Get down, Kyrgyzstan!

Over at a neat internet news spot called NowPublic, I ran across an article posted by amyjudd about Kyrgyzstan holding a song contest. Ok, what rhymes with Kyrgystan? she asks.

Imagine trying to find words that rhyme with this country’s name? I think the prize money is not high enough!

BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyz rights activists will offer a prize of up to $1,000 in a contest for the ‘best song’ to protest against the presence of U.S. troops in the Central Asian republic, the event’s organizer said.Igor Trofimov, a rights campaigner spearheading the anti-airbase movement which groups a few dozen activists, said the author of the best song would perform at a rally outside the U.S. embassy in April.
“We are holding a contest among rockers and rappers. Prizes range from $200 to $1,000,” he said late Tuesday without specifying who sponsored the project. Read the entire story

“We are holding a contest among rockers and rappers,” they say.

Hmph! That makes it easy.

Here’s my submission.
Read more!

Rep. Burgess attacks Humane Society for massive beef recall(not making this up)

Congressman Michael Burgess charges the Humane Society shares the blame for biggest beef recall in history. He leveled his charges during a Capitol Hill hearing, saying the animal rights group did not act soon enough.

Okay, granted, my source for this is the New York Times. I wasn’t there. Apparently Andrew Martin was, and I am very glad he was there to hear what Mr. Burgess had to say.

However, doesn’t it sound just like him? Yes, Rep. Burgess is my congressman (and I don’t particularly care for him – just so’s you know).

The Humane Society cooperated with local law enforcement authorities, and its reward is to be attacked by a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

<Law & Order guitar chords>

I am getting ahead of myself. Once again – I give you, the New York Times (I added all the emphasis – helps the layout):

WASHINGTON — As the meat industry scrambles to recover from a public-relations disaster over an undercover video of abused cattle, the secretary of agriculture and at least one congressman have picked an unlikely target to share in the blame: the Humane Society of the United States.

You see, according to the story, the Humane Society had the video for four months before it released it. That irked the tender Repiblican, who was only one of two Texas GOP house members to vote for the ban on horse slaughters (probably to get even with the French, but that’s just me).

READ MORE

Oops! She really MAY have done it again!

Yesterday, in noting a few thoughts on whether Hillary Clinton leaked to the Drudge Report a picture of Barack Obama wearing a turban I was skeptical. Now, I am skeptical for another reason – “the lady doth protest too much, methinks”.

Well, ok, I just wanted to use that line. However, I’ll get back to it in a moment. Maybe she was on the attack again.

Someone told me he thought he had heard or read about Clinton using Drudge to her own advantage. It makes sense in a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of way, even your new “friend” is not all that fond of you and has attacked you and yours as well.

I began a search.

First, it led me to the Guardian’s online edition. There, from October of last year was “Hillary Clinton woos man who nearly ruined her husband“.
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Hillary: Oops! I did it again! (or did she?)

Tension increases as we approach the Texas, Ohio, et alli, primaries. Now, just a day or so after she called out Barack Obama and put the mark of Rove on his campaign mailers, Hillary Clinton . . . imploded . . . maybe.

Someone got hold of a photo that been’s drifting around right-wing websites for some time. Someone chased it down to GEESKA Africa Magazine. It is an Associated Press photo. It shows Obama (GASP!) in a turban. It is a photo taken as he was being decked out in tribal elder robes during an official trip to Africa.

Of course, that has nothing to do with why the photo is so popular with Obama’s opponents. There, in living color, is Barack HUSSEIN Obama with one of them thar Muzelum hats on. It proves that B. HUSSEIN O. is another one of them thar radical Muzelums (who, in his own cunning way, practices Christianity) out to make us kowtow to Isalum. Don’t it? Surely!

read more

Hillary Clinton not quite down yet.

I am not so sure Hillary Clinton will be telling us goodbye all that soon.

Newsweek’s Jonathon Alter says she should step down down, and avoid the embarrassment of defeat in the March 4th primaries in Texas, Vermont, Rhode Island and Ohio.

Well, fine, Mr. Alter, you national boys have a heap of smarts. Now, I don’t carry any water for either of the two remaining Democratic Party candidates. My boy, John Edwards, doesn’t have a dog in this fight (although his name still is on the Texas ballot).

My mother’s side of the family comes from Vermont. I was there awhile back and got to drive logging roads and look at autumn colors. Nice place, but I don’t know anything about its politics.

Don’t know how it is in Ohio. Nice place, I understand. It gave us James Thurber. Used to play cards with a helluva player name of Lillile who lived up there. I rode through the state in the back seat of a car when I was kid. I remember a lot of green. I understand there’s some football played up there too.

Never been to Rhode Island, not even through it. There’s a good chance I flew over it once or twice, but that’s about it.

However, I do know Texas.

A “do or die” situation inspires the troops. They shoulder their underdog burden and wear it with pride as they knuckle down.

Hillary and her camp are in “Alamo Mode”. That’s not a la mode, with the ice cream on top of the pie, but hunker-down-and-get-ready-to-fight-to-the-end-in-one-last-stand mode. Often, that kind of determination can overcome inspiration.

Face it, there are many older Dems here who don’t want to seem racist, but just don’t feel right voting for Obama. I am not making this up. They say they are concerned about experience, electability in the South and a sense that Hillary has “earned” her turn. These are the folks you can count on to vote. Many of these also are the folks who see John McCain as a nice man who would not make a bad president.

Of course, there’s always that cloud of racial read more

Texas is very kind to the undecided. Vote for both!

For those of us having trouble making up our minds about which candidate to support in the Texas Democratic Party presidential primary, the state party offers us an out. That “out” comes in the two-phase voting process laid out under state party rules.

Voting itself is easy for phase one. A voter may go to one of the early voting places, and cast a vote in advance of election day. One may apply to vote by mail. Finally, those who to savor the tradition can hold out until election day itself. That’s part one.

Read on

Colonel Bogey – or bring a WWII tradition to the Iraq War

[display_podcast]
Please click here to hear a bit of music.

Recognize that song? (You can cut to the chase here.)

You probably know it as the theme to The Bridge Over the Rver Kwai. The prisoners marched around all the time whistling the time. Why they did it will be apparent in just a bit, I promise.

If you are of a certain age, you remember it as the jingle for Malt-O-Meal. “Winners warm up with Malt-O-Meal!” As a matter of fact, the advertising world has seized up on the tune for many ad campaigns.

However, the music is the Colonel Bogey March. It was written in 1914 by Royal Marines Bandmaster Lt. F.J. Ricketts. It supposedly is based on a flamboyant colonel who refused to shout “fore” when playing golf. Instead, he would whistle two notes, which are the two first notes of the main phrase. The song was a hit, justifying Ricketts’ scheme to publish it under a pseudonym, K.J. Alford, to get around his military masters and to score some change on the side. Good thing he did, as the song was a hit.

Immediatly, soldiers, sailors and marines took to it right away. Of course, soldiers sailors and marines began to do what soldiers, sailors and marines always have done with new songs. They made up rude words to go along with the tune, especially as it was so easy to carry (we are getting closer to that bit about the whistling). They would sing “[Rude phrase] and the same to you!”, as a for instance.

Enter World War II.

One story goes that a chap named Toby O’Brien thought the tune would make a good propaganda ditty. Perhaps in response to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s classic duping in his policy of appeasement, he composed words to a song that soon becae known as Hitler Has Only Got One Ball.

Here’s a sample of the many versions of the lyrics:

Hitler has only got one ball,

Göring has two but very small,

Himmler is somewhat sim’lar,

But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all.

So, you see, at least the Brits sitting in their theatre seats knew what the whistling was about, as the words certainly could not be used in the movie.

Fast forward to 2008. In the spirit of defeating tyranny, I have composed a few lyrics to go with the tune, suitable for singing (though not everyplace).

Balls toTerror

Osama has only got one ball
Cheney has two that are very small
Karl’s balls are only spitballs
and Dubya has no balls at all.

Connie pretends she has real balls.
Coulter? Well, that’s y’alls call.
Powell can only howl,
as his balls are nailed to Cheney’s wall.

Petraus may have a slight shortfall.
To betray us takes no balls at all.
Lieberman used to have one,
but it fell off and rolled down the hall.

Limbaugh cannot answer the call.
drugs made his balls too small.
Ms. O’Reilly will tell you shyly
that Bill O has no balls at all.

Possible endorsement problems for McCain

McCain – Endorsement Problems from derDunkelRover on Vimeo.

Why I keep hounding Rep. Burgess

I keep on about Rep. Michael Burgess. He might even be a nice guy. His politics are abhorrent to me.

I just sent him this note about impeachment -

Sir, I call upon you to vote in favor of any and all motions to begin impeachment actions against President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney.
There is more than enough evidence to initiate proceedings.
If they have nothing to hide, they should not object to a full investigation of their actions.
Respectfully yours,

Now, I don’t expect him do any such thing. However, (and this is where I want y’all with out-of-touch lawmakers representing you to listen up) I don’t want him to think for one minute everyone out here is happy with the job he is doing.

It is my hope that the more people who disagree with the likes of Burgess and his ilk speak up, the more our voices might be heard. If representatives want to keep their cozy, privileged lifestyle up in Washington, they need to work for it. That means listening to all the people.

Do you think he cares? I don’t kid myself. However, if we stir up enough of a breeze, he might start bending with the winds of change.

There could be another effect. If you join me in stuffing their mailbox, you may get as fed up with them as I have and start to look for a replacement. Once you’ve found one, maybe you’ll start working for that candidate. Once you start working for a bold, new candidate, maybe we will see some changes.

As it happens now, the nation still is tied to the railroad track and my representatives in Congress are tightening the knots.

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The following is not paid for or endorsed by Leach for Congress

Please go to http://leachforcongress.com/ and check out Ken Leach for Congress.He is running an uphill battle against Burgess. He can use all the support you can give him in time or money or BOTH!

Even if you do not live in the 26th District of Texas, we sure could use y’all’s help.

Thanks!

Tell Texas GOP senator John Cornyn what you think!

You remember Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the apologist for domestic terrorists? He is Twiddle Dee to Sen Kay Bailey “Kaybar” Hutchison’s Twiddle Dum on the Bush Senate softball team.

Well, John-Boy has a poll up and he wants our views.

“Who is your first choice for President?” he asks.

“Should Congress allow the tax cuts to expire?” he asks.

There are many more. Just be careful. Your natural tendency to say “NO!” to everything Cornyn says might end up with you giving the wrong answer.

Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE CORNYN POLL!

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