SOMETHING WHICH EVERY RIGHT-THINKING "REAL AMERICAN" (OR THINKS THEY ARE) SHOULD READ: This rather worthwhile (and yet sobering) report from the Mercatus Center @ George Mason University revealing the extent of depravities of Federal spending under His Fraudulency's Misadministration.

Which, once again, reveals all the more importance that Reduction of the National Debt makes as a Good Cause for the sake of this blog, and the proceeds of the online shopping. Not to mention all so-called "Real Americans," or those who think of themselves as such (including those in the astroturf "tea party" movement).

As reminder, donations to any amount can be sent to:

Dept. G
Bureau of the Public Debt
PO Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Cheques or postal orders so directed should be made payable to "Bureau of the Public Debt," with the memo reading "Gift to Reduce Debt Held by the Public." (And such are tax-deductible.)

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KUDOS TO THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES for his apology @ the weekend on behalf of the Japanese people and nation, and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Akihito, for the depravities which the Japanese military inflicted upon United States troops during the Bataan Death March of 1942, in which American troops in the Philippines as were taken prisoner were forced to march in extreme heat and under the supervision of sadistic guards.

Your Correspondent graciously accepts this most humble apology.

Now let's hope the Germans apologise to the Jewish Diaspora for the excesses of the Nazi regime against German Jewry within measurable distance.

Likewise to the disabled.

The homosexuals.

Jehovah's Witnesses.

Roma.

Among other specimens of the persecuted, which the Nazi regime saw as "life unworthy of life" hindering the Final Perfection of the "Aryan Master Race" the Nazis were forever seeking to glorify.

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WITH THE BANKRUPTCY OF GENERAL MOTORS NOW ALL THE MORE OBVIOUS, we can expect all manner of platitudes and patsies most pathetic and obnoxious from so-called "patriots" about the "clear and imminent sellout of Our Antient and Peculiar Sovereignty and Sovereign Identity" to the "New World Order" and its "un-American" agenda "rooted in Socialism" "within measurable distance" all the sooner.

Especially the kind fond of resorting to pathetically emotional excesses of hubris to advance True Patriot Love in All Thy Sons Command of the worst sort.

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PERHAPS ONE OF THE HOMOPHOBIC MOVEMENT'S GREATEST "HEROES AND ROLE-MODELS WORTHY OF STUDY AND EMULATION" among especially Vulnerable and Impressionable Children and Youth undergoing National Christian Homeschooling would have to be Howard Rushmore, longtime editor of the notorious 1950's Hollywood gossip and scandal monthly Confidential ("Tells the Facts and Names the Names--Uncensored and Off the Record--No Fiction, All Fact" among its reassuring-sounding slogans), which had considerable popularity among the Dregs of an Otherwise Idealised 1950's America who couldn't wait to put down their 15¢ a copy @ the newsagents' for each monthly issue.

And for the latest juicy revelations, including such supposedly "outing" homosexuals and homosexuality in Hollywood's ranks, which the editors of Confidential saw as much a Clear and Present Danger to Our Holy and Beloved Nation as Creeping Communism (which Confidential also took issue with, usually under J. Edgar Hoover's byline and imprimateur).

They may want to think again, especially when they realise that a series of libel suits by a number of prominent Hollywood figures starting in late 1956 as were subjects of scathing articles in Confidential caused its confidence and trust to be seriously compromised and undermined (especially after the crudity of its journalistic methods was made note of), its circulation to fall from some 4 million copies every month to some 350,000 virtually overnight, its being compelled by court edict to avoid Hollywood and otherwise tone down its stories ... and, in the end,  Rushmore's suicide death just after boarding a New York City taxicab on New Year's Day 1958 (by shooting himself in the mouth).

And is it any wonder that conservatives would love to dump among lower-income communities especially the trashiest and most pornographic of journals and literature on the so-called "Fundamentals of the Economy," and then only as an ur-opiate psychological (cf. Oceanic policy towards "the proles" in Nineteen Eighty Four justifying prolefeed)?

YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD THE NEWS BY NOW: WICHITA ABORTIONIST DR. GEORGE TILLER WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD THIS MORNING outside a church where he ushered.

And within the last few hours, an arrest was made of a suspect in said murders; he is said to be cooperating with Wichita police in their enquiries.

The news thereof already being celebrated by anti-abortion Zealots and True Believers, especially so the hard-wired sort who take exception to abortions performed in the last trimester of pregnancy (which was Dr. Tiller's speciality, according to press accounts), and hoping to use Tiller as a martyr to their cause for reinstating a complete, final and binding ban on abortion, contraception and family planning pro Deo, patria et familia (or so they see things).

And which has right-wing propagandists working into vitriol-laden overdrive, including Fox Prolefeed--who, some commentators for the Fox-monitoring blog News Hounds have suggested, might wind up being held liable as agent provocateur, howbeit indirectly, for the murder. Case in point: The "Talking Points Memo" from The O'Reilly Factor broadcast of 10 November 2006, as quoted by he who signed himself "JimboSlice" in a message board discussion on the story:

Now even if you are pro-choice, you must see the ramifications of this barbaric display. If we as a society allow an undefined mental health exception in late term abortions, then babies can be killed for almost any reason. And in Kansas hundreds, maybe thousands, of babies have been aborted by Dr. Tiller — the price is $5,000 dollars each.

Is this the America we want? Is it? This is the kind of stuff that happened in Mao's China and Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union.

Americans cannot turn away from this; cannot ignore it. There should be thousands of people demonstrating outside Tiller's abortion clinic in Wichita.

The new attorney general in Kansas, Paul Morrison, says he might pursue the investigations into Tiller's late-term operations and also into the abortions of girls ages 10 to 15 that have not been reported to authorities in Kansas, as required by law.

We hope Morrison does that, as this kind of stuff simply cannot be tolerated by a civilized society.

America is in the middle of an intense culture war, where the lives of babies are at stake. This has nothing to do with reproductive rights or any other euphemism. This has to do with terminating the lives of viable babies, because the mother wants to back out of the pregnancy in the late stages.

If we allow this, America will no longer be a noble nation — a country that stands for human rights and protection of the innocent.

If we allow Dr. George Tiller and his acolytes to continue, we can no longer pass judgment on any behavior by anybody.

What Tiller is doing is that bad. And that's the Memo.

Earlier in the discussion thread, "Mary from Manhattan" excerpted an e-mail she had sent to Fox Prolefeed correspondent John Moody, the point of which should be enough to prompt outrage (politely, of course) targeting Fox Prolefeed:

Congratulations Fox News.

Your right wing hosts like Bill O'Reilly have been relentlessly bashing and railing against Dr. George Tiller for years because he performed abortions. The relentless attacks on your network against Dr. Tiller have finally paid off. He was murdered this morning in Kansas. Congratulations! You got your wish, I'm sure you are quite proud.

This comes about a year after a shooter killed several people at a church in Tennessee. Which books did the killer have in his home? Books by Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. He was a loyal viewer of Fox News and conservative talk radio according to the police detectives who investigated the shooting. In his suicide note, the killer made reference to "killing all the liberals"

See a pattern here? I predict that one of your crazy militia viewers will target Sonia Sotomayor next. After listening to the hatred directed towards her by Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity over the course of the last few weeks, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she were next.

So what sort of defences would Fox Prolefeed have if their content is implicated as the "trigger," so to speak, for Dr. Tiller's murder in the courts, aside from the truth? Consider what "Magpie" had to say in this same discussion thread:

While the ultimate responsibility lies with the guy who pulled the trigger, people like Pampers O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and their ilk rile people up with violent rhetoric like "Tiller the Baby Killer" and "No-one's going to stop this guy" and "Someone needs to do something about this" and then when a mentally unstable whackjob acts on that they immediately throw up their hands and say "I'm not responsible for the actions of others".

It's about time these "journalists" learn that when you throw gasoline on the the embers, you are at least morally responsible for the resulting fire--especially when they are constantly demanding that others do the same. For O'Reilly, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of The Press are just a rock to slither under to avoid accepting the consequences of their actions.

Pampers should man up and grow a pair

Even more interesting is this suggestion from "Jim--PA":

"How many more deaths will occur before Fox News forswears its hate?"

It won't stop until they start hauling their asses in as accessories to murder. As far as I'm concerned Bill-O the clow and the rest of them did everything except pull the trigger.

I think the Tiller family should file a few lawsuits. And maybe Bill-O should start taking a different route to work. If I was a member of Tiller's family I would be looking for some payback. Disagreeing with someone is one thing; using yur bully pulpit to make them out to be a monster is something else; something dangerous and life threatening as shown by this cowardly act. Shooting a guy in church in front of his family is beyond appalling.

IMHO, one thing Fox Prolefeed reporters should watch out for within measurable distance is the unseen presence of "The Shadow" (as in "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?!"), in a rapid-fire staccato up there with Sgt. Joe Friday in the Interrogation Room of the Los Angeles Police Department on Dragnet in the original radio and TV versions. Especially so Bill "No-Spin Zone" O'Reilly, considering what "JimboSlice" had to say in response to "claudo" asking whether Mr. "No-Spin Zone" will join the so-called "Operation Rescue" in denouncing Dr. Tiller's murder:

No, Bill O will bring on his internet "cop" Amanda to talk about the reaction from the internets to this event. Typically Amanda will say how the right has been very graceful and denounced the crime, then she will talk about how the far left is going after Bill et al for the crime. Bill will then talk about the far left loons, maybe even throw in a Kos bash, and that will be that.

In any event, perhaps all Right-Thinking Americans, especially those who see themselves, in their deluded hubris, as "Real Americans," should start thinking twice henceforth about trusting Fox Prolefeed as a credible and trusted source of news and information.

Likewise with other conservative-leaning "news portals" such as WorldNetDaily and NewsMax.

Especially before their names become implicated in infamous or otherwise notorious court cases involving murder, sedition, incitement to riot or disorder, and related conspiracies.

And might I suggest that cable systems consider dropping Fox Prolefeed from their lineups, the better for the peace, safety and good order of the community. Especially now in light of recent events, and its potential role therefor.

KUDOS TO THE BLOG POLITICALLY AFFILIATED FOR CALLING THE PRECEDING EDITORIAL CARTOON TO YOUR CORRESPONDENT'S NOTICE AND ATTENTION, particularly when you consider the prospect of North Korea's threats of late being no better than bluff and their weaponry (or what passes for it) based on outdated technology which United States troops, if push ever came to shove, can easily exploit the vulnerabilities of.

And to have the box of "Illegal Fireworks" so brazenly noted as such (@ least for the sake of this cartoon) brings to Your Correspondent's mind the fact that sales of pyrotechnica in Minnesota, since the ban thereof was lifted in 2003, are legally restricted to what are known in the fireworks trade as "safe and sane" such (as opposed to the stronger, high-firepower sort available in South Dakota).

As in the likes of such prestigious brands of pyrotechnics as Black Cat, Cannon Brand, Brothers and Pyro Valu. And though the law allows fireworks to be sold any time of year in The Gopher State, about the only place within its boundaries as does is Treasure City up in Royalton, about halfway between St. Cloud and Little Falls on US 10; otherwise, from experience, pyrotechnics sales tend to be limited to between May 1st and the July 4th long weekend.

This notwithstanding where city ordinances prohibit the discharge of pyrotechnica within city limits (including here in "the projects," reports of which to the police can be grounds for eviction proceedings), same more honoured in the breach than the observance, or so it seems (to quote Shakespeare), judging by calls to the police (@ least here in Winona) in the fortnight or thereabouts heading up to the July 4th holiday to so report. And though the law restricts pyrotechnics sales to those of 18 years and upwards, I've heard of teens being allowed to set off said displays by their parents.

But then again, with the Steamboat Days celebration having moved to the Father's Day weekend (the better to get plum parade units, plum carnival rides and bigger pyrotechnics displays with value for money all the while), such can only mean plenty of impromptu (and yet illicit) fireworks displays around Winona, best viewed to advantage (@ least on the west side of town, out towards Goodview, St. Mary's University, WE Village Estates and Prairie Island Park) from the Pelzer Street Viaduct. (I can confirm this from having so witnessed last year.)

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IN ANY EVENT, WHEN IT COMES TO SHOOTING OFF FIREWORKS, "SAFE AND SANE" OR OTHERWISE, just remember a few things:

• Check local bylaws beforehand. If in doubt, "fuhgeddaboudit" (to quote Tony Soprano).
  
• Read all instructions and warnings on the packaging carefully before lighting.
• Keep all pyrotechnica clear of people, pets and buildings.
• Don't shoot off pyrotechnica in close proximity to flammable or combustable substances, nor in dry grass or brush.
  
• If a burning ban is in effect, the same also applies to pyrotechnica.
  
• Keep a pail of water close by to douse all exploded pyrotechnics thoroughly after use.
• After lighting the fuse, run quickly away from the pyrotechnica, as they emit showers of sparks which can cause serious injury.
• Have an adult supervise lighting of fireworks.
• Keep all pyrotechnica away from children's reach.
• Don't shoot off pyrotechnica under the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs.

SO MUCH FOR "DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW, PAY LESS" PRODUCING THE DESIRED RESULT WITHIN MEASURABLE DISTANCE, as promoted by so-called "astroturf" groups for deceptive ends: May I suggest visiting your local newsagents' and picking up a copy of the June number of Trains magazine, if available.

And, in same, reading Roy Blanchard's article "America's Energy Independence Rides the Rails," with particular emphasis on the Bakken Formation in northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana finally seeing serious crude production which, thanks to all-rail transport routing absent direct pipeline connexions, reaches refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma originally constructed to serve production from fields in those areas as are probably reaching the end of their own productive viability.

(Perhaps the biggest single refiner of Bakken Formation crude into gasoline and diesel fuel: National Cooperative Refinery Association in McPherson, Kansas, a refinery and pipeline cooperative owned by Cenex, Growmark and Missouri Farmers Association/MFA Oil, all three farm-services cooperatives in the Midwestern states who have their fingers, inter alii, in petroleum sales and marketing to consumers and farmers.)

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AND SPEAKING OF THE PLANNED SYNTHETIC "GRASS-ROOTS" RALLIES FOR "ENERGY SELF-RELIANCE" IN THE NAME OF G-D, COUNTRY AND SOVEREIGN IDENTITY by the ilk of "Americans For Prosperity" (which turns out being anything but), perhaps it might not be a bad idea to "spoil the party," so to speak, by way of counter-demonstrations featuring the most obnoxiously-reechy-sounding renditions of "Deutschland uber alles," "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" and "The Song of Eternal Leader Kim Il Sung" played from a boombox @ preferably maximum volume.

Giving such groups taking advantage of the ignorant and socioeconomically-disposessed (and those stupid enough to so follow) a taste of their own bitter physic, so to speak?

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MEANWHILE, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE GOP, IN THE FACE OF ITS OWN CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER OF SERIOUS IDEOLOGICAL IMPLOSION, isn't secretly investing Party funds into crude-oil, refined products and natural-gas futures markets with an eye towards their manipulation in service to their own North Korean-stylee ideology of self-sufficiency (and hoping to use the ensuing profits, if any, to replenish its coffers for "winning of hearts and minds" by way of especially Fox Prolefeed)?

(Especially if the intention is to avoid attracting unwelcome attention on the part of the Great Within to its own deeper problems as became all the more evident with President Obama's election.)

Could the same be said of other right-wing ideologues and their fellow-travellers seeking to exploit the oil and gas futures markets and, in the end, pyramid the proceeds back into their misguided causes?

The which would be well worth looking into, especially in view of gasoline prices making a return upward (howbeit to $2.53/gallon [66.8¢/litre] for regular unleaded of late, quite the contrast to well over $3.50/gallon [92.4¢/litre] seen last summer) and suggestions in Certain Influential Circles suggesting manipulation on the futures markets, blame likely being shifted by investors to "seasonal use patterns" as if to avoid scandal....

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AND TALK ABOUT OFFICIAL EXCUSES AND PLATITUDES: Police in Melbourne, Australia are excusing a recent spate of attacks on local college students from India on "their [the students] being in the wrong place @ the wrong time."

Which said students, and the anti-racism community "Down Under," aren't accepting as credible, instead suggesting that down-and-out racism and bigotry are making their ugly presence known in The Lucky Country. And, to drive home that point, held a protest march in Beautiful Downtown Melbourne earlier today to call for official enquiries into racist motivation for such attacks, some resulting in serious injuries.

In any case, the "being in the wrong place @ the wrong time" bromide is the sort thereof that certain hyperconservative Zealots and True Believers will love trotting out to take issue with racist violence, attacks against the epicene and the homeless and suchlike--an excuse which suggests the likelihood of projection being used to avoid attracting suspicions upon Certain Prominent and Powerful Citizens in the Community "entitled as of Natural Right" to "antient and peculiar rights, privileges and powers" which average persons "are bound to respect" and "show due deference to."

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MEANWHILE, IN NORTH KOREA, AS PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND KOREAN WAR ARE PROBABLY GETTING UNDERWAY ALL THE MORE DISCREETLY, how do we know "Great Leader" Kim Jong Il (himself rumoured to be all the closer to death, notwithstanding the occasional propaganda photo to deflect rumours) isn't being deliberately kept on life support solely for "National Identity and Unity" purposes aimed @ keeping what remains of the North Korean population (as in such who haven't died yet of starvation, torture or neglect in the State's name) in line ahead of imminent National Emergency?

No doubt guaranteed to recall Chevy Chase's recurring "Weekend Update" gag in the first season of Saturday Night Live (then known as NBC Saturday Night) about Generalissimo Francisco Franco (a/k/a "El Caudillo" in official propaganda) "valiantly holding on in his fight to remain dead" (even if the Last of the Fascists snuffed it in November of 1975, aged 82).

Back to Kim Jong Il: How do we know he isn't resorting to his "Joy Brigade" of outright concubines in what could be his final hours, oblivious to the ruin being brought upon North Korea in his name (let alone the possibility that his own regime could be in for swift collapse under the right set of circumstances)?

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AND TALK ABOUT IRONY: South Korean automaker Kia has started running an advert comparing its Sportage with the Toyota Corolla (which, it turns out, isn't displayed @ all for some reason or another).

The irony underlying this commercial (Ripley, take note) is that Japan occupied and ruled over Korea between 1910 and the end of World War II in 1945, seeing the Korean Peninsula as little more than a gateway to the Manchurian iron and coal fields essential to Japan's crash industrialisation as had been going on since Japan, with some hesitancy, opened itself to the world in 1868 after 265 years of enforced isolation and xenophobia under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

In any event, the Japanese sought to shut Korea out of existance, so to speak, by forcing the Japanese language and culture upon the Korean peoples (as in the school curriculum being in Japanese only and forcing Japanese names upon Korean nationals) and essentially using the Koreans as little better than cheap, expendable labour for the zaibatsu cartels back in Japan (including such specimens of Korean womanhood tricked into prostitution for Japanese troops @ mobile "comfort stations" during World War II).

(Even today, in fact, Japan has a sizable ethnic Korean community which, though prominent in the pachinko industry especially, still sees its share of prejudice and discrimmination. That, and rumours of the North Korean regime fronting Korean-Japanese "friendship" organisations.)

Think of it, reader, when you see that particular Kia advert.

FOLLOWING THE NOTORIOUSLY DEVASTATING FLOODING IN THIS NECK OF THE WOODS WHEREIN YOUR CORRESPONDENT IS BASED in the summer of 2007, one suggestion as was raised in some circles was the planting of a type of bitter hazelnut shrub on hillsides and gullies as were subject to soil erosion following heavy rains ... which, in addition to dealing with the destructive effects of soil erosion, could also be refined into a most excellent biodiesel fuel (in fact, a Melroe Bobcat skid-steer loader thus powered was demonstrated to reporters as part of the suggestion's being addressed).

Might I be first to suggest same being carried forward all the sooner, especially if the biodiesel derivate from said bitter chestnuts could be produced for diesel fuel apropos Amtrak's requirements for high-speed passenger rail in the proposed Midwestern network out of Chicago: Not only would Upper Midwestern farmers needing an extra cash crop benefit two ways (as in providing a viable cash crop as controls soil erosion @ the same time), but Amtrak would benefit from demonstrating by example the benefits of energy self-sufficency using renewable biofuels with beneficial environmental effects--even with a top speed of 115 mph/185 km/hr, and without engine damage.

To that end, might I suggest that the CHI-MKE-MSN-MSP corridor be used as a pilot such for demonstrating bitter hazelnut-derived biodiesel's benefits to rail transportation, with all involved (not just Amtrak and the partner Departments of Transportation in Springfield, Madison and St. Paul, but also such entrusted with designing the motive power for any ensuing services) pooling resources and energy all the more.

Especially if a conventional railroad-design diesel engine could be modified to burn biodiesel along with traditional petroleum-based diesel fuels, and modified all the easier as circumstances dictate (especially so in the winter months, when biodiesel can easily freeze up without addition of decent additives), with a 115 mph top speed possible.

So what stands in the way?

I JUST COULDN'T HELP BUT GO INTO ROFLMAO MODE ON SEEING THE VERY NAME OF THIS AFRICAN BRAND OF COLA (gimme-cap tip to No Crappy Crap, ultimately via EntreCard, for the image), and imagining such being the subject of a tasteless hyperjuvenile dare in the vein of your typical Carl Foutley and Robert "Hoodsey" Bishop subplot per As Told by Ginger, if you still remember that Nickelodeon animated series, replete with spit-gag possibilities and the end result going up on YouTube within measurable distance.

The which I bring up in the wake of news out of the Dallas suburb of Plano (obviously not to be confused with Drano) that a high-school biology student, on a dare, picked up $40 from fellow students for eating the formaldehyde-pickled testicles of a fetal pig (and wound up in hospital to have his stomach pumped out, unaware that the testes in question were soaked in formaldehyde all the while).

Not to mention some Republican election judges (yes!) in Clay County, Kentucky facing Federal charges (with penal servitude likely) for offering "inducements" (as in cash or, in one memorable instance, Oxycontin tablets) to largely poor, undereducated and easily-influenced "white trash" voters to "vote the right way"--i.e., Straight Republican, and say such was for G-d, Country and Family all the while, if and when asked to explain.

On that last one, I suppose Fox Prolefeed and their right-wing propaganda droogs will be ignoring (and deliberately) that story in the name of "protecting the GOP's good name and repute" @ a time where the GOP's good name and repute are already in gross disrepute, or will soon be. That, and suggesting that the GOP is morally incapable of Maschienpolitik behaviour because they're all--wait for it--GOOD CHRISTIANS!!!

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MEANWHILE, CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE FOX PROLEFEED'S HEADQUARTERS @ 1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS IN NEW YORK containing "shrines" in employee offices and/or cubicles to the likes of Hitler, Mussolini, Juan Peron, Generalissimo Francisco "El Caudillo" Franco (who, BTW, is still dead!) and/or Dr. Hendrik Verword?

(The interconnexion to Fox Prolefeed's propaganda, no doubt, being all the more obvious.)

Next thing you know, expect said Fox Prolefeed (and I can just imagine South Park's Eric Cartman shouting "PROLEFEED! PROLEFEED!!" in his swaggering sort of stylee) to, in service to a racist brand of True Patriot Love in All Thy Sons Command as seems to be their vogue of late, feature hagiographically-glowing paeans to apartheid South Africa from the White Low Church Christian perspective (as in seeing apartheid to be not just The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread, but also The Last Chance to Achieve the Final Perfection of Civitas Dei on Earth), largely from "white South African expats" (Afrikaners especially) who turn out to be memorising carefully-scripted screeds--or, worse yet, actors in the role thereof.

In any case, worth watching.

see more Engrish

NO DOUBT A CLOSE RELATIVE TO THE OLD SPAM (AS IN LUNCHEON MEAT), sure to be particularly popular among those so-called "Fundamentals of the Economy" who will likely prefer camping among such able to take vacations this summer.

Especially when you consider that our presumably "morally superior" society and nation, alone among the major socioeconomic powers, does not make any statutory guarantee for these same "Fundamentals" to take paid vacation time--but it's my understanding that legislation is pending in Congress as would require companies having @ least 100 employees on payroll to make available @ least one week's paid vacation per annum, citing studies showing that worker productivity has significantly and measurably increased following vacation time.

Which K Street, for its part, whines is "creeping Communism," "hinders morals and decency" and "endangers the Infinite Prosperity of the Universe," but is unable to substantiate with credible facts in their own xenophobically pathetic stylee they love excusing as True Patriot Love in All Thy Sons Command; e.g., ignoring the fact that in Japan, there have been actual, documented cases of employees, both blue- and white-collar such, having died of what they call karoshi ("death from overwork") in the last 25 years or so since the phenomenon was first documented.

Which, in any case, involves physical and psychoemotional stress aggravated by pressure to meet unrealistically- or otherwise arbitrarily-high sales or production quotas set by their employers, as well as having to deal with the regimentation the work schedule entails (such as making it to their commuter train on time, only to wind up in extremely close quarters), all of which adds up to aggravated risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disorders.

What part of "it's a small world, after all" doesn't K Street understand?

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SO MUCH FOR THE PROSPECT OF A SECOND KOREAN WAR FLARING UP AGAIN thanks to ongoing middle-finger salute displays by the so-called "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in form of an underground atomic-weapons test and short-range missile test firings since Memorial Day, in its turn prompting no end of international unease and condemnation:

Considering where our "morally superior" troops in the ur-RAHOWA Against International Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan are already stretched rather thin, even allowing for special Morals Waivers allowing the weird and unwholesome into the ranks when they normally shouldn't in the first place, would this mean even further complications for American troops if forces stationed in South Korea (and, to a lesser extent, Japan [including Okinawa] and Australia) are called in to repulse an overly-fanatical North Korean invasion force on short notice?

And making it even more distressing is the so-called "tea party" movement of the Great Unwashed and Ignorant still insisting that "low taxes=jobs=social stability and order" in the face of a clear and present danger of war or national emergency which sees troops on three fronts in two wholly-unrelated scenarios (as a matter of fact, during the first Korean War [1950-53], the highest tax rate in our "morally superior" United States was 93%, largely a carryover from World War II, but continued in the interest of recouping war-related debt service and costs).

Aren't we forgetting, boys and girls, that tax revenue, among other things, helps win the war and write the peace (to paraphrase a popular slogan from World War II directed @ farmers in particular)?

And Another Thing: With some now pushing for a national consumption-based tax (especially so such insisting that same essentially supplant the income tax in the name of "fairness"), let's not forget where, of all countries as have imposed sales or value-added taxes, not one such has generated enough revenue therefrom to consider supplanting income taxes with consumption-based such as a key source of State revenues. This notwithstanding a common platitude among consumption-tax supporttes suggesting that such will "help the Lower Classes" by promoting "personal responsibility," "thrift based on cash economy" (especially because basic groceries, clothing, shoes and over-the-counter medications would theoretically be exempted) and "a wholesome and simple home life" rooted, methinks, in poverty, fecundity and stupidity most vile and gross.

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AND SO MUCH FOR WALLY WORLD BOASTING OF LATE IN THEIR ADVERTS THAT THEY CONSTANTLY CHECK THE PRICES OF COMPETITORS to maximise (theoretical) value for money to be had among the so-called "Fundamentals of the Economy" as should know better than to shop there without showing due regard for the useful or practical:

The aura of low prices Wally World wants to push upon the Lower Classes is likely all the more so because of, for the most part, collusion with suppliers on terms giving Wally World unfavourable advantage @ the expense of "mom-and-pop" stores and, ultimately, culturally-deprived and National Minority areas which Wally World coverts dearly as their target audience because of their having limited incomes and equally-limited consumer education skills.

So where's the outrage?