Preview of coming attractions!

To Drinking Liberally, that is.

If you attended the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis earlier this month, or you wanted to, come to Drinking Liberally this Thursday night, June 19th. Bill Moyers hasn't confirmed yet, but we'll have some local conference attendees in, well, attendance.

And for those who plan in advance, mark your calendar for Thursday, July 10th when State Senator Patricia Torres Ray from Minneapolis will be at DL for a meet and greet. Senator Torres Ray, a first-term senator, introduced Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer at the DFL state convention.

Both events will be at Drinking Liberally's (in the Twin Cities, anyway) regular location, the 331 Club in northeast Minneapolis. Regular time, too: six to nine, or later if you like the band or the conversation.

More information will follow.

Technorati Tags: Sen. Patricia Torres Ray,National Conference for Media Reform,Drinking Liberally,331 Club

Humanitarian Crisis!

Spot! If we leave Iraq, we'll create a humanitarian crisis!

Who told you that, grasshopper?

Well, Aaron Landry, for one:

It has been disturbing to me that Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer has been labeled and touted by the “peace community” as the “peace candidate” even though his plan to me is extremely dangerous and unnerving. Al Franken’s position on heading towards peace in the Middle East is rooted in getting our troops home as fast as possible without making Iraq worse than it is. He has stated repeatedly that he’d work with experts, the military and intelligence to properly get our armed forces home as soon and effectively as possible while working for stability in the region. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer’s position on foreign policy boils down to a six month immediate timetable on withdrawing from Iraq regardless of the stability of the Middle East.

Aaron continues:

This position is frightening. You cannot be a “peace candidate” if your Iraq exit strategy is to disregard what our troops are doing to prevent a civil war, to almost intentionally create the largest power vacuum in the Middle East and then give $25 billion handouts to factions that say they’ll help reconstruct the country on good will. I’m a staunch anti-war liberal and this doesn’t fly with me but more importantly it certainly won’t fly with most voters in Minnesota.

And Aaron even uses the video of Jack's appearance at DL that you posted!

Well, grasshopper, Spot is sorry that Aaron alarmed you. You know, of course, that we created the situation that is the source of all of Aaron's hand wringing.

We did? How?

By invading Iraq in the first place.

Why did we do that?

That's a great question, grasshopper. The Administration said it was because Iraq possessed weppenza mass derstruction. But that was pretty obviously a ruse, and that became even more evident when George Bush told the teams of weapons inspectors to leave because he wanted to start the bombing.

As of October of last year, the Congressional Research Service estimated 4.2 million refugees and internally-displaced persons in Iraq. And as of October 2006, the British Medical Journal Lancet estimated 600,000 Iraqi deaths attributable to the war. A follow up study, that Spot cannot find right now, places that figure over a million.

Iraq's population estimates vary, but the CIA thinks it is about 27,000,000. The death and displaced numbers are huge and are even more so when you consider the relatively modest population of the place to begin with. And we haven't even talked about the injured or detained yet.

Wow, Spot, that's a huge mess! If we didn't do it because of weapons of mass destruction, why did we do it?

A lot of people, Spot, er, included, think it was because of the influence of a cabal known as the neo-cons. Jack talks about them in the video above. Now, these guys thought that if we "changed regimes in Iraq," which makes it sound like changing a diaper rather than toppling a government, which it is, that the Iraqis would become Jeffersonian democrats. They would embrace an economic system even more cut-throat capitalistic than our own, and the shining example of the New Iraq would be a beacon to other countries in the Middle East which would follow suit, and everyone would live happily ever after.

Perhaps especially the Israelis, who the Arabs and other Muslim ethnic groups in the Middle East would embrace as brother democrats.

That sounds like a fairy tale, Spot.

Spot would use the term utopian dream, but yes, grasshopper, you're right. And the utopian dream has gone so badly that guys like Al Franken, and Spot suspects Aaron Landry, too, who bought the utopian dream are frantic to dig their way out of it.

We were lied to! they say. Undoubtedly lies were told, but some people didn't buy the lies, including the person whose name Al Franken invokes so often, Paul Wellstone. Wellstone took some council from Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer in making up his mind to oppose the war, by the way. Mark Dayton didn't buy the bull, either.

But now if we leave, all hell will break loose! they say. As the statistics above show, we've done an admirable job of creating hell in Iraq as it is. Now, we're paying and arming the Sunnis to stop shooting at us, and we supporting the largely Shi'ite national army, too. We're probably just making an eventual civil war bigger. Our presence is not helping displaced Iraqis go home. Much better to take some of the twelve billion dollars a month we spend on the occupation and channel it for reconstruction and resettlement through the UN, NGOs, and neighboring countries.

[after a pause] You're kind of anti-Semitic, aren't you Spot?

No, grasshopper, I'm not. What makes you say that?

Well, if the fairy tale, or the utopian dream as you call it, was about protecting Israel, isn't our presence in Iraq at least partly about protecting Israel from the Muslim hordes? After all, there are groups, and people like that I'm a Dinner Jacket guy who want to destroy Israel. That's what Aaron is talking about when he mentions "stability of the Middle East." *

On the other hand, grasshopper, Israel has not said it wants to destroy the Palestinians, but they're actually doing a pretty good job of it. Building settlements, cutting down Arab olive trees, balkanizing the ever diminishing Palestinian land in the West Bank, and turning Gaza into a macabre Warsaw ghetto theme park.

In Palestine, the formerly oppressed Jews of Europe have become the oppressors, of the Palestinians. That's not a popular thing to say in some quarters, but it is true. Spot talked about it as length in Dumb ol' Jimmy Carter.

And until we have an intervention with out friends the Israelis, to get them out of the West Bank, among other things, there isn't going to be peace between Israel and Palestine. Even Tom Friedman seems to understand that.

Since Israel is seen as the U.S. proxy in the Middle East, until that peace comes, we cannot be at peace ourselves.

*Update: This is an example of "dog-whistle politics." Spotty knows from dog whistles.

Technorati Tags: Middle East,terrorism,Iraq war,Jimmy Carter,Israel,Palestine

Drinking Liberally tomorrow (Thursday) night

Where were we, boys and girls? Oh, yes. Drinking Liberally tomorrow night at the 331 Club in Nordeast Minneapolis. Regular time, six to nine.

Perhaps well have a post-convention debriefing with the group breaking into two subcaucuses: the triumphal Frankenians and the despairing JNP-ites ( although Jack would probably have nothing to do with the latter).

Alternatively, or in addition, perhaps we can discuss blogger protocol.

Technorati Tags: Drinking Liberally

Sore loser

Hey, Spot! We haven't heard from you for a while. You're not sore about Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's loss in his race for the DFL endorsement for the U.S. Senate are you?

Moi? Of course not, grasshopper.

Are you sure? You seem kind of, well, sullen.

Okay, maybe a little.

A little? Looks like a major funk to me.

All right. You're right. Spot's got to blow off a little steam.

Just let it out, Spot; that's what you always tell us to do.

The DFL just took a pass on the most authentic candidate since Paul Wellstone. Authentic is the word that Spot heard last weekend over and over to describe Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Instead, the DFL chose a candidate who insures that the campaign will not be about the war in Iraq, military spending, health care, the environment, education, tax equity, campaign finance, or any of the other issues on which Jack has spoken so directly and so well.

No, instead we'll have a debate about whether Al Franken is a humorist, a satirist, a misogynist, or just a potty mouth. Or maybe whether his jokes about gays and lesbians were appropriate. Al Franken: a softball right over the plate, belt high.

There were two principal points in Al's speech to the convention before the vote was taken.

The first was pay no attention to the man on the screen or in print for thirty years; he's not who I really am. Okay Al, maybe so, but we're and you're going to spend most of the energy on the campaign proving that. Maybe we can find some dirt on Norm; then we'll have a real mud wrestling match! Al was a good wrestler; maybe he'll win.

The second was I can raise a humongous amount of money. That will probably be Al's political epitaph: He Raised a Lot of Money, May He Rest in Peace.

Money raising is the Franken supporters' mantra; it is their way of saying electable. But, in the last two cycles, Democrats chose the electable John Kerry and the electable Mike Hatch. and it's a recipe for selecting the candidate who's the most meaningless and uninspiring to everybody, perhaps especially the swing voters who are willing to look at a candidate from either party who impresses and inspires them.

This weekend, Spot asked several Franken supporters to name a single policy position of Al's they liked better than Jack's. Most couldn't, and they all came back to the "he'll raise a humongous amount of money" line.

Look way into the future (Spot hopes), boys and girls, and imagine the funerals of Al and Jack. Al, well he raised a lot of money; Jack's life was monument to peace and economic and social justice. Spot imagines that the eulogies will be quite different.

Not that some of Al's fawning sycophants haven't tried to justify Al on a policy basis. Take for example one of the sniggering claque of Franken bloggers, Aaron Landry, who posted a pre-convention paean to Al. Aaron says that Al is better on the environment, but doesn't say why except to note that the famous Minnesotan Al Gore endorsed Al Franken, and health care by noting that both Jack and Al think that a single payer system is best.

But our confused friend Aaron emits his biggest gas cloud when he writes about Jack's position on Iraq. Jack says the occupation is not doing any good, the numbers of internally-displaced persons continues to grow, and all we're doing is arming all the parties to whatever civil conflict lies ahead for Iraq. Jack wants to withdraw.

Aaron finds this position "truly frightening" and keens about a humanitarian crisis. This, of course, is exactly how war supporters want you to react to justify keeping at least some troops in Iraq indefinitely.

It becomes apparent, though, that Aaron's real fear is that the Democrats will be blamed for anything that happens in the aftermath of our departure. What a heroic little fellow our Aaron is! To illustrate his position, he posts one of Spot's videos of Jack responding to a question about that very thing.

The funny thing is, though, when Spot posted a comment with a link to some of Spot's writing on this issue, by way of refutation, little Aaron deleted the comment because Spot is a pseudonym.

You mean little Aaron used your video and then wouldn't let you comment on it? That's kind of chickenshit, isn't it, Spotty?

Mind your tongue, grasshopper, but you, boys and girls, will have to decide if the grasshopper's characterization is accurate.

And now, grasshopper, we will speak of this no more.

Unless provoked.

Technorati Tags: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer,Al Franken,Aaron Landry,chickenshit

Out of sight, but not out of mind

And now, boys and girls, Spot will be gone, probably until next week. Class is not dismissed, however, because MNO may have some things lined up.

Author of the "Friedman Unit" actually says something useful

Tom Friedman, the author of the Friedman Unit, had a surprisingly useful observation in a column today:

Without a radically pragmatic new approach — one that gets Israel moving out of the West Bank, gets the Palestinian Authority real control and sovereignty, but one which also addresses the deep mistrust by bringing in Jordan as a Palestinian partner — any draft treaty will be dead on arrival.

Of course, it wouldn't be our Tommy if he didn't bury the lede by placing the quoted paragraph last in the column. And when pragmatism is radical, you know the ideologues are in charge.

But still.

Technorati Tags: Tom Friedman,West Bank,Israel,Palestine,Friedman Unit

For the Record

What Melissa said.

Update: What Melissa says, part 2.

Jack speaks and you should listen

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the prohibitive favorite for the DFL Senate endorsement, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, will be on MPR's Midday with Gary Eichten. Not sure which hour, eleven or twelve.

Update: Jack was on at eleven. You can listen at the link if you missed it. Apparently, Al Franken was also invited to make it a joint appearance, but Al declined.

At least at the Convention, there will be a one hour Q&A that Al won't be able to evade.

Technorati Tags: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer,Midday,Minnesota Public Radio,MPR,US Senate,DFL endorsement

A Hillary supporter bursts into song!

In the new hit operetta buffa, The Thief from Chicago, Kim Frederick sings the aria O! Mia Pista Offa! It follows the rejection of the argument she made in the plaintive recicative Whole Chairs for my People, about the Florida and Michigan delegations.

The entire operetta, in several hundred acts, has been playing around the country since the beginning of the year when it opened in Iowa.

Thousands have thrilled to the intrigue of Bill and Hillary's duet A Shiv for Barry, which appeared first in South Carolina but has been featured several times since then. It recalled for many the Pearlfishers' Duet as sung by Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merrill.

And who can forget Hillary's coloratura rendition of He's a Black Man After All! There is remarkable staging for this aria, particularly, with a sinister black man in a turban who wields a sword menacingly in the background as Hillary sings.

Presently, all signs point to a denouement soon. When it comes, Hillary will sing the achingly sorrowful I'm Too Old to Be a Ballerina, and the stage will go momentarily black.

Then, with a cacophony of dissonant chords from the orchestra, the chorus and all the extras will stream off the stage, spitting the epithet McCain! McCain!

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton,Barack Obama,operetta buffa

The majesty of the law

From the halls of justice known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, we have today an opinion that demonstrates the noble task our judges undertake in dispensing justice. Today's opinion, United States v. Dedman, concerns itself with the particulars of the False Claims Act and opens with this description of the facts:

This unusual case arises from the marriage between defendant Darlene Dedman’s (“Dedman”) adopted daughter (who was actually Dedman’s cousin) and Dedman’s adoptive father. Dedman appeals her conviction on the counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States Department of Defense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, and making material false statements to a federal agent, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. For these offenses she was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay over $200,000 in restitution. The government alleged that Dedman orchestrated the marriage as part of a plan to collect her adoptive father’s, John Watson’s (“Watson”), military pension. Dedman argues that she could not be guilty of conspiracy because the marriage between her adopted daughter and her adoptive father was valid and, therefore, there was no false claim. Furthermore, Dedman asserts that if the marriage was statutorily invalid, then the marriage law is unconstitutional. (Emphasis added.)

And yes, it all took place in Arkansas.

Drinking Liberally: pre-convention edition

Tonight's Drinking Liberally (six to nine at the 331 Club in Notheast Minneapolis) is the last one before at least some of the delegates will be heading to Rochester for the DFL State Convention. Here's a chance to come and talk about your candidate for the Senate, national convention delegate, your issue, or whatever else that might pertain to the Convention.

Spot would like to have a chance to talk to more Franken supporters.

Technorati Tags: Drinking Liberally,US Senate DFL endorsement,DFL State Convention,national convention delegates

Quiz time!

A quiz for our readers! Which of the following statements were made by libertarian and notorious union opponent John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, and which were made by Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer Labor Party candidate Mike Hatch?

1. “A small cabal of [workers] attempted to organize a union…”

2. “The right to collective bargaining (unionization) is an important legal right. It is important that employees, when they wish to, should have the legal right to form unions.”

3. “The union organizing committee, however, is so weak that it has to resort to anonymity in an effort to give CPR to their comatose effort. Instead of putting their names by their accusations, they hide in the cloak of anonymity looking for any scribner [sic] to serve as their hand maiden”

4. “Our [workers] can have unions, but they don't want unions because they create this adversarial relationship in the workplace.”

5. “The [union supporting] mud throwers do a real disservice to the citizens, the state, and the many talented, hardworking employees in the [workplace] with their vitriolic and unlawful organizing campaign.”

Answers later on, or whenever I get around to posting them.

Spot unburdened II

Yesterday, Spot had some things to say about the respective stances (bad word choice, sorry) views of Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Al Franken on ending the Iraq war. Today, Spot wants to talk about the even larger issue of defense spending in general.

It is a subject about which, as far as Spot can tell, Al Franken is silent. There is nothing about this issue on Al's web page, and Spot has not heard him talk about it.

But it is something that Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer has mentioned every time that Spot has heard him. Jack talks about the teachers we could hire, the infrastructure we could repair, or the myriad of other things we could do it we just reined in the defense budget (and we're not talking about the care of veterans here), and divorced ourselves from the PNAC crowd's idea of building and maintaining global hegemony.

We can't afford it, boys and girls. We're spending ourselves into oblivion on defense at the expense of all the things that really make the U.S. strong: its economy and its human capital.

Here's part of what Frida Berrigan wrote recently at Tomdispatch:

A full-fledged cottage industry is already focused on those who eagerly await the end of the Bush administration, offering calendars, magnets, and t-shirts for sale as well as counters and graphics to download onto blogs and websites. But when the countdown ends and George W. Bush vacates the Oval Office, he will leave a legacy to contend with. Certainly, he wills to his successor a world marred by war and battered by deprivation, but perhaps his most enduring legacy is now deeply embedded in Washington-area politics -- a Pentagon metastasized almost beyond recognition.

The Pentagon's massive bulk-up these last seven years will not be easily unbuilt, no matter who dons the presidential mantle on January 19, 2009. "The Pentagon" is now so much more than a five-sided building across the Potomac from Washington or even the seat of the Department of Defense. In many ways, it defies description or labeling.

Who, today, even remembers the debate at the end of the Cold War about what role U.S. military power should play in a "unipolar" world? Was U.S. supremacy so well established, pundits were then asking, that Washington could rely on softer economic and cultural power, with military power no more than a backup (and a domestic "peace dividend" thrown into the bargain)? Or was the U.S. to strap on the six-guns of a global sheriff and police the world as the fountainhead of "humanitarian interventions"? Or was it the moment to boldly declare ourselves the world's sole superpower and wield a high-tech military comparable to none, actively discouraging any other power or power bloc from even considering future rivalry?

The attacks of September 11, 2001 decisively ended that debate. The Bush administration promptly declared total war on every front -- against peoples, ideologies, and, above all, "terrorism" (a tactic of the weak). That very September, administration officials proudly leaked the information that they were ready to "target" up to 60 other nations and the terrorist movements within them.

John McCain bellows about not surrendering in Iraq; hell John, it's a little late for that. Iraq was the wrong flight to begin with. Osama bin Laden - remember him? - is more than happy with our giant exercise in self-flagellation in Iraq. Maybe some day, it will dawn on John that the terrorists have already won.

But back to Al Franken. Franken does not articulate any vision for the U.S. role in the world - not that Spot has ever heard, anyway - that shows any promise of leading us out of this war-like morass.

Technorati Tags: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer,Al Franken,US Senate,DFL endorsement

Leni Riefenstahl lives!

Leni Riefenstahl lives, and she is making campaign commercials for John McCain!

A thump of the tail to somebody, but Spot cannot remember who.

Technorati Tags: Leni Riefenstahl,John McCain,campaign commercials,Triumph of the Will

Spot unburdened

Spot proposed a candidate's surrogate debate at Drinking Liberally last Thursday; Spot offered - although he didn't ask him - to represent Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Spot urged Al Franken's supporters to come and support their man. There were a couple of Franken supporters in attendance, but none wanted to debate Spot. This may be because Spot is as intimidating in, er, person as he is on the screen, but probably not.

There were a couple of points that Spot wanted to make in a debate, and he didn't get to, so Spot will get them off his chest now:

Iraq - Jack says plainly that we need to leave now, or as he says, end the occupation of Iraq. Franken says we need to "leave with more care than we went in." Other than a blinding statement of the obvious, this says nothing about how Franken would disengage.

But what about the argument that since we broke Iraq, we have to stay and fix it? The short answer is we can't, and we'll have to live with the obloquy of that fact for a very long time. In one of the videos that Spot put up of Jack's appearance at DL, the example he used was a bunch of burglars who came in and tossed you house, then offered to stick around and straighten up.

All we seem to be doing now is arming all of the factions in the coming civil war; the situation is just festering.

Jack's all in favor of efforts to rebuild Iraq but say it can only be done by the international community after we leave. Spot says we could probably do a lot of good with just some of the twelve billion dollars we spend there every month.

Franken was an early supporter of the war in Iraq. His objections now seem to be more directed to the manner of prosecution of the war than its raison d’être.

Now, this is Spot talking, but I think it gets to the heart of the matter. Al Franken obviously bought the utopian neo-con dream of remaking the Middle East in our own image. The Project for a New American Century is, and always has been, naive foolishness. Perhaps, he thought, that if we could make the Arabs into little "d" democrats, that they would all embrace the Israelis as brother and sisters.

On his radio show, Franken often referred to Yasir Arafat as a "bad man," including many times after Arafat was dead. Now, everybody from the State Department on down yearns for the Fatah years. Franken, like Condi Rice apparently, couldn't see the Hamas ascendency coming.

And what of our friends, the democratic Israelis? Why don't they just annex the Occupied Territories and make everyone a citizen with a vote? The answer to that is obvious: Israel would cease to be a Jewish state. Much better to colonize the place and displace the Palestinians first.

So long as there is no peace in Israel and Palestine, it will continue to inflame the Muslim world, even if the Arabs were all Jeffersonian democrats. Since Israel is the U.S. proxy in the Middle East, we'll continue to be the object of "terrorist" attacks around the world. "Winning" the war in Iraq has precious little to do with it.

Franken's early support for the war in Iraq had little to do with concern about weapons of mass destruction - which even Spot knew didn't exist except as a pretext for war - and everything to do with Franken's callow understanding of the Middle East.

Spot had a few other points, but we'll leave it for now.

Technorati Tags: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer,Al Franken,US Senate,DFL endorsement,Drinking Liberally

Holiday double feature

Because of the increasing interest in Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's campaign and candidacy for the DFL endorsement for the Senate, Spot thought he would re-run a couple of videos from Jack's appearance at Drinking Liberally in February. The first one is his opening remarks; the second is a Q&A about Iraq.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer,US Senate,DFL endorsement,Drinking Liberally

We are not cattle!

That's an investment banker's lament on being cashiered by Bank of America:

“These are people’s lives,” said an investment banker in his 30s who was laid off in November from his job at a Bank of America office in New York. “It’s not head count. We’re not cattle.”

No of course you're not cattle, my young friend. We feed the cattle. Maybe if you go to the soup kitchen run by those do-gooder liberals, they'll feed you, too. Just don't get sick!

It's apparently a jungle out there, even for the survivors:

Even for some of those who survive a job cut, the emotional landscape can change. “It’s like I woke up and I’m in a different country,” said a person who has worked for Merrill Lynch for more than two decades and has weathered a recent round of layoffs there.

He described widespread anger, mistrust and angst at Merrill, both among those leaving and those staying. “People are reeling,” he said. “The culture has turned. It is a nasty culture.”

The veneer of civilization is wearing thin!

None of this is really funny, and Spot is sorry for making light of it. But it may be just the ticket to get some of the fledgling Gordon Gekkos out there to learn a little empathy.

Technorati Tags: Gordon Gekko,investment banker layoffs,Bank of America,Merrill Lynch,soup kitchens,universal health care

Za return of Sigmund Spot

Greetings, liebschen! Sigmund Spot hasn't had za chance to address za liebschen for a long time! He has missed der kinder, ya.

Vat brings Sigmund Spot back you ask? Sigmund Spot vants to talk about za psychological phenomenon compensation.

In what settings does za compensation come into play? Grasshopper?

Doesn't it occur in individuals when zey (now I'm starting to sound like you, Sigmund Spot):

In psychology, compensation is a strategy whereby one covers up, consciously or unconsciously, weaknesses, frustrations, desires, feelings of inadequacy or incompetence in one life area through the gratification or (drive towards) excellence in another area. Compensation can cover up either real or imagined deficiencies and personal or physical inferiority. The compensation strategy, however does not truly address the source of this inferiority. Positive compensations may help one to overcome one’s difficulties. On the other hand, negative compensations do not, which results in a reinforced feeling of inferiority. There are two kinds of negative compensation:

Overcompensation, characterized by a superiority goal, leads to striving for power, dominance, self-esteem and self-devaluation.

Undercompensation, which includes a demand for help, leads to a lack of courage and a fear for life.

Gut. Ya, zat's right! You must watch out for zeez compensators, grasshopper, because zey have zompting zey are afraid of, and zey may have zompting to prove.

Wow, like what, Sigmund Spot?

Well, let's zee, can Sigmund Spot zink of an example? Hmmm. Ja! I've got vun. It a classic overcompensation! Do you know za Mitchell Berg? He zounds like vun of Sigmund Spot's countrymen. Mitchell put up a post yesterday zat vas ostensibly about zanking za veterans, but vas really about caressing guns, to make up for za certain perhaps, ah, physical deficiencies. Let's look at zome examples:

I’ve shot a few [M1] Garands - indeed, I’ve come || <---this close to buying Garands a couple of times. They’re sweet, accurate rifles; the only problems are the peep sights, which I can’t stand, and the top-loading, eight-shot, “all-or-nothing” block clip magazine.

Za words sweet, peep sights, top-loading and all-or-nothing are za tip offs.

But Mitchell has za more rapturous words for a handgun:

And since it’s Memorial Day, I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight some more gear; the M1911A1 pistol which was designed almost 100 years ago during America’s last insurgency against a seemingly-intractable Moslem insurgency, in the Philippines. Designed to knock a charging, drug-crazed attacker down with no questions asked using a big, bulbous .45 round that was designed for relatively minimal efficiency (so as to leave its kinetic energy in the first thing it hit), it’s mechanically simple but metaphorically rich; “everyone speaks Colt”, it’s said, since the sound of that big metal slide racking a round is reportedly usually enough to scare burglars into the next zip code. It’s on my agenda for one of these next tax refunds - along with a nice jacket.

Ya, zat Mitchell! He's got za metaphor angle right!

Sigmund Spot, isn't the insurgency that Mitchell is talking about the one that occurred after the US liberated the Philippines from the Spanish but then decided to keep it?

Ya, zat's right. And zoze ungrateful little buggers were mad about it!

What do you suppose Mitchell is compensating for?

Vell, maybe it has to do with za schlo - -, never mind grasshopper. Ve don't know.

Portrait of Sigmund Spot by Tild.

Technorati Tags: physological compensation,Mitch Berg,guns,Memorial Day

The Christian roots of the Cucking Stool

In an article describing the ancient Banwell Church in England, the Weston and Somerset Mercury newspaper has this interesting note about cucking stools:

The church records of Banwell are especially interesting, and the registers go back to 1569. Of particular interest is the entry in 1568 that reads: "Pd John Payne for the Kooken stool, 17s." The Kooken Stool or Cucking Stool was a specially made chair to which scolding wives of inhabitants, guilty of misdemeanours, were tied and thrown into the water. No doubt Banwell Pond was the place of 'execution' and where the villagers assembled to watch the ducking.

From now on, boys and girls, you must think of Spot as merely doing his Christian duty.

Update: Whoa! Never mind cucking stools. Be sure to read the last post from MNO on Republicans and money.

Technorati Tags: Banwell Church,cucking stool,scolds

Pot. Kettle. Black. Redux.

Well, boys and girls, we all know that the Republican Party of Minnesota has been facing some trouble lately on its bookkeeping practices. A bit of an overview can be seen here.

It seems that after that Al-Franken's-accounting-is-goofy brouhaha, the Republican Party of Minnesota decided that they would indeed turn the accountants and auditors on their own... well, issues.

What did it reveal, you ask. It seems that we're not privy to the actual audit. We mere members of the public are stuck with the amended filings that the RPM has filed just this week with the FEC. The amended filings that consist of an amended filing for every single reporting period since the beginning of the year 2002. Every monthly report, every quarterly report, every pre- and post-election report, and every year end report. The amendments only go through the end of 2006, but it's a pretty good guess we'll be seeing more. You can see on the FEC website that since early May, more than 60 amended reports have been filed.

So many amendments, so little time. But the one that jumps out is the one for the 2006 year end report. In the original year end 2006 report, filed on January 19, 2007, the ending cash on hand was $136,614.03. Then in an amended report filed on February 20, 2007, the ending cash on hand was $2,751,965.73. You can find them in this chart. But in the most recent filing from just this week, the ending cash on hand is listed as -$28,325.04. Yes, grasshopper, that's a negative $28,325.04 for the cash on hand at the close of the reporting period. Somewhere, $2,780,290.77 became... well, let's just say it's unaccounted for.

And yes, Grasshopper, on the very day this week that the Republican Party of Minnesota was filing these amended reports, May 21, its Chairman continued to issue outraged-filled press releases about Al Franken's supposedly sloppy accounting.

Update: This post was updated because I can't get the links to work. Go to the FEC website site and search for "Republican Party of Minnesota."