WHAT EXACTLY DID SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR MARK SANFORD REALLY HAVE IN MIND in heading down to Argentina while initially claiming he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail--perhaps trying the powder down Bariloche way, what with its being winter (and, hence, ski season) in the Southern Hemisphere?

Tanning himself insane on the sands of Mar del Plata?

Seeking some sort of "safe harbour," post-World War II Nazi leadership stylee, in the boonies of Buenos Aires (especially well away from what the Argentines consider the world's widest street, Avienda de la Reforma), hoping for immunity from prosecution in case he winds up getting impeached or otherwise removed from office due to "mental incapacity or incompetence"?

Looking up what remained of the various shrines and "pilgrimage venues" of the first Juan Peron regime (1946-55), in particular the final resting place of a certain Evita?

In any case, Governor Sanford has a lot of questions to answer the good people of South Carolina, especially so the Secular-Progressive minority afraid and ashamed to make themselves known openly because of The Palmetto State's rather nasty repute against Secular-Progressive thought (as witness where the 1790 version of the state constitution required such seeking seats in the House of Representatives to be white male freeholders having @ least 15 acres of land and ten slaves--twice as much to seek seats in the Senate).

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WOULD-BE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES IN THE SALAD DAYS OF THE "EVIL EMPIRE" OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE SOVIET UNION AND ITS WARSAW PACT/COMECON SATELLITES had to undergo not only athletic training and fitness coaching, but also "political instruction" by way of the team Political Officer to ensure ideological correctness and purity.

I mention this because of press reports noting where those six members of the Iranian national soccer team as played in World Cup qualifying matches last week wearing green armbands as a show of solidarity with opposition political supporters challenging the legality of the recent farce officially known as "Presidential elections" have been "retired" (think: dismissed) and their passports and work permits confiscated.

Nonetheless, there are probably certain specimens of conservative Zealotry and True Belief here in our "morally superior" United States who would just love to see (howbeit discreetly) ur-RAHOWA extended from Iraq into Iran, the whole to be done with unwashed hands and the Great Unwashed not expected to know the details "until the proper time comes" (as in "subject to certain astrological sightings," North Korean-stylee).

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AND WITH THE SAUDIS BEING RATHER NOTORIOUS FOR BEING AN INCUBATOR OF RADICAL ISLAMIC RELIGIOPOLITICAL THOUGHT excusing and justifying the old ultraviolence, thanks to the Fundamentalist/Primitive brand of Islam in the Wahhabi stylee being the official doctrine, it will be worth knowing that Amnesty International has issued an International Call to Action targeting the Saudis vis-a-vis five Iraqis of "extreme youth" (13-15 years of age, it turns out) facing sadistic methods of execution (in one case, beheading followed by public crucifixion) for dealing in narcotics in service to radical Islamist movements in Iran.

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MEANWHILE, THE KHURDISTANI SPECIAL AUTONOMOUS REGION OF IRAQ IS OPENING CAMPAIGNING AHEAD OF UPCOMING ELECTIONS on July 25th which could well determine how the oil-rich region of northern Iraq manages to handle its oil wealth; in fact, a newly-launched political party calling itself "Change" advocates a platform of reform and transparency in government dealings and policy.

"Change" hopes to take the two already-dominant Khurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Khurdistan (PUK) and the Democratic Party of Khurdistan (PDK), both running on what amounts to a fusionist ticket, to task for autocracy, corruption and mismanagement of oil wealth and state revenues--issues no doubt fuelling plenty of resentment among Khurdistan's 2.5 million or so registered voters, who will be choosing candidates from 24 political parties and groups for seats in the regional assembly.

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BEFORE I GO, I'd like to extend best wishes to those readers of this blog in the Canadian province of Québec, as well as those with ties to Québec, as are observing their Fête Nationale today, commemorating the feast of St. John the Baptist--even considering that, in a week's time from today, La Belle Province joins the rest of Canada in observing the Canada Day holiday.

Just remember the advice of the provincial liquor monopoly, the Sociètè des alcools de Québec, in enjoying the day: "Moderation is always in good taste."

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IN ANY EVENT, AS OF THIS MOMENT, THE EXAGGERATOR IS NOW IN SUMMER HIATUS, the better so Your Correspondent can recharge himself (largely through the annual Wisconsin Dells trip) and prepare for the aforementioned trip in just under a fortnight's time without unnecessary distractions of attention.

Your Correspondent will continue the EntreCard drops until Friday this week, and would appreciate your continued and continuing dropping thereon in the interim (i.e., until about mid-late July, when I hope to be back to blogging). Likewise with your recommending this blog to your online friends (especially such in the Greater Blogosphere) ... and maybe a serious purchase or two from the online-shopping section (including the e-boutique known as The Exaggerator Collection); I could use the extra income, considering where disability benefits such as I get can only go so far ... said disability precludes my being able to work in the conventional sense of the word ... and it's highly unlikely that I may be coming into serious money within measurable distance.

Until next time, "thank you for your continued and continuing support."

FOR YEARS, THE PUBLISHERS OF POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE BOASTED THAT SAME was "written so you can understand it."

The same approach which a certain Julius Streicher made infamous with his Nazi-era anti-Semitic tabloid weekly Der Sturmer; the better to whip the Great Unwashed across Nazi Germany into a patriotic frenzy of anti-Semitic hate serving Hitler, Germany and the Aryan Master Race with oversimplified articles laden with anti-Semitic bromides and canards complimented with cartoons reinforcing the same anti-Semitic themes over and over again.

And which seem to remain all the more popular among the Zealots and True Believers in conservative "winning of hearts and minds" propaganda of a crude, pathetic and baseless sort appealing especially to so-called "Real Americans" as are, by and large, vulnerable and socioeconomically-dispossessed--the core audience for bigots, hatemongers, "patriots" and suchlike weird and unwholesome types fond of selling what turns out being a bill of goods packaged as a New Golden Age for America.

Case in point, from the ConWebBlog vis-a-vis the so-called "WorldNetDaily":

Dr. Frank Rosenbloom ("board-certified in internal medicine and practices general internal and hospital medicine in Portland, Ore.") begins his June 19 WorldNetDaily column by stating, "I am awed by the power of words and how, when properly utilized, a minimal number of words can convey great ideas and have lasting effects." He then abuses and debases the power of words through smears and out-of-context quotes.

First, Rosenbloom engages in the WND tradition of likening President Obama to Nazis:

A now well-known political figure ran a campaign promising change. His success was largely due to his skill as an orator, his use of words. He used many words to assuage his detractors, claiming that capitalism and the church were in no danger from him and he was no threat to those who had worked hard and succeeded. He was fortunate to be conducting his campaign during a severe economic downturn. The stock market had fallen, banks had failed, businesses were closing, and unemployment was increasing.

As we know, this politician was elected to the highest office in the land. His programs promoted redistribution of income, government control of large industries, nationalization of trusts and banks, and the suppression of religious conscience. He derided the people he felt were in control of the monetary system and complained that negative elements in society were trying to hold back the progress that he was going to ensure with his new programs. From the beginning he supported abortion and euthanasia – for certain groups of people. This politician's name, of course, was Adolf Hitler.

Rosenbloom then upped the smear ante by likening Hillary Clinton to Chairman Mao:

Consider the quotations below:

"Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the social(ist) transformation of society as a whole."

"Women's empowerment is always, always about more than bettering the lives of individual women. It is part of a movement."

The first is by Chairman Mao, the second is by Hillary Clinton. Yet, they are of similar form and speak from similar ideology.

Finally, Rosenbloom takes Obama out of context to falsely claim that he was bashing Abraham Lincoln:

Barack Obama said: "I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator." President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address to commemorate the dead, to consecrate a cemetery and to inspire our country to continue on in its valiant struggle. A mere 278 beautiful words written on the back of an envelope, it is widely considered the most inspirational speech ever given. 

First, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and his Gettysburg Address are two separate speeches. Second, when placed in its proper context--a 2005 essay on Lincoln Obama wrote for Time magazine, which does not mention the Gettysburg Address--it's clear that Obama was, in fact, praising Lincoln:

Still, as I look at his picture, it is the man and not the icon that speaks to me. I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. As a law professor and civil rights lawyer and as an African American, I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a military document than a clarion call for justice. Scholars tell us too that Lincoln wasn't immune from political considerations and that his temperament could be indecisive and morose.

But it is precisely those imperfections--and the painful self-awareness of those failings etched in every crease of his face and reflected in those haunted eyes--that make him so compelling. For when the time came to confront the greatest moral challenge this nation has ever faced, this all too human man did not pass the challenge on to future generations. He neither demonized the fathers and sons who did battle on the other side nor sought to diminish the terrible costs of his war. In the midst of slavery's dark storm and the complexities of governing a house divided, he somehow kept his moral compass pointed firm and true.

Rosenbloom also wrote: "Gifted speakers and writers often use a select few words to maximum effect. As evidenced by the length of this article, I am not one so gifted." Nor, apparently, is he gifted in making a reasoned argument that doesn't devolve into hateful smears and selective quoting.

All in the name of "winning of hearts and minds," as the patsy will likely have it.

But then again, these same specimens of conservative Zealotry and True Belief would just love to deploy Orwellian Newspeak to further the desire of oversimplifying the message by oversimplifying the language down to bare essentials, given the opportunity ... or, even better yet, that indecipherable right-wing tax-protest jargon known as "In-The-Truth", whose adherents consider as being more logical than conventional English brcause "In-The-Truth" is based on the laws of mathematics.

Especially through duckspeak of the most pathetically obnoxious stylee to further dumb down the appeal to the Great Unwashed.

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A KEY ARTICLE OF FAITH WHEN IT COMES TO CONSERVATIVE "WINNING OF HEARTS AND MINDS" PROPAGANDA TARGETING THE MASSES is that which calls for the use of scapegoats to explain (howbeit irrationally, and without credible evidence to support) current problems--"written so you can understand it," remember?

The notion thereof having recently been deflated thus by BuzzFlash (gimme-cap tip to BartCopE! for suggesting this) in deflating conservative propaganda vis-a-vis the near-collapse of capitalism with American characteristics being the byproduct of gays, liberals and National Minorities:

The threat to the white male oligarchy of the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor had gotten so out of hand that if it weren't for the inspiring drama of the Green Revolution, I might have been aphyxiated by now with the hypocrisy of it all.

Here we have the white male Republicans of Wall Street cratering our economy, only to be bailed out by middle and working class taxpayers. The Wall Street river boat gamblers lost their bets and then we gave them hundreds of billions of dollars in welfare.

But to BuzzFlash's knowledge, it wasn't the "threat" of gays, minorities, liberals, and empowered women who committed economic treason; it was due to the reckless and greedy actions of full-fledged members of the white boys club.

Ann Coulter should have directed her book "treason" at the Wall Street white male Republicans, but that wouldn't have sold many books.  You got to blame the woes of America on "liberals" and a "secular society" to get those desperately seeking a scapegoat to pony up for pages upon pages of demagoguery without any basis in fact.

And let's not forget our American version of the "Supreme Commander" (the new Shah) in Iran, the self-righteous fundamentalist right. They blame the "destruction" of American society on "promiscuous sex," homosexuality, and liberals.  But the last time we checked, it was the God-fearing corporatist side of the GOP that drove the U.S. economy and foreign policy into the ground.

And when you get back to Wall Street, there's nothing to beat the casino playing that left us in ruins, followed by the ultimate government lavish dole, followed by hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses for failure--or is it economic "treason"?

The "liberal" mores of Hollywood had nothing to do with what went down in the financial markets, but it would make a good movie.

In fact, it has made a good movie.

It was called "Wall Street," and it was filmed in the Reagan era, some 20 years before the blowback of financial treason brought our nation to its knees.

And it was Republican white males--not gays, liberals, or powerful women--who achieved what Osama bin Laden could only dream about: crashing the American economy and weakening our nation to its core.

Come to think of it: What would constitute the Final Perfection of a "Christian" model of free-enterprise With American Characteristics such as conservative propagandists are holding dear as an article of faith (as if implying there was a clear interconnexion between the defence of free enterprise, American sovereignty and sovereign identity "antient and peculiar" and Traditional Morals, Decency and Common Sense)?

Aren't we forgetting that the apartheid regime in South Africa saw free-market capitalism as necessary to the defence and maintenance of White Christian Minority Honour, Power and Privilege (as if seeing such as a means to an end: Subjugating the "inferior peoples"--blacks and those of mixed race which the regime considered "coloured"--to the point of extinction)?

And what about Occam's Razor, a/k/a the Principle of Parsimony (which, know, holds that the simplest explanation considering all the circumstances, not the simplest per se, is the best such)? 

see more Engrish

THE GOOD PEOPLE @ PYRAMID SCHEME ALERT HAVE A POINT TO PONDER FOR SUCH NEEDING EXTRA INCOME in the face of the current socioeconomic dislocation, especially so such as cannot find traditional employment due to circumstances outside their direct control and probably need extra income all the more:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News stories, mostly planted by the Direct Selling Association, seek to dupe unemployed consumers that, despite the Recession - or because of it - they can make a lot of money in "direct selling."

Reality is the brutal opposite. In fact, MLM activity in the Recession - ramping up recruitment of salespeople even as the markets for their products shrinks - is proof that many MLMs are engaging in business opportunity fraud, selling a bogus "income opportunity." The recruitment reveals that many MLMs make their money, not from product sales to retail customers, but from the investments of the salespeople themselves. Recruiting salespeople, not selling products to retail customers, is how such MLMs make money. How would the new salespeople earn money if the markets for their MLM products are declining? By recruiting more salespeople, of course!

The dis-information campaign, launched by the Direct Selling Association, to convince people that selling high priced MLM products door to door is a "safe haven" during a Recession is yet another financial trap, on par with pay day loans, exploding mortgages and suddenly rising credit card interest rates.

For a full analysis of how the MLM's recruitment activity is a red flag for regulators, see the False Profits Blog, "When Market Declines, Hire More Sales People?"

YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HEARD BY NOW THE NEWS THAT ANCHORAGE, THE LARGEST CITY IN ALASKA, was jolted earlier today by an earthquake of 5.1 magnitude whose epicentre was some 55 miles northerly as the crow flies.

And it's probably just me, but it's possible to consider said earthquake (as is guaranteed to bring back memories of the Good Friday Earthquake of 1964 as brought about substantial destruction around Anchorage and Valdez in particular) as Divine Wrath and Judgment upon The Last Frontier for having as its governor a rather obnoxious specimen in form of Sarah Palin, whom the GOP is secretly wanting to preen as Eva Peron reincarnate ahead of Indecision 2012....

"SO MAMA, DON'T TAKE MY KODACHROME AWAY" WAS THE REFRAIN PAUL SIMON MADE FAMOUS in his 1973 Top 40 popdisk hit "Kodachrome."

Now you have to wonder what his reaction will be to the news that Eastman Kodak Company, which introduced Kodachrome film in 1936, has announced that it has ended, for all purposes and intents, production of Kodachrome, citing declining demand, increased acceptance of digital photography and the fact of only one laboratory (in Russell, Kansas, know--hometown of GOP thorn-in-the-side Bob Dole and News of the Weird columnist Chuck Shepherd) still processing Kodachrome in the known world.

(The which is a rather complex such: According to an AP item I was reading on the end of Kodachrome, such is essentially monochrome film when it arrives @ the processors', eventually revealing the three primary colours [red, yellow and blue] in as many separate steps during its processing.)

In any event, Ektachrome, another Kodak photographic film, has become the preferred colour film of choice among those still insisting on film photography in recent years, and will likely remain in production for the time being; with Kodachrome, however, the last remaining stocks will be all that's left, with the last roll likely to be sold sometime this fall.

Meanwhile, for those among you interested in digital photography, you can check out what Amazon.com has in store, with Your Correspondent benefiting in the end (as well as Some Good Causes):

So goodbye, Kodachrome. Photography will never forget you, even if it's mostly digital photography we're getting accustomed to.

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MEANWHILE, YOUR CORRESPONDENT STILL HAS TO ASK SUCH AMONG THE ZEALOT AND TRUE BELIEVER TYPES where they get the idea that:

• There is an interconnexion between the defence of Traditional Morality and that of free-market capitalism with American characteristics;
• Sustained prosperity requires the maintenance of racist and white-supremacist policies and beliefs; and
• Only White Male Low-Church Christians are entitled "as of a natural right" to control the "morally superior" free-enterprise system.

TALK ABOUT MANUFACTURED EMOTION GONE INTO OVERDRIVE, PANDERING TO THE VULNERABLE AND SUCHLIKE needing extra income, but unable to find honest work due to circumstances outside their control, yet wanting a way to act out of Christian Charity (not the manufactured perversion right-wing Elmer Gantry types promote, only to misuse the funds so collected because of some patsy like "other, more pressing needs came up suddenly")--witness the following "419"-stylee "spam" e-mail with "A CRY FOR HELP" as its subject, received by Your Correspondent:

 

I AM MR. ISAAC WILLIAMS FROM LAGOS NIGERIA, MARRIED WITH TWO KIDS(AGES 3 AND 5) .IN JULY 2007 I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS) AND I HAVE NOT BEEN

 

MYSELF SINCE THEN,BEING AWARE OF WHAT THE KILLER DISEASES DOES TO HUMANS.MY FAMILY HAS

 

DESERTED ME,FRIENDS AND RELATIVES,EXCEPT FOR MY BEST FRIEND THAT GOD HAS SENT TO ME; MR

 

AKINTUNDE GODWIN, WHO HAS HELPED FINANCIALLY AND IN ANYWAY YOU CAN THINK OF.THEY EVEN KICKED

 

ME OUT OF MY PLACE OF WORK AND I COULDN'T FIND ANY JOB SINCE THEN BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T

 

ACCEPT AID'S PATIENT'S AND I HAVE SINCE THEN RUN OUT OF FUNDS TO PURCHASE DRUGS TO KEEP

 

MYSELF ALIVE.

 

MY WIFE AND CHILDREN ARE ALL I HAVE AND THERE IS NO MONEY FOR FEEDING OR FOR THEIR GENERAL

 

NEEDS.  I HAVE BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL FOR THREE MONTH'S NOW AND THE DOCTOR'S HAVE REALLY TRIED

 

BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY MONEY FROM ME FOR A MONTH NOW,I AND MY WIFE HAVE SOLD ALL

 

OUR BELONGINGS JUST TO KEEP ME ALIVE AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THIS COUNTRY IS NOT DOING

 

ANYTHING ABOUT IT.  WE HAVE CONTACTED RADIO AND TV STATIONS TO REACH OUT TO CITIZENS FOR HELP BUT THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN SLOW. AT THIS POINT, THE WORLD IS MY HOPE OF SURVIVING, IF YOU ARE A PARENT THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MY WIFE AND KIDS NEED ME AND I CAN NOT AFFORD TO LEAVE THEM NOW.  I AM PRESENTLY AT THE HOSPITAL AND THE DOCTORS ARE TREATING TO KICK ME OUT, WHERE WILL I GO FROM HERE? ONLY GOD KNOW,MAYBE TO THE MORGUE THEN TO THE GRAVE,I DON'T KNOW.PLEASE I IMPLORE YOU TO HELP SAVE MY LIFE,NOTHING IS TOO SMALL,THE ALMIGHTY GOD IN HIS INFINITE MERCY WILL REWARD YOU IN KIND FOR YOUR HELP.

 

BELOW IS THE INFORMATION OF MY BEST FRIEND AND A MAN THAT HAS THE FEAR OF GOD IN HIM WHO IS A PASTOR.  HE HAS STOOD BY ME TILL THIS DAY.  PLEASE SEND ALL DONATION'S TO HIS INFORMATION:

 

RECEIVERS NAME: MR. MOSES FREEBORN

CITY: APAPA

STATE: LAGOS

COUNTRY: NIGERIA

 

TEST QUESTION : WHAT FOR

TEST ANSWER: SAVING A LIFE

 

PLEASE PROVIDE US WITH THE NECESSARY INFORMATION NEEDED FOR PICKUP,LIKE THE MTCN AND SENDERS

 

DETAILS.  SEND THE PICKUP DETAILS TO HIS EMAIL ADDRESS:

 

[redacted]

 

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS AS YOU ASSIST US

 

 

MRS ROSE WILLIAMS

FOR MR ISAAC WILLIAMS

 

AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, READERS, YOUR CORRESPONDENT WILL BE UNABLE TO POST TOMORROW out of deference to my likely being occupied by the last day of the Steamboat Days celebration in Winona and its component events, in particular the parade and the Fireworks Finale.

Not to mention the inevitable people-watching I seem fond of.

I hope to be back Monday in this humble space, and beg entreat you (especially such leaving EntreCards) to keep visiting this blog, and likewise recommending this to friends. Later in the week, as announced, I will begin the annual summer hiatus.

In the meantime, The Exaggerator expresses its solidarity @ this time with the freedom-seeking peoples of the so-called "Islamic Republic of Iran," bravely defying State and religiopolitical censorship through use of the Information Stuporbahn to keep the world informed on developments as could change things one way or the other within measurable distance.