EP-RANTS!

One of the best syndicated cartoonists is my pal Keith Knight, who has the strip "K-Chronicles" which is seen at Salon.com among other places, and a single panel strip called "(th)ink" which I enjoy reading in the San Jose Metro weekly paper. Keith is a super-talented writer-artist that moonlights in a little band called the Marginal Prophets. So far, Keith has never failed to make me laugh with his work, and that says a lot! You can always find out what Keith is up by going to his kchronicles.com website. Last month, he had one particular cartoon that summed up what I felt about the Bush war. I was hoping it would be posted somewhere in the internet universe, but it's not, so I decided to just to post it myself. ENJOY!

This Blogger software is a challenge. I thought I had accidently erased my first two entries, but they were actually hidden from the regular view. I still can't see the "archives" feature, but maybe this will change as the month comes to an end? It's not a perfect set-up, but I just don't have time to learn XML stuff. When it works, it works well. When it doesn't work, it's a pain in the royal buttocks! Actually, so much of this software IS relatively easy to deal with... assuming you know what to look for. If you don't change some of the pre-set configurations, you WILL be frustrated....

From my favorite Bruhaha at Bitchwick comes this news report of a rather inspired pro-war protest in Milwaukee. Who said irony is dead? HA! " WE LOVE THE POLICE STATE " Mock Pro-War Rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin With the anti-war movement in Milwaukee lacking a significant and consistent showing, when the Milwaukee police department tickets motorists who drive by anti-war rallies and honk in support of the protesters, in a time when the war is televised like a sporting event, a small group of Milwaukee artists, musicians, and outcasts decided to stage a mock pro-war rally to subvert the right. The street theater action was committed on April 4th in near-blizzard conditions when 20 "fanatical pro-war" supporters occupied the opposite side of the downtown street to rally in support of the war and oppose of the peace activists who gather every Friday for the weekly peace vigils. The 20 "pro-war" supporters dressed in suits, waved American F...

I received two very interesting emails within the past 24 hours that I'd like to share with others. 1) From the Rock 'n' Rap Connection email news service, I was forwarded a silly little news story from Ben Harrison : Unearthed -- Saddam's Sand Reserves Discovered in Iraq by Ben Harrison 25 April, 2003 -- 4:56am Vast amounts of Sand have been discovered throughout Iraq. In a statement made earlier today, Scientists confirmed that the former Iraqi President had access to huge undeclared stockpiles of Sand. Doctors agree that sufficient quantities of Sand, if swallowed, can be lethal. "To date, there has never been a single recovery from any sand-related death -- in the same way that no-one killed by chemical, nuclear or biological weapons has been known to return to life," said an unmanned Pentagon sauce. Experts state they expect to unearth more Sand in days to come. 2) Another friend sent me a great reminder of history titled " Whe...

I had some problems with the original BLOG design. Some folks couldn't see the pages with the color-changing design, so I'm simplifying the look. (sigh...) Here's a nice political cartoon that expresses the way I feel about the USA-French situation. I love the French culture, but have mixed feelings about the politicians that run the country, just like America. Did the government of France actually go against U.N. sanctions to provide Iraq with weapons? The story continues....

Here's two great quotes I came across today: "The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately for exercising their basic right to express themselves, To me, they're terrific American artists expressing American values by using their American right to free speech. For them to be banished wholesale from radio stations, and even entire radio networks, for speaking out is un-American. The pressure coming from the government and big business to enforce conformity of thought concerning the war and politics goes against everything that this country is about - namely freedom. Right now, we are supposedly fighting to create free speech in Iraq, at the same time that some are trying to intimidate and punish people for using that same freedom here at home. I don't know what happens next, but I do want to add my voice to those who think that the Dixie Chicks are getting a raw deal, and an un-American one to boot. I send them my support." Bruce Springsteen (courtesy o...

Talk about about the wolf guarding the henhouse! Imagine an executive with one of the biggest companies that ever made money selling information about your internet browsing habits now becoming the "privacy czar" in the Bush Homeland Security team!! It's just another example of Bush double-speak in 2003! Check out this great report from Dan Gilmor's blog: http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/ April 17, 2003 Can We Trust This Federal 'Privacy' Officer? Washington Post: Homeland Security Dept. Fills Privacy Post. The former privacy officer of Internet advertising giant DoubleClick will be the Department of Homeland Security's first privacy czar, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced today. If you read this story, you'll see a not-terrible assessment of the privacy official in question, who developed a reputation for at least listening to people's concerns when she worked at DoubleClick. But her former ...

For many people, G.W. Bush's strength is the way he handles the military. If more people knew the details of how President Bush supports veterans' basic needs, they'd probably be very, very disgusted. In a time when our brave men and women in the military are putting their asses on the line to fight this battle, the Republican administration wants to cut health care benefits to the veterans by $15 billion over 10 years, starting with $463 million next year. Anyone familiar with the Veterans Administration knows this program is already seriously underfunded. While many angry conservatives are still bitching about the way President Clinton reduced the budget for the military, they will conveniently forget that Clinton actually increased benefits and pay for veterans with the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998. So much for "supporting our troops." Send 'em off to war, and then limit their health care benefits. I found a very enlightening articl...

I've been checking out so many other BLOGs I thought I'd create one for myself. Opinions are something that I certainly have no shortage of during these crazy times of 2003. Rather than limiting my rants to friends and family, I decided the time was right to share my ideas with the rest of the world. Politics, technology, pop culture, and the entertainment industry are the usual things that occupy my conscious hours. It's the wild west out in the internet universe, with rules being re-written for the new paradigms of communication. With the tools of the BLOG, I'll be able to share my idealistic visions of intellectual clarity with the untold masses of the internet, or embarrass myself quicker with impulsive emotional outpourings. This will be interesting....