In the wake my announcement that Bushflash is shutting down, a lot of folks have come forward, offering contributions, or suggesting advertising schemes...

I guess I asked for this, in a way, but I feel I've been misunderstood..

When I said I was "broke" and "In debt", in no way do I blame this on Bushflash.com, or my activities concerning the maintenance of this site.

The truth is, through Blogads and Google ads, Bushflash makes enough money every month to pay for hosting. In fact, according to my last tax return, it pulls in an extra fifty bucks a month- enough to buy a week's groceries.

I used to have a paypal link up on my site, so folks could donate money. Back when I was producing new animations, I felt justified in doing so. When my productivity slowed down, I felt guilty as hell having a "donate" link up- why should anyone donate to a site that contains one dude's incoherent ramblings, and other people's videos? When my burnout hit in earnest, and I finally realized that I'll most likely not produce anything new in the future, animation-wise, I put up Google ads, and removed the paypal donation link.

Now that the site is basically just my own rambling, and the latest cull from YouTube, I have a hard time asking anyone to pay one damned cent to view the site. Some folks say "Just put the paypal link up- if people give you money, what's wrong with that?"

What's wrong, is that people would be giving me money, for something that they can get from a million other sites, for free. Regardless of the good wishes of the potential contributor- I. JUST. CAN'T. TAKE. IT. in good conscience.

The financial hole I find myself in, is my own fault. It had nothing to do with ya'll, and you shouldn't have to take one cent out of your coinpurses, to bail me out. If you feel the need to give money, give it to a local charity- due to budget cutbacks by the Bush Bowl, there are causes who need your help, far more than I ever could. I'd suggest giving here, here, or here.

Bushflash.com will be shut down, within 30 days.

I'd like to think it can continue, but really- I can no longer spend the time required to keep this site live, with only my two hands, and one keyboard.

Bushflash is a quaint fossil- and after three years of hammering out everything I have to present to the american and worldwide public, I'm flat broke, and owe the IRS about 6 thousand bucks.

Such is life- excelsior, and dammit, we had a good run, while the times were darkest. When I started this site, there were but a handful of sites that dared to take this administration to task. Now, there are thousands, and I love every last one of them...

I'm an unemployed guy in New Jersey, and I reached an audience of millions...

I want each and every one of you to do the same....

As the election season gets into full swing, it's remarkable to see the Rovian turds once again rolling out of the collective mouths of the right-wing pundit corps (good lord, they must have missed him...)

Case in point, the recent revelation by numerous papers and news organizations that the Bush Bowl has been keeping tabs on international financial transactions. This has been known for some time now, but it wasn't until the hated "bastion of the liberal media," the New York Times, decided to print an article on the subject (after consulting with the federal government), that the true vitriol began to flow...

(Side note- I've had a love-hate relationship with the NYT, myself, for the past six years. While they've been instrumental in breaking some very important stuff, they still give too many column inches to administration quislings- case in point- Judith Miller, who recited verbatim TPMs issued from the white house...)

Watching the corporate viewscreen today, the rote recitation of talking points became almost hypnotic. The fake gravitas that the conservatives sought to convey to their audience (leaning forward, arms folded, brows tightly knit, and jaws flapping with robotic cadence) was just plain silly.

When you viewed the spectacle as a whole, it was a parade of professional apologists sitting before the camera, and saying "Disgraceful", "We're at war", and "Liberal vendetta", over and over again. However, as is the case whenever a large amount of diarrhea is dropped into standing water, a few of the more odious lumps rise to the surface. Dick Cheney distinguished himself, once again, as the golden nugget by stating that the editorial board of the New York Times should be tried on charges of treason.

Yeah, right- the last thing this joke of an administration wants, is their actions to be fully examined in a court of law (even if they control the court in question.) This is sheer political theater.

What has struck me in this round of republican chicanery, isn't so much the attack on the press. The radical right has been fingering the fourth estate as a domestic enemy, since the days of Nixon. What is remarkable, this time around, is that the republicans now control our government on all levels. They hold a majority of governorships, a majority of state houses and senates, a majority of both houses of congress, and the supreme court is pretty much sew up for generations to come- and still, they are not satisfied.

A one-party state, after all, doesn't care much for any oversight, even if it comes from a captive source.

We now have two generations of impressionable folks who have been brought up to believe that the "free" press, by its very nature, is a bad thing. In a desperate bid to retain short-term power, the republican party is exploiting this. This party now has a millions-strong army of poverty-stricken red-state voters that will flock to the polls every other november, just as long as the party promises that gays can't wed, and a cigarette lighter will never touch an american flag (never giving a second thought to the fact that the policies of their republican governor, state legislature, and congress people are responsible for their crappy standard of living.)

In this latest cheesy effort to solidify their base, the republican party is further supplementing the efforts of Fox "News"- to sow distrust and outright hostility towards media that is not wholly beholden to the powers that be.

It's Pravda, American style. The great, unwashed proletariat of the red states is refusing the believe the liberal lies of the "Bourgeois elite", and flocking to the comfortable lies of the savior of the day.

Ned Lamont continues to close in on Leiberman. It's far from over, but it's looking good. Check out his EXCELLENT ad, here...

The forum is down, yet again, and to get it back up requires cash that I just don't have. Hopefully, within the next two weeks, I can get things up and running again.

Okay, just a week ago, we were shown money shots of Zarqawi's dead body, and told that this was a "great victory." We then were shown embedded "news" video from the subsequent "security sweep." Okay- let's recap today's events in Iraq:

First off, we have insurgents announcing their intent to kill four Russian hostages.

Then, we have the 80 workers that were kidnapped at an Iraqi factory (be sure to look for them in a mass grave near you, in the coming days.)

Then- another of Saddam Hussein's defense lawyers met his end at the hands of folks who just happened to have access to Iraqi police uniforms. Back to square one, in his trial (seriously, he's biding his time until we leave, then he'll be prez again.)

Plus, yesterday, the mangled remains of two abducted american troops were found, and while details haven't been been released as of yet, it's evident that they were tortured to death.

What a shiny, glorious, peaceful, democracy-filled 24 hours it's been in Iraq. I feel so ashamed that I spent ala that time at antiwar marches and vigils, over the past three years.

But hey- then again- Maybe Zarqawi's death WAS a "great turning point"- the pivotal point in history that will be remembered as the date at which the Iraqi Civil war began in earnest.

First off, I just took a look at my bookshelf- and damnit- WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? I hate this evil disgusting son of a bitch- but if you looked at my bookcases, you'd think I was his biggest fan- I have no less than twenty-three books that are specifically about this sick bastard, measuring up to thousands upon thousands of pages. I probably know more about this reptile than he knows about himself. I know every detail about his youth, his upbringing, his parents, his military service (or lack thereof), his business and political failures, his misbegotten trailer-trash daughters... If he showed up on my doorstep tomorrow, I know which snack foods he prefers, and which conspicuously non-alcoholic beverages he likes. (Not that he'd actually get around to consuming them- he'd be too busy protecting his tiny, tiny genitals from my steel-toed workboots.)

That having been said, I still heartily recommend this book.

Before I proceed, I must state- I have always been suspect of psychiatrists. The science of the mind is still in its infancy, and during the years that I spent frequenting one shrink after another, it became apparent that the vast majority have been pill-pushers who are eager to get their 150 bucks for an hour of jawtime, during which they invariably adopt a 'tude that made me want to punch them squarely in the teeth.

That having been said, there are (to coin a term from Donald Rumsfeld) "Known knowns" that have been tried and tested in the forge of a century of psychoanalysis, and been proven to have merit. There are, indeed, psychoanalysts who, instead of shoving the latest product from Pfizer down their patients' throats, actually take time to forge relationships, and understand that individuals with mental illness can't be treated with a checklist and a prescription.

I've never sat on Justin Frank's couch, but I have a feeling he's one of the good ones.

"Bush on the couch" is a remote psychiatric examination of our sitting "president", offering us a highly-detailed diagnosis based upon the copious public record that always follows such a public figure.

Normally, I'd be suspect of such a book. This sort of trick has been pulled before- about ten years back, someone lent me a paperback version of an OSS "examination" of the mind of Adolf Hitler, prepared during the latter days of world war 2, and quite frankly, the whole thing struck me as preposterous: "Hitler sucks on his pinkie, while in deep thought- this can only mean one thing- he's a MADMAN!"

Great work there, Sherlock.

However, in reading this book, I find no such leaps of conjecture- everything is taken step-by-step. Chapter after chapter, we're given:

1: Numerous examples of Bush's behavior, in a particular vein.

2: How these behaviors correspond to known and tested psychological phenomena.

3: The causes of such phenomena.

4: How these causes and Bush's behavior are inextricably intertwined, citing example after damning example.

Have you ever wondered why, when Bush is asked about the loss of life in Iraq, he doggedly states empty phrases about "honoring sacrifice" and "prevailing", without offering a single word of honest condolence, or remorse? It's because he's psychologically incapable of mourning. In his upbringing, he was taught by his parents that death is inconsequential, and not worthy of mention.

Have you ever wondered why Bush can get up and lie, lie, and lie again, and not break his stride, when stating the most obvious of fallacies? It's not because he has brass balls- it's because he is fundamentally dislocated from reality. In his worldview, he can say whatever he wants, one moment, and disregard it the next, because, well, in his mind, he's SPECIAL.

Have you ever wondered why Bush constantly recites christian dogma, while spitting on the principles of Christ? Because he serves his own, personal version of Christ, which, quite frankly, has nothing to do with whatever you read in the bible.

Have you ever wondered why Bush has consistently promised tons of federal cash for this or that project, only to deliver nothing, when it's time to pay up? Well- it's because he likes to see people being disappointed. At his core, he's a sadist. The people of New Orleans still living in trailers? Good- they're dirt, and deserve nothing better... The AIDS sufferers in africa still waiting for the billions promised? Good- their grief gets Bush Jr HARD...

Bold statements? I'd normally think so, but damnit- Frank backs everything up with rock-solid stuff.

The most frightening thing about the book?

BUSH AND I HAVE THINGS IN COMMON. Seriously- we do.

However- unlike Bush:

1: When I had problems with my parents, I had long arguments with them, instead of internalizing my disagreements, and forming a worldview of "me versus them."

2: I had drinking problems, when I was younger- but I shook them early, without retreating to a freakish fundamentalist christianity to serve as my crutch, thus turning me into an eternally dry drunk.

3: When I became mature enough to realize that there was a wall of individuality between myself and others, I welcomed it- everyone's different, and that makes the world all the more interesting. Bush, on the other hand, realized that his individuality was an opportunity to set himself further apart from his fellow man.

4: I never entertained myself as a youth by shoving firecrackers up frog rectums, and blowing them up. Seriously- any kid that does that sorta crap doesn't deserve a job at a jiffy lube, much less one as commander in chief.

If you're anything like me, you've wondered about the mentality of this shambling echo of a man- we've all wondered- is he serious, or just stupid? What is his basic problem, really?

This book explains everything, and honest to goodness, it's frightening. But the true beauty of the book, is that you most likely will see echos of your own life in these pages, and will feel so much better about yourself, realizing that you have better coping mechanisms that the "most powerful man in the world."

No blogging, tonight- had a busy weekend- more in a few...

The House has been deadlocked in debate, today, regarding a republican-drafted resolution that was tailor-made for the runup to the elections, later this year... I could go into the nuts and bolts of the bill, but basically, the legislation re-states the oft-repeated Bush talking point that "Iraq is the central front on the war on terror", and is a "Noble Struggle", and that we are committed to "prevail."

How sweet- cute as a baby panda bear's asshole, really. However, when one reads the bill, and filters out the congressional legalese and flowery hyperbole, the bill basically states:

"We good- terrorists bad- terrorists in Iraq- we SMASH!"

Not one word as to how this "prevailing" is to actually be accomplished. Not one dollar appropriated, not one policy proposed. It's a bill penned by chickenhawk republican armchair generals, who obviously relish this opportunity to look "strong", by belching out scripted talking points for a few minutes without actually DOING anything.

I watched the debate on C-span, and I could only stand about a half-hour of it, before I had to change channels. One republican after another would get up, and spew out one of three drafted speeches:

1: "September 11th, September 11th, September 11th, let's fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here, and in closing, September 11th."

2: "I've been to Iraq (for three hours)- I talked to a (conspicuously unnamed) soldier, and he/she begged me: 'please let us complete our mission.'"

3: "We must honor the lives of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, by ensuring final victory" (Again, with not one word as to how this "final victory" is to be achieved.)

And that was it- over and over and over. Flowery bullshit in three different flavors. After switching off the TV en route to the toilet (better to purge myself of the evil I had been subjected to), I figured- there's gotta be some sort of pissy republican talking points memo behind alla this- and sho 'nuff- there was- read it here.

What's remarkable about this TPM is that it's the same crap we've been hearing for the past three damned years. To repeat the admonition about repetitive behavior and insanity here is painfully redundant, at this point.

As if we didn't have enough problems in Iraq (despite what the TPM mentioned above says...)

See the picture to the left? That's US Marine Corporal Joshua Belile, and he's a dumbass. Yeah, he's a marine who served in Iraq, and probably could kick my scrawny rear, but he's still a dumbass. About a week ago, this genius thought it would be a good idea to record himself performing his original tune "Hadji Girl," and post it on YouTube. Lyrics follow: I was out in the sands of Iraq And we were under attack And I, well, I didn't know where to go

And the first thing that I could see was
Everybody's favorite Burger King
So I threw open the door and I hit the floor

Then suddenly, to my surprise
I looked up and I saw her eyes
And I knew it was love at first sight.

And she said, "Turban, burka, Mohammed Jihad"
"Shirpa, shirpa Bacalav"
Hadji girl I can't understand what you're saying.

And she said, "Turban, burka, Mohammed Jihad"
"Shirpa, shirpa Bacalav"
Hadji girl I love you anyway.

Then she said that she wanted me to see
She wanted me to go meet her family
But I, well I couldn't figure out how to say No.

'Cause I don't speak Arabic, so...

She took me down an old dirt trail
And she pulled up to a side shanty
And she threw open the door and I hit the floor

Just her brother and her father shot her.
"Turban, burka Mohammed Jihad"
"Shirpa, shirpa Bacalav"

They pulled out their AKs so I could see.
And they said, "Turban, burka Mohammed Jihad"
"Shirpa, shirpa Bacalav"

So I grabbed her little sister and pulled her in front of me.

Then the bullets began to fly
Blood sprayed from between her eyes
and then I laughed maniacally

Then I hid behind the TV and I
Unloaded my M-16
And I blew those little f**kers to eternity

And I said, "Turban, burka Mohammed Jihad"
"Shirpa, shirpa Bacalav"
They should have known they were f**king with the Marines

Now, lemme talk directly to Josh, here:

Dude- service in Iraq is crappy. I understand this. Long hours, horrible weather, lousy pay, inadequate armor, and possibly worst of all, no booze after a twelve-hour stint doing patrols in full body armor in 120-degree heat. You and tens of thousands of other servicepeople are coming back from Iraq with serious issues that need to be addressed, and it's a stain upon our nation's honor that Bush has cut the VA so severely, that folks like you are left with nowhere to go for counseling, when you return home.

However, you're a dumbass- really- you are. You point a vid cam at yourself while belting out a song about killing civilians, peppered with racist overtones, and post it to YouTube- perhaps THE most popular site on the internet, and think that it will be met with hearty laughs and a record deal?

I was under the impression that when you become a Marine, you're ALWAYS a Marine.

"Semper Fi- Do or Die- 1-2-3-4, I love the Marine Corps."

Well, Josh- you just took a big dump on your beloved Corps. Are you aware that this video now exists on thousands of computers over in the Muslim world, and is going to be used as a recruiting tool, to enlist folks who will eventually wind up killing your fellow Marines?

Dumbass.

Fox "news" transplant Tony Snow was asked about the american death death toll in Iraq, which today passed the 2500 mark. His response?

"It's a number."

Fuck you, Tony Snow, and the misbegotten propaganda network you rode in on.

I know I'm gonna get nasty e-mails, saying I shouldn't be throwing around F-bombs on my index page, but there's nothing else I can say, here. Two thousand, five hundred american lives have been snuffed out by the lies that you sell, and all you can say is that it's "a number." I guess, when confronted with the (absolute minimum) 125,000 Iraqi civilians killed thus far in Bush's crusade, he'd just say "Well- that's an even BIGGER number."

Okay, Okay- check out this article...

We've lost Iraq- before, soldiers were dying, because there wasn't enough armor. Now, they're dying, because the vaunted Humvee is a crappy-ass vehiicle that can't support the armor needed to avoid IEDs.

Just another example of why this war in Iraq was a mistake, from day one. I wonder- have any of the Iraq vets met up with the russian vets from Afghanistan, and compared notes on the comparative idiocy of the wars that they fought?

Oh, and Al-Qaeda in Iraq has found a successor to Zarqawi... Just as well- Zarqawi's death may very well be a boon for the insurgency, and it turns out that the US did Bin Laden a favor from blowing him away- Zarqawi, believe it or not, was just a tad "too violent" for Bin Laden. But that's only to be expected, since the Bush Bowl made Zarqawi the mover and shaker he was...

I'm off to bed, but before I go, I want you to go over to the Save The Internet website, and do everything you can to help them out. The republican-controlled congress is going to allow corporations to limit the access folks like you and I have to the public, via the internet.

As the internet stands, right now- you, I, or anyone else can put up a webpage, and anyone can access it via their web browser. Once the congress hands over the reigns of access to the corporations like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast (which, by the way, had JACK-ALL to do with the building of the internet) universal web access ends. If you want your site to be available for everyone to see, you're gonna have to pay.

So much for the "marketplace of ideas".

Good lord, I hate republicans.

Read "Craig's List" founder Craig Newmark's editorial, here.

THE ZARQAWI INVITATION

By Greg Palast
 
They got him -- the big, bad, beheading berserker in Iraq.  But, something's gone unreported in all the glee over getting Zarqawi … who invited him into Iraq in the first place?
 
If you prefer your fairy tales unsoiled by facts, read no further.  If you want the uncomfortable truth, begin with this:  A phone call to Baghdad to Saddam's Palace on the night of April 21, 2003.  It was Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on a secure line from Washington to General Jay Garner.
 
The General had arrives in Baghdad just hours before to take charge of the newly occupied nation.  The message from Rumsfeld was not a heartwarming welcome.  Rummy told Garner, Don't unpack, Jack -- you're fired.
 
What had Garner done?  The many-starred general had been sent by the President himself to take charge of a deeply dangerous mission. Iraq was tense but relatively peaceful.  Garner's job was to keep the peace and bring democracy.
 
Unfortunately for the general, he took the President at his word.   But the general was wrong.  "Peace" and "Democracy" were the slogans.
 
"My preference," Garner told me in his understated manner, "was to put the Iraqis in charge as soon as we can and do it in some form of elections."
 
 
But elections were not in The Plan.
 
The Plan was a 101-page document to guide the long-term future of the land we'd just conquered.  There was nothing in it about democracy or elections or safety.  There was, rather, a detailed schedule for selling off "all [Iraq's] state assets" -- and Iraq, that's just about everything -- "especially," said The Plan, "the oil and supporting industries."  Especially the oil.
 
There was more than oil to sell off.  The Plan included the sale of Iraq's banks, and weirdly, changing it's copyright laws and other odd items that made the plan look less like a program for Iraq to get on its feet than a program for corporate looting of the nation's assets.  (And indeed, we discovered at BBC, behind many of the odder elements -- copyright and tax code changes -- was the hand of lobbyist Jack Abramoff's associate Grover Norquist.)
 
But Garner didn't think much of The Plan, he told me when we met a year later in Washington.  He had other things on his mind.  "You prevent epidemics, you start the food distribution program to prevent famine."
 
Seizing title and ownership of Iraq's oil fields was not on Garner's must-do list.  He let that be known to Washington.  "I don't think [Iraqis] need to go by the U.S. plan, I think that what we need to do is set an Iraqi government that represents the freely elected will of the people."  He added, "It's their country … their oil."
 
Apparently, the Secretary of Defense disagreed.   So did lobbyist Norquist.  And Garner incurred their fury by getting carried away with the "democracy" idea:  he called for quick elections -- within 90 days of the taking of Baghdad.
 
But Garner's 90-days-to-elections commitment ran straight into the oil sell-off program.  Annex D of the plan indicated that would take at least 270 days -- at least 9 months.
 
Worse, Garner was brokering a truce between Sunnis, Shias and Kurds.  They were about to begin what Garner called a "Big Tent" meeting to hammer out the details and set the election date. He figured he had 90 days to get it done before the factions started slitting each other's throats.
 
But a quick election would mean the end of the state-asset sell-off plan:  An Iraqi-controlled government would never go along with what would certainly amount to foreign corporations swallowing their entire economy.  Especially the oil.  Garner had spent years in Iraq, in charge of the Northern Kurdish zone and knew Iraqis well.  He was certain that an asset-and-oil grab, "privatizations," would cause a sensitive population to take up the gun.  "That's just one fight you don't want to take on right now."
 
But that's just the fight the neo-cons at Defense wanted.  And in Rumsfeld's replacement for Garner, they had a man itching for the fight.  Paul Bremer III had no experience on the ground in Iraq, but he had one unbeatable credential that Garner lacked:  Bremer had served as Managing Director of Kissinger and Associates.
 
In April 2003, Bremer instituted democracy Bush style:  he canceled elections and appointed the entire government himself.  Two months later, Bremer ordered a halt to all municipal elections including the crucial vote to Shia seeking to select a mayor in the city of Najaf.  The front-runner, moderate Shia Asad Sultan Abu Gilal warned, "If they don't give us freedom, what will we do?  We have patience, but not for long."    Local Shias formed the "Mahdi Army," and within a year, provoked by Bremer's shutting their paper, attacked and killed 21 U.S. soldiers.
 
The insurgency had begun.  But Bremer's job was hardly over.  There were Sunnis to go after.  He issued "Order Number One:  De-Ba'athification."  In effect, this became "De-Sunni-fication."
 
Saddam's generals, mostly Sunnis, who had, we learned, secretly collaborated with the US invasion and now expected their reward found themselves hunted and arrested.  Falah Aljibury, an Iraqi-born US resident who helped with the pre-invasion brokering, told me, "U.S. forces imprisoned all those we named as political leaders," who stopped Iraq's army from firing on U.S. troops.
 
Aljibury's main concern was that busting Iraqi collaborators and Ba'athist big shots was a gift "to the Wahabis," by which he meant the foreign insurgents, who now gained experienced military commanders, Sunnis, who now had no choice but to fight the US-installed regime or face arrest, ruin or death.  They would soon link up with the Sunni-defending Wahabi, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was committed to destroying "Shia snakes."
 
And the oil fields?  It was, Aljibury noted, when word got out about the plans to sell off the oil fields (thanks to loose lips of the US-appointed oil minister) that pipelines began to blow.  Although he had been at the center of planning for invasion, Aljibury now saw the greed-crazed grab for the oil fields as the fuel for a civil war that would rip his country to pieces:
 
"Insurgents," he said, "and those who wanted to destabilize a new Iraq have used this as means of saying, 'Look, you're losing your country. You’re losing your leadership. You're losing all of your resources to a bunch of wealthy people. A bunch of billionaires in the world want to take you over and make your life miserable.' And we saw an increase in the bombing of oil facilities, pipelines, of course, built on -- built on the premise that privatization [of oil] is coming."
 
General Garner, watching the insurgency unfold from the occupation authority's provocations, told me, in his understated manner, "I'm a believer that you don't want to end the day with more enemies than you started with."
 
But you can't have a war president without a war.  And you can't have a war without enemies. "Bring 'em on," our Commander-in-Chief said.  And Zarqawi answered the call.

Read all about it, here... These chapters just cover the absolute basics, so, unless you're a total newbie when it comes to flash, you might wanna give it a miss- more technical stuff is to follow.

Oh- the guy over at Helpmeimpeachbush.com is looking for folks to support his crusade. If ya wanna buy one of his pixels- go fer it.

I tuned in to Fox "News" this evening, and I swear to "Bob" above- when Hannity was exulting over the images of the explosions that took Zarqawi out, I could hear a stage hand readying her mop. Same old, same old, really. People like Sean, and the rest of the few miserable diehards who still support this war are desperate for anything- ANYTHING- that justifies their increasingly tenuous position, even if it's vicarious splatter-porn.

Okay- lemme get this straight: we took out a jordanian expatriate who had control of about 10% of the Iraqi insurgency, and we're to assume that this means something? We're to expect that the 10% who were fanatical enough to follow this guy will just give up, because he's dead?

Uhh- these people strap explosives to their bodies, encased in layers of scrap metal and ball bearings, wander into crowded areas, and detonate- do they care that some elusive figure in their organization was- well- blown up, by different means? Will they look at the pictures of Zarqawi's bloodied and bloated face (which the US military has trotted out, with great fanfare), and say "gee- maybe I should take up Boggle, instead of Jihad?"

Dream on.

There are a million and one Zarqawis out there, and I'm absolutely certain, as I write, that the next Zarqawi is holding a "facetime" party, this eve, with his lieutenants in a remote farmhouse in Iraq.

Sorry, but this means nothing- I suggest that those who rely on such gratuitous displays of military might to make them feel good about themselves employ the services of a highly-skilled psychoanalyst. They are obviously suffering from deeply troubling traumas that stem from their inability to stop a chronic bed wetting problem...

Further, I'd suggest that those who laud this incident to ponder the fact that George Bush had three opportunities to take out Zarqawi, prior to the invasion of Iraq- but that's par for the course. Closing the barn door after the horse has fled is one of the hallowed traditions of this administration.

Now, I've heard stories about this anorexic dyed-blonde transgendered neo-nazi who just released some book. I can't seem to remember her name, but I know her initials are "A.C." In this book, this walking affront to the decency of mankind says that 9/11 widows enjoyed seeing their husbands and loved ones die on that horrific day, and that they had no right to engage in the public discourse, since they were just "getting rich" on the bones of the dead. The subject of this book is about how liberals are "ungodly."

Now, ya know- Over the past 48 hours, her words and image have been broadcast on every form of media, left and right, and as a result?

1: We on the liberal/progressive side have wasted a ton of time paying attention to this idiot, when we have bigger battles to fight.

and

2: This book has flown off the shelves of Amazon.com like hundreds of thousands of startled doves.

Now, Let me digress, for a moment: In the early years of the previous century, traveling carnivals in this country would always feature a "Geek." This was the worst act in american showmanship, and described best by Harlan Ellison in his memoir "Gopher in the Gilly":

A geek is usually a wetbrain; that is, a young or old man so far gone into alcoholism that his brain has turned to prune-whip yogurt. When he sweats, he sweats sour mash. A gilley locates a skid in whatever town it's in, and carries him to the next stop, and as many stops as it can get out of him before he either dies or wanders off. For the splendid honorarium of a bottle of gin or two a day, the skid will dress in an animal skin, go without shaving, sleep in a cage, and on cue wallow in his own shit, eat dead snakes, bite the heads off live chickens. No reputable carny will carry a geek. It is a terrible thing. It plays to the basest hungers and most primal fears in the human repertory. Anyone who would derive enjoyment from watching a debased creature, seemingly only half-human , scuttling across the floor of a foul, stinking pit or pen, smearing itself with feces, rubbing its privates on the gnawed skin of a dead rattlesnake, moaning and rolling its eyes as it devolved before one's eyes, reverting to a stage of subhuman existence not even Cro-Magnons knew . . . such a person is beneath contempt, lower than even the poor bastard in that cage.

Now- in the past 48 hours, we have watched this modern-day incarnation of the geek smearing her feces across the television screens and computer monitors of america, and I've seen the american consciousness captivated, as it peers through the bars, just to suck up one, fleeting image of this spectacle of disgust and degradation.

I, for one, will no longer stoop to even acknowledging the existence of this "A.C." character, and neither should you. If I wanna see someone throw bodily excretions around, I'll watch GG Allin videos over at YouTube- at least there, the music is cool.

(Oh, and- Harlan- please don't sue me- it's less than one paragraph. )

Is what a lot of people are waiting for- and who could blame them? I suck as a blogger, and about 75% of the stuff that's mirrored in the media lineup is culled from YouTube, and other blogs who featured the stuff days ago...

But here's the simple fact of the matter: I've spent the past two weeks slamming my head up against my monitor, and am devoid of ideas. I can't even find a decent soundtrack... Yeah- I said I was going to use VNV again, but well, in the final analysis, none of the stuff they've done recently has matched the mood I've been feeling...

That mood? Dark, and sickened beyond belief. Seriously- there is no damned musical slideshow that can fully capture the full length and breadth of the sadness and disgust I feel, these days.

(FRAGILE EGO WARNING- IF YOU HAVE NO SPINE, AVOID THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH.)

(Now- a side note: I know the above statement will lead about a hundred and one people to send me their ideas for animations and soundtracks. Before they do- I implore them to not waste their time. I know they mean well, but it just ain't gonna happen. If I'm going to produce another animation for this site, it has to be borne from my defective gray matter. Yeah- I know Ozzy and KMFDM are hot amongst a lot of folks- but they aren't, to me. When I started this site, one of the oft-repeated statements in my e-inbox was "where did you find this music? No one's ever heard of this!" Well- that's why the music is cool, and that's why the animation worked. The two Anniversary Animations, the second yearly animation, the DU flash worked, because, well- the MUSIC worked- FOR ME, and complimented the visual content. I'm into Industrial music, and dammit, I can't animate to the Dixie Chicks, bless their souls. Doubly so, please keep your ideas to yourself. I get folks sending me their "cool ideas" for animations that are three-page long scripts, requiring voiceover talent and detailed character animation- I have the feeling some folks out there think creating flash is as easy as going to the toilet.)

If I'm going to create a new animation, it has to come naturally, and without forcing myself. To do this, first and foremost, I must spend a bit of time away from downloading gigabytes of grisly footage from Iraq. I'm sorry- but I'm not a battlefield surgeon, and after spending six hours a day for two weeks straight looking at dead kids and grisly battlefield footage, I feel, well, a tad depressed. If my hard drive video stash was aired without commercial interruption on national TV on monday,we'd be out of Iraq, on wednesday..

I'm burnt out. That's not a self-indulgent excuse- it's the fact of the matter. But hey- I'm not giving up- I'm just saying that I need some time off from the constant self-flagellation, in my continuing inability to create new flash. I will continue maintaining this site- there will be the same bland and useless blog entries, and new media content will be added, several times a week. But here's the cool thing:

In the place of the flash features, over the coming weeks, I will be featuring a series of highly-detailed tutorials, on how you- yes-YOU, can learn to use flash, in the manner that I, and thousands of others have, to produce your own online content. The tutorials will be written by a certified idiot (myself), so you'll certainly be able to follow along with ease...

Within two months, you won't have to submit your ideas to me- you will be able to realize them, yourself...

Besides, I'm a goddamned figure of authority- I'm the inventor of the "do-it-yourself attack ad"- bow and cringe, before me- SUCKLE FROM MY GLANDS OF WISDOM, DAMN YOU!

(Oh- and, over the next month, I expect traffic to plummet- for those who have bought blogads- my sincere apologies.)

First off- Bush is an asshole. Using his weekly radio address to throw his feather-light weight behind the "defense of marriage" amendment is par for the course, but it's still galling as hell...

He and his Republican congress have screwed things to hell and back, and the only way they can entertain any hope of victory come november is to bring up these painfully stupid wedge issues, to ensure that the six-toed base will turn out at the polls come election day.

Typical- if there was one single germ of imagination or leadership still wriggling within the rotten heart of this administration, they would have used one of their last opportunities to unite the country, and show some damned INITIATIVE- in a nation on its knees, and in a world that is fractured beyond recognition, you'd think there would be far more important issues than whether or not gay folks could get hitched- but NO....

One can only stand in silent awe of the magnitude of the ignorance that exists within this country, when this petty crap like this leads people to vote against their best interests.

This republican court must be assuming Bush will be in power, for life... If there's one thing that's been dogging this administration in recent months, it has been those within the government who, when faced with intolerable incompetence and corruption, have made their cases public. In modern american political parlance,we have called these brave folks "whistleblowers."

This nakedly partisan court has shown time and time again that they are willing to decide in favor of the executive, in all cases, whether it be in the private of public sectors. The recent case concerning the relative legal immunity of government whistleblowers is a stark example of this.

Basically- the decision means that if an employee of the government speaks out against the employer, (even if it is in the interest of the public), they are subject to disciplinary and legal measures (and a LOT more...).

Now- this is a lapdog decision by a captive court which has taken this step to put a stop to "them damned leakers" who are causing so much trouble for the guy they put in office, back in 2000. Do they not realize there might come a time at which a democratic/liberal administration might come along, and enjoy these same unconstitutional protections and powers? Do they not care? Or are they somehow confident that this regressive republican "antirevolution" is here to stay?

The Forum is down, but not out... As I write, things are coming together to re-launch the whole shebang.

More in 24...

If there is any incident that is emblematic of the situation in Iraq, over three years since the invasion, it is this...

For those who are too lazy to click the above link, here's a synopsis: Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, a 35-year old pregnant woman in labor, was being rushed to a Baghdad maternity hospital in a vehicle driven by her brother. The woman's 57-year-old cousin, Saliha Mohammed Hassan, was also in the car. Approaching a US military checkpoint, the driver didn't slow down, when warning shots were fired. The troops manning the checkpoint then opened fire, wounding the driver, and killing the expectant mother Jassim (along with Jassim's unborn child (I have to wonder how that jibes with the Laci Peterson law- but that's another story, for another day.)) Jassim's cousin was also killed.

Where does the blame for this incident lie?

Women in labor are routinely rushed to hospitals in private vehicles in this country, and many times, the situation is dire enough that the driver of the vehicle breaks as many traffic laws as are necessary, to bring the mother to the hospital in time for delivery. The driver of this vehicle, in the face of an emergency, did what he had to do.

The soldiers at the checkpoint were faced with a situation in which an unidentified vehicle was racing towards them at high speed, and was not responding to warning shots. For all they knew, this could have been a suicide bomber. Faced with a potential threat, they did what they had to do.

The few right-wingers who still support this war will claim that the driver was foolish to not have stopped. The far left will say that the soldiers were to blame. The truth is, the fault lies with neither party, in this brutal and sickening incident.

The fault lies with the neoconservatives who, ensconced within the American Enterprise Institute, PNAC, and the rarified air that exists within the circles of power in Washington dreamt up the crackpot idea that the United States of America could invade a foreign nation that had never threatened nor attacked us, rain death and destruction upon a sovereign and proud people, sell off their natural resources to Halliburton, and assume that flowers and peace would blossom in the craters, ruins, and poverty left in the wake of our "liberation".

Three years after their prize project was initiated, it is unsafe for a woman to be brought to a hospital to give birth, in Iraq- and if that isn't the most damning example of the insanity of Bush's crusade, I don't know what is.

There is no hope, anymore, in Iraq. We've lost. It's time to bring this juvenile neoconservative pipe dream to an end, and get the hell out of that country. It's time to bring our troops home, so that they are never again placed in a situation where they are forced to riddle an expectant mother with bullets. It's time to stop spending six billion dollars a month, propping up a puppet government that holds little authority, outside of Baghdad's green zone.

This has to stop, now.

(Update: According to the BBC, the driver of the vehicle (Khalid Nisaif Jassim,) claims that there was no warning nor any signal from the american troops. The US military is, of course, issuing contradictory statements.)