I saw this headline on the front page yesterday’s late edition of the Oregonian, sitting there in the box.

With my usual craned neck, my reaction was a “Um… Yeah… and?” Through the past — nearly two years now — I’ve pondered that meme, and what can be done to destroy it. Unfortunately, there is no destroying a meme. Memes are insiduous, and become facts to the minds of those who have said meme lodged in their brain. (It’s difficult to shake the cobwebs and dislodge a number from my own brain.)

I can’t remember who it was, but a few weeks ago a Big Named National Right-wing commentator asks the question — to me I guess, “And will you be able to admit your mistake when it turns out that the Weapons of Mass Destruction were moved to Syria?” The answer, my friend, is a simple: “Uh… WTF?”

What the world needs now is another newsmax.com and “DEBKA Files” Report about Iraq’s neighbors harboring Saddam’s stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction…

A new one– or rehashed from through some “back-up” “information”– that’s haunting us, this one seemingly backed up by some government spokesperson into the mainstream media — a report and study shows that the Insurgency is, indeed, still Saddam Loyalists… a concept that doesn’t… make… any… logical… sense.

I remember smirking at the fact that Zell Miller was going to be speaking at the RNC Convention — the same convention where Kid Rock would be performing.

Said Zell Miller regarding Kid Rock‘s performance at the Superbowl back in January, on the Senate floor.:

“The thing that yanked my chain the hardest was seeing that ignoramus with his pointed head stuck up through a hole he had cut in the flag of the United States of America, screaming about having ‘a bottle of scotch and watching lots of crotch.’ Think about that. This is the same flag that we pledge allegiance to. This is the flag that is draped over coffins of dead young uniformed warriors killed while protecting Kid Crock’s bony butt. He should be tarred and feathered, and ridden out of this country on a rail. Talk about a good reality show, there’s one for you.”

But Kid Rock did sign some celebrity-petition of “pro-war” celebrities, and his “hyper redneckity” marks him as Republican. But, I guess he’s not completely partisan, as suggested by the lyrics from “Pimp of the Nation”.

Pimp of the Nation, I could be it
As a matter of a fact, I for see it
But only pimpin hoes with the big tush
While you be left pimpin Barbra Bush

AND

I have hoes like horses in a stable
Rich, famous, willing, and able
First off Ja Ja Kubore and tiffer gore
Is my highest paid whore

“Whore” rhymes with “Gore”. “Tush” rhymes with “Bush”.

Kid Rock will be performing at George W Bush’s Inagural Gala (where, incidentally, he won’t be allowed to look in Bush’s direction — and I did not make that up.) I have two thoughts: (1) He’s probably not going to be singing “Pimp of the Nation”, but if he did it could be a sweet harbinder of a bi-partisan olive branch. (2) Maybe Bill Clinton had it right with Fleetwood Mac (“music your older sister listened to”), after all.

The Rest of the “More of the Same”:

MMe. La Passionaria Perkins will introduce collective bargaining for panhandlers. Henry Morgenthau, the male Alice-in-WOnderland, no doubt is already busy on schemes whereby the United States will guarantee the integrity of the Japanese Yen, the Austrian schilling, and the Siamese tical. And Jim Farley — why, Jim is going to get rid of the last of those annoying Civil Service people; then perhaps Albany; and then — well, why not? — The White House. If Jim can elect Dr. Roosevelt twice, surely he can elect himself once.

So we will have to grin and bear it. The grinning is easy enough — except when we come to pay the bill. And bear it we must — until that day, not so far distant, when the incense smoke clears away from Dr. Roosevelt’s thaumaturgies and we find ourselves face to face with a reality which is going to be as unpleasant as it is stark.

Just at this time The Mercury would like to make one obvious prediction: that the Republic will shortly be deluged by a torrent of franked literature from Washington, calling upon free-born citizens to forget bygones, to bury the hatchet, to put a shoulder to the Wheel and Work for the Future of a Unified America. When translated into English, this high-sounding call will merely ask the population to forget the most obnoxious, inefficient , and despotic Administration in our history — an Administration which, manned by a political machine of almost unbelievable corruption, now enters upon its next term with a national debt of thirty-five billion dollars.

Well, if certain free-born Americans want to forget their first draught of the New Deal, there is nothing to be done about them. But just to keep the record straight, The Mercury will continue to expose the absurdities and stupidities of the new New Deal just as strenuously as it exposes the absurdities and stupidities of the First Crackpot Riech, 1933-1936.

(December 1936)…

For two men at opposite ends of the political spectrum*, the relationship between the 43rd and 42nd presidents has grown surprisingly warm and personal over the last six months. Clinton endorsed Bush’s approach to the tsunami catastrophe, defending him against criticism about his initial response as well as raising cash alongside the president’s father. Friends and aides say the two men enjoy each other’s company and, as fellow pros, respect each other’s political talents.

The rapid thaw started with the unveiling of Clinton’s official portrait in the White House in June, when Bush told his speechwriters he wanted to deliver something “very praiseworthy, warm, funny and short.” During Clinton’s recent health crisis, Bush called twice to share what one of the former president’s aides called “good, funny conversations.” And in November, at the opening of Clinton’s presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., both the president and his father delivered praise that Clinton reveled in. Clinton even pulled aside Karl Rove, the architect of Bush’s election success, to congratulate him.

* Supposedly and in theory, at least…

Dear Mr. President:

Nadine Strossen
President ACLU

I recall reading Fredrick Douglas commenting on how sick he got from watching a get-together of Northern and Southern Generals, laughing and having a good time, without any concern over any supposed issues surrounding the war they fought in.

BIG MOTH IS WATCHING

CHAPTER TITLE
1. SEXUAL TRAPS
2. MORE SEXUAL TRAPS
3. NON-SEXUAL TRAPS
4. PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAPS
5. PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTACK
6. PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTACKS USING NOISE
7. PRIVATE DETECTIVE SIGNS AND OPERATING METHODS
8. MORE PRIVATE DETECTIVE SIGNS
9. THE PRIVATE DETECTIVE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION ATTACK
10. CRAZIES
11. MORE PRIVATE DETECTIVE METHODS OF HARRASMENT
12. AWARENESS TESTS
13. THE FBI FILE
14. WHAT IS A PRIVATE DETECTIVE
15. PRIVATE DETECTIVE LICENSING
16. PUPPETS AND VENTRILOQUISTS
17. THE BRAINWASHING OF A PRIVATE DETECTIVE
18. COMPUTERS AND PRIVATE DETECTIVES 19. HOW DID I EVER GET INTO THIS MESS?
20. THE COMICAL PRIVATE DETECTIVE
21. GAMES WITH PRIVATE DETECTIVES
22. THOUGHTS ABOUT PRIVATE DETECTIVES
23. THE BELL SYSTEM
24. PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR REPORTS
25. THE FEDERAL POLICE AND PRIVATE DETECTIVES
26. PRIVATE DETECTIVES, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IN SCOPE
27. POLYGRAPH TESTING
28. THE PRIVATE DETECTIVE WRITER
29. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND CONGRESS
30. PRIVATE DETECTIVES, HOW MUCH DO THEY KNOW?
31. PRIVATE DETECTIVE CHILD SNATCHING
32. A SUMMARY

The Oregonian must be printing some kind of “introductory package” of the Pearls Before Swine strip, because yesterday’s strip isn’t sitting there in the archives.

Pig writing a letter telling Fidel Castro that his outfit was ridiculous; Rat says “You dumb Pig! Castro doesn’t care why you think!”, and shot to Castro with letter in hand, tear dropping out of his eye.

Very similar to the one a month or so back with Yasser Arafat. This prompted me to wonder if the cartoonist, Stephan Pastis, was trying to kill Castro like he did Arafat…

… but I guess that was an old strip anyways.

I spent a good amount of time yesterday shifting through the stats page trying to figure out where on this LaRouche Warning Page, which focuses on events described in this Washington Post article.

I have a passing interest in Lyndon LaRouche and his followers, which minor though the quantity may be does mean I have more interest in the man than 99.9% of Americans. It’s an easy enough mass experience in city, blogged with enough frequency that I can keep track of people’s encounters with his followers, and for my purposes back in covering the Democratic Primary, he showed up on more than just his page.

If the emailer of this comment doesn’t want this published here, I’ll delete it, but…

The reason I was interested is that I frequent a martial arts forum online. We’ve recently gained a member who is one of their political flacks, claiming a 5 year association with them. He’s interested in martial arts because, and I’m paraphrasing, “people get irrational when you discuss politics with them”.

Which is all a little discomforting.

Type in “LaRouche” and “martial arts” into google, and this odd nugget pops up:

Operation Mop-up raged from May to September of 1973. LaRouche’s followers in NCLC were ordered to brutally assault rivals from the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). NCLC thugs used bats, chains, and martial arts weapons in a campaign to establish “hegemony” over the American revolutionary movement. There were many injuries and some persons required hospitalization.

Which… old though that may be… is a little more discomforting.

I found another one, which prompted me to finally actually take a look on what is on the disk.

It looks like this:

I HAVE COPYRIGHTED THIS TRUE STORY. THE COPYRIGHT IS

In the first place, let’s make it clear these self-appointed PD per-
sons or whatever he/she/or children–the so-called different investigative
groups mentioned above do use children in their spy work–ARE NOT,
ARE NOT part of any legal governmental police force. No City, County,
State, or Federal police force give the Private Detective legal authority. So! Right off the bat, what such a high percentage of our citizens think of and consider legal are nothing more than self-appointed vigilante people. As American citizens they have the right to make citizens’ arrests, but so do you for that matter. If you can make it stick, that is. But they and you are not
a legal policeman. …

There you go. It goes on for 300-some pages. I suppose I can publish it onto my website, but than I’d become some kind of resource on this issue, as I have on Mr. LaRouche — which I’ll have to get to in a minute.