way of life.

Work is fleeting; that you perhaps have a fulfilling job, well, that is good. But likely, at St. Peter's gate you'll instead be saying: "I wish I'd spent more time with my wife, my husband, my children, my family. I wish I'd taken that trip to _____. I wish I'd told my wife or husband just how much they mean to me and how much I love them."

Pope Benedict is correct.

BZ

The Changing Face Of America, Legal & Illegal

LEGAL IMMIGRATION and ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:

America's face is changing, and in places many did not expect.

Portal states to Mexico are not now, apparently, experiencing the greatest percentile growth of illegal Mexicans. Upper Midwest, New England and Rocky Mountain states are experiencing the greatest percentile of growth unlike traditional border states such as California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. The 2005 American Community Survey showed:

Indiana saw a 34 percent increase in the number of immigrants; South Dakota saw a 44 percent rise; Delaware 32 percent; Missouri 31 percent; Colorado 28 percent; New Hampshire 26 percent.

The overall trend identified:

Two decades ago, demographers said, 75 percent to 80 percent of new immigrants settled in one of the half-dozen gateway states and tended to stay there. Then, in the last 10 to 15 years, the pattern shifted and increasing numbers began to stay in the gateways briefly and then move elsewhere in the country. Now, they say, the pattern is that more immigrants are simply bypassing the gateways altogether.

In Fornicalia, there is another trend emerging.

It seems that people of all stripes are fleeing the Bay Area. For those not living in Fornicalia, the Bay Area consists of the city and county of San Francisco, east bay, South San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and other cities (see map).

People are leaving in droves. And not just the "customary WASPS." This trend includes blacks and Mexicans/Hispanics.



As you can see, in San Francisco the black population has decreased 25% and "Latinos" are down 10% in five years. In Oakland, a very industrial city with a huge port where blacks first came years ago to work on the docks (and the birthplace of the Black Panther Party), blacks are down 19% (and "Latinos" up 12%).

There are two factors driving this: cost and quality of life. Most any apartment or home in the Bay Area is ridiculously priced. Oakland has historically and consistently had one of the highest homicide rates in the state.

People originally moved to the Bay Area due to the mild-to-cool overall weather in a state ruled by oppressive summer heat -- not to mention adjacency to the ocean itself.

But with those issues come other quality of life issues for the newly-settled and now "impacted" areas.

HOMICIDES IN FORNICALIA

Homicides are up in Fornicalia, a fact that bucks current statistics indicating a trending down of homicides nationally.

In the City of Sacratomato, where I work (and the capitol of Fornicalia), the homicide rate is the highest its been since 1993. The Mayor and the city council can't understand why.

In Elk Grove, an adjacent and newly incorporated bedroom community of so-called "good people," the police department is agog, as are locals, with a likewise nasty homicide rate. In front of God and all, ordinary citizens have been shotgunned in the face at "random" on Laguna Boulevard. The Elk Grove Police Department has been caught completely flat-footed -- preferring to refuse acknowledgment of the presence of violence on its perceived-to-be-pristine streets. No one can understand why.

One reason: the influx of middle class blacks, Mexicans and other minorities fleeing, yes, you guessed it, the Bay Area and it's concomitant oppressive quality of life and high-cost issues. And when these middle class "minorities" (caucasoids are actually the minority in Fornicalia now) bring their Bay Area gangbanging "children" with them, these newly-arrived little lovelies armed with semi-automatics and shotguns now clash for status, power, money and face with the entrenched gangbanger populace -- and of course, hilarity ensues with the resulting conflict.

This trend may continue because of falling housing prices in the Sacratomato area. "Sacramento County posted urban California's steepest year-over-year fall in home prices during July as more buyers waited out a slumping market and sellers showed increasing willingness to cut and run." This means more middle class minorities fleeing the Bay Area may find Sacratomato increasingly tempting.

These are accounts of legal immigration.

Illegal immigration has deadlier consequences still.

And we continue to put illegal immigration on the back burner because, naturally, both sides of the aisle benefit -- but all parties and many Americans continue to fail to see the larger picture.

BZ

Ah Islam, The Religion Of Peace And Understanding, Not To Mention Tolerance And Proportion

For those of you who may still not "get it."

Islamists want to convert you or kill you. They would prefer to simply kill you.

However, should you deign to become part of their progressive society, this is the future your great grandchildren face. Above is an 8-year-old child who made the serious mistake of stealing. And, of course, the discipline involved isn't a private affair, it is quite public. Note the microphone in the hand of the adult at the top shot and the numerous persons milling about awaiting the glorious spectacle of Islamic punishment.

When we enable or buy into their propaganda, this is what your children face.

When we place our heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge reality, this is what your children face.

When we refuse to take a stand against evil incarnate, this is what your children face.

The stakes for America are that critical.

And the world dares to accuse Israel for a lack of proportion after they were attacked?

___________________

My thanks to John the Patriot. Go here for more information.

BZ

The War Of Propaganda

First: The Masters of Propaganda Continue:

Iranian President Ahmadinejad wants reparations for damage to Lebanon:

President Ahmadi-Nejad said that Iran calls for an end to the current hostility in Lebanon and the aggressor should pay reparations for the damages it inflicted on civilian infrastructure of Lebanon. He called on the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) to bring to justice Israeli officials for the war crimes they perpetrated against civilians of Lebanon and Palestine.

Second: Journalists HELP Islamists Win The Propaganda War:

Michelle Malkin calls it "fauxtography" in her post. And all it does is assist Militant Islam with their own propaganda war against Western Nations. To wit:

It's the story that the journalistic elite would rather just go away. In the aftermath of Reuters' admission that one of its photographers, Adnan Hajj, had manipulated two war images from Lebanon after bloggers smoked out his crude Photoshop alterations, and all 920 of his Reuters photos were pulled, evidence of far more troubling photo staging and media deception in the Middle East continues to pour in.

Such as the above photo amply illustrates. Again, let me be blunt: with a name such as Adnan Hajj, are you, clear thinker you, even remotely shocked? And yet Reuters happily trots out bunches of photos then, only later, after having been caught in the scam, grudgingly pulls them -- luckily, all of them (that I can determine).

And our journalists are assisting in the Propaganda Scam On The West:

Washington Post photographer Michael Robinson-Chavez, who was at Qana, huffed: "Everyone was dead, many of them children. Nothing was set up." But last week, a German television station aired damning video footage from the scene showing a lead propaganda director (dubbed the "Green Helmet Guy") positioning a young boy's corpse, yanking it from an ambulance, placing it on two different stretchers for the cameras and pushing bystanders out of the way for clearer shots.

Chavez was indignant that people should think things were staged. Imagine! Staged photographs by possible Left-leaning papers attempting to make money "working" interests against the United States? In the 40s and 50s this would have been completely unthinkable.

Now it's a given and commonplace.

Third: Never Let The Facts Intrude Upon Good Propaganda:

The facts: Hezbollah kidnapped the original two Israeli soldiers on July 12th in an unprovoked and premeditated attack.

• The attack also took the lives of eight Israeli soldiers and took place under cover of a barrage of Hezbollah rocket fire.
• The attack was carried out across the internationally recognised northern border between Lebanon and Israel.
• Hezbollah is part of Lebanon 's Government. Even if the Lebanese Government didn't know the attack was planned, Hezbollah's action constituted an act of war by one sovereign country against another
• Hezbollah's very existence violates international law. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1559 of 2005, The Lebanese Government was obliged to disarm and disband Hezbollah. It did not do so, and Hezbollah is now an active part of the Lebanon government itself.
• Neither Hezbollah nor Lebanon have a legitimate territorial claim against Israel. Israeli withdrew completely from South Lebanon in May of 2000.
• Israel had to respond because territory is not at stake, but Israel 's right to exist is.
• Hezbollah rejects Israel 's right to exist. If Hezbollah or other groups believe that they can use the territory they control to attack Israel with impunity inside Israel 's recognised borders, there will never be peace. Period.
• Israel did not wish to see this escalation. It has been forced upon Israel . And while Israel wishes to free the kidnapped soldiers, it is not responding to the kidnapping alone. It is responding to the rejectionist ideology which underlies the kidnapping.

Never let the facts get in the way of an excellent stream of Propaganda.

I repeat: the US and Israel do not know how to play the Propaganda Game. And I submit that propaganda is damned near as important as dead Islamists.

BZ

Winning, Losing and One-Upsmanship

People are apparently attempting to quantify the Israeli-Lebanese-Hezbollah conflict in terms of winning and losing. And if push comes to shove, in those terms, I would offer:

Israel has "lost." Hezbollah has "won." And President Bush is, unfortunately, incorrect when he states that Israel "won."

Israel has won nothing but a guarantee for future conflict and more dead Israelis.

Allow me to place the cards directly on the table, face-up:

The Israelis were (and will be once again) fighting Iran by proxy, nothing less -- with Syria thrown in for good measure. It is a given that roughly a quarter of Hezbollah troops were eliminated. But that has in no uncertain terms guaranteed any lessening of Iran's goal of the complete eradication of Israel -- even though Admadinnerjacket appears to be on Mike Wallace's "New Best Friend" list. After all, "it's all our fault."

The Syrian army is massing at the border.

And the passion is boiling in Israel, some saying that the Ehud Olmert government must go. Aaron Klein, WND's Jerusalem post, wrote:

Officials say the IAF was still restrained from targeting key positions close to the Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley from which intelligence officials say Hezbollah received regular shipments of rockets and other heavy weaponry originating in Iran and transported via Syria. Israel bombed roads in the area a few kilometers from Syria, but many weapons smuggling routes at the border remained intact.

While Syria placed its military on high alert, Olmert told reporters several times Israel had no intention of bringing Damascus into the war.

Klein writes a chilling paragraph:

And terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza are foaming at the mouth. Today, Abu Aziz, second-in-command of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, told WorldNetDaily that Hezbollah's victory leads him to believe the end of Israel is in sight. He said he realizes now is the time to "attack Israel from all directions."

Carolyn Glick, a columnist for The Jerusalem Post said she believes the Israeli government is finding itself unable to understand the true extent of the threat. She wrote:

The resolution represents a near-total victory for Hizbullah and its state sponsors Iran and Syria, and an unprecedented defeat for Israel and its ally the United States. This fact is evident both in the text of the resolution and in the very fact that the US decided to sponsor a cease-fire resolution before Israel had dismantled or seriously degraded Hizbullah's military capabilities.

There aren't the 62 necessary votes available in the Knesset to force a "no confidence" vote in the Israeli government, though protests are sparking all over the country, with people frustrated over the "holding back" of the Israeli IDF. Many believe the Olmert government is incapable of defending its citizens.

In the meantime, Hezbollah is certainly abiding by the ceasefire -- by hurling rockets. Even today AP News writes: "Hezbollah guerrillas fired at least 10 Katusha rockets that landed in southern Lebanon early Tuesday" at the IDF. The ceasefire is clearly phony.

ONE-UPSMANSHIP?

Hezbollah's Nasrallah, a Shiite, has the current upper hand in terms of propaganda and "face." OBL, a Sunni, had his plan to detonate aircraft over the Atlantic shattered, but experts agree that isn't the "big one." Bin Laden is planning a larger strike yet, possibly involving nuclear weapons, some believe.

This entire plot revolves around Iran's Ahmadinnerjacket simply trying to Teflon himself out of world focus on his nuclear program. And how wonderfully it has seemed to work.

Everyone knows how to hurl the propaganda -- except Israel and the United States.

Oh, and a few bombs and missles thrown back wouldn't hurt either.

BZ

P.S.

And oh -- what about the candidates willing to fight come our 2008 elections? Do they even exist?

For Those Of Us Who Are Historically Challenged:

In reference to 1987, a lecture the other day involved an old news video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning.

In the process of being drilled by a senator who asked:

"Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"

Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, sir."

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience.

"Isn't that just a little excessive?"

"No, sir," continued Ollie.

"No? And why not?" the senator asked.

"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."

"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.

"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.

"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"

"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name but couldn't pronounce it; most people back then couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt.

Then the senator continued: "Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.

"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of," Ollie answered.

"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.

"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

That senator was Al Gore.

_________________

Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986.

The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him.

As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners."

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands.

President Bill Clinton and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center.

This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.

It was censored in the US from all later reports.

____________________


Pass it on.


____________________


BZ

World Trade Center

I just returned from having viewed Oliver Stone's World Trade Center.

I must admit some amount of trepidation considering Mr. Stone's history and his remarks following the massive flop Alexander. Stone insulted his audience then by chalking those of us in the United States as, essentially, dung-eating beetles for failing to recognize the brilliance of casting Colin Farrell (with his horrible dye-job) as the overtly homosexual conquerer. Oliver Stone threatened (like the brilliant actor Alec Baldwin) to move to France due to America's inherent homophobia. Huh.

Both persons are still, oddly, living in the United States (Johnny Depp did, in fact, move to France; he evidently means what he says).

World Trade Center is much different; instead of taking a wider perspective Stone narrows the range and enables us to greatly care and feel for his characters. Despite this I cannot help but wonder how this film would have been handled by other directors; at its conclusion I felt that Stone somehow -- I don't know -- somehow held back. I freely admit to a bit of a bias against Stone considering his background and his past remarks.

The story delves into the rescue of two of the 20 persons pulled from the wreckage of the WTC, survivors number 18 and 19, New York Port Authority Police Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer Will Jimeno, portrayed by Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena respectively.

THE TRUE HERO:

In my opinion, however, the movie's true star is a man showcased for a time and then forgotten, David Karnes. Who is David Karnes? I did not know, until I watched the film.

USMC Staff Sgt. David W. Karnes is one man who stood up and, by doing so, made the ultimate difference between life and death. One man, one person, can still make a difference in this country and so it was with this incredible Hero.



David Karnes, at 43, watched the fall of the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001, like most of us.

A former Marine and then an accountant in Connecticut, Karnes did this:

I stopped to get a high-and-tight haircut at the local barbershop, then traveled toward my home in Wilton to throw on a pair of starched cammies (camouflage fatigues)I had hanging in my closet. I then stopped at my storage unit on Long Island to grab some basic 782 and rappelling gear, and then started on what is normally a 45-minute drive toward the World Trade Center.

"I was traveling down the closed parkway in my car at a very aggressive speed,” Karnes explained. “Funny thing is that two weeks prior to the attack, I bought a used car— ironically, it was a Porsche 911 . The cops that had checkpoints all up that route waved me through because I had the top down on my car and they could see that I was a Marine with intentions to get to the site.”

Upon arriving at the site where the towers once stood, Karnes immediately noticed a group of fireman as well as a handful of military service members like himself. Karnes found a search-and-rescue buddy in another Marine on the scene whom he knows only as “Sgt. Thomas.”

“I asked Thomas and the others if anyone has been in the center of the collapse area where the two towers stood,” Karnes admitted. “He said no because the authorities won't let anyone near that area, so I asked him if he would take a walk over there with me.”

The rest is now history.

Karnes, a civilian disguised as a military man, breached the various lines surrounding the towers and, with a legitimate military man of rank, managed to locate the area where both Port Authority officers had been buried under tons of precarious debris.

Both PA officers, following numerous surgeries, subsequently retired but lived to enjoy their families and their futures.

And Staff Sgt. David Karnes?

He re-enlisted and served two tours in Iraq.

__________________


BZ

The Good, The Bad & The UGLY

(I'm back tonight, and happy to be home!)

___________________


Good: Your wife is pregnant.
Bad: It's triplets.
Ugly: You had a vasectomy five years ago.

Good: Your wife's not talking to you
Bad: She wants a divorce.
Ugly: She's a lawyer.

Good : Your son is finally maturing.
Bad : He's involved with the women next door.
Ugly : So are you.

Good : Your son studies a lot in his room.
Bad : You find several porn movies hidden there.
Ugly : You're in them.

Good : Your hubby and you agree, no more kids.
Bad : You can't find your birth control pills.
Ugly : Your daughter borrowed them.

Good : Your husband understands fashion.
Bad : He's a cross-dresser.
Ugly : He looks better than you.

Good : You just gave "the birds and the bees" talk to your daughter.
Bad : She keeps interrupting.
Ugly : With corrections.

Good : Your son is dating someone new.
Bad : It's another man.
Ugly : He's your best friend.

Good : Your daughter got a new job.
Bad : As a hooker.
Ugly : Your co-workers are her best clients.
Way ugly : She makes more money than you do.

_________________


BZ

Moonbat Actually Defeated

How strange is this -- posting from an alien computer, not my own.

In any event, I have but a few minutes to post whilst this confuser is available. Two points:

Every once in awhile there is proof that God exists. Witness the flaming Moonbat Cynthia McKinney's defeat in Georgia. Of course, true to McKinney form, none of it is her fault -- she blames Bush to reporters to electronic voting machines to the press:

Johnson defeated McKinney by more than 12,000 votes, getting 59 percent of the vote to 41 percent for McKinney. The black attorney and former DeKalb County commissioner is now the general-election favorite in the predominantly Democratic district east of Atlanta.

He will face Republican Catherine Davis, a black human resources manager who ran against McKinney in 2004.

"The people in District Four were looking for a change," Johnson said. "And what happened indicated it was time for a change."

In her concession speech, McKinney repeated her criticism of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, and said electronic voting machines, which have been used in all of Georgia's precincts since 2002, "are a threat to our democracy."

Occasionally, the electorate comes around. Perhaps Georgians had tired of looking like fools with McKinney on their team, the quintessential "victim" of nothing and everything.

On The Other Hand:

The Democrats decided to slam a good man, Joe Lieberman, who has now resultingly cast off the Democratic Party and decided to hike his personal road as an Independent.

This smacks of the current true Democratic colors, whereupon now the party has decided to obviously expose and endorse its true Leftist core and has discarded someone with whom many persons could have a rational discussion (and perhaps some disagreement) and even reach some sort of mid-point.

In the blink of an eye, Joe Lieberman was smited and quantified as insufficiently Left. I didn't care for everything Lieberman said but he was, and is, a good man at his core.

Michael Moore said:

Let the resounding defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman send a cold shiver down the spine of every Democrat who supported the invasion of Iraq and who continues to support, in any way, this senseless, immoral, unwinnable war. Make no mistake about it: We, the majority of Americans, want this war ended -- and we will actively work to defeat each and every one of you who does not support an immediate end to this war.

Nearly every Democrat set to run for president in 2008 is responsible for this war. They voted for it or they supported it. That single, stupid decision has cost us 2,592 American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives. Lieberman and Company made a colossal mistake -- and we are going to make sure they pay for that mistake. Payback time started last night.

And as we all know, Michael Moore speaks for the Democratic Party.

He does now.

BZ

I Am Away -- Please Return!

Actually, I'll probably be posting on Saturday night after my Southwest flight back into Sacratomato.

Thanks again for visiting, come back, and take every opportunity to tell those you love in your life precisely that!

BZ

Stand By: Gas Prices To INCREASE

Expect your gas prices to increase.

BP (British Petroleum) which owns ARCO in America has shut down its Prudhoe Bay operations as of August 7th, due to pipeline corrosion and possible subsequent leakage.

In 1998 BP merged with Amoco (once called Standard Oil) and created BP Amoco. In 2000, BP bought out ARCO (the Atlantic Richfield Company).

When you ram "low cost" gas into your car at ARCO (like I do) for cash, you're shipping money to BP.

From AP:

BP PLC said Monday it will replace 73 percent of the pipelines from the nation's largest oil field and that production could be closed for weeks or months, crimping the nation's oil supplies at a time of peak demand.

BP, the world's second-largest oil company, began shutting down the pipelines on Monday and said it would replace 16 miles of the 22 miles of transit pipeline it operates in the Prudhoe Bay field following a leak discovered Sunday.

Initially, speculators are indicating that gas prices at the pump should rise by roughly 10-cents per gallon immediately. Trust me when I say that the various oil companies will NOT fail to adhere to this "prediction."

Otherwise, additional speculators indicate the price per barrel may increase another $10 to $85+.

An incredible 8% of our oil is sourced from the Prudhoe Bay BP fields.

Perhaps it's time to garage your SUV and, in protestation of the crunch to come, bike or motorcycle or carpool to work -- just as the government advocates.

Except that, in a free market economy, too much conservation can impact the oil companies in ways they had not yet foreseen. And too much conservation is not what the oil companies want.

It is still my belief that oil is the primary reason for our involvement in the Middle East. I am nothing if not pragmatic. I want oil for my country; I also want us to sever as many ties to the insane Middle East as humanly possible.

Make no mistake: we are where we are because of our dependence on oil. We would not tolerate, for a moment, what is occurring in Persia had we true independence. Or we would tend to collectively look the other way.

We have done what must be done to sustain our way.

I submit that it is time for "our way" in terms of energy production and consumption to change.

Nuclear? Solar? Fusion? Hydrogen?

Bring it on -- as long as we hose the belligerent barbarians in Islam.

BZ

Flappy Bird?

Somehow I went from a "Lowly Insect" in the TTLB Ecosystem to a "Flappy Bird."

All I can say is: thank you to my readers!

BZ

Johnny Cash: American V -- A Hundred Highways

Yes, this is an album review but likely not one you were expecting here on Bloviating Zeppelin.

First, I preface my comments by saying that my musical tastes are nothing short of esoteric and ranging from King Crimson to Dean Martin, Gentle Giant, Rush, Three Man Army, Material, ELP, Rob Zombie, Weather Report, Frank Zappa, Tony Bennett, Tool, Modern Jazz Quartet, Wishbone Ash, Foghat, Yes, Cheap Trick, Disturbed, Black Sabbath, Roy Wood, Be Bop Deluxe, Therion, Frank Sinatra, Porcupine Tree, Vivaldi, Procol Harum, ELO, Beethoven, Captain Beyond, Fairport Convention, Bryan Beller, The Kinks, Primus, Neil Young, Warren Zevon and on and on. I enjoy most every musical venue save that of rap, which simply is an excuse for showcasing those persons with no musical talent whatsoever -- and is insulting, racist and sexist to boot. Jazz and the blues? Count me in.

Then I made a mistake and saw the movie Walk The Line with Joaquin Phoenix. For whatever reason that movie resonated. And I ordered the CD: The Legend of Johnny Cash -- I found I got swallowed up in the songs Walk The Line, Ring Of Fire and I've Been Everywhere -- I loved its rhythm and the lyrics and his delivery.

He started to remind me of Sinatra, with his clear delineation and distinct interpretation of a song.

Then I ordered American III: Solitary Man. That led to American IV and then the most recent release (July 4) from the Rick Rubin sessions, American V.

I am not an inherent fan of both types: country and western. Until I hit Johnny Cash. And then everything seemed to change. And now I've been listening to much of Jessi Colter (Out of the Ashes), Highwaymen, The Outlaws and now Cash's American V.

I'd never realized what a truly remarkable American icon Johnny Cash was . . .

I walked into, of all places, a Sam's Club and purchased American V last week. I listened to it as I drove back home. And I have to be honest: it hit home with me in a way that Warren Zevon's The Wind continues to drive an emotional stake into my heart any time it is played.

Warren Zevon was me and I was him. His intelligence, his sarcasm, his black wit, did the same thing: it resonated. I had attended over 10+ WZ concerts. I last saw him during his Learning To Flinch acoustic tour; he is my overall favorite musical artist. I cannot listen to The Wind without some tears welling. I cannot watch the VH1 DVD (Inside) Out without similar tears forming as I listen to WZ's voice breaking as he attempts to hit notes for his final album. He died on September 7th of 2003, of mesothelioma, at age 56.

Well I went home with a waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know?
She was with the Russians too!
Hyah!

I listened to American V and found myself captivated from, essentially, the first notes.

This is clearly not the best singing you would ever hear from Johnny Cash; predominantly, in truth, the singing is very poor. Another Rick Rubin (and the final album for Johnny Cash) production, the album has no echo on his voice; it is what it is. Some songs contain the breaking of Cash's voice. He hits the notes he can and misses some. He is weak. In one song you can clearly hear him make a huge intake of necessary air in order to continue singing the next line.

It makes the album all the more poignant and striking to me. This is his last hurrah and, it turns out, his recorded goodbye to not only his life but the love of his life, June Carter. His song selection makes this obvious.

It is also his final preparation for his crossing and making good his life with the Lord. That much is also obvious in his song selection -- with also his song selection in American IV: The Man Comes Around. And in that case The Man was, of course, his God.

I am listening to American V as I write this.

The first cut, Help Me, is an immediate appeal to his Lord:

I never thought I needed help before,
Thought that I could get by, by myself
But now I know I just can't take it, anymore
And with a humble heart on bended knee, I'm begging you please
For help

The second cut, God's Gonna Cut You Down, caught me with its simple and overwhelming rhythmic stomp-and-clap track. It demands your attention and accentuates Cash's voice, with some wonderful acoustic slide guitar. I initially found this the most compelling track on the entire album. It is simple and yet cascadingly effective.

Go tell that long-tongued liar,
Go and tell that midnight rider,
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God is gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God is gonna cut 'em down.

The third cut, Like The 309, caught my attention with its reference to trains. But it goes farther than that, insofar as Johnny seems to acknowledge, for the first time in this collection, his mortality and possible imminent demise:

It should be a while before I see Dr. Death
So it would sure be nice if I could get my breath
Well I'm not the cryin' nor the whinin' kind
Till I hear the whistle of the 309

Johnny Cash advocates what I want for me when I die:

Put me in my box on the 309

I'm into railroads and locomotives and my local historic lines; I've told my fiance that, when I die, I want to be cremated. And I told her: put my ashes in a coffee can, find an open boxcar, and send me on my way. Let me take a journey that may never end. It is, however, on this song that you can hear Johnny Cash take a hit of oxygen during the recording.

His next song is a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind. The guitar and piano come in strong as does his voice -- but on this cut his voice somehow comes in closer and manages a more personal tone than prior songs. His voice, being somehow closer to the mic, also breaks later on a number of lines. Rather than being re-recorded, Rick Rubin decides to leave them in. That, too, is telling.

If you could read my mind, love.

Further On Up The Road summarizes Cash's life; it could be a summary of my life or your life or someone's life that extolled a vagabond's ways. I found this song, with its sentence pauses, wonderful to parrot and sing though I didn't know its words.

One sunny morning
We'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on
Up the road

On The Evening Train is, in my estimation, an immediate tribute to his recently-passed wife, June Carter Cash. He misses her horribly and manages to express this on the cut.



The slow guitars and piano betray the song, and the lyrics reveal:

The baby's eyes
Are red from weeping
It's little heart
Is filled with pain.
Oh Daddy, it cried
They're taking momma
Away from us
On the evening train.

Johnny Cash becomes not only the father but the baby in this song, acknowledging his loss directly and vicariously on this song.

I Came To Believe is another tribute and an acknowledgement to his God:

And I came to believe in a power much higher than I
And I came to believe in that I needed help to get by
In childlike faith in gave in and gave him a try
And I came to believe in a power much higher than I.

The next song, Rod McKuen's Love's Been Good To Me, was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra, and his voice is strong here:

I've been a rover
I have walked alone
Hiked a hundred highways
Never found a home
Still in all I'm happy
The reason is, you see
Once in a while along the way
Love's been good to me

A Legend In My Time is a moderately slow guitar tune which extolls Cash's propensity for broken hearts and love that is in vain and, in my opinion, the weakest cut on this album if for no other reason than its spoken verses. It is thankfully short.

The next, Rose Of My Heart, also includes his love for June Carter:

We're the best partners this world's ever seen
Together we're close as can be
But sometimes it's hard to find time in between
To tell you what you mean to me

You are the Rose of my Heart
You are the love of my life
A flower not faded nor falling apart
If you're tired rest your head on my heart
Rose of My Heart

He clearly sings this to the love of his life, June Carter Cash.

I cannot listen to this and but not cry.

Johnny Cash next covers Four Strong Winds, a song written by Ian Tyson and performed by Ian & Sylvia in 1963, and his voice sounds the strongest so far -- despite the subject matter being predominantly winter -- for good lyrical reason.

The final cut on the album is I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now, and decrees not only Cash's freedom from this extant earth, but in simple guitar form:

I got rid of the shackles that bound me
And the guards that were always around me
There were tears on the mail
Mother wrote me in jail
But I'm free from the chain gang now

Johnny Cash hits lows in his voice that had yet to reach on the album, making me wonder if this was in fact the first or the last cut he had recorded. What, in fact, was his final cut?

I suspect we shall never know.

This entire album was the most intimate look at an artist I can feature. I could only wish that Rick Rubin had somehow managed to record Warren Zevon's final album. I believe it could only have been better than what existed.

But we shall never know.

We shall never know.

Their final albums: I now and always shall shed a tear when I listen.




BZ

CITIZEN SOLDIERS

Everyone within Israel is a Citizen Soldier. As Atlas Shrugs says: "Changing the world, one word at a time; Citizen Journalist, Citizen Soldier."



We in the United States are slated soon to be our own Citizen Soldiers. And we'd best get used to the concept.

SUPPORT LIKE-MINDED NATIONS IN NEED:

AJacksonian has an excellent idea with regard to the support of Israel, Denmark and Poland. Visit this link and "do your bit" for God and Country.

BZ

Blogging From Prison?

It depends on which article you read. Josh Wolf, 24, is considered either a blogger or a journalist. He does have a blog at Josh Wolf.net. The URL indicates that it is a blog. In any event:

SAN FRANCISCO--A freelance journalist and blogger was jailed on Tuesday after refusing to turn over video he took at an anticapitalist protest here last summer and after refusing to testify before a grand jury looking into accusations that crimes were committed at the protest.

Earlier this year, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Wolf to testify before a grand jury and turn over video from the demonstration, held in the Mission District on July 8, 2005. The protest, tied to a Group of 8 meeting of world economic leaders in Scotland, ended in a clash between demonstrators and the San Francisco police, with one officer sustaining a fractured skull.

Wolf, who posted some of the edited video on his Web site, www.joshwolf.net, and sold some of it to local television stations, met with investigators, who wanted to see the raw video.(Click here for more on his role in the video blogging world.) But Wolf refused to hand over the tapes, arguing that he had the right as a journalist to shield his sources.

OPINIONS?

I, of course, have mine and that is this: we in the New Media Blogosphere have to grapple, as do the courts, with the proper placement of blogs and bloggers in the overall scope of media itself. Are we bloggers only? Are we journalists? Are we shills for various corporations? We are all of that and more.

After looking at Wolf's blog and peeking around (and noticing that his mommy, fer Christ's sake, is blogging for him now!), he quantifies and places himself in the category of journalist though he took his degree in psychology from SFSU. He does have some background in journalism having worked, as he writes, for his high school paper, UCSB's Daily Nexus and then at the Santa Barbara Independent. He does not have, however, any experience with what one would normally call the Mainstream Media -- and likely has gone out of his way to not do so.

But here's where the lines begin to merge and the fog of gray, in my opinion, began to take hold within his fevered brain. He saw himself as part of the New Media and under that fell blogging. The fact pattern is that he posted videos of a 2005 anti-capitalist protest on his blog. His video(s) likely contained images of illegal activities during said protest.

My guess is that he features himself not quite under the guise of Mainstream Media and, further, features himself oblivious to some forms of law both because of his status as a blogger and a journalist. Though Fornicalia has what is considered to be a state "shield law" from various contempt citations, no such law exists on the federal level.

And that is where Mr. Wolf now sits: under federal authority.

Apparently Mr. Wolf is unaware of the difference.

Let's say I am a blogger. Further, let's say I am precisely Mr. Bloviating Zeppelin and have taken the same video of the same event and posted it on my blog. Let's say that one day I am contacted by authorities who want to sneak a peek at my raw footage. Would I say yes? Would I say no? Would I magically consider myself a "journalist" and take my stand?

Folks: I'm no journalist. I'm just a fat guy with a free account in Blogger who enjoys seeing my own words in print. But I'm also sufficiently sagacious to know when to comply with a reasonable request, for good reasons, from my local authorities.

When we as bloggers enter the atmosphere of real journalism and we through all appearances attempt to portray ourselves as journalists then I shall assume that there is a leaning towards the consequences of our actions to be "journalist-like."

To turn a current phrase to ol' Josh: "Yo dude; what were you thinking?"

BZ

The British ARE Insane!

A "Muslim Fun Day" in a UK theme park?

Surely this must be a joke -- except it isn't.

From Reuters:

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday.

Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas.

Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex.

But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event, had called it off due to "insufficient ticket sales."

"Alton Towers is disappointed that the planned Family Fun Day Sunday 17th September has had to be canceled," the park said in a statement. A park spokeswoman said Islamic Leisure would refund those who bought tickets.

Excuse me for being redundant and simplistic but: are you friggin' kidding me?!

What in the heck do you think would happen if a theme park held a "Fun Day For Jews," a "Picnic With Pentacostals," or a "Christians Only Fun Day" anywhere on the face of this planet?

And this theme park would have carried out the plan had they found sufficient ticket sales!

Would anyone besides me care to call this "catering" or "pandering" on a veritable foundation of fear? Or would you just clasp my shoulders and say: "BZ old man, you should be more inclusive!"

BZ