Back in Two Weeks

I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for a week at Maine Jazz Camp. The day I get back from there I have to leave for another camp. I'll have access to a computer, but most likely I'll be too preoccupied to write anything. So, here's a parting video.

More on the Porker Incident

Here he is, the man himself. Brent Matthews, the man who rolled a frozen pig's head into a mosque last Tuesday. They're going to be prosecuting him in a court setting before too long, and there is speculation the the church-desecration crime may have something to do with race or religious discrimination. Uh-duh.

But look at him! Does he look like the kind of guy who would do something like that? No, come on. To sat a guy like this would perform a hate crime like that is ludicrous. He looks like a very respectable young man, not the kind of person who would have a criminal record of "reckless conduct and operating under the influence." No, surely not. It was a harmless little joke! I highly doubt he bears any ill will towards the muslim people. Oh! I know! He probably wanted to share his pig-head with them! See? It was a simple welcoming gesture.

They should string this guy up by his toes.

Side-by-Side Comparison

I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I could throw him. Well, either of them.

King Has No Spine

Alessandra Stanley said it.

"Larry King Live" is the first stop in any damage control operation — a chance to explain oneself to the least contentious journalist in the land.

And, oh, the damage that has been done. Mr. King and the President had a very safe interview. Unbelievably safe.

At times, Mr. King even provided the president with answers. "You've always had a lot of compassion for the Mexican people," the interviewer interjected in a discussion of the president's immigration bill. Mr. Bush seemed a little surprised, but grateful. "Yes, sir!" he replied.

I hate to see that. Reporters shouldn't be like that. They should be repectful, yes, and cordial, but hard-hitting. They shouldn't be wary of the big questions, and they sure as hell shouldn't provide answers. They should be vicious, blood-sucking creatures who feast on cold hard facts. Give Bush a one-on-one interview with Kieth Olberman, or Murray Waas, and the man would be ripped to shreds. Why? Because he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about half the time.

Thursday Music Blogging

Sit back and allow Benny Goodman to take you back to a better, simpler time.

Muslims Are Mad, Rightly So

I am starting to get very fed up with the reactionary right-wing jerks who comment on stories over at the Press Herald. They wrote a follow-up article for the porker story from Tuesday. Here's a piece.

We are trying to tell (people) not to worry," said Imam Nuh, who leads prayers at the Islamic center. "But this is not good for the Muslim religion."

Nuh said he has been receiving calls of support from Muslims around the country. He said followers must not be provoked by others and need to show that Islam is a faith rooted in peace.

About 40 men were bowed in prayer when the frozen pig's head was rolled into the Lewiston-Auburn Islamic Center Monday night. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork because pigs are considered unclean.

Matthews, who was arrested Tuesday and released on bail, told police he did it as a "joke," authorities said.

"All Americans should be able to offer prayers in their houses of worship without fear of attack or intimidation," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on America-Islamic Relations.

Very well put. The man is going to be charged with a hate crime, and he should. It was completely unacceptable. More unacceptable than that however are the aforementioned jerks defending the pig-tosser; saying bullshit like "It was a joke, and they're calling it a hate crime? There is no justice in the world!"

Why do people have to be so hateful? A hateful person's ultimate goal is to make everyone different disappear. Immigrants, Muslims, gays would all just disappear. They have to realize that that is a ridiculous goal. What they don't understand though is that if they're here they might as well get used to them, they'll be sticking around. Mantra's like "God Bless America! LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!" just don't work. They never worked.

Americans are too narrow-minded to understand that not all Muslims are suicide bombers, or terrorists/ radicalists. Some are just people who want to go to church without having pig-heads thrown through the windows.

As men gathered to pray late Wednesday, Nuh spoke with Naleye Duale, an 11-year-old who was at the center on Monday night.

When the Imam asks him how he felt following the incident, Duale answered with a single word.

"Sad."

That's what those jerks get off on. Imagine.

Free Press?

The Independant Online reports:

"News reporting about disasters and public disorder in China could become a crime under a proposed bill which would ban the spread of information about catastrophes without official permission."

So... exactly how does this make us different than China again?

Local Hick Is A Dumbass

Yesterday a Lewiston resident decided that he had nothing better to do than hate other people in as disgusting a manner as he could.

"A 33-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly threw a severed pig's head into a Lewiston mosque while a group of Muslim men were praying."

"Matthews, who was out on bail, "admitted to doing it," Mailhot said. "He thought it was funny; it was going to be a big joke. The police department doesn't take anything like that lightly."

Well heck yeah Police. Hate crimes aren't a joke and shouldn't be taken lightly. Now, I am a very sarcastic person, and some may say I am not very politically correct as a result. That's because I believe in freedom of speech, but that's a topic for later. The fact that this man rolled a pig's head into a mosque is insufferable, and shows the general stupidity of Americans. I mean, that's just provoking an arrest, which is what he got. That's the wrong way to hate! Ordinary citizens need to take a lesson from higher Government and start hating in smart, productive ways that actually get them somewhere, besides a paddy-wagon. Oh, no they don't.

Unfortunately this is only a repeating pattern of Muslim-hating in Lewiston, and it really hurts to see. This is especially painful to see on a local level. I usually consider Maine as it is labeled, a blue state full of thoughtful and progressive people. Really that's only in southern Maine and not even all the time. The closer you get to Portland however the better it gets, and I suppose I'm shocked every time I read something like this, and it's only a twenty minute drive from my house.

Hadley Briefs Press on N. Korea Missiles

Read the entire press briefing. Here's the most pertinent bit I could find.

"So, you know, we've been doing a lot of preparations for this, and the President, I think -- so it wasn't that he was surprised, because we've seen this coming for a while. I think his instinct is that this just shows the defiance of the international community by North Korea. This is not a U.S.- North Korea issue; they were receiving messages from the entire international community on this subject and chose to ignore them." ~Steve Hadley

Ah, so what they mean to say is that it's none of our business, so we won't intervene. The missile launches are not a U.S. - North Korea issue. Well there's only one thing I can say to that. 9/11 wasn't a U.S. - Iraq issue. It was a U.S. - Afghanistan issue. And yet...

Please, the irony is killing me.

Unbelievable

Sen. Ted Stevens apparently doesn't know a damn thing about the internet.

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck.

It's a series of tubes.

And if you don't understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material." ~ Ted Stevens

I... what? I don't even know what to say to that, other than I'm shocked an appalled that this man is sitting in Congress. I don't want to believe it, but there it is.

I was actually thinking about this the other day. When did this happen? When did our senators and congressmen become so stupid?

Take a look at our founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin was not only a Congressman from Pennsylvania and a prominent statesman, but a published writer of astrology, fluent speaker of five languages, invented bifocals, swimfins, the catheter, the Franklin stove, and the lightning rod, was one of the earliest abolitionists, and had a hand in establishing Pennsylvania University! He discovered the link between lightning and electricity!

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin

I want that! I want that making decisions in congress! That is so smart!

I take this shamelessly from Wikipedia,

"[Thomas] Jefferson was an agriculturalist, horticulturist, architect, etymologist, archaeologist, mathematician, cryptographer, surveyor, paleontologist, author, lawyer, inventor, violinist, and the founder of the University of Virginia."

Paleontologist? Our third President was a paleontologist? That is amazing. But instead of Franklin, or Jefferson, we have this,

"I know that the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." ~ President George W. Bush

It's enough to make you cry, really. So, my question stands. What the hell happened? Where did the education of elected officials go down hill? I really have no clue. It seems like it's more important to just look good on camera than it is to be able to think or speak in a manner that isn't completely embarassing. Is it the state of educatio in this country? Has it gotten so bad that our standards have been lowered by this much? Or is it just the time period? Back then people were less specialized. We have seen the last of the "Renaissance Man" I suppose, but I refuse to settle for anyone who isn't even good at one thing, like talking.

4th

I will make this clear. I do not profess to be anything but a secret closet musical fan. This seems more timely than ever.



I will also not pretend to be anything other than more than slightly depressed today. This is a holiday that for me takes this country back to its roots, rather than thinking about present day, which is some solace. I wonder where we got off track, however. This used to be an excellent country. I cannot read this without feeling some swell of pride.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." ~The Declaration of Independence, July 4th 1776

Thomas Jefferson. That's just perfect, isn't it? I love everything about that.

Today I am not optimistic about my country, but I shall be celebrating my fourth thusly: thinking about the past, hoping for the future, ignoring the news, and eating my hotdogs. Have a good one.

Bush Behind Wilson Leaks

Journalist Murray Waas reported today that the order to leak information concerning Joseph Wilson, and consequently his wife CIA operative Valerie Plame, came directly from the President himself.

One senior government official familiar with the discussions between Bush and Cheney -- but who does not have firsthand knowledge of Bush's interview with prosecutors -- said that Bush told the vice president to "Get it out," or "Let's get this out," regarding information that administration officials believed would rebut Wilson's allegations and would discredit him.

A person with direct knowledge of Bush's interview refused to confirm that Bush used those words, but said that the first official's account was generally consistent with what Bush had told Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

Libby, in language strikingly similar to Bush's words, testified to the federal grand jury in the leak case that Cheney had told him to "get all the facts out" that would defend the administration and discredit Wilson. Portions of Libby's grand jury testimony were an exhibit in a recent court filing by Fitzgerald.

This once again proves that our country is run by the worst kind of hypocrites. Republicans file divorces and complain that gays are ruining the sanctity of marriage. Congress reallies for the Iraq war, for fighting terrorist, for fighting Al Qaeda, and yet the best thign they can think to do with their time is fight against flag burning. And now it is discovered that our own president, no more than a week after calling the NY Times release of pertinent national security information "disgraceful", was using the leak of classified information for his own benefit, and the ruination of those opposed to his administration. The worst thing about this is that I'm not at all surprised.

Murray Waas, who has done extensive research on this story and others, is a really fantastic writer. Not too long ago on HuffPo Murray wrote a really long, really excellent blog post about his journey as a writer. I enjoyed it quite alot. He is one of the few Journalists out there committed to writing for the people, and not for his own gain, and in an investigatory style that really gets some answers. It's good to see.

What is Patriotism?

It was my pleasure to see Mr. John Aravosis of AMERICAblog on CNN last night. He was put up with Mark Kilmer of www.redstate.com in a fairly mild back and forth about what patriotism meant to them, others, and what it should be in general. I feel Mr. Aravosis did a pretty good job, though his presentation was fairly tentative. They touched on supporting out troops in the Iraq War and the recent Amendment against flag burning.

It was the safer version of questions like these. Is it enough to buy yellow bumper stickers from China? Does that make you a true patriot? If I start saying that I'm a Patriot to everyone I meet, and utterly convince myself, how aren't I a Patriot? How much is talk worth? What if I really feel like a Patriot?And flag burning; is it really patriotic to be defending our flag, when there have been only four recorded instances of flag burning in the last year? (Note: The clips of flags being burnt they had were very old. Older cameras, old clothe a hairstyles. It's like they're up-in-arms about something that happened twenty years ago.) Couldn't they be using time in congress to be talking about real issues like the war, which has so far killed near 3000 Americans? It is really that important? Really, these should answer themselves.

The CNN clip has yet to pop up on the internet, but I saw this on PoliticsTV. It almost seems like an afterthough of Aravosis' bit on CNN. It's what he really believes, and what he didn't have to censor out for national television courtesy. Excellent stuff. Here's an excerpt.

"Talking about upholding the ideas of America like George Bush does is what a patriotic Republican does. Actually adhering to those ideals, like the Geneva Convention against torture, or the 4th amendment prohibition on illegally spying on American Citizens, is what Patriotic Democrats do. Talking about protecting freedoms is easy; it's what Republicans do, a lot. Actually advancing those freedoms, even when it's unpopular, that's what real Americans do. That's patriotism."

Save The Internet

I signed up for this thing so I suppose I'll follow through with it. A bill was introduced not too long ago to gut the Internet's First Amendment, namely the one known to uphold the internet's complete "neutrality". That means I can go to any site I want to go to as long as I pay for the service. The bill, which at this point has moved past the House and the Senate Commerce Committee, would allow major telecoms, such as Verizon and AT&T, to slow access, and/or completely ban certain sites they don't deem suitable, or don't pay them enough. This would mean the end of websites like Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, and iTunes. For instance a large telco could make Google so slow that you would be inclined to visit another search engine they had completely bought. Not to mention the bill could squelch freedom of speech for entire political parties. Political blogs and free news sites would be regimented or disappear. It would put them in charge of the flow of all media on the web, and this thing is going to the Senate floor very soon. It is very real.

I am happy to say that some of our Senators still remain enlightened. While some have been bought by the major telecoms (I'm talking to you, McCain, Burns, and Allen) some still realize what the internet is, and that it's worth fighting for. Oddly enough my own senator Olympia Snowe, who I am not usually quite so fond of, has been at the forefront of this fight. In fact when the vote was moved to the Senate Commerce Committee, where it tied, Snowe was the sole Republican vote in with the democrats. Along with Byron Dorgon she introduced a piece of legislation called The Internet Freedom Preservation Act. In an official press release, Snowe spoke on the subject.

“What has made the Internet such a remarkable success is the ability of people everywhere to experience a world of their own choosing on their own terms,” said Snowe. “This freedom has fostered an unprecedented exchange of information and ideas that has led to an explosion in consumer choice, the creation of new businesses, and the spread of democratic ideals around the globe. Unfortunately, if Congress does not act, the age of digital democracy will come to an end. Senator Dorgan and I introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act to prevent fundamental changes to the internet that would undo the democratic principles upon which it was founded.”

Thank you! I have a senator that is good for something. Anyway this website can tell you everything I did and more. Sign the petition. Add your myspace. Learn knowledge. America might be the better for it, and I will have not wasted fifteen minutes of my life.