Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Remember, remember the 5th of November,
the gun powder treason and plot.
I know of no reason the gun powder treason
should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes Night (or "bonfire night") is a UK Holiday (also takes place in other countries throughout the world) held on the 5th of November every year. Guy Fawkes was seriously on crazy Mofo, who, w/ accomplices tried to blow up the of British Parliament in 1605, with King James I, and the entire Protestant and most Catholic aristocracy and nobles inside! Can u say, "CRA-ZEE?!?!"

The term/word, "Guy" is derived from his name!

Below, is an intro to the beginning of one of his Wiki entries, and the link to it. I HIGHLY recommend the uninitiated explore this crazy person and his plot. You'll also get an insight, on just how the Brits penalized criminals back then: I can assure you, what they attempted to do to Guy (who actually escaped some of the more extreme torture) and his followers, made Vlad the Impaler's torture-choices seem almost acceptable!

This real-life event also inspired one of my personal favorite movies of all-time, "V for Vendetta." Its in my top 10, probably top 5, ever. If you haven't seen it, please check it out. At it's core, it's a movie about justice and doing what's right; a love story as well; a big time action-drama, and mystery, filled w/ art, wit, spectacle, humor, big surprising twists, and unbelievable cinematography. Orwellian to a degree. Here are a few quotes from it:

Delia Surridge: [V gives her a rose] Are you going to kill me now?
V: I killed you 10 minutes ago [shows her hypodermic needle], while you slept.
Delia Surridge: Is there any pain?
V: No.
Delia Surridge: Thank you. Is it too late to apologize?
V: Never.
Delia Surridge: I'm so sorry [and she dies].

V: Would you... dance with me?
Evey Hammond: Now? On the eve of your revolution?
V: A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!

Creedy: [desperately shooting at the approaching V] Die! Die! Why won't you die?... Why won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.

Wiki intro:

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic, aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a necessary reaction to the systematic discrimination against English Catholics.

The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter.

Guy Fawkes Night (or "bonfire night"), held on 5 November in the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth, is a commemoration of the plot, during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned, often accompanied by a fireworks display.

for entire wiki entry (one of many), click here.

Damn gay marriages. Always affecting the way I live my life.

this is fantastic. check it. sj

"History Will Judge..."

Those of us left-of-center types have been saying this for going on eight years: "Worst. President. Ever." We've been joined in more recent years by many of our not-quite-so-liberal friends from the middle, and even a few authentic conservatives who recognize that the neocon/christofascist alliance of the GOP has run their party into a ditch. Thus, polling such as the NBC/WSJ numbers that just came out:



George W. Bush: Mr. 20%

In spite of the Rovian campaign currently organized to polish the Shrub's "legacy," I submit that history will judge #43 as not much more than a useful idiot, readily doing the bidding of his handlers and the neocon cabal that actually made the decisions of "the Decider."

That swagger of his has long ceased to seem authentic, and Mr. Bush in recent months has even seemed to me to have reached a point of realization about his tenure. Since I can't find it in my liberal heart to truly hate, my reaction is to re-humanize him, such that I sense a profound regret despite his outward talk of "no regrets." Perhaps there is enough native intelligence behind the beady eyes to realize that he - as well as a nation - was horribly used by others, that this past eight-year orgy of imperialism and suppression was planned well in advance of his arrival; that, indeed, his arrival was part of the plan. For that, I feel sorry for him. (But I'm not losing sleep over it.)

"Fuck You Cardinal James Francis!"

...and people question me as to why I'm so concerned about church/state separation issues! People LISTEN to "leaders" like this - that's why! I'm not speaking of the 54% of catholics who voted for Obama and put their principles, common sense and love of country ahead of this anti-American's verbal diarrhea and core beliefs; but there are millions of others out there who really listen and BELIEVE this crap!!! It's rhetoric like this causing the catholic church to become more and more irrelevant, fractured and useless, as the years progress (of course, the almost 10,000 reported cases and/or investigations into rape and abuse of young male clergy by catholic church "leaders" sure doesn't help! Those despicable and unfortunate events have a way of cutting into your 'base,' and forcing even the staunchest of followers to start re-evaluating exactly who it is - and what it is - they're following)...

Read a few of Cardinal James Francis's thoughts and quotes from his speeches below. This insufferable old man is lucky he doesn't live on my block. I tell you true!


Cardinal Stafford criticizes Obama as ‘aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic’

Washington DC, Nov 17, 2008 / 02:27 pm (CNA).- Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, delivered a lecture on Thursday saying that the future under President-elect Obama will echo Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. Criticizing Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” he went on to speak about a decline in respect for human life and the need for Catholics to return to the values of marriage and human dignity.

Delivered at the Catholic University of America, the cardinal’s lecture was titled “Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul,” the student university paper The Tower reports. Hosted by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, his words focused upon Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, whose fortieth anniversary is marked this year.

Commenting on the results of the recent presidential election, Cardinal Stafford said on Election Day “America suffered a cultural earthquake.” The cardinal argued that President-elect Obama had campaigned on an “extremist anti-life platform” and predicted that the near future would be a time of trial.

“If 1968 was the year of America’s ‘suicide attempt,’ 2008 is the year of America’s exhaustion,” he said, contrasting the year of Humane Vitae’s promulgation with this election year.

“For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden,” Cardinal Stafford told his audience. Catholics who weep the “hot, angry tears of betrayal” should try to identify with Jesus, who during his agony in the garden was “sick because of love.”

The cardinal attributed America’s decline to the Supreme Court’s decisions such as the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which imposed permissive abortion laws nationwide.

“Its scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic,” Cardinal Stafford commented, according to The Tower.

His theological remarks centered upon man’s relationship with God and man’s place in society.

“Man is a sacred element of secular life,” he said, arguing that therefore “man should not be held to a supreme power of state, and a person’s life cannot ultimately be controlled by government.”

Cardinal Stafford also touched on the state of the family, saying that the truest reflection of the relationship between the believer and God is the relationship between husband and wife, and that contraceptive use does not fit within that relationship.

Mandatory Viewing #4. Answer the question folks. Just answer the question!

What gives folks? I've been asking people for a long time the following question: "What is it specifically that you won't be able to handle should a gay couple move in next door to you; how will your life change exactly; what IS it that threatens you?" And I have never gotten an answer to the question. Ever.

I give Keith Olberman MAJOR props for fighting the good fight (the whole crew at MSNBC!) these last few years. Break it down, baby, break it down!

Veterans Day thought (plain, simple, distilled)

So this is a response to a buddy of mine who wished me, "Happy Veterans Day!" today, on our fantasy football message board ('happy veterans day!' in case anyone's wondering, is a great salutation; I don't know if there's an 'official' or common one, but I've always appreciated that one). Keep in mind it's a blog for crying out loud, not the New York Times. Disregard typos, vocabulary, and broken sentences. This goes for everything I ever write on here.


Thanks buddies!

As troops, servicemen, anyone who currently is serving or has ever served can tell you, we are more than happy (bored, patriotic, just plain nuts) to committ ourselves to possibly die for our country, or any other insane sacrifice that might happen, as long as it's for a goddamned good reason.

The LEAST ANY leader can and should do - when LEADING a million or so young americans who are preapred to give their lives like that - is make sure it's a war or mission worth dying for. Leaders OWE us that. It's part of the fucking deal. We TRUST them to be able to determine what a good reason is, to state it simply.

This is the point Bush never got and still doesn't get, with regards to Iraq, and why I've always spoken out so much against the Iraq war, his decision, and anyone who has ever supported the Iraq war (including John McShame). These bastards made one of the worst decisions in our country's history when they decided to invade Iraq and did our troops, our military and America no favors whatsoever. And the reason it was such a bad decision was because it wasn't "worth" american lives. It was simply unnecessary for any american heroes to die there. Same thing with vietnam. which was also a 100% wholly unnecessary war, and eerily similar in that lies from our leaders and made up events were pushed vehemently to sell this utter nonsense to the American people.

Invading Iraq (Hussein never terrorized one single American here and the lying about "WMD"s! - OH MY!" among other things) and committing troops there is exactly the kind of decision troops DON'T want, need, or signed up for. Obama saw Iraq for what it was, and It's why he voted against invading them. He knew damn well it was unnecessary. He out-thunk George W., John McShame (w/ all his experience!) and a whole lot of our other "leaders" on this most important decision of the decade. Let there be no doubt about it: Obama will be a great commander-in-chief, because he has common sense and sound judgement. Something me, and millions of other veterans and active-duty military members wish Bush and the likes of John McShame possessed.

Our military is DECIMATED now, due to an unnecessary war that simply never had to happen. Hussein was no more a threat to one single American than Madonna is. He was boxed in and incapable or launching a firecracker for christ's sake. There wasn't even a MOUSE from al Qadea in Iraq before we invaded, let alone a terrorist! The Iraq war never had to happen and should never have happened and every American service person who died there didn't have to die and should not have died.

The paramount point I hope I'm making (about youth, others being more than willing to sign up for the military and potentially pay the ultimate price so long as they feel they can trust their leaders wholeheartedly), has been compromised during this administration, and America, families, veterans and our military is suffering for it, and will continue to for a truly long time. Americans who would otherwise sign up for the services, have decided they can't trust their leaders anymore to be in charge of their lives when it really matters. So they're not signing up. Recruitment for the military has not only been abysmal for the last several years, but it's actually made us genuinely and definitively less safe as a country (more on this down the road). It's a living tragedy. Thanks to Bush, our military is broken. Without a draft, it will take at LEAST a DECADE to get it back where it needs to be.

Okay, perhaps I digress. But it's important people everywhere realize the sacrifices veterans and current active duty troops have made and are making, and what goes into their thought process; as well as the dangers of what terrible leadership can do to our national heroes, their families and our country.