Monday, December 31, 2007

Pondering 2008...

A bitch is beyond rested up!

What?

Well shit, this bitch had to get my sleep on to prepare for the Caucus followed by Primary followed by Primary based election coverage.

Blink.

As a Midwestern bitch, I'm a wee bit pleased that Iowans are poised to make a race of this. The lack of a clear front runner on the Democratic side may force an exploration of the candidates and their positions.

Gasp!

Mmmmhmmm, and a bitch is all for that shit!

There's nothing like a tight race to bring out the true character of the competitors...to show how they handle challenge...and to give them a chance to show what they reach for first, their policy positions or globs of mud.

But a quick word to the press, if I may be so bold (wink). A statistical three way tie (why does that sound kinky?) is a statistical three way tie. Y'all need to calm the fuck down! A novice to the political game may actually think those two and three point changes day to day mean something...when you press folks know damn well what a 4.5% margin of error equals in a poll.

Shit.

Anyhoo, after the frenzified political drama of Iowa comes New Hampshire. My beloved sister C-Money will be campaigning up there (go on, girl...and wear layers!!). I'm hoping she'll do a couple of guest posts (hint followed by hint and another hint).

Then we'll have South Carolina and the first real test of the Democratic candidates in a state with a large black population. Represent, y'all! Represent!

Pause...consider...continue...

Once again the will of the people is at play and this election is beyond important..so very important on local, statewide and national levels.

In 2007 I witnessed the people of occupied Burma take to the streets to protest despite the reality of brutal retaliation...an amazing woman lose her life to an assassin sent to silence her and to silence dissent in Pakistan...and recent riots in Kenya as the people there protest a controversial election.

In a few hours it will be 2008 and I wonder at my fellow Americans who can't be bothered to vote when so many gave their lives and risked their lives so that we can put ballot in hand and get our vote on.

The vote is power gained through struggle and when we fail to vote we are allowing some other potential asshole to speak for us (shudder).

Yes, change is painful and often messy...yes, the will of the majority is often frustrating as hell (Lawd)...but yes, democracy is indeed the best revenge.

Tick.

Happy 2008, y'all!

Tock.

Let's go change the world...

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Benazir Bhutto…

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, has been assassinated.

When I heard that she had been wounded while at a political rally this morning I thought of her family.

People lost a loved one today.

When I heard that she was critical and in surgery I thought of Pakistan, the country that she knowingly put her life on the line to defend against the forces of military oppression.

The Pakistani people lost an advocate today.

Then the news came that Benazir Bhutto is dead.

What happens next will determine what the world lost today.

Freedom requires opposition…dissent and the passionate defense of the right to voice dissent…not religion, or constant agreement or any of the love it or leave it bullshit those who fear the masses toss out as if an argument where a terroristic threat.

Silence the opposition and you smother freedom.

Smother freedom and the will of the people will struggle to catch fire.

I think that’s why Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan despite all the risks....because of the risks...to nurture the fire.

Benazir Bhutto was 54 years old.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

And I bet there is a study that shows that studies are full of shit…

A bitch noticed this news bit about teens feeling that a person must lie, cheat and/or whoop some ass to get ahead and…well, it caught my attention.

Blink.

A new survey seems to say that more teens see the value in such behavior than when the study was last conducted in 2003.

That’s the kind of survey analysis that always pisses me off. Now there are all manner of people trying to blame the increase in teen evilness on politicians, magazines, television shows, and blah followed by blah followed by blah and blah.
But it looks suspiciously like bullshit to this bitch.

According to the survey conducted by Junior Achievement Worldwide, nearly 40 percent of teens believe that lying, cheating or violence are necessary to succeed. 23 percent who said violence toward another person is acceptable on some level. Overall, the number of teens who said they’d fuck with the rules doubled since 2003.

Okay, but mayhap someone should ask some not so obvious questions about this survey data.

Factoring in this new data, how can we trust that the teens are telling the truth when they say they don’t value telling the truth?

Or could it be that these teens are actually being more honest that the 2003 teens? If so, wouldn’t that indicate a decrease in survey dishonesty and wouldn’t that sort of contradict the new survey results?

Blink.

And why come (wink), if studies are so accurate, everyone and everything gets blamed but the parents even though studies show that teens listen to parents over everybody else?

Shit, now my Afro hurts...

Remembering Oscar Peterson…

Jazz legend Oscar Peterson died Sunday.

I adore Jazz and particularly the unique style of Oscar Peterson…the swing and the technical brilliance of his music will live on as an amazing musical legacy.

If you are not familiar with his music you need to take care of that because when Oscar Peterson played it made a person grateful the piano was invented...

Monday, December 24, 2007

Holiday un-preparedness...

Lawd, have mercy!

A bitch is too tired to even fret about my current state of holiday un-preparedness.

Blink.

I didn't even have time to make up my usual list of needed things!

Sigh.

Thank Gawd I pre-stocked vodka, cran and yummified eatables last week.

Whew.

Toodles for now and may all y'all be blessed with happiness and joy...

Friday, December 21, 2007

From the heart...

A bitch has been feeling a bit illish and had a hard time waking up today. So, when I heard my phone ringing early this morning I ignored it to get some coffee.

Then it rang again and, fearing some sort of drama, I picked it up.

“Hello?”

There was a pause and then a tinkled voice asked “Miz Shark-Fu? That you?”

It was one of the wee ones from the home I volunteer at. There are a bunch of four year olds staying there right now and they tend to sound alike, so I struggled to place the voice.

“Yes.” I replied cautiously. “Is something wrong, honey?”

“Hold on! We got your Christmas (pronounced KRISSS'mess) present for you! Hold on!”

So I held.

Blink.

Then I heard a gloriously off key chorus of young chil'ren…and at least one pissed off and not afraid to let you know it infant (wink)…float through my phone.

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

They stumbled over the "good tidings" part, but finished strong.

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“Merry Christmas Miz Shark-Fu!” the voice tinkled back on the line.

"Merry Christmas to y’all too!” I somehow managed to reply.

“Gotta go.” was followed by a firm click.

I dried happy tears and made a mental note to add basic phone etiquette to next year’s curriculum (wink)…

…and then I called back to thank the staff, mothers and chil’ren for reminding me that the best gifts come from the heart.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Thanks but no thanks, motherfucker...

Bob Kerrey has issue the now expected bullshit apology for the ignorant shit he meant to say exactly the way he said it exactly when he said it.

Next up in the How to Campaign Dirty and Keep Your Shirt Clean Rovian Playbook, attack websites!

Oh golly, I wonder what line Clinton 2008 is going to cross with those nifty thangs and then send some pathetic minion out to apologize two days later?!?!

Blink.

On a related note, Bob Kerrey can kiss my militant black ass...

...he still ain't subtle and that shit still ain't slick.

Pondering Rudy G.'s sick ass...

Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani had to stay a wee bit longer in St. Louis after falling ill.

Specifically, Rudy G.’s flight had already taken off when his illishness escalated and they were forced to turn around, land and take his sick ass to the hospital.

As if St. Louis needs another sick ass panderific Republican hypocrite, even if it’s only for a few hours.

Anyhoo, what I find amazing is that Rudy landed in St. Louis County (Chesterfield isn't near the city) but they drove his ill ass all the way into my ‘hood so he could get his sick on at Barnes-Jewish. They had to pass St. Johns Mercy and Missouri Baptist hospital to get all the way to Barnes…which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if Rudy was ill enough to warrant turning around after taking off.

My conspiracy theory juices floweth!

Sick Ass Rudy G. Conspiracy Theory #1
Rudy G. was refused service at St. Johns Mercy at the request of Archbishop Raymond Burke, who demanded that Giuliani renounce all things GLBT…in Latin…followed by several hours of prayer before allowing him treatment.

It could happen.

Cough.

Or.

Sick Ass Rudy G. Conspiracy Theory #2
Missouri Baptist hospital, empowered by the religious practitioner movement that is taking root Missouri, was willing to admit Rudy Giuliani but only if he signed a clause stating that should he become pregnant he would carry the baby to term.

Blink.

If you lived here that wouldn’t sound crazy.

Blink again.

Or.

Sick Ass Rudy G. Conspiracy Theory #3
Rudy, alarmed by his new dismal poll numbers, had to be forced to get on the flight and return to the early primary states. His tantrum was so severe that they were forced to turn around and make up some bullshit story about him projectile vomiting like it was going out of style.

Knowing that the traffic on Highway 40 would buy them at least an hour to calm their candidate down, staffers made for Barnes-Jewish in St. Louis city.

Rudy was admitted and, after several hours of his staff chanting “You are America’s Mayor!” and “9/11, 9/11, 9/11!!" at him repeatedly, pulls himself together.

Pause…consider…continue…

Or maybe this was just some sorry ass stunt to drag attention away from Iowa, Huckabee and the two tons of scandalacious drama Giuliani 2008 is currently dragging everywhere he campaigns.

Blink.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Help Save Pretty Bird Woman House...

According to a recent Amnesty International report, more than one in three American Indian and Alaskan Native women will be raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Domestic violence is also a serious problem. Often victims have nowhere to turn due to poverty, remote geography and tangled legal jurisdictions.

Local women’s shelters can make a dramatic difference in helping women cope with the effects of violence, and helping them escape from situations where further violence is likely.

Too often, these shelters are chronically under funded.

Zintkala Waste Win Oti (“Pretty Bird Woman House”) has run out of funding and will be forced to close in May if new resources can’t be found to fund it. It serves the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which is on the border of North and South Dakota. The shelter was founded by Jackie Brown Otter after the kidnapping, rape and murder of her sister (whose Lakota name means Pretty Bird Woman).

As a shelter volunteer in my home town of St. Louis Missouri, I know how important local shelters are and I know how hard it is to keep the doors open.

Please help Pretty Bird Woman House keep the door open if you can.

Pretty Bird Woman House Chip In

Related Post by Andy Ternay over at Shakesville

Pretty Bird Woman House

Thanks.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Not the kind of history this bitch wants to make...

A nod of my Afro to Rikyrah over at Mirror on America for the tip on this ignorant bullshit.

I’m not surprised that campaign minions have begun to smear Senator Obama with allegations that he was raised a religious radical nor am I surprised that “his name sure is different” bullshit has reared its ignorant head.

But I am surprised that anyone thinks they’ll get away with this shit or that those lame excuses with fly.

No…uh, uh…not.

Clinton 2008 has officially pissed me the hell off!
A bitch wasn’t even going to dip into the early primaries until they dove to such an insulting low that even my reluctant ass is checking airfares to South Carolina (anyone got a bed for a bitch?).

I call bullshit on any assertion that Clinton 2008…a campaign so tightly controlled that staffers won’t fart without getting a memo containing secret code granting permission to do so from the candidate…wasn’t connected with the over the top obvious as hell slapping down of the real race card that Bob Kerrey (who endorsed Clinton) pulled the other day.

"I've watched the blogs try to say that you can't trust [Obama] because he spent a little bit of time in a secular madrassa," the Nebraska Democrat said "I feel quite opposite. I think it's a tremendous strength whether he's in the United States Senate or whether he's in the White House."

Oh and...

"It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal."

Yeah, motherfucker…right.

That shit ain’t subtle and you ain’t slick.

If these comments are innocent, then that 2006 Republican macaca "slip" was an accident.

Catch thy knee, I’m not endorsing any candidate...but I am an advocate for voter education and I intend to educate my brothers and sisters in South Carolina about what’s going on in Iowa and about the difference between a candidate pandering to the black vote and respecting it.

A bitch wants to ask my brothers and sisters how they’d feel if their son/brother/cousin/black male friend, who was running for high office, had campaign operatives smear him as a drug dealing third generation religious radical rather than discuss policy differences.

Don't even get me started on the anti-Muslim slant...ugh!
Religious tolerance, my black ass.
I want to know how the same black voters Clinton 2008 is courting feel about the name game being pulled on Barack Obama while issues like generational poverty, dealing with HIV/AIDS in black communities, unequal access to education, job discrimination (though it looks like at least some Clinton supporters know a heck of a lot about the anatomy of that shit) and a lack of affordable housing go unaddressed.

This is privilege as usual …the move they pull when shit gets competitive so they can take you out at the knees and put an uppity “he should be happy as a Senator” candidate back into the submissive “what can I do to help you get elected, Missus?” position.

The way I see it, Clinton 2008 is willing to risk offending some primary voters in later states because assholes with spreadsheets were able to show that the Iowa bump will be worth it...
...and I guess that answers my questions about politics as usual versus a real commitment to change.
The Woman has shown herself to be a lot like The Man and that's not the kind of history this bitch is interested in making.
Blink.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Shut up, shut up, shut up...

If anyone has any doubt that Senator Joe Lieberman is a complete asshole you need to slap yourself.

Lawd, have mercy.

This man was almost Vice President of the United States…second in line to lead the nation!

Jesus!

Now he’s a conservative dressed out in independent clothing...and he keeps talking and giving his opinion about shit.

Ugh!

And so we have the endorsement of Senator John McCain with the following quote from Senator Lieberman…

“Being a Republican is important. Being a Democrat is important. But you know what's more important than that? The interest and well-being of the United States of America."

No shit, you rancid asshole…that’s what you should have been thinking about instead of endorsing Senator McCain!

He’s evolved from a mere political disappointment into a real pain in the ass with staying power (send pointed frown to Connecticut)…like a resistant staph infection, for the love of all that’s nasty.

Well, if Senator Lieberman has joined the ranks of evil knavish Rovian minions then we must defend against him as we defend against his new rancid home-boys.

***lifts hand high and raises Merciless Rod of Correction skyward***

Senator Lieberman, you ignorant fuck, may your tongue be silent and the power of you vote sway only to the left until you get gone from political life!

Blink.

Shit, it was worth a try…

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Rep. Julia Carson...

Rep. Julia Carson has died at the age of 69.

Rep. Carson was the first woman and the first black person to represent Indianapolis in Congress.

She championed children's rights, women's rights...was an advocate for the homeless and worked for peace rather than war.

As Senator Bayh (D-Indiana) said..."She was elected to important public offices, but never forgot who she was, where she came from or who she was there to serve."

May we all be inspired to do the same...

Friday, December 14, 2007

Tis the season...


This bitch has enjoyed several fantabulous parties this holiday season and a glance at my calendar shows that there are several yet to come.
Excellent!

If I don’t see you out and about at a fete this weekend, you be sure to make wherever you are a holiday party to remember.

And the forecast is calling for snow, so drive like you’ve got some damn sense (wink).

Toodles...

The take away…

A bitch simply must keep it real and address my take on the recent negative drama going down on the Democratic side of the 2008 campaign.

Cough.

This post in no way is an endorsement of one side over the other but is rather a bitch’s reaction to that drug use shit.

As you may already know, the co-chair of Senator Clinton’s New Hampshire campaign resigned over some comments made to the Washington Post.

Bill Shaheen said a lot of shit to the Washington Post, but a bitch is pretty sure the following is what forced the resignation…

Alec MacGillis the Washington Post 12/12/2007
Shaheen said Obama's candor on the subject would "open the door" to further questions. "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'" Shaheen said. "There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."

Pause…sip water…continue.

Now this bitch would have been satisfied with Shaheen’s resignation if it weren’t for the background that political pundits are adding as they try to explain why the fuck Shaheen said it in the first place.

It seems that Clinton staffers have been frustrated with the lack of interest being paid to Obama’s teen drug use, which is insulting. If you don't have the dirt to bury him stop asking the press to speculate him off the stage.

And please tell Mark Penn that he ain't slick when he layers in words like cocaine while sorta-denying that his boss was trying to frame Senator Obama as a drug dealer.

That ig'nant shit just makes my Afro hot.

What I take away from this curious mixture of verbal malfunctions is that Clinton staffers are pissed off that a black man running for President is not being called a drug dealer by pundits and the press even though those same staffers have been working hard to get someone not connected to the campaign to call him a drug dealer and are beyond pissed off that the 'if he’s back he must have been dealing crack' stereotype hasn’t been applied to Senator Obama.

Why else would they be so frustrated?

Obama has been on the record with his teen drug use for over a decade…he has weathered political accusations related to it before…and the last thing Clinton 2008 wants pundits connecting is how often political experience leads to stereotype-based smear campaigns in American politics.

I see professional operatives frustrated by the lack of traction gained through subtle suggestion go to the tried and true vault of nastified allegations. Smear…then deny, apologize or take one for the cause and resign. It’s all good as long as the smear lingers like a stinky fart in a humid room and drives voters away.

Whether these efforts will result in a spike in the polls for Senator Clinton remains to be seen…Iowans aren’t fond of negative campaigns…but that dirty ass shit sure as hell got the press talking. I haven’t heard Senator Obama’s name mentioned without a reference to drugs in two news cycles.

Nice work.

Very Rovian with a hint of South Carolina 2000.

Y'all must be so fucking proud, but you've got this bitch is missing the hell out of change vs. more of the same...

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Pander first...govern never...

Missouri’s nightmare, Governor Matt Blunt, has shown his natural ass…again.

Baby Blunt formed a…well, he’s calling it a task force on the impact of abortion on women.

My people call it bullshit.

The so-called task force is stacked with anti-choice activists. Basically, this anti-abortion gathering is setting out to prove themselves right…and, if Baby Blunt had a fucking clue, he’d know that nothing shat out from this beyond partisan gathering of agreeables is going to be taken seriously.

Cough.

A bitch can’t help but think that mayhap Mr. Blunt Trauma isn’t certain what to do with his time or perhaps he doesn’t realize that there is plenty of other shit he really might want to look into.

Like the shit that has resulted from his inability to govern the state.

Blink.

How about I offer up some suggestions?

Great!

Governor Blunt’s policies have tossed around 150,000 working Missourians into the world of uninsuredness. There are an estimated 700,000 Missourians without health insurance in Missouri and a majority of them are working people who don’t have options.

How about a panel to investigate the impact being uninsured has on women? On children? On people and families and communities?
Hmmm? Hello....?

Okay, well...let's move on.
The rate of food insecurity in Missouri is rather high. Some 9 percent of households are food insecure…meaning that they are at risk for not having anything to eat despite assistance.

And our Boy Nightmare hasn’t done a damn thing to address the thousands of Missourians (catch thy knee, conservatives, many of these folks are workers) who realistically fear hunger. And for those who are not working…a bitch believes that supporting a culture of life extends beyond birth and that hunger in America is our great national shame.

Golly, could we get a task force to investigate the impact being food insecure and going hungry has on women…children…people and communities?
Oh, and what about the unemployment situation in Missouri? The one thing that unites Missourians, be we rural or citified, is our collective concern over the exodus of industry and talent from the state.

I sure would like to know the impact an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent has on women, children, people and our communities! And I would hope that that task force would also dip into the issue of low wage jobs, no fucking affordable housing for workers and the decline of benefit providing jobs and how that shit impacts Missourians.

Cough again.

Oh what the fuck am I thinking?

That anti-abortion task force isn’t about making better policy because the Blunt Administration isn’t in the business of people positive policy any more than they are concerned about women’s health.
Mmmhmmm, what we have here is yet another example of pander first and govern never.

Did I mention that my people call it bullshit?

Congratulations Jodie Foster!



Congrats to Ms. Jodie Foster!

Oh, and congrats on winning an award at the Women in Entertainment Power 100 too (wink).

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Pondering 2008 in the Show Me state...

A bitch may have been born in Minneapolis but my ass was raised in Missouri. The Missouri of my childhood had plenty of problems…a history of racial segregation and oppression, regional adoration of all things insurgent and Confederate, rigid class divides and unemployment.

But we were also proud to be the Show Me state…a place where people questioned shit rather than just accept it and where being willing to change your mind and learn was something to brag on.

Sadly, the Missouri of my youth is not the Missouri I returned to some five years ago and nothing illustrates that better than the current crop of ballot initiatives set to divide us in 2007.

The tried and true affirmative action ban...
My first reaction to this was that it is kind of warped to have a ban on affirmative action practices in a state that’s hemorrhaging jobs and talent at a record pace.

My second reaction was disgust because Missouri was chosen for this ban for a reason.

For what we have always been and what we no longer work not be…a state where the klan is listed on highway beautification signs, confederate flags adorn too many pick-up truck bumpers and the St. Louis Post Dispatch calmly publishes articles explaining that white people are leaving a school district because the black population is growing.

These assholes coming to Missouri is like ants swarming a kitchen...something called out to them that this was the place to be and that's nothing to be proud of.

The so-called abortion ban…
Another year equals another assault on choice in Missouri.

Gawd forbid energy and effort be put towards education and prevention in Missouri. St. Louis city's std infection rates are an example of what decades of the war on choice can do.

And here we are again…at war over a ballot initiative when we should be working to educate our youth, empower women and their doctors and support the kind of family planning that builds strong communities.

Nothing can not be pro-family if it is anti-woman…but then again, there’s nothing pro-family about this ballot shit.

The fear of a brown majority immigration initiative…
When I moved back to St. Louis city I was thrilled to learn that we have a large immigrant population because it made me feel that my city was welcoming and inclusive. We should be proud of the diversity immigrants have brought to St. Louis in the past and continue to bring.

Instead, we’re looking at a ballot initiative that seeks to profile against anyone brown and possibly of Mexican descent.

The last thing we need in this state is local law enforcement having the legal right to ask for “papers” from people of color. I get enough grief trying to shop/vote/drive while black as it is.

Top that shit sundae off with the English Only measure and I just don’t recognize this place anymore.

The Missouri state motto…which is in Latin and would become illegal should that English only measure pass…is Salus populi suprema lex esto.

Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.

Come November 2008, Missourians will Show Me and the rest of the country what that means to us and what we stand for.

Lawd, have mercy.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

By request, all I want for Christmas…

A longtime member of the faithful flock of bitchitude sent a bitch an e-mail asking what I want for a holiday gift.

Blink…blink…and blink once again.

Aw, that’s really nice. For real!

This bitch is going to stick with my standard holiday wish for a day of quiet devoid of drama.

What?

Odds are that one of these years it’ll come true!

Anyhoo…

In addition to that, I encourage everyone out there to support local organizations that are working hard to make our community better.

Looking for organizations to support in St. Louis?

Fantabulous (wink)!

Here are two that are near and dear to my heart…

Places for People is accepting clothing, furniture and appliances. Oh, and cash too! This wonderful organization works year round to help people with serious mental illness live independently in the community. Visit their website for donation information and other ways to help!

The Haven of Grace is a transitional residential shelter for homeless, pregnant women, ages 16 to 24. A donation will help this program continue to be a place where young women commit to redefining their lives and ensuring a stable future for their children.

Where ever you live, take time to support those who support your community!

Those tapes...

Yesterday we were bathed in ice but today we are supposed to reach a high of 50 degrees.

Fuck it…let the melt begin!

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

A bitch has long been amazed by what people are able to tolerate and even support when they don’t have to witness it. The death penalty, police brutality, starvation, genocide, war and torture are all discussed and debated like theory rather than reality.

I couldn’t help but think about that shit while reading the news reports about the missing and destroyed tapes showing “enhanced” interrogation methods.

Should we torture? Do we torture? What is torture? All of these fucking questions make me sick because obviously we should not torture, we do torture and what was done on the now missing and allegedly destroyed tapes was torture.

Cough.

Asking whether the tapes in question contained images that would sicken the masses and bring shame upon our nation is like asking whether the erased 18 minutes from the Watergate tapes contained information that would have been damaging to Nixon.

Just think about what we do know about our use of interrogation techniques. It reminds me of the shock I felt when studying the Watergate cover-up tapes of Nixon released after he lost his bid to keep them away from the FBI. Jesus to Gawd, if the man didn’t destroy the tape of him offering to find a million dollars to pay off burglars and buy silence what the hell was on that 18 minutes he did erase?

Shudder.

As with Watergate, the masses must press for the truth even though it scares the shit out of us.

So, a bitch will admit that I fear what was on those erased tapes...but I fear not knowing more.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Hold please...

It’s raining ice.
Lawd, have mercy.

Ice, I tell you!

Sigh.

Bitchitude will return when my fucking fingers thaw.

Jesus…

Friday, December 07, 2007

Is that the weekend I see before me?

Oh…my…Gawd, this has been a week of drama.

Ugh!

I can’t get into it, but suffice it to say that all manner of shit broke out in a bitch’s world simultaneously.

Not good, not good, not good…trust a bitch (wink).

But off in the distance…beyond the veil of ice-based rain…is the motherfucking weekend!

Hell yes.

In times like this a bitch likes to look back to a kindler gentler time…

…and that’s why this story about the Commodore 64 made me smile.

C-Money and this bitch had one and it was the shit! I didn’t exactly understand what it was for…shit, a bitch wrote school papers by hand then typed them up until college (fuck it, I hate change)…but everyone in my school envied the hell out of it so I just had to adore it!

Even finding out that my beloved Commodore 64 is 25 years old…wince…didn’t piss in the Corn Flakes of my nostalgic joy.

Sigh.

Music television that actually played music, hours upon hours of time to fuck around doing nothing with my Commodore 64 and easy access to ice cold Capri-Suns from the fridge….ahhhhhh, those were the days.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

…and if the witch drowns then she was not a witch!

I’m tired of living under the rule of our head idiot in charge but reading shit like this makes me want to flee north to the land of Smartie-based joy and Tim Hortons yumminess.

Will someone please tell Scooter B. to stop!
Just stop!
No more press conferences…no one believes a word you say anyway. No more diplomatic missions…I was wrong, it can get worse. And no more sending letters to the leaders of other countries!

Lawd, if he comes off in his letters the way he comes off during a press conference then…oh Gawd!!
Haven't we suffered enough under the fuck up who keeps on fucking?!?!

Now Scooter B. is writing personal letters telling North Korea to come clean about nuclear stuff less than a week after telling Iran to come clean about nuclear stuff in a press conference.

Basically, the offer is that if they confess they are spared but if they don’t they could be doomed.

Pause…consider…continue…

Oh Christ, next week he’ll be demanding that spectral evidence be included in NIE reports!
Blink.

I never knew JFK and I sure as heck didn’t work with JFK, but this dude is no JFK…

A certain Mitt Romney of the how much money will it take to buy the Presidency Romney’s gave a speech on religion today that his staff would very much like to result in no more questions about his religion.

Blink.

Aside from the insult to my intelligence that is any comparison between then candidate Kennedy’s famous speech on religion and now candidate Romney’s speech, the need for this is very telling and I can’t stop thinking that Republicans did this shit to themselves.

Candidate Kennedy faced a nation unsure and with a lot of questions.

Candidate Romney has to get through the Evangelical base on the Republican Party who think, like Queen of Rancidity Ann Coulter, that they are perfected and other people don’t need religious freedom they need perfecting too.

The Evangelical base was recruited for the power of their uniform and predictable voting numbers and it is that uniform predictability that Romney is up against.

A bitch objects to the climate of intolerance for religious freedom that led Romney to make this speech.

It’s sad but not surprising.

But I can’t rustle up sympathy for the fact that the same morally confused prosperity gospel believing voters Romney's been pandering to on the issues of reproductive choice, marriage equality and immigration reform are sharpening their knives and anxiously waiting for a fellow "perfected" Evangelical to emerge from the pack (can you say Huckabee?) and green light the kind of value voting the gospel of MyFaithorNoFaith-based politics demands.

"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all."
John F. Kennedy
Vanderbilt University
May 18 of 1963

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Come clean?

Scooter B., desperately trying to frame the new Iran intelligence report as a pro-war positive, is now calling on Iran to “come clean” and admit that they did once have nuclear aspirations.

Blink.

I’m thinking this may be an attempt to ignore and redirect.

The new intelligence report doesn’t absolve Iran of dabbling in a previous nuclear courtship back before 2003…but that’s not the fucking point.

The point is that Scooter B. and his minions have been making war noises and escalating towards conflict based on a foundation that has now been exposed to be sandish.

Since we don’t have the technology to go back in time and bomb what was why don’t we deal with what is…and that’s us as in the United States barely avoiding repeating recent fubarish war history by bombing first and asking questions never!

Jesus, these idiots were talking about the world being on the verge of World War III!

Think about that shit.

Shudder.

Pause…consider…continue…

If our previous intelligence breakdown was single sourced to Curveball I wonder who the fall guy was/is going to be for this shit?

Breaking ball?

Blink.

Pleasant...

A cold wind is blowing across St. Louis today and making this bitch crave chowder in sourdough bread bowls.

Mmmmmmm…chowder.

Anyhoo, a certain Emerson (love that name, by the way) wrote this bitch an e-mail. Specifically, Emerson would like to know why black bloggers are so angry and added that everything can’t be anger inspiring because some issues are worthy of pleasant discussion.

Blink.

Fuck it all, I’ll jump at that!

First of all, all black bloggers aren’t angry. Seriously, I’ve found some happy as hell black bloggers out there. There was even this one brother who positioned himself as the not angry black blog alternative to my angry ass (cough). That made a bitch think of artificial sweetner, but I’m all for whatever gives his life meaning. Anyhoo, a bitch is not a fan of absolute statements and certainly not in this case. Black bloggers are as diverse as black people.

Having said that, some of us are angry. You ask why. Although I’m fond of saying that if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention, a bitch will pass this time and simply reply that the answer is in our writing.

Pause…sip water…continue.

I’ve never said that there aren’t certain topics worthy of pleasant discussion. Shit, we’ve had some pleasant discussions here, haven’t we? Mmmhmmm, we’ve talked about Smarties…cooking with Smarties…sharing the joy of Smarties…dawgs and dawg based joy…vodka followed by cran…ummm, oh and the pleasure one gets from sparkling grape soda pop (wink).

Some issues can be explored with extreme pleasantness but some shit inspires the emotion of anger, y'all. I think too many of us are so comfortably numb that real emotion scares the shit out of us. Anger explains depth…it conveys that a wrong has been done and someone isn’t happy about it…and it is a valid response to a lot of shit.

People ask me why I’m angry but to me the more interesting question is why this anger disturbs them.

You want disturbing? Turn on the news and you’ll see people marching in other countries over violations Americans can’t be bothered to give a shit about.

That’s disturbing as a motherfucker to me.

I hate to make The Man happy...give me anger over apathy any day.

There, now wasn’t that pleasant (wink)?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Currently soothing my nerves with…

The Song Lives On which includes the blessed union of Joe Sample and the divine Ms. Lalah Hathaway on vocals.

This music is rich and creamy and smooth, baby, smooth…like gelato.

Fantabulous…

Wolf...

Okay, so a bitch is in the midst of a technological office drama that I won’t get into right this minute, but I simply can’t resist commenting on Scooter B.’s latest diplomatic malfunction on Iran.

Scooter B. and his minions have been spinning that Iran is serious…beyond serious…totally serious…so serious they probably already did it about building themselves a nuclear weapon.

Iran has denied such claims, said that Scooter B. and his minions are full of shit and claimed that any uranium enrichment is for power producing reasons.

This Yo Mamma off has been going on for ever and a day with the last escalation coming from Scooter B. who went there and said that not taking out Iran would lead to World War III.

And now…cough…there is an intelligence estimate stating that Iran hasn’t been serious about building the big one since 2003.

Oh my…can you say awkward?

Makes a bitch wonder about the accuracy of the spin that resulted in the Kyl-Lieberman measure.

Blink.

Given the inconsistencies between the intelligence estimate and Scooter B.’s propaganda, he had no choice but to get his speech on this morning.

Iran is about to blow us up has morphed into “Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

Iran is seconds away from removing a dozen nuclear weapons from the oven is now “What's to say they couldn't start another covert nuclear weapons program?"

And Iran is full of evil doers playing with plutonium and doing other evil nuclear things has become "Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace."

Cough.

I can’t confirm this but a bitch is thinking he ended his remarks with…WOLF! WOLF! WOLF!...

Monday, December 03, 2007

Oh my, that was quick…

Australia has announced that it will sign the Kyoto Protocol!

Damn, a bitch could get whiplash with y’all moving so fast down under (wink).

So.

Ummm, let’s see that just leaves…oh.

Blink.

The United States of America stands alone.

Shit.

Are any of the fabillion trillion chil’ren running for President on the record about Kyoto?

And if not, that’s one question this bitch would like to see planted…

Pondering elections…

Where the hell did the weekend go, y’all? Lawd, a bitch is busier than ever this time of year (yawn).

Anyhoo (yawn once again)…

This bitch has been pondering elections!

First up, Russia! Longtime readers know that this bitch adores following Russian politics almost as much as I adore Russian vodka (wink). So, I monitored the Russian election (my people call it fixed) closely over the weekend.

United Russia (President Putin’s party) won some 65% of the vote which should equal at least 70 seats in the Russian Parliament. The Communist Party was the only other political party to make the cut but they only achieved 11% of the vote.

Blink.

Putin feels validated and all indications point to his retaining power as a result of these election total even after he's supposed to step down as is constitutionally required.

Now that’s what I call a political hustle!

My goodness, if our allies are getting their election fraud on I wonder what our sworn international enemies are up to!

Onward to Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez attempted to seize power for ever and ever and ever….

…but lost that bid for people approved total rule.

Ummm, well…that goes a wee bit against type but America wasted no time issuing the following statement.

In a country that wants to be a democracy, the people spoke, and the people spoke for democracy and against unlimited power." U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns

Blink.

Damnit to hell and back again, that made my Afro hurt.

This is why people are tired of our bullshit!

We blow kisses and ignore the oppression of the masses at the hands of emerging dictatorships we’ve chosen as allies but toss elitist “I’m so glad you people decided to be democratic but I'm still not picking you to play kick ball” comments at a country we’ve been trying to paint as a dictatorship that just politically demonstrated it answers to the political will of it’s people.

Wince.

And finally, let's take a quick look at our own election-based primary race.

Yawn (wink).

A bitch has enjoyed one broadcast happening above all others - the exploration by media hounds, as if surprised and totally beyond shocked, of two adorably telling questions…

Why would women voters not vote for Hillary? & Who would have predicted that Obama would have to earn the black vote?

Aren’t they freakishly cute questions in a 1954's social revival kind of way?

Women voters are actually considering the issues and not just leaping at the opportunity to make history (gasp)?!

Black voters actually want to hear what all the candidates have to say and expect Obama to (double gasp followed by a sputter) earn their vote?!

Someone bring forth smelling salts stat! Tim Russert is having a case of the vapors...

***logs off while fluffing Afro soothingly***

Friday, November 30, 2007

If I could...

Something about Regina Bell’s version of If I Could has always touched me and it inspired me today…

I remember the day when it hit me. I taught women’s health classes at a shelter and we were going to cover sexually transmitted diseases that evening. There I stood, looking out at ten women who were looking back expecting me to lecture them, judge them and then ignore them.
If I could…I'd protect you from the sadness in your eyes…give you courage in a world of compromise. Yes I would, if I could. I would teach you all the things I've never learned and I'd help you cross the bridges that I've burned.

Yes I would, if I could.


My mind scrambled and I was, in an instant, filled with a frustrated rage. I didn’t want this…I thought. I don’t need this shit…my heart screamed. I can’t handle this responsibility and what if I fuck this shit up and oh God please let them listen, let them listen, let them listen and then understand that more than anything I want them to live and prosper and be happy.

I would try to shield your innocence from time, but the part of life I gave you isn't mine. I've watched you grow so I could let you go. If I could, I would help you make it through the hungry years. But I know that I can never cry your tears.

But I would, if I could.
That’s when it sunk in that I wasn’t in control of their lives. They weren’t a project I was going to be graded on. In that moment my students became my sisters. The rage shifted to fear and, in a flash, fear shifted into a determined concern.

My generation grew up with words like HIV and AIDS in our vocabulary. I vividly recall watching reports and seeing images…the fear, misinformation and bigotry that took over…then the ignorance and lack of compassion…and always the self righteous judgment and careless disregard. Now, so many years later, the young women who sat before me represented an emerging demographic at risk and it felt like another case of history repeating.

I live in a time and place where you don't want to be. You don't have to walk along this road with me. My yesterday won't have to be your way.

Would they know the same fear or face the same lack of resources and information our generation did? Would they be victims of the abortion debate, denied knowledge for ‘their own good’ refused prevention for the ‘sake of their souls’ then denied treatment to ‘punish their sins’?

Are the wages of being born young, black and poor still hunger, illness and death?

If I knew, how I'd try to change the world I brought you to. And there isn't very much that I can do. But I would, if I could.
I wanted them to know how much I want a better world for us all. I want to wake up tomorrow, turn on the news and hear that war is over…hunger is at an end…and AIDS has been cured at last.

If I could, I would try to shield your innocence from time. But that part of life I gave you isn't mine. I watched you grow so I could let you go.
So, there I stood looking out at ten women who were looking back expecting me to lecture them, judge them and then ignore them.

If I could, I would help you make it through those hungry years. But I know that I can never cry your tears. But I would, if I could.

They were my students and my sisters in the struggle…mothers and daughters and cousins and friends…and I spoke to them as such.

Yes I would.
“Today we’re going to talk about sex, and your body and your health.”

Oh yes I would.
“We are in this together.”

If I could.
“Shall we begin…?”

Every day is World AIDS Day until we have a day without AIDS.

Begin.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

A worthy discussion that we need to stop dancing around Part II…

This bitch has posted a lot about the alarming lack of coverage for missing women of color as compared to the onslaught of media attention paid to cases like the Peterson case currently giving Nancy Grace’s life meaning or the Natalee Holloway case.

I recently posted about it over at Shakespeare’s Sister and found the comments fascinating. Honestly, that’s the best part of blogging at several locations…the variety of responses are enlightening as hell! Anyhoo, I was annoyed that some of the comments seemed to want to deny the worthiness of the discussion.

For the record, discussing the lack of coverage given missing women of color does not detract from the broader discussion of violence against all women…and a discussion of violence against women does not detract from the broader discussion of violence against people…and a discussion of violence against people doesn’t detract from a discussion of violence in America.

But the lack of coverage given missing women of color is worthy of specific discussion. It speaks to the issue of acceptable victims. When I read about crimes like those that occurred in Dunbar Village I’m struck by the lack of reaction by society in general and by communities of color. We have all been conditioned to accept certain crime…to accept that missing white women get a 15 minute prime time lead in and missing women of color get nothing…and to accept less than, half ass and not as good as in all manner of areas this bitch doesn’t have time to get into.

So, let’s talk about it for the love of all that is worthy of discussion.

I do not and will not accept that my life and the lives of women of color are not of value. The lack of media coverage given missing people of color should have everyone fired the hell up...there but for the grace of God go any of us. And I will struggle against this shit because it is a symptom of the accepted victimization of people of color and that hurts all of us.

This is worthy of discussion...and that doesn’t detract from a damn thing.

A worthy discussion that we need to stop dancing around Part I…

A bitch has been following the case of Megan Meier, a young Missouri woman who took her own life after being harassed online. It was later revealed that a grown ass woman…a so-called friend of Megan’s mother who lived down the street…had initiated a farce, created a faux teen boy on-line who pretended to be interested in Megan and then facilitated the end to that relationship. Megan killed herself shortly after cruel messages were posted on-line by the faux young man.

Pause…sip water…continue.

What seems to be lost in the mix is the issue of bullying. I understand why it is getting lost. Hell, it’s hard to get past an adult conspiring with her daughter to torment a peer on-line. But Megan Meier killed herself and never knew that her on-line tormentor was really the fiendish adult down the street…

…and that is why I see this as an issue of bullying and hope that this tragedy inspires some support for the Comprehensive Anti-Bullying legislation currently pending in Jefferson City.

Blink.

The Today Show featured Megan’s story again this morning. They had a Missouri parent, who supports one of the many new anti-cyber bullying measures, give a statement about how this is about parents protecting children from harassment no matter what form it takes. Gawd, that sounds nice…so decent…but I just don't buy it.

What?

Oh come on! This isn’t about the protection of children…this is about the protection of some children in some circumstances from some bullies.

LGBT youth are not protected from bullying in Missouri schools and the attempted suicide rate among LGBT youth is 33%.

Sit back and let that settle on your brain and then ask yourself why we are horrified when an adult taunts a teen to death but are unmoved by a 33% attempted suicide rate among LGBT youth that is too often related to bullying.

Or are we?

Are we really unmoved?

Maybe this is all just a matter of educating the masses and legislators that bullying is a damaging thing no matter who the victim is or who the bully is.

The on-line protection measures are a good start. So let’s keep going and make Safe Schools legislation about what that Missouri mother said it should be about…protecting children from harassment no matter what.

For more information about Comprehensive Anti-Bullying legislation pending in Missouri and how you can help make it law visit PROMOonline.org.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Locked Jaw Incident or How Betsey the sorta-beagle scared the living shit out of this bitch….

Note - Betsey pictures used for the post were not taken yesterday but do help y'all understand the hound in question...

C-Money is on vacation and spent yesterday dealing with a difficult furnace, carbon monoxide levels and a visit by an engine company of the St. Louis fire department.

Blink.

Yes, we have detectors…no we’re not ignoring the problem…yes C-Money is on top of the shit…no, Betsey the sorta-beagle didn’t collapse as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Cough.

Anyhoo, Betsey the sorta-beagle has an issue with the mail.

She attacks mail when it goes through our slot and I mean really attacks the hell out of it. C-Money has been working with her on this while on vacation, so when the mail came through the slot yesterday C jumped up to redirect Betsey’s aggressive dawg on mail behavior.

The mail came through the slot.

Betsey the sorta-beagle dove at it and chomped down hard as a motherfucker then froze.

C-Money knew something was wrong immediately. She tried to open Betsey’s mouth but…it was stuck in the clenched down on mail position!

Mmmhmmm, Betsey had chomped down so hard that her jaw was locked shut!

She began to drool and look pathetic.

C-Money instantly went in the action. Sweetie the three legged chow was put upstairs…Theo the Bay Master was put in his crate…and this bitch got the shit scared out of me through a phone call that went something like “Betsey hurt herself attacking the mail and can’t open her jaw so we need to go to the vet NOW.”

Blink.

I flew out of my office, which is thankfully 10 minutes away, and I’m pretty sure I ran a red light at Vandeventer and Tower Grove (my bad, y'all!) then arrived in front of the house and collected the now dazed and fully drooling Betsey the sorta-beagle who was being held by C-Money.

Off to the vet we went. It felt like forever but they are only 5 minutes away (a bitch likes shit to be close).

Dr. Ed (vet of the year!) looked at Betsey and said “This is interesting.” He then pulled her lips back and exposed what I though were crushed teeth gathered in dawg foam but what was later identified as chunks of the mailing (Mattress Firm is having a sale, by the way) trapped between her locked teeth in foam.

Oh and drool….lots and lots of drool.

“I’m going to take her into the back.” said Dr. Ed.

A bitch felt faint. I thought that sorta-beagle was going to die…or need a new jaw…or lose all her teeth! Can a dawg live with dentures?

Jesus!

But Dr. Ed came back in with a now drowsy beagle, her tongue hanging out and jaw totally released. He had sedated her and then pried the jaw open with the back end of some toolish thing. It took some elbow power but pop and she was free! C-Money still has the chunk of mail released in the process.

Suffice it to say that my ass was scared to pieces but Betsey the sorta-beagle is doing fine. Darn dawg ate her kibble like nothing even happened.

Blink.

But that natural born bitch is back in the crate during the day from now on.

Whew.

I spent the entire night thinking that my dawg locked her jaw shut attacking mail.

Oh my Gawd!

Anyhoo, thank you C-Money for being dawg Aunt of the year and thanks to Dr. Ed for actually thanking us for presenting him with an interesting case of dawg medical drama on a Tuesday afternoon.

Lawd have mercy...

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

A bitch's healthcare challenge...

Today is Dining Out for Life day in St. Louis, so a bitch is beyond busy hosting and eating and hosting and eating and then eating some more.

Blink.

Dining Out for Life is a St. Louis Effort for AIDS fundraiser that raises money through restaurant donations and individual donations too. If you don’t already have plans for dinner, join us at The Royale on S. Kingshighway (hosted by Brother Rob and the fantabulous Ms. Joyce).

If you don’t live in St. Louis you can still support St. Louis Effort for AIDS through online donations.

Moving forward overly full from lunch and breakfast (mercy!)…

Dickie C. (Vice President Dick Cheney to the uninitiated) went into the hospital because of a persistent cough and wound up having his upper heart area jump started. It seems that his heart rate was irregular and they used shock therapy to help it gets its rhythm back.

Oh my!

Good to know that the Vice President continues to benefit from the best healthcare our tax dollars can buy.

Shit.

A bitch hasn’t endorsed candidates through this site, but I would be willing to endorse the Presidential candidate who publicly pledges to propose and advocate the following reform…

…that all federal and state government employees shall have healthcare as a benefit that is no better than, no more comprehensive than nor any less comprehensive than the current Medicaid coverage offered to the American citizens they serve.

Blink once more.

What?

It is a motherfucking shame that the Vice President of the United States of America went to work today because he has healthcare coverage funded through the fruit of our labor but someone lost a loved one yesterday due to the lack of that same precious benefit.

Note - a bitch is in no way saying that Dickie C. shouldn't be going to work today but is calling for equal access to comprehensive healthcare. So, and I'm speaking directly to Mr. The Man from that government agency that shall not be named who logs on daily between 3pm and 5pm EST, there is no need to get your rendition on with this bitch.

Cough.

Show me the candidate with the courage to propose that kind of keeping it real reform and the backbone to push until it is reality and I’ll walk my feet raw in support of them!

But I fear my feet are safe for now…

Monday, November 26, 2007

We have ourselves a wedge issue…

Or at least a desperate attempt at forming a wedge issue.

Missouri’s own gubernatorial nightmare, Matt Blunt, is in St. Louis to speak out against illegal immigration.

Blink.

He wants to ban driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants…even though undocumented immigrants already can’t get a license.

He wants to deputize state officers to enforce federal immigration law and round up people…even though it is not a crime under Missouri law to be undocumented and we currently lack the capacity to process undocumented people for deportation.

Oh my!

Where was this propose first and worry about the price tag later attitude when Blunt was tossing thousands Missourians off of healthcare and bleeding social programs dry?

A bitch suspects that never-ending checkbook only opens for fear of a brown majority inspiring wedge issues with the potential to rally some votes.

Egad, is that an English-only speaking ballot initiative I see on the horizon?

Lawd, have mercy.

If he had only put half as much energy into creating jobs for Missourians as he puts into this bullshit.

Oh, fuck it.

Ten bucks says Blunt proposes a state border fence during his next Confederate Remembrance Day declaration

Since she brought the subject up…

A bitch was pleased to read that Senator Clinton would increase funding into autism research and education

…but I’d like to see some of that money go to adult autistics too.

Oh, I know that the press is in love with autism right now because the revised spectrum has resulted in a better understanding of just how common an autism diagnosis is.

But the press has failed…horribly…to point out that autism is not a childhood illness just because symptoms appear when a person is a child.

Autistics grow up.

Education is great and more funding will certainly help the many families who can not afford programs that will help their child become an adult who can participate in society.

But autistics grow up and that 1 in 150 estimated figure should be a warning bell to policy makers that major funding increases in adult care and job training programs are needed now and sure as shit will be needed in a few years.

So go forth and fund research for a cure and research into treatments. I hope all the candidates intend to fund education and expand the availability of those programs to all families.

But all y’all need to know that the thousands of autistic adults who woke up autistic today and will, by the grace of God, wake up autistic tomorrow need a commitment to healthcare, job training, work programs and residential care.

I’ll say it one more time…autistics grow up.

This Missouri voter would like some of that $700 million to go towards funding adult programs for people like my older autistic as hell but loves to work brother so his ability to participate and add value to our community isn’t on the quarterly cutting block.

A bitch would like everyone and anyone who talks about autism to recognize that some of us caregivers are siblings or aunts or uncles or even cousins. As autistics grow up my family’s story will be more common…siblings emerging as co-guardians when parents are no longer there.

My brother is 37 years old…he ain’t a child anymore…and I will welcome funding that acknowledges that.

Senator Clinton’s proposal it is a good first step.

Tis Monday…

Shit.

A bitch hopes that everyone had a safe and fantabulous feastitude! I was blessed to be able to spend Thursday with family and friends…gorging on yummified food (Ryan, we just adored the bread pudding and by adored I mean inhaled it)…and sharing laughs while watching Ordinary People.

Sigh.

Good times.

I didn’t make it to Smoke Signals but shall view that sometime this week!

This bitch had to work Friday (sob) and then…well, I crashed. Mmmmhmmm, I basically took to my couch-based area for the weekend and slept. Lawd, I must have needed a rest.

Anyhoo…

Brother Rob Thurman was among those who graced a bitch’s feastitude gathering with his fantabulous presence. As is his habit when visiting he asked to check out the cable news channels to see what’s on. Brother Rob doesn’t do cable/satellite/any of that shit. So, I clicked over to FOX (shudder) which was an O’Reilly repeatification and then we took a look at Glenn Beck of the An Unfortunate Long Term Contract Becks on CNN (ugh). Suffice it to say a bitch wasn’t surprised by the content of either show but my ass is glad Brother Rob asked to watch.

Blink.

Yes, I said my ass is glad I watched that shit.

Stretch…crack neck…continue…

Many a visitor to this bitch’s blog has asked why the fuck I bother watching The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN…ummm, NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press or This Week with Georgie S…oh, and Face the Nation too. And I probably haven’t explained myself for a spell…must be due.

Being partisan is about feeling right. The passion comes from conviction and the conviction has us seek out others who share our values and too much of that single source diet can sour into intellectual poison.

Catch that knee before it jerketh and puts someone’s eye out!

Catch it!

Whew.

Okay, where was a bitch?

Oh yes…passion, conviction and intellectual poison.

If we believe in something we should not fear debate and we must not shy away from arguments. More importantly, being oh so fucking right about everything is meaningless if we isolate ourselves on our enlightened mountains and gaze down upon our fellow Americans with disdain and contempt.

We are all subject to the will of the majority and common sense should have partisans on all sides consuming the media of the masses to better understand why they think the way they do and how they can be made to see the light.

Go ahead…a bitch highly recommends it. Okay, maybe not FOX (makes a bitch break out in hives like a beauty pageant contestant wearing floor length silk drenched in pepper spray)…but too many of us avoid mainstream news like the plague even as that shit is shaping the beliefs of millions.

If the faithful are going to really bring about change then we’re going to have to understand where society is, how they got there and what lies they hold true that require debunkification.

So, a nod of the Afro goes to Brother Rob Thurman for reminding a bitch to tune in to the media machines of the dark side more often.

There is nothing like an hour of Glenn Beck to sharpen thy bitchitude...

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy day before feastitude...

Happy day before feastitude, y’all!

The weather is miserable with a wicked cold front working its way through the city.

Ah, perfect feasting weather!

Wink.

Last night a bitch watched my new favorite television show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and it was a good one. Keith dove into the Scott McClellan press release sorta-indictment of Scooter B. and his gang of conspiring to out a CIA operative as political payback minions. It was like a hot fudge sundae for the brain (no nuts, extra whipped cream)! And the cherry on top was an appearance by none other than my favorite old school Nixonian felon John Dean!

Fantabulous.

There was nothing for a bitch to do but put in my prized Discovery Channel Watergate documentary tapes…narrated by Daniel Schorr …and tuck into a vodka cran while dreaming that this new scandal is all just another case of history repeating.

Blink.

Shit, a bitch can dream.

Moving forward…

A bitch is beyond fascinated that the 5-4 Supremes will be taking on a case that will tackle the Second Amendment of The Constitution!

I can’t fucking wait to see what those strict constructionists do regard the right to bear arms.

A bitch adores The Constitution (wink) so I took the old girl out to refresh my memory.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Blink.

But that seems a bit awkward. Lawd, it almost appears as if some founder smooshed two related rights into one unfortunate sentence! It reads as if the militia, which exists to secure the free state and protect the right of the people to bear arms, shall not be infringed.

I wonder…oh look! Through the magic of Google a bitch has found an earlier version that the current Amendment (ratified in 1791).

This is it as written by the Constitutional Convention of 1787…

“A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Oh yes, that was much better! A much smoother flow, don’t you think? Makes a bitch wonder if William Lambert didn’t change the meaning of other shit through his adoration of punctuation.

Thank goodness we’ve got the Supreme Court to help us clarify…oh fuck.

With their tendency to ignore the legal advise to stare decisis et non quieta movere by ignoring previous decisions then moving that which was quiet way far away from it’s original location, a bitch predicts some serious drama when this decision comes down.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

100 Neediest Cases…

A bitch has been running around like a crazy person and stressing out over silly shit, which is why my head hurts (wince).

But I am so very thankful to be able to run around like a crazy person until my head hurts while getting shit together to feed my family and friends.

Sigh.

Not to piss in your holiday Corn Flakes, but there are many among us who need someone to reach out and care. As a community we need to care ‘bout each other 12 months out of the year, but a bitch knows the power of holiday guilt so I’m starting my pitches now (wink).

Please take a moment to read about the 100 Neediest Cases. Behind these stories are real people in real need…I know, because my mentee’s family was on this list just a few years ago.

Be generous if you are able and send kind wishes if you are not.

Recognize the blessing that your family and friends are and know that I am thankful for each one of you.

Okay, not the rancid knave-like trolls…but the rest of you for sure!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Still violent after all these years...

St. Louis, my beloved river city, is the second most violent city in America? I don’t buy it! No way is Detroit more violent than we are.

I mean they can’t just let average violence trump the kind of multi-month record breaking maybe we ought to relocate violence like we have here in St. Louis.

Blink.

Anyhoo…

As usual the St. Louis Post Dispatch has run story after spin-laden story covering how the methodology of the report is flawed and how we aren’t really the second most violent city in the country if you count the white flight zones surrounding the city that they don’t count because they aren’t in the city.

This story is my current favorite, Area Group Fights ‘crime’ label.

One would think that the area group fighting the violent city label would advocate for community programs, job creation, funding for mental health screening and treatment and perhaps a dash of political accountability.

But you’d be wrong, baby…wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong followed by wrong!

The area group is fighting the label not the reality of crime in St. Louis.

That’s right...they plan to spin it out of existence!

The best part of the article is that one member of the we aint violent coalition called the dude who puts these reports together to try to persuade him to change his crime reporting ways.

After several minutes his response was…wait, are you sitting down?

Okay, the Post reports that "His dismissive conclusion at the end was, 'Go fight crime.'"

Classic!

The Gumdrop Stage of Grief ...

So many of you have shared condolences and support after the death of my beloved brother Bill from COVID-19. I wish I could thank you indiv...