All the media can do is talk up our success there. Never mind all the people we're killing, or our soldiers that are dying.
And for what???
Take a look at what war REALLY looks like.
These are horrific photos, be warned.
Fallujah In Pictures
Or here's some raw footage from some soldiers in Fallujah.
No blood and guts but still, frightening nonetheless.
Fallujah Video
-------
oh, this is something really important.
Let's send Secret Service agents to a fucking high school because they were planning to perform Bob Dylan's anti-war song "Masters of War" and hysterical parents thought they were talking about Bush.
High School Talent Show Turns Political
Fucking stupid Republicans. Fucking stupid.
------
But then, that is nothing compared to the jaw-dropping shooting of a defenseless Iraqi by an American soldier. I just caught the video on CNN and it made me sick.
Military investigates shooting of wounded insurgent
U.S. Military Probes Shooting of Iraqi in Falluja
So this is what we're at war for? to kill random people at will?
Apparently, yes. All i can say is we're all going to pay for these ruthless disgusting killings of thousands of innocent people so Bush can push his stumbling bravado upon the rest of the world. Again i ask, what the hell is this war for?
And then there's these dumb hick soldiers on TV expressing their amazement at Arabs as young as what he described as 13 or 14-year-old kids attempting to fight the Americans. "Why would they even try to fight us?" he asked. Uh, because you're in THEIR FUCKING COUNTRY! Gee, i thought the Americans were there to "restore peace." Oh yeah, that's right, we kill 13 and 14-year-olds (obviously we do, because the soldiers couldn't believe kids this young were fighting them) in the name of democracy and to 'help' them.
How can we advocate all this senseless killing? And we're supposed to support the troops? i realize that these troops were sent in because of decisions made by politicians, but seeing video like the stuff i posted above, as well as this impending investigation with the soldier who killed the defenseless insurgent, makes me shudder with disgust and fear for our country and what we've wrought.
unfortunately, i do believe we will all reap what this country has sown.
meanwhile, we have the CIA falling apart too and much of Bush's cabinet heading for the exits ...ah what fun the next four years is going to be...
feeling good yet?
Monday, November 15, 2004
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Dead Calm
I was thinking, on the drive home this evening...actually, i think i've been thinking of this for the last couple days...I've been pretty angry lately.
It has crossed over into my day-to-day life a bit...of course, that's too be expected, what with the state of our country right now...you know.
i love me the ellipse.
and i have to state for the record, that as of right now, hilariously, i'm on my laptop at the Mission Bar in SF using some local network that's free. so i'm online here and rocking my laptop in the one plug (that sort of crackled when i plugged it in -- let's hope i don't blow any fuses) that i found in the back.
i got my anchor steam.
and george michael's "i want your sex" is playing on the jukebox.
life isn't all that bad.
and you know, oddly enough, listening to this show on NPR on the drive Home...and there's tina on the phone.
i guess i'll have to do more of this later...
-------
Later - 9:29 a.m., the next day
as i was saying last night before digressing quite a bit (i was excited about the free network, yo!), i realize i've been angry of late.
And i've come to the conclusion that i can't keep being angry forever. i know this.
sure, the blog is used as a way for me to vent and let off some steam, but i can tell i've been extremely edgy lately, even for me. and god knows, i can get emotional.
but life's too short...better to be proactive.
this isn't to say i'm still not angry and upset about the re-election of George W. Bush, nor does it discount my disappointment with the more than 59 million people who voted for the prick.
But yeah, time to focus and figure out what we have to do to beat them, as well as holding their feet to the fire (see how corporate i've become? i'm using lame corporate analogies to make my point. put me in front of a firing squad pronto) when they fuck up, which will be often.
so yeah, here i am. back in black.
or today, i'm beige.
with elements of green, red and black.
sucka MCs and shit.
Let the happiness commence.
Until i get angry again...hee hee hee.
chuckles the clown is dead.
long live chuckles.
It has crossed over into my day-to-day life a bit...of course, that's too be expected, what with the state of our country right now...you know.
i love me the ellipse.
and i have to state for the record, that as of right now, hilariously, i'm on my laptop at the Mission Bar in SF using some local network that's free. so i'm online here and rocking my laptop in the one plug (that sort of crackled when i plugged it in -- let's hope i don't blow any fuses) that i found in the back.
i got my anchor steam.
and george michael's "i want your sex" is playing on the jukebox.
life isn't all that bad.
and you know, oddly enough, listening to this show on NPR on the drive Home...and there's tina on the phone.
i guess i'll have to do more of this later...
-------
Later - 9:29 a.m., the next day
as i was saying last night before digressing quite a bit (i was excited about the free network, yo!), i realize i've been angry of late.
And i've come to the conclusion that i can't keep being angry forever. i know this.
sure, the blog is used as a way for me to vent and let off some steam, but i can tell i've been extremely edgy lately, even for me. and god knows, i can get emotional.
but life's too short...better to be proactive.
this isn't to say i'm still not angry and upset about the re-election of George W. Bush, nor does it discount my disappointment with the more than 59 million people who voted for the prick.
But yeah, time to focus and figure out what we have to do to beat them, as well as holding their feet to the fire (see how corporate i've become? i'm using lame corporate analogies to make my point. put me in front of a firing squad pronto) when they fuck up, which will be often.
so yeah, here i am. back in black.
or today, i'm beige.
with elements of green, red and black.
sucka MCs and shit.
Let the happiness commence.
Until i get angry again...hee hee hee.
chuckles the clown is dead.
long live chuckles.
Got the Blahs
Ugh. I got me the blahs today. I'm feeling kind of glum, not very fun or funny, for that matter. Just whatever. Rain doesn't really help in that regard. Plus it's November. Maybe it's my personal body clock or something. Hmmm, who does know.
And I'm muddy right now.
And I just had a crappy-as-fuck (CAP) lunch of florentine chicken. Crapper. I really hate onions. The chicken here is so gristly. i think i have to truly give up on eating meat here at work, unless it's cold cuts.
so there.
However, i did feel somewhat heartened by the words of Frank Rich, one of my favorite columnists of late.
Here's his latest (sign-up/subscription required):
On 'Moral Values,' It's Blue in a Landslide
Go on with your bad selves.
hell, even my iTunes Shuffler is feeling my blueness.
I'm listening to The Smiths' "Unhappy Birthday"...but with Morrissey, i can revel in sadness.
so that's something.
And I'm muddy right now.
And I just had a crappy-as-fuck (CAP) lunch of florentine chicken. Crapper. I really hate onions. The chicken here is so gristly. i think i have to truly give up on eating meat here at work, unless it's cold cuts.
so there.
However, i did feel somewhat heartened by the words of Frank Rich, one of my favorite columnists of late.
Here's his latest (sign-up/subscription required):
On 'Moral Values,' It's Blue in a Landslide
Go on with your bad selves.
hell, even my iTunes Shuffler is feeling my blueness.
I'm listening to The Smiths' "Unhappy Birthday"...but with Morrissey, i can revel in sadness.
so that's something.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
VoooDoo
Nice to have you back. Good to be here.
Thanks for having me.
So, um, PastTim just sincerely freaked out PresentTim, or, from PastTim's perspective, FutureTim, but that's neither here nor there, or when.
Thanks.
No, really, check this shit out i wrote Wednesday, October 29, 2003, filing said thing about which you will read at 10:59 p.m.
here 'tis:
(edited for television)
yessir, i, tim pratt, me, yessir, predicted the damn election.
i should be invited to a think tank right about now.
how DOES one score a think take job, anyway?
damn i need some popcorn. i'm addicted to popcorn of late. of course, i get it for free from a little white ghost who visits me from time to time. haven't seen the tyke in a little while now. but you know, those damn ghosts, always on a different time schedule and dimension than you. never can predict 'em, damn right.
but so anyway...that's pretty rad, i thought. kind of weird. of course, the running polls at the time could have said that and i subconsciously remembered it at that particular moment, right around the same time of night i'm writing this here thingie i'm right here writing right about now.
shizen.
shiza.
shazam! i always hated shazam! any superhero that demands you put an exclamation point at the end of his name just sucks.
it's bullshit.
fucking bullshit.
The Kitty is fast asleep right now. She's very tired. She's had a very rough day of being tired.
It's very difficult, being The.
Speaking of, i caught this poet named Cat last night at this spoken word deal at Cafe Royale, a place i had never been before, near Post and Leavenworth. and no, i don't feel like linking the damn thing right now. get your own google search on bitches. so yeah, this girl Cat, she was totally full of herself, but...that's ok. why not? who else will be? she totally surprised me though. i kind of dismissed her as the 'i'm so hip being a spoken word poet and snapping my fingers as a salute to some good 'spittin' rolling forth' type, ya see, but she totally woke my shit up with this harsh anti-republican, anti pro-life crapper type shit, and speaking about her parents in Missouri and such. it just, woke me up.
a bit. we were there to check out Emmanual Ortiz, Tina's activist cousin from Minneapolis who threw down this highly impressive piece about his anger toward the war in Iraq, and oppression of peoples from all over the world. 'A Moment of Silence' is what i would guess it was called.
Fucking intense. i must admit. very good.
he travels out here to SF from time to time to do these types of events. this was the first time Tina and i were able to make it out to one of his shows. which was totaly rad.
and it was doing something different from my normal routine.
which, isn't very normal, i would hazard to guess (as my dad would say, hee - i got pride, yo...respek, west side).
boo-ya-ka-sha.
yeah, i'm white sometimes.
damn.
but i'm so hip-hop. shit.
you know.
well, yeah, this was good. i don't know what this was.
a spurt. maybe i was spittin'
definitely with the possessive apostrophe, yo.
keep it up
bitches
so sayeth the shepherd, so sayeth the flock...mocka locka cracka lacka macka sacka nacka facka wacka zacka
HACKA
Thanks for having me.
So, um, PastTim just sincerely freaked out PresentTim, or, from PastTim's perspective, FutureTim, but that's neither here nor there, or when.
Thanks.
No, really, check this shit out i wrote Wednesday, October 29, 2003, filing said thing about which you will read at 10:59 p.m.
here 'tis:
"you know, george bush could pull a makaveli (because i can't spell the old school way and i'm too damn lazy to look up the correct one) and have us vote for his pseudo-dead ass because we all feel bad, and then he turns out to be ok.
like the day after the election, he emerges totally via the strength of knowing a solid 51% of the electorate are behind him (of course, rigged by those touch screens that are heavily funded by GOP monsters - but that's for another day, another struggle in this thing we call life man, fucking a)."
(edited for television)
yessir, i, tim pratt, me, yessir, predicted the damn election.
i should be invited to a think tank right about now.
how DOES one score a think take job, anyway?
damn i need some popcorn. i'm addicted to popcorn of late. of course, i get it for free from a little white ghost who visits me from time to time. haven't seen the tyke in a little while now. but you know, those damn ghosts, always on a different time schedule and dimension than you. never can predict 'em, damn right.
but so anyway...that's pretty rad, i thought. kind of weird. of course, the running polls at the time could have said that and i subconsciously remembered it at that particular moment, right around the same time of night i'm writing this here thingie i'm right here writing right about now.
shizen.
shiza.
shazam! i always hated shazam! any superhero that demands you put an exclamation point at the end of his name just sucks.
it's bullshit.
fucking bullshit.
The Kitty is fast asleep right now. She's very tired. She's had a very rough day of being tired.
It's very difficult, being The.
Speaking of, i caught this poet named Cat last night at this spoken word deal at Cafe Royale, a place i had never been before, near Post and Leavenworth. and no, i don't feel like linking the damn thing right now. get your own google search on bitches. so yeah, this girl Cat, she was totally full of herself, but...that's ok. why not? who else will be? she totally surprised me though. i kind of dismissed her as the 'i'm so hip being a spoken word poet and snapping my fingers as a salute to some good 'spittin' rolling forth' type, ya see, but she totally woke my shit up with this harsh anti-republican, anti pro-life crapper type shit, and speaking about her parents in Missouri and such. it just, woke me up.
a bit. we were there to check out Emmanual Ortiz, Tina's activist cousin from Minneapolis who threw down this highly impressive piece about his anger toward the war in Iraq, and oppression of peoples from all over the world. 'A Moment of Silence' is what i would guess it was called.
Fucking intense. i must admit. very good.
he travels out here to SF from time to time to do these types of events. this was the first time Tina and i were able to make it out to one of his shows. which was totaly rad.
and it was doing something different from my normal routine.
which, isn't very normal, i would hazard to guess (as my dad would say, hee - i got pride, yo...respek, west side).
boo-ya-ka-sha.
yeah, i'm white sometimes.
damn.
but i'm so hip-hop. shit.
you know.
well, yeah, this was good. i don't know what this was.
a spurt. maybe i was spittin'
definitely with the possessive apostrophe, yo.
keep it up
bitches
Apostle Pratt Pierre
so sayeth the shepherd, so sayeth the flock...mocka locka cracka lacka macka sacka nacka facka wacka zacka
HACKA
Christianity = Bigotry?
Of course, i'm very excited about John Ashcroft stepping down. But that excitement will undoubtedly prove to be shortlived as a host of new screaming meanies will soon take their place amongst the Bush Cabinet.
Can't wait for that either.
More hateful 'Christians' addressing such important issues as gay marriage and the downfall of society because of it.
Yeah, gay marriage and abortion, those are real issues, huh? If both of those things continue to run rampant in America, we might as well burn the whole place down. Never mind poverty, the 'war' in Iraq, the environment or other inconsequential issues - who cares about future generations and whether they live or die, as long as we outlaw the gays, then everything will just be alright.
For more impressive anguish, check out Michael Feingold's cover story in this week's Village Voice:
Our Vanished Values:
Where They Went, and Why -- And How They Might Come Back
Here's some key quotes:
In the final words of Richie Cunningham, "These Are Happy Days."
Indeed.
Until we all die from being around gays...
-----------
Addendum 4:10 p.m. PST
Heh, some people are pretty bitter about the Dirty South.
Read with fury!
Fuck The South
----------
Oh, and here's a good slogan my good pal Ron came up with for the Dems:
Gay Marriage is GOOD for Marriage
Say it Loud and Proud!
Seriously, how is gay marriage BAD for marriage?
Two people loving each other. How is that a bad thing for society?
God knows we have enough people fighting and killing each other -- and we all know the bulk of those are domestic disputes (read your local police records if you don't believe me -- they're open to public).
Gay Marriage is GOOD for Marriage
Can't wait for that either.
More hateful 'Christians' addressing such important issues as gay marriage and the downfall of society because of it.
Yeah, gay marriage and abortion, those are real issues, huh? If both of those things continue to run rampant in America, we might as well burn the whole place down. Never mind poverty, the 'war' in Iraq, the environment or other inconsequential issues - who cares about future generations and whether they live or die, as long as we outlaw the gays, then everything will just be alright.
For more impressive anguish, check out Michael Feingold's cover story in this week's Village Voice:
Our Vanished Values:
Where They Went, and Why -- And How They Might Come Back
Here's some key quotes:
- This is the election in which American Christianity destroyed itself. Today the church is no longer a religion but a tacky political lobby, with an obsessive concentration on a minuscule number of social topics so irrelevant to questions of governance that they barely constitute political issues at all. These are the points of contention tied into what are blurrily referred to as "moral values," though they have almost nothing to do with the larger moral question of how one lives one's life, and everything to do with the fundamentally un-Christian and un-American idea of forcing others to live the way you believe they should. The displacement of faith involved is eerie, almost psychotic: Here are people willing to vote against their own well-being and their own children's future, just so they can compel someone else's daughter to bear an unwanted child and deprive someone else's son of the right to file a joint income tax return with his male partner.
Today the Republican Party is not the right wing of anything; it is a band of violent radical reactionaries preaching medieval totalitarian bigotry. And Christianity as currently preached and practiced in Middle America is virtually Satan, by the standards of anyone who strives to follow the teachings of Jesus. Having degraded themselves to the level of political lobbies, most Christian churches should certainly be compelled to register as lobbyists and pay taxes.
In the final words of Richie Cunningham, "These Are Happy Days."
Indeed.
Until we all die from being around gays...
-----------
Addendum 4:10 p.m. PST
Heh, some people are pretty bitter about the Dirty South.
Read with fury!
Fuck The South
----------
Oh, and here's a good slogan my good pal Ron came up with for the Dems:
Gay Marriage is GOOD for Marriage
Say it Loud and Proud!
Seriously, how is gay marriage BAD for marriage?
Two people loving each other. How is that a bad thing for society?
God knows we have enough people fighting and killing each other -- and we all know the bulk of those are domestic disputes (read your local police records if you don't believe me -- they're open to public).
Gay Marriage is GOOD for Marriage
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Welcome to the New America
Where the Right can Dictate Your Personal Decisions
This fucking story made my blood boil. Fucking right wing control freak mother fuckers.
We're going to take your asses down. FUCK YOU!
Druggists Refuse to give out The Pill
here's a quote for you:
In Wisconsin, a petition drive is underway to revive a proposed law that would protect pharmacists who refuse to prescribe drugs they believe could cause an abortion or be used for assisted suicide.
"It just recognizes that pharmacists should not be forced to choose between their consciences and their livelihoods," says Matt Sande of Pro-Life Wisconsin. "They should not be compelled to become parties to abortion."
.........so, birth control is now abortion?
what the fuck is wrong with these people?
We're going to take your asses down. FUCK YOU!
Druggists Refuse to give out The Pill
here's a quote for you:
In Wisconsin, a petition drive is underway to revive a proposed law that would protect pharmacists who refuse to prescribe drugs they believe could cause an abortion or be used for assisted suicide.
"It just recognizes that pharmacists should not be forced to choose between their consciences and their livelihoods," says Matt Sande of Pro-Life Wisconsin. "They should not be compelled to become parties to abortion."
.........so, birth control is now abortion?
what the fuck is wrong with these people?
Evil GOP Co-opts 'Moral Values'
Here's a good story on how Republicans seem to distort the meaning of catchphrases like Family, Moral and Traditional Values. Or how they've turned the word "Liberal" into a dirty word.
Liberals dismayed by 'Moral Values' claim
Here's a couple quotes that stood out to me:
"The religious right has successfully gotten out there shaping personal piety issues � civil unions, abortion � as almost the total content of 'moral values.' And yet you can't read the Old Testament without knowing God was concerned about the environment, war and peace, poverty. God doesn't want 45 million Americans without health care."
"One thing Jesus was absolutely clear about was helping the poor, and the welcoming of strangers. Maybe this election was a wake-up call to have a serious conversation about what morality means, to look at what sort of country we're becoming."
Maybe there's a reason behind teaching kids (including me!) to sing in church
"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!"
um, yeah.
Liberals dismayed by 'Moral Values' claim
Here's a couple quotes that stood out to me:
"The religious right has successfully gotten out there shaping personal piety issues � civil unions, abortion � as almost the total content of 'moral values.' And yet you can't read the Old Testament without knowing God was concerned about the environment, war and peace, poverty. God doesn't want 45 million Americans without health care."
"One thing Jesus was absolutely clear about was helping the poor, and the welcoming of strangers. Maybe this election was a wake-up call to have a serious conversation about what morality means, to look at what sort of country we're becoming."
Maybe there's a reason behind teaching kids (including me!) to sing in church
"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!"
um, yeah.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Bush Is a Parasite on Democracy
This was a bumper sticker i saw on the back of a car this morning. I liked it.
Happy Monday!
----------
Legendary Minneapolis Venue First Avenue Closes
This club was made famous by Prince in Purple Rain. Tina and i went there in 2000, on the way to moving to California, and saw Thomas Mapfumo, the Lion of Zimbabwe, perform. Frankly, it's surprising the club lasted as long as it did. Most clubs have a very short lifespan.
---------
Big surprise, San Franciscans feel betrayed by Bush's re-election.
San Francisco in No Mood for Tolerance after Bush Win
This quote stood out to me:
"I have family in Idaho, but I told my wife we're not going to visit them now. It's all Republicans there," said Ron Schmidt, a public relations executive. "We have family in Indiana and I don't want to go there either."
I agree for the most part. I will avoid red states if i can, and frankly, there are few reasons to go to those states, other than to see family in Indiana. But most of my family lives in Michigan, which was a "safe" blue state.
Happy Monday!
----------
Legendary Minneapolis Venue First Avenue Closes
This club was made famous by Prince in Purple Rain. Tina and i went there in 2000, on the way to moving to California, and saw Thomas Mapfumo, the Lion of Zimbabwe, perform. Frankly, it's surprising the club lasted as long as it did. Most clubs have a very short lifespan.
---------
Big surprise, San Franciscans feel betrayed by Bush's re-election.
San Francisco in No Mood for Tolerance after Bush Win
This quote stood out to me:
"I have family in Idaho, but I told my wife we're not going to visit them now. It's all Republicans there," said Ron Schmidt, a public relations executive. "We have family in Indiana and I don't want to go there either."
I agree for the most part. I will avoid red states if i can, and frankly, there are few reasons to go to those states, other than to see family in Indiana. But most of my family lives in Michigan, which was a "safe" blue state.
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