Yearly Archives: 2006

“mass murder on an unimaginable scale”

WTF does that mean? Seriously. I’m reading this article on the latest “terror plot” from the BBC News, and UK Officials are providing absolutely no details whatsoever about what the plot actually was, how close it came to being implemented, what kinds of weapons were involved — nothing, but hyperbole and jacked up security regulations. Details, people, please.
After the last “terror plot” to blow up the Sears Tower, which turned out to be nothing more than some guys sitting around shooting the shit and the White House using a bull session as a excuse to wag the dog, there should be some more damned information released than this if they want to claim a plot would cause “mass murder on an unimaginable scale.”
The only unimaginable scale I can think of for mass murder is the holocaust. Somehow I doubt this terror plot was going to blow up six million people. They say the targets were “as many as 10” aircraft. While that’s very serious, I can still imagine it happening. I don’t think it actually would happen, (I don’t think that many terror organizations really have those kinds of resources) and if it did, I’d be more inclined to vote out the current government than keep it. They fact that they claim this plot came within days of being implemented — that means our government and the UK’s aren’t doing their job. Time to get them out of there and put in some people who will actually implement all the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
Seriously, I’m predicting this is all bullshit whipped up by the U.K. on behalf of their buddy Bush because Leiberman lost the primary. (Let me clarify that — I don’t think they’re constructing a terrorist plot out of whole cloth to scare us. I think they’re making a mountain out of a molehill, and that we’re not really in any danger.)
Come on, news media. Prove me wrong. I hope you do.
UPDATE: Sure enough, there’s the Tail Wagging the Dog. And people are reporting that Bob Orr mentioned on The Early Show this morning that the Bush knew about this plot for days. If so, why wait until now to change the security regulations? Why not secure the airlines several days ago to protect passengers? Because Lieberman didn’t lose several days ago.
And in case you were thinking of commenting some stupid shit, before you do: What she said.

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links for 2006-08-10

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“I’m not a bigot”

Via the Consumerist, this incredibly funny quote:

Now, I am NOT trying to bash homosexuals and I am not a bigot; however, I feel homosexuality is morally wrong and should not be “promoted” as what is the norm for society.

Shorter: “I am not a basher or a bigot, however, I am a basher and a bigot.”

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links for 2006-08-09

Continue Readinglinks for 2006-08-09

Flickr fussiness

Flickr has been really fussy lately about uploading photos, which is ticking me off quite a bit. I’ve been trying to upload batches of photos, but it won’t take large uploads. So I’ve been reduced to sending them one at a time, and even then it doesn’t always capture the whole image. Grrrr.

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links for 2006-08-08

Continue Readinglinks for 2006-08-08

“Cloud Atlas” and “The Whole World Over”

I haven’t much time to write a coherent review of each of these books, so I’m going to crib from Amazon to describe the plots. Sorry for that….

Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell
“… Mitchell’s third novel weaves history, science, suspense, humor and pathos through six separate but loosely related narratives…. this latest foray relies on a kaleidoscopic plot structure that showcases the author’s stylistic virtuosity. Each of the narratives is set in a different time and place, each is written in a different prose style, each is broken off mid-action and brought to conclusion in the second half of the book. Among the volume’s most engaging story lines is a witty 1930s-era chronicle, via letters, of a young musician’s effort to become an amanuensis for a renowned, blind composer and a hilarious account of a modern-day vanity publisher who is institutionalized by a stroke and plans a madcap escape in order to return to his literary empire (such as it is).”

As clever as the nested, interwoven stories were, I wasn’t completely engaged while I read them, and I ended the book disappointed. It’s a neat literary trick, and I admit a nice commentary on the human condition — despite the differences in the stories, the conceits and foibles of humankind are the same throughout, ultimately leading to the end of civilization — but it was an awfully disheartening story to read.

The Whole World Over
by Julia Glass
“In her second rich, subtle novel, Glass reveals how the past impinges on the present, and how small incidents of fate and chance determine the future. Greenie Duquette has a small bakery in Manhattan’s West Village that supplies pastries to restaurants, including that of her genial gay friend Walter. When Walter recommends Greenie to the governor of New Mexico, she seizes the chance to become the Southwesterner’s pastry chef and to take a break from her marriage to Alan Glazier, a psychiatrist with hidden issues.”

It’s rare to read a mainstream novel that treats gay characters in a real, sympathetic way as fully-realized human beings and not plot points or commentary on the heterosexual narrative, and I really loved this book for that reason. Her characters are very richly drawn, which is also one of the things I love in fiction. There are times when character’s motivations seemed to shift with no concrete explanation, but not so much that the quality of the story was lost. In all it was a relatively light but pleasing book.

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why lesbians are bitter and angry

Biff, on “Fundies say the darndest things:”

“I’m of the opinion that homosexuals should not be police officers any more than they should join the military.

Regarding the humorless of lesbians, perhaps it is because women are designed by God to be fulfilled through childbirth/child raising, so by choosing to be lesbians they deny themselves fulfillment in life. Hence, they become bitter and angry.”

Hee hee. Until we read things like this. Hee.

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Recycling — our favorite place now takes plastics

Indianapolis Recycled Fiber
1775 S. West St. — just off of I-70 in the industrial hub just southwest of the RCA Dome.
We’ve gone there for some time because they take all types of paper and cardboard products, including office paper, paper board, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, phone books, etc.
But recently, they added bins for Plastics 1, Plastics 2, and Plastics 3-7, which makes them the most comprehensive recycling place we’ve found.We must understand that it  is not a knockout post anymore. Because most plastic containers have a mark on the bottom to indicated which type they are. Styrofoam containers are plastic 6, and can be recycled here, as well as plastic bags from grocery and discount stores. Sweet. See what all the different categories mean at this site.
We still have to make a run by O’Malias downtown to drop off glass and food cans, and we sell our aluminum cans for scrap.
We basically have five plastic bins to sort plastics, glass and cans, and we have a big trash tub that holds the paper and cardboard stuff.
You can read more about Indianapolis recycling options here. It’s a great resource that tells you where to get rid of old computers, cell phones, anything and everything you might not want to put in a landfill.

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Christian terrorist says Gays have sex with infants

A few days ago, Guy Adams, Deputy National Grassroots Director of RenewAmerica appeared on the right wing talk show of fundamentalist activist Stacey Harp, and during the interview, committed blood libel against gay Americans. Pam’s House Blend summarizes some of what was said:

* Gays have sex with infants (He says its “The New trend”)
* sex in the street in Chicago out in the open
* Gays have sex with animals
* Gay relationships only last about a year and 1/2
* Gays have 200 to 300 partners in their lifetime
* Gays have made no contibution to society (except AIDS)
* He says Dr. John Diggs in the foremost medical authority on AIDS. (not true its Ken Meyer from Boston, Diggs is a quack refuted in detail)
* Quote: “There are not alot of really good gays”
* Says we are working towards hate speech laws

I’m sorry — I was in Chicago for the gay games, and we were in Boystown and Andersonville — no one was having sex in the streets. Please. Lovely. Adams goes on to say this:

Dear bloggers, It is important to separate the person from the behavior and let God judge the person. Having said that, we must now devote our attention to the greatest danger facing America since possibly the Civil War – the homosexual agenda. Why is this dangerous? Because it threatens the established morality that has proved stable over thousands of years and esp because of the ensuing “hate-speech” laws that can effectively silence the Church. That is what the gays want. They want to silence any and all opposition to their perverted lifestyle and most of this opposition comes from the Church at large.

The greatest danger since the civil war? Wow, you guys should come over and visit the powder keg that is our new house — what with all the baby-eatin’, dog-sex havin’, church-burnin’, orgy-hosting we do, you should have a really fun time. Yep.
[note to religious nutjobs — that’s a joke. We spend most of our time reading books and drinking lemonade on the porch. Oooh, Scary.]

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